etc…
Eleanor believed in herself
Charlotte was stunned for a moment, but managed not to immediately sink into the consciousness communication belief network to see if it was true.
Come to think of it, she hasn't really paid much attention to what's happening with her own believers recently.
There is no way, the prayers of the believers are too loud.
Ever since the faith network came into being and she was able to connect with believers, Charlotte has experienced deeply what it means to be upset.
She has less than a thousand followers, and her mind is like a vegetable market. There are people praying in the morning, at noon, and at night... Even late at night, there are people praying from time to time. It's so annoying.
So... Charlotte had long ago blocked out most prayers.
Although her mental strength is strong enough now, her soul power is still not enough to process numerous prayers like a computer.
Charlotte believed that other myths must have corresponding solutions, probably some kind of "tool" that could handle most prayers on their behalf.
Otherwise, even gods would be driven crazy by these endless sounds.
Charlotte also tried to find relevant information in Albrecht's memory, but unfortunately... Albrecht was just a legend after all. He knew how to become a god, but he had no knowledge of how to be a god.
Charlotte herself was also a novice, and she drove on the road without even getting a driver's license. She could only temporarily set the faith network to a semi-activated state and not actively receive prayers from believers other than a few members of the sect.
Only in her spare time would she sink into her consciousness, connect to the faith network, and select some prayers with particularly strong emotions to respond to as appropriate.
Now that I think about it, she has been busy with other things these days and hasn't responded to any believers for a long time.
Although it may be irresponsible to say this, if Eleanor really believed her words...
Well, maybe she really doesn’t know yet.
…
Charlotte gave Count Gaston a few more instructions and then sent him back.
After all, the central meeting has not been held yet. His coming so blatantly will certainly attract attention. In this political change in the Crescent Kingdom, Charlotte wants to take advantage of the situation and not let anyone worry about him.
As for Gaston... he was a little too ambitious. Even though he had been contracted by her to become a blood servant and she had even left him a mental hint of unconditional loyalty, he still had his own thoughts and greed.
If you want to say he is wrong, then you can't say he is wrong. From the perspective of the Gaston family, his demands are indeed understandable.
But Charlotte was not very satisfied.
You know, she used mental control to disintegrate the resistance consciousness of Count Gaston and his son. Theoretically, their way of thinking after becoming blood servants should be to prioritize Charlotte.
But now it seems... Although there are contractual constraints, the effect is probably limited.
This made Charlotte hesitate about her original plan.
In her plan, Count Gaston is her main chess piece to secretly control Bold, and in the future she even plans to use his claim to the Duchy of Gaston to seek more power.
However, if this chess piece does not satisfy her, then many things need to be reconsidered.
It can also be considered as Charlotte's guilty conscience.
Unlike Albrecht who "voluntarily" became a blood servant, Count Gaston and his son were truly subjected to punitive mental control by her.
At the beginning, Charlotte even planned to use them until the end of the war, then release control and modify their memories, letting them go back to Boulder to fend for themselves.
Charlotte has always been sensitive to direct use of mind control.
She knows that her self-control is limited and it is easy for her to develop path dependence. Once she gets used to mental control, she will probably use this shortcut many times in the future.
The reason why shortcuts are shortcuts is that they contain hidden dangers.
Not to mention that strictly speaking any magic can be broken, even if it is not broken, this way of forcibly controlling other people's minds can easily make people gradually lose themselves in the power.
Charlotte has always been sensitive to self-loss.
Therefore, she had never thought of keeping the two of them under control.
But later, it turned out that Count Gaston did make many contributions in the war and his overall ability was unexpectedly good. He could do anything Charlotte asked him to do to her satisfaction, which is why he became the Regent Minister of Bold.
Unconsciously, Charlotte's plan for Count Gaston changed from erasing his memory after using him to seeing if she could turn him into her true follower.
True followers are different from those who are mind-controlled.
When the other party becomes her true follower, even if the mental control over the depths of his soul is removed, he will still be loyal to her.
In order to achieve this, during the Boulder War, Charlotte often brought him with her, and also gave various preferential treatments and support to Count Gaston and his son.
But it turned out that Charlotte was just dreaming.
With the help of the communication with the other party just now, Charlotte also secretly sensed the mark she left in the other party's soul. It was easy to know that the other party's current loyalty to her was still only based on the control of mental magic and blood servant contract.
Once the contract is terminated, I am afraid that both parties will immediately go their separate ways. After the mental magic loses its effect, the other party may even fall into anger and rebellion.
This is a hidden danger, and it is not a completely impossible hidden danger. It is also the essential reason why Charlotte pursues true loyalty.
As for the various preferential treatments Charlotte gave to the other party after signing the contract... they had no effect.
Seriously, it’s not that Count Gaston himself is really difficult to recruit.
In Charlotte's opinion, this should be the disadvantage of mind control itself.
Unlike when she forced a contract on Nice, and also unlike when she threatened and tempted Yulster to become a member of the Blood Book, Charlotte's previous followers had never had their minds controlled by her.
Thoughts that are not manipulated are the purest thoughts. They are like a blank piece of paper that can be painted on as desired, and it is also easier to cultivate feelings and loyalty through sincere treatment.
Even though the two sides may be at odds with each other at the beginning.
But mind manipulation is different.
Although mental manipulation can be a shortcut to gaining loyalty, it also plants the seeds of "distrust" from the very beginning.
After all, if there is real trust, how can there be any such thing as "mind control"
Mind control is a magic that forces loyalty, but it is also a shackle.
This is equivalent to a stain on a blank piece of paper. Any subsequent efforts will be weakened by mental manipulation.
There is no way. Feelings are a two-way thing. It is impossible to ask the other person to be truly loyal to you from the bottom of their heart while you "distrust" the other person.
After all, the other party has already pledged allegiance to you under the guidance of mental suggestion, so all the preferential treatment you receive is, in a sense, justified.
Not to mention that Count Gaston is different from her other followers. Even without mind control, the Count himself is an ambitious and ruthless nobleman.
His loyalty to the third prince was not from the heart, but was a mutual exploitation.
Of course, Charlotte doesn't have to think so much.
Just use the other party as a tool, as long as you don't place him in a key position.
But who made Charlotte have further expectations
Now it seems that it is very likely that she was just being too sentimental.
"I was too greedy. I went there with the mentality of looking for a tool from the beginning. There was no need to expect so much."
Charlotte shook her head.
She didn't intend to have any more expectations from Count Gaston.
She would still treat him as she should, and would still order him around as she should. After all, he was her blood servant.
Tools have their uses. Even an ambitious tool man, once used in the right way and in the right position, can produce incredible results.
This is the skill of controlling people.
But more than that, don’t think about it now.
Shaking her head, Charlotte stopped thinking about Count Gaston.
She wanted to see what Eleanor was like.
Back in the study, Charlotte dismissed everyone, then sank into consciousness and connected to the faith network.
She had come into contact with Eleanor and had deliberately memorized her aura. If she really became her believer, she would theoretically be able to find her in the web of faith.
The network of faith spread out, with dots of light twinkling. There were more than a thousand of them, all of them were Charlotte's believers.
After some searching, Charlotte actually found a new light in the corner.
It was a very bright light, and its faith was considered to be relatively firm among the more than a thousand believers, and its aura gave Charlotte a similar sense of familiarity.
That... was indeed Eleanor's scent.
"Do you really believe in me? And... it seems like your belief is quite firm and fanatical?"
Charlotte was confused.
She was quite sure that she had not preached to Eleanor.
No, or to be more precise, she didn't expect the other party to become her believer.
So what is the current situation of this light of faith that is comparable to that of a devout believer
Charlotte was surprised, confused and curious.
After pondering for a moment, she decided to "see" for herself what was going on with the other party.
The power of blood is in operation, and Charlotte communicates with the light spot of faith that represents Eleanor.
The next moment, she projected her consciousness over.
———
Oops, sorry for the late update.
Well, it's still daylight now, so it's considered a daytime update! (No)
There will be another update around 12 o'clock.