"Master, there seems to be nothing to eat in the kitchen, only these two pieces of bread are left!"
While Benjamin was sitting on the bed holding the letter and thinking a lot, Jeremy came back from the kitchen. Before he even entered the door, Benjamin heard him shout.
Benjamin was shocked again. In order to prevent others from noticing the abnormality, he quickly stuffed the letter paper and envelope under his pillow, covering up all signs of abnormality. He turned around and watched Jeremy walk in.
Jeremy held the bread and stood at the door looking at him. He also looked at Jeremy standing at the door. For a while, neither of them spoke.
"Master, what happened?" He seemed to be aware of the strange atmosphere and asked doubtfully.
"Nothing, just give me the bread. This is enough. It's hard to get anything else to eat at this time, right?" Benjamin spoke quickly and changed the subject.
"Oh, yes." Jeremy responded blankly, without seeming to think too much, and handed the bread in his hand to Benjamin.
Benjamin took the bread and looked at Jeremy, still afraid that he would ask more questions, so he asked another question without giving Jeremy a chance to think too much:
"What about the things I asked you to do before? How did you do it?"
Jeremy's attention was completely diverted by this question. He looked a little flustered, and fumbled in his pockets with his hands for a long time, and finally took out a wooden cross from the pocket of his coat.
He handed the cross to Benjamin: "Master, I bought it for you."
Benjamin's mood was almost stable. He glanced at the cross in Jeremy's hand, showed the poker face of leading an inspection, snorted from his nose, said nothing, and looked unpredictable.
"Master?" Jeremy suddenly became nervous and asked cautiously.
Benjamin glanced at Jeremy again and suddenly said: "This thing is wrong."
Jeremy's expression became even more flustered, and he must have completely forgotten what happened just now.
"You go back, go to the east to find a carpenter, and tell him this is not what I want. He will understand what I mean." Benjamin was silent for a moment, and then continued to give orders.
Hearing this, Jeremy's eyebrows knitted together again: "Now?"
Benjamin nodded: "Yes, you leave now."
Jeremy's face dropped again.
Sending the manservant out in the middle of the night should attract the church's attention. After the church found nothing, the church's attention to Jeremy should also drop a lot. So even in the middle of the night, Benjamin had no choice but to work harder for Jeremy a few more times.
All just to get Anne's relics.
Although Michelle's letter disrupted all Benjamin's plans, Benjamin still did not intend to give up on this. He didn't think Michelle would sincerely teach him magic. On the other hand, he didn't dare to do everything according to her wishes. Who knew what conspiracy this woman might have
He still believes in himself more.
"Master, I'm leaving. If the butler asks you, remember to explain it clearly to him, otherwise I will be deducted money."
Having already experienced a long-distance errand run, Jeremy didn't complain anymore. He held the cross in his hand and left the room with a sad face. Benjamin nodded, smiled encouragingly, and watched him start another long-distance delivery.
He already trusts Jeremy quite a bit, but not to the level of trust that allows him to know so much. After all, magic was involved, so he still had to send this simple and timid servant away.
You know, the church does a very good job of brainwashing. In the eyes of ordinary people, mages are the incarnation of the devil, heinous villains. No matter how loyal Jeremy was to him, he would probably have a hard time understanding his actions. Keeping him in the dark would be a good thing for both parties.
When Jeremy was far away, Benjamin stepped forward and closed the door.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he was just his manservant. He was not very smart and was easy to dismiss. If someone else came, he really didn't know what to do. Even if it were the previous housekeeper, he would probably be suspicious and spread a lot of rumors.
It is indeed dissatisfying to have few and stupid servants, but from another point of view, it is a good thing.
After closing the window and drawing the curtains, and making sure that no one else would disturb him, Benjamin reached under the pillow and took out Michelle's letter again.
To him, the importance of this letter at this moment was self-evident. He had just read the beginning and was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
He had to read the rest.
In fact, the envelope contained two pieces of letter paper. At first, Benjamin thought Michelle had a lot to say, so he wrote two. But he soon realized how wrong he was.
Except for the first sentence: "You are very talented in magic. In ten days, I will come to teach you magic." The entire content of the first letter only contains a special instruction:
"After you read it, burn this page of letter paper, and then give the second page to the bishop of St. Peter's Basilica to convince him of the content above. There are many ways to contact the bishop, and I don't think you need me to teach you."
Benjamin had already started to feel bad when he saw Michelle asking to give the letter to the church. And when he finished reading the second page, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and a strong feeling of powerlessness came to his heart.
The content on the second piece of paper is: "In five days, go to the prison ruins in Xiacheng District to meet me. Don't make any small plans. The time for the first onset of the curse is coming soon, and your life will be worse than death."
Benjamin felt creepy.
Once again, he underestimated Michelle.
This witch is too ambitious. What she wants is not just Benjamin to obtain the Reese family's treasure trove for her, but she also wants to plot against the church. She will use Benjamin to set a trap to lure the church people to the downtown area five days later, and then take revenge on the church severely.
This was no longer a fight between him and Michelle, it was a fight between Michelle and the church. And he was just a pawn in Michelle's hands.
What should he do? What can he do
Michelle really read all his thoughts.
If he does what Michelle said, give the second page of the letter to the church. The church will most likely fall into the trap and go to the prison ruins five days later and fall into Michelle's trap. In this way, the church is under attack and Michel can act even more unscrupulously.
If Benjamin doesn't give the second page to the church, the curse will make him suffer. At the same time, he will lose the help of the church and face Michelle alone, and the situation will become very dangerous.
And if Benjamin thinks reversely and gives both pages of the letter to the church... then the church will discover Benjamin's magic and purify Benjamin on the spot.
Not to mention burning all the letters and then falsely claiming that the letters had spontaneously combusted to persuade the church. The bishop is also a cunning guy. Without any concrete clues about Michelle, would he believe it? He would pretend to believe it, and then just like last time, he would say a lot of nice words, throw out some irrelevant information, and not provide any substantial assistance to Benjamin—he didn’t have another relic to find, and this time the information , but it really doesn’t matter.
All roads lead to hell. No matter how you play this move, you will have a narrow escape.
Benjamin found himself once again in despair.
"Ah... what should I do?" He covered his face and looked so worried that he was not even in the mood to eat the bread in his hand.
"Well... maybe you should listen to Michelle. Didn't she also say that she wants to teach you magic?" The system also thought about it and then made such a suggestion.
"Then, after I learned her magic, I became the next Sally, the next Annie, or even worse. My life is in her hands. Do you think she will truly treat me as a companion? Or do you think she will take the initiative to lift the curse for me? What a beautiful idea." Benjamin shook his head and said.
"That's true." The system rarely replied normally, although its normality was completely useless.
Benjamin was lost in thought. He felt all the clues flying in his mind, a huge pressure oppressing him, and a shadow shrouding him, forcing him to make a decision in a short period of time.
He had to decide quickly.
If he was to deliver the letter to the bishop, he had to leave tonight. After today, the "five days later" in the letter will become "four days later." It will be difficult for him to explain all this to the bishop. No matter how he explains it, it will lead to the bishop's distrust.
And if he wants to take advantage of the time difference between "five days later" and "four days later" to cause trouble, the result will only be worse. The bishop will make a fuss and then lower his trust in Benjamin; Michelle will feel that Benjamin is disobedient and the curse will make Benjamin worse than death.
Benjamin was in a dilemma.
He was caught between the church and Michelle. The church wanted to use him to catch Michelle, and Michelle also wanted to use him to attack the church. If he is not careful, he will end up with an unpleasant end for both parties. It is really difficult to do both with ease and ease. But he must do it, otherwise it will be difficult for him to have a chance to make a comeback.
Ultimately, he has to make a decision that maximizes his own interests.
—In this very short period of time.
The wall clock in the corner buzzed nine times, as if even it had lost its sense of humor, urging the anxious Benjamin.
When... when... when... when...
When the ninth bell ended, he finally stood up.
The curfew in the royal capital starts at ten o'clock, and no one is allowed to wander in the streets after ten o'clock. If he wanted to return to the Reese family before ten o'clock, he had to leave now.
Yes, he finally made the decision to leave. He wanted to do as Michelle said, give the second page of the letter to the bishop, and guide people from the church to the lower city for Michelle.
He took the letter to the table, burned the first page of the letter with the flame of an oil lamp, and then poured the ashes of the letter into the chamber pot.
As he did this, he thought that the fate between himself and the chamber pot was quite close.
"Are you really going to follow Michelle's plan? If the church is hit hard, who knows if it will take its anger out on you? Don't be impulsive." The system gave a rare and kind reminder.
Benjamin did not show any surprise. As he prepared to go to the church, he answered in his mind: "The church may indeed be angry with me. But if I also fall into the trap, suffer severe injuries, and even almost lose my life, will the church still doubt me?"
The system suddenly realized: "You are planning to use a bitter trick!"
Benjamin sighed, nodded, and replied helplessly: "If you want to gain something, you have to sacrifice something. If I am injured badly enough, maybe I can gain the trust of the church, and then everything will be worth it."
After hearing this, the system fell silent again. Perhaps it was also considering Benjamin's choice, or perhaps it was just circulating Yida's series of advertisements in its mind.
Benjamin paused for a moment, and then spoke, as if he was answering the system, but also as if he was talking to himself:
"As an insignificant chess piece, how can I accumulate the capital to become a chess player if I don't make small moves?"
After getting everything ready, he quietly left the Riese family under the cover of night and hurried towards St. Peter's Cathedral.