“No matter how hard things get, I’m going to live differently from the Shiloh in the original story. Stay away from the underworld, don’t get tangled up with the emperor, and……”

She thought about where she was.

Somnia, the capital of the Amondi Empire, the setting of the novel ‘The Perfect Woman.’

Somnia was a city with the sea to the south, where merchant vessels came and went through the harbor and commerce had flourished for generations. Countless shops and trading houses, mysterious sculptures fashioned in the image of the sun god, and the sea all blended together into a place of strange, singular charm. Nobles chased money to this city where currency and credit had developed, and several decades ago the capital had been relocated here.

“At this price……”

After doing her research on foot, she found a shop deep in a residential alley, one the owner was selling at a loss because business had dried up. Fortunately, at the time of her transmigration, she had a ruby necklace her mother had given her. If she used it as collateral for a loan from a jeweler, she could open a small confectionery.

The baking techniques in this world were not refined. Most bread was hard and eaten with milk or cream, so anything soft was already a rarity. Her own baking recipes would be more than competitive enough.

She had always dreamed of opening a bakery. More than anything, she wanted to be the kind of owner who sold wholesome bread to her customers.

She brought one brown table, a mirror, a small candlestick, and a white lace cloth from the house and arranged them in the modest space with every bit of aesthetic sense she had.

‘Cozy enough. Properly antique.’

After a sleepless night, the day finally arrived.

C*ck-a-doodle-doo.

On the first day of business, the shop was quiet. Too quiet.

‘Is it because it’s tucked too far back in the alley?’

She sighed at her own circumstances, unable to claim a better location. Still, she squared her shoulders and dashed out to the busier street nearby, face flushed, and shouted at the top of her voice.

“Freshly baked sweet bread for sale! Special opening prices today!”

But the street was loud with hawkers crying their wares, passersby chatting, and mercenaries milling about, and her small voice dissolved into the noise without a trace.

Just then, someone approached her.

“Where is your shop?”

A white-haired woman in a wheat-colored dress walked toward her.

“It’s a short walk from here. Would you follow me?”

Her face burning red, Shiloh quickly led the woman into the alley. Her first customer in hours.

“What kind of bread is this?”

The noblewoman turned the small rectangular pastry over in her hands as if studying it.

“It’s a corn and cheese financier. Would you like to try one as a complimentary sample?”

Shiloh held out the financier wrapped in paper, her hand trembling almost imperceptibly.

The corn and cheese financier was one of her favorites, a combination where the nutty sweetness of corn, the subtle fragrance of cheese, and browned butter came together in something truly special.

‘Corn and cheese together. Hard to go wrong.’

She pressed her hands together and pushed down her nerves.

The noblewoman placed the financier in her mouth and chewed slowly.

“……”

She chewed for a moment, brow furrowing slightly as she tilted her head. Then her expression smoothed, and a soft, appreciative sound escaped her lips.

“Mm…… how does something taste like this?”

A gentle curve formed at the corner of her mouth.

“Pardon?”

“The texture and the aroma are extraordinary.”

The more she chewed, the more intriguing it became. The outside and edges were crisp, with kernels of corn bursting one by one while white cheese wound softly through them. The inside of the financier, meanwhile, was dense and moist and fell apart gently in the mouth.

The noblewoman’s eyes went wide several times as she chewed, nodding her head each time.

“I’ll have to bring some for my grandchildren.”

Only then did Shiloh breathe out in relief.

The noblewoman asked for the corn and cheese financier along with the recommended madeleines and croissants to be packed into a bag.

“Thank you! Please come again.”

The noblewoman, arms full with her bag, stopped and turned back.

“I’ll have to spread the word about this.”

“Thank you so much for saying that.”

“I mean it. Have more confidence in yourself, Miss.”

The warmth in her voice made Shiloh’s nose sting.

After that day, she held tasting events often, and customers gradually increased. She was still far from being a ‘famous bakery,’ but she was getting there.

As time passed, she worked at forgetting her longing for her previous life. There were moments of restlessness and irritation, but fortunately she grew a little more accustomed to her new life with each passing day.

Then one day, a pigeon arrived with something tied to its ankle.

‘A tea party invitation?’

The pigeon had brought an envelope sealed with wax stamped by a fine signet. Shiloh’s expression hardened as she checked the name of the recipient.

She cut open the wax with a knife and read the letter inside with eyes that trembled with unease.

「Shiloh, have you been well? It’s me, Rowella. I was worried when you took a leave and disappeared.

I asked around about you and heard you’ve been making and selling bread these days.

I’m holding a tea party at my house soon, so I’ll place an order for bread while you help out.

We can talk a lot that day and clear up any misunderstandings. I’ve missed you. Friend.」

Shiloh stared at the letter in her hand, mouth hanging open.

“Is she out of her mind?”

She was dating the man who had been her closest friend’s fiancé, and she had the nerve to write ‘I’ve missed you, friend’?!

Shiloh rubbed the goosebumps rising on her arm.

‘Is she the type who follows you around and makes your life miserable?’

The tea party was to have around thirty guests, all fellow students from the Magic Academy.

‘Then Shiloh’s ex, Peter, will be there too.’

She pressed her fingers to her forehead and thought of this world’s mother, Shuriel.

Originally she had planned to live with her in the attic above the bakery. But trying to run the shop while caring for a woman who suffered from sudden high fevers and seizures was simply too much. So she had sent her to the hospital at a convent, as Shuriel herself had wished, with a promise that they would be together again someday.

‘I’m going to run the confectionery and earn money. I’ll bake the bread myself. Surprised?’

When Shiloh had first announced her plans to go into business, she had been anxious that Shuriel would object, or feel embarrassed that a noblewoman was running a confectionery.

But the response surprised her.

‘Are you doing this because of money? Or……’

‘It’s something I want to do.’

‘Then that’s all that matters, Shiloh. Don’t worry about what other people think.’

Feeling Shuriel’s hand pat her on the back, Shiloh had made herself a promise. She would not be shaken by petty emotions.

‘This could actually be an opportunity. Why run from it?’

Promoting her bread at a gathering of many nobles would help expand her customer base. The fact that she had transmigrated was precisely what allowed her to think this rationally. If the real Shiloh had received this invitation, she might have exploded in fury or grief.

Not that being an outsider to the situation meant she felt no anger. She had been a devoted reader of this novel, after all.

“Don’t think about anything else. Just do what needs to be done. This is a perfect chance to advertise.”

She drew in a breath deep enough to empty the room, then set her jaw.

*

The day of the tea party.

Shiloh was up before dawn, checking the condition of the freshly baked goods she was bringing. She packed lemon cupcakes, three varieties of cookies, madeleines, and banoffee pie carefully so nothing would lose its shape, then arranged everything in baskets.

The situation was a little absurd, helping with a tea party hosted by the infuriating Rowella, but she had prepared diligently all the same. Letting her bread be underestimated would sting her pride far more.

She was just about to leave the shop when,

“Ah!”

Shiloh clutched her stomach and crumpled into a chair, face twisting in pain.

She pressed her brow together and focused on the strange energy moving ceaselessly through her abdomen. Something tickled her insides, then shifted from side to side, pinching and scratching.

The pain faded faster than expected, but the question remained.

“What is this?”

It was a sensation she had never felt before in her life. Only then did she remember that the original Shiloh had known how to use magic.

Perhaps the body remembered.

If mana energy had moved through the core……

Her deep blue eyes went wide.

To use magic properly, one had to be able to channel the energy within the core. She knew that much from having read the novel. But she had only just transmigrated and had no idea where to even begin with magic.