A Divorced Evil Lady Bakes Cakes

“Yes? No.
It was Viscountess Melvin who told me about it.”

“And the viscountess saw it herself?”

“No, not me but Count Linel told the Viscount about it…”

“Count Linel saw the scene?”

“Ah, No? Well, he was told by his handmaiden.”

“The maid must have been one of the people who saw the scene, what was her name?”

“That, that’s…”

After a few rounds of questions and answers, the Marchioness bit her lip in a cold sweat.

The ladies, sensing the mood, went white and shut up.

Calix smiled with satisfaction.

“So a maid you don’t even know told the count, and the count told the viscount, and the viscount told his wife, and the viscountess told the marchioness.
So why are you walking around talking like you saw it yourself?”

The sight of Calix smiling pleasantly was very beautiful.
His blue eyes, which were clearer and deeper than a lake, crinkled slightly, forming a pretty smile.

But each and every one of the noblewomen who saw the smiling face turned blue and shook their heads.

“Your Highness, the Archduke… please have mercy…”

They had all forgotten because of that cute smile, but Calix was the only Archduke in the Empire.

In terms of rank, he was even higher than Raymond.
And he was blatantly favored by the Emperor.

“If you want to live,” Calix warned with a hint of sarcasm.

“Don’t talk nonsense in the future.”

“Yes, yes.
I’ll keep that in mind.”

Calix strode out of the room, leaving behind the sobbing ladies begging for forgiveness.

He felt like he’d done something stupid, but he’d only done it because he didn’t want to hear people he barely knew talking about her.

‘This is why I hate the capital.’ he thought, ‘They say things that don’t even make sense.
What lover?’

The palace was filled with countless servants and handmaidens.
There were countless guards and soldiers guarding the palace, and officials and nobles came and went throughout the day.

Erin was even in the palace where the emperor lived.

Only a madman would have an affair in the gardens of an imperial palace, much less in the gardens of the emperor’s palace.

If she really wanted to meet her lover in secret, she would have used a secret room in her own palace.

Besides, Erin was an impossibly quiet and patient person.
She would never do such a thing.

Calix stood at the hallway window that overlooked the gardens.

“Your Highness.”

Bill, a subordinate, spotted him and came running over.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Bill said in a rush.

“We received news from the south.
They said His Majesty the Emperor is already on his way to the capital.”

⚘

Erin stood inside the shop in her plain, solid-colored dress.
The empty shop was immaculately organized.

Tables and chairs were set up in their respective places, with vases of small flowers on each table.

The glass display case next to the cash register was filled with delicious pre-made cakes, muffins, and pies.

There were mountains of colorful macarons, sliced apple, plum, and blueberry pies.
Strawberry cake filled with sweet, fresh whipped cream.
Fluffy muffins puffed up to the brim.

Just looking at them made her feel like she could taste the sweetness from afar.

The display cases and storage bins had been used to hold food before and were imbued with magic to keep the food from spoiling.

Erin was thrilled when she found the enchantment because she wanted to make sure she had desserts for sale by the register.

She had originally planned to fill the window display with dessert models when she opened, but she was so busy preparing for the opening that that area was still empty.

That was okay, though.
It’s good to see customer reactions to the desserts in the window.

Erin eyed each of the desserts inside the glass walls of the display case before turning to Melly.

“So, is everything ready?”

“Yes, everything is ready.”

Melly made a cute face and agreed in earnest.
Sure enough, everything seemed to be ready.

The tables were set, the desserts were ready, the coffee and tea were ready, and the cash register was perfectly stocked.

“Okay.”

Erin slowly walked over and opened the door to the street.

It was finally opening day.

The sky was cloudless and clear.
The sign above the door shone brightly.
The name of the shop was written in beautiful cursive.

 lemon tree cafe

 

Despite the fact that it was not yet summer, it was already hot on the street in broad daylight.

Fiona, who owns a cosmetics shop in the city, was walking down the street with her hands stretched out in front of her.

She was on her way home from a friend’s house since it was a holiday.

As she walked down a quiet residential street, she saw a strange shop on the side.

It was a shop with clean windows and a brand new sign.
It looked like a cafe.

‘Was there always a place like this here?’

The neighborhood was a quiet residential area, so there weren’t many shops.
She had never seen a cafe around here before.
Even coffee houses that serve coffee are only found in the city.

‘Should I go in?’

It was hot and she could use an iced tea.
So without thinking, Fiona opened the door and walked in.

The shop was neat and tidy inside, as if it had just opened.

There was an elegant carpet on the floor and a table with a white tablecloth and a vase of beautiful flowers.

As Fiona looked around, she was drawn to the glass display case next to the cash register.

It was filled with colorful cakes, pies, muffins, and more.
Some of them she had never seen before.
It was a feast of desserts.

‘It looks pretty good.’

Fiona sat down and turned her attention to the menu.
There were plenty of coffee and tea options, as well as desserts.

Still, she didn’t want to buy a cake.
It was simply her first time in this place and she only wanted to get a quick drink and leave.

“I’ll have an iced tea, please.”

A few moments later, a tall glass of iced tea arrived.

But that wasn’t all.
Next to it was a small plate with three scones neatly put on it.

“What are the scones for?”

“They’re for the opening of the café, please try them.”

“Oh, it’s opening day? Just my luck.”

She was hungry as hell.
Fiona hesitated for a moment, then reached over to the plate and picked up a small scone.

As soon as she took a bite, the hard scone crumbled softly, releasing a savory, buttery aroma into her mouth.

With each bite, the soft bread melted on the tip of her tongue.
Unlike normal scones, this one was savory and soft at the same time.

Fiona ate the whole thing in one sitting.

“I’ve never had a scone this good!” she exclaimed.

“I added cream to make them softer.”

The platinum-haired owner smiled with pride.

Fiona turned to look at the café owner’s face.

She was a young woman in her mid-to-late twenties.
She was dressed in plain clothes, but she looked well-groomed and beautiful.

‘Is she the owner?’

As Fiona stared, the platinum-haired woman brought her a small plate of jam.

“Would you like some strawberry jam, too, if you don’t mind?”

“Yes.
Thank you.”

Fiona spread the strawberry jam on a golden brown scone and took a bite.

As soon as she bit into it, the sweet, rich strawberry flavor wafted through the scone.

Fresh, sweet strawberry jam on savory, buttery bread.
It was a great flavor.

Fiona sipped her iced tea from the refreshingly fragrant cup.

The iced tea was delicious.
It was a cold iced tea with peach juice, but she preferred the sweet and sour flavor of the fragrant peach.

Each sip had a refreshing peach flavor and a subtle hint of black tea mixed in.

Impressed with the taste, Fiona decided to try something else.

“I’ll order something called mille-feuille.”

She’d always heard of it, but never tried it.
Such formal desserts were reserved for proper meals.

The platinum-haired woman brought over a small plate of mille-feuille.

The crispy pastry was layered with a melt-in-your-mouth sweet custard cream.

“Wow… This looks so interesting.”

Fiona carefully cut off a corner of the desert with a fork.
The layered pastry and soft cream came out in small pieces.

As soon as she cut off a piece and put it in her mouth, the flaky, savory pastry melted into the soft, sweet cream.
The cream also melted on the tip of her tongue along with the pastry.

“It’s really delicious…”