• 2493
• Alvise
  I donated that picture to this church.

• 2494
• Vittoria
  Yes, that's it...!

• 2495
• Alvise
  It is a cursed picture, and proof of the great sins that the Orseolo family has committed...
  When our father, Mauricio, died about 10 years ago--I thought about throwing it away and burning it so many times.
  But I could never go through with it.

• 2496
• What question do you want to ask?

• 2497
• What are the great sins the Orseolo family has committed?

• 2498
• Why couldn't you get rid of it?

• 2499
• Alvise
  ...
  If I burned that picture, I would have committed the same sin as our father...
  And I couldn't bear the idea of that.

• 2500
• Vittoria
  Alvise...
  What are these "great sins"...?

• 2501
• Alvise
  ...
  Fine.
  I'll tell you.

• 2502
• Alvise
  ...Twenty years ago, when our father was the diplomat to France--

• 2503
• Alvise
  The French king wanted to control the Italian Peninsula, so he gathered troops and travelled across the Alps, eventually reaching Roman territory.
  Rumours flew that his next target was the northern part that included Venice.

• 2504
• Alvise
  The Venetian Decemviri gave Father secret orders.
  They told him to stop the king of France's Italian expedition at any cost--

• 2505
• Alvise
  The plot Father came up with was the start of everything...

• 2506
• What do you want to do?

• 2507
• Ask about the plot

• 2508
• Hold off on asking for now

• 2509
• Alvise
  ...I'm sorry.
  This story may have no relevance for you.

• 2510
• Alvise
  ...At that time, the royal city of Paris was caught up in an incident involving damning accusatory letters.

• 2511
• Vittoria
  Accusatory letter...?

• 2512
• Alvise
  ...Yes.
  Letters written by Protestants denouncing the misdeeds of the church were posted all over Paris.

• 2513
• Alvise
  Father got the idea of using this to stop the King.

• 2514
• Alvise
  First, he found a pawn in the form of Marie Courbet, the daughter of a poor printer.

• 2515
• Alvise
  He falsely presented her as a noble, and submitted her to be admitted to the palace.
  Once inside, he had her post copies of the letters all over the door of the king's bedroom door.

• 2516
• Alvise
  Of course, the king was furious at this, and ordered the Protestants to be expunged from Paris.
  All of France fell into panic, and as my father had planned, the king could no longer go on his long expedition.

• 2517
• Alvise
  ...But the investigations made by Paris's High Court of Justice were drawing close to my father.
  Even so, he never let down his guard for a moment.
  He had prepared a way for him to escape the investigations...

• 2518
• What do you want to do?

• 2519
• Ask what that way was

• 2520
• Hold off on asking for now

• 2521
• Alvise
  ...Heh.
  It's a truly ugly story, but...
  ...At the time, our father had a mistress in the Paris Court.

• 2522
• Vittoria
  This can't be happening...

• 2523
• Alvise
  Viscountess Margaret Vernier--The model for this picture.
  She was a beautiful, widowed young court lady with impeccable taste in art...
  ...Father even had a child with her.
  Apparently she commissioned this picture in secret just as that child was born.

• 2524
• Vittoria
  ...So, the Christ in this painting is...

• 2525
• Alvise
  ...Yes.
  Julien Clarence.
  He is...our half-brother...

• 2526
• Vittoria
  No way...
  Julien...

• 2527
• Alvise
  ...However, Julien's birth was extremely dangerous for our father.
  If his relationship with a court lady had been made public, he would have been suspected of conspiring with France and relieved of his position.
  ...So, he framed her instead.
  All for this own personal benefit...

• 2528
• Vittoria
  Then...
  You don't mean...

• 2529
• Alvise
  Yes.
  Our father won over a court officer he had always been friendly with, and told him
  "The one who posted those letters in the king's bedroom is Viscountess Vernier."--

• 2530
• Vittoria
  ...!

• 2531
• Alvise
  ...Once he did, the Viscountess was immediately arrested without trial, and burned at the stake.
  She professed her innocence to the very end--
  ...Later on, it was proven that she had in fact been innocent, but the truth was lost to darkness.
  Father acquired this picture, the only proof of his sins, and brought it back home amidst praise and exultations...

• 2532
• Vittoria
  That's horrible...
  I can't believe it...

• 2533
• Alvise
  ...Indeed.
  Our father surely thought that even God himself would never forgive these great sins.
  I did hear that, rather than kill Julien, Father took him to a monastery as an unidentified orphan.
  Even though he knew that this could one day lead to the downfall of our entire family...
  And twenty years later, he appeared before us and is trying to enact his revenge even now.
  ...Accursed blood may truly be an apt word for it...

• 2534
• Vittoria
  ......

• 2535
• Alvise
  Vittoria...
  I want to make sure of something.
  Are you still ready to meet with Julien now that you know the whole story?

• 2536
• Vittoria
  ......

• 2537
• Vittoria
  ...Yes.
  I am.
  Even more so now that I know.
  Especially now that I know we're related.
  I feel that it is imperative that I meet with him...

• 2538
• Alvise
  ...
  ...Yes.
  It is just as you say.
  ...After all, that man...Julien, is our blood.
  If it hadn't been for our foolish bad feelings, we could have been drinking together even now...

• 2539
• Vittoria
  Alvise...

• 2540
• Alvise
  ...I leave the Madonna and Child up to you.
  I'm counting on you to bring back the treasured sword, Vittoria.

• 2541
• Vittoria
  I will.
  I promise.

• 2542
• Messenger
  ...Report from the scout ship! Ships thought to be the Turkish army spotted at 90 northwest in the Legua territory!

• 2543
• Alvise
  Understood.
  We'll head back to Jaffa immediately.

• 2544
• Vittoria
  Please be careful, Alvise...

• 2545
• Alvise
  Mm.
  You two also...

• 2546
• Alvise
  ...Player.
  If Vittoria is ever in danger, I hope you will do your best to protect her.
  This is not an order by a public official; only a request as her brother.
  I'm counting on you...

• 2547
• Vittoria
  Come on, Player, let's head to where Julien is.

• 23189
• The group arrived at the church in Famagusta.
  Standing before the donated holy mother and child picture, Alvise said that this picture was evidence of a great crime committed by the Orseolo family.
  10 years since his father's death, he tried to burn the painting numerous times, but he was unable to do so.
  The painting's relationship to Julien was that about 20 years ago, Alvise's father Maurizio had served at the forefront of a conspiracy.
  At that time, the Venice government feared the King of France's ambitions towards the Italian peninsula, and ordered Maurizio, who was stationed in Paris, to prevent a French invasion.
  At the time, Protestants had flood the capital of Paris with posters denouncing the church of corruption in what was known as the "Accusatory Letters Incident".
  Thinking to use this incident to his advantage, Maurizio sent the daughter of a poor printer to the Court and had her post copies of the letter in the King's bed chamber.

• 23190
• The plan was a success, as the King ordered the Protestants purged from Paris.
  France erupted into chaos, and they were forced to abandon their plans of invasion.
  However, the Paris High Court of Justice sensed that this was a conspiracy and begun an investigation into the matter, which eventually began to close in on Maurizio.
  In order to escape, Maurizio created yet another conspiracy.
  At the time, he was stationed in Paris and was having an affair with the widow of the Viscount of Vernier, the Lady Marguerite.
  Together, they had a son, who would become Julien Clarence.
  The picture of the holy mother and child was painted in secret using the Viscountess and Julien as models.
  From the beginning, the relationship with the Viscountess had been extremely dangerous for Maurizio.
  The reason was that being a lady of the Court, if their relationship was to become public, he would be suspected of conspiring with France and surely replaced.
  Therefore, Maurizio made friends with a court official and told him that the person who had posted the accusatory letters in the King's bedchambers was none other than the wife of the Viscount of Vernier.
  As a result, the widow was arrested, and without being given a fair trial, she was burned at the stake.

• 23191
• And so, Julien, an unwanted child, lost his mother, and having no other relatives, was placed in a monastery.
  Meanwhile, having abandoned both the mother and son, Maurizio took the painting of the holy mother and child that served as evidence of his crimes and went back home to be with his wife and children.
  As he went on to obtain glory and fortune, 20 years later, Julien had appeared before the Orseolo family in order to put an end to the fate that his cursed bloodline had brought him.
  Their deceased father had many sins in his past.
  Vittoria was shocked to learn that Julien was her half-brother.
  Alvise asked Vittoria if she was ready to meet Julien now that she knew the truth.
  After a long silence, Vittoria answered quietly that she was ready because she knew everything.
  Now that she knew the same blood flowed within their veins, she had to meet him.
  Those words resonated deeply within Alvise as he handed the painting of the holy mother and child to Vittoria.
  Just then, one of Alvise's subordinates entered the room.
  Their allied scouting party had spotted a Turkish Army vessel.
  If Vittoria is ever in danger, I hope you will do your best to protect her. Having made the request as her older brother, Alvise went to return to the battle and headed back to Jaffa.