Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: What a Spectacle
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It's ridiculous.
"Sweet things make you feel good, right? So no one hates sweets!"
Utterly ridiculous.
"Plus, they say there aren't any dessert shops in Sorren territory? If we open one with the trendy desserts from the capital, there has to be demand!"
Just like a naive noble lady clueless about the world.
"The shop being a bit out of the way is because... we didn't have enough money to rent on the main street... But hidden gems draw lines of people anyway! If the taste is good, location doesn't matter, right?"
"...Why are the prices so high, then?"
"I wanted to give them the best, so I added this and that, and it just... ended up like this."
Her words weren't entirely illogical. Since ancient times, rural folk have envied the capital and tried their hardest to imitate it, haven't they?
Bringing trendy capital desserts straight to the countryside could definitely spark a craze. The idea of creating demand where there's none, or betting that a hidden gem in a back alley would pull crowds regardless of location—considering realistic constraints.
It wouldn't be wrong about 300 years from now.
But this is the medieval era.
A world where overseas travel is a pipe dream, and even leaving one's territory feels like fantasy.
'Idiot... should I call her that?'
The demand survey was off from the start. Why wouldn't there be a capital-style dessert shop in Sorren Barony? They can't afford such luxuries here. Why don't modern people build shiny department stores in rural areas? Because no one has the money to shop there anyway.
"Let me ask one thing first."
Enri looked at the confident Cordelia and asked.
"Have you succeeded like this before?"
"Yes! Of course! Back in my territory, we sold things I made just like this! It was a huge hit!"
"Ah..."
At those words, a natural sigh escaped Enri. He could see why she'd ended up like this. Past success. That one victory had turned into poison.
'That only worked because your lord backed the business...'
A lord aggressively promoting a venture in their own territory isn't the same as some random person opening a single shop. Even identical products would yield wildly different results.
But Cordelia, seemingly oblivious to that gap, just tilted her head as if wondering what the problem was.
From her perspective, it was all the same—just making good products, past or present.
"Lady Cordelia...? I heard voices outside—"
"Ah! Lady Urara!"
And at that moment.
A girl cautiously emerged from inside the shop.
Small build, small chest. A beauty, but nothing standout—a lady of average appeal.
The type who looks even plainer next to flashy jewels. Already shrinking back as much as possible, she spotted the crest on Enri's chest and huddled even more.
"K-Knight?"
"Ah, pleased to meet you, milady. I'm Enri. I serve Duke Claudia."
"...A knight from Claudia territory."
She glared at Enri with inexplicable hostility. As Enri tilted his head in confusion, Cordelia belatedly introduced her.
"This is Lady Urara! The lady of Sorren Barony!"
"...I see."
Sorren.
The moment he heard that name, Enri understood why she was giving him such a murderous look.
The lady of the Sorren family, whose lands had been swallowed by the Claudia house.
The rightful ruler of this land was standing right there.
Enri subtly glanced at Cordelia, signaling her. Did you really introduce me without knowing the details?
But.
"...? Say hello."
Cordelia smiled brightly, utterly oblivious to the issue.
That was when Enri finally understood what a blood-curdling smile meant.
Urara Sorren.
Fortunately, the lady of Sorren Barony had some tact.
Meaning, instead of staring daggers forever, she quickly schooled her expression and ushered Enri inside.
"Please come in. You're a customer, right?"
Of course, there was probably an ulterior motive to sell him something. Enri willingly played along.
Stepping into the bakery, Enri unconsciously sniffed. The aroma of fragrant bread filled the shop. A sweet scent so potent it almost tricked him into thinking he'd returned to the modern world.
A fragrance he'd never smelled in this world even once. In other words, one that had cost a fortune to recreate.
"...What is all this?"
"Looks delicious, right? We all put our heads together to come up with these!"
"That's not what I mean."
However,
Spending a ton of money doesn't mean you'll make it back.
Enri let out a hollow laugh as he surveyed the desserts crammed into the shop.
"How do you plan to sell all this?"
"Huh? Lady Urara said over a thousand people live in Sorren Barony. Can't we sell dozens of cakes quick?"
"So, how many have you sold so far?"
"...Zero."
"How many?"
Cordelia, at a loss for words, turned her head and made a zero with her fingers. Zero. Not a single pastry sold yet.
No helping it. Enri glanced at the prices (steep even for a knight's wage) and picked up the cheapest dessert.
"One, please."
"Thank you!"
Watching Cordelia beam as she took his money, Enri took a bite.
'Even amid this mess, the pastry's good.'
The moment it touched his lips, modern nostalgia flooded him. The familiar taste of modern civilization. But the moment he glanced from that nostalgia to the price tag, it vanished in an instant.
"Lady Cordelia. What's the cost on this?"
"Cost? Uh... with everything, about 50%, I'd say!"
"...So, including labor, rent, all that, it's 50%?"
"No! Just materials!"
This is insane.
Enri couldn't stop the hollow laughs bubbling up.
He couldn't just leave her like this—she was a noble.
One doted on by the 3rd Prince, a top candidate for crown princess.
Abandoning her in this rural barony? The prince would intervene 100%. He wouldn't care about the political fallout from showing up here.
He was in love.
Those under love's spell fall harder than any hypnosis or enchantment.
Slowly crumbling.
Even if it meant giving up everything, he wouldn't bend his heart.
To claim the woman he loved, he'd bend everything he had.
"First off."
Enri realized he needed to resolve this urgently.
However.
Painstaking head-scratching was his least favorite thing.
"Could you recommend a few for gifting?"
"Yes! Of course!"
There were places to offload brainwork.
Tedious tasks.
With the wrapped cakes, Enri tossed this headache straight to the ducal residence.
—Why is that crazy bitch like that with me?
In the communication room of Sorren's lord castle.
Enri smirked lightly as he overheard his lady's fury.
"What should we do? If we leave her, the prince will come. And if the prince shows up..."
—The royals will intervene. With the perfect excuse of royal safety.
Eve sighed deeply as she said that.
When he first reported this, she'd even suspected it was some elaborate scheme targeting the duchy.
It was that absurd. Would any lady in the world open a bakery for the daughter of a noble stripped of her title?
In the very territory taken from that family, no less!
"I heard the goal is tuition for the Sorren lady. Why not just sponsor her outright? Faster that way."
—After stripping their title and wealth, now play benefactor? Isn't that how you make enemies?
"Seems the quickest method."
Why overcomplicate it? Enri suggested a straightforward path. But to Eve, it didn't sound great. The justification used to seize Sorren was the issue.
They'd taken the title claiming the Sorren family usurped royal rights. Now sponsoring just their daughter? It could seem like deception—to the Sorren lady or the royals.
—No choice. She's not planning to keep the business forever...
"Leave her be?"
—Are you mad? We have to chase her out somehow.
Still.
Enri's idea wasn't entirely bad.
She had a recruitable twist on it.
—Not sponsorship. Make the business succeed.
"Pardon? The prices there aren't a joke."
—Who cares. It's not my money.
She pulled out a few documents.
—The baron stashed slush funds through the underworld.
Double ledgers found after occupying Sorren.
—Clean up the back alleys while you're at it and grab them.