Gospel of Blood

Count Gaston’s voice, rising and falling like elemental bombs, sank into the tent, resonating with the northern nobles’ hearts.

For a moment, the tent was silent, the expressions of the northern nobles changing color. But soon, the quiet was replaced by rising murmurs, which quickly turned into a noisy discussion.

Undoubtedly, what Gaston described greatly exceeded the northern nobles’ expectations, causing them to fall into chaos.

Since the end of the Star-Moon War, Castell had been peaceful for so long that even a highly suspicious rebellion couldn’t make the northern nobles vigilant. As significant taxpayers to the Borde Duchy and partners of the Crescent Kingdom’s royal family in the Mithril mines, the northern nobles couldn’t fathom that the royal family would truly move against Castell.

Absurdity, shock, anger, confusion, fear…

Various expressions appeared on the faces of different nobles.

Charlotte observed all these expressions, unsurprised.

Although the nobles of Castell had sworn allegiance to her, their loyalty was far from heartfelt. They were more likely to rally under the Castell family banner out of familial and historical inertia, combined with Charlotte’s decent display of unification and deterrence since taking over the territory.

This kind of loyalty wasn’t without retreat, and loyalty with a retreat option was fragile. Perhaps during the Lagrisse family’s rebellion, the northern nobles, as colleagues, would indignantly rally around Charlotte. But when this rebellion escalated to higher-level lords, everything changed.

As stipulated in the Holy Code—”The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal”,—the Third Prince, who became Duke of Borde through marriage, had no direct feudal obligations to the northern nobles.

Charlotte was a vassal of the Third Prince, and the northern nobles were vassals of Charlotte. When meeting the Third Prince, the northern nobles only needed to perform noble etiquette, not the liege-lord etiquette required for Charlotte.

Feudal obligations and conflicts were similar. When Charlotte, as a vassal of Borde, clashed with the Duke of Borde, the conflict typically wouldn’t spread to the next level.

In the history of human wars in the Myria world, conflicts between lords and their vassals were not uncommon. When a lord defeated a vassal, they usually reclaimed or redistributed the vassal’s direct fiefdom. The lower nobles under the vassal, unless there was a reasonable cause, wouldn’t be punished for participating in the rebellion.

Even if lower nobles fought fiercely for their vassal, the victorious higher lord couldn’t act against them as long as they immediately swore allegiance to the new lord.

The reason was simple: “The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.”

These lower nobles, previously not the higher lord’s vassals but their vassal’s vassals, were following the Holy Code’s prescribed noble duties by participating in the rebellion.

After the higher lord’s victory and reclamation of titles, the lower nobles, becoming new vassals, fulfilled their Holy Code duties by timely allegiance to the new lord, avoiding retribution for supporting their former liege in the rebellion.

This clarified, segmented power and duty made the lord-vassal relationship intricate, especially when higher lords clashed.

According to the Holy Code, nobles could support their liege against higher lords without fearing retribution upon the liege’s defeat. Theoretically, this meant northern nobles could support Charlotte against the Third Prince without concern.

However, in reality, the situation wasn’t as straightforward. The Holy Code’s protection of lower nobles’ interests led higher lords, during wars with vassals, to offer various incentives and promises to these lower nobles, making them prized targets for both sides.

As a result, many lower nobles wouldn’t truly support their direct liege but instead remain neutral, aligning with the likely victor.

This often left the lord fighting alone, relying only on their direct domain.

This segmentation of noble hierarchies significantly limited the central authority of feudal lords, a masterstroke by the Holy Court that codified the Holy Code. By ensuring the interests of lower nobles, the Holy Code made it difficult for feudal monarchs to centralize power, even with strong extraordinary abilities, thus preventing threats to the church’s foundational rule.

When it comes to Charlotte, the problem becomes apparent.

The northern nobles might unanimously support her in quelling a rebellion, but when the Third Prince moves against Castell, it’s uncertain which side they will choose. They could support either Charlotte, their direct liege lord, or the higher Borde Duchy.

Given that the current Crescent King, Louis V, is considered one of the greatest monarchs since the founding of the Crescent Kingdom, and that the Third Prince is a strong contender for the throne, his stakes in this power game are significantly higher.

Charlotte could predict that as long as the Third Prince declared war on her with a justifiable reason and promised to protect the interests of the northern nobles after his victory, many of them might choose to remain neutral.

This was a major concern for Charlotte after learning of the Third Prince’s intentions against her.

Her rule in the north wasn’t stable enough to withstand a higher lord’s war, even though it could handle a rebellion. If the northern nobles collectively switched sides in her war against the Third Prince, it would be a huge headache.

The phenomenon of vassals playing both sides is truly distasteful for any liege lord.

Crescent King Louis V decided to strengthen central power after being similarly disgusted during the Star-Moon War. Back then, when he contested Crescent Kingdom’s throne with Starfall King Henry II, the kingdom’s nobles were indecisive and opportunistic.

Charlotte wanted to avoid such a scenario. It wasn’t feasible to control all northern nobles as she did with Count Gaston.

Gaining their genuine allegiance through charisma and shared interests was also challenging, and Charlotte had no desire to rule her territory through mental control.

The best solution was to make the northern nobles lose all faith in the Third Prince. If the revelations about the Third Prince’s plans came from Charlotte herself, many northern nobles might not believe her.

Even if they did, they might assume his actions were solely against the Castell family, not them. For the northern nobles, the outcome of the power struggle seemed to be just a change of their liege from Count of Castell to Duke of Borde.

However, the situation was different now because the revelation came from Count Gaston, the commander of Borde’s garrison. This increased the credibility and weight of the information for the northern nobles.

The Castell family might bind the northern nobles to their cause for their benefit, but the Gaston family had no such interests, being based in the southern Borde region. Combined with the plausible evidence, it was hard for anyone to doubt the truth behind the claims.

“Count Gaston, is it true? The Third Prince intends to ally with the Violet Duchy against Castell? He plans to annex Castell entirely into his direct domain?”

One noble asked, unwilling to accept the news.

Count Gaston only needed a glance and two sentences to deliver a fatal blow.

“Gentlemen, please remember that our King desires nothing more than to further strengthen central authority. The Third Prince is a strong contender for the throne, and Castell’s wealth is well-known. If he wishes to annex Castell, do you think His Majesty will support him or not?”

The answer was obvious.

The nobles, deep in thought, wore unpleasant expressions.

Indeed, the King wished to strengthen central authority. Compared to the unliked Second Prince, the “Pilgrim” Francois, the Third Prince, Philip, was seen as the more likely successor.

Conspiring with the Blood Demon Cult?

Given the delicate relationship between Louis V and the Holy Court, the northern nobles couldn’t be sure if the King would tacitly approve.

The Blood Demon Cult was hard to eradicate from the Crescent Kingdom partly because many nobles had covert connections with it—not necessarily alliances, but cooperation or simple exploitation.

Eradicating the Blood Demon Cult was politically correct, but to the nobles, political correctness was just that.

Seeking support from the Church was an option, but many northern nobles had complex beliefs, some even being non-believers.

Inviting the Holy Court to reimpose tithes?

Ridiculous. Before confronting the Third Prince, many local nobles would likely oppose it themselves.

Seeing the nobles’ silence, Charlotte knew the timing was right.

She could use Count Gaston’s public revelation of the Third Prince’s conspiracy to deter the nobles from siding with him. However, to unite the northern nobles against Borde, they needed to see tangible benefits and a chance of victory.

Charlotte lightly tapped the armrest of her seat, subtly releasing an aura of authority.

The northern nobles’ attention returned to her.

Scanning the room, she calmly spoke.

“Gentlemen, the Third Prince may be powerful, but we are not without hope. His alliance with the Blood Demon Cult will inevitably bring him immense pressure once exposed. And Castell is not without allies. I have hired overseas mercenary armies that will soon arrive in the north. Combined with our united forces, we have a fighting chance. This war is also Castell’s opportunity. If we win, we can reclaim Tulip County and unify the north entirely. The Tulip County is a direct domain of Borde. After reclaiming it, the Castell family will only take half as a direct fief, and the rest will be granted to those who contribute.”

“Moreover, if we win, we can declare independence from Borde and become direct vassals of the Crescent Kingdom. Kingdom vassal taxes are lower than ducal taxes, which will reduce the tax burden on all your families. You will also have the opportunity to attend various royal banquets. Oh, and Castell’s mithril mines—our workshops’ dividends paid to Borde are a significant expense that we can save. The royal family already has mithril mining rights and wouldn’t care about our revenue.”

“For any noble family, this is a favorable outcome.”

The nobles’ eyes brightened at Charlotte’s words.

Although the North was prosperous, being vassals under a duchy limited their political status in the kingdom. The northern nobles, with business in trade and needing to interact with various forces, found the prospect of higher political standing within the Crescent Kingdom highly appealing.

Lower taxes and new territories were naturally welcomed benefits. These were promises the Third Prince could also make. But compared to the Third Prince, who conspired with the Blood Demon Cult and openly violated the Holy Code, Charlotte was a more trustworthy figure. Defeating him might even remove him from the line of succession.

“Countess, my Leon-Castell family is willing to follow you, quell the rebellion, unify the north, and resist Borde’s tyranny!”

Viscount Leon-Castell stepped forward, trembling, and respectfully bowed to Charlotte. Soon, other northern nobles followed suit, kneeling and pledging their allegiance.

“Countess, our Wale family is willing to follow you and repel the invaders of Castell!”

“My Morrel family swears by the Lord to follow Castell and resist the duchy’s tyranny!”

…

One by one, the northern nobles knelt, swearing loyalty and allegiance to Charlotte.

Seeing this, Charlotte smiled.

She knew the weakest link in her upcoming war with the Third Prince was now mended.

After the smile, her expression turned solemn, exuding an authority that belied her youthful appearance. She drew the Castell family’s sword, raised it high, and declared.

“Gentlemen, remember your oaths today. Together, we will start from the banks of the Dorn River and crush these presumptuous rebels one by one!”

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