Chapter 01
Ding!
Late at night.
After assisting in surgery until the very end, I was trudging my way home.
Just then, a notification sounded.
Could it be…? Maybe the chief resident—the one who had led the bullying—was finally apologizing? I quickly checked my phone.
[Episode 198 of “The Saint Like a Cloud in the Blue Sky” has been released!]
But the apology I hoped for wasn’t there.
Instead, it was news about a novel I used to love reading before the bullying began.
The Saint Like a Cloud in the Blue Sky.
“Episode 198… It’s almost at the end.”
As I faced my exhausting daily life, the story I had temporarily forgotten began to return to my mind.
It was once a novel I loved so much that I even read the setting book.
Thinking back to those days, I opened the novel site.
And at that moment—
BAM—!
A runaway truck slammed into me,
and just like that,
my life ended in utter futility.
“Right…”
I smiled faintly as I recalled my past life, which had already been six years ago.
Whoosh…
At the same time, a cold wind brushed across my cheek.
I was six years old now.
The age when I decided to escape the abusive orphanage.
* * *
The novel I had enjoyed reading six years ago, The Saint Like a Cloud in the Blue Sky.
The protagonist of that story is a saint.
Shining brightly like the sun itself, she brings light even to the orphanage in the slums—a place as dark as night.
More precisely, she becomes a ray of light in Iris’s life, which had known nothing but darkness.
She hires Iris, a child from the orphanage, as her personal maid.
Thanks to that, Iris escapes from the orphanage where she had been abused.
That moment happens when—
“Still two years left.”
Iris meets the saint when she’s eight.
But surviving two more years in a place where countless evil deeds happen because of just one eye… was far too long.
At least when I was younger, they gave me food.
Once I learned to walk and speak, the bullying only got worse.
Going hungry became a common occurrence.
I rubbed my thigh, still sore from being pinched last night, and quickened my pace.
The orphanage was cloaked in darkness.
The atmosphere was so sinister that even the moon seemed to hide itself.
But I have to go.
The vicious director and the orphanage staff had drunk themselves into a stupor.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing…
Because they drank every night, it was easy to move around the orphanage after dark.
Every night, rubbing my sleepy eyes, I searched until I finally found it—
a small hole in the fence.
The surroundings were dark as well, making it the perfect opportunity to escape.
“Let’s go, Hayan.”
I tightly held the rabbit doll in my hand.
It was old and worn out, so nobody cared about it—but in the orphanage, it had been my only friend.
Tap tap tap!
I ran barefoot, feeling the sharp ground under my feet because I didn’t dare wear shoes that might make noise.
My destination was the hole in the fence.
Rather than certain misery, I chose uncertain misery.
If I keep living like this, I’ll die even if I become the saint’s servant!
For several years now, I had been getting dizzy spells.
That was probably what would eventually kill me.
To cure it, I had to escape.
Even the saint, who could heal everything, couldn’t save Iris in the story.
Which meant… if I wanted to live…
I have to find the Tears of the Goddess.
A sacred relic spoken of only in legend.
Through the novel, I knew where it was located.
I planned to drink it and cure the illness that would otherwise kill me.
“Haah…”
If it’s for that, this much hardship is nothing.
Even though my legs trembled from dizziness, I bit my lip and kept running.
Just then—
“Iris is gone!”
“Gasp—!”
The dark orphanage suddenly lit up.
At the same time, every hair on my body stood on end.
I could see the teachers moving around everywhere, searching for me.
I have to hurry.
At this rate, getting caught would only be a matter of time.
I forced myself to move even faster.
And finally—
the hole in the fence.
It was only big enough for a three- or four-year-old child.
And above all…
It’s scary.
The other side of the hole was pitch black.
So dark that I could barely bring myself to stick my head through.
“I… can do this!”
Clutching the doll tightly, I pushed my head into the hole.
“IRIIIIS!!!”
Thud thud thud thud!
The pounding footsteps behind me grew closer and closer.
They found me. I have to get out. I don’t want this anymore.
Those words repeated in my mind like a broken radio.
I shut my eyes tightly and crawled into the hole.
Maybe my body had grown a little bigger, because it scraped painfully against the sides.
My delicate skin tore easily with each bump.
But I couldn’t stop.
“Ugh…”
The footsteps were getting closer and closer.
The fear drilled into me.
The anxiety of being caught.
It choked my breathing.
I moved my arms with all the strength I had.
“Ghh… HAAAH!!!”
With a shout, I pushed myself out of the hole.
“IRISSS!!!”
The director’s hand brushed past my back by the narrowest margin.
Thud.
“Ugh…”
Trying to avoid that hand, I fell hard onto my butt.
But I was happy.
“YOU DEVIL! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE RUNNING?! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IF YOU RUN AWAY?!!!”
The director was stuck in the fence and couldn’t follow me.
I looked at her hand and then at mine.
My hand was so thin it looked like a twig.
In contrast, the director’s hand was thick with fat.
Seeing that made anger well up inside me.
I couldn’t stop myself from saying it.
“Pigs don’t cry like that.”
They go oink, you know.
I sneered at her and turned around.
She kept screaming behind me, but I ignored her.
Wiping away the tears of fear streaming down my face, I walked forward without a destination.
At least I escaped.
From now on, I had to earn money somehow.
Because of my red eyes—called the Devil’s Eyes—I would probably have to work while covering them.
I have absolutely no plan.
Still, I don’t regret it.
“Sigh…”
After walking for a while, the light of the orphanage behind me disappeared completely.
Once I was far enough away, all the strength drained from my body.
The exhaustion that comes after all the adrenaline is used up.
My heart, which had been pounding wildly, began to slow.
And the pain I had ignored returned.
It was time to rest.
“Maybe…”
They’re not chasing me, right?
I looked around.
Thankfully, no one is following me.
I couldn’t see even a step ahead in the darkness, but at least there were no sounds.
I’ll rest over there.
I sighed in relief and walked toward a nearby alley.
Head lowered, watching my tiny shuffling feet.
They’re a mess.
My small feet were covered with wounds.
Both my body and mind were exhausted.
Even the alley where I planned to rest wasn’t welcoming.
Unlike modern times, the ground wasn’t paved neatly—just rough stones stuck into the dirt.
It seemed poorly maintained, and a strange smell lingered in the air.
Probably the sewer.
Too tired even to frown, I stepped into the alley.
Just in case someone might see me from outside, I went deeper inside.
And then—
“Ghk—!”
“Hi—!”
Something touched my shoulder.
Something cold.
Heavy.
Sticky.
What was that?
What on earth?!
The place I stood was a four-way intersection of alleys.
I had leaned toward one corner to rest—
but someone had grabbed my shoulder from behind.
I was so shocked that I couldn’t even scream.
I just gulped for air.
My face was probably pale as a sheet.
“Kh…!”
Whoever had grabbed my shoulder didn’t seem to care.
They had no intention of letting go.
Clang clang clang!
Alarm bells rang wildly in my head.
A ghost? Or someone from the orphanage drunk?
Either way—it was terrifying!
But if I wanted to live, I had to check.
If I confirmed it, I could either headbutt them or recite a prayer.
Creak… creak…
Like a rusty robot, I slowly turned my head.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
The unknown figure gradually came into view.
The first thing I saw was thick blood.
Blood I had seen far too often in my past life.
Reuniting with it wasn’t pleasant.
An… assassin?
I barely suppressed the scream rising in my throat.
Clenching my fists tightly, I turned my head completely.
At the same moment—
Thud!
The person holding me collapsed onto the ground.
The heavy smell of blood filled the air.
He must have lost a lot of it.
Someone must have attacked him.
Fortunately, I didn’t sense anyone else nearby.
“Gasp…”
Covering my mouth, I examined the man.
Because of the darkness I couldn’t see clearly, but one thing was certain.
He’ll die soon.
I had been a doctor in my previous life, but there was nothing I could do.
So I should run.
If he’s bleeding, that means external injuries.
He had already fallen into a coma.
His death was only a matter of time.
I had no equipment.
Not even the strength.
There was no way I could save him.
Ignoring the guilt pricking at my conscience, I stepped backward.
There’s no tourniquet anyway. There’s nothing I can do.
I tried to convince myself.
I planned to run down the alley opposite the one where he collapsed.
At that moment, the moon—hidden behind the clouds—peeked out.
The moonlight slowly approached from afar, as if telling me to hurry and run.
At least I’ll be able to see.
Clenching my fists, I waited for the light to reach me.
The light crept closer.
And when it finally illuminated the fallen man—
“…Huh?”
My gaze followed the light unconsciously.
The figure that had been hidden in darkness was revealed.
Hair the deep navy blue of a whale’s back beneath the sea.
Blue eyes twisted in pain.
I had seen this man before.
More importantly—
that ring he was wearing.
Its name was the Ring of Azure Flame.
That’s impossible.
In the novel I had reincarnated into, there was only one man who wore that ring.
A man obsessed with power.
A man who tormented the saint.
He always wore that ring while searching for his lost daughter.
As a devoted reader of the novel, there was no way I wouldn’t know that.
“I… found you…”
He spoke to me in a trembling voice.
His hand was drenched in blood, but the ring still shone with a blue light.
His name—
Arpote Silas.
The main villain of this story.
