I woke up early in the morning and went out to the living room. There, David and the crown prince were sitting on the sofa with hollow eyes.
They both looked up at me, appearing to come back to life at the same time.
“…are you guys awake?”
“Umm… Sure. You can say that.”
David opened his mouth up as widely as a pelican as he yawned as stretched his arms above his head like a cat. The crown prince stood up and passed me to go to the bathroom.
“I’ll stop by the restaurant right away, and then go straight to the bakery.”
“…What happened?”
“What do you mean? We slept great. I’m sure we’ll be busy with delivery today, so let’s get a move on.”
David tapped me on the shoulder, threw his coat on, and went outside.
He was acting differently from normal, foregoing the first part of his morning routine to immediately ask to eat breakfast.
It was strange, sure. But just as he said, we had to get a move on for all the work that would come our way today.
“Then, I’ll head to the bakery.”
After washing his face, the crown prince came to me. He told me that fortunately, the wound hadn’t opened again overnight, and that he already suspected that it was in a better condition than it had been the night before.
Nodding in acknowledgement, I headed toward the storage room.
“…David and I moved the stuff that got delivered to the storage room yesterday. So come out.”
“What?”
“So, some reward is in order, right?”
The crown prince moved a bit closer to me.
He seemed to have something in mind. I retorted:
“What kind of ‘reward’ are you looking for?”
“Why do you look a little pale? What do you think I’m going to ask for?”
“…wh-what do you want?”
“I’m still thinking. I’ll tell you soon.”
He left as soon as he said that.
Stunned, I paused for a moment before heading to the kitchen.
When I walked through the door frame, I was greeted by a neatly arranged kitchen. You could hardly believe it was the same war-zone of a kitchen as yesterday.
‘When did they do all this?’
It must’ve been so much work. I couldn’t even imagine when they could’ve found the time to do all of that cleaning and rearranging.
After thinking for a moment longer, the lingering sleepiness clouding my judgment faded, and I remembered how haggard the both of them had looked this morning.
‘Wait, did they not sleep?’
Feeling a bit uneasy about such a gesture, I turned my back on the spotless kitchen, changed my clothes, and went outside. The light scent of flowers floated in the wind.
‘Oh, it’s so quiet…how peaceful…’
Seiren had fertile soil and quite a variety of flowers. As such, the main source of business in the village was related to flowers.
However, the Marquis of Seiren rarely received any visitors.
Because the Marquis believed that the flowers would all wilt if tourists were to come.
Perhaps that was why the village of Seiren was so quiet.
Unlike the Marquis of Seiren’s personal reputation, the village always seemed peaceful.
‘And that’s the way I like it…’
That was the reason why I so easily decided to attach myself to this place.
The villagers were good-natured, too. Cautious, kind, and unwilling to start nonsense rumors for no reason.
And part of the reason why this all was possible was because everyone had enough money. The skill of the Marquis was integral in this.
Though, how dare David use up all the money he had to open a bakery? How could a knight of a ruined country make such a financially irresponsible decision?
‘And he hadn’t even put that much effort into it, either…’
What was the point of starting a business if he wasn’t going to put his all into it? Especially since David had no intention of running the bakery “well.”
On the other hand, I was ready to give it my all. To completely settle in, and then sell and deliver bread to as many of the villagers as I could connect with. But to do that, I knew I’d have to make a good first impression!
“My gold star employee, Irene! Ack! It’s too much! An angel has graced me with her presence! Don’t walk, my angel, fly!”
As I opened the door to the bakery, David shouted from afar.
Other nearby stores were also already open. Everyone there seemed to be looking at me. I felt the overwhelming, hot feeling of shame come flooding up to my cheeks.
Unlike the version of him I’d seen only a little earlier, David looked much more lively. Or, perhaps a more correct word would be…’delirious?’
“Let’s be honest. You didn’t sleep, did you?”
“Come on, I slept! I swear! And I’m feelin’ goooood!”
“You’re in a good mood?”
“No…I got that energy!!!”
I felt a little uneasy again. I passed by David and went into the kitchen.
There, the crown prince was standing idly behind the workbench.
“…what is it?”
“Give me a chance. Teach me.”
“To bake?”
“Yes, this little bakery won’t be able to get any bigger if it doesn’t have anything to sell.”
“Hey! My shop isn’t little! Do you know how much this place is worth?”
David refuted the crown prince’s claim.
But the crown prince was not hurt at all by this interaction. Only David felt a bit sour.
“Why do you want to learn to bake all of a sudden?”
“Because you’re doing it.”
“…does it look easy?”
“Well, is it supposed to be?”
He looked a little ridiculous, having prepared a notebook and pencils, like a student at the royal school.
But when I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out how, or even what to start teaching.
“Well, first of all, I made this dough yesterday, so now it’s ready to be put in a mold to bake. That mold was impossible to get my hands on, so make sure to be careful with it.”
“Are you worried that I… will break it?”
“Yes, that’s my greatest concern.”
In this world, I couldn’t even find a properly sized baking mold. There were only square-shaped pans, or two boring, round molds–and those only ever came in one size, just enough for four people.
So, I found a way to contact a blacksmith and commissioned him to make several smaller molds. Even combined with David’s investment, it put a pretty big dent in my pocket.
It was significantly sloppier and clunkier than any mold I could’ve bought for cheap in Seoul, but it was ever more valuable given its scarcity in this world.
“Grease it first, so that it’ll come out easily after it’s done.”
“What kind of shape is this?”
“Gold bar.”
“What?”
“It’s named “gold bar.” Because it looks like a bar of gold.”
“…you really are crazy about money.”
Ignoring the exchange, I handed him a brush and some oil. He was a little messy with it, but he was trying his best to do what I’d instructed in his own way.
Like this, we began to bake our specials of the day: Madeleines, the Financiers, and the country’s most popular type of breakfast biscuits.
The kitchen smelled of the savory, melting butter.
“Mr. David! Now!”
David hurriedly threw open the doors of the store upon my signal.
The crown prince looked up in amazement. I darted away, carrying with me a piping hot tray of biscuits.
The savory smell of the freshly baked goods combined with their appetizing appearance inspired a pang of hunger in anyone near enough to experience the scene.
An irresistible sight to any on their morning commute, persuaded into a pit stop to grab a snack.
But the difference here was that, compared to the bustling city of Seoul, there were not many villagers in Seiren rushing to their corporate office jobs.
‘Yet…blessed are those who try…’
I returned to my station in the kitchen and packaged up treats for delivery.
Those designated for the store were placed in one box, and those ready to be shipped off were placed and individually wrapped in paper bags.
But, one shiny, white box was reserved, filled with baked goods, and soon to be employed for delivery to Rosie.
“…That way, we’ll be sure to know exactly where this one goes.”
“Come one, come all! You’ll be the very first in! Except for Miss Rosie! And Joseph!”
“What?”
“Smile.”
“What?”
He frowned.
I turned to face him, already smiling broadly. To the point where the corners of my mouth felt almost a little awkward. I could feel my teeth shining.
His green eyes quivered a little. I spoke in a lively voice:
“Hello! Welcome to David’s Bakery! Come on in!”
“…what is he doing?”
“Advertising.”
“Advertising?”
“Joseph, you’re our delivery man, so you’re going to have to memorize your lines. We have special taglines.”
“…I can’t do that.”
“You have to do it. That way, we can maintain our bakery’s image. Now. Smile.”
I put on a pretentious smile again. My capitalism-born and bred smile.
“You call that a smile? Your mouth is just open.”
“No, this is a customer service smile! It’s the norm! Just smile!”
He shook his head.
“Hurry up!”
“No. That’s not a smile. It makes me want to spit in your face.”
“Oh, my God. Calm down…”
“…it’s the truth.”
The crown prince hurried out of the kitchen with an armful of paper bags.
“Joseph! Are you going alone? Do you even know where it is?”
“I heard where it is from David. And I went there by myself last night, to. I can go.”
‘Oh…’
Was he admitting to practicing his route? I internally clapped for him, seeing him off.
For some reason, he looked more reliable from the back than the front.
* * *
“Here.”
“What is it?”
After I’d finished up all of the packing and sat on the sofa to relax, David handed me a paper bag.
I looked up at him, a little confused.
“It’s nothing. Take it.”
He scratched at the back of his head bashfully.
I opened the paper bag to examine its contents.
Inside, there was a bundle of cloth. A light purple lace dress.
The collar was intricately decorated, and the long, flowing fabric of the dress itself felt light and airy.
‘This looks expensive…’
I looked back at him again, quite confused.
“…What are you apologizing for?”
It must’ve been quite the occasion to be given something as fine as this.
But he shook his head vigorously.
“I’m not apologizing for anything! It’s just… It’s a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Well… I never bought any of my dear employee’s any clothing… and I also said that I’d be feeding you all, but I don’t do that often, either…”
“…what’s going on?”
“Well… when I saw you standing with Lady Rosie, I thought that I should get you something nice to wear.”
David seemed to have paid attention to the difference between my and Rosie’s attire.
Of course, my clothing was inevitably going to be of a different quality than the only daughter of the Marquis.
I was a bit embarrassed that the difference was so great that he felt compelled to buy me new clothing.
“I get paid regularly. I just haven’t bought new clothing.”
“Well, that’s because you have to save up your money to become rich.”
“What about you, David?”
“Could the future-billionaire Irene please turn a blind eye? You can buy me something even better down the road.”
He showed me a gentle smile.
“Thank you. It’s beautiful. I’m excited to wear it.”
“You’re going to see Rosie later today, right? Change before you see her!”
I nodded in agreement and went into the bakery’s bathroom.
I took off my aprons that smelled of butter and dried milk and removed my beaten gray dress.
I hitched the new dress over my shoulders. Its soft material fell down over my back, and a subtle scent of jasmine lingered in my hair.
I looked in the mirror, fiddling with my headscarf.
Carefully combing my hair to one side, I tamed my stray hairs with the edge of the scarf.
I felt some butterflies in my stomach; I haven’t had the chance to dress up in a long time.
I smiled in the mirror before leaving the bathroom.
“It fits perfectly.”
When I went outside, it wasn’t just David standing there. The crown prince had returned from his first round of deliveries.
The two sat side by side on the sofa, turning their heads to watch me exit the bathroom at the same time.
“Wow, Irene…! It really suits you!”
David stood up, applauding.
I paused for a moment, in panic.
“What do you think, Joseph? Would you mind if I ask to marry Irene?”
The crown prince turned his head as quickly as a lightning bolt would strike the ground.
“Irene! You can’t marry this dude! I won’t just give you away to anyone carelessly! Don’t just let a man ask you to marry him casually!”
“Haha… well I mean that’s more of a personal decision for me to make…”
“Joseph! You better be taking good care of Irene.”
“…Hey, I’m a man too… I’m gonna go. I’m running late, anyway.”
The crown prince got up and went into the kitchen to pick up more goods to deliver.
David reclaimed his space on the sofa again, as I headed out the front door.
With each step I took, I could feel the hem of my dress flutter behind me.
“Let’s go.”
I hadn’t noticed him leave the bakery, yet now he appeared standing beside me.
“Oh, you’re already out? We should really put up a sign or something on the door…”
“Why should we put up a sign?”
“So everyone can know who’s here. When Mr. David is away, and when I’m in the kitchen–that kind of thing.”
“I see.”
The crown prince paused and held his arm out in my direction. I looked up at him.
“Are you…still in pain?”
‘Oh, did he want me to… take his hand?’
I shook my head.
“I’m okay! I feel even stronger than I did originally, thanks to your herbs.”
He started walking again, scratching at the back of his head after hearing my testament. I continued, too, following him slowly.
Usually when we walk together, he’s a decent distance ahead of me. But today, for some reason, he seemed to be walking along at my natural pace.
“You’re not tired, are you? You normally walk pretty quickly.”
“…It’s because I ran earlier.”
“Did your deliveries go well this morning?”
“Are you asking me if I said those taglines? I did. But…are you sure we have to keep delivering to that one family’s home?”
“Why?”
“They keep making a fuss about me eating something.”
I burst into laughter.
He was probably talking about Michelle’s house.
Last time, they’d invited David to eat at their house, and it seemed that they offered the same service to the crown prince.
“It’s really worth looking at, you know.”
“What?”
“Your real smile. Not the one you tried to teach me earlier, with just the corners of your mouth.”
I didn’t know what to say. He just stared at me.
“When you smile… I just can’t help but look.”
The crown prince approached me, sweeping my hair back.
I saw his face drift closer and closer to mine. I took a step back.
“Wh-what?”
“You didn’t take this off.”
He tugged the price tag still attached to my clothes. I turned my head quickly away in embarrassment.
Come to think of it, I don’t think I’d ever seen him smile before.
“Joseph, I want to see you smile too.”
“I don’t smile.”
“That’s impossible. Everyone smiles.”
“What is there to smile about?”
“You can’t help but smile sometimes. There’s a lot of research that says that smiling more even makes you live longer.”
“The people that say that just have nothing better to do.”
His expression became even more stiff in response to my argument.
Without saying another word to each other, we reached the front of Seiren manor.
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
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