Chapter 142

 

* * *

 

“There is no such thing as an ’embrace of encouragement’ in this world. Even if it did exist, I would not give one to you, young master.”

He muttered something about how her “defenses seem higher than before” before turning the doorknob without further ado.

As the faint sound of the large door opening reached her ears, Melody instinctively squeezed her eyes shut tightly. For some reason, she felt like her mother’s frightening face would be waiting for her on the other side.

“……”

However, once the door was open, there were no signs of anyone there at all. Melody carefully opened her eyes and moved to stand behind Claude.

The interior of the mansion visible through the door crack appeared rather dark. There were lights placed at set intervals, but it was not enough to fully illuminate the moonless night.

“It doesn’t seem like anyone has come out yet?” Melody whispered.

“No, it doesn’t look that way,” Claude replied in a hushed tone as well.

The two tiptoed into the mansion like they were sneaking into someone else’s house. Afterwards, they closed the huge front door together.

When the lock clicked into place, they both let out a deep sigh of relief, simply making it inside unscathed seeming to put them at ease.

“Welcome back,” a crisp voice came from behind them, making their hair stand on end.

Without even turning around, they could tell who had greeted them – it was undoubtedly Mrs. Higgins. And she sounded quite angry too.

As if by unspoken agreement, Claude and Melody turned to face her simultaneously.

“Mrs. Higgins.”

“…Mother.”

The woman was holding a candle that had nearly melted all the way down, staring at them with a piercing gaze. Under those sharp eyes, they naturally lowered their heads deeply.

It seemed the time for their sentencing had arrived. Melody could not even fathom what tremendous punishment awaited her. Her hands clutching her dress hem had already begun trembling slightly.

“The time…” Mrs. Higgins finally spoke her first words.

She was likely about to ask what time they were returning, without any prior notice no less. This would mark the start of their scolding.

Melody figured she should humbly apologize no matter what her mother said.

“…It’s late, so it would be best for you to go rest now, young master.”

However, her mother’s surprising words caused Melody to instinctively lift her head in shock, worried she had misheard.

Mrs. Higgins soon turned her gaze towards Melody as well. When their eyes met, the sinful daughter flinched visibly before quickly lowering her body again.

“You should do the same, Melody.”

“…Huh?”

Melody found herself questioning her mother’s words without meaning to, so certain this could not be everything.

She had been bracing herself to be beaten while hearing laments like “You insane little lamb, where did you think you were following him to?!” But her mother simply told them to go rest.

“Then…”

Lady Higgins gave Claude a deep bow before immediately returning to her own room.

It seemed Claude was just as bewildered by her unexpected reaction. The two remained frozen in the entryway for quite some time, unmoving.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Melody’s eyes opened at the crack of dawn.

‘Come to think of it, it was only natural for Mother to react that way yesterday.’

Lady Higgins placed great importance on Melody’s meals and sleep schedule. So rather than scolding her at that late hour, she likely prioritized letting her rest first.

‘She’ll surely call for me today to give me a thorough scolding.’

The thought made her feel afraid again, but Melody steeled her resolve. She had committed an act worthy of reprimand, so there was nothing to be done about it.

She dressed herself neatly and waited patiently in her room for her mother to summon her. Soon, one of Mrs. Higgins’ maids came calling.

“Miss.”

This was it. Melody greeted the maid with perfect posture.

“Yes.”

“Mrs. Higgins…”

Now the maid would say ‘has requested your presence.’ Melody tensed up, clasping her hands tightly in anticipation of those words.

“…went out early this morning. She instructed that you eat first.”

“What…?”

Melody’s mind went blank at the completely unexpected message.

“Go out? Where to?”

“She did not mention her destination. But it seems she had some business to attend to. Where would you like to take your meal?”

“If possible, I’d like to wait for Mother’s return.”

“She absolutely forbade that, saying it would disrupt your scheduled meal times.”

Melody pondered it briefly before deciding to take her meal in her room separately. Of course, part of her wished to reunite with Loretta soon. But she felt it improper to act so casually before receiving her mother’s scolding.

 

* * *

 

Melody spent nearly the entire day alone in her room. She wondered how best to refuse if Loretta came by inviting her to play, but that worry proved needless.

Loretta did not come anywhere near Melody’s quarters. Later, a maid informed her that Loretta had been leaving early every morning and only returning in the evenings recently.

“She goes out every day? Alone?”

“It seems she has become quite close with the carriage driver. Though of course it’s just her dragging him along unilaterally.”

“But where does she go?”

“I heard it was the library, but…I’m not too sure.”

Ah.

Melody tilted her head, finding Loretta’s behavior rather familiar.

‘This was around when she first became friends with the male protagonist in the original story.’

Back then, Loretta would go out almost daily as well. According to her, she ruthlessly overworked the pitiful carriage driver who agreed to take her reluctantly.

Not only that, but when Claude asked where she kept disappearing to, she had lied and said the library.

‘…It’s a bit too similar for my liking.’

But it had to just be her imagination playing tricks on her. After all, August was still in Kristonson, and Loretta had not met him even once yet.

“More importantly, I wonder when Mother will return…”

“Hm? But she came back a while ago.”

The maid’s response made Melody jolt upright.

“She returned?”

“Yes.”

“Then…did she not call for me by any chance?”

“I didn’t hear anything about that…”

What in the world was going on?

Feeling uneasy, Melody began pacing slowly around her room, deep in thought. Was her mother perhaps waiting for Melody to come and apologize first? Or had she not yet decided on a punishment, hence the delay in summoning her?

“Miss, why are you looking so anxious?”

Well, Melody had gone and followed Claude out of the mansion without a second thought. She had not even considered what misunderstandings it might cause.

By now, strange rumors may have already started circulating in the mansion.

Suddenly, Melody felt a chill run down her spine. Of course, these were well-educated servants unlikely to spread gossip. But still…

“Please, feel free to speak candidly.”

The maid soon gave Melody a meaningful look, making her break out in goosebumps. Was she going to interrogate Melody about whether something untoward had happened with Claude?

Of course, nothing of the sort had occurred between them. How could it? That silly fool for his little sister would never randomly get such ideas while being alone with Melody, nor was there any reason for it.

‘Although…there was that slightly odd moment.’

Melody found herself unconsciously rubbing her fingertips over her dress, the sensation of touching his shoulders feeling unnecessarily vivid in her mind.

‘But that was just an embrace of relief.’

It was absolutely nothing strange or inappropriate.

Melody lifted her chin resolutely and looked the maid in the eye, ready to answer any suspicions with full confidence.

“We all actually knew already. The lady must feel bad about going to visit her maternal family alone.”

However…the maid’s words were about something completely different than Melody expected.

Her maternal family?

“What…what?!”

“Why are you so surprised? The lady told us herself that you went to visit her maternal family to celebrate finishing your exams.”

It seemed Mrs. Higgins had taken steps to prevent Melody from getting caught up in any strange rumors.

“So how was it? Were there really a lot of impressive people there?”

The Higgins’ maternal family, the Ainz clan, was a renowned martial arts lineage famous for producing many powerful figures throughout history. There were quite a few people who stayed there to train, including many admired for their impressive physiques honed through intense martial cultivation.

“Ah, yes…”

“I knew it! We were all so envious when we heard you went alone. Please tell us more details!”

The maid’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, leaving Melody quite flustered. How could she describe a place from the Ainz clan that she had never actually visited?

“Were there really that many beautiful and handsome people?! I heard the martial artists there have amazing shoulders!”

“Sh-shoulders…?!”

Of all things, the maid just had to bring up shoulders, causing Melody’s face to redden more than a ripe apple. Misinterpreting her reaction, the maid nodded in satisfaction.

“From the young miss’s response, those shoulders must have been truly impressive…Ah, what am I saying? I need to focus.”

She hurriedly excused herself to go deal with the laundry piled up in the hallway. Left alone in her room, Melody let out a deep sigh of relief.

“That was fortunate…”

If the maid had pressed her further, Melody would have been in quite the predicament. Lying was far more difficult than it seemed.

“What was?” a voice suddenly came from behind her.

Startled, Melody turned to find Isaiah outside her window, waving casually.

“Isaiah!”

Delighted to see him after several weeks apart, Melody hurried over to the windowsill.

“Hello, Mel.”

After glancing around briefly, he cupped his hands together with a solemn expression.

“Say, could you let me in for a bit?”

“Into my room?”

“Yeah, just for a little while.”

He looked somewhat uneasy, so Melody nodded in agreement first. Friends ought to help each other out, after all.

“Thanks.”

Isaiah nimbly hopped up and climbed over the high window ledge to sit on the sill. Though the window was not particularly small, it seemed a bit cramped fitting his larger frame through.

“Were you training?”

“Nah, nothing like that.”

He climbed down and leaned back against the wall, taking a moment to catch his breath. It seemed he had rushed over here in quite a hurry.

“If not training, what were you up to?”

“Oh, you know, just stuff.”

His vague mumbling was typical behavior when Isaiah had gotten into some mischief. Recognizing this tendency, Melody quickly went and sat across from him.