🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 20
‘…Should I give up?’
She could always come back to buy bread another time. But the savory smell of freshly baked bread wafting from inside kept tempting her.
Should she endure the discomfort for a moment and buy some bread, or just turn back here?
“Frea, let’s go together.”
“…All right.”
It couldn’t be helped. The smell of bread was far too tempting to refuse.
After hesitating, Frea finally gave up on turning back and walked toward Raiden, who was waiting for her.
Ding—
“Welco— …Huh?”
The bakery owner, who had been arranging freshly baked bread, looked flustered when he saw the three people enter his shop.
Two women and one man dressed in splendid, luxurious clothes. No matter how he looked at them, they didn’t seem like the kind of people who would come personally to a little bakery tucked away in an alley like this.
In a trembling voice, he asked them,
“W-what are you looking for?”
“I heard the bread here is delicious. What would you recommend?”
“Pardon? Ah, th-that is…”
At Savanna’s question, the bakery owner couldn’t continue, flustered. What on earth should he recommend to such an elegant, noble lady?!
Wh-what if they got sick from eating our bread?!
Though it was a good chance to show his bread to people who looked like nobles, worry overtook him first.
“The salted bread here called Wiltid is good, Mother.”
Raiden said with a smile, trying to ease the tension with a gentler expression. But for the bakery owner, who had no immunity to such perfect looks, it had the opposite effect.
Good heavens, how could someone be so dazzlingly beautiful? It was as if a god had carefully crafted him piece by piece.
Even though he was a man himself, the bakery owner found it hard to keep his senses before Raiden’s blinding appearance.
“Salt, you say. How interesting. Come to think of it, salt is the specialty of the Wiltid territory, isn’t it? Is that the salt you use?”
“Y-yes. That’s right…”
Thanks to Savanna’s question, the bakery owner barely came back to his senses and answered.
“I see. So that’s why you named it ‘Wiltid.’ Using a local specialty—quite clever of you.”
“Th-thank you.”
I got praised!
The bakery owner’s cheeks flushed with pride. His voice still trembled with nerves, but he was genuinely happy about Savanna’s compliment.
“Then could you bring me some Wiltid and two other recommendations? And some warm chamomile tea would be nice.”
“Frea, what would you like to drink?”
“I’ll have warm chamomile tea too.”
“All right.”
After Raiden ordered Frea’s drink as well, the three of them sat at an empty window seat inside.
Small vases were placed on each table, adding a touch of brightness. Savanna seemed to like it, a smile forming on her lips.
“H-here’s your bread and tea.”
“Thank you. Oh my, it looks delicious.”
“Th-thank you very much! Please enjoy your time!”
Pleased once more by the compliment, the bakery owner bowed deeply and returned to the counter. After taking a sip of tea, Savanna tore the salted bread, Wiltid, and put it into her mouth. Her eyes soon widened.
“This is…”
The outside was crisp, while the inside was soft and moist. The rich, buttery flavor could have been heavy, but the salty topping balanced it out.
Who would have thought that the harmony of savory and salty could be this wonderful? Surprised that it rivaled the bread baked in her own mansion, she couldn’t hide her amazement.
“How does it have such a rich taste? Despite its plain appearance, it’s quite good. Now I see why it has such a good reputation among the nobles.”
At Savanna’s generous praise, Raiden nodded.
“I heard they carefully select all the basic ingredients to make sure they’re fresh. And through their own research, they’ve been creating many new kinds of bread linked to local specialties.”
“That’s a fine approach. I didn’t know there was a bakery like this in the capital. Raiden, how do you know so much about it?”
“It’s thanks to Frea. She told me about it.”
“Oh, I see.”
Savanna’s gaze shifted to Frea. Feeling burdened by the gentle, smiling look in her eyes, Frea turned her gaze away as well.
‘We came here together a few times back at the academy.’
She remembered how Raiden had liked this bread the first time they ate it. She’d thought he only ate high-class bread made by the duke’s chefs, so it had been unexpected to see him casually enjoying common bread.
She knew he liked the bread here, but she hadn’t realized he’d paid such close attention to the ingredients and its reputation.
When Frea glanced back, her eyes met Raiden’s.
“What is it?”
“…It’s nothing.”
She’d just happened to look, but the timing was awkward. With a displeased expression, she turned her head away again. Raiden’s gaze lingered on her.
Watching the two for a moment, Savanna smiled and asked,
“Come to think of it, has the young lady of Duke Vinok already gone back? I wonder what happened. She always used to drag you around until you were exhausted.”
“…Astella is angry at me. I think she’ll stop having me as her aide now.”
“Oh my, really? That’s good news, but I wonder why she got angry at you, Frea.”
So that nasty girl finally fell away, huh? At that moment, Savanna’s eyes curved slightly as they flashed.
Though she had some idea what had happened, she casually probed Frea. Noticing this, Frea answered without much concern.
“She confronted me about lying to her. At first she denied it, but when I told her what I’d heard from you and the duke, she couldn’t answer properly.”
“I thought so. With such clear evidence, it would be foolish to think a lie could last forever.”
Savanna’s eyes shone sharply.
What had she been relying on to act so arrogantly all this time? No matter how much support the Duke of Vinok gave her, there had to be limits.
‘Come to think of it, even back then I felt the duke’s daughter didn’t seem to know that well. But she looked like she had something she trusted in.’
It was a doubt Savanna had had even before her regression. Thinking she needed to learn more about what Astella was hiding, she continued,
“The rumors have died down a bit now, so there’s no need to wait any longer. We’re ready to lodge a formal protest, so we can wrap this up.”
“Are you planning to confront the Duke of Vinok head-on?”
“Of course. We’ll demand proper compensation for the damage Raiden and our family have suffered.”
“…I see.”
Hearing Savanna’s words, Frea thought,
The Bethelheim ducal house and the Vinok ducal house. If the two clashed, the repercussions would be huge. It was obvious there would be an uproar not only in high society but throughout the noble world.
Since Frea was involved to some extent, it would affect her as well. Especially Marquis Balche would be in trouble.
‘In the end, Vinok’s reputation will fall, which is good for him, but he’ll definitely take issue with me being dismissed as an aide.’
The channel for monitoring the Duke of Vinok’s movements would be cut off, and the trust she’d built up would collapse—though there’d never really been genuine trust between them.
Either way, it would be tiring for her all the same. Even if she was freed from her role as aide, just thinking about being bothered for a while made her head ache.
“If you quit being her aide, then Lady Vinok won’t be able to take your time anymore, Frea.”
At that moment, Raiden, who had been quietly watching Frea, spoke.
“Yes, that’s true. Still, I’m worried about what comes next.”
“Why is that?”
“I made Astella angry, so the Duke of Vinok won’t stay quiet. And since I’ve been dismissed as her aide, my father will scold me too.”
Looking steadily at him and Savanna, she slowly lowered her gaze, touched her teacup, and continued,
“And the reward I was supposed to get will be gone as well.”
“Reward?”
Hearing this for the first time, Raiden looked puzzled. Glancing at Savanna, who remained silent, Frea answered,
“Actually, when I took on the role of Astella’s aide, I made a deal with my father. If I produced results that satisfied the Duke of Vinok, he promised to guarantee me a single life.”
“Ah… so that’s why you worked so hard as Lady Vinok’s aide.”
A single life. Raiden’s murmuring expression stiffened slightly.
