“I’ll take Set A.”

“I’ll have Set B.”

“Isn’t this kind of addictive?”

“Not ‘kind of.’ At first I was like, why would anyone drink this?”

“Me too, me too. At first I only tried it because Lord Petro was drinking it, and I almost spit it out after one sip.”

“But now I have to have one cup a day, no matter what.”

“Doesn’t it feel like your fatigue goes away a bit when you drink it?”

“You too?”

It hadn’t been long since they’d started selling coffee, but already, regulars who only came looking for coffee were increasing.

That’s the power of caffeine.

Camilla, who’d been casually eavesdropping on the customers’ conversation from one side of the café, found a satisfied smile forming on her lips without her even realizing it.

In front of her, too, there was a cup of coffee filled with ice.

This is the taste.

Hot summer—sitting in a cool café and lazily sipping one cup of coffee. To think she could enjoy this even in this world.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have cared if people hated it, either.

She’d started selling it, sure, but would it suit the people here? She hadn’t had any confidence at all. To the people of this world, it would be an utterly unfamiliar taste.

But she didn’t care. So what if they hated it?

As long as it tastes good to me.

Whether coffee sold or not, the imports would’ve continued anyway.

Because I’m the one drinking it.

Wasn’t it okay to enjoy this much luxury? She’d worked hard all this time—if she couldn’t even properly eat what she wanted, it was too unfair.

But then—would you look at that?

It seemed coffee fit the people here perfectly, too.

Of course, those three did a lot of the work.

The three people who disliked sweet flavors. Arsian and Petro, and even Ludville, took turns coming to the café and drinking coffee.

Ravi would sometimes chug coffee down like medicine, too. Saying it helped him focus, he even brought other mages along.

Seeing that, everyone else got swept up and hurried to order coffee as well.

Of course, at first they’d deeply furrow their brows at the distinctive bitterness, but even so, they didn’t stop ordering.

Those high-and-mighty people are enjoying it like that—so if I can’t keep up, does that mean I’m behind the trend?

People who’d ordered with that kind of mindset eventually became addicted to the taste, and now they sought out coffee on their own.

Watching every customer seated and drinking coffee, Camilla felt proud again.

“Nice.”

That said, it looked like she really was built to be a rich freeloader. She hadn’t realized it when she worked as an actor.

Sitting around like this in the café, doing nothing and just hanging out, felt amazing. Maybe the best life really was being a rich freeloader.

Of course....

The situation around her wasn’t leisurely in the slightest.

Everything was still noisy because of the Guardian’s Sword.

“But it’s not like it’s something I should butt into.”

People were only talking for now because of the Guardian’s Sword, and it would’ve been strange for someone from Ducal House of Sorpel to interfere in what happened at Ducal House of Jevillan.

The people planted inside Ducal House of Jevillan—the head maid and the others—were said to have taken their own lives before they could even be properly interrogated.

Whether they’d had poison on them, when they went to see the bodies the next day, they were dead with half their bodies melted away.

“Just like that bastard before.”

The guy who’d tried to kill the Duke of Sorpel with poison. When his crime was exposed, hadn’t he immediately drunk poison on the spot and melted all over?

Yeah. Feels like the same people.

And besides that, she’d learned another fact from this incident.

The group that had attacked Crown Prince Edsen and them at the hunting grounds.

Later, when others went to the site, all the corpses were gone, and they couldn’t find a single trace.

“To turn to powder and disappear...”

This time, everyone could see clearly how the corpses of that strange group vanished.

Those who had their throats cut and collapsed to the Guardian’s Sword—after some time passed, their bodies rotted rapidly, then turned to powder and vanished into the wind.

Rania was like that too.

Rania, whose soul had been taken out, had also rotted away like time had sped up, turning into powder and disappearing right in front of countless witnesses.

“I’d more or less guessed, but...”

Realizing again that everything was connected, Camilla lightly shook her head.

“What on earth are they doing?”

She was intensely curious who was behind all this. But even so, it wasn’t like there was something she could do about it.

In the bodies of the ones who had died attacking Ducal House of Jevillan this time, there wasn’t even a hint of a soul to be found.

“You need something to be able to ask questions.”

Even though so many of them had died and turned to powder, no matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t see even the tip of a ghost’s nose.

DING-A-LING!

“Huh?”

At that moment, the shop door opened, and a familiar person stepped in.

“Mr. Angsois.”

“Oh! You’re here—perfect timing.”

“Yes. What brings you by?”

As Camilla spoke, she glanced behind him.

[Lady Camilla! It’s been a while!]

By his side, his dead daughter was still stuck to him like a guardian spirit.

I already helped her resolve her grudge, so why is she still like that?

Back then, she’d asked him to tell her father about the stepmother who killed her, and Camilla had even pretended to be a fortune-teller.

Though, thanks to that, I got a very good business partner.

Because of it, she’d formed a connection with Angsois, the jeweler who owned /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the continent’s best jewelry shop—and she was gaining enormous profit as a bonus.

“I’m glad I stopped by here first instead of Ghost Trading House.”

Angsois laughed briefly and held out a box he’d brought.

“What is this?”

“Jewels I newly cut this time.”

Camilla opened the box lightly—

—and a short exclamation slipped out of her.

“Wow, they’re pretty.”

“Right? I wanted to show you first, Lady Camilla.”

Sure enough, the cuts on the jewelry Angsois sent were far more refined and beautiful.

Maybe she should consider leaving all jewelry work to him soon.

He was very interested in cutting Mana Stones as well as the new mineral Blue Diamonds. Before being a businessman, as the continent’s finest cutter, he found it genuinely fascinating.

“I hurried a bit, thinking it would be good if you wore them on His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday.”

“Ah, the birthday.”

Come to think of it, it was soon.

The Emperor of Fable—his birthday party would be held soon.

An invitation had come to her as well, so she had no choice but to go. She couldn’t remember a single time she’d ever felt good about going to the Imperial Palace.

[Lady Camilla, can I try this?]

While that was happening, Laura—Angsois’s daughter—showed interest in a new dessert.

Ever since she learned she could eat the food Camilla offered, she’d sometimes ask directly for desserts she wanted like that.

“Since you’re here, try some of the new desserts before you go.”

“Shall I?”

Camilla set desserts out for Angsois, then discreetly put a few more on a plate and placed it on a corner table where no one could see.

[Thank you!]

Laura wore a happy expression as she ate the dessert deliciously.

Because her body hadn’t been good, she hadn’t been able to eat desserts to her heart’s content while she was alive—so being able to eat them like this made her very happy.

[Um... you know, Lady Camilla.]

When the plate had been emptied about halfway, her gaze slid toward Camilla.

As if she had something to say, she’d been reading the room for a while before carefully opening her mouth.

[I have something I want to ask.]

“......?”

[Do you like puppies?]

“No, not at all.”

At the answer that flew back immediately, Laura’s eyes widened for a moment—then she wilted.

[I see....... You don’t like puppies.......]

Watching Laura lower her head again and listlessly nibble at her dessert, Camilla slowly edged farther away from her.

I’ve got a feeling. I really do.

A feeling that something annoying was about to happen.

*****

“Lady Jabiela, you look so beautiful today.”

Receiving a noblewoman’s greeting and smiling shyly was Jabiela, the Emperor’s consort—the birth mother of the Second Prince, and the current mistress of the Imperial Family.

Her beauty was beauty, sure, but her uniquely gentle eyes and kind smile were especially impressive.

“Then I’ll be excusing myself for a moment...”

These bastards!

But unlike her outer appearance, she was grinding her teeth nonstop inside.

An Imperial party held after a long time.

Consort Jabiela could feel it clearly. The atmosphere of the people approaching her had changed noticeably from before.

Up until recently, they’d acted like they’d rip out their own hearts and livers for her—but now they weren’t crossing a certain line. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

They’d only keep basic etiquette, then hurry to pass by her side.

Everyone could feel the power tilting toward the First Prince lately.

Bats, the lot of them!

Even the Emperor had been seeking out First Prince Edsen more often these days than his own son, the Second Prince. Had his feelings changed?

If only that matter had gone properly!

Gracia Empire—how long had she poured effort into their civil war?

But the result was disastrous.

The prince she’d backed ultimately failed in the struggle for the throne, and her investment, too, shattered into the air and vanished.

After bragging so confidently!

How much money had they squeezed out of her while insisting they would win?

And she couldn’t exactly demand compensation from people who were already dead or hiding deep, deep away—so she could only feel her insides burst.

People who knew that fact already knew it well, so even those she’d been sure were on her side were now frantic to line up on the First Prince’s side.

Who am I even blaming?

It was pathetic, honestly, that she’d believed those people and spent all this time keeping Crown Prince Edsen in check.

Still, what could she do? For her son, she needed their power no matter how ugly it was. She had to gather influence again somehow.

To do that, I need that man’s power.

When she’d heard only yesterday that someone who could provide that power would attend today’s party, Consort Jabiela had cheered inside.

No matter what, she swore and swore again that she would properly build a connection with that man today.

“The Duke of Sorpel and his children have arrived.”

After a while, at the attendant’s announcement from the entrance, everyone’s eyes turned there at once.

Exclamations spilled continuously from people’s mouths as they watched those who entered.

Every last one of them was striking. More than anything, eyes were naturally drawn to Camilla, entering while being escorted by the Duke of Sorpel.