Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 393: -141- The Challenge that Stirred the Kingdom’s Crisis

Chapter 393: -141- The Challenge that Stirred the Kingdom’s Crisis

Similar to the final ultimatum issued by the Third Prince five days ago, the parchment also bore a declaration of war.

No...

Compared to the ultimatum that had at least granted a "surrender deadline," the declaration on the parchment was more direct.

Therein, Charlotte de Castel, in the name of the Count Castel and the North Port Viscount, formally declared war on the Bold Duchy, with the aim of achieving Castel’s independence and the reclamation of the Tulip Domain.

Had it been just that, the Third Prince would only have scoffed with derision.

After all, this wasn’t the first time in history that Castel had sought independence and attempted to reclaim the Tulip Domain, which had been split off by the Bold family.

In fact, the Bold family even took the opportunity during the pioneering stage to forcibly elevate the Tulip Domain to the status of an earldom, even though its actual size was barely larger than that of the North Port Viscount Domain.

Incidents of nobility and vassal lords clamoring for independence were not common but were by no means rare.

What truly caused the Third Prince’s expression to change was something else written on the parchment...

It was the reason Castel proclaimed independence and declared war—

The de facto ruler of the Bold Duchy, Third Prince Philip, was colluding with the Blood Demon Church, attacking Count Castel, inciting rebellion in the Northern Land, and intent on forcibly annexing Castel, depriving all the nobles of the Northern Land of their titles!

It was a severe accusation.

Colluding with the Blood Demon Church, attacking noble lords, or forcibly annexing the territories of vassals to expand direct rule, all seriously breached the Holy Code’s statutes and the political correctness of the New Moon Kingdom, offending the Holy Royal Court, Kingdom lords, and nobles’ vassals respectively.

Not to mention, the insinuations weaving through the lines of the parchment nearly slapped the fact on Third Prince Philip’s face that he intended to usurp Castel’s territories to bolster his strength and thereby vie for the New Moon Throne.

It virtually laid bare the underlying political situation of New Moon.

Bear in mind, while King Louis V apparently was not satisfied with the current heir, he had not issued any orders to strip away the rights of succession and replace the heir (and, of course, many nobles would not agree to do so).

The contention between the two princes, in all strictness, hadn’t come to the forefront, but rather existed in a well-known but not outrightly confrontational form.

Ultimately, it was the New Moon King who would decide on a successor.

But the allegations in Charlotte’s declaration of war were different.

Exposing the Third Prince’s motives and laying everything out in the open was an absolute heavy blow to the authority and legitimacy of the Third Prince Party.

And crucially, the accusations on the parchment were not baseless claims.

Count Gaston, who had once been the commander of Bold, personally admitted to many facts and listed numerous pieces of evidence.

Moreover, nobles among the captured rebels from Castel also confessed, confirming the Third Prince’s support for the Northern Land’s rebellion and his actual dealings with the Blood Demon Church.

Various pieces of evidence and accusations, while not quite enough to crush the Third Prince completely, were basically sufficient to prove the deeds he had committed...

This was far more substantial than the Third Prince’s "final ultimatum," which strictly speaking, wasn’t particularly legitimate.

And most intriguingly, the Third Prince’s "final ultimatum," in a sense, had become evidence within the declaration of war.

"Damn it! Traitor! Fool who bites the hand that feeds! A self-delusional whore!"

Quivering with rage after reading through the parchment, the Third Prince tore it up and cursed.

Watching Philip, who was engulfed in fury with distorted features, Count Linte sighed inwardly and said,

"Your Highness, word has also arrived from my father that this declaration of war has been dispatched by the Mage Tower to the Royal Capital, creating an uproar."

"It is said that the conservative nobles, smelling blood, have successively brought their appeals to the Noble Council, demanding a thorough investigation into the accusations laid out in the declaration."

"Many Kingdom Nobles who tend towards your side have also expressed their concerns, either directly or indirectly."

"Even the Holy Royal Court’s Diocesan Chief Priest sent priests to the Council to inquire about this matter; had it not been for the Royal Family’s certain immunities, and the longstanding feud between the King and the Church... perhaps the Judgement Court’s Judgement Knights would have already been mobilized."

Hearing the words of Count Linte, the Third Prince’s face grew even uglier.

He stared intently at Count Linte and asked,

"So... my dear uncle, what is the stance of the Bowat Linte family then?"

Count Linte sighed,

"Your Highness, the moment we decided to deploy our troops, we were in the same boat as you."

Saying this, he grew solemn and continued,

"Your Highness, the Conservative nobles will not miss this opportunity to criticize you, and they will surely join forces to put pressure on the King, with the Church likely to intervene as well."

"Although the King has tacitly approved our actions, if the nobles and the Church unite against him, even His Majesty must concede..."

Upon hearing Count Linte’s words, the Third Prince’s gaze deepened.

He squinted at him and asked,

"Then... my uncle, what do you mean?"

Count Linte sighed,

"From the perspective of our family, in the best-case scenario, I would prefer to halt our deployment, to avoid completely opposing the Kingdom Nobles."

"The Castel family is merely a stepping stone for you; our goal is to support your succession to the New Moon Throne, and to succeed, you must win the support of the nobility..."

The Third Prince’s expression turned sour,

"Abandon deployment? Give up on Castel? My uncle, do you know how long I have prepared for today? If we give up this chance, there will be no other opportunity!"

"Since you know this is sanctioned by my father, you should also realize this is a test! If I cannot withstand the Church’s pressure to take Castel and prevent the Northern Land from falling under the Church’s jurisdiction, then... in his eyes, I might already be out of the game!"

Count Linte sighed again,

"Of course I understand, which is why... I said ’in the best-case scenario’. But indeed, as you said, we actually have no way out. Failing to retain the support of the nobility might not spell the end of our chance for the throne, but losing His Majesty’s favor would surely mean losing all hope."

"So... we must act swiftly and decisively."

"Your Highness, we do not have much time left. If we still intend to take Castel, we must accelerate our actions and conquer the Northern Land and occupy North Port before the Noble Council and the Holy Royal Court can react."

"The longer we delay, the greater the uncertainty. The Noble Council might even bypass the King’s orders to assist the Northern Land, and the Holy Royal Court might also intervene. Even our own nobles might begin to waver."

"Fortunately, we do stand a chance of victory. The Northern Land’s army is no match for ours. Victory will certainly be ours; the key lies in how long it will take."

"However, your plan to uproot the Northern Land nobility might have to be postponed. If we wish for a swift resolution, we must avoid unnecessary expenditure, and it would be best to secure their support."

Hearing Count Linte’s words, the Third Prince furrowed his brows in thought.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and asked,

"The content of this declaration of war... the nobles in the army are still unaware of it, right?"

Count Linte glanced towards the direction of the army and said,

"They do not know, for the time being... but each family has its own communication methods; they’ll find out sooner or later."

The Third Prince thought for a moment and said,

"Lockdown on information, draft a letter in response to Castel’s allegations, completely refuting her claims, to buy us time."

"Send out a message to the Northern Land nobles, in my name, promising that those who pledge loyalty may keep their titles and lands, and lowering their taxes by a third. Title revocations will only apply to the Castel family."

"Rest on site, and first thing tomorrow morning, we attack immediately!"

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