Chapter 97

 

***

 

Melody cried her heart out for several more minutes before she gradually began to calm down, although she still sniffled periodically and shivered with both shoulders.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I…”

Melody apologized while pressing her eyes with the back of her hand, sitting slumped in front of the half-open door.

“It’s okay.”

Loretta gently stroked Melody’s hair and smiled at her.

“Melody, you’re still a child, after all.”

But Melody vigorously shook her head.

“I may play the role of a child when we’re playing house, but that’s not really the case.”

Melody knew all too well how futile it was to simply cry and throw tantrums.

So, she thought that it wasn’t right for her to be crying so hard just because she was a little upset.

“Still.”

Loretta took Melody’s cheeks in her small hands.

“Loretta will say it’s okay to cry.”

Those generous words made Melody feel a surge of emotions, and she ended up shedding a few more tears.

The warm tears soon seeped through Loretta’s fingers.

“Loretta will take care of everything.”

“Huh…”

It was a phrase Melody had heard many times before, but it still resonated deeply in her heart, as comforting as ever.

And it was nice that Loretta’s pronunciation had become more accurate than before. Didn’t our Loretta seem even more admirable?

“Thank you for always saying that. You don’t know how much comfort…”

Those words were drowned out by her sobbing.

“No.”

“Huh?”

 

“I’m not trying to comfort Melody.”

“…?”

What did she mean by that?

If the touch on her cheeks and the tender words weren’t meant for comfort, then what were they for?

As Melody looked on in confusion, Loretta pressed her lips to Melody’s forehead and answered with a serious face.

“I want to make Melody happy.”

Surprised by the unexpected words, Melody’s tears receded.

“But that’s my job! I, I really want to make Loretta happy…!”

“Melody’s job?”

Melody nodded vigorously.

“Then, can’t Loretta make Melody happy?”

“…What?”

The question posed with a slight tilt of her small head was not easy to answer lightly.

After all, Melody had read the original story, so she could work towards Loretta’s happiness, but Loretta…

‘Wait?’

Upon reflection, making someone happy didn’t require knowledge of the original work.

“I also think on my own accord that I want to make Mel happy. Isn’t that normal for everyone?”

Isaiah had said as much.

So, it was possible for Loretta to want to make Melody happy too.

It was somewhat surprising, now that she thought about it.

“See, when Melody smiles really wide, it tickles the ends of my lips. I end up laughing too. It makes me very happy.”

Loretta clasped her hands together, a slightly earnest expression on her face.

“So, I really, really want to make Melody very happy. Is that okay?”

Looking at her face, asking with slightly pursed lips, it felt as though Melody’s heart was being squeezed.

Melody shook her head, barely managing to move her trembling lips.

“I, I’m already so happy just being here…”

“Really?”

Then Loretta smiled broadly and hugged Melody tightly.

“I’m also so happy being with Melody like this!”

The child rubbed her face against Melody’s cheek several times, laughing.

“We will always, always be together! And we’ll become even happier!”

Hearing that dreamlike promise, Melody ended up crying again.

To want to make her even happier here. She had never even wished for such a thing…

Loretta had already given so much to Melody.

She had provided a purpose in a life that had known only surrender and resignation and had made it possible for Melody to live in the Duke’s mansion.

Thus, Melody received kind care from the Duke and the Higgins couple and found a birthday to celebrate with Claude.

She became friends with Ronny, a noble young master, and had the chance to witness Jeremiah’s magic firsthand.

Not only that, but everyone at the mansion, from the staff to the occasional visiting postman, had been nothing but kind people to her.

‘Come to think of it.’

Melody remembered saying not long ago that Loretta was the only precious person to her. But now, she realized that wasn’t the case.

Somewhere along the line, Melody’s world had expanded far beyond what it had been before.

Without her even noticing.

“You know, Loretta, you’ve already made me… sniffle, so happy.”

Melody managed a smile while continuously wiping her reddened eyes.

“No, that’s not it.”

But Loretta still seemed unsatisfied, shaking her head.

“You know, Melody. You can be happier. This muuuch more!”

The child stood up, making the biggest circle she could with her arms, and then slightly tilted her head back in front of Melody.

“Loretta is smart. I know.”

“…But now I.”

Melody’s gaze drifted to the documents given by the Duke.

They had fallen to the floor during her earlier tears, now spread out wide.

The documents contained not only introductions to various families but also detailed their advantages and points of caution.

The Duke and Butler Higgins had spent a long time organizing them.

The busy individuals had gone to such lengths likely out of concern for Melody.

She hastily gathered the thick documents.

Previously, she had thought that the Duke wanted her out of the house as much as the thickness of these documents.

But now, she realized that wasn’t the case.

The documents were so thorough because their concern for her was so deep.

She couldn’t ignore that concern.

After clutching the documents tightly, Melody looked back at Loretta.

It was then she realized something.

“…I see.”

“Huh?”

“I think something remained.”

“What?”

Melody smiled bashfully with her eyes still brimming with tears.

“The real way for me to be happy.”

 

***

 

The next day, Melody’s work assisting Butler Higgins continued.

She wanted to help him in the mansion, which was as quiet as possible.

However, Higgins, who valued the cultivation of knowledge, did not want to spend his rare day off buried in piles of paperwork at the mansion.

Thus, Melody found herself going out with him again today.

This time too, Melody aimed for a modest appearance as much as possible.

But the maids of the Duke’s household would not allow Melody to go out looking unnoticeable.

They even added this comment.

“Miss Melody needs to take a little more responsibility for her cuteness.”

Of course, Melody protested vigorously.

“It’s not me who’s cute, it’s Miss Loretta.”

At that, the maids clasped each other’s hands and squealed.

“That’s why, when the two of you stand together, the cuteness is multiplied by ten!”

That conclusion felt mathematically flawed even at first glance.

Even if Melody conceded to the idea that she was cute, the noble cuteness of Loretta would not mix and multiply into some miracle.

In any case, while having such conversations, the maids ended up making Melody look dazzling again.

Melody sighed as she looked down at her curls that ended in twists and turns.

“I don’t think it’s a picture worth sighing over so despairingly.”

Startled by Higgins’ comment from behind, Melody turned around in surprise.

“That, that’s!”

Her voice came out louder than she intended, and she quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

They were in an art gallery at the academy. It was a place where silence was a virtue.

“…I’m sorry.”

Melody whispered her apology.

“It wasn’t the painting I sighed over. I swear.”

“I actually knew that. It’s difficult attending the same exhibition, isn’t it?”

As Higgins mentioned, this was Melody’s second visit to the exhibition. Last time, she was with the Duke and Loretta.

“I heard you enjoyed it very much then.”

“I like it now too.”

Melody answered with a bright smile. It was sincere.

Even though she had heard some unpleasant comments at this exhibition, the time spent appreciating the paintings remained a good memory.

“That’s good to hear.”

The two of them moved on to the next painting. It happened to be a picture of yellow flowers that Melody particularly liked.

“Um.”

Melody, while looking at the painting, suddenly turned around to Higgins, who was standing behind her.

“Hmm?”

Seeing his curious look, Melody quickly clasped her hands together.

There was something she wanted to say to him.

She hadn’t dared to voice it, wondering if it was okay to say such a thing.

‘I… I need to desperately hold onto the way for me to be happy.’

As long as her smile was also tied to Loretta’s happiness, it was necessary.

Above all, she felt that she couldn’t be happy anywhere other than in the Duke’s household.

‘So, I want to stay at the Duke’s house.’