Tome of Blood

Your Highness the Saint?

After hearing the title of Duke Yuehu, the Fallen Star nobles were slightly startled.

Earl Stafford couldn't help but glance at the other party, and his evaluation of the Crescent King's right-hand man was even higher.

I have to say that the other party's name for Charlotte was very clever.

Calling the other party Earl of Castells directly after the Crescent Kingdom would undoubtedly be suspected of supporting the Lilac faction nobles and would displease the Parliamentary faction nobles.

And if you directly call the Queen like the parliamentary nobles, it will arouse the suspicion and displeasure of the Lilac nobles.

But the title Her Majesty the Holy Lady is very subtle.

Not only did both parties not offend, they even raised a hand to the Holy Royal Court. At the same time, giving the girl enough respect would not arouse the resentment of Her Majesty the Queen.

Not only that, just through a title, the other party even made clear the attitude of the Crescent Kingdom in the struggle for the throne of the Fallen Star Kingdom.

That is neutrality.

At least...it's neutral for now.

Of course, as a major force that will definitely be involved in the battle for the Fallen Star throne, the Crescent Kingdom will definitely not remain neutral forever.

The neutrality at this moment is more like waiting for the Lilac faction nobles and the Parliamentary faction nobles to make a price.

"Your Excellency, there is no need for small talk. We are old friends, so we won't go around in circles. You came to Luo Xing today. Is there anything you want to convey to His Majesty Louis?"

Charlotte asked with a smile.

After hearing Charlotte's words, Duke Yuehu sighed.

He nodded and said with a wry smile:

"Your Highness the Saint, you are still so smart and direct."

After saying that, Duke Yuehu straightened his expression and said:

"What you said is true. This visit to Luoxing is indeed His Majesty's will."

"Originally, I planned to go to Castel to visit you after visiting Luo Xing, but...since you have already arrived at Luo Xing, this procedure can be avoided..."

After saying this, Duke Yuehu looked solemn and his tone became serious:

"Your Majesty the Saint, Your Majesty would like to ask you, since you are determined to compete for the throne of Falling Star Kingdom, then...have you considered how to handle the relationship between the Earldom of Castel and the Crescent Kingdom?"

Very direct inquiry.

The nobles who arrived at Luo Xing were all a little surprised.

Charlotte looked normal and nodded:

"Of course, the agreement I made with His Majesty Louis in Lutetia is still valid."

Duke Yuehu shook his head:

"Your Highness the Saint, I think you should also know that your Majesty is willing to make an agreement with you because you are a vassal of the kingdom, but if you inherit the Fallen Star Throne, it will be another matter."

"How...how can you guarantee that the agreement will still be valid after you ascend the throne? Even if you agree, can you...be able to convince the other nobles of the Fallen Star Kingdom?"

protocol?

What agreement?

The Fallen Star nobles were slightly startled.

Charlotte's agreement with Louis V was no secret.

In fact, after Charlotte left the royal capital, the Crescent Royal Family had secretly announced the inheritance agreement regarding Castel's future, and some interested people had already heard about it.

Among them were some fallen star nobles who were very concerned about Charlotte. They looked thoughtful and explained to the people around them. Soon, everyone showed the same expression.

"Oh? So... His Majesty Louis wants to modify the agreement?"

Charlotte asked.

Duke Yuehu paused slightly and said:

"It's not so much a modification as...a re-signing."

"Your Highness the Saint, you are also a New Moon person, so you should know how firm your Majesty is in the territorial integrity of the Crescent Kingdom."

"The territorial dispute between Crescent Moon and Luo Xing has been going on for too long. His Majesty is old and has long lost his patience."

"Your Majesty doesn't care who inherits the Fallen Star Throne. There is only one issue that Your Majesty cares about, and that is the ownership of Castel and the Roman Principality."

Having said this, Duke Yuehu became slightly solemn and put away his smile:

"Let's put it this way, before I set off, His Majesty has already said that whoever is willing to return the Roman Principality and the Castel Territory after inheriting the throne, the Crescent Kingdom will support whoever becomes the Fallen Star King."

After hearing his words, the Luo Xing nobles in the banquet hall were slightly startled, and then burst into an uproar:

"Roman Principality? What does this mean?"

"Forget about the Castel Territory, why is there still the Roman Principality?"

"Coveting the Roman Principality...Does the Crescent Kingdom want to start a war?!"

Of course, most of those involved in the commotion were the Roman clans among the parliamentary aristocracy.

These nobles all have Roman blood. Although they are not direct descendants, they represent the will of the Roman family. Their titles are not high, but they represent the orthodoxy of the Fallen Star royal family.

However, today, with the decline of the Roman family and the rise of the two Lilac families who had already started a separate family, the status of the Roman family has long been far inferior to what it used to be.

Although they showed anger, the more nobles in the banquet hall did not react much.

Not only that, some nobles even fell into deep thought and seemed to have begun to think carefully about Duke Yuehu's attitude.

This is also obvious. The Star-Moon War has already scared many fallen star nobles. Facing the rise of the Crescent Kingdom, many people do not want to go to war with each other.

Yes, many nobles do not want to give up the Roman Principality, and are even happy to see the Castel Territory join.

But this has a major premise, which is the attitude of the Crescent Kingdom.

If the Crescent Kingdom is resolute and even threatens war, many nobles will need to think twice.

In addition, the Roman Principality is originally an enclave of the royal family and does not touch the core interests of most nobles at all. If an enclave can be exchanged for peace, to be honest... many nobles will not resist it.

Of course, this does not include the core members of the parliamentary aristocracy.

Many of the core members of the parliamentary aristocracy have Roman blood, and betraying the Roman Principality is tantamount to touching their bottom line.

For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Charlotte.

Obviously, Charlotte's attitude, and Charlotte's leverage, will also determine their tendencies and attitudes.

Charlotte smiled slightly and said:

"Your Excellency, you are joking."

"Since I have decided to become the Queen of Fallen Star, then... I naturally have the responsibility to maintain the territorial integrity of Fallen Star Kingdom."

"Castle aside, if His Majesty Louis is willing, the agreement between me and His Majesty Louis will still be valid, but the Roman Principality is the ancestral home of the Fallen Star Royal Family, so I cannot back down."

As soon as these words came out, the fallen star nobles had different expressions.

The Roman clan members breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the parliamentary nobles were thoughtful, while those with a neutral attitude frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

As for the Lilac faction nobles, they all looked on with cold eyes and mocking faces.

"Hahahaha, Your Excellency, Count Castel, is really joking. The diplomacy of our Fallen Star Kingdom is not something that a Crescent Noble can decide."

Rough laughter came, and Duke West laughed.

After laughing, he looked at Duke Yuehu and said:

"Your Majesty the Duke, I know that your words are not only for Count Castel, but also for Lord Asia."

"Perhaps it is the destiny of God. Master Asia also said that if the Crescent Kingdom supports him to ascend the throne, he can exchange the Roman Principality for long-term peace between the two countries."

As soon as these words came out, the fallen star nobles in the banquet hall burst into laughter.

"Exchange the Roman Principality for peace?"

"Mr. West, are you crazy!? This is traitorous!"

"Shame! You and Duke Asia are simply a disgrace to my Fallen Star Kingdom!"

The parliamentary nobles said angrily.

Duke West’s expression remained unchanged:

"Shame? No, it's pragmatic."

"The Principality of Roman is my enclave of Luoman. In order to maintain the security of the Principality of Roman, I, Luoman, maintain a large number of troops stationed in Roman all year round. This is already a huge burden."

"Yes, the Roman Principality is the ancestral land, but it is the ancestral land of the Luoman family, not the ancestral land of the Falling Star Kingdom. The Roman family is the Roman family, and the Falling Star Kingdom is the Falling Star Kingdom."

"If there had not been the invasion of the Roman family, our Fallen Star Kingdom would still be a pure land isolated overseas. If the Roman family had not provoked a war with the Crescent Kingdom, our Fallen Star Kingdom would not have fallen into the lasting trauma of war."

"The Roman family and the Roman Principality are the source of trouble for our Fallen Star Kingdom. Putting these things down is the most correct choice for our Fallen Star Kingdom."

Looking at the arrogant Duke of West, Earl Stafford frowned slightly.

Although Duke West's words are a bit presumptuous, it must be admitted that what he said...is exactly the view that the peace faction within the kingdom increasingly agrees with in recent years.

And... with the rise of the new moon, this view gradually has a tendency to become mainstream.

However, even so, there are some things that cannot be said in front of the stage, especially now that there are envoys from the Crescent Kingdom.

Thinking of this, Earl Stafford shook his head secretly.

The Duke of West is too arrogant.

Nobles care most about respectability.

His speech like this will only arouse the resentment of most of the Fallen Star nobles, and push the nobles to Her Majesty the Queen.

Of course, for the parliamentarians, this is a good thing.

However, what made him a little confused was that in his opinion, the Duke of West should not be so reckless and stupid.

Duke of West...what does he want to do?

Earl Stafford frowned.

Thinking of this, he looked at the other nobles in the banquet hall.

And when he glanced around, he was stunned for a moment.

He was shocked to find that even such an astonishing statement by Duke West did not cause an uproar.

Not only that, except for the core members of the parliamentary faction who glared at him, the vast majority of the nobles just responded in silence, not even showing an angry expression.

Earl Stafford suddenly realized something was wrong.

It's the attitude!

Except for the core members of the parliamentary faction, the nobles who visited today... all seemed to have something wrong with their attitude!

You must know that the vast majority of the nobles here, before he went to Castres to pick up Her Majesty the Queen, invited them one by one or directly visited them to confirm their support for Her Majesty the Queen.

It is precisely for this reason that, as the Speaker, he dared to go to Castel alone and secretly to pick up the Queen and come to Falling Star on the advice of Archbishop Campbell.

But now, when he returned to Falling Star, not only did the knights who had already expressed their stance turn against him, but even the attitudes of the nobles who came to attend the reception banquet became ambiguous again.

And when he thought about the news about Archbishop Campbell's betrayal sent by Her Majesty the Queen this morning, he finally realized something and his face gradually turned pale.

not good……

Being plotted!

Archbishop Campbell encouraged him to greet Her Majesty the Queen in person, not to show Her Majesty the Queen the sincerity of the parliamentary nobles, but to win over other nobles while he was away from Luo Xing!

And... they may have succeeded!

Damn it...how on earth did they do that?

No, now is no longer the time to consider this issue. The problem now is that this is probably no longer a reception dinner, but will turn into a conspiracy dinner against Her Majesty the Queen!

The Lilac faction nobles... probably have no intention of waiting until the day of future negotiations!

Thinking of this, Earl Stafford's expression changed.

He gritted his teeth, slapped the table, and said in feigned anger:

"enough!"

"Duke West, you are just a duke, you cannot represent the nobility, let alone Fallen Star Kingdom!"

"Today's banquet is a reception banquet for Her Majesty the Queen. We will not talk about politics. Don't let outsiders see the joke of our Fallen Star Kingdom!"

Seeing the angry Earl of Stafford, Duke West smiled slightly:

"Oh? Mr. Speaker, are you... in a hurry?"

"Haha, I know you are in a hurry, but... please don't be in a hurry. After all, I haven't finished speaking yet."

With that said, Duke West looked at the many nobles in the hall and said loudly:

"Everyone, I know that many people may be angry at what I just said, but what I want to say is that it was not me, nor Lord Asia, who betrayed the interests of Fallen Star Kingdom."

"Many people think that we are vassals of the Blood Clan, but what I want to say is that this is simply a slander, a slander by the Blood Clan, and even more by the Castel family!"

"Yes, there are some people in our Lilac faction who have dealings with the vampires, but that is just their personal behavior. Lord Asia has always been a noble nobleman who is noble, upright, and hates evil!"

"All the slanders about Lord Aisiya are caused by the vampires and some guys in the parliament with ulterior motives. They are pouring dirty water on Lord Aisiya for the sake of their power!"

As soon as these words came out, the nobles in the banquet hall had different expressions and were surprised.

"Slander?! Hmph! Duke of West, how dare you, the puppets of the vampires, to do it? Don't you dare to be one?"

Marquis Howard said angrily.

Duke West glanced at him and sneered but did not answer.

I saw him take out a parchment scroll from his arms and throw it directly into the crowd:

"Comrades, please take a look at this agreement."

"This is an agreement between the Castel family and the Blood Clan. Long before His Majesty Louis made that invalid will, the Castel Family had already colluded with the Blood Clan of Fallen Star Kingdom!"

"Selling out the interests of Fallen Star Kingdom? Haha, we Lilac faction nobles dare to do this. We hope to give up the Roman Principality just for the future of the kingdom."

"But some guys... are not! They are nakedly trading with the vampires and betraying the interests of the kingdom!"

Having said this, Duke West looked angry, pointed at the calm-looking Charlotte on the throne, and said sternly:

"Everyone!"

"It was never us who had any dealings with the Blood Clan, but the Castel family! It was the Castel puppet sitting there claiming to be the false king!"

"She... has colluded with the vampires for a long time!"