Chapter 172 - 06: A Turbulent Night_2
"No," Darren IV waved his hand and said, "I can only guarantee that you won’t be exposed. That’s the most important thing, isn’t it? In other aspects, you should make some concessions. For instance, the church tax issue I just mentioned. You changed the church tax in the south to voluntary, change it back. This is a consensus among almost all clergy. The church is already running out of funds. No one will support you, not even me. If I forcibly support you after becoming the pope, I myself may be in danger. Do you understand what I mean?"
Gray remained silent, continuing to quietly watch Darren IV.
Darren IV walked cautiously to the window, pulled open the curtain to look at the street, and casually said, "I hope your response can be quicker. You seem to like this silent negotiation style, but actually, there isn’t much to think about in this matter, right? I don’t think my words are that difficult to understand. I can’t stay here for too long either. After all, I don’t want others to know I came to see you. Especially those who support me."
"Understood," Gray answered softly.
"Can you give me a reply now?" Darren IV asked.
"I can’t give you a reply now, I need to seriously consider it."
"What more do you need to consider? The conditions are already quite favorable, you can’t get a better deal from anyone else. Sending letters to the southern bishops will take time. This can’t wait until the vote to decide." Seeing Gray still standing motionless, Darren IV paused and then changed his tone, "Alright, I can give you time to consider, but you must give me a reply by tomorrow. Otherwise, even if we reach an agreement, it won’t matter."
Gray quietly watched the panicked Darren IV and softly said, "Okay, I will give you a reply by tomorrow."
"I am seventy-three years old. Missing this chance, I almost certainly won’t wait for the next one. In that case, my ambitions would be in vain. The sooner, the better for both of us," Darren IV bowed and, with his followers, turned to leave.
Gray was left alone in the room, sitting quietly, contemplating by the candlelight.
"Ambition... why does it sound so ridiculous?" The Black Cat hidden in the armor said helplessly, "Promising you won’t reveal your identity, promising to restore the original church tax to other clergy. He has probably promised everything he can... is there anything left of his ambition? Oh yes, there’s the chair, the papal chair. Besides that chair, what else is his? The unfortunate thing is from what he just said, other candidates seem to be the same. For such a church to have someone like Augustus III as pope, can I say it’s already a stroke of luck?"