The Knight from the Fairytales-Chapter 19: Warmth

The wind and snow outside showed no signs of stopping, instead growing increasingly fierce with a tendency to expand further.
Beihai carried the little girl to the shop entrance and pushed the door open directly.
Finding shops still open at this hour wasn't easy, as it was already the eve of Christmas Eve.
Converted to local terms, this was equivalent to New Year's Eve. During the New Year period, shops closing was perfectly normal, which was why the Little Match Girl,
on one hand, could only huddle in alleyways attempting to warm herself. On the other hand, she couldn't enter shops because their doors were closed, and even if she got inside, without heating measures it would be no different from outside.
All she could do was witness the warm lights in other people's homes and the joy brought by Christmas.
The shop owner sat alone, boredly trimming his fingernails. Unlike the environment outside, the shop owner only felt somewhat irritable.
Under this irritable mood, he could only perform some stress-relieving actions.
The door was suddenly shoved open, but the shop owner paid little mind, merely lifting his head lazily to see the Knight who had barged in.
He immediately stood up in an instant, his body unconsciously straightening rigidly from tension, mixed with some delight.
The tension came from the other party being fully armored and even carrying weapons, while the delight was simple - someone this lavishly equipped with complete gear, if the Knight Lord just let a little slip through his fingers, he'd probably eat his fill.
His slightly chubby face immediately revealed an ingratiating smile as he rubbed his hands together and hurried to the Knight's side, casually grabbing a wool blanket from the heated brick bed.
"Dear guest, please don't stand at the doorway, come further inside where it's warmer."
As the shop owner spoke, he smoothly took the little girl from the Knight Lord's arms, then covered the girl's hands and her small feet that had lost all sensation from freezing outside with the warm blanket.
Beihai didn't stop him either. Although the outside cold had little effect on him, his silver armor provided no warmth whatsoever.
On the contrary, because of the external cold, the metal on his body had also become somewhat uncomfortable and hard against his skin.
"Hmm, not bad, you've got some observational skills."
"Where? This is all as it should be, as it should be. Please come in quickly."
Beihai didn't stand on ceremony and walked straight in, similarly giving the owner instructions: "Get this little girl properly settled."
As he spoke, he took several gold coins from his chest and placed them on the table.
Now he definitely needed to offer some sweeteners, or at least let the other party see the potential rewards.
Sure enough, upon seeing the gold coins, the owner's smile became even more exaggerated, his eyes completely squinting shut. He wasn't in a hurry to immediately pocket the coins.
On the contrary, he directly embraced the little girl while simultaneously moving around the shop to fetch several pieces of clothing and pretty shoes.
He didn't dare simply place the little girl on the floor, after all the ground was cold.
Though the little girl was currently covered in dirt and dust, the owner paid no mind - this was no beggar, this was a little princess.
Beihai, seeing how severely her feet were frozen,
"Don't bother with shoes for now, just have them ready. Prepare some warm water for her to soak in."
The owner naturally wouldn't refuse, quickly agreeing. Although he was just a merchant who could completely refuse, even exclude these services, but with money to be made, only a fool wouldn't take it.
If given copper coins, even in large quantities, the owner would consider it but wouldn't show a pleasant expression. For silver coins, he'd bend over immediately to comply, though inwardly somewhat dismissive. For gold coins, he'd kneel to get the job done.
The little girl's tattered clothes were replaced. What she wore now, while not as gorgeous and beautiful as a princess's, was better than ordinary households, and most importantly could provide warmth.
However, the events happening now left the little girl unable to collect her thoughts for a long time, because everything occurred like a dream.
The warm room and blanket, the kind Knight, and the busy shop owner - it all felt like an illusion.
Just earlier, she had been shivering while walking the streets, with thick paper wrapping her matches layer upon layer in her tattered pocket.
Other families were gathered together for reunion around stoves eating reunion meals, but no one bought her matches, not even one.
The little girl felt only exhaustion, hunger, and cold as she wandered through the heavily snow-covered streets, pleading for someone to buy her matches so she could return home. Even if that house was drafty, it was far better than outside.
Unfortunately she hadn't sold a single match, and she'd even lost her shoes. The swirling heavy snow kept falling, and when those white fluffy snowflakes settled on her hair, it made her appear even more delicate and lovely.
But now the snow on her head was gone, her entire situation had drastically changed - everything happened so suddenly that the little girl felt somewhat awkward and uneasy.
She didn't dare speak, didn't dare move, afraid that all this was just fantasy and illusion.
However, these wonderful things still made her unable to resist reaching out.
When her slender fingers touched the blanket, it made her entire body tremble slightly.
Just then, a bucket was hastily carried in. The shop owner patted the snowflakes that had fallen on him, though he didn't mind them much.
He controlled the water temperature perfectly, first pouring boiled water into the bucket, then adding cold water to balance it. When carrying the bucket inside, being blown by the wind and snow outside instantly cooled the scalding hot water.
Holding the bucket in his left hand and a pot in his right, after arranging matters for the little girl, he brought the pot to Beihai's side to prepare a pot of hot tea.
Beihai felt quite comfortable inwardly and took out several more gold coins.
Beihai didn't really want to give them, but there was no helping it since this fellow indeed knew how to handle people and indeed made Beihai feel comfortable.
"You're quite clever indeed."
After this exaggerated praise, he gave several more gold coins and waved his hand. The owner immediately understood and turned to leave without any hesitation.
"Warm enough now? With no outsiders around, why not chat with me?"
Clearly with the owner absent, the entire shop contained only Beihai and this little girl.
The little girl wasn't stupid either - just this single sentence made her body involuntarily tremble twice. She wanted to say something but felt too timid and introverted.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. As a Knight, helping the weak is only proper. On the contrary, I should even be thanking you."
Beihai's words weren't false - helping this little girl would definitely yield substantial rewards.
After all, she was just a little girl - helping wouldn't be too difficult, just a simple matter, but the rewards would certainly far exceed what Beihai had given. So thanking this little girl wasn't wrong either.
"Ah, no."
"No? Enough now, what's your name?"