It was just that a saint... Cosmi fell silent and concentrated on leading the way. Once Duke Olmer's coffin came into view, he excused himself, leaving the two of them alone.
Mistral stepped forward and bowed in greeting before recounting what had happened. Silence settled over the room. After a long while, Duke Olmer spoke again:
"That does fit the temperament described in the rumors. But... why did she mention our ancestor by name?"
"I don't know," Mistral said gravely. "But she seems to know a fair amount about the Sanguine. For instance, she knew about the First Embrace ritual. And what she said... Do you think..."
He paused, then asked carefully, "Could she know our ancestor, but still be unable to confirm who our ancestor is?"
"She makes five now..." Duke Olmer said evenly. "Perhaps they're simply a group with certain traits in common. Something our ancestor did may have led her to suspect our ancestor belongs to that group."
"Something connected to the First Embrace ritual?" Mistral frowned.
They both fell silent. After a moment, Olmer said:
"Keep watching Emlyn... There's no need to change the plan for now.
"Find the people wearing Rose's Oath, but don't make a move against them."
"Yes." Mistral lowered his head.
Once the biggest wild card in the operation had left, everything went smoothly. Ernest Boyar went straight to Harvest Church, and the moment he saw Father Utravsky, he blurted out:
"I'll volunteer here for a month!"
Meanwhile, Alice was still staring at Father Utravsky's physique and swallowing.
It was Alice's first time inside Harvest Church, and naturally her first time meeting this reassuring priest. Watching Utravsky kindly accept Ernes's offer, she felt a profound sense of incongruity.
*Frank might actually be a better fit as a priest here... Well, he'd