The Divorcée’s Dessert Cafe
Chapter 7
For a moment, Raymond impassively watched Serena. When he’d been a teen, she’d been the most beautiful of the noble ladies in the capital and was eager to please him. So, he’d kept her by his side to amuse himself. He tried to nod and dismiss her when an unexpected voice called him.
“Raymond.”
A young man, looking to be about twenty-four, was standing at the end of the corridor. His dark blue eyes were glittering under his ink-black hair. He slowly walked over to Raymond with an innocent smile on his shockingly handsome face. Everyone was looking at him.
Raymond frowned slightly as if annoyed before calling his name. “Calix.”
Also known as Grand Duke Reuten, he was his only brother and second in line for the throne. At first, he hadn’t been his younger brother. Long ago, House Reuten had parted from the imperial family and had been treated as their equivalent for generations. However, the previous grand duke, Calix’s biological father, had died while protecting the crown prince, his friend. To repay his sacrifice, the crown prince chose to adopt his orphaned son. As a result, Calix became a member of the imperial family in addition to receiving his father’s title.
He looked as handsome as a statue, but with his young age, his features were somehow still boyish. He was like a gorgeous boy compared to Raymond, who was a man in his prime. But in terms of looks, the younger one outdid his older brother. He showed his usual beaming smile upon reaching Raymond.
“Nice to see you again, Brother.”
“I thought you were with His Majesty?”
Even though they were not biologically related, the old emperor doted on Calix and always tried to keep him by his side. Calix, on the other hand, refused to be bound to any one spot. If he wasn’t amusing himself somewhere, he sought entertainment in his own territory and didn’t come to the capital often. Even so, he’d heard that the emperor was marching out to war for the first time in a while and went south with him for a change. That had been three months ago.
He smiled with his eyes prettily at Raymond’s hard tone. “Things weren’t looking good there, so I came back to the capital first. Grandfather wasn’t in a good mood, and everyone was anxious. Gods, it was stifling!”
Raymond’s aides stiffened at this. Everyone knew the cause of the emperor’s foul mood, though Raymond himself seemed unconcerned. Serena, who nervously stood between them, belatedly bowed to Calix in an attempt to clear the air.
“Welcome back, Your Highness. It’s been a while since you came to the capital.”
Calix, however, ignored her. He didn’t even look at her and approached Raymond instead. Tilting his head slightly, he asked in an almost aggressively naive tone, “So, where is the duchess right now?”
Immediately, a heavy silence descended in the corridor. Raymond’s face contorted with anger.
“Why would you ask after my wife?”
“She’s been family for nine years. It’s natural for me to wonder where she’s gone, isn’t it? Aren’t you curious?” he said casually before pausing, his smile broadening. “Grandfather certainly seemed to want to know.”
He kept the smile on his face despite noticing the icy looks he was getting from those around him. Raymond’s blue-gray eyes were fixed on him coldly, but he didn’t seem to care.
“Tell him to look for her himself if he’s curious,” the duke spat before turning away.
“Your Highness, I...” Serena began, confused.
“Not today. I have somewhere to be,” he said, as if he couldn’t be bothered, then vanished down the corridor.
Those left behind were stifled by the frigid silence. Calix stood among them, sounding genuinely curious.
“So where has she gone?”
* * *
Erin opened the oven and removed the tray.
“I haven’t made these in a very long time, but they turned out all right.”
She’d been worried, but the tray was filled with nicely baked macarons. They had all sorts of colors. There were pastel pink ones that were strawberry flavored, beige ones with a sweet vanilla scent, and fragrant light purple ones that contained blueberry powder. There were also mint-colored macarons with pistachios in them. She applied sweet cream on the inside of one, attached it to another, and placed the completed product on a plate. The plate full of colorful macarons looked so cute and delicious.
She took it out past the garden and into the shop. Ever since she’d come here, she’d been busy cleaning the place with Melly. They’d wiped down the tables and chairs they’d ordered, working well into the night to prepare the shop. As a result, the shop had become so clean. It was almost unrecognizable.
The dust and grime vanished overnight, and the darkened, moldy floors and ceilings were like new. Everything glistened. In the center, Erin had put a carpet she’d ordered in advance, then set out round tables and chairs for the guests. The tables were fitted out with neat tablecloths and graced by small flower vases and fragrant herbs. Meanwhile, the chairs were made of cherrywood. Also, the corner where dusty rubbish had been piled was now occupied by the vases from the house. It looked like a completely different place. In just a few days, the dust-ridden establishment had become a cute new cafe.
“Lady Erin, did you make macarons?” Melly asked, coming out of the kitchen as Erin placed the plate on a table.
They’d turned the small storage space behind the counter into the cafe’s kitchen and purchased coffee-making equipment for it. She was holding a small tray in her hands, which contained white cups filled with hot coffee.
“It’s fresh coffee made with the last of the beans.”
“So we’re having the last cups?” Erin asked. The deep fragrance of coffee filled her nostrils as soon as Melly put the tray down. “I’ve placed an order for the beans. They should arrive soon.”
She’d ordered other ingredients in advance as well, but coffee beans were the most urgent ones as they were extremely rare.
“Still, it’s thanks to you, Melly, bringing these beans that we get to have some coffee ahead of time.”
“I was given these at the imperial palace to practice with. Leaving them behind would have been a waste.”
Coffee beans were precious even in the imperial palace, but Melly had been in charge of coffee, so she’d been issued some to practice with from time to time. Erin took a sip of the dark liquid in her cup and closed her eyes, relishing the taste slowly. The beverage was smooth and had a deep flavor.
“Your coffee is the best, Melly,” she said before picking up a macaron. Before she even put it in her mouth, she could smell its strawberry flavor, and when she took a bite, the smooth surface broke apart gently, and its sugary flavor spread across her palate. The bitterness of the coffee mixed perfectly with the toothache-inducing sweetness of the macaron.
“Lady Erin, the macarons are so pretty, I almost can’t bring myself to eat them.”
Melly was taking the macarons one by one and cutting small pieces from them, saying she couldn’t bring herself to waste them. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the lovely sugary taste that touched the tip of her tongue with every bite.
“These are... so heavenly...”
“Eat as many as you’d like. This batch was for practice.”
Outside, the sun was already setting. The afternoon sky was filled with orange, and the warm color tinted the large window that opened onto the street. Melly stared at it, then turned around as if reminded of something.
“I have an idea!” She pointed to the window. “That’s for display!”
Back when the shop had been a general store, there had been long shelves right behind the glass window to show the wares to the passersby.
“Why don’t we display desserts through that window? Real desserts will spoil too quickly, so we’ll make fake ones with cotton or plaster that seem like the real deal.”
She was suggesting showing off sample desserts, just as boutiques placed sample dresses at their display windows to catch the eye of anyone walking past.
“That’s a great idea.”
Erin thought it would look lovely if the replicas were created properly. They would also serve as great advertising. They were discussing what kinds of food models to make when a knock came at the door.
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