Chapter 24

 

***

 

“Melody.”

Mrs. Higgins called Melody back as she was about to leave after greeting her.

“Yes?”

“Did you hear that the eldest young master is coming tomorrow?”

“Ah… No.”

Melody shook her head with a slightly awkward expression. She hadn’t heard the news, but she had been thinking it was about time for his arrival. It was his role to help Loretta adapt safely to life in the capital.

“He is like the mirror of the noble families’ heirs.”

Melody almost replied, ‘That’s expected,’ but quickly shut her mouth. Fortunately, Mrs. Higgins didn’t notice her strange reaction.

“Serve tea to the young master once a day. He always drinks tea in the afternoon.”

“Me, serve tea?”

“I’ve spoken to the Duke about it. He agreed to give you ‘a small errand’ that would be helpful for you.”

“Once… only?”

“Of course, just once! Do you think you could even pretend to be a servant in this mansion! It’s not a position to be taken lightly.”

Melody was aware of that. The pride of the servants in the Duke’s household was evident.

“Melody.”

Grandmother called her with a stern voice.

“You are a guest of the Duke.”

“…”

“You need to learn to behave in a manner befitting that status.”

“I am learning that from a teacher.”

After the incident with the elders, the Duke had ordered Melody to be treated as ‘the Duke’s guest’ within the mansion. To prevent similar incidents.

Consequently, all the servants were required to show respect to Melody. And Melody, in turn, began learning basic manners to match the treatment she received.

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ve become a person of dignity yet.”

“Do you think such things can be learned overnight? You need continuous exposure to excellent examples.”

“Is that why you allowed me to serve tea to the young master? To show me an example?”

“Hmph, yes. Though I doubt a wild girl like you could even reach the young master’s feet.”

“…”

That was too true for Melody to respond. She often found manners lessons difficult.

“Looking at your face, it seems you lack confidence.  If you don’t want to learn, then stop.”

“No, that’s not it! I might not be confident, but…”

Melody fidgeted with her hands.

“I’ll still do it.”

“Even though you’re not confident?”

“If I don’t try, how will I know?”

Melody answered with forced cheerfulness. In fact, she was happy to have something to do, even more than learning ‘manners’ by observation.

“Fine, as long as you understand. But if you go about prancing around under the guise of learning dignity and upset the young master, know that I will hang you upside down from the zelkova tree!”

Although the threat of being hung from a tree was scary, Melody sensed a warm concern in those words. She  gently hugged Mrs. Higgins’ shoulders.

“Thank you, Grandmother. I’ll really do my best!”

Startled, Mrs. Higgins sat up, but before she could scold Melody, Melody hurriedly left, saying, “Ah, I’ll be late for my lesson!” Mrs. Higgins watched Melody leave, then lay back down, muttering, “Truly an unpredictable lamb.”

 

***

 

When the maids heard that Melody was in charge of Claude Baldwin’s afternoon tea time, they all screamed, “Kyaa, I’m so jealous!”

“The young master will surely show his gentlemanly virtues to Miss Melody.”

“He’s kind to everyone.”

“Despite being only fifteen, he’s unbelievably mature.”

“He’s handsome now, but as an adult, he’ll be even more dashing…”

Melody nodded slowly to the maids’ comments, already knowing this basic information. Moreover, she had high-level information that the maids didn’t know.

Firstly, as the brother in a childcare novel, he eventually came to cherish and love his suddenly-appeared younger sister. He played the perfect brother role, endlessly showering Loretta with affection and admiration.

However, his true character was revealed when Loretta grew up and began to explore romantic relationships.

“…He chased away the men around Loretta with just his fierce gaze.”

Given his usually gentle image, this intimidating look was all the more effective. Half of the young men smitten with the beautiful Miss Loretta had to give up because of his menacing stares.

Readers watching this would comment, “At this rate, our Loretta might never get married…! Ah, but that’s too good! Forget marriage, go Claude, big brother!” (Melody had also ‘liked’ that comment.)

So, unless Melody proposed to marry Loretta, it was unlikely she’d see his ‘true self’.

 

***

 

It was raining lightly on the dawn of Claude’s return to the Duke’s household. When he alighted from the carriage, Butler Higgins quickly opened an umbrella for him.

“Welcome back, young master.”

“It’s been a while, Higgins. Give me the umbrella.”

Higgins tried to refuse, but Claude insisted on holding the umbrella himself, sharing it with Higgins.

“I’m fine.”

“If Higgins catches a cold, it will trouble father.”

The fifteen-year-old boy smiled kindly at the respected butler. Higgins, looking at the boy who had grown so much, murmured in admiration,

“You’ve really grown a lot.”

“Have I? That would be great. I want to become a man as splendid as Higgins.”

“Don’t become a man like me, young master.”

“Don’t insult the man I’ve respected for fifteen years, Higgins.”

“Oh, stop it. Someone might hear you!”

Higgins, showing a rare look of disgust, quickly went inside. A slight smile suggested he didn’t mind it too much.

Following Higgins into the large hall, Claude was greeted by many servants of the Duke’s household. He warmly greeted the servants he knew well by name.

“Father?”

“The Duke was on his way to meet you but got held up in a meeting.”

“I suppose Ronny and the new princess are asleep by this time?”

“If you are referring to the young lady, as expected, she is asleep. She’s still young, after all. Ah, and besides the young lady, there is another guest of the Duke staying here.”

“A guest of my father?”

At Claude’s question, Higgins quickly relayed the story about Melody, keeping it brief.

“That’s… quite an unusual guest.”

“You will soon grow fond of her too, young master. She’s a lovely person.”

Instead of responding, Claude simply smiled at Higgins’s words.

 

***

 

In the morning, Melody went to look for Loretta. On days without rain, Loretta often slept alone in her room. Probably because Ronny teased her, saying, ‘If you can’t sleep in your own room, you’ll always be treated like a baby.’

Knock, knock.

Melody knocked and waited, but unusually, it was quiet beyond the door. Could Loretta still be sleeping? Just as Melody was anxiously tapping her foot, a passing maid informed her of Loretta’s whereabouts.

“The young lady is in the garden with the eldest young master.”

“The… eldest young master?!” Melody asked in surprise, having heard he was to arrive that afternoon.

“It seems the young lady was curious about him. He advanced his schedule to meet her.”

“Ah.”

That sounded just like Claude. He found Loretta fascinating and always tried to keep her close. Melody was curious about this new character but didn’t want to intrude on the siblings’ first meeting, so she decided to return to her room. However, the maid shared Loretta’s words just in time.

“Oh, right. The young lady asked several times if Melody was awake.”

“Me? Why?”

“Perhaps she wants to show you off to the young master?”

“No way.”

Why would Loretta brag about Melody?

“Really. The young lady adores Miss Melody. Oh, that’s right.”

The maid, as if suddenly remembering, brought out a hat with a large brim from Loretta’s wardrobe. It was the hat the Duke had given her.

“Miss Melody, if you bring it to her, she will be happy. The sun is getting stronger, and she went out without a hat.”

Melody couldn’t let that be. For Loretta’s skin health, she needed to protect her from UV rays. She carefully took the hat offered by the maid and headed to the garden.

The large garden made finding Loretta easy since her favorite spots were limited. Today, she was near a small fountain. Melody didn’t approach right away but stood at a distance, admiring the scene before her.

Claude and Loretta, the two siblings, looked truly beautiful. Loretta, laughing heartily with a bit of dirt on her cheek, and her kind older brother, bending down to her level to talk.

Their light golden hair fluttered pleasantly in the breeze.

“Melody, Melody!”

Loretta, spotting Melody, started hopping in place. Her light steps indicated that the meeting with Claude had been very satisfying. She looked incredibly happy.

Melody, following the manners taught by her teacher, greeted them politely and then approached the two. Of course, she didn’t forget to use honorifics when addressing Loretta in front of Claude.

“I brought the hat you forgot, Miss Loretta.”

Melody bowed respectfully.

“I am staying here thanks to the Duke’s kindness. My name is Melody.”

“I’ve heard about you. It’s okay, you can raise your head.”

At his prompting, she slightly lifted her head to find him still sitting in front of Loretta, his gaze fixed on Melody. Their eyes met for a moment.

“…”

Despite knowing it was impolite, Melody couldn’t take her eyes off his face. She knew from the original story that he was the most handsome boy in the capital and would grow into a fine young man.

‘I knew it, but…’

Actually seeing him in person, and so closely, made that fact feel even more real.

“Um, do I look that strange? So surprising that you’d gape at me?”

Caught off guard by his teasing remark, Melody quickly covered her mouth with Loretta’s hat she was holding. She hadn’t realized she had been staring with her mouth agape, captivated by his distinct features.

“Th-that’s not it!”

As Melody tried to muster an excuse with a flustered expression, Claude rose slowly from his seat, smiling.

“You’re an interesting person, Miss Melody. It’s nice to meet you.”

Claude stepped closer and gave a slight bow.

“I’m Claude.”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed for reasons she couldn’t quite understand, Melody turned her gaze away, awkwardly extending the hat towards him.