Mr.
Moretti?
Truman blinked.
He sat up straight and asked Anna.
“Ma’am, are you talking about Mr.
Klein Moretti?”
“My name is Anna.
Do you know Mr.
Moretti too?”
“His divination skills are quite troublesome.
He personally said my fiancé would come back safely, and that if I just waited patiently, good luck would come…”
“I waited patiently at home, but misfortune came one after another.
Even now that I’ve fled to the lower city, I still can’t find peace…”
“If I had given that gentleman a bit more money back then, would he have given me a more definite timeline?”
Anna said with some complexity, raising the scissors to her own throat.
“What are you trying to do?”
Seeing Anna’s action, Truman quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm.
You want to kill yourself, I can understand that, but at least wait until I’ve left, alright?
“I didn’t want to live anyway.
Do you know how painful it is to hide in the lower city every day?”
“There’s always noisy commotion here at night.
I can’t sleep through the whole night.”
“Every time I go out to buy food, I’m afraid of being kidnapped.
I can’t go out to find a job, so I have to stay holed up in this room every day pasting matchboxes.”
“One basket of matchboxes only gets me 2.25 pence.
I couldn’t even finish one basket in a whole day at first.
If I hadn’t saved a few pence, I would have starved to death in this broken room.”
Anna looked at Truman holding her wrist.
She lowered her head, tears streaming down both sides of her cheeks.
“I originally wanted to experience that feeling before I died…”
“Now that the debt collectors are here, I can’t run anymore, and I don’t want to run anymore!
I’d rather fall into their hands than…”
Truman listened to Anna’s choked sobs.
His heart remained undisturbed, without even a trace of sympathy.
Aside from some initial awkwardness and discomfort upon realizing she was one of Trissy’s victims, his gaze remained calm and undisturbed throughout.
Was Anna pitiful?
Were the people living in Iron Cross Street Lower Section pitiful?
Were the people queuing outside the West District Poorhouse every day for relief pitiful?
There were so many people.
“I did see a group that looked like gang members, but they got taken care of because they were blocking my way!”
Truman released Anna’s wrist and said in a steady tone.
“Hmm…
is that so?”
Anna sniffled.
She looked up with red-rimmed eyes at Truman.
“Yes.”
“Pack up and come with me.
I’m in need of a maid at home right now.”
Looking at Anna’s pitiful appearance, Truman decided to change his original plan.
“You’re saying one time isn’t enough, so you’re going to help me pay off my debts?”
Anna said quietly, her head lowered.
“I’m talking about a proper maid!”
“As for those illegal debts?”
“What can they do if we don’t pay?”
Truman explained to Anna which debts she should inherit and which illegal debts she didn’t need to unconditionally take on.
He himself used his door-opening ability to find a hollow wall and temporarily stored the few items that couldn’t be seen in there.
Watching Truman display his extraordinary abilities, Anna felt a bit more confident.
She quickly took out her old light blue dress and changed while Truman had his back turned.
“Are you ready?”
Truman turned around after the rustling sounds behind him stopped.
He saw Anna looking at him nervously and anxiously in her light blue dress.
“Do I look good?”
Anna asked with some anticipation.
“Yes, let’s go.”
“Full-time maid, weekly salary of 1 pound.”
Truman nodded and said to her.
“As long as I have a place to live in peace, even if it’s for free…”
Anna said quietly, her head lowered.
Truman smiled and said nothing.
For a woman like Anna, who had fallen from the middle class to the bottom after a great upheaval, the so-called peaceful life was probably measured against her past life, right?
But it didn’t matter.
Truman only had three requirements for a maid: first, she had to be pretty; second, she had to have a clean background; third, she had to have a proper attitude.
Anna met all three of Truman’s requirements.
A woman who had once lived a very respectable life managing to dress herself in grimy clothes and survive alone in the slums for a while was already quite impressive.
“I rented that house for a month.
After we leave, some other thugs might move in.”
Anna lagged half a step behind Truman and reminded him softly.
The lower city’s security wasn’t great.
If a place wasn’t rented out, it was common for thugs and pickpockets to occupy it at night.
In fact, that’s even better!”
Truman didn’t care whether ordinary people went there.
In fact, that was exactly why he had chosen to hide things there.
The chaotic lower city provided a certain degree of protection against both divination and conventional searches.
Even if some thugs were despicable enough to break through the walls, the curses Truman had left behind would be enough to handle most problems.
“What should I call you?”
Anna asked cautiously.
“Just call me Truman.
I’ll take you to eat first.”
Truman led Anna onto a public carriage and took her to the Silver Crown Restaurant on Daffodil Street.
“Gulp!”
When they arrived at the entrance of this mid-range restaurant, Anna couldn’t help but swallow.
Even in her better days, she hadn’t often eaten at places like this, let alone after eating black bread mixed with sawdust for so long in the lower city.
Anna followed Truman into the restaurant, gazing at his back absentmindedly.
She now felt somewhat grateful to Mr.
Moretti.
If that gentleman hadn’t told her after taking her money that good fortune would come in the future…
Would she have ended up like her mother, unable to bear life’s blows?
“One cream soup pasta, one potato stewed with lamb, and two Desi pies!”
Truman smiled and handed the waiter a 5-penny tip.
Within just five minutes, the dishes were served.
Truman pushed a few plates toward Anna, while he picked up a Desi pie and ate it as he pondered his next acting method.
Truman had originally only planned to find a place in Iron Cross Street to hide Sealed Artifact 2-049 and his astrology crystal ball.
Picking up a maid along the way was purely accidental—or perhaps a pleasant surprise from divination.
The key point was that he had learned from Anna that Klein Moretti had joined the Divination Club.
Truman guessed that the other party had chosen the Seer pathway, which was why he had thought to go to the Divination Club for acting.
Since the other party was doing that, Truman couldn’t conveniently go to the Divination Club as well, or there might be unexpected complications.
“Besides, now that I’ve even hidden my astrology crystal ball, how am I supposed to act?”
Truman was lost in thought.
“Sir, are you bored?”
“Please wait a moment—I’ll finish eating soon!”
Anna felt a bit embarrassed seeing Truman in a daze.
She handed him a newspaper and apologized.
“You can read the newspaper to pass the time!”
Truman glanced at Anna, who was quickly devouring her food.
Now there was less gloom between her brows and more cheerfulness.
He took the newspaper Anna handed him—the Tingen City Honest Citizen—and opened it.
His eyes gradually lit up.