Chapter 150

 

* * *

 

Following her mother’s advice, Melody was obediently waiting in her room for the prospective fiancé to arrive.

She had no particular worries. She already knew the proper procedures in advance.

Mrs. Higgins said she would escort him to the reception room first, then Melody would go and have a brief conversation with him.

As long as she maintained proper etiquette, she could reject the marriage proposal without either party losing face.

However, Melody’s “smooth rejection plan” seemed to start going awry right from the beginning.

It started with someone’s scream being heard first.

‘…?’

Such a shriek resounding in what should be a peaceful manor.

But that was not the end of it. Soon after, another scream of anguish echoed out.

From the sound alone, it seemed exactly like Mrs. Higgins had struck someone repeatedly.

Melody naturally recalled the previous comment she had overheard:

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

…Had she really kicked someone?

Melody shook her head at the thought that briefly crossed her mind.

There was no way the noble lady Mrs. Higgins of the capital would treat a young man from another family in such a manner without provocation.

‘But those screams just now were undeniable.’

Growing uneasy, Melody paced back and forth by the door, deep in contemplation.

In the end, she decided to go out and check for herself.

Opening the door and passing through the hallway towards the entrance, she found servants had already gathered, all whispering among themselves.

‘It seems some unpleasant incident has occurred.’

With a worried expression, Melody went out to the entrance area. Upon noticing her, the servants hurriedly parted to the sides.

As the crowd split apart, an astonishing scene naturally came into full view before Melody’s eyes.

“……”

First, Mrs. Higgins’ palm was heading straight towards Ronny’s back.

SLAP, the sound of his back being struck resounded loudly.

With a pained expression, Ronny gripped the collar of the male visitor even more tightly.

Between them, Isaiah was nearly in tears, pleading with Mrs. Higgins to stop. Saying the young master must have had his reasons, and begging her not to turn his back into a tortoise shell.

Finally, Melody carefully studied the face of the man Ronny had seized.

In truth, Melody only knew that ‘someone from the family proposing marriage was supposed to visit today.’

Mrs. Higgins had not bothered informing her which specific family or person would be coming.

‘…!’

Upon recognizing the man’s face, Melody blinked her eyes rapidly as she stared at him intently.

She knew this might sound unbelievable, but he was someone Melody was acquainted with, if only barely.

‘…Well, acquainted is too strong a word since I’ve even forgotten his name.’

They had no deeper connection beyond sitting next to each other during the examinations.

“Well, you’re disqualified then. It’s regrettable, but that’s how it is.”

“Are you saying those whose names were not called are the ones who failed?”

“Having the favor of the Baldwin Duke, who is even respected by the Emperor, must make for a comfortable life.”

Of course, he did have a history of initiating unpleasant taunts towards Melody as well.

 

* * *

 

The incident at the entrance was finally resolved thanks to Melody’s intercession, more or less.

The servants escorted the disheveled prospective fiancé to the reception room, while Mrs. Higgins took Ronny and Isaiah away.

Though Melody wished to follow her mother, she went to the reception room first for now.

As soon as their eyes met, Melody lowered her head deferentially towards him.

While she still bore some resentment from their examination incident, she could not bring herself to speak ill towards someone who had just endured such an ordeal.

So Melody intended to start by courteously asking if he was alright first.

But the man seemed to have other thoughts. The moment he saw Melody, he scowled at her.

“Why did you do that?”

His resentful question caught Melody off guard.

She wondered what exactly he felt aggrieved about. Did he mean her not actively intervening when Ronny attacked him at the entrance?

“Well, Ronny outranks me, so I couldn’t have presumed to step in rashly.”

“Ah, who cares about that?! You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Did what?”

“What else?!”

He abruptly stood up from his seat and glared sharply at Melody.

“You knew our family had sent a letter! So why didn’t you reject the marriage proposal?!”

“…Pardon?”

Melody could only respond with a bewildered question to his outrageous statement.

“In other words. Since there’s nothing good about us meeting again, why did you accept the proposal?!”

“I didn’t know it was you.”

“Don’t joke. My name must have been written in the letter.”

“Mother did not show me the letter.”

And Melody added with a slight smile, letting him know an important fact.

“Above all, I didn’t even know your name.”

At that, he opened his eyes wide as he stared intently at Melody.

“You didn’t know…my name?”

“Did I need to know it?”

“How could you not know?”

“No one introduced us properly.”

“You didn’t introduce yourself either. But the examiner called out my name… Ah.”

The man briefly clutched his head, seeming anguished.

He must have recalled how Melody had her name called to pass, while his was not called as he failed.

“Damn it.”

He let out a deep sigh before resting both hands on his hips.

After that dejected self-introduction, he turned towards the reception room door.

“In any case, I’m leaving.”

“Oh.”

Melody hurriedly stood up to follow him as well.

“You’re leaving already? A bit more…”

But he shoved both hands into his pockets and looked back at Melody menacingly, as if reminding her of his humiliation from earlier.

“…I suppose you must go.”

“Damn, what a total waste of time with a brat like you.”

Grumbling irritably, he exited into the hallway. The servants waiting to fetch his carriage quickly bowed.

Melody informed them in a low voice, “He’s leaving.”

The servants soon brought his hat and jacket in a rush.

His jacket had been quite disheveled from Ronny’s earlier manhandling, but the skilled ducal servants had restored it to pristine condition in no time, like magic.

Stewart seemed slightly impressed by this, staring between his hat and the servants before letting out a “Hmph” as he snatched it back.

Without any proper farewell, he climbed into the carriage.

Even when Melody called out “Please travel safely” from beyond the window, he did not spare her a single glance.

 

* * *

 

Shortly after  Stewart Middleton’s carriage departed from the duchy, a servant handed Melody a bouquet of flowers as she returned inside.

“What’s this?”

“These are the flowers Mr.  Stewart Middleton brought for you, miss. Though they did get a bit…damaged.”

“Ah.”

As the prospective fiancé, he must have brought them as proper decorum.

However, most of the flowers had been trampled and torn apart amid the entrance hall scuffle.

“What a total mess.”

Melody muttered absentmindedly, though her commentary was not specifically about the damaged bouquet.

It perfectly described her first marriage proposal experience.

The Middleton family would surely lodge an official complaint now, not just with the Higgins Barony but likely the Baldwin Duchy as well.

‘Considering the young master caused an incident in front of so many, they’ll be obligated to address it…’

Melody felt weighed down, as if she had brought harm to the ducal household through this marriage proposal fiasco.

 

* * *

 

After the mistreatment of Melody’s prospective fiancé  Stewart Middleton, Ronny did not come out of his room.

He did not permit anyone else to enter either. However, since he could not bar even Claude, he ended up briefly explaining the situation to him.

Melody, who had been lingering outside Ronny’s door, grabbed Claude as he exited after finishing their conversation.

“Is Ronny alright?”

“Yes. He seems to have calmed down now.”

Claude gave her a gentle, reassuring smile, as if telling her not to worry too much.

But a deep crease formed on Melody’s brow regardless.

“There you go, young master. Why did Ronny…”

“I’m sorry.”

Claude lightly stroked Melody’s furrowed brow with his fingertips as he shook his head.

“It doesn’t seem like something I should discuss arbitrarily.”

“Was it that serious an incident? The one between Ronny and Mr. Middleton, I mean.”

“Serious…yes, I suppose it was.”

After nodding, he brushed aside the  strands of hair falling over Melody’s ears.

“In any case, don’t worry too much.”

“But if they lodge an official complaint!”

“I doubt that will happen…but even if they do, it wouldn’t be Miss Melody’s fault.”

Though his reassuring words were appreciated, Melody could only shake her head.

“The truth is, Mother…had advised me to flatly reject the proposal in the first place.”

She now regretted not heeding her mother’s words.

 Stewart Middleton himself had even admonished her for not rejecting it when he visited today.

“Sometimes, the intuition of elders is astonishingly accurate.”

“…Yes.”

“And it seems you’ve forgotten something else, Melody.”

Claude took a step back before giving a slight bow, just like when introducing himself.

“I’m also an elder.”

“…?”

“Perhaps not to Mrs. Higgins’ extent, but my intuition shouldn’t be too far off either.”

Leaving just the words “So don’t worry too much,” Claude brushed past Melody.

Left alone in the hallway, Melody carefully knocked on Ronny’s door.

“Ronny…?”

But there was no response, as if he did not wish to meet anyone at the moment. With no choice, Melody had to withdraw.