In the face of the archbishop's gaze, the middle-aged man with the sword could not say anything more - he could no longer accuse a priest of being a sinner for a pilgrimage and with an incomparably glorious mission, especially when he saw Weber's already scarred calves and soles, and the chief cardinal was really unwilling to continue to condemn such a pious child.

The tired archbishop nodded happily and beckoned to the priest behind him: "Fellow Caddo, please find a clean room for these two guests, prepare water and food for them, and of course some healing ointments, I am afraid they are quite tired on the way." ”

"It's my pleasure, Archbishop Castro!" The young priest known as Cardo stepped forward with a relaxed smile as if relieved: "Come with me, both of you, your room is on top of this tower!"

With that, he opened the door enthusiastically, and left the quiet prayer room with Edward and Webb, and walked up the stairs of the tower.

It was not until the door was closed that Archbishop Castro slowly retracted his kind gaze, and his expression gradually became a little stern, completely lacking the tired and tired look he had just now.

"I wish I could know why, Archbishop!" said Peter, striding forward, standing there menacingly, and glaring at the old man, "You owe me an explanation, a very important one!"

"Do you mean that I did not agree to your trial of these two innocent children, or do you mean that I have denied your authority by refuting your mention in front of them?" Archbishop Castro sat on the bench with a deep calm expression: "If it is the latter, I am here to apologize to you, my beloved Peter." ”

"Two innocent children?!The two children you said were just standing here, tampering with our teachings, wantonly making up lies, and you call them innocent children?!"

"They weren't lying...... At least, the kid named Webb Alexander didn't lie, and the other one didn't know so much. The archbishop shook his head hesitantly: "He knows how to hide himself very well, and he is a very smart child. ”

"What I care about is not whether they are lying, but the danger of it! Think of whom they came to the Glorious Cross at the behest of whom? Your brother, the Bishop of The Hague Castle - I would like to remind you one more more that you must not forget who they came with!"

Bishop Peter's forehead was full of sweat of excitement: "Once we admit this miracle, it will inevitably lead to a series of consequences, and the Knights of the Sacred Tree and the Marquis of Minest will fight for this miracle, and neither side will win for the Church, nor will it do the Kingdom any good." ”

"I didn't know you cared so much about the safety of the kingdom, isn't the cardinal only responsible for the internal affairs of the church?" the old man smiled curiously like a child: "When is it still involved in the government?"

"For we have an archbishop who never asks about politics, nor eats the fireworks of the world, and is extremely pious!" replied Chief Cardinal Peter, rather unhappily, "His humble deputy must of course do one or two for him, so that the Church will not be out of touch with the world, and will be ignored by His Majesty the King as a decoration!"

"In short, whether or not your blood brother, the Bishop of Fort Hague, sent this little priest out of piety, we must vigorously deny this miracle - a consequence that we cannot afford. Peter sighed: "No one has paid attention to their existence yet, but it won't be long before they turn into a flame that ignites the whole city of Turin, and it is much easier to strangle this flame now than to extinguish it then." ”

"We can't hurt these two children, they are innocent. ”

"When the Knights of the Sacred Tree and the Minest family go to war, the entire kingdom will be plunged into a terrible maelstrom, and more innocent children will die. The middle-aged man exhorted in an extremely sincere tone: "We cannot afford such a terrible result, whether this miracle is true or not, we cannot admit it now!"

"If this is really a miracle, why don't we admit it, is it possible that the servants of the Radiant Cross want to cover up such a glorious thing?" the old man looked at the middle-aged man in front of him in surprise: "Dear Peter, you have really been exposed to too many political affairs, and you may forget that you are the servant of the Radiant Cross, and you serve the gods and not the worldly kings and lords!"

"But God also asks us to maintain our faith in the world, and if we wait until the kingdom of Turin falls apart and mourns all over the wilderness, will the Radiant Cross still praise us for our loyalty?!"

"But to hurt an innocent person, is this something that the followers of the Radiant Cross do? denying the facts, obeying the government, hurting the parishioners...... Is it in the distant future that we still have to turn our backs on our faith?, or is it not in the distant future?" the old man shook his head: "We must not do this, at least we must not hurt them!"

"I need time to think slowly, at least the terrible way of burning at the stake is absolutely not, I need time to ......" Archbishop Castro's face showed a very tired face: "I should go back, this old bone can't stand such a toss, I need a cup of hot coffee with milk to calm my mind, and then sleep peacefully." ”

"In any case, please be considerate of the Radiant Cross Church and the safety of the Kingdom of Turin

When night fell, the priest named Cardo graciously brought Edward and Webb a pot of cheese stew, white bread, and even steaming venison, a game that was almost impossible to find in the South.

"I'm sorry, but this is the Radiant Cross, but there's no alcohol. Priest Cardo, with a slight apologetic shrug at Edward, said, "If you find it unbearable, I can find a way to get some apple juice." ”

"No, no, that's fine. Edward smiled and shook his head: "As a devout Radiant Cross believer, I can still do it without drinking alcohol in the church, and I still don't bother you." ”

"If you have any need, please do not hesitate to ask, this is the Radiant Cross Church, and we welcome a sincere believer. The priest named Castro smiled mysteriously, lowered his voice and whispered, "Archbishop Castro has ordered me to protect you, so please don't leave this room too far, otherwise we won't be able to reach you." ”

With that, he quickly left, leaving only Edward and Webb in this small room, and a candle at the bedside was the only light source in the whole room.

Webb was lying on the bed with white bandages on his calves and soles of his feet. The little priest was obviously not very interested, and even a little lonely, leaning against the wall with his shoulders crossed and silent.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I ......" looked up and saw the sitting there, smiling indifferently as if nothing had happened, as soon as Edward was fine, the simple little priest couldn't help but want to apologize: Like, if I didn't ......"

"If you hadn't done that, you wouldn't have been the devout priest of Weber Alexander, and maybe we wouldn't have escaped from that wizard alive, and maybe I wouldn't have had a second chance to survive. Edward looked up, the smile on his lips a little playful, "I hate if, maybe, if...... These uncertain terms. ”

"I like the facts, I focus on the present and the future, I never knew what I wanted and now I have nothing. The black-haired boy and the little priest looked at each other, and their eyes gradually became distracted: "So now, I not only want to know what I don't know, but I also think about what I don't have." ”

"But, if that's the case, you'll have to be able to get out of here. Webber was a little frightened by Edward's appearance, and that eager gaze reminded him of the unbearable beggars he had seen in the almshouse—not so exaggerated, but with similar eyes.

"When you were at Fort Hague, you told me about this miracle. Edward did not answer his question, but recounted slowly: "You said that this will be a lot of tests, that some people will call it a liar, a sinner, a heretic, and even a blasphemy, and this qiē will be a test for me. ”

"And that is my duty, I have witnessed this with my own eyes, and it is my duty to convince others that this is a miracle of the Radiant Cross, and it is also a test for me!" the little priest bit his lip tightly: "I will always stand behind you, dear Edward Witwood, I will always be your friend!"

Edward smiled silently, but he didn't take it to heart - maybe Weber was really as he said he was, but that didn't mean that Edward would believe him wholeheartedly, and who in this world was worthy of believing wholeheartedly?

Trust is a luxury, just like yourself...... Edward shook his head a little self-deprecatingly, did he come to this church because he trusted Weber?

Of course not, he is the one who really has ulterior motives, in the mouth of the Bishop Peter, the hypocrisy and dirty behavior in his heart, and it is because of the confidence that he can definitely leave that he will step through this door.

Watching the little priest sleep peacefully and unsuspectingly, Edward smiled dumbly—the first to sleep next to his "friend" was perhaps something he would never have been able to do in his life.