Chapter 142 - I'm A Monster!

Fathers Mario and Aldo said something to the students who took the bodies and they followed Father Marino to see Abbot Eurico to report what they found and some hypotheses about what happened.

The other priests finally went to do their services and they all spread out on the garden path, minutes later the noise died down and the garden was empty.

"Let's go back to the room, you need some rest," Emery said watching the tired Giovanni, he felt guilty for having abandoned the boy.

He had to talk to Giovanni about the existence of Azarphy and Arabeth so he could take him places with him.

Giovanni nodded and the two returned to the room with a lot on their minds, Bao who had been forgotten followed them with a little sadness and regret.

Should he have killed that human then?

Why did the two of them look so sad now?

Inside the room, Emery made Giovanni lie down to rest, but the boy didn't want to lie down alone. Which led the two to lie down together in bed, very tired Giovanni ended up falling asleep quickly.

"Good?"

"Yes, Master?" Bao replied already sitting in the armchair, he was a little sad that he seemed to have failed in his mission.

"Nice job, but next time call me too. Otherwise, how am I going to clean up the mess if it's too late?"

Emery said tapping the mattress as if calling Bao to lie down beside him, the cub climbs with some difficulty onto the bed and lies down beside Emery, quickly being patted on the head.

"I get it"

Although Bao could just burn them all to dust, which would eliminate the evidence.

But as his Master wanted to be warned, that's fine too.

On the other hand, Rutger had been left in the room while Dante was talking to some novices to get water from the well and bring it to Father Rutger's room.

Rutger was still feeling nauseous and very tired, his mind was clearer and he deeply regretted having acted so shamelessly at the risk of being caught by the other priests.

Strangely, he didn't mind being caught assaulting with stitches and leaving evidence of the assault behind poor Giovanni, but being caught acting in broad daylight couldn't be covered up by the silence and secrets of the other priests.

The main reason was that Giovanni is the official disciple of Bishop Darcy, so hardly anyone would be against the bishop.

"Here have some water." Dante took it from a pitcher he had in Rutger's room.

Earlier moments they had to pass the priests who were still waiting for more information about the victims, luckily their room was close to the stairs to go downstairs and they drew less attention as everyone was in small groups concentrated in the two investigated rooms.

Fortunately, which kept people from asking questions and having them lie.

"Thanks," Rutger said in a mutter, picking up his glass and drinking it slowly. He felt a little sick thinking about his radical attitude.

Dante waited for him to drink the water and seeing the other calmer, he was a little surprised by the priest's change in attitude.

"What was that?" Dante questioned as he placed the glass on the table. Rutger was sitting on the bed and he sat on the wooden chair.

"I don't know...I don't know," Rutger said rubbing his face with his hands.

He didn't know how he had lost control just by putting his eyes on Giovanni... Watching him smile at the others... Watching him being friendly with others... While he caused horror and disgust to Giovanni.

Rutger felt angry and thought again that Giovanni was a slut who played for all men.

However, no matter what he thought or felt, he wouldn't act that way to be caught acting so degrading to a mere novice.

"What are you saying about Brother Rutger and the novice is true?" Dante suddenly asked, seeing the priest's somber gaze.

"What are you talking about?" Rutger said confused. He knew rumors were talking about Giovanni's questionable behavior, but not that he was also the protagonist of such disreputable episodes.

"That you…well, that you two had an affair, which only ended because of the death of late brother Lattanzio," Dante said feeling a little nervous.

This question was very invasive and he knew it well, but it would explain why Rutger had acted so blatantly. Although Dante inwardly disagreed with such an aggressive attitude in broad daylight, it was foolish to throw honor in the mud.

Don't get it wrong, Dante didn't find it unusual to have intimate relationships between men, especially in a place like an abbey where there were only men. For this reason, he did not find it strange for priests to have affairs or even for novices to date each other.

Dante had already seen his share of things happening in his teens.

"We didn't have an affair, it was just a friendship that old man Lattanzio wanted me to make with his protégé" Rutger's bitterness in his voice.

What he did with Giovanni was far from being a relationship, it was just him forcing his feelings and his hatred on the young man.

He knew that and it seemed that it made him even more bitter and his obsession grew bigger. With the return of Levi Mulder, Rutger wanted to become even more attached to his obsession.

As if having Giovanni were by divinity to drive Levi away from himself.

"Just friendship?" Dante questioned again because that kiss he saw wasn't just friendship and Bishop Darcy's aggressiveness didn't seem like someone who just warded off an annoyance.

That kick still made Rutger pale and he still looked a little weak, which showed the strength that went into the kick.

"We never had a relationship... The friendship was just on his part, I didn't want his friendship... That's not what I wanted! Hahaha, what I want is him! Yes, I want it for myself! Disgusting, right?" Rutger seeing Dante's insistence became irritated and said everything to shock the man into leaving.

Leave him alone with his darkness!

Ah, what an insufferable man!

Rutger suddenly felt that Dante was no longer so pleasant for company.

"Well, he's impossible now since he's Bishop Darcy's disciple now," Dante said as if he wasn't the least bit surprised by what Rutger said.

He was surprised by the "passion" with which Rutger said it, but as he had seen it so many times he didn't feel much. He just thought Rutger was unlucky that the person he liked was already with someone else.

Dante didn't know what Rutger meant by "wanting" Giovanni and what he had done before.

"And is this okay?" Rutger was outraged by Dante's calm. He didn't know the man's calm acceptance would make him even angrier.

"Well, I've seen a lot happen," Dante replied nonchalantly.

"I am a sick man! Don't you understand yet? Do I want to have sex with another man?!"

Rutger stood up indignantly and roared, feeling his chest heavy with anger, how could that be considered normal... He was sick just like Levi Mulder.

"That's not being sick, there are some countries, like the Republic of Wizards, where same-sex love is no big deal. Aren't you taking it a little too far in calling yourself sick? Some priests even have lovers of both women and men outside the abbey... Not that it's the most correct or the purest, but that doesn't make them sick, they just can't leave the mortal world behind."

Dante spoke with some simplicity, he was more open-minded perhaps because of the environment he grew up with fewer taboos, as he grew up in another abbey and entered by choice to be a holy knight.

Where he grew up was much less rigid and much less corrupt, it was a smaller place and it was close to a medium-sized city literally, which received many immigrants and there was immense cultural diversity, which made the inhabitants' minds more open to the differences which also influenced the abbey where Dante grew up.

Rutger wasn't particularly touched, his anger grew stronger, he didn't want to understand, he wanted to be verbally abused and harassed.

"I'm a monster!" Rutger said once more. He was like Levi Mulder, he was a monster... If someone confirmed that, he could do whatever he wanted without caring.

"I think what you need is to take a cold shower to calm down a bit," Dante said holding Rutger's arms.

Being bigger and stronger it wasn't hard to contain Rutger who seemed to have gotten out of hand again.

"Do not touch me!"

Rutger became even more agitated and tried to kick Dante, but was held back in a tight hug that made it impossible for him to move.

"Let me go! Stay away... You don't understand... I'm a monster!" Rutger continued to rave about he wanted to bite this annoying man.

"Alright, alright, let's calm down... No need to cry" Dante said with surprise seeing his strong reaction just with the good words he spoke.

"I'm not crying!" Rutger said as if his eyes weren't blurry with tears.

"So are you drooling on me?" Dante said with some mock horror.

"Does that scare you? Curse you!" Rutger muttered in a choked voice.