Gospel of Blood

Repelling the Kingdom’s knights and successfully entering the palace, Charlotte truly earned herself a wave of prestige among the parliament-aligned nobles of the Starfall Kingdom.

After the “audience”, the Starfall nobles left, completing their welcome of the “Queen.”

It’s worth mentioning that before leaving, these nobles presented various gifts—some brought extraordinary materials unique to the Starfall Kingdom, some offered rare books, others luxury items like jewelry, and some even a chest of gold coins. This was somewhat like paying tribute.

This practice is part of the feudal tradition in Myria. When nobles meet their liege, bringing a gift is customary to show loyalty.

Though, technically speaking, Charlotte was not yet the true Queen of Starfall.

Charlotte didn’t refuse these gifts; she accepted them all. It wasn’t out of greed. If she had refused, it might have led the supportive nobles to think she was displeased with them or their gifts.

However, Charlotte was a bit taken aback when even Bishop Campbell offered a gift—a particularly exquisite grimoire.

Despite only being a holy cleric with Blazing Sun strength, Campbell was the highest-ranking cleric of the Holy Court in the Starfall Kingdom.

“Praise the Holy! Your Highness, this is a grimoire I acquired in my younger days. It’s said to have been left by Nicholas, the most genius Legendary mage in history, and it has a sophisticated magical restriction. It’s rumored to contain Nicholas’ magical research secrets.”

“I heard you like collecting these magical books, so I present this as a gift for your arrival in Starfall!”

Bishop Campbell spoke warmly.

Charlotte: …

Nice: …

Charlotte couldn’t help but glance at the black cat beside her, her expression peculiar.

Nice, meanwhile, took a curious look at the grimoire. With one glance, his eyes widened, his expression suddenly very animated and human-like. He let out a meow, instinctively leaping forward to snatch the book, only to be swiftly grabbed by Charlotte and pulled back by the scruff.

Well… it seems to be genuine. Charlotte wondered what was in the book that excited Nice so much.

“Thank you for your gift, Bishop.”

She smiled and accepted the book as well.

This made Bishop Campbell even more enthusiastic. After Charlotte repelled the Kingdom’s knights, this elder—who seemed older than Charlotte’s grandfather in her past life—looked at her with exhilaration.

“Your Highness, your arrival must be guided by our Lord. Under your leadership, the Holy Light will surely illuminate the darkness, and the malevolent spirits hiding in Starfall will be purified by the Holy Light!”

Charlotte: …

Okay, so he’s completely mistaking her displayed power for that of a Saintess.

Understandable, given that besides purification and healing, the Holy Court’s divine spell is best at mental manipulation.

Charlotte’s bloodborne talent magic “Mental Intimidation” had repelled the knights. Being a Blazing Sun tier priest, Campbell couldn’t perceive that the magic Charlotte used was blood magic, thus mistakenly attributing it to holy powers.

Charlotte returned Campbell’s praises with a “devout” smile.

During their journey by ship, Charlotte had already had in-depth discussions with Count Stafford. Although Campbell held a lofty position, his influence in Starfall was quite limited.

In fact, with the Holy Court’s Crescent Diocese retracting its power and the Nez Clan expanding their influence, the entire church’s power in Starfall was weak.

Compared to their significant role in the Crescent Kingdom, in Starfall, the church seemed more like an appendage of the local nobles, with Bishop Campbell akin to a ceremonial figurehead.

Otherwise, the Starfall nobles wouldn’t have pinned their hopes on Charlotte’s “Saintess” identity.

The Crescent Diocese was consolidating its power and could not focus on Starfall’s situation. The only variable was Charlotte, recognized as an “unofficial Saintess” by the diocese’s archbishop.

Thus, Campbell’s attitude seemed to be a bit of “seeking protection.”

This gave Charlotte an idea. Perhaps, like in the Castell domain, she could try to marginalize the Starfall Kingdom’s church.

After presenting the grimoire, Bishop Campbell stepped aside. Several nobles remained, including Marquis Howard, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Count Greenville-Roman, the Court Advisor, and Count Stafford, the Chief Speaker of the Kingdom’s Parliament.

These four represented the upper echelons of the parliament-aligned nobles supporting Charlotte’s claim to the throne.

Marquis Howard represented the royal court’s noble forces and the new noble faction of the parliament. Count Greenville-Roman represented the Roman royal family. Bishop Campbell represented the Holy Court. Count Stafford represented the powerful nobles in the parliament supporting Charlotte.

Charlotte keenly observed that these nobles didn’t seem to think much of Campbell, even though their attitudes were respectful, it seemed just respectful. Despite being a high-ranking cleric, Campbell seemed almost invisible among the nobles, indicating the Holy Court’s weakness in Starfall compared to the Crescent Kingdom.

The nobles supporting Charlotte’s succession had clearly reached some agreement, suggesting a sense of unity.

As the palace cleared, the atmosphere grew solemn.

Count Stafford sighed and spoke to Charlotte.

“Your Majesty, it seems there are new developments. The Kingdom’s knights represent the military power, essentially the standing army of Starfall. Duke West, the military governor, and Viscount Camden, the knights’ commander, may have allied with the bloodbornes, abandoning neutrality to support Duke Aecia as the successor.”

Charlotte glanced outside the palace, casually asking.

“Are the royal knights still outside?”

“They’ve retreated. Failing to block your entry to the palace, they won’t return. Even if they don’t acknowledge your throne, they can’t deny your identity. They… don’t dare to act against you.”

Marquis Howard explained.

“Hmph, don’t dare act against Her Majesty? That’s uncertain.”

Count Stafford sneered, surprising the other nobles.

“Count Stafford, what’s happened?”

Count Greenville-Roman inquired.

Count Stafford looked to Charlotte, who gave a slight nod of approval.

Taking a deep breath, Count Stafford said.

“On our way back to Starfall, we were attacked by the Behemoth Kraken…”

He recounted the journey’s events without revealing the identity of the attackers.

The nobles were shocked.

“Are the Lilac faction nobles insane?! Attempting to harm the Queen?”

“A crime! This is a crime! Even if Her Majesty is uncrowned, this is blatant criminality!”

The nobles were indignant.

Even the usually unnoticed Bishop Campbell looked serious and joined in the condemnation.

“By the Lord… This is blasphemy! Blasphemy against the divine! Such actions will surely be punished by the Gods!”

Count Greenville-Roman nodded in agreement and then turned to Count Stafford.

“Have we identified the perpetrators?”

Count Stafford was about to speak, but Charlotte answered first.

“Not yet, but we have some leads and are actively pursuing them. I believe we’ll have results soon.”

Count Stafford paused and then quickly added.

“Exactly.”

Count Greenville-Roman’s expression grew serious.

“Your Majesty, the next round of negotiations for the throne is in a week. If we can quickly identify the perpetrators, we might be able to gain the support of some neutral nobles. The military’s shift in stance has put us at a disadvantage.”

“Can you seek assistance from the Holy Court? Their support would give us more leverage.”

“War is a last resort. With the military’s change in attitude, a conflict would be extremely detrimental to us.”

Charlotte nodded.

“War is indeed a last resort. If possible, I also wish to avoid it.”

“I will continue to track down the true culprits behind the attack and seek support from outside the kingdom. I urge all of you to keep working hard to gain more supporters before the next negotiations.”

…

After this initial meeting, the high-ranking nobles of Starfall left, each deep in thought.

Although Charlotte had shown enough resolve, it was clear that the situation for the supporters of the “Castell” faction was not ideal.

However, Count Stafford did not leave immediately.

“Do you have any other questions, Count?”

Charlotte asked.

Count Stafford hesitated and then asked.

“Your Majesty, why did you… just now…”

“Why did I hide that the real perpetrators are Duke West, the military commander, and Viscount Camden, the head of the knights?”

Charlotte finished his thought.

Count Stafford bowed in agreement.

Charlotte paused and then asked.

“Count, you mentioned that your trip to Castell was a secret mission, right?”

“Then how did the information leak?”

Count Stafford’s eyes widened.

“Do you mean… a traitor?!”

Charlotte nodded.

“It’s possible.”

Count Stafford’s face darkened.

Seeing his grim expression, Charlotte smiled.

“Count, there’s no need to worry. If there are flies, we just need to swat them.”

Count Stafford’s eyes brightened.

“Your Majesty, do you already have a plan?”

Charlotte nodded slightly.

“Yes, I do. But I need you to do something for me.”

“Please, command me.”

“Provide me with a detailed list of Starfall’s nobles. I need to have a thorough understanding of the situation.”

…

After receiving the order, Count Stafford left.

Charlotte sat alone on the throne.

To be honest, she didn’t have much hope for the so-called throne negotiations. Even though Starfall had a tradition of such talks, she didn’t believe that the nobles supported by the Nez Clan would compromise with the parliamentary faction.

She didn’t rely on the Starfall nobles either. The solution had to come from the root of the problem. She planned to visit the Nez Clan directly and meet “Bardock.”

But first, she needed to root out the traitor within the parliamentary faction. Not because the traitor posed a significant threat to her, but because she simply hated betrayal.

Charlotte picked up the black cat, Nice, who was trying to steal the grimoire while she wasn’t looking. Then she spoke to the air.

“Albrecht, come and see me.”

In response, countless black bats flew from all directions, gathering in front of Charlotte and forming the figure of the Third Dark Apostle, Albrecht.

This Legendary Bloodborne respectfully bowed to Charlotte, speaking obsequiously.

“Great True Ancestor, you finally remember me.”

Charlotte glanced at him and commanded.

“Keep an eye on those nobles who just left. Monitor their movements, including Bishop Campbell. Report to me immediately if anything happens.”

“As you command.”

Albrecht bowed again and then transformed into a swarm of bats, disappearing.

After Albrecht left, Charlotte finally turned her attention to Nice, who was trying to steal the grimoire again.

Smiling, she took the book from the chubby cat’s paws and curiously asked.

“Now, can you tell me what this book contains that makes you so anxious?”

Nice froze.

He chuckled nervously, avoiding eye contact.

“Um… just some old collections from my younger days, nothing important. Lady Charlotte, you wouldn’t be interested. So, uh… could you give it back?”

“Collections?”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, not believing the cat’s lies.

She chuckled, and with a flick of her finger, divine power broke the book’s enchantment.

After a burst of light, the words on the book became clear, revealing a new title—

“Illustrated Guide to Multiracial Lolitas”

Charlotte: …