Pope Augustus

After a while, Caesar dealt with a dozen more Cardinals who arrived later, and time was finally running out.

During this time, Caesar still heard some useful information. For example, this Papal Election was presided over by a Cardinal nearing eighty, with a head full of white hair. If it weren't for the rule that the eldest Cardinal under eighty must supervise the election and cannot participate, he would also have been a popular egg for Pope.

Under the direction of this Cardinal, all the Cardinals lined up towards the door they had entered through. Caesar braced himself and stood in a random spot, unsure if the queue was not in any particular order or if he had just happened to stand in the correct position, as it did not cause any negative reactions.

Then, over a hundred Cardinals filed out of St. Peter's Basilica, came to the Pope's coffin in the center of the square, turned, and stood solemnly facing the coffin. Under the gaze of all, the mass for the former Pope began.

"...We must remember that Pope Clement VIII was God's foremost servant; during his reign..." The priest presiding over the mass read with great emotion and exaggerated intonation, his voice even choking up at profound moments, and he would occasionally wipe away non-existent tears with his hand.

Seeing his desperate, feigned look of profound grief, Caesar almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

But he couldn't actually laugh. If he suddenly laughed in such an occasion, he would probably be served with a stake for burning.

Thus, Caesar's face turned ashen from holding back his laughter. When he really couldn't hold it in, he could only cover his face and use a slight cough to cover up the fleeting smile, then continue to display a look of sorrow.

After several such instances, the Cardinal next to him couldn't bear it anymore: "Cardinal Claude, His Holiness the Pope has passed on. Heaven is his best destination. You are still young, and there is a long road ahead; beware of excessive grief harming your body."

Excessive grief... harming his body... Oh no, he's about to lose it again. This time, the time he spent covering his face was much longer than the previous times, and his cough was also much louder.

The Cardinal next to him saw that further words were useless and stopped trying to persuade him.

After an unknown amount of time, the priest presiding over the mass finally finished reading, and it was the Cardinals' turn.

Caesar imitated them, doing and saying whatever the people next to him did and said. He invoked various gods and goddesses, and in the name of this father and that son, he managed to muddle through without any mistakes.

Without having to hold back laughter, time passed much faster, and the mass quickly ended.

After the mass, the Cardinals lined up again and headed to the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel's area is far smaller than St. Peter's Basilica, and in terms of specifications, it is merely an ordinary small chapel. The architecture is also very simple, a rectangular shape, without any exquisite design.

However, inside the chapel, there are countless treasures. It is no exaggeration to describe them all as priceless, and many of them are even invaluable. Since all the frescoes inside the chapel, big or small, are masterpieces, it is difficult to say what its defining characteristic is.

However, the most noteworthy, arguably, is the ceiling fresco "Genesis."

"Genesis" was created by Michelangelo, and along with the fresco "The Last Judgment," also in the Sistine Chapel, they are Michelangelo's two most representative masterpieces of his life, and also the greatest artworks of the Italian Renaissance.

"Genesis" covers over five hundred square meters of the ceiling, consisting of three parts: "God Creates the World," "The Fall of Man," and "The Unnecessary Sacrifice." Each scene is surrounded by huge, various forms of seated nude youths, flanked by vivid witches, prophets, and slaves.

The entire painting is magnificent and exceptionally powerful, and the vault seems to tremble as if unable to bear its weight.

The entire painting and its decoration were completed solely by Michelangelo; apart from assistants who prepared paints, there was no other help. The painting took four years and five months, and the scale and difficulty of the project are unimaginable. When the painting was completed, his eyes were damaged, and prolonged upward work caused Michelangelo to be unable to look straight, only recovering after a long time.

In addition to a large number of precious frescoes, in the library on the upper floor of the chapel, there are nearly a million books. In the religious art gallery on the same floor, many works by various masters are collected, as well as various antique collections from early Christian and pagan times.

Passing through the bronze door and entering the Sistine Chapel, Caesar was immediately attracted by the dazzling array of frescoes. Although he couldn't fully appreciate them, the visual impact of so many precious frescoes together was immense. More importantly, these frescoes looked very valuable.

Following the guidance, over a hundred Cardinals entered their respective private rooms, thereby cutting themselves off from the outside world. The only channel for communication between inside and outside was two turntables located on the bronze door. Food, medicine, and other items to be sent inside were placed on the turntables and rotated in by staff.

Until a new Pope is elected, over a hundred Cardinals will spend their time in these private rooms, except when going to the election hall to elect the Pope.

The day's itinerary ended here; the first round of the Papal Election would not begin until the afternoon of the next day.

The living conditions in the private room were quite good, even better than the room Caesar had woken up in before. However, there was one problem, which was... no food.

Counting the time before Caesar was knocked unconscious and arrived here, Caesar had not eaten for a full day, and during this period, the consumption of physical and mental energy was not small. At this moment, he was so hungry his stomach was practically touching his back.

It was already noon, and lunchtime should be approaching. Just a little more patience, food should be delivered through the turntable soon. He silently recited:

"When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility upon a man, it will first test his will, strain his sinews and bones, and starve..."

His stomach suddenly grumbled uncontrollably.

Hungry... I'm starving, I'm really hungry. Man is iron, food is steel; one meal missed makes one anxious. This is already three meals, if I don't get food soon, I won't be able to hold on.

With no other option, Caesar curled up on the bed, his eyes fixed on the window connected to the turntable, anticipating the arrival of food.

The waiting process is always long. After an unknown amount of time, the sound of the turntable rang out, and the dim light in Caesar's eyes immediately brightened.

When a large plate of food appeared at the window, Caesar shot out like an arrow, snatching the food back like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, and immediately began to eat.

As soon as the food entered his mouth, Caesar's face quickly contorted.

What... what is this? This is too unpalatable!

Adapt, adapt, it'll be fine once you adapt. Caesar muttered to himself while wolfing down the food.

Cough... why does this fish have bones? Caesar usually didn't eat fish, so he naturally wasn't very familiar with the issue of fish bones.

However, at this moment, on the verge of starvation, he naturally couldn't care less. Besides, among the food in front of him now, there were hardly any that tasted normal. Relatively speaking, the fish was one of the few that were somewhat normal.