Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 57 I Really Don't Know Divine Magic (1)

On an autumn morning, a caravan of carriages quietly stopped at the side gate of Mogilev's camp, where a group of court officials were already waiting.

The chief priest, dressed in a dark green woolen coat and wearing a tricorn hat shaped like a sail, opened the side door of the carriage with his gloved hands. "Father, please get out of the carriage."

The official then bowed slightly, indicating, "Please understand, we need to conduct necessary checks here."

"Please go ahead." Qin Hao readily opened his arms.

A dedicated person stepped forward to confirm that the priest in black had no weapons on him, and the inspection was quite thorough. However, no one touched the seemingly simple cross throughout the entire process.

"Thank you for your cooperation, please proceed!" The chief of ceremonies made the sign of the cross and then stepped aside.

Walking along the long corridor, Qin Hao looked around at the scenery with great interest.

This place was once the local governor's residence, and was later renovated after being converted into the Tsar's front-line palace. It is now equipped with offices, bedrooms, and retains the original recreational facilities.

It has a high-powered telegraph center that can send instructions to the front line around the clock.

There were three layers of barbed wire surrounding the perimeter, with machine gun turrets at regular intervals. A Cossack cavalry regiment was stationed there, and no matter what attack they faced, they only needed to hold out for four hours before being reinforced by at least one division of the Guards.

During the Soviet era, this place was converted into a military academy. During World War II, it served as the headquarters of the German Eastern Front. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became a military museum. Qin Hao even visited it once when he was in school.

I visited the same place twice, but more than a hundred years apart. Many of the layouts were completely different from those in later generations. For example, the row of buildings in front of me had become wells in later generations.

The ceremonial attendants and maids hurrying by were not some museum decorations. And inside that modernly renovated office, the real Tsar and Tsarina were waiting for him to "visit."

Qin Hao had to admit that the feeling was quite strange.

Pushing open a door, Qin Hao began to adjust his state and concentrate his mind.

Now everything starts anew, with no soldiers to obey him and the "favorable timing and location" of Lake Masuria lost.

He was not facing bullets fired by the Germans, but rather cold arrows shot from the shadows.

“Father Pugin, is there something wrong? Why are you standing at the door?” a woman’s voice came.

Turning his head, he saw a woman in a blue velvet dress waiting there. She stood with her feet together, her chin slightly raised, looking at the priest in black with a slightly scrutinizing gaze.

Qin Hao felt as if he had met a female executive from a multinational corporation during a job interview.

A name came to mind—Anna Verubova, the Empress's head maid.

Her parents were both from the old aristocracy. Ten years ago, she was assigned to be a maid to the empress. She gradually gained the empress's trust and even became her confidante.

Later, because Alexandra had mild autistic tendencies, this lady-in-waiting often had to "interview" people who came to see the Queen, and also "help" the Queen review documents.

The situation at the time was that, out of trust, the Tsar delegated some administrative power to the Empress when he went out, and the Empress, in turn, shared some of her power with her close friend.

As a result, this maid appeared out of nowhere in a position similar to "the Russian version of Shangguan Wan'er".

This is a woman with power beyond her status; she might not be easy to get along with—that's how Qin Hao commented.

Sure enough, the next moment he experienced a "baptism of fire" in the style of the Tsarist court: "I am Anna Verubova, the Empress's lady-in-waiting, and I am responsible for informing you of the precautions for meeting His Majesty."

"Alright, Father Pugin, Her Majesty the Queen has only been here a short time and needs to rest, so your meeting this time will not be too long. Let us see... um~ about 15-20 minutes is appropriate."

The head maid flipped through the booklet in her hand and talked to herself, giving the priest in black no chance to speak.

"Your Majesty prefers quiet, so please try not to make any noise when you walk."

"Do not approach His Majesty without permission."

"Also, if you wish to perform any [powerful] acts, you must inform me first, lest you frighten His Majesty..."

"Madam, could you wait a moment?!" The priest in black raised his hand to stop the head maid.

Anna frowned when she was suddenly interrupted, but she still gestured for the other person to continue.

"What do I need to perform for Her Majesty the Queen?" the priest in black asked, spreading his hands with a puzzled expression.

"Your healing abilities, the great holy water, and prophecies—isn't that what the report says?" The head maid opened her notebook, page after page detailing Father Pugin's past experiences.

Looking at the man in black before her, the head maid made no attempt to hide her contempt.

If there were levels to mysticism, then Verubova would definitely be at SS+ level. More than a decade ago, due to fertility issues, Queen Alexandra fell into a vicious cycle of mysticism, constantly seeking out any "masters" who could help her conceive a prince.

Those who wanted to seize the opportunity to rise to the top swarmed in like jackals smelling carrion.

While some of these individuals did gain temporary trust through unique "skills," the vast majority were simply charlatans or sorcerers.

Every year, she personally directs at least dozens of con artists to leave, and she's basically tired of seeing most of their tricks.

Prophecies, healing, holy water—these are all just the basics. The head maid believes she has seen far too much, and presumably the person before her is the same.

If it weren't for the fact that the telegram pleased His Majesty, and the fact that the prince's condition was unstable and the empress was desperate and grasping at straws, such a fellow would not have been given the chance.

"What a lucky guy," the head maid thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

But the next second, the black-clad priest in front of her caused a look of surprise to appear on her face for the first time.

“I’m sorry, if that’s the case, I can only tell you that I don’t have any abilities beyond those of ordinary people,” the priest in black said, staring into his eyes, his expression showing no sign of pretense.

"What?!" The head maid looked at the guy in front of her in surprise.

"You mean you can't make any prophecies? And you don't have any psychic abilities?" she asked again to confirm.

“Yes, madam, although I have served the Lord for a long time, I am probably too dull to have heard His voice clearly.” The Eastern priest, contrary to his usual demeanor, dropped his charlatan persona and openly admitted that he was an ordinary person.

"Then what are you doing here?!" The head maid felt a sense of anger, as if she had been tricked.

"Madam, if I remember correctly, it should be His Majesty who summoned me for questioning, right?" The black-haired man looked at her with a strange expression.

(End of this chapter)