Chapter 182

And so Shannon’s second attempt at a part-time job began.

Working at the candy shop was far more difficult than the bakery had been.

Unlike flour dough used for bread and pastries, candy dough was hot, heavy, and constantly oozing, and the workshop was so muggy that sweat streamed down her face.

Shannon asked Jacqueline’s aunt,

“Could we open a window? It’s just too hot in here.”

“I wish we could, but if the temperature in the workshop drops, the candy dough will harden. Try to bear with it just a little longer. And we need to move a bit faster. We have to shape it before it cools.”

Jacqueline was working in a near trance, easily doing the work of one person on her own.

She stretched the hot dough into long strands, cut them into even pieces, and then rolled them over fine sugar powder to form neat round shapes.

Jacqueline had said she was slow compared to her aunt, but to Shannon, she looked incredible.

The workshop, turning out dozens of candies per minute, was so frantically busy it made Shannon’s head spin.

In the end, she made a mistake.

While carrying a heavy sack to refill the sugar powder, she lost her footing and fell.

Thud.

Fine white particles billowed up like a cloud, turning the entire workshop white.

“Jacqueline! Get some ventilation in here. I can’t see a thing. Cough, cough!”

“I’m opening the windows already!”

Soon, outside air rushed in, and the hazy sugar dust quickly dispersed.

But the candy dough began to harden just as quickly.

If hardened dough was melted again, it could cause problems.

Various additives were mixed in before final shaping, and reheating could change their properties as it boiled.

Frozen stiff, Shannon finally spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, it’s alright.”

“Are you going to fire me?”

Austin placed her hands on her hips and looked at Shannon before speaking in a calm voice.

“Why don’t you go out to the front and tidy up the display shelves for now? When you’re done with that, you can take a broom and sweep in front of the shop.”

“I will.”

With a dejected expression, Shannon left the workshop.

Watching her aunt carefully, Jacqueline spoke up cautiously.

“Auntie, it’s Shannon’s first day, so…”

“Who said anything?”

Austin replied with a faint smile.

“I was just staring because she looked so adorable covered in white powder. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell her to quit.”

“Really?”

“But you’ll have to work even harder to make up for your friend’s share, alright?”

“Don’t worry. I’m confident when it comes to physical work.”

“First, go to the storage room and bring me the mortar. We’ll grind up the dough that can’t be used and use it to decorate the cookies at least.”

Meanwhile, out in the shop, Shannon’s expression darkened even more.

The display shelves were already perfectly arranged. There was nothing left for her to fix.

Jacqueline’s aunt must have sent her out because she would only get in the way if she stayed in the workshop.

Since that was the only thing she could do, Shannon picked up the broom from the corner and stepped out in front of the store.

And then, something unexpected began.

***

Around the time Shannon was sweeping with the broom,

Walter, the owner of the bakery across the street, the one who had fired her the day before, was filling out his ledger with a satisfied expression.

“Very good. We’re already in the black this month. Business is easy, so easy. It’s all thanks to cutting costs and minimizing unnecessary labor expenses.”

Among those decisions, the best one he’d made was firing that academy student yesterday.

She looked like she was desperately searching for a job, so he thought he’d lowball her weekly pay and get cheap labor out of it…

But the girl had been hopelessly incompetent.

Even thinking about it now, he was glad he’d kicked her out.

It’s not like I’m running a charity by selling pastries.

Jingle, jingle.

The chime rang as a customer walked in.

Walter quickly closed the ledger and adjusted his expression.

“Welcome. Ah, you’re here again today.”

The person who entered was a regular customer who always bought his expensive gift sets.

“Shall I prepare the usual for you?”

“No.”

The curt reply came as the customer turned his head back and forth, searching for something.

Looks like he’s looking for something different today.

Just then, the customer abruptly asked,

“By the way, where’s the girl who was working here?”

“Huh? We don’t have any employees at this shop.”

“You did yesterday. The pretty blonde one.”

“Ah…”

Walter was about to tell the truth. That the girl had been incompetent and he’d fired her, but he quickly swallowed his words.

He was worried that in front of a regular customer, he might come across as cold-hearted.

So he chose to lie.

“She quit. Said there was another place offering better hourly pay and just left without even discussing it.”

“Where?”

Since he had made it up on the spot, Walter obviously couldn’t answer.

A lie only leads to another lie.

He was about to brush it off by saying he didn’t know when a clever idea crossed his mind.

Why not throw the candy shop across the street under the bus?

He and Austin, the owner of the candy shop, had been competing for customers on this street for over ten years.

Spreading a rumor that she poached someone else’s employee wouldn’t hurt her reputation at all.

Lowering his voice as if sharing confidential information, Walter said,

“I’m not completely sure, but maybe the candy shop right in front of us…”

“Oh, that one?”

“That one?”

The customer’s gaze had shifted outside the door.

Following his line of sight, Walter’s eyes widened.

The blonde girl he had fired yesterday was standing in front of the candy shop, sweeping with a broom.

The regular customer immediately turned around.

“Wait…sir! Where are you going?”

“I guess they were getting tired of me buying the same thing every time. So today, I think I’ll go with candy.”

“You’re not buying anything here?”

“I’ll come back next time.”

Jingle, jingle.

The customer left the bakery and walked straight into the candy shop.

After asking the blonde employee a few questions, he came out carrying an armful of candy.

“Well, I’ll be damned. That’s unexpected.”

Walter felt an uneasy twinge, but decided not to dwell on it.

Things like that could happen in business.

But starting that afternoon, customers began flocking to the candy shop. By the next day, there was even a line forming outside.

“No way… Come on, that can’t be. There’s no way a single employee could make a shop that successful…”

There was.

Even after that, for an entire week, Austin’s candy shop which Walter had considered his lifelong rival was packed with customers.

By the time the weekend arrived, a notice had been posted on the door of Walter’s bakery.

It stated that due to the owner’s health issues, particularly an abdominal condition, the bakery would be closed for the time being.

Since there was no one else working at the bakery besides Walter, it had no choice but to shut down.

Austin expressed her surprise at the news.

“Oh my, what’s this? What’s gotten into that diligent man, closing his shop to rest? He’s the type who’d say he still has to make money even if he caught a cold.”

“Is something wrong, Aunt?”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, you two, come here.”

Austin called Jacqueline and Shannon over and held out a small leather pouch.

It was their reward for working hard all week.

“This is the weekly pay I promised. You both did very well. Shannon, you’ve gotten used to making candy now, too. I was pleased to see you trying to learn without giving up.”

“Thank you.”

“But Aunt, it feels like there’s more money in here than there should be.”

“My sweet niece brought a friend, and I couldn’t even treat her properly. I just put her to work. So I added a little spending money.”

“I’m grateful, but… is it really okay for us to take it?”

“Of course. We had especially many customers this week and were quite busy. After Shannon started working here, the shop’s sales doubled.”

“They did?”

“It’s thanks to how well Shannon did.”

At Austin’s praise, Shannon tilted her head.

“Me? I hardly did anything. I just stood around in the shop most of the time…”

“And that’s exactly what you did well.”

“……?”

Seeing their confusion, Austin gave them a gentle push on the back.

“Now then, you’ve worked hard all week, so go out and have some fun this weekend. I hear there’s a parade this afternoon….why don’t you go check it out?”

“A parade?”

“Yes. I hear it’s a procession celebrating Prince Henry’s formal appointment as heir to the throne today. They say King Richard and Prince Henry will both take part, so it’s bound to be quite a spectacle.”

At those words, Jacqueline’s eyes began to sparkle.

“Shall we go see it?”

“Sure.”

***

The streets of Lambart were bustling with preparations for the royal parade.

Flags bearing the royal emblem hung everywhere, and atop the taller buildings, people stood ready with baskets of flower petals to scatter and adorn the king’s path.

When the parade began with the sound of trumpets, the king and the prince, having completed the investiture ceremony at the palace, would ride together in a carriage and make their way through the city.

The highlight of the parade, above all else, was the gifts tossed out by the king’s riders.

Referred to as the king’s grace, they were usually sweet treats, delicate trinkets, or silver coins.

Under the pretext of displaying their wealth and generosity to the citizens and more directly, to draw a large crowd and boost the popularity of the procession’s central figures….the royal family scattered these gifts.

But today, that gesture would prove to be a misstep.

The throngs of people surging forward to snatch up silver coins made the perfect cover for anyone harboring ill intent.

Sakis Lubas and his subordinates blended into the crowd, reviewing their plan one last time.

“Jamie, have all the men been positioned?”

“Yes. But a sniper attack seems unlikely. The royal soldiers have been combing through the second floors and rooftops of buildings like hawks.”

“It doesn’t matter. The most important item has already been buried underground. As long as we can stir up a brief disturbance and delay the procession, that will be enough. So that when the king and prince reach the designated spot, we can set it off.”

“And that item… where exactly is the caraphine buried?”

“Do you see the end of the street over there? That’s where it’s planted. The procession will have no choice but to slow down when it rounds that corner.”

“Excellent.”

“It’s thanks to the informant we planted in the royal household. He gave us the route of the procession in advance.”

“I can’t even imagine how long you must have prepared for this single day.”

“Since before you and your brother were even born.”

“…….”

At the mention of his brother, Jamie fell silent.

His brother was dead.

Killed in action.

Three months ago, while fleeing from a mysterious mage named Nice Goodman with a bag containing caraphine, he had taken his own life to avoid leaving behind any evidence.

And now Jamie was hunting Nice Goodman.

He had yet to make any progress, but one day, he would make that man pay with his blood for the life of his kin.

Steeling his briefly wavering resolve, Jamie looked at Sakis Lubas.

He too seemed momentarily distracted, his gaze drifting elsewhere.

Jamie asked,

“What are you looking at so intently?”

“I was taking in the scenery one last time with these two eyes of mine. It’s a beautiful street. Almost a shame to ruin it.”

“……”

“All the more reason it will be meaningful. Let us send your brother in the heavens a gift. The sight of this street awash in death and screams.”

“Yes.”