Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 93 Chess Pieces
The Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, 1915.

"Father Pugin! My Father! I can only rely on you!"

"Someone wants to harm Alexei! Someone wants to destroy this country!"

"I can't trust anyone else, but now only you can be my shield!"

"Please show me the way, I beg for your protection!"

Alexandra's voice, like a cuckoo's mournful cry, echoed deep within the palace, and the same scene unfolded once again before the black-robed priest. Unlike before, the usually humble priest now stood before the Queen like a statue, quietly listening to her request.

He returned at the cost of a single pawn, back to the point in time after Alexei's assassination, still in that perilous St. Petersburg.

This time, however, he knows the cards hidden under the table. He rolls the dice with Death again, and perhaps the outcome will be different.

The next second, the priest in black robes placed his hand on the queen's shoulder and said in a deep voice:

"You call upon me, and I walk the earth; I am willing to shelter you and respond to you."

Alexandra looked up abruptly, her eyes filled with disbelief!

This was the first time Father Pugin had spoken to her in this tone, and he actually promised to protect her!
"What exactly are you...?"

“Don’t ask, just listen,” the black-robed priest interrupted the queen.

“Stanislav Razowelt, Grigory Vasilyevich Strogano, Dmitry Sergeyevich Vorentsov…” the black-robed priest called out several names.

"These people are scavengers feeding on the wounds of the nation. Investigate them!"

“Yes, Father Pugin, I’ve got it.” Alexandra said without asking any questions.

"In addition, I sensed an ominous atmosphere. St. Petersburg needs to prepare a large amount of supplies in advance."

"This..." The Queen's face showed a troubled expression. "Father Pugin, the entire country is facing a severe shortage of supplies. Even if I wanted to try my best to raise funds, it's still..."

"Let the nobles donate. The higher their rank, the more they should donate. Believe me, this is for their own good."

After a series of conversations, the priest in black robes changed his previous ambiguous prophecy and made several specific demands of Alexandra.

The empress, who had completely lost her own opinions, accepted everything without question.

The administrators in the Winter Palace would never know that the orders issued by their esteemed Queen actually came from another person.

As they left, Head Maid Anna bowed to the priest in black robes in the corridor, and the two passed each other.

Qin Hao felt a gaze following him.
-
Grand Duchess Irina observed from the side of the wall, waiting for the priest in black robes to walk out of the door. She timed it perfectly and hurried after him in her exquisite shoes.

“Father Pugin, what a coincidence! It’s truly God’s will to meet you here.” As she spoke, the 19-year-old lady clasped her hands in front of her lower abdomen, her slender, snow-white neck slightly raised, and her smile in the sunlight resembled a blooming crabapple blossom.

“What a coincidence, Ms. Irina. Your smile is as beautiful as the morning dew. Meeting you here is the most pleasant thing for me all day.” The priest in black robes leaned slightly towards the lady in front of him to bow.

A look of surprise flashed across Irina's face.

I've been in contact with this guy named Pukin for a while now. Before, his attitude was always very cold, as if I were no different from a female clerk in a flower shop on the street.

Even when she actively created opportunities for ambiguity and deliberately got close to him, the guy in the black robe always kept his distance from her.

However, the Grand Duchess, with her extensive experience with men, believed in her charm. Many men were not unmoved, but they simply couldn't remove the mask of sanctimoniousness in their hearts.

Priest? I've had my way with them before; they're all the same to any man.

Is the guy on the other end finally losing his act?

Thinking of this, Irina put on the mask of "delicate" again. "Father, I've been feeling a bit dizzy lately. You're a master of medicine, could you please examine me?"

"Of course, I know your time is precious, and it will only take a little time for you to travel in your carriage."

The Grand Duchess looked over with her large, watery eyes, her pitiful appearance suggesting she genuinely wanted to discuss her illness with the priest.

"Please get in the car; we should have some time on the road." The priest in black robes naturally opened the car door.

A mysterious smile appeared on the Grand Duchess's face. She gave a slight bow and stepped into the carriage.

Inside the carriage, the scent of perfume, a blend of bergamot and lavender, spread throughout the enclosed space, along with an increasingly intimate and ambiguous atmosphere.

"I feel a little stuffy again." Irina delicately covered her chest, revealing her slender arms while intentionally or unintentionally making a glimpse of her fair skin faintly visible.

The Grand Duchess smiled and said, "I'm really sorry, but my body always seems to be a burden."

"Not at all, Madam, I am actually very sorry," the man in black robes said softly, bowing his head.

"Why do you say that?" the Grand Duchess asked with a smile.

"Because I actually thought you were seducing me."

? ? ! ! ! ! ! !

The other party actually pointed it out directly! The Grand Duchess was first angry, then ashamed. No matter how immoral her daily life was, Irina was not to the point of being unmoved by being pointed at and called a "slut".

Her face suddenly turned pale, and her fair hands trembled uncontrollably with anger.

"Please stop the car! I want to get off! This is so rude of you!" she said, raising her small face and speaking in a sweet voice.

"Is that so? You think I'm offending you?" The priest in the black robe smiled slightly and looked over.

"Nijinsky, Denis Riley, and Vladimir Parly, did you say that to them?"

"You!!!" Irina pressed her body against the carriage, a wave of fear washing over her. The three men the other party was referring to were all her former lovers, and Denis Riley, one of them, had never appeared in public before!

How did he know?!

“Of course, those people were minor figures, and you may not even remember them.” The priest in the black robe reached out and opened the carriage window.

Puff puff puff!

A black shadow flashed past the window, and a crow with a note in its beak slipped into the carriage.

The priest in black robes flipped open the slip of paper in his hand, a knowing smile appearing on his face. "Look what I've found. Grand Duke Dmitri, your cousin? Valena Shiva, that should be a woman's name, right?"

It felt like two heavy hammer blows to her chest; Irina really felt a bit short of breath this time.

Grand Duke Dmitri was her close relative, while Valena was a lesbian companion she had only known for a short time. To make matters worse, her bed partner was a British spy.

If all of this were exposed, her whole life would be ruined!

"What, what do you want? I, I can tell you everything I know!" Irina asked, her heart pounding. Looking into the other person's eyes, she felt a dizzying sensation, as if she were being scorched by the blazing sun.

"You know about it? Besides your husband's party, there's also the plan to kill me and usurp the Empress's power. Is there any other valuable information? Should I give you a list?" The man in black robes casually rattled off a few names before his eyes swept over them.

It's over! The other side knows everything! They even know the details of their secret plot in the locked room!

It's as if he was there too!
Pfft!
The Grand Duchess's body went limp, and she collapsed into a sitting position. After her last line of psychological defense was broken, she broke down.

"Please, please don't hurt me. I, I'm just a woman. I had no choice..." Sobbing voices echoed in the carriage, and the Grand Duchess finally broke down in tears.

Qin Hao watched the other party's performance without saying a word, and only after a few minutes did he slowly open his mouth and say, "If you cooperate with me, it's not impossible for me to let you go. If you are obedient, I might even protect you once in a critical moment."

"What do you want me to do?! I'm just a woman..."

“Precisely because you are a woman, there are many things you can do in certain situations.” The carriage began to slow down, and the priest in black robes slowly stood up. “I will give you time to consider, but you know the consequences if you make the wrong choice.”

After saying that, the man got off the carriage without looking back, leaving Irina alone inside, trembling uncontrollably.
-
Nighttime, 64 Gorochovaya Street.

Qin Hao leaned against the fireplace alone, flipping through a notebook. Valena's name had been crossed out with a pen. He believed that after today, this shrewd woman would soon make a choice that was in her best interest.

He's going to perform a massive magic show in St. Petersburg, and one person can't do it alone.

Harry Houdini's magic notebook states that it is difficult for a magician to fool everyone alone; for a magic trick to be a great success, it is best to have the magician's own people in the audience.

Irina was the "plant" they had chosen, and whether she could play the expected role remained to be seen.

Qin Hao picked up his pen and crossed out several more names on the list. His finger then moved downwards, finally stopping at the name Anna Verubova.

The head maidservant of the Empress.

The only thing that surprised him was that the head maid did not stop the assassination attempt against him, and even supported or at least tacitly approved of it.

You should know that Alexei's drugs haven't been handed over yet.

However, upon closer reflection, the bond between this lady-in-waiting and Alexandra could far exceed what outsiders could comprehend. It's not surprising that she would do something extreme in order to rescue her close friend and lord from their delusions.

But now there is a fatal problem.

Which side does your housekeeper belong to?

It should be noted that Lyudmila was sent directly by the head maid, and it was she who passed on some of the information she had previously received.

Caught between the two sides in the conflict, which side would his housekeeper choose?
Qin Hao didn't know.

Maybe…

Dangdang~
A knock sounded at the door, and unexpectedly, the housekeeper was standing outside.

"Liu Da, is there something you need?" Qin Hao asked, looking at the tall woman opposite him.

"I... um... nothing, I just came to check why you haven't turned off the lights yet." The housekeeper folded her arms, her eyes darting around.

"that's it?"

"Well, that's all."

Qin Hao sighed inwardly, "I'm researching a new drug and I'm going to look up some materials. I'm going to sleep in a bit."

"Okay, I'm leaving now." The tall woman turned to leave.

As Qin Hao watched the other person's retreating figure, he felt a strange mix of emotions. It seemed that the other person had ultimately chosen to side with their superior.

The next moment, Lyudmila turned around and came back, then shoved a picture book into the other person's arms without thinking twice.

"The little angel is going to hear a new story, you'd better hurry up and memorize it!"

After saying this, the housekeeper left the second floor without waiting for a reply, lifting her skirt and turning away without looking back.

Picking up the storybook, a long-lost smile appeared on Qin Hao's face.

"This is probably the best news tonight." Qin Hao put the book on the table in high spirits, turned around and turned off the light.

At night, a breeze blew in from the window, and moonlight shone on the storybook on the table, revealing the names on it.

Aesop's Fables - The Hen That Lays Golden Eggs

(End of this chapter)