Chapter 30

 

***

 

“We are simply concerned about Your Grace.”

“If even our sincere concerns are met with such coldness, who would want to work for Your Grace?”

The vassals changed their strategy, appealing to his emotions with a look of deep injustice.

At that moment, the subject of their discussion, Melody, began approaching the hall.

She wore her usual plain dress, but there was one noticeable difference – her usually favorite ribbon was in a terrible state.

It was not only stained with deep, black marks but also torn and tattered at the ends.

Yet, she wore it on her head, and boldly so, in front of the Duke, the one who had gifted it to her.

The vassals were appalled at the sight.

“Good heavens, what is this? She seems to have no sense of her place.”

“Living off the grace bestowed by His Grace and yet daring to…!”

“Your Grace, the daughter of a criminal is nothing but a criminal. They are cruel and wicked by nature.”

“How dare she influence the precious young masters and the lady!”

While they continued throwing their accusations, Melody just kept approaching them.

When Melody stood next to the maids, one of the vassals scolded her.

“Come here right now and apologize to the Duke! How dare you hold your head high after treating an item bearing the family’s emblem like that!”

One of the maids grabbed Melody’s sleeve, seemingly advising her not to approach them.

Ordinarily, Melody would have deeply bowed to such a gesture, almost as if it were advice. Or she might not have come to such a gathering at all.

But this time was different.

Melody was quite angry.

She wanted to grab them by the collar and question their right and wrong.

Her heart was pounding near her chest, so she counted numbers in her head as she moved forward.

“You can’t solve anything just by panicking.”

Don’t panic. Stay calm. Just like Lord Claude had said.

When she counted to ten, she arrived between the Duke and the vassals.

The Duke quickly grabbed Melody’s hand and hid her behind his back.

He probably disliked the idea of a child being openly antagonized by the vassals.

Melody looked up at him from behind, slightly to the side.

He was genuinely angry.

How strange it was. To feel so blissfully happy at the sight of someone’s anger.

“Your Grace, are you still showing sympathy even after seeing what this child did to the item that represents the Duke’s house?!”

“You all!”

Just as the Duke’s voice began to rise,

Melody let go of his hand and quietly opened her mouth.

“I know my place.”

And she looked straight ahead, responding to their words.

“My mother is imprisoned as a criminal, and I live in this mansion solely by Your Grace’s favor.”

“You, you little…! How dare you speak so arrogantly! Someone like you…!”

“I know. At Your Grace’s single word, at a small change of heart.”

Melody untied the soiled ribbon and laid it on her palm.

“I will have to leave this mansion. I will lose everything.”

Fortunately, this statement was met with no resistance.

“So, given my situation, there’s no reason for me to deliberately damage the ribbon gifted by the Duke. His grace is the only reason I can stay here.”

Melody carefully clutched the ribbon she placed in her hand, treating it like a treasure.

“Even in this state, it’s a precious item to me.”

The vassals looked at the child holding the ribbon, then snorted and turned their heads.

“Do you think you can get away by saying you treasure it after destroying it?! Shouldn’t you have been more careful?!”

“That’s true.”

Melody nodded with a smile.

“I didn’t expect an adult to enter a child’s room just to tear up a ribbon.”

If she had known, she would have always been cautious, she thought, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

“Melody.”

The Duke, standing behind her, called her name with concern and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. But I’m sorry that the gift you gave me ended up like this…”

“…I didn’t want to make you apologize again.”

The Duke muttered, then looked sharply at the vassals, as if trying to gauge the culprit.

Several vassals couldn’t meet his gaze and bowed their heads.

“How dare you insult a guest staying under my name…?!”

Just as the Duke was about to scold them, Melody grabbed his sleeve.

“I’m okay, Your Grace. Please don’t be angry! I haven’t lost anything!”

I haven’t lost anything.

The Duke looked at the ribbon in her hand and thought about how shocked Melody must have been when she found it.

“See, even if the ribbon is like this, you still hold my hand.”

Melody looked back at the vassals and smiled.

“It just showed that someone harbors a very childish hostility towards me. Right now, I haven’t lost anything. I’m not hurt.”

“Melody.”

“So please, Your Grace, don’t punish the culprit.”

The Duke read something in Melody’s earnest expression.

‘Perhaps this child…’

Wants to keep the vassals who resent her indebted, preventing such incidents in the future.

Imposing a sense of debt is a pretty effective way to control people. How she knows that is uncertain.

“…Alright.”

The Duke still glared at the vassals with dissatisfaction.

If Melody hadn’t intervened, he wouldn’t have let them off easily.

The vassals quickly bowed even more deeply.

“I will completely respect your decision.”

The Duke quietly responded to the vassals surrounding him.

“Didn’t we say that only those who match the stature of the Ducal house can stay here?”

“…”

As the vassals struggled to respond, he promptly led Melody out of the room.

A few minutes later, a somewhat shabby carriage procession hastily left the Ducal estate.

 

***

 

That afternoon, Melody was experimenting with the maids.

They were trying to figure out how to remove the deep black stains from the ribbon and hat.

The wise maids suggested methods they knew, and with each attempt, the ribbon and lace began to regain their original colors.

However, they were saddened by the irreparable tears…

But Mrs. Higgins, who heard the news and hurried over, embroidered over the torn and stained areas.

Of course, she didn’t hold back her words.

“Did those madmen cause trouble again? Have those fools from the Ducal lands taken some kind of madness-inducing drug… or eaten something?”

Her last words were strangely softened.

Melody didn’t understand why Mrs. Higgins suddenly spoke so gently, but it was amusing, so she leaned on her knee and chuckled.

“There, all done. I wonder why the Duke chose such a tiny ribbon. It’s almost… oh, my eyes are hurting!”

The ribbon she showed had small sheep-shaped embroidery on it.

It was incredibly cute!

 

***

 

Night fell before Melody realized the day had passed.

She changed into her pajamas and wrapped a thin shawl around herself. It was time to read a book and fall asleep with Loretta.

“Do you think you can get away by saying you treasure it after destroying it?! Shouldn’t you have been more careful?!”

Standing in the quiet room, she recalled the words of the vassal from the morning.

Unnecessarily, Melody picked up the hat and ribbon that had been beautifully repaired throughout the day.

She was happy with the rejuvenated items, thanks to everyone’s efforts.

‘But still, I…’

Melody was startled and quickly shook off the thought filling her head.

Wasn’t that thought disregarding the care and attention of those who had looked after her all day?

She hugged the hat and ribbon tightly.

And then, the suppressed thoughts she had been holding back all day inadvertently spilled out.

In truth.

Melody really…

She had really loved the original look of her pretty hat.

She wanted to cherish the ribbon the Duke had bought for her twice for the rest of her life.

She had wanted to… but now.

“…”

A wave of sadness washed over her, more intense because she had been holding it back for so long.

Melody sat down on the spot and buried her head between her knees.

“…I’m sorry.”

As she apologized to no one in particular, she began to cry out loud.

Once started, her sobbing grew louder, soon completely overtaking her breathing.

And just when she was crying her heart out,

Knock, knock.

The sound of someone gently knocking on the door could be heard.

Melody hurriedly wiped her face.

She was afraid people might think she was ungrateful for crying even with the hat and ribbon everyone had worked so hard to fix.

But stopping tears once they start is difficult, and no matter how much she wiped, new tears kept rolling down her cheeks.

‘What should I do?’

Knock, knock.

The knocking sounded again, this time a bit quicker than before.

It seemed almost like a message urging her to open the door immediately.

‘I can’t open the door with my face like this.’

Melody thought of a somewhat cowardly trick.

If she didn’t respond, perhaps they would think she was asleep?

Then she wouldn’t have to show anyone her distressed state and could be alone.

She felt a bit sorry for the person who came to visit.

The knocking continued.

Melody decided to remain silent, keeping her lips tightly shut. She couldn’t help but let out quiet sobs.

Soon, she heard a sigh from outside the door.

Melody’s ears perked up involuntarily at the sound.

“There’s nothing we can do, Loretta. It seems Melody has fallen asleep already. I know you wanted to see her, but…”

It was Claude. And it appeared Loretta had come with him, holding his hand.