Chapter 64: Golden Ouroboros (XIV)
◎Singing◎
When Raphael went to say goodbye to Sancha, the princess happened to receive military reports and letters from Amenra, saying that the expeditionary force was about to reach the Roman border. The next step was to go east along the Tolan River into the Black Sea and reach the Assyrian Plain.
The Tolan River runs through Roman Empire, Calais, and the Papal States. Amenra did not choose to take the Calais or the Papal States. In addition to the fact that the water route was faster, there were obviously other considerations. However, the expeditionary force was so large that it was impossible to take the entire water route. The vanguard army led by Amenra took a boat to Assyria first, and the subsequent army still had to take the route of Calais and cross the Tadine Mountains to reach Assyria.
Now that Princess Roman and Emperor Calais have just been engaged, it is easy to get the clearance documents from Francis IV. Amenla wrote the letter for this matter and also briefly explained her situation.
Led by the maid, Raphael walked into the reception room. This round reception room was hung with Assyrian gold tapestries and silk paintings. Gold and silver wares from the Romanesque were placed on the shelves in different heights, shining brightly under the light.
Sang Xia, wearing a goose yellow dress, walked in with a letter and saw Raphael sitting in front of the fireplace. She couldn't help but laugh: "Sometimes I think you are like a cat. I can always catch you in a warm place."
As she spoke, she walked to the armchair farther from the fireplace and sat down. She motioned to the maids behind her to place the snacks on the small table between them, and casually adjusted the hem of her skirt, so that the goose yellow satin spread out a small flower on the carpet.
The maids did not leave completely, but sat down on the long sofa in the side hall and talked in low voices. This distance prevented them from hearing the hostess's conversation, while allowing them to discover their master's needs at the first time.
Sang Xia handed the parchment in her hand to Raphael and said in a brisk voice: "The vanguard led by my mother boarded the ship crossing the Black Sea yesterday. The follow-up troops will soon cross the Tolan River. As long as we get the documents from Calais, we can enter the Calais border. Everything is going well at the moment."
Raphael unfolded the parchment and read the letter at a glance. The content was exactly the same as what Sangxia said, except that it contained some trivial matters written by the queen.
Sang Xia picked up the teacup and blew away the hot air: "I heard that you and François had a quarrel this afternoon?"
The girl's voice was very natural, as if she was just asking casually.
Raphael's nerves tensed instantly.
There was no third person present when he was talking with François, and he did not leak it afterwards. Why did Sanxia know about it?
However, Sang Xia obviously did not know the specific content of their conversation, otherwise she would not have said it so carelessly - whether it was a test or something else, she should have chosen a safer approach.
"Yes, your fiancé is obviously not very happy with our overly close relationship." Raphael said half-seriously without any flaws on his face.
Sang Xia showed an expression as if she had eaten a sour fruit when she heard this, and said unceremoniously in a rude tone that was completely contrary to court etiquette: "Let him die."
Raphael laughed glumly, and the tension in his heart disappeared in an instant. "By the way, I came here to tell you that I will be leaving tomorrow. There are still many things waiting for me to deal with in the Papal States. The situation in Roman and Assyria is not very good now. All the burdens are on you alone... I won't bother you anymore."
Sang Xia seemed to have been mentally prepared for his departure. She did not show any surprise, but just sighed: "...I will send a letter to Bei Li Ge and prepare what you need."≡
Raphael nodded, naturally accepting Sang Xia's kindness, slowly folded the letter in his hand according to its original pattern, and placed it on the table. Just as he was about to get up, a soft and gentle singing voice floated into his ears. Raphael was struck by lightning and froze in his chair.
The dream that was so blurred that it had been forgotten suddenly resurrected from the rotten dust and ashes. The female voice sang slowly and distantly. The hazy waves pushed forward one after another, smashing the foam suspended on the rocks. The song echoed vaguely and gently, confusing reality and dreams, as if it was going to sink into the most primitive beginning of life, into the warm amniotic fluid of the mother's womb, wrapped in silence and eternal security.
This song...
Raphael turned around suddenly, and his sharp gaze swept across the maids who were talking with their heads down in the side hall. They huddled together, one of them was singing softly, and the others looked at her with smiles, humming the same melody, and every note matched the song that echoed forever in Raphael's dream.
Raphael stood up suddenly, opened his mouth, his heart beating so rapidly that it almost formed a line, and all the blood in his body was rushing madly to his head. The sudden dizziness made him close his eyes.
He didn't know why he cared so much about this song. Who was the woman singing in his dream? Is it a childhood memory that he has long forgotten? Is that the mother who once held him in her arms and sang for him? Before he ended up begging in the slums of Florence, did his mother hold him in her arms, rock him on her lap, and sing him a nursery rhyme?
Vitaliy III never mentioned his mother. People around him told him that his mother was just a low-class prostitute, that he was a mistake made by Vitaliy III when he was mentally ill, that his birth was a shame, that he was the illegitimate brother of Rederic who was hated, and that he was the eldest son who brought discredit to Vitaliy III's glorious life.
Raphael didn't care what they said, because the woman didn't exist in his memory at all. Who could clearly remember things before the age of three or four? The beginning of life in Raphael's mind was only the heavy rain hitting the glass windows and the woman's vague singing, and then the skinny fingers of old Aaron who taught him to steal in the slums and gave him a bite of rotten bread so that he wouldn't starve to death.
And yet…he actually heard the exact same song here, in this unexpected place.
His sudden standing startled Sang Xia. The princess looked at him blankly, followed his gaze and looked back, only to see her maids. Then she turned back and looked at Raphael's unusually ugly face, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Raphael's lavender eyes turned half a circle, and his pupils trembled unconsciously: "What...is this song...?"
"Hmm?" Sang Xia listened attentively for two seconds, then laughed, "Ah, this is "The Voice of Assyria". This is the first song that every Assyrian child hears after birth. The melody is simple. It is a nursery rhyme that Assyrian mothers use to teach their children. Have you heard it, too?"
"Assyrian nursery rhyme..." Raphael stood there in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long while, he murmured, "I... I've heard this song before."
Sangxia said nonchalantly, "This is normal. Assyrians all sing this song. There are Assyrians in the Pope's Palace, right?"
Yes, this is normal. The Papal States is a mixed crowd with people from various countries. His mother might be from Assyria, but he never knew before that the other half of his blood came from that distant country.
Raphael said nothing more. He listened to the maids singing the song in silence and nodded goodbye to Sangxia silently.
After the Pope left the reception room, Sangxia restrained the smile on her face and sat there thoughtfully. It was just a nursery rhyme, why did Raphael react so strongly?
The Pope's departure was very low-key. He seemed to deliberately not want people to know his whereabouts. When Francis IV heard about this, the Pope's carriage had already left the Castle of Hosanco. The little emperor stood by the window and could only see the tail of the Pope's motorcade. He had a mask-like smile on his face, but there was no trace of his light brown eyes.
If there was any smile, the servant who came to report the matter would want to lower his head into his neck or disappear on the spot.
The servant couldn't understand why His Majesty suddenly became so angry when he just said that the Pope had left.
The little emperor raised his face, letting the thin sunlight shine on his face. His light brown eyes were like the golden pupils of a snake, completely cold and twisted like a non-human.
"... Contact the people in the Pope's Palace. I want to know everything about him... everything."
Emperor Calais's voice was just a whisper, but it made the attendant lower his head even more: "Yes, I will follow your orders, Your Majesty."
Because something had happened to the Pope in the Duke's residence before, the Duke handed over all the Calais spies in the Papal Palace in order to calm the Pope's anger. However, there were always a few who slipped through the net, and even the Duke himself didn't know about them. They were buried during the reign of Francis III, who focused on gaining greater power and only obeyed the emperor. These people were handed over by Francis III to his son, and thus luckily escaped in the transaction between the Duke and the Pope.
The emperor's order was delivered to Florence through secret channels, and Raphael knew nothing about it. The convoy returned to Beligo along the same route, and after resting, it set out again on the road back to Florence.
Two days later, Julius received news that the Pope would be returning soon. The Secretary General held the short letter in his hand, somewhat puzzled. According to his calculations, it would take some time for Raphael to end his diplomatic activities. Could something unexpected have happened?
But the letter sent back from Raphael clearly stated that everything was normal.
Julius pushed his iron-gray hair behind his ears. His deep purple pupils shone with a thoughtful gleam. The adult man had a special personal charm. He was not wearing glasses, so the aggression in his eyes became stronger than ever before.
The Secretary-General's desk was filled with documents from all over the Papal States, and requests for funding were piling up. Leshert's conquest had brought unprecedented unity to the Papal States, but this did not mean absolute stability. War was always a means rather than an end, and the subsequent appeasement work was the most exhausting.
In order to win the hearts of the people for Raphael, Julius even used the funds in the Portia Bank. This was also the reason why the elders of Portia became dissatisfied with him. They believed that Julius seemed to put Raphael and the Papal State above the family. After the last meeting, they criticized him twice, both openly and covertly, but Julius perfunctorily brushed it off.
He signed his name on a petition, removed the ring from his thumb, stamped his signature, and turned to the next scroll of parchment.
As soon as he read the beginning, the gloomy expression on Julius' face faded away, and turned into a confused and strange look.
The letter was from Count Tandol.
He is the famous loser known as "Sir Goose". Ah, of course, he should be called "Count Goose" now. The title of Count was obtained by Raphael through fraud. If he had not used Celia Port to show goodwill to the Pope, he might never have been able to defeat his brother in his entire life.
Julius didn't care about the daily life of this famous waste in Florence at all. He glanced at the bland letter full of empty talk and boring nonsense, and finally concluded the purpose of Count Dandol.
He wanted to see Julius for the "glory of the Dondores".
The words were very subtle and obscure, but Julius, who had been brought up in this kind of social etiquette for a long time, instantly understood his idea. Dondole wanted to be loyal to him, give something, and then in exchange for more power and position. For example, the Dondole family once had the position of cardinal, but after the death of old Dondole, this cardinal position was far away from Dondole. Currently, Count Goose, who only has the empty title of earl but no real power of any position, obviously cannot stand such a life, and wants to try to get through Julius.
Julius was speechless for a moment, then threw the parchment into the fireplace.
Even if he was indeed very short of manpower right now, he would not accept the allegiance of a well-known loser.
The Secretary General of the Papal Palace is very busy and has no time to waste with Dondol.
——Trash belongs in the garbage dump.
After several days of trekking, the Pope's convoy finally arrived in Florence. Unlike when they left, this huge holy city had basically restored its pre-epidemic order. The name of Saint Sistine I was praised day and night, and the Pope's flag was fluttering in every corner, symbolizing the Pope's absolute rule over the holy city.
When Raphael's carriage drove onto the central avenue, everyone prostrated themselves devoutly and gave him their most sincere blessings.
This was Raphael's city, and there was no doubt that everyone loved him absolutely and sincerely.
The car drove towards the Papal Palace. As it got closer and closer to the Papal Palace, there were fewer and fewer pedestrians. So when a man suddenly jumped out in front of the car, Lesherte, who was guarding the car, drew his sword directly. The blade stopped a few inches in front of the man's neck. The Knight Commander looked at the man in surprise: "Count Dondol?"
The curtain of the carriage was opened, and the Pope took a closer look and saw that the person blocking his carriage was none other than Count Dondol, whom he had not seen for a long time.
It still has the same big head and long thin neck, and no one can imitate it.
The Earl was two times fatter than before, and it seemed that he was living a good life. He met the Pope's gaze and immediately smiled ingratiatingly. He took off his hat and pressed it to his chest, then bowed deeply: "Holy Father..."
There was a tearful tone in his voice, as if he had found his life-saving straw: "Holy Father! My great father of Florence, your majesty is as towering as Mount Olympus. My longing for you is like the endless flow of the Tolan River. Wherever your glory reaches..."
"Stop, stop, stop," Raphael's head started to hurt when he heard his flattery, and he quickly interrupted him, "What do you want?"
Count Dandol looked around, took a step forward, and whispered, "My father left something behind that seems to be related to you. I want to give it to you."
Raphael raised his eyelids and stared at him: "Is it related to me?"
Count Dondol nodded: "Yes, you should remember that my father once served as the secretary general of Saint Vitalian III."
Indeed, old Dondoler was Vitalian III's closest friend during his lifetime, so it would be normal if he left behind something related to Raphael.
"Go to the Tandoori Palace." Raphael gave the order under the Count's expectant eyes.
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