The Cardinal

Reiss grumbled as he handed the crystal-sealed letter to the ever-silent Yexi. “There’s a message in here for you.”

Yexi took the letter, her brow furrowing slightly as she read its contents, the only outward sign of any emotion. She then tucked it away into an inner pocket of her uniform. “Understood. What’s our next move? Do we depart immediately?”

“We’ll need to organize our gear. We are dealing with that heretical cult, after all. They can be quite troublesome.” Reiss tossed the humming blue crystal in his hand, a flicker of confidence in his eyes. “Seleu, take Yexi and our guest to rest. I’ll get the equipment ready. Though,” he added with a smirk, “with this little gem, I doubt we’ll need it.” He made no move to explain its purpose.

“Very well.” Seleu led Yexi and Ard out of the ethereal Chamber of the Orchid of Love and back up the long spiral staircase to the somewhat dilapidated church above. She seated them in a modest, if not entirely comfortable, guest lounge.

Ard sighed, the mundane reality a stark contrast to the celestial wonder below. “After seeing the wonders of the Grand Holy Church’s sanctum, this church feels… well, it’s quite a contrast.”

Seleu reminded him gently, her voice a soft warning, “Even so, I hope you will not speak lightly of what you have seen, Lord Ard.”

“Of course,” Ard shrugged. “Even if I did, who would believe me? It’s not worth making an enemy of the Grand Holy Church for nothing.”

“I am glad you understand. Here is some tea.” Seleu smiled as she handed steaming cups to Ard and Yexi.

Ard took a sip and was pleasantly surprised. The rich, complex aroma was something no cheap tea leaves could produce, and the fragrant, floral aftertaste lingered on his tongue, inviting one to savor it.

Seleu smiled from the side, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “This tea is from the garden Reiss keeps in the church’s backyard. He processes it all himself. It’s quite good, isn’t it? He’s usually so frugal with it he can’t bear to drink it himself.”

Ard couldn’t help but take another deep, appreciative sip. “I never would have guessed that old man had such a skill. This is truly fine tea.”

Yexi, however, looked at the tea in her hands with a troubled expression. She took a sip, her face betraying no appreciation for the fragrance at all. “Could I have some plain water instead?” she asked. No matter the occasion, Yexi could never get into tea-tasting. From a practical standpoint, many things could replace tea, and were far more convenient.

“Hey, hey, hey! Isn’t that my private stash of tea?! Why was it taken out!”

Reiss, having finished organizing his gear, came into the lounge and looked on in absolute horror at the precious tea leaves Seleu had brought out.

Seleu replied calmly, not batting an eye, “To serve our guests.”

“Damn it, it’s such a waste to use it on guests! No, wait, that’s not what I meant. How did you find my tea? I hid it in a secret compartment in the wall!”

“A secret compartment meant for classified documents was used by you, Father Reiss, to hide tea. And you have the gall to complain.” Seleu’s voice was serene. “I found it while organizing the compartment. Lord Ard, would you like some more? I have plenty over here, you can take some with you for the road. Miss Yexi, if you don’t like it, you can pour it out. There’s plain water over there.”

“Oh, then I won’t be polite,” said Ard, holding out his cup.

“Pouring it out,” said Yexi, moving toward the basin.

A frantic Reiss scrambled between the three of them, a whirlwind of despair. “Ahhhhh, Seleu, your body may have a figure of great justice, but does your heart belong to a demon from the abyss! That tea was supposed to last me the whole year! There isn’t much! And you, you damn kid, show some courtesy! Yexi-chan, I beg you, if you’re not going to drink it, give it to me! Don’t pour it out! Don’t!”

Overwhelmed by the devastating blow, Father Reiss collapsed to the floor, his soul seemingly leaving his body as he watched his treasure being given away and discarded.

Ard carefully put the packet of tea away. After Yexi had poured herself some water, Seleu walked over to the corpse-like Reiss and kicked him lightly with the toe of her boot. “Is everything ready?”

Reiss answered weakly, his voice a ghost of its former self, “It’s ready.”

“Then what about those bugs outside?” Seleu asked, her tone shifting to one of cold business.

A murderous glint flashed in Reiss’s eyes, his previous despair vanishing in an instant. “Ah, I’ll go take care of them. Yexi-chan, give me a hand, won’t you? For the sake of my precious tea that you so cruelly traded for plain water.”

“Mm.” Yexi took a few sips from her cup and then stood up, her movements economical and ready.

“Here, this is for you.” Reiss tossed Yexi a silver shortsword. “It’s from the church armory. You have to return it afterwards. It’s not that I’m stingy, it’s just that the Sanctum is poor.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Yexi gave the shortsword a few practice swings, the silver blade creating a beautiful, fluid arc of light in the dim room. “Not bad. It has a good feel.”

“Yexi-chan and I will be right back.”

Reiss and Yexi vanished from the lounge, leaving Seleu and Ard alone in the sudden silence.

Ard asked, “Putting Father Reiss aside for a moment, you seem very confident in Yexi’s abilities.”

Seleu, also sipping Reiss’s precious tea, said calmly, “Because Reiss has witnessed it before. It involves some of her personal matters, so it’s not my place to say more.”

Witnessed it before? Ard’s eyes narrowed. Yexi’s abilities as Silver Wing? Or something else? He was almost certain now that Yexi was the legendary assassin. The implicit trust from both the Marquis and this priest spoke volumes about her hidden strength. But Ard was troubled. How could he gain access to that strength? As he was now, weak and powerless, he needed her help. Otherwise, he would never be able to write his own chapter in this cruel reality. His verbal probes, even his light-hearted teasing, had all been effortlessly deflected, failing to make a ripple on her calm, icy surface. She was like a fortress of impenetrable ice, leaving him no way in.

He needed an opportunity. A real one.

He chatted with Seleu for a while longer about the Grand Holy Church, but her lips were much tighter than Reiss’s, and he couldn’t get any useful information from the serene nun.

After some time, Yexi and Reiss returned. Compared to Yexi, who was still spotless and composed, Reiss was a mess. His face was covered in dust and grime, his priest’s robes tattered and smoking slightly. On the street, no one would have guessed he was a priest; they would have thought he was a beggar who’d lost a fight with a chimney.

Seeing Ard and Seleu trying to stifle their laughter, Reiss’s face darkened. “Damn heretics. When they saw they couldn’t escape, they rushed forward and blew themselves up. I got caught off guard.”

Yexi shot him a sideways glance. “Wasn’t it more like you were toying with them, running your mouth and posturing, and that’s why they got the chance to do it?”

“Well…” Reiss laughed awkwardly, then quickly changed the subject. “Wait a minute, how did you know that so clearly?”

A corner of Yexi’s mouth lifted in a ghost of a smile. “I finished off the cultists on my end quickly, so I went to see how you were doing. And then I found you, teasing them like a cat with a mouse.”

Reiss’s eyes widened. “So you just watched as I got blown up? Where’s your conscience? Why didn’t you help?”

“I was about to,” Yexi said, her expression unreadable. “But for some reason, a voice in my heart stopped me. So, I followed my instincts and stayed to watch the show.”

“…” Reiss’s mouth twitched, utterly speechless.

Seleu asked, “Were there any survivors?”

“None,” Yexi said, her voice turning cold. “The aura they gave off was dangerous. I judged it better to leave no one alive.”

Reiss shrugged. “I wanted to leave one, but you see how I look now. These guys are fanatics. Their suicide techniques are grandmaster-level.”

“Then it can’t be helped,” Seleu said with a sigh. “You two rest for a moment. We’ll set out tonight.”

“Alright,” said Yexi. “Mm,” Ard agreed.

“Great! I’ll try some of the tea Seleu brewed. She never makes it for me,” Reiss said, trying to salvage some dignity.

———

In a dark, twisted corner of the Beast Forest, a group of black-robed cultists hurriedly knelt on one knee to welcome the imposing, red-robed Cardinal who had appeared among them like a phantom.

Taylor was an ugly man, his face a roadmap of scars. A particularly large, jagged gash by his mouth had been crudely stitched together with what looked like black wire, giving him a permanent, ferocious sneer.

He said flatly, his voice like grinding stones, “It’s not just me. Rector will be here shortly. We came ahead to see how your preparations are going and to make some arrangements of our own.”

“Everything is ready, my Lord. We only need to wait for the dark moon tomorrow to awaken the beasts of the forest and attack Pekoin. The personnel for the altar have also been prepared. Please, inspect them, Your Eminence.”

A cultist who seemed to be in charge presented a large group of followers who were to sacrifice their lives to activate the blood altar. The zealots met Taylor’s inspection with unwavering, ecstatic gazes, each one ready and eager to die for their cause.

Taylor responded with a solemn, chilling piety, “Very good. May the glory of our Lord shine upon you forever. May you hear his teachings even on the road to the underworld.”

“You have prepared well,” Taylor praised the leader. But before the man could feel pleased, Taylor asked, his voice dropping, “What about the surveillance of the nearby Grand Holy Church?”

“I sent trusted men to watch them. Strange…” The leader frowned.

Taylor felt a cold sense of foreboding. “What is it?”

The leader said, looking puzzled, “By rights, they should have reported back when we were greeting you, Your Eminence. They didn’t know you were coming, so there’s no reason for them to be late. Perhaps we should wait a little longer, maybe they found something… Your Eminence!”

Taylor’s terrifying gaze fixed on the leader, pinning him in place. “Did anything unusual happen in Pekoin City today?”

“N-no, nothing like that,” the leader stammered, feeling as if he were in an ice cave. “There was just one thing out of the ordinary. The lord’s son is said to be getting married, so a long train of wyrm-coaches left the city to purchase goods. But don’t worry, they all returned by evening.”

Taylor’s stitched mouth stretched into a grimace that was not a smile. “Did you send men into the city to check?”

“N-no. Didn’t you instruct us not to alert the dangerous assassin in that city?”

“I thought you were intelligent, but it seems you are just another inflexible fool. I am very disappointed.”

With a casual, almost bored movement, Taylor snapped the leader’s neck. The crack echoed in the silent forest. He then asked the other kneeling cultists, his voice calm, “Which of you was his second-in-command?”

“I… it was me, Lord Taylor.” A cultist raised a trembling hand, not daring to meet Taylor’s icy gaze, his head bowed low to the forest floor.

Taylor said, his voice leaving no room for argument, “Wait one more quarter-hour. If there is still no word from our people at the Grand Holy Church, begin the siege at once! And prepare the dark moon sacrifice!”