Enzo and his confidants had been busy all night without sleep, and at this moment, they were discussing the results of last night's operation.
"What have you found in their homes?" Enzo's face was full of fatigue, but his voice was slightly excited.
"Of course, a lot of things have been found, but so far, nothing helpful to the case has been discovered." Enrique shook his head helplessly.
Enzo was a little disappointed upon hearing this, but quickly had an idea, and a wise light flickered in his eyes: "Have you found any letters from Venice in Francesco's house?"
"Letters from Venice?" Enrique was a little surprised. Even if Francesco and Venice had correspondence, anything that needed to be destroyed would have been destroyed long ago. How could it be left at home for him to find? Why would Enzo ask such a basic question?
"No. Even if Francesco was colluding with Venice, it's unlikely they would conspire on such a confidential matter through an extremely insecure method like letters. Even if they did communicate via letters, they should have been destroyed long ago."
"I think there definitely is," Enzo said with certainty.
"What?" Enrique was stunned for a moment, then his brain worked rapidly, and he immediately understood Enzo's meaning. "You mean, fabricate evidence?"
"What fabricate? Can't you speak properly? This is called restoration," Enzo said irritably.
"I understand. I'll have someone handle it right away."
"Regarding the investigation into Venice, His Holiness the Pope has given instructions for us to conduct an appropriate investigation. However, we must not alarm Venice, so we cannot start from their side. Furthermore, all evidence pointing to Venice must be kept strictly confidential until the Pope allows us to make it public," Enzo added.
"Alright, I'll handle it myself," Enrique corrected himself.
Enzo nodded with satisfaction: "Have you found anything else unusual?"
Enrique searched his mind and, after confirming there were no significant discoveries, replied: "The subordinates are currently expediting the review of the seized items. Nothing related to the case has been found yet. As for unusual, the amount of money found in their homes is truly excessive. For just dozens of people, the total amount of money and valuable items found has not yet been fully tallied, but it is estimated to be equivalent to several years of income for the Papal States."
"They eat the Papal States' food and then smash the Papal States' pot. These traitors are truly despicable," Ennio said indignantly.
"After all, these people are deeply entrenched in the Papal States, and some of their money may have been accumulated through generations of exploitation. It's not strange to have so much. However, what you just said reminds me of a very important matter," Enzo said, a slight curve forming on his lips.
"It's not strange for them to have so much money, but a large portion of that money is certainly ill-gotten. This is no secret; everyone knows it.
The Pope usually turns a blind eye to them for the sake of stability. But now that they have committed serious crimes, they are beyond forgiveness. I'm sure the Pope wouldn't mind adding a few more charges to their list of crimes."
"As long as we investigate the source of their assets, we can uncover more interest groups. Then, we can round them all up and hand them, along with the stolen goods, over to His Holiness the Pope. The Pope will surely be very pleased," Ennio understood Enzo's idea and immediately continued.
"Will the Pope allow us to continue investigating? I'm afraid that if we continue to investigate their illicit income, our power and influence might become too great, causing His Holiness the Pope to be wary. Moreover, what we've done so far has already made us very unpopular. What if, after we've finished, His Holiness the Pope turns around and sells us out, while also appeasing public anger?" Enrique worried.
"Do you think we can turn back if we don't do this?" Enzo frowned. "We have already fully sided with the Pope. What we can do now is to eliminate those who are dissatisfied with the Pope and hostile to us, and at the same time, let His Holiness the Pope know our capabilities and understand our loyalty.
And although our power and influence seem great now, the crucial parts are firmly held by His Holiness the Pope. As for being wary, it's far from that point. We are merely eliminating villains for the Papal States, and all power in this process is temporary, without any legitimacy. His Holiness the Pope can take it back at any time if he wishes."
Enrique seemed to understand, falling into deep thought, and after a while, he spoke: "Then, does this matter need to be reported to His Holiness the Pope?"
"No need. His Holiness the Pope has given me great authority, allowing me not to report everything to him. The matter of Venice earlier involved diplomacy, which required reporting. This is mainly an internal affair; we can investigate directly."
"But this matter doesn't seem to be within the authority permitted by His Holiness the Pope," Enrique still didn't understand.
"How is it not? Investigating other criminal evidence of the participants certainly falls within the scope of the case investigation. Moreover, we can find clues from illicit financial transactions and discover previously overlooked accomplices."
Seeing that Enrique still had doubts, Ennio lightly patted his shoulder: "Don't worry. Once we're done and deliver all the money and evidence to His Holiness the Pope, even if His Holiness the Pope didn't originally intend to punish them, would he refuse such a large sum of money given to him for free? Even if His Holiness the Pope decides to let them off, he would still have leverage over them, and all of this would be our credit.
If we work so hard for His Holiness the Pope, and His Holiness the Pope still discards us after using us, then who would dare to work for the Pope in the future? I believe His Holiness the Pope would not do such a thing."
"Ennio is right, Enrique, you are too cautious," Enzo commented.
Ennio, pleased by the praise, suggested: "Those parasites of the state, who took so much money from the state, not only failed to do their job but also did things that harmed the state. They are truly unforgivable.
At that time, we can take a portion of the confiscated ill-gotten gains to subsidize our expenses. The brothers have also worked hard recently; giving them some benefits will allow them to serve the Papal States better in the future."
"Absolutely not," Enzo immediately stopped him. "This money must be handed over to His Holiness the Pope in its entirety, untouched. We need His Holiness the Pope to trust us. If you want to reward them, you can take some of my money and distribute it."
"Why so strict? All of this is being done by our people. The brothers below, having received benefits, certainly won't speak out. As long as they don't speak, who will know?" Ennio muttered, a little disappointed.
"Do you really think His Holiness the Pope sending Faol to assist us is merely assistance? Faol is very sensitive to money. If a portion of this money is taken by us, he might discover it.
This relates to whether His Holiness the Pope can still confidently delegate tasks to us in the future. It's true that Faol might not discover it, but do you think it's worth taking this risk for such a small amount of money?"
"Not worth it," Ennio said, but in his heart, he thought: This is not a small amount of money at all. With so much money, people might never have seen this much in their lives.