Boom—boom—boom—
The bells of the cathedral in the center of Winter City rang.
It's just that the voice lacked the calmness and grandeur of the past, and instead seemed extremely anxious, which made people feel an inexplicable panic when they heard it.
The emeritus bishop hurried into the prayer hall and came behind Archbishop Ajani who was silently praying in front of the statue of the Lord of Radiance.
"Archbishop, I just got the news that Lord Tournance died in Lion's Roar Castle! Moreover, the St. Hilde family has declared war on His Majesty the Pope!"
Although the emeritus bishop tried his best to keep calm, his tone could not restrain the fear from the heart.
Adjani seemed indifferent to this appalling news, the expression on her face didn't change at all, she just stared blankly at the statue of the Lord of Radiance in front of her, and suddenly asked without thinking:
"Bishop emeritus, has this statue been replaced?"
"Ah?" The emeritus bishop was stunned for a while, and it took him a while to come back to his senses. Suppressing the anxiety in his heart, he replied, "Maybe... the previous statue is too old, so I replaced it with a new one."
"Oh." Adjani tilted her head, and suddenly smiled pointedly, "It's really time to get a new one."
The emeritus bishop looked at the very strange northern archbishop in front of him, suddenly realized something, and couldn't help asking:
"Archbishop, what do you mean?"
Adjani turned around, a bright smile appeared on her glamorous face, and said:
"Bishop Emeritus, are the accusations made by the St. Hilde family against His Majesty the Pope and Cardinal Tournance true?"
The emeritus bishop opened his mouth, but didn't know how to answer this question.
Because he knew very well that the pope and the cardinals were not innocent. They were indeed plotting against the Duke of St. Hilde and Count Angelet, but somehow they messed up.
Now that the St. Hilde family is going crazy, it is actually reasonable.
But what the emeritus bishop didn't understand was that, as the archbishop of the northern border, Adjani was not nervous at all, but... on the contrary, she seemed quite looking forward to it...
The emeritus bishop stared at Adjani, and finally found the deep meaning of madness from the depths of her eyes. Now, he finally understood the meaning of Adjani's nonsensical question just now —
She is probably trying to use this to force His Majesty the Pope to abdicate!
For a moment, the emeritus bishop felt cold all over his body.
But thinking of the possible dire consequences, he still forced himself to calm down, trying to persuade him:
"Archbishop, I don't know what your plan is, but the Pope and the church are both prosperous and damaged!
If the lords are allowed to succeed this time, the church will lose face and lose any prestige! "
Adjani shook her head unmoved, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised, as if she could no longer hide her inner excitement, and said: "What some people have done has already discredited the Church. The statue of our Lord is old, A new one needs to be replaced, and the spokesperson of our lord is the same."
The emeritus bishop stared blankly at Ajani, as if meeting her for the first time.
After a moment of silence, the emeritus bishop straightened his face and said in a deep voice:
"Archbishop Adjani, do you know what you are doing? At this important moment, your untimely ambition will only lead you into the abyss of eternal doom!"
Adjani smiled slightly, she didn't seem to care about the rude remarks of the emeritus bishop, and said lightly:
"Bishop Emeritus, I ask myself that what I do will never tarnish the glory of our Lord. Ask yourself, do you dare to say the same thing?"
The emeritus bishop sneered, disdainful of Adjani's defense, and reprimanded unceremoniously:
"Ajani, you will become a sinner of the church! A sinner of the empire!"
Adjani shook her head, as if she had lost the patience to continue the conversation with the emeritus bishop, so she said coldly:
"Bishop emeritus, let me remind you one last time. The St. Hilde family are not docile sheep. Don't forget how the last Bishop of Winter City died."
After speaking, he strode out.
The emeritus bishop looked at the back of Archbishop Adjani going away, and tried to stop him several times, but he didn't have the courage after all.
Until he was the only one left in the prayer hall, the emeritus bishop slowly turned his head and looked at the statue of the Lord of Radiance placed on the altar of holy light, his eyes gradually became full of confusion.
Naturally, the faceless statue of the Lord of Radiance has no expression, nor will there be any expression.
He is just like this, watching everything in the world without sadness or joy, without surprise or anger.
…
"Pope Gregory must give the northerners an explanation!"
Outside the central church of Winter City, a northerner shouted angrily towards the gate.
Immediately, devout believers stepped forward to block this person.
"You damn blasphemer, how dare you question the spokesperson of our lord!"
"Gregory is not qualified to represent our Lord!"
"Then who is qualified? Could it be you?"
"At least one person who conspired against the Duke of St. Hilde is absolutely not qualified!"
"This matter has not been confirmed at all, why are you slandering His Majesty the Pope here!"
"Then at least the church should come out and give an explanation!"
"Yes, we need an explanation!"
…
After Marquis Garcia declared war on the Pope, the people in the north were shocked for a while, and then, a fierce storm of public opinion started from Lion's Roar Castle, and swept across the entire Winter City at an extremely fast speed.
Some people think that the pope's behavior is extremely despicable and must be held responsible for it, but some people think that the accusation of Marquis Garcia may not be true and want the church to come forward to explain.
The noisy scene outside the church at this time is a microcosm of this storm of public opinion.
As soon as Adjani was about to walk out of the church, a pastor stepped forward to persuade her:
"Archbishop, no matter what you say at this time, you are extremely sensitive. Maybe you don't come out for the time being. It is the best choice to contact the Pope first."
Adjani took a deep look at the pastor, and said coldly: "I am the Archbishop of the Northern Territory. What should I do? It's not your turn to tell me what to do!"
The pastor was stunned for a while, and before he could recover, he saw Adjani striding out.
When the glamorous archbishop exuding a holy aura walked out of the church gate, the noisy crowd fell silent for a moment, but then they boiled again.
"Master Adjani, did the Pope really assassinate the Duke of St. Hilde?"
"Master Adjani, how do you respond to Marquis Garcia's accusation?"
"Master Adjani..."
Ajani stretched out her hand and pressed down, signaling to everyone to be calm.
After the scene became quiet again, she drew a imprint of Holy Radiance on her chest, and said in a compassionate and sad tone:
"The glory of the Supreme Lord cannot be desecrated! Even if it is His spokesperson!"
Wow—
As soon as this remark came out, the crowd gathered outside the church suddenly boiled.
"Master Adjani, do you admit that the Pope really conspired to assassinate the Duke of St. Hilde?"
"Master Adjani, did you know about this conspiracy in advance?"
"Master Adjani, how does the church plan to deal with this matter?"
…
The excited crowd rushed up like a tide, and the church guards were so frightened that they immediately escorted Ajani in, and then tried their best to close the door again.
Inside the door, a group of priests looked at Adjani with complex expressions. Some agreed, some spurned, and some's eyes flickered, as if they understood something.
But Adjani turned a blind eye to all of this, and walked towards her residence without saying a word.
It seemed that he didn't realize what kind of storm what he said just now would trigger.
(end of this chapter)