<Chapter 28>
#3. The Only Ones Who Don’t Know (8)
Under Calix’s questioning gaze, Melty couldn’t bring himself to shake his head and instead nodded up and down. Calix moved only his eyes to look at Naru, who was wrapped around Melty’s wrist.
As always wrapped around Melty’s wrist, Naru firmly shook its head vigorously from side to side as soon as it made eye contact with Calix. Naru’s account seemed more trustworthy than Melty, who still looked shocked.
“I feel a bit wronged, considering I didn’t say anything particularly harsh. I’ll have some tea brought. At least drink that for now.”
Calix spoke gently as he touched Melty’s forehead with the back of his hand. Though Melty wondered what could be harsher than saying he had killed people, he still obediently nodded.
The way Calix handed over the warmly brewed tea was so kind and affectionate that it was hard to believe he was the same person who had uttered such phrases earlier. Only after emptying half of the lukewarm tea Calix had offered did Melty feel his pounding heartbeat return to normal. Noticing this, Calix sighed.
Though he had deliberately chosen provocative words to say, he had no idea how much he would need to tone down his story if this was how shocked Melty became. Calix, nervously ruffling his hair under Melty’s gaze as he held the teacup with both hands and stared intently, stood up. After sighing deeply, he sat down without hesitation next to Melty.
Melty’s eyes wavered anxiously as his shoulders flinched greatly at Calix’s movement. Whenever Melty was startled, his cute little ears trembled too. Calix’s hand, which had been staring at the trembling ears, rested on top of Melty’s head. Melty’s body, which had shrunk at the sudden touch, quickly became accustomed to it as Calix made encouraging sounds like “there, there.” Thanks to his sudden action, the hiccups that had continued even after drinking the tea finally stopped.
“Now tell me the rest of the story.”
“I think it might be too stimulating for a child to hear. What if your hiccups don’t stop?”
Calix’s exaggerated gestures and tone were clearly meant to tease someone. Recognizing this, Melty showed his dissatisfaction all over his face.
“I can hiccup if I want to! Why are you acting like someone who’s never hiccupped in their life? And I’m officially an adult, you know.”
“Oh? You’re so small I didn’t know… Alright, alright.”
Calix surrendered with both hands raised at the sight of Melty making a threatening pose while waving hands that were obviously as soft as cotton. Though it looked like a punch that wouldn’t hurt much if he got hit, he didn’t want to be disliked again for teasing him further.
After looking him over, Melty turned his body to the side to face him. He folded his arms and sat cross-legged on the sofa after taking off his shoes.
“So. Why did you kill them?”
“I wonder which one I should talk about first.”
Calix scratched his head with an annoyed expression. Though it was really nothing special, there were so many old stories that he was at a loss where to start. Smiling wryly at Melty’s intense stare, Calix decided to explain whatever came to mind first and opened his mouth.
“The Sarvie family originally had a girl.”
What was her name again…? Calix wondered, scratching his cheek before giving up trying to remember. At his words, Melty nodded greatly, making a show of listening attentively.
“She was a bit older than me, and I was kidnapped.”
“What?”
Melty’s nodding, which had been going up and down at Calix’s casually dropped remark, stopped. Seemingly unaware of his reaction, Calix continued his story briefly.
“I was also imprisoned.”
“What??”
It was more bewildering than when he had suddenly blurted out “I killed that guy’s siblings.” Unable to utter anything but questioning responses since earlier, Melty stammered as Calix shrugged his shoulders in response.
“I was only 10 years old then. You can get kidnapped a little and be imprisoned a little at that age.”
“…No, that’s not what I… Why? No, why would they do such a thing?”
After shaking his head vigorously from side to side to clear his thoughts and struggling to organize them, Melty finally managed to ask a proper question. In response to his question, Calix, who had been lost in thought again, had a smirk on his lips.
“Probably because I was too handsome?”
“…Don’t lie.”
Calix had a dejected expression at Melty’s firm response, cutting him off like a knife with his eyes half-closed. He had never been told he was lacking anywhere with this face, but somehow it didn’t work with the small hamster before him.
“Why would I lie about this?”
“So it’s true?”
At Melty’s still incredulous look, Calix smiled briefly and nodded in answer.
“I was quite clever from a young age and had excellent social skills. The purpose of the kidnapping was an engagement with marriage in mind. No one predicted a kidnapping would occur at the exchange meeting. I didn’t know that a single snack I ate would lead to that either.”
It gave him chills thinking back to that time. She was someone with whom he had rarely had a proper conversation, except for occasional greetings at exchange meetings. As soon as he stepped toward where the food was gathered because he was thirsty, she approached with light refreshments. It was his downfall to eat one of them, unable to refuse the food she had thoughtfully brought.
“S-so what did you do?”
“What could I do? I proposed that I would get engaged when I returned home.”
“…Did that work?”
“Who do you think I am?”
Calix spoke proudly with a smile on his lips. His shameless face was so characteristic of him that Melty couldn’t help but laugh a little too. The gentle smile on Calix’s face as he looked at Melty soon disappeared.
“The problem came afterward. I had no intention of keeping the promise I’d made to escape from my kidnapper, and naturally, I didn’t attend exchange meetings until I became an adult. And I heard that woman died after suffering for a long time.”
“……”
Melty’s mouth fell open in a daze. Seeing the small cave appear that could easily fit three fingers, Calix tapped Melty’s plump lower lip a couple of times with his index finger. Hastily closing his mouth at his touch, Melty made a groan-like sound, still unable to understand the content. Before he could organize his thoughts, Calix brought up the next story.
“And about four years ago, an epidemic broke out, and while cooperating to cure it, the youngest son of the Sarvie family and I got infected.”
“Huh…?”
“I survived thanks to my blessing ‘Immunity,’ but their youngest son died.”
Melty frowned at Calix’s story. He knew very well about the epidemic that occurred four years ago. Because of health concerns, his family had been careful until a cure was found, fearing Melty might get infected as he was confined to his room. But no matter how he thought about it, Calix’s story didn’t add up.
“How is that you killing them? It’s a disease issue.”
“Our family cultivates many medicinal herbs, but we don’t know how to harvest them quickly. Even if we know which herbs can be combined to make a medicine, there might not be enough quantity. That was actually the case with that herb at that time.”
It was a situation where a poisonous plant that no one had known was medicinal was revealed to be the cure. Even after finding as much as possible, there was nowhere near enough to distribute to all infected people.
“Our family delivered equal amounts to each region. The Sarvie side claimed that we deliberately gave them only a small portion of the herbs allocated to them.”
In fact, Calix, who had fallen ill around the same time, safely regained his health. Even when shown clear figures written in documents, if they claimed it was fabricated, there was nothing more to say. Shrugging his shoulders, Calix continued in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I think it was because I happened to receive my blessing ‘Immunity’ at that time. But what’s the point of saying anything when they won’t believe even if I openly prove it?”
“…Then that wasn’t you killing them.”
Unlike Calix, who spoke calmly, Melty muttered while suppressing his complex emotions. According to his story, the deaths of the Sarvie family siblings were absolutely not his fault. Melty’s gaze made Calix smile briefly as he cupped Melty’s cheeks with both hands and gently kneaded them.
“Didn’t I kill them?”
“No, you didn’t! Why do you talk like that? You don’t really think that way either, do you?”
Calix calmly agreed with Melty’s confident assertion. Melty was right. No matter how many times they shouted such things, it didn’t really affect him. And he also possessed nerves thick enough to ignore such words by classifying them as “nonsense.”
“You’re right. But if you ask the Sarvie family members about me, it’s obvious what their first words will be. Things like ‘That guy is a murderer!’ or ‘The Padrian people have no blood or tears!'”
“Are you okay recalling such words?”
Melty blinked at his words, which sounded as if he were reciting what he had heard. Melty’s hand carefully rested on Calix’s thigh. Looking at the hand that was making feather-like pat-pat movements, Calix let out a light laugh.
“I’m fine. I’m not a child anymore. Besides, such guys aren’t just one or two.”
“…Really?”
Johaim, whom he had conversed with in the village and in the carriage, was a decent person. It was hard to imagine him berating Calix.
“Yes. There are many people to be careful of among those coming to the exchange meeting. Our family has many enemies because we’re handsome, excellent, and wealthy.”
Calix unhesitatingly uttered statements that gilded the family crest without any sign of embarrassment or awkwardness. Melty quietly nodded at his words.
“Isn’t it dangerous to hold an exchange meeting then?”
“Ah, well. We can’t isolate ourselves just because we have many enemies. Anyway, don’t casually talk to other guys outside. You might become a target just for working in our family.”
As Melty nodded obediently to Calix’s words, a resolve blossomed in his heart to quit this place as soon as possible, if only for safety. Unaware of this, Calix stroked Melty’s hair and said,
“So it could be dangerous to go around with that guy too.”
“But… to cancel a promise, I need to tell him in advance, and I don’t even know where he’s staying.”
“I’ll relay that for you. That the promise is canceled.”
Melty had a blank expression at his ‘Alright?’ look. He was amazed at how Calix had somehow found out where Johaim was staying, but he couldn’t just nod in agreement.
“It’s still okay for me to go to the temple, right…?”
“Yes. Though unwelcome guests disguised as visitors will pour in from tomorrow. Try to avoid getting involved with strangers as much as possible.”
Given how badly Calix and Johaim seemed to get along, it didn’t seem likely that he would deliver the “promise canceled” message. Melty, who had been staring at Calix with suspicious eyes, nodded while hiding his disgruntled feelings. As an employee of Calix, it was difficult to refuse when he spoke as an employer. Since he had promised to go to the temple with Johaim, perhaps he could wait for him there.
Happy that he could safely go to the temple, Melty slightly folded his arms and swayed them gently from side to side in celebration. Laughing lightly at the sight of Melty hurriedly moving toward the door, Calix decided to be a bit mischievous.
“And there’s a condition.”
“A condition? It’s nothing weird, is it?”
Melty, who had stopped in his tracks with the door right in front of him, looked at him with curious eyes. Calix put on a sly smile for the innocent hamster who knew nothing.
“Of course. It’s very simple.”
