Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 419: -167- Bold’s Future

Chapter 419: -167- Bold’s Future

In the hospital room.

Duchess Eleanor of Bold half-sat in front of the window, lost in the branches outside.

The door opened gently, and Charlotte and Lotti entered.

Hearing the noise, Eleanor immediately turned her head, her face filled with tension.

However, as soon as she recognized the visitors as Charlotte and Lotti, her expression quickly returned to normal, revealing an innocent smile:

"Cha... Charlotte! Hello! Charlotte!"

Her naively romantic demeanor did not seem like that of a woman in her late twenties, but rather that of a seven or eight-year-old child.

Seeing her like this, Charlotte’s gaze sharpened slightly.

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte walked over to her, gently sat down beside her, and then kindly asked:

"Miss Eleanor, do you... know who you are?"

"Ea... Eleanor, I am Eleanor."

Eleanor pointed at herself and giggled.

Priest Lotti sighed:

"Lord Count, her mental issues are more complex than I imagined..."

"It’s been discovered that her intelligence has suffered permanent damage, likely due to the corruption of Black Magic and prolonged mental oppression... It’s probably rooted in her soul."

"Although she is not foolish, she is currently only equivalent to a child..."

"I have tried various Divine Skill Rituals, but none have been very effective."

"Her symptoms are beyond what the Church Hospital can heal; the soul is the most mysterious field, and even Legendary Mages are unable to fully grasp the mysteries of the soul..."

"If there is truly anything in this world that could help her, it’s probably only the deity."

Saying this, Lotti couldn’t help but glance at Charlotte, then slightly bowed her head in a respectful gesture, implying:

"Lord Count, if even you cannot help her, I fear... there really is no one else who could cure her."

Listening to Lotti’s words, Charlotte remained silent.

Lotti knew her "identity," which is why she spoke in this way.

But Charlotte knew her own circumstances; her so-called "deity" identity relied entirely on the Blood Holy Scripture. Although she could use the Blood Divine Power to perform some Divine Miracles and even exercise some of a deity’s prerogatives, she actually knew very little about the realm of souls.

If she could have healed Eleanor, she would have already done so, as there was no deep-seated grudge between them, but rather a familial relationship—and the memories from her past, as a child, were quite good with Eleanor.

Charlotte had considered transforming Eleanor into a Bloodline, but Bloodliners themselves are a race prone to madness, and given Eleanor’s mental state, rashly transforming her into a Bloodline might not only prevent recovery with their self-healing ability, she might go mad before any healing could occur...

That would be much worse than impaired intelligence.

This uncertain, potentially risk-exposing action was definitely not something Charlotte would impulsively do.

Perhaps in the future, as her strength improved further and her understanding of souls increased, she might be able to help Eleanor, but definitely not now.

Eleanor’s condition reminded Charlotte of Rena at the Count Mansion.

Rena also suffered from impaired intelligence, but unlike Eleanor who had soul issues, Rena was cursed by the Blood Demon Duke.

Comparatively speaking, Eleanor’s issue might have been lighter, but unfortunately... it wasn’t something the current Charlotte could resolve.

"I understand, this matter requires careful deliberation; let her rest well for now."

Charlotte sighed.

...

After visiting Eleanor, Charlotte left the hospital room.

Seeing her emerge, the waiting nobles quickly came up to greet her.

"Lord Count, how is Duchess Bold faring?"

Viscount Lien Castel asked curiously.

Charlotte shook her head:

"Her intelligence is impaired; recovery is difficult..."

Hearing her words, the nobles looked at each other.

Seeing Charlotte’s slightly furrowed brow, the Old Viscount thought for a moment and said:

"Lord Count... actually, this isn’t necessarily bad news for us Castels."

"Not only that, from another perspective, the current state of Duchess Bold presents an opportunity for you!"

"Oh? An opportunity?"

Charlotte glanced at the old viscount.

Viscount Lien Castel nodded and said,

"Yes."

"With Eleanor’s current state, she definitely can’t take over the reign of Bold Duchy. In other words, she’s already unable to bear the responsibility of ruling Bold."

"In this situation, you can fully intervene in the political situation of Bold Duchy as a collateral member of Bold!"

To this, the old viscount stepped forward, whispered,

"As the lord cannot govern personally, the nobles will definitely form a Regent Cabinet. We haven’t officially signed a treaty with Bold, and we are still nominally vassals of Bold..."

"What nobility in the entire Bold Duchy could possibly be stronger than us Castels, easier to seize the position of Regent Minister?"

"Once you control the Regent Cabinet and gain the recognition of the Bold nobles, you can completely become the true ruler of Bold!"

"Not only that, when the time is ripe, you could even directly depose her and replace her, seizing Bold’s authority through your bloodline and becoming the new Bold Duke!"

Upon hearing the old viscount’s words, Charlotte couldn’t help but glance at him:

"Are you suggesting that I usurp the title of the Duchy of Bold?"

"Why not? According to Bold’s succession mechanism, after Eleanor, you are already within the top five by bloodline, which means you are eligible to inherit."

"Rather than going independent, becoming the Duke of Bold directly would be a better choice for you and for our Castel Domain, wouldn’t it?"

Viscount Lien Castel said with a smile.

Hearing this, the other nobles’ eyes lit up, and their looks towards Charlotte suddenly changed.

Not to mention anything else, if Charlotte really became the Duke of Bold, they would also benefit!

The nobles showed eager faces, but Charlotte shook her head slightly:

"This is not appropriate."

"Count, what are you hesitating about? Now that Bold’s elite are all captured by us, other nobles are far away, and the Duchess of Bold is under our control!"

"Yes! There is no better time than now to get involved in the court of Bold!"

"Count, Castel is originally a collateral branch of Bold, by right, you are a member of the Bold family! You are a strong contender for a noble title of Bold Duchy!"

The nobles urged competitively.

Watching this group of nobles, seemingly eager to "crown" her, Charlotte twitched the corner of her mouth.

She shook her head and said,

"Perhaps you have a point, but... I definitely can’t become the Duke of Bold."

Saying this, she turned to Viscount Lien Castel:

"Viscount Lien Castel, do you remember what gave the Third Prince the confidence to declare war on our Castel?"

Upon hearing Charlotte’s words, the old viscount was slightly startled, then his expression changed.

His eyes flickered, and he struggled to say,

"It’s... His Majesty the King."

"Yes, His Majesty the King."

Charlotte sighed.

She walked to the window in the hallway and, looking at the green buds sprouting from the trees outside, said,

"Ultimately, His Majesty the King allowing the Third Prince’s war against us Castel was to strengthen central authority..."

"Do you think he would let a noble ’leaning towards the Church’ become the new Duke of Bold?"

Upon hearing Charlotte’s words, the nobles fell silent.

The answer was obvious, it simply couldn’t happen.

With the King’s wariness towards Castel, he definitely would not allow Charlotte to seize the title of Duke of Bold. For the royal family, taking the opportunity to reclaim the title of Bold Duchy was the best choice.

Clearly, it wouldn’t be appropriate since Eleanor had already taken the position and even the royal family couldn’t depose her at will, but preventing others from seizing it and seeking the inheritance of the title after Eleanor’s future death was still possible.

"However..."

Charlotte changed the tone, her words pregnant with meaning:

"You all made a good point; the headless Bold Duchy indeed needs a Regent Minister..."