Today is the first official day of the Cultural Festival.
After completing several commissions over the past few days, Liyakade had earned a few hundred gold coins.
Even without relying on Field’s support, Liyakade could now afford to eat for quite some time.
Of course, this amount was only enough for food; spending money in the Royal City was out of the question.
Just the clothes Field had previously bought for Liyakade would likely cost all the gold coins she’d accumulated in the past few days.
So repaying Field was still a distant goal.
However, Liyakade wasn’t anxious.
After all, Field definitely wouldn’t rush her to pay back the money.
It was just that Liyakade felt a little embarrassed to receive such generosity from Field.
The sun was shining brightly at this moment.
Although it was still summer, the sun wasn’t scorching.
A gentle summer breeze blew by, making everything feel warm rather than hot.
The Academy was already open to the public, with colorful banners and decorations hanging at the main gate.
Many small shops had been set up along the street since yesterday, and they had already started business.
The entire district was bustling, crowded with people, and full of lively excitement.
Of course, although the Academy was open to the public during the Cultural Festival, the ‘public’ here referred mainly to Nobles.
It was an opportunity for the elders of Noble Families to understand the Academy and see the learning environment of their children.
It also showcased the Academy’s culture and strength, reassuring Nobles to entrust their children to study here.
Ordinary commoners had no right to visit.
Only Merchants whose business networks spread throughout the Kingdom, or Adventurers with high prestige and honor, were specially invited to visit.
Even then, a certain fee had to be paid.
In short, the Cultural Festival was also a means of publicity for the Academy.
Come to think of it, this world really is a place of strict class distinctions.
Liyakade pondered as she walked along the bustling street, soon arriving at the stall the three of them had chosen at the beginning.
“Good morning, Alice-chan, Princess Field.”
Liyakade walked behind the counter and greeted the two of them.
“Good morning, Miss Liyakade.”
Upon seeing Liyakade arrive, Alice immediately gave a warm smile like a spring breeze.
Alice had already put on her apron, gloves, and hat.
She had come here early to prepare before the Academy opened.
“Morning, but why did you suddenly start using honorifics again?”
Field raised her eyebrow slightly in dissatisfaction.
“A few days ago, you called me by my name in front of others.”
“Those were private occasions before. There are so many adults today. If I call you that and someone hears, it wouldn’t look good. I don’t want anyone to gossip.”
Liyakade explained.
“Fine, fine.”
Field gave up helplessly.
After all, what Liyakade said wasn’t unreasonable.
If some gossipy Nobles heard Liyakade calling her by name and she responded cheerfully, their relationship would definitely become the subject of speculation.
But well… speculation is speculation.
At most, people would just think they were close friends.
After greeting the two, Liyakade stood at the front counter.
All the ingredients had been prepared yesterday, and the three of them had already divided their roles.
As the only one who could make pastries, Alice was naturally the core of the Dessert Shop and only needed to handle the kitchen.
Field was in charge of promotion outside.
As a Princess, her reputation was certainly high.
In fact, her endorsement carried so much authority that just saying the desserts here tasted great would attract many customers.
Having her promote the shop was perfect.
As for the useless Liyakade, she was left to serve the desserts Alice made and collect money.
Liyakade had mastered the ‘sales smile’ in her previous life, so this level of customer service was no problem.
However, standing at the counter collecting money and watching the flow of people come and go was a bit boring.
Most customers just bought and left.
Occasionally, someone would be curious about Liyakade’s hair color and strike up a conversation, to which she’d reply that it was natural.
Gradually, feeling bored, Liyakade recalled the Original Story’s Cultural Festival plot.
At this point in the Original Story, the original owner was still helping Irina Zi with various tasks.
Alice and Field had also chosen to run a Dessert Shop at the festival, but with one less person, they lacked promotion.
Field stood in the position where Liyakade was now.
The pastries Alice made were well-received, which Irina Zi could not tolerate.
She had the original owner spread rumors that Alice, being a commoner, made unsanitary pastries, using this as a basis to suppress Alice.
When Field heard these rumors, she immediately stood up to defend Alice.
She identified all the rumor-mongers except for the original owner and pressured them to stop spreading lies.
She then personally sampled Alice’s desserts in front of everyone, using her honor to guarantee there were no hygiene issues.
With Field’s guarantee, the incident ended.
Irina Zi couldn’t continue her schemes.
However, the targeting of Alice by Irina Zi and the original owner didn’t stop at the Cultural Festival.
During the selection of the Festival Flower, the original owner once again targeted Alice.
The judges, bribed by Irina Zi, turned a blind eye to the attacks.
If not for Field’s timely intervention, Alice would have been seriously injured.
Even so, the attacks continued.
Later, during the stage play, Irina Zi gave Alice the wrong script from the start, with mismatched lines intended to embarrass her in front of everyone.
Field improvised to save both Alice and the play.
Recalling this, Liyakade couldn’t help but chuckle.
In this world now, Irina Zi had already been imprisoned, so such events clearly wouldn’t occur.
According to the current timeline, Alice could easily win the title of Festival Flower and receive the Grade Director’s reward—the Double Experience Amulet.
The only concern was the Demon Race individual who hadn’t appeared in the Original Work, but after Alice’s growth, those of the Demon Race weren’t worth fearing.
While Liyakade was leisurely collecting money, some strange voices reached her ears.
“Hey… did you hear? The person in this Dessert Shop’s kitchen is apparently a commoner…”
“What… seriously?”
“It’s true. This year, they said a commoner freshman was specially invited. She’s said to be working in this shop.”
“It was a member of a major family in the Royal City who said it. If not for him, I wouldn’t have known.”
“I heard things made by commoners are all unsanitary.”
“I just ate something from this shop… ugh…”
“That noble said commoners knead dough with their feet…”
“Bang—”
Liyakade slammed the table.
The area instantly fell silent.
The whisperers dared not speak further, and some bystanders, startled by the sudden noise, looked toward Liyakade.
“Whew—”
Liyakade exhaled and replaced her earlier expression with a sweet smile.
“Sorry, there was some dust on the table, so I just wiped it.”
After her explanation, the crowd gradually returned to its lively state.
Kneading dough with their feet…
Did they think this was old pickled sauerkraut!?
Fuming, Liyakade clenched her small pink fists.
To think Alice’s hard-made desserts were being slandered like this—she couldn’t accept it.
But… with Irina Zi already behind bars, who was spreading these rumors now?