"Why is it that the Lengshan army has taken control of the palace, but you have no news at all? Don't you know such a large-scale army movement?"

In the carriage alone, the Chief Cardinal was furious, but he did not know whose anger he was directed at.

There was silence in the carriage, but in the silence for a long time, Francis's eyebrows gradually twisted into a ball, and the anger hidden under the chubby face was slowly brewing and exploding.

"I don't want to listen to your reasoning, you must do what our contract requires you to do! find the guy who gets in your way, and find out what happened to the Figlaf who was wiped out by the Knights of the Cathar at the Consulate!"

After Francis' angry voice dissipated, silence continued in the carriage, as if nothing had happened.

A short time later, the carriage stopped, and the chamberlain opened the door for Francis, respectfully asking His Excellency the Chief Cardinal to disembark.

"Thank you. The moment the door opened, Francis' face was full of smiles, and he completely reverted to his usual approachable cardinal.

He kept this smile, and under the guidance of the palace attendants, he made his way through the palace, which was completely guarded by the cold mountain army, to the Interview Hall in the depths of the inner city.

Originally, the official audience of the Chief Cardinal should not have been held here, but since Harold III's health was too much to travel, the Chief Cardinal of the Church could only deign to come to the Emperor's bedchamber for an audience.

The burly guards pushed open the door, and although the size of the audience hall in the inner city was much smaller, it still showed full royal grandeur, even if the hall was reduced, the throne that could be perched on a high platform still reminded the dignity of the identity of those who came to meet with it.

Francis had been through this kind of scene many times before, and he was not intimidated by such battles. However, when he saw the people on the high platform, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Emperor Harold III naturally sat on the throne in the center, but on either side of the throne, two chairs were added that were particularly eye-catching. On the chair to the right of the Emperor sat the First Prince Alcott, and on the left hand sat Arnold Svan Fegraf, Duke of Cold Mountain.

Francis bowed his head and stepped forward in small steps.

"Your Majesty, I have come at your call, and I ask for your command. ”

Harold III, reclining on his throne, lifted his eyelids, which seemed heavy, glanced at Francis, then turned his head and glanced at Alcott.

Alcot coughed, and as planned, said matter-of-factly: "Your Excellency Francis, you have been summoned here to inquire about what happened in the Consulate the day before. His Majesty is deeply saddened by the destruction of the Consul's Mansion and the tragic deaths of many of the Praetorian Guards, and has asked you and the Duke of Arnold to explain the situation of that day. ”

Francis turned his face slightly to look at Arnold, who was also standing on the stage and silent, and couldn't help but sigh. said that the two of them were summoned to inquire, but Arnold was on an equal footing with the emperor and the first prince, and he was the only one standing under the stage, which was all too clear.

"I will tell the truth. Francis raised his head and his expression was very frank, "About the Consulate, just teach Your Majesty to know." On the same day, we received a report from the sheriff of the Imperial Capital Garrison, Rockefit Nelson, who claimed that traces of the followers of the lower realms had been found in the imperial capital, and that there had been a disturbance in the consul's residence. After discussing with our sect, in order to ensure the stability of the imperial capital, we decided to dispatch the Knights of the Protector to eradicate the evil demons that threatened the imperial capital. When we arrived at the Consulate with the Knights of the Cathars, we found that it had become a ruin, and it was the Duke of Arnold who exuded a demonic aura and a demon who had become Duke Arnold. ”

As he spoke, Francis turned to look at Arnold.

"Of course, please rest assured that Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Prince do not have the aura of a demon on his body as Duke Arnold who is here today. ”

Harold III was still reclining on his throne, his eyes half-closed, as if he had fallen asleep. When Alcot heard this, he couldn't help but look at Arnold, as if he was looking at the duke to see if he had become a demon.

Francis closed his mouth tightly as he finished speaking, the smile on his face looking confident, while Alcott focused most of his attention on Arnold's expressionless face.

"Ahem—" The Emperor, who seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep, suddenly coughed twice, breaking the brief silence.

"Father, how are you feeling, are you okay?" Alcott hurriedly asked with concern when he heard his father cough.

Alcott's stupid question made Harold III unable to save face, so he could only open his eyes and could not continue to pretend to sleep.

He glared at Alcot with a vague fierce gaze, which frightened Alcot involuntarily shrinking back. However, after feeling reproached by his father, Alcott instead remembered what he had to do.

"Ahem......" He coughed twice before saying, "Your Excellency Francis, what you just said is that although we are all willing to trust you, it is only one side of the story. I hope you will be able to give stronger proof, after all, at the time you are talking to the Emperor at the time you are talking to His Majesty the Emperor. ”

"Then there is a demon in the form of His Excellency the Duke, who wants to fish in troubled waters. Francis said immediately, not even giving Alcott a chance to interject, "I also trust His Excellency the Duke, he personally came to the imperial capital this time to go to the trouble for the country, which has already proved the loyalty of the Figlaf family, not to mention, he also received a miracle from the archangel in the previous Vortagan Territory, such a person must not have a connection with the lower realm." Therefore, there must be a ghost who pretends to be him, with bad intentions!"

Alcott's mouth opened wide, and he had originally arranged to summon Rockefett and Archmage Ian to refute Francis with their testimony, but he didn't expect Francis to change his attitude so quickly, and the original preparation was completely useless, and even Alcot didn't know what to say next.

However, although Alcot did not know how to continue, Francis had a full stomach of words, and he continued to play, gushing: "Presumably, that demon is trying to use the identity of Duke Arnold to assassinate the royal family." The reason why it appeared at the Archon's Mansion that day may have been to assassinate you, but fortunately it was stopped by Archmage Ian at the time. And the guy who drove this demon really didn't have to think about it, it must be the infidels of the white people, and the traitors and scum who colluded with the infidels, for these people, they must be severely punished, although the church is weak, but it is naturally incumbent on the evil spirits to eliminate the evil spirits and maintain the obligations of the subjects of the royal family......"

Alcott's jaw dropped, and he stared blankly at Francis, thinking to himself how a man could be so brazen as to tell a lie so justifiably, and that the person who spoke openly here was a chief cardinal who served the gods—Alcott thought it was still the unruly Farage who was more pleasing to the eye than he was.

Harold III closed his eyes again, this time he was really tired, Francis's tongue, he had already understood it, and he had no interest in this eloquence at all.

Francis went on and on before he paused. And in the face of this sudden silence, Alcott didn't know how to answer.

"I want to thank you, Your Excellency Francis. When Alcott was at a loss, Arnold spoke, "Thank you for defending me and proving my innocence." However, since that demon can take on the form of me, then perhaps at some point it has already succeeded through this means, and since there is a first time, then there may be a second time, and in order to ensure the safety and stability of the imperial capital and the safety of the royal family, I think it is necessary to impose a stricter ban on the imperial capital until the enemy's spies are completely detected and resolved. ”

As soon as Francis heard Arnold's proposal, he understood the other party's purpose, which was to further seize control of the imperial capital into the hands of the cold mountain army, not only the curfew, but now Arnold wanted to put the entire imperial capital under his military control, including the royal family and the church, and also be subject to his restrictions.

With a smile on his face, he almost agreed with him: "That's right, it's really necessary." At present, His Excellency the Duke is responsible for the defense of the imperial capital, and this responsibility can only be handed over to you. ”

Alcot looked at Francis several times, his heart completely disbelieving that Francis was sincere, but his eyes had to believe it.

Harold III coughed, a muddy sound in his throat, and like most sick old men, he looked so old now that he could even lift his eyelids.

"I have great confidence in your loyalty, and in the loyalty of Figraf. However, Secretary Figraf has a lot of responsibilities and a very busy schedule, so I think he needs someone to help him. At present, most of the powerful people in the imperial capital have been brought to the Mirror Lake Territory by Iscario, and the original garrison has also been emptied, and the only people who can rely on you and the church are you. Since there was a precedent for the demon to invade the imperial capital disguised as Feglaf the day before yesterday, then you must be vigilant, this aspect is still your area of expertise, so please ask the church to contribute and help Figlaf Qing guard the imperial capital. ”

Francis looked at Arnold, who was still expressionless, and then at the aging emperor, and realized that this was actually a puppet show.

"Very gratifying. Francis nodded, curling his smile slightly.

"So be it. Harold III's face looked so tired that he couldn't even open his eyes, and he struggled to his feet, supported by Alcott, ready to go back to rest.

Arnold also stood up, and he and Francis looked at each other, and then prepared to leave.

But at this moment, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door of the meeting hall, and several people were attracted by this sound and looked up.

Titus hurried in, his face red, but it wasn't because of the running, it wasn't enough to make him feel tired.

What made this titanic so excited and excited was the news that came out of his mouth:

"The city of Kuknas has been victorious! Prince Iscario, together with the Duke of Wollaston, defeated the Fire-Eye Clan and the Giant Clan, killed more than 10,000 enemies, and killed the Fire-Eye Chief!"

Hearing this, the tiredness on Harold III's face completely dissipated, and he looked at Titus with wide eyes and disbelief.

"Really?"

The sentence was a little out of tune because of the excitement, but Arnold was keenly aware of it, and the tone change did not seem to carry much joy, but more shock.

But Titus was not so perceptive, and he still thought that the emperor had lost his voice because he was overjoyed, so he repeated what he had just said aloud.

Harold III took a few quick breaths, his swaying form as if he was about to fall at any moment. Alcott held him tightly, looking very nervous.

"I'm going to rest first...... the Emperor's words were rather difficult, "I'll leave the rest to you." ”

Arnold looked thoughtfully at the backs of Harold III and Alcott in the distance.

And looking at Arnold's contemplative expression, Francis also pondered.

Only Titus, looking at the completely different reactions from these people he expected, looked dazed.