The sky outside has become dark, the first auction of the New Year of the Imperial Capital Auction House, this moment is finally over, the long time of sitting makes most of the nobles a little tired, from time to time someone stands up regardless of the image and stretches hard......

However, they were extremely excited mentally, and the twists and turns of the auction scene, the conflict between the duke and the prince, the intervention of the church and the mysterious Leo, including several large lots, allowed these nobles to boast of at banquets and balls for a long time

Looking at the aristocracy who left the stage with her female companion in twos and threes, Rebecca simply cleaned up her hair, turned around and walked backstage, and glanced at the terrace where Leo was, with a complicated and inexplicable look in her eyes

Picking up a piece of delicate snack and putting it in his mouth, he simply chewed it and swallowed it a few times, and Leo felt that his stomach was much better after drinking too much

He and Auston's butler had been sent out, and they would be in charge of settling accounts with the auction house, which, of course, would have to send a large number of wagons to pull away such a terrifying amount of gold......

After shouting a few words of Finn's instructions, he asked him to wait and arrange for someone to accompany Batar throughout the whole process, not that Leo distrusts the butler, but it just involves dragon tears, even if he is more cautious, it is not too much for him

Standing up, Leo looked at Elena who was naturally holding his arm with some heartache, and his forbearant yawning and slightly pale face all showed the girl's sleepiness, and he couldn't help but gently pinch the tip of the girl's nose

"I said a long time ago that I would send you back first, if you don't obey, you have to accompany you here, Your Excellency the Duke and I will be very worried, you know?"

Wrinkling her cute nose, Elena finally couldn't help but yawn, and secretly glanced at her grandfather, who pretended not to see the situation here, and then whispered

"It's too boring to go back by yourself, it's still the most interesting to be with Leo, and now even my grandfather hasn't quarreled with me anymore, hehe......"

"Okay, Elena, let's go, it's getting late, Leo and the Marquis also need to go back early to rest, and you and Antonis are not allowed to spread the word about today's conversation in the box, especially Antonis!"

"Why do you have to take me every time, grandfather......

Antonis looked at the increasingly pampered Elena with some jealousy, and muttered

**********************

Under the guidance of the servant, the group walked out through the corridor again, and the moment they pushed the door open, the sudden drop in temperature made Elena beside her shrink her neck

Seeing this, Leo took the cloak from the duke's butler, put it on with his own hands, and despite Elena's protests, ordered someone to put her in the carriage first, turned his head, and exhaled deeply into the auction hall, and then walked out with the others

Keith and Aldalyan, who had been waiting outside, brought someone to greet them as soon as they saw their lord, and Leo looked at the two captains in front of him apologetically, "The auction will have some twists and turns, so it will take a long time, so you have been waiting for a long time, dear friends!" ”

After bowing, Keith glanced at the silent Lord Noldor and said with a smile, "It's okay, it's much better here than the cold wind near Boeing Blu that can tear your skin, if there are no other arrangements, my lordship, we will send you and the Marquis back now?" ”

There was a carriage parked next to the Casers, who must have arrived later from the Marquis' Court in Auston, after all, they had come with the Duke's convoy, and the two did not bring their own cars......

Leo was about to nod, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the Duke of Lancaster striding over, and the Duke of Lancaster approached Leo and said hesitantly

"I knew the church wouldn't be easy to give up, Leo, I'm afraid we'll be a little later, Elijah Bunian and Eoris Chaplin, who have just had an invitation from my servants, who want to meet you......"

"Who? The two unfamiliar names made Leo suddenly a little stunned, "But following the direction indicated by the duke, Leo saw a convoy of not the same size as his own waiting near the street corner not far away

"Elijah Bunian, head of the three cardinals of the Church, hum! Beneath the façade of benevolence, he is the biggest religious butcher of the Church, and as far as I know, there are no less than 100 people who have been burned at the stake by him, either indirectly or directly, and there are even many nobles among them! ”

Auston, who had arrived at the same time as the duke, heard the question and explained disdainfully beside him, but his voice was extremely low

"As for Eoris Chaplin, Leo has to be extremely careful of this person, his identity is the head of the most powerful Templar Order in the Church's direct forces, his style of acting is direct and brutal, he is one of the most trusted henchmen of the contemporary pope, and he is also the most terrifying fanatic, and his personal strength is extremely strong!"

"Hey~" Auston's high evaluation made Leo a little surprised in his heart, but he still spread his hands calmly on the surface, "Okay, no matter what, it's rude to refuse someone else's invitation, isn't it...... Is the church unhappy with the fair auction results? ”

Shaking his head, the Duke of Lancaster saw through Leo's coy posture at a glance, and couldn't help but point at him and smile

"Well, dear Leo, the Marquis and I will accompany you too! Don't worry, no matter how rampant the church is now, it doesn't dare to openly say anything to us, the nobles, go and hear what Ilya has to say."

"Of course, Your Excellency, I am also very interested in the upper echelons of the church!" After nodding in agreement, Leo put away his other thoughts, and asked Aldarian to take Professor Pericles back to the carriage to wait, and motioned for Finn and Keith to follow him, and followed the Duke towards the church......

As soon as the group walked a few steps, they saw a sturdy middle-aged man in his 40s, who jumped out of the carriage with the help of his entourage, and greeted him from a distance with a few people behind him

"Haha, Your Excellency, it is a great pleasure to see you again, and on behalf of His Holiness the Pope, I would like to extend my sincerest greetings to you and your family, and of course you, dear Governor, I hope that the hasty invitation has not affected the mood of the two of you!"

Before he could say a word, Ilya Bunian, dressed in the red cardinal's robes, strode over with a kind smile on his face, and if his sincere tone was heard by people who didn't know the inside story, I am afraid that no one could imagine his true cruelty

After saluting each other with the Duke and Auston, Ilya first bowed slightly apologetically to the two, turned his face and quickly looked at Leo, and then smiled and spoke

"If I'm not mistaken, you should be Lord Leo, due to the busy affairs of the Church, I can't meet you until today, I'm very sorry, I'm Elijah Bunian, one of the current cardinals of the Church, of course this is all worldly opinion, in essence I am just a humble servant in front of the Supreme God!"

"It's also a pleasure to meet you, Cardinal, I'm Leo, and I'm sorry that because I come from a remote northern territory, I can't always listen to God's guidance like you, so I can only take the liberty of asking you, is there anything I can do for you?"

The first meeting between the two sparked a lot of sparks, Ilya first named himself as a servant of the gods when he introduced himself, in order to show that he wanted to dominate the position, while Leo alluded to the church acting in the name of God, and directly asked the other party for reasons and purposes

In a few words, the two of them knew each other's personalities, and the smile on their faces remained the same, as if the secret confrontation in the previous words had never existed at all, Ilya first touched his chest and bowed slightly to Leo, and only after Leo returned the salute did he speak

"Of course, in addition to the fact that I would very much like to meet you in person, I have a small request and a question that I hope to get your answer and answer......"

"Hmph" couldn't help sneering in his heart, but Leo had a puzzled and listening expression on his face, "I'm honored, Your Excellency, so what do you mean?" ”

With his hands crossed over his lower abdomen, he glanced at the Duke of Lancaster and Auston, who had no intention of leaving, and Ilya organized the words before speaking softly

"The Church, for some reason, is in great need of the mysterious gem you acquired at the end of the auction, and although I forgive you for the reason for this, if you can graciously comply with our request, you will receive the most sincere friendship between the Church and His Holiness the Pope and me, and of course, the Church will not let you lose money ......"

With a smile, Leo listened to Elija very patiently, during which he nodded his head from time to time to show a look of approval, his unexpected attitude made Elijah a little puzzled in ecstasy, could it be that the information was wrong, the same kind of gems that originally flowed from the north were not from Leo's hand?

After slowly pondering and speaking, Ilya looked at Leo who was smiling expectantly, "I hope the abrupt request didn't embarrass you, so what is your answer?" ”

"I refuse!"

Leo's smile didn't change in the slightest, and he opened his mouth slightly, and said to the cardinal in front of him

"I'm sorry, but I beg your pardon for not being able to hear you clearly, Lord Leo!"

Maybe he heard it clearly but couldn't believe it, maybe it was Leo's brief refusal that really made Ilya not hear clearly, and the steady cardinal couldn't help but ask again with some eagerness, but his tone was less calm

"You heard me right, Your Excellency Cardinal, what I said is that I refuse ......"

(To be continued.) Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ)