This had truly caught him completely off guard.
Elliot had genuinely never imagined that the Bronze Angel, which he had always regarded with hostility and guarded against, was actually a creation of the Sterling Family.
On closer thought, it made sense. A gigantic, steam-powered statue with a purely mechanical structure was exactly the sort of thing the Sterling Family specialized in.
And from how practiced Theresia had looked as she exterminated the monsters, Elliot had assumed she had been prepared specifically for the festival.
But when he connected that with Michel's mention that the Royal Family had only recently begun using Blood Vampires for sacrifices...
So Theresia really was the guardian deity of the Imperial Capital, and the sacrifices were just something she handled on the side?
Wait!
"Exterminating monsters in the Imperial Capital? Since when have there been monsters in the Imperial Capital?"
Victoria gave him a long look. "Once Theresia stops functioning, you'll see them. There are many unspeakable things in the shadows of the Imperial Capital. Theresia is what keeps them from appearing in the sunlight."
Elliot fell silent for a moment.
Thinking it over, there did seem to have been quite a few clues.
Dorothea's family were wealthy merchants, already among the upper class of the Imperial Capital, yet the Genesis School had still abducted Elsa.
The medicine the two sisters' father had brought could only be taken by monsters other than the human species.
Those densely packed rats in the Ratway...
Elliot drew a deep breath. "What about the Throne, then? What's beneath the Throne?"
"Well..." Victoria turned to look at the other two.
"Order." Michel stepped forward, his voice low.
"The First Era was the era of monsters. Humanity ended the First Era with order, but that order did not come without a price."