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Chapter 78
Twelve Breads. Trouble Comes Crashing into the Mansion (4)
It had already been three months since the new shop opened.
It had been almost a year since Ellie left the McClure estate.
‘Even Paris Baguette isn’t just a dream anymore! Am I the Baek Jong-won¹ of this world?’
The dream of building a franchise felt right within her reach.
And <Cookie Walking> was, quite literally, booming.
Every day, everything on the menu sold out early. A third branch had already opened. Each branch was managed by former bakers. Hearing about Kyle, some bakers came seeking training, and Ellie generously passed down her recipes.
She shared portions of the long-nurtured levain and explained in detail how to maintain it. The process itself wasn’t hard, but it required a lot of care and was easily contaminated, so she repeatedly warned them to be cautious.
The point she emphasized most was that the recipe must be followed to the letter.
Temperature, humidity, time—everything mattered. Only by strictly keeping to the recipe could they get the proper result. If they got used to it and started cutting corners, problems would inevitably arise.
The bakery staff’s skills improved daily, to the point they could handle most of the processes without Malina’s supervision.
The craze for <Cookie Walking> showed no signs of cooling down. They kept production limited, pushing a luxury brand image, yet demand for the new menu items from the banquet never stopped.
It became such a staple that people joked: “If you’re from Rayard, you have to eat either a baguette, a campagne, or a loaf of sandwich bread for breakfast.”
That was Maurice’s strategy.
Words were a frightening thing. Just by inserting a phrase like “Of course, if you’re from Rayard…”, people began to believe they had always eaten bread for breakfast.
Ellie had no time to even blink, her days were so busy.
Even though production practically ran like an automatic hunt, her own tasks never ended. After finishing staff training and branch openings, messages started arriving from the Yan Empire, urging her to develop new products with their ingredients. Along with that came an order: supply a certain quota directly to the Yan imperial family.
But preservation pouches were too small for trade use. Everything had to be transported by hand, which naturally took time. Bread especially spoiled quickly, and to send frozen bread and pastries, special equipment was needed.
Ellie had to rely on Edmund and Maurice to successfully send frozen goods to the Yan Empire.
Maurice, mainly in trade, had the fastest routes and workers, while Edmund built magical devices to turn wagons into portable freezers.
It sounded simple, but financially, it was almost better not to sell at all.
Once shipping was done, she then had to persuade workers who threatened to quit from exhaustion. Just when she managed to soothe them, someone would fall ill, and she had to fill in the gaps… and so on.
Fortunately, Malina carried more than her share of the load, and the workers she brought in were quiet, diligent, and loyal. They might have looked a bit rough, but who cared? Work well done was all that mattered.
It took three months before Ellie finally found a moment to breathe.
After sending the night-shift staff home, she was tidying up when the clear jingle of the doorbell rang. Without looking, Ellie called out:
“Sorry, we’re closed.”
“That’s why we came.”
“Ellie, we’ve come to pick you up.”
“Ah, I’m going in first.”
Maurice, Van, and Edmund entered, one after the other. Ellie glared at them over her mop, a little fed up.
“I’m not eating late-night snacks tonight.”
“What? Why? Are you sick?”
“Ellie… I’ve been waiting all day for this moment. Are you unwell?”
“I’ve been starving all day. I’m hungry.”
She wished they would stop treating her like a patient just because she wanted to skip a snack. Ellie grumbled:
“Because of eating late-night snacks with you lot, I can’t lose weight. Why do I keep gaining when you all stay the same?”
“That’s because our activity levels are different, isn’t it?”
“Van, I move a lot too, you know? I’m running around all day!”
“Haha, but you need muscles to build stamina. Should we start exercising tomorrow?”
“Dieting is 80% diet control. If you eat late at night and exercise, you just become a healthy pig…”
It was infuriating. They were the ones eating the most—so why was she the only one gaining?
“You come late, after closing, to eat, and that’s why I can’t lose weight.”
“Why do you even need to lose weight?” Maurice asked.
He was still dressed neatly in evening attire, probably on his way back from some social party. Ellie glanced at his slightly longer hair brushed back, showing his handsome face. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Whenever their eyes met, Maurice instinctively half-closed his honey-brown eyes, oozing charm.
How many people had he bewitched with that today? Work or not, who knew what kind of people he was meeting.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Not to me. You’re already cute and pretty.”
“Maurice, no matter how much you like me, you shouldn’t lie.”
“I’m not lying—it’s because I like you.”
“…You might want to get your eyes checked. Anyway, I’ve decided to lose weight, so no late-night snacks for me.”
The moment Ellie put down the mop, Edmund tugged her to sit beside him.
“Don’t say that, eat with us, Ellie.”
“Ah, Eddie, even if you act cute, it won’t work.”
“Come on, it’s no fun if only we eat.”
“Do you eat for fun?”
“For taste. And it tastes better when you’re with us.”
“What am I, seasoning?”
Van cut in:
“Honestly, you don’t need to hold back. If you get any thinner, Ellie…”
“Hey! You make it sound like I’m a stick!”
“When’s the last time you really looked in the mirror?”
“What? Of course, morning and evening.”
“No, I mean—compared to when we first met, you look different. Back then, your face was a bit rounder…”
He tried to choose his words carefully, but there wasn’t really a better way to put it. With a small cough, Van continued:
“…Your face seemed rounder before. Now it’s slimmer, maybe because you’ve lost baby fat.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I could swear to it, if necessary.”
“Don’t waste oaths on something so silly.”
Just as Van said, Ellie had lost her baby fat over the past year.
Her face had always carried more weight, though the rest of her body was average. After months of busy, adult life, her cheeks slimmed down, revealing her natural beauty.
She even looked a little like Elaine. Van didn’t dare say that, afraid she’d be offended.
When Ellie burst out laughing, Maurice muttered sulkily:
“So you don’t believe me, but you believe Van?”
Propping his chin on his hand, Maurice leaned on the table between them. Ellie wondered how to deal with him… then decided to ignore him altogether.
“Fine, I’ll eat just tonight. But starting tomorrow, no more late-night snacks.”
“Ellie, I’m sulking, can’t you see?”
“So, what should we eat? Should I bring out some beer first? Or wine?”
“Ellie? Ellie? I said I’m sulking. Ellie?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake…”
If she turned, she’d get caught up. And if she got caught up, she’d blush again.
Maurice was good at pouting, good at making her laugh, good at reading her like the back of his hand.
‘I can’t handle this…’
So this was the difference that came from experience.
Maurice had been steady in his affection.
‘Good morning, Ellie. You’re cute today. I love it.’
‘I’ll head out now. Oh, and—I like you.’
‘I dropped by because I missed you. Because I like you.’
Over and over like that.
He gave Ellie chances to respond, but she never took them. He never pressured her, either.
If only he had pushed her for an answer, maybe things would have been resolved sooner.
But right now, Ellie’s work came first.
She didn’t want anything interfering with that.
If Edmund hadn’t pried into her feelings, if she had realized them much later on her own, Ellie would never have confessed anything.
But she’d been exposed, and Maurice’s attitude shifted. Sometimes, Ellie resented Edmund for it.
Not that she disliked Maurice.
She still liked him—her heart still fluttered. But she had no desire to date or marry him. She couldn’t even imagine being his girlfriend.
If he were hers, she would genuinely get furious at his flirting outside.
She really couldn’t handle it.
Ellie just liked things the way they were now.
‘Whether he sees right through me or not, all he says is that he likes me… what am I supposed to say back?’
She felt like a little acorn rolling around in Maurice’s palm.
When Ellie stared quietly at him, Maurice smiled slyly, fox-like.
“Ellie, if you look at me like that, my heart’s going to burst.”
“I’ll burst it for you—come here.”
“My heart already belongs to Ellie. Eddie, don’t even think about it.”
“You bastard. You’re insane.”
“Eddie, want to borrow my sword?”
“No need. A lunatic like him isn’t worth wasting a weapon on.”
Ellie let out a long sigh.
Why on earth had she fallen for someone like this…?
That night was the last peaceful evening the four of them would share in Rayard.
