The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 85 Young People

The second round of voting in the afternoon still had no results.

The waste bills burned, and looking at the black smoke rising from the fireplace, Eric was prepared. He would have to spend the night here.

As the only truly young person in the church, he also has to take care of this group of old men and women and run errands for them, such as bringing them water and food.

As Eric looked through the narrow window and took the dinner handed to him from outside the wall, it was hard not to feel like he was in prison.

Today is only the first day of the secret meeting, and the food portions are quite generous, mainly white bread, served with jam and meat floss, and even a glass of wine for each person.

Eric carried several large baskets of bread and wine and distributed them to everyone, forcing a smile from time to time. He couldn't help but start to wonder why he was locked up here.

"Oh, why are you doing this?" When it was sent to the saint, the surprise on the old man's face did not seem fake.

"When I came back, the chief cardinal stopped me and asked me to help distribute it," said Eric.

"How can this be justified? Who do you think the next generation of Saint of our Saint Maiden Palace is?"

The Saint gestured for him to leave the remaining food in her room and said, "Let them come and get it themselves. If they can't find it, they can just starve to death."

No matter how much he complained, Eric would never do such a thing as abusing the elderly.

The saint asked him to leave a whole bottle of wine in her room. When he came back after distributing the bread, there was a local archbishop in the room, clinking glasses with the saint.

"Your Highness Eric." The other party saluted.

"Archbishop Chrisman." Eric also returned the greeting to the archbishop who did not have a deep impression on him.

Of course he came to find the Saint, and his purpose was no different from that of the other bishops and cardinals who came and went in the afternoon. They all came to test the Saint's choice.

"A considerable number of cardinals in the College of Cardinals highly value Your Highness's choice. You must not allow those young people to fall into confusion at this time."

"Didn't I tell you I voted for Chesterton?"

The Saint raised her chin to the side and said, "Eric saw it, he can testify."

Eric lowered his head and said, "I can swear to God that Her Highness voted for Cardinal Chesterton in both elections."

Isn't it because you haven't decided who to sell your vote to, so you just voted for an insignificant cardinal?
Chrisman was secretly complaining, but he couldn't say it out loud.

"Yes, I certainly don't doubt your Highnesses' words... But today is only the first day. By the critical moment tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Your Highnesses should have made a more thoughtful decision."

The Saint yawned, "Since it's something that will happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, it's hard for me to say now."

Chrisman leaned forward and said, "I heard that your Highness has a nephew who has been the archdeacon in Rayntani for many years..."

"Really? I didn't even know I had such a great-nephew. What's his name?"

The conditions hinted by the archbishop obviously did not pique the saint's appetite. Eric could see it, and Chrisman could see it too. He just brushed it off with a few vague words and then put forward new conditions.

The two of them went back and forth. The person behind Chrisman attached great importance to the influence of the saint in the College of Cardinals. The conditions he finally offered were so attractive that even Eric, who had nothing to do with it, couldn't help but be tempted.

"'The words of one person may not be trustworthy, so the words of everyone must be listened to carefully.' Chrisman, you and I must listen more and think more." The saint said finally.

"Your Highness is absolutely right." Chrisman stood up and saluted.

He had said everything he needed to say, but the Saint wanted to hear what other people had to say. He had gained enough, so he could go back and report.

As soon as Chrisman left, the Saint said to Eric, "Chrisman is on Nicole's side. Do you think I should support him?"

The saint obviously wanted to know whether this exchange of interests could be successful.

Eric was about to remind her that she could just open the note and take a look, but he suddenly realized that he, an unrelated person, might really be able to influence the outcome of the Pope election.

If he said it could be done, the Saint would use her influence to fully support Cardinal Nicole. In another world line, Nicole might have failed because of the lack of this support.

However, he had already left it in black and white, which was in the hands of the saint, and the change of Pope would affect the entire body. Eric did not want to take the initiative to break the known situation and put himself in a passive position.

"Archbishop Chrisman's offer is very tempting, but I think Cardinal Nicol is short and lacks dignity. He doesn't seem like he has the bearing of a Pope." The Saint said thoughtfully after a moment, "Eric, you've made a mistake again. Don't judge a book by its cover. This is the wise saying left by the ancients. Have you forgotten it?"

Eric didn't bother to say more, "I will reflect on this, Your Highness."

The saint soon thought of what Eric had just thought and became hesitant again.

"Should I trust your judgment completely, Eric?"

"I should keep silent. Until the election is over, you just need to pretend that me and that note don't exist." Eric replied with his head down.

"Your answer is a bit cunning." The saint shook her head, but she was not really dissatisfied.

She sighed and muttered to herself, "I'm already over eighty years old, and I'm still worrying about this kind of thing. When I die, will I really be able to go to the kingdom of God?"

"You just need to be pious and follow your heart, and the door to the kingdom of God will naturally open to you." Eric continued to speak meaningless words.

The Saint glanced at him sideways and said, "I taught you to speak more lies and less truths, but I didn't teach you to use them to deal with me."

"Just say that these few sentences are impeccable."

"Go away." The old man waved his hands, as if to shoo away a fly. "I'm beginning to get tired of you."

Eric, who was bored, went back to his little room to rest.

After he left, the saint took out the small note he had given her before, held it in her palm and looked at it for a while.

Her mood was conflicted.

On the one hand, she had already believed that Eric had foreseen some future when he had written down the name of the new Pope without hesitation during the day;

But on the other hand, if she opened the note and the person on it did not offer her satisfactory conditions, it would be difficult for her to guarantee that she would not use the excuse that "Eric is still a child and does not understand the papal election" to switch to someone who satisfies her more.

Ignorance is no sin, but if one knows clearly and still disobeys, then that is an unacceptable betrayal of God.

"Jela, I'm over eighty years old. You just took away my last friend, and you're testing me like this... It's really embarrassing."

The old man muttered to himself, and soon the door of the small room was knocked by the next visitor.

"Your Highness, are you resting?"

"come in."

The Saint responded and looked at the Archbishop who pushed the door open. Her eyelids twitched, but her expression remained unchanged. "I didn't expect you to come here in person, Scott."

Scott, Archbishop of the Diocese of Dorne, is sixty-nine years old and the oldest and most experienced of the four main candidates for the papacy.

But in front of the saint, he was just an old young man.

Scott smiled. "When I was still in Lesire, I often came to ask for advice from Your Highness. Since leaving Lesire five years ago, I haven't had a long conversation with Your Highness in a long time. I have many doubts in my heart, so I came to bother you tonight."

"I probably don't have the energy to have a long conversation with you. Go ahead and talk, I'm listening."

It was not time to relax yet, the saint pulled herself together, took one last look at the note in her hand, and prepared to put it away.

"What is this?" Scott also noticed.

"The name of the next Pope." The Saint smiled. "The future Saint of our Saint's Palace wrote to me and insisted that I vote according to his instructions."

Scott's eyes focused on the note.

The Saint shook her head and sighed, "What can I do? The future of the Saint's Palace and even the entire church will ultimately belong to you young people."

Scott smiled, his gaze becoming more focused.

"Then I'd like to know if we 'young people' are of the same mind."

(End of this chapter)