<Chapter 99>
#11. Love is a Hurricane (4)
“Are you talking to me right now?”
Melty, who had been crouched down intending to move secretly, straightened his body and glared at the woman standing before him. Given that he was already suspicious about her relationship with Calix, he couldn’t say his feelings toward her were positive. But even setting that aside, her attitude and tone made Melty uncomfortable.
“Who else would be here?”
With a slight smile on her lips, she lifted her head high and looked around. Her exaggerated movement seemed to be pointing out Melty’s short stature, which made his mood even worse.
“Iel-ssi. We’re not acquainted with each other, and that behavior is unpleasant.”
“What did I do? I didn’t know you had such a prickly personality…”
It was also detestable how she pretended not to know while covering her mouth with her hand. Melty took a deep breath and pointed out her attitude again.
“If you truly don’t know, that’s even more serious.”
“Didn’t you act more cutely in front of others? It’s quite shocking to see your attitude change so drastically. Perhaps this is your true nature.”
Cutely?
At Iel’s words as she slightly covered her mouth and furrowed her brows, Melty tried once again to calm his anger. Not once had he ever acted ‘cutely’ to appear a certain way to anyone, as she suggested. And it was undoubtedly she who had started the confrontation with someone who was minding his own business.
“I know how to distinguish people who have hostility toward me. And I’m not foolish enough to be kind to such people. If you’re done talking, please go on your way.”
After finishing his words, Melty turned his body back toward the direction of the conference room. Ignoring her behind him, he moved with huffing steps. Easily catching up to Melty with her long legs, she opened her mouth with a smile.
“Based on this direction, you’re heading to the conference room? Seems we have the same destination.”
“Mind your own business, no matter where I’m going.”
Despite Melty’s sharp, pointed words, she wasn’t deterred. After getting ahead of Melty with quick steps and turning around, Iel opened her mouth with a smiling face.
“No matter how much you rush, you won’t be able to enter, you know?”
“…Seeing that Iel-ssi is here too, weren’t you excluded from today’s meeting?”
“I have no business with the meeting, but I do have business with the ‘person’ who’s in the meeting.”
Melty’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt at her voice, which was smiling with gently curved eyes. He didn’t need to ask who that ‘person’ was or why she was bringing this up in front of him; he could guess. It was a kind of ‘intuition.’ Iel, who had stopped in place following Melty, whispered with a smile.
“It so happens I wanted to have an intimate chat with Melty-ssi too, so this is perfect. How about until the meeting ends?”
“……”
Melty wanted to shout ‘No!’ right away. As if sensing what he hadn’t said, she lowered her upper body slightly and met Melty’s eyes.
“Anyway, don’t you have something you want to say to me as well?”
“It seems you have something you want to hear from me?”
“That’s part of it, but I also have things to tell you.”
Melty exhaled a deep breath. Originally, he had been heading to the conference room to catch evidence of whether Calix was meeting someone else behind his back. The appearance of the most likely candidate right before him was an unexpected situation, but Crosels never turned away from those who confronted them. Though Melty was known as the most timid in his family, a man in love naturally becomes brave.
“Fine! Lead the way, then!”
And thus, Melty accepted the direct confrontation with her.
***
Melty first saw Iel Tuanivel, a cat beast-person, when they first arrived at the Botenta family estate. Durasen had introduced her as a guest who was there on other business. Since there was little occasion to encounter her after that, Melty had completely forgotten about her existence.
“So what is it you want to hear from me?”
Having settled in the garden, Melty threw out his question as soon as the teacups were placed. Iel’s brow slightly furrowed at his defensive posture with arms crossed.
“Is it common to jump straight to the point during tea time?”
“We’re not close enough to have an intimate conversation face to face. I’m busy, and I’m sure Iel-ssi is busy too, so let’s just talk about what we need to.”
A slight smile crossed Iel’s lips at Melty’s cold words. Slightly cradling her chin with one hand and tilting her head, Iel said:
“You don’t have to pretend to be busy. It’s not like you have much to do besides staying in your room anyway.”
“Excuse me. You do realize you’re being extremely rude right now, don’t you? Or should I introduce myself?”
The most important thing in a fight was the initial battle of wills. Especially empowered by his sisters’ teaching that a romantic rival didn’t need to be spared, Melty straightened his back and glared at her.
“Why should I?”
“Iel-ssi said you’re here on an errand, right? Haven’t you finished it yet?”
“An errand? Ahaha. That’s right. I came here on an errand.”
Melty narrowed his eyes at the high-pitched laughter spreading around. Unlike her, who seemed to find it amusing, Melty wasn’t enjoying this at all. Melty gently stroked Naru’s head as the snake flicked its tongue and looked around cautiously.
He wished Naru was a canine animal rather than a snake so he could order it to ‘bite!’ right now. Having finally calmed her laughter, she wiped away the tears hanging at the corners of her eyes with her fingers.
“It seems you don’t like me being here very much, so why not help me a bit?”
“What do you suddenly want help with…”
“My errand. I think it might finish faster without Melty-ssi around.”
Melty frowned, somehow disliking the way Iel’s black eyes curved gently. The word ‘without’ rather than ‘with’ sounded particularly irritating. Iel’s gaze, which had been on Melty’s face, shifted to Naru, who was coiled around his wrist and flicking its tongue while looking at her.
“It’s not like you’re anything to each other yet anyway, right?”
“Look. Do you realize you’ve been talking in a way only you understand? If you’re going to talk, speak plainly.”
“I thought you would know. Even after seeing that yesterday, you’re not very perceptive.”
Melty’s eyes widened at her mention of ‘yesterday.’ The image of the two people conversing in the empty conference room flashed through his mind. He had thought no one had seen him, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
Melty’s lips trembled. She, who had been staring at his lips, opened her mouth with a leisurely smile.
“Shall I explain so that Melty-ssi can understand? I am the person who will marry Calix-ssi.”
Melty, whose mouth had gaped open at Iel’s shocking statement, was brought back to his senses by the cold sensation rubbing against the back of his hand. Meeting eyes with Naru, who looked worried, Melty tried to assess the situation rationally with a deep breath.
“I haven’t heard anything like that from Calix-ssi. And I think you know this since you’re bringing it up to me, but Calix-ssi is my partner.”
“That’s why I said it. I am the ‘person who will marry him.’ Dating is something one can do, of course.”
What on earth does that mean?
Melty couldn’t understand Iel’s thinking that dating and marriage were ‘separate.’ It was so shocking that he had momentarily forgotten, but the flow of conversation she was leading was strange.
“How did we get from errands to this topic anyway?”
“You still don’t understand? I’m telling you that my errand is marrying Calix-ssi.”
Melty narrowed his eyes at her words as she proudly pointed to herself. The most important part to figure out in this entire conversation was whether Calix knew about this and was participating in it.
Thinking of Calix who had been affectionate even this morning, it was highly likely he wasn’t involved, but that didn’t mean he could easily pronounce him innocent.
“So honestly speaking, Melty-ssi is being a huge hindrance.”
“Huh…”
At her words, Melty stripped away half the suspicion he had of Calix. If Calix had known about and agreed to this situation, there would have been no need for her to bring it up like this. Currently, Iel’s talk sounded like she was claiming that Melty’s presence was interfering with her marriage to Calix.
“I’m curious about something – who exactly decided that Iel-ssi is the person who will marry Calix-ssi?”
“Is that important? Don’t tell me you thought Calix-ssi would marry you?”
Melty didn’t even flinch at her suddenly fierce gaze. Iel let out a hollow laugh at his still rigid expression and continued.
“Anyone can see how well Calix-ssi and I match. Compared to that, Melty-ssi…”
Iel looked Melty up and down. With a scornful laugh, she opened her mouth again.
“What were you doing when everyone else was growing?”
“…I tried hard to grow too, you know?!”
As soon as Melty raised his voice in anger, she waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.
“Besides, Melty-ssi is a man, right? Do you know what’s most important in the Padrian family? Continuing the bloodline. I can give Calix-ssi descendants.”
“I-I can do that too!”
“Stop being so stubbornly unreasonable. A man doing… that’s impossible, isn’t it?”
Iel, who simply dismissed the words Melty had shouted with all his sincerity, traced her finger around her teacup with a short, scornful laugh.
“My relationship with Calix-ssi is recognized by the family. Didn’t you ask who sent me on this errand? Braiante-nim himself gave me these instructions in a letter.”
‘Braiante’ was Calix’s father and the head of the Padrian family. As she spoke proudly with her chest out, Melty recalled Braiante’s image in his mind. Though the inherently stoic man had never treated Melty affectionately, he couldn’t imagine him preparing something like this.
“Do you understand? Unlike Melty-ssi, I am in a relationship supported by the family.”
Melty clenched his fist at her triumphant words.
– If you two marry, I’ll actively support you.
Melty recalled Amelia’s face, smiling warmly and affectionately. Remembering her words, he no longer felt intimidated. If Iel had Braiante’s support, he had the support of Amelia, Calix’s mother.
“So if you have any sense, I’d like you to leave.”
Though she spoke with a sweet smile, her words weren’t gentle at all. In response to her articulate speech, Melty followed her example, straightening his shoulders, pushing his chest forward, and even mimicking her scornful smile as he opened his mouth.
“Iel-ssi speaks as if you could do it if I wasn’t here. Yet you haven’t even heard a marriage proposal from Calix-ssi.”
“I will hear it soon. The two of us are maintaining a good relationship right now. I can give Calix-ssi what he needs. Unlike you.”
Her face hardened at Melty’s statement. Despite her ominous gaze that looked like she might grab his hair at any moment, Melty didn’t back down.
“The one who received a confession is me, not Iel-ssi, and the one who received a proposal is also me.”
“…What kind of conversation is this?”
“What kind of conversation? The one Calix-ssi likes is me…!”
Melty, who had risen from his seat and was proudly pointing at his own chest while declaring, stopped his answer. It seemed like he heard what should have been her response from behind him. With wide eyes, Melty slowly turned his head. There stood someone who shouldn’t have been there.
