Chapter 019: Reunion

That winter was unbearably cold. Starting from late autumn, falling snow covered the capital of the Gavin Empire. The nobles had already donned thick mink coats, and grand balls were filled with burning coals to keep warm.
That year, Duke Green, the elder of the northern army, repelled an invasion by foreign tribes from the northeast of the empire, filling the upper echelons of the empire with excitement. It was also in that year that the triumphant Duke Green sadly discovered his third son to be a complete good-for-nothing. Fortunately, his first two sons were extremely capable, which somewhat relieved Duke Green’s frustration.
That year, Aldas, the genius of the Belinger family, began to stand out. At less than fifteen years old, he broke through the fourth level barrier of combat energy, becoming one of the top young talents of his generation. Countless praises, flowers, and the affections of young women poured toward him, but this talented boy rejected it all. He set out alone in search of the true essence of martial arts. By the time he returned to the capital years later, his strength was beyond anyone’s comprehension.
That year, Princess Nina appeared at a noble ball for the first time. Her beauty and nobility captivated countless people, and countless nobles flocked to the palace. Yet the emperor rejected all marriage proposals, declaring he wanted Princess Nina by his side…
That year, Joshua was not yet the grand master of the Temple Knights. But this future great knight had already attracted widespread attention. Shortly after joining Anthony’s ranks, he became the youngest grand master in history.
These gradually forgotten histories paled in comparison to the heavy snowfall. For that year, what stood out most was the refugees filling the streets of the Gavin Empire and the blue corpses lying in the snow.
The city’s defense forces were busy on the streets, throwing frozen corpses behind carts and transporting them outside the city for burial. Yet no one showed any reaction as they watched the refugees toil.
The sudden heavy snow not only created a rare spectacle in the Gavin Empire but also destroyed many crops that couldn’t be harvested in time. That year, the northern part of the empire suffered from a snow famine. The number of refugees exceeded the population of the entire capital. Although the empire provided grain for relief, how many could truly be saved with such a large number of refugees?

Moreover, most of those who fell in the icy snow did not die of hunger but were frozen to death. Even with the empire’s financial and material resources, it was impossible to produce enough winter clothing for so many people in just a few days. In this hellish landscape, a thin girl staggered along the streets, dressed in tattered linen clothes, her straw sandals worn out, her feet blue from the cold covered in frostbites from which pus oozed out. Her short hair was dull and lifeless, and her dirty face bore vacant eyes. If anyone could go back in time and see this girl, who would believe she was the Sister Tasia who would later become famous for her cold beauty in the capital? Tasia stumbled through the snow, and after about half an hour, she finally reached the gates of Duke Green’s residence. By then, the gates were already crowded with refugees—because among the nobles who usually cared little for the fate of refugees, someone had decided to provide aid. Tasia pressed her lips together, staring at the closed gates, ready to push through at any moment to grab a coat, as only that could keep her alive in this icy wasteland. Finally, after a long while, the gates slowly opened. Dozens of servants carried clean coats and carts full of black bread out of the duke’s residence. The man who seemed to be the butler waved slightly and then announced loudly, “Today is the tenth birthday of our third young master, Du Fan, from Duke Green’s residence, and also the first day he goes to the Holy Church for further studies. Duke Green has promised to fulfill one of his wishes today. His wish is that everyone in the capital have clothes to wear and bread to eat. While our Green family cannot do that, we can still do something. If those present don’t mind, please help yourselves.” With that, the butler gave a gesture, and the servants quickly distributed the coats and black bread at the gates. Then they stepped back one by one, and the open gates were shut tightly again. The refugees were stunned for less than half a second before erupting in a roar. Everyone rushed in that direction. Tasia managed to snatch a piece of black bread from the crowd, but she had already been pushed many times. After all, she was just a frail girl. Though she wanted to push in to grab another coat, she was pushed back again and again.

Finally, Tasia gave up. She staggered to the corner, scooped up a handful of still fairly white snowflakes, and stuffed them into her mouth. The icy sensation numbed her senses, but she forced herself not to tremble and instead kept stuffing black bread into her mouth.

Less than a few meters away from her, a boy who seemed to be under ten years old stood there. Behind him was an old man who appeared to be in his fifties, but despite his age, he exuded an air of extreme agility. The boy was wearing a not-thick mink coat; his exposed skin turned red from the north wind, but he seemed unaware of it. Instead, he stared at the entrance of the duke’s mansion and sighed softly, saying, “Grandpa Mark… Have I done something wrong?”

The old man, named Mark, shook his head slightly and said, “Third young master… You haven’t done anything wrong… It’s just that human nature is like this… The duke ordered butler Daniel to do this for a reason… Although you have a kind heart, the duke doesn’t want you to suffer greatly because of it in the future. He did this just to let you see through human nature…”

“Human nature…” The boy lowered his head and thought for a moment, then murmured in a voice only he could hear, “Sure enough… No matter what era, is human nature selfish?”

After thinking for a while, it seemed he had made up his mind. He turned to leave, but at that moment, Tasia, who was chewing on black bread in the corner, caught his eye.

Seeing the girl, a few years older than himself, biting into the cold and hard black bread, a look of helplessness appeared on the boy’s face. After a moment, he walked up to her, smiled softly, and said, “Bread… isn’t eaten like this…”

Tasia looked up at him briefly, then her gaze dropped back to the mink coat on her body. She immediately understood his identity. Feeling disgust, she stuffed the half-eaten black bread into her arms and tried to leave.

But the boy seemed to misunderstand her intentions. He glanced at Tasia’s linen clothes and then at his own mink coat, nodded thoughtfully, and quickly took off his mink coat to drape it over Tasia’s shoulders.

The north wind blew, causing him to shiver, yet his face still wore a smile. He looked at Tasia and said softly, “Like this, is it a bit warmer?”
Tasia’s expression stiffened, but she couldn’t say anything.
The old man behind the boy, called Grandpa Mark, sighed gently and said, “Young man, this is a mink coat sewn by the Duchess herself for you. If the Duchess finds out…”
“It’s okay…” The boy smiled faintly. “As long as you don’t tell Mother, how will she know? By the time I return home next year, spring will have arrived. And God loves all people; everyone is equal before the Light God. Since I’ve become a priest, I must uphold this principle, right?”
Before he could finish speaking, the boy shivered again.
Mark shook his head helplessly, took off his cloak, and wrapped it around the boy before saying, “In that case, young master, you’ll have to endure it. The carriage has arrived… After dropping you off at the church, I still have other matters to attend to…”
The boy nodded slightly, but moments later, as if remembering something, he turned to look at Tasia and said with a smile, “Since we met today, it must be fate… Would you like to come with me?”
Tasia looked at the boy’s face and trembled, saying, “W-where… to?”
Hearing her voice, the boy was slightly surprised and asked, “Are you a girl?”
Tasia nodded slightly.
The boy stared at her thoughtfully for a moment before saying, “Then… if I’m going to the Holy See… would you like to come with me? It’s not safe for a girl in this icy, snowy weather.”
Tasia shook her head and said, “I don’t believe in God.”
The boy was stunned again. After a moment, he gave Tasia a look befitting someone of his age and said softly, “That’s great… I… don’t believe in God either…”