Guild Meeting #2 (3)
Catacombes.
Even if the church shuns me, my faith will not change.
It was not that the usurers who were persecuted by the church in the past did not believe in God.
Rather, the majority of them wanted to cultivate their faith in order not to go to hell, and the place built for this purpose was the Catacombes Church, which became the origin of the Lyon Guild.
In fact, this place, which could be seen as a small church, had a structure similar to a chapel, and although they now visit the Lyon Cathedral, in the past, they could not openly go to the church, so they gathered here every week to pray to God and hold meetings among guild members for the development of the guild.
That was the starting point of the Catacombes Guild Meeting.
‘This is my first time in the guild conference hall. Is this the Catacombes I've only heard about?’
The conference hall was similar in form to a general chapel.
There was a pulpit at the front where the Mass and guild member speeches took place, and behind it were church chairs arranged in a row for the congregation and guild members to sit.
Rockefeller, who entered the conference hall, followed Carter and sat down in an appropriate place, and he could see the guild members around him whispering about him.
‘It seems they are aware of me.’
Not long after Rockefeller sat down,
The guild members who entered the conference hall also began to sit down in a noisy atmosphere.
They were subtly paying attention to Rockefeller, the subject of the rumors, and kept talking to each other in low voices.
“That's the guy.”
“Ah, is that the guy from the rumors?”
“That's right. It's rumored that he not only caught his own lord but also embezzled all the church property here to pay interest.”
After a while,
Bishop Verkis, who had come from the Lyon Cathedral, began to preside over the Mass.
Offering worship to God before the guild meeting was a long-standing tradition of the guild meeting.
However, what was different about today's worship from usual was that it was not an ordinary priest, but Bishop Verkis who came to preside over the Mass.
But since Bishop Verkis of this place was a member of the same family as the guild leader, the guild members thought it was possible and did not have much doubt about Bishop Verkis presiding over the Mass himself.
As soon as the Mass was over, the long-awaited time for the guild meeting came.
Benjamin, who took the place vacated by Bishop Verkis, began to speak to the guild members who were still holding their seats.
“Ahem! Now, let's start the guild meeting.”
There were coughing sounds here and there, but overall, the inside of the conference hall was quiet.
In such an atmosphere, Benjamin continued.
“The reason I have gathered you all here today is that there are several important issues that we need to discuss together.”
Benjamin's words continued after a brief pause.
“First of all, the first issue we will discuss is the upcoming Crown War.”
As the story of the Crown War came up, the entire conference hall began to stir.
“Quiet! The story is not over yet.”
Benjamin informed everyone attending the meeting about what had happened a week ago.
He told the story of how the First Prince's man had come to visit him, the guild leader, and threatened him without leaving out any details.
“As such, the 1st Prince told us not to support the 3rd Prince at all. He even said that if we disobey this, we should be prepared later. I guess being prepared here means that we shouldn't be doing business.”
Despite Benjamin's words not being finished, the angry voices of the guild members began to follow.
“What kind of nonsense is that! It's a well-known fact that we are on the side of the 3rd Prince!”
“No way!”
“The 1st Prince seems to have no fear! Who will he borrow money from later?”
“Do you think the Sinclair family will just be there!”
Benjamin's expression did not change even with the angry shouts of the guild members.
After several rounds of high-pitched voices,
Benjamin opened his mouth again.
“So, I gathered you all here to hear good opinions. Any good opinions?”
When asked for a good opinion, several guild members simultaneously raised their hands, asking for the right to speak.
Benjamin roughly glanced over and pointed to a familiar person.
“Why don't you speak up?”
Ahem!
With a cough, an unnamed guild member stood up from his seat and began to speak to the gathered guild members.
"As you all know, we must soon accept the protection of the Sinclair family, even if the 1st Prince spouts nonsense. We cannot abandon the 3rd Prince, whom the Sinclair family supports. That would be like betraying our loyalty."
His opinion was as follows:
Regardless of what the 1st Prince says, we should maintain our loyalty to the Sinclair family.
In other words, he was essentially saying to only support the 3rd Prince.
Then, opposition erupted from another corner.
"What if the 1st Prince wins the Crown War? What will we do then? Will we still only seek the Sinclair family's support? Tell me!"
Benjamin stepped in to mediate.
"Whoa, whoa, only those I designate can speak in this conference room from the start of the meeting. Please follow the conference rules."
The guild member who had objected raised his hand.
He wanted the right to speak.
Benjamin pointed to him and granted him the right to speak.
"I will give you the right to speak. Please share your opinion."
The guild member stood up and spoke confidently.
"The most likely candidate to win the upcoming Crown War is His Highness, the 1st Prince Ryan. We know that His Highness Ryan, known as a mad war enthusiast, is supported by the famous Tepez family and has a very aggressive temperament."
Rockefeller, who had been sitting quietly, unknowingly nodded his head.
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