<Chapter 143>
#16. Hidden Purpose (7)
Owen did not refute Calix’s words at all. His silence, as he remained with his mouth shut, made Calix’s blood boil.
“You knew and still allowed things to deteriorate to this state?”
“I tried to stop him.”
Owen blurted out, as if trying to block the flood of criticism about to pour from Calix. However, his statement only backfired.
“Since when did the Sarvie family begin supporting mass slaughter?”
“Mass slaughter! That’s going too far.”
“Going too far?”
Calix roughly ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. Without Melty’s gift, developing the cure would clearly have taken much longer. In that case, the majority of people who hadn’t received health-related blessings would have died.
“Are you unaware of the danger of this epidemic?”
“…He probably didn’t intend to cause all this from the beginning.”
“Does saying that make what’s happening now disappear? What an incredibly convenient way of thinking.”
From the moment he realized Johaim was the mastermind behind this incident, Calix suspected the entire Sarvie family. Though he couldn’t know how long Johaim had been preparing for this, the scale and range of activities were too extensive to believe he had acted alone.
“I won’t make excuses or defend him.”
Owen, noticing that Calix still regarded him with suspicion, spoke as he emptied his teacup. It was mind-boggling to see him so quickly distance himself after having taken Johaim’s side until just a moment ago.
“Since when did you know?”
“Since the beginning of this year, I thought something was strange. I’ve been having him monitored by assigning people to follow him, but I didn’t expect he was planning something this significant.”
At Owen’s answer, something flashed through Calix’s mind. The exchange meeting was held at Padrian. Johaim had arrived here early, even before the exchange meeting began, and had contacted Melty. Owen, too, had come here much earlier than usual.
“Is that why you came to the exchange meeting early?”
Owen, who had been frowning at Calix’s question, recalled the small being he had contacted that day and relaxed his expression.
“I simply arrived early because I was following that child. I tried to persuade him several times to stop this nonsense, but…”
Owen pressed his eyelids with his hand, looking exhausted. Thanks to Owen’s explanation, Calix could resolve the succession of suspicions that had been rising. Come to think of it, he hadn’t properly seen Johaim since the exchange meeting officially began. Owen was always by his side. If the “strange person” Melty had seen when he first met Owen was someone assigned to monitor Johaim, it was entirely plausible.
‘So that’s why he came to the Botenta mansion…’
The place where Johaim had been staying was Padrian’s herb field, not far from the Botenta family. However, if all the schemes to manipulate Durasen and ultimately render him unconscious had originated from his mind, there was a high possibility that traces of Johaim would remain at the Botenta mansion as well.
Calix had found it somewhat strange that Owen, who was neither invited by Padrian nor particularly close to Botenta, had come to the scene. But his explanation now seemed to resolve some of those doubts.
“The rest of our conversation will have to wait until I recover my fiancé. You assigned people to monitor your son, surely you’re not going to claim you don’t know where his hideout is?”
If he hadn’t intended to share such information, there would have been no reason for him to come here on his own. Under Calix’s pressure urging an answer, Owen slowly opened his mouth.
“Are you going to kill that child?”
“What’s important now isn’t whether he lives or dies. And this isn’t something you, who couldn’t properly stop him until now, can propose.”
“……”
Saliva dripped through the gap in Owen’s lips. Glancing at his agonizing appearance, Calix decided to give him a slight push to help him make a more fluid choice.
“Johaim Kun Sarvie has already been appointed as the heir to the Sarvie family. So this can’t be resolved solely as his responsibility.”
“Yes…”
Owen let out a deep sigh at Calix’s resolute tone. Although he had already somewhat prepared himself since the incident began to unfold, hearing such words directly made it difficult to casually say it didn’t matter.
He was now his only remaining son. As a parent, guilt welled up, feeling as if he was selling out his child. After agonizing, Owen painfully revealed the hideout he had discovered by following his son. Having achieved his desired goal, Calix rose without hesitation.
“I will take responsibility for what my son has done, by any means necessary.”
Calix glanced sideways at Owen, who spoke with a depressed voice while keeping his head bowed, and responded calmly.
“Why didn’t you try to stop him properly with that mindset? And responsibility… Who cleans up if not the one who caused the mess? There’s no need to explicitly mention such obvious things.”
Calix, without any hint of kindness, bluntly spoke these words and turned to leave the room. He didn’t have even the slightest inclination to treat the Sarvie person kindly, especially one who was already deeply resented and now the root cause of this incident.
‘No wonder we couldn’t find him despite such thorough searching…’
It made sense once he knew the location. Angel, who had been waiting outside the door, quickly approached as soon as Calix exited the room. Calix, not yet noticing Angel’s urgent expression, gave instructions regarding matters to be handled during his absence.
“Master Calix.”
“-You can keep the prison doors open for anyone who expresses opposition to that aspect. And about those causing trouble outside…”
“Master Calix!”
“…What.”
Only after Angel’s loud call did Calix turn his head sideways. Having finally succeeded in gaining Calix’s attention, Angel hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Did you find out where Master Melty is?”
Calix nodded at Angel’s question. Having predicted his nod, Angel hesitated and fidgeted with the edge of his clothes.
“If you have something to say, say it quickly.”
“There’s something you should know before going to rescue Master Melty. It’s… something I heard from Master Malek.”
“From hyung-nim? What is it?”
Though it was suspicious how Angel and Malek, who was still bedridden, had intersected, Calix was more curious about what he had said. Seeing Calix urging a quick answer, Angel took a short deep breath and spoke.
“He said that Master Melty is… pregnant.”
Calix’s stride, as he was walking briskly, came to an abrupt halt at Angel’s serious words.
“…What? Who did what?”
“Ha, haha… Master Melty is pregnant.”
Angel relayed the information once more while observing Calix’s reaction. Though he clearly heard it, Calix blinked at the incomprehensible statement and deeply frowned.
“What nonsense have you been hearing and from where?”
“It’s not nonsense, but true. I heard he even received an examination from a physician outside the mansion. Is this the first you’re hearing of it?”
“Huh…? Then who else would I have heard such absurd talk from?”
He felt dazed, as if he’d been beaten all over his body, and couldn’t gather his thoughts. Angel nodded as he observed Calix, who was trying to organize his thoughts while running his hand through his hair.
Malek had asserted, with a very matter-of-fact attitude, that Calix already knew, but judging by his demeanor, he clearly didn’t. Angel, relieved that he had done well to relay the information, patted his chest as Calix glanced at him with a wrinkled brow.
“…A man getting pregnant…? How is that possible…?”
“He said it was a blessing…”
“Blessing??”
But he’s a man?
For the bewildered Calix, Angel kindly corrected, “It’s called fertility, he said.” Calix, not even listening to his words, lightly shook his head.
“Has the Beast God gone senile…?”
“…What blasphemy are you uttering against the Beast God?”
“Then do you think this makes sense?”
“No. Not at all.”
Angel readily answered Calix’s question. When he first heard it, he too had repeated “Eh?” several times with an expression similar to Calix’s. Only after being scolded by Malek for repeatedly asking unnecessary questions did he shut his mouth.
“…Pregnant means there’s my child?”
“It’s unlikely that Master Melty spent quality time with someone else… so naturally, it must be your child. Haha.”
Cold sweat beaded on Angel’s back as he tried to make a joke but hastily changed his words under Calix’s piercing gaze. Calix clicked his tongue lightly at his nonchalant shift and exhaled deeply.
He couldn’t tell whether the blessing Melty had received was truly ‘fertility,’ or if Malek had told such a lie to effectively use Calix to rescue him. He had asked Melty several times about his blessing. Each time, Melty’s face, turning away or bowing with a troubled expression, flashed through his mind.
If it was real…
After standing dumbfounded for a moment, Calix quickly organized his thoughts. In truth, even if he had received a strange blessing due to the Beast God’s whim and was genuinely pregnant, it didn’t matter. At this moment, the most important thing was for him to return safely to Calix’s arms.
The image of Melty, with his already round eyes opened even wider, running towards him, appeared and disappeared. He wanted to see him even a little sooner.
“Angel. Gather the elite forces who can move immediately.”
