CHAPTER 518: -42- KINGDOM CENTRAL MEETING

Early morning.

Before the first rays of sunlight brightened the earth, the fully armed Guard Knights and City Guards had organized and rushed to various parts of Lutecia.

Today was the day the Central Council of the Kingdom convened; the Inner City had been secured early on. Although it did not prohibit the citizens from moving about, the solemn atmosphere and the fully armed guards still made people subconsciously avoid the main thoroughfare leading to the Royal Square.

In various parts of the Inner City, manors and villas belonging to the nobles had their lights turned on early in the morning. As the first light of dawn emerged from the east, various luxurious carriages began their journey from all over the Royal Capital, converging like streams to the central avenue of the Inner City, and then heading straight for the Royal Square.

Charlotte, too, had risen early.

Today she styled her golden hair into drill curls and chose a Yonette-style noble dress, primarily black with golden trims, featuring narrow shoulders and a slim waist, while the lower part of the dress was more voluminous, making her look more mature and dignified.

After a simple breakfast, Charlotte boarded the carriage accompanied by Sebastian and others, heading for the Council Hall.

The Council Hall was located on one side of the Royal Square, opposite the Lutecia Cathedral across the square, flanking the Royal Palace on both sides, with the three iconic buildings of Lutecia forming a triangle.

When the carriage of the Castel family slowly entered the square with the grand procession of nobles, almost an hour had passed.

"Master, we have arrived."

The carriage slowly halted, and Sebastian’s respectful voice came from outside.

Charlotte hummed in acknowledgment and then, with Sherry’s help, stepped out of the carriage.

The Royal Square in Lutecia was vast, said to be five hundred thousand square meters, but at this moment, already about two-thirds of it was filled with the carriages of the nobles, each more luxurious than the last, with various family crests dazzling on their sides.

When Charlotte stepped out of the carriage, she immediately felt numerous gazes, both distant and near, converging on her.

There were those of nobles, as well as guard knights and city guards.

Accompanying those gazes were people’s whispers,

"It’s the Castel family, that young Countess."

"The pearl of Bold, the most beautiful maiden of New Moon, isn’t she?"

"She looks even prettier in person than in her portraits."

"Graceful and beautiful, dignified, indeed as mesmerizing as the rumors suggest..."

"Young, wealthy, and capable, it’s a pity she’s not open to marriage."

"After all, she’s the Divine Lord’s Saintess. I heard that recently, she conjured a Divine Miracle in the Grand Cathedral and even surprised the Great Priest, Great Judge, and the Demon Hunting Cardinal."

"What? A Divine Miracle? Really?"

"Of course, it’s true. This is internal information from the Church, had it not been for the incident with the Blood Demon Church recently, it would have spread everywhere."

"Sss... Is New Moon finally going to have a Saintess then?"

"That’s still unclear, the response from the Church seems a bit odd, they haven’t officially announced her ordination yet, maybe it’s because of the incident a few days ago, some say she seems to be discontent with the Church."

"Discontent with the Church? Her?"

"I don’t know the specifics, the Church is very tight-lipped, but what’s certain is that they seem to value her greatly."

"..."

The ongoing discussions poured into Charlotte’s ears, her keen senses ensuring she understood every bit, despite their efforts to keep their voices low.

She was accustomed to it, though, as the protagonist of the Bold-Castel conflict and one of the catalysts of this Central Council meeting, she was well prepared to become the center of attention.

It also provided her the opportunity to gather some additional information.

However, her eavesdropping didn’t last long,

as soon, several nobles approached to greet her.

"Beautiful lady, good morning, you must be Countess Castel? I am Bono from the Dorn Family, delighted to meet you."

"Count Castel, good morning, I am Count Durant, you look really beautiful today."

"..."

One noble after another, each more enthusiastic, mostly members of the great houses of the New Moon Kingdom.

Even those who were not from great families were the kingdom’s nouveau riche, especially those nouveau nobles who made their fortunes through trade and alchemy.

Charlotte responded with a smile and reciprocated their salutations.

Unlike in Bold, these nobles, while mostly complimenting her appearance, almost none offered courtship, most simply eagerly extending goodwill.

Part of this was due to Charlotte’s previous declaration of remaining single, and partly because these nobles weren’t approaching her with marriage in mind, but rather genuinely looking to build a good relationship with the Castel family.

This was not only because the Bold-Castel conflict had shown the lords of the kingdom the strength of the Castel family but also because of the family’s secret silver mine...

The only difference was that, perhaps, the great families were more equal in attitude, while the new and smaller families were more respectful.

In any case, although not to the extent of being the star of the show, Charlotte was certainly much in demand.

As Charlotte was smiling and greeting the nobles, suddenly, the noise around decreased significantly.