Evening, the sunset was tinged with a faint red and orange, and the beautiful and quiet Lake Mubo was covered with a layer of elegant yet passionate wedding dress, exuding a stunning beauty.

However, the situation in the orphanage was not so optimistic.

"Romeo, the debt collectors are here!" Hamlet hastily pushed open the door of the restaurant and anxiously said to Romeo, who was distributing potato cakes to each child's plate.

"Don't speak so loudly, the children can hear you." Romeo hurriedly walked to Hamlet's side and grabbed him, preventing him from saying anything further.

With the two leaders absent, Romeo was the head of the household.

In order to prevent the children from worrying, Romeo, who managed the financial income and expenses of the orphanage, never let the younger children know the specific economic situation at home.

"I'll handle it, you distribute the potato cakes, stop talking nonsense." Romeo threatened Hamlet with a glance, untied his apron, and handed the basket of potato cakes to Hamlet.

This child always liked to push himself.

Seeing that there was no one in Merka's seat, Romeo already knew what had happened.

As Romeo hurriedly walked towards the door of the orphanage, he tidied his clothes' collar and cuffs, trying to make himself look decent.

Although his clothes had become stained with oil due to long soaking in the kitchen and soap.

When Romeo hurriedly arrived at the door, the thing he was worried about seemed to be about to be resolved.

"I'm really sorry, Misses. Can you... for my sake, give us a few more weeks?" Jeanne smiled apologetically and lightly put her hand on Merka's shoulder, speaking in a tone of negotiation with the two women who were dressed in an exaggerated and casual manner.

Merka in Jeanne's arms bit her lip, her face pale, looking down at her toes.

At the entrance of the orphanage, apart from Romeo's arrival, there were a total of four people standing beside the two carriages. It seemed like two carriages met by chance and were discussing something.

However... was it really a coincidence?

"Oh my goodness! For heaven's sake, what are you talking about?"

"Yes, yes, as long as you are willing, even if it's forgiving all the debts in the city, it's not a problem!" The two women flatteringly carried out illogical flattery, carefully playing the kind of joke that was used to please their lower-level superiors, completely unaware of how to treat this level of aristocracy.

"But... do you really need to speak up for these lowly-blooded bastards? If you want to visit the countryside... I know of many good places worth visiting." One of the women seemed unwilling to give up and secretly hinted at Jeanne's intentions.

"It's good enough that you have this intention. The orphanage thanks you on my behalf." Jeanne glanced at Merka, who seemed to be in pain, and understood what had happened. She said to the two women.

Without saying anything more, Jeanne walked to her own carriage and instructed the coachman to start unloading. The two women had no choice but to sit in the carriage, sulking, and drive back home.

Seeing this, Romeo already had a rough idea of what had happened here.

"Miss Nan..." Romeo jogged all the way to Jeanne's side and spoke.

"Merka has caused you trouble, hasn't she? I'm really sorry." Romeo faced Jeanne, bowing deeply at a 90-degree angle. If Jeanne hadn't supported him in time, he might have buried his head in the ground.

"You, as the legitimate daughter of the Agio family, not only have you come to such a humble place..." Romeo had prepared a stomach full of apologetic words, but was stopped by a finger.

Jeanne placed her finger on Romeo's lips, indicating him to stop talking.

"Oh, don't be so formal... Haven't we always been like this? It's just a small matter." Jeanne seemed a little uncomfortable as she twirled her hair with her finger, saying.

"Ah," Romeo realized then that Jeanne didn't like to hear apologies, "Of course, of course, I really appreciate you." Romeo looked at Jeanne, feeling embarrassed.

Taking Merka's shoulder, Romeo gently patted her back. The latter nodded silently and ran back to the house.

"I can't spare manpower and time to visit you... so every time I can only bring a small amount of oil, salt, and flour. I'm afraid it's still not enough, right?" Jeanne's tone was full of apologies.

"How could it be? Without your help, we definitely wouldn't have been able to make it this far. Besides..." Romeo's words of gratitude were cut off by the scene that followed, choking in his throat.

A bruised little girl timidly peeked out from the train compartment, cute and pitiful at the same time... it made people feel a sense of sadness.

The sight was as if a bolt from the blue, completely shattering Romeo's previously good mood. Romeo, who had been able to smile and laugh with Joan, couldn't even maintain a courteous smile anymore and immediately dropped it.

"Sister, don't stick your head out... they said we're unlucky. If they see us too early, they might not want to take us in..." An arm reached out from behind the little girl, pulling her by the shoulder and pulling her back into the compartment.

In an instant, Romeo felt an overwhelming pressure, as if a tidal wave was crashing down on him, leaving him with nowhere to hide and feeling utterly ashamed. The pressure he felt now, surpassing even the pressure he felt when his family was on the brink of bankruptcy a few months ago, was as chilling as falling into an ice cellar.

Romeo broke out in a cold sweat, almost stumbling to his knees.

Those were their surgery fees! They still didn't know where to find Macbeth's surgery fees...

Joan touched her petite nose in pain, not daring to look at Romeo's expression, quickly walking past him.

"Sorry..." After Joan finished speaking, she fled hastily into the orphanage.

In the courtyard of the orphanage, filled with overgrown weeds, there was a small black wooden table where Merka sat, holding the stationery and paper Joan had given her and practicing the Chinese and Braille she had taught her a few days ago.

"Do good deeds and never ask for rewards... do good deeds and never ask for rewards." Merka wrote as she recited the words.

These two sentences were selected by Joan from foreign books on the day they first met and taught to Merka. They had now become Merka's motto. Whenever Merka's emotions were unstable, she would mindlessly repeat these words.

Macbeth, with a beaming smile on his face, waited for Joan's arrival. Given his age, he had no clue about Merka's complex mental state.

"Merka, are you here?" Joan gently called her name, pushing open the gate and coming to Merka's side.

Joan lightly nudged Merka, but didn't get a response.

"Did you get scolded for arguing with the adults, so you're upset?" Joan squatted beside the chair Merka was sitting on, patting Macbeth's head, temporarily ignoring his chattering.

"Or is it because you feel too powerless to change the situation, so you're angry?" Joan gently prompted, while Merka, seemingly under a mute curse, focused on writing her own words.

"This hardship is only temporary... Didn't I tell you? Learn more magic now so that you can become the pillar of support for the poor when you grow up, right?"

"Everyone will rely on you in the future."

Helplessly looking at Macbeth, who was starting to stutter, Joan's eyes shimmered with a depth of sorrow and grief far beyond her age—stuttering was a sign of the impending Demon's Curse that comes with a missing chin.

If an ordinary person faced such a chaotic situation, they probably would have given up and returned home long ago, right?

Nana Dark, after all, was just a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child, and moreover, the most esteemed noble girl in Acadia.

"Merka, let me teach you something better. After all, this isn't enough..." Joan thought to herself.

Joan tried her best to control her tear ducts, attempting to maintain a strong image in front of the children.

Merka suddenly stopped writing and looked at Joan with shining eyes.

The intense thirst for knowledge, mixed with gentle divinity, quietly moved Joan's heart.

"To die without regret... that's the way to go." Joan forced a smile, hugging Merka.

Like a divine awakening, the words etched themselves into the young Merka's mind.