Chapter 16
Two Minnows. Obsessed with Baguette (1)
Ban remembered that day vividly.
It was, in some sense, the most shocking day of his entire life.
As usual, after finishing training, Ban called over a new recruit knight.
The recruit was a commoner, someone who had lived as a drifter until he caught Ban’s eye and was accepted into the order.
The Badger Knights were one of the five knightly orders of the Rosso Kingdom, and they had the highest proportion of commoners.
Because they were tasked with guarding the outskirts of the capital, they were far removed from the seat of power, the royal palace. The other four knight orders often looked down on the Badger Knights as nothing more than a gathering of rabble.
But Ban had deliberately chosen to join the Badger Knights. Within just a year, he had seized the position of captain, and he selected his men based solely on skill.
The latest recruit was a result of that principle.
The new knight was deeply grateful to Ban, and as thanks, gifted him a baguette that his mother had struggled to obtain.
At first, Ban tried to refuse, but when the recruit insisted, “It’s not a bribe! Just a snack!” Ban reluctantly accepted.
Looking back, the thought of what might have happened if he had refused that day was terrifying.
The moment he bit into that baguette and began chewing—
Ban froze, utterly stunned.
This… is bread?
The crisp crunch of the crust, the chewy and fragrant crumb, the mild nutty aroma, and the faint sweetness that lingered on his tongue.
Without a doubt, it was a taste and texture he had never experienced in his life.
The shock that began in his mouth spread like a current through his entire body.
Ban grabbed the recruit by the shoulders and sharply demanded to know what this was, and where it had come from.
“I-I heard it’s from a newly opened bakery…!”
“Where is it?”
“I’ll go find out!”
From that day on, Ban was utterly consumed by baguettes.
Eyes open, eyes closed—he thought only of baguettes. Sitting, standing—it was all baguette.
Once, during training, the sword swung by a knight looked like a baguette to him.
He almost grabbed the blade and tried to bring it to his mouth, and then burst into laughter at himself.
It wasn’t his tongue craving it, but his very mind being pulled by some irresistible force. He simply couldn’t stop.
He had thought he was a man of strong self-control, but it turned out to be an illusion.
Now, Ban could not survive a single day without baguettes.
In his life, nothing had ever stirred such desperate desire as baguettes.
Ban had been born with a silver spoon.
The Cronin Marquisate had for generations held the position of Chamberlain of the Royal Household.
The Chamberlain oversaw the palace’s affairs, a post that controlled vast amounts of the Rosso Kingdom’s information. Among the many noble houses, the Cronins were counted among the most prestigious.
Though he had been born the third son and thus could not inherit the marquisate, as a child he inherited the title of Viscount Varez from his grandfather, along with wealth enough to live comfortably forever.
By all rights, any discontent he felt would be nothing but the complaints of the privileged.
And Ban himself knew how blessed he was.
Everyone treated him kindly.
He could do whatever he wanted.
Though his strict parents and much older brothers were not close to him, they were lenient with the youngest.
Born into an environment where he could have anything, blessed with good looks and physical talent, what could he possibly lack?
And yet, ever since childhood, Ban had longed for something else—
Someone close.
Someone to share warmth and feelings with.
As far as he could remember, no one had ever embraced him.
His parents had never once held him.
The words his mother spoke when she peeled him off her legs in childhood were burned into his memory.
With a look of clear displeasure, she brushed him off and scolded him as though pointing out some deficiency. Her soft-spoken, quiet words cut him deeply as a child.
It felt as though he had touched something forbidden.
As though he had become dirty filth.
“Don’t act spoiled.”
“Don’t do shameful things. You must be different from other children. Like your brothers.”
The Cronins were steeped in elitism.
Nobles were inherently different from commoners.
Their very blood was different, and so it was commoners’ destiny to serve nobles.
Just because their outward appearances were similar did not make them the same “kind.”
It was a family mantra: We are different from those people, and so we must uphold honor.
But no matter what, Ban could never live like them.
Like in the books he read, he simply wanted a friend.
So he begged for one. One day, his eldest brother bought him a slave.
A boy his own age.
Ban thought he had finally made a friend.
But a few months later, that “friend” stabbed Ban’s cousin to death, stole valuables, and fled.
At first, Ban refused to believe it. But the evidence was undeniable: someone was dead, and the boy had disappeared with stolen goods.
Recently, Ban had learned that boy was still alive, and he fully intended to make him pay for his betrayal with his own hands.
That was the beginning.
Every time Ban opened his heart, betrayal followed. Always.
As a child, he cried. But afterward, he stopped crying altogether.
He knew it was childish to think no one cared about him for himself alone. But he couldn’t give up the desire.
His choice of the Badger Knights instead of the Royal Guard was also a small act of rebellion.
Showing kindness to people regardless of status was rebellion too. Perhaps that’s why his reputation was good.
But repeated betrayal left Ban unable to fully trust anyone.
Even if someone smiled warmly at him, he suspected ulterior motives.
Some said if it was so suffocating, he should just abandon everything and leave. But he couldn’t ignore the family teaching: “Fulfill the responsibilities equal to the privileges you were born into.”
Ban had indeed enjoyed much.
And he still couldn’t completely discard the desire for recognition and love from his family.
So, with no place to rest his heart, he endured his mounting stress—until he became addicted to delicious carbohydrates.
It was, perhaps, inevitable.
The bakery was small.
Ban himself was a large man, and with just four or five more burly men inside, there would hardly be room to stand.
In that warm, fragrant, little shop, Ellie was hiding.
“Ellie. Why do you dislike me?”
“I just hated you the moment I saw you.”
“Does my appearance cause you disgust?”
“…”
His blue eyes chilled.
“You know you’re handsome, don’t you? Ugh, how irritating.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“There doesn’t need to be a reason for dislike. Just like there doesn’t need to be one for liking someone.”
“Do you think you’ll hate me no matter what?”
“Yes. Just seeing you stresses me out.”
“Haha. How merciless.”
“Laughing when I say I hate you—wow.”
“Sorry, Ellie, but having someone hate me and suffer for it… doesn’t feel so bad.”
“A knight captain tormenting an innocent person—unbelievable.”
Ellie clicked her tongue in disgust.
It was a strange feeling for Ban, who had never once been hated at first sight. But strangely, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
“If you had sent a servant from the start, I wouldn’t have hated it so much.”
“Just now, you said you hated me at first sight.”
“…I meant I wouldn’t have hated you this much.”
“Well, if I’d be hated either way, I’d prefer to meet you myself.”
“I said I don’t like it. How many times do I have to repeat myself…”
This guy is seriously crazy…
Ellie muttered it to herself, but Ban’s sharp ears caught it clearly.
Even when she cursed him, frowned at him, or glared at him with contempt, he just felt like laughing. He knew something in him was off.
Even if she says she hates me… she doesn’t drive me away.
She said it:
“Please get lost. Don’t come here. Would you leave?”
“I’m a customer too.”
“And I have the right to choose my customers.”
“I’ll cry, Ellie.”
“…How can someone so big make such a petty threat…”
But her sharp tone softened a little, as if crying would actually trouble her. If she truly hated him, she wouldn’t care if he cried or not.
Grumbling, Ellie packed him two baguettes.
Someone who hated him, and thus allowed him to be honest without pretense, was rare.
To Ban, Ellie became important beyond the baguettes.
When Ban returned to the knight headquarters, he picked up the report on his desk.
—Lady McClure declared missing.
The McClure estate was eerily quiet.
There was no movement at all to find Ellie, who was hiding in a small bakery.
There’s no way the Duke of McClure let Ellie go so easily.
A man as cunning as the Duke of McClure would never tolerate someone who could be a liability. He would prefer to eliminate loose ends.
With finality.
Like death.
