After dinner, I met Kalz again in the dining room. With confidence, I presented the ceramic vase I’d bought, carefully arranged with a single rose freshly clipped from the greenhouse. As he accepted the vase, he quietly murmured:
“I never imagined you’d gift me a flower. I didn’t expect this.”
“Obviously, you didn’t, because that’s not what I gave you. The gift is the vase, not the flower. Anyway, since I broke one and replaced it, let’s call it even.”
“Understood.”
“Wait—understood?”
Why wasn’t he nagging me about the obvious price difference? I had been certain he’d argue about it, but here he was, accepting it without protest. He even seemed pleased.
“Um, I feel a bit strange saying this after buying it myself, but just so you know, it wasn’t expensive at all.”
“I know. I have at least enough judgment for that. Besides, with gifts, it’s not the price that matters. It’s the thought behind them.”
His words were irritatingly logical. Yet, hearing them from him made me feel oddly uncomfortable. An inexplicable resistance twisted my tongue.
“I-it’s not like I bought it with you in mind specifically!”
What was I even saying? Why was I delivering lines straight out of some tsundere drama to Kalz, of all people? It had to be a side-effect of exhaustion from wandering around all day. At times like this, the best remedy for tired adults was obvious. With a flourish, I set my final purchase down onto the table.
“This is the real reason I asked to meet tonight. If you’re interested, let’s drink it together.”
“What’s this?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s beer.”
That’s right—a small oak barrel filled with fresh draft beer.
I’d completely forgotten about this when I was lazing around on my father’s money, but ever since I started working, nothing felt better than a cold beer after clocking out. Eagerly, I tilted a glass at an angle and poured carefully, making sure no foam appeared.
“Here, take it.”
“So this is beer…”
“What’s with that reaction? Don’t tell me you’ve never had beer before?”
“I’ve only ever learned about wine.”
“My god, you’ve lived for over a hundred years and completely wasted your life. Try it. You’re in for a shock.”
Without waiting for the Beast, who cautiously sniffed at the beer, I eagerly took the first sip. The sharp, fizzy sensation sliding down my throat was pure bliss.
Ahh, this is exactly it!
Seeing my enthusiasm, the Beast took a cautious sip of his own drink.
“Oh, come on, that’s no way to enjoy it. You need to drink it all at once—like me. Watch closely.”
“Like this?”
I tilted my head back and let the beer pour smoothly down my throat in one swift motion. Kalz awkwardly imitated me, his eyes widening in surprise. At first glance, he looked startled, but by now I could read his expressions clearly enough. This was Kalz’s version of a positive reaction.
“Quite unusual. Is it supposed to sting your throat like this?”
“That’s precisely the charm! How is it?”
“Not bad.”
Clearly, he liked it. When Kalz said something was “not bad,” it practically counted as high praise. Maybe because it had been a while, or maybe because I’d downed it quickly, I was already feeling buzzed and cheerful.
“All right! Honestly, I was planning to keep this in my room and drink a little each night until my next day off, but hey, life’s short. Let’s finish it tonight! We’ll keep going until midnight!”
“I’m in.”
Just like that, an impromptu drinking party began at the Beast’s castle.
“Your snacks have arrived~”
Behold my impeccable serving skills, refined from my part-time pub days! Kalz eyed the steaming fries suspiciously.
“Did you just fry potatoes? Without sauce, how is this supposed to taste good?”
“How? Like this!”
I promptly brought out a grinder and generously sprinkled fresh salt and pepper over the fries. Snacks always taste better with a bold flavor.
“All set. Eat one fry, then take a sip of beer.”
Then you’ll get a glimpse of heaven. Perhaps thanks to the tasty treats I’d shown him before, Kalz obediently popped a fry into his mouth.
“Ouch—hot!”
“Oh dear, I forgot to warn you they’re hot. Sorry~”
Now we’re even for that whole Gold situation. Flashing an apologetic smile, I caught Kalz shooting me a half-hearted glare before quickly gulping beer to soothe his mouth.
“How is it? Pretty amazing combo, right?”
“Well, I suppose it’s decent.”
Given how eagerly he kept munching the fries despite burning his tongue, that was clearly Kalz’s version of glowing praise. Surprisingly, we seemed to have matching tastes.
We happily kept going with our fries-and-beer combo, chatting comfortably and laughing easily, mostly poking fun at each other’s past blunders and exchanging playful barbs. Even so, it was genuinely enjoyable. Several drinks later, an unexpected problem arose.
“Huh? Wait—why isn’t the beer coming out anymore?”
“Don’t tell me we finished it already?”
“Aw, no! We were just warming up!”
It had been so long since I’d enjoyed a proper drinking session; stopping now felt unacceptable. Apparently, Kalz felt the same.
“I have some decent wine stored in the cellar. I’ll fetch it.”
“Perfect! I’ll grab some extra snacks from the kitchen.”
Our teamwork in times like these was surprisingly flawless. So began our second round, this time with wine. But everyone knows mixing drinks makes you tipsy faster, and that rule held true for the beer-wine cocktail swirling in our stomachs.
“I’m tellin’ ya! My dye job was sooo good. It came out a beautiful golden-yellow, but you didn’t even come look at it!”
Drunk and emboldened, I finally let loose my pent-up frustrations, but Kalz only tilted his head, clearly confused.
“Whenever I do something amazing, you never show up. You ignored me on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“How can you not get it? Kalz, are you drunk?”
“Haha, look who’s talking.”
Wait—why was he laughing like that? With his eyes crinkled and a silly, childlike smile stretching ear to ear, Kalz’s unfamiliar grin made my heart flutter strangely.
It felt as if the ground beneath my feet was drifting. Was I actually this drunk? No way. I was perfectly fine.
Yup, definitely sober. Just happier than usual and slightly braver. Brave enough, in fact, to ask a question I’d been wondering about.
“Hey… can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
Given how readily he answered, Kalz was undoubtedly the drunker of us two. I couldn’t let this chance pass.
“So, Kalz… You said you were human before, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then how did you end up like this? What happened to you?”
“……”
A brief silence passed between us. Would he finally answer this time? I didn’t press him, quietly sipping my wine instead, patiently waiting. It was only after I’d emptied my second glass that he finally spoke.
“…I don’t have any memories of my parents. According to my butler, they died shortly after I was born.”
“That’s… really sad.”
I almost blurted out, ‘Just like me.’ But Kalz had already met my father, so saying that wouldn’t make sense. Instead, I looked at him with a softer gaze.
“But my childhood wasn’t exactly difficult. The fortune and status my parents left behind were more than enough to protect me.”
When Kalz spoke about his past, his voice was unusually calm, each word carefully chosen. Clearly, it was something difficult for him, something he wasn’t eager to revisit.
Even noticing his discomfort, I didn’t tell him he could stop. I wanted to know more about him—who he had been before meeting me, before becoming this Beast.
“Yet, I always felt something was missing. Even surrounded by people, I felt completely alone. When others showed affection toward me, it felt oddly distant, as if it wasn’t truly mine.”
Kalz avoided saying it explicitly, but I understood immediately—he’d felt lonely. The child who had everything but a family had simply been lonely. It was an emotion I knew better than anyone else.
“It sounds contradictory, but that emptiness made me crave attention even more. So, I was overly kind to everyone, hoping that the more kindness I gave, the more affection I’d receive in return.”
“Wait—kindness?”
“…Is there a problem?”
“No, no. Please continue.”
I felt a bit guilty for breaking the mood in such a serious conversation, but I just couldn’t help myself. A kind Kalz? I simply couldn’t imagine it—probably because I’d never seen it myself.
“What I didn’t realize was that kindness isn’t always just kindness. When two people don’t share the same feelings, kindness can easily become misunderstood.”
“You mean…”
“My kindness hurt someone—a woman who misunderstood my friendliness, thinking I shared the same feelings.”
“Who was she?”
“All I can say is that she was just a woman I barely knew. I didn’t even know her name until that day. That was the first time I ever heard her voice—crying, screaming, asking how I could do this to her, as if we’d ever shared anything at all.”
“So, you didn’t realize it was one-sided love?”
“Love…? If selfishly deciding to ruin something because you can’t have it counts as love, then maybe that’s what it was.”
