OCOB 41

Chapter : 41

The star of the party had disappeared!
And without even telling Frigia!

I had been secretly preparing the party without Illyana—the main character—knowing, and now I was flustered.

‘Oh no, this isn’t good….’

This was bad…

Because of what happened with Hesse, my schedule at the Viola family estate had taken far too long. The tea party was only two days away, and there was still so much to prepare.

There were many new things to arrange, and between planning them and placing orders for supplies, a lot of time had passed.

I’d said I would be back before lunch, but now even dinner had come and gone.

I’d thought it was strange that Hesse wasn’t interfering beside me… but he had simply been working diligently.

So after wrapping up as much as I could, I returned to the café.

Frigia, whom I had contacted in advance through Millen, was already there. Since we were planning a surprise party, I’d told her not to make it obvious—and she had followed my instructions extremely well.

In fact, she had gone even further than I’d asked.

She was mischievous by nature.

To someone like her, a surprise party for Illyana must have felt like the perfect stage to give it her all.

Perhaps that was why Illyana seemed more hurt than I’d expected.

With her feelings written so plainly across her face, how could anyone not notice?

So I hurried upstairs to prepare the party as quickly as possible.

Even if we didn’t have a cake, I carefully arranged the dessert bundle Hesse had given me—telling me to serve it at the party—onto pretty plates.

As for the drinks, I planned to unveil the new tea party menu item once the party officially began.

After finishing that and heading back down—

“Frigia, where’s Illyana?”

“Illyana’s gone?”

“I don’t see her.”

The star of the party had already disappeared.

So focused were we on preparing her surprise that none of us had noticed her leaving the café.

All we could do now was desperately search for someone who was already gone.

Frigia’s eyes trembled faster than leaves shaking in the wind.

“L-Leila? What do we do now?”

“You’re right… We’re the worst bosses ever at this rate….”

“I’ve never seen Illyana act like this before. Was I too harsh?”

“…Hmm.”

Since I hadn’t seen how Frigia had treated Illyana, I chose my words carefully.

At times like this, it was best to say less.

I quietly turned my head toward Hugh.

Hugh looked like his very soul had left his body. I didn’t even know where he’d gotten himself wet again… He looked utterly pitiful.

‘Well, this has turned into the worst party.’

They say only those who’ve thrown surprise parties before can do them well. Like me, Frigia was planning one for the first time. And then there was Hugh the hamster.

When I thought about it clearly, it was the worst possible combination.

‘I should have just told her.’

That we were holding a party to thank her for everything.

I squeezed my eyes shut. What’s done is done. We had to fix it… but there were too many urgent things at hand.

‘If we don’t resolve things like this right away, they just build up inside.’

I let out a long sigh. At that, Frigia suddenly shot to her feet.

“I’ll go look for Illyana first. She must be at my shop.”

“Really?”

“She wouldn’t have… gone home, would she? Illyana lived with me the entire time we worked together. It’s already been three years.”

“If it’s been that long, wouldn’t she be at the shop?”

“Right? I’ll go check now. Lumi, let’s go!”

Frigia nodded resolutely. Lumi, who had been sitting beside her, shook her head vigorously.

“I’ll talk to unni properly!”

“Good, Lumi. You’re the most reliable.”

“Hehe!”

Lumi beamed, grabbed Frigia’s hand, and stood up. The two of them quickly left the café.

All I could do was watch their retreating figures and pray inwardly.

‘Please let things work out with Illyana.’

But the next morning, at the faint break of dawn—

When everyone else was still asleep, someone urgently pounded on the front door of Yongari Café.

Startled awake by the noise, I stumbled over in a daze to greet the visitor.

“Mm… Frigia!?”

It was Frigia.

She spoke in a rush.

“…It’s bad, Leila. Illyana wasn’t home. I waited all night, but she never came back… What do we do now?”

…I squeezed my eyes shut.

I wished this was all just a dream. I even pinched my cheek, but the pain was sharp and real.

‘…This is a disaster.’

That woke me up completely.

Holding my throbbing head, I led her inside the café.

As soon as she entered, she collapsed into the nearest chair.

Her hair was disheveled, and she was still wearing yesterday’s clothes. Dark circles hung heavily beneath her eyes, and her face was full of worry.

I patted her shoulder a couple of times.

“Please wait a moment, Frigia.”

She didn’t look capable of holding a proper conversation in this state. I went straight into the kitchen and took out the lemon syrup I’d portioned yesterday.

‘For calming the mind and body, nothing beats warm tea.’

Chamomile or lavender would have been better—but lemon syrup was all I had.

I quickly prepared hot water and made lemon tea in a teacup decorated with lily-of-the-valley flowers.

The bright citrus scent spread warmly through the air.

I carried the tea to Frigia, set it down in front of her, and sat across from her.

“Let’s calm down first and talk. Warm tea will help settle your stomach, Frigia.”

“…Sorry for showing up like this at dawn.”

“It’s fine. If Millen left home—no, if Hugh ran away—I’d be putting up ‘Missing Hugh’ posters in the plaza and grabbing strangers to ask if they’d seen him.”

“Pfft, what’s that?”

She let out a faint laugh as she took a sip of lemon tea.

But only for a moment.

Soon, worry returned to her face.

“Illyana doesn’t even have anywhere to go… Did she sleep properly? She told me she started working with me because she left home.”

“Illyana left home?”

“Yes. She came to me saying she wanted to work together. I happened to need help at the time, so I took her in. Lumi was very sick back then.”

“Ah…”

“We’ve been working and living together ever since—three years now. If she didn’t come home without saying anything… she must be really angry.”

Frigia, usually so full of passion, now looked completely deflated. Worry filled her expression and voice.

She clutched her teacup with both hands and muttered,

“She grew up cherished. She won’t be able to sleep somewhere unfamiliar… She only eats the food I cook, and she’s sensitive to the cold…”

Ah…

Listening to her worries, I squeezed my eyes shut again.

This was all my fault.

Why did I even try to throw a party when I’d never done one before…? At this rate, I was beginning to doubt whether I could even pull off the tea party properly.

I gently patted Frigia’s shoulder.

“She’ll come back soon. Illyana really looks up to you, Frigia. So… won’t she come back?”

“…Do you think so?”

“Of course. Until then, I’ll try looking for her too.”

“No, leave that to me. You’re busy right now, Leila.”

“…Mm.”

It was true that I was busy, so I pressed my lips together. At this rate, I felt like I might collapse again from mismanaging my energy.

I slowly nodded.

“Then please, at least until the day the tea party ends. If Illyana still hasn’t returned after that, I’ll help search too.”

After that, Frigia returned to her furniture shop. Lumi would be waking up soon.

I checked the time and began stretching.

There was no point trying to sleep again. Since I was up early anyway, I might as well work.

‘There’s a mountain of things to do.’

Starting today, we didn’t have anyone to cover the hall… which meant even more work.

Thankfully, Antonio said he would send someone to help me.

‘Sorry to that person, but I’ll have to put them in charge of the hall.’

Pressing firmly into the muscles of my neck, I headed into the kitchen.

Two days later.

“…Huh?”

I spotted someone familiar.

And of all places—at the tea party in the rose garden!