The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 88 The Spring Breeze Fades Away
Apart from the change in the Pope he had to meet every few days and some subtle ups and downs in the main members of the College of Cardinals, Eric's life in the Holy City had hardly changed.

He was more familiar with the new Pope - in another world line, he had been dealing with him for ten years.

Clement XI, a staunch conservative, insisted on implementing the church's strategy of seclusion. Even when the demons moved south, he did not change his attitude and even chose to retreat.

However, according to some NPCs, the church's main strength was preserved by avoiding the sharpest attack of the demon army, and played a significant role in the subsequent defense of Tebniti.

In "Crown of Thorns", the NPCs of the church have mixed opinions about His Holiness the Pope in private, not to mention the players.

Since awakening his past life memories, the thing Eric realized most in the process of integrating into this world is that real people are complex and cannot be summarized by a label of "radical" or "conservative".

In addition, Clement XI was originally the Archbishop of Clementia and had been away from the Vatican for a long time. Eric had little contact with the real him, and the new Pope was a complete stranger to him, so he could only get to know him slowly.

The life that the saint arranged for him, which was a routine between two points, continued like this.

When the cold subsided, spring came and the flowers bloomed, and the sunlight shining on his body became hot, Eric suddenly realized: he had been here for a year.

Sophie even arranged a simple anniversary for him.

"On this day last year, Your Highness, who departed from Hautville, arrived safely in Lesire..."

She threw the colorful petals she had picked into the sky, "It's been a year!"

Flower petals fell one after another. The little nun was as happy as if today was their one-year wedding anniversary, while Eric was as sad as if he had just finished a whole year in prison.

This is the outskirts of Lasir, even more than half a day's distance from the Holy City.

After a year, the saint trusted him more and more, and he could even spend the night outside now - although it sounded sad, he did gain more freedom.

Except leaving Lesire.

The falling petals hit his head, and Eric turned to look at the two mounted knights of the religion in the distance.

Even if he pushed Sophie down on the grass right now, they would just pretend not to see it, but if he wanted to go further away from Leselle, they would come to stop him and tell him to explore the area ahead later.

"Don't look so sad, Your Highness."

Sophie stood on tiptoe, plucked the petals that had fallen on his ears, and smiled at him.

Eric turned his head, shook off the other petals, and sat down on the grass. "If you hadn't reminded me, I would have almost forgotten how long I had been in Lesire."

"It's not that long, only a year," said Sophie. This year is her fourth year of practice in the convent.

"We are different..." Eric sighed, fell back, lay on the grass, and looked at the blue sky at the turn of spring and summer.

After a year of living together, he couldn't hope that the old saint would die soon, but he was busy with various classes all day and had no time to think about other things. He did yearn for a more distant and real freedom.

—It had been almost a year since Irene had entered Lutia’s magic academy, and he hadn’t even been able to visit her.

Irene herself couldn't leave the magic academy at will, and the brother and sister hadn't seen each other for a year.

After looking at the two knights in the distance, Sophie also lay down beside Eric, looked at the sky, and then turned her head to look at his profile.

The petals she had just scattered between them were faintly fragrant.

She turned sideways, picked up the petals one by one, held them in her palm, and then held them in front of Eric.

He turned his head to look at her. In the sunlight, the little nun's long eyelashes were very obvious, and her eyes were sparkling.

A year has passed, and we have both grown, and her face has become more beautiful and charming.

"Let's elope."

"..."

Sophie was stunned. "Your Highness..."

"Help me attract the attention of those two knights. Once I escape from Lesire, I'll find a chance to come back and pick you up." Eric continued.

“…Your Highness!”

Sophie threw flower petals in his face.

Eric closed his eyes and laughed nervously a few times.

The sun shone on his face, leaving only a bright expanse before his eyes. Two petals that hadn't fallen touched his lips, and when Eric opened his mouth, they fell into his mouth.

He chewed it twice.

The petals smell sweet but taste bitter.

"You can't just eat these flowers..." Sophie said from the side.

"It tastes sweet, try it too." Eric lied with his eyes closed, and then he heard her spitting sounds. "It's so bitter!"

Eric laughed, and then he felt another petal forced between his lips.

She had become too close to him.

This was the natural casualness that had grown over a year of getting along, the result of both intentional and unintentional indulgence. Immaturity meant a lack, but it also possessed a reckless courage that more mature people no longer possessed.

Eric closed his eyes and ate the petals. Unprepared, a touch of softness came in.

"..."

He suddenly opened his eyes and saw the girl in front of him, her lips pressed against his, her eyes moving around, looking at him shyly but firmly.

The two knights in the distance turned their backs at the same time.

Her Highness the Saint only asked them to keep an eye on the future Saint and not let her run away. It was not their turn to take care of other matters.

Eric pushed Sophie away and sat up.

She also sat with her legs bent, her face flushed, and one hand covering her lips.

"I see you don't want to stay in the monastery any longer."

Sophie said nothing, her eyes fixed, as if she was still savoring the touch just now and had no time to think about his words.

Eric turned his head to look at the knights in the distance and found that they all had their backs to him. He breathed a sigh of relief at first, and then realized that this was their reaction after evasion.

After all, these knights of the religion were all acquaintances, so he just felt embarrassed but not worried.

Ever since he entered the convent, the saint had a prejudice against him that he would have affairs with nuns, but she also acted as if it would be okay as long as he didn't get pregnant or get caught.

Kissing a nun on a picnic?
That's so fresh and clean.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness... I couldn't help myself."

After thinking about it for a long time, Sophie finally remembered to admit her mistake to him, but there was no regret on her face. She even seemed eager to do it again.

Eric looked at her for a while, then pinched her chin and said, "Woman, you are playing with fire."

"Well……"

Sophie was forced to tilt her head back, the scarf on her head was about to fall off, but she didn't show any intention of struggling to break free from his hand. She just lowered her eyes and looked at him.

"Your Highness... What are you talking about playing with fire?"

Eric sighed.

The gentle spring light does wear away one's will.

With just a little teasing from her, he actually thought that staying in a monastery and having sex with the nuns for the rest of his life would be a good choice.

Even if he did nothing, the Holy See was standing in front of him. At least until all the knights who protected the religion fell, the demons could not break into the monastery of Lassel.

But uncle will come and break his legs.

"What you just did has been seen by those two knights. When we return to the monastery, they will report it to the Saint. I will be imprisoned for at least a month. And you..."

Eric released her jaw, "You'll probably be sent home early."

"..."

Sophie's face turned pale at first, then she stared into his eyes for a while, "Your Highness lied to me, didn't you?"

Eric twitched his lips.

Too close, I can no longer scare him.

"I knew it!" A smile reappeared on her face.

"But you're really causing me trouble by doing this," Eric said. "According to Alena, a hundred years ago, you would have been burned at the stake for doing this... Oh, there were no saints a hundred years ago."

"This is all your Highness's fault."

Sophie smiled at first, then took his hand, pressed it against her heart, and leaned her little face closer.

"It's all because of His Highness saying he wanted to elope with me. My heart is beating so fast I can't stop..."

Feeling her special softness, Eric's heart couldn't stop beating.

(End of this chapter)