Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Piercing the Meridians
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"But it's dangerous. Extremely so. There's a high chance it could go wrong. And if it does, things could get even worse than they are now."
Charlotte added her serious advice.
Joseph Prince gazed into her light green eyes and nodded as if it were no big deal.
"A new theory, a new path. Well, it can't be helped if it's risky. But I like it. Let's do it that way."
Charlotte tilted her head to the side at length.
It had become a habit lately whenever something piqued her curiosity.
Feeling her pink hair cascade to one side, she stared intently at Joseph Prince's face, which was cocked at a full ninety degrees.
In her mind, this had clearly been the best course of action.
That's why she'd diligently built up her internal energy all this time, pushing through her own meridians, all to perform the so-called proxy meridian circulation for Joseph Prince.
But from his perspective, he'd probably never even heard of internal energy or anything like it...
'I was honestly prepared to spend a whole week convincing him... What the heck, it's over just like that? So anticlimactic.'
It felt strangely off because he'd agreed too easily.
"Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why do you believe me so readily? To you, I'm just a nine-year-old troublemaking girl, right?"
As Charlotte cocked her head and asked, Joseph gave her that look again.
Those eyes so deep they were impossible to read—were they filled with doubt or trust? They met hers steadily, giving nothing away.
Charlotte locked gazes with those pitch-black pupils for a long time, trying to divine his intentions, but it was hopeless to read his thoughts.
After a prolonged silence, Joseph tossed out his response casually.
"Do you remember when I said I wouldn't ask anymore?"
"...Huh? Oh... vaguely?"
"I said I wouldn't ask you anymore, Charlotte—why you're so kind to me."
"Yeah...?"
"This is probably much the same thing."
'...Why does he have to phrase it so twisted? I don't get it at all.'
Charlotte tilted her head one way, then the other.
But that didn't activate her brain any better; she still couldn't make sense of what he'd said.
'...Whatever. As long as he gets it quickly, it's fine.'
Deciding to let it go, Charlotte straightened up.
She was a heavenly martial world native, after all—prolonged pondering just didn't suit her constitution.
"Alright... sure. Let's say that's about right. Preparations are all set, but..."
Trailing off, Charlotte glanced subtly at Joseph’s two escorts.
Telling them about the changes to Joseph’s condition probably wouldn’t go over well. It wouldn’t help at all, really.
"Why don’t you come to my room instead? We’ll do it there."
Joseph nodded.
Charlotte thought his gaze on her seemed oddly amused as she nodded back.
'On one hand, it's fortunate there's not a single martial artist around... but also a shame.'
Had there been any, they would have known how reckless this plan was and talked her out of it—which was good they weren't there for. But they might have lent a hand too, so it was regrettable.
Having successfully convinced Joseph, Charlotte unpacked the lunch with a much lighter heart.
Roast lamb, quiche, thick bacon and cheese sandwiches with vegetables, even non-alcoholic grape juice fit for children.
"Wow..."
Just looking at the lavish, beautifully arranged dishes made her stomach feel full already; Charlotte let out an involuntary exclamation.
The lunches, once simple and easy to eat, had grown more elaborate day by day.
With daily visits to the kitchen chatting with the maids, she felt she'd grown a bit close to them...
'To go this far for me...'
Compared to her past life's meager meals of rice with one or two sorry side dishes, this was a feast fit for an emperor—nothing to envy.
More touching than the fancy menu was that they'd prepared a special lunch just for her.
And she wasn’t even an important figure in House Setia.
Lost in the heartfelt emotion of the feast, Charlotte suddenly felt someone’s gaze and looked up.
As expected, those jet-black eyes were peering steadily at her.
"Why?"
"You make that face every time."
"...What are you staring at? Let's eat already."
Joseph shrugged and reached for the milk.
Lately, he'd started eating well without being picky, and he'd put on some healthy weight.
His once skeletal limbs now looked properly boyish and sturdy. Plus, with Lancelot and his gang nowhere in sight, the bruises had faded, leaving a nicely toned physique.
Seeing him like that filled Charlotte with simple joy, and she smiled warmly.
"Eat up and grow big and strong, Your Highness Joseph."
"...Thanks ever so much."
"Itadakimasu."
As Charlotte eagerly grabbed a sandwich and dug in, Joseph watched her unwaveringly, his face pensive and vaguely dissatisfied.
After the meal, when Joseph and Charlotte headed to her room together, his escort knights lined up at the door without a hint of suspicion.
Charlotte glanced at the knights who didn't bother entering and smirked inwardly.
Had it been Isaac instead, they wouldn't have let their guard down like this.
Despite her showing unexpected sides so far, they still didn't see her as someone to watch out for.
'Perfect.'
Charlotte had asked Betty beforehand to turn away any visitors and locked the door.
Even though he'd been to her room before, Joseph stood there blankly, unsure where to sit.
Seeing him glance around, she chuckled softly.
"It's changed a lot, hasn't it?"
Joseph nodded, looking surprised.
"It has."
She now knew that little nod and whisper were his maximum expression of astonishment.
Charlotte laughed and pulled him to sit on the bed, then quickly sobered her expression.
"From now on, you have to follow my lead exactly. I don’t know how patient your escorts are, so I plan to finish this as fast as possible."
Joseph nodded. His jet-black hair swayed lightly.
She let out a long breath and had him remove his top.
"Now that it's actually happening, I'm getting nervous."
Theory-wise, she knew it perfectly and had simulated it countless times in her head... but actually unblocking someone else's meridians was a first.
Still, back at Mount Hua Sect, she'd handled cleanup for visiting outsiders' treatments, so she was very confident in moxibustion and acupuncture.
And gaining this new body had let her freshly understand what it meant to open meridians in an untrained frame.
She could do this.
This wasn't reckless bravado—it was conviction born of her knowledge and experience.
Charlotte sat facing Joseph, who knelt primly as instructed. She gently gripped both his hands and took a light breath.
"Relax. It'll be fine. Just follow my lead without saying a word."
"Got it. I'm not tense."
He meant it. From his raised hands and the flow of internal energy within, she could tell he was utterly at ease.
Trusting someone so completely wasn't easy.
A bit surprised, Charlotte had no room for stray thoughts.
She circulated her internal energy, slowly channeling it into his body. It accepted her energy without the slightest resistance.
A faint red aura emanated from both Charlotte and Joseph as he took it in.
His acupoints were a total mess, completely blocked.
She'd thought Qi Deviation was imminent; his energy flowed wildly, directionless. Powerful energies had entered his body without proper guidance.
Focusing on clearing his acupoints as quickly as possible, Charlotte avoided surging too much energy—instead, she methodically pierced one point at a time, soothing it before moving to the next.
Unblocking required strong, vast energy, but for Charlotte, whose Conception and Governor Vessels were open, channeling this world's dense energy through herself to him was no challenge.
Moreover, Joseph's energies, chaotic and lost, followed her guidance smoothly without refusal.
She guided the energy up from the base to the crown, then smoothly down to settle slowly into his dantian.
'...Done.'
Feeling sweat beading across her body, Charlotte slowly opened her eyes.