The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen chapter 44

44 – Two Guests -2-

The dining table is finally fulfilling its role after a long time.

After Uria, the dining table had been collecting dust for a while, but now it was finally doing its job.

As I cooked in the kitchen, I looked at the people sitting at the dining table.

The lady with a sullen expression.

Hana, who became the youngest Oler user in the Empire.

And the head of the restaurant industry… No, Malik, the eldest son of the Histania family, and other famous figures from the Empire were sitting at the humble dining table, drinking hot black tea.

Hana, savoring the aroma of the tea, glanced at me with a small smile.

“This time it’s not green tea?”

“I thought Hana would come, so I spent some money.”

Upon hearing her polite words, Hana smiled.

“Is that so? I was trying to surprise you.”

It seemed like a joke that suited Hanna’s taste.

Hanna looked at her teacup intently.

With a subtle smile, Hanna touched the teacup’s handle and muttered to herself.

“Even the green tea… was delicious.”

At this point, I pulled out the cheap green tea bag that I had stashed away in the cabinet.

I had attempted, with the lady’s help, to finish that cheap green tea, but it was ultimately a failed attempt. After having consumed artisanal black tea for a while, I decided it was time to deal with the long-neglected green tea.

I showed Hanna the green tea bag, which was made of iron.

“Would you like some?”

Hanna noticed my ulterior motive to get rid of the leftovers and said, “Ricardo, it’s not a good thing to use tea as a pretext for getting rid of the leftovers.”

“It’s not about the leftovers. It’s just about serving tea according to your preference.”

“…That’s still about the leftovers.”

The lady had no clue.

Hanna awkwardly lowered her head.

Despite my reassurance and an offer to take the tea home, I was disappointed that I couldn’t dispose of it this time, thanks to the lady’s honesty.

I told the lady with frustration, “Well, then, for tomorrow’s snack, we’ll have green tea and biscuits.”

“…Using leftovers for snacks is not a good thing.”

“It’s fine. Sometimes the landlord has to take care of the leftovers too.”

“Okay…”

The lady looked at Hanna with eyes that were seeking salvation.

“You have it.”

And then, she handed the green tea to Hanna.

Hanna declined.

I guess my brewed green tea wasn’t as good as I thought.

With a sense of disappointment, I put the green tea back in the cabinet.

Dinner was prepared quickly.

Tonight’s menu was tteokbokki.

It was a modest menu to serve to a guest, but I had no choice but to make it, laden with gifts, at Hannah’s request.

Hannah wanted it.

And it was tonight’s dinner menu.

However, I couldn’t help but feel nervous about showcasing a new dish in front of the culinary master.

Malik had been watching me cook, his arms crossed, ever since a while ago.

Malik’s appearance reminded me of a cooking program from a past life. I was so distracted that I couldn’t concentrate on my cooking, as I felt he might say, “Jox, can you come down for a moment?”

“Hmm… You’re quite good,” Malik commented briefly as he watched me skillfully prepare the ingredients.

I wasn’t sure whether to take it as a compliment or to tell him to sit down and not pass judgment on the guest’s initiative.

While observing the dish he was preparing with a satisfactory appearance, Malik asked with interest, “What kind of dish are you making?”

“Oh, is this your first time, Mr. Malik?”

Malik nodded.

The only people who had tried this dish in the mansion were the young lady and Hannah.

Come to think of it, Malik had never tried tteokbokki, so an explanation about the dish was necessary. But just as I was about to explain to Malik, I heard Hannah’s sharp voice from her chair.

“Just eat it and stop talking.”

“…I see.”

Malik, who couldn’t assert himself in front of Hannah, had no choice but to comply.

When I saw him last time, he was quite irritated because he couldn’t overpower Hannah, but something had changed in their relationship. Maybe my advice had been helpful, and it seemed like the two of them were getting along better than before, almost like siblings.

They bantered back and forth.

“What are you doing in someone else’s house?”

“It’s a professional hazard…”

“Professional? Isn’t your brother a knight?”

“W-well…! A royal knight.”

“So, just be quiet like a knight, okay?”

Aren’t they?

It seemed like the boss was really dedicated to his profession…

Anyway, I was relieved that they seemed to get along. I just worried about the relationship between the young lady and Malik.

From Noble mtl dot com

Since earlier, the young lady had her arms crossed and glared at Malik. She seemed annoyed by the uninvited guests.

From their first meeting, they were at odds with each other.

“Who are you?”

“…Who are you?”

“Yeah. It’s you.”

“Well, then who are you?”

“I’m the landlord here.”

“Ah… Are you the infamous witch Olivia?”

“…Do you want to fight?”

The young lady glared at Malik.

Malik glared back at the young lady.

They were suffocating each other in many ways.

When Hannah saw the fierce gazes exchanged between the young lady and Malik, she strongly poked Malik’s side.

“Don’t mess with her.”

Hannah had become Malik’s responsible ally.

Hannah seemed to have changed a lot. The appearance of self-restraint due to insecurity about her sword skills had disappeared, and she showed a confident and dignified demeanor. Her current appearance looked good.

After the tteokbokki was complete, I put on oven mitts.

The young lady, seeing this appearance, said, “Since Ricardo is sick, Malik will bring it.”

Malik glared at the young lady, but once again, Hannah’s strong touch, piercing his side, made him walk into the kitchen.

***

The pot was quickly emptied.

Malik, who was looking at the food with an interested gaze, discarded noble etiquette and greedily cleared his plate, while Hannah sweated profusely and quickly emptied her plate, muttering, “This is delicious!”

“My dinner…”

The young lady held a fork and looked at the despairing pot, muttering to herself, “Ah… It’s not going well…”

Whether it was because Hannah and Malik were detectives, they had exceptional talent for eating. I felt good watching them eat so deliciously that one would succeed in a mukbang in their previous life.

Of course, the young lady’s expression deteriorated.

“Just eat a little, you pigs!”

“…”

“…”

“Don’t ignore me!”

By the time the pot was empty,

I decided to interrupt their meal cautiously.

A question I couldn’t ask earlier.

“Why did you come to our mansion?”

It doesn’t seem like they came to visit or to have a meal.

I pointed at Malik, speaking.

There must be a reason to speculate.

“Looking at you carrying gifts like this, it seems like there’s another reason for your visit. Isn’t that right, Mr. Malik?”

Malik, who was dipping the rice cake with a fork, flinched his shoulders. And after wiping his mouth lightly with a napkin, he answered.

“It’s not because of the reason like last time, with the raven… No, Pascal. I came because I wanted to express my gratitude.”

As expected. It seems like he came because of the potion I sent this time.

I sent a sword to Hanna and a potion to Malik. So, it must be a visit to express gratitude. I pretended not to know.

I believe that pretending not to know is a sign of humility. And if you can get a meal ticket from a forest friend and receive some pocket money at the same time, it would be great.

I looked at Malik with an expression that said I didn’t know anything.

“A show of gratitude?”

Malik read my inner thoughts, so he laughed hollowly.

“Yeah. A show of gratitude… It would be faster to show rather than say.”

Malik put down his fork and clenched his fists tightly.

A light brown shining aura.

It was small and insignificant, but clearly powerful.

Malik gave a beautiful smile. Sending a provocative gaze that said, “How about that?,” but I don’t like a man’s smile, so I wanted to punch him in the face.

But I have to endure it since he’s the Water Spirit.

I released the clenched fist knowing that I had to bear the weight of the Lord.

Malik told me with an expression that indicated relief from a decade-long burden.

“Thanks to the potion you gave me, I was able to surpass my limits.”

I hid my sinister thoughts and nodded my head at Malik’s words.

“Hey… Isn’t it all due to your efforts, Mr. Malik?”

Malik nodded without hesitation.

“Indeed, that’s true.

He’s a guy without all four.”

On one hand, Malik’s words made sense.

If someone could awaken by bringing a potion, who in the world wouldn’t awaken? If the wealthy nobles had a lot of money, they would have all used the potion and flown around. Considering that the youngest user of the potion before Hannah was an ordinary commoner, obtaining the potion through doping was nearly impossible.

Malik also knew this fact, so he humbly accepted it.

Still, luck is luck.

Malik flashed a smile full of excellence.

“I gained enlightenment after that day.”

“Enlightenment? Are you talking about my excellent swordsmanship?”

“Don’t you have any humility?”

“…True, isn’t it.”

Malik made a disappointed expression and continued speaking.

“Anyway, after that battle, I realized my shortcomings. I was captivated by a sense of superiority and couldn’t take care of my surroundings.”

Malik tried to hold Hannah’s hand.

It seemed like a surge of familial affection.

Hannah frowned and smacked Malik’s hand with a ‘thud.’ Then, she said the words often heard from her older brother.

“What are you saying, you filthy.”

They truly seemed like siblings.

Malik shared various stories.

He apologized to Hannah.

He got beaten to death at the academy.

He proudly spoke about getting stabbed with a knife, hit with the potion, and beaten in front of people who wouldn’t accept his apologies.

He seemed like a crazy guy.

The lady was the same.

“Crazy guy.”

I left the same comment.

Anyway, Malik gained enlightenment through that process.

Thanks to that, he awakened the potion.

Hannah came to our mansion to thank us for the gifted famous sword.

As Malick was summarizing the story, he pointed to the gifts piled next to the dining table.

Dolls, flowers, accessories. And…

“Hm…?”

Even a dining voucher for the forest friend, which the young lady likes the most.

The young lady’s eyes widened as she saw the dining voucher in Malick’s hand.

“It’s Ricardo’s dining voucher. A total of… 10 tickets!”

The young lady, with the brightest smile seen today.

I lowered my head and whispered in the young lady’s ear.

“That person is the boss.”

“The boss?”

“Yes… the friend from the forest.”

The young lady looked at me with eyes asking why I’m saying this now.

With an expression of disbelief, she looked at Malick once, then at me again, questioning if it makes sense. I nodded to the young lady and responded.

The young lady whispered to me.

“But he comes from a family known only for their swords, right?”

“Yes.”

“Even though he’s a fool who knows nothing but swords?”

I nodded my head.

“So, is that the person that Ricardo mentioned? The one who gave a lot of money?”

“Yes.”

“… Did I make a mistake?”

The young lady remained silent.

And awkwardly extended her hand towards Malick.

“That… I’ll rely on you.”

Malick replied coldly.

“It’s too late.”

The young lady lost her place in the world.

*

As time got late, the Histania siblings decided to sleep in the mansion.

An overnight stay made up of the young lady’s efforts to win Malick’s favor and my persuasion.

Hannah entered the room with the lady, and Malik and I sat in the restaurant, drinking tea.

“Ah…”

As Malik cooled down his hot tea, he thanked me for the dinner.

“I enjoyed it. It was my first time trying this food, but it was really delicious.”

“Since you enjoyed it, I feel good too.”

After a brief silence, Malik spoke to me seriously.

“So, I was thinking about adding that dish called Tteokbokki to our restaurant menu…”

I swallowed my saliva.

“What?”

Malik said. Not only would there be a reward for the recipe, but also the idea of working together and the clear potential for success.

I’ll give you a 70% share so that you won’t feel bad. Let’s conquer the food industry of the entire continent together, he said, looking at Malik with his strange goals.

“Mr. Malik.”

“Why don’t you like it? Then let’s go with a 60-40 split… No more than that.”

It seemed that Malik had a natural talent for this kind of work rather than being a swordsman. Of course, he was also skilled in swordsmanship… but that’s that.

His talent in the food industry was exceptional.

“Weren’t your dreams to become a knight commander?”

Malik tightly closed his mouth.

After the business discussion ended, Malik took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“3:7 as a condition for giving the recipe. I will handle the operations, and you will handle the development. No complaints, right?”

“Yes. Mr. Malik will take care of the troublesome work.”

“…Unlucky. Then let’s finish this discussion here and talk about this paper. You must be curious about it too.”

Malik spread the paper on the dining table.

A blueprint with two large wheels attached to both sides of the chair was unfolded on the table.

“I read your letter carefully. The writing was serious, but I was able to solve it by calling in an ancient language interpreter… It was terrible. The writing. Anyway, when I saw the picture, it was definitely an amazing invention.”

Malik raised a question mark over his head and asked.

“What was the name of this chair?”

I said to Malik.

“It’s called a wheelchair.”