Gospel of Blood

Chapter 60: The years are peaceful, but storms are brewing

"Wow! Is this Castell Manor? Is this where we'll be working in the future?"

"So... huge, so beautiful! It's not as terrifying as the rumors say!"

"Trees! So many trees! And flowers! Wow! And there's even a fountain!"

"Such a big house! Is this... is this a palace?"

"It feels... like a dream."

In Castell Manor, the young boys and girls who got off the carriage looked around curiously, their expressions filled with excitement. Even the most nervous child at this moment had sparkling eyes.

Having grown up in the outer districts, they had never seen such a sight.

Even Sherry, looking at the colorful flowers and butterflies dancing in the garden, had a slight sparkle in her cold eyes.

"Of course, this will be where everyone works from now on."

"Not only that, everyone's monthly allowance will be calculated similarly to apprentice priests in the church, twenty gold tana per month."

"And if everyone performs well in the future, or ascends in rank, the treatment will be further improved."

Looking at the excited young boys and girls, Charlotte smiled.

Upon hearing her words, everyone became even more excited.

"Twenty gold tana?!"

"Oh my god! More than my father's annual income!"

"Castell Manor is amazing!"

"Hail Lady Charlotte! Hail the Castell family!"

The young boys and girls cheered.

Watching their excitement, Charlotte's lips curled up slightly.

Unlike the older servants who had been hired before, these young boys and girls were like blank slates, the easiest to shape and satisfy.

Facing them, Charlotte didn't need to put in as much effort training them as she did with the previous servants. Back then, just getting the servants not to see her as a little girl took a lot of effort.

Teenagers are more susceptible to kindness than coercion. Facing these newcomers, as long as you treat them well, and let them feel that you are one of them, combined with the natural noble and master identity, you can completely gain the recognition and loyalty of the vast majority of people.

In other words, the charm effect in majesty magic might be much better than the intimidation effect when facing these newcomers.

The most obvious evidence was that from the moment they first saw her, the young apprentice knights and mage apprentices in the group blushed, their eyes avoiding hers, but each of them seemed eager to become faithful followers of the girl.

Especially when Charlotte glanced at them inadvertently.

She smiled slightly, her golden hair shining in the sunlight, her azure, pure eyes seeming to carry a profound magic, almost drawing the souls of the young men away.

The pure and goddess-like feeling, reminiscent of first love in the schoolyard, Charlotte perfectly replicates it.

The knightly spirit and protective desire buried in the hearts of the teenagers were almost instantly aroused, they wished to kneel down before the girl and offer their loyalty. Although... in reality, they probably couldn't beat Charlotte alone.

There are differences among extraordinary individuals who have not ascended in rank.

Although most of these children of extraordinary individuals have awakened extraordinary powers, they are not as powerful as Charlotte, who is Bloodborne.

But they are the hope of the Castell family's future. With a little training and the resources of the wealthy Castell family, Charlotte could make them stand out in a few years.

They are the future personal guard knights and court mages of Charlotte. Apart from them, there are maids, including Sherry, who calls herself an apprentice mage and apprentice knight, totaling twenty-three people.

They have all received professional training, suitable for the etiquette training of the Castell family.

Although the charm effect is slightly weaker on them, whenever the girl smiles at the girls, they blush and lower their heads. Except for Sherry.

She is the most versatile, able to attend banquets and work in the kitchen, with cooking skills even better than those of the manor chef, and her awakened extraordinary power is also the strongest among the maids. However, she has always been cold to Charlotte.

"The mask you wear really is deceptive."

She said coldly.

Charlotte smiled faintly, ignoring the girl's sarcastic provocation. She knew the girl was very wary of her, and she didn't want to stay here, wishing Charlotte would return her immediately. She also knew why.

After communicating with Casimodo, Charlotte learned that Sherry had witnessed her parents being driven out of the manor when she was young and had experienced a quite difficult period. In this situation, it's normal for her not to trust the Castell family, even loathe them.

But even so, she still listened to her parents and came to the manor silently, which indirectly showed that she was a good and obedient child.

Charlotte looked forward to the day when she could open the girl's heart and gain her loyalty.

This gave her an impulse and challenging feeling like playing a game. After all, the more thorny the rose, the more fragrant it blooms.

...

The addition of more than fifty young boys and girls made the previously somewhat deserted Castell Manor lively.

However, Charlotte didn't stay outside for too long. The longer the sun was out, the more uncomfortable she felt.

Returning to the study, Nice, who was panting, finally rushed back.

It collapsed on the ground like a dead cat, its eyes full of resentment as it looked at the girl.

"Miss Charlotte... my lord... what did I offend you again?"

Charlotte glanced at it lightly, not answering directly, but instead asked.

"How many people know about the Thorn Rose?"

Nice's eyes widened suddenly.

It instantly understood why it was being punished, and for a moment, it felt guilty.

"Uh... well... Miss Charlotte, it's a misunderstanding. I wasn't your servant back then..."

"Meow... You know, even a cat has to buy fish with money... the church doesn't give me allowances, so I have to figure it out myself..."

Charlotte gave it a cold glance and repeated.

"How many people know about the Thorn Rose?"

Nice shrank its neck.

It thought for a moment and said.

"Uh... not many."

"I did indeed sell information... but only to Rose Society..."

"Wait! Was it that guy Sebastian who told you?! That guy without any sense of contract!"

Realizing something, Nice was suddenly furious.

But seeing Charlotte's icy gaze, it shivered and withdrew its gaze, tucking its tail and continuing.

"Uh... besides Rose Society, there's... Raoul, Kara, the Duke, and the High Priest."

"No, wait... there should be one more person who knows, the second son of the Gaston family, seems to be called... Jordan?"

"As the children of vassals, they must serve in the lord's house for a period of time, and he is the personal guard knight of the Duke's mansion."

"Kara mentioned it to the Duke, and when she went out, she happened to meet him. He had a dodgy look in his eyes at the time, probably heard it outside the door."

Jordan? The scaredy-cat peacock?

Charlotte's heart moved slightly as she looked at Sebastian beside her.

"A cowardly waste, but... he has made a group of friends. Maybe we can investigate him thoroughly. The secrets of your Holy Symbol are likely to have leaked from him."

Sebastian said.

Charlotte nodded slightly.

"You go and investigate this, and also... prepare some extraordinary blood for me, like last time."

"As you command."

Sebastian bowed respectfully, eager to perform.

After giving the orders, Charlotte looked at the nervous black cat Nice and said coldly.

"What you did in the church before, I can overlook it."

"But now that you've become my servant, you need to know what to do and what not to do."

"If I find out that you've done something against me..."

"Would you like to lose your life, or would you like to lose the two little things below the cat's butt? It's your choice."

Hearing the girl's threatening words full of killing intent, Nice felt a chill under its belly and couldn't help but shiver.

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"Alright, now get lost."

Charlotte gave the order to leave.

Nice felt as if it had been granted a reprieve and quickly slipped away with its tail between its legs.

Sebastian also smiled slightly, gracefully bowed, and took his leave. But as he walked out of the study, he couldn't help but smile at the nervous black cat.

“Haha, Lord Nice.”

“You should be careful! Don't end up like the prisoners of the Eastern Yunette Empire that got turned into a cat!”

With that, he laughed heartily and left.

Watching the departing figure of the fire elf, Nice was both angry and frustrated.

"Ugh! That shameless lackey! Taking advantage of this cat's predicament!"

But after cursing, a sense of urgency rose in its heart.

"No... I must redeem my image in front of the Evil Lord!"

"I can't let that scheming elf ride on this cat's head!"

Speaking to itself, Nice hurriedly left.

...

In the next few days, Charlotte's life became much calmer.

As her speech of faith in the church continued to spread, rumors about the Castell family in Borde City also dissipated.

No nobles continued to cause trouble for the girl, and it seemed that even the Blood Demon Cult had given up on their assassination plan after their failure, and everything seemed to return to normal.

After a bit of pressure, the black cat Nice delivered a big gift the next day: a thick, well-organized spellbook containing various spells it had learned.

Charlotte flipped through it briefly and couldn't help but feel excited.

Wow, from the easiest apprentice spells to higher-level spells that only Third-Tier mages could learn, there were hundreds of them, covering a wide range of types, including legendary and taboo spells!

Outrageous, a cat that wasn't even first-tier could still master taboo spells?!

Falling Sun Meteor, Frozen Realm, Divine Slaughter, Blasphemous Eye...

What are all these ominous-sounding names?

And could there be some strange things mixed in?

What's the deal with this guy?

Charlotte became increasingly curious.

"Can you use taboo magic?"

She asked casually.

"Uh... not right now. At the moment, I can only use lower-tier spells... but I can still use some decent divine magic."

Nice replied awkwardly.

Charlotte: ...

Charlotte wanted to ask where it learned legendary and taboo magic, but the black cat began to beat around the bush, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

The girl didn't press further, just feeling that this guy was indeed full of secrets, as Sebastian had said.

With the spellbook provided by Nice, Charlotte was also excited to try learning a few spells to improve her strength. But unfortunately, she gave up after trying for two days. Because she realized that she didn't have a magic circuit.

In the world of Myria, you needed a magic circuit to learn magic, similar to a knight's Source Core.

But unfortunately, the Bloodborne's body gave Charlotte extraordinary strength, but at the same time, it replaced her original magic circuit.

Without finding a solution, she couldn't learn magic outside her bloodborne talents.

In the following days, Charlotte returned to her regular routine.

In the morning, she invited priests from the church to lead her in worship and praise the great Holy Light. In the afternoon, she accompanied the newcomers in training, bonding with them. The only difference was that she drank some blood of the bipedal dragons every day to enhance her strength.

Unconsciously, several days passed, and the charging of Blood Summoning was about to be completed again, and her mastery of Majesty Magic was getting closer to perfection. However, the effect of drinking the blood of extraordinary creatures became worse and worse.

However, Charlotte's strength had improved significantly. Although she hadn't tried, she felt that with the nourishment of the blood, her physical quality should be close to First-tier by now.

With several days of companionship and friendliness, the fondness of the young boys and girls towards Charlotte also increased. Several apprentice knights even showed signs of falling for her, gradually becoming her loyal followers.

It's just that teenagers are really aesthetic creatures. Encountering such a beautiful and gentle "master" like Charlotte, they couldn't resist surrendering. Except for Sherry.

This maid remained as cold as ice. No matter how Charlotte teased her, she always maintained a frosty demeanor. Only when she told dark fairy tales like before would her expression occasionally change.

This made teasing Sherry and watching her reactions become another source of enjoyment for Charlotte. For example, sneaking up behind her and touching her flat body when she dressed...

Seeing the maid's ears turn slightly red, her body trembling, and her angry gaze when she turned around, Charlotte would then reveal an innocent, pitiful look. Or, quietly approaching her while she cleaned, using the silent steps of the Bloodborne to get close, and blowing in her ear when she wasn't paying attention... Seeing the maid startled and her whole body covered in goosebumps, Charlotte found it truly amusing.

Or, like before, adapting a few dark fairy tales and writing them on parchment, secretly placing them in the room she needed to clean... Seeing her pick up the parchment while cleaning and gradually becoming absorbed in the stories before suddenly being surprised and petrified on the spot, Charlotte found it extremely satisfying.

"Have you had enough fun? Please don't disturb me while I work."

Sherry said coldly.

Charlotte elegantly lifted her teacup, took a sip of milk, and smiled innocently.

"This milk is really delicious."

Sherry: ...

Of course, Charlotte knew how to play around just enough. She wouldn't push the other's limits too much but would ensure her presence was always felt in their lives.

At the same time, she would occasionally give the maid some interesting little gifts based on her observations or show care for her in daily life.

With a mix of teasing and care, the relationship between them slowly developed. One step at a time... melting the iceberg!

Of course, Charlotte also realized that Sherry's heart was not easily conquered, but she was also a serious person who valued commitments.

Having listened to her parents' words and become a maid, she was truly doing her job seriously, although... just her job. She wouldn't leave on her own initiative, but she wouldn't truly pledge her loyalty either.

So Charlotte let herself go. Set a small goal first, like taking off her cold exterior!

Of course, playing around, teasing, and provoking slowly expanded to involve others...

Charlotte's daily games, from teasing Sherry alone, evolved into a collective "teasing" with the new maids.

Nobles emphasize etiquette.

These maids, inheriting their parents' appearances, were all flawless. Any one of them could have been a goddess in her past life.

A group of beautiful and cute little maids together, even if they didn't do anything, the beautiful and incredibly soothing scene was enough to move and trigger the yearning of the young apprentice knights and apprentice mages on the sidelines.

Especially the beautiful and lovely young lady who was always surrounded by everyone. Since being transmigrated, Charlotte finally felt another obvious benefit of being a cute girl.

Being able to mess around with girls legally and intimately... Indeed, too convenient!

And... girls really smell nice and soft!

Of course, Charlotte didn't know that the thoughts of her maids were exactly the same as hers.

Just relieved to be maids to the Castell Miss, it was really... Fantastic!

As the saying goes, when you're eating tofu from someone else, you might be having your tofu eaten by someone else.

However, what puzzled Charlotte was that it had been three days, and Sebastian, who went to investigate Jordan, had not returned. But she hadn't spent much time with Sebastian, so she didn't know if this occasional disappearance was his usual habit.

Beautiful and leisurely times always flew by.

Unknowingly, in her busy schedule of milking the sacred power, teasing Sherry, training apprentice knights and mages, and getting along with the pretty and cute maids... it was already the weekend.

A week had passed, and the young boys and girls were ready to visit their families, taking the rose-themed disguised carriage back home on Saturday night. With more than fifty people leaving, the lively estate returned to its quiet state.

Sunday's weather was gloomy. Dark clouds gathered, indicating that it was going to rain.

After completing the worship in the morning and the final charge of Blood Summoning, Charlotte sat quietly in the study, reading a book alone.

Sebastian still hadn't returned, and she felt a little uneasy, wondering if something had happened and if she should use Blood Summoning to contact him. But after hesitating for a moment, she decided to wait one more day.

However, until evening, neither Sebastian nor the young boys and girls returned.

Charlotte finally felt that something was wrong.

Just then, a loud knock came at the door, accompanied by Cassimodo's panicked voice.

"Master! Master! Something terrible has happened!"

"The Inquisition has launched a Holy Judgment against Rose Society, declaring it an evil organization that needs to be purified!"

"The Judgment Knights... are on the move!"