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Chapter : 07
Country Life Is Wonderful! (1)
At last, the day had come.
I, Viviana Goldwordi—who had my fiancé stolen by my stepsister—left the capital, leading my subordinates behind me.
The Dryan Territory had offered extremely generous tax benefits, so my subordinates settled there without hesitation. A branch of the Goldwordi Merchant Guild was established in Dryan lands, and a trade department was built to handle the import-export business I had personally been in charge of.
The Intelligence Division, due to its nature, could not leave the capital. Instead, a subsidiary department was created to support it.
It was the Dessert Development Department.
In order to gather information from all over the capital, the Intelligence Division disguised itself as pubs, cafés, and bakeries. Since they were disguises, they still had to actually operate as businesses—and attract customers in order to collect information—so dessert development was important. The Dessert Development Department was responsible for supplying ingredients and recipes to those establishments.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
We purchased an entire old downtown district on the outskirts of Dryan Territory and renovated it all at once. The Dryan estate manager welcomed us with enthusiastic applause.
“As expected, rumors are not to be trusted! An angelic young lady! A wonderful young lady!”
I enjoyed the praises born from capitalism to my heart’s content.
“Tell them to praise me more.”
“…Were you… lacking praise?”
Selvia seemed to reflect, thinking she hadn’t properly praised me until now as a noble young lady—but that was that.
After settling my subordinates’ accommodations—
“Then I’ll be off.”
“Milady?”
“Miss!”
“Where are you going?”
I left casually for the residence I had prepared in advance.
It was a very small town near Dryan Territory—close enough that, if you ran a little, you could reach the Northern Kingdom.
Now I’ll do what I want to do.
It wasn’t that I hated what I did as the Goldwordi noble lady. It had been fun in its own way, even rewarding. But it wasn’t what I truly wanted.
My dream.
A dream I had never told anyone—and never intended to tell anyone.
I’m going to run a small café.
I didn’t even tell my subordinates where I was going. Only Selvia came with me.
And so, I started a café in a small countryside village.
Goodbye to my past self forever! The villainess who has retired will quietly run a happy brunch café!
The original protagonists—those cockroach-like male and female leads—could fall in love or multiply for all I cared.
I should have said goodbye to every character in the original story…
But then—
Why is that man here?! He was absolutely supposed to never leave the capital!
For a full week now, Karl Dryan had been stationed in front of my café like a built-in pillar.
According to the founding myth of this empire, the Emperor once subjugated a “dragon” that created the world, and together they built the empire. Because of that bloodline, the Dryan family—the descendants of that dragon—were kept close to the capital and the Emperor.
So much so that the next Emperor must receive the “Dragon’s Oath” from the heir of House Dryan. Though in recent years it had become a ceremonial rite for the Crown Prince, it still showed how symbolic the Dryan family was.
The one who could essentially determine the next imperial successor—was Karl Dryan.
So why is a man like that wandering around here? He should be guarding Crown Prince Adolf.
In the original story, Karl Dryan only fell for Georgiana because he often encountered her while staying near the Crown Prince.
Which means… him being here now means he’s enduring that burning internal pain again.
And the only one who could cure it was Georgiana, who possessed holy power.
“Um.”
“……”
At my call, the man slowly raised his head.
His cold gaze made my heart shrink.
He was easily ranked first on my list of “people I never want to meet alone.”
Of course I came alone today… Selvia isn’t here…
The only subordinate I brought when opening this café was Selvia. And she had gone out on errands.
No. Maybe it’s better this way.
Karl Dryan’s condition—and the fact that Georgiana could heal him—were secrets only I knew. I couldn’t just go around spreading them.
I cleared my throat, deciding to subtly suggest he was in the wrong place.
“I don’t know why you’re here, but I think you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m Viviana. Not Georgiana.”
“…?”
Karl tilted his head slightly.
The expression—like he was wondering why I was suddenly introducing myself—made me feel like I was suffocating.
Karl Dryan! Did your sister not tell you Georgiana has holy power?!
Does she even care about her brother or not?
I’m going to write her another letter later.
Grinding my teeth in irritation only made my stomach churn again.
But wait, I told everyone this café location was secret! So why is he here so openly?!
While I was fuming internally, Karl just silently watched me without saying a word.
That familiar silence made me press my temple.
This frustrating man must have traded his voice to a witch in exchange for overwhelming strength and terrifying action speed. Otherwise there was no way he could be this silent.
He’s not a dragon descendant—he’s a golem.
I narrowed my eyes and changed my question.
“Sir Karl. At least nod if you can. You do have business with me, right?”
The man—who had been standing like a boulder in front of my shop—finally moved.
Nod.
What is this guy even doing?!
“You really do have business with me? With me?”
Nod.
“And this is your first time seeing me, right?”
“……”
He responded by not nodding. So apparently it wasn’t our first meeting.
We should’ve started like this from the beginning.
This wasn’t satisfying at all, but compared to a full week of silence, it was an improvement. At least I could understand his intent.
I pouted and asked,
“But I have no business with you. And this café is supposed to be secret. Didn’t Nanari tell you that?”
Nod, nod.
My eyebrows slowly rose.
He nodded a bit awkwardly just now, didn’t he?
So he did hear about it.
I studied his face carefully, but there was no readable emotion—just an iron wall like a golem.
Crossing my arms, I twisted my lips.
“So you’re planning to keep standing here?”
Nod.
“Until when?”
“……”
Karl stopped nodding again.
His mouth stayed shut like a clam with no intention of opening. If it were an actual clam, I might’ve forced it open—but this was more like a deep-sea giant clam. No ordinary person could crack it open.
Ugh, this is infuriating!
Beating my chest in frustration, I turned around.
“Forget it. I’m going to make breakfast. If you want to eat, follow me—or don’t.”
Even as I said it, I never imagined Karl Dryan would actually move.
But then—
“Huh?”
The man who had been unmoving like a rock suddenly stepped onto the window frame and slipped inside the café.
There was almost no sound—his movement was light, agile, completely unlike his massive build.
No, that’s more like a black panther.
So shocked I froze with my mouth slightly open, I turned to look at him.
Karl stared back at me with his usual expressionless face.
Why was he acting like such an obedient child?
I cautiously asked,
“…Did you come here to eat?”
Nod.
Sigh.
Even now, another nod.
I clicked my tongue, exasperated.
Then I pulled out a chair at a table.
“Sit down.”
Karl obediently sat. Then became a stone statue again.
While flipping an egg, I kept glancing at him.
He really is like a well-behaved large dog.
Just moments ago he looked like a terrifying predator, and now he sat so still he looked like a dog waiting for a “stay” command.
What is this guy?
Why had he come all the way here just to sit and eat? We had no connection whatsoever—just people who knew each other’s names and faces due to status.
This is all Nanari Dryan’s fault! I told her it was secret!
Thinking of my overly chatty pen-pal, I clenched my fist at the air again.
Nanari Dryan!
You deal with your brother yourself!
