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“The Lord has spoken. Fill the world with love, and let the world be full of love. Go forth and multiply.”

‘So what?’

“I have decided to spread the love as I have been saved by it. I went to seminary to learn His word, and as I went through the necessary processes to become a priest, I nurtured love. I embraced the pain of magic that comes with using blood, and I accepted the cost of magic as well.”

William glared at the priest with the eyes of a madman.

How could someone cheerfully accept the cost of magic?

Was that a sane thought?

However, Jinseong partially agreed with Thomas’s words.

The cost was as familiar to a shaman’s daily life.

Unless one became accustomed to that pain, it was impossible to live by using magic as a profession.

The ways to accept the pain and the processes were different for everyone, yet accepting it as part of daily life was what shamans were.

“Jesus Christ willingly hung on the cross. The reason He could do it without hesitation, despite the pain, was not because it wasn’t agonizing. He endured it because He could save people from that suffering and fill everyone with love.”

‘Shut up.’

“I was the same. How could I not endure the pain of this body, when it is my duty to make people happy and allow love to thrive? Whether it be keeping a mouthful of water for a month while praying in place or whipping my body, made of iron, to pray for those poor souls while groveling, or tearing off a piece of mold-covered bread to pray to God for the unfortunate! All of that was love, and the pain for the sake of love.”

‘You sound crazy….’

“However, love is unstable and fragile. Even when we love one another, we can hurt each other in different ways, and we often end up hurting each other because we are mismatched. It can flare up like fire, then quickly extinguish, and even when consistent, it always comes to an end.”

‘Shut up already, you psycho priest!’

“That’s why love needs a promise. A covenant to maintain each other’s love. A contract to help us keep love alive!”

Thomas’s eyes sparkled.

“Contracts of love. Promises of love! Promises to strive for family peace, promises to honor parents, promises to love children forever. Promises that friendship will never change! And—”

‘Crazy….’

“Forever. Even in death, a promise to love each other forever. The vows of bride and groom.”

His eyes were filled with kindness.

His mouth radiated goodwill.

His words dripped with conviction.

However, on his face was a flicker of madness.

“Lord William. People might see you as just a twisted rogue. Some might say you were forsaken by God, or that you were abandoned by the saint. But I know you. I understand your truth, and I empathize with you.”

William shot a glare at Thomas.

A look that said to stop talking nonsense.

“I understand you, Lord William. Intellectually and emotionally, I empathize. I genuinely understand your pain. Childhood mistakes can leave deep wounds that shape a person’s life for years. Oh, how could I not understand? How could I not resonate with your life? There stands my childhood self, growing and living right before my eyes!”

Thomas smiled kindly.

“People hurt each other. It is unavoidable. A person’s heart isn’t something that fits tightly; there will inevitably be collisions, and if the point of collision is an edge, it’s bound to leave a mark. Thus, we are sculpted and molded into adulthood.”

His eyes were serene, and he seemed to genuinely care for William.

Yet the slight glimmer in his eyes arose from madness.

Madness.

Madness stemming from purity.

Madness that doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice oneself for others.

A light of madness rooted in goodwill was sparkling in Father Thomas’s eyes.

“Thus, the wounds of childhood are all the more painful. An unrefined edge is sharp and pointed. Naturally, the marks left by that edge are deep and clear. It’s a tragic affair.”

Thomas looked at William as if he were a poor little child.

“Some say everyone goes through such processes, becoming adults in the end. So don’t bother whining… Hahaha. Such truly irresponsible words. Just as appearances vary, so too do the scars etched in a person’s heart; how can one claim they are the same?”

“….”

“Each person carries their own scars. They must move forward, bearing that hurt, unable to forget. And rather than harsh words, they must recall their own wounds, empathizing with the wounds of others, shedding tears for that pain. That is love.”

“….”

“Therefore, I dare to say, I understand Lord William. And I want to say that I empathize with that pain.”

“….”

“And as someone who empathizes with pain, and as someone who must fulfill their duty, I intend to wrap this up. My eloquence may fall short of the warmth of your words like a priest, but—”

Thomas walked towards the carrier sitting in the corner.

“I have learned some useful skills, so I shall compensate for that.”

William’s eyes widened at those words.

The implication that compensation had already been made.

And if it was influenced by ‘magic’ recently, it could only be one thing.

The evil spirits that came in his dreams attempting to drag him away.

William glared at Thomas with a mix of questions and fury.

Why did you do this?

You, whom I trusted the most, why have you done this to me?

Thomas smiled at William, who was overflowing with betrayal.

With no trace of negative or intense emotions.

Only a smile filled with goodness and love for the other.

“Lord. It is time to fulfill the promise.”

‘A promise? What promise?! You bastard!’

William glared at Thomas with eyes aflame with rage.

But his fury quickly dissipated.

As Thomas opened the carrier he brought, the flames that were supposed to burst forth like a volcano were extinguished in an instant as if ice water had been poured over them.

In their place was a chilling, sharp emotion.

Fear.

A primal instinct, a signal from the body to run from danger.

“Guh- Huhhhh–!!”

‘Crazy, crazy bastard!!’

William gasped and screamed with wide-open eyes.

He screamed like a muzzled horse unable to form proper words.

William averted his gaze from the carrier and shouted with a face full of terror at the smiling Thomas.

“Ugh—!!!”

Inside the open carrier were items.

No.

To be precise….

There was something that had once been a person.

“Look, Lord. Here is your childhood. Your childhood love, your happiness, your loss, a chance that can be reclaimed, and the girl who will be with you until the day you breathe your last.”

Inside the carrier lay the corpse of a person.

The corpse of a young girl.

“Beatrice. Just like her name that means ‘the girl who brings happiness’. She brought you luck, and she is the tragic girl who has always placed you in a life filled with guilt in your memories.”

The girl who had been buried deep in the grave long ago was left with only her bones and hair.

Yet, despite her unappealing appearance of just bones and hair, the clothes the corpse wore were neat and splendid.

She was dressed in a pristine, bright white dress without a speck of dust.

‘You bastard, you bastard! What the hell is this———!!!’

William’s fear transformed back into rage.

Beatrice.

The name of the girl he couldn’t save in his childhood.

The moment the priest uttered that name, an unimaginable anger surged within him, one he could hardly contain.

It was a kind of fury he had never felt in his life.

Veins bulged in his eyes, and his vision turned blood red, as if all reason had been utterly paralyzed.

It felt as though his heart might explode at any moment, and it felt as if breathing was impossible.

He felt no sensations in his limbs, only a blazing desire to tear that priest apart with his bare hands!

Clang!

Clang!

William shook his body like a madman.

In the process, blood flowed from the wounds on his hands and feet, and his shoulder dislocated, but thanks to that dreadful rage, he felt no pain and cared not for his own body; he just wanted to kill that priest.

Seeing this, Thomas wore an awkward expression.

“Oh dear. If you thrash about like that, your clothes will get wrinkled. Please stop.”

As he said this, the priest subdued William completely, preventing him from moving an inch.

He completely restrained him so he couldn’t twist his body at all, and he adjusted William’s dislocated shoulder himself.

And with a flick of his hand, he used magic to smooth out the now-wrinkled clothes, and neatly combed the disheveled hair again.

Once William went back to looking presentable, Thomas brightened and locked eyes with him.

“Lord William. Do you remember the conversation you had with Beatrice in front of the angel statue when you were little?”

“Ugh-! Ugh-!”

“Beatrice shyly confessed to you, saying that if you grew up handsome, she might consider being a bride. Do you remember what you said back?”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Hahaha. You mentioned that if she became a beauty, you wouldn’t be unable to become her groom. That rather blunt yet bashful response still lingers in my memory.”

“Ugh!”

“But do you know what kind of angel that statue was?”

Thomas smiled.

“It was an angel called Barachiel, known as the blessing of the Creator. He is the archangel leading 496,000 angels, revered in the Orthodox Church.”

“Ugh!”

“Truly, it could not be more of God’s care. Just placing that statue sent by the Orthodox Church there, and it just so happened that you two appeared at that time and talked in front of it. What else could this be but divine guidance?”

Thomas made the sign of the cross and said a brief prayer.

A prayer praising the Creator’s greatness.

“Lord William. Barachiel is the chief of guardian angels. He primarily protects children and families, facilitating marriages. Moreover, he brings forth joy and happiness, ensuring laughter is abundant!”

“….”

“Indeed. The pair of boys and girls, you and Lady Beatrice! Amazingly, you conversed under the watchful eye of the angel responsible for marriage and happiness! A fresh love, a covenant full of innocence regarding marriage!”

Thomas’s sparkly eyes twinkled with joy.

“Lord! Promises must be fulfilled. No matter how love spreads, it must be supported by a pillar.”

His eyes contained a madness born from kindness.

“You lost your love because you couldn’t keep that promise.”

He spoke as if for William’s sake.

“The void left was so vast and desolate that perhaps you could never recover from it.”

He acted with William in mind.

“But God has guided us, showing us how to fill that love again. It is to honor a childhood promise and bind one another to grow old together until the day you breathe your last! So, I will join you with Lady Beatrice right here, right now!”

As he said this, Thomas removed the divine object attached to the carrier.

Then, something wiggling seeped out of the skull, forming into a holographic shape.

It was a cute and pretty girl dressed in a wedding dress.

“This wedding will be blessed by Barachiel! Their love will be eternal!”

 

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