‘What? It sounds good.’
Eventually, Isidor smiled.
‘Is it a song from another country? I don’t think it’s a song that aristocrats listen to.’
Where on earth did she learn something like this? Or did the Princess also create this?
A deep curiosity rose again.
There was always a twist with Princess Deborah, and her actions were completely unpredictable.
Even now.
Suddenly, the Princess, who was impersonating a teacher and teaching him how to play, began to speed up the accompaniment with a playful expression like a child, and his heart thumped steeper in tune with the beat.
‘I’m dizzy.’
As her long, white fingers moved quickly from side to side, Isidor’s elegant hand wandered around on the keyboard as if it was lost.
Then, it accidentally bumped into hers.
“!”
He was terribly surprised.
Isidor had folded the sleeves of his shirt once because the buttons kept getting in the way when pressing the keys, and his skin was exposed between the gloves and the shirt.
He wore long sleeves and thin gloves even in the summer, so he didn’t show his bare skin so defenselessly. Today was a very exceptional case.
At that moment, it felt as if their skin had brushed against each other.
With the unexpected contact, heat rose on his whole body, and he jerked up without even realizing it.
‘I’m going crazy.’
From the moment he saw the Princess laughing loudly, his head became strange. Everything was beyond his expectation and control.
Emergency. He was confused by the letters that appeared in his mind and was about to run away, but she grabbed him and told him to play the whole song.
‘She’s always on guard. Why is she holding on to me when I’m in a difficult situation?’
His reason returned a little due to the resentment and perverse feelings.
Taking the fallen leaf from her shoulder was indecent and impulsive.
Spinning the leaf that was only half-red, perhaps because it had fallen prematurely, between his fingers, Isidor at the pale wrist revealed through the sleeve that had been rolled up.
He always hated when someone touched him.
Obsessively wearing gloves every morning and keeping his sleeves down and neat was an old habit of his.
He did not know the exact cause of his mysophobia. He just assumed it was related to ‘that day’.
As a child, he was so sensitive that he couldn’t stand others entering his territory.
However, since he learned that if he got caught having severe mysophobia, it would lead to a big problem in his social activities, he invited a number of tutors to learn social dance and suppress that sensation.
Perhaps because he had a strong desire not to show his weakness, he was able to dance with young ladies without any problems on important occasions.
However, he had to wear the gloves that gave him psychological protection.
Gloves were basically accessories worn by knights with hardened calluses on their hands, so there seemed to be no problem.
And so, it was easier to justify himself.
That it wasn’t a big deal and there was nothing to worry about.
‘It’s not a big deal.’
He couldn’t believe he was so surprised to the point his head went blank at the feeling of their skin slightly touching.
But what was even more surprising was that the sensation he felt at that moment was not unpleasant.
He spun the fallen leaf with a distracted motion and sprang up from his seat with a reddened face.
***
‘Come to think of it, although I wasn’t at first, I feel like I’m being swayed at the end.’
Isidor’s large back, playing the piano in a clumsy manner, came to mind from time to time.
After I met him, my head was filled with thoughts about him without realizing it.
Even though it looked like he had a secret side, in the end, I didn’t even know if it was because he was being kind to me.
While thinking of Isidor, who smiled happily while listening to the music, I suddenly came up with an idea.
‘I’m an idiot. Why didn’t I think of this at that time?’
Good songs from my previous life were good to listen to here, too.
However, the famous melodies I knew had not been released here.
The possibility of hitting the jackpot with music!
Music is the most powerful universal language, crossing even dimensions.
And since I know the syllables for famous classic music or popular songs, just mumbling and humming will allow the composer to derive from it and create a similar masterpiece.
Of course, this was not a place where you could make a lot of money from music.
However, the musical score can be sold.
And I also have a nice place called Armand where I can promote various songs.
‘I’m going to use the recording artifact to play the BGM at Armand.’
Along with the musical score business, it is a project that makes the atmosphere inside Armand unique and beautiful.
It would be fine to release it as 〈Armand Music Collection〉, like the jazz album from St*rbucks.
Buying songs from unnamed composers that match the background sound of a cafe, making the music collection even richer…
Music and cafes.
As I was working on a new project with excitement and filled with a sentimental mood, I encountered one difficulty.
The recording artifact was too expensive, and you can’t put a lot of songs in it.
Of course, I could buy dozens of recording artifacts since I have a lot of money, but there would be a problem when franchising.
Because the key point of the franchise is that everything, from the atmosphere to the menu, is the same, whether it is the main store or the 100th store.
‘Hm…’
The franchisee may also find it difficult to handle the extra expenses if they’re too high.
‘Let’s try it for now. My partner is a recording artifact maker, so he’ll make the production cost cheaper.’
If the musical score sells well in the future, it will be enough to cover the cost.
‘First, it’s important to find a composer who will refine my humming well and fill in the empty notes.’
The cafe BGM was not as urgent as launching a new menu, so I only wrote down the idea lightly for now.
‘Is the development of the new menu I ordered finished?’
I pressed down the hooded robe and headed to Armand.
***
In Armand’s kitchen, the savory smell of raw beans being roasted was rising.
Certainly, the aroma was quite more plausible than the coffee I previously had at Maisond.
“Madam, would you like to try it?”
Armand’s pâtissier, Milo, asked with a sunken face.
It was the face of someone who had not been sleeping properly.
He must have consumed a lot of caffeine while taste-testing the coffee.
‘It means that the amount of coffee beans he’s currently using is effective.’
As soon as I took a sip of the drink he handed me, I nodded lightly, meaning it wasn’t too bad.
It fell a little short of what I had in my previous life, but this was enough to drink.
‘Certainly, everything tastes good with chocolate.’
Since I couldn’t find a barista that would properly preserve the aroma and flavor of the beans, I decided to mix milk and chocolate with the beans and make a caffè mocha without the whipped cream on top.
As the manager standing next to me took a sip of the caffè mocha, he was impressed.
“I never thought a drink like coffee, which used to be black and bitter like medicine, would turn into such a wonderful drink! It’s delicious, savory and sweet. It’s not just sweet like regular chocolate drinks.”
Seeing that the cup was emptied, it seemed that even people who were not used to the taste of coffee could drink it.
After finishing developing the new menu, I and the manager returned to the office in the basement.
“Madam. What would you say the name of that savory yet somewhat sweet drink is?”
“Caffè mocha.”
“What a wonderful name.”
“Promotion is important. Write down “Drink of Wisdom” in the description.”
“Drink of Wisdom?”
“Exactly. You can increase your concentration by drinking caffè mocha. Your learning effectiveness also improves. It’s not just sweet and tasty.”
And now was the best time to launch it.
The academy was currently in a studious atmosphere due to the various academic conferences and graduation thesis for the fall semester.
It was very different from the relaxed and carefree spring semester.
‘The cramming people will slowly appear. No matter how noble they are, they need a thesis to graduate.’
Most people, like Duke Seymour, relieve their fatigue by drinking tea with caffeine in it, but tea has a much lower caffeine absorption rate than coffee when drinking the same amount.
In the case of tea, the awakening effect was not as powerful as coffee, although it did have the effect of waking up slowly.
‘It’s not the founding item that dominated the 21st century for nothing.’
Once you touch it, you will have no choice but to rely on caffeine.
Just like I did in my past life.
***
“Princess. Where are you going?”
There was a liberal arts class soon, so seeing me walk towards the east gate instead of the main building of the academy, Margaret asked with a puzzled face.
“I’m going to drink that.”
I ordered take-out for two caffè mochas and handed one to Margaret.
“It’s the first time I’m seeing this drink.”
Margaret muttered in a curious voice, then took a sip and let out a short exclamation. It seemed to suit her taste.
“It’s delicious.”
‘You’ll be surprised when you can’t sleep at night.’
I silently went inside the classroom holding the caffè mocha.
As if to be seen by everyone.
I thought that if Isidor had stylishly promoted the take-out, I should promote the caffè mocha myself.
Who has achieved the most dramatic increase in grades at the academy?
Me, the last person who became the top student.
There was no one as good as me to promote the drink of wisdom.
