Chapter 33
There weren't many places that would look after a child without any compensation.
Jack, who was often left alone at home while Margaret was at work, was emotionally unstable enough to suffer from sleepwalking.
But since coming here, Jack had become noticeably brighter.
Gloria, who was said to have been a nanny for a noble family, also provided basic education to the children.
For Jack's sake, she couldn't leave this place, even if it meant hiding her name.
"Hurry up, Margaret! We've got a group order today!"
As soon as Margaret opened the shop door, Bern shouted loudly while kneading dough.
Margaret hurriedly put on her apron and went into the kitchen.
The heat from the hot oven never allowed her sweat to dry.
She was doing things she couldn't have imagined when she was a Baron's daughter, but Margaret was still happy.
Bread was honest. It didn't care about the baker's wealth or background.
If you put in the right amount of ingredients with care and baked it on time, you always got a great result.
Sometimes her wrist ached, but it was okay. When customers praised her for the taste, the pain quickly disappeared.
Today, too, the bakery's morning was hectic.
It was well past lunchtime before Margaret could finally sit on the small chair at the counter and wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"You worked hard. Here's lunch! A special sandwich my wife made!"
"Ah, thank you."
Bern suddenly held out a sandwich as big as his forearm from the kitchen.
Bern always clicked his tongue, saying that Margaret was too thin to be doing bakery work.
Even while nagging like that, he made sure she had plenty of lunch and dinner every day.
He sometimes packed leftover bread for the Poorhouse residents.
Margaret looked at the thick ham and fresh vegetables sandwiched between the bread.
The savory smell of the bread made her feel like she was getting her appetite back.
Just as she was about to take a bite, the shop door opened with a clear ring of the bell.
Of all times...
But Margaret didn't complain. Instead, she rose with a smile on her face.
"Welcome..."
The bright afternoon sunlight poured in behind the customer.
Margaret's eyes widened.
She looked somehow familiar. Although she was disguised, Margaret immediately recognized the customer.
A person who looked exactly like the person she wanted to kill even in her dreams.
Rebecca Devonshire.
"Hello, Margaret."
Rebecca said, taking off her bonnet and holding it in her hand.
Her gaze turned to the sandwich on the counter.
"If you haven't had lunch yet, would you like to join me?"
"What, what do you mean..."
As Margaret hesitated, Bern quickly opened the kitchen door and popped out.
"Of course! There are chairs and a table in the backyard, so it would be perfect to eat there!"
"What? But Bern..."
"Margaret, isn't this the first time your friend has come to visit! You have to treat her well! Don't refuse!"
Bern winked. He seemed to have misunderstood something.
But because Bern was excitedly urging her, Margaret had no choice but to be led out to the backyard by his hand.
"This is a really cute and pretty place."
Margaret wondered for a moment whether she should take Rebecca's words as a compliment or as sarcasm.
Nobles rarely revealed their true intentions directly.
Margaret glanced at Rebecca, who was observing the table that Bern's wife had made herself.
She didn't seem to be hiding any sinister intentions.
Rather, she seemed to be purely admiring it.
Margaret, watching her subtly spreading smile, said in a voice full of displeasure.
"Rebecca, I don't know why you came to see me, but this is clearly my workplace. It's difficult for you to come here suddenly without an appointment."
"Oh, I'm sorry. This was the only way to get out of the Devonshire County Manor. And I thought you wouldn't meet me if I made an appointment in advance."
Rebecca examined Margaret's stiff face.
She had expected her to be so cold to her, but it felt a little sad to actually experience it.
But it wasn't that she didn't understand.
Thanks to Canna, Rebecca learned about Margaret's past, which she hadn't known in her previous life.
Margaret Bennet's past had been torn to shreds by Zeppelin's twisted greed.
The Statue of Goddess Defria in the Hall of Light at Devonshire County Manor was actually a family heirloom passed down through Margaret's family.
Zeppelin, who had recognized the value of the statue early on, tried to buy it for a lot of money, but her father, Baron Gideon, refused to give up the heirloom.
Baron Gideon was a man who cherished small happinesses.
He was not greedy as long as he had enough wealth for his modest family to live on.
But unlike him, Zeppelin was someone who had to have what he wanted.
He was always looking for ways to satisfy his endless desires.
Baron Gideon underestimated Zeppelin's desires, and this soon led to tragedy.
Zeppelin's Hounds set fire to Baron Gideon's residence in the quiet of the night.
The huge flames swallowed up the peaceful time of the Gideon family.
The only member of the Gideon family who survived the cruel fire was Margaret, the widowed only daughter who had been widowed a week earlier.
Her husband, Radburn Bennet, was an orphan.
Therefore, all that was left for Margaret, who had lost her husband in an accident, was her family.
Zeppelin had taken everything from her.
Margaret worked in every way possible to save her collapsing family while pregnant.
But there was little she could do, having been raised so preciously.
Eventually, the family's entire fortune, including the Statue of Goddess Defria, was put up for auction.
And Zeppelin won the statue as if he had been waiting for it.
Margaret rushed at Zeppelin, furious, when he came to look at the statue.
'It was you! Did you do this? Did you kill my father just to have that statue?'
'Ha! That's absurd. You're accusing me without any evidence. You're quite bold. I'm sorry for the tragedy that happened to your family, but haven't you ever thought that it's your fault for not fixing it? If you're so upset, go to the temple. Who knows, the goddess might give you some merciful luck.'
Zeppelin coldly pushed Margaret away as if trampling on a crawling bug.
Margaret still couldn't forget the cold look in Zeppelin's eyes at that time.
Margaret coldly glared at Rebecca, recalling the old memories that came to mind.
She knew very well that she was different from Zeppelin. She also knew that she was the benefactor who had saved the Liberta family.
But when she saw Rebecca's face, which resembled Zeppelin, resentment burst out.
She was a person who lived with a shameless scoundrel.
So Margaret hated Rebecca just as much as Zeppelin.
This moment of sitting face to face with Rebecca was as terrible as sitting on pins and needles.
Suddenly, anger surged.
She had barely recovered, and Devonshire had come to torment her again.
Margaret clenched her skirt tightly.
She wanted to get out of here quickly and return to the sacred site of labor.
Rebecca took a small bite of the sandwich in front of her.
"Mmm, the bread is really delicious. Did Margaret make this too?"
Rebecca smiled innocently, pretending not to know anything.
"Can you just get to the point? We're not close enough to have such small talk, are we?"
Margaret flinched at her own cold tone. In any case, she had to be obsequious to Rebecca.
If Rebecca gave Zeppelin a word, she and Jack could disappear without a trace.
But the anger she held towards Devonshire was not something that could easily disappear with such concerns.
Her father dying in the fire and her life being taken away in an instant...
Margaret shuddered every time Rebecca's blue eyes blinked.
Rebecca did not take away the smile on her lips despite Margaret's hostile attitude.
"I fully understand why Margaret hates me. It's because of Zeppelin, right?"
Margaret silently lowered her head and fiddled with the cup filled with cold water. She wondered if she could bury her anger in the cold ice.
Rebecca stared silently at the moisture on Margaret's hand. Her hand holding the cup was trembling.
Rebecca's heart ached.
She felt like kneeling down and begging in Zeppelin's place, but she quietly calmed her fluctuating emotions.
"About the Margaret family... I don't know what to say. I know it's something that can't be compensated for in any way."
"So, you've come to apologize now?"
"Of course not. It's Zeppelin's fault. Strictly speaking, I didn't even know Margaret existed at the time. But as long as Zeppelin and I are married, Margaret will hate me just as much."
"Yes. You know it well. You might think I'm shameless for relying on the Poorhouse. But Rebecca, I've never received a single piece of cheese for free while I've been in the Poorhouse. I also donate to the Poorhouse every month as much as the rent."
"Calm down, Margaret. I didn't come here to argue about you hating me. It's a difficult request, but could you please see me as Rebecca, not Rebecca Devonshire, at this moment? I've come to offer you a job."
"A job...?"
"Yes. I'm not saying you should start working right away. It's at least a few months away. I'm thinking of starting a business, and I want you to be the pastry chef there."
Margaret's eyes widened in surprise.
"But I'm just a local baker. I don't know how to make fancy desserts for nobles."
"You can learn how to make them. If you accept my offer, I'll make sure you get enough training. I think Margaret will learn quickly."
Margaret's icy expression wavered for a moment.
Rebecca continued.
"Ah, the pay is half of the total profit. I'm proposing a kind of partnership. You deserve that much."
"Excuse me?"
Margaret almost spilled her teacup.
Half of the profits.
If she had that money, she could regain her lost title and send Jack to a good academy...
As she imagined Jack's future, she felt a moment of greed as a mother.
But Margaret regained her composure. No matter how good money was, she couldn't become Zeppelin's business partner.
As if reading Margaret's thoughts, Rebecca smiled gently.
"It's natural for you to hesitate. To add to that, this business has nothing to do with the Devonshire Earl. Zeppelin doesn't even know I'm planning a business. That's why I came out secretly dressed like this. I'd like to tell you more details, but for now, I can only say that a kind investor has helped me."
"But I don't know why you're making me such an offer. There are plenty of talented pastry chefs. It's not like Rebecca and I have a special relationship."
No. Rebecca knew Margaret well.
She was the one who had provided her with a job when she was having the hardest time, and Margaret was the one who had helped Rebecca with her postpartum care when she couldn't visit her family.
