Sierra City (4)

"Young master... where are you going?"

"Delight, Sir Shane."

"Delight? Isn't that a patisserie that sells desserts?"

"That's correct."

Shane looked at Carl with a perplexed expression.

Delight is a famous, large patisserie chain with branches all over the empire.

It has an elegant, feminine interior space that sells sweet desserts.

Normally, noblewomen and young noble ladies frequent it, while men tend to avoid going there.

There is an image that men who go there have unconventional tendencies.

Of course, it's a prejudice, but sometimes prejudices can be the most frightening. Especially among nobles, it could be fatal.

"After practicing hard yesterday, I have a craving for something sweet today. I hear Delight is the best place to go for that."

Carl said it naturally, causing Shane to swallow hard.

Shane, who had known Carl since he was a newborn, understood Carl's character better than anyone.

Normally, even after the most grueling training, Carl never touched desserts like this.

Maybe meat, but not this.

Besides, Karl himself had often said that dessert was for women.

So for him to suddenly want to go to Delight...

'Could it be?!'

Shane suddenly recalled the events from yesterday.

And it turns out that Delight is where they met the elf yesterday.

The elf had this conversation with the fairy she was with as they exited Delight,

"Hmm, sister. Let's come back again tomorrow morning."

"...Okay."

Shane looked at Carl again.

Now that he noticed, Carl had styled his hair and was even dressed in his formal attire.

Quite an unexpected look for Carl, who usually didn't care much for grooming.

'It's certain.'

Shane's eyes narrowed. Carl didn't actually want dessert. He was clearly going because of that elf.

When Shane stared intently, Carl cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Ahem, ahem... Anyway, I will be going to Delight."

"But... you know the kind of image that place has, don't you, Young Master?"

"You taught me that caring about people's prejudices is something only petty people do, Sir."

"..."

Shane was speechless. He had indeed taught Carl that.

'To use that against me here...!'

Though still young, Carl was an intelligent boy. There was no winning a verbal argument against him.

Carl would use any means to go to Delight.

"Understood, then I shall escort you to Delight..."

"You don't need to enter the store, Sir. It may be better if you simply wait at the entrance."

"...Understood."

While Carl's escort was Shane's duty, he didn't want to enter that store.

Rather than suffering in a store full of young ladies, it would be better to stand vigilant guard at the entrance.

"Let's go, Sir."

Carl strode off energetically, and Shane followed quietly behind with a deep sigh.

An ominous feeling that things were gradually becoming complicated crept into Shane's mind.

*

"!"

Ariel bolted upright in bed and checked the time.

The sun had already risen long ago.

She had overslept.

Normally it wouldn't matter if she slept in, but today was different.

Today was the day she had resolved to eat Delight's strawberry tart!

She had to hurry before they sold out.

Ariel quickly changed into outdoor clothes.

In the process, Lu, who had been sleeping, was flung onto the bed.

"Ugh..."

But Lu didn't wake up. He had gotten heavily drunk on wine last night.

Judging there was no time to wake Lu, Ariel gave Ghost a brief greeting before dashing out of the inn.

Moving at an invisible speed, Ariel arrived at Delight in the blink of an eye.

Her hair was disheveled and her clothes weren't properly worn, but it didn't matter.

Ariel immediately opened the door and entered Dillight.

*Cling Cling*

Inside Delight, many people were already lined up in a queue.

A line to buy the strawberry tarts.

Ariel joined the back of the line and glanced anxiously ahead.

Fervently praying that the strawberry tarts wouldn't sell out by the time her turn came.

Even after Ariel joined the line, more people continued arriving to buy the strawberry tarts.

Before long, a long line had formed behind Ariel as well.

"W-Whay? An elf."

"Why is an elf in a place like this...?"

"She's extremely pretty."

People murmured as they saw Ariel.

Even in the city, it was rare to see an elf.

People's eyes were naturally drawn to her.

But that was only momentary.

"Then, Sir Shane, I'll be right back."

As a young boy entered Delight, people's gazes shifted from Ariel to the boy.

A handsome boy with styled hair, dressed in formal attire.

It was Carl.

Currently in Delight, there were only women besides Carl.

In fact, the fact that he was a man didn't draw more attention than the elf, but Carl's status made it possible.

The Grand Duke of the North, Carl Castarck.

There was no noble in the empire who didn't know that name.

With looks handsome enough for Princess Illiana to fall for at first sight, he was a future power who would one day hold all authority in the North.

Among noble ladies, Carl was a celebrity, so it was only natural for eyes to be drawn when such a celebrity appeared in a place like this.

"Isn't that...!"

"The Duke Carl?"

"Why would the Duke Carl come to a place like this..."

Moreover, Carl had put more effort into grooming than usual, making his already handsome face shine even more.

Feeling the focused gazes, Carl took a seat at a window-side table.

Having the attention wasn't particularly burdensome or uncomfortable, as it was something he was used to.

To Carl, it was simply a natural phenomenon.

'Hmm.'

Carl scanned the store, pretending to look around while searching for Ariel.

'She said she'd come today, so surely... Ah!'

And he quickly found her.

Ariel was standing in line among the people, waiting her turn.

The ladies near Ariel were busy sneaking glances at Carl, but Ariel had an expressionless face, staring blankly ahead.

Carl felt his heart pounding again.

Indeed, she was beautiful. The other ladies simply looked like mere squid in comparison...

Carl's cheeks flushed red, and his gaze became dazed, like someone under a spell.

The sharp-eyed ladies quickly noticed where Carl's gaze was directed.

"...The Duke Carl is staring at the elf as if mesmerized."

"So the rumor that he courted an elf was true..."

"Is that the elf who coldly rejected the Duke Carl...?"

People's attention focused back on Ariel, but she didn't seem to care.

She simply waited patiently in line for the strawberry tart, and finally her turn came.

With an excited feeling, Ariel ordered the strawberry tart from the employee.

It was the same employee she had seen yesterday.

"We just have one left in stock."

The employee smiled, saying it was fortunate.

"You're lucky."

A faint smile appeared on Ariel's lips as well.

She had narrowly avoided danger, but in the end secured the strawberry tart.

"Here you go. Enjoy."

After receiving the strawberry tart from the employee, Ariel turned around.

She intended to return to the inn right away to eat it.

"Oh, no, sold out!"

Then, someone muttered behind her.

"I really wanted to try Delight's strawberry tart..."

The one muttering was a girl standing right behind Ariel.

The strawberry tarts had sold out right at Ariel's turn, so the girl missed out.

The red-haired girl had a lively look, but now wore a completely dejected expression.

Similar to Ariel's expression yesterday.

"I wouldn't be able to eat it if it wasn't today…"

The girl's muttering caught Ariel's attention, but she tried to ignore it.

Life is originally cold-hearted. You may miss opportunities regrettably.

But Ariel couldn't give the strawberry tart she had struggled to obtain to the girl.

Ariel silently walked past the girl's side.

However, after taking a few steps, she stopped and looked back at the girl.

"Hey."

"...Yes?"

The girl, who had her head lowered, slowly raised her gaze.

"Why?"

Ariel held up the strawberry tart in her hand high.

"This one, do you want to share?"

"What did you say...?"

The girl opened her eyes wide, as if she couldn't believe it.

"Will you really share it with me?"

"Yes."

"Thank you!"

The girl smiled brightly.

*

The girl's name was Selly.

She was the third young lady of the Matiel family, one of the high noble families in the eastern empire.

Selly was also heading to the imperial capital to attend Princess Illiana's birthday party.

Usually, the Matiel family placed great emphasis on refinement...

No, to be more precise, they emphasized appearance, so fattening foods were absolutely not allowed.

For example, desserts.

The Matiel family's diet was always full of vegetables, and they had to endure grueling exercises to maintain their figures every single day.

So all the women of the Matiel family had outstanding figures.

Even at her young age, Selly maintained a toned figure without an ounce of excess fat.

"I really hate that."

Selly muttered as she ate the strawberry tart.

"I want to live eating these freely, even if I get fat and ugly."

Ariel was sitting in front of Selly.

Ariel was also putting the strawberry tart in her mouth and savoring it.

Originally, she had planned to return to the inn to eat it, but since she decided to share it with Selly, she just took a seat at a table in Delight.

"I'm sorry to the princess, but honestly I'm not interested in things like birthday parties. I just wanted to get away from my family for a day and eat these freely... By the way, this strawberry tart is incredibly delicious."

Selly had an enraptured expression.

"It's so delicious that my brain feels like it's melting. Don't you think so too, Ariel?"

Ariel gave a small nod.

She didn't quite understand the 'brain melting' part, but the strawberry tart was shockingly delicious.

In Ariel's standards, the expression 'heavenly taste' seemed appropriate.

"Thank you, Ariel. If you hadn't shared it with me, I would never have been able to eat this strawberry tart. I have to leave the city early tomorrow morning."

Selly smiled faintly.

"So, Ariel. How about spending the day with me today? Since you shared the strawberry tart, I want to repay you somehow. I'll make it really fun for you. What do you say?"