In this magnificent and solemn cathedral, a startled cry broke the sacred and solemn atmosphere. Following this cry, everyone's attention was drawn to Mr. Juan and his group. "Oh, my God, it's Ivan." Another low startled cry came from the crowd.
Ivan looked in the direction of the sound and immediately saw Miss Fanny standing in the middle of the crowd, with a look of nervousness and concern in her eyes. "Oh, my God, bring the holy water here, get more of it. It seems that someone is injured here." The clergyman who shouted loudly ordered.
As he spoke, the clergyman walked quickly towards Mr. Juan. It was only then that Ivan noticed that this person was clearly the Archbishop that Mr. Juan and Audrey had mentioned. In fact, this Archbishop didn't match the image Ivan had in mind at all.
Originally, he had thought that an Archbishop should be an image of a wise, serene, dignified, and steady elder, just like his teacher, the magician Lavash. However, the old gentleman in front of him couldn't be associated with that image no matter what. This old man should be younger than Mr. Juan. He was tall, at least half a head taller than Mr. Juan. Although he was thin, he didn't look frail. His broad frame made him look like a huge creature.
The wide robe of a clergyman didn't seem to fit him well when he wore it, as if it were empty inside. He was wearing a dome-shaped hat that symbolized an Archbishop on his head. Ivan wondered if there was a messy head of hair hidden under the hat.
This Archbishop had an appearance that was hard to compliment. His high cheekbones made his face angular. His long face with sparse whiskers always reminded people of the appearance of a goat. Unfortunately, his beard wasn't as neat as that of a goat. His broad forehead made his head look out of proportion and also widened the distance between his eyes.
A big nose became the most conspicuous part of his face. Looking at this big nose, Ivan secretly thought it was a bit funny. A loud voice also indicated a big mouth. Those two funny front teeth made that big mouth a rather eye-catching organ too.
Was it this person who was called the most respected elder in the whole of Luxembourg? Ivan felt a bit puzzled. "My friend, are you injured?" Walking closer, the Archbishop asked again. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you.
I originally thought we couldn't make it here!" Mr. Juan pretended to be emotional and said, "My loyal servant is injured. I think you can help deal with it." "That's easy. Pile, you take this gentleman down to rest and treat him by the way." The Archbishop ordered. After saying that, he suddenly turned around with a serious look on his face and looked at Ivan.
After a long while, he asked, "Is this little Ivan? My friend." "Yes, I originally thought his identity was well hidden. I didn't expect..." Mr. Juan showed a helpless and sad look. "My friend, I dare to swear in front of the Father God that I definitely didn't leak anything." The Archbishop said nervously. "My friend, how could I suspect you?" Mr. Juan shook his head and said. "Yes, but it's impossible for others to leak this either.
You took such a big risk to take in this child. You're definitely not the one who leaked it. But that loyal butler, in my opinion, is also a cautious person. He shouldn't have leaked the young master's secret either. That's strange.
Could it be that there's a magician hiding behind those thugs? That's too terrifying." The Archbishop began to mutter to himself. The conversation between the Archbishop and Mr. Juan shocked the nobles around who heard all of this. "Archbishop Monty, could you tell us what's going on here?" A stout old man stood up from the crowd, and two imposing old men stood up behind him at the same time. "Count Kenneth, let me introduce to you.
This," the Archbishop pointed at Mr. Juan and said, "is Lord Kaiwell Eaglet Juan. He's my best friend. You should have heard of Lord Juan's great name. He's one of the most outstanding diplomats and explorers in our Kingdom of Francis. He's deeply trusted by His Majesty the King and His Excellency the Bishop and is also one of the most important friends of the Holy See." "Two years ago, the temporary guardian of the last legal heir of our respected lord, that butler who was a model of loyalty, foresaw that his and the young master's lives were threatened.
To preserve the bloodline of his master, he entrusted the young master to Lord Juan." "Before making such an arrangement, he told me about this matter. Perhaps, in the eyes of this butler, I'm still a trustworthy person." Hearing what Archbishop Monty said, Count Kenneth stared blankly at Ivan.
After a long while, he said, "So, that means this young man in front of us is the real heir of Count Medin and the son of Miss Bertha. But what's the deal with that corpse?" "Perhaps it was a despicable plot by those thugs. I think it's quite normal. Now it seems that these thugs are not that simple.
There's powerful support behind them. No matter what means they use, we shouldn't be surprised." The Archbishop said. "Perhaps that was really the corpse of our young lord heir?" An old bald man of medium height behind Count Kenneth said. "Lord Martil, are you doubting my honesty?" The Archbishop said coldly. "No, no, no, I definitely don't mean that.
I'm just making a hypothesis. Of course, this possibility is the smallest. Perhaps that corpse was another child adopted by the butler to deceive others." Lord Martil said with a smile. "You're not only insulting me but also the dead. The loyalty and kindness of that butler were obvious to all.
Moreover, I was always in touch with him and had visited that mansion. I had never seen any child there. I think Count Kenneth should be the one who knows best whether there was such a young man in that mansion.
Didn't your lordship always have people monitoring that house?" The Archbishop's words made Count Kenneth a bit embarrassed. In fact, all of this was arranged by Miss Medin. He didn't know the details very well, but it would be too embarrassing to say that he knew nothing about it.
Count Kenneth had to bite the bullet and said, "Yes, it was a huge and stupid scam. I'm sure there was definitely no young man in that house originally." Count Kenneth's words undoubtedly showed that he was on Mr. Juan's side. This was not difficult to understand. In fact, he was rather bored as the acting lord.
Everything in Luxembourg was not under his control. The power and prestige of being an acting lord were even less than when the old lord was alive. When he served as the first administrative assistant under the old lord, this Count had everything he wanted. But now, all the power in Luxembourg had been completely divided up by the two people standing behind him.
That Lord Martil, the head of the financial department, not only firmly controlled the financial power of Luxembourg but also won over those officials in charge of internal affairs. Moreover, everyone knew that this guy had already curried favor with the court and had the secret support of His Majesty the King behind him.
As for Lord Levy, the military commander, this bastard, relying on his control of the military power in Luxembourg, didn't take Count Kenneth seriously at all. Fortunately, he also knew that whether it was His Majesty the King or His Highness the Prince who sent people to take over the lordship of Luxembourg, he would be kicked out.
So, he was still slightly on Count Kenneth's side. The acting lord quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind. In his opinion, having a child sit on the lord's position was not a bad thing. He could issue orders in the name of the young lord.
Although those two guys wouldn't be willing to let him do so, as long as the young lord sat firmly in this position, Miss Medin would definitely fully support the young lord. In Luxembourg, Miss Medin had absolute prestige. Count Kenneth carefully calculated all of this. He didn't think much of Lord Juan.
Although the young lord might be more willing to listen to him, a common nobleman with no power and no influence in Luxembourg, in a place that attached great importance to hierarchy and family background, would definitely not be able to achieve anything. However, the only problem now was how to make the military commander stand on his side.
This was quite a headache. And it was also something that had to be done. Lord Martil was definitely on the opposite side of him. There was no doubt about it. In this situation, Lord Levy's inclination became extremely delicate.
Count Kenneth turned around and asked another old man, "Lord Levy, what do you think of this matter?" "Without a doubt, it was a conspiracy. I had seen it long ago. It was a clumsy conspiracy. However, I'm also not sure that this young man is our respected lord heir." The old man said with a cold face, "Of course, I'm not doubting the Archbishop's honesty.
That's beyond doubt. I also have no intention of being disrespectful to the dead. In fact, I also wish there was such a loyal butler. However, during these two whole years, could something unexpected have happened to our respected heir? Looking at the appearance of these people, they should have been attacked.
I have to ask, could the cruel murderers who could kill a small team of well-trained mercenaries cleanly become kind or weak this time? They couldn't even kill an old man and a child. By the way, Lord Juan, I have a question for you.
Where were you attacked? How many people attacked you? How many people were there in your group? What were the casualties exactly?" Although the attitude of the military commander made Count Kenneth quite dissatisfied, his words had no flaws at all. Asking these questions seemed quite reasonable. "If your lordship has doubts about our thrilling experience, you can send a team of cavalry to rush to Piton quickly.
We were attacked at a resting place between Piton and Bart. If no one has dragged the corpses away, your guards will be able to see dozens of corpses of desperadoes lying in the depths of the dense forest.
I have an even more convincing piece of evidence here, a head, the head of the leader of those attackers." Mr. Juan signaled, and Herbert took off the leather pouch tied around his waist and gently held it in front of the military commander. For Lord Levy, who was in charge of military affairs, corpses and heads were things he didn't care about at all. As a soldier and an excellent knight, he had seen too many of these things.
The old man didn't take the pouch. He stretched out his long and thin fingers, carefully untied the string on the top of the pouch, opened the mouth of the bag, and took a look inside. Sure enough, it was a blood-soaked human head. "What's this supposed to prove?" The military commander said coldly. "Have you ever heard the name Ridoko? He's from Sibai." Mr. Juan said slowly. "Ridoko... This name sounds a bit familiar." Levy frowned and thought. "'Remaining Wind' Ridoko, the number one expert in using bows and arrows among the Sibai mercenaries." A young knight standing beside the military commander interrupted. Mr. Juan and Lord Levy both looked at this young knight at the same time. "I remember now.
There was a Sibai mercenary who was good at archery, named Ridoko. Your lordship means that it was this famous mercenary and his dozens of men who attacked you. Haha, I can hardly imagine now how your lordship managed to break through the encirclement with this young man." Lord Levy had a mocking smile on his face. "We didn't break through the encirclement, and we couldn't have done it either.
Our horses couldn't be faster than the speed of arrows. Moreover, we didn't plan to run away at all.
Although there were only six of us, we were absolutely confident in annihilating these desperadoes.
Ivan made the greatest contribution to this victory." Mr. Juan said with a smile. "Oh, my God, your lordship means that our 'young lord' defeated all the attackers by himself, and among these attackers there was even a famous mercenary.
Is that what you mean?" The mocking smile on the military commander's lips grew even stronger. "Father-in-law, I think it's not strange at all." A nobleman in his thirties, dressed luxuriously, stood up from the crowd.
Ivan was no stranger to this person. He was Baron O'Neill, who had appeared at Baron Lipper's banquet. The baron walked up to the military commander and whispered something in his ear. The pupils of Lord Levy suddenly shrank, and his face was instantly filled with an extremely surprised expression. "Are you sure this is true?" The count turned his head and stared at his son-in-law and asked. "I saw it with my own eyes, and your daughter can also prove whether what I said is true or not." Baron O'Neill was obviously quite afraid of his father-in-law.
He took a step back and said. Count Kenneth and Count Martil were extremely curious about what the military commander had heard from his son-in-law, but they also knew very well that since Baron O'Neill had whispered to his father-in-law so mysteriously, the military commander definitely wouldn't share what he knew with them. Lord Levy thought for a long while.
He was really quite worried now. He knew exactly what the acting lord was planning in his mind, and he also knew what actions Martil would take. For him, the best choice was to stay as he was. That would be the most advantageous for him.
If he recognized the legal heir status of this young lord, his power would be greatly shaken. That old fox Kenneth would definitely not let go of this opportunity. However, the existence of this heir with an unclear identity was also quite necessary. In this way, it could restrain His Majesty the King's further actions.
However, looking at the current situation, Martil seemed to be a bit outnumbered. Count Kenneth and Archbishop Monty would surely reach a tacit understanding.
That old guy Kenneth was not too difficult to deal with, but that Archbishop was really hard to handle. This Archbishop had a huge network of contacts in Luxembourg, and no one would doubt his words. This was quite disadvantageous for Martil. Besides, there was also Lord Juan.
This person was obviously not an ordinary character. Just looking at his calm appearance in the face of changes, he might also be a tough opponent to deal with. And the most headache among all these things was undoubtedly that this young lord was a magic apprentice.
You should know that no magician could be offended easily. Even if he had thousands of troops and horses in his hands, for a magician, that was just superficial power. The mysterious power of a magician was something that ordinary people like them couldn't compete with at all.
Only a magician could deal with a magician. Unfortunately, there were really too few people with such special abilities. Not to mention that he didn't have a magician as a bodyguard by his side. Even the lord didn't have the protection of a magician before. Otherwise, he wouldn't have died so mysteriously. But now, there was a magic apprentice standing right in front of him.
A magic apprentice meant that there was a magician hidden behind him. Moreover, this magic apprentice himself also had considerable strength. Although he was a highly skilled knight himself, he was reluctant to fight against a magic apprentice no matter what.
Who knew what mysterious and unpredictable strength these people had? Furthermore, the fact that this magic apprentice could defeat "Remaining Wind" Ridoko and his men was enough to prove that this young lord was someone not to be provoked.
All in all, this young man in front of him was definitely not a puppet that could be controlled by others at will. That old fox Kenneth might end up losing more than he gained.
Thinking of this, the military commander quickly put away his mocking expression and said, "Archbishop Monty, I already quite understand the authenticity of Mr. Ivan's identity. I think I have no problem here. You are quite trustworthy.
However, for the confirmation of the lord heir's identity, we outsiders don't have much say. Miss Linmei Tice Medin is the only person who can really make the confirmation. What we say doesn't count at all." The sudden 180-degree turn in the military commander's attitude couldn't help but surprise the other two old men.
They couldn't imagine what kind of information had made this stubborn guy completely change his stance. The military commander was not a person who would give up something easily.
Even Archbishop Monty was quite surprised. Having been in the position of Archbishop for so long, this Archbishop was not as reckless as he appeared.
Under the protection of that impulsive and stubborn appearance, he could easily get close to anyone. Also, under his deliberate creation, everyone in Luxembourg regarded him as a respected and trustworthy elder, their most loyal advisor and guide. Because of this, he could learn many secrets from those believers who trusted him.
After these secrets were carefully sorted out, they were delivered by the special envoy carriage of the church to the cathedral in the capital city of Francis, and then transferred to the Holy See from there.
No one knew more about Mr. Juan's true identity than he did. Mr. Juan had a very close relationship with the Pope. In fact, he often served as an envoy of the Holy See to do some things that the Holy See was inconvenient to carry out. It could even be said that his organization of the huge Thieves' Guild in the southern part of Francis was also in line with the interests of the Holy See. He knew almost all the details of this plan.
Every other month, he would secretly get in contact with Juan and exchange the trump cards that could blackmail the military commander. Originally, according to the plan, they intended to bypass the military commander and have Miss Medin come forward to suppress all the unstable forces in Luxembourg.
Could it be that Juan had hidden something from him? But that was impossible. There was no need for that at all. Could it be that all the changes had happened within this one month and Juan hadn't had time to tell him? But apart from planning that trial, Juan hadn't planned anything else originally. The Archbishop was really puzzled.