Chapter 16: Doctor Polly
No matter how much Redrick gritted his teeth, Rafael’s life continued to move on.
Julius would come by every day at a set time to eat with him. Of course, sometimes there would be other important guests joining their meals. This kind of dining was more like a social event, and filling his stomach was the last thing on his mind.
Rafael had long been accustomed to such an arrangement. His days were divided into segments of varying lengths, each precisely allocated to different activities, from regular church prayers and blessings to papal sermons, to receiving visitors, to social dining, to handling paperwork, and adjusting the following day’s schedule…
Every night before bed, Julius would bring over the next day’s itinerary and read it aloud to Rafael. Rafael paid partial attention and frowned when he heard a certain item: “…Grand Prayer? It seems like we have a lot of blessings scheduled lately.”
Julius nodded, “As the newly appointed pope, you need to show yourself to the public more often to cultivate a positive image and make them like you more—you’re naturally good at that.”
This unnecessary remark made Rafael glance at him sharply, and his eyes clearly revealed a different meaning.
He had never expected Julius to give him such an assessment: ‘good at making people like him’? Rafael almost laughed. In all his years, from his previous life to this one, he had never expected to receive such a compliment.
Even when he was trying his best to disguise himself, even when he was on the verge of having his mask become a part of his face, he didn’t believe he was particularly likable.
He was born into a lowly family, with a physical disability, and a cold heart. He had relied on his relatively attractive appearance to navigate the social scene, using the social skills he had learned to get along with everyone, and imitated Julius’s smile and demeanour. After pretending for a long time, he had almost convinced himself that he was just like everyone else.