Tome of Blood

  In December 1445 of the sacred calendar, Castel led ushered in the first snow after winter.

  As an earldom by the sea, Castel doesn't snow every year, but this year's climate is significantly colder than previous years. The snowflakes fell from the sky profusely, dyeing the earth a little white.

  Five days have passed since Charlotte woke up, and the rebels of the Legris family are still stationed in the upper reaches of the Dorne River. They seem to have forgotten to continue attacking. They have no intention of crossing the river at all, and even built a long-term camp on the north bank.

  Besides Beigang, the noble troops summoned from all over the place have been prepared, and tents of all sizes are set up along the side of the Castel Bridge, with no end in sight.

  On the coastline, shipping is busier than ever. There are cargo ships setting sail on the pier in Beigang almost every moment, and new cargo ships are sailing into the port at the same time.

  The strategic materials dispatched from various places gathered in Beigang, supporting the operation of tens of thousands of troops. The daily military food consumption alone is an astronomical figure.

  The tense atmosphere can be felt almost everywhere in Beigang, and the pace of the approaching war is so compelling.

  Especially when more and more warships are entering the port, military sailboats from various noble families are lined up, and the row of black stone-shooting guns on the side of the hull looks particularly oppressive.

  For a while, the young Earl of Castel appeared at the noble meeting, and rumors that he called the nobles to prepare to go north to meet the rebels also spread in Beigang.

  All the citizens of Beigang focused their attention on the Earl's Mansion in the center of the city.

  In the tavern, every drinker was betting on when the Countess would go out of the city to suppress the rebellion, and how many troops he would call.

  Some say 20,000, some say 30,000, and some even say 50,000 have been summoned.

  However, no matter how people talk, one thing seems to have reached a consensus in Beigang.

   That is, although the rebellion in the north is huge, it will be extinguished by the little earl in the end.

  The reason why people make this judgment is also very simple.

  One is that Castel almost mobilized all the nobles in the entire territory.

  Even though the Legris family has strong military virtues, it is definitely at a disadvantage in terms of absolute strength in the face of the coalition formed by the private army of noble families and the elite troops of the Castel family, which is more than three-quarters of the earldom.

  Perhaps the nobles could not work together before, and it was difficult for the scattered Northland to resist the army assembled by the Legolis family.

  But now that the little earl has appeared in the noble council in person, the nobles have also found their backbone.

  A territory of scattered sand and a territory of cohesive strength are two different things.

  In the eyes of many people, the Legris family rebels stationed in the upper reaches of the Dorne River have missed the best time to capture North Port.

   On the other hand, as time goes by, more and more cargo fleets travel to and from the Tulip County.

  Even the slowest businessman can smell something different, that is, the garrison of the Boulder family stationed in the Earl of Tulip seems to have begun to prepare for war.

  Reminiscent of the relationship between the Bold family and the Castel family, many people think that the Duchess of Bold, who has declared neutrality, may not really remain neutral.

  Especially as time went by, rumors came from the direction of the Tulip County.

   It seems that a drunk officer slipped his mouth in the tavern, saying that the Principality of Boulder is also ready to join the war.

  After the news came out, many people believed that it was probably because the young Earl of Castel had reached some kind of agreement with the Bold family after his appearance.

  As the Castel family, the Bold family will no longer remain neutral, but will join the war as a lord to help Castel suppress the rebellion.

  Of course, in addition to these arguments, there is also another diametrically opposite statement among other nobles in Beigang.

   That is, there are still many people who believe that the Polder family is not aiming at countering the rebellion, but is targeting the Castel family.

  They are with the rebels.

  There are also many people who believe in this conspiracy theory.

  The evidence they gave was that the Earl of Castel had been ambushed once on his way to the territory.

   This ambush was instigated by the third prince Philip, the husband of the Duchess of Poulder.

  These two kinds of remarks are diametrically opposed, and they quarreled in taverns and various noble salons.

   Until two days later, a nobleman who claimed to be the envoy of the Poulder family came by boat from the Earl of Tulip to see the young Earl of Castel.

   "My lord, my lord is very happy to know that you are safe and sound, and sent me here to ask you if you need the support of the Bold family."

   "As Castel's backing, the Bold family is willing to assist you to quell the rebellion as soon as possible and restore order in the Northland!"

  In the reception hall, the messenger said respectfully with a smile on his face.

  Charlotte looked at the envoy of the Bold family expressionlessly.

   After a while, he said calmly:

   "Oh? But didn't Polder already declare that he would remain neutral in this matter?"

   "My lord, at that time, my lord didn't know your safety. It was rumored everywhere in the south that you might encounter an accident. My lord declared neutrality for the sake of stability, but in fact... the Tulip County has been preparing for war."

  The messenger replied respectfully.

   As he spoke, he looked at Charlotte expectantly:

   "Master Earl, what do you think?"

  Charlotte took a deep look at him, smiled slightly, and said:

"Your Excellency, thank you Bold for your support. It's just... this matter is very serious. Many nobles in Castel may not want to see a higher-level lord intervene. I need to discuss it with the nobles, and I will give it to you later. reply."

   After sending the messenger away temporarily, the smile on Charlotte's face completely disappeared.

  She came to the window, looked at the dense and spectacular military camp on the shore, and asked softly:

   "What do the nobles in the territory think of the envoy from Boulder? I heard that he seemed to have announced his intention before meeting me."

  Behind Charlotte, Sebastian in a tuxedo said respectfully:

   "Master, there are different opinions. Those who knew the truth about the ambush in the Violet Forest did not believe them. However, the vast majority of nobles still believe that the Bold family came to support Castel and help us counter the rebellion."

   "Assist us in countering the rebellion? Heh, Sebastian, what do you think?"

  Charlotte sneered.

  Sebas pondered for a moment and said:

"The third prince once wanted to kill you. He coveted Castel so much, so he must not really have good intentions. Although no definite evidence has been found, I also think that the Legolis family It is likely that the rebellion also had Bold's support."

   "Yes, they must not have good intentions."

   Charlotte sighed.

   "Master, do we want to strike first? Or should we continue to investigate Boulder's movements?"

  Sebas asked.

  Charlotte pondered for a moment and said:

   "Continue to investigate and don't act rashly for now. If Bold really wants to target us, Earl Tulip's garrison and rebels may not be enough. They must have other actions."

   Sebastian hesitated:

   "But... if they really want to attack us, the more they delay, the more fully prepared they will be?"

   "Don't worry, delay is also good for us, after all... we are not without backup."

   Charlotte said.

   "Backup?"

  Sebas's heart skipped a beat.

  He followed Charlotte's gaze, and saw Charlotte's gaze looking out at the sea through the window.

   That is the direction of the Fallen Star Kingdom.

   Sebastian's expression moved slightly, thoughtful.

   At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the hall, which attracted the attention of the two.

  Charlotte frowned slightly, turned and looked outside the door:

   "Sebas, go see what's going on outside."

   "As ordered."

   Sebas gave a salute, and left.

   After a while, he went and came back, with a strange expression on his face:

   "Master, something happened to Bold's emissary. They were **** outside the Earl's Mansion."

   "Huh? Got kidnapped?"

  Charlotte froze.

   Sebastian's expression became more and more strange:

   "Yes, it was done by the Roman-Fore family. They are now begging to see you outside the Earl's Palace."

   I didn't finish writing in time, so I sent it 20 minutes late!