Early in the morning, Cardinal Shakli woke up.

But he was not in good spirits, in fact he woke up many times last night, which was a bad sign, indicating that he was old, no longer the age when he was full of energy during the day and fell asleep at night.

Yawned, gently tugged on the brass bell at the head of the bed, and the personal servants rushed in, waiting for him to get up, wash, and dress.

After a fine breakfast, Shackley rinsed his mouth again and went to his luxurious study.

The servants poured him a cup of green tea, the first batch of new tea of the year from a small tea garden given to him by Shaun in Rocky Mountain, and after a few sips, Shakli felt his energy regained.

The study, which was redecorated after his elevation as a cardinal, has a soft carpet on the floor, religious paintings by famous artists framed in enamel on the walls, and a huge bogu shelf behind a desk, where various works of art and various sparkling jewels are changed every once in a while to avoid aesthetic fatigue.

However, all of this was brought about by the red robe on his body. As an apostle of God, Shakli believed that he had lost many of the pleasures that commoners had, but as compensation, he should have maintained his somewhat luxurious quality of life.

Therefore, Shakli is very satisfied with his current life, except for one immediate annoyance. The Pope of the True God Cult is back, and if this Pope goes on a mission in any province of the Empire, Shakli doesn't care, but he actually has the intention of making Vichy his base.

However, less than half an hour after his secretary came to the study, he brought him a piece of news that made him even more angry:

Viscount Sean Connelly donated 20,000 gold louis to the Pope of the True God.

Money wasn't the point, but it was the question of position that made him angry.

If it were other nobles, Shakli might not be so angry, although the Religion of God is the mainstream faith of the empire and the state religion, it does not prevent the popularity of other religions, especially those nobles in the remote western provinces.

Sean grew up in Sawyer's Church, and his adoptive father was a priest of the Cult of God, not to mention that Shakli and Sean had a twisted kinship.

Therefore, Shackley believes that Shaun should naturally become his most loyal ally, and as Sean's status rises in Genoa, the weight of this ally also makes Shakley have to cherish.

In a sense, the more Sean's status rises, the more secure his position as a cardinal becomes.

But this ally betrayed himself, and apparently the word "betrayal" is still not enough to show his anger, and "humiliation" is probably more appropriate. Blind himself, when Sean was away on the expedition, he also called on the faithful to pray for him.

After learning the news, the Bogu frame behind him fell into bad luck, and the valuable artwork was smashed by him.

So one of his most trusted senior priests, Fred-Licht, rushed to the University of Poitou with his anger. But today Sean did not come to the University of Poitou.

Licht had to drive again to the Rose Garden, but Sean's butler told him that the Viscount had gone to the barracks at Fort Pattenham, the northernmost point of the province of Genoa, where half of the Civil Defence was stationed.

In fact, Sean hid in Fort Ron.

Shakley's anger, Sean had long anticipated. This is the price he has to pay.

"Sean, you're going to hide like this?"

In the gardens of Ronburg, Audrey is chatting with Sean.

"I will not be able to explain to your face until Your Excellency Bishop has calmed down a little. I'm in front of him now, and nothing good will come of it. Sean said.

"And how are you going to explain it to him?" Audrey asked curiously, "I'm sorry, if this happened to another nobleman, maybe it wouldn't have caused him so much anger, but you're different." People will think that this is a betrayal and may even doubt your character. ”

"I must admit that His Excellency the Bishop treated me well after my adoptive father was called by the Lord, but that was also based on my succession to the title. No one knows him better than I do. Sean shrugged and smiled, "So, I'll repay him too." For example, I gave each of his two sons a manor, and his three daughters, who were about to reach adulthood, and I gave each of them a dowry, for which I spent a total of 400,000 louis, almost half of my income in the previous year. ”

Audrey opened her mouth wide in disbelief when she heard this: "Oh my God, what did I hear?"

"Quite surprising, isn't it?" said Sean, "the priests, who have renounced the right of family and procreation, have devoted their lives to God and edify the people, and they should be moral models for all people." But he had several secret lovers, some of whom kept children incognito for him. ”

"Are you threatening him?" Audrey pointed out sharply.

"I hope it doesn't have a bad impact on my wife's image. Sean tactfully admitted, "Intrigue and subterfuge, I'm just on my way." Although I didn't want to, or even disdained to use them, the times always pushed me forward. ”

"I know, you're doing this for the Robinsons as well. I don't know how to thank you. Audrey said sincerely, a little uneasy.

"No, no, ma'am, it's not all for the Robinsons. When the steam engine was invented, the world was changing day by day, and it was clear that the old order had loosened, and now that this trend was becoming more and more obvious, I had to change in order to cope with possible future shocks. Sean said.

Seeing Sean's seriousness, Audrey asked worriedly, "Did you get any news?"

"Madam, what should a nobleman be like a hundred years ago?" Sean deliberately looked around the garden, and asked himself, "I think it's not just a life of servants and cockfights. But the lord also had the heavy responsibility of governing one side, not only to carry out the king's decrees, but also to pronounce orders under his own rule, and in his own domain, the vassal was the king of the side. When the king gave the order, the nobles brought their own weapons and led the people to battle, and their glory and authority came from this. ”

"But now everything has changed, the nobility has given up direct power over the ruling side, leaving only titles and, of course, certain privileges. But this privilege is not exclusive to them, it is challenged. And some nobles, if they don't know how to operate, such as my adoptive father's father, Viscount Connelly the Elder, are so poor that they can't afford to raise a horse and can't maintain the minimum of decency. The same is true of the Church, which still stubbornly insists that they are the spokesmen of the gods on earth, and that one day they will be overthrown. ”

"Sean, is that your judgment?" asked Audrey, surprised.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I scared you. Sean said, "Don't spread these words. ”

"Don't worry, I won't spread the word. But what should I do?"

Audrey is a woman after all, she has never thought about these deep things, and in her eyes, the future of the family is at the top of the list, and she instinctively thinks that this may affect her.

"It's all with me!" Sean whispered, as he patted Audrey's soft hand, his eyes full of tenderness.

Audrey withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted, blushed a little, and deliberately provoked something else:

"Do you have any other clues about the letters left by Carl's father?"

"The Count was born in September 1829, and I have focused on his correspondence from January 1826 onwards, when he had just arrived in the Holy City. Sean said.

"Yes, the Count was elected to the Noble Council, and the Count cherished this honor. "In our entire province of Genoa, he and Count Corval are the only two who have been elected. ”

"That's right, apparently our Genoa influence in the Holy City is still too small, and now only Count Koval is alone. Madame, let's get down to business, among the letters left by the former Earl, there is a man named Henry Sevel, whom I think you have also noticed, mentioning two special gifts to congratulate the Earl on his election. Sean said.

"But I hadn't heard of this man, and no one in my family knew him. Audrey said.

"Yes, I specifically checked the list of imperial nobles, and there is not a single nobleman surnamed Sewell. I thought that this man might be a businessman, and the earl was a celebrity during his lifetime, and it was normal for him to make friends with one or two merchants.

But Professor Goslet, a historian at the University of Poitou, who is a scholar of aristocratic allusions and heraldry, told me that there was a family in Genoa that had been involved in rebellion more than 60 years ago, and that the charge was proved to be completely unjust, but for various reasons it was not resolved, and the grapevine said that the family had wronged the founding emperor, Carlos I. The family was surnamed Severle and held the title of baron. ”

"Since I'm Genoese, I haven't heard of this family. Audrey said.

"It is normal, ma'am, that you have not heard of it, for the family was soon reduced to commoners, and no one has spoken of it yet, but the family has been seeking to restore the title, and its direct descendants have been exterminated, exactly on the last day of September 1829. Isn't that a coincidence?"

"It's a coincidence. Audrey's newfound hope was ruthlessly extinguished again, "I am now more and more convinced that this is a conspiracy, poor Percy!"

"Sean!" Audrey took the initiative to hold Sean's hand because she was excited, "Promise me, you must catch the murderer! Also, if possible, please let Percy come back, I believe you must have a connection with him." ”

Sean said: "Madam, I will definitely find the murderer behind the scenes, and now there is other progress." As for Percy, frankly speaking, he is actually busy with this now, and he can't come back, and he doesn't want to come back until he can clear his name. ”

Audrey realized that she was holding Sean's hand tightly, and she quickly withdrew her hand and stood up in disguise: "I'll go and see how the snacks prepared by the servants are." ”

Sean watched Audrey's upright and pretty figure disappear from the flowers, and then looked at his hand.

He spent a whole week in Rhônburg, and during this week he was well taken care of, and the servants in Rhôneburg were much more professional than the rose garden, and even had someone to clean his shoes.

What's more, with Audrey by her side during the day, it's really fun to not know how to return.

However, the Cleveland butler had a message that he had to go back because the cardinal would come to the rose garden to ask for his guilt.