early morning.
Before the first ray of sunlight illuminated the earth, fully armed knights and city guards were organized and rushed to various parts of Lutetia.
Today is the day when the Kingdom's Central Conference is held. The inner city has been under martial law early on. Although citizens are not prohibited from traveling, the solemn atmosphere and fully armed guards still make people subconsciously avoid the main road leading to the Royal Square.
Throughout the inner city, the manors and villas belonging to the nobles had lit up their lights early in the morning. As the first light of dawn emerged from the east, all kinds of luxurious carriages set out from all over the royal capital, flowing like converging streams towards the central avenue of the inner city, and then headed straight for the Royal Square.
Charlotte also got up early.
Today, she styled her long golden hair into diamond curls and chose a Yunite-style aristocratic skirt. The base tone was still black, with golden patterns on the left, narrow shoulders and a thin waist, while the lower part of the skirt was relatively full and plump, making her look more mature and dignified.
After a simple breakfast, Charlotte boarded the carriage accompanied by Sebastian and others and headed for the Central Council Hall.
The Central Council Hall is located on one side of the Royal Square, across the square from the Lutetia Cathedral. It is located on both sides of the Royal Palace, one on the left and one on the right. The three Lutetia landmark buildings are arranged in a triangle.
It was almost an hour later when the Castel family's carriage slowly drove into the square along with the huge procession of nobles.
"Master, we are here."
The carriage slowly stopped, and Sebastian's respectful voice came from outside the carriage.
Charlotte hummed, then stepped out of the carriage with Shirley's help.
The Royal Square of Lutetia was very large, said to be 500,000 square meters. But at this moment, almost two-thirds of the square was already filled with nobles' carriages, each one more luxurious than the other, and the various family emblems on the sides were even more dazzling.
When Charlotte got off the carriage, she immediately felt the eyes of people from far and near focused on her.
Some were nobles, as well as knights and guards on duty.
Along with the sight, there are people's whispers:
"It's the Castel family, the young countess."
"The Pearl of Polder, the fairest maiden of the new moon?"
"She seemed even prettier in person than in her portrait."
"She is graceful, beautiful and charming, just as the rumors say..."
"You are young, rich, and capable. It's a pity that we can't get married."
"After all, she is the Holy Maiden of the Lord. It is said that she caused a miracle in the cathedral a few days ago, and even the High Priest, the Grand Inquisitor, and the Demon Hunter Cardinal were alarmed."
"What? A miracle? Is it true or not?"
"Of course it's true. This is news from within the church. If it weren't for the Blood Demon Cult incident, it would have spread a long time ago."
"Hiss... Is Xinyue finally going to produce a Saint?"
"It's still unclear. The church's reaction seems a bit strange. They haven't officially announced her canonization yet. I don't know if it's due to the influence of the past few days. Some people also say that she seems to be dissatisfied with the church."
"Dissatisfied with the church? Her?"
"I don't know the details. The church is very tight-lipped. The only thing I can be sure of is that they seem to take her very seriously."
"… "
The discussions of the crowd continued to flow into Charlotte's ears. Although they all deliberately lowered their voices, Charlotte could still hear it clearly with her keen perception.
She was used to it. As the protagonist of the Bold-Castell War and one of the sources of this central meeting, she was prepared to be the focus.
By the way, you can also hear some additional news.
However, her eavesdropping did not last long.
Because soon, a noble came forward and greeted her.
"Good morning, beautiful lady. Are you Lord Castle? I'm Bono from the Dawn family. Nice to meet you."
"Hello, Count Castel, I am Count Durant, you look so beautiful today."
"… "
The nobles who came to greet them were more enthusiastic than each other, and almost all of them were members of the big families of the Crescent Kingdom.
Even if they are not from big families, they are often the new nobles of the kingdom, especially those emerging nobles who made their fortunes through trade and alchemical products.
Charlotte also smiled and returned the greetings one by one.
Different from when she was in Boulder, although most of the nobles who came to greet her praised her appearance, almost no one showed her courtesy. Most of them just expressed their goodwill enthusiastically.
On the one hand, Charlotte's previous declaration of celibacy played a role, and on the other hand, it was also because these nobles who came to greet her were not here for "marriage", but really just to make friends with Castel.
This is not only because the Bold-Castell War allowed the kingdom lords to see the strength of the Castell family, but also because of the Castell family's mithril mine...
The only difference is that the big families are more likely to treat others as equals, while the new nobles and smaller families are more respectful.
In short, although she is not the most popular person, Charlotte is still very popular.
Just as Charlotte was greeting the nobles with a smile, the noise around her suddenly became quieter.
Charlotte's heart moved slightly, and she looked up, only to see two middle-aged nobles in gorgeous clothes walking towards her side by side.
Behind them, there were many other nobles, all following their lead.
One of them was thin and dressed in aristocratic clothing with a crescent emblem, while the other looked more old-fashioned and serious, with a sword and a griffin emblem hanging on his chest.
Charlotte's heart moved.
These turned out to be two acquaintances.
Among them, the nobleman with a crescent moon pattern on his robe is Charlotte's old acquaintance, John de Anro, the Guardian of the Moon Duke, who rented the manor at 7 Riverside Street to her.
As for the other one, although she had never met him in person, Charlotte had the "fortune" of meeting him once in the holy eternal realm of the church. He was also one of the nine dukes of the kingdom, Duke of Prutz, Theodore de Prutz.
This combination surprised Charlotte.
As far as she knew, the Duke of Moon Guardian was a staunch royalist and a strong supporter of King Louis V's efforts to strengthen centralization of power.
As for the Duke of Prutz, he is a member of the Three Princes' Party. Although he has no direct conflict of interest with the Royal Party, his political inclinations are relatively conservative.
"Mr. Count Castel, long time no see. How do you feel about living in the manor?"
Duke Yuehu was the first to greet him, as enthusiastic as ever.
Charlotte bowed slightly and said with a smile:
"Very good, Your Excellency the Duke, thank you for your help. It is my good fortune to find such a comfortable manor in the inner city of Lutetia."
"Haha, you're too late! There are many nobles coming to the capital these days, and almost all the manors in the inner city have been rented out. I just happened to hear that your butler was looking for a place to stay, and then I remembered that I still had one vacant, so I took advantage of it."
Charlotte smiled:
"Your smooth action has solved the problem for the Castel family."
Then, she looked apologetic again:
"It's a pity that I haven't been able to visit you in person these days."
"Haha, even if you want to visit me, I will decline. The Central Council has its own rules. However... after the meeting, we can choose a time to get together. Some of my old friends are very interested in Castel's mithril mine."
Duke Yuehu laughed.
Charlotte also laughed:
"Then I'll look forward to it."
The two exchanged a few pleasantries and verbally agreed to meet after the central meeting. This was also one of the purposes of Charlotte's trip to the capital, to open up connections between the northern and central nobles.
Then, she glanced at Duke Prutz who was standing beside Duke Yuehu. Duke Yuehu slapped his head and said, noticing her gaze:
"Look how anxious I am! I forgot to introduce you to this, this is Duke Prutz, the most promising noble knight in the kingdom to become a legend. He is also very interested in the mineral resources in the North."
Charlotte lifted the hem of her skirt and saluted gracefully:
"Your Excellency, Duke of Prutz."
Duke Prutz also nodded in response.
Seeing the two's lukewarm attitude, Duke Yuehu scratched his head, hesitated, and said:
"Ahem... Your Excellency the Count, I know that you have some opinions about some nobles because of the Third Prince's matter, but Your Excellency Prutz is not as the rumors outside say... Well... In short, the central nobles have their own complexities, and sometimes we have no choice and are helpless."
Charlotte's heart moved slightly, realizing that this was Duke Yuehu hinting that she didn't need to be hostile to Duke Prutz because of the matter of the third prince.
In fact, she did not have any hostility. Although she felt the hostility from the other party in the sacred and eternal realm, that was just the evolution of the spiritual world and the psychological suggestion naturally brought about by the label of the Third Prince Party.
Now that they were face to face, she didn't feel any negative emotions from the other person at all.
It’s just that this Duke of Prutz is obviously a man of few words, and Charlotte is essentially a passive person, so there is nothing to say.
Of course, since Duke Yuehu explained it with such good intentions, she naturally appreciated it.
"My Lord Duke, I know that the Third Prince is the Third Prince, and the nobles of the kingdom are the nobles of the kingdom."
She said with a smile.
Seeing Charlotte's frank look, Duke Yuehu breathed a sigh of relief and his smile became even brighter.
The three of them chatted as they walked towards the council hall together.
The other nobles automatically gave up their seats.
However, after walking a few steps, the sounds around him quieted down again.
Charlotte's heart moved, and she looked to one side, only to see Eleanor walking towards her from another direction accompanied by Count Gaston.
The two sides soon met at the door of the parliament hall.
Eyes came from all directions and fell on Charlotte and Eleanor.
For a moment, the atmosphere in front of the meeting room was a little weird.
Duke Yuehu looked at Eleanor, then at Charlotte, with a hesitant look on his face.
Charlotte smiled at Eleanor and said openly:
"Lady Eleanor, long time no see. You seem to be recovering well."
Eleanor looked at Charlotte with a complicated expression. She sighed and said gratefully:
"Charlotte, long time no see. Thank you very much for your help before."
After hearing what Eleanor said, Duke Yuehu was stunned.
It wasn't that he was surprised by Eleanor's gratitude. In fact, it was well known that Earl Castel "rescued" the Duchess of Bold from the three princes.
What made him curious was that there seemed to be some other emotions in Eleanor's tone besides gratitude.
That seems... respectful
Respect
A Duke versus an Earl?!
Duke Yuehu felt like he might be crazy, but with years of experience, he was sure he was right.
Could it be... because of Count Castel's identity as a "saint"
Duke Yuehu was curious, while on the other side, Charlotte had already greeted Eleanor.
After Eleanor greeted the other two dukes, she entered the council hall. Looking at their backs, Duke Yue Hu asked curiously:
"Your Excellency, the relationship between you and Duke of Bold is somewhat surprising."
Charlotte smiled and said:
"Bord is Bord, the Third Prince is the Third Prince, and I have a pretty good personal relationship with Lady Eleanor, but politics cannot be mixed with personal emotions."
Duke Yuehu listened and seemed to be thinking about something.
Charlotte did not explain further, but glanced at the hall and said:
"Your Excellency the Duke, let us go in too."
Duke Yuehu nodded slightly, and entered the central council hall with Duke Prutz and Charlotte.
The kingdom’s central parliament hall is also a well-known landmark building in Lutetia. It is also a Gothic palace with a very large interior space.
The first feeling when Charlotte entered the parliament hall reminded her of those luxuriously decorated classical halls in Western literary works in her previous life. The entire parliament hall was semicircular in shape. The space was so large that it could easily accommodate a thousand people.
In the parliament hall, almost two-thirds of the nobles were already seated. When Charlotte entered, a waiter quickly led the way and took her to the corresponding seat.
There is also a reason for the seats in parliament.
On the high platform in the front, in the center is the king's throne, on the left is the queen's throne, and on the right is the high priest's seat.
Below the platform are the seats for nobles. There are many seats for nobles, and the most eye-catching ones are the twelve seats lined up in the front that are more gorgeous than the other seats.
It belonged to the twelve dukes of the kingdom, including the nine dukes of the kingdom and the three chief priests of the theocratic dukes.
Duke Yuehu, Eleanor and others were soon led to the twelve seats. Duke Yuehu was in the second seat, Duke Prutz was in the seventh seat, and Eleanor was in the twelfth seat.
As for Charlotte, she was led to the first seat among the remaining noble seats below the twelve dukes.
"My Lord, this is your seat."
The waiter said respectfully.
Charlotte's heart moved slightly, she nodded and sat down.
In the kingdom’s central parliament, the position of the seat represents identity and status. The higher the status, the closer one is to the front.
There is no doubt that Charlotte, who defeated the Duchy of Bold and owned a large and wealthy territory, has been regarded as the number one person under the Duke. Even some marquises of the kingdom have to sit behind her seat and only sit side by side with her.
Although Castel is still a new noble in the kingdom, his family's background and strength have been recognized by the nobility and the royal family.
The nobles took their seats one after another, the twelve princely lords' chairs were also filled one after another, and the dukes and the chief priests took their seats one after another.
Except for the first seat, the fifth seat, and the ninth seat are still vacant.
It belonged to Duke Gaston who had been stripped of his title, another duke who had been imprisoned and deposed, and the archdeacon who had been replaced by the Holy Court.
Among them, the Duke of Gaston, who held the first seat, had his title taken back, and in the future his seat might even be completely removed. The high priest of the fifth seat and another duke of the ninth seat had no right to attend because the new duke and high priest had not yet been formally appointed.
After all the nobles were seated, melodious music sounded, and the royal knights in shining armor, accompanied by several nobles and clergy in gorgeous clothes, climbed onto the platform.
The two leaders, one wore a crown, held a scepter, and was draped over a dark blue shawl decorated with crescent patterns; the other wore a white holy robe inlaid with gold, and held the "Holy Book" in his hand.
It was King Louis V and the High Priest of the Crescent who had arrived.