Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 153: -141- Vassal and Seigneur

Chapter 153: -141- Vassal and Seigneur

"The Secret Silver Mine is about to be depleted?"

Charlotte was taken aback.

She was familiar with Mithril, this precious mineral, having seen it mentioned in many fantasy novels she read in her past life.

It was incredibly valuable, with a silver-white appearance that was dazzlingly beautiful, much sturdier than steel yet lightweight, and endowed with superb magic affinity and storage properties. Many magic tools and Holy Artifacts and even Divine Artifacts were made from it, making it a rare magical material.

And the rise of the Castel family, more precisely, was due to the Transcendent Mithril...

The high-quality Mithril produced from the Castel silver mines was renowned throughout West Yonette, and even the Elves from Moon God Island, who were not lacking in funds, were willing to pay a high price for it.

If things were really as Baron Shalon had said, then the income of the Castel Domain would probably decrease sharply.

With this in mind, Charlotte sighed inwardly.

Even the richest mines would one day be exhausted—it seemed... it was time for the economic structure of the Castel Domain to undergo transformation.

Of course, though the income had decreased sharply, five hundred thousand gold tana was not a small amount.

Even if the income was reduced by two-thirds, the Castel Domain would still be far from poor and would still be considered wealthy.

"Does the New Moon Royal Family know about the depletion of the mine?"

Charlotte asked.

The New Moon Royal Family was a partner of the Castel silver mine, and in fact, most of the Mithril mine’s output was taken by the Royal Family.

Baron Shalon sighed:

"The Royal Family doesn’t know yet, and even if they knew, they probably wouldn’t care. After all, the Royal Family takes from the richest main vein of the Secret Silver Mine, and that part hasn’t been affected much. It’s mostly our family’s subsidiary veins that are impacted."

Charlotte: ...

Good grief, only the subsidiary veins of the Castel family are depleted?

Charlotte was somewhat speechless.

After musing for a moment, she said:

"Alright, I understand. When I return to the territory, I will personally visit the silver mine."

The depletion of a vein was something that could be easily verified, and Charlotte didn’t think Baron Shalon would go so far as to deceive her.

But at the same time, she didn’t completely trust what Baron Shalon had said.

The attitude he unintentionally revealed was clear; he still treated her like a child and not a Lord, and so she wouldn’t fully believe everything he said.

She decided to conduct her own investigation once she returned to her territory.

After discussing the Mithril mine, Charlotte noticed that Baron Shalon seemed hesitant, as if he had more to say.

She felt a stir in her heart and asked:

"Baron Shalon, is there something else you want to say?"

Baron Shalon nodded and spoke gravely:

"Lord Charlotte, indeed, I have something else to say."

"I do not know how Sebastian has gained your trust, but this Elf... is a well-known traitor on Moon God Island."

"The Castel Domain has always had economic exchanges with Moon God Island and could be considered good partners. If Moon God Island learns of his relationship with you, it may hinder the family’s and the Elves’ interactions."

"Many nobles within the territory have trade relations with the Elves. If our relationship with Moon God Island is affected because of this, I’m afraid your prestige and support within the territory will also be damaged."

"Furthermore, forgive my frankness, but I do not think that a Silver Moon Second Tier would be willing to submit to you unreservedly, not to mention that he is a gang leader. He... likely has significant ulterior motives!"

Baron Shalon’s expression was serious.

In his words, Charlotte could clearly sense his hostility and caution towards Sebastian.

Charlotte felt somewhat helpless.

Her relationship with Sebastian was indeed difficult to explain, and it was reasonable for the knights from her territory to be concerned.

Of course, no matter how others felt, Charlotte would certainly not abandon this only Blood Favored and Silver Moon enforcer of hers.

But at the same time, how to respond to Baron Shalon’s words also required tact.

After all, he represented the Lower Nobles of the territory, and her response was likely to reach the territory through him first.

The rank of Earl was indeed quite special.

Charlotte was neither like the protagonists of novels who crossed into being emperors or kings, the greatest within the entire country, with all below them as vassals, where the only headaches were managing relationships with vassals, striking a balance, compromising, and governing the country.

Nor was she like many novel protagonists who started from scratch as Barons or Knights, forging their own power on their own territory, where their word was law, but everything had to be struggled for from the beginning.

She was somewhat involved with both sides and had to cater to both.

As a vassal, she had mostly dealt with her crises.

But as a Seigneur, perhaps it was just beginning.

A Seigneur still needed the support of vassals, much like officials appointed by the Heavenly Dynasty and their former subordinates.

Perhaps vassals had a low status and weak power, but in facing a newly appointed Seigneur, they often had a unified stance and interest, and could completely sideline the Seigneur.

Even though Charlotte had not completely figured out the relationship between deities and faith in the world of Mireya, every Divine Enthronement in the Mythical history first gained its own power base and developed its own Faith.

Referencing the path of her predecessors, even for the future Divine Enthronement, Charlotte couldn’t fight alone. She needed to plan ahead, establish a firm footing in Mireya, and command her own force.

But at the same time, Charlotte couldn’t rely on the power of True Ancestor Liberation to oppress and dominate.

That way, she would become no different from the Evil God, and not one Evil God had ever truly risen to great power.

The Castel Domain was a good starting point. If she wanted to fully control the Castel Domain, the genuine loyalty of the Lower Nobles was essential.

She could not show weakness or appear stubborn or ignorant, leaving a bad impression on others.

"Sebastian’s loyalty is beyond doubt, the Castel family owes him a debt of life-saving gratitude. He has sworn an oath of loyalty to the deities for me, and his character has already been tested by the deities. I have my own considerations regarding this matter."

After thinking for a while, Charlotte said.

Hearing Charlotte bring up the banner of the deities, Baron Shalon’s mouth opened, but in the end, he had no words to refute.

In a world with gods, deities were supreme, and this ball was well-played.

After much hesitation, Baron Shalon could only let out a slight sigh,

"If he has gained the approval of the Holy Royal Court, then I have nothing to say, but I just hope that you... will consider carefully the perceptions of Moon God Island and the Nobles."

...

The caravan from the Count Castle Domain thus settled in the manor, and Charlotte hosted a grand welcome banquet for everyone.

The people from the caravan would stay in Bold for two days, leaving goods and funds from Castel behind, and in return, they would purchase goods from Bold’s business partners of the Castel family.

Charlotte took this opportunity, through these knights and entourage from afar, to thoroughly understand her domain from top to bottom.

As for Baron Shalon, the leader of the group, he did not stay at the manor.

It was said that he had his own small villa in the western part of Bold City and had many friends to visit; there were even small gatherings he needed to attend in the evenings.

However, just when Charlotte thought that the Baron would not return to the manor in the evening, he suddenly hurried back.

And as soon as he saw the young girl sitting elegantly in the hall listening to music, sipping sweet milk, he rushed up to her and asked earnestly,

"Lord Charlotte! I heard... you’ve sworn an oath of celibacy to the Divine Lord?!"

The goblet in Charlotte’s hand paused slightly.

She knew that the question that was meant to come would inevitably come...

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