Theo was shocked at the sudden appearance of Sophia and her friends.

The four noble maidens , including Sophia, came dressed in a simple one-piece commoner’s dress and said that they would be serving here as maids for the day.

Theo guessed that they had probably come to find out about Gassour because of Arc’s outlandish behavior, but even so, it was too reckless.

He said, “…… Sophia, you’re a duchess now, aren’t you? Are you sure this is appropriate ?”

The father who gave permission was also a father. Sophia laughed with a troubled look on her face, but a woman next to her, Arena or something, answered with pride, “It’s part of my community service.”

” okay ……”

That’s all he could say.

Sophia is wearing a wig and glasses, perhaps as a disguise, but anyone who knows her well would immediately recognize her as Sophia. Theo had no choice but to secretly explain the situation to the regulars who seemed to know Sophia well enough to recognize her and told them not to make any unnecessary assumptions. Then he told them that when they called Sophia, they should call her “Rize,” after Sophia’s mother, Riserte.

“Rize! Two barleywines over here!”

“Rize! Over here, some fried pig’s eggs.”

“Rize! Give me something to snack on, anything you think will help!”

Since the opening of the restaurant, Rize – Sophia has been very popular.

Many people who knew Sophia were worried about her sudden disappearance and were happy to see her in good health. Some of them had strange assumptions and tried to ask her how she and Theo were getting along, which made Theo upset.

Some of them were even looking down their noses at him, which was annoying.

“Hey Sophia, it’s time for you to step back inside. Normally, Gassour will be here soon.”

Theo secretly informed Sophia and Arena nodded in agreement.

“Yeah that’s right, Sophia should stay back just in case. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Theo nodded. “Well, then call me if anything happens.”

Theo took Sophia down to the small room at the back of the restaurant. Then brought some grape julienne, some bread and soup, and some fried meat and vegetables.

“I hope you don’t mind this,” he said.

No, it’s ok. I miss your cooking.

Sophia was so happy to eat the food, even though she had been eating at the duke’s house every day. She looks no different from Sophia who used to live around here.

Sophia finished her meal in no time and drank her tea with satisfaction.

” I’m sorry for the sudden inconvenience.”

“No, I said I would look into it, but I haven’t been able to give you a good report……..”

“That’s … I’m sorry I got involved”

“It’s okay. You’ve known me since we were kids.”

“Thank you.” Sophia giggled

Theo turned his gaze to the side in surprise.

Sophia is the same as she was back then, but she has changed in some ways. The way she laughs is the same. She has suddenly become more mature, still a little different from the girl who laughed loudly with him when they were children.

Sophia drank her tea and exhaled.

I feel a little uncomfortable not thanking her for everything she’s done for me,” she said. Is there anything I can do?　I don’t have an allowance, so if you ask me for something too expensive, I might not be able to do it.

“No allowance? Aren’t you a duchess?

“Uh, yes. Well, you see, I don’t shop much, so I don’t really need it.”

“…… Hmmm.”

Theo didn’t seem to be convinced, but thought about it for a moment and said, “Well then, cookies. I want your homemade cookies, not your cook’s.”

“My cookies?”

“You used to bake them a lot in the past, right?”

“Oh, yes. If you want something like that, you can go to ……. But it tastes better when the chef cooks it than when I do it.”

“I don’t care. I want to eat yours.”

“Well then, I’ll bake it next time, so you can come over and eat.”

Sophia laughed again and got up to put away the dishes. –At that moment, there was a loud bang.

A loud bang echoed from outside, and Sophia and Theo looked up.