His shoulder jerked. So I was right.
“You knew about the copperplate even before I found the fragment in the prison, didn’t you?”
“Did I?”
“Don’t play dumb. Why didn’t you say anything? You knew I was looking for it.”
“……”
“And all you ever did was tell me it was pointless, that I should give up. Was I that unreliable to you? Were all my efforts just a joke to you?”
“…That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?!”
This time, I was genuinely furious. This wasn’t something I could brush off like usual. Sure, we argued at first about looking for the copperplate, but after that, he promised to help. He said we’d go through everything together—even if it was tough, even if it ended in disappointment. I trusted him. I reported every little discovery I made during my search.
But in the end, even though he knew exactly where one of the fragments was, he kept it to himself. That was outright betrayal.
“If you’ve got something to say, now’s the time.”
“……”
Kalz opened his mouth a few times but didn’t say a word.
“So that’s your answer, huh. Fine.”
“Wait—where are you going?”
“None of your business.”
I slapped away the hand on my shoulder without hesitation and stormed out of the greenhouse. I headed to my room, flung open the closet and drawers, and started throwing things into a bag—whatever I could grab. Kalz stood in the doorway, his voice tinged with unease.
“What are you doing?”
“……”
“I’m asking you—what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Once I was done packing, I finally turned, bag in hand, and looked him straight in the eye.
“Why? You don’t have to say anything, but I do?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“Sorry, but I don’t care what you meant anymore.”
My footsteps thundered down the stairs like I might smash them apart. He chased after me, trying to grab me again, but I shook him off with all the strength I had. It wasn’t until we reached the castle gates that he managed to throw me over his shoulder and stop me in my tracks.
“Put me down. I’m asking nicely.”
“Even if you ask not nicely, I’m still not putting you down. Just hear me out.”
“I said, put me down.”
“Okay, okay—look, I’m sorry. It’s true, I didn’t tell you about the fragment on purpose.”
“Put. Me. Down.”
“Just like you said—it wasn’t because I didn’t trust you or thought what you did was pointless—”
“PUT ME DOWN!!”
“Urgh!”
My knee slammed straight into his gut, dead center. He let out a choked grunt and dropped to his knees. Finally, my feet touched the ground.
“I told you to let go.”
“You little—”
“If you’re going to sue me, send the papers to my family estate. Goodbye.”
“Wait—just give me a second to explain—!”
Still doubled over, he clung to the hem of my pants.
“Are you letting go or not?”
“No. If I let go, you’ll leave.”
“And if you don’t, I’ll kick you again.”
“If that’s what it takes to make you feel better, go ahead.”
Our ridiculous back-and-forth dragged on longer than it should have—until a new problem showed up.
“Bell!”
That voice…?
I turned my head—and there was Leon, sprinting toward us, breathless.
What the hell?! Why is he here?!
On instinct, I whipped around to Kalz. His face looked way too much like a lion today, and my heart plummeted. He seemed to catch on immediately and crouched low. I didn’t hesitate—I dumped the entire contents of my bag right on top of him. If you didn’t look too closely, it just looked like a messy pile of clothes. Suspicious? Yeah. Obvious? Not quite.
By the time Leon reached me, he grabbed both my shoulders.
“Bell! Are you okay? Nothing happened, right?!”
“What the hell are you even talking about?!”
I was already mad as hell, and now this? No way was I going to play nice.
“Have you completely lost it? Get the hell out of here!”
“I know, but that’s not what matters right now.”
“Oh, of course it’s not. You and Kalz both—always talking over me like your words are the only ones that matter! This is seriously driving me insane.”
“Alright, alright. But please—just come with me, okay?”
“Come with you where?!”
I yelled, yanking my hand out of his grasp. My poor wrist—what did it do to deserve all this today? At this rate, my joints were gonna snap.
Even while shouting, I couldn’t stop glancing at Kalz. Thankfully, Leon didn’t seem too interested in the weirdly oversized “pile of laundry.”
“It’s urgent. I’ll explain everything on the way. I swear, I’m doing this for your sake.”
“Oh really? If you actually cared about me, you’d back the hell off.”
“…Sorry, Bell.”
His face hardened like he’d made a decision—and then suddenly, he picked me up by the waist.
Just like that, for the second time today, my feet left the damn ground.
What the hell is this?! Did the two of them plan this together or something?!
“Put me down, now!”
“Swear at me later.”
“You crazy bastard!!”
I tried to knee him like I did Kalz earlier, but Leon had already locked my legs in place. Sure, I was trying to run away—but this? This wasn’t how I imagined it at all.
Grrrrrrrr…
…Nope. That sound should not be happening right now.
“Let. Go. Of him.”
“Who… huh?!”
Oh, no. No no no. This has to be a dream. Please, please let this be a dream!
But the sheer force with which Leon was pulled away from me made it painfully clear—this was reality.
“A m-monster…”
Leon backed away, pale and trembling. Then his eyes met mine, and he shouted in panic.
“Bell, run! It’s not safe!”
Oh, for f—God, I want to scream, but I had to clean this up first.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to calm the pounding in my head, and let out a slow breath.
“It’s fine. He’s not dangerous. Just calm down.”
“What are you talking about? You know this monster?!”
“I mean, yeah, it’s surprising, but, uh… he’s kind of the castle’s pet lion…”
“Oh? I’m a pet now? You were calling me ‘sir’ earlier.”
“Wait—‘sir’?! As in… the master of the mansion?! That’s you?!”
“Correct.”
Is he insane?! We’re supposed to be keeping this a secret, and he just straight-up announces it?!
Kalz leaned in and whispered by my ear, clearly noticing my shocked expression.
“You haven’t forgotten the nondisclosure clause, have you?”
“What—you’re the one who just exposed everything!”
“Exactly. Which means now, even if you slip up, the magic won’t punish you.”
So he outed himself just to deactivate the magic first?
Seriously?! That’s the reason?! He’s completely out of his mind.
And me? I must be too, because part of me was actually touched.
“Step away from Bell.”
Leon, now realizing who Kalz really was, looked completely shaken. But he wasn’t even trying to hide the hostility in his eyes.
