Talulah, I'm still a child.

Mostima glanced at the notes in his hand; these weren't just things needed for moving.

"Well, after all, Rhodes Island's treatment costs can't be paid for free. I need a source of income. Like you said, opening a Lateran pastry shop should be very popular."

In fact, Felia herself wanted to try this kind of life. Her dream used to be to open her own pastry shop, because then she could eat whatever she wanted.

"If you want to be popular, it's simple. Just have Cecilia bring Mei Xue to your shop more often."

"Sigh, is this all you need?"

"Of course, after all, Mei Xue's popularity on Rhodes Island cannot be described as merely popular; he is one of the key cogs in maintaining the operation of Rhodes Island."

This assessment came from Amiya, but Kal'tsit did not refute it. In fact, everyone could see that if the Doctor was the commander who oversaw the overall situation, then Mei Xue was the important guarantor responsible for ensuring that everyone had no worries.

But these words did not put Felia at ease; instead, they made her frown even more. Although she already knew the answer in her heart, she still reached out and patted Mostima.

"Um... Mei Xue is very popular on Rhodes Island. Is she popular with both men and women, or mostly women?"

This question successfully stunned everyone. For a moment, Felia felt that the way people around her were looking at her was very strange. Even Exusiai's eyes seemed to hold a hint of hostility. It took her a while to realize what these guys were thinking. She blushed and quickly shook her head and waved her hands.

"I...I didn't mean that, I was just curious. Besides, I'm married and have children, I wouldn't do that kind of thing!"

"That's good. But to be honest, Mei Xue is quite popular, it's just that Rhodes Island's female operators are more direct."

Recalling the dozen or so people she encountered outside Mei Xue's dormitory that night, Mostima wondered if Rhodes Island was becoming a bit too effeminate. Couldn't those people find someone else to date? Why did they have to compete with her for Mei Xue?

"I see..."

Felia couldn't help but worry about Cecilia's future. After all, Meixue would definitely come of age before her. What if the little fox ended up with someone else? Wouldn't her precious daughter cry? As a mother, she couldn't just sit idly by.

Although Cecilia and Meixue are not at that level yet, what if they are? It's hard to say.

"So, Ms. Felia, you don't wear a ring? I mean... a wedding ring."

Felia only had a bracelet on her wrist, which was the one Cecilia and Meixue had won in a lottery earlier. As a married woman, she should have a ring, and the ring itself wasn't expensive.

"...Actually, I haven't had a wedding yet. Although Cecilia's father gave me a ring, I hope he can put it on my finger at the wedding."

Because of their different social statuses, Felia and Cecilia were not legally married, and their relationship was destined not to be recognized by society. But as long as Cecilia was there, that was enough; she was the perfect proof of their love.

"That day won't be too far away."

"hope so."

Although it was a regrettable thing, Felia did not feel disappointed. She just looked at her daughter's smiling face that had not stopped since she left the house, and her heart was filled with happiness. She even wanted to cry, but she knew that would draw attention to them.

"Mom, look at this, my brother gave it to me, um... a candied hawthorn, it's for you!"

Holding the snacks Mei Xue gave her, Cecilia ran to her mother's side. She looked so adorable. The more Felia looked at her, the more reluctant she felt to part with her. She wanted to watch her daughter grow up and entrust her to someone she could trust.

"Have you said thank you to your brother?"

"No, my brother said we don't need those things between us."

"Okay, go play with your brother."

Felia took the candied hawthorn and took a bite. This was the first time she had ever seen a snack like this, but the taste was quite appealing. She thought it might be very popular if it were promoted in Laterano.

As the group walked, Remy suddenly turned around and glanced at someone, then pretended not to see anything and continued to focus her attention on Mei Xue.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the building that Remian had previously glanced at, Oren and Patia stood up from behind the wall and looked at the group of people walking down the street, feeling a headache coming on. They simply couldn't find an opportunity to make their move.

"Damn Felia, she betrayed us..."

Patia was getting angrier and angrier. Although there were no losses in the operation last night, the embarrassing escape was really unpleasant. Moreover, the leader seemed very depressed for some reason, saying that he needed to rest and asked Patia and the others to send a letter to Mei Xue.

But how could they deliver a message in this situation? If they rushed up, picked up Mei Xue, and ran away, they would probably be blown to smithereens by Fiameta's gun.

Of course, what Patia couldn't understand the most was sending a letter to Mei Xue. What was so special about that little fox that it deserved such attention from the Pioneer? Could it be related to what the Pioneer and the Pope discussed last night?

"Don't be angry. From her perspective, you might have done even more extreme things than her. At least she didn't reveal our affairs to the Papal Court. A mother can stand in front of any beast for her child."

Despite saying that, Oren still felt a bit tricky. But he was even more puzzled by Mei Xue's secret. It was clear that the Papal Court had not only let them off the hook, but had even explained last night's events as an accident. This ambiguous attitude made it impossible for anyone to understand what the Pope was thinking.

However, what made Oren and Patia most uncomfortable was the Pope's invitation, not to them, but to Cecilia and Felia.

Was this a trap or a simple meeting? Perhaps even Ivan XI himself couldn't say for sure, since people's stances can change sometimes.

But in any case, this is no longer something that Oren and the others can interfere with. They only need to consider how to get close to Mei Xue and deliver the letter to the little fox.

"Brother, what place is that?"

As Cecilia walked, a rather beautiful building suddenly came into view. It seemed to be a church, surrounded by flowers. A red carpet stretched from the entrance to the road, and the white tiles reflected the golden sunlight. White doves flew out from the tower with the sound of bells, making it look sacred and pure.

"It seems to be... a marriage registration office."

Compared to the building itself, the sign at the entrance wasn't very noticeable, but the little fox still noticed it.

What place is that?

"It should be the place where you get married. My sister mentioned it before. Once you get married, you become a family!"

"Then let's get married!"

Cecilia blinked happily, her eyes full of excitement. Her words even surprised Remian and Mostima, leaving Felia deeply impressed by her daughter's decisiveness and speechless.

But the mind didn't give them much time to react; it grabbed Mei Xue's hand and ran towards the marriage registration office.

Perhaps it was because that one sentence was too shocking that the crowd realized something was wrong only after the two little ones had run to the other side, and they quickly followed.

As a perennial single person, bored Lateran citizen A (let's call her that for now) watched another couple get their marriage certificate in front of her today, hoping that her own love would come soon. You know, she's already over thirty and has never been in a relationship.

Just then, as the door was pushed open again, Citizen A immediately perked up and smiled, only to find that there seemed to be nothing in front of him.

"Hello, where is he/she?"

"Here I am, big sister!"

Mei Xue and Cecilia tiptoed and peeked out their little heads. One's tail swayed gently and its ears twitched slightly, while the halo on the other's head swayed gently.

While it's not uncommon for Sarkaz to marry people of other races, these two are just too young!

(Although I've heard that kids these days mature earlier, this... wait, wait, maybe I'm just imagining things?)

Upholding good professional ethics, Citizen A still looked at the two with a smile. No one could be angry with Cecilia and Mei Xue's faces.

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I want to marry my brother!"

(Oh my god, they're siblings!)

For a fleeting moment, Citizen A suddenly felt that he might have wasted more than a decade of his life.

Chapter 257 The Item Mei Xue Entrusted to Her Safeguard

Among the many Victorian folk tales is a fairy tale in which children, when they are young, are fortunate enough to be invited to a fairy tale castle for a feast in their dreams. Each child can leave a precious item that they cherish with the castle's owner, and on the appointed day in the future, they will receive a gift called childhood.

As a member of the fairytale castle, young Alice is now qualified to take up the wand given to her by her godmother and become a messenger of the fairytale castle to return the items left behind by the children to them.

The fairytale castle exists on the edge of reality; outsiders cannot see it or enter it. However, one can observe the outside world from the castle. Alice glanced at the clear sky outside the window, then flipped through the catalog in her hand while organizing the things in front of her.

Because it's been a long time since the last fairy tale messenger, there are too many stored items that need to be sorted and categorized. Making a list will make future work easier.

However, as Alice took stock, she discovered that besides several items that were about to reach their expiration date, there was also a special item that didn't even have a storage date. No, it didn't even have a designated person in charge; there was only someone registered under the name Mei Xue.

Alice didn't recognize Mei Xue, but this unusual situation piqued her curiosity. She checked the items in front of her and found that the item was missing, which was strange. Moreover, the storage date of the item was from several years ago.

"Bena, Bena, where are you?"

Without even bothering with the tidying up, Alice grabbed the list and went to find Bella, since Bella was in charge of protecting and storing these items. With Bella's abilities, she could even keep an ordinary toy in perfect condition for twenty years.

The fairy tale guardians and fairy tale messengers—the entire fairy tale castle had been cut off from the outside world for a long time, to the point that they had gradually become nothing more than legends. However, with the growth of Alice and the others, the fairy tale castle has reopened its windows to the outside world. Otherwise, the things that were promised to be kept for others would have expired by the agreed date.

"Bena, oh, Anne, you're here! Where's Bena?"

Alice was searching and thought she had seen Bena, but after seeing the ball joints on her hands and feet, she realized that this was Bena's stand-in doll, a special being named Annie. Although she was just a doll, she could talk, think, and act independently away from Bena, and she had her own unique curiosity.

"She's playing video games in the room at the very end of the corridor."

"Thanks, Annie... Honestly, can't you help me out? I have no idea where she got her game console."

Alice thanked Anne and then headed towards the deepest room, a fairytale castle where fantasy was reality. Alice lifted her foot and stepped down, her figure already appearing at the deepest part of the corridor, where she reached out and knocked on the door in front of her.

"Bena, open the door! I need to talk to you!"

"Wait a moment, I'll be right there."

Bella's voice came from the room, and soon the door opened. Bella, wearing headphones and holding a game console, glanced at Alice and then put her in her room.

"Did you need something?"

After taking off her headphones, Bella sat on the bed and continued playing her game console. Although she looked like a little girl even shorter than Mei Xue, she was not young at all.

"Um, I wanted to ask this Mei Xue what exactly she asked us to keep safe. I can't find it."

"...You mean Mei Xue?"

Upon hearing this familiar name, Bella looked up without even starting the game, her eyes filled with surprise.

"You know him?"

"Of course I know him. He gave me all these game consoles and that solar charger. But you were still studying when he came here, so it's normal that you don't recognize him."

Bella thought about it. Actually, she and Mei Xue were friends, even though they had only known each other for two or three days. They had at least shared a bed, played games together, and stayed up all night together.

At the time, she thought Mei Xue had been newly abducted by her grandmother, and she was even planning to trick the little fox into living next door so that she could play games or chat with Mei Xue every day. Unfortunately, Annie was unwilling to play the role of the child in the pretend play game.

"What is he keeping safe?"

“I don’t know about that. Actually, I was with him the whole time, and I didn’t see him hand anything to us… No, that’s not the date he came.”

The sharp-eyed Berna noticed something unusual: the form in Alice's hand was dated three years ago, but Mei Xue's last visit to the fairytale castle was eight years ago, and the handwriting...

"This is the handwriting my mother wrote herself!"

"you sure?"

Alice frowned. Her godmother was the true owner of the fairytale castle, residing in the tower year-round. The fairytale castle existed because of her. She was the one who loved to dream the most and was the one who maintained those dreams. The fact that her godmother could sign her name represented something special.

“I’m sure, because Grandma’s name was also signed by her godmother. If that’s the case… then this thing must have been placed in Grandma’s garden, which is not a place we can go.”

The grandmother that Bella mentioned was the old woman who took her in, but the grandmother's name has always been a mystery. Her garden is one of the few forbidden areas in the fairy tale castle because it contains many precious things, such as Alice's wand and the raw materials for making Anne.

"But if I don't understand what exactly the client entrusted to me, wouldn't that be a dereliction of duty on my part?"

"Then... alright, let's go find Grandma directly."