Tome of Blood

Falling Star City, the royal capital of Falling Star Kingdom, is said to have a history that can be traced back to when the elves first set foot on the continent of Miria.

Legend has it that in that era when myths walked the earth, the elves once had an earth-shattering battle with the old god of Miria in the Star-Moon Strait.

At that time, Falling Star Island was still part of the Miria continent, until the elves defeated the hostile old gods with the help of the forbidden magic of meteorites falling from the sky. The meteorites falling from the sky shattered the earth, and the sea water poured back to form the Star-Moon Strait. Falling Star The island was completely separated from the mainland.

This is where the word "falling star" comes from.

Like Northport, the capital of the Castell Territory, Falling Star City is also a port city.

As one of the natural harbors of Fallen Star Island, Fallen Star City is also the trade center between Fallen Star Kingdom and Miria continent.

Just by sailing into Star Bay, where Falling Star City is located, Charlotte saw countless ships moored at the port. Merchant ships from all over the world gathered here, and the bustling level was even higher than that of North Port.

And that's exactly what happened.

As far as Charlotte knows, the population of Falling Star City, the capital of Falling Star Kingdom, exceeds 700,000, which is almost 1.5 times that of North Port and only slightly less than the capital of Crescent Moon Kingdom, Lutecia.

Compared to Falling Star Kingdom, which has only three-fifths of the population of Crescent Kingdom, the population gap between the capitals of the two kingdoms is not that big.

Charlotte stood on the deck, looking at this elf-style port city with interest.

As the battleship sailed into the bay, the sailors and soldiers who had been nervous finally relaxed completely, and the atmosphere on the entire battleship became much more lively.

Even Earl Stafford said to Charlotte with an unstoppable smile:

"Her Majesty the Queen, welcome to Falling Star."

The battleship raised its flag and slowly sailed toward the port.

Soon, the port also noticed the Karak sailboat flying the flags of Falling Star and Roman.

Apparently, Earl Stafford had already greeted him in advance through the magic crystal communication that Falling Star Kingdom is best at. As the battleship approached the city, Charlotte noticed that many escort warships took the initiative to leave the port and escort around the battleship.

Not only that, as Charlotte's warship approached the dock, loud roars came from the direction of the escorting warships. Charlotte noticed white smoke rising from those warships.

"Your Majesty the Queen, this is the salute of the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy is welcoming and paying tribute to you."

Earl Stafford introduced with a smile.

Charlotte looked at the escorting warships around her with a slightly surprised expression.

The throne of the Fallen Star Kingdom was vacant, and the conflict between the parliamentary nobles and the Lilac family was at war. She was originally prepared to be greeted by a city filled with the smell of gunpowder, but she did not expect that she had already enjoyed such courtesy before she even landed ashore.

Seemingly noticing Charlotte's surprise, Earl Stafford smiled and explained:

"Your Majesty, Falling Star City is not only the capital of the Kingdom, but also the direct territory of the Roman royal family. It is also the seat of the Kingdom's Parliament. This city... will only be loyal to the legitimate King Falling Star."

"His Majesty Edward passed the throne to you, and the Kingdom Council also supports you to become the Queen of Falling Star. Then... Falling Star City will naturally welcome you and wait for your rule."

After hearing Earl Stafford's explanation, Charlotte nodded slightly.

She understood clearly that Falling Star City was the sphere of influence of the Kingdom Council and the Roman royal family. After the death of Edward III, the Kingdom Council broke with the Lilac family, and the Roman family recognized Charlotte, this city naturally became Stand up for her representatives.

And just like what Earl Stafford said, when the battleship docked at the deep-water dock, Charlotte saw that there were also dense crowds of people on the dock waiting for her arrival.

She looked towards the pier and saw knights in silver armor and red capes holding their heads high, lining up on both sides, extending all the way to the end of the road connecting the pier.

Lilac flags representing Fallen Star Kingdom fluttered in the wind, but unlike during the Star-Moon War, these fluttering lilac flags were not the lilacs of Edward III's line, but were restored to the ancient white lilac of the Roman family.

At the front of the pier, fallen star nobles wearing various colorful costumes gathered together, looking forward to it.

Not only that, in addition to the nobles, Charlotte even saw some priests, including a holy royal princess in golden priest robes.

As for the further distance, curious citizens had already gathered in dense crowds, and the port was surrounded by water.

This scene was really beyond Charlotte's expectation.

Such a level of welcome even exceeded the reception she received from the nobles and citizens of the North when she returned to the Castel territory.

When the battleship docked and Charlotte officially boarded the dock under the escort of knights, the nobles at the front came to greet her.

Led by several Fallen Star nobles and the Holy Royal Court Princess Priest, whose costumes were obviously more gorgeous and whose status was obviously not low, the nobles saluted respectfully to Charlotte one after another:

"Meet Her Majesty the Queen!"

Charlotte's eyes swept across these fallen star nobles, and finally fell on Earl Stafford, who was accompanying her. Feeling her gaze, the speaker of the Kingdom's Parliament quickly introduced Charlotte to :

"Her Majesty the Queen, this is the Lord Chamberlain of the Kingdom, Marquis Howard, and a staunch supporter of the Kingdom's Parliament."

"This is the Kingdom's court advisor and the dean of the Kingdom's Magic Academy, the representative of the Roman clan, Count Greenville-Roman."

"This is the chief priest of the Fallen Star Branch of the Holy Royal Court, the chief priest Campbell."

"Who is this……"

"..."

Earl Stafford behaved respectfully and introduced the identities of the nobles who came to greet Charlotte one by one.

And every time he introduced someone, the noble being introduced would salute respectfully again to show respect to Charlotte.

Among them, even the High Priest Campbell of the Holy Royal Court was included.

Perhaps because of her status as a "holy lady", the church representative was also very enthusiastic towards her.

As far as Charlotte knows, the title "Grand Priest Campbell" is not something that can be called by any priest in the Fallen Star Kingdom. After the Holy Royal Court became the official faith of Fallen Star, every king's coronation was given by "Grand Priest Campbell". officiant”.

After some introductions, Charlotte almost figured out what these nobles who came to greet her had in common.

They... are all staunch parliamentary nobles, and the Roman clan has reached cooperation with the parliamentary nobles.

Of course, there is also the Holy Court whose interests align with the Kingdom Council.

It was impossible not to be surprised that she could gain so much support from the nobles. Charlotte, who was prepared to be made things difficult for her, was quite unexpected.

However, after introducing many nobles, the smile on Earl Stafford's face became weaker and weaker.

His eyes were glanced back and forth between the nobles, and his brows were gradually frowning.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Marquis Howard, who had the highest identity and status among the welcoming nobles, quietly leaned over and asked in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty the Marquis, the Duke of West and the Knights...are no one here?"

After hearing Earl Stafford's inquiry, Marquis Howard showed hesitation.

He glanced at Charlotte who was communicating with the nobles, sighed, lowered his voice, and replied:

"Your Majesty Speaker, they... didn't come."