Chapter 107: New Industry

A moment afterwards, Selaphiel pulled Ainsworth, Deitrich, and Lumière to the side. Of course, he had something to task his student with, and as Deitrich was the leader of the Blue Rose team, it was certain that he should be involved as well. However, he had tasked Lumière Croft specifically with the investigation into the Phantom Syndicate, and thought that he might as well remind him of his duties, and loop him into the details of their other investigations in order to keep him alert. If it was true that the attack on the show hall was indeed the fault of the mysterious 'Phantom Syndicate', and it wasn't just the mistruths of the magician, then Lumière's own investigation into the secret and mighty organisation might lead to the furthering of their own into the Nameless.

He first turned to Ainsworth and Deitrich, the former who had propped himself up with his blade. There was first the most important matter to address, that of the supposed noble involvement in the plot of the Nameless. Even if it was just an inkling of a suspicion, it had to be properly investigated in order to clear them as suspects. If the Nameless parasitism stretched as deep as the Noble underbelly responsible for the lawmaking of the entire city, it would certainly be a detriment to all.

"I want you two to work together in investigating the matter of the Cattleya family and their possible involvement in this."

Ainsworth glanced towards Dietrich Reiche, but it seemed that the usually-abrasive man had already mellowed out. Perhaps it was Ainsworth's show of leadership, or the massive attack he had conjured that almost killed him, but Deitrich seemed far more open to following than he had previously.

"The Lords of the Walls don't like their identities to be compromised. This is partly for the reason that it would compromise their safety, and by extension the safety of Leiden's gates. However, this is also to give them a modicum of secrecy in their dealings. For the Lord of Reid, Allenette Cattleya, this is of utmost importance, as the other Lords view him with a bit of malice. But regarding the possibility of his involvement in the plot of the Nameless, this is something I have chosen to overlook. Please be certain that this information does not leave our circles. Mr. Benedict, Mr. Reiche, please investigate into this matter as secretly as you can."

"Wouldn't we have to make our way to the high borough to investigate the Cattleya household?" Ainsworth questioned curiously.

"What's wrong with that?" Dietrich wondered.

Ainsworth glanced at him, sighing. "The gateway that leads to the high borough is heavily monitored. If the goal is investigate the matter of the Cattleya Family in secret, wouldn't traveling through the gate by normal means raise too much attention towards us? After all, it's not like we're merchants from the mercantile belt looking to do trade…"

Selaphiel smiled coyly. "Before I came over here, I was attending to a matter in the high borough. Not as an Archangel of Heaven's Roses, but as a Saint of the Church. There were rumours of a very… paranormal existence plaguing the east wing of the high borough. I wonder if it might be used as a pretense for your arrival."

Ainsworth's eyebrows raised, coming to a realisation. To Heaven's Roses, an Archangel was a direct equivalent to the rank of a Saint within a church. When joining the Church of the Crown of Thorns, Ainsworth had been initiated as a Deacon of the Monastery on Cobbler's Street, firstly training for his service in the Main Cathedral in the middle borough. From there, he had become a Priest after several years of dedication. Due to his quick uprising within Heaven's Roses after joining, he missed the years of opportunity that it would have taken to achieve the ranks of a Bishop and then an Archbishop, which he should have reasonably achieved by now as a Red Rose. Even Dietrich Reiche, someone below him in rank within Heaven's Roses, was simultaneously above him within the church's ranks as an Archbishop. 

However, for the upper brass of the church, directly above them, was the Cardinals, then Prophets, and then Saints. A Saint was the church's equivalent rank to an Archangel, and was the rank that all Archangels, including Selaphiel, carried along with them when they enacted their duties of church in public. This was supposed to make these incredibly-powerful beings more personable to the average person, so that they might be able to carry out their duties easily.

Selaphiel was now asking the two of them to distinguish themselves by their rank of Church. But this was something quite puzzling to Ainsworth. Perhaps it would make sense for Dietrich to make his way to the high borough, but for Ainsworth, wouldn't this still raise suspicion?

"Why send me?" Ainsworth looked over towards Selaphiel, frowning. "I'm only a Priest, it doesn't make sense to send me on a church-related issue that was relegated to a Saint."

Selaphiel shook his head. "No one would question the man who's obviously operating under the direction of an Archangel. They knew I was over there previously. If I sent a Priest in my place, there's only one obvious conclusive draw that they can come to."

"That I'm being raised to command." Ainsworth let out a relieved sigh. Of course someone like him had thought this far. No person who would watch them from the sidelines would ever choose to question the decision of an Archangel, nor a Saint. If Selaphiel had chosen to send Ainsworth to undertake the mission in the high borough, it was because he had obviously judged Ainsworth to be worthy of the mission. That would be the conclusion of anyone watching from afar. There would be no suspicion raised towards them as they were investigating, at least not in that manner. "I see. Alongside Dietrich, with the rank of an Archbishop, would be reasonably viewed as a substitution for you. They would just determine that you must have been too busy to attend to such a matter. After all, it might just be superstition that led to the arising of a 'supernatural' matter."

Selaphiel nodded his head in satisfaction at Ainsworth's answer, his head slowly turning towards the magician. 

Lumière, who had been standing silently beside them, listening intently with a grave expression on his face. He had already become certain of what Selaphiel wished to speak to him about, so when the powerful figure's expression crossed over him, he shivered slightly. It was that same feeling as when he had first met him- the idea that Lumière was welcome, but could also be killed at any moment. Still, it seemed slightly restrained from before. It might have been because Selaphiel viewed him as a key figure in the restraining of Mammon that had allowed him enough time to make it to Etten-Leur. That didn't mean that Lumière was going to take advantage of it. For the first time in his life, he wanted to crawl back into the shadows so that he might not be perceived. 

Why hadn't he first viewed the Archangel as such a terrifying creature? Perhaps it was because at that time, he had recently experienced so much tragedy and terrifying occurrences. Now, he was free to look at the being in full light, as a powerful figure that could take him down easily. 

"Mr. Croft, do you recall our previous arrangement?" 

Lumière nodded towards Selaphiel's questions. "Yes, Sir. I've found a couple leads in the lower borough. I'll investigate them as soon as I recover my stamina."

Selaphiel eyed him curiously for a moment before smiling. "Good. Please continue working diligently. After all, this matter is very important to the Church."

Lumière's eyebrow twitched. Was this Archangel using his own words to taunt him?

He nodded his head simply in response, unable to bear saying any more.

Selaphiel reached into his cloak before procuring a small leather booklet, handing it to Lumière. "I told you before that I would provide you with identification that would shield you from the eyes of the Peacekeeper forces. If any stop you for reasons you can't control, just show this to them."

Ainsworth and Dietrich looked at the booklet with awe, Lumière curiously accepting it.

"Really? A small booklet like this is enough to sway the attention of those order-obsessed soldiers?"

Selaphiel let out a chuckle, replying, "this 'little booklet' is the equivalent to that golden slate we discovered earlier, a pass handed out to Nobles by the Consulate. However, only we Archangels can hand out such a pass. I myself receive two per year. They're given directly to me by His Holiness."

Lumière's eyes widened. 'This was given to him by the Pope? And then to me? A Half-Believer like me was given such an item by the Greatest Believer? This is definitely blasphemous…'

Selaphiel then turned towards Ainsworth and Dietrich. "You should start your investigation by looking through the goods that the Nameless were transporting. It should point to a specific part of the Cattleya's industry that you can focus in on."

"But we didn't find any people. Isn't the Cattleya's main trade slaves?"

"Not necessarily. There aren't very many people that can afford to buy slaves. Decently-wealthy merchants and Noble Houses that agree with the trade, perhaps. But it's a dying industry. As civil rights expand, there are far less people that agree with its existence. The Cattleya Family has been forced to expand the breadth of their trade as a result of this."

"But alcohol is already a very diluted industry in Leiden, same with technology. The Faulkner Family, which doesn't even live primarily in Leiden, already has a stranglehold on such a thing, as well as the Mechanicus Die Firma. What could they possibly sell that doesn't clash with the well-established industries in Leiden?" 

Suddenly, a call came out from one of the Blue Roses. He approached the group, holding a stack of papers in his hand. A trail of fallen papers followed behind him, from the carts that the Nameless had been pulling. Looking at them in the distance, Lumière and the others could see that they had been stacked full of these same papers. Ainsworth beckoned to the Blue Rose, who listened adamantly as he handed a sheet of paper over to the Red Rose. Ainsworth glanced down at the writing on the paper, his eyebrows furrowing as he let out an exclamation.

"Printing? The Cattleya Family is expanding into the printing business? Why the hell would they do that?"

It wasn't just any sheet of paper that Ainsworth held. It was the front page of a newspaper.

"The perception of the public is the downfall of their main industry. What is a good way to sway the perception of the public, Mr. Benedict?"

Ainsworth's eyes shook as he glanced back down towards the sheet of paper. 

"The daily post… they're attempting to directly change the image of their trade, trying to twist it into something reasonable by inserting it into something that most people interact with day-by-day… and they're using Nameless to help accomplish its quick spread…?"

Selaphiel smiled. "Perhaps. That's what you're going to investigate. I wish you both luck in this endeavour." He glanced over towards the White Roses who had gathered together in the distance. "Also, I'll be taking Mr. Auirore at this time. I'll return him promptly as soon as our business has been concluded." 

Lumière's eyes widened. 'What business could he have with Nicole? Does he have suspicions about our gatherings? No, first that would have to be based off his knowledge of the House of Cards, and this doesn't seem to be something that the Church is currently aware of. Even if they are, they don't seem to place much significance on it. Because of their hatred for Heretics, it would become a prime target for them if that was the case! So what could he want with Nicole then?'

However, Ainsworth already knew the answer to this question.

It was time for the revival of Heaven's Roses. 

Black Magic would soon return to the forefront of magical society.