Gospel of Blood

The Invitation from the new Pope of the Theocracy?

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

Honestly, she had no interest in the internal power struggles of the Holy Court and had always been too lazy to really act as a Saintess and get involved in other church matters.

The reason she was willing to take on the title of Saintess was simply because the Holy Court was powerful a few years ago, and she decided to side with the Holy Court after weighing the pros and cons against the many forces eyeing her.

Additionally, the development of the Nightshade Cult needed a prominent protector, and she could use the Gospel of Blood to “absorb” the Holy Light, which made it convenient.

But now…

The Theocracy choosing this moment to invite her was hard not to make one speculate.

“Nice, what do you think?”

Charlotte asked after some thought.

“It shouldn’t be just a simple invitation. Gregory XII had been working in the Crescent Diocese before he became the Cardinal. There are rumors that he had always been supported by the Crescent Royal Family. Now that the Theocracy has made peace with the Crescent Kingdom and he has become the Pope, it’s hard not to think much about it…”

“There are rumors that the Theocracy ceded a lot of religious rights in this negotiation with the Crescent Kingdom, and it’s also possible that they signed other treaties.”

“Lady Charlotte, I think… we might need to prepare for the possibility of the Theocracy and the Crescent Kingdom joining forces. The Crescent Kingdom, although wanting to control the domestic church power, is ultimately a ‘holy believer’, but the Starfall Kingdom… is different.”

“To the Theocracy, the Nightshade Cult is heretical. The reason they haven’t acted against Starfall yet is partly because the dispute with the Crescent Kingdom wasn’t resolved, and partly because of your presence as a ‘Saintess’ who once invoked a ‘miracle.’”

“But now it’s different. The war between the Crescent Kingdom and the Western Yunette Empire has ended, our potential two enemies are free, and at this time, the Theocracy has sent you an invitation…”

“Anyway… I personally feel there’s definitely a conspiracy behind this!”

Charlotte nodded slightly.

Nice was right, she thought so too. Moreover, she knew even more.

For example, there were forces within the Holy Court that Helios could influence. The holy power and her blood divine power were both evolutions of the origin power…

Another subtle detail caught Charlotte’s attention.

She noticed that the Theocracy’s Gregory XII sent the invitation a week ago.

Coincidentally, a week ago was also the time when Charlotte, in another space-time, teamed up with two true Gods to thrash the Old Gods Alliance, directly sending “Helios” away.

The timing… was exact to the day.

Charlotte didn’t know if this was a coincidence.

The time the Theocracy invited her was exactly when “Helios” was sent back to the future.

It was hard for Charlotte not to draw some connections…

Could it be that this leadership change in the Holy Court had “Helios” involved from the start?

“Nice, if I hadn’t awakened, would you have planned to attend?”

Charlotte asked after thinking for a moment.

Nice sighed and said,

“That’s the problem…”

“Lady Charlotte, you may not know, but for any believer of the Holy Court, receiving an invitation to the Pope’s inaugural ceremony is a huge honor.”

“This is related to the ceremony. On the day of the ceremony, the Creator God will bestow divine grace and blessings, so not everyone can be invited to the ceremony.”

“According to the church’s official statement, only those recognized by the Gods can be invited.”

“Therefore… such an invitation is generally considered mandatory. The invitation from the Pope represents the will of the Gods. Refusing to attend could easily be seen as blasphemy against the Gods, and in history, even monarchs have faced severe penalties for such refusals.”

“As for me… I’ve been troubled by this because the Theocracy possesses the Creator’s artifact, and if I, the imposter, went, I’d be exposed under the Holy Light.”

“So… if it were me, I definitely couldn’t go, but I hadn’t figured out what excuse to use to refuse the church…”

“This invitation isn’t simple. The invitations are likely hostile, and if I really refused, the church might have other actions later.”

“I’ve been uncertain about the final decision, so I’ve been stalling for now. Fortunately, you’re back now.”

Hearing Nice’s words, Charlotte was a bit surprised.

She hadn’t expected such complexities behind the ceremony.

However, Nice had a point she agreed with: this invitation wasn’t simple.

“What do you think… should I go?”

Charlotte asked again.

“That depends on your will. You are a God, the problems I can’t solve are nothing to you. But I have a feeling… this invitation is partly a test by the Theocracy and partly aimed directly at you.”

Nice said.

A test…

Charlotte pondered.

She also felt it was a test.

But not just a test, there was more to come.

Charlotte could even foresee potential developments if she refused to go.

Although Nice didn’t directly say it, if “Saintess Charlotte” really declined the invitation and didn’t attend the ceremony, it would give the church an excuse to accuse her of blasphemy. They might use this excuse to nullify the “miracle” that brought her prestige, entirely deny her “Saintess” status, and label her as a “heretic.”

And if Charlotte went…

Who knows what the Holy Court would do?

Charlotte could think of several possibilities, most likely starting with courtesy and then force, likely involving the Nightshade Cult in the Starfall Kingdom, possibly even the bloodborne issues. In any case, these were issues Charlotte would never compromise on.

This was indeed a conspiracy, or rather an overt plot, clearly targeting her, the Nightshade Cult, and the bloodborne.

Moreover, Charlotte had a strong feeling that this invitation might be related to “Helios.”

This was a divine intuition.

However, it was also an opportunity.

The Theocracy was the true stronghold of the Holy Court. It was rumored that the Theocracy was the only place where communication with the Creator God Harald was possible after He fell asleep.

Charlotte felt it was necessary for her to go to the Theocracy to confirm some things…

She wasn’t without the means to explore the Theocracy.

To the world, she was someone blessed by the Gods. Even if she had once killed a Legendary Bishop, the world only saw it as divine retribution.

The power Charlotte had shown as “herself” was, so far, only at Blazing Sun.

In other words, people only saw her as a God-blessed genius who became Blazing Sun at a young age.

No one would know she was a Demigod.

Her strength was Charlotte’s biggest trump card.

Besides, her true relationship with Harald and the vague connection she had established with the Holy Court’s faith network after her return would also be her backing.

Charlotte found that she could communicate with the faith network of the Holy Court through the ring-cross symbol floating above the Gospel in her consciousness.

The difference was that she could no longer easily “steal” divine power because the gatekeeper artifact in the divine kingdom had “awakened.”

All things considered, Charlotte decided she could accept the invitation and visit the Theocracy.

However, before that, she planned to use the power of fate observation she possessed to gauge the pros and cons.

With this in mind, Charlotte said,

“I’ll think about this and make a final decision.”

Apart from the invitation from the Theocracy, there was no other significant information: the immigration of the Free Tribes Alliance, the appeasement of the Starfall nobility, and the religious cooperation with the Northern Grand Duchy were all going smoothly.

Although the information showed that the Northern Grand Duchy hadn’t officially adopted the Nightshade Cult as the official religion, the young Archduke had hired a priest who believed in God Nyx as a tutor for his heir, which was a form of alignment.

After all, compared to the Holy Court, which overly interfered with royal power, the Nightshade Cult, active in the North and not interfering with local politics or other religions, seemed like a purely religious organization.

Charlotte also noticed that in the six months since the end of the Western Yunette-Crescent War, cooperation between Starfall and the Northern Grand Duchy had increased, both economically and politically, suggesting a certain trend.

Apparently, the Northern Archduke also recognized the threat of the Crescent and Theocracy alliance.

After reading the information Nice brought, Charlotte had a thorough understanding of the current overall situation in the Starfall Kingdom.

Overall, though still full of crises, the development was trending positively.

These three years could be considered a stable development period.

Of course, this would change. Through the information, Charlotte could even smell the gunpowder. Clearly… before the Divinity Descent Day, all forces wanted to solve their final hidden dangers.

Such as territorial integrity for the Crescent Kingdom, and heresy and dispersed power for the Holy Court.

Not to mention the lurking “Helios”, the fallen God aiming to control the power of creation and become the Creator God, who was Charlotte’s greatest future enemy.

Sometimes Charlotte even suspected that the various forces in the Myria Continent might have Helios’ influence behind them.

This was another direction Charlotte needed to investigate upon her return.

After reading the information and dismissing Nice, Charlotte took out the fate observation tool she obtained from the Nez Clan—a Destiny Balance.

The left side of the balance was a black demon, the right side a white angel, and a beautiful crystal was embedded in the axis.

This was also an offering from Bardock, a single-use Legendary-tier item that aided in fate observation and was useful even for a Demigod like her.

If the divination result was bad, the scales would tilt to the left; if it was good, they would tilt to the right.

Meanwhile, the central crystal would shine brighter as the divination proceeded, indicating the depth of fate’s traces.

“I want to divine the future of this trip to the Theocracy.”

Charlotte murmured to herself as she channeled divine power, invoking the incantation for divination and beginning the process.

Crimson light spread, divine power was consumed, and the scales of fate swung back and forth…

Eventually, the scales trembled and tilted to the left, the black demon on the tray slightly raised its head, giving Charlotte a strange smile.

At the same time, dazzling light burst from the central crystal of the scales, overshadowing the magical lamps in the study.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

This result indicated a certain level of hidden danger, but also an opportunity of significant potential, capable of altering fate if overcome.

After a brief contemplation, Charlotte made her decision.

There was danger, but it should be manageable with proper preparation.

Wealth comes with risk. Whether for the promise of fate revealed in the divination or to clear up her doubts, she should make this trip to the Theocracy.

Of course, there were still three months before the inauguration ceremony of the Pope. Before that, Charlotte had another place to visit.

There was something she had been concerned about since her awakening, something she couldn’t resist confirming.

With this in mind, Charlotte mentally communicated with Nice.

“Nice, I have decided to attend the ceremony in the Theocracy. Prepare in advance. Additionally, I need to go to the North Sea for a few days. During this time, continue to disguise my identity. If anything important arises, report it through prayer.”