As soon as Saint Karen Granny left, Annie colpsed into Charlot’s arms, her tears falling like strings of pearls. She murmured, “I am a bad woman, a selfish woman. I struggled for so long, but still... I chose selfishness.”

  “Mr. Mecklenburg, I know this request is utterly immoral, but I still wish to ask: could you go to the battlefield for me?”

  “I, Annie Bretagne, swear on the honor of my family—if you do not return, I will never marry for the rest of my life!”

  “Or... you can refuse me.”

  Charlot patted Annie’s soft back and whispered, “But this is also what I have dreamed of. Please allow me to be unable to refuse this request. You know, this is the only chance a poor boy like me has to marry a count’s daughter.”

  Annie let out a soft ugh, but her tears continued to fall, her sorrow unchanged.

  Charlot wasn’t exactly a poor boy, but as the son of a merchant, there was naturally a gap between him and the nobility. Without achieving great personal success, even amassing wealth would not earn him the count’s approval to marry his daughter.

  Charlot wasn’t particurly afraid of the battlefield. He had the Eye of Insight and Bloodfire Transfiguration; his survival ability far surpassed that of ordinary Transcendents.

  Moreover, he genuinely needed a chance to quickly grow stronger.

  After all, the descent of the Evil God was imminent.

  The battlefield was his only opportunity.

  Annie walked out of 58 Elysée Avenue, wiped her tears, and climbed into her carriage.

  As the carriage turned out of Elysée Avenue, another carriage was already waiting. Saint Karen Granny stepped down gracefully and said, “Miss, you have won your wager with the Count.”

  Annie, however, showed no excitement or joy. She replied sorrowfully, “I feel like such a bad girl.”

  “I forced the person I love most to go to war. I feel deep guilt and unease.”

  Saint Karen Granny chuckled softly and said, “Miss, you need not bme yourself; you did nothing wrong.”

  “Nor should you bme the Count.”

  “Even the Count has things beyond his control. He fears that the most delicate rose of his family will be plucked by an unworthy man, so he had no choice but to use such tactics to test him.”

  Annie murmured quietly, “When I first met him, he risked his life to charge into the Evil God’s Corridor to save me. Such tests are utterly unnecessary.”

  Saint Karen Granny smiled faintly and thought to herself, If not for that act of bravery, he wouldn’t even have this opportunity to be tested.

  “The Count has already sent people to the Behemoth Principality to investigate this young man.”

  “The results of the investigation were burned by the Count on the very day they were received. He showed them to no one and mentioned it to no one, only flying into a rage for an entire day.”

  “He reached for his beloved sword nine times, picked up his Silver Rhino twice...”

  “The Count must have wanted to kill Mr. Mecklenburg with his own hands.”

  “I imagine Mr. Mecklenburg is quite an interesting young man—there must be no shortage of skeletons in his closet.”

  Annie whispered softly, “I have never hoped so much that this war would not happen.”

  Saint Karen Granny replied, “Every empire seeks expansion, and smaller nations are swept up in their ambitions. This war is inevitable.”

  “Miss, you need not worry too much. Your father will not send him to a dangerous regiment. After all, he is not like Mr. Cir, whose ambitions are lofty.”

  “The Count used Mr. Cir for this test. Let’s hope Mr. Cir won’t be too upset.”

  Annie wanted to argue, but when she thought carefully about Charlot’s usual behavior, she realized he did ck lofty ambitions. As the son of a wealthy merchant, Charlot could never compare to Cir, a young noble blessed with resources beyond measure.

  ...

  After sending Annie off, Charlot couldn’t help but whistle.

  He said to Mrs. Nancy, “Please head to The Cat and Four-Leaf Clover Café and bring my three little cuties back. While you’re at it, buy a few pounds of beef, mb, and some pork. Get onions, lettuce, and some spices too. Oh, and grab two barrels of ale—we’re celebrating today.”

  Mrs. Nancy agreed and headed out.

  Before long, couriers from various shops arrived, delivering goods. Charlot directed them to bring everything to the backyard.

  Charlot had long prepared a set of barbecue tools, a must-have for any transmigrator. Yet, he had never been particurly diligent even back on Earth. Here, living on bustling Elysée Avenue, it was too convenient to eat out. And on days when he preferred to stay home, Mrs. Nancy provided private chef services, which only made him zier.

  Although the view from the third-floor terrace was better, setting up and cleaning up after the barbecue while running up and down seemed far too troublesome. Charlot didn’t want to do it himself, and asking Mrs. Nancy felt inappropriate.

  By the time Mrs. Nancy returned with the st batch of items and the three kittens, Charlot had already carved dozens of skewers, threaded the meat, sprinkled them with spices and fine salt, and was grilling them over the fire, the aroma wafting through the air.

  The three kittens leaped out of the basket Mrs. Nancy carried and mewed incessantly as they ran toward Charlot, rubbing themselves against his trousers.

  Charlot, seeing his cats, was equally delighted. He used Spirit Channeling to communicate with them for a while, prepared food for the kittens, and then called Mrs. Nancy over, “Have some with me.”

  Mrs. Nancy didn’t refuse and took over the grilling, freeing Charlot’s hands.

  Watching her skilled movements, Charlot was a little surprised. “Mrs. Nancy, you seem very familiar with barbecue.”

  While grilling, Mrs. Nancy replied, “I had an acquaintance who was a cook. We used to work together for my previous employer. She was particurly skilled at barbecuing. My st employer loved grilled meat, so I often helped and learned a bit.”

  Charlot’s interest was piqued. “Does that dy have a new job now?”

  Mrs. Nancy shook her head and said, “She’s different from me; she’s not from the Old Continent but a native of the New Continent, from the distant East. She was taken to Fars Empire during the war and is not a free person.”

  “The master had promised her freedom after five years of service, but after investing heavily in a New Continent gold mine and going bankrupt, he broke his promise and sold her.”

  Charlot fell silent. He knew that human trafficking existed on the Old Continent. There was even a sve market on Elysée Avenue, but he preferred not to think too much about it.

  Mrs. Nancy seemed to realize she had spoken too much and fell quiet.

  Charlot held up a skewer of grilled meat and smiled to lighten the mood. “What was that dy’s name?”

  Mrs. Nancy pced a string of mushrooms over the fire and replied, “Her full name is far too long. I only remember her nickname: Madam Umeboshi.”