pertwk Chapter 50 On the Carriage
Chapter 50 On the Carriage
After the meeting ended, the attendees left one after another, and the blurred projections of their faces disappeared one by one.
Before disappearing, Bishop Demery's projection waved to Fafnir, and Mr. Hans and Mr. Gregory, standing in the passageway not far away, also waved to him in farewell, which Fafnir responded to one by one.
The priest Stein and the knight Armand had already regained their composure. As they passed Fafnir, they glanced at it and paused briefly.
As Captain Campbell passed Fafner, he smiled and nodded at him...
"Little Fafnir, you go back to school first, I'll come find you this afternoon... Go back and get some rest, see you later."
"Okay, Mr. Victor, see you later."
After Mr. Victor finished speaking, the projection disappeared.
"Alright, Mouseman, are you done talking to Victor? Let's go back to school right away." Sister Fanning gestured for Fafnir to follow them out of the lecture hall.
……
It was the same familiar carriage, adorned with raven feathers.
As a bishop, Sister Fanning was entitled to ride in a carriage by herself.
However, she invited Fafnir to ride with her in one carriage, while the other senior teachers rode together in another.
The carriage drove through the streets of Ryan, and Fafnir leaned against the window, watching the buildings outside rush past.
He felt tired.
Fafner was on edge throughout today's meeting; Aldridge was putting a lot of pressure on him.
All he wants now is to go back to his dorm and get a good night's sleep.
"If only I could sleep in the carriage," Fafnir thought, but Sister Fanning was sitting opposite him.
It is considered impolite to sleep in front of a bishop.
"Little Mouse, you did very well today," Sister Fanning said first.
Fafnir was surprised that Sister Fanning would initiate a conversation with him, and shook his head:
"Thank you, it's nothing, I was just telling the truth."
"For you to say those things in that situation... it's not easy to tell the truth in front of Aldrich."
"And what you said is spot on," Sister Fanning leaned back in her chair, her blue eyes looking at him.
"The last few sentences, 'I don't want to cause trouble for Victor, I don't want to cause trouble for the church,' were used by Aldrich as a target, but after you announced your resignation, he had nothing more to say."
Fafnir didn't know how to respond.
Sister Fanning looked at him for a moment, then suddenly said, "Little Mouse Man, have you ever heard of where I used to work?"
Fafnir shook his head.
"Eastern Region, Fourth Free Territory," Sister Fanning said.
"That place is in the easternmost part of the Holy Kingdom, next to the sea. The climate is humid. In winter, it is sometimes warm because of ocean currents, and sometimes it is freezing cold because there are no warm currents."
Fafnir didn't know why she suddenly started saying these things, but he still leaned forward slightly and listened attentively.
Sister Fanning continued, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings:
"In the Fourth Free Territory, the people working at the harbor are of all races: elves, humans, dwarves, all sorts of hybrids... and of course, ratmen."
She paused for a moment, then continued:
"I remember back then, my parents were transferred to the Fourth Free Territory as administrative officers. The alley I lived in at that time was next to a family of rat people."
Fafnir straightened up slightly.
"Guess what my first reaction was?" Sister Fanning looked at him.
"Hmm..." Fafnir hesitated for a moment.
"Heh, it's nothing, just say whatever you want."
"Fear? Or... disgust?"
"Yes, we have both," Sister Fanning continued.
"I was only ten years old then and didn't understand anything, but I listened to what the adults were saying—rat people are dirty, rat people steal things, rat people are the descendants of slaves, stay away from them!"
When we first moved here, I was too scared to even go near the door of that rat-man's house; I would always take a detour out of fear.
Fafnir listened with interest, waiting for Sister Fanning to continue.
"The man of the house was named Tobias, a shoemaker, and the woman of the house was named Margaret, who stayed home to take care of the children."
They have five children. The eldest is a girl, two years younger than me, named Lisa.
Sister Fanning's gaze fell on the car window: "When I first saw her, I was startled... a ratman, huh? You're the most unique ratman I've ever seen, you haven't changed your appearance at all."
Like most rat-people, Lisa has large, round ears and a layer of gray fur on her neck.
"Freckles and fine hairs on my face..."
Sister Fanning then recalled:
Lisa's shoes were so worn out that her toes were sticking out.
Her hair was messy, and her face was dirty.
I thought to myself, just as the adults said." Sister Fanning paused for a long while after saying this.
"So, what happened next?"
"Then one day, I tripped and fell at the alley entrance, scraping my knee badly and bleeding a lot."
It left a deep impression on me; I sat on the floor and cried very hard.
Honestly, how could I have been so weak back then?
No adults passing by paid any attention to me. But Lisa ran out of her house, helped me up without a word, and bandaged my wound with her dirty handkerchief.
Sister Fanning's voice lowered slightly:
"I was stunned for a moment—shouldn't she be stealing my things? Shouldn't she be hitting me? Why is she coming to help me?"
"That was the first time I felt that what adults say isn't necessarily right," Sister Fanning said.
"Later, I gradually became familiar with Lisa. She took me to play in the alley, we ran around and played together."
She taught me to climb trees, and I taught her to read.
She's amazing at climbing trees. She scrambled up that old oak tree at the alley entrance in no time, leaving me standing below, just watching helplessly. Hahaha!
She doesn't know many words, but she learns very quickly; I teach her once and she remembers it.
"Her parents are very nice people."
Sister Fanning continued, "Tobias is very skilled; everyone in the alley goes to him to repair their shoes, and he never overcharges."
One winter, our stove broke down, and Margaret invited us to her house to warm ourselves by the fire. She even cooked us a pot of soup.
Later, my parents would tell everyone they met that the rat people weren't so scary.
Fafnir seemed thoughtful:
"Sister Fanning, did you change your opinion of the ratmen because of Lisa's family?"
"Not entirely," Sister Fanning said.
"I spent more than ten years in the Fourth Freedom and met many Skaven, some good and some bad. In fact, Skaven are just like other races."
But Lisa's family taught me a lesson—a person's character has nothing to do with their bloodline, but everything to do.
She paused, and a change occurred in her previously expressionless face; a slight smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Back then, I called her Mouse Man, and she called me Little Elf."
We were just kids back then, we didn't know anything about bloodlines. She never fawned over me because I was an elf, and I never looked down on her because she was a rat-person.
We are friends.
Fafnir lowered his head and remained silent for a moment:
"Sister Fanning, are you still in contact with Lisa?"
"Oh...no," Sister Fanning replied. "Her family moved away when I was sixteen."
Uncle Tobias's shoe shop lease expired, and prices in the Free Territory had risen sharply, so they went to the mines in the north.
Before leaving, Lisa came to say goodbye and gave me a pair of shoes her father had made.
"A pair of shoes?"
"Yes, but I wore them out, but I kept them in the closet."
Sister Fanning's voice was a little hoarse:
"Later, after I became a priest, I asked someone to inquire about their situation at the northern mines."
Some of them had already left the northern mines and could no longer be contacted.
Some say Uncle Tobias injured his leg in the mine; others say Aunt Margaret died of illness; still others say Lisa got married and had children.
Fafnir opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then felt that nothing he said would be appropriate.
"You don't need to comfort me." Sister Fanning glanced at him.
"I'm telling you this not to chat idly or to get your sympathy, haha."
I'm trying to tell you that not everyone in this world thinks like Aldrich.
Some people, like me, like Victor, like Hans and Gregory who spoke up for you in the lecture hall today, we think you are worthy of wearing this priest's robe.
"Sister Fanning, thank you."
"And," Sister Fanning added:
"I think you did the right thing by resigning as a teaching assistant. It's not because you shouldn't have been in the position, but because you took the initiative to step down, which shut down those who wanted to use you against you."
This is called strategic retreat; you understand this at such a young age, which is better than some people.
Fafnir said apologetically, "Sister Fanning, I didn't think that much about it at the time. I just didn't want to put Mr. Victor in a difficult position."
“That shows you care about others,” Sister Fanning said. “That’s enough.”
The carriage jolted slightly, and Sister Fanning gripped the edge of the seat.
She looked out the window, remained silent for a few seconds, then turned her head back:
"Mouseman, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
"Do you remember the first time you came to the library, I asked you to light the lamp?"
Fafnir paused for a moment, then nodded: "I remember, I climbed up and looked for a long time, but I didn't know how to mark it."
"Of course I know you don't know how to light it; this lamp is controlled by magic," Sister Fanning said.
"I did it on purpose."
Fafner looked at her without saying a word.
Sister Fanning sighed and leaned back in her chair:
Do you want to know why I did that?
Fafnir hesitated for a moment: "Because... I'm a ratman?"
"It's not entirely because of that," Sister Fanning said.
"I did feel a little uncomfortable when you walked into the library that day. A rat-man child, not a student, wearing an old robe, came to the library to borrow books."
"I have a grudge, but to be honest, it's not directed at you. It's because of some experiences I had in the Free Territory that made me... how should I put it, a bit complicated."
She paused.
"I've met quite a few rat people, but most of them aren't very good."
I've seen rat-people steal, I've seen rat-people fight, I've seen rat-people risk their lives for a single copper coin.
Although I know in my heart that they weren't inherently bad people, but only acted that way because they couldn't survive, seeing so many still leaves me with the impression that rat people are a lot of trouble.
Fafnir listened quietly to Sister Fanning's words.
"So when you first came, I asked you to light the lamp not to see you embarrass yourself, but..." Sister Fanning thought for a moment, "...to confirm something."
"What is it?"
"I want to know what kind of ratman you are."
Some people get angry when they're treated unfairly, some try to appease them, and some swallow their anger and hold a grudge behind their backs. You're different.
Sister Fanning looked at him: "You climbed up there and struggled for a long time, but when you came down you weren't angry or complaining. You just said to me, 'Sister, I'm not quite sure how to light them.' Your attitude was very calm."
She paused for a moment:
"I thought to myself, this little guy isn't the kind of person who would cause trouble, so I got you a library card later."
Fafner was silent for a moment.
"Sister Fanning, were you actually testing me back then?"
"You could say that I don't have any perverse sense of humor," Sister Fanning said.
"But then I thought about it and realized that wasn't the right thing to do. You came to borrow books, not to be tested. I shouldn't put you through an extra test just because you're a ratman."
She looked at him, her tone becoming more serious.
"Mouseman, I apologize to you today."
Fafnir paused for a moment,
"If I had done it differently, like asking you a few questions directly, I could have figured out what kind of person you are. There would have been no need for you to climb up and go through all that trouble. I was wrong to do that."
“Sister, it’s alright,” Fafnir said. “I’m already very grateful that you gave me a library card later.”
"Those are two different things," Sister Fanning waved her hand.
"I made a mistake, and that's it."
I'm telling you all this not to ask for your forgiveness, but also to let you know—when I was young, I was similar to Aldridge, believing that bloodlines determine certain things.
Later, Lisa persuaded me to change my mind, but breaking an old habit takes a long time, and sometimes I still unconsciously become wary of the rat people.
She turned her head and looked at the fields outside the car window.
"But I've changed it."
"Sister, I've never blamed you."
"I know," Sister Fanning said. "I can see that you never blame others; that's both your strength and your weakness."
Fafner did not respond.
"By the way, Mouseman, do you know why I've stayed with the Church of the God of Death?"
Fafnir shook his head.
"Because the core tenets of the Church of the God of Death are closest to my own," Sister Fanning said.
"You've read the Commandments, haven't you?"
"Of course I've read it... For example, Article 5, honest record keeping."
"Yes, the Church of the God of Death doesn't require you to believe in God, doesn't require you to worship sacred trees, and doesn't require you to pray a certain number of times each day."
It requires you to do one thing—be honest; whatever you do is recorded.
Who you are isn't determined by what you believe, but by what you do.
She paused:
"I don't believe in God. I've lived for over sixty years and have never seen God appear or the sacred tree appear."
I've only ever met people—good people, bad people, and people like you.
But the Church of the God of Death never kicked me out because I "didn't believe." They only cared whether I worked diligently, whether I lied, or whether I bullied the weak.