Chapter 154

 

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‘It sounded like a pained groan.’

Before Melody could hesitate further, a similar sound came again.

“Ugh…..”

What could possibly be happening inside that room to produce such noises?

Concerned, Melody skipped knocking and carefully turned the doorknob instead.

Pushing the door open slightly, the duke’s study desk immediately came into view.

The inkwells and pen holders arranged on top were neatly organized according to his meticulous character, kept in perfect order and spacing.

And around the center was a brightly lit lamp, surrounded by small items like a handheld mirror and tufts of cotton.

Who had brought the cotton there?

Looking around curiously, Melody saw no one else present in the room at the moment.

‘Strange…?’

She was certain she had heard something like a groan just earlier.

Having been so close, there was no way she could have misheard.

‘But what was that sound…?’

Suddenly, her father’s words about ghosts clinging to shoulders if playing on the stairs flashed through Melody’s mind.

‘No, that can’t be. Absolutely not….’

Melody shook her head vigorously, trying to dismiss the thought.

“…Ah, more than I expected.”

Then, from beyond the desk, someone slowly rose while muttering to themselves.

“…?!”

Melody was so startled that no sound escaped her mouth full of held breath.

“…?!”

It seemed the other person was equally shocked as well.

The two of them simply stared at each other across the lamp in silence.

“…What are you doing here?”

Finally regaining her composure, Melody released the tension in her chest as she asked the question.

“Lord Claude.”

As the one managing the duke’s affairs in his absence, Claude had free use of this study.

However, that still did not explain his peculiar behavior of being hunched behind the desk at this late hour.

“Ah, um…”

Furthermore, he seemed unusually flustered, unlike his typical composed self.

The casual elegance he always carried like an ornament was nowhere to be seen.

What especially caught Melody’s eye was how he kept awkwardly touching his ear with one hand.

“Is there some problem with your ear?”

Seeing him fidgeting restlessly, Melody approached and asked.

“Hmm, no.”

He immediately denied it while taking a step back, still not removing his hand from his ear.

“It seems there is an issue though.”

Melody went right up to him and tilted her head up.

But he avoided meeting her gaze, simply giving an awkward smile while shifting his eyes away.

“Well… it’s getting late, so you should head back and rest now, Miss Melody.”

“Not until I find out what you’re doing.”

Having regained some composure in the meantime, he responded with an overly bright smile that concealed his eyes.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not in a situation to… Ugh.”

However, his fake smile didn’t last long.

As he grimaced while unable to properly cover his ear, Melody quickly grabbed his hand and pulled it away.

“M-Miss Melody!”

“Stay still!”

Melody responded rather firmly in the tone of a “young lady” she had learned in Kristonson.

Fortunately, he did not resist any further.

Finally, Melody could examine his revealed left ear closely.

The reason for his pained groans became evident – there were two small new  earrings that hadn’t been there before, one on his earlobe and another on the outer ear cartilage.

It seemed they had just been pierced, with red blood oozing along the curved ridges.

“Goodness…”

While Melody was stunned, he used sanitized cotton to wipe away the dripping blood.

“…Doesn’t it hurt?”

When Melody asked with a pained expression, he gave a wry laugh.

“It hurts more than I expected, which is why I was so surprised.”

“But you pierced two at once?”

“The lower one didn’t hurt much. I thought the cartilage would be similar.”

He trailed off, unable to continue, implying the pain was too difficult to describe.

“So that’s what caused the groaning.”

“…Could it be heard from outside?”

“Unfortunately, yes. How is it now?”

“Horrible.”

He shook his head slowly before seemingly grimacing again from another twinge of pain.

“Should I fetch some medicine? I recall Master Jeremiah sending over a pain-relieving concoction he made.”

“No need, it’s not that bad.”

“But you said it was horribly painful.”

“I didn’t mean the current pain was horrible.”

Then what was so horrible?

As Melody peered at his ear inquisitively, she realized one crucial fact.

“Ah, humans have… two ears, don’t they?”

“Yes, we have a pair of ears.”

Which meant he would have to repeat the process he had just endured once more.

Melody came up with what she thought was a good idea to console him.

“It wouldn’t be that strange to just have one  earring though.”

But he shook his head.

“The artisans of the duchy make  earrings in pairs for both ears.”

“Ah.”

Only now did Melody understand why he was tormenting himself at this late hour.

It seemed he intended to personally use the creations from the duchy’s artisans, willingly becoming a promotional tool for them.

“Did you mention that orders would soon flood in like a storm?”

“Not yet. That’s for when I pierce the other ear.”

“I see…”

Melody shrugged before gesturing towards the large study  chair with a nod.

“Have a seat, I’ll assist you.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s just a matter of pushing the  earring through in a similar location to the left side, right?”

“Well, yes, but…”

For some reason, he didn’t seem too keen on the idea.

“Is there a particular reason you must do it yourself?”

Come to think of it, the ducal household had many servants who could lend a hand for such tasks.

Rather than struggling alone this late at night.

“Well… it feels a bit off. Since it’s piercing a hole in my own body and all.”

“But this is usually something others help with.”

“Even so, I didn’t really want someone else’s hands involved.”

After saying that, he added honestly to avoid any misunderstanding from Melody.

“Of course, you’re an exception, Miss Melody.”

“I know, because I’m a Higgins, right? Just wait a moment then. I should wash my hands thoroughly first.”

She shrugged and briefly exited the room, returning after washing her hands.

“Are you really going to do it? Do you have experience?”

“No, but I’ll likely manage if you guide me through the process.”

Melody smiled, adding, “At least better than you doing it yourself.”

That was an undeniable point. As a right-handed person, it would be awkward for Claude to pierce his own right ear himself.

Moreover, he didn’t seem to have proper control over his hands at the moment either.

“Hmm, actually there’s not much of a process per se.”

He handed Melody the pre-sharpened  earring, positioning himself in front of her.

“Just position it precisely and push it through in one go. Can you do that?”

His question did not mean to doubt her, but simply showed concern if she might feel averse to piercing someone’s body with a sharp object.

“Probably.”

Melody slowly nodded as she sanitized the pointed  earring tip, her expression resolutely determined as if bracing herself.

Seeing that, Claude couldn’t help but smile a little.

“No need to push yourself.”

“No, I want to try. I might need to do this for Loretta later on.”

“Using my ear for practice, I see. Alright then.”

After finishing the sanitization, Melody gripped his chin with her hand, tilting his head up at a suitable angle.

From that distance, she examined the left ear that was already pierced and his intact right ear alternately.

“I should keep them balanced so it doesn’t look strange, right?”

“Mmm, I suppose so.”

After scrutinizing each side repeatedly, Melody bent down slightly for a closer look at his right ear.

He remained utterly still, leaning his head and body fully against the  chair’s backrest.

“How about… around here?”

Melody positioned the sharpened  earring tip against a spot on his earlobe and asked for his opinion.

“I’m not sure.”

There was a hint of tension in his responding voice.

“I’ll leave the positioning entirely up to you, Miss Melody.”

“Entirely up to me? That makes me feel quite responsible somehow. This is going to take a while…”

Melody whispered with an awkward expression, prompting the corners of Claude’s lips to quirk up slightly.

“I suppose so. Even when I’m an old graybeard, Miss Melody’s work from today may still remain.”

Well… if she kept the pierced ear continuously adorned with  earrings, that would naturally occur.

It was an obvious and natural prospect, yet Melody felt an odd sensation nonetheless.

But she soon brushed it off with a light smile, asking teasingly,

“Does that mean if I pierce it strangely, the old graybeard will keep complaining until the end?”

“Of course not.”

He straightened his head that had been tilted slightly to the left as he responded.

“It means I will cherish it for a lifetime.”

Giving a brief smile, he fell silent after that, likely to allow her to focus.

“Alright then… here I go.”

Melody took a step closer to perfectly concentrate her strength through her fingertips.

Their knees ended up brushing against each other, so he shifted his posture to accommodate her preferred proximity.

Once more, Melody positioned the sharp tip against his earlobe.

Claude’s face twitched briefly, seemingly anticipating the impending pain.

His rare display of trepidation felt oddly fresh and intriguing to Melody.

Enough to make her unconsciously study his face intently.

‘…Now that I think about it.’

She recalled something she usually tried not to be aware of.