“Mm, thank you, Eve!” Elina cried happily.

“All right, all right, off you go. We’ll wait outside. Hurry back—it’s getting late,” Eve said helplessly.

“Yeah, yeah. You actually stood me up. But you were helping poor people, Elina, so I’ll let it slide. Take these silver coins too. Hurry back,” Caro said with a shrug.

Unlike Elina, who’d been kept at home as a pretty ornament since she was little, Caro had often gone with her parents to meet all kinds of people. She’d learned a great deal about the darker side of the world at an early age, so she understood Elina’s desire to help children in difficult circumstances. As long as it was reasonable, she was happy to support her.

Elina nodded gratefully to them both. “Thank you, Eve. Thank you, Caro. I’ll be right back!”

Elina hurried into the alley and looked earnestly at Ryan, who sat on a piece of cardboard with a baffled expression. Gathering her courage, she held out the silver coins and called, “Please, you have to take this money! It’s not much, but it’s something from the heart!”

Ryan looked at the silver coins in Elina’s hand and gave a bitter smile. His mother had worked herself to the bone her whole life to save up ten silver coins, while a noble could casually pull out this many. He understood that she was being kind, but he still couldn’t help feeling a little resentful. Maybe he felt insulted. Maybe he was just jealous. Either way, he needed the money to survive.

But she had helped him.

“Thank you. I’ll find a way to repay you someday.” Ryan hesitated, but in the end, he took the money.

“Mm-hmm! Then I won’t keep you. Bye!” Elina nodded happily and skipped out of the alley.

It didn’t matter whether he paid her back. At least he’d truly, genuinely helped someone.

Elina decided that she’d managed to do a good deed today, after all. What a lovely day~

Ryan looked at the money in his hand, then at the petite figure’s retreating back. He closed his eyes, and all he could see was the ocean-blue of the girl’s eyes. Her sweet voice still lingered in his ears.

Had he fallen in love with her...?

His mother had once told him that if a boy closed his eyes and could still hear a girl’s voice and see her face, then he definitely had a crush on her.

Maybe he hadn’t fallen in love with her, but he certainly liked her quite a bit. After all, who wouldn’t like a pretty girl with a kind heart?

But she was a noble’s daughter, and he was just an ordinary commoner. He couldn’t afford to have feelings for her. She was beyond his reach. Maybe, in her eyes, helping him was no different from giving alms to a little animal. She was simply pitying him. So why dream of a love that could never come true?

Ryan gave a self-mocking smile and shook his head. He thought back to how he’d heard someone calling for her just now. Was the girl’s name Elina?

Wait, wasn’t Elina the name of the Frank Empire’s princess...?

Could that girl just now really have been Princess Elina?

There was no way he’d get that lucky, right? Why would a princess be wandering around somewhere like this? He’d probably misheard. Whatever. First, he’d use the money to find an inn and get a good night’s sleep. He’d already taken it, so he might as well use it for what he needed. If he got the chance someday, he’d pay her back. Though she probably wouldn’t care about getting it back anyway.

.......