Chapter 10

Karina, harboring reasonable suspicion, walked to a spot where she could see the situation more clearly.

“What are you doing all of a sudden? Do you have some kind of relationship with this little thief?”

“Y-Yeah, exactly. Why are you interfering like this…?”

When the merchants finally mustered the courage to ask, Kaya ruffled her hair in irritation and stood upright.

“Geez, so much talk. All this fuss over a single apple.”

Then she roughly grabbed the boy’s arm and pulled him to his feet. The boy looked up at Kaya with a dazed expression.

Karina, thinking this was unexpected, didn’t leave and continued watching. It seemed like she was trying to help the boy.

“You just need money, right? Chief.”

At Kaya’s dismissive gesture, Noah, who was holding an apple core, fished through his pockets.

“I don’t have any money.”

His clear voice carried a child-like innocence.

Kaya, who had been looking back at him, silently glanced down at her half-eaten apple.

As the young merchant’s face began to turn red with anger, Karina spoke up in a resigned tone.

“Wait a moment.”

Only then did Noah notice her, waving brightly with a cheerful expression. His pure white smile was completely out of place with the situation.

***

“Thank you so much.”

The gratitude was genuine, devoid of any pretense. Karina responded with an awkward smile before turning to the staff.

“I’ll take two fresh cream cakes, please, packed to go.”

It was hard to tell exactly what he was so thankful for.

Karina ignored Noah, who was looking at her with a bright expression, and turned her gaze to the shop window.

“Oh, so you’re not lowering your gaze?”

“I-I’ll lower it.”

Since earlier, Jack and the boy had been getting scolded by Kaya for no apparent reason.

How had it come to this? 

Karina had only calmed the angry merchants and taken the two ruffians away from the scene.

If Karina had made any mistakes, it was that she hadn’t stopped them from naturally following her into the shop.

‘But why is he still wearing the same shoes as yesterday?’

Even in this situation, Noah’s dirt-covered shoes caught her attention. She had sent him new shoes out of goodwill, but he was still wearing the old ones.

Of course, shoes weren’t the most important issue right now. Karina shook her head slightly and opened her mouth.

“So… Are you saying you’re going to take this boy with you?”

Noah, who was distracted by the cakes being packed inside, answered a beat late.

“Yes.”

His concise response didn’t sit well with Karina.

After all, it had only been a few days since he’d said he couldn’t afford new shoes. While she appreciated that they were helping a local boy, she couldn’t fully trust them.

Glancing once more at Kaya, who was raising her fist, Karina finally rubbed her throbbing head and spoke.

“I’ll take him.”

“Miss Karina, you will?”

“Yes. If I take him to the Duke’s residence, there will surely be something for him to do.”

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t leave the boy with this group.

Noah, who had been blinking quietly, soon nodded in agreement.

As she had noticed in their few encounters, he was a man impossible to read. It wasn’t just his tone or actions; from the very first moment she met him, Noah had exuded an aura different from ordinary people.

Karina tried to examine Noah’s profile subtly, so he wouldn’t notice.

‘No matter how I look at him, he doesn’t seem like a commoner.’

Even his shabby clothes and scruffy appearance couldn’t hide certain traits.

The way he stood upright, the sharpness in his gaze, and the natural ease in his demeanor were all telling signs.

“That boy seems to have a sick family member.”

“W-What?”

While Karina was carefully observing him, Noah suddenly spoke. She instinctively questioned him, even though she already knew what he was referring to.

“The boy you just saved?”

“Yes. Most likely, someone in his family is immobile or unable to move.”

“Wait a moment. How do you…?”

“Well, who knows?”

Noah responded without ever looking directly at her.

“If he had been eating the food he stole, he wouldn’t be that skinny.”

Hearing this, Karina turned around to look at the boy again. Only then did she notice his arms and legs sticking out of his tattered coat.

They were so thin and frail that his malnourished state couldn’t be hidden, even under his old clothes.

‘So he was stealing to bring food to his family?’

It wasn’t a certainty, but Karina found herself believing Noah after meeting his gaze again.

Noah, who had been smiling the entire time, now wore a startlingly blank expression. Though it was a subtle difference, in that moment, he seemed like an entirely different person.

As Karina froze, unable to speak, Noah blinked gently, as if nothing had happened.

“So please take good care of him.”

“……”

“Losing someone close to you is quite a sad thing.”

Noah offered a gentle smile. It was a smile she had never seen before—one that didn’t seem entirely cheerful.

***

That day’s encounter left more ripples than Karina had expected.

Bringing home an unidentified boy and surprising everyone or getting scolded by her mother for the unexpected expenses were just part of it.

But those were trivial matters. Karina was certain of that as she entered the café.

“Well, hello, Lady.”

Kaya, sitting on one side of the café, raised her hand to greet her. Noah was sitting next to her with a serene smile. Karina swallowed a sigh and walked toward the table.

“You arrived early.”

“You’re the one who’s late. We’ve been waiting for ages.”

Kaya replied nonchalantly, scratching her ear. Her attitude was as if she were addressing a friend of ten years.

‘Let it go. I’m not going to stay long anyway.’

Even though she had braced herself, Kaya’s arrogance was still hard to tolerate. Karina pretended not to hear and placed her order. After ordering three cups of coffee and a simple dessert, Karina set two envelopes under the table.

These were the gifts she had brought for the two sitting in front of her—the purpose of today’s meeting.

Naturally, it wasn’t Karina’s idea. After hearing about the boy, Laura had expressed her gratitude and asked Karina to deliver a thank-you gift.

“So, what’s the reason you called us here today?”

Kaya asked in a hushed voice, glancing around the empty café.

Seeing Noah’s focused gaze, Karina regretted not refusing the request back then.

“It wasn’t me who called you; it was my mother. She wanted me to thank you for what happened back then.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I think there was something about that in the letter.”

“Tch, what’s this? How boring.”

Kaya clicked her tongue as if unimpressed, but Noah was the one who had responded to the letter.

‘I should just hand over the gifts I brought and leave quickly.’

Karina resigned herself and was about to take out the envelopes when the coffee she had ordered arrived.

The bitter aroma of roasted beans wafted from the cups placed on the table. Kaya wrinkled her nose as she leaned in to sniff them.

“What is this? It smells like sewer water.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad.”

Noah tilted his head, took a sip from his cup, and immediately turned expressionless.

“Is this water from the sewer?”

It was an expression she thought she had seen somewhere before. Karina forced a smile and pushed the sugar jar toward them.

As soon as they saw the sugar, the two lit up and began fighting over the jar. Karina ignored their squabbling, which eventually subsided when a staff member brought over another jar of sugar.

“Sweet.”

“Sewer water isn’t so bad after all. Right, Chief?”

At least the coffee seemed to suit their taste. Though whether coffee loaded with a handful of sugar could still be called coffee was questionable.

Having finished his cup first, Noah grabbed the sugar jar and spoon and began eating spoonfuls of sugar directly. Kaya, who had been watching him with envy, cleared her throat and stood up.

“Well then, I’ll just pop to the bathroom. Don’t leave me behind.”

Kaya whistled as she left the café. Karina seized the moment and placed the envelopes on the table.

“What’s that?”

Noah, who had been licking his lips regretfully after emptying the sugar jar, asked. Karina opened her mouth, eager to finish quickly and go home.

That’s when it happened. A loud, rough voice sounded from outside.

Startled, Karina froze before she could check the window, but Noah was already moving. Before she could even follow him with her eyes, Noah had darted out. Dumbfounded, Karina belatedly followed him outside.

What she saw there made her doubt her eyes.

“Let go of me! Where did this thug come from?!”

A man, his face flushed red, was being held by the merchants, while Kaya, who was also being restrained by Noah, kicked wildly.

Harsh curses that were unfit to be repeated flew between the two.

‘What on earth is happening…?’

Perhaps because it had all happened so suddenly, her mind couldn’t process the situation.

Standing frozen in the doorway, Karina heard Noah, who was swaying from Kaya’s kicks, speak while looking back at her.

“Please go back inside, Miss Karina. I’ll handle this.”

“Ugh! Let me go already!”

Despite his calm demeanor, the situation didn’t inspire confidence.

Karina’s wandering gaze landed on the man across from her, who was breathing heavily. She found his face oddly familiar.

But before she could say anything, it happened. The man, who had shaken off the hands holding him, lunged at Kaya.

“N-Noah!”

Noah, who had been pulling Kaya back, turned to look, but it was too late.

The man’s outstretched fist missed Kaya and struck Noah’s cheek, while Kaya’s elbow simultaneously hit Noah’s stomach.

“Noah!”

Karina cried out in shock. The servant standing behind her called her name, but she couldn’t step away from the three tangled together.

It was then that someone called out to her over the commotion.

“Karina?”

The familiar voice made Karina lower the hand covering her mouth and turn around.

There, as if it were a lie, stood Phyllis.

Phyllis, who had been looking at Karina, shifted his gaze behind her. Karina’s thoughts came to a screeching halt.