The Divorcée’s Dessert Cafe
Chapter 3

Madam Blennon stared at Erin in disbelief, then scoffed.

“You’re firing me? What gives you the right, Miss Erin? You’re not even a duchess anymore.”

You’re right. I’m no longer a duchess. But I haven’t lost everything yet.

Erin opened a drawer and pulled out a small silver-blue case.

“I’m no longer a duchess. But I still have this.”

It was a palm-sized case carved from a silver-blue gem. The box was wrapped in white flower stems, with the petals of a sacred tree engraved delicately in relief using white jade. The engravings glittered in the morning sunlight.

Madam Blennon flinched. Having been working as a lady-in-waiting in the palace, she knew exactly what it was. It was a case containing the empress’s seal. Just as the emperor used his seal to mark documents handling important state affairs, all the matters in the palace were sealed with this.

“I think this will be the last matter I’ll be handling before I leave. Firing you, that is,” Erin said calmly, as if it were a matter of course.

“But you received that because you were a duchess! And you are no longer even—”

“His Majesty entrusted this to me himself, and it has nothing to do with my rank. This is not something a duchess should have access to. It belongs to the empress, after all,” Erin said slowly, putting the case down on the table. “But His Majesty left me this seal and commanded me to oversee the affairs of the imperial palace. He isn’t in the capital at the moment, which means that command is still valid.”

The empress had passed away long ago, and Raymond’s mother, the wife of the crown prince, had died in childbirth. As a result, Erin was officially the highest-ranked woman in the palace, and the emperor had entrusted the seal to her so that she could manage the imperial palace. Even though she’d been in charge of the housekeeping thus far, she’d never been able to do as she pleased, afraid of what others might say about her. This was no longer true.

“So consider yourself fired from this moment on. Leave the palace immediately.”

Shock flitted across Madam Blennon’s face, but her surprise soon shifted into brazen mockery.

“So you’re firing me? You have no power here. What makes you think you can get away with it? I’ll be restored to my position when the new duchess arrives.”

“Yes. Perhaps you will. But when do you think that will happen? Three? Four months from now?”

Perhaps there would be no new duchess for years. The emperor hadn’t been told of the divorce yet, and it was hard to tell how he would react.

“It will take quite a while for the duke to receive the emperor’s permission and marry another woman. I’m afraid you won’t be able to return to the imperial palace until then.”

You’ll be jobless for years, at least.

Erin’s tranquil response contained such mockery.

Madam Blennon, finally realizing the gravity of the situation, looked aghast. “L-look here, Miss Erin—”

“Madam Blennon,” Erin said sternly, cutting her off. She was taken aback again.

Even though Erin was pale and gaunt, there was a sudden outburst of dignity and overwhelming presence that came from her seemingly frail body. As far as Madam Blennon knew, though Erin had been living as the lady of the imperial palace for nine whole years, she’d been nothing but shy and reticent. She’d never sounded so imposing or firm before.

Erin said confidently, “I’ve divorced the duke. I’m not ‘Miss Erin,’ but ‘Lady Erin,’ the daughter of Marquess Brisia. You are simply a knight’s wife. How dare you speak down to me!”

This was irrefutable logic. Women couldn’t inherit titles in the empire, so even if her father was dead, Erin couldn’t become a marquess herself. However, that didn’t change the fact that she was the heiress of a marquess’s house. A marquess was a marquess, regardless of the fiscal integrity of the house. The position was far above that of a mere knight.

“You… you!” Madam Blennon trembled with rage, having no rebuttal. She could do nothing further. Of course, she was not allowed to feel anger at Erin or rush at her and scratch her face. However, she looked angry enough to choke her on the spot.

Erin was right—she was a marquess’s daughter, but she was only Madam Blennon. Unable to take out her anger on Erin, she sought a new, easier target with her hate-filled eyes—Melly, who’d been watching the entire conversation.

“You! You’ll pay when I return to the palace!”

“Oh, don’t worry about her. Melly is leaving with me.”

“Wh-what?” Melly said, shocked out of her daze.

“Come with me. I’m going to run a dessert cafe, and I’d like you to work for me.”

Those words had quite the effect on her husband when she’d told him her plans. She’d never seen the distinguished duke look so baffled. The looks on the faces of the two women in front of her now were not so different. Erin smiled at them.

“You’ll be in charge of making tea and coffee, as well as doing sundry tasks. It’ll be harder than the work you do here, but I’ll pay you twice what you receive in the palace.”

Erin had originally planned to learn to make tea and coffee herself to save money. But it won’t hurt to hire one employee. Melly was talented at making tea and coffee. Her skill was beyond question since she was qualified to work at the palace.

“What do you say?”

A smile broke out on Melly’s cute face.

“L-Lady Erin! I’ll do my best!”

For whatever reason, Melly had attracted Madam Blennon’s wrath on Erin’s account. If she was left here, the woman could take revenge on her later. Erin would need employees at some point anyway, so it would probably be best to hire someone she knew. It had been troubling to refuse Melly when she asked to be taken along, so this was a pleasant result.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Madam Blennon.”

Erin walked past Madam Blennon, who stood in a daze, and walked out the door. Melly followed with a grin on her face. Erin heard the woman spouting curses before the door closed.

“Ha! Don’t you even dare think about coming back here!”

It was Erin’s turn to laugh.

“I’m not coming back even if you beg me to.”

* * *

Raymond sat in his office, staring out the window and lost in thought. He’d been steeped in work, and the sun was already setting. The afternoon sky outside the window was turning a light ashen color. Gazing at the hazy sky, he recalled his first meeting with Erin when they’d officially been introduced in the garden of the imperial palace. Apparently confused, Erin, with her light platinum hair and green eyes, had blushed in a bright pink dress that hardly even suited her.

“Uh... Nice to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Erin.”

Erin had not done anything particularly wrong, to be honest. She had looked up to him from the first time they met, like she couldn’t believe her luck. She soon pulled herself together and acted like a proper lady, as she was taught, but she still seemed a naive, innocent girl in his eyes. Even though he’d gone out to see the fiancée he’d never even seen before with enmity in his heart, his first impression of her had been that she was cute.

Thinking back left him feeling a bit of regret. If only the emperor had not forced her on me, I could have been kinder to her. The emperor had stifled his wishes and brought Erin into the palace to be his fiancée.

“You can’t marry the daughter of some up-and-coming noble with nothing but money to show for themselves. Marry the daughter of this prestigious marquess’s house instead.”

Such had been the emperor’s command. Raymond had felt enraged and humiliated by his grandfather’s decision. However, he’d only been nineteen at the time and had just become an adult. He couldn’t defeat the wishes of the ruler of the empire. After a few quarrels, he eventually promised to obey. As the emperor wanted, he acted the part of a loving fiancé and married Erin a year later. But that was as far as he went.

Without a moment of hesitation, he left Erin alone in their bedroom on their wedding night and didn’t return there ever again. Erin did not complain and fulfilled her duties silently. However, this woman, who had endured all kinds of scorn and disdain without protest, had undergone a sudden change as soon as he handed her the divorce paper.