Mendacium Speculorum
Chapter 7: Affirmed
The presence of Archbishop Ronald Knox in the main game room of the City of Books greatly shocked Lambdadelta, and the Archbishop was shocked as well at his sudden arrival at Featherine Augustus Aurora's abode.
Getting up from her seat, Lambdadelta curtsied to the archbishop in respect, and so did the archbishop bowed to Lambdadelta. It was a shocking moment to see that Featherine had called for him at that time, and Lambdadelta didn't waste her time to ask questions and inquire more as to why Knox was there in the main game room. The Witch of Certainty and the Head Inquisitor had various questions racing in their heads, wondering which one to ask first without sounding rushed and demanding so as to not offend the other.
Finally, Lambdadelta broke the silence with a soft voice. "What brings you here...Archbishop Knox...?"
"I...I don't know," he found himself saying so softly that only the Witch of Certainty could hear, looking around him to see shelves of books, a rocking chair, two armchairs and the tea table. It was evident that he was thoroughly confused, and when he saw Featherine's confident smile, it confused him even more as to what her true motives were on bringing him here against his will and by surprise. Featherine then put on her most innocent look so as to revel in misleading the Archbishop, idly playing with her cane as she did so.
"I'm terribly sorry if I had intruded in any activities that you have been doing, Inquisitor Knox," the Witch of Drama slurred her syllables smoothly. "If I have, I duly apologize, and whatever inconveniences that is to come in the future is much regretted in my part." With a simple smile, Featherine made a gesture to the High Inquisitor to take a seat on one of the armchairs as a basic form of hospitality, to which Ronald Knox slowly and hesitantly took a seat while shaking his head slowly to contradict and reject Featherine's ways of inviting guests to her abode.
However, as for Lambdadelta, she refused to sit, for she wanted answers at that very moment.
"What is your purpose, Lady Aurora?" the Witch of Certainty slammed her gloved hand on the game table, her red eyes piercing into Featherine's violet ones defiantly. "You are not allowed to simply make the innovator of the Decalogue present himself in a location without a valid reason and without his consent! How dare you break the basic protocol of the Heavenly Court?"
"Ah, but that is a rather harsh way of putting it, Lady Lambdadelta," Featherine softened her tones as she spoke to the blonde-haired witch as if she didn't want her to be further aggravated, silently drinking in the wonderful glow of the Witch of Certainty's red eyes. "I do apologize if that is how you think it was, but we need Inquisitor Knox to contribute to this historical game! Surely he can, can't he? You do not need to contribute much, Inquisitor; just something very small so that we may proceed with our game without any disturbances~"
"What do you require of me, Lady Aurora?" the Archbishop gruffly asked the Witch of Drama, not showing any form of confusion any longer and wanted to get straight to the point. "If it is to inquire about the rules that you wish to apply for your game with Lady Lambdadelta, you can use either the Van Dine's Commandments or my own Decalogue. There is no need to inquire for permission."
Featherine shook her head, denying his earlier assumption.
"Oh no, Inquisitor Knox," she shook her head with an amused air. "It's not that. It's not that at all. For this game, your Decalogue will be used thoroughly throughout. The game knows what rules it wants."
"Get straight to the point," Lambdadelta snarled, her gloved hands balling into fists as she spoke.
"Shush, Lady Lambdadelta," Featherine giggled, being ever so soft in her intonations. "Please save your pretty voice for the game. As for my intentions of having you here, Inquisitor Knox," to which Featherine smiled oh-so-sweetly to the Archbishop, "I would like for you to bestow upon us the privilege of the Decalogue."
At that moment, Lambdadelta froze at her place.
The atmosphere fell deathly silent as the words came out from Featherine's mouth. Lambdadelta found that she was unable to speak at that moment due to the overwhelming shock that she had felt after Featherine had responded. Ronald Knox, however, was unfazed; in fact, he arched his eyebrow in interest and a challenging smile crept up his aged face as Featherine sat on her rocking chair while wearing that same serene smile.
"...So you want me to bestow upon the game the privilege of the Decalogue," was all he said. "That is a rather large thing to ask of me, since it is coming from you."
"That is correct. I am terribly sorry if it is too much to ask, but the game desperately calls for it, Inquisitor. Why else would I summon you here to my abode? But you may take your time, there is no hurry at all, and there is much time to consider my request." Featherine smoothly spoke. She wasn't impatient at all, rather, no one could actually tell Featherine's expression at the time because her smile would always answer for her. A smile on her face was all it took to take care of matters in Featherine's case.
"Don't," Lambdadelta spoke up, looking at Ronald Knox straight in the eye as she said so.
"Lady Lambdadelta-" the Archbishop started, but Lambdadelta cut him off harshly as the atmosphere around them suddenly became cold.
"We do not need it," she repeated more firmly.
"Oh my, Lady Lambdadelta," Featherine arched her eyebrow in apparent interest. "Why the sudden opposition? Such things are needed to carry on with a legendary game like ours, and it is apparent that you would know about that. Are my requests not to your liking, even if they are meant for Inquisitor Knox himself?"
"The game is none of his concerns. We are inconveniencing Archbishop Knox even further," the Witch of Certainty spoke directly. "What I would like to ask you however, Lady Aurora, is the reason why we need something so important as the privilege of the Decalogue."
Featherine sighed inaudibly as she smiled at Lambdadelta, wanting to study her expression and her reaction at the very intent of wanting the privilege of the Decalogue. Her red eyes were the same, but they hardened dangerously and her face was paler than usual. The Witch of Drama was aware that the Witch of Certainty knew what she was trying to do, but somehow, whenever Lambdadelta's expressions had any small changes, it thrilled Featherine to know that she finally got to see them.
That those expressions were intended for her. That she had never shown those expressions for anyone else.
It was just for Featherine.
What other expressions will she get from her, she wonders?
"If we do not get the privilege of the Decalogue," Featherine spoke, "Then the rules will not be enforced and the game will be in shambles! Surely you knew this from the very beginning, Lady Lambdadelta; you haven't forgotten, have you?"
"We don't need it, Archbishop," Lambdadelta repeated, standing her ground as she looked at Ronald Knox in such a way that only he could tell that she was pleading with him. "I'm sorry if we had interrupted in whatever you were doing, and thank you for tolerating our rudeness."
He could see it.
He could see her red eyes asking, pleading him to leave.
Despite her hard, disciplined voice, her eyes were telling an entirely different story.
"Hmm," the Witch of Drama sighed. "What to do...what to do...I don't want to disappoint Lady Lambdadelta, of course I don't, and you're so very busy, Inquisitor Knox...I would love to comply with Lady Lambdadelta's wishes no matter how peculiar they can be; a great witch such as her shouldn't be offended in any way! However...hmm..."
A small pause followed.
"Ah! I've got it!" Featherine clapped happily. "Let me make it easier for you, Inquisitor Knox...how would you like a little deal-making?~"
"If it is a deal from you, it must be interesting, Lady Aurora," Ronald Knox leaned into the armchair, his smile reflecting a hint of cunning interest. If one were to look at him, they would've had an image of a brilliant strategist in mind, making many calculations in his head as the very prospect of a deal got his mind working. Featherine knew that he was interested in the deal, and conjured up a knife in her hand, letting it float towards Ronald Knox for him to take. He took the knife, and Lambdadelta's eyes widened dangerously at the realization that they were about to make a pact.
A deal sealed in blood.
"Archbishop Knox..." Lambdadelta started, but his fatherly gaze upon her refrained her from speaking further.
"If you agree to bestow the privilege of the Decalogue upon the game," Featherine began, "Dlanor A. Knox will be in safe hands from the conspiracy."
At the very mention of Dlanor, Lambdadelta turned to see Ronald Knox's face, which was strangely constant even if his daughter's name was mentioned. Featherine half-expected the Inquisitor to show a reaction at the mention of his daughter, but he merely stroked his beard in thought. After a while, he stopped, looked at Featherine in the eye and did something that was beyond Lambdadelta's comprehension.
He laughed.
His booming laughter escaped from his mouth.
"HAHAHAHAHA! You truly are cunning, Lady Aurora! Truly marvelous! I am honored to know such a vile witch!"
The Witch of Drama smiled in response. "Why, thank you, Inquisitor Knox~ Probably you have known that the news of the conspiracy had already spread in the Senate and in Heaven; what have they told you about me? Surely they have told you unpleasant things about me, and I do hope that you do not believe them~"
"I do not need mouths to tell me about it; I have already speculated from the start!" Ronald Knox thundered. "You instigator! When you have imprisoned that witch, you have already carried out with your plans, haven't you, Lady Aurora?"
Featherine's smile froze on her face.
"...What witch?" Lambdadelta found herself asking. "Who are you talking about?" There were many questions racing in her head: is Beatrice alright? Is Dlanor alright? Is Van Dine's son alright? Ronove, the witches, the Readers...are they alright?
"Will you grant us the privilege of the Decalogue, Inquisitor Knox?" she repeated, this time with a little more force in her voice. "I would be deeply saddened if something were to happen to dear little Dlanor if her father doesn't comply with such an honorable request-"
"Stop it!" the Witch of Certainty shrieked in raw anger, her eyes blazing with fury.
"AH! Do you really think that my daughter is still little, Lady Aurora?" he asked confidently in that grand voice of his. "This conspiracy is no doubt dangerous, but to threaten me with the safety of Dlanor is low, Lady Aurora! Beneath standards! Is she that small in your eyes? Ahahahahaha!"
Featherine blinked in surprise at his sudden response, and even more so when he outstretched his arm to point the knife at her direction.
"You have not examined your cards right, Lady Aurora," Ronald Knox spoke, "and you will come to regret this. My daughter, Dlanor is a ruthless officer who will one day inherit my position! The conspiracy will not leave a single scratch on Dlanor; she will kill, destroy and carry on for me if I perish in your hands!" With that, he stood up, and with the knife he had in his hands, he stabbed his arm, drawing blood from where he dragged.
"So go on! I will bestow upon your game the privilege of the Decalogue, and it will secure your downfall! It will be your first mistake, and your last!"
"Archbishop Knox!" Lambdadelta exclaimed in horror, clutching on his bleeding arm as the blood smeared her gloves. "DON'T!"
But it was too late. Featherine conjured up the contract, made the paper catch a few drops of his blood and the contract was complete.
In one of the libraries in the City of Books, Lambdadelta was distraught.
It was the first time that she had ever felt so distraught in her life after the Logic Error. Her hands were clenched into angry fists, her face was as pale as paper and her eyes were glaring at the heavily built man before her. Ronald Knox looked at the quivering witch before him, and he could find no words to reassure her, to calm her or even to change the subject. The Archbishop couldn't help but be surprised at how Lambdadelta's emotions resurfaced at once when he gave the privilege of the Decalogue to the game, and it pained him to hear her anguished pleads.
"Why?" Lambdadelta gritted her teeth. "Why did you do that? You gave her the privilege of the Decalogue; do you have any idea how she can use it to hurt you!"
The Archbishop did not answer.
What pained Lambdadelta greatly was the very definition of the privilege of the Decalogue. The privilege of the Decalogue was created by Ronald Knox himself to allow him to become one with the Decalogue; the rules that he himself had made. The Decalogue was him, and he was the Decalogue. When the privilege of the Decalogue is bestowed upon a game, he will become the rule keeper of the game that he has bestowed the privilege upon, enabling him to use and bend the rules according to his own will.
Unfortunately, while getting the prospect that he is the personification of his own rules, there could be circumstances in a witch's game where the rules might tightly bind it up to the extent that it would make victory impossible. It has never happened before, but judging Featherine Augustus Aurora's latest game, there could be a great possibility that this might happen.
So in that case, the only option Ronald Knox might make is to have to commit the worst offense possible: breaking his own rules.
Which will lead to his ultimate execution.
"You have signed your own death!" the blonde-haired witch screamed, her face turning red with anger.
"Lady Lambdadelta," he spoke solemnly. "There is a reason why I have done so."
"I know," she responded. "I know there is a reason. I know that you are going to do something. But I am not pleased with the fact that I don't know what you might do!"
Ronald Knox put his hands on her shoulders in a fatherly manner, causing Lambdadelta to bite her lip so as to not allow the tears to form in her eyes. "It is wrong of me not to tell you. I am sorry for not being a reliable source, Lady Lambdadelta, but I can only tell you so much at the moment."
"Then tell me," her voice hardened. "Tell me what I need to know."
"Do not let Lady Aurora use you. That is all I can tell you."
It was far too risky to speak alone in the City of Books at that moment, and as Lambdadelta's anger still burned within her, Ronald Knox knelt on one knee and bowed his head, causing Lambdadelta to just look at him in utter shock. The fact that such a powerful being from the court of Heaven knelt down for a request snapped her out of her reverie, and with all her airs and graces, Lambdadelta bit her lip to control it from quivering.
"When I die," Ronald Knox humbly spoke. "Please take care of Dlanor for me."
There was no response from her.
"Lady Lambdadelta, please," he repeated, this time more gently.
"I will never forgive you for what you have done to yourself."
Neither one of them said anything afterwards for a while, and Ronald Knox decided that it was no good to be before the witch whom he had disappointed. It was a troubling time for them, and before he left, she hardened her voice to respond to his final request.
"...I will."
And when he left, she cried silently in anguish.
When Lambdadelta came back to the main game room after that, she found Featherine waiting there for her with a rather worried look on her face.
Instead of lying around on the floor carelessly as she had did the other day, Featherine was alert as she sat on her rocking chair, not rocking it at all. She could feel Featherine studying her face even though her tear stains weren't that obvious, but something about Featherine's worried expression puzzled Lambdadelta to no end. Much to Lambdadelta's surprise, Featherine got up, walked towards Lambdadelta and pulled her into a rather compassionate embrace.
"You were crying, weren't you?" the Witch of Drama's voice was as gentle as it could be. "I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry, Lady Lambdadelta..."
But with that sentence, Featherine whispered it again and again in Lambdadelta's ear, brushing her fingers through her soft, short blonde hair as she held her.
"W-What are you..." Lambdadelta's breath hitched, being apparently frozen in her place before Featherine silenced her with a slight tap of her finger on her lips.
"I'm sorry...but you see..."
...and with that, she slowly licked the Witch of Certainty's bare neck, much to the latter's surprise...
"...it must be done."
A/N: I proofread this chapter while watching a boxing match xDDD.
It's funny at how after every round, girls start dancing all around on the ring and then I just can't help but yell at the TV "CAN ROUND 4 START NOW PLEASE" while my cat prods with the remote, xDDDD.
If there's any questions, you can PM me or leave it in the reviews! Thanks for reading this chapter!
-Densetsu-no-Maguro.