I Was Reborn as the Female Antagonist's Servant-Chapter 26 – Heading to the Kitchen

The carriage had stopped at the Mansion.

The Head Butler and I alighted from the carriage, descending the small three-tiered staircase before our feet touched the stone ground. We walked past the armed gatekeepers, then through the main door and into the Mansion. Once inside, the Head Butler continued moving without a word, and I had no idea where he was heading. I glanced at him briefly; his eyes were fixed ahead, as if he already had a clear destination in mind, before I turned my gaze forward again.

"..."

We passed through several corridors inside, the sound of our footsteps constantly muffled by the red carpet below. I looked around—before our steps stopped right in front of a large room. There stood a large brown wooden door—though not as large as the one in the training room.

I swallowed.

The Head Butler began to touch the long iron doorknob in front. He gripped it tightly, before finally pushing the door open, but not with great force. Slowly, the inside of the room began to be visible—many people milling about, unique built-in stoves, slightly different from my old world, lit up—producing a large flame. Hot air filled the room, making me wipe the sweat on my forehead with my arm.

The Head Butler slowly entered the room, the sound of wooden cutting boards clashing with sharp objects growing louder. I looked around—people shouting, scolding new people for their shoddy work, becoming increasingly audible. The windows behind them were open, slightly orange sunlight entering the room, white smoke from the heating ingredients in the pan, exiting through the window simultaneously.

I paused for a moment, before realizing the Head Butler had left me quite far behind. I chased after him, returning to his side. A few moments later, the Head Butler stopped in front of an old woman—wearing a white apron stretched across her plump figure, and a tall, round white hat slightly too small for her wide head. In the center of the room, she skillfully chopped vegetables on a cutting board while instructing several women in similar aprons, though none of them wore a tall hat like hers. From the way she kept wiping sweat from her face, it was clear who was working the hardest there.

The Head Butler began to approach the old woman, but she didn’t seem to notice the Head Butler’s presence—too serious with her work. The Head Butler tried to clear his throat several times, but the response remained the same.

The Head Butler’s eyes narrowed. "Head Chef—Juana!"

The person called Head Chef finally turned—seeing the Head Butler beside her.

She smiled faintly. "Oh... Head Butler Razoru."

From her soft voice, she seemed like a good person. Her narrowed brown eyes, her slightly messy back-tied hair—she seemed like someone who deserved her title.

She and the Head Butler seemed to chat for a moment. From their conversation, almost everything led to the food ingredients we had just bought. Several times they joked, the Head Chef seemed to pat his shoulder several times. From their conversation that I heard, they seemed like people who had a close relationship.

My eyebrow raised. What kind of relationship do they have?

They joked again for a while before returning to the main conversation.

The Head Chef smiled faintly again. "So, how was it? Did you get tricked by them again?"

The Head Butler shook his head. "No. I didn’t get tricked by them again." He held my back shoulder. "I was helped by this child, Touji."

The Head Chef’s eyes widened. Her hand covered her mouth, disbelieving what the Head Butler said. She looked at me who was beside the Head Butler. "Oh, how could he do it?"

The Head Butler shook his head. "I don’t know. Anyway, he said something, and suddenly the price dropped quite significantly, up to one gold coin."

The Head Chef’s eyes locked onto me for a moment. She seemed surprised by the story she heard from the Head Butler.

"Amazing. If the Duke hears this, he will definitely..." she muttered, before she snapped back to reality.

I slightly heard what she had muttered earlier. My eyes squinted, looking at the Head Chef there. If the Duke knows why? Is there something happening?

I was a little confused about what was happening.

Isn’t bargaining a basic skill?

Usually skills like this, don’t need special abilities to get it. You only need a lot of flying hours, before becoming an expert in bargaining—supposedly.

I saw the Head Chef seemed to be chatting something with the Head Butler, she seemed like asking something related to earlier. The Head Butler’s answer to her question was only a shake of his head, followed by something I couldn’t hear—because this time, he leaned in and whispered directly into the Head Chef’s ear. The moment she heard it, her body jolted, her eyes widening at once.

I watched them for a while, before finally my curiosity had reached its peak. Not with what they said earlier, but something else.

I looked at them both. "...Um."

They turned around.

The Head Chef answered my question. "What is it, Personal Servant Touji?"

I put my fingers under my chin. "There is something that makes me curious, is it okay to ask?"

The Head Chef’s eyes widened, before a warm smile greeted it. "You may, Personal Servant Touji. What do you want to ask?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "Actually, what is the relationship between the Head Chef and the Head Butler like? Is it some kind of husband and wife?"

Their eyes widened simultaneously. For a few seconds they stared at each other—silent—before finally the Head Chef answered.

She smiled again. "You really want to know our relationship?"

I nodded.

She held her chin, her gaze looking up for a moment, before looking back at me. "For the relationship between Mom and the Head Butler, maybe it’s like, Mom and son?"

My eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

She approached the Head Butler, then hit his shoulder once. "Do you already know that the Head Butler is still forty years old, Personal Servant Touji?"

I nodded. "Yes, Head Chef."

She smiled. "If you already know, do you know Mom’s age, Personal Servant Touji?"

I was silent. My head was slightly tilted, while looking at the Head Chef in front.

From the wrinkles in her eyes that aren’t too wide. Her face is still a bit smooth. Maybe her age is...

"Forty-five?" I guessed.

Hearing my random guess, her eyes immediately widened. She laughed for a moment, while hitting the Head Butler’s shoulder beside her hard.

"Hohoho! I told you that I still look young, Head Butler."

She looked back at me. A faint smile returned to adorn her face. "Your guess is almost correct, Personal Servant Touji. My age is actually only five different, from the age you mentioned."

My eyes widened. "Fifty?"

She nodded. "Yes. That’s right, Personal Servant Touji."

I was silent. My gaze slightly lowered with my fingers touching my chin.

I didn’t expect her to be that old. However, there is still something that makes me curious.

I looked back at the Head Chef. "...Earlier, Head Chef mentioned that the relationship between Head Chef and the Head Butler is like Mom and Son." My eyebrows furrowed. "Well, how can that relationship happen?"

For a moment they heard my question in silence, not answering. I who realized, that this was a personal realm—making my eyes widen, trying to fix the atmosphere.

"Ah... I didn’t mean to—"

"It’s okay. Mom will tell you. But maybe, this will be a boring story—is that okay?"

I nodded. "Yes. It’s okay Head Chef."

She smiled. "Alright. Mom will start the story. At the time—."

"Head Chef. Isn’t there something we haven’t discussed yet?" the Head Butler interrupted.

The Head Chef jolted, realizing something. "Oh, yeah. What about the groceries?"

The Head Butler played with his square glasses. "Well, for that, maybe it will arrive soon. It’s better for Head Chef to wait directly outside, while checking whether all the ingredients are complete later."

Hearing that, the Head Chef immediately agreed with the Head Butler’s opinion. She apologized to me, before taking several of her female subordinates, leaving the room. There, the only sound heard in the room was the sound of pans clashing with spatulas.

I was silent. Not speaking.

The Head Butler who saw me, immediately let out a long sigh. He played with his glasses again, before calling me.

"Come on, Touji. We have to go to the study."

I jolted. "Ah, yes."

After hearing my answer, he immediately started moving. I who saw him, immediately followed beside him. For a moment I looked at him beside me, before moving my gaze back forward.

Somehow there is something being kept secret.

Our footsteps echoed again on the patterned floor, exiting the wooden door quietly, before closing the door again.

***

Our footsteps echoed again on the red carpet. The Head Butler’s movements who had just come out were a little fast, before slowly slowing down. He let out a long sigh, before playing with his square glasses.

My eyebrows furrowed. "What’s wrong with him?"

Our steps began to pass through several corridors, the sunlight from outside the window becoming increasingly orange.

My eyebrow raised, looking at him beside me. "What are we going to learn at this time?"

I wanted to ask, but from his face he seemed to already have a plan—making me give up my intention. Our steps continued to move, until we stopped at a place—making my eyes widen.

"This...!"