Chapter 143

 

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“Isaiah, did you get into some trouble?”

When Melody asked with a slightly accusatory look, Isaiah responded by letting his eyes crinkle into a wide grin, revealing his white teeth.

“Was I that obvious?”

“Yes, completely.”

“It wasn’t anything major.”

As he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, Melody quickly offered him a handkerchief.

“Oh, you’re giving this to me? Thanks, I’ll make good use of it.”

However, instead of using the proffered handkerchief, he simply stuffed it into his pocket and continued wiping himself down with his sleeve.

“You said you’d use it properly, so why aren’t you?”

“It would be a waste to use it for wiping off dirt.”

“What’s so wasteful about that? And it’s not dirty at all!”

Isaiah was not dirty in the slightest. Of course, being a knight meant he spent a lot of time outdoors, so sometimes dirt and dust clung to him. But that was just evidence of him diligently doing his job, which Melody took pride in.

“Alright, I’ll definitely use the handkerchief next time.”

He seemed to have caught his breath, leaning his head back against the cold wall. He propped one bent knee up, resting his arm on it.

Melody decided this was a good time to start asking what kind of mischief he had gotten into that made him scurry over here to hide.

“So…”

But Isaiah’s question came first.

“By the way Mel, where have you been?”

“Huh? Oh…”

“You were gone from the mansion for about two weeks. Where did you go?”

Melody fell into brief contemplation, unsure how to respond.

“I heard you went to visit Mrs. Higgins’ maternal family.”

Perhaps sensing her hesitation, Isaiah volunteered a bit more information.

“But from what I could tell, it didn’t seem like you actually went there.”

“…?!”

Surprised, Melody stared at him intently. Isaiah scratched his head sheepishly.

“Is it really that shocking that I figured it out?”

“Well…yes.”

Of course it was, coming from none other than Isaiah who could see through Mrs. Higgins’ lie so easily.

“It was pretty simple actually.”

He straightened his back for a moment, peering closely at Melody’s face before nodding again.

“Mel, your face is tanned.”

“My face?”

“Yeah. But there was a huge rainstorm at your mother’s family’s place all last week. It’s probably still raining there.”

“How do you know it rained…over there?”

“There are people from the Knights’ Order who go there periodically for training. I heard they really struggled because of the rain.”

Melody unconsciously touched her cheek. From wandering outside almost every day in Kristonson, her skin had likely become quite tanned.

“So in other words, you went somewhere with bright sunshine. Am I right?”

Melody nodded slowly, newly appreciating Isaiah’s upbringing. He had received advanced education from the doctor since childhood, allowing his intellect to develop remarkably.

It seemed that logical training was finally bearing fruit today, as his reasoning left no room for dispute. Melody could only nod in admission.

“Yes, you’re right.”

“I figured as much. So where did you actually go then?”

“…Kristonson.”

“What?!”

Isaiah let out a loud exclamation before quickly covering his mouth, glancing outside to ensure no one searching for him had overheard.

“You went to Kristonson? Then does that mean you went with the young master?!”

It seemed Claude’s destination had been public knowledge after all. It would have been difficult to lie about something like that.

“Y-Yes.”

“Geez, were you okay? He didn’t bully you or anything, did he?”

Fortunately, Melody did not have too many memories of being bullied there. In Kristonson, Claude had mostly played the role of a servant, adhering to Melody’s wishes for the most part.

The only thing that gave her pause was:

‘The embrace of relief…I probably don’t need to mention that. It wasn’t bullying or anything to begin with.’

“The young master treated me well.”

Melody shrugged nonchalantly.

“As if he’d do anything else.”

“Why do you sound so doubtful?”

Isaiah quickly shook his head. It was not that he didn’t believe Melody.

“It’s the young master I can’t trust.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you used to cling to me all the time saying ‘The young master bullied me.'”

“……”

Now that he mentioned it, he was right. Back in the capital, Isaiah had been one of the few people Melody could open up to, so she would occasionally vent her frustrations about Claude to him.

“It’s a relief if the young master didn’t bully you this time in particular, Mel.”

For a moment, Isaiah’s expression grew serious, as if about to impart something important.

“But it’s better if you keep a reasonable distance from him.”

“A reasonable distance?”

“Yes. It doesn’t seem like the young master has any intention of considering your circumstances.”

“What…do you mean by that?”

He let out a pensive “umm” sound, furrowing his brow as if finding it difficult to explain.

“It’s like this. I won’t do anything without your permission, Mel.”

“…What?”

“There are various things. Like how I asked for permission before entering your room earlier.”

“Right.”

“Your feelings are the most important thing to me. But the young master is different.”

Somehow…Melody felt she understood what he meant. Of course, Claude did sometimes ask for her permission too.

But strictly speaking, more often than not he would put her in situations where she felt compelled to give permission instead.

“So even if it’s for the sake of protecting you, you should keep a reasonable distance in mind.”

“I…see.”

It was quite a plausible point, so Melody slowly nodded in agreement.

“For some reason, Isaiah seems smarter today.”

“Ack, don’t say that. I’m scared of being called smart. It feels like I’ll have to do some horrific studying at any moment.”

Isaiah’s frantic waving made Melody laugh out loud at his exaggerated reaction.

“There’s the smile I was waiting for.”

“I might laugh more if you tell me what kind of mischief made you come hide in my room.”

“Ugh…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Isaiah finally confessed with difficulty that he had accidentally broken his superior’s beloved bonsai plant while practicing archery.

Melody thought ‘It was just a bonsai?’ at first, but it was actually not such a simple matter. Apparently it was a bonsai plant his superior cherished more than his own life, even keeping a daily observation journal for it.

“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to quickly apologize and help replant it in a new pot?”

“I was thinking the same, but…” Isaiah shook his head vigorously, seemingly recalling his terrifying superior’s face.

“He’s just too scary.”

“But if you drag it out, won’t he only get angrier?”

“Ugh…”

Isaiah clutched his head, admitting Melody had a point.

“When you need to buy a new pot, I’ll go with you. So go apologize soon, okay?”

“Ugh…alright.”

Melody found it oddly amusing to see the much larger Isaiah pout and grumble reluctantly. It was rather endearing.

“Well, I’ll get going then.”

He stood up and climbed back over the window ledge. Even though he had resolved to go apologize, his movements still seemed sluggish, as if he was procrastinating.

“Oh, that’s right.”

Crouched on the sill, he seemed to remember something and turned back to Melody.

“You should apologize soon too, Mel.”

“Hm?”

“Didn’t you say if you drag it out, it’ll only get scarier?”

‘Ah, he must be referring to me and my mother.’

“…Isaiah, you can be incredibly perceptive at times.”

Usually quite oblivious, it was remarkable how he always seemed to pick up on Melody’s troubles right when she felt most conflicted.

“Well, of course.”

He flashed a mischievous grin reminiscent of his childhood prankster days.

“Because I’m always watching over Mel.”

“…Isaiah.”

“So you have to tell me everything too, got it?”

“Yes, I will.”

Melody extended her pinky finger, and their intertwined pinkies shook lightly in the air, sealing the promise.

‘Somehow, I feel lighter now.’

Until meeting with Isaiah, Melody had just been anxiously waiting and wondering when her mother would summon her.

Come to think of it, it was only natural that she should go and apologize herself.

‘…I was just too afraid, so I stayed cooped up in my room instead.’

Melody felt ashamed for having admonished Isaiah earlier when he had run away to avoid his superior. She had been doing the same thing, so she had no right to criticize him.

“Thank you, Isaiah.”

“No, thank you Melody. Thanks to you, I got the courage to go apologize.”

“And I got courage from you too, Isaiah.”

Those words seemed to delight him greatly. He sprang up from his seat, twirled joyfully in the air, and landed with a flourish.

Mistaking it for a circus act, Melody watched in amazement, applauding. But she quickly composed herself and issued a warning.

“Don’t do anything too dangerous though. I’d worry if you got hurt.”

Though her words carried sincere concern, Isaiah merely grinned merrily, not taking them to heart at all.

 

* * *

 

Melody took out the gift she had bought for Mrs. Higgins on the return trip from Kristonson.

Most of their travel purchases were scheduled to be delivered later by the company, but Melody had received Mrs. Higgins’ gift separately in advance.

Sitting at her desk, she tied an adorable green ribbon around the box containing the cosmetic cream gift set.

‘It wasn’t that I expected Mother to forgive me just for this little gift…’

But while selecting the present, Melody had genuinely hoped it would bring Mrs. Higgins some joy.

‘Even just a little, I wish she would smile.’

Once the wrapping was complete, Melody arrived outside Mrs. Higgins’ room and firmly knocked on the tightly shut door.

However, there was no response no matter how long she waited. It seemed Mrs. Higgins was not in her room.

“Miss, is something the matter?”

A passing servant inquired, so Melody quickly asked about Mrs. Higgins’ whereabouts.

“Ah, the lady is in the kitchen. It seems she is cooking something.”

Cooking herself?