My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Tasia was stunned for a full two seconds.

"...Huh?"

Willard reiterated, "They are willing to associate with you because you are the common people."

As dusk fell, there were hardly any people left at the church entrance, except for pigeons hopping around on the ground in the distance.

Whether it was a spur-of-the-moment decision or a deliberate choice of timing, Willard sighed softly when he saw that she still didn't understand what he meant.

“Tasia, you are a person favored by God,” he said with an extremely serious expression.

Tasia could understand that statement.

Moreover, Bishop Willard was not the first to say this.

But she simply smiled serenely and shook her head: "No, I am not favored by the gods."

This was the only thing she firmly believed in.

"Those who truly care for me are my family, friends, and teachers..." Her thoughts seemed to follow her words, returning to those tender moments of the past.

"If they hadn't been there to support me all along, I probably wouldn't have made it this far."

Although it ends with a slightly interrogative particle, the sentence itself is affirmative.

Upon hearing this, Willard fell silent for a moment.

"Regardless of your opinion on this matter, the fact that you, as a commoner, were able to awaken such rare light magic and possess such astonishing talent... must be a gift from God."

Clearly, Tasia's words did not shake Willard's conviction.

He turned his head and gazed at the square bathed in the dim light of the setting sun.

“The Pope has heard of your name,” Willard said calmly.

Tasia was surprised for a moment, but quickly regained her composure.

She didn't know what kind of person the Pope was.

Although he is the representative of God on earth and rules a papacy comparable in size to a powerful nation, His Holiness the Pope, bound by church decrees and forbidden from leaving the papacy in his lifetime, has virtually no presence within the Kingdom of Lornes.

But what Willard said next threw Tasia into disarray.

"He hopes that after you graduate, you can go to the Vatican for further studies."

He said, "As an ordinary church monk."

Seeing Tasia frown instinctively, Willard further explained, "Don't rush to refuse; you still have at least three years."

"The Church does not value a person's background, but only their clergy. Whether noble or commoner, everyone who enters the Church is treated equally, and can be promoted as long as they pass the examination."

From this point of view alone, it is a completely different place from the Kingdom of Lornes.

Willard paused for a moment at this point.

"Actually, I recommend a number of children with good potential to the Vatican every year."

"When I first met you, I thought the same thing, but I happened to have a recommendation spot for Seiki Academy left."

He said with some melancholy, "Perhaps only by truly feeling the folly of people who only know how to pursue fame and fortune can you awaken your pursuit of truth and divinity. So I recommended you to Seokye Academy, which is close by."

Tasia listened with mixed feelings.

If I hadn't met those selfless people who helped me, I might have really wanted to go to the Papacy to seek answers while being constantly bullied by my noble classmates...

She truly understood the folly of the world.

But now she has also come to realize that human nature is not only evil.

Chapter 472 Night Falls

In contrast to those who always bully you, there are always people around you who help you.

Instead of blaming people for being ignorant, it's more accurate to say that human nature itself is complex.

As for concepts like truth and divinity... in Tasia's view, these were too far removed from her and not issues she should be concerned with at the moment.

She was just an ordinary person, and could only live a good life as an ordinary person.

Therefore, she rarely showed an apologetic yet very firm expression.

"I am very grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to study."

"But I think the friends I consider friends are not the kind of people you think they are; if there is any ulterior motive, I don't have anything about me that they would have to hide to get me."

Those two friends, who were daughters of dukes, could not be persuaded to feign ingratiation even by Bishop Willard's status, let alone by someone he could have completely ignored.

The friendship I felt from them was something that truly existed in each other's hearts.

—It wasn't because of the favor of some ethereal deity, but because of ourselves.

Seeing that Tasia's expression was a little off, Willard suddenly realized that his words might have had the opposite effect.

“Okay, let’s just assume they genuinely consider you a friend,” Willard conceded.

"But what about everyone else?"

Willard has never felt guilty about saying these things.

“Have you ever thought about it? The students of Qingxi Academy, your classmates, will almost certainly become high-ranking officials in the Kingdom of Lornes in the future, but you have seen what they are like.”

"The future of the kingdom will depend on a group of people like this. Can't you imagine what this country will become?"

Tasia bit her lower lip.

“—Me too,” she said.

“In this country, there is me and my like-minded friends,” Tasia couldn’t help but retort. “We will change those unreasonable oppressions and enable more people to live happy and fulfilling lives.”

Although I had never spoken this thought aloud before, it had already taken shape in my mind.

Just as Wayne once told himself.

Things are not static; they are constantly evolving.

I will continue to improve myself, and then work with other like-minded people to push the world forward.

“Naive!” Willard snapped coldly.

“The minds of the nobles are completely stagnant. Do you think you can change them just because you want to?!” he questioned.

Tasia was silent for two seconds.

"It's better than doing nothing."

What Bishop Willard said actually helped him strengthen his resolve.

Tasia had never been so clear about what the future she wanted should look like.

I used to simply think that as long as my mother stays healthy, I can help others as much as I can.

If you go to the Vatican, you might actually be able to do these things too.

But she didn't want to leave like that.

In this place where she is gradually developing a sense of belonging, she still has many unfinished business.

Previously, under Chris's guidance, the bakery was doing very well, and her mother and she had worked hard and saved up a sum of money... Given time, they might be able to buy the shop they were temporarily renting and truly own a home in the capital.

After I graduate, with my reputation as the top student in my grade at Qingxi Academy, I'm sure I'll be able to find a good job that can help everyone.

Then, Mom can rest at home and recover without having to work so hard anymore.

In my spare time, I can also get together with my close friends from time to time.

In Tasia's mind, such a future was a dreamlike and wonderful life.

Willard stared at her for a moment.

"You've grown a lot."

If it were the timid and hesitant Tasia from before, she would never have had the courage to defy her own will.

From this perspective, studying at Cheonggye Academy had a fairly good educational effect on her.

But... she seems to have strayed from God's guidance and willingly mingled with the ignorant masses.

Is it that the time is not yet ripe?

Also.

She is too young to comprehend God's salvation.

Thinking of this, Willard's anger subsided.

"Tasia, do you know? When I was a child, I came from a very poor, low-class noble family."

His voice was ethereal.

It seemed to take him back to that distant, hazy past.

"Although we were nominally nobles, my father's title was teetering on the brink of collapse. Nobles did not regard us as human beings, and ordinary commoners loathed us even more."

He would never have revealed those past events if he hadn't been in front of Tasia.

Whenever it's mentioned, that deep-seated inferiority complex and the pain of being immersed in memories will surge forth and occupy my thoughts.

Lord... forgive me for my sin of resenting others.

Willard closed his eyes.

“Back then, I suffered just as much bullying as you did. And my heart was nowhere near as steadfast as yours…” He exhaled deeply. “Later, it was the church that taught me how to forgive.”

"Forgive the other person, and forgive myself."

Then, he opened his eyes again.

“If I were not a member of the church, but merely a commoner who had lost his ancestors’ low-ranking titles, I might never have had the chance to fulfill my aspirations in my life.”

"It is precisely because I am like you that I understand what people like us really need."

—Precisely because she is the same person, I don’t want her to go through such agonizing torment again.

"It's not about groveling before those nobles, then going against your own conscience year after year, painfully carrying out their orders, and finally begging for a little food they casually toss out."

Willard's eyes seemed to hold specks of stardust.

“Only by drawing near to God’s Kingdom can sinful souls like ours, who grow like weeds, be saved,” he said.

"Everything we do is to convey God's will to the world."

Tasia kept her lips tightly closed and remained silent.

“You’ll understand someday.” As if he could already see the near future, Willard looked at her with a sorrowful expression.

"The church is the place that's truly right for you."

After leaving those words, Willard slowly turned and left.

At the church entrance, Tasia, overwhelmed with mixed emotions, turned around and glanced at the setting sun that had unknowingly disappeared into the horizon.

Night fell.

Chapter 473 The impending crisis facing Boss Chris!

After saying goodbye to Tasia, Wayne bought some food on the way and went to visit the children he was fostering at a church welfare home.

The children adopted by this orphanage are almost all children who have forgotten where they live and are unable to contact their parents or relatives.

To ensure their origins wouldn't be questioned, Wayne went through a lot of trouble.

He found evidence of embezzlement by the director of the welfare home and forced the director to make up an excuse to complete the registration procedures.

I will pay full child support and raise them well.

If I find out anything's wrong, you can expect to be found dead under a streetlamp.

This is all I can do for them.

Wayne had no choice. With so many children staying in his temporary rented house, it was fine for a while, but it would definitely attract attention in the long run.

He couldn't suddenly bring these children back to the Wincher family, otherwise he wouldn't be able to give a reasonable explanation and it would trigger a series of chain reactions. For example, the Duke, who was highly regarded in noble circles, would almost immediately be regarded as the "mastermind" behind Chapman's downfall, provoking a fierce backlash from the opposing forces.

Although Chapman is an undeniably evil person, the one who exposes his crimes must also be an undeniably good person.