.”

"Ah?" Andre was stunned: "Ah?"

Winters and Andre were born after the founding of the Union and did not experience the religious oppression of the imperial era.

The intuitive feeling that the word "Inquisition Trial" gave to both of them was like seeing a moldy, moth-eaten, and smelly old coat pulled out from the bottom of a box - it was both familiar and unfamiliar, but mainly...

Discomfort.

Winters' eyebrows knitted together little by little: "Judging from the price offered by Emond, as long as I nod my head, I'm afraid the stakes will be erected at the Gevaudin Abbey immediately."

"Burning stake? Wait?" Andre threw away the bucket: "How could they have such a big hatred? Isn't the prisoner an old man? The old man also wants to be burned?"

"I don't know either." Winters thought hard: "According to Emond, the trial of clergy is an internal matter of the Catholic Church. He set a high price and hoped that I would respect their

Divine right'."

Andre's jaw had not been closed for a long time: "Catholic Church? Internal trial? Is there such a thing? Is it true?"

Winters shook his head: "I still don't know this, at least according to Edmond's statement - that's the case."

"Then..." Andre was stunned for a while and asked puzzledly: "Since it is an internal matter, why do we need your consent? A very high price? And we need to bribe you?"

"This is the most interesting part." Winters stood up and paced: "In fact, it has nothing to do with me, why do you want to bribe me? Do you want my permission?"

"It makes sense." Andre said with relief: "Without our nod, who would dare to set up a stake at the stake in Tiefeng County?"

"If only it were this simple." Winters said with a smile: "Do you know what price Emond quoted me?"

Andre tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.

Winters said a weight, then added a word airily: "Pure gold."

Andre took a deep breath: "Otherwise, just agree. Anyway, it's the Catholic Church's own affairs. Why get involved? It has nothing to do with us!"

"In that case, why do you want to ask such a high price? Just tell me casually, or can you burn it first and then quote it?"

"..." Andre was asked: "Then you promised him?"

"I didn't agree, nor did I refuse to agree. In order not to reveal my trump card, I hinted to Father Edmond——" Winters picked up a straw and briefly entered a spell-casting state to stimulate his spirit.

The phantom pain made Winters smile a little weird: "I have to pay more."

It was like an invisible pair of scissors reciprocating in mid-air. The stalks became shorter inch by inch, so precise that the difference between the two times was indistinguishable to the naked eye.

Winters clarified his thoughts, and he suddenly laughed playfully: "Is it possible that - Emond thinks that we know far more information than we actually need to know. That's why he opened such a

Give us a high price.”

"Hmm... uh... it seems... makes sense..." Andre pondered for a long time, then slapped his thigh: "Damn it, why are you bothering with this? Catch that old man, and you will know it soon after the first trial?

"

"That's the problem." Winters threw out the last small piece of straw, which was shattered in mid-air. He said helplessly: "The prisoner is not in my hands."

"Ah? Didn't that old man come back with Ronald?"

"I don't know, I've asked Charles to check." Winters walked up to Changsheng, who also hummed and stuck out his tongue to lick his fingers: "Even if the prisoner returns with Ronald,

Then I don’t know where he went after that.”

Andre slapped his thigh again: "Could it be that the old man has fallen into the hands of the Catholic Church?"

Winters shook his head: "Then what Edmond brought to me should be news of death."

"I really don't understand." Andre pulled a few hairs hard and picked up the bucket on the ground: "I'd better go feed the horses."

"It's not complicated. There is another person hidden in this matter, the person who protected the prisoner." Winters stroked his long, soft mane, and his thoughts had drifted far away.

He summarized the known information bit by bit: "Has the motive to protect the prisoner, and the ability to protect the prisoner. Most importantly, it can lead Father Emond and others to think that 'it is Winters Montagne who is protecting the prisoner.'"

Who is this person?"

Andre stood there in a daze, with a strange expression on his face, and asked in a low voice: "Your wife?"

…

A quarter of an hour later.
Chapter completed!