Chapter 1560: Chapter 1560
"So, for the banquet tonight, is there anything I should be aware of?"
Changing the subject, Jenkins sought his mentor's advice. He had expected Papa Oliver to simply tease him about his love life, but to his surprise, the old man offered a genuine warning.
"This morning, while chatting with Elder Broshier, I heard about tonight's banquet at the Cold Spring Palace. Officially, it's to award medals to the naval officers who displayed courage and strength in the Broken Isles campaign, and to elevate your title along the way. But the reality runs much deeper. I don't know what Queen Isabella is thinking, but it seems she's trying to handle a great many things in a single night. Besides you, the envoy from Cheslan will also be there..."
"The envoy from the Kingdom of Cheslan?"
"Yes, I heard about your encounter at City Hall. The very same envoy, here to sue for peace. The ambassador from the northern kingdom, nobles from Bel Diran... basically, anyone who is anyone in the city will be in attendance. So be prepared for people to approach you, and think about how you'll handle those with ulterior motives and ill intentions."
Papa Oliver advised him gravely.
"I understand. I'm sure all sorts of people will try to talk to me. That's easy enough to handle. As long as I don't make any substantial promises—just accept business cards and exchange pleasantries—I'll be fine."
Besides Papa Oliver, Jenkins had also spoken with the Pope about yesterday's meeting at the Cold Spring Palace and tonight's banquet. Pontiff IV had also given his blessing, telling Jenkins to act as he saw fit and assuring him that he could always count on the Church for any help he needed.
It seemed the Sage Church wasn't as preoccupied with the kingdom's succession as Jenkins had initially thought. But he knew very well that, out of his sight, many people were working tirelessly on this matter. The Sage Church would not pass up this precious opportunity, just as the other eleven churches surely had their own schemes in play.
Papa Oliver's current work was part of that cleanup effort. He had delayed his return to Nolan because of it and now planned to travel back with Jenkins.
The most severe problem Bel Diran currently faced was still the Blood Mosquito Curse.
Last Sunday, Jenkins and Miss Capet had met the source of the curse, the wife of Count Paramont, inside the arcane lock. The monstrous being had demanded the Church provide her with three specific numbered items within a week. With today being Saturday, that week was nearly up. The three items, which had been stored in the Nolan diocese, had already been transported to Bel Diran. After obtaining permission, Jenkins was able to view them, accompanied by a Keeper of Secrets.
Of the three items, Jenkins was most familiar with the IV-drip-like B-01-2-8100, the [Elements' Blood]. It was from the Corpse Gentleman's collection and could cause a random elemental mutation in one of the user's abilities, at the cost of their blood temporarily changing color.
The second, B-03-2-2944 [Holy Blood Stained Cloth], was from the collection of the Church of the Unlit Moon. It looked like a withered yellow burial shroud. Legend held that in the previous epoch, a certain god had come to the material world in the form of a saint and used this very cloth. Before the year 1083 of the 18th Epoch's universal calendar, it had been worshipped as a holy relic by a small village near Nolan, until it was discovered by a missionary Nightwatchman and promptly contained.
As for the last item, B-12-3-5800 [Vampire's Fang], it was a rare artifact that needed to be implanted into a living body to function. This item belonged to the Church of Death and End and had been transported to Nolan from another diocese about three hundred years ago. In that era, Gravediggers had discovered an ancient vampire tomb in a primeval forest in the southern part of the continent. The dangerous numbered items found within were distributed among the various dioceses across the continent for separate containment.
When a creature embeds this fang into its own gum, it automatically gains vampire talents including vampirism and rapid regeneration, becomes completely immune to any level of vampire toxin, and doesn't suffer from the typical vampiric weaknesses. However, the item has extreme side effects. Besides the need to periodically feed on blood, if the fang ever falls out of the user's mouth, the user will die instantly. And quite unfortunately, among curses and rituals, there is no shortage of types that cause every tooth in one's mouth to fall out.
The Keeper of Secrets showed Jenkins these three items partly to satisfy his curiosity, and partly because they had to prepare for him and Miss Capet to take these things into the arcane lock to meet the Countess.
Of course, the Church would never compromise with that monster. All twelve Orthodox Churches were gathered nearby. Anyone who dared to suggest compromise would surely be put on a pillar of shame for all to mock for a hundred years. According to their intelligence, the [Vampire Buster] borrowed from the Stuart royal family was already on its way. The Church hoped Jenkins and Miss Capet could carry that dagger to severely injure or even kill the Countess, thereby helping the combat units outside dismantle the arcane lock.
"Since it's a royal treasure, I assume a member of the royal family is escorting the [Vampire Buster] to Bel Diran?"
Jenkins inquired, considering the dagger had to arrive before Sunday night. Yesterday, Alexia mentioned that Salsi II would bring all the eligible heirs to Bel Diran, but they hadn't departed yet. The timeline seemed a bit off.
"Due to the urgency, the dagger is being transported secretly by the Church," the Keeper of Secrets stated. "By my calculations, it has already crossed the border and should arrive tomorrow morning."
So Salsi II had lied to his children. Although they all knew transporting the family relic was just a pretext, they hadn't expected the pretext itself to be a complete fabrication. The dying king no longer cared for such details, but this fully demonstrated that he viewed the journey to Bel Diran as the final and most important chapter of his life.
Jenkins couldn't begin to imagine what Dolores's father was planning to do.
A week had not been long enough for the effects of the Blood Mosquito Curse to spread to the city. The Church had completely surrounded the manor full of the cursed, ensuring the curse wouldn't spread for any reason. They even had the Church of All Things and Nature dispatch a group of highly trained cats and dogs to hunt down any small animals that might leave the estate.
Speaking of small animals, Jenkins reached out and held his cat down. It had just tried to leap from his shoulder to the table to touch the three items. This cat's curiosity was truly boundless.
Before the evening banquet began, Jenkins did not leave the church grounds. He attended the joint representative meeting of the Twelve Orthodox Churches to discuss the specific plan of action for the following day. Then, alongside Miss Capet, he accepted the advice of the demigods in charge and ran drills for the assassination attempt.
The operation was to be primarily executed by Jenkins, with Miss Capet merely providing necessary assistance. The situation reminded Jenkins of the classic "dagger in the map" assassination gambit from his other world, so he adamantly opposed the suggestion to hide the [Vampire Buster] in a box and present it to the Countess along with the three items.
He wasn't being superstitious, definitely not; he just hoped for a more reliable method. The plan they finally agreed upon wasn't perfect either—after all, when facing a demigod who was the source of the curse, no one had absolute confidence—but Jenkins believed he would undoubtedly succeed.
No matter what, he now had a drop of divinity in his hand.
Time flew by, and evening soon arrived. Jenkins took Papa Oliver's advice and, instead of borrowing a carriage from the Church, went to a rental agency and hired the most expensive one available. Only then, after changing his clothes, did he go to the Rosalia Inn to pick up his companions. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel⦿fire.net
Hathaway and Briny seemed to be taking tonight's banquet very seriously. Although they had only a single day to prepare their outfits, they had found perfectly suitable gowns. Even someone like Jenkins, who knew nothing of women's fashion, could tell that the two dresses were custom-made.
He later found out that one of Briny's uncles, a viscount, lived in Bel Diran.
As for jewelry, the two young women had, before their trip, actually packed pieces in their luggage specifically for serious social events. Jenkins found it difficult to judge which of the two was more beautiful tonight, and fortunately, he wasn't asked this very awkward question.
Smiling, he complimented the ladies on their appearance and, ever the gentleman, invited them into the carriage one by one. Throughout this process, Chocolate lay on a soft cushion prepared for it on the carriage bench, watching Jenkins grimly. It wasn't until he sat down and the carriage began to slowly move forward that it suddenly jumped onto his lap.
Chocolate was angry, probably because Jenkins had forced it to take a bath again. Bringing a pet to such an occasion was, of course, highly improper, but try as he might, he couldn't think of a good way to leave his cat behind. In the end, he could only choose to bring it along. But since the cat disliked wearing bows or little bells, the only thing to do was give it a bath as preparation for the banquet.
The cat had been fuming about this since the afternoon, but its sullen little face somehow made it look even more adorable and charming. The young ladies sitting across from Jenkins in the carriage were amused by Chocolate's expression. Briny even wanted to reach out and stroke the cat's head, but Chocolate would naturally not allow anyone other than Jenkins to touch it.
Before heading to the Cold Spring Palace, Jenkins still needed to pick up Miss Windsor; this had also been arranged in advance. The Windsor family had their own property in Bel Diran—a villa with a large garden near the city's outskirts. When the Duke of Windsor came to Bel Diran from his own territory, he would usually stay here.