Chapter 74

 

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“He often comes to visit in front of the mansion. I go out to the garden and talk to him for a while through the bars. Isaiah brings gifts too.”

“Gifts?”

“Things he finds interesting on his way here. Like peculiar stones, branches good for making toys, or sometimes flowers.”

Since he works in the luxurious prison of the capital, he occasionally manages to get expensive winter flowers for free.

“I see, every week then…”

Claude murmured with a concerned look, prompting Melody to reassure him.

“Don’t worry. Lady Loretta doesn’t meet him. Are you worried she might pick up Isaiah’s cheeky attitude?”

“Of course, that’s part of my concern.”

…As if that’s all he was worried about.

“But why is Isaiah here?”

Melody was now somewhat familiar with the capital’s security system, enough to be included in children’s textbooks.

For crimes, the police force.

For fires, the fire brigade.

So, the fire brigade and police should be at the scene, not the knights guarding the central prison.

Those knights only move to make urgent arrests of nobles or to apprehend magicians beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

‘Does that mean…’

Does this imply someone extraordinary was involved in today’s incident?

“You seem to have asked a question and found the answer yourself.”

“Not the exact answer, though.”

The two moved a bit closer to the building where the explosion occurred. However, they couldn’t get too close due to the crowd of onlookers.

“Be careful.”

Claude pulled Melody’s arm closer to him, cautioning her, probably worried she might get hurt by the adults pushing around.

As the acrid smell hit her nose, Melody grimaced. Soon, Claude held a handkerchief to her nose.

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. But could you please take a closer look at the accident scene?”

“……?”

She wasn’t sure why he was asking this, but curiosity about the accident made her take a closer look.

The scale wasn’t as large as she had thought. Only one window was broken, and the bricks around it were cracked and blackened.

“Do you notice anything?”

Claude’s question was laced with a strange expectation.

It seemed like he really hoped Melody would notice something. But nothing special caught her eye.

After all, how could an ordinary person, just by looking at a distant accident scene, offer any insight?

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“It’s an odd accident scene. The explosion started both inside and outside simultaneously, scattering broken glass in all directions. The inside looked like it had been hit by a giant whirlwind or something.”

“I… didn’t notice that.”

“You’d need to see inside to understand.”

“So I really can’t know. I’m just an ordinary…”

Miss Melody.”

Then he slightly lowered his posture, bringing his lips close to her ear.

“After hearing the story I’ve just told you.”

His whisper sent shivers down her spine. It sounded rather eerie.

“Is there really nothing that comes to mind?”

Well… there was.

A whirlwind-like wind, broken windows, and an irregular explosion.

She knew of an incident where all three phenomena occurred.

But Melody’s knowledge of that incident was purely because she had read the original work. It wasn’t something she experienced personally, so she couldn’t tell him, “I know about it.”

“I’m sorry, but I… don’t know anything. Not anything.”

Perhaps because she wasn’t used to lying, her words were a little stuttered.

What if Claude pointed that out and pressed her further? What if he insisted she must have some guess?

“That’s so.”

But, surprisingly, he backed off quite easily.

“Thank you for answering.”

“Oh, no problem.”

“I’m sorry for questioning you as if I suspected you. I just thought, since you were with Loretta when she woke up, you might know something.”

“What?”

She asked in surprise, and he shrugged nonchalantly.

“It just seems like Jeremiah is hiding something.”

It appears that Jeremiah and Claude had met separately after that day. Moreover, the meeting didn’t seem to go well, judging by Claude’s somewhat dark expression.

“Hiding… what?”

“I managed to get his report with the help of the Tower. About Loretta.”

Although he couldn’t be sure, Claude had a feeling something important was missing from Jeremiah’s report.

“Jeremiah is a man of principles.”

He added in a low voice, “So maybe that’s why he doesn’t agree with me.”

“Anyway, he knows he should be truthful in his work. For long-term peace. But he didn’t do that this time.”

He omitted some of what Loretta saw and experienced from his report.

“Since he’s a cunning boy, he might have thought he needed to hide something.”

Just like the duke never shared the investigation results of the carriage accident with anyone.

Feeling a sense of unease, Melody clutched the hem of her dress.

What Jeremiah had hidden was about ‘the mother’s’ constitution.

It was a significant issue in the original work, but Melody had kept quiet about it until now because there hadn’t been any obvious revelation.

“But why… are you asking me this?”

Melody asked, slightly uneasy. Honestly, such matters should be discussed with the duke.

‘It’s impossible for ‘ordinary Melody’ to know all the circumstances.’

She only knew the truth because she had read the book in her past life.

He replied soon after.

“You saw it all.”

“What?!”

It was natural for her to be shocked, thinking he might have discovered her ‘true identity’.

“Why are you so surprised?”

Melody wanted to respond, “Of course, I am surprised.” Her heart was racing, and her breath was shaky.

“Miss Melody?”

Had he noticed her unusual state? Claude quickly held her shoulder to prevent her from being swept away by the passing crowd.

“Come this way.”

He led her to a nearby alley, a place relatively quiet compared to the area around the scene.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to press you. Are you okay?”

He asked, checking her complexion, and Melody nodded.

“Your face is quite pale though. You seem… quite startled.”

Of course, she had reason to be. Something she thought she would have to keep to herself for a lifetime had been seen through.

And by the most frightening person, no less!

‘What should I do?’

The instinctive answer in her mind was ‘deny everything.’ But then another thought came to her.

Hadn’t he just said, ‘One must be truthful for long-term peace.’?

Melody held all the upcoming events and answers regarding Loretta.

Until now, she had been able to secretly intervene and help a little after incidents occurred. But if Claude joined her side, things could change.

‘Of course, I don’t know if he will truly believe me…’

If he was urging her to speak up by saying, ‘You saw it all,’ it might mean he was somewhat prepared to accept the situation.

With her resolution firmed, Melody raised her head abruptly.

“I…”

Just then, a warm palm gently stroked her head.

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I didn’t realize entering Loretta’s consciousness was such a painful memory for you. I’m sorry for pushing you without consideration.”

Melody couldn’t say anything in response to his apology and just blinked her eyes.

“I think I was too hasty. It feels like I’ve found the answer I’ve been searching for alone… Lately, it seems like I’m always clashing with someone.”

He sighed softly and finally dropped his hand.

When their eyes met, he gave her a smile as usual, but to Melody, he seemed somewhat weary.

At least Melody felt relieved. It didn’t seem like he had discovered the existence of the ‘original work’.

After all, upon reflection, it didn’t seem likely that such a thing would be discovered.

“I’m okay.”

Melody answered with a relatively calm voice.

“Are you looking for answers about your mother, the duchess?”

“Yes.”

That was something Melody hadn’t seen in the original work. Probably because, as he said, he had been ‘searching alone’.

“And you’ve formed a hypothesis. That’s why you asked me these questions.”

“I’m sorry. After even raising my voice to Jeremiah… You were the only one I could turn to.”

It must have been too delicate a matter to ask Loretta herself. The carriage accident was a traumatic experience for her.

“But when Master Jeremiah entered Miss’s consciousness, I was just deeply asleep.”

“I see. In fact, Jeremiah also mentioned that he thought you didn’t experience anything…”

Seeing his disheartened demeanor, Melody felt a twinge of sympathy. She was moved by the thought of him tracking down information about his mother alone for so long.

“But faintly in the consciousness, I seemed to…”

She was about to say she had vaguely heard the sound of a swirling wind when suddenly,

“Wah, waaah!”

The sound of a baby crying came from beyond the alley. Startled, they both looked in that direction, and to their surprise, there stood Isaiah.