Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 40: -37- I need a housekeeper

Chapter 40: -37- I need a housekeeper

Casimodo obviously hadn’t noticed the increasingly dark expression on his master’s face as he continued to passionately discuss the advantages of a marriage alliance.

It wasn’t until Nisi, who felt the chilly atmosphere, glanced at Charlotte’s brooding expression and shuddered that he coughed lightly, finally snapping the old servant out of his daydream.

"Meow... After the marriage alliance, will it prevent great master from being attacked again?"

Nisi cleared his throat, asking with implicit meaning.

Casimodo paused, his expression slightly changed, and he quickly fell silent.

Clearly, he too had thought about situations like "horse-riding accidents."

What about a bastard son entering the family by marriage?

As long as the Castel family itself lacked the power to suppress others firmly, even with the protection of the "Holy Code," it would still be viewed as prey by others.

Placing hope in others was akin to handing them control of your life.

"I’m sorry... master, I oversimplified the matter..."

Casimodo bowed, his aged face filled with guilt.

Watching Charlotte’s expression soften slightly, Nisi shook his head secretly:

Really, how could this old servant even consider having such a great entity marry a mortal...

It was like invoking divine punishment!

Charlotte regained her composure and gently consoled:

"No matter, you were thinking of the family."

With that, she sighed deeply.

Charlotte had realized.

She had unwittingly become the vortex of the power games in Bold Duchy.

The spark of the vortex was the inheritance of the Count Castel Domain one year later.

The core behind it all, however, involved the conflicting interests of the Duke’s family and the Vassal Nobles.

The Duke certainly harbored ideas for the wealthy Castel, and so did other nobles.

Whether it was framing, assassination, or vicious rumors, everything revolved around the same goals:

First, to damage the relationship between Castel and Bold, derail any possible alliance in advance, obstruct Bold’s potential inheritance of the Count Castel Domain, and prevent the Duke’s family from growing further.

Second, by leveraging rumors and survival pressures, to pressure Charlotte into seeking a marriage alliance among the nobles, gaining more opportunities for their side in the struggle for the Count Castel Domain...

But one thing Charlotte hadn’t figured out:

Was this afternoon’s assassination attempt for show, or was it real?

This truly baffled her.

After all, to outsiders, she was still just a little girl, and the assassination could indeed have been successful.

If I died, and the Duke Mansion was exposed as the attacker, whose gain would be the greatest?

Fellow nobles in the Duchy? Other lords of the Kingdom? The King? Or was it someone else?

Charlotte fell into contemplation.

Unfortunately, she had too little information and no leads.

After fruitless pondering, the girl gave up trying to figure it out.

Those involved were confused; bystanders saw more clearly. Continuing to meddle would only put her at a disadvantage.

Instead, it might be better to step out of the vortex temporarily, even if just to overview the whole situation from a distance, which could allow her to understand the situation better and spot clues.

With that thought, Charlotte suddenly said:

"Casimodo, I’ve changed my mind, I won’t meet any nobles in the upcoming days."

Casimodo was slightly stunned, then somewhat hesitant:

"This... might not be wise?"

"There’s nothing wrong with it, just say I was the target of an assassination attempt at home, am overly shocked, and need to recuperate. Have all visits and invitations declined until the banquet at the Duke Mansion."

"Alright... okay."

"Meanwhile, secretly monitor the movements in the town, especially the activities of various families, and... rumors."

"Okay."

"Also, go all out in acting; for the next few days, go to the Church Hospital and invite some priests to perform spiritual soothing divine arts on me at home periodically, and invite some priests from the nearest Holy Royal Court Church to conduct services with me at home."

"Ah? Inviting priests to our home? That might be a bit difficult..."

"Convert the lunch payment into the treatment and invitation fee, someone will come."

"Okay... okay."

"Furthermore, go to the Demon Hunting Institute in the western city district and find Squad Leader Chatham, tell him that I want their protection over my safety for the upcoming week."

"Hiring Demon Hunting Knights? Master, the Demon Hunting Knights are affiliated with the Church and generally don’t take on tasks from nobles..."

"No worries, this isn’t a hiring but a request among friends, didn’t we become friends yesterday? Of course, we should prepare a gratitude fee."

"Isn’t that just hiring..."

Black Cat Nisi muttered under his breath, then faced Charlotte’s brief glance and quickly closed his mouth.

Charlotte paused for a moment, then continued:

"They don’t need to follow me around all the time, just having people patrol around the manor is enough, largely just to borrow the influence, I also want to see how bold those hidden individuals are."

"At your command."

"If money becomes an issue, find some of the least valuable collectibles, artworks, and such from the manor to sell for now, we’ll have funds by the end of the month, and can buy them back then."

"Uh... alright."

Casimodo’s eyelids twitched, barely holding back from saying that those collectibles were the old master’s favorite treasures...

Ah, selling the farm without feeling a twinge of loss.

"Furthermore, starting tomorrow, I will personally train the new servants at home."

"At your... eh?"

Casimodo was stunned.

He looked up at the girl sitting behind the desk, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"Master, such matters... it would be better if the old servant took care of them, as your status is distinguished..."

"No need to worry, I have also learned nobility etiquette. Let’s settle on this decision."

Charlotte said.

She had had this idea since she stopped the assassin that afternoon because she had noticed that her proficiency in Majesty Skill had clearly increased, already reaching 24/100.

For now, she planned not to socialize with nobles. Thus, the best way to enhance her Majesty Skill was to practice using these new servants.

It would instill fear and increase their loyalty toward her while also allowing her to quickly master the Majesty Skill, killing two birds with one stone!

"Alright."

Seeing that Charlotte was determined to proceed, Casimodo no longer tried to stop her but simply gave a respectful bow.

In his view, this was a sign that his young master also wanted to grow up quickly.

Though it was not proper etiquette, it was nonetheless a good thing.

Oh, no.

From the moment the meal expenses were reduced, nobility etiquette was pretty much out the window.

After making the arrangements, Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief.

She leaned back, lazily stretched, then suddenly remembered something, her lips curving into a slight grin as she spoke with a smile:

"Actually... you have a point."

"I am indeed too weak now; perhaps I really do need to find a powerful force to shield me from all these flies in the Duchy..."

Watching Charlotte’s lovely face sketch out a slightly mischievous smile, Nisi felt a stir in his heart, guessing a bit about the girl’s ideas and goals, and silently lit a candle for her in his mind...

Charlotte didn’t explain further but just glanced at the deepening evening sky and yawned lazily:

"Well, it’s getting late, and if there’s nothing else, let’s call it a day. I should rest now."

Nisi quickly jumped off the desk, eagerly bringing over her platform shoes.

Charlotte’s feet were never still under the desk.

She found the platform shoes uncomfortable and had taken them off long ago.

During her contemplation, her little feet kept stretching and retracting, her pale ankles waving, and she had no idea where she had kicked her shoes.

However, outside the desk, the old servant Casimodo’s expression hesitated as he seemed to be holding back words.

Charlotte sensed something:

"Casimodo, is there something else?"

"Um... indeed, there is, Master. This afternoon, I saw you employ transcendent power to deter the assassin. May I ask what kind of Bloodline power you have awakened?"

Casimodo asked expectantly.

"What kind of power? Doesn’t our family’s Bloodline have only one type?"

Charlotte was slightly startled.

Casimodo thought for a moment, first shaking his head, but soon he nodded:

"Well... how should I put this..."

"If we trace back to the original power, the Castel’s Bloodline indeed only had one type, like that of the Bold and even the New Moon Royal Family, all belonging to the ’Element Awakening’ Mage Series..."

"But you know, nobles have intermarried generation after generation, and by now, the nobles throughout Mireya have intermarried countless times."

"Everyone has a mix of each other, so aside from the most likely original Bloodline, other Bloodlines could also awaken."

"Overall, everyone’s Bloodline powers are no longer single but varied, so anything could emerge..."

Looking at Casimodo’s conflicted expression, Charlotte understood.

That meant, from a transcendent perspective, the intermarried nobles were basically all mixed breeds now.

Deep in their Bloodline, any power could be inherited, and it might even skip a generation.

This was rather good news for her.

Because this way, her Bloodline identity could be better hidden.

"I still don’t know what I have awakened, it’s probably related to the spirit."

Charlotte pondered and said.

She couldn’t reveal her Bloodline identity, not even to Casimodo.

Casimodo then suggested:

"If you are uncertain, you could look through the family archives where books on Bloodline powers are kept. They have records of all the families the Castel family has married into historically, prepared precisely for situations like yours."

"Knowing which power you have awakened, targeted methods for enhancement and training can be found to increase your strength."

"I understand."

Charlotte nodded slightly, planning to look through those texts later to find a suitable scapegoat.

After telling Charlotte where the books were kept, Casimodo left.

Watching him leave, Charlotte sighed slightly.

Casimodo was very loyal, extremely loyal.

But he was still just a mortal.

Moreover, when thinking about issues, he tended to consider things from the perspective of Castel rather than hers.

He was truly loyal.

But not wholly loyal to Charlotte herself.

Moreover, this dutiful old servant also lacked sufficient political sensitivity...

In that moment, Charlotte suddenly realized why the family had previously assigned such a loyal servant to manage a store instead of keeping him at the manor as a steward.

He was qualified as a servant.

But as a steward... he really wasn’t quite suitable.

"It seems I need a more loyal and more qualified steward..."

"Preferably, a transcendent who has reached a higher Rank."

Charlotte muttered to herself.

After speaking, she quickly shook her head.

Even she herself had not yet advanced to the First Tier of the Starry level. What a dream!