Chapter 11: Barista Emily (3)

Rachel brewed coffee for comparison.

Drip.

“Please try this.”

Emily carefully drank the two coffees.

“That’s definitely true. So my coffee is because of this bean size and water temperature?”

“That’s the most basic thing. And the most important thing is the amount and speed of the water.”

Rachel showed the coffee beans in the filter. It felt like touching wet sand.

“The taste of coffee changes the most depending on the extraction time. Common sense dictates that if the water stays in contact with the beans for a long time, the taste of the beans will be strong, right?”

“Ah, conversely, if it’s short, the flavor and taste of the beans won’t be extracted properly?”

Emily clapped her hands as if she had realized something.

She had made a lot of coffee so far, but she hadn’t thought that far.

She just followed the cook’s words that it would be delicious if she used good beans and good water.

‘Why didn’t I think of this? It’s simple if you think about it a little.’

While she was doing that, Rachel, who put a new filter on the dripper, broke her thoughts.

“Now it’s time to follow what I do and make it yourself.”

Two drippers placed in front of two people. Rachel started by grinding the coffee beans.

Anyway, since she uses an automatic grinder, she just had to tell her the settings.

Whirr.

Brown coffee grounds fall through the hole.

“Next is extraction.”

She held the drip kettle and poured it slowly. She made a circle from the edge.

As expected, the beans were in good condition and bubbled.

Emily saw what Rachel was doing and slowly followed suit. But it wasn’t easy.

‘It looked like she was just pouring water, but it’s harder than I thought. Is this also because I’m clumsy?’

She sighed at the water flowing irregularly.

She knew from a young age that she was clumsy.

I remember when she made a carnation for the Lord, and the Lord mistook it for a monster.

Still, it didn’t affect her daily life, so she didn’t think much about it.

But when it comes to brewing coffee, she resented her terribly poor dexterity.

Drip.

Slightly overflowing water fell through the filter.

She focused. She came here to learn, so if she can’t even do this basic thing, it’s a disgrace to the duchy.

Contrary to Emily’s will, her hands started to tremble as she focused.

Tremble.

At that moment, a warm hand was placed over it.

“It’s okay to fail. Where is the person who succeeds from the beginning? I also failed a lot at first.”

“I, is that so?”

“Of course. Now. Relax and leave it to me.”

Rachel’s soft voice. As she said, she slowly relaxed her hands.

Drip.

Her hand follows Rachel’s guidance. Water from the kettle is poured evenly into the filter.

“Shall we get a little more feel?”

After waiting for a while, repeat again.

Drip.

“Will you try it alone now? There are plenty of opportunities.”

“Alone. I’ll try it alone.”

Emily poured hot water into the kettle and caught her breath.

Why is this so nerve-wracking?

As the heiress of the duchy, she was ashamed of herself, and she was also ashamed that she couldn’t do this little thing.

Rachel’s comfort was there, but she knew it was a consideration for herself.

Because she knows how terrible her dexterity is. Also, because she knows that this simple act is not actually difficult.

‘Whew.’

She calmed her confused mind and steeled herself.

As a result.

“Please do it a little slower.”

Failure.

“This time it’s too slow.”

Failure

“You have to put it in from the edge to the inside.”

Failure.

A total of five failures.

Now, she had pride and everything, and she was stubborn.

Even if she wasn’t as strong as her father, she grew up hearing that she was a genius in administration and politics.

For her, talent was always something that followed.

‘Whew. More than the first, less than the second. Don’t shake your hands and be calm.’

Drip.

She poured water.

The sound of water spread in the quiet library.

A tense moment.

Drip.

“Congratulations. You succeeded.”

Rachel shook the extracted coffee and handed it to Emily.

“…”

Emily took a sip of the coffee she extracted.

Gulp.

It was moderately bitter, and the acidity was also moderate. It was definitely not as good as the one Rachel made.

Clearly.

‘It’s…delicious. Did I make this?’

She couldn’t believe it.

The coffee she made herself was so bad that even those who like coffee couldn’t swallow it.

But the coffee she just drank was different.

Slurp,

She drank it as if possessed. A smile naturally appeared on her lips.

She wanted to continue enjoying the present mood, so she remained silent without making any sound.

A quiet library, the warm sunlight coming in through the window. Sparrows sitting on a tree and chirping.

It was peaceful.

She was fighting politics with the elders who were checking the head of the family and trying to eat the duchy somehow.

Every day was a battlefield, and the elders were not easy because they did not get that position by gambling.

She carried a huge burden on her slender shoulders that she could not even imagine, and she lived overcoming pressure and burden.

That’s why she liked her youngest sister, Yona.

Her bright smile was good just to look at, and every action she did was cute.

In other words, Yona is healing itself for Emilia, who spends a hard day every day.

But now, it’s not bad to fall into thought while drinking coffee.

“You’re more skilled than I thought. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It’s just brewing drip coffee.”

“Hmm. Then can you make other coffee too?”

Cooks in restaurants that sell coffee have their own recipes.

A skilled person like Rachel must have several such recipes.

In fact, there are dozens of recipes floating around in Rachel’s head.

But.

‘I have to use a machine for all of them.’

There was not even an espresso machine that was common on Earth. The only tool was a dripper to brew.

The recipes used by cooks are also made by adding honey or spices to the existing drip coffee.

“I know, but I can’t make it.”

“Why? Is this separate from the class…?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that, it’s actually that we lack equipment.”

“So you’re saying you lack the equipment to make coffee?”

“Yes.”

Emily thought for a moment and asked.

“Then is the other coffee made with that machine more delicious than the black coffee you made?”

“Personally, I think so.”

In fact, Rachel prefers latte to black coffee. She likes the taste of the savory milk and the bitterness of the coffee harmonizing.

Rachel threw a little bait, hoping that Emilia might make a machine.

“For reference, the principle of the device is simple, so if there is a craftsman, it can be made easily. And if you have that, the menu you can make increases significantly.”

“Is that…so?”

Her eyes twinkle for a moment. Anyway, she will soon be the owner of the duchy.

It’s not difficult to call a craftsman.

“Okay. I’ll call a craftsman, so make it. But there’s a condition. When that device is completed, please let me drink the first coffee made with it.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Miss will like it too.”

Just thinking about it makes me feel good.

To be able to drink latte here.

“Good. Then, as we talked about, I’ll send the craftsman tonight, and Yona’s information by tomorrow. I’m leaving. Have a nice weekend.”

Emily left without hiding her pleasant smile.

I sat down after confirming that she had left. I drooped like slime.

“Sigh, I’m glad nothing big happened. Really.”

I lost ten years of my life.

When I grabbed her hand in the middle, I was nervous because I was worried that she might not like it.

Fortunately, there was nothing I was thinking about.

“Rather, I saw Emily differently.”

Emily always smiles falsely and deals with people. She never shows her emotions to others.

Even if she’s sad, angry, or in pain, she hides it all in a thick smile.

In the work, her mask was completely broken only three times.

When Yona and the head of the family died and the duchy collapsed, when she fell in love with the hero at first sight, and finally when she beheaded the emperor.

But now I felt a true emotion on her face.

It’s not that the mask is broken, it’s that a very small fragment of emotion is revealed.

“Did I get too scared? Well. I know by looking at the description in the novel, but I was scared and trembled alone.”

If I think about her appearance today, I don’t think I need to be so afraid.

Unlike other nobles who are disgusted by the mere presence of commoners, she did not react even when I touched her body directly.

In particular, the true smile on her lips was that of a 20-year-old woman who laughs when flowers fly.

“It might not be bad to get closer to Emily.”