A Divorced Evil Lady Bakes Cakes

Erin gave a small smile at Melly, who was enjoying her lemon pie.
She paused as she scooped a slice onto her plate.

“Come to think of it, there was a time when I made this pie at the Imperial Palace.”

‘It was that time when she just entered the palace.’

Erin had wanted to eat this pie so badly that she had sneaked into the kitchen in the middle of the night.
It was possible because it was a time when she hadn’t yet realized how much she had to worry about being watched in the Imperial Palace.

Shortly after that, Erin became the butt of jokes among the nobility as the past of her making and selling pies with her mother became known to them.

That’s why she never went near a kitchen ever again, lest she became an object of ridicule.
She didn’t even bother seeking out desserts like pie or cake anymore.
That night would be the first and last time she made desserts inside the kitchen of the imperial palace.

‘The person with whom I shared the pie that night was…’

Erin smiled bitterly at the forgotten memory.
Melly, who had finished her pie by then, looked at her pleadingly.

“Ms.
Erin, can I have just one more slice?”

⚘

“I can’t believe it!”

A shrill voice burst out from the crown prince’s palace.
It was Mrs.
Brennan’s voice.

The crown prince’s palace was much more ornate and larger than Erin’s.
There were lavish decorations and extravagant furnishings everywhere you looked.

Mrs.
Brennan was shouting with a nervous voice in the most opulent of the rooms.

“I’ve been in charge of the Crown Princeess’ palace for over a decade, and she’s throwing me out! A poor subject who’s been kicked out for having an affair!”

Erin hadn’t been thrown out for having an affair.
She had divorced the Duke consensually, but Lady Brennan was so furious, she started accusing Erin of being an adulteress and hurling insults at her.

Erin exercised her final authority before leaving.
She stamped her seal on Mrs.
Brennan’s Dismissal letter before returning the Empress’s seal.

She then entrusted the seal to the Minister of Interior and strode leisurely out of the palace.

Mrs.
Brennan was furious, but there was nothing she could do.
She had no choice but to pack her things and leave.

“Don’t be so angry, Madam.”

Inside the room was a blonde beauty surrounded by maidservants.

Her gorgeous blond hair, that was covered with ornaments, glistened like pure gold in the sunlight.

Serena von Brennan.

Raymond’s official lover and the de facto hostess of the Crown Prince’s Palace.

While Erin lived in the crown princess’s quarters, Serena had an opulent residence in the crown prince’s boudoir.

Mrs.
Brennan’s voice toned down and was now as sweet as honey when she spoke, as if she had never been angry before.

“Well, that’s not what I’m here for, now that she’s gone, all we need to do is for Lady Serena to marry the Duke and enter the Crown Princess Palace, which is where you’re always been more suited to be.”

Serena could coax the crown prince to appoint her as the head maid of the Crown Prince’s Palace, but there was already someone else who was appointed as a head maid of the Palace before her.

She was also a member of the Brennan family to which Serena was adopted to.

But there was no need to be discouraged.
Once Serena becomes a duchess and takes over the crown princess title, Mrs.
Brennan will automatically be reinstated as Head Maid of the Crown Princess.

Serena smiled shyly.

“How dare I hope for such a thing…”

There were dozens of dresses spread out from the console next to the vanity mirror, the couch and the tables.

Serena was wearing a white petticoat and corset and applying her makeup with the help of her maids.

Her bare face was perfect, but with a little makeup, she was many times more beautiful.
She was as beautiful and radiant as a rose in full bloom.

‘She’s so pretty… I don’t know why the old emperor won’t let her be a duchess.’

Mrs.
Brennan felt sorry for Serena.

‘She’s the most suitable as the real empress, not that poor woman.’

Serena was the daughter of one of the capital’s most powerful families.

She was originally a commoner, but her great-grandfather’s family had amassed great wealth from generations to generations.

With this wealth, he married the only daughter of a lowly knight, and he managed to inherit his wife’s title and officially became a nobleman.

However, a title bought with money was not recognized by the prestigious nobility of society.

Overflowing wealth only works among the lesser nobility.
It was not enough to get you in among the truly prestigious ones.

But that changed when Serena, the only daughter, caught the eye of the Duke.

Raymond allowed her to be an adopted daughter of the prestigious Brennan family.
So she became the count’s beloved daughter overnight.

The Count of Brennan, an old and prestigious family, supported the young Duke over the current Emperor.

The people of House Brennan had already accepted Serena as the Count’s daughter and were pushing for her to be the next Duchess.

Normally, everyone would have been appalled at accepting a woman from a wealthy lower noble family as a member of their own family.

But things are different now.
If they could become a relative of the future empress, they would be able to overcome all sorts of reservations.
The expensive gifts that Serena brought to the people of that family also helped to erase those feelings.

But the emperor disliked Serena from the very beginning.

It was the old emperor’s insistence that the daughter of a lowly noble with no title could not be allowed into the imperial family.

So instead, he took Erin, who came from a poor but reputed noble family, and made her the duchess.

“But..”

Serena, who was choosing a necklace after finishing her makeup, asked calmly.

“Erin said she was going to open a cafe, is that true?”

Mrs.
Brennan immediately responded as if she had been waiting for this.

“Yes.
She seemed to really want to open one.
I heard she’s got some places scouted out and the ingredients ordered as soon as she’s finished signing the divorce papers.
What’s wrong with her? Could it be that being deposed as a duchess had made her a little out of sorts?”

“Maybe.”

“Still, shouldn’t we stop it? It can’t do any good for an ousted duchess to set up a cafe downtown and become the talk of the town.
If the Emperor returns….”

Mrs.
Brennan, who had been talking so far, immediately trailed off.

Because she could see Serena’s eyes staring back at her in the vanity mirror.
Serena smirked as she looked at Mrs.
Brennan in the mirror.

“Don’t worry too much, Madam.”

“You’ve got something on your mind?”

Serena laughed without answering, her gaze drifting back to the colorful jewelry on her dressing table.

“Well, I don’t know much about cooking or anything.”

Her white fingers slowly ran over the glittering red gems.

“But a cafe can’t be without coffee, right?”

Serena walked down the hallway of the crown prince’s palace.

With each step, her long skirts dragged slowly behind her like a wave.

Nobles passing by parted to either side and bowed their heads.

They all looked at her with interest.
She could almost hear the words they were saying to themselves.

“Now that the Duchess has been deposed, does that make her the new Duchess?”

“Maybe, because the Duke doesn’t even bother to look at other women apart from her.”

“But do you think his majesty would allow it?”

People had been whispering the same thing ever since the Duchess had disappeared.

Whenever the nobles gathered, they talked about the three of them.

The rumors of the Duchess’s affair, which had been circulating for three or four months, and the Duke and Duchess’s recent divorce has been the favorite topic of the nobles during teatime.

Everyone’s eyes lit up with glee at this huge scandal.

Even the ministers and servants were watching the palace with interest, as if they were watching a play.

Now that Erin was gone, their interests were one and the same.

‘Would Serena be able to become the new Duchess?’

Everyone wanted to know the answer, but the person who wanted to know the most was Serena herself.

“Your Highness.”

At the end of the hallway, Raymond and his aides emerged from his office.
He spotted Serena and stopped.

She walked up to Raymond, grabbed him by the hem of his skirt, and bowed gracefully.

“Your Highness, the Duke.”

“Yes, Lady Serena.”

Raymond nodded grimly.

It was a tepid response, but Serena smiled as brightly as a flower in full bloom.

From the first time she saw Raymond at the age of 15, Serena fell deeply in love with this precious man.

Born the daughter of a wealthy merchant, Serena grew up to be the envy of the nobility.

With her wealth, it wasn’t hard to marry into a great family.
It was not uncommon for financially strapped nobles to take the daughters of wealthy upstart families as their wives.

But the Imperial family was different.

As a lowly noble, she could never become an imperial bride.

It was an impossible relationship, but Serena refused to give up.

She chased after Raymond, desperately trying to get herself on a higher position.

Even after Raymond got married and had a wife, she refused to give up hope.

And now, maybe, just maybe, she will have the honor of becoming this gorgeous man’s wife.

She would do anything to earn it.

“Your Highness, there’s a ball at the Flynn’s Manor tonight.
Are you aware of it?”

“Yes.
I heard of it.”

Serena’s white cheeks flushed slightly.
She took a step closer, as if to embrace Raymond, and spoke in a low voice.

“So, will you be my partner tonight?”