The First Magic World War

``` Anne couldn't help grasping Charles's hand, her mind undistracted. Mama Karen loved a good show, and she only had eyes for Charles. Anne whispered, "Mama Karen's Dreamscape was my favorite place to be when I was younger, so relaxed and warm. Whenever I didn't want to sleep, she would bring me here." "Antonio loved it here as well, but he only cared for practicing in Mama Karen's Dreamscape. Over and over, again and again, he practiced swordsmanship and gunmanship and never kept me company. I know my brother hoped to possess the power to protect me, and to him, protecting me was more important than playing with me." "Occasionally, Mama Karen would also take us to peek into other people's dreams. In fact, the Count's Mansion often has some insidious individuals mixed in..." Charles casually remarked, "Sometimes, there are spies sent by the Emperor, I suppose?" Anne was slightly surprised and then said softly, "So Mister Mecklen knows already." Charles thought to himself, "What do I know?" But he immediately thought of ancient royal spy agencies like the Jinyiwei, and couldn't help but sigh. Even the Emperor of Fars had such a taste. Anne clutched Charles's hand a bit tighter and said in a low voice, "If one day, Mister Mecklen, would you leave Fars for me?" Charles smiled faintly and said, "To the ends of the earth, I will follow!" Anne's eyes suddenly turned moist, and Mama Karen nodded slightly. She trusted Charles quite a bit; after all, Charles had once saved Anne, and later performed exceptionally well. Not long ago, he had even commanded a group of Sacred Order to kill Amisphidas, King of A Thousand Lions, a strong man who was nearly on par with the Earl himself. While the main force was Antonio, Charles's planning was also indispensable. Charles patted Anne's shoulder and said, "Don't worry so much, all the troubles are for us men to handle. You just need to cheer for me, Anne." Anne spoke softly, "I want to help you, Mister Mecklen. I don't want to be just a pretty vase." Charles quickly reassured her, "Anne, if you were a vase, there would be no flowers left in this world." He knew what Anne was worried about. But these issues couldn't be resolved by words alone, so he quickly changed the topic, "Mama Karen has prepared some entertainment for us, shall we have a look?" "What nonsense are these scoundrels talking about?" Anne smiled brightly and leaned on Charles's shoulder, having never felt so secure before. Ever since she started working at the Central Government Office, she began to uncover some secrets. She was no longer the innocent and cheerful girl from school. She understood the difficulties of the nation, the instability of society, how brutal the frontlines were, and that many of the victories declared to the public were bitterly won. She also knew of the many hidden disastrous defeats. The Fars Empire was struggling far more than the public knew. Of course, the Byron Empire was not much better off. Inglima seemed alright, but the Black Phoenix Dynasty was somewhat troublesome. There were thirty-three countries on the Old Continent, of which the five strongest were known as empires. However, empires also vary in strength, and the Black Phoenix, having slightly less national power than Fars and Byron, might collapse first. Anne indeed became more worried. But to her, Charles felt even more reliable than her father, than her brother, solid and steady as if he could solve anything, overcome any difficulty, turn around any desperate situation... And what's more, almost everyone told her that Charles could do all this because of Anne Brittany! ``` Even she was aware that when she first encountered Charles, he wasn't quite so outstanding. Although by that time he was already an exceptional young man, superior to most of the aristocratic youth she had met, he wasn't on the same level as her brother Antonio or her cousin Kreel. Anne had never specifically looked for an especially excellent boy; she wasn't the kind of woman whose expectations were so high that they bordered on unrealistic. Anne had always felt that someone like Charles was quite good enough. But what Anne never expected was that her Mr. Charles Mecklen seemed to have erupted with all the light and heat of his life for her sake, displaying unparalleled talent. Even the approval from her family, which concerned Anne the most, was effortlessly secured by Charles, who received continuous praise from the Old Earl and Antonio. Anne knew just what kind of men her father and brother were. Her father, the strongest man in the Empire, had praised no more than ten people in his lifetime; no matter how powerful the enemy, the Old Earl would casually dismiss them with, "A future subordinate defeated!" Of course, there were also times when the Old Earl would awkwardly say, "Oh, my mistake, I've already beaten them. They were so unremarkable that I didn't remember." Her brother was universally acknowledged throughout the Empire as the future strongest man of the Fars Empire. Some even believed that in a few years, without the need for the Old Earl to step down, Antonio would become the most powerful man in the Empire by sheer force, stepping on his father's shoulders. Since his return from the Red Dragon Strait, Antonio had mentioned Charles more than ten times in front of Anne, especially when he got his hands on that dark, hefty staff, his face would break into a smile, and he would say, "Charles' character is really quite good." "Mmm, Anne, you must never believe the rumors about Charles in the future; they're all false." Anne had truly never heard any rumors about Charles. Except for that one time with Aunt Sophie, but that was definitely not true! In the midst of the gentle breeze, the sound of conversation wafted over: "Rembrandt, how many times have you been rejected by the young woman of the Brittany Family?" "Oh, oh, oh, even Rembrandt, who has always been successful and charmed all of Strasbourg, has hit a snag with Anne of the Brittany family." "Keep trying! Rembrandt, I really want to see Anne unable to get on Miss Pumpkin's carriage!" "Have you heard of that Charles Mecklen? The merchant's son?" "Don't mention that lowly wretch!" "He's just lucky, always encountering once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. And the Brittany family, to boost this merchant's son's achievements, actually sent Kreel, and repeatedly allowed Kreel to take him to fight in two major battles." "Even a pig, who gets to fight alongside Kreel Brittany, could earn a lot of merit." "Has anyone heard? This time the Brittany family actually sent Antonio..." "Has Earl Brittany gone mad? With so many resources at our disposal, any one of us could probably have been promoted to baron by now, and yet he just gives them away to some peasant? It's a crying shame." "The Earl must be getting senile..." "I heard the Emperor really dislikes Earl Brittany; who knows, one of these days, he might make that old man sacrifice himself for the country." At the mention of Miss Pumpkin, Charlotte could no longer contain himself, and said to Mama Karen, "Excuse me, Mama, I need to step out for a moment."