Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1427 - 1333: Church Schools and Welfare Institutions

Chapter 1427: Chapter 1333: Church Schools and Welfare Institutions

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Le Roy noticed the awkward pause and smiled as he reminded, “Mr. Ferrini, please introduce which school you are from first.”

Angelique raised her head: “I’m from Saint… Holy Mother…”

Archbishop Bovais’s face began to pale too; this fool seems to have forgotten the name of his own school!

He quickly whispered, “Saint Mary’s Corridor Street Church School.”

Only then did the young man repeat it, before hesitating again.

Le Roy had no choice but to continue prompting: “So, which excellent teacher guided you to win first place in this competition?”

“It was, it was…”

Archbishop Bovais gritted his teeth and said, “Father Benedetto.”

Alexandra looked over somewhat displeased: “Archbishop Bovais, perhaps you should return to your seat. I want to hear Mr. Ferrini speak for himself.”

After Bovais sat down, trembling, she asked the young man, “Can you tell me about your usual course schedule?”

Angelique raised his voice a bit, like a struggling student suddenly encountering a question he could answer: “From Monday to Wednesday I attend two French classes, two math classes, one natural science class, and one crafts class each day. From Thursday to Saturday, there’s one sports class and one art class each day, and at other times it alternates between French, math, and Latin…”

The hall suddenly fell silent, all eyes focused on Archbishop Bovais.

Because the young man spoke precisely the standard schedule of the New Primary School.

Alexandra and Dean Le Roy exchanged a few whispered words, then she stood up in front of Angelique, looking stern: “So, you did not study at the Oratory’s school?”

“I…”

“You must reveal everything you’ve concealed. I can assure you there’s no one here who can threaten you, and this is your only chance to be forgiven.”

Angelique was obviously intimidated by the authoritative aura of the Crown Princess, nodding frantically, his voice choked: “I, I am a Milanese, came to Reims three years ago with my father, studied at the New Primary School in Gilda District. My math teacher is Mr. Parent.

“Last year, my father was deceived, and our family owed a lot of money.”

He pointed to Archbishop Bovais: “This kind-hearted Archbishop told me that if I participated in a math exam, I would receive 3,000 francs. This money saved my family…”

Alexandra glanced coldly at Archbishop Bovais: “You had better give me a reasonable explanation.”

He was already drenched in cold sweat, hurriedly bowed, “I, I… Please forgive me…”

The Crown Princess glared at him resentfully and left the hall with a grim face.

The next day, the front pages of Paris’s newspapers were dominated by headlines like, “The church school’s math competition champion is actually from the New Primary School” and “The Oratory paid handsomely to hire New Primary School students to compete under false names.”

Paris Commercial News even had an illustration drawn overnight of Archbishop Bovais being publicly exposed, looking ashamed, printed beneath the news.

In the following days, while newspapers continued to report on the math competition scandal, they also began publishing articles such as “Does the lie-supported Oratory still have the qualifications to educate students?” and “The church school’s courses are obsolete, completely unable to compete with the New Primary School.”

Then, somehow, a newspaper shifted the focus to the church-run public childcare system.

At once, the church, which had spent nearly half a year, claiming to invest millions of francs, only managed to establish two kindergartens that accommodated less than 1,000 children. It was entirely unable to achieve the goal of fully covering public childcare across France within two years.

Paris Commercial News appropriately published the news of a three-year-old child in the Saint Antoine District who accidentally fell into a fireplace and died while his mother was out working. Across from his house, a kindergarten had been planned but had only been fenced off without any progress.

Soon, a priest exposed inside information, saying the church’s investment in kindergarten construction in Paris was only 50,000 francs.

People began gathering outside Notre Dame de Paris in protest, demanding a thorough investigation into the church’s embezzlement and misappropriation of public childcare funds.

At this point, Archbishop Beaumont was at a loss for words, claiming the church only invested 50,000 francs, so there was no situation of embezzlement. But if he says there was never any plan to “fully cover kindergartens across France within two years,” the public’s criticism of the church would only intensify.

Although he could “play dead,” someone reported the matter to the Official Investigation Bureau.

Mala, who was recently somewhat idle, was immediately intrigued, personally leading elite investigators from the Bureau to investigate the “church embezzlement case.”

Yes, the whistleblower was Joseph’s clerk.

Starting with the “Angelique incident,” Joseph’s series of moves have thoroughly shattered the church’s prestige in education, drawing public attention firmly to the church.

Next is to seize the church’s financial issues and deliver a fatal blow.

He knew very well that this corruption hotspot of the church is unlikely to be free of incriminating evidence.

However, the one to first make a breakthrough was not Mala, but a reporter from City News Paper.

Landry had relied on extraordinary willpower to escape from Blois West District Welfare Institute.

When he returned to the newspaper office, he was emaciated, with a vacant gaze, and even his childhood friend took several minutes to recognize him.

After Landry recovered somewhat, he asked his friend to ghostwrite about his experience of disguising as a beggar and infiltrating the welfare institute—

It was an entirely sealed structure, completely isolated from the outside world.

Managed by 7 priests and 5 nuns, all the residents were divided by identity into orphan, elder, women, and tramp areas, with communication between them forbidden without priest’s consent.

Landry could only eat two meals of moldy black bread and a bit of broth—which was still the best food in the whole welfare institute, with the elder area only getting one meal a day—but was forced to work 16 hours and pray for over an hour.

If the rules were violated, food would be denied, or prolonged kneeling in the Prayer Room would be the punishment.

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Landry, a 24-year-old young man, seized the chance of a drunken priest on duty, used a homemade saw to break open the lock, climbed over the more than 4-meter-high wall, avoided the tracking hounds, and narrowly escaped back to the city.

At the end of the article, he attached the West District Welfare Institute’s public data from last year—relief was provided to 1,020 people, costing 134,000 francs.

According to his calculations, based on the food given to residents and simple medical care, annual expenditure should not exceed 50,000 francs. And the work income of the residents should be at least 100,000 francs annually, all of which were kept by the church.