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Chapter 10. All Cheaters Should…
“Yeah, I figured there wouldn’t be any. Still, what were the chances anyway….”
I’m not the protagonist of this novel—just a background extra, after all.
That was when—
“—you know, at the upcoming imperial palace party, Duke Roderick is said to be attending!”
The gossiping voices of the noblewomen seated next to me reached my ears.
‘Did she just say Roderick?’
My ears perked up.
Once I focused, their conversation became much clearer.
“Really? My goodness. He’s usually so busy that he rarely attends parties.”
“I know, right? But even if he does come, you probably won’t be able to get close. You know how Her Highness the Princess is….”
They exchanged subtle, meaningful glances.
‘The princess? What’s that supposed to mean?’
As I tilted my head in confusion, one of the excited noblewomen lowered her voice and whispered,
“Well, it’s understandable that the princess would feel that way. That looks, that wealth, that lineage—and on top of that, according to the rumors….”
She leaned in even closer.
“They say he’s incredibly… well-endowed.”
“Pfft!”
At that moment, a black-haired man sitting alone suddenly spat out the tea he had been drinking.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
I looked at the coughing man with concern.
Did he choke on it?
Embarrassed by the commotion he’d caused, he pulled the hood of the cloak he had taken off earlier down low over his face.
Regardless, the noblewomen’s blush-inducing gossip went on for quite a while.
‘As expected. Married women really have a way with words.’
Beyond the usual juicy tales of whose husband was having an affair, a surprisingly wide range of useful information was exchanged.
This tea house seemed to serve as a kind of information exchange hub—almost like a salon for the nobility.
Eyes gleaming, I quietly listened in.
“Still, haven’t pepper prices dropped a lot lately?”
“They really have. It used to be more expensive than gold by weight… Thank goodness.”
A drop in price meant supply had increased relative to demand.
Since the opening of maritime routes to the Eastern Continent, countless nations had jumped into seaborne trade.
“So it really is time to start looking for a new path, something beyond spices…”
I murmured softly as I set my teacup down.
I’d heard enough.
If I attended the upcoming imperial palace party, I could meet Taeyon Roderick—good information indeed.
The only regret was that I still hadn’t managed to drink any coffee.
Since deciding to become a barista, this was the longest I’d gone without coffee.
I might start having withdrawal symptoms…
“Ah… I really want coffee….”
Muttering to myself, I left the tea house.
I didn’t notice that the man who had been sitting alone, drinking tea, had started following me.
“Just now—that woman definitely said ‘coffee.’ Hardly anyone in the empire even knows of a drink by that name….”
Taeyon followed the woman quietly, disguised.
It wasn’t simply because she had said the word “coffee.”
“So it really is time to start looking for a new path, something beyond spices…”
People who could read the broader currents of the market were rare.
She had also been sitting alone, quietly observing her surroundings—altogether, there was something unusual about her.
‘She seems to be a noble, but I have no idea who she is.’
Judging by the fact that he didn’t recognize her face, she wasn’t a high-ranking noble.
Though, to be fair, there were very few women whose faces he bothered to remember at all.
Business was the only thing he cared about.
‘I should have Andreas look into her.’
Including the source of that embarrassing rumor the noblewomen had been spreading.
‘“Well-endowed,” huh… To think such rumors were circulating among society ladies.’
It was true, but still—having such gossip spread around was a matter of dignity.
Vowing to find the origin of the rumor, he continued following her.
She didn’t seem to have a particular destination, simply strolling through various parts of the city.
Her route matched exactly with his own original purpose of conducting market research.
Like a tourist visiting for the first time, she looked around everywhere with a delighted expression.
“Wow, so that’s magic?”
She marveled at a magician performing trivial low-level magic in the plaza.
“You’re so beautiful! Here, have an apple!”
“Oh my, thank you!”
She beamed brightly, delighted by a single apple from a merchant.
Above her radiant smile—like flowers in full bloom in early spring—the midday sunlight shone warmly.
“……”
Matching the pace of the much smaller woman, Taeyon walked slowly down the street.
His face, usually so blunt and cold that it was hard to approach, had softened without him realizing—his eyes drooping slightly.
Following a woman whose identity he didn’t even know.
And abandoning all the plans he’d carefully set.
For Taeyon Roderick, it was unimaginable.
And yet—why was that?
Somehow, he had the feeling that this woman might hold the solution to his greatest recent concern: coffee extraction.
In business—especially when starting a new venture—there were times when one had to rely on intuition.
‘Yes. That must be it.’
That was why he was following an unknown woman like this…
Taeyon kept repeating it to himself.
All the while remaining completely unaware of the urge rising within him—to see that bright smile of hers just one more time.
After walking for quite a while, the woman suddenly stopped in front of a jewelry shop.
That shop, too, was owned by the Roderick family.
Since one-third of the city’s jewelry stores belonged to House Roderick, it was no coincidence.
She lingered in front of the display window, staring inside for a long time.
Now that he thought about it, despite her obviously noble appearance and mannerisms, she wore no jewelry at all—her attire was quite plain.
‘Does she want a piece of jewelry?’
If that was the case, he felt like buying the entire shop for her.
‘…No. Why would I?’
Snapping back to his senses, Taeyon quickly found a reasonable explanation.
It was because he had a hunch she could be useful to the coffee business.
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to act this way.
As he nodded to himself, a middle-aged woman passing by the jewelry store suddenly cursed loudly.
“Oh dear. Those two are here again.”
The woman who had been staring into the window turned and asked,
“Ah… That man—does he often come here with the woman beside him?”
“Of course. I’ve lived around here for a long time—I know very well.”
The middle-aged woman nodded.
“They say the woman used to be a courtesan, and she managed to latch onto some rich married man.”
(*Courtesan: a high-class prostitute who serves nobles or the wealthy.)
“Then… do you happen to know how long those two have been together?”
“Oh, don’t even ask. It must’ve been about ten years.”
“Ten years….”
“I don’t know who that man’s wife is, but I really feel sorry for her.”
With a click of her tongue, the woman walked off, muttering that all cheaters should be shamed so badly they couldn’t show their faces in public.
The woman turned her gaze back to the display window.
Judging by how she still couldn’t bring herself to leave, there was clearly a piece of jewelry she wanted.
Maybe it was time to strike up a conversation.
Just as Taeyon was finally about to approach her—
The woman let out a bitter smile and murmured softly as she looked through the glass.
“That pitiful woman… was me.”
Taeyon froze mid-step.
“…So she was married.”
An affair by her husband.
Pulling his cloak down low, Taeyon moved closer to the shop.
Through the glass, he saw a red-haired man laughing merrily, an indecently dressed woman tucked at his side.
The man was someone Taeyon knew well.
Viscount Derpel Morgans.
‘So she was the wife of Viscount Morgans. Now I understand.’
Keeping a lover aside from one’s spouse was fairly common in noble society.
Though it was something Taeyon would never understand.
One woman in a lifetime was more than enough.
He had no intention whatsoever of spending time or effort on a woman he wouldn’t marry.
Taeyon glanced once more at the woman whose profile kept drawing his gaze.
Wavy silver hair, eyes as blue as the sea.
An astonishing beauty at a glance. To cheat when you had a wife like that…
And then—
The gaze of the woman, who had been staring through the glass with a pure, fragile expression, met that of Viscount Morgans.
For a moment, Taeyon tensed, clenching his fist tightly.
Would tears fall from those blue eyes?
As Taeyon hesitated, unsure how he should react—
The woman’s small, red lips curved gently into a smile.
She was smiling at her unfaithful husband.
And she smiled beautifully.
