I don't own Chrono Crusade.
A small blonde girl, hair in two plaits, ran giggling away from a boy with long violet hair. To others, the scene might have appeared heart-warming, but not to Sister Kate. Instead, the playing children filled her with a sense of dread.
"He should not have been allowed past the barriers." she said stiffly.
"If it weren't for him, Rosette Christopher would be frozen in time, just like everyone else at Seventh Bell."
"If it weren't for him, Rosette Christopher would be able to have a long and happy life!" she snapped. "Minister, I don't understand. How can you possibly trust that creature?"
"It was not Chrono's choice to make a contract, Sister Kate."
"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't. If I were a child, frightened and scared and with my only family in danger, I imagine I'd have made the same choice as Rosette. He took advantage of her fear to... to trick her into it!"
"Sister Kate, if you are suggesting that Chrono orchestrated the whole situation to manipulate her, then you may be overestimating his powers somewhat." Remington reminded her calmly.
"He could've arranged things with the other devil, Aion..."
"Sister Kate, the whole mess at the orphanage was caused by Aion giving Joshua Christopher Chrono's horns. If this was some kind of ploy to restore Chrono to his full power, then surely he would've simply returned the horns?"
"I..." she sighed. "I cannot allow a devil to live among us. We are the Order of Magdalene- we destroy his kind! He cannot be trusted- a leopard does not change his spots."
"From what Rosette has told me, he was friends with both Rosette and Joshua for several months before the incident, and he never hurt either one of them. He has already saved Rosette's life, and he was extremely reluctant to make a contract. It was only because Rosette insisted on it that he agreed."
"And how did Rosette get the idea of making a contract in the first place?"
"Chrono let it slip accidentally. He tried to warn her against it, but she would not listen. You have already seen how headstrong she can be, Sister Kate."
She sighed heavily. "Yes," she murmured. "She is certainly headstrong."
There was a long silence as Sister Kate watched the two play. Rosette fell, and cried out, and Chrono's face was filled with concern as he rushed to her side to tend to her grazed knee.
"He is a devil."
Minister Remington nodded. "Yes, he is. Sister Kate... have you ever thought that if an angel can fall, a devil can ascend?"
She frowned, and then, with a sigh, threw her hands up in resignation.
"Very well. The devil may stay. But he is to live in the Elder's quarters, and if he so much as puts one toe out of line, then I will personally end that damned contract of theirs and send him back where he came from."
Minister Remington smiled. "Of course, Sister Kate. Shall I send for them?"
She nodded. "Yes, yes, send them in."
Minister Remington left the room, and with a soft thump, Sister Kate let her head fall into her hands.
"What in God's name am I doing?" she asked herself, softly. For the life of her, she could not think of an answer.