Gospel of Blood

As the reception banquet concluded, the news of Duke Aecia, one of the heirs to the throne, renouncing his claim and submitting to Countess Castell quickly spread.

Along with this significant news, the peace agreement between Charlotte and the bloodborne, as well as Charlotte’s judgment of Bishop Campbell and the miracle witnessed by all at the banquet, also spread.

The heir to the throne submitted, and the bloodborne behind him also compromised.

With no foundation or leader, the Lilac faction nobles quickly submitted within days, and the looming threat of civil war in the Starfall Kingdom dissipated almost instantly.

Setting aside the influence of the bloodborne, strictly speaking, the Starfall nobles were not opposed to Charlotte’s ascension to the throne. In fact, overall, they welcomed it.

This was not only due to Charlotte’s prestige as the “Saintess” but also because of the promises made by the parliamentary nobles on her behalf—Upon her abdication in the future, the ancient electoral inheritance system of Starfall would be reinstated.

A monarch willing to share power with the nobles would naturally be welcomed by the noble class, even if it was a future promise.

In the following days, nobles flocked to Starfall City to pay their respects to Charlotte.

The situation was set. Dukes, counts, viscounts… whether neutral or from the Lilac faction, all nobles of Starfall who heard the news chose to submit.

Although not officially crowned, the nickname “Her Majesty” was already on the lips of all the nobles.

At the same time, capitalizing on the divine miracle witnessed at the banquet, Charlotte publicized Bishop Campbell’s cooperation with the “fallen bloodbornes”, directly tarnishing the reputation of the Holy Court’s branch in the Starfall Kingdom.

The Holy Court’s branch in the Starfall Kingdom had already been in decline due to the joint exclusion by the native nobles and the Nez Clan. Charlotte’s actions were akin to directly uprooting their foundation in Starfall.

As the “Saintess”, Charlotte naturally took control of the church branch in the Starfall Kingdom.

She faced no resistance from the clergy.

On the contrary, many clergy members were jubilant about her arrival.

This development surprised many within the Nez Clan.

In fact, the elders of the Nez Clan had been prepared for True Ancestor to take over Starfall, anticipating interference from the Holy Court, and possibly even a religious war.

However… the Holy Court’s interference never came. Instead, the local church welcomed their new leader.

The Nez higher-ups did not know Countess Castell’s true identity, but they were aware that Countess Castell was an “agent of the True Ancestor.”

Though… this “agent of the True Ancestor” somehow became the Saintess of the Holy Court.

This world was truly astonishing; even Bardock, who had lived for two thousand years, was bewildered.

The blood descendants did not know how their ancestor managed it, but they felt that the True Ancestor seemed even more powerful and mysterious upon Her return.

Though Charlotte gained control of the Holy Court’s branch in Starfall, she did not hastily begin preaching.

Her foundation in Starfall was still unstable, and her control over the branch was not yet firm. She planned to subtly infiltrate and gradually transform the branch to worship herself.

In the future, at the right moment, she would build momentum and eventually merge the transformed branch with the Nightshade Cult.

A bold idea, openly challenging the Holy Court’s authority, but given the divine miracle, it seemed quite feasible.

The only concern for Charlotte was potential interference from the Theocracy.

However, considering the distance between the Theocracy and Starfall Kingdom, that interference might not come for a long time.

Five days after Duke Aecia announced his renunciation of the throne, the busy Charlotte welcomed a group of special visitors—The Legendary extraordinary individuals of the Starfall Kingdom.

“Praise the Holy, Your Majesty, your fame and deeds have spread throughout the Starfall Kingdom. May the Starfall be with you, and may the holy light be with you.”

In the Red Palace, three elderly extraordinary individuals greeted Charlotte.

Sitting on the throne, Charlotte looked at the three distinctively dressed figures before her, recalling the information she had gathered about them.

Duke Gale, the Legendary Sword Saint of the Starfall Kingdom, guarding the northern coastline and constantly battling sea beasts, representing the neutral nobles.

Great Sage Brynn, the Legendary Mage of the Starfall Kingdom, rumored to have a good relationship with the Bloodborne, but never involves himself in politics, serving as the honorary president of the Kingdom’s Mage Association, immersed in various magical studies.

Viscount Lorenzi, the Red Dragon Knight, with elven blood and an adult red dragon as his contracted partner, a Legendary mercenary who participated in the Star-Moon War, and leader of the largest mercenary group in the Starfall Kingdom, the Red Dragon Mercenary Group.

These three Legendaries represented the highest strength in the extraordinary field of the Starfall Kingdom. They belonged to different factions, but they remained neutral regarding the succession of the throne.

Charlotte had studied the specific situation of the Starfall Kingdom over the past few days.

Unlike the Crescent Kingdom, where the recorded Legendaries were loyal to King Louis V, Starfall Kingdom’s Legendaries were relatively independent.

They did not take orders directly from the king but listened to the Kingdom’s parliament, executing the decisions passed by the parliament.

Thus, with the throne vacant and the parliament divided, the parliamentary and Lilac factions constantly arguing, these Legendaries remained neutral.

This was also related to their identities, duties, and personalities.

Duke Gale, the Legendary Sword Saint, guarded the north and fought sea beasts, with no interest in politics.

Great Sage Brynn was similar, immersed in magical research, and responsible for many alchemical tools and magical

technologies in the Starfall Kingdom. Even Yurst was said to have a good relationship with him.

Viscount Lorenzi, the Red Dragon Knight, was somewhat different.

As a mercenary leader, he primarily worked for money.

However, the Red Dragon Mercenary Group was affiliated with the Kingdom’s parliament, supported by the parliament, so although semi-independent, they still followed the parliament’s decisions.

The Kingdom’s parliament in the Starfall Kingdom was far more powerful than the noble parliament of the Crescent Kingdom, often even influencing royal power. Thus… following the parliament did not mean following the king.

This was why Viscount Lorenzi remained neutral in the succession issue.

According to Charlotte, there were more than three Legendaries in the Starfall Kingdom during the Star-Moon War. However, those who steadfastly followed the royal family perished in the war, dying at the hands of Louis V, leaving only these three conservative and peace-loving Legendaries.

But this did not mean these three Legendaries were useless.

Though they remained neutral, they still had the duty to protect the Starfall and remained loyal to the kingdom, representing a significant force against the Nez Clan.

It was precisely because of their existence that, despite the Crescent Kingdom’s overwhelming advantage over the Starfall Kingdom in the later stages of the Star-Moon War, they dared not invade the Starfall Kingdom’s homeland. Similarly, during the competition for the throne, the Nez Clan did not overturn the table.

In the Starfall Kingdom, different powers almost always balance each other.

The king was the ruler but not an absolute authority.

For Charlotte, this wasn’t a bad thing. To her, the throne of the Starfall Kingdom was practically a gift, and this balance of power actually helped the nobility accept her more easily.

It even facilitated her to rule the kingdom more hands-off.

As for strengthening centralization…

There was no rush, and for now, it wasn’t necessary for Charlotte.

Gaining the allegiance of the Nez Clan, controlling the church branch, becoming the Queen of Starfall…

Charlotte already had the strength and capability to fully control the Starfall Kingdom. Secular centralization wasn’t as crucial to her anymore.

Moreover, centralization wasn’t the only solution. What mattered was what was appropriate.

Charlotte’s pursuits were different from other monarchs. She aimed to become a God, ascending to the pinnacle of extraordinary power.

At that point, centralization would be completely irrelevant.

In some sense, Charlotte was somewhat similar to the three Legendaries of the Starfall Kingdom.

For those who reached the peak of worldly power, their focus often wasn’t on worldly matters anymore.

This was why Legendaries rarely intervened directly in wars, at most engaging with other Legendaries.

The audience with the three Legendaries further legitimized Charlotte’s rule.

It signified that the parliamentary nobles had reconciled with the Lilac faction, and the Starfall Kingdom’s parliament resumed normal operations.

Soon after, Charlotte’s coronation date was set: 13th Day of the 2nd Month, 1447 of the Holy Calendar.

This date… how to say it, made Charlotte feel rather complex, but it was indeed the second Friday of the 2nd Month, a date she had personally chosen.

She slightly regretted not checking the calendar more carefully to see when the next Blood Moon was.

But once set, it was set.

The throne of the Starfall Kingdom had been vacant for several months. Now that the overall situation was settled, neither the parliamentary faction, the neutral nobles, nor the Lilac faction wanted to delay any longer.

Even with balanced power, the king was the ruler of the kingdom and the leader of the nation.

With the throne vacant, the political situation was unstable. Even with noble self-governance, many things couldn’t be pushed forward.

Especially forming a cabinet.

Without being crowned, Charlotte had no power to reorganize the cabinet. The current temporary cabinet, led by parliamentary nobles, couldn’t sustain the kingdom’s normal operations.

Additionally, the Crescent Kingdom’s aggressive posture was another reason. Many nobles witnessed their covetousness toward the Starfall Kingdom’s enclave territories during the reception banquet.

Considering the Crescent Kingdom’s threat, the succession couldn’t be delayed any longer.

Even without the official coronation, Charlotte had already taken over the reins of the Starfall Kingdom in practice.

Ruling a kingdom was far more intense than ruling a county, even with the support of a temporary cabinet. Charlotte personally witnessed the overwhelming bureaucracy of this era.

Her perspective shifted dramatically. Previously, she dealt with various lords of the Crescent Kingdom, but now… she had to consider the entire continent’s nations.

The power and strength required to rule a kingdom far exceeded that of a county.

The Castell County was populous, with around 4 million people and an area of 120,000 square kilometers.

The Starfall Kingdom, however, had a population of 67 million and an astounding area of 1.225 million square kilometers.

In comparison, this area would be roughly equivalent to combining the three northeastern provinces, hebei, and Shandong from the previous world’s Earth.

Of this 1.225 million square kilometers, over 900,000 belonged to the main island of Starfall.

Regarding the military… it was hard to count. Like the Crescent Kingdom, the Starfall Kingdom also had a conscription system, where nobles provided conscripted soldiers in wartime.

The kingdom’s directly controlled standing army was already impressive, numbering 30,000.

This wasn’t the same as the nobles’ personal armies. For instance, the standing army of the two duchies in the Borde-Castell War also numbered 30,000, but the ratio of awakened soldiers was less than 1%, and the ratio for the elite troops didn’t reach 1:50.

In contrast, the ratio of awakened soldiers in the kingdom’s directly controlled standing army was an astonishing 1:20!

Of course, like the parliamentary restriction on the king’s power, the king couldn’t freely mobilize the kingdom’s standing army without parliamentary approval.

In the early stages of the throne competition, the military maintained neutrality.

Besides the kingdom’s directly controlled standing army, the royal family had its own standing army that didn’t require parliamentary approval to mobilize.

This royal standing army comprised 5,000 soldiers, but it was even more elite than the kingdom’s standing army, with an awakened ratio of 1:10.

For Charlotte, whether it was 5,000 or 10,000 soldiers, as long as the magical formation wasn’t fully deployed, her Saint state could unleash divine power to annihilate tens of thousands of troops with a mere gesture.

But since order hadn’t collapsed and war still followed rules, a strong army was indispensable.

Compared to the Crescent Kingdom, however, the Starfall Kingdom’s military power was still lacking.

According to Charlotte’s knowledge, the Crescent Kingdom’s extraordinary heavy cavalry alone almost matched the Starfall Kingdom’s standing army.

However, the navy was a different story. As an island nation, the Starfall Kingdom possessed the continent’s second-strongest navy, surpassed only by the Luna Coast City-State Alliance, with over a hundred warships, far surpassing the Crescent Kingdom.

Similarly, the king needed parliamentary approval to mobilize the navy under normal circumstances.

As for finances… they were surprisingly poor.

Charlotte reviewed the financial report and found that despite having ten times the territory and fifteen times the population of Castell County, the Starfall Kingdom’s annual revenue was less than three times that of Castell.

The kingdom’s rich extraordinary resources sustained the standing army’s expenses, but the annual fiscal surplus was minimal, even less than Castell’s leftover funds.

While Castell’s wealth was well-known, the Starfall Kingdom was undeniably poor.

Sighing at the financial report, Charlotte reflected on the drawbacks of noble decentralization and contemplated future revenue generation strategies.

Squeezing the nobles was an option.

However, Charlotte didn’t want to pursue this immediately.

Her power stemmed from the nobles’ support, and she wasn’t foolish enough to undermine her foundation before securing her position.

Cost-cutting was an option, but alongside that, she needed to explore new revenue sources. Considering the Starfall Kingdom’s geography and development, Charlotte already had some ideas.

But those plans would be for after her formal succession.

In the following days, Charlotte cooperated with the nobles for the transfer of power, familiarized herself with various state affairs, and considered how to govern the Starfall Kingdom.

Before she knew it, the coronation day arrived.