Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 23

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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 to the Dark Guild.
23
“Welcome.”
“That face doesn’t look very pleased to see me.”
I swallowed the retort that was about to spill out—that there was no reason to be pleased—and forced my lips upward into a smile.
“That’s not true at all.”
But Bidler was already in a foul mood, and his sharp gaze sparked an immediate staring contest between us.
Just then, Seniel, who had taken an order from the knights, squeezed between us and thrust a piece of paper forward.
“Sister, half raspberry, half lime. Twelve cups total.”
“Your sister actually makes the drinks? You’re sure those are safe to consume, right?”
Orbis’s quiet question was saturated with doubt.
“If you’re worried, don’t drink any.”
“I’m dying of thirst from running all the way here. If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well die after drinking something my sister made.”
I ignored Orbis, who was wearing such a solemn expression, and reached out my hand.
“Who’s paying?”
“I am.”
Bidler slipped his hand into his chest, withdrew a heavy-looking purse, and placed it in my palm.
The weight was more substantial than I’d expected. I cracked it open just enough to glimpse several gold coins inside before snapping it shut again.
At a glance, it looked like nearly one gold coin per cup of drink.
“That’s quite a lot.”
“As long as it’s enough. It’s training expenses anyway.”
Just because I hadn’t opened this shop to make money didn’t mean I disliked it.
The sight of the gold coins made my lips curl up without any effort this time.
“Sister, is there anything I can do to help?”
“Wait, then carry out the finished drinks.”
“Got it.”
I quickly poured spring water into the pre-arranged cups.
Then, adding the perfectly prepared ingredients in order, I was in the middle of making the drinks when the shop door opened.
I glanced over to see Bidler, who had deliberately come inside alone, looking around with a furrowed brow.
“It’s quite old. Why did you open a shop in such a place? And in a ramshackle hut that looks like it’s about to collapse? Were you swindled?”
The old cabinet he was brushing his fingers over was one my father had made by hand when I was young.
“It was my parents’ place. That cabinet—my father made it. I suppose it falls short of Your Highness’s refined taste.”
“Ah… so there was a reason. Hmm. Now that I think about it, though it is old, there’s something quite antiquated and charming about it.”
Whether or not Bidler hastily changed his tune, I finished the drinks quickly and crowned them with a leaf garnish.
“As you can see, there’s only one table inside. The weather is lovely—wouldn’t you prefer to sit outside?”
All the other knights were sprawled beneath the shade of a tree outside the shop.
The training had been so grueling that they all looked ready to collapse at any moment.
“I don’t prefer sunlight.”
My eyebrows twitched at a knight claiming to dislike sunlight. Yet when I recalled how they trained in the evening, I wondered if he was being serious.
“Seniel!”
I called out to Seniel, who was tending to the knights outside, and handed her the drinks.
I also handed a finished drink to Orbis, who was still standing by the window deliberating whether to drink it.
It took less than twenty minutes to make all the drinks.
“Phew, done.”
I handed the last two cups to Seniel and washed my hands.
That’s when I noticed Bidler, whom I’d temporarily forgotten while concentrating, staring at me so intensely it felt like he could bore through me.
As I turned my head toward him, our eyes naturally met.
Bidler sat with his long legs crossed in a patch of sunlight, his face as perfectly sculpted as a carefully crafted statue.
The shadows cast by the light on his face looked almost intentional.
His blood-red eyes remained eerily, hauntingly beautiful.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you always so diligent about everything? You make things with such intensity.”
“I suppose I am.”
It was a habit from years spent in Guild Life, where not giving your all in every moment meant death.
As I straightened up, Bidler uncrossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand. His unusually long fingers caught my eye.
“Who prepared those ingredients? The skill with which someone peeled that skin—never breaking once, achieving such uniformity—that’s not ordinary work. That’s the handiwork of a master.”
His tone was purely admiring, yet I flinched at this unexpected observation from Bidler.
Surely he hadn’t noticed the peels I’d gathered in a corner, intending to discard them.
“I learned knife work from a young age, so I’m quite skilled with a blade.”
“Is that so? Your skill is impressive.”
I offered a vague excuse and quickly gathered up the peels before he could examine them further.
‘Does he still suspect something about me?’
I’d thought it strange that he kept staring so intently, but now it made sense if he’d been observing me.
I decided I’d need to be more careful with my movements around Bidler and stole a glance at him.
But I’d prepared the order to match the number of people, and yet there was no drink in front of Bidler.
“You’re not having any, Your Highness?”
“Mine needs to be made separately.”
His matter-of-fact demand left me flabbergasted, and I blinked.
“Why?”
“Didn’t you say you’d give me a larger portion? Did you forget?”
“Oh!”
I suddenly remembered the last time I’d spoken with Bidler.
‘That sort of thing is usually just polite small talk.’
I was surprised that he’d actually taken my throwaway remark to heart.
“I’ll make it right away. A large portion.”
To catch him off guard, I pulled out the largest cup in the shop—the size of a vase.
But then.
‘This is a disaster.’
I didn’t have enough ingredients.
I’d been thinking only of the twelve cups Seniel had ordered, and I’d used my ingredients generously on the drinks I’d already made. Both the raspberries and limes were now awkwardly depleted.
Troubled, I pondered what to do while stealing a glance at Bidler.
“Your Highness, would you mind if I made you a new drink instead? Something special.”
“Special…? Something different, just for me?”
“Yes.”
Most people enjoy something special. But for Bidler, who’d been treated specially his whole life, such an offer might not be particularly tempting.
The moment I thought this, Bidler’s lips curved upward.
“I like it.”
‘Is he really the type to enjoy something like that?’
With that cold, decisive face, he visibly brightened at a single word—”special.”
I hadn’t seen him many times, but each time, his expression had been so blank that I never realized how openly his emotions played across his face.
I was relieved at how simple he was and mixed all the remaining ingredients together.
As the red of the raspberries blended with the green of the limes, a mysterious, lovely color emerged.
With the garnish placed on top, the finished drink looked far more presentable than I’d anticipated.
‘Please let it taste good.’
I carried the large cup in both hands and set it on the table before Bidler.
“What is this drink?”
Light sparkled in Bidler’s eyes as he looked up at me.
His gaze seemed to expect some grand explanation, and I felt pressured.
I couldn’t possibly tell him it was leftover ingredients being used up, so I rolled my eyes.
“It’s a new menu item and doesn’t have a name yet. Would you like to name it, Your Highness?”
“Me? Well, I’ll think about it.”
Then he began tapping the table with his finger, lost in serious thought.
Seeing him drink steadily without another word, it seemed the taste wasn’t bad either.
I let out a relieved breath, grateful I hadn’t been caught, and turned to clean up the messy kitchen.
***
While Rosia and Bidler were conversing inside, the knights stationed outside were making quite a commotion.
“Seriously, I’m dying. Are only my legs trembling?”
“Mine are already rags.”
“Where exactly are we?”
“The Aleine Mountain Range, obviously.”
“You idiot. Who doesn’t know that? I mean, why is there a shop in the middle of these rugged mountains?”
Henry, who had been lying with a boulder as a pillow, bolted upright.
“Have you lot seen the shop owner?”
Everyone’s eyes went wide at that.
“I’ve seen her. I know all the ladies in high society, but I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful even dressed like that.”
“Everyone quiet. I’ve already claimed this one. Don’t any of you dare poach.”
The knights, who had been debating over Rosia, received their drinks from Seniel and Orbis.
“Everyone, look at this decoration.”
“What’s with this incredible quality?”
The exhausted knights were startled when they saw the drinks Rosia had made.
The precision of the leaf-carved garnish was extraordinary.
“It’s far too intricate. You’re really using this kind of skill just for a drink decoration?”
“Could you do it?”
“No way. I don’t have the confidence.”
“Who made this? There’s no way that lady did something like this.”
Rosia had no idea that the casual decorations she’d made for the drinks were drawing so much attention.
Though all the knights were impressed, their admiration was short-lived.
Their throats were too parched, and without hesitation, they gulped down the juice.
Simultaneously, their eyes went wide. It was the kind of shock and exhilaration one feels finding an oasis in a desert.

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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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