âHe looked even more frightened when I smiled.â
Awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck, Atalante stood up.
If Rubel already held prejudices against her, then no matter what she did, he would judge it as he pleased.
âSince that man is an aristocrat, I must have been particularly frightening.â
The nobles would feel extremely ashamed just because they felt threatened by a commoner girl.
Also, Atalante enjoyed having those aloof nobles begging on their knees before her.
âI canât describe myself as kind, even when using empty words.â
After all, Atalante was a gray colour that could never be black, and neither could she be white.
Perhaps it would be easier to act along the line of his prejudices.
With a bitter smile, Atalante folded her arms and looked down at Rubel, who was still sprawled on the ground.
âDid you say your name was⌠Rubel?â
His face, which strangely had traces of youthfulness up till a while ago, instantly became oppressive.
Although he didnât want to lower his head toward a wanted criminal, for Rubel, maintaining his life was much more important than his pride as an aristocrat.
âNot to mention that woman is the hunter of nobles, the villain Atalante.â
As such, Rubel gritted his teeth and nodded his head obediently.
Giving a satisfied smile at his obedient attitude, Atalante continued without giving him the time to be frightened.
âI was so surprised at the meal I was served this morning.â
âThe brunch⌠You ate it? Did you, perhaps, eat with His Highness?â
ââDid I eat?â Whereâs your honorifics?â
Frowning, Atalante brushed her hair irritably.
Her movement caused the white ribbon that was tying her hair together loosely to fly away with the breeze.
Despite the loss of her accessory, Atalanteâs aloof beauty still remained the same.
It was really surprising that a girl without citizenship, let alone a title, was so intimidating.
Losing his remaining pride out of fear and awe, Rubel mumbled in an extinguishing voice.
âDid you⌠perhaps, dine in the company of His Highness? How in the worldâŚâ
âItâs obvious. As youâve seen earlier, the Grand Duke is quite fond of me.â
âSo, how in the world did youâŚthatâŚâ
Of course, Atalante didnât answer that question.
âIâm the one who called you, Rubel. The meal that I ate today was so shocking that I made a request to the Grand Duke. I wanted you to present yourself.â
She gave a warm smile, and started to circle around Rubel, who was still unable to get up from the ground.
It was in a very slow and relaxed manner.
âNow, let me tell you whatâs wrong with your cooking from now onwards.â
Suddenly stopping, Atalante clapped her hands lightly and spoke.
Rubel, who had even forgotten to tremble, stared at Atalante with futile eyes.
He had been cooking for all of his life, and was proud of that fact. Although he found it a pity that he didnât have a successor, he had planned to continue cooking until the day he died.
While he wasnât renowned like the chefs in the capital, he found joy and happiness in seeing people enjoy the food that he cooked.
âHowever, will I have to stop cooking just based on that womanâs evaluationâŚ?â
Just as he had witnessed earlier, Lionelâs affection for Atalante wasnât a fabrication. If she said to do so, Lionel would definitely expel Rubel from the villa.
âIsnât being expelled a good thing. I might be kâkilled for making her lose her appetite.â
At the terrible thought, Rubel closed his eyes in agony.
But that was only for a moment, as Rubel opened his eyes instantly and stared carefully at Atalante.
It was because at the same time, he wanted to hear what the problem was. He had the confidence to refute any ridiculous criticism.
âFirstly.â
Swallowing dryly, Rubel stared at the small villain with a nervous look.
âThe steak melted too gently upon entering my mouth. Without even giving me time to feel its texture, it melted perfectly.â
ââŚWhat?â
âSecondly, the vegetables were very fresh. Did you just pick them this morning? Gosh, I thought my mouth had turned into a meadow as soon as I ate it.â
âErm, excuse meâŚâ
âThirdly! How arrogant of you, finally using potatoes but making them taste like that. Itâs not just the potatoes though. Itâs an infringement for ordinary ingredients that are easily available around to have such a unique taste.â
Although Rubel has long since been bewitched, Atalante continued to list the âproblemsâ of his cooking.
The series of âharsh criticismsâ even made Rubelâs mouth widen dangerously, to the point where it was at its limit.
When she was speaking about the 56th problem, Rubel sprang up from his seat.
âThis, thisâŚ!â
Perhaps because he felt emotional, Rubel stood panting for a long time.
Atalante waited for him to speak silently, instead of bringing up the 57th problem.
âW, WâwithâŚâ
ââŚâŚ.â
âWith such sincerity⌠Youâre the only one that gave me a concrete evaluation of my cooking.â
Rubelâs slightly quivering eyes turned red immediately. Soon after, overwhelmed tears slid down his rough cheeks.
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âTâto be honest with you, IâI easily viewed you as a bad person earlier. Because of all the rumours and wanted posters.â
âIâm actually a bad person though.â
Snorting, Atalante tilted her head backwards.
Perhaps not finding those gleaming purple eyes frightening, Rubel expressed his thoughts with great emphasis.
âThat might be true for others, but not to me. You might find it odd that Iâve suddenly changed my attitude, but⌠What Iâm trying to say is, thank you very much.â
âIt seems like no one has ever told you words like this before?â
âEveryone says that itâs delicious, but this is the countryside. There are very few opportunities to present food.â
As Rubel hesitantly rubbed his fingertips against each other, he continued with a sincere gaze.
âItâs an honour for you to eat my food, Atalante.â
After finishing his words, he bowed towards the small villain.
Despite being startled at Rubelâs bow, she tried to maintain a composed expression.
âIs there a need for him to thank me? I was just telling the truth.â
As Atalanteâs brows furrowed out of doubt, she quickly used an oppressive stance again to get to the main point.
âForget about it, youâve heard about all those problems that Iâd told you about, right?â
âWhat? But the things that youâve said werenât problemsâŚâ
âDidnât I tell you about the Problems! That! You! Have! With your cooking. It was such a harsh criticism that you even thought about giving up on cooking. Youâve remembered that, right?
âWhatâŚ?â
The tactless head chef had a puzzled expression and tilted his head.
Atalante let out a sigh and pulled up her dress to reveal a pair of delicately crafted shoes.
Before Rubel could admire its beautiful design, she stepped on the back of his foot with her small foot lightly.
âUgh!â
What kind of power was contained within those small feet, which were no different from the size of his hands, that the back of his feet burned, causing him to let out a faint groan?
âI had definitely pointed out all of the problems with your cooking one by one. With extremely ruthless and wicked terms. Right?â
âYes, yesâŚ!â
Forced to give her the answer she wanted, Rubel continued to look at Atalante with a baffled gaze.
Only then did a smile form on the corner of Atalanteâs lips.
âGood. Now, thereâs something that you need to do. Go to the Grand Duke right now and tell him that youâve been insulted so badly that you want to quit being a chef.â
âWhat do you meanâŚ?â
âTell him that you want to resign.â
Atalante spoke firmly while taking her foot off the back of Rubelâs foot.
Rubel couldnât figure out what exactly it was that she wanted.
She had said that sheâll tell him about the problems with his cooking, but the great reviews made him excited, and now she suddenly wants him to request for his resignation?
âYouâre free to make up the specifics of what wicked terms Iâd said. Cooking requires creativity, so itâs right up your alley to fabricate them, right?â
âWait a minute, Iâm not quite followingâŚ! I want to work here for a long, long time!â
âDonât worry, you wonât be fired. This isnât the end of my request yet.â
With a soft smile, Atalante rose to her tiptoes and met Rubelâs eyes.
Strangely enough, she had a scent of spring that didnât match with her identity as a villain.
âI wanted to quit this job, but that villain said that she wouldnât let me go. She said that sheâll help to fix my unsatisfactory cooking skills.â
With an acting tone, Atalante spoke those lines and returned back to her original height.
âTell him like that.â
As Atalante added, âIt isnât hard, right?â She stared at Rubel with a subdued gaze.
âWhy in the world are you requesting me to do thatâŚ? If he knows that youâve done such a wicked thing, the Grand Duke will definitely think badly of you. No, you didnât even say something like that in the first placeâŚ!â
The only thing Atalante did to him was step on the back of his foot.
She had never talked abusively or asked for anything obstinately.
Looking at Rubelâs shaking pupils, Atalante immediately made a deflating sound.
âThatâs the correct answer.â
âWhat?â
âI want to be hated by the Grand Duke.â
Why in the world?
Tens of thousands of question marks arose in Rubelâs mind.
Instead of solving his question, the culprit behind that nonsense drank all of her cooled tea that was on the tea table at once.
Atalante had even let out a short sigh, and instructed him on what he had to do with a determined voice,
âI want you to talk so badly about me that the Grand Duke will hate me.â
After speaking, âPlease do your best,â the villain turned around and left the garden without hesitation.
Even after she had disappeared, Rubel continued to stand there dazedly for a long time.
Although Rubel still couldnât understand Atalanteâs intentions, Rubel was going to do his best to fulfil the request of the person that treated his dish sincerely.
âEven if I look like thisâŚIâm quite confident in my acting. After all, I used to be in the theatre department.â
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Despite his rugged size, when he was attending the elementary branch of the Academy, Rubel was one of the best actors for crying.
As Rubel filled his head with sad thoughts, he moved forward to have an audience with the grand duke.