I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“A single slice of cake costs a thousand gold? Even accounting for how expensive this place is, springing the price on me after the fact, when there’s no price listed on the menu, is quite the shock.”
“I understand your surprise, but this is generally a place frequented by those who can afford any dessert, no matter the price.”
“….”
“Will that be settled in cash, or would you prefer a check?”
Hey, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?
I looked up at him with wide, unblinking eyes, and the manager’s shoulders lifted in a deliberately smug shrug. He must have decided to fleece the country girl. Well, what do you know. You’ve picked the wrong person.
“It was certainly delicious, but I didn’t realize it was worth that much.”
“The Flower of Riden is a creation our shop’s finest craftsman makes with care down to every grain of flour. Whipping the cream more than a thousand times to achieve its airy richness, and the Beritz Fruit crowning the top alone is easily worth several hundred gold.”
“Ah… so that’s how it is.”
“…If you intend to make a scene, then on our end, we will also…”
“Oh my, a scene?”
What an ignorant thing to say.
Slowly regaining my composure, I waved a hand dismissively and sat back down. Rose was staring at me with wide eyes, so I gestured for her to sit as well, then let my arm slide across the table and rested my chin on my hand.
“I was simply having a little trouble understanding. Of course, I’ll pay what’s owed.”
Here you go.
Pressing my lips together, I dug out a thousand gold from the innermost pocket of my bag and set it on the table. Seeing me pay so readily, he struggled to hold back a smirk.
But when I placed yet another thousand gold beside it, his expression turned puzzled.
“Milady?”
“It’s such a precious treat, I’d like to savor one more. And my digestion has finished now, so it should be fine, right?”
“O-of course.”
What a gullible woman. There was no need to guess at what he was thinking; it was painfully obvious.
Worried that I might change my mind, he hurriedly brought out the next cake, his movements growing frantic.
“Here it is. Please, do enjoy it while it’s fresh.”
“It really is marvelous. Is this the Beritz Fruit you mentioned earlier? I thought it was just a strawberry.”
When I gently pierced the crimson fruit perched on top with my fork, the waiter’s smile became nothing but pure artifice.
“A strawberry? It may look somewhat similar, but in truth, they’re worlds apart. Anywhere in Riden you go, The Melts is the only place that uses genuine Beritz Fruit.”
“I see. No wonder it’s considered the finest dessert shop, then. It means they guarantee quality, so the price must be worth paying. Though I’ve heard some places secretly swap out the ingredients they’ve listed… ugh.”
“Ha-ha. Our shop is on an entirely different level from those unscrupulous places.”
“I should hope so. A place that represents Riden would never stoop to such filthy tricks. I heard somewhere that restaurants caught doing that face fines of several times the amount under national law… was it twenty times?”
“No. It’s ten times.”
The manager corrected me without thinking, and his expression began to waver, neither quite smiling nor not. He seemed to have become aware that people’s gazes were slowly drifting toward us.
“That is, the… the unscrupulous practice of swapping ingredients, I mean.”
“Oh, was that right? Thank you for telling me so precisely.”
Folding my hands together, I listened to him attentively and gave a slight nod of gratitude. As I slowly brought the red fruit skewered on my fork toward my lips, I closed my eyes and opened them again, as if savoring its aroma.
“Hmm, it does smell different. Oh, and Beritz Fruit, no less. I never expected to eat Beritz Fruit in this season. I thought it only grew in the height of summer.”
“Ha-ha. Please, do go ahead and eat.”
“No, how could I eat something this precious all by myself? Rose is here too, so we should split it in half.”
“….”
“I went and gobbled the whole thing in one bite earlier without even realizing. Ugh. What was I thinking?”
Clink.
The moment I set my fork back down on the plate, the manager’s swollen chest deflated along with it. He clenched and unclenched his fists while forcing a stiff smile, and it seemed he was growing anxious. But that was none of my concern.
“Rose, wait a moment. Big sister will split it evenly for you.”
Since it was expensive, I acted with great care, moving as slowly as I could, and just as I was about to apply pressure to the fork, I flashed the manager a gentle, crinkle-eyed smile.
“Oh, before I forget, do you know this?”
“…Pardon?”
“That real Beritz Fruit has flesh as green as emerald.”
“….”
“Oh my. You didn’t really not know that, did you? Of course, for a place that handles such a precious fruit, that would be an absurd thing to say.”
I blinked in wide-eyed surprise, and the manager’s greasy face slowly drained of color.
There, there. With a smile as innocent as Rose’s, I gave my fork a little wave.
“I’ve picked every fruit there is until just recently, you see. Beritz Fruit only appears for about a week at the height of summer, and since the North has a different climate, I suppose the harvest season must differ as well.”
“A l-lady actually picked such things herself…?”
“Yes. One has to make a living, after all.”
So what of it?
I gazed at him directly with my large, round eyes. Watching the man’s expression shift moment by moment was every bit as fascinating as dissecting the inside of a Beritz Fruit.
“Since Beritz Fruit is so rare, it’s traded by the piece rather than by the gram. Once I accidentally dropped one and crushed it, and my skirt was dyed with green juice all over. I was so flustered.”
“….”
If I hadn’t come to my senses, I’d be the woman who would’ve posed with ‘I Am a Natural Man’ right there.
Then you should have known when to stop. I’ve spent more than ten years of my twenty, chopping wood and picking fruit, and you’ve picked the wrong person to mess with.
Each time I lightly moved my hand, the flesh of the fruit hanging off the tip of my fork trembled precariously.
“Either way, we’d better be careful not to get green juice on our clothes. Rose, spread out your napkin.”
“Okay!”
Rose, who had already slipped into the seat beside me, laid her napkin across her lap and swung her legs back and forth.
So pretty.
As I narrowed one eye as if winking and put strength into my fork, the manager lunged at me in a panic.
“M-my lady! Just a moment!”
“…Oh my, what’s the matter? Are you like the man who swapped out the menu for a pair of country sisters just up from the countryside and tried to overcharge them with some nonsense, then threw them out?”
“….”
“Hohoho, I’m joking. Just joking!”
Well, I can’t say anything to you, can I?
I covered my mouth and laughed with decorum, and the manager’s hand, which had already reached out almost to the plate, froze in place.
Now, what to do with this man. I narrowed my eyes as I looked at him.
…You should’ve only committed the sins you could bear.
“Your father and this man both make the same sort of reckless bets that are beyond their means. In other words, I couldn’t possibly feel any goodwill toward him, but this was our first day in the North, and Rose was with me.”
It was our sweet, bright-eyed Rose’s first day learning about the world.
“Well, of course, I doubt something like that would happen at a high-class shop like this.”
“Ahh….”
The moment I set down my fork, the manager visibly regained his composure.
If I were a more righteous and noble lady, I’d have found some way to dole out a fitting punishment to a man like this, but unfortunately, I’m not really in the mood for that.
No. The world has never once been fair to me, so why should I be the one to play fair?
That’s the work of immortal protagonists who survive a cannon blast; someone like me, who isn’t even a supporting character, only needs to make sure she doesn’t lose out. In novels or dramas, no matter how righteous a supporting character is, the next day someone will inevitably announce her death with lines like, “Have you heard? Well, that young lady happened to…”
“We’re short on time, so we really must be going. You’re going to take that splendid cake off the bill, aren’t you, even though we’re leaving without tasting it?”
“O-of course, my lady!”
The manager bent his waist nearly to the floor, bowing and scraping. Anyway, a man like that was bound to get caught by someone sooner or later.
“Oh, and that Flower of Riden we had at first, how much did you say it was? I think I misheard you earlier…”
“Twenty Gold!”
The moment I lightly raised a hand to my ear, the manager’s booming voice burst forth.
You really tried to swindle me, didn’t you.
My gaze turned cold all over again, and he began stammering out excuses.
“Th-that’s… I just made a little mistake.”
“I see. Mistaking twenty Gold for a thousand, what a perfectly confusing, ambiguous number. Still, I’m glad you’ve come to your senses now. For a moment there, the dignity of Liden’s finest salon was in serious danger of cracking.”
“…My lady.”
“Of course, you should have compensated me with ten thousand Gold, but I’m not the sort of trashy person who squeezes money out of others or corners them with such petty methods.”
Consider yourself lucky, mister.
At my elegant gesture, the manager went pale and could only swallow hard, his throat bobbing.
Maybe I should just take a little something after all. For a moment I wavered, but if I did, there’s no telling how far this commotion in Liden’s city center might spread.
“Did you say twenty Gold?”
“Y-yes, yes…”
When I took out two bills and handed them over, the man’s hand trembled violently. I’d have bet my entire fortune that everyone in the salon was now watching us.
If it was the price of humiliation, I think I’ve gotten my fill.
“Oh, and just one more thing, Manager.”
But my hard-earned money was worth more than that, and I wasn’t done yet.
“It’s a foolish habit to judge people only by their looks or what they wear, and since it’s something you were born with, I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it. But if you really must go on doing such things…”
“….”
My eyes swept across the people seated on either side, then drifted to the table at the far end. The owner of the gaze that had been staring at me relentlessly looked up with interest, but my goal was never to admire some devastatingly handsome man; it was to give a shady merchant a proper lesson.
“…At the very least, for your conscience’s sake, make sure you’ve got the looks to back it up.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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