Veirya and Lucia didn’t have a habit of taking afternoon naps. I, too, had a short nap just a while ago.
Lucia sat at the table. Leah sat next to her and looked at the odd letters that Lucia wrote with curiosity. Lucia was in the middle of earnestly teaching Leah the elven language. Leah could verbally communicate, but she was illiterate. Perhaps her ability to communicate with all races was credited to her succubus nature. Still, she was illiterate.
The demon race should’ve had their own literacy system as well as culture; however, Leah knew neither of them. Being someone who transmigrated here, the reason I could read was because it all appeared as Chinese to me. What I wrote can be understood, but I had no idea how to explain what it meant. Veirya seemed to be an amateur with humanity’s literacy, while Lucia seemed to be an erudite. Besides teaching Leah how to read and write, she even gave simple lessons on music construction and history.
Leah curiously checked out the words. She enthusiastically studied. I didn’t think there was an issue with letting Leah learn elven culture, as she might have to live at the border of the elven lands and humanity’s lands for a long time.
I placed a cup of tea in front of Lucia and smiled: “I see that you’re very well educated, Lucia.”
Lucia looked up at me feeling proud:That’s a given. I’m a child of the most ancient tribe among elves. As the most outstanding elven descendent, I obviously have to acquire adequate knowledge. We’re not just a race that only values archery and swordplay, but also hold intellect and knowledge in high regard.”
Leah looked up with a smile: “Papa, the elven letters are so interesting. I’ve never learnt this sort of stuff before, but I really want to learn more now. Once I learn more, I’ll be able to read those books, right? I’ll be able to learn about lots of interesting things, right?! Papa, I want to learn to read humanity’s texts, too! I want to read humanity’s stories and understand them!”
“I see… Veirya?”
I glanced over to Veirya to call for help.
‘Seriously, I don’t recognise humanity’s texts. What I see and what my brain processes are two totally different things. I can read and write, but I can’t teach you.’
Veirya glanced at Leah and picked up where I left: “I, too, am not very good at this. However, I can also. Teach you to read.”
No… Truth be told, I didn’t want Leah to merely learn to read. I wanted her to learn more. At the very least, I wanted her to learn everything that she should be taught. I didn’t want her to grow up to become an ordinary woman in society who only knew how to read.
“Oh, right, what about Angelina? Veirya, who taught you to read? It wasn’t the military, was it?”
“Mm…”
Veirya refused to admit it, but from her reaction, it seems that Angelina was the one who taught her to read. In addition, if my conjecture was correct, the chapel that Angelina sided with should’ve provided the highest level of education. In the old days, so-called schools were chapels. Subsequently, I’d assume that Angelina was very educated.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Lucia’s ears twitched, while Veirya directly told me who was outside. Veirya drew her sword without any hesitation, freezing Lucia stiff in place with fright. I helplessly smiled. I opened the door. Angelina was outside just as Veirya said. She looked at us with an emotionless look; I, therefore, assumed that she had business to talk about.
I asked, “What’s the matter Angelina?”
I looked at Angelina. While seeing her now wasn’t a bad thing, she did side with the chapel when it came down to it; therefore, it might not have been a good thing for her to suddenly visit us before we were about to do something behind the chapel’s back.
Angelina asked, “Leah here?”
Leah ran over and cheerfully looked at her: “Sister Angelina!”
Angelina picked Leah up without a word, and then spun around to leave. Both Leah and I were stunned in place by Angelina’s sudden action. Nevertheless, Veirya immediately reacted. She grabbed me by my collar and yanked me back inside. Then, she charged over to Angelina. Angelina swiftly spun around and used her sword handle to block Veirya’s horizontal slash.
Veirya looked incredibly aggressive. She looked at Angelina and coldly demanded, “Put Leah down!”
Angelina looked at her and in a somewhat anxious tone, replied, “You don’t get it. Leah isn’t safe here with you.”
Veirya narrowed her eyes then leapt over and swung down again. Angelina didn’t draw her sword. She blocked Veirya’s slash with her sword handle again. Veirya was very cautious when she attacked, doing her absolute best to refrain from hurting Leah. Nonetheless, Angelina didn’t draw her sword, which made it evident that she didn’t want to hurt Veirya.
“What now?” asked Lucia.
Lucia drew her dagger at her waist, but blankly stood in place without knowing what she should do. She didn’t know who to help. On one side, there was Angelina. On the other side, there was Veirya. It was a mother and daughter fight. Lucia didn’t know who to help.
Scared, Leah shrieked and leaned onto Angelina’s shoulder. I sprinted over to grab Veirya’s cape. She turned back to shoot me a furious look. She shouted, “Can’t you see that she’s trying to snatch Leah?!”
“Calm down, first, Veirya. I’m sure that Angelina has her reasons. She shouldn’t snatch Leah for no rhyme or reason.”
I quickly grabbed Veirya’s arm. She furiously shook me off, while Angelina looked at me as though she was grabbing onto straws. She solemnly said, “I can’t tell you the reason, for I’m the chapel’s soldier. I can’t reveal the chapel’s plans. That being said, I can tell you that Leah will be in danger if she’s with you. I’ll protect her. I won’t stop you, but I’ll protect her.”
I was startled: “You mean… the chapel is taking action?”
Tension gripped my nerves and heart. Angelina didn’t respond.
Apparently, Angelina really didn’t want to speak about the chapel’s affairs. She was guarding their secret. I, however, already knew what was about to happen. By the sounds of things, the chapel must’ve already been informed of our plan. I didn’t know how they found out, but it was a fact that they knew.
I wouldn’t be around at night, which meant that it was possible that they might kidnap Leah to force us to give them a share. Angelina happened to be the only one capable of defeating Veirya. Hence, once Angelina found out, she came to protect Leah. I wouldn’t rule that possibility out.
Veirya thundered, “You’re the chapel’s lapdog!! If the chapel wants to harm Leah. Aren’t you doing exactly that. By taking Leah away?!”
Truthfully, our thinking aligned. If the chapel wanted to kidnap Leah, Angelina couldn’t be trusted, because she was still with them. If they planned to kidnap Leah at night, Angelina taking her away now was the same outcome.
Angelina wasn’t foolish as Veirya. She had brains. If she could kidnap Leah without shedding any blood, that was perfect.
Angelina yelled, “Trust me! I can’t tell you what the chapel wants, but… but, I really don’t want to hurt Leah. I genuinely want to protect her. Trust me!”
Veirya, who was next to me, resembled a huge dog ready to gnaw Angelina’s head off.
Angelina was with the chapel. While I had a good impression of her from the previous ordeal, I let the chapel’s knight, who was unwilling to reveal the chapel’s plans, take Leah away.
I demanded, “Angelina, put Leah down.”
I tightly grabbed Leah’s hand; Leah wrapped her arms around my neck and loudly cried. I gently stroked her back. I looked at Angelina and seriously said, “I’m grateful for your kind gesture, but we can protect Leah. I can’t trust you. Leah is my most precious treasure. I can’t thoughtlessly entrust her to someone.”
“You…”
Angelina wore a distressed look. She blinked several times. Frustrated, she gripped her clothes. She looked back at us and went to speak. She seemed to have something to say to Veirya. Her lips continued to tremble. She looked at her daughter in a tense manner. She genuinely wanted to say something, but Veirya didn’t give her the opportunity. She aimed her sword at Angelina’s throat and looked into her eyes. She coldly enunciated two words: “Get. Lost.”
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