The scene shifted to three in the afternoon.
Sunlight streamed diagonally through the cafe windows, casting bright patches of light across the dark wooden floor.
Liliana was busy working in the cafe.
“Welcome!”
She stood behind the counter in a plain white apron, bowing and smiling as a customer walked in.
“I'll have a special...” The customer stared at the menu board, simultaneously marveling at the beauty of the pink-haired girl at the counter.
Although Saturday was a holiday for most students of the Royal Academy, and the more disciplined ones might spend it studying or training, Liliana didn't have that luxury. Coming from a modest family, she had to cover her expensive living costs in the Royal Capital.
It was a significant amount of money.
Fortunately, working at the cafe wasn't too grueling; there was even a sense of leisure to it.
“Liliana, the customer at Table Three wants a Miki Special milk coffee and an order of honey pancakes.”
The landlady's voice called out from the other end of the counter.
“Right away!”
In the cafe on this Saturday afternoon, there were young couples whispering with linked arms, academy students sitting alone with their books open, and a few grey-haired old gentlemen sitting by the windows, slowly sipping coffee and reading newspapers.
Liliana was responsible for taking orders, serving food, and clearing tables, occasionally attending to the small requests of the customers.
Back in her hometown, she had helped her family with farm work—reaping wheat, carrying firewood, and feeding livestock.
But working in the cafe was nowhere near as exhausting; at most, she just had to stand for long periods.
Her duties as an employee boiled down to remembering the customers' requests, maintaining a polite tone and expression, and weaving through the narrow aisles with a loaded tray without bumping into anything.
Soon, things quieted down again.
Liliana stood at the front counter, maintaining her smile.
The cafe was warm and cozy. The air was filled with the rich aroma of freshly ground coffee beans and the sweet scent of butter, while sunlight filtered in through the windows, casting a warm glow on the dark wooden tables.
Whenever a customer thanked her or praised her, saying, “You give wonderful service, young lady,” her heart would swell with warmth.
Throwing her heart into whatever she did was simply part of her nature.
—Living life with all her heart! ☆
After all, book fees, wand materials, the fees for the four sets of uniforms for all four seasons, and daily food expenses—every single one of these costs had to be earned by herself.
The academy had actually waived Liliana's tuition, which was by far the most expensive part, but as a commoner, she still found it a bit difficult to manage her other expenses.
Her father had mentioned sending money several times in his letters, but she always wrote back telling him not to worry, claiming that her academy stipend was more than enough—even though it was completely insufficient, she didn't want to take her parents' hard-earned money.
That was her reason for taking a part-time job.
“So, do your best at work!” she cheered herself on in her head, pumping her fist.
Just then,
the bell above the door chimed merrily.
Liliana looked up reflexively, putting on a warm, welcoming smile, her greeting of “Welcome!” ready on the tip of her tongue.
Then, she saw clearly who had pushed the door open.
Loris von Aldheim.
It—it was her desk mate.
Loris walked in as if stepping on the brightest beam of afternoon sunlight. She took off her sun hat, revealing her exquisitely beautiful face. Come to think of it, she hadn't tied her hair into her usual twin tails today. Instead, her long, pale-gold hair fell straight down to her waist, with only two small, delicate braids woven from her temples and tied at the back of her head with a light-blue ribbon.
She looked less sharp than usual, replaced by a touch of elegance.
However, her haughty expression hadn't changed in the slightest.
Two people followed behind Loris.
Misha Noren, the brown-haired girl who seemed to share a dorm with Loris. Normally, Liliana shouldn't have known her, but the incident at the dormitory on the first day of school had been far too shocking to forget.
So, she remembered her.
The other person was a young woman with long, silver-white hair and a sword at her waist.
Liliana had heard Fiona mention that she was Loris's personal guard, rumored to be a half-demon.
The three of them seemed to have stopped by on a whim, and Liliana offered a slightly awkward, “Welcome.”
Seeing this, Loris's lips suddenly curved upward, and she let out a soft, amused “Hmm~” as if she had found something interesting.
She probably didn't come here on purpose... but this still felt a bit bad, didn't it? What was with that expression?
Her mind racing, Liliana watched them walk over to Table Six by the window.
Then, she took a breath, picked up a menu and her order pad, and slowly walked over.
Because every time she approached Loris, she had to mentally prepare herself.
It had been a week since school started, and Liliana had already learned the basic survival rules for dealing with this young lady: speak as little as possible, and carefully weigh every single word before speaking, because Loris could always find fault in whatever she said.
But she was still a little grateful.
Even though Lady Loris always mocked her, whenever Loris corrected her homework, she would write down the correct answers in red ink next to the mistakes. And although Loris would walk right past her in the cafeteria without even glancing back, Liliana had learned a lot of her table manners just by secretly watching her.
It was just that these things... seemed to be things only she cared about.
With these thoughts in mind, Liliana arrived at Table Six, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice:
“What would the three of you like to order?”
Was it better to pretend they didn't know each other? If she suddenly called Loris by her name, it might give her another excuse to find fault.
Loris was resting her chin on her hand, looking out the window, and only turned around slowly upon hearing her voice.
...
—Table Six, Cafe—
Did nothing happen?
I was looking at the street outside the window. It was calm and sunny, with no sign of the antagonist duo. It seemed our chance encounter this morning had made Alden abandon his plans.
Well, that was the only logical explanation.
In that case, there wasn't much point in me coming here. After all, the plot event was supposed to happen around this time. Since it hadn't occurred, I could safely assume it wouldn't happen at all.
Just as I was thinking this, the heroine came over to greet us.
“What would the three of you like to order?”
I looked at Liliana, who was acting somewhat distant.
She was quite cute, clutching her tray and notepad while her eyes darted around.
She didn't call me by name, probably wanting to pretend she didn't know me. Or was she afraid I would mock her? After all, seeing classmates while working a part-time job could easily trigger someone's insecurities.
Technically, I shouldn't have been here today, but this was an exercise of my own free will. So far, this level of alteration hadn't triggered any system warnings, probably because I hadn't changed anyone else's core attitude.
With that in mind, I maintained my usual attitude toward Liliana from school and placed a simple order for three.
“Three Miki Special milk coffees. Add an extra pump of syrup to one, and make another with no sugar and no milk—” I cleared my throat. “Why are you staring at me, waitress? Write it down.”
I tapped my finger on the table.
Liliana let out a sigh of relief, simultaneously glad that she had made the right choice. She felt she was beginning to understand this rumored villainess daughter a little better.
Liliana quickly scribbled the order down on her pad.
After taking the order, she bowed, quickly left Table Six, and handed the slip to the kitchen.
“Was that young lady just now your classmate?” the landlady asked curiously as she plated the freshly baked pancakes.
“...Yes,” Liliana replied in a low voice.
“Oh, that's wonderful. Coming to support your business even on a day off,” the landlady said with a smile.
Liliana didn't know whether to laugh. Supporting her business? Probably not. At most, it was just a coincidence.
Soon, after a brief wait,
“They're ready, Liliana. Take them to your classmates,” the landlady called out.
So, Liliana walked through the quiet cafe air, respectfully carrying the tray back to Table Six. She carefully placed the three cups of coffee in front of each person.
When placing Loris's cup, she took extra care not to let the tray touch the edge of the table, not to let the porcelain cup make a clinking sound, and not to spill even a single drop of coffee.
Then, she took half a step back and bowed slightly.
“Your coffee, please enjoy.”
To her surprise, Loris still found something to complain about.
...
“Add some sugar for me,” I said after a moment's thought.
Now that I was here anyway, how could I not do something? Perhaps because this part wasn't fleshed out in the original novel, I was still free to treat Liliana however I wanted.
That is to say, there were no pre-determined scripts waiting for me to speak, unlike during the entrance ceremony or the mana test.
So, I decided to help her.
I was already very familiar with how to play the villainess. At a time like this, I should at least nitpick a thing or two—like, “There's too much sugar in this cup” or “The color of this coffee isn't right.”
But those words would just be empty complaints.
She was working to ease her financial worries, and as a mere freshman, she couldn't get any other skilled part-time jobs... so giving her some money should solve it, right?
I hadn't forgotten the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head. Continuing down the original plot path was incredibly dangerous.
When I thought about the male protagonists who would eventually surround her—one, two, three of them—and how I, the villainess, would end up with a sword through my heart, not to mention the terrifying Crown Prince standing on the opposite side, I had to do everything I could to build up a good impression.
Although it was difficult... I had my own ways.
This was the trick I had discovered after all my hard work.
I wanted her to add sugar to my coffee so that I would have a perfectly good reason to tip her. I would use a haughty, condescending tone to give her a single gold coin.
“How much would you like?” Snapping out of her thoughts, Liliana asked a bit stiffly.
After all, she rarely had to add sugar for customers, much less Lady Loris. If her hand shook and she added too much, she would definitely be scolded.
“Just one spoonful,” I said.
Shirune glanced over, wanting to say that she could do this for her lady instead, but she kept her mouth shut.
Misha, on the other hand, felt a mix of worry and pleasant surprise. She was worried because Liliana was a commoner and, in a way, just as vulnerable as she was—perhaps even more humble—and she didn't want to see her get bullied.
The pleasant surprise came from how Lady Loris only treated her so specially... Hehehe.
“I understand...”
Liliana carefully picked up the sugar bowl on the table. It was a small silver container engraved with the cafe's oak leaf logo, with a slender silver spoon resting inside.
The silver spoon dipped into the snowy white sugar, scooping up a full spoonful.
Then, she leaned down slightly, hovering the silver spoon over the steaming cup of coffee in front of Loris.
She held her breath, tilting her wrist at an agonizingly slow pace. The white sugar slid off the tip of the spoon like a tiny waterfall, silently sinking into the dark-brown surface of the coffee.
Not a single grain was spilled on the table.
“There, Lady Loris,” Liliana exhaled the breath she had been holding. She had just been intensely focused.
Seeing this, I picked up the cup. In truth, no matter how much she added, my attitude wouldn't change. Next, I just had to mask my good intentions behind a haughty facade.
I slowly stirred the coffee twice with the teaspoon, then lifted the cup with practiced elegance and took a small sip.
A long three seconds passed.
“It's passable.”
I placed the cup back onto the saucer.
Actually, it's so sweet... I really don't like it this sweet.
But it didn't matter. I took out the gold coin I had prepared beforehand, pinching it between two slender fingers, and placed it next to the saucer in a provocative manner.
The gold coin landed on the wooden table with a dull, heavy clink.
My voice was flat. “As a rare honor student from the Grammar Academy, your attitude as a waitress isn't bad either.”
“Take it as a tip.”
I casually left it on the table, thinking to myself that it was a flawless performance with no system warnings.
But in Liliana's eyes, there was only shock.
Gold.
A large gold coin. It was equivalent to one hundred silver coins, almost matching three months of her wages.
This was a tip???
Liliana couldn't help but freeze.
She stared down at the gold coin, then looked up at Loris. She no longer knew whether this was meant as an insult or an act of kindness, but her simple nature made her quickly shake her head.
“Lady Loris... this amount is too much...”
“It's just a tip,” I interrupted her.
Liliana: “...”
“Or do you think it's too little?”
Liliana was temporarily speechless. She felt that if she kept talking, she might not even need to work anymore... her wallet would be stuffed full of unfamiliar gold coins.
She had no choice but to nod sincerely, take the coin, and thank her.
She walked away, feeling confused and conflicted. This time seemed no different from before—Loris had provoked her, yet had given her genuine, practical help.
Liliana suddenly remembered that when she had taken out her brooch to look at it in the dorm, she had heard Lady Loris's voice... At the time, she had assumed it was an auditory hallucination, thinking that Loris would never say such things.
But Lady Loris seemed to always say one thing and mean another?
Or was she really trying to humiliate her?
Yet, she had truly received real benefits... Perhaps Loris wasn't like the rumors said, or maybe her own personality was just too slow, making her think too well of others.
Now that she thought about it, she shouldn't be worrying about this. If only she had brought that brooch with her today. Unfortunately, Liliana was traveling light for work.
Otherwise, maybe she would have been able to hear her inner voice right now? In the end, the function of that brooch was still very vague. Perhaps she should find an opportunity to ask a teacher about it.
Rate on N.U.
