After the autumn equinox, the weather in Siria grew colder with each passing day.

The land at 40 degrees north latitude, beyond the Tropic of Cancer, rotated through day and night. The nights lengthened, the days shortened, and time flew by like a shuttle.

Luo Wei finally opened her bakery on Academy Street, tucked away in an inconspicuous corner, yet business was surprisingly brisk.

Bread sold for one silver coin each, cakes for three silver coins a piece, and small cakes filled with nuts and fruit jam commanded an additional silver coin.

Whenever other shop owners on the street passed by, they would gaze at it with a mix of reverence and bewilderment. They couldn't fathom how this shop had opened, or why the bread was so exorbitantly priced.

Until they finally steeled themselves to contribute to their competitor's success - purchasing a small piece of cream-filled bread, savoring it with sounds of reluctant praise, only to curse her for highway robbery after finishing.

As for the commoners, they dared not even pass by, for the shop was constantly bustling with noble students.

Though not ideally located, Luo Wei's shop was spacious, boasting two floors.

The ground floor sold bread and cakes, while the upper floor served tea drinks.

They didn't use tea leaves; instead, they crafted fruit teas. The sweetness came from malt sugar that Luo Wei had taught Bella to extract, and the fruits were sourced from nearby farms. Autumn's abundance of fruit kept prices low.

Luo Wei had cleverly adapted the lucrative milk tea business from her previous life, and her once-flat purse now bulged with profits.

Escrée Dessert House quickly became the most popular establishment among noble students. Now, those of status no longer frequented the second floor of the cafeteria, instead taking pride in enjoying afternoon tea at Escrée.

The shop employed six staff: two maids trained by Bella and four hired milk-churning workers from outside, barely managing Escrée's daily operations.

The labor-intensive process of cream-making meant cream cakes were always in short supply, sold in limited quantities. Rumors circulated that some enterprising commoners had taken to buying cakes from the shop and reselling them to school nobles at inflated prices, some fetching as much as one gold coin per cake.

To this, Luo Wei wryly thought: It's still easier to make money from the nobles.

The Hawkins shop had barely managed to pay her recipe rent for the first three months by draining their ancestral savings, while a single noble could spend fifty gold coins in a month at her dessert house.

"Here, one gold coin," Luo Wei placed the gold coin on the counter.

Like her customers, she too contributed to the shop's daily revenue.

"Very well, miss. Your cake and fruit tea will be served at your VIP seat upstairs. Please rest with your friend in the VIP area for a moment," the maid smiled, handing her a numbered copper tag with both hands.

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"Mm," Luo Wei took the tag, "Jane, shall we?"

Jane Fargson happily followed her upstairs, chattering away: "Luo Wei, the chef here is truly a genius. How do you think they create such delectable treats?"

Luo Wei shook her head: "I'm as mystified as you are."

"Indeed, it's a mystery to all. So many nobles from the school have tried to uncover the secret, hoping to lure the chef away to their own kitchens, but to no avail. The owner of Escrée remains an enigma."

Of course, Luo Wei knew the truth. The butter recipe was her closely guarded secret, prepared in her small courtyard and delivered to the shop. The in-house chefs couldn't replicate it.

Some nobles, frustrated in their attempts to poach her staff, had even tried to leverage their power and status. Fortunately, the shop's location on Academy Street afforded it protection from the Siria school authorities, thwarting their efforts.

Recently, Luo Wei had orchestrated rumors that Escrée's owner was a noble of high standing. This had somewhat dampened the enthusiasm of those with ill intentions.

As their desserts arrived, Jane sighed while delicately spooning her cake: "Luo Wei, your parents must dote on you terribly, allowing you to indulge here daily."

"Don't you come every day as well?"

"If not for your invitation today, I wouldn't be here," Jane admitted.

Luo Wei feigned puzzlement: "Why? Has the cake lost its appeal?"

Jane shook her head vigorously: "Even if I ate it for a lifetime, I'd never tire of it. But my purse is running dry."

She continued dejectedly: "I counted my coins yesterday and realized I don't have enough for this month's expenses. I've written home, but who knows if Mother will send more money."

"I've heard from the other girls that they wrote home ages ago, only to receive scolding replies and no funds. Recently, they've all resorted to wearing corsets again, to stave off hunger."

"The saddest part is, they can't even fit into their corsets anymore. Neither can I."

Jane pinched the soft flesh around her waist, then gazed at the cake on her plate with a mix of longing and resentment. Still, she took another bite, as if devouring the flesh of her enemy.

"Escrée is truly wicked, single-handedly draining the purses of Siria's noble students!"

Luo Wei, patting her own bulging money pouch, nodded with mock seriousness.

"Exactly!" Jane agreed emphatically.

"Luo Wei, there you are."

A new guest ascended to the second floor - Princess Lilith Rossetti.

"Teacher Lilith," Luo Wei stood, "Are you here for tea as well?"

"Indeed. The fruit tea here is delightfully sweet. It never fails to lift my spirits," Lilith winked, "Much like you, my dear."

Luo Wei blushed slightly: "You flatter me, teacher."

Lilith, having sampled Luo Wei's cakes in the small courtyard, was likely the only person at the academy who had deduced Luo Wei's ownership of the establishment.

After finishing their afternoon tea, Jane linked arms with Luo Wei as they exited the dessert shop.

"Oh my, isn't that Vina? Why is she here so late today?" Jane remarked, surprised.

Vina, another regular, looked uncharacteristically distraught. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she shot them a glare as she hurried past into the cake shop.

Luo Wei's curiosity was piqued: "I wonder what's troubling her?"

They soon learned the cause of Vina's distress. Rumors were flying around the academy that Vina's fiancé, Egbert Mansfield - an apprentice magician from the intermediate department and a count's son - had professed his love to Axina with a bouquet of roses and a jeweled dagger.

Reportedly, Axina had rejected him on the spot, admonishing him not to betray his engagement and urging him to treat Vina well.

However, Vina had apparently burst onto the scene, shoving Axina and nearly pushing her into the lake. Egbert, enraged, had then humiliated Vina and threatened to break off their engagement.

The noble young ladies at the school spoke of Vina with disdain: "She carried on like a common fishwife, not blaming her fickle fiancé, but accusing Axina of seducing him."

"As if! Her fiancé is so vertically challenged, and Axina is a beauty blessed by the Love Goddess herself. How could she possibly be interested in him?"

"Precisely! Axina even forgave Vina's rudeness and sternly warned Egbert to leave her alone. Yet Vina continued to rave like a madwoman, even accusing Axina of bewitching Egbert."

"Ha! A love spell, perhaps?"

"Don't be absurd. The Love Goddess would never bestow her gifts on someone so unfaithful!"

Luo Wei listened thoughtfully. While Axina's proud nature indeed made it unlikely she'd be interested in the short, stubby Egbert, the possibility that she might have deliberately seduced him to spite Vina couldn't be entirely ruled out.

Moreover, the lore stated that all divinely favored ones were granted an extraordinary ability by their patron deity. Axina hadn't displayed any particular talent in her courses. Perhaps her gift lay elsewhere?

Vina's suspicions weren't entirely baseless. The talent bestowed by the Love Goddess should logically relate to love. Surely it couldn't be a gift for fertility?

Then again, Axina was undeniably beautiful, with golden hair that shimmered like silk and azure eyes reminiscent of Swan Lake's waters. She embodied the universally acknowledged ideal of beauty, mirroring the mythological appearance of the Love Goddess herself.

Her facial features were sculpted and well-defined, with clear shadows that lent her beauty an almost aggressive quality. If not for her habit of keeping her eyes demurely lowered and maintaining a gentle smile, deliberately softening her intense allure, she would likely have driven the school's male students to distraction long ago.

If Axina set her mind to seducing a man, she likely wouldn't need any magical assistance. A single coquettish glance would probably suffice.

To be continued