“GREETINGS, Your Excellency!”
“Greetings, Father Gendro.”
Marquess Valentina and Lady Eliza Valentina greeted the Pontiff with practiced enthusiasm as he welcomed them into the sanctum. This day was meant to be significant, the day Lady Eliza would receive a blessing for the new life she had chosen, her path toward becoming an Empress. Yet beneath her composed exterior, unease stirred. The Emperor himself was absent from today's ceremony.
She had already informed the Emperor’s secretary, Shun. Though she harbored open disdain for him, she forced herself to maintain courtesy; regardless of her feelings, he was still the Emperor’s subordinate, and she would treat him as such, even if, in her eyes, he was nothing more than a servant.
"May the Goddess Enah bless your souls."
“Before I for
