"My King, I uncovered the terrible truth."

I could not see his reaction as I bowed my head too low, but it was all part of the plan. Stern was right next to me, doing the same.

"And who would you be?" I heard the question. The King's suite had a heavy air to it. The curtains were down, casting shadows on my gray clothes. Of course, he wouldn't recognize me anymore.

"She is the Elder advisor to the Pope, your Majesty, your most loyal servant." Stern introduced me as we agreed, and I bowed even deeper.

"His Holiness’ magic has changed me beyond recognition, but he couldn't change my loyalty towards Your Highness. Please hear me out." I pleaded as his servants ran all over the place.

"Elder? What kind of magic?" The King sounded confused. He would not leave his bed, even at this late hour. He has been in this state ever since I sent his daughter away. "How is that possible? Speak up."

"It truly pains me to say this, but the Pope has turned against the people of Sanctuary," I spoke, still staring at the ground. My voice had to sound regretful and weak. "I uncovered his secret of practicing taboo arts."

I heard his bed creaking as the king suddenly sat up.

"Taboo arts? Raise your head and speak clearly." He demanded, and I suppressed a smile. "Where is that man anyway? I haven't seen him."

"Nobody did, my King," I claimed, looking into his eyes. "As his advisor, even I was unprepared for the terrible truth. It is too frightening to even talk about it..."

"Speak already, or I'll have your head taken." I got his full attention, as I figured. I bowed once more before beginning the story.

"I have irrefutable evidence, that His Holiness is a necromancer." I dropped the news. The expression the King made was already worth it. But of course, I wasn’t done. "He gave me a mission and promised to turn back all the years I spent serving him and his predecessors. First I could not believe it, but here I am. Your Majesty can see the results."

"Did he perform some form of necromancy on you?" He asked, waving to his maids to help him up. He was in a sorry state, as expected.

"He drained the life forces of innocent followers of the Cranta Church to make me young again," I claimed, pausing for a bit. I wanted to make sure he got all the horrifying details, that I worked hard to make up in the last few days. "It came as a complete surprise, I was damned to watch his cursed ritual unfold and take the lives of innocents."

"I can vouch for her words, my King." Stern stepped in, as we previously agreed. "I found two withered corpses in the council chambers next to the Elder, who was in complete shock at the time. She cooperated with us and confessed the events, requesting an immediate audience with Your Highness. The Pope has not been found yet."

"What is the meaning of this? What mission did that man give you?"

"Your Majesty, I'm too afraid to say." I liked the face he made and wanted to drag this out as long as possible. I worked hard for this, after all, I deserved it. "He demanded, I take one of the sacred gargoyles and fly after your only daughter, the adored Princess Elizabeth, and..."

"What are you saying?" The King was now finally on his legs, but they shook. The maids supported him from both sides, but I was sure it wouldn't be enough once I continued.

"He wanted me to sacrifice her to achieve godhood," I said theatrically. If he had the slightest idea about the inner workings of magic, I couldn’t fool him this easily. The Pope, a mere priest could never hope to enter the Cranta Pantheon. One could not become an equal to the gods as their servant, especially not with a simple sacrifice.

"Impossible! Where is my Elizabeth now?" The King yelled, nearly losing his balance. "Find that man, execute him immediately."

"But your Majesty, he is the head of the Cranta Church, I can't possibly..." I played the reluctant. The real head was long gone, and as the neck, I steered the church for some time now. The Inquisitorias fulfilled its duty and played no part in my plans.

"I am the rightful ruler of all Cranta. The Church is not invincible." He shouted, taking a few unsteady steps towards me. As if Cranta still existed..."Ordering harm to a royalty is treason, punishable by death."

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"My King, allow me to start a search for this fiend right now." Stern bowed. "My blood is boiling when I think about what he planned with the beloved Princess. Regardless of status, he won't get away with this."

"Yes, apprehend him immediately. I want his head on a stake." The king agreed, then turned towards me. "Tell me, where is my daughter."

"Your Highness allowed her to partake in the mission of taking down the Goddess of Luck." I bowed once again. "She is with the Captain of the Guard, Catherine. Since Your Majesty appointed her, I’m sure the Princess is in good hands. But should His Holiness reach her before we found him, I fear she might be in danger."

"I guarantee that the Church's men have unwavering loyalty towards your Highness." Stern claimed. What else could he say in a situation like this? "We will fight our way through the men of the Pope if we have to.."

"My King, please have mercy on the rest of the Cranta Church!" I yelled. "I was unaware of His Holiness’ intentions. I'm sure that most of the priests are the same. Give us your royal decree that everyone who denies him and swears loyalty to your servants will be pardoned."

"Yes, I'll leave the matters of the Church in your hands, Elder. But go, and find this unholy monster, before he lays his hands on my daughter. Find my Princess too." The king ordered, and I had my witnesses, all I needed. I bowed my head one last time and left his suite with Stern.

"This went better than I expected." He noted once we were already on the corridor. "You are a terrific actress. So where is His Holiness?"

"I practiced. Once I rested, it was easy to come up with the details." I took his compliment. "That man is... Hmm... Where did I leave him? Eh, it doesn't matter. We disarm and take over the Church on the King's orders first, and I can dig up his corpse later."

"I know I said this before, but I could fall in love with that beautiful and cold cunning of yours," Stern claimed, but I just raised an eyebrow.

"You weren't saying such things before I rejuvenated myself. Are you some sort of a pervert?" I asked, looking over myself. I had to admit, it did feel good to possess a young body again, but that was beside the point. I had to keep his leash short. "And who said that I require your love?"

"Let me guess..." He pondered as we walked. "You take over the Church now, then you'll need to wrestle power from the King as well... You can either have him marry you, which might be even beyond your capabilities to orchestrate, or have him name a successor other than the Princess. Someone with royal blood and a convincingly high rank..."

"Sometimes I almost believe you are not a complete idiot." I gave him my best praise. "Right, if it were to come to that, I might let you marry me, but don't get too far ahead of yourself."

We reached the end of the corridor and stepped outside the castle. The soldiers already waited for us, armed and ready for battle. We took the men of the Royal Guard with us to ensure everyone knew who gave the orders. It was quite the force to take on the unsuspecting priests. The main temple was a five-minute walk away, and I had two more companies from the Church join us on its premises.

"Make sure they only kill the priests I have marked," I told the deputy commander. "I have very few allies left, I don't want them dead yet."

The five hundred men stormed the main temple the next moment without a single order. We left the Royal Company outside to guard the entrances, as this was the best spot to leave them visible to everyone. The people needed to know the King ordered the attack, as It was to become important later in my plans.

I was in my element. While I still carried that embarrassing defeat from a few days ago, I was well-rested, and it only made me more determined. I cast a few spectacular spells to intimidate the unsuspecting priests, then let the Guard deal with the rest.

Anyone even remotely dangerous was poisoned the day before. I didn’t use deadly substances just made sure they felt weak at different times of the day, so I didn't become suspicious before it was too late. The rest had no hope of mounting a defense. The moment Stern shouted out the King's decree, the people of the Church dropped to their knees in droves. The opposition fell before they finished a prayer, but there were a few I wanted to execute personally.

Old enemies, people who wronged me in any way or wanted my post. I outlived most of them, but this made me all the more ruthless with the remaining ones, thirsting for revenge. I wasn't monologuing for them just visited each of their chambers while the Guard was busy rounding up the rest. I made sure to sap away all their life energies.

This spell was rather addictive. I learned it decades ago, almost by chance. I uncovered it in ancient, forbidden texts predating Cranta itself by centuries. I couldn’t believe I held out for this long without using it. My body was so old and frail, I saw it in the eyes of my peers. It took all my willpower and endurance to wait for the right moment but I still revealed my cards too early. It was all the Goddess’ fault, but it no longer mattered.

Now I regained my youth and a tremendous power alongside it. I removed the remaining obstacles to become a saint or a demon if they wanted to call me that...

There was nobody left in the kingdom that could cast banishment on me. I sent the only one to fail against Alexandra, and now I could become a goddess myself, then deal with that beast girl later.

"Lady Elder," Stern reported, catching up to me less than an hour after we entered the building. "We have secured the temple."

"Good. As of today, the Inquisitorias ceased to exist." I proclaimed calmly. "Their Pact became a thing of the past. I led them for so long, but it's time to set my sights higher."

The irony was not lost on me. I had to destroy the one thing humanity created for its ultimate defense, but I believed in their supremacy. I wanted them to win, even if they all had to die for it...