Gospel of Blood

"Sorry... Lady Charlotte, the High Priest said that he received divine inspiration in his sleep last night, and he needs to pray all day today, so he won't accept any visitors."

In the cathedral of the eastern district, the young apprentice priest, with a slightly red face, looked apologetic as he lowered his head, observing the beautiful girl in front of him who appeared weary from travel.

"Divine inspiration?"

Charlotte furrowed her brows slightly.

"Huh? Divine inspiration? Don't kid me, this is already the seventh time this year that the High Priest has received divine inspiration. It seems the Great Lord really favors the High Priest, doesn't he?"

Behind the girl, Nice swayed its spherical body, speaking in a teasing manner.

The apprentice priest looked somewhat embarrassed.

He didn't know how to respond, but before he could, Nice, with a loud voice, shouted in the cathedral.

"High Priest! It's me, Nice! Miss Charlotte of the Castell family is here to visit you!"

"Regarding the previous blood demon case, Miss Charlotte remembered some details she wants to report to you, it's about the thorn roses and the evil..."

Before Nice could finish saying "God", the door to the central prayer room smashed open, and the figure of High Priest Leonard de Caen appeared before everyone.

He looked stern, staring coldly at the black cat who was about to say "God", and rebuked with displeasure.

"What's with this commotion in the cathedral's sacred grounds?"

Seeing the High Priest appear, Nice immediately dashed behind Charlotte, then pretended to look around and whistle while admiring the scenery.

"High Priest."

Charlotte bowed to the High Priest.

Seeing Charlotte, the High Priest's expression was slightly unnatural, but he quickly regained his composure. He once again became the kind old man, smiling kindly and saying.

"Oh... it's Miss Charlotte."

"I wonder what Miss Charlotte has come to see me for?"

He naturally glossed over the thorn roses and the evil god.

Charlotte being aware and understanding all the intricacies, didn't dwell on this issue and went straight to the point.

"High Priest, I'm here about Rose Society."

"Just now, I received news that the Inquisition has taken action against Rose Society, launching a divine judgment..."

The High Priest looked thoughtful.

"Oh... so it's about this matter."

Saying that, he interrupted the girl, glanced at the increasingly curious glances from inside the cathedral, then gestured to the empty prayer room behind him.

"It's not convenient to talk here, come inside."

With that, he took the lead into the prayer room.

As Charlotte was about to follow, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her gaze fell on the table in the prayer room.

There, two empty cups had already been set. One was an old crystal cup, the other an empty goblet. Beside the goblet, there was still a pot of steaming milk.

Next to the table, there wasn't the usual penitential pad for prayer, but instead, a soft chair, large enough for two people to lie down on.

Charlotte's gaze froze for a moment.

"Miss Charlotte, won't you come in and sit?"

Entering the prayer room, the High Priest sitting in the chair smiled gently, patting the empty seat next to him.

With her rich experience in some aspects from two lives, Charlotte immediately became wary.

She stood at the door, shook her head slightly, bowed to the High Priest, and said with apology.

"High Priest, thank you for your kindness, but... let's talk in the hall."

"The matter I want to discuss concerns the reputation of the Castell family, and if possible... I hope all the priests in the hall can be witnesses."

With that, Charlotte straightened her back, her expression carrying the stubbornness of a young girl who wanted to uphold her family's honor.

The High Priest raised an eyebrow. He looked deeply at the girl, then suddenly smiled slightly.

"Alright."

He slowly got up, walked out of the prayer room, and said.

"I heard... you went to the outskirts to meet with Rose Society a few days ago?"

"Miss Charlotte, forgive me for speaking frankly, but the Inquisition has already declared Rose Society an evil organization, you should reduce your dealings with them!"

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"Take a look at what they've been up to these past years."

Saying that, the High Priest sighed deeply, instructed a nearby priest to fetch a scroll of parchment, and handed it to the girl.

Charlotte took it, her eyelids raised slightly.

It turned out to be an anonymous report! And on the report, various crimes of Rose Society in recent years were listed!

However, from the information obtained from Sebastian about Rose Society, Charlotte, who was familiar with what Rose Society had been up to, quickly noticed familiar traces in this information.

Like the whitewashing materials she had prepared these days, these materials were also written with the same spring and autumn penmanship, and some were even outright fabricated.

Charlotte instantly understood that someone was targeting Rose Society.

At that moment, a hint of hesitation arose in the girl's heart as to whether she should continue to stand up for Rose Society.

Right now, she just wanted to quietly wait until she formally inherited the estate and quickly leave this place of trouble and intrigue, without getting involved in any more conspiracies. But she quickly quashed that hint of hesitation.

Although Rose Society was an underground gang, they always exercised restraint in their actions and, as Sebastian put it, did not cross the bottom line of the church and nobility, which was their way of survival.

But now they were being targeted, obviously for doing something different from before.

And considering the recent movements of Rose Society, the only difference from before was that they had made contact with her, the heiress of the Castell family, and even stood on her side, so to speak.

This wasn't a secret, it just took a look at Sebastian's clumsy disguise to know.

Everyone turned a blind eye, but in fact, they all knew what was going on in their hearts.

They're coming after me!

Rose Society now provided some kind of protection for me, and those who were secretly targeting Rose Society wanted to get rid of this protection!

They and the Blood Demon Cult that had previously assassinated me were likely the same group of people!

And once Rose Society was eliminated, they would probably target me next!

Charlotte's expression gradually became serious, and she quickly made such a judgment.

"How about it? Miss Charlotte, do you now realize how serious the situation is?"

Sighed the High Priest.

Charlotte fell silent.

She quickly calculated in her mind, and soon had a plan. She suddenly sighed softly and said.

"High Priest, this is slander..."

"Oh?"

The High Priest raised an eyebrow.

Charlotte took a deep breath and began to blather.

"High Priest, these materials, I'm afraid they were fabricated by the Blood Demon Cult."

"Perhaps you don't know, but the leader of Rose Society, Sebastian, pledged allegiance to the Castell family ten years ago."

"The underground gang, Rose Society of Borde, is actually a peripheral force of the Castell family, and the leader Sebastian established Rose Society for the purpose of investigating the Blood Demon Cult and avenging my parents."

"The Rose Society may seem like a gang, but in recent years, they have been maintaining the underground order of Borde..."

"They are also the power of the Castell family, and sooner or later they will be the power of the church too!"

After hearing Charlotte's words, the High Priest suddenly realized.

"Oh... so that's how it is, it's wrong for family members to blame each other!"

With that, he looked embarrassed.

"But... I can't directly order the Inquisition."

"How about this, I'll write a letter to the Judgment Knights who are in action, asking them not to kill, and after the misunderstanding is cleared up, release the people of Rose Society. What do you think?"

"However, the Judgment Knights stationed in Borde are not easy to deal with. How about this, tonight I will invite the Chief Knight to the mansion for a banquet. You can also come over personally, and we can all have a good chat. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything will be easy to say."

The High Priest said with a smile.

Looking at his kind smile, Charlotte's heart sank.

She realized that the High Priest was just trying to brush things off.

He didn't want to stand up for Rose Society, or even... for the Castell family.

Not only that, he seemed to have some special interest in her...

And combined with his behavior today, Charlotte also realized a somewhat creepy fact.

The High Priest... probably is a big problem!