Chapter 33

Thirty-Third Chapter: The Hidden Bureau

In the art room, Dorothy held the stone cube in her hand with some confusion. In her previous life, she had learned a little bit of art too. Usually, for still-life drawing, wouldn’t they use plaster models? She had never seen stones used before.

After placing the stone cube back on the low table, Dorothy took advantage of the teacher rearranging the still-life objects to approach the cabinet at the edge of the classroom. She looked at the lifelike plaster heads displayed on the cabinet and reached out to touch one.

“This head is also made of stone… It just has a layer of white powder to make it look like plaster. Is this school that extravagant? Using stone sculptures for still-life drawing… And there are so many of them…”

She thought as she observed the various lifelike stone sculptures neatly arranged on the cabinet. There were whole rows of them, each unique and exquisitely crafted. It was clear that these were masterpieces.

Plaster sculptures and stone sculptures were quite different. Plaster sculptures only required a mold; once the plaster was poured into the mold and dried, they could be mass-produced with low costs.

Stone sculptures, however, were entirely different. They required a single piece of stone to be slowly carved by hand, which took much longer and more effort than making plaster sculptures. Therefore, generally speaking, both geometric and human head still-life drawings used plaster sculptures. A carefully crafted stone sculpture could serve as a landmark in the city.

But this school was something else. Not only did it use stone sculptures for student still-life drawing, but there were so many of them. Furthermore, these stone heads were incredibly lifelike and detailed, each unique. Clearly, they were the work of a master sculptor.

Thinking about this, Dorothy recalled that there seemed to be many other stone sculptures placed around the school. Was there a famous sculptor here?

For a moment, Dorothy felt a hint of doubt. After finishing her drawing and waiting for class to end, she decided to find someone to ask. She already had someone in mind for whom to ask.

At noon, the increasingly hot sun baked the campus. In a hallway somewhere on the school grounds, an old janitor was meticulously cleaning a half-body stone statue by the roadside.

The janitor was serious and thorough, not missing any detail. He cleaned every part of the statue, including the earlobes, nostrils, eyebrows, neckline, and even the eyelids.

Just as the janitor was deeply engrossed in his work, a voice came from beside him.

“Mr. Dean, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

Hearing this voice, the janitor was momentarily stunned, then turned his head. He saw standing next to him a white-haired girl wearing a black female school uniform, smiling politely. He had a puzzled expression.

“May I ask who you are, miss?”

“Dorothea Meyshos. Don’t you remember? We met not long ago, on my first day of school.” Dorothy smiled and reminded him. The old janitor named Dean nodded.

“Oh, I remember now. Thank you very much for your help that day. But what can I do for you now, Miss Meyshos?” Dean smiled slightly and said with a somewhat aged voice. Dorothy immediately replied.

“It’s like this, Mr. Dean. I noticed that there are many exquisite statues in the school, especially in the art room. This phenomenon doesn’t appear anywhere else. Do you know where these statues come from?” Dorothy asked curiously, having already learned the janitor’s name and knowing he had worked at the school for many years.

“Heh heh… Interested in those statues? No wonder. Other places that cultivate art don’t have such fine still-life subjects. After all, these aren’t crude imitations made from plaster molds. Each one is finely crafted and lifelike, and any store would be proud to display them as treasures.”

Listening to Dorothy’s words, Dean’s face showed a clear smile, and he continued.

“These statues, they were all carved by the principal of this school, Mr. Audric. That gentleman is a master in sculpture. He likes to place the finished works in the school for students to draw from, fostering an artistic atmosphere throughout the school. He hopes that one day this school will produce more artists…”

“The principal of this school… Audric?”

Looking at the smiling old janitor, Dorothy fell into thought.

…

In the afternoon, in a classroom, the religious teacher, with gray hair and glasses, was enthusiastically reciting the teachings of the Radiant Church from the podium. The students below were praying while taking notes. At the back of the classroom, in the second-to-last seat by the window, Dorothy rested her head, bored, and stared out the window.

She could see the old janitor Dean below in the garden, skillfully wielding large pruning shears, meticulously trimming the plants. His garden work was neat and beautiful, highly ornamental.

‘Need to confirm this… Just a bit bored…’

While thinking, Dorothy glanced at the religious teacher on the podium, then took out a box from her diagonal shoulder bag. She opened it and put on the finger ring of the corpse puppet inside, and a large gecko crawled out of her pocket.

Wearing the corpse puppet ring, Dorothy controlled the gecko silently as it crawled out of the classroom and across the entire campus. Her senses extended through the gecko.

…

As the sun set, the day quickly passed.

At dusk, it was time for the Saint Amanda School to let out. For Dorothy, it was finally the end of a tiring day and time to go home.

Of course, Dorothy being able to go home after school didn’t mean that Saint Amanda School was a day school. On the contrary, it was a boarding school. The reason Dorothy could go home was because she was a girl.

The discrimination in education during this era was severe, not just in terms of social status, but also gender.

Before the Industrial Revolution, women had almost no chance of receiving education. Even noblewomen mostly had private tutors. Schools like Saint Amanda were exclusively male, and boys also lived on campus.

After the Industrial Revolution, women’s status improved slightly. Some middle schools began accepting female students. Girls from noble families, bourgeois families, and citizens with economic means like Dorothy could start entering middle schools.

However, this was not a widespread phenomenon. Many middle schools still maintained the tradition of being all-male. Schools like Saint Amanda, which accepted female students and became co-ed, were pioneers of their time. However, they also made compromises, such as limiting the number of female students or not allowing them to board.

If a large number of female and male students lived together on campus, even if they were strictly segregated, conservative elements in society would consider it improper.

Not being able to live on campus was not good news for female students, as it meant fewer evening classes and thus a wider gap in academic performance compared to male students.

But for Dorothy, it didn’t matter. She could avoid odd courses anyway. General math, logic, art, and grammar classes were fine, but she really couldn’t stand religious or etiquette classes unless spirituality was involved. She wasn’t interested in attending otherwise.

As usual, Dorothy walked out of the school gate with a group of wealthy young ladies at sunset. There were already many carriages waiting outside.

Many noble and bourgeois families had their own carriages to pick up their daughters. Those who couldn’t afford a personal carriage, like Dorothy, had to take a taxi home.

Fortunately, since many students needed carriages after school, freelance coachmen usually parked their carriages near the school gate. Dorothy often took these taxis home; the fares weren’t expensive.

Leisurely, Dorothy carried her bag out of the school gate. As usual, she scanned the area where coachmen gathered, but saw no sign of a free carriage.

‘Strange… Usually, there should be several parked here.’

Seeing this scene, Dorothy thought to herself, and just then, the sound of hooves echoed from afar. She turned her head and saw a carriage being driven toward her by a coachman, stopping steadily in front of her.

“Miss, would you like to ride?”

The coachman looked down at Dorothy, smiling, and she was momentarily stunned.

‘I was looking for a carriage… and one shows up? Isn’t this a bit coincidental? He seems to have started driving over when he saw me coming out…’

“Mmm… Let me think for a moment…”

Pretending to deliberate, Dorothy secretly activated the corpse puppet ring, making the gecko in her pocket peek out to observe its surroundings, especially the blind spots of her vision.

Then, she noticed two adults wearing hats and coats approaching from behind. They pretended to read newspapers while closely watching Dorothy ahead.

‘It looks like… I’m being watched…’

Seeing this, Dorothy took a deep breath and, as if making a decision, looked at the coachman.

“Alright, please take me to Nanyang Hualu Street.”

“Understood, Miss. Please get in.”

Hearing the coachman’s words, Dorothy stepped forward, but accidentally slipped and fell.

“Oh!”

“Are you alright, Miss!”

Seeing this, the coachman hurriedly got out to help Dorothy up. Dorothy took the opportunity to glance at the coachman’s waist.

There, hanging, was a g*n case…

‘A g*n…’

“Thank you…”

While expressing gratitude, Dorothy was supported into the carriage by the coachman. Then, the coachman drove the carriage forward.

Seeing this, the man who had been standing behind Dorothy exchanged glances with his companion and walked toward a corner at a distant intersection. Soon, two more carriages emerged from the corner and followed Dorothy’s carriage.

On the gravel road, a gecko watched the three carriages depart and then swiftly crawled back into the campus.