What's worse is his incompetency has something to do with the demon worshipper spy acting as his butler. He made him develop a lascivious lifestyle.

A cold wind blew fiercely. The old little hut looked precarious, entangled in the snow.

However, the inside was warm from firewood, and it was as bright as broad daylight with dozens of candles lit.

There were two people in the room.

He was a pilgrim without one arm and a man with a clear sign of illness.

The man's skin was as dry and dark as an old tree, and his body was so dry that his bones were exposed.

He was breathing hard, but even then, the sound of breathing stopped at times.

The man's name is Luisen Anies.

It was the Duke of Anies who once enjoyed great power. However, he lost everything in one mistake and now it is difficult to recover a sick body.

The beautiful beauty disappeared without a trace, the mind became sick, and the overflowing wealth and power disappeared like dust. The honorable figure called the ruler of the golden field was gone. After being kicked out of the castle where they lived for generations, they barely lay themselves in an old hut that they had borrowed for a while.

His poor end, in stark contrast to the splendid life he had enjoyed in the past, clearly showed his downfall.

He was about to die. This fact was known to both Luisen himself and the one-armed pilgrim by his side.

The air in the room was heavy. rumble. The window rattled. The one-armed pilgrim turned his gaze to Luisen for a moment and looked at the window.

It was nothing but the wind. The candle that had been placed near the window had gone out because of the wind.

'You have to light up the room. Because he's afraid of the dark.'

The one-armed pilgrim approached the window, checked that the window latch was securely fastened, and lit the extinguished candle again. Although this may not catch a dying life, it will be a little comforting.

When I turned on the light, a glimpse of the one-armed pilgrim's face was reflected in the window. There were still wanted flyers with the traitor Carlton's face on them. If Luisen saw this face, he would immediately recognize it.

No one should know that the one-armed pilgrim is Carlton. If the person he believed and followed by calling him the saint was Marshal Carlton, who destroyed his estate and killed his vassals, Luisen's body would not be able to withstand the shock and would die.

Carlton fiddled with the hood, making sure he didn't reveal his already-veiled face.

Luisen still had his eyes closed. It looked like a corpse already, Carlton's stomach churned. Luisen exhaled colorfully. Then Carlton said, and let out his breath. I'm breathing now, but how far will this go?

Luisen 's death had already been anticipated a few days ago. When a cold wind began to blow, Luisen became very ill, and gradually became unable to control himself by himself. The length of time he lost his mind also increased. He called the doctor, gave him some good medicine, but his condition didn't seem to get better. He had become so weak that he could no longer help himself.

At least I'll let you go comfortably.

So I rented this hut and went from house to house to buy candles to light up the room at night. Carlton stayed by Louis Sen's side the whole time, more like waiting for the moment to die together than nursing.

It felt like the blood was drying out little by little. When Luisen's condition seemed to improve a little, hopes arose, and then he fell into despair again. Carlton was exhausted from the ups and downs of emotions. I was nervous and anxious.

'Why am I doing this?'

Whether Luisen dies or not No, actually, he would have been better off dead. Because he was really useless.

It was pure coincidence that Carlton discovered Luisen a year ago. Knowing that the dying wanderer was the Duke of Anies, Carlton picked him up. After narrowly fleeing as his traitor, Carlton looked only for a chance to get revenge on those who had abandoned him. There was a calculation that Luisen would be helpful there.

But Luisen was more broken than Carlton thought both body and mind. In order to use him to eat, recovery came first. Carlton looked after him with great care. As he healed his body, he played a merciful pilgrim to open his heart. The process was not smooth, but even if it fell horribly, believing that it would be useful as Duke Anies.

As if that effort worked, Luisen's condition gradually improved, and he believed and followed Carlton by calling him a saint.

'I don't even know if I'm his enemy.'

Inwardly, he laughed at Luisen's innocence, but whenever Luisen nodded unconditionally to his words, it was as if his self-esteem, which had been shattered to pieces by being abandoned by the king, was restored. It felt pretty good for someone to respect you purely and completely.

The companionship with Luisen wasn't as bad as I thought. That was why he didn't throw it away, though he soon realized that he wasn't doing anything for revenge. You can use it instead of a stove when you are homeless.

One annoyance was that to maintain the image of a merciful pilgrim, I had to do nothing to help people. As a result, he was involved in strange incidents several times, and while solving them, his name became known, and the heretic inquisitor from the church approached him first.

According to him, all the strange phenomena taking place in the world were manipulated by demon worshipers.

And he said that the Death Knights, which Luisen dismissed as delusions, were also one of them.

By then, Carlton had already killed the Death Knight. Shortly after picking up Luisen, he learned that a suspicious person was hovering around him. He was annoying, and it looked dangerous, so he had to deal with him early. The Heretic Inquisitor said that the Death Knight was a servant of Luisen during his lifetime.

'Oh, that guy.'

Carlton remembered. On the day Luisen was running away at night, the servant who was annoyingly blocking the way. He had excellent swordsmanship skills, and while monsters intervened in a tight, he escaped through Carlton's siege. Luisen said it was strange because he firmly believed that he was killed by Carlton that night.

Only then did Carlton realize that someone had intervened in Luisen's downfall. But he also hid that fact from Luisen. Luisen enveloped him so that neither the devil worshipers nor the servants' betrayal knew anything. When he finds out the truth, he can't handle the shock and betrayal, and he thinks he'll die.

I knew he wouldn't live long. But then I realized that I wanted him to live a little longer.

At first, I was definitely planning to use him. Luisen was so fragile that he only cared a little more and took care of him.

But over time, Carlton's mind began to change.

Like a mother caring for her young, he carefully fed, clothed, and put him to sleep. It was not easy for Carlton to take responsibility for one person, but his attachment grew as much as he suffered.

Has there ever been anything else in my life that I have been so cherished and cared for? Even after taking care of me with so much sincerity, does it end up like this?

Carlton rested his head on his hands. His helplessness came over him. He seemed to melt his heart as the candle melted little by little.

Carlton shook his head. As Luisen's eyelids fluttered, he opened his eyes with difficulty. His eyes were the clearest in the last few days. Carlton's heart grew heavy. This was never a good sign.

"... Saint, my sin... I want to confess..."

Carlton nodded. Luisen, murmuring, confessed his sins of his own life. It was something Carlton already knew. It was the story he muttered non stop when Louis Sen lost his mind, or whenever he had nightmares. Still, I listened.

After finishing the story, Lewissen exhaled a long breath. He drank the wine Carlton had given him.

"Thank you, saint!"

They both knew it was really over. Luisen stretched out his hand in the air like a blind man. Carlton quickly grabbed her hand. Then, Luisen was relieved and smiled faintly. His one-armed faith toward the pilgrims was buried. As if nothing could go wrong with him. With that smile at last, Luisen closed his eyes.

Carlton looked quietly at Luisen's face. His face was more calm than ever.

Thank you. Do you want to know who you are talking to? He thanked his enemy and took the enemy's hand and died. Even that fact will never be known. Thinking like that, he was very pitiful.

At the same time, I felt very ashamed of myself. Luisen was at least honest in front of his sins. He died confessing his sins to the end. Compared to him, he has never been proud of himself for even a single moment.

A tear fell down Carlton's cheek. He took off his hood. He should have taken it off a little earlier. It was too late, and now there was no Luisen in the world to see him as he really was.

After Luisen's funeral was over, Carlton had more time. It's because his mouth was reduced, and the time and energy spent taking care of Luisen remained intact.

Now I can start revenge that has been delayed for a while. I thought so, but for some reason I was not motivated. As Luisen left, hatred and revenge seemed to have disappeared as well.

Carlton just wandered off the road. Wherever he was, he felt lost. He began to see things he had never seen before.

I could see the situation of a dark kingdom with no future in sight and the people suffering in it.

In the chaotic world, I saw demon worshipers running wild.

Once I saw it, it was hard to just ignore it. He did not have any heroic spirit of sacrifice. Luisen seemed to overlap little by little in the appearance of innocent victims. When Carlton helped people, he thought of Luisen, who he also praised as a saint. So he just helped one by one.

As a result, Carlton became the adversary of the demon worshipers. He had a lot of experience and worked with many people. He learned all the truths he didn't know before, even the demon-worshippers behind the scenes.

When he learned the truth, even more so, Carlton couldn't forgive them. He himself, Luisen, must have been thoroughly teased by them.

That's how he fought the demon worshipers. Killing the demon worshipers was not easy. In a few years, with the help of the Duke of Duless, a close aide to the king and the lord of the south, they had raised a large number of people, and they were stretching their hands all over the kingdom with the power of money and power.

A long and arduous fight ensued. Many years have passed. It took a long time for a young man to become a powerless old man. It took many sacrifices, but in the end Carlton succeeded in driving all demon worshipers out of this land.

People called Carlton a saint. The church officially recognized this and praised him for his hard work. As peace came to the world, Carlton thought it was time to end his long journey. And he vowed to finish the last remaining task.

One day, he found an old church. As a child, he was taught to read and write by a priest here and the doctrine. No one remembers him then. As he entered, the priest who was guarding the church recognized him and gave him a respectful look.

"Saint"

Carlton bowed lightly. The priest quietly left the chapel so that Carlton could spend some time alone.

'It's a saint.'

No matter how many times I hear that name, I can't get used to it. When peo pie called him a saint with respect, Carlton thought of a man. Luisen who first called him a saint. Years have passed and now even his appearance is faint, but the voice he called the saint was as vivid as the voice he called him.

Carlton dragged his heavy body and knelt in front of the altar. Even such a simple move was not easy anymore. He clasped his hand as if praying with one hand.

"Oh God. Can you hear me?"

It was an awkward voice. Although called a saint, he had never prayed with all his heart. He still had no respect or reverence for God. But for this moment, he became the lowest in the world, and he joined hands like a sinner. People who have regrets tend to be humble.

When he was officially appointed as a saint by the church, there was a story he had heard directly from the Pope. He worked miracles to defeat heresy, and he said that God Himself would repay him by hearing his voice.

What would be the best answer? I thought about various things, but the one that struck me the most was Luisen.

Looking back on their youthful days, neither he nor himself were fools. He and he were both responsible for the downfall of the Duke Anies, a fatal blow to the kingdom.

We wasted our time for too long not knowing who the real enemy was. Fortunately, though, he was given the opportunity to atone for himself. It was only by correcting the mistakes that he was able to move forward on the right path. If so, shouldn't it make sense to give him a chance?

Luisen was ignorant and did not know the value of what he had, but he was at least purer than Carlton. His naive faith transformed Carlton from a vengeful butcher to the saint who saved the world. If God valued Carlton's life, then Luisen too deserved to be saved.

"On the eve of death, this body wants only one thing. Oh God. If you are going to perform a miracle to praise me, please give him a chance."

It was a moment that I earnestly prayed for and prayed for.

A divine and mellow voice resounded from the air. It was like the voice of his mother, who he couldn't even remember, and the voice of the priest who taught him to write. The air around him trembled, but his voice gently reached his ear.

[Then you will lose everything you have built up.]

God answered his prayer. Carlton was very surprised.

[Nothing may change.]

[It could be worse than it is now.]

God warned sternly.

[Nevertheless.]

[If your determination is firm without any regrets.......]

From the stained glass beyond the cross, a dazzling light that was hard to believe it was dawn poured out. As the light filled the narrow chapel, it felt as if the floor and the ceiling had disappeared and the whole area was enveloped in a warm light. The halo was so distant that Carlton closed his eyes without realizing it.

[That wish will come true.]

Carlton smiled at the answer. There was no hesitation in his heart until the last minute.

At that moment, time turns backwards, and Luisen Anies' soul awakens in the Duke's bedroom.

The story starts in the previous version of the Duke's life when he is a spoiled, self-indulgent, waist of space, who takes no interest in his responsibilities to his people, or his lands. His Dukedom is sacked and he deserts his people and lands to ruin and oblivion and lives as a vagabond on the run until his final end. Before he dies, he meets a pilgrim of a mysterious, unknown origin, who looks after him and guides him before his death.

After he dies, he wakes up to find that he's in an earlier time in his life and he tries to redeem himself for all his past mistakes. However, this time he's not alone. The mercenary commander who originally sacked his Dukedom is now back in his life, but the Duke keeps making different choices, and in this new reality, he and the mercenary begin to understand one another and grow into allies...

The character growth he goes through isn't that big as he went through it before the main plot but his interaction with his regressions actually shows he matured.

And I find it hilarious that he's more of the blushing maiden once he realizes his own feelings for the MC.

The thing I like the most of this story is that this time around, the religion of this world actually does its job and is the good guy. I'm not religious, I just like the fact that it's different with the simple, 'the church is good!' and that they were proactive in helping the MC and ML.

Except the part where ML literally misunderstood a situation early chapters and decided to make up a whole sad backstory about MC’s childhood & his retainers hehe it’s a funny miscommunication that lasted until the side stories.