"A miracle from a year ago?"
Demon Hunter Cardinal Joseph frowned slightly.
The Crescent Parish is so large that dozens of miracles are reported almost every month. Although the vast majority are judged to be false, a considerable number of miracles are believed to be real.
Unlike other sleeping gods, as the most powerful god, the God of Creation still affects the world even though he has fallen asleep.
The unintentional dissipation of the gods' power may cause supernatural effects in the real world.
Not only that, the Lord God once walked in the world and left many traces.
After these traces appear in the world, they are often accompanied by strange phenomena of varying sizes.
These things were considered miracles.
Speaking specifically of the miracle that happened a year ago...
The Demon Hunter Cardinal frowned slightly.
It seems... too much.
Sixty or seventy reports suddenly appeared in his mind, and he didn't know which one the Chief Judge was referring to.
The Chief Judge did not keep anyone in suspense.
He paused for a moment, then continued:
"It was when the statue was lit. On June 6 last year, all the statues of our Lord in the church burst into light at the same time, which lasted for almost a minute..."
The Demon Hunter Cardinal looked suddenly enlightened:
"You mean that time... If I remember correctly, the statue that was lit up wasn't just the one in Lutetia Cathedral, right? Soon after, there were reports of statues being lit up in various places."
Chief Judge Bernard nodded slightly:
"To be more precise, almost all the statues of our Lord in the entire Crescent Parish were lit up..."
The Demon Hunter's heart moved slightly:
"Mr. Bernard, you should have been in charge of the follow-up investigation at that time, right? Could it be that... did the investigation reveal something?"
The chief judge nodded:
"Strictly speaking, I was looking through Charlotte de Castel's files these days and I came across something interesting."
As he spoke, he looked at his two colleagues:
"You two, do you know that Count Castel's birthday is June 6th? At the same time last year, when the statue was lit, she was in the church in Boulder, attending her coming-of-age ceremony..."
"The Bolder Church also has relevant records. I searched for them later and found that she was called the 'Saint' of the Lord God from that time on."
After hearing the words of the Grand Inquisitor, the Demon Hunter Cardinal was slightly startled, and then his eyes widened:
"Wait... Mr. Bernard, you mean that the statues of the entire Crescent Parish were actually lit for her at that time?!"
The Chief Judge hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice:
"Perhaps it could be considered a coincidence before, but combined with today's test, perhaps... she really has been watched by our Lord."
As he spoke, the Chief Judge looked at the New Moon High Priest with an inexplicable look in his eyes:
"Your Excellency the High Priest, do you think... could it be that our Lord bypassed the oracle of the Saint's Palace and directly chose a Saint from the opposition?"
His tone was serious and his expression was earnest, but within his seriousness, there was some complex and inexplicable emotions.
High Priest Charles glanced at him:
"Are you trying to say that our Holy Royal Court has lost the support of the Lord God?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire prayer room suddenly became quiet.
High Priest Charles sighed slightly and said:
"Mr. Bernard, all divisions originate from self-doubt and denial. Please stop saying such things."
"Perhaps there are indeed corrupt priests in the royal court, but as long as the glory of the Lord God remains, we will still be the Lord's messengers..."
"As for whether Charlotte of Castel is a saint... let time prove it. If she is really the saint chosen by God, then it is also the choice of our Lord."
After hearing the words of the high priest, Demon Hunter Cardinal Joseph could not help but say:
"Your Excellency the Archbishop, from what you said, you are not going to accept her into the church to further verify her identity as a saint?"
High Priest Charles sighed:
"A saint who has not been canonized by a divine oracle will not be recognized by the theocracy, and the so-called miracles cannot convince the Central Cardinals."
"And if she is really a saint, then it is just as Mr. Bernard said, that His Majesty the Lord bypassed the Saint's Palace to choose her, which means that His Majesty the Lord did not intend to let her join the church..."
“So, it doesn’t matter whether we invite or not, verify or not.”
“Not to mention, being able to project the power of creation in the illusion does not necessarily mean that she is a saint. It may simply be because she has something related to our Lord.”
"For example, the fragments of my Lord's artifact, for example, the divine power that remained in the world after my Lord's holy war... Although these things are difficult for mortals to obtain, there are always exceptions. Some people who are born with an affinity for divine power may become lucky ones."
After hearing the high priest's words, the Demon Hunter Cardinal fell silent.
The high priest said the truth.
Many wars between gods have broken out on the continent of Miria, and fragments of divine artifacts and remnants of divine power are not uncommon.
Throughout history, there have indeed been some lucky people who have risen rapidly because of obtaining these extraordinary powers.
Not to mention history, even within the Holy Royal Court, many high-ranking clergymen embarked on the path of priests and were promoted to high positions because they were such lucky people.
The emergence of many cults is often related to the appearance of evil artifact fragments.
When he met Count Castel just now, he had already sensed the other party's strength, which was at the peak of Silver Moon.
You know, according to the records, a year ago the other party was just a noble who had not awakened his bloodline power!
Although after becoming a saint, one's strength will soar rapidly under the care of the God, those lucky ones can actually do similar things.
From this perspective, the high priest's judgment does make sense.
With this thought, the Demon Hunter Cardinal finally calmed down. He smiled bitterly and said:
"Your Excellency the High Priest, you are right. I was a little too excited."
High Priest Charles nodded slightly and continued:
"Let time take care of everything. Keep paying attention to her. Regardless of whether she is a saint or not, she is indeed related to our Lord."
“Even though she was dissatisfied with the church, she still donated money and prayed devoutly, and even received a response from the Holy Light…”
"She is worthy of our kindness and winning over."
"Your Excellency the High Priest, what about the 'God of Darkness' and the Blood Demon Cult?"
"Continue tracking, but don't worry about the report from the Blood Demon Cult. The power of our Lord is the purest and cannot be desecrated by any other evil god's power. If Count Castel is involved, he will not be safe under the eternal day."
…
After leaving Lutetia Cathedral, Charlotte returned to the manor at 7 Riverside Street.
When she returned, it was already dark, and Sebastian was waiting diligently at the door of the mansion.
After Charlotte entered the mansion and changed her clothes, the elf butler stepped forward and saluted respectfully:
"Master, I know why no nobles come to visit."
"Oh why?"
Charlotte raised her eyebrows slightly.
Sebastian continued:
"During the time you were visiting the church, I personally investigated and found that it was related to the convening of the Central Conference."
"There is an unwritten rule between the royal family and the nobles, which is that within a week before the meeting, the nobles are prohibited from holding private banquets and gatherings..."
"Even the royal family is not allowed to do so. It is said that this is to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the central meeting."
Charlotte: …
She didn't expect this to be the reason.
After all, Castel was a vassal of Bold before, and no one taught him the rules of the royal capital.
In that case, she was overthinking it before.
However, this is also quite a headache, because Charlotte is not clear about everything about the central meeting and everything about the royal capital.
"Sebastian, since it's an unwritten rule, how did you find out?"
Charlotte asked.
Sebastian smiled slightly, revealing his full set of white teeth:
"I caught a guy who was spying at the gate of our manor and asked him the answer."
Charlotte: …
"Which family is he from?"
She asked.
"Hehe, it's a small family called Field, members of the Three Princes' Party. It's not just them. I investigated and found that these secret eyes are from all families and factions, and it seems that there are also people from the royal family."
Sebastian replied.
Charlotte raised her eyebrows:
"Oh? So we are still hot commodities?"
Sebastian straightened his back and nodded slightly:
"Of course, you defeated the coalition forces of two principalities. There is an unwritten rule that no one will invite you during the conference, but everyone is actually paying attention to us."
"But... most of them should have no ill intentions, but rather be neutral and curious. Otherwise, it wouldn't be these minions who are observing us."
Then he said:
"Also, I also found out what happened to you at the city gate. The noble family in charge of the city defense these days has the background of the third prince. They temporarily replaced the original city gate guards with guards who were completely unaware of the situation."
Charlotte was slightly startled, and then sneered:
"They can only do these unpresentable things. That's all they can do."
…
After listening to Sebastian's report, Charlotte went upstairs and entered the study of the manor.
Although she has returned from the church, she still has some PTSD after being unknowingly dragged into the illusion of magic.
Even though the experience after coming back this time was completely different from the one in the illusion, and even though Sebastian had investigated the truth behind the lack of nobles' visit, Charlotte was still somewhat worried.
She was afraid that this breakthrough in the illusion was still her "illusion".
Thinking of this, Charlotte dismissed everyone else, and then decisively sank into consciousness and tried to enter the Dark Night Castle.
The crimson mist spread, and the majestic and solemn castle slowly emerged.
Sitting on the Blood Throne, looking at the materialized "Holy Book of Blood" in her hand, Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief.
Being able to enter the Dark Night Castle means that her spiritual world has returned to normal.
Now, she really came out of the illusion.
"I have underestimated the power of the church. The church is more cautious than I thought, and the power it holds is stronger. Even with the Holy Book of Blood, I was caught unknowingly. I have to be more cautious when dealing with them in the future, especially when facing those legendary priests..."
Charlotte muttered to herself.
She didn't think that her "performance" would really make the church regard her as a saint.
She really had no interest in joining the church. If she joined an organization, she would definitely be constrained by it. The church was the enemy of the vampires. Even though Lord Harald could not determine his position for the time being, if she rashly entered the church, she would only put herself in danger.
Not to mention the church, in fact, even now, Charlotte sometimes feels that her noble status is a hindrance.
As the lord of the kingdom, she has to deal with other nobles. Many of her plans have almost reached the level of gods, but on the other hand, she still has to pretend to be nice to the nobles.
However, Charlotte had no complaints.
The status of a noble also brought her many benefits, and being the lord of a kingdom... was indeed a status that made it easy to develop power.
Charlotte was a little eager to get the central meeting done as soon as possible and return to the territory.
Although she managed to get away with it today, she knew she would definitely have to register with the church.
Perhaps her performance will dispel the church's doubts about her identity, but on the other hand, the "power" she demonstrated is enough to attract the attention of the church's top leaders.
This gave her a sense of urgency.
"Once the central meeting is over and we have secured access to extraordinary materials, we will return to the North as soon as possible to gather strength."
Charlotte thought to herself.
With this thought, Charlotte was ready to leave the spiritual world.
But suddenly, she thought of her experience in the "Sacred Eternal Realm"...
"Wait, in the illusion, I attended the banquet of the Blood Demon Cult. Many nobles in Lutetia are actually vampires. So in reality... how many vampires are there in the capital?"
Charlotte suddenly felt curious.
She knew that Lutetia had blood relatives.
Not only that, she had already received confirmation from Eudocia that the Blood Demon Cult even had a base here.
Of course, Eudocia didn't know where the Blood Demon Cult's base was exactly. The only person he knew was the Blood Demon Priest who had already died.
It's outrageous. It's the center of Crescent Parish, one of the most powerful places of the church, but there are traces of cult activities.
But Charlotte could understand.
Lutetia has a population of nearly one million, and for a city of this size, the slums will only be larger than those of Boulder.
And as long as there are slums, there will be darkness. No matter how powerful the church is, there will always be places where the light cannot reach.
Thinking of this, Charlotte pondered for a moment and communicated with the Holy Book of Blood again.
She used the power of blood to start the blood summoning!
The crimson mist spread, and a crimson sea of stars representing each vampire appeared before her eyes.
It wasn't what Charlotte expected.
According to the perception of the Crimson Star Sea, there are indeed some stars that symbolize bloodlines within a radius of ten kilometers centered on her.
However, the number was not as outrageous as what she saw in the illusion.
Not only that, Charlotte even saw some clustered crimson stars in a certain direction, which were obviously organized vampires.
Charlotte's heart moved slightly.
She activated the power of blood to sense something, and then she sensed a familiar breath from the scarlet star.
"It's the scent of the Shedet clan..."
Charlotte narrowed her eyes.
The descendants of the Shedit clan highly overlap with the members of the Blood Demon Cult. Under the observation of the Crimson Star Sea, the number of stars gathered there is no less than twenty, which is likely to be a stronghold of the Blood Demon Cult.
In Charlotte's perception, there is even a very dazzling star there, and its strength is probably not weak.
Charlotte thought about it, secretly noted down the positions of those stars, and planned to find an opportunity to report them to the church as revenge for the Blood Demon Cult reporting her.
She had already thought of the reason, which was to say that it was information she had tortured out of the blood demon priest behind the Gliss family.
With this thought in mind, Charlotte decided to leave the Dark Night Castle.
But when she was about to disperse the crimson sea of stars, something suddenly occurred to her:
"Wait... In the past few days, the nobles of the kingdom are not allowed to hold banquets and gatherings. If I want to collect more intelligence, can I start with these vampires hiding in the capital?"
Thinking of this, Charlotte looked at the crimson stars again.
She thought that maybe she could pick a lucky contestant at random.