Tome of Blood

The guests attending the Red Palace banquet were actually the envoys of the Crescent Kingdom, which Charlotte never expected.

Not only that, this envoy is even an acquaintance of Charlotte.

"Guardian Duke of the Moon—John de Angelo..."

Charlotte read the names on the list.

Duke Yuehu was an old acquaintance of Charlotte. When she first inherited the territory and went to Castells, she had accepted his warm hospitality.

Later, after winning the Bold-Castle War and achieving independence, Duke Yuehu even took the initiative to hold a salon and introduce Charlotte to the lords of the major kingdoms.

Charlotte was able to quickly integrate into the upper echelons of the Crescent Kingdom's aristocracy, and the Castel Territory was able to successfully establish extraordinary trade with the lords of the major kingdoms to form a stable channel of extraordinary resources. Duke Moonguard definitely put in a lot of effort.

Charlotte's impression of this loyal royalist noble was quite good.

Duke Tsukigo is easy-going and kind, with a kind personality. In his previous life, he was the kind of social master who could get along well with everyone in the workplace and be cheerful all day long.

However, if you really think that Duke Yuehu is just a good old man with no abilities, you would be totally wrong.

Being able to become the leader of the royal nobles and the right-hand man of the Crescent King Louis V, Duke Yuehu is quite skillful.

It is said that even the final armistice agreement of the Star-Moon War was led by him, and at that time, Duke Yuehu was not even twenty years old.

Not only that, in a sense, he contributed a lot to the easing of the relationship between Charlotte and the Crescent Royal Family after the war.

You know, during the Boulder-Castel War, the royal family acquiesced in the deprivation of her title by the third prince Philip. Even if there was no direct opposition, he was still considered an enemy.

Later, we were able to sit down and have a good talk, and the person who made the connection was Duke Tsukigo.

Even the proposal to recognize Castells' independence and accept Castells as a direct vassal was said to be taken by him and proposed to the king on his own initiative.

There is no doubt that Duke Yuegua is a true confidant of Louis V.

Visiting Falling Star Kingdom as a special envoy, his every move, word and deed probably represents the attitude of the Crescent Royal Family.

"When did the special envoy of the Crescent Kingdom come to Luo Xing? What's the purpose?"

Charlotte asked after thinking for a while.

She had just arrived at Luoxing for a day, and Duke Yuehu was farther away. He could only have set off earlier than her, but not later.

In other words, Duke Yuehu originally visited Falling Star Kingdom with his own purpose.

Marquis Howard said respectfully:

"What a coincidence, he just arrived this morning. We don't know his purpose for the moment, but it should be related to the territorial dispute between the two countries."

"As you know, the peace agreement of the Star-Moon War did not resolve the territorial issues between the two countries. We, the Fallen Star Kingdom, regard the Roman Principality as a royal territory, and the Crescent Moon Kingdom also regards it as de jure."

"Twenty years ago, when the peace treaty was signed, the treaty stipulated that the territorial disputes between the two parties would be temporarily shelved."

"But now, the situation in Luoxing is unstable, and the Crescent Kingdom may be ready to move again."

Charlotte's heart moved slightly, and she suddenly understood.

The Eighty Years of Star-Moon War did not completely resolve the conflict between the two countries, and the hidden danger of territorial disputes has always existed.

But now, not only is the Falling Star Kingdom's internal situation unstable, its throne is vacant, but Caster has suddenly appeared as a variable. Of course, the Crescent Kingdom cannot sit still.

After all, if Charlotte really becomes Queen of the Fallen Star, then the Roman Principality will not be the only disputed territory.

In addition to the Roman Principality, Castres, which has a richer geographical location and strategic resources, must be added.

Under this general premise, it was very subtle for the Crescent Kingdom's envoy to attend Charlotte's welcome banquet.

This means that the Crescent Kingdom already has plans to interfere with the succession of the Fallen Star throne.

There is no doubt that the banquet tonight will be very lively.

Marquis Howard obviously thought of this too.

This can be seen from his expression, with a frown almost written all over his face.

If you think about it from another perspective, you can understand that for parliamentary nobles who lack extraordinary combat power, it is difficult to support Charlotte's succession, and when Charlotte agreed to inherit the throne, she made it clear that she would not give up Cass. Ter collar.

But now that the Crescent Kingdom's envoy is here, you can guess with your toes that the other party will definitely not accept it, and this may very well mean pushing the Crescent Kingdom to the side of the Lilac faction nobles.

This will definitely make the problem of throne succession even worse.

After some tangle, Marquis Howard gritted his teeth and saluted Charlotte again:

"Queen...Your Majesty..."

Seeing him look like he had something to say, Charlotte nodded:

"If you have anything to say, just say it."

Marquis Howard took a deep breath and asked:

"Your Majesty the Queen, are you... unwilling to give up the Castel Territory no matter what? With all due respect, the Crescent Kingdom will definitely not let the Castel Territory fall to the stars. If you insist on it, they will definitely Will stand on our hostile side..."

"I think you should also be able to realize that everything is not perfect, and sometimes, necessary choices must be made..."

Charlotte glanced at him and shook her head:

"Sir Howard, I wonder if Earl Stafford has told you that the prerequisite for my willingness to accept the Fallen Star Throne is that I will never give up my Castle Territory."

"But...but..."

"There is no but, Mr. Howard, this is my bottom line, and I hope all Fallen Star Nobles can realize this."

Charlotte said calmly.

Seeing that the persuasion was useless, Marquis Howard became even more depressed.

Seeing his troubled look, Charlotte smiled and said:

"Sir Howard, I know what you are worried about. Don't worry, I can tell you frankly that even if the Crescent Kingdom supports Duke Asia, it doesn't matter. The throne will definitely belong to me."

"As for territorial disputes... Haha, even if there is no Castel, there is still Roman. I know that some nobles want to completely give up the mainland territory and stay away from the conflict in Miria..."

"But everyone must also remember that giving up territory on the mainland means being completely isolated from the mainstream world of order by the mainland. In troubled times, settling in a corner is not a good choice."

"As for the Crescent Kingdom, although the Crescent Kingdom is powerful, it is not invincible, especially with the Castel Territory and the Falling Star Kingdom after integrating its internal forces."

After hearing Charlotte's words, Marquis Howard hesitated to speak.

To be honest, he knew what Charlotte said.

Not only that, if possible, many nobles would not be willing to give up the Roman Principality, and even supported the annexation of the Earl of Castel to Falling Star.

The reason is very simple. The former is the ancestral land of the Fallen Star Royal Family, while the latter is an important source of mithril, which can greatly enhance the extraordinary strength of the Fallen Star Kingdom.

But the cruel Star-Moon War really frightened the nobles, and Louis V, who was good at fighting, became a nightmare for many star-fallen nobles.

In addition, Charlotte's succession to the throne is not stable, and it has even not been officially recognized at all.

In this case, pushing the Crescent Kingdom to another faction of contenders for the throne was really a wrong choice in the eyes of Howard and other nobles.

It is very likely that the throne and territory will be lost!

But it seems that this young Her Majesty the Queen is confident about the succession to the throne...

Marquis Howard felt that he really couldn't understand.

If it had been anyone else, he would have thought that was absolutely arrogant.

But the Fallen Star nobles have all done research on this little queen from Castel, and know that she is not a shallow person. She can unite Castel at a young age, and she is also very capable.

Since she was confident, there must be some other reason.

But Marquis Howard really couldn't figure out how the other party could be so confident about the succession to the throne. Even the nobles who most firmly supported the other party's succession were not so confident.

He couldn't think of any way to defeat Duke Asia, who had the support of the vampires at once.

etc……

Defeat Duke Asia supported by the vampires?

As if he thought of something, Marquis Howard's heart moved.

Could it be that... Her Majesty the Queen has used her power in the church and has secretly obtained support from the Holy Royal Court?

Marquis Howard couldn't help but look at Charlotte again, and looking at her relaxed and unworried look, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that he might have guessed the truth.

Yes.

The only one who can defeat the Vampires is the power of the Holy Royal Court.

Not only that, only the support of a powerful force like the Holy Royal Court can give Her Majesty the Queen the confidence to fight against the Crescent Kingdom.

Rumor has it that the relationship between the Crescent Kingdom and the Holy Royal Court is not good. Perhaps... Her Majesty the Queen has already received strong support from the Royal Court!

The more Howard thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was the truth.

Otherwise, this cannot explain Her Majesty’s current attitude!

It may be difficult for others to obtain the strong support of the Holy Royal Court, but Her Majesty the Queen is different. She is a saint of the Holy Royal Court, and has also received the appreciation of the Archpriest of the Crescent Parish.

She... must have secretly reached an agreement with the Holy Royal Court to be so confident!

As for why Her Majesty the Queen didn’t tell these things directly...

Presumably, it should be to prevent the enemy from being alerted!

Thinking of this, Marquis Howard's expression gradually relaxed.

And when he looked at Charlotte again, his eyes were filled with respect and excitement again:

"Your Majesty the Queen, I... understand. I will tell the Speaker to calm down everyone."

"I believe that under your leadership, we will be the final winner!"

Charlotte was also startled when she saw Marquis Howard suddenly getting excited after a sudden change in his expression.

To be honest, she didn't feel that her words could convince the other party immediately.

She couldn't directly tell the Fallen Star nobles that she had incorporated the Ness Blood Tribe, she could only tell them vaguely.

And now, Charlotte is still thinking about how to appease these fallen star nobles more reasonably without exposing her secrets, but the other party... is already relieved?

This...couldn't this be something you just imagined?

Charlotte looked strange.

"Well... OK, as long as you understand. Anyway... just prepare for the banquet as arranged."

Charlotte said.

After saying that, she took out another parchment from under the desk and handed it to Marquis Howard:

"In addition, pass this to Earl Stafford and prepare to deal with it at the banquet tonight."

That was the rubbing that recorded Archbishop Campbell's "evidence of guilt" and the relevant orders issued by Charlotte, of course.

Marquis Howard took it, and when he saw clearly what was on the parchment, his eyes quickly widened:

"This...this is...!"

"Your Majesty, is this true? Are you sure! Do you have to do it?"

Charlotte nodded slightly:

"Of course, I won't allow any betrayal."

Earl Howard's expression was even more respectful.

"I understand, and I will obey your will! We will definitely assist you in purging the fallen church forces in Falling Star Kingdom!"

He bowed deeply and bowed respectfully.

Marquis Howard left, and Charlotte continued to read various information about the current situation of Fallen Star Kingdom sent by Earl Stafford in the Red Palace.

In a blink of an eye, the time came to afternoon.

Charlotte has a new guest.

It's Yurst.

"Your Majesty the True Ancestor, I have handed over the materials you asked Lord Albrecht to hand over to the clan's Council of Elders. Lord Bardock and the Grand Elder attach great importance to them and are extremely shocked by the things in the materials."

"In addition, in accordance with your request, the clan has officially launched an investigation into the elves' blood descendants. At the same time, it has also closed all connections with Luna Island and launched a blood investigation on the blood descendants within the Falling Star."

Yurst said respectfully.

"Well, that's good. If anything happens, report it to me as soon as possible."

Charlotte nodded and said.

Yurst respectfully should be.

After finishing speaking, he paused and reported again:

"In addition, the Great Elder asked me to report to you that the clan has dealt with the issue with the Lilac family. Duke Asia has been 'persuaded' and will attend your welcome banquet tonight and swear allegiance to you."

Hearing this, Charlotte paused slightly.

She looked surprised and asked curiously:

"'Persuading' Duke Asia to be loyal to me? So quickly? How...how did you convince me?"

Yurst looked strange:

"In the words of the great elder, it is to understand with reason and to move with emotion."

Charlotte:…

"Okay, this matter was done very quickly, not bad, I'm very satisfied, is there anything else?"

she asked.

Jules nodded:

"One thing that is also a question of the Presbyterian Council is about the Holy Royal Court of Fallen Star Kingdom. When will we eradicate it?"

"You know...since Archpriest Campbell has in-depth cooperation with the blood elves of Luna Island, they must also know our internal affairs quite well."

"If...if this hidden danger cannot be eliminated as soon as possible, the Holy Royal Court is likely to discover the secret of your return, and then we will be in big trouble!"

Charlotte listened and smiled:

"I am planning to handle this matter. Don't worry. After tonight's banquet, Falling Star Kingdom will no longer have the eyes of the Theocracy."

…

The day passed quickly.

In a blink of an eye, it was finally time for the dinner party.