A Divorced Evil Lady Bakes Cakes

“We’ve brought you the items you ordered.”

The porter walked into the store carrying a large crate.
It was the crate full of coffee beans Erin had ordered.

The Arndt family crest was emblazoned in large letters on the top of the crater.

‘The Viscount Arndt family has exclusive rights to the sale of coffee beans which were currently imported from the Western Coast…’

Imports of Coffee beans have always been highly competitive, with so many places wanting them.

As a result, prices were very high.

‘This one crater alone costs three hundred gold…’

It was about twice the price of chocolates.

It’s Erin’s biggest expense besides this shop and the house.

But it was worth it because once she got it, she would be able to use it for a long time.

‘If I miss this opportunity, I might not be able to get it for a while.’

To order this many coffee beans at once, you need to apply to the Arndt Company in advance.

Even then, it still takes a while to order this much again.
After all, it was not shipped daily, but on a fixed schedule.

“I’m glad I got it safely this time, and with this amount, I don’t have to worry about coffee for a while.”

While Erin was so relieved, the porter who brought the crate set it down in the middle of the shop.

As the two looked on in anticipation, the crater was soon opened.

“No, this is…”

And their excitement turned to bitter disappointment.

The crater was full of dark brown beans.
The quantity was exactly what she had ordered.
But they were all in terrible shape.

The beans were very dark in color, which was a sign that they were already very old.

They were unevenly shaped and randomly dented.
Some even had grooves in them, as if they had been eaten by bugs.

They didn’t have the sweet coffee aroma of coffee beans.
There was only a strange sour smell, like a fermented fruit.

Old Coffee beans can be used as long as they’re not rotten, but some of them were already rotten.

And some of the beans in the corner were also moldy.

“Isn’t that… in a really bad shape? I mean, we definitely ordered the high quality stuff…”

As Melly stammered and tried to argue, the porter, who had brought the crater, cut in and said.

“I brought you exactly what you ordered.
If you don’t like it, just order it again.
The next one’s not coming in for two months.”

“What?”

Melly repeated, incredulously, but the servant answered bluntly.

“Anyway, we’re just bringing you what you ordered.”

Coffee beans are grown in far-flung exotic countries that can only be reached by crossing the sea at the southern end of the continent.

The Empire controls the central and western parts of the continent, and there is no territory in contact with the southern sea.

As a result, the people from the empire had to travel a long way south by ship from the western coast to reach the exotic lands.

The empire would bring in exotic imports from the south this way.
Coffee beans were also transported along that route to the continent’s western coast.

‘It’s a long way, even for the fastest sailing ships, so they can’t be brought in every day.’

There were a lot of people who wanted to import the coffee fruit and make beans to sell.

However, by order of the previous emperor, the Arndt family was able to monopolize the importation of coffee beans from the western coast.

The monopoly has a 50-year statute of limitations.
During those 50 years, no one but the Arndt family could import and sell coffee beans from the western coast.

So they ship the beans in bulk, build a factory to mass-produce them, and roast them into beans for sale.

This is a high-end commodity and will be handled with care, but there will still be spoilage and rotting during the manufacturing process.

Due to long transportation distances, some things will be damaged before they arrive.

Apparently, only the broken ones were collected and sent here.

Erin looked at the crater of beans and clicked her tongue.

‘They must have put in a lot of effort to pick out the ones they couldn’t use.
It must have been hard to pick and send these things like this.’

“Uh, Erin, what should I do with this, should we get a refund..?”

Melly asked Erin in a panic.
Before Erin could answer, the servant who brought the crater spoke up coldly.

“Our policy upstairs is that beans are non-refundable.”

“There’s no such thing!”

Melly demanded angrily, but the servant only repeated his answer bluntly.

“That’s our policy.”

We’re in this mess and they won’t even give us a refund.
It was such a ridiculous situation.

“Hey, Erin… what do we do?”

Melly asked, almost sobbing.

‘I don’t know what to do.’

Erin tilted her head to one side.
I don’t really have to do anything.

“Hey.
Where is Viscount Arndt right now?”

Erin asked, and the servant answered nonchalantly.

“He’ll be at the Grey manor in the city.”

The Grey manor was a gambling house for the nobility.

It was barely dusk and the viscount was already there.

But Viscount Arndt was always known to be a profligate spendthrift.
She wasn’t surprised when she heard that he’d been hitting the gambling tables all day.

Erin rallied the porters to leave the crate and head back.

“Gentlemen, I’ll pay you to move these craters somewhere else.”

Erin threw on a dark gray coat over her dress and walked toward her destination.

⚘

The setting sun bathed the Imperial capital in red and then disappeared.

Now it was pitch black.
Horsepowered streetlights blurred the roads.

After a long walk, she arrived at the Grey Manor on the western side of the capital.

The Grey Manor was a gambling house which was converted from a large mansion.

From the outside it looked like a social hall, but inside there were rooms for gambling.

In other words, it was an entertainment center for the nobility and the rich.

Even in the middle of the night, the manor’s dozens of windows were glowing with light.

Erin stepped through the gate in the wall and went inside.

The doorway was guarded by a young man.
The man in front of her looked her up and down.

‘I knew it, that’s why I changed my outfit.’

What Erin wore now was a dress of rich navy blue silk.
It was one of the nicest dresses she had brought back from the palace.

Even so, it was too modest compared to the dresses worn by other ladies, but the sleeve shape was still the latest fashion.

They fit snugly from the shoulder line to the elbow, and it was an elegant shape that fluttered gracefully from the elbow to the wrist with small ribbon decorations.

The soft, airy lace added a touch of elegance to the navy blue dress.
She looked like a rich lady who came to the gambling house to gamble.

The man who took one look at Erin’s attire gave her a pass.

“Excuse me, Madam.
Let me take you inside.”

Being so well dressed made it easier to get inside.
The Arndts were originally lower nobles who ran a small business.

In the past, coffee was not even known much.
Coffee plants were treated as unusual fruits from a foreign country in the south.

Sometimes a small amount was imported as a special product, but even then, they were primarily used for medicinal purposes.

That changed when it was discovered that the unusual fruit could be used to make a drink called coffee.
The resulting drink became wildly popular throughout the empire.

The Arndt family, who traded with the tropics, had been granted exclusive rights to a few tropical specialties, including coffee beans, without realizing it, and when coffee became a hit, they became overnight millionaires.

The current Viscount Arndt, who has inherited the monopoly, spent his days in gambling houses and brothels.

Erin walked down the hallway, taking in the ornate interior decorations.

The hallways were filled with luxurious decorations reminiscent of a noble family’s mansion.

She could tell that a lot of thought had been put into this entertainment facility for the nobility.

“It’s indeed a gambling den.”

There were so many people wandering around downstairs.
Erin grabbed one of the passersby and asked him where the viscount was, and he quickly answered.
Erin followed his direction upstairs.

Before she could open the door, bitter smoke wafted through the cracks and wasn’t cigarettes.

‘Is it some sort of drug? He’s seriously getting worse.’

Erin knocked briefly and opened the door.
The room was filled with bitter smoke that leaked through the cracks of the door.

A middle-aged man was lying in the smoky room.

“It’s been a long time, Viscount.”

After barging in, Erin grinned at Viscount Arndt who was sprawled out on the couch.

“I came to thank you for the goods you sent.”

“Who is it?”

The Viscount, who was sprawled out on the couch, staggered to his feet.

He was about to get even angrier when he saw Erin’s face and stopped.

“Who are you to enter another person’s room at will, Duche– L-Lady…?”