Am I a Saint?-2

Maria, recalling her conversation with the Saint, sat on the bed and looked out through the small window in her room.

The sound of rain hitting the ground and wind shaking the trees came through the cracks in the window.

Maria, shivering briefly at the chilling cold, decided to soothe her lingering unease.

Her feet touched the floor.

She wanted to see the Saint.

Maria’s thought was simple and firm.

She didn’t know what fueled her thought, but Maria changed her clothes without hesitation.

Changing into her uniform, she left the room, thinking of her own excuse to consult about Antonio’s matter.

At a time when everyone was asleep, she walked down the empty hallway.

-Rumble, crash!

Just as a light flashed briefly, thunder suddenly roared.

Without showing any surprise, Maria looked outside through the window in the hallway.

The fierce rain showed no sign of weakening even as time passed.

After walking for a few minutes, she soon arrived at the Saint’s room.

As usual, she knocked and checked for any sign of life inside.

As before, no answer came back.

The blonde nun took a deep breath and carefully opened the door.

With the sound of the hinges moving, the door opened.

In the darkened room, Maria’s eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, saw an empty bed.

“Saint…”

Where could he have gone again? Maria looked out the window.

Perhaps because it was buried in the sound of rain, there was no response from inside despite knocking on the door.

Or maybe, they were pretending not to hear…

The moment a family member was branded with the shackles of blasphemy, that family walked the path of ruin.

Antonio’s family in the village of Albainin consisted of a father, a mother, and Antonio.

Yes. ‘Consisted’.

As soon as the news that Antonio had been dismissed for blasphemy spread, stones were thrown at his house every day.

No one wanted to associate with a family that had incurred the Saint’s wrath.

Even with money, they couldn’t buy things, and even with a strong body, they couldn’t find work.

Like land being submerged in a flood, Antonio’s family gradually had no place to stand in the village.

And being swept away by the flood was instantaneous.

His father, needing living expenses, had no choice but to leave the village to find work, and had to take on jobs that everyone else avoided.

This included working as a porter following merchants, due to the risks involved in merchant activities.

The bandit’s knife did not ask how sad or wronged the life of the one being cut was.

Antonio’s father passed away from a single swing of the blade.

Antonio, receiving his corpse half-eaten by wild dogs, wept mournfully.

His mother also wanted to shed tears immediately, but she gritted her teeth for her son’s sake.

Thus, Antonio’s family had to leave the village of Albainin.

Staying in the village was the same as saying they would die.

The place his mother chose was Solchio.

It was because she had to wait for the Saint, who might come down to the village, to have mercy on them and show compassion.

-Knock, knock.

She knocked on the door a little harder. Then, she heard something from inside the door.

The creaking of the floor grew closer, and the Saint sensed that the door would soon open.

“W-Who is it? In this weather.”

From the slightly opened gap in the door, a woman’s voice was heard.

The Saint who made you like this has come.

The Saint swallowed the words that were about to burst out of his mouth.

“Who is it, I ask?”

The Saint was awakened from his sea of thoughts by the trembling voice.

“…I came from the Order.”

It was a word he had chosen after much deliberation.

As soon as the words were finished, he heard a gasp from inside, and the door opened wide.

The Saint had to step back.

“Ah… you’ve come. To atone for our sins… compassion from the Order…”

The disheveled woman muttered incoherently and let the Saint inside.

There was no sign of suspicion or wariness.

Did she believe his words? Or did she see the religious symbol embroidered on his chest?

Or perhaps, was she just waiting for someone to save them…?

The Saint entered a house smaller than his own room.

A house with a rotten wooden floor and mold on the wallpaper.

As he entered the house, which was a collection of all the shabbiness in the world, a musty smell stung his nose.

The Saint frowned without realizing it, then was startled.

“W-Well, please sit here first.”

The woman, flustered, guided him to a chair and soon brought warm water.

Steam rose from the cup.

“There’s no… no tea leaves…”

She seemed genuinely sorry that she could only offer this kind of hospitality.

The Saint picked up the cup and drank the water.

His body, which had cooled down on the way here, was revitalized.

“I was cold, so thank you.”

“Wh-Who from the O-Order are you…”

“Is Antonio sleeping now?”

The Saint cut off the woman’s words.

“Ah, he’s not sleeping…”

The woman made a troubled face at the Saint’s question. Her gaze turned to the only room in the house.

“If it’s not rude… may I meet him?”

“W-Well… yes… of course.”

There was a moment of hesitation, but his mother allowed the meeting.

The Saint bowed his head to express his gratitude, and the mother didn’t know what to do with the excessive reward.

Passing over the creaking floor, he opened the door and saw a child gasping for breath on a shabby bed.

“He’s been sick with a fever…”

The mother asked for his understanding. In that condition, normal conversation would be difficult.

The Saint felt his heart tighten.

“……”

What should he say? No, it would be better to keep his mouth shut.

The Saint thought.

Then, the child moved.

“…Saint…?”

It was a voice that could have been buried in the sound of rain.

The Saint, realizing that the child’s narrow eyes were looking at him, felt his hands tremble.

He slowly raised his hand and pulled off the black cloth that covered his face.

“…It’s the Saint…”

A smile appeared on the face of the exhausted child.

“Saint? …The Saint has come! Please forgive me for not recognizing the Saint.”

The woman fell to the floor.

“Saint, please have mercy on us. I’m sorry! Please forgive the sin my child has committed.”

Touching the rotten floor with her hands, the child’s mother clung to his feet.

“Saint, please have mercy on us.”

Kissing his feet, the woman begged and begged.

-Rumble, crash!

Thunder struck.

The Saint felt dizzy. He ignored the woman clinging to his feet and slowly approached the child.

“Antonio… I’ve come to keep my promise.”

His voice was choked and didn’t come out properly.

“E-Emileos…”

Antonio smiled even at the Saint’s squeezed voice.

Fragments of the promise came out of the 12-year-old boy’s lips.

“‘Those who follow the path of light must be wary of themselves.’ …That’s what you asked me.”

The Saint’s hand was placed on Antonio’s forehead, which was like a ball of fire.

“…Yes.”

Feeling the Saint’s touch, Antonio closed his eyes with difficulty and answered.

“That is…”

The Saint recalled the Bible study he had with Maria.

[Those who follow the path of light must be wary of themselves. …I think this means that they must always keep their behavior upright and check themselves to see if they are deviating from the path of light.]

Maria had said.

The Saint placed the words Maria had conveyed on the tip of his tongue.

But then, he put it away.

The Saint silently stroked the child’s forehead.

The hot heat, as if it would melt, burned the Saint’s hand.

“That means… be wary of becoming a foolish person who is bound by doctrine and words and blindly follows injustice.”

Drip, a tear ran down the Saint’s cheek.

Antonio’s brow furrowed slightly.

“That’s too… too difficult… Saint.”

At that complaining voice, the Saint smiled sadly.

“You don’t have to understand it right away. But, if you realize it later, will you tell me? Let’s make a promise.”

“Yes. I promise.”

The child’s face smiled brightly. The Saint’s tears continued to flow.

Antonio soon fell into a deep sleep.

It seemed that he had exhausted all the energy he had scraped together to greet the Saint.

The Saint, looking down worriedly at the child who was breathing heavily, turned to the child’s mother.

“I’m sorry for making you go through such hardship.”

It wasn’t something that had happened because of him. However, it was something that had happened in the name of the Saint.

He felt he had to apologize.

“No. It’s because we are lacking…”

At the Saint’s apology, the woman repeatedly bowed her head.

The Saint looked at the woman. What on earth was making her so servile?

The person who had ruined her family was right in front of her.

If it were him, he would have done everything in his power to take revenge.

But the woman was rather begging. She was groveling, asking for forgiveness for her sins.

“What is faith?”

He muttered in a voice that could not be heard.

He rummaged through his pocket. It was a money pouch he had hurriedly packed when he left the room.

The amount wasn’t large, but it would be enough to call a doctor.

At the pouch of money handed over, the woman slowly looked up at the Saint.

“With this money. Call a doctor and give the child medicine and food. And…”

“I will atone for your sins.”

At the Saint’s words, the woman burst into tears and collapsed to the floor.

Maria did not return to her room.

She sat in a chair, staring blankly out the window.

If a tree swayed in the wind, she would fidget, wondering if the Saint had come.

She did that for several hours.

A tree branch swayed greatly.

Maria jumped up from her seat.

Soon, the window opened and a black figure entered the room.

Dripping water onto the floor, the man in black clothes looked around the room.

And he looked at the woman facing him.

“Maria.”

He called her name in a voice that was endlessly subdued.

“I came to the Saint’s room because I had something to discuss about Antonio… but he wasn’t there.”

She made an excuse with words she had thought of in advance, and the Saint began to take off his clothes without saying anything.

Clothes containing rain and tears fell to the floor, and the Saint’s pure white naked body was revealed.

Maria blushed at the sudden nudity.

He wiped his body with a dry cloth hanging on the chair.

“I went to see Antonio.”

“I, I see.”

Maria, unable to take her eyes off the Saint’s back, replied.

“I have forgiven the sin of blasphemy.”

It was a simple report.

“As expected, the merciful Saint. Even on a day like this, you would go out of your way to atone for Antonio’s sin. With the Saint’s mercy, peace will dwell in Antonio’s family.”

Maria smiled brightly, clasping her hands together.

“Mercy?”

There were thorns in the Saint’s words as he asked back.

“Mercy, you say?”

A different tone than usual. Maria blinked at the change.

“Am I the Saint? Sister Maria, tell me.”

“Well… the Saint is the Saint…”

“What on earth are you looking at!!! Why do you think I’m the Saint!!!”

The man shouted as if in despair.

Kang In-ho did.