Charlotte said softly, “I haven’t blocked your way. If you don’t wish to say anything, I won’t force you. If you seek answers about Mrs. Mills’s death, I am willing to share all I know and answer any questions you have.”

The young girl inside the carriage was silent for a long time before she finally spoke in a low voice, “Sorry, it seems I really mistook you for someone else. Sir, please get in.”

The carriage door opened a crack. Charlotte didn’t hesitate, pulled the door open, and stepped into the carriage in one stride.

Carriages require horses to pull them, and their wheels are very tall, making the carriage compartment much higher than modern cars. Most people need a step to get in and out comfortably.

For someone like Charlotte to step in so easily in one stride, he must either be a first-rate martial artist, an extraordinary individual, or both.

Inside the carriage sat a young girl. She wore a long dress, dressed casually as if at home, with delicate features and black-rimmed glasses. Her fair, pretty face was calm, but the faint blush on her ears and the short dagger hidden in her hand betrayed her true feelings.

“Charlotte Baker, graduate of Sheffield University, employed at the Central Government Office, First Rank Extraordinary.” The brief introduction broke the awkwardness and eased the girl’s unease, causing her to put away some of her hostility.

She said softly, “Anne Britton, third-year at Georgia University. Became a Dreamwalker in my first year.”

Charlotte paid a bit more attention to the surname Brittany. It was a name of great nobility, but clearly this wasn’t the right time to ask about it. He smiled and said, “Georgia University was once my dream school.”

Anne Britton clearly didn’t know how to handle such a jump in conversation, and replied gently, “Sheffield University is also a good university.”

Charlotte smiled and said, “Every university is a good university.”

That was an indisputable platitude.

In this era, universities were not the humble seas of knowledge of later generations, but places blessed by the gods.

There were nine gods who ruled the era, but only the followers of four of them founded universities. Every university was a supreme institution for humanity, and every student trained there was a chosen one of the gods.

Anne agreed with this statement, completely unaware that the rhythm of the conversation had been subtly led astray by Charlotte.

“I’m very saddened by what happened, but I wasn’t familiar with Mrs. Mills. Mr. Mills must have misunderstood his wife, which led to this tragedy.”

“If you investigate at the Central Government Office, you’ll easily find that I’ve been vacationing in Sainis recently and only returned a few days ago.”

Anne Britton hesitated for a moment, then said, “I believe you, Mr. Baker. It was my mistake.”

Charlotte smiled slightly. He had used a rhetorical trick common in later times—using an unrelated but indisputable fact to prove a result that was far removed. Many people believe the indisputable fact and subconsciously ignore that it has nothing to do with the result.

Chapter 13: Insight

Charlotte had no other choice. He didn’t want to take responsibility for his predecessor’s actions, so he could only clear his name this way.

Anne was silent for a while before she said softly, “Sophie… Mrs. Mills was my aunt.”

Charlotte immediately straightened up and said solemnly, “I firmly believe that Mrs. Mills was a virtuous lady.”

Anne felt greatly comforted. The girl said in a low voice, “I don’t believe Aunt Sophie would do anything dishonorable either, so I couldn’t help but come in the middle of the night…”

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she stole a glance at Charlotte, and suddenly thought to herself, “No wonder there were rumors about Aunt Sophie and him. Mr. Baker is handsome and gentle, a graduate of a top university, a promising government official, and a rare extraordinary—he really is the ideal romantic partner in any girl’s eyes.”

Anne Britton felt her face burning again. She hurriedly cut off her wild imaginings, stood up, lightly tugged at both sides of her skirt, and curtsied deeply, saying apologetically, “I came to test Mr. Baker and caused this mess. Please forgive me.”

Charlotte asked thoughtfully, “If I were that kind of dishonorable man, would Miss Anne have intended to make me sleep forever?”

Anne Britton blushed deeply, unable to suppress her shyness, and lowered her head. She really had thought that way.

As a prodigy who became an extraordinary in her first year of university, Anne Britton knew that her beloved aunt had died an unnatural death, caused by a dissolute man. Her first thought was to avenge her aunt.

She had come alone in the middle of the night, intending to use dream magic to pretend to be her aunt returning from hell and scare Charlotte to death in his dreams.

Charlotte Baker “in the past” was indeed not a clean person. Even as an extraordinary, he had a guilty conscience. While he might not have been scared to death by a “ghost in a dream,” there was a good chance he would have given himself away.

If Anne had discovered the “truth” in the dream, things would have turned out disastrously.

Anne said softly, “I am willing to make amends.”

She truly didn’t know how to end this.