“There are still many patients here. I cannot leave. I hope you can understand, My Lady.”
Elena stood at the entrance, her gaze sweeping over the patients before finally landing on Lovene's pale face. Her lips parted slightly as if she were carefully choosing her words.
“I see. In that case, I won't force you. However, Lady Saintess, I will still have my men build a new clinic for you here. With stone walls and a wooden roof, it will at least shield you from the wind and rain.”
She had seen Lovene's dwelling in the slums. It could hardly be called a house—it was merely a simple wooden shed that couldn't even keep out the wind and rain.
How could the Saintess of the church live in such a dilapidated place?
Yet to her surprise, Lovene declined once again.
“There is no need, My Lady. Though it is run-down, it is still livable.”
“But...”
“I am here to treat the sick.”
Lovene lowered her head, draping the Holy Light over the wound of the elderly man before her.
“Once I have cured them, I will leave. There is no need for you to go to such great lengths for me, My Lady. Besides, although I am the Saintess, I am no different from them.”
“Life should not be divided into the noble and the lowly.”
The old man looked up, his cloudy eyes brimming with tears. His lips trembled as he tried to speak, but he could only squeeze out a raspy, “Lady Saintess...”
Lovene smiled at him. It was a faint smile, yet so genuine, like a ray of sunlight piercing through the dark night.
Elena clearly hadn't expected Lovene to refuse even this. She cast a complicated look at her and said,
“If you ever need anything in the future, Lady Saintess, you can send someone to inform me. I will certainly do my best to satisfy it.”
Lovene stood up, her body swaying slightly. Mia quickly reached out to support her.
Once she regained her footing, she patted the dust off her holy robe and solemnly thanked Elena.
“Then I thank you in advance, My Lady.”
Elena said no more, turning to leave.
As she walked out of the alley, she paused, turned her head to catch a glimpse of the busy white figure out of the corner of her eye, and then took a deep breath before stepping into the night.
The Saintess of the church truly lived up to her reputation.
After Elena left, the crowd in the alley gradually dispersed, but the chatter did not fade with the distance. Instead, like splashing waves, one after another, it spread further and further.
“So the Lady Saintess was wrongly accused after all.”
“I knew it! The Lady Saintess doesn't look like a bad person at all. When she treated our Little Bao, her touch was as light as a feather. He didn't even wake up from his sleep.”
“Exactly! How could someone spread such nonsense? It almost made us misunderstand our benefactor. This old face of mine... I'm truly too ashamed to face the Lady Saintess.”
A lame old man, leaning on a cane, followed tremulously behind the crowd.
His leg was already healed, but due to his advanced age, he was still a bit clumsy. He had originally planned to see the Saintess for a follow-up today, but after believing the rumors this morning, he had hesitated the entire day.
As he walked now, he cursed himself for being too ashamed to face her.
He was not the only one. Many who had been treated by the Saintess but had doubted her now wore expressions of deep guilt. Realizing they had deeply hurt her, they prepared to find a time to apologize.
Yet when they appeared before her again, she was all smiles, not caring in the slightest.
Did she really not care?
No. Perhaps this was merely the tenderness she chose to show them.
No matter how they hurt her, she would always wear a smile, spreading beauty to the people while silently absorbing the malice of the world.
The Saintess... she was simply too kind.
Looking at Lovene, who continued to cast the Holy Light in the alley, they couldn't help but bite their lips. Their guilt deepened, accompanied by an unspeakable pity and self-reproach.
Gradually, people began to speak out against the injustice the Saintess had suffered.
“I heard those rumors originated from the tavern. I wonder who was plotting behind her back.”
“No matter who it is, that person is truly malicious!”
“Exactly! The Lady Saintess is treating the poor for free. Whose toes did she step on?”
Like the wind, these discussions blew from the alley to every corner of the territory.
...
Night, the docks.
The trestle bridge extended into the sea, its end vanishing beyond the horizon. Waves lapped against the piers with a dull sloshing sound, and occasional fishing boats docked, their ropes clanking against the iron posts.
The foreman burst onto the trestle bridge all the way from the inner street. He waved his arms vigorously, his voice loud, his face filled with a mixture of shock and joy, as if he had just picked up a bag of gold coins.
“Big news! Big news!”
Several workers carrying cargo looked up, their hands still gripping the corners of their sacks, their steps abruptly halting.
Wint had just disembarked from a cargo ship, his trouser legs rolled up to his knees, his feet caked in wet sand. Putting down the cargo on his shoulder, he wiped the sweat from his face with the cloth draped around his neck and walked toward the foreman.
“Foreman, what's wrong?”
The foreman grabbed Wint's arm and dragged him to the center of the trestle so everyone could hear.
“The lady of the manor just went to the slums to find the Lady Saintess!”
Wint's heart leaped into his throat, his brows knitting tightly. Dropping his cloth, his voice grew urgent. “What happened? What's going on?!”
He had heard rumors of the Saintess trying to harm the lord's daughter.
Though he didn't believe them, he couldn't discount the darkness of society. What if this was all a conspiracy by the lady of the manor, aimed at ruining the Saintess's reputation?
The surrounding workers gathered around, craning their necks like a flock of seagulls waiting to be fed.
Seeing this, the foreman leaned unhurriedly against a wooden post, crossing his arms and deliberately keeping them in suspense.
“Take a guess?”
A tall, thin youth was the first to speak:
“Could it be that the Lady Saintess was kicked out? They won't even let her stay in the slums?”
As soon as he said this, the other workers broke into a chatter, the faces of some turning extremely grim.
After all, none of them working here were wealthy. When they learned that someone was treating illnesses for free a few days ago, they had all gone to see her.
If something really happened to the Saintess, they would be in trouble too.
The foreman shook his head, the grin on his face widening.
Another middle-aged man with a thick beard grew impatient. He dropped the cargo from his shoulder to the ground and grumbled, “Then what on earth is going on? Stop teasing us and just tell us!”
The foreman finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He burst out laughing, slapping his thigh.
“It's the exact opposite of what you think! The lady of the manor went to the Lady Saintess to apologize!”
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Everyone stood with their mouths wide open, as if petrified by something.
“What?” Wint's voice was the first to ring out, filled with disbelief.
“To apologize?”
The tall, thin youth repeated, his eyes widening like brass bells.
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