Besides the Great Prophet himself being a legendary figure, the entire palace housed no more than ten Earls of the Bloodline, at most two to three hundred Viscounts, and only five to six hundred Barons. The rest were mere unranked Attendants, making up the numbers.

This level of strength, perhaps placed within the Falling Star Kingdom, could be comparable to a major force, but if it were to represent one of the Five Great Bloodline Clans... it seemed rather weak.

No, it wasn't just seeming weak.

It was weak, even weaker than the Nais Clan!

Even without utilizing True Ancestor Liberation, Charlotte could bring down everyone in this place, apart from the Great Prophet, using her own innate power.

Is this the upper echelon of the Harcos Clan? Their core strength?

Too pathetic!

Charlotte wouldn't be fooled. She divided her consciousness and summoned the Crimson Star Sea to sense further, then, to her surprise, discovered that the stars corresponding to these Bloodline members... indeed appeared to be some of the more powerful ones signifying the Harcos Clan in the Crimson Star Sea.

Clearly, the Harcos Clan... was truly weak.

Not only that, but Charlotte also keenly detected a slight aura of death on the vast majority of the Bloodline members. Although they had intentionally concealed it, Charlotte could still vaguely sense that many of the Bloodline likely bore injuries.

This made Charlotte even more curious.

She scrutinized the Bloodline members in the hall, quickly noticing more details.

How to put it.

Although these Bloodline members were dressed like nobles, once they started moving, Charlotte noticed they seemed quite uncomfortable in their noble attire.

It seemed... they had hastily thrown on these clothes at the last minute.

Furthermore, if one carefully watched the demeanor and actions of these Bloodline members, it was different from those of the Nais Clan who were accustomed to indulging in banquets year-round; these appeared much more restrained.

These Bloodline members... were probably not the truly ancient ones, but most likely relatively younger Bloodline members currently masquerading as the ancient ones.

That was Charlotte's deduction.

The more she observed, the more astonished she became, however... she neither spoke up to expose nor attempted to probe and inquire.

Charlotte took her seat, and the banquet soon began.

It was still the Great Prophet who spoke first, conveying gratitude towards Charlotte.

Music filled the air, and the hall buzzed with the clinking of cups and goblets.

Observing the array of dishes at the banquet, Charlotte once again fell into thought.

There was no other reason, except that the food at the Harcos evening party differed from that of the Nais Clan.

During the time Charlotte subjugated the Nais Clan, to stabilize the populace, she also attended several Nais Clan banquets as the "True Ancestor."

In the Nais Clan's banquets, beverages and dishes made from Transcendent blood were ubiquitous, with the primary food being blood itself.

But the Harcos Clan…

Had Charlotte not known she was attending a Bloodline banquet, it could be mistaken for a human noble's banquet with no trouble at all.

Throughout the spacious banquet hall, aside from low-density blood wine, there was not a trace of blood-based food in the dishes.

There were some servings of Transcendent blood from Demon Beasts in front of Charlotte herself, but these were clearly prepared hastily and probably specifically for her.

Evidently, just as with the memories Charlotte accessed, aside from the brewed blood wine, the Harcos Clan... was indeed probably avoiding consuming blood.

This piqued Charlotte's curiosity about the Harcos Clan even more.

She was keen to converse further with the Bloodline members attending the banquet, to indirectly gather some intelligence, but what puzzled her even more was that, despite the banquet having a social nature, no Bloodline member took the initiative to talk with her.

All the Bloodline members who met her gaze first greeted her respectfully, and after that... there was no follow-up.

Strange.

Truly strange.

If it was just one or two people, that'd be understandable, but all the Harcos Clan members acted this way, indicating they likely had received a uniform order to not communicate with Charlotte privately.

Charlotte's gaze eventually turned back to the Harcos Clan's Great Prophet.

"Your Excellency Great Prophet, with the Holy Presence Day fast approaching, I wish to pay a visit to Her Majesty Royena, the Crimson Queen, May I inquire if you could introduce me?"

She tested the waters.

The Harcos Great Prophet sighed, replying with a hint of apology:

"Queen Charlotte, Her Majesty the Queen is in deep meditation, and I fear she cannot grant you an audience."

"I do not know which Prince Kilari serving under the Divine Lord you are devoted to, please inform me so I can relay your purpose to Her Majesty the Queen."

Hmm?

Hmm—Hmmmm?!

A Prince Kilari following the Divine Lord?!

What the hell!

Upon hearing the Great Prophet's words, Charlotte was completely stunned, as if her CPU had stopped for a moment.

She had never imagined that the Great Prophet of the Harcos Clan would link the Creator God with the Bloodline of Royal Authority, not to mention speak of a Bloodline Prince who followed the Creator God!

However, her response was quick, and she soon guessed some matters and recalled numerous texts she had read.

Although there was no direct evidence, although no Bloodline could testify, indeed some records suggested that the Holy Royal Court was indeed entangled with the Bloodline of Royal Authority.

Take for example the "Blood Moon Song" Charlotte had once read; it even depicted the Creator God as the Ancestor of the Bloodline of Royal Authority!

When she first read it, Charlotte was doubtful and had even inquired with Albrecht and the Nais Clan, but they had scoffed at the idea.

Not long afterward, Charlotte also cast the notion aside.

But now, having heard such words from the Great Prophet of the Harcos Clan, she could not help but consider an outrageous yet strangely plausible idea—

Could it be… that Haral truly was a pioneer of the Bloodline of Royal Authority?

Could it be… that some Princes of the Bloodline of Royal Authority really once sought refuge in the Holy Royal Court?

And was it for this reason that she, who was both a "Saintess" under the Divine Lord and of the "Bloodline of Royal Authority," was addressed in such a manner by the Great Prophet of the Harcos Clan?

Charlotte felt she might have stumbled upon the truth.

But she still found it very strange.

If this was the case, why did Albrecht and members of the Nais Clan's Bloodline not know about this?

Or did it mean… that this was a secret known only to the Harcos Clan?

Charlotte pondered for a moment, planning to probe further, but suddenly she sensed a slight energy fluctuation coming from deep within the castle complex.

And then… she saw the Great Prophet of the Harcos Clan's body suddenly pause.

The aged female Great Prophet furrowed her brows and turned her gaze in a certain direction, pondering for a moment before bowing to Charlotte:

"Queen Charlotte, my sincerest apologies, it seems an unexpected event has occurred, please allow me to step away and handle this."

Charlotte's mind stirred, and she asked:

"Do you… need any help?"

The Great Prophet smiled and shook her head:

"No need, please just wait here for a moment, Sofia will continue to dine with you in my stead."

After speaking, she stood up, bowed to Charlotte, and hurriedly left the banquet hall.

Charlotte keenly noticed that after the Great Prophet left, quite a few Bloodline members from the hall quietly followed suit.

She sensed deliberately, and then her eyebrows lifted.

The Bloodline members who had left were all those in the hall whose strength had reached the level of Viscount, with all those at the Earl's rank included.

Quietly, Charlotte activated her Blood Divine Power, releasing a wisp of spiritual power and attaching it to a Blood Viscount who had left.

She "saw" these Bloodline members catch up to the Great Prophet of the Harcos Clan, forming a neat line, and rushing toward the depths of the castle complex.

A crimson glow blossomed on their bodies, and their luxurious attire quickly disappeared, replaced by fully armed armor and black robes.

Charlotte paused slightly.

These Bloodline members were indeed not those ancient Transcendents.

They… must be part of the Harcos Clan's Transcendent Army.

In Charlotte's perception, she saw the Great Prophet leading these most powerful Bloodline warriors towards the source of the disturbance.

And as the wisp of spiritual power attached to the Bloodline warrior approached the source of the disturbance, Charlotte once again sensed that familiar scent—

It was the scent of bloodline Pollution, the same origin as the mutation encountered with Sigurd.