Huh?
Angel's thoughts briefly froze. Then they split into two different voices, each offering an explanation for Bernadette's words.
Did she mean the Memorial Hall in Trier, Intis, where Roselle Gustav's remains were buried, was fake? Or that one of the nine mausoleums built for the Black Emperor's promotion ritual failed to meet the necessary conditions and was a fake?
Given Bernadette's words, "one of the mausoleums was fake," she probably meant the latter. But that would mean Roselle hadn't completed all the mausoleums required for the ritual. Had a fake mausoleum interfered with his apotheosis ritual, causing him to fail, after which the restorationist nobles and Orthodox Churches assassinated him?
Seeing her confusion, Bernadette eased back slightly, softening the aggressive air of her forward-leaning posture, and asked:
"Given your past experiences and the Card of Blasphemy in 'your' possession, I believe you should know about the Black Emperor's promotion ritual."
"Nine mausoleums."
Angel answered briefly to indicate that she did indeed know about it. At the same time, she confirmed that the "fake mausoleum" Bernadette had mentioned was connected to them.
"Then I'll skip the parts we all understand." Bernadette nodded in satisfaction and continued, "After reuniting with Anne, we used the information I'd gathered over the past century or so to find all eight mausoleums destroyed by the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun and the Church of Steam. Some stood in secluded, inaccessible places within Intis, on mountaintops or in ravines. Others were built on uninhabited islands overseas... but without exception, their power had been erased, and they had lost their intended function."
*That function was to serve as anchors for the Black Emperor's resurrection. According to Mr. Fool, as long as a single mausoleum survived, Emperor Roselle could return through it and regain the strength and