Tome of Blood

Chapter 600-99- The Secret of the Guardian Staff

"So... do you think the Gray Swan Orphanage in District 9 is hiding the secret of the Temple of the Sun?"

Charlotte asked curiously as she watched Sebastian and Nice secretly return to the Holy Palace and change their real appearances to report back.

"To be precise, the Inquisition in District 9 is very likely related to the conspiracy of the Temple of the Sun. The investigations that Nice and I have been conducting these days almost all point to that place."

It's like a local road.

"Are they all pointing to that place..."

Charlotte mused.

To be honest, she would not be surprised if the secret of the Temple of the Sun was really related to the Inquisition in District 9.

The Ninth District is the poorest and most chaotic district in the Holy City, but the Inquisition in the Ninth District is actually the most powerful Inquisition.

Not only that, these slum courts are generally more heavily guarded, but at the same time they tend to be more low-key, which is indeed suitable for hiding secrets.

"Lady Charlotte, I think we need to rescue the director of the Gray Swan Orphanage. Currently, the Inquisition is killing everyone in the Gray Swan Orphanage, not even the children are spared. This means that the Gray Swan Orphanage must know something."

"The director of the Gray Swan Orphanage's brother is the deputy captain of the Ninth District Court. After Filiberto was tried, he also disappeared."

Nice added.

Charlotte nodded slightly, then looked at the necklace in her hand.

It was a cross necklace, a common religious ornament among church priests.

"So... the necklace you brought also belongs to that dean?"

she asked.

Sebastian nodded:
"Yes, it belongs to the dean. Nice and I have checked it. This necklace also contains divine power. Not only that, it also has an aura similar to the divine power you bestowed on us..."

"This necklace seems to contain some kind of magic, and it can even induce precognitive dreams. The little girl we rescued relied on the precognitive dreams brought by this necklace to evade the pursuit of the Knights of Judgment and eventually find us."

"Precognitive dream?"

Charlotte raised her eyebrows and immediately became interested.

She played with the necklace in her hand, and after some investigation, she fell into deep thought.

"Are you... sure?"

Charlotte asked, looking at the two of them.

Sebastian and Nice looked at each other and nodded.

"Yes, Lady Charlotte, the girl was very scared when she saw us, but when we used our divine power to reveal our identities, she was no longer afraid."

"Not only that, she even called us the messengers of the oracle!"

"After further questioning, we found out that she had dreamed of an 'oracle'. However, after further verification, we found that the oracle she was talking about was probably a precognitive dream she had, and the source of the precognitive dream was most likely this necklace!"

"We have confirmed that this necklace belongs to the director of the Grey Swan Orphanage. It seems that it was originally given to her by the director's brother, the Knight of Judgment."

"This is most likely a man-made artifact of the church. As far as I know, most of the man-made artifacts of the church are in the hands of the church's top leaders. A captain of the Judgment Knights whose strength is no more than level three cannot obtain such an artifact through formal channels, so... it must have been obtained through other channels."

One of the most powerful things in summer:
"You mean... the Temple of the Sun?"

When is it happening?

"Yes, we sensed a divine power similar to ours in this necklace. Our divine power was bestowed by you, and you once said that your divine power was somewhat tainted with the original aura. In other words, this divine power also carries some of the original aura."

"The Creator God has fallen asleep, so... there may only be one source of the original aura."

Nice is meaningful and authentic.

Charlotte was noncommittal.

She looked at the necklace with a puzzled expression and fell into deep thought.

"Lady Charlotte, we believe that the Tribunal of the Ninth District is likely hiding the secrets of the Temple of the Sun. The Gray Swan Orphanage is also likely to be implicated. This artifact that can allow people to have precognitive dreams is also likely to come from the Temple of the Sun."

"The director of the Grey Swan may have known something. The Knights of Judgment are arresting the orphans of the Grey Swan Orphanage, perhaps for this necklace. If we can save the director of the Grey Swan, perhaps we can uncover the conspiracy behind the Temple of the Sun!"

Sebastian also said.

"What's the name of that dean?"

Charlotte looked at the man and the cat and asked.

"Susan, Susan Russo, we have investigated. She is also an orphan. Her ancestors were minor nobles in the southern part of the Yunete Peninsula. She is also a devout believer of the Holy Spirit. She and her brother, who is the captain of the Trial Knights, have been using their salaries to maintain the operation of the orphanage. In addition, the siblings also help other poor children and those poor people in the slums."

"But... such a person was judged as a heretic witch, and her brother has disappeared."

Nice sighed.

"When will she be tried?"

夏洛特继续问道。

"Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, in the square of the Ninth District."

It's the way to go.

Charlotte nodded slightly:
"I see."

"Master (Lord Charlotte)! Have you decided to save him?"

Sebastian and Nice asked.

"Since he is an upright and kind priest, and he is likely to know the secret of the Temple of the Sun, I will naturally save him."

Charlotte said.

After saying that, she looked at the two of them:

"You should also be prepared. Since the Ninth District's Inquisition is likely related to the secrets of the Temple of the Sun, this may also be an opportunity."

In the middle of the day:
"Master, are you planning to let Nice and I take advantage of your rescue to sneak into the Ninth Judgment House?"

Charlotte nodded slightly:
"The Inquisition of Heretics is one of the most severe trials in the Holy Royal Court. With such a verdict, the Ninth District Inquisition will certainly take it seriously, and the defense may be relaxed accordingly."

"And if you wait until the rescue is over, they might become wary and strengthen their security, which might make it harder for you to sneak in. They might even transfer and destroy some of your secrets in advance."

After hearing Charlotte's words, Sebastian and Nice became more serious and bowed respectfully.
“It’s sad to see God!”

"Oh, by the way, where is that little girl now?"

The summer solstice road.

"We placed her in an inn in the Holy City and sent knights to protect her."

Sebastian replied.

"Well, take good care of her. A child who has been through so much, I'm afraid she's scared."

Charlotte warned.

……

After receiving new orders from Charlotte, Sebastian and Nice withdrew.

Charlotte was silent for a moment and looked at the empty seat beside her:

"Mr. Guardian Staff, don't you have anything you want to explain to me?"

The divine power continued to spread, and the illusory figure of the Guardian Staff slowly emerged.

It bowed respectfully to Charlotte:
"Your Majesty, what do you want to know? I don't quite understand what you mean..."

Charlotte chuckled and looked at the other person with a hint of scrutiny:
"Guardian Staff, you can hide it from Sebastian and Nice, but you can't hide it from me."

"Tell me, was this your doing? Did you know from the beginning that the secret of the Temple of the Sun was in the Inquisition in District 9? Did you maintain your ability to contact the priests from the beginning? Did you intend to guide Sebastian and Nice to investigate District 9 from the beginning?"

"May I ask why you say that?"

The Guarding Staff said in surprise.

Charlotte snorted and said:
"You were the one who suggested the investigation route for Sebastian and Nice. Not only that, they obviously had different channels and methods, but they both ended up with the Inquisition in District 9."

"I have observed and understood that the reason they finally went to investigate the Inquisition was because of the priests they 'happened' to investigate. If you say there is no one guiding them behind this, I don't believe it at all."

"Of course, the most important thing is this necklace."

As she spoke, Charlotte picked up the cross necklace:
"Predictive dreams cannot be realized by any device. If you want to predict your fate, you must have the corresponding laws."

"Just like the Ness clan's divination, the Ness clan can predict the future and even make predictions because of the law of destiny contained in the way of divination."

"The divine power is also an extension of the primordial power. The primordial power is the source of all laws. This means that the divine power also possesses the power of the law of destiny."

“But this necklace is different.”

"Nice thinks it is a divine artifact because Nice is not a myth, but I can see its essence."

"It... is just a medium for transmitting divine magic."

"In other words, someone used this necklace to give the girl and the director of the orphanage the ability to predict dreams!"

"Of course, it does have the original breath, but... it is not the original breath of Helios, the sun god."

“Its original scent is purer and clearer.”

"And I have only sensed similar auras from three beings."

"One is me, one is my apprentice Harald who has awakened the divine power, and the other one..."

As she spoke, Charlotte looked at the Guardian Staff:
"Do you need me to explain it more clearly?"

The Guardian Staff fell silent.

"Guardian Staff, I need an explanation."

Charlotte's expression became much colder.

The Guardian Staff sighed:

"Your Majesty, are you...really going to ask more questions?"

"Can't I? Since you want me to save Harald, you shouldn't hide the secret. You obviously know more than I expected. Not only that, I now even doubt whether you have already known what the conspiracy of the Temple of the Sun is."

"You knew the information, but you concealed it, and you wanted to deliberately guide me and my followers. Could it be that... you think I am a myth that will tolerate being deceived by others?"

At this point, Charlotte's voice rose a few notches.

Her pupils suddenly turned golden red, and terrifying divine power descended, directly shocking the projection of the guarding staff, while at the same time just controlling the divine power within the room.

Under the terrifying pressure, the light of the Guardian Staff suddenly became flickering, and the humanoid face it transformed into also became pale and painful.

"Your Majesty the True...True Ancestor...No, Your Majesty the Savior, I have no ill intentions...I...I just can't say it, and I can't say it...I must follow...follow my orders."

The Guardian Staff gritted his teeth.

"Your orders? Did Harald tell you to do this? How much have you concealed? What is your purpose?"

Charlotte asked grimly.

"I... I just want to save my master, I want to save you, I want to save everything. I have not betrayed my master, nor have I betrayed you..."

The Guardian Staff said with difficulty.

"Humph, since you want to save Harald, you should tell me everything you know. I don't understand what you have to hide, or is there some restriction on you?"

"No, there is no restriction on you. If there was, I would have sensed it when I strengthened the connection between you and the Holy King's Court through your faith."

"You clearly have no restrictions, but you don't say anything. Do you still want me to continue to trust you?"

Charlotte's voice became serious and cold.

As she spoke, she looked at the other party, her divine power slowly bloomed, and her voice became increasingly majestic:

"Tell me, what are you hiding?"

This time, Charlotte directly used the magic of law.

The Guardian Staff had a painful expression on its face.

But it still gritted its teeth:
"I...can't say it! I really can't say it!"

"Your Majesty, my loyalty has never changed, but I cannot tell you what I cannot tell you! At least, I cannot tell you now!"

"This is the price... the price of changing fate... and the price of deceiving fate!"

"I...I have to do this. Only in this way can we control history. Only in this way can we deceive the world!"

"Otherwise...we...we will fail again! And be swallowed by fate!"

At the end of the speech, the Guardian Staff's voice began to tremble, and his expression gradually became crazy.

Charlotte was slightly startled.

She glanced at the Guardian Staff with a puzzled look, and muttered half-jokingly and half-confusedly:

"Control history? Cheat fate? Ha, it sounds as if what we are experiencing now is also history..."

But this time, the Guarding Staff did not respond, but remained silent.

Charlotte's voice soon stopped.

She also fell silent.