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Adelheid 12: Olga's Day Off
🕑 Added 2022-03-12 14:35:00 +0000 UTCOlga Muller was the middle child of a baker. Unlike her elder and younger brother, she would not inherit her father's skill. Instead, she was expected to marry once she reached fifteen. After seeing how her eldest sister lived after marriage, Olga loathed the thought.
The Vuldarian knight learned how to bake, but she didn't love the art. She simply wanted her father to acknowledge that she did not need to marry. Her father disagreed.
"Do ya think ya are like ta nobles or somethin?" he had hollered.
In response, Olga had run away from home on the eve of her fifteenth birthday and never looked back. The first few years were the hardest. She had almost been tricked into slavery and almost defiled. After many years of hardship, she made a name for herself as an adventurer. The Sword Crusher, they called her.
However, life as an adventurer wasn't stable, and death often followed close behind. So, when she became an aura journeyman, Olga left her party and applied to be a knight. Sure, the pay wasn't as fruitful as her adventurer days, but it was a stable life. Plus, all her equipment was free of charge. Sure, she didn't technically own them, but it was practically hers in all but name.
Olga expected to be sent towards various territories to subjugate monsters that had overflowed from the dungeons and guard noble personages once she became a knight of the empire. And she did, but the female knight never expected that to all change when the seventh princess awakened.
When Olga first saw the rumored princess on that cold day almost a year ago, she was absolutely smitten by the princess's doll-like features. Alabaster skin that shone more brilliantly than snow, dark locks more beautiful than the night sky, and eyes the color of drawn steel.
In all honesty, the female knight felt that the seventh princess was more suited to sit in a plush seat, protected by her loyal knights. Princess Adelheid's presence just did not suit the training grounds at all. Honestly, the knight had felt as if the princess would keel over the moment she ran a few steps.
Olga Muller was proven wrong.
Not only did Princess Adelheid persist in her training, but she excelled. Although the seventh princess was disappointed by her lack of progress, Olga didn't see it that way.
Aura training depended on the body. As such, aura training ordinarily started at twelve or thirteen when the body started growing the most. It was already incredible that the seventh princess could persist and increase the amount of aura within her in spite of her small size and weakened body. Olga was guiding Princess Adelheid to build up her foundation so that when the princess finally entered the best stage to train, her future path would be smoother than most.
Prodigies like Matilda Avery were an anomaly. An exception among exceptions.
Olga herself was quite talented in aura, a genius among her peers. Considering that she was an ordinary commoner who had happened to chance upon aura training, and with no guidance of a master, this label absolutely fitted her. It was one of the reasons why she was accepted as a knight.
Despite knighthood being open to all citizens, commoners becoming knights were the exception, not the norm. Most knights were the second or third sons of nobles who couldn't inherit anything. There were even eldest sons who were replaced by their more talented younger siblings.
Olga didn't really consider Matilda her protege. In her eyes, Matilda would soon catch up to her and become an aura journeyman. It was only a matter of time. In the knight's estimation, perhaps it would be this year or the next at the latest.
In the female knight's eyes, Matilda would eventually shed her status as a maid and become the seventh princess's closest confidant and knight. Oh, how Olga envied the twelve-year-old girl. No, it was thirteen year old now. Matilda's birthday, the 17th of Middle Water Month, had passed two weeks ago.
Watching Princess Adelheid reignited Olga's dreams, one that had been shattered before her tenure as a knight. She had realized the folktales of noblewomen who were not one whit weaker than men, those brave female generals were not the norm. Most noblewomen were like what her father expected of women, waiting for the day they would be married to their husbands.
However, Princess Adelheid was different. Perhaps it was because the princess was part of the Vuldar Imperial Family that started the tradition of allowing women to do the work of men, or perhaps the seventh princess was just special. Either way, Olga could see a smoldering fire in the princess's steel-colored eyes that was constantly tempering the imperial.
If the seventh princess were to form her own knight order, Olga would be the first to join. Maybe after Matilda. God knew how much that lass wanted to become a knight.
Olga quickly brought herself out of her fantasies. Only her trained reflexes prevented her from colliding with a pedestrian on the roads of Midgard.
Since Princess Adelheid had begun taking magic lessons, Olga's instruction had been reduced. As the female knight was still the seventh princess's instructor in aura, she was not given any orders to deploy, so Olga found herself with much free time. With so much downtime, Olga had taken to touring the streets of the capital.
A particular sentence made Olga's ears perk up.
"Hurry. If we don't get in line in time, we won't be able to buy any chiffon cake!"
"Chiffon cake?" Olga tested the word on her lips. She hated baking, but she shared the same weaknesses many other women had, and that was sweets. It was a delicacy that she had only eaten a few times in her life, primarily due to the high price of sugar.
However, that was because she had hit the jackpot during her adventurer days, allowing her and her party to splurge. Even as an imperial knight, sweets were seldom eaten, but the people who were hurrying away did not appear to have the financial prowess to dine on cakes.
Their clothes were slightly dusty but hardly like that of peasants of small towns from where Olga had originated. This was the imperial capital, after all. You had to have a certain amount of wealth to even survive. And the two men rushing certainly did not look like the type. They looked like the type that had to worry about their next meals, in fact.
Growing curious, the Vuldarian knight followed after the duo. Although they were rushing, Olga's trained body easily kept up with their brisk pace. To her surprise, the duo led her to the middle-class sector, one that was bordering the upper-class sector.
Midgard was separated into several sectors: lower-class sector, middle-class sector, upper-class sector, noble sector, and the imperial sector. Most of them were further separated into residential and commercial areas, and Olga found herself in the commercial part of the middle-class sector.
Olga herself frequented the stores of the middle-class sector. Aside from the set amount she sent to her family, Olga had a fair amount of money left as she did not need to worry about lodging. All imperial knights were a small room by the empire. 'Perhaps I should start saving to buy a house. I won't always be a knight.'
The sweet shop that the two men led Olga to stood out of place. Although the knight did not frequent this part of the city, she could've sworn that there wasn't such an eatery at the exact same place over a month ago. However, she couldn't recall what shop existed there before. Most pastry shops catered to the nobles, so they were located in the noble or high-class sectors.
The first thing that caught her eye was the signboard.
Addie's Confections
It wasn't strange for the owner to place their name in the eatery's name, but the thing that stood out was that there was a strange mascot or creature sitting above the "o" in confections. Upon a closer inspection, Olga realized it was a stylized bee.
Then she noticed the strange layout of the confectionery. The central portion looked refined enough, high-class and elegant, with glass windows allowing outsiders to see the inside. Off on the side, there was a strange window with an opening where the majority of middle and lower-class citizens lined up.
She saw the duo who led her here get in line.
Olga could see that it stretched over several storefronts. There were at least fifty people in line. More curious than ever, the knight walked towards the window to see why people had lined up.
"Pst, don't cut in line, lady!"
Olga turned to see one of the people in line talking to her. He wasn't the only one as more and more people warned her as she neared the front. She ignored them all. At the front, Olga could see that it was some sort of extended booth. On the wall next to the window, there was a board that read:
Chiffon Cake Slice: 1 for 29 Kronen
Maximum of 5 Slices Per Person
The price shocked Olga. It had to be known that fifty kronen was the amount needed to live in the capital for a day. It was not much expenditure for an imperial knight like her, but it was an absolute skyhigh price for the common citizens.
Yet, she could still see people after people going to the window paying gold coins in return for a wooden box. Some of the customers even brought their own boxes to hold the cake slices. One gold coin was equal to a hundred kronen, so many of the people were buying several slices at once. Did they expect to sustain themselves off cake?
Olga turned her head towards the entrance to the eatery. If people were lining up for cake slices, how good must the desserts in the main eatery be? 'I haven't used this month's salary yet.'
Walking in, Olga was assaulted by the smell of freshly baked cakes. While she was in a daze, the hostess came forward and greeted her.
"Welcome ma'am, do you have an appointment?"
Olga stilled and shook her head.
"My apologies, we currently have no space left. Will you be willing to wait until a table is free?" the hostess asked.
Olga thought about it. She didn't have anything urgent, so she allowed the hostess to bring her to the waiting area where several other people were also sitting in wait. The knight observed them, and they all appeared to be wealthy businessmen.
Then the knight glanced at the dining area and tables. She blinked and realized that most of the occupants were of noble descent. If the etiquette they displayed didn't give it away, then it was the butler or maids standing behind them.
'Is this eatery really worth it to have so many aristocrats dine-in?' Olga was even more determined to try whatever the eatery offered, even if she had to use her whole month's salary. It wasn't like she would starve. The cafeteria provided free meals for knights, after all.
While waiting, Olga observed the interior. The most striking area was near the entrance to the kitchen. Not only was it where that delectable aroma originated from, but there was a table in front of the entrance where cakes were displayed under cloches, bell-shaped glass domes that covered food. Inside the cloche, each chiffon cake could be seen, covered in some sort of shiny glaze.
The knight was surprised by the use of glass. Although glass wasn't rare, the price was still high, especially for such mundane use. Well-crafted glassware could even be taken as a family heirloom.
Olga could see the chef opening a cloche to slice a piece of the rumored chiffon cake before plating it. Placing some sliced fruits onto the plate, the chef scooped some sort of a white ball atop the slice of cake. With her trained eye, Olga could ascertain that the white ball was barely starting to melt into some sort of creamy sauce.
Her eyes followed the waiter as he brought the plate to the customer and then blinked. Olga rubbed her eyes and then looked at the table again. She blinked once more. She wasn't hallucinating.
Certainly, the customer was eye-catching enough for many to stare. The woman of around twenty did not appear to be a noble, having no butler or maid behind, but her beauty was more than enough to make up for it.
The woman had beautiful platinum blond hair so light it was almost silver. Her hair was partially braided on one side and covered the left side of her eyes, but her unhidden rubellite eye shone more beautifully than any jewels. Although her expression was passive, Olga couldn't help but sense the extreme happiness from the woman as she partook in the cake.
However, that still wasn't the reason why Olga found the scene so strange. No, it was because there were literal towers of plates around the woman. Each tower was at least fifteen plates high, and it didn't seem like she was going to stop eating anytime soon.
'Is it really that good?' Olga thought as she looked at the other customers, and to her relief, only the rubellite-eyed woman had towers of plates. However, numerous tables had two or three empty plates as well.
Just as Olga reached the limit of her patience, the hostess brought her to the newly vacated table. The platinum blonde rubellite-eyed woman was still eating plate after plate.
Olga was surprised to discover that there was only one item on the menu, chiffon cake with ice cream and fruits. The cost was a shocking five gold coins, five hundred kronen! 'No wonder most of the diners are nobles. Not many can afford to splurge five hundred kronen for cake.'
Even Olga felt her purse tighten at the thought of spending five gold coins. She did not carry many gold coins on her, so she paid with a combination of gold and silver coins.
The knight was slightly disappointed that there was only one choice of cake aside from a variety of teas, but she guessed that it didn't matter much, seeing how popular it was. She didn't order tea as the cake alone was expensive enough. As for her fruit of choice, Olga chose strawberries. She had loved them since young and even braced the danger of the forest to pluck wild strawberries. An act that got her caned by her father.
While waiting, Olga couldn't help but stare at the platinum blonde rubellite-eyed woman again. The number of plates on the woman's table contributed to an astronomical sum that Olga didn't even want to calculate even if she had the ability to. She wondered who the woman was. Surely such a woman would not be unknown in Midgar. Perhaps she was foreign?
The knight was pulled out of her thoughts when her cake was presented to her. Most of the time was spent baking the cake, and that had already been done. So all that was needed was to slice the fruits and add the ice cream.
Olga took a fork and stabbed it into a thin slice of strawberry. It was still stiff, which meant that it was not fully ripe. Taking a bite, Olga was sure that it was unripe, as it was more acidic and sour than sweet. Holding back her disappointment, Olga sliced a little chunk off the cake slice and sampled it.
'W-what is this? So sweet? No, it isn't just pure sweetness.' The milky-white glaze treated Olga's tongue to a delectable sweetness, and the cake itself was also a subdued sweetness with a hint of fruitiness. Compared to the desserts she had before, there was simply no comparison.
What separated cake from bread was the sheer amount of sugar. Olga liked cakes and other sweets, but she could not eat too much of them even if she could afford them. After a certain amount, the cloying sweetness would make her unable to stomach anymore.
But the chiffon cake served by Addie's Confection was different. Olga felt that she could inhale plate after plate. If only she weren't limited by her purse, she would have followed the gluttonous woman's example.
After adding the strawberry, Olga understood the choice of an unripe fruit was not forced by limitations but by choice. The sour strawberry brought out the sweetness of the cake, and the sweetness toned down the sourness and brought a fruity sweet flavor to the dish.
Then came the third and unknown component, ice cream.
Olga knew what cake and fruit were, but she had never heard of ice cream. 'Is it a cream made from ice? But how is that possible?'
She was surprised by how smooth the ice cream was when she used her fork to slice it. It was like cutting through butter, and it kept most of its shape like butter. The knight sniffed the unknown dessert and inhaled frosted air. Olga blinked in surprise. Who would be so foolish to serve chilled desert in the winter?
However, seeing the other customers gladly devouring the ice-cold concoction, Olga bit the bullet and took a bite. She shouldn't have bitten it. The iciness brought her teeth pain that she had never felt before, but that soon passed, and a rich and creamy sensation filled her mouth.
'Delicious!' That was the only thought Olga could formulate in her mind.
Once all the ice cream melted and entered her stomach, Olga scooped out another forkful. Once bitten, twice shy. The knight did not bite into it like before and instead allowed it to melt on her tongue.
Olga closed her eyes and savored the flavor unlike any she had tasted before. She couldn't stop herself from releasing a hum of orgasmic pleasure. When she opened her eyes again, she was trapped in a dilemma. 'It's SO gooooood! I want another bite, but if I eat it too quickly, I'll want more, and I can't afford another one! Ah!!!'
Time did not allow Olga to hesitate anymore as the ice cream began to melt. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Olga finally caved in and began to eat. Separately, the three were good, but together, it was absolutely divine.
However, just as Olga was half finished with her slice of cake, someone slammed the doors to the eatery open. The windows rattled so much that Olga almost thought the glass would shatter.
"Give me your best dish. Hurry up, I'm hungry," a loud voice echoed in the eatery.
Olga turned and glared at the disrupter, and she was not alone in her act. However, the speaker acted as if he did not see any of it and stared contemptuously at the hostess.
Two butlers followed the speaker, so he was obviously a noble, but Olga doubted her judgment when she laid eyes on the disrupter. He certainly wore the clothes of a noble, but he was just so… so… fat!
He looked like a sphere that had gained a head and limbs. His clothes were taut from tension, and his face was uglier than a pig. His rolls of fat had rolls.
Olga couldn't even estimate the noble's age. He looked short enough to be a child, but his voice was so grating that it did not seem to be a child's. Worse, whenever he spoke, slobber would leak out of the corner of his mouth. Hell, the only reason Olga recognized the speaker as a male was due to clothing, distorted as it was to fit his unique body shape.
"Do you know who I am?" the noble cried out in anger after being asked to wait before being seated. "I am Jurg Schmid of House Schmid!"
Olga recognized him. Wasn't he that troublemaker son of Viscount Schmid that she had heard about? She had heard that it was a declining house that would soon be demoted to a baron after this generation. The only noteworthy news about them was his troublemaker son. How did the viscount manage to raise his son to look like a pig even more than a pig?
"Milord, as I've said before, you have to wait for your turn if you do not have an appointment," the hostess said.
"I heard that this place served delicious dessert, but it seems it’s all a lie," Jurg said, spewing saliva on the hostess's uniform, much to her and the other patrons' disgust.
Jurg pushed the hostess away and walked towards where cakes were displayed. Without warning, he pushed the cloche and the chiffon cakes inside to the ground before angrily stopping on them. "If you don't serve me, I'll trash this place!"
His two butlers walked threateningly behind the young noble. Rather than butlers, they looked like ruffians with their muscles barely contained by their uniforms.
There was silence in the eatery at Jurg's brash action, but Jurg took it as them being cowed. However, the sound of metal clinking against ceramic plates soon made him frown. He glared at the platinum blonde rubellite-eyed woman who continued to eat without a care in the world.
Angered by the woman's attitude, Jurg stopped in front of the woman, each step causing the tableware to tremble from his sheer weight. "Woman, do you know what you are doing, ignoring the Great Jurg?"
The platinum blonde rubellite-eyed woman continued to eat, ignoring the commotion as if it did not concern her in any way. This only served to infuriate Jurg, and he reached out, his belly tilting the table as he did so and sending the towers of plates crashing into the floor, and grabbed the unfinished dessert.
Rubellite-eyes sharpened and sent a piercing glare towards Jurg. The young noble took a step back in fear before anger colored his face at the mere thought that a peasant cowed him. He threw the plate onto the ground, dessert and all, before smiling triumphantly at the woman who dared to disrespect him.
The air inside the eatery chilled to a frightening degree.
Olga gulped and found herself frozen to her chair. 'What's this? I'm an aura journeyman, yet I can't even move under this pressure. That woman is at least an aura master, just who is she?!'
The corner of Jurg's mouth began to froth as he backpedaled in fear. "M-m-men, get her!"
His two butlers didn't move at all, clearly knowing what a foolish move that was. They may look like ruffians, but they were clearly smarter than their master.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
The platinum blond rubellite-eyed woman's step echoed in the silent eatery. With each step, there was a sense of looming disaster. The woman raised her hand, revealing a golden ring with a gem inserted into it. As it began to glow, Olga finally broke free of the invisible shackles.
"Halt, I am Sir Olga Muller, an imperial knight of the empire!" Olga loudly proclaimed, more for herself than others.
Jurg swiveled his head so fast that the fat of his lifted from the centrifugal force. "Knight, I order to arrest this woman for threatening me!"
Olga glared at Jurg. Did he not know the situation he was in? "Jurg Schmid, leave the establishment before I arrest you."
Thankfully, the rubellite-eyed woman lowered her hand after Olga stepped up. However, someone couldn't read the situation.
"Do you know who I am? How dare you threaten to arrest me? Who's your superior? I'll report you for daring to threaten a noble!"
Olga twisted her body to avoid the spittle and glared at Jurg. "Article 168. An Imperial Knight has the right to arrest and bring forth any violators of the law, whether they be commoner or noble."
"You're lying. And it was her who threatened me. I didn't break any laws!" Jurg shouted, furious and fearful at the same time. His father had warned him to never go against an imperial knight, but he didn't want to back down either.
"Destruction of property and causing a public disturbance are more than enough reason to arrest you, Jurg Schmid," Olga said.
In truth, Olga was only threatening him. If she really arrested him, even if he were powerless noble, she would bring endless trouble to herself. Her fellow knights of noble descent might even go against her regardless of the situation that led to the result.
The two faced off, neither saying anything. At this time, a chef in white exited the kitchen and said, "What is going on?"
"Chef Koch?" Olga said, surprised that an imperial chef would appear at an eatery.
"Sir Olga?" Koch was just as surprised. However, he had no time to ponder why Olga was here as Jurg directed his attention towards the chef.
"You! Do you know what crime you committed? Forcing a noble like me to wait is an utmost sin!" Jurg gurgled out, more drool spilling onto his clothes. "If you don't compensate me, I'll have my father tear down this rundown store!"
Koch's face darkened in displeasure. He looked at Jurg before a knowing smile appeared on the chef's face. "I'll have to report this to the owner that Jurg of House Schmid disrupted her business. I'm sure Milord's father will apologize even if you do not."
"Psh, a woman? What can a woman do? If she knows what's good for her, she better come and beg me for forgiveness. How can a mere woman make a man of the great House Schmid beg? In fact, you, and you. Get on your knees and apologize, and I might forgive you for your crimes," Jurg said as he pointed at Koch and the rubellite-eyed woman.
Koch's face turned red, almost purple, from anger at Jurg's words. "Sir Olga, what is the crime of insulting an imperial?"
Olga felt as if she had grasped something and quickly answered. "Arrest the perpetrators and investigate if they have any traitorous thoughts."
"You, you!" Jurg's saliva spat out as he glared at Koch and Olga. However, before he could say anymore, Koch spoke once more.
"Sir Olga, please arrest Jurg of House Schmid for smearing Her Highness, Princess Adelheid name."
Jurg's face completely paled at this point. Even one as brash as he knew never to get on an imperial's wrong side, much less smear them. Not even sparing a glance at his butlers, Jurg ran out of the shop, tripping a few times in the process, with his butlers following soon after.
"Should I give chase?" Olga asked. She didn't want to, but she would do so if it were to protect Princess Adelheid's honor.
Koch shook his head. "Don't worry, I'll report it to Her Highness. Her Highness will take care of it."
Olga nodded.
"My apologies for the disruption. As compensation, every customer present will receive a plate, free of charge," Koch said as he apologized to the diners.
"No, Chef Koch is too polite. That Jurg was asking for trouble," a diner said.
"I had heard how House Schmid would no longer be a count, but I did not think their conduct would degrade to such a degree," another diner, a young noblewoman, agreed.
"Heh, if he planned on continuing. I don't mind letting him know who I am," another diner, this time a young nobleman, said.
"You're right. Does that Jurg think he's the only noble? How dare he ignore us?" another noble said as they shared a laugh, their smiles filled with scorn.
Koch sighed in relief as he ordered the workers to clean the mess up. He talked a few more with Olga before returning to the kitchen, but the female knight saw a waiter leave the shop towards the imperial palace. However, her thoughts were soon distracted as Koch gave her three plates of chiffon cake with ice cream, free of charge, for her aid.
The next day when Olga assumed her duties, her superior called for her. Remembering yesterday's events, Olga feared the worst, but her worries were unfounded.
"Sir Olga, lead a squad of knights and arrest Jurg Schmid for destroying properties, causing a public disturbance, and smearing an imperial."
Olga almost couldn't hold back her bark of laughter.
