Pope Augustus

Filled with doubt, Augustus quickly walked towards the door without changing his clothes.

Outside the door, two men stood one on each side, and almost all the nearby on-duty guards focused their gaze on them, especially Captain Dracula, who stood not far from them, staring intently.

The man on the left had a messy head of red curly hair, thick eyebrows and large eyes, a high nose bridge, several faint scars on his face from the erosion of time, a scraggly beard, and a very sturdy build, though his clothes were somewhat tattered, with several diagonally cut openings where who-knows-what was stored inside.

The man on the right, in contrast, appeared somewhat delicate, with short, neat black hair, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, fair skin, no beard, a tall and slender physique, and clean, well-fitting clothes, clearly having tidied himself before arriving.

The one on the left was Duke, and the one on the right was Karl.

Being stared at by Dracula as if he were a thief, Duke felt uncomfortable all over and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Your identities have not yet been confirmed, and I need to strictly guard against any possible incidents. This is my duty," Dracula replied meticulously.

Duke curled his lip in disdain, then turned to look at Karl. "And you, what are you doing?"

"Why should I answer you?" Duke's arrogant manner greatly annoyed Karl.

"Don't you want to know who I am?" Duke refused to give up.

"Why should I know who you are?" After speaking, Karl couldn't help but feel curious, so he added, "Say it if you want to."

"I am a proud Spaniard, originally a brave warrior of the Canary Mercenary Group."

"Oh, a mercenary who only cares about profit, no wonder you're so despicable," Karl mocked contemptuously.

"I am a Spanish warrior fighting for faith and glory, what are you?" Duke was clearly annoyed, but it was not surprising for ordinary people to have such an impression of mercenaries.

"I am an Austrian, originally an outstanding general of the Holy Roman Empire. Not a 'what'." Karl replied with a spirited look, as if he had returned to the days of battling on the battlefield.

"Austria? Aren't they fighting the Ottoman Empire? How did you, a self-proclaimed outstanding general, end up here? Did you desert?" Duke thought he had discovered something incredible.

Upon hearing this, Karl also became agitated. "I did not, how dare you insult my character! I demand that you apologize to me."

"Why should I apologize? Am I not just asking you? Why are you reacting so strongly? I didn't think you Germanic barbarians cared about such things." Saying this, Duke casually brushed his curly hair from his forehead.

"You're the barbaric Spaniard. A mercenary covered in sins, I can't believe the Pope would allow someone like you to be here."

"I also didn't expect the Pope to know a soldier who deserted in battle. Could it be an impostor?" Duke retorted, meeting him with equal sharpness.

"I also can't figure out where the Pope found these two guys," Dracula thought to himself, displaying a look of utter disdain.

"What kind of look is that?" The two said in unison.

Dracula was stunned for a moment, not expecting these two to be quite perceptive, and his impression of them greatly improved.

"Why are you copying what I said?" The two said in unison again.

After an awkward silence, the two turned their heads away in annoyance, ignoring each other, and Dracula continued to watch them quietly.

Sometimes, a house being too big wasn't a good thing. Although Augustus had quickened his pace, it still took him a long time to reach the door. Seeing this strange scene, he didn't know what had happened and was a bit bewildered.

"Augustus, where did you find this mercenary? He's rude, barbaric, and has no manners!" Karl suddenly roared.

Augustus was caught off guard and almost stumbled. Duke was about to retort, but Dracula interjected first: "How dare you! How can you directly address His Holiness the Pope by name!"

Augustus steadied himself and thought for a moment: "He said the other one is a mercenary, so that one must be Duke, which means he is probably Karl."

"It's alright, they are my friends." Augustus waved his hand at Dracula, then paused, looked at the two of them, and continued, "My friends, has there been some misunderstanding between you?"

"There's no misunderstanding, it's either me or him here," Duke said with a firm attitude.

"Yes, it's either me or him." The two reached a consensus on this point.

"Uh, do these two know each other? Where did such a big grudge come from?" Augustus wondered.

"Dracula, tell me what happened."

...

Dracula recounted the entire story, impartially and objectively, and the two remained silent throughout, without any objections.

Looking at the two of them, still indignant, Augustus almost wanted to laugh. It was just this small matter, was it really worth it?

"Let's not talk about that for now. Tell me how you were willing to come," Augustus said, this being what he cared about more.

"I..." The two said in unison.

"You go first," Duke conceded.

"After I received this letter, I originally wanted to politely decline, but I couldn't figure out how best to reply. At that time, I was a battalion commander on the front lines of the Hungary battlefield, and the fighting was very intense.

A powerful figure from the rear wanted his son to join the army for prestige, and he pressured me through my superior to give up my position and become a deputy, assisting his son. I refused. In a fit of rage, he used his connections to frame me, then falsely accused me of colluding with the enemy and treason.

After that, I was dismissed and investigated, interrogated and questioned daily in a dark room for several months. Because there was insufficient evidence to convict me, and no one came forward to testify for me, I was released, but I couldn't return to the army.

I was unwilling for my military career to end like this, and I had nowhere else to go. I found that letter again and decided to come here to find you, hoping to clear the humiliation they had forced upon me."

"They are truly too much! How could they treat you like that? They should all go to hell!" Duke said indignantly, then cleared his throat and continued, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have insulted your character based solely on speculation without knowing the truth. I apologize to you. But that was because you insulted us mercenaries first."

"I accept your apology. However, aren't you mercenaries just like that?"

"Don't go too far!" Duke's anger, which had subsided, was reignited.

"He's so good at offending people, no wonder the higher-ups targeted him for such things and no one spoke up for him," Augustus sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Karl, Duke is not like the mercenaries in your impression. Don't you believe me? Duke, tell me what happened with you."

"Actually, I had already had enough of this rootless life as a mercenary. When I received the letter, our mercenary group was hired by Spain to suppress the Netherlands rebellion. I originally planned to bring my men to you after this battle ended.

However, in one battle, we won, so we pursued the enemy. My unit ran too fast and quickly distanced itself from our allies. I didn't expect it to be a trap set by the enemy; we were ambushed, and when our allies arrived and realized it was a trap, they abandoned us.

My subordinates and I fought desperately to break through, finally opening a gap and rushing out, but we suffered heavy losses. Of the original thousand-plus men, only a few dozen remained. I truly regretted it deeply; why wasn't I more careful? Otherwise, so many brothers wouldn't have died because of my mistake.

I was utterly disappointed with my mercenary corps. After escaping, I returned to our station to retrieve our belongings and leave, but they, relying on their superior numbers, seized all our property and that of our deceased brothers, and then drove us out. So then I brought the remaining brothers to you, traveling in the open and sleeping rough, and finally arrived. They are still outside now."

"Idiot," Karl mercilessly scoffed.

"Say that again and I'll punch you!" Duke angrily raised his fist, as big as a sandbag.

"Karl, shut up." Augustus was utterly exasperated by Karl's rude behavior. "Oh, your brothers are still outside. Let's get them settled first."

Patting his pocket, Augustus realized he had left in a hurry and hadn't brought any money. So he extended his hand to Dracula. Dracula immediately understood and handed Duke a bag of gold coins.

"Thank you! I'll go out and get them settled then." Duke expressed his sincere gratitude.

"You're welcome. Go ahead, and come straight back in to find me. Someone will show you the way. Karl, you come in with me first."