Gospel of Blood

Charlotte found the lack of visitors quite surprising.

Frankly, she didn’t believe that she had truly been forgotten. The grandeur of the Castell family’s convoy was quite remarkable, and it was impossible for the nobility of the capital not to be aware of it.

As the victor of the Borde-Castell War, she was destined to be a prominent figure at the Central Conference.

Standing by the window, Charlotte looked out at the deserted street outside the estate.

Perhaps due to the remote location of the estate in the inner city, there were rarely any pedestrians on the streets.

However, as she stood by the window, her keen intuition made her feel like she was being watched. The feeling was intense and came from multiple directions. Even though she was merely standing at the window, facing an empty street, Charlotte felt as though she was under a spotlight, being watched by numerous eyes.

When she followed her intuition and looked in various directions, the sense of being watched from that direction would diminish accordingly.

Charlotte’s mind stirred.

Without showing any outward signs, she channeled a bit of her blood divine power to connect with the Gospel of Blood in her consciousness.

After merging with the divine statue, her control over the Gospel of Blood had become more instinctual. With the divine power, her already keen intuition was further enhanced.

In an instant, she “saw” the surroundings of the estate, “saw” the spies hidden in various places, all centered around her rented estate. One, two, three… Even with a rough glance, there were at least a dozen, clearly belonging to different factions.

Charlotte: …

So, she hadn’t been forgotten at all. On the contrary, she was too important.

The lack of direct contact didn’t mean no one wanted to contact her. It just meant that, for some reason, no one wanted to be the first to do so. Everyone chose to observe from the shadows.

“Master, it seems that the situation in the capital is more delicate than we imagined. The struggle between the king, the nobility, and the church must have reached a critical point.”

Sebastian, her butler, remarked quietly, also sensing the underlying issue.

Hearing her butler’s words, Charlotte pondered.

She squinted her eyes and suddenly smiled.

“No matter. If no one is willing to visit us, then we’ll go out ourselves.”

Sebastian’s heart skipped a beat.

“Where would you like to go?”

Charlotte glanced at him and said leisurely.

“Where else? As a devout holy follower, after arranging my accommodation, it’s only natural to go to the church to pray.”

With Charlotte’s command, the estate quickly became bustling.

After lunch, she boarded the carriage and left her residence, heading towards the cathedral in the capital. As the carriage left the estate, Charlotte keenly sensed that those spies in the shadows immediately began to follow.

She clicked her tongue and smirked, but decided to ignore them.

…

The Lutecia Cathedral, located in the western part of the capital’s inner city, wasn’t far from Charlotte’s rented estate.

It stood opposite the royal palace and the central council, across the river, and was a typical Western Yunette architectural structure.

As the center of the Crescent Diocese, the Lutecia Cathedral was also the largest cathedral in the entire Crescent Kingdom, welcoming thousands of devout followers from across the nation every day.

Charlotte hadn’t submitted an official visit request to the cathedral as the Castell family but had directly gone there as a follower.

Even so, the cathedral greeted her with great ceremony upon hearing the news.

In front of the cathedral, priests in their holy robes lined up on both sides, as if they had been informed and were ready for her arrival. The priest welcoming her wore a white holy robe with a sun emblem on his chest, the Mark of the Sun.

The one welcoming Charlotte was actually a Blazing Sun Bishop!

“Countess Castell, the Lutecia Cathedral welcomes your arrival. May the holy light always be with you…”

The Bishop, wearing a smile, made the holy symbol on his chest and continued.

“The Archbishop has been expecting you since yesterday and has been waiting inside the cathedral for some time.”

Archbishop?

Charlotte’s heart skipped a beat.

In the Holy Court, those referred to as Archbishop were the highest-ranking priests in a diocese. Moreover, they were always of Legendary power.

In other words, from the moment she entered the capital, she had already been noted by the top figure of the Holy Court’s Crescent Diocese.

This was truly unexpected. It should be noted that the Archbishop in the Holy Court held a transcendental status, wielding more power than even Grand Inquisitors, and were often more revered than many monarchs.

Typically, aside from public ceremonies, even high-ranking dukes found it difficult to meet them.

It was for this reason that Charlotte felt bold enough to visit the Lutecia Cathedral without fearing an immediate encounter.

But now, the Archbishop had specifically been waiting for her at the cathedral, and it seemed he had been waiting for quite a while.

Completely unexpected, truly unexpected…

Charlotte hadn’t anticipated avoiding the Grand Inquisitor and Cardinal who had gone north to investigate, only to directly encounter the Archbishop of the Diocese upon arriving in the capital!

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte suppressed her astonishment.

Stay calm…

She had to stay calm!

Although she hadn’t expected the Archbishop to personally request a meeting, she wasn’t entirely unprepared for the possibility of encountering a Legendary priest!

“Countess Castell, we have arrived.”

The Bishop said with a smile to Charlotte.

He then stepped forward, gently knocked on the wooden door of the prayer room, and respectfully said,

“Your Excellency Archbishop, Countess Castell has arrived.”

“Enter.”

Came an aged voice from within.

“Please, Countess.”

The Bishop stepped aside.

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte gently pushed open the wooden door.

The prayer room was quite simple, with only a bookshelf, a table, and two chairs.

An elderly man in a white robe sat quietly on one of the chairs, reading the Bible of the Holy Court. He sat there peacefully, appearing as an ordinary old man.

However, to Charlotte’s eyes, it was a different scene.

“Sun…”

This was the first thought that came to her mind upon seeing the dazzling holy power in the room.