“May Aluvsha’s blessings be upon you.”

As the last stragglers of the day exited the cathedral at last, I slumped against one of the many pews and released a long sigh of exhaustion. My fatigue didn’t go away with the air I set free, but the act gave me a twinge of catharsis at the very least. People think being a member of the clergy is easy. Preach, pray, collect tithes, maybe sit in a confessional and hear people out from time to time, and then go to bed.

Heeeeell no.

Ever since the sudden appearance of a witch at Avalyne Academy, the capital’s cathedral has been utterly swamped with visitors asking for blessings and rosaries. It wasn’t exactly a bad thing seeing as the people were becoming more devout and we were raking in tithes left and right, but by Aluvsha was it utterly exhausting. When I became the youngest cardinal in the history of the empire, I thought I was going to be respected and powerful. I mean, I am, but I didn’t think I’d have to continue giving out blessings and collecting tithes!

Like seriously! What even gives!? Shouldn’t I be sitting in my office and relaxing instead of needing to interact with each and every visitor? Hell, even the regular nuns were having an easier time of it than I was, sitting in the back room praying and blessing rosaries. Why do I, the literal cardinal, have to be the one who gets saddled with all the hard work!?

Whatever. It is what it is, and I suppose this is penance in a way. I was never really the devout kind, and I never wanted to be part of the clergy either. It was only after my eighth birthday when I awakened my Crest that the church came to collect me. At the time, I had no idea why they did so or why my parents were so eager to give me away, but as it turns out, there were really only two paths for me to walk: become a member of the clergy... or die.

Why? Well, it’s simple really. My Crest decided to grant the ability of not only foresight, but the ability to change outcomes before they even happened. Yeah. Crazy, right? I thought so too until I actually saw it in action. The person who had been assigned as my knight was equally surprised, and obviously, I wasn’t allowed to use my Crest except in times of dire need. What qualifies as “dire need”? Well, I wasn’t allowed to use it even after the witch attack, so that should be as good an answer to the question as any.

Anyway, Crests like that were seen as “against the natural order” or straight-up blasphemy by the church since they trespassed on Aluvsha’s domain. Things like manipulating the flow of time to a certain degree or even space was largely taboo since they were not only the stuff of legends, but also abilities capable of creation, much like Aluvsha’s own as described in the Eldymia, the Aluvshan faith’s holy text.

“Can you believe it!? It’s utterly preposterous, Your Holiness! We cannot let this farce continue, especially in such trying times!”

I frowned as I heard the sudden outburst rage through the now-empty cathedral. The building’s acoustics were really quite impressive when things fell relatively silent, and I was fairly certain that everyone still inside was now more than privy to whatever that idiot was complaining about.

But... “Your Holiness”? Who the hell would dare shout at the pope himself? I pushed myself off the pew and made my way toward the source of the voice. Although the man had hushed himself immediately after realizing the idiocy of raising his voice inside the church, I could still hear his hushed arguments clearly.

“His Imperial Majesty must outlaw this for the sake of our safety! We cannot allow—”

“Now, now, Cardinal Edmund. Please calm yourself. We appear to have a guest.”

Urk! I laughed nervously as I stepped into the room with a sheepish grin on my face. I’d tried to make my approach as quiet as possible, but it seemed the pope had sharper ears than I’d expected despite his advanced age. He gestured toward the door, and I hastily shut it as silently as I could.

Looking around, I found myself in one of the cathedral’s many sacristy rooms. Even clergy members rarely ventured into one of these unless they had business there, making them a good place to wind down and relax with some peace and quiet... or have a private argument in this case, I guess. I turned to the pope and Edmund, giving them a quick bow as the three of us placed our hands together in a brief prayer of greeting.

“Well then, Cardinal Sophia... Did you perhaps have any business to sort out here?” The pope asked.

“Uh... Not really, Your Holiness. I kinda just heard Cardinal Edmund over there start yelling his head off, so I came to see if everything was alright.” I shrugged. I mean, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in their argument, but I really was worried about their argument, especially when it was the pope who was getting shouted at. Not even the emperor himself would dare.

The pope laughed, and though I didn’t share in his amusement, I laughed along with him, albeit nervously. “You needn’t worry, Sophia. Your fellow cardinal, Edmund, just had a slight disagreement with one of the nobles of this fine empire.”

“My apologies Your Holiness, but it was more than just a ‘slight disagreement.’ What she proposes is not only blasphemy, but it threatens the very safety of our nation itself! The very reason why we managed to exterminate the witches was because of our unyielding policy, yet Lady Scarlet threatens to change all of that again despite the very real threat of a witch!”

Lady Scarlet!? Now I was even more confused. Although my time as a noblewoman was short, I was still well-connected with my family and more than aware of the most prominent rising stars in high society. Of those rising stars, none shone brighter than Lady Scarlet, the heiress of House Avimorne. I never had the pleasure of meeting her as a busy clergywoman, but the things I’d heard about her were more than enough to impress me.

“And yet Higashi has never had the same issue, nor Kharadshah.” The pope said. “I believe the curse has long been extinguished from our lands. As such, would it not be right to reinstate Aluvsha’s true desire for the freedom of love?”

“That... You blaspheme, Pope Marcellus.” Edmund’s eyes widened in horror and shock. He could barely believe his ears... and trust me, neither could I.

“Do I now? Do I blaspheme merely for stating the truth that has been obfuscated by history, or am I simply moving on from the past, much like how our very god has done?”

“H-Hold on!” I blurted out, unable to stand my confusion anymore. The issue was clearly greater than just a “slight disagreement” as the pope had so casually put it earlier, and while I had no idea what Lady Scarlet was planning, I could certainly tell that it had the potential to change the nation entirely.

“Yes? What is it, Sophia?” The pope asked gently.

“Um... I know I just kind of barged in here, but would the two of you kindly explain to me what this is about? A-As a clergywoman, I can’t just look away when Aluvsha’s doctrine might be threatened!”

“Hah! As expected of the youngest cardinal in the empire’s history!” Edmund smirked triumphantly. “I knew she would see the light! Truly, her devotion to Aluvsha is unparalleled!”

I simply smiled as serenely as I could. “Perhaps you should refrain from saying so before His Holiness himself, Cardinal Edmund.”

“E-Eh!? A-Ah! Right, of course! I meant no offense by that, Your Holiness!” Edmund quickly said in an attempt to cover up his gaffe. “I merely wanted to emphasize how much I respect Cardinal Sophia!”

“Worry not, Edmund. I take no offense from your statement... Rather, I might even be inclined to agree.” The pope smiled, directing his gaze toward me. “You have been a rather prominent member of the church throughout the years, and you are a woman yourself, so we may yet have a fresh perspective sharing this with you.”

Ahaha... Sorry, I’m not as devout as either of you think. Honestly, I don’t even know how I managed to work my way up to the rank of cardinal!

I laughed nervously as I nodded vigorously in agreement. I had no idea how being a woman related to whatever Lady Scarlet was planning, but hearing that only made me more and more curious, especially when the pope had referenced Aluvsha’s doctrine on the freedom of love earlier.

“Allow us to start from the beginning, Sophia.” The pope said. “Just several days ago, the Avimorne duchy became beset by civil war. Duke Avimorne declined the emperor’s request for troops despite the raging war against Kaslavna, and Lady Scarlet bravely stood against her father, rallying the duchy’s people to campaign against her own father.”

“...I see.” That was certainly news to me. I’d become so engrossed in my ecclesiastical duties as of late that I’d barely had time to write a letter to my parents or keep myself in the loop regarding the going-ons in the empire. “And how fares Lady Scarlet’s campaign?”

The pope shrugged. “I’m not too familiar with the status of the civil war, but as I last heard, it would appear that she is winning. Unsurprising, if I do say so myself. Ever since I baptized that girl as a child, she always did have a special spark within her. And that baptism... Well, let us simply say that it was a very unique baptism itself.”

Oh, come on! You can’t just say that and then leave me hanging! “...May I ask what made that baptism so unique?”

The pope smiled, clearly noticing the sparkles of curiosity in my eyes. “Of course, but that will be a story for another time.”

“Mrrgh! V-Very well, Your Holiness. I shall hold you to that promise.”

“Of course. Now then, to continue what I was saying, Lady Scarlet’s goals seem to have... shifted.”

“Forgive me for interrupting, Your Holiness, but that’s certainly a gentle way of putting it.” Edmund interjected. “Lady Scarlet has very openly declared her intention to conquer the empire while the emperor busies himself on the front lines! She is committing treason of the highest order! And not only that, she is threatening to overrule one of the church’s principles that has kept us safe for so many years!”

“She spoke of unification, Edmund.” The pope chastised. “You shouldn’t jump to such conclusions so quickly. In these times of trouble where three of the four duchies are openly revolting against the emperor... Should we not stand united against the great enemy of Kaslavna? I would remind you that the first war only resulted in a victory because we stood against them together.”

“Yes, but... Lady Scarlet is certainly overstepping her bounds, is she not? And besides, I heard that she has recently taken a female knight! It’s simply preposterous for the noblewoman who is said to be the ‘Star of High Society’ to violate such tradition!” Edmund shook his vehemently. “I won’t allow such a despicable person to sully our empire!”

“But tradition is not law, Edmund. Lady Scarlet is doing what she thinks is best for the empire as a whole... I am sure she will return the duchies to the emperor once the war concludes and we will see two new ducal families rise from the aftermath.”

“Preposterous...! Just preposterous!” Edmund grit his teeth, his hands clenching into tight fists. I seriously couldn’t see what he was so angry about. I mean, I wasn’t going to say it out loud, but personally, I think Lady Scarlet would do a much better job at governing the country than Princess Gwenhwyfar or even the current emperor himself.

“So... Is that all? I don’t see what this has to do with the church,” I said. “After all, secular matters are not to be governed by the church. We should have no right to interfere with matters of whoever sits on the Imperial Throne. And besides... Lady Scarlet could challenge the emperor to a match for the throne at any time, right?”

The pope nodded. “Indeed. You are right on all accounts, Sophia, and though Cardinal Edmund may have his own opinions on such things, the church is not to interfere with state matters. Not directly, at least. Our primary concern has to do with something Lady Scarlet promised to her followers.”

“...And that is?”

“Tell me, Sophia. Are you familiar with the founding of the empire?”

I nodded. Who wasn’t? “Emperor Soleil created the Grand Crest by uniting the vengeful will of all his allies and then slew the Witch Queen with it, right?”

The pope nodded in response. “Correct. However, that is only the version that the church and the Imperial family has publicized over the years.”

“...Is there another version?”

The pope smiled and nodded as he made his way toward the sacristy room’s exit, beckoning for me to follow. Edmund’s eyes widened at this, his gaze flickering between myself and the pope rapidly.

“S-Surely you cannot mean to...!”

“It is about time that Cardinal Sophia learns the truth behind our nation. She sits upon the Ecclesiastical Council, after all. We cannot have her pass judgment on Lady Scarlet’s proposition without fully understanding our history. Our true history.”

“But...” Edmund’s voice trailed off, unable to find any convincing arguments. He cast a troubled look at me, and I returned it with a confused gaze. I seriously didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I sure would like to.

“Come, Cardinal Sophia. We go to the archives where I shall divulge to you the tale...”

“The tale?” I prompted.

“Yes. The tale of Empress Soleil... and her greatest shame.”