The renovation of Hvorof Cathedral was proceeding in full swing. Bishop Olov, as usual, dedicated one day each week to supervise the progress at the construction site.
When Art and the others arrived at Hvorof Cathedral, Bishop Olov was in the temporary chapel next to the construction site, discussing with several Master Craftsmen how to accelerate the project and shorten the construction period.
Art, accompanied by Ron and Kazak, arrived at the small chapel next to the Hvorof Cathedral construction site from Selanke Fu Monastery.
Seeing a young religious guard standing at the entrance of the small chapel, clad in gleaming chainmail, a pure white Holy Cross surcoat and cape, and holding a knight's sword, Art knew he had found the right place. He turned and handed the reins to Ron, instructing him and Kazak to wait, and then walked towards the entrance.
The religious guard standing at the entrance of the small chapel recognized Art and said with a smile, "Art, you've come to see the Bishop again, haven't you?"
Art stepped forward, bowed to the religious guard, and replied, "Sir William, God bless you. Yes, I've come to see the Bishop, and I'll have to trouble you to announce me again."
This young man named William was Bishop Olov's personal guard. At just twenty-one years old, he had already been knighted as a religious knight. Sir William had dealt with Art half a year ago and knew of Art's connection to Bishop Olov, so he was quite polite to Art. "Art, please wait for a moment. The Bishop is currently speaking with the Master Craftsmen."
"Alright, thank you for the heads-up." Art stood patiently beside William, waiting.
Seeing that Art was somewhat bored waiting alone, William smiled and said, "Art, you did a great job with the matter in Wincheston last time. Even the Bishop praised you for not fearing tyranny and daring to fight evil."
Art, wanting to get some information from William, said, "The matter at Winston Manor was thanks to the Bishop's help in getting me through the danger, otherwise I couldn't have withstood the wrath of the Lord Deputy of the Court. So, I came this time specifically to thank the Bishop in person for his holy light's blessing."
William slightly relaxed his tensed posture and said, "Yes, upon receiving your urgent letter, the Bishop immediately rushed to the Court and personally sought out the Minister of Public Security to intercede for you."
Art was deeply moved by Bishop Olov's timely help and said with gratitude, "May the almighty God bless our great Bishop." As he spoke, he made the sign of the cross over his chest.
"Sir William, I also wanted to ask you something." Art whispered to William, then turned and looked around to ensure no one was nearby before discreetly slipping a few small silver coins into William's pocket.
William feigned a refusal for a moment before taking the silver coins in his hand and whispered, "Tell me."
"Last year, when I came to Lucerne, I heard that the Bishop would be promoted from Assistant Bishop to Diocese Bishop. Is that true?"
"Yes, the Bishop is vying for the position of Lucerne Diocese Bishop."
William looked left and right, then leaned in close to Art's ear and whispered, "But now the Bishop has encountered some trouble…"
Art learned from William that as the renovation of Hvorof Cathedral progressed, Bishop Olov faced increasing difficulties, primarily a shortage of project funds. If he couldn't complete the cathedral's renovation before the current Lucerne Bishop, De Ruohan, was promoted to Archbishop, he wouldn't have enough glorious achievements to compete for the vacant Lucerne Diocese Bishop position. Therefore, Bishop Olov planned to sell some of Selanke Fu Monastery's properties and quarries to wealthy merchants and nobles, and he had also repeatedly mobilized followers to donate and contribute to the great holy undertaking of renovating Hvorof Cathedral.
On the other hand, Bishop Olov had already joined the faction of the Court Minister of Public Security, and as a condition, the Minister of Public Security was to help Bishop Olov secure the position of Lucerne Diocese Bishop. In return, Bishop Olov was to help the Minister of Public Security contend with the Lord Deputy of the Court until the Minister of Public Security replaced the Lord Deputy of the Court…
Art was very fortunate. His theoretical superior and his "father's" old friend were allies in the same faction. As long as the relationship between Bishop Olov and the Minister of Public Security remained unchanged, Art, as a temporarily appointed Patrol Officer, would always be more secure in his position.
As their whispered conversation at the door was nearing its end, several Master Craftsmen emerged from the small chapel. Seeing that the guests in the chapel had left, William gestured for Art to wait, then turned and went in to announce him. Art returned to Ron's side, took a delicate wooden box from the saddle, opened it to look inside, and then instructed Ron, "Ron, go get that porcelain."
Ron saw that Art wanted to increase the value of the gift and asked, "Master, it's already valuable enough, do you still want to add more?"
"Don't worry about it, just go get it."
Ron returned to his horse and carefully took a ceramic vase, wrapped in layers of linen, from a small wooden box. He gently unwrapped the cloth and placed it into the exquisite wooden box in Art's hand.
Art held the wooden box and returned to the entrance to await Bishop Olov's summons.
Soon after, William came out to summon Art, and Art followed William into the chapel.
Bishop Olov was dressed in the same attire as half a year ago, but his kind yet more haggard face showed that he had endured much hardship in the past six months.
Art cradled the box against his waist with his left arm, stepped forward briskly, and knelt on one knee. Bishop Olov extended his right hand, allowing Art to kiss his ring of authority, then gently helped Art up and said, "May God bless you. My child, shouldn't you be patrolling the border in Tinietz, the Southern Border, maintaining public order? Why have you come to me?"
Art, with his head slightly bowed, maintained a humble posture and replied, "Bishop, I came to Lucerne specifically to visit you. First, to report my situation over the past six months, and second, to thank you for your care."
Bishop Olov moved aside, gesturing for Art to sit down and speak.
Art sat upright on the prayer bench in front of Bishop Olov, holding the wooden box.
The Bishop subtly glanced at the wooden box in Art's hand and asked, "Have you been well these past six months? Your last letter didn't have time to mention other things. Tell me about them now."
Art briefly recounted to Bishop Olov his experiences since leaving Lucerne to take up his post as Court Southern Border Patrol Officer, including multiple encounters with mountain bandits and marauders, forming a Patrol Team, the skirmish at Wincheston Manor, and the recapture of Ars堡.
Bishop Olov listened with great astonishment and said, "May God bless you. Child, I thought then that you merely wanted a proper title and to do some small things in Tinietz to slowly rise again. I didn't expect that in just half a year, you would have experienced so many life-and-death matters. It seems you have more courage than your father. I believe you can redeem your family's honor."
"Your assistance to Antaias in retaking Ars堡 this time could also be considered a merit for recapturing lost territory. However, since Antaias doesn't want the Court to know that Ars堡 was once captured, you can only report it as resisting mountain bandits and brigands for now. But I will try to get you some military merits from the Minister of Public Security."
Art stood up, bowed to Bishop Olov in gratitude, then presented the wooden box in his hands to Bishop Olov, sincerely saying, "Bishop, I am naturally dull-witted and of humble status. It is only with your help that I was able to obtain this position of Patrol Officer. Although it is still a civilian official position, it has already allowed me to take the first step on the path to restoring my family's honor. Moreover, you generously rescued me during the Wincheston Manor incident, saving me from the retaliation of wicked people. I don't know how to express my gratitude and respect to you, so I can only offer a small contribution to your sacred work of renovating Hvorof Cathedral."
With that, he gently opened the wooden box, revealing an ivory-gilt silver-chained Holy Cross and an exquisite ceramic small vase. The Holy Cross was a religious relic, difficult to appraise, but being made of ivory and gold-plated, its value was certainly considerable. As for the exquisite ceramic vase, after appraisal by porcelain and jewelry merchants in Lucerne, it was believed to have come from the Eastern porcelain kingdom via Asian merchants, valued at a minimum of 7,500 fenny. If sold to royalty, nobles, or wealthy merchants who enjoyed collecting porcelain, it could perhaps fetch tens of thousands of fenny. Art was astonished when he heard the price of Eastern porcelain. If not for geographical and transportation constraints, he would have wanted to leave immediately and travel to the distant East to trade porcelain.
Returning to reality, although Bishop Olov was a principled saint, he was by no means a pedant. He knew that Art must have obtained many good things from Wincheston Manor and Ars堡, but Art's sudden presentation of such a valuable gift still somewhat surprised Bishop Olov.
"Child, I helped you entirely out of consideration for my old friendship with your father, so you truly don't need to do this." Bishop Olov looked into Art's eyes, speaking very sincerely.
"Bishop, please do not refuse the sincerity of a devout believer towards God. You are renovating Hvorof Cathedral for God, and as God's devout and humble servant, this is one of the few things I can do, and I also hope that God's light will continue to illuminate my life…"
Art spoke very subtly. He was offering a small contribution to Bishop Olov's promotion to Diocese Bishop, and at the same time, he hoped that Bishop Olov would continue to provide care in the future…
Bishop Olov finally accepted Art's generous gift.
Art's efforts concerning Bishop Olov immediately paid off. When Bishop Olov learned that Art intended to engage in commercial trade between Burgundy County and Provence to earn money when the time was right, he immediately stated that he would give Art a banner to procure religious goods for Hvorof Cathedral and Selanke Fu Monastery. This way, Art's goods would be exempt from commercial taxes in many places and would be less susceptible to extortion by local lords and guilds. However, the Bishop also told Art that North-South trade was not as easy as it seemed; the waters were deep and murky…
Of course, Art also hinted that once he made money in the future, he would let Bishop Olov have a share, but Olov apparently had no intention of sharing Art's bread…
During his conversation with Bishop Olov, Art also received another piece of good news—the Court Minister of Public Security had a good impression of Art, who had only been in his post for half a year. This was because the Minister of Public Security had appointed a total of four Southern Border Patrol Officers, but so far, only Art had truly formed an elite Patrol Team and begun to diligently fulfill his duties. Therefore, the Minister of Public Security had begun to consider recommending to the Court Prime Minister and the Marquis to provide Art's Patrol Team with separate provisions and military funds, and also intended to officially appoint Art as the Southern Border Patrol Officer of Burgundy County, no longer a temporary position. If his merit at Ars堡 this time could attract sufficient attention from the Court, the Minister of Public Security's idea would likely materialize very soon.
Art and Bishop Olov conversed in the small chapel for most of the morning, until the church's noon bell rang, at which point Bishop Olov signaled for Art to depart.