Reason #16: Only Troublesome Days Ahead (5)

At Hensley Inn

Still Stuck Here

After recovering from that severely embarrassing moment, I returned to the kitchen, and we successfully made our first batch of almond milk!

The girls, Robbie, and even Prince Leon gathered around the kitchen table, excited to taste the Almond milk.

"Woah... it did turn to be milk."

Robbie looked at the pot of almond milk, feeling astonished.

"Hehe, of course. It's almost ready, but there are still some finishing touches to be made."

"huh? It's not done yet?"

Ivy added some honey, vanilla, and cinnamon into the milk pot, and as soon as the mixture came together, a sweet aroma started to fill the place.

"Hmm..." Kim feeling attracted by the tasty aroma, "It smells sweet and comforting."

As Ivy slowly stirs the ingredients in the pot, she sips the spoon and smiles.

"I think it's pretty much ready."

She poured the hot almond drink into the wooden cups and gave them each to try.

Everyone slowly took a sip and went in awe.

"I could feel my body slowly warming up. I love how it has a simple and calming taste," says Kourtney.

"It's amazing! I could have it every day," says Kim.

"It's delicious..." Khloe just kept sipping the cup.

Robbie, on the other hand, had the funniest expression of all.

"Hmm... This drink can sell!" and gave Ivy a thumbs up.

With so many compliments from the group, Ivy happily turned to Prince Leon and was excited to hear his feedback on her drink as well.

"What do you think, Leon? How do you feel about the taste? Do you like it?"

Prince Leon calmly sipped the drink and gave Ivy a sparkling smile.

"I think it tastes like you."

Ivy took a step back, gawked at him, and blushed as she recalled the kiss earlier.

<Urgh... another pheromone attack!! How can he say such an embarrassing thing!>

While Ivy and Prince Leon were seen being lovey-dovey with each other, the siblings twitch at the sight of them, especially Robbie, as he felt annoyed with how well Ivy got along with the Prince.

Soon after, dinner time came.

To introduce the new drink to everyone, we gave a free drink for every meal they purchased.

And as Ivy predicted, the hot almond drink was a huge success.

It was the perfect drink that they needed in a cold rainstorm like this. The alluring cinnamon aroma and the honey's sweetness in the milk made the guest feel comfortable and relax.

"Hey, missy, I heard you made this drink," Peterson called out to Ivy.

"Uhm, yes, did you like it?"

"It certainly is a wonderful drink, but I prefer to stick with my beer."

"Ah, then I have something that I would like you to try."

Ivy went to the kitchen and took out a small bag of nuts.

"What's this?" Peterson asked while he peeks into the small bag she gave.

"We had some leftover nuts, so I made roasted nuts as a snack. It's a special recipe, and I hope you could try some, and let me know how you feel about it."

The moment he took a bite, he raised his brows in amazement as if he had never tasted something like this before.

"Uhm, so do you like it."

Ivy curiously asks while she waits for his reply.

"What exactly is this? Are these just roasted nuts?"

"Well, to be exact, these are beer nuts. I found some of Hensley's secret scotch and use a little of it to make these."

Ivy rolled her eyes as she felt a little bit shameless.

"Hoho, missy. It's not nice to steal. Aren't you worry that I'll tell Hensley?"

Peterson smirks at her.

Then Ivy stood tall and smiled confidently at him.

"Hmm, not the very least. Seeing that you hold that bag of nuts so tightly, you probably are more interested in being my accomplice. Hehe."

Peterson immediately let out a loud laugh.

"Ahahahaha! You sure are interesting little missy. For someone your age to talk to me like that. I never thought I would understand why he left, but now I truly do."

Ivy tilted her head as she failed to understand what Peterson meant.

"It's fine if you don't understand. I like the beer nuts very much, and it is very delicious. I won't tell Hensley in favor of these bags of nuts then."

"Oh? I thought you would ask for the recipe as well since you seem to like it so much."

"Uhh... I better not. The after effect would be too scary."

"Huh?"

This was the very first time that Ivy met a man that she could not understand at all.

Although Ivy thought Peterson was a little strange, she could feel that he was a nice and earnest man that she could get along with.

While the peaceful night was filled with noise and cheers, one man cried loudly and disturbed the atmosphere.

"This is disgusting! How dare you serve something like this to me!"

A man yelled at Robbie angrily after he sprayed the almond drink at Robbie from his mouth.

Robbie just stood there calmly and apologized to the man.

"My apologies for causing you to have such an unpleasant experience with us. We do hope that we could seek kindness in you to forgive us. In return, we shall not charge for your meal this evening."

The man smirks at Robbie as if he was scheming something in his head.

"Aren't you suppose to bow to me when you apologize to a customer, especially to a noble rank like me?"

Robbie showed no emotion and continued to stay calm. For many years, his father had trained him not to provoke such customers, especially if they are of a noble background, as they could lose inn if they ever to have any conflict with them.

So Robbie humbly bowed his head and asked for forgiveness.

From the moment he bowed his head, the rude man took his mug and was about to pour the drink over his head, but Ivy stepped in and stopped him with a tray of beer.

"Dear customer, please do accept a round of beer on us. I just like to personally thank you and say that we are eternally grateful that a noble person such as yourself could even find the heart to forgive us even when we don't deserve to."

Ivy gave him the best hospitality smile, hoping he could calm down and forget about Robbie.

As Ivy was quite persuasive, the man began to fall into her charm.

"*cough* Of course, I won't be angry for such a small matter. Do I look petty to you?"

Ivy then held his hand tightly and continued to shower the man in praise.

"Of course not! You are not in the least bit petty at all. The feedback that you give is a great contribution to this establishment. We can only grow more prosperous, thanks to customers like yourself. Your words may be a little bit harsh to hear, but I truly believe that you only did so because you care."

Ivy then gazes at him with sparkling eyes and looks at him as if she had the utmost admiration for him.

The man became speechless and blushed as he felt embarrassed by her gaze and words. Plus, when Ivy got near to him, he had already softened when he saw a little bit of cleavage from her.

"I'm just doing what a noble should do. If that would be all, you may leave to do your work."

Ivy and Robbie bowed, then left the scene peacefully and into the kitchen to clean up.

Prince Leon and the three sisters approach them as they enter the kitchen.

Prince Leon immediately went to Ivy's side to ensure if she was ok.

"Are you ok? I'm sorry that I didn't go out and help you. I want to kill that man for you, but I know you prefer to handle it your way. I was worried about you."

"I'm fine, and thank you for not killing him. That customer was just having a little bit of a fit. I'm just glad that Robbie was ok."

The three sisters surrounded Robbie, checking him from head to toe to see if he was ok.

"Robbie, Are you ok?" Khloe went over to Robbie's side and comforted him.

"That's Baron Ingrid, but the people call him Baron Ingrate. He is the most unpleasant man you will ever meet in your life!" Kim snarled as she patted her brother's head.

"Girls, he's not even a baron yet. He is just the heir. If it's not because he will be taking over his father's position as the head of the merchant association in town, nobody will give a sh*t about him." Kourtney said as she angrily bit her lips.

Despite it all, Ivy could see that Robbie has wonderful loving sisters and a caring father. Seeing them made her miss her family a little.

"Thanks, Ivy, for helping me. If it weren't for you, things would've gotten a lot worse. We are fortunate to have you around."

Robbie and the sisters smiled at Ivy and then bowed at her to show their appreciation.

"Oh no, you shouldn't bow! I didn't do much. I only did it at the spur of the moment. I'm thankful that everything turns out well. Honestly, I've been having a great time staying with all of you. You reminded me of a lot of my own family."

Kourtney then smiled and grabbed Ivy's arms.

"Really? Then let's be sisters and have a sleepover! You can stay in our room tonight!"

Then Kim went and gripped Ivy's other arm.

" Yes, it would be fun! We can play dress-up together! It would be nice to have another new doll around."

Finally, Khloe hugs Ivy from the front.

"I always wish I could have a younger sister."

Khloe then stared at Ivy with glistering eyes, and her cuteness shot Ivy through the heart.

"Hehe, sure, why not. It sounds like fun."

The Prince felt that his face had just cracked into two when he heard Ivy agreeing to sleep in another bedroom tonight.

"But, Ivy... What about me?"

"What about you, Leon? Did you want to join us too?"

Ivy just answered innocently as she was not on the same page with the Prince.

Kourtney finds that the Prince sulking face to be very funny, and so she starts teasing him.

"Yes, Leon. Do you want to join us? We can share her with you if you like." Kourtney smiled cunningly.

Then Prince Leon just charmingly smiled at her. While they let their guard down after being enchanted by his smile, he immediately grabs Ivy away from them and hugs her into his arms.

"But I don't like to share."

Inside Ivy's head, she could only imagine that she is like a toy currently being pulled apart by two needy children.

They pulled Ivy back and forth until Ivy angrily yelled, "Stop!"

Once both of them let go of her, she stared at the Prince sternly.

"Leon, you need to learn to share."

"But..."

"No buts. I have my life too, you know, I have the right to choose how and who I want to spend my time with."

"But I don't want you to leave me."

The Prince then started to pout while Ivy let out a deep sigh.

"——Sigh, Leon, you seem to be forgetting this, but I already belong to you. I'm your lover, am I not? I'll return to you."

Upon hearing her words, he froze for a moment and grinned. As if his anxiety has been completely blown away just by her mere words.

"So, are you going to be ok alone?" Ivy look at his face just to be sure

"Yes. Go. I'll see you tomorrow morning." He smiles and gently pushes her towards the girls.

"Make sure you rest well too! Ok?!" she yelled as the sisters pulled her away from the scene.

The Prince chuckled as he saw her frantically waving goodbye at him.

While the Prince indulged in his happy moments, the boy next to him started to get irritated with what he just saw.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue and glared at the Prince

The Prince responded to Robbie's glare as if telling him to back off from touching his things.

Prince Leon knows that Robbie likes Ivy. He guesses that Robbie must've started liking her when they began working together, and Prince Leon hates that he showed the same expression as him when he looked at her.

Robbie had no mood to fight further due to the earlier events. Therefore, he turned away from him andexiteds the room.

But before he left, he just wanted to annoy the Prince, so he said to him,

"She's too good for you. You don't deserve her."

Prince Leon let out a small laugh and replied

"I already knew that from the beginning."