The life of a Saintess was arguably the most boring existence one could have, even if it meant being revered by people.
But what does it matter if someone who can’t even look you in the face is admiring you?
In exchange for the blessing of the God, she lost her sight.
The only world she remembers since birth was defined merely by the difference between light and darkness; she only learned what color flowers were through education.
The name Saintess, standing proudly at the pinnacle of the church, a position that bestows blessings upon the people of the Empire.
While she had never harbored doubts about it, the concept of ‘the world’ was always one of the things that intrigued Adrian.
An unknown world full of mysteries, though she had heard about it through books and fairy tales.
Adrian always had a desire to talk to someone other than a Priest or the Pope.
For that reason, the first time she escaped the church was at the age of 13.
The world she stepped into, although she couldn’t see, was an incredibly mysterious place alongside a kind Priest.
The various sounds that reached her ears were different from the sound of church bells.
It wasn’t the usual organ music; people were actually chatting about something.
A princess? An imperial palace? At that time, she didn’t know, but later realized that her first friend after going outside was a princess.
If she hadn’t accidentally crossed paths with the princess’s carriage, what would she be doing right now?
She might have met a strange person and gotten tangled up in something suspicious—Adrian chuckled at the sudden memory.
“Saintess?”
“No, just reminiscing a little.”
After getting caught and severely scolded for escaping once, she could go out freely after that.
However, due to her identity as a Saintess, she had to wear such shabby ordinary clothes.
What Adrian did outside was simple.
Sometimes she would climb a hill and gaze blankly at the sun, and other times she would visit the slums where children gathered and keep them company.
While listening to what was happening in the world, there were times when children who cursed Miragen would get a sharp scolding from her.
Today was the day to visit an orphanage, a place where such children lived.
Although it was a weekly outing that she looked forward to, she felt confused by the noisy atmosphere.
Though she couldn’t see, she could sense the mood.
Usually, when she arrived, the children would come rushing over, but today only a few came while the rest were just noisy.
“Is something going on?”
As Adrian knelt down and asked, one of the chattering children replied.
“Hans ran away after fighting with Kato. He’ll probably come back soon.”
Sigh. Adrian let out a small sigh and stood up.
While it was common for children to get into fights, he ran away, so shouldn’t they look for him?
Moreover, Hans was a child who often caused trouble.
If he ran into a bad-tempered nobleman outside, things could turn ugly, so it was better to find him before that happened.
“I’ll go look for him for a bit, is anyone hurt?”
“Nope, no one is hurt.”
That’s good. Adrian parted the children and wandered around the streets searching for Hans.
But the truth was, she wasn’t moving as fast as she’d like.
Walking wasn’t that easy without someone beside her; using Divine Power would help, but she couldn’t use such powers in a place like this.
“Where could Hans be?”
Thinking that she needed to find him before it got dark, Adrian listened to the sounds around her.
Suddenly, a voice startled her, causing her shoulders to flinch.
“Um, over there. Are you looking for someone?”
“Yikes!”
A scream she didn’t even realize escaped her lips, and silence fell.
A scream broke the silence.
For the saint, who had always maintained her composure and never raised her voice, it was simply a very embarrassing “incident.”
Taking a moment to calm her racing heart, Adrian carefully moved her lips.
That voice she had just heard; she was sure she had heard it before.
The name she recalled while rummaging through her memory was quite unexpected.
She thought she might meet him later, but never imagined it would be so soon.
“…It’s Lord Taylor, isn’t it?”
The voice that answered as calmly as possible trembled slightly.
She thought she might have managed to hide it,
but Adrian’s expectations of waiting for a response were soon crushed.
“Ah… yes, that’s me.”
The voice mixed with a faint trace of laughter was something even a fool wouldn’t miss.
Now with a voice ready to openly laugh, Adrian’s expression crumpled in distress.
#
“I was looking for this child.”
What Adrian was looking for was the child she had just bumped into.
Remembering where he was, she brought him over, and she smiled brightly as she patted the child’s head.
He probably wasn’t the most well-behaved kid.
Seeing her more relieved that no accidents had happened rather than happy to find him, a laugh escaped her lips.
“You’re laughing again.”
Then Adrian glanced at me slyly.
Though her eyes were closed, if her vision were fine, she certainly looked like she was glaring at me.
Maybe she had chuckled a bit after hearing the scream, as she was reacting slightly sensitively to my laughter.
“I laughed because it’s nice to see. Isn’t the picture quite lovely?”
“If that’s the case… I have nothing to say…”
“Well, I think people scream when they’re surprised.”
“I, I’ve never screamed like that.”
Even though I thought it was quite unexpected for me to scream earlier, it was a surprise sound.
Wasn’t she the one who always held herself high and rarely raised her voice in official settings?
Seeing her like this, she had a somewhat down-to-earth side.
Who would have thought she was working at a daycare caring for children?
I couldn’t help but marvel a little that a saint would be doing such a thing.
It can’t be easy to go out, yet she was using even that little opportunity to serve others, and I found myself faintly admiring her.
I had never met someone like her around me. If there was someone like that, I could trust them completely.
Suddenly, I had such thoughts.
Having gone through numerous cycles, this was my first time encountering a saint. I couldn’t help but wonder what might have changed if I had built a connection with her earlier.
I had tried to meet the saint before; it wasn’t as though I hadn’t made an effort.
But, oddly enough, I simply couldn’t meet her.
When I tried to meet her, she had already fled to another country.
And when the timing was right to meet, I had been ambushed, caught off guard.
So, I had almost given up on the expectation of meeting her, yet by a twist of fate, I had now met her twice in this cycle.
…It felt a bit empty, but I figured there was no reason to think negatively about it.
“By the way, where was Lord Taylor headed?”
“I came out for an errand. But, aren’t you carrying something heavy?”
Seeing her struggle with a heavy load, Adrian nodded, insisting she was just fine.
It was probably the blankets for the children.
But seeing her wobble a few times, it was natural that I couldn’t just stand by.
“Here, let me take that. It’ll be faster if I do it.”
“I’m fine, you can rest—ah.”
“No, it’s because I’m not okay.”
Her movements were visibly precarious.
It was impressive that she had been doing this all along, yet on the other hand, I shot a glance at the attendant next to her who had just been watching.
I glared at the bell.
No matter how much I had to pretend to be a commoner outside, she was a saint; wasn’t that a bit much?
But the attendant shook his head as if feeling wronged.
I could somewhat figure out the situation.
It was probably her stubbornness, trying to do everything on her own in a place like this.
“Really, you don’t have to help me,” Adrian pouted.
It seemed that my heavy load bothered him, and he finally quieted down only after I picked up the item that was on top of my pile.
I thought she was quite an unusual woman.
Normally, nobles would hesitate to come to a place like this, yet here she was, coming as a saint.
Adrian, carrying a blanket, began to attract several children.
As they spouted their words, she replied with various quips while listening to them.
“Hey, if you keep sticking to me, I won’t be able to move forward!”
“Sister, Hans has been hitting Kato for a while now!”
“I didn’t hit him; I just touched him!”
“Hans, if you keep that up, your sister will leave early.”
At that, Hans clamped his mouth shut.
It seemed that Adrian had quite a bit of influence in this orphanage.
Despite being just a troublemaker, they listened to her so well.
The head of the orphanage simply watched this scene with a smile.
Adrian was fitting in well among the kids.
I couldn’t tell when she started doing this, but it was undeniable that she found joy in it.
Thinking about that, my expression darkened just a bit, very slightly.
It felt like I was looking at someone from another world.
She was laughing along with the kids, and even without seeing her eyes, she looked every bit like a proper saint.
She was different from me. The light pouring from the sky seemed to shine on her, making her sparkle.
A shadow fell where I was standing, and the light aimed only at Adrian, who was with the children, made me smirk.
Doesn’t it feel like she’s being treated differently?
Well, it was only natural for her to receive different treatment since she was a saint chosen by God.
“Lord Taylor, could you help me with this for a moment?”
Adrian said to me, standing in that shaded spot.
Even though she didn’t make any sound, her gaze was perfectly directed at me.
I flinched for a moment but then replied nonchalantly.
“What can I do for you?”
“The kids won’t leave me alone. Could you watch them for just a moment…?”
Since so many kids had attached themselves to her, it seemed this situation was quite troublesome for her.
However, it looked like she felt bad asking me, so I gladly agreed and started peeling the kids off one by one.
Perhaps Hans had already mentioned it to them, as the kids quickly dispersed from Adrian once I stepped in.
It was a relief that they weren’t completely unmanageable.
I had never really had experience handling young children, after all.
Adrian slightly bowed her head to me and then disappeared with the attendant.
It was quite interesting to see how she walked as if she were familiar with the terrain around here.
By the way, if Adrian came, shouldn’t I be heading out too?
Originally, I had intended to move in the direction of the guild.
If she comes, I should go do the work I’m supposed to do.
“Uncle.”
At that moment, a kid tugged at my sleeve.
Uncle, huh? That wasn’t a bad title. Considering my mental age, I was probably closer to a corpse.
As I stole a glance, the startled kid looked towards the direction Adrian had disappeared, cautiously opening his mouth.
“Do you know my sister?”
“…I only know her name. Why do you ask suddenly?”
“I was wondering if you two might be dating. Both you and the uncle are adults, right?”
“That’s not the case, so you don’t have to worry.”
At that, several children let out a sigh of relief.
Do they think Adrian and I don’t match at all?
Of course, I had no intention of becoming her lover, but still, it felt awkward to receive such a reaction.
“Are you still here?”
The thought faded because of a voice coming from another direction.
Adrian, carrying a full water bottle, and her attendant were approaching us.
It was summer after all, and some kids were sweating profusely, so perhaps that was the reason.
“I’m still here.”
“Oh, I was worried you might have left. Thank you for your help earlier. Here’s some water, ah?!”
Adrian’s body started to tilt forward.
In a hurry to get to me, she seemed to have forgotten about the stone protrusion right in front of her.
Her calm expression crumpled as the water bottle she was holding shot up into the air.
Hair flowing like sunlight scattering in the air looked like a scene where light was fading away.
If I hadn’t caught her, she probably would’ve gotten really hurt.
“Huff.”
Adrian, caught in my arms, let out a short breath.
I had to hold her tightly since I barely managed to grab her before she hit the ground.
I felt her warm breath against my ear.
With her neck resting on my shoulder, Adrian’s heart was thumping wildly against me.
For a very brief moment, Adrian, who had tightly grabbed my shoulder, pulled away and slowly parted her lips.
Perhaps embarrassed for almost falling, her cheeks were faintly flushed.
“Thank you for catching me… really.”
“Are you alright? I’m sorry for touching you. I just couldn’t let you fall.”
“I’m fine. It couldn’t be helped. Ugh, I usually don’t fall like that.”
As she stood up with my support, I noticed her wince and grab her ankle.
It seemed she had twisted it while falling, murmuring softly as she rose with her attendant’s help.
Her expression, lamenting that she had a lot to do today, radiated a sense of disappointment, making the kids look at her with downcast faces.
Then suddenly, the children’s gazes landed on me.
Those blatant looks seemed to say, “Can’t you help her, Uncle?”
I would’ve normally ignored it.
If I were with a different woman instead of the Saint, I would’ve definitely brushed it off and gone about my business.
“Sigh.”
I unconsciously touched my neck.
The wound I received last time had healed without leaving a scar, thanks to Adrian’s healing.
So, maybe I should help her just this once.
…Perhaps this was also a chance to build a connection with the Saint.
“If it’s not something that will take a long time, I can help a bit.”
“Really?”
“…Yes, I have received help before, you know.”
Seeing the Saint’s expression brighten noticeably, I nodded in reply.
The coincidence of being out today, and meeting the Saint again—it might become fate if those coincidences keep happening.
It wasn’t bad. In fact, I felt justified in thinking positively.
Although, it might just be a flimsy excuse.
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