Tempest Cathedral—Order 3, West Grovebourne.
The Tempest Cathedrals in Stormwatch were equally serene and beautiful. When faithful believers walk through the church's gates, they couldn't help but fall into a state of trance, where all their worries were being washed by the ocean.
Faint blue lights illuminated the interior and people sitting in pews experienced the calmness at the bottom of the sea that is hidden underneath the turbulent waves.
The name—Order 3 was for official purposes of Tempest Order.
Ordinary people had no idea that the Tempest Cathedrals had different names on paper to distinguish areas of influence.
In the underground office, some priests and nuns were busy as they moved back and forth.
The brilliant arcane runes shined mysteriously in the Tempest Cathedral's Subspace Teleportation Channel.
Caroline's figure appeared, as she calmly walked down the aisle while lightly greeting the members of the Church.
No matter, how low their position was in the hierarchy of the Church, they were the believers of Tempest and worked tirelessly to maintain Order in one form or another.
A middle-aged woman in pure light blue robes appeared in front of Caroline with a light smile and tapped on her left breast four times in a clockwise direction.
She was the head nun of Tempest Cathedral—Order 3, Teressa.
With a gentle smile, she nodded at Caroline, "Captain Caroline, these are required documents that you will need for the ongoing investigation. I have prepared a ride for you in advance. If you have any orders, please let me know."
Caroline pursed her lips and took the dossier from Teressa, she said with a small smile, "Thank you, Teressa."
Caroline then proceeded to follow the same gesture by tapping on her breast four times clockwise, "Praise Tempest."
"Praise Tempest," Teressa replied with a slight smile.
Then, Caroline walked out through a secret path created specifically for official purposes and hopped onto the carriage. The wagon drove off in the distance with a thundering rumbling of steam.
…
West Grovebourne Police Station.
A large number of journalists were eyeing the Police Station with the eyes of hawks. All they wanted, was some spicy news but the Police have been very tight-lipped about the details of the matter.
It was strange but they didn't dare to make a ruckus and waited patiently, grinding their shark-like teeth and making them sharper, ready to bite the meat into pieces and connect it to all the conspiracies.
The son of a Count has been assassinated in the heart of Stormwatch!
Was it a political move? Maybe some outside interference? Perhaps a cult?
With these questions, people were scared as well.
If even the son of Count isn't safe, then what about the common populace? Is the capital of Treon—Stormwatch secure?
The media wanted nothing but to grind these rumors, of course within the permissible limits.
Not to mention, knowledgeable people knew about the existence of Ascendants!
And they also knew that these aristocratic children had protectors that can steamroll through a mob comprised of ordinary humans; then it only meant—someone at similar power levels made a move!
Of course, with Rogues interference even the Church might as well get involved in the boiling lava of legislation.
It was at that moment; they saw a carriage with steam rolling in its wake appearing. The carriage had the insignia of a Compass on its sides.
Tempest Order is here!
The journalists' eyes shined! This is what they've been waiting for!
They hurriedly gave way to the carriage as it stopped outside the periphery of the Police Station. All of them had a deep respect for the Goddess and didn't dare to be disrespectful to the guardians.
Soon, a woman in a grey overcoat stepped out.
Although they were stunned by the beauty of the lady, they quickly got a hold of themselves as they recognized who she was!
As soon as the identity of the woman was registered in their minds—one of them muttered, "She's the daughter of the Duchess!"
If it was any other Captain of Tempest Order, the journalists wouldn't be surprised, but the moment Caroline appeared, it had several euphemistic meanings hidden underneath, that only the experienced politicians and reporters could get to the bottom of.
"Don't tell me the Church is planning to interfere in affairs of state with the Duchess as a breakthrough point!" One of them muttered and raised the polaroid camera in his hand to snap a picture.
The Church has always claimed to be the protector of people and did not involve itself with politics. So this statement was quite a revelation to the people.
Rebellion!... They could hear the alarming sounds of undercurrents from miles away!
With that said, the crowd of reporters went into an uproar as they hurriedly made their way toward Caroline in the hope of getting something spicy out of her mouth while clicking pictures of her that would act as the front page cover!
It was at that point, two men appeared by Caroline's side—Elmer and Lewis, who led her inside the Police Station by pushing their way through.
They and many other low-ranking members of the Tempest Order had arrived long ago to cooperate with the investigation.
After all, the report they received included the involvement of a Cult.
Caroline sighed softly, "I knew Bishop Julian had ulterior motives when he sent me instead of any other experienced Captain…"
Elmer nodded as they walked through corridors without any obstruction, "The upper hierarchy of the Church might be dissatisfied with the ruling government or King or maybe the Royal Allen Family…"
Lewis didn't say anything as the two made their speculations.
"This was all a show for the people.
"To let them know if need be, Church will step up and put perpetrators—no matter how high and mighty their titles may be—to trial, even though this has nothing to do with politics and we are only here because of Light…" Caroline's eyes turned solemn when she said 'Light'.
This was the first time in the history of the Treon Kingdom when the House of Tempest showed its fangs were sharper and deeper than anyone else.