At the end of June, the weather began to heat up.
However, in the tall cathedral of the Holy Temple, there was an indescribable chill.
After the routine chanting, it was time for the Cardinal Bishops and the Pope to discuss matters. Such a meeting would only be held once a week. Because the peaceful Rose Cross had very few changes after the last war, the main purpose of the Pope now was to "recuperate", "wait at ease", and "maintain stability", so this routine meeting was almost a formality.
But for Rubens, who had advanced to the rank of Cardinal, every meeting had become a torturous moment for him.
According to the usual practice, it was actually very difficult for Rubens, who was once the Governor, to advance further. But because of his close cooperation with Eiffta, and the series of battles that resulted in the Viper's Kiss, he replaced Cardinal Mograine, who was mainly responsible for the mistakes in the war. And after he took the position, he became the spokesperson of Eiffta's faction among the Cardinal Bishops of the Vatican.
No matter what was discussed in the Vatican, if it involved Eiffta, the first person the Pope would ask about would definitely be Rubens. And for the past two years, Eiffta's strong support for the Rose Cross had directly raised Rubens's status. A few months ago, Cardinal Rubens had already become the leader of one of the three major forces of the College of Cardinals.
Although such a position was glorious and powerful, it had long since exceeded Rubens's original expectations.
That was because he realized that the College of Cardinals, who stood below him and above tens of thousands of people, could no longer hear the chanting of the believers like before. Instead, there were many factions, and things like forming cliques for personal gain. Even though he had expected it, he still did not think that the core of the Rose Cross, which he had devoutly believed in for decades, would be like this.
Speaking of which, this was somewhat similar to how Sally felt when she was in a high position: the higher she stood, the more clearly she could see the filth and filth.
And with Eiffta's complete victory in the war against the Orcs, Rubens's days suddenly became bad. When the Rose Cross saw that Eiffta had quickly consolidated into a centralized and efficient government, there was a clear sense of crisis.
The Pope hoped for stability, but other than the faction that supported him, there were two other voices in the College of Cardinals. One was led by Rubens, who hoped to continue to maintain good cooperation with Eiffta for a win-win situation.
The second was a little more radical, who advocated to expand the Vatican, take in more believers, and finally control the Kingdom of Karen. and
Previously, Rubens had a dominant position in the College of Cardinals because of Eifuta. However, after the pope rejected Rody's request to cooperate with him, the situation was now reversed. More than 70% of the cardinals began to think that the Rose Cross should get rid of Eifuta and try their best to distance themselves from him to avoid more trouble.
But the funny thing was that the topic of the meeting was "The Temple Guard's expenditure was insufficient, and whether they should continue to rely on Eiffel's support."
Rubens felt that these cardinals were sometimes even more shameless than the nobles. They armed themselves with Eiffta's subsidy while shouting that they wanted to break away from Eiffta's control. At the same time, they dreamed of ruling the kingdom.
If you're so powerful, why don't you go see the God of Light?
But he couldn't say what he was thinking. After all, in this position, "one's position determines one's position." Rubens wasn't Rubens. He stood here and represented everyone in the political faction. So when everyone opposed working with Eiffel, he could not slap the table and say, "I think the same as all of you." Instead, he could only silently endure the criticism of this group of old men, tightly pursing his lips to control himself from engaging in a fierce debate with them, lest the Pope also completely fall to that side.
"Everta's recently published newspaper seems to be good."
The Pope casually started a new topic, but the people below did not know how to respond. They had all seen the newspaper, and the content was all positive about the Rose Cross. For a moment, they did not know how to criticize them. It was indeed a little difficult.
But this was not a problem for the old men in red who had experienced hundreds of battles. Grand Cardinal Nolde said, "The content of the newspaper has now become the carrier of information that the diocese and even the whole country are competing to read. In my opinion, this is a long sword in Eiffel's hand. Today, the sharp blade is pointed at Mirno, and tomorrow, it may be pointed at us …"
This was indeed an irrefutable reason. There were many discussions around them, and many eyes were focused on Rubens. But Rubens did not seem to notice, and he did not say a word.
When someone started, someone else followed. Rubens's expression did not change. He listened to their criticism for a long time, but he remained silent. In the eyes of the other cardinals, this attitude basically meant that they had "given up resistance". So after a few sentences, they felt bored and changed the topic to other information.
"The Viper Cross cooperated with Mirno's military operation. The marching route has moved to the north."
"Bergen's territory has been destroyed by the orcs. There is indeed no surplus food."
"Then, are they planning to borrow food from us to fight like beggars?"
What the cardinal said was also a common scene in the Kingdom of Karen. When a lord led his army to another noble's territory, he would borrow food, manpower, or even soldiers to continue the battle when he did not have enough supplies. Mirno was doing the same thing now. However, the cardinals were discussing how to get rid of this wave of "beggars". Only Rubens, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke, "How many troops did the Viper Cross bring to the battle? Will they pose a threat to the Holy Cathedral? "
However, before the pope could say anything, the other cardinals laughed together. "Lord Rubens, remember to ask about the battle report before you ask any questions next time. This is a war of conquest that Count Mirno is authorized by His Majesty. How dare he come to the Holy Cathedral to cause trouble? "
"Among the ten thousand soldiers, only two thousand are from the Viper Cross. Lord Rubens should be able to have a good night's sleep when he goes back today."
These old men had peaceful faces. Outside of the meeting hall, they were all existences that the believers would be willing to kiss their boots. However, their sarcasm was no different from those mean nobles. Rubens raised his head and looked at the pope who had a calm expression. He knew that there was no need for him to continue speaking, so he lowered his head and replied, "If that's the case, I've thought too much. I've made a fool of myself."
This kind of cowardly attitude really made the other elders feel like they were punching cotton. However, they still had the upper hand. At the same time, they didn't think that Rubens had the ability to continue making trouble. After discussing three or four topics in a row, the meeting finally came to an end.
Rubens bowed respectfully and slowly retreated. As he walked along the white marble floor of the corridor back to his prayer room, his slightly trembling hands revealed the anger in his heart …
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