Page 205 of DATE
"Twelve gold coins!" he offered, trying to make the price seem reasonable. "I can’t go any lower!"
"And what did the boy look like?" Leonardo frowned. "Was he curly-haired?"
"Yes, curly-haired, and quite cute," the vendor clicked his tongue. "Could be some illegitimate child selling his father’s things."
As they walked back with the pen, both were silent.
Hedy hadn’t expected Daoreno to have stolen her pen—such a small child not only knew how to sneak into a bedroom and rummage through things, but it seemed he had sold it off the same day.
How could such a thing happen?
She carefully put the pen away and explained to Leonardo, "When we get back, don’t punish him right away."
Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We’ll explain it to him properly, and he should understand his mistake."
Hedy nodded in agreement.
As they entered the house, a sudden noise from the bedroom caught their attention—something had been knocked over.
Hedy instinctively hurried inside and found the boy standing by the bedpost, panicked, with something clearly bulging out from his clothes.
Hedy furrowed her brow and spoke, "Daoreno, we know what you're doing."
The little boy began to tremble, as if recalling the times he had been harshly punished, and he whispered, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Leonardo looked at him with concern and sighed. "Take it out, little devil."
For some reason, the way Leonardo referred to him as "littledevil" sounded a bit indulgent and helpless in Hedy's ears.
Did Leonardo truly just think the boy was mischievous?
The boy carefully pulled out a small pocket watch he had hidden in his clothes and placed it carefully on the table.
Before Hedy could speak, the boy began to sob quietly, tears flowing down his face.
"I'm sorry... I just wanted to show it to my father..."
"Little devil, you know this is wrong, right?" Leonardo crouched down and gently patted his head, his tone warm yet serious. "You can't take things that aren't yours, and you definitely can't hide them."
Hedy gestured for him to come over to her and asked another question, "Daoreno, have you taken anything else?"
The boy's crying intensified, and he trembled as he sniffled. "No... No."
Hedy frowned and took the pen from her pocket. "Then what is this?"
The boy's expression turned to one of panic, and he stepped back as if he expected to be punished. "I don't know, madam, please don’t punish me..."
Hedy took a deep breath. "Daoreno, crying won’t solve anything."
"I know what you’ve done, but no matter the reason, you can't do bad things."
The boy cried even harder, frantically wiping his tears. "I haven't seen it, I don't know what you're talking about, I'm really sorry..."
He looked so pitiful and helpless, like an angel tormented by a demon, his pretty face covered in tears.
Leonardo looked at her with some reluctance, but before he could speak and try to smooth things over, she stopped him.
"I'll give you another chance," Hedy said seriously. "You need to take responsibility for your actions."
