After hearing the high priest's pointed words, a cold light flashed in Duke Bold's eyes.
However, he quickly corrected his expression and restored his faint smile.
Although the smile looked quite forced.
He had already realized that he had been tricked by the great priest.
But it just can't happen.
The legalization of Leno's illegitimate child still requires the approval of the church. He cannot fall out with the church now, which will completely disrupt his plan.
He knew that the high priest probably also knew this, so he took the opportunity to stand up for the girl from Castel.
The meaning of the Great Priest is actually very simple.
Use the future religious vassalization of the Count of Castres in exchange for the legalization of illegitimate children and the support of the church.
This is the deal.
An unexpected transaction.
But this is not the result that the old Duke wants most.
However, this time it was his turn and he had no choice.
The old Duke's eyes wandered vaguely between the beautiful girl with a fanatical expression, the respectful and obedient old priest Raoul, and the great priest who always smiled like a kind grandfather.
In my heart, I was very confused.
who is it?
Who is it?
Who came up with this hateful and insidious idea?
What a great opportunity to disrupt his plan!
The old Duke did not believe that this plan was proposed by the young Lady Castells. After all, it would not bring any extra benefit to the other party.
Turning to the church would not bring much benefit to the girl. At most, it would only be a temporary shelter. And what the church gave him, he thought he could give, and he would give more and better.
Making this choice is more like the girl didn't trust them, so she sought refuge from the church, or... was it really for faith?
Thinking of this, the Duke narrowed his eyes slightly.
He didn't think that a canary that had been kept in a cage for a long time would have such a profound knowledge, and he was probably abetted.
He also believed that he was very kind to the Castel family. If the girl was sensible and obedient, he really planned to make her the mistress of Bold.
After all...Leno needs a wife of noble birth to smooth over the stain.
But now, everything is out of control.
After thinking about it, the old Duke felt that this was more like a girl being coaxed by a church priest.
It must be those old foxes who took advantage of the young ignorance and spiritual emptiness of Castel's heirs and wanted to expand the church's territory!
Thinking like this, Duke Bold's penetrating gaze soon fell on the two priests.
He smiled faintly, but the fists under his sleeves were slightly clenched.
Taking a deep breath and suppressing the anger in his heart, the old Duke's eyes fell on Charlotte again.
But deep down in his eyes, he was quite cold.
He smiled slightly and said to the girl:
"The sacred light protects us. Although it is regrettable, since Your Excellency Charlotte has made a decision, as devout believers, we must naturally respect it..."
"Of course, people's thoughts will always change, especially when they are young. A year is also full of variables. If Sir Charlotte changes her mind one day in the future, the Boulder family's door will still be open to you.
Open and will always be your solid backing..."
As he said that, the old Duke looked at the high priest beside him and said with a slight greeting:
"Your Majesty the High Priest, can you begin to administer the sacraments to Lenno?"
The high priest was quite satisfied with the Duke's response.
He smiled and nodded:
"Of course, Lord Leno is a true holy knight. He deserves to return to the arms of Bold and restore the glory he deserves."
At this point, the deal is done.
At least it was achieved on the surface.
Next is the agreed process.
Accompanied by ethereal hymns, the high priest bathed in divine light administered the sacrament to Lenno, who was kneeling on one knee.
However, the atmosphere was not particularly warm.
The protagonist Lenno didn't look so happy, he was worried, and he couldn't help but glance in the direction of the church several times.
The nobles also had different expressions, and some of them even became obviously absent-minded.
Although the old Duke was smiling, his smile never changed, and his eyes were cold.
Only the beautiful girl from the Castel family walked quietly to the front of the nobles with a pious face, her face full of enthusiasm and yearning under the illumination of the holy light.
After the sacrament was over, the high priest declined the invitation of the nobles on the grounds of physical discomfort and went to a side hall to rest.
The birthday party continues.
Charlotte's declaration of faith was like a minor episode, seemingly not affecting the progress of the banquet.
But even the dullest noble could feel that the atmosphere of the birthday party was gone.
And after such an episode, the flies surrounding Charlotte disappeared.
Although there were still some young male nobles looking at her eagerly, eager to try, they were quickly stopped by their elders.
The Duke might be on an equal footing with the High Priest.
But not these nobles.
As soon as the heir of Castel said that he would dedicate everything to the church and never marry, someone came to take advantage of him. This was simply a provocation to the church.
Sebas, who had sneaked into the birthday party, felt itchy and wanted to come over and flatter the girl who broke the situation with just a few words, but he shrank back under Charlotte's cold glance.
He has not forgotten Charlotte's words and cannot cause trouble to the other party's current identity.
But he was really curious and excited about the girl's choice.
The actions of the gods will not be without purpose.
Why did the great Lady of the Night decide to "join" the Holy Royal Court?
"Ms. Anna said that the Holy Royal Court played a decisive role in the decline of the Vampire Clan."
"Could it be that...Ms. Dark Night is paving the way for revenge against the Holy Royal Court in the future?"
"As expected of a great being who has returned from ancient times! As soon as he recovered, he focused his attention on the most powerful church in the world and began his far-reaching plan!"
"Returning to the kingdom of the Lord... Haha, I'm afraid it's time for the great Lady of the Night to return to the throne and rule Miria. It's hard to say who is returning to whose kingdom!"
Sebastian's eyes were extremely hot and he was secretly excited.
It's interesting to say that he obviously didn't want to get involved in the battle between the gods, but at this moment, he was really involved in the competition between the true gods, and he became excited instead.
He could feel that he was witnessing great history!
No one came to disturb Charlotte, so she could enjoy the delicious food at the banquet freely.
She was quite satisfied with the church's approval, and finally solved a trouble she had been having these days.
Let’s say that the United Church was an idea that Charlotte had after she was assassinated.
There is no force more suitable than the church to deal with the eager dukes and duchy nobles.
Unlike the aristocrats who have no bottom line, the church is at least openly upright. Although it is also very interested in expanding its land, it is not as crazy as the aristocrats.
As long as Charlotte behaves piously enough, she can even gain quite a few fans and supporters among the church's priests.
There is no doubt that compared to the Duke's Palace, the church is Charlotte's best choice.
The black cat Nice and the priest who went to the manor to take the girl to worship some time ago are the bridge between her and the church, and the old priest Raoul is her guide.
Through Nice, Charlotte already knew that the high priest of the Principality of Boulder was planning to run for the chief priest.
This old priest needs a feat to increase his bargaining chip.
Being willing to administer sacraments to Lenno, an illegitimate son, was a deal he made to gain the support of the Duke of Bold.
And an opportunity that allows the church to expand its theocratic territory, add a new theocratic territory in the future, and at the same time be able to preach to the north where the church's tentacles are temporarily out of reach... is undoubtedly more precious than the support of a duke.
Charlotte knew that as long as she proposed it, the high priest would definitely not refuse.
As a matter of fact, the high priest spoke better than she thought and didn't even ask her to take an oath.
So, Charlotte successfully exchanged the church's asylum with the promise of the future!
The band from Luna Bay continued to perform music, and Charlotte, who was looking relaxed, even felt that even the music was pleasant to the ears.
The banquet standard of the Duke's family was quite good. Charlotte compared it and felt that the various delicacies were no worse than those of the Castel family, especially the drinks, which were even slightly better and the milk was more mellow.
While the girl was enjoying the delicious food, a priest suddenly came to visit and saluted her respectfully:
"Lord Charlotte, the high priest would like to invite you to have a chat."
Charlotte's heart moved and she quickly stood up:
"I see."
Under the complicated gazes of the nobles, Charlotte Shihran entered the side hall where the high priest rested.
There was only one high priest in the side hall, and the old priest was admiring the religious paintings on the wall.
He is kind, gentle, and extremely holy, just like the grandfather next door. He does not look like a strong man of the third level of the Blazing Sun at all, and he does not have the strong sense of oppression like Duke Bold at all.
Charlotte took a deep breath, pinched the corners of her skirt, bowed gracefully, and said respectfully:
"Charlotte de Castel, I have met the High Priest."
Looking at the girl who was bowing respectfully, the high priest smiled slightly, his pure eyes full of appreciation.
He nodded slightly and pointed to the chair:
"Sit down, you're welcome."
"Thank you, great priest."
Charlotte sat down gracefully.
Looking at the girl's innocent and tender face, the high priest couldn't help but sigh:
"It's great to be young...the future is yours, but we...are already old."
"Charlotte, you are very good. I heard from Raoul that your faith is very compatible with our Lord's, and you are very loved by the Holy Light."
Having said this, the great priest smiled happily:
"The church needs people like you!"
"Don't worry, with the support of the church, no one can stop you from inheriting the title next year."
"When you go to the territory, the church will also send a team of demon hunting knights to personally escort you to the Castel territory."
After hearing the words of the high priest, Charlotte saluted respectfully, her voice was delicate and soft, with the joy of a girl:
"Thank you, Great Priest, you are so kind!"
The great priest was immediately happy.
He laughed, waved his hand gently, and said lovingly:
"Small things, at our age, the only thing we like to do is support the younger generations."
After saying that, he looked solemn again:
"As long as you can remember what you said and remember... the glory of our Lord."
Charlotte also looked solemn.
She drew a standard cross on her chest, her eyes were extremely pious and fanatical:
"Of course, Charlotte will never forget the Holy Light of our Lord, and Charlotte will always be a devout holy believer!"
Looking at the girl's clear and pure eyes, the great priest was even more satisfied:
"That's good, don't worry, kid, as long as your heart is toward our Lord, the divine light will protect you forever."
"Hahaha, by the way, I heard from Raoul that you also like to drink milk. Come and try it. This is a high-end product that I brought from the royal capital, and it has been specially preserved with a magic circle!"
As if remembering something, the high priest laughed, picked up the kettle on the table, poured a glass of milk for himself and the girl, and then drank it alone, with a look of enjoyment on his face.
I wipe it!
Why does it feel like the whole world knows that I like drinking milk?
The corners of Charlotte's mouth twitched vaguely.
Looking at the milk in front of her, she hesitated a little.
There was nothing she could do, the psychological shadow left by her crazy criticizing grandmother was too great for her.
Even if she knew this was a principality, the high priest probably just wanted to treat her to a glass of milk and get close to...
After thinking about it, Charlotte stood up and gently picked up the cup, but when she sat down, she suddenly accidentally spilled all the milk on her skirt.
"oops……"
She exclaimed and stood up suddenly, seemingly at a loss.
Seeing the milk quickly spreading on the girl's skirt, the high priest was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly took out a gauze scarf from his arms and handed it over:
"Are you okay? Quickly wipe it."
"Thank you, High Priest...I'm sorry...Charlotte was too excited and accidentally didn't hold it properly..."
The girl took the gauze scarf and wiped the white liquid on her body with a guilty look on her face.
"It's okay, just wipe it off."
The high priest waved his hand nonchalantly.
The girl wiped it, but her skirt was dirty after all.
Looking at the dirty dress, her eyes hesitated. After some tangle, she stood up and bowed:
"Master High Priest, I'm very sorry...Charlotte is rude. Please allow Charlotte to leave for a while and change into a new dress."
The great priest nodded and said with a smile:
"It's okay, go ahead, I'm too enthusiastic and scared you."
"Haha, it's getting late, and I happen to be tired. If you have the opportunity in the future, you are welcome to come to the cathedral as a guest."
"Thank you, Great Priest."
Charlotte bowed respectfully and then left slowly.
It wasn't until the girl's figure completely disappeared that the high priest's smile gradually faded away.
He was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly stood up gently and came to the place where the girl had just been sitting. He stroked the chair slowly and gently, lowered his head at the same time, and took a deep breath intoxicatedly and greedily, as if he was feeling the remaining warmth and fragrance of the girl...
…
Picking up the silk scarf left by the girl after wiping her body, he put it between his nose and took a deep breath intoxicated. A kind smile bloomed on the old face again, with a kind of morbid greed and desire: