The Divorcée’s Dessert Cafe
Chapter 9

“Nice to see you again, Viscount. So you recognize me.”

Erin tried to recall if there had been a single moment when she’d been close to the man, but that had never been the case. He was a rake and a womanizer infamous in the capital. The viscount sat back down as soon as he saw her face, intelligence slowly returning to his hazy eyes. He smiled insidiously.

“What brings you all the way here, Your Grace? Or should I say, Lady? So, Lady Erin, looking to gamble away some money? You’ve come to the wrong floor. The games are downstairs.”

He filled his pipe, which had gone out, with more drugs. Before the astringent smoke could fill the room again, she quickly stated her business.

“I’m not here to gamble. I’m here to meet you. There’s something I need to tell you about your delivery.”

“What? Was it not to your liking?” he said, cackling at the mention of a delivery.

He clearly knew what she was talking about, as he’d selected only the worst possible coffee beans to send. However, he didn’t seem to care at all that she was complaining. What are you going to do about it? The duke threw you out. His attitude made it clear what he was thinking.

“Of course not. I’m sure they’re high-quality beans,” she replied with an innocent smile before adding, “In fact, since I believed they were such good beans, I immediately packaged and sent them to the palace as a gift for the emperor.”

The viscount threw his unlit pipe aside and jumped to his feet. “Wh-what?”

“His Majesty always drinks black tea, but I thought he should try some coffee this time around since it’s so popular these days. A doctor also told me that a cup a day should be beneficial for his health.” She saw his shock and innocently continued, “What is it? Is there a problem?”

“Uh... D-didn’t you order them to use in your shop? Hmm? I thought you were starting a cafe or something. You need to send someone to the palace and bring the beans back... Those are all the beans we have at the moment, and such a large shipment won’t be available for some time...”

“I thought of selling coffee, but on second thought, I’ll be opening a dessert cafe. Black tea goes better with desserts than coffee, so I’ve decided to serve black tea for the drinks instead.”

He stared blankly at her ingenuous explanation, then stammered, sounding dismayed, “B-but... but those beans...”

“What of them? I ordered expensive ones. I have the order receipt right here.”

She produced a piece of paper and flourished it in front of her. The paper contained a record of the purchase.

Then, she said with an almost hatefully nonchalant expression on her face, “I paid three hundred gold for the beans. You can’t have sent me poor-quality ones, can you?”

The viscount clammed up, finally realizing what was going on. “Ha! I don’t believe it. I thought you were a stupid woman after hearing you’d cheated with a knight captain. To think you’d try to have revenge this way!” he said, marveling and laughing with disbelief before he sat back down.

His mask of formality was now gone. He picked up his pipe to light it again, and the bitter scent of opium filled the air immediately. After a puff, he said mockingly, “Did you think I would beg at your feet if you did this, my lady? His Majesty may reprimand me, but I can simply beg and say my servants made a mistake. I have plenty of them who will claim that they were responsible for my sake. His Majesty is merciful, so I’m sure he’ll understand. And all I’ll have to do is compensate you for the poor-quality beans. I’ll give back your money, so take it and leave. Don’t ever think you’ll be able to buy coffee from me again because I’m never selling you another bean,” he said maliciously.

There were probably many shops that this man had fleeced with the threat that he would cut off their supplies. He had a monopoly over the coffee beans, so the business owners had no choice but to accept. They would find it hard to buy any beans starting the following month if they angered him. Any other shop would have had to make do with the inferior beans he gave.

She agreed readily. “Of course, he’ll let you off if you say it was a mistake and promise compensation.”

“So you do know.”

“But will others do the same?” It was her turn to smile. “You sold the beans for money without even checking if they were indeed premium or rotting garbage. I wonder what the other merchant guilds will say if they realize that one with exclusive rights over a product, no less, is operated haphazardly.” She gave a relaxed smile and continued slowly, “His Majesty may forgive you, but think about it. Such an inadequate merchant guild has exclusive rights over the beans. Don’t you think the other guilds will protest about how unfair it is?”

Viscount Arndt had sold moldy beans for a duchess who had been divorced by her husband for three hundred gold. If this fact became known, people would criticize him even if he explained it had been a mistake. There were plenty of merchant guilds who wished to import coffee beans and sell them. Without a doubt, they were upset that House Arndt had lucked out and secured the rights all for themselves.

There were rules to be kept for anyone who held such rights: One had to trade as fairly as possible, and there should be no controversy about the items they sold. However, not only had the viscount sent unusable goods to a customer, but those goods would have also been offered up to the emperor. The emperor might acquit him if he claimed it had been a mistake. However, he’d still be the person who’d received the moldy beans as a gift, and that would displease him. The other merchant guilds would take advantage of the situation to attack Viscount Arndt and urge bribed officials to attempt to destroy his monopoly.

If an official went forward and suggested that it wasn’t a good idea to let someone incompetent maintain his exclusive rights, there would be a good chance the emperor would revoke it. This was what Erin was aiming for.

She watched the viscount’s broad face turn purple as he realized she’d chosen the correct tactic.

“W-well, that’s...” he murmured, taken aback. Apparently, he hadn’t thought this far.

Why’d you try to cheat me, anyway? Though I suppose you didn’t know this would be the result.

He’d had no idea that she’d find fault with him at all. The most he’d expected was for her to beg for a refund, walk away disappointed, and resign some time later. Being a wealthy noble, he’d attended many events at the palace. While Erin had been living there, she’d been a timid woman who hadn’t dared to complain about any humiliation she was subjected to. She truly had been like that back in the day, and that was the Erin he knew, so it was no wonder that he considered her to be a gullible fool.

“Give me proper beans,” she said, walking up to him and holding out her hand. “I ordered beans of the highest quality and paid the proper sum, so I must have them. If you agree, I’ll contact the palace and retrieve the crate of beans, saying it was sent there by mistake.”

He clammed up at the threat and seemed to be calculating what would be most beneficial for him. She could almost hear the cogs turning in his brain.

He put his hand up a moment later. “Fine. I’ll send you three hundred gold’s worth of quality beans, as you ask, my lady.”

“Six hundred,” she corrected him.

“What?”

“Six hundred gold’s worth. And they’re to be of the highest quality. You need to compensate for your mistake and the time it took for me to get here.”

“L-listen now, woman. You want twice the amount? That’s a bit much!”

“You stole my money and handed me trash that’s not worth half the price,” she refuted.

He had nothing to say to this. She then threatened him calmly. “If you don’t comply, I’ll just sit by and do nothing. I’ll also write a petition to the officials and the emperor, claiming that you cheated me.”