That morning, the weather was clear, and the sun shone brightly.
Kai woke up with a note from Gremblin. He couldn’t read it. Gremblin only said it was his study schedule.
Thanks to the woman who hadn’t explained in detail, Kai received his first scolding from Mrs. Manu for being late!
Mrs. Manu was the teacher in charge of ethics. But she could also teach Kai to read and count because she needed extra money. She was in her early thirties, tall and thin.
For an hour, Kai sat in front of Manu, and he finally understood why Gremblin had called her the most hated teacher of the year.
Even Gremblin didn’t want to meet her.
Kai crouched under an oak tree, a book in front of him and a pencil in his hand. He trembled every time Mrs. Manu asked a question.
"Do it again. Count from one to thirty," the woman said calmly.
Kai had only memorized up to twenty, and it had been just five minutes since Mrs. Manu told him to memorize up to thirty.
"Well... I don’t have much time." Manu raised the wooden ruler in her hand.
The threat made Kai forget half of what he had learned. He froze after the number ten. His body shook.
"Oh, dear. You counted it correctly earlier. Why did you forget again?"
Kai raised his hand to count.
But before he could finish, Manu’s wooden ruler came down hard on his palm. "No, no, no... no hands!"
"Nngghh!" He quickly lowered his hands, hiding them in his lap, and tried again.
But he could only reach ten. Each time Manu shouted, his mind went blank. The numbers jumped out of his head and ran away.
The sun grew hotter, but at least the oak tree gave them shade. Even so, Kai was drenched in sweat. His stomach hurt from hunger.
"This is your first day. I’ll let it pass. But you must be able to read and write before the new school year start. If not, you’ll only make me look bad. Understand?" Manu said, her voice calm but warning. She clearly didn’t want the slave to cause trouble when the other students arrived. If he still couldn’t read, who knew what they would do to him.
"Tomorrow, I want you to count to one hundred. If you fail, I’ll make you stand in the middle of the field. Understand?" she asked.
Kai swallowed hard and nodded slowly. His face turned pale at the thought of punishment.
"Good. If you succeed, I’ll teach you how to add and subtract," Manu said. She handed him a small packet of chocolate.
Kai paused before taking it, staring at the brown paper wrapping in his hand.
Manu checked her watch. It was already past two. "I guess I’ve gone overtime," she murmured as she stood up.
Kai still stared at the package. He looked at Manu.
"It’s for you. If you can read and write before the end of the month, I’ll give you a whole pack of chocolate."
Kai looked at the chocolate. He didn’t understand why he needed it for motivation. The woman’s threats and punishments worked far better at keeping him from making mistakes.
But he only bowed his head. "T-thank you, Mrs. Manu."
Manu stacked the books in front of Kai. "Study these books. You can take them with you."
Kai glanced at the books full of numbers. He nodded. "Y-yes."
Kai exhaled in relief. He leaned against the oak tree.
At least Manu didn’t use a whip. But the wooden ruler was still hard and painful. He looked at his hands, still red in some spots.
Kai packed up his books and was about to leave when he heard Bram’s voice.
"Kai! Are you done?" Bram shouted from the side door of the building.
Kai smiled happily, quickly stood, and walked unsteadily toward him.
"I saw that monster woman leave. Are you okay?" Bram asked.
Kai nodded. He was used to punishment and torture, so the sting of the ruler didn’t make him cry. Though it still hurt.
"Put your books away, let’s eat." Bram led Kai to the church, and they ate together there.
Thanks to his carvings from the night before, they asked him to make more. They planned to give them to the children. Googlᴇ search novel·fiɾe·net
Not only Kai, but many others were making carvings and crafts. Kai saw a large basin filled with painted wooden carvings of different shapes.
A child ran up to him. "I like your angel carving! Can you make more? I want one too," said the boy, about ten years old.
From the side, Bram interrupted. "Hey, you can’t cut in line, Noel."
Noel pouted. "But Sister Margan took the angel carving yesterday," he protested.
"That was for the church decorations, not for her."
Kai smiled at the cute boy. That day, he made dozens of carvings until midnight. Most were simple shapes like sheep, trees, and suns, which didn’t take long.
And Kai didn’t go hungry, because they invited him to dinner.
Without realizing it, several eyes were watching him from the other side of the church corridor.
Sylas had found an excuse to visit Kai secretly. He heard Kai was at the church. The prince surprised his guards when he suddenly wanted to go, but he made sure they didn’t cause a scene.
He walked inside, and the priest hurried over. Sylas claimed he only wanted to check the festival preparations.
"Oh, we’ve prepared everything well, Your Highness," the priest said, walking beside him.
Sylas stopped in front of a crowded room. His eyes instantly found Kai, sitting on a pile of wooden blocks. He worried at first, but then felt relieved to see people talking to him, making Kai smile.
Sylas stood there silently, watching. That smile made his heart flutter. He had never seen Kai smile like that before—so free and carefree.
"Would you like to come in, Your Highness?"
Sylas was startled. He quickly stopped the priest from entering. "No need. I’m satisfied just seeing your preparations. Please, continue."
He immediately motioned for Alvaro to return.
Alvaro glanced once at Kai, still busy with his work, before following Sylas.
"Why didn’t you go see him?" Alvaro asked.
Sylas shook his head. "I didn’t want to disturb him. It’s better for him to focus on himself right now. I just wanted to make sure he was alright."