When I got back to the castle, everyone looked like a mess. They said there wasn’t a single place they hadn’t searched to find me. Just imagining my animal friends struggling to hide their identities while scouring the kingdom made my chest ache. Leaving the castle without a word—again—filled me with guilt.
Mari was especially furious.
“You’re the worst! I thought we were real friends!”
Her face was flushed crimson, tears brimming in her eyes as she stomped her hind paws in frustration. I immediately dropped to my knees and begged her for forgiveness.
“Of course we are. Mari, you’re the most precious friend I have.”
“Liar! Then how could you leave without saying a single word? Were you afraid I’d snitch to the master?”
“Of course not. You’ve always been on my side. That never even crossed my mind.”
“Then why? Why did you do it if you knew I’d feel this way?”
“Because I knew you’d cry like this. And if you cried, I wouldn’t be able to leave.”
“Then you should’ve just stayed!”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I gently dabbed her tears away with a handkerchief. Honestly, I’d wanted to say goodbye—just a quick farewell at the very least.
But Mari didn’t know about the magic’s time limit. There was no way to explain why I had to leave. That’s why I couldn’t say anything.
She kept huffing in frustration but didn’t swat my hand away.
“I really hate you, Bell.”
“Yeah… hearing that feels like my heart’s being torn apart.”
“…I don’t hate you that much.”
“I’m really sorry.”
Sorry for stealing away your one shot at becoming human again… just because I was too selfish to let go.
Sorry for not being able to fight the desire to stay by Kalz’s side.
Sorry I still can’t tell you the whole truth.
The guilt pressed down so hard I couldn’t even lift my head. What hurt the most was knowing that, even if I had to choose all over again, I’d still make the same decision.
Mari, ever the sweetheart, must’ve sensed something was wrong. She scurried around me anxiously, then puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
“I was mad… but since you came back, I’ll forgive you. I’m not mad anymore.”
“Thank you. I really, really love you, Mari.”
“But promise me you’ll never disappear without a word again, okay?”
“I swear. Never again. Promise.”
I held out my pinky, and only then did Mari smile, bumping her fluffy paw against mine. My sweet, precious friend. From now on, I’ll treasure every moment I spend with all of them.
But that didn’t mean I’d given up—not yet. From now on, the new strategy was quantity over quality. I’d throw everything I had into this until even that stubborn witch had no choice but to recognize it as the true Fruit of Love.
Starting today, Operation “Fruit of Love: Season 2” is officially underway.
***
It was close to midnight, but Kalz was still in the study. After being away from the castle for two weeks searching for Bell, he had a mountain of work to catch up on.
“Already this late, huh…”
He checked the time, wrapped things up, and stood from his desk. But as he walked back to his room, something felt… strange. A subtle sense of something being off.
He finally understood what it was when he stood before the mirror in his bedroom.
“…What the hell?”
The reflection wasn’t the Beast—it was Ian. No… it was Kalz, in his human form. Shocked, he leaned closer to the mirror, staring at his hands, feet, and hair, confirming what he was seeing.
“What’s going on? It’s not even a full moon.”
Even if it was a full moon, this wasn’t normal. He had transformed back into a human… and he still had all his memories. That had never happened before.
Could the curse have been broken?
Kalz hurried toward Almond’s room to confirm. But on the way, he ran right into someone.
“Oh? Ian?”
It was Briel. From the snacks in his hands, it looked like he’d just come from the kitchen. Kalz had nagged him to eat more since he’d been losing weight, but he hadn’t meant sneaking around for midnight snacks.
With a mix of surprise and joy on his face, Briel ran up to him.
“What’s going on? I thought the full moon was tomorrow.”
“Well… that’s…”
Kalz was completely thrown off. He didn’t even know whether to act like Ian or just come clean as himself. Worse, he couldn’t remember how this guy even talked. All he could recall was the way it made him want to punch a wall every time he thought about it later.
Thankfully, Briel just smiled and let it slide.
“Maybe I got it wrong? Either way, I’m really glad I ran into you. I almost thought we wouldn’t see each other at all this month. Come on, let’s head to the dining hall.”
Briel reached out and grabbed his hand.
Something in Kalz twisted. Jealousy? Seriously?
He doesn’t even know it’s me and just grabs my hand like that? Isn’t this basically emotional cheating or something?
No—focus. The real problem was that the truth could come out at any second. And Kalz had no confidence in keeping up this Ian act. Briel had only just come back to the castle—because he asked him to. He couldn’t hit him with another betrayal now.
“…Actually, I need to tell you something.”
“Oh? That serious? You sound like you’re about to drop a bomb.”
“It is serious. Please… just promise you won’t get mad.”
“Haha, why would I get mad at you, Ian? Although now that you mention it, that tone really reminds me of someone…”
The smile on Briel’s face slowly faded.
“Wait. Now that I’m looking at you… that expression… You avoid eye contact the same way when you’re hiding something. Even the way your eyes dart around—it’s just like him. And his nickname as a kid was…”
“…Okay, so… here’s the thing.”
“No way…”
Briel went pale, pointing a trembling finger at him. Kalz let out a long, guilty sigh and nodded.
“…Yeah. You’re right. I’m Kalz. And I’m Ian.”
“WHAT?!”
That night, for the first time in a while, Briel’s scream echoed through the halls of the mansion.
***
“So you’ve been pretending to be Ian this whole time? You actually lied to me?”
Kalz was kneeling on the floor with both arms raised like a schoolboy in detention, while I stared him down with narrowed eyes.
Looking back now, it felt stupid that I hadn’t noticed sooner. I should’ve suspected something the moment young Kalz said his nickname was Ian. But their personalities were polar opposites—and their appearances couldn’t have been more different—so I didn’t even consider it.
“…So this is your real face?”
“Yeah. Though for some reason, my hair color changed.”
“Huh. So Butler Squawk wasn’t just making things up. He did say you used to be a heartthrob on the social circuit.”
“Just the butler being overly proud. But, uh… are you drooling?”
“Excuse me?”
“Pretty sure you are.”
“Shut up and keep your arms up.”
“…You’re really mad, huh?”
He tried sneaking a glance at my face, but I shot him a glare. He slumped and dutifully raised his arms again. The moment he turned away, I quickly wiped the corner of my mouth.
I really had meant it—I would’ve been fine even if he stayed a beast forever. But now that I knew Ian was actually Kalz…
My fists clenched on their own.
Cute and pretty and handsome? Are you kidding me?
This is rigged. I never had a chance.
“Ahem. I won’t lie—being deceived for weeks like that pisses me off. But what am I supposed to do about it now? We don’t exactly have time to sit around being mad.”
“For the record, I didn’t do it to tease you. I was worried things would change once you found out Ian was me. You always smiled so kindly at him…”
Ugh. Now he’s making it sound like I was mean to Kalz all the time. …Which, okay, maybe I kind of was.
“Well… at least there’s one silver lining. You’re turning back into a human at night again. That’s something. Any idea why?”
“No clue. That’s actually why I was on my way to Butler Squawk’s room—to check on it. But then I ran into you instead.”
“It’s already late, so let’s check on that tomorrow. Right now, we’ve got something else to take care of.”
“Something else?”
With a sweet smile, I leaned in and draped an arm over Kalz’s shoulder—innocent eyes locked on his.
“What else? It’s time to work on the Fruit of Love.”
“I told you—that’s not happening!”
“Sure, you said that. But the reason it couldn’t happen? That’s not an issue anymore. So now it can, right?”
The sharp fangs, the beastly… parts—everything he once used to justify avoiding intimacy was gone now.
“Well… yeah, but still—there’s something called mental preparation—”
“You’ve been abstinent for over a hundred years and you still need to prepare? Please. When the time comes, instinct takes over. You just do it.”
“…You say that like you’ve got experience.”
“I don’t. But everyone says that’s how it works. So let’s go to your room.”
“Wait—hold on—”
I ignored the flustered mumbling behind me and tugged him along. Halfway to his room, he went silent. I thought maybe he’d finally made up his mind.
I was wrong.
As soon as we reached his door, Kalz slipped inside like lightning—and shut it in my face.
“Wait—are you seriously locking me out?”
“Sorry, but… the more I think about it, the more I realize this just isn’t right.”
“Open the door.”
“Goodnight.”
“Are you seriously doing this to me?!”
“Sweet dreams. Even better if I show up in them.”
“If you show up in my dreams, I’m ripping out every last strand of that fancy mane of yours!”
So in the end, I had to stomp back to my room, seething. Damn that ancient lion-head. Whatever it takes… I will conquer him.
By the next morning, Kalz had reverted back to his beast form. With testimonies from Butler Squawk and the other staff, we confirmed that Kalz was still the only one who transformed into a human at night.
And after observing for a few days, we learned something else—he didn’t just change during the full moon anymore. It happened every single night. Which meant the mansion was no longer quiet come dawn.
“Open the door.”
“I’ll open it in the morning.”
“Open it now.”
“Request denied.”
Seriously—he acted totally normal during the day, but as soon as night fell, it was like flipping a switch. In the end, I was the one who cracked.
“Ugh! Forget it! Fine! I’m not doing it! I’m not! You know what? I’ve got standards! I’d rather explode!”
“Thanks for saying that.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and stay pure and untouched forever—like the first snow. But when the regret hits and you come crying? Don’t even think about touching me. Not even a finger.”
“That would be unfortunate.”
“Wanna get punched?!”
Ugh, he’s so smug. Still… giving up did have one upside. He finally started letting me into his room at night.
Now I could lie on his thigh while reading, or fall asleep mid-conversation while curled up beside him. It meant we were spending more time together than ever before.
Inside the castle, all the efforts I poured into the daily Fruit of Love Operation began stacking up, one after another.
Time passed quietly and peacefully…
And then, in the heart of winter— My brother arrived.
