* * *

“Young master, you look happy today?”

Clerio, dripping with sweat, approached Royan who was gulping down water. Royan tossed a towel at him as if he found him dirty and answered with an indifferent expression.

“My sister said she would make me happy.”

At his statement, the eyes of the knights around him narrowed. Their reactions suggested, here we go again.

After Reibella was formally adopted and became a true family member, Royan’s attitude had completely changed from before.

At first, he was cold as a knife-edge wind, pushing the Miss away, ignoring her, and speaking rudely, but now he went around singing about ‘my sister.’

Whenever the Miss appeared, a smile spread across that ice-cold face, and whenever he heard her voice, the boy’s normally deep voice would rise a tone higher.

Their young master had clearly been a cold, aloof silver wolf, but whenever he talked about the Miss, he acted like a white-furred puppy.

It was truly an embarrassing sight, but frustratingly, they envied him. Anyone could see that the Miss was an extremely lovable person.

Not to mention, she was truly an ideal younger sister.

Everyone had observed how she constantly hovered around Royan, taking care of him kindly even when he acted like a jerk. Honestly, they were envious enough to think that if they had such a sister, they would carry their parents who gave birth to her on their shoulders for life.

“She said she would make me the happiest person in the world.”

When he emphasized this again, the knights finally began to show their courteous reactions.

“I envy you, young master.”

“I wish I had such a sister too.”

Royan looked over the knights with truly pitiful eyes.

“I’m sorry, but Reibella is one of a kind in this world.”

We know. Such a sister would be unique in this world.

“And she said she wants to give me the best thing as my birthday present.”

“Really? The Miss will give you a present?”

“I told her I don’t need anything, but she insisted.”

“Wow, how lucky. If the Miss wrote you a letter with her delicate hands, you would truly be happy.”

“……Letter?”

“Usually, presents come with a letter…… Ah.”

In an instant, Royan’s eyes sparkled. He seemed to want to receive a letter written by his sister’s delicate hands.

The knights exchanged glances and nodded.

It was a silent whisper that they should inform the Miss of this fact immediately.

* * *

As rumors spread that Reibella was contemplating Royan’s birthday gift, the servants began collecting information about Royan’s preferences and subtly informing Reibella.

Among them were swordsmanship, and stories that he particularly liked fluffy blankets well-dried in the sun. There were also quite a few mentions about the quiet atmosphere of early morning, or the sound of falling rain.

Most were things she couldn’t give as gifts even if she wanted to, but there were certainly helpful suggestions.

The information brought by the knights who trained with Royan was precisely that. They told Reibella that Royan would be pleased if she wrote him a ‘letter.’

However, she couldn’t give a letter as the main gift, so she still hadn’t decided on a present.

After two days had passed like this, an interesting piece of news reached Reibella.

“Dessert?”

There was news that the kitchen had been troubled about desserts recently. The cause was surprisingly the princess.

“The princess said she wants to provide desserts for Royan’s birthday banquet?”

“Yes!”

Millia, the maid who had recently begun serving her, answered energetically to Reibella’s question.

She was a sixteen-year-old young woman with brown hair and snow-white skin, with freckles covering her cheekbones giving her a lively and cute appearance.

“The princess’s shop opened in Louvindisi three months ago. They say it’s the most frequented shop by young ladies these days.”

Reibella was also aware of the princess’s dessert shop. That story had appeared in the novel after all.

‘It was the princess’s first business venture.’

She had started a business based on popular desserts she had seen before her regression, and sure enough, it became a massive hit, opening branches in every region.

It was so successful that people said you couldn’t hold a tea party without the princess’s desserts, and if there wasn’t a princess’s dessert shop nearby, women in high-society might as well give up on social activities.

Of course, the princess’s name alone wouldn’t have made it this successful. The princess’s shop had advantages different from other shops, and something ahead of its time.

‘Royan would like the princess’s desserts.’

If the princess’s feelings were conveyed, Royan would undoubtedly feel his birthday was even more special.

“The chefs are upset because Her Highness wants to provide desserts.”

“I understand. The chefs of Vicheravali Castle are incredibly skilled. This strawberry tart I’m eating now is really delicious.”

“They’ve all been honing their skills for the past few years, saying they would make the most delicious things when the masters returned!”

That seemed to be why they were more upset. At the perfect stage of Royan’s birthday banquet, they wanted to show off the skills they had been polishing to their masters, but now they had to give that opportunity to the princess.

‘Our castle’s desserts are excellent, but the princess’s desserts aren’t bad either.’

In the novel, they were described as almost addictive. It was unfortunate, but it was right to yield to the princess this time.

‘But we can’t serve both.’

Since it was the princess’s shop, placing its products alongside other foods could be taken as an insult to the imperial family. The imperial family was not someone to compete with or evaluate.

After thinking that far, she suddenly became curious.

How amazing would the princess’s dessert shop, which was so successful in the novel, actually look?

“Maybe I should go see it……”

She needed to check out the princess’s first business venture with her own eyes!

* * *

A famous spot was indeed famous.

As if proving that what was described in the novel wasn’t false, the princess’s dessert shop was truly crowded with people.

Not only was the interior packed, but people were also lined up outside the shop waiting to enter. Servants were standing in line instead of the nobles. It looked as if all the nobles of Louvindisi had gathered here.

This must be why they said to go to the princess’s shop for socializing.

“There really are a lot of people.”

“Word spread that it’s popular in the capital. I heard that any young lady who wants to follow trends must visit this place. Plus, this is a direct branch, so it’s even more popular.”

The princess’s popularity felt in both the capital and provinces was truly remarkable.

‘Good thing I changed my hair color before coming out.’

Pink hair was rarer than she thought, so even if she had covered her hair, her identity might have been quickly discovered.

‘But the surrounding shops seem strangely quiet.’

With so many people bustling about, nearby shops should also be busy, but many places were unusually quiet. This was especially true for dessert shops of the same industry.

“Are these shops not popular?”

At Reibella’s question, Millia waved her hands dismissively.

“That can’t be. This is the finest street in Louvindisi.”

“Really?”

For the finest street, there were quite a few empty shops here and there……?

As Reibella looked at the empty shops with puzzlement, Millia said, “Ah,” and continued.

“They went bankrupt.”

“Bankrupt?”

“That was originally a dessert shop too. But the princess’s shop, which is popular in the capital, opened right nearby.”

They seemed to have gone bankrupt because they were in the same business.

“That one over there survived, but they’re selling desserts from the princess’s shop. They have no conscience.”

As Millia said, perhaps because they were selling products similar to the princess’s desserts, that place had quite a few customers.

‘Come to think of it, I think there was a story like this in the novel too.’

The incident where surrounding businesses copied the princess’s business items because her shop was doing well.

How dare they become obstacles in the protagonist’s path. In the end, those shops faced justice from the princess and went miserably bankrupt. This place was so far away that the news seemed to have been delayed.

‘Then are the empty shops ones that went bankrupt because they didn’t copy the princess’s desserts?’

Since nobles live and die by trends, if the princess’s desserts are currently leading the trend, naturally fewer people would seek other products.

This would naturally lead to decreased sales, and if this continued long-term, it would inevitably reach a level where the shop couldn’t be maintained.

‘There’s a limit to maintaining a shop.’

It would be fortunate if the trend ended quickly and customers returned, but the problem was that no one knew how long this trend would continue.

Especially since the princess was the Empire’s most popular figure, this popularity bubble was unlikely to burst anytime soon.

Considering the protagonist’s buff, quitting the business quickly would be the way to reduce losses.

‘Not good.’

The surrounding area was dying because of the princess’s shop.