“If I didn’t look like I was ever starving, you would have known to behave well around me.”
The boys’ eyes were shaken to the dangling saint’s plaque in Elaine’s hand.
“Eh, nobility….”
“I am Elaine Newt, a saint from the Newt family. And I have the power to kick out people who cause trouble in the soup kitchen and ban them from entering.”
It was a lie, but it was always a good threat.
Sure enough, the boys who had been fighting without paying attention to their surroundings quietly got up from their seats and took a step back.
And the other poor people who were watching this also became calm.
“I don’t know if you thought it was okay to ignore the saints and behave as you please, but from now on, anyone who behaves like this will be banned from entering the soup kitchen! How dare you pollute God’s inner courtyard with selfishness and greed!”
The poor people froze as soon as they heard that she was from a count family. Moreover, Elaine’s fierce look with her eyes raised and shouting was so confident and natural that no one thought that what she said was a lie.
“I’m sorry, saint.”
The two boys who were fighting quickly knelt down and clasped their hands together.
For them, who already felt like they would starve to death if they didn’t eat food from the soup kitchen, the ban on entry was such a terrible punishment.
Elaine also knew that fact well.
“I know it’s because you are so hungry. The food we provide may not be enough. But we do our best, and no matter how hard it is for you, you cannot ignore the good intentions of others like this!”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ll turn a blind eye just this once. Get up, clean up your tables, and then go back.”
“Thank you!”
They licked the almost empty wooden bowl a few more times, then put it in the dishwasher and hurried out of the soup kitchen.
Elaine watched them leave and then looked around the inside of the soup kitchen.
Everyone was afraid to make eye contact with Elaine, so they lowered their heads and concentrated on eating the stew.
The inside of the soup kitchen, which had been noisy until now, has become much calmer.
“Is there anyone who didn’t hear what I said earlier?”
Elaine asked loudly, but no one raised their hand.
“I have a good memory. I especially don’t forget the face of the person who caused the problem.”
It was something she had said when she had experienced something similar in her past life, but this time, since she was younger, Elaine tightened her eyes.
“Don’t be rude to the saints who serve you. The moment they raise their hands, this soup kitchen will close. The temple does not plan to provide additional manpower.”
There were gasping sounds coming from all directions.
After confirming that everyone had calmed down, Elaine went back to the inside and started washing the dishes that had accumulated in the meantime.
With a clattering sound, the poor began to eat again, and the saint women who were looking at Elaine with wide eyes exchanged glances with each other.
The food distribution that day was easier and more successful than ever.
Because there were almost no people fighting, the soup kitchen floor wasn’t dirty, and thanks to Elaine’s quick handling of a lot of the dishes, the work ended early.
Lucy, who was patting her aching back and leaving the organized soup kitchen, looked back at Elaine and said.
“I was surprised earlier. How can a young lady control so many people at once?…Are all noble ladies like this?”
“That’s right. To be honest, we were afraid you might be a nagging nuisance……”
Elaine gave a small laugh as the four women’s eyes filled with gratitude as their doubts disappeared.
‘It was like that in my past life. From the first day I came, I was surprised by the poor condition of the soup kitchen and the work like the tide, and I made a series of mistakes. Still, rather than reprimanding me, they warmly embraced me.’
“Thanks to you, it helped us a lot, saint.”
“You’re doing well even though it’s your first time. We make mistakes like that all the time, so don’t worry about it.”
“Are you having a hard time? How did someone like the saint come to come here?”
Then, when they found out about Elaine’s situation as she was almost abandoned by Newt’s family, how sad everyone felt.
The comfort Elaine received from them at that time was the reason why she volunteered to work at the soup kitchen every year.
“I would like to be of greater help to you, but I am sorry that I’m a powerless saint.”
“Oh my god, what are you saying! I felt so comfortable today thanks to the saint.”
In response to Lucy’s response, the others also nodded loudly and praised Elaine.
Feeling the warmth after returning, Elaine thought it was a good idea to volunteer to work at the soup kitchen.
‘I sincerely hoped that I could be of some help to them.’
* * *
“A soup kitchen for the poor?”
After receiving Priest Raoul’s letter, Lark couldn’t believe his eyes and read a phrase from the letter out loud.
He knew that the Saints, who had been members for a year, had started volunteer work.
He had even asked Priest Raoul to put Elaine in a decent place.
However, the letter Raoul sent contained something unexpected.
「Suddenly, Saint Elaine volunteered to work at a soup kitchen for the poor. I was surprised when I heard the news, but I couldn’t change it because it had already been confirmed.
When I asked Saint Elaine why she volunteered to work at the soup kitchen, she answered, ‘Bara told me to look out for those who are in low places.’ In fact, she also contributes a lot to the soup kitchen.
In the 15 years I’ve been in the temple, I have never seen such a faithful saint. Maybe you should consider making Saint Elaine to become a priest?」
“Hah…!”
Lark burst out laughing.
Raoul seemed very moved by Elaine, but Lark had no idea what Elaine was thinking.
‘is she faithful? Elaine?’
Everyone in the Newt family was far from religious faith. So, before he joined the temple, Elaine had no experience in cultivating faith.
Then, suddenly, something that puzzled him came to him.
‘Now that I think about it, Elaine memorized the titles of both the major and minor scriptures, right?’
‘On the first day that Elaine took lessons from a tutor with Ellie, didn’t she answer Madame Bellini’s questions clearly, as if she could sense that Ellie or Lorina were trying to trouble her.’
Most noble children have a hard time even memorizing the titles of the major scriptures, but Elaine surprised Madame Bellini by memorizing the titles of so many small scriptures in the correct order.
When she had nothing to do, she read books about Laomism.
‘She may have turned to religion because she was lonely and having a hard time alone in this house.’
Lark rested his chin and tapped his table with his index finger, lost in thought.
‘Would it be better for Elaine to become a priest…?’
It was considered an honor to produce a priest from a noble family.
If Elaine was truly religious and serious about religion, her becoming a priest would not be a bad thing for her and her family.
However, Lark, who had been imagining such a future, slowly shook his head.
‘If Elaine becomes a priest, she will belong to the temple, not our family.’
In order to sever personal ties with the world, priests changed their last names to the name of the temple they belonged to. If Elaine becomes a priest at the Temple of Pavelo, she will become Elaine Pavelo, not Elaine Newt.
‘I didn’t like that…’
Even with the last name ‘Newt’, he needed to keep the connection between himself and Elaine.
And above all, after Elaine became a priest, the road to meeting her became more difficult.
Of course, the priest and their family could be met, but time was limited, and the priest couldn’t return to their family and stay there.
‘There’s more to be gained by marrying her off to a powerful family than raising her as a priest.’
Lark erased the option of raising Elaine to be a priest from his mind.
* * *
Meanwhile, the news that Elaine was volunteering at a soup kitchen reached Sergey’s ears by Hubert.
“So why?”
Sergey was not surprised, for he had heard from Elaine that her experience at the soup kitchen had helped her when she had to deal with the Newt family.
Sergey thought she’d gotten some kind of mental fortification there.
Hubert, who had delivered the news as if it were something serious, was momentarily taken aback when he saw Sergey’s expression as if he did not understand it at all.
‘Ah, I don’t think he knows what humans are doing there.’
Whether it was five hundred years ago or now, Sergey was not good at thinking from the perspective of humans.
Hubert explained step by step as if teaching a child.
“In the Temple of PaveIo, they do volunteer work every two weeks, but the most difficult place is the soup kitchen for the poor. And Lady Elaine ended up working there.”
“What’s difficult about it?”
“Well, the soup kitchen is a smelly, disorganized place, and I can’t imagine preparing meals for two hundred poor people or washing the dishes they serve.”
“Really?”
“Lady Elaine washes the dishes by soaking her delicate hands in cold water. If she wash dishes with her bare hands, her hands will become rough. After working all day, there will be pain in her back, arms, or legs.”
After hearing something completely different from what he had imagined, a slight wrinkle appeared between Sergey’s eyebrows.
* * *
