CHAPTER 534: -47- CHURCH DIVISION_2

And what was even more rare, is that over 80% of the ingredients were transcendent materials. The meat came from demon beasts, the vegetables from magical plants, and even the staple bread contained magic power.

Charlotte ate to her heart’s content.

Besides King Louis V, also dining together was the Queen of the New Moon Kingdom.

The Queen was much younger than Louis V, looking around forty years old. According to Charlotte’s knowledge, she was Louis V’s third wife and the only one without offspring.

As for the Second Prince of New Moon... it was said that he had gone to the Church Authority Country for exchange and study, so he did not attend.

"Humph, what a rebellious son! As a prince, he has no interest in governing the country and instead runs to the Church every day! The shame of Valva!" Louis V grumbled as they had lunch and served the after-meal refreshments, while chatting with the two of them.

Charlotte remained noncommittal.

Apart from the Eldest Prince, who had fallen in the Star Moon War, and the Third Prince, who had recently been executed, Louis V now had only the Second Prince as his sole heir.

Unfortunately, the Second Prince had no interest in politics, absorbed in theology instead.

Quite a few of the conservative nobles liked the Second Prince, but that certainly did not include Louis V himself.

Clearly, Louis V was not satisfied with his primary heir.

"François is still young; as he grows older, he will understand your difficulties," the Queen said in a soft voice, trying to console him.

"Humph, young? He is already thirty-five! With this attitude, he has no qualification to inherit the throne!" Louis V retorted with dissatisfaction.

Charlotte merely listened without speaking.

She was pondering what Louis V meant by saying these things.

The King’s dissatisfaction with the Second Prince was common knowledge in the kingdom.

Some nobles believed that after the fall of the Third Prince, even if the King were unsatisfied with the Second Prince, he would have no choice but to install him in power. However, it now seemed that Louis V might not think so.

Charlotte knew that Louis V’s words, which seemed to be complaints, were actually meant for her to hear.

Or, more precisely, he intended to convey a message to the nobles through her.

Even with the execution of the Third Prince, the Second Prince would not be made the successor!

Could it be... Louis V intended to find an heir from a branch of the Valva Family?

Charlotte thoughtfully considered this.

At this moment, she recalled several possible candidates from the branches of the Valva Family.

The Valva Family was dwindling in numbers, and even when considering near branches that had separated off, the pool of candidates was limited.

For instance, John de Anlo, the Moon Guardian Duke, who was a posthumous child of the previous king; or the few nephews who Louis V had ennobled as Earls.

Most of these royal nobles were supporters of centralized power. It was unknown whom Louis V would favor.

Evidently, Louis V wanted to tell the nobles not to count on climbing up by hanging on to the Second Prince’s coattails for a share in power.

But Charlotte had some doubts.

Louis V was so dominant, and he placed such importance on the strengthening of centralized power.

This man, had he never truly considered how to cultivate a qualified successor to carry out his will?

Charlotte felt that there was a slight dissonance in all this.

...

After having lunch with the Royal Family, Charlotte took her leave from the Royal Palace.

She did not mention the issue of the Castel family’s succession after her declaration of staying single, nor did Louis V ask.

It was a kind of tacit agreement, perhaps.

The Valva Family was dwindling, but the Castel family had only Charlotte as its sole heir.

Other families that had marital alliances with the Castel family could indeed claim to have a stake in the Northern Land, but such claims had their own standings: the first generation was the strongest, the second generation would weaken, and by the third generation, it would weaken further and oftentimes was no longer recognized.

As for the fourth generation... that was completely null and void.

The external marital alliances of the Castel family were almost all from Charlotte’s grandfather’s generation. Her father’s generation was also scarce in numbers, with only an aunt who married into the Bold family.

This means that although there are quite a few nobles currently claiming the Castel title, they are either too old or their claims are too weak to be considered a threat.

Unfortunately for them, Charlotte is young.

As long as Charlotte lives long enough to outlast those with stronger claims among her distant relatives, the Castel family will completely lack a blood heir.

Now a vassal of the King, should the Castel family die out without another claimant, the Royal Family has the right to reclaim the title and fief.

And this is probably the largest reason Louis V could accept the Castel family.

If Charlotte remains unmarried, the Northern Lands will belong to the Valva Family in the future, and as long as the Castel family’s marriage alliances are not dead, not only will the Royal Family not lay a hand on Charlotte, but they might even need to ensure her safety.

Until... Charlotte also returns to the "Divine Country."

Leaving the Royal Palace, Charlotte met up with Sebastian, who had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Charlotte, the elf butler let out a sigh of relief:

"Master, you’ve finally come out."

"What? Were you worried I wouldn’t be able to come out?"

Charlotte asked with a smile.

Sebastian scratched his head:

"That’s not quite it, but the King is after all a legendary figure, so there was still some concern..."

Charlotte laughed:

"Don’t worry, everything went smoothly, no, should I say it couldn’t have gone more smoothly."

She then roughly explained her "agreement" with Louis V.

Upon hearing her words, Sebastian’s eyes lit up:

"Full-fledged protection? Doesn’t that mean... when the Nais Clan makes a move against the Falling Star Kingdom, we can directly intervene, refuse entry to the Church’s armed forces without worrying about the Church’s pressure?"

Charlotte nodded:

"Naturally, the King will be the one to take the blame."

Charlotte had a pact with the Nais Clan, secretly supporting them to reclaim the control of the Falling Star Kingdom, expel the Church’s power, and in exchange, she would receive the title and lands of the Romany Duchy.

This support wasn’t merely material, but also political, and it was bound to offend the Church.

But with Louis V’s direct protection, things were different.

If the Church struck against an Earl under a Duke, as long as it was justifiable, the King could only watch and at most offer condemnation, for my vassal’s vassal is not my vassal.

But for a Kingdom vassal...

Gauging Louis V’s attitude toward the Church, he would probably be very happy to step in on this matter, taking the hit on behalf of Charlotte.

Thinking of Louis V’s assertiveness with the Church, an idea struck Charlotte:

"Sebastian, exactly how many legends are there in the Valva Family? Are there any hidden powers?"

Sebastian was taken aback for a moment, then pondered:

"I don’t think so? There should only be the King, I have never heard of any other hidden forces."

"Strange, how does Louis V have the confidence to confront the Church directly? Lutecia alone has three legendary clergymen."

"Master, to be more accurate, the King is confronting the New Moon Diocese, not the entire Holy Royal Court. This involves a schism within the Church itself."

"Oh? Tell me more."

A flicker of interest crossed Charlotte’s face.

The Church’s scriptures never discuss its dark history, and she admitted she was genuinely interested now.

After some thought, Sebastian replied:

"Master, this dates back to hundreds of years ago when the Holy Royal Court reformed the Holy Legion."

"At the height of the Holy Royal Court’s glory, the strongest force was the Holy Legion, which was invincible in conquests and directly controlled by the Church Authority Country. It crushed any enemy who dared to stand before the Royal Court, and as a result, the Church Authority Country conquered the continent and ruled over the world, dividing many dioceses according to geographical positions."

"However, as time passed, the cost of maintaining the Holy Legion grew higher, and corruption within the Legion increased. Eventually, the Church Authority Country had to reform and reorganize the Holy Legion into Local Judge Forces."

"Since then, the Church Authority Country has struggled to maintain suppression over the various dioceses. Although the Holy Royal Court as a whole remains powerful, the internal distribution of power within the Court has been turned upside down. Dioceses have risen, and the Church Authority Country has declined."

"To this day, although the Church Authority Country is still the leader of the Royal Court, the various dioceses have evolved into semi-independent Divine Authority Dukes..."

"Hence, when the King acts against the New Moon Diocese, as long as he doesn’t affect the core interests of the Church, which is ’faith’, the Church Authority Country is pleased to see the diocese weakened."