Chapter 61
The boy ascended to the third floor of the inn and stood before the closed door.
He glanced at the door, then at the maid, who nodded in response.
It was okay to knock.
Knock, knock.
His hand was awkward as it rapped on the door.
He waited for a moment, and then a voice came from within.
“Come in.”
The slightly hoarse voice had a peculiar resonance.
It wasn’t the voice he had imagined for a saintess.
‘I thought it would be kinder and softer.’
With that thought, he stepped inside and saw a woman sitting in a chair.
She sat with her back straight, but she looked delicate and frail, lacking in majesty.
Though she was different from what he had imagined, he knew one thing for sure.
‘She really does have red eyes and black hair.’
The boy stared at the saintess, forgetting the maid’s prior warning.
Unlike him, she had grown up as a noble, a saintess candidate, and would be very different.
‘Did she grow up delicately?’
Or did she live like us even in a noble family?
The boy wondered about that.
So he asked.
“Was it different in the noble house?”
The maid, surprised by the unplanned question, scolded him.
“How dare you be so rude!”
She looked ready to throw him out immediately, but the saintess’s next words quieted her.
“Let him be.”
At least one thing was certain.
The maid followed the saintess thoroughly. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have changed her attitude so quickly.
The saintess gazed into the air for a moment before speaking to the maid.
“Lani, please step outside for a moment.”
“But, my lady.”
“I’ll be fine.”
The maid seemed uneasy about leaving them alone. Still, she didn’t disobey the saintess’s words.
She cast a warning glance at the boy on her way out, but that was all.
The room fell into silence with only the two of them remaining. The saintess then unbuttoned her sleeve with one hand.
After rolling up her sleeve, she removed her glove, revealing a white, slender arm.
“Will this answer your question?”
There were red marks on her arm.
Even though divine power didn’t work on the saintess, the best healers must have attended to her, yet the scars remained.
They must have been more horrific when they first appeared.
“Were you beaten?”
“Yes. To be precise, I was tortured.”
“Why?”
He knew it was impertinent, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking.
“I was framed. Accused of trying to harm the saintess candidate.”
But in the end, the one who sat in the saintess’s position was the woman with the ominous scars from torture.
Realizing this, the boy couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The saintess quietly watched him.
“What’s your name?”
“Irene. What’s yours?”
“Trash.”
“What?”
“Everyone calls me Trash. Or annoying brat, bastard, demon spawn. Call me whatever you like.”
“That’s not a name.”
“If someone calls me that, doesn’t it become my name?”
The saintess, Irene, shook her head at his words.
“You need a new name.”
“Then, please give me one.”
“Me? I’ve never named anyone before.”
“No one has ever given me a name before.”
The boy eagerly pleaded with Irene.
“Alright then.”
Irene thought hard.
“Noah. How about Noah?”
“What does it mean?”
“It means to comfort.”
“Then I like it.”
The boy tried out his new name.
“Noah.”
It was a better name than he had expected. He wouldn’t be called Trash anymore.
‘A name given by the saintess herself.’
There was something else he was curious about.
“Do you love the world, my lady?”
It was what he had been most curious about.
“What do you think?”
Her face, which had been calm and composed, twisted slightly.
Within it was anger and hatred.
Seeing that, Noah wanted to laugh again.
“I think I know the answer, my lady. May I follow you? No one in this village likes me anyway. You don’t have to feed me. Just let me follow you from behind.”
“Why?”
“I want to see what path the saintess who hates the world will walk.”
Noah said honestly. It might sound crazy to anyone else, but Irene didn’t get angry. She just had a thoughtful expression for a moment.
“Alright. Follow me.”
With that, their conversation ended. Noah went back outside, and Irene had a brief conversation with the maid.
“You’re taking that boy with you? Are you sure about this?”
“It’s fine. Just prepare for it.”
“Yes, I will.”
The maid approached Noah, who was waiting outside the room.
“Consider it an honor that the saintess is taking you with her.”
“Yes.”
“At least you respond properly. So, where’s your home? You should at least inform them before you leave.”
“I don’t have one.”
“What?”
“I don’t have one, ma’am.”
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