Holy City

In the early morning, in the solemn silence of the central sanctuary, dew fell from the knight's armor.

Two rows of darkened armored knights, carrying ceremonial halberds on their shoulders, stood on either side of the road, and the gates burst open with the sound of bells announcing a new day.

In the solemn atmosphere, the priests in the church were a little absent-minded, and even the cardinal, who was dressed in red, did not have a happy face at the moment.

When he walked to the large conference room, someone even accidentally bumped into the lampstand, and the person next to him reached out to help him so that he would not fall, and then waved to the attendant:

"Get this thing out of the way, ask who the guy is on duty today, and make this kind of thing. ”

The attendant hurriedly moved the lampstand away.

The bishop patted his colleague on the shoulder.

"Calm down, Allison, we represent the Holy City. ”

Allison smiled reluctantly, but his expression could hardly be described as pleasant.

No matter who is elected to take the blame, they will not laugh happily.

What's more, it's still in this kind of place......

He had already predicted that from today onwards, he and Ulliel would probably be nailed to the pillar of shame in the history of the Holy City.

Soon, envoys from all sides had already arrived, waiting in front of the palace gate in accordance with etiquette, silently silent, just staring at the end of the road, waiting for the real protagonist to enter.

In just one week, almost all countries and large organizations in the world, with the exception of the closed East, have sent missions to the Holy City.

On the surface, it was the Holy City that stood up and regulated the war between the nations, upholding justice and righteousness, and trying to eliminate the war. But what about the reluctance to come out and convene a meeting after all the missions had arrived?

On the contrary, the truth is that under the intransigence of the nations, the Holy City has to stand up and face the consequences of the war.

Or rather, to pay the price for defeat.

Even before the meeting began, everyone knew the outcome:

The Ninth Amendment is coming......

Only this time it is no longer the weakening and restriction of the past petty fights, and after the tragic defeat, the Holy City will usher in a complete split and reorganization, and from then on it will be deprived of all political rights, and it will be difficult to maintain autonomy.

And after guiding the whole world for hundreds of years, the Order will withdraw from the stage at its peak, and although its influence is still huge, it will no longer be able to suppress and prohibit the nations as it did in the past.

I am afraid that in the history of the Order to come, today will be a Good Friday for the Holy Scriptures.

As soon as they thought of this, in a jubilant atmosphere, the expressions of all the priests suddenly became a little difficult to look at.

In this case, the Red King naturally did not come forward in person, in fact, the messengers sent by the kings who came here were all sent by the kings, and the Cardinal Church could only deal with it.

The result is clear to everyone, but the process has to go through a little bit.

What's more, this big cake has not yet been decided how to divide it.

In the midst of all the attention, a solemn carriage stopped in front of the Central Sanctuary under the arch of the guards, and the Caucasian diplomat stepped out of the carriage, followed by Gaius's representative...... Wolf flute.

At that moment, almost all of the Templars who were present to protect them couldn't help but clench their weapons, wanting to stab that smiling face like this......

"Hey, friend, relax!"

The wolf flute smiled happily, strode forward, and waved to his former colleagues, "Long time no see, are you okay?"

And his footsteps stopped at the end of the road, in front of the church gate.

Hanging aside the cardinals who had ushered in him on the steps, he turned his head sideways and looked to the side.

The Grand Knight, who was in charge of the security of the Templars, stood at the bottom of the steps, his old white hair tied up at the back of his head, and he was not wearing power armor, but a knight's gown.

On the face of the stone is wrinkled like a scar.

Wolf Flute sighed, "Mr. Bane, you are a lot older, I would have brought you a gift if I knew about it, and the health products in the Caucasus are quite good." ”

The old knight's eyes drooped:

"Wolf flute, people will get old. ”

The wolf flute smiled awkwardly, did not speak again, and stepped up the steps towards the cardinals who were waiting awkwardly there.

As if unintentionally, he reached out and touched his neck.

It's a little chilly.

-

Compared with the following meeting, this inhumane episode was quickly revealed, and everyone tacitly did not mention the diplomatic mistake just now.

Soon, a white carriage stopped in front of the palace gate, and under the crimson emblem, Anglo's diplomat in the Holy City stepped out of the carriage and reached out to help the young man with a cane from the carriage.

As if he was not good at walking, the young man was holding on to his cane, and when he walked, he was struggling and walking slowly.

Although he had a handsome face and a gentle smile, the first thing he noticed at first glance was his iron-gray eyes.

Looking at the iron light in those eyes, it is awe-inspiring.

The young man named Watson walked step by step through the palace gate and the path in the square, and finally stopped at the front of the steps. The waiting cardinal came down the stairs and tried to help, but he refused.

After hanging the cardinal aside, Watson turned his head sideways, looked at the old knight, and bowed slightly.

"Greetings from Father Banne, His Royal Highness. ”

He reached out and took the box from his attendant's hand, "This is the letter and gift he brought to you. ”

"Thank you. ”

Bane reached out and took it, looking at the handwriting on the letterhead, and a faint smile appeared on his cold face like stone, "The words are already better than mine." ”

"I am sure Your Highness will be deeply pleased to receive your appreciation. ”

Watson smiled and asked respectfully, like a junior, "Can you please have lunch with us today?" Your Highness has been longing for your news. ”

Bane bowed: "There is no need. ”

Watson bowed his chin in good-bye, his cane propped himself up, and stepped up the steps, step by step, leaving the embarrassed cardinal in place, following in unison.

Not far away, the ceremonial officials patted their heads, their eyes desperate, and they couldn't help but want to hit the wall.

Another diplomatic blunder......

Before the meeting had even begun, there were two such missteps.

On the steps, Ulliel gave Bane a cold look, and soon, a priest walked up to Bann without a trace, and whispered, "Chief Knight Bane, the bishop hopes that this kind of accident will not happen again." ”

"I hope so, too. ”

Bane was expressionless.

After a short wait, the last delegate who had not yet taken his seat finally walked through the palace gate.

The bishops breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the emissary from Burgundy—Richelieu, as a diplomat, had already represented Burgundy on several occasions in the Holy City, and was so skillful in etiquette that there would never be another half-baked mistake like the wolf flute and Watson.

Compared to those two villains, no matter how you look at it, Burgundy, who has already made a private agreement with him, is more cute.

In the eager eyes of the bishops, Richelieu moved forward steadily, without squinting all the way, with a graceful demeanor, dignified manners, and a warm expression, which made people feel good, and then ...... Stopped at the bottom of the stairs again, and didn't go?

Don't go!

I'm not leaving!

Ulliel's expression twitched.

In everyone's eyes, Richelieu turned his head and bowed to the old knight in front of him.

"Knight Bane, meet again. ”

Bane looked at him, "Your Excellency Richelieu, have we ever met?"

Richelieu smiled, "Twenty-one years ago, you were a knight on Burgundy, and I was one of the secretaries in charge of dealing with you.

Twenty-one years later, your Excellency is still undiminished and enviable. ”

"Prizes. Bane replied indifferently.

Seeing that they were done politely, Ulliel secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and it was finally over. But unexpectedly, Richelieu took a box from the hand of the squire and handed it to Bane:

"It's a gift from a junior, some tea, I hope you like it. ”

With a rare look of confusion on his face, Bane took the box and saw the tin cans inside.

In fact, tea is not a rare variety, it is just a small local brand, and few people even know about it except for the locals.

As if touching some memory, the priest fell silent.

After a long time, he asked softly, "Is he okay with that child?"

Richelieu smiled slightly, "Although there are many disappointments, he finally lives the life he has always wanted." ”

"Really?"

Bane didn't ask any more, just bowed his head, "I wish him all the best." ”

"Thank you. ”

Richelieu said goodbye and stepped up the steps.

So, in a strange diplomatic accident, the doors of the church slowly closed, and the meeting for peace finally began.

"But is there really a truce?"

Outside the door, the knight of the garrison sighed and looked at the silent Banne: "What do you think, Grand Knight, everyone thinks that this war in Asgard will last at least another year. ”

"No, the war ended half a month ago. ”

Bane was silent for a long time, and then sighed softly:

"It's just that peace is still on the way. ”

-

-

Of course, the first day of the meeting was spent in all kinds of bickering, prevarication and all kinds of diplomatic rhetoric, but it was not the meeting that could really determine the future direction.

Rather, it is in the visit and long talk after the meeting.

Late at night, there was a knock on the door of the Anglo consulate.

Amid the sound of rain splashing, the visitor put away his black umbrella and smiled at Watson.

"Late night visits, please forgive me for taking the liberty of visiting. ”

"Are all the old people so energetic now? Watson yawned, "Come, bring him a cup of strong tea for His Excellency Richelieu." ”

In the study, the aroma of hot tea is exuding.

After the opening politeness, the two chatted without being salty, and in the end, they finally got to the point.

"Mr. Watson's talent as a diplomat is something I have learned from the newspapers these days. "If I could, I'd like to be able to talk to you openly and honestly outside of the meeting." ”

"What a coincidence, that's what I thought too...... "Watson smiled, "there's nothing difficult in the world, as long as there is something to talk about." ”

"I love that phrase. ”

Richelieu smiled too, "To be honest, I thought it was the hand of God. ”

"No way, Your Highness has other important matters. Watson shrugged, "Besides, the boss only needs to be responsible for the consequences, and the problem of flies and dogs will naturally be solved by subordinates like us." ”

Richelieu held up his teaglass, "I'm sure we'll have a lot of common language. ”

With the soft whispers of two people, the long night had just begun.

Occasionally, during intervals, Watson smoked a cigarette and couldn't help but glance out the window.

Calculate the time, the guy who picks the child has probably arrived in the cloud building, right?