The days before the knighting ceremony were rather busy for me, needing me to rush around during laying the magical foundations around the city and many audiences I had to hold with officials from different Tribunals to answer their questions and to approve their plans of action. I wouldn't be able to manage if not for Mostima and Lemuen, who stepped in and acted as my secretaries.
I also received the news that the refuges hand been settled in one of the small moving monasteries that fell into disrepair some time ago. The rest of our group was already in Laterano City and will be present for the ceremony.
Because of my orders, the whole Laterano moved quickly to finish the preparation for the knighting ceremony, especially motivated by the presence of the Liberi population of the surrounding monasteries and small cities, so I decided to join this ceremony with the first Sacrament of Confirmation.
I coordinated with Sixth and Fifth Tribunals to allow a group of the most ardent Liber bellivers to enter the Laterano City and be present for the ceremony. They quickly mobilised, and soon a list of ten thousand Liberi was selected. This made them even more enthusiastic, making me more popular than before with the Liberi for allowing them to be a part of normaly closed off Sankta customs.
I was also contacted by the Seventh Tribunal about some ambassadors and foreign visitors wishing to be present during the ceremony, and as this was nothing bad, I directly agreed. And so, the time of the ceremony quickly arrived, filling the streets of Laterano with countless sankta, giving me another migraine before anything could start.
-"Here you go."-Mostima handed me water.
-"Thanks, I hope that a normal painkiller would be enough for this whole ceremony."
-"To think that even with your pain tolerance, you can't manage a simple walk in your city without medication."
-"I can deal with physical pain, even spiritual or from the soul. But the pain of the Empathy is something else. It's akin to phantom pain, so I need to fool my brain with medications."
-"We should get going."-Lemuen walked from the side.
Both she and Mostima were now in the full ceremonial robes of the highest priestesses, but while Lemuen looked sacred, Mostima somewhat had an aura of decadence instead. I was in my armor like I was during the meeting with the Leithanian Empress. The three of us were waiting for Old Man to end his part before we could go outside.
So when Lemuen spoke, I started to walk toward the entrance of the Cathedral. Mostima and Lemued walked a few steps before me on my right and left, one holding a ceremonial sword, while the other had the prepared decree I asked for before.
When we entered the plaza in front of the Cathedral, we were greeted by a cheer of the people standing behind a cordon of Apostolic Knights. At the center of the plaza stood Shining, Margaret, and Cellinia, each in white knight armor in Lateran style but modified to fit their physique and fighting style. While it looked similar to what Margarte and Cellinia wore previously, I could still see some differences after professional fitting.
We slowly walked as they recited the vows for the ceremony. The moment I stopped in front of them, they knelt before me, waiting for my word. At that moment, Lemuen handed me the ceremonial sword, stepping back after I raised it into my hands.
-"To fear God and maintain His Church, to serve the Holy Son in valor and faith, to protect the weak and defenseless, to live by honor and for glory, never to refuse a challenge from an equal, never to turn the back upon a foe. Those words are your vow, spoken here in the Holy City."
I let my voice echo around the now quiet plaza.
-"I, as Holy Son, accept your fealty and your vows."-I planted the ceremonial sword into the ground.-"Arise, my knights."
At the same time, I used a simple miracle to create a holy light around me. It was harmless and frankly useless, but I needed to act the part while doing miracles, as when the light appeared, I used my Right to Convert to allow three of them into the Sankta Empathy. This resulted in halos appearing above their heads, along with the feeling previously only Sankta could experience.
The sudden influx of emotions disoriented them slightly, so I covertly used magic to help them stand still, as they now were the focus of everyone, living proof of a miracle thought impossible. As the chaos had yet to erupt, I decided to act and extended my hand to Mostima. She understanding handed me the decree and stepped back.
-"Laterano stood alone for countless years, but our faith never stopped extending the lands of Terra. Those believers lived among us, yet never could feel the true blessing. Seeing their unwavering faith and loyalty, I decided to answer their prayers."
When my words ended, I raised my hand holding the decree, once again making the holy light appear while using the Right to Convert on the Liberi present. When the light disappeared, ten thousand and one more people had halos over their heads. With the decree in hand, I walked in front of the Old Man, handing it to him.
-"In the name of the Holy Son, I decree the opening of Laterano to all those with faith in their hearts. Should they be granted the blessing, they will be equal in faith and Laterano will be their home."
-"I accept Holy Son's decree."-Old Man bowed to me, taking the decree.
I nodded and started to walk back, Lemuen and Mostima in front of me, while Shining, Margaret, and Cellinia were one step behind. As I walked, I looked at Mostima, smiling at seeing her trying to keep her composure. The reason for her strangeness was above her head, the shattered halo, which was a sign of the Fallen, was now whole, allowing her to feel the Empathy once more.
After we disappeared behind the Cathedral doors, Mostima rushed at me. At first, I thought that she would be annoyed, but she grabbed my cape at my neck, making me lean slightly and kissing me deeply. With our halos almost touching, even if I tried not to feel anything from my Empathy due to the chaos outside, I still felt the strong feelings of relief, gratitude, and unmistakable love.
-"Thank you."-She said after letting me go, her eyes wet from the emotions.
I just smiled. Despite Mostima's strong façade, I felt how deep inside she felt lesser and unworthy due to her Fallen status. By restoring her halo, what I did was a total absolution for her. Even if her horns and tail remained, it's the Empathy that Sankta cares about, so she was no longer an outcast.
From the side, Lemuen smiled at us, the relief also present in her eyes. While Shining, Margaret, and Cellinia didn't understand fully, they were too focused on getting used to the Empathy to care deeply anyway. After Mostima calmed down, I looked at three of them.
-"Are you all right? I hope my little surprise didn't cause you too much shock."
-"Little surprise?"-Shining rolled her eyes; a feeling of annoyance emanated from her.
-"You'll get used to the Empathy quickly."-I smiled, feeling how they tried and failed to control themselves.
Empathy was a two way street. You can feel others' emotions, and others with Empathy can feel yours, so for the calm, serious, and stoic trio, having their feelings in the open was hard to accept. But they were able to control it a few moments later.
-"That was unexpected, but I now know why Exusiai behaves like that."-Cellinia looked at me.-"The feeling of my emotions reaching others and being returned can create quite a feedback loop."
-"I gained new respect for Sankta. How can they think calmly with all this noise?"-Margaret complained.
-"You get used to it."-Lemuen explained from the side.-"There are some training methods to both acclimate to the Empathy and to use it better, I'll give them to you later."
-"Please."-Shining nodded to her.
-"Eno, is that what you feel normally?"-Cellinia asked, knowing about my over Empathy.
-"Somewhat, the biggest difference was that while you just felt emotions around you, I can feel even those hidden emotions and hear thoughts of those around."
-"It must be hard."
-"It's ok."-I shook a pack of painkillers.-"I'll manage."
-"So what are your plans from now on?"-Shining asked me.
-"We'll stay in Laterano for another week. I need to finish some work, while you need to get used to Empathy and learn how to command a unit of Apostolic Knights that will be my guards. Mostima and Lemuen will help you with that."
-"Don't forget about those still waiting for us."-Lemuen reminded me.
-"Right. Cellinia, Mostima, what do you plan to do with your Penguin Logistics?"
-"For now, two of us will leave it as we hold official positions here, but I hope Exusiai and others continue for a while. Our contacts can be quite valuable."-Mostima explained her idea.-"We were contracted by Rhodes Island a few times, so it can help you establish a connection later."
-"Won't she mind?"
-"You know her, she isn't a person to sit in meetings. As long as you accompany her during her free time, I don't think she would mind."
-"I'll invite you all to my residence for that week then. We can relax and discus everything calmly there."
-"Sure, it's been a long time since we had a sleepover at your place."
-"I've already prepared a nice cheesecake, I'll make some cookies right away, and we'll be set."
-"Good, Lemuen, you wouldn't mind being our chef like always?"
-"Sure."
-"Please, allow me to help."-Margaret spoke up.
-"You're more than welcome."
So we briefly separated, only to gather at my residence before the evening.
When everyone was here, Lemuel and Croissant quickly started making ruckus, making the atmosphere more cheerful. Soon the party was full underway, with people present divided between playing card and board games or singing karaoke.
-"Your turn."-Shining reminded me.
-"Right."-I played my card.
-"You..."-Cellinia looked at me with pitiful look.
-"Game is game, nothing I can do."-I shrugged my shoulders.
-"I suspect you eavesdropped."-She pouted and took a card to her hand.
-"Uno."-Liz spoke quietly.
-"You're losing again?"-Mostima asked me as he walked to our side.
-"Losing is too much, I'm not winning yet."
-"Sure."-She smiled and handed me a glass.-"Here."
-"Thanks."
The playing continued, with us changing games from time to time. It was only after Liz started to fall asleep that we slowed down. But we still sat around for an hour more, drinking and talking about anything that came to our minds.
When I started to feel sleepy, I excused myself to rest, but by then, more than half the people were already asleep. In my room, I quickly washed myself in adjacent washroom, and as I was about to lie down, I felt a person push me down.
Looking back, I found Mostima looking at me with indescribable emotions. Before I could speak or react, she leaned down and kissed me. When we separated, I was about to say something, but I felt intense heat as my head started to spin.
-"Sorry for being a little despicable, but I'll listen to all your complaining tomorrow; today, just hold me."-She whispered in my ear.
With that, the last of my sanity snapped.
In the room where we played, Shining looked at Lemuen.
-"You didn't stop it?"
-"What do you mean?"
-"As someone trained to be his attendant, I don't believe that you couldn't tell that his drink was spiked."
-"Ah, you are talking about Mostima's matter. While I wish to stop them, I also feel that I shouldn't do it."
-"Why not? I think Eno would be quite angry at being drugged."
-"That's likely, but he won't hold that against her; at most, he'll just make her repent by doing something annoying."
-"But..."
-"I understand what you want to say, but before acting, you should understand a little about Mostima. Of the four of us, she and my sister suffered the most during the years he was gone. But my sister is naïve."-She looked at the red-haired angel in her lap.-"For all that time, she was being taken care of by many people, and while her optimism also helped many, in the end, she had support. But what about Mostima?"
Lemuen closed her eyes.
-"I couldn't imagine the pain when your most important person disappears, his life unknown, and becoming Fallen at the same time. All of us are eternally thankful to the Pope for stepping in and preventing Mostima from being fully exiled, but she still lost almost all who were close to her. She had to face all that alone, only getting slightly better after meeting Cellinia."
-"You know about her troubles?"
-"People tend to say things when they think they are alone. While I couldn't move my body, I could hear every word she spoke to me. But it's still just a fragment of what she buried in her heart. You should know that she tried to step down from her spot, leaving it fully to me. This can illustrate how much weight her Fall was to her."
-"I heard about that."
-"So I knew she would do something like that. She had to plan it carefully, as Eno is not easy to drug. I found that there were three parts to the drug, one in his glass and one she added to his food. The last part must be on her."
-"You are truly loyal."-Shining rolled her eyes.
-"I will never betray him."-Lemuen nodded seriously.-"But sometimes, not acting is what a good servant should do."
-"I can't understand you. Why would you allow that, even though I can feel that you have the same feelings for him?"
-"Because I don't mind. As Holy Son, Eno can do as he pleases. He is the god of Laterano. While I know and understand why he is so reserved and withdrawn from other Sankta, not to mention his strictness to himself, I also know that neither of us wishes to leave his side. Sometimes I wish he were like the Emperor of Yan, bringing many beauties to the palace."
-"Strict? I always saw him as someone rather relaxed."
-"Did you forget, the Empathy is two way street."-Lemuen smiled meaningfully.-"He can hear our thoughts, so?"
-"He can also manipulate the minds of others?!"-Shining eyes opened wide in shock.
-"Yes, but he never did it. That is his strictness. He upholds his promises and has moral standards that he won't break, no matter what. Look around, have you ever thought why his residence is so empty?"
-"No."-Shining admitted.
-"It's because he rejected any attempt to use the Laterano treasury for his personal use. The money he has is based on average pay the officials of the Tribunals receive, he works as a Holy Son and gets paid."-Lemuen smiled.-"Quite funny, isn't it?"
Shining was silent at that.
-"Many people see the glorious Holy Son Enoch, but don't forget that before that, he is just Eno. Especially you three. He chose to believe you. I hope you won't betray his trust."
saying what she had to say, Lemuen picked her sister up and took her to their room, leaving the room silent.