Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 59

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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 operated by the heir of the Dark Guild.
59
The elegantly dressed man snipped his scissors with a click and laughed in an peculiar way.
“Oh my, hello there. I’m designer Ange.”
“I’m Rosia.”
The moment I heard the designer introduce himself, I understood why we’d come here.
“You’ve come to have a dress fitted?”
“That’s right! You have such vibrant health about you, young lady. A rare sort of beauty, I must say.”
Ange beamed at me, clearly delighted.
“…Come in, please.”
His enthusiasm made me uncomfortable, so I ushered everyone inside the shop right away.
“Oh my, the first partner chosen by the Crown Prince himself—I had high hopes, and you exceed them! Truly beautiful. What style do you usually prefer?”
“Whatever’s most comfortable.”
Even now, my clothes were chosen for practicality—optimized for running the shop.
“Your one-piece dress suits you well, certainly, but I have so many designs that could bring out even more of your beauty!”
Ange gazed at my one-piece dress with regret and thrust a catalog into my hands.
“I’ve selected our best designs for this season. Would you like to have a look?”
Despite the word “selected,” the catalog was nearly the size of a brick.
Surely one could kill someone with that thing?
Unable to resist Ange’s expectant gaze, I opened it and found page after page of elaborate dresses—styles I’d never worn in my entire life.
“After choosing the dress, you’ll need to select matching shoes, gloves, and a mask.”
The knowledge that there were still so many choices ahead made my head ache already.
“Your expression tells me otherwise.”
Bittler, apparently noticing my rigid face, crossed his long legs and asked flatly.
“I don’t know much about these things. Surely people with a better eye than me could choose for me?”
“Would that suffice? Oh, actually, the moment I saw you, a particular dress came to mind!”
Ange twisted about eagerly, eyes shining as if waiting for my permission.
He settled into a chair and began sketching in earnest, saying he needed to see the combinations directly to ensure they suited me.
In the meantime, I decided to prepare drinks for Bittler and his companions, who had come all this way.
“What would you like, Your Highness?”
“That special menu from last time. Has anyone else had it besides me?”
“No, no one.”
Since it wasn’t on the regular menu, there was no need to make it unless I had the ingredients on hand.
Bittler’s face lit up with a satisfied smile at my answer.
“Then I’ll have that.”
Still not on the official menu, but since he’d enjoyed it, I quickly finished preparing it and set it on the table.
“You came in person when you could have simply sent the designer. Are you finding yourself at loose ends these days?”
“I suppose so. No one’s calling for me. Everyone’s watching what my brother does.”
Since the Crown Prince was about to be formally nominated, people were being even more cautious.
I thought about offering him some comfort, but he seemed unbothered, so I moved past him and gave Ange a drink as well.
“Please, enjoy.”
Ange took a sip and his eyes went wide with delight.
“This place is wonderful! I’d love to live somewhere like this. Oh, I need to take your measurements—would you mind if I did?”
And so I surrendered myself to the attendants Ange had brought along.
After they finished taking my measurements carefully, I sat down across from Bittler, who was slowly sipping his drink.
“Did you find out anything?”
“No. Did you?”
“No.”
Then the shop door opened.
Both Bittler’s and my gaze snapped toward it.
“Rosia, fresh fruit arrived, so I brought it—”
Cayden stopped short when he saw Bittler sitting across from me.
Bittler, apparently meeting a young man for the first time, seemed startled—his eyes turned sharp and fierce.
“A customer?”
Cayden, moving naturally into the kitchen area, set the fruit basket on a shelf and asked pleasantly.
“Who is this?”
Both of them looked like they couldn’t quite make sense of each other’s presence.
Bittler in particular scrunched up his face and created a decidedly hostile atmosphere.
Suddenly caught between them, I felt too annoyed to bother introducing anyone and furrowed my brow.
While I was debating how to handle this, Bittler grew impatient and prompted me.
“Well?”
“What?”
“This situation.”
I had no idea what the problem was, so I shrugged.
Instead, Cayden strode forward and extended his hand.
“Cayden.”
“Bittler.”
Bittler, looking at him as though he were an unwelcome guest, shook his hand reluctantly.
Both introduced themselves by first name only, but it wasn’t an official occasion anyway.
Knowing Bittler’s true identity, I watched nervously, worried Cayden might slip up.
“How do you know each other?”
“Oh, we’re neighbors. Rosia and I help each other out with various things. We eat together every day.”
“Every day?”
Cayden’s loaded question hooked Bittler’s attention.
The atmosphere was turning nasty, so I wedged myself between them and clamped Cayden’s mouth shut.
The last thing I needed was him mentioning that we also slept in the same place.
“The sketch is complete!”
Ange chose that perfect moment to finish the dress sketch and bring it for my approval.
Seizing the opportunity, I nodded immediately without even looking.
“I’ll go with that. Your Highness, we’ve finished selecting the dress—shouldn’t you be on your way?”
“Are you protecting him right now?”
His voice was as low and cold as his angry expression.
“Protecting whom? You came here for the dress, didn’t you?”
“I never imagined you’d been hiding a man away.”
“Wait, that doesn’t quite—”
Bittler, firmly convinced of his misunderstanding, turned on his heel and left.
His long legs carried him away so quickly I couldn’t even catch him.
“I’ll have this completed right away! See you soon!”
Ange and his attendants hurried after Bittler, who had already left.
Suddenly the one at fault, I couldn’t hide my unease.
“How did this even happen?”
Cayden, watching Bittler’s retreating figure through the window, turned back and asked.
“Was that the Crown Prince?”
“Yes. The Second Prince—the one who’s Seniel’s superior, remember?”
“What was he doing here? And the dress business?”
Cayden picked up the catalog Ange had left on the sofa and flipped through it.
“There’s going to be a Crown Prince Nomination Ceremony soon. I agreed to be his partner at the after-party celebration.”
“Why you?”
“I’m repaying a favor I received.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. The way the Crown Prince was looking at you—it wasn’t ordinary.”
Cayden’s voice dipped lower than usual, echoing Bittler’s mood from moments before.
I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet somehow I felt judged, and I couldn’t understand it.
While I was struggling for words, the silence was mercifully broken when the shop door opened.
“Huff, huff.”
“Noona!!”
It was Seniel and Orbis.
They were drenched in sweat from running, their breathing harsh and labored.
“Did you come for training?”
“Yeah. Only the two of us passed the First Test, so we came alone this time.”
“We were supposed to meet the Crown Prince here. Haven’t you seen him, Noona?”
“He already left.”
“He left? Then what about us?”
“Wasn’t that the point—to figure it out on your own?”
Orbis’s face went white. Seniel seemed to realize this wasn’t good and dropped to his knees.
“Don’t tell me he’s expecting us to run all the way to the Capital again.”
“Go on. He probably hasn’t gotten far.”
“Right! Oh, that’s right. Noona, this is for you.”
Seniel pulled a small bundle from his breast and handed it to me.
“What is this?”
“A belated opening gift. It’s a bell that calls customers, or so they say.”
Inside the bundle, I glimpsed a long bell.
I took it out, held it by the handle, and shook it through the air—and it rang with a clear, pure tone.
“Noona, I helped pick it too.”
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
“There won’t be many customers anyway, so you’ve got to catch whoever comes. Hang it up somewhere good.”
Seniel was under a serious misunderstanding.
Unlike before, how many customers did I get these days because of Seniel?
If I hung the bell, it would be ringing all day.
“Rosia Noona, see you next time.”
“I’ll be back soon, Noona!”
The two of them left with smiles, but a female customer happened to be standing at the entrance.
They rushed out without even glancing at her, but the woman had already recognized Seniel—her eyes went vacant.
Watching the woman freeze in the doorway, her gaze fixed blankly on Seniel’s departing back, I pressed my palm to my forehead.
“It’s over.”
***
To prepare for the increasing number of customers, the time spent gathering ingredients had grown longer.
Between actual customers and Raven’s informants who occasionally dropped by, I barely had a moment to breathe.
Now whenever I sensed someone approaching or a customer arrived, I would glance up and return to work.
When the door opened, I greeted them out of habit and looked up—it was Hestania.
“Welcome.”
“Big sister!”
Her friendly tone felt awkward, but knowing she was a useful connection, I offered a slight smile.
“It’s been a while.”
“I told you to speak comfortably. Between us. Hestania is hurt.”
Hestania wore a deep pink dress, and in her hands was a large bouquet.
She walked toward me in the kitchen with purposeful strides and held it out.
“You’re so pretty even today, big sister. I brought these for you.”
“Flowers?”
As I brandished the knife I’d been holding, Hestania flinched and stepped back.
“Oh, sister. I might get stabbed.”
“Sorry about that.”
I set down the knife and was nudged by Hestania into accepting the bouquet.
“I was passing the flower shop and saw forget-me-nots blooming so beautifully. They reminded me of you, so I bought them.”
I rarely received gifts from anyone, and a flower gift was a first for me, so I felt awkward.

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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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