Chapter Forty-Four: Caesar's Return Down

  "That's enough! Loyalty and love are almost the same thing. Talking is useless, it must be done. Now I'm telling you to shut up!"

  He turned around, and Alexander, the elder brother, covered his forehead and stopped looking at me. The two guards stared straight at the ceiling tiles. What, don't they agree that love is made in this universal truth? I'll debate with them on this serious topic when I have time...

  "Step outside and tell Konstantin to bring me that lead priest."

  The latter really did what I said, grabbed the collar of that priest and dragged him over... Brother, you let Maurice possess?

  "What? What's with that expression? Did I do something wrong?" Konstanze looked very innocent.

  I dare say, this is intentional.

  It's not difficult to interrogate the priest. Just scare him a little, and he'll tell you that it was the deputy director's assistant who told him to fix those nobles properly.

  The whole thing has now roughly come to light, and it was during a dispute over who would get the wind that the nobleman who had been provoked by Frederick happened to learn that the literary girls had written a story about me. He then told his companion about his desire for revenge, and his companion came up with the idea of using censorship to kill Frederick off. The nobleman then found the powerful man in the church, the vice-president of the Holy Spirit Purification Institute. Looking back, Frederick must have provoked him at the old duke's concert, which means that during my time working for my brother-in-law, the people from the church had already set this whole thing in motion.

  Alexander and I came out of the room and stood at the entrance of the main building. The guards inside closed the door for us.

  "Alexander laughed, 'I said the Church wouldn't have the guts to do something like that. If they just wanted to declare their renewed authority, they wouldn't find us nobles troublesome at all. But that book, for them, is no ordinary forbidden book.'"

  "Is it because I'm constantly being knocked down, that this book with rebellious implications is exposing my ambition to overthrow the Seo family's rule?" I disdainfully stuck the dagger into the corridor wall. How detestable, I was used.

  Alexander pulled out the dagger, he touched the gap on the wall and said in a low voice: "But my brother, you also said that the Satan in that book, the fallen Satan is you! You are the Theophany family! The dignity of the Theophany family cannot be provoked!"

  His tone was icy and left no room for doubt; Alexander had clearly made up his mind to kill.

  I was taken aback, furrowing my brow: "So the church people didn't go through us and directly brought people here to find someone, is that right? Sealing forbidden books, I won't mention that. But they laid hands on nobles, is that also right? We not only didn't condemn the church afterwards, but we even praised them? Praising them for doing the right thing? You should know, that book was just a tool for them to gain merit! They wouldn't care if the author had any rebellious intentions!"

  "Emotionally and rationally, the church may have overstepped a bit, but they did it as a suitable dog, not a big mistake." Alexander said indifferently, I interrupted him roughly, "How can you not understand, the church is using us as guns! If we tolerate their behavior today, what will others think? Even our own Seofano family members dare to move, the church will rise again!!!"

  "I understand!" Alexander said coldly.

  "This time it's my turn to be interrupted."

  "You should go take a look at how that book arranges you! Slander, ridicule, and defamation, to the extreme of mockery! Everyone has to pay the price!"

  Alexander's face was somewhat distorted and he looked abnormal, I almost got scared by his anger. After being stunned for a while, I seemed to have found a reason, thinking that Frederick might have made a big effort in that book. To know, I've experienced the guy's mouth myself. A harmless royal like me can surpass Emperor Yang of Sui and Qin Shi Huang in this guy's book, it's imaginable how much dirty water was poured on him in the book.

  "Calm down!"

  "How dare those idle and arrogant noble ladies insult you like that! How can I remain calm!"

  "The whole thing was also my fault from the start. Besides, those noble ladies in my eyes are just a group of immature little girls, their pranks I didn't take to heart."

  "So they can insult you?! Do they still have our imperial family in their eyes?!"

  "So you can kill them all?"

  "You're my brother! The only one in this life!!! He's asking for trouble, messing with me, I'll take down both sides!"

  I'm dizzy, even the old man's foul language is bursting out... Hearing Alexander furious to the point of scolding Jesus' mother, I almost remembered that he was a native of this world. He didn't have a mature soul like me from childhood. The sense of honor instilled in him by the Seofano family, he took it all in without falling. So in my opinion, I was wrong first, can't blame others, but in his eyes, things had already escalated to the level of personal honor and family honor. Who was right or wrong is no longer important, didn't that world have a saying, "a gentleman can be killed but not humiliated"? The honor of the nobility cannot be insulted, let alone the royal family.

  "Thanks." I smiled faintly, "But you also said it before, Seofano is us, and we are Seofano. So these words, just forget about them, do you want to betray your own family?"

  "Alright!" Alexander said, punching the wall with a fist. He muttered under his breath, "Sometimes living is just so tiring."

  Then we two people discussed countermeasures.

  Nobles, scare them a bit and that's it. After all, plotting against the imperial family is no small matter. So, on the noble side, we need to make them realize they are in danger, those with high ranks and close to us, we need to make them feel panicked, making them mistakenly think they might lose favor and be suspected, while those low-ranking nobles who are insignificant, let them be terrified, fearing being dragged out to be beheaded or hanged, so that later on, whenever they recall this matter, they will have nightmares.

  As for the church side, those self-righteous guys must be replaced and also taught a lesson!

  That's the principle!

  But we lack an excuse for starting trouble!

  Thinking of Frederick, I suddenly had a good idea: "We'll act separately. You go tell Cheap Daddy about what's going on here and catch those nobles who caused this trouble. I'll rush to the church and lend a hand before some troublemaker gets killed."

  Alexander took a few steps before I suddenly stopped him: "What are you going to do with those noble young ladies?"

  "Of course, send them packing!" Alexander sneered.

  Thinking of the slap on the face of that literary girl, I was speechless. Alexander still hasn't given up on the idea of teaching them a lesson! At this critical moment, sending these troublemakers back home, their fathers wouldn't kill them? I denied: "Gather them together, hmm, soft detention, except for not being able to come and go freely, let people visit them, but can't be alone!"

  Alexander turned around and stood below the steps, staring at me: "Reason."

  "Adoration and fear, both coexist. If one had to choose, the latter is more suitable. Fear will only prevent betrayal, but adoration will ensure continued loyalty. However, sometimes fear can easily turn into hatred, which gives people the motivation to betray. And don't forget... I took a few steps closer to Alexander, casting a lecherous glance at Konstantin, who was preparing our horses, "Perhaps some of them might even become the future wives of our comrades."

  "Alright, suit yourself! But remember to leave the final say in the church's affairs to our father." Alexander cautioned.

  I tracked down the leader of this church delegation that was sent out to enjoy the autumn breeze, and after inquiring about the whereabouts of the arrested men, I found out that Friedrich and Hans were indeed being held in the underground dungeons within the Holy Spirit Hospital outside the city walls. That place is several hours away from the university district by road. After interrogating these two culprits, I should be able to get there before Friedrich suffers any serious physical harm.

  Out of caution, Alexander left with five attendants, and I had Constantine follow him and bring back at least a hundred guards. After making these arrangements, I gave the order to the chief attendant who came with me to confine those noble ladies. The latter was an old man from our Seofano family, although he looked bitter, but still nodded firmly.

  I brought five guards with me and set off towards the Sacred Rites Institute of the Church.

  As I passed by the Holy Spirit Temple, which was a must-pass route, I added an eye to ask several vendors on the side of the road about the unusual passersby. The people who escorted Frederick had passed here more than two meals ago.

  It's been two meals' time, I swallowed my saliva, I wiped it away. When did the church people become so efficient?! It's probably been more than two hours now! Did they fly from the inner city wall to the outer city wall in an instant?! Never mind, this isn't the time to study that. Two hours, even a live pig can be made into roast pork, let alone a big living person!

  "You stay here, go out the back door, hide well and pay attention to people entering and leaving the courtyard!"

  "Load the pistol with bullets! Follow me in a minute!"

  I gritted my teeth, pulled out two flintlock pistols from the weapon belt on the edge of the saddle, and several guards looked at me, then looked at the high wall and church of the Holy Spirit in the distance, and immediately started loading the flintlock pistols with bullets and gunpowder.

  Seeing everyone was ready, I shouted: "Konstantin will bring people soon, but now we must rush in to save one person, a German nobleman! It's about the empire's major strategy, forgive me for not being able to elaborate, but any priest who stands in our way is our enemy!!!!"