Chapter 23: Retrieve my Belongings

Charlotte finally had a good night's sleep. Without the nightly "praying whispers towards Ancient God" that she experienced when she first transmigrated, and without the anxiety she felt at the church hospital, she slept straight through until almost noon.In fact, if it weren't for the annoying window knocking from the black cat Nice that woke her up, Charlotte felt that she could have slept until evening.

"I should have told you last night, just come back through the front door and don't disturb my slumber."

With her beautiful golden hair looking like a hedgehog, Charlotte sat half upright on the bed, hugging a pillow, and looked coldly at the black cat drinking water from a teapot.

"Cough, isn't the front door closed, meow? Besides, Cat Mast... um, I'm used to coming in through the window."

Nice said with a smirk, its amber eyes constantly peeking at the white chest of the girl.

No matter how Charlotte looked at it, she felt like the other party was doing it on purpose, clearly deliberate revenge.

"Oh? So... the cat I saw outside the window that evening during the blood sacrifice was you?"

She used the pillow to block her body and squinted at the elongated neck of the black cat.

"Huh? Cat? What cat?"

Nice retracted its neck, looked up at the ceiling, and started playing dumb.

"The demon hunter knights that night, did you also call them here for backup?"

"What are you talking about? I don't know anything! It wasn't me, don't falsely accuse me!" Sᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Nice denied it outright.

Charlotte understood.

"Did you find out what I asked you to investigate last night?"

She was too lazy to argue with the other party about these trivial matters and turned to more serious matters.

"Well... how should I put it, I'm not sure if I've found out."

The black cat scratched its head.

"Hmm?"

Charlotte snorted lightly.

"Yesterday when we left, I told the city guards to track it down, and I also arranged for the demon hunter guys to ambush, but... neither the city guards nor the demon hunter found anyone waiting at the location on the parchment."

Nice said.

"Nobody?"

"Yeah, nobody."

"The plan got found out?"

"No... it's more like nobody showed up at all."

"No one showed up? Strange, then why did they kidnap me..."

Charlotte frowned. She initially thought it might be an enemy of the Castell family, but now she felt something was wrong.

Everything that happened last night quickly flashed through her mind like a slideshow, and the girl began to rethink. From being abducted by the fake servant, to killing him later, to the demon hunter knights and city guards arriving, to Nice's fruitless investigation... Gradually, a complete chain of events... began to form in her mind.

Charlotte had some guesses. Thinking about it, she reached out and searched under the blanket, pulling out the hand crossbow she brought back last night. Then, she tossed it to Nice directly.

Nice's eyes lit up, it hugged it with both paws and then stretched its neck to sniff. But when she saw Charlotte's cold gaze, she quickly coughed and shrank back, looking guilty.

"Go check the vagrant who led the way last night, and find out where this crossbow came from."

Charlotte said.

"Huh? How do I check? Isn't this a standard hand crossbow from Crescent Kingdom?"

Nice held the crossbow, turning it over and over, looking puzzled.

Charlotte shook her head.

"If my guess is correct, you should be able to easily trace its source by continuing to investigate it. Perhaps... it belongs to the Duke's mansion."

"The... Duke's mansion?!"

Nice widened her eyes, astonished.

"What about the Rose Society? How's the investigation going?"

Charlotte didn't explain further but turned to other questions.

"The Rose Society probably has nothing to do with this. It's just a black intermediary group that takes commissions. They rely on having a second-tier transcendent being as their background support for protection in the underworld."

Nice shook its head. With that, it scratched its chin.

"But Cat Master... cough, I unexpectedly found out something else."

"What?"

"It seems that your cheap grandmother has a very close relationship with the Rose Society. There are many tasks posted on their mission board that she once issued, including some requests to buy sacrificial materials, and she even sold a page of a cursed book. Moreover... she seems to be an honorary member of the Rose Society."

Countess Castell? A page from the Gospel?

Charlotte's heart stirred. She never imagined that the old lady with the crazy reputation had more than one page of the Gospel in her possession!

Charlotte was about to ask further questions but noticed the high-raised tail of the black cat. Suddenly, she squinted her eyes and said.

"You seem quite excited?"

"Huh? What? Excited? Meow! No way!"

Nice continued to play dumb. Charlotte quietly looked at it.

After a moment, seemingly unable to bear her oppressive gaze, Nice scratched its head and reluctantly admitted.

"Okay, I admit it, I'm a bit excited, but... please allow me to ask you a question first."

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"Ask."

"That night, your cheap grandmother did indeed offer a sacrifice to the Bloodborne Archduke, right? And... just like you changed my servant oath yesterday, did you also change her sacrifice?"

Wow, it figured that out?

Charlotte looked at Nice unexpectedly, neither admitting nor denying it.

Nice instantly became excited.

"Do you have a grudge against the Archduke?"

"What does that have to do with you?"

Charlotte asked in return.

"Meow! Of course, it matters! Because I also have a grudge against him... uh, no, against the Blood Demon Cult!"

Nice exclaimed, raising its paw excitedly, even its raised tail trembling.

"Meow! If you're going to deal with the Blood... Demon Cult, you must take me with you!"

Charlotte didn't respond. She didn't know if she had a grudge against the Blood Demon Cult. It depended on whether they would continue to cause trouble for her and if they had any pages of the Gospel in their possession.

The Gospel of Blood were Charlotte's trump card, and she was the owner of it. Completing the Gospel of Blood would undoubtedly be one of her future goals.

"If necessary, I will. After all, you're my servant."

Charlotte said lightly.

With that, she asked again.

"How much do you know about the pages of the cursed book?"

"Cursed book's pages?"

Nice was stunned. After thinking for a moment, it replied.

"I only know that it was once a very ancient artifact of the Bloodborne, but it was destroyed during the Bloodborne Civil War. Not only did it lose most of its power, but it was also cursed... Anyone who gets the pages will eventually go mad, even the bloodborne will lose control and become monsters!"

A curse...

Charlotte pondered. She thought of the Countess from that night.

After a moment of contemplation, she continued.

"Continue investigating the Rose Society and the Blood Demon Cult, and also find out the whereabouts of the cursed page that Countess Castell sold, as well as other clues about cursed pages."

"Why are you investigating these things?"

Nice asked curiously.

"Of course, to retrieve my belongings."

"Your belongings?"

Nice looked confused.

"Well, I'm getting up now, you can leave, and remember to organize all the magic you know into a book and give it to me."

Charlotte didn't explain further but issued the eviction order.

Nice:...

Although it was curious in its heart, ultimately fearing Charlotte's authority, it sighed and left the bedroom obediently.

"Retrieve... her belongings?"

After closing the door, Nice, still holding the crossbow, remained puzzled.

Suddenly, seeming to realize something, the black cat's figure suddenly froze.

"Her belongings? Wait! Cursed page?!"

With a "clatter," the crossbow in Nice's arms fell to the ground.

Its eyes widened, and it couldn't help but start trembling.

"Her... her, her, her, her...!"

"Could it be... could she be...!?"

...

Charlotte had no idea how much shock her words had brought to the cat.

After Nice left, she struggled to get out of bed.

After the night's sleep, the aftermath of her bloodthirst had disappeared. Charlotte felt as if she had been reborn, full of strength throughout her body.

Without the service of maids, she naturally abandoned the cumbersome noble dress and simply put on a dress that even she could manage on her own. But her beautiful golden hair was a bit difficult to manage. There were always servants to help with grooming, and even female priests helped when she was at the church hospital, but now it was just Charlotte herself, and she could only stare blankly.

At this moment, she truly realized how much effort the servants had put into maintaining her beautiful golden hair. Beauty comes with a price. Perhaps I should see if there's any magic that can take care of it on its own. Maybe I can learn it too?

Charlotte thought so.

Breakfast... no, lunch was very simple.

A plate of vegetable salad, a small steak, a small piece of fried goose liver, and a small dish of flower skin cheese. In addition, there was Charlotte's favorite, mushroom cream soup.

Lunch was prepared by Casimodo. Although it didn't taste as good as the estate chef's, it was still decent. There was no choice. Now the vast Castell estate only had Casimodo and Charlotte. Being able to manage the business of the silverware shop while taking care of herself, Charlotte considered this old servant almost like a versatile warrior.

"After eating, go summon some servants."

After eating and drinking, Charlotte looked at the empty estate and her somewhat messy golden hair and said after some contemplation. But noticing the other's expression, Charlotte's heart stirred.

"Hmm? Is there a problem?"

Casimodo sighed, smiling bitterly.

"Master, actually... there are indeed some problems."