Despite her internal complaints, on the surface, Aphrodite still worked hard to maintain a natural demeanor, and took the initiative to walk toward Alice.
“What a coincidence, Alice. Are you here to buy desserts too?”
However, the only response she got was silence, along with a scorching gaze that seemed about to burn two holes right through her.
…What’s with this atmosphere?
Why is she looking at me like that the moment we meet? Did I unknowingly offend this young lady again?
But since we parted ways in the forest last time, I haven’t even seen her.
That being said…
Aphrodite couldn’t help but look Alice over again.
Last time in the forest, things were complicated, and her eyesight wasn’t good at the time, so Aphrodite hadn’t really seen what Alice looked like.
She only remembered the girl’s fiery temper and that head of red hair, but now, with a calm look, she realized Alice was actually a young girl who didn’t appear to be more than eighteen.
With today’s outfit, and her cheeks puffed up in anger, she looked rather cute.
Mm, if only her personality could be a little nicer, she’d be perfect.
A brief silence fermented in the air filled with sweet fragrance.
Just as Aphrodite was considering whether to say something to break the awkwardness, Alice acted first.
She didn’t walk over, but took a small step forward.
“You! Why haven’t you replied to my Letter!”
Aphrodite was stunned for a moment when she heard that.
Letter? What Letter? When did I ever receive a Letter from her?
Just as Aphrodite was wondering what Letter Alice was talking about, a blurry fragment of memory suddenly flashed in her mind.
Wait a minute… Could it be…
Aphrodite suddenly remembered: these past days, several Letters bearing the von Klein family crest had been delivered to the mansion.
But she always assumed they were just follow-up notices or schedules for that annoying celebration banquet.
Aphrodite was never good at handling such things, so she simply planned to wait until Bella came back to deal with them all at once.
Though she did idly try to guess what was in one of the Letters out of boredom. But, well…
The handwriting inside was such a mess—she’d stared at it for a long time and couldn’t recognize more than a couple words, so she figured it had been delivered to the wrong address.
Her temporary curiosity was interrupted, and Aphrodite naturally didn’t bother to check any more of the Letters.
Since then, she had classified all subsequent Letters from the von Klein family as “to be handled later,” tossing them into the study’s corner to gather dust.
So… all those Letters were from Alice!
A cold wave of panic instantly gripped Aphrodite.
It’s over! If I honestly admit now that I just classified those Letters as “pending trash,” with this young lady’s temper, she might just tear this dessert shop apart right here!
Survival instinct instantly crushed her panic.
Aphrodite all but instantly called upon her expert acting and quick-wittedness.
A look of confusion gradually appeared on her face, and she even furrowed her brows, as if she had just heard something unbelievable.
“I did reply.” Aphrodite slightly raised her voice. “Did you not receive it?”
This “answer a question with a question” move worked wonders!
Confronted with Aphrodite’s confident response, the anger on Alice’s face was instantly replaced by confusion and uncertainty.
Her aura visibly diminished, a hint of self-doubt flickering in her eyes.
She even turned her head slightly in embarrassment, softly asking the maid behind her, who was carrying several shopping bags.
After receiving a confirmation of “no reply received,” she still looked unsure as she muttered, “But… I really didn’t get anything here.”
Success!
Aphrodite was overjoyed inwardly, but on her face she frowned in frustration, looking like she was genuinely upset. She went along with it and said, “Ah… Maybe I wrote down the wrong address? Ugh, look at my memory!”
For extra effect, Aphrodite even made a show of patting her own forehead.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she naturally lifted the dessert bag she was carrying and handed it to Alice.
“Look! I even mentioned in the Letter that I found a great dessert shop recently and wanted to bring you something new to try! But since I wrote the wrong address, I almost couldn’t get the dessert to you!”
Aphrodite widened her eyes, doing her best to convey just how sincere she was, while inwardly praying desperately.
Please, for the sake of the dessert, just believe me!
Though this Cake was actually meant for Lia, and she’d planned to steal a bite herself…
This string of moves—especially the persuasive evidence of the delicious-looking desserts—worked spectacularly!
Hearing that Aphrodite not only “replied to the Letter,” but even mentioned in those “nonexistent Letters” about bringing her desserts, and now was standing there with desserts in hand… all of Alice’s doubts were blown away!
Alice’s face brightened almost instantly, her once-pouting lips curving upward into a smile she could barely suppress.
She quickly gave a light cough, trying her best to hide the overly radiant smile and put on her young lady’s composure, but her shining eyes betrayed her true feelings.
“Hmph! You really are impossible!” Alice said this, but her hand wasted no time in accepting the desserts.
“This time… this time I’ll forgive you! But don’t mess up the address again! Our address is—”
“Absolutely! It won’t happen again!” Aphrodite smiled and nodded vigorously in reassurance.
But, just as Alice’s fingers firmly grasped the handles and officially took possession of the desserts, Aphrodite looked at her now empty right hand and let out a silent wail inside.
Still, thinking of how she’d dodged Alice’s trouble, Aphrodite felt it was worth it.
Besides, she could just buy another set—after all, the dessert shop wasn’t going to grow legs and run away.
However, just as she thought the ordeal was over and was waiting for Alice to leave so she could buy another, Alice didn’t seem satisfied as expected.
Instead, she held tightly to her “apology” dessert in one hand, and with the other, very naturally and unexpectedly, reached out to grab Aphrodite’s wrist!
“Since we ran into each other like this,” Alice’s tone was a lot lighter now, “come with me somewhere! You look like you’re free anyway!”
“Eh? Wait? I…” Aphrodite hadn’t expected this development at all and instinctively tried to refuse.
But Alice gave her no chance to object, grabbing her firmly and heading for the door.
The quiet maid immediately followed behind them.
“Let’s go, let’s go! I know a place up ahead with great drinks—it’ll go perfectly with dessert!” Alice said without even looking back.
Wait? I haven’t bought my Cake yet! And how do I look like I’m free!
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.