DTRAF 08

Chapter 8

I Won’t Give the Male Lead Love Advice!

“That’s the last one.”

After wrapping the final madeleine, I counted the cookies neatly arranged inside the box.

Thunk.

Just then, I heard something fall behind me.

“C-Customer…”

“Omok?”

When I turned around, Omok was sprawled face-down across the table.

It had been a while since I’d seen him, and his once-plump body had shrunk to half its size. There wasn’t even enough room under his tiny eyes for dark circles, yet somehow the skin beneath them was dark and sunken.

“Were you sick or something?”

“My body and my heart were hurting. I cried while writing incident reports, and I had to work overtime cleaning up the mess.”

“So that’s why you’ve lost so much weight…”

“But I didn’t get fired!”

When I asked out of concern, Omok immediately sprang to his feet, his eyes sparkling.

Even after going through all that hardship, just talking about work made him excited. His devotion to the company bordered on insanity.

“I’ve been busy all this time, but I noticed you still haven’t unlocked a single hidden achievement.”

“You think making couples is easy? Besides, that male lead keeps getting in my way.”

“Sounds like you picked targets that were too difficult for your first attempt.”

“It wasn’t easy. But now the odds have improved, so I think it’s worth trying again. Sir Claire has a heart emoji over her head too.”

The very first thing I did after learning the truth from Lord Harbor was check Sir Claire’s worries.

Honestly, I’d been concerned because she always followed Lysa around like a shadow.

But the moment I activated my worry-emoji ability, a huge heart appeared above her head.

“Just because there’s a heart emoji doesn’t mean they like each other.”

“That’s not all. I also told their fortune.”

“Their fortune?”

“Yeah. Using latte art.”

I grinned at Omok.

Before I was transported into this novel, I had one rather unusual talent.

I could read people’s love fortunes through latte art.

Once, while listening to a female customer’s relationship troubles, I made her a latte.

The design came out absolutely perfect, and for some reason I felt certain things would work out between her and the person she liked, so I told her.

And not long afterward, I heard they’d started dating.

After that, the pattern repeated itself.

Whenever the latte art turned out beautifully, the couple got together.

If it came out poorly, something always happened that drove them apart.

Word gradually spread, and more and more customers started visiting my café specifically for my “latte fortune-telling.”

In other words, it had a pretty good track record.

“Anyway, I read their latte fortune several times, and every single result said those two would end up together.”

“…Isn’t that incredibly unscientific and illogical?”

“Oh? And me waking up inside a novel is scientific and logical?”

The being responsible for the most absurd thing that had ever happened in my life was lecturing me about science and logic.

Ridiculous.

Of course, I wasn’t planning to blindly trust the latte fortune.

“I’m just curious whether it works here the same way it did in my previous world. If it does, it’ll be incredibly useful—not just this time, but in the future too.”

“When you put it that way… I guess that makes sense.”

“Right? I wasn’t just sitting around while you were gone.”

Feeling rather proud, I handed Omok one of the madeleines.

“So these are part of your plan too?”

Omok asked while nibbling on the madeleine.

“These are part of a long-term strategy. There’s nothing to lose by maintaining good relationships with the people around me.”

“You’re really making good use of the skills you had in your previous life.”

“It’s my only real talent. I might as well squeeze every last bit of use out of it.”

If nothing else, I was confident in surviving with whatever I had.

I’d grown up in an orphanage and eventually become the owner of my own café.

There wasn’t much I couldn’t manage.

“All right. Time for one last check.”

I closed the box of madeleines and inspected both the supplies and the purchase list.

Apple mint.

Limes.

Sparkling water.

Everything had arrived in the correct quantities.

Getting sparkling water had been especially difficult, but thankfully I’d managed to find it.

It was an essential ingredient for the drink I planned to introduce tomorrow.

“I hope my plans keep going smoothly without any frustrating setbacks.”

* * *

“Amelie, you don’t have to come tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

I looked up at Lysa while squeezing fresh lime juice.

Seriously? You’re dropping that bomb while I’m making mojitos?

I was in the middle of preparing the lime for her third mojito when the unexpected announcement made my hands go limp.

“Why? Am I getting in the way of your training?”

That wouldn’t do.

I’d already checked the latte fortune.

Now all that remained was finding out who Sir Claire had feelings for.

I intended to get closer to her by chatting with her whenever I could.

But now Lysa was telling me not to come!

I knew training was important, but to me this was like being struck by lightning out of a clear blue sky.

“No, Amelie! Ever since you started coming to cheer us on, our entire order has been training better than ever!”

“Then… why can’t I come?”

Thankfully, Lysa hurriedly denied it.

Sensing an opportunity, I forced myself to look as pitiful as possible.

No tears actually came out, but my eyes at least became slightly moist.

“It’s because tomorrow is the Night of Sparring! We don’t have daytime training.”

“Night of Sparring?”

“Yep! It’s an annual event for the Knights Order. During the day, the different knight orders hold sparring matches, and at night we have a small festival and celebration.”

“A festival…”

Instantly, all the romance stories I’d heard from customers back at my café flashed through my mind.

Festival?

That meant alcohol.

And alcohol meant…

Romantic developments between men and women!

This was a gift from heaven.

“Could I come watch tomorrow? It sounds like it’d be fun.”

I let the corners of my mouth droop as much as possible, wearing the most pitiful, pleading expression I could manage.

This was one of those moments that required true method acting.

“Normally outsiders aren’t allowed… but you’re an important person to our order now, Amelie. I’ll ask the commander for permission!”

“Thank you! I knew I could count on you, Lysa.”

“Really? You’re the best to me too, Amelie.”

Lysa smiled brighter than ever.

When you smile like that, how can I not shower you with gifts?

If Lysa had existed in my previous world, she would’ve become a hugely successful idol—one of the industry’s biggest stars.

I could say that with confidence, considering how thoroughly she awakened my inner fangirl.

That settled it.

I was going to crush every last lime I’d brought if that’s what it took to make her the best mojito ever.

I resumed working.

“Vice Commander. The First Knight Order’s commander has proposed a friendly sparring match with our order. What should we do?”

Just as another mojito was finished, Sir Claire approached.

Normally we would’ve at least exchanged greetings, but everyone was so busy that all we managed was a brief nod.

To me, even that was enough.

After all, Sir Claire looked like the key to unlocking my achievement.

“Accept it. But no deciding a winner. We can’t risk anyone getting injured before tomorrow’s event.”

“Understood.”

I was still happy just to have seen Sir Claire when the mention of the First Knight Order made me wonder if Rihardt had arrived.

Sure enough, when Sir Claire saluted and hurried off, Rihardt was standing exactly where she’d gone.

Whoever had written this novel certainly knew how to make a handsome male lead.

That said, I couldn’t believe how coldly he treated the knight who’d just come to deliver him a message.

Come to think of it… wasn’t he always like that toward women other than Lysa?

Whether they were noble ladies visiting the training grounds or female knights, Rihardt never smiled at them.

He didn’t even initiate conversation.

Most male leads were programmed to treat every woman except the heroine like background characters.

But after observing him for several days, it felt less like indifference and more like he actively avoided women.

“Lysa… did something bad happen to Rihardt involving women?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“I mean… he seems perfectly comfortable around male knights, but with female knights he always seems… awkward.”

“Oh.”

Lysa looked troubled.

Her reaction made my stomach sink.

Something had definitely happened.

For a terrifying moment, I wondered if it had something to do with the original Amelie.

As I stood there frozen by that perfectly reasonable suspicion, Lysa moved closer.

“Amelie… let’s talk somewhere private.”

“H-Huh? If it’s difficult to talk about, you really don’t have to tell me. Now that I think about it, I’m actually not that curious—”

“No. I think it’s better if you know.”

No, really—I was perfectly fine not knowing!

No matter how much I struggled, there was no way I could overpower someone who had spent years wielding a sword.

In the end, Lysa dragged me all the way to a secluded corner where no one else was around.