TSBSFVW 09

CHAPTER 09……………

A Single Pyramid. When You’re Obsessed with Scones (1)

Maurice Herzog had been in a foul mood since morning.

If everything had gone according to plan, he should have been down at the harbor by now.
The ship he had been waiting for over half a year was due to arrive, and he had been looking forward to it for days.

But instead of being at the harbor, he was sitting in the drawing room of his mansion.
The reason was an unexpected request that had arrived last night.

When dealing with nobles, it was hardly unusual to be forced into accommodating unreasonable demands.

It’s just that I didn’t expect it from someone like this.

He hadn’t known Count Meyer for very long.

He had made various attempts to become friendly, but the man had always remained curt and cold, so ignoring a sudden summons was difficult.

Maurice needed more connections and more information.

The Meyer family, one of the old noble houses, was a target he absolutely had to win over for the sake of the future.

Focusing on Count Meyer’s usefulness, Maurice quickly smoothed away his irritation at the change in plans.

At the sound of footsteps, Maurice rose to his feet, smiling slyly like a fox.

“Good day, Count.”

Count Meyer entered, offering only a glance in place of a greeting. He was still the same taciturn, unsociable man.

But he wasn’t alone. Behind his broad shoulders was a small head.

The Count briefly introduced his niece, then said:

“I’m not forcing you. Whether you agree to this deal or not is entirely your choice, and it won’t affect our relationship.”

The lack of emotion in those cool blue eyes made it clear he meant what he said.

In fact, Count Meyer simply introduced her and left the drawing room.

The girl left behind spoke up.

“Hello. My name is Ellie McClure.”

Even though she was alone with a strange man she had never met before, Ellie McClure remained completely composed, her expression unchanged.

Without hesitation, as if she had prepared in advance, she calmly introduced herself and then fluently laid out her business plan.

Her business item was bread.

She doesn’t know the world yet. No one’s going to buy bread made by a young girl.

Her concept was vague.

It was practically unplanned—relying solely on the marketability of the bread she herself baked.

With such a plan, even a promising product would fail.

Or is it just an excuse?

Perhaps it was simply a pretext to escape a hellish household.

Maurice stared at the girl.

As a collector of all kinds of rumors from the Kingdom of Rosso, he knew who she was.

Ellie McClure.

The only daughter and legitimate heir of Duke McClure—but no one had ever seen her face.

The rumors, on the other hand, were endless. Far too endless.

They said she was so ugly she couldn’t be allowed outside. That she was so fat she couldn’t fit into any dress. That she was mute and couldn’t speak a word.

Servants of the McClure household subtly affirmed these rumors. As a result, the tales of the “Pig Princess” had spread as if they were almost the truth.

Normally, even favorable gossip about a duke’s daughter would be silenced, but here, people spoke freely without fear.

They already knew there would be no repercussions no matter how much they insulted her—in fact, some believed Duke McClure would be pleased the more his daughter was slandered.

Calling her a pig is going too far, though.

To Maurice’s eyes, Ellie McClure was simply a slightly plump but very cute young girl.

Her clothes were admittedly shabby.

Did she steal a maid’s uniform to wear here?

No one would take her for a noble lady.

She looked like nothing more than a kitchen maid.

Her plump, round cheeks gave her a cute appearance, but her expression was stiff.

Unlike her expressionless face, her hands were damp with nervousness, idly rubbing her skirt. Feeling his gaze, Ellie’s eyebrows twitched. Maurice gave her a habitual smile.

But seeing his smile, Ellie frowned as if she had spotted something suspicious.

Maurice couldn’t help but chuckle.

No one had ever frowned at his smile before.

With her sullen expression, the girl quietly continued explaining her plan, then let out a small sigh.

“I turned nineteen this year, so next year my grandmother’s trust will be passed down to me. Even if the business fails, I’ll be able to repay the loan.”

“Being the Count’s niece, I wasn’t worried about that.”

“The Count only introduced us. He’s not going to repay the loan for me, so I think it’s better to worry about it anyway.”

“Hmm.”

“You’re not running a charity either, so you can set the interest rate as high as you like.”

Instead, she asked him to be her backer and sign the lease for the shop.

“If Duke McClure decides to look for you, he’ll find you quickly. Why not go to another city altogether?”

“…I don’t want to. And besides, he won’t look for me.”

“Well, you never know.”

“If I disappear, I’m guessing he’ll just… change the name on the family register to—oh, say—Ilay or something.”

Maurice unconsciously nodded.

It was exactly the sort of thing Duke McClure would do—replace a missing legitimate daughter with an illegitimate child in the family register.

Numbers flickered through Maurice’s mind.

Compared to the inheritance Count Meyer had mentioned, setting up a small bakery in an alley for her was nothing.

Frankly, it was profitable.

If it meant earning a favor from Count Meyer, it wouldn’t be a loss even if he never recovered the investment.

“You said I can set the interest rate as high as I want?”

They settled on an interest rate of 40%, and Maurice signed the contract with Ellie.

As a bonus, he got a frosty glare as if she were looking at a complete scoundrel for swindling a minor.

She’ll have to learn not to speak carelessly about money.

Adults are always cowards.

The sample loaf of bread she gave him was, unexpectedly, extremely good.

Soft, chewy crumb, mild flavor, and a lingering sweetness that was almost addictive.

It seemed just as good as a snack as it was as a meal.

It didn’t fill the stomach like meat, but it had a charm that made you keep thinking about it.

“This might actually sell well.”

“Yes… indeed.”

Maurice smirked.

His adjutant, tasting the bread for the first time, had an expression Maurice had never seen before. His eyes practically burned with the desire to snatch the remaining bread from Maurice’s hands and stuff it in his own mouth.

The man probably didn’t even realize his fingers were twitching.

Pulling the plate toward himself, Maurice said:

“Maybe a great product just fell into our laps.”

“It tastes good, sure, but I’m not sure I’d call it great…”

“Fitz, stop staring at the bread when you talk.”

“Ahem. Hm.”

Adjutant Fitz hid his embarrassment with a cough.

“It might become popular among commoners… but to make real money, you’d have to get into the nobles’ purses. I think their refined tastes might find this too plain.”

“That’s true. But this is just the prototype. There will be more varieties. I think it’s worth some expectation.”

“When you said you were giving a young girl a shop, I thought you had finally decided to walk the path of a degenerate…”

“….”

“But it turns out you actually saw investment potential. I’m relieved. Otherwise, I was going to submit my resignation.”

“Uh… right…”

Maurice couldn’t reveal the truth about Ellie “McClure.”

“If we coax her into making something that would appeal to imperial nobles, it could be quite useful.”

“If you’re not going to eat that, just hand it over.”

Fitz’s hands were already taking the plate, and Maurice let him. He didn’t have much of an appetite compared to Fitz.

“There’s a message from the Empire. They say they’re looking forward to meeting you.”

“Really? That’s something to look forward to.”

“Just how many lovers do you have…?”

“Hahaha. Not a lover.”

“Ah, yes, of course…”

With his mouth stuffed full of bread, Fitz muttered coldly. Maurice let it slide with a laugh.

Will it sell, or won’t it?

The important thing was marketability.

Maurice Herzog was a merchant.

The Mammoth Trading Company had already succeeded in trade, but he wanted more.

The world revolved around money. There was no value that couldn’t be measured in gold.

It was money that allowed a person to truly live like a human being.

The “Pig Princess” Ellie McClure looked like a good product. That’s how she appeared to him.

And… she’s cute, too.