Chapter 158: Vigilante
Charlotte’s POV:
"One penny saves a child. Two saves a family. Five whole pence saves an entire community."
The woman before her wore a lustrous smile, a small offering bowl in hand. Charlotte’s expression remained flat as she gave a respectful bow.
"I have neither money nor riches. May the Goddess see to the needs of the children."
The lady gently presented the bow to Charlotte with a warm smile, as if she hadn’t clocked Charlotte’s words at all.
"Wait? What?"
The lady smiled awkwardly, almost forced.
"It seems you don’t understand. This is for an orphanage — children who’ve lost everything because of wars, domestic disputes, even Citadels and portals. One penny... no, even two pence would be enough."
Charlotte motioned with a vehement nod.
"I understand perfectly, but I have nothing to offer beyond prayers and support."
The woman let out a tired breath and swept out, a judgmental expression firmly in place, cursing Charlotte under her breath as she went.
The first-year cadets had just come out of a small memorial for Lucius, who had supposedly lost his life trying to save Instructor Moon during a Rune Realm raid.
Of course... Of course, she knew. It was Leomaris who had killed Lucius, but that was the story they were going with. After all, the dead had no story, only the living told the tales.
Her mind was already occupied with pressing thoughts of her own when someone approached her for donations. The fourth time today, and a different person each time. She was already tired of them.
As she made her way back to her chambers at the Privileged Hall, her mind drifted back to what had been holding her before the woman nearly put her in a foul mood.
Over two centuries ago, the Antonius royal family met their end at the hands of a single woman, the throne passing to the Bridgerton family in her wake.
The Antonius family had produced emperors who shaped the entire world as it stands today, their weight felt in history, culture, and the lives of the people.
The Bridgertons had ended the Great War, driven a mechanical revolution, and brought about a great revolution for non-mages.
That was the whole point. The Antonius family upheld their tradition of making magic a common household practice, and that was precisely what Emperor George I and his son, Emperor George II, had entrusted their lives and resources to Dr. Zenith and other scholars for.
A sudden shift in direction and culture wasn’t something the citizens wanted, and the ways of the Bridgertons gave them all the reason they needed to believe they weren’t worthy of the royal blood.
This was the opening she needed, the Woman in Veil, the same person who’d slaughtered every last member of the Antonius family, to manipulate the majority of citizens into starting the Revolutionary War.
Why the Woman in Veil held such a double standard was never known; she slipped away the moment the first Revolutionary War drew to a close.
And yet, this was who Charlotte had chosen to impersonate. In her eyes, the Woman in Veil was the pinnacle of vigilante justice.
Word had it she’d vouched for the Widmar family to seize power, willing to do everything necessary to make it happen, since the Antonius family had made some questionable decisions in their last years, and the Brigdertons’ first approach hadn’t convinced anyone.
’The reason I chose to help Leomaris infiltrate the underworld was because of his desire for justice. We are merely vigilantes and considered unlawful by the world, but that is precisely what makes justice worth pursuing. I am not bound by legal restrictions, as I never sought them. I can simply kill without remorse.’
’But as my ability gradually eats away at my emotional intelligence, discipline, and patience, along with my limited vocabulary, I am ill-suited for any true organization.’
’I wanted to work alone, and I could not have chosen better than to become the woman who stood against an entire nation for what she believed in.’
Right about now, Charlotte was at her doorstep, and once inside her room, she let go of her military overcoat and uniform, loosening everything tight on her body, particularly her chest and waist. She hauled herself onto her bed right after.
Much as she didn’t want to admit it, she knew the world she lived in was rotten to the core. Instructor Moon’s and Lucius’s attempts on Leomaris’s life had opened her eyes to that.
Not just that, but she believed everyone fought for whatever they believed in. Justice and goodwill were entirely shaped by human beliefs, circumstances, and preferences, judicial systems included, designed as they were to give the royal family power.
She had her biases as well. She wouldn’t hesitate to call anyone going after her family an enemy, and the same applied to anyone going after Leomaris. In her eyes, if either of them were hurt or threatened, whoever caused it would have to pay for it.
Justice was subjective, but only those willing to stand up for what they believed in would ever see the justice they deserved.
’The Woman in Veil was bold, confident, and determined, and her will did not end in personal desire, but in actions she believed would serve the greater good.’
That was what she was going to strive for. Becoming a vigilante, just as Leomaris had asked of her, though it wasn’t really about his wishes anymore. That still played a role, but she saw it as a path to grow, to become someone stronger. And with enough strength and influence, not only would she get justice for herself and whatever she believed in, but the Greenwoods, her noble family, wouldn’t have to bat an eye over threats or future conflicts that could harm them deadly. She would be there for them.
After a moment or two, her attention shifted course, drifting to something Leomaris had told her a while ago. She’d initially thought everyone within the Mercy of Death faction would be forming a vigilante clan, but after coming in contact with Leomaris’s and Raine’s clans, she wasn’t so sure.
’Something is off. Something is definitely off.’
