Gospel of Blood

Charlotte didn't expect that she would encounter her former acquaintances just on a whim to select new servants in the outer city area.

Seeing the middle-aged couple's excitement upon meeting the girl, amidst their almost incoherent narrative, Charlotte gradually pieced together their identities.

Overall, the male and female proprietors of this employment agency were once extraordinary individuals loyal to the Castell family!

Old Frank used to serve as a Starry Sky level combat mage in the Borde Mage Corps, and he was even bestowed with the title of baron by Charlotte's father.

As for his wife, Lady Mina, she was granted the Awakening Seed and promoted to Starry Sky, becoming a combat maid.

Furthermore, Lady Mina was the head maid of the Castell Manor ten years ago, faithfully serving the Castell family for generations. She was also Charlotte's mother's personal maid and etiquette teacher for the Crescent Kingdom's customs.

Yes, Charlotte's mother wasn't from the Crescent Kingdom. She hailed from the Fallen Star Kingdom and apparently had a complicated background.

However, due to the Star-Moon War, a war originating from the succession of the Crescent Kingdom's throne, which lasted intermittently for nearly eighty years, the two neighboring countries of Crescent and Fallen Star had become sworn enemies. Thus, this secret was deeply buried and rarely mentioned.

Even Lady Mina, the maid, only knew that her mistress came from the Fallen Star Kingdom and nothing else.

Charlotte was aware of her mother's origins in the Fallen Star Kingdom. Of course, the specifics were unclear.

But this matched Lady Mina's identity perfectly!

This secret, barely known even within the Castell family, indicated that she had indeed served the Castell family loyally.

As the two chatted excitedly, some distant and blurry memories from Charlotte's inherited memories seemed to awaken.

When she was very young, there seemed to have been a maid named Mina who served as the head maid. Not only that, but at that time, the Castell Manor was also the temporary headquarters of the Borde Mage Corps.

In Charlotte's revived memories, she often saw mages in robes coming and going around the estate. Many mages from commoner backgrounds chose to marry maids from the Castell family.

However, after the Flame Demon Disaster ten years ago, Charlotte's parents died in battle against the Flame Demon, and the Borde Mage Corps disbanded. Many faces disappeared since then.

"Uncle Frank, Aunt Mina."

Charlotte said after a moment of contemplation.

"I've heard from Casimodo that after the Flame Demon Disaster, many loyal servants of the family were sent back to the family estate. Why are you here? And... you lost your powers?"

Charlotte carefully chose her words, puzzled.

Watching the girl's pure and innocent eyes, Frank and Mina looked at each other with a touch of melancholy.

"Because... we are the sinners of the Castell family, tainted ones. Losing our powers is our punishment..."

Old Frank sighed and said.

"Sinners?"

Charlotte blinked in confusion.

"Yes... During the Flame Demon Disaster, we failed to fulfill our duty of protecting the master and were contaminated by the Flame Demon's power..."

"To purify ourselves from the contamination, we lost our powers. Because of our failure to protect, we were driven out of the family by the angry old lady..."

Mina sighed with a touch of sadness.

Was it that old hag who drove them out of the family?

Charlotte blinked. Then, she felt a slight anger rising.

Excuses! It was all that old hag's excuses!

What failure to protect?

She had asked Casimodo and Nice before. The Flame Demon summoned ten years ago, Valaroka, was legendary!

How could there be any protection in that situation? Surviving was already lucky! Many people ended up dying!

Moreover, according to Charlotte's inherited memories, it was not a matter of protection failure at all. Her parents voluntarily stepped forward to fight the Flame Demon!

Charlotte's parents were both Thrird-Tier Blazing Sun. Why would they need protection from Starry Sky servants?

It was clearly the crazy old hag seizing the opportunity to purge dissidents and eliminate all those truly loyal to the Castell family!

Ten years had passed, and Frank and Mina remained so loyal, which was a testimony!

No wonder... No wonder the Castell family hardly had any loyal servants left, only one marginalized figure like Casimodo.

Charlotte had always wondered why even if the old Countess dispatched all the extraordinaries in the family back to the family estate, there should still be some loyal retainers who would stay behind out of concern for the young Charlotte.

Now, it turned out to be this reason... Those loyal to the Castell family either died in the Flame Demon Disaster or lost their powers, then were driven out of the family by the crazy old hag!

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte sighed.

"No, you did nothing wrong."

"You never forgot your original intentions. It was the Castell family's fault for letting you down."

"Lady Charlotte..."

Upon hearing the girl's words, tears welled up in the couple's eyes.

And at this moment, Charlotte realized that her proficiency in her majesty magic had subtly increased again!

The girl was moved by the loyalty and dedication Frank and Mina showed to the Castell family.

Because if it weren't for their strong beliefs, they wouldn't have triggered the majesty magic's response with just a casual remark from her.

In other words, Charlotte's simple apology had completely stirred up the loyalty buried deep in the couple's hearts!

They were loyal servants! The lost loyal servants of the Castell family!

Charlotte had her answer.

"Uncle Frank, Aunt Mina, how many people are there in the outer city area like you who were forced to leave the family?"

After a moment of contemplation, she asked softly.

Old Frank sighed.

"There are many..."

Then, he looked gratefully at Sebastian.

"We must thank Lord Sebastian. People like us who lost our powers and almost became disabled, Lord Sebastian took us in."

"Now, under the protection of Rose Society, we have managed to find some work in the outer city area, barely able to survive..."

Sebastian?

Charlotte subconsciously turned to look at the quasi-steward standing behind her.

Sebastian coughed and hurriedly explained.

"It's just a coincidence, my lady. As you know, people like Mr. Frank and Mrs. Mina, even if they have lost their powers, their experience and knowledge are still quite valuable."

"Gold shines everywhere. For Rose Society, they are precious talents."

Charlotte looked deeply at Sebastian, neither affirming nor denying.

Then, she looked at the couple's aged faces, the two pretty little girls peeking from behind the stairs, and the expressionless beautiful girl standing behind the couple...

After a moment of thought, Charlotte said.

"Uncle Frank, Aunt Mina, have you ever thought... about returning to the family?"

"Grandmother has long since fallen, she even wanted to kill me. Her expulsion of you was illegitimate from the beginning."

"If you're willing, the gates of Castell Manor are open to you at any time."

Upon hearing the girl's words, Uncle Frank was slightly stunned, then almost instantly became excited.

"We are willing... um..."

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Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Mrs. Mina.

The former housekeeper remained silent for a few seconds, then squeezed out a smile with apology.

"Sorry... Lady Charlotte."

"Although we would love to return to the family, we are quite content with our current life."

"These many years, we... have also grown tired, so..."

"Sorry..."

She lowered her head with guilt.

Lady Mina's words surprised Charlotte a bit.

Although somewhat regretful, since the other party declined gracefully, she no longer insisted.

"Alright, I apologize for my impetuosity."

Charlotte sighed.

The couple isn't young anymore. They wish to avoid trouble and live peacefully in their old age, Charlotte understands this.

However... Being politely rejected is so damn awkward!

Charlotte felt like the atmosphere in the entire room was getting stiff.

"Hehe, Frank, we've caught up enough. Let's get back to the main topic. We came here today to hire some new servants for the master."

Sebastian chuckled, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

Upon hearing his words, Uncle Frank's spirits lifted.

He was about to say something but was pulled back by Mrs. Mina.

"Lady Charlotte, may I ask what kind of servants you would like to hire?"

She asked respectfully, her demeanor completely different from her earlier excitement.

"New people. I want some new people, with clean backgrounds who have never served other nobles."

Charlotte said after thinking for a moment, exhaling in relief.

Uncle Frank's eyes almost instantly lit up again. But he was quickly pulled back by his wife.

"Your request is not unreasonable. I believe... we should be able to find the candidates you need. How many people do you need?"

Lady Mina asked respectfully.

"About fifty people."

Charlotte replied.

"Fifty people...?"

Lady Mina pondered for a moment, seemingly calculating something. After a moment, she stood up with Uncle Frank.

"I understand."

"Please wait here for a moment, and Frank and I will go upstairs to look for relevant information."

Saying that, she turned to the beautiful girl standing aside.

"Sherry, please prepare a cup of milk for Lady Charlotte."

With that said, Mina forcibly dragged Uncle Frank upstairs.

Why does everyone in the world know I like to drink milk?

Watching the beautiful girl silently preparing the warm milk, Charlotte couldn't help but mutter in her heart.

...

Lady Mina dragged Uncle Frank upstairs.

As soon as they reached the second floor, Uncle Frank angrily broke free from his wife's hand.

"Mina! What were you doing just now? Why did you reject Lady Charlotte?"

"Aren't you the one who has been yearning to return to the manor day and night? Aren't you the one who talks about returning to serve Castell again every day? Didn't we agree that we would one day return to serve Castell with loyalty?"

"Why did you refuse Lady Charlotte now?"

"Don't you see how upset she was just now? She's our little mistress!"

Uncle Frank said angrily. But as soon as he finished speaking, he was slightly stunned because he saw his wife already in tears, completely different from her calm demeanor downstairs.

Lady Mina wiped her reddened eyes and whispered.

"Frank... do you think I don't want to?"

"I also want to return to Castell Manor. I also want to be by Lady Charlotte's side..."

"She's our little mistress. When she was very young, I was the one who helped her learn to walk..."

"But... we are not who we used to be..."

"We're old now. We've lost our strength. We've been labeled as tainted due to Flame Demon Disaster..."

"These years, to survive, we've done a lot of dirty work for Rose Society. These things are not secrets, they could become ammunition for other nobles or even the church to attack our little mistress."

"We are no longer qualified to return to the manor. We would only be burdens to Castell, stains on the family, and dim the glory of the great Black Eagle..."

"We... can't go back to the past."

Uncle Frank stared blankly at his wife, who was unable to speak through her tears, feeling somewhat dejected for a moment.

"Does that mean... we can never stand under the soaring banner of the eagle again?"

Suddenly, Lady Mina raised her head, her gaze unprecedentedly firm, her expression unprecedentedly sincere.

"No, of course, we can."

"Perhaps we ourselves can't stand proudly behind the master again, but our will can, our legacy can..."

"For so many years, we have been passing on what we have learned in our lifetime to Sherry. Isn't that for this day?"

"Leaves eventually return to the soil, but new buds will bloom on the branches."

"The firewood will eventually burn out, but the spark... can be passed down from generation to generation!"

"We are like this, and so are others."

"We, the generations of servants who have followed and served the Castell family for generations, have never chosen to leave the city of Borde. Instead, we have settled down, quietly educating the next generation. Isn't it for this day?"

"For so many days, you and I have been paying attention to the movements of Castell Manor, and I'm sure we are well aware of the hardships our little mistress is facing."

"The fact that the little mistress has come to the outer city area must mean that she has reached a point where no one else is available..."

"She needs our strength now, and it's time for us to offer her our strength!"

"Frank, go tell everyone about Lady Charlotte's arrival in the outer city area."

"Tell everyone that Castell has come, that Castell hasn't forgotten us!"

"Tell everyone that it's time for our legacy to shine under the great Black Eagle again!"

"Our descendants will follow Castell again in our place, follow our master, and let the glorious Black Eagle banner... fly over the sky of Borde!"

Lady Mina's expression was excited.

Downstairs, Charlotte, with keen senses, let out a long sigh and slowly withdrew her gaze from the second floor.

Her eyes were filled with complexity.