Ever since that day, Kalz had been showing up constantly—at all hours and for no reason—like he was trying to take responsibility for the ridiculous thing he’d said. And every single time, without fail, it would all end with: “So, what exactly does ‘that thing’ mean?”
“I can’t take this anymore!”
Back in my room, I slammed my desk and groaned in frustration.
“Who the hell made that lion-head so damn persistent? And every sentence out of his mouth ends with that stupid thing!”
Kalz didn’t even know what the word meant, and yet he was as calm as ever. Meanwhile, I was dying of secondhand embarrassment. With those clueless golden eyes, he’d tilt his head and ask with the most innocent face,
“Are you still… ‘that’ with me?”
Honestly… it was cute. Way too cute. And that only made it more infuriating.
If Kalz ever figured out what it really meant… that’d be a disaster. Not only would he realize how I actually felt, but that dumb, cringe-worthy line would become an official confession. And I still hadn’t heard a single word about his feelings yet.
That couldn’t happen. No way.
Which meant—
“I’ll seduce him.”
I’d seduce Kalz and make him confess first. Then I could tell him I liked him, too—properly, this time. If everything worked out and we were all smiles and laughter, the whole ‘that thing’ would just turn into a funny story to tease each other about.
Besides, once we were officially on the same page, breaking the curse would be way easier. Sure, finding the copper plate was the current top priority, since it was the most concrete lead we had. But the theory that love—or a kiss—might be the key still hadn’t been ruled out.
If the last kiss didn’t count because there was no love behind it, then seducing Kalz and sharing a real first kiss might change everything. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a win-win.
“But how the hell do I seduce someone?”
That was the problem—I’d never tried to seduce anyone in my life. In my past life, I never had the luxury. And ever since I became Briel, I’d never needed to. People fell for me on their own. Not that I ever accepted—none of them were my type.
“Guess it’s time to learn from the classics.”
I opened my notebook and started scribbling down every romance line I could remember.
- How much? I’ll buy you.
An absolute classic—the ultimate materialistic move.
But I was flat broke.
Sure, my father promised to pass the Merchant Guild down to me someday, but that was way off in the future. And even then, Kalz would definitely still be richer. I’d seen his treasure vault with my own eyes—I could vouch for it.
Next.
- Wanna come in for some ramen?
How to spend the night together and let things start naturally. The king of clichés.
But I was nowhere near experienced enough to pull it off. And with a man, no less—a beast of a man at that. I just… didn’t have it in me.
If it actually came to that, with his size, he’d probably— No. Nope. Not going there. Don’t even think about it. Next.
- I’m not trying to be pretty—I was just born this way.
The “blessed-by-the-heavens” approach. Use what you’ve got. Basically: weaponize the face.
Now this one, I could work with.
Even Kalz had admitted more than once that I was easy on the eyes. Granted, he never seemed aware of what he was saying, but if even he thought I was good-looking, then clearly I had something to work with.
“So the question is—how do I make the most of this face?”
I completely forgot my earlier frustration and started humming as I jotted down ideas. Ooh, it’s been a while since I did a face mask. Definitely doing one tonight.
***
Zzzzt.
“……”
There it was again.
First thing in the morning, and his butler was already circling him like a vulture, occasionally throwing daggers with his eyes.
Kalz had a pretty good idea why—but pretending not to notice wasn’t working. That glare was hot enough to scorch.
He hadn’t turned a single page of his book in minutes. Finally, Kalz snapped.
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“That’s all you have to say to me?”
“It’s still morning. If you’ve got something to say, save it for report time.”
“So what you’re saying is, as just a lowly butler, I should stop trying to talk to my master outside official hours and go back to silently doing my job.”
Kalz hadn’t said anything that harsh, but Almond’s dramatic flair didn’t give him much choice.
“…What?”
“What what? How am I supposed to know what you mean if you talk like that?”
“Enough. Just say what you want to say and quit staring at me with those sparrow eyes.”
“Oh wow. Did you really just insult my eyes? Do you even know how round and cute sparrow eyes are?”
“How would I know? And why are you so defensive about sparrows anyway? Are you actually turning into a bird now?”
“Well, I have been a parrot for a hundred years. Wouldn’t it be stranger if I wasn’t attached? How would you feel if someone said lions were filthy and smelly?”
“That’s—”
Annoying, is what it was. Even though he wasn’t really a lion, something about that rubbed him the wrong way.
Kalz sighed and shook his head.
“Fine. I was wrong. Just say what you came here to say.”
“Then answer me this—are you absolutely sure nothing happened that night?”
“Still on that?”
Almond was talking about the night they’d all watched the stars. At the very end, when it was just Kalz and Briel left alone, Almond had slunk off with a suspicious look. Ever since then, he’d been grilling him about what really happened.
“How many times do I have to say it? After Bell finished cleaning up, we walked in the garden for a bit, then went back inside. That’s all.”
“That’s really it?”
“What else did you expect?”
“You mean to tell me you two were alone in that big, dark garden at midnight and all you did was walk? Wait—did you at least hold hands?”
“Are you insane?”
“Yes. And I’m this close to losing it. You wasted a perfectly good chance! You’ve got no game whatsoever.”
Kalz watched his devastated parrot-butler with mild amusement, but his mind drifted back to that night in the rose greenhouse. He thought about asking Almond what Briel’s strange behavior at the end had meant…
…but for some reason, that memory—he didn’t want to share it. He wanted to keep it to himself.
Almond, not one to give up, lifted his head and narrowed his eyes again.
“Then explain this—why is Briel suddenly avoiding you like the plague?”
“How should I know?”
“…You really don’t?”
No—truth be told, he did know.
It was probably because he’d been obsessively pestering Briel about what that word meant. Still, he didn’t get it. Wouldn’t it all be over if Briel just explained what the word meant?
At this point, he’d probably figure it out faster on his own. And if he was going to figure it out, he might as well bring in backup.
Kalz tested the waters.
“Actually, you know…”
“I knew something happened that night!”
“It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s just… remember when Leon visited the castle?”
Kalz gave a brief recap of what had happened and looked to Almond for an opinion.
“But no matter what I say, he refuses to tell me what it means. What do you think?”
Almond’s face twisted into a very… peculiar expression.
What the hell was that look?
“Well… actually, I’ve heard that word before.”
“Seriously? Where?”
“A long time ago. From a merchant from the Eastern Continent. He said it was a word from a faraway land.”
“Eastern Continent, huh? That guy really knew a lot more than I gave him credit for.”
“But the thing is… the meaning of the word…”
Why was he dragging this out? Was it something seriously dirty?
“Just say it already.”
“Well, it’s usually used to refer to… the male reproductive organ.”
“……?”
Kalz froze—his face mirroring the exact expression he’d just seen on Almond.
A heavy silence followed.
Then, after a beat, Kalz finally spoke.
“You’re sure about that?”
“I wish I wasn’t. But I remember it clearly. Unless that merchant lied to me, I’m pretty sure.”
“…Then what the hell did Bell mean when he said that?”
Silence, round two.
Knock knock.
Thank the heavens—a knock at the door broke the awkward tension.
“It’s Briel. May I come in?”
“Bell?”
Now that was unexpected. He’d been avoiding Kalz like the plague for days—and now he just shows up? Of all times?
Kalz had no idea what kind of face he should be making. But he couldn’t exactly send him away either.
“Come i—”
He cut off mid-sentence. Almond, who had been standing right in front of him just seconds ago, had completely vanished.
Where the hell did he go?
“If it’s a bad time, I can come back later.”
“No, it’s fine. Come in.”
Worried Briel might actually leave, Kalz shoved thoughts of the butler aside and opened the door.
“So… what’s going—”
on?
Seriously. What was going on?
