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“Ah, it’s because of that man earlier..”
Erin briefly explained to Melly what had happened inside the kitchen earlier.
As soon as Melly heard her retell the story, she was furious.
“Oh, my God, there’s actually such a person!”
“Yeah.”
Erin heard that it’s not uncommon for inspectors to take money from shopkeepers but she never expected it would happen to her.
“It hasn’t been long since we started business.”
“Indeed, this incident was not just a coincidence. I’m sure someone sent that person on purpose to mess with Erin.”
It was too childish.
‘Who could it be?’
“It’s too tacky, it doesn’t seem to be like Lady’s Serena’s style.”
Mrs. Brennan’s face suddenly flashed in Erin’s mind at the word ‘Tacky.’
‘Could it be her? She’s definitely the type to do something like this.’
Melly was angry for a moment, then she became worried.
‘But would it matter? What if he actually writes a bad report?’
Erin reassured her in a calm tone.
“It’s okay. It’s better to get him out of the way than to have to deal with the government’s investigation of bribery.”
“If we get suspended, can we reverse the situation? They would give us a chance to fight back, right?”
“Sure. They’ll definitely give the owner a chance to defend themselves.”
If the report says poor hygiene, there’s a good chance they’ll lose.
But they will still give the owner a chance to defend themselves first.
The owner will then go to the government office to defend themselves.
Of course, powerless commoners were often unable to overturn the government’s decision, even when given the chance to appeal.
“Why don’t you ask someone else to help, just in case?”
“What?”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to ask someone you know?”
“That’s true.”
It was definitely a good idea to ask someone in the government beforehand.
The problem was that none of the officials in the government were close to Erin.
Erin didn’t have any connections in that direction.
That’s when Melly popped up with a name she hadn’t thought of.
“Why don’t we ask Sir Levnin, if he knows anyone in the government?”
‘Einz?’
Einz was a young Knight, but the knights were part of the military, not the government, though they were both employed by the Empire, so they seemed similar, but they’re still different.
The bureaucrats who spend their days in the capital’s government offices, dealing with taxes and administrative procedures, and the knights who take up their swords and go to war, are two different species.
Even if it wasn’t for that reason, it’s a bit much to ask Einz to do such a thing.
Einz was a knight who rose through the ranks on his own merit, without any background after all.
If they use his connections to meddle in the affairs of the state, he’ll definitely get a bad reputation.
There were already bad enough rumors about Erin and him, and she didn’t want to add more to them.
“Um… What about the Archduke then?”
“That’s…”
Erin suddenly remembered Calix, and her brow furrowed again.
“I’m sure he can handle it easily, but… I think it’ll just make an even bigger problem out of it.”
“Hmm?”
Just as Melly was about to ask what she meant, a jingle of bells brought a new customer into the shop.
It was a mildly handsome man with light brown hair.
“Erin.”
Erin greeted him happily and walked over to him.
“Einz!”
Erin greeted him and went to the counter.
“Einz! What can I do for you?”
“Erin.”
Einz was wearing ordinary clothing for the first time in a long time.
‘Is today a holiday?’
Ever since Einz returned to the capital, he had been working nonstop, leaving little time to see her.
“Aren’t you busy today? Come to think of it, I didn’t get a chance to thank you for the things you sent me before. Thank you! I’m using them all well.”
Erin was already on a tight budget when she opened the shop, but Einz’s gift of ingredients saved her a ton of money.
She’s gotten a lot of use out of all the utensils and tools he sent as well.
But she never got a chance to thank him afterward.
When Erin thanked him, she saw Einz giving her a stern look.
“I heard about what happened at the ball. Are you okay?”
“Oh.”
She soon realized that he must have heard about what happened between her and Serena at the ball.
After all, it had happened in front of so many people, it was bound to get around.
Erin smiled.
“Yeah. As you can see, I’m fine. It was nothing and everything worked out fine.”
As for Erin herself, nothing happened.
It was Serena who was humiliated in front of so many people, not her.
Well, she was a little offended too, after pulling such an obvious stunt.
She actually thought it would still work.
Erin couldn’t understand why she’s still doing this.
She’s obviously divorced and out of the palace.
There’s no way she’s going to put up with her anymore, but Serena didn’t seem to realize that.
Einz frowned and asked.
“Why is Miss Serena still bothering you?”
“I know. I don’t know why she’s still doing this when she got her wish and got to monopolize Raymond for herself.”
Even if she used common sense, Serena’s behavior was still quite incomprehensible.
Before, Erin can still understand why she had been hostile to her because she was married to the duke, but now that they are divorced, why is she still doing this?
Before the ball happened, she had even sent an assassin to kill Erin.
Does that mean that she doesn’t want her to have a comfortable life, divorced or not?
Erin was surprised that she could stir up such animosity from Serena.
She didn’t know about it but she only found out after her marriage, that Serena had been Raymond’s lover even before his and Erin’s wedding.
And even after Erin became the Duchess, Serena had Raymond all to herself, living publicly as if they were the married couple.
As the future emperor’s mistress, she ruled like a queen in the social circles.
If anyone should have a grudge, it should have been her.
She should have been the one to hire the assassins, not Serena.
Of course, she doesn’t want to spend money on that kind of thing.
Erin just wanted to stop seeing them and being bothered by them.
She thought after she got divorce, they wouldn’t bother her anymore, but for some reason, more things were happening than before.
Even life-threatening things…
Einz then asked, with his eyes full of concern,
“Nothing dangerous will happen, right?”
Erin looked up at his affectionate gaze and her heart ached for a moment.
She didn’t want to tell Einz about it, because she knew he was too busy with his own business, especially with his previous raid.
‘He’ll just worry about it. He’s already got enough on his plate.’
“Well, I don’t think so.”
He probably wouldn’t be in any danger for a while anyway.
Raymond wouldn’t do anything to him.
Erin’s mind naturally flashed back to their encounter on the night of the Ball, and her brow creased immediately.
Raymond’s attitude of not caring about what happens to other people and only looking out for his own interests was nothing short of contemptible.
She was actually embarrassed to admit that she had once liked him.
Erin shook off the unpleasant thoughts in her mind and smiled at Einz again.
“You’re just in time. Would you like some crepes?”
Erin asked him, after remembering the plate of crepes she’d left behind in the kitchen.
She then thought that it was a good thing she hadn’t given it to the inspector earlier.
“Aren’t you supposed to be selling it inside the shop?”
“Yes. But You’re my friend, so I’m giving it to you as free of charge.”
Erin took Einz’s arm and led him to the kitchen.
“Okay. I’ll make you some milk crepe cake while you’re at it.”
Milk crepe cake.
It’s usually made of paper-thin crepes and layers of smooth cream.
If you cut a cross-section of the layered cake like the one you see on a grain of wood, it actually tastes soft and moist.
It’s a unique cake, but it’s easy to make, as long as you have crepes.
Erin placed one of the crepes on a plate and was about to spread it with fresh cream when Einz casually held out the bowl of cream in front of her.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
Erin spread the whipped cream and stacked the crepes, one on top of the other.
After stacking them generously, she carefully cut them with a knife.
The slices revealed layers after layers of crepes.
White whipped cream with a sweet vanilla flavor was filling the thin crepes.
Erin picked up a small slice of milk crepe cake with a generous amount of whipped cream on it and carried it to the table.
“Here, I’m done, you may eat.”
“Thanks. I’ll eat it.”
The two sat across from each other at the small table near the kitchen window.
Bright sunlight streamed in through the half-open pane of glass.
While the leaves on the white picket fence glistened in the midday sun.
The forest beyond the window painted a peaceful scenery, unlike the darkness of the previous night.
Einz poked the corner of the crepe with a fork, and the thin, fluffy crepe parted, then sweet whipped cream oozed through the cracks as well.
As he popped a piece of it into his mouth, the fluffy texture of the crepe melded with the even more fluffy melted whipped cream.
The rich vanilla flavor only added a deep flavor, into the sweet crepe.
Erin cut into the cake with satisfaction.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had these again, and so good.”
Einz looked at the plate of cake in front of him, and said.
“Since you were the one who made it, it’s even more delicious. Everything you make is delicious.”
Erin chuckled at Einz’s unfounded compliment.
“You sound as if you’ve eaten a lot of cakes that I’ve made, but you haven’t even eaten anything I did, other than some stew.”