The Head Priest turned to look at the children, "Please accompany his highness to the others. Don't forget to be very polite."

The two children who were so terrified, I could see them trembling. They were androgynous and nearly identical so I couldn't if they were boys or girls. However, it was clear that they didn't want to go with Simon.

One managed to whisper out in a stutter, "B-But…"

The Head priest frowned, "Now children… You must not act so improper in front of the Royal Family."

They bit their lips and looked down. I felt a bit bad for them. They look so pitiful like an adult was bullying them unreasonably.

I bent down to them with a smile. I spoke in a warm tone, "There, there. Don't be afraid. Simon won't hurt you; I promise."

They both glanced up at Simon then looked back at me. The one who spoke earlier spoke again, "But… If we mess up, they will kill us."

Why are these children who are so young, worrying about something like this? It really tugs at your heartstrings.

I spoke, "Nonsense. If they dare hurt you, they will have to answer to me. If any of them bully you, just tell your big sister Seri. I will go knock some sense into them."

The children didn't seem to believe me. They glanced back up at Simon. Simon spoke, "She's telling the truth. She really will beat us up."

The children looked down at the ground with a faint smile. They nodded, "Alright…"

I tussled their hair as they smiled at me. One spoke to Simon, "My name is Ling. Me and my sister Ming will show you to the others now."

Simon nodded, "Lead the way."

I gave a small smile as I watched Simon led away by the small children.

The Head Priest turned to me, "Please follow me." He began to walk and I followed after him. He spoke, "You were very kind to the children."

"Ah, well they seemed to be very frightened. It was a bit sad to see them like that."

He glanced at me, "I can tell you aren't from this kingdom."

I gave a light chuckle, "It's because I'm pale, isn't it?"

"No. It is because you have a heart."

I looked at him closely, "What do you mean?"

The Head Priest went to speak, but stopped himself, "I didn't mean anything. Please disregard what I just said."

I furrowed my brows. It is clear he has something on his mind, but I can't force him to tell me what it is. Plus, it probably has something to do with Royal family seeing as the children were so scared.

I can't forget what Simon said. To have the people's support you must have the support of the Holy Empress. Since she's not here, the church should suffice.

I quickly curried favor, "Simon may not seem like it, but he is far kinder than one would think. He always has the citizens in his hearts."

The Head priest glanced at me, "I can only hope that what you say is true."

Even though he said that, it was clear he didn't believe me one bit. Seeing that he didn't speak further, I stopped talking. As we walked, I realized that the halls were dreadfully empty.

Shouldn't a church be… Popular?

"Where is everyone?"

The Head Priest's voice was sullen, "Unfortunately, only those two children and I remain. Years back, there was an… Incident. We lost everyone else. The King determined that it was best for us not to accept more disciples in order to prevent another incident."

I didn't understand, but he didn't explain further. He stopped at the end of hall which led to another wing of the large church. He handed me the candle, "This is the sacred candle. You must light this incense when you get to the end of the halls. Then you must say a silent prayer to the Holy Empress and the Gods."

I took the two from him with a nod, "You won't go?"

He shook his head, "I am not allowed. Only women may enter the wing of the Holy Empress."

On his face seemed to be unimaginable grief. I couldn't understand why, but I also knew I shouldn't ask. I nodded to him and started walking. I could hear my footsteps echo off the walls as I walked down the hall. There was absolutely no one here. It felt overwhelmingly eerie.

I quietly spoke to myself, "This isn't spooky… Not spooky one bit…"

"How can a church be so empty?"

"AAAH!" I screamed nearly dropping my candle at the sudden voice. I looked around me and realized I was alone. I sighed, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

I continued to walk as the Original Seri spoke, "Sorry. I forgot that you can only hear me, not see me."

I spoke to her as I walked, "How could you forget this?"

"What should I do? Knock first?"

I rolled my eyes, "Don't be spiteful."

"Anyway, don't you find it strange that there are only three people in this giant church?"

"Of course it is strange. However, I have no idea why. The Head Priest seemed very unwilling to speak about it."

"Exactly. That makes me all the more suspicious. It may be because I am already dead, but I feel like something terrible happened here."

I shook my head, "I don't think you have to be dead to see that. This place is so eerie it makes my hair stand up. Do you see any ghosts around?"

Her voice was impatient, "I've been dead for so many years and you were the first dead person I have ever seen. Why would that change now?"

"Don't be so sassy. It was just a question."

"Well I'm sorry, it's not like I ask you if you see your dead coworkers flying around."

"Alright, alright. Calm down. Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"I'm in a bad mood from last night! How would you feel if you saw the person who tortured you and killed everyone you loved just carrying around your body like you were old friends?! It's so aggravating!!!"

"Okay! I'm sorry. Don't yell. I have a headache from drinking too much. What can I do to make you feel better?"

"Kill Millie!"

"Other than that."

"UGH! Why won't you?! You will regret it!"

"For the last time, our Millie's are different. How come you can see that Dante is different, but not her?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because she stole one of my ribs and sewed me back up?"

I sighed. I knew that there was no use trying to convince her. After all, I can't say I don't blame her. It is obvious that Millie was born this way. The only difference in our two lifetimes was that my Millie wasn't as bloodthirsty. She managed to keep her desires in check.

Just barely...

I changed the subject, "By the way, what happened after I passed out? Simon's been acting strange ever since I woke up this morning. Nothing happened… Right? He didn't do anything while I was asleep?"

I didn't hear her respond.

"Uhh. Are you still there?"

"….Yes I am still here. Is there anywhere else I could be?"

"Why didn't you respond?" I started to panic, "Oh my god. Did he actually do something to me in my sleep?! If he did you must tell me!!!"

She spoke quickly, "No! He didn't do a thing. It's not that… Rather… Well… Simon seems to be rather complicated."

"Oh? Complicated how?"

She mulled over her words, "I think that he isn't doing this to you for necessarily a bad reason… Rather, he seems to genuinely care for you."

"Genuinely care for me?! He tried to-" I tried to finish my sentence but couldn't. I looked at the candle, "If it wasn't for my quick thinking, he would have done something worse to me."

"I'm not so sure anymore. I overheard the conversation he had with Millie. He seemed sincere when he said that he wouldn't force you into anything."

"Hah! What a joke. He's a skilled pathological liar. Even if he wasn't going to force me, you think I should spare him and forgive him?!"

"I'm not saying you shouldn't kill him or forgive him. I just think that he doesn't seem to be aware of his true feelings."

I sighed, "Although I hate to sympathize with him, I can't really blame him for that. The Sanki Kingdom tries to destroy men's emotions by throwing them on the battlefield at a young age. However, they are still human. You can only ignore your feelings for so long before they explode. Since he didn't learn how to properly show emotions, that's probably why he thinks that this sadistic act of his is normal."

"I wonder how he would have turned out if he actually had a mother to properly teach him."

"Don't forget, he killed his own mother."

She sighed, "Here I am again. Sympathizing with my enemy. I guess my heart is really too soft. I can't hate Simon since he's had such a terrible life. I can't hate a single person."

"But you hate Millie."

Her anger was switched back on, "Don't remind me."

I quickly changed the subject, "Oh look! We are at the end of the hall already."