The Mark of the Holy Woman.
Episode 2
In honor of the Trinity Blood Never Forget Day I wanted to upload as much as I can of the translation of R.O.M. IV, after three years of hiatus, I finally can finish at least this first part. I hate to keep promising stuff and ending up failing, but I want to finish this.
The theme of this year is "REBIRTH", so let's honor it by continuing my holy task.
This part may have mistakes, I wanted to post this as soon as possible so I didn't send it to correction before I post it, but I will send it and edit the post if necessary, remember you can point those mistakes too and I will gladly correct them.
We finally get to Episode 2: The Sorceress of the Temple. I hope you like it.
The Sorceress of the Temple.
You, however, smear me with lies...
JOB 13.4
"I have been informed of what happened, Archbishop D'Annunzio… It is a great misfortune," the man began to speak from the monitor.
Whether it was because of his vigorous body or the cutting light shone in his eyes, like a saber, it seemed that more than the Cardinal's habit, a military uniform would have fitted him better.
Francesco Di Medici, in charge of the internal affairs of the Vatican, watched them from Rome with his hands folded under his chin. One by one, he observed them all: Caterina, who was silent; Antonio, who was more concerned with fixing his hair than anything else; and Brother Petros, standing tall with the expression of a student who had forgotten to do his homework. Then he fixed his gaze on the Archbishop again.
“To think it have to be precisely during the performance of a commemorative play of the battle of Istvan that was allowed a vampire to attack... and that they had kidnapped the very Saint... Where was that Guard you are so proud of, Archbishop?”
"Your Eminence, I have no words to apologize for our negligence, but if you will allow me..." The archbishop lowered his gaze at the Cardinal's reproachful expression. However, he did not choked with the words, but replied coldly, as if he already had the excuse ready:
“Because of the presence His Holiness and Her Eminence the Cardinal Sforza the security was concentrated around them. Please forgive my mistake: I trusted that the Director of the Inquisition, who was in the place at the moment, would be able to take care of it.”
Hearing how he tried to blame him for what had happened, the warrior monk raised his bandaged head. Petros was going to answer the accusation, but seeing the reproachful look of his superior, he remained dejected and silent.
“It's... it's true that I was there... and I can't deny my responsibility for what happened...”
“I don't know if it's right to blame everything on the director of the Inquisition... Excuses go against the morals of a knight.”
The one who came out in defense of Petros, who bravely endured the accusations, was a sweet female voice. Caterina, who until then had not done much more than cough in front of the heater, continued speaking in a calm but determined voice.
“Brother Petros' duty was His Holiness' protection. The security of the theater was in charge of the Guard... Which means that the responsibility falls on them.”
The accusation wasn’t said, but Caterina looked firmly to the Archbishop. If her gaze was colder than necessary, perhaps it was due to her weak state of health. Crossing her legs under the habit, the Cardinal brought the cup of tea to her lips.
“Anyway, we'll think about all that when there's time for it. Now we have more urgent problems... We must immediately locate Esther Blanchett and the vampire who has abducted her. The progress of this investigation will also determine if we can continue with the ceremony for the fallen as it was planned...”
“The ceremonies cannot be stopped. The events of tonight are an indelible stain on our image and we cannot seem weaker. We are already the laughingstock of the secular states” Francesco replied through the monitor.
From the office window could be seen the multitude of journalists and onlookers that crowded in front of the doors of the Istvan Cathedral, built as an archiepiscopal seat to replace the Cathedral of San Mátyás, which had been destroyed a year ago.
Even the Vatican had found it impossible to keep silent the more than a thousand onlookers who had witnessed the incident. The huge propaganda for the ceremony for the fallen was also working against them. The case had already come to light in all secular states and everyone was watching for the slightest movement from the Vatican. Showing weakness at the time would have led to a decisive loss of prestige.
“So everything must go as planned. We can't allow the goddamn media to laugh at us… can we, Cardinal Borgia?”
“Of course not” said frivolously from the sofa the Minister of Vatican Public Relations.
Antonio Borgia brushed a strand of dyed hair smugly from his face and smiled with a theatrical grin.
“I've already given orders for them to report that Sister Esther was abducted by a vampire, but that thanks to the work of the City Guard and the Inquisition she has already been rescued. Now she is supposed to be at the Central Hospital recovering. By the way, couldn't we have His Holiness go and pay her a visit later? This way it will have more realism and everything, you know?
“That will buy us some time...”
The Minister of Vatican Public Relations seemed to want to keep chatting, but Francesco waved him off and stared around the room, his eyes gleaming like a saber.
“In the meantime, we must find and eliminate the vampire and rescue the sister... The investigations of the Inquisition have obtained some very peculiar data. You can proceed, Brother Matthaios”
“Thank you, Your Eminence... Allow me to introduce myself. I am Brother Matthaios from the Inquisition” said one of the figures in the room, which had remained silent until then.
He was dressed with the robe of the inquisitors, but beneath his messy dark hair, his boyish face was placidity in person. Brother Matthaios, who had arrived from Rome barely an hour ago, shuffled forward as he picked out a folder of documents for all to see.
“Here we have the results of the analysis of the fractures in the walls and the floor. It appears that the weapon the vampire used is based on a special synthesized crystal with an extremely powerful piezoelectric effect.”
D'Annunzio raised his eyebrows at that unknown word and asked the young inquisitor with exhausted eyes:
“What is that supposed to be?”
“It means that it can cause a kind of earthquake through electrical vibrations.”
The one who answered the archbishop's question was Caterina, who did not take her eyes off the documents. The Cardinal, famous in the Vatican for her encyclopedic knowledge, explained with grace, putting her finger on her temple:
“Quartz, zircon and barium titanate… are crystals that, under a certain tension, have a piezoelectric effect that can produce discharges, in the same way, if they are introduced into an electric field, they can cause the opposite effect.”
“Which means, shortly, that if electricity is passed to them they can produce vibration and if a tension is caused they can produce electricity” added Matthaios, for those who did not have the same technical knowledge as the Cardinal. Unfolding the documents like a science teacher, he showed his audience the corresponding diagrams. “For example, a common use for it is microphones. Through electrical impulses they produce vibrations, that is, they produce sounds. Last night's weapon uses these properties to the maximum power, the vibration takes the metals to the limit of their resistance and ends up melting them, which causes the destruction of the target.”
"Well, the truth is that those details, I…" said D'Annunzio weakly, stroking his eyebrows in misunderstanding and casting a nervous glance around the room. “The important thing is to know if that technology surpasses what we have. And it is clear that the vampire is an assassin sent by the Empire, as she said herself, right?”
“That might be a hasty conclusion, Your Excellence...”
The one who then expressed her doubts was Caterina, leaving the documents on the table, coughed slightly before continuing.
“It is true that the Empire is our mortal enemy, but it has been more than a hundred years since they caused an incident. There is no reson that they have to start right now.”
“They don't provoke... Not until now, it's true, but won't they start to feel threatened now that we've occupied Istvan?”
Antonio had spoken in a serious voice, extremely rare for him, at the same time that he pointed with his chin towards the map that was hanging on the wall.
Before Armageddon, the city could be proud to be one of the pillars of central Europe, but today it was no more than a border city of two hundred thousand inhabitants. The surroundings of the urban nucleus were full of uninhabitable ruins and the tunnels of the old subway were nothing more than dark caverns.
The vampire would not be short of places to hide, and spotting her in this terrain would be extremely difficult.
“But, well, whatever are the intentions of our enemy, the important thing is to capture the vampire... Is there any news about her possible whereabouts?”
“The city guard is working hard on it with their full force.”
As if recovered from nervousness, D'Annunzio finally raised his head and, tracing a ring around the city with his finger, explained:
“The routes out of the city are all blocked and there are checkpoints on all the railway lines. In addition, we are sending squads with anti-vampire equipment to the underground tunnels.”
“I see. They are very wise measures, but isn't it a bit risky?” asked Matthaios, after raising his hand in a humble gesture, scratching his head he continued with a worried face, “With your permission, the Guard has no actual combat experience and their anti-vampire equipment is very limited. Even if they find her, the probability that the vampire will end up killing them is very high… May I dare to ask you to accept that the Inquisition participate in the mission?”
“Brother Matthaios, I thank you very much for the offer, but right now it is only you and Brother Petros, rather, since Brother Petros is wounded, we only have you. As much as you are inquisitor, it doesn't change the thing too much either.”
“Just me? Oh, of course! There's something I haven’t told you yet...” Matthaios clapped his hands, as if he had just remember something important, he explained with crystal clear voice: “Precisely now there are waiting at the airport of István three aircraft that carry a few hundred special policemen. I myself have come with a detachment that was on maneuvers in Triest. Ah!, and by the afternoon we expect near to two hundred more men as reinforcements.
Considering that not even twelve hours had passed since the incident, the speed of the deployment was extraordinary. Not only D'Annunzio, but also Caterina and Antonio raised their eyebrows in surprise. However, the inquisitor remained smiling and his eyes calm.
“As they were on maneuvers, we still have to reorganize the chain of command and provide them with the necessary equipment, but I think it won't take long to solve these issues. Give me an hour and I'll have them ready for combat.”
“Well, what a speed of reaction… I didn't expect less from you, Brother Matthaios. I see that the rumors that you are the best commander the Vatican has are not false. Very different from another that I know.” (T.N.: I’m angry now, sorry XD)
D'Annunzio unexpectedly began to praise the inquisitor. Even if they were already on maneuvers, transporting five hundred men, an entire battalion, across that distance in a few hours and having them ready to go into action really demonstrated prodigious capabilities.
“Magnificent. If we can count on the collaboration of such an experienced corps as the special police and the leadership of an inquisitor with such talent there is nothing to fear. I leave it in your hands, Brother Matthaios.”
As the archbishop filled the inquisitor with praise, like a teacher encouraging his favorite student, a barely perceptible voice sounded behind him.
“And… me…?” (T.N.: my heart is broken 💔)
The warrior monk, who was slumped in a corner, raised his hand with some fear.
“Please allow me to join the operation and regain the honor I’ve lost last night. We will find the vampire and I myself will bring you her head...”
“No, you won't go, Petros.”
The one who flatly rejected Petros' request was not the archbishop. On the monitor, Francesco was shaking his head sternly.
“The operation can be conducted by Matthaios alone. You look for the safety of His Holiness.”
“Eh!? But, Your Eminence…! I…!”
“Don’t get me wrong... it is not that I don’t trust you...”
The truth is that the expression of Francesco cannot be matched with someone who rebukes a subordinate. However, the veteran knight spoke with a firm voice, which did not admit reply. He nailed the sharp stare on Petros, then he explained clearly:
“As long as we have not captured the vampire, the chances that she will attempt to attack His Holiness' life are very high. In anticipation of this contingency, there must be someone by his side capable of protecting him. That's what I mean.”
Il Ruinante lowered his head at the stern, if not cold, words of his superior. First he blushed, and then he turned pale. With a pained look on his face, he muttered through clenched teeth:
“Understood... as you command, sir...”
“I've said it before: All of this should be kept hidden from the media. If they find out, they can do irreparable damage...” Francesco concluded, after looking at Petros and Matthaios.
The Cardinal had a determined but nervous expression, unusual for him. It wasn't strange. An error in the management of that problem would make it turn into something much worse than a simple incident that occurred in the provinces. At worst, it could end up affecting the power of the Vatican itself.
Looking out at the high ranks gathered in the room, the man whose iron arm held the Vatican in place repeated in a grave tone:
“An imperial noble has kidnapped our Saint... This is not a simple vampire attack, it could become the spark of a new crusade, we must be prepared for anything.”
“What has happened, Your Eminence?”
When Caterina returned to her assigned room, the silver-haired priest got up from the sofa impatiently. He would have not slept all night, because he was nervously looking at his superior, looking pale and haggard.
“What are the instructions? How are we going to proceed with the search?”
"The Ministry of Holy Affairs* does not have the right to participate in the operations..". (*T.N.: Need to check the correct name to be consistent)
Caterina coughed lightly as she handed her cardinal miter to the other priest in the room: Father Tres Iqus. The cold was very intense. After sitting down in front of the heater, she slowly caught her breath.
“The search will be carried out by the Inquisition and the special police. We will take care of the protection and assistance of the Pope.”
“Wha... but the one who has been kidnapped is one of ours!”
With a violent cry, very rare of him, Abel had turned even paler than Caterina. His voice, excited and trembling, revealed that he had spent the night awake, remorseful for having allowed a companion to be abducted before his eyes.
“Who has decided something so stupid as the companions of the abducted cannot participate in the search!? Right now Esther may...”
Caterina tried to calm the priest with a serene voice, he looked like he was going to get out in a rush at any moment.
Normally, the priest was so calm that he exasperated others, but this time the guilt was probably too strong. Trying to ignore the dark feelings that were beginning to bubble inside her, the Cardinal looked at the hysterical priest and explained calmly:
“I think it goes without saying that Sister Esther's safety comes first for me. She is a key agent who brought back invaluable information from the Empire. Losing her now would be a tremendous blow.”
“But we can't ignore His Holiness' protection either...”
The monotonous voice that joined the conversation was Tres’. The mechanical soldier continued speaking without any trace of feeling about the possibilities they had:
“As long as the vampire is within the city, the chances that her next target will be the Pope or Her Eminence are very high. If an attack did occur, we would be responsible. It must be avoided at all costs.”
“Okay, so you can stay with the Cardinal, Father Tres” Abel answered immediately, preparing to leave the room.
This abrupt manner of speaking was not at all normal for the priest.
“In the meantime, I'll go find Esther around the town! Since I was here a year ago, I know the streets a little. Not that I'm going to wander aimlessly...”
“Negative. It is not advisable to disperse our combat capabilities, Father Nightroad. Our goal is to protect His Holiness and Her Eminence. We must also count on Cardinal Borgia. It is physically impossible that one can cover alone all the three objectives at a time. The minimum necessary is two units, which are you and me.”
Faced with the cold but exact reasoning, the silver-haired priest was speechless. He tried to think of a reply, but finally remained silent. Anyway, he turned decisively towards Caterina, with a face of not giving up, and looked with imploring eyes at his superior:
“Please... Your Eminence... I... Esther...”
“No. Impossible, Abel… I mean, Father Nightroad” Caterina said, shaking her head calmly at the priest's pleas. “I fully understand how you feel. I am also very worried about Sister Esther. But the vampire is still among us. If she attacks again, who will be here to defend us against her? Who will defend me and Alessandro? Only you can do it. Also, Abel...”
The priest bit his lip at the calm reprimand. In his watery eyes danced the image of those whom he had to protect. The cardinal cast her last sentence towards that gaze like a winter lake.
“Is it worthless for you to defend us?”
As if he had strings and they had been cut, the young man dropped his eyelids. He closed his eyes tightly and his face, with the expression of someone who had just drank poison, was drained of all color. But his lips opened one more time just to spit:
“Coward... That's a coward answer, Caterina... I can't believe that...”
After whispering those words, the priest went to the door.
“Where are you going, Father Nightroad? We are in the middle of a meeting. Come back immediately!”
The voice scolded Abel harshly, but he ignored it and reached for the doorknob. Without changing his expression, Tres quickly caught his partner in front of the door...
“You don't have to follow him, Father Tres” the Cardinal said, stopping the short priest with a gesture. “Even if we don't chase him, Father Nightroad won't abandon us… I know how he is”
What was that expression that crossed over the beautiful woman's face? Disgust with herself, anger...? A veil of pain darkened her face. But it was only an instant. Recovering her serenity immediately, the Cardinal ordered her subordinate:
“Father Tres, take care of the cathedral. I have to solve some matters and then accompany His Holiness to the Central Hospital. Take care of the preparations.”
Even after receiving the orders, the mechanical soldier remained standing for a moment, as if to say something, but in the end he withdrew silently through the same door his companion had used.
After verifying that the rhythmic echo of the boots had died down the hall, the Cardinal leaned against the back of her chair. Bringing the handkerchief to her lips, she coughed slightly...
“A despicable woman…” she groaned softly between her lips in a hoarse voice.
She had coughed so badly that her voice heard broken. Seeing the slight reddish stain that had appeared on the white lace of the handkerchief, on her face there was no shadow of the Lady of Steel that caused terror to all.
“I am… I am a despicable woman.”
Still coughing, she tossed the bloody handkerchief into the fireplace.
∙∙∙·▫▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫▫ᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒ·∙∙·▫▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫▫·∙∙∙
Thank you for your patience, see you next time!
If you find some mistake, please let me know in comments, don't forget to ❤ and reblog.
