The Copper Crown Tavern was a little bit brighter at noon. Compared to the last time Lucien came here in the early morning, there were a lot more people in the tavern. The singing of bards, the voices of people, and the loud chatter were mixed together.
Lucien noticed that there were a lot of strangers in leather armor. Some of them looked fierce, and some of them were beautiful women. They seemed to be mercenaries and adventurers.
After struggling to squeeze through the crowd, Lucien finally squeezed to the front of the bar.
"Hey, guest, would you like a drink?" Cohn asked without even raising his head as he sipped his ale.
Lucien laughed, "Uncle Cohen, it's me."
"Uh, Lucien, what happened to you?" Cohen was a little surprised when he saw Lucien's bruised face, "Wait, Jackson from Aaron's gang came to ask about you this morning. Little guy, you didn't piss off those thugs, did you? "
Lucien didn't want to say more, "Well, it's been solved. Uncle Cohen, I want to know who's teaching how to read and write."
"You … You've got five Nars? You didn't rob those thugs, did you? "Cohen was even more surprised. He looked at Lucien as if he was looking at an unknown creature.
Lucien thought that it was indeed a robbery, but he couldn't say it like that. So he explained a little and mentioned that it was Chorre's family who lent him the money.
Cohen took a big gulp of ale and praised, "Lucien, you and John have finally grown up. You're men who know how to be hot-blooded and honorable!"
As long as John is still Lord Venn's squire, they won't dare to take revenge directly. However, there are always some guys who like to gamble. "Cohn warned again." You and Joel's family need to be careful. As long as John is still Lord Venn's squire, they won't dare to take revenge directly. "
Lucien nodded solemnly. "We'll be careful."
Only then did Cohen take out a piece of white paper. There were strange patterns drawn on it like a child's scribbling. "Hehe, I can't read, but I can always make some marks."
Then, he read out the names, residences, and time of study of the scholars who were willing to teach the language to Lucien.
Lucien listened attentively and compared them one by one. Suddenly, he heard a familiar name. "Victor? Mr. Victor the musician? "
Cohen looked at Lucien strangely. "Yes, you know Mr. Victor?"
"We met at the Musicians' Association last time, but Mr. Victor has a concert in the Psalm Hall in three months, right? He has the time to teach words? "Lucien wondered if Cohen had made a mistake.
Cohen laughed. "That's why Mr. Victor is willing to teach words."
"It's not easy to hold a concert in the Psalm Hall. You have to get the invitation from the Board of Musicians' Association, the Grand Duke, or Princess Natasha. And since there's only one concert in the Psalm Hall every week, unless you're a famous musician, you have to wait for a long time. Mr. Victor got the invitation half a year ago. In order to prepare for the concert, he turned down all the performances, including the invitation from the Syracuse Palace. So his income is very low. It's said that he has to rely on his savings to support himself. "
Lucien finally understood the reason. "But if Mr. Victor values the concert so much, why would he waste his time teaching words?" He could have just borrowed money.
"I don't know. I heard that the closer it is to the concert, the more pressure Mr. Victor feels. You know how sensitive musicians are. If we don't find something else to do, Mr. Victor might go crazy because of the concert!" Cohen took a sip of ale.
Lucien thought for a while. Compared to other scholars, he had met Victor before, and he thought that Mr. Victor was a good man. "Okay, then I'll learn from Mr. Victor."
… …
Gesu District was named after the great musician Gesu who invented the violin. Most of the musicians and musicians in Aalto lived here. The scenery was beautiful, quiet, and clean.
The trees on both sides of the street were tall and dense. The sun shone through the leaves, forming bright golden spots on the ground. Together with the surrounding shadows, they formed a melody of light and darkness.
Following the address given by Cohen, Lucien walked under the trees. After getting lost several times, he finally found No. 12 Sneva Street in the Gesu District.
Inside the dark green wall, there was a two-story building covered with green vines. The building looked ancient and quiet. If everything went well, Lucien would learn something life-changing here from Monday to Friday from two to four o 'clock in the afternoon in the next two months.
Lucien knocked on the gate, and soon a servant came in. Through the iron gate, the servant took a look at Lucien's clothes and frowned, "Who are you looking for?"
"Five Nars a month to learn how to read and write. You have to pay me first. Are you ready?" Lucien nodded, and he was still not convinced.
Lucien did not care about this kind of discrimination at all. Right now, nothing was more important than learning to read. He took out his money bag and poured out a few Nars, "Of course."
The middle-aged servant stared at the Nars in Lucien's hand in shock. He could not believe his eyes. How could such a shabbily dressed young man take out five Nars so casually? As a musician's servant, he only earned ten Nars a month. Excluding the family expenses, he could barely save one Nar a month.
While opening the gate, the servant looked at Lucien cautiously, "Mr. Victor is a famous musician in Aalto, and he's very familiar with the officials in the city hall." It seemed that he was suspecting that Lucien had gotten his money through illegal means.
Lucien smiled, but did not answer. He followed the servant through the yard and came to a two-story building. The servant opened the brown wooden door carefully and went in to report.
A few minutes later, the servant came out and whispered to Lucien, "Follow me. Later, you can give the Nars directly to Steward Ace in the hall."
The hall was very spacious, and the floor was covered with a dark yellow carpet. Nearby, there were amber-colored tea tables, brown sofas, small round tables, and other furniture. In the distance, there was a long table, which seemed to be a dining table.
Maybe because there were more people here, Victor did not choose to teach in the study, but in the hall.
On the sofa and red wooden chairs, there were five boys and three girls. They all looked quite young, ranging from thirteen to twenty years old.
On the tea tables or small round tables in front of them, there were quills, papers, and other things. From time to time, they were carefully copying something, but most of the time, they were murmuring words, reciting words, or humming tunes.
From their clothes, Lucien could clearly see that although the clothes of two men and one woman were very clean, and they seemed to have tried their best to dress up, they were still very ordinary in nature. As for the other three men and two women, regardless of whether their clothes were old or not, they looked very expensive.
Lucien guessed that they were ordinary members of noble families who could not inherit the title of nobility and most of the wealth, and could not awaken their Blessing. They did not have extra money to hire private tutors, so they could only learn from scholars. In Aalto, it was a very good choice to become an elegant musician.
In this kind of private teaching, it was impossible for everyone to make the same progress, so Victor, who was wearing a red coat, was teaching in front of one person and whispering in the other person's ear.
Lucien glanced around the hall and saw a steward in a neat black suit near the door. His hair was grey, and his face was quite wrinkled. He was not young, but standing there with his back straight, he looked very serious.
"Hello, are you Mr. Ace?" Lucien walked over and asked in a low voice.
The steward nodded, "Yes, I'm Ace. May I know your name and your current level of learning?"
"It's my pleasure. I'm Lucien Evans." Lucien answered in a low voice while handing five Nars to Ace. "I've never learned how to read before."
Taking the money, Ace looked at Lucien in a strange way. Wearing such poor clothes and without any education, Lucien was obviously from the slums. Most of the young people in the slums were rude and rude. However, Lucien was at least polite and mature, which was out of Ace's expectation.
He walked to the center of the hall and whispered something in Victor's ear. Victor turned around and looked at Lucien. Then he nodded kindly and pointed at an empty armchair, indicating that Lucien should sit there. At the same time, Ace went upstairs.
At this time, the eight young people in the hall finally noticed the arrival of a new student. They all looked up and curiously looked at Lucien, who was standing beside the gate.
He had black hair and black eyes. His facial features were delicate and well-defined. However, he was wearing a linen jacket, a pair of trousers of the same color, and a pair of shoes. Although his clothes were clean and tidy, they could not hide his poverty and poor living environment.
"A poor person like him wants to learn how to read?"
This was the first thought that came to their minds. They could not help but show a strange and surprised expression on their faces. They did not expect that their new student was a poor young man.
Then the five young people, who might be from noble families, quickly covered their expressions with coldness and lowered their heads to continue their studies. The two young men and one young woman, who seemed to be commoners, kept looking at Lucien until he sat down on the armchair. Their eyes were full of curiosity and confusion.
Among them, the young man with black hair and black eyes, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old, who was sitting next to Lucien, subconsciously moved to the side, as if Lucien was emitting an invisible stench.
Lucien did not have a sensitive heart. Instead, he appeared to be very mature because of his experience. Therefore, he just found it funny and shook his head. He put a stack of white paper and a quill pen that he bought with copper fels on the small round table in front of him and waited quietly for Victor to come over.
After about five minutes, Victor took a black hardcover book from Ace, who had just returned. He walked to Lucien and put it on the small round table. Then he said in a low voice, "This is Pronunciation and Elementary Grammar of the Lingua Franca. It's just right for a beginner like you. Okay, turn to the first page of the first chapter. I'll teach you the pronunciation of the thirty-two letters."
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