Kalz was at a loss for words. Briel, standing at the doorway, looked… well, stunning. His face had always been beautiful, but today—whatever he’d done—he practically glowed. It was dazzling enough to feel like he had a halo around him.
“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Briel gently nudged aside the dazed Kalz and stepped into the room.
“It’s nothing serious. I just wanted to ask if you had anything specific in mind for dinner tonight.”
“Dinner?”
It really wasn’t anything serious. Had Briel ever come all this way just to ask about something like that?
“Anything’s fine. I’ll eat whatever’s ready.”
“Okay, got it.”
Even after hearing his answer, Briel didn’t leave. He just stood there, staring at Kalz.
“Do you have something else to say?”
“Don’t I look a little different today?”
He did. Especially the fact that he was asking that—that was new. But that probably wasn’t what Briel meant. Kalz gave him a thorough once-over from head to toe.
“…Your hairstyle looks a bit different.”
“Exactly!”
Briel beamed and stepped in closer.
“I curled it a little, just for a change. What do you think? Does it look okay?”
“Well… it’s not bad. Kind of reminds me of Gold.”
“Anything else?”
Before he knew it, Briel was right in his face, eyes sparkling. Pressured by the intense energy radiating off him, Kalz started scanning him desperately for anything else that had changed.
“Uh… your skin looks brighter than usual?”
“You noticed! I did some skincare last night.”
Briel lit up like the sun. Up close, he smelled wonderful too—just like that floral scent from the rose greenhouse. Looking into those green eyes smiling just for him, Kalz felt his heart flutter. It was pathetic, but the way Briel smiled made it feel like he was being seduced.
What would it feel like to run his fingers through that luscious golden hair? Those flawless, pale cheeks had to be smooth as marble and soft as silk. And it wouldn’t be hard to find out—Briel’s face was just an arm’s length away. Kalz unconsciously started to lift his hand—
“……!”
His gaze locked with Almond’s, peeking out from behind the curtain. So that’s where he’d been hiding. Those beady little bird eyes, gleaming with nosy curiosity, stared straight at them. Kalz’s heart, which had been racing moments ago, turned cold. Snapping back to his senses, he immediately took a step away from Briel.
“What’s with the sudden makeover? Trying to start a new trend or something?”
“Um… not exactly.”
“Anyway, is that all you came to say?”
“Well, yeah. That’s about it…”
“Then get back to work.”
“Yes, sir…”
Kalz hurried Briel out of the room, already plotting punishment for the nosy butler. In his rush, he didn’t notice how Briel’s shoulders slumped as he walked away. Once the door closed, Kalz let out a low growl.
“What do you think you’re doing, Almond?”
“……”
“I suggest you come out now while I’m still being nice. Or would you rather be torn in half along with the curtain?”
Faced with his master’s deadly threat, Almond cautiously poked his head out. But even he looked displeased.
“What exactly was that just now?”
“That’s what I should be asking. Why were you hiding there?”
“Because I didn’t want to interrupt your moment with Briel, obviously.”
“Then what was with that filthy stare?”
“Filthy? It was a warm and supportive gaze, thank you very much. But even so, I can’t believe what I saw. Was that really your best effort?”
This is all your fault!
Still, maybe it was for the best. If he hadn’t noticed Almond, he might’ve lost control and actually reached out. Imagining what could’ve happened after that… honestly, he should be grateful Almond was there to stop him. But of course, he couldn’t say that out loud. Kalz just sighed.
“Then what should I have done?”
“You should’ve given him more compliments, obviously! ‘You’re gorgeous,’ ‘It suits you so well,’ ‘I thought an angel had descended from the sky’—come on, there are tons of options!”
“How the hell am I supposed to say something that cheesy? And why would I?”
“Agh! You’re hopeless!”
Almond smacked his chest with his wings in frustration.
“Why do you think Briel got all dressed up and came to see you first thing in the morning? Do you really think it was just to talk about dinner?”
“I did think it was a little odd, but still…”
“Didn’t he even say he had the hots for you? And you still don’t get it?”
“And what does that have to do with today?”
“Everything!”
Almond puffed up, wings clenched with conviction as he declared,
“This is clearly a sign he wants to sleep with you!”
Pfft!
Kalz choked so hard on the butler’s words that he was coughing for a good while. When the fit finally passed, he shouted, face red and voice raw,
“You’ve completely lost your mind! Seriously, go see a doctor. Or at least take something—better yet, go meditate in silence somewhere far away!”
“What’s there to be so embarrassed about? You’re both adults. If there’s mutual attraction, something like that happening isn’t so strange, is it?”
Has this parrot finally gone senile? Kalz’s head throbbed.
“There are a dozen things wrong with what you just said, but let’s start with the biggest one—your entire assumption is wrong. Bell liking me? That’d only happen if he’d been shot in the head.”
“Then why did he get all dressed up, come running to you, and ask if you noticed anything different?”
“Bell’s always liked his appearance. He probably just wanted to show off how good he looked today.”
“Then how do you explain what he said about wanting to, uh… do it with you?”
“There must be another meaning. And even if there isn’t, words like that can be used as insults too, so maybe that’s all it was.”
Faced with Kalz’s rock-solid defense, Almond’s beak puffed out in frustration.
“Deny it all you want, but I’m telling you—it was definitely a signal. A very subtle one.”
“If you’ve got this much time to waste on nonsense, go fetch an exorcism manual from the library. I’m starting to think your head’s been possessed by a demon.”
“Ugh, you’re so hopeless. You can’t even pick up what’s right in front of you.”
“Watch your language, Butler.”
“You really are a lost cause…”
“BUTLER SQUAWK!”
“Hmph!”
Only when Kalz roared did Almond finally flee out the window in defeat. Kalz snorted and grumbled under his breath,
“He’s completely lost it. Sure, he’s always been eccentric, but this is something else. Did it all start when Bell came to the castle?”
He knew, of course, that Briel’s arrival hadn’t just changed the butler.
The decision to take in the merchant’s daughter who’d wandered to the castle had been entirely at Almond’s insistence. It was a gesture of kindness—nothing more—for a butler who’d clung to hope for over a hundred years.
And then Briel showed up.
“He’s already made it all the way over there?”
Out past the window, Bell was sweeping the courtyard, grinning from ear to ear at something Mari had said. Watching that bright smile, Kalz felt the corner of his mouth curl without realizing it.
Their first meeting had been nothing short of a disaster. He’d thought Bell was a loud, insufferable brat who always had to have the last word. And yet now, here he was… thinking that same brat looked cute when he smiled. If the Kalz from back then saw him now, he’d never believe it.
But this wasn’t love. It was just simple, human fondness. Not the romantic nonsense Almond had in mind. Kalz pulled the curtain closed and scoffed.
“Love? At this point in my life? Don’t be ridiculous.”
He felt a little bad for Almond, but the truth was, Kalz had never once intended to love anyone. To him, love was something ugly and selfish—a filthy excuse people used to ruin others and call it forgiveness. That kind of wretched emotion had no place in his life. It never had, and it never would. Especially not with Bell.
He had to stay sharp. Sure, he didn’t believe a word of Almond’s nonsense—but even so, he couldn’t afford to let himself be swept away by some foolish impulse. Kalz hardened his resolve all over again.
