I Became the Older Brother of a Villainess - Chapter 8.1
First, I checked the status window. The kitchen manager’s favorability towards me was blank.
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Name: Alphonse Derry
Occupation: Kitchen Manager
Personality: Wrath – Accuracy is low, but receives a constant attack power increase.
Characteristic: Stubbornness – Immerses deeply in one task, exchanging extreme effects.
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There was nothing unusual when viewed in the status window. The information checked in the ledger was the same. What mattered was the attitude towards Daria.
I brought Daria with me to my side. Daria, murmuring to herself, moved as I directed, shifting the bread. Lowering my head to Daria, who was watching me with cat-like eyes, I spoke.
” What color and how many hearts are there on the kitchen manager’s head?”
” … There’s nothing.”
” Okay. You can pass.”
I smiled nonchalantly. Managing expressions was an easy task for me, having worked in the service industry for many years.
” I called you today because the food was delicious. Please take care of us in the future.”
After roughly mumbling those words, I sent him away. No need to dismiss him; he seemed fine. The kitchen manager was decent, and other staff members should be okay as well. It might be good to take a look at other employees working in the kitchen.
” Can Daria and I stop by the kitchen before lunch? ”
” Yes, yes.”
Alphonse greeted with a slight bow, taking off his kitchen hat. His hair was neatly arranged.
” There’s no need to be cautious; I just want to see what the kitchen looks like because the food is delicious.”
” The food was deli…”
At that moment, as if something was stirring above the void, a black heart began to flicker.
” Huh?”
Is visiting the kitchen such a bothersome task that it would make me disliked?
During a brief pause, Daria rolled her eyes, glancing alternately at me and the kitchen manager. The kitchen manager, as if squeezing the neck of the kitchen hat, tightened his grip and, with a smirk, opened his mouth.
“However, Your Grace, as a graduate of Deary Scolla, I will make one conscientious statement.”
Alphonse’s eyes seemed to flicker somehow.
“Today’s dish, I must say, lacked flavor!”
“Huh?”
“Due to the subsequent downpour, the harvest wasn’t good. Unfortunately, we had to use potatoes that dropped two grades. The carrots were not as crispy as I expected! Moreover, the meat! Due to my assistant’s mistake, it was cooked for about 10 minutes longer, and it turned out a bit tough!”
I had no idea. I wasn’t curious at all.
However, it seemed different from Alphonse’s perspective. He shook the kitchen hat and raised his voice.
“This is unacceptable!”
“…It was okay for my taste, so it’s not that…”
[Alphonse’s Stubbornness Trait Activated]
The status window blinked. Is it the trait again? I felt the same ominous feeling as when I saw Muriel this morning.
“I disciplined the assistant this morning by grabbing him by the collar! It was unacceptable! I wanted to cook again!”
“You don’t need to go that far…”
“I heard that the young master and miss woke up early, so I had no choice! I had to prepare a somewhat extravagant meat dish that doesn’t quite suit the morning! There is a proper time and place for cooking, and I dare say!”
Alphonse shook the kitchen hat as if he were a person involved in the independence movement.
“This is something that should never happen again. Starting from dinner tonight, I plan to personally go to the grocery store! As the head chef of the Duke’s estate, it’s disgraceful to serve food at the level of this morning!”
“…Stubborn.”
“Starting from lunch today, I’ll chase the assistant out of the kitchen and take out the aged ham…”
Listening to his rant, I became numb and simply resumed my meal. Daria had been silent since earlier.
“Daria, how does the food taste?”
I asked her in a whisper. Daria blinked her eyes and murmured.
“It’s the same as usual. It’s the kind of taste that’s neither incredibly delicious nor tasteless.”
“…”
After passionately discussing how he would manage the kitchen in the future, the kitchen manager, who was now panting, bowed and left. For some reason, my appetite had diminished, and I put down the utensils early.
The butler looked at me subtly and asked.
“Would you like to visit the kitchen later?”
“Are all employees working in the kitchen like that?”
“Not necessarily, but working there, you might become somewhat like Alphonse.”
“…Maybe I’ll postpone it.”
With such a boss in the kitchen, it seemed there would be no room for our siblings to be disliked.
Instead of interfering in the kitchen, I inspected all the employees dining. Standing next to Daria, who was having her meal, I pointed at various individuals and asked about their favorability. Daria, who seemed annoyed, answered consistently.
“Dahlia, what about that person?”
“Red, one mark.”
“How about that person?”
“None.”
“And that person?”
“Black, two marks.”
My goal was to identify those who showed black hearts to Daria.
“Alberto, the guy in the middle, cut him off.”
“…Yes.”
Although Alberto, the head butler, furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, he followed my instructions without saying a word.
The routine continued after the meal. I went around with Daria, Alberto, and Dandel, checking each servant one by one.
“Who’s that person?”
“None.”
“How about over there?”
“Black. Two.”
“Alberto.”
Now the head butler understood my gestures without a word. When Dandel took on the role of a secretary, recording the names of those to be dismissed in a notebook, the head butler approached and delivered a stern notice of termination.
I roamed around the mansion, checking dozens of status windows until my arms and legs became numb. Although my vision became a bit dizzy, I wanted to finish what I started within the day.
