Chapter 129

 

***

 

Upon this, all the servants looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Soon, another suggestion came up.

“We should also suggest that he takes a walk.”

That too was a very good idea.

But there was one problem.

“But, who will say such a thing to the young master?”

The servants looked at each other, and whenever their eyes met, they quickly shook their heads in denial.

It was like the mice who had agreed to put a bell on the cat.

Claude was a kind young master, but he emitted an aura that made him somewhat difficult to approach. Perhaps it was because he never shared personal matters with the servants.

Asking him what was keeping him confined to his room was a daunting task.

“…What are you doing?”

Just then, Melody appeared behind the huddled servants.

They looked at each other for a moment, then nodded with determined faces.

“Miss Melody! You’ve come at just the right time!”

Upon reflection, there was no one more suited for this task in the whole world than her.

“…Why are you welcoming me so enthusiastically all of a sudden?”

“Because you’re the only one, Miss Melody!”

“The one to put a bell on the cat’s neck, no. The one to ask if there’s something wrong!”

After hearing the situation, Melody looked around at the servants who were sending her sparkling gazes.

“Well… I don’t think it makes much of a difference because it’s me, but I’ll ask. But don’t get your hopes up too much.”

 

* * *

 

Melody arrived in front of Claude’s door with the mail and documents that had been sent to him.

In fact, recently, she had just been saying, ‘It’s your mail and documents, young master.’, leaving them at the door.

And when she returned about two hours later, the documents were perfectly processed and placed back at the door.

Melody thought it was fine as long as he was diligently working, but the kind-hearted servants felt otherwise.

‘It doesn’t seem like anything is wrong… But then again, they say you can get sick from not seeing the sunlight for too long.’

“Young Master Claude.”

Melody knocked and called out to him. There was no response from inside.

‘Is he sleeping?’

However, it was already nearing lunchtime.

“Young Master, may I come in for a moment?”

When she asked again, finally a calm reply came from inside, “Yes, you may.” It was his usual voice.

A bit hastily, Melody concluded that the servants’ worries were indeed overblown.

The person in question was Claude.

He was Claude Baldwin, who, even when alone in his room, would dress as sharply as a gentleman in a salon, without a single wrinkle in his suit.

He probably even sleeps in a straight posture, without moving an inch.

And without anyone waking him, he would open his eyes at a certain moment of the dawn.

‘He must be reading a book right now, in that perfect appearance, without a hint of worry.’

With that thought, she slightly pushed the door open, and for some reason, a red darkness caught her eye.

‘…?’

Melody raised her head to discern the identity of this darkness that engulfed the entire room.

Red curtains were drawn across the window, without a sliver of  gap.

“Young… Master?”

She looked around the room, from the table by the window he usually used to his personal bookshelf.

But his figure was nowhere to be seen.

‘Maybe.’

She turned to look at the bed last.

Claude was there.

Melody narrowed her eyes and stared at him, so different from what she had anticipated.

“Young Master.”

Melody approached him with somewhat hurried steps.

He was reading a newspaper. Just that it was a bit… odd.

The way he was slouched, the newspapers strewn all over the bed.

And that was not the only strange thing.

Melody took a second look at Claude’s unbelievable appearance.

His hair was disheveled.

The shirt hanging out of his trousers, devoid of dignity.

Moreover, a vest and tie were carelessly thrown near the pillow.

All of it made the diligent heir of the ducal house look like a complete rake.

Melody drew a line through her previous thought that ‘the servants’ worries were overblown.’

Clearly, he was troubled by something, and it was a significant concern.

‘What connection does the Young Master’s current state have with the newspapers?’

Melody followed his gaze to check the contents of the newspapers scattered on the floor.

What he was so intently looking at was a number puzzle.

“…Why a puzzle?”

Wondering, she checked the other newspapers and found that they all had the puzzle pages open.

She looked to see if any solutions were written down, but there weren’t any. They were all blank.

“Um, by any chance… are you having trouble solving the puzzle?”

She thought it unlikely but decided to ask cautiously anyway.

“Mm.”

He responded with a short moan. It seemed there was indeed something.

“That’s strange.”

If it was the number puzzles in the newspapers, they were simple enough for Melody to do occasionally to kill time.

Of course, they required some time and paper.

“Young Master.”

Melody called out to him again. He said, “Yes,” but it didn’t seem like he was really listening to her.

It looked like he was deeply lost in thought.

“I’m sorry to interrupt such a moment…”

Staying cooped up in his room for three days like this was dangerous.

Melody then proceeded to draw back all the curtains that were blocking the outside. Yesterday had seen summer rain, but today bright sunlight poured in generously.

Opening the window allowed the fresh scent of the garden’s trees to fill the room, thanks to a gentle breeze.

Melody returned to the vicinity of the bed.

Even with the change in light and air, Claude remained unchanged.

If there was any difference, it was perhaps that the newspaper he had been staring intently at had been switched for another.

‘Why keep looking at puzzles he doesn’t solve?’

Melody called out to him again, cautiously. Of course, the response was the same as before.

A polite but seemingly indifferent “Yes.”

‘Somehow, this feels odd.’

Thinking about it, Claude, though he often tormented Melody, always made sure to look at her face properly when talking to her.

Even when her status was not all that great.

‘Not that I liked being the focus of Young Master’s gaze.’

Seeing such a disinterested attitude now, she couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated.

“Young Master.”

So, Melody called out to him again. This time, however, she lightly tapped his arm.

It was impolite, but without doing so, she would only receive indifferent “Yes” responses until the evening.

“…?”

Perhaps it worked. His head, which had been fixed on the newspaper, lifted in a daze.

“Are you okay?”

Melody asked, continuously tapping his arm to prevent him from sinking back into the world of puzzles.

“Ah.”

Finally, Claude met her eyes. His blue eyes were slightly more clouded than usual.

It might have been due to a lack of sleep.

Perhaps he had been staring at puzzles all this time.

“You can’t just stay like this. You need to move around.”

To her words of concern, he gave a vague smile for a moment.

It was a somewhat absent-minded look, and Melody began to genuinely worry about him.

“If I had known you were in this state, I would have come to see you sooner… Young Master?!”

Before she could finish speaking, Claude collapsed onto one side of the bed.

“Ar, are you okay? I’ll call a doctor!”

As Melody turned to leave, a hand quickly reached out from the bed and grabbed her wrist.

“I’m okay. Just, a bit.”

“But… you collapsed.”

“…I was just pretending to be weak. That’s all.”

That didn’t seem right.

The tiredness was evident in his expression, peeking through his disheveled blond hair.

“You should rest a bit.”

“I tried to.”

“Didn’t work?”

“Maybe it’s because I have so much to do…”

‘Puzzles aren’t exactly ‘much to do’.’ Melody decided to let go of the urge to argue.

“Then. From now on, don’t think about anything and just sleep. I’ll tidy up the place for you.”

As she said this, Claude gently pulled her wrist again, like a child begging for something.

“Just leave it.”

“But like this…”

“Instead, watch over me. Make sure I don’t think about anything else and that I can fall asleep.”

“Watch over you?”

“Please do that. Okay?”

Unable to refuse his request, which came in a slightly raspy voice, Melody reluctantly sat down beside the bed.

She actually wanted to bring a stool, but since she was being held by him, she couldn’t. Somehow, it felt too hard to pull away.

He smiled at Melody for a moment and then quickly fell asleep.

‘It doesn’t seem like he has trouble sleeping.’

Or maybe he really just wanted to sound weak.

‘That’s a bit… strange.’

Of all people, Melody wouldn’t have expected Claude Baldwin to show such vulnerability to anyone.

‘He’s quite proud, after all.’

Yet, acting this way might mean his worries were quite deep.

‘What could he be worried about?’

Melody gently brushed away the hair that had fallen over his face. The movement seemed to disturb his sleep slightly, as the corners of his eyes twitched.