(Outer Regions- City of Galrannor)
(Local Temple Of The Varion Church)
"Err… my… head…" Claire softly groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.
A gentle stream of sunlight shone through the window as the holy knight yawned sleepily and stretched out her arms.
Judging by the position of the sun outside, it should be around nine or ten o' clock in the morning.
Claire had managed to successfully sneak back into the church after climbing over the walls last night.
At first, she planned to visit Elisa immediately and talk about the letter but was suddenly struck by a wave of tiredness.
Claire walked over to the connecting bathroom and picked up a wooden bucket that was filled with water.
Unfortunately, the technology in this world had not progressed very far so proper plumbing was basically non-existent especially in a border city.
Claire took off the loose brown robe covering her body and removed her undergarments before dipping a rag into the bucket.
She began to wipe the grime and dust off her body all the while humming softly a tune from her childhood.
'Hush little baby don't you cry…"
"For the wind and the song of light to be heard…"
"The flames of love and healing…"
Claire felt oddly relaxed and refreshed after a good night's sleep, but the letter still weighed heavily on her mind.
Queen Bracieth Liadi was apparently the one who had written the letter, but Claire refused to believe that the contents were true.
Portals to hell? Destroying the entire continent? A mad beast?
Claire knew that Elisa was not the pure kind-hearted lady of the church that she pretended to be but…
She was not a monster.
The female knight let out a sigh as she absentmindedly touched one of the golden threads wrapped around her body.
A plain faced girl with freckles across her nose flashed across her mind. Lily Anastasia was her name, and she was someone who enjoyed abusing animals.
Claire furrowed her brows and fought down the murderous urge that briefly surfaced in her heart.
Her eyes began to shine with purity and righteousness as the sounds of trumpets came from somewhere in the distance.
Control… control… control…
Claire bit her tongue and the sudden burst of pain helped to pierce through the mental fog that was clouding her mind.
She finished wiping down her body and dumped the remaining water from the bucket outside the window.
Claire returned to her bedroom and looked for some clean clothes to wear underneath her armour.
She settled for a white linen tunic and a pair of brown pants that clung loosely against her skin.
Claire opened up the canvas bag at the base of her mattress and took out the pieces of white armour inside.
She slipped the letter in the pocket of her tunic and made sure that it was placed deep enough to not fall outside.
A few minutes later, she walked confidently out of her bedroom with a longsword attached to her hip.
The church had greatly changed since Father Simon's death and as Claire walked through the halls, she came across children who smiled at her.
Their eyes were full of happiness and optimism for the future.
Elisa's dark magic had erased the traumatic memories in their minds and now they could grow up in peace.
"Don't run so fast," Claire gently spoke as she picked up a little girl who had tripped on the ground.
"Thank you, pretty knight!" the little girl cheerfully replied before walking quickly over to her friends who were giggling.
The world was not black and white but rather shades of grey.
As a paladin Claire knew that it was for good reason why dark magic had been banned by the church.
It usually involved emotional or mental manipulation and all manner of atrocities had been committed by its practitioners.
As a loyal servant of the Lord of Light, Claire should have beheaded Elisa for placing a spell on the children.
And yet…
Claire smiled warmly as she saw the little girl hold her friend's hand and whisper something in his ear as they played together.
Perhaps it was okay to turn a blind eye.
Claire continued on her sightseeing tour of the church and nodded politely to the workers and nuns that she came across.
The church needed some repairs in certain areas and with plenty of funds, Elisa had hired several labourer groups to improve the building.
They were being supervised by the nuns who carefully watched over them to make sure that they did not steal any of the valuable artwork.
But… did they dare to steal something from here?
Claire's cold aura and the rumors of her powerful strength sent shivers down the workers' spines.
No one would dare try to offend the one who personally wiped out several notable crime lords in a single night of bloodshed.
The female knight walked up a flight of stairs and finally arrived at a wooden door at the end of a corridor.
Claire approached the door with slow purposeful steps and lightly tapped her knuckles against its frame.
Knock! Knock!
"Enter," a peaceful voice came from the other side.
Claire opened the door and saw Elisa on her bed looking out of the window while clasping her hands together in prayer.
She opened her mouth to speak but Elisa turned around and made eye contact. A wide grin spread across the former saintess' face.
"You succeeded," Elisa declared proudly as she stared at the beautiful female knight with a lovestruck expression on her face.
"Yes… the hunters are all dead and the orc tribe did not suffer any losses," Claire replied softly as she walked over.
"Are you hurt?" Elisa asked with concern as she stretched out her palm. Claire followed her movements and knelt on the floor.
The former saintess touched her forehead and a warm current of energy flowed into her body.
Claire waited patiently until the treatment was finished before saying her thanks.
Truthfully, she wasn't injured but she knew that Elisa would not be at ease until she made her undergo a few rounds of healing.
The pair began to talk about light topics like Elisa's activities over the last few days or the latest political situation in the city.
Claire wasn't sure how to bring up the subject of the letter since it wasn't exactly the kind of topic that one could just casually introduce.
She was even struck by the urge to hide away the letter and just pretend as though she had never seen it.
"Claire are you okay? You seen kind of distracted?" Elisa's worried voice snapped Claire out of her train of thought.
Claire took a few deep breaths and then made a decision in her heart. She reached for the letter in the pocket of her tunic and took it out with trembling fingertips.
Claire cleared her throat and finally spoke, "Elisa…"
"I have something to show you…"