The towering spire of the Cathedral of the Holy Light emits colorful light under the reflection of the morning sun, just like an exquisite oil painting.
In a meeting room in the west wing of the cathedral, members of the College of Cardinals were walking in one after another.
In the power structure of the Radiance Church, the Pope has the highest status and the greatest power, but at the same time, he is also restricted by the Council of Cardinals.
The appointment and removal of the Pope requires the vote of the Council of Cardinals. In addition, some important decrees issued by the Pope must also be voted by the Council of Cardinals to take effect.
However, the College of Cardinals has only voting rights, not executive power.
Moreover, under normal circumstances, the Board of Cardinals would not challenge the authority of the Pope unless the other party really did something outrageous.
Although the actions of Pope Gregory have not really reached the point of anger and resentment, they have indeed seriously damaged the prestige of the church.
In addition, many members of the College of Cardinals blamed Gregory's inaction for the turmoil in the Eastern Diocese. The end result was that there was an undercurrent in the church, and the voice of Gregory's resignation became more and more serious. big.
Most of the 120 seats in the conference hall had been filled, and on the high platform in the center of the hall, only one person was seated in the three cardinal seats.
Cardinal Mensay stared blankly at the door of the hall, his thoughts drifted to nowhere.
Since returning from negotiating with the northern border, the atmosphere on the holy mountain suddenly became tense.
Obviously, this is all because of the two reconciliation conditions proposed by the North.
Pope Gregory abdicates and the Northern Diocese becomes independent.
Both of these conditions are extremely excessive, but the high-level church also understands that in order to appease the North, it is impossible to refuse both conditions, at least one of them must be agreed, otherwise this negotiation cannot continue at all.
As for which one to promise...
Needless to say, Pope Gregory would not agree to the first one.
But the members of the College of Cardinals do not want to lose the Northern Diocese even more.
As a result, the voice demanding Gregory's abdication gradually changed from an undercurrent at the bottom of the water to a storm on the bright surface.
For this reason, last night, Gregory went out of his way to find Mensay and asked him to suppress the dangerous trend that was gradually emerging in the College of Cardinals.
Mensa didn't want to help at all. He actually wanted Gregory to abdicate. As the Pope's heir, once Gregory abdicated, he would have a chance to sit on the top of the Holy Mountain.
But the only thing that made Mensay hesitate was that even if Gregory was forced to abdicate, he might not be the successor.
Since the Eastern Diocese was swept up by the Blood Cavalry Army, Mensay's prestige in the church has been greatly reduced. If Gregory abdicates now, the successor will most likely be Cardinal Knopton.
Since it was never his turn, Mensayi's mentality was not so eager, and he even had a leisurely interest in watching the fire from the other side.
On the other hand, Mensay is somewhat inclined to maintain the status quo.
After all, the change of Pope will inevitably lead to turmoil, but at this time, the empire should be more stable...
"Lord Mensay, everyone is here."
The attendant's words brought Mensay back to reality from his wandering mind.
He nodded, indicating that he knew, then sat up straight, straightened his collar, and picked up the mallet and tapped it three times.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Okay, everyone is here, let's start."
When the conference hall gradually quieted down, Mensay picked up the parchment in front of him and read:
"Today's meeting has three topics, first..."
"Wait a moment!"
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the door of the hall.
Mensay was wondering who would dare to disturb the order of the meeting of the Council of Cardinals, but when he saw the face of the person at the door, he suddenly screamed:
"Nopton?"
Nopton nodded to the guards guarding the door, and then strode into the conference hall with his head held high.
Of course the guards did not dare to stop a cardinal, so they had to let Nopton walk in.
It's just that after Nopton entered, a guard turned around and ran away immediately. It seemed that he was going to report the news.
"Nopton, didn't you go to the Western Territory? Why did you come back so soon?" Mensay asked suspiciously as he looked at the approaching Nopton.
Nopton smiled, but did not answer the question immediately, but Shi Shiran walked up to the high platform and sat down in his own seat.
Compared with Mensay who was stunned and confused on the stage, the attitude of most of the members of the College of Cardinals in the audience seemed much calmer.
No, it's too bland.
As if he knew that Nopton would appear.
Mensay's eyes swept across the audience, taking everyone's expressions into his eyes, and then realized something was wrong, and suddenly realized:
"You didn't go to the western region at all, but you have been hiding in Yulong City, secretly instigating..."
"Lord Mensay, it's the meeting of the Council of Cardinals, please don't talk about other irrelevant topics." Nopton immediately interrupted Mensay, and at the same time gave him a warning look.
Mensay took a deep breath, calmed down, and then reminded in a low voice:
"Lord Nopton, I advise you to proceed with caution, Gregory is not so easy to deal with, and the timing is not right now..."
"East Territory." Nopton suddenly spoke again and said lightly.
"What?" Mensay looked puzzled.
Nopton smiled slightly and explained: "You help me now. After the matter is completed, you will be the one to choose the new East Archbishop."
Mensayi was startled, and suddenly felt a little moved.
The Eastern Territory was originally his sphere of influence, but it was messed up by Colin's interference. Now if he can regain control of the Eastern Territory...
It's a pity that Mensay didn't know that the candidate for the Archbishop of the Eastern Territory had already been sold by Nopton to Emperor Reinhardt...
After thinking about it with his head down, Mensay still asked hesitantly, "Have you got the Knights Templar done?"
Nopton smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, if I'm not absolutely sure, I'll take risks?"
Mensay gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, this time I will help you!"
Boom!
Nopton took the gavel and hit it hard, then said loudly:
"Everyone, after discussing with Cardinal Mensay, we have decided to vote on an emergency proposal first."
Mensay's heartbeat gradually accelerated, and his breathing also became rapid. His eyes slowly swept across the audience, and found that most members of the Cardinals were eager, and only a few of them were surprised, as if they were not Don't know what's about to happen.
Nopton's loud voice continued to be heard from his side:
"... During his tenure as Pope Gregory, he acted recklessly and abused his power, which seriously damaged the prestige of the church and tarnished the glory of our Lord. Therefore, I propose to impeach the current Pope Gregory!"
Boom!
The wood chaser rang again.
"Next, start voting!"
(end of this chapter)