Early the next morning, Ronald arrived on time and gently knocked on the door upstairs.
The door to the third-floor apartment was wide open, revealing the interior for all to see.
Ronald’s knock was merely a polite gesture, meant to signal his arrival to the two people inside.
"Ah, is that you, Ronald?"
At the sound of the knock, Patricia, who already resided there, immediately turned and smiled at him.
Not far in front of the girl, Mrs. Hudson, the landlady of the apartment, stood. She looked no different that morning and nodded slightly to Ronald at the door.
Then, the two inside continued with what they were doing before.
Patricia didn’t treat Ronald like an outsider.
After greeting him, she placed her right hand to her chest and slightly bowed to Mrs. Hudson, saying,
"Mrs. Hudson, I really appreciate your hospitality during this time."
"It’s quite presumptuous of me to notify you of my departure after such a short stay. Please excuse my rudeness."
"Oh no, no!" Mrs. Hudson immediately shook her head in response to Patricia’s sincere apology, "Having such a polite and dignified lady as yourself staying here is truly an honor for my house. Among the tenants I’ve had over the years, Miss Patricia, you are definitely among the finest."
With that said, Mrs. Hudson seemed to remember something, glanced at Ronald who had just entered, and quickly added,
"Of course, Mr. Ronald, you are a fine gentleman too."
Ronald immediately put on a smiling face and replied,
"Mrs. Hudson, thank you for your kind words."
"It’s not flattery, it’s the truth."
Smiling, Mrs. Hudson nodded at Ronald, and without further pleasantries, turned and walked out of the room.
"I’ll leave you two,"
"Miss Patricia, take your time packing, I’ll clean the room later."
While stating her intentions, Mrs. Hudson’s voice faded away around the stairwell corner.
The rhythmic footsteps downstairs gradually receded.
Ronald and Patricia were left alone.
A man and a woman stood quietly in the room, incredibly in sync and shy, neither daring to meet the other’s gaze.
After about three to five breaths of silence, Ronald was the first to speak.
"Patricia, you’re leaving today, aren’t you?"
Patricia responded to Ronald.
Having stood stationary until then, Patricia, like a wound-up doll, immediately resumed packing her belongings.
In the room on the third floor, a suitcase about thirty inches in size lay open on a chair with daily necessities and clothing inside; Patricia’s previously used "umbrella" rested against the edge of the chair.
The girl’s luggage was merely the normal amount, which clearly matched her noble status, yet no one could say it was shabby.
But the focus now was not on this.
— Patricia was leaving.
Her work in Greenwich had concluded and, as an important member of the Nicholas family, she had to return to Springs in a timely manner.
Patricia bore responsibilities tied to her status.
This had been decided long ago.
She packed her belongings methodically and with great care.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, the girl caught sight of Ronald’s eyes.
"Ronald, you look a bit like you have dark circles. Didn’t you sleep well last night?"
Wasn’t it a sleepless night?
Last night I actually hit the jackpot!
Though he silently grumbled internally, Ronald hesitated for a moment before replying. After pondering for a few seconds, he put on a smile, and in the end, chose not to disclose his discovery from the night before.
"Wasn’t the party last night exhausting?"
"After all the ruckus of the night, it was probably the worst night of rest I’ve had recently."
Hearing this, Patricia laughed quite happily.
"You, I was praising you last night."
"Here, this is for you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Patricia immediately took a small bottle from the box and threw it over.
Ronald caught it steadily in his hand and then looked at it carefully.
It was a colorless glass bottle the size of a mascara container, still with about three-quarters of a pale yellow liquid inside. Without a label or a plaque, Ronald naturally couldn’t understand exactly what it contained.
But considering the current topic...
"Patricia, is this for removing dark circles?"
"No, it isn’t," Patricia continued packing her luggage without turning her head and explained, "I’ve never prepared anything for dark circles."
"This thing is called Spirit Water, a potion for invigorating the mind."
"If I feel sluggish while I am out on business, I just open the cap and take a sniff. Besides invigorating, it also helps suppress mild headaches, and it’s quite effective."
Ronald immediately expressed his gratitude,
He carefully put the Spirit Water into his pocket while Patricia finished packing her luggage.
With a ’click,’ she locked her modest-sized suitcase.
She picked up a decorative sword and hung it on the buckle at her waist.
Then she put on her final coat.
At that moment, Patricia’s appearance was exactly the same as when Ronald had first seen her.
Her slightly smiling expression revealed her personality.
As assertive as ever.
Her gaze locked on Ronald, Patricia then said,
"Alright, I should go now."
Saying this, Ronald extended his right hand and picked up Patricia’s neatly packed suitcase.
The girl had packed her luggage so well that he barely felt any movement inside as he lifted it.
They went downstairs to say goodbye to Mrs. Hudson.
The two called a carriage and soon arrived at the Greenwich Train Station.
The staff there naturally hadn’t completely forgotten Ronald after just over a month.
However, upon seeing Patricia with him at the station,
The staff didn’t feel like coming over to greet them.
Subsequently, Ronald and Patricia walked through the corridor and onto the platform.
The East Wind’s arrival time at Greenwich was in the morning after handing the suitcase to the attendant for delivery, Patricia, before getting on the train, turned her head toward Ronald with an expectant look:
"Ronald, see you in Springs?"
Ronald nodded seriously and immediately responded,
"Yeah, see you in Springs."
Getting the answer she wanted, the girl immediately turned and boarded the train.
There wasn’t a single hint of hesitation in the background.
White steam hissed, spewing out as Ronald watched the East Wind gradually leave the platform, involuntarily shivering—a shiver his current physical condition shouldn’t have needed.
Ronald laughed wryly at himself.
Watching her leave, he slowly walked over to the vendor and bought a loaf of bread for a few Nars.
Sitting on a bench, he finished the cheap bread that served as his lunch and threw the wrapper into the nearest trash bin.
Then, somewhat like and somewhat different from over a month ago,
He left the platform alone.