episode_0210

***

A man clings to a woman. Two hands shake mercilessly on the woman’s shoulders.

A man with his head down, supporting a woman.

Breathing heavily, Kang In-ho pushed Maria away.

“Why am I… a saint…”

A twisted, fractured sound crawled out of my throat, like wringing out moisture from a dry rag.

“That’s right….”

Maria tried to answer as if she was asking an obvious question, but stopped as if caught on a rock.

Why is the saint a saint?

Isn’t it because the saint is a saint that he is a saint?

“Is the sword I drew shining?”

The man gives Maria a look at his hesitation.

Maria, who sensed that the option he presented was the wrong answer, kept her mouth shut.

The trembling of the hand on my shoulder becomes stronger.

“Do you look like a worthy saint when you wear a uniform?”

The man looks up at Maria as if giving her a hug.

Maria saw blue flames flickering in the man’s blue eyes.

“Or….”

A voice filled with hurt and resignation changes into a voice filled with deep anger.

“Pope, that bastard… because he recognizes me as a saint?”

Anger like I’ve never seen before.

“Tell me, Sister Maria.”

The saint puts his face close to me.

Normally, it would have been an action that would make her heart flutter, but now Maria felt nothing but fear and an unfamiliar feeling.

“I… I…”

Maria was speechless.

No matter how many times I asked, there was no clear answer.

There was nothing in the Bible, which she had read and copied countless times, whose contents were now stuck in her head, that could answer the man’s question.

– Tuk

The man who had been holding her shoulder and shaking her let go.

The recoil pushed Maria back slightly.

“Seo, saint.”

Carefully hold the saint’s hand. The heat of his hands reached her.

Is this hot body temperature his anger? Or is it sadness?

Maria thought.

“Please leave. Please.”

The man pointed to the door.

Only then did Maria feel her eyes brighten.

This is because the man’s appearance, which seemed fragmentary, was finally fully visible now.

Looks hurt, sick, and exhausted.

Maria let go of her hand without realizing it.

“……”

Maria left the room and looked back at the man several times despite the short distance.

With the small sound of the door closing, Maria left, and Inho stared at the door for a long time.

The fact that I couldn’t overcome my anger and took out my anger in an awkward place made my face feel hot.

“…Fuck.”

Lifting the cloth that had fallen on the floor and thrown to Maria, he wiped away the remaining moisture.

Throwing reason into the torrent of emotions always brings shame and further regret.

After finishing the lecture, he collapsed on the bed.

Fever ran through my body.

***

The saint had a fever.

The fact that the saint, who had not had any minor illness since coming to the church, was bedridden, made most people think that the saint also had a human side.

Of course, a very small number of people thought this was an ominous omen, but no one said it out loud.

Because doubts about the saint were evidence of disbelief.

The saint, whose whole body was as hot as fire, was lying on the bed as if he were dead.

There were no short groans or even the slightest tossing and turning.

It was Mary who reported the saint’s condition.

The next morning, she came to the saint’s room drooping and as soon as she checked his condition, she immediately called a doctor.

The doctor left after giving a simple prescription.

The Pope himself came to see the saint’s condition, but except for that one time, the Pope did not come to the saint’s room.

“Saint….”

It was Mary who stayed by the saint’s side.

Exempted from all daily routine, she brought a cot to the saint’s room and nursed him day and night.

The saint suffered from fever for three days.

Mary, who had been nursing the saint all night and taking a nap, woke up in horror when she saw the empty bed.

“Saint?”

She had prepared all the things to find after the sick person woke up.

Water to soothe a burning throat, a change of clothes, and food to easily stave off hunger were all prepared.

There was no need for him to leave the room.

Realizing that the saint who had not yet fully matured had disappeared, Mary left the room to call someone.

But Maria’s steps did not last long.

“…eh?”

It was the sound that came from Maria’s mouth.

“Then, I will prepare it.”

“Yes, please prepare. …and don’t forget.”

“Would it be possible?”

This is because I saw the saint and the Inquisitor Lumen walking side by side on the other side of the hallway.

“…Saint?”

The sight of them walking indifferently but at the same pace as each other was very unfamiliar to Maria.