CHAPTER 544: CHAPTER 523 NAGAMI’S DOUBTS (PART 2)

"Boom boom boom!"

"Enrico, come out. If you have the guts to steal peacock flowers, then have the guts to open the door. Don’t hide inside silently, I know you’re at home!"

Standing outside the gate of a villa, surrounded by seven or eight knights, Seching’s large fist crazily knocked on the gate.

Soon, footsteps approached, and with the sound of the latch being lifted, a girl in a black and white nun’s outfit timidly opened the door.

After a moment of recognition, confirming that this was Enrico’s daughter and not his new mistress, Seching roughly asked, "Kusvania, where’s your father?"

The young nun seemed a little stunned by Seching’s abrupt question. She turned to the side and pointed to the garden behind the courtyard.

"Excuse me." Seching squeezed through the crack in the door, rolled up his sleeves, and started running towards the back garden of the courtyard.

"Enrico——"

"Kusvania! Wow, you’ve grown so much taller!" Before Kusvania could figure out what Uncle Seching was doing, she was hugged tightly by Nagami.

The two were considered cousins and used to meet almost every winter when they were young, naturally making them good friends.

"Sister Nagami." Kusvania was squeezed so tightly by the robust Sister Nagami that she could hardly breathe, "It’s been... a long time..."

Nagami saw Kusvania’s face turning purple, so she loosened her grip: "Why are you the one opening the door? Where are the servants?"

"All previous male and female servants were dismissed; we only kept three servants, one nanny, and one cook. Old Tom, who kept the gate, is quite old and hard of hearing."

"Where are your useless brothers?"

"They’re either in the service or in school."

"Look at our little Vanessa, so strong."

The sisters talked for a while at the door, and then Nagami dragged Kusvania, wanting to see where she lived.

Kusvania naturally didn’t refuse. After instructing the old servant to take care of the Mountain Knights’ horses, she led Nagami up to the second-floor room.

As soon as the bedroom door was opened, a burst of floral fragrance wafted out.

On the gable of the second floor, there was a round window with four-petal flowers. As Nagami approached, she could see the smoke rising from the entire town.

She surveyed the entire room, finding it unexpectedly clean and comfortable, with sturdy furniture, a spacious wardrobe, and a bookshelf lined with books.

Kusvania’s room was about fifty to sixty square meters, decorated in a simple manner, with a framed portrait of a young Pope on the wall.

Next to the portrait, on the side of the mosaic glass flower window, was a square pointed arch window.

A wide chestnut wood desk was placed in front of the arch window, neatly arranged with an iron candlestick, books, papers, quill pens, and ink bottles.

This villa was previously the residence of a bishop, constructed of brick and stone with simple decorations, and was later assigned to Enrico.

Although his status in Joan of Arc Castle or the Ry Court Barracks was just like Little Kalami, in Sour Melon Town, his position was not low.

This place was not only his residence but also his office.

The gatehouse of the warehouse on the other side of the open-air corridor had been converted into his office, with a side door created for the daily comings and goings of people.

While this house was not as large and luxurious as a manor villa, it was indeed comfortable and clean.

For some reason, Nagami felt some stuffiness in her chest, so she reached out and opened the arch window to get some fresh air.

"Enrico, you plagiarist, to think I trusted you so much!"

"Did you cultivate the peacock flower? This is what my mother told me, what does it have to do with you."

"I damn..."

With a bang, Nagami closed the window with a loud thud, shutting her father’s crude words outside.

"Hurry up and tell me, how did you become a nun?" Holding Kusvania’s hand, Nagami affectionately patted her head.

Generally speaking, daughters are only sent to the monastery to become nuns if they cannot marry, or if there are too many daughters and not enough dowry.

Enrico had several sons and illegitimate children, and only one daughter, so dowry would certainly have been manageable.

Sending her to the monastery now mostly indicated some hardship.

"It’s temporary. The uncles opposed sending their daughters to school, fearing a loss of status." Kusvania spoke shyly, "So His Excellency arranged the monastery to serve as a school, allowing us noble daughters to learn under the guise of being nuns.

Three years later, we can return to secular life, graduate, and still marry."

"And the old fogies agreed to that?" The answer was a bit different from what Nagami expected, and she became curious.

She was quite familiar with how those old conservative relics criticized her for showing her face.

Kusvania shook her head: "The uncles were initially unwilling to let their daughters leave home, but then a rumor spread that His Excellency would choose a wife from these nuns, and they complied."

"Tsk." Nagami scoffed coldly, "So what do you all study, sewing? Managing servants? Accounting? Etiquette?"

These were usually taught to young ladies by the head of the household’s personal nanny, or by the household head herself.

If the head of the family passed away early or lacked such a nanny, they would hire an expert from outside, which was quite expensive.

In Huaqiu City among the great nobles of the Falan Kingdom, the head nanny’s income in a year could even surpass that of a knight.

"We learn mathematics, poetry, philosophy, law, and natural theology, as well as horseback riding, the harp, and knight breathing techniques."

Nagami was stunned: "Say that again?"

So, Kusvania counted on her fingers and repeated it, but was interrupted by Nagami before finishing: "Isn’t that what priests should learn?"

"His Excellency advocates knowledge." When speaking of that young Pope of the Ry Court Barracks, little stars almost shone in the young nun’s eyes, "He hopes that both men and women can become virtuous monks."

Sitting heavily on the soft bed, for the moment, Nagami didn’t know what to say.

Because of the sparse population in North County, women often took on men’s roles, and men were used as beasts of burden, so there was no taboo against women being seen.

Enrico often jokingly referred to Seching as "your barbarian uncle" in front of Kusvania.

But the nobles of North County were not uneducated or unschooled.

Starting from the previous Duke Hemashi, Cold Spring Castle had hired scholars to be stationed in various Mountain Counties.

These scholars would teach the children of Mountain Knights literacy and arithmetic at a low cost, and those with the capability could be recommended to Cold Spring Castle.

In this regard, the many North Knights were still quite grateful.

Under the oppressive monthly salary of 2 gold pounds from Mira, this gratitude somewhat twisted, but at least the system didn’t collapse.

Nagami had visited such schools, but after learning literacy and arithmetic, she was sent off to learn needlework and servant management.

She never even brushed against the lofty subjects of philosophy, poetry, and law.

When she saw her brothers discussing poetry and philosophy together, she couldn’t understand a word, and she only found her place in swordsmanship.

For a brief moment, she even felt a bit envious.

Walking to the little nun’s desk, she picked up a small paper on natural theology, but to Nagami, it was like trying to understand celestial script.

She’s only two years younger than me!

Putting the little paper down, Nagami looked at Kusvania and suddenly felt as if there was an impenetrable barrier between them.

"How many years do you need to attend this school?"

"I had already learned literacy and arithmetic before, so I need to study for three years. If not learned earlier, it would be six years." The young nun bashfully hid the unfinished paper, "I wish I hadn’t learned literacy and arithmetic before; lower grades are much more fun than higher grades."

"Is that so? Is the nuns’ school that good?"

"Why don’t you stay here with me?" Perhaps sensing Nagami’s emotional change, Kusvania playfully clung to Nagami’s arm, "I’ll introduce you to some new friends. They’ll definitely like you."

Looking at Kusvania’s tender face, Nagami suddenly didn’t know how to respond.

She originally thought that since Uncle Enrico was captured and stripped of his noble status, life must be tough.

She came to Sour Melon Town with the intention of taking Kusvania back home.

Even though it wouldn’t be as good as being a noble young lady of Pingyuan County, it would be better than leading a hard life.

But now it seems she’s not only coping well but even happier than before.

Perhaps bringing the young nun back to that harsh mountainous region would plunge her into difficulty.

"We’ll see."

Nagami’s smile was both bitter and confused.