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Chapter 79
Twelve loaves. Bad things tumble down Mansion (5)
“To Elli.”
A letter with no sender was slipped into the door crack.
As soon as Elli saw her name written on the letter, she knew by instinct who had sent it: Irein.
It was just a feeling.
Demian had said he reached a peaceful agreement with Duke McClure.
He said that they would overlook Irein’s birth and her attempt to steal Elli’s status and deceive the imperial family of Yan, and break off the engagement — on the condition that he also say nothing about this matter.
But from Elli’s point of view, Duke McClure wouldn’t act like that.
When it came to Irein, Duke McClure was the sort of person who lost his reason first. Besides, he was petty; he had to repay even small slights to be satisfied.
Still, the duke had taken Irein away quietly, so Elli thought, damn, Demian’s name carries some weight.
Even after returning to Riyad, Elli purposely didn’t look for news about Irein.
She figured that since she had saved Irein that day, she had already repaid the kindness of the girl liking her.
The war — the main crisis in the novel — had been prevented anyway; however the heroine’s remaining life and narrative flowed from now on no longer concerned Elli.
She had sometimes worried that the two male lead candidates being stuck to her side might be seen as something the heroine had taken from them.
But that didn’t mean she could tell Van and Edmund, “You two are destined to love Irein, so piss off!” That desire was only when she saw them as characters.
Van and Edmund each had plenty of opportunities to meet Irein.
The first person Irein looked for when she tried to find Elli was Van, and the alley where she made a commotion was near the Mage Tower. By chance, Edmund had been out on the street avoiding the elders’ nagging.
Looking back, whenever Elli almost ran into Irein, they were always nearby. There had been plenty of chances for them to get entangled.
Elli opened the letter.
“Elli.
I know you won’t be happy or pleased to get my letter.
Even so, I really wanted to say thank you.
I’ve had many long talks with Father.
I told him I couldn’t live having stolen your place.
I told him I couldn’t forgive him for killing Franz for me, that it hurts too much.
Father finally understood me a bit, and I decided to leave Riyad.
First, I’ll go visit the hometown of the woman who gave birth to me.
By the time you get this letter I’ll have already left Riyad, but you can rest easy — I asked Father to never touch you again.
If anything happens, contact me. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, I’ll come to you.
Just as you helped me, I will help you.
I’m glad you look healthy, Elli.
Sorry for being a burden to you until the end.
— Irein.”
Elli finished the letter and pressed her forehead with both hands.
“Does she still not know what kind of man Duke McClure is?”
If he were really the kind of man who would do nothing because he was told not to, he wouldn’t neglect or beat his own daughter. Even if he didn’t want Irein to be hated, he would have made sure she never got found out — even if Irein didn’t exist.
‘Did Irein really leave thinking Duke McClure wouldn’t do anything?’
Elli didn’t think so.
She let out a hollow laugh.
When she was eight.
Just before the chair cracked and toppled back, ‘Elli’ had taken a sharp look at the terrified face of the girl Irein had been. The little girl was paling. ‘Elli’ would have made sure not to leave that girl alone if she hadn’t remembered her previous life.
Unlike me, that girl had grown up receiving her father’s love.
That position was mine.
You’re supposed to be ashamed to appear in public, being a bastard.
Why can you smile so innocent and unwrinkled?
Everyone only likes you.
I’m the pathetic one.
I’m the one who wasn’t truly loved…
To the Elli who remembered her past life, a father’s love was trash she wouldn’t accept even if offered; but to the child ‘Elli’ who knew nothing, it wasn’t so.
That little ‘Elli’ longed for the father who didn’t come find her. She wanted love.
That was why she became so twisted.
“Well, we were never that close to be loyal to one another, anyway.”
Everyone lives their own life.
This was better.
Far better than feeling guilty and then running away from home to find your sister. Elli herself had told them to treat her as a stranger.
For Elli, it would be most beneficial if Irein lived by Duke McClure’s side her whole life.
But for Irein to live her life beside the man who killed her first love would be an unbearable misfortune. Thinking that way, she had held on for a long time.
“…I hope he doesn’t storm the shop.”
Imagining Duke McClure like an eight-ton truck with no brakes charging down on the bakery, Elli prepared for work.
The street was unusually crowded that morning.
‘Are they holding some event somewhere?’
But the place the crowd had gathered was in front of the shop.
The long queue that used to form outside the bakery during busy hours had vanished. Customers used to line up to get the bread as it came out, but now the line had gone.
As she moved closer, she saw the source of the commotion.
“Are you selling this for people to eat?!”
“Sir, please calm down first….”
“Calm? Do I look calm? I nearly died eating this!”
A voice she had heard many times before.
Elli was disappointed with herself for recognizing the voice so quickly. It wasn’t anything good.
Even though she’d only heard insults like calling someone a pig, the hysterical voice was so striking that it couldn’t be mistaken.
“Tell the owner to come out. Look at this — I bought this only yesterday and it’s in this state!”
“That can’t be.”
“You calling me a liar? Seth of the Hastings family?”
“No, it’s not that. We just need to check….”
“My words are the most accurate evidence! That day I didn’t eat anything else but this bread, and I literally nearly died. My physician will testify.”
Seth huffed. At his feet lay a moldy loaf.
Seth stomped on the loaf with his shoe and shouted.
“I vomited all day and my stomach hurt so badly I almost died, you hear me?!”
“W-well… we’ve never had such a complaint until now.”
“I only ate this?! If you don’t believe me, you eat it yourself! If you’re fine after, I’ll personally apologize!”
Seth threw the loaf the servant had been holding at one of the staff.
That was real. Elli was about to step forward.
But someone grabbed her wrist from behind.
“Elli, don’t.”
It was Maurice. Hooded and blended into the crowd, Maurice had hidden Elli behind his back.
“Maurice? Wait, I have to stop this!”
“I called the guard. They’ll be here soon. You don’t need to go out.”
“But I’m the boss! My employee did nothing wrong!”
“Better to give a bonus.”
“Even so—umph.”
Maurice covered Elli’s mouth with his palm.
“Seth Hastings is aiming at you. Are you going to give that bastard everything he wants?”
At that moment, Seth shouted in a booming voice.
“Owner, come out! If you sell stuff like this you’re responsible!”
Elli had never heard Seth speak so loudly before.
The guards pushed through the crowd and appeared.
“Sir, you’re causing trouble.”
“What? Trouble? I almost died from eating your bread!”
“Let’s step inside and talk. It’s not good for you to act like this publicly….”
“But isn’t this a legitimate complaint?”
“Exactly. So we’ll take this somewhere private first….”
“You must’ve taken dirty money from the owner. Or are you disrespecting me too?”
Who wouldn’t be disrespectful toward you, you crazy nuisance.
Elli wanted to shout back, but Maurice kept her quiet so she couldn’t do anything.
“Hmph, that’s enough for now. But don’t think I’m the only one who almost died; my physician who served the royal family said that it could’ve been fatal. This is not fit for human consumption.”
It wasn’t, you lunatic.
“Ugh—mmph!”
“Calm down, calm. Shh.”
Who do they think they’re calming, like they’re taming a beast!
“Ugh ugh—mmph!”
“Yes, yes. I know you’re angry, okay?”
“Ugh ugh!!!”
“Now rushing in won’t solve anything. Seth Hastings brought moldy bread as evidence and even had his physician testify. You need to prove it’s not our product fault. If you step forward now you’ll just get more verbal abuse and end up apologizing.”
A shopkeeper is bound to be weaker in situations like this.
That’s why small business owners get so frustrated with troublemakers.
But Elli couldn’t just stand by and listen to the one-sided accusations. If food is stored poorly it can go bad; to rant about it after you’ve eaten it without realizing it’s spoiled…
“We’ll get cooperation from the royal physician and the Mage Tower researchers to prove there’s nothing wrong with our bread. If we have to, I’ll spend all my savings to plaster it across every paper. Let’s hold off here. I don’t want you to be verbally abused in front of people, and I don’t want to see that bastard apologize.”
“Ugh…”
Maurice bowed his head and met her gaze.
“Please, hold back for my sake, okay?”
“…….”
“You’re a good girl.”
“Don’t sneak a kiss on my head while saying that.”
“I was trying to soothe you. No ulterior motive.”
Elli gave up on confronting the ruckus and went into the shop through the back door.
Another misfortune waited inside the shop.
