Chapter 75

“Infectious disease?”

As soon as they heard this, the Turner couple immediately let go of Bunier’s
hands, causing Bunier to fall to the ground, lying next to poor little Jean.

Jean had just started to recover some strength, and now lying next to
Bunier, both of their cheeks were flushed, still covered in residual vomit…

Bill, who was waiting at the door, did not hesitate to squeeze into the
small room, using his body to shield the prince and the priest, separating them
from the two obviously ill individuals on the ground. “Prince, leave here
immediately!”

Randes looked down at the priest he had grabbed and gritted his teeth,
“You are a disaster.”

“Prince, please let go of me,” the blind priest reached forward,
calling out, “Bunier?”

Bunier had not completely lost consciousness; he felt his forehead burning
and his throat sore, and he reached out in response, “Father…”

“Are you crazy?”

Randes still had a grip on the back of the priest’s collar, which was very
impolite, but given that he was never a polite person, it didn’t matter. He
lowered his voice and emphasized, “Your monk has contracted an infectious
disease. If you are smart, you will leave here with me immediately.”

Regardless of whether the priest understood his meaning, he started dragging
the priest outside by the collar. The priest stumbled, waving his outstretched
hand in the air, “Your Highness, please let go of me. I cannot abandon my
friend like this.”

“Stop putting on a show at a time like this,” Randes said,
dragging him out, “This is not an ordinary illness; this is a highly fatal
infectious disease, you naive fool!”

Bill followed them out of the house with his arms extended, the Turner
couple had recovered from their initial fear and each supported Jean and
Bunier, watching the three leave with despair.

“Let go of me.”

The priest’s tone turned cold, “Randes, I am not a coward. Let go of me
immediately.”

Randes was stunned.

He dared to call him by his name?!

And what was he saying?

“I am not a coward”?

So, rationally avoiding a potentially fatal infectious disease is not wise
but cowardly?

The priest took the opportunity to break free from the prince’s grip, pushed
aside the prince’s servant who was blocking his way, and without hesitation
returned to the small house. He bent down and accurately grasped Bunier’s hand,
saying softly, “Bunier, are you okay?”

“No, Father, I feel terrible…” Bunier, struggling to breathe,
shook his head with a flushed face, “The prince is right, Father, you
should leave here quickly…”

“No, I will not leave here until you get better.”

The priest said to the Turner couple, “Please move the patients to the
bed.”

Randes watched from outside, his eyes narrowing slightly. Bill was moved by
the priest’s bravery but turned to the prince and said, “Prince, let’s
leave quickly. This place will soon be filled with toxic germs.”

Randes took a deep look inside, then turned and walked away with his cane.

The two walked out of the neighborhood, and Bill took out a handkerchief to
wipe the sweat from his forehead, “Your Highness, we need to go back
immediately and soak our bodies in boiled bay leaf water. This is terrible. How
could there be an infectious disease in the capital?!”

The steel tip of Randes’ cane left a sharp mark in the mud. He stopped.

“Your Highness?” Bill called.

Randes said, “Go notify the sheriff that there is an infectious disease
here.”

“Okay, I will. Please get in the carriage, I will go find the sheriff
immediately.”

Leaning on his cane, Randes said to Bill, “Bill, he offended me.”

Bill was stunned, not understanding what the prince was talking about.

“I do not allow anyone to offend me.”

Randes turned back with his cane. Bill realized and immediately tried to
block him, “Your Highness, what are you doing?”

“Going back to take charge,” Randes said coldly, “What does
an ignorant priest know?”

Bill said, “You mean you want to go back? That’s too dangerous!”

“Get out of my way.”

Randes adopted his usual unyielding attitude. Bill tried to stop him again
but was swept aside by the cane tip. “Do your job, Bill, and don’t make me
say it twice.”

Bill helplessly watched the prince return to the dirty street, clenched his
fists tightly, and ran towards the carriage.

In the dim little room, it was filled with the stench of vomit before the
germs. The priest was praying by the beds of the two patients, while the Turner
couple sat to the side, crying silently.

“Is there no water?” Randes bent down as he entered, lifting his cane and
issuing orders to the stunned couple, “Go fetch water, change him into clean
clothes, and take his soiled clothes outside to burn.”

“Your Highness?”

The priest stopped praying and turned his pale, beautiful face towards Randes,
a face that irritated Randes at a single glance.

“And you,” Randes pointed the tip of his cane at the stain below the
priest’s chest and frowned, “take off that damned black robe.”

“All clothes and items contaminated with vomit must be burned.”

The Turner couple looked up at the tall prince, who seemed almost too large
for the room. The prince sternly ordered, “Do as I say!”

The Turner couple hurriedly began undressing Jean and Bunier. The priest
moved aside a little, hesitantly placing his hand on his own collar. While he
hesitated, a strong hand yanked up the back of his collar.

His back slammed into the hard wooden planks, and the prince deftly undid
the buttons at the priest’s collar. He admitted he harbored a bit of personal
vendetta, acting a bit rough. The Turner couple was busy and didn’t notice this
corner. The prince lowered his voice and said sharply, “Dear Father, you seem
quite frail at the moment.”

The priest calmly lowered his hand, allowing the prince to undo the
cumbersome buttons on his clothing. “Your Highness, using your physical
advantage to humiliate someone with a disability is not the act of a
gentleman.”

“Is that so? That’s perfect because I am not a gentleman. Raise your arms.”

The priest lifted his arms, and the prince stripped off his black outer robe
from the bottom up, tossing it towards the door so the Turner couple could burn
all the soiled clothes.

Flames rose outside the door, making the room feel even hotter. As the
Turner couple burned the clothes, they prayed. The priest’s face turned red,
beads of sweat dotting his cheeks. Randes glanced at him and said, “I have
notified the sheriff.”

“That’s a good move,” the priest praised.

Wearing only a white inner robe, the priest looked even thinner and more
beautiful…

Randes looked away, feeling irritated by the firelight. “A few years ago,
when I went to Keanu, I witnessed a similar infectious disease. Many people in
Keanu died, the doctors were helpless, and the prayers from the church were
equally ineffective. Don’t expect me to believe, like these ignorant peasants,
that the Lord will bring a miracle. If they manage to survive, it’s due to
their own physical resilience.”

The priest calmly responded, “Prayers will bring them the strength of God.”

Randes coldly retorted, “Then why doesn’t God just heal them directly?”

“God is not a tool for mortals to command to fulfill their desires. He
provides us with support and strength, which we must perceive and understand,
transforming this support and strength into our own will. He guides and helps
us but does not suffer in our stead. If He did, we could not attain eternity
ourselves.”

Randes sneered, “Honestly, you secretly scoff at this, thinking it’s all
nonsense, don’t you?”

“Father…”

Bunier on the bed called out in pain, and the priest immediately turned
around, but the prince grabbed his arm forcefully. “Where are you going?”

“To pray for him.”

“Do you want to dirty your inner robe too? Then you’ll be waiting naked for
the sheriff’s arrival.”

“That’s fine,” the priest said, pulling his arm free, “we are born naked.”

The priest returned to the bedside to pray for the two patients. Randes
watched coldly. The priest held one hand of each patient. His hands were not
large, but he held theirs, his eyes lowered, lips moving softly as if he
genuinely believed the words he uttered could help them.

The clothes were soon burned completely. Whether it was from the heat of the
fire or the onset of the disease, the Turner couple’s faces were flushed and
hot as they sat helplessly at the priest’s feet, praying.

Surrounded by the sick, the priest remained calm, while Randes kept his
distance, observing with a cold gaze.

Soon, sharp whistles were heard outside.

The sheriff arrived, swiftly dispersing the surrounding residents and
cordoning off the entire area.

Randes walked out with his cane. The fences were already erected. He
approached the sheriff behind the fence and said, “There are currently
about four patients here. Call some doctors to see what disease this is.”

But the sheriff seemed to ignore him, focused on tightening the wire around
the fence.

Randes grasped the fence the sheriff was planting firmly into the ground.
His strength prevented the sheriff from moving. “Are you deaf? Can’t you
hear me speaking?”

The sheriff looked up at Randes’ partly handsome, partly ugly face and said,
“Sir, you are likely infected with the contagious disease. Please remain
calm and stay indoors.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Open your eyes wide and see who I
am. I am Prince Oss.”

The sheriff blew his whistle, and the other sheriffs rushed over. They saw Randes
but instinctively avoided his gaze, coming to help the sheriff secure the fence
with wire.

Randes realized what was happening. He tightly gripped the fence. “How
dare you act like this? Who ordered you to do this? Sherman? Daina?
Joyce?…”

He listed the names of his brothers one by one, anger burning in his eyes.
None of the sheriffs dared to look at him. They fixed the high fence with wire.
The bravest sheriff lowered his head and said, “Please do not attempt to
escape from inside. For the safety of the capital, we have been authorized to
shoot if necessary.”

“Very well.” Randes let go of the fence, which was now firmly
secured. He shook it forcefully, surprising the sheriffs. They dared not meet
the prince’s angry eyes, knowing they were aiding someone behind the scenes,
but they had no choice but to feign ignorance.

Randes stepped back and mentally reviewed his situation.

Bill would never betray him. It was likely some schemers got the idea to
trap him in this way while Bill was reporting. Bill was clever and reliable; he
would find a way to escape once he reached his uncle, the captain of the
guards, Brune.

By driving away the palace servants during the day, considering the king and
Brune’s fear of his temper, he would probably have to wait one or two days
before they sent someone back to the monastery.

In any case, he might be trapped here for a day or two. The mastermind
behind this was probably thinking the same thing; the disease would spare no
one, whether commoner or prince.

Randes returned to the small house. The Turner couple had already lain down,
too small a bed for them, so they had to lie on the ground. The priest was on
his knees, fumbling to undo their clothes—clothes also stained with vomit.

Randes didn’t stop the priest.

Perhaps the priest was also likely infected.

On the way back, the entire neighborhood was filled with curses and cries.
Some people threw their sick family members out onto the street. Randes
realized that there were already quite a few patients in this neighborhood.

“Prince?”

The priest called out to him.

Randes didn’t respond, looking at the chaotic street outside with a grim
expression.

The priest stood up from the ground, stepping over the few patients. He also
heard the tumult in the entire neighborhood. “Your Highness, are you
trapped here?”

Randes glanced at him, wary. “What do you want to say?”

“It seems you have enemies in the palace.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“They made a mistake,” the priest said calmly. “Trapping you
here will only help them.”

“Oh? How so? To prove how healthy I am?” Randes said somewhat
sarcastically.

“Why do you think I came here to pray for them, Your Highness?”

Randes smirked coldly, “Because you seek fame and fish for reputation,
wanting to gain cheap faith from these poor people.”

The priest smiled, his smile exuding sanctity, “Your Highness, you are
truly astute.”

Randes was surprised at how quickly the priest admitted his own hypocrisy.
He turned to look at the priest, whose face was so calm and serene, more
reminiscent of a Madonna than the suffering Jesus.

“Your Highness, you consider yourself extraordinary, feeling superior
everywhere, of course, I admire your pride, but compared to your excessive
pride, your knowledge seems somewhat inadequate.”

“The faith of the poor may be easy to obtain, but it is not cheap. If
you want to unify the continent, you must gain the support of the majority, and
now is a good opportunity.”

The priest’s face tilted back slightly, “To prove your robust physique
and determination to conquer this continent, please go and remove the clothes
of several patients and wash their bodies.”