<Chapter 44>
#5. Be Assertive in Your Advances (6)
Terror filled Melty’s eyes as he was instantly immobilized. The man properly in his view had a menacing appearance due to his hollow cheeks and prominent cheekbones. His murky yellow eyes gleamed dangerously, as if consumed by madness.
Although only his mouth was covered, breathing felt difficult. Melty’s eyes moved frantically, searching for someone who might help, but there was no one walking around the garden during the height of the banquet. The space that had felt pleasantly quiet when he first stepped into it now seemed frightening.
“Stay quiet and you won’t bleed. If you don’t want to die, stay still.”
The man whispered in a low voice as he pressed his long fingers against Melty’s neck. Melty’s body trembled at his touch. He regretted coming here to sort out his thoughts. Water quickly welled up in his unstable brown eyes. When the teardrops exceeded their limit, they fell down along the corners of his eyes.
The man watched the tears falling with an indifferent gaze, unable to even make a sniffling sound. He grinned, baring his teeth. His fingers, which had been gripping Melty’s neck, tapped his chin with a tapping sound.
“Good.”
Melty squeezed his eyes shut at the man’s satisfied expression. If his blessing had been related to physical enhancement, like his brothers and sisters, he might have been able to attack the person behind him and escape. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the physical advantages that most of the Hamster clan inherited.
With his eyelashes damp with tears, trembling and unable to even breathe loudly, Melty was looked down upon by the man, who smiled with twisted lips. Just as Melty had examined the man’s face, he too was now examining Melty’s.
“You. You’re that bastard Calix has been keeping around lately. Heh. I really am lucky.”
Laughing in a hoarse voice, the man removed the hand covering Melty’s mouth. Then he patted Melty’s wet cheek. Unable to resist the hand still wrapped around his neck, Melty sniffled and watched the man cautiously.
“If you don’t want to die, answer me straight. You know where that bastard manages his crops, right? If you cooperate well, I’ll let you keep your life.”
Melty’s lips trembled at the man’s words. The place where Padrian managed their crops wasn’t in the mansion. This was something Melty had only learned since coming here, but it was quite common knowledge.
Melty instinctively realized that what the man was looking for was that “secret garden” Calix had shown him today. The place with the wide field of Dolmaui flowers was accessible through a secret passage within the mansion. His throat hurt as if he had swallowed a large marble. After moving his lips several times, Melty answered in a tiny voice.
“Th-there’s no such place.”
The man’s eyes flashed at Melty’s answer. With a harsh impact sound, Melty’s head turned to the side. The stinging pain in his cheek turned Melty’s mind blank. Having been raised preciously all his life, he had never been hit like this by anyone. The taste of blood in his mouth and the throbbing cheek were both shocking.
“If you really wanted to pretend not to know, you should have asked what it was.”
The man pulled out a dagger from his waist and waved it in front of Melty’s eyes. Melty trembled at the sight of the blade moving before his eyes.
“Next time, I’ll cut your neck.”
Terrified by the man’s ominous voice, Melty closed his eyes tightly, unable to even scream. He didn’t want to die at such a young age without having given proper gifts to his family. As the man surveyed Melty’s frightened state with an indifferent gaze, he noticed the ring on one of Melty’s hands that he was restraining, and his eyes lit up.
Hidden among the softly yellow-glowing flowers was the flower he was looking for. Bain grinned when he discovered the red flower with black-tinted petals. Tonka was definitely being cultivated somewhere in this mansion.
“I really am lucky, aren’t I?”
“……”
At the gaze directed toward his hand and the unpleasant giggling laughter, Melty carefully opened his eyes to observe him.
“Just tell me where the Tonka came from, and I’ll spare your life.”
“……”
Melty’s mouth opened and closed silently at the sight of the man with a bizarre smile on his face. Although Melty’s face clearly said ‘What is that?’, there was no way he could ask the question.
“I told you to speak now! Where did you get the Tonka?!”
“Th-th-that…!”
Not even knowing what the man was talking about, Melty hurriedly opened his mouth. Expecting to hear the answer he wanted, the man fixed his gaze on Melty’s lips. As the man urged him to speak quickly, Melty gasped “Eek!” and tightly closed his eyes.
His body, which had been frozen stiff with fear, moved almost instinctively. Melty moved his fingers on the ground, grabbed a handful of soil, and threw it with all his might at the man’s face.
“Ugh!”
The man grimaced at the dirt and grass suddenly thrown in his face and covered his face with a short cry. At the same moment, Melty, who had been keeping his eyes closed, pushed away the man restraining him with all his strength and fled.
“You little shit!”
Unable to open his eyes properly due to the dirt, the man swung the knife he was gripping. The blade cut through the air with a whooshing sound. Supporting his weakened legs by force, Melty hurriedly ran into the mansion. His heart pounded frantically at the sound of the pursuer closing in behind him.
Melty turned his head back to check who was chasing him. And upon seeing the menacing figure, he gasped. His ankle twisted easily, causing his body to stagger greatly.
When breathing was difficult with the fear that he might die now, instead of hitting the hard floor, a soft sensation enveloped his face. Belatedly recognizing the hands firmly embracing and supporting his body, Melty raised his head with a blank expression.
Melty’s eyes, relieved at the familiar golden eyes that came into view, became damp. Calix, who had been staring intently at Melty’s eyes that were producing tears continuously, moved his head with a cold gaze. Looking at the man who hesitated as soon as their eyes met, Calix spoke in a rigid tone.
“A worm who doesn’t know his place has crawled into my mansion.”
Despite the servant’s message that Melty was looking for him, Calix had just set out to find the elusive Melty. Moving through the halls and questioning every servant he met, Calix had been able to find Melty without much difficulty. The problem was that the person who should have been smiling brightly was in a far from normal state.
“C-Calix…!”
The man who had been rushing to grab Melty’s head hesitated with a pale face. Irritatingly enough, Calix recognized who the man was as soon as he saw his face.
Bain Spangky.
His name was one Calix had been forced to memorize unwillingly. He was a persistent pest who had been clinging to him, claiming he wanted to purchase poisonous plants. Naturally, Calix had refused his visits to the mansion and burned his letters. There was no reason to welcome the appearance of someone who hadn’t even been invited. Of course, the fact that he had threatened Calix’s precious person meant Calix had no intention of showing any leniency.
Looking over the man with a displeased gaze, Calix patted the back of Melty, who was still expanding the tear marks in his arms, and clenched his jaw tightly. It felt like harsh curses would burst out of his mouth if he relaxed even a little. While he wouldn’t hesitate to curse at the man, he didn’t want such unpleasant language to reach Melty’s ears.
“Ha, haha. So, this is…”
The man awkwardly laughed as he hurriedly hid the knife he was holding behind his back. Calix coldly sneered at him as he searched for a way to make excuses.
“This is what? Are you planning to make excuses for sneaking into someone else’s mansion and causing trouble?”
“Trouble… I just chased after him because he suddenly ran away.”
“Really?”
Speaking lazily, Calix gently stroked the back of Melty’s round head. Dirt, leaves, and grass came off on his hand as he lightly stroked it. Calix was quite perceptive, and it wasn’t difficult for him to understand the situation.
“Y-yes!”
With a “haha” laugh while watching Calix cautiously, the man gripped the knife behind his back more tightly.
‘If I get rid of that irritating face right now…’
Eliminating him might benefit even a branch family member like himself. The Padrian family was known for having few children, and the current family head and his wife were too old to have children. In other words, if Calix, their direct descendant, were removed, the position of Padrian’s successor would become vacant.
Although this was an unexpected situation, it could potentially be an opportunity.
“I don’t think that’s the excuse I want to hear from someone who entered without the homeowner’s permission. How did you get in?”
“W-we’re family, aren’t we? Haha.”
“Your self-assessment is quite exaggerated. Or perhaps you thought little of the Padrian family.”
A mocking smile appeared on Calix’s face at the man’s awkward laughter. Calix lowered his gaze at the hands firmly gripping his clothes. Swollen, reddish eyelids and obviously reddened brown eyes were looking up at him. Seeing that Melty had regained some composure, Calix smiled kindly. It was solely to calm him down.
Despite Calix’s smile, Melty didn’t dare turn around to look at the person behind him and clung even more to Calix as if he were his lifeline. Calix’s gaze naturally fell on Melty.
Confirming that the gaze was no longer on him, Bain swallowed hard. There wouldn’t be a better timing than this. Gripping the knife behind his back more firmly, he approached Calix with careful steps. Then he swung the knife in his hand with all his might.
