Chapter 2 – Part 5

“Phew…”

I returned to the tea storage room and slumped over the table, sighing repeatedly.

“Oh, I swear, as soon as I save up 500 gold, I’ll hand in my resignation and quit this job as a maid in the crown prince’s palace!”

I wanted to switch to being self-employed as soon as possible.

As the owner of a tea shop, I wouldn’t have to deal with the prince, and life would be much more pleasant.

As I lay slumped over the table, I kept replaying the conversation I had with the prince during the tea time earlier.

This won’t do.

‘If I keep thinking about that boss, my break time will be over before I know it.’

It wouldn’t feel like I had rested at all!

To make the most of my break, I took out the book I had started reading yesterday.

Although I had been spoiled about who the male lead was, it was still a ridiculous and entertaining read.

The tyrant emperor crashes the protagonist’s wedding and tries to kidnap her. Then the protagonist ambushes him and knocks him out by pressing on his carotid artery.

As the protagonist looks closely at the emperor’s unconscious face, she finally remembers.

The scent of hibiscus flowers decorating the reception table brings back sharp memories of her first love.

The boy she met on a childhood trip to the Western Kingdom.

The boy she walked through summer gardens with, sharing hibiscus tea.

That boy is now the mad tyrant emperor!

The protagonist falls in love with him all over again.

‘Wow, this is a bit out of the blue.’

She had disliked him for being a tyrant, but now she’s suddenly falling for him.

‘This kind of story can’t possibly be real!’

Wasn’t the situation the Empress described similar to the plot of this book just a coincidence?

* * *

Prince Adrian’s office.

After finishing his tea time, Adrian was immersed in his morning work.

The unfamiliar tea Erica had brewed still lingered in his mind.

‘She said it was green tea with rice.’

The combination of the nutty grain flavor and the refreshing green tea aroma pleased him.

That was only natural.

Erica was the best tea maker Adrian had ever known.

The tea Erica served was always to Adrian’s liking. This was a completely impartial opinion, free from any personal bias.

‘Moreover, drinking Erica’s tea seems to energize me.’

Adrian wondered if it was because meeting Erica lifted his spirits.

Just then, his aide, Derek, who was working at a desk nearby, spoke up.

“Your Highness, I have been thinking.”

Derek continued speaking.

“About your unrequited love, Your Highness.”

Adrian dropped the pen from his hand. With a clatter, ink spread across the paper.

Derek, apparently oblivious, kept talking.

“How about giving a gift?”

Adrian’s ears perked up.

“A gift?”

“Yes. Something she likes.”

“…Tea leaves?”

“No, not tea leaves. That’s her job, not her hobby.”

Adrian pondered this, but couldn’t think of anything suitable.

When he pictured Erica alongside most worldly goods, they all seemed too common and worthless.

Seeing Adrian’s dilemma, Derek made a suggestion.

“Shall I look into it?”

“How?”

“The head maid seems quite close to her.”

Adrian promptly called the head maid to his office.

A knock on the door announced her arrival.

“You called for me, Your Highness.”

“I need your opinion.”

“Yes, please ask.”

“I wish to reward Count Marnel’s second daughter for her excellent tea. What would be a suitable gift?”

The head maid tilted her head, thinking.

‘What does she like?’

She had seemed ecstatic when her salary was doubled before.

“How about a bonus? She would be very pleased.”

“That’s a good idea. Give her a suitable sum as a reward.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I will do so.”

Derek, listening to the conversation, put his hand to his forehead.

‘This plan is doomed as well, Your Highness…’

* * *

During the break between morning and afternoon tea times.

I was engrossed in reading the book I’m currently obsessed with in the tea storage room.

There was a knock on the door.

Expecting a servant, I opened it to find the head maid again.

I was getting used to her visits and greeted her without hesitation.

‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do. In the Crown Prince’s palace, follow the palace ways.’

I had come to terms with the head maid visiting a mere new maid like myself so often.

The head maid spoke to me.

“His Highness has granted you a cash reward. Also, you can take a day off whenever you choose. Just let me know the date.”

She handed me a hefty silk pouch.

“I am deeply grateful for His Highness’s favor.”

After the head maid left, I opened the pouch to find a month’s worth of wages inside.

‘Why did I suddenly get a bonus?’

I had no idea, but it was a pleasant surprise.

‘This means I can quit a month earlier than planned!’

Imagining myself handing in my resignation to the Crown Prince felt exhilarating.

And then.

Knock, knock, knock!

There was another urgent knock on the door.

This time, it wasn’t the head maid, but a servant from the Crown Prince’s palace.

“The Empress has come for lunch with His Highness…again.”

“Again?”

“Yes, this time he brought Duke Oscar with her. He insisted Duke Oscar must taste your hibiscus tea.”

‘My hibiscus tea,’ referring to the Rote Grütze I served last night.

The Empress had come again for my tea.

And this time, she brought her husband.

Was my tea that good? This meant another commotion in the palace because of me.

‘My talent is terrifying!’

Feeling guilty, I asked the servant.

“Is the kitchen in chaos again?”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. It’s a nightmare! I need to get back there right away.”

The servant dashed off toward the main kitchen.

I stood there for a moment, watching him go, then opened the tea cabinet.

I gathered the ingredients and started blending a new batch of Rote Grütze. This was the second batch I’d made in the Crown Prince’s palace.

‘I better make plenty this time.’

I had a feeling it would be necessary.

* * *

After finishing the blending, I lingered near the small dining room, timing my tea brewing to coincide with the end of lunch.

‘Yesterday, I went into the dining room a minute early and it was a bit stressful.’

This time, I entered the dining room after the last grain of sand fell in the hourglass.

There were no attendants in the dining room.

‘Did His Majesty send them away again?’

The Emperor sat at the head of the wooden table, flanked by the Crown Prince and Duke Oscar.

Duke Oscar, despite being a married man with a grown child, possessed an ethereal beauty. His silver hair and vibrant emerald eyes mirrored the Crown Prince’s, sparkling like stars. He resembled the spirit of a white rose bathed in morning dew.

Even from afar, Duke Oscar had always seemed beautiful at royal events. Up close, he was even more striking.

‘So, this is where the Crown Prince gets his looks.’

Handsome parents indeed produce handsome children.

While silently marveling, I set the teacups and poured the tea.

Duke Oscar commented in a soft voice.

“The color is exquisite.”

“Th-Thank you.”

I bowed my head.

The Empress added,

“Child, could you set aside some of this tea for me? I’d like my parents to taste it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do so.”

The Empress’s parents were the previous Emperor and Empress, who abdicated the throne early on and are now traveling to scenic tourist destinations to freshen up.

It felt surreal to be presenting my tea to three generations of the Imperial family.

After that, the Empress seemed ready to return to the conversation they were having before I brought the tea.

“Where were we… Ah yes, at the wedding of Duke Roshid’s generation, when Mother knocked Father out.”

Excuse me, what? Who knocked out whom?

“At that moment, the scent of hibiscus flowers wafted by. And just like that, she remembered that they had shared this hibiscus tea during their childhood dates.”

This is just like that scene from “The Great Depression”!

‘This can’t be a coincidence!’

The book about the protagonist’s contract marriage with a terminally ill duke and the obsessive emperor wasn’t a novel—it was a true story!