Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 572 - 346: Helping Others for Pleasure

Upon hearing the good news, the woman's face also became much rosier: "If Triss and Tessie knew about this, imagine how happy they'd be."

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

At this point, the woman couldn't help but choke up: "Ma'am, you don't know how many friends we've lost recently. Some had finally saved up some money, only to be robbed, and many went to sleep only to find their bodies stiff the next morning. Yorick doesn't feel good about it either; several times, acquaintances and friends from the village came to him for help, and he coldly refused them." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

As she spoke, she couldn't help but burst into tears: "I buried little Tessie with my own hands. If Yorick had agreed to lend them some money back then, maybe little Tessie wouldn't have frozen to death."

Yorick gently patted his sobbing wife.

He did not explain why he was unwilling to be generous; these days, no one has it much better than anyone else. Once you start giving, more people will come asking, and refusing them inevitably leads to animosity.

As a father, a husband, he had to prioritize his responsibilities.

The woman softly whimpered and couldn't help but cough: "Cough—sorry, Yorick. I didn't mean to blame you, I'm just... I'm just really sad."

Lavinia softly said: "You're a kind person. You'll certainly get better."

"Thank you for your blessing, beautiful lady."

Yorick also sincerely expressed his gratitude, then said: "I'll put together a list for you as soon as possible. What's the selection criteria?"

"Honesty, reliability, kindness. In short, as long as the character is acceptable; life will be collective there in the future. If troublemakers mix in, it's bad for everyone."

After Lavinia spoke, she added, "Yorick, I will pay you thirty Lira as compensation for not working tomorrow but collecting the list."

As she spoke, she reached for her purse.

Yorick quickly said: "Please, please take your hand back. Just grant us some minimal dignity. If we demand trivial payment for work from a benefactor who has already shown us benevolence, then we truly are as lowly as dust."

Losa also smiled and said: "You're not well-off right now, so take it back."

Lavinia's movement paused, and she said with slight apology: "Alright."

...

Leaving the alley.

Losa teased with a smile: "If we had enough money to open a large glass factory or a textile mill, we could accommodate more vagrants rather than being so tight as we are now."

When Lavinia first met, though spending money wasn't reckless, she belonged to those who didn't care much about expenses.

Upon meeting again today, she began to penny-pinch.

In Sea God Square, full of small vendors, she hadn't even been willing to spend three Lira on a snack, and the roasted nuts Losa bought her, she finished only when entering the arena.

Lavinia said earnestly: "I've said, it's not needed."

"Judge Ma'am, are you sure you won't seriously consider it? Those heartless rich, they don't need so much money. Spending it on poor people who need it more, wouldn't that be good?"

Lavinia completely ignored Losa's twisted logic, walked on her own on the snow-covered road, making a crunching sound.

"Well Judge Ma'am, if I got hold of a large sum of money through theft, and decided to participate in your cause, would you personally send me to jail?"

Lavinia's steps slightly paused.

She hesitated for a long time and said: "I don't know."

In all fairness, she really wanted to say no, but having Losa steal money and give it to her was no different from doing it herself?

But would she really have the heart to send this friend she found so congenial, even though barely acquainted, to court, and possibly prison?

She raised her head, her brown eyes full of seriousness.

"Losa, I need some time to think."

Losa smiled, nodding: "Alright."

In his view, Lavinia was quite stubborn; as a judge, her sense of justice was strong, but the laws in the city-states under the Wolf Race often maintained the ruling class's interests as "evil laws."

At this point, sticking to the laws became counter to justice.

Lavinia suddenly asked: "Losa, what kind of person is Miss Jeanne?"

"Ah, this..."

Losa wasn't sure where to begin.

Because the first adjective that came to mind was "very smooth."

"Haven't you interacted much with her?"

"Not really, she even lent me the Holy Spear's Power, if I said we aren't close, you wouldn't believe it. But how can I say this, she's different from how most people, including you, might imagine."

An involuntary gentle smile appeared on Losa's face: "She loves drinking, sometimes talks slickly, likes teasing pretty girls, often sits on the table with a bottle in a very uncouth manner, and seems to get along with everyone, has an extraordinary intuition on the battlefield..."

Losa continued to chatter on.

Lavinia listened attentively, occasionally making a comment or two.

"Losa, you seem to really like Miss Jeanne, right?"

Losa paused briefly and candidly admitted: "Indeed, I really like her. To be exact, it's rare to find someone who doesn't like her. If you meet her, you should like her too."

"Except for Furinjira."

He silently added, the little Furinjira seemed to have a poor relationship with all the women around her, except for Cheliniya.

"I mean the kind of liking between a man and a woman."

"Yes."

Lavinia sighed a little relief, though a touch of disappointment passed in her heart, it was still more of a candid emotion.

Admittedly, Losa seemed to her like one of those rare men who, despite being newly acquainted, felt very easy to get along with, making people want to get closer, but she hadn't considered finding a boyfriend at all.

To her, there were many things more important than matters between men and women, more worthy of her energy.

Since Losa said so, she no longer needed to worry about the bother if one day Losa confesses to her.

Losa teased: "Your reaction would hurt me."

Lavinia, somewhat sheepish, smiled and asked: "Then what reaction should I have? Deep regret? Heartbroken? How long have we known each other, you're so confident in your charm?"

"There should be at least some minor regret."

The two walked side by side, chatting as they went.

The snow soon covered both their shoulders, brims of their hats.

"I'm almost there. Thank you for accompanying me today; otherwise, I'd probably have to work late."

At night, the probability of single women encountering an accident was quite high, and Lavinia, with her slender figure even if her face was indistinct, appealed more than average women.

"You're welcome, Judge Ma'am."

She turned her head, with bangs dropping, curiously asked: "You know my name, why do you always call me that?"

Losa laughed and said: "Always using full names doesn't sound friendly enough."

"You can call me Nia."

"Alright, Nia."

They exchanged smiles.

"Well, this is it."

Lavinia pointed to an apartment building up ahead, said: "I live on the fourth floor, third room on the left, you can come find me here if you need anything, and if I'm not here, I'll be at the office."

Losa also wrote down the location of his temporary residence and handed it to Lavinia.

"Goodnight, Nia."

"Goodnight, Losa."

They waved their hands, turned their backs, and walked away from each other.