<Chapter 49>
#5. The Throb of Excitement (4)
As soon as he left the reception room, Calix’s brow furrowed. He glared at the firmly closed door with a displeased look and clicked his tongue irritably. Though he had sent a warning to stay away from Melty, judging by the gleam in Lila’s eyes until the very end, she didn’t seem likely to easily give up her interest in him.
‘It would be troublesome if more annoying people were added here… If I had known this would happen, I should never have allowed her to come to the banquet.’
Running his hand through his hair, he let out a deep, heavy sigh. Among those attending this Exchange Meeting, there was definitely someone behind the scenes who had helped Bain enter the mansion. As soon as Calix recalled how Melty had almost been in danger because of Bain, a murderous aura swirled around him.
“Master Calix.”
“Ah, check this contract and handle it as written.”
Angel, who had cautiously approached while observing Calix’s ominous expression, carefully accepted the document handed to him. Watching Calix cautiously, Angel scanned the contents of the document that had come into his hands.
“I don’t know what deal you made with McNeil, but isn’t this rather favorable?”
“I wouldn’t make an unfavorable deal, would I?”
Angel blinked blankly at Calix’s still grumpy response. Since Calix’s mood had taken a turn for the worse as soon as he left the reception room, Angel had thought the deal was unsatisfactory, but judging from his tone, that wasn’t the issue.
“Then why are you in a bad mood?”
“Because that bastard…!”
Calix, who was about to spit out his words irritably, closed his mouth tightly. Angel, feeling frustrated because Calix had stopped mid-sentence, moved closer.
“What happened?”
“…Nothing.”
No matter how much he was Calix’s assistant, Calix couldn’t bring himself to answer, “Because she showed interest in Melty.” Even Calix had something like ‘dignity.’ Though everything he would say was sincere, he knew very well how pathetic it would look in Angel’s eyes.
“It’s nothing, so don’t worry about it and just handle the work.”
Calix cleared his throat loudly, ran his hand through his hair, and walked away quickly. Angel watched Calix’s retreating figure with a puzzled expression and followed closely behind him with curious steps.
“How can you leave me hanging like that?”
“You need to reduce your unnecessary curiosity.”
“Is that so? But the Exchange Meeting conference will start soon. Where are you going?”
“Do I need to report every little thing to you?”
Calix finally couldn’t hold back and stopped, turning to snap at Angel. At Calix’s words, Angel silently looked up in the direction he had been moving. From the appearance of the wide corridor alone, it was easy to figure out where he was heading.
The corner of Angel’s mouth twitched upward as he discovered a relaxed side to Calix, who usually acted razor-sharp. Angel smiled while covering his mouth with his hand, and said with narrowed eyes:
“How long have you been apart that you already miss him? Someone who clings too much lacks appeal.”
Calix frowned at Angel’s lecherous smile and mischievous whispers. Not only had he been caught heading to Melty’s room, but Angel’s latter comment bothered him tremendously.
“Shut up. I’m not particularly going because I miss him.”
Angel’s head tilted to one side as he blinked blankly at Calix’s blunt response. Just the day before, Calix had been looking at Melty with fire in his eyes. Having suffered at the banquet hall the entire time in place of Calix, who had left saying he was going on a date with Melty, Angel couldn’t understand his current attitude. Moreover, the image of Calix personally taking care of the person who had hurt Melty that day was vivid in his mind.
“Why is the atmosphere so cold? Didn’t you say just this morning to cancel all unimportant appointments?”
The meeting with Lila had only occurred because she insisted on receiving her compensation this morning, and Calix had reluctantly agreed. Normally, he would have drawn out the negotiation to achieve the desired result. But he had finished unusually early, and given that his footsteps were heading towards Melty’s room, it didn’t seem like there was a problem with Calix’s love life itself.
Then…? As Angel tilted his head, he came up with one hypothesis.
“Is there an issue with Melty-ssi? Ah, come to think of it… I did hear that Melty-ssi hasn’t been eating much today.”
Despite his small build, Melty had always shown a hearty appetite. With his cute appearance and lively behavior, he had captivated the kitchen staff within days of his arrival, becoming everyone’s ‘little darling.’
The kitchen staff, who regarded Melty like their own grandchild or younger brother, worried that he hadn’t eaten properly today. At the same time, they were burning with determination, believing the cause was Bain, who had done terrible things the night before. As Angel brought this up, recalling their expressions, he noticed Calix’s complex gaze upon him.
“Could it be that he was severely traumatized by yesterday’s events?”
At Angel’s question, Calix frowned and sank into thought. Until yesterday, Melty had been greatly shocked and had cried for quite a while. However, when he woke up in the morning, he seemed much calmer. During their conversation, he hadn’t shown any unusual behavior.
‘…I thought he was fine, but could it be that he was avoiding me because of that?’
With a serious expression, Calix stroked his chin, deep in thought. When they were talking in bed, Melty had been chattering away just fine, but at some point, he stopped making direct eye contact. His voice grew quieter and quieter, and his gaze darted around, and finally he left more than half of his food uneaten.
“You didn’t hear if he ate anything later?”
“I wouldn’t know that far. I’ve been handling business matters the whole time.”
“…Does that kind of shock sometimes come later?”
Angel, who had been waving his hand dismissively at Calix’s careful question, stopped his movement. Looking back at him slowly, Angel asked with a more serious expression:
“Unlike Master Calix, who grew up in the Padrian family with its many incidents and accidents, and would just shrug off even a kidnapping from childhood, Melty-ssi is different, isn’t he? From what I’ve heard, he gives off the strong impression of having been raised very preciously.”
“That’s true.”
Calix nodded quietly in agreement with Angel’s words. Melty, who had mainly stayed indoors due to poor health since childhood, would often talk about his family. From these stories, Calix could easily tell that he had grown up under tremendous protection.
‘If I were his family, I would have done the same.’
He had no desire to send a naive, innocent, and soft little hamster who knew little of the world outside just to toughen him up. He should have known from the moment such an adorable creature appeared from the Crosel family, where children were supposedly thrown into the mountains with the mission to hunt wild animals from the age of eight.
‘Yes, this incident could have been traumatic for him. Though it’s strange that he was fine in the morning and suddenly changed his attitude… he might have recalled the incident belatedly.’
His mood, which had been bad because he thought Melty was avoiding him for no reason, cleared up instantly. Having organized his thoughts, Calix now wanted to hurry to Melty for a slightly different reason. Suddenly, he noticed a flash of red beyond Angel’s shoulder.
“Angel.”
“Yes?”
Angel, who had chosen to stay quiet so as not to disturb Calix deep in thought, stiffened at the sudden call of his name. Ignoring Angel’s reaction, Calix placed his hand on Angel’s shoulder and forcibly turned him around.
“Take responsibility and send her back to the annex.”
His instruction was infinitely serious, as if giving a secret and difficult command. Something was placed in Angel’s hand as he was about to move in protest at Calix’s sudden words. Angel instinctively grasped the cold object that entered his hand, and heard Calix’s voice from behind saying, “Then I’ll be going.” Angel’s shoulders drooped as he heard Calix’s footsteps receding.
Angel subtly rolled his eyes and moved his hand to look at the bonus Calix had placed in it. A gleaming object that instantly elevated his mood, which had been dampened by the dumped task, lay there.
Angel’s shoulders, which had drooped, returned to their original position. With a bright smile all over his face, Angel hurriedly moved towards Lila, whose eyes were shining as if she had found prey.
***
Having successfully passed Lila McNeil, who had been following him, onto Angel, Calix hurried to Melty’s room. He felt pathetic for thinking that Melty’s avoidant behavior was simply because he was upset with him.
With all sorts of self-recrimination, Calix arrived at Melty’s door and caught his breath. His hand, which had risen for a knock, stopped in mid-air, not quite touching the door. After hesitating at the door, his hand finally dropped.
‘What if a sudden knock frightens him?’
If Melty was terrified because of what happened the night before, a knock might startle him even more. But even so, just opening the door and entering would be impolite. Nibbling the tip of his thumb, Calix wandered in front of the room, considering how not to incur Melty’s dislike.
‘Surely he’s not crying, is he?’
Until before the meal, there had been no signs of that at all. Still unable to let go of the thought of “just in case,” Calix carefully placed his ear against the door. No sound came from inside. As he was bringing his ear closer, squinting one eye to concentrate better, Calix met Jenny’s gaze, who was looking at him with a dry expression.
Though her face was expressionless as usual, her eyes conveyed many messages, which made Calix quickly straighten up and clear his throat loudly out of embarrassment.
“…What are you doing?”
“Ahem. Just checking if the door is solidly built… By the way, what brings you here?”
At his words, which were unusually unnatural, Jenny looked alternately at Melty’s tightly closed door and Calix, a subtle smile on her lips.
“I was concerned that Melty-ssi ate too little. I brought some simple snacks.”
“Hand those over and go attend to your duties.”
Calix quickly snatched the plate from Jenny’s hand and waved her away. Recognizing her master’s gesture to drive her away as quickly as possible, Jenny bowed with a subtle smile.
Calix, who had been glancing at her retreating figure, cleared his throat loudly again. Putting his ear close to the door to check the situation inside was only natural. Still, no sound came from inside the door.
Grumbling that the mansion was too solid, Calix cleared his throat loudly. Suddenly, the food on the plate caught his eye. At the same time, he recalled Melty eating in small nibbles, unlike his usual self. Realizing that he might be hungry, Calix cleared his throat and knocked.
