Tome of Blood

"Ah-choo! Which bastard is plotting me behind my back again?!"

"It must be that bastard Sebastian who is really... well, speaking ill of me in front of Lord Charlotte, this guy with an elf face and a devil's heart knows how to play tricks all day long!"

After finishing speaking, Nice's eyeballs rolled around:

"Speaking of it... It has been more than ten days since the news of Lord Charlotte's return. Calculating the time, he should be back soon."

"No, I have to make preparations earlier, go outside the city to meet him in advance, and make a good impression on Him!"

Thinking of this, Niss felt that it was time for him to cheer up after being chic for almost two months, at least he couldn't be compared to those flattering nobles in the territory.

"Jennifer, hurry up and prepare a carriage for Master Cat, Master Cat is going out, so go outside the city to meet Lord Charlotte in advance!"

Nice said to the maid who was cleaning the room.

The maid paused slightly, and was about to answer when suddenly a young mage in a robe ran in, followed by two guard knights:

"My lord! My lord! News came from outside the city that the Earl's convoy has entered the viscount of Beigang!"

After hearing the young mage's words, Niss shuddered instantly and jumped up:

"Ah? What? So fast? He has already entered the Viscount of Beigang?"

"According to the knight who led the way, it was the earl who was eager to return to his heart and declined the invitation of the nobles along the way without stopping."

Said the young Earl's House mage.

"Well, I got it. Hurry up and make arrangements. Immediately prepare a carriage to meet us outside the city. We are all trusted followers of the Earl's Mansion. We cannot be compared to those nobles in the Northland. We must be the first to see him before them." Lord Charlotte!"

Nice ordered quickly.

After listening to it, the mage's expression was a bit strange:

"Hey, Lord Nice, the nobles in the city seem to have left the city to wait a day ago..."

Nice: ...

"Shit, what a bunch of shameless bastards, hurry up! Immediately! Quickly! Prepare the carriage!"

It stared cat-eyed and cursed.

...

Outside Beigang City.

The convoy painted with the coat of arms of Castel, under the protection of armored knights, came from afar.

Both sides of the road were full of nobles who were looking forward to it.

Looking around, including family members and servants, there may not be less than a thousand people, but almost all the famous nobles from the entire Northland came.

Including the two old Viscounts under the Earl of Northland, the two old Viscounts Roman Foer and Viscount Leon Castel were all present, and they led a group of clansmen to stand in front of the team from left to right.

Nice stood at the front with the confidants of the Earl's Palace.

It was a rare thing that this guy didn't lie on the reclining chair, but stood proudly on the back of a tall horse, and behind him sat a fully armed guard knight of the Earl's Palace.

Seeing the approaching convoy and the rising dust in the distance, Nice was a little nervous for a while.

It coughed lightly, turned its head quickly, and looked at the knight behind him:

"Hey, Master Cat seems to be in a good state of mind, right?"

The guard knight nodded:

"You seem to be in good spirits."

Niston breathed a sigh of relief.

However, looking at its ball-like figure, the guard knight hesitated for a moment, then said cautiously:

"It's just...have you gained weight recently?"

Nice: ...

"Why are you fat? This is called rich! Do you understand rich?"

It blew its beard and stared.

But after finishing speaking, it stretched out its chubby paws to touch its round belly, and its eyes were a little erratic:

"It seems... a little stronger than before."

"No, it seems that Mr. Cat has to lose weight, otherwise scratching his itch will be difficult."

Guard Knight: ...

"Okay, I see, Lord Charlotte's convoy is here, let's go up to meet it."

Looking at the earl convoy getting closer, Niss rubbed the cat's paws and said.

...

This is the second time Charlotte has returned to the Domain.

After crossing the last hill leading to the Viscountdom of Northport, Charlotte saw the team greeted outside the city. The mighty scale was far beyond what she had seen for the first time.

Not only that, during the half-day journey after she entered the Northland, the passing vassal territories along the way greeted her with their families and invited her to stay in the castle or manor.

Of course, she declined them all.

The convoy stopped slowly, and the nobles warmly greeted them.

Charlotte signaled the dragon maid Eudocia to open the curtains, and when they saw Charlotte in the carriage, the nobles immediately showed joyful smiles. Under the leadership of the two viscounts, they respectfully said:

"Lord Earl, welcome back to the territory, congratulations on becoming the direct lord of the kingdom!"

Seeing the nobles saluting to him in unison, Charlotte sighed for a while.

Think about when she first came to the territory more than a year ago, there were almost no nobles who liked her, and almost all the vassals from all over the place were obsequious.

But now, with the suppression of the rebellion of the Legris family and the victory of the Polder-Castel War, Charlotte has proved herself, and suppressed and subdued the nobles in various ways, Cass Things were very different for the Tell family.

Maybe she can't be said to be the one and only in the territory now, but she is already the lord recognized and loyal to the nobles of the Northland.

Of course, nobles are nobles, and she still needs to work harder to gain the recognition of the majority of the people. If one day people who come to greet her are not only nobles, but many people, it means that she is really deep into the world. popular.

"Meow! Lord Charlotte! You are finally back! I haven't seen you for so many days, Master Cat misses you so much! I haven't eaten well every day!"

A rough and flattering voice came from the side, and a big black ball rolled towards Charlotte.

It took Charlotte a moment to recognize that it was Ness the black cat.

I haven't seen him for almost two months, and this guy seems to be gaining weight again.

"Oh, didn't you have a good meal? Your Excellency, you should really look in the mirror, look at your figure, and think about whether you will blush when you say this."

Sebastian sneered and said in a strange way.

Nice immediately glanced back:

"What do you know?! This is called depression and fat! Master Cat hasn't seen Lord Charlotte for so many days, and he feels depressed every day. He can only relieve it by eating!"

"Depressed and fat? Isn't it just because you don't have the master's restraint, you become lazy and greedy?"

"Meow! Slander! You are blatantly slandering! You, a wicked elf, knows how to speak ill of people behind your back! What a disgrace to the elves!"

"No, I never said anything bad about people, I was just stating the facts, the facts about lazy, gluttonous pets."

"You! Meow! I'm so mad at Master Cat!"

Nice's cat mouth was obviously not what Sebas would say, and Sebas was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.

"Meow... Lord Charlotte, this guy is bullying again. How lazy is Master Cat? Master Cat works diligently to look after the house. In his spare time, he does not forget to guide the spellcasters in the Earl's Mansion, and even writes a book for them. Master Cat really worked hard on the secret method of bloodline awakening!"

Nice threw himself in front of Charlotte, and said with snot and tears.

It's his overweight body and rough voice, imitating cats to act cute, and his eyes are somewhat hot.

However, Charlotte didn't pay much attention to this.

She just remembered something when she heard the words "secret method of bloodline awakening", and her face turned black all of a sudden.

"Okay, be quiet and go back to the city."

Charlotte said.

After finishing speaking, she looked at the two old viscounts again:

"Mr. Roman Furr, Mr. Leon Castel, come and go with you."

After listening to Charlotte's words, Viscount Leon-Castle's expression brightened, and the unsmiling Viscount Romain Fore was also respectful.

They saluted Charlotte, then turned on their horses from left to right, and followed Charlotte's carriage.

Being able to follow the lord is also regarded as the lord's approval and closeness.

Although they are old, the two viscounts are extraordinary after all, and riding a horse is more than enough.

"Go on."

Charlotte ordered.

Without even looking at Ness, she closed the curtains again.

"Hey."

Sebas gave Nice a provocative look, and raised his chin proudly.

Nice's face, which was already dark enough, seemed to become even darker.

He glared at Sebas angrily, cursed a few words inwardly, but when his eyes glanced at Charlotte's carriage, his erratic eyes became a little more guilty.

No... Is it because I was caught again?

Nice's little head immediately started to work quickly, thinking about whether he had a dark history that had been exposed recently.

On the other hand, Charlotte no longer paid attention to it.

Castel's convoy continued to drive, and the nobles who welcomed them also joined the team one after another, followed behind the convoy, and headed towards Beigang.

...

"Lord Earl, the post-war reconstruction of Beigang is almost done. However, the Northern Territory still needs some time. Although there is already support and free assistance from the Earl's Mansion, the remaining funding gap is still relatively large. Only the local lords If not, it may take a long time to recover.”

"Thanks to the previous naval battle, the Qianshui Street in Beigang has been destroyed in the war. The city hall has taken this opportunity to successfully demolish most of the buildings in Qianshui Street, and has planned the Beigang New District on the land outside the island. Construction is currently proceeding in an orderly manner.”

"Castel College has been formally established, borrowing the estate of the Legris family in the city as the school site, and the first batch of students has also been recruited, a total of 67 students, most of whom are of civilian background, because of insufficient background, The nobles are not very motivated, and most of them still choose to hire tutors."

"In addition, about half a month ago, the church's Northland investigation team also completed the investigation of the Castel Territory. According to your instructions before leaving, we have reported all the relics. In the end, the church concluded that the Gorefiend The sect acts as a demon."

"The ruins have not been sealed, and we continue to control them now. However, after investigation, there is nothing in the ruins, just some ruins."

"..."

North Port, Earl's Court.

Charlotte, who had already returned to the territory, didn't take much rest, and listened to Viscount Leon-Castle's report in the study.

Although she only left the territory for two months, the Northland was not idle during this time, and everything was developing according to Charlotte's original plan.

The aristocrats are still very capable, rich and powerful. After so many days, it is almost impossible to see that Beigang suffered a war not long ago, and the shallow water street in the poor area of ​​Beigang is a blessing in disguise, and there is a possibility of demolition.

After listening to the nobleman's report, Charlotte pondered for a moment and said:

"The post-war recovery fund gap can continue to be filled by the Castel family, but the remaining funds are only borrowed, not donated. Of course, land or other assets are allowed to be mortgaged or exchanged."

"The reconstruction of the shallow water area should do a good job in the aftermath, and properly resettle the poor. During the construction of the new area, priority should be given to recruiting workers from the poor and using work as relief. For those shallow water street buildings that were not destroyed in the war, we should also do Good comp work."

"Don't worry about the academy. It's always difficult to get started, and there must be a lack of foundation. Well, I will donate all the books in the earl's mansion and the books collected from the rebellious noble families to the academy to form the library of the academy. All teachers who have served in the college for more than one year can freely browse through it."

Hearing this, Viscount Leon-Castle's eyes widened:

"Donate all the books? This... Lord Earl! Absolutely not! Extraordinary knowledge is the heritage of nobility, if you donate all of them... then Castel..."

"The Royal Library has hundreds of thousands of books, and it is also open to the students of the Kingdom Academy of Magic, so why can't I, Castel?"

Charlotte interrupted Viscount Lane Castel.

Viscount Lien-Castle hesitated slightly.

And Charlotte continued:

"It's settled like this. Only by showing knowledge can we attract real talents. The same is true for the teachers of the college, and the same for the students."

"Of course, not everyone can enter the library freely. Only those who have proved their worth can enter the library. For details, you can refer to the management of the Royal Family Library, but you must remember that you should not favor the nobles, but take care of the common people."

After hearing what Charlotte said, Viscount Leon-Castle let out a long sigh:

"My lord, your heart is ashamed..."

After speaking, his heart was also moved.

After all, the Castel family is the lord of the Northland. They have collected a lot of books for hundreds of years, especially extraordinary knowledge, which has a profound foundation.

Viscount Leon-Castle felt that perhaps after the library was established, his family could also send his clansmen to serve as teachers in the college, and even send some of his heirs to study in the college.

To be able to contribute all the books in one's own collection to the academy, the continent of Myria... but no nobleman can do that!

Viscount Lien-Castel sighed in his heart, he didn't know whether to say that his earl had a big heart, or that he was a bit of a prodigal.

However, Charlotte really didn't care much about Castel's collection.

The reason is simple. Compared with the royal library that was evacuated by her, the collection of books of the Castel family is a younger brother.

If you add the blood lineage inheritance of the Holy Book of Blood and the magic knowledge in Nice's mind, it is even younger brother.

Of course, it's different for nobles and commoners in the North.

Instead of leaving the collection of books in the earl's mansion to eat ashes, it is better to take them out and use them more efficiently.

As for the royal family library in her mind, it was prepared for her followers in the future, and even if she wanted to, she couldn't take it out.

After spending half a day, Charlotte finally finished the summoning of the nobles, and also got an understanding of the situation in the territory for the past two months.

After everything was over, Charlotte picked up the sweet milk offered by Shirley, took a sip, and then looked at the black cat Niss, who was honest and could not be more honest, with a smile that was not a smile. .

This guy was left out by Charlotte for a long time, and now he has completely come back to it, and there must be something related to it.

"Nice, have you been hiding something from me?"

Charlotte glanced at it meaningfully.

Staring at Charlotte's blue eyes, Nice felt a little guilty.

It laughed dryly:

"Look at what you said, Mrs. Charlotte, we have been in contract for two years. Niss has long been your cat, and he is in your shape from body to heart. What else is there to hide from you?"

Charlotte said nothing, but continued to look at it calmly.

Niston's scalp went numb all of a sudden.

It coughed dryly, and its eyes became more and more erratic.

I saw it running up to Charlotte, with its big watery eyes open, hugging Charlotte's calf in white stockings, with a flattering face, but cautiously probing:

"My lord Charlotte, that... You said that I have something to hide from you. I don't know what you are referring to specifically? Can you remind me?"

Charlotte: ...