The Divorcée’s Dessert Cafe
Chapter 6

Erin gave a faint smile as she watched Melly enjoying the lemon pie. She then put a piece onto her own plate and flinched. Come to think of it, I made this pie once in the palace too.

It hadn’t been long since she’d entered the palace. She’d snuck into the kitchen at night, longing for the pie her mother had once made for her. She’d only been able to do such a thing then because she hadn’t known yet how much other people’s opinions mattered at the palace. Not long after that, the nobles discovered that she’d once sold pie with her mother and became a laughingstock. Afraid it would happen again, she’d kept the kitchen at arm’s length since then. She didn’t seek out desserts like pie or cake either. The first night she made dessert at the imperial palace kitchen also became her last.

I shared that pie with someone that night... She smiled wryly as a forgotten memory came to her.

Melly, who’d finished her portions, asked in an eager voice, “Lady Erin, may I have just one more?”

* * *

“I don’t believe it!”

Madam Blennon’s sharp voice came from the main bedroom of the crown prince’s palace. The crown prince’s palace was far larger and fancier than the palace where Erin had lived. Every room was filled with extravagant furniture, with luxurious ornaments everywhere the eye could see.

Madam Blennon was shouting in annoyance in the most opulent of those rooms.

“To think she threw me out! Me! I managed the palace she stayed in for over ten years! And she was merely a pauper being sent away for adultery!”

Erin hadn’t been sent away for adultery. Both parties had agreed on the divorce. However, Madam Blennon was so angry that she kept throwing accusations around. Erin had exercised one last right before leaving—sealing her letter of dismissal with the empress’s seal. She then left the seal with the imperial secretary and strolled out of the palace. Madam Blennon was at her wit’s end with rage. She had been forced to pack her things and leave the palace, and there was nothing she could do.

“Don’t be so upset, Madam Blennon.”

In the room with her was a blonde beauty surrounded by ladies-in-waiting. The hair oil on her bright hair glittered like pure gold in the sunlight. She was Serena von Blennon, Raymond’s official mistress and the de facto lady of the crown prince’s palace. Erin had lived in the palace of the crown prince’s wife, but she had a luxurious abode in the best bedroom of the crown prince’s palace. As though she hadn’t been angry just moments before, Madam Blennon suddenly employed a honeyed voice as she flattered the woman.

“I suppose you’re right, Lady Serena. My little problem is of no consequence. Now that the woman is gone, you can marry the duke and occupy the palace where she used to stay. That place has always suited you far better.”

Serena could persuade the crown prince to let her name a person she wanted to be the head lady-in-waiting, but the post was already occupied by a person from House Blennon, the house into which she’d been adopted. There was no need for despair, however. Once she became duchess and took the wife’s palace, Madam Blennon would automatically be reinstated as the head lady-in-waiting.

Serena smiled shyly. “Dare I want such a thing?”

From the dressing table to the sofa, dozens of dresses covered every piece of furniture. She, in a dazzlingly white petticoat and corset, was putting makeup on with the help of the ladies-in-waiting. Her bare face was already perfect, but a touch of cosmetics made her many times more beautiful. She looked as lovely and eye-catching as a rose in full bloom.

Look how pretty she is... And yet, she can’t become a duchess because of the old emperor. Madam Blennon pitied her. She is the woman who truly deserves to be an empress, not that pauper.

She was the daughter of one of the richest men in the capital. Originally, her family had been commoners, but they had operated a merchant guild since the days of her great-grandfather and built up massive wealth over time. Using that wealth, her grandfather had married the only daughter of a low-ranking knight and inherited their title, officially making him a noble. A title bought with money, however, wasn’t acknowledged by the prestigious houses of high society. It wasn’t enough to allow one to mix with the truly esteemed. Among the nobility, endless wealth only impressed the low-ranked.

Things had changed, however, when Serena caught the duke’s eye. Raymond had her adopted by House Blennon, and she became the daughter of a count overnight. House Blennon, which was an illustrious and respected household with a long history, supported the young duke instead of the current emperor. They believed Serena would become the future duchess and accepted her as the count’s daughter.

Under the usual circumstances, they would have been unhappy about accepting a low-ranked noble girl, who had nothing but money to show for herself, into the family. Of course, there were mitigating circumstances. If they could be related to the future empress, they could forget such misgivings. The expensive gifts that Serena had brought them also helped lessen their disgust.

However, the emperor had hated her from the beginning. He obstinately declared that the daughter of a low-ranking noble could not become a member of the imperial family. Instead, he brought Erin from a poor but good family and made her the duchess.

“But tell me,” Serena said calmly. Her makeup had just been completed, so she was now picking a necklace. “Lady Erin said she would run a cafe. Is that true?”

Madam Blennon spoke eagerly as if she’d been waiting for this opportunity. “Yes. I believe that woman really means to run a cafe. As soon as she signed the divorce papers, she began looking for a place to buy and ordered ingredients in advance. I wonder what she’s thinking? Do you think something might have happened to her brain after being thrown out?”

“Perhaps.”

“Shouldn’t we stop her? If the duchess sets up a shop in the city, people will talk about her. No good will come out of that. And when His Majesty returns...” She trailed off, noticing that Serena’s eyes were watching her through the mirror of the dressing table.

The woman smiled at her and said, “Don’t be too worried.”

“You must have something in mind,” replied Madam Blennon.

Serena kept smiling as she turned back to the colorful gems on the dressing table. “Well, I’m not very skilled when it comes to food and cooking...” Her pale fingers slid along the colorful red gems. “But a cafe can’t operate without coffee, can it?”

* * *

Serena walked along the corridor of the crown prince’s palace. With every step she took, she dragged her long dress, trailing behind her, forward. The nobles walking about split to either side and bowed to her. All of them had curious looks in their eyes, and she could almost hear their thoughts.

“Now that the duchess has been sent away, will Lady Serena become the new duchess?”

“Perhaps. The duke is only interested in her.”

“But will His Majesty allow it?”

People had been whispering such things ever since the duchess had gone. Even the nobles discussed the three of them whenever they gathered. First, there had been the rumors of the duchess’s infidelity, which had begun to spread three or four months ago. Then, only recently, the duke had divorced his wife.

The scandal had everyone’s eyes glowing with amusement. Everyone, from the officials to the attendants, saw the crown prince’s palace as the stage of some interesting play. With Erin gone, their interest was in only one thing. Could Serena truly become the new duchess? Everyone was wondering about it, including Serena, who wondered most of all.

“Your Highness.”

Raymond and his aides stood at the end of the hallway. He saw Serena and paused. She went up to him and curtsied gracefully.

“Your Highness, how do you do?”

“Hello, Serena,” he said with a calm nod.

Though his reaction was hardly eager, she beamed at him like a blooming flower. She’d fallen deeply in love with this esteemed man ever since she’d first seen him at the age of fifteen. Born to a rich merchant, she’d had an abundant upbringing second to no nobleman’s daughter. And with her wealth, she could have easily married some high-ranked noble. There were cases where sons of prestigious houses took the daughters of newly founded but wealthy ones because of their financial troubles.

But not so with the imperial family. Being a low-ranked noble, there was no way she could become a wife or a member of that family. The relationship was not to be, but she had been unable to give up. She followed Raymond around and did her best to show him how she felt. She didn’t despair even when he married another woman. In the end, she’d become his mistress. Perhaps the time had come for her to take the honorable title of the duke’s wife. She could kill to have it.