413 Cantarella (1/2)
The only sounds in the dark hallway were thumping heartbeats.
”The elder is waiting for you.” The secretary standing outside the door glanced at the examiner who had been waiting for a long time. He said indifferently, ”As etiquette requires, do not speak unless there are questions after reporting. Do not raise your head and look into his eye. Don't have a smart mouth, understood?”
”Understood.” The examiner nodded respectfully. His face was a bit pale and he could not breathe as if his collar was too tight.
”This is for your own good.” The secretary patted his shoulder and pushed open the door without waiting for his reply. The examiner lowered his head and walked into the silent room.
Dark red curtains hung in the room. The carved holy emblem shone with black metallic light under the dim candle. In the darkness, there was only an old man in a rough robe. He sat on a metal chair. His features were plain and his eyes were closed. He held rosary beads and seemed to be praying. The tiny marks on the rosary beads' emblems showed the elder's status.
It was only a mere glance but the examiner involuntarily held his breath and knelt down, reverently lowering his head.
It was the Ecclesiastical Order. This order composed of the old creatures of the Sacred City families did not exist in any records. However, they held a mysterious yet powerful influence over the Sacred City for a century. They were born from the elite families of the Sacred City families and had all undergone the intense competition within their families to become 'beasts' who did not fall for decades in the political world. They were once active in Amnesty Institute, the Bishop Department, the Gospel Ministry, and other important institutions. Even the Cardinals could not be isolated from their influence.
Now, they had aged and were willing to be ascetic monks without any status but they were still powerful figures who could change the entire Church with an order. They once had power, money, lust, and all the glory in the world.
What they once had was no longer important now. Instead, they began leading ascetic and crude lives. They spent their days in the dark underground palace to study the scriptures and rarely ventured out. If they came out from the underground, would they smell like a rotting corpse?
They were like ghosts that hid in the shadows and paced through the human world. They gazed at people with their murky eyes with a chilling aura.
Kneeling before the elder, the examiner respectfully reported his name and institution.
After a long silence, the praying elder opened his eyes. He raised the simple ring on his finger to the examiner's lips.
”Child, I bless thee. You are the hands of God.” The voice was deep yet hoarse as if it came from far away.
In a daze, the examiner kissed the ring. Fear flashed past his reverent expression. The amber ring was carved with the elder's family emblem. It was the Sforza family—an important figure in the Sacred City.
Over the centuries, more than sixteen cardinals had come from that family. There were not many who were qualified to wear this ring. To the examiner's knowledge, there were only a few in this generation, including the elder brother of the current family leader. He was the one who matched the old man's body and voice the most—Ludovic.
But the terrifying thing was…Ludovic had died forty years ago.
So what was sitting before him now? A living corpse? An angry spirit? The examiner did not dare to think any further. He emptied his thoughts and started to report.
Three short minutes later, he lowered his head and did not speak anymore.
Ludovic replied promptly. ”Tell me your thoughts,” he said. ”You have interacted with him for fifteen days. What do you feel?”
”It-it is difficult to say.” The examiner was sweating. ”He is a pure idealistic man and shows signs of self-destruction. Torture is useless because his heart will not die. No matter what we say or threaten, he refuses to say anything useful. This type of person is difficult. We might not receive anything other than lies.