The Bishop of Belize sat in his seat, listening to the blatant bribery of the Bishop next to him, feeling helpless. Occasionally, bishops from both sides of the Bishop came to the Bishop of Belize in an attempt to buy them. They knew that the old and respected Bishop of Belize had appeal to the young Bishops, but the Bishop of Belize politely refused.

The Bishop of Belize knows his position and does not take decisions lightly.

At the beginning of the election, the bishops walked in turn to the ballot box decorated with gold thread and threw the parchment paper that would determine the fate of Vekia into the box. Some bishops move forward, as if to tell others their own position. Some tremble and fear.

The Bishop of Belize wrote "Lynch Gerbert" in beautiful script on his small piece of parchment and sent it to the ballot box. He did not like the Knights, but he also hated the Illifa family, who were increasingly in collusion with the nobility. From the very beginning of his tenure as the Pope of the House of Illifa, members of the family began to exploit their power for profit, much to the delight of the Bishop of Belize.

At the end of the voting, the trusted dossier is responsible for counting the votes. The bishops who had cast their votes chattered in anticipation of the outcome upset the awkward balance.

The square outside St. Canaan's Cathedral was already filled with people waiting for the election results. Snowflakes slowly fall with the setting sun, and people are silent waiting for the cathedral notice. According to the ancient tradition of the Holy See, when black smoke rises from the chimney of Castel Sant'Angelo, the election is undecided. White smoke, then the Wikibians have a new pope. If there is black smoke, the cardinals will be locked up in Castel Sant'Angelo until the next election. The people waiting were both the citizens of Frost City and pilgrims from all over Calradia. And the aristocracy. Popla pulled his hood, rubbed his hands, and mingled in the crowd to wait for the election results.

Black smoke rose abruptly. Even from a distance of hundreds of yards, it is still clearly visible in the snow. The crowd let out a sigh of disappointment. Without looking back, Bode squeezed out of the crowd and walked in the direction of the Duke's Palace. Frost City seems to be forever besieged by snow, Bode thought.

Despite enduring the strange eyes of the knights in the Duke's Palace, Bode entered the convoy at Duke Wywickwood's promise. In Wyckwood's ancestral days, nobles often canonized soldiers who fought bravely on the battlefield as nobles, but nowadays nobles tend to be conservative. Firmly control the country with marriages and titles. Titles given for bravery are a thing of the past. Hold your head and think thoughtfully.

Bode walked into the ducal palace and went up to the second floor to inform the duke of the results of the election.

There was a roaring fire burning in the fireplace of the room. The servant was adding firewood to it. Duke Wickwood waved his hand for the servant to stand down. Outside the room was the overcast Vikia sky. The Duke / propped his head and thought for himself.

"Haven't the bishops finished buying?" asked Bord.

"The bishops of the dioceses have all sorts of unexplained relationships with the lords behind them, and to buy them is to have good relations with the lords. The Duke felt that Bode should not interject. "You shouldn't know too much and you shouldn't say too much. The Duke said.

"Yes. My lord. ”

"Go down to the armory and pick out a piece of armor. You're too shabby, just as your reward for inquiring this time. The Duke smiled, "But don't try to pick anything good." ”

"Thank you, sir. ”

The armory on the first floor was for the Duke's guards with weapons and armor, though most had weapons made by the blacksmiths of Wickwood, or armor imported from Polyis. The armory is just a fill. Bode went downstairs into the armory and found a blacksmith in a dirty apron removing rust from his helmet.

"Hello. Elderly. ”

The sturdy but silver-haired blacksmith put down his work and spat into his hand: "You're a old man!"

Bode shrugged helplessly and said, "I'm sorry. ”

"You're here to choose the armor, aren't you?" said the blacksmith unceremoniously, "I don't have anything good here, either from the dead before, or it's cheap." This armory has been set up since the first Duke of Wickwood, and there are too many useless antiques in it. ”

Bode glanced around the armory. The room was large, but it was crowded because it was filled with all kinds of weapons. Swadia-style halberds, Wickwood's longbow, Ragland's double-sided axes and shields, and oak shields are all there, but they are all covered with a layer of dust. Bode walked into the armory and found a dusty piece of armor. With the exception of the helmet and leg armor, this set of armor is complete. There were some knife marks on the cuirasse, which seemed to be unwanted by a certain knight.

"That's it. ”

"Choosing the armor of the dead is unlucky. The blacksmith said.

"Please help me polish and polish, I have a dinar ......"

"Ha, I'm not very rare for this money, you can treat me to a glass of wine. ”

One of the attendants was looking at the door of the armory. Bode noticed and said to him, "Lad, who are you looking for?"

The squire nodded, "Mr. Bow, Duke Wakewood is looking for you." ”

Duke Wakewood leaned back in his chair and placed a letter on the table. "I once asked Eleanor to send this letter in the name of a visit. ”

Bode smelled the dangerous atmosphere in his words.

"You know what happened next. ”

"Is this letter about the election of the pope?" Bode asked.

"I don't like you being so smart. The Duke shook his finger. "You guessed it, I want you to deliver this letter. First, you are new here, and even if you are recognized, I will not admit it, and second, this is an opportunity for you to move up. However, a few days ago, the subject of the message was still in his own house. Now, he's in Castel Sant'Angelo. ”

"To whom are you going to send the letter?" said Bode, shocked at the Duke's downplay of the danger of taking advantage of his sister's letter, and he did not want to say any more.

"Bishop of Belize. ”

Popla pulled the rope. The spire of Castel Sant'Angelo looms in the moonlight. Thanks to the negligence of the Papal Guard, Bode was able to follow all the way to the tower east of Castel Sant'Angelo. Pod wears a black cloak with a rope with a grappling hook. The ropes were taken from the armory at Duke Wackwood's House. Bode was careful not to let the blacksmith find out. Bode did not carry a sword, afraid of making a sound, and only brought a dagger. Bode finally touched the letter in his bosom and made sure he hadn't missed it, and took the first step up the tower.

The forty-yard tower resembles a gloomy giant. The tower was covered in moss, which had been frozen yellow. Bode carefully stepped on the crack in the brick, still feeling the slip under his feet. The cold wind blew, and the yawning guards crossing the bridge in the distance walked slowly with torches. Bode didn't think these sleepy guards would see him.

Bode's mind flashed with Duke Wickwood's cold gaze. Let an anonymous mercenary send a bribe letter, even if he is recognized, he can not admit it. He forces Bode into an awkward situation, trading life and death for the key to another world. The Duke had given Pod the map of Castel Sant'Angelo, and the rest was up to Pod himself.

Holding on to rough ropes for long periods of time, Bode still felt pain even with fur gloves on. Bode wore spiked shoes, and the sound of the iron tip colliding with the stone wall mingled with the howling of the north wind. Bord tiredly repeated the upward climb, and finally climbed to the same height as the ledge. The rope was a yard away from the window, and thankfully the window didn't close. Boud stepped backwards against the stone wall, the rope reverberated and a little dust fell from his head, and Bode finally stepped into the ledge with one foot.

The moonlight shone into the dimly lit room, and a modest table lay horizontally in the room, a small spoon with fire paint still heating up. Pod knew that the owner of the room had sensed the visitor outside the window. Hidden.

Bode slowly put the rope back from the window, dusted off his cloak, bowed deeply to the darkness behind the door, and said, "Come out, Lord Bishop, I have something important to tell you." ”

The Bishop of Belize, dressed in a white robe and holding a knife to open the envelope, walked out of the shadows tremblingly. "Who are you?"

"A servant of the Duke of Wickwood, my lordship. I'm here to deliver the letter. Pod said.

"You should know what happens when you get caught during this period. The Bishop of Belize lowered his voice, looking more frightened than Bode.

Bode did not reply, and took out the fire-lacquered envelope from his bosom and laid it on the bishop's table. The bishop lit the candle, and the light flickered in the candlelight, and the envelope looked ghostly.

The bishop sat down in disbelief and opened the envelope. Bode stood by the side, not saying a word. The bishop's expression grew solemn, and after reading it he threw the letter into the furnace. With a puff of black smoke, evidence of the duke's connection with the bishop was destroyed in the fire. Bord didn't know if the Duke had written in the envelope that he wanted to destroy it, or if the Bishop himself was vigilant enough.

"Did the Duke tell you anything else he wanted to explain?" the bishop was much calmer at this point.

"No, sir. ”

"Good. The bishop said, "How, then, do you get out?"

"My lord," said Bode, "I need to put the rope with you, my lord. As for going out, I have the map. ”

"There are guards in the castle. ”

Bode smiled: "I brought such a long rope and no one found out." ”

The bishop sighed: "The Holy See is declining, but I didn't expect the Papal Guard to also decline. ”

Bode packed his things, opened the heavy wooden door, pulled down his hood, and walked as far as he could, along the walls of the castle, blackened by the torches that had been lit all year round. I had already changed into leather shoes under my feet, and I didn't make a sound when I stepped on the stone bricks. Even so, Bode did not dare to relax. The top floor of Castel Sant'Angelo is the residence of the papal candidate. Constance of Illifa, the virgin of Vista, could not sleep at the moment. The revival of the family was already pinned on this papal election, and Constance's family had done everything in its power to bribe the bishop and form an alliance with the representatives of the western aristocracy. Constance was so concerned about this defilement of the sanctity of the Holy See that she could only confess her family's sins by praying fervently to the Lord day and night. The cold North Sea breeze whistling outside the window eased a little, and Constance pushed open the floor-to-ceiling windows trimmed with gold edges. Outside the window, the snow drifted in, and Constance smoothed his long silver curls and looked at the night sky with red eyes. (To be continued......)