Chapter 168

 

* * *

 

“Here?”

“Yes, let’s first check the work log.”

He immediately turned and started walking along the fence.

At the end of it, there was a small hut, which seemed very old, perhaps having been there since the land was leased.

Under the unusually long eaves, there was a large flowerpot, and there were medicinal herbs planted by Jeremiah. They seemed to be ones that grew in the shade.

In front of the rough wooden wall, there were farm tools placed at regular intervals.

These alone were polished until they sparkled. To the point of being surprisingly out of place among the old surroundings.

Claude, who entered the hut first, first lit a candle.

Normally, sunlight would be enough and this wouldn’t be necessary, but today the clouds were thick.

Soon, the surroundings brightened.

Claude first looked around thoroughly. To check if anything had changed.

The old wooden shelves and the glass bottles arranged on top, spare paper and ink, and the medicinal herbs hanging along the old walls.

Nothing particularly stood out, so he checked the work log on the large work desk with relief.

“It’s Young Master Jeremiah’s handwriting.”

Melody, who had approached next to him at some point, was looking at the log together.

“You know it well.”

“It’s unmistakable. Ronny always worries about the handwriting that ended up resembling the Tower Master’s, right?”

“Yes, Ronny says he ‘deciphers’ Jeremiah’s letters. Not ‘reads’ them.”

Fortunately, Claude and Melody could ‘read’ his handwriting without difficulty.

Jeremiah, who had visited three days ago, had written that he plucked some medicinal herbs and washed them.

[When Brother Claude arrives, the moisture will be gone, so please hang them well on the wall.]

After checking the last work log left behind, Claude sighed, saying “Ah.”

“Is it that difficult of a task?”

“No, that’s not it.”

He carefully examined the medicinal herb stems Jeremiah had washed.

“Jeremiah left behind the desk work and left. At this rate, I won’t be able to prove I’m not a desk worker.”

“Heh heh.”

“Anyway, it’s a request from my lovely younger brother, so I’ll have to work hard. Miss Melody. That red string over there… No, never mind.”

He naturally started to give her work but stopped as if realizing something and quickly shook his head.

“Should I bring this?”

As Melody quickly brought the red string to the work desk, he sighed, saying “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Well, I didn’t intend to make you work. At least not right now…”

“Feel free to make me work as much as you want.”

Melody tightly grasped the coiled string with both hands.

“I’m your…hands, aren’t I?”

Melody regretted the words she added unnecessarily.

She didn’t want to see him thoughtlessly nodding at such obvious words.

It was a truly strange feeling.

It would have been better if she hadn’t said it from the beginning.

“Miss Melody is.”

Soon, his answer came.

Melody was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice his answer was a bit slower than usual.

“…Miss Melody.”

“Yes?”

“It’s just that. Anyway, sit down.”

He brushed off the conversation and piled the medicinal herbs Jeremiah had left behind in the middle of the desk.

“I’ve done it quite a few times, so it won’t take long. So sit there and watch how well I do desk work. I won’t disappoint you.”

He took off his jacket and hung it on the wall, then neatly rolled up his white shirt sleeves.

Afterwards, he brought scissors from the cabinet and sat in front of the desk.

Melody, who was blankly watching him, carefully asked.

“What should I do?”

“Breathe. Because a breathing Miss Melody is cute.”

He delivered a slightly modified version of what Loretta often said when she was young, laughing playfully.

“But it’s strange if I just breathe while you’re doing something, Young Master.”

“It’s not strange.”

He soon grasped some medicinal herbs and plucked the leaves from part of the stem.

Melody had nothing in particular to do, so she just watched him work with her chin resting on her hand.

He gathered the parts where the leaves had fallen off, leaving only the stems, and tightly tied them with a red string.

Even after tying the knot, he left a long portion of the string cut.

“Are you going to hang this on the wall?”

Melody lifted the bundle of medicinal herbs he had just made.

It looked cute somehow, like a small broom dangling under the red string.

“It looks just like a festival decoration.”

“Right?”

He pointed to the wall behind Melody. When she turned around, several similar ones were already hanging.

As the leaves dried in the light and wind coming through the window, the color deepened and the ends curled up.

“When they’re completely dry, we grind them into powder and store them in glass bottles.”

“It’s somehow fun.”

Melody grasped an appropriate amount of the medicinal herbs piled on the desk.

“I told you not to do it.”

Claude immediately stopped her, but she shook her head.

“But if we do it together, it’ll be done faster.”

“…That’s.”

Claude, who was about to answer that he didn’t want that, just swallowed his words.

Because Melody looked quite happy plucking the leaves and tying them with string.

“Will you check if I made it well?”

Even though it was her first time doing it, she made the bundle of medicinal herbs quite skillfully.

“It would be good to pull the knot a bit tighter. Since we’re hanging it upside down.”

At his advice, Melody retied the knot with all her strength until her face turned red.

“How’s this?”

At the question asked as if a child having homework checked, he nodded.

“You’re doing well.”

Praised by him, Melody excitedly started making a new bundle.

‘I praised her unnecessarily…’

Because he had no intention of making her work at all, Claude felt a bit awkward.

At this rate, it didn’t seem any different from their usual appearance.

“I told you to just breathe next to me…”

There was no answer to the words he said needlessly.

Melody seemed to be concentrating deeply, so he silently immersed himself in work with her.

However, as the simply repeated work continued, Claude felt a bit empty.

It might be because he was used to always fiercely thinking and pondering about something.

Fortunately, he had a lot of things to think about.

Even if it wasn’t about Loretta, he had the ducal territory’s work.

But for some reason, he didn’t want to think about such things now.

He lifted his gaze slightly while tying a knot. He saw Melody’s face as she plucked the leaves.

She was already deeply immersed in the work, with force in her lips and eyes.

That was Claude’s favorite expression of Melody.

He easily recalled Melody from his childhood.

Actually, when he first heard about Melody, he didn’t pay much attention. Because he was completely captivated by the fact that “a new sister had arrived.”

For him, who only had two younger brothers, it was natural to have high expectations about having a younger sister.

Moreover, when he actually met Loretta, she was sparkling just by existing, so he decided to cherish her more than anything in the world.

However, there was one thing that bothered him a little.

The fact that Loretta, who had come to the mansion, already had a “most cherished person” chosen.

So if he had to define his first impression of Melody in one word, he was ashamed to say it would be “rival.”

He started focusing on keeping Melody by his side so she couldn’t monopolize Loretta, and he realized one quite interesting fact.

The fact that Melody was quite a useful person. She quickly learned and mastered anything, and sometimes she even made witty remarks.

He soon came to enjoy spending time with Melody itself.

The ambiguous relationship between Claude and Melody with Loretta in between started flowing in a slightly different direction right after Melody came of age.

Melody spent most of her time in the ducal mansion, but during a certain period, she frequently attended small parties.

After being uncomfortable with other nobles, had she improved a bit now?

Anyway, he wanted to support Melody’s new life. So he once asked her to go to a banquet she was attending together.

At that time, although he didn’t particularly show it, he had been asked to accompany quite a few women to banquets.

Usually, it was rare for women to take the initiative and make requests for the sake of appearances, but it happened to him quite frequently.

However, he had always declined, saying, “I have to go take care of Loretta.”

For him to take the initiative and say to Melody, “It would be an honor to go to the banquet together,” would have surprised everyone if they knew.

But Melody, unaware of this fact, stared at him blankly with an utterly thoughtless face and answered like this:

“I don’t mind, but you can’t bully me at the banquet.”

Claude was very taken aback, but agreed anyway.

And he inwardly resolved to act like a perfect gentleman, if only to change the image Melody had of him.

Time passed, and the day came to go to the banquet together.

Melody, wearing a lovely dress in the color of sunset, was very beautiful, and Claude did his best to treat her as a precious young lady.

Seeing the Baldwin heir cherish her, people would realize that the relationship between the two families would continue perfectly in the next generation.

And Melody’s standing among the nobles would undoubtedly become even more solid.

But unfortunately, Melody didn’t seem particularly interested in such things.

She never stepped forward in front of others, nor did she go around greeting people.

If possible, she chose to stay in a corner with few people.

Except for smiling brightly at people who approached to greet her, there was almost no social activity.

At this point, Claude became curious about Melody’s true feelings.

Why had she been going out so often without seeming particularly happy?

He found the answer to this when the man Claude still couldn’t forget the name of, “Christian Carver,” entered the banquet hall.

Honestly, Claude didn’t pay much attention to that man.

In the first place, there was no reason for the ducal heir to have a deep relationship with the second son of a baron family who couldn’t even inherit the title.

Moreover, their interests were vastly different, so it was rare for them to even exchange greetings.

But when he arrived at the banquet hall.

Melody’s expression instantly brightened.

Compared to her expression when Claude said let’s go to the banquet, it was almost the difference between hell and heaven.

‘…?’

Claude looked down at her with great puzzlement.