The next day, Langdon woke up with a groggy head. A few seconds later, Sophie's scream came from the room.
Half an hour later, Langdon and a blushing Sophie emerged from the room, fully dressed.
Sophie found the butler and asked, only to learn that William was sound asleep in a guest room in the manor. This made Sophie and Langdon breathe a sigh of relief, thinking it was a good thing William didn't see them in their current state, otherwise, William would definitely mock them.
These two would never have imagined that after William said he was drunk and wanted to sleep and left yesterday, they would fall for each other, entirely because William, that shameless fellow, secretly put some unusual things in their drinks.
Before William left, Langdon and Sophie were already eager to embrace each other. As soon as William left, the two went into the room, and then everything proceeded exactly as William had planned.
William, feeling refreshed, slept until noon. It was Langdon who woke him up when it was almost lunchtime. Dressed in a complete set of handmade clothes brought by a manor maid, and led by the old butler who exuded gentlemanly grace from head to toe, William and Langdon, two bumpkins, arrived at the dining room looking unnatural.
Langdon was a bit better; after all, he grew up and lived in America, so not having experienced aristocratic life was understandable. But for William, the heir to an earldom, not knowing basic aristocratic etiquette was inexcusable.
It seems I really need to find a butler for the castle. A professional English butler not only manages everything in the employer's home but also teaches the employer all aristocratic etiquette.
A good butler knows everything related to etiquette, from dining to dressing, behavior, and speaking.
After an awkward lunch, Sophie quickly took William and Langdon to the garden to drink coffee and chat, which made things better. Sophie held Langdon's hand and complained, "That meal was so uncomfortable. It's my first time eating with a dozen people surrounding me. It's too uncomfortable. William, is your home like my grandmother's?"
"Of course not. I also come from a common background and don't really understand aristocratic etiquette. I can't find a good butler now. How about you let me have your butler?"
Sophie rolled her eyes, "Don't even think about it. Old Claude has been serving my family since my grandmother's generation. He can't possibly leave my family."
"Alright, it's really not easy to find a suitable butler, but" William paused, raised his eyebrows, and smiled at Sophie and Langdon's clasped hands, saying, "So you two are together?"
William's strange gaze made Sophie a little embarrassed, while Langdon chuckled and said, "Yes, and we have to thank you. If you hadn't pulled us into celebrating, we wouldn't know when we would have confirmed our relationship. Thank you, William."
"You're welcome. Actually, I should be thanking you two, haha," William said, laughing.
Sophie asked curiously, "Thank us for what?"
William shook his head, he wouldn't say why. "Nothing, anyway, congratulations to you two. I'll give you a big gift when you get married."
Seeing that William wouldn't say, the two didn't press him. "Thank you for your blessing, William. You're a big rich man, I'm really looking forward to your gift."
The three chatted and laughed. Finally, Sophie couldn't hold back and asked, "William, are you really not going to look for the Holy Grail anymore?"
The Holy Grail has already been found, what else is there to look for? William pretended to be unconcerned and nodded, "I do want to look, but all the clues are broken. Where am I supposed to look? You two should stop thinking about the Holy Grail. Just get married and have children peacefully. And let me say this first, your first child must be my godson."
Hearing this, Langdon and Sophie looked at William with strange expressions. This made William, who was calculating their child, a little uncomfortable. "What's wrong? Is there a problem with me being your child's godfather?"
"God, of course there's a problem, William. Are you religious?" Sophie looked at William with an expression that said, 'You're such an idiot.'
"Ah," William was choked by Sophie's words. The Devonshire family really didn't seem to be religious, which was truly rare in Europe and America. After being reborn for so long, William had never been to worship.
He muttered to himself, "It would be a miracle if the Devonshire family were religious. They dared to put the wife of the one in heaven in front of their castle like a guardian angel. If they were religious, wouldn't they be walking straight into a trap after death?"
"Alright, maybe I can try joining a denomination. Who knows, I might even receive guidance from the God of Light and start believing in him."
"God, William, you truly are an unbeliever, to dare speak such disrespectful words. You know, Landon and I are both believers." Sophie said, annoyed.
"I'd believe Landon is a believer, but if you say you're a believer, only a ghost would believe it. Believe in whom? Your ancestors? But speaking of which, Sophie, if you believe in the God of Light, doesn't that mean your beliefs are the same as the Chinese? Most of them believe in their ancestors, hahaha. The only difference is that your ancestors are truly of great importance."
Sophie and Landon exchanged glances. William's words made them realize it was true, but saying it in front of them was incredibly rude. They glared at William.
This made William burst into laughter again.
Seeing Sophie getting a bit flustered, Landon quickly comforted her and changed the subject, saying to William, "Do you remember what Teabing said: 'The Holy Grail beneath the rose'?"
William also knew his joke just now might have been a bit much for Westerners. Seeing Landon change the subject, he quickly nodded. "Of course I remember. Isn't that how you knew I was going to Rosslyn Chapel?"
Landon nodded and continued, "Although the Holy Grail isn't in Rosslyn Chapel anymore, we can hypothesize: what if the Holy Grail was moved to another meridian? All buildings on the meridian are marked with roses on the map. Sophie, do you know when Mr. Jacques Saunière started working at the Louvre?"
Sophie asked, puzzled, "Saunière seems to have joined the Louvre in '84. What does that have to do with the Holy Grail?"
"Of course it does! First, the pyramid in front of the Louvre is built on a meridian. Now, think about when that pyramid was completed."
William and Sophie both fell into thought. Sophie, who had lived in France her whole life, quickly spoke up, "That pyramid started construction in '84 and was completed in '89. What's the connection? That's just a normal coincidence."
"Yes, that alone doesn't prove anything. You know I'm a professor at Harvard, and I know many other professors. Do you know what I found? Hehe, it would be strange if the names of the four elders of the Priory of Sion all appeared on the planning and construction committee of the glass pyramid. And wouldn't it be highly suspicious if, from '84 until now, for 16 years, the director of the Louvre was always one of those four people?"
William and Sophie nodded. That was indeed a bit strange, but not yet conclusive proof.
Landon's eyes gleamed as he said, "And one more thing, William, do you remember the day we met?"
"Of course."
"Do you remember when I first walked into the basement and mentioned that very special inverted pyramid to you and Fache?"
William nodded.
Landon asked with a smile, "Sophie, growing up in France, you must have seen that inverted pyramid. Now, both of you, imagine in your minds what the large inverted glass pyramid and the small marble pyramid look like when combined?"
As soon as the inverted pyramid flashed through William's mind, he exclaimed, "No way! Good heavens!"
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