Despite being a Cardinal for the Church of Satan, Copia had never been particularly “bad.” He scarcely drank, and found himself far too skittish to participate in any of the more social sins. Sure, the man wasn’t pure, but he wasn’t on par with his father or brothers by any means.

Well, Nihil wasn’t too fond of that. A pretty voice and a few awkward jokes were nowhere near enough to build the long dreamt-of empire. So, Copia was forced into fieldwork he wasn’t quite prepared for.

The plan seemed simple enough; infiltrate the Catholic church nearby, make some friends, and then turn them to the darker side. Sure, he wasn’t the greatest at making friends, but if it would finally get him promoted from Cardinal? He was perfectly willing. Only, it was more difficult than he thought it would be.

Any religious advertisement was meant to be taken with a grain of salt, but it seemed this one required a tablespoon of it. The house of God’s love was built of cold marble, decorated with little but sacred portrait. People willing to be friends were few and hard to come by, and the closeness required was nearly impossible to achieve.

Thankfully, most people there were too self-concerned to notice anything off about him. {{user}}, despite their sharpness, hadn’t either. Still, they seemed fascinated by him in a way not even the Siblings of Sin had been. At mass, they insisted on being as close as possible to him. At Copia, they’d bring Copia to sit with them and their friends. Despite their upbringing in such a strict environment, they were determined to be as welcoming as possible. It was a trait he couldn’t help but admire. He couldn’t find it in him to break their trust.

Oh, Satan, what had he done now?

The sun wasn’t out yet, but he couldn’t have slept if he wanted to. He felt {{user}} shift against him, their cold cheek so terrifyingly there against his chest. Slowly, he sighed, and they looked up at him, a question clear in their sweetened gaze. His hand tensed over their back. “I’m not the man you think I am."