Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 190

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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 café run by the heir of the Dark Guild.
Side Story 3
Seniel — How to Fill the Lost Years
Ever since recovering his memories of childhood spent at Raven, Seniel had fallen into a daze whenever he saw Rosia smile.
He wanted to hold onto that image for as long as possible.
In his old memories, Rosia at the Training Facility had never smiled.
More precisely, she had hidden her expression like someone who wasn’t permitted to smile, suppressed her feelings, and gradually lost her emotions.
When his memories returned, that expressionless face was the first thing he remembered.
He felt both pity and remorse for his sister, who had endured those ten years with such a face.
But as she spent time at the Café, his sister had gradually changed.
When she ate food Cayden made, when Grandfather said something pointless, when Armstrong darted across the Yard.
In those unremarkable moments, the corners of his sister’s mouth would rise first, and her eyes would slowly follow.
It was genuine laughter that burst forth without her realizing it.
Each time Seniel saw that laughter, he found himself growing happy too.
Today was no exception.
The moment he entered the Café, he saw his sister cutting something behind the counter. Cayden was explaining something beside her, and she was responding without even lifting her head when Cayden said something that made her let out a quiet laugh.
Seniel stood quietly in the doorway, watching.
Biedler, who had come with him, spoke in a low voice from beside him.
“Why aren’t you coming in?”
“Wait. Look at that.”
“Two intimate people?”
“No. My sister. Isn’t she beautiful?”
Biedler nodded, as if unable to deny the statement.
“Well… I suppose it’d be better if her partner weren’t this priest, but still.”
Any longer and Biedler seemed ready to explode. Seniel chuckled and opened the door.
Seniel had first met Biedler on a battlefield.
What caught his eye even before Biedler’s status as a prince was his skill.
The way he commanded people, the way he wielded his sword, the way he read the tide of battle—he was someone you had no choice but to respect and follow.
After becoming his direct subordinate, Seniel had observed Biedler more closely. He was someone who never wavered, no matter the circumstance.
With one exception.
Everything was different in front of Rosia.
Only when looking at Rosia did the tension drain from Biedler’s shoulders—a tension that never faltered in the Imperial Palace or on the battlefield.
Seniel had noticed this first. And for a long time, he had kept it to himself.
‘My sister might get hurt.’
Biedler was certainly a commander worthy of respect and a good person, but the difference in their stations was a problem that couldn’t be resolved by feelings alone.
But as time passed, Seniel came to understand something. Biedler was someone who would accept all of that.
The way he looked at his sister, the way he treated her—nothing about it was ever careless.
So eventually, Seniel began to support them both.
‘My sister must be happy.’
The night his memories from the Training Facility returned, Seniel had wept alone for a long time.
After he left, his sister had spent ten years by herself. She had entered the darkness to save her brother, survived there, and ultimately walked out on her own.
The thought that there was nothing he could do for her had tormented him for days with apologies and guilt.
And there was one thing he had decided.
If there was nothing he could do now, then he would create it from this point forward.
Standing beside his sister, he would fulfill the role of her brother for the ten years she had lost.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, Seniel. Look at this. I made a stew, but Cayden keeps saying he needs to make it again.”
A pot that seemed to be the result of a failed attempt sat on the counter.
His sister stood with her arms crossed, pouting as she looked at it.
“…The stew is this color?”
“I put in the wrong seasoning. Just a tiny bit.”
Seniel picked up a ladle to taste it, then set it down again. The color was indescribable.
“It doesn’t look like a tiny bit.”
“Even you, Seniel?! Fine.”
Behind him, Cayden exhaled in relief, his eyes conveying gratitude.
“Sister, let me handle it.”
“You? You can cook?”
“I did a lot of it during intensive training at the Knights Order.”
Seniel spoke as he pulled out the ingredients again. It felt easier to speak while facing away, so he began talking slowly as he washed the pot.
“Thank you, sister.”
“Hm?”
He brought this up not because he wanted to, but because it seemed necessary.
Seniel continued speaking as he washed the pot.
“I grew up well because of you.”
For a long time, his sister said nothing.
Only the sound of boiling water filled the kitchen.
Then his sister’s hand gently patted his back. Very slowly.
“I should be thanking you. For growing up so well.”
It was a short statement, but it held ten years within it. The time Seniel had been gone, the time his sister had endured alone, and everything since their reunion.
Seniel’s nose stung as he suppressed his emotions and began slicing the ingredients he’d pulled out.
“But sister, these carrots are all wilted.”
“I bought those yesterday.”
“Where did you buy them?”
“At the Village… oh, they were selling them as clearance items for cheap.”
“Why would you buy clearance items?”
“Because they were cheap.”
“Sister, you have plenty of money!”
“If you’re not going to contribute anything, then quietly finish slicing.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
His sister let out a small laugh. Seniel laughed along with her.
“This is nice.”
“It sure is.”
He loved this kind of conversation. The trivial, meaningless banter he hadn’t had for ten years.
If this was what being a brother meant, Seniel thought he could do it for the rest of his life.
As he sliced the carrots, Seniel suddenly remembered his childhood. At the Training Facility, his sister would always break her portion of bread in half and give him the larger piece. Back then, he’d thought that was natural—that she simply wasn’t hungry.
Now he understood. His sister had been just as hungry. She had simply put her brother first.
“Sister.”
“What.”
“Next time, I’ll give you the bigger piece.”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
His sister turned to look at him with a confused expression. Seniel simply smiled.
“Nothing. Just a thought.”
His sister tilted her head curiously but didn’t ask further. Seniel appreciated that—the kind of bond where you didn’t need to explain everything.
Meanwhile, Biedler stood at one end of the Café, quietly observing his sister at work.
“Your Highness, your face will wear out if you keep staring. Why don’t you go say something?”
“I don’t want to interrupt.”
Seniel couldn’t help but laugh. The man who was so unflinching on the battlefield was being cautious even about approaching his sister.
The look in Biedler’s eyes as he gazed at his sister was overflowing with affection, even from a distance.
Biedler, feeling Seniel’s gaze, asked with confusion.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just observing.”
“What.”
“I’m realizing that Your Highness sometimes can’t hide your feelings. They show all over your face.”
Biedler’s eyebrows rose slightly, then fell.
“Do I look like an idiot?”
“Not at all. You look like a man in love. Not the Crown Prince.”
Biedler looked at Seniel for a moment, then smiled slightly.
“I see.”
Seniel smiled back.
There was something between them—like an alliance that didn’t need words—born from caring about the same person.
That evening, five of them shared the meal. The stew Seniel had salvaged earlier was also placed on the table.
“Grandfather, this is what Seniel made.”
“I made it with my sister.”
Laughter erupted at the table.
Grandfather, in cat form, sat at the end of the table eating fish, Cayden refilled bowls, and Biedler ate two helpings, saying the stew was delicious.
Seniel felt warmth as he watched the scene for a moment.
Ten years ago, the night he left for the Training Facility. That young Seniel had not imagined a future like this.
He couldn’t have imagined it. This moment—sitting at the same table with his sister, eating with people he could call family—was too precious.
After dinner, while Seniel washed the dishes, Biedler stepped outside to the Yard.
His sister naturally followed him out.
Through the window, Seniel saw the two of them standing side by side. Biedler said something, and his sister tilted her head slightly.
He couldn’t hear what they were saying. He didn’t want to. He just thought the two of them looked right standing like that, beneath a starlit sky, just being there together.
Cayden came to stand beside him, also looking out the window.
“What do you think?”
Seniel asked.
“About what.”
“Those two.”
Cayden watched for a moment, then spoke.
“They look good together.”
“Don’t they.”
“What about you, Seniel?”
“Me?”
“Are you supporting the two of them?”
It was something Seniel had spent a lot of time thinking about.
The future of Crown Prince Biedler and his sister wouldn’t be easy, but that didn’t mean it had to be complicated.
“Of course. Look at how happy my sister is.”
At Seniel’s words, Cayden nodded. It was something anyone would agree with, seeing Rosia the way she was now—bright and smiling.
Seniel looked out the window again.
He could see Biedler leaning toward his sister. She didn’t push him away.
Seniel quickly averted his gaze.
“Though perhaps we should be mindful of prying eyes. Ahem.”
“I suppose when only two people are visible to themselves, we can understand. We do understand.”
Outside, his sister’s laughter was heard.
It was small and brief, yet it carried into the Café.
Hearing that sound, Seniel made a firm resolve in his heart.
A sound he hadn’t heard in ten years. A sound he’d never heard once at the Training Facility. His sister truly laughing.
He would listen to that sound for as long as he could.
From now on, for many years to come, he would protect that laughter.

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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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