Chapter 349: On the Road

It was dawn in the Sacred City. In the central sanctum and amidst the silence, dew dripped from the armor of the knights. Two rows of knights in black armors were carrying ceremonial halberds and were standing at attention on both sides of the road. With the tolling, the bell that signified a brand-new day, layers of gigantic doors suddenly opened. The atmosphere might be solemn, but the priests in the church were somewhat distracted. Even the Cardinal Bishops, who were clad in red robes, did not seem too pleased.

While walking towards the meeting room, someone even accidentally knocked himself against the light stand. Fortunately, someone beside him managed to grab hold of him so that the latter did not fall. Then, he waved at a servant. “Move this thing away. Find out who is the person on duty today. How can something like this happen?” The servant quickly shifted the light stand away.

The Bishop, who was in charge, patted on his companion’s shoulder. “Calm down, Allison. We are representing the Sacred City.”

Allison smiled forcefully but he still looked displeased. Whoever would be forced to be the scapegoat could not possibly in the mood to smile. Besides, it was at this sort of place. He was certain that after this day was over, he and Ulliel would most likely forever be shamed in the history of the Sacred City.

Very soon, all the envoys had already arrived and as according to custom, were waiting in front of the door of the palace. Everyone remained silent and only stared at the end of the path ahead of them. They were awaiting the arrival of the most crucial person. For the past week, other than the east which had been closed off, almost all the countries and major organizations around the world sent envoys to the Sacred City.

On the surface, it seemed as if the Sacred City had stood out to coordinate matters of the war between various countries, uphold justice and truth, and trying hard to eliminate war. But if that were the case, why would they be so unwilling to hold a meeting only after all the envoys have arrived? The truth was the exact opposite. It was because of all the pressure from various countries that the Sacred City had no choice but to stand out and face the consequences of the war. In other words, they needed to pay the price for the defeat.

Before the meeting even began, everyone already knew what the outcome would be. The ninth legislative amendment was inevitable… The only difference was that this time around, the amendments would be neither minor nor trivial. After such a devastating loss, what the Sacred City was potentially facing was complete dismantling and restructuring. They would no longer be involved in all political powers and it might even be a challenge for them to maintain self-governance.

After guiding and overseeing the world for centuries, the Church was about to step down from the highest position in the world. Although their influence would continue to be huge, they would no longer be able to clamp down or impose restrictions on various countries. It was possible that the history of the Church would mark this date in the Holy Bible as Good Friday.

At this thought, the faces of the priests inevitably looked awful despite the happy and jubilant atmosphere. Under such a situation, the King of Red was never going to make an appearance. In actual fact, all the kings have only sent their envoys here so only the Cardinal Bishops could handle such an occasion. Everyone knew what the outcome would be but the process to get there was still necessary. Besides, no one knew how the blame pie would be split.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, a solemn-looking horse carriage surrounded by guards stopped in front of the central sanctum. The Caucasian diplomat alighted from the horse carriage, followed by the person that would represent Gaius—Wolf Flute. In that instant, all the Knights Templar that were present could not help but grip their weapons tightly. They were all tempted to take a stab that face that was smiling foolishly…

“Hey, friends, relax!” Wolf Flute smiled happily. He stepped forward confidently and waved to all his comrades of yesteryears. “It has been too long. How is everyone doing?”

His footsteps stopped at the end of the path, which was right in front of the door of the church. Inexplicably, he decided to neglect the Cardinal Bishops, who were coming forth to extend his welcome, and instead turn and look to his side. There was a knight, who was in charge of the Knights Templar in ensuring the safety and security of the venue, and he was standing below the steps. His white hair had been combed all the way to the back and he was only wearing a knight robe instead of a power armor. Underneath the stoic and firm faces were rows and rows of wrinkles.

Wolf Flute sighed. “Mr. Bann, you have aged so much. If I had known, I would have brought you something. The healthcare products of Caucasian are quite excellent.”

The old knight lowered his eyes. “Wolf Flute, all men will age.”

Wolf Flute laughed awkwardly and did not say anything else. He climbed up the steps and walked towards the Cardinal Bishops who were awkwardly waiting for him. He made it seem almost unintentional when he touched his neck. It was a little cooling.

…

Compared to the great importance of the meeting that was to follow, this misstep was insignificant and was quickly glossed over. Everyone seemed to have an unspoken agreement not to bring up the diplomatic faux pas that had just occurred. Shortly after, a white horse carriage stopped in front of the door of the palace. Underneath the red insignia, Anglo’s diplomat, who was stationed in Sacred City, alighted from the horse carriage before stretching out his hand to help a young man off the carriage along with his crutch. The young man did not seem to be very mobile as he was leaning heavily against his crutch and seemed to be having a difficult time walking, even if it was at a very slow pace. He looked very handsome and there was a warm smile on his face but at first glance, the thing that most people would notice was those pair of grey eyes.

The glimmer of those grey eyes would leave anyone feeling respect and fear towards him. The young man, named Hua Sheng, walked slowly past the door of the palace and the road on the plaza until he finally stopped in front of the steps. The Cardinal Bishops walked down the steps to extend a helping hand, only to be rejected.

After he had completely ignored the Cardinal Bishops, Hua Sheng turned his head to look at the old knight and nodded slightly. “Father Bann, His Highness sends his regards.” He stretched out his hand and took over a box from his follower. “This is a letter and a gift from him.”

“Thank you.” Bann accepted them and carefully inspected the words on the letter. His face, which had been stern and cold like a rock all this while, finally revealed a hint of a smile that could barely be detected. “His words are already more well-written than mine.”

“I’m sure His Highness will be deeply pleased and touched to have received your praise.” Hua Sheng smiled and proceeded to ask a question like the respectful member of the younger generation that he was, “May I have the honor of inviting you to lunch today? His Highness has been yearning to hear from you.”

Bann nodded. “Nothing will please me more.”

Hua Sheng nodded and said farewell. He leaned his body heavily against his crutch and climbed up the steps one by one, leaving the Cardinal Bishops to remain awkwardly rooted to their spots for a while before catching up with him. From a short distance away, the ritual officers slapped their heads. There was a hopeless gaze in their eyes and they wished they could just knock themselves against the wall. It was yet another diplomatic faux pas. Before the meeting had even begun, such a mistake had already occurred twice.

On the steps, Ulliel stared coldly at Bann. Shortly after, a clergyman walked towards Bann and whispered to him, “Captain Bann, the Bishops that a similar incident will not happen again.”

“That is my wish as well.” Bann remained emotionless.

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After a short wait, the last representative finally arrived and walked through the door of the palace. When the Bishops saw the envoy of Burgundy arrive, they all breathed a sigh of relief in unison. Richelieu had represented Burgundy as a diplomat in Sacred City several times. He was familiar with the customs so he should not make the same mistakes that Wolf Flute and Hua Sheng had made. Compared to those two annoying guests, Burgundy should be much easier to handle since they had already reached an agreement with the Sacred City in private

The Bishops watched keenly as Richelieu walked steadily forward. He was looking straight all the time and he looked suave and sophisticated and warm at the same time. Then, he stopped just below the steps. Not going further? Not going further! Really not moving anymore!

Ulliel’s face contorted. Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Richelieu turned back and nodded to the old knight in front of him. “Captain Bann, we meet again.”

Bann looked at him. “My Lord, Richelieu, have we met?”

Richelieu smiled. “21 years ago, you came to Burgundy as a knight. At the time, I was one of the secretaries tasked with receiving the guests. It has been 21 years and you still look as charming as ever. How envious.”

“You flatter me,” Bann replied indifferently.

Ulliel was secretly relieved to see that their small talk was finally coming to an end. But he did not expect Richelieu to take over a box from his follower and hand it over to Bann, “I have prepared this simple gift for you. Just some tea leaves. Hope you will like it.”

Bann rarely looked confused but he was right now. He accepted the box and saw the metal can in it. The tea leaves were not of a very rare sort and were produced by a small brand. In fact, very few people other than the locals would know about it. Nevertheless, it seemed to trigger some memories and the Father fell silent.

After a long time, he asked softly, “That child, how is he?”

Richelieu smiled. “Although there have been many difficulties along the way, he eventually managed to live the life that he always wanted in the end.”

“Is that so?” Bann did not probe further and only nodded. “Wish him the very best.”

“Thank you.” Richelieu bade farewell and began to climb up the steps.

And so, after several strange diplomatic incidents, the door of the church slowly closed and the meeting, that was called in the name of “peace,” had finally begun.

“But can this really stop the war?” Outside of the door, one of the knights sighed and looked silently at Bann. “Captain, what do you think? Everyone thinks that this war against Asgard will last for at least another year.”

“No, the war has already ended half a year ago.” Bann remained silent for a long time before sighing quietly, “It’s just that peace is still on the way.”

…

As expected, the first day of the meeting ended with everyone arguing back and forth, pushing responsibilities around and other usual diplomatic practices. The things that would set the direction of the future would not take place at the meeting. It would take place in the visits and long conversations after the meeting had ended.

It was late at night and there was a knock on the door of the Anglo consulate. As the rain continued to pour outside, the guest kept his black umbrella and smiled at Hua Sheng. “Please forgive me for coming to pay a visit so late and so unexpectedly.”

“Are all the elderlies so energetic these days? How envious.” Hua Sheng yawned, “Can someone please bring a cup of tea for Lord Richelieu?”

The sweet aroma of tea filled the study room. After some small talk at the beginning, they were finally about to talk about the main purpose of this conversation.

“These days, I managed to read the newspapers and gained a deep appreciation for Mr. Hua Sheng’s capabilities as a diplomat,” Richelieu began. “If it’s possible, I would like to have an open and honest discussion with you outside of the meeting.”

“What a coincidence. I am thinking exactly the same thing…” Hua Sheng smiled. “Nothing is impossible in this world as long as people are willing to talk about it.”

“I like that.” Richelieu smiled as well. “To be honest, I had thought that Hand of God would be the one coming here.”

“No choice, His Highness has other matters to attend to.” Hua Sheng shrugged his shoulders. “Besides, the boss only needs to shoulder responsibilities and face the consequences. All these trivial and menial things naturally fall on subordinates, like us, to settle.”

Richelieu raised his cup of tea. “I believe that we will share many things in common.”

As the two men continued to speak, the long night had just begun. Occasionally, when they were resting, Hua Sheng would smoke on his tobacco roll and unintentionally peek outside the window.

Looking at the time, that emotional and irresponsible fellow should have already reached Yunlou?