Volume 2 - CH 85

The next day after completing the enemy inspection.

Alme was walking down the street with a large can of milk in each hand. This is the milk used for milk ice cream.

While receiving it from the contracted milkman in the town, she also consulted on the purchase of fresh cream.

The owner of the milk shop was happy to oblige. He said he had a machine at his dairy ranch to separate the cream. It was a bit pricey, but she was grateful to order it.

This will make for a tastier parfait.

And while ordering, she also asked for opinions on the difference in taste between the milk ice cream at the Campbellina’s shop and the milk ice cream at her own shop.

According to the owner, it is probably the difference in the composition of the milk.

Alme doesn’t know how Campbellina shop works, but this one makes ice cream from raw milk straight from the ranch. She received an opinion that there might be some difference there.

When she told him that the milk here was richer and tastier, the owner of the milk shop puffed out his chest proudly and smiled broadly.

The ranch is apparently run by the family. ‘I’ll tell my family about this,’ he said with a sparkling face.

She stocked up on ingredients in the morning and spent the afternoon in the shop preparing ice cream. Unlike yesterday, today is just her usual routine.

Last night, for the first time in her life, she dressed up as an aristocratic daughter, went undercover in enemy territory while being on edge, went through a bit of a rough patch…and even became a “princess” for a while at the end.

In no time at all, the spell was broken and the usual day began.

Alme had some thoughts about her competitor and at the same time she had some big goals. But these are not problems that can be solved in a matter of days, so she’s putting them on hold while she thinks it over.

However, she was also worried about losing to the shop over there while she is on hold. She thought she should always keep an eye on trends.

That’s why, before returning home, Alme decided to take a short detour.

The place to stop by is Campbellina’s shop. It’s a quick stop to see how things are going…

(I managed to get away with it yesterday, but I wonder what happened after that. I wonder if I was able to dispel the suspicions about Mr. Shirotaka…)

She won’t be able to enter the shop, but she will take a quick peek from the outside. This is to confirm whether the fire set by Campbellina last night had been safely extinguished.

What is the shop like now? It would be nice if it could return to its normal state of operations without causing any strange uproar.

She walked down the main street while feeling a bit apprehensive.

When the exterior of the shop came into view, Alme blinked.

“Oh? There isn’t even a single carriage stopped today. Are they closed?”

Her shop, which has had a good customer base since the first day it opened, always had carriages parked along the street. But today, there were none.

Thinking it might be a holiday, she approached the shop and found a sign on the front door. It was a small notice.

A sentence that starts with “Notice of Temporary Closure”.

After a quick look, Alme’s eyes widened.

“Closed…? It hasn’t been long since it opened… Is it because of yesterday’s dispute…?”

Alme stood in front of the shop with a dumbfounded look on her face. She had no idea that the shop had closed.

The sudden absence can only be attributed to last night’s commotion, after all. What in the world happened…

And while she was panicking inside, she heard a voice from nearby.

When she turned around, a woman was standing by her side.

She is a beautiful, slender figure with bright red lipstick. She is dressed a little masculine in pants.

This is the woman who frequents Alme’s shop and also Café Heston.

The woman spoke to Alme casually, in a tone of exasperation.

“Hello. Did you see the notice? They are temporarily closed. Titty’s Shop on the main street had a good start, but it looks like it’s going to fall behind. Well, it looks like they are spending some money on it, so it will reopen soon.”

“Eh, um, you were at our ice cream shop the other day—”

“Oh, I’m happy that you remember me. I’m a gourmet writer. I’m a fan of your ice cream. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The woman smiled beautifully with bright red lips.

That smile made Alme feel a little bit suspicious, but…it was too rude, so she decided to forget about it.

Despite Alme’s confusion, the self-proclaimed gourmet writer woman started talking fluently.

“I was curious, but this shop has nothing to do with you, right? Even though the name and sign are the same.”

“Well, yes.”

“I wonder why they recreated a commoner’s shop from the back alley. There must be some reason.”

“It’s……”

Alme broke into a cold sweat as she felt that she was being led to talk. The writer has a quizzical smile.

She hesitated and stuttered, and the writer suddenly changed the subject.

“I’ve been to this shop twice, but the milk ice cream at your shop is better. It’s soft and easy to eat, and has a wonderful rich flavor.”

“Um, thank you.”

“I was thinking of trying all the other ice cream flavors to compare, but it can’t be helped since the shop is closed.”

“Yes, well… Um, what is the reason for the shop’s closure…?”

Alme glanced at the writer. Something about this woman gave the impression of being well-informed.

Something might have caught the public’s attention regarding last night’s incident. Fearfully, she decided to probe.

The writer lowered her voice with a beautiful smile.

“Rumor has it, the owner had a dispute with a customer and an outrageous public disgrace.”

“Disgrace…”

‘The shop’s owner, Miss Campbellina Desmond, is the daughter of a lower class nobleman. She had gone mad by making a fuss about a male customer who has a partner and calling him Mr. Shirotaka. She is the subject of today’s gossip article.”

“What!?…gossip news!”

With such a scandal, it was no wonder the shop was temporarily closed.

When Alme nodded with a solemn face, the writer added.

“Miss Desmond seemed to have left in a state of despondency. For some reason, it seems that a male customer whom she mistook for Mr. Shirotaka, led a life that was completely unbefitting of a prince.”

“Haa, that’s… well, it might be a shock.”

Alme revealed some of Falk’s off-the-record activities in order to get through the scene, but it seems that it led to some emotional damage for Campbellina.

Sure, she may have said some things that had destroyed the ideal, but it worked out well for the success of the undercover operation. She’ll call it even for the time being.

The writer glanced at Alme and smiled as if testing something.

“But no one knows about Mr. Shirotaka’s private life, and perhaps he really doesn’t live a life befitting a prince. Hey, which side are you?”

“Um… which side?”

“Do you think Mr. Shirotaka is a prince, after all? Or do you think he’s just an ordinary man?”

“…I…Mr. Shirotaka…”

As asked, Alme answered. The flowing chatter carried her along, and she didn’t have time to think clearly, so her candid feelings spilled out of her mouth.

“I don’t think Mr. Shirotaka is actually a prince, but… but I don’t think he’s just a normal man either. I think he’s the coolest and nicest person ever…”

After a moment’s pause, she felt embarrassed at her overzealous response.

“…um, well, I should probably get going.”

“Yes, I’m sorry I’ve been chatting with you for so long. I’ll enjoy your delicious ice cream again.”

“Thank you very much. I look forward to seeing you again at the shop.”

Alme walked away at a brisk pace as if fleeing.

“Coolest and nicest person ever…”

The words that came tumbling out of her mouth made her heart pound, even though she said it herself.

For some reason, since yesterday, her heart has been behaving strangely…No, it’s not something that just started, if she thought about it, it feels like it’s been happening from time to time.

Somehow she felt like she shouldn’t worry about it, so she’s trying to forget about it.

Ice magic comes in handy at times like this. Alme used magic to quickly cool the heat from her pounding heart.

After walking quickly for a while, she slowed her steps and relaxed her shoulders.

Letting her body relax, her facial expression also loosened.

It appears that the battle with Campbellina’s shop will be a temporary truce. It was an unexpected reprieve.

Exhaling with relief, Alme walked away with lighter steps.

In this way, she was given a grace period to fight against the competitor.

But soon, another, heart-wrenching battle would begin.

Alme was oblivious to this, and was really taking it easy.

She never thought for even a second, that the moment the White Falcon awoke, he would start hunting his prey.