On one wall in the kitchen was a row of bells connected by an elaborate string-system to various parts the mansion. As Agis was taking a sip of his tea, one of these bells started to ring.

“That’s the front door,” said Ulrich. “If you’ll both excuse me.” He bowed slightly before taking his leave.

Agis breathed a sigh of relief once Ulrich was out of the room.

“You know,” said Helen, resting her chin on her hand and looking at Agis curiously. “When we first met you told me right away that you were a prince.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Agis squirmed in his chair. “I can tell right away that you're trustworthy. But that old guy creeps me out, I don’t know.”

“So you’re really more well suited for stealth missions than for actual spying, huh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Ulrich reentered the kitchen and cleared his throat. “Prince Agis, there is someone at the door for you.”

Anne swallowed nervously. “You want me to…”

“Perform a miracle, if that’s alright,” said Corvina, lighting a second cigarette.

“Right now?” said Anne. “Here?”

“Is it not possible?” asked Corvina.

“No, no, I mean, I can do it,” said Anne. And then added, under her breath, “Maybe.”

Anne closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She tried to clear her mind, which was even more difficult than usual since she knew Corvina was close by. She tried to count her breaths.

1… 2… 3… 4…

Was anything happening?

5… 6… 7… 8…

Anne opened one of her eyes just slightly, and peeked at Corvina, who was watching her intently.

8… wait did I already do 8? Fuck. Let’s start over 1…

Anne successfully got through several counts of 10 but she still couldn’t feel anything happening. Out loud, she said, “Can you see anything miraculous?”

“No, not yet,” said Corvina.

Anne took one last deep breath and then let it out with a huff, giving up. She opened her eyes. “You should just come to the public miracle, I’m sure I’ll get it to work then.”

“Does it not always work?” asked Corvina, quirking an eyebrow.

“Well… it’s not very consistent,” said Anne. “It’s divine power, not science, you know?”

“No, I don’t really know,” said Corvina. “That’s why I was hoping you’d be able to demonstrate for me. I don't know much about divine power, or magic for that matter.”

You and me both, thought Anne.

“I want to show you,” said Anne. “But I can’t right now. Just come to the miracle.”

“It’s difficult for me to be seen attending a church event,” said Corvina, taking a drag of her cigarette. “You are aware of the animosity between the church hierarchy and the imperial family, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah…” said Anne.

Corvina wasn’t someone who was usually very moved by the emotions of others. With the kind of work she did, she had to learn how to effectively turn off her empathy when it was getting in the way too much. But seeing Anne look so dejected like that…

“Okay,” she said.

“What!?” said Anne.

“I’ll figure out a way to make it work,” said Corvina, although she could already feel a stress headache coming on just thinking about finding a way to spin it in their favor.

“Yay!” said Anne, looking delighted. “That means I won’t have to wait another two weeks before I get to see you again!”

Corvina turned her face away again, trying not to let her blushing face show.

“…you really came here just because you wanted to see me?” asked Corvina. “You didn’t… have anything you needed from me?”

“No, not really,” said Anne, shaking her head. “I’ve just been so busy and exhausted lately and I was saying how badly I wished I could see you and Agis suggested we come here on a whim so I just went with it… I hope we weren’t bothering you too much.”

“No, not at all,” said Corvina. “I—”

“Excuse me,” Ulrich was knocking on the open balcony door and poking his head through. “I truly am sorry to interrupt, but someone has arrived for the Saintess. I sent Agis out first hoping to distract her but she’s really being quite insistent.”

“Who is it?” asked Anne.

“A cleric,” said Ulrich, pointedly looking at Corvina. “With bright red hair covering one of her eyes.”

“Oh shit, it’s Eva,” said Anne. “I guess my time’s up. I did leave her a note saying where we were going so she wouldn’t worry but I didn’t think she’d find it that fast.”

“I see,” said Corvina. She stubbed out her cigarette, took off her glasses, and pulled her hair out of its ponytail. “I’ll show you out. I think I should meet this cleric.”

Corvina was fully back in her public persona by the time they reached the front door. She was wearing a slightly less fancy dress than she usually did in public, but the persona was as much about her bearing as it was about her appearance. She had allowed herself to let her guard down around Anne. Now her guard was up fully.

Corvina’s first impression of the cleric, Eva, was that she was also an incredibly guarded person.

“Lady Corvina,” said Eva, with a curtsy. “I have come to collect the church personnel who have been in your care this evening. I do apologize for them bothering you at your residence so late at night.”

“Not at all,” said Corvina. “It was a pleasure to host them.”

They were both smiling pleasantly at each other, yet somehow it felt like there were sparks flying between them.

“Please be assure, this will not become a habitual occurrence,” said Eva.

Anne and Agis were both standing by Eva, looking chastised. Corvina glanced at them briefly, and then back to Eva.

“I do hope they won’t be punished on my account,” said Corvina. “I truly enjoyed their company.”

“Please, rest your mind, my lady,” said Eva. “The church does not mete out punishments, as a rule. We find that gentle correction is usually the way instead.”

“Of course,” said Corvina. “Very wise.”

“Then we will bid you goodnight, my lady,” said Eva, with another curtsy.

“Travel safely on your way back,” said Corvina.

“Bye Corvina!” said Anne, waving as she followed Eva away from the door and into the darkness of the night.

Eva helped Anne up into the carriage. Agis was about to climb up after her, when Eva snapped, “You can ride on top, with the driver.”

“Ugh, fine,” said Agis, hopping up on top with a single leap.

Eva climbed into the carriage and closed the door, taking the seat next to Anne.

“Why’d you even bring a carriage?” said Anne. “It’s a short walk to the cathedral.”

“I know you’re already exhausted as it is, without taking unnecessary late night walks,” said Eva. “I told you before, I want to help you conserve your energy as much as possible while you’re dealing with such a busy schedule.”

“Ah, that’s nice then,” said Anne, yawning.

“You can lean on me if you’d like,” said Eva. “Take a little nap until we get back.”

“Thanks,” said Anne, nestling into Eva’s shoulder. “I hope you’re not too mad at us for running off like that.”

“I just want to understand why you did it,” said Eva. “Aren’t you already tired enough?”

“But that’s exactly why I wanted to do it,” said Anne, her eyes closed. “I knew seeing Corvina would give me the energy to keep going.”

Eva was having a hard time maintaining her usual calm smile. But if Anne’s eyes were closed anyway, perhaps it didn’t matter.

“I really can’t understand that,” said Eva. “Why would seeing that woman give you energy?”

“Well, you know how looking at a nice garden or a work of art can soothe your soul? An exceptionally beautiful woman can have that same sort of effect, you know?”

Eva scoffed. “There are beautiful women who work for the church, you know. You’re surrounded by theme all time. You don’t need to sneak out for that.”

“Oh, come on!” said Anne, shifting a bit so she was holding onto Eva’s arm. “You know what I mean. Corvina’s on a whole different level from anyone else. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

Eva let the topic die, and as Anne started to doze off, she started biting her thumbnail.

It’s okay, she told herself. You’re still in control. She’s still here with you. You’ve got everything under control. It’s going to be okay. No one’s going to take her from you.

Corvina watched the darkness until she heard the sounds of a carriage rumbling away across the cobble stones. Finally, she closed the door. “Uncle Ulrich?” she said.

“Yes, my lady?” said Ulrich, who had been waiting nearby.

“There’s your next assignment,” said Corvina. “Find you everything you can about Sister Eva.”