Angel on earth

Mikhail Kupala turned around and walked up the steps, returned to the ground, told some brothers to deal with the affairs of the monastery, and went straight to Alexei's house.

Stepan Nikolayevich's house was a small three-story stone building with a front and back yard. Some wisteria and creepers climbed on the red hipped roof.Over the years, the church has given some help, and the medicine prescribed by Dr. Edwards is basically free. Therefore, the life of the accountant's family has improved a lot because of the illness of the eldest son.

Rollins was pushing a swing for a three-year-old boy in the front yard.He smiled kindly and gently, and the wrinkled lines on his face made him look like the grandfather of the family.

Mikhail forced a smile and knocked on the courtyard door.The hostess exclaimed, and hastily invited him to come in, put her legs together, raised her hands in salutation, said many flattering words excitedly, and ran into the house to prepare bread and salt.

The three-year-old boy giggled and ran over to hug him. Mikhail, who was still much taller than him when he squatted down, lifted him up easily.Rollins didn't have time to stop, and the little boy burst into tears.

Mikhail was at a loss, and the hostess who ran out to clean up the tableware also turned pale, took the boy and slapped her across the face, and smiled apologetically, "I'm really sorry, my lords, Niko is still young..."

After the two saints spoke softly and comforted her, she went gratefully into the room to change the boy's trousers, forgetting to invite them in.The two of them were not annoyed, and Mikhail even stretched out his hand to rejuvenate the withered rose bush in the front yard.

Rollins said, "Your Highness, go back."

"what?"

"Alexey Stepanovitch is going to a monastery."

"That's not right!" Mikhail yelled, "What are you thinking? He was treated like Vasily, and it is justified to send him to a distant town!"

Rollins turned around abruptly and looked at him coldly: "Why don't you have a long memory? Why do you still believe that vampire's words!"

"What he said was true." Mikhail couldn't believe it. "You know it's true too! Facts are facts, and it doesn't make any difference whether he's a vampire or a human. Didn't you hear?"

There were sounds of throwing things and screaming upstairs.

Rollins put his hands behind his back and looked up at him: "Your Highness, every child Vasily treated has been recorded, and Alexei is indeed suffering from epilepsy. Even if Vasily did something wrong, it cannot be done for this. A bad name for the Church."

"Of course we have to repent instead of cover up for doing bad things! Isn't this what God the Father has always taught us?" Mikhail lowered his voice, "Besides, wasn't Mary the same back then? She was still a saint, and people still I have strengthened my faith because of the sincerity of the church.”

"You said this on the premise that Vasily was guilty." Rollins said, "You were bewitched by that hateful vampire. That's sophistry. Your Highness, I never deceive you."

"Okay, then I'll only focus on the second half of your sentence: Even if Vasily did something wrong, will the church have to cover it up for him?!"

"This is my fault, I apologize to you, Mikhail." Rollins quickly changed his words, "But we should apologize to Brother Vasily the most. You are only 16 years old. Before you were born, Brother Vasili had already Mithras our Lord did hard work for decades. When he was baptized, the people of Potosí were still in the hands of the devil, and the brethren of the church lived in hiding. Until this year, he got Seriously ill, but still conscientiously exorcising demons for the children yourself, isn’t that admirable? You killed the enemy of our Lord on the front line, and he also fought in the land of the devil for 58 years. That’s why the Father God chose Chalek as a From the pilgrimage site. Mikhail, I watched you grow up, so don't get caught up in bad words."

Mikhail was at a loss.He looked at Rollins, and Rollins looked at him.After a while, Mikhail said sadly

"I don't understand, Rollins. I don't understand. Why do so many people lie and do evil? Why can't people be nice to others?"

"Because we are here to atone," Rollins said. "They are, and we are."

Mikhail said: "To live is to fight the devil all the time."

"Yes." Rollins agreed, looking over Mikhail's head to a sealed window on the second floor, "The battlefield of the spirit is much more terrifying than the battlefield of the flesh. You still have something to learn. "

"I'll do it as soon as possible." The young man always cheered up quickly, "Can I go up and see Alexei?"

"Of course." The kind and gentle smile returned to Rollins' face, and he said briskly, "But we have to ask Madam for permission."

Soon, the two met nine-year-old Alexei upstairs.The boy's complexion was pale because he hadn't seen the sun for many years, his body smelled of sickness, and the room smelled musty.The hostess explained that Alexei had been getting sick more and more recently, so he had to be kept in the house. However, at the beginning of each month, they would change Alexei's room.Having said that, the hostess became angry again. A mother's anger never cared about the civilians or the pope standing beside her.She said, it's no wonder that Arnold Edwards often came to see a doctor in the name of the monastery without charging money. It turned out that he hurt Alexei; if Alyosha died, not only their family would suffer, but Father Vasili would also suffer. Reputation damaged by a failed exorcism - nothing could be more vicious!

Although Mikhail accepted Rollins' statement, he still felt that it was a sophistry for the lady to go through the process of reversing the results without real evidence.It's just that Alexey kept screaming after they entered the door, and fell asleep after being comforted by Rollins' spell. He couldn't say anything.

Alexei's mother scolded fiercely, and the two saints repeatedly assured her that although the vampire was not dead, they would bring it back to Lieyang City, where it would undergo the most severe trial and punishment. penalty.After going back and forth like this several times, her anger subsided a little.

The hostess asked them to stay for dinner again, but they did not refuse.In return, Mikhail held a simple blessing ceremony for their house, and Stepan was called back by the excited hostess to receive the blessing together.

When leaving Alexei's house, Mikhail was in a much better mood, apologized to Rollins again, and said that he would go to Father Vasily's tomb to apologize.Rollins patted his arm and said with a hearty smile:

"You are still young, don't worry. You have a lot of opportunities. After going through this time, I think you have learned a lot, and I can rest assured. In a few days, you will escort Edwards back with Hill and Knight Ferdy. Let's go to Lieyang City, and Gray and I will continue the mass in the whole land."

Mikhail blushed, and drew a sun cross on his chest: "Thank you for your trust, and thank God the Father for forgiveness!"

"Yeah." Rollins also gestured at his chest, "I think, as the first mistake you made in your life, executing Arnold Edwards yourself is obviously very helpful for your spiritual growth. "

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Mikhail said softly, under the glare of the sun, for some reason, he looked a little sad.But he is too tall, and no one pays special attention to this.

In the early morning of the day when the knight team set off for Lieyang City, the guards of the monastery caught a young man from a slum on the wall.

Compared to other children in the slums, Denier was usually healthy, but this time he was covered in bruises and blood all over his face, so much so that the guard explained to others that he didn't hit him himself.Denier also swore that it wasn't the guards who did it, but he didn't mention the origin of the injury, and asked the nurse in charge to see His Royal Highness Kupala.Mammy, of course, ignored him and was about to knock him down the mountain, but Denier immediately yelled.Mikhail happened to be practicing sword in the courtyard, and when he heard the sound, he rushed over and took Denier away.

When he saw Denier, Mikhail was in a daze, remembering that he hadn't been to the dungeon for several days.Sure enough, Denier asked to see Arnold Edwards.

Priest Gray appeared nearby at some point, sitting on the edge of the corridor on the second floor, and said with a soft smile, "If you want to be cured, you can go to Dr. Carter. Recently, in order to pray for his wife, he is giving free medical treatment to the upper district and Residents in the lower district are being treated.”

Denier shook his head and said firmly: "It's the doctor... Edwards caused me to become like this, I must seek justice. Your Highness, please do me a favor, let me say a few words to him. You You're leaving today, aren't you? Tell me to rest assured."

"Yes." Mikhail said, "but Priest Gray and I will be there to witness."

Priest Gray was a little surprised, and Mikhail nodded to him with a kind smile on his face.

"...Can I trouble you both to wait on the steps?" Denier hesitated, "I have something to ask him. It is related to... some things before, and I will tell the truth later. But someone is there, I'm really embarrassed to speak."

The two priests looked at each other in confusion and didn't ask anything. Mikhail nodded: "I respect your wishes, please be safe. But, don't you really need to heal your injuries first? There will be a trial announcement in the morning, the team Only leave in the afternoon."

"Praise your kindness, but it's okay, it's just a small injury, it looks serious."

Priest Gray still did not go to the dungeon, and advised Mikhail not to either.He looked at Denier with a smile, and said, anyway, Arnold Edwards can't please in that environment, the guy was already very weak when he went to visit the prison last time: even his eyes turned red, but he looked like a dead dog It doesn't move even when poked with a stick.Mikhail listened quietly, thanked him for his concern, and left with Denier.

It was only when Mikhail entered the wet darkness with the candlestick in hand that he realized that he didn't want to see Arnold Edwards more than he expected.Without even asking Denier, he handed him the candlestick and stood on the steps waiting.Denier thanked him and limped away around the corner.