Chapter 372: Scapegoat
Maybe he knew something, but after pulling blanks with the thick nun, I didn’t have much faith in prosecuting Lazarus.
He was a visitor to the Vatican, while the nun lived in it.
There could always be discrepancies and exceptions, but until then, Kitty and her group took a back seat in my mind.
After the Pope said his piece, starting the summit, which was to last until Sunday, he departed, and two groups were formed from those in the hall.
The first group was made up of the religious representatives and leaders who had come to the Vatican. They were led by a slim, red-faced bishop and guided out of the room, taken to a place where they could discuss more privately with the Pope.
I wasn’t sure if the Pope would really hang out with them, but I did feel a bit envious.
Priestess Hontas, Uman Sedrick, Pontious Agarthan, and several others filed out of the room, and when their group disappeared through the door, we their followers, were led out of the hall by a saintly-looking woman.
After the encounter with the thick nun, how I looked at the reverend females had undergone a transformation.
We were led by the weighty sister into a wide room with a large spherical table at its centre.
"While our leaders discuss, let us also talk amongst ourselves. We can never stop learning about the magnificence of the spirit."
All the way at the end of the room stood a man in black robes. While I could not tell his rank in the church, I was pretty sure he was ordained, his words painting him humble.
A few steps into the room, and I had to pause, my good thoughts about him whistling up in smoke as an intimidating energy pressed down all over my being.
With the priest’s actions, the gap that had already been put around me widened.
With Hontas gone, our group now had just two people, excluding me, Ninja Momma and a lanky, black-haired man with glasses.
I didn’t know where the man came from, but he was walking too close to Isolde not to be a fellow accomplice.
"Return to the hotel."
Some were alone, some in duos, others in trios. As the crowd moved to occupy the several seats at the table, they split into smaller groups.
I was just about to walk over to Ninja Momma and find a seat with them when the message resounded in my head, none the wiser of the communication that had just taken place.
The woman didn’t even look at me when she said it.
Leaving to go spy on Lazarus, other than Rebecca and a few who could be counted on one hand, none were sure of my allegiances.
I hadn’t thought much of my short episode with the Pope, but it seemed I had missed something, because not only had I been alienated afterwards, but even now, a priest I was meeting for the first time had made his dislike of me clear.
Anyone with the basic capability could feel his harrowing actions toward me, and I doubted they would want to join me in the receiving.
I had offended the Pope and attracted blaring attention to myself. Ninja Momma did not need that kind of attention on her team.
Immediately pausing in my stride under the subtle gaze of all, I turned and exited the room.
My head bowed and hands held together, I was an example of regret, of self-loathing. I acted the script finely until I stepped out of the room, then put my hands in my pockets and marched away...
It was later, close to evening, that the group returned.
Hontas had no words for me, and it was Ninja Momma who took me aside.
"Just before you entered, the Pope was jovial and telling a story about how he was inspired to love punctuality."
Both my brows raised—my way of telling the dark-haired woman that I didn’t believe her—but she kept her expression steady.
"That’s very unbelievable."
Isolde shrugged.
"Your arrival just at that time wiped the smile off his face and spoiled the mood.
It’s an established fact that the old man doesn’t like you. You should know the lengths people will go to suck up to another."
"You also sucked up to him," I pointed out.
"Yeah, it’s the trickle-down effect. Can’t have the priests and nuns bearing a grudge against us and hindering my movement in the Vatican.
You do remember our true purpose here, right?"
"Yeah," I drawled, bored and exhausted by the situation.
"So, what happens from here on? How do we deal with this problem?"
"For now, you’ll stay indoors.
Let the feelings in the air die while Hontas and I figure out the terrain."
"Okay."
I was relaxed on the couch, staring at the TV while I spoke with Ninja Momma. The woman, after observing me for some minutes, watching as I switched through channels carefreely, retired to her room.
My episode with the TV lasted for a while, most of it spent looking for a channel that spoke English.
After dinner, I retired to my room following Ninja Momma’s words—then later, I snuck out.
Before anyone thinks I was looking to do something mischievous, I just went out to get apples and fresh milk.
....
Unlike on Thursday, where the meetings were focused on introductions, the conferences held the following day each had an agenda.
By 10 a.m., Hontas, leading her group, left the hotel and headed for the Vatican.
One thing to be sure about for the remaining course of the summit was that everyone would be on time.
Punctuality was of the utmost importance, instilled in everyone’s heart after the Pope used me as a scapegoat.
"A billionaire being used as a scapegoat, how expensive."
One good thing about being unofficially banned from the Vatican was that, until further notice, I had the rest of my time in Rome to myself.
Thirty minutes later, I departed the hotel, heading for the Bella Italia, Ninja Momma’s words at the back of my head.