A Lively Welcome
“There are quite a few interesting recipes here.”
The real problem was that several of them sounded like they would taste genuinely good.
I just hoped Kyle’s café, which was barely staying afloat, wouldn’t go under again because of this.
“Wouldn’t it be fun to let customers try the recipes we develop and make the ones with good reactions into official menu items?”
Basically, the “Help me, public” strategy.
This method had one more advantage.
If we sparked good competition between the menu items, we could easily create loyal customers.
Just like how mint chocolate became the poster child for polarizing flavors and spawned the Mint Choco Squad.
Since this was just a hobby café anyway, a big event would also serve as free promotion.
Kyle seemed to find my idea amusing.
“Did I ever mention that I like Miss Diaz?”
It was an abrupt confession, but delivered in such a plain, apple-appreciation-level tone that I just laughed it off.
“You did just now.”
Kyle grumbled that I never took his sincerity seriously.
“Could you stop by the café sometime?”
He revealed his true motive right away.
“Sure, I will.”
It wasn’t a difficult request, so I agreed. Kyle’s face lit up instantly.
As if suddenly remembering something urgent, Kyle shot to his feet. I stood up as well.
“Lucy will explain the rest of the work you’ll be doing. I’ll drop by again this afternoon.”
After saying goodbye, Kyle stepped out the door and added,
“You don’t have to come back, though.”
Once she confirmed Kyle was far enough away, Lucy joked.
Still feeling shy around the other employees, I gave an awkward laugh. The rest of the staff burst out laughing.
“You don’t have to force yourself to laugh.”
Lucy playfully nudged me with her elbow.
“I’ll try not to next time.”
My tension had eased a little, so I answered with a smile.
“Now I feel a bit sad. I take it back. Just laugh for me.”
Lucy pulled an exaggerated pout.
“If Miss Diaz thinks something’s funny, she’ll laugh, right?”
Sophia, who looked to be in her late thirties or early forties and the oldest person in the office, cut in to defend me while gently scolding Lucy.
Then she gave me a warm smile and extended her hand.
“Kyle already gave a rough introduction, but let me greet you properly. I’m Sophia Trish. May I call you Carolina?”
“You can call me Lina. It’s a nickname I’ve had since I was little, passed down from my grandmother.”
“Lina it is, then.”
Sophia’s eyes crinkled as she took my hand and shook it.
“Kyle kept calling you Miss Diaz so formally that I thought you must be some noble young lady.”
While I was shaking Sophia’s hand, someone muttered from the corner of my vision.
If that’s a woman’s voice… that must be Beth.
My gaze shifted toward her.
Her tone was prickly, but her small frame and youthful face made it hard to sense any real malice.
She looked flustered the moment our eyes met.
If she had been picking a fight, I wouldn’t have let it slide, but…
I’ll hold off for now.
I flashed her a bright smile instead—the same way my younger siblings always told me to when they wanted me to get angry.
Beth flinched and looked away, apparently catching the intent behind my smile.
Nadan and Derek, standing beside her, quickly tried to smooth things over at the sight of me grinning at something that wasn’t funny at all.
“Beth taught herself the imperial language and etiquette.”
“She usually speaks with a lot of force, but sometimes she relaxes and ends up like this.”
“Her tone might sound like that, but what she really means is, ‘I thought someone Kyle addresses so formally must be difficult to approach, but she seems much more easygoing than expected.’”
Beth nodded vigorously, eyes wide, as if Nadan’s translation was spot on.
“That’s exactly what I said.”
Even though it was still a half-finished sentence, it only made the self-taught imperial language theory more believable.
Her large eyes, which gave her a youthful appearance, also helped soften the atmosphere.
Being mistaken for a noble young lady is getting old anyway.
It was true that Kyle was more polite with me than Lucy or the others.
Better than letting the misunderstanding continue.
I answered Beth’s curiosity honestly.
“We first met outside the palace. I guess the way he addressed me back then just stuck.”
It’s just my guess, but it feels right.
The culture among officials inside and outside the palace was slightly different.
While it wasn’t an official requirement for the palace employment exam, most palace officials were academy graduates.
Perhaps it was because talented individuals tended to flock to the academy, so the ones who got hired just happened to be academy alumni.
And at the academy, students weren’t allowed to flaunt their status in the name of educational equality.
There was even a school rule requiring students to hide their family names during their enrollment period, with heavy penalty points for breaking it.
Of course, subtle hints that allowed others to guess one’s status couldn’t be regulated.
Moreover, since nobles had already built connections since childhood, they all knew exactly who was who anyway, so it wasn’t a completely equal environment.
Still, the lines of status were blurrier there than outside.
Because most palace officials were academy graduates, many of them addressed each other by first names rather than family names.
But Kyle and I first met as guild master and customer at the information guild, so it makes sense he still calls me Miss Diaz.
After hearing my explanation, Beth looked satisfied, her curiosity resolved. She tried to say something to me but was stopped by Sophia.
“Beth, did you think before you spoke?”
Beth’s mouth snapped shut at Sophia’s words.
Apparently, she had opened her mouth before thinking again.
Beth’s lips parted once more after about three seconds.
“I see. Then I’ll call you Lina too.”
Her words came out in short bursts, as if she were thinking between each one, but at least this time it wasn’t rude.
The intent behind her words came across clearly.
She’s like a socially awkward cat.
I adjusted my earlier neutral assessment of Beth slightly toward the positive side.
“Of course. Beth.”
When I greeted her by name first with a friendly smile, she beamed back. It was almost cute.
Once the awkward tension caused by Beth’s speech was resolved, the office atmosphere returned to being warm and friendly.
Under Sophia’s lead, we had a short tea time, and I properly introduced myself to everyone else.
In other words, we were now on a first-name basis.
Everyone was kind to me—even Beth.
“The people who went on the business trip should be back around next week. They went pretty far.”
Beth was trying her best to speak more politely again, as if her brain had started putting in effort once more.
“Really? Do they go on trips often?”
I deliberately asked her a question that required a longer answer and kept the conversation going with subtle teasing.
After the short welcoming tea time ended, it was time to start the actual work.
“Alright, why don’t you take a look at these first?”
Lucy, who had been heading back to her seat, suddenly remembered and handed me a folder of ongoing cases.
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Or you can just flip through the documents.”
The once-empty desk was instantly buried under a mountain of paperwork.
There’s so much. It looks like even more because I saw it empty earlier.
Lucy subtly shifted toward the entrance after noticing me eyeing the thickness of the files.
As if she were trying to block the exit.
“You just need to read through them. It’s enough if you get a general idea of how things work around here.”
If it’s just that much…
It felt more like a considerate gesture to keep me from sitting around doing nothing.
“Got it.”
I smiled at Lucy before taking my seat.
Even after I sat down, Lucy kept glancing back several times, as if still worried the newbie might make a run for it.
Wow, it feels like my nonexistent slipped disc is getting better.
I was too busy testing out Hayman Miller’s chair to even glance at her.
All in all, it wasn’t a bad start.