Chapter 386 Chapter 42 Kingdom Central Conference

early morning.

When the first ray of sunlight hadn't illuminated the earth, the heavily armed guard knights and city guards organized and rushed to various places in Lutetia.

Today is the day when the Central Conference of the Kingdom is held, and the inner city has been under martial law early. Although citizens are not prohibited from traveling, the solemn atmosphere and heavily armed guards still make people subconsciously avoid the main road leading to the Royal Square.

And in various parts of the inner city, the manors and villas belonging to the nobles were also lit up early in the early morning. As the first white belly emerged from the east, all kinds of luxurious carriages set off from various places in the capital, like The converging streams generally flow to the central avenue of the inner city, and then go straight to the Royal Square.

Charlotte also got up early.

Today, she arranged her long golden hair into curls, and chose a Unet-style aristocratic dress. The base tone is still black, with golden patterns, narrow shoulders, thin waist, and a skirt on the lower body. It is more swollen and plump, making her look more mature and dignified.

After a brief breakfast, Charlotte, accompanied by Sebastian and others, boarded the carriage and headed for the central council hall.

The central council hall is located on the side of the Royal Square, facing the Lutetia Cathedral across the square, and is located on both sides of the palace on the left and right. The three Lutetia landmarks are arranged in a triangle.

When the carriage of the Castel family slowly entered the square with the huge procession of nobles, it was almost an hour later.

"Master, we have arrived."

The carriage stopped slowly, and Sebastian's respectful voice came from outside the carriage.

Charlotte let out a "hmm", and then got out of the carriage with the help of Shirley.

The Royal Square in Lutetia is very large, it is said to be 500,000 square meters, but at this moment, almost two-thirds of the square is already full of noble carriages, each of which is more luxurious than the other. All kinds of family crests are even more dazzling.

When Charlotte got out of the carriage, she immediately felt a series of distant or near eyes focused on her body.

There are nobles, and there are knights and guards on guard.

And along with the sight, there are people's whispers:

"It's the Castel family, the young Countess."

"Pearl of Polder, fairest maiden of the new moon?"

"She seemed more beautiful in person than in portrait."

"Elegant, beautiful and dignified, it is indeed as fascinating as the rumors..."

"Young, rich, and capable, it's a pity that you can't get married."

"After all, she is the Holy Maiden of the God Lord. It is said that she caused a miracle in the cathedral a few days ago, even the High Priest, the Chief Judge, and the Cardinal Hunter were alarmed."

"What? A miracle? True or false?"

"Of course it's true. This is news from within the church. If it wasn't for the incident of the Blood Demon Sect, it would have spread long ago."

"Hiss... Is New Moon finally going to produce a saint?"

"This is not clear. The church's reaction seems a bit strange. It has not officially announced the canonization yet. I don't know if it is the influence of the past few days. Some people say that she seems to be dissatisfied with the church."

"Dissatisfied with the church? Her?"

"I don't know the specifics. The church's tone is quite strict. The only thing that is certain is that it seems to take her very seriously."

"..."

The people's discussions continued to spread into Charlotte's ears. Although they all deliberately lowered their voices, Charlotte still heard them clearly with their keen perception.

She is also used to it. As the protagonist of the Boulder-Castel War and one of the sources of this central meeting, she is already ready to be the focus.

By the way, you can also hear some additional news.

However, her eavesdropping didn't last long.

Because soon, some nobles came forward to greet her.

"Good morning, beautiful lady. Are you the Earl of Castel? I am Bono from the Dawn family. Nice to meet you."

"Hello Earl Castel, I am Earl Durant, you look so beautiful today."

"..."

The nobles who came to greet each other were more enthusiastic than each other, and almost all of them were members of the big families of the New Moon Kingdom.

And even if it wasn't from a big family, it was often the new nobles of the kingdom, especially those new nobles who started their business by trade and alchemy products.

Charlotte also smiled and returned the salutes one by one.

Unlike when they were in Boulder, although most of the nobles who came to greet her praised her appearance, almost none of them showed courteousness to her, and most of them just expressed their kindness enthusiastically.

On the one hand, Charlotte's previous declaration of celibacy played a role; good.

This is not only because of the Boulder-Castel War, which allowed the lords of the kingdom to see the strength of the Castel family, but also because of the Castel family's mithril mine...

The only difference is that the big families are more equal and more respectful, while the upstarts and smaller families are more respectful.

In short, although it is not possible to reach the stars, Charlotte is still very hot.

And just as Charlotte greeted the nobles with a smile, the surrounding voices suddenly quieted down.

Charlotte's heart moved slightly, and when she looked up, she saw two middle-aged nobles in gorgeous clothes walking side by side.

Behind them, there were many other nobles, who looked like they were leading the way.

One of them was wearing aristocratic clothing with a crescent crescent coat of arms, and his figure was thin, while the other looked more rigid and serious, with the coat of arms of a sword and a griffin hanging on his chest.

Charlotte's heart skipped a beat.

These turned out to be two acquaintances.

Among them, the nobleman with the crescent moon pattern painted on the robe is Charlotte's old acquaintance, who leased the No. 7 manor on Riverside Street to her Moon Guardian Duke John de Andro.

And the other, although he had not met directly, Charlotte was "fortunate" to meet him once in the sacred and eternal realm of the church. He was also one of the nine Dukes of the kingdom, Theodore, Duke of Prutz DePrutz.

This combination surprised Charlotte.

As far as she knew, the Duke of the Guardian of the Moon was a staunch royalist and a strong supporter of King Louis V's strengthening of centralization.

As for the Duke of Prutz, he is a member of the Three Princes Party. Although he has no direct conflict of interest with the Royal Party, he is more conservative politically.

"Your Excellency, Count Castel, long time no see, how does it feel to live in the manor?"

Duke Yuehu was the first to say hello, as enthusiastic as ever.

Charlotte saluted slightly and said with a smile:

"Very good, my lord, thank you for your help. It is my luck to find such a comfortable manor in the inner city of Lutetia."

"Haha, you came too late! There are a lot of nobles who have entered the capital these days, and almost all the manors in the inner city can be rented. I also just heard that your housekeeper is looking for a place to stay. Thinking of myself There is still one empty, so I did it smoothly."

Charlotte smiled:

"You did it smoothly, but it solved the trouble for the Castel family."

Then, she apologized again:

"Unfortunately, I haven't been able to visit you in person these days."

"Haha, even if you want to visit, I have to decline. The Central Council has its own rules, but... After the meeting, we can choose a time to get together. Some of my old friends are very interested in Cass. Tell's Mithril Mine is of great interest."

Duke Yuehu laughed.

Charlotte also laughed:

"Then I'll just look forward to it."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and it was a verbal agreement on the gathering after the central meeting. This is also one of the purposes of Charlotte's trip to the royal capital this time, to open up the connection between the northern land and the central nobles.

Afterwards, she glanced at Duke Prutz next to Duke Yuehu, and noticing her gaze, Duke Yuehu slapped his head and said:

"Look at how impatient I am! I forgot to introduce you. This is the Duke of Prutz, the kingdom's most promising noble knight. He is also very interested in the minerals in the Northland."

Charlotte pinched the corner of her skirt and saluted gracefully:

"Master Duke Prutz."

Duke Prutz also nodded as a response.

Seeing the lukewarm attitude of the two, Duke Yuehu scratched his head, hesitated, and said:

"Cough...Your Excellency Earl, I know that you have some opinions on some nobles because of the matter of the third prince. However, Your Excellency Prutz is not as rumored...well...In short, the central nobles are as complicated as the central nobles. Sometimes We have no choice, and we are helpless."

Charlotte's heart moved slightly, realizing that it was Duke Yuehu who was implying that she didn't have to be hostile to Duke Prutz because of the third prince.

In fact, she didn't have any hostility at all. Although she felt the hostility from the other party in the sacred and eternal realm, it was only the evolution of the spiritual world, and it was a psychological hint naturally brought about by the label of the Three Princes Party.

Now face to face, she didn't feel any negative emotions from the other party at all.

It's just that the Duke of Prutz is obviously a taciturn person, and Charlotte is essentially a passive person, so there is nothing to say.

Of course, since Duke Yuehu explained kindly, she would naturally appreciate it.

"Master Duke, I know that the third prince is the third prince, and the nobles of the kingdom are the nobles of the kingdom."

she said with a smile.

Seeing Charlotte's candid gaze, Duke Yuehu also heaved a sigh of relief, and his smile became brighter.

The three of them walked towards the council hall together while chatting.

The other nobles automatically stepped aside.

However, after walking a few steps, the surrounding voices became quiet again.

Charlotte's heart moved, and she looked to one side, only to see Eleanor coming from the other direction, accompanied by Earl Gaston.

The two sides soon met at the gate of the parliament hall.

A series of gazes came from all directions, all falling on Charlotte and Eleanor.

For a while, the atmosphere in front of the chamber was a little weird.

The Duke of Moonguard looked at Eleanor, then at Charlotte, with a hesitant expression.

And Charlotte smiled slightly at Eleanor, and said openly:

"Lord Eleanor, long time no see, you seem to be recovering well."

Eleanor looked at Charlotte with a complicated look on her face. She sighed and said gratefully:

"Charlotte, long time no see, thank you very much for your help before."

Hearing Eleanor's words, Duke Yuehu was stunned for a moment.

It wasn't that he was surprised by Eleanor's gratitude. In fact, Earl Castel "rescued" the Duchess of Bold from the hands of the third prince.

What made him curious was that there seemed to be some other emotions in Eleanor's tone besides gratitude.

That seems to be... respect?

Respect?

A duke to an earl? !

Duke Yuehu felt that he might be crazy, but with years of experience, he was sure that he was right.

Could it be... because of Earl Castel's "Saint" status?

Duke Moonguard was curious, and on the other side, Charlotte had already finished greeting Eleanor.

After Eleanor greeted the other two dukes slightly, she entered the council hall. Looking at each other's backs, Duke Yuehu said curiously:

"Your Excellency, the relationship between you and the Duke of Bold is a bit surprising."

Charlotte smiled and said:

"Bold is Bold, and the third prince is the third prince. Ms. Eleanor and I have a pretty good personal relationship, but politics cannot be mixed with personal emotions."

Duke Yuehu listened, thoughtful.

Charlotte stopped explaining, but glanced at the hall and said:

"My lord, let's go in too."

Duke Yuehu nodded slightly, and entered the central council hall together with Duke Prutz and Charlotte.

The Kingdom's Central Council Hall is also a well-known landmark in Lutetia. It is also a Gothic palace with a very large interior space.

The first feeling when entering the parliament hall, Charlotte remembered the luxuriously decorated classical halls in previous Western-style literary works. The entire parliament hall was semicircular. The space is so large that it might not be a problem to accommodate a thousand people.

In the council hall, almost two-thirds of the nobles were seated. When Charlotte entered, a waiter soon led the way and took her to the corresponding position.

There is also a saying about the seat in the parliament.

On the high platform in the front, the king's throne is placed in the center, the queen's throne is on the left side of the throne, and the high priest's seat is on the right side.

Below the high platform, there are seats for the nobility. There are many seats for the nobility, and the most eye-catching ones are the twelve seats that are more gorgeous than the other seats.

It belonged to the lords of the twelve princes of the kingdom, including the dukes of the nine kingdoms, and the officiant of the three theocratic princes.

The Duke of Moonguard, Eleanor and the others were quickly led to the twelve seats. Among them, the Duke of Moonguard was in the second seat, the Duke of Prutz was in the seventh seat, and Eleanor was in the twelfth seat. .

As for Charlotte, she was brought under the lords of the Twelve Dukes, the first seat among the remaining noble seats.

"My lord, this is your seat."

The waiter is respectful and authentic.

Charlotte moved slightly in her heart, nodded and sat down.

In the central council of the kingdom, the position of the seat originally represented the identity and status, the higher the status, the higher the front.

Undoubtedly, Charlotte, who defeated the Principality of Boulder and owns a large and wealthy territory, has been regarded as the number one person under the duke, and even some marquises in the kingdom are even ranked behind her seat , just side by side with her.

Although Castel is still an upstart in the kingdom, the family background and strength have already been recognized by the nobles and the royal family.

The nobles took their seats one after another, and the chairs of the twelve princes and lords were filled one after another, and the dukes and chief priests took their seats one after another.

Except for the first seat, the fifth seat, and the ninth seat are still vacant.

It belonged to the Duke Gaston who had been deprived of his title, another duke who was imprisoned and deposed, and the princess who was replaced by the holy royal court.

Among them, the Duke of Gaston, who is the first seat, has even been revoked his title. In the future, even his seat may be completely removed. , because the newly appointed Duke and Priest have not been formally appointed, so they have no right to attend.

After all the nobles were seated, the melodious music sounded, and the royal knights with shiny armor surrounded several gorgeously dressed nobles and clergy on the high platform.

The two leaders are one wearing a crown, holding a scepter, and wearing a dark blue shawl decorated with crescent moon patterns, and the other wearing a white holy robe inlaid with gold, holding the "Holy Book".

It was King Louis V and the Priest of the Crescent.