Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty-Four

morning class William lures Salvatore and then the Administrator into confessing their pasts.Severinus found the stolen glasses, Nicholas made a new pair, William, now with six eyes, began to decipher the manuscript of Venantius We were going out when Malachi came. As soon as he saw us there, he looked troubled and wanted to turn around and leave again.Severinus saw him inside and said, "You're looking for me? Is it for—" He paused and looked at us.Malachi secretly gestured to him, as if to say, "Let's talk about it later..." As he was about to come in, we were about to go out, so the three of us blocked the door.Malachi said somewhat redundantly, "I'm looking for Brother Herbalist...I...my head hurts."

"It must be the stuffy air in the library," William said to him in a rather sympathetic tone. "You should get some fresh air." Malachi pursed his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but gave up after thinking about it, nodded his head, and walked into the laboratory.We also walked out. "What is he doing with Severinus?" I asked. "Adesso," my mentor said to me impatiently, "learn to use your head." Then he changed the subject. "Now we're going to talk to a few people, at least," he said, looking around , and said, "While they are still alive. By the way, from now on, we must be more careful about our diet. We should eat on ordinary plates when we eat, and make sure that others have drunk it when we drink water." The same jug of water. We are the ones who know the most about Berengar's death. Except for the murderer, of course."

"Who do you want to talk to now?" "Adesso," William said, "you must have noticed that the most interesting things happen here at night. Monks die at night, people sneak into the scriptorium at night, and women are brought into the monastery at night. ...the monastery has two quite different aspects between day and night, and the night side, though less wonderful, is much more interesting. So everyone who wanders in the night interests us, including ——for example—you saw the guy with that girl last night. Maybe the girl thing had nothing to do with the poisoning incident, but maybe it has something to do with it. All in all, I have some ideas about the guy last night, And he must know better than anyone else about the nocturnal life of this holy place. Ha, look, he's coming this way."

He pointed to the oncoming Salvatore, and the ugly man saw us too. I noticed he hesitated in his steps, as if trying to avoid us.But only for a moment, and it was clear that he realized that he would not be able to escape this meeting, and continued walking towards us.He grinned and murmured a few unclear greetings, which was regarded as greeting us.My tutor couldn't wait to hear him finish and spoke sharply to him. "Did you know that the Inquisition is here tomorrow?" he asked Salvatore. The news didn't seem to excite Salvatore, and he whispered, "Me?" "You'd better tell me the truth--I'm your friend, and Brother Menoret--before you have to confess to those people tomorrow."

Under this kind of unprepared attack, Salvatore seemed to give up all resistance, and he looked at William timidly, as if he was ready to say everything he was asked. "There was a woman in the kitchen last night. Who was that with her?" "Oh, a woman who betrays herself must not be a pure and good woman." Salvatore answered irrelevantly. "I don't want to know if that girl is pure or not, I just want to know who is with her!" "Hmph, these wicked women are smart! They think they know how to seduce men..." William grabbed his front collar roughly: "Who is with her, is it you or the administrator?"

Salvatore realized that it was useless for him to dodge any more, and he told a strange story that we had a hard time hearing. According to him: in order to please the administrator, he found girls for him in the village and took them down the path into the monastery at night.He wouldn't tell us where the trail was, but he swore he did it out of good intentions, and confessed hilariously that he couldn't find a way to entertain himself, only hoping that the girl, after satisfying the caretaker, would do the same. Give him a little sweetness to taste.When he said these things, he kept a slick smile on his face and kept blinking, as if he was talking to a layman who was used to this kind of business.He stole glances at me, and I couldn't look at him as openly as before, because I felt bound by the same secret as him, his accomplice, and partner in crime.

At this moment, William decided to put all his eggs in one basket. He suddenly asked Salvatore: "Did you know Remigio before or after being with Dolcino?" Salvatore "plopped" to his knees, crying and begging William not to destroy him, and never hand him over to the magistrates' court.William swore seriously that he would never tell anyone about these things.So Salvatore confessed everything about the administrator without hesitation.They met on Bald Mountain, and both were followers of Dolcino.Salvatore fled with the administrator, entered the Casal Monastery, and then joined the Crunac Order together.By the time he stammered his plea for forgiveness, he had evidently told all he knew.William decided to attack Remigio by surprise, and he left Salvatore to confess in church.

On the other side of the monastery, in front of the barn, the warden was haggling with some farmers from the bottom of the valley.He gave us an anxious look, pretending to be busy, but William insisted on speaking to him. "I believe that, for reasons connected with your position, you are obviously obliged to walk about the Abbey when the others are asleep?" said William. "It depends," Remigio replied. "Sometimes I have to take care of things and I have to sacrifice a few hours of sleep." "Did you never see any sign of anyone else wandering between the kitchen and the library during these busy hours?"

"If I see anything, I'll report it to the dean." "Of course." William nodded, and suddenly changed the subject, "The village in the valley below is not very rich, is it?" "Yes, but not always," replied Remigio. "There are beneficiaries who live there, depend on the monastery, and when the harvest is good, they share with us. For example, on St. John's Day, they can share." to twelve bushels of malt, one horse, seven steers, one bull, four heifers, five calves, twenty sheep, fifty pigs, fifty chickens, and ten boxes of bees. Add twenty smoked pigs, twenty-seven barrels of lard, half a barrel of honey, three cases of soap, a fishing net..."

"I understand, I understand," interrupted William, "but you must admit that it didn't give me any further insight into the situation of the village, for example, how many villagers were paid, and how much land was owned by the unpaid. , and let them farm by themselves..." "Well, about that," said Remigio, "there is fifty boards for a normal family." "How much is a plate?" "Of course it's a four-square taboo." "Four squares of Tabusi? How big is it?" ※Bandhammer School & E-Book of Fine School※ "A square of tabsi is equal to thirty-six square feet. Or, eight hundred tabsi is equal to a mile. In this way, a family - on the land to the north - cultivates at least as many olive trees as Squeeze half a bag of oil."

"Half a bag?" "Yes, a sack equals five hams, and a ham is eight cups." "I see," my mentor said deflatedly. "Every place has its own unit of measurement. For example, do you measure wine in 'tankas'?" "Or 'rubies.' Six rubies is a hundred brentas, and eight hundred brentas is a cask. You could say a rubbish is two tankas and six pints." William resigned, "I think I understand better now." Remigio asked: "Is there anything else you want to know?" I thought he sounded contemptuous. "Yes, I asked you about the life of the villagers because I was in the library today thinking of the admonitions given to women by Humbert of Romance, especially the chapter on "The Poor Women". The chapter says that they are more easily tempted by the sins of the flesh because of poverty than others. He also says that when they sin with laymen, they commit moral sins, but when they sin with clergy , the sin is even deeper. The most serious sin is that the accomplices are monks, who should have been cut off from the world. You know better than I that even in a place as holy as a monastery, the temptation of the devil is never lacking. I was wondering, when you were in contact with people in the village, have you ever heard of some monks tempting young girls to commit adultery?" Though my mentor said these things in a tone of indifference, the reader may imagine how they disturbed the poor administrator.I can't say that he turned pale suddenly, only that I had expected him to be pale, so I thought he looked even paler. "The things you asked me, if I knew, I would have told the dean." He said timidly, "Anyway, if this matter helps your investigation, it is absolutely fine for me to know." No secret. In fact, you reminded me of your first question... The night poor Adelmo died, I was pondering a question in the yard... about hens, You know... I heard a rumor that there was a blacksmith who used to go to the henhouse at night to steal chickens... Yes, I happened to see that night - from a distance, I'm not sure - Berengar Go back to the dormitory, walk along the edge of the chapel, it seems to come out of the cathedral... I am not surprised, the monks have been whispering about Berengar for some days. Maybe you have heard it too... "No. Tell me." "Er...how shall I put it? Everyone suspects that Berengar has a passion that is not very suitable for a monk..." "Are you trying to tell me that he has affairs with the village girls, as I asked you?" The administrator coughed in embarrassment, and an ambiguous smile flashed across his face: "Oh, no... it's more inappropriate passion..." "Is the sensual gratification enjoyed by a monk and a country girl a more fitting passion, in your opinion?" "I didn't say that, but I agree that depraved behavior is the same as morality, and there are also levels...There are two situations in which the flesh is tempted, one is according to nature, and the other is...against nature. " "You mean that Berengar was driven by carnal desire for people of the same sex?" "What I want to say is that it was discussed in private... I tell you these things to show my sincerity and good intentions..." "Thank you then. I also agree that the evil of sodomy is far more despicable than other forms of lust, and frankly, I have no intention of investigating these carnal acts..." "It's a sad and pathetic thing, even if it happened," said the administrator, shaking his head. "Yes, Remigio. We are all wretched sinners. I would never look for a mote in a brother's eye, lest I have a great beam in my eye. But if you will tell me any Beams, I'd be grateful to you. So let's talk about a big solid trunk, and let the dust blow away with the wind. How much do you say a square tabusi?" "Thirty-six square feet. But your time is precious, don't waste it lightly. When you want to know something in particular, just ask me. Consider me a loyal friend." "I see you as a good friend." William said gently, "Tell Ubertino, you used to be in the same order as me, and I will never betray a former brother, especially when we are in the past few days. Waiting for the Papal delegation to arrive, they were guided by a Grand Inquisitor, famous for having burned many of the Dolcinos. Do you say that a square of tabusi equals thirty-six square feet?" Administrators are not stupid.He decided there was no use playing cat and mouse anymore, especially when he realized he was the mouse. "Brother William," he said, "I think you know more things than I think. Help me, and I will help you. Yes, I am a poor flesh, and my temptations to the flesh Submit. Salvatore told me that you or your novice ran into them in the kitchen last night. You know a lot, William, and you know that even the Cardinal of Avignon is not a paragon of morality. I know you don't Not asking me for these pathetic petty crimes. But I also realize you've learned something about my past. Like many of us Menorite monks, I've had a weird life. Years Formerly I believed in the ideal of poverty, so I gave up the monastic life and became a vagabond. Like many others like me, I believed in the preaching of Dorsino. I have little education, I have been ordained, but I can hardly even say Mass. I have no concept of theology, maybe I am not really attracted to some ideas. You know, I once tried to rebel against the monarchs, and now I serve them, and for these For the sake of the lords of the land, order people like me. Betray or betray: we simple-minded people really have little choice." "Sometimes simple people know more about certain things than learned people," William said. "Perhaps," said the administrator with a shrug, "but I don't even know why I did it at the time. In the case of Salvator, it was easy to understand. His parents were serfs, and he had a difficult childhood... Dolcino stands for rebellion, the destruction of lords. It's different for me, I was born in the city, I didn't run away from hunger. It's - I don't know how to put it - a fool's festival, Spectacular carnival...on the hills with Dolcino, before we were forced to feed on the corpses of our comrades who died in the field, before we died of misery more than we could eat, and were thrown north of Lu There was an air of freedom on the slopes of Leshan before the birds and animals fed... maybe even those moments... I didn't know what freedom was, and the missionaries said to us: 'The truth will set you free.' We felt Freedom, we think that's the truth. We think everything we do is right..." "Where... are you free to bond with women?" I asked.I don't even know why, but Ubertino's words have haunted me since the night before, together with the descriptions I read in the writing room, and the events that have happened to me. rather. William stared at me curiously, probably not expecting me to be so outspoken.The administrator stared at me like I was some strange animal. ※Bandhammer Academy's E-Book※ "On Lubei Leshan," he said, "many people grew up sleeping in a small room a few feet in size with a dozen other people—brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters. You'd think this new situation would be too much for them. What's the point? Before they did it out of necessity, now they do it out of choice. And, at night, when you're afraid of the arrival of an enemy army, and you lie on the ground, you hold your Neighbors, lest you feel the cold... Pagans, you poor monks who come from castles and spend your life in monasteries, think that is a form of faith inspired by the devil. But that is a way of life, and that is a A new experience... There are no more masters, and God is with us, they say. I am not saying that we are right, William, the fact that you see me here is because I have been in a long time That kind of life was abandoned before. But I'll never understand our debates about the poverty and ownership and rights of Christ... I told you, it was a big carnival, and at the carnival, Everything works in reverse. You don't get smarter as you get older, you just get greedy. Now I'm such a glutton... You can condemn a heretic and put him to death, but, Would you condemn a glutton?" "That's enough, Remigio," said William. "I don't want to ask you about your past, but about your recent past. Tell me frankly, I will not make you guilty, I can neither Nor will you be judged. But you must tell me all you know about the monastery. You walk around the monastery day and night, and you cannot be ignorant. Who killed Venantius? " "I don't know, I can swear to you. I just know when and where he died." "When? Where?" "I'll tell you everything. That night, after Vespers, I went into the kitchen..." "How did you get in? And why?" "I went in by the door next to the vegetable garden, and I have a key which a locksmith made for me long ago. As for my reasons...that is not important, you just said yourself that you would not condemn me for the weakness of the flesh. He smiled in embarrassment, "but I don't want you to think that I've been committing adultery all day... That night I was looking for some food for the girl Salvatore would take to the kitchen..." "Where did it come in?" "Oh, there are other entrances to the monastery wall on both sides of the gate, and the abbot knows about these passages, and so do I . . . but the girl didn't come in that night, for what I've discovered, which I'm about to tell you now I sent her back, that's why I asked her to come back last night. If you arrive later, it will be me, not Salvatore, who warned me about the cathedral. Someone's there. So I went back to my room..." "Let's go back to the night between Sunday and Monday." "Yes, good. I went into the kitchen and saw Venantius lying on the floor, dead." "In the kitchen?" "Yes, by the sink. Perhaps he has just come down from the office." "No signs of struggle?" "No. It's just that there is a broken cup next to the body, and there are still some traces of water on the ground." "How do you know it's water?" "I don't know. I guess it's water, or what else?" William pointed out to me later that the cup could have meant two different things.Either someone in the kitchen gave Venantius a glass of poison to drink, or the poor young man has taken the poison, (but where? when?) Go there to drink water to soothe the internal organs Or a sudden burning, spasm, and pain of the tongue (his must have turned black, too, like Berengar's). Anyway, that's all we know for now.Seeing the body, Remigio asked himself in horror what he should do, and finally decided not to act rashly.If he went to ask for help, he would have to admit that he had sneaked into the cathedral at night, and that it would do nothing for his dead brother.So he resolved to leave it all as it was, and let another one find the body when the door opened tomorrow morning.He rushed out to find Salvatore, who had brought the girl to the convent, and after they had sent the girl away, the two of them went back to their room to sleep—in fact, they tossed and turned, unable to sleep.During the morning prayer, when the pig farmer hurried in to find the director, Remigio thought that the dead body was where he had left it the night before, and when he found that the dead body had been moved to the pig's blood vat, He was horrified.Who moved that body out of the kitchen? For this, Remigio could not offer an explanation. "The only person who can freely enter and leave the cathedral is Malachi," William said. The admin's reaction was vehement: "No, it won't be Malachi. I mean, I don't believe it... Anyway, I didn't say anything against Malachi..." "Take it easy, whatever you owe Malachi. Does he know about you?" "Yes." The administrator blushed. "He thinks that is the freedom of action chosen by people, and he doesn't want to interfere with it. If I were you, I would pay attention to Benno. He and Berengar and Venan Tius has strange connections...but I swear to you, that's all I've seen. If I learn anything more, I'll let you know." "That's enough for now. I'll find you when I need you." Evidently relieved, the warden went back to his business, yelling at the farmer who had stolen a few sacks of grain. Just then Severinus came.In his hand he held William's spectacles—the same pair that had been stolen the night before. "I found it next to Berengar's frock," he said. "I saw you put this on your nose the other day in the library. It's yours, isn't it?" "Praise be to God," said William joyfully, "we've solved two problems at once! I've got my glasses back, and I'm finally sure it was Berengar who robbed us in the office that night!" No sooner had he finished speaking than Nicholas of Morimondo came running up to us, even happier than William.In his hand he held a pair of spectacles that had just been finished, the lenses already mounted on the forks. "William!" he exclaimed, "I did it all by myself and I'm done! I'm sure they'll work!" Then he was dumbfounded to see another pair of glasses already on William's nose. Not wanting to discourage him, William took off his old glasses and put on new ones. "This one is better than the old one," he said, "so I can use the old one as a backup and just wear yours." Then he turned to me, "Adesso, now I want Go back to your room and read the papers you know. It's hard! Wait for me anywhere. Thank you, thank you, dear brother." The morning service bell rang, and I went into the chapel to sing hymns with the others.While everyone else was praying for Berengar's soul, I thanked God for letting us find one pair of glasses and get another pair. In that peaceful atmosphere, forgetting all the ugly things I had seen and heard, I dozed off and did not wake up until the liturgy was over.I realized that I hadn't slept at all the night before, and it was even more discouraging to think of how much energy I had exhausted.At this point, stepping outside into the fresh air, my thoughts began to be overrun by the girl's memory. To distract myself, I strode up and down.I felt a little dizzy, and I patted my numb hands vigorously, and my feet stepped heavily on the ground.I'm still sleepy, yet I feel awake and energized.I also don't know what is wrong with me.