Chapter 2: The Lost Lamb

"Can the pious monk Bishop Hyga, who walks alone on a rough pilgrimage path full of thorns and the danger of countless deaths, take the lost Lamb and repent of my past transgressions before the Most High Lord?" A deep, hoarse voice sounded behind the Eugustinian Cathedral.

Hai Ge Ya Su slowly turned around, took the cane that symbolized the identity of the magician from the hand of the light knight on the side, and looked at the old man in front of him with a smile on his face, full of silver hair, who was unknown in the heroes who sang endlessly, but who had secretly subverted the reshuffle of Noxus power several times, was looking at him with a reverent face, Hai Ge Ya Su slowly stretched out his cane, pointed to the old man in front of him who was about the same age as him, and said with a solemn and holy face: "The Lord said that as long as you repent, you can be saved, I listen to your confession on behalf of the Lord, confessor, What sins do you have to repent of? ”

The silver-haired old man raised his head slightly, looked at Haige Yasu, glanced at the red luxurious robe that symbolized supreme power, and had a look of regret and confusion on his face, and slowly spoke: "Pious priest, I don't know what I need to repent, what do I need to repent? My mind is a mess! ”

The smile on Hai Ge Yashu's face deepened, looking at the old man who was standing in front of him but always maintained a very comfortable distance between the two, he took two steps forward, raised the magic wand in his left hand and tapped lightly on the head of the silver-haired old man, and said, "You will call me Godfather in the future, and I will guide you to repentance!" ”

"Yes, Godfather! Thank you for guiding the lost shepherds! The old man nodded respectfully, took two steps forward, and followed behind Hai Ge Yasu.

One after the other, the two of them, dressed in a big red robe that dragged the floor, slowly walked into the Ecustin Cathedral, one of the three most important churches of the Holy Church.

――――――

Surrounded by the Knight of Light and many white bishops, Jacka and the old man had just entered the Cathedral of Egustine, and a nobleman who had just come out of the Papal Office in front of the Cathedral of Egustin was supporting an old man who was at least thirty years older than him. Appears in front of the Holy Cross in the Cathedral.

"One is the "Werewolf Duke" who ran rampant in the imperial capital twenty years ago, and the other is a priest who was known for his elegance, sacredness, and piety thirteen years ago! The quiet combination of these two may make some unexpected changes between the Noxian imperial power and the Holy See theocracy, which have been silent for more than ten years! This is the thing I'm looking forward to the most now, an old man who doesn't have a few years to live! Dressed in an elegant black tuxedo, wearing a high-necked hat that has long been out of fashion, and holding an ordinary cane in his hand, the old man, who was not tall, leaned on his back, looking at the Haige Yasu and the "Werewolf Duke" who had gone far away and sighed softly.

Although the nobles who already had enough capital to stand on the road of high-level power in Noxus still looked down at the hunchbacked old man in front of him with a respectful face, who was not outstanding in appearance and looked inconspicuous, step by step into this cathedral of Egustin, which he had been to many times, but had not produced a few respects.

As the famous vampire count of Noxus, Pekoski restrained his usual perversity. violent, like a young man who has just passed the youth, holds the old man with one hand for the young man who is not aware of the world, and silently listens to every word the old man says in his heart.

Pekoski was not a perfect nobleman with respect for the old and love for the young, and with an elegant temperament, otherwise he would not have been called a vampire count! This guy with a perverse and violent personality who likes to do something from time to time that makes the well-informed nobles shine and has many common problems of nobles.

such as cunning, brutality, hypocrisy, ruthlessness......

This nobleman, who has gathered the darkest qualities of almost all nobles, can do well in St. Peter's City, where the dragon is crouching, and it is impossible not to have a reason. The biggest reason why Pekoski thinks that he can safely go from his young age to his old age for more than 40 years and nearly 50 years is that he knows how to be a stupid fool in front of some old immortals, although he may not necessarily gain wealth and power. But at least he won't die in some unexplained accident.

There are very few people who can see more than that, and as for the awe that only reassures him, there are only a handful of people who honestly act as a fool and a fool. But the old man in front of him belonged to one of them.

Pekoski took the old man's thin palm and carefully swept it over the old man. And that counts in Burnham? The grace that can be maintained in front of General Darkwell, but he has the illusion that he is in a dry well at the moment.

The back was already dripping with sweat.

"After twenty years, the werewolf duke, who has once again returned to the center of power, and the holy cardinal archbishop Haige Yasu, who appeared in the eyes of the world at the same time! Their appearance anywhere should have been a high-profile event, but they appeared in the Cathedral of Egustin, but at this moment! A grim smile tugged at the corners of Pekoski's mouth. After a pause, he sighed: "I can only be reduced to a gorgeous foil." ”

The old man walked slowly towards the cathedral, and did not look at Pekoski, one of the few juniors who could make him feel good. Passing over the white-clothed bishop who had already walked out of the church and returned to the door again, he said softly: "A green leaf as a foil is not as good as the flowers in the limelight, and a green leaf who is willing to be a foil may be like a politician hidden in the dark, in the darkness when everyone is looking at the shining red flowers, changing the pattern of the Valoran continent again and again!" Green leaves are far more dangerous than flowers! Especially the green leaves with the attempt! ”

Pekoski closed his mouth and silently chewed on every word of the old man.

In the Eugustín Cathedral, under the luxurious crystal lamp, there have been gathered powerful nobles who are difficult to see even in St. Petersburg, most of these nobles may not be able to say a word in Noxus, but no one dares to ignore their words, even if Burnham, who has earned enough fame and power through three years of holy war, and eliminated many Noxian rebel forces? General Darkwell could not ignore their rhetoric either.

This is the real Noxus superior.

Under the leadership of the "Werewolf Duke" Erquilo, Archbishop Hai Ge Yasu, who has been studying the canon of the Holy See in the closed papal affairs hall for thirteen years, raised his glass and was talking happily with a group of nobles.

Taking a sip of the pure wine from Po Si Lila, Hai Ge Ya Su chuckled and said, "The protagonist of today's banquet, our Burnham? What about General Darkwell and the heroes who fought for the victory of the Noxian Holy War? I haven't met the protagonist yet, which is not a pleasant thing for the priest who has always had a strong curiosity! ”

"Our esteemed General Darkwell is now busy receiving the emissaries from Demacia and Acacia, and I'm afraid it will be a little late, and as for the Noxian warriors who have been favored by the Iron Oak Order in this holy war, will they sit there?" An old man of the Bacon family pointed to a gloomy corner under the rich crystal lamp, where a group of young men sat in a row.

"Our General Burnham may have decided that he did not have enough power to control Noxus at the moment, so he reached out to the civilians who had been awarded the Order of Iron Oak. Hehe, this group of civilians who won the Iron Oak Order and only reached the threshold of nobility want to set foot in the center of power in Noxus? At least, it will take at least twenty years, and twenty years is just a blink of an eye for our 'eternal youth' General Darkwell! ”

Hearing this, many nobles smiled.

How long will General Darkwell, who has already lived, probably already a hundred years old, be able to hold out longer? No one can say badly! As for eternal youth? Eternal life? This has never happened in Noxus in the Valoran continent, and their group of aristocratic elves who hide knives in their smiles and are not fools don't think that such a miracle will happen to General Darkwell.

Therefore, the words of the middle-aged nobleman just now were not expressed to Burnham? General Darkwell's far-sighted praise is more to Burnham? Darkwell's sneer.

Twenty years? Twenty years is enough to train a worthy nobleman to become the pillar of Noxus. And now it is wasted on this group of lowly civilians? If not the fear of Burnham? Darkwell's power and power, they're afraid they'll scold. Are you old and confused?

Hai Ge Ya Su smiled slightly, which was regarded as an expression of agreement.

Along the way, Hygea also learned a little about Noxus from the well-informed Werewolf Duke. During the time he disappeared, the always high-profile Burnham? Darkwell unexpectedly slowed down the speed of reaching into the nobles and the army, knowing that in the past five or six years, the general, who had been in control of Noxus for nearly forty years, slowly extended his hand that had been pressed into the army, but instead of attracting nobles who already had power and family backgrounds as before, he paid special attention to civilians with no background and ambitions.

The most obvious point is that in the past, two-thirds of the annual award of the Iron Oak Order was basically occupied by the children of the nobility. The remaining third took the turn of the poor civilians who wanted to be on top. But in the last seven or eight years, Burnham's management of the awarding of the Iron Oak Order has become more and more stringent, and the specifications have become higher and higher. Eventually, it was subject to a rigorous review by the Ministry of Administration, and could eventually be conferred by the lord of the city or the vicerobishop, and now the person who has the right to confer the medal is at least a cardinal archbishop or a duke. As a result, the nobility, which used to occupy two-thirds of the seats, now occupies only one-half of the Iron Oak Order. Not even a half.

The awarding of the Iron Oak Medal is a clear manifestation of this.

A total of twenty-three Iron Oak medals will be awarded this time, but the nobility will occupy only ten seats.

Regarding the resentment of the nobles, Hai Ge Ya Su smiled slightly. He didn't think about the words of this group of aristocrats who deliberately pretended to be stupid or really stupid. The purpose of his departure from the Papal Office and his visit to Egustin was not to chat and joke with this group of profit-centered nobles to get closer, but to see Burnham? Darkwell, an old adversary, spent seven or eight years implementing the Iron Oak Award policy and who awarded it.

Just as he was about to go over to look at the Lord of the Order of Iron Oak, who should have been in the limelight and most of them were now left out in the dark corners of the aristocracy, for a moment, the Cathedral of Egustín suddenly fell silent, and a burly old man who looked to be in his fifties and looked like he was in his fifties slowly walked into the auditorium.

Haige Yasu stopped, and looked at the old man with a smile who was as majestic as a mountain and a sea, and naturally gave people a strong sense of oppression when he walked.

He didn't need anyone to introduce him, he knew and remembered, and he would never forget the old man in front of him: Burnham? Darkwell. (To be continued.) )