Chapter 19

 

***

 

“Melody! There’s no need to listen to that madman’s words. Sometimes senile spirits wander around this mansion.”

Soon, wrinkled fingers gently stroked Melody’s face, wiping her tears while offering comfort to the startled girl.

Was she unaware that her warmth made Melody cry even more?

“Oh dear, please stop crying. Your breakfast will come out with the tears!”

Of course, the elder didn’t back down. He approached Mrs. Higgins, starting to point and accuse.

“This crazy old woman, she’s already taken my money as a reward for finding the Duke’s daughter. She intended this from the beginning!”

“Did you give her a lot?!”

“A substantial amount.”

“That’s good. No more business here, so get lost, you madman.”

“Has this loud old woman gone crazy?!”

Enraged to his wit’s end, the elder roughly pushed Mrs. Higgins’ shoulder.

“Ah!”

She screamed and fell to the ground with a thud, seemingly injured.

“Grandmother!”

Melody, snapping back to her senses, hurried to support her, but the elder grabbed her again.

He forcefully shoved Melody into the carriage.

“Let’s go! I’ll take you to your mother right now!”

Before the door even closed, the carriage started, and Melody hastily looked out the window.

Servants and maids who were standing around were supporting Mrs. Higgins, looking worriedly at the carriage Melody was in.

Although they did not step forward for Melody, she felt their gaze was enough.

The Duke’s household was their workplace. They couldn’t possibly defy the elder.

Melody sighed deeply and let her head fall.

“Being a sinner and living in the capital is suicidal.”

“I haven’t committed any crime.”

“Your mother is a slave trader, so you are a slave trader. That means you’re a sinner.”

Melody recalled what the Duke had said.

“Did you suggest to your mother to start the slave trade?”

She had temporarily forgotten, but in truth, people’s thoughts were closer to what the elder was saying.

A sinner’s daughter is a sinner.

Unfair, but that was the reality.

As Melody didn’t resist and bowed her head again, the elder finally relaxed and muttered to himself.

“The Duke has gone mad. Picking up something like this and bringing it into the mansion. Disgraceful. Tsk.”

If the fact that a sinner was staying as a guest in the Duke’s household were to be revealed, it would be problematic.

Those who loved to exaggerate might start saying that the Duke was supporting the slave trade.

Considering his blunt nature, he surely thought of humans as mere objects.

“Um…”

Melody, who had been sitting quietly, began to calm down and think more clearly. Maybe because of this, a question came to her mind.

“Did you come to the capital because you discovered I was a sinner who came with Loretta?”

“Of course.”

The elders were shocked when they completed their investigation of the child who came with the Duke’s potential daughter.

How could he bring someone related to a slave trader into his home?

Moreover, when they heard that the Duke was treating Melody very generously, the elders became even more worried.

What if Loretta really turned out to be his daughter? Would the Duke then ‘sponsor’ this sinner?

That would be a problem.

Being sponsored by the Duke’s household was a great honor, and all nobles paid attention to it.

If it turned out that the person being sponsored was related to a slave trader, the news would spread rapidly in noble society, causing great embarrassment for the Duke.

“Would I let someone like you tarnish the Duke’s household’s honor?”

“…I see.”

Melody murmured in a hollow voice.

She realized it now.

The original plot had changed again.

The elders’ target wasn’t Loretta; it was Melody from the beginning.

She was happy to be the target instead of Loretta, but it wasn’t entirely a cause for celebration.

In the world of “Duke’s Children”, Loretta goes through some hardships but grows up safely, finds love, and is happy.

That’s expected for the female protagonist.

Melody didn’t want to change that ending by any means.

But if Melody kept changing things at her side…

She clenched her fist near her heart. It was beating wildly with anxiety.

What was I trying to do?

If Loretta follows the original story, there is guaranteed happiness at the end. And here I am, changing things under the guise of ‘helping’.

What if I end up altering Loretta’s perfect future?

Crazy!

“You plan to live well by yourself, clinging to the Duke’s household, more depraved than a slave trader!”

The elder’s words from a moment ago were not at all incorrect.

In recent days, her life had indeed been comfortable and well-fed, clinging to the Duke’s household.

What’s so wrong with knowing a bit of the future?

Even without her help, they would ultimately overcome everything with their own wisdom and strength.

‘I was arrogant…’

She liked being treated specially, thinking she could become someone important.

But in reality, she was just the daughter of a slave trader with terrible luck.

“…What now?”

If she got her mother out of prison, would she have to return to that house?

“It won’t take long. Your mother is also in the capital.”

The elder’s tone had softened somewhat, perhaps because Melody was obediently following him.

“My mother… is in the capital?”

“Lowly beings like slave traders aren’t welcome even in prison. She’s now in a solitary cell in the capital.”

Her mother must have suffered in the local prison.

Hopefully, her character hadn’t worsened.

Melody briefly turned her head, taking in the sights of the capital.

The splendid and beautiful streets seemed like a mirage.

‘Well…’

Upon reflection, it indeed was a mirage.

 

***

 

The priest pompously declared Loretta to be the Duke’s daughter.

He thought the Duke and Loretta might embrace in joy, but there was no such response.

The Duke just nodded, as if expecting it, and Loretta, sitting beside him, muttered, ‘Who doesn’t know that? Melody always told me,’ seeming somewhat bored.

Facing the father and daughter, who oddly mirrored each other’s attitudes, the priest quickly wrapped up the proceedings.

“Duke, Loretta misses Melody.”

Hearing this, the Duke and Butler Higgins hurried to prepare to return.

By now, the Duke’s messenger would have informed the mansion, and preparations for celebration were likely underway.

The Duke realized he hadn’t asked about the children’s favorite foods for the party.

Soon, the carriage stopped in front of the mansion.

Butler Higgins, who sat on the driver’s seat, alighted first and opened the door.

But something about the mansion’s atmosphere was… off.

The Duke had a bad premonition.

 

***

 

“The girl left after receiving the money, quite pleased.”

Another elder reported to the Duke, claiming Melody had demanded money and left the Duke’s household.

“The child asked for money?”

“Yes, and a substantial amount too. Unbelievable. She must have planned this from the start.”

That was nonsense. The girl who was overwhelmed by a small ribbon wouldn’t demand money so brazenly.

It was clearly the elders’ doing.

They must have disliked the idea of the Duke sponsoring Melody.

The Duke immediately stood up. He couldn’t waste time here.

“Where are you going?”

“To confirm.”

“Confirm what?”

“That the child really said those words. I need to hear it myself.”

“You don’t believe me?!”

He didn’t answer. It was obvious he didn’t trust the elder.

The Duke asked the butler to prepare the fastest horse.

“You shouldn’t go now! It will cause trouble!”

The elder grabbed the Duke’s arm, trying to stop him.

“Trouble will befall you.”

“No, the girl will be in trouble, Duke.”

The elder sighed as if helpless.

“You don’t plan to separate her from her mother, do you?”

“What do you mean…?”

The Duke was about to question him but then understood.

If Melody had a significant sum of money, one of her actions could be to free her mother from prison.

The elder had given her enough money to potentially erase the criminal record secretly.

“That’s illegal. It cannot be allowed…”

“I know. But she helped you find your daughter. Can’t you turn a blind eye just this once?”

A strange feeling came over the Duke.

From the elder’s words, it sounded like he, the Duke, was the villain.

Taking a parent away from a young child would indeed be the act of a cruel noble.

“A child that young shouldn’t be forcibly separated from her parent. Don’t you agree?”

That was true. Concerned about the girl, the Duke had even delayed his schedule to stay an extra day in her village.

“Although she attempted to sell the Duke’s daughter, I hope you can forgive her this time. For the child’s sake.”

Forgive a slave trader for the sake of Melody?

“Besides, this place is inconvenient for an ordinary child to live.”

He couldn’t argue with that. Recalling how Melody was intimidated by him, she always seemed subdued, as if walking on eggshells, even though there was no need for it.

Perhaps the vastness of the mansion was overwhelming her.

“The Duke could quietly assist the child in settling into a proper village. If she wishes, she could even settle in your domain.”

“That child is more important to Loretta than anyone…”

“Don’t worry. My granddaughter is about the lady’s age. She could easily replace her as a playmate.”

No, that’s not possible.

Those children couldn’t replace each other with someone else.

“Surely you don’t mean…”

The elder looked at the Duke with a furrowed brow, deeply concerned.