The Pope of the Fontaine Church knew Marcel was using young women for Primordial Seawater experiments.
Yet, he allowed it to continue.
If such a thing were exposed, it would inevitably cause an uproar in the Court of Fontaine.
Fontaine was a nation built on the foundation of the Trial. In the hearts of its people, justice came first.
Then there was the incorruptible Iudex, Neuvillette.
If the truth came out, Kael would face a massive backlash even as the Pope.
At Kael's home.
Furina, who had been silent for a long time, finally experienced a medical miracle.
"I... I understand," she said, her voice trembling slightly.
"After learning the truth, Navia attributed Kael's failure to capture Marcel to a lack of evidence."
"Combined with her guilt over her past rudeness and her hatred for Marcel framing her father..."
"With Navia's personality, she will definitely find a way to condemn Marcel, just like in this life."
"If something is revealed then, Kael..."
Furina's small eyes flickered toward Kael. Suddenly, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Her performance in her past life was no different from this one; she was likely just playing the part of a god.
But because Kael had been cleaning up her messes in the past life, she had avoided many awkward situations.
Not only was her reputation untarnished, but the citizens had even cheered for her.
In all of Fontaine, the only person who seemed to do thankless work was the high-ranking Pope.
The rest of Fontaine enjoyed the Opera Epiclese daily, while the Pope had been laboring for centuries to figure out how to change the Prophecy.
Even Neuvillette, who had seen Kael kill René and Jakob, didn't seem to take René's words to heart.
Perhaps he simply viewed them as a group of research-obsessed fanatics using nonsensical ravings to hide their frantic pursuit of scientific knowledge.
"How is that possible?"
Paimon shook her head, her small hand tapping the air as if lecturing.
"Who is Kael? He is His Holiness, the Pope of the Court of Fontaine."
"Even if he really let Marcel continue the experiments, it was only because he expected the man to provide useful experimental data."
"I bet Kael was watching Marcel's every move."
"The moment there was a major research breakthrough, he would have arrested him immediately."
"Even if Marcel was caught, there's no way this could be linked back to Kael."
Lumine also had a sudden realization.
She looked at Kael with eyes full of heartache.
"You definitely couldn't bear to see those girls being harmed, but you had no other choice."
"The Furina of the past life was lying to you, and you had no one by your side to help. You weren't willing to hurt Fontaine citizens for experiments like Jakob did."
"After struggling for a century, you finally encountered Marcel, so you hoped he would take the risk and help you."
Kael was stunned.
Damn! This over-interpretation is getting out of hand.
If the system gave his persona a level 8 beauty filter, Lumine had maxed it out at level 10.
"Sigh."
"If I had guessed that Furina wasn't the true Hydro Archon, I shouldn't have wiped out René and Jakob. Perhaps I could have reasoned with them."
"If we had changed our approach, the results might have been better."
"But there was no other way. Compared to my hardships, Furina's five centuries of persistence were the most painful."
As Kael's words fell, Furina's heart suddenly raced.
A wave of warmth quickly spread through her body.
Even though the people in the livestream still didn't think highly of her, Kael's words made her feel less embarrassed than she had imagined.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph..."
Lumine and Paimon snorted simultaneously.
"You're pretty good, kid. The past life hasn't even ended, and you're already starting to comfort Furina."
Paimon flashed a mischievous grin.
"It's over, Lumine..."
"You're going to lose your favor."
"You, you, you..." Furina was flustered. She clenched her fists in protest. "You flying little speck, stop talking nonsense!"
"Eh?" Paimon froze on the spot.
She was always the one giving others nicknames; no one had ever slapped a nickname on her first.
"This is so frustrating! I'm going to think of a terrible nickname for you, Furina..."
Paimon stomped her feet in the air in anger.
Lumine wrapped her fair arms around Kael's neck and gave an 'evil' smile. "Is that so, dear Pope..."
"Admit it. In the past life, how many nobles sent young women to your house?"
[Since seeing her father, Navia's entire mental state had undergone a transformation.]
["Lumine, Paimon..."]
[After coming out of the Fortress of Meropide, Navia waved enthusiastically at Lumine and Paimon.]
["Navia..."]
[Lumine and Paimon were stunned.]
[The two had been worried about Navia's safety, but they didn't expect her to be so jubilant upon exiting. It was as if she were a completely different person.]
["What happened to you? Why are you so happy?"]
[Paimon circled Navia several times, then retreated a few steps in shock. "Did the Pope do something strange to you?"]
["Why do I feel like you..."]
["Paimon, Lumine, my good partners, you cannot be so rude to the Pope."]
[Navia placed her hand over her heart, looking like a penitent.]
["The Pope is truly the greatest existence in our Fontaine."]
[Eh!?]
[Lumine and Paimon were completely dumbfounded.]
[They thought to themselves: Navia couldn't have been brainwashed by Kael inside the Fortress of Meropide, right?]
Fischl: "Hmph, hmph, hmph. Has the pure maiden's body been tainted by evil? No matter. The light of justice shall eventually shatter the darkness."
Mona: "..."
Mona: "Fischl, be normal for once."
Cloud Retainer: "I must say, the Kael of the past truly possessed the power to control minds. I recall that thief from Mondstadt speaking so incoherently, as if Kael were forcing the words right out of her mouth."
Ganyu: "Eh? I didn't notice that at all."
Enjou: "It's over. If you keep talking like this, Master Kael's reputation is going to crumble."
Aether: "Lumine, tell me quickly. Did you feel any discomfort?"
Lumine: "..."
Lumine: "You all have quite the imagination. It shouldn't be surprising if Kael can use hypnosis or mind control, but I believe he wouldn't stoop to such despicable means unless he had no other choice."
Yae Miko: "Oh my, Lumine. Is this you being a protective wife?"
Navia: "I also believe that with Mr. Kael's capabilities, he wouldn't bother with such tactics. Given his status in Fontaine, if he truly wanted to do something to me, I would have no power to resist. Why would he need to turn me into a puppet?"
["Pope."]
["Navia and the Traveler seem to have begun investigating Marcel recently."]
[Aivelson expertly brewed tea for Kael, just as he always did.]
["Mm." Kael offered only a soft grunt in response.]
[He said nothing more.]
[It was as if everything was proceeding exactly as he had anticipated.]
[Kael set down the newspaper in his hand.]
[He gazed through the window at the sprawling landscape of Fontaine.]
['Is it really going to end in failure after all?']
["Pope, what are you saying?" Aivelson placed the freshly brewed tea before Kael.]
["Nothing." Kael gave a bitter smile.]
["I think you should go on a journey to relax your mind, Pope," Aivelson continued.]
["It has been 30 years in the blink of an eye since you took me in as a child."]
["During all this time, you have been consumed by the affairs of Fontaine. I believe you must be exhausted."]
["Especially lately. I often hear the sound of pacing coming from your room late at night."]
["If your sleep suffers, it will eventually take a toll on your body."]
["Fontaine cannot lose you."]
[Aivelson had finally found an opening to urge Kael to take a well-deserved rest.]
[He had always taken immense pride in serving as Kael's butler.]
[He, more than anyone, understood exactly what Kael had endured over the years.]
[Aside from the Trials held at the Opera Epiclese, Kael oversaw every matter in Fontaine, no matter how large or small.]
[Construction, development, diplomacy, education, healthcare...]
[Nearly every single issue required Kael's personal attention.]
[And then, there was that cursed Prophecy.]
[Aivelson could tell that ever since the incident at the Opera Epiclese where people were dissolved into water, Kael had not enjoyed a single night of peaceful sleep.]
["Hehe, you brat..."]
[Kael seemed amused by Aivelson.]
[He smiled and said, "Don't look at me and think I'm like you. I'm more than ten times your age."]
["To think you'd tell a long-lived being to mind his rest."]
[Kael wore a faint smile as he picked up his teacup.]
[He was just about to sample his butler's tea-brewing skills.]
[However, an urgent knocking sounded at the door.]
[Aivelson's brow furrowed, and he opened the door with a look of slight displeasure.]
[The guard standing outside spoke hurriedly, "This is bad, Lord Aivelson."]
["Tartaglia, the Fatui Harbinger from Snezhnaya, has been taken to the Opera Epiclese for trial."]
["What?" Aivelson was stunned.]
[He quickly turned to look at Kael.]
["Lord Pope, what do you think..."]
[Having served Kael for over thirty years, Aivelson had never officially participated in any major events.]
[However, even if he hadn't experienced it firsthand, he wasn't ignorant of the world.]
[The Fatui's reputation was poor, but their Harbingers held the status of diplomatic envoys representing Snezhnaya.]
[Dragging a Fatui Harbinger to Fontaine's Opera Epiclese would become an international incident between Fontaine and Snezhnaya.]
["Sigh..."]
[Kael let out a long sigh.]
["It seems this cup of tea will have to wait until later."]
The conversation between Kael and his butler, Aivelson, was relatively simple.
It felt like the ordinary daily dialogue between two people.
However, Kael's line, 'Is it really going to fail after all?' happened to verify everyone's previous suspicions.
As the Pope of Fontaine, Kael was indeed aware of everything Marcel had done.
He intended to use Marcel's experiments to uncover the truth of why Fontainians were being dissolved.
[Dvalin: 'Sigh, being the Pope is really not easy for Mr. Kael.']
[Ningguang: 'He gets called away to handle problems even when he just wants to drink a cup of tea?']
[Keqing: 'A Fatui Harbinger's identity is indeed quite special. As the Iudex, does Neuvillette not realize this?']
[Neuvillette: 'Of course I do, but the laws of Fontaine represent everything in Fontaine.']
[Dottore: 'Hehe, I'm curious. Why exactly did you arrest Childe?']
[Neuvillette: 'This...']
[Arlecchino: 'Because Childe was implicated in the Serial Disappearances of Young Women from twenty years ago.']
[Dottore: '???']
[Capitano: 'This situation seems a bit abstract.']
[Pierro: 'It really is too abstract. How could Tartaglia be involved in a case from twenty years ago?']
[Pantalone: 'Oh my, how interesting.']
[Eula: 'One can see the Fatui's reputation across the nations. They're even involved in things from twenty years ago?']
[Skirk: 'Wait, Tartaglia, how old are you this year?']
[Tartaglia: 'Master, have you forgotten my age?']
[Skirk: 'Well... I am usually too busy with my cultivation; I naturally wouldn't pay attention to such trivial matters. (Blushing)']
[Tartaglia: 'I'm only nineteen this year.']
[Eula: '...']
[Yelan: 'I see. A nineteen-year-old Tartaglia was implicated in a case from twenty years ago.']
[Osial: 'This Harbinger called Childe has some skill. He was already a suspect while still in the womb.']
[Jean: 'I'm sure Lord Neuvillette, as the Iudex of Fontaine, wouldn't act recklessly in such a matter.']
[Tartaglia: 'Hehe, more than just reckless. The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale even declared me guilty. Neuvillette launched a sneak attack from behind and knocked me out. By the time I woke up, I was already locked in the Fortress of Meropide.']
[Kamisato Ayaka: 'To think such a thing happened.']
[Yoimiya: 'Fontaine is so scary. I originally wanted to find time to visit Fontaine, but this...']
[Paimon: 'The Fortress of Meropide welcomes everyone! Free food and lodging, and there are even Credit Coupons...']
[Clorinde: 'Ahem, Paimon, don't talk nonsense. Our Fontaine isn't that scary.']
[Neuvillette: 'The trial in Fontaine... Uh... You can only blame yourself for interfering with the trial with force...']