Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 89 Sweet Killing Intent

Yusupov Palace, the place where Rasputin was buried in history.

There are many rumors about that murder throughout history, but most of them have not been fully verified. We can only piece together a story that seems like a fairy tale by relying on the accounts of those involved.

Although Qin Hao subconsciously disliked this place, looking at Mrs. Beth's sincere expression, he couldn't find a suitable reason to refuse, after all, he had just said that "accepting the invitation is his honor."

In the end, he could only smile and agree.

After the magician couple left, Qin Hao sat alone in the room, deep in thought, trying to recall the details of the assassination.

A knock on the door interrupted his train of thought.

Upon opening the door, I found the tall housekeeper standing outside.

"Liu Da, is there something you need?" Qin Hao asked, somewhat puzzled. The housekeeper usually stayed with the little angel in the nursery and rarely called out to him.

“The little angel isn’t feeling well, he probably wants to hear your story. Come with me.” Lyudmila tilted her head, then pulled him away.

Qin Hao was inexplicably pulled into the nursery, and after the door was closed, the housekeeper suddenly became serious.

"Tell me honestly, was the chandelier thing really just a premonition?" Lyudmila asked bluntly.

"That's true. Is there a problem?" Qin Hao didn't want to expose the Americans' magic trick, so he decided to play dumb.

"Alright, I'll believe you for now." The housekeeper sighed. "I just learned through special channels that someone checked that room, and the chandelier's chain was sawed off in part."

"Man-made?!" Qin Hao frowned. A chandelier falling down would cause even an adult to suffer a head injury and be injured for a while.

If the person below had been Alexei, given his physical abilities…

"So what happened that day wasn't a coincidence, but a planned assassination attempt against the prince?"

"The news is currently being blocked, but that's basically what the secret police suspect, and His Majesty already knows about it," the housekeeper said.

Qin Hao looked at the tall woman in front of him and realized that her status was probably higher than he had imagined.

"Is there anyone who is a suspect?" he asked in a deep voice.

"There are too many, and anyone who might benefit from a change in the reserve position is worth questioning."

The capable housekeeper counted on her long, slender fingers, "Conservatives, liberal constitutionalists, those guys in Duma, even the Germans are all possible."

“There’s another person who’s the prime suspect.” Lyudmila pointed to her index finger, which was painted with nail polish.

"His Majesty's uncle, Grand Duke Nikolaevich. He has just been dismissed from his post, but his influence in the army will not diminish. If the succession is in turmoil, it is hard to say whether the nobles will support the 19-year-old Princess Olga or the obviously more influential him."

"You mean His Majesty's uncle orchestrated all of this?"

"No, that's just a guess, I'm not sure. But what's certain now is that you're in big trouble."

The housekeeper pointed at the guy in front of her.

"Whoever planned this assassination failed, failed at the hands of some mysterious guy."

"That is you, Father Putin!"

"It's obvious that once an assassination attempt happens, it will happen again. So, next time, before they assassinate the crown prince, won't they get rid of you first?"

The air in the room suddenly became tense, and the two men stood facing each other in silence for a moment. After a while, the priest in the black robe slowly spoke, "Lyuda, why are you doing so much? Logically speaking, you should have a background similar to a secret police officer, right?"

"I'm a woman, not a formally employed staff member. Besides the orders to monitor you, my superiors also assigned me to protect you. I'm not acting against the rules," the housekeeper said calmly, seemingly explaining herself to the person in front of her, but it was unclear whether she was doing so to explain to the person in front of her or to explain to herself.

Before Qin Hao could say anything more, the housekeeper pulled out a red lip stain from beside her.

"We can talk about the rest later. We've wasted too much time, which might arouse suspicion. You need to get out of here right away." After saying that, Lyudmila put the lip tint in her mouth and gently smeared it. Then she bent down slightly, and a half-hidden lip print appeared on the man's collar.

Faced with Qin Hao's questioning gaze, the housekeeper raised her hand to loosen her hair, explaining, "You don't think I'm the only one monitoring you, do you? If we don't do this, Miss Anna will soon notice the time we've been gone today."

"Alright, hurry up and get out of here. A little bit of a lecherous habit is nothing to you." The woman gently patted Qin Hao's back and pushed him out.

Sure enough, when they reappeared before everyone, the maids looked at the red lipstick on their collars and began to whisper among themselves.

That evening, a report appeared in the head maid's bedroom. When she saw the last few lines of the report, she began to smile ambiguously.
-
A week later, the priest in black robes arrived at the appointed time in his carriage.

Looking out the car window, the streets of St. Petersburg appeared even more deserted, with armed police and military police occasionally seen walking around.

Yusupov Palace looks like another world.

Not only are the exterior walls made of Corinthian-style gilded pillars, but even the gondolas moored along the river are covered in gold leaf.

Houdini and his wife greeted them outside, and the two sides shared dinner in the host's small banquet hall.

The Houdinis, both from humble backgrounds, didn't care much about serious social etiquette; in fact, the Americans even told a few slightly vulgar country jokes at the dinner table.

The relationship between the group of people is rapidly growing closer.

However, an unexpected incident occurred.

Prince Felix Yusupov, the palace's owner, was present to show his respect for the important guest.

He also personally expressed his gratitude to the "divine healer from the East," saying that the black-robed priest had saved the heir to the royal family, which meant he had saved the dynasty.

The prince not only showed utmost respect verbally, but also brought his newlywed wife, Grand Duchess Irina Alexandrovna, the Tsar's niece, to the event to demonstrate his importance.

Seeing the other party's enthusiasm, Qin Hao was unimpressed and even sneered inwardly.

You have to understand that this prince is the leader of the anti-Queen faction among the nobles. It would seem like he's hiding a knife behind his smile if he were to contact me at this time.

His wife, the nineteen-year-old Grand Duchess, was known as the most beautiful flower in the royal family. At this moment, her shyly lowered, snow-white neck resembled that of an elegant swan.

However, Qin Hao knew that this 19-year-old woman had more than one hand's worth of lovers in her life, including her blood cousin, a ballet dancer, an exiled military officer, and even a British spy. She was simply a super social butterfly.

The most legendary chapter of her life was that, according to legend, she had sensed danger on the day Rasputin was killed and planned to leave in advance.

However, this beautiful but vain woman used herself as bait and her irresistible charm to "control" this wicked monk in the basement.

Finally, that bloody night, shrouded in mystery, came about.

With that thought in mind, Qin Hao lost all interest in that delicate and beautiful face. He was now simply putting on a mask and mechanically dealing with the social interactions before him.

Especially when he saw Grand Duchess Irina's captivating eyes, he felt as if he had seen a wasp's stinger and wanted to get away from her as quickly as possible.

But what he feared most came true. After they met, when he released Irina's delicate hand, she actually extended her little finger and subtly hooked it in his palm.

(End of this chapter)