Clop, clop, clop.
Hooves stepped forward, wheels rolled. Klein had activated his Spirit Vision and turned to look, but he didn't manage to see the gentle and sweet young lady. His eyes were filled with only the scene of the brown carriage compartment moving forward.
At this point, all the passengers who intended to board the public carriage at this stop had already gotten on. The doors were tightly shut, and it gradually moved away.
Inside the carriage, twenty or thirty people were packed closely together. Their auras overlapped and obscured each other, so in Klein's eyes, they were simply a riot of colors, brilliant and dazzling, truly hard to distinguish.
He silently shook his head, raised a hand to lightly tap his brow, and deactivated his Spirit Vision.
To him, that had been a simple feeling of "if you come across something, help if you can." But since the opportunity was already missed and the situation wasn't very clear, there was no need to keep dwelling on it and delay his own business.
Bathing in the crimson moonlight, Klein strolled back home along Narcissus Street, which was still quite lively at this hour. He saw Melissa sitting at the dining table, bent over her schoolwork under the bright glow of the gas lamp.
She was lightly biting the end of her pen, a slight furrow in her brow, deep in thought.
"Where's Benson?" Klein asked casually.
"Ah..." Melissa looked up, dazed for a few seconds before replying, "He said he went through several districts today, was exhausted and sweaty, and wanted to take a nice bath to relax."
"Alright." Klein chuckled, then suddenly noticed Melissa wearing a long dress he had never seen before.
It was an off-white dress with fashionable leg-of-mutton sleeves. The collar and front edges were trimmed with sheer lace ruffles. Other than that, the design wasn't too elaborate, simple and everyday, perfectly bringing out the youthful vitality of a girl of sixteen or seventeen.
"A new dress?" Klein asked with a smile.
This was an expense he and Benson had firmly insisted on previously.
Melissa hummed in agreement.
"I just got it back from Madame Rochelle. I thought I should try it on since I'll have to wash it anyway."
Klein was taken aback. "Madame Rochelle?"
"Wasn't she their former neighbor?"
Melissa nodded and explained earnestly, "Madame Rochelle is actually a seamstress, but she hasn't been lucky and has to do sewing for people at home to get by. It's, hmm, a bit hard for her. I know she's skilled, and her prices are cheaper than buying from a ladies' hat shop, and it fits well, so I ordered a new dress from her. It only cost 9 shillings 5 pence, and took only a few days. The same style of dress at Harrods would cost a full one pound ten!"
So thrifty... Sis, I know at least half the reason is that you feel sorry for Madame Rochelle... Klein didn't scold Melissa for acting on her own. Instead, he smiled and asked, "When did you go to Harrods department store?"
"That was in Howls Street, near the Divination Club, a place only people at least middle-class could afford."
"..." Melissa was momentarily speechless. After a long while, she said, "It was Selina and Elizabeth who insisted I go with them. Actually, hmm, I actually prefer gears; I prefer places with steam and machinery, hmm."
"It's nice for a girl to visit a department store occasionally, hmm." Klein smiled reassuringly at his sister.
After chatting for a bit, eager to wash off the smell of the bar, he quickly went upstairs to the second floor.
Just as he was about to go into his own bedroom to get a change of clothes, he suddenly heard noise coming from the washroom near the small balcony.
A few seconds later, Benson opened the door and came out, wiping his receding hairline.
"So? Did you compliment Melissa's new dress?" He spotted Klein and asked with a smile.