The Banished Villainess! Living the Leisurely Life of a Nun Making Revolutionary Church Food

Chapter 02: Banished and then Nun's Apprentice

"Quack, quack!"

Finally, the ducks cleared the way, and Elizabeth hung the last piece of clothes from the laundry basket, it was one of the children' bed clothes.

Every morning, the sisters tighten the laundry ropes, that hold the drying clothes, using two point of support, the roof of the church and the trunk of a large tree nearby.

The sight of the cleanly washed laundry hung on the rope, all at once, is so relaxing....

"Okay, that's it."

Elizabeth had just finished her work and taken a big breath when heard footsteps and cheerful voices coming from behind her.

"Sister Elizabeth! Let's play."

"Are you done? Let's play."

"Hey, hey, Sister Elizabeth!"

While one of the children hugged her from my back, another one held her left hand, giving little soft pulls to get her attention.
Since the first moment, she was loved by all the children, that lived there at the church, raised by the Sisters.

Elizabeth is no longer the villainess... Everyone knows her pretty well here, even with this face...
No, even with a scary-looking face, an honest child is able to see through it, that's why.
--I'm so glad...
I didn't think I'd become so popular here!

Squirming happily, one of the children, the one hugging Elizabeth's back, started climbing, as if wanting her to piggyback him.

--I hope, it's not like they like me only because they see me as same mental age than them ...or because I'm easy to convince.

"No! Don't climb on the back of a Sister, Toni!"

"Sister Elizabeth, pleeeease."

"You're so naughty."

"Are you mad at me?"

Elizabeth looked at the naughtiest kid, with his little sad expression, directed to convince her to play.

Toni was the oldest of the children there, with 8 years old already.

From a child's point of view, apprentice or not, as long as they are dressed in sisters' clothes, they are all sisters and affectionately called so.

It's like we all were their mothers... even me.

"I'll carry the laundry basket for you."

It's Marty, a seven-year-old boy, who held the laundry basket for her as a little gentleman with his eyes filled with pride.

"Let's continue with the story of the castle."

Another voice came up, the seven-year-old girl, Felsea, who has a slightly mischievous tone and loves to talk about the royal court.

When she smiled back at Felsea, the girl squeezed her hand even tighter and clanged to her body.
She couldn't think of anything but that they were really adorable.

--Kids, honestly...oh, the happiness I felt from being judged by what I'm inside instead my outside.

Then, with a smile on her face she started walking to the church accompanied by all the children...

Elizabeth...
No, Sister Elizabeth is so happy and complete right now.

Elizabeth thought about the day she came there for the first time, as she walked to the building with the children.

At the time, I was afraid of what that new life would be like...

When her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Fontini, came to cut ties with her to avoid being chased out of the royal society with her.
They were very embarrassed of being on such a humble place, but no more than she was of them.

********

When I got here a month ago.

About half a day after the carriage carrying Elizabeth arrived at the church of Nortia, Oleg Fontini, Duke of Fontini, and his wife, the Duchess of Fontini, Zofia Fontini, arrived in an over-loaded carriage.

The carriage was already leaning because of the weight, and Elizabeth looked away in embarrassment.
From the roof of the carriage, boxes were piled upwards and upwards forming a mountain ...huge boxes of the size of a wardrobe and bags miraculously secured with ropes.

When she and the servants worked together to untie it, it caused an avalanche....
At that moment, the carriage's door opened, and they came out.
Of course, helped by their servants, the duke and the duchess descended and instructed someone to bring a big haul from the mountain of boxes.
It was deposited and opened in front of the priest and the three sisters, who came to greet them, with confused looks on their faces, they kept silence not knowing how to react.
Well, that package, now in the yard, was something that would have surprised even a nobleman.

It was Elizabeth's mother, Zophia, the first one to spoke, smiling as she held the violet fan to show her royal superior status.

"Ohoho! Well, at least, you won't suffer any privation"

"Elizabeth, you are no longer associated with the Dukes of Fortini, but don't do anything that can bring shame over our names!"

My father, Oleg, seems to be saying, "Don't worry! Everything is going to be all right."
Well, I think they have good intentions, but if they think that I won't be "ashamed" because I'll enough money to live here as I've been living until now on the duke house.
No, sorry! That won't be possible.

I wonder if these people think that money will solve everything.

"I'm sorry I only was able to bring you five pairs of shoes and one collection of hats"

Zofia... I really want to ask her if she's already thinking on going to the royal ball after my banishment, but I already know the answer.

"Even so... I suggest you refrain from buying jewelry!"

Oleg... He also doesn't seem to understand what Elizabeth's life would be like from now on.

Elizabeth sees her parents off with a sad look on her face... by many reasons.

Well, at least, most of the things they bring me were sold and the money was donated to the orphanage immediately after.
I don't need anything of that anymore!

********

"Elizabeth, are you hungry?　You don't look well."

When Toni, who stood tall in front of her, looked into her face, Elizabeth came to her senses.

"No, no! .... A former duchess-- I cannot be hungry!"

"Because you're a former duchess ... You are never hungry?"

"Ah ha ha, Sister Elizabeth is so strange."

The kids laugh at me, because the things I wanted to say get mixed up in my mind and I ended saying something dummy.

"No one is hungry here..."

The Northern Church is based on a self-sufficient life, but what is not grown here can be bought from the villages and merchants, or exchanged by the leftover vegetables from our fields.
So, the people living here don't have to endure any privation.
Also, there isn't many prohibitions.

Even though we live in a convent, we can eat meat as well as chicken and fish.
No << extravagance >> is forbidden, and having private property isn't banned either.

It's not the life everybody thought I'll be suffering... praying every day and living a sober life.....
--I just pray in the morning, before meals, and on Sunday.

Elizabeth, still holding one of the children' hand, looked up at the church building.

Including my former home, kingdom of Mowers and where I'm now, the kingdom of Limaiza.....
This part of the continent of Dacleston is well-known by their devotion to the goddess Hellevera.
The Northern church, naturally, had a statue of the goddess Hellevera in its chapel.

The goddess of the lilies in bloom is a symbol of purity and innocence ... untainted by dirt.
The statue is holding a lily in bloom in her hand.

It was said that in times of crisis in the land where the goddess is worshiped, lilies would replace the swords...

At that time, the lily will be a beautiful sword against the natural disasters, so the sculptures and ornaments in the church are a fusion of a lily and a sword, the decorations too.

And when Elizabeth looked at the design carved into the columns of the chapel.
She saw that one of the sisters, was up there, on the ladder, cleaning the columns.

She is a well-trained Apprentice of Sister with some years already living at the church, that's why her veil is slightly longer than Elizabeth's.

"Oh! Elizabeth, please.... Can today's dinner be roast pork with apples?"

Lucinda, with some of her red hair escaping the veil, she was someone who loved the taste of meat, and who fell in love with the Elizabeth's meals from the first bite.

She has friendly, curious eyes and slightly sunburned skin, giving the impression of being full of youthfulness.
Sometimes a little lazy, she cut off her hair very short because it was hard to take care of.

"I would be really happy if--!"

She was waving her hand to me, but her posture was so unbalanced... and I was looking at her with worry, but as expected, she lost her balance!

"Watch out...!"

Lucinda, however, with a fast but not elegant movement, sat down on the ladder.

"Heh heh heh."

"Sister Sinda, that was amazing!"

"Like a monkey in the woods."

"Really? I'm worthy of a compliment like that? Was it so great?"

It's pretty childish to be smiling proudly at the kids after doing something like that.

Lucinda is twenty-one years old, she's older than Elizabeth, a good-natured woman who escape work at every opportunity she finds.

Even now, she's reluctantly about resuming her cleaning, preferring instead talking with the children.
She was from an orphanage, just as them, and used to live in a different convent, but after the convent closed, she moved and came here seven years ago.

She's a person that always lived at a church but about her past, she doesn't like to talk about, so I think it's something heavy.

"Lucinda, leave the children alone and get back to cleaning."

The voice came from Roxane, who was wiping the windows open from inside the building.

Her grayish-silver hair, was well cared for and looked like sheer silver threads when exposed to light.
Elizabeth guessed that her hands, which were never rough after cleaning or washing, were the result of applying the cosmetic cream after work every day.
Roxane's eyes are full of fastidiousness, always looking at things with a suspicious eye.

It smells like a forced-to-be-nun.....

Nonetheless, the world of the sisters is a non-invasive one, they won't ask you if you don't want to be asked about.

Lucinda and Roxane often clash and fight each other.

Even, when I get along well with both of them.

Elizabeth's impression of Roxane, was that she was the "grumpy" sister, and Lucinda the "free spirit" sister.

"Sister Roxane! Pigs are delicious, you know."

Felsea filled of air her cheeks, with her mouth making a <<angry-childish>> expression, spoke from the garden, and Lucinda who was on the ladder again, was proud to have supporters.

"Yes, yes! After eating it, I feel energized, and my strength is restored."

"Such dirty and unhygienic creatures!"

Roxane shook his head as if it were the last sane with conscience of the church.

"If you keep eating that so often, it will be bad for your health"

"Piggy!"

"Elizabeth's delicious recipes!"

"Wow, wow! Ok. Roast Pork will be today."

The kids seem excited to have completely decided on tonight's menu.

Just then, the back door of the kitchen, which could be accessed from the garden, slammed open.

"Oh, my gosh, that looks like fun."

Appearing from inside was Hilde in a Sister's outfit with a veil longer than any other Sister present there and a collar that only someone that had become completely a nun can use.

Her black hair is tied up under her veil, she has big green eyes, and a slender figure.

The twenty-nine-year-old woman, dignified dressed as Head Sister, gracefully plucked an aromatic herb with her fingertips...

Rosemary and sage leaves, that I just picked this morning, this will help you if you're planning to do roast pork.

The Head Sister is also a carnivore∼

"Yay!"

"You're saying it, Sister Hilde."

"Hooray."

Hilde deserves respect, as Elizabeth often thinks, because she is running the church on behalf of an unreliable priest.
It is because of Hilde, who is in charge, that the Northern church can be considered a cozy place to live.

"You all are already expecting it, so it made me want to eat it too.... Let's prepare it. Miss Elizabeth, will you help me?
It's a good idea to learn a little more of information about how to cook it, from someone who already knows how to make it taste delicious"

"Yes. I'll go now"

Elizabeth nodded, then turned to the children and bent down to match their stature.

"Toni, go and get ready for eating, and don't start playing afterward so you don't get dirty again, ok?"

"Oh!"

"Thanks for the basket, Marty."

"Hmmm."

"Felsea, I'll tell you the story before you go to sleep."

"Yes, madam!"

Receiving a laundry basket from Marty, Elizabeth went into the kitchen in a good mood.

TRANSLATED BY http://novelsetromans.eklablog.com

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