"What a repulsive man."
After the service ended, the echo of the bells still hung from the ceiling, slowly fading.
Shu, who had been perched on my shoulder the whole time, stared at Cardinal Teo — once again surrounded by his congregation — and muttered under her breath.
"He smells filthy. It's disgusting."
"You can sense that?"
"I can perceive souls. You can deceive the eye, but you can't deceive what's within."
I asked quietly.
"Did he sense you? That relic he's wearing — it can see souls."
The Eye of Johan.
A sacred relic that perceives the human soul, and a remarkably useful one at that.
Shu was a soul. Would the Eye of Johan have been able to see her?
"In the broadest sense, yes, I am a soul — but I'm a spirit."
Shu gave a dismissive sniff.
"I have lived through countless ages. I am of a different nature than beings who are born and die. Concealing my form is child's play."
"Professor Vilhelmine could see you, though."
"That woman is an anomaly. Normally, no one can see me — relics or otherwise."
Seriously, what on earth is that professor?
The question flickered through my mind, but I pushed it aside.
There was something more pressing right now.
"Haah… what am I supposed to do."
"About what?"
"About how to get that bastard away from Tiana."
Shu rested her chin in her hand and settled into the air.
"Hmm. First, you need to assess the situation objectively."
"Objectively?"
I turned to look at Tiana.
The moment the service had ended, she'd gone straight to Cardinal Teo, smiling brightly as they talked.
A different face from the one she wore when speaking with me.
That smile was unusually radiant.
It turned my stomach.
"As I see it, that priest has no intention of giving up on Tiana Pilrn."
"You're right."
"I don't know why he's after her. Whether he simply wants to violate her, or whether there's some scheme behind it. But what's certain is that he will try to possess Tiana Pilrn by any means necessary."
"So the question is how to stop that. That's what I'm getting at."
"Don't try to do anything yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"What matters is Tiana Pilrn's own will. Suppose you act on her behalf. And then what?"
"…"
"From her perspective, you're nothing but an obstacle interfering with her faith. Even if your actions are ultimately for her sake, she herself won't see it that way at all. Whatever you do will be wasted effort."
I fell silent.
She was right.
"And you."
Shu looked at me directly.
"You also need to let go of that cynical attitude. The way to get closest to her is through understanding. Understand her."
Those words pricked something in my chest.
Have I been thinking only from my own perspective…?
Shu's words felt like scales falling from my eyes.
I had been so buried in the assumption that gods don't exist — that prejudice had made me miss what truly mattered.
That premise had been the starting point of every judgment I'd made.
But what I want isn't to trample Tiana's faith.
It's to pull her free from the Holy See's grasp.
So what can I actually do?
What should I do?
No matter how hard I thought, no answer came.
'…In the original story, it was only possible because it was Taibeon.'
Taibeon, who came to the cathedral with Tiana, senses something wrong about Cardinal Teo.
That unease becomes certainty when he uncovers the Cardinal's corruption.
Taibeon confides this to Tiana. And Tiana, though skeptical of her younger brother's words, at least listens carefully.
He was the younger brother who had spent his whole life at her side — her closest blood.
Because he said it, Tiana harbored doubt.
Because he showed her, she wavered.
That was a persuasion only possible between family.
I am not Taibeon.
I am not her one and only younger brother, nor the most precious person in her life.
Just a school friend she's known for barely a month.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Whatever I might say —
Tiana's faith would not budge an inch.
Her regard for Cardinal Teo was proportional to her devotion.
What could shake this ironclad belief was not an outsider, but someone from within.
Blood.
That wall was not mine to cross.
"Brother Matyos."
A soft voice drifted in from behind me.
I turned.
Cardinal Teo was standing right there, as if he'd materialized from nothing.
Without a sound.
Both hands clasped behind his back, he inclined his head slightly.
A posture that wore courtesy and ease in equal measure.
"…Your Eminence."
"I was hoping we might speak for a moment — would that be possible?"
"Yes. Please."
"Not here."
His gaze briefly swept over Tiana, who was chatting warmly with the others.
It was brief, but something like possessiveness flashed within it.
"There's something I'd like to say to you alone."
"…Is that so."
"Yes. It is."
His eyes curved like a crescent moon.
He was smiling.
But the depths behind that smile were unreadable.
The moment I'd been waiting for had arrived.
There was no running from it.
'Since it's come to this, I'll have to talk to him directly.'
A frontal approach.
Whatever it took, I had to face him — only then would the board become visible.
"Yes. Very well."
"Follow me, then."
Cardinal Teo led me to his office. It was a surprisingly modest space.
"This is tea brought from the East. I'm not sure whether it will suit your palate."
Cardinal Teo tilted a silver teapot.
A thin curl of steam rose. The fragrance was subtle — something between flowers and herbs, or perhaps somewhere in between, impossible to place precisely.
I glanced down at the teacup, then looked back up at him.
I didn't drink.
I had no interest in putting something in my mouth when I couldn't be sure it was safe.
"Your Eminence."
"Hmm."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Looking at that expression — it seems you have something to say to me."
"Yes. I do."
"And what would that be?"
I swallowed dryly.
His eyes were slick as butter. They gleamed in the light. Eyes that pretended to embrace you while quietly taking stock of everything inside.
I had to deal with this man now.
'…I'm not very good at pressuring people.'
Even so. I'd try.
Suddenly, Sister came to mind.
The villainess who had once turned the politics of the entire world over in the palm of her hand.
…What would she do in this situation?
"It seems you have nothing to say, Brother."
"Ha — so you're not even bothering to hide it anymore."
"And so?"
Cardinal Teo took a sip of his tea.
"What exactly can you do, Brother?"
I steadied my breathing and threw it straight at him.
"…I know your scheme. You're planning to take Tiana and turn her into an 'angel,' aren't you?"
"….."
In that instant.
For the first time.
A crack appeared in his face.
His pupils trembled, almost imperceptibly.
The corners of his mouth dropped.
It lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was unmistakable.
"Hmm. And how did you come to know that?"
I'd hit the mark.
I pressed harder.
"It means your scheme is an absolute mess. Do you think I'm the only one who knows?"
I deliberately twisted my lips into a smirk.
The expression Sister used to wear when she was making someone squirm.
"Everyone knows. Most people, anyway."
Cardinal Teo stared at me with a face like a blank mask.
And in that moment, I was certain of victory.
Right — he'd have nothing to say.
His thoughts must be in turmoil.
If word spread that the Holy See was 'extracting human souls to forge angels,' the thin veneer of authority the Church had maintained would shatter completely.
Of course he'd be struck dumb.
I grinned openly.
'This is easy.'
Why had I been making it so complicated?
'Maybe I have just as much of a silver tongue as Sister.'
I continued, unhurried.
"Now you understand. Cardinal. If you don't want things to get ugly, from now on, stay away from Tiana—"
Crack!
In that instant, Cardinal Teo rose like a beast and lunged.
My throat was seized.
He grabbed my neck with one hand.
I was slammed into the wall. My breath cut off. My vision went white.
"Ugh—!"
"…"
He said nothing.
He simply looked down at me.
I flailed.
Tears welled in my eyes.
He raised his other hand and wiped the tear that had spilled with his index finger.
"A lie."
His voice was perfectly calm.
The grip released.
I crumpled to the floor, gasping.
"It's a lie. You are the only one who knows that information. Isn't that right?"
"Hah, hah…"
"If you're going to deceive someone, at least hide that expression first. Your emotions are written plainly across your face — who would ever be fooled like that?"
"…You bastard. You think you'll walk away from this unscathed?"
"Your family, you mean?"
"That's right—!"
This time, it was he who grinned.
"Ha ha. Did you think I would conduct no investigation into you whatsoever?"
A chill ran through me.
"Do you truly believe your family would make an enemy of us — the Holy See — for your sake alone?"
"…"
"You're an adopted child, aren't you. Not the Family Head's own blood, not someone precious to them. A noble in name only."
It made me angrier precisely because it was true.
"Well, go ahead — run to your dear sister and whine for help like a little child. Not that she'd listen. Heh heh."
Cardinal Teo spoke with absolute certainty, then opened the door.
"It was a pleasure speaking with you. I'll take my leave first. I have a dinner engagement with Sister Tiana, you see."
"…"
"Do take care of that throat before you go. That tea you didn't touch a drop of — it's good for the throat, they say. No poison in it either, so rest easy."
It was humiliating.
I clenched my fists and trembled.
*
I barely remembered how I'd walked back to the dormitory.
My feet must have moved, but I couldn't recall a single thing I'd seen along the way, who I'd passed, or how I'd climbed the stairs.
Only one scene played on repeat inside my head.
Teo's face as he choked me with one hand.
That expressionless look — neither smiling nor angry.
And.
'You're an adopted child.'
That one sentence.
Tiana had stayed behind, saying she had dinner with him.
Smiling brightly. Without a shadow of suspicion.
I came back alone.
I took out my key. My hand trembled slightly.
The metal scraped against the lock several times before catching.
At that moment, the scent of roses brushed past my nose.
Not heavy. Not excessive.
But once you'd caught it, impossible to forget. A familiar fragrance.
I turned my head.
Sister was standing there, leaning against the wall with her arms folded.
Eyes half-lidded. Posture loose.
At a glance, she looked like a leisurely noblewoman waiting for her younger brother out of idle curiosity.
"I heard you went to the church again today. With that shepherd."
There was a sneer woven into it.
The words seemed casually tossed, yet carried a faint edge.
"…"
I ignored her and slid the key into the lock.
If I opened my mouth now, something would leak out — I was certain of it.
Anger, or humiliation, or — perhaps something smaller than either.
'Well, go ahead — run to your dear sister and whine for help like a little child. Not that she'd listen. Heh heh.'
His voice clung to my ear and wouldn't let go.
…Right.
It was the truth.
We were siblings, but the blood was thin.
I was an adopted child.
To her, I was 'chosen family' — not someone bound to her from birth.
A relationship that could be discarded if needed.
At least, that was how I had always felt.
No different from a stranger.
Same as with Tiana.
No different from a stranger.
Click.
The door opened.
I'd wash up and sleep.
I wouldn't think about it tonight.
Just then.
Creak —
Sister pushed the half-open door shut with her hand.
The sound of it closing rang out louder than I expected.
"Are you ignoring me right now? How impertinent—"
Abruptly, Sister's words cut off as cleanly as if sliced by a blade.
I turned to look at her in puzzlement, and found her gaze fixed on my throat.
At first, I didn't understand.
Why was she looking at me like that…
"…Ah."
I realized too late.
My throat.
The marks from being choked were still there.
I reflexively moved to cover my neck, but couldn't. Sister had caught my wrist.
"Who did this."
She grabbed my shoulder and shoved me against the wall. I let it happen, without resistance.
Her gaze traced over the red, spreading handprint on my throat as if reading it.
Sister stared down at me with those pale grey eyes, wide and unblinking.
"Who did this to you."