After returning they ran into the Saint.
“You're back,” Tibaut said. Agnes hid behind Tibaut, quaking like the cold had finally gotten to her.
“Sorry about that, I had to run outside the parish to find a major church. (I hope they're quick with the message.) Also if I might ask, why do you have that dirty woman behind you?”
“Well I- (What'd he just say!?)” He paused and looked the Saint in his eyes. “Uh, Yuri, is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine but I'm not exactly a fan of people like her. I can see in her eyes she sees men as no more than an object to violate in her mind. She honestly disgusts me. Don't think I didn't catch your stare, you succubus.”
(“!?”)
Agnes soon whispered in his ear. “The reason we were downstairs was because this guy really didn't like me.”
Agnes made the mistake of fantasising about this man and quickly caught his ire.
“Yuri, what's up with you?”
“Oh, sorry. I'm a good judge of character for people so I can usually read their faces and tell what they think about me. And in all my time travelling I haven't seen a woman that irritated me as much as that one. My body was nothing more than a buffet for her.” He bitterly commented.
“What? Agnes isn't like that. Right, Agnes?”
“...right.” She responded.
“Regardless, we should probably be heading out soon.”
“Really? I'll go wake up Elizabeth.”
“She's asleep? Then it's fine to let her rest, I'll go check on Milky to see if she's ready for travel.” He turned around and walked back into the forest.
“(Milky? Is that what he named the horse?) Does he know you're a cultist?” Tibaut asked in a lower voice.
“Yes?” She responded, confused.
“Huh, no wonder he's mad.”
----------------------------------------
The two sat on the mansion's stairwell and looked outside one of the windows as the sun outside began to fall.
“She isn't back yet…” Agnes mused. Her face was downcast as she sat inches away from Tibaut.
“Wanna go look for her?” Tibaut asked.
“N-no. She can take care of herself. (I don't think I'm ready to watch her cry again.)”
“...”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Yuri was also taking a while to come back, so he could only hope that the Saint in addition to having herculean strength was also a master of mending the mind and heart.
The two of them could only sit in silence while looking out the window as they thought of her.
“As we were talking Agnes, did you have an official title in the cult? I mean, is there anything below a priest?” Tibaut said, trying to get rid of the stifling atmosphere.
“Official title? I think we had things like nuns and monks but our group wasn't large enough for titles like that. We just called each other our brothers and sisters and listened to Father Daniel.”
“Are you saying there are larger groups?” He asked.
“Yes… I think. I'm not sure honestly.” Agnes admitted in a defeated tone. She sighed and held her head down. “I know there are other priests and groups in the country but I heard they had some trouble. I think ours was on the smaller end since we didn't need to do much work but I also heard the other parishes are wwwaaaayyyyyy more dangerous to work in, so I don't know if having a larger group would make more sense for them.”
“Hmmm, I guess you could argue it either way. Also how many of those are there?”
“Huh?”
“You know, the groups inside the country. You mentioned Archbishops and Cardinals and how there's a Bishop for every country they can afford to send them to (ugh) but what about here? How many more of your groups are running around?”
“Oh no, I'm sorry (Damnit, I went running to the horse before I finished the explanation. If I just stayed here, Ruby wouldn't be out there crying). There's about 30 parishes in this country, right?” Agnes asked.
“(I have no idea.) Yeah, that sounds right.”
“So there should be over twenty priests or more spread throughout the parishes.”
“...” He was left speechless.
“Tibaut?”
“Twenty?”
“Oh, yes, it should be about that much according to what I heard from Father Daniel.”
“And you said there's a Bishop for notable countries too and that they control and command the priests of a country. Is that a number unique to Anglia or?”
“N-no, not really. If anything, Anglia has a lower ratio of priests to parishes compared to other nations…”
(“Ugh, what the hell have I gotten into? Are you telling me there are more of those blonde-haired bastards running around? Forget the Bishop, who knows how many times I'll have to risk my life trying to find him if have to go through nearly twenty or more of those pricks.”)
Tibaut had his head held in his hands at the realisation. The only way he was reaching the Bishop was by wagering a full-on war against these bastards.
“D-d-don't worry.” A flustered Agnes stated as she grabbed his shoulders. “I heard the more important parishes were having trouble with some secret police group.”
“Hmm? (Oh right, I did hear this parish was run differently from others. *Sigh* I guess I'll roll with the punches as they come, hopefully, the government of this country isn't as dreadful as I think it is and they open enough of a path for me to kill that bastard.) Then I guess it could be worse. Wait, they're hunting them?”
“R-right!” She said strongly, hoping her words gave him optimism.
“Then you better keep yourself safe Agnes. I can't imagine they're as understanding as me.”
She nearly forgot she was also one of those being hunted.
“right…” She said in a soft tone.
He patted her on the back. “Ease up, I'll make sure those bastards don't put a single hand on you. If they're civilised they'll do their business in a court and if they're not, I'll make sure to teach them some.”
A warm feeling radiated from Agnes as she felt his hand. (“Ah, my prince, my knight, my one and only. You truly are the one for me, other men may have their looks but you alone have a heart that matches your looks, my sweetie. Hehehehehe, and when you come back injured, protecting your queen with your life, I shall be the one to…”) Which made it all the more unfortunate her mind was so twisted.