"You ought to be able to endure this much after confessing your love in public..."

  "But at least where there aren't people everywhere...!"

  Forcing Melton's hand into a lover's hold, Elisabeth dragged him through the crowd as the day came to a close.

  "Where's your veil? People are starting to look..."

  Melton's eyes scanned his surroundings as the gazes staring at him felt like they tunneled through his skin deeper and deeper with every passing moment they continued to look.

  "Let them stare. I couldn't care less."

  "But-"

  "Besides, you said you'd stop running away, didn't you? Swore it and everything. What a despicable person you are, trying to break your promise in such a nonchalant manner." Melton wanted to shoot back a retort, but the wide smile on her face, free of any worry in the world, erased any hope of even talking back to her.

  "I'm sorry..."

  "As punishment, we'll do a second round around the shops! Come, let's start from that darts game you absolutely love!"

  At that point, he regretted ever complaining about people staring. Anything but being dragged away to be publicly humiliated in front of the crowd again.

  "Maybe we should take another lap around the stalls..."

  "Please, Elisabeth, enough! They've all started to close for the day!"

  Besides, my heart's just about ready to burst...

  "Let's start to head back now. The streets aren't going to stay lit for much longer."

  But as the two of them made the journey back to the religious district, something felt off. He expected her to be blabbing about how he screwed up his second round of darts, or how embarrassing it was for her to be offered a second consolation prize. Instead, only silence accompanied the journey throughout.

  Eventually, in front of a large cathedral, adorned with a golden, smiling sun on the peak, Elisabeth stopped. A complicated expression clouded her face as her hands escaped his grip, her body turning to face him,

  "Melton."

  "Yes?"

  "Earlier, you said that you wanted to know everything, right?"

  "I did. But don't force yourself to say things if you can't."

  "No, no, quite the opposite. Melton, remember the story of the nun and the prince?"

  "The tragedy?"

  "Yes. When I told you that little story then, it was still missing a proper conclusion. The nun wasn’t just a nun, and the prince wasn't just a prince. The nun was never sentenced to death, nor did the prince take his own life."

  "What are you talking about?"

  In a single moment, Elisabeth grabbed a hold of his head, her eyes blazing purple.

  "Delve", she commands

  Melton's vision went dark.

  Where the hell?

  Pristine marble walls surrounded his vision as several nuns held pails, buckets and mops.

  "Ms. Monia!"

  A young nun ran from what seemed to be the entrance of the monastery they were in.

  Hey, watch it!

  The girl should have clearly bumped into him, but he phased right through her?

  "When you're in public, refer to me as Sister, Sister Abigail. Especially since everyone else is here."

  " 'Saint' and 'Sister' feel too distant to me. If I had it my way, I'd just call you Monia instead... But anyways! Did you hear? His Highness is coming to visit soon!"

  St. Monia looked remarkably similar to Elisabeth, except for her striking violet locks, as opposed to Elisabeth's silver hair.

  "What for? His Highness doesn't believe in any given faith."

  "I heard the other sisters talking about 'picking one above all else,' or something like that. Whatever that meant, anyways."

  Concerned, St. Monia's brows furrowed.

  Yeah, we're definitely in the past. Sounds like she brought up Emperor Gallius' quest to officially instate a national religion. His big claim to fame was that he was the first to bring up separation of church and state, towards the end of his short 5 year reign, before he took a knife to the neck in his sleep. But it still doesn't answer how she disappears.

  Suddenly, a compulsion called out to Melton, as if he was about to miss something important if he didn't turn around.

  ...Is there something behind me?

  The moment he turned his head, St. Monia stood in front of an entourage of people. Leading it at its head was a middle-aged, bearded man who unmistakably wore the Crown of Xenon, named after the first ruler of the empire.

  "I've been to many cathedrals in the area, few were even half as quaint as yours."

  "I believe modesty is a sign of virtue, your Highness."

  "As you know, I've been visiting the religious leaders of every religion of significant following within the city. Tell me, why should my citizens and subjects follow Solaire, just as you do?"

  "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I can hardly speak for my fellow brothers and sisters on the matter, nor can I claim to represent their collective opinions and feelings."

  "Strange. I received word from your fellow Brother, St. Gregorius, that you would represent the faith before me and my audience."

  "I have received no such news on my end, Your Highness."

  There's no way any clergy worth their salt would screw up something of such importance. Especially not one that leads a religion that has one of the largest followings in the capital.

  "...I understand. If such is the case, then I believe I should leave before I overstay my welcome here. I shall keep in touch with your fellows and ask them for their opinions, whoever else it may be that represents your faith."

  "Thank you for your understanding, your Highness."

  The compulsion struck again and he spun around without hesitation. This time, a congregation of what he assumed were clergymen for the Goddess of the Sun were seated round a large wooden table before him. Burning embers of red and orange cupped in stands all around the room illuminated the area, with all the members of the clergy clad in the same enamel white robe and hood as the elderly clerk as they spoke.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "...Emperor Gallius has decided to instate the worship of the All-Seeing One as the national faith."

  "Who spoke before Emperor Gallius?"

  "I-I did, Brother Bryan." The one to spread the word of the Goddess spat out his words trembling in fear.

  "Your execution shall come within a week."

  "St. Gregorius, you cannot order the execution of your fellow clergymen without reas-" A member of the gathering opposed St. Gregorius' methods but the words died in his mouth as his eyes met the deadly glare of the ‘saint’.

  "His failure was reason enough. He should be grateful I gave him a week to savour the last of his disgusting life. And what of that woman I sent before him? The one who had only her looks?"

  "...Those who were present at her cathedral mentioned that His Highness had visited her, but promptly left afterwards."

  "Absolutely useless. That old sleazeball must not be right in the head either, first turning down a woman and now rejecting the will of Solaire to spread her faith within the capital. Strip that saint of her title, and send her before me."

  "..."

  "Or do you want to lose your life next? It seems like these lapdogs still want to bare their fangs at their master, even though I have long since yanked out all of their teeth."

  A clergy member began the vote. "...Those in favour."

  The table raised their hands,

  "Those who oppose."

  And fell as quickly as they were raised.

  Melton turned once again. It may have been many years since the events he was witnessing today, but a scandal of this scale was sure to destroy any semblance of trust the people had in the Goddess of the Sun. This time, the scene changed from the meeting of clergymen to a scene of St. Monia before her fellow brother, draped in robes of white lined in gold, jewelry adorning his fingers, Monia addressing the saint before her in the privates of his well furnished chambers.

  "How could I have been stripped of my title? I would have been perfectly fine telling Emperor Gallius about Solaire if I had known I was to represent you all. He even gave us a second chance to speak before him. I don't see where I have gone so wrong as to lose my title."

  "It's astounding how you haven't made the connection already. The only reason why you stood in front of someone like His Highness was to reel in his support with a woman and her looks. What purpose do you even serve, now that you've gone and failed?"

  "I am not just some accessory you can use in whatever schemes you're planning, you fiend."

  From outside, the door slammed shut and Bryan burst out of his seat, Monia struggling for air in his grasp as he reached for her chest.

  "You dare? You'll learn to keep my name out of your mouth after I'm done with you!"

  And before the atrocity before him could continue, the memory cut itself off.

  You'd better keep your eyes open and alert, Melton Tasselt. These are some crazy stories you're showing me, Elisabeth. I don't have the authority to launch my own investigations, but Sergal might bite with enough proof...

  The false saint’s private chambers were left behind, the view before his eyes melding into a peaceful countryside view, endless golden fields of grain and wheat waving in turn amidst the wind.

  "Ah, I've finally found you. Figured you would be somewhere rural, but we really are here in the middle of a sea of grain in the middle of nowhere, huh. How are you, St. Monia? Though I suppose I can't exactly call you that now." Monia, dressed in a simple tunic and pants, sickle in hand, glanced over to a hooded, faceless figure. Her expression was devoid of all emotion, her pupils dark as midnight in the forests. The sun hung high at the apex of its ascent, yet her eyes did not shine as the sun blazed over their heads.

  "Leave. I have no obligation nor wish to speak to you, stranger."

  "Figures. Who would listen to some random passer by who claimed to have sought them out for seemingly no good reason? But you see, I've got a good plan to make both my enemies and yours eat dirt. And I'm sure you're gonna wanna have a hand in this."

  "What makes you so sure...?"

  "'Cause you see, Esau has only just freed itself from the grip of its former owners, but there are simply too many people and not enough land. The exceptions to this example lie few and far between, such as with this farmland.

  My brothers-in-arms wish for Esau to grow into the greatest country this continent shall ever know, but those high and mighty central plain scum who've never know the suffering of not having enough to eat still have the gall to dare take back the precious little land we still have within our borders that my fellow brothers and sisters have given up their lives for! These unforgivable scumbags shall pay for their ignorance with their lives!"

  "You've yet to tell me how or why I should help." Monia turned her back to tend to the harvest before an elaboration from the hooded figure left his lips.

  "Every other person in Raul believes in a religion, no matter how big or small the following. Suppose they hear a thing or two about their god supporting cannibalism or the other allowing thievery. What would they think of their fellow man? Then all it takes is for one person to commit a crime, and for him to be from a particular faith, for the collective 'correct' crowd to turn their pitchforks against people who have not lifted a finger to harm even a fly. What do you think will happen if, say, the atrocities of a certain St. Gregorius were to be revealed to the world? The whole country will be shaken to the core, and their faith will lose their grip on the governance as the politicians grapple with losing the stability of the state religion.

  "To even touch a hair on their body, we will have to prepare thoroughly so that their tower of cards can fall in one fell swoop. In the coming years, we will weaponise their many religions and people within their walls and turn their own weapons on themselves so that they may kill their own fellow citizens on the streets over the lies we shall feed them.

  Despite your status, you still have resources in the capital to your name. Take the time to experiment while you're here in the countryside. When you're ready, you will be the spark that detonates and destroys Raul from the inside out."

  "..."

  "So how about it?"

  "I accept."

  "Great! Then my brothers and I will leave you to it, whilst we focus on cultivating the young talent to grow something out of nothing. For such an ambitious project, you sure got a relatively easy job...I envy you."

  "If you're just here to chitchat, then get lost."

  "Then until next time."

  The long trek home for the hooded man began as he turned to leave. The sun in the sky continued to scorch the lands, high above her head at noon. But the end of the day would arrive, and soon enough it would descend until it disappeared beneath the horizon. A murmur escaped Monia’s lips as her sickle cleaved into the sea of gold.

  "...Just you wait."

  The world around him warped and bent in dizzying fashion before it showed St. Monia, her face mottled with spots and wrinkles. Before her, a younger Elisabeth, the white roots in her hair extending halfway past her head before the violet started.

  "Elisabeth, pack your belongings. We're moving to Raul for the foreseeable future."

  "Why? I like it here. Take Mommy or Daddy with you instead." The ring of the necklace in her hands spun and twirled as she directed her gaze elsewhere out of disagreement.

  "No ifs or buts. This is an important journey we're making. You'll be learning how to work like your mother and father do every day within those rooms. I believe you've seen them work before, yes?"

  "Yeah, but that's boring."

  "Again, no ifs or buts. You'll use that gift of yours to run the place. Then we'll stay until we can leave."

  "How would you know when?"

  The corners of her lips curved into a smile as Monia, now reaching the twilight of her life, faced her granddaughter with a smile for the first time in her life.

  "Oh, my dear Elisabeth, you will know when we've succeeded months before we leave for home."

  --and the memories stopped there.

  This was no longer a matter of personal grudges. This was a serious breach in homeland security, and Elisabeth was an accomplice. If word ever got out, anything and everyone related to the Den of Sin would be eradicated within the week. Keep her safe? How? And on such short notice? Who could he even trust for the job?

  Melton rubbed his clean-shaven chin, his mind blurring to find a good answer as his eyes held Elisabeth in his sights, filled with equal parts of anger, concern and confusion.

  Trembling lips parted as he spoke, “W-what? Why? Why didn’t you tell me sooner—”

  "I'm sorry."

  A silent apology escaped Elisabeth's lips beneath her breath before Melton felt his body unwillingly relax. Elisabeth's eyes continued to burn an enchanting purple hue as the last lengths of purple amongst a sea of silver and white began to fade.

  "Report everything you have just seen and deduced to your superior, along with everything you know regarding the Den of Sin."

  One of Melton's eyeballs harboured a spark of purple flame tucked beneath the socket, before he regained consciousness still standing. He didn’t seem to have any memory of what he saw or was about to do. Good.

  Elisabeth didn’t want to see any more of him, or her resolve would’ve crumbled into dust right there and then. "I can handle the rest of the way back, dear."

  "...Then I'll see you next week. Let's visit the library again when the day comes. Maybe you can think of what book you'd like to borrow when the time comes. I’ve got to head back now, it feels like a war in my head…" As if a ridiculous command hadn’t come out of Elisabeth's mouth.

  "I'd have to see a book to know if I'd like to borrow it or not..."

  "Then all the more you should go, right?"

  "It's a promise then. Be on your way now, you can't be outside too long, either."

  "...I love you, Elisabeth."

  "I love you too."

  Melton gave a dry smile before he returned home.

  Elisabeth’s placid smile remained on her face as Melton turned, yet tears began to roll down her cheeks.

  "As I thought, I really do hate liars…"