He was but a simple priest, following the lord's teachings despite the world being wrecked with poverty and the plague; when life failed him, his faith did not. He had always supposed himself to be a man of God, and had dedicated himself to the chur...
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_ 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟸 ; 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚢 _
"𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him... For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
A tall, weary man stood at the pulpit, back tall and wrinkled hands gripping the wooden pulpit strongly. Despite the grey hairs on his head, and the wrinkles surrounding his deep-set brown eyes, he seemed ineffable, like the words of God were moving through him and out of his lips.
"John 2:15..." The bishop spoke. "Thank you all."
The people in the pews, mostly composed of nuns and priests, broke out into chatter upon the sermon's concluding. Most participated in idle chitchat, but the atmosphere felt unusual--the usual laughter of children playing, and elders whispering was gone. Most of the church's regulars were no where to be found, save for (Y/N), who had begun to stand up, dusting off her black dress.
Lucius' ears were seemingly attuned to a special frequency, and he could hear her let out a gentle sigh even amidst the awkward chattering of the nuns. His eyes were similar in this regard, as he easily picked her out of the small crowd of nuns, despite how her black dress looked rather similar to the nuns' black garments.
Maintaining a calm stride, he followed her out of the church and into the courtyard, only to see his path blocked by a small group of nuns. There were about four of them, who looked at him with wide eyes before quickly looking away.
Exhibiting an uncharacteristically astute manner, his eyes briefly glanced at the four women, picking one out: a young lady named Mielle, who he had worried over before due to her friendship with Amanda. She was young and impressionable, not to mention still grieving her sister's passing from the plague--so her attaching herself to a gossip like Amanda was worrisome.
"... and she was the only one who survived. But how could someone who looks so innocent be the sole survivor? I bet she had something to do with it." The girl quietly whispered to one of the nuns, as she watched Lucius walk away. However, with his keen ears, heard most of what was said.
"I can't imagine how that kind of person would be capable of such--" the other nun hesitantly began, before her words were cut off.
"Enough! This is not the behavior that befits a sister of the Church." Lucius' voice called out, as he turned around in order to face the nuns. Their eyes widened like saucers, but the one who trembled the most was Mielle.
"Gossip and slander are sins, and I will not stand for it. We are called to love our neighbors, not to speak ill of them behind their backs. Sister Mielle, you must reflect on your actions. And you all," he turned to the other nuns, "if you value your position in this institution and your place in God's kingdom, I suggest you refrain from such talk in the future."
"I-It's not slander!" Mielle retorted. "Father Lucius, how could you defend such a suspicious woman! Perhaps gossip is a sin, but isn't murder far worse?"
"You speak of murder as if you have the authority to judge, but have you forgotten the words of our Lord when he said, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone'? It is not our place to judge, but to love and forgive. So before you condemn that woman with your wicked tongue, remember that we are all sinners in need of grace."
The nun's lower lip trembled, as she repeated what he had said to herself: "W-Wicked tongue...?" Her eyes became teary, and the three nuns offered no words of comfort or defense. If Amanda was here...
"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Tears started falling from Mielle's eyes, and she quickly escaped as to not embarrass herself in front of the other nuns who were casting cold glances at her. With the awkward atmosphere, the nuns were no longer in the mood to engage in their idle chitchat, and quickly retreated back into the main church.
"Did it anger you that badly?" A voice rang out from behind him. He turned to face the person in question quickly, recognizing the voice in the same way that a dog recognizes its master.
"Well, they were spreading lies and rumors, whilst disregarding the truth--their conduct was unacceptable, especially for women of God." But most importantly, they were lying about her. "I apologize if my conduct frightened you..."
"Oh, it didn't frighten me at all," she replied. "I appreciated it. Actually, in my eyes, you were a bit too soft on her--however, I understand that you didn't want to hurt her feelings. You're so kind to everyone, even when they spread rumors and gossip like that..."
As was typical when he encountered her, he felt a strange, foreign mixture of emotions, like a dangerous concoction filling his stomach. On one hand, hearing her praise him for feeling angry for her lifted a burden off of his shoulders he hadn't known himself to be carrying. He had tried to keep his feelings of anger in check, but with her words, it almost felt like she was giving him permission to.
However, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he had been too soft on Mielle, as (Y/N) had said. Had he really ought to be more harsh?
It wasn't as if a mere sinner deserved pity. He couldn't believe it took (Y/N) saying it so flippantly for him to realize his wrongdoing. Why had he tried to be kind to a sinner, when sinners were bound for damnation in the end?
His hands clenched into a fist. He couldn't believe he had failed her again. Even if the bishop said that the desire for revenge was worldly, and the pursuit of kindness was godly... he knew he had failed (Y/N) yet again.
"Either way, thank you for defending me."
No. It wasn't enough. By trying to be kind to that nun--a sinner--he had sinned. He had to atone for his sins.
