Quiet.
It was quiet.
When Charlotte looked at the old priest in front of her and shyly said that she had someone in her heart, the whole banquet fell into an eerie silence.
“You you you you you…Castel! Do you know what you are talking about!?”
"That's a priest! And an old man at that!"
"Are you crazy!?"
A young male noble widened his eyes and couldn't help but shout.
After hearing his words, the girl also widened her eyes. Her clear blue eyes were full of confusion and disbelief, and her slightly red cheeks were filled with shame and annoyance.
"Mr. Jordan... What are you talking about? How rude!"
After saying this, Charlotte looked forward again. She clasped her hands together with a pious and sincere expression. Her soft and innocent voice was filled with the simplest yearning and enthusiasm:
"What I mean is that my heart has long belonged to the great Lord God, to the Supreme Divine..."
Raoul's eye twitched when he saw the girl looking at him again.
However, when his eyes swept towards the wall behind him, his heart suddenly moved slightly, and he quickly and quietly moved aside.
Charlotte's gaze did not change.
When the nobles looked carefully in the direction the girl was looking, they realized that she was not looking at the old priest Raoul, but at the mural behind Raoul!
To be more precise, it is a religious decorative painting depicting the god Harald creating a new world after the devastating flood.
The young noble who stopped the girl was stunned for a moment, his face turned red in an instant, and he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Charlotte drew a cross on her chest in a standard way, and recalled with a happy and pious look:
"What happened that night really frightened me. I was terrified... and desperate..."
"It was the knights of the church who rescued me and brought light to me in the darkness."
"When I was in the church hospital, Master Raoul and Master Lottie would chat with me every day."
"In the process of communicating with them, I, who was confused, deeply felt the greatness and holiness of the Lord God..."
"I think... the Castel family must have committed too many unforgivable crimes, so as the heir, I have to suffer such a terrible disaster."
"However, even so, God is still willing to forgive me, God is still willing to accept me, God is still willing to save me..."
"After being discharged from the hospital, I have in-depth exchanges with the priests every day to discuss the teachings of our Lord."
"As I got to know him better, I felt more and more the greatness of our Lord and the vastness of His divine glory..."
"From that moment on, the black and white world had new colors. I saw the light, I saw the future, and I saw my true destiny..."
"My heart... has long been part of the Great Divine."
As she spoke, the girl leaned forward slightly and respectfully saluted the god Harald on the mural. Her childish voice was full of reverence and sincere gratitude:
"Praise... Holy!"
The light from the crystal chandelier shone on her, dreamy and colorful.
The beautiful girl in a white dress looked pious, like an angel on earth paying homage to God.
Seeing this holy scene, the priests were also moved, with reminiscence on their faces, as if they remembered the first time they worshipped under the glory of the Lord God, the yearning and awe, piety and fanaticism that came from their hearts.
The old high priest sighed slightly, and he also stretched out his hand and drew a cross on his chest:
"Praise... Holy."
The priests followed suit and drew the holy emblems, their voices devout and firm:
"Praise... Holy!"
The nobles were silent.
Looking at the priest who was reminiscing under the touch of the girl, looking at the girl's pure and flawless eyes and happy and satisfied smile, although it seemed extremely absurd, many people couldn't help but have an idea:
She... is serious!
And more nobles who had been paying attention to the girl who experienced the blood demon case in Castel Manor fell into deep thought.
Because after they recalled it, they did discover a lot of details.
After being rescued, Charlotte has indeed been very enthusiastic about various church activities and attends services and various religious ceremonies in the church every day.
Even after returning home, she would still spend a lot of money to invite the priest to the manor...
These things are not secrets, and they can be verified if you are willing.
Duke Bold frowned slightly.
He glanced at the nobles in the audience, and an old earl immediately understood. He stepped forward and looked at the praying girl with a serious expression:
"Ms. Castel, are you serious?"
"Please don't forget that you are Castel's heir. If you choose to join the church and become a priest, it means you will become a monk and will not be able to marry or inherit the territory."
"That means you will voluntarily give up your inheritance rights!"
After hearing the old earl's words, Charlotte smiled slightly and bowed gracefully:
"Lord Gaston, thank you for your reminder."
"I do intend to join the church, and I do intend to dedicate everything I have to the sanctity, but I have not forgotten my obligations as a member of the Castel family."
The old earl frowned:
"You mean you want to become a noble priest without holding an actual position in the church?"
"But with all due respect, noble priests can also get married. This is not a reason for you to reject the Duke."
After hearing what the Earl said, Charlotte looked apologetic:
"I'm sorry, Lord Earl, I didn't express myself clearly."
"I said, I will dedicate everything I have to the great Lord. In fact, it includes not only myself, but also the territory I will inherit."
"As we all know, although the Grand Duchy of the North has successfully expelled the orc tribe, the entire country is still confused about its faith and needs our Lord to bring them light."
"But in the north, my lord has always lacked sufficient strength."
"I want to do my part for my Lord."
"I am a member of Castel, so I must take the responsibility of inheriting the family."
"But at the same time, in order to be able to dedicate everything to my Lord, I will not choose to get married in the future."
"I will live for the people in my limited life, be loyal to the lord, be a loyal subject, and fulfill my responsibilities and obligations as Castel."
"At the same time, I will fulfill my duty as a holy believer and spread the glory of my Lord to the north as much as possible!"
"I promise that when I return to the kingdom of my Lord in the future, I will dedicate everything to Him, and the sacred flag will replace the eagle flag and fly over Castel!"
After hearing the girl's words, the nobles in the hall all changed their expressions.
"You mean... you want to give Castel's territory to the church?!"
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! His Majesty the King will never agree to this! This goes against the provisions of the Sacred Code!"
The old earl said angrily.
Other nobles also echoed, some scolded, some abused, and some accused, and their words all meant the same thing, that is, what the girl wanted to do was illegal and unacceptable.
It wasn't until an old voice sounded that everyone quieted down:
"Why... not?"
It was the high priest who spoke.
This old man who always had a kind smile on his face, the highest clergyman of the Principality of Bolder, put away his smile for the first time.
He glanced at the angry nobles calmly and said slowly:
"The Sacred Code does stipulate that the church cannot encroach on the land of the nobility."
"But there is no rule that devout believers cannot donate their land to the church."
"Besides, that is a matter of the future. Even if the church obtains the land, it will only establish a theocratic earldom, not be taken back by the royal court and become part of the theocratic state."
"The Divine Right Territory is still loyal to the Lord and still belongs to the Principality and even part of the Kingdom."
"Have you forgotten? Among the twelve principalities under the New Moon Kingdom, three are ruled by theocracy."
The high priest's voice was gentle and calm.
The angry nobles fell into silence.
Besides, as one of the poles of Miriam's secular world, the church naturally also owns land.
Perhaps the gods do not care about the secular land, but only care about faith, but the priests who spread the grace of the gods do care.
Priests also need to eat, their missionary work also needs funding, and priests are also human beings, and as human beings they have their own desires.
Theocracy and divine rule were born in such an environment.
Among them, the Theocracy is located in the eastern part of Western Union. It was established with the support of Charlemagne I, the founding emperor of the First Union Empire. The entire country is completely ruled from top to bottom by the Holy Royal Court, and the chief high priest of the Holy Royal Court serves as the national leader.
At the same time, it is also the center of the Holy Royal Court.
Theocracy is somewhat different. It is a special form of vassalage, also called religious vassal by the nobles. Most of them are established by national rulers in order to gain the support of the church.
The lord of a theocratic territory is not a noble, but a high priest. Depending on the size of the territory, he is usually called the high priest or the high priest of the diocese, and most of them are appointed by the church.
In the world of Miriam, theocracy is not uncommon. Theocracy of all sizes are located within secular countries, and their rulers are almost all high priests appointed by the Holy Royal Court, but at the same time they are loyal to the secular lords.
Apart from the fact that their rulers are priests, half of the contractual taxes must be handed over to the Theocracy, and the number of conscripted soldiers provided to the lord is reduced by half, they are not much different from other noble vassals. And because of the provisions of the "Sacred Code", the theocracy will not participate in the struggles of secular lords, nor will it actively expand.
By the way, there are also nobles under theocracy.
However, unless they obtain the power to appoint religious vassals, most rulers of secular states do not like theocracy. This is not only because theocracy pays half as little tax and provides half as many conscripts, but also because the power to appoint lords in theocracy is controlled by the theocracy, resulting in the monarch lacking sufficient control over theocracy, let alone reclaiming it by conventional means like reclaiming aristocratic fiefdoms.
The struggle between royal power and theocracy in the Miria world often revolves around theocracy.
For this reason, when it comes to the affairs of the divine power, the usually inactive Holy Royal Court will immediately become alert and refuse to give in.
At this moment, the nobles were completely silent.
Their eyes fell on the holy girl, and for a moment they were unsure whether she had really become a fanatical believer of the Holy Spirit, or was just using the church as a shield...
"Okay, let's continue the banquet. These are all things for the future. Today's protagonists are our Lord Duke and Lord Lenno. I haven't even given Lord Lenno the sacrament yet."
The high priest smiled and spoke gently.
The sacrament is a sacred ceremony that every noble must go through when they reach adulthood, which represents the gods' recognition of the noble's identity.
For illegitimate children, it also represents the legalization of their official identity.
Looking at the smiling high priest, the old duke's face turned ugly for the first time.