Chapter 03

“Should we walk a little farther today?”

On a bright afternoon, Roana suddenly spoke while taking a walk through the garden with Iz.

“That should be alright, right?”

She added the question carefully, worried that she might be stepping outside the area allowed to her.

“Of course, my lady. The gardens in the south are open to everyone.”

Unlike the north, where the cold weather and strong winds made large gardens difficult to maintain, the south had many mild highland areas, so the gardens there were enormous.

In the south, walking through a beautifully maintained garden was considered as natural as eating food to survive.

Everyone had the right to walk through the gardens, even an unwanted guest like Roana.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Encouraged by Iz’s words, Roana walked farther than usual. Even after walking for a long time with determination, the garden still seemed endless.

The two spent a pleasant time admiring the unusual flowers that bloomed in the highlands.

Roana discovered “that tree” while they were resting on a bench in the corner of the garden after walking so much that their feet hurt.

“Huh? That…”

At that moment, Roana forgot all about her aching feet and quickly stood up before walking toward the tree.

The closer she got, the more certain she became. The fruit was as small as a fingernail, bright red, and the leaves had wavy edges…

‘No way. Isn’t this a coffee tree?’

Roana covered her mouth with both hands in shock.

‘Why is this here?’

Her heart pounded wildly with excitement.

‘Wait.’

Soon, however, Roana calmed herself.

‘I have never seen coffee in this world before.’

There was a coffee tree, yet people did not drink coffee. What exactly did that mean?

“Iz!”

Roana turned her head so quickly it almost made a swishing sound.

“Y-Yes, my lady!”

“What is the name of this tree?”

“It is called the Adanta tree.”

Iz tilted her head, clearly unable to understand why Roana was interested in it.

“Does it only grow in the south?”

Roana asked even more urgently. Iz nodded blankly.

“As far as I know, yes. It only grows in a few regions even in the south. The former Duchess liked collecting plants, so she had it planted in the garden.”

“Have you ever eaten the fruit from this tree?”

“Huh? The Adanta fruit? The flowers are fairly pretty, but nobody eats the fruit.”

“…Why?”

“Because of the legend about the Adanta fruit.”

Iz began explaining.

“They say that a thousand years ago, during the White Age when giants, elves, fairies, and humans lived together, humans were the only race expelled from paradise because they ate the Adanta fruit and suddenly attacked the other races.”

Considering coffee’s stimulating effect, it was actually a fairly believable legend.

“But it is only a legend.”

Roana argued.

Stories of the White Age were ancient tales only found in children’s storybooks. No adult seriously believed that era truly existed.

“Well, even if it is only a legend, people still feel uneasy about it. Besides, the Adanta fruit is bitter, tastes bad, and there is not much of it, so it has no value as food. Even without the legend, nobody would have eaten it.”

“I see.”

In short, the coffee fruit in this world had been ignored because of both its unpleasant taste and the ominous legend attached to it.

‘This is similar to how people in medieval times avoided potatoes because they thought they were devil fruits.’

Thinking about potatoes, Roana suddenly remembered something and spoke again.

“Iz, have you ever tried eating the seed of the fruit?”

Roana asked hopefully. If people had eaten the seed, they would have experienced the strong awakening effect of raw coffee beans, and this world might have already discovered the usefulness of coffee.

“Huh? Why would anyone eat the seed?”

Iz looked at Roana with complete confusion.

“That’s true. Normally people eat the fruit and throw away the seeds…”

Roana nodded carefully.

She reached out and picked one of the coffee fruits. With a small pop, the tiny red fruit fell into her hand.

“My lady?”

“Iz, we should pick some of these fruits… I mean, these Adanta fruits.”

“Huh?”

“I have a use for them.”

“…Yes, understood.”

Though confused, Iz obediently gathered a large amount of coffee fruit for Roana. She even removed her outer robe and used it to carry the fruit.

As soon as they returned to the separate residence, Roana received the fruits from Iz and spread them across the drawing room table.

Because Iz had carefully picked only the ripest fruits, the table became filled with beautiful red color.

‘Coffee! It’s coffee!’

Roana stared excitedly at the coffee fruits for several minutes.

‘But they are only fruits…’

Of course, coffee could not be brewed while still in fruit form.

To make coffee, the fruit pulp had to be removed, the hard shell and sticky layer around the seed had to be cleaned off, then the beans had to be dried for a long time before roasting and grinding them.

‘Aaaah.’

Roana screamed internally.

Processing coffee fruit was far too difficult for her to do alone.

‘But I really want coffee!’

Roana spent the entire day unable to leave the table, nervously pacing around the coffee fruits.

Iz worried about her and brought her food and alcohol, but Roana wanted coffee so badly that she could barely eat.

Even that night, Roana sat in the darkness staring at the coffee fruits shining under the moonlight while lost in thought.

Iz had stepped away briefly to bring warm alcohol.

‘I think I can manage the drying somehow… and maybe I could roast them in a pan… no, I really am going crazy.’

Even if she made coffee that crudely, there was no way it would have the elegant flavor she remembered from her previous life.

To make proper coffee, she needed proper tools.

Feeling depressed, Roana sat curled up in the armchair and wiggled her toes.

‘There are coffee fruits right in front of me, yet I still cannot drink coffee.’

Just as she buried her face into her arms—

A sudden thought flashed through her mind.

‘There is magic in this world!’

In this reincarnated world, magicians truly existed. Noble families usually hosted at least one magician as an honored guest.

That meant the Bruggen family must also have a magician staying with them.

Like alchemists, magicians invented all sorts of strange tools, processed materials, and created unusual products infused with magic.

‘If I cooperate with a magician, I might actually be able to make decent coffee!’

Roana excitedly jumped to her feet, then slowly sat back down again.

“But how do I convince them to cooperate…?”

Living in this world, Roana had heard enough stories to understand the nature of magicians well.

They cared only about academic research and devoted their entire lives to scholarly achievements. The only thing capable of moving them was knowledge itself. Worldly matters did not interest them.

Even noble families that eagerly hosted magicians could not truly control them because of their proud and noble nature.

“Hmmm.”

Roana picked up a coffee fruit. As she squeezed it, the pulp burst apart and revealed the hard shell covering the bean.

“If they just taste it once, even some old magician grandpa would cooperate with me… wait.”

Taste it once?

“What is stopping me from letting them taste it?”

Even though Roana did not have coffee yet, the caffeine inside the raw beans still existed.

Magicians spent day and night pursuing academic achievements. If she let them experience the power of caffeine even once…

“Good. Let’s do it.”

Roana carefully stored the coffee fruits somewhere safe and went to sleep with determination for tomorrow.

The next day, Roana selected ten especially ripe coffee fruits and removed the pulp. Then she placed the beans into a pouch and headed toward the separate residence where the Bruggen family’s magician lived.

Since a magician staying as a guest of the family was considered completely neutral, there should be no problem with Roana visiting.

The magician’s residence was truly strange. Not only was the building itself unusual, but what especially caught Roana’s attention were the experimental tools scattered even outside the building.

All sorts of strange devices lined the fence, and many of them were impossible to identify at first glance. Among them were bottles filled with suspicious cloudy liquids.

Carefully avoiding the tools, Roana knocked on the door.

From inside came loud crashing noises before the door finally opened.

Standing there was a worn-out young man with long red hair tied back loosely.

“Hello, Mr. Gerald.”

Roana greeted him politely. Iz had already told her the magician’s name.

The magician, Gerald, frowned deeply the moment he saw Roana.

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

Judging by the fact that he did not recognize her face, he truly had no interest in the internal affairs of the Bruggen family.

“I am Roana Rius… no, Roana Bruggen. I married Duke Bruggen one month ago.”

“Ah. I heard rumors. The Duchess from the north.”

A displeased expression appeared on Gerald’s face.

Roana looked confused because she could not understand why he disliked her.