At night, inside the Noble Hotel where Vivian Arlene and Beccas were staying.
Behind the carved wooden doors of the Noble Hotel, Beccas stood with a silver tray, the Honey Sponge Cake on it still steaming with warm, sweet fragrance.
The sugar glaze glistened under the Magic Wall Lamp, making it even more appetizing.
She tapped her fingertips lightly on the door, her voice gentle and concerned: “Saintess, the waiter just brought some dessert. Would you like to try it?”
There was only silence behind the door, and the faint tinkling of the wind chimes outside as the night breeze swept past the eaves.
“Did Vivian fall asleep this early?” Beccas wondered.
But it made sense. Vivian had never left the Great Cathedral of the Holy Nation since birth.
This time, she was traveling far, witnessing the lively city for the first time, so it was only reasonable she’d be tired from having fun.
“I’d better not disturb her…”
Beccas knew deep down that she might have been a bit too strict with Vivian today, but as her aunt, she only wanted to protect her.
After all, this was her elder sister’s sole request.
Vivian was the last hope of the Holy Nation, the only remedy for this world. She absolutely couldn’t let anything happen to her before she grew up.
Beccas gently set the dessert back down. When she turned away, her eyes still clouded with worry she couldn’t shake off—unaware that the “remedy” she fretted over had already slipped out of the hotel window, climbing down the vines.
“Whoa… There are still so many people out at night?” Vivian, wearing a hood, walked along the main avenue, gazing at the Empire Capital brimming with everyday life.
She trod along the paved stone road, which was crowded with people on both sides.
The Enchanted Iron Hammers from the blacksmith’s shop struck Fine Steel with crisp “ding ding dang dang” sounds, blending with the laughter from the taverns and the singing of bards, creating a vivid symphony of city life.
The magic tool shops by the roadside were brightly lit, their windows displaying Detection Crystals glowing softly, self-organizing Quills, and even palm-sized Mini Elemental Golems that attracted children to stop and watch.
But what captivated her most were the food stalls lining the streets, filled with delicacies she’d never seen before.
At one street corner, the aroma of roasted meat drifted from a stall, where a matronly woman tended an iron stove.
She used a Magic Tool to light the charcoal below, roasting chicken legs on a rack.
Whenever the juices dripped, the flames would flare up with a “sizzle.”
Vivian stared for a long time, utterly fascinated by the scene she’d never witnessed before.
The stall owner, seeing her expression, thought she was hungry. “Little lady, want a hot chicken leg? It’s cheap, just five copper coins a skewer. Our ‘Martha’s Grilled Chicken’ is famous in the Empire Capital! If you don’t like it, you don’t have to pay, hahaha!”
Martha, the stall owner, laughed heartily and proudly—clearly full of confidence in her grilled chicken.
Vivian, under her hood, indeed wanted to try it.
After all, she had never tasted such hearty food; the meals in the Great Cathedral had always been very plain.
She instinctively wanted to call for her aunt but suddenly remembered she had sneaked out alone this time.
Normally, her purse was with her aunt, and she had never gotten into the habit of carrying money.
Just as she hesitated to speak up, a clear male voice sounded behind her:
“Hmm… Give me two skewers of grilled chicken. One spicy, one not.”
“Alright!” Martha immediately responded, deftly grabbing new iron skewers.
The sudden voice behind Vivian made her turn around nervously.
It was him…
At first, Charlotte didn’t even notice Vivian beside him.
Tonight, Floleen wanted to try making dinner and acted all mysterious, refusing to let Charlotte stay at home to watch.
She said Charlotte would only nitpick if he watched her cook. Was it really nitpicking?
He was just trying to stop Floleen from blowing up the kitchen!
When Floleen was little and tried cooking, Charlotte had caught a rabbit for her to stew—a simple dish.
Yet Floleen used fire magic to boil it on high heat, then cooled it down with ice magic when it got too hot.
The result? She blew up the very Enchanted Iron Pot Charlotte had enchanted himself.
Ever since then, Charlotte had never let Floleen into the kitchen.
Knowing Floleen’s cooking “skills,” Charlotte had rushed out to buy food to prevent them from going hungry.
“Hello, Miss, is something the matter?” Charlotte noticed Vivian staring at him and tilted his head to look at her.
From her expression, Charlotte could tell she was a bit embarrassed. “Don’t tell me you came out without any money? Hehe, Noble Ladies do that all the time.”
“Sneaking out behind the family’s back, only to forget to bring money.”
Charlotte was used to this kind of thing. After all, those Noble Ladies never brought money when they went out—usually, they just bought on credit.
Vivian was completely exposed by Charlotte’s words, and she gave an awkward smile.
“Alright then, stall owner, give this young lady a skewer too. I’ll pay.”
“Of course, no problem!” The stall owner cheerfully packed two grilled chicken skewers for Charlotte, then turned to Vivian. “Miss, do you want spicy or non-spicy?”
“Ah… I… Spicy, please!”
Vivian was still a bit flustered, but dressed as she was—with a white hood and gold-and-white robe—it was clear she wasn’t an ordinary person.
She took the skewer Martha handed over. The iron skewer was lightly enchanted to keep warm, and the heat seeped through her fingertips.
She hesitated, but couldn’t help asking, “Um… Why did you pay for me?”
Charlotte, arms full of grilled chicken, looked at the naive girl before him and chuckled—a typical Noble Lady, overprotected and innocent.
“If you really want to know why someone would help you for no reason, you should refuse first, not accept and then ask.”
“Uh… Sorry, I don’t really understand.”
Vivian couldn’t quite grasp what Charlotte was saying—perhaps he was commenting on her common sense?
Since childhood, no one had ever spoken to her like this. Adults would lecture her sometimes, but never in such a roundabout way.
“What I mean is,” Charlotte softened his tone, “when you can’t tell if someone is good or bad, it’s dangerous to accept kindness so readily.”
“But you’re not a bad person. I can tell.” Vivian looked up seriously.
In her olive-green eyes, golden mist quietly flowed—this was the Blessing of Eatherlan, a pair of Eyes That See Truth.
When she focused, she could distinguish lies from sincerity and sense the purest good or evil in others’ hearts.
The man called Charlotte before her, though he teased, held no malice—just pure, casual goodwill.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised at her directness. “Even if I’m not a bad person, that doesn’t mean I won’t do bad things.”
“I know.” Vivian nodded softly. “I’ve seen many so-called ‘good people’ do hurtful things; I’ve also seen despised ‘bad people’ show kindness. But you have no malice in your heart. That’s enough for me.”
“Indeed. Just think of it as me having too much money and helping out a fellow Kalishi Noble. We’re bound to run into each other in the future. A good impression doesn’t hurt.”
With that, he turned away with his grilled chicken, his deep blue coat trailing a sharp arc through the night.
“Weirdo…” Vivian muttered, but still brought the chicken skewer to her nose, closing her eyes as the rich aroma of meat and cumin made her mouth water.
Suddenly, she remembered something and stood on tiptoe to call after Charlotte’s retreating figure: “What’s your name? I’ll make sure to pay you back!”
She’d already worked it out—since he was a noble, he’d definitely be at the emperor’s banquet.
When she revealed her identity as the Saintess and returned the money herself, wouldn’t he be shocked?
Being repaid by the Saintess of the Holy Nation—that was a huge honor!
Charlotte paused, didn’t turn back, just waved a hand as his voice floated back on the night breeze: “Forget the money. My name is Charlotte Wuyue. Until we meet again.”
“Charlotte Wuyue? The Marquis of Stolen Hearts?!”
Before Vivian could react, Martha the stall owner was already shocked. “Young lady, you must keep your distance from him…”
“Huh? Why?”
Vivian looked puzzled. She’d heard the name Charlotte Wuyue before. Born the same year as her, his magical talent was unprecedented. She never thought she’d run into him here.
No wonder he’d seemed so unusual back at the Opera House.
“You’re not from around here, are you? The whole Empire Capital’s been talking about what that man did lately.”
“What did he do?” Vivian was curious. Charlotte was certainly famous, but judging by Martha’s tone, his reputation wasn’t exactly spotless.
“He just recently, at a Duke’s daughter’s birthday party, lit ninety-nine Magic Candles arranged in a heart and confessed his love in public. When he was rejected, he even… harassed her—uh, not that I should gossip.”
“But they say he was lifting girls’ skirts at seven, teasing the maids at thirteen, and sneaking into Noble Ladies’ bedrooms at sixteen. So many Noble Girls have suffered at his hands. That Noble Lady who hosted the banquet at Yulan Castle even described how she was defiled by him that night… Terrible! You better watch out for him. There’s no way he’s up to any good…”
“???”
Vivian’s face was full of question marks. What Martha said just didn’t match the polite man she’d just met.
But, just as Charlotte said, good people didn’t always do good things.
How frightening—so even in the Empire Capital of Kalishi, there were such scandalous nobles.
Still, Vivian didn’t plan to take others’ words at face value. Charlotte’s attitude earlier had been unmistakably gentlemanly—not like a typical rake at all.
If Charlotte really was such a person…
“I hope the Main God of Eatherlan will forgive him…” Vivian thought to herself.