“One thousand gold for a single slice of cake? Even allowing for northern prices, springing such an outrageous number on a customer after leaving it off the menu is quite something.”
“I understand your astonishment, but this establishment caters to patrons who can comfortably afford our desserts regardless of the cost.”
“…”
“Now, will you be settling this in cash or by draft?”
‘You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?’
When I looked straight up into his eyes, the manager shrugged with open condescension. He clearly thought he could fleece a pair of country bumpkins with impunity. What a shame for him—he had picked the entirely wrong mark.
“It was certainly delicious, though I can hardly see how it warrants such a figure.”
“The Flower of Liden is a masterpiece crafted by our shop’s premier artisan, attended to down to the last grain of flour. The rich cream alone is whipped over a thousand times, and the Beritz fruit adorning the top easily exceeds several hundred gold on its own.”
“Ah… Is that so?”
“…If you intend to cause a scene, we are fully prepared to—”
“Goodness, cause a scene?”
What an unrefined accusation.
Slowly letting a warm smile return to my lips, I waved a dismissive hand and sat back down. I gestured for Rose, whose eyes were wide with wonder, to take her seat again, then propped one elbow on the table and rested my chin in my hand.
“It simply took me a moment to wrap my head around it. Of course I intend to pay what is owed.”
Here.
Keeping my lips set in a polite curve, I fished out a thousand gold from the deepest part of my pocket and set it down on the table. Seeing me pay so readily without further fuss, he barely managed to suppress a smirk.
The moment I placed another thousand gold right beside the first, however, his expression faltered.
“My lady?”
“Since it’s so extraordinarily rare, I’d like to taste another. My stomach has settled just enough, as luck would have it. You don’t mind, do you?”
“O-of course not.”
‘What an absolute sucker.’ His transparent thoughts were practically stamped across his forehead.
Terrified I might change my mind, he scrambled in a flurry of motion to bring out another slice without delay.
“Here you are. Please, enjoy it while it is fresh.”
“Splendid as expected. Is this the… Beritz fruit you mentioned earlier? I mistook it for an ordinary strawberry.”
When I prodded the scarlet fruit resting atop the cake with my fork, the waiter offered a smile that dripped with sickening insincerity.
“A strawberry? Heavens, no. While they may share a passing resemblance, they are worlds apart. Nowhere in all of Liden will you find genuine Beritz fruit used outside of The Meltz.”
“I see. Well, you wouldn’t be the finest dessert parlor for nothing, would you? A reputation like that guarantees the quality, which naturally justifies the price. I’ve heard of vile places that swap out stated ingredients at whim… Utterly dreadful, isn’t it?”
“Haha. Our shop is on an entirely different level from such unscrupulous establishments.”
“Naturally. The premier shop of Liden could never stoop to such rubbish behavior. I recall hearing somewhere that imperial law penalizes eateries caught pulling that stunt with a hefty fine… Was it twenty times the price?”
“No. It is tenfold.”
Having corrected me on sheer reflex, the manager’s strained smile began to wobble. He seemed acutely aware that neighboring gazes were steadily shifting toward our table.
“That is to say… the unconscionable act of substituting ingredients, I mean.”
“Ah, is that right? Thank you for the clarification.”
Clasping both hands together as if hanging on his every word, I offered a demure nod of gratitude. Bringing the red fruit pierced on my fork slowly toward my lips, I paused, closing my eyes and opening them again as though savoring the fragrance.
“Mmm, the scent really is distinct. Still, to think I’d get to taste Beritz fruit in this season. I was under the impression it only grew at the height of summer.”
“Haha. Come now, please have a bite.”
“Oh, goodness no. How could I possibly indulge in something so precious alone? Rose is right here with me; I must split it in half.”
“…”
“Earlier, I ate the whole thing in one bite without even realizing what it was. Silly me.”
Clack.
The moment I set my fork back onto the plate, the manager’s puffed-up chest sank right along with it. Watching him clench and unclench his fists behind an increasingly awkward smile, it was clear he was growing restless. Not that his panic was any concern of mine.
“Rose, just wait a second. Your big sister will cut it right down the middle for you.”
Treating it with agonizing delicacy because of its supposed rarity, moving as slowly as humanly possible, I paused just before digging the fork into the fruit and cast a sweet, crinkled eye smile toward the manager.
“Oh, by the way, did you know?”
“…Pardon?”
“The flesh of a genuine Beritz fruit is an emerald green inside.”
“…”
“Oh dear. Surely you knew that, didn’t you? Though I suppose suggesting otherwise to a parlor that handles such prized produce would be quite absurd.”
As I blinked in feigned innocence, the color steadily drained from his slick, greasy face.
My, my. I offered him a grin every bit as childlike as Rose’s and gave the fork a gentle waggle.
“Until recently, you see, I picked practically every kind of berry under the sun. Beritz fruit appears for only about a week in midsummer, but perhaps the northern climate causes a different harvest window altogether?”
“A-a noble lady, gathering such things with her own hands…?”
“Of course. One has to make a living, after all.”
Is there something wrong with that?
I fixed my wide eyes steadily on him. Watching the kaleidoscope of horror play out across his face was just as entertaining as dissecting the insides of a Beritz berry.
“Beritz fruit is so precious that it’s traded by the individual piece rather than by weight. Once, I dropped one by accident and squashed it underfoot; you wouldn’t believe the trouble I had scrubbing the green stain from my skirt.”
“…”
Had I lost my grip back then, I could have easily starred in a wilderness survival broadcast.
You should have known when to stop. Out of my twenty years of life, I’ve spent well over ten foraging timber and wild fruit. You picked the wrong person to cross.
With every subtle shift of my wrist, the piece of fruit teetered precariously on the tines of the fork.
“At any rate, I must take care not to stain my clothes green. Rose, spread your napkin.”
“Okay!”
Rose, who had hopped back into her chair without a sound, spread the cloth over her lap and swung her legs happily.
What a good girl.
Squinting one eye as though winking, I made to drive the fork home, only for the manager to lurch forward in outright panic.
“M-my lady! Wait, please!”
“…Gracious, whatever is the matter? You’re acting just like a man who swapped out his menus to fleece two country sisters with wild fabrications and throw them out onto the street.”
“…”
“Hehe, I’m only joking! Just teasing!”
My, one can’t say a thing around here!
As I covered my mouth and giggled demurely, the manager’s outstretched hands froze midair, hovering inches above the rim of the plate.
Now, what should I do with this creature? I narrowed my eyes slightly as I appraised him.
…You should have never bitten off more than you could chew.
Whether it was my father or this crook, men gambling beyond their means were cut from the exact same cloth. Needless to say, I felt not an ounce of goodwill toward him, but this was still our very first day in the North, and Rose was right beside me.
This was the day my bright-eyed little sister was taking her first real look at the world.
“Well, of course an upscale establishment such as this would never stoop to such things.”
“Ah… ah…”
The moment I laid the fork back down, an unmistakable wave of relief swept over the manager’s face.
Had I been a nobly minded lady brimming with righteousness, I might have seen to it that he received the punishment he deserved. Regrettably, I had no such inclinations.
Why should I bother? The world had never once treated me fairly; why should I be the only one playing by the rules of justice?
Crusades like that were for the immortal protagonists who walked away from direct cannon fire. For someone who didn’t even rate as a supporting extra, walking away without a personal loss was more than enough. In novels and dramas alike, well-meaning side characters who played the hero were always written off the next day with lines like, ‘Did you hear the news? That poor girl from yesterday, of all things…’
“We are pressed for time and must be on our way. Since we won’t have the chance to enjoy this precious cake, you’ll be taking it off the bill, I trust?”
“O-of course, my lady!”
The manager bent almost double in a groveling bow. A scoundrel like him would get caught by someone else eventually anyway.
“Now then, about that first slice of Flower of Liden we had… How much was it again? I must have misheard you earlier…”
“Twenty gold!”
The instant I raised a delicate hand toward my ear, his voice boomed out in desperation.
You really tried to pocket an absolute fortune, didn’t you?
As my gaze chilled once more, he babbled out an excuse.
“Th-that is… I had a momentary lapse in memory, you see.”
“Is that so? Confusing twenty gold with a thousand gold… My, what remarkably similar numbers to mix up. Regardless, I am glad your memory returned in time. The prestige of Liden’s finest salon was nearly dealt a terrible blow.”
“…My lady.”
“Of course, you would have owed me ten thousand gold in restitution, but I am hardly the sort of vile wretch who extracts money through petty extortion or corners people into ruin.”
Count your blessings, you old crook.
With a single graceful gesture from me, the manager went paper-pale and swallowed hard.
‘Should I just take a little cut?’ For a second, temptation wavered in my mind, but letting this scene escalate in the center of Liden could easily blow out of proportion.
“Twenty gold, was it?”
“Y-yes, yes…”
When I drew two banknotes and held them out, the man’s hands trembled violently as he took them. I would have bet my entire fortune that every single eye in the parlor was glued to our table by now.
As far as paying for his humiliation went, I had collected more than enough.
“Oh, just one more thing, manager.”
Still, it fell well short of compensating for my precious, hard-earned money.
“Judging people purely by their clothes and appearance is a flaw born of one’s character, so I can hardly fix that for you. But if you must insist on acting that way…”
“…”
Glancing around the salon, my eyes drifted toward a table on the far side of the room. The man who had been staring holes through me all this while raised an amused eyebrow, but my goal here was teaching a corrupt merchant a lesson, not ogling a peerless beauty.
“…have the decency to look at least as handsome as that gentleman over there before you try.”
