CH-076

76 He was the low-hanging phase of the moon one night

Bishop Hugo was among the first to come into contact with Bishop Whitmore's body.

The body lay directly in front of the altar, facing the congregation. The wide bishop's robe was spread on the floor, appearing exceptionally serene.

About an arm's length from the body, a chair lay toppled over. One corner of a chair leg had scraped a faint mark on the wooden floor, seemingly caused during the fall as the chair bore the tilting weight and dragged along the ground.

From this, it could be seen that the bishop was likely resting in this chair when he was attacked.

And all of this happened extremely quickly.

The bishop's hands were not clenched tightly from pain, nor did they show unconscious struggle from fear. They were simply and naturally bent, as if he had been killed in one blow before he could even react.

The back of his head was a bloody mess. His white hair was soaked in blood, which had congealed into patches of dark red. The trail of this blood flow was like some other slowly crawling life, descending from the skull and neck, gradually halting its advance on the cold floor.

In this freezing weather, half his head seemed frozen in blood.

The entire crime scene was silent, cold, and grim, forming a chilling dissonance with the sacred altar.

The first to discover the deceased was the nun who came every morning to tidy the altar and the pulpit.

The body was already stiff with rigor mortis.

The nun quickly went to find the coadjutor bishop of Sdan City.

The coadjutor bishop was also at a loss. Cardinal Otto did not reside in the church, but stayed with the secular Duke's family. However, he soon thought of Bishop Hugo.

Bishop Hugo immediately sealed off all news inside the church and discovered two key items at the scene.

One was an eight-inch statue, stained with blood, lying next to the body. The head of the statue also showed signs of damage, suggesting it was the murder weapon.

The other was a collar stud belonging to Father Jekai, found near the altar steps.

The collar stud pointed almost directly to the suspect.

But the bloodied statue's original owner was difficult to confirm.

This eight-inch statue was an imitation of the Carson white statue that had shaken both the faithful and the nobility at the July wedding.

The two things that most fascinated the world about the Carson wedding back then were, first, the miracle of the flowering tree, and second, the pure white, sacred statue.

The flowering tree bloomed only on the wedding day, so people far away in Sdan City naturally couldn't witness that legend with their own eyes, but the statue was genuine and became the only tangible vessel for people to follow the miracle.

This white statue, a wedding gift to the Duchess, was enshrined in her private prayer room, built specifically for it.

Any sufficiently high-ranking noble or clergy member, if devout in heart, could go to view it.

The path to the statue was never directly visible.

Visitors had to walk through layers of low-hanging crimson velvet drapes.

The drapes were soft and thick. Stepping inside, the sounds reaching one's ears, apart from footsteps, were the sound of their own heartbeat.

This process was brief, yet it commanded a solemnity akin to a pilgrimage.

Before lifting the final layer of sheer curtain, people could already vaguely discern a human form, as if a serene and imposing supplicant stood high on a step, making others hesitate to approach, fearing they might disturb the dignified prayer.

However, when that last layer of curtain was lifted, people realized it was the white statue itself – draped in a white cloak, its folds naturally cascading like water ripples. Its lowered brow and peaceful expression were as pure and clear as snow, just like the statue itself.

The white statue was larger than imagined. Including its base, it was no less than 70 inches tall, nearly life-size.

Because it was placed on a high platform, everyone had to look up at it.

Saying the stone deity's face was breathtakingly beautiful would be overly abstract.

Yet, it was as if, just as one gazed at the statue, it too was intently gazing back at the beholder.

Its lifelike serene quality, its gentle and genuine affability, and its恰到好处 aura of mystery – it was like a breathtaking glimpse encountered by chance on a road. Just one look, and one remembered its presence.

And more often, it felt like a family member, a friend, a teacher, or someone who could understand one's innermost thoughts, causing people to unconsciously project their trust, dependence, and tenderness onto it.

At the time, this statue moved everyone who came to see it.

People stood below the high platform, forced to look up, unable to resist taking another look, and yet another.

Someone murmured among them.

"So beautiful..."

"Whoever carved this statue is either a genius or has truly seen a deity."

"If only I could enshrine such a statue, it would be like a miracle descending."

After this viewing, a craze for imitating the July wedding's white statue swept through the nobility, and even common people took pride in possessing one.

For a time, such eight-inch statues were in high demand but short supply. At their peak, even those made of cheap plaster could be speculated to 110 silver coins. Not to mention those specifically made of marble or precious metals coated with gold, blessed by clergy, which could reach up to 700 silver coins.

However, because these imitations of holy objects held special significance, they were generally only allowed to be produced after supervision by the church authorities. In other words, within the church, everyone had the opportunity to come into contact with the eight-inch statues.

Whether bought for oneself or for others, tracing the owner of an eight-inch statue would likely be impossible, even with accounting records.

At the time, Bishop Hugo hit a dead end with the eight-inch statue.

And Father Jekai simply couldn't explain why his collar stud would appear at the crime scene. Moreover, Leslie saw through his clumsy attempt to conceal the marks on his neck. Ultimately, he quickly became the target of public criticism and was identified as the murderer.

The swift resolution of the homicide should have been a cause for celebration.

But Bishop Hugo's heart remained uneasy.

If even a seemingly gentle and prudent priest like Jekai could use such a statue with special symbolic meaning to commit murder, then could there be a deeper force lurking behind this?

For example – the Duke.

In fact, only Bishop Hugo knew clearly that on the day of the Carson wedding, had Deacon Gideon not intervened, it would have been Father Cony, representing the Duke's faction, who would have come forward to completely purge the church and establish the Duke's power.

To this day, apart from him and Cony, no one knows that Cony once laid hands on Bishop Hugo.

Bishop Hugo never intended to make this public.

This had nothing to do with mercy or compassion.

Simply because it was a valuable hidden card.

Not to mention that, initially, Father Cony did not dare let the Duke know he had failed, that he had not finished off Hugo, resulting in the current stable church faction in the Carson diocese.

Furthermore, Father Aris had placed Cony's old friend, "Herens," by his side.

Whether intentional or unintentional, this move quietly shifted the balance of power in the entire Carson diocese into Bishop Hugo's hands.

After all, Hugo knew very well that Father Cony absolutely did not want Herens to know he had committed murder. Nor did he want the Duke to know he could not even handle a small matter.

In both private and public matters, Hugo had a firm grip on Father Cony's weaknesses.

From that moment on, Bishop Hugo began to slowly extract information from Cony, gleaning more intelligence and military movements regarding the Duke.

He did not know if Cony ever regretted his attempted murder.

The only thing he knew was that under his control and maneuvering, Father Cony would be like a trapped bird, spinning a cocoon of his own, struggling more but unable to break free, eventually becoming Hugo's pawn.

Now, Father Jekai's murder of a bishop served as a stark wake-up call for Hugo.

Hugo was not sure if this was a pawn the Duke had planted long ago, or if the Duke had deemed Cony worthless and begun laying out new moves.

If this were a few years earlier, Bishop Hugo would have had the energy to contend with the Duke. But after these past years, Bishop Hugo also felt he was at the end of his tether.

In front of Father Aris, he always pretended he could still fight for another twenty years.

But he knew his own body.

Old was old. He had to securely pass the baton to the next person before he died.

And besides, just yesterday, a very important person had inadvertently revealed their identity.

Because of this, even though the case was solved, Bishop Hugo could not find joy.

In his temporary office, Bishop Hugo looked at Bishop Holm and got straight to the point. "Holm, do you know why Whitmore died this time?"

The air froze as his words fell.

Hugo did not intend to beat around the bush with Holm.

That is right.

Yesterday at the hunt, Bishop Hugo became suspicious of Bishop Holm because of one sentence Holm uttered.

At the time, Bishop Holm was speculating whether Hugo would recommend Father Aris as bishop of the Savoy diocese.

He inadvertently let slip, "Then why have you been visiting Duke Claude frequently these past few months?"

How could a visiting bishop, sent from the Holy Church of the Great Capital, whose duty was to supervise clergy in performing sacred duties, be paying attention to his dealings with secular nobles?

Most importantly, because Hugo's plan required secrecy, his contacts with Duke Claude were not public.

So how did Holm know these things?

Unless Bishop Holm was also already on the Duke's side.

Realizing this kept Hugo tossing and turning all night.

He had never wanted to make Holm his enemy.

But he also had to make a quick decision.

He could not let Father Aris get too close to Holm.

And today's homicide provided the opportunity for him to speak up.

Thus, Hugo wanted to pull Bishop Holm back onto the right path.

When Bishop Holm was called by Hugo for a private chat, he had not expected Hugo to say such things. He did not know what Hugo's intentions were. He said directly, "How could I possibly know why he died?"

"Perhaps it was by design of Duke Claude."

Hugo remained expressionless, staring intently at Bishop Holm, not missing any flicker of emotion on his face.

Suddenly hearing a name seemingly unrelated to the case, Bishop Holm was inwardly shocked, though he still did not know that Hugo had already suspected his identity.

So, he followed Hugo's lead and said, "How could this matter involve the Duke?"

Hugo leaned back against the long office table, his eyes meeting Holm's. "How could someone who uses a sacred statue to kill be a devout believer?"

Bishop Holm gave a sarcastic laugh. His calloused hand picked up the water glass in front of him, took a sip, and retorted, "How could everyone in the church be devout? Just talk about the nuns. Who does not know that most of them either could not get by in life or did not want to marry, using the church as their fallback?"

"I remember," Bishop Holm paused, his tone laced with sharp sarcasm, "Bishop Carson was killed by a church deacon using a Bible, right?"

Listening to these harsh, cold words, a chill ran through Hugo's heart.

Hugo still remembered the Father Holm upon graduating from the seminary – full of youthful vigor and ambition, devout to the Lord and loyal to the church. Now this cold, sarcastic figure only solidified his conviction:

Holm had been corrupted by Duke Claude's way of thinking.

Bishop Hugo suppressed the complex emotions in his eyes, striving to regain composure. He said, "But if he were such a flexible believer, why could he not lie to excuse himself? For example, he could say the collar stud was lost long ago."

"I saw him wearing that collar stud just yesterday. Such a lie would easily fall apart." Holm reminded Hugo, "Do not forget, his lie about the bruise on his neck was just exposed, was it not? Naturally, he would not want to lie a second time, especially such a simple, crude lie."

Hugo pressed further, "Then he could say he only noticed the collar stud was lost this morning and did not know where he dropped it. Besides that, he could also talk about the eight-inch statue. This eight-inch statue was clearly brought there specifically to kill with, so what reason is there to leave the murder weapon right next to the body?"

Hugo added, "Father Jekai's name is not on the purchase records for the statue."

Holm frowned. "...What are you trying to say? That Father Jekai is not the murderer?"

"It is Claude." Hugo's voice was deep. "He wants to purge the church in the Northern Territory and make it his own power base. Whitmore is just the beginning. Next could be me, or you..."

Bishop Holm almost blurted out, "You surely will not die."

"Why are you so sure?"

These words cut through the air like a blade.

Holm already realized his slip of the tongue and understood the purpose of Hugo's private chat with him.

Finding the murderer was not the main point.

Hugo's target was him.

Thus, Holm fell silent.

After a long moment, Hugo sighed. "Holm, confess your sins."

These words had been brewing within him since last night.

He knew he had to say them.

Because he knew all too well that Holm's intelligence would eventually make him realize he had revealed himself at the hunt.

Rather than letting this hidden danger fester into an uncontrollable situation, it was better to speak sooner.

Hugo said, "The Lord will forgive you."

Upon hearing these words from Hugo, Holm's pupils trembled slightly, a flicker of nervousness and panic crossing his features. But these emotions vanished in an instant, replaced by an almost uncontrollable relief and exhilaration.

For him, he had finally heard the sound of the judgment bell.

And his dawn had already begun long ago.

Holm clenched his fists. "I have done nothing wrong. The path of my pursuit of faith has been, from beginning to end, as clean as the holy altar, blameless, flawless."

He stepped forward slowly, approaching Hugo, his eyes shining like firelight.

"The church today is like an ark shattered in a stormy sea. Cracks have already seeped water, the planks are riddled with worms, yet you use the silence of your holy office to plug those warnings. You stand by idly, thinking that as long as you do not touch that broken part, the whole ship can still drift along in self-deception."

"But have you seen those still praying? They are sliding, one by one, on the deck into the dark abyss."

"They could have been transferred to a sturdier, more righteous vessel. Yet you insist on trapping them on this sinking ship, to be buried with the lies and corruption."

His tone turned suddenly cold.

"So, Hugo, it is not I who should confess."

"It is you, Hugo. You who should kneel before the divine and examine your own inaction, your indulgence, your coldness and retreat concealed behind the guise of the greater good."

"And Carson City is your undeniable evidence of sin!"

Holm seized Hugo, unwavering as if grasping a criminal. "Repent. I will show you what true faith is."

Hugo was stunned for a moment, then his eyes instantly cleared.

"Holm, you are wrong!"

"The community of faith does not exist because it is perfect, but because of God's grace."

"If you abandon the church because it is corrupt, how are you different from an unfilial child who ignores their parents' sacrifices and abandons them just because they cannot tolerate their parents' flaws? You have not seen the church's devotion to the faithful; you only see yourself."

"You cannot abandon it so rashly."

"You say the church is like a broken ship. You should also see that there are still those willing to mend it on this ship, to pray and to wait. By saying this, you are negating their perseverance and also negating the承载 of their faith."

As Hugo spoke, he noticed a flicker of retreat in Holm's eyes and反手 grabbed Holm's wrist. "Carson City may be my evidence of sin, but I cannot leave it."

"Listen, Holm, I will use the economic wealth brought by Carson City to rebuild a high ground of faith. I will break the shell of worldly ignorance, dispel those mists and lies."

Holm's voice trembled slightly, but he did not forget to strike back at Hugo. "Do you think you have much time left?"

"Yes, I am old. We are both old. That is precisely why we must ensure the next generation, the generation after that, and every future generation has clear minds and firm faith."

"As for my sins, the Lord will reckon them after I die. But before that, I will not abandon the ship, I will not flee."

Holm fell silent again, then said after a long time, "...No wonder you were the theological debater who made a name for yourself upon entering the seminary..."

Realizing Holm was inclined to return to the right path, Hugo began to appeal to emotion. "Yes, who among us has never been confused by things they have done? Who has never wavered? I too have felt I could go no further, even had the impulse to end it all."

Until one night he finally saw the low-hanging moon phase, awakening the tide within his soul.

"Holm, following the Lord of the church, you will not lose your way again."

Holm looked at Hugo holding his wrist, tightened his own hand, then decisively pushed him away and shook his head. "I will not allow my sacred path to have blemishes."

"Holm, do not be stubborn."

"Hugo, if you had not harmed me back then, I..."

Before this sentence finished, a voice suddenly called out from outside the door: "Father Aris." Only then did the two men realize they had been speaking more and more passionately and had not noticed someone approaching outside.

The conversation between them certainly could not be disclosed.

But that voice belonged to Calvin, the eldest son of the Aidelai family.

He was not that quick-witted.

Hugo thought of Leslie, who had been standing by them the whole time. "..."

He had previously said he wanted to take Leslie as his student, but only out of gratitude or guilt. Now, for a moment, he felt that if he were truly going to take a student, Leslie would indeed be the best choice.

Hugo released Holm's wrist. "We will talk later."

Holm also shook off Bishop Hugo's sleeve. "There is no point in talking. Let's stop."

Hugo glared at him. "..."

Holm glared back.

Because Father Aris was outside, Hugo suppressed the urge to start cursing that welled up inside him.

Hugo opened the door and stepped out. What greeted his eyes was the scene of Father Aris surrounded by a group of children. The children looked up at him, their laughter clear, their clothes fluttering in the cold wind. And Aris leaned down to listen to them, his eyes full of patience and gentleness.

At that moment, Hugo suddenly thought of the Lord surrounded by the Holy Child – radiant, serene, carrying an indescribable sanctity and hope.

A long-lost comfort welled up in his heart, like a ray of sunlight shining into the eaves on a winter day, quietly settling on his heart.

However, before he could feel healed, Bishop Holm, exiting the office, bumped into his shoulder.

This man, now that his identity was exposed, was completely disregarding all propriety, was he?

Before he could withdraw his gaze and ask Father Aris the reason for his visit, a scream from Father Simeon rang out not far away.

"..."

Truly, as soon as one wave subsides, another rises!