I grabbed Leon’s right hand and pressed it firmly against my chest.
“Ah—Lady! You shouldn’t…!”
Leon, startled, hastily tried to pull his hand back, only now sensing that something wasn’t quite right. Well, obviously. Unlike a woman’s or even a muscular man’s, my chest was utterly flat. Flat enough to leave zero room for doubt.
Leon’s gaze flickered rapidly between his hand and my face before he finally shouted, utterly bewildered.
“Wait—you’re actually a guy?”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been saying.”
“You’ve been deceiving me all this time? But why?”
Seriously, what’s with him?
His reaction overflowed with betrayal, eerily reminiscent of a certain someone from the mansion. Naturally, my mood turned sour as well. Deliberately shifting into a casual, defiant posture, I cocked my hip and glared up at Leon.
“Funny wording there. So, is this somehow my fault now? You’re the one who jumped to conclusions.”
“Still, you could’ve clarified it.”
“Clarify what exactly? Did you ever explicitly ask me, ‘Are you a woman?’ Did you?”
“Well, no… but when I called you beautiful, you could’ve said something.”
“Excuse me, but I’ve always been beautiful—from birth until this very moment. What should I have said in response to someone just stating the obvious? Or wait, am I beautiful only when you thought I was female? Now that you know I’m male, suddenly I’m not? Did my face somehow change in that brief moment?”
“…No, it’s not like that.”
Of course it wasn’t. My expression might’ve turned a bit sharper compared to the gentle look I’d worn moments ago, but my beauty wasn’t fragile enough to vanish over something that trivial.
“And let’s suppose for a second that I did realize your misunderstanding. Even then, how is that my fault? You’re the one who made the mistake. Is it really my job to clear things up for you? Was I supposed to randomly volunteer information nobody asked for, like ‘Hey, by the way, I’m a guy’? If anything, I’m the victim here, being mistaken for a girl.”
Honestly, Leon was the one who caused the misunderstanding in the first place. Sure, afterward, I might have slightly encouraged his confusion.
But who cares? In arguments without concrete proof, the one who strikes first always wins.
Leon stayed quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly.
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. But there’s one thing—”
“What?”
“Why’d you suddenly switch to informal speech?”
“You switched first, didn’t you? Practically the moment you realized I’m a guy.”
Seriously, is there some unwritten rule here about guys dropping formalities with each other? Every single one of them immediately starts talking casually once they find out I’m male.
But the possibility that Leon might be a former noble still nagged at me. Even without an official class system, nobles still held power through their connections and money, and I couldn’t completely ignore that.
Eventually, my timid side resurfaced, and I reluctantly added, “How old are you anyway…? If you’re older, I’ll speak politely.”
“Nah, it’s already like this, so let’s just keep talking casually. That’s okay, right?”
“Sure, fine by me. We’re already informal anyway.”
“And you’re right, I misunderstood everything on my own. I didn’t mean to, but I’m still sorry.”
“Forget it. I didn’t mean to mislead you either, but I get that you might’ve felt tricked. You embarrassed yourself enough earlier, so let’s just call it even.”
I wonder if he caught the heavy emphasis I put on “didn’t mean to”? Dodging responsibility whenever possible is always best. Leon tilted his head in confusion.
“Embarrassed myself…? Oh, right—the proposal! That was my very first proposal, too! I was so shocked by you being a guy that I totally forgot about it.”
If I’d known he’d forgotten, I would’ve left it that way. It would’ve been better for his mental health. Leon let out a sigh and muttered quietly to himself.
“To think the first beauty I ever fell for turned out to be a guy… It’s about as shocking as the ending of The Chickpea Murder Case.”
“Huh? Ending? That book isn’t even finished yet!”
“Wait, you read it too? Didn’t you know the sequel came out recently?”
Of course I didn’t. How would I know, trapped in this isolated mountain? I’d been too busy working to realize the book I’d eagerly awaited was already out. This time, the shock was mine. Seeing my devastated expression, Leon flashed a bright smile.
“Want me to tell you who the culprit is?”
“Absolutely not! I’ll read it myself later.”
“Really? It might be tough to find around here. The bookstore in town only had one copy, and I already bought it.”
Goddammit!
“But I could lend it to you if you’d like. I’ve already finished reading it.”
Hallelujah!
Leon, you amazing guy. Truly, a healthy body cultivates a good soul.
“Would you really? I’d gladly borrow—”
“Oh, right. Didn’t you say you were only working here until today?”
“Ah… that.”
My clever improvisation from earlier had just come back to bite me.
To fulfill Butler Squawk’s orders perfectly, I should stick to leaving today. That way, Leon wouldn’t keep coming back to the castle.
But then, I wouldn’t get to read the ending of The Chickpea Murder Case anytime soon.
My internal scale swung frantically back and forth. Finally, after careful calculation, I spoke up.
“Actually, I was going to quit today… but maybe I’ll stay a little longer after all.”
I’m really sorry, Butler Squawk.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Besides, the pay here isn’t bad.”
“That’s great! It means we’ll get to meet again.”
I hadn’t even offered a believable excuse, yet Leon accepted my words without hesitation. He smiled brightly, completely unaware that my earlier words had been a lie. I found myself smiling back at him.
Honestly, someone this trusting is bound to get scammed big-time someday. Now I’m genuinely worried.
Just then, Leon’s expression turned oddly thoughtful.
“…Even knowing you’re a guy, you’re still beautiful.”
“What?”
“I said you’re beautiful.”
Leon’s eyes glittered unnervingly as he looked at me. Wait a second—was he turning into another Gary? I really didn’t need someone else chasing after me with a crush. Just as I was about to shoot him a suspicious look, Leon sighed heavily.
“If only you were a woman, you’d be exactly my type, Bell. You wouldn’t happen to have an older sister or a younger sister, would you?”
“Unfortunately for you, I only have brothers.”
“What about an unmarried aunt?”
“Well… I have an aunt who’s unmarried, but she’s over forty.”
“Does she look like you?”
“Nope. I look more like my mom.”
“Oh, then is your mom perhaps still unmarried—?”
“Get ahold of yourself.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Yep, definitely not interested in men. He’d rather pursue someone twenty years older than even glance at a guy. At least that meant I didn’t have to worry about things taking a weird turn.
“Alright, Bell. How about we become friends?”
“All of a sudden?”
“Why not? It feels like fate, doesn’t it? Plus, you’re literally the only person I’ve ever met who reads The Chickpea Murder Case. We’re probably around the same age anyway, so let’s just be friends. Okay?”
Same age, huh? Please. He clearly looked at least three or four years older than me. But refusing would probably only lead to him pestering me even more. It wasn’t like he asked to date me, so there was no need to waste energy resisting.
“Fine, sure.”
“Awesome!”
He brightened up immediately despite my lukewarm response, completely oblivious to the fact that I was actually older—a shocking revelation that would hit me much later.
“Anyway, I’ll get going for today. I’ll bring the book tomorrow, alright?”
“Wait—you’re coming here again tomorrow?”
Leon’s casual words instantly snapped me back to reality. Butler Squawk’s imaginary glare was colder than ever. Failing my very first mission was absolutely not an option.
“No way. Don’t come here anymore.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“I’m working here. It’d be weird if a friend came to visit me on the job. It’ll look bad.”
“Oh. Then would you rather come to my place?”
“Hmm, I don’t think that’ll work either.”
“Then that means if I don’t come here, we won’t meet at all. I don’t like that.”
Whoa, that’s kind of creepy. Was he acting like my clingy girlfriend from day one or something? My face twisted into a sour expression, prompting Leon to quickly clarify.
“No, what I meant was—I promised I’d lend you the book. It’d be disappointing if we never got to meet up after becoming friends.”
“Don’t you have any other friends?”
“I do, but none of them read novels. It’s hard to find someone to talk to about books.”
Fair enough. It was rare to find someone who shared your tastes so perfectly. His argument almost persuaded me to nod, but luckily I snapped back to reality just in time.
“Still, don’t come.”
Would you take responsibility if I lose my job?
My firm response made Leon slump in defeat.
“Alright…”
“Look, I’ll head down to the village soon. We can meet up then.”
“Really? When? Tomorrow?”
“Not tomorrow, exactly. I can’t promise a specific date, but I’ll definitely visit on my next day off. You can lend me the book then.”
“Great! When you visit, just come straight to my house. Ask around for the Swalter mansion—everyone knows it.”
“Got it.”
Leon perked up instantly, grinning from ear to ear. Watching his excited face, I wondered if I’d really made the right choice. Forming relationships with villagers while working at a secretive castle was undoubtedly risky. But the reason I couldn’t push Leon away entirely was simple—
Finding a fellow novel fan was rare, especially since he was the first friend I’d made since transmigrating. Leon clearly came from money, so he’d probably have tons of books I hadn’t even seen before.
Just imagining it made me excited already.
