Elliot watched the puppet representing a Machine Priest slowly leave through the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief.
He had, of course, called this squad of Machine Priests over himself. If Vanessa's [Spirituality Pressure] failed to restrain the monster, or if it wasn't afraid of bullets, the Machine Priests would have to save the day.
That was a situation Elliot was doing everything he could to avoid. Letting the Machine Priests get involved would bring endless trouble.
First of all, Elliot had no control over these Machine Priests. Most of the Sterling Family's forces would obey his orders, whether its factories and other businesses or stewards and servants like Conrad.
The Reforging Flame Church was different, however. Elliot couldn't mobilize these people directly and could only make a few simple assignments through the Old Duke's connections. And these Machine Priests would report their findings only to the Old Duke.
Elliot judged that the Reforging Flame Church was probably relatively independent within the Sterling Family. At the very least, theirs wasn't a relationship between superiors and subordinates. They had no need to defer to him as the heir; they would accept assignments but not summons-and in reality, even those assignments came from the Old Duke.
If they intervened in the fight, Vanessa and the others would not only come to the Old Duke's attention but also be exposed to the Church.
The Reforging Flame was one of the Churches of the Seven True Gods. Getting people out of its hands would inevitably be a considerable headache for Elliot.
So unless he had absolutely no other choice, he would never let the Machine Priests take action.
Watching them leave, Elliot finally felt the weight lift from his heart, and he stood up.
It was getting late. He had to go home.