Gospel of Blood

In the garden of the Count’s estate.

Gardeners and maids watched from afar as two figures, one large and one small, moved through the garden. Their expressions were rather peculiar.

However, Yurst, one of the subjects of their attention, seemed entirely indifferent to their gazes.

With a smile, he leisurely followed a shadow, more specifically, Nice, the black cat…

The black cat, Nice, swiftly climbed a tall tree, moving with an agility that belied his plump appearance.

Yurst, strolling casually, reached the base of the tree and looked up at the panting black cat with a smile.

“Honorable Nicholas, why are you hiding from me? I only wish to have a chat.”

“Meow! Nothing to talk about! You’ve got the wrong cat! My name is Nice! Not Nicholas!”

The black cat denied from above the tree.

“Oh? Really? Maybe I misheard, but… you seem to have left quite a few familiar designs to the Lagrisse family.”

Yurst took out several design drawings for magical devices from his pocket, which he had found in the Lagrisse family’s possession, and looked at them with interest.

“Meow! What’s so strange about that? As the Castell family’s magical cat, is it odd for me to know a bit about magic device design?”

“Is that so? But these designs look very similar to those of an old acquaintance of mine from hundreds of years ago. Not only do the designs look alike, but your name is quite similar too. He was called Nicholas, a very talented Legendary mage.”

“Meow! Of course I know about that great and wise Legendary mage. He is highly respected, and that’s why I learned his magical style!”

“Oh, then I must have made a mistake. My old acquaintance hated cats the most. With his pride, he would never want to become a fat, black cat.”

Nice: …

“What do you know? My physique is healthy! Healthy, you understand? Being chubby makes me more cuddly! You can ask the maids in the mansion, which of them doesn’t like me?”

“Well? But they do complain that you like to peep at them bathing, with eyes like a lecherous old man. It’s quite troubling for them.”

Nice: …

“By the way, being lecherous is also very similar to my old acquaintance. Hmm… could you really be him?”

Nice: …

“No, no… I must be mistaken. When we discussed life-extending methods for mages, he proudly and confidently claimed that maintaining human form is the skill of a Legendary mage. Methods like becoming a lich, blood infusion, or transforming into another creature were all beneath him.”

Nice: …

“Hmm? Why are you silent? I wasn’t talking about you, please don’t mind.”

“After all, you’re just a black cat who knows magic, designs magical devices, has a name similar to Nicholas, and has similar tastes and hobbies.”

Nice: …

Seeing Nice’s already black face darken even more with each taunt, Yurst’s smile grew brighter.

No matter how much Nice denied or argued, both knew the truth—the identity of the “pet” in the Count’s estate, who had been getting plumper recently, had been exposed after the Blood Demon Cult’s ritual failed.

Seeing the black cat on the tree, huffing and glaring, Yurst felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

How many years had it been since he could tease this guy so freely?

At least two hundred years since his disappearance.

As a Blood Count who preferred to study magical inscriptions in his castle, Yurst had few friends, and Nice was one of them.

During the centuries of Nice’s disappearance, lacking a companion for academic debate and argument had been quite lonely.

Thinking of this, Yurst’s gaze towards the black cat softened.

With a light sigh, he said,

“Sir Nicholas, it’s been a long time.”

Nice instinctively wanted to retort.

But seeing Yurst’s nostalgic and wistful eyes, he swallowed his rebuttal.

After a moment, he quietly said,

“Nicholas is a figure of history. I am Nice, a black cat.”

Yurst’s heart stirred, and he asked.

“Then… Sir Black Cat Nice, can you tell me what you have experienced all these years?”

“You should know, after the Legendary mage Nicholas disappeared, I specifically searched for him. But no matter how I searched, there was no trace, except that he was hunted by many churches.”

“Perhaps… that’s why he disappeared, Sir Yurst. Peering into the secrets of the Gods always comes with a price.”

Nice said after a moment of silence.

“Peering into the secrets of the Gods…”

Yurst mused.

He wore a thoughtful expression and sighed.

“Perhaps, after all… he was always a mage who disrespected the Gods.”

He then looked at the black cat on the tree and suddenly asked.

“Then… can you answer another question?”

“What do you want to ask?”

Nice asked warily.

Yurst’s gaze fell on the black cat’s forehead, more specifically, on the faintly visible thorny rose symbol, with a strange expression.

“When did you sign a servant oath, such a slave contract, with the Progenitor?”

Nice: …

His cat face darkened again, but quickly recovered, adopting a carefree attitude.

“What do you know? It’s called catching a free ride, understand?”

“Those hypocritical Gods are indeed disdainful, but the True Ancestor of Blood is different. After all… even at her reign, she never hides the truth about the Gods as some do. She remains straightforward and upright!”

“At least… this makes her better than many Gods!”

“As for now… I’m very satisfied with the resurrected True Ancestor. Witnessing her return is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me!”

Yurst’s interest was piqued by Nice’s words.

“Oh? So you interact with the True Ancestor often?”

Nice, feeling proud, was about to boast but then became wary.

“Get lost! Trying to get information out of me? No way! No way!”

Seeing the wary black cat, Yurst felt a bit disappointed.

To be honest, he was quite eager to learn more about the True Ancestor. He had returned to Northport with the Castell team not only to uncover the identity of a certain black cat but also out of curiosity about the True Ancestor’s identity.

After all, if his guess was correct, the True Ancestor should be in Northport!

The conversation between the person on the ground and the cat on the tree came to a standstill until a distinctive voice called out.

“Nice, Sir Yurst, what are you doing here?”

Seeing the girl accompanied by Sebastian coming into the garden, Nice instantly leaped from the tree to her side, hugging her leg and faking a cry.

“Meow~! Lady Charlotte! You’re finally here! This nasty bloodborne was bullying your pet cat!”

Yurst: …

Charlotte: …

“Alright, stop whining. Your cover’s blown, hasn’t it?”

Charlotte pulled her leg out of Nice’s grasp with some disdain and straightforwardly remarked.

“Uh…”

Nice’s expression stiffened.

Charlotte gave him an understanding look and continued.

“Also, isn’t there something missing from the magic book you left last time?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Nice looked puzzled.

Charlotte glanced at the blueprints in Yurst’s hand and gave Nice a meaningful smile.

“Do you need a hint?”

Nice immediately understood that she was referring to the magic formations and magic device crafting.

He gulped and cautiously said,

“Uh… no need, merciful Lady Charlotte. I had some reservations before, so I didn’t write everything down. I’ll complete it later…”

“Good, remember that. I’m planning to build my own extraordinary army, and you know what to do, right?”

“Rest assured! When it comes to technical matters, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied!”

The black cat swore with its paw raised.

Charlotte seemed satisfied with this attitude, nodding slightly. Then she turned to Yurst and smiled.

“Sir Yurst, I hope my pet hasn’t caused you any trouble?”

Yurst, taken aback, quickly replied.

“No, not at all. We were just chatting.”

Charlotte nodded slightly and smiled.

“That’s good. Thank you very much for helping quell the rebellion in the North. Without the support of the Nez Clan, Castell would have found it much harder to achieve victory.”

Yurst hurriedly said,

“You’re too kind. I was merely following the True Ancestor’s orders.”

“Besides, Castell is an ally of Nez. Even for the upcoming Starfall’s restoration, Nez will provide support to Castell.”

Charlotte’s heart stirred at Yurst’s words.

“Oh? So the Nez Clan still plans to reclaim control of Starfall?”

Yurst hesitated, then nodded.

“Yes, the Grand Elder has already imprisoned Elder Maxim. Taking advantage of the rebellion in Castell, he has once again purged the remaining Shedite factions within the clan…”

“There are no more dissenting voices within the clan regarding the reclamation plan.”

Charlotte nodded slightly and then asked.

“So… what is the Nez Clan’s overall attitude towards Castell?”

Yurst paused, then said,

“Do you mean Castell or… the entity behind Castell?”

“Both.”

Yurst thought for a moment and said,

“Let’s talk about the entity behind Castell first. After all, that’s the key to Nez’s change in attitude. The Nez Clan has already learned that behind Castell, or more precisely behind you, there is a resurrected God, and most likely an ancient bloodborne myth…”

“However, the clan does not know who this myth is, let alone know it is our returning True Ancestor.”

“Nez currently hopes to consider Castell and the myth behind them as allies. But if they learn it is indeed the True Ancestor, it might be different.”

“Frankly, due to historical reasons, the majority of the bloodbornes do not want to see the return of the True Ancestor. Fear and caution are the prevailing sentiments among the bloodbornes.”

“So… my suggestion is to keep the identity a secret, at least until the True Ancestor’s power is fully restored.”

Charlotte felt a bit helpless after hearing Yurst’s words.

To be honest, she didn’t want to antagonize the Blood Clans, especially after gaining the power of the “Faith Network.”

Perhaps the True Ancestor of Blood didn’t care about faith and instead strengthened herself through her descendants. But now, with control over “faith”, she could not avoid conflicts with the Blood Clans entirely.

In this case, finding ways to resolve conflicts and draw those bloodbornes over to her side was the most beneficial approach.

However, the relationship between the True Ancestor and the bloodbornes was primarily dependent on the attitudes of the few bloodborne myths.

Considering that almost all of these descendants had True Ancestor PTSD, without absolute strength or a way to change the attitudes of the various clans’ myths, she had to keep a low profile.

Or, develop allies like Yurst within the various clans and then find ways to divide and win them over…

“I understand, Sir Yurst. Thank you for the information. The Divine will consider your suggestion.”

Charlotte said after some thought.

“Ma’am…”

Yurst hesitated and then couldn’t help but say,

“Although the Nez Clan is fearful and wary of the True Ancestor, and will never sit idly by her return, I believe that their fear is of the former True Ancestor…”

“Every resurrection of a God brings some changes. If—I’m just saying if—if it’s the current True Ancestor, perhaps… perhaps there’s hope for a turning point.”

“Of course, this matter needs careful consideration, and I hope the True Ancestor can give me and Nez some time…”

Charlotte nodded slightly and smiled.

“The God will.”

At that moment, a maid hurried over, catching her attention.

“What happened? Why are you in such a rush?”

Charlotte frowned and asked.

“Countess, the girl Sebastian brought back has awakened.”

The maid said respectfully.

“The girl?”

Charlotte was taken aback and then realized she was referring to the Black Dragon Eudoxia.

She nodded slightly and said,

“I understand.”

After that, she turned to Yurst and bowed slightly, smiling.

“Sir Yurst, the person Sebastian brought back has awakened. I need to meet her personally, so I won’t be able to chat with you further.”

“Please feel free, I’ve been in the North for quite some time now, and it’s time for me to leave as well.”

After a brief farewell, Charlotte left the garden accompanied by Sebastian.

Watching the departing girl, Yurst finally breathed a sigh of relief.

For some reason, every time he saw this representative of the True Ancestor, he felt an instinctive tension.

Especially today, even though her presence wasn’t particularly strong, she exuded an invisible pressure.

“Sigh… It’s really difficult being caught between the True Ancestor and the clan.”

Shaking his head, Yurst sighed.