Chapter 147

 

* * *

 

Mrs. Higgins left the words “In any case, don’t worry about such things” and hurriedly exited Melody’s room.

Left alone, Melody blinked her large eyes as she organized her thoughts about this sudden news. First, two things came to mind.

‘There’s someone in this world who wants to be engaged to me.’

Of course, Melody was a sensible person, so she didn’t entertain the romantic notion that someone had fallen head over heels for her at first sight. There were likely various circumstances among the nobles behind this request. Perhaps it was a family desperate to establish a connection with the ducal household. In any case, Melody found it quite novel that she could be discussed as someone’s potential fiancée.

‘Is Mother thinking of rejecting it outright?’

That would be a great insult to the other family. Not even allowing a meeting and rejecting the engagement proposal outright – the other family might misunderstand that the Higgins looked down on them.

‘It doesn’t seem like Mother’s way of doing things.’

While she was the daughter of the Ainz clan who favored actions over words, she had also perfectly assimilated into the capital nobility. Given this place’s nature where small ripples could turn into huge waves, she likely understood the need to tread carefully in matters involving other families.

‘Still….’

Melody felt she should discuss this matter with her mother again.

 

* * *

 

“I’ve heard that even if it gets rejected, etiquette dictates meeting at least three times beforehand, Mother.”

The next day, Melody went to Mrs. Higgins’ study and shared her opinion on the engagement proposal.

“But Melody…”

Her mother did not seem too pleased about it.

“I know what you’re worried about. I haven’t cultivated enough decorum befitting the Higgins name.”

“I’ve never worried about such a thing!”

Mrs. Higgins slammed her desk and stared at Melody with her head held high.

“You are my proud daughter.”

“Then…”

Melody took a step closer to the desk.

“Please give me the chance to reject it through the same process as others.”

“…….”

“As you know Mother, this is the first official outside request I’ve received. It wouldn’t look good to reject it without even meeting them.”

Mrs. Higgins could not refute Melody’s calm reasoning. Nobles placed great importance on going through proper, if cumbersome and awkward, processes. Many found skipping them unpalatable.

“…Even so.”

Mrs. Higgins let out a sigh. The idea of putting her child, still close to being a girl, through such processes felt misguided.

“I just want to act normally. The kind of behavior anyone would easily nod along to.”

At Melody’s nonchalant shrug, Mrs. Higgins could no longer insist stubbornly.

“…Alright. But in exchange, all three meetings with the other party must take place at our ducal residence.”

“I agree with that.”

“Of course, either I or your home tutor will be present at those meetings.”

“I’d be glad if you were there.”

“Above all, marriage is absolutely not permitted!”

When issuing her final warning, Mrs. Higgins’ eyes shone with intense force.

“If any idiot dares covet our little lamb, I’ll hang them upside down and kick their ass!”

While she seemed quite serious, Melody thought it was a joke and ended up laughing out loud.

Mrs. Higgins said she would write to the other family right away.

“I’ll let you know once…the schedule is set. Whew.”

Even as Melody seemed amused, Mrs. Higgins did not hide her displeasure in the slightest until the very end.

When Melody exited and came out from her mother’s study, an adorable fairy was waiting for her – Loretta.

“Melody, did Grandma scold you?”

The kind Loretta worried after hearing loud noises from the room.

Melody quickly shook her head and extended her hand.

“Not at all. If anything, I caused trouble for Mother instead.”

Loretta quickly took her hand, following along as Melody walked. They naturally headed towards the dining room, as it was breakfast time.

“But Grandma did say she’d hang someone upside down and kick their ass.”

Loretta added in a small voice while playing with her long braided hair, “Not that I was eavesdropping.”

“Ah, I’m sure that Grandma’s valiant voice echoed through the door crack.”

“Yeah, it echoed really loudly.”

The girls looked at each other briefly before bursting into giggles.

“And the person Grandma would hang upside down isn’t me, but some unknown future fiancé of mine.”

At those words, Loretta gasped in shock and tightly gripped Melody’s arm.

“…My ass?”

“Hm? What was that?”

“No, nothing!”

Loretta clung to Melody’s arm with a bright smile.

“Oh, Melody. There’s potato soup for breakfast today. I snuck into the kitchen at dawn to take a peek.”

“At dawn? You woke up that early?”

“Yeah, I’ve been waking up early these days for some reason. Hmm, maybe it’s because I’m happy about something…?”

Loretta’s eyes twinkled prettily as she spoke, like someone looking forward to something.

“Loretta, could you be…?”

Melody recalled what the maid had mentioned recently.

“Going out every day? Alone? You’ve become quite close with the carriage driver lately. Though of course it’s just you dragging him along unilaterally. Where are you going? I heard it was the library, but…I’m not too sure. Maybe….”

At the time, Melody thought it was just a coincidental similarity to the original story. But now she had an odd premonition.

“Maybe what?”

Loretta looked up at her expectantly, prompting Melody to continue. But Melody could only shake her head.

‘Impossible. Loretta hasn’t even met the male protagonist yet.’

Melody decided to change the subject tactfully.

“Hmm, did you discover an interesting book at the library that makes you go so often?”

“Ah…”

For a moment, Loretta’s expression stiffened awkwardly. But soon she smiled wryly and nodded vigorously.

“Yeah! It’s really fun!”

‘…Was I imagining things? Loretta seemed tense for a bit there.’

Melody shook her head to dispel the lingering doubt. There was no need to keep suspecting something impossible.

“By the way Melody.”

“Hm?”

As they neared the dining room entrance, Loretta asked another question.

“How did you end up talking about your future fiancé with Grandma?”

“Ah, that.”

Melody briefly paused her story to nod politely towards the people in the dining room. Claude, Ronny, and Isaiah talking to them were all present.

Claude naturally pulled out chairs for the two of them, while Ronny merely nodded a casual “You’re here?”

“Thank you, young master.”

Melody gave a slight nod of gratitude to Claude for his rare display of courtesy before taking a seat.  A maid soon brought over a chilled glass of tea in front of Melody as well.

Feeling parched, Melody took a sip before turning back to Loretta, who was still waiting for an answer with wide eyes.

“It wasn’t anything significant.”

Just as Melody was about to continue, a rather loud commotion came from between Ronny and Isaiah seated across from her. It seemed the two had clashed over some disagreement. But raising their voices was not an infrequent occurrence between them, so no one paid it much mind.

“Why should I go pick out flowerpots with you and be all buddy-buddy?!”

“You’re the one who proposed that silly bet in the first place, so you have no choice.”

“Who was it that got so startled when the pot broke and ran away?”

“I came right back though.”

“Whatever, you’re delusional.”

It seemed Ronny had been involved in some incident yesterday. Their voices grew increasingly louder, prompting Claude to calmly read his newspaper and issue gentle reminders.  But the excited pair paid him no heed.

Amidst the raucous dining room, Melody answered Loretta’s question in as quiet and simple a voice as possible for the eleven-year-old to understand.

“I received a marriage proposal.”

The very moment Melody finished whispering those words, the dining room that had been as noisy as a battlefield fell completely silent.

Had something happened? Melody looked around in puzzlement.

“…?”

Everyone was staring at her. Even Isaiah and Ronny, who had been grabbing each other’s collars just moments ago, as well as Claude, who had put down his newspaper to openly gawk.

“Um…”

It took Melody a while before she could finally speak up.

“Did I…make some kind of mistake?”

“Of course not.”

Claude was the first to respond. But peculiarly, even though breakfast had not been served yet, he was gripping a table knife rather tightly. Only then did Melody realize why he had been giving her such an odd look.

He must have been ravenously hungry. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to clutch the utensils so firmly before the meal had even arrived.

…Probably.

“Oh, um. If I didn’t make a mistake, that’s a relief.”

Melody turned her gaze towards Ronny and Isaiah next. They were still gripping each other’s collars as they shook their heads at her in unison.

“So…”

Soon, Loretta tugged on Melody’s wrist to ask her next question.

“What did you decide to do about it, Melody?”

“Hmm.”

Just then, the cold potato soup arrived, interrupting Melody’s story for a moment.