Chapter 3

“Hey, Pyria. Do you still have anything left after handing out so much?”

“You have to choose who you save things for wisely, Mr. Peterson.”

“Heh-heh, that’s true. Money should always flow from the top down.”

Pyria didn’t completely agree with that opinion, but she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

Peterson, not expecting an answer anyway, quickly changed the subject.

“But it looks like today’s deliveries are finished. Are you making something else?”

“Ah, well……”

Pyria scratched her cheek with a slightly troubled expression.

Just as Peterson said, today’s deliveries had already been finished early. The pastry craftsmen who came in at dawn had completed both the morning and afternoon batches and had all gone home.

Pyria’s workshop usually started work at 5 a.m. and finished by 1 or 2 p.m. at the latest.

To deliver to the cafés on Krüzel Street, which opened at 11, all work had to be wrapped up early.

Once the batch was done, the day’s work at the workshop was finished.

So, as Peterson said, with today’s deliveries done, the day’s work was over. But most of the products were made by the workshop craftsmen, and had little to do with the explosions.

The explosions were purely ‘accidents’ that happened when Pyria was conducting her own research.

Sometimes, they happened during the process of making very special products, but they weren’t dangerous.

It was just experiments for things like popping candy that bursts, bubble gum that’s hard to pop, or marshmallows that puff up in rainbow colors when roasted.

Because of this, before opening her shop on this street, she had explained everything thoroughly to the nearby merchants and workshops.

Most people on Workshop Street understood and accepted it.

After all, the other workshops only seemed quiet on the outside; inside, they were always busy with various tasks, so there were hardly any workshops that objected.

The jewelry workshop ran polishing machines all day, and the paper workshop had the sound of dipping screens in water nonstop.

On Workshop Street, carving, trimming, and transporting goods made noise all day—it was just a normal part of life.

If anyone was sensitive to noise, they’d request the Mage Tower to install a soundproof magic circle.

Even the proud Mage Tower, as times changed, had begun focusing on practical household magic, so it wasn’t very expensive.

Still, the explosions from Pyria’s workshop felt special, as if they represented a special dream.

People smiled broadly as they watched the candy clouds rising from her shop.

So Peterson wasn’t asking out of any bad intention.

He was simply happy to see the candy explosion clouds again after not seeing them for a while, and asked out of curiosity.

But as he watched Pyria’s troubled face, a mischievous smile appeared on Peterson’s face.

He wiggled his eyebrows and shoulders playfully.

“Is it… that?”

“Huh?”

“Ahem, hmm. That. The Rose… thing.”

Peterson seemed to have forgotten his intention to tease her and coughed awkwardly.

Seeing a grown man embarrassed like that made it hard not to laugh.

This time, a mischievous smile appeared on Pyria’s face.

“Aha, now that you mention it, Madame was here last week……”

“Ahem, ahem! It’s not like I ate it myself!”

“Ah, as expected, right?”

She ate it, she really did.  

Even as Pyria spoke that way, a sly smile never left her face. Still, she made sure to pretend not to notice.  

‘Rose Sweets’ was a very special product sold only at Pyria’s shop.  

Almost all sales were by reservation, and it was a dessert that only adults could buy.  

It was called the “Love Potion,” so to speak.  

At first, it wasn’t something Pyria intended to sell. The story began when she heard a regular customer’s sad tale and gave it to her.  

* * *  

“My husband… I think he’s cheating on me.”  

It was one rainy afternoon, when Madame Nocturn, choosing desserts, collapsed in tears.  

She was a regular who came to Pyria’s shop several times a week to buy desserts.  

She seemed to have a good relationship with her husband, coming out herself every time to buy sweets for him, who had a particular fondness for them. So why now, all of a sudden?  

Startled, Pyria helped her up and handed her a warm cup of tea.  

Fortunately, there was no one else in the shop at that time, so Pyria locked the door and listened to her story carefully.  

Actually, Pyria knew that Mr. Nocturn wasn’t the type to cheat.  

Madame Nocturn probably knew it too. But she had suffered for a long time from not being able to have children.  

As her relationship with her husband became distant, her suspicions deepened.  

Pyria gently patted Madame Nocturn’s shoulder, comforting her as she calmed down.  

“You know he’s not that kind of person. Why did you start thinking that way?”  

Madame Nocturn hesitated, then finally opened her mouth. Embarrassment spread across her face like red paint.  

“M-my husband doesn’t touch me……”  

Pyria quickly understood. It probably wasn’t easy for her to talk about such things to a young, unmarried woman.  

But with Pyria’s unique charm, Madame Nocturn found herself opening up.  

It wasn’t difficult for Pyria to draw out such stories—after all, she was part fairy.  

Whenever she raised her charm just a little, people would spill their hearts to her as if they were confiding in a pet.  

Pyria fell into thought.  

She knew Mr. Nocturn a little.  

He was a second-class Imperial Secretary, diligent and strict but with a gentle personality. Even just from the stories the larks working in the Imperial Palace’s Ministry of Internal Affairs told, it was clear he was a good person.  

His sincerity extended to his wife as well, and sometimes the couple would come buy desserts together.  

For someone like that to cheat—it would take an arrow through the head for him to do it.  

Pyria asked a bit more.  

“Really, there’s been no affection at all?”  

“N-no, that’s not it……”  

“Not it?”  

“He holds my hand or hugs my shoulders. But… he doesn’t go any further. He kisses my forehead and then immediately turns away……. I feel so sad about it, and I worry that at this rate, when will we ever have a child……”  

Ah. What should be a joyful relationship had become an obligation.  

Pyria vaguely understood. It wasn’t that the Nocturns didn’t love each other.  

It was just that the pressure to have a child was making things difficult for both of them.

Hmm, what should be done in times like this?  

Pyria glanced toward the kitchen.  

Inside the glass display case was Pyria’s private workshop, which also served as the dessert kitchen.  

Back then, it hadn’t even been a year since she opened the shop, so the kitchen and the store were all on the first floor.  

Just then, Pyria remembered the “special something” she had made and left out to cool.  

“Please wait a moment, Madame Nocturn.”  

Pyria went into the kitchen and soon came out holding a beautifully wrapped cake box.  

Madame Nocturn, who had been sniffling nonstop, blinked at the pair of chestnut Mont Blanc cakes inside.  

Unusually, there was a red rose-shaped chocolate decoration stuck in the cream.  

Normally, Mont Blanc cakes would be topped with sweetened chestnuts, milk chocolate, or gold leaf.  

But this was different.  

The beige cream was adorned with a striking red sugar decoration.  

The vivid red rose shape especially stood out.  

Red sugar powder was sprinkled on top, making it even prettier.  

“It’s a gift. You must eat it together with your husband. Promise me. Never give it to anyone else, okay?”  

Madame Nocturn left with a dazed expression. After that, she didn’t come to the shop for nearly three months.  

The news about the Nocturn couple came to Pyria purely by chance.  

A clerk who worked in the same administration office as Mr. Nocturn had recently become a regular customer.  

She was rather talkative.  

“Well, I’ve never seen anyone as strict as Mr. Nocturn. He’s so strict that newbies like me tremble even when we take time off……”  

“Oh my, really?”  

“Yes. But he surprisingly doesn’t ask for details and just approves it, which is nice. You know those old-fashioned guys, when you request leave, they ask if you’re going out with your boyfriend or if something’s going on at home.”  

“Haha, I see.”  

“Anyway, Mr. Nocturn took unauthorized leave a few months ago, and didn’t show up for several days! Turns out, his wife was sick.”  

“Oh my goodness.”  

Pyria pretended to be shocked, covering her mouth with her hand. Now even she was getting interested in the unfolding story.  

As expected, the clerk’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she covered her mouth and whispered.  

“Since then, he hardly works overtime, always refuses when the deputy director or office manager invites him to meals, and goes straight home every day.”  

“Wasn’t he always like that? You said he was diligent.”  

“Oh, before, he used to work overtime like it was nothing and was good at entertaining the higher-ups. He changed completely after that day he took unauthorized leave.”  

“Oh my, could it be……?”