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Chapter 19
‘A joke? Frederick coming in here is a joke?’
I wanted to argue with the manager, but I held back. No point causing more drama.
I looked around the café. People were trying not to stare—but still glancing at me.
‘Yeah, makes sense. Last time I came here, it was right after I broke up with Leo. I must be super famous here.’
I ignored the manager and started ordering.
“I’ll have two éclairs, two crème brûlées, two chocolate tarts, and two financiers.”
The manager looked shocked.
“Are you planning to eat all that, miss? Are you sure this is your order?”
“…Do you decide how much I eat now?”
He flinched and quickly apologized, bowing deeply.
I didn’t respond. I just waited quietly until all the desserts were served.
One by one, the plates arrived.
“Your éclairs.”
“Your chocolate tart.”
“Your financier.”
“Your crème brûlée.”
Once everything was served, I picked up my fork and knife.
People were still sneaking glances at me, but I ignored them.
I stacked all the desserts onto one plate.
‘My handkerchief—this is why it’s so useful.’
Not the one I used earlier to sneeze, but a clean one. I wrapped the dessert plate with it.
“Lady Delphine…?”
The manager came over, sensing something strange. He whispered my name carefully.
I looked up at him with a bright smile.
“This is something called a ‘take-out’ in another world. It means taking food to go. Don’t worry—the Plerrin family will cover the cost of the plate and utensils.”
“Ah, um… Lady Delphine!”
Ignoring the flustered manager, I picked up my dessert bundle and left.
As soon as I stepped out into the cold air, a sharp breeze hit my face.
‘It must’ve been freezing sitting out here… Poor guy.’
I looked around with the dessert bundle in my hands.
‘There he is!’
Frederick was sitting on the bench—the one where he always waited for Charlier.
Jeez. He looked so pitiful. His face was leading-role material, but he was being treated like an extra.
I tightened my grip on the desserts.
‘Is it just habit? Or once a pushover, always a pushover? Why didn’t he just go sit in the carriage instead of sulking out here?’
I slowly walked toward him.
He only noticed me when I got close.
“You?”
His eyebrows shot up. His eyes widened in disbelief. He slowly raised a hand and pointed at me.
“You’re back already? What’s that in your hands?”
I wanted to tease him, but he already looked surprised enough, so I held back.
“It’s dessert time, Young Master.”
Frederick blinked at me, like he couldn’t believe I was actually standing in front of him.
He pointed at the bundle in my hands with his long fingers.
“What is that? Why’d you come out so fast?”
“Dessert, Young Master. Charlier’s favorite here is the éclair, right? You’ve waited outside for her so many times. Now it’s your turn to try what she loves.”
Frederick opened his mouth slightly, then nodded. He scooted to the side on the bench.
“Sit here.”
“…?”
I stared at the spot he’d just vacated.
“What, is there something gross on it? Why are you offering?”
“G-Gross? Ugh, do you always talk like that? Are you really a noble lady?”
Frederick looked seriously offended.
‘Okay yeah… Maybe talking about poop was too much, especially right before eating dessert. My bad.’
His kindness caught me off guard, and I responded too roughly.
“Ahem.”
Feeling awkward, I sat where he’d been sitting. The seat was warm.
‘Wait… is that why he offered it? That’s unexpectedly considerate. Huh.’
I smiled at him. He looked at me like I was weird and said,
“Charlier always told me to offer my seat to women.”
“Oh? That’s actually a good lesson.”
I’d forgotten—Charlier was the main character of this world. If you think about it, both Leo and Frederick weren’t “ex-obsessed”; they were just being loyal to the world’s script.
‘Everything in this world revolves around Charlier.’
Still, the seat was warm and that made me feel good.
“Here you go, Young Master. Fork and knife.”
Frederick took them and looked at me.
‘Aww… cute.’
I opened the dessert bundle on my lap. His eyes sparkled.
“This is the éclair—Charlier’s favorite.”
I wrapped it in a napkin and handed it to him.
He accepted it, pretending to be cool, but his eyes were shining.
‘He must really like sweets.’
He took a bite, and I started eating my own.
“Okay. The left side’s mine, the right side’s yours. Got it?”
Frederick nodded, cheeks puffed out with éclair. He looked so cute I almost forgot what a jerk he usually was.
‘Don’t fall for it. He’s still a brat. Remember how he snapped at me in the jewelry store? No manners.’
I looked at the desserts and picked up my favorite.
‘Crème brûlée—my favorite!’
Normally I’d eat it right after the sugar is torched, but this one had already cooled.
‘Still tastes great though.’
I cracked the top with my spoon and scooped up a big bite with the soft pudding underneath.
‘Ah, so good!’
It melted in my mouth. Total heaven.
While enjoying it, I glanced at Frederick.
He was biting into a chocolate tart, eyes twinkling.
‘See? Good food makes everyone happy.’
My favorite was crème brûlée, then éclairs, financiers, and finally chocolate tarts.
Once we finished eating, I noticed Frederick wiping his mouth with a handkerchief.
“Good, right?”
“…Yeah.”
He nodded. There was a small smile on his face.
“I get why Charlier likes this place so much.”
“Told you.”
“But…”
“…?”
“The crème brûlée is better.”
“…!”
‘Same!’
I agreed, but I didn’t say it out loud. He was the extra, after all. I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea.
So I just nodded and wrapped the utensils in a napkin.
“I’m taking this with me. The Plerrin family will pay for it.”
“You don’t need to. Just leave it.”
“Nope. It’s a souvenir. For trying Charlier’s favorite éclair.”
Frederick took the wrapped plate and set it beside him.
‘Ugh, it’s cold.’
Even dressed warmly, it was still winter. Sitting outside this long made me chilly.
My hands, especially, were red and stinging from the cold.
‘Dang, my fingers hurt…’
I opened and closed them a few times, trying to warm up.
Time to put my gloves back on.
I reached into my coat pocket where I had tucked them earlier.
Then suddenly, Frederick reached out both hands to me.
“…?”
I looked at him, confused.
“What?”
“Give me your hands.”
I just stared at him. Then he grabbed my hands himself.
‘What the—what is he doing?’
He held my hands together and tucked them into his coat.
‘Seriously? It’s warm, sure, but… Did he eat too much sugar or something?’
I slowly pulled my hands back out of his coat.
Frederick blinked fast and tilted his head, confused.
Did I really have to explain this?
“Young Master, why did you suddenly grab my hands?”
“They looked cold.”
Okay, fair. But still—
“You don’t just grab someone’s hands if you’re not dating them.”
What was I supposed to do—explain the “girl-friend vs. boy-friend” boundary debate from Korea? He wouldn’t get it.
Frederick opened his hands and shrugged.
Then he mumbled,
“Charlier said friends can warm each other’s hands if they’re cold…”
“Yeah, well, that’s probably because you two were dating.”
Frederick clenched his fists and said,
“No. We never dated. We were always just friends.”
…Huh?
“Wait—what? Really?”
Frederick rubbed his eyebrow and nodded slightly.
‘Wait, what?? So they weren’t even dating but were holding hands under coats and all that? Doing all the couple stuff without actually being a couple… That’s like pro-level emotional fishing.’
“Phew…”
I sighed deeply, slipped my gloves back on, and crossed my arms.
“Look. Young Master. You don’t hold hands like that with friends. That’s not normal. People will misunderstand, so I’m telling you this for your own good.”
