Chapter 157

 

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“A letter? Don’t tell me it was from Stewart Middleton?”

“Well…yes, but please wipe that sour look off your face, Ronny. It wasn’t an impolite letter.”

“Regardless of the letter’s politeness, just hearing that name itself irritates me.”

After shelving the remaining books, he began pulling the now empty book cart on Melody’s behalf.

As she walked alongside him, Melody explained about Stewart’s letter.

“A secret letter arrived through a messenger yesterday. It said he won’t be coming to the mansion today.”

“He only informed you about that last night?”

“Of course, officially the date is still proceeding as planned.”

“…?”

They had arrived at the entrance, returning the cart to its designated spot.

After thanking the librarians for their assistance with just a courteous nod, they exited the study side-by-side.

“So basically…”

Once in the hallway, Ronny tried summarizing Melody’s account.

“The Middleton family believes you and that guy are still meeting, but in reality that’s not the case?”

“Yes.”

“Well, what a twisted guy. Did you inform Mrs. Higgins?”

“Of course.”

They had coincidentally reached the stairs, naturally taking a seat side-by-side on the same step to continue their conversation, without either suggesting it first.

“Mother seemed to think it turned out well instead.”

Melody hugged her knees deeply to her chest.

“Come to think of it, she was opposed from the beginning. She must be glad I had one less date.”

“I suppose so.”

Ronny leaned his upper body back slightly, glancing sideways at Melody.

For some reason, her small sigh while resting her head on her knees gave him an indescribable pang of…regret?

‘Regret?’

Ronny dismissed that notion. After all, Melody didn’t seem too fond of Stewart Middleton either.

He should be celebrating that this final date had been unceremoniously cancelled like this.

“You know…”

Ronny straightened his back to face Melody directly.

“So now there’s nothing more for you to do regarding that engagement matter.”

He studied her eyes intently as he posed the question.

“Hmm.”

After resting her chin on her knees in contemplation for a bit, Melody gave a slight nod.

“Yes, I suppose so. Since Mother said she would handle the refusal letter. I should consider it completely over now…”

Soon, Ronny’s brows furrowed into a rather unpleasant expression.

“…Ronny, why are you getting angry?”

“Who said I’m angry!”

“But your eyes narrowed into slits.”

“My eyes are always like this! Worry about your own eyes instead right now.”

At his remark, Melody briefly touched her cheeks.

“My…eyes?”

It seemed she hadn’t realized the lingering, wistful expression she made whenever discussing the engagement matter.

“You fool.”

He flicked his fingertip against her forehead lightly.

“Why are you being so concerned about the guy who troubled you?”

Immediately, her eyes widened in surprise, as if realizing he had noticed.

Finding her reaction amusing, Ronny let out a laugh.

“Seriously, how many years do you think I’ve been living with you?”

“I didn’t know Ronny paid such careful attention to my heart.”

He had usually just dragged Melody around as he pleased, after all.

Ronny could not refute that accurate assessment of his typical behavior towards her.

“…Well, I do pay attention to you in my own way.”

“Yes, in your own way.”

Melody’s cheeky response prompted Ronny to move his finger towards her forehead again.

Assuming he intended to flick it, Melody tightly squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation.

Of course, Ronny simply looked at her face and chuckled instead of following through.

Only belatedly realizing he wouldn’t actually do it, Melody shot him a resentful glare.

“So, what is it exactly?”

“…Um.”

As he returned to the main topic, Melody hesitated briefly before replying.

“It just feels…unresolved.”

“What does?”

“Stewart Middleton.”

“What’s there to feel unresolved about? That bastard’s an asshole.”

“Well, I used to think so too… but…”

Melody trailed off, extending her hugged legs down the stairs.

“The last time we parted ways, he seemed to want to say something to me.”

Melody recalled how he had fumbled his words clumsily back then.

“What is it, uh…”

“About last time, when I said those things to you…”

He had been so tense that he couldn’t even keep his hands still.

Until ultimately getting startled by the coachman’s sneeze and fleeing into the carriage.

“So I was thinking if I met him again, I should hear the full story he was unable to finish.”

“Why on earth would you do that?”

Melody shrugged at Ronny’s question with a smile.

“If my intuition isn’t mistaken, it seemed he wanted to apologize to me.”

“I know that already. My point is, why do you need to accept some apology from a guy like him? Whether you get an apology from him or not won’t impact your bright future at all, Melody Higgins.”

Ronny emphasized her surname, as if to remind her of her position.

“I didn’t think that far. This is just a very simple matter.”

Melody spun her body fully to face him directly. Unable to refuse, Ronny turned to face her as well, their knees nearly touching.

“Someone sincerely wishes to apologize to you. What should you do?”

Ronny raised one hand in response to Melody’s query.

“Yes, Professor?”

“That bastard ain’t a friend though, is he?”

“……”

“If you glare at me that intensely just for a little joke, don’t you think it’ll hurt my feelings?”

“…Sorry.”

“Alright, I accept your apology.”

He nodded before letting out a long sigh.

It seemed Melody wanted to go through this simple process with that man as well.

Regardless of any benefits or drawbacks, just to maintain proper human courtesy.

“It’s a nuisance, but I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Reaching his resolution, Ronny extended his hand towards Melody.

“Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“To apologize.”

Though he said that, Melody only tilted her head without offering her hand.

“Who am I supposed to be apologizing to?”

“You fool. I’m the one who needs to apologize.”

“You, Ronny?”

“Yeah.”

He extended his hand again, prompting her to take it quickly.

“Ah, sorry. But who exactly are you apologizing to?”

Melody asked with an expression of feigned helplessness as she grasped his hand.

“Who else but Stewart Middleton.”

While Stewart had insulted Melody’s honor first at that party, he would never apologize for that.

But the second incident was different.

“I need to apologize to him too. Not that there are any particular gains or losses, but still.”

“But…”

Melody asked hesitantly.

“…How?”

“How? Obviously by finding him, of course.”

“We can’t just search the entire town for him though.”

“We don’t need to go that far. It’s actually quite a simple matter.”

“Simple?”

As Melody tilted her head in confusion, Ronny lifted his chin slightly.

“He’ll need to spend a considerable amount of time outside, being wary of his own family’s eyes.”

“Then…perhaps he went somewhere secluded?”

“There’s no more effective way to hide something than among similar things.”

“Ah, so he may have gone somewhere crowded instead?”

“Right. Preferably somewhere so bustling it would be difficult to even recognize each other.”

Melody nodded in affirmation, prompting Ronny’s explanation to continue.

“Additionally, it should be a place where a gentleman’s extended presence wouldn’t draw too much attention.”

“That makes sense too.”

“Since he needs to linger for a long period, some form of entertainment available would be ideal. With his frivolous nature, he’s unlikely to stick around somewhere too quiet and solemn.”

Ronny raised two firm fingers decisively.

“Which means…”

Just as he was about to reveal his deduced conclusion in a solemn tone:

“He would likely be at a social club or library. And if I had to choose which one for us to check first, I would pick the social club befitting the Middleton family’s standing.”

The approaching Claude smoothly stole Ronny’s lines instead.

“…?!”

Ronny shot up in startled surprise, staring intensely at Claude with a hint of resentment in his gaze.

In response, Claude simply shrugged one shoulder in apology.

“Sorry about that, Ronny. You just seemed to be enjoying yourself. Ah, and good day to you too, Miss Melody.”

“…?!”

While Claude greeted her naturally, Melody simply stared at his face for several seconds in silence.

He smiled faintly while tilting his head, as if asking why she looked so surprised.

Melody’s expression turned slightly sullen.

‘Well…’

Ever since that night, she had felt awfully embarrassed whenever facing Claude.

At the time, she had been too flustered to notice anything amiss. But contemplating it afterwards…

‘It was an incredibly embarrassing situation!’

She could begrudgingly accept having him pierce her ears as a reasonable excuse. But sitting on his lap went beyond the bounds of propriety no matter how she looked at it.

Recalling that fact anew, Melody found herself feeling rather self-conscious around Claude.

However, living under the same roof meant she couldn’t avoid encountering him either.

Fortunately, she had been able to act naturally during mealtimes and tea sessions by mentally preparing herself in advance.

But with these sudden unexpected meetings, the lingering unease she had hidden away inevitably resurfaced within Melody.

“Good…day.”

By the time Melody managed to open her mouth, Ronny had stepped in front of her, blocking her view.

“Brother, how did you know we were searching for Middleton?”

For some inexplicable reason, Ronny’s tone carried an undercurrent of peculiar hostility and tension.

“Conveniently enough.”

In contrast, Claude responded lightheartedly with a slight smile.

“Since I’m filling in for Father’s role, I tend to hear about everything happening in this mansion.”

“……”

“In any case, I apologize for intruding on your brilliant deduction. I truly am sorry about that, Ronny.”

Claude lowered his head apologetically, leaving Ronny seeming at a loss for words.

For some reason, Ronny’s speechless reaction struck Melody as rather pitiable, prompting her to swiftly divert Claude’s attention instead.

“Oh, good day to you too, Lord Claude.”

“Miss Melody.”

He brushed past Ronny to descend the remaining stairs, extending his hand towards her.

Left with no choice, Melody offered her remaining free hand to him. As a result, she ended up with each hand held by one of the brothers.

While it felt rather odd to be grasping their hands simultaneously like this…

At least it made it easier for them to assist her in standing up from the stairs, each pulling one of her arms.

“…Thank you.”

“Not at all. And if Miss Melody intends to properly exchange apologies with him, I’m in full agreement. There’s no need to leave things ambiguous between you two.”

Claude’s smiling remark prompted Melody to nod slightly.

“Yes, that’s…what I thought too.”

“However, I am a bit concerned.”

Claude briefly stroked his chin contemplatively.

“A gentlemen’s club is hardly a suitable place for Miss Melody to frequent, in many ways.”

As he finished speaking, Ronny quickly stepped forward to respond, lifting his chin slightly.

“Then I shall go, Brother.”