Chapter 2: Charlotte’s Trouble

Charlotte returned to a secret residence of the Mistmoon Family in the Empire Capital.

This was a property he had purchased privately—no one knew it belonged to him.

At this moment, he stood on the balcony of the master bedroom, personally brewing a cup of soothing herbal tea.

This was his favorite place to stay: quiet and silent, perfect for thinking.

However, ever since he accidentally trespassed into the family’s forbidden grounds as a child and was chosen by a Divine Artifact, moments of peace had become rare for him—mainly because Aifel, except when she was resting, was always exceptionally energetic.

Aifel popped out from the Ring and, with a flying leap, landed straight onto Charlotte’s bed. “Ah… a real bed is still more comfortable…”

“Tsk… Don’t mess up my blanket.” Charlotte was a bit helpless.

There were no Household Servants in this residence, and he himself didn’t want to waste time tidying up the room.

“You’ll mess it up yourself when you sleep anyway.” Aifel didn’t care at all and kept rolling around on the bed.

“I’m not sleeping tonight…” Charlotte didn’t bother with her, sipping his herbal tea elegantly as he gazed at the Empire Capital’s nighttime lights.

Charlotte picked up the paper and pen beside him and wrote a Letter.

After he finished, he used Magic to conjure a wisp of Mist, which gradually formed into the shape of a Bird.

He tied the Letter to it and watched as it flew into the night sky.

Although he was still in the Empire Capital, the matters of the family territory still required his attention.

He wrote out the necessary arrangements one by one and sent them back to the territory using this method.

“By the way, let’s talk about your next plan. You’re usually so smart—how did you make such a foolish move today?”

Aifel looked at Charlotte with great interest, hoping he’d have an amusing explanation.

“Princess Lilia Karen—I knew her mother when I was little. Her mother told me that she’s a very pure-hearted girl. I thought if I got along well with her and explained the situation, she would hand the Divine Artifact over to me. But I never planned to confess to her. Would you believe me if I said it was totally unconscious?”

“Who’d believe that? Maybe the Divine Artifact’s power made you babble nonsense for a bit, but a proposal? Why were you the only one affected? Could it be you’re actually interested in her—hoping she’d fall for you and hand over the Divine Artifact willingly?” Aifel asked.

Charlotte shook his head. “I’m not interested in her. Really, I just don’t know what happened then—I must have been possessed or something to say that.”

Of course, Aifel didn’t believe him.

There’s no way Charlotte had been suddenly hypnotized or anything like that.

With Aifel around, no form of mind-control Magic could affect Charlotte in the slightest.

Aifel was a little speechless. In her opinion, Charlotte always relied on his good looks and charm to dupe girls.

“You really are a scoundrel who plays with feelings. Seems like everyone’s criticism of you is justified.”

Since Charlotte’s father passed away, he was the only male left in the Mistmoon Family.

His mother and father’s concubine both adored him, and his Three Sisters spoiled him even more—if he ever tried to lift their skirts, they’d only chide him a little.

Growing up surrounded by flocks of beauties, Charlotte became very good at making girls happy.

But he never developed feelings for any of the noble ladies he interacted with, nor did he ever try to take advantage of them.

It was all just ordinary socializing.

However, all the young ladies who had interacted with him rated him highly, as if enchanted by him.

That’s how Charlotte earned the title—Marquis of Stolen Hearts.

“Aifel, you know me. How can you say that? I’ve never hurt a single good woman…”

Some nobles in the Empire did treat their children as tools for political marriage, but Charlotte was an oddball in this circle where people used themselves as bargaining chips.

He simply wouldn’t sell—he was just a glutton for beauty.

“What about bad women, then?”

“I won’t touch them…” Charlotte put down his teacup and began to wipe the Short Sword he always carried.

Aifel knew that the only one who could stir Charlotte’s heart was likely his fiancée…

Though, even then, Charlotte might not be in love—it was more like he and his fiancée were two wounded beasts licking each other’s wounds.

In this world, only the two of them could accept each other.

Looking at the serious Charlotte, Aifel had to admit: this man really could make many women fall for him.

Women just tended to like men who were strong, elegant, mysterious, and with a bit of a bad streak—and Charlotte fit their preferences exactly.

“All right, time to go, Aifel.” Charlotte called out to Aifel, who floated over and perched on his shoulder.

She’d always liked this spot—Charlotte was tall, so she could see far.

Charlotte really didn’t plan to sleep tonight—even though today’s plan had caused him some trouble, he had to press on.

After all, he had to collect Divine Artifacts to become stronger, so he could protect his family’s survival in this world.

And the pendant Lilia wore was not only a Divine Artifact—it was also the Mist God’s Legacy.

A magic circle glowed at Charlotte’s feet.

He used the Mistmoon Secret Arts—Veil of Mist Concealment—to hide himself in the Mist, flipped down from the balcony, and ran toward the bustling streets of the Empire Capital.

After Charlotte finished marking several residences, Aifel asked, “What are you doing at these places?”

Charlotte replied, “All of these people are potential candidates to become the Daughter of Duke Ryan’s private tutor.”

“You want to become her private tutor to get close to her?”

“More accurately, it’s a transaction—a deal with Lilia’s mother.” In Charlotte’s view, if he “borrowed” the Divine Artifact and didn’t leave anything for Lilia in return, that would be too unethical.

For some reason, Lilia, who hadn’t had much contact with Magic since childhood, suddenly wanted to learn Magic and become a student at Kalishi Academy.

But she was starting a bit late, and with only a few months until the next admissions period, at her current level she’d need a private tutor.

When Lilia arrived in the Empire Capital, Charlotte often engineered “accidental encounters” with her.

During a chat with Lilia, he inadvertently learned she was looking for a private tutor—and Charlotte happened to be the perfect candidate.

He was the youngest third-rank mage in history, and last year he entered Kalishi Academy’s Magic division at the top of his class.

Charlotte was a model noble “test-taker.” No one understood exams better than he did.

“But I’m someone who values efficiency. When the Duke starts recruiting private tutors in a few days, I’ll arrange for some people to interfere. Duke Ryan has always disliked those who aren’t punctual.”

Charlotte said calmly, “Sometimes, to win a game of chess, you don’t have to win on the board.”

Aifel had doubts. “But surely someone will still show up, right? And if you’re the only candidate on the day, anyone would find that suspicious. Considering what you did today, the Duke will be on guard—what will you do then?”

Charlotte answered confidently, “I told you, today was just a small mishap. Nothing serious will happen. If it comes down to it, I’ll personally subdue everyone.”

He did have the right to say so. Among his peers—and even those older—no one could defeat Charlotte in Magic.

“Aiya, listen to you bragging. Just don’t come begging me for help when the time comes.” Aifel giggled from her perch on his shoulder.

After a while, Charlotte finally finished marking the addresses of everyone in the Empire Capital qualified to apply for the tutor position.

He asked Aifel, “How long can the Divine Artifacts at home maintain the effect of the Primal Mist?”

“About half a year, I guess. You’d better hurry up. If you fail this time, we’ll all be doomed.” This time, Aifel wasn’t joking—she was quite serious.

“Mm… I know.” Charlotte nodded, rubbing his eyes. “I’ll hurry… I’ll hurry…”

“To reach fourth-rank mage, you still need about two more Mist God’s Legacy. You have to work hard~”

The current situation made Charlotte feel the weight of endless tasks whenever he closed his eyes.

Busy—ever since becoming Home Owner, he hadn’t had a single day of leisure.

Charlotte did want to find some time to rest, but with three sisters and a mother above, plus a whole family to support, there was no free time to spare.

“Forget it. Let’s put off becoming a fourth-rank mage for now—worrying won’t help. Better to focus on getting the tutor position in a few days…”

Charlotte decided to deal with what was in front of him first.

He was always very cautious and would not rest easy without at least a ninety-nine percent certainty.

Lilia was very easy to get along with, but Duke Ryan was not. Duke Ryan had never had a good impression of Charlotte, even though his Duchess liked Charlotte a lot…

“That pure-hearted young lady liked you before—shouldn’t this be easy for you?”

“From what I know, Duke Ryan probably won’t let someone with a bad reputation like me get close to his daughter, so I need a way that’s absolutely indisputable to convince him.”

“Convince?” Aifel was a bit puzzled.

“Strictly speaking, I mean to make him yield.”

Aifel laughed, “That’s very much like you, Charlotte. So how do you plan to defeat him?”

Charlotte frowned at this point.

“Duke Ryan is indeed strong—dual fourth-rank in both battle aura and Magic. Just tangling with him would take everything I have. That family heirloom Blue Rose Sword can even let him use a fifth-rank spell once. That’s the tricky part—against someone with a fifth-rank spell, I can’t win, unless…”

“You want to use me, right? All right, I’ll go rest for a few days and build up my strength.” Aifel giggled.

If Charlotte needed to use the Divine Artifact, he had to let Aifel accumulate magic power in advance.

Aifel teased, “I really envy someone—able to flirt with women while getting things done. Just don’t let Floleen lock you up afterward.”

Charlotte suddenly realized he’d forgotten something important…

Now there was an even bigger headache.

Floleen was Charlotte’s fiancée. And Charlotte had confessed to the Duke’s daughter while still engaged.

There’s no way the Duke’s daughter would agree to be a concubine, right?

Didn’t this mean Charlotte had just announced in public that he was going to dump his fiancée?

Aifel saw Charlotte’s face suddenly darken. “Hey, hey! Don’t tell me you didn’t realize this from the start?”

“I’ll explain it to her later…”

“Hahahaha, Charlotte, Charlotte, clever all your life and now you slip up. I’m looking forward to the show. I’m going to sleep now.” With that, Aifel zipped into the Ring.

Only Charlotte was left, looking lost in the wind.

“What’s done is done. Better focus on how to beat Duke Ryan…”

In his heart, he silently prayed that Floleen would understand and not give him trouble.

When he returned, he’d personally go apologize…