The next morning while preparing to go to work, Yuri felt Lakis’ gaze following her. She turned around and stared at Lakis for a bit then she walked up to him.
“Mr. Lakis, you’re going to get wrinkles on your forehead.”
Her slender fingers reached out to straighten Lakis’ forehead. But instead of stopping his frowning, he actually frowned more. There was obvious complaint in his gaze on Yuri. It’s not that Yuri didn’t know why but she acted like she didn’t know anything.
“Don’t frown so early in the morning, cheer up.”
A slightly dry voice followed just like always.
Therefore, it didn’t exactly feel like she was trying to pacify him but that alone softened Lakis’ heart a little.
“So you still care about how I feel.”
Following that, Lakis held Yuri’s hand which was touching his forehead then he opened his mouth.
“And here I thought you were only interested in my body.”
Still, his continuation was quite provocative.
‘It can be interpreted like that?’
Yuri mulled over what she said yesterday and tilted her head. Like she thought, Lakis seed to be peeved because of what she said yesterday. Even now as he spoke, he sounded like he was pouting.
Pouting…
The word itself seed too cute to be used on an adult man but it was true. Yuri fully pulled her hand away from Lakis then she spoke.
“I’m also interested in your face.”
Lakis wasn’t sure if he should be happy or disappointed to hear that so he frowned again. There was no way to tell if she knew what he was feeling inside, but Yuri turned around to leave for work after saying her last goodbye.
“See you later then.”
In the end, Lakis responded and saw Yuri off.
“Bye. I’ll be waiting.”
Yuri glanced back at him then walked out the door.
Click.
Just as the woman in front of him disappeared from his sight, the door shut close. And once that happened, Lakis’ day officially began.
* * *
That day, the old man ca to the coffeehouse again.
“How have you been, child? I’d like a cup of tea today as well, please.”
He sat in the sa seat as last ti and asked Yuri for tea.
“Yes, please wait a mont.”
Yuri calmly replied and turned around.
But inwardly, she felt this was a little burdenso. Maybe it was because she heard the story of the old man losing his youngest daughter, but she felt like she understood why the old man kept coming to the coffeehouse.
“Ah, this isn’t the tea you gave last ti.”
“Yes, it was ginger tea last ti and this is quince tea.”
“Ohh, I see. Today’s tea is very delicious too.”
Like before, the old man excitedly praised Yuri’s tea. Still, maybe he could tell that this was a crowded ti with quite a lot of custors because he didn’t hold Yuri back to talk with her.
The old man sat down, quietly drinking his tea and watching Yuri go back and forth in the store. Then so ti passed and when Yuri finished wiping the cups and ca out of kitchen, the old man’s seat was empty.
He seed to have finished his tea at so point and left the store. However, the thing the old man left behind stood out to her.
“Mr. Gilbert, when did the custor that was sitting here leave?”
“Err, just a minute ago.”
“The custor left sothing behind so I’m going to step out for a bit.”
“Oh no, he did? Go ahead.”
Yuri picked up the cane leaning against the chair and left the store. Thankfully, the old man hadn’t climbed into the carriage yet.
“Excuse , custor-nim!”
The mont Yuri shouted, the old man’s shoulders flinched. He certainly seed to have heard her call. But for so reason, the next mont, the old man hurriedly boarded the carriage.
Whip! Neighh!
As soon as the old man climbed inside and closed the door, the carriage set off like it had been waiting for that.
‘What the-. Did he not hear calling him?’
Yuri stared at the carriage that was quickly moving away with a frown. Eventually, she returned to the coffeehouse without being able to return what the old man left.
“You didn’t et him?”
“Yes.”
“This was under that custor’s table too…”
Yuri accepted what Gilbert held out to her. It wasn’t the rough paper used by common people but high-quality paper with a smooth and even surface. That was probably why Gilbert’s hand was shaking when he held it.
Yuri ran her eyes over paper. It was decorated with gold and looked like an invitation. At the top was sothing that seed like a fairy detailed map. And at one point of the map, the following was written:
[My house.]
Yuri pondered over it.
Why was this here? Did the ‘my house’ written on the map belong to the grandpa? If so, then didn’t it seem like he left it behind deliberately?
Above all, the fact that the old man left behind his cane bothered her. It was probably hard for him to walk properly without it so did it make sense for him to just forget it and go?
On top of that, when Yuri thought about how she chased after him earlier, but he acted like he didn’t hear and oddly increased his pace…
“D-Do you have to take it to him?”
Gilbert seed to have guessed the sa thing as her and spoke while trembling.
“He’ll take it when he cos next ti.”
However, Yuri calmly put the issue aside. There was no reason for her to go there just because he kindly provided a map.
“I-Is that so? He probably will?”
“Yes. I’ll go clean up.”
And with that, Yuri quickly erased this incident from her mind.
* * *
But even after a few days passed, the old man did not co to the coffeehouse.
Gilbert looked restless and kept looking at where the cane was stored as if he was guarding a treasure. The cane looked as expensive as the old man’s clothes, so Gilbert seed very uncomfortable about having it in his store.
“Did you hear what happened?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know Thomas, the one who drives the public carriage. Apparently, he picked up a noble custor from the shopping district recently and the noble dropped their jewelry.”[1]
anwhile, the conversation so custors were having in the coffeehouse caught Gilbert’s attention.
“Then the noble ca to look for it later but Thomas didn’t even know it fell inside the carriage. But gee, the noble actually reported that Thomas deliberately hid the jewelry.”
“What? Are they nuts?”
Instantly, Gilbert who was acting like he was cleaning the next door table and intently listening to them was terrified.
“They’re the one who dropped their stuff, why’re they going after an innocent person?”
“That’s how all nobles are. Tsk, poor Thomas.”
Gilbert’s complexion was poor as he turned around with his dry dishcloth. He swallowed dryly and looked at the place where the cane was kept with trembling eyes.
Seeing him like this, Yuri clicked her tongue.
With Gilbert’s nobility phobia, his heart had shrunk to the size of a sparrow’s.
“Ms. Yuri, well…I’ll head out!”
Eventually, as Yuri expected, Gilbert left the store with the map and the cane the old man left behind. He looked like he’d decided to return the old man’s things before the old man’s security raided his coffeehouse and turned him into a thief.
“Have a nice trip.”(Yuri)
Although he was trembling, Gilbert left the store with a face full of determination. Yuri easily sent him off.
But after about an hour, Gilbert returned, looking no different from when he left the coffeehouse.
“Was the map wrong?”
Yuri asked, looking at Gilbert who complexion was even worse.
“No, it…”
Hearing her question, he stumbled over his words before explaining to her.
“I think I went to the right house, yea, the custor who owns the cane. But soone called the butler ca out and told that they can’t bring in soone with an unclear identity.”
“Really?”
“So, So I said I’ll just give them the stuff he left behind and go. But then he said they can’t take in items brought by soone with an unclear identity…”
So he brought the cane back. However, Gilbert did not stop speaking there.
“But he then said he rembers the face of the female staff in the coffeehouse so if that staff ca, they would open the door.”
Gilbert couldn’t hide his puzzlent as he spoke and when Yuri heard what he said, she narrowed her eyes.
“Hmm.”
Weren’t they so obvious in everything? Then maybe the map was indeed an invitation left for her.
“Alright, I’ll go then.”
Yuri said, taking the cane and map from Gilbert. At that, Gilbert was delighted.
“Y-You will?”
From the looks of things, the old man wanted to her to bring it personally and Gilbert wasn’t very courageous so it would be difficult to leave it in the store any longer.
There was no other way to resolve to issue right now than having her go.
Translator’s Corner:
[1] I don’t know if this should be translated as official carriage or public carriage but for now, we’ll go with the latter.
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