Chapter 281: Breakup and Resistance

As Charlotte’s voice fell, Count Gaston entered the tent, clad in Borde standard commander’s armor.Unlike the image everyone had of Count Gaston, today he wore the Borde lord’s armor but without the insignia representing the Borde regular army on his right chest. Instead, he wore a shield-shaped badge with crossed swords on his left chest, and it was upside down.

Some sharp-eyed nobles quickly noticed the badge on Count Gaston’s chest.

Heraldry is a necessary etiquette for every noble to learn, including the coats of arms of various prominent families. As northern nobles and members of the Borde Duchy, the nobles in the tent naturally recognized that the badge was the Gaston family crest.

However, wearing the badge on the left chest, contrary to the norm, and upside down, had a significant implication.

An inverted coat of arms! sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

This is a way for nobles to display their rebellion against their lord when they believe their lord is unjust.

Incidentally, almost all nobles in the Castell rebel army wear their family crests in this manner.

Observant nobles quickly picked up on this detail, and the tent started to buzz with discussions.

“It’s Count Gaston!”

“An inverted coat of arms? Is he declaring a break with Borde?!”

“By the Lord! What’s going on?”

The northern nobles were abuzz.

Ignoring the nobles’ discussions, Count Gaston walked over and stood beside Charlotte.

“Countess Castell.”

He gave a slight bow, performing a noble gesture to Charlotte.

“Count Gaston.”

Charlotte returned the gesture with a noble lady’s courtesy, her movements now quite practiced.

This was a formal etiquette between nobles of the same rank.

However, no one noticed that when Charlotte bowed in return, Count Gaston subtly avoided receiving the bow. Moreover, he only raised his head completely after Charlotte finished her courtesy, like a servant waiting for his master.

Of course, no one noticed these subtle details, as all the nobles’ attention had already been captured by the explosive news Charlotte had announced.

“Count Gaston, are you really planning to resist the Third Prince’s rule over Borde?”

Viscount Leon-Castell voiced the question on all the nobles’ minds.

Hearing the old Viscount’s question, Count Gaston looked at the northern nobles in the tent. His gaze swept around, and he said in a deep voice,

“Indeed. The Third Prince, as the husband of Lady Eleanor and the current Duke of Borde, has, since arriving in Borde, acted tyrannically. Not only has he oppressed the local nobles, coerced and bribed them, but he has also set up numerous schemes and used disgraceful means to forcibly strip the duchy’s nobles of their titles.”

“He has long tarnished the glory of nobility and is a complete tyrant!”

“Furthermore, he has dealings with the Blood Demon Cult, betraying the Lord’s glory and siding with demons!”

These words caused an uproar among the northern nobles.

“What? Forcibly stripping nobles of their titles? Having dealings with the Blood Demon Cult?”

“By the Lord! Has the Third Prince gone mad?!”

Even the usually composed Baron Angus showed a change in expression and solemnly asked.

“Count Gaston… is what you’re saying true?”

Facing the doubtful gazes of the many nobles, Count Gaston slowly nodded.

“Of course.”

“I chose to rebel precisely because I discovered decisive evidence.”

“Even the current Castell rebellion has the support of the Third Prince behind the scenes.”

“To be frank, the Third Prince has long coveted Castell. This rebellion is just the beginning. In fact, the Third Prince has already allied with the Violet Duchy, planning to divide the Castell territory.”

“And my original duty was to join the battle and, when you fought the rebels, to ally with the rebels and turn against you…”

As he spoke, Count Gaston began to recount to the northern nobles the various attack plans of the Third Prince against Castell…

As the commander of Borde and a family that first chose to pledge loyalty to the Third Prince, he was well aware of the Third Prince’s plans. At this moment, he almost revealed everything, making the northern nobles’ hearts race.

Even Charlotte couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times.

Perhaps due to mental control and memory modification, he spoke even more thoroughly than when he initially confessed to her, seemingly “wholeheartedly” viewing himself as a fighter against the Third Prince.

However, regarding the most sensitive part—the accusation of collusion with the Blood Demon Cult, which could make the nobles’ resistance more justified and possibly gain other lords’ recognition and support—Count Gaston clearly didn’t know more. He was entirely following Charlotte’s script.

This was unavoidable. Accusations of colluding with the Blood Demon Cult were too severe in the Crescent Kingdom.

Even if the Third Prince really did it, he wouldn’t easily disclose it.

Charlotte ultimately used the incident when she and Count Gaston met and were “attacked by Blood Demon Cultists” to prove this matter.

This was, in fact, a deliberate smear against the Third Prince. The so-called “attack by Blood Demon Cultists” was orchestrated by Count Gaston himself, merely used by Charlotte.

But Charlotte used it without guilt.

After confirming that the rebels were indeed supported by the Third Prince, and considering the various observations made by Nice in the Lagrisse family, Charlotte was almost certain that the Third Prince was indeed involved with the Blood Demon Cult!

“The Third Prince is ambitious and has long resorted to any means necessary to compete with the Second Prince for the Throne…”

“As the commander of Tulip, I was ordered to cooperate with the rebels and attack Castell.”

“But as an old friend of the Castell family, I didn’t want to do this, so I arranged to meet the Count of Castell at the border to privately warn him. However, I didn’t expect to encounter an attack by the Blood Demon Cult…”

“If it weren’t for Countess Castell being prepared, I would have already been controlled by the Blood Demon Cult.”

“The Third Prince will not give up until he achieves his goal, so after discussing with Countess Castell, we decided to pretend that I had been controlled by the Blood Demon Cult and continue to follow ‘orders’.”

“But in reality, I am here to help you defeat the Castell rebels and expose the Third Prince’s conspiracy!”

“Everyone, after this rebellion, the Third Prince will likely formally declare war on Castell, using a high-sounding reason to reclaim the Castell title.”

“Moreover, as the richest territory in Borde, the Third Prince has always had the idea of turning Castell into a direct fief and distributing the land to his confidants…”

“By then, the lands of all your families will be in danger!”

“Everyone, the Third Prince is not a wise ruler. The Gaston family does not want to follow such a tyrant. For the future of Borde, for the future of the Crescent, we must resist!”