It was already late at night when the front-line battle report was delivered to Julia.
Even so, the College of Cardinals meeting remained fully attended. Seeing her read the report with a calm expression that revealed nothing, someone asked impatiently:
“Did we win?”
Many were eager to know the outcome of the Battle of Gargo, so upon hearing the question, they all turned their expectant gazes toward Julia.
Did they win?
Julia slowly put down the report, the corners of her lips curling slightly upward.
“Of course! I told you before, victory belongs to us!”
Victory belongs to us!
These words were like a shot of adrenaline. The Cardinals, who had been driven to wit's end by the constant influx of frantic reports from the front line, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“That's right.”
“You are correct.”
“Victory will surely be ours!”
They chimed in one after another.
With this morale-boosting victory, what followed became much simpler.
Julia did not forget who had brought about this victory. Thus, she proposed another motion during the meeting, and as expected, with the Battle of Gargo won, her proposal passed unanimously.
As for the contents of the proposal—
Lu Li was dumbfounded after listening to Julia's explanation. Staring at the woman before him, he could not help but feel a headache coming on.
“Spread the faith if you want, but why do I have to be involved?” he asked.
“You are our Pope!” Julia replied with a trace of confusion. “So isn't it only natural to allow more people to behold Your Holiness's magnificent countenance?”
Lu Li frowned slightly. He could understand the Secretariat's thinking—shaping the image of a great Pope was indeed beneficial for propaganda. However, donning a holy robe, holding a bouquet of fresh flowers, and being surrounded by over a hundred painters to be drawn was simply too embarrassing.
Seeing this, Julia vaguely guessed his thoughts. Pressing her lips together to stifle a smile, she said softly:
“How about this then? Allow me to paint Your Holiness's portrait myself, and then we can send it to the workshop for mass production.”
Hearing this, Lu Li's resistance diminished considerably. Rather than being stared at by a hundred people, letting Julia paint a portrait of him alone was much more acceptable.
He just had not expected Julia to actually know how to paint.
“You know how to paint?” Lu Li asked.
“I learned a bit when I was young.”
Julia's expression dimmed slightly as a gentle, smiling face unconsciously crossed her mind.
“Little Julia, painting again? Let me see what you're drawing.”
A youthful figure snatched the drawing board, admiring her younger sister's artwork while shouting excitedly:
“Ohoho! It's the royal capital's castle! Is it for me?”
“No it's not! It's for Mother!”
Little Julia yelled as she reached out to grab the drawing board held high above her head. But she had been so small back then; even stretching on tiptoes with all her might, she still could not reach the board that seemed to have flown up into the sky.
“Since it's not for your dear sister, I'm confiscating it.” The youthful figure pouted, her tone carrying a hint of jealousy.
Little Julia flushed with anger and embarrassment, jumping up to slam her fist heavily into the person's chest. “Give it back to me!”
“I won't! I won't!” The person seemed to get stubborn too, holding the drawing board high and turning to run.
She ran and ran up ahead.
Tiny Little Julia chased and chased behind her.
She felt that the figure ran so very fast! Perhaps she would never be able to catch up in her entire life.
So she squatted on the ground and cried, weeping as loudly as she could.
Sure enough, the person ahead got scared, stopping in her tracks and turning back.
“Alright, alright, Little Julia, don't cry. Sister brought you a gift.”
As she spoke, she produced a beautifully wrapped gift box from somewhere and held it out before Little Julia.
“Here, I had to go through a lot of trouble to get this,” she said.
The young Julia's gaze was instantly caught by the small box. She stopped her loud wailing, reached out to take the box, and eagerly opened it.
Yet when she opened the gift box, she found an even smaller box hidden inside.
Little Julia took out the inner box and eagerly opened it again, only to find yet another box inside.
Inside the box was a smaller box, inside that smaller box was a tiny box, and inside that tiny box was an even tinier box.
Finally, Little Julia opened the thumb-sized box. Seeing that it was completely empty with nothing inside, she could no longer hold it in and burst into loud tears once more.
Meanwhile, the person could no longer hold back her roaring laughter. Laughing continuously, she presented the real gift—which she had prepared all along—right before her eyes.
“My foolish little sister,” she said. “This is the real gift I brought for you.”
It was a paintbrush crafted from a branch of the Ancient Tree of Life, swirling with endless vitality. Upon seeing the paintbrush, Little Julia not only forgot to cry, but even cast aside the drawing board that had just been stolen from her.
“Sister...” Julia murmured, lowering her eyes. Her gaze seemed to transcend time, falling once more upon that paintbrush.
“Hmm? What did you say?” Lu Li tilted his head.
He was not sure if it was just his imagination, but for a split second, he had actually felt... sadness from this woman?
“It's nothing. What does Your Holiness think of this proposal?” Julia shook her head, banishing her stray thoughts as she asked again.
Lu Li was somewhat torn, but considering that the benefits far outweighed the cost, he gave a slight nod, agreeing to it.
Ultimately, Julia could not suppress the turn of her lips, a subtle smile curling at her mouth.
First make an unacceptable request, then step back to offer a lesser alternative to induce a sense of compromise in the other party, thereby increasing the probability of acceptance.
This was a negotiation tactic Julia used to employ frequently. Though she rarely used it after gaining supreme power, it proved unexpectedly effective when used on this young man.
At the thought of having to strike various poses as requested and let Julia paint him, Lu Li felt an aching headache coming on.
Fortunately, hearing that she had to deal with matters regarding railway construction and would unlikely have free time over the next few days, he breathed a small sigh of relief.
Little did he expect that the very next day, a lady-in-waiting informed him that the attire was ready, and that our dear Cardinal was currently waiting in the studio for his arrival.
Though somewhat helpless, having already agreed, he could not break his word.
“So this is the attire you prepared?”
Lu Li stared at the solitary, holy, snow-white robe, as well as the olive branch crown and a bouquet of blooming white lilies resting beside it, his lips twitching uncontrollably.
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