The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 60 Identity
When the truth was revealed, Eric, as an outsider, didn't know what to say.

The burden on Alena's teacher, Dania, has always been Gabi's resentment towards herself. The only person she can't forgive for her sister's death is herself.

At this moment, Eric felt even more sympathy for her than for Sister Dania, who had endured decades of hardship at the border.

"But only as long as Sister Dania remains alive can Sister Gabi continue to hate her, right?"

Eric still spoke, "You can choose not to forgive her until the end of her life."

Gabi looked at him, "What does your highness mean?"

"Let her stay somewhere else. Don't go back to the convent," Eric said. "Any convent is fine. Let her live. You know her, but she doesn't know you. You don't need to see her, let alone forgive her."

It's better to have someone to hate than to only hate yourself.

Gabi lowered her eyes, sighed silently, and lowered her head again.

"All decisions of the Saint's Court are made by Her Highness the Saint."

Eric also breathed a sigh of relief.

When she said this, it meant she agreed.

He had belatedly realized that whether it was Gabi's goodwill towards him or her concessions that could not be considered a complete reconciliation at the moment, they were probably all intentions of the Saint - both out of protection for Gabi and for the future of the Saint's Monastery.

"I'm tired today."

Eric believed that Gabi would take care of the rest. "Sister Gabi, I leave the affairs of the Saint's Convent to you."

Gabi bowed her head and said, "Goodbye, Your Highness."

Alena walked behind and also bowed deeply to her before following Eric.

After leaving the Saint's House, the two of them wandered around other parts of the monastery before returning to the Saint's Abbey. Eric went to greet the Saint and asked Alena to follow him.

"I thought you had to wait until I died to solve this problem." The saint said, and it seemed that she already knew what was happening at the Saint's House.

"This is something that could have been resolved with just one sentence from you, and it could have been resolved long ago." Eric complained.

Alena glanced at him, lowered her head even lower, but walked a little closer to him.

The Saint smiled slightly and said, "Of course I can solve it, but what I want to see is that you solve it in your own way."

It has only been a month since he became a quasi-saint, and Eric didn't believe that this was a difficult problem that the saint had left behind to test him.

"You are truly thoughtful."

The Saint pretended not to notice his sarcastic tone and looked at him and Alena, her gaze lingering on the latter for a moment before she asked, "Besides this, do you have any other thoughts after this day?"

"There are too many ladies-in-waiting in the Saint's Court."

Eric is outspoken and speaks his mind. “What can be done by one person is divided among at least three people, which actually reduces efficiency.”

The Saint did not express her opinion and asked again, "And then?"

"The only one who can really make decisions for you is Sister Gabi, and there are too few people here," Eric said.

"Because the only one I can truly trust is Gabi," the Saint answered his second question, "both in terms of loyalty and ability."

She paused and asked, "You asked the question, do you have your own answer?"

"Not yet." Eric shook his head. "This is my first day dealing with the affairs of the Saint's House. I've only scratched the surface at best. I need more time."

The saint made a sound that was unclear whether it was agreement or questioning.

"But I don't have the time," Eric continued. "Because the other courses Her Highness has arranged are equally important, I plan to have Alena stay at the Saint's Academy to get in touch with them, familiarize herself with them, learn from them, and summarize for me."

"That's my Saint's House." The Saint leaned forward. "You let someone who's not loyal to me stay there all day?"

"..."

Alena wanted to speak, but Eric spoke first, "Alena is mine now, and I am His Highness's. There is no such thing as infidelity."

"Wow...you said you are mine." The old man wanted to show his dissatisfaction, but he couldn't help laughing.

"Ah... your smooth talk really makes me worry about what the Saint's Monastery will become in the future."

"Yela created all things and originally hoped that the world would become diverse and colorful. Change is God's expectation. But no matter how it changes, your will will remain here, and there are some people who are as pious as you and are favored by God." Eric replied.

The saint was particularly satisfied with his answer. She smiled and didn't say anything more about Alena going to the Saint's College for further studies, although she had no intention of objecting.

When Eric was about to leave, the saint pointed at Alena and said, "The Saint's House has its own rules. You must give her a clear identity."

Eric thought for a moment, "Your Highness, what do you think of 'the teacher of the quasi-saint girl'?"

The Saint frowned, "Isn't there a simpler, more pleasant name?"

"Our identities were given by His Highness," Eric said.

The saint waved her hand and asked him to leave.

Back in the wing, Eric was really tired and went straight to lie down in his room. Alena followed him in, "Your Highness, do you want to take a shower?"

"Let's talk about it later." Eric closed his eyes.

"Yes." Alena didn't leave.

In the darkness, he felt a pair of hands reaching out to his collar, slowly untying the delicate restraints woven with embroidery, lace and gems, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Eric opened his eyes, and Alena pulled his collar open a little and then stopped. She just wanted him to lie more comfortably.

"You go and rest," Eric said.

"Let me help your Highness hang up his clothes." Alena pulled his clothes, looking at him with no intention of forcing him.

Eric stood up and took off his outer dress, handing it to Alena. "Do I have to wear this dress? Her Highness the Saint usually wears just a simple nun's uniform."

"Because Her Highness the Saint has lived here for over sixty years." Alena adjusted her dress. "No matter what she wears, she is the master of this place."

"It turns out that my identity was given by this suit." Eric said.

Alena glanced at him immediately and saw that he didn't show any unusual emotions, even a playful smile. She relaxed, "Your Highness doesn't need this suit to maintain your status, but the others in the monastery are still unfamiliar with you, so this superficial decoration is needed to establish your authority."

The smile on Eric's face faded. "But I won't stay here long."

Alena looked at him, "Your Highness..."

"Don't worry about it. I'm saying that compared to the current Saint who has lived here for sixty years," Eric said, "at least in the past one or two years, I can't leave this monastery."

Alena hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Why is Your Highness so determined to leave here?"

"If nothing else, staying in one place for your whole life is suffocating, isn't it?" Eric asked back, and then he saw the confusion that flashed across her face and was quickly hidden.

By the way, for people in this world, staying in one place for a lifetime is the norm, and traveling around is usually a helpless choice.

Those so-called adventurers who roamed the continent were the minority who strayed from the mainstream of society. Just like the Saint's assessment of his uncle Edgar, she was more optimistic about his decision to return to his family rather than the resounding reputation he left behind during his travels across the continent.

"Anyway, I'll leave here sooner or later."

Eric glanced at the door of the room and whispered to Alena, "But the Saint must not know about this."

Although she had known about it on the first day he became a quasi-saint, it would obviously be troublesome to bring it up again in the short term.

"Of course..." Alena digested this and added, "I belong to His Highness."

Eric looked at her and saw that there was more determination in her eyes.

Well, it seems to mean loyalty... just like what he said to the Saint before.

"I'd better go take a shower first."

Watching Eric walk out of the room and then looking at the dress hanging on her arm, Alena was stunned for a moment and then hung the dress up.

(End of this chapter)