Chapter 663: Coronation Ceremony
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As Grant walked toward the Grace Square from the cathedral under the looks of countless believers, he felt that he would never forget that day forever.
The day he officially became the pope.
There was no need to repeat the cumbersome of the coronation ceremony. White candles that filled the cathedral, endless prayers, bishops who went up accordingly to bow and greet him..... He remembered those sincere faces, half a month ago they would stare at him angrily and curse at him for being a treacherous monster, yet, they could only obey him.
However, looking at how the bishops started obeying him, Grant did not feel any sense of satisfaction at all from his revenge.
He knew how he did it. Massacre, threats, bribes... He had already become a totally different person. The change happened so quickly and quietly that he did not even realize how he had reached this point.
If the bishop was still alive, he probably would add that "everything is according to God’s will", but he was no longer there. Grant still remembered the night he murdered the bishop, the serenity of the bishop grew fear in him, as if that trauma would always hover over his head. It was as if he would never be freed from the bishop’s control, even if he had killed him a thousand, or even a million times.
But... If it was not for getting rid of that trauma, why did he murder the bishop in the first place?
As these thoughts lingered in his mind, Grant found it hard to breathe. Or, perhaps, maybe it was because of the heavy gown that he was wearing, he could not catch his breath.
"Your Highness the Pope, please wear the Holy crown and walk towards the Grace Square. Thousands and millions of believers are waiting to revere your dignity!"
As he arrived at the entrance of the cathedral, a priest said gently by his ear.
Grant looked downwards.
Even though the Imperial Capital had been filled with a terrifying atmosphere for months, at that moment, the Avenue of Holy Light outside of the cathedral was packed with people. Few thousands of Holy Knights separated the people and opened a wide path for him for his parade. Under the gloomy sky, the people raised their heads, squinted their eyes and looked towards him with all their might.
These people... were believers who served him.
The parade was known to be the most traditional event during the coronation ceremony. The new pope would have to walk from the cathedral to the Grace Square, with the company of two newly-joined priests to the Church, and receive worships from believers from all over the country. People had always said that one would receive the blessing of God if they managed to take a look at the Sun symbol on the coronet of the pope during the parade.
That was probably the reason that the countless believers were so excited.
Grant wanted to fly over their heads instead.
An evil thought crossed his mind, at last, he still walked out from the St. Peter’s Cathedral.
He walked on the path opened by the Holy Knights with two bishops following behind, underneath him were fresh petals of roses and calla lilies, and put on a poker face as he walked past the crazily excited looks on both sides. The believers were squeezing and jumping their ways through with all their might, but no one dared to make a sound, the place was flooded with silent yet noisy footsteps.
Grant did not feel that those people were looking at him, he felt like a sculpture.
The endless walk soon became torturing, he felt as if he was walking through hell, where evil spirits gushed through both sides and ran amok dauntingly. He swallowed his urge to kill all these evil spirits, kept on his straight face and continued walking.
After some time, the path before him suddenly became broader, they had arrived at the Grace Square. As commoners were not allowed to enter, they were tightly blocked by Holy Knights in armor. On the other hand, in the square, nobles from the entire country would bow and worship him.
Grant’s indifferent mood suddenly changed.
"... Duke Claude, you’re here."
He stopped in front of a middle-aged man, remained silent for a while, then said. The middle-aged man raised his head, showing his old-fashioned, stubborn face which was not much different from how Grant remembered it to be.
"Yes, Your Highness the Pope," Claude sounded like he was trembling. He knelt beside Grant and said, "Today is your coronation day, we’re praying for you to be blessed."
Grant felt really pleased before that, but he was just stunned at that moment, not knowing what to say.
He did not understand why, but... This was not the scenario that he had expected.
The irony was that he did not even know why he even purposefully stopped for a conversation with Claude, what was he actually hoping to achieve? They had not spoken in a long time, moreover, he was the pope and Claude was a noble. What Claude said was totally reasonable.
Therefore, Grant could only turn his head, hurry away and continue walking forward while keeping on a straight face.
He felt that he must have looked very embarrassed when he escaped.
In the Grace Square, he showed his divine arts and burnt eleven mages who were crucified to death, and completed the final ceremony. At that moment, countless people knelt on the ground and shouted "long live the pope," but Grant only noticed the looks of relief on the faces of the two new priests behind him.
Instantly, he realized that he probably no longer deserved to show that kind of face anymore.
The coronation ceremony was held at noon, but the follow-up process went on all the way until late night. Only when Grant finished reading out the last page of the Bible and closed the book, the priests hurriedly left the cathedral. Under the silent statue of God, Grant was the only one left.
He put down the book then turned to look at the statue. After staying silent for a long time, he turned around and left.
That night, he returned to the big house of the Lithur family.
He could not remember how long it had been since he was last there. It was probably after Benjamin was pushed up to the stake, the whole family became silent every time they ate together. He felt like he would suffocate if he stayed for a second longer.
Slowly, he started staying in the cathedral.
"Sir... No! Your Highness the Pope. We... That..."
The guard at the entrance was still the same, after seeing him, he was bewildered and knelt on the ground. He could not speak even say a proper sentence.
Grant shook his head.
"Get up, I just came back to take a look."
Upon hearing that, the guard raised his head and said: "Then... Then do you need me to notify the others..."
Grant did not bother about the guard anymore and just entered through the main gate. As he was really familiar with the house, he arrived at the door of the study room in no time. He then pushed the door open a little and saw Claude through the door gap.
He did not know why he returned there as well. Maybe, it was because he was embarrassed about their meeting at the square during the day and felt that he was unable to stomach an insult.
Claude was sitting by the table. The oil lamp was lit. He seemed like he was reading a letter.
After some hesitation, Grant still walked inside.
"Your Highness the Pope? Why are you..."
Unlike the guard at the entrance, Claude regained his senses really quickly after being stunned for a while. He bowed at Grant, spoke respectfully and did not act inappropriately.
Grant, on the other hand, felt a sense of pressure coming from nowhere.
"... Father, I’m home." After a long silent and countless constructions of scenario in his heart, at last, his voice trembled as he said this.
Claude froze as well.
The atmosphere became awkward, no one continued talking. Grant could only look around in a flurry.
"... Where’s mother?"
"She’s at the hometown in our domain... Resting due to her illness..."
"How about grandmother?"
"... Those useless knights, they still couldn’t find anything."
"Hmm..."
The study room fell silent again.
Grant started to regret his decision of coming home. As he looked around embarrassingly and was prepared to leave, he shot a glance at the letter on the study desk.
That moment, it was as if he sensed something, he walked over and snatched that letter.