“Edna, wake up…” George shook Edna gently, rousing her from her sleep. “Eh? Wha..?”

“We’re here,” George told her. Edna sat up straight, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. “Oh…thank you, George…” with Jason’s help, she was escorted back to her home, or what could be called her home, with her items in hand. As they returned to the carriage, Jason stopped. “Young master…I perhaps see what has made you desire that girl.”

“D-d-d-desire?!” George’s voice went up an octave. “W-what do you mean?!”

“…so even you do not realize, is that it? How charming. But young Master, I must let you know…” Jason turned to regard George with a stony expression. “…that girl is the lowest of the low, and you, the highest of the high. No matter how you wish it to change, you can never associate yourself with the likes of her…”

“S-so?!” George said angrily, clenching his fists together. Jason smiled bitterly. “It’s…a viewpoint I disagree with, but that’s how nobles work. Incidentally, you know you can’t keep making excuses forever, right? Your parents are busy people- we will have to leave the capital soon.”

“S-s-shoot!” He had totally forgotten!

“…you even forgot something like that? She really has changed you.” They got into the carriage, and before they were off, Jason mumbled a few choice words over his shoulder. “...I hope you’re ready for when that time comes.”

A few more weeks passed, until that fated day that George had feared approached. “Edna, look, I, um…” Edna tilted her head. “What is it, Georgie?” by now, she had taken to using her nickname for him whenever she could, and he was no longer embarrassed by it. She fell silent as he told he about his family having to leave.

“You see, we, were, um, my parents had finished the transaction a while ago, but I’ve been…making excuses to them, to keep us here longer.” Edna quietly rocked back and forth on the soles of her feet, quickly putting two and two together. A slight smile touched her face.

“…so our meetings before weren’t quite a coincidence?”

“Urkh….” His face was absolutely red, like a tomato.

“Georgie…I don’t mind, to be honest,” Edna told him softly.

“Eh?”

“About you lying, of course!”

“Really?”

“You…wanted to spend time with me, that was why, right?”

“Uh…”

“…I’ll also tell you something, George.” For once, she had not used his nickname, perhaps an obvious tell that she knew how severe the situation was for him.

“…I’m quite happy to spend time with you, George. You’ve…bought me many things, yes, but mommy told me I shouldn’t be so ‘easy’, whatever that means. You showed me a lot of things around town, and I’m truly grateful…” her breathing grew a bit rapid, though George did not notice. He was already beginning to cry, gazing at her through tearstained vision.

“So…no matter…what…please don’t….forget me….” George stared at her. Despite the sad look on her face, she was not crying. For her to be so strong…to not even cry…! He was a failure of a man! Emboldened by a strong urge, he grabbed both of her hands in his. “Edna! I swear I’ll come back! So please…wait for me!” he barked. Edna looked stunned, her cheeks flushing, and then a sad smile grew on her face, her chest tightening as she hugged him. And so, the two friends hugged each other tightly, both crying, though Edna's eyes remained dry even as she sobbed, unable to shed a single tear. "Then...let's meet again, when we're older!"

“Definitely! I’ll show you the world, no, everything, as soon as I can!”

And thus, the curtains closed on the relationship between the beggar and the noble.

A few hours later, Veronica saw how wretched Edna looked. “What happened?” she asked. Edna quietly told her mother about the events that had transpired a little while ago. “Oh, Edna…I’m so sorry…” Veronica said, saddened. George had brightened their lives quite a bit, in more ways than one. Edna quietly placed a hand on her chest, feeling the necklace he had gotten her.

“…I…will wait for him,” she said softly. Veronica tilted her head. “Oh? A promise?”

“…yes.” Veronica smiled. “I’m glad to hear that then. June came by earlier, maybe if you play with them, it’ll ease your mind?” That brightened Edna up, who nodded. “Y-yeah!”

Try as she might, Edna was quite young at the time she had made her promise. It was inevitable that she might not remember something like a promise, no matter how hard she tried. A few years passed, and she soon turned eight. However, tragedy would soon unfold, and she would once more learn the harsh truth of the world.

Because the life of the destitute was never easy. Edna had been incrediblt lucky up until now, but that luck had run out...for if George had shown her the Good side of Life, then the next person to enter her life would show her the bad side of life.