“Master, are you awake?!”
“What is it now, barging in here without even knocking first thing in the morning?”
“That’s hardly the issue right now! We have a serious problem!”
Kalz was momentarily taken aback by Almond’s sudden intrusion but swiftly regained his composure, his expression turning grave. Almond had been a butler his whole life, and despite his somewhat rebellious attitude toward his master, he’d never once forgotten basic manners, such as knocking before entering.
“What exactly is going on?”
“It’s… it’s terrible!”
Almond’s face turned pale, and his beak trembled visibly as he let out an anguished cry.
“Briel… Briel has left the castle!”
At Almond’s panicked words, Kalz felt his heart stop for a brief second, plunging deep into the pit of his stomach. Yet, he quickly masked his shock with a calm response.
“Left the castle? Are you sure? Maybe he just stepped out for a moment.”
“No, I’m certain! This was found on Briel’s desk.”
Almond handed over a scrap of paper, evidently torn from a notebook. The writing, elegant and familiar, was short and blunt:
[If I’m that repulsive to you, then I suppose there’s nothing left for me to do but leave, just as you wish. Don’t worry—I won’t mention anything about the castle to anyone. Oh, and I’ve taken my pay according to the amount of work I’ve done, so don’t worry about that either. Take care.]
The defiant note left no room for doubt—Briel really had left the castle. Whether genuine or spiteful, his departure was unquestionable. But there was still something troubling Kalz…
“What exactly did he take?”
“Master, is that really the important issue right now?”
Almond grumbled, yet dutifully answered anyway.
“There were no signs of anyone entering the basement or storage rooms. And no artwork is missing, either.”
“You already checked all that thoroughly, huh? And yet you’re here criticizing me?”
“I have no choice! Managing the castle’s property is also my responsibility. But anyway! Please, tell me honestly. Just what did you do to Briel?”
Almond’s fierce bird eyes bore accusingly into Kalz, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.
I’m not the one who did anything. It was him who kissed me first, without my consent!
But there was no benefit in revealing the truth of what happened that night to Almond. Instead, Kalz swallowed down his resentment silently.
“Ahh, I should’ve realized something was off when you kept giving excuses to eat alone these past few days. I thought it was just another petty argument and stayed out of it. Had I known this would happen, I would’ve asked him sooner.”
Watching Almond regretfully clawing at his feathers, Kalz murmured a timid defense.
“It might not even be because of me. He didn’t explicitly mention me in the note, right?”
“Then who else could it possibly be? You’re the only person in this castle who might find Briel repulsive. Everyone else adores him.”
“…I never actually said he was repulsive.”
“Does it have to be explicitly stated? Whether you said it or not, if Briel believes you felt that way, then that’s his truth.”
It was an unreasonable argument. Yet Kalz, feeling a prick of guilt, couldn’t bring himself to argue further.
Almond’s frustration surged when he saw his master fall silent. He was furious that Kalz had so thoughtlessly chased away the only spark of hope they’d seen in over a century, and yet appeared entirely unbothered, lacking even half the anxiety Almond himself felt. But right now, the priority was finding Briel.
“What will you do, Master? If you issue the order, I’ll immediately mobilize the castle staff to search for him.”
“There’s no need to cause an unnecessary fuss. If he truly left because he hates it here, forcing him back won’t help. And if that’s not the case, he’ll return eventually on his own.”
Almond stared in disbelief at Kalz’s carefree response, his beak hanging open. Did his master genuinely not grasp the seriousness of the situation, or was he deliberately feigning ignorance?
Almond knew better—he’d seen that Kalz’s heart had already shifted, even if Kalz himself stubbornly denied it. Realizing he needed a stronger push, Almond finally pulled out a card he’d been keeping up his sleeve.
“Ah, you’re probably right. Perhaps he’ll take a short break in the village and return. After all, he has a comfortable place to stay there.”
“Yes, he did mention taking his wages or whatever. He can stay at an inn if needed.”
“An inn? Oh no, Master. I was referring to Leon’s house.”
“Leon? Who’s that?”
“The man who visited the castle previously—the one I asked Briel to handle. I later heard they’d become quite friendly.”
Now that Almond mentioned it, Kalz vaguely remembered the incident. He hadn’t paid it much attention back then, since Almond had reported it as resolved. But Briel had become friends with that man?
“Didn’t you clearly tell me that situation was taken care of?”
“It was resolved—in terms of Leon not returning to the castle. But apparently, Briel promised to meet him only in the village instead.”
“Then it wasn’t really resolved at all, was it?”
“As long as Leon doesn’t enter the castle, it’s Briel’s personal matter. I couldn’t exactly interfere more than that, could I?”
Almond’s logic was sound. Briel was simply an employee, not a captive. Kalz had no right to restrict whom he befriended. Still, for reasons he couldn’t fathom, the news irritated him immensely. Attempting to conceal his agitation, Kalz gave a disdainful snort.
“Hmph! Then there’s even less to worry about. He’ll likely be far happier at a friend’s house than here.”
Almond didn’t miss the subtle tremble in Kalz’s eyes. Seeing his chance, he delivered the final blow.
“Oh, I nearly forgot one minor detail. Leon apparently proposed to Briel.”
“Proposed?”
What kind of ridiculous nonsense was this?
“You just said they were friends.”
“Indeed, that’s what I heard. Although the proposal is something I overheard from Jack, so I don’t know the exact details.”
Kalz suddenly found himself intensely curious about those details. However, since Jack, rather than Briel himself, was the source, it meant the information had been overheard rather than firsthand. Pressing Almond further would yield nothing more useful.
A proposal on their first meeting? Was that something a sane person would do? If Leon wasn’t outright crazy, he was definitely suspicious.
Seeing Kalz anxiously biting his lip, Almond secretly felt relieved. If they managed to overcome this crisis and get Briel back to the castle, there was still hope.
“Then I’ll take my leave now. I’ll inquire among the staff if anyone knows other places Briel might have gone.”
“Do as you please.”
“…Are you truly not planning to search for Briel?”
“Why should I chase after someone who willingly walked out?”
“Fine, have it your way. But if I ever leave, please don’t bother searching for me either. And if Briel returns, you can bet I’ll be asking him directly—did he truly leave on his own, or was he pushed out by someone else!”
Almond clicked his tongue sharply and stormed out, slamming the door behind him with a loud bang. The blatant intent behind that action made Kalz heave a deep sigh. In truth, he already knew—this was practically his fault. Even Kalz had to admit that his attitude toward Briel last night had been unnecessarily harsh.
Still, it wasn’t as if he’d had much choice. Ever since that evening when Briel had abruptly kissed him during their drinking session, sending Kalz fleeing in shock, his mind had been in utter chaos. He’d tried to brush it off, telling himself it was no different from being bitten by a drunken puppy, but it still felt profoundly unfair.
Because, after all, that had been Kalz’s first kiss.
It wasn’t that Kalz still harbored romantic illusions about first kisses—too much time had passed, and too much had happened since then. He’d spent nearly a century convincing himself that such emotional nonsense had nothing to do with him anymore. Yet this was different.
How could someone take another person’s first kiss so thoughtlessly—and blame it all on drunken carelessness?
“A mistake, he said…?”
True, mistakes happen. Kalz had witnessed plenty of nobles in society lose their composure after one too many drinks. Yet, strangely enough, he simply couldn’t imagine Briel making such an impulsive mistake. Had it been any other employee, Kalz wouldn’t have felt nearly this disturbed.
His desperate avoidance afterward had stemmed purely from not knowing how to face Briel again. Even yesterday, when he’d instinctively reached out to catch Briel as he stumbled, he’d quickly withdrawn his hands when their faces drew too close, haunted by memories of that night. And when Briel visited his room late at night, he’d snapped—simply because he didn’t know where to rest his gaze. Just what had Briel been thinking, showing up at his door in such thin clothing? He’d intended to send him away firmly yet gently, but instead had completely lost control of his tone.
Watching Briel turn away with red-rimmed eyes after apologizing had tormented Kalz with guilt and regret the entire night. But there was no use dwelling on it now; it was already too late.
Kalz pressed both hands tightly over his eyes and let out a weary sigh.
“…Leon, huh. And who exactly is he supposed to be?”
Staying in my castle and making new friends behind my back?
An involuntary growl rumbled softly from his tightly clenched jaw.
