Once Scarlett sat down in the carriage, he closed the door. 

On her way home, she kept worrying about how she would take the dress off alone. That being the case, the maids had dolled her up after much trouble, so she thought she wanted to take a quick stroll down 7th Avenue. 

She saw Andrei after exiting the carriage once she arrived at the watch store. Andrei made a face after noticing Scarlett. “Did you have fun?” 

“Not at all.” 

“What do you mean ‘Not at all’? You sure had a great time dressing up and everything from the looks of it.” 

“... I dressed up because Viktor told me to eat before leaving. It took two hours just doing my hair alone, so it felt like a shame to undo it after only dinner, you know. I will take a short walk and pass cups of coffee to the volunteers now.”  

Andrei took a deep breath as if he wanted Scarlett to notice before reaching his arm out for her to take. 

“I just got off work, so let’s go together. It’s cold, though.” 

“For real?” 

“Yes, yes.” 

“What’s up with you, Andrei? You normally don’t bother doing these things without payment, right?” 

“What are you talking about? If I was that crazy about money, would I work here after being paid such meagre amounts?”

“... Yes, yes. You got your point across. I got it.”    

Even as Scarlett trailed off, she was still slightly cheerful, so she linked her arms with Andrei. Even if the Pitt family was nothing special, as he was the second son of a noble family, he received enough etiquette training. He walked slowly around 7th Avenue while escorting Scarlett. 

As they walked, they saw many sacks lined at the entrance of 7th Avenue with things for the charity gala. It was about time to start sending the items they meticulously gathered during the winter to the slums. Scarlett checked the sacks donated under the Dumfelt name. There were more unused blankets than expected in the Dumfelt bags. It was because Viktor just set everything aside before changing all of the curtains and blankets for each one of his servants. Although Viktor paid for it, the servants were embarrassed because they were grateful to Scarlett. 

In any case, the items would be transported via the tram, and with Mr Powell at the centre, many tram drivers applied and decided to volunteer. 

Andrei put down the charcoal brazier before starting to brew some coffee. After noticing Scarlett had arrived, Charlie and Susan, Powell’s kids, came rushing over in their winter clothes. Their clothes were stuffed with cotton. 

“Scarlet! What’s with the occasion? Why’re you so pretty?” 

“You’re like an angel!” 

At the children’s words, Scarlett awkwardly replied.

“I wore it for a formal dinner. Mm. Well, to have a wonderful meal, that is.” 

“Wow…” 

“Scarlett, you must always dress like this, okay?” 

“That would be too troublesome, though.” 

Scarlett changed the topic because of how bashful she was. 

“I bought coffee.”

“The milk?” 

“Of course, I brought that too.” 

“Wow! Heck yeah!”

The kids were excited at the idea of also having something to drink. 

At that moment, Andrei scolded them. 

“Hey, kids, shouldn’t you be sleeping by now? You won’t grow taller then, you know.” 

“Wrong! I’ll definitely grow taller.” 

“Since dad’s tall, we’re definitely going to be tall too!” 

The kids chimed in one after the other before Susan, seemingly trying to reach the particularly tall Andrei, began leaping upwards. She cajoled. 

“Andrei! Did you! Also! Sleep a lot! When you were a child?” She cried as she jumped.

“Yup.” 

Andrei gave a dry reply before quickly boiling the milk and stirring sugar to melt it to shut the kids up faster. The kids sat close by each other on the donated bags as if they were never noisy in the first place and obediently gulped the milk down. 

Scarlett took that moment to ask Mr Powell, the tram driver. 

“Would it be possible for me to help with tomorrow’s work as well?” 

“Of course. Just having one more hand on deck would be great.” 

Andrei reluctantly remarked. 

“Let me go as well. Since the faster we finish up, the quicker you will return to the shop, Boss.” 

One of the drivers teased him loudly. 

“Not only are you built like a beanpole, but you’re also thin as a stick. You sure you’ll be able to manage?”

The other drivers laughed as Andrei tiredly approached the sacks. He took two as if gauging its weight before taking five and loading the tram. 

The tram drivers were rumoured to be quite strong, and even they had difficulty carrying just two. 

“Oh my, well, this… Where is your strength coming from exactly, huh?” 

“From my arms, of course,” Andrei retorted.

//lmao

 Scarlett thought he must be pretty strong if the tram drivers were surprised. Since powerful men only surrounded her, she never had anyone to make a proper comparison with. She mused to herself once again.  

♔♔♔