Tome of Blood

  Chapter 193-43-Banquet and Audience

  Earl's Mansion, Banquet Hall.

  The elf musicians wearing traditional silk gowns elegantly command the half-elf band to play the elf music that is popular in Myria, which is quite exotic; the dazzling crystal lamps illuminate the gorgeous hall magnificently.

  The well-dressed Castel nobles chatted and laughed, gracefully holding goblets, toasting and chatting with each other in the hall of the Earl's Mansion.

Looking around, there may be three or four hundred nobles and nobles attending the banquet, ranging from three viscounts to seventeen landed barons, large and small fief knights and landless nobles in the territory. Almost all who can come have come.

  Since the former Earl of Castel became the head of the Boulder Mages, the Castel Territory has not held a banquet of this scale for more than ten years.

  If you count the servants and guards who accompanied the nobles and were not qualified to enter the hall, the number of people attending the banquet in the Earl's Palace this time may be even greater.

   "Your Excellency Baron Angus, I haven't seen you for many years, but you are still so chic."

   "Your Excellency, Baron Ghent, is this your youngest son? I didn't expect him to grow up so much in a blink of an eye.

   "Mr. Cole, I heard that you are planning a new alchemy workshop recently? Are you looking for investors?"

   "Hahaha, Mrs. Laura, are you interested? If the Legris family is willing to participate, that would be great!"

   "..."

  The nobles gathered together in twos and threes, talking and laughing.

   There are those who exchange pleasantries, those who reminisce about the past, and those who exchange information, and there are many who take advantage of this opportunity to carry out family cooperation.

  The nobles of Castel almost all have fiefdoms.

  Even those who don’t have a fief, at least they will have a manor or workshop property, or some major shareholders or planners of certain chambers of commerce and fleets.

  Although the nobles would hold banquets with each other on weekdays, most of the time they still stayed honestly in their own territories.

  Communications often bring intelligence, and intelligence is always accompanied by opportunities. As for the exchange of favors between nobles...it is a necessary daily routine to join the upper class of Castel and maintain status and identity.

   Therefore, as long as you are not stupid, no one will miss this good opportunity to fully communicate with other nobles and come to Beigang to attend the banquet.

   After all, the only one who can gather the nobles of the entire territory is the lord of Castel.

   There are more and more nobles in the banquet hall, and the atmosphere of the venue is getting more and more enthusiastic.

  When the fairy dance music sounded, the highlight of the banquet also followed.

  Ballroom dancing has always been an important part of the social life of the nobles of Myria, and almost all banquets are inseparable from dancing.

  The melodious melody sounded, and the nobles came in pairs, saluted each other gracefully, and danced along with the music.

  The dance made the atmosphere of the venue lively and cheerful. Even the most serious nobles were gradually infected by the atmosphere and smiled unconsciously.

  Even the drowsy old Viscount Roman-Fore, who was sitting beside him, beat the beat of the music and shook his head slightly.

   A nobleman like Lola, who was originally enthusiastic and unrestrained, had already left the stage. With the cooperation of her partner, she danced lightly, which aroused applause.

   And when the Lord of the North, Charlotte de Castel, Earl of Castel, came to the venue accompanied by the elf steward, the atmosphere in the banquet hall suddenly reached a climax.

  This was the first time Charlotte held a banquet as a lord, and it was also the first time she stepped into the venue as a lord.

  Today, she chose a corset dress with white as the main tone. Her soft blond hair and pink skin shined brightly under the light, giving people a mysterious, noble and holy feeling.

  Adorned on her chest is a gorgeous ribbon with a black eagle painted on it, symbolizing the glory of Castel.

  The moment Charlotte stepped into the venue, the half-elf band stopped playing knowingly, while the waiters, maids and personal guards saluted her respectfully.

  The nobles also quickly noticed the arrival of their lord. The men and women who were dancing stopped almost instantly, and hundreds of eyes fell on Charlotte.

  The sight, there is amazement, joy, respect, and curiosity...

   Regardless of how the nobles present looked at her in their hearts, when Charlotte cast her eyes on everyone, all she saw were smiling, respectful and elegant faces.

  No malice, no hostility, no contempt.

   Yes, there is only a bright smile that seems to come from the heart.

  If she hadn't felt the contempt of the nobles, Charlotte would have almost believed it.

   Dramatist.

   are all drama masters!

  Charlotte complained in her heart, but her face was elegant and demure, like a noble lady.

  With the help of Sebastian, she gracefully passed through the crowd and walked to the front of the banquet hall.

  The nobles moved aside on their own, opening the way for Charlotte to the frontmost lord's seat.

   Whenever she passed by, the nobles on both sides would consciously bow and salute, with standard and respectful movements.

  Nice the black cat still follows Charlotte.

Looking at the nobles bowing like wheat in the wind on both sides, it raised its tail high, held its head high, and revealed the pet circle with the Black Eagle coat of arms on its chest, with a haughty look. I thought it was the nobles who came to visit.

  Charlotte slowly came to the front of the banquet hall, and a needle could be heard in the hall that accommodated hundreds of people.

  Under the eyes of one after another, Charlotte came to the lord's seat, sat down gracefully, then nodded slightly, greeted the band, and uttered a word with a smile:

"continue."

   Received the signal, the half-elf band continued to play the music, but the nobles hesitated for a moment, and continued to dance, and soon the lively atmosphere returned to the venue.

Charlotte sat on the lord's seat, propping her head gracefully with one hand, and resting the other on the gorgeous armrest. Her azure blue eyes swept across the crowd, and according to the costumes and coats of arms of the nobles and her own The data I have seen corroborates.

  Northport Mayor Maddock stood beside her.

  Wherever Charlotte's gaze is cast, he will bend slightly and respectfully introduce the other party's identity and family background to Charlotte.

  Charlotte nodded while secretly observing, and soon recognized the three viscounts and seventeen barons among the fiefs and vassals directly under him.

  The dancing nobles look chaotic.

  However, if you observe carefully, you will find that the Castel nobles gathered in the hall are faintly divided into four factions.

  Among them, the three major viscount families each formed a faction, and each had its own friendly nobles, especially Len-Castel and Legris, who could be called stars.

  In Charlotte's mind, the information of these two families also quickly appeared.

She is very familiar with Leon-Castell, the main house of Baron Sharon, a branch of the Castell family, and also a loyalist noble in the data records. She may have some small thoughts of her own, but it has always been Cass A die-hard supporter of Taylor.

  The head of the family, Amory, is a senior Silvermoon Knight. He has served as the foreign minister of the earldom for many years and has a very wide network of contacts.

  As for Legris... It is said that he was the earliest knight who followed the first Earl of Castel. He has the blood of the red dragon and is a real dragon descendant.

  The Legolis family's fief is adjacent to the Grand Duchy of the North, and has a brave cavalry unit, whose influence in the earldom cannot be underestimated.

  However, Charlotte remembered that the Legolis family recorded in the information had declined in recent years with the death of its old owner, but what he saw today was not the case.

  His new head of the family turned out to be Yinyue, and she was such a young woman.

   As for the last family of the three viscounts, although the number of nobles gathered around the Roman-Fauer family is the least, this family has the strongest aura.

  Charlotte keenly noticed that the other nobles almost invariably moved away from the place where they gathered, and there was a feeling of isolation, awe, and fear in it.

   This is similar to the information she has read.

  Different from other families, the Roman-Fauer family is a submissive family with the most complicated background.

  Their ancestors—the Roman family used to be pirates in the northern border. In the era when pirates in the northern border were rampant hundreds of years ago, the northern tribes to which the Roman family belonged often attacked the coastline of the New Moon Kingdom.

  Later, the Roman family occupied the northern land of the New Moon Kingdom. In order to win them over, the Crescent Royal Family, whose monarchy was declining at that time, had no choice but to designate them as the Duke of Roman, which is the origin of the Roman Dukedom.

   However, the Roman family later invaded the Fallen Star Kingdom and established the Roman Dynasty in the Fallen Star Kingdom, and the Roman Principality also ran away together, becoming an enclave of the Fallen Star Kingdom.

  The Romain-Fore family was separated from the Roman Duchy shortly thereafter.

  Different from the Roman family, they chose to stay in the New Moon Kingdom.

  Because they also inherited the tradition of pirates, the reputation of the Roman-Fur family was not very good. Although they had a choice of privateers, they were despised by many nobles.

  However, despite being despised, the Roman-Fore family controls a powerful fleet. In Castel, which is famous for its commerce, it exists completely sideways, and is feared by almost all families.

   Not only that, but during the Star-Moon War, it is said that they were vacillating between the two kingdoms, which even angered the then Duke of Bold...

  In short, they are a powerful family with complex backgrounds and subtle stances.

  Recalling all the materials he had read, Charlotte slowly averted his gaze from Viscount Romain-Fore.

   For some reason, the moment she saw the other party, she faintly felt a sense of familiarity.

In addition to the three viscounts, there are also some landless nobles who have formed a small circle of their own. Although their titles are very low compared to those old nobles, many of them only wear the title of baron or knight without a fief, but the clothes they wear But it is quite gorgeous, and even looks richer than many old-fashioned nobles.

After browsing the information, Charlotte knew that these people were the upstarts who had gradually grown in recent years. Unlike the traditional aristocrats who relied more on territorial taxes, almost all of them were in business, or had workshops, and many of them were even merchants. , titles are bought.

  They don't care about anything else, they only care about whether they can make money and how to get a higher status in the earldom.

  These four forces are almost the status quo of the Castel nobles.

  Charlotte doesn't know which of these people are related to the Ness blood clan. It may be a certain faction, or there may be more than one faction.

  However, her purpose today is to observe.

  Of course, observation alone is not enough.

  If you really want to understand, you also need to communicate and test.

  Charlotte gestured with her eyes, and the waiter immediately understood, and drew the curtain in front of the lord's seat.

  The curtains are engraved with exquisite and complicated patterns. If you look carefully, you can also see some magical inscriptions.

   This is a special curtain blessed by special magic.

  The curtain can block the sight of the nobles outside, but inside the curtain, Charlotte can clearly see every move of the nobles on the field.

   Not only that, the curtain cuts off the sound from inside and outside, Charlotte can vaguely hear the music at the venue, but the conversation inside the curtain will not be transmitted at all.

   This is a curtain specially used to meet the lord!

   This is a banquet, and it is also an event to receive the audience of the nobles. While holding the banquet outside, Charlotte will accept the audience of the nobles in turn on the side of the curtain.

  Of course, not all nobles are required to have an audience. Charlotte only named three viscount families and several influential baron families. The rest must apply for an audience.

  The curtain was drawn, and only Charlotte, Sebastian, and Nice were left inside.

  The nobles looked at each other, knowing that the opportunity to meet the lord had come.

  However, the first person to come to see Charlotte was not the Castel nobleman.

   But Charlotte's old acquaintance.

   "Sister Lottie, I haven't seen you for a few days. Is the work of the church going well?"

  Looking at the gentle priestess in front of her, Charlotte smiled in surprise.

   She just asked about Lottie's work a few days ago. She heard that the lady priest was busy without touching the ground after she came to Castells, and she didn't know how much work there was in the church in Castells.

  Charlotte thought that Lottie would not come today.

  After hearing what Charlotte said, Lottie sighed, looking a little tired:

   "It's a bit complicated. The church in Castel has accumulated more affairs than I imagined. It has been busy these days, and it's finally free..."

   As she spoke, she couldn't help but said:

   "Did you know? There is no priest in charge in the Castel Church! After arriving at the church, I realized that my priesthood is the highest!"

  Charlotte was immediately happy.

  She knew that the control of the Holy Royal Court in Castel was very weak, but she didn't expect it to be so weak.

   "Not even the priest in charge? Wouldn't that be equivalent to a continuous shutdown?"

   "Yeah, the problem is... even the Boulder church doesn't know that Castel's head priest has long since disappeared, and Castel's church has never reported it. It's been seven years!"

   "Seven years?"

  Charlotte's heart skipped a beat.

  With the bad things about the Castel Silver Mine, she is quite sensitive to the number "seven" now.

"Yes, it's been seven years. Seven years ago, after the chief priest of Castel was promoted, no new priest has been arranged. There is no record in Boulder, and the trial court of the Principality has not been inspected for many years. .”

   Lottie said.

  Charlotte raised her eyebrows:

   "Suppressed by the great priest Linus?"

   Lottie sighed:

   "I'm afraid so."

  Charlotte sneered:

   "This copper smelting addiction has been tried and still lingers. It seems that he didn't take advantage of some guys back then."

  Lottie's heart moved:

   "Some guy?"

   "Some rats who want to make trouble, I thought they just extended their hands to the nobles, but now it seems that they may even infiltrate the church."

  After listening to Charlotte's words, Lottie's expression also showed a trace of worry:

   "Speaking of which, Lord Earl, I have also heard a lot of bad rumors these days, about you and the church..."

   "Say I want to forcefully promote faith and force unbelievers and disbelievers to convert?"

   Charlotte said.

  Lottie hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly.

   "Don't worry about them. After all, I'm not a true holy believer. These rumors will be self-defeating as time goes by."

  Charlotte shook her head and said.

  However, as soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to think of something again, her expression condensed slightly:

"and many more…"

   "Your Earl?"

  Lottie looked puzzled.

  Charlotte pondered for a moment, and suddenly said to Niss, who was eating a small dried fish:

   "Nice, after today's banquet is over, you go back to the church and give all the priests of the church an identity check."

  Nice put down the dried fish:

   "Identity check? Meow? Lord Charlotte, do you suspect that Castel's church has also been infiltrated?"

  Charlotte narrowed her eyes:

   "Just in case, although I am not afraid of certain rumors, I have to be wary of others messing around in my name."

   As she spoke, she smiled at Lottie again:

   "However, maybe this is also a good thing. Since Castel has no priest, then we may apply to Grandpa Raoul to let you serve as the chief priest of Castel."

  After listening to Charlotte's suggestion, Lottie hesitated to speak.

  Of course she understood what Charlotte meant. This was to completely control the belief in the territory and completely empty the holy royal court.

  As the priest of the holy royal court, she should have prevented this kind of thing, but at this moment, she only hesitated for a moment before accepting it.

  The speed of acceptance surprised even herself.

  Perhaps... from the moment I knew that the umbrella behind Drunken Dream Salon was the Great Priest, I had already fallen.

   Lottie sighed in her heart.

  After her faith was shaken, she was still protected by the Holy Light. To be honest... she doesn't even know what she should believe now.

   Maybe... only time will tell her the answer.

   "Sister Lottie, please be careful when you are in the church. When the banquet is over, go back and bring two guards from the Earl's Mansion for self-defense. I found two senior guard captains at the mining workshop. It's pretty good."

   Charlotte said.

   "Thank you for your concern."

  Lottie bowed her head slightly.

  No matter how her beliefs change, while she is a priest, she still keeps in mind that she is a descendant of the Broglie family.

  The Broglie family has always reciprocated their kindness. After being rescued by Charlotte, she has already decided to follow him. Only this point... can never be wrong.

  …

   Lottie's meeting was more like a greeting.

   After chatting for a few words, she exited the veil.

  After Lottie withdrew, as a branch of Castel, the head of the Len-Castel family with a somewhat detached position in the earldom, Amory, Viscount Len, entered the veil first.

  As soon as the old Viscount entered the curtain, he tremblingly bowed down to Charlotte, with a solemn expression:

   "My lord, I have important information to report to you!"

   "The Legris family... I'm afraid there is something different!"

   It’s the end of the month, so be cheeky and ask for a monthly pass..._(:з)∠)_

  (end of this chapter)