"Bo Heng? What are you doing here—"
Sister Gerding had just spoken, and she had already seen the answer - beside Bo Heng and Hesta, there were many old newspapers laid out flat.
"Miss Gerding..." Bo Heng's face instantly turned pale, but he quickly calmed down.
He blocked his newspaper clippings with his body and quietly pushed it to Hesta behind him.
Hesta understood quickly, she calmly took the notebook, randomly wrapped it with asbestos cloth, and stuffed it under the iron cage.
"I always thought you were a good child..." Sister Gerding's face turned blue when she got up, and her chest kept rising and falling due to her violent breathing. "How dare you - how dare you -"
"Please don't be angry, Miss Gerding." Bo Heng stood up suddenly to attract the nun's attention.
The nun casually picked up an old newspaper and threw it on Bo Heng. The newspaper made a terrifying "squeaking" sound, and the nun said angrily: "Why don't I let you read these things, remember?"
Bo Heng: "Because... we are not yet capable of distinguishing right from wrong. Exposure to all the disturbing information from the outside world at this time will complicate our thoughts, making it... easier for us to go astray and more susceptible to chelation disease. erosion."
Hesta also stood up: "Miss Gerding, I was starving, so Toboheng gave me some food. Plus, I always wanted to hear stories from outside, so this time -"
"That's enough! I don't believe you two anymore."
Gerding felt a rush of blood rushing to her forehead, and everything in front of her eyes even turned a little blue. She had to hold on to the wall on the side to avoid falling. Bo Heng quickly stepped forward and supported the nun's arm.
After a while, Gerding felt a little relieved, and her eyes once again glanced at the old newspapers on the ground. It was only then that she noticed that many newspapers had square-sized gaps - obviously they had been cut. traces of passing.
Gerdin frowned: "What are you doing? Making newspaper clippings?"
"I……"
"What about those things you cut out? Where did they go?"
"...I'm sorry." Bo Heng lowered his head, but did not answer the question directly - it was impossible for him to take the initiative to answer.
Sister Gerding became angry again, but this time she did not yell at Bo Heng, but murmured a confession in the direction of the window with a trembling voice.
When the confession was over, she first took off the key from Bo Heng's neck, then lifted up the young man's collar with one hand, pushed him and stuffed him into the iron cage that had previously held Hesta, and mercilessly buttoned the heavy Lock.
"I'll deal with you later..." After saying this, the nun's eyes turned to Hesta coldly, "Hesta, come here."
Hesta instinctively took a step back, "...I should be punished together with Bo Heng, Miss Gerding."
"Do you think you can escape? Let's talk about the punishment later!" Gerding said sternly, "The dean heard about what happened during the day from someone unknown, and she said she wanted to talk to you personally - you Follow me to the dean’s rest room now!”
Hesta was obviously startled, "...Now? At this time?"
"Yes, right now."
Hesta glanced at Bo Heng - this is good news, at least the dean will not be as unreasonable as Sister Gerding. Moreover, now go talk to the dean about Bo Heng. Maybe she can help to ask Sister Gerding for a favor...
"Don't dawdle!"
Hesta did not stop any longer. She followed Sister Gerding towards Mother Superior Alma's rest room.
Abbot Alma is the eldest person in St. Anne's Abbey. She and Miss Gerding are like the loving mother and the strict mother here. Whenever the children are punished by Miss Gerding for various mistakes, Ai Ma Dean Erma will try her best to alleviate the pain the children have to endure.
But almost a month ago, the old dean accidentally fell down in the cellar and broke both hands, so it was Miss Gerding who arranged everything this month.
Without the protection of Dean Alma, everyone lived in trepidation.
As they neared the rest room, Miss Gerding's steps suddenly slowed down. She looked back at Hesta, "The dean is still recovering, so you are not allowed to mention Bo Heng's matter to her tonight - if If you still have some conscience, don’t let her worry about you anymore!”
"...Okay, Miss Gerding." Hestad replied in a low voice. She could detect Miss Gerding's suppressed sobs and her red eyes - the nun must be feeling sad for the Mother Superior at this moment. .
The two of them stopped talking until they came to the dean's lounge.
"Dean Alma needs a good sleep now," Sister Gerding warned again, "I'll wait for you here. Don't stay in there for too long. Come out as soon as you're ready."
"Okay." Hestad was slightly relieved - as long as Miss Gerding did not enter the room with her, she could have a deep talk with the dean.
Hesta bowed to Sister Gerding, turned around, opened the door and stepped into the rest room.
This rest room is also the dean's office. The old man lives and works here, and Hestad is very familiar with it.
Only today, as soon as she entered the door, she smelled a fishy smell. She quickly walked to the wall and opened the window to get some air. In the past, the windows here were always open, but tonight they were tightly closed.
There was no light on in the rest room, but a dim white candle was still lit as in medieval times. The soft light of the flames reflected the outlines of all the furnishings in the room. Hesta saw a stack of documents on the desk by the window. There was a long-dried pen pressed on the paper. The tip and body of the pen were dusty. It looked like no one had used it for a long time.
Hesta picked up the pen, carefully wiped it with her clothes, then closed the pen cap and reinserted it into the pen holder.
A familiar voice came from the bed not far away, "Jane? Is that you?"
Hesta immediately turned around and responded, "It's me, Dean."
The candlelight beside the bed illuminated the gauze on the bed, and behind the gauze, Alma's shadow faintly emerged.
"come on."
Hesta immediately trotted over. She looked at the dean behind the gauze tent, remembering the old man's weak voice just now, and suddenly her nose felt sore.
"You've caused trouble again." The old man's voice was filled with a smile. "I heard Frasan tell you what happened during the day, so I asked Miss Gerding to call you over... Do you want to eat that squirrel?"
Hesta's face suddenly turned red, and she looked down at her toes. Although she had a lot to say, she could not utter a word when she opened her mouth.
There was a burst of laughter from behind the gauze curtain, "It's okay, Jane."
"I know this is wrong." Hesta said softly, "I won't do it again."
"No, no no... Jane, you are right." Dean Alma's voice had the characteristic trembling of an old man, "Squirrel... is very delicious."
For a moment, Hesta thought she had heard wrongly, until a hand wrapped in gauze stretched out from the gauze tent and spread it out in front of Hesta's eyes - a rotten blood rat lay in the old man's palm.
Following the corner of the raised curtain, Hestad finally realized the source of the stench in the room - Dean Alma's bed was filled with dead squirrel skins, and she was sitting there covered in blood and stinking. Between mountains of rotting meat.
Under the gauze curtain of the bed, a pale and haggard old man's face slowly approached. She was extremely thin, but her eyes were bulging as never before.
At this moment, that inhuman face showed a kind smile again.
"If you want to eat, just eat. Right now...I'll watch you eat."
