“Excuse me.”
At that moment, a stranger stepped into the shop. She looked to be in her early thirties.
Wow, she’s ridiculously flashy.
Everything about her screamed luxury. Her clothes, her jewelry, even the fan in her hand looked expensive.
“Oh my, there are a lot of customers here?”
She glanced around the shop with her fan covering her mouth, a faint crease forming between her brows. It was obvious she disliked the sight of the mercenaries crowding the place.
“Are you Miss Julia’s older sister?”
“And you are?”
“Oh dear, where are my manners? I’m Ansera Lucia.”
“......”
“...Ansera Lucia?”
...Am I supposed to know who that is?
The woman snapped her fan shut after introducing herself, but everyone in the shop, including Ceres, only stared back at her in confusion.
The crease between her brows deepened again.
“My husband is Count Lucia.”
Ah, so she’s the Countess. What is she doing here?
Ceres turned her gaze toward Julia.
Since the butler Colin had been too busy today to pick her up from the academy, another maid had gone in his place. Yet the maid was nowhere to be seen.
“I was going to come back with Lucy, but—”
“I sent the maid away.”
Just as Julia tried to explain after noticing Ceres’s confusion, Countess Lucia cut her off.
“You sent her away?”
Ceres frowned slightly. Since when did this woman have the right to dismiss someone else’s maid?
“It would’ve been rather uncomfortable to let her ride in my carriage.”
“What do you mean by uncomfortable?”
“I’m quite particular about cleanliness. I can’t tolerate my carriage getting dirty.”
...Is she saying our maid would dirty her carriage just by sitting in it?
The corner of Ceres’s lips curled upward.
“That’s amusing.”
“Pardon?”
“So, what exactly did you come here for?”
“Oh, it’s nothing important. I came because of the academy festival coming up soon.”
Ceres vaguely remembered hearing something about that. Apparently, the academy would be holding a festival for parents in two weeks.
I heard they hold all sorts of events depending on the grade.
Still, what did that have to do with her?
“My daughter and Julia are in the same class, and their class decided to put on a play. I came because there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”
“Discuss?”
“Julia was chosen to play the lead role.”
At that, Ceres’s indifferent expression shifted a bit. A warm light flickered in her eyes as she looked at Julia.
“You’re the lead?”
“Yeah! The class voted for it!”
Ceres gently patted Julia on the head, clearly pleased. But the warm moment between the sisters was short-lived.
“That’s why I came to ask if the roles could be switched.”
“Switched?”
“I thought it would be better for my daughter to play the lead instead. I came to ask for your understanding.”
Countess Lucia continued with a gentle smile on her face.
“I spoke with the teacher, and she told me I should discuss this directly with Miss Julia’s guardian. But Miss Julia doesn’t have parents, does she?”
“......”
“So I came here to meet her older sister.”
She lowered her head slightly and looked at Julia with feigned pity.
“It pains me to say this, but without the active support of parents, I think it’d be difficult for her to manage such an important role.”
The smile on her lips deepened.
“That role is far too much for Miss Julia. I’d like you to give it to my daughter instead.”
“......”
“If you think about it carefully, I’m sure you’ll understand that I’m right. You’re already busy making a living, right? Will you really have the time to properly care for the child?”
Countess Lucia swept her gaze around the shop before clicking her tongue softly.
“What a dreadful environment.... They say you can always tell when children grow up without parents. I suppose there’s truth to that. Ah, but don’t misunderstand, young lady. I only say this out of concern.”
Even after that, the woman kept going on and on, repeatedly emphasizing Julia’s lack of parents as though it were some unforgivable flaw.
“I’ll speak to the teacher again and make sure the role is—”
“Your ear.”
“Pardon?”
“Could you lend me your ear for a second?”
“My ear?”
The woman tilted her head in confusion at Ceres’s sudden request.
The mercenaries, whose faces had been turning red with anger at the woman’s outrageous remarks, suddenly sucked in sharp breaths.
Ceres leaned close to the woman’s ear. At the same time, she firmly covered Julia’s ears with both hands.
“Are you f*cking insane? What the f*ck kind of garbage are you spouting after barging in here? Keep running your mouth and I’ll shove a beer mug through your skull before throwing your ass out myself, you crazy bi—”
“Ah... ah... oh my goodness...!”
Countess Lucia stood frozen with her mouth hanging open. Her face turned redder and redder.
The mercenaries nodded as though they completely understood how she felt. They could practically hear the sort of things Ceres had whispered into her ear.
No, but why does she always whisper the insults directly into people’s ears?!
She can’t exactly curse out loud in front of the kid.
Whenever the mercenaries messed up while Julia was around, this was how Ceres handled it.
“Lend me your ear.”
Every time, she would deliver the most vicious stream of curses imaginable.
“M-My goodness! How vulgar!”
Countess Lucia recoiled in horror and hurriedly stumbled back. Her face was flushed red, as if she had never heard such language in her life.
“Even if your family is noble in name only, how can the daughter of a baron speak in such a vulgar manner?!”
“That’s still better than acting as crude and vulgar as you.”
“W-What did you say?”
“If I start acting crude and vulgar too...”
Step.
“You might end up in real trouble. Do you think you’ll be alright then?”
“—!”
Countess Lucia flinched involuntarily when Ceres stepped closer.
For a brief moment, their eyes met. The chill in Ceres’s gaze was so cold it sent goosebumps racing across her skin.
“I really can’t deal with someone like you! I’ll be leaving now!”
“I’m not done talking yet.”
“......?”
“Clean your ears. They seem clogged with wax.”
“Ugh!”
Countess Lucia trembled with her fists clenched tight before fleeing the shop with her face burning red.
BANG!
“Jay, check the door and see if anything broke. I’m gonna charge her for the repairs.”
“Yes!”
Ignoring the Countess, Ceres looked down at Julia. The girl had quietly glued herself to Ceres’s side.
“That’s impressive, Julia. You got the lead role.”
“Yeah... But maybe I shouldn’t do it.”
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that... I just think Christine could do it instead.”
Seeing the child’s shoulders droop, Ceres scooped her into her arms. She gently coaxed Julia into raising her head.
The girl whispered with tears welling in her eyes,
“There’s no one who’ll come watch the festival for me anyway.”
“What do you mean there isn’t?”
“Huh? You’ve been busy lately. You always come home late too.”
“I won’t be busy that day.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll definitely go.”
After setting Julia back down, Ceres turned to look at Kainel, who was standing nearby.
Just try making me work overtime that day. Debt or no debt, I’m seriously going to kill you.
“......”
Kainel watched Ceres silently for a moment before shifting his gaze to Julia.
So that little thing was her younger sister now.
The way Ceres treated Julia was completely different from how she treated everyone else. There was a strange tenderness to it.
“Huh? Who’s that?”
Only then did Julia finally notice Kainel, her eyes growing rounder.
“The debt collector.”
“Then, is he a bad guy?”
“...Not exactly.”
He’d been annoying lately, but not enough for her to call him a bad person.
“Julia.”
“Hm?”
Julia had been staring fixedly at Kainel, seemingly fascinated by his snow-white hair. At Ceres’s voice, she looked up at her.
“If a stranger asks you to go somewhere with them, never follow them. Understand?”
“But Christine’s mom isn’t a stranger.”
“She is now.”
“Mmm... okay.”
When the child nodded obediently, Ceres patted her head.
Then, she took the freshly prepared dishes from the kitchen and handed the tray to Kainel.
“Table six.”
Julia suddenly clapped her hands together in realization.
“Oh! Mister, so you’re the new employee?”
“Hrk!”
No, that’s not it!
The mercenaries nearby all looked horrified.
“......”
Kainel stared at Julia in silence before taking the tray and heading toward table six.
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