Tome of Blood

The communication between Charlotte and Louis V went smoothly.

Obviously, the monarch who wanted to strengthen the centralization of power did not want to give the Northland a vacillating choice, and he was bound to win the strengthening of the king's power, and he did not plan to use any tricks.

This summoning was both a threat and an inducement.

Charlotte had nothing against giving up her oath to pledge allegiance to the King of the Crescent Moon.

In a sense, this is actually the development she is happy to see.

Not to mention that Charlotte's promise to the Holy Court was actually a blank check from the very beginning, and her conflict of interest with the Holy Court was much higher than that of the current Louis V.

Charlotte wants to develop her own faith in the Northland, and there will inevitably be friction with the church.

It would be fine if the church's influence in the Northland has been declining. If the church has decided to strengthen its influence in the Northland and send more priests to "assist" because Charlotte is too close to the church, then some trouble.

Charlotte is already a "half-god", and she is ready to secretly spread her faith in the North, but once she starts to spread her faith on a large scale, it will inevitably damage the interests of the Holy Royal Court, and the intervention of the church is almost inevitable.

But it would be different if she fell to the royal family.

That's right, if she wants to preach in the north, she will indeed have a conflict of interest with the church, but the conflicts and differences between the New Moon royal family and the church are currently greater than hers.

Even if Charlotte is spreading her beliefs, she won't do so at this stage. As long as the Holy Royal Court doesn't notice, it can be done in secret.

But Louis V's will to strengthen the royal power and weaken the religious power is well known.

The Holy King's Court is the largest religious force in the Myria Continent, and the Holy King's Court has a large number of high-level priests and legendary priests. However, the Holy King's Court's control over the countries of Myria is not imagined. as powerful as in.

Otherwise, there would be no Kolia Kingdom, which was secretly dominated by the blood race under the acquiescence of the Holy Royal Court, and Louis V, a "thorn" who directly challenged the religious authority.

If you continue to hold the church's thigh, you will become a thorn in the eyes of the New Moon royal family, and the church is very likely to send more priests to the Northland in order to strengthen its influence on the New Moon or "support" itself.

But if it falls to the king...

In order to win her over, the royal family will not only give her many benefits, but also serve as her shield against the church.

Not to mention anything else, just the presence of a priest, I am afraid that the royal family's reaction will be more intense than Charlotte's.

Charlotte probably didn't even have to make a move, and the royal family would block it back.

It's very possible.

After all, Charlotte's character design is a devout and holy believer, and she even has the wild title of "Saint".

Even if she had a disagreement with the church, the royal family would definitely prevent her from staying with the church for too long and the possibility of resolving the conflict.

You know, the royal family can win her over, and so can the church.

As for turning to the royal family, whether the hammer of centralization will fall on her in the future... Charlotte is not worried.

Louis V is indeed an ambitious monarch, and his control over the New Moon Kingdom far exceeds that of previous kings.

But compared to the "Sun King" who successfully centralized power in previous lives, he faced many more problems and difficulties than the other party.

A more powerful aristocratic force, a more powerful church, and...behind the church, there is a real god.

These are challenges that need to be faced.

Not to mention, the age of Louis V.

The Star-Moon War has been fought intermittently for more than 80 years, and more than ten years have passed since the last truce.

It has been more than a hundred years, and Louis V is already in his seventies.

The lifespan of the superhumans in the world of Miria is no different from that of ordinary people. No matter how powerful they are, they will still die when they reach their age.

Even if Louis V is a legend, even if he lives a long life, according to the average age of Miria, he will not last many years.

More than a dozen years is enough, but Charlotte doesn't think that more than ten years is enough for Louis V to raise all the nobles in captivity.

Aristocrats are not soft persimmons, they will resist if pushed hard.

Louis V wanted to rely on his own strength to establish an "absolute monarchy" in the New Moon Kingdom. The possibility of success was extremely low, but his future successor might be able to do it.

But that also requires his successor to continue to implement his policies and have abilities no less than his.

But that's not Charlotte's concern.

In the final analysis, Charlotte is not really loyal to the king, but only to divert the pressure from the church, and to find a shield and a backer for herself.

For more than ten years... Charlotte guessed that she might become a god in a true sense.

The meeting ended smoothly and it was noon.

In a good mood, Louis V invited Charlotte to stay in the Crescent Palace for lunch.

This can be regarded as another big difference between Miriam and the Blue Star Middle Ages. In Blue Star, the nobles had two meals a day in similar periods, while the commoners even only had one meal a day, but here, three meals a day Meals have long been the standard for nobles.

Charlotte did not refuse Louis V's invitation.

The lunch of the Crescent Royal Family is still very sumptuous, even more luxurious than that of the Castel family.

The taste is also very good. After all, it is a chef selected by the entire kingdom, and the fresh ingredients are directly magically transported from various places of origin.

What's even more rare is that more than 80% of the ingredients are supernatural materials, the meat is monster meat, the vegetables are magic plants, and even the staple food bread contains magic power.

Charlotte also had a good time.

In addition to King Louis V, the Queen of the Crescent Kingdom also dined together.

The queen was much younger than Louis V, and looked about forty years old. As far as Charlotte knew, this was the third wife of Louis V and the only queen without an heir.

As for the second prince of the new moon... It is said that he went to the teaching power country for exchange and study, so he did not attend.

"Hmph, what a rebellious son! As a prince, he has no interest in governing the country, and instead goes to church every day! What a shame to Valva!"

After having lunch and serving the after-dinner tea, Louis V chatted with the two of them, cursing and swearing.

Charlotte was noncommittal.

Excluding the eldest prince who died in the Star-Moon War, and the third prince who was executed not long ago, Louis V now has only the second prince left.

But it is a pity that the second prince has no interest in political affairs, but is obsessed with theology.

Many conservative nobles in the kingdom like the second prince very much, but this definitely does not include Louis V himself.

Obviously, Louis V was not satisfied with his first heir.

"Francois is still young. When he is older, he will understand your painstaking efforts."

The queen advised softly.

"Hmph, young? He is already thirty-five! With this appearance, he is not qualified to inherit the throne!"

Louis V was dissatisfied with authenticity.

Charlotte just listened and said nothing.

She was thinking, thinking about what Louis V meant by this.

Louis V was dissatisfied with the second prince, and the kingdom was well known.

Some nobles believed that after the third prince lost power, even if the king was dissatisfied with the second prince, he could only let the second prince take over, but now it seems... It seems that Louis V does not think so.

Charlotte knew that Louis V's words seemed to be complaining, but they were actually meant for her.

Or to be more precise, it was spoken to the nobles through her.

Even if the third prince is executed, the second prince will not be established as the heir!

Could it be...Louis V intends to find an heir from a branch of the Varva family?

Charlotte thought about it.

At this moment, she thought of many possible candidates from the branch of the Varwa family.

The population of the Varva family is withered, and even if you count the number of people who have been distributed, there are not many people in the immediate branch, and the number of candidates that can be thought of is very limited.

For example, John de Anro, Duke of Moonguard, who was the posthumous son of the former king; another example, the nephews of Louis V who were entrusted as earls.

Most of these royal nobles are supporters of centralization, but they don't know who Louis V will favor.

Obviously, Louis V wanted to tell the nobles not to expect to divide power by hugging the second prince's thigh.

But Charlotte was a little puzzled.

Louis V was so powerful, and he attached so much importance to the strengthening of centralization.

Has he never thought about how to train a qualified heir to carry out his will?

Charlotte feels that there is a slight discord after all.

...

After having lunch with the royal family, Charlotte said goodbye and left the palace.

She did not mention the question of the succession of the future Castel family after her declaration of celibacy, and Louis V did not ask.

It can be regarded as some kind of tacit agreement.

The Varva family's population is dying, but the Castel family has only one seedling, Charlotte.

Other families that have marriages with the Castel family can be regarded as claiming the Northland, but there are also claims. The first generation is the strongest, the second generation will be weaker, and the third generation will be even weaker , and even many times it is no longer recognized.

As for the fourth generation...that's totally useless.

Almost all of the Castle family married outside was from Grandpa Charlotte's generation, and her father's generation was also sparse, with only one aunt who married into Polder.

In other words, although there are quite a few nobles holding Castel's claims, they are either very old, or the claims are too weak to be ignored.

But Charlotte was young.

As long as Charlotte lived long enough to kill those distant relatives who claimed so strongly, the Castel family would have no blood heirs at all.

Charlotte is now a vassal of the king. Once the Castel family dies and there are no other claimants, the royal family has the right to reclaim the title and fief.

And this is probably the biggest reason why Louis V was able to accept the Castel family.

As long as Charlotte remains single, the Northland will belong to the Varva family in the future, and as long as the Castel family's allies are not dead, the royal family will not kill Charlotte, and may even need to protect Charlotte's family. Safety.

Until... Charlotte also returned to the "Kingdom of God".

Leaving the palace, Charlotte joined Sebas who had been waiting for a long time. After seeing Charlotte, the elf steward breathed a sigh of relief:

"Master, you are finally out."

"What? Are you still worried that I won't be able to come out?"

Charlotte laughed.

Sebastian scratched his head:

"That's not the case, but the king is a legend after all, so I'm a little worried after all..."

Charlotte smiled:

"Don't worry, everything is going well, no, it should be said that it couldn't be smoother."

Speaking, Charlotte roughly talked about her "agreement" with Louis V.

After hearing her words, Sebastian's eyes lit up:

"All-round protection? Doesn't that mean...when the Ness clan attacks the Fallen Star Kingdom, we can directly intervene and refuse the entry of the church's armed forces without worrying about the church's pressure?"

Charlotte nodded:

"It's natural, and we will leave it to our great king, His Majesty, to take the blame."

Charlotte and the Ness clan have a covenant, and they will secretly support the Ness clan to take back the dominance of the Fallen Star Kingdom and expel the power of the church, and the exchange condition is the title and territory of the Principality of Roman.

This support is not only material support, but also political support, and it will inevitably offend the church.

But it would be different with the direct asylum of Louis V.

When the church takes action against the earl under the duke, as long as it is reasonable, the king can only watch and condemn at most. After all, my vassal's vassal is not my vassal.

But the vassals of the kingdom...

With Louis V's attitude towards the church, I'm afraid he would be happy to step on this matter and take the blame for Charlotte.

Thinking of Louis V's dominance over the church, Charlotte's heart moved again:

"Sebas, how many legends are there in the Valva family? Is there any hidden power?"

Sebas was stunned for a moment, then thought:

"Shouldn't there be? The legend should only be His Majesty the King. It seems that I have never heard of any other hidden powers."

"Strange, how did Louis V have the confidence to directly confront the church? There are three legendary priests in Lutetia alone."

"Master, to be more precise, His Majesty the King is fighting against the New Moon Diocese. The Holy Royal Court Crescent Parish and the entire Holy Royal Court are two different things. This involves the internal division of the church."

"Oh? Let's hear it."

A look of interest floated on Charlotte's face.

The church's classics never talked about the black history of the church, and she admitted that she was really interested in it now.

Sebastian thought for a while and replied:

"Master, this has to be said since the Holy Royal Court reformed the Holy Legion hundreds of years ago."

"At the most glorious time of the Holy King's Court, the strongest force was the Holy Legion, which fought south and north. The invincible Holy Legion was directly controlled by the Holy Kingdom, and defeated any enemy who dared to stand in front of the Royal Court. It also conquered the mainland, dominated the world, and divided many parishes according to geographical locations."

"However, as time went by, the cost of maintaining the Holy Legion became higher and higher, and the legion became more and more depraved. In the end, the Church had to reorganize and reorganize the Holy Legion into a local trial force."

"Since then, it has been difficult for the clerical state to maintain its suppression of the major dioceses. Although the overall power of the holy royal court is still strong, the distribution of power within the royal court has undergone earth-shaking changes. The diocesan rises, and the clerical power The country is in decline."

"To this day, although the religious state is still the leader of the royal court, the major parishes have evolved into semi-independent theocratic princes..."

"That's why His Majesty the King took action against the New Moon Diocese. As long as it doesn't affect the core interests of the church, that is, 'faith', the clerical power of the Lede Diocese will be weakened."