Chapter 133

 

***

 

Although she could have asked the maids to open it, Claude was Melody’s lifelong ‘master,’ so it was only proper for her to personally welcome him.

‘But then.’

As Melody grasped the doorknob, a certain thought occurred to her. Just as they had prepared a dress for Melody at the merchant’s, it was likely they had also prepared festival clothes for Claude.

‘Would the young master wear festival attire…?’

Really.

…Of course, considering his personality, he would have been very grateful and worn it. He wasn’t one to ignore the thoughtfulness of a business partner.

‘Could it be, the one with both shoulders exposed isn’t me, but the young master?’

Among the men participating in the festival, there were many who not only exposed both shoulders but were completely bare-chested.

It was indeed a gracious sight to see handsome men shedding their clothes to reveal splendid physiques.

…But having Claude, with whom she had to conduct investigative activities, appear in such a state was a bit.

‘Uncomfortable.’

It would be preposterous, to say the least. Melody might not even know where to place her eyes.

‘Given the situation, should I hope it only exposes one shoulder?’

But that too was odd. After all, Melody had absolutely no desire to encounter either of Claude’s shoulders.

‘Please.’

Melody hoped the Briggs merchants understood the dignity of the capital’s nobility well.

After all, she absolutely did not want to endure the torment of a half-dressed Claude.

Moreover, he was incredibly quick-witted, so if Melody showed even a hint of discomfort, he would undoubtedly commit more heinous acts.

With a very gentlemanly smile.

A gentlemanly smile while undressed was difficult to imagine, though.

‘Ah, young master, please wear your clothes…!’

With a prayerful heart, Melody pulled the door open.

But lacking the courage to see his appearance, she kept her head bowed low.

“…….”

At first, she saw dress shoes in front of her. They were slightly different from his usual ones. Should she call them modest? They somewhat resembled the ones her father, Butler Higgins, preferred to wear.

In any case, they passed since they looked ordinary and well-mannered.

As she cautiously lifted her head, she saw his long legs and the neat fall of his dark trousers, which relieved Melody even more.

It seemed unlikely that someone wearing such trousers would be standing with their shoulders exposed.

“…Phew.”

At her own foolishness, Melody sighed deeply and straightened up, relieved to see hardly any skin was showing. He had his hair swept back, revealing his forehead a bit more than usual, but that was okay. Most male servants in noble houses styled their hair neatly like that, so a bit of forehead showing wasn’t really embarrassing, was it?

“Hmm…?”

For a moment, Melody forgot her manners and scrutinized him from head to toe. His appearance was undeniably neat, which pleased her greatly. However, overall, he seemed a bit… like a servant, didn’t he? Not to mention the stuck-up tie he would never usually choose and the white gloves showing beneath it.

And why, exactly, was he bowing so politely in front of Melody?!

“…?”

As Melody stood frozen, only her eyes blinking in shock, he slightly lifted his head and grinned.

“I’ve come to escort you, Miss.”

“Eek!”

She hastily backed away, feeling chills run through her entire body, stumbling several times in the process.

“Why, why, why are you doing this to me!”

“Why indeed.” His interest seemed to wane a bit, and he straightened up with a drained expression. “Didn’t you read the card?”

“…The card that came with the gift from the merchant? What about it?”

“It said they were sending interesting clothes.”

That’s right. But this was anything but interesting. No, it was actually terrifying.

“Do you find such clothes interesting?”

“Yes, quite interesting,” he said, bowing again like a butler, and Melody, with a yelp, quickly retreated to the window. If the window had been any larger, she might have jumped out right then.

“The Baldwins and the Higgins have maintained an absolute master-servant relationship for generations.”

Meanwhile, he approached calmly and picked something up. Melody hadn’t noticed in her haste to escape, but it appeared she had dropped her mask. He carefully examined the lace, checking for any damage, before standing directly in front of Melody again.

“If you think about reversing our roles for even a moment, I find my heart racing quite a bit. Don’t you think so, Miss Higgins?”

‘…A heart should race, shouldn’t it? If it didn’t, you’d be dead.’

Melody couldn’t bring herself to voice the thoughts that sprang to mind.

Nevertheless, she knew he was thoroughly enjoying himself, whereas Melody was not enjoying it at all.

Had she known it would be like this, she might have preferred facing his bare shoulders instead.

…Not that she particularly wanted to see him undressed, of course.

Whether he knew of Melody’s confusion or not, he adeptly suggested going out, imitating a servant.

“If you have no specific orders, Miss, I would like to depart immediately.”

“…Are you really going to keep doing this?”

But just because he was adept at imitating a servant didn’t mean Melody could naturally imitate being a master.

After all, even in the ducal household, she found it difficult to delegate tasks to servants, often taking care of trivial matters herself.

“I think it’s quite a good disguise.”

He took a step closer to Melody, lifting the lace mask over her face.

“I have known a few knights here for quite some time. And their discernment is quite sharp.”

After adjusting the mask to sit prettily, he reached over her head with the long strings in hand.

Soon, the sound of knotting was heard.

“…”

Melody slightly lifted her gaze. The distance was close because he was right in front of her, fixing the mask.

His focused expression on such a task was somewhat unfamiliar.

He seemed to be careful not to entangle the knot with her hair.

Almost like a real servant.

‘So, even if a knight were to recognize you, sir…’

Was he trying to say that the knight would dismiss any suspicion upon seeing his behavior towards Melody?

‘They wouldn’t think the proud, sole heir of the ducal family would imitate a polite servant like this.’

Soon, he said, “All done,” and withdrew his hands from the knot.

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“It seems okay.”

Melody nodded gently in response. The mask seemed well-secured, not sliding down even when she moved.

He stepped back with a relieved look.

“That’s good to hear.”

At his kind demeanor, Melody suddenly had a slightly different thought.

Maybe spending time this way wouldn’t be so bad after all.

At least in this relationship, he wouldn’t torment Melody.

“If it was done clumsily, it might slip down halfway. In that case, please feel free to call out ‘Claude.'”

“…Yes?”

But perhaps he couldn’t allow her even a moment of relief.

Once again, he made an absurd request.

‘Call him by his name…?’

The thought was immensely repellent, enough to pale Melody’s face.

“Ah. If you dislike it to such an extent, I might be hurt…”

He answered quite sullenly, but Melody found no pity for him.

His eyes were smiling, after all.

“H-how could I possibly call you that? I’m a Higgins, and you are a son of the Baldwin ducal family?!”

“But Ronny and Loretta call me comfortably.”

“That’s because!”

…Well, that was true.

“Besides, you’ve even allowed Jeremiah to conduct magic experiments, haven’t you?”

“That, that’s true too.”

“It seems a bit unfair that I’m the only one not permitted anything. Why are you so strict with me alone?”

It was because he would barge into Melody’s daily life uninvited, even without permission.

“It’s not difficult, is it? Calling someone by their name. It’s just about making the titles clear.”

Sensing Melody’s hesitation, he continued to persuade her.

“Besides, you might be able to take the long-thought revenge.”

“R-revenge? I-I never thought of such a thing!”

Perhaps due to the blatant lie, she stuttered a bit. Claude continued to explain, regardless of her awkward protest.

“For example, if Miss says to me, ‘Claude, water.'”

He paused for a moment.

As if to let her guess the following action, Melody tentatively answered.

“Y-you can’t mean to… bring it to me?”

With an incredulous expression. Soon, he nodded lightly.

“Yes, and furthermore, Miss, you could even turn me away at the door after I bring it. I would be left fumbling, waiting just to be allowed in.”

“…!”

The idea of turning Claude away at the door! Just imagining it felt like a refreshing form of revenge.

“Judging by your expression, it seems you don’t find it too bad.”

“I-it’s not like I particularly want revenge on you.”

Of course, that was a lie.

Melody harbored a mountain of reasons to seek revenge on Claude, to the point where she was pondering what to do first.

“Anyway, we can’t delay any further, so it’s best we depart now.”

“…Understood.”

Melody walked past his shoulder, took a few more steps, and then spun around in the middle of the room, causing her light dress to flutter wide open.

“Then, let’s head to the town now, Cl…aude.”

When Melody awkwardly called him by name, Claude also turned to face her.

“…?”

He seemed to flinch in surprise, as if realizing something for the first time.

Was it strange for him to hear his name being called out?