Starting with the sentries on the frontier

Chapter 101 Searching for the Snowball

Chapter 104 Searching for the Snowball

Ruili Cecilius was the only noblewoman in the entire Meretra Church School.

Well, most aristocratic families preferred to hire tutors for their children, including tutors in the fields of mysticism and magic—these nobles might not be able to study deeply due to their low spirituality, but they couldn't be ignorant of these subjects.

Kereli was an exception; her mother was a devout Merethra believer who died three years after divorcing Viscount Cecilius, and Kereli inherited most of her mother's fortune.

Ruili's maternal grandfather, Archie Cooper, was a baron in the neighboring Warton County. He had considerable wealth, most of which he gave to his only daughter, Ruili's mother.

Although the title of "Baron" sounds far less prestigious than "Viscount," the Cooper family at least controls most of the timber processing business in Walton County. Even the barrels used by the famous Holland and Highland wineries are made by the Cooper family. In terms of wealth, probably ten Cecilius families could not match one Archie Cooper.

Not to mention that the Cooper family is one of the most trusted families of the Duke of Walton, and their status among the nobility is quite good.

This is also why the Cooper family's daughter married Viscount Cecilius: one sought wealth, the other sought a title.

Archie had even planned that once his daughter and son-in-law gave birth to a child with sufficient spirituality, the child could inherit the title of Viscount Cecilius. Then, by cooperating with the Cooper family's schemes, they might be able to reclaim a territory and truly establish themselves.

Of course, plans can't keep up with changes. Who could have known that Viscount Cecilius was a playboy who had been divorced six times!

From the first daughter of the Earl of Golden Helmet—who was abandoned by him—to the many noble ladies who followed, not one of them could stay with him. Moreover, the social status of the women he married decreased with each marriage, but one thing remained constant: every noble lady came from a wealthy family.

Women often fantasize about being the last and the most special one, which is probably why Viscount Cecilius was able to marry seven times.

Of course, after his sixth divorce, Viscount Cecilius's physique began to resemble a spherical shape. As Mrs. Rowan said, he was now like a potato, and proper noble ladies would never be interested in him. That's why a "Bernice" who appeared out of nowhere came along. Because of the recent resignation of the mayor, various newspapers were vying to write extensively about Viscount Cecilius's romantic affairs, and Zag was almost tired of reading about it.

In short, because of her strong aristocratic background, Miss Reilly Cecilius firmly grasped all the property left by her mother, and even the house where Viscount Cecilius now lives was in her name. Therefore, the Viscount did not dare to be too forceful in front of his second daughter.

Therefore, after Ruili decided to forgo any tutors hired by Viscount Cecilius and go directly to the church school in Meretra, Viscount Cecilius tried to persuade her several times without success, and could only let her be.

Anyway, his unruly daughter has a mage advisor and a knight arranged by Archie Cooper, so her safety is well guaranteed and he doesn't need to worry about it.

Of course, he wouldn't worry about it.

He has more than a dozen children; if he were to worry about each and every one of them, he would never be able to manage them all!

However, Zag was actually unaware of the intricacies involved.

He could only approach Brother Colin first and try to find out more indirectly.

"I came to give the two kids some pocket money. I forgot to give it to them when I dropped them off yesterday. I was just walking the dog today, so I came to give it to them. Five shillings each, that should be enough for the two little ones to squander for a while." Zag first made up a reason, handed 10 shillings to Brother Colin, and then casually asked, "I heard Miss Ruili is also studying at the Meritla Church School? Is she in the same class as Lilia and the others?"

Colin assumed that Zag was worried about cults, so he quickly spoke up for Ruili: "Yes, Miss Ruili is here too—well, actually, I think Miss Ruili has nothing to do with cults. Her mother is a devout Meredra believer, and so is she, which is why she prefers to study at a church school rather than have a private tutor."

Zag quickly explained, "No, you misunderstood. I didn't mean to question you; I was just curious. As you know, in my knowledge, children from noble families rarely attend public church schools."

"Yes, yes, that's generally how it is. Even if they are followers of Meretla, they hire monks to teach separately, or simply build a church school in the castle specifically for the children of noble families. Only then will they recruit apprentices from outside. For example, the church school near Golden Helmet Fortress is like that—"

"But Miss Ruili—by Mother Goddess, this child is somewhat withdrawn and not very sociable, but she is very kind, generous, benevolent, and devout. She has been donating to the church school for many years, just like her mother. It can be said that half of the entire church school's funding now comes from Miss Ruili."

"In addition, she adopted a stray cat that begged for food in the square. By the grace of the Mother Goddess, the church does not allow pets, but the poor kitten would probably not survive without Miss Ruili's care, so the monks and nuns tacitly allowed her cat to live in the church school—well, she really is a kind and devout Meredra believer."

It's probably because of the money, isn't it? With such a big spender, how could they not let him keep a cat if he wanted to?

As Zag listened, he silently complained in his mind.

At the same time, he was also thinking about how to meet Miss Ruili's cat.

You can't just tell Brother Colin you want to see his cat, can you? That sounds like something a pervert would do!

"Uh, it's like this—"

Zag frantically racked his brains, trying to come up with a reason that sounded reasonable and believable enough.

"I also have a cat. Lately, it keeps going to the church school area and I often don't see it all day. I think I just saw it heading in this direction again, and I've also seen it playing with a white cat before —"

Brother Colin exclaimed in surprise, "What a coincidence! Miss Ruili's cat is a white cat, a long-haired white cat!"

"That matches up!" Zhage feigned surprise at first, then forced himself to ask, "Could you perhaps ask Miss Ruili if my cat has gone to her place?"

Then, as if trying to make amends, he explained, "I was originally planning to wait until it had had enough fun and then go home on its own, but I was really worried about where it went. If it's with Miss Ruili, I'll feel a little more at ease."

[Church Schools]: A unique education system of the Eternal High Kingdom, divided into public church schools and private church schools.

The former is generally funded by the church and is open to ordinary citizens of the kingdom; the latter is funded by nobles and is mainly open to the children of nobles, and is not open to ordinary citizens of the kingdom or has very few places available.

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