The Saintess and the Villainess

Chapter 33

Eva cautiously approached Ulrich's table, Bernard in tow.

"You should hear some of the stories this man has to tell," said Bernard. "He's seen all the corruption and repression of the nobles first hand, he has."

"You must be the famous cleric," said Ulrich, standing up and offering his hand to Eva.

Eva looked at the hand, and then glared at Bernard. "Famous?"

Bernard held his hands up in a placating gesture. "We only mentioned once or twice that there was a learned cleric helping us out, I swear! No names. No details."

Eva sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Is the office upstairs free?" she asked.

"Yeah, no one much uses it other than you," he said. "I usually just do the sums for the pub ledgers and such in the back room."

"Right," said Eva. "Then I'll talk to you upstairs."

This last statement was directed at Ulrich who did a theatrical sort of who, me? gesture before stepping away from the table to follow Eva, saying a quick goodbye to his companions.

"Do you want me to bring some drinks up for you or anything?" asked Bernard.

"No," snapped Eva. "No one else is to come upstairs until I say so."

"Roger, Sister," said Bernard, with a salute.

The upstairs office was a small, musty room that seemed like it was mostly used for storage. Eva cleared several boxes from off the top of the old desk and dusted the surface with the sleeve of her robe before taking her seat and gesturing for Ulrich to take his.

Sitting behind the desk, in this kind of a situation, thought Ulrich, smiling to himself. An amusingly petty gesture of authority. Not that it matters much. Let her have this.

Ulrich obediently sat opposite Eva. The old wooden chair creaked as he sat, but it didn't seem like it would break under his weight.

"Who the hell are you?" said Eva.

"Thank you," said Ulrich.

"For what?" snapped Eva.

"For respecting me enough to not do your kindly sister of the church act," said Ulrich.

Eva clicked her tongue.

"As for who I am," said Ulrich. "My name is Ulrich Vend. And I'm sure it's already obvious who I work for."

"Hmm," said Eva. "How exactly are you related to her, then?"

"I'm her maternal uncle," said Ulrich. "Although you'd be surprised how many people fail to notice the family resemblance when I'm in my butler uniform. But you know all about how a good uniform can make the casual observer see a role and not a person, don't you?"

Eva narrowed her eyes. "Why would you tell me all this so easily?"

"Because," said Ulrich, leaning forward in his chair. "My niece, your friend, the Bishop, the Emperor... They all live in a world of shine and glitter, where people smile at each other while carrying knives behind their backs. But you and I, we may work in that glittering world, but we live down here in the muck, where the smiling people don't bother hiding the knives. Why not be honest with each other?"

"Fine," said Eva. "Then what is it you want from me?"

"To be your ally!" said Ulrich.

Eva looked at him skeptically.

"I mean it," said Ulrich. "My niece thinks a well-timed word can change the world. And that may well be, but to overthrow an empire you need more than a well-timed word or even a well-placed assassin. You need an army. That's why you came to the capital to look for noble allies in the first place, isn't it?"