Chapter 28

Episode 28

Don’t Pity Me

The escort’s blade was held to his neck as Hubris started to hold out his hand. He didn’t care. Her mocking voice came quickly.

“Why, because it’s a God-given life?”

“No, no, no. My lady’s….”

“What? The very existence itself is precious……? What is so precious about my existence?”

Hubris hesitated to answer. Because to him, life was all “equal”, regardless of one’s standing.

He couldn’t tell the lady in front of him that it was just as precious as the wild grass on the side of the road. Because it was logic that ordinary people wouldn’t understand.

But what she took for his silence Lady Misérian stabbed him pointedly.

Lady Misérian took his silence differently and jabbed him pointedly.

“You just don’t want to hear that someone you know is dead. Isn’t that right?”

“Are you afraid that I would blame you? I might want to live if you held me once…… like this kind of thing?”

With those words, the memory of his dead mother’s body who took poison made him tremble. He suddenly hated the woman in front of him who spoke harshly without knowing anything.

As High Priest, he saved the lives of thousands of people. Those who attempted suicide said over and over again that they must have made the wrong choice when they came back to life in his hands, and thanked him for saving their life.

Since then, Hubris has thought about it every night. He thought if only he had found his mother sooner, he could have saved her, and that she might be regretting her own choice.

In an uncomfortably venomous tone, Hubris replied that he was confident she would not regret it. His neat nails dug into his palms. And his despair swelled quietly.

“You know what? A person, no matter how much they want to die, you can’t cheer them up when they are so depressed.”

The casual confession imbued the scent of blood. She was feeling suffocated. Lady Misérian was about to break, so he couldn’t let go of her hand even though blood was flowing from his palm. A terrifying feeling of foreboding gripped him.

“Should I live my life well now because God has helped me? You’re wrong. I’m such a fool that I can’t even die properly and fail. Every time…… If I repeat it, both regret and fear fade away. No, no…… I feel like I’m just whittling away little by little.”

Maybe he can’t save her.

“Why do you have that look on your face? Are you afraid? You think I’m gonna die right now?”

“……Yes, I’m afraid.”

Like in the case of his mother, Hubris would be helpless to save another woman. Unlike him who was grief-stricken, Lady Misérian was smiling gently. Like a person waiting for the day.

When Lady Misérian discovered him seeing her talking to the mirror with the witch, his first reaction was to hide. It was clear that she would be burned at the stake if others found out. Then there was anger over why an evil witch was involved.

It was obvious that Lady Misérian didn’t know how dangerous the witch was. Maybe the conniving witch reached out to her who didn’t know what to do. He thought he should tell her right away and stop it, but before he knew it, the cold black blade of a knife touched his neck. A low, warning echoed in his ears as he closed his mouth to stifle his scream.

“Be quiet. Master is having an important conversation.”

Hubris twisted his body back and forth to resist, but the difference in physical strength between a priest and a knight was huge. Unable to move, as her escort knight, who was always walking behind her, held him firmly. Then a scream was heard from the lake shore.

“Answer me! Why me! Why! Why must it be me! Some people must have dreamed of something like this! But why must it be me! Why! Why the hell!”

Lady Misérian is screaming. She should be comforted right now, but the knight did not release his strength from the hand that held onto Hubris’s shoulder.

‘It was only when Lady Misérian finally threw the mirror into the lake that the knight dragged him before her like a beast, without removing the sword, from his neck.

“You… were you in communion with a witch?

Hubris wanted her to deny it. Saying she didn’t know, that she was deceived herself, that she won’t see her again, or words asking for forgiveness… But she only smiled coldly.

“Are you going to file a complaint with the Vatican? It’s all right. That’s what I was hoping for. I can’t die if I was stabbed, but if I was burned at the stake….. Go ahead and accuse me.”

No, that’s not what he was hoping for. Lady Misérian, who doesn’t know his good intentions, was heartless, and Hubris snapped.

“Lady Misérian!”

“Anakin, release High Priest Hubris. Only then will he be able to accuse me.”

As soon as her escort knight threw him in front of her, she approached him, drew a sword, and threw it in front of him.

“Kill me with that sword. The woman who has a connection with the witch is also a witch? Why don’t you kill me off after being so cruel? Is my blood dirty?”

Hubris thought he was quite disciplined to hear harsh words. He thought he could listen as well as he did

when he first heard it from his mother. But her sadness ended up burning up Hubris’s throat.

He never expected to be recognized by everyone. Nor did he want everyone to like him. If any, it would have been a small expectation. Yet he couldn’t believe the only two women he ever wanted to be liked by, were rejecting him.

She smiled at him like someone caught up green and beautiful eyes.

“High Priest, it’s not a difficult request. Just keep pretending that you don’t know me like you do now. The fact that I’m a stranger… The fact that I’m in communication with a witch…”

He couldn’t pretend not to know. He didn’t want to repeat the same tragedy that night.

“I’m about to die anyway. But I promise. I won’t die in front of you, and I won’t show up in front of you when I’m a ghost.”

“Why, why do you talk like that? Your sadness is painful. It’s too much.”

Hubris’s mind was in agony. Every time he blinked, the vision of his dead mother and Lady Misérian overlapped. He felt the nausea begin to bile up in his throat.

“……No, no. What can I do? I want to ask forgiveness for your anger……. So, so please…….”

“Don’t die?”

Live. There are days when he regrets not being able to say that word to his mother. Live…….

In the end, tears that could not be contained flowed down both cheeks. He wanted her to need him. He said that if she did anything wrong, he would forgive her for anything she did, so please don’t give up on her life.

Hubris looked up at her with his hopes. Her white, beautiful hand wiped away his tears. A soft smile under the moonlight. During the day, the woman in her prostitute’s clothes changed her form in an instant to the Holy Mother.

Hubris has always been holding onto something since he was born. First it was the mother’s umbilical cord, then it was the hem of the priest’s robe, and when he realized the reason, he held the truth created by God in his hand.

He prayed to God. This time he asked God to let him hold this woman’s hand. He begged in his heart for a chance to save her from her death.

“Don’t pity me. It’s annoying.”

That was the end. The world flickered.

I originally liked the night market. The night is calm, but I like the unusual atmosphere made up of people’s noises and lights. So when I heard that the night market was opening, I had to go there.

The problem was the clothes. When I got off the train, I threw away all my luggage, and all I had left was the black dress I was wearing, with the exception of the red dress I brought to disguise as a prostitute,

Black clothes were usually worn at funerals, so there was a risk that they would be visible if they were worn

on a regular basis. Even though I have a striking appearance, if even the clothes stand out, it’s like informing the neighborhood that I’m an aristocratic lady with a story.

So I paid the girl I saw at the inn during the day and asked her to buy clothes that would suit the common people.

The inn girl measured my body with an anxious face wondering if she couldn’t even touch my body and then bought some clean, non-sparkling cotton clothes, Contrary to my worries, the clothes fit me perfectly

I’ll have to go buy some sweets at the night market later and give it to her to compliment her skills,

Walking out the door in a white and beige tunic dress, I saw Anakin was waiting at the door like a loyal dog, causing me to sigh.

“…Anakin, change your clothes and come.”

If he wears armor, no matter how I wear casual clothes like a commoner, I’ll look like a lady.

Although it is not a countryside with only fields and forests like Bonito, the Randol region was no different from the capital city. I wondered, is it close to a resort city where people come to enjoy the lake and nature?

Therefore, the night market was more simple and clunky than fanciful.

You have to hold something in your mouth to see a night market! I first turned to the area that sells food. As expected, there were many kinds that were simply grilled over charcoal.

At first, I didn’t want to eat chicken because it was common, and was afraid that eating frog would get me a stomachache, so I decided to eat the most normal sausage. But they all look similar on the surface. I stood in front of the store to ask the owner in a friendly way.

“Hello. How much is a sausage?”

“Madam! A sausage this big is only three echromi a piece! You won’t regret it.”

3 echrom is 3 fairy tales. If I had to compare it to Korea, it was about 1,500 won? But for that price, the sausage was really thick and shiny. I swallowed my saliva and asked.

“Does it all taste the same?”

“No! They have a variety of flavors from raw meat to cheese and spices. They’re all the same price.”

Do I want to eat meat with spices or just meat? After thinking about it, I asked if I could buy one for Anakin, who was standing in the back looking confused.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Yes?”

“Oh ho! What a nice lady! Are you two married? Since you’re both feeling awkward, you must be newlyweds.”