I changed the world.

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To perfect his plan, he currently needs someone knowledgeable about the Western Continent, someone who can serve as both executor and strategist. He had previously considered using the Book of Wishes, but now he thinks René Delvoir might be a good candidate.

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承和三十七年西历2016年4月1日10:32格兰德王家学院圣安德罗教堂

According to the doctor's report, Viscount René Delvaux died of multiple organ failure due to excessive old age, or, in Eastern terms, "died of old age."

Viscount René Delvaux had no children, so according to his will, half of his estate was inherited by the family fund and the other half was donated to the Royal Grand College. The Royal Grand College was also responsible for the care of Viscount René Delvaux's descendants.

The coffin was placed in the Sant'Andre Church of the college, a church with more than two hundred years of history, where Mr. Delvo often prayed.

The public viewing began at 9 a.m. Due to Viscount René Delvaux's extensive social influence, a large number of guests from various sectors attended, many of whom had traveled long distances. The Academy allocated the entire day for the viewing, allowing guests from around the world ample time to remember and exchange thoughts. The actual burial will take place tomorrow morning.

White flowers surrounded Viscount René Delvaux's coffin, and wreaths were affixed to the walls around the church.

The academy has made quite thorough preparations, and if any guests are hungry, they can go to the side restaurant to get their own food.

By this time, the church had already gathered quite a few guests, including representatives from the college and some relatives of the Delvo family. Many people showed polite, somber expressions, but no one cried. It was clear that the atmosphere of grief was not strong. After all, in the eyes of many people, the death of a 90-year-old man was not such an unacceptable thing.

After offering a moment of silence and laying flowers before the coffin, some people did not leave immediately, but instead sat quietly with acquaintances in the back row of the church, chatting amongst themselves.

Among the attendees today are many social celebrities, which has made this place, to some extent, a unique social occasion.

Father Pierre Simon had just entered the church; he had just returned from the Kingdom of Zhao.

After experiencing that fantastical event at the Zhebi Peak of Danding Mountain in Zhaoguo, although he truthfully reported to Bishop Wells afterwards and stated that he really did not know more details, Bergopelli's side still quickly sent a message asking him to return ahead of schedule.

As for why he came here now, it's because this is his alma mater. After graduating from the church school, he came to study at the Royal Academy of Arts in Grand, where he received a lot of care from Viscount René Delvoir.

Despite the controversies surrounding him, Father Simon viewed him as a knowledgeable and respectable old man with profound insights into many issues concerning religion and modern society. Some of his views even continue to influence Father Simon's perspective today.

Therefore, on his way back to the City of the Prophet, he chose to come here to see the old man one last time before transferring to Bergopelli.

Upon entering the church, he immediately saw several familiar faces, all of whom were his former teachers from the Faculty of Arts.

"Professor Andrei, hello, please accept my condolences..."

"Pierre, I didn't expect you to come. Alas... the Sir passed away peacefully, he just fell asleep..."

An elderly man with gray hair walked up to Father Simon, hugged him, sighed, and began to recount what had happened that night…

Professor André was a student of Viscount René Delvaux and later became Father Simon's teacher.

After exchanging a few words, Father Simon turned his attention to another lady.

"Mrs. Megan, it's so good to see you. You are always so beautiful."

The middle-aged woman glanced at the church emblem on Father Simon's collar and smiled, "Pierre, you always know how to make people happy. I heard you're serving the church now, that's wonderful, may the Lord bless you."

"Thank you for your blessing. I often think back to the time I listened to your lectures..."

Father Simon was exchanging pleasantries with the school's teachers and old friends one by one when a light drizzle suddenly began to fall.

The rain was light, but it brought with it a light mist, giving the scenery around the church a hazy feel.

At this moment, Father Simon finished his pleasantries with acquaintances and, holding a bouquet of flowers, walked toward the coffin of Viscount René Delvaux.

Standing before the coffin, gazing at the pale face, Father Simon was reminded once again of his time at the academy. He couldn't help but sigh, his face filled with sorrow.

He placed the flowers on the coffin, bowed respectfully three times, took a deep breath, and turned to walk back...

At that very moment, the bronze crown that always hung around his neck suddenly began to emit a distinct burning sensation. Since the last incident, the bronze crown pendant had a noticeable scratch, which Father Simon found extremely regrettable, and he didn't know whether it was actually broken.

The strange sight of the pendant made Father Simon seem to sense something instantly, and he subconsciously looked towards the direction of the church door.

In the drizzle, two figures dressed in black suits walked step by step toward the house. They did not use umbrellas or quicken their pace, but walked steadily from a distance to the church entrance.

An elderly man and a young man, dressed as gentlemen, walked slowly but quickly into the church in just a few breaths. At the same time, Father Simon keenly noticed that although they had come from the rain, there was not a single drop of water on them.

After entering the room, the elderly gentleman took off his hat and glanced at Father Simon.

The latter's body trembled inexplicably; his eyes were so deep, as if they contained the entire starry sky.

However, their gazes met briefly before parting, and then the two gentlemen walked to the coffin with the same steps as before, quietly looking at Viscount René Delvoir in the coffin with their hats in hand.

Father Simon was so curious that he stopped and quietly stepped back a few paces, pretending to admire the coffin while carefully observing the two men from the side.

"Professor, I didn't expect this to happen. If only we had come sooner..."

“I have witnessed his mercy, followed his ways, heeded his teachings, and kept his secrets until the end of my life…”

The old man did not answer, but simply uttered a sentence softly. Strangely, although the voice was soft, Father Simon, who was not far away, could hear it clearly.

“I once taught you that caution is the greatest courage.” After a moment of silence, the old man turned to look at the young man beside him: “You must keep him in mind.”

The young man nodded, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly spoke up: "Mentor, do you think... there's something wrong with Viscount Delvo's death?"

"But... I don't seem to sense any trace of power?"

The old man gazed at the body in the coffin: "There are too many ways to conceal the traces of power, but... it's truly... unbelievable that a knight could die so silently."

The old man didn't speak loudly, but his words were clearly audible to those around him. Rather than expressing doubt, his tone was unusually profound and serious.

"I hope I'm wrong!"

The old man said no more; he simply stared silently at the coffin.

After a long while, the old man bowed slightly to the body in the coffin again: "Old friend, your duty is over. May you rest in peace..." As he spoke, he made a crown gesture for the Holy Revelation Church in front of his chest.

The young man next to him did the same thing.

PS: I saw a reader asking in a post why Grand, despite being a republic, still has royal academies and nobles. First of all, the existence of royal academies is unrelated to whether it's a republic or not. Many European countries still have royal academies or royal colleges, usually because these academies were originally established by the king; it's just a name.

In this article, although Grand is nominally now a republic, the king and nobles still exist, and the republic recognizes their titles as valid.

The history of Grande in this article is marked by a major revolution in modern history. The Constituent Assembly attempted to abolish the king and hereditary noble titles, confiscate church property, and declare that the Church of Grande would be separated from papal rule and placed under state administration, thus achieving the separation of church and state.

As a result, this move was immediately condemned by almost all the monarchies in the Western Continent at the time, with some even resorting to military intervention. At the same time, powerful noble forces within the country were also eager to act. Under strong internal and external pressure, the Constituent Assembly eventually compromised with King Philip III, who had fled to the border between Grande and Holstein. After repeated negotiations, the current political system of Grande was established.

The current Grande is essentially a figurehead republic, meaning the monarch exists in name only but has no real administrative power beyond ceremonial rights. The highest authority is the parliament, with nobles holding permanent seats, while other members are elected by the citizens.

The government was formed by parliament, and a new government could only be established if it was supported by two-thirds of the members of parliament. This meant that elected members of parliament had to make some compromises with the nobility in order to form a government.

The Church, however, became the biggest victim, and Grande successfully achieved the separation of church and state. Compared to the constitutional monarchy of Britain in our world, the difference lies in the fact that the king's power is less. The British king actually has considerable power, but he generally doesn't use it.

To some extent, this was a transitional stage between monarchy and the republic we know today. Looking at modern history, we see many examples of this system; after all, no system is established overnight. The Kang-Liang Reforms ultimately hoped to achieve a similar system of nominal monarchy and republic. (Payment is only charged for posts over 1000 words. I had calculated it carefully, but I accidentally posted a duplicate. I've now added some chapters. The PS section is free.)

Chapter 634 Is Viscount Delvoure a knight?

However, as a priest, Father Simon noticed that their gestures seemed different from the usual six clockwise taps to form a crown; their gestures appeared to be only four taps…

Was it because you ordered too fast?

Because there were so many unusual things about the two men's behavior, Father Simon wasn't sure if he was overthinking it. In fact, since this etiquette is very common in Western life, not everyone does it perfectly. For example, some people just draw a simple circle on their chest and consider it done; you can't tell at all whether they actually did it or not...

The two stood in front of the coffin for a while longer.

"Let's go."

After saying something to the young man, the old man turned around and walked towards the door first, with the young man hurriedly following.

"You two, please stay!"

Father Simon, who had been watching them closely, quickly spoke up to persuade them to stay.

"Gentlemen, you two look unfamiliar, and I'd like to introduce myself. May I ask who you are...?"

The old man paused slightly, turned to look at Simon, and the young man beside him also stopped.

"We? We're just old acquaintances of Viscount Delvo!"

The old man suddenly revealed a mysterious, faint smile: "Mr. Pierre, good luck..."

After saying this, the two turned around and stepped back into the rain.

Do they know themselves?

Father Simon was startled and instinctively wanted to call out again, but before he could speak, he found that the two figures could no longer be seen in the misty rain.

Father Simon stared blankly at the rain, unsure what to do. Just then, a voice came from behind him: "Pierre, what are you looking at?"

Turning around, Father Simon saw that it was his teacher, Professor Andre. Perhaps because his posture was rather strange, Professor Andre came up to ask him something.

"Oh, Professor... I was just observing; those two gentlemen were quite mysterious..."

"Two gentlemen? Which two?" Unexpectedly, after Father Simon spoke, Professor Andre showed a puzzled expression.

“You mean…you mean those two gentlemen in black just now?” Father Simon was taken aback, then quickly added, “Just now, an older gentleman and a younger gentleman…I even spoke with them for a few words.”

Andrei frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head somewhat blankly: "I didn't notice anyone coming in just now. Weren't you the only one standing in front of the coffin the whole time?"

Father Simon was somewhat surprised upon hearing this and wanted to describe the two men's appearances to Professor Andrei to help him remember, but he froze as soon as he opened his mouth. He suddenly realized that he couldn't actually remember their faces either; aside from what appeared to be an old man and a young man, he couldn't recall anything else…

"Alright, alright, maybe I wasn't paying attention..." Professor Andrei saw Father Simon's momentary stammer and patted him on the shoulder understandingly, finally adding, "Jet lag from the layover might make you feel a bit tired. I sometimes feel that way too. I suggest you get a good night's sleep."

Father Simon wanted to tell the professor that he was perfectly fine, but all his words ultimately boiled down to one sentence: "Okay, Professor, thank you for your advice..."

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Outside the Church of San Andrew, the rain was pouring down, and some hurried pedestrians were running toward the building, shielding their heads with books or clothing.

Zhang Jing stood in the rain, completely ignoring the torrential downpour. He could even feel his power rising with the surrounding moisture, extending further and further, as if this entire world had become his domain for a moment…

This was the power of the Fish-Dragon Transformation. As Zhang Jing sensed the subtle flow of power amidst the swirling mist, he turned to Zhang Taihe beside him and said with a smile, "Thank you for your help, teacher, this time."

Zhang Jing's original purpose in coming here was simply to see Viscount René Delvoir. However, when he discovered that Father Simon and Viscount Delvoir actually had some kind of teacher-student relationship, he decided to add some extra details.