Parish smiled and gently shook his head, declining her request. "No, dear, I'm not fit to be a teacher."

He suggested, "You could ask Ulysses."

Rothgar, standing by the window, pretended not to hear and continued looking outside.

Anna thought, if the demon hadn't refused her, she wouldn't be asking Parish in the first place.

It turns out neither of them wanted to teach her. Could it be they themselves couldn't read?

Even though Parish was a noble, not all nobles could read. In this world, literacy and knowledge were scarce resources. Nobility primarily continued their lineages through blood, and there was no strict requirement for knowledge; illiteracy was not uncommon.

As for the demon, well, he wasn't even human. It wouldn't be surprising if he couldn't read.

Of course, Ulysses, the possessed mage, was certainly literate. Mages were the most knowledgeable group in this world.

What a waste of talent! A perfectly good mage turned into an illiterate after possessed by the demon!

Anna bowed her head and said, "Thank you, Master Parish. I'm sorry for taking up your time."

She packed up her things and left.

If they didn't want to teach her, so be it. Did they think she couldn't spread rumors without their help?

That afternoon, during her chat with Abigail, Kelly, and Fiona, Anna started her "rumor spreading."

When the conversation turned to literacy, Anna said, "I really want to learn to read and write, so I asked Master Parish today."

Abigail covered her mouth in surprise. She remembered Anna had previously told Parish that she already had a lover. Hadn't he given up on Anna by now? Would he still agree to teach her to read?

Fiona was more direct. "Doesn't you already have a lover?"

Kelly echoed, "Isn't Master Parish planning to give up?"

Anna smiled and made a very calculated remark. "I think Master Parish has probably given up, but I'm not sure. Although I don't want to be Master Parish's lover, why should I refuse if he is willing to teach me to read?"

Fiona and the others looked at Anna with complex expressions, as if seeing her for the first time. But soon, they all seemed to understand.

If they were in her shoes, wouldn't they do the same? Anna hadn't done anything wrong!

The group continued to discuss the various benefits of literacy, but Abigail, Kelly, and Fiona didn't realize that Anna had never said Parish agreed to teach her.

After watching the three leave, Anna felt a bit better.

She really wanted to learn to read. If they wouldn't teach her, she would find another way.

But now, let the rumor spread a bit and see if this tale about her learning from Parish can deter Bobby.

After leaving Parish’s residence, Rothgar gave a task to the Russell family's servant.

Although Ulysses was merely the second son of the Russell family, he was still from a ducal household. When Ulysses went out for training, he naturally took his servants with him. However, Ulysses had a aloof personality and didn’t like to take his servants everywhere, so their presence was quite low-key. Thus, when Rothgar possessed Ulysses, his continued neglect of the servants didn’t raise any suspicion.

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Now, Rothgar gave the servant a task, and the servant completed it efficiently without asking many questions.

Rothgar wanted to know about Anna's current family situation.

After refusing to teach her to read, she asked Parish instead. When he first possessed Parish, he proposed to Anna. If she needed literacy skills, why didn’t she mention it then? Why wait until now?

Sensing something unusual, Rothgar decided to get to the bottom of it.

The servant’s efficiency was high, and it didn’t take long for him to return with information.

It turned out that Anna was being forced into marriage by a widower who had recently beaten his wife to death.

Hearing this news, Rothgar couldn’t help but laugh.

So this human woman was dealing with such a situation. No wonder she suddenly and proactively asked to learn to read. She wanted to rely on the teacher-student relationship to scare off the widower.

Naturally, he wouldn’t let things go her way.

He knew she didn’t want to disrupt her own plans and had resorted to using this method to deter the man. After all, if she simply accepted his proposal, wouldn’t that solve her problem? She had no idea what stopped her to say yes.

Rothgar waved the servant away, feeling pleased.

Now that both he and Parish had refused her, what other options did she have?

He was waiting for her to come to him, begging and yielding.

The one pressuring her to accept his proposal was the widower, not him, so he wasn’t breaking his agreement with Balan.

When she realized that accepting his proposal wouldn’t save her from her troubles but would instead plunge her into an inescapable nightmare for the rest of her life, her expression would be quite amusing.

For the next two days, neither Anna nor Rothgar took any additional actions.

Anna was waiting for the rumor to spread, while Rothgar was waiting for Bobby’s pressure to take effect.

Gradually, Anna began hearing people whispering about her learning from Parish to read.

Since Anna knew the information she spread was false, she called it a rumor. To others, unsure of its veracity, it was a piece of gossip. Gossip always gets twisted during its spread. By the time Anna overheard the kitchen maids discussing it, the story had evolved into Parish teaching her to read so she could be worthy of him, and once she learned, they would marry.

Anna was very satisfied with this version of the rumor. Bobby definitely wouldn’t dare to think about her anymore. Only a man with a death wish would try to take a noble’s woman.

Two days later, the rumor had even reached Anna's home. That evening, as Ana returned, she found Gayle puzzled and questioning her about the rumor.

To maintain her image as a pure and lively girl in Gayle's eyes, Ana pretended she had no idea about the rumor she had started. She looked bewildered and said, "There's no such thing. Sir Parish has not taught me to read."

Gayle, still confused, asked, "Then how did this rumor start..."

Ana reassured her, "Don't worry, Mom. This rumor doesn't harm us; it actually benefits us. This way, Bobby won't dare to pressure us anymore."

Gayle thought it over and nodded, a look of joy spreading across her face. "You're right, Anna!"

"Mom, if anyone asks about it, just say you don't know if it's true or not," Ana advised.

Gayle nodded repeatedly. This rumor was like a gift from the heavens for their family.

Anna guessed the rumor had likely been spread by a girl from a nearby alley who also worked as a maid at the earl's mansion. Before long, the rumor had spread throughout Pomegranate Lane, and many people came to Gayle to inquire. Gayle, following Anna's instructions, just said she didn't know anything.

Meanwhile, Anna continued to leave early and return late, avoiding interactions with strangers.

Previously, when Lily and her mother, Renee, caused a scene at Ana's house, Anna had publicly denied the accusations, stating she hadn't tried to seduce Sir Parish.

But with this new rumor, everyone had forgotten the previous incident. It wasn't unheard of for a noble to take a liking to a commoner. Why couldn't it be Ana? The content of the rumor was very romantic, suggesting that Master Parish was teaching Anna to read so she could become his worthy bride. Such "Prince and Cinderella" stories were always captivating, regardless of the era.

In this world with extremely rigid social classes, a rumor like this was like a beacon of hope for the lower class. Clinging to this hope, they felt as if they, too, had a chance to rise.

So, did the truth of the rumor matter? Not at all.

After a few days, Evan mentioned that Bobby hadn't been seen at the tavern and was no longer blocking Anna's path.

Anna was delighted. As long as she maintained the current situation, Bobby wouldn't dare make any moves.

That evening, as Anna returned to Pomegranate Lane before dark, she unexpectedly found Bobby, who had been absent for a while, blocking her way.