Charlotte's communication with Louis V went smoothly.
Obviously, this monarch who was bent on strengthening central power did not want to give the North an indecisive choice. He was determined to strengthen the royal power and had no intention of using any strategies.
This summons was both a threat and an inducement.
Charlotte had no objection to giving up her oath and pledging allegiance to the Crescent King.
In a sense, this is exactly the development she would like to see.
Not to mention that Charlotte's promise to the Holy Court was actually a blank check from the beginning, her conflict of interest with the Holy Court was far greater than that of the current Louis V.
Charlotte's desire to develop her own faith in the North is bound to cause friction with the church.
It would be fine if the church's power in the north continued to decline, but if Charlotte got too close to the church and the church decided to strengthen its influence in the north and send more priests to "assist the left", then there would be some trouble.
Charlotte is already a "demigod" and is prepared to secretly spread the faith in the North. Once she begins to spread the faith on a large scale, it will inevitably harm the interests of the Holy Royal Court, and church intervention is almost inevitable.
But it would be different if she sided with the royal family.
Yes, if she wants to preach in the North, it will indeed cause a conflict of interest with the church, but the conflicts and differences between the Crescent Royal Family and the church are currently greater than hers.
Even if Charlotte wanted to spread her beliefs, she would not do it openly at this stage. As long as the Holy Court did not notice, she could do it in secret.
But Louis V's desire to weaken the authority of the church and strengthen royal power was well known.
The Holy Court is the largest religious force in the Miriam continent. There are many high-level priests and legendary priests in the Holy Court, but the control of the Holy Court over the countries of Miriam is not as strong as imagined.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be the Kingdom of Coria, which was secretly ruled by the blood clan with the tacit approval of the Holy Court, and there wouldn't be a "thorn" like Louis V who directly challenged the authority of the church.
If he continued to cling to the church, he would become a thorn in the side of the Crescent Royal Family, and the church would most likely send more priests to the North in order to strengthen its influence on Crescent or to "support" him.
But if you side with the king...
In order to win her over, the royal family will not only give her many benefits, but also become her shield against the church.
Not to mention anything else, just the dispatch of a priest would probably cause the royal family to react more violently than Charlotte would.
Charlotte may not even have to take any action, as the royal family will step in to block it.
This is very likely.
After all, Charlotte's character is that of a devout believer in God, and she is even given the wild title of "Saint".
Even if she had a disagreement with the church, the royal family would certainly be careful not to let her stay with the church for too long, so that there would be a possibility of resolving the conflict.
You know, the royal family can win her over, and so can the church.
As for leaning towards the royal family, whether the hammer of centralized power would fall on her head in the future... Charlotte was not worried.
Louis V was indeed an ambitious monarch, and his control over the Crescent Kingdom far exceeded that of any previous king.
But compared to the "Sun King" who successfully centralized power in previous history, he faced many more problems and difficulties.
A more powerful aristocratic force, a church with more real power, and... the real gods behind the church.
These are all challenges that need to be faced.
Not to mention, there is the age of Louis V.
The Star-Moon War had been fought intermittently for more than eighty years, and more than ten years had passed since the last ceasefire.
It has been more than a hundred years, and Louis V is already in his seventies.
The lifespan of the extraordinary people in the world of Miria is no different from that of ordinary people. No matter how powerful they are, they will still die when they reach a certain age.
Even if Louis V was a legend, even if he lived a long life, according to the average age of Miriam, he would not survive for many more years.
A dozen years at most, but Charlotte didn't think that a dozen years was enough time for Louis V to keep all the nobles in captivity.
The nobles are not pushovers and will resist if pushed too hard.
Louis V wanted to establish an "absolute monarchy" in the Crescent Kingdom by his own strength, but the possibility of success was extremely low. However, his future successor might be able to do it.
But that also requires his successor to continue to implement his policies and have abilities no less than his.
But that was none of Charlotte's business.
After all, Charlotte was not truly loyal to the king. She was just trying to divert pressure from the church and find a shield and scapegoat for herself.
In more than ten years... Charlotte estimated that she might have truly become a god.
The meeting ended successfully and it was already noon.
Louis V, in a good mood, invited Charlotte to stay at the Crescent Palace for lunch.
This is another major difference between Miria and Blue Star in the Middle Ages. On Blue Star, during similar periods, nobles had two meals a day, and commoners only had one meal a day. But here, three meals a day have long become the standard for the nobles.
Charlotte did not refuse Louis V's invitation.
The Crescent Royal Family’s lunch was still very sumptuous, even more luxurious than that of the Castel Family.
The taste is also very good. After all, the chef is carefully selected from the entire kingdom, and the fresh ingredients are directly transported from various production areas by magic.
What’s even more rare is that more than 80% of the ingredients are extraordinary materials. The meat is monster meat, the vegetables are magical plants, and even the staple food bread contains magic power.
Charlotte also enjoyed the meal.
In addition to King Louis V, the Queen of the Crescent Kingdom also dined with them.
The queen was much younger than Louis V, looking about forty years old. As far as Charlotte knew, she was Louis V's third wife and the only queen without children.
As for the Second Prince of Xinyue... it is said that he went to the Theocracy for exchange and study, so he did not attend.
"Humph, what a rebellious son! As a prince, he has no interest in governing the country and instead goes to church every day! He is a disgrace to Valva!"
After lunch and tea, Louis V chatted with the two men while cursing.
Charlotte was noncommittal.
Apart from the eldest prince who died in the Crescent-Stellar War, and the third prince who was executed not long ago, Louis V now only has the second prince as his only heir.
But unfortunately, the second prince was not interested in political affairs and was obsessed with theology.
Many conservative nobles in the kingdom liked the second prince very much, but this did not include Louis V himself.
It was obvious that Louis V was not satisfied with his first heir.
"François is still young. When he is older, he will understand your painstaking efforts."
The queen advised softly.
"Humph, young? He's already thirty-five! He doesn't look like he is qualified to inherit the throne!"
Louis V said dissatisfiedly.
Charlotte just listened without saying anything.
She was thinking, wondering what Louis V meant by this.
It was well known in the kingdom that Louis V was dissatisfied with the second prince.
Some nobles believed that after the third prince lost power, even if the king was dissatisfied with the second prince, he would have to let the second prince take the throne. But now it seems... it seems that Louis V does not think so.
Charlotte knew that although Louis V's words seemed like a complaint, they were actually directed at her.
Or more precisely, it was through her that the nobles heard it.
Even if the third prince was executed, the second prince would not be named as heir!
Could it be that... Louis V intends to find an heir from the branch of the House of Valvole
Charlotte thought.
At this moment, she thought of many possible candidates from the side branches of the Valva family.
The population of the Valva family is declining, and even if the close branches that have been separated are counted, there are not many people, so the candidates that can be thought of are very limited.
For example, John de Anro, Duke of the Moon, who was the posthumous son of the previous king; another example was the nephews of Louis V who were enfeoffed as counts.
Most of these royal nobles are supporters of centralization, but it is not known who Louis V will favor.
Obviously, Louis V wanted to tell the nobles not to expect to share power by relying on the second prince.
But Charlotte was a little confused.
Louis V was so powerful and attached great importance to strengthening central power.
As such, has he never given any serious thought to how to train a qualified successor to carry out his will
Charlotte felt that there was something a little bit awkward after all.
…
After having lunch with the royal family, Charlotte said goodbye and left the palace.
She did not mention the issue of future succession to the House of Castres after her declaration of celibacy, and Louis V did not ask.
It can be considered as some kind of tacit understanding.
The population of the Valva family is declining, but the Castel family has only Charlotte as its only descendant.
Other families that have intermarried with the Castel family can be said to have claims to the North, but there are reasons for the claim. The first generation is the strongest, the second generation will weaken, and by the third generation, they will be even weaker, and in many cases they are no longer recognized.
As for the fourth generation... that's completely ineffective.
The Castel family's outside marriages were almost all from Charlotte's grandfather's generation. Her father's generation was also very small, with only one aunt who married into Boulder.
In other words, although there are many nobles who hold Castel's claims, they are either very old or their claims are so weak that they can be ignored.
But Charlotte is young.
As long as Charlotte lives long enough and outlasts those distant relatives who insist on claiming the throne, there will be no bloodline heirs left in the Castel family.
Charlotte is now a vassal of the King. Once the House of Castel dies out and there are no other claimants, the royal family will have the right to reclaim the title and fiefdom.
And this is probably the biggest reason why Louis V could accept the Castres family.
As long as Charlotte remains single, the North will belong to the Valva family in the future. As long as all the allies of the Castel family are not dead, the royal family will not only not kill Charlotte, but may even need to protect Charlotte's safety.
Until... when Charlotte also returned to the "Kingdom of God".
After leaving the palace, Charlotte reunited with Sebastian who had been waiting for a long time. After seeing Charlotte, the elf butler breathed a sigh of relief:
"Master, you finally came out."
"What? Are you still worried that I won't be able to get out?"
Charlotte laughed.
Sebastian scratched his head.
"That's not the case, but the king is a legend after all, so I am a little worried..."
Charlotte smiled:
"Don't worry, everything is going well. No, it couldn't be going any smoother."
As she spoke, Charlotte briefly described the "agreement" between herself and Louis V.
After hearing her words, Sebastian's eyes lit up:
"All-round protection? Doesn't that mean... when the Nice Clan attacks the Falling Star Kingdom, we can directly intervene and refuse the church's armed forces from entering the country without having to worry about the church's pressure?"
Charlotte nodded:
"Of course. Let our great king take the blame."
Charlotte has an alliance with the Nice Clan and will secretly support the Nice Clan in regaining control of the Fallen Star Kingdom and expelling the power of the church. The condition of exchange is the title and territory of the Roman Principality.
This support is not only material support, but also political support, and it will inevitably offend the church.
But it would be different if there was direct protection from Louis V.
If the church takes action against the earl under the duke, as long as it is reasonable and logical, the king can only watch and condemn at most. After all, the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.
But as a vassal of the kingdom...
Given Louis V's attitude toward the church, he would probably be happy to take a hand in this matter and take the blame for Charlotte.
Thinking of Louis V's dominance over the church, Charlotte had another thought:
"Sebastian, how many legends are there in the Valva family? Are there any hidden powers?"
Sebastian was stunned for a moment and thought:
"I don't think so. There should only be one legendary person, His Majesty the King. I don't think there is any other hidden power."
"Strange, how did Louis V have the confidence to confront the church directly? There are three legendary clergy in Lutetia alone."
"Master, to be more precise, His Majesty the King is fighting against the Crescent Parish. The Crescent Parish of the Holy Royal Court and the entire Holy Royal Court are two different things. This involves an internal split in the church."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
A hint of interest crossed Charlotte's face.
Church texts never talked about the church's dark history, but she admitted that she was now somewhat interested in it.
Sebastian thought for a moment and replied:
"Master, this story begins hundreds of years ago when the Holy Royal Court reformed the Holy Legion."
"During the most glorious period of the Holy Royal Court, the strongest force was the Holy Legion that fought north and south. The invincible Holy Legion was directly controlled by the Theocracy and defeated any enemy that dared to stand in front of the Holy Court. The Theocracy also conquered the continent, dominated the world, and divided the country into many dioceses according to geographical locations."
"However, as time went on, the cost of maintaining the Holy Legion became increasingly high, and the legion became increasingly corrupt. Finally, the Theocracy had no choice but to restructure the Holy Legion into a local trial force."
"Since then, it has been difficult for the Theocracy to maintain its suppression of the major dioceses. Although the overall strength of the Holy Court remains strong, the power distribution within the court has undergone earth-shaking changes. The dioceses have risen, while the Theocracy has declined."
"To this day, although the Theocracy is still the leader of the Royal Court, the major dioceses have evolved into semi-independent theocratic princes..."
"That is why His Majesty the King took action against the Crescent Diocese. As long as it did not affect the core interests of the church, that is, 'faith', the Theocracy would be happy to see the diocese weakened."