"That's right," Adele said, she didn't seem to see Dalton's changed face, "Besides, there is one more thing I want to entrust you to do."
"I hope it won't be an errand that makes me fall off my horse again." Dalton pinched the letter like a fire, and he gazed into the Queen's ruthless rose-colored eyes, "Please Tell me, what else do you want me to do?"
"People say that General Dalton has a group of absolutely loyal soldiers," Adele said slowly, as if she was thinking about something carefully while speaking, "I need you to select an absolutely reliable team, and then escort Go alone to the Papal States."
"Escort who?"
The topic jumped a little fast, and Dalton couldn't understand what the queen wanted to do for a while.
"Leander Lewis."
Dalton thought for a moment and remembered the name, so he looked even more confused: "What are you looking for him for? Send him to the gallows?"
"No." The queen pressed her pale fingertips together, and a chilling smile flashed across her delicate and beautiful face, "I want to give him a triple crown."
Dalton looked at her in astonishment, not understanding what she meant.
……………
Leander Lewis.
In the past few years, this name was considered very popular. He came from a prominent papal family—two popes had the secular name "Luvis." He himself also served as a cardinal in the Holy See. Unlike ordinary bishops, he has at least done some practical things.
From 1543 to 1548, the Purification Movement he led made him famous, and he was once considered the best candidate for the next Pope.
In fact, just as the shadow of a huge family and country can be seen behind every pope, behind Leander Luvis stands the powerful Root Empire. To a certain extent, the success of the Root Empire from the control of the Papal State is also inseparable from the Cardinal.
Unfortunately, after the previous pope died of illness, Leander lost the most critical war for him and his family.
He lost the Pope's election.
The new pope is from the Capel family, which is hostile to the Luvis family.
Almost at the moment when white smoke rose from the chimney and the paper with the name of the new pope flew out, Cardinal Luvis fled the holy city overnight—it can be said that he left behind all his wealth, which made him in In the days that followed, it seemed quite down and out.
But he is right.
Someone once said that every pope election is no less than a battle for the throne. Although the authority of the Pope today is not as strong as in the Middle Ages, every election is even more brutal than a country's throne dispute—after all, the person wearing the triple crown will be the emperor of the entire spiritual world.
If he fails in this war, or loses to the feuding family, the end will undoubtedly be very bleak.
If Cardinal Luvis covets wealth one step further, what he pays is not gold, silver and jewels, but his own life. After the new pope learned that the assassins failed to catch up with Cardinal Luvis, he annoyed all Luvis. The S family was exiled. Several young Luvis family priests died mysteriously on the road to exile.
Cardinal Luvis, who escaped from the Pope's sphere of influence, first chose the Root Empire that had supported him.
Sadly, in the face of private hints from the new Pope, the Loot Empire abandoned this failed pawn without hesitation.
If Cardinal Leander hadn't seen the opportunity quickly and escaped overnight again, he might be imprisoned by the Root Empire and exchange interests with the new pope. The experience of the Root Empire taught Bishop Leander a painful lesson, so he left far away, appearing as little as possible in people's sights.
His whereabouts are strange, and sometimes people even think he is dead.
So, where is this thorn in the pope's side at this moment
—Roland.
To be more specific, it is in the Wind Rock Port of the Roland Empire.
……………
The sea breeze blew through the low, crowded buildings of Wind Rock Harbor, and the bells of the chapel rang feebly. It used to be considered a very prosperous port in the Roland Empire, but with the defeat of the Roland Navy, it gradually declined, and most of the docks at the port are now in disrepair.
Today, a special merchant ship visited here.
The reason why this merchant ship is called special is because it is carrying an overseas visitor with an extraordinary status.
Leander Lewis disguised himself as an ordinary businessman and set foot on the only intact pier in Fengyan Port.
He is a man in his forties, tall and tall, and he was considered handsome when he was young. But since he failed in the Pope's campaign and was forced to flee from the Holy City, he has grown old rapidly. Now the sides of his cheeks were sunken deeply, and his light-blond hair was disheveled by the sea breeze.
From time to time in his eyes flashed the fanatical fire of revenge.
Luvis thought about the next thing in his heart.
In the past few years, his whereabouts have been well hidden. The assassins of the Capel family have gradually lost their motivation to chase him, and the people of the Papal Kingdom have long ignored him—after all, the Luvis family has declined. down. Leander watched the expected turn of events with both anger and complacency.
Forget him, ignore him.
That way they'll pay for their indiscretion when he makes a comeback.
Unlike the "Return to Cleansing Movement" presided over by Cardinal Luvis, his character can almost be directly reflected in his overly tough appearance. No matter how much kindness and generosity he preaches to people, he is as cruel and decisive as he is—this kind of cruelty It was fully revealed when he escaped from the holy city.
When Cardinal Luvis fled the holy city, he deliberately did not take any belongings with him.
He deliberately created an illusion that he was powerless to fight back after the fiasco, and even sacrificed several members of the family at the hands of the assassins of the Capel family. But it's all worth it. Nothing can please and paralyze the enemy more than the defeat of the former opponent.
Therefore, when the pope was immersed in the gold, silver, jewelry, and manor fields collected from the Luvis family, the power hidden in the shadows of the Luvis family was well preserved. It was this power that allowed Cardinal Luvis to disappear from the Pope's sight and plot his revenge secretly.
You must know that any family that has produced two popes is definitely an out-and-out colossus.
What is more frightening than their superficial wealth is the invisible network they have accumulated for a long time, the network that is densely covered under the pope's eyes like a spider's web.
The only mistake made by Cardinal Luvis was that after he escaped from the Holy City, he mistakenly chose the Root Empire.
He did not expect that his allies would betray him so quickly, nor did he expect that the Pope would secretly reach an agreement with Emperor Root so quickly...
Almost being imprisoned by the Root Empire is the greatest shame of Cardinal Luvis.
"What are they doing?"
After Cardinal Luvis got off the ship, he quickly noticed the changes in the port.
He had been to Fengyan Port three years ago, and it was already in decline at that time—the port is still the same now, not prosperous. However, at this moment, there is an unusual vitality vaguely revealed in the decay of this port.
I saw a group of hired workers working on the beach in the port under the supervision of the person in charge wearing a thick black hood. Piles of wood and stone were transported aside, and the construction supervisor in a coat was holding a roll of drawings in his hand and was yelling at the workers.
"Repair the pier."
The businessman who accompanied Cardinal Luvis off the boat replied that he was actually the envoy of the Duchy of Tuva.
This is probably something unexpected by the Root Empire and the Yager Kingdom—when they regarded the Duchy of Tuva as their own and were about to go to war, the Tuva Dynasty did not choose to fall to any of them Instead, he hooked up with the exiled Cardinal Lewis.
When jackals and tigers compete for rabbits, rabbits may not be willing to be someone else's meal.
"Of course I know it's repairing the pier," said Cardinal Luvis angrily. "I mean—don't you think they're being overly aggressive?"
Only then did the Tuva envoy realize something was wrong.
He stared closely at the workers and supervisors for a while, then gasped suddenly, showing surprise.
Most of these workers worked very diligently, and there was no usual sadness on their faces. Nor were the usual whip-wielding noble servants on the site—which was odd.
Cardinal Luvis thought for a while, and made a deal with an attendant beside him.
The attendant quietly walked to the dock site under construction, and chatted with a worker in a place that avoided the sight of the monitoring officer, and exchanged a silver coin for what he wanted to know.
After a while, the attendant returned to the cardinal and the envoy from Tuva with what he found out.
Listening to the attendant's report, the doubts on Cardinal Luvis' face became more and more obvious.
It turned out that these workers in Fengyan Port were not supervised by local nobles as before.
The queen hired them directly from the industry guild, and the wages they were given were half more than their usual wages-although the extra half would need to wait until the docks were repaired to pay. At the same time, their queen has also generously promised them another bonus if they can meet the deadline.
The sooner you get it done, the more you get, and it's no wonder these workers work so hard.
On the other hand, the queen seems to know the moth situation in the industrial guild very well, and has specially set up a supervisory agency. The supervisor is usually a competitor of the person in charge of the construction site. Under this delicate balance, although corruption cannot be eradicated, the situation is obviously much better than before—workers at least don't have to worry about not getting their wages.
The attendants also heard other things from these workers.
Roland's government is recruiting sailors and experienced craftsmen—regardless of creed or nationality.
Cardinal Luvis and the Tuva envoy simply calculated in their hearts the money needed to repair the Fengyan Port Wharf according to this standard. If it is a single Fengyan Port, it seems to be nothing, but if it is extended to all important ports and repaired in this way...
That's a surprisingly large number.
"Where did they get so much money?"
The Tuva envoy was astonished.
Cardinal Luvis frowned, thought for a while, and showed a strange look.
"monastery."
Even in a state of exile, Cardinal Luvis' news is still well-informed. He also knew about the "God's Judgment" and the property confiscation of the Old God Sect monastery in the Roland Empire a few months ago. On the other hand, as a cardinal, no one knows better than he how much oil can be found under the monastery and priest's robes.
——Obviously, the priest brothers in the Roland Empire have made great contributions to the queen's prosperity.
Queen Roland did not spend this money on wooing nobles, bribing priests, participating in wars, or other things that nobles and royal families often do, but spent these workers and the docks. This is really... unexpected.
"The foolish kindness of women."
The Tuva envoy said sadly.
In his opinion, the Roland royal family can use their own authority to hire workers at a lower price. Do these humble people dare to resist? And the huge sum of money saved can be used for other more important things, such as mercenary troops.
The Tuva envoy looked at the happy faces of the workers, as if watching others waste what they urgently needed.
As a small country living between the Yager Kingdom and the Root Empire, how much he hopes that the Tuva Kingdom can make such a windfall... If there is such a windfall, they can win over to the Free Commercial City. Those bastards can also hire enough troops.
As for the workers
A whip would teach them obedience and diligence; gold would only make them more greedy.
Cardinal Luvis frowned, looked at the workers, and did not speak.
He didn't think Queen Roland's behavior was stupid and benevolent, he just felt that this scene made people feel vaguely uneasy. Why are you upset? He couldn't speak for a moment.
"Let's go." After thinking to no avail, Cardinal Luvis said to the envoy of Tuva.
The Tuva envoy could only look away reluctantly from the workers, and quickly followed the crowd away from the dock. They cannot attract attention, cannot expose their identities, they must rush back to the Papal State as soon as possible and secretly. Card Luvis must return to the Holy City as quickly as possible.
Because the Pope is about to die.
According to the regulations of the church, cardinals who are not in Rome during the pope's election period will automatically lose the right to participate in the election—whether to elect others or to be elected.
The Capel family was careful to keep the matter under wraps—they were no longer hunting Cardinal Luvis, but they were still on guard against him, as well as other potential threats. The Capel family never wanted them to rush back to the Holy City. Any fool would guess that Bishop Leonard's journey back to the Holy City will be very, very restless, which is why he deliberately disguised himself as a businessman.
The Tuva envoy looked away.
He sincerely hoped that His Majesty the Pope could die a little slower.
…………………
"The pope is very ill."
Accompanied by Dalton, Adele strolled through the royal garden.
Dalton came to report to the queen that the soldiers had been selected, and the queen did not hide why she did it.
By the time the congress ended, it was already late October, and autumn had quietly left, and most of the roses were no longer in bloom. But the royal garden will never be dull even in the cold climate. In addition to the carefully cultivated fruiting shrubs and winter flowers that bloom in the cold wind, there are also carefully cultivated winter roses that bloom in the warm room.
The deep red winter roses bloomed in the wind, and Adele reached out and broke off one, holding it in her hand.
"He won't survive this month."
The Queen's statement of dying is as disrespectful as a statement about the dying of a chicken or a horse.
"Do you think Cardinal Lewis can become the new Pope?"
Dalton didn't know how the Queen got the news that the Pope was seriously ill, but he still chose to believe it.
Adele touched the thick silky rose petals with her fingertips, and replied while thinking: "Our dying pope is a complete fool..."
She gave a sarcastic smile.
You must know that the Root Empire confronted the Papal State because it established the New God sect as the state religion more than ten years ago, and refused to recognize the authority of the Pope.
As a result, when the new pope came to power, the first thing he did was to show his favor to his enemies. If he succeeds in getting rid of his enemies for this, no one knows about it. But he failed. Not only did he fail, Cardinal Luvis, who fled, also advertised the matter.
This is almost equivalent to the pope personally tearing down his own authority and stepping on the ground twice.
If it weren't for the strength of the Capel family, it would be impossible for him to serve as Pope for so long.
It's different now.
The Pope's family is declining, replaced by the gradually recovering Luvis family. However, fate played tricks on people. Historically, Cardinal Luvis failed to return to the Papal State—he died at the border between the Roland Empire and the Papal State.
In the end, it was a cardinal supported by the Kingdom of Jager who became the new Pope.
If possible, Adele certainly didn't want King Jager to reach out to Roland's back.
It is the best choice for Roland to help Cardinal Luvis ascend the throne of the Pope.
Just as the Root Empire hopes to restrain the Roland Empire through engagement. The queen also hopes to contain the Root Empire by supporting a Pope who has hatred for the Root Empire. She didn't want to gamble on whether the allies would watch the Roland Empire develop with all good intentions.
If Cardinal Leander can become the Pope, then once the Root Empire wants to send troops to Roland in the future, he will never let go of an opportunity to wash away his shame.
On the other hand, the queen knows better than anyone else the pressure that the "Navigation Regulations" will bring to her and the Roland Empire. At this time, if he can win a friendship from the future pope—even if this friendship will not be made public, it will not be so firm, it will be precious to Roland.
"What if Cardinal Leonard refuses to accept Roland's kindness?"
Dalton thought for a moment and asked.
The odds are low, but not impossible.
The process of Adele Roland's coronation as king was very complicated, and many cardinals refused to recognize the legitimacy of her kingship with silence. There is no guarantee that Cardinal Leonard will not be one of these bigots.
"Then cut off his head." Adele replied softly, "and send it to the Root Empire."
"So you need someone who is reliable enough and able to keep secrets to do this." Dalton whispered, his footsteps gradually slowing down, "This matter must be done in secret, and the Root Empire must not be informed. "
— After all, the Roland Empire still needs the Root Empire as an ally.
"You entrusted such an important matter to me," Dalton stood still, he looked at the Queen without blinking, "You..."
He wanted to say, aren't you afraid that I will betray you
But the word "betrayal" hadn't rolled to his mouth, it burned his tongue like a fire - Dalton didn't dare to mention this word, it was the scar between him and the queen. Normally, he carefully avoids it, and she also won't mention it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Like the scattered papers, like that letter of appointment that he still has.
Don't touch it.
Don't let it float.
So, when the words came to the mouth, they turned around and became: "Shouldn't you give me some kindness? I have to give something to my brothers who are going to work hard, right?"
"They will be knighted and awarded the Order of Roland."
"So," Dalton blurted out, "what about me?"
The queen turned her head to look at him, the sun shone through the fir tree branches and leaves, and fell on her face in pieces, and there was a little light in the corner of her eyes, as if there were diamonds stuck there. Dalton really wanted to reach out and touch the corners of his brows and eyes like an angel's divine light.
"I don't have the money to build a second golden rose," the queen said without feeling embarrassed about bluntly speaking about the poverty of the royal family. "The pier and dockyard repairs have almost emptied the monastery's accumulated wealth."
"Then please give me the rose in your hand."
Dalton said.
Adele looked at him for a while, and then casually handed the winter rose she had just folded to Dalton: "In that case, you have to keep it safe."
Dalton didn't expect that she really gave him the rose.
Holding the winter rose, he stood there with a strange expression on his face.
The hand that is accustomed to holding a gun suddenly holds the gorgeous and delicate flowers one day. It feels like a bloodthirsty tiger who only knows how to hunt suddenly smells the fragrance of flowers one day.
Soft and cold, fragrant and bloody, fragile and hard...
Unfamiliar territory.
…………………
Dalton, who is known as the "weapon of war", actually pinned a rose to his collar today. When he walked through the corridor, no matter whether he was an official or a servant, it was difficult to control his eyes that kept drifting past.
Dalton ignored those gazes.
Now, even if he was asked to fight the devil, he would go to hell without hesitation.
Until someone blocked his way.
"Is there a problem?"
Dalton rarely spoke to Heinrich calmly.
"You don't need to care about your reputation, but please pay attention to your behavior and don't attract false speculation and accusations for your majesty." Heinrich was expressionless, "Don't forget, the ambassador of the Root Empire is still in the palace. middle."
Dalton's expression suddenly turned cold.
"What is your identity to warn me? Minister of State? Or..." Dalton lowered his voice enough for Heinrich to hear clearly, "A loser who is unwilling?"