“Ugh… I’ll keep it in mind! Thank you!”
This time, it was a different side dish.
The pickled vegetables were seasoned appropriately, so the rest of the side dishes, except for the umeboshi, must have been average. Keeping that in mind, Hyunjin took a big bite of the tamagoyaki.
Oh, the tamagoyaki was close to perfect so far. It was very soft, with a fluffy texture reminiscent of eating castella. The sweetness was strong, but personally, Hyunjin preferred Korean-style egg rolls because of their rich salty taste.
Compared to the many ingredients typically found in Korean-style rolls, Ohana’s tamagoyaki could be evaluated as having a pure egg taste, sweetness aside. On the contrary, this simplicity gave it a pleasant appeal.
“Tamagoyaki passed. The pickled vegetables and fried rice seem to be okay.”
“Yes, yes! Go ahead and try the karaage too!”
“Wait a minute, do you have anything to drink?”
Hyunjin tapped her lightly on the shoulder while asking, and Ohana exclaimed, “Ah!” in a low voice.
“Sorry, oolong tea here!”
Hyunjin drank the oolong tea she handed him. The moderately pleasant and cool feeling was excellent.
“Whoa.”
“Sorry for asking too soon…”
“No, it’s fine.”
With that said, Hyunjin picked up his chopsticks again and ate the karaage. It should have tasted soft and moderately crispy.
But…
‘The inside of the deep-fried batter… is off…?’
This was a failure.
After reaching that conclusion, Hyunjin told Ohana, “Come on, Kamiyama. Try it yourself.”
He picked up a piece with his chopsticks and put it in her mouth.
Ohana immediately blushed.
“Ugh, ueh?! Ki—Kim-kun, I um… that…is the chopsticks you used…”
“What is this? Try the karaage first.”
“Oh, okay! I’ll eat it! I know, no!”
At my insistence, Ohana put the karaage she had made into her mouth.
“… Eww.”
“The appearance is fine, but the taste is a bit disappointing.”
“As expected…”
“Well, I liked everything overall, except for the karaage and umeboshi.”
“Ugh…”
Ohana looked slightly gloomy.
Feeling a bit bad about it, Hyunjin lightly tapped her shoulder and said, “Still, overall, it was delicious. I’m happy to eat a lunch box like this after eating only bread every day.”
“Ooh… I can’t believe it, Kim-kun! Eating only bread every day…”
It was unexpected. Or maybe it was normal?
“Anyway, the taste evaluation is over! Well done, Kamiyama. You’ll make a good bride someday.”
Encouraging her, Hyunjin returned the lunchbox and chopsticks to Ohana.
Her face turned bright red.
“Eh, eh… A good bride… really…”
“Really, Kamiyama.”
Hyunjin had meant it as a compliment.
In a love comedy, saying something like this usually made the other person happy.
As expected, Ohana answered with a very happy expression.
“Oh, yes! I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kim-kun.”
“Come to think of it, I’m on duty today, so I’ll help you.”
“Oh? No, Kim-kun! It’s really okay!”
“If you need help, ask Kiba-kun too.”
“Ki—Kiba-kun too? Okay, but…”
“Wouldn’t it be quicker to finish together?”
“That’s true, but…”
Ohana shyly turned her head away. She was still a very bashful person.
“Anyway, let’s go now.”
“Yes! Thank you for your evaluation, Kim-kun.”
Hyunjin said that to Ohana and left her.
***
[Amelia’s POV]
Someone had been watching the events that unfolded on the rooftop.
It was Amelia Iori Lionheart.
Of course, she hadn’t been directly peeping through the door’s gap. After finishing her meal as usual, she had been controlling a drone via her smartphone.
The drone was filming Hyunjin stably.
‘What, what, what… What is he doing right now?!’
Amelia was watching the scene of Hyunjin receiving a lunchbox from another woman through the video feed from the drone.
Nervously, she adjusted the drone’s angle.
‘A little closer…’
She feared getting caught if she went too close. The drone had a built-in microphone for sound, but unfortunately, Amelia hadn’t brought her earphones that morning.
‘Ugh… What are they talking about?!’
She adjusted the angle again, focusing on the woman in front of her butler.
‘Hmm? Wait a second. Isn’t that Kamiyama Ohana from our class?’
What kind of relationship did Hyunjin have with Kamiyama Ohana? She decided she needed to return to the mansion and hear the full story.
‘Hyunjin… Why does he look so happy?’
When he first came in as her butler, Amelia had thought he was deliberately suppressing his emotions. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t press further.
Asking him directly would feel like she was being rude.
‘Hyunjin… you’re my butler. My servant…’
Amelia continued staring at the video feed with a sad face.
His expressions as he savored the food and smiled seemed out of place.
‘Hmm, it’s just a lunchbox. When you come back to the mansion, there are plenty of delicious dishes, but you still look so happy.’
Was something wrong?
If nothing was amiss, why was he so expressive while eating Ohana’s food?
Eating such a standard bento, he always maintained a blunt expression during their meals together.
She felt a pang of jealousy but tried to suppress it.
‘Yes, I am the daughter of the Lionheart family! Feeling jealous of Kamiyama-san is beneath me.’
But why were Hyunjin and Ohana together?
That didn’t matter.
Why was Hyunjin so happy while eating Ohana’s meal?
That mattered.
Amelia decided she would question this when they returned to the mansion. She would have to give Hyunjin an order.
That might be the only way for her to process that expression… even as her heart ached.
Goblin: Want to read more? You can become a Transmigrated as the Butler of a Defeated Heroine ($5 per month) member at Patreon for only $5 per month. Member of this tier will get Five or More Advance Chapters (parts) immediately, and will stay 5 or more chapter parts ahead of the regular release for the month! You can become a KR WN Bundle ($10 per month) member and have access to all the Korean webnovel advance chapters on goblinslate. You can support me by sponsoring chapters at BuymeaCoffee or Patreon Shop.
Check out my other projects: Rehabilitating the Villainess, Pushover Extra Trains the Villainesses, I Picked Up an Amnesiac Witch, My Summons Are Special, My Wife is the Devil,
Peeping with a dron lmao