Although the food was unappetizing, it was filling, and after eating his fill, Caesar let out a satisfied burp.
When you're well-fed and warm, you think about… studying!
Yes, that's right, it's studying. Having just arrived in this world, there are many things he doesn't understand, especially with his special identity and his limited knowledge of the Catholic faith. If he doesn't quickly learn something, he might soon go to meet Jesus.
No one knew how long the Papal Election would last, but for as long as it did, the participating Cardinals would be confined here.
Therefore, while other things might be missing, books were absolutely not. Otherwise, if all the Cardinals died of boredom, there would be no Pope to elect.
So, Caesar began rummaging through cabinets for books. When he opened a large cabinet, Caesar was stunned…
There were simply too many! With so many books, just the printing cost alone must have been extremely high. And there were hundreds of such secret rooms; the Papal States truly spared no expense for this election.
Caesar casually picked up a book and began to read.
Ten minutes later…
What is this? What is this again? What are all these things! No, I really can't read this one, let me try another…
This time, he didn't just grab one at random. He searched a bit, as pure theological Catholic books were truly a torment for Caesar.
"The Bible: Old Testament," this is it. "The Bible: Old Testament" is an encyclopedia about the early life of the Jewish people, showcasing the development history of the Jewish nation, recreating the daily life of the Jewish people, recording their outstanding achievements in various fields, and reflecting their moral and value systems.
At the same time, it is also a literary masterpiece, utilizing almost all forms of literary creation, such as myths, legends, novels, fables, dramas, prose, poetry, proverbs, aphorisms, and uniquely pioneering prophetic literature and apocalyptic literature.
Because much of the Old Testament is narrative, reading it would certainly not be as painful as that last book.
And for novice Catholics, this book is also very suitable. Although for Caesar, becoming a Catholic was impossible, never in this lifetime, yet whether for better adaptation to the environment or for passing the time, this book was a very good choice.
Soon, Caesar was engrossed in the book. While enjoying it, he silently complained, "This is truly the most absurd book I've ever read in my life." Whenever he encountered something he disagreed with, he would occasionally blurt out, "Nonsense." However, the more he disagreed, the more deeply it impressed him, and he indeed remembered quite a lot.
Just like that, night quickly fell. After adapting during lunch, he felt much better by dinner.
After dinner, he continued reading, for a long time, until late at night when he washed up and went to bed. At that time, Europe did not yet have toothbrushes; brushing teeth was then called 'cleaning teeth,' which involved using a cloth.
The next morning, Caesar suddenly opened his eyes, startled by a cold sweat, and seeing that it was still early, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Normally, Caesar would often sleep until noon or even later without an alarm. However, in this completely unfamiliar place where he had no relatives, Caesar dared not oversleep, nor even sleep too deeply.
Being constantly on edge like this wasn't good; he needed to adjust. Caesar thought this while going to wash up, and then continued reading.
After lunch, he got ready early, continued reading, and waited for the election to begin.
With a few bell tolls, the Cardinals emerged from their secret rooms to participate in the election, and the previously silent church suddenly came alive.
The election was held in the Sistine Chapel's election hall. The Cardinals sat against the walls, each with a table in front of them. A large table with a ballot box was set beside the altar in front of the fresco "The Last Judgment."
Standing on the altar were the Cardinal who was nearly eighty years old and the Pope's Chamberlain.
After the death of a Pope, during the interim period between the old and new Popes, all authority temporarily and automatically transfers to the Pope's Chamberlain. He is to oversee the secret conclave until the Cardinals elect a new Pope. He is, in essence, the temporary head of the Church.
The Pope's Chamberlain is also the only person who can enter the Pope's office without announcement while the Pope is alive, and he is also responsible for finances, essentially serving as the Church's Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The Pope's Chamberlain's position in the Papal States could almost be described as second only to one person and above all others.
During voting, a Cardinal writes the name of the person he wishes to elect on a ballot printed with the words "Papal Election," then folds the ballot, holds it high with his right thumb and forefinger, and casts it into the ballot box one by one in order of rank.
Since candidates are not nominated beforehand for the election, and a two-thirds majority is required for election, results often require multiple rounds of voting.
The election rules stipulate four rounds per day, with no limit on the number of days, which has led to some Papal Elections in history being protracted.
To await the election results, thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square outside the Sistine Chapel, their eyes fixed on the Sistine Chapel's chimney. Each time a vote was cast inside, smoke would emerge from the chimney. If the smoke was black, it meant the election had no result yet. If a wisp of white smoke rose from the chimney, it indicated that a new Pope had been elected.
Before the election, the Cardinals had to pray, and they prayed for a long time. Caesar imitated their actions while thinking, "What are they doing? How much longer do I have to pretend to listen? I don't know anything, and I don't dare to ask anything."
After the prayers ended, the election finally began, and the Cardinals picked up the ballots from their tables. Since he couldn't vote for himself, Caesar randomly wrote down the name of an Italian Cardinal he remembered whose name was relatively short, and submitted it as required.
On the altar, the Cardinal and the Pope's Chamberlain were tallying the votes, one calling out the votes and the other recording them.
In the first round of the election, many people adopted a trial attitude, wanting to see if their desired Cardinal had a chance of being elected. So, almost everyone was voted for, and a wide variety of names were reported. However, Caesar noticed that the name Claude not only appeared quite frequently but was one of the most common. This couldn't help but give Caesar a bit more hope.
Under the stringent condition of a two-thirds majority, such a first round of election clearly could not produce a result. After the votes were counted and the results announced, Caesar's vote count ranked third. As a wisp of black smoke emerged from the chimney, the first round of election ended, and the second round began.
Many Cardinals who had voted haphazardly, seeing that their desired Cardinal had no hope, began to shift their votes to the few Cardinals with more votes.
The second round of voting still yielded no result, but the situation had become much clearer. Caesar's vote count surpassed the second-place candidate from the previous round, but the gap with the first-place candidate had widened by a few votes.
Caesar was now both helpless and powerless.
He was helpless because in a sports competition, second place still earned a silver medal, but what good was second place in a Papal Election?
He was powerless because there was nothing he could do now. No matter how great his family's influence, or how outstanding his abilities in various aspects, the inherent flaw of his lack of seniority was there. How easy would it be to be elected Pope? He could only hope that this new Pope would die soon and the next election would come quickly.
At this moment, the supporters of the Cardinal with the most votes looked at him with an air of prematurely celebrating. And that Cardinal himself was visibly overjoyed, appearing impatient. Seeing this scene, Caesar felt very unwilling.