Chapter 8: The Library (3)

The next morning.

The alarm clock I had set in advance rang like crazy.

Ring!

“Ugh. Ugh. I’m tired.”

Even after entering the novel, Monday was so tiring. It was especially hard because I was going to work after resting for a week.

I reached out and turned off the alarm clock.

I went into the bathroom and washed up. It took a long time to wash because I was in a woman’s body.

“I should just cut it short.”

If my hair was a little shorter, wouldn’t it take less time to cut?

I dried my yellow hair roughly with a towel and got dressed.

There was no separate librarian uniform. Instead, they told me to dress as neatly as possible, so I wore light brown pants, a white shirt, and a brown checkered vest.

Most of my clothes were skirts, but I was still a little awkward with skirts.

It feels like I’m going outside wearing only underwear because the bottom is open.

After getting ready like that, it was 7:55. If I go out now, it’s the right time.

But caffeine lovers will know. How empty the morning is without caffeine.

I didn’t even eat yesterday, so now it’s the limit.

I moved quickly as I didn’t have much time.

I put water in a pot and boiled it, and put an appropriate amount of coffee beans in the grinder.

When I pressed the grinder button, a white light came on in the upper bulb. It means that the power is on.

“I need to set the grind size… let’s go with a coarse grind for a clean taste.”

Hand-drip coffee means putting the coffee beans in a filter and pouring water directly by hand.

At this time, the taste of coffee varies depending on the grind size of the coffee beans ground in the grinder.

I like them all, but I wanted to eat lightly in the morning, so I set it to coarse.

Whirr.

The grinder starts to spin with the power of the magic stone. Fine powder fell below in a uniform size.

The unique scent of coffee pierces my nose and stimulates my brain. This familiar scent. This is it.

“The filter… isn’t very good, but it’s good enough.”

This is the Middle Ages in the first place.

It is different from the modern era where programmed factories can make things exactly the same and precisely.

These are all things made by craftsmen or made with magic. High-quality processed goods are bound to be expensive.

I poured the hot water that had just boiled into the drip kettle.

The drip kettle is a kettle with a long and thin spout.

“Ugh. What is this, am I nervous?”

It’s coffee I’m drinking after a week. Even at that time, I was in a cafe, so I used a machine, not hand drip.

It means that it’s been longer since I brewed it by hand drip. And I can’t ruin the coffee I’m drinking after a long time.

“Slowly in a spiral.”

Drip.

Hot water flows and wets the dried powder. The coffee in the filter swells slowly.

“Oh. I guess it’s fresh.”

The fact that the coffee swells means that it is fresh. So, black liquid accumulated under the dripper through the filter.

It’s drip coffee brewed by hand drip.

The light yet deep flavor was conveyed as it was. The coffee I ate after a week was quite strong.

I feel more alert as I consume caffeine.

“Shall we go out now? Huh? It’s 8:07? Well, whatever. It’s 7 minutes late, but I don’t think anyone will come at 8 in the morning.”

I went outside with relief. Fortunately, as I expected, there was no one.

“First, let’s go and close the curtains.”

The first thing you have to do when you go to work is to close the curtains.

The curtains are also enchanted with automatic magic, so all you have to do is operate the crystal ball.

“Where is the crystal ball…huh? Why is it here?”

The crystal ball that I had clearly put in the drawer was placed on the desk, on top of the pedestal where the crystal ball was originally placed.

“D, did anyone come?”

I was embarrassed.

But I took a sip of coffee and calmed down.

And I took a step and checked the door.

Creak.

“Oh, no.”

It was open.

Who could it be?

I hurried my steps and thought.

First of all, in order to open the library from the outside, you need to have a key. But would a mere employee have the library key?

No.

That can’t be.

It doesn’t make sense for an outside guest to have the key either.

The last one left.

The direct line of the Muelia family. They have a master key that can open most of the doors in the mansion, so they can easily open the library.

“Hey. No way.”

As I was denying reality and looking around the first floor. A beautiful voice was heard from behind.

“You’re 10 minutes late. Miss Rachel?”

It’s a familiar voice. I turned around and checked.

A woman with white hair that reaches her shoulders. Although it’s the back of her head, it’s definitely…Emily.

I calmed my trembling heart with coffee and approached her.

“I, I’m sorry. Miss. There is no excuse.”

“It happens. I’ll let it slide this once…”

Emily’s eyes, who were reading a book, turn to me. To be precise, it was coffee.

“Go ahead.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

I greeted her and hurried to my room.

‘Ugh. You crazy b*tch. Why didn’t you think of this?’

I must have been crazy for a moment with the ecstasy that coffee gives. Otherwise, there’s no way I would have forgotten Emily’s characteristics, which have already been mentioned several times in the novel.

Emily.

-She likes books, so she often goes to the library. Even when she was in the imperial family, she was a bookworm to the point where you could see her if you went to the imperial library.

-She likes coffee. She makes it every time, but it doesn’t taste good because she’s clumsy.

And Yona said yesterday that she likes coffee.

“Bribe, I need a bribe.”

I started brewing coffee again carefully.

The beans I’m using now are of better quality than I thought. That’s why it tastes good.

Anyway, I’m satisfied with it, even though I have a barista license, so she’ll definitely be satisfied.

Drip.

I put all my know-how into it as much as possible.

I can do it.

“It’s not like she’s going to say it’s dirty because a mere commoner made it… Right. She’s not a villain, she’s just ruthless.”

The fact that she has no mercy is because she inherited the blood of the Iron-Blooded Duke. As a protagonist, she has a good heart.

Unlike other duchies, she doesn’t have a sense of superiority.

I walked as carefully as possible and put the coffee next to her.

Slide.

“What is this?”

“I like coffee, so I drink more than one cup every day. I heard that Miss also likes coffee.”

“Who did you hear that from?”

“From Miss Yona.”

“Yona? Hmm. Okay. I’ll drink it well.”

I saw her nod and returned to my seat.

“Ugh. My heart is pounding.”

When I put my hand on my chest, my heart was beating like crazy.

“Yona said that.”

Emily, who was left alone, recalled Yona smiling.

According to the guard knight’s report yesterday, she went to the store with Rachel and bought dolls and various coffee-related items.

“I didn’t know she liked dolls.”

Emily thought she knew Yona well.

From her favorite color, food, taste, to the people she follows well. Because she is the youngest with a large age difference, I paid more attention.

But I didn’t know that she liked dolls.

“Or maybe she enjoyed the time she spent shopping with Rachel itself.”

She was momentarily taken aback when she heard that Rachel and Yona went shopping at the store.

From her point of view, all the items in the store belong to the duchy, and if she wants, she can have a servant bring them.

The store belongs to the duchy, and the duchy will soon be hers.

And she thought it would be better to read one more book rather than go to such a place, so she never thought of enjoying shopping with Yona.

The reason she overlooked her being late for her first day of work was entirely because of Yona.

If Yona hadn’t smiled and enjoyed herself so much when they went shopping, if she had tried to extort money from Yona, she would never have let it go.

“By the way, the scent is better than I thought.”

From the first time she came, the fragrant smell of coffee wafted out.

As a coffee lover, it was an irresistible temptation.

Sniff.

The scent itself was really good.

A savory yet bitter smell.

But just because the scent is good doesn’t mean it tastes good.

“Hmm. Where.”

Slurp.

She took a small sip.

At that moment, her eyes widened with strength.

“!”

She almost choked because she was so surprised. Emily closed her eyes and took a big sip to feel the taste of the moment.

Hot coffee filled her mouth. So it slowly went down her throat.

It was delicious.

It wasn’t just bitter or sour like the ones she had eaten so far.

The fragrant scent of coffee and a lighter and cleaner body spread in the mouth.

The acidity and bitterness were properly harmonized, and the softness lingered in the mouth for a long time.

It cleansed the inside of the mouth as if drinking refreshing fruit juice. It was just right to eat on an empty stomach in the morning.

“It’s…delicious.”

It was so different from the coffee she had been drinking.

“Even the cooks who sell coffee as a drink weren’t this good. Why is it delicious?”

Actually, this was natural.

The barista skills that Rachel has have a history that has been concentrated for hundreds of years, and baristas specialize only in coffee.

And he was also talented in barista.

On the other hand, in this world, coffee is just a bitter beverage that gives an awakening effect.

Coffee itself was discovered not long ago, and there was no job that only dealt with coffee like a barista.

Emily closed her eyes and indulged in savoring the flavor of the coffee for a while.