episode_0208

***

It rained. It was a sudden rain in late fall.

The raindrops that had been moistening the ground one or two drops at a time seemed to be angry at the unyielding earth, and even brought my in-laws and cousins with them to hit the ground.

People were left confused by the rain that fell just before harvest. Although some were harvested in advance, the majority had to be returned to the land.

Farmers rushed to the wheat fields despite heavy rain to get some crops.

It rained for two days, and there was no sign of it stopping on the third day.

Due to the unprecedented rain, all official events were canceled, and people at the church headquarters focused their efforts on self-cultivation, except for the morning service.

When the schedule was canceled, the saint locked himself in his room.

People were puzzled when he, who had been very active recently, became absent-minded, but soon they began to think that the saint might have some kind of meaning.

In fact, it had no meaning whatsoever to the saint. I just looked out the window with sunken eyes.

There was no sight of the saint who was drinking the tea with his attendants and writing down unknown characters.

His eyes, without a single ray of light, resembled dark clouds that completely covered the sky.

What was similar was that there was no brightness whatsoever.

According to Mary, who was assisting him, the saint seemed to have been greatly shocked.

“Sister Maria, a letter has arrived.”

The sudden call came at a time when she was blaming herself for her ‘indecent behavior.’

Maria asked the saint’s understanding and headed to the reception room. The saint just stared at Mary leaving the door for no reason.

It didn’t take long for Maria to return to the reception room.

Not only was it not a far away facility to begin with, but Maria, holding the letter, forgot all manners and ran down the hallway in a hurry.

This caused her massive chest to bounce up and down.

Maria took a deep breath and showed the letter to the saint.

The saint looked at Mary with an expression on her face asking what it was, and only then did Mary remember that the saint could not read.

“Huh… Huh…..”

Maria, who was about to open the letter and read it, took another breath.

Maria’s green eyes scanned the letter quickly.

“Sister Maria, what letter is this?”

“This is a letter about Antonio’s whereabouts, which you instructed me to do last time.”

“I see.”

As the saint spoke earnestly, Mary tilted her head.

Wasn’t he a saint who was more interested in Antonio than anyone else?

Maria finished reading the letter, suppressing the urge to ask the saint right away.

“…….”

Maria’s face, who had been reading the letter with a light heart, became increasingly stiff.

Questions gradually appeared on the saint’s face as he watched the scene indifferently.

“Saint….”

After reading the letter, Mary looked at the saint with her lips licking.

***

It was still raining. It was late at night, and the saint was sitting alone in an unlit room, looking out the window.

It was a night where the moon was obscured by rain clouds. It was like the day he went out on a night trip out of curiosity.

The saint’s fingers rapped rhythmically on the table.

He was thinking and working.

It was an action that helped me, who was helpless, gain strength again.

For a short time, his eyes looked back and forth between the window and the bed.

He was hesitant.

“Huh….”

Soon, he lets out a long sigh and covers his face with his hands.

Lethargy is in his breath.

After wasting time for a while, he woke up.

His steps went toward the closet, not the bed.

There was a priest’s uniform in the closet that had been moderately repaired.

The saint wore it. Then he covered his face with the remaining cloth.

It was still raining. It was the heaviest rain this year.

The saint surrendered himself to the rain and disappeared into the darkness.

***

It was a road I had seen while riding a carriage, but walking on it with human legs made the distance feel twice as long.

Still, thankful for the downhill climb, the saint went down to the village.

The poor visibility caused by the rain was a positive factor. Thanks to this, I was able to avoid the guards even with my inexperienced body.

The saint pulled up his rain-soaked clothes that kept falling down.

“2nd floor of the fourth house after passing the bridge.”

In order not to forget what he had heard from Mary, the saint constantly repeated the home address.

After walking down for a while and arriving at the village, the square was empty.

Well, it would have been more suspicious if there were people walking around in this rain.

“2nd floor of the fourth house after passing the bridge.”

The saint’s eyes scanned the square.

On the way back from Madini village, I could vaguely see a bridge beyond the direction where the beggars had disappeared.

The saint urged his heavy body to move.

Under the bridge, there were several homeless people trying to make a fire with wet tree branches.

Seeing them whining and avoiding the rain, the saint crossed the bridge.

The fourth house after the bridge was difficult to call home.

The house, which was old and poorly maintained, was in the form of a villa where many people lived together.

Because the stairs were built outside, the saint had to climb to the second floor while being exposed to wind and rain.

The saint remained silent for a moment in front of the rotted wooden door.

Instead of his silence, the rain made a sound by pounding the ground.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door with his hand.

***

Maria, who was lying in bed, could not fall asleep easily.

After staring helplessly at the ceiling and thinking of Bible verses, she got up again.

This is because an uneasy feeling remained in my heart.

The eyes of the saint, who had recently had no regrets about the world, changed when he heard the news about Antonio.

If it had changed positively, Maria would have been happy, but since it wasn’t, she was distraught.

Mary recalled her conversation with the saint.

There was nothing to call a conversation. She unilaterally recited the contents of the letter.

“Antonio’s family is said to be in Solzio village now.”

Solcio Village. It was the name of the village attached to the denomination.

“Well… I think I came here right from Albaynin Village.”

“Why….”

The saint’s gravelly voice demanded more information.

“It is written that the Antonio family was ostracized by Albainin village. The reason is…”

“It’s because of Antonio’s dismissal.”

“Being dismissed means that you have committed a crime, so it was natural for other villagers to reject you.”

Maria added.

“If you are dismissed? Didn’t you return to your hometown because you couldn’t adapt?”

The saint said as if he did not understand.

Maria curled her lips inward and lowered her eyes.

He seemed to be contemplating what to say.

“Yes. It is called a wave front. Dismissal is a punishment given when a priest does not behave properly or commits a serious crime according to the Bible.”

After thinking for a while, Maria slightly turned her gaze from the saint’s gaze to the side and opened her mouth again.

“Before you are an apprentice priest, you are a child. Isn’t it possible to make mistakes in one’s behavior? How can I be dismissed…”

The saint muttered in disbelief.

“Me, saint. Antonio was not dismissed for not behaving properly.”

Maria was the first to interrupt him.

“Antonio was deposed for blasphemy.”

“Blasphemy?”

The saint confirmed again.

“The fact that he asked a question without the saint’s permission… is the reason for Antonio’s dismissal.”

Maria let out a sigh.