Since Sebastian had already booked a place to stay, Charlotte didn't wait too long in her store.
After meeting the excited and incoherent manager of her own jewelry store, Charlotte listened with a smile to his report on the store's development status and the various difficulties it had encountered in Lutetia over the years, encouraged him as a lord, and promised to devote certain resources to the family's business center in the royal capital. Then, Charlotte got on the carriage again surrounded by the crowd.
This time, the leader of the team was no longer Baron Sharon, but Sebastian.
Similar to the main cities of the human countries in the Miria world, Lutetia is also divided into inner and outer urban areas. The inner urban area is centered on the royal city and is home to a large number of nobles, priests and wealthy people.
The gates of the inner city were guarded even more strictly than those of the outer city. However, the guards here did not make things difficult for Charlotte.
They recognized the Castel family crest the moment they saw the Castel family carriage and let Charlotte pass without waiting for her to introduce herself.
Not only that, the officer in charge of the garrison even saluted Charlotte's carriage from a distance:
"Lord Castel, welcome to Lutetia!"
Such a huge difference between before and after made Charlotte look surprised, and at the same time she had further speculations about the situation in the royal capital.
Unlike the crowded outer city area, after entering the inner city area, the streets become wider and more unobstructed. It’s not that the roads have really become wider, but that there are fewer people.
Of course, "few" is only relative. This is because there are a large number of aristocratic manors and villas in the inner city. The overall building density is much lower than that in the outer city, so naturally there is a gap in population.
Not to mention, entry into the inner city is more strictly vetted.
The noble manor rented by Sebastian was located in the western part of the inner city of Lutetia, on the banks of the artificial section of the Kena River that ran through the entire royal capital of Lutetia.
This is a manor with an area of nearly 20,000 square meters, named No. 7 Riverside Street. It is not too big, but it has everything it needs. The architectural style is completely different from that of Bold and Castel, but a typical Western Unate style, with towering spires, slender columns and pointed arches everywhere.
Of course, if it were Charlotte's custom, she would prefer to call it Gothic.
In general, the style tends to be mysterious and solemn, especially when combined with the overall blue-gray architectural tone of Lutetia, it has a more solemn feel.
The greening is also very good, and there is also an exquisite fountain garden.
Through the garden, you can even see the towering spires and copper-green roofs of the Holy Cathedral of Lutetia in the distance.
Seeing the holy cross emblem on the top of the spire, Charlotte's heart moved slightly:
"This place... is very close to the cathedral of Crescent Parish?"
Sebastian smiled slightly and said respectfully:
"Not too close, but not too far either. It's a level that's not under the church's nose, but not too far away to arouse people's imagination."
After hearing what Sebastian said, Charlotte nodded slightly.
Indeed, from the perspective of the Crescent Royal Family and many kingdom nobles, the relationship between her, a new noble lord, and the church is probably quite delicate.
In a sense, the biggest reason why King Louis V condoned the third prince's covetousness of Castre was her attitude towards the church.
Charlotte could almost foresee that related issues would probably be discussed at this central meeting and this audience with the king.
"Once I'm done packing, I can visit the church first."
After thinking for a while, Charlotte said.
She put on a complete show, and no matter what, she appeared to be a devout and holy believer.
"Of course, everything is as you wish."
Sebastian answered respectfully.
After taking a look around the manor, Charlotte got out of the carriage.
Waiters and maids, already dressed in Castel uniforms, were already waiting at the door, but there weren't many of them, only about thirty or so.
"My Lord Count..."
When they saw Charlotte, they all bowed respectfully.
"Master, these are some servants selected from the store. They are responsible for taking care of the manor during this period. They have all passed the magic test and can be trusted."
Sebastian said.
Charlotte nodded slightly, and then signaled the convoy to enter the manor.
Soon, the knights and servants who were traveling with them became busy and started to unload the goods, and the whole manor suddenly became lively.
Charlotte went straight into the main building of the manor.
Just like the solemn exterior, the interior decoration of the manor is also serious. The main colors are black, gold and red, which are Charlotte's favorites. However, it is serious yet luxurious, and can even be said to be quite stylish.
This was definitely the result of Sebastian's careful selection after considering her preferences.
"Which family owns this manor?"
Charlotte asked curiously, stroking the smooth and heavy wooden spiral staircase inside the manor and looking at the huge oil paintings hanging on both sides of the wall that were obviously priceless.
"Master, it's from the Anluo family."
Sebastian said.
"Anluo? The de Anluo family?"
Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
Sebastian nodded.
"The Anluo family..."
Charlotte nodded slightly, as if thinking about something.
The Anluo family is one of the nine ducal families of the Crescent Kingdom. The head of the family is John de Anluo, the Guardian Duke of the Moon.
The other party was an old acquaintance of Charlotte. When she went north to Castel to succeed to the throne, she passed by the Duchy of Yuehu and visited the Duke of Yuehu. It was also at a dinner in Anluo City, the capital of the Duchy of Yuehu, that Charlotte met the third prince Philip for the first time.
However, as far as Charlotte knew, the encounter with the third prince was just a coincidence, and the other party just happened to pass through Anluo City and head south to Boulder.
The Anro family itself is a branch of the royal Valva family and a staunch royalist of the kingdom. The Duke of Yuehu, John de Anro, is a staunch supporter of King Louis V. Of course, in terms of blood relationship, he is also the cousin of His Majesty the King, and his direct jurisdiction is adjacent to the royal territory.
In the conflict between the second prince and the third prince, he always remained neutral and never took sides. When it came to his attitude towards the church, he was not as strong as some tough nobles, but was relatively gentle.
In other words, Duke Yuehu is the good guy in the royal party.
Thinking of this, Charlotte nodded slightly:
"not bad."
Not bad indeed.
The nine dukes of the kingdom each took sides, and Duke Yuehu happened to be one of those with a relatively superior status.
Renting another family's manor might make people wonder whether Castel was planning to take sides or something, but the Anluo family was just right.
During this trip to the capital, Charlotte had no intention of getting involved in the murky waters of the Crescent Kingdom's political struggles.
Her purpose was to consolidate her position as a direct vassal of the kingdom, pledge allegiance to the current king, and dispel the king's doubts about Castel. At the same time, she would go to the church and tell them that the Blood Demon Cult also had a base in the royal capital, Lutetia.
The Blood Demon Cult is already her enemy. Through the Blood Demon Priest, Charlotte already knows that this organization also has its own base in the royal capital.
However, Charlotte did not plan to deal with the opponent personally this time, but planned to throw it directly to the church.
Leave professional matters to professionals. As for reporting, everyone can do it. And by the way, you can also see if you can get something else from the church.
In addition to this, it is also necessary to open up the sales route of the Castel family's extraordinary materials, make friends with the noble families of various kingdoms, earn various small amounts of money, and prepare for the development of their own territory.
As for the fight for the throne, she didn't care, as long as it wasn't the third prince.
As for this point, she believed that the Second Prince's party would definitely take advantage of this good opportunity to add insult to injury. After all, it was they who facilitated the convening of this central meeting.
What Charlotte needs to do is to avoid being used as a gun in this process.
Thinking of this, Charlotte recalled her experience when she first entered the royal capital Lutetia, and asked calmly:
"Sebastian, you said earlier that something urgent happened in the store, so you couldn't rush to the city gate to greet him. What exactly happened?"
After hearing Charlotte's question, Sebastian was slightly startled and replied respectfully:
"Master, it's about the store inspection."
"Store inspection? Inspection of what?"
Charlotte was stunned.
Sebastian smiled bitterly:
"Check to see if there are any cultists hiding."
Charlotte's heart moved slightly:
"Cultists? Blood Demon Cultists?"
Sebastian nodded.
"Yes, a few days ago, a Blood Demon Cult member sacrificed himself in the capital of Lutetia. Although the church stopped and arrested them in time, it caused quite a stir in the capital..."
"It is said that when the King learned about this, he was furious and ordered the city guards and the church to strengthen management and eradicate all the blood demon cults entrenched in the dark corners of the capital."
"The Central Committee meeting is about to be held, and the security inside Lutetia has been strengthened. All shops need to be inspected to prevent the Blood Demon Cult from taking advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble..."
"Our store has received special attention for this reason, because among the arrested blood demon cultists, one happened to be a clerk in our store..."
After hearing what Sebastian said, Charlotte narrowed her eyes.
The Blood Demon Cult, the Blood Demon Cult again...
To her, this organization is really like a dog-skin plaster, haunting her wherever she goes.