Chapter 4

When I unlocked the lock and opened the door to the cafe, I could feel the familiar air.

“…….”

Elodie opened her eyes wide and looked around the place.

‘There’s nothing much to it.’

It was just an ordinary cafe. Full of unique chairs and tables. Elodie’s amazed face on seeing the inside of the café reminded me of children going to an amusement park.

“You are free to sit anywhere you want”

Elodie chose the closest seat to the checkout counter without hesitation. The child, who climbed halfway up the cozy sofa, rattled her legs that did not touch the floor. She didn’t say much, but she seemed to like it, so I put my mind at ease and started preparing to open the cafe for the day.

After a light morning cleaning, I put cookies and bread dough in the oven and started making sandwiches. After preparing coffee, I set down two sandwiches with orange juice in front of Elodie.

“Are you hungry?”

There was no need to wait for an answer. She hastily nodded her head and ate the sandwich in a hurry. The child raised her head while eating frantically and made a serious declaration.

“The best sandwich I’ve ever had.”

“I’ll make it even more delicious tomorrow.”

It does not contain any special condiments in it. Fresh tomatoes, bacon, soft-boiled eggs, and salty and sweet sauce were everything. It should be delicious, but not enough to be the best sandwich in the world.

Elodie’s eyes widened.

“How could it be tastier than this?”

“I couldn’t put it in today because I ran out of fresh vegetables. How delicious would it be if I added lettuce?”

In fact, I still regret it. It’s a must for sandwiches to be chewed with crunchy and fresh lettuce.

“Besides, I can add shrimp instead of bacon. Then it becomes a shrimp sandwich.”

Elodie answered with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“……I only ate shrimp once.”

“Was it tasty?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s eat fried shrimp for dinner tonight.”

“……!”

Elodie opened her mouth in an ‘O’ and looked at me.

“I wish dinner would come soon!”

At the child’s naive remarks, laughter came naturally.

“You will have to wait a long time for that. It’s morning.”

“It’s okay. I am good at waiting.”

I stroked Elodie’s head without saying a word. Her hair, which was shiny with a pretty silver color, but frizzy, made my heart ache again.

It was then that a familiar voice was heard as the bell in the door rang.

“I hope this old timer didn’t come too early?”

Despite her old age, an old lady who boasted an upright figure opened the door and entered.

“Welcome!”

I answered with a bright voice and hurried back to the counter.

She was a prized regular customer who was responsible for my sales every morning. Although she had an overbearing and eccentric personality and was rumored to be a fallen aristocrat, I liked this old lady.

It was because every morning, she bought a lot of hot bread and cookies that were just baked before leaving my cafe.

“I just ate breakfast, so it’s okay. What should I give you today?”

“Hmm…….”

The old woman thought for a moment.

“A sandwich and a cup of coffee that I always have. On the sweet side. Mix milk and cream.”

“Okay. Please sit down and wait, and I’ll bring it back to your seat.”

The old lady turned around and found Elodie. Her voice became gentler than ever before.

“Who is the little girl? Where are your parents?”

Elodie rolled her eyes as if anxious, and I hurriedly answered her instead.

“She’s the child that lives with me. Her name is Elodie.”

“Hmm.”

The old lady narrowed her eyes and looked at Elodie. She was clearly terrified, but she remained polite.

“Elodie……You have the same name as my granddaughter.”

“Did you have a granddaughter?”

I blinked my eyes.

Because I had never even heard of her children, let alone a granddaughter.

“There was.”

The old lady gave a simple answer and leaned her body towards Elodie.

“No need to be so nervous. As long as it’s okay with the little girl, this grandmother is bored, can you play with me?”

“……Uh, how?”

She opened her mouth for the first time and spoke in a trembling voice. The old lady winked one of her eyes at Elodie.

“It’s nothing much. It’s something I often play alone, but it’s a lot more fun with two people.”

The old lady took out a small notebook from her purse. Then she started drawing grids in her notebook with a pen.

“First, the little girl will mark this box, then I will make another mark. And the little girl will mark another.”

Fortunately, Elodie seemed to be listening intently showing how interested she was.

“In this way, if the same person marks five of the same shape in a row, it’s over.”

I laughed bitterly.

‘It’s Omok*.’

Soon, Elodie and the old lady began to get serious about Omok, and I focused on making the sandwich she ordered.

“I won!”

Elodie’s excited voice was heard.

“Little lady is better than she looks.”

The old lady’s laughter filled the cafe.

I greeted the guests who came inside with a quiet smile. For some reason, it felt like the work was less difficult than usual.

***

A month has passed.

Elodie and I also went through trial and error several times to get along with each other. It would be a lie to say that only good things have happened in the meantime. But there’s only one thing that’s important.

Elodie was such a kind and lovely child.

“……Ariah, can’t I learn your work?”

To the extent that she wanted to be of any help to me.

“No, Elodie’s still too young right? Even if you don’t like it, when you grow up, I’ll teach you how to do it, so help me as much as you can then. Understand?”

“Yes…….”

Elodie bowed her head with a sullen face.

I pretended nothing was wrong and took out all the junk in the warehouse one after another. It has been 5 years since I opened a cafe in this place. During that time, the materials accumulated little by little and it was out of control.

I had hoped that there might be something useful, but unfortunately, the clutter was just rubbish. I sighed on my own thinking that I should call someone and throw it away.

Then, all of a sudden, an old empty sack caught my attention.

My eyes opened wide on their own. It was a sack with a picture, name and personal information of a missing child printed on it.

‘There is something like this in this world too.’

I wondered if the cute baby would be around one or two years old. The baby had silver hair, red eyes and plump cheeks that stood out.

‘……?’

I blinked my eyes.

It was because the writing underneath it caught my eye.

<Elodie Vanice

2 years old at the time of disappearance.

Silver hair and red eyes. A star-shaped dot on the left calf.

Anyone who witnesses or protects the child should contact the Duke of Vanice.>

The memory of washing Elodie came to mind. I thought it was a bruise and was worried, but when I looked closely at her left calf, it was a star-shaped dot and sighed in relief.

I looked back slowly.

It was a clear match.

The ‘Elodie’ I am taking care of is…….

It was Elodie Vanice, the only daughter of the Duke of Vanice, the final boss and villain.

I held my breath.

Theodore, Duke of Vanice.

The one who will cause a horrific massacre seven years from now that will be recorded in history as the worst ever done.

But I’ve never been worried about him.

Why?

Because, if you just wait patiently, the heroine and male protagonists will take care of him. It means that I will be the only one who will get hurt if I go out to deal with the villain for no reason.

‘……What should I do?’

As it usually happens in interesting novels, Duke Vanice was not just a wicked, simple-minded villain.

The setting of a young father who went crazy while living in the Duchy after the death of his only beloved daughter  at a young age, whom he loved terribly, was sad and heartbreaking. The Duke of Vanice believed that he could bring his dead daughter back to life with black magic.

The problem was that in order to achieve that goal, he committed various evil deeds, so much so that the imperial family could not turn a blind eye any longer.

He was finally executed by the protagonist couple while trying to annihilate the entire capital in order to retrieve the soul of his deceased daughter from the underworld.

But….

‘That daughter is Elodie?’

I felt something bouncing and falling deep in my heart.

⊱⋅ ───────────────────────────────────────── ⋅⊰

* Note:

Omok is known by different names, and often played with slightly different rules, in different countries. Many people may be familiar with it as Gomoku in Japan, or even as Gobang or Kakugo. It is usually played on a Baduk/Go/Wei-ch’i board, (a 19 x 19 grid) although any board with a grid pattern can be used. Since no piece is moved once it is played on the board, it is even possible to play on graph paper using a pencil to mark x’s or o’s. Article from: https://kpopjacketlady.com/2016/10/06/omok-a-korean-game-of-five-stones/