"And that's everything from me." Amanda finished speaking to the Director of the Office of Spiritual Affairs, Albert Townsend. "Her home was less than a day's ride from the Imperial Capital, and once she explained that her son was a Spirit Host, she was quickly scheduled to speak with the director. New hosts are always an important matter, and since this one was the Son of the Water Dragon, she was quickly brought to Albert. Though the fact that she was also friends with him helped greatly.
"This is quite the tale you've spun." The older man replied as he pushed up his glasses. "Your son being a Spirit Host is one thing, but claims that he is a reincarnated man... that's going to be a bit harder for me to swallow, even from you. You must understand my skepticism, Amanda."
"It is an unbelievable thing, I'll give you that. But I have no reason to doubt him or Cher, and Emile has demonstrated far too much knowledge for a four-year-old." Amanda continued. "Not to mention, Father Ernest looked into his mind and saw scenes from an unknown battlefield using weapons that Emile described from his past life. At a minimum, he's no ordinary child."
"I suppose we'll need to investigate this properly." Albert pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. He'd been working nonstop to deal with incursions from the Ruby Kingdom, so this would just add more problems to his plate. "Since this is you we're talking about, I can't ignore things. His Majesty would be furious if I tried to dismiss your claims."
{His Majesty is far too enamored with Lady Laplace. I know the two were friends during his time at the Imperial War Academy, but I sometimes worry that his deference comes from more than just friendship. I've heard the Emperor mention that she has something important, but what that may be is beyond my knowledge.} (Albert)
"What will you do with him?" Amanda asked, her body tensing up. She feared that Emile might be taken away.
"If your son is what he claims to be, then there will likely be much we wish to do." Albert noticed her concern. "He was apparently a soldier and a doctor, and from what you said, is willing to share some of his knowledge with the Empire. I suspect His Majesty will wish to meet with the boy, and it wouldn't shock me if he wanted to adopt him as his own."
{Advanced military and medical knowledge would be a great boon to our army, and aid us in staving off those vultures in the Ruby Kingdom. They've been attempting more infiltration into the Church as of late, and we've been busier than ever rooting out their agents and driving out their influence. At this point, things might escalate to open warfare if they keep backing the Restorationist faction so openly.} (Albert)
"I will not give up my son." Amanda glared at him, and her voice resolute. "No matter what Johan says, he is my child. I will not allow him to simply take him."
{If he tries to requisition Emile by force, then... then I will do what I must.} (Amanda)
"Knowing His Majesty, he will simply make an offer. It's possible he may wish to marry this son of yours to his third daughter, who is around the same age. But right now, that is nothing more than speculation based on my own opinion." Albert shook his head.
"I suppose I'll have to have a chat with Johan." Amanda gave a scary chuckle.
{This woman is about the only person in the Empire who can openly threaten the Emperor and get away with it. The sad part is that I have no doubt she WOULD rebel if His Majesty tried to force her son away.} (Albert)
"I will see to this myself." Albert said. "This is too important of an incident to leave to one of our agents, and if things turn out the way you've claimed, that boy will be of incredible value."
"I believe so too." Amanda nodded. "Emile is likely to be very important in the Empire's development, but don't forget that he's still a person. I won't have you force him into anything he doesn't want."
"You have nothing to worry about, Amanda." Albert sighed. "I'll speak to my secretary and get everything cleared for the next few days. We'll try to leave-" Before Albert could finish, one of his assistants burst through his office door. He was out of breath and looked like he just ran a marathon.
"William! What is the meaning of this? I am in a meeting with-" Albert stopped, the look on the young man's face told him something was wrong. "Out with it, boy!"
"There's been an attack on the Laplace estate!" William's words instantly incensed Amanda, and she was about ready to run back to her home.
"WHAT!" Amanda screamed. "What happened?!?" She had to stop herself from wringing the man's neck for an answer.
"We recieved a report via fast horse that men sent on behalf of Father Ernest Miflon attacked the estate in an attempt to kidnap Sir Emile Laplace. They were unsuccessful, and two of intruders were killed in battle, while the third was taken in for interrogation. A message was sent out urgently to the Capital to report the attack and the betrayal of Father Ernest, but to also inform the Office that Lilliana Valentine and a young boy, both of which are Spirit Hosts, have also been taken by these men." William took a deep breath before continuing. "According to the report, Lawerance Laplace along with his son, a maid, and another woman departed at high speed to the suspected location of the mercenaries in an attempt to free the captured children!" He finished, nearly falling over.
"I must return immediately!" Amanda tried to leave, but Albert stopped her.
"Wait!" Albert moved past his desk in a flash. "This message is likely a day old by now. If things are as he says, then we're dealing with a large collection of forces. I will gather some of the agents at the Office and come with you post-haste. If they really have taken children hostage, we need to do everything to rescue them!" He pushed past William and began screaming for the two field agents in the office, and a moment later, two armored knights appeared, both wearing dark cloaks over their armor.
"What's the emergency?" The female knight with long purple hair asked.
"Yeah, you never scream like this." The male knight with short blonde hair commented.
"Falen, Christina, get your kit and prepare for battle. We're going into the field, and we're expecting resistance. There are at least two Spirit Hosts that have been taken by a member of the Church, and we're going to save them if the party that went after them failed!" Albert barked at the two of them to get horses prepared, which they did after stumbling around for a moment. "I don't go into the field like this anymore..." He opened a closet in his office and pulled out a massive hammer. "But sometimes, you need to do things yourself if you want them done right!"
{I see the SkullSplitter hasn't lost the fire in his belly from all that alcohol he drinks.} Amanda laughed internally. She'd trained under him in her youth, and knew just how powerful the older man was, even in 'retirement.'
"Let's move, Amanda. We've got children to save, and asses to kick!" Albert put on his heavy coat. "If we're lucky, your husband already dealt with things. Lawerance is a lot of things, but weak isn't one of them."
"Your damn right!" Amanda laughed as they swiftly exited the Imperial Administration Building and moved into the stables. The Office had its own dedicated horses, most of which were much faster than her own, and they began their trip back to the Laplace manor. As the Imperial capital faded out of view behind them, Albert explained that they'd use the way station system to swap out horses so they could keep moving at full speed.
"We're going to try and do this all night if we can. It's gonna tire us out a bit, but we're on a time limit. Can you young ones keep up with this kind of trek?" Albert asked the two knights that'd accompanied them.
"Compared to what they made to do in training for this post, a night of no sleep is easy." Christina laughed.
"We used to do 48hr marches in the Imperial army, so this will be nothing." Falen agreed.
"Then I hope to see you both in top shape when we get there." Amanda said.
"We've got both the Water Dragon and the SkullSplitter on our team, I think we won't have much to do." Falen commented.
"We might be strong, but we lack anti-magic capability. Father Ernest is no slouch in the magic department, and the man's barriers are well known as nearly unbreakable." Albert warned. "If we have to go up against him, then we'll probably need the both of us focused squarely on killing him, so you two will be handling his goons."
"I still can't believe another Priest was corrupted." Christina sighed. "We just took out one of those Restorationist cells last week. Damn Kingdom trying to stick their noses in where it doesn't belong."
{Those bastards are constantly trying to undermine the Empire and restore Church rule to our land. We've been successful in keeping them out so far, but just how much more is His Majesty going to allow before war becomes necessary?} (Albert)
"Father Ernest was always a good man, so why would he do something like this?!?" Amanda said in irritation. "We never saw anything suspicious about him or his activities, so either this turn was recent, or he was just damn good at hiding his true intentions."
{And I let him in MY home around MY family.} (Amanda)
"That's the trouble with the Kingdom and the Church. They stick their grubby paws into everything, and they can turn people you'd never expect. The last cell we busted was comprised of a few guys I've known since childhood." Falen clicked his tongue in irritation. "Most were either desperate for money, fell for the Kingdom's propaganda, or were just useful idiots."
"It's been intensifying over the last five years." Albert commented. "We've had more and more members of the Church and others falling in with the Restorationist mentality." He sighed. "We might need to perform some extreme measures if we're to keep things under control." He said as the galloped full speed toward the Laplace household.
Albert!
Christina!
Falen!
