◇ ◆ ◇
“Bella, did you get everything we need?”
“Of course. Who do you think I am?”
I proudly brandished the bag stuffed with books for Rose to see. Between the legal code and the cadastral maps, it was quite hefty, but my heart felt light enough to take flight.
‘Not a bad start at all.’
Aside from the ordeal of shaking off the shopkeeper, who insisted on notifying me the moment a new release arrived, things had gone swimmingly. In any case, I had gotten what I came for, so now…
“Rose? What is it? What are you looking at?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing.”
“It’s definitely not nothing. A young lady with her mouth hanging open like that… Oh.”
Following Rose’s gaze, my eyes landed on the dessert shop across the street.
[The Meltz]
Silver letters swirled elegantly across a large violet signboard. Displayed prominently beside them was a large illustration of a mouthwatering specialty cake.
Good heavens, only then did I realize little Rose had been trotting behind me without a single complaint.
“Rose, did you want to eat that? You should’ve told me.”
“N-No. I don’t want it.”
“Come on, let’s go. I needed a place to look through these anyway.”
When I took her hand and crossed the street, Rose dragged her feet, on the verge of tears. She was clearly consumed with guilt for letting her craving show. It broke my heart as her older sister, but I kept my tone as bright and cheerful as possible.
“The cake is called Flower of Liden? Looks like it’s made with strawberries. Isn’t it pretty, just like our Rose?”
“…Bella.”
“Look at the picture. The base must be soft sponge cake. You’ve never had sponge cake before, right, Rose?”
“N-No. I know what it tastes like.”
“Really? When did you try it?”
Surprised by her unexpected reply, I raised my eyebrows. I was the only person who ever spoiled Rose with such treats, and even I hadn’t laid eyes on one since our days in the capital.
Rose had been born after the family was ruined and moved to the countryside, so when on earth could she have tasted something like that?
“Well… the other day. At Aria’s house.”
“Ah, the baron’s daughter? Did Aria give you some sponge cake?”
“…Not the cake, but she gave me the brown skin peeled off the bottom to eat. So I know what it tastes like.”
“…”
“S-So I really don’t need any. I was just looking because the picture was pretty, Bella.”
‘Those rotten little brats, seriously.’
A surge of indignation made my breath hitch. To think something like that happened behind my back. My chest tightened at the thought of Rose nibbling on discarded scraps beside her playmate.
‘…This is all because we don’t have money.’
Truly, whether in this world or the other, having no money invited this kind of treatment. The determination to make a fortune flared up within me anew. Not just getting by—I needed to make enough to strut across the entire empire with pride.
Clutching the books that would serve as my seed money, I guided Rose into the dessert shop.
“Let’s go. I’ve got plenty of money now.”
“R-Really? How much?”
At this unexpected revelation, Rose’s eyes widened. I shrugged, crouching down to her eye level to flaunt my confidence.
“Enough to eat everything they sell in there.”
“…Bella, did you pick something?”
“Huh?”
Flipping through the menu, an awkward laugh slipped from my lips.
Fine, I admit it. I underestimated Liden’s dessert parlors.
“Well…”
One glance was enough to tell this was an ultra-luxurious salon. The attire of the patrons and the interior decor far exceeded anything I had imagined from the outside. To make matters worse, there wasn’t a single price listed on the menu, a touch that left the reader thoroughly unsettled.
‘Ugh, I really hate places like this.’
As I sat shivering in a corner seat, unable to bring myself to turn to the final page, the manager sauntered over with an air of supreme confidence. Fitting for a high-end salon, even his suit looked vastly superior to mine.
“Are you ready to order?”
“Um, that pastry over there, one Flower of Liden, please. And… a glass of water.”
“…Will that be all?”
“Yes. I had a rather heavy breakfast, so I’m quite full. My stomach feels a bit off, too.”
When embarrassed, people naturally babble answers to questions nobody asked. On top of that, when I patted my stomach lightly, the manager’s expression curdled entirely.
‘…Yes. No matter how you glare at me, I’m definitely not ordering more. Run along now.’
When I rested a hand on my stomach and beamed pleasantly at him, his face twisted in open disdain. I understood that cheap walk-in customers weren’t welcome, but he was laying it on far too thick.
From the moment we walked in, he had sized us up and tucked us into the most tucked-away corner table, but I had held my tongue for Rose’s sake.
‘Hmph, that fellow won’t last long in this business.’
I narrowed my eyes as I watched the manager stomp away in huffy steps.
“Bella, you barely ate any breakfast. Why did you say you were full?”
“Hm?”
“…Is it because we don’t have money?”
“No. I’ve got tons of money. You know that, right? I got a huge amount from Elijah and Melanie.”
To be precise, I had extorted it rather than received it, but once the cash was in my hands, I could spin the tale however I liked. Rose’s face finally brightened, though that didn't mean I was about to order anything else.
‘If you come to an expensive place, you might as well enjoy the ambiance.’
I searched for something to distract little Rose before she grew intimidated, but the bag held nothing except law books and maps. Pulling one out at random, I set it before her, making her adorable eyes round with wonder.
“Huh? What’s this for?”
“Now, Rose, we’re going to be rich very soon. For that to happen, you need to help me.”
“Me? How?”
“Well… let’s see. The marriage declaration, you know? It starts with an M, so try looking for that section first. Remember the letters I taught you?”
“Yeah!”
Given a real task, Rose lit up with excitement.
Kids really were predictable. Chuckling under my breath, I peered at the map inside the bag.
‘This isn’t just any map!’
This was my literal lifeline, my goldmine, my bonanza. I was itching to unfold it right here, but there were too many watching eyes. A law book was ordinary enough, but spreading out a cadastral survey map would turn heads.
“Bella, is this the right one? ‘Marriage Declarations and Household Unification’?”
“Yes, yes. That’s it. Keep reading along.”
‘My, she found it fast.’
When I tugged lightly at her hair with a smile, Rose giggled, tickled by the touch.
What a darling. Watching Rose murmur through the marriage laws without understanding their meaning stirred a fierce protective urge in my heart.
“Bella, is it really okay for me to go to the Grand Duke’s Castle? What if the mo—the Grand Duke chases us away?”
“I’ve got a whole plan for that, so don’t you worry… Oh, it’s here! The Flower of Liden!”
“Whoa…”
Rose, who had been peering nervously at the book, was utterly mesmerized by the magnificent confection set before us. Ah, that was how a child ought to look. I finally understood the saying that watching someone else eat could make you full. Content, I pushed the book aside and pressed a fork into her hand.
“Go on, try it. Take a big bite.”
“No, you first, Bella. I’ll eat after you do.”
“…Rose.”
“Hurry. Say ‘ah.’”
Opening my mouth in tandem with Rose’s, the heavenly dessert dissolved the instant it touched my tongue. Forget what I said about being full just by watching.
‘O Great Deity who created taste, forgive my arrogance.’
Truly, a human had to ingest food to feel sated. As sugar coursed through every corner of my body for the first time in months, bliss washed over me unbidden.
“Phew, now it’s your turn, Rose. Open wide.”
“…Bella, my heart is pounding.”
She took a bite with an ecstatic expression, her small shoulders shivering in delight. How starved this poor child must have been. Rose’s instinctive charm drew glances from the surrounding tables.
“Y-Your turn now, Bella.”
“No, you have it. I’m full now.”
‘Goodness… To think I’d be reenacting that classic tearjerker over a single bowl of noodles here.’
Over a single slice of cake, sorrow, pride, and embarrassment tangled into an emotional mess.
“…Hm?”
A sudden, intense gaze made my cheek prickle. Unlike the casual glances from earlier, this one was extraordinarily persistent, yet I couldn’t muster the nerve to turn and check.
‘Probably just someone fascinated by two broke, famished sisters from the sticks.’
“Ah, Rose. If you’re finished, we should get going. We need to be there before the knights arrive.”
“Okay, Bella.”
“Excuse me, I’d like to settle the bill…”
Leaving Rose scraping the very last fleck of cream, I picked up the check.
Of all people, it had to be him again.
I clicked my tongue inwardly as the same manager approached.
Still, this was our first day in the North. A good beginning made for a good ending, so I wanted to wrap everything up with a smile.
“How much is it?”
After stowing the legal code, I fished around in my inner pocket for coins. Something like this would cost around ten gold in our village, though perhaps Liden was different. Even so, it was only a single cake, so the change from the bookstore would be more than enou—
“That will be one thousand gold.”
…It was nowhere near enough. My hand, clasping the fifty-gold banknote inside my pocket, froze dead in its tracks.
“Pardon me… What did you just say?”
“One slice of Flower of Liden. One thousand gold.”
“One thousand gold?”
A gasp of disbelieving laughter escaped me before I could stop it. Never in my life did I think I would stifle a laugh behind a paper bill.
One thousand gold wasn’t pocket change—it was the price of ten whole sacks of flour.
‘…Who do you take for a sucker?’
Staring down the man who brazenly demanded enough money to feed our family for months, my smile vanished. It wasn't as if the cake was gilded in solid gold; no matter how I looked at it, the price was utterly absurd.
