CHAPTER 525: SUMMON OF LOUIS V

Regarding the King’s summons, Charlotte was not surprised.

Although she had slacked off during the Central Council, the Castel Domain had indeed become independent from Bold; as the wealthiest territory in the Bold Duchy and a partner in the royal family’s secret silver mine, Louis V was bound to meet her.

Charlotte vaguely guessed what topics the other party would discuss.

After all, the origin of the Bold-Castel war had also occurred with the tacit approval of His Majesty the King.

However, the ultimate victor was Charlotte.

Charlotte was not pretentious.

She graciously received the royal decree from the Royal Knight and then boarded the carriage prepared by the Royal Knights under Sebastian’s escort.

However, apart from the royal carriage that came to pick her up, Charlotte had also arranged for another carriage to follow behind them.

"Count, this..."

Looking at the bulging carriage, the Royal Knight was somewhat puzzled.

"These are gifts for meeting His Majesty and some special products from the Northern Land; if you are worried, you may inspect them,"

Charlotte said with a smile.

When meeting the King, it’s better to bring some gifts than to come empty-handed, although Charlotte did not plan to get too close to the royal family, but at least they were not her enemies for now.

Louis V’s tacit approval of Philip’s war was actually because she had "leaned towards" the Church first, and after her victory, the King had not made life difficult for her.

Hearing Charlotte’s words, the lead Royal Knight bowed and apologized, then ordered the other knights to check the vehicles.

Moments later, the knights inspecting the vehicle nodded, and the lead Royal Knight said to Charlotte:

"Count, there are no problems, we can go now."

"Then, let’s depart."

Charlotte nodded slightly and closed the carriage’s curtain.

The carriage slowly started moving, carrying the young lady towards the Royal Palace.

...

The New Moon Kingdom’s Royal Palace was located in the heart of Lutecia, the Royal Capital, directly facing the Royal Square, the Central Council Hall, and the Lutecia Cathedral.

As the political center of the New Moon Kingdom, the New Moon Palace was quite magnificent and splendid, with its main body being a grand palace called the New Moon Palace.

It was a typical building of the New Moon Kingdom, similar to the Baroque style Charlotte knew from her past life; the entire New Moon Palace was built from huge stones, with its walls embellished with exquisite sculptures and decorations, and its roof adorned with grand spires and luxurious domes.

There were no walls surrounding the New Moon Palace, but rather it was embraced by vast gardens and lawns. The gardens were arranged symmetrically with neatly trimmed bushes and were vibrant with flowers and lush greenery, and around the gardens, one could see decorative marble sculptures and porticos.

However, what attracted Charlotte’s attention the most was the massive fountain in front of the main entrance to the New Moon Palace, visible from afar.

It was the largest fountain Charlotte had ever seen, possibly about thirty meters high and nearly fifty meters wide, with the sound of water like thunder.

In the center of the fountain stood a large marble statue depicting Louis V on horseback, leading the Imperial Knights of the New Moon in the final battle of the Star Moon War...

The sculpture was lifelike, almost as if it were Louis V himself, reportedly crafted by the most skilled Half-Elf artisans from the Moon God Coast City States, a true masterpiece.

No, not just the fountain.

In fact, as Charlotte knew, the current entire New Moon Palace was built by Louis V on the ruins of the old palace, larger and far more luxurious than the old palace that was burned down by the Falling Star Army during the Star Moon War.

Although there were no walls for protection, Royal Knights in full armor were scattered everywhere inside and outside the palace.

In Charlotte’s perception, these patrolling Royal Knights were quite formidable; even the weakest among them held a Starry rank, most were Silver Moon, and there were even some Blazing Sun.

These knights, although known as "Royal Knights," many actually also held other noble titles, and most were direct descendants of the noble lords of the New Moon, or were the lords themselves.

For the nobles of the New Moon, joining the Royal Knight Order and becoming Imperial Knights was also a matter of honor.

Apart from the patrolling Royal Knights, Charlotte also vaguely sensed the flow of magic power.

Without changing her expression, she followed the direction of the magic flow and soon found magic inscriptions for constructing Arrays decorated in various patterns on the spires of the palace.

These were inscriptions for defensive and alert Magic Arrays.

Clearly, although the New Moon Palace no longer had walls like the old castle-like Royal Palace, it still maintained the security of the palace on a higher level.

Curiously peering through the carriage window at the palace, Charlotte remained observant until the carriage finally stopped in front of the main entrance to the New Moon Palace.

"Count Castel, we have arrived."

The respectful voice of the Royal Knight came from outside the carriage.

Charlotte nodded, then, with Sebastian’s ceremonial support, stepped down from the carriage.

She looked at the luxurious and towering archway of the New Moon Palace and then entered the palace accompanied by the Royal Knight.

Sebastian, however, was stopped and not allowed to enter.

The King had summoned Charlotte, not him; in such places as the Royal Palace, no one else had the right to enter without the royal family’s command.

"Master, I will just wait outside the Royal Palace for you, and hand over the gifts to His Majesty as well."

Sebastian said.