Gospel of Blood

After instructing Lottie to take good care of Eleanor, Charlotte left the church hospital.

The arrival of the royal envoy marked a clear signal, announcing the end of the war. Following the peace talks with the Violet Duchy, negotiations with Borde would soon commence.

Upon leaving the church hospital, Charlotte headed to Tulip County to complete the actual handover of the domain.

The Tulip County was without a lord, only guarded by Count Gaston. With his support, the transition of the domain proceeded smoothly.

The Tulip nobles, who often intermarried with Castell and had extensive commercial dealings with them, did not resist. Instead, they naturally accepted Charlotte’s rule.

This was understandable since geographically, the Tulip territory was part of the north. Economically and by bloodline, they were closely connected. Moreover, after witnessing Castell’s victory over Borde, this tiny county, which lacked even a viscount, had no capital to resist.

Borde had long considered it a direct territory to strengthen control over Castell, avoiding the rise of significant noble families. In the end, this benefitted Castell in merging with Tulip County.

In the Tulip fortress, Charlotte met with the local nobles, totaling six barons.

Although the land treaty between Borde and Castell was yet to be formally signed, the Tulip nobles did not formally swear allegiance to Charlotte. Still, their words and actions already showed their submission to Castell.

After meeting the nobles, Charlotte had a private conversation with Count Gaston for an hour.

No one knew what Charlotte and Count Gaston discussed.

After their talk, Count Gaston handed over all control of Tulip County to Castell and left alone. He used the long-distance teleportation array provided by the Violet Duchy to return to Borde.

Handing over the extraordinary troops his family had nurtured for more than a decade was hard to understand.

Not only the Tulip nobles but even the Castell nobles found it hard to comprehend.

Some said it was an agreement between Count Gaston and Castell; others speculated it was due to Countess Castell abandoning her celibacy, intending to marry into the Gaston family. The most ridiculous rumor claimed that Count Gaston had fallen for Charlotte, which led him to first help Castell resist Borde and then hand over the troops…

Even though Count Gaston was old enough to be Charlotte’s grandfather.

Despite being the most absurd theory, many believed it, including numerous nobles.

Especially those who had seen the young Countess of Castell.

“She is indeed a beautiful lady, youthful, lovely, and pure…like an angel sent by the God!”

“Hic, not just Count Gaston, even I would fall for her just from a distant glance.”

A fallen noble bragged in a tavern, hiccuping as he recounted his sighting of Charlotte at a Count’s banquet.

In short, rumors about Count Gaston and Countess Castell were rampant for a time.

The romantic exploits of nobles, especially those of high rank, even if baseless, always intrigued people.

Gossip is timeless. Especially in eras with scarce entertainment, such stories are always popular.

It wasn’t until the city hall of Northport sternly dealt with a group of rumor-mongering mercenaries and fallen nobles that these wild rumors began to subside.

Of course, this suppression was only within direct-controlled territories.

In Castell’s vassal lands and surrounding areas, such talk continued to thrive in taverns and salons.

Simultaneously, stories of how charming, stunning, and beautiful the young Countess of Castell were spread wider, enhancing Charlotte’s already prominent reputation as the “Pearl of Borde” and “Beautiful Lord.”

The ripple effect even influenced Castell’s diplomacy.

Charlotte was surprised to find that more nobles, including heirs and lords themselves, began visiting Castell.

However, events in Borde soon overshadowed these rumors.

After returning to the Borde Duchy, Count Gaston quickly rallied the scattered Borde nobles, forming a regency council under the banner of being Castell’s ally and Borde’s supporter, and started peace negotiations with Castell.

Count Gaston, with his significant influence, was unanimously elected as Regent Minister by the Borde nobles.

When this news broke, many astute nobles pieced things together.

“Count Gaston must have made some deal with Castell, supporting Castell’s independence, merging the Tulip territory, and gaining control over the Tulip troops in exchange for Castell’s backing…”

“Borde is the defeated side, with many nobles captured. No one is better suited than Count Gaston to represent Borde in negotiations with Castell.”

An experienced kingdom lord surmised.

However, some Castell nobles were puzzled when this news reached them.

“Countess, are you not aiming for the Regent Minister position?”

Viscount Leon-Castell couldn’t help but ask.

Charlotte shook her head.

“Compete? Why should I? As Regent Minister, I’d still be Borde’s vassal. Even if I controlled Borde in reality, what good would that do?”

“Viscount, think long-term. Our goal was never Borde. Borde is not our endgame.”

She continued with a slight smile.

“Besides, having Count Gaston as Regent Minister changes nothing for us and even helps divert the King’s attention.”

Count Gaston moved swiftly.

As Regent Minister, he quickly began “negotiations” with Castell, and the peace treaty was soon made public.

The treaty’s reparations were similar to those with the Violet Duchy.

The Borde Duchy would pay 6 million gold tana in ransom for all captured nobles and soldiers, including Duchess Eleanor, and an equivalent of 15 million gold tana in extraordinary materials. All ransoms had to be paid within three months, and the costs of housing and feeding the captives during this period were Borde’s responsibility.

In addition, Borde would recognize Castell’s independence and sovereignty over the Tulip territory.

It’s worth noting that after the treaty was signed, Duchess Eleanor was not immediately released but continued to recuperate in Castell.

Thus, the Borde-Castell War officially ended. As the biggest winner, Charlotte not only unified the northern territories but also received a massive ransom and nearly 1,500 sets of kingdom-standard equipment.

However, despite the gains, Charlotte felt like she had forgotten something.

Three days after the official treaty was signed, news came from the north about the Isaac prisoner camp being attacked by Violet deserters.

Charlotte suddenly remembered that several thousand Isaac cavalry prisoners, who had participated in the Castell rebellion, were still unaccounted for.