Chapter 30: White Lilly Tea Shop
Berdly looks at Jon.
"And what do I do with him?"
"Whatever you wish. I'm using some of my authority here, but it's fine. It's all to make him a better man." –Jon smiled.
"Oi. Jon…" -Olen.
"Better man, hah?" –Berdly gave a demonic smile. Both of them ignored Olen. "That sounds about right. All right. I understand your meaning. I'll go with you."
"Very good. Only one thing." –Jon. "Just keep him in one piece. We still need him."
"Oh, don't worry. It's not me who likes to break products." –Berdly. They were talking like merchants about the goods in front of the goods.
"Jon, please don't leave me." –Olen begged. But no one listened.
Jon bent down. "Buddy, you have to stay strong. Just remember this is for the greater good." –Jon gave him an angel-like smile. But Olen felt it was a demon in front of him.
Well, Jon needed to understand what this profundity is. And the only person that could teach him is Elena. He was determined to do anything for that.
So, betraying the kid is nothing to him. He deserved it, to begin with, right?
Jon left the shop humming.
Olen saw Jon leave in a happy mood and looked back at Berdly, who also had a creepily happy smile on his round face.
"Young master, let's go inside. We need to get you ready. From now you will work in my shop." –Berdly. "Girls, take young master inside."
"What…? Let me go. I'm going back. No, no... where are you taking me? Everyone will know if you do anything to me. I'm warning you. Let me go." –Olen kept shouting while being carried by two Onee-chan. All his danger signals were warning him. Something bad is gonna happen inside.
Berdly felt tired. This young master was quite the drama queen. Does he think of him as an inconsiderate person? He wouldn't want to ruin his reputation.
His consciousness is as clear as freshly dropped dew on a flower petal.
That's how Olen got employed at the 'White Lilly Tea Shop'.
.
"It's been two months, TWO, FUCKING, MONTHS. What are you doing? Can't your men do a little job of finding a wounded hiding bird?" –Jack Broyd, Elena's first brother, was shouting at a man in one of his secluded villas.
"Young master, my men are all doing their best to find her. And we would have heard some news by now, but something doesn't feel right. There may be outsiders involved in this. They are covering up her track." –The man said from under his black hood.
"Do you think I care about that? I want her dead before my father's men find them. Things won't be pretty then. Do you understand? I'm not just talking about me. It will involve you too." –Jack threatened.
"Are you threatening me?" –the man said.
"Think what you want to think of it. But you will be standing directly against a Duke of the Empire. Just remember that." –Jack didn't back down. The truth is crystal clear.
"I understand. I'll see to it personally." –the man said before vanishing in thin air.
Jack was very irritated.
First, these guys miss the best chance to assassinate. Then they can't even find the person?
How unreliable can they be?
Currently, her last known whereabouts are inside the firelord's domain.
The fire lord is an ancient creature made of lava and very protective of his domain.
Normally, it wouldn't leave its domain. But if some imbecile tries to invade it, it doesn't show mercy.
So, the investigation is going slow. On top of that, his father is keeping a close eye on them. So, he can't make any 'big' move. He thought his father would use his connection and use divination to find Elena. So, he made his man trail them.
But it seems his father took that into account too, and didn't use divination.
And now, after hearing the outsider's interference, Jack felt his blood was boiling.
Who is it that dares to mess with him?
He will eradicate every single one of them.
.
"Here's your tea, sir." –a young girl said to a man.
The man is reading a book. Hearing the young voice, he looked up.
"Oh, you are a new one. This is the first time Mr. Berdly has hired someone as young as you, I think. What's your name?" –The man said. He is a regular here.
"My name is Ol… Olina." –Yeah, Olen is totally custom-made into a girl here.
Berdly said, "What do you think people would say if they see the young master of Alden house working in a shop? They would laugh at you. And take me as a criminal for forcing you to stay here. I can't let my shop's reputation ruin because of you. So, I must change your appearance."
But Olen was sure this is all just bullshit. This Berdly must have Loli issues. That's why he made him dress like that.
And it didn't help much when the Onee-chans were like, "Aaa, how cute. He is so young that his voice is also sweet. It's practically me having a younger sister."
"These big sisters also have some issues in their heads." –Olen muttered.
If they wanted a younger sister, they should go find a real girl. Why are they coming to him? Don't they see these muscles I built up?
Huh, now that he thinks about it, he doesn't have much. What the hell?
He did all these workouts, why doesn't he have muscles like Jon? This is so unfair.
"Oh, that's a nice name, Olina. You look cute in that dress." –the man smiled gently.
"I... Thank you." –Olen could only smile awkwardly.
"Can you get me some salty biscuits?" –The man asked.
"Sure." –Olen said. He was relieved that the customer didn't recognize him.
.
"Oh, Olina, huh? That is a nice name. You are talented in this. Maybe I should hire you permanently." –Berdly teased the ashamed Olen.
"In your dreams. As soon as Miss Elenora is done with you, it's going to be over. Then I'll make you pay for this humiliation."
"I'd be careful if I were you. What will happen if I expose this alternative identity of yours?" –Berdly grinned.
"Curse you. Next time, I'll kill you." –Olen got angry.
"My, oh my. It seems you haven't learned your lesson yet, young master. Keep up the good work. I'll tend to my other business then. Now go on... The customers are waiting for Olina to serve them. And customers are the gods to us. We mustn't keep them waiting." –Berdly left the burning Olen behind. He could hear the curses the curses thrown at him under his breath.
'That was fun.' –he thought. All his life, he was bullied. Now it's his chance to bully.
He didn't care if the mad young master was rude to the customers, broke things, or even messed things up. That was fine too. He would just let him stand on the road as a punishment.
He was in full-on bully mode.
'Ah, this is the bliss of being a grown-up' –his childish side was welling up.
But this bliss didn't last long. Olen's childish face with appropriate makeup became popular in a short period.
He was already a talkative person. So, he melded in very easily. Which most of the time, girls had a hard time getting used to.
At the end of the day, Olina became the most popular server.
This ticked Berdly off a bit.
At the end of the day, on one side, Olen was leaning his head on the table. He is too tired even to lift it. He liked talking with people. But not dressed like this. He had to be very careful not to slip up. And boy, it is hard.
And on the other side, Berdly had a weird smile.
He made Olen keep running from table to table and saw the fun.
(If a modern person saw that, they would surely call the police to arrest on account of the Child Labor Act.)
But being trained from a young age, Olen had a lot of stamina. So, physically he was still capable of moving around.
It's just his head is hurting after all day.
"Little brother, are you okay? It must have been hard for you?" –said one of the Onee-chans.
"I didn't think the boss would be so ruthless toward you. Come, I'll give you a massage. I promise I'm very good at it." –said the other.
Berdly handpicks both of them to serve his customers. So, they are decently good-looking.
If put among the masses, they would surely attract attention.
But being by Elena's side, Olen got immunity from this bit of charm.
"It's all right, big sister. You guys helped me a lot already. I don't think I would have lasted this long without you. If possible, I would have given you a massage. But I'm so out of energy. I don't think I'll do a good job." –Olen said, smiling in his tired state.
They both came to help Olen out when there was too much crowd, but hearing his words, both of them blushed.
"Oh, how cute. Don't worry, little brother. Trust your body to us. We'll make sure to cleanse your fatigue right away." –both of them said.
Hearing their conversation, Berdly was stunned.
"Hey, I worked hard too. Shouldn't you give a massage as well?" –he said.
"Pervert."
"Pervert."
Both of them said in unison and brought Olen inside.
"This cheeky bastard. This is not the end of this. You hear me? You will feel my wrath." –Berdly shouted in anger.