Lucian rode towards the Church of Eternal Light, pushing the horse to its limits. He jumped off the saddle before the horse came to a full stop and ran to the entrance, slamming the large wooden doors open.
He scanned the interior, looking for the person he needed, the High Priest. He spotted him talking to a group of believers in a corner and marched towards him, ignoring the curious glances of the people around him.
"I need to speak with you," Lucian said, looking up at the High Priest's face, his expression grim. "Privately."
The High Priest's eyes lit up with recognition. He quickly excused himself from the believers and eagerly led Lucian to his private office. It was a familiar place for Lucian, as he had visited it many times before to 'donate' to the church's funds.
"What is it that you wish to discuss, my son?" the High Priest welcomed him with a warm smile, glancing at the bundle in his arms.
Lucian circled the man smoothly, revealing a dagger he had hidden in his sleeve, and pressed the cold steel flush against the priest's neck in a split second.
The High Priest's eyes widened in fear, his face turning pale, "My son...what are you doing?"
"Shh," Lucian pressed the blade harder, drawing a thin line of blood on the man's neck. "My son is still sleeping, so I would appreciate it if you keep your voice low and don't wake him up."
The High Priest swallowed hard, feeling the blade against his skin. He nodded slowly, trying to show that he understood and wouldn't cry for help.
"You see, your holliness, I need a blessing for my son." Lucian cradled his son in his arms, keeping him close to his chest, "Could you bless him? Genuinely pray for his well-being, from the bottom of your heart?"
"Of course, my son..." the High Priest muttered, his hands shaking as he raised them to pray, "May the Gods bless this child..."
"Not that one, the real one," Lucian interrupted, pushing the blade further against his neck, "The kind where the more my son suffers, the more your church burns if you're not sincere enough. You know the one, where your life depends on it, please do not forget that detail."
"Y-yes...yes,. I will...I will, my son..." The High Priest closed his eyes and started to pray again, this time more fervently, "Oh, Gods...bless this child with your divine protection...watch over him always...and keep him safe from harm...in the name of the..."
"If my son doesn't wake up with a healthy glow within a minute, I will assume you don't mean it enough," Lucian's threatening tone cut him off again, "I don't want to feed him your drugs this early in his life, you understand?"
The High Priest used to be a hay head too, and probably thought that the child was a hay head in need of medicine, and wanted to replace it with a healthier option.
"Yes, my son...yes, I understand..." the High Priest said, his hands still raised, "May the child wake up soon, healthy and strong─"
In the middle of his prayers, at the pinnacle of his despair, a dagger pierced the priest's throat, making him gag on his own blood. It was fast and unexpected. He didn't even have time to scream before he collapsed onto the floor, his body twitching.
"The debt has been repaid with interest," Lucian pulled his dagger from the High Priest's throat, "Donations from the Glory may continue in the future, if the church proves it's able to repay the favor in kind."
He then cleaned the bloody blade on the priest's robes and placed it back inside his sleeve.
Lucian had tried to use regular people to grant his wish before, but most didn't have the strong willpower necessary to fuel a powerful wish.
It needed to be someone with deep conviction or a strong desire for change. The high priest had been training his whole life for that position, so his conviction should have been among the strongest.
The bundle moved, signalling that his son inside was about to wake up from his slumber.
"Hungry?" Lucian's face softened as he spoke to his child in a gentle voice, "Let's go find you something to eat, shall we?"
He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, closing it behind him.
Lucian would come to deal with it later, once he had taken care of his child and built some alibi for himself. Whoever the shackled priest decided to hurt in the meantime was not his problem. His son came first.
While exiting, Lucian turned toward the altar, wondering if his parents were looking at him from heaven, 'The boy who you tried to teach how to earn money the honest way has grown up to be a criminal. You must be ashamed of me, aren't you?'
He gave them a quick bow and left.
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Lucian needed a wet nurse, and quickly, but not any wet nurse would do.
He moved to his next destination. Afraid of the horse's hooves hurting his child, he called for a Glory carriage with the best shock absorbers before he arrived at the church.
His son was still a newborn, so every precaution was necessary.
The carriage was already waiting for him outside the church, a coachman at the ready.
Lucian climbed inside and gave the driver directions, "Wait until I give you the signal to leave."
He added more hot stones to the heater, which was placed at the bottom of his feet, meant to warm the interior.
He leaned back on the cushioned seat and unwrapped the baby, revealing his small face. His son's eyelids were still closed, and his little fists were balled up. He barely weighed more than a bag of sugar.
Lucian created a nest of blankets and pillows on the seat next to him. His son was too young to have preferences yet, but Lucian hoped he would like the softness of the fabric.
Using warm water from the bottle that his people prepared, he gently wiped the child's face, and the rest of his body.
His son didn't seem to mind being handled by him, his lips parting and closing, as if he was trying to suckle on something in his sleep.
"I'll be quick," Lucian whispered to him, wrapping him in a new blanket, then covering him with the black cloak. He bundled him up and placed him back on his chest.
He made sure the baby was secure before knocking on the carriage's roof. He signaled the driver to go while absorbing any bumps from the road that could make the ride unpleasant.