<Chapter 32>
#4. The Exchange Meeting (4)
“I, I just…”
“Just?”
As Melty hesitated and stepped back at the chilling voice, someone touched his back. With a startled jerk of his shoulders, Melty turned his head to see Pel’s face.
“That’s enough, Lord Owen.”
“…I wondered who it might be. It’s someone from Padrian’s side.”
The one called ‘Owen’ frowned as if he recognized Pel’s face. Moving naturally, Pel stepped in front of Melty. Thanks to Pel’s movement, Melty could avoid Owen’s sharp gaze and pressed himself closer behind Pel.
“I was wondering who it might be… Is Padrian raising mice now?”
Ignoring his mocking tone, Pel looked at Melty who was clinging tightly to the hem of his clothes. With a calm expression, Pel addressed Melty in a respectful tone.
“Melty-nim. How about we return to the mansion now?”
At his question, Melty nodded vigorously up and down. Even though it was just a case of mistaking someone, his heart was still pounding hard after being terrified by Owen who had approached him in such a threatening manner.
“I see Padrian’s education is still a mess. It seems they don’t even teach their employees basic manners.”
Pel, who was guiding Melty away from Owen, turned to look at him upon hearing his sneering comment.
“At Padrian, we are actually educated not to engage with those who lack basic decorum. I hope there won’t be any unpleasant incidents when you visit the mansion.”
Melty could hear voices talking behind him after Pel’s reply, but he couldn’t properly make out what they were saying. It wasn’t until they entered the busy streets and got into a carriage that Melty regained his composure, though his expression remained dazed. Observing his complexion, Pel smiled bitterly and spoke.
“I should have intervened sooner. I apologize.”
“Huh? Oh, no, it’s fine. But who was that person?”
“He is the current head of the Sarvie family. He and Master Calix are particularly on bad terms, so it would be better not to engage with him.”
At Pel’s explanation, Melty nodded emphatically with a rigid face. As Pel had explained, this was definitely someone he never wanted to meet again. Unlike the sharp exchange between Johaim and Calix, he had thought their relationship wasn’t that bad since they had spoken relatively smoothly. Melty shuddered and curled up as the chilling gaze came to mind again.
“I don’t understand why he came to the temple when he doesn’t even believe in the Beast God. You must have been very startled…”
“Huh? But he was with someone.”
“Pardon?”
Melty blinked and fell into thought as he looked at Pel’s puzzled expression. Until they entered the alley, there had definitely been two people. He remembered running quickly after seeing the backs of two people, but he couldn’t recall seeing anyone beside Owen when he stopped.
It could be that he didn’t remember the person next to him because he was startled by Owen’s intimidating approach with his wide, stern eyes, but what bothered him was that Pel also didn’t see anyone.
“Melty-nim?”
Pel carefully called his name as Melty was lost in thought. Melty, who had been trying to recall the person beside Owen, shuddered with an unpleasant feeling. Looking up at Pel with trembling eyes, Melty shook his head to clear his thoughts.
“…It’s nothing. I must have seen wrong.”
***
As soon as they arrived at the mansion, Melty was greeted by Calix, who, unlike his usual comfortable attire, was properly dressed up. Melty’s eyes widened at the sight of Calix standing there in elaborate clothing as if he had been waiting.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and get down.”
Calix extended his hand to help Melty, smirking. Blinking at the hand offered right in front of his face, Melty slowly looked Calix up and down. His clothes, made of black fabric, were embroidered with elaborate golden thread.
Melty’s hand hesitated and withdrew slightly, as the completely different attire from what he usually saw made him feel awkward. The corner of Calix’s eye twitched upward at the sight of Melty’s hand retreating after initially reaching out. Instead of taking Melty’s hand, Calix grabbed him by the body with both hands and lifted him up effortlessly.
“Eek!”
Ignoring Melty’s short scream, Calix set him down on the ground and brushed his hair back with a satisfied face.
“You came back earlier than expected. Was there any trouble?”
“…W-why do you keep lifting people up like that? You scared me.”
Perhaps because he was startled by being suddenly lifted, Melty’s heart was pounding heavily. With his hand on his chest, Melty shot a wary glance at Calix, who replied nonchalantly.
“Well, why do you keep getting lifted? I was really surprised when I lifted you.”
“Y-you’re so shameless.”
Melty’s mouth fell open, at a loss for words. As always, Calix lifted Melty’s chin to close his gaping mouth and said in a fresh tone.
“Well, it’s one of my good qualities.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
What am I supposed to do with this snake?
Melty narrowed his eyes and glared at Calix, whose shamelessness was at lethal levels. Instead of voicing his complaints, Melty’s cheeks puffed out slightly. Though not noticeable enough to catch the average eye, Calix clearly saw the slight plumpness of his cheeks. Immediately understanding that Melty was having some strange thoughts, Calix chuckled and pressed his index finger firmly against Melty’s cheek.
“I heard you couldn’t properly tour the temple. Is that why your cheeks are swollen like this?”
“…Don’t press them. And this is because of Calix-ssi… Huh? How did you know there were a lot of people gathered at the temple?”
Melty, who had been pushing away Calix’s hand and continuing to speak sulkily, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
“Ah, I heard about it. This region is under my management. That’s why I expected you to return soon, but did you find something interesting elsewhere?”
“It wasn’t like that…”
Without even noticing that Calix had naturally wrapped his arm around the opposite shoulder and was escorting him into the mansion, Melty spoke while checking Calix’s expression.
“I waited in case Johaim-ssi might come. Ah, but I didn’t get to meet him.”
You could have easily lied.
Completely oblivious to what Calix might be thinking, Melty glanced sideways at the hem of Calix’s clothes. He had heard from Jenny, the mansion’s housekeeper, that many guests would arrive today as the exchange meeting officially started tomorrow. But no matter how he thought about it, the Calix he had known so far did not seem like someone who cared about others’ opinions.
“But why are you wearing such clothes?”
“Such clothes?”
At Melty’s question, which he finally couldn’t hold back, a smirk spread across Calix’s face. Today, he had put considerable effort into his attire. He used luxurious fabric that would make anyone recognize him as coming from a noble family, and even the design was customized to fit his physique perfectly. Inwardly waiting for praise while clearing his throat loudly, Calix’s expectations were easily shattered by Melty.
“Those expensive and uncomfortable clothes.”
“Pfft!”
At the sound of suppressed laughter from behind, Melty peeked his head to the side. He then belatedly discovered Angel standing a little distance away from Calix. Having apparently heard their bickering conversation, Angel was covering his mouth with his hand, wiping away tears that had welled up in his eyes as he tried to hold back his laughter. Melty tilted his head at the sight, but just as he was about to move, Calix tightened his grip on Melty’s arm to hold him in place.
“Where do you think you’re going? Don’t you have any other thoughts?”
“Eh?”
“When you see me dressed like this, doesn’t anything come to mind?”
“…What should come to mind?”
Calix’s expression gradually became more severe as Melty blinked with an innocent face, completely failing to grasp the situation.
“Like saying it suits me well, or I look handsome, something like that.”
“Ah! It suits you well! You look handsome.”
Melty laughed awkwardly as he belatedly realized what Calix meant. He had been so surprised by the clothes being so different from usual that he forgot to say anything else. Although he hurriedly offered words of praise, Calix’s creased expression did not smooth out at all.
Angel was now choking with laughter, as if about to pass out. Calix shot a burning glare at Angel, who was holding his stomach and mouth while laughing.
“Angel Fryce.”
At the warning-laden call, Angel, who had been coughing roughly, straightened his back. His cheeks still occasionally twitched, presumably because he still couldn’t completely suppress his laughter. Angel, who had bitten the tender flesh inside his mouth tightly to avoid laughing, barely managed to regain his composure.
“I really do think it suits you well.”
Melty spoke cautiously as he glanced at Calix. At his mumbling voice, Calix’s displeased gaze shifted from Angel to him. As soon as their eyes met, Melty laughed with a “hehe.” After staring at that face for a moment, Calix expelled the irritation welling up inside him with a light sigh.
“Fine. You don’t need to add such comments. Starting today, people will begin pouring in, so it might get a bit noisy.”
At Calix’s words, Melty subtly turned around and could see that several additional carriages had parked in the area where he had just alighted. Because of this, Melty belatedly understood why he had seen Calix’s face as soon as he got off the carriage.
“You might run into some strange fellows, so try not to come down from the floor where your room is if possible. There’s going to be a simple banquet tonight, so we won’t be able to eat dinner together. Make sure you eat properly.”
Angel, who had been standing like a wooden statue listening to Calix’s words under the pretext of assisting him, shuddered. Seeing Calix being so affectionate gave him goosebumps. It had been the same when he had to follow Melty around all day, but to a third party, they looked exactly like a lovey-dovey couple. To be precise, it was Calix’s attitude toward Melty that made it appear so.
‘How can he not realize this?’
Calix Kuse Padrian, who had never in his life cared about others, let alone looked after them, was openly hovering around Melty. It was strange and bizarre that someone rumored to be quick-witted and swift in action was so oblivious to his own matters, and Angel couldn’t take his eyes off them. He let out a regretful sigh when he instinctively reached into his pocket and found he had no dried meat. Angel glanced back slightly and discovered servants watching them cautiously.
Judging by the procession of carriages streaming in, it seemed the exchange meeting was about to begin in earnest. In this situation, the person representing the mansion was ignoring guest reception, so the employees’ awkwardness was completely understandable. Wasn’t Calix the one who had been grumbling about why he had to go out to greet people? Still, Angel had to explain the situation, so he carefully looked for an opportunity to interject in the conversation between the two.
Completely unaware that Angel was diligently trying to read the situation behind them, Melty was fixated on a single word Calix had uttered.
“A banquet?”
Melty, who had been confined to his room until adulthood due to constant sickness, harbored fantasies about the outside world. One of them was ‘banquets.’ The glamorous and wonderful atmosphere of the banquet halls described in books flashed through Melty’s mind. Calix, completely unaware of Melty’s excitement making his heart flutter, frowned and opened his mouth.
“Yes. Though it’s just a banquet that will be somewhat noisy…”
Calix, who was about to continue speaking, closed his mouth when he felt a piercing gaze on his face. Slowly rolling his eyes, Calix encountered round eyes that were sparkling more than ever before. Scratching his cheek as he couldn’t find the words to say, he subtly opened his mouth with a fake cough.
