What annoys me the most is when people make me keep quiet. What specifically annoys me? The way they do it, of course...
"Vlad, why did you kiss me?"
"To show you that I am willing to wait for you... I honestly believe that the longer I wait, the stronger my feelings will become..."
"Yeah, sure... And I will become the king of France... Vlad, you have so many options, why would you choose me?"
"Because you are different from the others... Plus, the cardinal who came is your lover, right?"
"No... Or, rather, he is no longer... Personal problems..."
"I'm sorry to hear that... You know, I could come to the funeral tomorrow? I really want to see a Liturgy conducted by you..."
"I will not be leading the Liturgy, Cesare will... I will only preach after the Gospel..."
"Great, then I'll come too... I want to receive communion from your hand tomorrow, okay?"
"We'll see... Come on, go now..."
"Fine... See you tomorrow. Bye, Antonio..."
"G-Goodbye..."
Why is everyone behaving like this towards me? It makes me feel uncomfortable with all of this... I can't wait to return to my everyday life and resume my usual duties.
Ignatius is really dead... I thought I would be happy when I got rid of him, but I'm just sad... If I hadn't committed that crime a few days ago, everything would have turned out well... But now... The Bishop is dead, and the diocese is without a leader. I realized some time ago that I will not be chosen as the bishop, so I don't have any illusions. However, I hope something beneficial will happen during the time I am in charge, until the new bishop is elected.
The dawn of the morning has poured over us. A folk song from the Wallachian folklore came to my mind, which was sung to both the Bishop and it goes something like this:
„Sister dawn do not rush
Until we change Ignatius's clothes
Sun, sun, yellow sun
Do not hurry at sunrise
Until we change everything.
For he, oh Lord, returns often
Around the house, around the table
The world regrets leaving him.
Like the bee to the hive
Like the cat near the sheepfold
Black roosters were crowing,
White dawns were breaking,
And they laid Ignatius to rest,
And covered him with a shroud,
Sisters dawns
You have lingered again,
Alas, you did not hasten anymore."
In the song of the old women from Wallachia and the people who had heard of their bishop's death, I prepared the final Liturgy for our bishop... The most important one, in fact.
Many people had come, especially to see Cesare, the son of Pope Alexander. Everything was arranged, so after I woke up, washed up, I went to wake up Marcus. I slept in Ignatius' room last night... I really regret everything... Especially for the people Ignatius robbed. On his desk in his room, there were the names of over 2000 people he had robbed with the help of the nobles... Now I understand why Vlad, Dracula, was so against them.
"Marcus, wake up... It's time to fulfill our duty for our bishop..."
"Antonio... I want to die! I have no reason to live anymore..."
"Marcus, what have you done?"
Marcus was covered in blood with a knife in his hand. It seems he had tried to cut his veins. This amount of blood is putting his life in danger. I need to call upon Dracula and ask for his advice. Thankfully, it's only 7:00 am, so I still have two hours until the Liturgy.
Marcus was already starting to become unconscious as he forced his blood out of his body. He really wants to die, and it's all because of me... There is a way of communication among vampires from a distance... I've never used it, but Vlad taught me how to do it. Within moments, Vlad was at the window of the room, signaling me to let him in.
"Well, good morning, ray of sunshine," Dracula said in an extremely annoying tone.
"I don't have time for your advances... Marcus has lost a lot of blood... What do you think needs to be done now?"
"What do I think? I think a grave needs to be dug next to Ignatius..."
"V-Vlad! Stop with that... Please, save him!"
"I can't do anything... He needs blood... Anyway, now there are fewer contenders for your hand, right?"
"Vlad, enough... If you don't want to help me, then don't. There's no need to be like this..."
"Anyway, Marcus... You're cowardly enough to commit suicide because Cesare is making advances towards Antonio, aren't you? What will you do when I start doing the same?"
"You can't do that... I won't allow you to-"
I hope my blood will be enough. Honestly, I haven't drunk this much since I became a vampire, but I have enough. I lowered my neck towards Marcus to be able to drink. However, he's as stubborn as a child. I have an idea...
I bit my hand, holding the blood from the wound in my mouth. Immediately, I kissed Marcus, allowing me to give him some blood. That was enough for his vampire fangs to emerge and dive into me, eagerly drinking from my blood.
"Drink, Marcus... I don't know if next time I'll be able to help you, so never try this again..."
"I understand... Forgive me..."
After he drank with tears of sadness in his eyes, I helped him get ready for the Liturgy, after driving Vlad away. The important thing is that he became very obedient and left. A few minutes after this event, Marcus was prepared, and I had to hide the wound on my neck caused by his bite.
As soon as I descended, the first person I encountered was Cesare. After greeting him, the three of us headed towards the cathedral. We knelt in front of the altar, saying a prayer for Ignatius, and then we prepared for the funeral.
We put on our violet robes, and Cesare wore his white mitre. That reminded me of my dream from a week ago when I saw him wearing it while I knelt in front of him. In fact, that mitre was adorned with so many precious stones that it didn't look white anymore, but golden.
Another 300 priests were waiting to join the procession. After a few minutes, the procession began. The altar boys and the master of ceremonies were in the front, followed by the priests in order of rank. The last ones were the two elderly professors followed by me and Marcus, with Cesare being the last and most important.
The priests did not have a place at the altar, so 290 of them stayed in the cathedral, while I, Marcus, Cesare, the two elderly professors, and some priest teachers stood at the altar.
Cesare gave the opening blessing, invoking the mercy of the Lord upon the people and Ignatius.
"Today is a sad day for Targoviste. Bishop Ignatius was chosen by the Lord to return to the Father's heavenly home. Let us pray for him, invoking the name of the Lord. Now let us confess our sins to be worthy of participating in this holy celebration."
In the front rows were the 23-year-old ruler of Wallachia, his mother, and various relatives of the bishop. Also present were different priests and close associates of the bishop. Of course, Vlad was also present.
After the reading of the holy scriptures and the Gospel, it was my turn to preach. All eyes were on me, including the extremely sexy gaze of Vlad, competing with that of Cesare.
"Your Eminence, Your Majesty, Reverend fellow priests, esteemed national and ecclesiastical authorities,
Today is a sad day for us. Our bishop has left us with a tremendous void in our hearts and at the helm of our diocese. He lived a life dedicated to the Lord and His service... Despite certain omissions during his episcopate, I implore you to forgive him so that the Lord Himself may forgive us, His humble servants. Death does not have the final word; let us not forget that. All of us who mourn now will rejoice when we see him in heaven with God and the saints. But until then... F-Forgive me, I am extremely touched... Bishop Ignatius trusted me to appoint me as a judge, but I was unable to defend him, that's why... I confess that I am guilty of his death... If only I had come-"
Tears flooded my face... Damn it, I'm starting to make a fool of myself. Or so I thought. It was enough for people to start crying. To my surprise, even His Majesty and Marcus were crying. Even Vlad stood solemnly in his place, with his head bowed. Cesare came and embraced me, resting my head on his shoulder. His scent, his hands, his chest against which I had leaned for so long... They all belonged to the priest Cesare, not the cardinal Borgia. And yet, I was so devastated that I couldn't escape his embrace.
"Come on, we have to finish the Liturgy," Cesare whispered to me.
"Brothers, at the end of my speech, I want to tell you that I have decided to leave the task of choosing the future bishop to you, to be approved by the Pope and enthroned in a month's time. Our bishop has died. Who will take his place? You will decide, and the Pope will approve your request. Until then, the burden of leading the diocese will fall on me, and tomorrow I will issue my first decree as the acting bishop."
After I finished my speech, Marcus read the Pope's speech sent through Cesare, which began as follows:
"Alexander, by the mercy of God, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, and Servant of the Servants of God, to the Church in Wallachia,
We are deeply saddened by the death of our brother, Ignatius, Bishop of the Diocese of Targoviste, and we wish to join the prayers of the faithful of this diocese, assuring you of our support. We have sent our son, Cesare Cardinal Borgia, to celebrate this funeral Liturgy. (...)
Finally, we would like to greet the acting bishop of Ignatius, Father Antonio, whom we wish courage and strength in fulfilling his duties, and our spiritual son Marcus, that is, myself," Marcus added, "to whom we offer our apostolic blessing.
Given in Rome, today, May 25, 1493, the first year of pontificate.
+Alexander VI, Pope"
After reading the papal document, the Liturgy proceeded as usual, culminating in the consecration of the Body and Blood of the Lord and the distribution of the Eucharist.
Of course, His Majesty was the first to come forward to receive the Eucharist, and I noticed that he was almost obsessively watching me... Perhaps it was just my imagination...
Well, then it was Vlad's turn to come and receive the Eucharist, which impressed me, knowing well his disdain for the Church. I believe our conversation yesterday brought him back into the fold of the Church, didn't it?
When I was about to give him the Eucharist, he stuck out his tongue to receive the host, but after I administered it to him, he licked my finger in an extremely perverse manner, staring at me with a lascivious look, which almost made me drop the vessel from my hand, feeling aroused. I handed the vessel to Marcus, and I went back to my place to calm myself down. Vlad noticed this and started smiling in a perverse way, which made me blush even more.
Everything was fine until...