Charlotte first put on his clothes. Although he was a civil servant, he was still the Chief of the City Patrol, so he had several sets of military uniforms. These days, he alternated between casual wear and military uniforms. Yesterday, Lady Nancy washed his casual clothes, and they hadn't dried yet, so today he wore his military uniform.
On Earth, military uniforms are primarily designed for practicality, but in the Falce Empire, there were three tiers of military uniforms: the uniforms of lower-ranked soldiers were simple, made for durability and low cost; for those ranked thirty-seventh and above, known as the base level of the nobility, the uniforms were designed for appearance, with a team of specialized fashion designers responsible for creating them, resulting in extremely stylish and dashing designs.
For those ranked twenty-fourth and above, known as the insurmountable class, their uniforms were extraordinary sets, with each piece considered a "family heirloom."
Although Charlotte wasn't particularly a military enthusiast in his previous life, after crossing into the Falce Empire, he developed quite a fondness for the Empire's military uniforms.
Once he changed into his military uniform, Annie's eyes lit up. Charlotte usually wore casual clothes when he met her, so this was the first time she saw him in his military "skin." Charlotte, already exceptionally handsome, looked even more heroic and imposing in his uniform.
Annie was momentarily captivated by Charlotte's "good looks," but soon she couldn't help but start worrying again.
Charlotte first asked Lady Nancy to prepare some coffee, then took Annie to the terrace. Ironically, it was he, the one who was about to duel, who comforted the noble lady and helped her adjust her mindset.
"Without Crayl and Ebner, it's not the end of the world."
"I've mastered several Blood Runes and the Blood Glory technique, and I have two extraordinary weapons. Even an ordinary mid-tier extraordinary can't do much to me."
"And there's good news I must share with you, Miss Annie: I've just advanced to the fifth tier…"
Charlotte used all his charm to calm Annie down a bit.
When she heard that Charlotte had advanced to the fifth tier, she was surprised and exclaimed, "How did you advance so quickly?"
Charlotte shrugged and said, "Maybe the pressure was too great!"
"I wasn't talking about the duel!"
"It's… my desire to continue seeing Miss Annie that drives me forward, not allowing me to stop."
Annie's cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head, showing a charming, shy demeanor. After a while, she still couldn't let go of her worries and whispered, "I'll also try to find a way to help you win, Charlotte."
She stayed with Charlotte for over an hour before hurriedly taking her leave, clearly off to "find a way."
Charlotte didn't stop her. After sending Annie off, he asked Lady Nancy to go to No. 1 Falcon Street and find his City Patrol officers to inquire about what had happened at Kilmarnock Prison.
The adventurers might not matter, but the group Dobby brought were the local experts of Strasbourg, skilled at gathering information.
Charlotte didn't plan to go to work today and didn't need to take leave. He intended to stay home and train, focusing on his newly advanced Blood Glory.
Lady Nancy soon returned, her expression a bit serious. She told Charlotte, "The City Patrol has information that the former warden, Mr. Trelle, suddenly went berserk during interrogation, killing more than ten prison guards and escaping from prison."
"They say the scene was horrific!"
Charlotte silently mourned for his former colleagues, unsure if any of his acquaintances had perished in the disaster. Fortunately, he didn't know many people at Kilmarnock Prison—no more than three—so it was unlikely they all died at Magru Trelle's hands.
Charlotte spent the day training at home, and by evening, an unexpected visitor arrived.
It was the head of the Cat Detective Agency, Winnie Arsenault, who had the title of Cat Spirit Detective and was also the employer of his former fiancée, Sylvie Martin.
The female detective's expression was complex as she got straight to the point: "I'm here to deliver a duel challenge."
"Your duel with the former warden was witnessed by two detectives from the Red Horse Detective Agency. They happened to be among the original duel participants, but now they've both withdrawn from the duel. Here's a new challenge letter."
Charlotte recalled the two detectives who had bought the curse remnants and was slightly surprised. He had thought they were just passing by, not expecting such a connection.
He smiled and said, "Fewer duel opponents is certainly a good thing."
Winnie Arsenault shrugged and said, "You've probably received the bad news as well: Addison's brother has advanced to the fourteenth tier!"
Charlotte took a deep breath and said, "Thanks, I hadn't heard that bad news yet."
He had always planned to set the duel location at Machu Picchu, and later, Annie had arranged for her cousin to fight in his place, so…
Charlotte really hadn't paid attention to his duel opponents.
Winnie was slightly surprised, then smiled and said, "You really are calm under pressure."
As they chatted, three clever cat kittens stumbled over.
Charlotte had brought them home and let them roam freely around the house, allowing them to explore and indulge their love of adventure, though he had sealed off some places where the kittens might fall to prevent accidents.
Winnie Arsenault was delighted to see the clever cat kittens and pulled out a small bag of specially made soft cat food to feed the little ones.
"Mr. Charlotte, what made you decide to raise three clever cats?"
Charlotte replied, "The house was too empty, and I needed a bit of life."
Winnie laughed and said, "Mr. Charlotte, are you interested in learning some Cat Spirit Magic?"
Charlotte was about to refuse, being a student of Sheffield University and not particularly interested in Gorgias University's elven magic. Although he had once considered learning it, the thought had quickly passed.
Winnie Arsenault smiled and said, "The basics of Cat Spirit Magic only involve two small spells: Necromancy and Cat Transformation!"
"With your spiritual sensitivity, it would probably take only a few hours to learn. Necromancy would allow you to communicate with your pets, making them more obedient, and Cat Transformation is quite a fun little spell."
Charlotte thought for a moment and smiled, saying, "Then I'll leave it to you, Winnie."
He had kept pets in his previous life and knew how unruly they could be when disobedient. Learning a spell that would make his cats behave and be obedient seemed worthwhile.
Winnie Arsenault had three reasons for wanting to teach Charlotte Cat Spirit Magic. She knew that if Charlotte wanted to learn it, he didn't necessarily have to learn it from her. Although Annie's extraordinary path was that of a Dreamwalker, she was a student of Gorgias University, so finding a Cat Spirit Magic textbook wouldn't be difficult.