Gospel of Blood

The experience in the outer hall of the library was just a minor episode.

Under the guidance of the librarian, Charlotte quickly entered the restricted area of the library.

Of course, this so-called restricted area was only off-limits to ordinary nobles. For true high-ranking nobles and exceptionally gifted individuals, entry was still possible.

Instead of a restricted area, it was more like a VIP zone.

“Countess, this is the inner section of the Royal Library, which holds a total of fifty thousand volumes. It contains all sorts of extraordinary materials collected by the kingdom, including some rare meditation methods and magic books. Additionally, there are many valuable illustrations, extraordinary secrets, and historical records not available to the public.”

“According to your pass, you may freely browse the collection here. However, if you wish to take any books out or perform magical engravings, you will need to exchange them with books of equivalent value from your own collection.”

The librarian explained respectfully.

Charlotte nodded slightly.

She had heard about the regulations of the Royal Library. In fact, despite being repeatedly destroyed by wars throughout history, the library not only survived but continued to expand its collection, thanks to such rules.

Nobles were very protective of their extraordinary knowledge, tightly guarding it. Only the Royal Library had the authority to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, and nobles were happy to have such a place.

Especially after the royal family won a war or revoked the title of a major noble, the popularity of the library would often surge because nobles knew that the library’s collection would increase.

Of course, Charlotte knew that the royal family would keep the truly high-level knowledge and secrets for themselves.

However, she came here mainly to try her luck and supplement Castell’s collection, thereby strengthening her own foundation.

The Crescent Kingdom’s royal family used the Royal Library, a treasure trove of information, to unite the nobility. As someone attempting to spread her own “faith”, Charlotte could do the same to unite her “followers.”

“Also, although I believe you won’t do so, as the librarian, I must remind you not to use any magic here, especially mental, spatial, or elemental magic.”

“The Royal Library has a strict monitoring array. If any magic is used, it will be detected, and you will lose your access to the library forever.”

“In the past, anyone who attempted to cast magic in the Royal Library, even the heir of a duke, faced severe punishment.”

The librarian added, looking serious.

This rule was to prevent anyone from stealing extraordinary knowledge or causing damage to the library.

Mental magic could temporarily enhance memory or directly imprint knowledge. Spatial magic could potentially remove books from the library, and elemental magic, being highly destructive, was naturally prohibited.

“Thank you for the reminder, sir.”

Charlotte said with a smile.

The librarian smiled back.

“Then, Countess, I shall take my leave. If you need any specific type of information, feel free to ask the equipped automatons in the library. I hope you find the knowledge you seek.”

Charlotte nodded slightly.

“Thank you.”

The librarian bowed courteously and left.

Charlotte looked around and soon spotted a humanoid alchemy golem nearby.

“Countess, I am Jupiter, the administrator of the Royal Library’s restricted area, at your service.”

The alchemy golem greeted her stiffly, its voice mechanical.

Charlotte was amazed. This must be the creation of some high-ranking magicians or even Legendary magicians, a form of alchemical life.

“Thank you, I’d like to see the history section.”

Charlotte said.

“The history section is on the second shelf of the third spiral. If you need more specific information, Jupiter can assist you further.”

Charlotte shook her head.

“No, I’ll just browse.”

With that, Charlotte went to the shelf indicated by the alchemy golem.

The Royal Library lived up to its reputation as the most extensive and resource-rich library in the Crescent Kingdom.

Upon reaching the target shelf, Charlotte found many valuable historical records.

Particularly concerning the history of the Crescent Kingdom, there were detailed accounts of the Blood Demon Cult’s overthrow of the kingdom.

The Blood Demon Cult’s subversion of the Crescent Kingdom began 750 years ago, fifty years after the kingdom’s founding, and they secretly ruled the kingdom for two hundred years.

The books described how the cult initially infiltrated the court, deceiving the founding ancestor of the Crescent Kingdom, who was from the Valva family, in his old age, and took control of the court.

That period was described as a dark age for the kingdom, which lasted until the royal family, with the help of the Holy Court, overthrew the Bloodborne’s rule two hundred years later.

Since then, the Blood Demon Cult has repeatedly attempted to subvert the kingdom, but all their efforts have been thwarted, up to the present day.

After browsing some of these records, Charlotte gained a deeper understanding of the Crescent Kingdom’s nobility’s hostility and vigilance toward bloodbornes.

Of course, history is written by the victors, and these records were only for reference, not to be fully trusted.

What disappointed Charlotte, though not unexpectedly, was the complete lack of historical records from earlier periods, especially the Blood Moon Era, in the restricted section of the library.

Although she had anticipated this to some extent, she couldn’t help but feel a bit disheartened when she found nothing.

However, just as Charlotte gave up on browsing the history section and decided to look at extraordinary-related books, an old book caught her eye.

It was a book titled “Song of the Blood Moon.”

This book was not categorized as history or mythology but as artistic poetry.

Curious, Charlotte opened it and found that it was a collection of poems singing the legends of the Bloodborne.

“Poems about bloodborne legends? Shouldn’t this be classified under mythology? Why is it in the artistic creation section?”

Charlotte’s curiosity grew.

The text was ancient, but with the knowledge of ancient languages she had painstakingly learned through mental magic over the past year, Charlotte managed to read it smoothly.

The poems recounted the rise and fall of the bloodborne ancestors, describing how the ambitious True Ancestor of Blood defeated the Gods and unified the continent for the first time, only to eventually go astray in the pursuit of greater power, leading to Her madness and self-destruction.

If it were just these stories, the book would rightly belong to the mythology category.

However, the problem lay in the book’s mention of the Creator God Harald.

In the poems, the Creator God Harald was depicted as a follower and successor of the True Ancestor of Blood. He was a bloodborne who mastered the power of creation, the ancestor of the Royal Blood Clan, and the one who ultimately defeated the mad True Ancestor.

The poems even described the first meeting between the True Ancestor of Blood and Harald, when the Progenitor, recognizing the young Harald’s potential, imparted the knowledge of bloodline awakening.

When Charlotte read this, she was stunned.

Because, except for the omission of Lilith, the description of the first meeting between the True Ancestor of Blood and Harald, and the imparting of extraordinary knowledge, was exactly like her experience during her “time travel”!

Even the words she had spoken to Harald were identical!

“A follower of the True Ancestor of Blood, the origin of the Royal Blood Clan, huh…”

Charlotte’s eyelid twitched, her heart surging with emotion.

If an ordinary person read this, they would think it was utter nonsense, blasphemous even, and it being categorized as artistic creation would make perfect sense. In fact, it could be deemed heretical and destroyed.

It was a miracle this book survived at all.

But after finishing the story of the True Ancestor and the Creator God, Charlotte felt that the descriptions in the book… were very likely true.

“Could it be… that my time travel was real? The Harald I encountered was indeed the Creator God Harald? And I traveled back in time, becoming the True Ancestor in history?”

Charlotte’s heart raced.

This was a bold hypothesis she had considered before.

She was very sure that the “time travel dream” was not merely an observation but an immersive experience.

Additionally, her actions in the “dream” were driven by her own will.

This ruled out the possibility of “implanted memories.”

Looking back now, her initial guess seemed increasingly plausible. Whether it was a dream or a time travel, it was very likely that she had intersected with history and might even have been the True Ancestor in history!

However, Charlotte also had some deepening doubts, such as why Lilith was not mentioned. Not only was Lilith absent from the poem, but she was also not present in Albrecht’s memories.

The only sources of information about Lilith were the preface of the Gospel of Blood and Charlotte’s experiences after her time travel.

Moreover, Charlotte had some concerns.

If she truly was the historical True Ancestor, according to various accounts about the Bloodborne and the descriptions in the “Song of the Blood Moon”, wouldn’t she lose her sanity and go mad in the future?

This thought made Charlotte uneasy.

Nevertheless, Charlotte had gained something. Perhaps during her next “time travel”, she could delve deeper into the truth of history.

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte closed the “Song of the Blood Moon.”

This book was an unexpected gain. Just this book alone made today’s trip worthwhile.

“Countess, do you like this book? Do you need a magical imprint? If so, please provide an equivalent book of art that is not in the library’s collection for exchange.”

The alchemy golem asked.

Charlotte glanced at it and shook her head.

“No need, thank you.”

She had no intention of exchanging anything with the library.

However, this did not mean she did not plan to “take” the “Song of the Blood Moon.”

In fact, she intended to take the entire library’s collection!

Knowledge is power. As a newcomer in the field, the knowledge here, even if not the most top-tier, was enough to lay a solid foundation for her own force and meet the basic needs of her followers.

“I will look around more by myself. Please do not disturb me unless necessary.”

Charlotte instructed the alchemy golem.

The alchemy golem nodded respectfully and withdrew.

Charlotte lifted her head and looked around the entire library. With her keen bloodborne sense, she could vaguely detect the surveillance magic covering the entire library. This surveillance magic was so powerful that even a slight probing with her mental power triggered a noticeable reaction.

It was definitely a Blazing Sun-level, or even Legendary-level, array.

Without a doubt, even Charlotte would be discovered if she tried to use mental-type blood magic under this array.

But fortunately, Charlotte possessed more than just magic. Taking a deep breath, Charlotte closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, her pupils had turned a shade of crimson gold.

Subtle energy waves spread out from Charlotte, enveloping the entire library.

This was not magic.

This was divine power.

Thanks to the Crescent Royal Family, although they had set up a sophisticated magical array to prevent the library’s collection from being stolen, it only guarded against magic, not divine power.

Due to the delicate relationship with the church, there were no clerics stationed in the library, nor were there any divine spells set up, giving Charlotte a loophole to exploit.

Divine power, a more advanced energy than magic, could also be used to perform magic. Although it was extravagant and wasteful, Charlotte currently had an abundant supply of divine power.

When divine power was used to perform magic, it was no longer magic but… a divine spell!

With the blood divine power circulating, Charlotte cast the bloodborne’s mental magic, 『Mental Imprint』.

This was a bloodborne magic specifically used to imprint books, forcibly memorizing and storing the knowledge within them.

Subtle waves of divine power spread throughout the library, covering every treasured book.

“Imprint…”

Charlotte whispered in her heart.

In the next moment, a crimson light illuminated her mental world. The library recording Albrecht’s memories suddenly opened, and in the empty space, bookshelves appeared one after another. On the bookshelves, books materialized from virtual to real.

Before long, the number of new bookshelves surpassed the quantity in Albrecht’s memory. The entire memory library rapidly expanded, and the number of books skyrocketed…

After a long while, Charlotte exhaled gently, ending the divine spell.

She looked a bit fatigued, but her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Deep in her consciousness, the entire collection of the Royal Library had been imprinted, adding tens of thousands of volumes to her memory library.

The Crescent Royal Family’s accumulation over hundreds or even thousands of years had all become hers in an instant.

“Countess, haven’t you found the book you’re looking for yet? Tell Jupiter your needs, and Jupiter can help you find it.”

The alchemy golem’s voice echoed.

Charlotte suppressed her inner joy.

She picked up a book and said,

“I found it. Help me see what knowledge I need to provide for the imprint of this book.”

Since she was here, she might as well go through the motions.

“Countess, the book you have is a rare piece on bloodline secrets collected by the Royal Family, written by the Legendary Mage Nicholas. Its content is bold, curious, and precious. To exchange for it, you must provide equivalent secret knowledge.”

The alchemy golem explained.

Charlotte: …

Nicholas again?

And what does bold and curious even mean?

But… bloodline secrets, huh.

She only knew the bloodborne’s secrets, but those were forbidden and couldn’t be revealed…

“Such a pity. My Castell family doesn’t have related knowledge.”

Charlotte shook her head, feigning regret.

She never intended to exchange, just putting on a show.

With that, Charlotte put the book down and left the library with a look of regret.

…

“Oh, did Count Castell go to the library to find bloodline secrets?”

Louis V pondered upon hearing the report from the Royal Knight.

“Which one?”

“Your Majesty, it is the ‘Essays on Bloodline Awakening: Desire’, written by Nicholas.”

Louis V looked surprised, muttering to himself.

“It’s that one? She is indeed bold. No wonder she vowed to remain single…”

After a moment’s thought, he squinted and said,

“No need for an exchange. Make a magical imprint and give it to her. Bloodline awakening… it seems she might have unstable bloodline power due to rapid promotion in recent years. Also, gently inform her that using desires to stimulate bloodlines is not mainstream and can harm the body, especially for women.”

“If she wishes to try, the Royal Family can provide some well-trained male servants, along with necessary tools and drugs…”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

…

The next day.

Charlotte, who had packed her luggage and was ready to leave the capital, looked bewildered at the book delivered by the Royal Knight and the row of handsome and obedient male servants behind him.