Two sides of the truth (2)

«Yes, your Majesty. His Majesty, the King, can protect you from the Church. In the current treaties, it's his right to keep gifted people on his side. Just like it happened in the past, with the late King.»

Ignis will protect me from them. Even now that he's avoiding me, I'm sure he'll stop anyone trying to take me away.

«You said there are factions in the Church, so I wonder... Which of those does Cardinal Malva belong to?»

«Arabeus Malva?»

«Him.»

«He's a witch hunter,» Adelphium explains. «His primal joy is finding new mages and burning them to ashes at the first chance. He does offer collaboration to powerful individuals, but he doesn't happen to meet many. After all, his job isn't about recruitment but...»

«But?»