Chapter 72: Sudden Changes

“Alright! Alright! If you don’t want to talk about it, then let’s not talk about it. But don’t forget to tell me when you can’t hold on anymore! As your Heir, I am your natural support at all times. Don’t try to bear everything alone if something happens; your health concerns the safety of the entire Territory! For now, I will follow your wishes and help His Grace the Duke appease the different families within. As for the external response, we can definitely drag it out. This will also be beneficial for gaining the initiative in negotiations after making the final decision.” George looked at the faint lines appearing at the corners of Viscount Bolerum’s eyes and spoke softly with some concern.

Viscount Bolerum said unhappily, “Didn’t I tell you not to make any suggestions?”

“Did I make any suggestions? I was just analyzing the intent behind your current actions, Father,” George answered, his eyes rolling around cleverly.

Viscount Bolerum touched his chin and said, “You really are a clever little rascal.”

“Then, if there are no other matters, I will take my leave now, Father. After all, tomorrow I still have to start a tug-of-war with those Clergy from the Temple of the Lord of Justice!” Noticing that Viscount Bolerum did not look well, George found an excuse to leave early after the main business was basically settled. He wanted to let Viscount Bolerum have a bit more time to rest. As for whether the other party rested or worked on something else later, as a son, George could not interfere too much. In this regard, George could only say that he did his best and left the rest to fate.

Viscount Bolerum emphasized again, “Go back and get some good rest. I’ll say it again: finalize the cooperation as soon as possible. You came to Karada, and there are other things you need to prepare for.”

“Alright, Father, just wait for my good news in a few days,” George immediately promised.

With a “click,” the wooden door of the study closed, and George walked alone along the corridor inside the Manor. He lowered his head and muttered to himself, “It seems that after the Kingdom of Coruz and the Kingdom of Lucia started their public relations efforts simultaneously, the situation in the Duchy is indeed not optimistic. I hope we don’t start a civil war before the foreign enemies are even ready.”

‘Although I don’t know yet whether the current situation was guided intentionally or unintentionally by those two countries. But if it really reached that point, it would just be a neutral result for them. Although they couldn’t form an alliance, at least they didn’t push us into the opponent’s camp. But for the Duchy of Nohan, this is the worst situation. Although judging from the current situation, there is no possibility of civil war. But missing an imminent war means that after the other side is done, they are very likely to turn their spears against us, who are relatively weaker. Added to that is the internal friction that might be caused by the discord among the Lords; the future of the Duchy is a bit worrying.’ Walking on the corridor inside the house, George couldn’t get those political thoughts out of his head.

Although Viscount Bolerum had not explicitly told George about some of the movements within the high levels of the Duchy. However, from the occasional words he inadvertently revealed and his increasingly tired expression, George was able to guess pretty accurately. But since Viscount Bolerum obviously didn’t want him to interfere, George, whose words carried little weight, couldn’t possibly do anything about it.

Even if Viscount Bolerum gave George the chance to interfere, looking at the current situation, George didn’t have a good way to solve this problem head-on. Not to mention that for the purpose of protecting him, Viscount Bolerum wouldn’t let him participate at all. Although the saying might be different, the principle that the rafters that stick out rot first is the same everywhere.

‘It looks like I’ll have to play with something outside the current rules, otherwise continuing like this won’t do anyone any good. But I still need to think carefully about how to do it, so I don’t get caught with any leverage against me.’ No matter what, in this matter, the interests of House Bolerum were completely tied to the Duchy. In this regard, George couldn’t help but spend his energy on it.

Unable to think of a good solution for the moment, George immediately headed towards his room. At the same time, he shouted like a child while walking, “Stop thinking, go to sleep, recharge, and talk about it tomorrow.”

The next day, under the bright morning sun, George asked in surprise at the entrance of the Temple of the Lord of Justice: “Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? Is the meeting place really the Great Hall inside the Temple?”

“Yes, Lord Bolerum, this was personally instructed by the High Priest. You just need to enter the main gate of the Temple and walk straight. You shouldn’t mistake the Great Hall, right? Or should I take you in?” The one doing the reception work at the Temple entrance was surprisingly that cute apple-faced girl from yesterday, Annie. She explained with a serious look on her innocent face. If George really asked her to lead the way, she would probably put down her current work and take him there.

George said somewhat absent-mindedly: “No need! No need! Someone already introduced the layout of the Temple to me the first two times, so I definitely won’t go the wrong way.”

“Then please go in quickly, otherwise I’m afraid the High Priest will be waiting anxiously,” little Annie urged solemnly.

The sudden change made George feel heavy-hearted. Although George was not one of those freaks who were unnaturally smart and liked to keep everything under their control. But this extremely unreasonable change would make even an ordinary person feel that something was wrong. He stepped through the gates of the Temple of the Lord of Justice just like before, but George’s steps were heavier than ever. As he stepped into the corridor, George questioned himself internally, ‘Why did such a big change happen suddenly? No matter what, for a secular cooperation involving interests like this, even if it was very important, it shouldn’t be negotiated in the Great Hall of the Temple. Let me think carefully if there is any place I overlooked. Where exactly did the problem occur?’

While scratching his head in confusion, George had already walked to a point where he could see the open door of the Great Hall. Looking at the one-armed metal statue in the center of the hall, George suddenly thought of something, ‘Could it be that the series of legal reforms and judicial system frameworks I provided attracted the attention of the Lord of Justice himself? After attracting his attention, His Highness probably wants to observe me up close. Damn it! Isn’t this the rhythm of me digging my own grave? How did this situation come about after all this? It seems I still don’t understand this world enough; I didn’t expect that a high and mighty god would pay attention to a small fry like me.’

‘No! Don’t scare yourself. It might not necessarily be the attention of a Deity? Maybe High Priest Virginia just wants to show the importance he attaches to this cooperation. Even if a Deity came in person, so what? The Lord of Justice is a high-level Lawful Good existence; he shouldn’t cause me any harm without reason. An upright person fears no crooked shadow. I think I haven’t done anything wrong, so in this regard, I have a clear conscience.’ As he got closer to the main entrance, George kept comforting himself.

‘If I am really being scrutinized, the only thing to worry about is the System. But I think such a magical thing as the System should have a way to hide itself. As for my identity as a Transmigrator? According to the records in the Church scriptures, His Highness the Lord of Justice is a Transmigrator himself. Other famous transmigrating gods include the main god of the Elf Race; the difference is that they are Deities transmigrating, while I am a mortal transmigrating. Besides, are there few people on this Continent who have transmigrated from different Planes? Those guys from the Dream Realm have even caused the Half-Dream Spirit race to appear. At most, the world I came from is a bit further away and a bit stranger compared to here.’ With great difficulty, George managed to calm his heart through self-examination.

‘If it’s a blessing, it’s not a disaster; if it’s a disaster, it can’t be avoided.’ George gritted his teeth, lifted his foot, crossed the threshold, and stepped into the Great Hall.

Apart from the statue at the end of the Great Hall, the most visually striking thing was the tall dome above the hall. It was probably over 100 feet long and about 30 feet wide, and the highest point of the dome was more than 60 feet from the ground. It was supported by pendentives on two rows of dozens of stone pillars, with light vertical lines running straight through them. Its lateral thrust was balanced by two semi-domes in the east and west and two flying buttress outer walls in the north and south. The internal space was rich and varied. Under the dome and between the pillars, large and small spaces interpenetrated vertically and horizontally. A circle of nearly a hundred windows was densely arranged at the bottom of the dome. The phantom formed when light shone in made the large dome look light and airy. The main door George passed through had layered cornices and pediments made of overlapping arcs and triangles. On both sides of the door, engaged columns and flat pilasters were used for both weight-bearing and decoration.

Looking at this magnificent Great Hall. George’s first feeling was that the time and money spent on this building definitely exceeded the palace of His Grace the Duke that George had visited. For this reason, George reached a conclusion: religious buildings are definitely not comparable to most secular buildings. The time factor alone in the construction process created an absolute crushing advantage.

On the pulpit below the statue, besides High Priest Virginia, there was also Priest Gavin whom he knew, as well as some other Clergy members he had seen or not seen before. Seeing such a scene that looked like everyone was on guard, George was certain that there must have been intervention from a Deity. Otherwise, let alone George’s status as a Lord, even if Viscount Bolerum came personally, he would absolutely not have such an honor.

Walking to the front of the pulpit, although George had his own judgment in his heart, to confirm it, he asked half-jokingly: “Good day! High Priest Virginia, Priest Gavin, and all the servants of the Lord of Justice present. What is going on today? It’s just a follow-up negotiation for cooperation, yet you’ve made such a big formation. I think even if His Grace the Duke came personally, it wouldn’t be this grand every time, would it?”