Chapter 9

 

***

 

“Are you really a little lamb? Do you only eat when the master tells you to?”

Melody shook her head while holding a spoon.

“Sheep don’t wait for someone to tell them to eat; they graze on their own.”

“You seem even worse than sheep. Hurry up and eat.”

Melody looked at the large plate of food given to her, then spoke to the grandmother again.

“I can’t eat this much.”

“Are you asking me to prepare the meal again!”

“Just reducing it would be fine. They say if you leave food, you have to eat it all in hell.”

“Then leave it and eat it in hell. You probably haven’t stored up any food to eat there anyway.”

That’s true.

If Melody goes to hell, she’ll starve. She’s never left any food before. There wasn’t even anything to leave behind.

So, Melody began eating, following the grandmother’s wise advice.

Unfortunately, she failed to store up food for hell this time too. It was too soft and delicious, so she ended up eating it all.

Her stomach swelled up, and she felt like her skin got thinner.

“You don’t even have the luck to eat. You’ll starve even in hell. You might as well go to heaven.”

The grandmother muttered as she cleared the plates.

“Grandmother.”

Melody cautiously started a conversation, looking at the busy grandmother’s back.

“What is it? Don’t tell me you want me to bring you a fairy tale book.”

“No. I just wanted to apologize for using your bed.”

“My bed? You think I would let you use my bed? This is a guest room.”

“A guest room?!”

Melody was shocked.

“It’s absurd for me to stay in a guest room!”

“What else do you expect? Should I carry you to the barn?”

The grandmother’s reply was sharp, but she softened a bit after seeing Melody’s expression.

She seemed to expect Melody to prefer the barn.

“Anyway, the Duke called you a guest, so it can’t be helped. Stay here quietly. You’re not planning to defy the Duke’s will, are you?”

“Well…”

But still.

Melody replied weakly, watching the grandmother and carefully asked again.

“Really, is it okay for me… to stay here?”

Warm baths, meals in bed, and a fancy room.

It almost felt like Melody was the protagonist of a romance fantasy.

“Hmph, having one lazy lamb in the Ducal House won’t change anything.”

“I can be useful too!”

Melody quickly listed her strengths. At least she didn’t want to be known as ‘doing nothing’.

“I can read and clean well. And also…”

What else am I good at? How can I be helpful?

“I talk well! I can talk all day!”

“We don’t need a chatterbox lamb in the Ducal House.”

Melody felt more urgent at the blunt response.

She kneeled on the bed, trying to think of more strengths.

“I’m fast at running. Actually, I’m pretty sturdy. I can move even if I haven’t eaten for three days. That could be useful!”

Her voice grew louder, filled with desperation.

The grandmother silently stared at the child’s face for a while, then turned away, murmuring.

“Your voice is certainly loud.”

“Yes, I have a loud voice!”

“Hmph, I was the same when I was young. When I yelled from the second floor, all the maids on the first floor bowed. Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Amazing. I can’t do that.”

“Of course. Now you see? Before you act all high and mighty, you have a mountain of things to learn.”

The grandmother picked up the organized tray.

“If you know your place, get ready. Maybe your chatty mouth will quiet down a bit if you sleep deeply.”

“I can clear the plates. Please let me do it.”

Melody crawled out of the bed and spread her arms wide in front of the grandmother, indicating she wanted the tray.

“Are you still not repentant, trying to show off? What did I just say?!”

“…That I have a mountain of things to learn.”

“Yes, you do understand. You’d do well to remember the sight of me moving gracefully with this tray. Got it?”

Melody nodded.

“And about the candy jar beside the bed…”

“I never touch other people’s things! Never!”

“Don’t state the obvious. And remember, if you eat and don’t rinse your mouth right after, you’ll be in trouble.”

“Does that mean I can eat the candy?”

“Yes, but if you eat it right before mealtime, I’ll spank you so hard your behind splits in two.”

But a behind is already two parts.

Melody kept the words that rose to her throat to herself.

The grandmother warned, “Don’t wander around on your own, or you’ll get a scolding,” and then left the room, closing the door behind her.

Melody spun around the room, admiring the decorations and book covers, and then yawned lengthily.

It seems the fatigue from the long journey hadn’t eased off yet.

Without eating any candy, Melody went back to bed and fell into a deep sleep.

 

***

 

Melody woke up.

She pulled down the blanket that was up to her head and looked outside the large window. Judging by the color of the sky, it was still dawn.

“Hoo…”

Then, a familiar sound came from behind Melody. It was Loretta, who was deeply asleep and occasionally murmuring.

Melody quickly turned around to check on Loretta sleeping behind her.

The little girl seemed to have had a similar day to Melody.

She was washed clean and dressed in fine clothes, having received all the care due to the precious daughter of the Ducal House. This eased Melody’s mind a bit.

“I also received very good care, Loretta. Thanks to you.”

Melody neatly spread Loretta’s blanket and closed her eyes again.

Listening to Loretta’s peaceful breathing, Melody’s heart softened, and she felt sleep approaching once more.

The two girls slept close together on the large bed, feeling each other’s warmth, just as they used to do in Melody’s old house.

 

***

 

Morning came.

Due to a long-standing habit, Melody slept with the blanket pulled over her head. This way, her nose was a little less cold during the harsh winters…

At the Ducal House, Melody wouldn’t have to worry about her face getting cold, but old habits die hard. She opened her eyes thinly within the thick blanket.

As she hovered between sleep and wakefulness, she heard someone stirring beyond the blanket. It wasn’t Loretta, as the sound came from beside the bed.

‘Is it the grandmother?’

Thinking she should get up quickly, she heard an unfamiliar voice.

“Really ugly.”

It was a young boy’s voice, slightly childish with an unmistakable spite.

Melody felt she knew who it was without needing to see his face. The information was already sufficient.

In the novel “Ducal Children,” Loretta’s three brothers appeared. The eldest, Claude Baldwin, Melody’s favorite character from her past life, was currently at the academy. The youngest, Jeremiah, showed rare magical talent for a noble and was being educated at the mage tower.

Thus, the only young boy who would be at the mansion at this time was the second brother, ‘Ronny Baldwin.’ He was known for the longest yet shortest phase of denial about his obsession. No matter how much time passed, nothing pleasant ever came from his unpleasant mouth. Yet, in truth, he had thought Loretta incredibly cute from the moment he saw her, wishing she were really his sister. A true ‘love at first sight’ in the novel.

“What’s this, so tiny… Is this really a Baldwin?”

He continued to grumble discontentedly. Despite his words, he was actually overwhelmed by how adorable Loretta was. For an eleven-year-old, he was remarkably insincere.

“Why sleep in the next room instead of your own? Such a pathetic girl.”

Melody was delighted by this new information. Loretta was assigned a neighboring guest room, indicating a significant connection between her and Melody.

While Melody was moved, the boy’s muttering continued.

“Why so dull? I’m here, and not even a thank you, just sleeping. Such bad manners.”

He moved closer to the bed.

Melody suddenly remembered a part of the novel.

This spiteful boy, about to pinch the sleeping Loretta’s cheek until it turned red. It was an incident sufficient to sour the newly met siblings’ relationship. That unfortunate history must not be repeated. Especially since Loretta was exhausted from the carriage ride, she deserved undisturbed sleep.

Just as Ronny leaned on the bed and reached out his hand toward Loretta,

“Wake up, you lying little… huh?!”

His hand never reached Loretta’s cheek. A girl from under the blanket pile behind Loretta had suddenly popped out and grabbed his hand.

Ronny, still holding the girl’s gaze, was unfamiliar with such a simple act of making eye contact. As the second son of the great Baldwin Ducal House, everyone he met usually bowed in respect, especially girls of his age who were well-mannered and never made eye contact.

But this girl, how dare she make eye contact with a Baldwin prince!

It was unforgivable. No matter how pretty the girl, he couldn’t let it pass.

“How dare…”

Just as he was about to assert his identity, the girl pressed her left index finger near her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

Ronny, who hadn’t seen such a gesture since he was six, was at a loss for words again.

As he shut his mouth, the girl looked down at the child sleeping on the bed with a gaze full of care.

Something felt off…

Ronny felt an inexplicable sensation wriggling in his stomach.