Chapter 100

 

***

 

“Me…?”

“Yes.”

The staff member promptly replied and extended a small flower with a ribbon attached.

“Because you helped find a loving owner for the  painting.”

Melody was momentarily puzzled but soon realized that the flower being handed to her was the same kind used to indicate a ‘sold work.’

Did this mean Higgins had purchased the  painting of yellow flowers for her?

Melody briefly looked up at Higgins, as if to say, “Is it really okay for someone like me to receive this?”

However, Higgins spoke first.

“You decided to be happy, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

That question struck right to the heart. She had indeed said she would follow her sincerity towards happiness.

After a moment of contemplation, Melody responded to the art academy’s staff member.

“I like yellow flowers. Counting my age with flowers was a bit lonely at times… but now, I can smile and reminisce.”

The staff member extended the flower again, replying,

“Meeting a  painting that holds memories is a tremendous fortune. The  painting will be happy if you assert your ownership of it.”

…Really?

Melody quickly shook her head to dispel the self-doubting thoughts that kept creeping in.

Living timidly even after receiving such a splendid name would be nothing short of a disservice to the two people who had accepted her.

Moreover, she had resolved several times recently to be happy no matter what.

Melody accepted the flower handed to her. Then, she straightened her back and slightly lifted her chin.

Step by step, she moved towards the painting and briefly lifted her head high.

It dawned on her that this  painting had silently witnessed everything Melody had gone through here, from the unpleasant words she heard last time to today’s events.

‘Really a  painting that holds memories.’

And very precious ones at that.

Melody hung the flower on the wall. Then, she turned around with a smile to look at Higgins.

“Shall we head back home?” he said, extending his hand. Happiness clung to that hand, which was full of calluses and yet, very warm.

 

***

 

As soon as Melody returned to the mansion, she ran straight to Mrs. Higgins’s room.

She wanted to share the happenings at the art academy with her before anyone else, and if possible.

‘I want to ask Grandma for her permission to use the name directly.’

Determined, she knocked on Mrs. Higgins’s room, but no matter how long she waited, there was no response. Where could she have gone? It was the usual time she’d be in her room.

Melody stopped a passing servant and inquired about Mrs. Higgins’s whereabouts.

“I haven’t seen her since the morning.”

Where did she go? Melody wondered, tilting her head as she headed to her own room, planning to change out of her going-out clothes.

“Now that I think about it, should I not call her Grandma anymore?”

Contemplating the peculiar situation of having to change how she addressed her, Melody couldn’t help but shrug her shoulders.

‘I guess I’ll have to discuss it with both of them.’

For now, changing out of the uncomfortable going-out clothes was the priority.

Melody arrived at her room and pushed the door open.

“…?”

And then she froze. An utterly absurd scene was laid out before her.

At the end of Melody’s intense gaze were Ronny and Loretta.

Had they merely occupied the room, Melody might not have been so surprised.

“What are you doing?”

They had climbed onto the wide-open window, preparing to jump out into the garden.

“What…?!”

Melody wasn’t the only one shocked. Ronny, startled by her sudden appearance, nearly fell out of the window.

Melody quickly ran over, safely bringing Loretta down to the floor from her perch.

Then she stared hard at Ronny, her eyes asking, ‘What on earth are you doing with Loretta?’

Was it the shame of being caught in a misdeed? He couldn’t meet her eyes directly.

“You two, were trying to sneak out through the window? It’s shameful to go about it this way, ignoring a perfectly good door.”

At Melody’s reproach, Ronny’s face snapped up, as if he wanted to argue.

But as soon as his eyes met Melody’s, Ronny hurriedly turned his head away, a confused expression on his face.

“We, we were just going to take a little walk in the garden.”

“… By going through my room?”

“We, well, that’s because…”

“Because?”

“Uh…”

Ronny, ruffling his own hair in distress, seemed to struggle to come up with an excuse, and utterly failed to find any suitable words.

It might have been the sheer sight of Melody, who was so beautifully dressed that it was taking his breath away, leaving him unable to articulate his feelings.

Seeing Ronny at a loss for words, perhaps out of pity, Loretta tugged at the hem of Melody’s clothes.

“Actually, my brother and I are following our curiosity.”

“Following your curiosity?”

“Uh-huh. Granny was…”

Loretta began to explain, but Ronny, swiftly descending from the windowsill, interrupted her.

“Weren’t we supposed to keep this our splendid secret?!”

“Yes, but…”

Loretta fidgeted, her hands clasped together.

“Loretta doesn’t want to lie to Melody.”

“You just have to keep quiet!”

“But Melody asked.”

Eventually, the siblings ended up spilling the whole story to Melody, explaining how Loretta had spotted a ladder descending from the second-floor corridor ceiling, and Ronny had been clandestinely using a long pole to search the ceiling for it whenever the chance arose.

Despite their endeavors, they hadn’t managed to make the ladder come down again, and so far, their adventure had been unfruitful.

“So that’s what happened.”

Melody nodded, understanding their point. But despite the honest explanation, a question lingered.

“Still, what does that have to do with you two going out of my room’s window?”

“It’s because Mrs. Higgins was in the kitchen by herself, doing something.”

“…?”

“Even when the maids offered to help, she wouldn’t let anyone in and didn’t answer any questions about what she was doing. She’s definitely up to some kind of secret.”

“So?”

“So? We have to sneak out to the backyard and keep an eye on things! There might be a hint or something!”

Ronny exclaimed, his fist raised passionately.

“Got it? So, there’s no time to just stand around. It’s urgent, I’m telling you.”

“I understand that but…”

“Come on, you should come too.”

“Me?”

“Surely you’re not planning to pretend you didn’t hear everything and just ignore it, right? That would be disloyal.”

Of course, Melody wanted to pretend she didn’t know.

But it seemed like Ronny would be even more bothersome if she did, so she reluctantly agreed to join them.

Melody and Ronny easily jumped out of the window, and with their help, Loretta was able to come outside as well.

Now, the three of them stealthily moved forward along the mansion’s wall.

On their way, they encountered one of the duke’s private soldiers, a situation that could have been quite embarrassing, but Ronny handled it with remarkable ease.

“Ahem! We are on a secret mission right now. Please pretend you didn’t see us.”

Melody doubted such a casual approach could really avert this crisis.

However, the knight seemed accustomed to such situations and responded, “I didn’t see anything, young master.”

It seemed this was not the first time such an incident had occurred, given their nonchalant attitude.

Thus, the children managed to reach the kitchen window without any trouble, despite the cold weather, the window was wide open, wafting out a sweet smell.

“Wow! That smells so delicious…!”

Loretta, who had been quietly following Ronny, exclaimed excitedly. Ronny, panicked, quickly covered his sister’s mouth.

“Do you want to get us caught?!”

Ronny, with a sharp look, gazed up at the high window.

He could intermittently see Mrs. Higgins’s white hair. Luckily, she was still there.

He turned to Melody and Loretta with a determined look.

“Listen up. Now we’re going to find out what the lady is up to.”

But Melody felt she didn’t need to peek inside to know the answer.

“…It seems like she’s just cooking?”

“Yes! And it smells delicious too!”

“You guys, really! Mrs. Higgins wouldn’t be cooking without a reason! There must be some secret.”

“Even if that’s true, we won’t be able to see anything from here. The kitchen window is too high up.”

“Are we giving up just because of that?”

Ronny had been observing the ceiling to the point of exhaustion over the past few days. Even though it involved using a long stick, that was child’s play.

So, peeking inside a window that was just a bit higher than him seemed easy. He even had a sudden idea.

“One of us just needs to lie down. They’ll serve as a stepping stone.”

“I, I don’t want to be stepped on by the young master.”

Besides, Melody was wearing her going-out clothes and didn’t want to dirty them.

“Who said you had to lie down?”

“Then?”

“Consider it an honor. You’ve been given the chance to be my eyes. Step on me and climb up to carefully monitor the lady’s actions.”

“Me?! Me?!”

Melody was so shocked that she ended up yelling loudly. The idea of stepping on Ronny!

“Are you crazy?!”

Ronny quickly reached out to cover Melody’s mouth.

“Do you want to ruin the entire secret?!”

He glanced briefly towards the window, worried Mrs. Higgins might have heard Melody’s voice.

“Oops.”

Sure enough, they sensed Mrs. Higgins’s presence getting closer, and the three of them quickly hid in the shadow beneath the window sill.

Even while glaring at Melody, Ronny continuously kept an eye on Mrs. Higgins’s movements.

Fortunately, it seemed Mrs. Higgins hadn’t heard anything, as she carefully placed something on the window sill before turning back into the kitchen.

“…Phew.”

Ronny let out a sigh of relief. It seemed they hadn’t been caught.

“Did you hear that just now?”

“The sound of something being placed on the window sill?”

“Yeah. Let’s find out what it is first.”

Ronny seemed to believe they could uncover a great secret from there, but Melody wasn’t particularly convinced.

She wondered if it might just be dishes that had been washed and left on the sill.

“Got it? Don’t stick your head out over the window. Just reveal the minimum necessary, and quickly come down if it seems like you might get caught.”

But Ronny was asking so earnestly that she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

She still hadn’t repaid him for the big piece of meat he had given her last time.

“…Alright.”

Though reluctant, Melody nodded her agreement.

“Good.”

He immediately lay flat on the ground without hesitation.

Melody took off her  shoes first. But when it came time to actually step on him, she felt sorry for him. She was also worried about hurting him.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and climb.”

“I’m worried I might be too heavy and hurt you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re tiny.”

Melody wanted to respond, ‘You’re pretty small yourself,’ but she couldn’t because he urged her on again.