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Chapter 24.
Five Breads. Bedbugs Only Disappear When You Burn the House Down (1)
Where on earth did it all go wrong?
Ellie slammed the dough down on the worktable with a loud smack. The sound was as sharp as her force. Startled, Marlina’s eyes grew wide as she stared at Ellie.
It must have been surprising—her strength.
With every thump that rang out, suspicion deepened in Marlina’s gaze.
But Ellie couldn’t stop.
If she didn’t vent this stress somehow, she might explode with fury any moment now.
It’s all my fault… I let greed for money blind me and compromised without thinking…
Who could she blame? Everything was her fault.
But still, Ellie felt wronged.
“Ellie, you’re too noisy!”
“I can’t help it, I’m working! If you don’t like it, you can leave!”
“I don’t want to.”
He wasn’t an eight-year-old child—he was more like a bratty four-year-old. Eight was too generous.
How wonderful it would be if she could just smack that mouth that complained without a shred of awareness. Her stifled chest would finally feel lighter. But, oblivious to her feelings, the source of her frustration just kept whining.
“This place is where I sleep best.”
“Then go upstairs to the second floor.”
“No. I’m hungry too.”
“I gave you bread with jam earlier.”
“I don’t want plain bread, it’s gross. Make me an egg tart.”
“Did you put in an order for that?”
“Of course I did. I made you a brick oven thermometer and a freezer, didn’t I?”
“……”
“You once said you’d treat me as a lifelong customer.”
“I never said—”
“You did.”
She had.
Ellie wanted to slap her own mouth.
But back then, she couldn’t help it. She hadn’t the faintest idea just how great the position of a Tower Master was, but Edmund really was incredible.
With just a wave of his hand, he created a freezer worth hundreds of gold. He toyed with an ordinary thermometer in his palm and then handed her a heat-resistant one, saying it would work even in lava.
In that moment, Edmund hadn’t seemed like a bratty four-year-old but rather a living Buddha.
She could have set up his portrait instead of a goddess statue and offered prayers.
But, as always, the feeling when going into the bathroom and when coming out was never the same. People were like that.
Comforting herself that she wasn’t particularly shameless, Ellie said softly,
“Marlina, I’m really sorry again today…”
“It’s fine. Honestly, I only work four hours, so you don’t really need to feed me.”
“I packed you a lunch box, so please take it with you.”
Normally, when Marlina finished her shift at three, they would share a simple meal together.
Since Marlina also handled the delivery of ingredients that Morris sent, their menu depended on what she brought that day.
But for over two weeks now, Ellie hadn’t eaten with Marlina.
And the reason was none other than Edmund—carrying the grand title of Tower Master, but acting like an idle loafer, a freeloading bedbug who never left.
Ever since the day he fought with Ban, Edmund had practically been living here. He never went home.
He says he’s hungry but then refuses to eat in front of others and embarrasses Marlina. So damn sensitive.
Even when starving, if the food didn’t suit his taste, he wouldn’t swallow a bite. Why should a nineteen-year-old girl have to feel like she’s raising a picky child?
And that wasn’t all.
Even Ban had started knocking at the door in broad daylight. Thankfully, not every day.
This isn’t your little love nest, you know…
At least Ban left quickly, but Edmund acted like he belonged, heading upstairs even on the days Ellie had to go to the Knights’ Headquarters.
Ellie had given up. Yelling at him or coaxing him did nothing.
“Ellie, where should I put the levain?”
“Oh, I’ll—”
Taking the jar of leftover levain starter, Ellie stopped mid-sentence and looked at Marlina.
Marlina always worked diligently. She never missed a day and was always punctual.
Though hired by Morris, she had shared countless meals with Ellie, building trust.
With how observant she is, she probably already has a rough idea of how to handle the starter.
It would be harder not to notice while working in such close quarters.
Ellie set down the jar and fetched a scale.
Marlina watched curiously.
“You more or less know how to care for levain, right? Tomorrow I need to prepare dough for the Knights, so I’ll need a lot. We’ll be doubling the starter by waking up what’s been in cold storage.”
“Uh…”
“See here? I keep flour just for feeding the starter. You mix flour and water at a 1:1 ratio. About this much…”
“Wait, are you really teaching me this?!”
“Well… you’ll keep working here for a while, won’t you…?”
I can’t run this bakery without her yet… Ellie looked uneasy as she asked. Marlina blinked rapidly.
“What if I take this knowledge and sell it elsewhere?!”
“Then I misjudged your character, that’s all.”
It’s not like knowing how to feed a starter meant you could suddenly bake bread.
Ellie, who trusted no one, thought coolly.
But Marlina looked strangely moved, lips pressed tight before speaking again.
“So I just mix it 1:1?”
“Yes, then stir well and leave it in the proofing room.”
“I’ll take care of it from now on. You should rest more.”
“But—”
“You didn’t even get to eat, did you? Come on. I’ll finish up here. Go see to that son of yours who keeps calling for his mom.”
“I don’t have a son! And that ‘son’ is older than me!”
Edmund reclined lazily in a chair, swinging his foot.
“Still, I look younger, so what’s the problem?”
“Must be nice, being so pretty.”
“Not a bad thing.”
His sly grin was annoyingly pretty, leaving Ellie speechless.
“I’m here, Ellie!”
Morris strode in energetically, just as she’d finally gotten Edmund to sleep.
“You don’t even wait for me to open the door anymore?”
“I have a key.”
“The hell, since when?”
“From the start.”
Morris smirked. Ellie already knew what he was about to say.
“Because it’s my shop.”
“It’s my shop, you loan shark.”
She muttered in rebuttal, but Morris only burst out laughing.
“How have you been? Nothing happened?”
“Nothing…? A lot happened.”
Ever since helping with the Knights’ mass contract, Morris hadn’t come by.
Though he’d provided plenty of scones, they were nearly running out.
Only a month had passed, but her peaceful little haven had turned into the set of a melodramatic romance novel: jealous quarrels, misunderstandings, reconciliations, embarrassing reunions of lovers…
“I heard from Marlina this place has turned into some weird hideout.”
“Yeah…”
Ellie felt like crying. Morris casually pulled out a chair opposite the seat Edmund always occupied.
How did this place turn into such a hot spot?
She wasn’t delusional enough to think, Oh my, everyone loves me! like some extra in a novel.
What they obsessed over wasn’t her—it was the baguettes and egg tarts.
Gluttonous pigs, the lot of them.
A muscle pig and a delicate pig… Round little Ellie swallowed her resentment.
They don’t even meet the minimum standard for pigs.
“Can’t you do something about your friend? He never goes home.”
“At night too?!”
“He’s basically living here.”
“Wait—that’s going too far.”
Ellie thought he’d joke about charging him rent, but instead Morris’ expression hardened.
“There’s only one bed upstairs. Don’t tell me—”
“Why are you looking so scary?”
“…Ellie.”
“Don’t act so serious. He said my bed was uncomfortable and brought his own, so now the entire second floor is just one giant bed.”
“You shouldn’t let a man into your room so easily, Ellie,” Morris said in a low, firm tone.
“I told you, he’s not a man…”
Ellie sighed. He was just a picky four-year-old brat.
Morris frowned, then rubbed his face with a hand.
“I’ll… talk to him.”
“Just leave it. Honestly, he’s not only a nuisance.”
Morris’ eyebrows twitched at her answer. Ellie ignored his annoyance and grinned proudly.
“He made me a brick oven thermometer and a freezer. And he even made me a whipping machine.”
“…Right, you said you wanted one. What’s a whipping machine, though?”
“Thanks to that, I can make a wider variety of desserts.”
Morris’ gaze sharpened.
