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chapter 28
Thanks to the butler Nicholas, Lynette had to go through a late-night snack and even tea time. Although she wasn’t haunted by a ghost of someone who had starved to death, her table was piled high with dishes.
She told them to stop bringing food since she couldn’t finish it, but delicious desserts kept appearing. Just looking at them was almost overwhelming.
“Uncle, please clear all of this before I end up with a stomachache.”
“You’ve eaten like a bird. Why worry about a stomachache? Eat a little more. Shall I feed you?”
Lynette glared at Conrad and Casper, who looked eager to feed her. Only then did the two stop offering her more food.
“Your mother always said you were too skinny and told me to make sure you ate well whenever you came here.”
“Skinny? I’m perfectly normal. If I eat more here, I might have to roll instead of walk.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“Uncle! Are you joking? I’m never coming here again.”
Seeing Lynette pout with her arms crossed, Conrad now coaxed and cajoled his fully grown niece. The staff watching quietly from a distance smiled softly.
Because of an unfortunate incident, the family had been sealed off for over thirteen years. Casper, as a knight of the imperial palace, couldn’t help it, but Conrad truly avoided the outside world. He always appeared gloomy, but with Lynette’s arrival, the mansion brightened.
Even though she was the child of his younger sister, the one who had caused the family to seal itself away in shock, they liked Lynette immensely.
“Lynette, let’s ride the carriage together, uncle will see you off.”
“No, just lend me the carriage.”
“I’ll escort you. I may look like this, but I’m an imperial palace knight.”
“No, just go clean your feet and sleep.”
Lynette had abandoned all dignity as a store owner ever since coming to the Florence estate. Despite that, the two packed her gifts to the brim.
“There’s nowhere to put all this. And this dress—why? I’m not going to a party. I really don’t need it. And these accessories—I don’t need them either. When Casper gets married, you can give them to his wife.”
She started discarding the bulky items first. But Conrad and Casper insisted she keep them “just in case” and shoved them into the carriage anyway. As a result, she ended up needing a wagon just for the luggage.
“Count Florence, it’s been a while.”
“Catherine, isn’t it? Good thing you’re with our Lynette.”
Even though she could have gone alone, Conrad insisted on escorting her and even visited the house.
“You two live nicely. It’s clean and cozy.”
Casper, while placing gifts inside the house, glanced around before sipping his tea leisurely. But Lynette didn’t let them linger; she promptly ushered them out.
“I have to work tomorrow. So please leave. I need to rest too.”
As Lynette waved her hands to hurry them, the two simultaneously held her hands and kissed the back of her hands.
“Come again anytime. We’ll prepare all the things you love.”
“If you contact me beforehand, I’ll take a day off. Let’s have a little outing.”
Seeing the Florence carriage slowly drive away, Lynette smiled faintly. She might not have had much luck with her parents, but at least she had fortune on her maternal side.
“But… what are all these gifts?”
“I went without saying anything so you wouldn’t prepare, but it seems they were ready in advance.”
Lynette shook her head at the small room filled with presents. If she went there one more time, she felt like they’d give her an entire house just to store the gifts.
“Count Florence seems to have no limits when it comes to ladies. Same as before, it’s reassuring.”
“Don’t be reassured. You could be crushed to death under these gifts.”
❅
As midsummer began, everyone was too exhausted by the heat to go outside. During that time, Lynette’s store thrived.
Using a powerful Ice Stone, Lynette froze ice quickly. Placing a water-filled mold near the Ice Stone made it freeze rapidly.
She then poured coffee over the ice to make what we now call “iced coffee.” Adding ice to all drinks drew even customers who usually visited other tea shops.
“Oh my, this is so refreshing. Amazing.”
“Look, ice. Coffee really goes well with ice.”
Customers exhausted from the heat looked relieved as they drank iced coffee. While ordinary teas didn’t mix well with ice, coffee, including lattes, complemented it perfectly.
As a result, Angela spent her entire day removing ice from molds and refilling them with water.
“Lynette, you’re a genius! How did you even come up with this?”
Ice was traditionally a winter treat. Wealthy people would use Ice Stones to make ice in summer, but never with molds. They’d cut large blocks of ice with a heated knife or saw.
But by using molds, there was no need to break the ice manually. Customers could enjoy bite-sized ice without risk of injury.
“To run a business, you have to consider this basic. The early bird catches the worm, after all.”
“I see. You really are amazing, Lynette. Hehe. Ah! Lisa?”
Angela had made more friends recently, lingering near the shop. Although she wanted to serve them coffee, Lynette avoided giving it to minors.
“Can I go meet a friend?”
“There aren’t many customers right now, so go ahead.”
From opening until about 2 PM was the busiest time. Lunchtime visitors often came drawn by the aroma, or to have a light meal with the store’s sandwiches and coffee. After that period, it became relatively quiet.
While Angela stepped out briefly, Lynette rested inside. Occasional customers mostly took takeout, heading to the cool park with their coffee.
“Fuuuh!”
Today she felt sleepy. The heat and humidity made her slump down, watching Cheese stretched out comfortably. Lately, Cheese had grown and didn’t listen as well.
“Cheese, when will the one who named you come? I hope nothing bad has happened.”
She shook her head at the thought of something bad.
He had the strength to lift her with one hand and could take down multiple thugs in a short time. Nothing bad could happen to someone like him.
Still, she couldn’t help worrying. There was no way to contact him directly. When there were no customers, Lynette either read a book or stared blankly at the entrance.
She wondered if Sean might come early from a business trip. But someone else entered instead.
“Welcome.”
It was Cordelia. Today, instead of Rosemary and Cloud, Cordelia had come—with someone.
“This is my husband, Benjamin. Benjamin, this is Lynette, the coffee master.”
“Ah! I get to meet the person who makes delicious coffee in person. I’m Benjamin.”
As expected, this family was thorough with introductions. The blond, blue-eyed man greeted Lynette with a nod.
“I’m Lynette. Nice to meet you.”
“It’s us who should say that. Ben, what would you like to drink?”
Cordelia, now seated at their usual spot, explained the menu to Benjamin.
“I’m not familiar with coffee, so Ria will order for me.”
“Then what would you like? Sweet and mild? Bitter? Or…?”
After explaining roughly by flavor, Benjamin chose an iced latte.
“Lynette, two iced lattes, please.”
“Yes, I’ll make cute iced lattes for you today.”
Lynette topped the two cups with thick milk foam and began drawing designs.
On one, a cat plunged in with its head and pink jelly-like paws sticking out. On the other, a cat extended its paw toward the cat in the adjacent cup.
She carefully carried the connected, three-dimensional latte art without disturbing the foam.
Cordelia blinked at the table, amazed.
“How do you even drink this? Unbelievable. How did you make it?”
Although Lynette had been too busy to make latte art recently, she had time today.
“It’s milk foam, so you can drink it.”
Cordelia slowly started smiling as she tried the latte art for the first time.
“Did you make this when your mother and father visited?”
“No, I’ve made it for others, but not for them.”
“I’ll brag about it when I meet my parents later. Our Lynette made this just for me. My mother might even get jealous.”
It was unbearably cute. How could anyone drink it? Benjamin stared for a long while, wishing he could keep it as a picture.
“Like this…”
“The foam will disappear soon.”
“Ah, what a shame. I’d have liked to take it as it is.”
Benjamin, who seemed to like cute things, reluctantly chose one of the two cups. But he couldn’t drink yet; Cordelia kept her eyes on the foam until it fully settled.
“Ria? Drink already. How long will you just stare?”
“Wait, it’s too cute to drink. I should savor it with my eyes first.”
After staring a while, she reluctantly took a sip.
“Wow, I can taste bitterness, but the mild sweetness balances it perfectly. Really delicious.”
To Benjamin, who had only drunk herbal or fruit teas before, this first coffee left a strong impression.
“Right? I tried it after being dragged here by my parents—it was amazing. And they even made something special for me.”
Having felt sorry for Cordelia, whose mother had taken her caramel macchiato, Lynette had made something not even on the menu. That’s why Cordelia became an ardent fan of Lynette.
While they chatted and drank lattes, a familiar person entered.
“Oh my, look at that. The daughter and son-in-law who caused trouble are here without us. Lynette, two refreshing Sepiano drinks, please.”
Rosemary and Cloud entered. Cordelia and Benjamin stood up.
“Welcome, Father, Mother.”
“You seem dragged here by Ria’s charm, but is it okay to stay?”
“Yes, very satisfied. We fell in love with the first coffee we drank here, hahaha.”
“Indeed. After 25 years, I was also captivated by coffee, so I visit often now.”
The father-in-law and son-in-law got along very well. In contrast, the mother and daughter seemed to spark in some subtle way.
“Why are you two together today?”
“It’s not like I came somewhere I couldn’t. We just enjoyed Lynette’s coffee because it was delicious.”
“You act like you’ll never come with your husband.”
“It’s fine. Lynette made a wonderful creation today. Something she didn’t even make for my mother, she made for us.”
Rosemary looked at Lynette, but latte art on Sepiano wasn’t possible.
“That’s only available when ordering a latte, and only when there’s time. I’ll serve something else for you instead, so please sit.”
“Okay, if Lynette says so, we’ll sit.”
Lynette went to the backyard to gather vegetables and immediately made pancakes. When she served them, Cordelia and Rosemary simultaneously rose and held her hands.
“Ria, I’ll give you my husband; take him. I raised him for twenty years and now it’s your turn to care for him. Lynette, let’s go to our house. We’ll let you live with just a little effort.”
“No. Give my younger husband to Mother, and you take him. Lynette, I’ll cancel asking you to be my sister-in-law. Just take me.”
She wasn’t trying to train them, though.
