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"Misconduct? Whatever do you mean?" she asked.

"Acting unaware?" the Priestess started calmly, "Is that really how you want to play this?"

"Well-" Daria started to say only to be interrupted by the unrolling of a sheet the Priestess had retrieved from her concealable Spatial ring,

"It's all here in the transcript of the message you received ordering your return so think about that before mocking me right to my face," she said,

"I must say, I am quite disappointed in you. Getting involved in some local dispute... You should know better."

"I'm-" Daria started to say but she was interrupted once again,

"Imagine dragging the name of the Sacrosanct into such. And it was a Martial City too. Ugh, honestly, what were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking," Daria said simply.

The Priestess waved her off,

"Oh don't give me that go-to standardized response. Take responsibility."

"I am," Daria said.

The Priestess shook her head,

"No, you aren't,"

"Oh, but I am," Daria insisted, "Besides, I never dragged the name of the Sacrosanct into anything. I'm surprised news even reached here."

"Well, a so-called Local Lord by the name of Larnak sent the report to your 'designated' Sanctum where it was rightly forwarded here- To me."

"Ah, I see," Daria said in realization.

Clearly, this had been one of the means Herbert had employed to help his situation. He likely hoped Daria would get a call-back to the Church following his report. A shame the Call-back came late. A full week after his death, to be precise.

He should have known the Arcane Church would not simply take his word for it and would perform their own investigation to verify his claims. A task that was bound to be time-consuming based solely on the distance in geography as well as the usual disinterest stemming from the standard dislike between Knights and Arcanists.

Put simply, no one in the Church gave a damn if a Knight died or survived regardless of what status he or she might hold.

"Daria," the Priestess said, pulling Daria away from her thoughts, "You should know, when present in a Martial City, passiveness to ongoing events should be a mantra you live by."

Daria gave a bow in a show of remorse,

"I apologize. It won't happen again."

The Priestess nodded,

"Good!" she said and when Daria started to relax, feeling the matter done without even the use of an invasive inquest, the atmosphere in the hall intensified even harder than it had already.

Beads of sweat started to form on Daria's forehead and it would have been even worse had she not been making an actual attempt to stave off a bit of the Pressure bearing down on her, courtesy of the figure before her.

Priestess Arleen's red eyes sparked sharply in accordance with the aura of intensity she was letting out,

"Now," she said in a silky low voice, "Let's discuss the entity you befriended while away at that Martial City."

"What entity?" Daria asked, trying and failing to appear natural. This was not a show of her inability to tell and hold a lie but rather due to the pressure she was under.

The Priestess began to walk around Daria, slowly, menacing, like she was a predator looking for a chance to strike,

"The report from that 'Larnak' fellow claimed the side you fought by, had an unfair advantage due to a Phasing entity."

"Phasing?" Daria repeated, this time doing well to act surprised. It only came off a bit untruthful- Unfortunately, the Priestess' senses were keen enough to pick up on that bit.

Arleen frowned at what she noted in Daria's tone, but she seemingly moved past it as she continued,

"Phasing- Being able to move through solid surfaces. Rendering doors, walls, and even people completely useless as defenses. It was reported that this ability was put to use in Esacape and Theft."

"I don't even-" Daria started but again, she was interrupted before she could get out a full sentence,

"I'll be honest, that part of the report caught me by surprise because, for all my Spirituality and Magical acumen, 'Phasing' is an ability that boggles the mind- A fantastical ability in the fantastical world we live in."

"Indeed," Daria voiced out, turning her head a bit to catch the eyes of the Priestess currently taking slow steps behind her, "It's total nonsense."

"I thought so too but then I continued the report and saw descriptions of some cold deathly energy. Said to be Grey and get so thick it could form a cloud that cut off all visibility.

Now, this made more sense to me.

'Phasing' might be nonsense but beings, Decadent, unsanctified beings whose existence is akin to death- Those exist. I've seen my fair share- 'Purified' my fair share as well. So tell me, Daria, did you perhaps consult with such a decadent creature? Did you fight by its side when you should have rightfully 'Purified' it?"

Daria was not confused by the term used.

She knew well what 'Purified' meant in the case of Decadent creatures and she of course also knew she had done no such thing and had no plans of doing such.

"Heh," she let out a laugh, and the way it came out so natural-sounding emboldened her to continue, "So this was it? This was why you ordered my urgent return... To question my values as a devout of the Church?"

"Oh, don't you dare go on the defensive with me, Child! Answer my question."

"A question on my integrity?"

"Answer it!"

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"Fine!" Daria snapped, "No, I did not collude with a decadent Creature. Herbert Larnak was a scummy Lord who drained his subjects with hardly a care for their wellbeing. Compassion drove me to lend a hand to taking him out of power.

My allies were human- A combination of forces from opposing Territories."

The Priestess was now standing in front of Daria, glaring at her while the Witch stared back believing averting her eyes would be an admission of guilt.

"I worry about you, Child,"

Daria frowned,

"I don't understand."

"I fear you are losing your values. Statutes you have been taught from childhood appear to have less of a hold on you now."

"And you got all that from my truthful answers?" Daria asked with a raised brow,

"Hmm," the Priestess let out, "But were they indeed truthful? I can sense it clearly; you feel free- You have lost the weight that used to be on your shoulders."

"And that's a bad thing?"

The Priestess nodded solemnly,

"It could be... Depending on how it happened. You don't even appear to be in mourning anymore," she said before gesturing at Daria's black gown, "You wear that color now like a choice rather than a duty."

"I was never in mourning," Daria said, holding her head high.

The intense pressure had now lessened and the atmosphere mellowed into a more comfortable feel,

"Oh, but you were. Your bottleneck is proof."

"My bottleneck was foolishly self-inflicted," Daria said resolutely.

"And it's gone now," Priestess Arleen said, "You found solace and you long to return. Tell me, Daria, who was it? Who helped you forget your pain?"

The fact that she used to be married, a marriage of obligation thrust on her by the Church was something Daria longed to forget. When her late husband died in his mission ordained to him as an Arcanist aiming to become a Cardinal Priest, Daria had felt nothing and yet everything.

She felt free for the first time in close to a century but she also felt trapped with the realization she had nowhere to go. No actual goals to call her own.

Adopted into the Church after the death of her parents who also gave their lives to their ordained duty, (A trend Daria was starting to notice might be following her) Daria's goals had been to accept what she was taught and use it to advance her Spirituality but to what end, she had no idea.

Before she could figure out her path, she was pushed into a Marriage, and despite her disinterest, it did one good thing by giving her a purpose but then he died and she was thrust into an internal turmoil that caused her bottleneck...

... The start of her decision to go on a personal retreat.

Evian had helped her clear her mind. Focusing on getting drilled by him melted away her internal turmoil and helped her cultivation even before she started making use of the Arahant Scripture which she also received from him.

But of course, the Witch knew mentioning Evian would do harm and little to no good so no matter what, his role in her journey was for her to know and her to know only.

"No one helped me," Daria insisted, "There was no pain to begin with."

"That's a lie," The Priestess said, "But I guess you should be afforded that much of your privacy. For your sake, I will consider this Larnak report a rambling of a defeated man. You deserve that much grace."

"Thank you, Priestess," Daria bowed, "There are no truths to any of it."

"Very well. I do hope you indeed have not wrongfully lost your way- For your own good, of course."

"I have not," Daria said standing straight, her breasts thrust out before her.

"Good," the Priestess said before turning away towards the steps she had climbed down, only pausing and turning back slightly to give Daria one more address,

"You are back now and you have attained greater heights. I am glad and proud. Whatever you did wrong while away, the Retreat still did you good.

Maybe we can make a Cardinal Priestess out of you yet."

...