Chapter 161

Albedo sat in the public restaurant, her seat outside was relatively comfortable as far as things went. A simple metal chair with a temporary cushion provided for comfort, the tea they served was passable enough. The food was garbage, but even disguised with magic she was sure no one here could pierce, she still wasn't willing to blow her cover with an outburst about the horrid fare that the Holy Kingdom considered high class.

What interested her more was watching the judge's wife as the doppelganger approached her. They had high charisma by nature, and their passive mind reading let them tailor themselves to their targets. This one had gone a step further, and learned her preferences before deciding on his appearance.

He was her ideal appearance, Albedo covertly targeted the woman. [Aspect of the Succubus], [Lilith's Hunger]. She could smell the woman's arousal within seconds, the judge's wife, a prim looking woman of younger years, honey blonde hair and still supple frame, wore her hair up in a bun. Without really thinking about it, she undid the security of her hair and let it tumble down her back.

The chaste and devoted wife was trying to disguise the fact that she was rubbing her thighs together while the doppelganger agent sat across from her. A few subtle touches, and if Albedo had asked about her husband, 'I doubt she'd even remember his name.' She laughed a little and watched the doppel rise, hold out his hand and whisper down to her.

"Come with me to fulfill your every wish…"

'Faithless humans… have they any idea how to seek any desires but their own?' Albedo asked herself and watched the pair leave. The eighth couple today, next would come the investigators, and more priests. Corrupted by the urges of their illicit lovers, they would sell their integrity for coins to buy the things their lovers wished.

Albedo stood up, left more money on the table than the meal justified. She began to walk down the street, the evening hours were charming enough at least with the moist air that blew in from the distant sea.

The buildings were mostly of wood, but stone structures were not uncommon either, even at a glance Albedo could see that the city was, as human ones went, a thriving one. More notably, they were 'fit' specimens of their race, no doubt a result of their strongly military culture, the enduring threat of the demihumans was never far from their minds here in the north. As a result, a life of readiness for war was the norm.

That at least she found to be a somewhat admirable quality. It was at least enough to make it less repulsive to her than the degenerate Re-Estize Kingdom.

She reached the temple soon enough, the last priest had been caught in a torrid affair and was removed. This one would suffer the same fate eventually. The temple was a large square structure with an angular rooftop, the stone steps led up to double doors of solid oak patterned in the armor clad shapes of the Great Gods. 'Players.' Albedo realized, and by the look of them, if the armor was true to life, not even the highest ranking players.

'Gods… what a joke.' She opened the door and went to the penitent booth. A little investigation revealed the times when the priests would be available, and a little more told her when the head priest would be present.

A merchant man and wife of some significance attended here, both of good name. As many did… Albedo sat in the booth. [Aspect of the Succubus], [Curse Item], [Secret Desires].

At her levels relative to humans, it was extremely unlikely that anyone would ever know anything was amiss, and all that would happen anyway was the pursuit of desires… regardless of the destructive cost.

The priest opened his side, revealing a screen that revealed only the outline of a person on the other side.

Albedo's eyes however, were far better than average. He was a young man, meaning he must have been impressive enough to rise so high before his thirties. He had dark hair and a slender build, but his back was straight and his voice was strong.

"Unburden yourself, the gods forgive all." He said. Out of a mere whim, she chose to put him to the test. 'Let's see how impressive he really is!' She thought, and changed what she was going to say. Albedo's hypnotic voice passed from her lips to his ears.

"Voice of the gods, ear of the gods, there are… so many things I wish to confess to the one I love. He feels astounding guilt over what he did to me. My beloved… he took me in when my father abandoned me, he… became everything to me, sacrificed everything he loved for me, to stay with me and… and my younger siblings. But now…"

"Now?" The priest asked, a deep well of empathy packed into the tiny word.

"Now I want to love no one else but him, he is the man of my dreams, my everything and my all… I want to give myself to him, my body, my innocence, my heart… and yet he holds back. He feels like he's done something wrong, something unforgivable, and even though I can see the want in his eyes, he refuses me. What should I do?"

The priest was quiet.

"Dear child of the gods… there is no sin in desire alone, even the gods had wants, needs, longings. If he has never mistreated you, never manipulated you on purpose into loving only him, then his guilt can only harm you. Help him to understand, you are an adult, a woman making her own choices, and whatever happened before, you know, you understand, and you love him despite it. Help him to understand that you can 'both' be happy, and embrace your desires in pursuit of the happiness that all children of the gods deserve. Only be good to one another, trust one another, rely on one another, and the gods will bless your union. A man so noble that he would care for a child that is not his, and whose greatest guilt is only that she came to love him in ways he did not expect, is a rare man, and a woman who would recognize that value, no less so. Love, be happy, and may you have many, many children."

The curse that Albedo held ready to repeat against the priest on the other side was not unleashed.

The last priest had rambled on about purity, two others at smaller temples condemned her Lord as a manipulator and told her to flee. But this one… got it. Though she couldn't explain about settings, and how his moment of whim was not intended to be expressed as it was, he understood her love for her Master in a way that the others had not. And more than that, he offered a practical solution for how to approach him, to help him end his guilt.

"Evil for evil, good for good." She whispered the words too quietly for the priest to hear, the philosophy of her Master, and she chose not to curse this one. But she would leave no useful tool unpicked up. A foil to the corruption was needed, someone who could pick up the pieces.

"I'm sorry?" He caught the noise of her words, but not what they were.

"Nothing, listener of the gods, I have one more thing however, a thing a good priest should know… what you do with this knowledge I leave to you.

"Yes…?" He asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Corruption spreads like unchecked vines throughout this city, the judges' wives, the judges themselves, the public officials, bribes and skimming are frequent, which pay for the fulfillment of greed and lust. Your predecessor was one of those, but he is not alone. If you want to serve your people well, be prepared for great and terrible hardship to surround you." Albedo warned him.

The priest was silent. "I… I know we've had a great many incidents but-"

"No, priest, you know only of the ones who have been caught. The fools who were sloppy, it is worse than you can begin to imagine. So bad that I venture that you are the last honest man." Albedo said, restraining her corrupt and bedeviling smile. "Good luck to you, priest of the Great Gods, from one of their daughters, and one who would be one of their lovers."

Albedo then stood up, opened the door, and walked out, leaving the priest confused, entranced, and sweating in his booth, fear of tomorrow sinking into his guts that did not abate even long after the penitent booth was reoccupied a dozen more times after her going.