Everyone turned toward the Empress.

Deep in their hearts, persistent doubts continued to burn. In truth, ever since Ashe slaughtered his way through the rankings and invalidated most of the later lists, they had already vaguely anticipated the possibility of Aine. Having prepared themselves mentally for this outcome meant they could accept it, yet it did not mean they could truly understand it.

No matter how they looked at it, the appearance of Aine violated far too many rules of the Woven Festival. This woven future was utterly chaotic, filled with contradictions and inconsistencies. Mercury calling it a deception was being polite. Deep down, everyone felt the Gospel itself had simply gone mad.

The Empress sat back down on her throne, speaking with calm composure. "Are you all unable to wait for the new Emperor to answer your questions personally? Now that the Woven Festival has ended, Raine can provide you with answers."

She continued smoothly. "First of all, Aine fully meets the requirements for appearing on the rankings. In fact, the Gospel Rankings never restricted the gender of the Gospel's First. It was merely because the position historically belonged to young girls that you developed this misconception. Male figures have held the spot before. Aine is no exception."

Then what about the...