In the drawing room of the Gustav Mansion, Charlotte sat in a broad armchair, her hands folded over her knees, maintaining the dignified posture of a young noblewoman.
She could feel Lila, who stood by the door, casting puzzled glances at her from time to time.
Her mistress had first been rescued by the young master at the Gustav Mansion, then returned twice to visit him. In between, they had also met privately several times at places such as the Printing House and the Hunting Ground. Even if a maid had been present or they had been in public almost every time, that was enough to give her personal maid plenty of ideas.
Still, the young lady of the Sauron Family and the young master of the Gustav Family were of similar standing, and both were young. By any measure, this looked like the beginning of some aristocratic romance. Once they both came of age, their elders might seriously consider the possibility.
Of course, those are just thoughts that might be running through Lila's head. I'm only here to discuss business... Charlotte grumbled silently, then felt once again how troublesome her current female identity was. Even if she and Roselle were discussing their joint ventures or information about the Beyonder world, to others it could easily become "Miss Charlotte went to see Roselle again."
Other people's opinions naturally would not affect Charlotte's actions, but as she waited for Roselle to come downstairs, her thoughts inevitably drifted elsewhere. To, for example... Julian Wright, whom she had killed with her own hands.
According to the Purification-ers' subsequent assessment, the abilities this cultist had displayed were roughly comparable to Sequence 7, but he might not have been a Beyonder who had advanced by drinking potions normally. After his death, none of the usual remnants containing Beyonder power had appeared, nor had his corpse shown any clear signs of continuing to transform into a Sealed Artifact or some other dangerous object.
Viève suspected that the dagger had absorbed a large amount of Julian's blood and might also have taken in that portion of his power. She had already reported it to Saint Roch Cathedral, leaving them to determine whether the Grade 3 Sealed Artifact had changed.
Charlotte had also written a report detailing her fight and handed it to Viève. Although Julian had first been injured by Viève's sunlight, and the shadow creature he used for ambushes had been purified, considerably weakening his combat abilities, a Sequence 9 Arbiter defeating a mid-sequence Beyonder alone was still a glorious achievement.
As for his two uses of Conviction, she had reached her own conclusions.
The "murder" Julian had accused her of was undoubtedly a misjudgment. And although "committing a crime" seemed reasonable from his perspective-after all, Charlotte had broken into his office and attacked him with a blade-from Charlotte's perspective, she had been assisting official Beyonders in arresting a suspected cultist and had acted in self-defense when he resisted.
Such "crimes" seemed to be determined not by Julian's own judgment, but by common understanding. Officials arresting a suspect were plainly not committing a crime. Conversely, a suspect attacking someone assisting in his arrest was the behavior that truly warranted conviction.
That was why Charlotte had quickly recovered after her limbs briefly stiffened, then deliberately pretended she was still restrained, using the opportunity to lure Julian closer and deliver a fatal blow.
Judging according to universal values might help me act as an Arbiter... She gradually gathered her wandering thoughts, just as footsteps sounded. Then Roselle Gustav appeared in the drawing room doorway.
He wore a neatly arranged coat, clearly having tidied himself up at short notice. Upon seeing Charlotte sitting primly, he bowed and offered a heartfelt smile.
"Good afternoon, Charlotte."
"Good afternoon, Roselle."
Charlotte rose and returned his bow.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Charlotte turned and gestured for Lila to wait outside. A trace of hesitation crossed the maid's face, but she still withdrew to a spot outside the drawing room where she could see them both without hearing the details of their conversation.
She must be thinking something terribly improper again... Charlotte sighed inwardly. Too tired to keep worrying about her reputation, she asked directly:
"Have you become a Beyonder already?"
Roselle nodded, unable to hide his excitement.
"I drank the Savant potion two days ago. It brought a qualitative leap in my memory and ability to learn, and I can even recall a great deal of information I'd only glanced at once before.
"I feel as though I could go teach at a university in Trier right now, if I wanted."
As his claims grew increasingly outrageous, Charlotte could not help laughing.
"It sounds like you think you're very powerful now."
"It's not what I think. It's an objective fact," Roselle replied solemnly, before laughing himself. "Of course, Captain Dante warned me that people who have just become Beyonders tend to overestimate themselves, so I'll make sure to exercise restraint."
"But your earlier advice was right. Savant really does suit me best."
Charlotte kept nodding, smiling as she listened to Roselle describe the various changes the potion had brought him. Only when he raised his teacup for a sip did she take the opportunity to bring out the candlestick she had bought for 240 Verl D'Or and hand it to him.
"An upside-down candlestick..."
Roselle, whose thirst for knowledge had intensified under the potion's effects, was immediately drawn to it. He held it in his hands and examined it carefully for a while, looking thoughtful.
"Do you recognize it?"
"I've seen it in books before. This sort of candlestick was part of an architectural style popular during the Fourth Epoch. The Solomon Empire, as well as the later Tudor Dynasty and Trunsoest Empire, all followed this distorted aesthetic: buildings higher on the left and lower on the right, irregular patterns carved into walls and ceilings, and candlesticks mounted upside down in asymmetrical numbers."
What kind of nightmare decorating is that? Anyone with obsessive-compulsive disorder would never have survived that era... Charlotte pictured it as she listened and immediately felt it becoming difficult to breathe.
Roselle placed the candlestick back on the table and continued:
"Judging by its shape, it does match the characteristic style of the Fourth Epoch. But the material doesn't look as though it's endured a thousand years, unless it was kept somewhere insulated from environmental effects... Who are you planning to give it to?"
"Our partner at the Sushit Weekly, Mr. Morvan Durand," Charlotte answered frankly. "I noticed that his workroom was full of history books. Perhaps an antique from the Fourth Epoch would make him happy."
Roselle agreed:
"That's a good idea. Mr. Morvan is very enthusiastic about this partnership. He's already prepared plenty of specialized legal articles for the first issue and even brought in some paid advertising from his clients. Our side is actually falling a little behind, so I'm considering finding time to pay him a formal visit."
Charlotte looked regretful as she said:
"Then you can keep this candlestick for now. We can visit him together after my birthday. By then, Lila won't be reporting my itinerary to Father every single time..."
In Intis, men could participate in a considerable range of social activities at seventeen, whereas women could only formally attend large balls or mixed salons after coming of age. Consequently, their first appearance after their eighteenth birthday was often made at an important ball.
Thinking of this, Roselle asked curiously:
"Will you be holding a coming-of-age ball?"
"I'll probably make my formal debut at another noble family's ball." Thinking of her family's less-than-comfortable finances, Charlotte shook her head. "Perhaps at Viscount Abel's or Viscount Derilose's."
Roselle nodded thoughtfully, his expression even more solemn than when he had mentioned becoming a Beyonder.
"I understand."
What do you understand? Are you actually planning to give me a coming-of-age present...? His reaction made Charlotte curious, but she did not press him. Instead, she glanced at Lila, who kept looking their way from the drawing room doorway, then rose to take her leave.
Roselle escorted her to the entrance and watched the carriage bearing the Sauron Family's crest drive away before slowly withdrawing his gaze.
After returning to his upstairs bedroom, he casually set the oddly shaped candlestick on the edge of his desk, then opened a notebook in which he recorded all his fanciful ideas in Intisian. His gaze swept over improvements to printing presses, ink formulas, and other matters, yet he could not settle down.
There's less than a month until her birthday... No, Roselle, Huang Tao, you should be thinking about how to use the potion's power to reproduce advanced knowledge and technology, then borrow from a few literary classics and put your own name on them, rather than constantly thinking about Charlotte Sauron...
His thoughts in turmoil, he closed the notebook casually, and his gaze drifted uncontrollably to the candlestick. Its asymmetrical arms and inverted base looked irritating no matter how he viewed them.
What on earth was wrong with the aesthetics of people in the Fourth Epoch...? He endured it for a few seconds before finally reaching for the candlestick, intending to stuff it into a drawer.
But the instant his fingertips touched its surface, a deep crimson glow lit up within the corroded patterns and engulfed him completely.
When his vision returned, Roselle found himself seated in a high-backed chair. Grayish-white fog churned silently beside him, and before him stood a long bronze table that seemed to have weathered countless years. Farther away, he could vaguely make out towering classical pillars supporting the dome overhead.
He had gone from his own bedroom to a palace with indistinct boundaries, surrounded by gray fog that felt somewhat familiar and comforting!
Where is this? Am I dreaming?
Roselle was startled and held his breath, yet dared not make any large movements. He could only shift his eyes to inspect either side.
Two men sat to his right, while a woman sat opposite him. Their faces were all obscured by fog, concealing any details. He could only vaguely discern features such as their height, build, and hair color.
At the end of the long table sat an even more indistinct, more uncanny silhouette.
It was a tall, hooded humanoid figure whose features were likewise impossible to make out. Within the surrounding fog, several slick, tentacle-like shapes vaguely curled. The figure looked distinctly different from the people beside Roselle, giving an unfathomable impression.
There was nothing about this in the knowledge the Machinery Hivemind provided. The captain said that as long as I didn't casually recite an evil god's honorific name or use ritual magic or sacrifices to establish contact with unknown beings, I wouldn't attract their attention or be affected... Roselle struggled to remain calm, hoping to blend in with the other three people, but soon realized that all of them were looking at him.
Even the eyes beneath the indistinct figure's hood seemed to turn his way, bringing an immense sense of pressure.
After a moment, the black-haired man closest to him spoke:
"Were you also summoned here because you touched a special object?"
That's Loenese... Roselle relaxed a little. He already had some knowledge of the language, and after becoming a Savant, he could easily understand and speak most of its vocabulary. He therefore understood the man's meaning immediately.
Rather than rushing to answer, he quickly looked at the other two. The somewhat short blonde woman sat upright and seemed to be studying him as well, while the brown-haired man cautiously glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, clearly keeping a low profile. Neither showed any hostility; they seemed more curious about a newly arrived member.
"Yes," he replied in Loenese. "I had just touched a candlestick from the Tudor period when light surrounded me and I arrived here."
"The same happened to you?" he asked in turn.
The black-haired man looked around and spoke only after the other two tacitly agreed to let him answer:
"It did, but we arrived a little earlier than you. This is already our second... gathering."
"A gathering? Who organized it?"
Roselle immediately asked another question, though his gaze kept straying toward the figure at the head of the long table. Inwardly, he already had an answer.
Sure enough, the black-haired man replied in a tone filled with fear and reverence:
"He did, of course.
"The great Mr. Fool."