Chapter 8

“This is the special shaved ice that our cafe is proud of, sir.”

“Shaved ice? Was shaved ice something like this?”

The Duke’s words made sense.

In this world, when it comes to shaved ice, it’s common to pile up grounded ice and sprinkle a lot of sugar syrup on it. However, the shaved ice I brought out was shaved ice that covered the outside of the bowl, emitting a subtle cold air.

Numerous fruits, creams, and snacks were piled up inside the bowl. The name was shaved ice, but it was practically nothing more than a huge parfait.

There is only one reason for devising this shaved ice. Ice is quite expensive and difficult to store. So, even if the ice condition is bad, I came up with a dessert that could be eaten cool.

‘I hope your teeth hurt while you are eating.’

I smiled brightly, trying not to express my disrespectful thoughts.

“It may not be as good as what you usually eat, but our shaved ice is quite good.”

“Yes, yes.”

His surprise was only for a moment.

The Duke turned his head toward Elodie again, as if he had always done so. He picked up the spoon and ate a spoonful of custard cream at the top, but that’s all.

There was no reaction to the food that I had carefully prepared.

‘…Well, It’s none of my business.’

He was the Duke of Vanice, who has only eaten the finest food in his life. He won’t even blink for most of the desserts and meals served to him.

I shook my head and began to take orders from the group of customers who came in just in time.

How long has it been?

Sweat formed on my forehead as I received a constant influx of guests. After barely taking a breather and looking around the cafe, I found an unusual sight.

‘……What?’

The sex ratio of cafe customers was focused too much on one side. More precisely, almost all of them were female guests except for a few. And the eyes of all the female guests were on the man sitting calmly in front of the special shaved ice.

‘…….’

I bit my lips to hold back my laughter.

Although orders continued to rush in, hindering me from grasping the situation properly, rumors seemed to have already spread that a rare handsome man had appeared in the time I was busy.

‘Figures, he is a handsome man that cannot be found in this small city.’

I inadvertently recalled the Duke’s face. Today’s features still didn’t look good, but it was better than yesterday. His bloodshot eyes returned to normal, and dull pupils gleaming in an eerie light was nowhere to be seen.

Only an expressionless profile appeared on the face of someone who had a hard life, creating an inhumane atmosphere.

It was a relief.

If he had stared intently at Elodie with a gaze full of sad stories, I would have been unable to bear it.

I put a lot of coffee mugs ordered by the new customers that had just come in, and a whispering conversation went into my ears.

“He’s handsome. Where is he from? Even the famous theater actors I saw in the capital were not that handsome.”

“Look at that elegance. Wouldn’t he be a noble?”

“Arthur, why would a noble stop by our village? Even if they stop by, they would go to a high-end salon.”

“What does that matter? I’m full just by looking at his face.”

“That’s right, we have to take this opportunity to look at it a lot. You never know when you’ll be able to see such a handsome guy in the countryside again!”

I was at a loss for words at the conversation of the girls in their late teens who were smiling and chatting away.

‘That’s right. Look a lot at his face. Keep watching…and order a lot of things while you are at it.’

I put the coffee down on the table and looked out the window to see if any new customers were coming in.

‘……?’

I blinked my eyes.

It was because a completely unexpected sight was seen.

Duke Vanice was sitting by the window, and that means…

That even if you don’t enter the cafe, you can see the Duke through the window, and a few steps away from the window was a fairly large crowd.

‘He’s become a sightseeing spot.’

Regardless of whether or not there were dozens of people looking at him, Duke Vanice only looked at Elodie disregarding everything else around him.

Fortunately, Elodie was sitting right in front of the cashier, so anyone who doesn’t know the inside story would think that Duke Vanice is staring blankly at the menu.

I snorted and decided to just enjoy this situation. Since I could not kick him out anyway, it was a good thing if he could pull the guest inside like this. It was even better that customers who took a seat and didn’t leave, seemed to be aware of me, so they kept ordering new drinks and desserts.

In fact, Duke Vanice, who was the involved party, only finished the special shaved ice and did not seem to intend to order anything else.

“Excuse me, what’s the menu that he’s eating?”

And these gullible customers……no, I should call them lovely customers!

I answered with a broad smile.

“This is the special shaved ice that our cafe is proud of, miss. It’s a cold dessert, so I don’t recommend it if you’re sensitive to the cold.”

“Cold food goes well in winter.”

The customer nodded and opened the wallet with a determined face.

After one person followed suit, it was easy for the next one. I think everyone is ordering the special shaved ice because they are curious about what type of dessert it was and wanted to try the same things as the Duke.

If the special shaved ice was just any common expensive item on the menu, I would have stopped them. I didn’t want to lose customers who could become regulars.

But I was quite confident in this dish. It was also a popular menu in the summer.

Of course, it was a dish big enough to feed four people, but what if there’s some leftover?

It was hard on my body to fill the many bowls of shaved ice, but my lips kept going up.

Time passed and the sun was setting. Finally, Duke Vanice got up and left the cafe. His shaved ice was barely touched, but it was not a waste at all.

This was because the customers who ordered shaved ice following him, ate it saying it was delicious. Most of them were girls in their late teens and early twenties, so they seemed to have a strong appetite, which was rewarding.

When the Duke of Vanice left, the customers who had filled the cafe left in an instant.

‘Phew.’

I plopped down in a simple chair.

The cafe seemed to have to close an hour earlier than usual today because all the ingredients were running out.

I tilted my head toward Elodie.

Her sketchbook was filled with pictures, but it seemed to describe the guests, considering that they were all characters wearing skirts.

“Elodie, let’s wrap it up. Today we are eating out.”

“……!”

Her eyes lit up.

On days when I was exhausted from a busy workday like today, I would go to buy food made by others.

Every time, I chose a menu that she had never tried before.

“What are we eating today?”

“Secret.”

I smiled brightly as I remembered my fat income for the day. It would be nice to have some luxury this evening.

* * *

“I’m full…”

Elodie let go of the fork and sighed happily.

“I’m glad you like it”.

“It’s really delicious!”

She regretfully looked into the fried shrimp stir-fried with a spicy sauce that was left in her bowl.

The restaurant I chose was a restaurant specializing in spicy and sweet seasoning.

Various seafood and meat were fried in a spicy and sweet seasoning, so you could enjoy spicy dishes that were difficult to cook at home.

I ordered the weakest one, worried if it would suit Elodie’s taste, but it seemed to have been a trivial worry. Because Elodie usually ate my spicy dishes without a problem.

After a while, we left as the restaurant owner greeted us and headed for our house.

A hum came out of its own accord.

Right. So what if it’s a little uncomfortable? As long as the Duke doesn’t harm Elodie or me, he’s doing fine sitting around in the cafe.

I turned the corner, thinking that with the money I earned today I could buy three new doors.

‘…… ?’

But I blinked my eyes when I stared at our house. It was because there were a dozen or so people gathered in front of our door. Next to them was a bunch of stuff that looked like furniture.

I strode towards them.

“Everyone, what are you doing in someone else’s house?”

“Oh, it’s Miss Bertin!”

The face of the person who seems to be the highest-ranking person brightened up. He waved to me.

“I heard you want to change all the furniture. I haven’t gotten my permission yet, so I haven’t started working…… Can we start now?”

I beg your pardon?

What did I say?!

Who ordered this!

Before shouting, I glanced at the furniture they had brought.

‘It must be the Duke’s work.’

Who else would spend such a huge amount of money if not for him?

Huge antique tables, expensive-looking armchairs, rolled-up carpets that feel like they are made of unusual fabrics…….Even expensive tableware and various safety devices for Elodie stood out.

My merchant’s instinct, which has been cultivated through years of cafe operation, has now converted everything I saw into money.

The Duke didn’t seem to have ordered anything in vain.

All of them were the things I thought I would eventually change, and all of them were brought in as high-end products. When I roughly calculated the amount of money the Duke would have spent, I gasped in vain.

In a nutshell, it was a lump sum of money that I desperately had to save for an entire year.

In short…….

It was too much money to be offended!