Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 54

Allenca Viandros's Determination

“They eat humans – No - they eat all races aside from themselves,” Illumca explained.

“To wooork…with a deeemon…is a blasphemy. Nooo matter…if you aaare a king…or a lowly beggar. Theeeir…only faaate…shooould…be deeeath!”

“But why do they eat us?” Connie then asked.

“Why do we even need to know?!” the fat priest slammed his hands on the wall. “Those filthy, disgusting children of Nakir-Sud-Mara, Thrice Cursed!”

“I am sorry. I went too far,” Connie said apologetically, pulling back a bit to defuse the situation that she unwittingly created.

“I…I aaam…sorry too.”

“Whatever the case, now you know the whole reason why we had to have you, no matter how unwilling I am,” Cardinal Deacon Babblebrook grimaced angrily while massaging the hand that he used to hit the wall. He did not expect the wall to be so solid. “Also, we can neither deny or confirm the conjectures you just spilled.”

“Ah politics. Always fun,” Connie replied. “Hear that, Illumca?”

“I heard.”

“Yooou…are not our…laaast resort. Buuut it…will be eeeasier…for aaall of us…if yooou accepted.”

“Hmm…” Connie played with her hair and glanced at the dark elf now sitting at the arm of her side of the sofa. Then she had a bit of an idea. “What do you think? Should we accept?”

“…” the dark elf seemed to think about it. “Do we have anything urgent?”

“You don’t need to care about what I have in mind,” she said, caressing her pert and springy bronze thigh with her free hand. “I want to know what you think.”

The dark elf did not make any move to discourage this.

The fat priest was too preoccupied with his increasingly swollen hand to notice the very inappropriate action. The Maiden, however, was very much aware of it and was slowly turning red.

Upon their first meeting, the dark elf seemed to be an aloof and cold individual with a clear dislike of humans. Judging by harsh tone she used when talking about the race. Which was normal for dark elves as far as she knew. However, the actions between them were ambiguous and sometimes bordering on inappropriate.

“One question. Do you know why the demons tried to kidnap you?”

“…No…I…don’t…”

Illumca frowned at the non-answer. However, there were things that one could not readily say, no matter how much she pushed. She gazed at Connie for affirmation. Her reply was two pats on her thigh, a sign that she would leave it up to her.

“I…think we should help her.”

“Oh, and what is your reason?” Connie asked, neither reprimanding nor accepting her answer.

Illumca leaned down and whispered. “If we help her, we can make a connection with the Church. It’s good for business, don’t you think? Also, we might be able to get her to help us get Martell a cleric job. A villager is a useless job. We need a healer,” sensing Connie not immediately giving her any sign of approval, she began to feel worried. “I…is it no good?”

“…nothing else?”

“I…um…well, I, er…kind of want to see the Capital with you,” she said quickly with a deep blush.

Connie appeared to think about this for a few minutes, then she said, “We accept the quest. But I want a different kind of reward.”

“Is the reward not enough?!”

“I don’t need the money. However, I have something else that I need,” she pressed on.

“…tell us,” the Cardinal Deacon said, his bulbous neck meat bouncing as he turned towards them.

“I desire…information.”

“We are not the Hunter’s Guild! We don’t sell information!!” he shouted.

“What…kind of information?” Allenca asked.

“About…the Old Continent.”

At the uttering of the term, Connie watched the difference in their reactions. Oho, what a stare. The Cardinal Deacon does not seem to know, but the girl does.

“Why dooo…yooou want to…know about this…Old Continent?” she asked again. The tone heavy.

“You don’t need to know. As you said.”

“…we…don’t have…the exact infooormation. Buuut…the Church owns…maaany records. Old ones. Eeeven some that are…older than…Calendia.”

“Great! I want access to them.”

“You want to access our archives?! It is restricted to non-Church members!”

“That is our price. Take it or leave it.”

“This is outrageous!! Those are holy scripts! Your Holiness -!”

“Babblebrook. Shut up.”

The atmosphere change once again and the balding priest shut his mouth up.

“Again…” Illumca felt her ears twitch.

Allenca Viandros sat straight up and put her hands on her lap, exuding a different atmosphere. One befitting the Maiden of Water. “Yooou…will beee…accompanied by ooone…of our seeenior…members. At all…tiiimes.”

“Of course.”

“Is this wise, Your Holiness?”

“It is…wiiithin my…power aaand…responsibility,” she said simply.

“Good. Very good. Is this a deal?”

“…yes. Weee…will inform…the guild.”

Connie offered her hand to seal the deal, which Allenca accepted. They did not shake their hand, only they stayed still for a few second before releasing them.

“Then I will see you…”

“Early in the morning tomorrow,” the fat priest answered rudely. This did not face Connie, who just confirmed the answer with a nod.

“Lady…Cornelia…”

“You can call me Connie.”

“Veeery…well, Connie. Do…yooou have the…demon’s…booody?”

“Yes,” Connie replied promptly, seeing no need to hide the fact.

“Then…you…shooould…dismantle…it…soon. Having…a demon’s…cooorpse for…too long…might gain…unwaaanted…attention,” the girl kindly advised.

“Understood. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cardinal Deacon Babblebrook watched the two adolescent girls leave through the gate from the window, grimacing. He did not really like the two. “Is this wise, Her Holiness? A detestable noble and an impure race. I’d normally stay away from them. And that noble girl...irritates me.”

"I thiiink...she purposefully...did that."

"What for?"

"I dooon't know...and I dooon't need...to," the girl said. "We...aaalready have...too much...to do."

"Still..."

“Enough...she saaaved…me and haaave enough power too kill…Named Deeemon. Aaand she…diiid not hide her…discontent…towards us. I preeefer…that raaather than…the alternative. And…by the…stooory Henrietta…told meee…she is…at odds…with nobles other...than...the hysterical girl."

“Might have fooled me. She has the arrogance of a noble and more,” the man said, keeping his silence for a few moments before asking. “…do you really think it was an inside job?”

“Theee…attack was…premediated…aaand…they know…ooour path.”

“You mean the nobles? Do you think they are working together with those damnable demons?”

“I…dooon’t know. But weee must…beee careful. Weee don’t know…whooo is our friend…or…enemy.”

“I see,” the man hesitated for a bit, as his first question actually lead to another, which he tried to word in his mind.”

“…yooou…have something…else…” the girl said biting into a tea snack which she had almost forgotten due to the tense negotiation. “Speak.”

“I…well, despite the obvious, the girl had a point. I know that you insisted on it, but it would be easier if we just wait for the Knight Order from the Capital. A one or two days of lateness shouldn’t matter that much.”

“…Babblebrook…” Despite her being more than 30 years younger than the fat priest, she did not use his title when speaking, indicating her status in the hierarchy. She only used his title when they are with guests, as a kindness for the man. He really was very attached to the title, the poor old thing. “Yooou are…aaaware of…how…the people aaand the…nobles…think ooof the Faith?”

“The people still revere Junnaveil as they have always been. The nobles…not so much.”

The girl nodded as an affirmation.

“The Royal Family…I don’t know much about how they stood, but they seem to support us. Just as they should. The Kingdom only exists because of the Hero. The very Hero that we summoned. It is only right that they protect us. That was why they sent the Knights in the first place.”

“Thaaaat…is how…mooost…people think. But it iiis…wrong!” the girl said. Her languid, half-closed eyes hid a silent anger. “Liiike…you said, theee…Knights they sent…were strong. But nooot…the best. The Royal…Family iiis…looking down…ooon us.”

“That’s - !”

“To them, we are just an old religion. Yeees…a thousand years…is enough fooor…people to forget. Eeenough to forget…how many liiives…had been lost…how many heroes…died. So now…the capital is…busy fighting…against theeemselves…and most of the nobles…had fooorgotten to…whom they…owed their continued…existence.”

She took a deep breath and smiled. A smile that somehow scared the Cardinal Deacon. One that hid pain and despair and determination.

“Weee…cannot…leeet the Royal Family ooor…the other countries think…that we cannot haaandle…an attack by the…Deeemons. We do not serve…the Royal Family…or…the Nobles. We serve the people!”

Only now did the Cardinal Deacon understood the meaning behind the kind gesture from the Royal Family. He thought that it was odd, but he did not think much about the underlying sentiment. “I – I did not think that far…! I am awed, You Holiness.”

“The Pope…has seen…aaand taught me…many things.”

“I see…then…” The fat man rubbed his stomach while pacing for a bit. “…I will ask for reinforcements from the Cathedral.”

“Why?”

“Judging by what you just said, I’d rather not trust Cardinal Deacon Goldstein and his ilk with our safety. He is not the most…clean if rumor is to be believed,” he said as he opened the door of the meeting room. “Deacon Peterson, my stationary box!”

The lanky Church Knight standing behind the door went away and returned about 5 minutes later with a box made of hard wood painted cerulean blue. The handle was made of bronze and at the top was an ivory cameo with the image of Junnaveil. The fat Cardinal Deacon slid the cameo up to reveal a hidden indentation.

He placed the signet ring he wore on his little finger into the indentation and twisted it 90 degrees to the right. A simple machination within the box released the lock and the box spread out

5 quills from different birds were strapped onto the lid. The middle part was filled with different seals denoting the different departments of the Church. The bottom part had 5 bottles with different colored inks wrapped in soft wool to keep it from breaking. Half of the bottom had three partitions with different colored sealing wax. Blue, green, red, and black.

At the very bottom was a little knob which he pulled to reveal a sheaf of paper tied with a thin string.

He took one paper, smoothed it with an oddly graceful motion then began preparing the inks and quill to write a letter. His movements were effective and beautiful, very different to the stumpy and graceless figure he sported.

“Eyes forward, Deacon Peterson,” the man said without looking away from his work.

“I’m sorry, Cardinal Deacon. I could not help but be awed by the box.”

“You’ve seen me use it many times, Deacon Peterson. At some point in time you need to stop gawking at any amusing things. You are a Church Knight, not an uneducated peasant,” the man scolded him, but he did not hide the smile of pride on his face.

“Y-yes, Cardinal Deacon, sir.”

After he finished writing, Babblebrook folded the paper and melted the red wax over it. He then pressed his signet over the still hot wax to seal the letter. As this was a private communique, he did not use the department seal.

“Get our fastest rider to send this back home.”

“Yes, Cardinal Deacon, sir.”

Once the man was out and the heavy clinks of his armor faded out, the man sighed.

“I know that this is an important moment in your lifetime, Your Holiness. But we’d all rest much easier if you act like you should, and just stay inside the Cathedral. There is no need to ingratiate yourself with the dirty life of the outside world.”

Hearing this, Allenca frowned and scolded him. “Aaand…that is why…weee never managed…to eradicate…the demons…fully. Weee…are too…passive. Too…safe in a cage…of our own…making. Something…must…change.”

Yes. A change must happen in my lifetime. Otherwise, my teacher’s foresight might come to fruition. This Coming of Age Ceremony will be the first step for that to happen.