Chapter 40 Stealing the Book: The two were like drops of water mixed into the ocean...
On their second day in the capital, Catherine and Lucas rested for a whole day before leaving the hotel one after the other as dusk fell.
The streets were still quite crowded, and two figures slowly making their way towards the Vatican were not particularly noticeable amidst the flow of people. About half an hour later, the two figures met outside the Vatican's back gate.
They crouched cautiously in the grass, watching the direction of the Papacy waryly, where knights in silver armor were patrolling back and forth. They were waiting for the next squad of knights to arrive for their turn, which might be the only time the Papacy's guards would be slightly less vigilant.
The blazing sun gradually disappeared behind the clouds, and dusk was approaching. In the distance, another troop of knights clad in silver armor marched in orderly formation towards them.
Catherine's eyes lit up, and she nudged Lucas beside her to remind him that it was time.
They had done a rough rehearsal of the operation yesterday and realized that no matter how they planned it, it would be very difficult for the two of them to sneak into the Vatican under the noses of so many guards. Therefore…
Just as one group of knights left and the changing squad was packing their belongings, Lucas threw two vials of potion at the two rows of knights on either side of the door.
The Papacy's knights were no pushovers either. Caught completely off guard, only one bottle smashed against the wall, while the other was deflected by a sword. However, the potion exploded the moment it touched its target.
The sudden burst of dazzling white light blinded everyone nearby. However, Catherine and Lucas were prepared, having already donned light-blocking blindfolds, and were completely unaffected. Taking advantage of the chaos, they rushed into the Vatican.
However, the knights sent to guard the Papacy were selected through rigorous processes and underwent regular training on the outskirts of the Devil's Forest. Their experience fighting wild beasts allowed them to instinctively draw their swords to block the two from entering, even when their vision was obstructed.
Catherine clicked her tongue silently, finding it somewhat annoying.
She turned to Lucas and mouthed: "Quickly finish this."
The longer they linger here, the slimmer their chances of infiltrating the Vatican become.
Bottle after bottle of potions were used up here until the potion bags were half empty, at which point they barely found a gap and squeezed into the Vatican.
Once inside, just before the knights could catch up, Catherine and Lucas, like drops of water in the ocean, slipped into a nearby room. As they had agreed, they decisively split up and ran in opposite directions, each heading towards their own destination.
The knight commander who had chased after them glanced at the empty doorway, which was now deserted, and immediately ordered his men to issue a red alert.
The flare in the knight's hand exploded in the sky, bursting forth with a striking red light that was even noticeable in daylight, announcing that the Papacy had entered a state of alert.
A red signal flare indicates that someone has broken into the Vatican.
-
Following the route she remembered, Catherine headed first to the place where the secret manual was most likely to be kept.
In the darkness, the magnificent silver building reflected the moonlight. Catherine glanced up, raised an eyebrow, and thought, "It's been a long time."
She slipped into the reading room, which was reserved for bishops—it also had another name: the secret archives. Valuable documents such as canon law, papal decrees, court records, and private correspondence were typically stored here.
The secret manual should also be here.
At this time of day, besides Catherine, there was no one else in the reading room. The evening glow, filtering obliquely through the stained glass windows, made the enclosed space even more tranquil, instinctively drawing one in and making one remain silent.
Catherine glanced at the categorization tags hanging on top of the cabinet: "Regulations, Records, Training... Shouldn't it be in the Regulations and Records section?"
She murmured.
Catherine first ventured into the section on regulations. The densely packed bookshelves, each shelf crammed full of books, already gave her a headache before she even started searching. But time was of the essence, so she could only frown and resignedly scan the shelves line by line.
As the slanted shadow of the wooden cabinet on the ground slowly lengthened, the last glimmer of light in the sky disappeared, leaving only patches of moonlight on the edge of the reading room floor.
At this moment, Catherine couldn't help but sigh, "The witch really did have foresight."
Without the spider eggs the witch had placed inside her, she would have had a hard time seeing the titles of each book in this darkness. And lighting candles in the lending room would likely have revealed her location.
By this time, Catherine had scanned half of the books in the regulations section, but still found nothing. She bit her lip, a sense of anxiety rising within her. So many books… could she really find the one the witch wanted? After today, whether they were caught or not, the Vatican's guards would be even tighter; they wouldn't have a second chance.
Catherine finished scanning another shelf of books, sighed, and walked to the next shelf.
But suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. A second later, she hesitated for a moment and took a few steps back.
Catherine felt a slight sinking under her feet, and the unusual sensation made her immediately crouch down. She noticed that the floorboard she had just stepped on had a larger gap than the surrounding floorboards—the difference was only about one or two centimeters, easily overlooked if one wasn't paying attention.
An inexplicable intuition led Catherine to reach out and grab the wooden board, trying to pry it up. To her surprise, it was looser than she had expected, and she easily pulled it out a bit.
However, the lower part was stuck quite tightly. Towards the end, Catherine even leaned her entire upper body back, using all her strength to tug at the plank.
These small switches often become blocked due to dust and debris accumulating after being left unused for a long time, causing them to become completely locked. In such cases, simply loosening them slightly can solve the problem.
Catherine lost her grip and fell to the ground, the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor echoing in the empty room.
She inwardly cried out in alarm, wondering if anyone nearby had heard the noise.
Ignoring everything else, Catherine hurriedly got up and went to check what she had discovered. She moved the wooden planks aside and peered inside. Beneath the ordinary floorboards, there was a hidden compartment resembling a cabinet, inside which lay a simple, heavy book.
Catherine's heart began to pound. She reached out and grabbed the hand, turning it to her eyes—"The Secret Codex of the Vatican."
It was inexplicably expected.
Without pausing for more than a few seconds, after confirming that this was indeed what she wanted, she quickly restored everything to its original state.
Before leaving, Catherine glanced at the books in another area, quickly pulled out a book, held it together with the Secret Codex, and hurried out of the lending room.
The frequency of the guards patrolling outside was significantly higher than when she first entered the reading room.
She nearly bumped into a group of knights coming from the opposite direction as soon as she stepped out. Luckily, Catherine reacted quickly and retreated back down.
The reading room was only open to those of bishop rank or higher, and given its darkness, the knights hesitated at the door for a long time. Catherine's heart pounded with their hesitation.
The captain frowned, but finally gave Catherine the answer she wanted most, and led the team to continue patrolling.
Catherine hid in the shadows, glancing sideways at the knights slowly departing outside the window before quickly leaving and slipping into another building.
However, there were simply too many patrol teams.
Catherine knew that the Knight Commander had most likely already released the signal flare when they first entered the Papacy... It seemed they couldn't go to the original meeting point, Catherine thought.
After she narrowly cleaved through two patrolling knights, she suddenly heard a series of orderly footsteps behind her.
Damn it!
Catherine gritted her teeth inwardly.
Because she was trying to avoid the knights, she made several turns and ended up in a corner of the Papacy. The surroundings were barren, except for a row of rather dilapidated houses on her right.
Very few people ever come to stay here. Distinguished guests are accommodated in the most luxurious palaces, and bishops and above have their own permanent rooms. The other nuns and monks live in a corner on the other side—a large area has been set aside for them to live in, and there are enough rooms for them in the short term.
Seeing the footsteps getting closer and closer behind her, Catherine had no choice but to grit her teeth and slip into the nearest room.
She decided to take a gamble and chose an empty room.
However, as Catherine closed the door and turned around, the warm candlelight from the inner room shone through, illuminating her face at an angle, which made her heart tighten.
The presence of candlelight indicates that she entered a room that wasn't empty; someone was inside, and most likely, they were awake.
However, the sound of her opening the door wasn't exactly quiet. Although she tried to slow down, the room on this side was mostly dilapidated, a "forgotten corner" of the Vatican, and even the slightest movement caused the door to creak and groan when it opened.
So if the people inside have likely heard the noise, why haven't they taken any action yet?
Catherine's eyes darted around, and her gaze slowly darkened.
Regardless of the reason, let's kidnap this person first. Once he's in our hands, won't we just make him quiet?
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