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Charles had no other choice; he didn't want to take responsibility for his predecessor and could only clear his name by these means.
After a moment of silence, Anne spoke in a low voice, "Sophia... Mrs. Yang Miers is my aunt."
Charles immediately adopted a solemn expression and said, "I firmly believe that Mrs. Yang Miers is a lady of integrity."
Anne felt greatly comforted and said softly, "I also don't believe Aunt Sophia would do anything dishonorable, so I couldn't help but come here in the middle of the night..."
Her face flushed slightly as she stole a glance at Charles and thought to herself, "No wonder Aunt Sophia had rumors with him. Mr. Charles is handsome and gentle, a promising government official who graduated from a top university, as well as a rare Transcendent; indeed, he is the most suitable romantic interest in any girl's eyes."
Anne Brittany felt her cheeks burning up again, hurriedly breaking off these messy thoughts. She stood up, lightly tugged at her skirt, gave a very serious curtsy, and said with full apology, "I came to test Mr. Charles, causing this mess, please forgive me."
Reflectively, Charles asked, "If I were the kind of dishonorable man you speak of, would Miss Anne intend to put me to eternal rest?"
Anne Brittany's face turned scarlet, shy beyond containment as she hung her head low; she had indeed harbored such thoughts.
As a favored daughter of heaven who became a Transcendent in her first year of university, Anne Brittany knew that her beloved aunt had died a wrongful death because of a licentious man, and her first thought was to seek vengeance for her aunt.
She had driven here alone in the middle of the night, intending to use the art of dreams to pretend to be her aunt returning from hell, and scare Charles to death in his dream.
The "past" Charles Mecklen indeed was not a clean man, and even as a Transcendent, being guilty of conscience, he might not necessarily die from the "ghost in the dream," but there was a fair chance he would give himself away.
Had Anne discovered the "truth" in the dream, the situation would definitely have become exceedingly dire.
In a low voice, Anne said, "I am willing to make compensation."
She truly didn't know how to wrap things up.
Charles smiled slightly and said, "If my own family had suffered such an ordeal, I would certainly be a hundred times more impulsive than Miss Anne."
"The priority is to clear Mrs. Yang Miers's name as soon as possible, so she may rest in peace. If Miss Anne needs anything, I am willing to help to the best of my ability."
"However, it's already deep into the night now, and quite inconvenient. Let me take Miss Anne home first, and in a few days, we can discuss this matter further."
Anne Brittany bowed slightly and said thank you.
Charles stepped out of the carriage, took the driver's seat, and gently spurred the horse; a delicate voice from inside the carriage said, "Val de Vaz District, 58 Sixth Avenue."
As a qualified talent educated in the Empire's system, schools taught many must-have skills; driving was one of the three divine skills that every gentleman should learn.
Swordsmanship, horseback riding, and driving...
No, it should be chariot driving.
Charles replied, "Understood, Miss Anne."
The rattle of horseshoes and the roll of carriage wheels!
The speed of the carriage was never too fast, even slower than electric cars on Earth after speed limits.
From the Alexander District to the Val de Vaz District took a little over an hour. If not for the protection of Bloody Glory, the midnight cold could easily have given Charles a cold.
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Charles escorted Anne to 58 Sixth Avenue and saw a towering ancient residence, feeling great envy and confirmed his guess that Anne Brittany was indeed a noble lady, not born into an ordinary family.
After Anne alighted from the carriage, she was about to enter the mansion through a hidden side door when she suddenly turned back and said to Charles, who had stepped down from the driver's seat, "I truly regret troubling Mr. Charles to send me home so late."
"There are no public carriages available at this hour, so why don't you take my carriage back, and I'll have someone retrieve it tomorrow."
Charles hesitated briefly, as he indeed didn't fancy walking back for an hour or two which would be much slower than the carriage, and he agreed, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Annie."
Anne smiled gracefully, waved slightly to Charles, turned, and walked into the mansion. There were people moving inside, clearly indicating that someone was always there to guard the door and wait for the lady's return.
After Charles arrived in this world, although his days were not bad, and he had even managed to get a promotion and a raise thanks to his intelligence, he was still far from this kind of aristocratic life.
He sighed, took the reins of the carriage, and set off on his return journey.
After securing the carriage downstairs of his apartment building, Charles returned to his newly rented apartment and lay on the bed, unable to sleep for a while. He opened his eyes for a bit, then closed them for a bit, trying many times before he half surprised and half delightedly murmured to himself, "It's not an illusion after all."
With his eyes closed, Charles imagined himself as the center of a circle, able to sense everything within about fifteen steps.
He knew the reason for this!
In the center of his forehead was a tiny Bloody Vortex, with countless pale golden Runes forming a mysterious structure, hidden within the vortex, sinking and floating, drifting along, giving him this strange ability.
Charles had learned about such knowledge at Sheffield University; the Rune was called—Insight!
Although Bloody Glory was categorized under Fel Energy, its fighting style was almost identical to Fighting Spirit, augmenting the body and enhancing strength and speed.
The downside was: at equal energy levels, the power was only of medium strength, albeit with a slightly better speed.
The advantage was that Bloody Glory could grant its wielder a few special abilities, known as the Thirteen Unique Skills.
"Insight" was one of Bloody Glory's Thirteen Unique Skills.
It allowed one's sight to form a spherical field of vision, and Transcendents with this Special Ability would never be caught off guard by sneak attacks. In group fights, they could handle attacks from all directions. Even in one-on-one battles, it provided a significant advantage and was a very powerful auxiliary combat skill.
Charles Mecklen, on the shores of Synis, had summoned the Evil God and opened up his Transcendent abilities, his first choice being to condense the Bloody Vortex at his forehead; he had even fantasized about condensing the Insight Rune to see some wonderful things.
Unfortunately, he did not live to return from his vacation.
Since returning from Synis, Charles had no time to practice, but his Bloody Glory was growing at an astonishing rate, a phenomenon so bizarre it was confounding.
Activating Insight required a considerable expenditure of Spiritual Power, and after struggling with it for most of the night, Charles also felt tired and soon fell into a deep sleep.
It wasn't long before dawn arrived.
Eager about his plan for wealth, Charles got up early in the morning.
Although he hadn't had a good rest the night before, his extraordinary energy as a Transcendent left him feeling not too fatigued.
He wrote a letter, which detailed his request for leave, paid a shilling, and asked the apartment's errand boy to deliver the letter to Kilmainham Prison.
After a quick tidy-up, Charles wrapped a set of shackles with many heads in a cotton cloth, planning to sell the item. As soon as he stepped out, he saw a noble young lady alight gracefully from a lavishly decorated carriage and, smiling slightly at him, said, "We meet again, Mr. Charles."