“Miss Bertin.”

The Duke bent his knee in confusion and met my gaze. I thought I caught a glimpse of the concerned expression he would normally show only to Elodie.

“Are you alright? If I’ve done something wrong…”

I hurriedly shook my head.

“I’m fine. It’s just, just… I miss them.”

The Duke nodded slowly with a face that seemed to understand. That sight caused a surge of emotion to well up inside me. Ah. The Duke couldn’t possibly guess. That the parents I missed weren’t the Bertins. That no one in this world could understand my longing.

“…I should go now. Elodie might have woken up.”

“Y-yes.”

As the Duke nodded with an awkward expression, the rabbit gently vanished from my arms. I swallowed dryly. It was too close. The distance between the Duke and me. If I stood up carelessly, I might end up pressing my face against those firm muscles.

“I… I.”

I opened and closed my mouth. Perhaps because my face was burning so much, the words wouldn’t properly come out.

“If you could step back a little…”

Only then did the Duke quickly rise to his feet, and I followed, standing up. The Duke spoke in what seemed like a flustered voice.

“Miss Bertin, this is… when I train, my clothes often tear…”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. That was also one of the reasons my mother disliked black magic.”

The Duke seemed relieved, but I quietly apologized to Mrs. Bertin in the afterlife. I’m sorry, Mrs. Bertin. But I had no choice if I wanted to avoid upsetting the mastermind!

***

Fortunately, Mrs. Devaka agreed to have Paul and Candy also attend Mrs. Salamander’s lessons.

‘Competition always helps with studying.’

I smiled contentedly as I watched Elodie diligently learning basic arithmetic. Candy was still too young to be interested in studying, but Paul was different. Seeming to understand what a great opportunity it was to learn from a noble lady’s tutor, he applied himself to his studies desperately.

‘That must be Mrs. Devaka’s influence.’

Though I had said they could stay at the Duke’s mansion indefinitely, Mrs. Devaka maintained that they would leave as soon as the children were somewhat grown. It wasn’t simply out of consideration for me, the Duke, or Elodie.

‘She thinks they’ll become unwelcome guests if they stay too long.’

It left a bitter taste in my mouth. At least I would continue to welcome Mrs. Devaka, but there was no guarantee that others would feel the same. Finally, Mrs. Salamander rose from her seat with a smile, and Elodie ran out through the door.

“Aria!”

Elodie jumped into my arms.

“Why did you come so late today?”

“I’m sorry. There were so many customers today… After serving the last few who came in and cleaning up, time had already passed like this.”

“Hmph.”

Elodie pushed out her lips in a pout.

“It’s a problem because everything Aria makes is delicious.”

“Is that so?”

I chuckled softly and stroked the top of Elodie’s head. Elodie was right. The new menu item had been unexpectedly successful, causing even more customers to flock to the café. The new menu item I had ambitiously prepared as the weather warmed was a parfait. Seeing how it sold like hotcakes despite its expensive price, it seemed that, as Elodie said, I was indeed good at cooking.

“So the problem is that I’m too good at cooking?”

“Yes!”

Elodie nodded.

“I wanted to try Aria’s new menu item too…”

“I’ll make it for you next time.”

If I had my way, I would make one for each of the children right now. But it was already time to go have dinner with the Duke. I smiled and took Elodie’s hand.

“Come on, we should go see the Duke now, right?”

“Yes!”

Elodie politely greeted Mrs. Salamander and the children, then came out into the hallway with me. As soon as we entered the dining room, which was quite far from the study, my eyes widened. Unlike usual, Duke Baniche had arrived first and was waiting for us.

“You’re early today.”

“…I had some time.”

After his brief response, Duke Baniche’s interest naturally turned to Elodie.

“Elodie, how was your day? Was studying not too difficult?”

“…It was fun.”

Elodie answered hesitantly. I smiled with slight relief. Elodie still found Duke Baniche intimidating, but not as much as before.

“Good. If it ever becomes difficult, tell me anytime. I’ll speak with Mrs. Salamander…”

“I like the teacher.”

Elodie quickly replied.

“She tells many interesting stories and doesn’t get angry when I get problems wrong.”

“That’s good.”

Duke Baniche’s face relaxed. The Duke seemed to want to ask more, but the conversation was briefly interrupted as food was served immediately. Both Elodie and I were busy eating tomato soup.

“Miss Bertin.”

“Yes?”

When I looked up, the Duke was staring at me with a strange expression.

“Have you been very busy lately?”

To be honest, my first thought upon hearing those words was, ‘What’s this about all of a sudden?’ But I couldn’t voice that thought aloud. I answered calmly.

“Yes. The café is busier than I expected. It seems more and more customers are coming.”

Of course, this was a welcome change, as the parfait, which required several times more effort than other desserts, had gained unexpected popularity.

‘I’ll need to hire another employee.’

Although Eric was a great help, his morning shifts had limitations. From the busiest afternoon hours, there were continuous moments when I felt I needed four hands.

“I see.”

“Is there something you want me to do?”

“It’s not that…”

“Then what?”

I opened my eyes wide. What could be the purpose of asking someone if they’re busy, if not to assign them a task?

But seeing him shake his head, it seemed Duke Baniche had no intention of explaining his reasons to me.

“It’s nothing.”

Then he changed the subject to Elodie.

“Elodie, I’d like you to tell me about your friends.”

…It seemed the Duke had a pettier side than he appeared.

***

‘Phew… today was tough too.’

I stretched my arms and legs to soothe my aching limbs, but I couldn’t just rest. Because there had been several customers who stayed until the end, there was much to clean up.

‘When will I ever finish cleaning all this?’

I sighed involuntarily at the sight that clearly indicated I needed to hire more staff.

‘I’ll need to find someone trustworthy…’

Bringing in the wrong person could make it impossible to even maintain the status quo. But I had no intention whatsoever of giving up the café. “Café Aria” would be my support when I eventually had to leave Elodie’s side. Just as I was about to finish cleaning the café as quickly as possible and step outside.

‘…?’

I had definitely closed at 6 o’clock and lowered the blinds, but I noticed a man staring at the sign from not far down the street. If it had been a familiar face, I might have thought someone had come from the Duke’s mansion to pick me up because of an issue with Elodie, but this was someone I’d never seen before. Could I possibly not remember his face?

No way. The man with slightly dark red hair and beast-like gleaming golden eyes was quite handsome.

‘There’s no way I wouldn’t remember someone like this.’

Plus, he looked quite wealthy. It wasn’t hard to guess.

‘He must be a customer.’

I spoke politely.

“I’m sorry, sir. Our business hours have ended.”

At that point, I had no idea. That this person, who appeared to be just a wealthy customer, would bring tremendous turmoil to my life.

His golden eyes narrowed like a snake’s, and a hissing sound flowed from the man’s mouth.

“Do I look so dull that I wouldn’t know that?”

The completely condescending tone made me realize immediately.

‘He’s a nobleman.’

And a fairly high-ranking one at that. I automatically tensed up. As “Café Aria” became famous, many nobles also visited. While most were reasonable customers, there was a high proportion of what you might call “difficult” ones among them.

In other words, they were the type of people who would insist on being let in because they had just arrived, even though business hours had ended. I opened my mouth in the most confident voice I could muster.

“It is an honor that such a distinguished person has taken interest in our humble establishment, but business hours have already ended.”