Chapter 159

Segalot was sensible and stopped while she was ahead, otherwise Cyrus would have really bitten her lips raw.

That day, with his mouth chapped and bleeding, he returned to the castle one after the other with Cyrus. Although the servants in the castle saw him, they dared not say a word.

Some people think it was caused by someone biting him; after all, who would dare to offend the Pope?

It was probably accidentally cut somewhere or by something.

"Lord, Your Majesty."

As soon as Cyrus and Segalot arrived, Judas served them a cup of hot tea to ward off the chill from standing outside for so long. At the same time, their snow-covered cloaks were carefully removed by servants, and they were given clean, warm outer garments instead.

As they approached the house, they changed their shoes, which were icy cold and soaked through by the snow.

Cyrus didn't exchange a single word with Segalot throughout the entire process, but his expression didn't seem angry. He simply took off his hat as he entered the castle, clutching it tightly in his hand and tugging at the brim from an angle unseen by others.

"Judas, His Holiness the Pope accidentally scratched his mouth on a branch outside. Find some medicine and apply it to his mouth," Cyrus said as she opened the door to the furry children's bedroom.

Upon hearing this, Judas stopped in his tracks, opening his mouth as if to say, "... Lord, I... I'm applying medicine to His Majesty?!"

This isn't appropriate...

Segalot: "I don't need any medicine, I don't feel any pain."

However, his words and facial expression were completely different. As he spoke, he licked the wound on his lips, and the place that had stopped bleeding due to the cold air outside immediately began to ooze out conspicuous red marks again.

Segalot lowered her eyelashes, and her golden eyes gradually dimmed, giving her a pitiful appearance.

Cyrus: "..."

Judas: Something's not right... but I can't quite put my finger on it...

Finally, Cyrus asked Judas to fetch the medicine box, and at the same time opened the door to let Segalot come in with him.

The unusual feature of this building is that it consists of several rooms connected together from east to west, almost occupying the entire floor of the castle.

There were six fireplaces alone in the room, placed in the four corners and in the center.

This room was specially prepared by Cyrus as a wintering place for the fluffy creatures. Since the fluffy creatures are large, they naturally need a large area to move around in.

Especially considering the need to accommodate the furry creatures, Cyrus specially ordered the doors of this house to be modified.

The door has a handle and only two very large door panels. It uses the principle of a revolving door, but it only rotates to one side and then stops. The edges of the door panels and the door frame are fitted together to ensure that they will not misalign.

This way, the fluffy creatures can be easily pushed out with just a paw.

He always did whatever he could for the furry creatures' living quarters, never finding it troublesome or time-consuming.

As Cyrus led His Holiness the Pope through the door, the furry creatures that had been sprawled out like cat pancakes inside immediately perked up. Coalball was the first to run over and rub against Cyrus affectionately, purring softly in its throat.

The rest of the fluffy creatures weren't to be outdone.

Instantly, Cyrus was surrounded by monstrous beasts. Segalot, who was originally in a similar position, was now pushed to the edge.

Cyrus tugged at Coalball's ear and said, "Are you going out for some exercise again today? You've gotten so fat..."

Coalball ignored Cyrus's reprimand, its ear tips twitched, it let out a howl, and tilted its head innocently.

On the far right of the room, there was a wooden frame, a small bed, and various toys, all prepared for Rollie. Along the wall, there was a pile of fresh bamboo, milk, and other food.

The bamboo that Cyrus and Segalot planted in the mountains earlier has grown tenaciously, remaining upright and green even in the snow of winter.

At this moment, Rollie sat on the soft carpet, munching on a carrot in his arms, his dark eyes fixed on Cyrus.

Next to the Rollie was a tiny snow fox Rice Cake.

However, compared to the Rollie, Rice Cake was lying down and sleeping, hugging a matching little fox plush toy in her front paws.

When Cyrus walked over, Gun Gun Rollie dropped the carrot he was holding and stretched out his two paws for a hug.

"Hmm~"

Everyone would be charmed by her.

Cyrus was no exception.

Rice Cake also woke up when she heard the noise, and immediately abandoned the little rag doll, hopping on her paws to jump onto Cyrus's shoulder as a pendant.

Cyrus's smile hadn't stopped since she entered the room, and it visibly grew even brighter.

Segalot stood alone to the side until Judas came into the room with the medicine.

"My lord, the medicine has been brought."

Cyrus then released the fluffy creatures and went over.

At Cyrus's instruction, Judas went out again to handle other matters, while Segalot, at Cyrus's prompting, sat on the sofa to wait for the ointment to be applied.

Eggy's curiosity is the strongest.

It followed and jumped onto the sofa, resting its head on Cyrus's lap, comfortably lying on its side.

Segalot narrowed his golden eyes and looked down at the annoying dog head.

Eggy opened its eyes and stared back at it, letting out a few howls.

Segalot frowned. "Is it insulting me...?"

Cyrus: "How could that be? Eggy doesn't swear."

"No... I felt like it was insulting me just now."

Those howls, coupled with his expression, gave Segalot the immediate impression that this was what he meant.

Upon hearing this, Cyrus hugged the Husky's head and said, "Your Majesty, how could Eggy possibly scold you? If he really did... please don't hold it against a child."

"..."

The application of medicine that Segalot had been hoping for was finally completed under Eggy's watchful eye, creating an atmosphere that was both intimate and ambiguous.

The light snow stopped in the afternoon.

Thin ice floats on some parts of the Cogit Sea. Cyrus had already contacted Rice Ball, asking it to lead the Orca pod to warmer waters, and to return next spring.

Rice Ball conveyed her reluctance through the system, and only after Cyrus repeatedly reassured her did she lead the Orca away.

Temperatures on the Cogit Sea have been dropping, not to mention the two rivers that run east to west and north to south Volri River and the Aibuting River.

These two inland rivers had already begun to freeze when the snow began to fall.

[Honestly, I've been using this app to follow my favorite books lately. It has multiple reading sources, various voice options, and works on both Android Apple.]

If it weren't for today's light snow, the ice on the river might have melted in a few days. However, the arrival of the second snowfall has made the ice on the river even harder.

Due to extreme weather, navigation was impossible at sea and on rivers, and the same was true on roads. Transportation to and from various places was forced to stop, and everything seemed to fall into silence all at once.

Although Segalot had already decided to build a second Saint Church within the Desinia Territory, even the letters were sent to the Saint Airo Empire via the Qing Tuan.

However, if construction is to begin, it will have to wait until the snow melts or winter is over.

After all, construction is a problem in this kind of weather.

After receiving and reading the letter, the two cardinals decided not to announce the news for the time being, and to wait until the second Saint Church was actually built there.

This also prevents problems from arising prematurely.

The Saint Church had close ties with the imperial family to a certain extent.

Warner Gales's many clandestine actions have also been noticed by the two cardinals, who are currently unable to contact the Pope and can only wait and see.

News from all parts of the empire reached the capital and the church via letters.

A remote village was burned to the ground by invading bandits, leaving nothing behind, including lives. By the time the knights from the city arrived, only charred corpses remained in the village.

Such tragedies can happen at any time, and even churches in some places are not spared.

Within the empire, not all territories experienced banditry, arson, and looting; some remote areas far from the imperial capital saw riots.

--The common people and slaves gathered together.

They smashed shops, looted food and goods, broke into nobles' homes, and seized what the nobles owned.

The church was also occupied by these rebellious civilians and slaves, and priests, bishops, and other clergy were driven away...

Once something starts, those who were just watching will also join in.

What began as a rebellion within a single manor eventually spread like wildfire throughout the entire village and city...

By the time the people of the royal city learned of this news, the noble lord who oppressed and exploited commoners and slaves had already been killed by them in the snow.

This included the nobleman's family, of course.

--Once restrictions are in place, malicious intent will be unleashed.

How could commoners and slaves have the audacity to kill nobles?! Aren't they afraid of being punished?!

The nobles found this incomprehensible and were extremely angry about it.

But they also harbored a vague fear—they understood that if the commoners and slaves within their territory united, they would find it difficult to resist.

As a result, some nobles who also exploited commoners and slaves became afraid and began to ask the newly appointed former Warner for help.

Warner agreed and took the opportunity to make some demands, including sending cavalry to various locations for protection.

Saint Church.

When Dempus learned of Warner's decision, his expression became meaningful. "This King is indeed cunning and resourceful..."

He was upright as a prince, but revealed a different kind of intelligence and scheming as a king.

Malediz, "We can tell the Pope about this, but we cannot interfere..."

After all, this was part of the king's strategy to consolidate power.

The riots instigated by commoners and slaves were secretly instigated by Warner's men, with the aim of rightfully ending the nobleman's life.

In this way, Warner could send cavalry to suppress the rebellion and reclaim the territory.

Other places requested Warner's help, and cavalry were dispatched... One day, these territories will be reclaimed one by one under Warner's scheme.

The Holy See naturally has its own channels for obtaining this information.

If Warner hadn't been relatively friendly towards the church, merely driving away the clergy who had instigated the rebellion instead of killing them, the two cardinals wouldn't have just given their verbal support.

Dempus: "But how should we tell His Majesty?"

"Alas, without that magnificent bird, the message cannot be sent out... Perhaps we should first see what this new king is capable of."

For Malediz, this is all we can do.

This winter was far from peaceful for the Saint Airo Empire, with undercurrents surging. First, commoners and slaves in remote areas rose up in rebellion, which was then suppressed by cavalry dispatched by the king. The nobles were dead, and their territories were reclaimed.

Meanwhile, more and more territories were gradually taken over by the king... Some nobles began to realize that something was amiss.

But by then it was already too late...