<Chapter 16>
#2. A Hamster in the Snake’s Den (6)
“You’ve… handled a knife before?”
At Calix’s small exclamation, Melty’s cheeks twitched. From his few days at the Padrian mansion, he’d noticed that everyone there treated him as too young. Being treated like a child despite clearly being an adult was unwelcome. While Melty’s expression soured with dissatisfaction, Calix could hardly believe his words.
Not only did those fair hands without a single callus not look like they had handled knives, but it was difficult to associate that innocent face with someone who had cut people’s throats. Pulling his hand free from Calix’s grip, Melty said with a confident expression:
“I may be young, but there’s nothing I haven’t cut before.”
Calix furrowed his brow at Melty’s words as he puffed out his chest. Though it was difficult to imagine in his mind, considering the Crosel family’s characteristic of putting members directly into the field after their coming-of-age ceremony, it was entirely possible. Narrowing his eyes, Calix looked Melty up and down from head to toe.
“Just what have you cut and how much?”
At Calix’s question, asked after steeling himself not to be surprised by any answer, Melty’s eyes sparkled brightly. His lips moved as if he was about to boast like a child, but then he promptly closed his mouth.
With his right thumb resting on his lips, Melty’s serious expression as he fell into deep thought made Calix let out a small laugh. They say you can know the depths of a ten-foot sea but not the mind of a single person, yet strangely, he could tell at a glance what thoughts were busily running through that small head in front of him.
‘Just how much is he preparing to surprise me…’
Calix crossed his arms while resting his right leg on his left. If someone else had behaved this way, he would have turned and left immediately, but Melty’s actions didn’t irritate him at all. Rather, he was looking forward to what those mumbling lips would say.
“Calix-ssi.”
Having finished organizing his thoughts, Melty stared at him with incredibly serious eyes. His lowered voice heightened the calm atmosphere. Calix responded by meeting his gaze. Melty gave a meaningful smile at the direct eye contact.
“Have you ever butchered a pig that weighs over 800kg?”
“…What?”
“Do you know how big and scary that is? I went like this, fabawat!”
Melty moved his hands around as if holding an invisible knife. He might have thought his movements were flashy, but to Calix, it just looked like he was frantically flapping his arms. Having naturally expected him to mention a person’s name, Calix couldn’t gather his thoughts when an enormously heavy pig appeared in the conversation instead.
“A pig?”
“Yes! It produced so much meat that even after everyone shared, there was enough left to sell to other regions.”
“…Huh?”
“Have you ever seen a fish this~big? I caught that too!”
Thinking Calix was amazed by his accomplishments, Melty confidently added another boast. To be precise, it was his brothers and sisters who had caught both the pig and the fish, and he had only done the butchering, but he had no intention of explaining that far. Stretching his arms as wide as he could to express the enormous length, he began to describe the fierce battle it took to catch it. As Melty’s story grew longer, Calix, who had quickly composed himself, let out a chuckle and said:
“So when you said knife skills, you meant cooking?”
Melty, who had been passionately explaining, stopped talking at the dumbfounded look on Calix’s face. Then he tilted his head significantly to the right.
“Of course?”
“Ha… I naturally thought you meant cutting people’s throats or something.”
“What? No, how could I cut people?!”
Calix was at a loss for words at the sight of Melty being horrified at the thought of such a thing. It was the Crosel family, not the Padrian family, that made a profession of cutting people. Yet for someone from such a family, genuine sincerity shone through Melty’s surprised expression.
“Haven’t you heard anything from your family? About their work…”
“Why are you suddenly bringing up my family?”
Calix pressed his lips shut at Melty’s words, spoken with a gaze full of wariness. One thing became clear from that attitude just now. With his mind becoming complicated, Calix raised his hand and wiped his face.
‘How on earth was he raised not to know what his own family does?’
The gaze mixed with doubt and wariness continued to focus on his face without disappearing. Seeing Calix showing clear signs of inner turmoil without answering his question, Melty jutted out his lower lip. Though he didn’t understand why Calix was curious about what his family did, it wasn’t something he couldn’t talk about, so he lightly swung his feet and opened his mouth.
“The Crosel family has been a family of hunters for generations. My brothers and sisters apparently learned hunting skills from a young age. After hunts, they would make clothes for me from the best hides.”
Perhaps recalling gifts from his family, a smile seeped into Melty’s lips. Watching his change of expression, Calix had to suppress the words he wanted to say.
He didn’t want to tell Melty that the “hunting” they had learned was “human hunting.” Above all, he sympathized with the Crosel family members who had deliberately not conveyed this fact to Melty. He didn’t want to shock this round-eyed, soft-skinned creature with an unnecessary truth.
‘Is this what it feels like to want to protect a child’s innocence?’
Though he had never felt the importance of childhood innocence even once, at this moment, he wanted to preserve it.
“That’s impressive. You didn’t learn?”
“I couldn’t. I was constantly sick from a young age, so I rarely went outside. Of course, I’m healthy now.”
Melty showed off his biceps with a serious expression, bending his arm at a right angle. Of course, no matter how much he flexed, there were no muscles to show. Unable to hold back his laughter at the flat shape of the clothes, Calix reached out and tousled his hair.
“That’s good. I’m glad you’re healthy now.”
Blinking at the caressing hand, Melty quickly sensed that something was off about the situation.
“…But weren’t you supposed to tell me what resemblance I have with my family?”
“Looks like we’ve arrived.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
Originally, the distance from the mansion to the village by carriage wasn’t that far. Despite this, with the ongoing conversation inside, the coachman had been leisurely driving the carriage around the village. Calix, who tapped on the wall near the coachman to signal him, easily got off the now-stopped carriage.
Unable to erase his displeased expression at the unresolved conversation, Melty swung his feet vigorously back and forth. Looking at Melty, who was expressing his displeasure by puffing his cheeks with air, Calix smiled and extended his hand.
“Come here. As I said earlier, we have a lot to do today.”
The movement of Melty’s legs, which had been swinging back and forth with his head turned away, gradually diminished. Still glaring at Calix with an expression full of discontent, Melty soon got up, pretending to give in.
“…I’m only going along with this because it’s work. Really, teasing people like this stops being fun next time.”
“I’ll take you to the most delicious restaurant here for dinner, so forgive me, okay?”
Melty’s body, which was about to jump off the carriage, trembled slightly. When he looked up and their eyes met, there was no longer any anger. Calix deftly caught Melty’s dazed body and lightly helped him down from the carriage, quickly grabbing his hand. Contrary to the expectation that he would shake off his hand, Melty quietly entrusted his hand to him.
Feeling awkward for docilely giving his hand without pulling away, Melty let out a large fake cough. Then, while glaring at Calix’s face as he moved forward, desperately trying to suppress his laughter, Melty added one more comment.
“Let me make it clear. This is absolutely not because of the restaurant.”
It was clearly because of the restaurant, as anyone could see. Calix, who had acquired an unusually obedient Melty, moved with a satisfied expression.
‘I’ll have to give the restaurant a generous tip.’
They say the easiest people to handle in the world are those who move for money and those who move for food. He hadn’t known that both types would be by his side. Melty, who was side-eyeing Calix as he chuckled, stomped the ground with the toe of his shoe in dissatisfaction.
“You’ll fall if you do that. We’re here.”
“Heack.”
At Calix’s words, Melty looked up from the ground and let out a weird sound as he hastily sucked in air. Calix, seeming to enjoy Melty’s reaction, smiled brightly and pulled his hand inward.
“Don’t just stand outside, come in quickly.”
Following Calix with hesitant steps, Melty’s mouth fell open at the lavish interior. It was impressive from the outside, but the interior was even more splendid.
The wide, open space and dozens of garments lined up for display were enough to capture one’s attention. Intimidated by the magnificent chandelier and the curved staircase to the upper floor, Melty naturally clung closer to Calix. Calix’s hand, which had been raised to ruffle Melty’s shrinking hair, had to be withdrawn due to a group of people approaching.
“It’s been a while, Master Calix. Thank you for visiting our store again.”
Zephi, the owner of the store, bowed politely at the head of the group. When it came to none other than Calix of the Padrian family, respectful treatment was necessary. He was a major customer who purchased all herbs and poisonous plants. Moreover, it was a highly unusual situation for him to come here in person, as he usually made purchases through his butler.
Calix calmly accepted their greetings and slightly moved to the side to shield Melty. As Melty let out a sigh of relief at being liberated from the pouring gazes, Calix spoke.
“I’d like to purchase some men’s clothes. Something on the smaller side.”
Quickly understanding who the clothes were for through his gesture, Zephi pushed up his glasses and smiled broadly.
“Of course. Certainly. Men’s clothing is upstairs. Let’s go up.”
Nodding at his words, Calix led Melty forward. Melty, who had been hiding behind him and rolling his eyes around, tugged downward with force on his hand.
“What? You were frozen just a moment ago.”
At Calix’s question, tinged with amusement, Melty, who had been looking around, beckoned him to come closer. Pretending to give in to his gesture, Calix bent his head. Melty grabbed his ear, pulled it towards himself, and whispered in a small voice.
“Isn’t this place extremely expensive?”
“Not really.”
“What do you mean ‘not really’? We could buy clothes from that store over there.”
Calix, who quickly noticed that the store Melty was pointing to was one that sold inexpensive clothes, shrugged his shoulders. He had no intention of being stingy when it came to buying clothes for Melty, even if it might be different for other matters.
“I told you it’s fine. Stop arguing and follow me to choose clothes. We need to add our family’s emblem too.”
“I’m telling you, this is going to cause serious trouble!”
“Yes, yes. I understand, now go look at the clothes.”
Melty’s lips protruded forward at Calix’s dismissive tone. He was trying to tell him something based on his guess about the price range of clothes here, but the one who should be concerned about money was full of mischief instead.
“What if I choose a really expensive outfit?”
“What do you mean what if? I’ll buy it.”
“I’m telling you, you’ll go bankrupt!”
“Then go ahead and try. Fighting!”
Calix, who made a half-hearted gesture of encouragement, pushed Melty’s back. Zephi, who seemed to have completed his preparations by now, was waiting for them with a low posture and a practiced smile.
“If you would first come inside for size measurements, we’ll bring suitable clothing accordingly.”
Melty, who was flinching and shaking his shoulders at the excessive friendliness, glared at Calix before moving forward. Calix, who was still smiling as he watched Melty’s back full of discomfort, settled into a nearby prepared sofa. As Calix casually flipped through and examined a catalog of organized clothing, Zephi approached and cautiously opened his mouth.
“If you could tell us what type of clothing you’re looking for, we can…”
“All.”
“…Pardon?”
Zephi blinked and asked again. Calix looked back at him with a deep smile. At his smile, more dazzling than ever, Zephi had to furrow his brow. Turning his head to gaze at where Melty had disappeared, Calix kindly opened his mouth again.
“All clothes that would suit that fellow. Show me your skills.”
