A Bad Influence (2)
"Why is such a worthless man lingering around our young lady?"
It was the exact look a mother would give a delinquent friend her daughter had dragged home.
'Wait, so I'm the bad influence in her eyes right now?'
No, seriously, what did I even do? My sense of injustice, however, didn't last long. I pictured my own face. A goofy, squinty-eyed grin.
Indeed. My face had been meticulously designed by the Creator's will to give off an impression that was both frivolous and incredibly easy to push around. To anyone looking, I was a "weirdo." A "good-for-nothing." A "total airhead."
"..."
Yena possessed a meticulous personality and standards strict enough to warrant her role as Drin's guardian. Considering she barely looked favorably upon the three young ladies of high noble birth—Aidrin, Adela, and Miz—it was only natural that she found someone like me standing next to Drin utterly offensive.
"..."
Just then, our Lady Drin spoke up. "First, this is Sillon. He is an Academy cadet."
"An Academy cadet?"
With those words, about twenty percent of the distaste in Yena's eyes vanished.
'Is this the power of academic prestige...?!'
Indeed, academic credentials were king. There was a reason parents back in my old world ground their lives away just to send their kids to a prestigious university. Even in this world of absolute classism, academic pedigree was one of the highest virtues.
Of course, it was still far from enough. Though twenty percent of her distaste had melted away, the remaining eighty percent was still at a lethal concentration. If I remained exposed to that level of hostility for too long, I would probably end up afflicted with a fatal status effect: the sudden, overwhelming urge to distance myself from our Lady Drin.
"An Academy cadet... Does that mean you are an upperclassman?" Yena's sharp, evaluative gaze, hidden beneath her polite demeanor, swept over me from head to toe.
"Ah, he is not an upperclassman. He is a fellow applicant who took the entrance exam with me."
Yena's head tilted slightly. Her expression seemed to ask, 'Then why are you already calling him a cadet?' Understanding her silent query, our Lady Drin nodded and explained.
"His marks were so exceptional that his admission is practically guaranteed, so I took the liberty of introducing him as a cadet."
Was I being overly self-conscious, or did our Lady Drin's voice carry a subtle hint of pride, as if to say, 'He's my friend'? Well, if I was being self-conscious, so be it.
'Oh, yeah.' This felt amazing.
"Oh? That is quite impressive indeed."
In any case, thanks to our Lady Drin's warm introduction, another layer of Yena's hostility peeled away. Yet, a distinct chill still lingered. I couldn't help but marvel.
'Just how terrible is my first impression?'
I had to admire my own understanding of the squinty-eyed archetype. It was a classic trope: the squinty-eyed character always has the worst first impression.
Yena's attitude was the perfect proof that this face, sculpted by my own hands, fully embodied that very archetype. Thinking of it that way, her wariness actually felt welcome. It fired me up. Starting from a negative score only made me want to see how high I could raise her evaluation of me.
"And this is Lady Aidrin of the Telrn family."
"Lady Aidrin. Welcome to the Liebringer estate."
"Pardon? Ah! Yes! I am Aidrin of the Telrn family! Thank you so much for inviting me!"
"And over here is..."
Our Lady Drin paused mid-sentence as she went to introduce Adela, glancing at me. She was clearly mindful of what had transpired between Adela and me during the exam. I gave her a small nod to show it was fine. At this point, maintaining a reasonably amicable relationship with Adela was far more beneficial for both me and Lady Aidrin than making an enemy of her.
"..."
Adela fidgeted restlessly during that brief, awkward silence.
"...Lady Adela of the Aspien family," Drin continued the introduction. Adela looked relieved, though the anxiety on her face didn't completely vanish.
"Welcome, Lady Adela."
"Th-thank you for the warm welcome."
"And lastly, this is Lady Miz of the Baurer family."
Drin introduced the final member of our group. The three girls greeted Yena with visibly shrinking postures. High noble ladies intimidated by a mere maid? To an outsider, it might have seemed absurd, but not to me.
Though Yena's attire was based on a maid's uniform, there were subtle differences between hers and the uniforms of the other maids glimpsed occasionally through the doorway. It was proof that she held the official rank of a lady's maid, a personal attendant. This meant Yena, like the other three, was of noble blood, and above all, she was someone the Liebringer family trusted deeply enough to entrust with the guardianship of their direct lineage's young lady.
While Yena stood before us as a maid in form, her actual standing within high society was far loftier than that of Aidrin, Adela, or Miz. The noble world was truly, ridiculously complicated.
"...Welcome, Lady Miz."
"Ahem... P-pleasure."
Even Miz of the Baurer family—a house that a prestigious swordsmanship family like the Liebringers could easily look down upon—had received a welcome. In the end, out of all of our Lady Drin's guests, I was the only one who hadn't heard the words "Welcome" from Yena.
And then, our Lady Drin threw a curveball.
"Yena? Sillon hasn't been able to find lodging yet, so I plan to have him stay at our estate until the entrance ceremony. Could you prepare a guest room for him?"
Whoosh! I could almost hear the sharp whistle of a projectile flying from Yena.
Before Yena's gaze settled on Drin, it lingered on me for a fraction of a second. It was a mere blink of an eye, but in that fleeting moment, I felt a crushing pressure as if I were being buried deep into the earth. The message in her eyes was crystal clear: 'Don't even dream of it.'
Yena looked back at Drin and nodded. "Understood, my lady. I shall arrange a place for Lord Sillon to stay as quickly as possible."
A subtle shift in phrasing. A clear change in meaning. Yena would faithfully carry out Drin's request to find me a room. However, that room would definitely not be inside the Liebringer mansion.
"Thank you."
Whether our Lady Drin failed to catch the nuance or simply chose not to pay it any mind, she offered Yena her pure, innocent gratitude.
'So it ends up like this.'
It seemed my lodging until the entrance ceremony had just been relocated from our Lady Drin's mansion to somewhere else.
To say I wasn't disappointed would be a lie, but on some level, I had expected this. Our Lady Drin was a daughter of one of the Eight Great Families. I was a commoner. We lived in entirely different worlds. Even if our Lady Drin possessed an angelic personality and wanted to be my friend, whether the people around her would accept that relationship was a completely different matter.
"Do you have any further instructions, my lady?"
Drin nodded at Yena's question. "I would like to have dinner with my guests tonight. Could you arrange a table for us?"
At that, a look of hesitation crossed Yena's face.
"My lady, actually..."
"Hm? Is there a problem?"
"To be frank, an issue has arisen with our staffing."
"What happened?"
"The head chef, who was scheduled to arrive at the estate today to begin his duties, collapsed from a chronic illness and is currently undergoing treatment."
"Don't tell me... is it Mr. Ryan?"
"Yes, it is."
"Oh, my goodness."
Drin's face clouded with worry, far outweighing her disappointment. "Is Mr. Ryan alright?"
"Fortunately, his life is not in danger."
"Whew..." Our Lady Drin let out a sigh of genuine relief, patting her chest.
"However, it will be a long time before he can return to work. According to the priest's diagnosis, he requires at least several months of rest before engaging in any strenuous activity."
Our Lady Drin nodded in understanding. "It is a pity I won't be able to enjoy Mr. Ryan's cooking for a while, but I am just glad he is safe. Please ensure he receives the maximum support possible so he can make a full recovery."
"Understood."
At our Lady Drin's words, Yena's face softened into an incredibly warm smile. Her expression practically screamed, 'Oh, our young lady is so kind and wonderful.' What is she, her mother?
"Oh, wait... then..." Drin belatedly realized the predicament.
Yena nodded, looking apologetic. "Yes. It seems it will be difficult to host a dinner for your guests at the estate tonight."
"Ah."
Drin glanced at us, her face a mix of disappointment and embarrassment.
Seeing Drin like that, Yena's expression also twisted with pain and regret. For a family of the Liebringers' stature to invite guests to dinner, only to cancel it due to internal circumstances—it was a deeply humiliating situation for both our Lady Drin and her fiercely loyal maid.
"Ah, well..."
"Oh..."
*Gasp!*
The disappointment of the three girls—Aidrin, Adela, and Miz—seemed equally immense. No matter how intimidating the situation, an opportunity to build a connection with the Liebringer family was not something that came by easily. It was a disappointing turn of events for everyone.
But for me, this was a golden opportunity.
It was a chance to score points with Yena, that absolute doting dunderhead of a maid. I raised my hand slightly and spoke up.
"Excuse me, but are the ingredients and kitchen facilities already prepared at the mansion?"
"Yes. This is the Liebringer estate. Naturally, all ingredients and facilities are of the absolute highest quality."
Yena answered, though she added a self-deprecating murmur, as if to say, 'Not that it's something to boast about right now.'
"In that case... would it be alright if I took charge of preparing tonight's dinner?"
"Pardon?"
Yena blinked in confusion, struggling to process my words for a moment before offering a bitter smile. "Thank you for your thoughtful consideration. However, the Liebringer family cannot place the responsibility of hosting our guests onto an outsider."
Perhaps she found my attempt to resolve the situation endearing, because I felt a significant chunk of her hostility melt away. But that wasn't enough. I hadn't brought this up just to raise her favorability from a -100 to a -90. I recalled a specific trait of the squinty-eyed archetype as I pressed on.
"Would you trust me and give me a single chance?"
"...Excuse me?"
"I may not look like much, but I'm actually quite confident in my cooking."
A certain squinty-eyed character I knew of always cooked for his companions. The Creator of this squinty-eyed body must have been inspired by that, adding a pinch of culinary talent when crafting this vessel.
Absolute Taste
Grade: Legendary
And that was why I was confident in my cooking. Just like that squinty-eyed character who always fed his friends.