Delicious Sweet Milk Baguette - Chapter 2
After standing and waiting for several hours, Roa’s stamina and patience were at their limits.
It wasn’t just Roa who was struggling; the young ladies around her were also showing signs of exhaustion. As dizziness set in and fatigue took over, many of the young ladies declared defeat and began to leave.
This reduced the seemingly endless line by about half, and soon, a welcoming voice announced:
“We’re open. Please enter in order.”
Roa’s eyes snapped to the central clock in Calantus, which pointed precisely at four o’clock. The bakery she had been eagerly anticipating had finally opened.
“Please… please let me get in.”
With many young ladies having left due to exhaustion, there was a slight chance that Roa might still get a chance. Glancing around, it seemed like she might manage to get her hands on the bread.
The thought of tasting the baguette made her breathing quicken and her heart pound like a small drum.
“Oh no… could this be?”
Contrary to Roa’s hopes, fortune did not favor her. To make matters worse, the bakery had run out of baguettes by the time her turn came.
It felt like a cruel twist of fate. After hours of waiting under the scorching sun, foregoing sightseeing to taste the baguette, Roa’s efforts seemed to have gone in vain. Disappointment was etched on her face.
‘I have to go… but I can’t bring myself to leave…’
As the sign announcing the end of sales was posted on the door, the young ladies who failed to buy the bread sighed deeply and went on their way. Roa, however, remained lingering in front of the bakery, unable to let go of her lingering hope.
At that moment, the bakery door opened, and a man in a tight apron appeared. He wore a neat white shirt that accentuated his muscular neck, with a few buttons undone and sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his tanned forearms and prominent blue veins.
Seeing the buttons straining against the man’s shirt, Roa couldn’t help but imagine that his chest must be impressive as well.
“Are you here to buy bread?”
“Yes? Oh! Yes, that’s right!”
Distracted by the man’s muscular arms and impressive chest, Roa responded late. She quickly gathered herself and nodded vigorously.
“I’m so sorry, but all the bread we had for today is already sold out.”
The man, who appeared to be the owner of the bakery, looked somewhat surprised. Despite being certain she had never met him before, Roa felt an odd sense of familiarity. She studied his face closely, trying to place where she might have seen him before…
‘He’s quite handsome.’
He was undeniably handsome. Roa swallowed hard, realizing that not only was his physique impressive, but his looks were also exceptionally striking for a baker.
His neatly styled hair was a rich brown, reminiscent of the crust of well-baked bread. His refined and handsome features brought to mind an ascetic knight who had never known indulgence.
Yet, his stern exterior didn’t tell the whole story. His slightly drooping, gentle eyes, with their emerald tint, exuded a warm and kind aura, giving off a soft-hearted personality that would charm anyone.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure.”
After Roa’s subtle question, she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment, thinking her approach sounded like a cliché line.
“Are you alright, miss?”
“Yes… I’m fine.”
As the man spoke, Roa came to her senses and decided to present her main request.
“Um, is there any chance….. you might have any leftover bread pieces?”
Even as she spoke, Roa couldn’t shake the feeling of how pitiable her request sounded. It felt rather humiliating to be a noble lady begging for bread scraps like a beggar in the town square.
In this moment of disappointment and emptiness, Roa felt as if she was losing sight of everything. She was so desperate that she wanted to grab the owner by his trousers and plead for a taste of the bread, anything to satisfy her craving.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have any leftover bread. You must have traveled a long way. Judging by your complexion, I can tell you’re not from the South.”
“Yes, I came from the central region…”
“I see… You’ve come a long way. Our bakery will be open tomorrow as well. Please come back then. Since you’ve waited so long, I’ll set aside a special portion for you.”
“Tomorrow… I won’t be here…”
Disappointed, Roa unconsciously showed a forlorn expression and lowered her gaze. It seemed as though even the smallest thing, like not getting to eat the bread, could make her tear up.
But then, something caught her eye— the outline of a baguette faintly visible beneath the owner’s apron.
<Sales are limited to twenty loaves per day, but the owner sometimes offers special tasting breads depending on his mood.>
Tasting bread! Could that be the special tasting bread mentioned in Joshie’s column? Remembering the crucial detail from the column, Roa’s heart leaped with a tiny spark of hope.
‘Could that be…?’
