The next day.

​Theo, Tizmilly, and Calary arrived at the restaurant early in the morning. To their surprise, Carole and the maids were already there. Apparently, a hyper-excited Yona had woken everyone up at 4 am.

​"Good morning, Sir!" Yona greeted Theo with a beaming smile. "I am ready to serve our customers with my best performance today!"

​Theo scratched his cheek, inwardly wondering where all that energy came from so early. "Well... I’m counting on you, then?"

​Yona’s face brightened instantly. "Yes, Sir!"

​They began the initial preparations for the day. Karr and Ivandel arrived shortly after. However, once the prep work was finished, Theo didn’t open the doors. Instead, he gathered everyone together.

​"I want to discuss something with you all," he said, gesturing for them to take a seat. He pulled up a chair for himself before continuing. "It’s about the engagement party for our VIP client. I’ve been wondering: would it be better to keep the restaurant open with a minimal staff, or close it entirely while we prepare for the event?"

​The staff exchanged glances, processing the question, until Ivandel raised his hand. Theo gestured for him to speak.

​"I think we should keep the place open, Sir!" Ivandel stated loudly, making Sirry and Devina flinch.

​Theo rubbed his chin. "Reason? And please, lower your voice. Not everyone appreciates the shouting."

​The young man chuckled awkwardly, then turned solemn. "It’s because I can’t stand not working, Sir."

​The explanation was as simple as it could be. It didn’t surprise Theo; Ivandel had said it himself that he wanted to work purely because he wanted to back on the interview two days ago. Theo sighed and looked at the others. "What about the rest of you?"

​Karr, the second guard, raised his hand. "Definitely don’t close, Sir! I—I won’t get my wages if we do!"

​His reasoning was similar to Ivandel’s, but far more desperate.

​The girls, however, had a different opinion. They preferred to close the restaurant—except for Yona, who protested that they shouldn’t close so soon after she had just started.

​In the end, Theo and Tizmilly decided to close the restaurant temporarily. To ensure the staff didn’t lose out, Calary suggested delegating the task of purchasing supplies for the upcoming Deep-Lore Delve Festival to them. Theo and Tizmilly quickly approved; the staff would be paid for their errands, so the complaints died down.

​Finally, Theo handed a spare key to Carole. "I’m trusting you with this. Use it to store everything you all buy."

​"I won’t let you down, Sir!" Carole said with a proud, determined smile.

They opened the restaurant after that.

The fresh morning air entered the place, which followed by customers. The chairs were filled with people as the sun was rising. The aroma of freshly cooked dishes wafted through the room. Some chose to eat their breakfast in the first floor, while some preferred the second floor.

Both choices didn’t really matter. It just their preference. What mattered for Carole and the maids was how to serve their customers. Fortunately, with the addition of new staff, their work had became not as tiring as before.

Someone tried to harrass Devina just before the Lunch break, but Timmy acted quick. He restrained the man and handed him to Karr and Ivandel, whom they kicked out harshly afterward.

’So it was a good choice to hire some guards,’ Theo thought satisfiedly from behind the cashier table.

When the time for the lunch break came, they wanted to close the restaurant, but then two girls entered the place.

"Hm, so it was the rumored new restaurant?" One of them muttered while looking around curiously.

"Not as grand as what we have at the Academy," the other complained softly.

Theo and others couldn’t hear their murmurs, but Theo and Tizmilly’s eyes widened the moment their eyes landed on their clothes. They wore the same clothes Tizmilly used to wear when she was diving into a Dungeon with Theo. Special-combat uniform from the Academy. They couldn’t be mistaken. The blue color of the uniform and the golden embriodery of the uniform was not other could mimic.

Theo glanced at Tizmilly, who was staring at the two girls as if they were some wild monsters. When Carole led the two girls to take a seat, her eyes never left them. Theo looked at her worriedly and about to tell her to retreat to the kitchen, but then Tizmilly stood up and walked toward Carole, who had just finished questioned the two Academy students what they want to eat.

"Let me serve them, Miss Carole!" Tizmilly stated, her palms waiting for Carole to place the tray on her.

Carole blinked confusedly, but still obeyed. "Here..."

With a determined expression, Tizmilly brought the tray back to Theo, informing him about their orders.

"Hameress and apple juice, two of each, please~!" Theo immediately yelled at the kitchen.

"5 minutes~!" Calary replied from the kitchen.

Hameress, as expected, was one of their best selling menu. It was made from specially marinated beef that was later roasted until its color became dark red. It was not only cheap, but also tasted like luxury, so no one hated it. It was exeptionally popular around girls and women.

Theo turned to look at Tizmilly, who was waiting near the window connected to the kitchen. "Are you okay, Tizmilly?" He asked her.

Tizmilly looked at him determinedly in response, her smile beamed with confident. "Worry not, Mr. Roost. I will no longer waver before my past!"

He stared at her eyes, a smile formed on his face. "Go show ’em, then!"

The Villainess nodded. "Yes, Boss!"

Five minutes later, Tizmilly received the orders. With a slow, graceful steps, she approached the two girls.

They were idly having a conversation until they noticed Tizmilly and stunned.

One of them pointed their finger at her tremblingly, disbelief written all over her face. "W-wait... aren’t you Senior Fallburn? The former fiancée of Prince Agraviel!?"

​"What is someone like you doing in a place like this?" the other whispered, looking blankly at her.

​Tizmilly didn’t flinch. Her face remained a mask of composure and elegance. She smiled as she set the tray down. "My, do you know me? As you can see, I am working here. It is nothing worth mentioning. Also, it is quite rude to point, Miss."

The girl immediately retracted her finger. "I-I am sorry," she stammered.

​The other girl continued to stare, her lips trembling. Tizmilly tilted her head. "Is something the matter?"

​The girl fidgeted with her skirt, looking restless. "B-but... a maid... uh..."

​"Ah, please don’t mind her, Miss Fallburn!" the first girl stammered. "She is... well, she’s a huge fan of yours!"

​Tizmilly softened. She realized they were her juniors. She had heard rumors of having admirers among the first-years, but she hadn’t expected to meet them here. She felt a pang of guilt for being so defensive at first.

​"I see," Tizmilly said, her smile turning gentler. "Then please, enjoy your meal. I guarantee the taste. But please, don’t call me ’Miss Fallburn’ anymore. I am no longer part of that family."

​The two girls nodded vigorously—one looking nervous, the other blushing furiously. Theo watched from the counter, letting out a relieved sigh.

​"You’ve grown so fast, Miss Villainess..." he muttered with a smile.

***

That night.

At Layver Family’s mansion. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Gyllena let out a long breath after a long day of paper work. She set her pen and the documents aside, placing them orderly on the table.

She then leaned back on her chair, her hand massaged her stiff shoulders.

Her tired eyes scanned the room. It was silent. Too silent. But it was already like that since her parents disappeared, so Gyllena had grown accustomed to this silence by now.

The cold wind of winter entered the room from the window. The curtain danced silently. The fire of the half-burnt candle on the table flickered.

Gyllena’s eyes looked up to the ceiling, her mind drifted back to the past. To be more precise, back to the last day she saw her parents.

It was 2 years ago.

"Father, Mother, where are you going to go?"

Gyllena recalled how she asked her parents during their breakfast. How warm and tasty were the foods tasted, and how her parents’ smiles looked that day—she recalled everything.

"We are going to visit your uncle, Gyllena. He said in his letter that he had found a map of a new ancient artifact."

Her father has a hobby of collecting treasures from ancient era. It was a normal occurrence for him to leave the Dungeon City to seek out some artifacts with her uncle, who was working as an Adventurer. What was difference that time was that he also brought Gyllena’s mother with him.

Gyllena remembered how she was really curious about that at that time but couldn’t bring herself to ask because she didn’t want to be looked as if she worried about them.

When she thought of it again later, she should have just asked them. What an idiot, she cursed her younger self every time she missed their presences in her life.

However, the past couldn’t be replayed.

Gyllena shook her head slowly to forget about that thought. She rose from her chair and walked toward her bed, but then she halted her steps when she recalled Theo’s words.

She approached the window. She held the curtain with her hands to stop it from dancing around, and opened it. She looked at the yard.

"There’s nothing..."

At first, she didn’t find anything suspicious.

Her guards patrolled around the yard as usual. No one could do anything in her mansion yard without them noticing. Or at least—it was supposed to be so.

But then her eyes saw a flick of dark purple light.

She followed the light with her eyes, and saw a group of robed people on her yard. They were standing on a circle there, the purplish light vaguely illuminated their figures.

Gyllena gasped, her heart raced in that instant. Suddenly, the night felt colder than ever for her. She quickly closed the curtain.

But her hands still clutched the curtains, her fingers whitening as she tightened her clutches on the silky fabric of the curtain.

"Who are those people?" She muttered amidst her gasping.

Her sense of safety shattered that night. The wide room of hers felt more like a trap than a place for her to seek comfort.