Chapter 38: Unexpected Harvest
I was slightly taken aback.
“All of it… was collected?”
“All of it.”
“Not a single book left?”
“Yup.” The librarian nodded at me, “The priest in charge back then said that Sister Teresa dedicated her life to the people, and that ‘The Sorrow of Love’, as a hero’s posthumous work, will be rewritten and reorganized by the scholars after being collected, and included in the Holy Church’s scripture for the clerics to spread to the world… He also said this was a direct order from the Saint herself. Now, even if you scour the entire library of the Royal City, you probably won’t find that book!”
An order from Margaret?
I raised an eyebrow, instinctively tilting my head to the right, my shiny black eyes rolling upwards while I pondered the ceiling for a moment.
Hmm…
Not entirely understandable.
After all, “books” are, at the end of the day, authors communicating their thoughts to readers. Once Margaret found out that Teresa was a heretic, she couldn’t let her ideas continue circulating among the masses. Who knows what subliminal messages or metaphors could be hidden in there?
But then again, there’s another possibility.
Margaret might have discovered that the book contained some secrets that shouldn’t be shared…
Regardless of which scenario it was, I had to read that book.
But it was no longer here, and lingering around would be pointless.
“Thank you.”
I flashed a sweet smile at the librarian and turned to leave the library.
As I stepped outside, I found the sun hanging high above me.
It was only early March, yet the Royal City already hinted at the approaching summer. The sky was dazzlingly bright, with sunlight hitting my exposed forearm, making it feel a bit too toasty for my liking.
As I strolled back slowly under the shade of the trees, I gnawed on my nails while mulling things over.
I felt a twinge of regret. Back in Teresa’s office, I definitely had the chance to read that book… now, even if I went back, I wouldn’t find it.
So, what now?
I might as well go find Margaret and ask for a copy. I’m the most informed person here; she has no reason to deny me.
But she’s not even in the Royal City… That canyon journey takes at least six days, right? She can’t just go there and immediately come back. Am I really going to just wait around like an idiot…?
When I returned to the tower dormitory, I saw that Sarah and the others were back.
“Peilo!”
They looked a bit exhausted, having just returned, their school uniforms clinging to them, with Daisy sporting tiny beads of sweat on her nose. As I pushed the door open, Sarah was halfway through taking off her top, her pale belly exposed, and upon seeing me, she let out a shout.
“Close the door quickly! I’m about to flash!”
I eyed her scrawny chest and pouted.
“Who would look at you?”
Though I said that, I still properly closed the door.
“Psh.” Sarah snorted dismissively.
“Where have you been?” Sophia, who was sitting at the vanity fixing her hair, frowned upon seeing me. “What’s this? You’re ditching class in broad daylight? I was going to challenge you to a riding competition!”
Her delicate tone carried a hint of displeasure. Did she think I wasn’t giving her enough face?
“Sorry, I went to the library.”
As I spoke, I moved behind her, peering into the mirror and casually adjusting my bangs.
I hadn’t styled my hair nicely in recent days… maybe I should learn how to braid hair?
“The library? What were you doing there?”
Sophia pressed on. Just as I was about to answer, an excited Sarah raced over in clean clothes and slapped my right shoulder.
“Peilo, you’re amazing! You really snuck out right under Teacher Ram’s nose! How did you pull it off?! Did you know everyone went nuts after you ran off?!”
“Sarah, you’re hurting me!”
I impatiently swatted her hand off my shoulder and shot her a glare. “What’s with the hysteria?”
I meant that as a scolding, but Sarah probably thought I was just responding to her previous comment. Her eyes sparkled like a crescent moon in excitement.
“You made everyone think that Teacher Ram is easy to deal with! A lot of people challenged him! And they ended up getting the stuffing knocked out of them! That scene was too glorious… Hahaha…”
Sarah laughed until she could barely breathe, and I found myself chuckling along.
“Teacher Ram must have felt so humiliated, scowling the whole class! Those guys really didn’t know how to take a hint; it serves them right for being punching bags! That’s the Giant Ram we’re talking about! I don’t understand what they were thinking—one guy even got his eye swollen shut! Hahaha…”
After laughing for a bit, she asked, “So how did you even pull it off? You were super fast. I blinked, and you were already running like a cheetah!”
“…Was it really that exaggerated?”
“Totally! I didn’t see a thing. Did you guys catch it?”
Sarah turned to the other two girls, but Sophia ignored her while Daisy timidly replied, “I didn’t see…”
“See? No one caught it!”
She shrugged her shoulders and then suddenly looked a bit bashful, her gaze darting away from mine as she tilted her head slightly down, seemingly casually asking, “Peilo, you’re actually… really impressive, huh…”
“Very impressive,” I casually replied.
“No, I mean… you’re more impressive than we imagined… like, not at all like a normal person, you know…”
Sarah’s voice became more hesitant, and she fidgeted with her fingers, appearing a bit flustered.
I quietly watched her, guessing her thoughts at that moment. After a while, when she finally lifted her head, I winked playfully.
“What are you talking about!”
I played dumb.
Sarah was quite straightforward and easy to read, so I definitely knew what she wanted to ask. But I wasn’t ready to answer her directly just yet.
Because I suddenly felt that, for me, the Royal Academy was like a cozy, comfortable harbor. There were no heretics, no life-or-d*ath matters, and no terrifying Abyss… Okay, maybe there is one.
But I’m harmless…
In summary, this place is a sanctuary. Everyone in 1504 is a good girl; I like being around them and want to happily coexist like this… The troubles outside don’t need to be dragged in here.
“Yeah, what was I saying… Hehe.”
Sarah scratched her head at me, her childlike grin innocent and sincere.
“Stop asking these weird questions all day, you silly goose.”
Sophia finally finished tying her long hair and stood up, positioning herself between me and Sarah, breaking the slightly strange atmosphere.
“Peilo. You still haven’t told me why you ran off to that boring place called the library instead of attending class.”
Not sure if she sensed that I didn’t want to continue talking about this, but she switched gears intentionally… Sophia is such a clever girl.
“I was looking for a book.”
I naturally followed her lead.
“A book?”
“The Sorrow of Love. The one by Teresa. Unfortunately, I didn’t find it.”
“…That’s already impossible to find, right? I heard the Church collected it.”
“That’s right.”
“Peilo, come on! Riding practice is way more fun! Why would you go look for a book… though I can understand your thoughts,” Sarah suddenly chimed in.
She shook her head and walked over to her bed, rummaging under her pillow and pulling out… huh?
“Here! I bought this a long time ago. I just finished reading it again a few days ago because of that Sister Teresa incident.”
She walked over holding the book and handed it to me.
“If you want to read it, you should have told me earlier; I’d lend it to you… but make sure to return it, okay? The Church said to submit it, and I’m going to take it to the Church on the next Rest Zone, who knows, I might even get a deity’s blessing… A priest’s blessing wouldn’t be bad either…”
Sarah was saying more, but I stopped listening, instead dazing at the book cradled in my hands.
The cover was a bit worn, the edges ragged and curled, clearly an old book, and its owner didn’t seem to take good care of it. The title “The Sorrow of Love” was faded, and the illustrated image on the cover was hard to make out, but the golden embossed line below with “Teresa Anthony” was clear and shining brightly before my eyes.
