Chapter 808: Chapter 716: The Interests of the Holy See

Pope Pius VI clutched the armrest of his chair tightly, suppressing his anger as he said, “Are you telling me they’ve already fired bullets at the Holy See, and I must just sit by and tolerate it?”

Chiaramonti bowed his head and said, “Your Holiness, Austria is very important to the Holy See… Moreover, we have not yet confirmed that the assassin was sent by the Emperor of Sanctum.”

“Then who else could it be?” Pope Pius VI ground his teeth and said, “Apart from him, who else would dare to do such a thing? And just after I refused his request to publicly clarify the matter of the Crusaders, the assassin came! Where in the world would you find such a coincidence?”

Chiaramonti carefully chose his words and continued, “Your Holiness, becoming hostile towards Austria will bring a lot of trouble. It could even lead to a schism within the Holy See.”

Upon hearing this, the fire in Pope Pius VI’s eyes instantly extinguished by more than half.

He was well aware that Muzareli held considerable power within the Holy See, not only managing a third of the Holy See’s finances but also having nearly 30 Cardinals as part of his faction–there were only 70 Cardinals in the Vatican in total.

Now, with Muzareli receiving support from Austria, his prestige was at its zenith.

If he were to clash with Austria, Franz II would likely support Muzareli in splitting the Holy See!

Indeed, Austria truly had the strength for this. Among the Catholic nations of Europe, France had already largely dissociated from the Holy See. Spain, while loyal, couldn’t even look after its own affairs. Liege, Cologne, including the recently aligned Poland, were all too weak.

Therefore, the influence of Austria on the Roman Vatican was absolutely not to be underestimated.

Pope Pius VI took a deep breath and looked towards Chiaramonti, “Then, what is your opinion?”

“This incident is actually an opportunity.” Chiaramonti said, “For you–oh no, for the Holy See–to eliminate the destabilizing factor of Archbishop Muzareli is the truly important matter.

“As long as you assert that Austria is the mastermind behind the scenes, the nations of Europe, out of sympathy and respect for you, will condemn Austria or at most remain silent.

“Under this pressure, Franz II will have no choice but to forgo Muzareli and reach a compromise with you.”

Pope Pius VI’s eyes lit up with the thought; indeed, if he could topple Muzareli, forgiving the Emperor of Sanctum was an acceptable concession.

Chiaramonti continued, “Of course, while being firm with Austria, we must also offer them certain benefits.

“What Franz II cares about most are the rumors concerning the Crusaders.

“This time Muzareli has dispelled these rumors in the name of the Holy See, and we need not refute them. Repeated changes in stance will only damage the prestige of the Holy See.

“Afterward, you only need to declare that Muzareli never had your authorization, and the resentment of the believers in Eastern Europe will not affect the Holy See. At the same time, the Austrians will be satisfied.”

Pope Pius VI smiled and said, “It seems that we should indeed be thankful to Archbishop Muzareli.”

He then looked at Chiaramonti again, “After the origin of the assassin is confirmed, you will represent me in a trip to Vienna.”

“It would be my pleasure to serve you, Your Holiness.”

…

Two days after Pope Pius VI was assassinated.

Paris.

Palace of Versailles.

Lamarck pulled the needle from Camellia’s arm, looked up at her, and asked, “Miss Delvaux, how do you feel now?”

“I feel like I can jump around like the deer in the garden,” the Maid said with a slight curtsey, “Thank you for taking care of me during this period. Without you, I could not have recovered so quickly.”

After nearly ten days of treatment with penicillin and glucose, her lung infection was essentially cured. Apart from her pretty face being slightly thinner, there were no other signs of serious illness.

Dr. Lamarck glanced at the empty glass bottle on the table and smiled, “I didn’t do much. It’s all thanks to the Crown Prince’s invention of antibiotics, and of course, the miraculous syringe.”

He leaned in a bit closer and said in a low voice, “That’s a precious remedy worth nearly 30,000 francs per injection. Now there’s less than 2 grams left in all of France.”

Camellia was momentarily taken aback.

She remembered getting a total of seven injections, which meant, to treat her, the Crown Prince had used 210,000 francs worth of medicine!

A warm surge filled her heart and her eyes reddened in an instant. She turned to Joseph, who was there for a visit, and curtsied deeply, “Your Highness, I don’t know how to thank you for using such precious medicine on me… You are the kindest person to me in this world, apart from my grandmother…”

Joseph, seeing that the girl was about to cry, quickly said with a smile, “Dr. Lamarck is exaggerating, you shouldn’t worry about it. In fact, before you, there were quite a few rabbits that received this medicine.”

Camellia’s face still bore a serious expression, “Your Highness, you saved my life. How can I possibly repay you…

“Oh, right, as for the cost of the medicine, I should repay you first.”

Although this heiress often spent lavishly, she still had a fortune of 280,000 francs to her name, and could indeed afford the cost of penicillin.

Joseph smiled and waved his hand, “The price of the medicine is not calculated the way Dr. Lamarck mentioned. But if you really wish to offer it, consider it as investing in the Paris Pharmaceutical Factory.”

He suddenly remembered something else, “Ah, and the Herrio family has compensated you with 300,000 francs for this incident.”

Eman immediately took several bank drafts out of a wooden box and handed them over.

“This much?”

Camellia was somewhat surprised.

She really hadn’t done anything to earn this astonishing wealth–it was compensation obtained on her behalf by the Crown Prince. Last time it was Baron Walter, and this time Count Herrio.

She then remembered that yesterday, Miss Perna had told her she had been appointed as the head of the newly established Royal Military Medical University and had to attend to school matters soon, asking her to take good care of the Crown Prince.

She truly envied Miss Perna, who as a woman, could become the respected head of a university. Camellia’s thoughts flitted past as she looked up at Joseph, “Your Highness, I would like to donate this money to the Royal Military Medical University. It’s to thank Miss Perna for taking care of me.”

Joseph was somewhat moved; this girl really knew how to show gratitude, donating 300,000 francs without hesitation.

Wait a minute, hadn’t she mentioned wanting to repay him earlier…

Just then, Eman knocked on the door and said, “Your Highness, Mr. Fouche has arrived. He says there is something very important.”

Joseph instructed the Maid to rest well and quickly went to the drawing-room.

Upon seeing the Crown Prince enter, Fouche touched his chest in salute and then handed over an urgent dispatch with seriousness, “Your Highness, the Pope was subjected to an assassination attempt the day before yesterday.”

“Oh?” Joseph opened the dispatch and slightly furrowed his brows, “How is the Pope? Who is the assailant?”

Fouche answered, “The Pope dodged the bullet and was unharmed. The assailant is a young military officer named Schmitz, said to be Austrian.”

Yes, after Sharp’s signal machine was tested, Joseph immediately allocated funds for the large-scale construction of signal towers. After two months of building, dozens of signal towers from Paris to Lyon were completed and began transmitting information.

That’s why news from Rome, nearly a thousand kilometers away, could reach Paris within just two short days.