"Oh, correct me if I'm wrong about the name. Isn't that the name your heretic mother gave you? Lightless, isn't it?"
He lowered his face, letting shadow veil his expression.
"Yes. Cardinal." His tone came out flat, carefully controlled.
She tapped his shoulder, not minding the wetness soaking through her habit.
"Good. So... I heard you failed to bring back the F-rank otherworlder."
Light's expression furrowed, just slightly.
"He was not F-rank, Cardinal."
The Cardinal turned to him with theatrical surprise, eyes widening in mock disbelief.
"Oh? Not F-rank? So you fail and suddenly they're not weak." She leaned closer, her breath hot against his ear. "You Inquisitors — because you answer directly to the Pontiff — you think you're untouchable, don't you?"
Light's expression went grim. He kept his face straight, every muscle locked in place while suppressing the rage building behind his ribs like pressure in a sealed vessel.
