Louis pretended not to hear the cheerful laughter behind him, shaking his helmet as he walked out of the office.
At the door, Louis saw the lady official named Qian standing there.
She nodded at Louis and said, "Thank you."
"She hasn't been this happy in a long time."
"Really?"
He turned and walked out the door.
At the entrance, Louis saw a small swan shivering in the cold wind.
Louis was a bit puzzled: "Olivia, what are you doing here?"
It was already December, and the howling cold wind had turned her little face red.
Olivia sniffed, gave a light hum, and said:
"It's broad daylight. Seeing you two having such a lively time in there, how could I dare to go in."
Louis looked around, puzzled:
"Where's Sister Lumi? Why didn't I see her?"
Olivia's expression stiffened a bit, and then she started to cry and make a scene:
"It's all because of you that Sister Lumi is ignoring me today."
Louis thought something was off: "Impossible, she wouldn't abandon you even if she were angry."
Olivia calmly said, "Actually, she went to catch up with Heisen Bansha."
Louis felt that today's little swan was acting quite odd.
"So what are you going to do next? Wait for Beatrice to get off work?"
The little swan, hands on her hips, said, "No, I want to go to the food street and eat something."
"Oh." Louis nodded, "Then go!"
The little swan, delighted, said, "I want to eat fruit candy!"
"I'll buy it!"
"Well, should we go now?"
"Huh?"
Louis took off his helmet, eyes wide, saying, "I need to go back to the Prince's Mansion. You go yourself!"
The little swan's voice suddenly softened:
"All the money is with Sister Lumi."
Louis said again, "That can't be right, when Alice went to the guild to exchange materials, didn't I see you put a silver coin in your pocket?"
Just as he finished saying that, the little swan whimpered again and said: "I just spent that money buying food nearby!"
Louis said helplessly:
"Alright, I'll go with you."
Although it seemed odd that Olivia was behaving this way today, it didn't seem right not to take her along.
But Louis still said:
"I've also got an errand at the food street; I've got an order to pick up over there."
Only then did Olivia nod with satisfaction:
"Shall we go now?"
"No, wait until I change my disguise."
"Sure."
Louis walked into the office.
A little while later, when he came out again, he was dressed in a tailcoat outfit.
The snug-fitting outfit made him look like a gentleman from an oil painting, but the half clown mask he wore on his face added a touch of absurdity.
Olivia glanced at him and said:
"I've never seen this outfit before; it looks quite, uh..."
"Pretty handsome, right?"
"No, I just find it a bit funny."
"You're sharper-tongued than usual today."
Louis snorted.
No appreciation for beauty.
He tossed a cloak to Olivia, tapped the ground with his cane, and said:
"Put it on, and let's go!"
...
[Location: Food Street]
Louis walked out from a shop, smiling, looking at Olivia, and said:
"I'm about to make a fortune soon!"
Olivia asked, "Louis, what did you get?"
Louis smiled and said, "Mayer Morgan Rockefeller."
"Hmm?"
"That's my name under this identity; from now on, I'm the president of Mayer Commerce Association."
Louis took off his top hat and said:
"Madam, Mayer Commerce Association's products may not be expensive, but they are definitely worth the price. Interested to know more?"
He patted the gift pouch he was holding and said:
"For example, this item, which was specially customized by Prince Louis of the Empire."
The little swan was speechless: "Isn't that just you?"
"It's different, besides, madam, please call me Mr. Mayer."
Louis placed the hat in Olivia's hand, tilted it slightly:
"Your candy, madam."
Olivia asked curiously, "What's this? A magic trick?"
Louis praised her, saying, "You've gone from being quite clever to just clever today, really impressive."
The little swan laughed, "How come I'm getting dumber?"
Louis bowed and said, "In my hometown, being 'quite clever' isn't a compliment."
The little swan complained, "There's a lot about your hometown."
"Yes." Louis's voice was soft, "Sadly, I can never go back."
Then Olivia remembered that Louis's village had long been burned down.
She comforted him, "It's okay, you still have Sister Wang and us with you now, right?"
Louis snorted lightly and said, "No need to console me, I'm not that sentimental."
"So, miss, is there anything else you'd like to eat today that I might— might treat you to?"
"Why did it turn into a question at the end?"
"Maybe because I'm stingy with money?" Louis hesitated for a moment before saying.
"So you're not pretending anymore, huh!"
"Yes, I'm laying it out, I'm very greedy!"
Louis, hands on his hips, looking smug, making the clown mask on his face all the more comical.
"Alright, stop messing around, I want to eat that!"
The little swan pointed to a small stall in the corner.
In that bustling market street, under the magic lantern, the stall had become a gathering place for countless streams of people.
The stall was quite busy, seemingly serving some kind of garlic shrimp vegetable skewers.
"Alright, let's go together."
This was a street food delicacy in the Imperial Capital, and as they got closer, Louis saw the street vendor skillfully selecting each fresh shrimp with care.
After a fine chop and seasoning, the plump shrimp were stir-fried with garlic for several seconds before being threaded with vegetables similar to onions and mushrooms, then placed on a grill to roast.
"Boss, are there any ready? Give me 10..." Louis paused, looked at Olivia, and said, "How many skewers can you eat?"
"Five is enough for me."
"Alright, boss, five skewers, please."
Little Swan: ...
The vendor glanced at Olivia.
She took a deep breath and said, "Boss, make it 10 skewers."
"Alright!"
Seated on a small stool by the stall, Louis mumbled:
"Actually, you eating alone is enough."
"Watching me eat, if you're not embarrassed, I am!"
"...Actually, I just wanted to save a little."
Just then, the vendor brought up a plate of freshly grilled skewers.
Olivia was about to dig in when she heard a little girl next to them ask her mother:
"Mom, the little shrimp can't go home anymore, won't its parents worry?"
The mother was stunned, and Olivia paused, unable to bite down.
Such benevolent words made them hesitate to eat.
Just then, Louis devoured a skewer with a smile:
"It's fine, their whole family is here."
Olivia, speechless, said, "Is the next sentence going to be 'the whole family is just perfect when cooked'?"
"The entire shrimp family thinks you're very humorous."
Amidst the little girl's wailing cries, the two leisurely ate their shrimp skewers.
Suddenly a child approached the stall.
The child told the adult beside him that he wanted to eat shrimp.
The adult asked about the price, and then pulled the child away.
The child looked back wistfully, and amidst the sound of "Spendthrift, at this price I could smoke half a pack of cigarettes," was pulled away.
Olivia watched the scene, suddenly took a deep breath, and then said:
"Mayer, when I was in deep sleep, I told Beatrice I wanted to eat strawberries."
"It was winter, snowing outside, and I slept for a long time. When I woke up, I saw Beatrice standing in front of me."
"In her arms was a bag of strawberries, wrapped in her cloak, using her body heat to protect them from the cold."
"Can you really protect her?"
Louis inexplicably raised his head: "I have a reason for not losing her."
Whether it was for myself, or for... hmm? For what indeed?
Olivia ate the shrimp in one bite and said:
"Then remember what you just said, remember it well."
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