Chapter 152 -2- Coming of Age Ceremony (Two in One)
When Charlotte, dressed in fine clothes, came to the manor hall, warm applause suddenly broke out.
The luxurious reception hall was filled with people, and the nobles stood up one after another and saluted the girl.
Among them were families and wealthy businessmen who had business dealings with Castel, representatives of various friendly families, and envoys from lower-level nobles in the Castel territory.
Charlotte is wearing a gorgeous aristocratic dress, with her long golden hair hanging naturally behind her back. She is elegant and noble, beautiful and charming, and looks like a holy angel under the dreamy and colorful crystal lamp.
Today, she looks more beautiful and more mature.
Of course, Charlotte knew it was just costume and makeup effects.
She would measure her height every once in a while. Since time traveling, she has actually not grown at all. She is still the same pitiful little figure when she takes off her clothes.
Charlotte seriously doubted that her body shape and appearance had been completely fixed from the moment she became a vampire.
Seeing the girl entering the hall, the crowd attending the ceremony made way for a way, and the burgundy-based silk carpet led straight to the front of the hall.
There, Raoul, the director of the mission hospital, was wearing a white priest's robe with a happy smile on his face.
Charlotte walked through the crowd and came to the front of the hall.
She pinched the hem of her skirt, bowed gracefully to Raoul, and said with a smile:
"Grandpa Raoul, good evening."
Raoul also smiled and said:
"Good evening, Charlotte, congratulations on your coming of age. You look really beautiful today."
"Thank you for your compliment."
Charlotte smiled.
As she spoke, she blinked again:
"Congratulations to you for becoming the high priest of Boulder."
"I'm just an acting high priest. If I can't pass the church's test of grace and become the Blazing Sun, I will eventually have to return to the church hospital to serve."
Raoul shook his head.
Is it a test of divine grace...?
Charlotte's heart moved slightly and she secretly remembered the name.
Raoul, the director of the mission hospital, was elected as the Grand Priest of Boulder, which surprised Charlotte.
Generally speaking, only priests of the third level of Blazing Sun are qualified to become great priests.
As far as Black Cat Ness knows, this seems to be the result of the power struggle between the Inquisition and the Boulder Church.
In order to purge the corrupt priests of the Boulder Church, the newly appointed Grand Knight did not want to see a powerful Grand Priest, so he supported Raoul, who was still Silver Moon.
That's right, purge the fallen priests.
As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked, the great priest Linus is willing to fall, and there are also his followers in the Boulder Church.
Perhaps these henchmen do not know the secret of the great priest, but their hands and feet are not clean either. Some of them have even participated in the activities of the Drunken Dream Salon.
In the past few months, under the inspections of the Inquisition, the Boulder Church has been in a state of panic every day.
However, for Charlotte, this is a good thing.
She has always maintained a good relationship with Raoul, and having Raoul administer the sacrament of adulthood for her can also avoid unnecessary incidents.
"You will definitely pass the test, after all... your faith is so pious."
Charlotte smiled.
Priest Raoul did not look so excited, but smiled bitterly:
"I hope...Bold is in a mess right now. Nearly a quarter of the entire cathedral has been dismissed by the Grand Knight. Who knows what will happen in the future."
Charlotte blinked again:
"If you don't want to stay in Boulder, just apply to come to Castel. What Castel needs is an upright priest like you."
"Hahahahaha...Charlotte, you are getting better and better at talking."
Raoul laughed.
After saying that, he seemed to have thought of something. He hesitated and asked again:
"Charlotte, does the oath you made to the church in front of Linus still count?"
Charlotte's smile faded slightly and she lowered her head.
Raoul suddenly understood.
He sighed softly and said:
"I see."
"I know what Linus did made you a little disappointed in the church, but... he has received the punishment he deserves."
"If you have an idea, the door of the Holy Royal Court will always be open to you."
Charlotte hesitated for a moment, raised her head, and looked at the old priest sincerely:
"Grandpa Raoul, I do hesitate."
"I think... maybe it's because my faith is not religious enough."
"If possible, after I inherit the title and return to the territory, I hope to enter the church school in Castres in my free time to further learn the knowledge of the church, and pray and repent under the holy light."
After hearing what the girl said, Raoul looked pleased:
"While inheriting the territory, do you also claim to be a noble priest... I understand."
"Don't worry, I will write a letter of introduction for you, and the Holy Light will witness your piety and listen to your voice."
Charlotte smiled sweetly and was very happy:
"thank you!"
She is really happy.
As long as she serves as a noble priest, even in name only, even if she returns to Castres, she can confidently enter the local church to reap the benefits.
"this is necessary."
Raoul smiled.
After finishing speaking, he straightened his expression again:
"Okay, it's almost time, let's get started."
Dean Raoul clapped his hands, the music in the hall stopped instantly, and the excited crowd fell silent.
Charlotte's coming-of-age ceremony also officially begins.
In Miria, the coming-of-age ceremony for nobles was divided into two parts.
First, the elders formally introduce the adult nobles to the guests and receive blessings from the guests.
The second is the sacrament. The church's clergy will give sacred blessings to adult nobles on behalf of the church. It is a magical ceremony that can improve physical fitness and disease resistance, and help nobles strengthen their bloodline strength.
Because the only direct member of the Castel family was Charlotte, the host of the coming-of-age ceremony was handed over to the old priest Raoul.
The formal introduction of Charlotte to the nobles was just a formality.
As the current de facto head of the Castel family, Charlotte had taken over the power of the family a year ago, and all the nobles present were more or less familiar with her.
It was the envoys and representatives of the lower nobles from the Earl of Castells territory who came after hearing the news. They still looked at her with inquiring eyes and were quite curious about her, the future lord.
At Charlotte’s coming-of-age ceremony, many Castel families sent representatives to attend.
However, Charlotte noticed that the status of the representatives sent did not seem to be high. Not a single noble family head was present, and many family representatives could not even be considered nobles...
It was obvious that the nobles of Castelland did not attach much importance to her young successor.
The formal introduction of status ended quickly, followed by the administration of the sacraments.
This is also the process that Charlotte is more concerned about (because it is possible to use the power of the Holy Light to harvest some wool).
Accompanied by the ethereal hymn, Charlotte pinched her bulging skirt and gently knelt down on one knee.
Raoul, who was bathed in the divine radiance, held the sacred code in one hand and recited the blessings of the coming-of-age ceremony in a rhythmic tone. He applied holy oil on his other hand and gently outlined the ring cross representing the sacred royal court on the girl's forehead.
Following Raoul's movements, a holy light enveloped Charlotte's body.
Familiar burning pain spread from all parts of her body, and Charlotte soon saw new information emerging in her consciousness:
[The "Blood Sacred Book" detects a magical ritual on the way——]
[Technical name: Sacramental Ceremony]
[Spellcaster: Divine Light]
[Subject: Charlotte de Castel]
[Spell effect: The blessing and mark given by the sacred light to mortals can stimulate the potential and potential of the subject, improve the physique and blood strength of the subject, and at the same time mark and hint the subject, marking the subject's
Soul coordinates, and makes the subject's position more biased towards the Holy Royal Court.】
[Interception probability judgment: 100%]
【Whether to intercept?】
Sacramental rite?
Charlotte's heart moved slightly.
She did not detect this magical ritual during Lenno's last sacrament.
Putting it this way... could it be that the great priest Linus did not actually perform the real sacrament on the other party, but just went through the motions?
only……
Mark soul and suggest position?
Charlotte was thoughtful.
She vaguely understood why the Holy Royal Court implemented sacramental rituals among the nobles.
This is a blessing, and it is also a means for the Holy Royal Court to indirectly control the nobles.
Charlotte noticed that although the person who performed the sacrament was Raoul, the performer detected by the Blood Scripture was "Holy Light".
This is the power of the god Lord Harald.
In other words, it is the god Lord Harald who uses the hands of believers to bless the recipient, and at the same time marks the recipient's soul coordinates and gives a hint of the position.
Charlotte's heart moved slightly.
The Sacrament of Adulthood... is a means for the Holy Royal Court to cultivate potential believers, and it is also a means for the gods to extend their sights to mortals!
Charlotte did not intercept this magical ritual, but allowed it to fall on her.
The holy radiance bloomed on the girl's body, and Charlotte clearly felt a burning power pouring into her body.
However, the moment the Holy Light entered her body, she controlled the Holy Book of Blood and used the divine power of blood, which was similar to "blood-sucking" power, to swallow up the Holy Light.
At the same time, Charlotte felt as if she had established some inexplicable connection with a bright sea of light.
It seems that the "blessing" for Charlotte failed. After the holy light that entered the body was swallowed, the holy light that enveloped Charlotte did not end.
In Charlotte's perception, the dark ocean of light suddenly boiled!
The bright light continued to bloom on the girl's body, and Charlotte felt that more holy light rushed into her body, as if desperately trying to "purify" her as a heretic.
Charlotte did not reject anyone who came, allowing the Holy Light to pour in, and then swallowed it all with a smile.
Then... the holy light that enveloped her became even more dazzling.
As if she did not believe in evil, the holy light became more and more dazzling, and Charlotte even faintly felt a strong rejection and hostility from the holy light.
That kind of rejection and hostility has no autonomous consciousness.
In the girl's perception, this kind of rejection feels like a certain program that has been programmed in advance.
But at this moment, this program increased its Holy Light output because of Charlotte's "stubbornness".
Then, a scene that shocked the old priest Raoul and many guests appeared.
I saw that the girl's body was filled with dazzling brilliance.
Holy photons flew from the sky and flew around the girl, rushing into her body.
Like... a miracle!
Some of the priests present became excited on the spot, and they couldn't help but draw crosses on their chests. They looked at the girl bathed in the holy light with feverish expressions, and their voices were full of trembling:
"A miracle...this is a miracle!"
"Praise the Holy One! She is favored by the Holy Light!"
"The radiance of divine grace...could she really be a born saint?!"
The priests looked excited.
Under the fierce attack of the Holy Light, Charlotte freely absorbed the power belonging to the God Lord Harald.
Until it reached a certain critical point, a strong palpitation and uneasiness surged into her heart.
In the dark, Charlotte felt that there seemed to be an ancient will gradually awakening.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stopped this almost cheating absorption, and at the same time stopped the sacramental ceremony.
Without the source of power, the sacred light gradually became weak and stopped invading her.
The light faded away, the vague rejection and hostility quickly disappeared, and the holy light that shrouded the girl also dissipated...
In Charlotte's perception, her connection with the mysterious sea of light was completely severed.
Charlotte felt a little unfinished.
Although it was uncomfortable when being burned by the holy light, it could even be said to be quite painful, but she had just gained quite a huge amount of power!
Not to mention anything else, it took her more than half a year to finally recover to 27.8 points of divine power, which more than doubled to 55 points under the holy light that lasted for about three minutes just now!
This surprised Charlotte.
At the same time, she was also very curious about the ocean of light she had just communicated with.
"That will that is gradually awakening, could it be the Lord Harald? Is he sleeping?"
"I just...wasn't I connected to Him?"
Charlotte was thoughtful.
The ocean of light she just saw was extremely vast.
Compared with the other party, the power she quietly absorbed was like a drop of water in the ocean.
But just this drop of water directly caused her blood power to almost return to the peak of the True Ancestor's liberation time...
"Sure enough, compared to trying to find a way to produce divine power, this kind of almost predatory 'blood-sucking' is more enjoyable and faster!"
Charlotte secretly thought.
Coming out of the joy of gathering wool, Charlotte opened her eyes.
However, when she saw the surrounding scene clearly, she was stunned.
It was quiet in the hall, and you could hear the drop of a needle.
All eyes were focused on her.
The priests looked excited and looked at her with extremely hot eyes, as if they were treasures.
The guests' eyes widened and their expressions were full of shock.
Charlotte:……
Good guy, did she make some big noise just now?
…
At the same time, in various churches in the world of Miria that enshrine the statues of the God Lord Harald.
Priests and believers knelt before the statue and prayed fervently and devoutly.
Just now, they witnessed a strange scene together...
All the statues of gods and goddesses enshrined in the church were lit up.