The Cathedral of the Holy Light, which is located on the holy mountain, is magnificent and sacred, but it is extremely deserted.
This is the place closest to the Lord of Radiance in the mundane world, but at the same time, it is also the farthest place from mortals.
Only the real high-ranking members of the Glory Empire are qualified to come here and pray to the Lord of Glory.
"Before the Lord of Radiance, all living beings are equal."
This sentence seems to be just an empty propaganda slogan. Of course, it is also possible that some people are more "equal" than others.
Today's Holy Light Cathedral is more lively than in the past. Many nobles who came to pay condolences to the Laytom Consul made the waiters in front of the church overwhelmed.
Even the three cardinals stood in front of the steps to welcome the distinguished guests.
Cardinal Tournance looked at the nobles walking up the steps one after another, his eyes suddenly moved, he stepped forward a few steps, and greeted: "Miss Vera, Viscount Angelet, welcome to the Holy Light Cathedral, may the glory of our Lord forever shining on you."
Vera and Colin hurriedly returned the salute, but they were a little strange in their hearts, why the Cardinal was so enthusiastic.
With their current identities, it is not enough for the cardinal to greet them in person, after all, Vera has not yet formally inherited the title of Duke of the North.
Colin and Vera had never dealt with this person before.
In doubt, I heard Tournance say: "Miss Vera, I heard that you are going to be baptized?"
"Yes, my lord cardinal." Vera nodded, seeming to understand the cardinal's plan.
Sure enough, Tournans introduced himself later and said, "I wonder if I can have the honor to baptize you?"
Vera looked at Colin, saw him nodding slightly, and said with a smile: "Of course! It is my honor to have you preside over the baptism ceremony!"
The Cardinal is second only to the Pope in the Radiance Church, and it is of course appropriate for Tournas to baptize Vera.
But at this moment, a majestic voice suddenly sounded behind the three of them: "Tournans, let me personally preside over Miss Vera's christening ceremony."
The three looked back, and saw Pope Gregory appear there at some time.
Turnans' complexion changed, and he said hastily, "Of course, it's definitely more appropriate for you to baptize!"
Colin narrowed his eyes, looking at the scene in front of him, all kinds of doubts arose in his heart.
He didn't understand, was there any mystery in baptizing Vera
Or is it true that a former mage converted to the church has such great publicity value that even the Pope can't help but want to fight for this credit
Of course, Vera would not reject the Pope's kindness, and immediately agreed.
After several people discussed the time of the christening ceremony, Colin led Vera into the church.
After entering the prayer hall, Colin felt his eyes and ears suddenly quiet down, as if the noisy world was completely cut off, and here was another kingdom that belonged exclusively to the gods.
There were no candles or magic lamps in the hall. The holy light that fell from the sky dispelled all the darkness, and made the people bathing in it feel a vast and sacred atmosphere. They couldn't help but quietly hide all the dirty and dark thoughts in their hearts, for fear of desecrating them. the gods.
At this time, many nobles who came to express their condolences had already gathered in the hall. Colin glanced around, but found that he didn't know any of them at all.
If only Maester Dawn was there.
Colin couldn't help thinking.
It's a pity that Bachelor Dawn has neither a title nor a court minister, and he is not qualified to enter the Holy Light Cathedral.
Fortunately, Vera still knows a lot of people, and she is introducing the big shots in the imperial capital to Colin in a low voice.
The warm and fragrant breath hit Colin's ears, a little itchy, but also a little warm.
"The old man standing on the coffin is His Holiness Pope Gregory. Behind him and on the right are the four consuls of the Senate. We have already seen two of them. The one with the long beard is the consul from the southern border. The officer—Dulles St. Landers, and the last tall and thin one is the consul from the East—Imerson St. Pross."
With a smile on the corner of his mouth, Colin looked at the four consuls of the Senate, and found that their faces were extremely solemn. Perhaps it was the death of the consul of Latome that made them feel sad.
For a long time, the Senate has been entrenched at the top of the glorious empire's political map with a detached attitude. Even if the elders are corrupt, no one can control them.
But now, it seems that someone has reached out to the Senate, and when it comes up, it is the cruelest and bloodiest method.
The pampered elders in the past were terrified overnight, and it was inevitable that everyone would start to feel insecure.
"...The dozing one is Baron Heidegger, Prime Minister of the Empire. On his left is the Marquis Grandy, Minister of Finance of the Empire, and to the left is..."
Seeing Vera stop suddenly, Colin turned his head curiously. Just as he was about to ask what happened, he saw her looking towards the entrance of the prayer hall.
Colin also looked back, and saw a handsome middle-aged knight with elegant posture appeared at the door.
He was wearing a gorgeous prince's dress, with a simple dark knight sword on his waist, and he was walking in with his head held high and his eyes fixed on him.
Wherever he went, it seemed to be the center of the world. Obviously he was walking towards the hall, but it was more like the entire majestic and towering Cathedral of Holy Light approaching him actively, welcoming him to the center of the prayer hall.
It wasn't until he stood still in front of the coffin that everyone broke free from this space-time disordered vision and breathed a sigh of relief.
"...he is Prince Lexi." Vera's voice sounded again.
In fact, without her introduction, Colin also knows that such a character can only be the paladin who stands at the pinnacle of the empire's military power.
Although it was not the first time he had faced a strong man in the sanctuary, the last time he saw the Duke of St. Hilde in Ice Rock City, the other party was already seriously injured, and he did not give Colin such a strong sense of oppression.
But now, facing a paladin in his heyday, Colin realized how insignificant he was.
Even if he is already a fifth-level knight, after his transformation, even a sixth-level knight would dare to challenge him.
But in front of Prince Lexi, Colin felt that if the other party wanted to kill him, he might not even be able to take the move.
This is already the difference in the essence of life, as if it is the difference between gods and mortals!
"Your Majesty is coming."
Vera's voice sounded again, and when Colin turned around, he saw a middle-aged man being pushed in by a wheelchair.
He was wearing a gorgeous dress, but his face was very pale and his lips were bloodless. He really looked like he was just recovering from a serious illness.
Colin was a little puzzled. Could it be that Emperor Reinhardt was really sick instead of pretending to be sick
Or is he really so dedicated that even if he pretends to be sick, he still has to pretend that he is no different from the real one
It was Queen Midella who was pushing Emperor Reinhardt. Behind her, there were two little guys on the left and one on the right—Prince Harrison and Princess Judy.
So far, all the truly important figures of the Glorious Empire have arrived.
Colin couldn't help but think wildly. If the Council of Mages was ruthless at this time and issued a super forbidden curse to the Cathedral of Holy Light, if they could take all these people present at once, maybe the Glory Empire would fall apart because of it...
Boom boom boom!
The melodious bell rang, and everyone in the prayer hall calmed down, showing the most solemn and sad expressions.
Pope Gregory's old but grand voice began to echo in the hall:
"Benevolent Lord of Light, we gather here today to offer prayers for the Consul of Letome San Lorenzo, who has completed his journey in the world and returned to the bosom of the Lord.
From the dust, return to the dust.
May you, with your supreme power, grant him rest in peace..."
"etc!"
Unreasonably, but expectedly, the pope's prayer was roughly interrupted by a disrespectful voice.
Ke Lin followed the prestige, and saw a middle-aged man with a solemn face slowly walking out of the crowd, and came to the center of the prayer hall, facing Pope Gregory.
"He is the son of the consul of Lytom—Fred San Lorenzo." Vera's voice sounded in Colin's ear again.
Colin watched the scene in front of him with great interest, looking forward to the next performance.
He knew that the good show was about to begin.
(end of this chapter)