The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 209

The North generally had bland food.

Because the North had to endure extreme cold, they prioritized nutrition over taste, resulting in flavorless meals.

Greasy.

Overly salty.

And excessively seasoned.

James, who loved everything about the North, couldn’t bring himself to love its cuisine.

Early in the morning, James descended to the kitchen, deeply troubled over what breakfast to prepare for the two guests staying at the inn.

He didn’t know what kind of food they would like.

Though the guests were somewhat unsettling, they were still guests. They seemed mentally unstable and acted like lunatics, but they also appeared noble, and they had paid generously as benefactors.

That’s why James was in the kitchen, wearing an apron, so early in the morning.

“Hmm…”

James wanted to prepare the perfect dish for the rare visitors to the North.

-What brings you to the North?

-The young lady… No, I was just curious about what the North is like.

-Pardon?

-I was curious about the culture and food of the Northern residents, so I decided to visit.

-What a wonderful reason.

Since he had been paid, it was only polite to serve a meal befitting the payment. Moreover, James’s love for the North made him want to treat the young man, who had come for such a noble reason, to an excellent dish.

“…Shall I put in some effort for the first time in a while?”

Rolling up his sleeves and putting on a serious expression, James, a native of the North, still couldn’t decide what to cook.

To be honest, James disliked Northern food.

Though confident in his cooking skills, he felt fundamentally uncertain about the essence of Northern cuisine. With a determined look, James focused on preparing breakfast.

Two hours later.

James tasted the broth of the stew he had been simmering in a large pot and shook his head.

“…It’s too greasy.”

The thick, concentrated broth felt stickier than usual in his mouth, making it seem even greasier to James. While Northerners would go crazy for this flavor, he wasn’t sure if it would suit the guests’ tastes.

As James hesitated, unsure of himself, a loud shout suddenly reached his ears.

-Air raid… Alarm!!!!!!

James flinched at the strange noise coming from the second floor and looked up.

“What is that?”

-Air raid alarm!!!!

James grabbed an empty frying pan with one hand and shook his head.

It seemed the monsters had awakened.

With trembling hands, James busily carried the food to the table, waiting for the guests to come down. Before long, he saw one of them stretching as they descended the stairs.

“Haaaahm…”

The first to come down was a man with red hair. Wasn’t his name Ricardo? Though he had told James to address him casually, the large sum of money James had seen in his pocket yesterday made it difficult to do so.

Ricardo gave James a small nod.

“You’re up.”

“An innkeeper shouldn’t sleep too much. Haha… Good morning.”

“Yes, good morning.”

“Was your room warm enough? I tried to make it as cozy as possible.”

“Yes, the heating was so good that it was actually too warm. Haha.”

Ricardo smiled as he looked at the food on the table. Judging by his small smile as he approached the table, he seemed pleased with the menu. James nervously clenched his apron and swallowed hard.

“You’ve prepared breakfast. It must have been troublesome, but thank you.”

“Oh, not at all. You paid so much; just providing a place to sleep wouldn’t have been proper.”

“Thank you for the consideration.”

Even as they conversed, the young man kept glancing at the food on the table.

Once at the main dish of lamb.

Twice at the soup garnished with broccoli.

And three times at the crispy baguette, blinking softly with an unreadable smile.

“Hmm… Is this a Northern breakfast?”

James swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth and replied.

“No… Breakfast here is usually simpler, like bread or jerky.”

“Then this feels more like a feast for dinner or a special occasion.”

“If you put it that way, I suppose so… Is there a problem with it?”

“No, I was just curious.”

The young man shrugged and placed a foot on the stairs leading back to the second floor. Tilting his head slightly, he paused and turned to James.

“Would it be alright if I cooked breakfast starting tomorrow?”

“…”

“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. I just thought it might be a hassle for you. I realize I might have phrased that poorly.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go out of your way…”

“I’ll pay separately for using the kitchen. If there are other guests, I’ll make sure to step aside.”

“Is there something wrong? It might not look great, but it should taste fine.”

“There’s really no reason. It’s just that the young lady enjoys the food I make…”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

James stared blankly at the spot where the young man had disappeared, clenching his fist. It felt as though Northern cuisine had been insulted.

Even if it wasn’t direct criticism, something about it felt unsettling.

As a Northerner, he wanted to protect his pride.

Though, in truth, he himself disliked Northern food.

*

Bringing the young lady down to the first floor, I sat her in front of the grandly set dining table and gently pinched her cheek.

“Young lady.”

“Mmmph…”

“Wake up. You need to eat breakfast.”

“Ugh… Breakfast…”

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, the young lady shook her head and stared blankly at the food in front of her.

Braised lamb stew.

Soup garnished with finely chopped broccoli.

And even crispy baguettes—her eyes sparkled as she took in the lavish spread.

“Meat?”

“Yes, it’s meat.”

“Did Ricardo make it?”

“No, the innkeeper prepared it. Make sure to thank him.”

The young lady looked at James, who was awkwardly standing by the table, and bowed her head.

“Thank you.”

“You should say, ‘Thank you very much.'”

“Th-thank you very much.”

As expected, the young lady was always polite.

Smiling faintly, I placed a piece of marinated lamb on her plate.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“I will.”

The young lady glanced at me for approval.

As if seeking permission to eat, she held her fork and looked at me intently. I nodded and placed a napkin on her lap with a smile.

“Go ahead.”

“Mhm.”

Looking at James, who stood with his hands clasped nervously, I gestured to an empty chair.

“James, please sit and eat with us. This is too much for just the two of us.”

“It’s not too much!”

“But you said you were on a diet.”

“…You’re right.”

James hesitated at my repeated insistence but eventually sat down and picked up a fork.

And then.

Within the realm of food, the Young Lady’s cold and ruthless response could be heard.

“It’s bad.”

The Young Lady stabbed the meat on her plate with a fork and spoke bluntly.

“This meat tastes bad.”

True to her role as a Villainess, the Young Lady mercilessly criticized the dish without any consideration for the chef in front of her. She loudly declared that the food was bad and questioned how someone could cook meat so poorly, ensuring James could hear every word.

“The smell is awful.”

“…Guh.”

“It’s so tough.”

“…Ugh.”

“It’s salty.”

“…”

“It’s too sweet.”

James’s complexion grew increasingly pale as he listened to the Young Lady’s harsh words. Having been on the receiving end of her sharp remarks many times myself, I could empathize with how he felt….

But what could I do?

It was worse than my first attempt at cooking.

I looked at the empty plate I had forced myself to finish and gave a bitter smile. From the unpleasant odor wafting from the kitchen, I had already known it wouldn’t taste good.

After forcing myself to empty the plate, I bowed my head slightly to the Young Lady, who wore a sullen expression, and spoke to James.

“I’m sorry. Our Young Lady has a very particular palate…. Young Lady, you should apologize.”

“Why?! I can’t say something tastes good when it doesn’t! That would ruin everything!”

“Even if it tastes bad, it’s not polite to say that in front of the person who made it.”

“Eeeek… Fine, I’m sorry. But it really was bad.”

James remained silent, staring down at the table. Clutching his fork and knife tightly in his fists, he trembled, clearly hurt by the Young Lady’s blunt honesty.

I carefully wiped my mouth with a napkin and spoke to James.

“I’ll take care of the cooking starting from lunch.”

-Bang!

James slammed his fist on the table and shouted loudly.

“If you’re so great, then give it a try!”

“Alright.”

“Huh?”

James tilted his head, wearing a conflicted expression, as if thinking, “This isn’t how it’s supposed to go,” in response to my calm and straightforward reply.

I looked at James and gave a small smile as I spoke.

“I’m actually pretty good at cooking.”

With a modest amount of talent in cooking, I met James’s gaze and offered a faint smile.

[James Lv.55]

Job: Innkeeper/Retired Adventurer

Favorability: -10

Preferred Topics of Conversation: My Daughter/Praise for the Inn/Praise for the Food He Made/The North/Alcohol/Delicious Food

Disliked Topics of Conversation: Insults about the North/Northern Cuisine/Greasy Dishes/Demonic Beasts/Crazy People/Troublesome Guests

Since I knew what James wanted, I believed I could satisfy him.

Rolling up my sleeves, I headed toward the kitchen. With plenty of time on my hands, I decided to prepare a dish that would take quite a while, and I spoke to James, who was staring at me blankly.

“Do you like soup-based dishes?”

“…”

“Would you like to follow along?”

James followed behind me.

“If you simmer it with the pig bones like this….”

He marveled at the skills I had honed through part-time jobs and fell silent.

When the dish was finally complete, James took a bite and, with eyes brimming with emotion, looked at me and spoke.

“What’s the name of this dish…?”

“It’s called Pork Bone Soup.”

“…”

James clasped my hands tightly and said.

“Would you consider dating my daughter…?”

As expected, Pork Bone Soup never fails.

*

A cold breeze blows.

A bone-chilling wind swept through The North.

Somewhere in The North.

The remnants of the Heretics gathered around a massive Magic Circle, chanting strange incantations. Though the exact words were hard to discern, one thing was clear: the colossal Demonic Beast at the center of the Magic Circle was writhing in agony.

One of the remnants of the Heretics smirked ominously and spoke softly.

“Shall we begin the conversion?”

As soon as the man finished speaking.

The Demonic Beast within the Magic Circle began to transform into a grotesque form.