The next day, I headed down to the village in search of wild raspberries. I visited four different fruit shops, but there wasn’t a single raspberry in sight.
“Wild raspberries? It’s still a bit early for those.”
“So there’s nowhere in town that sells them at all?”
“Not that I know of. Hardly anyone asks for them, and they spoil quickly, so most shops don’t bother keeping them in stock.”
“That won’t do. Isn’t there any way to get some?”
The shopkeeper, clearly moved by my pitiful expression, awkwardly touched his cheek, his face flushing a little.
“Well, if you really need them, your best bet is to pick them yourself. If you’re lucky, you might find a few. Some ripen earlier than others.”
“Really? Where should I look?”
“If you poke around in the mountains, you’ll probably stumble across a raspberry patch.”
“The… mountains?”
Figures. I shut my eyes tight. Of course it would come to this. Somewhere out there in that vast mountain range, there had to be at least one raspberry bush. Thus began my second great expedition—after the springwater run, now came the Wild Raspberry Quest.
But there was no reason to suffer unnecessarily. This time, I decided to cash in a favor. I went straight to the one expert who knew these mountains better than anyone else.
“You’re looking for wild raspberries?”
“I figured you might know, Grill.”
I waited, heart pounding, for Grill’s answer. The moment he nodded, I silently punched the air—Yes!
“Yeah, I’ve seen them around.”
“Really? Can you tell me where?”
“It’s still a little early to harvest, though. You’d be better off waiting.”
“I’d like to, but I don’t have that kind of time.”
Once I told him it was for Kalz’s cake, Grill immediately perked up and offered to help.
“It’ll be more efficient if we split up. Let’s each gather what we can and meet back at the cabin.”
He showed me the location of a raspberry patch not far from the cabin, then took off with a basket in his mouth, heading for a more distant area. I followed the directions he gave me, equal parts hopeful and anxious.
“Oh, jackpot! Look at all this!”
My eyes widened at the sight of a sprawling raspberry thicket. I couldn’t help the awed gasp that slipped out. But what thrilled me most were the scattered pops of red nestled among the green. There weren’t many berries compared to the number of bushes, but if I gathered enough, it’d make for a decent haul.
Rolling up my sleeves with determination, I declared, “Alright, not leaving a single ripe one behind— Ow! Damn it!”
I’d barely gotten started when I pricked myself on a thorn and started bleeding. I promptly rolled my sleeves back down. Still, scratches were inevitable during foraging.
While I was busy filling the basket, one especially large and perfectly red berry caught my eye. The only problem—it was deep within a thick tangle of thorny branches. I couldn’t reach it without getting scratched, but it looked too good to leave behind.
“Maybe I can get to it from underneath…”
After a moment of thought, I got down on the ground and stretched my arm toward the berry.
“Just a little further…”
It was agonizingly close—so close I could almost touch it. I focused all my attention on that one bright berry. Because of that, I completely missed the strange movement just in front of me.
“Careful, careful… Got it!”
The second I twisted off the stem, I finally saw it—and our eyes met.
Rustle.
It slithered toward me, tongue flicking. I knew right away—I wouldn’t win this fight, not in this position. I tried to scramble to my feet, but it was faster.
No—no, no!
A chill ran down my spine. And then, pain exploded across my face.
***
“I’ve done all I can. Fortunately, it wasn’t venomous.”
“Thank you…”
Butler Squawk’s voice was a touch colder than usual. And, as expected, the scolding came swiftly.
“What on earth were you thinking, lying on the forest floor like that? You didn’t even check your surroundings.”
“Well… there was this huge raspberry…”
“Still! What kind of person gets their lip bitten by a snake over a piece of fruit?”
Ugh… As if the pain wasn’t enough, I had to get a lecture on top of it. But considering how dumb the whole thing was, I couldn’t even argue. Even with my lips swollen like balloons, I had nothing to say in my defense.
“I’m sorry.”
“Honestly. If I told the master that Bell made his cake at the cost of his lips, he’d probably be moved to tears.”
“Butler, please—I’m begging you, don’t tell Kalz!”
This wasn’t just about preserving a surprise. It was way more serious than that. The thought of Kalz hearing about my idiotic blunder and laughing at me made my ears burn and my stomach twist.
“I believe I promised you last time, didn’t I?”
“More than anything, please don’t mention that I got bitten by a snake. I know you usually report everything down to the tiniest detail, but this time—this time—it has to stay a secret. Please.”
“Every tiny detail, huh. So that’s how you see me. Understood.”
“No, that’s not what I meant—!”
I fumbled, panicking over the unfiltered truth that had just slipped out. Butler Squawk let out a deep sigh as he looked at my frantic expression.
“Just this once, I won’t say a word. Please allow me the chance to regain your trust.”
“Thank you. Really.”
“But the swelling will last at least a week. Even if I don’t say anything, I doubt it’ll go unnoticed.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“See for yourself.”
When he handed me the small mirror, I gasped in horror. What the hell were those two swollen, blobby things stuck to my face? My lips looked like overstuffed cod roe. The shame of losing a fight to a snake hit me all over again, and tears welled up in my eyes. As my shoulders slumped in despair, Butler Squawk gently patted me with his wing.
“Would you like to borrow a scarf?”
“…Please.”
***
A little earlier that night—back when Briel had shown up and dropped the love confession bomb—Almond had actually been in Kalz’s room for a report.
The main topic that evening? Briel’s increasingly strange behavior.
“What do you think?”
“What do I think? Like I said before, it’s a sign. Briel is clearly trying to seduce you.”
“…….”
This time, Kalz didn’t shoot it down as nonsense. Because, to be honest, Briel had been acting weird lately.
He kept showing up unannounced, leaning in close, flashing that dazzling smile, then disappearing again. No matter how many times Kalz scolded him, Briel never even flinched. In fact, the way he kept smiling… it was starting to get a little unnerving.
“But today was different. You saw it too, didn’t you? During dinner—how he teased me about gaining weight?”
“He was probably just tired of trying.”
“Tired?”
“Obviously. You’ve been stonewalling him so hard, who wouldn’t be? If it were me, I’d have given up a long time ago.”
So this was your fault after all!
Every time Briel and Kalz were alone, Almond always managed to appear—like clockwork. He’d hide in furniture gaps, ceiling corners, behind paintings… It was so uncanny, Kalz was starting to develop a complex. Still, it had helped him keep his cool.
“In that case, if he’s really given up, maybe it’s for the best.”
“Wow, you sound devastated.”
…What the hell?
This parrot was getting more insufferable by the day. As Kalz gritted his teeth, there was a knock at the door.
“It’s Briel.”
“What’s he doing here at this hour… Wait—where do you think you’re going?!”
The moment Briel’s voice came through, Almond’s beak stretched into a triumphant grin and he shot into the air. Kalz lunged to grab him, but trying to catch a flying parrot was a lost cause. Almond zipped straight up to the chandelier and hid there, smirking down like he owned the place. With no way to drive him off, Kalz gave up and opened the door.
“What is it?”
And then, the bomb dropped.
“I… I like you.”
“……!”
Watching from his perch, Almond felt fireworks explode in his brain. If he could’ve, he’d have burst out into yodels and danced a cancan right there on the chandelier.
Truth be told, even Almond hadn’t fully believed his theories about “strategic seduction” and “sexual signals.” It was wishful thinking more than anything.
But now? Now he knew for sure—he’d backed a winner. This stock was pure gold.
From that moment on, Almond’s enthusiasm reached new heights.
“You know, Briel. This butler will always be on your side.”
He openly declared himself Briel’s ally.
“I heard drinking that water makes your skin glow like you’re ten years younger.”
He passed along beauty tips for skincare. (Though that… hadn’t gone quite as planned.)
“Wouldn’t you like to see a baby lion someday?”
“Oho, now that sounds intriguing.”
He fully threw himself into Briel’s schemes, doing everything he could to help.
But his master turned out to be an entirely different kind of obstacle. After getting confessed to, Kalz spent days avoiding Briel—then suddenly acted like nothing had happened at all.
Neither response was what Almond wanted.
