Chapter 56
I had been so sure I knew her well.
From start to finish… it’s not much different from what Hurson knew all this time.
“…….”
“Why?”
Randell shook his head as if it were nothing, looking at Autumn, who glared up at him stubbornly.
I need to tell Hurson to do his job properly.
“No, it’s fine. Now… where are we going?”
“Wherever.”
Autumn murmured as she matched her pace to his.
“You said you wanted to buy it, didn’t you?”
Judging by the time, this would likely be the last place they would stop today.
Their legs were getting sore, and it seemed like the perfect place to go now.
“Let’s go have some coffee.”
“Hmm… I feel like I’ve been here before… Ah, there it is!”
Every time Autumn visited the market, she had noticed a particular spot.
A large cherry tree stood beside the shop, scattering beautiful petals whenever they passed by.
Yet, despite the charming exterior, there weren’t many customers.
It was the perfect spot for just the two of them.
“Have you been here before?”
“No… not really.”
Autumn rolled her eyes at Randell’s question.
“I was just curious. Since it’s in a secluded spot, it doesn’t seem very crowded when we pass by, maybe because word hasn’t spread.”
-
Jingle
“Welcome!”
As they opened the door, the shop owner, startled awake by the midday sunlight, jumped up from her seat.
“You can sit wherever you like, and I’ll bring the menu shortly.”
Randell, looking around the almost empty shop, whispered quietly to her.
“Doesn’t this seem a little… off?”
“Do we have time to worry about that? We didn’t make a reservation, and if we went somewhere else, we’d have to wait a long time.”
Autumn pulled him toward a spot by a second-floor window that was wide open, as if telling him to follow without any more words.
Once seated, small clusters of pink flowers that had bloomed first on this street spread before them.
“Oh, right. That brownie shop you asked me to buy from last time had a pretty long line too.”
Randell finally seemed to understand her intention in bringing him here, nodding knowingly.
“What’s so good about those tiny things?”
The memory made Randell shiver slightly, one corner of his eye tightening.
“Waiting three hours just for that.”
“You waited and bought it?”
Autumn looked at him in surprise.
“Of course, I waited in the carriage. The order was Hurson’s.”
“Still!”
He could almost hear Hurson’s voice grumbling about whether they really had to buy it today.
“…I naturally assumed you’d at least stay a day in the capital and make a reservation to get it.”
Just as he was feeling a little guilty for the trouble he and Hurson went through,
“Your chocolate mousse cake and coffee are ready.”
The ordered items came out faster than expected.
“The cocoa will be out soon as well. Please wait a moment.”
“Thank you.”
Autumn handed him a fork, offering him the first bite.
“Here, I’ll let you have the first bite. Try it first.”
“If this is because it’s poisoned… you’re giving it to me first…”
“What did you say?”
“Click”
Randell smiled slightly at her indignant expression, using the fork to lift a small corner of the cake.
He knew that by giving him this first bite, she was showing generosity from her perspective, because she loved chocolate desserts so much.
“Try this. I begged the chef to get this much chocolate.”
“My favorite chocolate pudding is served for dessert today.”
“No matter how you look at me, I won’t give up my hot chocolate in this weather.”
“My taste hasn’t changed at all.”
Autumn rested her chin on her hands and looked at Randell with eyes full of anticipation.
But he felt overwhelmed by her sparkling gaze.
Finally, he carefully took a bite of the cake.
“How is it?”
“It’s good.”
Before he even finished chewing, Autumn quickly gave her brief verdict.
“Of course it is!”
Autumn found it amusing, but for her, it was the best evaluation.
Randell made an exaggeratedly frustrated face.
“What else can we do here besides that…”
He quickly drank his cup of coffee, as if to wash down his own words.
“…….”
Yet, he said nothing further.
“Ugh— I’ll just eat it myself then.”
Annoyed by Randell’s reserved comment, Autumn took half the cake with her fork and put it in her mouth.
“Ugh— it’s really good.”
“I told you.”
She frowned at the intensely sweet taste of the cake, understanding why there were so few customers.
Randell, with a look that seemed to say see?, slowly commented on her slightly mismatched taste preferences.
“You always just eat sweet things. Your taste is…”
“Ah, this is my first time here too!”
Autumn shouted at him, a little flustered recalling that she had confidently recommended the place based on its pretty exterior.
“Tch, but really… it’s hard for a cake to be that bad. I could make it better.”
As she admitted her mistake, Randell raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“You can make something like that?”
“I’ll make it for you at the villa. It’ll be much better than this.”
Autumn whispered in his ear, giggling quietly so the owner wouldn’t hear.
“How’s the coffee?”
“Bitter.”
“Is that really the only thing you can say?”
“…….”
He still had a reluctant expression, unsure how to describe the taste.
This time, Autumn, arms crossed, spoke.
“Well, coffee is usually like that anyway.”
Randell corrected his own evaluation again.
“The one I brew is better.”
“Oh? You know how to brew it yourself? I thought Hurson always made it for you.”
“…I taught Hurson how.”
His eyes were smiling, but perhaps embarrassed that it showed, he trembled slightly at the corners of his mouth and boasted.
“I’ll make it for you at the villa. It’ll be far better than this.”
“Ugh— that bitterness… I still don’t know why people drink this.”
“My coffee will be different.”
“Then I’ll look forward to it.”
Autumn finished every last bite of the very sweet chocolate cake, smiling brightly.
At that moment, the owner returned with her drink.
“Here’s the hot chocolate the lady ordered.”
Autumn took a sip, tapping her feet in delight.
“Wow, this is delicious!”
She held the cup with both hands, drinking the warm hot chocolate.
Ah, peaceful.
In this place where no one knew them,
Through the open window, small, delicate pink petals floated gently onto their table.
“Ah, it’s already spring.”
“Do you like spring?”
Randell asked Autumn, who had her eyes closed.
“I like autumn more.”
Her eyes reminded him of a season.
He picked up a pink petal that had fallen beside her and handed it to her.
“Like my name… no, it’s perfect for reading! After that, I like spring too.”
“Same here.”
“But I like this chocolate more. Seriously, just try one bite.”
It was playful, nonsensical teasing.
Autumn took another sip of the hot chocolate, letting it melt smoothly on her tongue.
Today, their selected menu was a contrasting combination of bitter coffee and painfully sweet cake.
Yet somehow, the rich hot chocolate Autumn drank at the end seemed like the perfect balance of the two.
“…I don’t like it.”
“Then how about this?”
Autumn widened her eyes, handing him the hot chocolate she was drinking with coffee added, inviting him to try it.
But Randell, certain it would still be sweet, declined.
“I’ll probably still dislike it.”
“Would it hurt if you said you liked it?”
“I dislike it, so how could I say I like it?”
Randell casually added one more line.
“That would be deceiving the other person, and I absolutely hate people like that.”
