Chapter 208: Am I the Saint?-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 208: Am I the Saint?-1
Rain fell. It was a sudden downpour in the heart of late autumn.
The raindrops, which had begun by wetting the ground one or two at a time, soon began to lash the earth as if throwing a tantrum at the unyielding ground, bringing along every distant relative they had.
With the harvest fast approaching, the people were thrown into a frenzy. Some crops had been gathered in advance, but the majority were now at risk of being returned to the earth.
Despite the torrential rain, farmers rushed to the wheat fields, desperate to save even a meager yield.
The rain continued like that for two days, and by the third, there was still no sign of it letting up.
Due to the unprecedented rainfall, all official events were canceled. Aside from the morning service, the members of the Church headquarters devoted themselves to their individual spiritual disciplines.
With his schedule cleared, the Saint remained holed up in his room.
People found it strange that a man who had been so active recently would suddenly refuse to leave his quarters, but they soon convinced themselves that the Saint must have some profound purpose in mind.
In truth, the Saint had no purpose at all. He simply stared out the window with hollow eyes.
The Saint who used to sip tea prepared by his attendants and scribble mysterious characters was nowhere to be found.
His eyes, devoid of even a single spark of light, resembled the dark clouds that blanketed the sky without a single gap.
They were alike in the sense that no brightness existed within either of them.
In the estimation of Maria, who served by his side, the Saint appeared to be suffering from a massive shock.
"Sister Maria, a letter has arrived."
The sudden summons came while she was busy reproaching herself for her 'obscene behavior.'
Maria asked the Saint for his understanding and headed to the reception room. The Saint merely watched her leave for no particular reason.
It didn't take long for Maria to return from the reception room.
The facility wasn't far to begin with, and Maria, clutching the letter, had forgotten all etiquette and come sprinting down the hallway.
As a result, her heavy chest heaved violently up and down.
Gasping for breath, Maria showed the letter to the Saint.
The Saint looked at her with a face that asked what it was, and only then did Maria remember that the Saint could not read.
"Haa... Hooo..."
Maria took another breath to steady herself before opening the letter to read it.
Her green eyes scanned the parchment rapidly.
"Sister Maria, what is the letter about?"
"It’s a letter regarding Antonio’s whereabouts, which you asked about last time."
"I see."
When the Saint responded listlessly, Maria tilted her head in confusion.
Was he not the one who had been more interested in Antonio than anyone else?
Suppressing the urge to question him immediately, Maria finished reading the rest of the letter.
"……."
Maria’s face, which had been light as she started reading, gradually hardened.
As the Saint watched the scene with indifference, a look of doubt slowly began to surface on his face as well.
"Saint..."
Having finished the letter, Maria looked at the Saint, her lips trembling.
*
The rain was still falling. Late at night, the Saint sat alone in his darkened room, staring out the window.
It was a night where the moon was hidden behind rain clouds. It was just like the night he had once boldly ventured out on a nocturnal stroll.
The Saint’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the table.
He was thinking, and he was also urging himself on.
It was his own way of acting to ensure his lethargic self could find strength again.
For a short while, his eyes flickered back and forth between the window and the bed.
He was hesitating.
"Sigh..."
Eventually, he let out a long sigh and covered his face with his hands.
Lethargy was steeped in his very breath.
After killing time for a long while, he stood up.
His footsteps led him not to the bed, but to the wardrobe.
Inside the wardrobe was a moderately tailored priest’s robe.
The Saint put it on. Then, he used a leftover piece of cloth to wrap around his face.
The rain was still falling. It was the heaviest rain of the year.
Surrendering his body to the downpour, the Saint vanished into the darkness.
*
It was a path he had seen while passing by in a carriage, but walking it on human legs made the distance feel doubled.
Still, thankful that it was a downhill path, the Saint made his way down to the village.
The fact that the rain obscured his vision turned out to be a blessing. Thanks to that, he was able to avoid the eyes of the guards even with his unpracticed movements.
The Saint kept pulling up his rain-soaked clothes, which were constantly dragging downward.
"The second floor of the fourth house past the bridge."
To avoid forgetting what he had heard from Maria, the Saint constantly repeated the address to himself.
After walking for a long time, he reached the village, and the square was empty.
Indeed, anyone wandering around in this rain would have looked even more suspicious.
"The second floor of the fourth house past the bridge."
The Saint’s eyes scanned the square.
Beyond the direction where he had seen the beggars being pushed away while returning from Madini Village, a bridge was faintly visible.
The Saint hurried his heavy body along.
Under the bridge, there were a few homeless people trying to start a fire with wet branches.
Watching them struggle to avoid the rain, the Saint crossed the bridge.
The fourth house past the bridge was difficult to even call a house.
Dilapidated and utterly unmaintained, it took the form of a villa where several people lived together.
As luck would have it, the stairs were built on the exterior, forcing the Saint to climb to the second floor while being lashed by the wind and rain.
The Saint stood in silence for a moment before a rotting wooden door.
In place of his silence, the rain hammered against the ground, creating a cacophony of sound.
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door with his hand.
*
Lying in bed, Maria could not easily fall asleep.
She lay there aimlessly staring at the ceiling and reciting scripture verses in her mind before sitting up again.
A lingering sense of unease remained in her heart.
The Saint’s eyes, which recently had seemed to hold no lingering attachment to the world, had changed after hearing the news about Antonio.
If they had changed for the better, Maria would have been delighted, but since that wasn't the case, she felt troubled.
Maria recalled her conversation with the Saint.
It could hardly be called a conversation. It was mostly her reciting the contents of the letter one-sidedly.
"I am told Antonio’s family is currently in Solchio Village."
Solchio Village. It was the name of a village attached to the Order.
"It seems... they came straight here from Albainin Village."
"Why...?"
The Saint’s dull voice demanded more detail.
"It is written that the people of Albainin Village ostracized Antonio’s family. The reason being..."
"It is because of Antonio’s dismissal."
"Being dismissed means one has committed a sin, so it was only natural for the other villagers to shun them," Maria added.
"Dismissal? I thought he returned to his hometown because he couldn't adjust?" the Saint said, as if he didn't understand.
Maria bit her inner lip and lowered her eyes.
She looked as though she were contemplating what to say.
"Yes. It was a dismissal. A dismissal is... a punishment handed down when a clergyman fails to conduct himself properly or commits a grave sin according to the scriptures."
After agonizing for a long moment, Maria shifted her gaze slightly away from the Saint’s and spoke again.
"Before he was an apprentice priest, he was a child. Surely one can make a mistake in their conduct? How could they dismiss him..." the Saint muttered, as if unable to believe it.
"Um, Saint. Antonio was not dismissed for failing to conduct himself properly."
Maria interrupted him for the first time.
"Antonio was dismissed for blasphemy."
"Blasphemy?" the Saint asked again.
"The reason for Antonio’s dismissal... was that he asked you a question without your permission."
Maria forced the words out with great difficulty.