The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 187 The Devout Donovan
The news that the saintess, who had been in seclusion for many days, had reappeared quickly spread throughout the Saint-Rozelle Abbey the next morning.

Count Donovan, a nobleman from Frostwind City who was staying there, also requested a private audience with Her Highness the Saintess once again.

The saint met him in a small chapel of the monastery.

"Your Highness, your appearance is even more beautiful than I expected. The beautiful white snow outside the window pales in comparison to you."

Count Donovan, who was in his fifties, knelt on one knee in front of Eric, took his hand and kissed it several times, while Eric frowned.

Count Donovan, oblivious to the fact that the saintess had arrived, continued to shower her with praise, saying that the holy light emanating from the monastery could be seen from kilometers away, that the snowflakes falling from the sky had become even more crystal clear since she came to Northria, and that the saintess's passing through Frostwind City without entering it had caused countless citizens to sigh with regret.

Eric glanced at Sophie standing beside him; she was suppressing a laugh, her face flushed.

He gestured to her with his eyes that he was about to speak.

"Rise, Earl Donovan. I sense your piety."

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Count Donovan rose to his feet, his back still slightly bent. “I understand how offensive it was for you to come to see Her Highness so abruptly. I should have written earlier to request an audience with Her Highness. I really don’t know how to make amends for disturbing your meditation. I heard that Your Highness has funded the renovation of the Saint Rosell Monastery, and I am willing to contribute some gold coins in Your Highness’s name to build another dormitory for the monks and nuns.”

Eric, resting his chin on his hand, was inwardly complaining that even this old aristocrat didn't have as much courtesy as him, but when he heard Eric say he wanted to make a donation, his opinion immediately changed. There's no harm in being overly polite, after all.

“I can feel Earl Donovan’s sincere piety. But we can discuss the donation later.”

Count Donovan paused for a moment, but quickly nodded. "It's entirely up to Her Highness the Saintess."

Eric looked at him. "I think you're so eager to see me because you've encountered some doubts that you need me to answer for you."

"Only a divine servant like Her Highness the Holy Maiden could immediately see my problem!"

Donovan never missed a chance to flatter, saying, "You read that right, the believer Donovan has encountered a huge doubt that he himself cannot overcome."

Then he began to talk about his real problems.

Before he even spoke, Eric had already heard most of the details from Sophie, who in turn had heard them from other nuns.

Donovan's problem wasn't a major one, but combined with his noble status, it was still quite significant: he betrayed his marriage, abandoning his wife whom he had married under divine witness, and marrying a young mistress.

Recently, many nobles in Frostwind City have used this as a pretext to attack him and prevent him from taking up a key position in the city. The governor of Northria, who was originally going to appoint him, is also wavering.

“Having spent decades with Helena, I discovered she wasn't a devout believer, so I decided to divorce her and marry a truly devout woman. This was by no means abandonment, Your Highness. I gave her a large sum of gold and even provided her with a new house in the city, hoping we could leave each other alone. I despise her betrayal of God, but I have no intention of doing anything more. After all, God teaches us to be kind, even to unbelievers… But my kindness has brought me an indelible injustice! Helena slanders me everywhere, saying I betrayed our marriage. I don't want to hurt her, so I can only toss and turn every night with doubt: Is kindness also a mistake?”

Eric thought to himself that the real reason he didn't want to sleep was probably to be rolling around in bed with his newlywed mistress every night.

Donovan's meaning was clear to him: he wanted the saint to stand up for him and clear his name of the so-called stigma.

"At this moment, I believe in Earl Donovan."

Eric looked at him, gently waving his scepter, "Because I see your piety."

"You're not mistaken, Your Highness..."

Her Highness changed the subject, "But I can't see whether you were devout before, or whether you will remain devout afterward."

The count spat angrily, "The believer Donovan swears to Her Highness the Saintess and the Supreme Yela that my faith will never waver in this lifetime!"

Seeing that Eric was only looking at him, he quickly lowered his voice and added, "The devout believer Donovan sincerely wishes to offer a meager donation of five thousand gold coins to the Saintess Monastery, so that Her Highness's glory may shine on every corner of the continent."

Eric smiled. "I see Earl Donovan's sincere sincerity and unwavering piety."

Donovan breathed a sigh of relief; it was done.

"but……"

not enough?
"However, the Convent of Saintess has received enough offerings over the years. Count Donovan's offerings will probably not be very noticeable there."

As expected, they thought it wasn't enough...

Donovan gritted his teeth, "For Your Highness's glory, I will..."

"—I'm not complaining about the amount," the saintess interrupted him.

"Uh……"

Donovan didn't understand.

Her Highness sighed, "You should know that I've been meditating alone in my room these past few days."

"I heard it from the nun His Highness brought..."

“As I prayed, I seemed to hear the whispers of the gods. She told me that to my north, many people are suffering from hunger… Count Donovan, this is already the northernmost monastery in the empire. Are there any other cities to the north?”

Donovan looked blankly at him. "No, Your Highness... Oh, perhaps a few scattered villages."

"Are they the loyal guardians of the empire? The gods tell me that they would rather endure cold and hunger than fail to protect the empire."

"It's the garrison of the Black Ice Wall! Your Highness, I understand now. You did indeed hear the voice of the gods. On the northernmost border of the Empire, a group of garrison soldiers are suffering from cold and hunger! They have repeatedly requested supplies from Frostwind City. I also generously donated money to those loyal and brave warriors and bought a lot of food to send to them, but the wind and snow were too strong and the roads were impassable, so I haven't been able to set off yet."

Eric looked at him. "Now that you've already bought it, could Earl Donovan please have your men overcome the difficulties and set off as soon as possible?"

Earl Donovan's eyes welled up with tears.

“My beloved saint, how benevolent you are! I will write a letter now! Please forgive my temporary departure…”

After saying that, he turned and quickly left the small hall.

Eric covered his face with his hands and rubbed it vigorously a few times.

"I really like people who are good at talking and rich."

"..."

Sophie pouted. "Your Highness, are you really going to speak up for him? A man like that would even abandon his own wife..."

"All I care about now is what he can do afterward." Eric stretched again, gesturing for a while until his back ached.

"As long as he can deliver the grain to the border, I'll say a few nice words to him, or even ten. You have to do the job if you take the money."

Sophie hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Are you trying to say that I've completely disgraced the Holy Maiden?"

"No! ... I meant to say that Your Highness is of noble status, and speaking for such a person would lower your status."

“You’re right. I am of noble status, especially in this place far from Lesser. Even just standing next to him would give him enough prestige to boast about for a long time.”

Sophie looked at him, "Your Highness means..."

“I won’t defend him, but I will allow him to return to Frostwind with me,” Eric said. “There will be many people to greet him when we enter the city, enough for him to show off and clear his name.”

“We’ll be traveling with him on the way…” Sophie pouted.

“It’s impossible for him to ride in my carriage, so what are you worried about?”

“Alright.” Sophie glanced outside before continuing, “How much food would five thousand gold coins buy?”

"Enough for many people to eat for a long time. If he can really send that much grain to the border without any reduction, then I really have to praise him a few times in public... um."

Eric pondered, "Perhaps that's the right thing to do."

Sophie watched him for a while until Count Donovan returned to the chapel on this side.

"Your Highness, I have already sent out the letter, and my men will set off with provisions as soon as possible."

Eric felt that it was only right to start purchasing after receiving the letter.

"Earl Donovan has generously purchased five thousand gold coins worth of grain. Hopefully, the price of grain in Frostwind City will not be greatly affected."

Donovan paused for a moment, "Your Highness is very thoughtful! Apart from the portion that has already been sent out, I will send people to purchase the remaining grain in Grandia. Grain is plentiful and cheap there, and even considering transportation costs and losses along the way, it will be more than what we can buy in Frostwind City."

“Good.” Eric stood up, walked over to Donovan, and patted him on the shoulder. “The Earl is indeed a devout believer.”

Donovan bowed slightly. "Your Highness... this was all thanks to Your Highness's guidance."

“I will be returning to the Holy Capital in a few days, and I will pass through Frostwind City on the way. Why don’t you stay at the monastery for a few more days, Earl, and come back with me then?”

"Great!" Donovan exclaimed excitedly, his voice suddenly rising so high that Sophie jumped in surprise. She quickly lowered her voice, "I will have someone greet Your Highness outside the city. If Your Highness doesn't mind, please come to my..."

"I will not stay anywhere except the monastery."

"You're right, I forgot."

Eric patted him on the shoulder again and walked out. "I'm tired. Please make yourself at home, Earl."

Donovan bowed deeply to see him off.

Back at his lodgings, Eric said, "It seems the Governor of Northria promised him a more lucrative position, otherwise he wouldn't have offered five thousand gold coins so readily."

"He thought His Highness wasn't satisfied and was planning to take out more," Sophie added, seemingly with some regret.

Eric shook his head. "If he really suffers a huge loss, he'll definitely try to make up for it. Five thousand gold coins is probably an amount he'd be reluctant to part with, but he can still give it to us sincerely. Let him obediently deliver the five thousand gold coins worth of grain to the border first."

"So that's it..."

Elise stayed behind and, upon hearing their conversation, inquired about their questions.

Sophie explained what had just happened to her, and Eric suddenly asked, "Do I have any other plans at the monastery here?"

"Uh, it should be gone... Let me check."

Sophie went through Alena's itinerary, recalling as she went, to confirm that he had done everything he was supposed to do in the first few days after he arrived.

"No, Your Highness. Are you planning to return now?" "No, we'll proceed according to the itinerary."

"Oh."

"Should we stay here for a few more days?" Eric asked again.

Sophie glanced down at herself. "Five or six days... five days."

“Okay.” Eric glanced outside. “Just tell them I’ve had some new insights and need to go into seclusion for a few days.”

Sophie was taken aback. "Your Highness is going out again!"

"Shout louder, so everyone knows."

"..."

Sophie bit her lip and stared at him.

"I'll only be gone for two days, I'll be back soon."

"Where is Your Highness going again?"

“Sail Ice Lake”.

Elise, who was standing to the side, opened her mouth slightly.

"I thought Your Highness had forgotten."

"Can't forget."

Eric started changing his clothes. "Let's pack up and set off now. Lake Sergei isn't far. We can go today and come back tomorrow. Just bring some dry food and fire crystals."

"it is good……"

Sophie could only watch the two men working with resentment, but she couldn't ride a horse and couldn't join them, especially since they needed her to cover for him.

Before leaving, Eric hugged her and kissed her a few times, and she finally smiled slightly.

"If Deacon Alena finds out that Your Highness is running around without a knight, she'll definitely scold me to death when we get back."

"Just don't let her know."

Eric pinched her cheek one last time, then together with Elise, they slipped out of the room, quietly climbed over the monastery gates, went to the stables, and each rode away on a horse.

He was in a hurry to leave today, partly due to the weather; the wind and snow were unusually light today.

After leaving the monastery, Elise basically led the way.

He only knew that Lake Sergei was not too far away, but he didn't know the exact location. Elise, however, still remembered it.

The two rode south and west for half a day, leaving the main road and venturing deep into the snowfield. As darkness gradually fell, Eric spotted the different lights reflecting off the ground not far ahead.

"That looks like the surface of an ice lake."

He sped up and rushed over, only to find that Lake Sergei was much wider than he had expected.

Does the lake here ever melt?

“When the weather is hottest in July and August, the ice will become thinner.” Elise stopped beside him, gazing at the vast frozen lake in front of her with a complicated expression.

"You should know exactly what's next."

"Okay." She nodded, rode directly onto the lake, and crossed the ice.

Although it snows all year round, the wind is also quite strong. There isn't much snow on the smooth ice surface, so the two of them rode very carefully.

"If the horse breaks its leg, we'll walk back."

"...I just wanted to try riding a horse on this."

"Just go slowly."

Carefully crossing the lake to the other side, Elise looked around, a hint of nostalgia on her face.

“We often ice fish here.”

"Then your base should be just ahead."

"Well, come with me."

She swung the reins and rode toward a small ravine by the lake. Not far away, Eric saw a large number of low wooden houses huddled together inside.

That was the stronghold of the Arameans before they were besieged.

He glanced back. It was quite a distance from Hero Avenue to here. It didn't seem like the demon army that marched south in his previous life had just swept through their settlements; rather, they had come here intentionally to massacre them.

Perhaps some of the demons are quite disgusted with these Arans.

Elise stopped some distance away, gazing at the quiet mountain valley from afar.

“Luckily, the house wasn’t bulldozed, and no one is guarding it. At least we have a place to spend the night.” Eric stopped beside her.

"Um……"

She seemed unable to get enough of looking, so he rode in first and circled the small settlement, looking around as he went. Judging from the traces that even the wind and snow could not cover, the Arameans had left in a rather hasty manner.

“There must be quite a few Arans imprisoned in Frostwind City,” he said to Elise as she rode in.

"Once I get there, I'd better not show my face to avoid any misunderstandings."

"What I mean is, if you want to see your people again, I can arrange it. Who would dare misunderstand me?"

Elise looked at him, nodded, and smiled.

She dismounted, her footsteps crunching in the snow as she landed.

“In the past, the snow here rarely piled up this deep; someone would sweep it up every day.”

Eric dismounted as well. "Where is your house? We'll sleep there tonight."

Elise looked towards the other side of the settlement.

"Go over there."

"Ah."

The two led their horses, trudging through the deep snow. After a few steps, Elise suddenly tripped over something in the snow.

"..."

She looked back and stared at it for a while, but ultimately didn't dig into the clump of snow to confirm her guess.

Eric also looked away. "You just said you can ice fish over at the frozen lake. Do you have the tools?"

"We should be able to find it here."

"Do you know how to take care of it?"

Elise took a deep breath and then smiled. "Your Highness, have you forgotten? I told you before that before I went to be a spy for the High Priest, what I did here was prepare food for my people."

"You've become lazier since you came to my side?"

"Your Highness did not give me a chance to demonstrate my diligence."

"Now the opportunity has come."

The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at Elise's old house.

The Aran were wiped out last year, and she left ten years ago. As expected, the house was occupied by others, but it was still barely habitable.

“Looks like we can make do for the night,” Eric said.

Elise nodded gently.

She quickly found him ice-breaking and fishing tools, and Eric rode off with them on horseback. By nightfall, he returned with everything he had.

"The ice on the lake is too thick; it's impossible to break through it."

Elise sat by the fire and glanced at his cuffs, which were wet and frozen.

"It must have gotten colder here after the Arameans left."

"you're right."

"I found some cured meat here."

"Is it still edible?"

"Food can be preserved for a long time in places like this."

“That’s good…” Eric sat down by the campfire, stretched his sleeves over to warm them, and his gaze quickly fell on the burning wooden planks inside.

"Where did you find the wood?"

"The neighbor's house—I asked, and no one objected."

(End of this chapter)