Gospel of Blood-Chapter 582 : Your Highness, the Saintess, welcome to the Holy Capital.

The radiant sunlight poured down like molten gold, casting a brilliant glow over the ancient and majestic grey-white city walls.

The houses were neatly arranged, almost all built with white bricks and adorned with exquisite holy cross patterns, and the bustling streets stretched to the horizon.

This is the Holy Capital, the capital of the Theocracy, and the true center of power for the Holy Court.

The melodious sound of bells rang from the Holy Tower in the city.

Silver-armored Holy Knights in pure white cloaks and black-armored Inquisition Knights in red cloaks formed neat, solemn lines, emerging from the Holy City and lining up along the main avenue.

Citizens stood behind the knights, craning their necks in curiosity, whispering to each other.

“Look! It’s the First Holy Knight Order and the First Inquisition Knight Order!”

“By the Lord! Both knight orders are out to maintain order. Who could be visiting the Holy Capital? Could it be the Archbishop of the Crescent Diocese?”

“No, even for the Archbishop of the Crescent Diocese, both knight orders wouldn’t be deployed.”

“Wait! It’s not just the knight orders, the Cardinals’ group is here too!”

“By the Lord! It’s really the Cardinals’ group of the Holy Capital!”

The citizens murmured and grew restless.

When the church officials in white ceremonial robes appeared in the Holy Square, accompanied by a dozen elders in golden cardinal robes, the commotion reached its peak.

The knights stood tall and proud, while the cardinals gazed expectantly toward the city gate.

Following their gaze, the citizens also focused on the city gate.

“Boom—”

“Boom—”

“…”

The melodious bells rang again from the Holy Tower, this time tolling twelve times.

The citizens familiar with the Holy Court’s rituals exchanged curious and astonished looks.

In the Holy Capital, the Sacred Bell in the Holy Tower was only rung for distinguished guests of the church.

The more the bell tolled, the higher the status of the visitor, indicating the greater importance the church placed on them.

And twelve times… was the maximum, even more than the eleven times for the Emperor of the Empire and the King of the Crescent Kingdom!

The bell’s sound echoed in the sky above the Holy Capital.

Accompanied by the steady sound of hooves, two columns of silver-armored knights in black cloaks majestically entered through the city gate.

They wore enchanted plate armor made of mithril and adamantium, carrying golden banners adorned with black eagles and exquisite red lilacs.

Seeing the iconic black eagle and red lilac, some onlookers immediately realized.

“Black eagle… lilac… this is the banner of the Roman and Castell families!”

“Roman and Castell? The Starfall Royal Family? The Queen of Starfall?”

“Is it… the Saintess?”

People whispered, their curious and excited eyes fixed on the extraordinary knights of the Starfall Kingdom.

The grand procession entered the Holy City, and everyone’s gaze converged on the golden carriage drawn by dragon-scaled horses in the center, decorated with intricate patterns and engraved with black eagles and red lilacs.

The knights escorted the carriage into the Holy Square.

The procession halted, and the cardinals, along with other clergies, approached the carriage.

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A handsome elf in a black tailcoat gracefully opened the carriage door, bowing slightly, one hand behind his back, the other extended.

Then, a small hand in a white silk glove emerged from the carriage.

Guided by the elf butler, a beautiful figure gracefully stepped out.

The golden sunlight illuminated her.

In that moment, the bustling square seemed to fall silent.

Everyone’s gaze was drawn to the beautiful figure.

Silky, light golden hair as beautiful as molten gold, clear blue eyes as pure as the sky, a delicate and flawless face as if crafted by the Gods, and a holy, dignified white gown trimmed with gold.

An… angel!

This was the first thought that came to the minds of all the citizens who beheld her beauty.

Even the church knights standing guard on the streets and the square were momentarily dazed, quickly bowing their heads in reverence.

Among the clergies, the cardinals were already beaming with smiles, and the leading elder seemed particularly excited.

He couldn’t help but murmur “Praise the Holy One” before approaching the crowned young lady, slightly bowing, and making a ringed cross on his chest.

He then said,

“By the Lord! Saintess Charlotte de Castell, Cardinal Priest Filiberto of the Holy Court, along with the Cardinals’ group of the Theocracy, welcomes your arrival!”

Hearing Cardinal Priest Filiberto’s words, Charlotte smiled—a smile that momentarily entranced the priests present—and said,

“Thank you for your welcome, lord Filiberto.”

“Saintess, we have prepared a palace for you in the Holy Palace and accommodations for the knights of the Starfall Kingdom. Please proceed to the Holy Palace, the Pope is also waiting for you there.”

Cardinal Priest Filiberto respectfully said.

Afterward, he made a gesture of “please.”

Charlotte nodded slightly and smiled.

“In that case, please lead the way, Lord Filiberto.”

After a brief exchange, Charlotte reboarded the carriage, and the knights of the Starfall Kingdom escorted it once more.

This time, the Holy Knights and Inquisition Knights on either side of the street also moved, following behind the procession to serve as the church’s escort.

It wasn’t until the grand procession had left the Holy Square that the onlookers gradually recovered from their silence and became even more excited.

“Saintess! It’s really the Saintess of the Starfall!”

“Praise the Holy One! Did you see? That was the Saintess!”

“Is she… an angel?”

“An angel? No… she must be the daughter of the divine!”

“By the Lord! I can’t believe I ever believed those rumors saying the Saintess was a blasphemous witch!”

“Blasphemy! Those rumors are the real blasphemy! Did you see the light around her? That must be holy light! It’s the blessing of the Lord!”

People talked animatedly, excitedly describing the beauty and holiness of the Saintess they had just glimpsed from afar.

Of course, seated in the distant carriage, Charlotte did not hear any of this.

…

In the carriage.

The young girl, who had been regarded as an “angel” by the citizens of the Holy City, had already seated herself again.

Looking through the semi-transparent gauze curtain at the grand city dominated by white and the church knights guarding the procession, Charlotte’s smile slowly faded.

“Hey, Lady Charlotte, twelve bell tolls and an escort of both the First Holy Knight Order and the Inquisition Knight Order—looks like the Theocracy really values you!”

Across from her, a plump black cat peeked out the carriage window, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Charlotte glanced at him and nodded with a hint of amusement.

“Yes, they certainly do value me. Six Legendaries personally ‘escorting’ me—I suppose that’s a first.”

“Six… six Legendaries?!”

Nice’s eyes widened.

Charlotte nodded, glancing at the church knights escorting them and the Cardinals leading the way ahead.

“Two in the Holy Knight Order, two in the Inquisition Knight Order, one hidden in the shadows, and… Cardinal Priest Filiberto is also a Legendary.”

Nice’s expression grew serious.

“Deploying so many Legendaries… Lady Charlotte, it seems they are more suspicious of your identity than welcoming you. I fear they will start testing us as soon as we enter the Holy City.”

“No.”

Charlotte shook her head slightly.

She glanced at the ancient text that had just faded from view and chuckled softly.

“The testing actually began the moment we entered the city.”

The testing had indeed already begun.

The moment Charlotte’s carriage entered the city gate, she sensed several high-level detection and judgment spells cast on the procession, the kinds that were extremely secretive even within the Holy Court.

Of course, they were all countered by the Gospel of Blood.

Charlotte could sense that after those detection spells were countered, the hidden church Legendaries in the escort relaxed considerably.

But Charlotte knew this was just the beginning.

The moment she entered the Holy City, Charlotte felt an unprecedentedly powerful force hidden within the towering white city. The holy aura was omnipresent, almost filling every corner of the city.

Even as a Demigod, Charlotte felt a hint of threat.

Moreover, as the carriage approached the central area of the Holy City—the inner city known as the Holy City itself—this sense of threat grew stronger.

The Holy City was a place where only priests, devout believers, and ceremonial guests could enter.

As the procession entered the Holy City, a towering and sacred palace came into view.

It was the largest and tallest palace on the entire Myria continent.

The majestic palace was also white, adorned with golden patterns and filled with exquisite holy religious carvings.

That was the Holy Palace—the highest authority symbol of the Holy Court.

Anyone who saw this magnificent palace would be struck by its majesty and sanctity.

Of course, for Charlotte, who had seen many skyscrapers and various fantasy palaces in different worlds, the impact was much less.

But Charlotte’s expression grew solemn.

She could clearly sense that the increasingly strong sense of threat originated from this palace she was about to enter.