Chapter Summaries

Charlotte drank the Arbiter potion under Viève’s supervision and became a Beyonder, then began learning the obligations of a Church Peripheral Member. The chapter then shifted to Roselle Gustav, who wrote in his Chinese diary about his visit to Green’s home and his thoughts about Charlotte.

• Viève explained the Arbiter potion formula, its ingredients, and the dangers of losing control before preparing it for Charlotte.
• Charlotte drank the potion, briefly perceived Suhit City from above, and heard whispers until Viève helped her regain her focus.
• Charlotte noticed her new tactical instincts and, despite feeling tired, learned that she must study Hermes, pray weekly, and follow the Church’s confidentiality rules.
• Roselle Gustav returned to his bedroom, complained about the lack of entertainment in the world, and began writing a private diary in Chinese.
• Roselle recorded his visit to Green’s home, Mr. Randall’s interest in his ideas, and his thoughts about Charlotte.

Roselle recorded his suspicions about Charlotte and his plans for the newspaper and next week’s hunt. Elsewhere, Klein documented his origins, Apprentice abilities, and the gray-fog space before hiding his diary in a wall and leaving his room.

• Roselle wrote that Charlotte’s initiative and apparent connection to the Church suggested she knew secrets about the hidden world, and he planned to question her at the upcoming hunt.
• Roselle considered Charlotte’s possible help with the newspaper while worrying about printing equipment, affordable prices, and paper supplies.
• Klein recorded how the original Klein became an Apprentice and described his abilities to open locks and pass through barriers.
• Klein reviewed his plan to contact another Abraham household while concealing his transmigration and learning more about the gray fog.
• Klein decided he could pose as the gray fog’s ruler while acting as a companion to the other visitors, then hid his diary inside a wall and left.

Charlotte tested her new Arbiter abilities, practiced meditation, and studied Viève’s guide for Peripheral Members. After reading its warnings about possible cultists, she went to speak with Baron Raoul Sauron.

• Charlotte climbed the mansion wall to her balcony and realized her strength, agility, control, and observation had improved.
• Charlotte accidentally used an authoritative tone on Lila, then wondered whether it reflected an Arbiter ability or the maid’s usual obedience.
• Charlotte practiced meditation and learned to enter a meditative state by picturing her former self, Gao Linyuan.
• Charlotte studied Viève’s guide, including Hermes vocabulary, Peripheral Member rules, and signs that could indicate cult activity.
• Charlotte locked away the booklet, composed herself, and knocked on Baron Raoul Sauron’s door.

Charlotte visited Raoul in his painting studio and learned that he had suspected her Inquisition involvement, but had no ties to the cultists. The conversation left her reassured about her father but wondering whether someone connected to the Gustav household had arranged the Printing House ambush.

• Charlotte entered Raoul's studio and saw paintings of his late wife and their children, which made her hesitate to voice her suspicions about him.
• Raoul revealed that he had guessed Charlotte was involved with the Inquisition after asking a Church bishop about her.
• Raoul explained that he had once sought the Church's help after his wife, daughter, and Reynold died, but its repeated findings of accidents had left him distrustful of its answers.
• Raoul told Charlotte that the Inquisition likely wanted to recruit her as an informant and advised her to attend the Hunting Event while keeping her distance from Roselle.
• After leaving the studio, Charlotte reconsidered who knew her Printing House itinerary and wondered whether the attacker was connected to Baron Leon Gustav's household or its associates.

Charlotte attended Earl Foulis’s spring hunt with her father, Raoul Sauron, and tested the Arbiter potion’s influence on horses and dogs. The chapter ended as Roselle Gustav approached and studied her, while Charlotte wondered whether he had noticed her ability.

• Charlotte arrived at Earl Foulis’s hunting ground in a riding habit and used her Arbiter authority to calm her restless mare.
• Charlotte spotted Green Randall and learned from Raoul that the reserved man beside the tents was Morvan Durand, a respected lawyer who had helped with Etienne’s case.
• Charlotte quieted several barking hunting dogs with the same ability, then considered its limits and how carefully she needed to use it.
• Roselle Gustav appeared behind Charlotte and watched her thoughtfully, leaving her to wonder whether he had seen her affect the dogs.

Charlotte met Roselle privately during the hunting trip to discuss the Printing House attack and warn him that the cultists might target him. Their conversation ended when they discovered a servant’s corpse beside the stream and a hunched figure eating it.

• Charlotte led Roselle away from the camp, but they came across a noble couple engaged in a secret tryst in the woods.
• Roselle asked Charlotte about the attackers at the Printing House, and she told him they were cultists who used special potions and that the Church had given her Holy Water.
• Charlotte warned Roselle to watch for suspicious people around him, and he teased her about frightening the hounds before their conversation turned awkward.
• Charlotte and Roselle heard strange noises and followed them through the bushes toward the stream.
• They found a servant disemboweled beside the stream and a cloaked figure eating his entrails; the figure twisted its neck to face Charlotte.

Charlotte and Roselle fought a mutated Beyonder whose extra eyes could fire deadly rays and anticipate attacks. Purification-ers of the Eternal Blazing Sun killed it, and Charlotte told Roselle that the supernatural world was the secret he had wanted to uncover.

• Roselle shot the mutated Beyonder, but it survived and fired a ray that Charlotte dodged by knocking him aside.
• Charlotte and Roselle attacked the creature and discovered that it could anticipate their movements.
• The creature revealed more eyes and fired two rays at Charlotte, but her Hermes command redirected its head and let her slash its neck.
• A Purification-er cast sunlight over the creature while two companions threw Holy Water, killing it.
• Charlotte returned Roselle's dagger and told him that the battle was the secret the Church had been hiding.

After surviving a monster attack, Roselle learned that Charlotte and the Church were part of a hidden supernatural world. He weighed returning to his safe noble life against joining that world and chose to pursue it, riding after Charlotte.

• Roselle reflected on how close the monster had come to killing him and recognized his weakness compared with Charlotte.
• Charlotte told Roselle he must choose whether to keep the Church's secrets and return to his old life or enter the supernatural world.
• The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun took the monster's corpse, while Earl Foulace concealed the dead servant's true fate and began the hunt.
• Roselle considered the dangers of supernatural powers alongside his wish to catch up to Charlotte and discover why he had transmigrated.
• Roselle decided not to stand back any longer and rode after Charlotte.

After reporting the hunting-ground incident, Charlotte reflected on the risks of becoming a Beyonder and wondered why the monster’s attack had missed her. When she called for Madam Henriette, the woman appeared behind her in the bedroom mirror.

• Charlotte returned to the Sauron residence, recovered from the exhausting day, and recalled explaining the incident to Raoul and filing a report at Saint Roch Cathedral.
• Charlotte learned that Roselle could choose between joining the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun and turning to the Machinery Hivemind, and she suspected he would choose the latter.
• Charlotte considered the danger of losing control and recognized that her Arbiter abilities would not have been enough to defeat the corrupted Mystery Pryer alone.
• Charlotte remembered the dark green ray veering away from her and decided to test whether Madam Henriette was present.
• Charlotte called for Madam Henriette, then saw her familiar figure emerge behind her in the mirror.

Henriette explained ways Charlotte could grow stronger, revealed that she was an Assassin, and discussed the possibility of a curse harming Charlotte’s family. She gave Charlotte details about an Underground Trading Fair, then Charlotte went to find the lawyer Morvan Durand.

• Henriette told Charlotte she had diverted the Mystery Pryer’s fatal attack and advised her to master her Arbiter abilities before advancing.
• Henriette explained Sealed Artifacts and Mystical Items, then revealed that she was an Assassin with abilities including invisibility and Mirror Substitution.
• Henriette said she had found no sign of a curse on Charlotte or her family, while cautioning that powerful anti-divination could conceal one.
• Henriette gave Charlotte an address and time for an Underground Trading Fair and advised her to notify the Church.
• Charlotte traveled to the Sushit City High Court and knocked on Morvan Durand’s office door.

Charlotte met lawyer Morvan Durand to arrange a three-party agreement for the Sushit Weekly, where she, Roselle, and Green Randall planned to combine their support, expertise, and resources. After Morvan identified a serious risk that they would run short of funds, he offered to join the partnership.

• Charlotte arrived at Morvan Durand’s office with her maid Lila and explained that she hoped to help her father and prepare for her future.
• Charlotte and Morvan discussed his interest in Southern Continent history while they waited for Roselle and Green Randall.
• Roselle outlined the Sushit Weekly partnership, proposing profit shares of forty percent for himself, twenty-five percent for Charlotte, and thirty-five percent for Green.
• Morvan questioned the partners about their investment and planned expenses, then warned that their arrangement carried a substantial risk of default.
• Morvan offered to become a partner in the Sushit Weekly.

Charlotte, Roselle, Green, and Morvan finalized Morvan’s investment in the Sushit Weekly, while Charlotte and Roselle discussed their new paths toward becoming Beyonders. The chapter ended with Morvan silently watching the place where they had spoken.

• Charlotte agreed that Morvan’s investment could solve the Sushit Weekly’s funding shortage, and Roselle welcomed him as a partner.
• Morvan invested twenty thousand Verl D’Or and received a fifteen-percent share, while Roselle, Green, and Charlotte took thirty-five, thirty, and twenty percent respectively.
• Morvan arranged for a notary to certify the revised contract and advised the young partners to inform their elders.
• Roselle told Charlotte that the Church of the God of Artisan had offered him a choice, and he had decided to join as a Beyonder.
• Roselle asked Charlotte to advise him on a Sequence 9 potion, and she recommended the Savant pathway because it suited him and the Church had its complete sequence.
• Charlotte teased Roselle about being younger, then left with Lila as Roselle departed and Morvan silently watched the spot where they had talked.

Charlotte secretly traveled to an underground trading gathering in the Harbor District, where she used Spirit Vision to inspect the attendees. The gathering began, and she noticed that a formally dressed young man moved like a puppet despite appearing ordinary.

• Charlotte slipped out of the Sauron mansion and crossed the city toward the Harbor District gathering described in Henri's note.
• A vagrant followed Charlotte near Finger Bridge, but she used her Arbiter authority to frighten him away.
• Charlotte showed the organizer Henri's note and entered the underground room, where the hooded host explained the trading rules.
• Charlotte activated Spirit Vision to examine the gathered participants, intending to observe rather than buy anything.
• Charlotte sensed something wrong about a black-haired young man whose movements looked mechanical and puppet-like.

At an underground gathering, Charlotte watched a suspicious participant and dismissed a fake Knight potion formula before considering a Tudor-era candlestick. The black-haired man offered to sell it for exactly the 240 Verl D'Or Charlotte had on her.

• Charlotte used Spirit Vision to notice that the black-haired man's Ether Body lagged behind his physical movements, then stopped scrutinizing him.
• Participants sold unusual goods, and a cloaked man offered a Knight potion formula for 1,000 Verl D'Or, but no one bought it.
• The black-haired man presented a strange Tudor Dynasty candlestick for 500 Verl D'Or, and the gathering moved to open discussion after it went unsold.
• The brown-cloaked seller tried to persuade Charlotte to buy the Knight formula, but the black-haired man exposed it as a likely scam.
• Charlotte negotiated over the candlestick, and the black-haired man offered it for 240 Verl D'Or, exactly the amount she carried.

Charlotte bought a Fourth Epoch candlestick at an underground gathering and had Viève confirm it was harmless, while learning the Church had classified Etienne’s dagger as a Grade 3 Sealed Artifact. Viève then told Charlotte the Church had found a new lead on the Cultists, as Roselle Gustav prepared his Savant potion.

• Charlotte bought the inverted Tudor Dynasty candlestick from the black-haired man for ten Gold Louis, then watched Brown Cloak follow him into an alley where he disappeared.
• Charlotte used her authority to frighten Brown Cloak away when he confronted her in the alley, then took the candlestick to Saint Roch Cathedral for inspection.
• Viève purified and examined the candlestick, found no corruption or identifiable Beyonder power, and confirmed Charlotte could keep it.
• Viève told Charlotte that Etienne’s dagger had been provisionally classified as a Grade 3 Sealed Artifact, with a sharper blade, improved sensitivity to hostility, and an arrogance-inducing negative effect.
• Viève told Charlotte that the Church had found a new lead on the Cultists, while Roselle Gustav watched his Savant potion being prepared.

Roselle drank the Savant potion and found his forgotten knowledge returning, while Charlotte learned that her father had once been considered suited to becoming a Hunter. Raoul’s mention of acting led Charlotte to wonder if acting was key to mastering a potion.

• Roselle drank the icy-blue Savant potion and endured a rush of memories and knowledge.
• Roselle used the meditation method to steady himself, and the Machinery Hivemind captain explained how the potion would help him recover and organize what he already knew.
• Charlotte told Raoul that she planned to join the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun in an operation to arrest a City Hall official linked to the murders.
• Raoul revealed that the Sauron Family had a Hunter pathway and that he had once been considered as a candidate for a potion.
• Raoul recalled that an elder had thought he was suited to acting as a Hunter, prompting Charlotte to wonder whether acting was the key to mastering a potion.

Charlotte joined Viève's Team in an operation to confront Julian Wright, the City Hall official suspected of helping the Cultists behind the sacrificial ritual. She reached his office under a borrowed identity and waited to see whether he recognized her or stirred her lost memories.

• Charlotte reviewed her role in the operation and learned the abilities of Viève, Jellen Burns, and Joel Vaughn.
• Charlotte checked the Sealed Artifact dagger hidden in her sleeve and reminded herself not to let it make her overconfident.
• Charlotte and Viève arrived at City Hall, while Jellen Burns and Joel Vaughn went around to the rear entrance.
• Charlotte used her noble status and Arbiter ability to persuade the doorman to let her pass.
• Charlotte knocked on Julian Wright's office door under the name Matilda of Viscount Abel's household, and Julian invited her inside.

Charlotte and Viève confronted Julian Wright in his office after Charlotte identified him as a Cultist, but Julian escaped their ambush through a shadow trick and returned to accuse Charlotte of murder. His accusation briefly restrained her, yet no apparent effect followed.

• Charlotte entered Julian Wright's office disguised as Matilda, revealed she was Baron Sauron's daughter, and recognized Julian from the sacrificial ritual.
• Charlotte signaled Viève, who attacked Julian with the Sun Holy Emblem’s radiance as Charlotte readied her dagger.
• A shadow creature attacked Viève, but she burned and shattered it with her Purification Slash.
• Julian transformed into a shadow and fled toward the window; Viève chased the false escape while Charlotte discovered his real body hiding by the door.
• Julian pointed at Charlotte and declared that she was guilty of the Sin of Murder, briefly halting her, but nothing happened.

Charlotte fought Julian Wright after his supernatural convictions failed to stop her, then killed him with the Dagger. Viève began spirit channeling Julian’s corpse and asked who else shared his faith.

• Charlotte realized Julian’s accusation of murder had not fully restrained her and attacked him with the Dagger and Holy Water.
• Julian declared that Charlotte was committing a crime, freezing her in place, but the Dagger’s momentum cut his arm.
• Julian tried to take the Dagger, and Charlotte broke free of the restraint and stabbed him through the heart.
• Viève returned, prepared a spirit channeling ritual, and asked Julian’s spirit who else shared his faith.

Charlotte and Viève questioned Julian’s spirit, learned about the cult’s hidden Supervisor, and destroyed the spirit before it could finish naming the being it worshipped. On the ride back, Viève indirectly confirmed that Charlotte needed to act as an Arbiter to master her potion, while Roselle recorded his transformation into a Savant.

• Viève questioned Julian’s spirit, which named Etienne Marceau, Luna LeMay, and the Supervisor as members of the cult.
• Julian revealed that the Supervisor was a woman who had come to Sushit to arrange a sacrifice but concealed her identity and whereabouts.
• Viève asked what the cult worshipped, and she and Charlotte destroyed Julian’s spirit before he could finish reciting the being’s title.
• Viève warned Charlotte that names and impressions of evil beings could corrupt those who formed a connection with them.
• Charlotte asked how to master her potion, and Viève indirectly confirmed that Charlotte needed to act as an Arbiter.
• Roselle wrote in his diary that he had become a Savant and regained all the knowledge he had learned.