Dungeon.
The gods and their Familias had long since departed, but Griselda and I hadn't moved an inch. I looked at her with a sly smile and waited, because very soon the Beast would begin to act, and I didn't really have a plan yet. After all, Griselda was the key to the outcome of our stay here.
- "I know you want to tell me something," I repeated. "You don't like what I'm doing, do you?"
- "It doesn't matter what I like or don't like," she retorted. "The Lord trusts you, and I am not the one to oppose His will."
- "And yet, among the requests to stop, I clearly heard your voice," I waved my finger, to which Griselda responded with only professional stoicism. "In all the time we've been in this world, you've never once questioned my actions, unless they concerned my character or behavior. However, now you have revealed yourself, tried to stop me, that is, in essence, opposed His will through me, haven't you? What motivated you at that moment?"
She remained silent and continued to look at me, or rather, somewhere past me, apparently so that I wouldn't catch on, although it was already too late for that.
- "Don't want to answer?" I chuckled. "Then it would be fair to assume that you don't mind hearing my guess, right?"
In response, Griselda still didn't say a word and just let me do what I wanted. And I began to develop a logical chain of thought, the starting point of which was provided by the circumstances.
- "The situation that prompted you to act could be described... in one word: family. And that's quite logical, because you cared for Xenovia as if she were your own daughter. However, is that really the case?"
- "I would ask you not to bring other people into this," said Griselda, still maintaining her expression. "That's low, even for you."
- "What if I say it's important for our mission?" I smiled and began to walk slowly around her, sipping the freshly brewed coffee. In response, she fell silent. "Returning to our conversation, why Xenovia? And why only her?"
- "...because she was the owner of Durandal, and that's why I was assigned to her as an experienced exorcist and fencer," Griselda replied after a short silence.
- "Surely you had more than just Xenovia as your student, which makes your answer rather incomplete, but let's dig deeper," I continued. "Xenovia, as far as I can remember, is an orphan with an indifferent or even heartless character, for whom the teachings of the Church, the fulfillment of her mission, and survival were the main priorities. The ideal exorcist."
- "What are you getting at?" she asked. "And I don't like the word you used."
- "You cared for and taught her strictly, but with love and constant reminders of how important it was to return home alive. That, by the way, is Zenovia's own words, when I visited the Gremory mansion," I said, completely ignoring her question. "In short, she described to me the image of the ideal mother, but in order to know how to become one, you need to see, or better yet, go through certain... difficulties, don't you think?"
- "Again, what are you getting at?"
- "Would you like to tell me about your past? Not about your career as an exorcist, but something earlier?" I asked. "Like... your parents?"
Hearing the last word, a look of shame flashed across her eyes for a split second, a stain of disgrace that she wanted to erase once and for all. And as quickly as that feeling appeared, it disappeared, with the obvious hope that I wouldn't notice anything. However, that hope was not to be fulfilled.
- "So that's how it is?" I muttered thoughtfully, to which Griselda clicked her tongue. "I suppose your 'special' inclinations were formed precisely because of them, weren't they?"
- "I don't want to talk about it," she said categorically.
So now I had a relatively clear understanding of Griselda's story, where her parents had rather interesting hobbies, and the child either watched or joined in, presumably by force. It was very similar to what happened with the Akeno's family. Boring and monotonous, but that's how it is. Although, most likely, things weren't as rosy there as they were with Akeno.
Besides, such circumstances fit well with the nature of the Beast, because, as I understood, it encouraged human desires. In this case, there was a conflict within Griselda, where her past and present collided. And I believe that this was the reason for the emptiness inside her, where uncertainty prevented her from filling it with anything. It's like following the only visible path, constantly afraid of stumbling and betraying the very ideal image that showed you this path.
In support of these thoughts, Griselda had not yet become part of Gabriel's deck, which I did not pay any attention to. And in the canon, as far as I remember, it should have already happened. The proposal had most likely already been made by the seraphim, but Griselda had apparently refused. And the reason for this was either me or... me. Heh.
- "That's very interesting, because this conversation is still part of our mission," I grinned, to which Griselda stood her ground, even if it contradicted her previous words. "Okay, I heard what I wanted to hear."
- "Thank you..."
- "However," I interrupted her. "Remember our recent conversation, or rather, every conversation during which I didn't seem like an immature child to you. Now, let's go. It's time to see what the Beast has managed to change during our stay in the Dungeon."
-0-
Orario.
As soon as we left the Dungeon, someone was unexpectedly waiting for us, and only when they saw us did they come to greet us. What was even more unexpected was who it was.
- "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow. "Captain of the Freya Familia, I presume?"
- "The goddess invites you to drink with her," Ottar said in a rough but fairly neutral voice, his body clearly radiating Morgana's well-hidden mana. This confirmed my suspicions that she hadn't let him go just like that... Wow. What a scary woman.
- "And you look pretty good after meeting her, even after all this time, huh?" I chuckled, and he clenched his fists tightly, but his face remained unchanged. "To be honest, I expected something more from her than just a delayed death, but I guess it's not my place to argue with her."
- "Please follow me, the goddess is waiting for us," Ottar said insistently, making it clear that he would not move until we went with him. And yes, of course, this attracted a lot of attention, which I didn't really care about.
I thought about it.
Hermes mentioned that although Ouranos was one of the first to descend into the Lower world and introduce the current system with Falna and others, long before him, some gods were still actively interfering in the affairs of mortals and closely watching the consequences in view of their possessions.
One of them, of course, was Freya, which meant that she could tell me more than even Ouranos. And, considering that she also possessed special vision, it would probably be a good idea to talk to her a little.
First and foremost, I was interested in the Tower of Babel, but for some reason, I wanted to tell her about the Beast and hear what she thought about it. After all, according to the universal history on which this world is partly based, Freya ruled not only over beauty, but also over love, war, fertility, and something else.
And if we add to this her 'Charm', which Hermes mentioned quite often, she was an extremely suitable candidate for the Beast's attacks. And also...
- "Miss Quarta," I began, getting Griselda's attention. "While I am busy with a very important matter, I would like to ask you to wait for me at the Hostess of Fertility. Would that be too much to ask of such a capable exorcist?"
- "Your overly polite tone and obvious insincerity arouse extreme suspicion and doubt in me," she replied with appropriate notes in her voice.
- "Nevertheless, do as I ask."
- "I will do so, but if this is just another one of your silly jokes, I would like to reserve the right to act according to the circumstances."
- "Of course," I smiled and turned to Ottar, who was silently waiting for our conversation with Griselda to end. "Now we can go. Lead the way."
And as we moved toward the entrance to the Tower of Babel, from where we could climb to the upper floors, I glanced briefly at Griselda.
Well, let's see what comes of this...
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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