dognovel Chapter 360: Dead House Pros
Chapter 360: Dead House Pros
"Let Pros go fight the Kushans?"
Looking at the light snow falling outside the window, John held the letter from Theodore in his hand and talked to himself, with an undisguised surprise in his voice.
He couldn't understand why the King of France would choose a bishop who was not employed by the King's Office to be the commander of the holy war? Putting aside whether Pross's qualifications matched this important task, it was estimated that just letting Pross see the crocodiles and tigers of Kusha baring their teeth would scare him enough.
John thought for a moment and decided to tell Pross about it. As John got into the carriage, the driver whipped the horse, the wheel rolled forward, and passed through a field covered with white snow.
The carriage traveled through the snow, and the surrounding scenery was quiet and peaceful. The branches of the trees were covered with crystal ice beads, like pearls in winter. John's breath condensed into mist in the cold air. His eyes followed the carriage forward, gradually moving away from the solid walls of the Earl's Castle and heading towards the small town of Pros outside the city.
With the expansion of the second line of defense, the castle where Pros lived also underwent a radical change. The original space was no longer enough to accommodate the new needs, so the size of the main residence was constantly expanding. Outside the castle, a new wall was being built, which surrounded the small town and tightly surrounded the surrounding farmhouses and Pros's manor.
The carriage quickly passed through the city wall that was still under construction and stopped in front of the gate of Pros Castle. John got out of the carriage, and the footsteps of him and the soldiers accompanying him echoed in the empty streets.
At this time, a sergeant and a group of soldiers hurriedly came to him. The sergeant knelt on one knee and gave a standard military salute. John looked away from the sergeant and asked:
"Where is Bishop Pros now?"
The sergeant straightened up and answered:
"Lord John, Bishop Pros should be resting in the manor at this moment."
John nodded and signaled the sergeant to lead the way. Soon, the group arrived at the gate of the manor. The sergeant knocked on the door. There was a slight noise from inside the door, and then the door slowly opened. A servant stood at the door, and his eyes flashed with surprise when he saw the crowd outside the door.
"What happened?"
The servant asked.
"Lord John wants to see Bishop Pross."
The sergeant answered succinctly.
As the two were talking, John noticed that there was a hint of evasion in the servant's eyes, as if he was deliberately hiding something.
"No."
The servant finally spoke, but when he saw that John was looking at him, he immediately looked away.
John frowned slightly, noticing something strange in the servant's behavior. He stepped forward and stared at the servant sharply:
"Not here? Then where is he?"
The servant's face changed, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, but he tried to keep his voice calm:
"My Lord, Bishop Pross has gone for a walk outside."
John's brows were furrowed, and his eyes revealed a barely perceptible chill. His voice was low and firm, as if carrying an unquestionable majesty:
"Your answer disappoints me. Did Pross go for a walk outside? It's snowing heavily. How could he go out on such a day?"
Just as the servant said that Pros was out for a walk, John suddenly recalled that Pros once complained to him:
"It is pure torture to go outside on a snowy day instead of staying by a warm fire."
As these words echoed in John's mind, he realized that Bishop Pross's behavior was unusual.
He turned to the servant, a warning in his eyes:
"I'll ask you again, where did Pros go? If you don't tell the truth, you'll have to work in the mines for a few months."
There was an unquestionable majesty in John's words, and his tone made the servant shudder.
The servant didn't dare to hide it anymore. He raised his head and pointed to a bare tree in the manor, on which there was a hidden cabin.
"Sir, Lord Pros is in the hut in the tree, and he asked me not to tell you."
John stood under the tree, his eyes swept across the small wooden house, and he couldn't help muttering to himself:
"Pros must have read too many fantasy books. Maybe he wants to experience the life of a wood elf."
Seeing no one responding, John shouted:
"Pros, get down from that cabin quickly, don't make me wait for you here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Pros reluctantly poked his head out of the wooden house in the tree, with a hint of embarrassment and helplessness on his face. He began to slowly descend the ladder, and each step seemed a little clumsy, as if he was not used to such movements.
Finally, Pros stepped on solid ground. He straightened his clothes and looked a little embarrassed. John walked up to him and stared at him sharply:
"Poros, why are you hiding on the cabin?"
Pros smiled bitterly, with a hint of complaint in his voice:
"I am trying to avoid the messenger from the French King's Office. An expedition to Kusha is simply impossible for me. I... I don't understand why I have to take on such an unfortunate task."
At this point, Pross added:
"Even if I die, I want to die at home. I can't die in a strange place where the climate and environment are not suitable for me. Besides, I want to leave my body intact..."
"Alright, alright."
John waved his hand, thinking silently in his heart, according to the current time, the Emperor of Kusha should have not yet transformed into an apostle, and was leading his troops to fight among various tribes. And in the end, the Emperor of Kusha would definitely unify the entire Kusha. Pros joined the holy war at this time, just like joining the national army in 49, catching up with the tail end of history.
He thought that maybe he could get Pros to shirk this difficult task. John didn't know how the French King's Office would react. If they accused Pros of disobedience and even excommunicated him, then Pros's religious life would end and all his hopes would be gone.
But on the other hand, if Pros followed the King of France's wishes, he knew very well that Pros's thin arms and legs would probably make him suffer from the unfamiliar climate or die from an unknown disease.
At this moment, John suddenly remembered that the King of France had a very good impression of him when he came before. If he visited him again, the King of France might consider changing the candidate after learning about the situation.
"It's a good opportunity to go and see how the mercenary group led by Karion is doing in the Holy City."
John thought so and decided in his heart that after arriving in the Holy City, he would spend some time getting to know some of the local dignitaries so that it would be easier for the mercenary group and the Chamber of Commerce to survive in the already fiercely competitive Holy City.