Tome of Blood

Louis V's voice was calm.

But under the calm, it is undeniably firm.

Charlotte knew what the other party was referring to. It was the territory of Castel. The monarch who wanted to strengthen the centralization of power would never allow Castel to become the territory of the church in the future.

"Mr. Castel, I know that you once swore an oath in front of the Almighty, and now you and your family are about to become my direct vassals. Before that, I must know your attitude."

Louis V no longer procrastinated, but went straight to the point.

Is the oath I once made valid?

For this question, Charlotte already had an answer and an idea in her heart.

However, standing here, she was still a little curious about how firm Louis V's will was.

"Your Majesty, if my original oath is still valid, what will you do?"

Charlotte asked.

"Then I will not recognize the legitimacy of the oath, you will still become my vassal, and the Castel family will still be protected by Varva, but at the same time, I will not allow the Castel family to enjoy direct The vassals should have the independent control of rare extraordinary resources, but will continue to use the contract between Boulder and Castel to replace the royal contract between the royal family and Castel, and restrict other direct vassals from The extraordinary trade of the Steer family."

Louis V said coldly.

Autonomous control of rare extraordinary resources?

Charlotte's heart skipped a beat.

In Myria Continent, all resources involving extraordinary power are called extraordinary resources.

But only those resources that are rare in production and extremely valuable, or that are in high demand but cannot keep up with the production, are called rare extraordinary resources.

For example, the rare material soul stone used by high-level mages for meditation; such as fine gold, the main material for making enchanted equipment; for example, those rare monster materials necessary for high-level alchemy and magic transformation; another example... the Castel family Mithril that can be produced by oneself.

That's right, mithril is also a rare extraordinary resource.

Although the price of mithril is much lower than materials such as soul stones, dragon crystals, and star cores, it has become an essential material for alchemy and magic circles due to its high magic and plasticity. It has been used since ancient times. Great demand.

Moreover, the low price is relatively speaking, at least much more expensive than gold.

As for the independent control of rare extraordinary resources, it is naturally the right to freely control these resources.

The New Moon Kingdom is very large, and there are many regions that produce rare supernatural resources, but not all noble families have the right to freely dispose of these resources, even if the place of origin is their own territory.

In the entire New Moon Kingdom, only the kingdom's direct vassals have this kind of power.

This is also one of the royal contracts between the royal family and direct vassals.

Under the contract, the vassal families directly under the royal family can trade their own supernatural materials with other forces. output.

During this process, the royal family will not interfere with the disposal of extraordinary materials by the direct vassals. Even if they are sold to the enemy country, the royal family will not stop them, because this is the right that the vassals themselves should have.

In exchange for the contract, the vassals need to unconditionally transfer the output of some rare resources to the royal family.

At the same time, the royal family will protect the vassals' ownership of rare resources, and other vassals' war claims for these resources will not be recognized.

And once an aristocratic family really started a war, the royal family could even end the battle if necessary, support the family with rare resources, condemn and sanction the family that started the war, and order the other party to cease fighting.

It can be said that the independent control of rare extraordinary resources is the most prominent power of the kingdom's direct vassals, and it is also the most profitable contractual power that is most supported by the kingdom's lords.

As for why this is the power that pays off the most...

That's because the royal contract of the New Moon Kingdom stipulates that only the kingdom's direct vassals have the independent control over rare extraordinary resources, and the vassals under the direct vassals must hand over the control of extraordinary resources to their lords.

Take the Castel family as an example. The Mithril owned by the Castel family is also a rare supernatural material, but because they do not have the right to control supernatural resources, the Castel family cannot trade Mithril to others at will. Other forces, but can only be sold to the targets designated by the Bold family.

It can be said that this contract has greatly restricted the extraordinary power of many noble lords who are not directly under the kingdom, and has significantly strengthened the extraordinary power of the vassals directly under the kingdom.

Some direct vassals with low titles and few territories have even more kinds of extraordinary resources than those non-direct vassals with higher titles. It is this contract that is at work.

As long as Louis V refuses to recognize the independent control of the Castel family's extraordinary resources, even if Charlotte wants to trade extraordinary resources with other nobles, no one will dare to trade with the Castel family under pressure.

That is not only the pressure from the royal family, but also the pressure from the dominance system where all the direct vassals of the New Moon Kingdom jointly maintain the extraordinary resources of the New Moon.

For some mithril, no vassal family directly under them is willing to self-destruct the Great Wall, and even a bold guy will only trade secretly, and will inevitably lower the transaction price to a rather exaggerated level.

It can be said that with this alone, Louis XV can restrict the development of the extraordinary power of the Castel family, and even directly affect the development of the Northland alchemy industry.

"Not only that……"

Louis V paused for a moment, his expression became more and more indifferent, and his gaze towards Charlotte gradually became colder:

"I will acquiesce in all noble families claiming the title of Castel, and even continue to allow them to use means of war."

"As a lord, I will not directly interfere in this claim war, but I will definitely not mediate in the process."

"And if the day comes when Castel changes hands in the future, the royal family will definitely not sit back and watch the Northland fall into the hands of the church. Even if war is used, it will definitely prevent this ending."

"In the final analysis, it is still the same sentence. From the end of the Star-Moon War, the number of dukes and theocratic princes in the kingdom can only decrease, not increase."

Louis V looked serious and his voice was majestic.

After hearing his words, Charlotte was somewhat surprised.

She was not surprised by Louis V's attitude, but by his frankness.

This is frank, but also a naked threat.

But again, where there is coercion, there is temptation.

What Louis V said was only a possibility after Charlotte continued to insist on the oath.

"Then, Your Majesty, what if I take back the oath made before the God Lord and no longer recognize the validity of the oath?"

Charlotte asked again.

Louis V took a deep look at her, and his majestic voice softened again:

"If so, I very much welcome the Castel family to become my direct vassals. Both you and your family will receive the most comprehensive protection from the Varva family, and enjoy the same royal contract as other kingdom lords."

"The Castel family will have the right to independently dispose of the Castel mithril deposits, and will be able to freely participate in the extraordinary trade of the kingdom's vassals. The Castel family can also use some of the rare extraordinary resources held by the royal family. Obtained periodically like other direct vassal houses."

"At the same time, the Castel family will also have the right to enter the kingdom's cabinet and the kingdom's military. The core library collection of the kingdom's highest institution will also be open to the Castel family, just like other noble vassals."

"In addition, the Castel family claims the territory outside the kingdom, and the kingdom may assist in retaking it, and it will be owned by the Castel family."

Louis V's voice was calm, and he listed the benefits of Charlotte's renunciation of the oath one by one.

When Charlotte heard it, she also felt quite moved.

Needless to say, the right to control extraordinary resources independently, unless Charlotte is determined to fight the royal family to the death and not plan to hang out in the new moon, otherwise she will definitely get it.

The library collection at the core of the highest institution in the Kingdom is also very attractive. Although Nice is already a cat-shaped magic encyclopedia, extraordinary power includes more than magic. There are some things that Charlotte may not need, but if she wants to develop her territory , corresponding knowledge is definitely needed.

Not to mention, this kind of library also often has rich historical materials, which is helpful for Charlotte to understand the past, especially the history of blood.

And as for claiming the claim for the Castel family... This Charlotte can probably guess what Louis V is referring to.

There is a territorial dispute between the Castel Territory and the Principality of Romania. Although the area is not large, only 5,000 square kilometers, it is still 4.2% of the current territory of the Castel Territory.

This is a historical legacy of the Star-Moon War.

Obviously, Louis V did not give up his legal claim to the Roman Duchy, and still had plans to regain the territory.

But this one, Charlotte doesn't care so much.

"Mr. Castel, the above are the royal family's conditions, so... what's your answer?"

Louis V looked at Charlotte again, his voice was as calm as ever.

Charlotte also looked up at the aged monarch.

Facing the scrutiny of the other party, she smiled slightly and said:

"Your Majesty, do you know? After I came to Lutetia and settled my accommodation, the first place I visited was Lutetia Cathedral."

Louis V was noncommittal, and his expression was not surprised:

"I know that during that visit, you stayed in the Lutetia Cathedral for almost three hours, and spent two and a half hours talking with Priest Loren, Presiding Judge Champagne, and Cardinal Mazarin the Demon Hunter."

"For the remaining half an hour, you worshiped in the church, prayed devoutly, and even aroused the holy light of the god's statue, which caused quite a stir in the church."

"When you left, almost all the middle and high-ranking priests in the Lutetia Cathedral were present to send you off together."

"Oh, by the way, before the service, you also donated a whole box of Quintana to the church, no more, no less, exactly 200,000, and all of them are the sixth edition of the kingdom seal from 1437 to 1441 in the sacred calendar Quintana."

Saying that, Louis V glanced at Charlotte, showing a somewhat strange smile:

"By the way, of the 200,000 Quintanas you donated, 100,000 were eventually replaced by the priest in charge of collecting the money with the fifth edition of Quintanas engraved in 1418 of the sacred calendar."

Charlotte: ...

Good guy, this Louis V... belongs to the spies, right? Know so clearly?

As for Louis V's mention that her donation was replaced by the priests of the church, this directly gave her eye drops.

In 1418 of the sacred calendar, the Star-Moon War was in full swing. At that time, the two kingdoms, the New Moon Kingdom and the Fallen Star Kingdom, were fighting fiercely and had financial difficulties.

That is the fifth edition of Quintana after the unification of Miriam currency. Because the gold of the two kingdoms is mixed with copper and nickel, one Quintana is actually only equivalent to 80% of Zuse, and it can be regarded as the currency issued by the two countries. scandal.

Less than thirty years later, the Holy King's Court launched the sixth edition of Quintana, requiring all countries to engrave new coins, which is also the reason.

Charlotte smacked, secretly thinking that the holy royal court is getting more and more depraved, there are priests who dare to adulterate under the eyes of Legend, and the courage is really not ordinary.

However, with the personality of several legends, they probably don't care about small things like donating money. After all, to legends, gold and silver are just numbers, and only extraordinary people can get into their eyes.

It has to be said that although Louis V did it on purpose, Charlotte must admit that her already subtle perception of the Holy Royal Court suddenly became more subtle.

I don't know, I thought she donated half of the poor quality Quintana!

Sighing lightly, Charlotte exclaimed:

"Your Majesty, your information is quite detailed."

"After all, I am the owner of the new moon, and everything about Lutetia can't be hidden from my eyes."

Louis V said lightly.

Can everything be hidden from his eyes...

Charlotte's heart moved slightly, thoughtful.

And Louis V looked at her again, and asked with great interest:

"So, Mr. Castel, what do you want to say when you mention the visit to the church that day?"

Charlotte put away her thoughts and said calmly:

"That day, several legendary clergymen of the church invited me to become the saint of the Holy Royal Court in the Crescent Diocese."

Quiet……

The moment Charlotte's voice fell, the entire living room fell into silence.

It was not quiet in the general sense, but the whole world seemed to have fallen into stagnation and depression in an instant.

Charlotte only felt that Louis V's gaze instantly became sharper. Although the legendary coercion was not exposed, the whole person's aura changed drastically in an instant.

Facing Louis V's extremely oppressive eyes, Charlotte smiled slightly and said:

"However, I declined."

Almost instantly, Louis V's climbing aura quickly dissipated, the stagnant time started to run again, and the depressive atmosphere was swept away.

His gaze returned to calm, and his majestic voice softened again, with a little more appreciation:

"Wise choice."

After finishing speaking, he picked up the still wine again, took a sip, and asked inquiringly:

"Then, Mr. Castel, I can think that you want to tell me that you have given up your vows before God?"

Charlotte sighed slightly, showing a reminiscing expression, and said slightly sentimentally:

"I respect the God Lord, that's why I swore an oath in front of the God Lord."

"However, it turns out that the fact that the Lord is worthy of respect and that the Church is worthy of respect are two different things."

"I can dedicate everything to God, but the church... With all due respect, so many things have happened in the past two years, I am already disappointed with the church today."

"I will still remain unmarried in this life and dedicate myself to God, but Lord Castel, I will no longer fulfill my previous vows."

After listening to Charlotte's words, Louis V's eyes were finally relieved. He smiled slightly and nodded to Charlotte with satisfaction:

"Then... Sir Castel, as the king of the new moon, I very much welcome you to be my vassal."

"Of course, it is also an honor for the Castel family to be your vassal."

Charlotte replied.

Looking at the respectful Charlotte, Louis V was even more satisfied:

"Mr. Castel, since you have made your choice, the royal family will respond accordingly and give the Castel family the identity and status it deserves."

"Of course, it's not enough just to tell me these things. I need you to publicly renounce your previous oath, so that our contract can come into force."

"So, Your Majesty, how would you like me to respond publicly?"

Charlotte asked calmly.

"The conferment ceremony, I need you to respond publicly at the conferment ceremony of the Castel family, and I will hold the knight conferment ceremony of the Castel family in the Crescent Palace three days later, and officially announce that the Castel family Be my vassal."

said Louis V.

Charlotte thought for a while, then nodded slightly:

"Everything is as you wish."