Chapter – 04
The long-awaited first day of the café’s operation had arrived. The large glass door rattled along with the small bell hanging from it.
“Welcome!”
“…….”
“Wait, are you alone?”
Octavia was taken aback by Brielle’s sudden change in tone. One moment she had greeted her with a smile, and the next, her voice had shifted sharply. Octavia bellowed at the indifferent café owner.
“My friends will be coming soon! I came early today as the host of our gathering!”
“Welcome. I will personally guide you.”
Watching the now-composed Brielle, Octavia let out a sigh, while Molly, who had been observing from behind, chuckled dryly.
Following Brielle, Octavia took a seat at a white table outdoors. The morning sunlight poured over her, illuminating her red hair and lemon-colored dress, which revealed her shoulders elegantly.
“You look exceptionally beautiful today, miss.”
“Stop playing the owner and just sit for a moment.”
“Playing? You talk to someone who’s seriously running a business… Ah, so that’s how the rich see things…”
“She’s starting to talk nonsense again. Just sit down already.”
With a giggle, Brielle obeyed Octavia and sat across from her. Her golden eyes, reflecting her friend, quickly filled with curiosity.
“I’m not just flattering you—today, you really dressed up. You look stunning.”
“D-dressed up? Who said I dressed up?”
“Hmm.”
Brielle leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. Octavia pointed out that her posture looked like that of a villain, but she kept it that way and pressed on.
“Your skin tone is one shade brighter than usual, you have a reddish tint on your cheeks, and your lips are so prominently colored. Isn’t that dressing up?”
“Don’t analyze me…! I actually asked you to sit here to tell you this.”
Octavia pulled a handkerchief from her bag and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Then she confided in Brielle, who was staring at her with shining eyes.
“I went to a party the day before yesterday. A handsome man came up to me out of nowhere and said something like this: the moment he saw me, he felt as if a trio of baby angels’ voices was echoing in his ears.”
Brielle chuckled at this.
“Haha, how could he not recognize an angel’s song? Has he ever died before?”
“Ugh, fix your tone. Are you going to talk like that to all the customers? Anyway, listen to the rest. Then, my beauty apparently outshone the light of a grand chandelier.”
“Who says such nonsense? Light doesn’t die—it’s not a living thing. What kind of idiot was that?”
“It’s not nonsense; it’s just a slightly exaggerated, u-uh, elegant way of expressing things. Hmm, and you really need to watch your words. That person… is royalty.”
“So he’s a prince?”
Octavia nodded shyly, her face turning as red as her hair.
Brielle raised ten fingers and asked again.
“Good heavens, which prince? Wait, how many princes are there in this country? The king keeps scattering his seeds everywhere.”
“There are twelve princes including the crown prince, and the one who supposedly fell for me is the twelfth prince.”
“The youngest? Then the one who looks so handsome and has, uh, an empty head—or rather, pure….”
Brielle’s attempt to change her words failed. Octavia confirmed her original description before she could finish.
“Empty-headed, yes. His mind is way too clean. Really, extremely so.”
Her green eyes showed a deep sense of futility. The redness of her cheeks wasn’t from makeup but from sheer disbelief.
“Wow. So public opinion can really be that accurate.”
“Exactly. Such a waste of a face.”
There was genuine bitterness in Octavia’s voice. It seemed the twelfth prince’s beauty and intellect were inversely proportional.
Brielle clicked her tongue and muttered, “That’s royalty for you.” She didn’t like royal families. Though she hadn’t been part of high society, newspapers alone were enough to see how chaotic they were.
‘A king who copies neighboring countries calling it politics, a crown prince who announces survival once a month through rumors, princes who waste taxpayers’ money on luxury…’
All utterly pathetic.
So it was honestly a relief that Octavia wasn’t dazzled by the twelfth prince and instead looked so dejected. Even if she dreamed of improving her social standing through marriage, it didn’t have to be with royalty.
‘But why is she so restless?’
After finishing her story, Octavia repeatedly glanced around the café, sighed deeply, and muttered to herself. Brielle finally figured it out.
“The restroom is next to the entrance.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
As Brielle tilted her head in confusion at her friend’s strange behavior, the café door opened with a cheerful jingle.
“Tabby!”
“We’re here!”
Octavia’s first invited guests had arrived, officially marking the café’s opening.
By afternoon, women streamed into the café for coffee and tea. Customers curious about the new café soon applauded the spacious outdoor garden and the taste of Molly’s pastries.
Thanks to better-than-expected results, Brielle’s face bore a wide smile despite the hectic day.
Octavia, while grumbling to her friends, couldn’t hide her joy either. After her guests left, she even manned the register, pretending she wasn’t helping the busy Brielle.
“Huh? What’s that?”
Brielle noticed a suspicious figure lingering outside the glass door.
She dashed to the door and flung it open, but the shadow disappeared as if teasing her.
What the…?
Brielle’s usually cheerful face fell with worry.
Could it be someone sent by the Marquess?
Afraid the business might be disrupted, Brielle searched frantically around, clutching her skirt, determined to catch whoever it was. But the shadowy figure never appeared again.
When Octavia asked, Brielle, her voice tense, replied:
“I think a rat is lurking around. I need to catch it and show it who’s boss.”
Nearby, a table let out a shallow scream. Octavia quickly clarified that it wasn’t a real rat and scolded Brielle with ventriloquism.
“I told you to watch your words! You can’t say that in the café.”
“I didn’t expect it to be misunderstood. Anyway, what was that rat? It seems to have lingered… there are many footprints.”
Seeing Brielle gnash her teeth in anger, Octavia widened her eyes and then pulled her eyebrows downward. Brielle noticed immediately.
“What’s with that uneasy look? Do you know them?”
“I… I think it’s him. The prince who supposedly fell for me at first sight.”
From the first day of operations to the twelfth prince, it had been a whirlwind of a day.
As soon as the sun set, Brielle closed the café and suddenly handed Molly a bundle of cash.
“Here, half of today’s earnings.”
“R-really half? I thought it was a joke.”
Seeing Molly flustered and excited, Brielle smiled.
“Of course. This café wouldn’t exist without the pastries you made. We split everything like this every day.”
“Hoho, if only today’s guests come regularly, I might surpass the salary I earned at the Marquess’ mansion in less than a week.”
“That will definitely happen. I’m sorry I can’t give more, but you trusted me and followed along, Molly.”
Molly waved her hands, touched by Brielle’s sincerity.
“What are you saying? Thanks to you, I earn more while working less, and my living conditions are better too.”
“I’m glad you think that way. You worked hard today. Go rest upstairs.”
Both their bedrooms were on the second floor of the café building. Molly stopped midway up the stairs, narrowing her gentle eyes sharply.
“Wait, miss… Are you planning to start that too today? That’s why you sent me up like this, right?”
Brielle smiled slyly.
“You caught me.”
