The Tohsaka family had been a Christian Family… sort of.

If you asked them if they actually believed in the bible, the answer would be a frank no. Christianity for them was less about the worship of God and Jesus and more about the greater mysteries that used the faith of those who did believe as a power source.

Rin was no devout Christian, even before all those years she had spent in misery with her father's murderer. She shared the same opinion as many magi, in that the Gods were dangerous psychopaths, and when a magus is calling you a dangerous psycho, that means something.

So in this new life, she was starting out with basically the same assumptions. That the Gods were dangerous, but if worshiping them would provide her with a few useful mysteries, then worship them she would. Not like she had any brand loyalty to Jesus in the first place. Most of the magecraft she used stemmed from celtic pagans and germanic runic anyways.

So that first month, she read every single religious book she could get her hands on, the older the better. Until the High Priest let something slip.

That all of the different versions of the scripture she had been reading were copies of the Archbishop's scripture. A book that only the registered Archbishop was capable of reading, as it was a magic tool that would let none but the Archbishop and those with his permission read it.

After getting a glimpse at the book in question and seeing that it had at least fifty more pages than any of the other scriptures, Rin figured there was knowledge within it that was forbidden to anyone else.

It was upon finding this out that Rin began to plot the downfall of the current Archbishop, as if she could set up the High Priest as the new Archbishop, she would have an easier time negotiating with him.

Her first plan was to use her access to the budget to tweak the numbers, making it seem that the Archbishop was involved in embezzling… but it turned out he was embezzling money and very open about that fact. No one seemed to care or do anything about it.

Her next devious plot was to steal some of the small chalices used for the spring prayers, which only the Archbishop had access to, making it look like he was stealing mana from the land. But if she did that enough to be noticeable, it would deprive the land of stable mana and the mass starvation that would cause would probably kill hundreds. Not a nice plan.

There was also the option of just killing the guy.

It might seem extreme, but he forced gray priestesses to be his mistresses and raped them, so Rin would feel no regret, just like she was not feeling any regret about ruining his life and possibly getting him executed. He was a fat pig who deserved to die.

Sadly, the most likely suspect if the Archbishop suddenly died would be the High Priest, ruining Rin's plans to use him to get at the Archbishop's Scriptures.

Usually, Rin would just crack the scripture's magic protections, but it seemed that these were reinforced by a God, with a method she was unfamiliar with.

Could she break it? Probably, but she would likely destroy the book in the process.

"Is something the matter, Sister Tohsaka?" Nicola asked, as she finished serving Rin her lunch.

"No. I was just rolling a puzzle around in my mind." Rin said, giving her attendant a lady-like smile.

"In that case, please hurry and eat. The longer you take, the longer those in the orphanage have to wait for their own meal." Nicola said with the smile she always had on her face.

Nicola was eleven years old, nearly twelve, with twin braids of orange hair and was always smiling a wide and toothy smile and loves to talk, something that the other Blue Priests found annoying, which had resulted in her never becoming an attendant before Rin came along.

She had a fondness for cooking and worshiped Rin for the recipes she gave her, and Rin didn't mind the steady stream of noise that disrupted the silence. Though she regrettably had to leave Nicola in her chambers when visiting with the High Priest, or else the demand for quiet would drive the girl crazy.

Nicola still helped with paperwork, but did it by herself whenever possible, so that she could hum happily without disrupting others.

Out of Rin's three attendants, the girl was her favorite, as she wasn't a spy for anyone, while Fran was the High Priest's man and Lizzie often spoke to the Archbishop's attendants.

Ah, the aristocracy, requiring Rin to always seal her envelope with magic to make sure they weren't read before they reached Benno's hands.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't seen the orphanage yet." Rin hummed, seeing both Lizzie and Fran stiffen out of the corner of her eye.

"Does Sister Tohsaka want to see the orphanage?" Nicola asked, a little surprised.

"I don't see why not. I'd like to see everything in the Temple while I am here." Rin said, smiling back at the gray robed girl.

"Sister Tohsaka, I really don't think that is such a good idea." Lizzie said, trying and failing to hide her nerves.

"Why? Is it against the rules?" Rin asked the older gray robe girl.

"Well, no it's just…"

"Then there shouldn't be any problem if I go." Rin said before turning to her meal and quickly eating.

If there was something people were trying to hide from her, she wanted to know what it was.


With that evil child at the Temple taking on some of the unreasonable tasks that Ferdinand was being entrusted with by his half brother, he had more time on his hands for his research experiments and for Winter Socializing.

Normally, he would use the excuse that he was a Priest now in order to get out of it, but he had too much to talk about, and so he arranged to have lunch with his cousin Karstedt and his family, including Bonifatius, Karstedt's father and Ferdinand's uncle, and Elvira's brother Claudio, as well as Justus, Ferdinand personal spy.

Normally, they wouldn't all meet together, as despite being husband and first wife, Karstedt wasn't even on speaking terms with Elvira due to his mismanagement of a problem within the house. Not to mention the fact that he basically ignored her and her sons' needs, despite her being his first wife. Luckily, Elvira was willing to put that aside for Ferdinand, who was the man her eldest son had vowed his life too, and one of the few people who could cheer him up after his wife died.

The lunch was your standard noble afar, and eventually all the servants were kicked out and sound blocking magic tools were put into place. Finally, they could talk freely.

"So Ferdinand, why is it that we have all gathered here today?" Karstedt asked after pushing back his plate.

"Our Temple has seen a rather unusual new arrival and we need to make moves to secure it before Bezewanst's realizes just what she is." Ferdinand said, getting everyone's attention before going into the story. "A little over a month ago, a Merchant's Company brought a young girl to the Temple claiming she was the last surviving daughter of an Archnoble house from Frenbeltag, left unclaimed by her extended family."

"Is she?" Elvina asked, raising a curious eyebrow. It sounded like a far fetched story, but Elvira was a lover of that kind of gossip.

"Doubtful. But there is no evidence to suggest that she isn't. She has a very high quality magic book with the family's crest, and a magic ring worthy of an Archnoble family with that same crest which I believe she created herself." Ferdinand said with a shake of his head.

"Created herself?" Justus said, perking up. "Just how old is this girl?"

"She's five." Ferdinand said, his statement hanging over all of them, causing a shocked silence. "She is a five-year-old pre-baptism girl with twice as much magic power as Sylvester does, who knows how to make magic tools on the level of one of the Sovereignty's researches, is a better accountant than any of Sylvester's scholars and has mastered body strengthening magic to the point where she can break my Feystone body armor with her elbow." Ferdinand took out the magic tool she had stolen from the girl and placed it on the table. "This is one of her creations, and the more I study it, the more insane I realize it is."

Everyone looked at Ferdinand and saw some of the madness and sleep deprivation in his eyes as he stared at the small object.

"Are you serious?" Claudio asked Ferdinand, not quite able to believe it.

"I know it sounds insane, but it's true. If you don't believe me, send Justus to the Temple to see it himself. She works in my office nearly every day doing the Temple and Castle's budgeting." Ferdinand replied.

"You have a child doing the budgeting for the Archduke?" Karstedt said, not sure if he wanted to laugh about the absurdity or be concerned.

Ferdinand ignored this comment and kept going forward. "Before Bezewanst realizes what he is dealing with and tells Veronica, I want her to be adopted by one of your families."

Bonifatius, Karstedt, Elvira, Justus and Claudio all looked between themselves.

"I'd be more than happy to adopt her, but if everything you said is true, isn't there someone else you should ask first?" Karstedt said, hinting towards Sylvester.

"...I don't know if that would be safe, putting the girl so close to being the next Aub." Ferdinand admitted. "If we were to go down that route, I would want to know more about her. If possible, I'd like Justus and Eckhart to check out the Gilberta Company who claim to have raised the girl. As for contacting Sylvester, that isn't an easy thing for me to do with Veronica around."

Justus agreed to look into the girl's backer and Karstedt was going to bring up the child in private.

"You still haven't told us the girl's name or what she is like." Elvira said, getting more invested in the story as time went on.

"...Her name is Tohsaka. As for what she is like, let's just say that if she had claimed to be Hirschur's estranged daughter, I would have instantly believed her. Their personalities are basically the same. They even look alike, though the girl's eyes are blue instead of purple." Ferdinand confessed, thinking about just how similar the girl was to his own teacher. Perhaps the reason he lowered his guard so much around her.

It took him a moment to notice the worried looks on the surrounding noble's faces, after being told that the child in question was a perfect match for the woman who had basically raised Ferdinand to be the insane research centric person he was today. The manipulative woman who was blackmailing all of them behind the scenes and knew just how to put pressure on them whenever there was something she wanted. The Sovereignty's top researcher who lived in her lab and forever smelled of chemicals, and couldn't even be dragged out by royal request.

THAT Hirschur.

"Is it… too late to retract my earlier offer of adoption?" Karstedt asked weakly.


Rin walked to the girl's wing of the orphanage along with Nicola and Lizzie, as the pair delivered the leftover food prepared in her kitchens.

Entering on the second floor, it wasn't too bad. It was basically a scene one would expect from any house in Ehrenfest in the middle of the Winter, with everyone gathered as close together as they could around a fire, with blankets thrown over them.

The people there were a little thin, but no more so than a poor commoner family.

Upon seeing a Blue Priestess, they all got up and made to show their respect, but Rin waved them down, telling them to not waste their energy and that she was only visiting to see what the orphanage was like. She was not there to pick out additional attendants or anything. Instead, she asked who was in charge, so she could talk a little to them.

After a few looks of confusion, a young woman named Wilma stepped forward, being the closest thing to in charge in the orphanage.

"Tell me, is there anything that the orphanage is lacking?" Rin asked the woman.

"I'd dare not complain about the Graces of the Gods." Wilma said, not giving a real answer.

"I'm not asking you to complain, I just want an honest report." Rin said. "If there is something wrong, I would like to be aware of it."

"...Well… That is…" Wilma said, glancing between Nicola and Lizzie.

"Wilma? Is everything okay?" Nicola asked, visibly confused.

"Wilma, if I find out you withheld information from me because of my attendants, they will be severely punished." Rin said, figuring that a threat to others would work better on the timid woman than a threat to herself.

"..." Wilma didn't say anything, but her eyes went to a barred door in the back of the room.

Seeing this, Rin walked to it and had it opened up, despite Lizzie's attempts at an objection, finding stairs behind it.

Going down the stairs, they arrived on the first floor of the orphanage and what Rin found there left her stunned.

Without her reinforced sight, it would have been difficult to see in the pitch black room, but even if you don't see it, you could smell the human waste and the atmosphere of death and despair. The room was cold as ice and Rin could see a group of skeletal figures huddled up together for whatever warmth they could manage to share, the thinnest of blankets covering them.

All of them were children.

It suddenly struck Rin that she hadn't seen any children under the age of seven upstairs. Not a single unbaptized child.

Memories of the orphans of Fuyuki ran through RIn's mind. Those children that had been fed upon by the Servant Gilgamesh in order to sustain him between the fourth and fifth war. It was disgusting.

Lizzie turned her head away, a pale look on her face, while Nicola stared uncomprehendingly at the scene in front of her.

"Lizzie, get me my writing materials. I need to send a message to the Gilberta Company requesting food and blankets. Nicola, open up my food stores and prepare as much as you can. Get Fran to send some to the boy's wing as well." Rin said, quickly taking charge. "O Leidenschaft, God of Fire, giving of the divine heat which blesses our world with life, I plead for your grace."

Bright blue magic power came from Rin's ring, immediately bringing the temperature of the room from freezing to a comfortable warm.

Looking back at the faces of her attendants, seeing them not yet moving, Rin snapped at them. "I have told you what to do, now go!"

The pair did, leaving Rin alone with Wilma and a few of the other girls who were peeking to see what was downstairs.

"Wilma, I want you to help me. I can't treat them all immediately, so figure out which children are closest to death." Rin said before moving up to the closest child, a girl with deep red hair that was covered in filth, her dead blue eyes looking at Rin with barely any signs of life. "May Heilschmerz's healing be granted."

The green light came from RIn's ring and filled the child, restoring some of her vigor. The child blinked a few times before focusing more carefully on RIn's face. Rin smiled at her.

"Don't worry, you're going to be okay." Rin said, patting the girl's head as tears welled up in her eyes, before leaving to see to the next child.