— Second Floor of the Inn —
The sun dipped toward the horizon.
When He Ye woke again, it was already late afternoon. Amber sunlight spilled through the window, coating the room in a warm, golden glow. He had never experienced such a sweet, deep slumber in his entire life—nerves completely soothed, muscles utterly relaxed, his whole being submerged in a hazy, tranquil bliss.
“An unfamiliar ceiling… Wait, no…”
Rubbing his heavy head, He Ye sat up and muttered, “Isn’t this the inn? When did I come back here?”
If he remembered correctly, he had been dry-heaving in some alleyway because of the incident at Saint Matthew Orphanage.
Furthermore, the timing was completely off. The sun was setting now, meaning it was at least six in the evening… yet when he had fled Saint Matthew Orphanage, it couldn’t have been later than eleven in the morning.
As his scattered thoughts pieced the timeline together, He Ye quickly realized what had happened.
He had been drugged.
His face froze.
Realizing this, He Ye’s expression twitched violently. If his memory served him right, he had passed out immediately after taking Nicole’s handkerchief. But why would she drug him? Before losing consciousness, he had even heard her frantically screaming his name.
Grandpa Leon! Wah~!
It had sounded like someone wailing at a grave.
Clearly, she had been just as caught off guard as he was.
Yet He Ye knew all too well that many seemingly accidental occurrences in this world had deliberate trails behind them. Massaging his throbbing temples, an unsettling suspicion crept into his mind. Beneath Nicole’s frail, helpless exterior, she casually carried a handkerchief capable of knocking a grown man out cold. That combination was dangerously suspicious.
However, since he was currently waking up in an inn bed rather than lying stripped naked on the freezing cobblestones of an alley, his darker suspicions might not reflect reality.
“Hey, Nicole—Nicole Griffith, are you here?”
Holding his heavy head, He Ye sat on the bed and called her name. The single room in the inn wasn’t large; his voice was more than loud enough to reach every corner.
Tragic news… there was no reply.
His suspicion seemed to be solidifying into reality.
A wave of bitterness washed over He Ye. He recalled how suspiciously she had put on her hooded cloak to rush out this morning, and how she had deliberately stayed awake deep into the night.
He had always maintained sharp instincts, but yesterday’s exhausting ordeal had clouded his judgment, causing him to overlook the true motives of the girl clinging to him.
In this era, aside from honey traps, there was no shortage of cheap, underhanded thievery.
Thinking of this, He Ye’s composure shattered completely.
A man can’t possibly be this unlucky, can he?
No, no, no, no…
Taking a deep breath to force himself calm, he reminded himself that this was merely deduction; reality didn’t necessarily match his worst fears. He truly didn’t want his kindness to have been flushed down a sewer.
First, he vaulted out of bed to inspect his luggage, confirming whether the most valuable item had been stolen.
The leather diary was still there.
“Thank goodness, thank goodness.”
He then proceeded to inspect the remaining contents with an uneasy heart.
A pistol, a few gadgets, his identity card, tailored clothes, a copy of the Albion Travel Guide, and the wedding invitation he had mysteriously kept—everything in his suitcase was accounted for.
Though there were signs that someone had rummaged through it, not a single item was missing.
Nicole Griffith hadn’t stolen anything from his luggage.
Maybe she really is a good kid…
He Ye thought wistfully, a breath of relief escaping his chest. He remembered her radiant smile and her simple, candid words. Under the bright morning sun, she had hopped beside him like a cheerful squirrel. He knew that, more often than not, a person’s environment dictated their character.
Nicole probably never wanted to be a thief. The brief time she had spent with him must have helped sway her heart back toward the right path—otherwise, she would have hauled the entire suitcase away, leaving the room stripped bare.
“So… the effort wasn’t wasted, was it?”
He Ye muttered to himself. Even though the outcome was inconclusive and awkward, and even though he hadn’t managed to shepherd her into a new life, his actions had at least pulled a child back from the precipice of crime.
He Ye had been right all along.
Turning back toward the room, he suddenly noticed the dress resting atop the nightstand.
He froze.
It was folded neatly into a square. The white dress had been hanging on the wall of the clothing store just this morning—the very garment He Ye had bought for her, the one she had clumsily twirled in before him.
A small slip of paper lay on top of it.
She really is a good kid. Looking at the dress, He Ye’s gaze softened completely. She hadn’t taken a single thing with her, understanding that her actions had wronged him.
It must be so.
He walked over slowly and picked up the note.
The handwriting resembled chicken scratches, the best that a child with only an elementary education could manage, yet He Ye could still decipher it clearly.
“Respected Grandpa Leon, by the time you read this, I will no longer be by your side. I am very sorry that I couldn’t say goodbye to your face, but I really didn’t knock you out on purpose with the handkerchief soaked in Kumingdine!—Wah~!”
Having read the first paragraph, He Ye understood it was an apology. He certainly wouldn’t hold a grudge against a child who had seen the error of her ways.
“You are truly a good person, the best person I have ever met. I couldn’t bear to hurt you.”
See? Kindness truly can change people.
“So I borrowed your wallet.”
…Wait.
What?
“Today is the last day of the week, and I have to repay my debt, or I’ll be thrown into prison for bad credit! As you know, that would be terrible! So I have temporarily borrowed the 18,675 kronen from your wallet. Thank you for your generosity!”
Holy… shit…
He Ye’s fingers stiffened around the note. The expression on his face locked into absolute stone, entirely defying his expectations.
After a long silence, unsure of what expression he should even make, He Ye decided to read on. There was one final paragraph on the slip.
“Please come to the Big Bird Carousel Bar tomorrow, right where we first met! I will return the money to you in full! Not a single steel coin short!”
“Nicole Griffith, who will definitely keep her word—Signed!”
“…”
Fine. Just fine.
He Ye slowly lowered the note.
He sat on the edge of the bed, deep in thought like a living replica of The Thinker, trying to draw some sensible conclusion.
One minute passed. Two minutes passed.
He Ye knew that sitting here would never allow him to determine whether Nicole was fundamentally good or evil. He let out a complex sigh, knowing full well that he had to visit the Big Bird Carousel Bar to reclaim his money. After all, she had written that she was merely borrowing it.
She must have had no choice.
That was the only thought He Ye could comfort himself with.
Between the lines, one could tell she had felt genuine remorse over having to take the money.
