Charlotte's words settled over the hall like a soft blanket — warm, steady, impossibly brave.

Rhedon did not sit.

He stepped forward, the faint clink of his ceremonial chain echoing in the silence.

The other elders behind him straightened even more, forming a wall of stiff tradition and decades-old habits.

His voice dropped, deep and heavy. "Then we will ask the first question."

Charlotte met his gaze without flinching.

Rhedon inhaled — slow, deliberate.

"What gives you the authority," he asked, "to change what millions of faithful have believed for generations?"

The room froze.

The question hit the air like a thrown spear.

Several younger acolytes held their breath.

A few sisters whispered prayers under their breath.

Orthran's jaw tightened — he knew this one would come.

Noel felt something warm spread in his chest as he watched Charlotte step forward.

Not fear.

Not hesitation.

Just quiet determination… the kind he had fallen for.

Charlotte placed one hand gently on the podium.

Her voice, when it came, was calm and clear:

"My authority does not come from power," she said. "Not from miracles. Not even from the title of Saint."

Her fingers pressed lightly against the wood, grounding her.

"It comes from responsibility."

The hall stirred — some eyebrows rose, some shoulders relaxed, some clenched.

Charlotte continued:

"I was chosen as Saint not to remain silent… but to guide. To protect the faithful from truths that would break them, and lead them with truths they can carry."

Her gaze swept across the elders — not demanding obedience, but offering a bridge.

"I do not change the doctrine because I want to. I change it because it is needed. Because the world has changed… and the Church must change with it."

Rhedon's expression flickered — surprise, resistance, confusion, all tangled.

Charlotte took one more step forward, golden hair catching the faint candlelight.

"I don't ask you to follow me blindly," she said softly.

"I ask you to walk with me — to help preserve what is good, and heal what is broken."

Silence fell again.

Heavy. Tense.

But something had shifted.

The blow of Rhedon's question hadn't knocked her down.

She met it head-on, steady and graceful.

Noel exhaled slowly, pride blooming quietly in his chest. 'That's my girl.'

Rhedon finally spoke, voice softer… but still guarded:

"…We hear your answer, Saint Charlotte."

Rhedon lowered himself back into his seat, but the tension around him did not ease.

If anything, it thickened — like storm clouds gathering low.

Charlotte didn't let it intimidate her.

She folded her hands gently on the podium.

"Thank you. Then… ask your next question."

This time, another elder stood — Elder Marthis, narrow-eyed and rigid, his robes as stiff as his posture.

His voice lacked Rhedon's gravity but held sharpness:

"What parts of the doctrine," he demanded, "do you intend to alter?"

The hall shifted uneasily.

This was the question everyone feared.

Charlotte answered without a beat of hesitation:

"The parts that harm more than they guide."

A ripple spread through the rows.

She continued:

"The way we teach Elarin's disappearance… the way we frame his sacrifice… the way we define what it means to follow his light."

Marthis frowned deeper. "And what of the miracles attributed to him? What of his blessings? Will you rewrite those as well?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"No. His miracles were real. His teachings were real. His compassion was real. Those truths remain."

Some younger sisters nodded subtly, relief washing over them.

"But the stories surrounding his final moments," she said gently, "were incomplete. Too incomplete to sustain our people today."

Rhedon looked up again — slower this time, not to interrupt, but to listen.

Another elder rose, Elder Teren, older than the rest, voice worn with decades of prayer:

"And what stays untouched, Saint Charlotte? What truths will you carry forward unchanged?"

Charlotte offered him a warm, earnest smile.

"Elarin's kindness. His belief in humanity. His wish to guide rather than rule."

Then a different voice — sharper — cut through the hall.

"And how," the elder demanded, "do we explain any of this to the faithful? They rely on us for certainty. If we start changing their foundation…"

He hesitated — fear showing in his eyes for the first time.

"…what if their faith collapses?"

Charlotte's expression didn't falter.

She looked at him with compassion, not superiority.

"Faith does not collapse because truth shifts," she replied softly. "It collapses when truth is withheld. When people sense a gap in the story… and no one dares fill it."

Her voice grew firmer:

"If we guide them gently, honestly, and with unity… they will follow. If we hide from them… they will break."

A hushed silence fell.

The elders were still conflicted, still resisting… but their questions were no longer attacks.

They were fears.

And fears could be eased.

Charlotte rested one hand on the podium and said:

"I will not force change upon you. But I will lead it. And I ask you to help me make it something our people can hold — without losing themselves."

The moment Charlotte's final words settled, the hall shifted — not loudly, not visibly, but in the way a battlefield changes when soldiers lower their shields just a fraction.

The elders didn't relax.

But they listened.

And that alone was new.

Noel watched them carefully, arms folded across his chest, Noir's tail brushing his cheek in slow, thoughtful flicks.

From where he stood, he could see everything:

— the uneven breaths

— the tightened robes

— the conflicted eyes

— the small flashes of doubt breaking through years of certainty

Not hatred.

Not stubbornness.

Just people terrified of losing the ground beneath their feet.

'They're close,' Noel thought.

But also…

'They won't change in a crowd. They're the type that needs a door closed, the lights low, and no witnesses.'

Noir murmured in his mind, sharp as a whispered warning:

'They're looking at you, Dad.'

She was right.

Rhedon's eyes shifted toward Noel, like he was expecting something from the saviour of the Holy Capital.

Or more accurately…

As if he knew Noel would find him later.

Noel breathed slowly.

This wasn't the moment to intervene — Charlotte had full control of the room, guiding them with precision and kindness only she could manage.

But tonight?

Tonight would be different.

He would meet them away from the crowds, away from Orthran, away from Charlotte.

They deserved answers, and Noel needed to make sure they didn't spiral into rebellion or despair.

Noir tilted her head, amused.

'You're planning something reckless again.'

'Not reckless,' Noel replied silently, eyes never leaving the elders. 'Necessary.'

The Cathedral felt charged — not with conflict, but with anticipation. The kind that came before decisions that could change entire nations.

The elders shifted once more, as if steeling themselves for whatever they would ask next.

Charlotte remained calm, serene, ready for any question.

The tension that had hovered like a storm cloud began, slowly, to thin.

Not vanish — not even close — but thin.

Charlotte lowered her hands from the podium, her posture steady, graceful, almost luminous under the high stained-glass light.

"Are there any final questions for today?" she asked.

Silence.

Not the hostile, bristling silence from before.

A contemplative one.

Rhedon exchanged a long look with the elders beside him. The same men who had once walked out on her. The same men who vowed moments ago that they could not accept such sudden changes.

They stepped forward again.

"Saint Charlotte…" he said slowly, "we still have… reservations."

Charlotte nodded softly. "I would expect nothing less. Change born from fear is not change — it's collapse."

Rhedon exhaled, the weight in his chest visible.

"But…" he continued, "for the first time… I believe we might reach an understanding. Given time."

A slight murmur rippled through the other elders.

One added, voice subdued:

"We may not agree… but we will listen."

Another cleared his throat.

"We will not walk away this time."

Charlotte's expression warmed — relief flickering behind her golden eyes, though she kept her composure gentle and calm.

"Then that is enough for today," she said. "Thank you. Truly."

Orthran let out a quiet, tired sigh of relief.

And Noel watched the entire exchange like someone observing an impossible negotiation somehow land on its feet.

'They didn't agree.' But they didn't reject her.

They didn't storm out.

They didn't declare rebellion or doom.

They stayed.

And now… they were even willing to talk more.

Noir whispered in his mind, tail curling lightly:

'That's a victory, Dad.'

Noel allowed himself a faint smile.

"Saint Charlotte," Rhedon said one last time, standing a little straighter, "we will return tomorrow… to hear more. Perhaps… we will find common ground."

Charlotte bowed her head with quiet grace. "I look forward to it."

One by one, the elders departed down the long aisle — slow steps, thoughtful, conflicted… but not closed.

Noel's eyes followed them until the heavy doors swung shut behind their robes.

And inside his mind, a single thought settled like a quiet vow. 'We're going to talk to them tonight, Noir. I want to know what they think about all this, what they don't want to say in front of everyone.'

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