27. Fiancée's First Impression

The girl was wearing a maple leaf long skirt commonly seen in the Fars Empire, which is standard attire for many women traveling long distances, thick and windproof, and able to hide many small items, such as a short dagger for self-defense. She was not carrying any luggage.

She wasn't as beautiful as Anne, but she was definitely a beauty with a score over eighty-five, with a slightly childish face full of collagen, her delicate eyebrows lightly knitted together, her mood very bad.

Charles compared her with the image in his memory, although it was somewhat blurry, he was certain this lady was his fiancée—Silvie Martin.

In the past few days, Charles hadn't dared to hitch a ride in Anne's carriage, insisting on taking the public stagecoach home for fear of being seen by this lady in his current state.

He shrugged his shoulders and strode over, speaking in as gentle a tone as possible, "Miss Martin, hope all is well with you."

Silvie Martin regretted coming to Strasbourg alone from Behemoth Duchy; she should have traveled with companions.

Strasbourg was much larger than she had imagined, and the public safety was far worse than she had expected.

Within the first hour of setting foot in Strasbourg, Silvie lost all her belongings and didn't even have a single Sheng Ding left on her.

The return address Charles had given to his brother was Elysian Pastoral Street No. 58, and it took her an entire day to find the residence by following the map.

Silvie was ten out of ten certain she had the wrong place.

Elysian Pastoral Street No. 58 was a mansion, hardly looking like a place her former fiancé, who earned only a Fu Er plus seventy Sheng Ding a week, could afford to live in. But she had nowhere else to go.

When Silvie Martin heard someone calling her name, she looked up slightly and indeed saw a familiar and annoying face.

She said irritably, "Why did you give me a fake address?"

Charles didn't explain, but took out a key to open the door and added, "I live here now."

Silvie was so surprised that it wasn't until Charles called her twice that she followed him into the house.

Charles didn't know why his fiancée disliked the "ex-fiancé." Maybe the ex had a disreputable private life, or maybe he had some bad habits, but it wasn't important. He hadn't crossed over to be a scapegoat.

Still, Miss Silvie Martin should still be a pure girl.

Charles led Silvie to the small study, gestured for her to sit wherever she liked, handed her a glass of water, and casually asked, "Why don't you have any luggage?"

Silvie answered with a mix of annoyance and anger, "It was stolen at the station."

Charles couldn't help but laugh. He really hadn't expected his fiancée to be so naïve.

Silvie grew even angrier. Biting her little white teeth, she hissed, "Can you stop laughing at me? You're even more annoying than before."

Charles nodded and immediately stopped laughing. It was indeed wrong to laugh at a girl, especially since he was not close to her.

The "ex-fiancé's" memories of Silvie Martin were few; they really weren't close.

Charles took out the documents he had prepared in advance and handed them to Silvie, saying, "I've already signed my name. Just waiting for you to sign yours, and the marriage contract can be dissolved."

"If you're not assured, we can also have it notarized at the government office. I'll pay for it."

Silvie, still fuming, took the quill and quickly signed her name in beautiful cursive.

Charles breathed a huge sigh of relief.

He could now date Anne openly and without fear of a scandal in his harem.

Charles carefully dried the ink on his copy of the document, placed it in an empty box, and smiled, "What do you plan to do next, Miss Martin?"

It took Silvie quite a while to answer in a soft voice, "If it's possible, I would like to stay for a few days."

"Once my father sends the money, I will move out immediately."

"I have completed my education at Behemoth National College and been employed as an imperial civil servant, and I should receive my job assignment in about half a month, so I won't trouble you for too long."

At last, Silvie Martin spoke with determination, her eyes full of tenacity and courage.

Charles was slightly taken aback; such a look was familiar to him from his previous life, the type of confidence only found in independent and strong women.

But even in that world, such women were rare.

Charles shrugged his shoulders and said, "Miss Martin, even though our engagement has been dissolved, I still have a responsibility to look after you whenever you are in need."

"Feel free to stay here with peace of mind."

This former fiancée had solved a big problem for him, and Charles had no intention of turning his back heartlessly.

Besides, this was the world of the Middle Ages.

Where the public order was not good.

Being a jailer himself, he knew all too well that even the capital, Strasbourg, was as chaotic as it gets.

To let a young girl wander outside would trouble his conscience.

If Silvie were to leave on her own, the chances of something happening to her were almost certain.

Silvie Martin breathed a sigh of relief, she discreetly touched the dagger hidden under her maple leaf skirt and said, "You mustn't come near me at night."

Charles pointed to the stairs by the side of the banquet hall, unconcernedly saying, "There are fifteen rooms on the second floor; you can pick any one you like."

"Also, I've only recently moved in; this residence is lacking many household items. If there's anything you need, please let me know as soon as possible. While there's still light out, we can go out and buy them."

Silvie put down her cup, pulled at her long dress to make a customary gesture, then exited the study and went up the stairs to the second floor.

About a few minutes later, she came back down and said, "I need a kerosene lamp, a change of clothes, and bedding. I'm also a bit hungry; do you have anything to eat at home?"

Charles smiled faintly and replied, "We have a few croissants, some stuffed bread, and a bit of East Kingdom's floral tea left, but you might not be interested in those. Let's go out to eat."

"There are all kinds of stores on Elysian Pastoral Avenue; as a host, I should welcome Miss Silvie properly."

Silvie Martin was very surprised; Charles's gentlemanly behavior was uncomfortable for her, especially knowing the kind of man her former fiancé was!

Charles Mecklen was the typical bad boy who did whatever he pleased because he came from a wealthy family. He was very familiar with flirting and had ambiguous relations with many ladies in Behemoth, with a reputation for having no self-respect.

Silvie Martin had once been convinced that this former fiancé would be expelled from the college after scandals came out, unable to receive his diploma, which would have served him right.

This was also one of the reasons Miss Silvie insisted on breaking off the engagement—she had no liking for playboys and rakish scoundrels and couldn't imagine spending her life with such a worthless person.