"I... I'm actually Fernand..."
I answered, bowing my head like a sinner.
At my words, Armand took off his glasses.
"The Fernand I know, I recall him being a man. Don't tell me he was a woman?"
"No, I was originally a man."
"But why do I see the figure of a woman?"
"I don't know either. A few days ago, I was sleeping when suddenly my body felt like it was burning, and a pain that felt like it was squeezing all the bones and muscles in my body spread throughout my body. When I woke up the next morning, I had become a woman."
As I spoke to Armand, I became more and more worried about being branded a witch and considered a heretic, so I gradually lowered my head as I spoke.
"Turning into a woman overnight... that's something."
Armand rested his chin on his hand and stared at me intently.
"Your Eminence, even if this friend lived a dissolute life after the war, he wouldn't associate with evil groups like witches or demons..."
"Quiet, am I not currently conversing with the woman who claims to be Fernand?"
As I became troubled, Aramis stepped in, but he bowed his head and stepped back at Armand's stern order.
"Yes, tell me in more detail. That way, I can judge whether you are a heretic or not."
"Yes, I understand."
I nodded, trembling.
"Then, the day before you turned into a woman, what happened?"
"I simply went to a bar with my two friends, enjoyed a bit of drinking, and then diligently returned home early. However, on the way to the inn where I was staying, I heard a woman's scream."
I glanced up at Armand, and he nodded.
"Continue."
"As a nobleman and as a man, I knew it was not right to ignore a woman's plight, so I turned into the alley where the scream was coming from and saw several thugs trying to rape a nun, so I subdued them."
"And?"
"So, I subdued all the thugs and rescued the nun."
"Well done, so what happened next?"
"The nun kissed me."
"On the lips? Or on the cheek?"
"Yes? How did you know that..."
"If you kissed, wouldn't it usually be one of those two places?"
"Ah... that's right."
"So, where did you receive the kiss?"
"At... at first, I received a kiss on the cheek, but..."
"But?"
"I'm... I'm sorry."
Like a thief with a guilty conscience, I apologized to Armand without realizing it because I had done something lewd to the nun.
"It's not me you should be apologizing to, isn't it me who's asking what happened next?"
"So... so... I presumptuously asked the nun to kiss me on the lips too..."
"Huh..."
At my words, Lotos let out a breath as if he was dumbfounded.
"Yes, that's what happened. Then I think I know why you turned into a woman."
At Armand's words, I raised my head.
"Do you know what the cause is?"
"Yes, I think I know who made you like that."
At Armand's words, my face lit up.
"Can you tell me the reason?"
"Reason? I can't tell you that."
At Armand's words, my heart sank.
"W... why?"
"There's a reason why I can't tell you."
Armand shook his head firmly.
"Then I would like to know if I was cursed and became a witch."
"Yes, I can tell you that. You are not under a witch's curse, but it can be said to be similar to receiving God's blessing."
"Is this... not a curse, but a blessing?"
"Of course it's a blessing. Don't you know how sacred it is to directly carry a new life and bring it into the world?"
"No. Why do I have to go through this?"
"Yes, the phenomenon of experiencing something that ordinary people cannot easily accept is divided into five stages."
"No, right? Can't I come back quickly?"
"Usually, the first is denial."
"Why! Why do I have to go through this?! It's so unfair!"
"The second is expressing anger."
"Your Eminence, I will do anything. Huh? Can't you please do something? I don't mind being a slave to the church for the rest of my life... please..."
"The third is starting to compromise."
"Haa... why... I think it would be better to die... Why do I have to suffer like this..."
"The fourth is expressing depression."
"If that's God's will, what can a mere human do...? It's frustrating, but haa..."
"Finally, you end up accepting it. But your friend Fernand is going through these stages so quickly."
"Hmm..."
At Armand's words, Lotos and Aramis groaned.
"An ordinary person would take a month or two, but this friend finished all the stages in 20 seconds. He's not an ordinary person after all."
At Armand's words, the two friends wore subtle expressions.
"Don't make such a futile expression. Since you're in that state anyway, it's already irreversible."
Armand came to me and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Haha..."
The Cardinal sighed deeply as he looked at me, who was making a futile laugh, then put on his glasses and opened the Bible.
"You know the story in the Bible about Karam, the son of Maat, who prayed for a month to God to tell him how his people could survive when they were conquered by foreigners, right?"
"Yes... I know."
"At that time, God transformed Karam's body into a beautiful woman and went directly to the king of the foreigners and captivated his heart."
"..."
"In that way, she was able to control the heart of the foreign king and used the king to ensure that her people could live safely."
"And theologians are speculating that the person who was active in the war with Britum 200 years ago may have been in the same state as you, blessed by God."
As Armand continued to speak, my heart grew heavier and heavier.
I had been joking with Lotos and Aramis about having to live as a woman, but inside, I was under a lot of stress.
It was because I felt like I would go crazy if I didn't joke that turning into a woman was no big deal.
But now that he had driven the wedge in so perfectly, I honestly felt like I was at a loss.
Even if it was God's blessing, I hated it so much that I thought it would have been better not to receive such a blessing.
I was so sad that I, who was born as the third son of a noble family and had no property or land to receive, but had only a strong body and strong strength, had become a powerless woman.
'Why... why am I going through this...'
Before I knew it, sighs kept coming out and tears welled up.
"Fernand."
As I was shedding tears of lamentation alone for a while, Armand called me.
At his call, I quickly raised my head.
"Your face is pretty, so you look pretty even when you cry."
Armand said with a smile, but I felt even more depressed.
"You seem very heartbroken."
"..."
At Armand's words, I wiped away my tears and quietly nodded.
"You probably thought it would have been better not to receive such a blessing."
He saw me flinch at his words and laughed, "Hehe..."
"Do you know why saints are called saints?"
"Why?"
"They are revered as saints because they overcame all the trials given by God and faithfully carried out the revelations given by Him."
Armand put his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't think of everything in a bad way. God may be testing you to see if you are worthy of becoming a great person."
"I... I don't know."
"If God is pleased that you overcome this trial and do the things He wants you to do, wouldn't that also be a joy as a believer in God?"
"Hic... Yes... I understand."
As I stopped crying and nodded, Armand showed me a kind smile.
I took his hand and got up from my seat.
"Yes, now that Fernand seems to have regained his composure, I should tell you why I called you here."
At Armand's words, my friends and I nodded at the same time.
"Do you swear allegiance to His Majesty the King?"
"Yes! We swear!"
At Armand's words, we took a firm stance and placed our fists near our hearts.
"Will you absolutely obey and follow His Majesty the King's orders no matter what happens?"
"Yes! We will obey!"
Armand smiled at our pledge.
"Then from now on, you must do your best under me for this country Elans and His Majesty King Ange XIII."
"It's an honor!"
Armand slightly pushed a document on the table towards us.
"Write your signatures on that document."
We wrote our names one by one on the document that Armand handed us.
"Thank you. His Majesty will be pleased that you are serving for His Majesty."
Armand rolled up the paper like a scroll and placed it next to his desk.
"Now, you must be wondering what you have to do."
At Armand's words, we nodded.
"Nothing."
"Yes...?"
At Armand's words, Aramis frowned and asked.
"Literally, you don't have anything to do yet. The timing is not good to move in earnest because of lack of information."
At Armand's words, Lotos started looking back and forth between Armand, me, and Aramis, trying to read the room.
"Of course, you will still receive your pay. I should have told you that in advance, but I was careless."
"Thank you."
It was difficult to talk about pay with the dignity of a nobleman, but he was very happy that it was resolved, and his face was full of smiles.
"And, Fernand, if you are active in that state now, there is a problem with your status, isn't there?"
"That's right."
"Let's start by changing your name first."
"What would be good?"
"Marie...? Wouldn't Marie be safe?"
"Isn't that the name of His Majesty the King's mother?"
"Ahem!"
At my words, Armand coughed loudly.
"Isn't it customary to follow the names of famous people?"
"That's true."
"Then from now on, your name will be Marie... and your surname..."
Armand stroked the end of his mustache and pondered.
"Just let me adopt you. I'll lend you my last name. From now on, your name is Marie de Roang, and you will live as my adopted daughter."
At Armand's words, my friends and I were speechless.
"C... can you do that?"
"Of course, it's okay. If you have my name, you won't be branded as a witch and killed anywhere."
"Thank you."
I bowed to Armand.
"The reason I'm giving you such exceptional treatment is because I'm investing in your abilities, so you have to do the work I entrust to you properly."
"Of course."
"All three of you, go back now. If there's anything to do, I'll let you know first."
We saluted Armand and came out of the cathedral.
"What are we going to do now?"
"Well... should we go to the usual place?"
At Lotos' words, both Aramis and I burst into laughter.
#
"I should go buy some clothes."
"You?"
When Lotos said he was going to buy clothes, both Aramis and I looked at him in surprise.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm also a nobleman. I know how to save face."
"Is this the Lotos we know?"
"I don't know either..."
At my question, Aramis shook his head.
"You guys!"
"Ahaha! I'm just kidding. Pick out some nice clothes and come back."
"Yes, I'll become the most handsome gentleman in this Paris, so look forward to it."
"Yeah, right."
Aramis and I laughed and went inside the bar.
When I went inside the bar, it was full of people.
The bar suddenly became quiet when Aramis and I entered.
"Wow... fucking pretty..."
"Watch your mouth."
A drunkard unconsciously tried to say something after seeing me, but another drunkard who noticed that Aramis and I were nobles blocked his mouth.
"Oh my... I'm sorry, customers. There are no seats inside, so there are not enough seats."
The bar owner hurriedly came to us and bowed.
"This is... it's too crowded to drink."
Aramis looked around the bar and clicked his tongue.
"There... there are still seats at the outside table. Would that be okay?"
"Fer... Marie, what are you going to do?"
"What else, shouldn't we start our daily routine?"
"I guess we have to do our daily routine."
At my words, Aramis grinned.
"Owner, bring two beers and five bottles."
"Yes, I understand."
The owner bowed and went to get the alcohol, and Aramis and I started drinking at a table outside the bar.
The glasses, which were so full of beer that the foam was overflowing, were now empty, and we began to pour beer from the beer bottles into the glasses.
"Keu... what's the point of living without alcohol."
I nodded at Aramis' words as he grabbed the beer bottle and drank it.
"Keu... the reason why the ancients called alcohol a gift from God is... ugh!"
Aramis, who was leaning against a pillar and drinking, collided with someone who was running in a hurry.
"This...!"
Aramis quickly grabbed the back of the neck of the person who collided and tried to run away.
"I'm sorry. I'm in a hurry... I'm chasing someone!"
He nodded repeatedly and apologized to Aramis.
Aramis looked at his young-looking face and started to come on strong.
"Do you think it's over just by apologizing? What about the beer I'm drinking and my clothes! What are you going to do about this?"
"I'm sorry. Here... this will do."
The young man took out two 10-blang silver coins from his pocket and handed them to Aramis.
"20 blangs? Do you think this clothes is worth only blangs?"
Aramis grabbed the back of the young man's neck and shook him violently.
"Isn't that enough for the clothes you're wearing, you drunkard? Don't be unreasonable."
When the young man shouted as if he was wronged, Aramis shook the back of his neck strongly once again.
"Aramis, do it moderately."
Seeing his expression, which looked really urgent, I stopped Aramis.
"I don't think so, he looks like a noble kid who came up from the countryside. I should let him know how to behave in the city since he came to Paris."
The young man, who was being grabbed by the back of his neck by Aramis, blushed and glanced at me when his eyes met mine.
"What are you looking at?"
"Ahem!"
At my words, the young man cleared his throat and turned his head.
"Oh? You have time to look at women? What are you going to do with my clothes, you bastard!"
"If you are not satisfied with receiving 20 blangs, it is no different from being a bandit!"
"What, a bandit?"
The young man shook off Aramis' hand that was grabbing the back of his neck.
"If you are not satisfied with receiving 20 blangs, let's settle it with a duel later."
The young man took off his left glove and threw it at Aramis' chest.
"A duel? Good. Let's meet at the fountain near this bar at 12 o'clock."
Aramis picked up the glove and grinned.
"Hey, Aramis."
"Stay still, Marie. This is a duel between men."
"Aramis, I know how you feel, but duels are against the law..."
Aramis blocked my mouth with his hand as I tried to stop the duel.
"12 o'clock, fountain. I understand. Come then."
The young man nodded and disappeared into the alley far away.
"Aramis, are you really going to duel?"
"Well... I think I'll just scare him a bit and send him away."
"Then I should bring some black bread to eat while watching."
"Hahaha!"
At my words, Aramis laughed and drank all the remaining beer in the bottle.