vncnus Chapter 198 Gregory
Chapter 198 Gregory
Chapter 198 Gregory
The holy city of Gregory is named after Gregory St. Barentucci, the first pope to establish the Principality of the Holy Apostles, in honor of this great saint.
He is said to be God's true messenger, and it was he who brought the divinely bestowed scriptures to King Eugene Sinclair.
In the kingdom's recorded history, Gregory was Eugene's personal priest, but the duchy has never acknowledged this claim.
If Herald City is colorful, then Holy City is pure white.
Marble buildings are found throughout the city, and it is said that the marble was transported from the northernmost part of the principality.
Even if there are brick or wooden houses, they will be painted white to cover up any extraneous colors.
As the most sacred place in the world, Gregory does not tolerate heresy.
If it is an undeniable fact that the cities of the principality are always filled with a repressive atmosphere, then only the Holy City stands out as a vibrant passion amidst that intense repression.
The faces of every citizen in the city were always beaming with smiles, for in the eyes of these devout believers, they lived in the place closest to God.
But faith did not extinguish their yearning and pursuit of a better life. The holy city did not restrict commercial activities, so everyone could work hard to earn money in order to improve their living conditions.
This also led countless foreign merchants to come here to do business and trade.
Marble statues blessed by clergy members who are given the title of "Saint" are best-selling luxury items in the holy city.
It is said that if this ornament is placed in the most central place in the home, God will surely bring blessings to the family.
Merchants would also bring products from distant lands to the wealthy local residents.
Annie saw tea from the Far East, carpets from the Benson Gobi, and golden wine from the Blois Peninsula. She even saw a burly man with a thick beard selling freshly baked heraldic cakes. He was wearing a long, light gown covered with heraldic crests and uttering the names of various crests. Annie concluded that he must be from Heraldic City.
Throughout the holy city, nuns and monks dressed in robes can be seen everywhere, as well as holy knights in full regalia.
However, these paladins were not equipped with armor, but instead wore almost entirely white fitted robes, and their boots were made of white crocodile skin.
Annie thought they were all very handsome.
Anne wasn't unfamiliar with handsome men; Aaron was the most handsome she had ever seen, and Seth, standing next to her, was no less attractive than any of them.
But perhaps it was the clothing that made them look so sophisticated.
However, what surprised Annie was actually their average appearance.
Not only the paladins, but also the monks and nuns were all handsome men and beautiful women, giving Anne the illusion that those who serve God must have a refined appearance.
Every few streets in the city, you could see a church, and none of them were idle. Anne watched as people filed in and came out one after another.
However, Anne also noticed a strange phenomenon: it was monks' clothing.
The styles of their robes were basically the same, but Anne, as a heraldic apprentice, easily drew her attention to the heraldic emblems embroidered on the robes.
Anne could tell that the emblems belonged to different cults, such as the Rebirth Flame of the New Flame Cult and the Purification Wheel of the Darkmoon Cult.
Incredibly, she even witnessed the original rebirth of the Firstborn Cult.
Hasn't the First Birth Cult already been defined as heresy?
But why would those heretics dare to walk so openly and swagger down the street in the most sacred holy city?
Gentleman Seth seemed to notice Anne's confusion and asked:
"What's wrong?"
Anne gestured with her eyes to the nun in front of her: "That's the emblem of the Firstborn Church, the Primordial New Life."
As the leader of the Unswearing Knights, Gentleman Seth is not just powerful in combat.
He was equally intelligent and quick-witted; he should have been able to accurately guess the full meaning Anne wanted to express based solely on her vague suggestion.
A faint smile appeared on Seth's face: "Perhaps outside the Holy City, the various sects can openly and covertly fight each other, but in the Holy City, under the Lord's watchful eye, even the Pope has to restrain himself."
"But the Holy City cannot tolerate heresy!" Anne argued.
"The fact that the Firstborn Church is located outside the Holy City may be a drawback, but until a new cardinal takes office, the former bishop's status remains unshakeable, and so does the Firstborn Church he represents."
The gentleman used his experience to analyze the situation for Anne.
"Otherwise, before the bodies are even cold, various sects will start making trouble, which will damage their reputation."
"But isn't that what they do outside the city?" Anne asked, puzzled.
"Although it is only separated by a marble wall, the inside and outside of that wall are two completely different scenes," the gentleman said. "The inside may be rotten and moldy, but the outside must be brand new and beautiful. The Holy City is the face of each sect."
So, is this what sectarian conflict looks like?
Anne couldn't help but wonder if the power struggles in the kingdom's court were just as treacherous and unpredictable as those in the Papacy.
If that's really the case, Anne feels she'll definitely learn a lot from this trip.
She nodded slightly, asking no further questions. Escorted by the Unswearing Knights, they continued their journey through the city along the main road until they finally arrived at the towering Holy Envoy Palace.
It was a magnificent palace, with a wide staircase leading up to the main building, which was the Palace of the Holy See.
The main hall is grand and imposing, yet it retains a solemn and dignified air.
The facade is a regular white rectangle, and by counting the windows, Annie knows that it has five floors.
If we consider the floors of the corner tower, the number of floors in this building would increase again.
Between the main hall and the staircase, there was a row of statues, which Anne recognized as the gods created by God.
However, according to Anne's knowledge, the earliest records of some deities are far later than the origins of the belief in God.
Therefore, Anne speculated that the belief in God was also constantly evolving, absorbing the gods of various faiths and defining them as subordinate gods of God.
Anne believed that, compared to simple religious wars, absorption and assimilation were far more effective than violence in absorbing the faith of other gods.
Soon, a clergyman in a yellow robe came forward and asked Anne and the others what their purpose was.
Behind him followed four paladins.
Seth stepped forward, bowed to the other party, and then briefly explained Anne's identity and purpose.
The yellow-robed priest nodded and then invited Anne and her party to follow him to the Holy Envoy's Palace.
He led Anne and the others to a spacious, bright hall and asked them to wait there.
This should be the reception hall.
All the windows in the hall face west, with long, large panes of glass embedded in them and decorated with flowing lines in gold paint.
Beneath their feet was a pure red carpet, and above their heads was a complete relief sculpture.
Anne quickly glanced at it and discovered that it described the story of Gregory presenting Eugene with the divine gift.
Eugene, along with a group of knights, wizards, mages, alchemists, and people of various professions, knelt on the left and bowed their heads.
Gregory then extended his right hand to touch Eugene's head, while beside him, people dressed in holy robes consecrated the enormous divinely bestowed ceremony.
Seth had his men wait at the bottom of the stairs, so the only people who entered the hall, besides Seth and Annie, were a mercenary named Ignazio.
Anne didn't know much about this man, only that he was taciturn and deeply trusted by Seth.
If Seth only takes one person with him, it must be this person.
Before long, a man dressed in a golden holy robe, accompanied by the yellow-robed priest from before, also entered the reception hall.
Behind this person, there were even more paladins.
After taking his position, the yellow-robed priest stepped forward and introduced himself:
"Your Excellencies, this is the current Holy See, His Holiness Nicholas X."
Upon hearing this, Anne and the others bowed and greeted the Pope, and then stated their names.
Then the priest in the yellow robe introduced himself: "And I am a patriarch, Peter."
Then, he turned to Nikolai:
"Holy Throne, the three people before you are the representatives sent by the Herald Academy for the upcoming inauguration ceremony, and her bodyguards."
Nikolai was an elderly man with a slightly chubby face, fair skin that looked as if it had been bleached, small eyes, but very long hairs on his eyebrows.
He spoke softly, with the kindest smile Anne had ever seen:
"My faithful have come from afar, and it must be tiring. Please sit down, Bishop Peter. Please bring out the Holy Communion and the Holy Blood to cleanse their bodies and souls."
Peter nodded slightly, and then ordered someone to bring out some flatbread and a glass of red wine.
The pancakes are made from oats, while the red wine is a specialty of the southern part of the duchy, made from blood grapes, known as blood wine.
Blood grapes are actually dark purple, but the wine made from them will have a blood red color that is difficult to distinguish from the real thing.
Therefore, this grape got its name from its processed products.
These two things are called the Eucharist and the Blood of Christ by the church.
Taking them can be used to purify the body, mind, and soul.
However, when eating it, you must not chew it; you must let the pancake melt in your mouth on its own.
Blood wine must be swallowed along with breathing.
After going through this procedure, Nikolai finally spoke:
"I never expected that the representative of the Herald Academy would be a woman."
Anne knew what to say to whom:
"The Lord endowed men and women with the same wisdom when He created them."
"Haha, yes," Nikolai nodded, "and I'm just marveling that the Herald Academy has finally abandoned gender prejudice."
In fact, the Herald Academy still discriminates against women, and if Anne hadn't been exceptionally talented and lucky, she would never have had the chance to get here.
But Anne didn't need to tarnish her alma mater in front of outsiders, so she simply nodded.
Nicolas then said, "Miss Anne, you look very young, probably not even twenty years old?"
Anne just celebrated her birthday: "I'm sixteen now."
"Oh! You are indeed very accomplished for your age," Nikolai said. "I didn't expect you to become a representative of the Heraldry Academy at such a young age. Are you already a lecturer at the Heraldry Academy?"
Anne shook her head: "I'm ashamed to say that I'm still just an apprentice in heraldry."
"An apprentice? Haha, interesting," Nicholas chuckled. "I didn't expect that with such a formal invitation from the Holy See, the Herald Academy would only send a sixteen-year-old apprentice."
Anne calmly replied, "Your Majesty, although the Academy has only sent me as its representative, it does not mean that the Academy does not respect or value the Holy See."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"This is the ascension of the former cardinal and the inauguration of a new one. This young cardinal will undoubtedly represent the future of the Holy See. Although I am young, I am one of the most outstanding students at the Heraldry Academy."
Anne actually felt that "one of" could be removed, but since the other party was, after all, the leader of the entire Papacy, Anne felt that she should remain humble.
"Therefore, this is a collision of futures, and the academy's intention is to express its willingness to establish friendly relations with the Vatican through this."
"Hahaha—." Nikolai burst into laughter.
Peter, standing nearby, also wore an approving smile and turned to Nicholas, saying:
"Your Holiness, from Miss Booker's words alone, I know she is not just boasting; she will surely become an accomplished herald in the future."
Nikolai nodded: "What a wonderful collision of futures! The Herald Academy has indeed recruited an excellent student. However, Miss Booker, you are only the soon-to-be cardinal, not the young man you described. He is already over forty."
"Youth is not about age, but about the heart," Anne said. "In my opinion, such an enlightened saint..."
Still young at heart.
Nikolai grinned from ear to ear: "You have quite the silver tongue. Now I understand why the Heraldry Academy dared to send a sixteen-year-old apprentice to participate in such a grand ceremony. You are excellent, Miss Booker."
"You flatter me, Your Majesty."
“I rarely praise people, so do you deserve this compliment?” Nikolai said. “Well then, Miss Booker, let’s get down to business.”
"Yes," Anne nodded.
Nicholas said, "The inauguration ceremony will be held next month, so please, Miss Booker, be able to wait in the Holy City for a month."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"If you have any needs, just tell me. The Vatican will cover your food, lodging, and all other reasonable expenses," Nicholas said.
"Thank you for your generosity."
Nicholas nodded: "If you encounter any difficulties, just come directly to Bishop Peter in the Holy See Palace. He will solve most of your problems."
Afterwards, the Pope gave many more details before leaving the reception hall, citing his busy schedule with religious affairs.
Peter then asked Anne if she needed any assistance at the moment.
After Anne and Seth both said they didn't have any for the time being, they took their leave and left the Holy See Palace.
As Anne walked down the stairs, she turned around and found Ignazio looking at her with an incredulous expression.
Anne was puzzled, but Seth seemed to see through her gaze and commented on Ignazio's words:
"Miss Anne, you are an incredible woman."