Chapter 512: Bonus - 53: The Royal Clerk and the Beggar: As my Atonement...
The beautiful man... He didn’t bother at all. He seemed to have allocated the rest of the evening for this one boy.
There was no hurry in his movements, fidgeting, or signs of impatience. He walked beside the boy with a leisurely pace, matching his slow, shuffling steps, and he listened to the boy’s halting words with close attention.
The rest of the world seemed to fade away, the bustling street, the passing crowds, the vendors calling out their wares—all of it became background noise to the simple act of caring for one hungry child.
He brought him and had him seated on the bench of a cookshop, where an already made meal was there for him.
He truly meant to stuff the boy up.
The cookshop was a modest establishment, its wooden sign creaking gently in the evening breeze, but the food it served appeared hearty and filling.
A bowl of steaming stew sat before the boy, chunks of meat and vegetables floating in a rich broth, accompanied by a thick slice of bread and a cup of warm milk.
The boy had stared at the food as if he could not believe it was real, as if he expected it to vanish the moment he reached for it.
"Now, you take care of yourself, No-name!" The man winked at him, getting ready to leave. His voice was light, playful, and there was a warmth in it that seemed to envelop the boy (and me) like a blanket. "Let me call you Chiron, okay? My name is Benjamin Mark, and we’ll be seeing soon."
Chiron.
It was a name from some old stories I knew—a name that had weight and meaning. One that spoke of wisdom, healing, and strength.
They waved each other and... Benjamin parted ways with the boy.
He walked away with the same easy grace he had displayed all evening, his figure disappearing into the gathering dusk without a backward glance.
The boy watched him go, his hollow eyes following the retreating form until it was lost from sight, and then he turned back to his meal with a look of wonder that I had never seen on a beggar’s face before.
I felt... very ashamed of myself.
Not because I stalked them all evening, but... because of something deep inside me crying.
I felt the hot liquid slither down my eyes, and I sped towards the young beggar, startling him.
The tears came unbidden and salty, trailing down my cheeks and dripping onto my dress. I had not cried so much in years, and the sensation was a tad shocking.
"Here...! Take this!" I gave him a small sack of bronze coins, my voice shaking with emotion. "J... Just take it and say nothing!"
It was more money than I had ever given to anyone, more money than I had ever even considered giving to a beggar.
But I could not stop myself. The tears were flowing, the shame was overwhelming, and I needed to do something to make it right.
***
For the majority of the novel’s context:
One Copper coin - can feed one person for a day - $15
One Bronze coin - two days worth of food for a normal person - $30
One Silver coin (penny) - a day’s worth of work - $60
One Halo silver coin - enough to feed a family - $300
One Winged silver coin - enough to feed a family for a year, buy a horse, a year’s wage for a laborer - $2000
One gold coin - something else entirely - $5000
One halo gold coin - $15,000
One Winged gold coin - $50,000
***
The people watching and passing by immediately got shocked and frightened. Their eyes went wide, their mouths dropped open, and they took hurried steps backward as if they were witnessing something dangerous.
A well-dressed woman giving a sack of coins to a beggar was certainly not a normal sight in this part of the city, and the crowd’s reaction was one of disbelief and suspicion.
The boy almost choked on his food, pushing the sack back to me. His hands were trembling, his eyes wide with alarm, and he looked at me as if I had just handed him a live snake.
"No, I do not want that much!" He said, alarmed. His voice was high-pitched, panicked, and he tried to force the sack back into my hands.
"No, I insist! This is my repentance fee!"
"R-Repentance fee?!"
I pushed the money back to his chest.
My voice was fierce, determined, and I would not let him refuse. This was my penance, my punishment for the years of coldness and cruelty, and I would see it through.
The back and forth went on until the sack fell on the ground and the coins spilled out, with beggars and even some normal people scrambling to pick it up.
The bronze coins scattered across the cobblestones, gleaming in the street lights, and the crowd descended upon them like vultures.
Hands reached out, grabbing, snatching, fighting over the precious metal that represented food, warmth, and survival.
"Oh no, this is awful!" The boy furrowed his brows at the madness, his voice filled with distress. "Forgive me for creating such a mes— Ah! My lady, you are still crying?! P-Please, do not put me in prison!"
His words cut through my haze of shame and tears, and I realized that he was afraid.
He was afraid that my tears meant trouble, that I would blame him for the chaos, that I would summon the guards and have him thrown into a dungeon.
He had seen too much of the world’s cruelty to trust in its kindness.
But yes... I was crying... I was hurting...
The tears were still flowing, but now they were accompanied by a deep, aching pain that seemed to come from the very core of my being.
I always wanted to help, but something held me back. I knew I couldn’t save everyone, but if I had the power to, could I not have fed at least one mouth?
The question echoed in my mind, a condemnation of all the years I had spent looking away.
That person... Benjamin Mark fed this boy, and he didn’t perish.
He didn’t disappear into the gutters of the city. He didn’t become a cautionary tale about the dangers of kindness.
He simply fed a hungry child and moved on with his evening.
The shame and pain was immense, because I remember when I was once poor... someone had almost always given me the food necessary for me to strive for another day, when my parents weren’t around.
The kind baker who gave me day-old bread. The old woman who shared her soup with me. The strangers who dropped coins into my hands without asking for anything in return.
I had been the recipient of kindness, but somewhere along the way, I had forgotten what it felt like.
"...Chiron, he called you," I raised my head to the boy, my voice steady now, filled with a new determination. "From now on, Chiron, I will make sure you never go hungry again. That is my atonement. I will take not take no for an answer..."
I had to do something to make up for the years of indifference.
He was still a little scared, but after looking at me for a while, he nodded and smiled.
The smile was small and tentative, but it was there. The dried and dead eyes crinkled at the corners, a flicker of life returning to the hollow gaze.
"Thank you very much, my lady. I hope I can repay you for your kindness some day," His voice was soft, genuine, and there was love in it that I had not expected.
He was truly grateful, and the gratitude was a balm to my wounded spirit.