<Chapter 103>
#12. Black Cloud (1)
“That should resolve the quantity issue.”
After finishing his words, Calix took his eyes off the documents and turned his gaze to Angel, who looked haggard.
“If you have something to say, go ahead.”
With his permission, Angel finally heaved a deep sigh and cautiously began to speak while checking Calix’s reaction.
“Are you going to remain at odds with the Crosel family like this?”
“At odds? What are you talking about? Why would I be at odds with my spouse’s family?”
Though Calix’s question had a hint of laughter, Angel could easily detect the impurity mixed in that smile from his years of serving him. Eyes overflowing with coldness didn’t inspire any trust, no matter how kindly he spoke.
“Did you come to an understanding with Malek-ssi?”
“I’ve come to an understanding with the person I’m marrying.”
“…Which means you haven’t at all.”
Angel muttered with a grim expression and irritably scratched the back of his neck. The future of living a peaceful life amid a pile of gold coins seemed thousands of years away. Angel, his shoulders slumped, shook his head from side to side and said:
“I heard you prevented him from returning to his family by citing contract terms?”
“That’s right. Your information is quick.”
“It’s only natural since we’re staying at the same place.”
Looking at Calix, who was smiling leisurely with interlocked fingers, Angel slowly rubbed his forehead with a tired face. Angel had been dragged down by Malek’s hand after finishing the task Calix had assigned. Since it was too late when he arrived, and he wasn’t officially an invited guest at the mansion, he had taken lodging nearby.
Malek storming the mansion at that late hour wasn’t something they had agreed upon. The image of Malek, completely drunk, spilling out his shock with “How could our youngest do this to me!” flashed through his mind and disappeared. Of course, Malek hadn’t forgotten to shout “That slippery, cheating snake bastard!” afterward either.
As soon as morning broke, Angel had sent a message to the Botenta mansion to get a room, but because Malek would pounce on him with fierce eyes asking where he was going whenever he touched his luggage, Angel had no choice but to commute.
“What if he just takes him away to the Crosel family?”
“That won’t happen.”
After finishing his words, Calix lightly shrugged his shoulders. At his firm, confident statement, a question appeared on Angel’s face. Glancing at him from the corner of his eye, Calix kindly added an explanation.
“The Crosel family considers keeping contracts to be of utmost importance. They won’t consider overturning something that has been signed with the family name attached. They’d rather assassinate me instead.”
“…Isn’t that more serious?”
Angel, who had already experienced having a knife held to his throat by Malek, shuddered. Calix glanced at Angel’s face, which looked particularly haggard today, and smiled slightly, lifting the corner of his mouth.
“Why? Afraid he’ll really kill me?”
“…He’s not someone who says one thing and does another.”
“I have something I’m counting on.”
Angel made a disgruntled expression as he looked at Calix smiling contentedly. Without having to probe further, it was easy to predict from his honey-dripping eyes that his reliance was on ‘Melty Crosel’.
“…Did you get permission from the family head?”
At Angel’s question, Calix frowned. Although he’d been able to see Melty’s jealousy and even have their first night together thanks to it, there was a root cause to all this. And according to what he had coaxed out of Melty in bed, it seemed that the person who had pushed Iel Tuanivel to approach Calix was his own father, Braiante. Though that was also something Melty had heard from her, Calix didn’t believe it at all.
“I informed him.”
Braiante had emphasized the importance of descendants. As such, there was a good possibility that he had tried to pair him with someone else.
‘But it still doesn’t feel right.’
It seemed like he would need to properly verify this matter soon. With this neat conclusion, Calix pushed the content to a corner of his memory. Angel, unaware of Calix’s busy thoughts, shook his head lightly and said:
“I know very well that no one can break Calix-nim’s stubbornness, but it wouldn’t be bad to just apologize properly and seek reconciliation.”
“What are you saying? I’m the one who had my intimate time interrupted, so why should I apologize?”
If Malek hadn’t appeared, he would have started the day relaxing in bed with Melty. Calix frowned as he recalled the time blown away by his appearance. Finally, clicking his tongue lightly, Calix waved his hand and said:
“Since this is a family matter, let’s leave it at that. How’s the tracking going? Why haven’t I heard any news about finding them?”
“Ah, that….”
An awkward smile appeared on Angel’s lips. Calix had released Bain Spangky, who had fearlessly intruded into the Padrian mansion and attacked Melty. It was a method to find out the forces behind who had helped him infiltrate. Although he had been sufficiently dealt with so that he couldn’t function properly, the forces behind him, unaware of this, had taken him away as soon as he was released.
“It failed completely.”
“What do you mean by that? How can it fail when we assigned so many people?”
At Calix’s question, Angel scratched his cheek with an awkward smile. Then he brought up a story he couldn’t convey in a letter.
“Malek Crosel-ssi has thoroughly cleaned up all the fearless guys who might harm his brother.”
Angel demonstrated by placing the edge of his hand on his neck and making a slicing motion to the side.
“…What?”
“Of course, including all those who had been keeping an eye on the Padrian mansion, knowingly or unknowingly. All of them, cleanly.”
“……”
Calix closed his mouth at Angel’s explanation, who was smiling with an air of enlightenment. Angel shuddered as he recalled Malek entering the mansion every evening soaked in blood. He had almost fainted when he realized that his night outings, which he left for as casually as if going for a walk, were for slitting people’s throats.
“Did you tell him that I had intentionally left them alone?”
“He asked what need was there for that. He said if they appear again not knowing their place, he’ll just kill them again…”
It was a typical Crosel answer. Already feeling a throbbing headache, Calix pressed his temples firmly with his hands. While Calix preferred to set traps and root out problems entirely, it seemed Malek was the type to eliminate troublemakers each time they appeared.
“…So you couldn’t trace any clues at all?”
At Calix’s question, tinged with displeasure, Angel hastily handed him a small piece of paper that had been inside his chest pocket.
“This is the record of tracking the deceased’s identities. They seem to be mercenaries, but since they were recruited from various regions, we couldn’t find any commonalities. But judging by how thoroughly they tried to hide their identities…”
“Guys who are this careful usually leave traces.”
Calix, his eyes narrowed, put the paper he was holding into his chest. Although Angel realized that he had noticed something from the sharply gleaming golden eyes, he chose silence instead of asking. Generally, knowing too much wasn’t very good.
“Did the negotiations with Botenta end well?”
“Today will be the final negotiation. Any contact from the Sarvie family?”
“None. And no unusual matters have come up from other regions either.”
“Hmm…”
At Angel’s explanation, Calix slowly rubbed his chin and fell into thought. If they had come all the way to the Padrian mansion to get medicinal herbs, they would have certainly started treatment immediately. Calix frowned at the situation, as he had thought they would contact Padrian to make additional requests if they had found effective herbs.
“The effects might not have appeared immediately.”
“…True. There are types of medicine that need to be used for a long time.”
Though nodding lightly in agreement with Angel’s words, Calix couldn’t discard the ‘what if’ assumption. Disease-related issues were certainly troublesome.
“What about the people gathered at the temple?”
“As you instructed, we’ve prepared residences for them in the outskirts. Since we don’t even know the cause of the outbreak yet, isn’t it unnecessary to be overly cautious? It could just be a simple disease.”
“That’s a possibility too.”
Calix, who had been stroking his chin, stood up. There were many issues to deal with or pay attention to, but it was time to address those that could be resolved first. Angel narrowed his eyes, sensing that the smile that had crept onto Calix’s lips was ominous.
“Um… where are you going?”
“Where am I going? It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“Obvious? I can’t predict it at all.”
Calix smiled brightly at Angel, who was puzzled. Then he named the first target he would personally deal with.
“I need to verify the truth with Iel Tuanivel.”
