As night fell, the lights came on.
Hundreds of candles illuminate the banquet hall of the Benson Family Castle like daylight.
There are three rectangular dining tables on the precious oak floor, and the tables are full of various kinds of wine and delicacies.
With a rigorously trained smile, the young and beautiful maid stood respectfully at the table, ready to step forward to serve the distinguished guests at any time.
The solemn and beautiful music flows from the harp in the corner of the hall, making people feel like they are under the vast and tranquil starry sky.
However, the atmosphere of the banquet at this time was not enthusiastic, and it was not harmonious.
Viscount Benson, who was sitting on the main seat, had a flattering and embarrassing smile on his face. He didn't look like a master should have, on the contrary, he was more like a servant who pleased the master.
In his starting position, the Marquis Garcia sat with a frosty face, and he was actually wearing armor instead of a dress.
Not only was the Marquis Garcia alone, the lords of the North who were invited to the banquet at this time were all in armor. If an unknown person walked in, they thought that a military meeting was being held here.
As the host, Viscount Benson certainly did not dare to reprimand the guests for their rudeness. Instead, he kept trying to ease the atmosphere, but his efforts did not seem to have received much response.
As the atmosphere became more and more stagnant, an attendant walked quickly to Viscount Benson and whispered a few words in his ear.
Viscount Benson felt like he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and his spirit came in an instant, and he said loudly:
"My lord Marquis Garcia, my lord Count Angele, I just received news that the crime of Bishop Danny has been confirmed!"
"Oh? Really?" Colin put down the wine glass, glanced at Viscount Benson with encouraging eyes, and motioned for him to continue.
Viscount Benson knew at this time that he no longer had the right to both ends of the mouse, and said immediately:
"Yes! My guard found a large amount of unidentified gold in Bishop Danny’s private estate, and the housekeeper has also admitted that this is because Bishop Danny has privately accepted donations and illegally intercepted tithes for so many years. The stolen money saved from taxes, in addition, my treasurer also found a large amount of unidentified funds in the ledger of the Falcon City Church!"
"Very good!" Colin smiled and nodded, "I believe that what you do will be appreciated by our lord! You will temporarily detain Cardinal Danny, and you will hand it in after Cardinal Mensay arrives. Dispose of it to him."
"Yes!"
Colin then stood up with the wine glass and said loudly:
"Everyone, let us toast together, to congratulate another false believer who tarnished the glory of the Supreme Lord and received the punishment he deserves!"
The atmosphere in the hall finally changed, and the lords of the North stood up one after another, toasting and drinking.
As if welcoming another lord to join.
Viscount Benson himself understood that now he must follow the group of people in the northern border to the dark.
Even if Cardinal Mensay disposes of Bishop Danny according to the evidence given by him later, he will never praise the Benson family for it.
On the contrary, the church would only regard the Benson family's actions as a serious provocation.
How many of these senior figures in the church are completely innocent?
They have huge powers that are almost unsupervised, so how can they be willing to live a life of ascetic poverty?
This time, the Benson family pulled Bishop Danny down. If they didn’t get the warnings they deserved, could other lords learn how to coerce or even control the bishops in their diocese?
In this way, the independence and autonomy of the church will be greatly weakened.
Moreover, if the status quo of corruption by a large number of senior church figures is exposed, it will also be a great blow to the prestige of the church.
Therefore, this move of the Benson family basically cut off their path of reconciliation with the church, and can only make a big fuss with the North Border.
The Benson family is "one of their own" after taking the name certificate.
There was finally some banquet atmosphere in the hall, no longer as stagnant as before.
Of course, the atmosphere of the banquet is still not warm. After all, the Duke of St. Hild is still in a coma, and the Pope has not received the punishment he deserves. At this time, it is too early to celebrate.
Especially the Marquis Garcia kept a cold face, and everyone here did not dare to be presumptuous.
This restrained banquet certainly didn't last long, and it ended just after eight o'clock.
Everyone left, but Colin was stopped by the Marquis Garcia.
The two left the banquet hall and walked along the quiet promenade in the quiet moonlight. After a while, Marquis Garcia spoke:
"If you force the Benson family to join us like this, will it cause the royal family's jealousy?"
Colin immediately understood Marquis Garcia's concerns, and said: "My lord Marquis, do you think the royal family can be a force that can be wooed by us?"
"Isn't it? Restricting the power of the church is the long-cherished wish of the San Lorenzo family."
"Yes, but I just received a message from Yulongcheng."
"what news?"
"Emperor Reinhardt originally planned a public speech. It is said that he wanted to express his stance on the current situation. But on the day of the speech, Emperor Reinhardt said that the illness did not appear."
Hearing this news, Marquis Garcia frowned.
After thinking for a while, he guessed: "So, does he plan to publicly support any party, but is ready to stand by?"
"Yes." Colin nodded and added, "In addition, I have another news. Queen Midella has left the Dragon City with Prince Harrison and Princess Judy."
The Marquis Garcia paused and asked: "Where are they going? Is it the North?"
"It should be. UU reading "
The Marquis of Garcia frowned, lost in thought.
Colin waited for a while, and then whispered: "Lord Marquis, I guess that Emperor Reinhardt should have been jealous of the Saint Hild family, so Queen Midella was forced to leave the Royal Dragon City."
The Marquis Garcia snorted and said, "Stupid!"
Colin also secretly replied.
What the emperor did was really chilling. As a noble leader, he stood by at such a critical moment. Couldn't he see that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to suppress the power of the church?
"So, Lord Marquis, since the royal family is already afraid of us, then we don't need to be tied." Colin said in a strong tone, "I will use a similar method to force the lords of the Scarlet Flame to stand in line. , I want to see if the emperor is still going to continue to pretend to die under such circumstances."
The Marquis of Garcia turned around, stared into Colin's eyes, and asked in a deep voice: "Colin, have you ever thought about whether all this you have done will be backlashed in the future?"
Colin smiled faintly and said: "Of course I thought about it. If the Glorious Empire is calm, I know that my fate will be extremely miserable.
But now it's different.
The invasion of the Orc Empire is imminent, and the Glory Empire faces unprecedented threats.
The world of great chaos is about to begin, and being afraid of the head and tail is the way to die! "
The Marquis of Garcia stared at Colin's eyes for a long while, with a very complicated expression on his face, saying:
"It's a pity. If you come from a Paladin family..."
Halfway through the conversation, the Marquis Garcia suddenly shut up and turned to leave.
Colin looked at the other person's figure gradually disappearing into the darkness, touched the tip of his nose, and smiled playfully.