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~Chapter 56~
“Look over there. It’s the Kenwolf Duke family’s carriage.”
“Who’s inside?”
“What are they buying from the Duke’s household?”
The carriage had the emblem of the Duke’s family: a mythical creature that was a mix of an eagle and a lion, a griffin.
Everyone’s eyes focused as the carriage door opened. The person who stepped out was the Duke’s head maid.
If even the head maid (not just any maid) was personally buying something, it meant the goods were for the Duchess herself.
“……Welcome!!”
Madame Madeleine, startled, rubbed her hands together and ran out.
The head maid smiled and said,
“Can you pack four boxes for me?”
“Four boxes? Yes!”
Though her hands were shaking, she carefully packed the bread into pretty yellow boxes.
People walking by stopped in their tracks, watching the maid and the shop. Everyone on the street had frozen.
Including Riden.
‘Huh? Why is she going back inside?’
Riden was puzzled when she saw Madame Madeleine return inside after packing the boxes and putting them into a paper bag.
‘What’s she doing?’
Just like noble ladies tie a scarf elegantly around their necks, Madame Madeleine tied scarves around each paper bag handle, using a different knot for each.
The simple white paper bags with the brand logo now looked completely different—sophisticated, elegant, like they revealed the buyer’s refined taste.
The head maid, now holding four such bags on her arms, looked much more confident as she walked back to the carriage.
Riden realized instantly.
‘That’s the Duchess’s idea!’
She remembered how the Duchess had carefully looked at the plain paper bag when Riden had brought samples to the Duke’s mansion.
While Riden was realizing that the Duchess must have prepared this event in secret, crowds began gathering at the store.
“Do they always package desserts like that?”
“I’ve never seen it before!”
“I bet it tastes amazing too!”
“It looks so elegant!”
“The Kenwolf family bought it, so it must be guaranteed to be delicious!”
People were pushing to buy first.
Riden lightly nudged Glenn next to her.
“I think it’s working.”
Glenn smiled proudly.
“I told you we just needed to wait a bit.”
The Duke’s family had perfectly timed their purchase for opening day. They’d even prepared this surprise event without telling Riden.
‘She must have wanted to help me since I was practically choking down desserts every day trying to make this tiny shop succeed…’
As Riden was silently staring at the carriage disappearing without showing any sign of pride or credit…
The carriage came back. It stopped right in front of Hagens.
Someone gasped,
“Oh my, it’s the Duchess herself!”
“She just got out of the carriage!”
“Really?”
It was no wonder people were shocked. After the former Duke Kenwolf disappeared, the Duchess had lived in seclusion for five years.
There had been endless rumors—like how Samantha Kenwolf wore fabrics imported from the Western Empire or ate foods from far Eastern countries—but this was the first time in years she’d appeared publicly.
Riden froze when she saw the Duchess, holding one of her paper bags, coming out.
The Duchess slowly scanned the crowd and, when her eyes met Riden’s,
she winked.
‘Wait, wasn’t she just going to casually advertise the shop? Why did she wink at me like that?’
With a dangerous glint in her eye, the Duchess entered Hagens. Riden had no choice but to follow.
She pulled her bonnet low and slipped inside after her.
Inside Hagens, all eyes were on the Duchess. The manager bowed deeply.
“Welcome to Hagens! We’ll guide you to the 3rd floor.”
He assumed she would go to the private upper floor, but the Duchess’s next words shocked him.
“I’ll eat on the 1st floor.”
“The 1st floor?”
But the first floor was already full!
The manager panicked. This was his boss, Samantha Kenwolf, the owner of Hagens.
‘Should I ask my boss to wait in line? But why does she suddenly want to eat on the 1st floor?!’
While he was flustered, Samantha calmly looked around.
The seat by the window would be perfect—everyone could see her there—but it was already taken.
Just then, a mother and daughter who had finished their ice cream noticed the Duchess’s gaze. They jumped up.
“D-Duchess! We’re done. Please, take our seat.”
The table was cleared instantly, and the Duchess sat down.
The manager nervously asked what she would like to order.
What ice cream would a Duchess, who was from the Western Empire’s royal family, choose in a Western-style ice cream parlor?
All eyes and ears were on her as she opened her mouth.
“I won’t be ordering. Bring me plates and cutlery instead. I’ll pay a seat fee.”
“Gasp!”
The manager’s lips twitched. His own boss was about to eat another shop’s dessert in her café.
Today, the Duchess was… honestly, a bit of a troublemaker.
Soon, the staff laid out plates, and desserts from the yellow boxes were placed on top.
As everyone watched, Samantha elegantly cut the dessert into bite-sized pieces and took a bite.
“Mmm~”
The short but delightful sound of admiration left her lips.
“This place is good.”
Standing at the entrance, Riden covered her mouth.
‘So shameless!’
She’d already tried the samples, but now she was acting like this was her first time.
‘And this is… troublemaking! Why is she eating here? Can she even do that?!’
Sure enough, a couple who’d been about to order ice cream closed their menus and left.
“Where’s that from?”
“Across the street!”
Riden was sweating. The poor café owner!
Then the staff brought drinks, pouring them into crystal glasses.
The Duchess swirled the glass in the sunlight and took a sip.
“Hmm…”
Unlike with the dessert, her expression faltered slightly.
‘So she’s not completely shameless.’
It would have been better if she’d smiled again, since she was basically over-advertising the shop.
Someone whispered,
“I guess the drinks aren’t that good.”
Samantha’s red eyes widened.
‘Oh… the drinks weren’t perfected, huh?’
She had never pretended to like something she didn’t. But today had to be the exception.
She raised her glass and, in a voice loud enough for everyone, let out a dramatic sound:
“Khhhaaah!”
Like a worker gulping beer after a long day. People gasped.
Is it that good? Where is that from?!
As the line for Hagens started drifting toward Sunset Cream, Riden wiped cold sweat from her brow.
‘Oh no. The drinks aren’t that good.’
She would have to fix the drink recipes immediately before this became a problem for the Duchess’s gourmet reputation.
Riden glanced at her now-busy shop, then looked back inside Hagens.
All the attention was still on the Duchess.
And that’s when Riden noticed something strange.
Everyone was in pairs or groups, chatting and eating together.
But the Duchess was alone.
Sitting by herself, cutting her dessert into pieces, she looked… small and fragile.
‘Small and fragile? She’s almost 180cm tall!’
Riden blinked and rubbed her eyes, but the feeling didn’t change.
The tall Duchess still looked lonely and delicate.
Maybe I’ve lost my mind…
