Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

Chapter 38. La Cruz de Santiago.

(From Ingrid)

Shortly after I was born, I was abandoned at an orphanage attended by the church of Enki. I care not for my biological progenitors, my family are the ones who took me in. They cared for me, and taught me everything that I know now. From a very young age, I decided to dedicate my life to return the favor to the church. I studied and trained a lot to become a priestess myself. It was a bit disheartening when I heard my compatibility with the collective was low.

—Do not fear, my child. We can feel the strength of your faith. If you continue praying, you will become one with the rest of us —the nun who was in charge of the orphanage told me once.

—And even if you fail, you can still work as a clerk like me! —Lucius added with a big smile, and I barely avoided the impulse of punching him in the face.

He was also an orphan, just a couple of years older than I was, but he was already helping with the management of the orphanage. He had an even worse compatibility with the collective than I did, so he never got a mask. But he had other talents that made him useful to the church, despite his carefree and annoying personality.

By the time I became an adult, I was able to receive and transmit my thoughts to the collective, albeit with some effort. I also learned how to use holy magic, though only the most basic prayers and incantations. Still, that was enough to be able to receive a mask. But to my surprise they appointed me to train to become a holy knight. I had learned how to use a sword, but only because I thought knowing self defense would be useful if I was posted at a remote orphanage. Still, that was the will of Enki, so I accepted it. I started to train more rigorously under the guidance of the knight's instructor at the Cathedral,, but despite their best efforts, I was a slow learner. Still, I had faith in the path that had been laid for me.

Then, the Curse of Calliope fell upon these lands. We knew of it, of course, our knowledge was better kept within the memories of the collective. And we knew of its true name; Lilith's Wrath. We knew how to save everyone, but at that moment, there was little we could do against the poison of Tiamat's first spawn. It had been centuries since the last saintess had appeared, and we also were unaware of the location of the seed of the world's tree. A great commotion happened when we heard that the Dragonroot's witch, the latest heir of Lilith's blood, had the seed all along. We were even more confused when she voluntarily gave it away to the royal family.

—She must be planning something —most of my brothers and sisters thought, and I agreed.

When it was announced she also knew a few locations where the saintess could be, her true intentions became pretty clear to all of us. She was clearly using her ancestor's poison to take advantage of the crisis it would cause, and capture the saintess during the confusion. Our elders told us to not act impulsively and to not to jump to conclusions, but they did act to counter her actions, volunteering some of our own to help in the search for the young saintess. We wouldn't let her fall into her hands!

—Hey, Ingrid, long time no see, how have you been doing? —Lucius said while I was eating my lunch. We have seen each other in the hallways of the cathedral, but it had been years since we had talked, almost as long since we left the orphanage. It was almost nostalgic. Almost.

—What do you want?

—Well, you see, I have been working at the Academy, where they are treating the Curse of Calliope. I have become acquainted with the person in charge, Doctor Maxwell Conrad.

—So I have heard —I replied, not really interested. I have heard from him as well. The rest of the church had a good image of him, but his closeness with the witch was suspicious. I couldn't help but think she was manipulating him, and therefore, the whole operation to deal with the curse and finding the saintess.