Tome of Blood

In December 1445 of the sacred calendar, Castell ushered in the first snow after winter.

As an earldom by the sea, it doesn't snow every year in Castel, but this year's climate is significantly colder than in previous years, and the snowflakes fell from the sky profusely, dyeing the earth a little white.

Five days had passed since Charlotte woke up, and the rebels of the Legris family were still stationed in the upper reaches of the Dorne River. They seemed to have forgotten to continue their attack, and had no intention of crossing the river at all, and even built a long-term camp on the north bank.

Outside Beigang, the noble troops summoned from all over the place had already been prepared, and tents of all sizes were set up along the side of the Castel Bridge, with no end in sight.

On the coastline, shipping is busier than ever. There are cargo ships setting sail on the North Port pier almost every moment, and new cargo ships are sailing into the port at the same time.

The strategic materials dispatched from various places gathered in Beigang, supporting the operation of tens of thousands of troops. The daily military ration consumption alone was an astronomical figure.

The tense atmosphere can be felt almost everywhere in Beigang, and the pace of the approaching war is so compelling.

Especially when more and more warships entered the port, the military sailboats from various noble families lined up, and the row of black stone-shooting guns on the side of the hull looked particularly oppressive.

For a while, the young Earl of Castel appeared at the noble meeting, and rumors that he called the nobles to prepare to go north to meet the rebels were also circulating in Beigang.

The eyes of all Beigang citizens are almost focused on the Earl's Mansion in the center of the city.

In the tavern, every drinker was betting on when the Countess would go out of the city to suppress the rebellion and how many troops he would gather.

Some said 20,000, some said 30,000, and some even said a full 50,000 were summoned.

However, no matter what people say, one thing seems to have reached a consensus in North Port.

That is, although the rebellion in the north is huge, it will be extinguished by the little earl in the end.

The reason why people make this judgment is also very simple.

One is that Castel almost mobilized all the nobles in the entire territory.

Even though the Legaris family has strong martial virtues, it is definitely at a disadvantage in terms of absolute strength in the face of the coalition consisting of more than three-quarters of the noble family's private army and the Castel family's elite troops.

Perhaps the nobles could not work together before, and it was difficult for the scattered Northland to resist the army assembled by the Legolis family.

But now that the little earl has personally appeared in the noble council, the nobles have also found their backbone.

A territory of loose sand and a territory of cohesive strength are two different things.

In the eyes of many people, the Legris family rebels stationed in the upper reaches of the Dorne River have missed the best time to capture North Port.

On the other hand, with the passage of time, more and more cargo fleets traveled to and from the Tulip County.

Even the dullest businessman can smell something different, that is, the garrison of the Boulder family stationed in the Earl of Tulip seems to have begun to prepare for war.

Reminiscent of the relationship between the Bold family and the Castel family, many people think that the Duchess of Bold, who has declared neutrality, may not really remain neutral.

Especially with the passage of time, there are rumors coming from the direction of Tulip Earldom.

It seemed that a drunken officer slipped his tongue in the tavern, saying that the Principality of Boulder was also ready to join the war.

After the news came out, many people believed that it was probably because the young Earl of Castel had reached some kind of agreement with the Bold family after his appearance.

As the Castel family, the Bold family will no longer remain neutral, but will join the war as a lord to help Castel suppress the rebellion.

Of course, in addition to these arguments, there is also another diametrically opposite opinion circulating among other nobles in Beigang.

That is, there are still many people who believe that the Polder family is not aiming at countering the rebellion, but is targeting the Castel family.

They are with the rebels.

There are many people who believe in this conspiracy theory.

The evidence they gave was that Earl Castel had been ambushed once on his way to the territory.

The ambush was instigated by the third prince Philip, the husband of the Duchess of Boulder.

These two kinds of remarks are diametrically opposed, and they quarreled in taverns and various aristocratic salons.

Until two days later, a nobleman who claimed to be the envoy of the Bold family came by boat from the Earl of Tulip, begging to see the young Earl of Castel.

"My lord, my lord is very happy to know that you are safe and sound, and sent me here to ask you if you need the support of the Bold family."

"As Castel's backing, the Bold family is willing to assist you to quell the rebellion as soon as possible and restore order in the Northland!"

In the reception hall, the messenger said respectfully with a smile on his face.

Charlotte looked at the envoy of the Bold family expressionlessly.

After a while, he said calmly:

"Oh? But didn't Polder already declare that he would remain neutral in this matter?"

"My lord, at that time, my lord didn't know your safety. It was rumored everywhere in the south that you might encounter an accident. My lord declared neutrality for the sake of stability, but in fact... the Tulip County has been preparing for war."

The messenger replied respectfully.

As he spoke, he looked at Charlotte expectantly:

"My lord, what do you think?"

Charlotte took a deep look at him, smiled slightly, and said:

"Your Excellency, thank you for Bold's support. It's just... this matter is very serious. Many nobles in Castel may not want to see higher-level lords intervene. I need to discuss it with the nobles, and then give You reply."

After sending the messenger away temporarily, the smile on Charlotte's face completely disappeared.

She came to the window, looked at the dense and spectacular military camp on the shore, and asked softly:

"What do the nobles in the territory think of the envoy from Boulder? I heard that he seemed to have announced his intention before meeting me."

Behind Charlotte, Sebastian in a tuxedo said respectfully:

"Master, there are different opinions. Those who knew the truth about the ambush in the Violet Forest didn't believe them. However, most of the nobles still think that the Bold family came to support Castel and help us put down the rebellion."

"Help us counter the rebellion? Heh, Sebastian, what do you think?"

Charlotte sneered.

Sebastian pondered for a moment and said:

"The third prince once wanted to kill you. He coveted Castel so much, so he must not really have good intentions. Although no definite evidence has been found, I also think that the Legolis family It is likely that the rebellion also had Bold's support."

"Yes, they must not have good intentions."

Charlotte sighed.

"Master, do we want to strike first? Or should we continue to investigate Bold's movements?"

Sebas asked.

Charlotte pondered for a moment, then said:

"Continue to investigate and don't act rashly for now. If Bold really wants to target us, Earl Tulip's garrison and rebels may not be enough. They must have other actions."

Sebastian hesitated:

"But... if they really want to attack us, wouldn't they be more prepared the longer they delay?"

"Don't worry, delay is also good for us, after all... we are not without backup."

Charlotte said.

"Backup?"

Sebas's heart skipped a beat.

He followed Charlotte's gaze, and saw Charlotte's gaze looking out at the sea through the window.

That was the direction of the Fallen Star Kingdom.

Sebastian's expression moved slightly, thoughtful.

And at this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the hall, which attracted the attention of the two of them.

Charlotte frowned slightly, turned and looked outside the door:

"Sebas, go see what's going on outside."

"As ordered."

Sebastian saluted and left.

After a while, he went back and forth, with a strange expression on his face:

"Master, something happened to Bold's emissary. They were tied up outside the Earl's Mansion."

"Huh? Got tied up?"

Charlotte froze.

Sebastian's expression became more and more strange:

"Yes, it was done by the Roman-Fore family. They are now begging to see you outside the Earl's Palace."

I didn't have time to finish writing, so I sent it 20 minutes late!