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Chapter 48
In the afternoon, the three of them headed together to Toto’s shop.
Since all the cakes had already been sold, there was no one in the shop except Sally.
“Welcome!”
Sally greeted them warmly.
“Sally, how have you been?”
“Miss, I’ve missed you!”
Emily, making sure she didn’t miss anyone among the residents of the estate, cheerfully greeted Sally as well.
It was unusual for noble ladies to greet commoners so familiarly, so Pete found Emily’s behavior quite surprising.
“It’s a bit messy since we just closed.”
Sally said shyly.
“That’s fine. I’d like to look around the shop a bit.”
Pete carefully observed the interior of the shop. While he did so, Sally seated Emily and Killian at a table near the window.
“I’ll bring some tea.”
“I’ve had enough tea already. How about you?”
Killian shook his head.
“Then I’ll at least bring some water.”
Sally said this while stealing glances at Killian. She had never seen someone so handsome in her life. Suddenly, Toto looked like a lump of flour that had been kneaded too much.
Seeing the look in Sally’s eyes, Toto fidgeted and took the tray from her hands.
“I’ll bring this for you.”
“Oh, it’s fine…”
Sally watched with disappointment as the tray left her hands.
“How many cakes do you make per day?”
Pete’s voice came from the kitchen.
“During the day, we sell cakes in the shop, and from 3 PM we start making cakes for the next day. We make about 80 cakes in roughly ten hours without much rest.”
“Can you make the cakes a day in advance?”
“Yes, that’s fine for the next day.”
Hmm, Pete rubbed his chin.
“That’s far too few to expand the business. How much could production increase if you hired staff?”
“Well… if we follow the conditions I mentioned at the mansion and make sure employees’ working hours are observed…”
Toto calculated diligently in his head.
“If we estimate 50 cakes per person per day, that should work.”
If the Star and Sinope families invested, they could hire at least ten staff members initially, which would increase daily cake production by at least six times.
“We’ll need to expand the shop, considering storage for the cakes as well.”
“I already have a location in mind.”
They began discussing various other details as well.
“Do we need a freezer to store the cakes?”
Killian asked, and Toto lowered his eyebrows in response.
“A freezer would be great. But storing that many cakes would require an enormous amount of mana stones.”
“That’s not much of a problem.”
Pete nodded at Killian’s words.
“You mean the mana mine owned by the Star family? We’ve just been sorting out the unusable mana stones, but we could use them to build a freezer.”
“Can we really use that?”
Toto’s eyes sparkled, and Pete raised an eyebrow.
“Of course, as long as the Star family gets their share of the profits.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
As the business discussion intensified, Emily, who had returned, joined in and offered several ideas.
“Can we sell cakes at your club temporarily?”
“That’s fine.”
Pete, listening nearby, also agreed enthusiastically.
“That’s a good idea. Selling them as ‘Sinope specialty carrot cakes’ could be great promotion.”
“Yes, it would be nice to promote them when Toto’s shop is refurbished and reopened.”
“We should also think about how to distribute the cakes.”
Having grasped most of the key points, Pete stood up.
“There are documents and permits I need to get, so I’ll go to the capital tomorrow morning.”
Since the capital wasn’t far from Sinope, a round trip in a day was possible.
Sally looked at Pete with admiration this time. Seeing someone so intelligent and professional in their work was incredibly impressive.
Toto again felt anxious as he stood before Sally.
“How long will the paperwork take?”
“The official documents should be ready within three days. If it takes longer, we can expedite it with money.”
He looked at Emily and Killian as he spoke.
“I should return to the mansion to prepare before going to the capital tomorrow.”
“Do that. Good work today.”
Feeling satisfied with Killian’s acknowledgment, Pete left the shop with a light step.
After he left, Emily checked her watch.
“We should make way if we want to prepare cakes for the next day.”
Toto checked his watch as well. It was already past two o’clock.
“Thank you for coming today.”
“How many times are you going to thank us in one day?”
Emily laughed and got up with Killian.
Thanks to how smoothly things went, they might be able to go to the capital sooner than expected.
As they left Toto’s shop, Emily spotted Grandma Juliet picking fruits at a shop across the street.
“Oh? Grandma Juliet?”
“Do you know her?”
“Yes, she’s Toto’s grandmother. I know her well. Can I go say hello briefly?”
“Of course.”
While Emily went to greet her, Killian decided to wait leaning against a tree across the street.
“Grandma!”
“Oh my goodness!”
Grandma Juliet, surprised by Emily running up to her, clutched her chest.
“Hey! You can’t scare an old lady like that!”
“Didn’t you want to see me?”
Emily asked with a bright smile.
“I’ve heard you got married. How did you come down here?”
“I came to visit because I missed you.”
“You’re funny.”
But Grandma Juliet didn’t dislike Emily’s cheekiness; a smile lingered on her face.
“Anyway, tell me how you’ve been. I sometimes try to read news about you, but my eyesight isn’t great.”
“Nothing special. Married life is peaceful.”
“Married life is peaceful?”
For some reason, Grandma Juliet didn’t easily believe Emily. She squeezed Emily’s hand and clicked her tongue.
“Do you remember Louis?”
Killian, with his heightened hearing, perked up at the sudden mention of a man’s name and focused on their conversation.
“Um, Louis?”
Emily clearly remembered him, even looking slightly embarrassed.
“That young master still hasn’t forgotten you, and he’s been clipping every article about you.”
Hearing this, Emily glanced back to check on Killian. The distance was too far for him to hear the conversation.
When their eyes met, Killian gave a small hat-tip greeting, as if signaling he couldn’t hear the conversation.
Satisfied, Emily turned back to continue talking with Grandma Juliet.
“How do you know he clipped the articles?”
“My great-nephew is Louis’ personal servant. That’s how I found out.”
Louis was the youngest son of Baron Roman.
He loved Emily but couldn’t confess due to their social differences. When Charles proposed, he nearly fell ill from the frustration.
Even without confessing, it was obvious to everyone that he had a crush on Emily.
“Louis isn’t married yet?”
“No, he’s already 25.”
The Roman couple had been embarrassed by their son’s behavior and tried to find a bride for him, but it wasn’t easy. Who would satisfy him when he had a crush on Emily?
“We should pray that a good bride appears soon.”
“Hehe, if that young master knew you were here, he’d be heartbroken again.”
“Maybe.”
Emily smiled awkwardly, trying to wrap up the conversation.
“I should go now. I’m with my companions.”
“Okay, before you go, come by the carrot field. I’ll make carrot soup for you.”
Emily grimaced at Grandma Juliet’s insistence on her still-tasteless carrot soup.
Killian straightened his back as he watched Emily say goodbye to her grandmother.
“Louis, huh… why is he clipping articles about someone else’s wife?”
Unaware of Killian’s dark thoughts, Emily walked up cheerfully.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No problem.”
Killian wanted to ask who Louis was but held back. Since he was called a young master, he must be one of the few noble heirs in Sinope.
As long as it wasn’t the son of the Roman couple who had dined with Emily, it was fine. He seemed to have cared for Emily, but there was no way he could punish their son.
“Can we stop by the art shop before returning to the mansion? They sell some paintings there, and the owner and I share similar tastes, so I’ve bought a few before.”
Killian agreed without hesitation.
Getting to know Emily’s tastes was important to him.
