A divorced evil lady bakes cakes

‘I guess it’s a good thing that not a lot of people know what I look like.’

Raymond, the future emperor, often showed himself in front of the public.

Some commoners might even recognized him.

However, Erin had only stayed inside the palace and never appeared in front of ordinary citizens.

There’s only one occasion where Erin had appeared in public in front of a large number of people.

That was during her grand wedding in the infamous Great Hall.

That was the first and last time.

Even then, she was wearing a white veil to cover her face.

So onlookers couldn’t even see what she actually looked like because of it.

Thanks to this, no one recognized Erin, even when she went out.

Although the Duke’s divorce had become known to the commoners, and they can’t help but be curious.

But no one really cares about the duchess who had been kicked out from the palace.

For ordinary people, the affairs of the Imperial Palace are nothing more than gossip.

Erin eventually changed the subject, and asked.

“Is there anything interesting in the papers lately?

“Yes. It says that a night market will be opened by the river next week.”

‘Oh, so that’s next week…’

The capital city has a summer festival every year.

The night market along the river is especially famous.

‘Should I go too?’

For the past nine years, Erin has not been to a festival outside the palace.

Of course no one stopped her from going, but she was afraid that she’d be criticized as the duchess who went to the commoners’ festival with no qualms.

Now that Erin was out of the public eye, she realized that she wanted to go.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to one. I guess I should go to reminisce about the old times.’

Fiona saw the curious look in Erin’s eyes and asked,

“Are you going to the festival?”

“Well, if I have time, I’ll go and see it.”

The summer festival was a long-running festival from the beginning of summer until the rainy season.

‘Why don’t I call Einz and ask him to come with me? I used to go with him all the time when I was younger, but he’s so busy, I wonder if he’ll be free this time?’

Einz was so busy that she hadn’t even seen him visit the shop since the last time he came.

Erin hasn’t even tried to reach out to him for fear of interrupting his work.

‘Is he doing well? I wish I could go, and see him at least once.’

From what she heard before, it seems that Einz currently resides in the Knights headquarters.

Although he had his own mansion in the capital, it seems that he never visited it either.

Erin went back to the counter with that thought.

All of a sudden, she heard the bell dangling.

“Welcome.”

She turned around and saw a man walking into the cafe.

He was a small, middle-aged man in a plaid ash-colored overcoat.

He had a chubby face, small sunken eyes, and a deeply furrowed brow that gave him a stern look.

He approached Erin, who was standing at the counter with a grim expression, and asked in a high-pressure tone,

“Are you the shop owner?”

“Yes. How may I help you?”

The man opened his coat slightly to reveal a plaque pinned to his upper coat.

The silver plaque was clearly visible, it was pinned to his clothing like a brooch.

A delicately crafted shield was engraved on the plaque, and inside the shield was a tower pattern surrounded by a laurel wreath.

That plaque was a form of identification.

The tower design symbolizes a government official.

The wreath and the shield showed that he might be an inspector.

In other words, this man was a low-ranking official employed by the government.

The man responded in a condescending tone,

“I am an official of the government, In charge of this area. I’m here to check the sanitary conditions of this shop.”

“Oh, you must be the inspector.”

Erin checked the plaque and nodded.

It didn’t surprise her much.

The man looked like a government official at first glance.

In the countryside, regulations were a little lax, so anyone could run a business, but in large cities especially the capital, they had to get a permit from the government and pass the inspection from a sanitary officer to be able to continue doing business.

But why is the sanitary officer here again?

“We already passed the inspection right before we opened the shop.”

“I know that. This is a surprise inspection.”

Erin raised an eyebrow.

That makes sense, if they come unannounced, they would be able to check a building, or a shop’s actual condition properly.

If the inspector informs them beforehand, everyone would be alarmed and start cleaning their shop or store immediately.

“I see. Feel free to look around. I just opened.”

The officer then asked curiously, while looking around the cafe.

“Where is the kitchen?”

“There is no kitchen inside the shop. I make food from the kitchen at home and bring the dessert over.”

“You actually make it at home?”

The officer looked at Erin with an incredible look.

There were doubts and displeasure in his small round eyes.

“Yes. My house is right behind the back door.”

She explained quickly, but the man’s suspicious gaze did not soften at all.

‘Does it seem a little weird to make food at home?’

But she couldn’t help it.

The restaurant didn’t have a kitchen to properly prepare food.

The shop itself was small, so there was little space left after placing a table and a counter.

Although the small warehouse at the back was turned into a little kitchen, the best she could do there was to make some small desserts.

If she wants to make something more, she has to add a second floor or build an extension.

Erin didn’t have the money for a major renovation right now.

Maybe later, when she has more money, she can add a second floor and better kitchen facilities.

‘It would probably be a good idea to start renovating before winter.’

After all, she might have to walk through the garden in freezing weather with warm bread, and it would definitely be cold on the way back.

So Erin suggested to the official in a friendly manner,

“If you don’t mind, why don’t you follow me back home and check the kitchen?”

“I’d better do that.”

“Yes. Then come this way.”

“Melly, Please watch over the shop.”

“Okay, Erin.”

Erin led the officer into the kitchen.

She explained the shop’s menu while opening the back door of the shop and passing through the garden to the house.

“We serve beverages like coffee and tea, milk tea and iced tea, and sometimes fruit juices and shakes.”

“I see.”

“For dessert, we have two types of muffins, pies, macarons, and three types of slice cakes. They change a little bit depending on the season, and we have one or two new desserts every day, we also make specialty cakes for orders.”

Erin explained eagerly, but the man seemed to be uninterested, he didn’t even look around the garden.

“It’s an unusual structure.”

It’s definitely unusual indeed.

Most of the shops with connected houses were divided by the first and second floors, or they stood side by side with each other.

It is rare to see such a structure with a garden in the middle.

‘I liked this garden, so I chose to open a shop here.’

The house at the back is also cute.

The price was just right, and the garden was small, but there was a flower bed and a lot of vegetables.

If you look down from your room window, you will be able to see a peaceful garden during the night and the day.

‘It’s a little hard to manage, but it’s definitely worth it…’

Both Erin and Melly were busy with shop work, so they could only roughly water them.

Erin glanced at the tomatoes, which ran in droves as she passed through the garden.

‘They grew up so well considering that we barely water it and left them unattended.’

‘Maybe it’s the soil? I don’t know because I’ve never grown vegetables myself.’

Erin walked back into the house, thinking that she’d look at some gardening books later if she had time, and opened the door to the two-story home.

“This is the kitchen where we make food.”

The kitchen was bathed in warm morning light.

There was an oven and countertops, with a small table near the window.

There are Cupboards for flour, chocolate and other things.

Colorful jars of fruit jams and flavorings were stored on small shelves.

The plates and pans used to make crepes were neatly arranged, on the countertop.

‘Hmm. Is he going to check all the cooking tools that we don’t use often?’

Erin wondered if she had to take out all the cooking tools that were left inside the storage box.

The former inspector was diligent and meticulous that he even went under the counters to check every utensil, and tools in detail.

Erin opened the cupboard for the inspector to see, But he was not interested in the cupboard.

He just sat on the table by the window without saying a word.

“Would you like some tea or coffee?”

“Black Tea, please.”

Erin boiled water in a pot and filled it with twa leaves.

Once the fragrant tea was brewed, the scent started permeating the kitchen.

She then brought the pot to the table, with the leftover crepe from this morning’s breakfast.

Erin thought it would be nice to serve it to the Inspector, he will be able to check the food quality this way.

“I made a crepe earlier, so if you don’t mind, would you like to try it?”

“Sure.”

The man answered curtly and only looked around.

“Would you like some caramel syrup on it? Or strawberry syrup.”

“Cough. Cough.”

The man only coughed roughly without responding.

“Don’t you like the black tea?”

“No, it’s not that.”

The man gave her a meaningful glance.

“Well, is there anything else?”