Chapter 68
Chapter 68: Family
Terminating audio recording during a classified inquiry session at the Seraph level and privately conversing with a witness was a serious violation of church prohibitions.
From the moment she pressed the stop button, Michelle and Funniss became accomplices, each holding leverage over the other.
Michelle still hadn’t recovered her senses. She couldn’t believe what she had just done, as if she had inadvertently fallen into an abyss, yet felt no regret whatsoever.
Work pressure had pushed this poor person too hard. She liked to take all responsibilities upon herself and would inevitably collapse under the burden someday.
Funniss had noticed this from subtle changes in expression. Succubus fragrance plus a little suggestive guidance—tricks every succubus knew. She had pulled Michelle’s hand and dragged her into the abyss. Now they shared some little secrets when facing the church.
As long as it was effective, that was enough. Funniss would use any means necessary.
“Ma’am, you should know that Mr. Cela also initially studied those things privately, until he achieved sufficient glory, until he caught the Pope’s attention. Since this is inheritance—” she continued.
Her seemingly calm tone seemed to constantly bewitch the heart. Michelle was almost convinced without much thought, while Funniss continuously strengthened the suggestive influence.
“But…” Michelle struggled, trying to break free from this mental interference. “But how can I know that you truly learned all knowledge from Mr. Cela?”
“One year… just one year. How could you learn all knowledge from Mr. Cela?” she asked again immediately.
“I won’t make empty boasts about my talent or abilities—that would be meaningless. You can test me with existing cases, ma’am.” Funniss said calmly.
“Test?”
“Yes, ma’am, test.” Funniss said. “Present cases where you believe Mr. Cela could detect subtle details, and see if what I’ve learned can truly be useful.”
“No, wait. Before that, I still have questions.” Michelle came to her senses and rubbed her temples. “I still don’t understand, Miss Celi. Why are you willing to risk being judged by the church to cooperate with me? Originally, this had nothing to do with you, and after being rescued, you had plenty of other lifestyle choices.”
Funniss paused slightly.
From others’ perspectives, “Celi” was an innocent girl who had been unwillingly drawn into this situation. “Cela’s knowledge” wasn’t something she had actively sought to learn. After being fortunately rescued, she naturally had reason to abandon everything from the past and choose her own life.
Looking at Funniss’s current actions—disregarding her own safety, knowing it would violate church prohibitions, yet still wanting to “inherit” this ethereal thing—it was only to help some dying uncle she happened to be imprisoned with.
From a behavioral logic standpoint, this didn’t make sense.
But this still couldn’t stump Funniss.
“I’m sorry, Miss Michelle. I should have explained my motivation from the beginning, causing you to doubt me.” She bowed her head in apology. “Actually, this matter is simple—I have nowhere else to go.”
“Nowhere to go?” Michelle didn’t understand. “Miss Celi, you’re still young. You have many, many choices. If you want to study, the church has established many charity schools in Corenzo or the continental kingdoms across the sea. Both Charlotte and I can write recommendation letters for you. Or you could apprentice under a skilled craftsman. This era no longer discriminates against girls. As long as you’re willing and able to learn the trade, they’ll teach you everything.”
“You misunderstand, ma’am.” Funniss shook her head. “What I want is family.”
“The witch’s torment made me lose memories of my original family. I don’t even know if I’m truly from the islands. But Mr. Cela and Charlotte’s gentle treatment reminded me of that familiar warmth.” She continued. “I can’t abandon Mr. Cela’s expectations and his lifelong precious achievements, nor do I want to leave Charlotte’s side. So I chose to come here before you and reveal my secret. I want to consider this place my new home.”
“Home… family…” Michelle looked at Funniss, momentarily at a loss for words.
She even felt that testing was no longer necessary.
She had no right to separate this girl from Charlotte’s side, no right to prevent this girl from dedicating her strength to Cela’s dying wish, and no right to obstruct this girl’s pursuit of life’s meaning.
She had no right.
At this moment, Funniss appeared sacred, pure, noble, and selfless in Michelle’s eyes. All doubts crumbled, and Michelle felt ashamed of herself.
“I apologize, Miss Celi.” Michelle stood up and forced a smile. “Please wait a moment. I’ll arrange a small test for you right away. Are you interested in becoming an agent?”
“Agent?” Funniss seemed lost in thought.
“If enforcers are like police, then agents are more like detectives—reasoning, analyzing, and determining criminal methods and suspects. If Mr. Cela truly taught you all his strange knowledge, this position would suit you perfectly.” Michelle answered.
Perhaps because she had served as an enforcer under Cela’s identity for nearly thirty years, being suddenly asked whether she wanted to become an agent gave Funniss a sense of displaced bewilderment.
The Temperance Institute established two career paths for institutional personnel: enforcers and agents.
Enforcers had higher requirements for combat and apprehension abilities, while agents had higher requirements for criminal investigation and reasoning abilities. The two usually worked in mutually supportive relationships, with the Temperance Institute forming special task forces based on case severity.
However, though Funniss had previously held the title of enforcer, she actually handled both sides of the work alone, so she was more accustomed to acting independently without assistance.
As the director of a remote branch institute, Michelle should have the authority to appoint, dismiss, and promote personnel at the three lowest ranks: apprentice, angel, and archangel. However, every six months, newly recruited personnel had to be sent to Vatica for baptismal trials to determine retention, since the Temperance Institute was essentially a religious organization where recognition from archbishops and the Pope was more important.
The two apprentice enforcers Funniss had seen on the street were most likely assigned here to build their records. Michelle could help them achieve regular status and promotion to archangel level before they returned to Vatica.
So if she temporarily disregarded the baptismal trial six months later, becoming an apprentice agent under Michelle was completely feasible and aligned with Funniss’s interests.
“As long as I can help Charlotte, I’m willing.” So she agreed.