"How do you know Cardinal Eve Marlowe?" An excited, feminine voice assaulted his eardrums.
'Damn, what a howler,' He said, his face scrunching in irritation.
It was the purple-haired lady with the sapphire eyes he had seen back there.
"Why should I answer that?" Raven looked down, since she was a head shorter than him.
"Also, were you following me?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.
She shook her head in denial, "I just came here for the same reason everyone else is here for, and just happened to overhear your conversation."
His sister, huh?
"By the way, you didn't answer my question yet." She could barely contain her excitement at this point.
"I have no obligation to answer you," He repeated.
"I know you are new to this city," She didn't even hesitate for a second, "I can help you look around, pretty-eyed boy."
'What did she just call me?'
"That's certainly appealing, but not enough," He said, trying to be on his way, but she blocked his way.
"Well, I will do anything that I deem fair for this exchange of information." She said boldly, attracting some nearby attention, including the Coachman's.
Did this girl understand what her words meant?
He was bewildered by this airhead.
"Good going, young master," The coachman nudged his elbow at him, which he flicked away instantly.
He had to de-escalate the situation immediately.
"I think we should head somewhere private."
He couldn't reveal his identity to the public, can he?
Whistle!
He realized immediately that his words just made it worse for him.
The coachman gave him a knowing wink, and the others around him gave him a disapproving and disgusting looks.
'It's not like that,' He wanted to shout that, but he had better things to do than convince random people of his innocence.
"Sure!" Of course, she didn't get it.
"Janet Lacassue, by the way," She extended her hands, introducing herself.
"I will take up to your previous offer," He said, accepting the offer since he was already involved in this.
Knowing a local was bound to be beneficial for him.
"Raven Marlowe," He introduced himself.
"Marlowe?" Her eyes widened.
An expected reaction.
"You are related to her?" She asked, excitement lacing her voice.
"Her younger brother," He revealed quietly.
Her eye shone in anticipation and elation.
"She is my idol, I absolutely love her…"
She went on a frenzy rampage of appreciating comments and fangirling.
He stood there, stupefied, as this scene reminded him of something.
Back on Earth, the girls described their favorite pop star with the same enthusiasm.
"Can you let me meet her-"
"No!" He immediately refused her.
There were certain lines one should stay in.
Give someone an inch, and they'll take a mile.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" She apologized immediately.
She was airheaded, but at least she knew when to draw lines.
"Can you recommend some good inns near the chapel?" He asked, changing the topic.
He was in dire need to wash up and change.
To relax for a while.
"Sure, pretty-eyed boy," She immediately agreed, "Follow me."
"Don't call me that…"
…
Ahh!
Raven whimpered in pleasure as his body soaked in the hot water.
Sure, this bathtub was nowhere near the level of his personal bathroom, but it was all he needed.
Bathing held a special place in his heart at this point.
He thanked Janet internally, since she took him to a fairly decent place not very far from the chapel.
It was pricey, but who even was he?
After an entire hour of soaking, he dried himself up with some provided towels and exited the bathroom.
'Whoa!' He exclaimed, looking at a few sheets of paper on his bed, 'That was fast.'
It was his documentation for the test.
Along with a note for him.
Written is a rather pretty, familiar handwriting, it said,
[Don't delay this any longer.]
Raven sighed.
No apology in sight, but he shrugged.
She was right regardless.
And so, he took her advice and immediately clothed himself and left the inn.
He entered the same Gothic chapel and made his way back inside.
Tak! Tak!
His footsteps were hastened, his speed faster than usual.
As the two guards came into his eyesight, he waved his documents in the air.
The guards chuckled.
"Here's the documents you asked for." He handed them the documents.
The guard on the right scanned the document; his brows rose.
His face tilted up as he looked at him.
He looked back and looked up.
"Oh!" He gasped, "Are you here on direct recommendation?"
The other guard flinched as well.
Direct recommendation?
Wasn't it only allowed once for every Cardinal?
Does that mean this guy was very close to one of them?
"Not really," He denied, "I am here for the test first."
First.
Which meant he had a safety net to fall into.
The guards nodded solemnly.
They didn't react much.
It was quite normal for higher-ups to do this.
They were used to it at this point.
Heck, even they used their powers for this.
If you had the means, why wouldn't you use them?
One of them went to a table beside them and took out a stamp, along with a quill.
He stamped his documents, wrote a number on the paper, and handed it to him.
"This number here is your room number."
"Mhm!" He stared at the stamp and bobbed his head.
"Please," Both of them politely showed him the way inside.
A stark contrast to their attitudes just a few hours ago.
'It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.' Raven contemplated.
He wasn't like them.
He wasn't the biggest fan of getting treated like someone who had a good backer.
Sure, it was handy, but it wasn't something he liked.
He nodded and headed inside.
Maybe this might be an opportunity for him?
An opportunity to get out of her shadows and make a name for himself.
Maybe this wasn't that bad after all.
Urk!
A sudden bright light blinded him a few footsteps from the entrance.
The end of the tunnel was completely different from what he expected.
His brain couldn't make sense out of this.
He was quite sure that the entire chapel was surrounded by buildings, since it was quite deep into the city, but.
"Is this a forest?"