Sometime later, the lecturer, who had relatively high cheekbones, walked up the wooden podium. She cleared her throat and said, “Good morning, kind, charitable ladies. I am Xaviera Hedda. What I am about to share with you today are my experiences in managing family expenses. There are three parts, the first being how a family with an annual income of a hundred pounds should balance food, housing, clothing, and employing helpers. The second would be where a family earning two hundred pounds yearly should be increasing their expenditure to appear more decent...”
Melissa listened attentively. She had her brothers’ annual income at her fingertips.
It’s already over two hundred pounds... she thought, half in relief and half in fear.
She was relieved and satisfied with her current life, but was also afraid that this way of life would vanish in the blink of an eye.
At this point, the wine red-haired Selena covered her mouth. She told her two friends quietly, “She seems to be a believer of the Lord of Storms. She’s wearing a Windstorm badge.”
Melissa looked over and saw Xaviera wearing a badge depicting violent winds and tumultuous waves on her left chest.
She quickly explained, “Mrs. Shaud who told me about this seminar is also a follower of the Lord of Storms. I don’t think it’s strange that the speaker is a follower too.”
“Yeah, I don’t think there is a problem here. We are here to learn how to budget,” Elizabeth concurred with Melissa.
“But other than Melissa, we don’t need to, nor do we have the right to govern our families’ finances.” Selena pouted.
Elizabeth rebutted without hesitation, “But we’ll get married eventually and form our own families.”
Selena had been a little afraid of Elizabeth after the incident of the demon mirror divination. She nodded in embarrassment and pretended to listen to the lecture attentively.
The lecturer, Xaviera, raised her right hand and said, “The premise of any form of budgeting is to respect the opinion of the man of the household. They are the source of income, the pillar of the family. They face anxiety, stress, troubles, and disorder in society in order to obtain everything for us. Thus, we have to create a serene home, one free from troubles from the outside. This will allow them to relax when they come home, allow their souls to be cleansed, allow them to be more prepared to face the challenges to come...
“So, as the famous philosopher, sociologist, humanities scholar, and economist Mr. Leumi once said, a woman is the angel of a household.”
Selena stroked her cheek and traced her dimples as she whispered with a little excitement, “Leumi, the person who said that humans are born free?”
Elizabeth hesitated before answering. “Yes, but he is a believer of the Lord of Storms.”
At this point, the lecturer, Xaviera, continued, “Mr. Leumi also informs us that females are innately flawed when it comes to intelligence and logic. In that case, unable to judge for themselves whether they should accept the judgment of father and husband as that of the church....” 1
Melissa, Selena, and Elizabeth looked at each other, speechless, after hearing such a description.
“Let’s go?” Selena finally suggested.
Melissa and Elizabeth nodded.
“Alright!”
They took their veiled hats and bent over, sneaking over to the side door in an attempt to leave without attracting any attention.
When they cautiously arrived outside and could finally stand up straight, they suddenly heard a burst of applause coming from the small hall.
Melissa instinctively looked back into the hall.
YOU ARE READING
Lord of the Mysteries (P1)
Mystery / ThrillerWith the rising tide of steam power and machinery, who can come close to being a Beyonder? Shrouded in the fog of history and darkness, who or what is the lurking evil that murmurs into our ears? Waking up to be faced with a string of mysteries, Zho...
