Chapter 3369 Imposter Syndrome (Part 2)

The shop was split into a bakery and a pastry shop famous for its handmade fruit jams. "Listen, young lady, your ridiculous act can impress one of those posers who are trying to steal my business and recipes, but I know the real Elina Verhen. Vexal was yelling at a young and beautiful woman. "I've met her countless times since Magus Verhen was a baby and it's not you!"

She was dressed in the same commoner clothes Elina wore in the pictures uploaded on the Web and her haircut and color were similar to Elina's.

"How dare you call me a liar?" The impostor said with all the righteous outrage she could muster. "When I tell my son how you treated me, you'll lose much more than your shop, you insolent fool!"

"Yeah, I'll probably die." Vexal said with a sneer. "From laughter though. Hi, Elina. What can I do for you."

"It's too late to apologize now!" The impostor said with renewed confidence. "Unless you give me-"

"Hi, Vexal." Elina said, cutting her short. "Who is this woman? Does this kind of thing happen often?"

The imposter went pale, her demands dying on her lips. Not only was the comparison with the real deal unflattering for her, but also Elina looked at her like she was about to punch the imposter into tomorrow.

'If she's the real Elina and I so much touch one of her hair, the Queen's Corps will kill me. Unless they capture me alive and hand me to Verhen.' A cold sweat covered her from head to toe while she looked around like a cornered rat.

"Never seen her before" Vexal shrugged. "Probably a scrounger trying to get free food and clothes at the expense of gullible idiots. And yes, it happens more often than you might think. This is the second Elina this week, not counting you, of course."

The baker added one line to a small whiteboard split between Raaz, Elina, Rena, Aran, and Leria. No one dared to impersonate Lith because it was easily disproved and a capital offense.

The title of Magus carried great honor and power. Calling oneself a Magus was a crime no less severe than pretending to be the King and as harshly punished.

As for Tista, she was no Magus but no one in her right mind could hope to impersonate her. Her beauty was the kind that gave men whiplash and made women grunt at their own reflections.

A mere glance at her pictures was enough to expose the best-looking imposter.

"Gullible idiots?" Solus clicked her tongue. "Like those who believe your shop sign? The only reason this is the Verhens' favorite bakery is that, until a few years ago, it was the

only bakery in Lutia."

The customers of both shops gasped, moving their eyes from the impostor to Vexal long enough to give her the opening she needed to make her escape.

"There's only so much space on a shop sign, young lady." Vexal wore his best smile. "I sell bread, not stories. Also, as you just admitted, technically that's not a lie."

"Technically, that's not true either!" Solus retorted.

"That's enough, sweetie, we are not here to argue." Elina put an end to the quarrel. "Has any merchant suffered from the imposters?"

"A few, but I don't know how much they lost." Vexal replied. "I can look into it if you want."

"I'd really appreciate that." Elina nodded. 'I'd like to introduce myself to them so that such scams won't happen again and reimburse them for their losses."

At those words, Vexal's eyes went wide in horror.

"That's the most... noble thing I've ever heard, Elina." The baker bit his tongue at the last moment, saving himself. It wasn't his money, but the thought of it being thrown away at naïve fools made his cash register ache.

"I'll let you know as soon as possible. I know it's none of my business but I think you shouldn't worry about them. Lutia may be peaceful, but retail work is a ruthless world. Those guys have learned a priceless lesson that will save them much more money in the future.

"If they don't learn, they deserve to close shop and look for another job."

"I know." She replied. "But those women abused my name and those merchants were just doing what you are doing now. Sucking up to me to help their business. Also, only someone just arrived in Lutia could fall for that.

"That's a terrible welcome and our city deserves better."

"I won't argue further, then." Vexal gave her a short bow followed by many deeper bows from the customers and servers. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes, we've come to get four big loaves of white bread, ten assorted jam bread, and a pound cake. Solus grunted, trying and failing to look menacing due to her petite stature and her gaze fixed on the pastries instead of the baker.

"In a second!" Vexal stood behind the counter only to ensure no clerk skimmed on the cash and to promote his shop, but he always served the Verhens personally and with no regard for the queue. "This is for the wait."

He handed Elina, Ripha, and Solus a large chocolate chip cookie the size of a saucer and a cup of hot tea. Solus noticed a fresh pot of tea and another one of coffee behind the counter with several cups piled nearby.

"Do you sell beverages too?" She asked, intrigued at the idea of coffee shops in Mogar,

"Sell beverages?" Vexal replied with a laugh while packing the order. "Who would be so dumb to pay good money for flavored hot water they can make at home in one minute? That would be criminal."

'And that's coming from him at that.' Solus inwardly laughed.

"Drinks are on the house to better appreciate our fresh products. I want the cups back,

by the way."

Menadion was already halfway through her cookie. It wasn't as good as Lith's sweets but

it was the work of a master baker.

"Can we please get a few of these, Elina?" She asked.

"Of course." Elina and Vexal replied in unison.

"Since you won't make the introductions, may I ask you who is your friend, Elina?"

"Oh, sorry, Vexal." Elina saw the baker burning with curiosity, just like she expected. "Vexal, this is Rhona Verhen, Solus' older sister. Rhona, this is Vexal. You have already heard everything you need to know about him."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rhona." Vexal offered her his hand and puffed his chest out with pride, mistaking Elina's words for a compliment. "I can see the resemblance. I thought that the gods had broken the mold when they made Solus but I'm happy to see I

was wrong."

"The pleasure is mine." Menadion didn't like the man much, but she appreciated him cleaning his hand properly before the handshake.

[AN: Again, everyone will refer to her as Rhona but I'll stick with Ripha to avoid

confusion.]

"Why haven't I ever seen you in Lutia before? Solus has lived here for over a year now." The question was as rude as it was predictable.

Many customers interrupted their conversations to listen while a few kept talking but lowered their voices, pretending they weren't as nosy as the rest of the crowd.

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