[Notre Dame de Paris] Papal Way

Standing on the top of the tall North Bell Tower, looking down at the river beach square with people coming and going and bonfires lit below, Claude was full of bewilderment.Just like the sky above his head, a few cloud-like thoughts floated occasionally, but they were quickly blown to nowhere by the wind.

From birth, Don Frollo and his wife set their eldest son's future.Claude is intelligent by nature, and has developed a rigorous and eager to learn character under the careful training of his parents.From as long as I can remember, to the big change at the age of 19, to the middle-aged man who is 34 years old and will soon become 35 years old, Claude has always been a person who can adjust his mentality.

What happened at the age of 19 was a watershed in his life.Before the age of 19, Don Claude Frollo was a divinity student who wanted to serve the Lord devoutly; A person who weaves a plan with a set goal.His goal is simple to say, but if he were to say it, nine out of ten people would think he was dreaming, and the remaining one would quote scriptures and prove the existence of gods with various examples.However, what Claude wants to know is not whether the gods exist or not. He just wants to understand one thing through his own behavior-what is the existence of God?

In order to get the answer he wanted, Claude set himself an ambitious and dangerous path.Before meeting Ace, he thought that his dead heart would no longer be beating because of people other than God, and the plan he had set and implemented for 16 years would not change in the slightest.But the moment he saw Ace... no, the moment he saw him playfully mentioning the Egyptians in the cardinal's letter, fate quietly turned its unshakable gears, Declare majesty to Claude with a mocking gesture.

Everything started to go very differently than planned.

Over the past ten years, Claude's face has not changed at all, but the alchemy heart that has stopped beating has been polished very cold by scheming and ambition. Fifteen years ago, there was still a softness of humanity in his heart, and he even hoped that the child Paquette would give birth to was a girl, as if all tragedies could be avoided... 15 years later, he could already order Quasimodo Following the group of Egyptians who had just entered the city, he quietly picked up the rapier, and coldly decided to kill the signs of danger on the spot.

...However, all thoughts disappeared the moment he saw Ace.

I can't tell if it's because of that handsome face, or that tall figure exuding youthful and masculine charm. From the first moment he saw Ace, Claude's rock-hard heart fell into the melting pot of hell. In the pulp, a bright red hot flame was ignited.Almost every moment, he was tormented by unbearable longing.That longing used his heart as fuel, burning his soul all the time.He once asked himself, is this love?Reason gave a firm answer: no!

He couldn't deny that he was so fascinated by Ace out of desire, but he refused to despair and think that there was only desire in him and no love at all.While deeply fearing Ace and resisting the influence of the other party, why didn't he regard Ace as his inner salvation...

If Ace can be put to death according to the plan, even if he just deceives himself and keeps the other's body by his side, Claude can continue to stick to his hard heart and never waver before he achieves his goal.However, he could never have expected that Ace's adoptive father "Doctor George" was actually Ace himself, and his original plan of using Quasimodo as a helper to intimidate and lure George turned out to be a direct one. Forcibly took Ace back to Notre Dame...

... Now where does he have a plan?He was completely clueless and at a loss... Except for pretending to be confident and ordering Quasimodo to take out the custom-made nurse dress, only the news sent before could give him a little breathing time. My most embarrassing gesture was to face Ace...

——Even if doing so might make the relationship between him and Ace more rigid, it's better than submitting in front of each other without a gesture.

Claude stared at the river beach square not far from Notre Dame.The sky was getting dark, and a bonfire was lit on the river beach square.Soon a group of Egyptians will come here to perform, beautiful Egyptian girls dance on stage, and smart Egyptian boys bring their trained animals to beg for rewards from the audience...

Footsteps gradually sounded.Claude turned his head and saw Quasimodo walking towards this side with Ace.While walking, his adopted son was gesticulating something with bright eyes, and uttered hoarse syllables.

And Ace also showed a smile, and he didn't show any impatience when facing Quasimodo, and patiently listened to what he described... This pair of "brothers" who have switched identities and have completely beautiful and ugly appearances get along together. It was surprisingly harmonious.

Claude couldn't help clenching his hand, and let out a slight breath—and it wasn't until then that he realized that he had been biting his lip so tightly that when it was released now, he felt numb for a moment. .

After seeing Claude clearly, Ace gestured to Quasimodo, signaling him to leave temporarily.Quasimodo originally had a good impression of Ace, but because of his ugly appearance, almost no one wanted to get along with him, but Ace not only did not discriminate against his figure and appearance, but also treated him so kindly... The original favor was then It quickly turned into adoration, and the demands on Ace were endless.

Seeing that gesture, he turned away obediently, without a trace of the bell ringer who was notorious around Notre-Dame.Claude's face sank like water, and his fingers couldn't help tightening. His nails were deeply embedded in his palm, and he said, "You seem to get along well with Quasimodo."

Ace shrugged and laughed: "Of course, why not? You also said that he is my brother."

"But you don't seem to see John as a brother."

Ace suddenly laughed.He stared at Claude and said slowly: "Isn't this exactly what you expected, Mr. Frollo? John is your younger brother, but Quasimodo is your adopted son. I regard your adopted son as a brother. Of course it's your nephew...and what could happen between uncle and nephew? Since you're so eager to get rid of me, I don't mind if you do. You're 35 after all and I'm only 16."

He raised his head slightly, and said meaningfully: "'Vice Bishop Don Claude Frollo', how long can he exist in this world?"

Claude let out a short sneer from his throat, without looking at Ace, he went straight to his alchemy room, turned the key and went in: "I seem to have said that I hope to see you in that suit ...why didn't you wear it?"

Ace put the white skirt on his arm, shrugged gracefully: "I thought you would like me to put it on in front of you, and then peel it off with my own hands."

His eyes wandered around the room for a week, and then slowly retracted.This place is no longer the mess he saw when he came last time. The manuscript papers, letters and random chemical utensils all over the floor have been neatly arranged. The room is spotless, and a blazing flame is burning in the fireplace. , except that the light is dim and the ventilation is not very good, there are almost no faults. It is as elegant and tidy as a standard study of an aristocrat.

Claude turned around suddenly, and said coldly: "Indeed, this seems to be more interesting. Then why don't you start?"

Ace stared at him deeply, suddenly evoked a relaxed smile, raised his hand and took off his thin coat, and then unbuttoned his shirt one by one: "Why not? ?”

Claude didn't expect that he would actually start taking off, and took a step back in shock.His eyes stayed on Ace's thin and powerful body for a moment, and then he hurriedly avoided as if he was being burned: "...you are crazy!"

"Thanks for the compliment, I am indeed crazy." Ace's tone was gentle, and what he said sounded like a devil's whisper in Claude's ears, "You want me to do｜Esmeralda? Then Ace Mera Oda will grant your wish."

He put on the skirt without any problems, and the perfect fit made him sure that the dress was indeed prepared by Claude in advance: "... Now your wish has come true, how about it, look at you Are you satisfied with it?"

Silent blood rushed to his face, Claude pursed his lips, and turned his eyes back to Ace involuntarily.

——But after just one glance, he couldn't look away anymore, the flame in his chest that was finally suppressed was ignited again, making those ice-blue eyes shine like stars in the sky.However, a look of pain appeared on his face at the same time, and Claude couldn't help covering his chest, as if this could relieve his pain a little.

This dress fit him better than he had imagined, with a simple and elegant neckline and long sleeves, all the way down to the waist｜abdomen suddenly puffed up and down perfectly, the pure white dress formed a sharp contrast with the slightly dark complexion In contrast, but with a strange sense of beauty... The half-length curly hair fell on the shoulders, and the owner's expression was half a smile, even in women's clothes, there seemed to be a bit of indifference and arrogance in his expression... No The slightest femininity, on the contrary, is as handsome as a god.

Claude looked away, his voice hoarse: "And the veil?"

Ace said mockingly: "Covering your Adam's apple, can you deceive yourself that I'm a woman?"

Claude clenched his fists and vented his anger in his voice: "...The veil and skirt may not really make you a woman, but I will try to do it in other ways."

"..." Even though Ace's concentration was amazing, his face couldn't help but distort for a moment.He put on the veil obediently: "What do I need to do?"

"You just need to stand here honestly." As if feeling hot, Claude also took off his coat, put it on the back of the chair by the fireplace, and strode towards his desk, bending over from the bottom of the desk. Something was taken out.

Ace's gaze was fixed on his limbs wrapped under the trousers. The thin and slender waist｜limbs are very worthy of its hand｜feel. Presumably those straight and slender｜legsｏcurved buttockｽshould also be very satisfying...

He licked|licked his lower lip slightly, and looked away before Claude noticed... The wide skirt turned out to be the best cover at this moment, and he didn't know whether it should be called irony.

There was also a wildfire burning in his heart, but the fuel for that flame came from Claude... and now, the color of that flame is no longer bright red.

Closing his left eye, Ace prevented the Eye of Horus from reading Claude's "past" and automatically starting to replay it.

Tutankhamun, who had been silent in the Eye of Horus because of the damage to his soul, suddenly sneered, "To reduce the price paid, modify the Eye of Horus? Never look directly at something for more than five seconds, Is that what you need?"

Ace was silent for a moment, and suddenly said in a strange voice: "Shut up, Tutankhamun. If I were you, I would sleep in the Eye of Horus obediently until at least tomorrow night."

Tutankhamun couldn't help but startled: "...why?"

"You don't want to know why."

Claude finally found what he wanted, and put them all on the neat table.These things are completely different from the alchemy utensils that Ace saw when he came last time, and he really stepped into the ranks of "alchemy".Occasionally, a dark golden streamer flashed from the surface of the stone mortar, the quaint, even somewhat worn-out octagonal compass, and the black candle, which was obviously not extraordinary, only more than an inch long...

The essence of alchemy is the equivalent exchange of materials, but not every equivalent exchange can be achieved quickly.Without magic as a catalyst, alchemy is difficult to achieve within the expected range.And the essence of magic power is pure elemental power. After decomposing the raw materials used in alchemy, the elements will be obtained in the same way.Therefore, on the continent of Maris, alchemy is the combination and exchange of elements, and its essence is inseparable from the use of magic power.

However, this principle is obviously not applicable to Claude.There is no systematic and complete alchemy on this continent, and Claude obviously has not received the same systematic education and training as the alchemists Ace has seen before.However, he has acquired the power of "supernatural law" that almost all alchemists have not been able to touch in their entire lives, that is, power that is born out of elements but completely outside of elements... This power was once in Ace's body. It has been dormant for a long time, but he has not been able to analyze its composition at all, and he can't even find its location.Obviously, this mysterious power is the root of Claude's ability to become an alchemist.

However, since he has not received any systematic training, and the level of alchemy does not match Ace's memory, this kind of power must not be inherited from others... But if it is not inherited, look at Crowe. Germany looks like he can't use it at all, where does this ability come from...

—Maybe it has something to do with his never-aging appearance... Ace covered his thoughts and stood beside him: "What are these?"

"My tool." Claude's tone was cold, "I hope you'd better keep your mouth shut and don't say a word."

Ace chuckled, "What if I don't want to?"

"I will make you willing."

Ace's eyes darkened and he stopped talking.Claude arranged the alchemy vessels in a certain order, and when he was adjusting the position of the candles, there was a knock on the door of the cabin.

"Who?"

"Your friend, fellow wolf-slayer."

The man who claimed to be a wolf butcher was obviously quite familiar with this hut. Before Claude could invite him, he turned the key on the door and pushed the door open.As he entered, Ace saw a flash of metallic light, and then disappeared the key on the door...

The visitor obviously saw him, and said in amazement, "You actually have a female guest! This is really rare. I thought you were so pure-hearted that you were a saint!"

Claude sat there with a calm expression, as if he didn't see the key disappearing from his door at all: "Speaking of saints, didn't you just invite a saint back, Your Excellency the Abbot of St. Martin?"

As soon as the name was spoken, Eston immediately understood the identity of the visitor.The dean of St. Martin's Abbey is the king of France... This man is actually the king?

His eyes on the visitor became much more cautious.As a capable king, Louis XI's reputation among neighboring countries is not very good.He has a strong wrist and is good at playing tricks, so he is called the "Spider" King.But at this moment, he was just an ordinary old man, wearing an ordinary robe that covered his whole body tightly, and a greasy black woolen hat on his head, which looked very shabby.Wrinkles are all over the face and hands, and the standing posture is also very rude. It doesn't look like a king at all.

Louis XI replied: "He? A puppet sent by the Pope who can read scriptures. Of course, I will respect him very much and ask him to speak well for me in front of God. But who is closer to God than you? Your Excellency the Bishop?"

"Not yet." Claude said coldly, "The letter of appointment has not yet been issued."

"Soon, the Cardinal of Bourbon will bring you good news." The king smiled, "He will also bring me good news—ah, how I want to see Charlie's wedding ah."

Claude ignored him, and the king turned his gaze to another person in the room.The veil effectively covered the lower half of Ace's face and Adam's apple, but the handsome brows that slanted into the temples, compared with the woman's too sharp eyes and too tall figure, were almost full of doubts.

Louis XI looked a little dazed.He stared closely at those emerald-colored eyes, and always felt that he seemed to have seen it somewhere... very familiar, but he couldn't remember it at all.

"Is this a nurse or a guest?" Louis XI asked, but his eyes were on Claude.