I Opened a Café in Another World.-Volume 2, Chapter 23: We were blessed.

Zeke, overjoyed that his feelings were answered, pulled Risa’s hands to embrace her, when…

“Oh dear me! How wonderful!”

Zeke completely forgot where he was and Risa was overwhelmed with his confession. They creaked their necks slowly towards the direction of the voice.

“U-uhm, did, were y-you watching…”

Risa’s flushed face only turned redder as she stammered.

“Of course!”

Queen Adele smiled from ear to ear, clearly over the moon.

Zeke immediately felt sorry for getting ahead of himself without picking the place, but it didn’t dampen his satisfaction at hearing Risa’s good response. He felt bad for RIsa, who seemed about to burst into tears from embarrassment, but he was glad that Queen Adele had become their witness, however involuntarily. Regardless of the situation, all that mattered to him was that Risa responded to his feelings favorably.

Zeke gently let go of Risa’s hands and bowed deeply to Queen Adele.

“My deepest apologies for doing this in front of Your Majesty.”

“I don’t mind at all. In fact, thanks to you I’ve had front row seats to a spectacle! Risa had such a good person like you right next to her.”

Queen Adele chuckled as she urged him to stand. He stood and sat back down next to Risa, who was bashfully fiddling with her fingers.

“It’s a little strange to say this when I was the one to trouble you with the marriage talks… However, there may be more people who criticize you because of the rumors. When that happens, please don’t hesitate to come to me. I won’t let them get in your way.”

“O-okay.”

“We are in your care.”

The two replied and Queen Adele gave a big nod.

“Good. Let’s call it a day, then!”

Queen Adele’s plate and teacup were both empty. She apparently continued to enjoy her dessert and tea while watching Zeke confess. Zeke, overwhelmed in various ways by Queen Adele, glanced at Risa sitting next to him. She was finally the same old Risa he knew, accepting that what was done had been done.

Watched by the high-spirited Queen Adele, Zeke and Risa left the room. Zeke rode with Risa on the carriage that Queen Adele had prepared for her.

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When the carriage reached Risa’s home, Zeke got off first and offered a hand to her. She hesitated before slowly placing her hand in his. Zeke was happy to see her use his hand as support despite her shyness. After all, she was finally relying on him a little bit, even though he was younger than her and still nowhere near her level at work.

“We can work together at the café again starting tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Sorry, I’ve caused you so much trouble…”

“No, thanks to that I’ve painfully understood how much more I can improve.”

“That’s…” 𝑓𝑟eℯ𝒘𝗲𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚𝒍.𝒄o𝐦

“It’s fine. I’m glad I found out.”

“Zeke…”

Risa looked at Zeke, concerned. Seeing her eyebrows scrunched up together in worry, Zeke laughed and kissed the middle of her forehead to Risa’s surprise. Risa stared at him, speechless, before her cheeks flushed red.

“…!”

“See you tomorrow, then.”

Zeke said, ushering her into her house. Once he confirmed that she went in, he went back into the carriage. Finally, his long day came to an end.