Gospel of Blood

Chapter 410: Blood servants cannot lie to their masters

Charlotte was now very certain that Albrecht genuinely had not recognized her identity. Otherwise, he would never be so blatant in his advances, nor would he use mind-suggestion magic on her.

Admitting this might sound a bit narcissistic, but Charlotte was well aware of how remarkable her appearance in this body was.

It was a level of beauty that could still astonish her, even after years of bombardment by various image-editing software and beauty filters in her previous life.

At any Myria noble banquet, she was always the center of attention, especially after merging with the Faceless Statue.

Perhaps it was because she had become a Demigod, her skin and aura had further improved. While her physical strength, excluding the blood divine power, had not surpassed mortal levels, her appearance was becoming increasingly otherworldly.

As a result, when attending various banquets, Charlotte no longer worried about dressing up beautifully but about making her appearance look more “human.”

Of course, even when appearing “human”, her appearance was still awe-inspiring to ordinary people. And that’s not even mentioning Charlotte’s identity as the “True Ancestor of Blood.”

Even though she concealed her aura, her body had been transformed numerous times by the Gospel of Blood, making her bloodline extremely pure.

Most bloodbornes needed to drink regularly, and even Legendary Bloodbornes still had a blood-drinking impulse. Charlotte, having been transformed by the Gospel of Blood many times, had blood that was undoubtedly more enticing.

Even if Albrecht couldn’t sense the aura masked by her blood divine power, his bloodborne instincts would still draw his gaze toward her.

Therefore, it was entirely normal for the usually composed Albrecht to be attracted to her.

Charlotte wasn’t particularly angry about Albrecht’s actions, she found them amusing. She was looking for some fun, so she played along to see what tricks he might have up his sleeve.

Unlike the light-polluted Earth, the night sky over Myria’s cities was still dazzling and beautiful. The Milky Way adorned the sky, familiar yet strange, reminding Charlotte that she had truly transmigrated into another world.

Albrecht didn’t make any inappropriate moves. After leading Charlotte to the viewing platform, he naturally stood beside her, gazing at the stars together.

The dark sky was dotted with stars, their light sparkling like diamonds, with nebulae winding through the endless Milky Way.

Charlotte was soon captivated by the starry river. However, Albrecht noticed that her eyes lacked the excitement and joy of a child seeing a beautiful sky. Instead, there was a hint of melancholy and nostalgia amidst her appreciation.

This surprised him and further piqued his curiosity about the girl. It seemed the bud he had found had a story to tell.

Albrecht enjoyed uncovering stories.

Following Charlotte’s gaze, he smiled slightly and said,

“Beautiful lady, the constellation you’re looking at is ‘Winged Seat.’”

“It is said to be the guardian of all birds, erected by the Sky God for a gray finch named ‘Barry.’”

“Gray finches are birds that rarely fly high, but ‘Barry’ was different. It longed to soar over the highest peak and explore the unknown sky.”

“It bravely flew into the sky, never giving up despite encountering storms and never retreating even in the face of dragons’ mockery.”

“Finally, it crossed the storm and reached the peak. In its dying moments, it became the first gray finch to fly over the world’s highest summit.”

“Its courage and determination moved the Sky God. Every star in the sky shone for it, and eventually, with the Sky God’s blessing, it became the Winged Seat in the starry sky, guiding all birds in their flight…”

“Beautiful lady, that constellation is ‘Acacia Seat,’ and it also has an ancient story.”

“However, this story is not inspiring but rather tragic…”

Albrecht pointed at the stars and told stories.

To Charlotte’s surprise, he seemed genuinely adept at charming girls, his mind full of various star stories. Even she found herself unexpectedly drawn into his tales, fascinated by each beautiful or sad story.

However, Charlotte also noticed that, unlike Earth’s constellation stories, Albrecht’s stories always involved Gods. Whether it was the Sky God or the God of Beauty and Love, all constellations were established by Gods and closely linked to them.

Charlotte’s mind stirred.

She put on an innocent, longing expression and asked sweetly.

“Sir, are the stories you tell real stories that happened?”

Albrecht smiled.

He was about to humor her, as he usually did with girls when telling sky stories, but for some reason, looking into her clear, starry eyes, he found himself suddenly speaking the truth.

“Of course not.”

“Reality is not so romantic. The so-called constellation stories are just amusing tales humans invented to satisfy their curiosity about the sky and Gods.”

At this point, Albrecht realized his mistake.

By the True Ancestor!

Why did he suddenly reveal his true thoughts?

Ugh, crap! What bad luck!

Albrecht coughed a few times, trying to suppress the sudden thought of a certain venerable name.

Entities at that level were highly perceptive, even thinking about them might attract their attention…

Having managed to avoid that terrifying presence, he didn’t want to be noticed again anytime soon!

Shaking his head vigorously, Albrecht suppressed his scattered thoughts.

Looking at the girl again, he felt a headache coming on.

Denying his own “fairy tales” was not what a starry-eyed, pure girl wanted to hear.

One careless move, and all his efforts to win her favor could be undone!

Albrecht felt regretful, not realizing it was the blood servant contract at work.

For a True Ancestor, a blood servant could not, and would not, lie.

Questions asked by the True Ancestor must be answered truthfully.

“Sir, does that mean the constellations have nothing to do with the Gods?”

Charlotte asked sweetly, her big eyes blinking.

Facing her innocent, inquisitive look, Albrecht was stunned, feeling a bit dazed.

It seemed… the girl wasn’t disappointed by his answer. Rather, she seemed even more interested?

She was interested in Gods?

Albrecht’s spirits lifted.

He planned to tell some human-created stories related to Gods to please her, but as he spoke, the words changed.

“Yes, and no.”

“The stars have been around for a very long time, possibly even before the Gods appeared. However, not all stars are unrelated to the Gods. Some stars are actually projections of the Gods’ divine realms in the sky, and some stars are sealed Gods…”

Halfway through, Albrecht covered his mouth.

By the True Ancestor! What was he saying?

Why did he casually reveal such secret knowledge?!

Many Gods’ cults described the sky as the creation of Gods.

With the Divinity Descent Day approaching, openly debunking this could attract the attention of hidden beings! Ugh, disgusting!

Albrecht felt like his brain was malfunctioning tonight, his intelligence seemingly reduced!

He didn’t dare delve further into this topic and coughed lightly, changing the subject.

“Ahem, beautiful lady, your attire doesn’t look like that of a Starfall noble. Are you here for the banquet from elsewhere?”

Charlotte nodded and answered truthfully.

“Yes, I’m not from Starfall. I’m from the North.”

“The North…”

Albrecht mused.

He thought of the North’s ruler, the young countess, suspected to be the True Ancestor’s vassal.

Reassessing the girl, he showed an appreciative look and praised her.

“I’ve heard the northern girls are the most beautiful. I never believed it, but seeing you now, I realize the truth might exceed the rumors.”

“Beautiful lady, you are the most adorable person I’ve ever seen. Even the so-called Crescent Jewel, Countess Castell, cannot compare to you…”

Hearing Albrecht’s words, the girl lowered her head slightly, her lips curling in a seemingly delighted and shy smile.

Seconds later, she raised her head, her expression back to normal.

“Sir, your attire doesn’t look like that of a Starfall noble either. Where are you from, and why did you come to Roman?”

Upon hearing the girl’s question, Albrecht felt complicated emotions.

His expression darkened as he bitterly smiled.

“My dear lady, to be honest, I came to Roman to escape disaster.”

“Escape disaster?”

The girl raised an eyebrow.

Albrecht nodded, sighing deeply, unaware that he was once again speaking his true thoughts.

“I come from the Crescent Kingdom. Recently, I was targeted by a terrifying presence and had to flee my homeland.”

“A terrifying… presence?”

The girl’s expression was curious.

Albrecht sighed and began to pour out his grievances.

“Yes, a terrifying presence. It was our family’s former elder, who returned from a very distant place. She is more evil than demons, more sinister than devils, and more brutal than black dragons. Her power is overwhelming. I couldn’t resist her. She wanted to enslave me and take everything from me. I had no choice but to escape to this place…”

Hearing Albrecht’s lament, the girl nodded, sympathetically agreeing.

“It sounds like a truly unreasonable elder.”

“Isn’t it! You leave, then stay gone! If you come back, fine, but why target me, a minor figure, and not those big shots? I’m really having a hard time…”

Albrecht was full of resentment, venting to the girl in front of him.

However, as he spoke, he suddenly realized…

By the True Ancestor! Why was he revealing all his true thoughts again?!

Bah! What True Ancestor! Damn it!

Albrecht shivered, looking around cautiously, fearing that he might attract the attention of a certain existence, that crimson mist might suddenly engulf him, and he would find himself before the Blood Throne again.

Fortunately, apart from the gentle sea breeze and the music from the banquet hall, there were no unusual phenomena around.

Albrecht breathed a sigh of relief.

He was just overthinking. The True Ancestor of Blood was expanding her faith in Crescent, she wouldn’t be here.

Only then did he realize that his conversation with the girl wasn’t over, and his previous outpouring of grievances was definitely a huge negative point!

Albrecht was filled with regret, but when he looked at the girl, he found her expression seemed happier.

Huh?

No… that didn’t seem like pure happiness; it was more like a… forced smile.

Indeed, his careless words had lowered her opinion of him…

Albrecht frowned slightly, but he wasn’t too worried. If his techniques failed, he still had magic.

Thinking of this, he decided to skip the previous topic and smiled warmly.

“My dear lady, we’ve talked for so long, yet we don’t know each other’s names. May I ask… how should I address you?”

Hmm? Trying to take it further?

Charlotte’s eyes twinkled with interest.

With a playful mindset, she pretended to be a young girl trying to act mature and smiled.

“Sir, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first before asking a lady’s name?”

Hearing Charlotte’s words, Albrecht slapped his forehead and apologized.

“Ah, my apologies, dear lady, you are so charming that I forgot to introduce myself.”

He then elegantly bowed and introduced himself with a bright smile using the fake name he had prepared.

“You may call me Albrecht, Albrecht Yabadis Shedite.”

A fake… fake name… fake name my ass!

By the True Ancestor! Why did he blurt out his real name?! And even included the demon’s true name!

Albrecht was dumbfounded!

Soon, his expression turned suspicious and uncertain. Once could be a mistake, but not repeatedly. How could he, a Blood Duke and a Legendary demon, continuously reveal all his true thoughts?

Something wasn’t right!

This was not right!

He… might have unknowingly fallen under some hidden spell!

Albrecht’s expression turned grim as he suspiciously looked around, considering over a dozen bloodborne names that could have set him up.

Eventually, his uncertain gaze fell on the girl in front of him who had greatly attracted him.

He wasn’t stupid.

All the oddities seemed to have started when he began interacting with this girl.

The girl, however, seemed unaware of Albrecht’s change in expression. She just looked a bit odd.

She nodded slightly, smiling approvingly.

“Albrecht? A nice name, same as an old acquaintance of mine.”

Then, she beamed a bright smile.

“So, Albrecht, it’s a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Charlotte.”

Char… Charlotte?

Albrecht was taken aback.

This name… where had he heard it before?

Wait…

Charlotte… just the first name?

What about the surname?

Albrecht frowned.

He was about to speak when he sensed a familiar presence approaching the banquet hall.

It was… the presence of a bloodborne.

Albrecht squinted his eyes.

He quietly summoned his magic, ready to act at any moment.

The next second, he saw a young noble from Starfall entering the observation deck.

Albrecht raised an eyebrow.

If he remembered correctly, that was Count Yurst of the Nez Clan, a third-generation bloodborne and descendant of Yorok.

What was a Nez Blood Count doing here?

Did the Nez Clan discover his presence?

Albrecht became wary, his magic ready to strike.

However, to his surprise, Count Yurst seemed to pay little attention to him.

Yurst merely glanced at him with a frown before focusing on the girl.

He approached her and smiled.

“Madam Castell, so you are here. Prince Henry has arrived.”

Madam Castell?

Albrecht was stunned.

No… wait.

Castell…

Charlotte…

Charlotte de Castell?

The Lord of the North, the young Countess of Castell –Charlotte de Castell?!

In almost an instant, Albrecht remembered where he had heard the name Charlotte.

It was the name of the Northern Lord!

And when “Charlotte de Castell” appeared in his mind, the blood servant contract mark in his soul lit up…

Albrecht was horrified to find that he couldn’t speak her name!

A blood servant cannot lie to their master.

At the same time, a blood servant cannot directly address their master’s true name.

In that moment, Albrecht recalled the various rules of the blood servant contract.

Looking at the smiling girl in front of him, he thought of an incredible possibility, and following that terrifying possibility, all the oddities and doubts of tonight were answered…

“Ma… Mas…”

The girl’s delicate figure overlapped with a vague memory, and Albrecht’s expression turned horrified. His scalp tingled as he struggled to speak.