I Am a Villain, So What?-Chapter 159: Rest in peace

"Kitchen 21?" Elisha raised an eyebrow. "Is it a tavern? I don’t eat tavern slop."

"It’s actually quite revolutionary," Clara chimed in, having realized exactly what Ariana was doing. Since Clara knew it was my venture, she readily agreed, wanting to score points. "I’ve heard amazing things! Let’s go there!"

Amy’s face lit up. She was a regular there, entirely unaware that I owned it.

"Oh, Kitchen 21! Yes, that sounds perfect! Their iced beverages are divine. Let’s go there!"

*****

Excited, we entered the bustling restaurant.

It was clearly popular. The line was out the door, but thanks to the VIP status radiating from Celestia and the Ducal Heirs, the crowd naturally parted for us.

I rarely visited my own place during the day, having left the entire operation to Lily and Alicia. I preferred to just collect the profits in the background.

"Wow, this is... commoner food?" Princess Celestia murmured, looking around the pristine, modern interior.

"It’s so different from the Academy’s banquet halls," Bordon noted, sniffing the air.

"But it looks delicious!" Mariella said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the display counter.

Kitchen 21 wasn’t a standard medieval tavern. I had modernized the menu to mimic the high-end cafes of my past life. The display featured artisanal grilled paninis, fresh summer salad bowls topped with seared salmon and crushed nuts, and massive glass dispensers filled with iced, fruit-infused teas chilled by low-grade ice magic stones.

We ordered at the counter and took a large corner booth. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Elisha took a tentative bite of her smoked turkey panini. Her eyes widened instantly.

"Wait," she muttered, looking at the sandwich like it had betrayed her. "Commoner food is this good? The bread is so crisp..."

"I told you!" Amy beamed, sipping her iced berry tea.

We enjoyed a surprisingly peaceful atmosphere. The Protagonist Party stuck to themselves on one side of the table, whispering about the food and the upcoming exams. Clara and Ariana sat on either side of me, engaging in a silent, passive-aggressive turf war over the napkins. Amy sat at the head of the table, perfectly bridging the gap.

It felt slightly off, but spending time together without drawing weapons was a huge step forward.

Just then, the clacking of heels approached our table.

"Master."

The chatter at the table died instantly.

I looked up. Alicia was standing there. She wasn’t wearing her usual maid uniform. Instead, she was dressed in a sleek, tailored manager’s outfit—a crisp black vest over a white blouse, her silver hair tied back flawlessly. She looked like a high-end executive, though the faint, suppressed aura of a retired assassin still clung to her every movement.

"It is rare to see you here during the lunch rush, Master," Alicia said smoothly, her crimson eyes flickering over the table of elites. "Shall I have the kitchen prepare the reserve cuts for your guests?"

I cleared my throat, feeling the collective, burning stares of my club members.

"Oh. Don’t mind me, Alicia. I’m just with my classmates today. A club activity."

"I see." Alicia bowed perfectly. "Then I will leave you to your leisure. Please let me know if you require anything."

She turned and glided away, effortlessly commanding the respect of the entire floor staff.

When I turned back to the table, eight pairs of eyes were locked onto me with laser-like intensity.

"Master?" Elisha repeated, her smoked turkey panini frozen halfway to her open mouth.

"Cadet Lucien..." Kael narrowed his golden eyes, leaning forward over the table. "Do you... own this establishment?"

"Wait," Bordon gasped, dropping his fork onto his plate with a loud clatter. "The absolute best restaurant in the Academy District is owned by the Trash of House Ashborne?!"

"Who are you calling Trash, you overgrown boulder?" Ariana hissed, her eyes glowing with violet alchemical energy. She reached for a vial in her pocket.

"And more importantly," Princess Celestia smiled, though her blue eyes were intensely sharp, dissecting the space Alicia had just vacated. "Who was that woman? Her footwork was completely silent, and I can sense an immense, violently suppressed fiery mana radiating from her core. That is not the aura of a simple restaurant manager."

I picked up my iced tea, taking a long, slow sip to avoid their piercing gazes. I needed a second to formulate a half-decent lie.

"She’s just... very passionate about customer service," I lied smoothly. "And very good at fire magic. Good for searing steaks."

Celestia’s smile didn’t waver, clearly unconvinced.

"Hold on," Elisha interjected, pointing her panini at me accusingly. "How do you even own this place? I thought you were essentially exiled. I heard Count cut off your allowance entirely because of your... past behavior. Prime real estate in this district costs a fortune!"

"I built it on my own," I replied, setting my glass down. "Frugal living, smart investments, and a bit of luck."

"He means he built a food business monopoly in the capital all on his own!" Clara chimed in helpfully, clapping her hands. "He is just being humble! You guys may not know this, but Lucien’s cooking is actually the best in the Empire!"

"It’s true," Ariana added, her hostility toward the Protagonist Party momentarily fading into smug pride. "The recipes here are merely a fraction of his talent. The dishes he prepares at home possess perfect nutritional balance and alchemical synergy. He is a genius of the culinary arts as well."

"Wait, wait, wait," Amy practically vibrated in her seat, pushing her glasses up. "Cadet Lucien, you invented the smoked salmon panini?! You’re the secret chef of Kitchen 21?!"

"I just gave them the recipes," I muttered, rubbing my temples. Please, stop making me sound like a Renaissance man. I just liked making money and eating good food.

"Incredible," Kael whispered, looking at me with renewed, starry-eyed respect. "A true master hides his blade in the kitchen."

No, I don’t. Stop it.

Just as the conversation was about to veer further into their collective delusions, a loud commotion shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

CRASH!

"Hey, how dare you!"

A loud shout cut through the café’s serene, ambient music. The sound of a shattered glass plate echoed across the room.

I looked over. A young noble in ornate, excessively ruffled clothing was standing near the front counter, his hands behind his back and his head held arrogantly high. He was glaring down at one of my newly hired waiters, who was frantically bowing and trying to clean up the spilled tea.

"Do you know who I am? I am Julian of House Vance! The Marquis Vance!"

"Y-Yes, My Lord! Of course, we know," the waiter stammered, his hands shaking. "But this is a shared space, and there are other guests, so please keep your voice down..."

"An insignificant worker dares tell me to be quiet?!"

Julian stepped forward, raising his hand as if to strike the waiter.

"I’m telling you to bring me what I ordered! Hey! Are you listening?!"

I sighed, sinking deeper into my booth. A typical troublemaker. Not even in a seedy tavern, but in a fine diner—a noble causing a public scene. It really hit home that I was living inside the cliché tropes of a fantasy world.

More importantly, this wasn’t just any random troublemaker.

I called out the system window and checked his status. I instantly recognized who this guy was.

[Name: Julian Vance]

[Identity: Third Son of Marquis Vance]

He was the youngest of the three sons of the Vance Marquisate. A thug with a violent personality who loved to abuse his power over commoners. A spoiled brat wielding his father’s status and authority like a club. Looking at him throw a tantrum over a menu item, he was practically as bad as the original Lucien Ashborne.

’And House Vance, no less.’

I tapped my fingers on the table. The Vance Marquisate was featured prominently in the original Asteria Online story. As villains, they were roughly the antagonists of the sixth major arc. They used cunning political maneuvers and black-market funding to cause chaos, but the strengthened Protagonist Party easily defeated them... an event that served to fully awaken the party’s political influence.

’Well then. Let’s see the Protagonist Party’s reaction.’

I glanced across the table. Sure enough, the Heroes were staring at the self-proclaimed Lord Vance with icy, unforgiving expressions.

Unaware of the lethal gazes bearing down on him from the Empire’s top powers sitting just a few tables away, the troublemaker kept blabbering.

"Get the manager!" Julian roared, kicking the counter.

"Y-Yes? My Lord?"

"Are you deaf?! Get the manager! You’ll pay for insulting a Marquis!"

"Insult? No, sir!" the waiter pleaded. "It’s just that the Frost-Berry Tart you ordered is strictly a winter menu item! The berries are out of season..."

"Shut up, peasant! How dare you open your mouth to make excuses!"

Julian raised his hand, gathering a faint spark of mana to strike the defenseless worker.

Before I could even think about signaling Alicia to throw him out the window, the temperature at our table plummeted.

Princess Celestia stood up.

Her movements were entirely silent, but the sheer weight of her regal aura flooded the room, extinguishing Julian’s spark of mana instantly. Elisha stood up right beside her, her violet eyes narrowing into a chilling, predatory glare. Bordon silently cracked his massive knuckles, rising to his full, towering height.

"We’ll handle it," Celestia said, her voice a calm, terrifying whisper that promised absolute ruin. She didn’t even look at me; her eyes were locked onto Julian. "This is the duty of true high nobility. To weed out the trash."

They slowly approached the so-called Lord Vance, leaving Mariella, Amy, Clara, Ariana, and me in the booth.

I took another sip of my iced tea.

’Rest in peace, Julian Vance. You picked the wrong diner.’