Chapter 3

"If you ever need help, wear this cloak and come to Porter Manor to find me. I've already made arrangements for you."

With that, Tiffany turned and left.

I remained crouched where I was. I never once reached for the thick wool cloak she had left behind. I was cold. However, I wanted to go home even more. I could not accept her kindness. I did not want to owe anyone ever again.

After Tiffany left, I stayed outside Johnson Manor until night fell. One by one, the lights along the street went dark. However, Sheila never came back.

Not long afterward, one of the footmen who had left with her hurried back to the manor to retrieve a bank draft. As he passed me, he sneered.

"Some people really should know their place. Lady Sheila is spending the next few days with Prince Keith at the finest hotel in the royal capital. She's not coming back. Oh, and she sent me here to get money for His Highness's celebration tonight.

"The entire fireworks show, along with every glowing lantern, is her gift to Prince Keith. Surely, you know now who's most important to her."

With a smug smile, he walked away.

Slowly, I lifted my head. Brilliant fireworks burst across the night sky one after another. Countless glowing lights drifted upward, while hundreds of floating lanterns glided peacefully down the river, disappearing into the distance.

For a moment... I saw Sheila's radiant smile.

"Elliot, I bought every firework display in the royal capital just for you. Go take a look."

Without thinking, I started walking toward her. However, when my mind cleared... the people standing on the bridge were Sheila and Keith.

Keith leaned gently against her shoulder. Together, they set a lantern out onto the river. The way Sheila looked at him was filled with tenderness, as though no one else existed in the world.

Maybe I had stared for too long, but Sheila finally noticed me. When our eyes met, the warmth in her gaze vanished instantly. She whispered something to Keith before walking straight toward me.

The next second, her fingers clamped painfully around my wrist.

"Didn't I tell you to stay as far away from me as possible? Who permitted you to come here?"

Pain shot through my wrist.

Without the slightest mercy, she shoved me backward several steps. She was afraid Keith would see me. Just as she was about to warn me again, Keith gently slipped his arm around hers. His eyes had already begun to redden.

"Sheila, don't treat Elliot like this. Before I returned to the capital, I looked into everything. I know you've kept Elliot by your side these past three years because he looks a little like me.

"I also know that you've turned down every proposal because you've been waiting for me to come back. I don't blame you. However, Elliot is innocent."

Keith looked at me with sympathy. "Look at him. He's dressed so lightly and he looks freezing. I also heard that he hasn't spent a single coin of your money in the past three years. Earlier, when we released our lanterns, I forgot to write a wish on one of them.

"I heard you're an excellent swimmer, Elliot. Would you help me retrieve it? I'll pay you ten gold coins. That should be enough to buy yourself a new wool cloak."

He looked completely sincere as if he truly wanted to help me. He was asking the man who had unknowingly taken his place to dive into an icy river and fetch something for him, but somehow, he was the one with tears in his eyes.

Sheila immediately wiped the moisture from the corner of his eye. She let out a helpless sigh. "Keith, you're just too kind."

However, if he were truly kind... why would he ask me to jump into a freezing river when he could clearly see how pale I was and how badly I was trembling? It was the middle of winter. The river was bitterly cold. If I went in, I would definitely get sick.

I did not want to agree. However, just as I turned to leave, Sheila grabbed my hand again. Her voice was colder than the winter wind.

"Haven't you always said you wanted to repay my kindness? Then this is my 98th wish. I want you to do as Keith asks and bring back that lantern."

She leaned in slightly, her voice full of warning. "If you refuse... you can forget about ever completing the last two wishes."

She had always believed that my promise to repay her was nothing more than an excuse to cling to her, so she was certain she could control me forever.

What she did not know was that I still remembered what had happened a year ago.

It had been the height of summer. Just to make her smile, I jumped into a lake to pick a blooming white water lily for her. Instead of being happy, she scolded me, "I don't ever want you putting yourself in danger."

The moment Keith heard the word 'wish', he froze.

"So... Elliot is really only doing all this to repay your kindness?"