She kept her strong facade earlier but when the friends whom she spent time together with disappeared. An indescribable bitterness filled her heart. Her first taste of betrayal came from her subordinates that swore loyalty towards her.

Slowly, tears descended from eyes, drenching her cheeks. Her figure intermittently trembled, as m.u.f.fled sobs came out of her throat. Ever since the day that her mother told her to be strong. It was the first time that Juliet cried. She cried for herself, thinking about how foolish and naive she was.

The human heart is fickle, and in the face of benefits, even close relatives could betray each other.

Despite this realization, Juliet couldn't suppress the bitterness in her heart and Zieve who saw her delicate, trembling figure felt pained in his heart. Juliet wasn't only his benefactor but also his family. Seeing her like this made him sorrowful and somber.

But Zieve knew that at the wake of this event, Juliet learned a valuable lesson in life. Something that would last her for her entire life. Stretching her hand, she rubbed the young girl's head and wiped her face clean of her tears.

"Juliet, don't be so sad. You still have me, the strongest Head Chef of the Empire!" Zieve said with gusto and made an exaggerated pose by flexing his biceps. Juliet's expression brightened and she lightly laughed.

"You're not fooling anyone, Zieve. The strongest Head Chef, you say?" Juliet teased and Zieve puffed his cheeks in indignance.

"I'm the strongest! At the least in this area..."

"Didn't you say that you're the strongest in the Empire?"

"Shut up!"

The two teased each other as the tense and sorrowful atmosphere that surrounded the room disappeared. Zieve was someone that had a story to tell. Their voices and laughter didn't cease until late afternoon.

Tomorrow, Juliet opened the store and a bitter smile spread on her face when she saw the empty restaurant hall. She was used to seeing smiles and witnessing the emptiness made a sense of loss surge in her heart.

Still, she opened her shop, doing the same routine that she always did. She cleaned the front, the back and the kitchen. The work that her crew was supposed to do transferred unto her. But Juliet didn't feel any indignance. In fact, she was silent and tranquil.

Suddenly, familiar footsteps echoed outside of the door. Juliet turned to stare at the entrance and there, Zieve appeared with a small smile on his face while awkwardly scratching his head like he used to do everyday.

"Sorry, I'm late..."

From the crew members that Juliet recruited. Only Zieve remained loyal and unperturbed. Walking towards the kitchen, he prepped fresh ingredients once again while maintaining his silence.

Juliet stared at her for a moment before continuing her work.

"Bro, isn't that the restaurant where we ate last time?"

"Indeed, that's the restaurant, Juliet's Dreamy House..."

"I see, I still remember the unique flavors that I tasted when I ate there, how about we take our breakfast there?"

"Sounds good, man. Let's go."

Voices of two men rang from the outside and Juliet hurriedly dispatched of the broom on her hand and tidied her clothes. Preparing to greet the incoming customers with her same cheerful smile.

With a creak, the door opened and the two Outer Disciples frowned in disappointment when they saw the somber appearance of the restaurant. At the left of the front desk, numerous chunks of broken wood were placed and judging from the dust that floated in the air, the restaurant was still in the process of being cleaned.

"Are we disturbing? It seems like you're still not open..." One of the young man said and Juliet shook her head while replying, "No, Sir. We're open now and ready to serve. Here's our menu."

She handed a wooden tab at the young man that the latter promptly received. Upon seeing the value of each dish, his eyebrows knitted but he still made his order when he remembered the delectable flavors that he tasted the last time he came here.

Juliet's smile was more cheerful than yesterday as she hopped and skipped towards the kitchen where Zieve was awaiting for orders. Giving him the ticket, Zieve went into cooking mode and carefully a.s.sembled the dishes from scratch.

Fragrant smell of spices, meat and vegetables filled the air and soon, the dishes came out one after another as Juliet carried it over towards her customers.

The young men's eyes shone in excitement when they saw how delicate-looking each piece of the meat was. Wolfing it down within a matter of minutes, the young men drunk their beverages in satisfaction.

"The meal was quite awesome but it would be better if it's more affordable so we could eat it everyday..."

"Indeed, with the monthly stipends that we're receiving from the Academy and our salary from our job, three Spirit Stones for a dish is too much, they're sucking us off like that General Merchandise of the Imperial Clan..."

"Well, it's good food anyways. I can't really complain but it would be much better if it's somewhat affordable..."

The two of them sighed before leaving the restaurant. Juliet who was secretly listening to their conversation made a small smile on her face. At the end of service, Zieve and Juliet closed the store and approached Zieve before saying.

"Zieve, I think I can finally see something that can make us beat the Imperial Clan..."

Zieve slightly smiled. In his heart, he didn't antic.i.p.ate for anything. He was just there to listen to Juliet's words.

"Something that can beat them? What is it?" He replied and Juliet smiled.

"Remember the only customers that we got today? They gave me the idea of beating the Imperial Clan, not in their own compet.i.tion but sales. Since winter is close approaching, people wouldn't frequently go out and would stock for dry food in their home, right?"

Zieve nodded his head: "That's indeed the case, since the Commerce Block is quite far and the road there is treacherous when it's winter..."

Juliet's smile intensified, "In that case, what if there's something that is more affordable, delicious and can be eaten while moving?"

"Eaten by moving? Are you talking about street foods?" Zieve's expression flickered and his interest grew regarding the subject that Juliet was saying. Street foods were staple foods for those who were busy and doesn't have the time to cook for their own.

"Yes, I'm cooking about street foods. How about we transform the Dreamy House into something more portable and affordable? In that way, not only we can reduce price of our dishes, we can also reduce the amount of Spiritual lngredients that we're going to use since street foods are supposed to be eaten quick so they are bite-sized."

The more Zieve listened to Juliet the more his astonishment increased. In the end, his expression reddened in excitement and his breathing turned into ragged pants. He could definitely see a future regarding Juliet's plans.

"Juliet! Your plan is definitely perfect but it requires tremendous manpower. Since we're using speed as our capital, we should have different teams for each tasks such as cooking, prepping ingredients, procuring raw ingredients and serving. That's impossible to do if there's only the two of us..."

Zieve pointed out a critical problem on Juliet's plan and the latter's figure froze. Her excitement deflated and Zieve awkwardly scratched his cheek.

"Juliet, don't be so down, making such an intricate plan was something that I couldn't possibly do in such a short amount of time. Seeing you did something impossible for me is quite an amazing feat so in the end, you're already amazing..." Zieve consoled the young girl and Juliet nodded with a smile.

"Juliet, will you mind telling me about where you learned these things? I can't just grasp my head around the concept of seeing someone as little as you having the capability in managing a business and I also don't understand why you would do this instead of playing with those of your age..." Zieve asked with a smile and Juliet explained.

"When I was young, Mama and me had to rely on each other. She thought me that each penny and dime are valuable and should be saved up. Mama taught me to value money, she would scold me whenever I wasted a penny and I took that as a valuable lesson."

"Mama also taught me how to make a business, manage finances and profits along with customer service and the phrase that the customer is always right and should always be respected."

"Even now, I still cannot understand some of the words that she said back then. But I feel like I'll be able to comprehend them soon, as long as I don't give up..."

Juliet's words astonished Zieve. He didn't expect that someone as fragile-looking girl like her had such a harsh past that she had to learn all of these things in desperation to live with her mother. Sighing in his heart, Zieve thought in his heart.

"A young girl like her has such a strong determination, while here I am, standing here with hesitation lingering in my heart..." Zieve slapped his cheek amidst Juliet's confusion and shock. As soon as his eyes opened, newfound resolve flashed through his eyes as the two. One little girl and a young man, walked towards the horizon.