<Chapter 29>
#4. The Exchange Meeting
“Welcome.”
Johaim quietly pushed up his glasses at the sight of Calix, who greeted him with a bright smile. Behind him, servants were lined up in formation. As if he had known Johaim would come and had been waiting, his appearance was impeccable.
This was Johaim who had been driven away from the mansion just the day before, not days ago, due to Calix’s antics. It had only been a day, yet Johaim couldn’t guess why he was being welcomed so grandly.
“My, why such an expression when you’re being welcomed?”
Johaim took a deep breath. While he didn’t usually attend exchange meetings for any particular reason, today was different. Having calmed himself with the determination to somehow rescue the hamster beast-person held captive by that shameless, detestable snake tribe, Johaim glared at him and said:
“I didn’t know you were familiar with the word ‘welcome.'”
“Is that so? Well, now you know. Come in.”
Calix grinned and moved his body slightly to the side. As he turned, Johaim could see the splendid red carpet that stretched from the entrance of the mansion. Judging by the number embroidered on the edge with gold thread, it looked expensive, but it was a carpet with such gaudy splendor that it appeared tasteless.
“…I didn’t know Padrian’s taste traveled back in time.”
It wasn’t something that would have been purchased by Calix, who had as high standards as he earned money. Moreover, he wasn’t originally the type to show off to others. Johaim made a sour expression at the scene, which anyone would suspect had a trap hidden within.
As Calix motioned with his wrist for him to come inside, Johaim cleared his throat loudly. Since he had originally thought he would be staying at this mansion, he hadn’t set a definite time or place to meet with Melty.
In the end, he had come to the mansion early in the morning to meet him, but seeing Calix smiling so sweetly made him want to leave immediately.
“…Someone might think I came to see you.”
“Oh? Wasn’t that the case? If you’ve come for the exchange meeting, naturally you should meet me, the host, first.”
*If you know that, why did you chase people away like that yesterday?*
Johaim’s expression wrinkled. As the creases on his face increased, the corners of Calix’s mouth rose by 1cm each time. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Johaim turned his gaze away.
“Never mind. Just call Melty-ssi for me.”
“He’s still sleeping. Surely you don’t intend to barge into the mansion early in the morning and force him to wake up?”
“…Then please tell him I came when he wakes up.”
Johaim put strength into both legs. He couldn’t understand Calix’s intentions, but he didn’t want to fall into his trap so easily. Seeing Johaim’s determined stance with his arms folded, Calix, understanding his thoughts, smirked.
“You’re not coming in?”
“I’ll wait here until Melty-ssi comes out.”
Contrary to Johaim’s expectation that Calix would try to lure him inside, Calix smiled brightly with an extremely pleased expression.
“Do as you wish, then.”
Simultaneously, the door that had been open closed with a ‘bang’ right in front of his face. Startled by the door that closed noisily right before his eyes, Johaim’s eyes widened and then returned to normal. Though he didn’t show it outwardly, he was perplexed by Calix’s action, which showed no lingering attachment.
*Was this his plan all along…?*
Frowning, Johaim shook his head lightly to clear away the stray thoughts that had arisen. There was no need to worry about his actions.
Johaim silently took his position in front of the door, waiting for Melty to come out. Though he didn’t think he had arrived particularly early, there was no sign of Melty even after quite some time had passed. Shivering from the cold weather, Johaim considered leaving a note and going elsewhere. Just then, the door opened again, revealing an unwelcome face.
“You’re still here.”
“…Do you have something else to say?”
“Nothing much. Just thought that if I left you alone any longer, you might freeze to death. Cleaning up corpses is a hassle, you know.”
Calix replied smugly, shrugging his shoulders. Turning his body slightly to the side, Calix gestured inside. After considering for a moment at his beckoning to come in, Johaim finally stepped inside with a low sigh.
“Is Melty-ssi still in deep sleep?”
“Probably? He was wandering around all day yesterday, so he must be tired.”
While it wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t the whole truth either. Calix, who had no intention of revealing anything willingly, shrugged his shoulders while suppressing the corners of his mouth from rising.
“If you’re not going to keep standing here making others uncomfortable, how about going to the reception room?”
With that, Calix turned and walked ahead. Johaim, who had been staring blankly at him, turned his gaze to his surroundings. A few servants who met his eyes bowed lightly. Receiving their greetings, Johaim had to agree with Calix’s words.
Although he had come to the mansion to meet Melty, it was now the time for the exchange meeting. On such a day, it would be strange by common sense for him, the heir to the Sarvie family, to be standing in the central hall. With their gazes seemingly observing him, Johaim let out a low sigh.
He didn’t feel particularly good, as if he had fallen into Calix’s trap that he had been trying so hard to avoid, but he couldn’t continue to endure with everyone’s eyes on him. Hearing Johaim’s footsteps behind him, Calix smiled contentedly.
Angel, receiving a signal from Calix’s eyes, nodded with a sour expression. Then he hurriedly made his way toward the upper floor where Melty’s room was located. Listening to Angel’s footsteps going upstairs, Calix smiled with satisfaction.
If he could just keep Johaim in the reception room, he could completely eliminate any possibility of Johaim and Melty meeting, without any need for concern. With a satisfied expression, Calix opened the door to the farthest reception room.
“What are you doing? Sit down.”
Calix pointed to the sofa for Johaim, who couldn’t wipe the displeased expression off his face, and sat down on the opposite side. As if he had prepared in advance, he picked up a file of documents on the table, looking as if he was going to work here.
Unlike Johaim’s expectation that Calix would merely guide him and leave, he seemed to be settling in for quite a while, which silently alarmed Johaim.
“…Are you planning to stay here the whole time?”
“Is it strange for me to be in my own mansion?”
Johaim kept his mouth shut at the question, asked with a snake-like smile. As Calix had countered, there wasn’t anything particularly strange about it.
“Since a guest has arrived at the mansion, I need to attend to them.”
“Though it’s been a while since I’ve been in this area, were you struck by lightning or something?”
Despite the blunt question essentially asking, “Are you crazy?”, Calix smiled brightly. The more Calix’s face exuded composure, the more stiff Johaim’s expression became. The heavy silence that settled between them was broken by a light knock. A maid entered through the open door, served tea and snacks, and then disappeared.
“I’m the fortunate type, so I’ve never had the misfortune of being struck by lightning. Though I can’t say the same for you.”
“…Seeing that you’re as unpleasant as ever, I guess you’re in your right mind. We’re not exactly on intimate terms that warrant face-to-face conversation. What do you want to say?”
Calix let out a small exclamation at Johaim’s words as he tilted his teacup. Johaim frowned deeply, even that exaggerated action becoming unpleasant to him.
“Are you asking how I knew? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Since you wouldn’t do something you don’t usually do without a reason.”
Johaim said while placing his right leg on top of his left and sipping his tea. Though it wasn’t apparent on his expressionless face, there was a slight trace of displeasure. As he had said, it wasn’t particularly pleasant to converse face-to-face. Shrugging his shoulders, Calix got straight to the point.
“It’s quite convenient not having to ask indirectly. So, without holding back, why are you here?”
“…What do you mean? You’re the one who invited me to the exchange meeting.”
As someone who had received a proper invitation and was attending the event, Johaim couldn’t understand Calix’s words at all. Seeing him creating numerous creases on his forehead and revealing his mood, Calix added an explanation in a leisurely tone.
“I invited you to the exchange meeting. But it’s strange for the heir to be wandering around without the old family head. Especially for the Sarvie family.”
In the Sarvie family, only Johaim remained among the direct lineage. The family head, who didn’t hesitate to spread rumors like “Padrian killed Sarvie!” at other exchange meetings, wouldn’t have sent his only remaining heir alone here. It was also bothersome that he had arrived earlier than anyone else at the exchange meeting hosted by the Padrian family of all places.
“I haven’t heard that the old man is unwell.”
“…You still have a habit of speaking carelessly. It’s not like there has to be a reason for me to come here.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Johaim drank his tea. His lower face was hidden by the tilted teacup. Judging by his nonchalant downward gaze or the timely movement that covered the area around his mouth, Calix’s eyes shone sharply for a moment, determining that Johaim was hiding something.
“Well. That’s true. If it were true, that is.”
Muttering the afterword quietly enough that Johaim couldn’t hear, Calix didn’t pressure or interrogate him further. Leaning his back against the sofa’s backrest and taking a comfortable position, Calix removed his gaze from Johaim and examined the file in his hand.
Johaim frowned at Calix’s sudden indifference, as if his previous confrontational attitude had been without reason. His head throbbed at the sight of Calix acting carefree after stirring up the atmosphere as he pleased, like a snake. Calix had always been one of the most tiring people to deal with, even from a young age.
“Wouldn’t it be better to do work in your office?”
“I find it more comfortable here. Is it uncomfortable for you?”
“Extremely.”
Calix burst into laughter at Johaim’s immediate response, as if he had been waiting for it. Calix used his gift to look at him carefully. Though his aura was close to neutral, there was a faint, unfavorable color flickering. Calix frowned at the sight. This was why he didn’t like Sarvie people. Unable to notice his expression hidden behind the file, Johaim asked, revealing his displeasure entirely.
“We don’t particularly have anything to talk about, nor are we on friendly terms.”
“That’s true. But you seem to have gotten quite close with our hamster in just one day? Planning to go on an outing together and all.”
“Does Padrian care about the personal relationships of its employees?”
Despite Johaim’s gaze revealing full displeasure, Calix responded with a smiling face. The fact that the Sarvie family, who trembled at the mention of Padrian, had arrived first was a situation worth suspecting that they had other intentions. But more important than interrogating that was the reason he had detained him.
“I don’t. For other employees. But that hamster is a bit special, you see.”
As he had told Johaim, Melty was special. It was the first time his gift had so intensely proclaimed that someone would be beneficial to him. However, even as he said this, Calix didn’t think that was the only reason he found it unpleasant to see Johaim and Melty together.
“Is that a threat?”
“No, it’s a warning.”
Calix smiled brightly at Johaim, who was wrinkling his brow, and stopped his thoughts that had been searching for a reason.
“So it would be better to stop approaching my person. As you well know, I’m not exactly the pleasant type.”
