Chapter 122

 

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Melody alternated her gaze between the perfect pancakes and Claude.

He wouldn’t be offering kindness without a reason.

“I’m just purely trying to help.”

“…Anyway, I’ll eat what you’ve brought. Thank you.”

Melody set aside all the work she had been doing until now and began to slowly eat the pancakes.

Initially, she felt there was too much syrup, but as she ate, the sweetness seemed to clear her sluggish mind.

“Does it taste good? You’re eating well.”

Melody nodded and took another bite.

“But, young master.”

“Yes?”

Now that she had a moment to rest, Melody took a sip of her tea and posed a question to him.

“What exactly are you looking for? You seem to be rummaging through various things.”

“Well.”

Perhaps sensing the story might take a while, he pulled a small stool closer and sat down next to Melody.

“It’s about that matter.”

His response was vague, but not hard to understand.

“Ah… You were looking into it. About Loretta.”

“Of course.”

He answered with a refreshing smile.

“I thought you were busy with other matters since there hadn’t been any recent updates.”

“It’s a task entrusted to me by both father and Miss Melody. No matter how busy, I can’t neglect the investigation.”

The year Claude became an adult,

The Duke suggested he also share the ‘records’ Melody knew of and the future of Loretta.

With Claude having the authority of the ducal family yet being in a relatively free position, he could accelerate the investigation.

His reasoning was so valid that Melody immediately agreed.

Thus, he has been tracking down the male protagonist, ‘August,’ who could save Loretta from her cruel fate.

“Have you… found out anything?”

“Well.”

He dropped his head weakly, and Melody felt somewhat sorry.

“Well, as you know, Samuel, His Majesty’s brother, is not allowed to marry.”

As the central figure of the rebellion, he was not permitted to marry or have descendants.

“Yes.”

“Given that, even if he had an illegitimate child who was already in their teens, he wouldn’t have been able to reveal and raise that existence as his son.”

Melody nodded. If the emperor found out, there would be no guarantee for the future.

In the original story, Prince Samuel was discovered by the emperor to have a son, and the emperor was furious.

“Even though I spared your life out of mercy, you dare to defy my orders!”

He immediately executed his brother.

And he even attempted to kill his nephew. However, he could not bring himself to kill the child who was lying on the ground in fear.

“I will take you in. But live as if you are dead within the palace. If you ever betray me like your father, you will not escape this fate.”

The emperor made the child look directly at his father’s corpse.

Thus, the pitiful male protagonist lived alone in a corner of the royal palace until he was discovered and saved by Loretta, continuing his cruel fate.

“I also can’t openly investigate him.”

Melody nodded in agreement with Claude’s words. Finding the male protagonist required utmost caution.

If the emperor noticed and took the male protagonist away like in the original story, things would become complicated.

It was best to be careful, then careful again.

It would be a lot of trouble for Claude, though.

“Finding someone who desperately needs to be hidden is not an easy task, indeed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. But he’s the only one who can save my sister, right?”

Hmm. More precisely, he’s the one destined to share a century’s love… But saying that seemed to only discomfort him, so Melody just nodded appropriately.

“Then, we must find him.”

Claude nodded again with a determined face.

‘Master Claude… really trusts me.’

Melody found his trust astonishing anew.

When she had spoken to the Duke about the future, he respected Melody to the utmost, but it took a long time for her proof to make the Duke accept it as ‘fact.’

Melody thought that was only natural.

Who would easily believe such a thing?

However, Claude simply nodded in understanding with just a brief explanation from the Duke and Melody.

Moreover, he took the investigation very seriously, without a hint of doubt.

‘Is it because Lord Claude deeply trusts the Duke?’

Melody slightly bowed her head and stealthily glanced at Claude.

He was fiddling with something on the trolley, so he didn’t notice Melody’s gaze.

‘Or perhaps. Is it because he also has a bit of trust in me?’

He often treated Melody specially, calling her “my Higgins.”

Of course, his special treatment was always mischievously intended, and Melody often disliked it.

‘But among those, there were times we shared secrets that couldn’t be told to anyone else.’

Maybe Claude does find Melody quite trustworthy.

‘…That’s somehow pleasing.’

Gaining someone’s trust is quite a proud matter, after all.

Especially when that someone is Claude Baldwin, admired by everyone in the capital.

There were plenty who flattered him at banquets, but almost none who could earn his genuine trust and be close to him.

“Do you like it that much?”

Suddenly, Claude turned to ask her that.

Because she had been looking at him, their eyes met immediately.

“Like, like what?”

“My handsome face.”

“…!”

He nonchalantly made such a shameless comment while drizzling sauce over a salad plate.

“Since you kept looking.”

He finally placed the completed plate in front of Melody.

He didn’t forget to graciously shave some cheese over it as a final touch.

“I, I wasn’t looking at you for that reason. I was just trying to guess exactly what you were investigating.”

“Ah, that’s it.”

He grabbed a new fork for her and sat back down on the stool.

“I was investigating his birth mother.”

“His birth mother, as in Prince Samuel’s… partner?”

It seemed he was talking about the male protagonist’s mother.

“Yes.”

“But I told you, after she gave birth, she ran away somewhere because she was afraid of the emperor.”

This was why, in the original story, there was no information other than that she was a “maid dispatched to Kristonson to attend to Prince Samuel.”

“Yes, but I realized that makes it easier.”

“Easier?”

His eyes briefly shone sharply. For a moment, Melody thought he must be harboring some wicked plan.

“Master Claude, surely not.”

“All things are connected, so once you firmly grasp just one root, everything else becomes simple.”

“You’re not planning to find his birth mother to blackmail her, are you?”

“Of course not.”

He shook his head with a gentlemanly smile again.

“I just thought it would be nice to go to Kristonson with her. I won’t cause any harm.”

It seemed like he was already causing enough harm.

Moreover, Prince Samuel must have been hurt by her running away as well.

If they were to reunite in this manner, the Prince would likely not be in the best of spirits either.

‘But it would be a good way to find Prince Samuel’s son. Definitely, but…’

Melody fiddled with her salad with a worried face.

“I’m sorry, Miss Melody.”

“…Yes?”

“I lack kindness. I genuinely don’t care what happens to anyone besides those dear to me. I can hurt others without a second thought.”

Melody shook her head.

He must have had this method in mind from the start.

After two years of frustration trying to make a direct approach, this must have been a method he reluctantly resorted to.

“If we leave it as is, Prince Samuel will only incur the Emperor’s wrath later on… I don’t think your method is entirely bad.”

Thus, it was better to be slightly threatened by Claude than to eventually lose his life and his son.

“I’m glad you say so, Miss Melody. Now, please eat. Would you like more to drink?”

“I’d like something warm now.”

“I thought you might say that.”

He had already prepared a warm tea and placed it in front of Melody.

After neatly finishing the salad and warm tea, she started transcribing the records again.

Claude also cleared away the trolley and returned to the bookshelf he was searching through.

 

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Butler Higgins’ watch was diligently performing its duties even in the royal archives.

It precisely segmented the day into set units, informing Melody of the time.

And, unintentionally, the watch did something more remarkable.

Tick-tock.

Its regular ticking somehow induced a drowsy feeling.

Thanks to that, Melody was able to sleep very sweetly until the morning sunlight shone.

‘Eh?’

Of course, that sweet sleep was not what Melody had intended.

‘When did I fall asleep? What was I doing yesterday…’

Melody hurriedly got up to assess the situation.

She had transcribed all the records before falling asleep. That much was certain.

However, she had fallen asleep during the process of verifying if everything was done correctly…

‘I need to check it quickly now!’

Just as she was about to continue her work urgently, a sweet voice was heard right in front of her.