I Didn’t Lull You To Sleep Only For You To Be Obsessed With Me

April deftly placed the coffee beans in the dripper before pouring a few drops of water.

The finely ground beans swelled like bread, spreading a pleasant and fragrant coffee aroma. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nose. This was her favorite moment.

As she waited for the gas from the coffee to escape, April continued to pour water little by little when the bubbles settled down slightly.* She then skillfully poured the water evenly in circular motions, and the dark brown coffee began to drip under the dripper, drop by drop.
[ T/N: This process is called ‘blooming’ the coffee! In a nutshell, fresh roasted coffee is chock-full of carbon dioxide, which can make coffee slightly sour. So, by exposing those grounds to hot water, they release that CO2 in the form of bubbles. It’s an occurrence of foaming and bubbling during the brewing process that can be seen as you add water to ground coffee. ]

While she was concentrating, she could suddenly feel a strong gaze. Raising her head, April glanced at the culprit of that gaze.

Claude Winterville.

The current Duke of Winterville, who can even make the Emperor tremble with fear, was gazing at her while leaning languidly on the sofa.

‘What’s the matter with him today?’

Like a predator praying on its prey, his silent gaze resembled that of a creature that was about to strike.

…Right now, of course, the prey was April.

Nonetheless, she could not be distracted by him and neglect coffee. April poured the first coffee into another cup and began to brew again. She was trying to reduce the acidity of coffee as much as possible for Claude, who hates the sour taste.

Eventually, she placed the coffee cup, which she had brewed, down in front of Claude.

“Here, drink it.”

However, he did not even touch the coffee. Claude gazed up at April with his still glowing purple eyes. His inquisitive gaze pierced through her, it was an atmosphere as if she had to confess even if she did not do any wrongdoings.

Swallowing her dry saliva, April stepped back slightly to distance herself from him.

“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? Don’t tell me you’re still upset because I kicked you out?”

“….”

“It was inevitable. Who told you to show up so suddenly like that? If you had told me beforehand…” 

“Your ex-fiance came to the cafe today.”

“Are you talking about Zenon Olsen?”

“Yes.”

Zenon Olsen, was a former fiancé who called off his engagement with her four months ago.

‘But, why is he suddenly talking about Zenon Olsen…?’

April frowned slightly, not knowing what Claude meant as she asked back.

“Why are you suddenly talking about him?”

“Do you still have any lingering feelings for him?”

“…Yes?”

Dumbfounded, she took a breath in vain.

…What did he mean, having feelings for him? She had no feelings for her former fiancé. Rather than having any regrets, she was relieved to break off the engagement with him. Being with Zenon Olsen, her future would literally be catastrophic.

“There’s no such thing. I rather don’t want to see his face.”

“Even if you said that, you even served him coffee very affectionately. Didn’t you?”

“That’s it!”

April exclaimed in frustration.

“He’s a guest!”

She only gave him coffee because he came to the cafe and ordered a coffee. There was absolutely nothing romantic like Claude had suggested. And, serving affectionately…? She wanted to give him the coffee as a treat and tell him not to come back after drinking it if she could.

Despite her answer, Claude had a dissatisfied face.

“You even smiled at him.”

“Don’t you know the commercial smile? Did you think I smiled because I wanted to? I don’t like him either.”

“If you really don’t like him, you should’ve kicked him out.”

“How can I drive a customer out with such personal feelings? As soon as the rumor spreads, my cafe’s over. How long have I been open to be making such a scene?”

“Then, I’m glad.”

‘What the hell was he glad about?’

As April was thinking about what he meant, Claude stood up slowly as he was resting on the armrests of the sofa.

Even though she stepped back to avoid him approaching me, Claude grabbed her arm. Then, he grabbed her waist with the other hand. The distance between the two grew closer. He only stopped at a distance that almost touched her face.

His breath tickled her lips, and April held her breath. The next moment, he raised one corner of his mouth crookedly.

“If you can give coffee to that bastard, does that mean you would give me coffee no matter what I do?”

‘…What?’

“Or, do you still like him?”

Although Claude was smiling, his eyes were not smiling as well.

‘…How the hell did this happen? I just wanted to make coffee that people would love and live quietly.’

April recalled the past with a feeling of wanting to cry.

‘To explain all of this, we have to go back three months…’
 

⸝⸝ Nabi’s Note: ˚‎ ༘☆

Noted that the chapters for this novel are going to be split in half, which will also lessen the pressure on the translating staff involved. However, they’ll be numbered normally to make things simple. Since splitting into parts like this lessens the pressure on the translator, I’ll update more often to compensate for the length!

Thank you as always for your constant support and understanding! ♡