Tome of Blood

When any organization develops to a large enough scale, various internal problems will appear.

And if the organization spans a relatively wide area and the central government's control over the periphery is not strong enough, the split of power is almost inevitable.

The same is true of the Holy Court.

Perhaps in the era when the gods walked the earth, relying on the power of the gods, the centripetal force and leadership of the church were invincible.

But now, the gods are sleeping one after another, and everything is naturally different.

There are many dioceses in the Holy King's Court, and conflicts are prone to arise when dividing interests.

Between the diocese and the diocese, between the diocese and the clerical state, more or less, there is a need for communication and reconciliation.

In addition, in order to expand the influence of the divine master, the Holy Royal Court often recruited different subordinate gods in different parishes, so there were naturally greater differences and more conflicts.

Although relying on its huge size and past accumulation, the colossus of the Holy Royal Court is still a force that any country needs to look up to, but for all countries, using the contradictions of different parishes within the church to balance power and even demand more Interests have become the consensus of the monarchs of all countries.

The same goes for the New Moon Kingdom.

The biggest reason why Louis V dared to challenge the church directly was because he was sure that as long as he still supported the Holy Royal Court as the state religion and paid religious taxes to the clerical state regularly, the clerical state would not directly interfere in his struggle with the Crescent Parish .

If it was just a diocese, although the Crescent Diocese was vast, after all, it was not the only country in charge of the Crescent Kingdom, and it was impossible to gather all its strength to fight against Louis V.

As long as Louis V does not explicitly oppose the church, but cuts his flesh with a blunt knife, and gradually replaces the influence of the church in the kingdom, he can naturally achieve his goals bit by bit.

Knowing the ins and outs, Charlotte also felt a little emotional.

The political entities in the continent of Miria really like to split.

This was the case in the former Unet Empire.

An alliance split inheritance law makes the empire split almost once every time it is replaced, and then even directly divides the east and west until it perishes.

The same is true of the Siunite Empire, which has almost degenerated into a political alliance.

Almost all of the more than 200 lords in the empire have semi-independent diplomacy. Obviously, the territory is more than twice the size of the New Moon Kingdom, and the population is three times that of the New Moon Kingdom, but they were defeated by Louis V of the Fallen Star. The world suppressed and fought, and it was not until the alliance with Luo Xing that the expansion of the New Moon Kingdom was curbed.

Today, even the holy royal court in the religious field is not exempt.

Under the clerical state, each diocese has become a religious vassal, and the influence of the chief priest on the local area is far less than that of the parish priest.

Of course, this is true even for the New Moon Kingdom, as well as many other kingdoms and duchies.

There are a bunch of lords, big and small, in any country. Although they are vassals, they are also extremely independent.

In a huge country, the core area controlled by the royal family is likely to be only a small piece of territory in the center of the entire country. Similar things are a kind of "common sense" in many countries.

That is to say, Louis V was born in the New Moon Kingdom, which strengthened the centralization of power.

Before the Star-Moon War, the Varwa family faced the same situation. They were even dubbed the "Earl of Lutecia".

Even the Varwa family could become the royal family of the New Moon, the earliest reason was that the big nobles on the Crescent Peninsula believed that the Varwa family had a small territory and was easy to fool, so they supported him to crack the earth and become king.

After reading the history of Myria, even Charlotte can't help feeling that the unified country like the Blue Star Dynasty in the previous life is an exception.

In the next few days, Charlotte finally got busy.

The news of the royal palace spread quickly. She met with Louis V, gave up her religious oath of offering soil, and decided to formally serve the Valva family.

At first, it was just a rumor, but when the news that Louis V would hold the canonization ceremony of the Castel family three days later, everyone was finally sure that between the church and the king, the Northland still had to choose the king.

The canonization has not yet begun, and nobles of all sizes have already paid a visit to congratulate the Castel family on becoming the direct vassals of the kingdom.

Of course, congratulations is one aspect, the most important thing is to show favor and trade.

The wealth of the Northland is well known, and the commerce and trade in the Northland are also developed in all directions. Many merchants in the New Moon want to trade with Luoxing, Luna Island, and the Grand Duchy of the North. A place you can't get around.

Not to mention, the Castel family also holds the largest mithril mine in the entire New Moon Kingdom. Even if 70% of the mithril is controlled by the royal family, and the Castel family has exclusive access to 30% of the mithril after independence from Boulder, It has become the sweet pastry in the eyes of many lords.

Mithril is a good thing. It is not only a necessary material to form a magic energy array, but also a high-quality material for alchemy and magic circles. It has a high price and a large demand, and it can be called a hard currency in the extraordinary field.

In the past, the noble families could not hold back the attitude of the royal family, and they were more reserved and hesitant about the trade with the Castel family, but now that it has been confirmed that the Castel family will become direct vassals, naturally they can't sit still.

For a while, the nobles almost broke through the door of the manor that Charlotte leased. In order to meet these nobles who came to the door, her smiling face became stiff. Sebastian, who was in charge of signing the trade agreement, was even softer when he signed the treaty. .

In less than three days, the Castel family made a trade agreement with a total amount of 8 million Quintana, and most of them were related to Mithril and Mithril's associated minerals.

This has been more than a year of taxation for Castel.

However, Charlotte knew that this was just a small head.

The real big head depends on the great nobles of the kingdom.

After meeting with Louis V, Duke Yuehu's invitation to the salon was also delivered, and it was held on the second day after she was officially canonized, and all the great nobles of the kingdom attended.

These nobles are the focus of Charlotte's attention, because they control 90% of the extraordinary materials circulating in the New Moon Market!

Reaching an agreement with these people will completely open up the extraordinary trade in the Castel Territory in the future, and it will become history if you have money and mines but can't buy rare extraordinary resources.

Of course, not all the nobles came for the Mithril of the Castel family.

During the three days of waiting for the canonization, Charlotte also received invitations to banquets and salons from many nobles, and her words were full of admiration for Charlotte.

This is when news of her renunciation of religious dedication spread, and many people mistakenly thought that her celibacy declaration was also gone.

He is the only child of his family, holds the largest silver mine in the Crescent, and owns a wealthy territory on the Crescent Peninsula second only to the Lutetia region...

How can this be an emerging kingdom lord? This is obviously a walking lottery ticket. As long as you are attracted to it and embrace the beautiful woman, you will not only capture the most beautiful pearl in the New Moon Kingdom, but also obtain an incomparably rich territory. With wealth, he became the great lord of the entire new moon second only to the duke!

All of a sudden, Charlotte's suitors sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

This left Charlotte very speechless and with a headache.

For those guys who are greedy for her body and family property, she politely declines the invitations, but she still can't stop the invitations and love letters flying over like snowflakes.

Until Charlotte released the news again, it was true that she took back the religious offering, but she also kept the declaration of celibacy. She had decided to dedicate her body and mind to God, and she would never get married in this life.

In this way, Charlotte was finally cleansed.

Although there are some who don't believe in evil, and those who are lucky, they are all ignored by Charlotte.

For a while, the aristocratic circle of Lutetia was full of envy for the Varva family, and the Castel family and Charlotte became must-talk topics in various salons and banquets.

Obviously, under Charlotte's declaration of celibacy, the Varva family will benefit the most. This almost means that as long as Castel dies out in the future, the Northland will most likely be under the control of the royal family.

Even in the taverns on the streets and alleys, Charlotte of Castells has become the talk of common people after dinner.

However, to Charlotte's surprise, the church did not respond to her giving up religious offerings.

She was all ready for the visit by the priest, but in fact, in the Lutetia cathedral, only a word from the chief priest to the fellow priest was heard about her giving up the soil offering:

"The future of the Northland is in Her Majesty's own hands. Whether it belongs to the church or the king, Her Majesty the lord can handle it on her own. The church does not need and should not interfere."

When these words came out, the entire Lutetia noble circle exploded again.

saint!

The High Priest of the Diocese of the Crescent called Charlotte of Castres a saint!

Although many civilians have referred to the mistress of the Northland as a saint who walks on the earth before, it is often considered a rumor by the nobles, and it may even be the young Earl of the Northland himself. Smoke bombs released.

However... now the highest clergyman of the new moon has openly admitted this fact!

For a while, Charlotte once again became the center of public opinion in Lutetia, making headlines in noble salons, noble banquets, and commoner taverns...

Charlotte didn't know which way the High Priest had a fit, or if it was just a reaction to her renouncing her vows.

That is to say, she had told Louis V in advance about her refusal to be a saint, otherwise, she might have taken root in the monarch.

However, the subsequent development was beyond Charlotte's expectation.

Because the new moon chief priest, Charles, soon sent out a new response:

"Charlotte de Castel is indeed the saint chosen by the god, and possesses the power of the god's protection."

"However, she declined the church's invitation and did not get a formal position in the church."

As soon as this response came out, it added another fire to Charlotte's enthusiasm.

The nobles looked lively, but the priests were blown up.

The holy woman recognized by the god refuses to be the holy woman of the church?

What the fuck is this?

Priest, are you insane?

You can say that this statement is false, but it is said from the mouth of the chief priest, the highest priest of the new moon.

But if you are telling the truth, wouldn’t that be equivalent to saying that God is dissatisfied with the church? !

This is questioning the authority of the church!

The priests were stunned, and each of them felt that they were about to go insane, until the high priest Charles issued an order that shocked the priests and surprised the nobles:

"The holy royal court has spread the glory of the God Lord for thousands of years and protected all living beings. Now the God Lord is sleeping, the royal court is corrupt, and the church is full of evils and degenerates day by day, so that the God Lord warns the saint..."

"From now on, the Diocese of the Crescent will launch an internal review, with the Grand Judge Bernard de Champagne as the chief judge and Joseph de Mazarin as the deputy chief judge, to conduct an internal review of all clergy in the diocese. Disciplinary review!"

As soon as this news was announced, the entire Crescent Parish was shaken, and even Charlotte became more popular, and there was a tendency to change from Lutesia headlines to Crescent headlines.

No way, although according to the chief priest, her refusal was the trigger for the church's self-examination?

He really influenced the policy of the entire diocese by himself.

After Charlotte learned about it, she finally realized what the high priest wanted to do.

Charlotte's rejection of the Saintess must not be hidden. It is better for the church to expose it on its own initiative, and at the same time use this as a reason to rectify the entire New Moon Parish.

After realizing this, Charlotte also fell into deep thought.

The rectification of any organization is full of resistance, and the reason chosen by the chief priest can block the mouths of many priests.

At the same time, rectifying the diocese is also a way to strengthen cohesion and reorganize power. It may have an impact on the authority and power of the Crescent Diocese in the short term, but in the long run, it will be beneficial to the crescent diocese to strengthen its faith and religious power.

It's just...is it a little impatient to choose this comprehensive review method?

Louis V used the Gorefiend Order to rectify the nobles of the kingdom from the beginning, and at the same time further strengthened the centralization of power. Now even the high priest of the new moon is carrying out internal censorship of the church against the church's unstable family...

How do you feel...the king and the church seem to be in a hurry, as if they are preparing for something?

Not only that, compared to the records of the church, the activities of the Gorefiend Order in the past two years have also been more frequent than in the past. In the past many years, there may not have been a "God's Descending Ceremony". Arrived three times.

Even the Ness clan of the Fallen Star Kingdom planned to stage a coup this year, and it seemed urgent.

Paying attention to the news of the palace and the cathedral, recalling the various movements of the Gorefiend Order and the Ness clan, Charlotte fell into deep thought.

"It should be that something big is going to happen."

she murmured.

Charlotte didn't know the connection, but somewhere she felt something was going to happen.

Moreover, it is a major event that the senior officials of these major forces know.

"Is it something that the internal high-level people know..."

Charlotte's eyes flickered slightly, thinking of Albrecht who was forcibly contracted into a blood servant by himself.

Albrecht prepared Lutetia's great sacrifice. Although it was destroyed by Charlotte, the third apostle of the blood order should know something.

Not only that, since the Gorefiend Cult was involved, it was more or less likely to be related to the Bloodborn.

Thinking of this, Charlotte sank into consciousness, calling out Albrecht's memory that turned into a library:

"Call out the major events that are about to happen in the recent period."

The illusory book flew up and fell into Charlotte's hands, and the memory of Albrecht's rubbings also appeared in Charlotte's mind.

And when Charlotte read the memory of the other party's rubbings, her eyes quickly became a little suspicious:

"Holy Advent?"