"Sir," she said softly, "I come from a small village in the heartlands. When I was a child, my village had no school. I had to walk several miles to the next village for classes every day, and my feet would crack from the cold in winter. Later, you implemented basic education, and our village got a school and reading primers. I was the first girl from my village to be accepted into the Spire."
She paused, took a deep breath, and her voice, though choked with a hint of a sob, struggled to remain steady:
"My mother told me I absolutely had to thank you properly. She said that without you, I would have spent my life getting married, having children, and revolving around the kitchen stove, never knowing what the outside world was like."
Murphy looked at her and gave a slight nod.
"Your mother is right. But you must also remember, it wasn't just me who brought you to where you are today. It was also yourself, and your mother."
