☀️ Arselia and Akonia

- ... Erephir, in your attempts to protect your fiancé, it is as if you are deliberately trying to hit rock bottom and then break through it; otherwise, such childish arguments coming from an adult would not be characteristic. The answer is simple — because the enemy stands before my eyes. It is as if you caught a criminal preparing an attack on the Empress, and I justified him by saying that there are many others in the country who are dissatisfied with her for one reason or another.

Erephir continued to speak calmly and without attempting "disappointment," although she was somewhat tired after everything (especially after the sleepless nights).

-- Forgive me, but that is not the case. Just yesterday when I hired you, you already saw who was part of my circle of acquaintances; he was right there at the Tournaments. You did not raise this issue then. And I cannot accept such a comparison; Amamius is not preparing an attack on anyone. To me, it looks as though a person who previously worked successfully in Carneo and who has proven himself is found to be an easy target under pressure, while real criminals walk the city as if nothing happened, for if you meet such a person on the street (and I do not believe you haven't), you will not be able to accuse him of anything; he will simply run away. I understand your reasoning and your straightforward approach; you found yourselves alone and you decided to try and effect a conversion... Which is, in general, what is expected of a priestess of Anuzish; it is your job and I cannot condemn you for it, I can only praise you. But in the end, it did not work, and my ally ends up under attack simply by virtue of being my ally. Not because he is unworthy of trust, but on the contrary, because he proved to be worthy. I find no justice in that.

-- Moreover, I will point out once again that he is not running away from the Church. He wished to marry me — and such events are conducted specifically with your permission and in no other way. Or do you think a Grand Master of the order under the Empress would go to some illegal heretical little churches on the outskirts to resolve his life's matter? We all understood what we were doing when we gave each other a promise, and how we will fulfill it will not be decided secretly in the corridors; it is a public matter.

- Firstly, the ability to swing a sword and command people in no way justifies your lack of foresight, naivety, and favoritism. Secondly, this battle, to put it simply, was "about nothing" — even if we had all laid down our lives there, it would have had no impact on our planet. The existence of heretics is far more dangerous for Anuzish than the whims of entities natural to her.

-- You said that we would not survive crises with me, but the facts say that we already have: heretics, the cursed dragons that destroy cities, and the whims of natural entities; we have had it all. Favoritism? Perhaps. But then I can easily counter that in this case you are judging by the cover, seeing a certain "red flag," but not taking into account the entire multifaceted nature of the human soul. Are you aware of this man's past, his present, and where he strives to go? I see his real aspirations toward those ideals that we all share: both you and I; I see it because I spent time getting to know this person, rather than hacking away blindly.

- Great! Let's write a petition to the empire's government so that they justify every criminal, simply because there will come a time when these people die and the threat from them will no longer be feared. Nonsense, absurdity, a non sequitur!

-- Are you afraid for security or are you administering justice? I told you about security, and about justice as I see it, I told you as well...

- I do not need your permission. The affairs of the Church are beyond your or the princess's authority; that is one. Now, by covering for a heretic, you are acting also against the interests of Carneo itself; that is two.

-- Indeed, it is not needed, and it was not permission, merely a reminder. I am not engaged in covering anyone up; as I already explained, this is a public matter. And I do not think that anything I undertake is directed against Carneo; neither the patriarch thought so in his time, nor did Her Majesty ever think so, and history itself has shown the same.

-- Let us do this: I am ready to appeal to an authority for you at any time convenient for you (starting, preferably, tomorrow), to clarify this issue. Moreover, if you have such abilities, I can right now take any oath that Amamius Okikot will not harm our order. I think that from this conversation, you have at least become convinced of my intentions, even if you cannot agree with the arguments.

Obviously, in her heart, the Grand Master did not feel she ought to justify herself to a subordinate, but while maintaining her dignity, she did so anyway, as she had sufficient hope in Tluassa and in the relationship with the Church in general, and furthermore, she wanted Amamius to have no problems, for she had no less hope in the latter.