Jenkins had never heard Bishop Parrold or anyone else mention anything about a title of nobility. The royal family must have made this decision recently; after all, it had only been a month since Jenkins had "exposed" the Fabry fraud. Googlᴇ search novel•fire.net
He completely trusted Miss Stuart's conclusion, but he didn't show much concern about being elevated to the peerage. After all, he had no intention of building a life in the mundane world. The protection of the Legacy Sage Church was more than enough for him.
On the contrary, getting too involved in mortal affairs would only bring him a world of trouble.
A peaceful Wednesday began with new information from the church. The latest findings indicated that the strangeness of the woman who had killed and eaten Mr. Stein didn't come from external modifications, but from an extraordinary bloodline passed down from her ancestors.
"The Church traced her family history and eventually found that her great-great-grandmother came from a small southern kingdom called Heks. Her family was a renowned noble house in the kingdom, and the investigation revealed that their ancestors were connected to non-human species, with a diluted, inhuman strain running through their bloodline."
This was the news Papa Oliver had brought back from the church. The further conclusion was that the incident wasn't deliberate, but an accident caused by the awakening of an ancient bloodline.
Although the probability was extremely low, such things were not unheard of. Before non-human species vanished from the material world, interbreeding with humans for various reasons was a common occurrence. As a result, even now, many people could trace their lineage back to some strange creatures. And if the power of those creatures reawakened, the fragile mortal spirit couldn't control it, leading to the kind of tragedy that had just happened.
Jenkins had heard of similar cases before. Papa Oliver had emphasized more than once that the past still influenced the present. This incident, however, was the first time Jenkins had experienced it firsthand.
As for the young lovers who had tried to elope, Jenkins certainly hadn't forgotten them. Garcia and Miss Rick were still under the supervision of the Legacy Sage Church. After finishing his work on Wednesday, before his evening class began, Jenkins met with the two of them in the church's underground.
According to regulations, ordinary people who learned about the other side of the world had to be relocated to another city for confidentiality training. The only reason the two of them were allowed to stay an extra day was out of consideration for Jenkins.
When he saw Miss Rick and Garcia again, they looked a bit haggard, but were otherwise in decent shape. The meeting took place in a room beneath the small white building behind the courtyard, very close to where Jenkins had first met Captain Bincy and signed his agreement.
Jenkins had to admit the meeting was incredibly awkward, especially given what had happened on Sunday night. Although the accident wasn't his fault, Jenkins still felt he hadn't done right by them. Yet, he hadn't technically done anything wrong.
"Is it because I was supposed to see them off on a train, but ended up sending them here instead?"
Jenkins could only assume so.
"You don't need to feel guilty, sir. It wasn't your fault."
Garcia used a formal tone, his attitude bordering on fearful. The three of them sat on opposite sides of a table. A guard should have been standing by to monitor the conversation, but Jenkins had special privileges here.
"At least we achieved our goal."
He was right. They had achieved their goal, but they had arrived at the wrong destination.
"No matter how you look at it, I'm involved in this."
Jenkins chose his words carefully, avoiding looking at their faces:
"I told Briny and Hathaway that you'd boarded the train, and now... But don't worry. This isn't the old days. The Church will likely grant you your freedom in about six months and ensure you never have to return to this city for the rest of your lives."
This "freedom," of course, meant "limited freedom," a fact Jenkins was sure they understood.
"But Mr. Williams, we never could have imagined the world was so... complicated."
Miss Rick didn't show the same fear as Garcia, but her feelings were clearly more complex.
"Does Briny know about you?"
She cut right to the heart of the matter. As Briny Mikhail's good friend, she knew how obsessed her friend was with the mysterious.
Miss Rick shook her head and said nothing more.
The meeting lasted no more than ten minutes before the three of them ran out of things to say. Jenkins repeatedly assured them they would be safe and hinted that they could mention his name if they ran into trouble, then he rose to leave.
He felt it was a bit like a prison visit, but the Church was only supervising them, not imprisoning them. He was sure of that.
Before Jenkins left, Miss Rick hesitantly asked him to deliver a letter to her family. Jenkins readily agreed, but as soon as he was back on the surface, he read the contents and had the young, perception-gifted gatekeeper check the paper for any hidden messages.
The letter's content was simple, just telling her family that all was well and they shouldn't worry. Perhaps Miss Rick had originally planned to settle down in another city before secretly mailing the letter home, but now she wouldn't have the chance. Realizing this made Jenkins feel even worse.
Chocolate swept his tail back and forth across the back of the man's neck, but it did little to comfort him.
Thinking of the letter reminded Jenkins that he still had to forge letters from the two of them to Hathaway and Briny, reassuring them of their safety. It was another troublesome task, but he had to do it to keep his lie from being exposed.
The moonlight slipped from behind the clouds, illuminating the city below. Within the silent night, a few restless souls were stirring. Jenkins finished his evening class and his session with Miss Bevanna, then tutored Fini in basic grammar.
Since arriving in this world, he had been forced to immerse himself in the literary conventions of the era to adapt, so tutoring a girl who could barely read was no problem at all.
By the time he finished with everything, it was nearly midnight. He walked Fini back to the choir children's dormitory. Seeing how late it was, he decided to stay at the church for the night instead of returning to St. George Avenue.
Chocolate had no objection to this whatsoever; the cat was quite satisfied with the church's food.