Gospel of Blood

Any organization, when it grows large enough, will inevitably face various internal issues.

Moreover, if this organization spans a wide region and the central authority’s control over the periphery is not strong, the division of power is almost certain.

The Holy Court is no exception.

Perhaps in the era when Gods walked the earth, the church’s cohesion and leadership were invincible thanks to the Gods’ might.

But now, with the Gods slumbering, everything has naturally changed.

With many dioceses, the Holy Court was bound to face conflicts when dividing interests.

Conflicts arise among dioceses and between dioceses and the Theocracy, necessitating communication and reconciliation.

Additionally, to expand the influence of the main God, different dioceses often absorbed various sub-Gods, increasing diversity and conflicts.

Despite its enormous size and historical accumulation, the Holy Court remains a powerful entity that any nation must respect. However, exploiting the internal conflicts of the church’s various dioceses to balance power and seek more benefits has become a consensus among monarchs.

The Crescent Kingdom is no exception.

King Louis V dares to directly challenge the church because he is confident that as long as he continues to support the Holy Court as the national religion and regularly pays religious taxes to the Theocracy, the Theocracy will not directly intervene in his contention with the Crescent Diocese.

As just one diocese, the Crescent Diocese, though vast, is responsible for more than just the Crescent Kingdom and cannot muster all its strength against Louis V.

As long as Louis V does not outright oppose the church but gradually replaces the church’s influence in the kingdom, he can achieve his goals bit by bit.

Understanding the whole situation, Charlotte felt a bit sentimental.

The political entities of Myria are indeed prone to division.

The former Yunette Empire was like this.

The inheritance laws of the alliance caused the empire to split almost every time there was a change of power, eventually leading to the East-West division and its downfall.

The semi-political alliance of the Western Yunette Empire was similar.

The empire had over 200 more or less independent lords, each with semi-independent foreign policies. Despite its territory being twice the size of the Crescent Kingdom and its population three times as large, it was still suppressed by Louis V until it formed an alliance with Starfall to curb the Crescent Kingdom’s expansion.

Even in the religious realm, the Holy Court could not escape this trend.

Under the Theocracy, the dioceses have essentially become religious fiefdoms, and the influence of the pope in the central authority is far less than that of the diocese’s archbishop.

Of course, this fragmentation extends to the Crescent Kingdom and many other kingdoms and duchies.

Every nation has its array of large and small lords. Although they are vassals, their independence is strong, and ignoring royal commands is commonplace.

In many countries, the core area controlled by the royal family is often just a small central region, which is “common knowledge.”

Only the Crescent Kingdom, with Louis V strengthening central authority, is an exception.

Before the Star-Moon War, the Valva family faced a similar situation, even being mockingly called the “Count of Lutecia” because the royal family’s control only extended to the capital and its surroundings.

The Valva family’s initial rise to royalty was because the major nobles of the Crescent Peninsula thought their small territory made them easier to manipulate.

Reading the history of Myria, even Charlotte had to marvel at how her previous life on Earth with its unified empire was an anomaly.

In the following days, Charlotte finally became busy.

News spread quickly from the palace. Her meeting with Louis V, her renouncement of the vow to donate land to the church, and her decision to officially pledge allegiance to the Valva family soon became common knowledge.

Initially, it was just rumors, but when the announcement came that Louis V would hold the Castell family’s enfeoffment ceremony in three days, everyone confirmed that the North had ultimately chosen the king over the church.

Even before the enfeoffment ceremony began, nobles of all ranks visited, congratulating the Castell family on becoming direct vassals of the kingdom.

Of course, the congratulations were one thing; the main purpose was to curry favor and trade.

The wealth of the North is well-known, and its trade is extensive. Many merchants from the Crescent Kingdom, wanting to trade with Starfall, luna Island, and the Northern Grand Duchy, see the Castell territory as an unavoidable passage.

Moreover, the Castell family holds the largest mithril mine in the Crescent Kingdom. Even though 70% of the mithril is controlled by the royal family, the Castell family, enjoying 30% after the independence from Borde, has become a sought-after ally among many lords.

Mithril is invaluable, essential for forming magical arrays and a premium material for alchemy and magic circles. Its high price and demand make it a hard currency in the extraordinary realm.

Previously, various noble families were hesitant about trading with the Castell family due to the uncertain royal stance. But now, knowing the Castell would become direct vassals, they could no longer sit still.

In just a few days, Charlotte’s rented manor was swarmed by nobles, congratulating her and signing trade agreements with Sebastian until their hands were sore.

Within three days, the Castell family secured trade agreements worth over eight million gold tana, mostly related to mithril and its byproducts.

This amount is more than a year’s fiscal revenue for Castell County.

However, Charlotte knew this was just the beginning.

The real gains would come from the kingdom’s major nobles.

After meeting Louis V, she received an invitation to the Duke of Moonshield’s salon, scheduled for the day after her official enfeoffment, attended by the kingdom’s major nobles.

These major nobles were Charlotte’s primary focus, as they controlled 90% of the extraordinary materials in the Crescent market!

Securing agreements with them would ensure that Castell County’s trade in extraordinary materials would be fully established, ending the era of having wealth and mines but no access to rare resources.

Of course, not all nobles were after the Castell family’s mithril.

During the three days leading up to the enfeoffment, Charlotte received numerous invitations to banquets and salons, all expressing admiration for her.

With the news of her renouncing the vow to donate land to the church, many mistakenly thought her vow of celibacy was also nullified.

A beauty of unparalleled charm, the sole heir of her family, holding the largest silver mine in the Crescent Kingdom, and owning the second most prosperous territory on the Crescent Peninsula after the Lutecia District…

This was not just a rising kingdom’s great lord but a walking grand prize. Winning her favor would mean not only gaining the kingdom’s most beautiful gem but also acquiring vast wealth and land, becoming a grand lord second only to dukes in the entire Crescent Kingdom!

Charlotte’s suitors emerged like mushrooms after a rainstorm.

This left Charlotte feeling both speechless and frustrated.

She politely declined all invitations from those who were interested in her body and family assets, but the flood of invitations and love letters continued unabated.

It wasn’t until Charlotte released another statement that she regained some peace. She reaffirmed that she had indeed retracted her vow of religious land dedication but also maintained her vow of celibacy, stating that she had decided to dedicate herself to the God and would never marry.

Although some people still didn’t believe her and others held on to their slim hopes, Charlotte ignored them all.

As a result, in the circles of the Lutetia nobility, there was a surge of envy towards the Valva family, and the Castell family and Charlotte became hot topics at every salon and banquet.

Clearly, the biggest beneficiary of Charlotte’s celibacy vow was the Valva family. This almost guaranteed that if the Castell line ended, the northern territories would likely fall under royal control.

Even in the taverns and streets, Charlotte de Castell became the talk of the commoners over their meals and drinks.

However, what surprised Charlotte was the Church’s lack of response to her retraction of the religious land dedication.

She had been prepared for clerics to come knocking, but instead, there was only a statement from the Archbishop of the Lutecia Cathedral to his fellow clerics.

“The future of the northern lands lies in the hands of the Saintess herself. Whether it belongs to the Church or the King is for the Saintess, as the lord, to decide. The Church should not and will not interfere.”

When this statement was released, the entire noble circle of Lutecia was in an uproar.

The Saintess!

The Archbishop of the Crescent Diocese actually referred to Charlotte de Castell as the Saintess!

Although many commoners had already dubbed the Countess of the North as the Saintess walking the earth, nobles had often dismissed it as a rumor or even a smokescreen released by the young Countess of the North herself.

But now, the highest religious official in Crescent openly confirmed this!

Charlotte once again became the center of attention in Lutecia, dominating noble salons, banquets, and commoners’ taverns alike.

Charlotte couldn’t fathom what was going on with the Archbishop, or whether this was a reaction to her retraction of the vow.

She had already discussed her rejection of the Saintess position with Louis V in advance, so she was prepared for any potential fallout from the monarch.

However, subsequent developments took Charlotte by surprise.

Shortly after, Archbishop Charles of the Crescent Diocese issued another statement.

“Charlotte de Castell is indeed the Saintess chosen by the Lord, possessing the Lord’s protection.”

“However, she declined the Church’s invitation and has not been formally appointed by the Church.”

This statement added more fuel to the fire surrounding Charlotte.

Nobles were entertained, but clerics were stunned.

A Saintess chosen by the Lord, refusing to become the Church’s Saintess?

What kind of situation was this?

Archbishop, have you lost your mind?

If this was a falsehood, it was a remarkable one coming from the highest religious authority in Crescent.

But if it was true, wouldn’t that imply that the Lord was displeased with the Church?

This was a direct challenge to the Church’s authority!

The clerics were dumbfounded, feeling as if they were losing their sanity, until Archbishop Charles issued another command that shocked the clerics and surprised the nobles.

“For millennia, the Holy Court has spread the Lord’s glory and protected the people. Now, as the Lord sleeps and the mortal corrupts, the church has also become deeply flawed and increasingly depraved. Therefore, the Lord has warned us through the Saintess…”

“Effective immediately, the Crescent Diocese will initiate an internal review, with Grand Inquisitor Bernard de Champagne as Chief Inquisitor and Joseph de Mazarin as Deputy Inquisitor, to conduct a faith and discipline review of all clerics within the diocese!”

This announcement caused a massive upheaval throughout the Crescent Diocese, boosting Charlotte’s prominence even further, with her news spreading from Lutecia to the entire Crescent.

No one could ignore that the Saintess’ rejection was the catalyst for the Church’s self-examination.

It seemed as if Charlotte’s influence had single-handedly changed the diocese’s policy.

Charlotte finally realized the Archbishop’s intentions.

Her refusal to be the Saintess could not be hidden, so the Church decided to reveal it themselves and use it as a pretext to reform the entire Crescent Diocese.

Charlotte pondered deeply.

Any large-scale reorganization of an institution is fraught with resistance. The Archbishop’s choice of this rationale could effectively silence many clerics.

Furthermore, restructuring the Diocese would strengthen its cohesion and power, which, although potentially weakening the Crescent Diocese’s authority and power in the short term, would ultimately enhance its faith and strength in the long run.

But… choosing such a comprehensive review method seemed somewhat hasty.

Louis V was consolidating royal power under the guise of reorganizing the nobles using the Blood Demon Cult as a pretext. Now, even the Archbishop of Crescent was initiating an internal review within the Church.

It felt as if both the King and the Church were urgently preparing for something.

Moreover, the Blood Demon Cult’s activities had noticeably increased compared to previous years, and Charlotte had encountered three God’s Descent Rituals in just her short time here.

Even the Nez Clan of the Starfall Kingdom planned a coup this year, with a sense of urgency as well.

Considering the palace and cathedral news, and recalling the activities of the Blood Demon Cult and the Nez Clan, Charlotte fell into deep thought.

“Something significant is about to happen.”

She murmured.

She didn’t know the connection, but she had a sense that something was coming, something that the high ranks of these major forces were aware of.

Charlotte’s thoughts turned to Albrecht, whom she had forcibly contracted as a blood thrall.

Albrecht had planned the grand sacrificial ceremony in Lutecia, which Charlotte had disrupted, but as the Third Apostle of the Blood Demon Cult, he must know something.

Moreover, given the involvement of the Blood Demon Cult, it was likely also related to the bloodborne.

With this in mind, Charlotte delved into her consciousness and accessed the memory library of Albrecht.

“Show me the significant events happening soon.”

The illusory book flew into her hand, and Albrecht’s imprinted memories began to unfold in her mind.

As she read through the memories, her expression turned to one of suspicion and surprise.

“Divinity Descent Day?”