The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 234

People were lined up in front of a restaurant in Hamel.

Three individuals, who looked suspicious no matter how you saw them, were sitting on a bench waiting for their turn.

A man in a brown coat.

A man in a Butler Suit.

And.

“Eeeek!! Give it back!”

Even a woman arguing with a child. These people, exuding an unusual atmosphere, were waiting for their turn.

‘Ahem.’ Clearing my throat, I looked at the man holding a Queue Ticket labeled ’12’ and spoke.

“Boss.”

“I’m analyzing right now, so don’t talk to me.”

Ignoring Malik’s firm refusal, I asked a question. After all, there were things more important than analysis—like Shame. Bracing myself for a scolding, I asked Malik.

“Why are you wearing that strange mustache?”

“…Oh, the mustache, you mean.”

Malik, delighted that his disguise was noticed, answered me with a light smile.

“It’s called a disguise.”

“That?”

“Yes.”

A suspicious outfit, no matter how you looked at it.

Malik, wearing a brown coat, sunglasses, and even a False Mustache, looked so suspicious that it wouldn’t be surprising if the Guards dragged him away.

“You look way too suspicious.”

“…”

“It’s not like we’re spreading rumors about being Industrial Spies or anything, but this is really strange.”

Malik took off his sunglasses and asked. Was it really that strange?

“Is it that odd?”

“Yes.”

“Even the mustache?”

“The mustache makes it look even stranger.”

“…The employees said it was flawless and liked it.”

“They can’t exactly tell the Boss they don’t like it, can they?”

“…”

Realizing his carefully prepared disguise was a failure, Malik regretfully removed the sloppy mustache from his face.

“Is it really that strange?”

Still reluctant, Malik hesitated, holding the half-removed mustache in his hand. I nodded firmly as I answered.

“Yes.”

Malik was upset.

The line was long.

There were so many people waiting that it would take about 40 minutes for our turn to come.

‘So many.’

Though it wasn’t quite the level of ‘Friends of Forest,’ the waiting time was still considerable. It didn’t match Hamel’s fast-paced traits, where people needed to eat quickly and get back to work. Curious, I asked Malik.

“There are quite a lot of people here.”

“Indeed.”

“How long has it been since they opened?”

“Two weeks. They opened while you were on your Northern Travel.”

“Two weeks?”

I looked up at the restaurant.

[Restaurant: Youlam]

An unremarkable signboard and a plain interior. There weren’t even many clerks. The Table Turnover Rate wasn’t particularly fast either.

It wasn’t spacious.

And there were no distinctive menu items. Even with the Opening Buff, the number of guests seemed excessive.

I voiced my doubts to Malik.

“There are too many people. The initial rush from the opening should be dying down by now.”

“True.”

Malik nodded as he watched the guests entering the restaurant.

“That’s why I wanted to come here. I’m curious why a place with nothing special has so many customers.”

“Is it affecting your profits?”

“No, the customer base is different, so there’s no loss. I just thought there might be something to learn. I pushed through with capital, so I don’t really know the grassroots level.”

“Hmm…”

I shrugged as I looked at the menu visible through the Glass Window.

‘Too ordinary, way too ordinary.’

If they had copied the Tteokbokki Recipe that opened in the capital, it would at least make sense. But the food sold here was as plain as could be.

Salad or Risotto.

Steak and bread were about all they had on the menu, so there was no reason for people to be this enthusiastic.

Letting out a small sigh at the unresolved mystery, I looked down at the Young Lady eating Chocolate.

“Young Lady.”

“Yes.”

“Where did you get that Chocolate?”

The Young Lady pointed at a crying child on the street and answered.

“I took it from him.”

“Oh…”

“I asked for it, and he gave it to me.”

“Isn’t that plundering?”

The Young Lady smiled brightly and said confidently.

“It’s a talent.”

“It certainly is a talent.”

I nodded, praising the Young Lady for teaching the child about the Order of Society. If you pamper a child too much, they might end up like someone here who sets off an ‘Air Raid Alarm’ every morning.

“Ricardo, you were badmouthing me in your head, weren’t you?”

“…How did you know?”

“Your eyes gave it away.”

“Sharp as always.”

I shoved a piece of Chocolate into the Young Lady’s mouth to shut her up. I couldn’t win against her in a verbal battle. With the true mindset of a butler, I silenced her.

“Eeeek…”

As the sweetness filled her mouth, the Young Lady smiled and nodded. I waited until her mood improved before cautiously asking a question.

“Young Lady,”

“Yes.”

“Do you think this restaurant will taste good?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does the smell make it seem like it would taste good, or not?”

The Young Lady furrowed her brows and looked at me.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not a dog.”

She was absolutely right.

Time continued to pass.

The guests ahead of us entered, and new people joined the line behind us.

Enough time had passed for me to give the crying child another piece of Chocolate, and finally, the long wait came to an end.

-Guest number 12!

It was time to work as an Industrial Spy.

*

-Clatter.

“…”

“…”

“…”

-Clatter.

The sound of someone silently tormenting a plate echoed from the table. Without a word, we sliced the meat placed on our plates, exchanging awkward smiles as we tried to satiate our hunger.

How should I put it?

It tasted good, but it felt ordinary.

The flavor left much to be desired to truly call it a must-visit restaurant.

I continued to empty my plate with an awkward smile, finding the taste just slightly better than the nearby eateries.

“Eeeek…”

The young lady seated at Fairy Unit 1 was venting her anger by furiously stabbing her knife into the meat.

“It’s not cooked…”

“It’s practically mooing.”

“The owner…”

-Clang. The young lady slammed her fork onto the table and glared at the bustling clerk, her lips twitching as if about to speak.

“Eeeek…”

I covered the young lady’s mouth and smiled.

“Please, calm down, young lady.”

“I can’t! I specifically asked for it well-done, but they’ve served me a live cow on a plate!”

“It seems there was a mistake with the order. I’ll ask them to cook it again, so let’s let this slide just this once.”

“Eeeeeeek!”

The young lady’s expression was menacing.

When it came to meat, the young lady became endlessly sensitive, her nostrils flaring as she struggled to contain her anger.

With a serious expression, she stared at the kitchen and made a rational conclusion.

“They’re definitely trying to assassinate me.”

As the young lady gripped her knife, her eyes burning with intensity, I calmly tried to soothe her and quietly stared at the food on my plate.

‘It’s bad.’

To be honest, it wasn’t good.

Perhaps because I was used to eating only the best, my palate had become picky, but this wasn’t worth waiting for.

Malik felt the same.

Having finished his plate, Malik wiped his lips with a handkerchief and nodded.

“Strange.”

“…”

“It’s neither tasty nor tasteless.”

“That’s true.”

“Right. The portions are generous, but the price isn’t overwhelmingly cheap either.”

Malik let out an empty laugh and muttered.

“It’s not the taste. It’s not the price. Interesting.”

As someone obsessed with the culinary business, Malik wore an intriguing smile as he tasted the sauce on the plate and nodded.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Do you understand why this restaurant is so popular?”

I hesitated before answering. Honestly, I didn’t know. With cooking of this level earning the title of a must-visit restaurant, I felt like I could do it too. I couldn’t come up with a proper answer.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like my cooking would taste better, so I can’t say much.”

“Hmm.”

Malik held up three fingers and looked at me.

“I’ve seen three cases where a restaurant with bad food succeeded.”

First.

“A restaurant with an extensive network of connections.”

Second,

“A restaurant opened by a famous person.”

And lastly, third.

With a serious gaze, Malik looked toward the kitchen and spoke.

“A restaurant with a beautiful owner.”

“Pardon?”

“From what I see, this restaurant seems to fall into the last category.”

Malik placed the handkerchief he had used to wipe his lips onto the table, subtly raised his hand, and called for the clerk.

And then.

“Eek?!”

He snatched the plate the young lady had been eating from and pointed at the undercooked steak.

The young lady looked as if her world had collapsed.

The young lady, who had tried to grill the meat on Fairy Unit 1, clenched her fists as she watched the meat being taken away, but Malik casually ignored her and spoke to the approaching clerk.

“The meat is undercooked.”

“Ah! I’m so sorry. I’ll replace it right away!”

Malik firmly waved off the flustered clerk and said.

“No, I’d like to see the owner.”

“Pardon?”

“As a fellow culinary professional, I can’t let this slide.”

Malik handed a tip to the clerk and said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything bad.”

About five minutes passed.

A woman arrived with a freshly prepared steak and bowed her head toward Malik, offering an apology.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. It seems our clerk made a mistake with the order. If there’s anything you’d like, we’ll prepare it as a complimentary service.”

Malik looked at the woman and asked.

“…Are you the owner?”

And then.

The woman removed her mask, swept her hair back, and nodded.

“Yes, I am the owner.”

She felt familiar.

A strange sense of familiarity, as if I’d seen her somewhere before. Despite her apparent age, her beauty remained undiminished, leaving me puzzled.

‘Who is she?’

As I watched the owner converse with Malik, I searched my memory.

Not long after, I found the reason for the familiarity in the young lady’s quiet muttering beside me.

“Mikhail…”

Mikhail.

I instinctively knew.

This woman was Mikhail’s mother.

Although her name wasn’t directly mentioned in the novel, knowing the story and its ending, I could tell.

The woman before me was the protagonist of a tale that would lead to a reunion too painful to smile about.