Charlotte had no desire to get involved in this matter any further.
Moreover, he didn't have a deep friendship with Mrs. Pascal; they were just ordinary colleagues. Sending a gold florin as a condolence and having his private coachman deliver it was already a considerate gesture. If he were to attend the funeral in person, it would imply a "close friendship" level of relationship, which would be an overstep in terms of etiquette.
Lady Nancy agreed and took the gold florin from Charlotte.
Charlotte also gave her two more silver coins as a fee for running the errand.
Looking outside, Charlotte saw that the sky was overcast and it was still raining. He decisively decided to "skip work" again, knowing that as the Chief of the City Patrol in the Lukavaro District, no one would check his "attendance."
Letting go of the matter, Charlotte continued eating while reading the duel challenge letter that Winnie Arsenault had brought. He had been so absorbed in learning Cat Spirit Magic yesterday that he hadn't yet looked at his "first duel letter."
The duel letter was in a standard format, legally binding, just like a property contract, with three copies—one for each duelist and one for the "local City Patrol office" for record-keeping.
The duel was scheduled for three days later!
The witnesses for the duel were Winnie Arsenault and Aubrey Charlton Atwood!
The duelists were Charlotte Mecklenburg and Harriet Alva.
According to the rules of dueling, the challenger, Harriet Alva, set the time, and the challenged, Charlotte Mecklenburg, was to decide the location.
Addison's full name was Addison Alva.
The Alva family was a middle-class family. Both children had been sent to school, and Harriet had even made it to the National Academy, successfully entering the military. When he enlisted, he was a forty-fourth-class second sergeant. Now, at thirty-two years old, he had been promoted fairly quickly due to his bravery in combat, and he was now a forty-first-class fifth sergeant, a rank equivalent to that of a fifth-class civil associate or a first-class sergeant or clerk.
If it weren't for certain incidents, Charlotte would probably still be a forty-first-class clerk.
Harriet had more than ten years of experience over Charlotte and had served on the front lines, making him seasoned in combat. If given a choice, Charlotte would never want to duel with such a hardened soldier.
After breakfast, Charlotte signed the three copies of the duel letter, choosing Machu Picchu Fortress as the duel location. He kept two copies, since he was the Chief of the City Patrol, and asked Lady Nancy to deliver the remaining copy to the Red Horse Detective Agency.
After breakfast, the weather still hadn't cleared up, and it was unclear how long the rain would continue.
Charlotte got up and returned to his room on the third floor, where he resumed studying his diary and continued to practice Blood Glory.
Since turning Machu Picchu into a labyrinth, Charlotte's understanding of Agmilas' labyrinth had steadily progressed. Unfortunately, he had not yet found a second suitable ruined city. As for cities like Strasbourg, which were populated, labyrinths were impossible unless he were the city's owner.
Fortunately, the labyrinthine evil god from the Sea of Agglos wouldn't descend for more than eight months, so there was no rush.
Charlotte's main focus now was on studying the Vampire Grimoire〢〨. He had already completed the first page, mastering Bloodflame Energy, and had also finished the second page, mastering Bloodflame Shapeshifting. Recently, he had made significant progress on the third page, which described the Hand of Fiery Flames.
Having mastered the Agility Rune, Charlotte had opened the fifth Blood Vortex, but his need for the Spirit Spider Rune was no longer as pressing. After weighing the cost-effectiveness, he decided to fully focus on mastering the Hand of Fiery Flames.
Before he knew it, the day had passed!
As the room grew slightly dim, Charlotte got up and lit the oil lamp. Feeling a bit hungry, he checked the weather and saw that the sky had cleared. He went downstairs and told Lady Nancy, who had just come up from the basement, "I'm going out to eat. You don't need to prepare anything."
Lady Nancy bowed slightly and watched him leave 58 Élysée Gardens.
Élysée Gardens was still bustling. Although some shops had closed for the night, others had lit oil street lamps, and the wealthiest establishments had even lit magical lamps. The lights, shining through outrageously expensive crystal glass, displayed the luxurious goods to every passerby.
Charlotte chose a restaurant he hadn't tried before, ordered a set meal, and began eating with refined manners. As he was dining, a man with deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, and brown hair with gray eyes pulled out a chair and sat across from him.
What was most striking about this man were his ears. Instead of being on the sides of his head, they were slightly towards the top, covered with fine fur, and slightly larger than a human's—typical features of a beastman, with rather pure blood.
Such behavior was highly impolite, but Charlotte didn't react angrily. Instead, he immediately picked up his alchemy staff and drew his Magnum revolver.
The brown-haired, gray-eyed man smiled slightly, seeming to find Charlotte's hostile reaction amusing. He made a gesture to "calm down."
"Mr. Charlotte, there's no need to be so tense just because you see a beastman!"
Charlotte replied, "According to custom, you should call me Mr. Mecklenburg. And yes, I'm very tense. Are you from the Beastman Assassin Guild?"
Charlotte's Insight ability was frantically warning him. This time, it hadn't triggered beforehand; it only activated after the brown-haired, gray-eyed man sat down.
Powerful, beastman bloodline, sudden appearance…
Charlotte was certain that this man was an assassin from the Beastman Assassin Guild.
As for why he hadn't attacked suddenly, it was likely due to some personal quirk.
Assassins and killers in such professions rarely followed the norms; those with odd quirks were common.
The brown-haired, gray-eyed man chuckled and said, "Alright, Mr. Mecklenburg, you're correct—I'm from the Beastman Assassin Guild."
"A colleague didn't complete the task, so I'm responsible for finishing it."
Charlotte took a deep breath, ready to strike with all his might, when the man across from him said, "I have a bit of a quirk!"
"I like to kill the target's lover in front of them before finishing the job…"
Charlotte was secretly delighted and shouted, "My most beloved is Senior Menielman!"
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkwardly silent.
The brown-haired, gray-eyed man took a deep breath and said, "How about you pick another lover? Perhaps…"
Charlotte quickly interjected, "Duchess Meisu!"
"I like the older ones—they have more to offer!"
The brown-haired, gray-eyed man was silent for a moment before calmly saying, "I suppose I can give up this little quirk."
Charlotte clamped the alchemy staff between his teeth, and his body flickered, transforming into a young clever cat. With a powerful leap, he shot up to the rooftop, then kicked off the roof, twisting his body to dodge three pursuing daggers before darting out of the restaurant like lightning.