Chapter 85 [Slander]
In the morning, the huge drawbridge slowly lowered as the chains turned, revealing a dense convoy of cars outside the city.
They were all nobles who had traveled day and night to attend the funeral of King Nurenger IX.
A magnificent carriage rolled across the road, its gleaming coat of arms shimmering in the sunlight. The crowd stood silently on both sides of the street, their eyes darting around, inevitably filled with curiosity about these rarely seen nobles.
However, due to the entourage they brought, ordinary people couldn't even get close to the carriage; they could only catch a glimpse of it briefly, which would then serve as conversation topics for decades to come.
"Long time no see, Saree, you've really changed a lot since ten years ago."
As soon as Count Salle stepped off his carriage, several familiar nobles came up to greet him.
He twitched the corner of his mouth and sighed, "Alas, ten years have passed after all, and I've become an old man. You know, I'm actually a few years older than His Majesty."
It's truly unexpected that Nurengel IX, who was a few years younger than Count Bissare, is now lying in his coffin.
Mentioning Nurengel IX, the nobleman who had come to strike up a conversation winked at Count Saray and whispered, "Then do you really think that Prince Lex was the one who killed His Majesty the King?"
When news of Lex's assassination of Nurengel IX first spread, most people's initial reaction was that it was utterly absurd. Since Lex was not dead, he was the undisputed next king, so why go to such lengths to pull this stunt?
But the messenger from the palace spoke with great detail, and given that Lex had not returned to the palace and remained at Furhorst Estate, the animosity between him and King Nurengle IX was obvious to everyone. Therefore, many people still harbored some doubts.
However, asking Count Salai this probing question was asking the wrong person.
He chuckled, lightly deflecting the dangerous topic. "I don't know either. Since it's His Majesty the King's funeral, Prince Lex should be there. If you have any questions, you can ask him directly."
"Oh? Prince Lex will be attending the funeral? Did you hear something about it beforehand?" the man pressed on relentlessly.
Count Sarre deliberately pondered for a while before saying, "Perhaps. After all, Prince Lex is His Majesty the King's eldest son, and he should not be absent from his father's funeral."
Even if you know that once you come you might not be able to leave, wouldn't not coming give people more ammunition to criticize you?
In short, regardless of Lex's choice, whether he comes or not, he is in a dilemma.
There wasn't much time left for the nobles to gossip, and soon, four archbishops dressed in black robes appeared.
Their appearance seemed to toll the start of the upcoming funeral. The carriage carrying the coffin slowly drove out of the palace, followed by two more luxurious carriages. A neat guard stood on both sides of the procession, blocking the prying eyes of the crowd.
According to custom, the king's coffin must be carried around the royal city once, allowing all his subjects to experience his presence one last time, before finally being carried into the church under the watchful eyes of the public, where the pope will preside over the next ceremony.
The wheels kept moving forward, and no one dared to make a sound; the air seemed to freeze at that moment.
However, before the guards escorting the coffin could even see the church gate in the distance, a rhythmic sound of hooves approached, and the person riding the white horse at the front had strikingly beautiful hair as shiny as gold.
"It's Prince Lex."
"Prince Lex has returned?"
"He looks really imposing now."
A sudden murmur broke out among the crowd.
To everyone's surprise, Lex actually returned with a group to attend Nurenger IX's funeral.
Isn't he afraid that this is a trap designed specifically for him?
Lex rode his horse to the back of the caravan without looking to either side, and together they arrived at the church.
"Lex! You...you're back!"
The woman, who had just stepped down from the carriage, covered her mouth and looked at Lex with tears in her eyes.
“Aunt Naif, this is Father’s funeral, of course I had to come back.”
Lex dismounted nimbly, his tall figure standing straight, like a towering cedar tree.
He calmly met the gazes of Elia and Severi, who stepped down from the carriage a step behind Neuf.
Severi felt his mother tighten her grip on his hand. He stared in shock at Lex, whom he was meeting for the first time. Was this his brother?
Aside from the identical blond hair and golden eyes of the Nurenger royal family, he... he really doesn't look like his father.
King Nurenger IX could be described as handsome, but not particularly outstanding. However, when Lex stood in the sunlight, it was as if the sunlight itself had deliberately gilded his good looks, making people dizzy and afraid to look at him for too long.
"You heartless murderer who dared to kill your father, how dare you come back?"
Having experienced far more hardship, Elijah quickly regained her composure and took the lead in issuing a judgment against Lex, reminding the nobles guarding the church that Lex was no longer the Crown Prince they should respect, but the one who murdered Nurenger IX.
“I didn’t lay a hand on my father, and I don’t intend to argue with you here about who the real killer was. It’s more important to get the funeral over with first,” Lex said calmly.
After saying that, he lifted his leg and walked into the church first, standing in the front row.
Chelge, holding his sword, followed closely behind Lex, always ready to protect him.
From the entrance to the interior of the church, no one dared to stop Lex on this short stretch of road, and they simply watched as he stood at the head of the right side.
Even Elijah, whose expression was not good, restrained her urge to lash out at Lex, considering the funeral arrangements.
She had no choice but to help her; didn't she see that Naif had come to support her, fearing she might lose her temper?
Since Naif is the only remaining princess, Elia still has to give her some face in front of everyone.
The nobles thought that an inevitable conflict had simply vanished without a trace, and for some reason, they felt a little disappointed.
However, another dispute soon captured everyone's attention.
"According to past practice, only the Pope can preside over the funeral for His Majesty the King. Therefore, we have decided to elect Archbishop George today as the new Pope to preside over the next ceremony for His Majesty the King."
The speaker was Fico, the eldest of the four archbishops. He had once competed with Alonso for the papacy, so his words naturally carried considerable weight.
“I agree with Ficoller,” Andrei also stepped forward, supporting George to become the new pope.
Three of the four nodded in agreement, and everyone's attention turned to the last person, Laod, to see his response.
Is it agreement, or—
“I disagree with Archbishop George becoming Pope,” Laod said.
As expected. Everyone felt that Laod's answer was exactly what they had anticipated.
Even if he is all alone, if he just gives in, wouldn't that be handing over his last chance for nothing? That won't do. He has to struggle a bit.
"Hmph, Archbishop Laod, you alone here have no right to choose whether to agree or disagree." George chuckled, unsurprised by Laod's answer.
He said slowly, "Originally, I did not want to tarnish the reputation of the departed Lord Alonso, but the purity of the Church cannot be tainted by anyone, not even the Pope. Therefore, after much hesitation, I decided to tell the truth."
"That is, you, Laod, as Lord Alonso's illegitimate son, should not continue to stand here as the archbishop."
As soon as George finished speaking, it caused a stir among the nobles.
No one expected to hear such a shocking scandal at the funeral of King Nurenger IX.
The Church has never allowed any priest or nun to lose their chastity. Since they have chosen to enter the Church and stay away from the secular world, they should wholeheartedly serve their faith for the rest of their lives.
But the Pope, who should have been chaste, had a child in secret, and not only brought him into the church, but also made him an archbishop. It was absurd!
"Oh? Archbishop George, everyone should be responsible for their own words. What evidence do you have to prove that I am Lord Alonso's child?"
Faced with Gordo's sudden attack, Laod remained completely composed. He seemed to have anticipated this turn of events, and even looked at everyone with a smile, asking:
"As you can all see, I don't look like Lord Alonso at all, do I?"
If Laod and Alonso looked alike, no one would have doubted their relationship for so many years.
"Since you refuse to admit it, then let your mother admit it."
Seeing this, George gave a wink to one of the priests behind him, who immediately understood and bowed his head to leave.
A short while later, he returned with an elderly woman whose face was aged.
She was none other than Granny Sannoh, whom Mela and Yuriel had met briefly in Glowing Town.
"Laod!"
Upon seeing Laod, Sannoh burst into tears and rushed to him, all the words she wanted to say condensing into tears that streamed down her face.
"Now, everyone can take a closer look at the old woman and Laod's appearance. She is Laod's mother, Sanno, the daughter of a farmer. Many years ago, because of her beauty, she was offered by Count Gardner to Lord Alonso, who was then the bishop of Gardner," George said confidently.
For a moment, everyone's gaze kept shifting between Laod and Sannoh's faces.
Although Sannoh's face showed signs of age, upon closer inspection, her features did indeed resemble Laod's.
Could it be true, as Gordo said, that Laod is Alonso's illegitimate son? Then the Gardner family... Many people secretly glanced at Foussen, who was standing on the left-hand side in front, and the current Earl Gardner, his nephew, beside him, and revealed meaningful smiles.
Tsk tsk tsk, you have to know that Earl Gardner was Foussen's brother at the time, it's absolutely impossible that they didn't know about it.
However, neither Füssen nor his nephew seemed to notice the stares, remaining completely at ease.
“I admit, she is my mother.”
To everyone's surprise, Laod admitted it without hesitation. He even considerately helped Sanno up, followed by a sigh:
"However, my father is not Lord Alonso."
“What do you think, Mother? You must explain this clearly to everyone, and not tarnish the reputation of our benefactor, Lord Alonso.”
Upon hearing this, Sanno nodded timidly, her eyes lowered, not daring to meet the gaze of anyone present. "Laod is right. He is the child of me and a coachman, and has no relation to the noble Lord Alonso."
"What did you say? That's not what you told me back then! If you hadn't admitted it yourself, how could I have known about these things from decades ago!"
Upon hearing this, Gordo was so angry that he jumped up and down. He never expected that Sanno would change his mind at the last minute.
How dare that old woman? She actually dared to do it!
“If Laod is your child with the coachman, why don’t you dare to admit it openly? Instead, you hide in a house outside the city, bearing the stigma of being an illegitimate child, and raise him alone to adulthood despite the scorn of others,” George pressed.
“Because…because…Laod was indeed an illegitimate child, and I did not marry that coachman later,” Sannoh answered timidly.
Anyone who saw her would only think she was a pitiful old woman and that she couldn't possibly be lying.
On the contrary, Geordos, who seemed furious at failing to frame Laod, appeared to be the villain.
Before George could say anything more, Laod pulled Sannoh behind him, shielding her like a shield and blocking George's murderous gaze.
“Archbishop George, Lord Alonso knew about my background, but he never refused to let me enter the church because I was an illegitimate child. Therefore, I have vowed to serve God devoutly and carry on Lord Alonso’s will because he had to leave this world due to his short life.”
Upon hearing this, the other priests present all showed expressions of emotion.
Now, not only did George not expose Laod's true identity, he also used this opportunity to further enhance Laod's reputation.
"You!" George was so angry he almost fainted. He looked helplessly at Ficoler and Andrei, only to see that the two of them, as if they had agreed beforehand, each took a step back, widening the distance between them and him.
“I never imagined that you, George, would do something like slandering Lord Alonso and Archbishop Laod just for the position of Pope. We thought you were highly regarded by the previous Pope, Lord Mande, which is why we jointly recommended you to be the new Pope. Unfortunately, what you did today is not something a Pope should do,” Ficoler said sadly first.
“That’s right, you really disappoint us.” Andrei shook his head as well.
"You! You!" George was now truly panicked.
He wanted to say, "Why aren't you following the plan?"
After considering the consequences of revealing this matter, Kognodo ultimately kept quiet.
If he were to reveal the conspiracy between the three of them now, he would be essentially handing Laod the position of pope for free.
Moreover, once the funeral is over, Ficoler and Andrei will certainly not let him off the hook.
It would be better to just accept defeat now and maybe retain some status. At worst, he could be sent to some poor place as a neglected bishop, which would be better than being targeted by Ficoler and Andrei.
No, not only Ficoler and Andrei, but also Gordo looked at Laod, whose face was filled with sadness, and knew that he would not let him go either.
He's finished. This time, he's really finished. George thought in despair.
However, this was not the end of the matter. Laod's attack came so quickly. Looking at Georudo, who had a look of despair on his face, he suddenly said, "There is something that I think everyone should know."
“George Ludo, in your quest to become Pope, you went to great lengths last night to send a witch to assassinate me.”
"As an archbishop, how could you get involved with witches?"
"What? A witch? There are still witches around?" someone in the nobles exclaimed in horror.
"No, no, no, I didn't! I don't know any witch, and I didn't send anyone to harm you!" George shook his head frantically, trying to deny the crime.
However, just as he and Ficoler had previously believed, one fact would only be followed by another, and would not be suspected of being a lie.
Now, no matter how much George denies it, no one will believe he is innocent.
Laod's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. He turned to the priest beside him and said, "Go and bring that witch here. I don't want to slander a respected archbishop without any evidence."
A moment later, Erica, still unconscious, was dragged in front of the crowd like a dead dog.
Seeing this from the hidden room, Mela's heart skipped a beat once again, just as it had when she saw Lex appear earlier.
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