As the coach passed through a village, Charles left the fare and, without alarming the coachman, quietly disembarked.
Watching the coach speeding away, Charles relaxed a little. He had never intended to go to that manor. After digesting the life essence he had consumed, he chose to sneak away halfway, which would make it more difficult for pursuers to track his movements.
The village was small, with probably only a few dozen households, and a small street ran through the entire village.
By now, the sky had turned dark, and even though Charles was a Transcendent, he did not dare to travel through the wilderness at night. This world's wilderness was not safe— even near the capital, Strasbourg, there were man-eating demons, ferocious wild beasts, and various unexplained dangers.
