Chapter 52 BONUS CHAPTER - The Hope Of Salvation

After a while, Anicia calmed down as Ethan's presence seemed to have eased her from fear once again.

She slowly moved away from Ethan with a downcast expression on her face. This was the first time in her life that she had witnessed the true horrors of the world.

"I-i never thought this place existed... How awful. Do I even have the right to have all the worldly pleasure when so many are suffering?" Muttered Anicia as she partly looked at the carriage window and partly at Ethan.

The purer a 'favored' was, the stronger their abilities were. And the stronger their abilities were; the more it affected their personality.

It was a strange cycle that also affected Anicia, she was a kind soul, and thus her Blessing of Light was exceptionally powerful which in turn affected her personality to be overly empathetic and kind.

This was the first time when she was truly affected by this phenomenon to a large degree. To such an extent that she even began doubting her own life.

"Anicia, If a bird and a turtle both need water to survive and let's say that the water is only available in a bucket. Then the bird will obviously survive because of an unfair advantage. So just because of that will the bird stop living its own life?" Ethan gently raised Anicia's head by holding up her chin making her look into his eyes and said.

"B-but... I-" Anicia stuttered in unwillingness reluctant to accept the reality.

Ethan sighed helplessly seeing Anicia's reluctance. He truly was not fond of naive people.

"But of course, the bird can slowly pick the water from the bucket and perhaps provide it to the turtle, it may take time and effort but it's still possible. Do you understand?" Ethan grabbed Anicia's shoulders and said firmly as he locked eyes with her.

Anicia's eyes shone with the light of hope as she understood the underlined meaning of Ethan's little analogy. She nodded timidly and gazed outside the carriage with concern.

Outside the carriage, people were begging for help, while some were gossiping among themselves. Meanwhile, some thieves took advantage of the chaos pickpocketing discreetly.

​ "FUCK THE NOBLES! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" a young man with brown messy hair and wearing ragged clothes yelled out in all the chaos.

"Yeah! That's true!" Others joined the bandwagon.

"Ya' Fuckers eat good food and drink your wine at our expense! Die! Die!" The young man who started it all first once again yelled in anger.

"How dare you!" Jason could no more tolerate the increasingly rude remarks and roared furiously.

"Silence!" Ethan suddenly opened the carriage's window and shouted in a calm tone that was at the same time quite chilling as well.

His outrage scared the shit outta Albert as he turned his head and looked at Ethan and pleaded, "Young Master! You promised!"

"Don't worry, Old Man! Do you see me stepping out of the carriage?" Ethan replied cheekily.

Suddenly his demeanor changed as he looked at the crowd outside the carriage with sharp piercing gaze.

"All of you! Hear me! I am the second son of the White Family! You want salvation from this current life?" Ethan spoke to the masses in a strong voice.

"Yes!" All of them yelled desperately.

"Hmph, I'm sure that my Father must have tried to help y'all. But what happened? You refuse to earn your keep! You rip each other off! You commit crimes! You spread filth! Then tell me, why should I even help you?" Ethan spoke in a resounding voice stirring up the crowd.

His confidence was such that it made one believe as if he would truly be able to do what he had said with ease.

Suddenly seeing the much rumored Third Young Master in front of them inside the carriage, the crowd became silent and began to murmur.

"Tch, what the hell?! What do you know huh? We came to this city to find work! To make our dreams come true!! And what do we get in return? This?! Just go away before I kill you!" The young man who was mostly taking the lead said in outrage once again.

"Yeah! Go away you little brat!" The others exclaimed in disappointment.

"Heh, a coward's excuse! Do you think just you lot came to this city? Many came and are living their life normally... I agree that life has treated you unfairly... But you are also partly responsible for where you are right now." Ethan retorted in contempt not backing down.

The crowd became silent as everyone's life flashed through their eyes. Some of them were indeed unlucky but most just had made bad life choices.

"Y-you!" The young man muttered in the silence finding some truth in what Ethan had said.

"Please save us... We will forever be grateful... We didn't choose this life of crime and filth." He finally accepted the harsh reality and said with teary eyes, clenched fists, and desperation.

"I promise you that I will do all I can in due time, but what's the assurance that you lot won't revert to who you are now? I give you a year. I will keep coming here again, take initiative and prove to me that you are worthy to be salvaged. I WILL pull you out of this filth if I see any sort of the positive change in here. If you trust me, then do this much and we shall meet again."

Ethan's resounding, calm and composed, persuasive, and compelling voice rang in the surroundings as everyone became silent and stared at him wide-eyed. Some spat on the ground not believing a word while some looked at him with disbelief and hope.

One of Ethan's qualities was to know exactly what to speak and when to speak. He knew that false sugar-coated hope would not work. He knew that reshaping the slums was a long-term task. The most important thing was to solve the problem of their mentality.

Normally a seven-year-old kid's words would hold no value, but Ethan was not ordinary, he was the Duke's son as well as one of the most famed, most anticipated talents.

On top of that, his demeanor was such that it even made someone like Albert feel threatened for a second. He had Godly charisma and leadership skills, but most of all—the Temple inside his soul played a vital part in his appearance.

The young man who was debating with Ethan became silent as he gritted his teeth. He did not know whether to trust Ethan or not. In fact, he hated nobility.

But at the same time, he was desperate. And declaration sometimes pulls off miracles given the appropriate push.

The young man looked straight into Ethan's eyes as if to peer into his intentions. Ethan also unmovingly stood his ground.

After a silent staredown, the young man turned back and silently left as he said to the crowd, "Let's go."

The crowd dispersed, while some still stayed and begged to have no choice but to be but slaves to their own nature.

In his entire life, Albert had never been so unsure, proud, and puzzled at the same time. He simply thought that what happened that day was something Albaer should listen to in grave detail.

While Anicia and Earlene looked at him in a completely new light as he settled back in the carriage once again.

No one spoke, the carriage began moving again, it turned around and then left the slums of Adenberd.