It turns out Lady Yelena wanted to give Ian some advice.
"Don't worry, I have enough money to spend. All my classmates at school are good people. They love to buy my handmade goods, which has allowed me to make quite a fortune."
Ian said this while taking out a wad of pounds he had prepared in advance. To make it seem more realistic, the pounds were of small denominations and not exactly brand new.
However.
This still sparked some suspicion in Lady Yelena.
"I didn't know you make handmade goods?" She looked at the little guy with skeptical eyes and didn't take the pounds Ian offered.
"Of course, I learned upon entering school—I have a pretty good aptitude for it." Ian forced himself to show a sincere look, with not a hint of guilt in his tone.
"That's true, a noble school always teaches students all sorts of strange skills." Lady Yelena seemed to believe him, but still didn't take Ian's pounds.
"Keep it yourself, you'll need money for many things in the future."
Lady Yelena affectionately patted Ian on the back of the head.
She continued to walk forward with Ian.
The sun reflected weak light on the puddles in the street, like slices of mirror embedded in the cobblestone paths, reflecting this city still covered in dust after the rain.
"What are we having for dinner tonight?"
Ian proactively changed the topic.
"Of course, your favorite carrot and cabbage stew."
Lady Yelena responded with a warm laugh.
The sunset was like molten gold pouring onto the winding paths.
Dean Yelena and Ian's silhouettes elongated in the evening glow, and the little guy walked on familiar streets, feeling unprecedented calm and peace inside.
It was as if the anxiety from months of not being able to enter the Misty Illusion Realm had been alleviated.
Home possesses such magical power.
It can smooth out many negative emotions within every traveler returning home.
"The kids have been talking about you all the time." Lady Yelena insisted on helping Ian with his luggage, choosing the largest one, with hopes of taking care of the little friend while it also carried a personal reluctance to acknowledge her age.
Compared to the Dean Ian saw during his childhood, Lady Yelena's appearance had acquired many wrinkles, her once-golden hair now turned into a more practical grayish short style.
Years of hard work and burdens have made this woman, just past fifty, look much older than her actual age, especially those hands which seemed like a shriveled tree with wrinkles all over.
"I often dream of them too." Ian dragged the apparently light but actually quite heavy and dangerous suitcase, continually following Lady Yelena.
Compared to before he went to Hogwarts, the dean of the orphanage seemed even more slender and aged; she, born into a devout nun family, dedicated her life to one orphan after another, yet that didn't slow down the passage of time on her.
"After you went to school, I've had less of your help. Those naughty kids have driven me mad several times; without your discipline, a few troublemakers are constantly stirring up chaos everywhere."
"Luckily, I successfully sent them all away; mischievous little ones are always more favored by adoption families, which I think is somehow linked to that book you left them." Lady Yelena talked about usual happenings, but a fleeting glance made the little fellow bow his head sheepishly.
He indeed left the young ones a "Parent Selection Guide" before leaving the orphanage for Hogwarts, explaining in detail how to identify a loving family and win adults' fondness, aiming to help his little siblings find good homes.
Staying in an orphanage presents little future prospects; being adopted by good families is the best outcome for most orphans. Couples eligible for adoption are generally middle class.
"Mainly it's their own luck, it has little to do with me..." Ian attempted to argue, but Lady Yelena evidently did not believe his words.
"Anyway, the book you left definitely helped the children a lot, at least teaching them how to get along with adults. I think you are the smartest of the little ones in our institute."
Lady Yelena patted Ian's head and led him towards the orphanage. She didn't have her own car; the old car used when picking Ian up was from a kindly neighbor, an old man.
Ian always felt the neighbor old man had a crush on Dean Yelena, but he never caught evidence or had the chance to foster such a potential late-life romance.
Though nuns tend to dedicate their lives to their faith, Lady Yelena, having witnessed many sufferings in the human world, no longer held much of her original belief in God.
If not for continuing to receive subsidies from the church, Ian thought Lady Yelena would have long returned to secular life; her ideology was always inclined towards pragmatism.
"The smartest kid... I heard you say similar praise about Catherine and Mia, oh, and Daniel. You also praised him when he collected maggots from the toilet intending to offer everyone some meat, yet behind his back you told me to get all the maggots into the mud in the backyard."