I Picked Up the Precious Daughter of the Villain

As soon as the Duke’s words fell out, one by one, people jumped out of the tables and ordered waffles.

I smiled and made a waffle that was exactly the same one the scammer ate.

The response was very good, but it was understandable that they ate warm waffles instead of shaved ice in late autumn.

Duke Vanice, who suddenly became a breathing billboard, would only stare blankly at Elodie.

How long has it been?

Finally, the long-awaited sound of horseshoes was heard. I immediately ran out of the store and waved my arms broadly.

“Captain of the Guard!”

The sound of horseshoes stopped and Guard Captain Ian looked down at me with a bewildered face.

“What is going on, Miss Ariah?”

I opened my mouth carefully.

“It would be nice if I could give you a cup of coffee, but…….”

“I am grateful, but I cannot receive anything while on duty.”

There was a hint of regret in the voice of the young and tall Captain of the Guard.

Of course, because the coffee I brew is just that delicious.

“I know. I need you to take care of something.”

“What’s going on?”

Ian’s face grew serious.

He jumped off his horse and followed me into the cafe. The face of the scammer who discovered Ian went as white as a blank sheet of paper.

He seemed to know who he was.

“Is that him?”

Ian asked in a low voice.

“Yes. Do you know him?”

“……I got a description of a vagrant who went around making a ruckus in the neighboring village, but it’s a bit similar.”

“You are not sure?”

“Not sure.”

I thought for a moment.

We can use the descriptions as an excuse to drag him away, but if it turns out to be wrong, that swindler will behave more proudly. Besides, it will be a bad record for Ian as well.

“I have a difference disagreement with this person, and I want the Captain of the Guard to resolve it.”

“What exactly is going on?”

“That…….”

I explained my position in full. Ian nodded his head with a serious attitude and listened to my explanation.

After a while, he turned to the scammer.

“Do you agree with Miss Ariah?”

“……Everything that woman said is a lie!”

Ha.

I frowned.

To lie without batting an eyelash in front of the Captain of the Guard who manages the security of the entire village.

It felt like his liver was sticking out of his stomach.

(Note: Liver in Korean is often used as a figure of speech to speak of courage. No liver = coward, big liver= courageous, have no liver to do something= no courage to do something, in this case you can just guess the meaning.)

“She cheated on me by making food that was completely different from what was on the menu. Luckily, the Captain of the Guard is here, so take her and punish her severely!”

“That…… Do you mean the waffles?”

Ian tilted his head.

“Yes. This is the second most expensive menu in this cafe. Isn’t it embarrassing to cheat customers by not making such a menu properly?”

I couldn’t stand it any longer and intervened.

“Shouldn’t we check with the people who ordered it to see if I made it right or not? It’s a popular menu, so more than 10 were ordered today.”

Ian didn’t even have to ask the guests one by one.

It’s because the customers who seemed to have gotten sick of the scammer from a while ago started adding words one by one.

“Captain, get rid of that scammer quickly! I’m going to die of distraction. I had to keep listening to that person babbling about when there was not enough time to appreciate the face or even the food!”

“The waffles are so perfect. Boss, there is nothing more to change here. Please make it like this tomorrow too, okay?”

“You should be ashamed. Why do you still keep on this ugly facade?”

The cheater’s face alternated between red and blue several times.

In the end, he chose the method he should have picked since the beginning. He tried to run out of the cafe without saying anything.

But it was already too late.

As soon as I whispered to Ian that it was a dine and dash meal, he grabbed the crook’s neck, covered in cold sweat.

I put my hand on my waist, looked at him, and smiled contentedly.

“Now, you have to pay for what you ate, right?”

“So-sorry!”

I gazed contentedly at the back of the swindler running away. The money I received for the waffles jingled in my hands.

In fact, I didn’t have to take this long to kick that human out. However, it was getting colder and it was impossible to make shaved ice anymore.

Thanks to the scammer, I was able to change the main menu to waffles instead of shaved ice, so I was grateful.

Of course, there was someone else who really deserved a thank you.

“Thank you for your help.”

I looked up at Ian and said thank you. He could just pass by, but he choose to help me instead.

“This is my job.”

Ian replied timidly. His ears were dyed red because he was very shy.

“It’s nothing. If something like this happens again, please call me anytime, Miss Ariah.”

I shook my head.

“Well, there’s a rumor in this town that I have a bad personality. So don’t worry, people like that won’t even come close to me.”

It wasn’t a bluff.

It has been more than 4 years since <Cafe Ariah> opened.

All kinds of gossip have been tangled up in the meantime, but thanks to my decisive behavior each time, no one wants to touch me anymore.

That scammer didn’t know any of that, so he looked like an outsider. Maybe he really is the same person as the one who made a fuss in a nearby town.

But Ian was not at all sympathetic to my opinion.

“What do you mean that Miss Ariah has a bad personality? You are always cool…….”

Ian’s words snapped and his ears burned red with a color similar to his reddish-brown hair. His clear blue eyes didn’t know where to go and froze the air.

I blinked my eyes.

Apparently, I looked cool when I was calmly dealing with scammers.

Well, I pretended I didn’t hear it because I thought it would be embarrassing if the Captain of the Guard said that an ordinary cafe owner like me was cool. 

“Ku—Ku-hum.”

Ian coughed.

“At that time, we were able to hit the human traffickers thanks to the passage that Miss Ariah pointed out.”

“Was everyone caught?”

I leaned towards Ian and his voice blew up on its own.

“Yes. The bounty should be delivered by now, as I reported that we received the help of Miss Ariah, but it is later than expected.”

“A reward…….”

I was lost in thought for a moment. 

‘I’m sure it must have been eaten somewhere.’

Well, it wasn’t that surprising.

Various types of aid from the central government office usually change into something insignificant by the time they reached such a small city because there were many people who pocketed it in the middle.

But it didn’t matter.

I was still earning enough money, and instead of the reward, I got a cute treasure called Elodie.

I looked down at Elodie with eyes full of affection. Even if they gave me 10 million gold, I had no intention of exchanging it for Elodie.

‘……?’

In an instant, my body stiffened.

Elodie bowed her head slightly, so her face was not clearly visible, but her delicate shoulders were shaking slightly.

It was obvious that she was crying.

“Elodie.”

I hurriedly bent my knees and made eye contact with the little girl. Elodie stubbornly shook her head and refused to show me her face.

“Elodie.”

I sternly called her name and covered the child’s cheek with both hands.

‘…….’

I bit my lip.

As expected, Elodie was crying. I felt so pathetic that I hadn’t even noticed it until now.

I quietly patted Elodie.

Even asking why she was crying felt insensitive.

Of course, it must have been scary to talk about human trafficking right besides her. Suddenly, Elodie raised her head.

“……Ariah.“

“Yes?”

I tried to reassure Elodie as much as possible, but to no avail. Her voice was still trembling like an aspen tree in the wind.

“You can’t make other people an-angry.”

I blinked my eyes.

It was because, for a while, I couldn’t understand what Elodie was talking about. 

“If you make him angry, then Ariah……he will come back to pick on you.”

The moment I heard it, an eerie realization akin to being covered in cold water came upon me. 

Ah.

Elodie wasn’t just afraid of scammers.

This little kid…

She was worried about me.