“So, they finally found me.”
Inside the church, Sela sat blankly in her seat, her gaze icy cold as she stared at the old man wearing a monocle.
He was dressed in a sharp suit, and despite his age, his back was straight and his mannerisms elegant and proper.
“Miss, these past years the master let you be so you could experience life outside. Now that the situation within the empire has changed, considering your safety, it’s time to bring you home. It’s been so long—shouldn’t you have had enough fun by now?”
Sela was silent for a moment, then turned her gaze to the church’s congregation.
Father Laite held a holy book in his hands.
When he saw Sela looking at him, he shook his head, his face full of helplessness.
She then looked at Milia, who was holding her child, appearing as if she wanted to say something but held back.
“It’s just inviting me home—was it necessary to mobilize the Order Knights? How did Father even get them to move…”
“Nobles of count rank and above can mobilize a small number of Order Knights stationed locally, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their duties. A count can mobilize five, a marquis ten, and a duke twenty. As long as it’s not something particularly outrageous or too frequent, it’s permissible,” the old butler said.
“Is that so? If I refuse, they’ll take me by force?”
Sela turned her back to the old butler, who let out a sigh.
“If possible, I’d rather not use this force. Miss, I watched you grow up. But this is the duke’s order. The fact that he mobilized the Order Knights shows his determination. You wouldn’t want to see this church torn down, would you?”
“…”
Sela didn’t speak.
She seemed to be struggling with something.
She squeezed the doll in her hand—made in someone’s likeness, though she wasn’t sure whose.
After a moment, she said, “Can I take one child back with me? She is my child.”
“If she were truly your biological child, perhaps. But miss, since we found you, we naturally conducted some investigation. That child is adopted, and you have no spouse. So, unfortunately, no.”
Her hand trembled slightly.
Her gaze drifted toward the door.
…
Selina held a book, reciting the stories inside to the children, while also teaching them to read.
After spending time with Sela and the church believers, she had noticed that most ordinary people could barely recognize a few characters.
Perhaps it was because the church had a higher level of literacy, where reading and writing were the norm, that she had mistakenly assumed everyone could read and write.
‘The universalization of compulsory education is indeed very important,’ Selina thought.
The reason she was here teaching these children to read and write largely came down to the age gap.
Even though her mental age was quite old, her appearance was undeniably that of a child.
For instance, when Laite was frowning over the church’s daily income and expenses, she wanted to help, but was shooed away with the excuse that kids should go play.
There were many things no one would tell her.
Or when Milia and Sela were whispering, and the topic somehow shifted to how amazing Milia’s husband was—despite Sela listening until her face turned red—they’d kick her out at the crucial parts, saying it was not suitable for children.
Compared to that, she could hear more when she was an infant.
In the end, everyone was too doting on her, unwilling to burden her with the troubles of the adult world.
She had learned to read and write by herself.
Sela and Grandpa Laite were very surprised.
Though it was partly thanks to the church’s atmosphere that helped with learning, in this world with such low literacy rates, it was still remarkable.
Every week, the church offered free literacy classes, open to everyone—men, women, young, and old.
But most attendees were children dragged there by their parents.
These brats were very lax in class, only half-understanding, just like their parents—knowing only a few characters.
As a result, after each literacy class, when the children went home to be tested on what they’d learned, they’d inevitably get a beating.
The lesson was only taught once, and there was nowhere to review.
So Selina started an after-school tutoring session, teaching the children to read and write in a fun and easy-to-understand way.
But she wasn’t doing this charity work for nothing.
She charged a fee.
These little rascals didn’t have much pocket money, but spending a little to avoid a beating was worth it.
And if they studied poorly, their allowance would be docked too—considering that, it was a great deal.
A win-win!
The tuition was one copper coin per lesson per student.
An ordinary child’s monthly allowance was about ten copper coins.
It seemed small, but when the numbers added up, it became a considerable sum.
Every week after the literacy class, she would sit under that locust tree, waiting for these children to arrive.
After they handed over their copper coins, she’d start teaching them to read, using simple fairy tales as examples.
The results seemed even better than Laite’s classes.
When Laite found out, he turned a blind eye.
Selina had almost no daily expenses—money only came in, never out.
She was already starting to fantasize about the look on Sela’s face when she found out Selina was richer than her.
Soon today’s lesson ended.
Selina announced that next week there would be a test on what they’d learned—free of charge.
The children cheered, celebrating their pocket money.
Above copper coins were iron coins, above iron coins were silver coins, and above silver coins were gold coins.
Apart from iron coins, these were all very common currencies in this other world.
Her total assets were currently a bit more than seven iron coins.
One iron coin equaled ten copper coins, ten iron coins equaled one silver coin.
However, one hundred silver coins equaled one gold coin—gold seemed to be worth much more.
‘Should I try my hand at business in the future? Is it allowed for a church nun to engage in commerce? I’ll ask Laite about it later,’ she thought.
Selina walked with light steps.
Today she had earned seventeen copper coins, more than yesterday—meaning more children were coming to her lessons.
She walked back to the church with a relaxed expression, only to sense something was off.
A bad feeling arose.
The church was eerily quiet.
Occasionally, Xiao Baoluo’s babbling could be heard.
Milia held him, her expression gloomy.
‘Did something happen to her husband, Da Baoluo?’
Selina continued walking inside.
Laite was facing the statue of the goddess, muttering to himself without making a sound.
Someone was missing.
The church didn’t have many people to begin with.
Right—Sela.
Where had she gone?
Selina quickly looked around, trying to find that familiar figure.
The church was big enough for the few of them, but small compared to the grand cathedral in the city.
There was nowhere to hide Sela.
She turned to Laite with a pleading look.
“Grandpa Laite, Selina… Mom… where did she go?”
This was the first time Laite didn’t respond to Selina’s words.
Instead, he guiltily turned his head away.
Unnoticed, Milia had come to stand behind Selina.
Xiao Baoluo had been placed on a chair and was crying because his mother wasn’t holding him, but Milia ignored him.
She knelt down and hugged Selina tightly.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t make her stay.”
Everyone had long suspected the truth about Sela’s background, but no one had ever said it out loud.
“Where did she go? Milia! Grandpa Laite!! Where did she go? Who took her away!!!”
After a long silence, Laite sighed.
“Her family. Clearly, we couldn’t do anything. We have no power to resist. Crushing us would be as easy as crushing an ant. They were merciful enough not to punish us for hiding her all these years.”
Laite suddenly hunched his back.
That single sigh seemed to age him several years, turning his hair even whiter.
“Who are they? Grandpa Laite, you know who they are, don’t you!”
“Child, you’re still young. I can’t let you dash an egg against a rock.”
“I will bring her back! I’ll go find her right now!”
“Then wait until you grow up!”
Laite said sternly.
“I’m old. I have no hope of climbing any higher in this life. Milia is limited by her knowledge and talent. My daughter might have had a chance to see her, but she no longer recognizes me as her father.”
“Child, you still have a chance to rise. Maybe you won’t be able to take her back, but at least there’s a possibility of meeting again.”
Selina deflated. Reason told her this was reality.
Reality came so suddenly.
The comfort of before seemed like a utopia.
From heaven to hell in an instant.
She didn’t blame anyone.
She had been too comfortable, too weak.
She came to another world and still wanted to live out her days in peace?
Wasn’t that a joke?
Her gaze fell on the statue of the goddess.
In her heart, she thought, ‘Since you forced my hand, don’t blame me for being ruthless.’