Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

The Weight of Choice Part 2

Connie and Illumca walked to the second floor of an upscale establishment. There, a few men in regular clothes with distinct lack of facial hair and strangely soft gazes were sitting on a long table. Upon seeing them, one of them led them to a room and opened the door with a polite bow.

After the door closed behind her, Connie spoke. "I read your letter. Did you like my present?"

"I do…" Allenca said. "Howeveeer…now a new problem…arises."

"Straight to business? I'd have thought some small talk to whet the appetite is the way to go…," Connie noticed the look on their faces and spoke. "Though judging by your expressions, you are not in the mood for it right now."

Connie sat down on the chair in front of Allenca. Millicent, who had been standing behind the blue-haired Maiden, poured hot tea into a fine cup in front of Connie. A few plates of expensive sugared cookies and honey biscuits of exquisite qualities had also been placed on the table.

"Please…. Have aaa…seat." Allenca offered the Dark Elf. Illumca shook her head. "I will stand, if it's fine with you."

Allenca glanced at Connie, who simply smiled. She might be fine with Allenca, but Illumca did not trust Millicent enough to lower her guard.

"This…plaaace belongs to one…of my supporters. Weeee can speak…freely here," Allenca said, after a last, furtive glance at Illumca.

"Yeesh," Connie lifted the cup to her lips. "This would not be a fun conversation."

"You are…correct," the Maiden of Water said. "I have sooome trouble…that I need your… counsel for," She gathered her mind for a good few seconds before she started explaining her quandary. Omitting how she obtained the information.

After she finished, Connie rubbed her chin with a thumb. Nervously, Allenca looked at her gaze. She could see the silent disappointment in them. After a while, Connie spoke.

"Maiden of Water. If you ask me for my counsel, I need you to understand. I do not hold back with my words. Is that fine with you."

The Maiden took a deep breath, trying to settle her own thoughts before replying. "…yes."

"I…have given you a blade. A blade that can cut a man's head in a single swing, yet you are just waving it around, hoping that it will scare them into submission," she leaned back. "For in the Capital, doing nothing is to become prey. And not doing enough is the same as doing nothing. And you, Maiden of Water, are not doing enough."

"Noooot…doing enough?" Allenca was surprised, and slightly miffed from the accusation. She had lived her life doing her best for the Church. Often forgoing rest and abandoning her own health. "How aaam I not…doing enough?"

"Actually, two things. Not doing enough, and not daring enough," Connie exclaimed. "First. Do you know how many of the Clergymen under you is actually on your side?"

"…twenty…percent… or maybe up to thirty, if I include those brought by Babblebrook…and the rest are either neutral or Lowen's."

"Good, you know your current position. These…men with connections to Lowen - and by extension - to Deacon Orlo, most likely they have already been bought by him. Those types of people, when threatened, will just clam up harder. Trying to pry them open one by one is just a waste of time."

"And second. You don't dare to go the distance. Your so-called investigation is just like trying to find the needle in that metaphorical haystack by removing one stalk of hay at a time while being in the dark. If you take too long, this will go against you. Slanders and misinformation will spread and you will bear the brunt of it," she explained as she crossed her legs and spread her arms. "Archdeacon Lowen knows this. With his support wavering from the recent duel, he will be using it to strengthen the solidarity of his faction. And if they managed to survive through this ordeal, the ties between his faction members will become even stronger. By then, it will already be too late."

"Then, what do yooou think…I should do?"

"Babblebrook already gave you the hint," she said, rubbing her chin. "If it was me, I won't even bother with trying to find said needles. I'll just burn the whole haystack. Involve the Kingdom in this matter. Let them squirm."

"I-isn't that…too much?"

"They already made the choice of taking what was not theirs a long time ago. Why should you pity them?"

Millicent interrupted her with a small frown. "Duchess, this will disrupt the Faith and bring the Maiden of Water's capabilities into question!"

"How short-sighted," Connie sighed with a shake of her head. "You are a good person, Lieutenant. But that mindset of yours are limiting your options. And this goes for you too, Allenca. The title of Maiden of Water is prestigious, of course. But Archdeacon Lowen's family had been in power for hundreds of years. Its roots are deep and many. Simple goodwill and well-meaning actions will not shake the foundation that his family had built. Refusing to play by the rules is just him buying time to find a way out while he is searching for a way to hit you back where it hurts."

"W-we can't do that -! It will undermine…eeeverything that I've…done so far!"

"And that's why I said that you're not daring enough. You've tried doing things quietly, and how is that working for you? I've told you this. Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to sacrifice something."

"…yield my flesh…to claim their bones…" the young Maiden of Water slowly spoke, reminded of the words Connie had told her before.

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"Yes. Exactly, by escalating things to the Kingdom level, those cowards will be forced to follow your whims, else…remind me, Illumca. What is the punishment for treason?" Connie craned her head towards the Dark Elf.

"Death," the Dark Elf said from her spot. "There will be a trial involved, but usually it ends with the execution of the treasonous felon and the confiscation of all properties that belonged to them. Their family will also be subjected to exile or slavery," she answered. The quick answer was a result of her learning the laws of Calendia to help support Connie better, as advised by Madame Sui.

"Ooh, scary," Connie shuddered with a mocking gesture, as if the two of them did not narrowly evade such grim fate just last year.

"Just as you've just heard. They can choose whether to confess of their wrongdoings, or," Connie gestured at her neck with a fake choking sound. "…death."

"They refuse to be investigated? Turn their homes upside down with the justification of ongoing investigation. They are outside Grottenstadt due to urgent matters? What is more urgent than finding out traces of Vorzennian spies?" Connie shot examples out of her lips with gleeful smirk. "If you happen to 'accidentally' find evidences of corruptions and bribery; well, how lucky!"

"Let them seethe. Let them speak ill of you. At the end, you are still the one who hold the blade above their necks. Of course…" Connie languidly took a honey biscuit from the plate in front of them and bit it theatrically. "You might find it in yourself to forgive them…and give them a second chance. For a fitting price."

Allenca held onto her armchair, her eyes looking at the young woman before her incredulously. They slowly widened as she started to understand her implication. "A…fitting price, yooou…say?" She paused; she could feel a twitch at the corner of her lips. "What if…theeey do it a second time?"

Allenca waited for her answer, her knuckles whitening with anticipation. This was a world so different from her own; a world of prayers, bended knees, and humility. This was the true face of politics. And she began to understand.

"Need I say more?"

"…I see. Yes…I see," Allenca mumbled. Scary. How scary this person is. She is only a year older than me, yet her mind could spin such stories.

"Giving a…sinner a…second chaaaance, this too is the Goddess's love," she gazed straight at Connie, as if looking for approval.

"But this – this is falsehood! A lie! A deception!! Orlo already said that only a few member of the clergies were complicit with him," Millicent spoke hurriedly, trying to change her friend's mind. "This is not what a Maiden of Water should do!"

"Tsk, tsk…you're still not getting it."

"Sometimes, the words left unsaid is the loudest word of all. First, you need to simply spread out the word that you have found evidence of connection between Deacon Orlo and Vorzenny. Two, that you are forced to make the choice of involving the Archmage Elfriede and her men after considering the threat this might become to the Kingdom as a whole. And three, this is the simplest one," Connie smiled.

"That is, to let me escort you to the Temple."

A glint appeared on the Maiden's eyes. As if a scale had been peeled off from her eyes. This did not escape Millicent's attention, who became incredibly worried with the effect the charismatic Duchess had on her. Illumca smirked at the exchange, knowing the effect of talking with Connie.

"See? We did not say any lie."

"Y-yes…but, uh - ?" Millicent's mind raced to find a word to rebuke her, but everything she said was correct. There was no lie in it. "I…!"

"I understand. I thank…you for your counsel. Duchess Steelheart," Allenca said with renewed vigor. "But then, you will aaaalso...be implicated with this matter."

"Indeed. And that is why you will owe me," Connie spoke candidly.

"Of course. Of course," Allenca leaned back, trying to calm her excitement down. Her bountiful bosom moving up and down as she breathed. A rosy colour upon her cheeks. The rush of learning such a...path felt like being taught by her mentor. "Seems that…I will have…much to do."

The right edge of Connie's lips rose. "Yes. Yes, you do."

It did not take long for the Maiden of Water to call upon the Archmage Elfriede – who just returned from culling a monster infestation - and informed her of the matter of Orlo and the Vorzennian spies. This news alarmed Elfriede, who immediately sent news to the Capital while requesting cooperation of the Faith, which the Maiden of Water readily accepts, with some terms.

This unusually heavy-handed approach by the Maiden of Water came under strong opposition by Lowen's faction, but that opposition was quickly quashed by the Maiden of Water's simple statement.

If you are innocent, you won't be afraid of the investigation.

Being not wholly innocent, the clergymen (especially those who had taken what was not theirs) naturally look towards Archdeacon Lowen for guidance. He reluctantly admitted that he could do nothing. If he did, he would have earn the Kingdom's Knights suspicion. And he was not ready for such confrontation.

Left with no way of striking back, Lowen abandoned his work and wallowed in the darkness of his office. Trying to find a way out of this mire.

With their pillar starting to show signs of crumbling, the guilty clergymen were left without a solution. And without the ability to stop the sudden and thorough audit, they flocked to the Maiden to plead for her mercy. Suddenly there were many people with shifty eyes trying not to look at each other awkwardly in front of her office door.

Sadly, the Maiden's mercy was only given to those she deemed worthy of.

And as those who were either neutral or did not partake on the corruption, they willingly help with the investigation, as they watched the play with a tinge of schadenfreude.

"Dammit!" A richly ornate goblet was thrown onto a nearby wall, the ruby red wine contained within stained the cold wall. It then fell onto the floor, joining the diverse range of broken decorations that had suffered the blind anger of a corrupt old man. "That proud whore wouldn't have even considered asking for help outside the Church if it was not for that accursed Duchess! Ever since she came to Grottenstadt, she's been a thorn on my side!"

Hastings sat on a couch, back hunched over as he numbly played with the golden ring on his index finger. "Is it possible that it's just the Maiden's idea?"

"No. No. She isn't capable of such schemes. She's young, inexperienced and prideful. She wouldn't have made a choice that would diminish the view of her followers regarding her abilities. I have received reports that she had a meeting with her just a day before she announced her cooperation with the Archmage's division. I would rather suspect that the Duchess put her up to it."

"How is that possible? Surely the Duchess is also inexperienced?"

"Do not mistake that young Duchess to be as naïve as the Maiden of Water," he bellowed. A snake recognizes other snakes. And she is a snake fully grown, with poison that could kill in a single bite.

"That young Duchess had overturned a trial, from being a traitor to the Kingdom, to one of its most celebrated Nobles! She had taken the most unwanted region in the country, and revealed the Demons' hidden schemes. I have underestimated her, and now I am paying the price," the old man said self-mockingly. "Already I hear whispers in the hallways, in the prayer halls, and in the gardens, that I was involved with Vorzenny."

"But you aren't, are you?" Hastings asked, with a rather unsure tone.

"Of course I'm not!" Lowen refuted Hastings's words with spite. If I am going to be a traitor, I wouldn't even think of using Orlo in the first place. He was more offended at the thought of making such mistakes rather than being thought of as a traitor.

"Then you should refute her claim! Why resign yourself to this slander?!" the Commander spoke

"Because!" the man raised a finger; which then trembled as he put it down. "Because the moment I do that, they will investigate me. Everything that I built – my family built – will go down. . Warning the clergymen under me firsthand is hitting me back in the face."

"How so?" Hastings asked. Though his position was that a Commander of the Church Knights, he was never a thinker. Matters of politic and manipulations was not his strong suit.

"People knew that they only move under my order. It's the same as admitting that I am doing something wrong!"

This is worse than fighting Rachel in her prime!