nownovels Chapter 59 Visit
Chapter 59 Visit
"Hi, Fafnir!"
"Hi, Joelle, hello, good afternoon, what brings you here?"
Fafnir quickly bowed to the polite viscountess in response to her curtsy.
"I came here to take a look. Hmm... In literature class, the teacher mentioned that the church opened a school for the poor this semester, and I wanted to come and see it."
"fine."
Fafnir saw Ms. Cecilia standing next to Joël as always, but this time, there was another familiar face.
Armand de Lorraine, captain of the Lorraine family's knights
In addition, there were two knights wearing iron armor.
"Although there haven't been any attacks like last semester recently, Dad still thinks Lorraine isn't safe and has assigned me more guards."
When Eller saw Fafnir's gaze turn to the knight beside him, he explained:
"This is Armand, the captain of our family's knights."
"Prevention is better than cure... Hello Cecilia, Knight of Lorraine."
Cecilia and Armand shook hands with him gently.
Armand took a small step forward and said to Fafnir:
"Little fellow, we met in Parliament before. You're a fine young man, but I must speak for the Viscount's interests."
"Fafner, have you two communicated before?" Joelle asked curiously.
"Yes, at the previous meeting about the servants of Nunns in the territory of Lorraine, the Knight of Lorraine said that as a descendant of servants and of rat-man blood, I was not suitable to be a gentleman usher at the grammar school."
"Fafner, I'm sorry, I think there must be some misunderstanding..."
Joël turned to look at Armand.
Armand remained unfazed: "My lady, I am telling the truth. Under the circumstances, my words were made in the best interests of the Lorraine family."
"Do you truly feel that way from the bottom of your heart?" Joelle asked.
Armand paused for a moment: "My esteemed lady, I have only been temporarily entrusted by the Viscount to protect your safety."
"Joel, the Knight of Lorraine did nothing wrong," Fafnir said.
Armand nodded to Fafnard.
Joelle didn't press further, turning back to Fafnir: "Fafnir, could you please show me around the school?"
Fafnir stepped aside: "Of course, no problem, please come in."
The church was darker inside than outside. The windows were small, and the afternoon sun shone in, casting patches of light on the stone floor.
About twenty children were sitting in the classroom, engrossed in writing and drawing on paper. Anna was standing by the podium. When she saw someone enter, she looked up.
His gaze lingered on Joelle for a moment, then looked at Cecilia and the knights behind her.
"Ms. Anna, this is Miss Joël Lorraine, the daughter of Viscount Lorraine," Fafnir introduced.
Anna gave a slight bow: "Hello, Miss Lorraine."
"No, hello Ms. Anna, you don't need to be so polite. I'm a student from the grammar school," Joelle quickly returned the greeting to Ms. Anna.
She looked around the classroom: long tables, benches, an alphabet chart hanging on the wall, and piles of scrap paper in the corner.
"Professor Fafnir, who is she?" Luca, sitting in the first row, looked up at Joël with curiosity.
"A distinguished guest," Fafner said, "you continue writing, don't get distracted."
The children lowered their heads again, but a few still secretly looked up to peek.
Joël walked to a long table and looked down at the writing of a girl. The girl looked about seven or eight years old, with messy hair and a purplish-blue bruise on her face. It was Eileen.
She was holding a pen, writing letters slowly and deliberately, her strokes crooked and uneven.
"Hello, did you write this?" Joelle asked.
Eileen looked up at her and nodded.
"Could you please write it down for me to see?"
Eileen lowered her head and wrote another letter in her notebook, this time writing more carefully, her fingers trembling as she held the pen.
"Great," Joelle said. "May I ask your name?"
"Eileen... Eileen."
Joël stared at the bruise on her face for two seconds, then, without asking any further questions, straightened up and turned to Fafner: "You teach this every day?"
"Um."
"Just you and Ms. Anna?"
"And Martha and Alan—you've met them, they used to volunteer at the grammar school, they should be eating in the yard now."
Joelle nodded and sat down in the empty seat next to Eileen.
The bench was a bit low for her; her knees almost touched the edge of the table, but she didn't mind and just sat there with her hands flat on the table.
Armand frowned, but said nothing.
"Fafner, you sit down too."
Fafnir sat down opposite her.
"Last week in literature class, the teacher discussed an essay," Joelle said.
"It tells the story of poor children. The author writes that the people there live like rats, crammed into dark and damp alleys, and no one cares about their birth, old age, sickness and death."
She paused for a moment: "The teacher had us discuss it, and talked a lot of grand principles, like social problems and systemic flaws."
I was thinking, what's the point of saying all this?
"So you came?"
"Hmm, I want to see it for myself," Joelle looked around. "It's smaller than I imagined..."
"It's small, but it's enough."
Several children nearby pricked up their ears to listen, and Luca simply put down his pen, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.
"Luca, write your words," Fafnir said.
"Oh." Luca lowered his head again, but his ears were still perked up.
Joelle glanced at Luca and lowered her voice, "What do you usually eat for lunch?"
"I brought it myself; I bought it at the cafeteria the night before."
Joël stood up, walked to the door, and said something to Armand. Armand frowned, but still turned and went out.
After a while, Armand returned, carrying a food box.
Joël took the food box and placed it in front of Fafnir.
Fafnir looked at the food box; it was silver, and the lid was engraved with the coat of arms of the Lorraine family.
"Joel, no need..."
"It's not for you," Joelle interrupted him, "it's for the children."
Fafner opened the food box, which contained sliced white bread, a few pieces of fried fish, a small dish of butter, and a pot of hot soup sealed with a stopper, the soup still steaming.
The children nearby smelled the aroma, and several of them looked up, their eyes fixed on the food box.
Fafnir glanced at the stares, thought for a moment, then broke the white bread into small pieces, giving each child a small piece, and also frying the fish.
As Eileen took the bread, she whispered, "Thank you, teacher."
“I’m not a teacher,” Joelle said. “I’m a student at the grammar school.”
Eileen paused for a moment, looked at Joelle, then at the bread in her hand, and her lips moved slightly: "Thank you, sister."
Joël's lips curved into a slight smile.