Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 286: -53- Knocking on Nobles

Chapter 286: -53- Knocking on Nobles

The banquet at Count Mansion proceeded relatively successfully.

Though an assassination incident occurred in plain sight and although Charlotte seemed to do nothing, her goal to formally meet with her vassals had been initially accomplished.

Moreover, thanks to the nobles with their maximum capacity for internal strife, she had come away from the banquet with a trove of leverage over various noble families.

It could only be said that the Bloodline infiltrating Castel had acted too hastily.

However, Charlotte knew this was just the beginning.

Though she had gained a preliminary understanding of the vassals within the domain, her authority had not yet been established.

No matter to what extent the noble families had been infiltrated by the Bloodline, regardless of how respectfully everyone treated her at the banquet, the fact that the power of the Castel family was waning and noble ambitions were growing remained unchanged.

However, not all the news was bad.

The hidden Nais Clan had emerged into the light.

Although it was unclear what they would do next, Charlotte had at least vaguely guessed the Nais Clan’s purpose in infiltrating Castel.

And as for how to further deal with the vassals, how to establish authority, and how to expel the influence of the Nais Clan, Charlotte had already formed some further ideas...

"Great master, Sebastian has disappointed you, having been outmaneuvered by an assassin using a Magic Scroll..."

Sebastian had appeared earlier than Charlotte anticipated, showing up early the next morning.

The Flame Elf hurried into the castle to apologize as soon as he returned, still damp with his clothes and even some seaweed on his head.

But even so, it did not prevent him from kneeling elegantly, bowing his head gracefully.

Sebastian did not ask why Charlotte had not summoned him directly.

Charlotte did not mention it either.

After all, she had no good reason, save that she did not want to consume extra Blood Divine Power, and she had estimated the assassin’s power as not being a threat to her, so she had not summoned him, right?

As for Sebastian... judging by his earnestly fearful expression, he probably took Charlotte’s non-summoning as a sign of her displeasure.

To be fair, it was somewhat embarrassing for a Transcendent of the Silver Moon Second Tier Peak to be outwitted by an assassin not even at tier-entry.

"You indeed became a bit complacent; you must act with more caution in the future and not underestimate any enemy."

Charlotte spoke dispassionately.

Sebastian lowered his head even more:

"Great master, I will remember this lesson and will not make the same mistake again."

"Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore; now that you are back... I presume you’ve been informed about the business with Madoc?"

Charlotte sipped her steaming hot sweet milk and asked.

"I’ve... heard about it from Nisi."

Sebastian responded.

But his expression bore a hint of clenched frustration, especially when mentioning the name of Nisi.

Seeing his expression, Charlotte nearly guessed what had happened.

Perhaps after receiving her command, Nisi had turned around and waited at the entrance of Count Mansion to taunt Sebastian upon his return.

These two... always seized the right moment to kick each other when down.

"Since you know, then good, I have tracked the coordinates of the Blood Count. I command you to immediately gather people and start an investigation; when necessary, you may invoke my descent!"

Charlotte spoke with a stern expression.

Sebastian’s demeanor sharpened, and he bowed respectfully:

"I will obey your will."

"Good, you may go now, and call in Viscount Lien Castel on your way out; I’ve seen him pacing around downstairs for quite a while."

Charlotte glanced at the small plaza downstairs and instructed.

"Understood."

Sebastian bowed deeply with respect and then excused himself.

And not long after, Viscount Lien Castel, supported by a maid, gingerly entered the study.

"Count!"

The old viscount immediately knelt upon entering.

His eyes were red-rimmed, surrounded by dark circles, clearly having had a restless night.

Understandable considering not only the betrayal by Madoc that the nobles were still oblivious to, but also the fact that last night’s assassination attempt had happened in front of everyone.

Though the attacker was not from the Lien Castel family, the accusations made at the time by the assassin had inevitably put them in a precarious situation...

Things said in private and in public can have completely different effects.

However, after what happened last night, the old viscount surely felt obligated to come explain himself to his lord.

"Stand up; I know your purpose here, and I was actually planning to summon you again anyway."

Charlotte said.

"Count! I truly did not know about the assassination! Regarding the Bloodline... I indeed have had dealings with them, but as you know, I was just playing along to unearth their intentions. My loyalty to Castel is unwavering!"

The old viscount spoke agitatedly, his voice becoming somewhat incoherent.

Charlotte nodded slightly, speaking gently:

"I know, I have never doubted the loyalty of Lien Castel."

"Count..."

The old viscount looked moved.

"However... I have also received some other information, all related to the Lien Castel family."

Charlotte shifted the topic, picking up a stack of parchment scrolls from the desk and handing them to her attendant maid Sherry, signaling her to pass them to the old viscount.

The scrolls contained reports from other families accusing the Lien Castel family.

The old viscount shakily took them and began to read, his eyes gradually widening and trembling slightly:

"This is slander! The Lien Castel family has never engaged in such actions!"

"Oh? Really never?"

Charlotte’s eyelids drooped, her expression turned cold as she summoned the power of Majesty Skill, directly exerting pressure on the viscount before her.

At that moment, Viscount Lien Castel felt an overwhelming majesty erupt from Charlotte’s presence.

Despite not sensing any power beyond the Starry level from the young lady before him, he couldn’t help but experience an inexplicable sense of panic and fear.

"I..."

The Old Viscount swallowed hard, his scalp tingling with numbness.

"Enough, no need for explanations."

Charlotte interrupted him:

"Lord Lien Castel, I trust your loyalty, however... as you have said, the Bloodline’s power has already infiltrated every aspect of the domain. I think not everyone in the Lien Castel family maintains their original intentions like you do."

"Much of the information in these documents is easily verifiable and probably won’t stand up to scrutiny. The nobility of the Castel family need to be reorganized, and the Lien Castel family is no exception."

"The information here could easily strip your family of its title, but I do not intend to do so."

"Because I trust you, Viscount, the Lien Castel family is the most loyal among the three Viscount families, and I believe the entries recorded here, if they are related to the Lien Castel family, are not your doing but the result of Bloodline members who have infiltrated your family causing trouble."

"I show you these documents for one reason only—that you reorganize your family!"

"The past is in the past; from now on, I do not want to see such incidents occurring in the domain again!"

"Count..."

The Old Viscount was visibly moved.

And Charlotte continued:

"Of course, my trust in you also stems from the early warnings you gave me."

"Now that the banquet is over, I can be open with you. Actually, I knew there would be an assassin at work even before the banquet began."

The Old Viscount was stunned:

"You... you knew?!"

"I have my own channels of information,"

Charlotte said lightly.

Hesitating a bit, the Old Viscount could not resist asking:

"Then why..."

"Why did I still hold the banquet?"

Charlotte looked at him calmly and said:

"Because I was also looking for an opportunity, an opportunity to bring out the mastermind behind the scenes!"

Laughing softly, she continued:

"Actually, it was quite successful. It’s just you and me here, and I can tell you some things."

"Viscount, in fact, the Bloodline of the Falling Star Kingdom has been infiltrating the families of Castel, and last night’s assassination... the mastermind behind it was them."

"However, last night’s assassin was not their real killer move. In fact, after I left the venue last night, they targeted me with another attack."

"You... you were attacked again?"

The Old Viscount’s eyes widened.

"It’s okay, the fact that I can stand here and talk to you shows that everything has already been resolved."

Charlotte nodded and said.

She smiled slightly:

"Viscount, do you know why I am telling you all this?"

The Old Viscount hesitated and respectfully lowered his head:

"Your servant... does not know."

"It is because I have a task for you, or more accurately, for your Lien Castel family,"

Charlotte said solemnly.

Viscount Lien Castel looked stern:

"Please instruct, the Lien Castel family will dedicate its full efforts!"

"I want you to form an Investigation Team, to examine every noble family in the Castel Domain, and find every member of the Falling Star Bloodline in the domain!"

Charlotte said lightly.

"Inspect... all noble families?!"

The Old Viscount’s eyes widened.

"Hmm? Is there a problem?"

Charlotte’s eyelids lowered.

"Count, there really might be a problem... If we inspect all the noble families, it might cause dissatisfaction among the vassals and could destabilize the foundation of the domain..."

"Especially since the Bloodline behind the scenes are so arrogant, their power is probably beyond our imagination... they definitely won’t sit idly by and allow the inspection to happen."

The Old Viscount spoke nervously.

"If you are worried about the Bloodline behind the scenes, you can rest assured, for the next while, they’ll probably be leaderless and too busy to look after themselves."

Charlotte said with a light laugh.

"Leaderless?"

The Old Viscount was momentarily confused.

Charlotte nodded slightly and sipped some sweet milk, saying placidly:

"The Bloodline infiltrating Castel is one of the six major clans of the Bloodline, the Nais Clan, and the organizer behind this is a Blood Count named Lachlan Nais."

"Last night’s attack on me was carried out by this Blood Count!"

Charlotte said, smiling as she looked at the Old Viscount:

"And he... is now dead."

"Dead? A Blood Count... is dead?"

The Old Viscount was shocked again.

Charlotte did not elaborate further but pointed to a small mountain of parchment scrolls piled on the desk:

"As for whether other noble families will oppose... if they really do oppose, just show them these documents."

"I’ve just taken my position and, honestly, do not wish to take drastic actions. I only hope each family can adhere to their true intentions and be loyal to me, but if someone truly does not see clearly..."

Charlotte’s expression turned cold as she said:

"I won’t mind reappointing some new nobles."

————

A bit of Cavin, slightly short.

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