Episode 20
Damn it.
How on earth had that become his nickname?
The reason wasn’t hard to guess.
Without a doubt, one of Melissa’s ever-watchful parents—who never once let their guard down whenever he and Melissa were together—must have overheard their conversation that day.
Damn it. Hell.
The curses swirled inside Demius’s mouth, burning to escape.
But he couldn’t say them aloud. If he did, the words would spread through the entire village by sunset. And if Melissa ever heard that he had used such crude language… he would never forgive himself.
And that was how that wretched nickname—the Canary—had come to be.
When Melissa first heard it, she’d looked puzzled. But moments later, she’d burst into laughter and declared that it suited him perfectly.
Her joy had been so pure and bright that Demius hadn’t had the heart to tell her the truth—that the nickname was meant as mockery, not praise.
So he endured it.
For one whole year, he bore the jeers and snickers, remembering the smile on her face every time someone called him “the Canary.”
Just as Demius was recalling that tearful endurance, a voice as warm as sunlight reached his ears.
“Your singing, Mimi-ssi, is truly beautiful. I could listen to it every single day.”
“Truly?”
Demius couldn’t help but smile. The corners of his mouth lifted instinctively as he asked back.
Melissa nodded with bright conviction in her emerald eyes.
“Yes, truly! You’re just like a canary.”
Of course.
If Melissa said so, then he was a canary. Chirp.
Demius’s eyes softened as he surrendered all resistance.
“If you wish, I’ll sing for you anytime. After all, I am your canary.”
“Oh my, really?”
Melissa clasped her hands together in delight.
“Come to think of it, Mimi-ssi already has two wonderful nicknames!”
“…!”
Demius’s eyes widened, then slowly curved down with a faint smile.
‘Already,’ she said.
That phrasing… did that mean there might be more to come?
Yes, perhaps it was possible—three, maybe four…
If fortune smiled on him, perhaps even ten.
If only they could keep calling each other by such names, he thought he could die happily at the end of their one-year contract.
Lost in that blissful thought—his death plan, as it were—Demius suddenly remembered why he’d come here in the first place.
“Come to think of it, what were you searching for in the garden earlier?”
His gaze dropped slightly. He tried to sound casual, though his voice trembled faintly.
“Maybe it’s just me, but… that outfit looks a bit different from the one your mother gave you last time.”
Melissa’s eyes sparkled.
“You have such a good eye!”
She proudly spread her arms to show off her clothes.
“You’re right—it’s new!”
“New… clothes.”
Demius frowned.
What she was wearing looked nothing like what he would call new clothes.
The fabric was frayed and covered with pilling. If that was “new,” then the broken farming tools stored in the shed deserved the same title.
As Demius struggled to relax his furrowed brow, Melissa’s green eyes gleamed brightly.
“Remember that general store I went to with Mother last time? Well, I stopped by again, and they had several dresses just like this one! I was worried the one Mother gave me might wear out, so I bought a few extra as spares.”
Then she glanced around and whispered conspiratorially,
“Oh, but this is a secret, okay? Mother might feel hurt if she found out.”
Wink. Melissa closed one eye playfully.
Demius shut both of his tightly.
Cute.
When he opened them again, the texture of her “new” dress seemed soft and downy—like baby animal fur—and the frayed hem looked almost like delicate frills.
‘…No, no, no.’
Demius shook his head sharply, trying to knock the infatuation out of his mind. Then he steeled himself to speak.
“Still, that outfit—”
“Isn’t it lovely, though? It’s so comfortable! Mother must be such a kind soul to have thought of me!”
That kindness…
Demius bit his lip hard.
If her radiant smile dimmed even slightly, he knew he’d never forgive himself.
After a long moment of internal struggle, he finally managed to speak.
“…In that case, may I offer you something as well? I could make you a work outfit from sturdier, softer fabric.”
“I’ll have to refuse.”
Her quick, firm answer caught him off guard.
Melissa shook her head with a gentle smile.
“I’ve already received too much from you, Mimi-ssi. My wardrobe is full of your gifts already!”
Then, with a playful grin, she added,
“At this rate, I might not even get to wear them all within a year.”
One year.
The words struck him like a blow.
Only one year.
Such precious time—and here he was wasting it on trivial debates.
Demius let out a heavy sigh, finally surrendering.
“I see. In any case, what exactly were you doing here?”
“A treasure hunt!”
“…A treasure hunt?”
One of Demius’s eyebrows rose skeptically.
Melissa nodded with sparkling eyes.
“Yes! I was tending the garden we turned into a vegetable patch, and I found a box buried there. But I couldn’t find the key, so I’ve been looking around for it.”
A vegetable patch, she said.
Demius was suddenly reminded of his childhood.
That sunny patch of land had once been strictly off-limits. He’d wanted to play in the dirt there, but the head gardener had stopped him, saying it was sacred ground.
The gardener had long since retired, and Demius had forgotten all about it—until now.
There was a box buried there?
As Demius pondered this, Melissa’s bright eyes met his.
“Would you like to join me, Mimi-ssi?”
“Yes.”
The answer came instantly.
But wait—did she just say join me too?
Demius raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Is someone else already participating?”
Melissa’s face lit up.
“Shillen! And…”
Demius’s thoughts froze.
That brat—the one who had put Melissa in danger last time—was already doing a treasure hunt with her?
Damn it.
Demius was perfectly aware of how petty his jealousy was.
But awareness didn’t erase determination.
This was still a competition.
And in this particular contest, he had every advantage.
Unlike the boy, who’d only lived here for two years, Demius had spent his whole life within these castle walls.
Aside from his older brother and sister Nataliean, no one knew more about the castle’s hidden nooks and secret passages than he did.
“So,” Melissa continued cheerfully, “I decided that whoever finds the treasure first will receive a special prize—from me!”
“…Pardon?”
Demius blinked.
Melissa began counting on her fingers.
“There are quite a few participants—Shillen, Mona, Hannah, Liza, Rosy, Hans…”
Her fingers folded and unfolded endlessly.
By the time she finished, Demius felt the blood drain from his head.
He’d thought he had only one rival. But there were dozens.
…Still, it didn’t matter.
Demius nodded firmly, his eyes burning with resolve.
“I’ll be the one to win.”
A prize from Melissa—handmade, no less—was something he absolutely could not lose to anyone.
“Oh my, then maybe the prize should be something everyone loves—fried treats, perhaps?”
Melissa giggled brightly, but Demius was already planning his strategy.
Should he start with the castle interior?
No—better to begin with the garden.
Search thoroughly from the vegetable patch outward.
He clenched his fist, veins standing out on his hand.
This was war.
“Suspicious.”
Linburton’s eyes narrowed.
Lately, that stray cat had been prowling the castle with renewed enthusiasm—far more than before.
He’d even been spotted near the library and records office—places he’d never approached in the past.
That smiling face of his had carried an unusual look of deep contemplation as he muttered to himself, then turned away with a grim sigh.
But right in front of the records office?
Just as I thought.
A spy, clearly.
He must be gathering intelligence now that everyone had let their guard down.
Linburton laced his fingers under his chin and frowned.
It was plausible.
So he’d doubled the number of eyes watching Melissa.
But strangely enough, all those assigned to observe her came back with bizarre reports.
‘She asked us to join a treasure hunt.’
A treasure hunt?
When Linburton first heard that, his eyebrow twitched.
Was the spy now attempting to steal the castle’s treasures too?
But the strangest part was that she was openly inviting multiple people to join.
And even promised a reward for whoever found it first?
A bribe, perhaps?
