Chapter 96

 

***

 

Melody abruptly stood up from her seat, her face turning pale.

“That, that would be problematic!”

The Duke replied in a calm tone.

“You will still be staying in the same capital, so if you wish, anytime…….”

It was meant to console Melody, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. The girl vehemently shook her head.

“But, but. You said that without me, Miss Loretta wouldn’t be happy…… And.”

Melody scrambled for reasons why she needed to stay in the mansion.

“……And.”

But nothing specific came to mind. Moreover, Melody herself realized that recently she hadn’t been making Loretta happy.

“…….”

Eventually, the girl fell silent.

“Of course, you’ll be able to maintain the same relationship with Loretta as you have now. You can come and go from the mansion whenever you wish, and you can accompany her anywhere.”

“Anywhere…”

Upon hearing his words, Melody thought of the theater, exhibitions, and even the royal palace and noble parties she had only read about in books.

Being able to accompany her to all those places was certainly a good thing. Most of the events in this novel occurred in such settings.

“It’s not that you have to decide right now. However, to acquire what you need, it might be necessary to act quickly.”

The Duke handed the documents back to her, reminding her of the advice Butler Higgins had given her not long ago.

“If Miss Melody plans to stay as she is now, then I believe so.”

Only now did she understand the true meaning of his words.

It meant that Melody needed to be adopted somewhere and establish her place properly.

“But I…”

Her mind was filled with various thoughts, but eventually, Melody accepted the documents.

 

***

 

When Melody returned near her room, clutching the documents, she was greeted by a sight she hadn’t seen in a long while.

Ronny was pacing anxiously in front of her room.

The moment she saw him, Melody forgot her gloom and approached him with a smile.

“Master Ronny, are you looking for the restroom again?”

“Are you crazy?!”

Contrary to his denial, his lower body was, as usual, looking somewhat unstable and twisted today.

“It’s good if you’re not holding it in.”

“Don’t make me laugh; I’m not holding anything in.”

That was a relief to hear. Holding it in could cause illness.

Melody had almost forgotten her gloom until a moment ago and cracked a slight smile. Seeing her expression, Ronny frowned.

“What’s this, I worried for nothing. You look perfectly fine.”

“…Huh?”

“You, you got scolded by father, didn’t you?”

Melody blinked in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

“I wasn’t scolded. The Duke is not someone who scolds people anyway.”

“Hmph, you’d retract those words if you ever flunk a history test. Anyway, if that’s not the case, good.”

“Did you wait here because you were worried I might have been scolded?”

“Are you crazy?!”

He shouted and turned his head away. It wasn’t like Ronny to worry about every little thing for a friend.

Ronny thought about why he was there, looking for a proper excuse.

Fortunately, he had a reasonable explanation.

“That’s right…uh, yes. My brother asked me to.”

“Claude?”

Ronny nodded.

“He said to keep a good watch to ensure nothing bad happens to you.”

“Really? ‘That’ Claude?”

Melody looked skeptical.

“Really! You have no idea how much my brother cares about you!”

Well, he must be thinking.

Probably about what innovative method to use for his next prank.

“At least I understand that the two of you are concerned about me.”

Though Ronny muttered, “Why include me in that,” he nodded, accepting, “As long as you understand.”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head in now.”

“Wait a minute.”

Ronny lightly grabbed Melody’s clothes as she was about to head into her room.

“What’s that?”

He pointed at the documents in her hand with his chin.

“It’s nothing.”

Seeing Melody suddenly tense up, Ronny frowned and reached out his hand.

“Let me see.”

“Why do you want to?”

Because Melody had visibly started to get flustered after Ronny pointed out the documents.

Melody hesitated, then spoke reluctantly, “I don’t want to show it to you.”

“But I showed you mine, didn’t I?”

“What?”

“When we met in the hallway last time. I told you all about the document with the red mark. And now you won’t show me yours?”

Melody was so flabbergasted she could only stare at him.

Indeed, such an incident had occurred. However, at that time, she hadn’t even read the contents of the document, and it wasn’t Melody who had asked him to explain it.

“And you still say we’re friends?!”

“Ugh.”

She found it hard to argue against the word “friend.” She had always been genuinely happy when Ronny mentioned it.

“Alright, fine. But don’t look too closely, okay?”

Reluctantly, Melody handed over the document to him, anticipating his reaction.

‘He’s going to be thrilled.’

After all, if Melody disappeared, he would have Loretta all to himself in the mansion.

“Got it.”

Ronny eagerly flipped through a few pages of the document. His previously furrowed brow gradually brightened as he read further, just as Melody had predicted.

“What are you talking about? This is great news!”

He exclaimed joyfully, closing the document with a slap.

In contrast, Melody’s expression darkened significantly.

“Huh? Why the long face? Don’t tell me you can’t decide which family would be good? Want me to choose for you? I know them all.”

“That’s not it.”

Melody quickly took the document back from him and hugged it tightly.

“Don’t worry, even if you become a lady of another family, we’ll still be friends.”

Although that wasn’t exactly her concern, she was somewhat grateful for his reassurance.

“Plus, once you have a suitable family name, you can go anywhere with us. Where shall we go?”

“…”

“Right, we could have a blast at the New Year’s banquet hosted by His Majesty the Emperor! It’ll be fun! I’ll show you around the imperial garden. It’s beautiful.”

“That’s…”

“Are you worried that children from other families might make fun of you? Don’t worry. Once you have a proper name, nobody will be able to do that.”

Melody only hesitated, muttering “But still,” so Ronny tapped his chest with his fist.

“What’s there to worry about? You have a friend with the name of Baldwin. Didn’t I promise you last time? I said I would protect you.”

“But before.”

I like it here.

Melody wanted to say that, but somehow she found herself choked up.

“…No.”

Turning around with those words, Ronny hastily grabbed Melody.

“Hey!”

Accidentally grabbing her, he noticed Melody looking at him with resentment through her shaking hair.

Normally, Ronny would have shouted, “How dare you look at me with those eyes!”

Even if they were close, the difference in their social status was clear.

“Uh… What?”

But Ronny, far from being angry, simply let out a confused murmur and released his grip on Melody.

Freed from him, Melody quickly entered her room and slammed the door shut with a thud.

Ronny blinked at the closed door and murmured quietly to himself.

“…Why are you crying?”

As expected, the wooden door offered him no response.

 

***

 

Hugging the documents, Melody slid down against the door and began to cry.

“Haah, heuk.”

Hugging the thick documents somehow brought a rush of sadness, making tears inevitable.

She felt as if the Duke of Baldwin wanted her out of the house just as much as the thickness of these documents suggested.

“Ugh.”

There were still so many things she needed to do for Loretta.

Being unable to stay put or move forward was too much to bear right now.

Would her crying be heard outside? Soon, Ronny’s voice could be heard from the other side of the door, calling, “Hey, hey? Melody!”

While she appreciated his concern, Melody didn’t want to respond to him right now.

To be so happy about her leaving, Ronny was being too much of a bully, even for him.

Melody hugged the documents tighter and cried louder.

Knock, knock.

Amidst her loud crying, a soft knocking sound was heard.

There were no words to identify the knocker, but Melody was sure it was Ronny.

Feeling stubborn, she decided not to open the door.

‘I’ll never open it.’

Though that’s what she thought, when the knocking sounded again, she instinctively lifted her head.

‘That knocking sound is…’

It sounded familiar to her ears.

A gentle, pretty knocking sound as if tiptoeing around her heart.

Knock, knock.

The same sound came again. And this time,

“Melody…”

A small voice accompanied it. Melody hastily grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open.

Standing in front of the door, Loretta looked incredibly surprised to see Melody.

Only then did Melody realize she hadn’t wiped her tears before opening the door and hurriedly tried to do so with her sleeve.

But before she could, Loretta rushed forward and hugged Melody tightly.

“…!”

Melody buried her face in the golden locks that tickled her cheeks.

Soon, small hands began to pat her back gently.

Melody’s halted tears started flowing once again.