On a sunny afternoon in St. Fasteville, capital of the Papal States of Flandia, June 1704.

The Templar walked alone through the vestibule of the Great Church of Flandia, a tall, burly young man with antique slatted armor reflecting the sunlight, heavy canons hanging from his belt in chains, and a cloak painted with prayers dragging to the ground and brushing the ancient masonry.

Outside the gates, the famous Papal Guard is on duty, blending modern and classical styles with these elite guards, dressed in half-body armor, armed with traditional halberds, and with new flintlock pistols slung from their waists.

Seeing the knight coming, the two guards in charge of guarding the door lowered their halberds at the same time, sealed the wooden door with crossed halberd heads, and put the other hand on the holster, examining the comer vigilantly, and the captain of the guard next to him stepped forward to interrogate.

"Who's coming?"

The Templar took off his barrel-shaped winged helmet and tucked it under his armpit, revealing a handsome face with long blond hair that stood out in the sunlight.

"Your Excellency." The leading captain of the guard recognized him and bowed down very politely: "Your Majesty is resting on the tower, if you are going to meet him, please surrender your weapons." ”

"Okay." The Templar unbuttoned the strap of his sword, removed his saber from his waist, and handed it to the guards.

"Your Majesty has summoned me to discuss important matters, but don't delay." The knight said impatiently.

"You can do it, sir." The guards parted their crossed halberds and pushed open the gates.

Looking at the knight's tall back gradually disappearing from view, a recruit asked, "Who is this?" Why didn't you search him? ”

The captain of the guard replied, "It is customary to see His Majesty the Pope and search him, with the exception of this person, because there is no need to beware of him. ”

Another veteran guard said, "This Templar is not a small man, and he is the nephew of the current Pope, Palladia Chiaramonti. ”

The recruit exclaimed: "Oops! That's amazing! The nephew does not need to be searched, and if His Majesty's son comes, won't there be no need to confiscate the weapons? ”

"Hahaha! You idiot! Where did the son come from? The pope is the spokesman of God, and must give up all service to the gods, and cannot marry and have children. The veteran scolded with a smile.

"What's the name of this adult?" The recruit asked.

"His Majesty treated this nephew as his own son, and gave him the same name as himself—Palladia, and in order to distinguish the two, the blonde young man was called Palladia II, or Palladia the Younger." The captain of the guard replied.

The veteran added: "He also has the nickname Prince of Light, because he is the most accomplished of the younger generation of the family, and he is also the most appreciated by his uncle as the Pope, and it is believed that he will be the next Pope." ”

"Huh? Isn't the Pope elected? ”

"You're a foreigner, you don't understand this. In the Papal States of Flandria, the Pope is elected by the Miraculous Appraisal Committee, and the Chiaramonti family has controlled the Templar Church for more than 100 years, and more than half of the Miraculous Appraisal Committee is made up of members of their family. It is not surprising that what should have been an elected leader became a hereditary family. ”

At this time, the interior of the Great Cathedral of Flandia.

The Templar stepped on a pair of long legs, and his silver-plated iron boots rattled on the stone pavement, and after passing through countless halls, he climbed the spiral staircase, and the ordinary man should have been out of breath a long time ago, and his face was not red or his heart was beating in heavy slatted armor, which showed the strength of his body.

He climbed to the end of the stairs to the door of the room at the top of the tower, and knocked on the wooden door with his steel fist. "Knock knock!"

"Your Majesty, your knight has answered the call."

"Come in."

The knight opened the wooden door, and saw that the room was lavishly decorated, and the Pope was sitting at the table in a holy white burqa, enjoying the wine from the cellar. ”

"Palladia Chiaramonti II salutes you." The knight took off his helmet and half-knelt in the doorway.

The Pope turned around and showed a kind countenance. "Little Palladia, my good nephew, hurry up, let me see you."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Hey! You're good kid for everything, but you're too serious! Don't say anything about Your Majesty, call it by the family. ”

"Yes, uncle."

"Actually, it's nothing, I just miss you, long time no see, have a glass of gin?"

"I'm quitting, uncle, I'm sorry." The knight looked up: "There's some trouble on the Inquisition's side, I'll deal with it, so it's too late." ”

The Pope raised his glass and took a sip and scolded: "These hot-blooded blind fools! He put down his glass and asked, "Tell me, what's the mess up with the fools?" ”

"Uncle, there is a Knight of Judgment who is disrespectful and dissatisfied with the contract you have signed with the Duchy of Valstad, saying that you have rehabilitated the evil sorceress of the woods, that you have betrayed the gods, that you are afraid of the bastard duchess, that you have betrayed the gods, that you are a ...... to escape war" At this, the knight stopped, not daring to say more.

"Call me a coward, huh?" The Pope added to him with a smile.

"Yes...... Uncle! What a rebellion! I have dismissed him from his post and placed him before the Inquisition, and I am to blame for the dishonour of your actions by his actions, and I am inescapable of being responsible for the failure to manage my subordinates as the leader of the Inquisition. ”

"With so many believers, there will always be stupid people who make trouble, and it's not your fault." The Pope walked up to the knight and patted him on the shoulder:

"We nominally oppose the Inquisition, but secretly support it, and you should know the reason for this, tell me about it."

"Yes, uncle, the family presbyterian tradition has established an extremist religious organization, gathered the most devout and crazy believers, and used these people to help our Chiaramonti family eliminate dissidents...... Solid position. ”

"That's right, my good nephew! You've been doing well, but there's still a lot to learn. “

"Follow your teachings, uncle."

"Let me ask you, what is the secret of our family's success, or what is our family motto?"

"Faith is finally blessed!" The knight said with excitement on his face.

"Well, it's not this, this is for outsiders, what I'm asking you about is that our real family motto must not be passed on."

The knight looked a little lost, "The interests are above all else. He whispered.

"Haha, what a great family motto! Reveal the only truth in this world! Our ancestors were geniuses! The fat pope said with his hands raised and splattered.

"Remember, the church is just a tool to rule over the foolish, we don't have to prove ourselves more religious than others, we don't have to kneel on the cold ground and pray all day, as long as we control the church, we can rule the country, let those untouchable believers go to work in the fields, go to the workshops!

Let those hot-blooded stupid aristocrats go to war! All we priests need to do is recite the holy scriptures and pretend to pray a few words. ”

Raising his hand, the Pope pointed to the statues of the three main gods on the wall, and continued:

"Why has our family been able to rule the church for hundreds of years, while those who are truly religious have been sidelined? Because our ancestors saw through it all! The world is born to compete for fame and fortune, and God is too lazy to care about evil and selfish human beings. ”

"Yes......"

"Little Palladia, you are my pride, and you will become a spokesman for God, accept my mantle, become the next pope, and become the leader of this country! Learn from me, don't let me down, my good nephew. ”

Listening to the words of his uncle, who is also the pope today, the knight was not at all happy, and his brows became solemn, because he truly believed in the gods and was incompatible with his family's style.