Chapter 4

 

*** 

 

Melody’s earnest plea made the doctor pause.

“That little girl… you mean her?”

“Yes!”

Despite her fervent response, the doctor was reluctant.

In the village, treating a slave brought by a slave trader was almost like being complicit in their crimes. This was also why the villagers despised the slave trader and her daughter.

They feared getting involved in any trouble related to them.

“I was careless. I broke the plate, and… Loretta got hurt.”

Melody’s hesitation prompted her to start begging.

“Child.”

The doctor looked at Melody with pity, gently stroking her drenched hair.

This delicate girl always took care of the household chores despite being mistreated by her mother.

She never asked for help and tried to do everything with her small hands.

Perhaps it was her resilience.

The villagers started to view Melody a bit differently from her mother, developing a sense of sympathy for her.

“Please, Doctor.”

And now, for the first time, the usually resilient girl was asking for someone else’s help, for another child.

“Melody.”

The doctor felt a pang of heartache.

Melody had never come to the clinic for her own injuries.

The doctor had always found her in the streets and treated her small and big wounds at the clinic.

“Please help Loretta.”

“…Sigh.”

The doctor sighed deeply. It was difficult to ignore a child’s plea, especially when it was the first time Melody had earnestly asked for something.

‘I wish it was for her own sake…’

“Alright, alright. But you should stay here and warm up by the fire. You might catch a cold.”

“No, I can’t. Loretta will be scared without me. She’s afraid of the rain.”

“No, but still.”

“Quickly, Doctor!”

Pulled by the child, the doctor grabbed her medical bag and an umbrella and ran outside.

The rain grew heavier. The doctor and Melody shared an umbrella, but they were almost as wet as if they hadn’t used it at all.

They ran hurriedly and soon arrived near Melody’s house.

‘Just a little further!’

Melody carefully avoided slipping in the rain, breathing heavily.

“Melody! Stop!”

Suddenly, the doctor grabbed Melody’s arm and halted her, just a few steps from her house.

“We need to hurry, Doctor!”

Melody was somewhat frantic, tugging at the doctor’s sleeve, but the doctor didn’t move.

She crouched down to comfort Melody.

“Calm down, Melody. Do you see the carriage in front of your house?”

“…!”

Melody finally calmed down and looked at her house. Indeed, there were several carriages parked in front, just as the doctor said.

“Do you see that carriage with the blue light towards the ceiling?”

The doctor calmly pointed to the carriage at the very back. As Melody nodded, she continued to explain.

“That’s a carriage from the public safety force. And the carriages that came with it seem to be those of a noble lord.”

“…!”

The carriage of a noble lord…

Melody momentarily felt her mind go blank.

Goodness. She must have really become foolish. Why hadn’t she thought of this until now?

The day the Duke would come to take Loretta.

In the original story, it was raining heavily like this.

‘…I see.’

Melody finally realized one important fact.

That today was the last day she would spend with Loretta.

…The day they would part.

 

* * *

 

The doctor gently stroked Melody’s shoulder with a kind hand.

“It would be better to return to our clinic first.”

“But…”

“Your mother has committed a crime that should not have been committed. There is no need for you to get involved too.”

She knew that…

That’s why Melody had tried to reduce her guilt as much as possible.

Though it seemed she had failed.

“The officers from the guard force are skilled in emergency medical treatment, so the child at your house should be alright by now.”

As the doctor said this, the door of her house opened.

The first thing that came into view was a man in a black suit. He opened a fancy umbrella and looked inside the house.

“That… person.”

While Melody muttered quietly, a small child with a limp came out of the house following him.

‘Loretta…’

Melody gazed intently at the small child who didn’t cover her ears even in the rain.

Well, Chapter 1 has now ended.

From now on, Loretta had no reason to be afraid of the rain. She had met her father, who would become a big umbrella for her.

Melody suddenly felt the small child who had been following her seemed a bit more distant.

How strange.

She had always hoped that Loretta would return home soon to live a luxurious and comfortable life.

But looking at Loretta, who now belonged to such a world, she felt a little sad.

‘I’m terrible, aren’t I.’

Melody clenched the hem of her dress.

And somehow, she didn’t want to show Loretta such a selfish side of herself.

“Melody.”

The doctor called her, as if urging her.

“You’re a smart child. Come with me. Although being a doctor is not easy on the body, you are righteous and intelligent, so you might do well.”

“But I am the daughter of a slave trader… The guards might come looking for you, doctor.”

“Melody is a daughter of our village. Everyone probably thinks so. Don’t worry, I will talk to the village chief as well.”

The village chief and the doctor had already worried and talked about Melody’s situation before.

Surely, if she were to be taught medicine, the village chief would be the first to be delighted.

“Will you come back with me?”

As the doctor asked again, Melody looked towards the front of her house for the last time.

Plop.

Her mother, who was dragged out of the house, had her face plunged into the muddy ground.

The gestures of the guards dealing with her were simply fierce. Frightened, Melody turned her trembling gaze away.

“Let’s go, it’s getting dangerous.”

The doctor hurriedly pulled the girl’s arm.

As they stepped away from the house.

Melody felt like she heard someone calling her from behind.

‘Melody!’

It was how Loretta used to call her, so she quickly turned around.

But by then, both the fancy carriage and the girl who had taught her small joys were no longer in sight.

Ah.

Melody realized she hadn’t even said goodbye in her heart.

 

* * *

 

Melody returned to the doctor’s house, got her wounds treated, and ate some warm stew.

“You must be tired. Sleep here.”

The kind doctor even offered her a bed for patients.

She obediently climbed into bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

The rustling texture felt strange. Yet, she firmly closed her eyes.

Even if the morning came, nothing would have changed.

As if there were hopes for tomorrow, she tried hard to fall asleep.

 

* * *

 

Melody woke up at dawn.

Last night, the sound of rain was noisy outside the window, but now it had completely stopped, and it was silent.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, blinking, she recalled the content of Chapter 1 of “Duke’s Children”.

The slave trader, using the youth of her daughter, begged for mercy, but the Duke did not allow it.

Rumors spread that afterwards, she was taken away and could not escape severe punishment.

Meanwhile, Loretta wakes up in the middle of a very fancy room, confused.

Then, maids come in, touching her cute cheeks and being happy.

And then the Duke appears.

He scolds the maids for touching his daughter, and then again when Loretta’s stomach growls.

Naturally, Loretta starts to see her father as a bit frightening.

Well… eventually, they become a loving father and daughter.

Melody got out of bed, tidied up the blankets, and put on the dress hanging on the wall.

It was slightly damp from yesterday’s rain.

‘I should go home and change my clothes.’

Probably no one would be there now, and the doctor wouldn’t likely oppose her going home.

In the kitchen, the doctor, who had bought bread early in the morning, was warming milk.

Melody thought she looked just like a ‘mother,’ one from a fairy tale.

“Are you up, Melody?”

“Good morning, Doctor.”

“Good to see your face color is better.”

Melody quickly helped her set the plates and warmed the cups.

“I’ve been thinking.”

The doctor carefully started as she put white bread on Melody’s plate.

“What if you stayed in this house permanently?”

“…What?”

“You know, my son left to become a knight. There’s a spare room, and it would be much easier for me to look after you here.”

Worry for her only son showed on her face.

Despite saying she didn’t need her wayward son, it seemed she was always concerned about him.

“Is Isaiah…”

Still no news?

Melody wanted to ask but stopped herself. The expression on her face was enough to know the answer.

Bad Isaiah.

Not contacting such a kind mother.

Melody recalled Isaiah’s playful smile and slightly furrowed her brow.

“Don’t worry about my son, Melody. Right now, we should think about keeping you safe.”

“I can go back home.”

“That would be hard for me to agree to.”

The girl’s mother was a slave trader and naturally associated with bad people.

Those people were cruel even to children, so who knew what atrocities they might commit if they found Melody alone.

“You still need protection. It might be safer for you to stay here.”

She added one important condition.

“Of course, only if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind…”

Melody put down the piece of bread she had torn off and bowed her head towards her.

“You’re saying this because you’re worried about me. Thank you.”

“Tha, that’s not exactly it. I am a very strict doctor, you see.”

The doctor, a bit embarrassed, coughed needlessly and turned her head away.

“Can I think about it a bit more?”

“Yes. Such things can’t be decided hastily.”

“And after breakfast, I should go home. I need to change clothes and also…”

“You’ll need to sort several things out. But if you see well-dressed people in front of the house, don’t approach them carelessly and come straight back here. Understand?”

With warm concern, Melody nodded and quickly finished her meal.