He’d come when he decided to. It didn’t matter how mentally prepared she was.

Then, he suddenly appeared at the bakery. It was similar to how they first met.

“Ha, Hadith!?”

“Yes, good morning, Ms. Yuna.”

Hadith, wearing a bandanna, mittens, and an apron, came out of the kitchen. The grandmother, who came out of the living room, laughed at Yuna’s surprised expression.

“This is so sudden, Hadith. Look at how shocked Yuna is.”

“T, that’s because… uh, is it alright for you to come here!?”

“Can’t I?”

The moment their eyes met, she froze even though she should’ve gotten used to him by then.

However, when she thought that the emperor of the empire was right in front of her, she tensed up and began overthinking the situation.

“My apologize. I contacted grandma—but only last night. No wonder everyone is surprised…”

“Well, that’s…”

It was because he was the emperor.

Everyone was wondering what to do in the future, and not what to do if he truly came.

“For the time being, I have time until noon tomorrow.”

“Until noon tomorrow…”

“Indeed. Tomorrow evening, I’m going to meet the grand duke. I have to leave. After all, if I don’t return, I’ll get yelled at.”

“…How troublesome.”

“Well, it’s alright. All I need to do is smile.”

Wait, wasn’t that a very important ceremony for that city? One of the cooks working behind Hadith quietly looked away. The other silently continued to work with enlightened eyes.

The old lady gently hit Yuna’s back.

“It’ll be fine, Yuna-chan, Hadith-chan.”

“…”

Hadith was included in her sentence.

Hadith’s appearance was no different than when he was still working with them a while back. He just smiled with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Am I being a hinderance?”

“No, it’s okay! I think everyone will be happy you came!”

“I’m glad! I mean, I already know that. Hence, I think older brother Vissel will forgive me for this!”

…Wasn’t his brother the crown prince of the empire?

However, she decided to just dismiss the question.

Rather than thinking about that, there was something more pressing.

I have to hurry up and prepare.

Although things had calmed down, there were many customers who came to buy the bread from the recipe Hadith left. It was also known as the ‘Dragon Emperor’s Bread.’

What would happen if it was revealed that the Dragon Emperor himself was there? Even children could understand. Considering Hadith’s circumstances, concealing his presence shouldn’t be necessary. It wasn’t like she could just tell him to leave, either.

“Grandma, can you help me a little? I’m sure things will be hectic today…!”

“That’s to be expected.”

The grandma laughed happily at the flustered Yuna.

Even if she didn’t understand how difficult that day would be, what the old lady had said was correct.

***

“This may be the last time I can come, so let’s make a lot and sell a lot!”

The emperor spoke as if it was an order. But the cooks laughed and nodded to his words. Despite the loneliness, Yuna did the same.

Before she could worry about the lack of ingredients, a lot of flour and butter were delivered to the back door. The people who came with the delivery were the soldiers who used to refer to Hadith as ‘Baker.’ Regardless of the fact that Hadith was the emperor, he was still a laidback person.

He could be heard muttering “My older brother is really smart.”

By the time the store had opened, Hadith had transformed into being a mere baker.

‘It seems that the Dragon Emperor himself is there.’

In the morning, that rumor quickly spread throughout the city.

The usual counter no longer sufficed, so she set down a long table outside and created a simple display. That was for the people in the neighborhood to make their purchases. The salary seemed to come from the money that Hadith made the other day.

As many people were coming, a soldier responsible for patrolling the city had the crowd make lines.

“Only up to 5 pieces of bread per person. Please make 4 rows. The end should be here.”

“This is freshly baked!”

Occasionally, when Hadith brought out bread from the store, swooning could be heard. Surprisingly, Hadith would look straight at everyone with a friendly smile on his face. Countless women were waving their hands towards him. Even old couples who only planned to admire the sight from afar approached the bakery.

Yuna tried to not mind the fact that Hadith was the emperor as much as possible. But she felt that she could somewhat understand why Hadith was allowed to come. She didn’t know what Hadith thought of himself—but it was clear that he was popular.

She didn’t think that the story had nothing to do with him. But previously, Hadith Theos Rave was famous as the Cursed Emperor. He had only been an emperor for a few years by then, but he wasn’t well received. From the rumors, Yuna had heard that many crown princes had died unnaturally.

In addition, recently, there were rumors that the emperor had penchant for little girls.

However, when she gazed upon Hadith’s smile, she didn’t think the rumors were true.

Being the emperor must be difficult for him…

At the same time, she thought that he was relatable as a person.

After all, seeing him prepare the bread ordered by the customers, and then seeing him put it in a bag to hand over, Yuna couldn’t help but think;

He’s a living being. He is a person who lives by doing the same thing as me.

“Thank you.”

He bowed and saw off the customer before roughly looking over what was still on the table. Then, he raised his voice.

“I’m sorry, but the strawberry jam bread is sold out for today!”

“Eh!?”

She faltered at to the voice she heard up close.

The owner of the voice was shorter than expected. Looking down, there stood a pretty girl with blonde hair and purple eyes. She seemed to be in shock.

---

***T/N: OoooOOOoo A lost kid?

Please also consider donating to my ko-fi! It’ll greatly support me in action, no matter the amount!
https://ko-fi.com/antoinettevanessa

<Previous chapter

Next chapter>