The Hierophant and Five of Swords

Doctrine and a hollow victory. The Five of Swords is the figure gathering blades while others walk away. Next to the Hierophant the tradition reads somebody who has won an argument by appealing to the rules, and it is unusually pointed that being right and being correct are not the same thing here.

Associated with winning a disagreement on a technicality. Read as costly regardless of the merits.

A dispute settled by policy or precedent rather than resolved. Frequently read where the outcome is defensible and nobody is satisfied.

The Hierophant supplies the authority the Five of Swords used. If the reading is about vindication, the pair is asking what it bought.