____Bishop Vanessa herself originally thought that it was just a natural disaster. In fact, Bishop Vanessa intended not to investigate this incident and went back to sleep. If it weren't for this incident, she found out that the library key she kept was missing. If it wasn't for her losing it herself, someone must have stolen it. And in this church, the only suspected thieves must be all the orphans in this room. But strangely, all the children were there. That made the possibility of the library key being lost because of these orphans less likely, but not impossible.
____" Hmm ! Of course, what happened just now was an earthquake, but the person who stole my library key might be in this room. Whoever stole the library key, step forward. Otherwise, if I find the key myself, that thief will be thrown out of the church immediately ! " Bishop Vanessa said in a fierce tone.
____An atmosphere of fear and pressure quickly spread around the orphans' dormitory. Many orphans looked at each other, trembling. There was no orphan who had not done anything wrong before. Even if it was not about stealing the library key this time, they must have stolen something before. This was the survival skill of every orphan. Unless they were orphans who had only recently entered St. Maria's Church, most of them had done something bad once or twice before.
____"What ! Is anyone going to confess?! " Bishop Vanessa pressed even harder.
____The pressure put on the adults by the children was great. Many of the children began to cry, many began to confess and bring out the things they had stolen. But the items were mostly dolls, toys, food, clothes and valuables. Although many of the items belonged to the long-lost priests, not a single one was the library key or anything library-related.
____Books and knowledge are the only things that no one wants or tries to steal. Unlike Phantom, he has experienced a lot in life. He has lived his life to the fullest and worth it. Phantom clearly knows that in this world, knowledge is the most precious thing, and even if he has to risk his life to get it, Phantom will not hesitate even for a moment.
____But among the hundred orphans, there were less than ten who refused to admit any wrongdoing, most of whom were experienced and fearless teenagers. Only one little boy stood there motionless, as if he had nothing to do with the bad things. That boy was Phantom .
____"Everyone, take everything and pile it up outside the room. Then go stand outside the room and wait. I'll start searching from Dahad 's bed, " Bishop Vanessa said, walking under the pillows and mattresses of Dahad and her bedmate.
____When Bishop Vanessa could not find the library key , he turned to Dahad and his friends.
____"You two, go search the other beds and see if anyone else is hiding anything," Bishop Vanessa said, watching the pair do their job.
____Searching the beds was not a difficult task. Amidst the trembling fear in the hearts of the children, in less than ten minutes, the two of them had searched every bed. There were some people who had secretly kept something, most of them were expensive valuables that they did not know who they had secretly stolen from, but not a single one was a key.
____"Alright ! You can take back anything that isn't your valuables. I won't press charges against you for what was stolen, but don't let this happen again. Don't blame me for being cruel, understand?! " Bishop Vanessa said sternly again after she couldn't find out who stole the library key.
____"Yes, Bishop ! " all the children said in unison.
____Many of the priests and sisters had keys, and they had the right to enter the library at any time, so it was unlikely that they had stolen the library key. Only Acolytes and Novice were suspicious, since not all of them had the right to enter the library, and most of them did not live in the church regularly, so it would not be strange if those people had stolen the library key. Bishop Vanessa intended to press charges against those people later.
____As he was about to leave, Bishop Vanessa turned to Phantom and fondly stroked his head. Among the hundred orphans, whether they admitted it or not, they all secretly stole something. Only Phantom was a good boy and did not misbehave at all. Even though Bishop Vanessa and the other priests tried not to show that they loved Phantom more than the other children, they could not really hide the special kindness they had for Phantom .
____"You are a good boy, Phantom . I have seen how eager you are to go to school and how you have always wanted us to teach you about magic. When you turn five, I will allow you to attend St. Maria's School. I will personally sponsor your scholarship. If the school finds that you have a talent for magic, I will allow you to take a special class on magic," Bishop Vanessa said kindly.
____"Really, Mother? Thank you very much," Phantom said, hugging Bishop Vanessa 's waist.
____Phantom often acted like this. Even though he was an orphan like everyone else, Phantom never showed that he was a problem child like other orphans often did. Phantom always showed the priests and sisters his innocence and brightness like a child should be. Even though he was a stubborn person like Bishop Vanessa . Even parents do not love their children equally. Bishop Vanessa was the same . Inside her heart, she could not help but give Phantom extra love. Most importantly, she often felt attached to Phantom for no reason. She herself did not know why, but since Phantom was always a very good-natured child, Bishop Vanessa did not think it was strange that she loved Phantom more than all the orphans she had ever adopted.
____In particular, allowing Phantom to take a special class like the Magic class was something that even Sister Catherine was surprised about. Saint Maria's School was no ordinary school. It was considered one of the most famous and prestigious schools within the Aurora Kingdom. The annual tuition was as high as 100 gold coins.
____100 Copper Coins equals 1 Silver Coin, 100 Silver Coins equals 100 Gold Coins, while the average person may not even be able to save 50 Copper Coins. Every year, the children of nobles and wealthy merchants would compete to send their children to St. Maria's School. Giving a free scholarship to an orphan is like giving him a huge sum of 100 Gold Coins for free every year. And that's not even mentioning the magic class which costs 1,000 Gold Coins per year. However, there were still many people who wanted their children to study in the magic class because entering the magic class would change a child's life forever.
____Being a mage and an ordinary person were polar opposites. In the future, they could choose almost any profession. Once a mage became a person, their status would immediately be equal to that of a noble. They could also become a noble without having to compete with others. There were many nobles and high society people who were disciples of St. Maria School in the past. Therefore, no one would not want to attend this school, especially in the magic class.
____"Congratulations," Sister Catherine walked over and rubbed the head and congratulated Phantom after Bishop Vanessa walked away.
____"Thank you," Phantom hugged Sister Catherine tightly as if she were his mother.
____Phantom often showed his closeness to Bishop Vanessa and the male and female priests in the church. At first, they would scold Phantom severely and forbid the boy from doing so again, because they were worried that it would cause other orphans to despise the boy. But it was as if Phantom never knew their deep-seated good intentions. Phantom would always turn a deaf ear when scolded, but after that, the boy would still show his closeness to the priests in the church. In the end, those priests were the ones who lost and never criticized Phantom again .