Chapter 5
After leaving Grizel Park, I walked about two blocks.
Of course, there was a grocery store on Indar Street where I lived, but the place I was heading to now had much lower prices and a wider variety of goods.
'I've been so busy with work that I haven't stocked up on groceries—there's more to buy than usual.'
I arrived right at opening time, so the store was quiet.
I methodically filled my shopping basket.
"That'll be 1 gold, 47 silver."
'Did I really buy that much?'
I'd bought a bundle of eggs for 2 silver, potatoes and tomatoes for stew, and a few other things—but I didn't think I'd bought anything that expensive! But when I mentally calculated the prices of the items I'd purchased, it came to exactly 1 gold and 47 silver.
'I still can't wrap my head around the fact that ten 10-silver coins make 1 gold.'
Being someone who deals with numbers for a living, the sense of disillusionment hit even harder.
'But wait, just two years ago, eggs were 1 silver.'
Every time I went grocery shopping, I felt the rising prices as I paid and left the store.
'Now that the war's over, food prices should come down a bit.'
As I walked along carrying the heavy shopping basket, for some reason my cheek felt itchy.
'What is it?'
It was a sensation I couldn't ignore. I set down the basket, stood still, and scratched my cheek.
While doing so, I habitually looked around and met eyes with a pair of golden irises that looked like melted pure gold.
"Wow..."
A sound similar to an exclamation of admiration escaped me involuntarily.
'Again?'
Was the capital really this small?
'Is this happening because I've been praying for more opportunities to have my eyes cleansed by looking at Everett Rohas?'
Or maybe it's because there's no one else that handsome in the capital, so I keep running into him.
After acknowledging each other's presence, Everett Rohas and I both stopped awkwardly.
Next to the grocery store, there was an old rare bookshop, and Everett Rohas seemed to have just come out of there.
We'd just happened to run into each other multiple times by coincidence; we weren't close enough to exchange greetings.
"Haha."
I gave an awkward laugh, then picked up the basket I'd set down.
Then, as if I hadn't seen Everett Rohas at all, I walked briskly toward home.
'I didn't like how he avoided me earlier like I was some weirdo.'
I could feel what I assumed was Everett Rohas's gaze on the back of my head, but I didn't turn around to confirm it.
'This time... I got the upper hand!'
Just enjoying a small victory.
My thoughts about the consecutive coincidences scattered as I filled the empty cupboards with my purchases.
All that remained in my mind was the thought that I should quickly finish the backlog of cleaning and lie down.
Edwin watched the woman's retreating back as she became a small dot, disappearing from sight, for quite a while. Until she was completely gone from his view.
After standing there like a sailor bewitched by a siren for some time, Edwin finally started walking again several minutes later.
Instead of heading back to the palace, Edwin changed course and made his way to a small café with an impressive floor-to-ceiling glass window interior.
"You've arrived?"
At the sound of a refreshingly clear bell, a man in a brown apron came out alone to greet Edwin.
With sun-kissed brown hair, warm green eyes, and a smile always on his face, he suited the cozy atmosphere of the café perfectly.
"Yeah."
Edwin answered the man's greeting absentmindedly and sat down haphazardly at the nearest visible table.
The man paced nervously around the emperor, who was sprawled out in a relaxed posture.
"The matter you mentioned still hasn't finished data compilation."
"I'm not here about Duke Camelot."
Only then did Edwin's longtime friend and head of the emperor's secret intelligence unit, Kyle, let out a sigh of relief.
"But I'd like to see results within a few days as well."
When Edwin added, Kyle calculated the remaining work for a moment before answering.
"Four days. I'll enter the palace as soon as it's complete."
Edwin nodded lightly.
After the brief business talk, there was a moment of silence before Edwin asked Kyle.
"Kyle."
"Yes."
"Do you believe in coincidences?"
"Coincidences?"
Kyle asked back, unable to grasp the context.
"Yes, coincidences. For instance, continuously running into the same woman."
Edwin's gaze, which had been fixed on the wall, turned to Kyle.
"Are you suspecting that woman might be an assassin or a spy?"
Perhaps there was a spy he'd completely failed to notice. Kyle's voice lowered slightly.
"I'm not sure."
After a brief hesitation, Edwin continued.
"From her behavior, it doesn't seem like it."
The woman's arms were soft, with only the minimum muscle needed for survival.
'I knew she had no hostile intent the moment I grabbed her wrist.'
But perhaps her wariness instincts were a bit weak—the way she kept grabbing at Edwin and staring at his face was like, how to put it, a small white puppy raised by a noble lady just for its cuteness.
"But every time I go outside the palace, I keep running into her."
Edwin began explaining in order all the times he'd coincidentally encountered the woman.
"The first time was the day I entered the capital early to make it in time for Bliss's memorial."
He didn't want to go see his only younger sister after eight years empty-handed.
The first encounter was when he was looking around to buy freesias—Bliss's favorite flowers.
After picking out toys a young girl would like, he headed to Grizel Park where Bliss lay asleep—that was the second encounter.
"And the third time was when I stopped by here last time and was heading back to the palace. Though it seemed the woman didn't see me that time. Still, I suppose we should count it."
She had gotten onto a shared carriage with a pale face and disappeared immediately, so it was a bit ambiguous, but—
Up until that third coincidence, Edwin had only thought the capital was surprisingly small.
"But today too, I ran into that woman twice."
Five times in total. Too many to be dismissed as coincidence.
"It certainly is a bit suspicious."
Kyle stroked his chin in agreement.
"I need to confirm whether these coincidences are divine will or human design."
At Edwin's command, Kyle bowed respectfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
While Kyle briefly wrote messages to send to his informants and returned, a couple of customers entered the café.
Kyle, who was quite serious about his side business, put on a gentle smile and greeted them.
The young ladies, barely more than girls, giggled and whispered to each other as soon as Kyle turned around after taking their orders.
The gist was that this café's owner was handsome and the coffee was friendly.
"Your drinks are ready."
Kyle smiled even more sweetly toward the customers. Just like a kind café owner.
'That bastard hears perfectly well but pretends he didn't.'
Edwin mercilessly sneered at his old friend's feigned smile.
After serving coffee and overly sweet cake to the customers, Kyle also offered Edwin some coffee.
"No coffee. Do you have whiskey?"
Edwin rejected Kyle's coffee without a second's hesitation.
"For starters, this is a café."
Kyle grumbled lightly.
"You forgot the words 'disgustingly tasteless' in front."
Edwin gestured with his chin toward the customers who were grimacing after taking a sip of coffee.
"It's improved enough now that it's not 'disgustingly' anymore."
Kyle muttered in defiance. It seemed to be his last shred of pride.
Edwin didn't mind and smiled faintly, continuing to tease Kyle.
"I thought all coffee tasted like ditch water."
It had been about ten years since coffee was first imported from the southern continent.
Meaning, it hadn't been long since it had spread from being a beverage for a niche group of enthusiasts to the point where a few cafés had opened on the capital's streets.
"No matter how much the empire is a coffee wasteland compared to the southern continent, this level is just too much."
Kyle, whose appearance suggested he was born under the barista's star, had incredibly terrible hands.
Before opening this café, he'd spent months learning how to brew coffee from a barista who had immigrated from the southern continent—and barely improved at all.
"Exactly. If you'd just opened a pub like everyone else, it would've been so much better. Instead, you're just making things hard on yourself."
Edwin whispered in a low voice. Kyle, whose pride had been wounded, looked like he was about to cry.
"But at least it was a good choice in terms of unexpectedness."
Edwin tried to placate his one and only friend before he got completely upset.
"The fact that no transient customers come and go is all thanks to your coffee too."
It wasn't placating at all. Kyle's eyes grew a bit more moist, having hoped for a big success with his side business.
"I'm telling you, I've really improved."
Having genuinely taken offense, Kyle disappeared, saying he'd show off his skills.
Edwin watched the back of Kyle's head and grinned mischievously.
While mentally preparing himself to drink the astonishingly 'tasteless coffee' that was made with generous amounts of good ingredients.
Having enjoyed three sweet days of holiday and returned to work, I once again became a cog in the wheel, rolling and rolling.
'Still, if the treasury department's work report finishes today, that's one big mountain crossed.'
Early in the morning, the head of the treasury department headed to the grand conference room with a stiff face, carrying documents topped with employees' souls like a garnish.
The remaining employees were praying for it to pass without incident.
'Please, let it pass quietly! I don't want to come in on the weekend!'
But prayers went unanswered.
"We will arrest those who aided Duke Camelot in accepting bribes and creating slush funds!"
