act16side

Father and son slay father and son. Sisters murder sisters. The Sarkaz attack Sankta caravans for sport, while the Sankta shoot their Sarkaz enemies through the chest with greatest pride.

We are only ever concerned with how we see them, yet we are never interested in how they see us. Vengeance for vengeance grew into custom, and those customs eventually became tradition.

But, if you are willing to spend the night with them under the same roof, you will find that their joys and sorrows are no different from ours.

They rejoice when reunited, they weep when one passes, they tease their friends, and they grow bashful when they fall in love. Some of them love drink, others love song. Some of them even choose to dedicate their lives to their faith.

How are they any different from us?

In Laterano, even the most devout Liberi friars who carefully follow the Church's teachings, who dutifully carry out their tasks in each ceremony, even those who are made saints and created cardinals...

The Church has never truly accepted them. The Liberi are only there to lend a helping hand. They are tools to be used in the Church's day-to-day affairs.

They don't have halos, which means they... heh, they aren't 'chosen,' they aren't Sankta.

Laterano is a place of peace and beauty, a place full of joy and laughter, but only we are deserving of this 'grace.'

What you're saying... is apostasy.

Young executor, let me ask you. Why—

Why are the Sankta the only ones allowed happiness?

You know who Cecelia is...

We've known for years. She's the child of a Sankta and a Sarkaz. If grace actually existed, she would be it.

So you're trying to kidnap Cecelia now because of the conference?

We are not concerned with the conference at all.

We came to take Cecelia now because, as a child, she should be by her mother's side.

As soon as we are done with what we came here for, we will leave Laterano.

What are you trying to accomplish?

You seem very tense. First things first, we must hold a funeral for Cecelia's mother.

Do you see the place up ahead with all the flowers? That's where the gravesite is. Tomorrow, that's where Feoria will be buried.

If all are equal when they pass—

Then so should they be when they live.

Come out.

Executor Federico.

Your Excellency, if I may ask, did you provide the Sarkaz with a path to infiltrate Laterano? If indeed you did, I would be required to take you in to the relevant Tribunal of the Lateran Curia for questioning.

Must we make things so difficult between us?

I suggest you cooperate with the Notarial Hall. Should you resist arrest, regulations stipulate that I can and will temporarily suspend your rights as a Lateran citizen.

How exactly do you explain this encounter of ours with canon laws and teachings?

Should we interpret it as a test, or does it mean we have lost our way?

Or perhaps... losing our way is part of the test?

It is clear that you are resisting arrest.

Unfortunately, this encounter will not be resolved peacefully.