In the Vatican, Helmut lied on his couch and blankly stared ahead. In front of him stood a group of individuals wearing a suit representing Black Priest. The unpleasant scent of incense that filled the room seemed to make them uncomfortable, but there was nothing they could do about it. They quietly waited for the storm to pass by.

In front of Helmut’s feet was one of the Black Priests who had been sent by Helmut to threaten the Saintess, lying flat on his stomach and begging him. But instead of fulfilling his duty, he tried to persuade Helmut which made everyone wonder what had happened to him during his mission.

“Your Holiness. I’m not trying to deny you. I would never. It’s just that…”

“Then what is it that you are trying to do?” Helmut asked.

“The new Saintess is no ordinary Saintess, Your Holiness,” the Black Priest said firmly.

The Pope silently glanced at the other Black Priests. Most of them were expressionless, but a few of them were looking at their fellow Black Priest lying face down with a deriding expression; such attitude and expression was natural to them, considering they were Inquisitors who searched for heretics and heard all kinds of apostolic information from them. For such a reason, Helmut had never imagined that a Black Priest could confront him.

“Your Holiness. I saw it, and I felt it. The Saintess was different from the dolls in the past that had been controlled and manipulated. I felt His Majesty’s will through her eyes and voice. I once thought that she might have been possessed by a demon, but the moment I saw her open the Veil of Benevolence, I had to change my mind.”

“Hah…”

“Your Holiness, please take your orders back about the Saintess. And please listen to her voice. I’m certain that she will be a valuable help to the Church and…”

The Black Priest couldn’t finish his words. He suddenly grabbed his own neck as if he was suffocating, and not even a groan came out of his mouth.

The other Black Priests who had been watching realized that their fellow Black Priest wouldn’t be able to escape death.

The Black Priest struggled on the floor as he couldn’t breathe, and soon noticed a large swollen tumor on the back of his hand. Round abscesses and tumors began to appear all over his body. Soon after, the Black Priest’s entire body swelled up with large tumors as if he had bubbles growing beneath his skin, and dropped to the floor. It would be difficult for anyone to think that he used to be a human at one point, but he wriggled faintly as if he was still alive and breathing.

“Lock this apostate in the dungeon,” Helmut ordered with his chin raised up, as if he didn’t even have the energy to be angry.

The incense was efficient in calming his mind and removing the scent of blood, but it also made him feel lethargic.

A few of the Black Priests quietly dragged out their fellow who had become a ball of tumors outside the room.

“Is there anything else you all wish to say?” Helmut asked as he turned to the remaining Black Priests.

“Is it true that the Saintess opened the Veil of Benevolence?”

Helmut shook his head at the question.

“There was a security guard who saw her leaving the Vatican in the middle of the night, but no one saw her entering the Imperial Palace. Not to mention that the Saintess hasn't left the Vatican since that night. Nothing is clear.”

The Black Priests were convinced, but they couldn’t be too certain as they thought it was a lie that was too vague to make up.

“But why does it matter even if she did really open the Veil of Benevolence? You all are the guardians of the doctrine. Isn’t it only right for you to draw your swords to right the wrongs when I point out an injustice?”

“Everything is as you say, Your Holiness.”

The Black Priests answered without hesitation, and Helmut was content with their answers.

The Black Priests were a group of carefully selected Inquisitors created by Helmut who were especially loyal to him. The Saintess getting one of the Black Priests on her side was completely unexpected, but such an incident proved how dangerous she was. If she was capable of getting a Black Priest out of all people on her side, it would only be a matter of time before the others to start supporting her as well. Helmut grew more determined.

“Go find the Saintess. Either cut off her tongue, or make her kill herself. It wouldn’t be so unusual since many of the previous Saintess’ have done so too.”

***

Outside the Vatican, there was a small orphanage that functioned as a school. The place was called the Cradle, and orphans from all over the empire were brought over. They raised the talented among them as Priests of the Church, while those without talent were taught to be loyal to the empire and sent out in society upon reaching an appropriate age. Ivy was also from the Cradle.

“I feel like I keep forgetting my memories too often these days,” Ivy said.

“It’s probably because you are under a lot of stress. It’s an honor to become a Saintess, but it’s not an easy task. Besides, you have to meet that perverted Pope so often,” Lua, a young apprentice Priestess, replied to Ivy’s complaint.

Lua and Ivy had known each other ever since their time together in the Cradle, even before Ivy became a Saintess. In fact, Lua was one of the children Ivy had raised. Although there was a big age gap between the two, Lua followed Ivy around as if she was her older sister. Ivy laughed at Lua’s words, but quickly covered her mouth.

“Lua, you can’t say things like that so recklessly. You’ll get in huge trouble if His Holiness hears you.”

“Do you think he would harm even a young child like me? Ah, on second thought, he actually might, considering how nasty he is.”

Lua continued to boldly curse the Pope. While Ivy was nervous whether someone might hear Lua, her lips were twitching, as she badly wanted to actively agree with Lua’s words. Since everyone around her had been replaced by the people selected by the Pope after she became the Saintess, Ivy was grateful to have someone like Lua still around to talk to.

As Ivy walked while holding Lua’s hand, she looked back along the way to the dormitory. She used to feel that this landscape was very boring in the past, but now she was missing it more than anything. The only chance she got to spend time with Lua was once a day, when Lua was returning to the dormitory from the Cradle.

“To be honest, while I feel it to be a bit strange, I’m happy that you became a Saintess. Miss Ivy as a Saintess. A Saintess… hm, it’s an extremely honorable and great position, isn’t it?”

“I also feel strange. I don’t think it suits me that much anyway.”

“No way. Other kids have been saying that you’ve changed since the day you became a Saintess. They think that you look really cool. But Miss Ivy is still Miss Ivy. It would be nice if I could still call you Big Sis Ivy like the past…”

Ivy bitterly smiled at Lua’s words. Ivy could also feel that the way other people treated her had changed—they all looked at her with fear and respect at the same time, and it was all very unfamiliar to Ivy. Ivy felt strange—to think that an orphan girl from the Cradle was respected for becoming a Saintess. Even the Templars who used to ignore her, never even looking at her, now bowed their heads and showed her respect. But Ivy had a feeling that they were expressing their respect to someone else and not to her.

‘Maybe it has to do with my occasional loss of memory.’

According to what she had heard, an ‘oracle’ about Hiveden came down on the day she was appointed as the Saintess. Ivy had no memory at all, and such memory loss had been happening more and more often recently—like the time when she was taking a bath, but suddenly opened her eyes to find out that she was lying down on her couch wearing outdoor clothes. Ivy couldn’t help but feel afraid as she couldn’t figure out what was going on during the times when she lost her memory.

“Well, I’ll get going then. See you next time, Miss Ivy!”

When they arrived in front of the dormitory, Lua waved her hand and left first.

Ivy stood there for a long time while waving back at Lua. Ivy quietly headed back to her room after Lua had completely disappeared from her sight, and the Priestesses who had been waiting to assist her followed.

The shadow of the pillars were hanging down as the sun went down. It was a dreary sight.

At that moment, Ivy inadvertently had a strange feeling. While the corridor she was in usually didn’t have many people, it was her first time seeing the corridor completely empty, with not a single person in sight. When Ivy curiously looked back, wondering if the corridor behind her was empty as well, she noticed that the two Priestesses who had been following her had closed the door to the corridor and left.

In just an instant, Ivy was left alone in the corridor, and an ominous feeling overwhelmed her. Soon, people wearing suits that symbolized their status as Black Priests walked out from behind a huge pillar and surrounded Ivy. The canes and daggers in their hands glowed ominously in the light of the sunset. Ivy felt suffocated; she had a hunch that no one would come to save her even if she screamed.

“P-please don’t do this…”

Ivy’s legs trembled, but the Black Priests approached her without saying a word. A pale-looking Priestess wearing a Black priest’s suit stood before Ivy, and slowly held out her dagger in front of Ivy.

Ivy felt like she was going to faint at any moment. The Priestess turned the handle of the dagger around and held it out in front of Ivy.

“Cut it off.”

“I-I’m sorry?”

“Either cut your tongue off, or slit your throat. I’ll let you choose between the two. It is His Holiness’ order that he will spare your life if you cut your tongue off.”

Ivy was close to bursting out a scream, and tears ran down her face. She hadn’t committed any crimes—in fact, she hadn’t done anything other than doing as the Pope said, being beaten, and submitting to him. Ivy couldn’t understand why the Pope was trying to harm her.

“If you can’t do it on your own, I’ll help. Just choose which of the two options you want.”

Ivy hastily looked around her, but there was no one to ask for help nor any gap she could escape from—twelve Black Priests were surrounding her without giving her a chance to run away.

Then, Ivy suddenly saw a man who wasn’t wearing black clothing; it was a man in shabby clothing, holding a bucket and a mop. Ivy could instantly tell that he was a janitor who cleaned the Vatican.

The Black Priests followed the Saintess’ gaze, and frowned upon noticing the janitor.

“What’s going on? I thought we made sure that no one entered the corridor.”

“It seems like no one does their job properly… send him back before it’s too late.”

One of the Black Priests, holding a cane in his hand, approached the janitor. The janitor just blankly watched as if he didn’t know what the Black Priests were doing.

Ivy wanted to ask him for help, but the Priestess pressed a dagger to the back of her neck.

“If you let out even a single word, it won’t end with just your death.”

Ivy couldn’t move a single inch.

“We are busy with our Inquisitorial duties. Go back and clean the other places first!” the Black Priest holding the cane shouted at the janitor.

However, the janitor didn’t budge—he simply stared at the Black Priests silently.

The Black Priest holding the cane frowned, and pushed the janitor’s chest with the tip of his cane.

“Are you deaf? I told you to fuck off!”

“My Priests, what duty do you have that requires you to use daggers inside the Vatican?”

The janitor opened his mouth for the first time.

The face of the Black Priest holding the cane became distorted at his words. Soon, the Black Priests all made eye contact with each other.

“Your useless eyes and tongue of yours is shortening your life,” the Black Priest said.

The Black Priest struck his cane toward the janitor. The cane which was made of steel could easily break the human head at once.

Ivy covered her mouth with her hand as she imagined what was about to happen.

However, the cane couldn’t even brush against the janitor.

“Huh?”

The Black Priest was only swinging his empty hand. Before anyone knew it, the janitor quickly swung his mop to take away the cane from the hands of the Black Priest.

Then everything was over in a flash.

The janitor wrapped the Black Priest’s hands and neck with the mop, and pulled him forward. The Black Priest’s body swung in the air, and his head struck on the floor, causing him to faint while foaming at his mouth.

Realizing that the janitor was not an ordinary opponent, all the Black Priests charged toward him at once.

The result was instantaneous.

All the Black Priests who had been surrounding Ivy until just a moment ago were groaning while rolling on the floor. They had broken bones and were disjointed, but none had died.

The Black Priestess who had been threatening Ivy tried to take her hostage as a last resort, but she ended up falling to the floor when the bucket of mop water hit her on the head.

“W-what… but how…”

Ivy looked at the janitor with a stunned look.

Even after knocking down all of the Black Priests in less than ten seconds, the janitor did not seem strained—he was simply looking at Ivy with eyes that were half curious and half respectful.

Ivy felt strange that even the mysterious janitor was looking at her with such eyes. Calming her rapidly beating heart, Ivy carefully asked the janitor.

“W-who are you?”

“What do you mean “who are you”? Weren’t you the one who commanded me to protect you?”

“C-commanded you? I did?”

The janitor nodded as he pulled out his fingers from his ragged sleeve.

Ivy’s eyes widened upon seeing what was on his finger—it was a ring that symbolized the Imperial Guards.

“I’m Lenly Loen, the captain of the Imperial Guards. His Majesty commanded me to protect you.”