Chapter 20: New Members of the Papal Guard
Besançon sputtered on, heaping one accusation after another on the Portias. Rafael listened attentively with a smile, nodding slightly in agreement from time to time, or responding with a few casual remarks, causing Besançon to unknowingly reveal much more than he had originally intended.
After he left Rafael, his hot head cooled down, and he realized that he might have said a little too much.
It was really strange. Rafael clearly didn’t express his attitude or say anything useful from beginning to end. Logically speaking, such an unequal conversation would be difficult to continue. However, Besancon didn’t feel that he was being perfunctory. After leaving, he even felt that he had even more to say.
… It should be fine, Besançon hesitated, recalling that although he had said a lot of things, they were mostly boring idle chatter or gossip – his wife was fond of socializing and liked to compare herself to the wives of other lords, so he was forced to learn a lot about the other lords’ private affairs.
He just didn’t expect that His Holiness the Pope, who looked so dignified, would also enjoy listening to this kind of trivial gossip. It didn’t really match his appearance.
Rafael watched Besançon leave with a smile. The foolish lord had not realized that he had been fooled by the Pope, and had even forgotten the original purpose of his visit.
Rafael didn’t want to get involved in the undercurrents of conflict between Portia and the lords at this point in time. Let them think he was just a puppet pope. He had no power or manpower in his hands now, and rather than rushing into the struggle and ending up in defeat, it was better to watch from the sidelines and accumulate strength at the same time – to reclaim the authority that rightfully belonged to him.
Thinking about this, Rafael’s brow furrowed involuntarily again. In the end, he just had no one he could use.
He used to believe that sincerity and kindness would be rewarded in kind, but the facts proved that it was all just in his imagination. In Florence, this huge and luxurious world of fame and fortune, only tangible benefits and interests can win you allies.