Chapter 117
The Dessert Shop (1)
Merican watched the flare that Cat had sent up, her gaze lingering for a moment before she pulled the cord.
“Ed?”
“Yes, My Lady. Did you call for me?”
“Do we have any shops owned by our family in the capital?”
At her question, Edward thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes, My Lady. As far as I know, our merchant guild owns around ten stores in the city.”
Ten?
Merican, who had never paid attention to the affairs of the merchant guild, paused in surprise.
“Are all those stores directly operated by our guild?”
“No, My Lady. While the ownership is under our name, only five are directly managed by the guild. The others are leased out.”
Leased out?
Then there might be an empty one.
“Ed, is there any store currently vacant?”
“There is one location where the lease ends at the end of this month. The current tenant is moving to the countryside and won’t be renewing. I heard they plan to put it up for rent again in the next day or two.”
Oh? So there is one available, then.
“Really? How much is the rent? And is it far from the city center?”
At her question, Edward looked slightly uneasy. Since Cassel handled most of the guild’s affairs, Edward didn’t know the finer details.
“My Lady, if I may ask… are you planning to use the store yourself?”
“Well, I’ll have to see it first before deciding. But yes, find out its location and rent for me.”
“Yes, My Lady. I’ll inquire and report back soon.”
“Thank you, Ed.”
“No, My Lady. I’ll confirm it as soon as possible.”
“Were you having tea here, my love? Oh? It looks like you had company.”
After Edward left, Ruan entered the garden. Seeing two teacups on the table, he smiled and gently kissed Merician’s cheek.
“Ruan, welcome home. You’ve worked hard today.”
“My hard work was enduring the day while missing you.”
Honestly, I can’t with him…
Since their marriage, Ruan had become quite adept at saying shamelessly sweet things, leaving Merican flustered as always.
“Ruan, did you take lessons on how to say such things? How are you getting better at them?”
“Well, since I’m speaking my heart to my beloved wife, it comes naturally.”
He pulled her onto his lap, one arm wrapping around her waist as he drew her close.
Oh, this man!
Merican glanced around the open garden in panic and whispered urgently into his ear.
“Ruan, put me down. We’re in the garden. What if the servants see us?”
“What would they say? They’d just be happy their lord and lady are so affectionate.”
“Ruan!”
Her sharp tone only made him laugh softly. Then his gaze shifted toward the extra teacup.
“So, who was your visitor?”
“Cat stopped by. Oh, and that reminds me, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Cat? Go on, what is it?”
Merican picked up a cookie and placed it between Ruan’s lips.
“Do you remember that cookie shop owner we met before? The one who claimed to be related to the Crown Prince’s maternal family?”
Ruan recalled the arrogant man who had boasted about being a distant relative of Dominic.
“Ah, yes. What about him? Has he caused more trouble?”
“Well, you remember Elena—the one who tried to supply cookies back then? She’s Cat’s friend from the orphanage. She plans to open a dessert shop now.”
“I see… So Cat came to borrow money?”
“What? No, no. Not at all! She said Elena’s trying to open a cookie shop, but the property owner’s been interfering.”
“Interfering? How so?”
Merican told him everything Cat had explained.
The Marquis of Rephide’s family again…
“I’ve actually received reports about Rephide’s branch families moving into the capital’s market district, causing trouble among merchants. I didn’t realize it was this bad.”
“Even with money, not being allowed to open a shop—surely that’s illegal?”
“Technically, yes. I’ll investigate this myself. By the way, one of our guild’s stores will be vacant soon. If she can’t find a place, what do you think about offering that one?”
It would be the easiest solution, but… maybe she should check first.
“I heard that from Ed too. But I don’t think it’ll solve the root problem. For a dessert shop, the location matters a lot. I was thinking of visiting it tomorrow.”
“Location, yes… that’s true. I’ll tell Ed to prepare it for you tomorrow.”
“And… there’s something else I wanted to discuss.”
Merican hesitated, then slipped off Ruan’s lap and sat across from him.
“Something to discuss?”
“I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while… meeting Cat just made me more certain. If we find a shop for Elena, I’d like to work with her. What do you think?”
“You want to work with her?”
Since returning to the duchy, Merican had gone through much, and lately, she’d found herself missing the small sandwich shop she once ran in Phenomenon Village. Cat’s visit had made her realize this might be her chance.
There was no law forbidding nobles from opening shops, but still—she wanted Ruan’s blessing first.
“I was thinking—Elena could handle the cookies, and I could make sandwiches and tea. A dessert shop with both. Sandwiches are best sold fresh in the morning, so I wouldn’t need to be there all day. It wouldn’t take up much time.”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll support you completely.”
“Are you sure? The Duke of Canoluf’s wife running a shop might stir gossip.”
“My love, I’ve told you before—no one would dare criticize our house, no matter what you do.”
“Thank you, Ruan. Then tomorrow, I’ll go with Ed to check the guild property and maybe look at other stores too.”
Unable to hide her excitement at the thought of reopening a sandwich shop, Merican smiled brightly. Ruan, amused, swept her up into his arms.
“Then before you look for a shop, perhaps we should take some time to… learn more about each other again.”
“R–Ruan! The sun hasn’t even set yet!”
“There’s no time limit on understanding each other, my dear.”
With her cheeks burning, Merican could only cling to him as Ruan carried her out of the garden.
***
“What do you mean I can’t rent a shop?”
The next day, at a real estate office, Merican frowned as the clerk hesitated.
“Well, since you said the shop will sell cookies and sandwiches with tea… that may be difficult. There are already too many similar businesses. The capital no longer allows new dessert shops.”
Her expression hardened.
After visiting the guild property with Edward, she had realized the location wasn’t ideal for a dessert café. So she came here to find another place—only to be told she couldn’t open one at all.
Too many dessert shops? That’s absurd…
She’d seen the city with her own eyes—only five dessert cafés remained, most of them selling cakes or cookies, not sandwiches.
“Too many? I just checked—there are only about five dessert cafés in the city, and none sell both cookies and sandwiches like I plan to.”
The clerk smiled nervously.
“That may be true, My Lady, but… perhaps you’d consider another type of business?”
“What kind of business?”
“Well, accessory boutiques, maybe… or magic tool shops. Those are permitted.”
“When did the Empire start restricting shop types like this? Are you treating me like some clueless lady to be brushed aside?”
At her icy tone, the man sighed inwardly.
Just a few days ago, two young ladies had come in with the same request—another dessert shop.
Ever since the Crown Prince’s succession, the Rephide family had been expanding aggressively into the city’s commercial district. Their kin, Paulo, owned the largest dessert shop and had monopolized the entire dessert trade.
Once, there had been many cafés—but now, thanks to Paulo’s strong-arm tactics, only five remained, all run by his associates.
Merchants were furious but powerless against the Rephide name behind him.
To the clerk, Merican’s indignation sounded naive. Judging by her fine dress, she was clearly a noblewoman from the provinces—but she didn’t seem to understand how things worked here.
This city doesn’t run on fairness, Lady.
Still, he couldn’t say that aloud.
“My Lady, it’s not that I mean to insult you,” he said carefully, “but the situation here makes opening a dessert shop nearly impossible.”
“Situation? And what situation is that?”
“Well… you need permission from the existing dessert shop owners. Without their approval, it’s not allowed.”
Permission from competitors? That’s ridiculous!
Before she could speak, the door to the office swung open.
“What’s all this noise about?”
The clerk stiffened at the sound of the voice, immediately bowing low.
“Ah! Welcome, Mr. James.”
The man called James strode in, his expression smug as he dropped onto the sofa beside Merician.
“So, the matter with those girls the other day—it’s been taken care of?”
“Yes, of course. They won’t be opening any dessert shops near the capital again. But, uh…”
The clerk glanced uneasily toward Merican.
“But?”
“Another one, perhaps? Don’t tell me someone else wants to open a dessert shop.”
“Well, actually—”
“I do,” Merician interrupted, meeting his gaze squarely. “I intend to open a dessert shop. Is that a problem?”
