Chapter 581: Chapter 29: Savior
Martha’s voice was choked with sobs, her words halting.
"You saved us... You gave us clothes to change into, food to eat, a place to rest... You made those men treat us with respect..."
"I don’t know why you did it... b-but I can’t just do nothing..."
"I have nothing of value... only my daughter and myself... I know it’s not worth much... b-but it’s the only thing I have to offer you... Even if you find it distasteful, my lord... you are still my lord... Whatever you wish shall be done..."
Listening beside her, Lina’s small body trembled even more violently.
She didn’t understand what her mother was saying, but she could feel her emotions.
An emotion that mixed hope with despair, and pleading with fear.
She reached out her small hand, wanting to grab the hem of her mother’s clothes, but didn’t dare.
She could only pull her hand back and continue to weep silently.
Murphy finally spoke. His voice seemed utterly calm, yet it carried a hint of gentleness that Martha had never heard before.
"Your name is Martha?"
Martha froze for a moment, then nodded quickly. "Y-Yes, my lord..."
"Lina is your daughter?"
"Yes..."
Murphy looked at her, his gaze shifting from her face to Lina, and then back again.
"Why do you think I saved you?"
Martha opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say.
’For what reason?’
’She didn’t know.’
’She truly didn’t know.’
’Why would a great figure, high and mighty, save ants like them from the mud pit?’
’She couldn’t think of a single reason.’
This was one of the reasons for her earlier actions.
Because not knowing the reason meant not knowing what he wanted.
Not knowing what he wanted meant not knowing how to repay him.
Not knowing how to repay him meant that if they accidentally offended Murphy, everything they had would vanish, and they would be plunged back into the abyss.
Murphy seemed to see through her thoughts.
"I didn’t save you because I wanted something."
"I just happened to see you."
"That’s all."
Martha was stunned.
’He just happened to see us?’
’Just like that?’
She gaped at Murphy, her eyes filled with disbelief.
’A great figure’s "chance sighting" was enough to pull her and Lina back from the brink of the abyss?’
’Enough to make those bosses tremble on their knees?’
’Enough to let them change into new clothes, eat a hot meal, and sleep in a clean room?’
She didn’t understand.
She truly didn’t understand.
But she didn’t need to understand, either.
All she knew was that whatever the lord said, it had to be right.
Just then, the same invisible force that had stopped her earlier actions now gently supported their bodies.
They felt a lightness under their knees, and their bodies rose involuntarily.
Martha looked down at her own legs in astonishment, then glanced at Lina.
Lina had also been made to stand, her small body perfectly straight, her tear-filled eyes wide with confusion.
They tried to kneel again but found that their knees wouldn’t bend.
It was as if an invisible pair of hands was holding them steady, preventing them from kneeling.
Martha raised her head and looked at Murphy, her lips trembling, but she couldn’t speak.
Murphy watched them quietly, the depths of his jet-black eyes reflecting the mother and daughter’s frightened, uneasy figures.
"In my presence, there is no need to speak on your knees."
Martha opened her mouth and instinctively tried to lower her head, only to find that her neck wouldn’t move either.
That same invisible force was supporting her chin.
"Nor is there a need to bow your head."
Martha froze, not knowing what to do.
In all her years, she had never experienced a moment like this.
No one had ever told her "there is no need to kneel."
No one had ever told her "there is no need to bow your head."
She didn’t even know how one was supposed to speak to a great lord while standing.
Murphy seemed to notice her awkwardness and suddenly spoke.
"In a place I once lived, a wise sage of old once said something."
Martha, like Lina, was bewildered.
Murphy continued.
"He said, ’When a gentleman sees a living animal, he cannot bear to see it die; when he hears its cries, he cannot bear to eat its flesh. Therefore, a gentleman keeps his distance from the kitchen.’"
Martha didn’t understand.
The combination of words was too foreign to her, too distant. It was the text and language of great lords, as if from another world.
But she listened intently, not daring to miss a single word.
Murphy knew she wouldn’t understand. Even if he translated it into the language of this world, expressing it accurately required many specialized terms. To the uneducated Martha and Lina, these words were like a heavenly scripture or a foreign dialect.
"It means that when a virtuous person sees a living animal, they cannot bear to see it die. When they hear its mournful cries, they cannot bear to eat its flesh. Therefore, a virtuous person stays away from the kitchen."
This time, Martha understood, yet she also didn’t quite understand.
She cast her gaze downward, her brow furrowed slightly as she tried her best to think.
’Animals... cannot bear to...’
She suddenly remembered something from a long time ago.
It was something a Priest had said when she was collecting relief rations.
He spoke of how Lord Oriane pitied the people of the world and saved them from suffering...
"My lord... are you... are you like what it says in the Holy Scripture?"
"The Savior, who pities us who suffer and will deliver us from our hardship..."
"The Priest said that the Savior is merciful, and just, and... and that he loves us..."
At this, her lips trembled. She tried to kneel again but found she still couldn’t, so she could only bend at the waist and bow deeply.
"By Oriane above, my lord... are you... are you the Savior?"
Murphy sighed almost imperceptibly, the sound swirling at his lips, unheard by Martha and Lina.
"Besides him, there is no salvation; for in all the world, no other name has been given by which we can be saved."
Martha didn’t understand, but she had heard the Priest speak with a similar grammatical structure.
"My lord, are those words from the Holy Scripture?"
Murphy said coolly,
"Yes."
A trace of joy flashed in Martha’s eyes.
’Of course, someone who can quote the Holy Scripture must be the Savior.’
But Murphy’s next words made her joy freeze instantly.
Murphy continued,
"The meaning of that passage is that the Savior is one and only. And according to the Holy Scripture, the Savior has already appeared in this world."
"Therefore, according to the Holy Scripture, what you just said was blasphemy."
Martha’s face went deathly pale in an instant.
’Blasphemy.’
She knew that word.
It was the gravest sin among the followers of Oriane.
It was a sin for which one would be abandoned by Oriane, their body would rot and fester and sprout all sorts of terrifying things, just like those vagrants in the sewers. A sin for which they would be spat upon by all, and after death, sink into Hell for all eternity.
’She had just committed blasphemy?’
’What had she said?’
’She had called the lord the Savior...’
’Wasn’t that a compliment?’
’Wasn’t it the highest form of praise?’
’How could it be blasphemy?’
She didn’t understand. She wanted to say something, but not a single word would come out.
Her legs grew weak. She wanted to fall to her knees, but she couldn’t.
She could only stand there, trembling all over, her face ashen, as the tears that had just dried began to flow once more.
Beside her, Lina watched her mother’s state and, terrified, grabbed the hem of her clothes, continuing to sob softly.
"Mama... Mama..."
Martha didn’t answer her.
She just stared at Murphy, her eyes filled with fear, confusion, and helplessness.
She didn’t understand.
She truly didn’t understand.
In all her years, the only thing she could hold onto, her only faith, were those words from the Holy Scripture.
She didn’t understand doctrine or theology. She only knew what the Priest had said: God loves mankind, God pities the suffering, God watches over the orphan and the widow.
She had taken these words as her only light in the darkness.
It was her hope that her sins would be cleansed, allowing her to ascend to the Celestial Kingdom.
Now, that light had suddenly become a sin.
It had become blasphemy.
It had become something that terrified her.
It had become an abyss that would lead her to Hell.
She didn’t know what to do.
Murphy looked at her, at the fear and confusion in her eyes, at her trembling body.
"But..."
"In this world, there has never been a Savior."
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