Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 72: -61- The Crisis of the Rose Association!

Chapter 72: -61- The Crisis of the Rose Association!

As the largest religious force in the world of Mireya, the Holy Royal Court possessed two renowned transcendent teams across the continent.

One of them comprised a vast number of members, stationed in every city and key town, managed by local Churches, responsible for eliminating Deceit Demons and protecting common folk, known as the Demon Hunting Institute.

Their role in the nations that revered the Holy Royal Court was somewhat akin to the local police stations of the Heavenly Dynasty in a previous life.

The formal members of the Demon Hunting Institute were called Demon Hunting Knights.

Rather than being feared or dreaded, Demon Hunting Knights more often conveyed a sense of safety, justice, and reassurance to the people.

Of course, the Demon Hunting Knights enjoyed more freedom than the clergy of the Church; they would often engage in tasks similar to those of freelance mercenaries or Wandering Knights, with the implicit approval of the Church.

Secondly, there was the Judgement Court, independent of the secular Holy Royal Court Church, directly managed by the Church Authority Country.

Distinct from the Demon Hunting Institute, the Judgement Court maintained its own top-down management system, had bases in major cities of various countries, responsible for overseeing local diocese divisions of the Church, and judging heretics and evil forces.

Their role in Mireya was somewhat like the historical Imperial Secret Police of the Heavenly Dynasty.

The Judgement Knights were the most renowned members of the Judgement Court.

Unlike Demon Hunting Knights who were relatively populist and even seen by many children as a life goal, Judgement Knights lacked a favorable reputation among the laity.

Even clergy from local Churches would speak of them with dread.

Judgement Knights were generally stronger than Demon Hunting Knights, fewer in number, but each was a fanatic, merciless towards sinners, heretics, and malign forces.

Madmen of faith, lunatics, bloodthirsty mad dogs, hawks of the Church Authority, cruel, bloody, ruthless... were labels seen in the eyes of common people.

Judgement Knights... acknowledged only faith!

The presence of the Judgement Court was usually low as they seldom made outward movements.

However, once they were mobilized, it signified a significant event, and someone would undoubtedly suffer.

Each deployment’s result was either the downfall of a powerful priest or the elimination of a Great Noble family, or the complete eradication of an underground secret Cult Group...

Charlotte, who had quickly recalled the relevant information about the Holy Royal Court, almost immediately stood up from her seat.

"Don’t panic, explain slowly, what exactly happened? Why would the Rose Association be targeted by the Judgement Court? And how many Judgement Knights were deployed?"

Charlotte asked solemnly.

"Not too many; the old servant briefly saw, there were about twenty-plus Judgement Knights in red attire from a distance, and according to the badges on their attire, the highest-ranking was probably Second Tier Silver Moon, and there were several of them, with even more Apprentice Judgment Knights, possibly hundreds..."

Casimodo reported swiftly.

There weren’t any Third Tier Blazing Sun?

Charlotte was somewhat surprised.

The books recorded that when Judgement Knights were deployed, they usually came out in full force.

And as far as she knew, the Judgement Knights stationed in the Duchy of Bold ranked as high as the Duke and the Great Priest, all at Third Tier.

"The Judgement Knights haven’t fully mobilized... this signifies that the situation hasn’t reached an irreversible stage..."

After saying this, she asked again:

"What exactly happened? Why would the Judgement Court make a move against the Rose Association? The Rose Association is just an underground gang; it should be under the local Lord’s jurisdiction!"

This time, however, Casimodo appeared somewhat at a loss; clearly... he didn’t have the answer.

"I... don’t know... The old servant merely saw the Judgement Knights’ troop heading towards the Outer City District with great momentum and directly sealed a shop of the Rose Association in the western part of the city, taking all the shop employees away."

Casimodo said.

After finishing, he clenched his teeth:

"And... the old servant also saw some people in gray clothes; they might be the Religious Judge Force!"

The Religious Judge Force...

Charlotte slightly tensed.

The Religious Judge Force was a secular troop directly under the Judgement Knights, composed of Transcendents and ordinary people.

In church documents, they were a historical tradition left by the Holy Royal Court, a main force during the Holy Wars while the Holy Royal Court was battling across the continent.

They were once prominently known as the Holy Legion, disciplined and formidable.

Of course, now that the Holy Royal Court was the undisputed dominator of the Mireya world, the Holy Legion had lost its purpose and thus had been reformed into the Local Judge Force.

The Local Judge Force nominally fell under the command of the Judgement Knights, assisting in their duties.

However, in practice, the deployment of the Religious Judge Force required the unanimous agreement of both the Judgement Knights and the local Church’s chief officials, and they were usually inconspicuous.

In other words... the Great Priest also agreed to take action against the Rose Association.

"Casimodo, quickly contact Frank and the others; have them move to Castel Manor as soon as possible. For those too far, find a place to hide immediately; don’t get caught in the crossfire!"

"And... inform the Rose Association. Although they likely already know, we should still notify them. Whoever can evacuate, should do so immediately!"

Charlotte said with a serious expression.

Since even the Rose Association’s shops were sealed, it likely indicated that the Judgement Court intended to eradicate the Rose Association completely.

For people like Old Frank who were peripherals sheltered by the Rose Association, they were very likely within the range of the strike!

Pacing the study, she pondered and continued:

"Sebastian has been out of touch... I wonder if it’s related to this."

"Fortunately, Judgement Knights only target Transcendents, so Frank and the others should only face arrests by the Religious Judge Force..."

"Bring extra sets of our family uniforms! Let them change into them! Now everyone in Bold knows we are under the Church’s protection, even the Religious Judge Force wouldn’t dare to mess with them!"

Charlotte thought for a moment and then said.

However, after hearing the girl’s words, Casimodo’s face turned somewhat pale.

He clenched his teeth and said,

"No... I cannot take the family’s uniforms, we must transfer them over as quietly as possible..."

"If the Religious Judge Force sees our uniforms, I fear our family will also suffer!"

Charlotte furrowed her brows,

"Why? They wouldn’t dare lay hands on nobles protected by the Church, would they? Even if they were reorganized, they were once a disciplined Holy Legion!"

Casimodo hesitated for a moment, unsure how to explain to the girl, but it was Black Cat Nisi who suddenly leapt in from outside the window, speaking gravely,

"They certainly would."

"Because... they are no longer the principled, disciplined Holy Legion you know of from the Church’s scriptures."

"It’s better said that today’s Religious Judge Force has a reputation far worse than that of the Judgement Court, and their reputation has been tarnished by them."

Charlotte was slightly startled, then her expression became stern,

"How so?"

Nisi sighed softly,

"Everything has its day of decay and corruption, and the Holy Legion is no different..."

"They were once the proudest Holy War Legion of the Holy Royal Court, but after being reformed into the Local Judge Force, many lost their original goals and motivations and chose to leave. The reduction in the troop’s numbers worsened..."

"Later, to maintain combat effectiveness, the thirteenth Chief High Priest of the Holy Royal Court, Nero IV, reformed the Local Judge Force, announcing that sinners wishing for redemption could join the force."

"These were people without freedom, who had signed soul contracts, merely cannon fodder, prisoners, criminals, and even former cultists volunteering to avoid religious judgment!"

"Their inclusion significantly boosted the combat effectiveness of the Religious Judge Force, even surpassing the era of the Holy Legion, but it was accompanied by deteriorating discipline..."

"Today’s Local Judge Force is like a band of religious slaves, seen as having no human rights in the eyes of Judgement Knights, with their only end being death in repeated religious judgments..."

"Such people, once driven mad, are uncontrollable by anyone except Judgement Knights, a group even more detestable than the Judgement Knights themselves, utterly unrestrained madmen!"

After hearing Nisi’s words, Charlotte’s expression changed.

The young boys and girls had not returned for a long time, they likely had already encountered the Local Religious Judge Force.

"Prepare the carriage for me, I need to go to the Grand Cathedral to see the Great Priest immediately!"

The girl immediately made her decision.

"As you wish..."

Casimodo bowed, then hurried out of the study.

"I thought you would decide to go to the Outer City District right away."

With a rustle, Nisi jumped next to Charlotte, saying this unexpectedly.

"I’m not that foolish."

Charlotte glanced at it, rang a bell to call her maid, and had her change into traveling clothes.

She was of course extremely worried about the young boys and girls, and Frank and the others.

However, she knew that the more critical the moment, the more she must remain calm.

If she rushed to the Outer City District without any clear understanding, she would not only fail to solve the problem but might also put herself in danger.

Since it takes stealing a bell to repair it, she needed to start with the Church.

Although the Great Priest had no direct jurisdiction over the Judgement Knights, as the highest clergy of the Holy Royal Court in Bold Duchy, he still had a say in Holy Judgments concerning local groups.

Not to mention, the Great Priest also held some control over the Local Religious Judge Force!

Getting the Great Priest elected required the support of Castel, merely a matter of spending more gold tanas. If she was willing to pay the price, Charlotte was confident in persuading him to stop the Judgement Court’s Holy Judgment.

After thinking it through, she took out a stack of parchment from the desk and tucked it into her bosom.

"What is this?"

Black Cat Nisi poked its head curiously.

Charlotte glanced at it,

"Documents prepared to clear the Rose Association’s name. I had planned to use them later when I had more material, but it seems... I need to use them now."

Since she had decided to hire Sebastian as the butler, Charlotte of course had long considered how to clear the name of the Rose Association, an underground syndicate.

She was ultimately a noble, while the Rose Association was an underworld group; mixing the two publicly was problematic and could easily become a target for other nobles.

These days, she had spent her free time organizing these materials. Fortunately, the Rose Association did have many accomplishments to its name, a balance of good and evil.

Using equivocal expressions to clear the Rose Association’s name was not difficult for a keyboard warrior from her previous life.

This visit to the Great Priest was also an opportunity to handle this matter and resolve it once and for all!

With her maid’s assistance, Charlotte changed into suitable traveling clothes, specifically choosing a pure white dress.

Then, she boarded the prepared carriage.

"Meow! I’m coming too!"

Nisi called out, jumping onto the carriage as well.

Charlotte glanced at it and did not stop it.

Although unreliable, there was no one in the manor who understood the Church better than it. Taking it along might bring unexpected insights.

The carriage started moving, carrying one person and one cat, swiftly heading toward the Grand Cathedral in the eastern city district...