Chapter 380
As Charlotte’s voice fell, Count Gaston, clad in Bold Standard Commander Armor, entered the tent.
Different from everyone’s impression of Count Gaston, today, although he still wore the Bold Standard Lord Armor, the insignia representing the Bold standing army was not worn on his right chest.
Instead, he donned a shield-shaped badge with crossed swords on his left chest.
Moreover, it was worn upside down.
Some sharp-eyed nobles quickly noticed the badge on Count Gaston’s chest.
Heraldry is an etiquette every noble must learn, which naturally includes the family crests of various famous families; as a part of the Bold Duchy in the Northern Land, the nobles in the tent were familiar with the Gaston family crest on Gaston’s chest.
However, wearing the crest on the left chest, and upside down at that… spoke volumes.
Crest worn upside down!
This was the mode of wearing adopted by nobles when they believed the Lord to be tyrannical and chose to raise their flags in rebellion…
It should be mentioned that nearly all the nobles in the Castel rebel forces wore their family crests this way.
Some perceptive nobles quickly caught on to this detail, and the tent gradually became restless:
“It’s Count Gaston!”
“An inverted crest? Is he… declaring a break with Bold?!”
“Divine Lord above! What… what is happening?”
For a moment, there was a buzz among the nobles of the Northern Land.
Count Gaston ignored the nobles’ discussions and came to stand slightly beside Charlotte.
“Lord Castel.”
He greeted her slightly, performing a noble’s bow to Charlotte.
“Count Gaston.”
Charlotte also bowed in return, performing a refined curtsy of a noblewoman, her gestures already quite practiced.
It was just the formal etiquette following an encounter between nobles of equal rank.
However, few noticed that as Charlotte bowed, Count Gaston subtly stepped aside, avoiding receiving her curtsy.
Not only that, but he kept his head lowered until Charlotte had completed her curtsy, as if waiting like a servant for his master.
Of course, these subtle details were unnoticed by anyone, as all the nobles’ attention was already captivated by the explosive news Charlotte had announced.
“Lord Count Gaston, are you… rebelling against the Third Prince’s rule over Bold?!”
Viscount Lien Castel spoke up, voicing the doubt in every noble’s heart.
Hearing the words of the Old Viscount, Count Gaston looked at the Northern Land nobles in the tent.
His gaze sweeping around, he said gravely,
“Yes, the Third Prince, as Lord Eleanor’s husband and the current Duke of the Bold Duchy, has been acting perversely since his arrival at Bold. Not only has he suppressed the local nobles at every turn with threats and temptations, but he has also set up various plots and used dishonorable methods to forcibly strip the Duchy’s nobles of their titles…”
“He has long tarnished the glory of the nobility, an outright tyrant!”
“Not only that, he has even been involved with the Blood Demon Church, forsaken the glory of the Divine Lord, and embraced the arms of demons!”
The words had barely left his mouth when the nobles of the Northern Land erupted in dismay:
“What? To forcibly strip a noble of his title? And to have dealings with the Blood Demon Church?”
“Divine Lord above! Has the Third Prince lost his mind?!”
Even the always composed Baron Angus’s expression shifted slightly as he asked solemnly,
“Count Gaston, are all these things you speak of true?”
Facing the doubtful gazes of many nobles, Count Gaston slowly nodded:
“Of course.”
“Since I have chosen to resist, it was naturally because I discovered decisive evidence.”
“Even the rebellion of Castel, the Third Prince has been supporting it from behind the scenes.”
“I will not hide from you that the Third Prince has long desired Castel, and this rebellion is just the beginning. In fact, the Third Prince has already allied with the Violet Duchy, preparing to jointly partition the Count Castle Domain.”
“And I… My original duty was to fight along with you against the rebels, but then to ally with the rebels and turn against you in a decisive strike…”
Speaking of which, Count Gaston began to detail the various attack plans the Third Prince had for Castel to the nobles of the Northern Land…
As the commander of Bold, the first family to pledge loyalty to the Third Prince, he was well aware of all the Prince’s plans. Sharing these details now was almost akin to stripping the opponent naked, making the nobles of the Northern Land’s hearts race.
Even Charlotte could not help but take a few more glances at him.
It was unclear if it was the effect of spirit manipulation and memory alteration, but he spoke more detailed than he had initially confessed to her, possibly seeing himself as a fighter resisting the Third Prince due to Charlotte’s influence.
However, regarding the most sensitive part, the so-called “collusion with the Blood Demon Church,” which could easily rationalize the nobles’ resistance and even gain the recognition and support of other lords, Count Gaston clearly did not know much and was completely speaking as Charlotte had designed.
It was unavoidable; collusion with the Blood Demon Church was a serious accusation in the New Moon Kingdom. Even if the Third Prince did it, he certainly wouldn’t easily tell anyone.
Charlotte finally used the so-called “attack by the Blood Demon Cultists” that occurred during her meeting with Count Gaston as proof of this matter.
This was actually a deliberate move to smear the Third Prince, as the original “attack by the Blood Demon Cultists” was a drama entirely directed by Count Gaston, only now Charlotte was making use of it.
But, Charlotte felt no guilt in doing so.
After all… after confirming the support of the Third Prince behind the rebellion, combined with witnessing the various activities of Nisi within the Legris Family, Charlotte was almost completely certain that the Third Prince must be involved with the Blood Demon Church!
“The Third Prince is ambitious, has been unscrupulous from the beginning in his competition with the Second Prince for the throne of the Peaceful Kingdom…”
“As the commander of Tulip, I was ordered to cooperate with the rebels and attack Castel from both sides.”
“But as an old friend of the Castel family, I did not wish to do so, thus I arranged a meeting with Count Castel at the border to warn him privately, only to encounter an attack by the Blood Demon Church right there…”
“If Count Castel hadn’t been prepared, I might have been controlled by the Blood Demon Church by now.”
“The Third Prince will not rest until he achieves his goal, so after consulting with Count Castel, we decided to pretend to be controlled by the Blood Demon Church and continue to act on ’orders’.”
“In reality, however, we are aiding you in crushing Castel’s rebellion and exposing the Third Prince’s conspiracy!”
“My lords, after this rebellion, it’s likely that the Third Prince will soon formally declare war on Castel, using a justified reason to strip him of his title.”
“Not only that, as the richest territory in Bold, the Third Prince has always entertained the idea of making Castel directly governed, while distributing the territory to his confidants…”
“At that time, the territories of your families may also face crisis!”
“My lords, the Third Prince is by no means a wise ruler. My Gaston family does not wish to associate with such a tyrant. For the future of Bold and for the future of New Moon, we must resist.”