Gospel of Blood

Chapter 378: The King's Strategy

“Good morning, Master! Today is Wednesday, the weather is clear, and it is the first day of the lifting of Lutecia’s lockdown.”

“Your breakfast is ready: a Western Yunette cheese sandwich, an elven honey salad, and a cup of avocado yogurt imported from the Northern Grand Duchy.”

“Would you like to get up and eat now, or rest a bit longer?”

In the early morning, Sebastian’s familiar voice came from outside the curtains, waking Charlotte from her sleep.

Although she didn’t need sleep anymore, long-term habits had taken root, and daily sleep remained her way of resting and relaxing.

Yawning comfortably, she slowly sat up and lazily said,

“I’ll get up.”

With that, the already-prepared Sherry entered with several maids carrying various exquisite clothes.

Charlotte glanced around and casually chose a white noble dress for homewear.

“Is there any news today?”

Charlotte asked lazily and curiously while allowing the maids to dress her like a doll.

Outside the curtain, Sebastian’s voice became a bit more cheerful.

“Yes, there is news from the palace. The central meeting will be held tomorrow. I’ve already placed the invitation in your study.”

Charlotte paused, a bit surprised.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow. The commotion this time was so big that it alarmed the nobles stationed in various regions. As soon as the lockdown was lifted, numerous noble carriages entered the inner city through the gates and headed straight for the royal palace and the Lutecia Cathedral.”

Charlotte chuckled.

“They’re going to plead for mercy, aren’t they?”

Sebastian shook his head outside the curtain.

“Not only that. Many see it as an opportunity since many titles were stripped away this time.”

Charlotte clicked her tongue.

“They’ll be disappointed. Our king is keen on strengthening central authority. Once titles are reclaimed, it’s not easy to give them back.”

She then asked with interest.

“They must have other plans, right?”

“Yes, I heard that some nobles outside the city have taken advantage of Lutecia’s lockdown to jointly propose a new title distribution plan at the central meeting.”

Charlotte understood immediately.

The full name of the central meeting is the Crescent Nobility and Royal Family Central Joint Meeting, essentially a platform for dialogue between the nobles and the royal family, as well as a battleground for power struggles, serving as a tool for the nobility to limit royal power.

Proposals passed by a high vote in the meeting cannot be vetoed by the king in principle, as doing so would be seen as a violation of the Holy Code and the Royal Covenant.

Although this investigation dealt with many nobles, it was still only a small portion of the nobility. The vast majority of nobles do not want royal power to be too strong.

Especially after this “cleansing”, the conflict between the nobility and the royal family will only deepen, and the proposal to redistribute titles is very likely to pass by a high vote.

Once the proposal passes, even if Louis V doesn’t want to, he will have to grudgingly return all the reclaimed titles.

However, submitting a proposal requires a process and time, and the convening of the central meeting also has a “cooling period.”

Aside from the fixed every-four-year meeting, temporary meetings like today’s can only be held once within four years, which is also a limitation and balance on the central meeting’s power.

The last fixed central meeting was a year ago, which means the next meeting after this one will be at the earliest the fixed meeting three years later.

So, as long as Louis V initiated the meeting directly before those title-coveting nobles submitted their proposal, the nobles wouldn’t be able to pressure the king through the meeting to redistribute titles.

Thinking of this, Charlotte couldn’t help but admire the Crescent Kingdom’s king.

No wonder he is recognized as a great monarch of the Crescent Kingdom, not only for his personal strength and military prowess but also for his exceptional political skills.

As Charlotte knew, although the king nominally held the power to decide when the central meeting would ultimately convene, the actual timing could only be decided by a cabinet vote.

Such a hastily-convened meeting would certainly not pass the cabinet’s review under normal circumstances. However, as Charlotte knew, five of the ten cabinet members of the Crescent Kingdom were affected by this investigation. Two members were directly executed, and three others were deposed.

Charlotte had cross-checked the names with the list she had reported to the Holy Court.

Indeed, the two executed cabinet members were on the list, but the three deposed ones were not.

However, as Charlotte knew, those three cabinet members were nobles dissatisfied with the centralization policy.

Clearly, Louis V had used this purge to eliminate dissenters, using it as an excuse to kick three unfortunate members out of the cabinet.

This was done silently, and no one raised objections during the investigation, likely because some “evidence” of their collusion with the Blood Demon Cult was found.

Moreover, among the other nobles investigated and judged, many were in similar situations.

Each time Sebastian brought news of a noble being arrested, Charlotte would check it against the list. Apart from those firmly listed, more than a third of the nobles judged were not on the list.

And… most were opposition members.

It was evident that these unfortunates were eliminated by the royal family taking the opportunity.

The new cabinet members had not yet been appointed, and most of the remaining cabinet members were royalists. The central meeting’s convening was at the king’s discretion.

The ultimate result was that the central meeting, which was supposed to limit the king’s power, turned into a meeting where the king limited the nobles’ proposals.

As for whether the redistribution of confiscated titles would be discussed again at the next meeting…

That was three years away.

By then, the royal family would likely have firmly grasped these territories.

As for the nobles… some would be drawn in, others beaten down. With Louis V’s skills, he would find ways to let the proposals fail or even pass direct royal jurisdiction resolutions.

From the recent actions, it seemed that the royal family’s moves were interconnected.

Louis V probably planned this all along, and Charlotte’s actions inadvertently expedited the process.

After this purge, the nobles suffered heavy losses, and although the church cleared out many scoundrels and disrupted the Blood Demon Cult’s infiltration, its reputation took a hit.

Only the royal family profited greatly, further strengthening central authority.

This was truly dramatic.

In the beginning, everyone thought this central meeting was an alliance between the nobles and the church to pressure the royal power.

But before the meeting even started, the most vocal nobles were dealt with under the unimpeachable banner of “judging the fallen”, in line with the Crescent Kingdom’s stance against the Blood Demon Cult.

Thinking of this, Charlotte’s opinion of Louis V improved further.

…

With the reopening of Lutecia, many nobles who had heard the news and long-waiting merchants and travelers poured into the capital, reviving the once-desolate streets.

Without experiencing the recent “great purge”, it would be hard to imagine that the capital was filled with panic just a few days ago.

Indeed, the world moves on without anyone. Although the investigation and trials lasted over ten days, the impact was limited.

With a population of nearly a million, the church and the royal family couldn’t possibly review everyone. They mainly targeted the names Charlotte reported, with a slightly broader scope.

The most affected were the nobles, but they were only a tiny fraction of the population.

To ordinary people, the purge was just gossip over drinks, and they might even spit and praise the king for his good judgment afterward.

After all… the nobles’ reputation was never great, while Louis V had high esteem among the common folk.

After reluctantly having breakfast served by the dragon maid Eudoxia, Charlotte continued to stay in her study, browsing through Albrecht’s memories.

With the meeting tomorrow, she didn’t plan to go out, avoiding unnecessary attention.

After all, as a major noble of the kingdom, her actions were closely watched.

Of course, her interest in Albrecht’s memories was also a reason for staying home.

And indeed, Albrecht was thorough in copying his memories, including much gossip and interesting stories about the bloodbornes, which Charlotte enjoyed reading like a storybook.

However, her personal time didn’t last long.

In the afternoon, Sebastian knocked on her door again.

“Master, Count Gaston has arrived in the capital. He sent a messenger requesting to visit you at the estate.”

Count Gaston?

Charlotte frowned.

Noble gatherings were prohibited before the central meeting.

Although a one-on-one visit between nobles wasn’t as conspicuous, a meeting between a Northern Count like Charlotte and the Regent of the Borde Duchy like Gaston would inevitably raise some suspicions if seen.

After a brief consideration, Charlotte agreed.

Since Count Gaston wanted to meet her at this time, he must have something important to discuss. As someone she forcibly contracted as a blood thrall who had helped her a lot and taken many falls, she decided to meet him.

As for the matter… Charlotte had a rough idea.

“Understood, let him in.”

She said.

About fifteen minutes later, Count Gaston arrived at Charlotte’s estate.

He looked travel-worn, with worry etched on his face.

“You may leave.”

Charlotte glanced at the maids and attendants in the hall and said.

The maids and attendants respectfully bowed and left, leaving only Charlotte, Count Gaston, and the elf butler Sebastian standing behind Charlotte.

Once everyone else had left, Charlotte’s expression turned cold, and she said sternly.

“Sir Gaston, I told you to avoid contacting me after arriving in the capital.”

Count Gaston looked ashamed.

“Master, I am deeply sorry…”

“Speak, what do you want from me?”

Charlotte asked directly.

Count Gaston glanced at Sebastian, hesitating.

But finally, he gritted his teeth and bowed to Charlotte.

“Master, please… save the Gaston family!”