Rose Garden: Chapter 20

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southern rose

Churin descended to the mortal world in winter, and everything around him was pure white. The gently sloping hills and even the distant mountain ranges were all buried beneath a thick blanket of snow.

The wind swept across the landscape with a sharp sound, stirring up the fallen snow into swirling gusts. The branches of the Lulga trees, now stripped bare of their leaves and left with only their black, skeletal limbs, bent and groaned under the force of the wind.

No matter how fiercely the wind blew, Churin felt none of its chill. A transparent membrane surrounded him, shielding him completely from the cold of the snow and wind.

Wrapped in that invisible barrier, he stepped into the garden of the house where the angel had once lived. What had once been a surrounding wall had mostly crumbled away; it was impossible to tell where the property line began or ended.

It was a tiny home, only just enough for perhaps three or four people to live in. Old, with parts of the roof collapsed, allowing snow to pile inside the rooms. The front door hung open limply, swinging outward as if abandoned mid-motion.

Traces of both angelic and demonic presence lingered faintly in the air around the house. But they were no more than lingering scents and judging by the state of the house, no one had lived there for quite some time. Then again, Churin hadn’t expected to find anyone here to begin with.

“Knew it,” he muttered.

With a soft kick, he sent a clump of snow tumbling, then perched on the crumbled wall, now no more than a low ridge. From here, he’d have to track down the fallen angel by following the faint traces that remained.

…It had all begun not long ago, with a once-in-heaven kind of incident.

A soul bearing angelic wings had broken through the gates of the Celestial Realm. The soul had tried to ascend to Heaven itself but was apprehended by a gatekeeper angel before it could succeed.

The captured soul was taken straight to the great hall of the castle where all the angels of Heaven were gathered, and a public trial was held. The front of the hall rose one level higher than the rest, and at its center sat the Archangel Agatha, her attendant Pepin standing quietly behind her. On either side of Agatha, two high-ranking angels stood in solemn formation, while a row of judicial angels in immaculate white robes stood on the tier below.

The soul had been locked in a large birdcage and suspended from the ceiling of the hall, its stained glass mosaics casting colored light over everything like a spectacle. Even from the back row where the lower angels sat, Churin had a clear view of the proceedings.

The soul, a soft cream-colored glow, gave its name: Claudia. But that was all. No matter how insistently the judicial angels questioned her, Why did she have angel wings? What was her purpose in coming to the Celestial Realm? Claudia said nothing more. Her wings quivered faintly, and all she did was tremble in fear.

When the angels who kept the celestial records announced that Claudia had been a courtesan, slowly poisoned over time, the hall erupted into hushed commotion. A woman whose life had defied the teachings of God should never have been welcomed by angels. Upon death, her soul should have been devoured by demons such was the natural order.

“Who gave you those angel wings?” The voice of a judicial angel rang through the chamber, laced with irritation.

In a whisper, Claudia pleaded, “Please… just cast me into Hell.”

A high-ranking angel spoke up. “This soul should be sent to Hell immediately.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s for the best.”

Others voiced agreement but Agatha raised her hand and gently chided them. “If we do that, what would be the point of a trial?”

“I found the wings.”

At last, Claudia spoke again.

A high-ranking angel scoffed. “A disembodied soul couldn’t just pick up wings.”

Laughter, hushed and derisive, spread like ripples across the chamber.

“Maybe a demon gave them to her.”

“Yes. A demon gave me the wings.”

The hall fell abruptly silent.

Even from his seat far in the back, Churin felt a shiver down his spine.

A demon…?

This soul had made a pact with one of them. Such a thing was unforgivable. And yet this corrupted soul had tried to enter Heaven.

“I didn’t want to be cast into Hell,” Claudia said, trembling. “So while I was still alive, I bought angel wings from a demon. I asked him to attach them to me when I died, so I could fly upward. It was… it was really expensive.”

The angels in the great hall recoiled all at once, each instinctively stepping back as if to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the defiled soul. In that moment, Churin had never been more grateful to be a low-ranking angel because he was the one sitting closest to the exit.

While everyone else faltered in fear, Archangel Agatha stood with effortless grace. Her wings larger and more radiant than any other quivered with a subtle tremor. Ignoring Pepin and the high angels as they tried to stop her, she gently took flight and floated toward the soul who had made a pact with a demon. Every angel held their breath, eyes fixed on Agatha’s every move.

“…She’s going to erase that soul,” someone murmured.

It was Viero, the angel seated beside Churin, whispering under his breath.

“Erase? What do you mean by that?” Churin asked.

Viero narrowed his eyes, as if surprised he didn’t already know.

“Oh right. You’ve only been of age for what, six months? Then I guess it’s not surprising. An archangel of Agatha’s rank can not only destroy demons and monsters, but also obliterate corrupted souls. I’ve never actually seen it happen myself, though.”

Half in awe and half in morbid anticipation, Churin waited breathlessly for the moment that the tainted soul would be annihilated. But Agatha simply gazed at the trembling Claudia and asked in a gentle voice:

“Why are you lying?”

“I’m not lying,” Claudia replied, her voice small but steady.

“Then let me ask differently. Who are you protecting?”

Silence fell again.

“…Those wings,” Agatha said quietly. “They belonged to Kyle, didn’t they?”

At her words, the entire hall erupted.

“Kyle?!”

“She’s saying those wings came from the fallen angel Kyle?!”

“That failure of a lower angel?”

“Kyle was a disgrace to us all.”

Churin listened to the name being thrown around Kyle but it meant nothing to him. He had never heard it before.

“Stop it!” Claudia cried out.

“I got them from a demon, I told you. I don’t know whose wings they are.”

Agatha shook her head slowly.

“There’s no mistaking them. They’re Kyle’s. Even if you deny it, I know those wings. He was at my side for years. I want to know why are you wearing Kyle’s wings, and what happened to him?”

A long silence followed. Then, in a voice barely more than a whisper, Claudia asked:

“If I tell you… what will happen to Kyle?”

“Would he be punished for trying to send a corrupted soul like me to Heaven?”

“There will be no punishment,” Agatha said with a soft smile. “Kyle gave up being an angel. He’s a fallen angel now. A fallen angel can never return to the Celestial Realm, and we no longer have any ties to him. We don’t interfere, and we don’t judge. Kyle is no longer one of us and so, there is no punishment waiting for him.”

“…Really?”

“Do you doubt the word of an angel?”

The cream-colored soul flushed slightly, as if blushing in shame.

“I was a prostitute. I knew I could never go to Heaven. But my little sister and parents, they died before me, and I… I just wanted to see them again. I had to. So Kyle… Kyle cut off his own wings and gave them to me.”

A cry rang out from somewhere in the center of the hall, followed by the thud of an angel collapsing in shock. Churin didn’t faint, but his stomach turned and he instinctively raised a hand to his mouth.

An angel cutting off their own wings.

He had heard of it before: that to lose one's wings was to lose all power as an angel, becoming easy prey for demons and beasts. A wingless angel couldn’t survive on Earth. To cast off one’s wings was to choose death.

And yet Kyle had done it.

Why? What could possibly have driven him to such an act?

“Kyle did nothing wrong. It was all my fault,” Claudia pleaded, even as the trial neared its end. Right up until the final moments, the stained soul clung desperately to her truth.

The sinful soul of Claudia had kept crying out desperately until the very end of the public trial. The moment the trial concluded and they stepped out of the grand hall, the angels around them immediately began to speak of Kyle.

"Churin."

A tap on the shoulder made Churin turn around to find Mairi, who had graduated from the academy around the same time, standing there. With blond hair and blue eyes, Mairi was a friend with striking good looks.

"That public trial was amazing, wasn’t it?"

Mairi spoke with barely contained excitement.

"I’ve never seen a tainted soul before. We’re always sent to escort souls that are pure and upright those bound for the celestial realm."

"Yeah," Churin replied, recalling the voice of the tainted soul, which had sounded almost like a scream.

"A soul like that really can lie without flinching, huh? It’s terrifying."

Mairi gave a little shudder, seemingly in reaction to her own words.

"Oh, right guess what? I’m getting promoted to a higher angelic rank."

Churin was taken aback. Mairi narrowed her eyes proudly.

"My gift is being loved by the sun, so I can control sunlight freely. But it turns out I’m loved by the clouds too. I still have a lot to learn in that area, and I can only make it drizzle a little, but now that I’ve been recognized as having two powers, they bumped up my rank."

They were born in the same period and had graduated from the early education academy together. And yet already, a gap was forming between them. Churin understood it was only natural and offered a congratulatory "That’s great," but inside, his feelings were tangled.

Angels lived for about a thousand years, give or take. Those born from eggs became adults in fifty years, after which their physical growth stopped. Churin had only just passed his fiftieth birthday still young and had just graduated from the academy where child angels were raised.

"Anyway, I have to get going. This afternoon I’m descending to the lower world with one of the mentor angels, so I need to prepare."

Mairi slipped smoothly through the crowd of angels ahead. It must’ve been her third time descending to the human realm. Churin had only gone once. And even then, he hadn’t made any major mistakes, yet his next turn never seemed to come. Watching someone his age move ahead, further and further on their own, made Churin feel left behind, and restless.

When he stepped out of the angelic citadel, he saw his mentor angel, Gemma distinguished by her silver hair speaking with a brunette angel Churin didn’t recognize. They stood near the edge of the beautiful rose garden beside the gate.

"Kyle. Even after falling, he keeps dragging trouble back into the celestial realm."

Gemma responded to the brunette’s words with a slow nod.

"I still can’t believe someone so lacking in ability was Lady Agatha’s attendant. I thought he was mad when I heard he’d been living with demons. But now he’s gone and given his own wings to a tainted soul? That’s just insanity."

Noticing Churin’s presence, Gemma gave the brunette angel a meaningful look. The other angel gave an awkward farewell “Well, see you” and walked off through the gate.

"Let’s go home, Churin."

With Gemma leading, Churin followed her through the gate.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation," Churin apologized.

Gemma chuckled.

"No, actually, you saved me. That was just a bit of grumbling."

"I overheard a little... Is that Kyle angel really so incompetent?"

"Honestly, he wasn’t very capable. But he was incredibly beautiful."

"Do you think it was his beauty that made the demon fall for him?"

Gemma gave a troubled expression and replied vaguely, "Hmm… who knows."

"I’m not really a fan of gossip," she added. "And Kyle’s a fallen angel now, so I think we’ve said enough about him, don’t you?"

Spoken that way, there was no room to ask further. So Churin changed the subject.

“When do you think I’ll next be allowed to go down to Earth to collect a soul?”

Churin tilted his head as he asked.

“You’re that eager to do a pickup?” Gemma replied with a chuckle.

“Well… soul retrieval is an angel’s job. And besides, I heard Mairi’s already gone three times…”

“Mairi’s mentor has her own way of doing things. And I have mine,” Gemma said gently. “I don’t think there’s any need to rush. Rather than heading down blindly, you should focus on refining your abilities here in the heavens while you can.”

Though Gemma offered the advice with kindness, Churin couldn’t shake the thought that he alone had fewer retrieval missions than everyone else. He also couldn’t stop worrying about the fact that he only possessed a single ability.

◇:-:◆:-:◇

Some time after the public trial, Churin received word from Gemma: “Lady Agatha wishes to see you.” Mairi had whispered, “Maybe you’ll get to serve as Lady Agatha’s personal attendant,” and the thought had Churin positively elated. Lady Agatha was known to choose her attendants regardless of rank—that was how even the notorious Kyle had once served her.

On the appointed day, Churin carefully combed his straight, silver hair and studied his own face in the mirror over and over, peering into his green eyes. Every angel was born with a beautiful face, a gift that had nothing to do with ability and everything to do with God’s whim. Even from afar, Lady Agatha shone so brightly she seemed to radiate light. Pepin, always at her side, was the same. Churin kept asking his reflection whether he was truly attractive enough to stand beside the two of them, though of course no answer ever came.

Gemma had other matters she couldn’t avoid, so Churin went alone to Lady Agatha’s office. The room was vast, with a high ceiling, and sunlight poured in through the windows. Seated in a chair with her back to the light, Lady Agatha looked like a divine presence bathed in blessing simply being there made her seem sacred.

Her eyes, a vivid blue like the depths of the ocean, fixed on Churin.

“Sorry for summoning you so suddenly,” she said.

“Oh, not at all… It’s an honor just to be granted an audience with the great archangel Agatha, especially for someone like me who’s only just reached adulthood.”

His nerves made his voice tremble. Lady Agatha smiled. It made him feel painfully self-conscious, as though she were laughing at his inexperience, and his cheeks flushed with heat.

“By the way, Churin,” she continued, “Gemma told me something interesting. She says you’re very skilled at erasing your angelic presence.”

“Oh yes, I suppose. But I still have a long way to go with my other abilities…”

Churin was an angel beloved by the air. So deeply beloved, in fact, that he could meld into it, erasing all trace of his angelic aura. Conversely, he could also sense even the faintest trace of other angels’ presences. It was a rare gift but in the heavens, it had little use. Humans couldn’t detect an angel’s presence to begin with, and the only real application for the ability was hiding from demons or monsters.

“I have a favor to ask of someone with a power as unique as yours.”

A request from none other than the archangel Agatha herself. Churin swallowed hard.

“If there’s anything I can do, please say the word.”

“I’d like you to use that ability of yours to erase your presence and search for the fallen angel Kyle… without letting him notice you.”

Churin blinked several times, unable to process what he’d just heard. He hadn’t expected that at all.

“Fallen angel Kyle…?”

Lady Agatha nodded gravely.

“You’re beloved by the air surely you could send a feathered message down from Earth. If you find Kyle, I want you to report his condition to me.”

“Um… Is he even alive? I’ve heard that angels who’ve had their wings ripped off are often devoured by monsters or demons…”

“That’s just it,” Lady Agatha said, brushing her fingers through her golden hair.

“Long ago, Kyle had his wings devoured by a demon. But even after that, he managed to survive for nearly a hundred years under that demon’s care. It’s possible the demon is involved in this incident as well. If that’s the case, then the chances of Kyle being alive are high.”

But was there truly any need to search for a corrupted angel, a fallen one who had chosen to remain with a demon? Churin wanted to ask, but the fear of opposing Lady Agatha kept the question sealed in his throat.

“I want to know how Kyle is doing... and I thought I’d return that to him. Pepin, would you bring it here?”

The brunette-haired angel who always stayed at Lady Agatha’s side gave a small bow and quietly exited the room. He returned holding two wings in his hands.

“They’re Kyle’s wings.”

Just as Churin had suspected.

“Then… was that sinful soul cast into Hell?”

To Churin’s question, Lady Agatha shook her head.

“She was a soul deemed beloved by God. There was no reason to send her to Hell.”

Churin was stunned. Lady Agatha had sent that tainted soul to Heaven. Even though she had worked as a prostitute, betraying the teachings of God, she had acted on her own, would she not be scolded by God for it? The thought worried him, even though it wasn’t his concern.

Lady Agatha reached out and lightly touched the wings Pepin held. At her touch, they shrank down, curling in on themselves until they were small enough to fit into the palm of a hand.

“I’ve made them small so you can carry them easily. If you touch the wings and say ‘Open,’ they’ll return to their original size. But once they’ve expanded, you won’t be able to shrink them again with your abilities, so be careful.”

Churin received Kyle’s wing with both hands.

“So I’m to descend to the earth, search for the fallen angel Kyle, and return these wings to him?”

“Before that, I want you to report on his condition.”

“What if Kyle is already dead?”

“If you’ve searched the whole world and still can’t find him, then come back. Once before, I assumed Kyle had died and forgot about his existence for a hundred years. It seems he suffered greatly during that time. I don’t want to put him through that again.”

The following day, Churin descended to Earth with the fallen angel’s wings in hand. It was the dead of winter, bitterly cold. Snow blanketed the place where the two had once lived. Wherever the fallen angel Kyle’s presence lingered, there was always the presence of the demon as well. They had apparently been apart for a time, but now it seemed they were moving together again.

Though Churin was honored to receive a direct order from Lady Agatha, the task itself didn’t feel noble in the slightest. Lady Agatha had insisted that only three people, Pepin, his tutor Gemma, and Churin himself were to know of this mission. She had explicitly told them not to breathe a word to any other angels. Even without being told, Churin had no intention of revealing such a shameful task of searching for a fallen angel to anyone.

◇:-:◆:-:◇

After lingering around the demon’s house for a while, Churin erased all traces of his angelic presence. He wanted to take to the sky and search from above, but Kyle’s presence had grown so faint that flying would only make it easier to lose him. He had no choice but to follow his trail on foot. And since there was always a demon’s presence near an angel now, it made his stomach churn with disgust.

Once his angelic aura was concealed, his form became visible to human eyes. He changed into the plain traveler’s clothing he had prepared in advance, but quickly realized that, despite it being winter, his outfit was quite light. Angels, by nature, did not feel heat or cold. And in Churin’s case, the air itself loved him, shielding him from even the wind. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should be more cautious, but eventually decided that no one would pay attention to him anyway. So he simply started walking, slowly.

Within half a day, he was already exhausted. He had followed Kyle’s faint trail to a small village by a lakeshore and circled through it three times, only to realize Kyle had already left the area. It had been a wasted effort.

Kyle’s presence led south, down the road stretching beyond the village. If he kept searching at this pace, it could take hundreds of years to find him. The thought that while his fellow angels were steadily advancing in rank and taking on noble tasks, he alone was crawling across the earth searching for a fallen angel, made his heart sink.

As the sun began to set, he decided to rest on the branch of a tree at the edge of the village. The tree radiated a strong trace of angelic presence, it felt comforting. Perhaps Kyle had once rested here, before he lost his wings.

It was a frightening place, near the forest of monsters, but monsters couldn’t approach angels. Demons, on the other hand, could be a problem. He glanced around. While he could sense some monsters, there was no sign of any demonic presence. Gemma had always warned him to avoid resting anywhere demons might appear but there were few demons powerful enough to truly threaten an angel. More than anything, he just didn’t want to move anymore. Concealing his aura had drained more energy than he expected.

Returning to his angelic form, he floated gently up to a large tree branch. He lay down and closed his eyes. Even with the monster forest nearby, the air around him remained pure, untouched by malice, thanks to the love the atmosphere held for him.

He was dozing lightly when the whisper of the air made him furrow his brows. He wanted to sleep just a little longer, but something was disturbing him. It was as if the air itself was telling him to wake up. In the next moment, while still foggy with sleep, a stomach-turning stench hit his nose and a searing pain ripped through his right wing.

“AaaAAAAAHHH!!”

He struggled, only for both his hands to be pinned down by an overwhelming force. The pain surged through his wing again.

“EeeEEEK!!”

Thrashing his left wing blindly, he managed to break free from the grip. He tumbled down from the branch and landed in the snow-covered ground with a soft thud. His right wing hurt so badly it felt like it was burning.

Still not fully understanding what had happened, he looked up and saw a large, black silhouette perched in the tree above.

‘…After hundreds of years of slumber, I wake to find such a delicious morsel waiting.’

The shadow, silhouetted against the moonlight, had enormous black wings, sharp horns, and a lizard’s tail. It looked exactly like the illustrations of demons he had studied at the academy as a child.

His body began to shake uncontrollably. This demon was terrifying. And strong. He could feel it instinctively.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he tried to fly. But he couldn’t. His body tilted awkwardly and he crashed into the snow again. Rising into the air once more, he caught a glimpse of his shadow on the snow—his right wing was only half its size. No matter how hard he flapped, he wouldn’t be able to fly properly now.

Then, above him, the moon was suddenly obscured. He thought perhaps a cloud had passed by, but a vile stench wrapped around him again, and a voice descended from above. "Don’t think you can escape me."

With those cursed words, both of Churin’s wings were seized. He was lifted high into the air, higher and higher, the pale snowfield growing distant beneath him.

“Heh… haha…”

The demon laughed and with that, suddenly bit down hard on Churin’s remaining right wing.

“Gyaaaaahhhh!!”

He was being eaten, devoured by a demon. Churin thrashed in agony, and the demon’s grip slipped. The angel, now left with only one wing, spiraled out of control and plummeted back to earth, landing with a soft thud in the snow. As he raised his snow-covered face, a dark, terrifying shadow loomed over him.

The demon let out a triumphant laugh. Though his form was built from the very essence of darkness, his face, illuminated by moonlight, was a twisted sort of beauty.

“You’re going to die anyway. Don’t make me waste my time.”

The demon’s voice rang out with merciless cruelty.

“W-Who are you!?”

The demon narrowed his long, slanted eyes with a smirk.

“Me? I’m Kesba, fifteenth son of the Demon King. Now, foolish angel… quietly let me devour you. Or would you prefer to be defiled first?”

(TN: in case you forgot, Kesba is Warren's father.)

Churin was stunned. A direct descendant of the Demon King, it was no wonder he was so powerful. There was no way a low-ranking angel like him could stand a chance. I don’t want to die, he thought. Dying for something so meaningless, like a mission to find a fallen angel, this can’t be how it ends. And to be violated by a demon on top of it that would be the worst fate imaginable.

“…So that’s it. You’d rather be defiled first. Filthy little angel.”

Though Churin had said nothing, the demon decided on his own and climbed on top of the angel, who had collapsed into the snow.

“No… no…!”

The demon’s fingers clawed at Churin’s waist. Even as his pants were stripped away, he didn’t understand what the demon meant to do.

Then, suddenly, something foreign forced its way inside him.

“Hi-iiiiiiih!!”

He screamed. There was no pain, but the sensation of being penetrated was revolting.

“…You must be newly born. Even the flesh here is still soft.”

As the demon moved, Churin’s hips were rocked in rhythm.

“Feel it. Feel it, you depraved little angel. The more an angel feels it, the more delicious their flesh becomes.”

His hips were thrust into violently. Churin cried. Angels were meant to remain pure except during mating season, and yet here he was, being defiled by a demon. He was being tainted. Violated and all the while, going to be eaten.

He regretted stopping to rest near the forest of monsters. If he’d stayed near the church, demons this powerful couldn’t have come close. I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die… But a bird with its wings torn off can only be devoured.

If his wings hadn’t been eaten, he might have escaped. If he’d flown with all his strength and made it into the church

Wings… wings… if only he had wings…

There was no time left to hesitate. Churin reached into the inner pocket of his coat and drew out one of Kyle’s wings. Clutching the wing tightly in his right hand, he reached back toward his own shoulder and whispered: “Open.”

"Uwaaaaah!"

With a powerful reaction from the wings spreading open having returned to their full size the demon that had been pressing down on him was thrown backward. Their connection was severed. Churin attached the opened wings to his back, and in a frenzy, took flight, heading straight for the church.

"Wait!"

The demon chased after him. Churin was desperate, he flew with all his might and clung to the cross on the church's rooftop.

The demon couldn’t approach the church. It circled furiously in the air, baring its fangs and screaming to intimidate him, but eventually gave up and flew off in the direction of the forest. Even after it had vanished from view, Churin couldn’t bring himself to let go of the cross.

He thought he was going to die no, he had been on the verge of death. Had he not escaped by flying, he would have been violated and then devoured by the demon, a disgraceful death for an angel. Something slid down between his legs. Realizing it was the foul symbol of the demon’s lust, Churin was overcome with grief at having been defiled, and tears streamed down his face without end.

To be tainted by a demon, and then even if it was to escape to wear the wings of a fallen angel on his own back… It was utterly unheard of. Unforgivable. Completely unforgivable…

He didn’t want to stay in the lower world anymore. He wanted to return to Heaven as soon as possible. And to do that, he would have to confess to Lady Agatha what had happened. But he had only himself to blame for letting his guard down and resting too close to the forest. She would scold him. He deserved it.

It was outrageous that he’d gone through all of this for a meaningless mission to search for a fallen angel. To suffer this humiliation, only to be mocked by the other angels. Even if he hadn’t wanted it, he’d been defiled by a demon. They would whisper behind his back, sneering at the soiled angel who lay with a monster.

He was only fifty-one years old, and already, all he could see ahead was despair. That despair spread through the air around the church, blanketing the building, and all who came to pray wore heavy expressions, their spirits weighed down.

...Maybe it was better if he said nothing. If no one knew what had happened between him and the demon, no one could blame him. Yes, he would keep quiet until someone asked. His body hadn’t changed from the encounter. Surely no one would notice. And silence wasn’t a sin—not if he told no lies.

But what about the wings...? The fallen angel Kyle’s wings, which he was supposed to return... Lady Agatha knew they belonged to Kyle. If he showed up in Heaven wearing them, she would surely notice something was off.

Then... maybe the answer was to make Lady Agatha believe Kyle no longer deserved to have the wings returned. If he reported that Kyle was unworthy of angelic wings, they wouldn’t be given back.

Wings that weren’t returned would be deemed useless. And if, after that decision had already been made, he explained that he’d been attacked by a demon and happened to be carrying the wings and used them to escape, perhaps Lady Agatha—and the other angels—would forgive him. If the wings weren’t going to be used anyway...

At last, a ray of hope. Surely, he could return to Heaven without blame. It all hinged on how he reported what had happened... or so he thought.

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