CH-049

Savoy Pastoral Area.

Shu Yue calculated that he had probably been away for less than five or six days. Since he didn't really have any work to do and spent every day on his own things, if he had been a little thicker-skinned, he could have stayed in Carson City for a couple more days before returning to the Savoy Pastoral Area. Anyway, the Savoy Pastoral Area didn't lack a priest.

Before leaving, everyone was happy and joyous, especially the children, who were waiting for Shu Yue to bring back gifts.

But when he returned, the front yard was empty, and even the children who usually loved to play were nowhere to be seen. It was only when he walked along the path in front of the church that he heard low-voiced criticism and faint crying.

Elder Jacob, along with Xiya and Weiya, were all standing in front of Shu Yue's residence. Xiya and Weiya were sobbing as they spoke to their grandfather. When Shu Yue softly asked, "What's wrong?" the two children, upon hearing the sound, turned around with tear-stained faces. They stood there, looking eagerly at Shu Yue, yet also afraid, not daring to move.

"What's wrong?" Shu Yue approached Elder Jacob.

As soon as Shu Yue got close, the two little girls each grabbed one of Shu Yue's sleeves, sobbing, "Lord Alis... please don't be angry with Xiya and Weiya..." As soon as she said this, Xiya began to throw back her head and wail loudly, while Weiya choked on her sobs, unable to say a single word.

In no time, Shu Yue's sleeves were soaked through, yet he still didn't know what had happened.

Elder Jacob bravely took responsibility: "It was my lack of discipline that made Xiya and Weiya mischievous."

That being said, Shu Yue felt that Jacob was also afraid to tell him exactly what had happened. Because this sentence was also useless information.

So, he quickly scanned the surroundings, and his gaze soon froze somewhere.

In his own field, a red-fleshed watermelon was smashed on the ground, the flesh splattered everywhere, the exposed gaps rough and uneven, as if pulled apart by external force. Red juice seeped into the dry soil, mixing with dust and sand. Paw prints and children's shoe prints were chaotic and messy, but on the path from the field to Shu Yue's residence, these traces were the most regular and concentrated.

His gaze followed the traces, and Shu Yue subconsciously looked up toward the window — before leaving, Shu Yue had deliberately left a crack for ventilation, but now the less-than-finger-wide gap could fit a child's fist. On the windowsill, a few dark stains were vaguely visible, which, if nothing else, should be watermelon juice. They had long since seeped into the wall, drying into dark red spots, with a few ants busily crawling around the edges, as if still chasing the lingering taste.

"..."

Shu Yue strode toward his window crack.

The window of the residence was an inward-opening wooden window, fixed in place by an iron hook and ring on the inside of the frame. Once the iron hook and ring inside the house were fastened, it couldn't be pulled open from the outside. But since the window had been left with a crack, even if only a finger wide, as long as one leaned close to the windowsill and looked inside, one could still glimpse a corner of the room.

At this moment, the tables, chairs, and bedding in Shu Yue's room were still in their original places. However, lighter items had already tilted or fallen over. Watermelon seeds and small paw prints and mud spots from animals were everywhere. Perhaps because Shu Yue was peering in from outside, the little things inside noticed him. The entire room was shrouded by a strange, stagnant silence. But as time passed, Shu Yue could vaguely hear some very faint sounds — like some small animal secretly licking and chewing, trying to cover up the noise, but the softer it tried, the more abrupt it became.

"Jiji ji" echoed back and forth in the room, low and slow.

Shu Yue withdrew his gaze and said, "...So it's just a little animal that ran into my house? What's the big deal?"

It wasn't like cockroaches had crawled in. Thank the other world for having no giant cockroaches.

The church backed onto the mountains, so it was normal for animals to pass by. For this reason, Shu Yue had even put up a fence around the outer perimeter of his field.

Xiya cried until her eyes were swollen, looking pitiful and hesitant to speak: "Lord Alis..." After saying that, she started hugging Shu Yue's leg and crying.

This really startled Shu Yue. Could there be consequences he couldn't bear?

So Shu Yue asked Elder Jacob to explain clearly.

Elder Jacob said a long string of words, and Shu Yue directly ignored the unnecessary honorifics to get the key information —

Two days ago, Xiya and Weiya were responsible for helping watch the fields.

Originally, Cecilia or Elder Jacob should have come to help watch them, but the vegetable garden was very easy to manage: it didn't need much watering; because of the alyssum, they didn't even need to catch many insects; and there were lots of fruits and vegetables to eat whenever they wanted. Plus, with the recent farm work being busy and no time to watch the children, Elder Jacob gave this easy task to these two children, also to keep them from running around everywhere.

On their first day on the job, the two children found...

It was mentioned before that there were foxes calling at night here, very sharp sounds, sometimes very strange. However, they would avoid people, so Shu Yue had never really minded having foxes as neighbors. After all, compared to foxes, wasn't the Duke's manor just one mountain over from him more concerning?

When the little fox saw the two children coming, it got very nervous, dodging left and right, retreating to Shu Yue's house, saw the window crack, and squeezed itself in.

Both Xiya and Weiya got anxious. They didn't have the key to the door, nor the strength to pry the windowsill and squeeze into Shu Yue's house.

Afraid of getting scolded, they didn't dare do anything.

After a sleepless night of fear, the two children secretly went to Shu Yue's window again the next day and found that the little fox, having panicked and drilled into the house, couldn't get out and was hungry and...

So, Xiya and Weiya forgot about driving the little fox out and went everywhere to find food for it, throwing watermelon into the room and watching the little fox eat.

This continued for a day and a half. When Elder Jacob came to check on their work, he completely broke down.

Only then did the two children remember that they had not only failed to protect the fields properly but had also made a mess of Shu Yue's house.

"They meant well but did bad things. I hope Lord Alis won't blame them." Elder Jacob pleaded for the children.

Shu Yue laughed. He thought there was nothing wrong with this; it wasn't something the children could control. Was he going to blame the children for being too kind? "No one getting hurt is the most important thing. Next time you encounter a problem, find an adult promptly." Shu Yue said this first, and then, seeing tears still pooled in their eyes, teased them: "I think Elder Jacob's words just now were very strange, don't you think?"

The two children and Elder Jacob simultaneously looked confused.

Elder Jacob even panicked a little: "Lord Alis, did I say something wrong?"

Shu Yue said, word by word: "Because Xiya and Weiya meant well and were doing good things, not bad things."

Xiya and Weiya, hearing that Shu Yue wasn't angry but instead praised them, stopped crying and obediently looked up at Shu Yue with confusion, waiting for him to continue.

"Think about it, isn't charity taught in the Bible? This shows that Xiya and Weiya have a strong learning ability — they learned it and were willing to do it. Also, the little fox ran away from the field, which also shows that Xiya and Weiya successfully drove away the little animal that was stealing fruit, thus protecting the field."

Shu Yue paused and said: "When I think about it carefully, it seems they really didn't do anything wrong, right?"

Xiya and Weiya both sniffled and repeatedly confirmed: "We didn't do anything bad?"

"Let me think about it carefully!" Shu Yue put on a face of deep thought, his expression more exaggerated than usual, which amused the two children.

Shu Yue paused and said, with mock seriousness: "To be fair, the house is indeed a mess. Xiya and Weiya have indeed gone too far with me! When we open the door in a moment, you have to help clean up."

Xiya and Weiya immediately raised their hands and said: "We will definitely make it very clean!"

Shu Yue took the opportunity to say: "Thank you so much! I'm really exhausted from coming back from Carson City!" He even sighed: "I really don't feel like working anymore."

Xiya and Weiya volunteered again: "Then we'll give Lord Alis a back massage in a little while."

"Hahaha, sure!"

Children are always very sensitive to the emotions of adults, or rather, they always have a strong emotional dependence on adults. A typical example is doing things while watching their parents' expressions; not wanting to see their parents unhappy, etc.

As long as they sense that "they are not being hated," their moods always improve quickly.

Seeing that they were in a good mood, Shu Yue looked at Elder Jacob again to check on his state. Fortunately, the old gentleman wasn't the type to overthink things either. Seeing that Shu Yue didn't mind, he also relaxed and quickly got tools to join the cleaning team.

Only then did Shu Yue completely feel at ease.

As soon as the lock clicked open, before they had even truly stepped into the house, a white shadow that seemed to have been waiting for the right moment shot out through the door crack with a "swoosh," like a ball of fluff brushing past everyone's feet.

It was a pure white fox with no mixed colors. Without seeing its facial features, as it ran far away in a flash, its tail was as fluffy as a pile of snow. It burrowed into the weeds by the ridge, leaving a small paw print with a melon seed on the ground.

This startled the two children into exclaiming.

"Oh oh, Furball ran out!" Xiya exclaimed first.

Weiya also exclaimed: "It just brushed against my pant leg!"

Shu Yue heard them laughing so hard he couldn't help but glance at them: they had actually already named a wild little animal after not even that much time together?

*

Cleaning the house was actually very easy.

There wasn't much furniture in Shu Yue's house to begin with, so it took less than seven or eight minutes. Many things were fine after just a wipe with a damp cloth.

Then, when Shu Yue brought out the gifts for them, the two children had completely forgotten about crying earlier, their eyes shining as if filled with stars.

These gifts were actually picked out with the help of landlady Suona, especially for the girls. If Shu Yue had chosen, he would have just bought books or food — the former the children might not like to read, the latter would be gone quickly after being eaten.

Actually, Shu Yue thought giving food was the easiest and most foolproof. Delicious things, everyone liked, and it easily turned into happiness.

However, landlady Suona criticized Shu Yue for this perfunctory attitude, saying: "Some happiness shouldn't just be momentary."

So, Suona picked two blue-and-white hair ribbons for the two twins. The ends of the ribbons had two small wooden beads, which were fashionable yet not too expensive-looking. They looked pretty for everyday wear but weren't flashy.

The gifts weren't just for the children; everyone in Jacob's family had gifts.

Cecilia received a set of herbal sachets and a sachet-making manual. She could learn to make them, mix and match them however she liked, and whether she gave them away or kept them for herself, it was good. For her age, it was also a good topic for making friends; it would be nice to make sachets with her friends.

Raymond and his wife received a set of beeswax candles and a pair of carved wooden cups, with their names on the bottom. This was because Shu Yue hoped that, while they were important forces in the family, bearing many responsibilities, they could also remember that they were themselves, not just sons, daughters-in-law, fathers, or mothers.

Jacob and his wife both received herbal packs and hand warmers, so they could use them first for themselves when sick, instead of buying medicine from the town.

Shu Yue remembered that after purchasing these, he thought that they were all devout believers. If he had given them handwritten prayers or deluxe Bible chapters, they would surely be much happier and more suitable.

But when he asked about the price, Shu Yue was shocked.

In this era where printing had only recently become widespread, books were a luxury. The most ordinary Bible without illustrations cost 20 silver coins. A deluxe hardcover Bible with cover decorations cost at least 60 silver coins. As for those with colored illustrations, they would easily cost hundreds of silver coins.

Shu Yue remembered frantically tearing up the Bible to make paper butterflies and felt his heart bleeding. A 500-page ordinary Bible without illustrations cost at least 70 silver coins, and he didn't have that much money on him at the time. If he had known it was so expensive, he wouldn't have folded paper butterflies; it would have been fine to just strip all the wildflowers by the roadside!

Fortunately, clergy could apply for Bibles for free. Before leaving, he had specifically gotten another copy. Perhaps seeing how devout he was that day, Auxiliary Bishop Hugo gave him his own copy, which had a heavy cover and exquisite illustrations.

The cover was wrapped in leather, and the corners and clasps were inlaid with metal ornaments that shone with a soft golden luster in the light, looking like gold, but perhaps it was brass. The cover also had slightly raised decorative patterns, the lines thin and complex. All the illustrations inside the book were hand-painted, with very vibrant pigment colors. A hand-painted book in the bookstore that was slightly inferior to this one cost 60 or 70 silver coins; this one was worth even more.

Shu Yue heard the sound of gold coins ringing inside. On the inside of the cover was the name of the giver, "Otto Samuels."

Shu Yue had always had trouble remembering those lengthy, complex Western names, especially the rare ones — he couldn't remember them after hearing them once. He tried hard several times but still found this name difficult to remember firmly. He didn't remember it until Auxiliary Bishop Hugo casually mentioned: "This is the surname of Lady Adela's father's family, also the surname of the Duke's former wife, Odora. They were both students in my class."

Shu Yue suddenly understood and gained some impression of the name.

Auxiliary Bishop Hugo continued: "And Otto is Lady Odora's father. He was also my student, and after working as my secretary assistant for three years, he transferred to the Holy See to hold a high position."

This finally gave the names that had been drifting on the edge of his mind a place, a connection, pinned in place like nails.

That is to say, Leslie's maternal grandfather was Hugo's student, Leslie's mother was Hugo's student, and even the novel's male lead was Hugo's student. This was truly a legacy.

Auxiliary Bishop Hugo said warmly: "Actually, Otto sends me similar gifts every year, so feel free to take it. If you need anything, you can write to me anytime, and I will send it."

As soon as he said this, Shu Yue suddenly understood why this person was the golden-finger grandpa. Connections equal wealth. And Auxiliary Bishop Hugo had no interest in Otto at all. What a powerful figure he must be in the metropolis!

But thinking about it carefully, being sent to the Northern Territory as a savior of faith, titled "Wise Man," Auxiliary Bishop Hugo himself should be a very, very formidable person!

Shu Yue quickly refused: "I don't need anything."

Auxiliary Bishop Hugo was greatly disappointed and even acted very sad, but after two or three seconds, seeing that Shu Yue didn't fall for it, he muttered to himself: "I'll figure it out myself."

"..." Honestly, Shu Yue felt that the old man might see him as his only long-lost relative.

The deluxe Bible was ultimately too precious, and Shu Yue felt he didn't deserve it. Besides, the other party was so full of human warmth; accepting this one would lead to countless more in the future. After much thought, he still tactfully returned the Bible...

In fact, Shu Yue thought that after leaving Carson City, he wouldn't have much involvement with Auxiliary Bishop Hugo. But after giving the gifts, Shu Yue noticed that Elder Jacob wasn't as happy as imagined.

His expression was somewhat grave, as if something else was weighing on his mind.

Shu Yue noticed and instinctively asked: "What's wrong?"

As it turned out, it was related to Auxiliary Bishop Hugo!

Elder Jacob hesitated, feeling that he should say these things. So he honestly said to Shu Yue: "Auxiliary Bishop Hugo of Carson City wrote to me. On July 7th, before you had even returned from Carson City, I had already received the letter." His tone was cautious and hesitant.

"The letter said not to let us cook for you anymore..." He spoke, looking terrified, as if afraid he had indeed done something wrong.

Shu Yue couldn't remember when he had ever cooked for Jacob. He tilted his head, thought carefully, and then tentatively asked: "Is it... maltose?"

Elder Jacob repeatedly shook his head: "Not that time."

His tone was sincere yet nervous: "Didn't you also personally make us kebabs and iron pot stew?"

Shu Yue suddenly understood: "Oh — you mean that? Wasn't that a long time ago?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Elder Jacob instead became more respectful and his expression grew even more nervous. Elder Jacob continued in a low voice: "But... that kind of thing shouldn't have happened in the first place." He paused, as if weighing his words, his gaze falling on Shu Yue's face. Seeing Shu Yue still looked confused, he finally gathered the courage and carefully added —

"You... you... aren't you going to be the Pope in the future? How could I dare let you cook for us?"

Shu Yue couldn't help but laugh: "Don't joke around! You can't just say things like that. Where did you hear that? Isn't that too outrageous?"

He paused, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Becoming Pope in this society requires background and qualifications; that's the nobility's business. How could it be my turn?"

Elder Jacob, seeing that he didn't take it seriously, instead looked more confused and hesitantly said: "But... the people in town have been spreading it for a while. Everyone says so..."

Shu Yue listened and sighed lightly, but his expression still held a smile: "I can't control what others say, but if you believe it, then I am indeed worried. The Pope thing can't be casually said. If others treat it as a joke, I might actually get into trouble if I'm not careful."

"Ah... this! I..." Elder Jacob immediately became incoherent, clearly frightened by the word "trouble." Afraid that his unintentional words might cause trouble for Shu Yue, his tone carried obvious panic and self-blame.

The old man hurriedly said: "If I've caused you trouble, then I misspoke. I'll go back now and clarify things with the townspeople..."

Shu Yue felt that this was just the townspeople spreading gossip, merely a diversion in life. Shu Yue asked: "Is it very outrageous?"

Elder Jacob wasn't sure either, because he had only heard these things in the past few days, so he told Shu Yue about it.

Shu Yue thought the townspeople were just bored and looking for something to do, making things up out of thin air. Since it was only recent, he could wait and see, to avoid making a big deal out of nothing.

He paused, his tone steady yet slightly serious: "Just listen to rumors; don't take them too seriously. Not believing or spreading them is the best response."

Shu Yue said it so confidently that Elder Jacob naturally believed his priest, but he still had to say: "But the cooking thing must be avoided. Auxiliary Bishop Hugo has already specifically written a letter."

This was very scary!!

Shu Yue felt that Auxiliary Bishop Hugo must have misunderstood something and scared Elder Jacob.

So he solved Elder Jacob's concern with one sentence.

He said: "Elder Jacob, whose elder are you, whose deacon are you?"

Elder Jacob looked up at Shu Yue, the answer was self-evident.

Shu Yue then said: "Then you only listen to me. If Auxiliary Bishop Hugo has any objections, let him bring them up with me. You haven't done anything wrong."

Shu Yue scattered the panic and worry that had been entrenched in Elder Jacob's heart with just a few words.

But what he didn't know was that, besides the Carson Diocese, several other dioceses in the Northern Territory had already fallen into anxiety and panic because of the rumors about Father Alis.

Regardless, Shu Yue felt he was still himself, still living his life step by step.

The next morning, he went to check on the fields as usual. But between the gaps of the newly reinforced and tightened fence, he saw a little fox stuck there, its limbs struggling, its little head still desperately trying to reach toward the melon patch. However, as soon as it noticed that Shu Yue had spotted it, its tail drooped and it pretended to have fainted in the fence gap, not moving at all.

Playing dead is one of the oldest and most classic tricks in the animal kingdom when facing danger.

Shu Yue: "..."

What a little fox indeed.