Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

Good evening, Your Excellency.

"Okay, good evening."

Urbino answered casually, his gaze fixed on the bread basket behind Kongxian.

Is there any bread left?

Kongxian trembled, looking at Urbino with pleading eyes, making Urbino feel uncomfortable. He waved his hand dismissively.

"Never mind, I won't eat it."

It's okay to be a little hungry tonight. After the trade with Wayne is over, we'll go back to Laterano tomorrow and have a big feast.

He wants to eat apple pie and strawberry cake by the pound!

For no other reason than extravagance.

With his mind already planning his triumphant return home after completing the mission, Urbino was completely oblivious to the look of relief on Kongxian's face.

Although I disobeyed the Holy Envoy, I preserved my hope for tomorrow...

Is it worth it?

Isn't what the Holy Envoy said absolute? Why was I so unwilling just now?

Kongxian pursed her lips, deciding not to think about these things.

She always felt that if she thought about it more deeply, she might have some thoughts that a devout nun shouldn't have.

Besides, didn't the Holy Envoy ultimately not take my bread?

He was kind, just as the teachings proclaimed; though hungry, he would not take away the bread from the poor.

Kongxian tried to convince herself, but she never expected that while she was whitewashing Urbino's behavior, this holy envoy from Lateran simply found the black bread hard to swallow and planned to go back and settle down to be a glutton.

"Bishop Urbino, where should we put this box?"

Urbino's men came in, sweating profusely, and pointed to the heavy boxes outside the door, asking a question.

Urbino thought for a moment and replied:

"Let's put this money on the altar in the monastery. That way our friends will be more likely to accept it."

It also makes it easier for me to fool people.

Kongxian was taken aback upon hearing this and quickly stopped him:

“Your Excellency, money cannot be placed on the altar. It is a filthy thing of the mortal world and cannot defile the eyes of God.”

Urbino chuckled upon hearing this.

Goodness, I never expected to run into such a dogmatist in Victoria.

Money cannot be offered on the altar; this is indeed a rule in the Lateran Code. However, this rule has a second part: "It must be baptized by a priest to cleanse it of worldly impurities before it can enter the eyes of God."

Simply put, it means giving this money to the priest.

This is also a way for the church to extract money from its members.

But they weren't here to skim money off Wayne today; they were here to enrich him. The Pope ordered that the 500,000 gold coins be entrusted to Wayne under the name of "Victoria Missionary Funds," and that placing them on the altar represent God's grace and His will.

Simply put, it made it easier for Urbino to fool Wayne and added a sense of sacredness to the money.

To prevent that spendthrift Wayne from squandering all the money without making any progress.

Having made up his mind, Urbino had no interest in explaining doctrines to the open string. He waved his hand, signaling his attendant to pull back the open string, and turned to leave the kitchen.

Just kidding, he's still hungry, how could he be in the mood to lecture you on religious texts?

Surely no one would actually think of going to church when they're starving?

In the kitchen, the empty string, now pulled back, looked somewhat bewildered at the prayer crucifix on the wooden table, and for some reason, felt a sudden pang of sadness.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Only the King Cares About His People (Part 1)

Landon Abbey, on the outskirts of Lentinium, 1:00 am.

At one in the morning, Londinium was exceptionally quiet. Unlike Lungmen, this city didn't have a tradition of staying up all night. The people living in this city adhered to ancient customs and were particularly particular about the quality of their sleep. The outskirts of Londinium were remote areas where only a few idle nobles would build houses, and naturally, they became even more deserted at night.

Wein reached Langdon Abbey on foot. Aslans are not good at long-distance running, but if they stroll slowly while eating snacks bought from the market, they can walk dozens of kilometers without getting tired, given their physical strength.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Wayne greeted Vina and set off from the palace. They walked around the food streets of Lentinham and strolled along the Thames River at night. It took them almost four hours to finally arrive at the gates of Langdon Abbey.

This was intentional on his part. After all, arriving too early would make him seem impatient, which would be detrimental to the negotiations and would also make it difficult to explain how he managed to sneak out so early without Vina's notice. Arriving too late, on the other hand, would be inconsistent with his public image, making him appear indifferent to the matter. Therefore, one o'clock, a time when the Victorians were already fast asleep, was the perfect time.

Wayne clapped his hands, brushing off the chili powder from the Yan snacks on his hands, and reached out to knock on the church door.

Mostima, who was following beside him, got goosebumps.

The monastery gates are still considered sacred; the interior is the realm of God, and touching it with oily hands is considered disrespectful.

But considering his own mission and situation, Mostima couldn't say anything more.

Since the Pope has appointed her, the papal envoy, to Victoria as a liaison officer on the surface, but a watchdog secretly monitoring Wayne, then whether out of humility or to avoid drawing attention, she is not suited to play the role of an advisor.

I'll remind Urbino later to prepare a basin of water to wash his hands.

Despite Mostima's seemingly carefree and indifferent attitude towards the church, her devotion to faith is unparalleled in Laterano.

However, she believed in a transcendent deity, not a secular church.

"Bang bang."

There was a knock on the door, and a few seconds later, Sister Liboli, with her blonde hair, gently pushed the door open.

"Gentlemen, what brings you to Langdon so late?"

Xi Dejia, also known as Kongxian, looked at the two people outside the door with suspicion and asked.

When her gaze turned to Mostima, she was immediately drawn to the dim halo above her head.

Mostima's aura wasn't bright, like a short-circuited incandescent bulb that had lost its illuminating function in the darkness. This was once jokingly referred to by Wayne as "making the monthly electricity bill half again as high." Kongxian failed to notice Mostima's identity at first glance because of that dim aura.

After all, in her view, Sarkaz were born with holy light, and she immediately ruled out Mostima, who had turned to darkness, as an option.

Now that they had noticed, Kongxian quickly opened the monastery gate a little wider, bowed to the two of them, and extended his hand to guide them:

"So it's you, Your Excellency the Angel. Please come in. His Excellency the Bishop has been waiting for a long time."

The bishop was naturally referring to Urbino, who had indeed been waiting for a long time.

I was so hungry I was lying on the sofa reciting the menu.

Hearing footsteps, Urbino looked up and saw Wayne, who had arrived late with an apologetic smile on his face, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness.

To be honest, since Wayne hadn't come for so long, he thought that when the two of them were playing charades today, he was on the second floor while Wayne was on the first floor and hadn't understood him at all.

Fortunately, Wayne arrived, proving that he wasn't that stupid, and that he did indeed have the idea of ​​making a comeback and that Laterano had value in supporting him.

"Oh, my friend."

Urbino stood up, wanting to give Wayne a big hug.

Wayne sidestepped Urbino, who was already staggering from hunger, and avoided his embrace.

"No, my friend, I appreciate your kindness, but if you want a hug, please let Miss Mostima next to me do it."

"Hahaha..."

Mostima, who was suddenly called out, let out an awkward laugh.

Just kidding, she sells her art, not her body. You'd better wash your hands before you can hug her, understand?

Mostima grabbed Urbino's clothes, pulled him aside, and gave him instructions:

Go fetch a basin of water.

Urbino gave her a strange look: "Did you touch something unclean on Wayne Road?"

"No, that stuff smells pretty good."

Mostima replied. Urbino chuckled:

"Why wash your hands? Let's finish the mission as soon as possible. I need to go back to Laterano."

After saying that, he left Mostima behind and started chatting with Wayne.

"Your Highness Wayne, you're a little late."

"I spent a little time getting rid of the eyeliner on the way here," Wayne said with an embarrassed smile.

Mostima's lips twitched.

Haha, getting rid of eyeliner? I saw you walking around the food street eating and making me pay the bill, but you didn't pay any attention to eyeliner at all.

You just haven't been out in a long time, so you're going to have some fun, right?

Mostima understood this feeling all too well. She remembered the mischievous little girl with burgundy hair who had done the same thing after being released from solitary confinement for blowing up the school. She called it—a snack withdrawal reaction.

Urbino, unsuspecting, paused, his cheerful tone vanishing, and he became serious:

"Then let's get down to business."

He clapped his hands, and behind him, a Sarkaz follower warlock from Laterano manipulated fire-based Originium Arts to simultaneously light the candles placed on the altar.

The light was focused by the glass around the altar and shone on the altar where the priest was giving alms. On that altar was none other than the "advance funds" that Urbino had promised to Wayne: 500,000 Lateran gold coins.

These weren't checks to be cashed at a Citibank in Colombia; they were real gold coins. A full five hundred thousand gold coins were placed in ten enormous chests, filling the central area of ​​the altar. The tops of the chests were open, and the gold coins shimmered with a golden-red light under the candlelight.

"Your Highness, this is Lateran's sincerity."

Wayne's expression gradually changed from blank to ecstatic, and in the next instant, he grabbed Urbino's arms tightly with both hands.

"That's fantastic! With these things, I'm sure I can make a comeback!"

Mostima, watching the two men's cheerful and laughing expressions, twitched slightly at the corner of his eye.

Poor Urbino.

Watching Wayne rub his fingers on Urbino's pristine white robes, cleaning away all the oil stains, Mostima pondered for a moment, then decided to remain silent.

Who told you to disobey me and bring a basin of water?