Chapter 174

 

* * *

 

Riding in the carriage on the way to the shoe workshop, Melody explained her thoughts to Claude.

“The items made in the workshop are faithful to the opinions of the orderer, but in the end, the artisan’s skill dominates.”

Sitting across from her, Claude nodded with his gloved hand propping up his chin.

“What we want to know is the ‘orderer’s intention’ without the artisan’s skill added on top.”

“Ah.”

He let out a small exclamation as if realizing something, but didn’t stop her from speaking.

“I thought the only thing that would faithfully contain such information is the ‘order form’ directly filled out by the orderer.”

“Goodness.”

He rubbed his face. He felt a bit deflated thinking about how he had been engrossed solely in the label for days.

“It’s most likely the correct answer. Moreover, to send an order form from Kristonson to the capital, you’d have no choice but to fill it out directly.”

“I realized it thanks to Ronny though.”

Melody shrugged and relayed the conversation she had with him just now.

“…So that’s what happened.”

At his answer in a pondering tone, Melody tilted her head a little.

She wondered if there was something unsatisfactory about her story.

“Is there perhaps some problem?”

“No.”

“But worry has settled heavily on your face.”

“Well…”

Claude eventually couldn’t utter the words that had gathered near his lips and fell silent.

‘I don’t know how to accept…the situation where my beloved brother harbors the same feelings.’

He couldn’t recklessly say such a thing.

It seemed Melody couldn’t even imagine Ronny having such feelings for her at all.

Whether to convey those feelings or decide not to was up to Ronny to choose.

The choice afterwards was entirely up to Melody.

But the young lady who held the truly important key seemed to have little interest in the ducal brothers.

‘What do I need to give…’

For Melody to cherish him even a little.

“Young Master?”

Suddenly at her call, Claude answered a bit late.

“Ah, yes?”

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“It’s nothing. There was an issue with setting rights, so I pondered a bit.”

Just then, the carriage gradually slowed down, and looking outside, they had almost arrived in the city before they knew it.

The artisan they were looking for had made shoes for many capital nobles, and his store and workshop were together in the middle of the city.

When they got off the carriage and entered the store, a friendly clerk welcomed the two.

“Welcome. How may I help you?”

“Hello.”

Melody lightly bowed her head in greeting, and immediately presented the label and shoes she had brought.

“These are products from our store. Could there possibly be some issue…?”

“May I see the order form?”

At her request, the clerk asked back with a very surprised face.

“I-Is there perhaps a problem with the young lady’s shoes…?”

“That’s not it.”

Melody presented the label again. With a light smile.

“Will I have to wait long?”

“No! There’s no way.”

The clerk quickly took the label from her hand and disappeared to the back of the store.

Claude, who had been silently watching her, shrugged as if finding it unexpected.

“You made the request strongly in a subtle way. I expected you to give some kind of explanation.”

“Well, if it were the usual me, I would have done that.”

Melody brushed her long hair behind her ear.

“But if the explanation gets unnecessarily long, I might make a mistake.”

Soon the clerk came back and presented a thin piece of paper.

“Here it is. You can look at it as much as you want, but it’s a precious document for us too…”

At the implication that she couldn’t take it, Melody nodded.

“Looking at it here is enough. Thank you for accepting my request.”

Melody took the order form from his hand and checked its contents.

First, the requirements for the shoes caught her eye. There were rough drawings done by hand along with various explanations.

The dimensions for each part of the shoes were also recorded, probably measured and recorded from the shoes retrieved from the water.

‘The artisan must have made the shoes with extra room based on the recorded size, so they were completed a bit large.’

Melody nodded slightly and continued reading the rest.

The recipient information had the headquarters of the Briggs Company written. It must have been to deliver it along with what they ordered during the trip.

‘And the orderer is…’

Just the name ‘Samantha.’ No family name or other titles were written.

“Um.”

The clerk, who had been checking Melody’s expression next to her, carefully started a conversation.

“Is there perhaps some problem?”

It was natural for him to look very concerned.

Because Melody’s face looking into the order form was extremely serious.

She soon shook her head with a bright smile. Then she glanced up at Claude.

He was standing at an angle and looking at the order form with her, and when their gazes met, he willingly nodded.

Meaning he had memorized all the contents of the document.

“Are you really sure it’s alright?”

The clerk, who had even watched them exchange glances, somehow became more and more anxious.

Especially worried about falling out of favor with Claude Baldwin, who had the most influence among the capital’s youth.

“Of course. There’s no problem at all. Because you made excellent shoes. You reflected the contents of the order form splendidly.”

“As expected, right? My father’s skill is the best!”

The clerk took the document with both hands and was overjoyed.

Claude and Melody left the store, saying they would come back next time as ordering customers.

They didn’t say a word to each other on the way back to the carriage.

But perhaps they were thinking the same thing, because as soon as they closed the carriage door, they shouted at each other.

“The name is Samantha!”

“The orderer was Samantha.”

They stared at each other for a moment and grinned.

“That’s the feminine form of Samuel! It’s practically the same name.”

“Although the handwriting was different, it’s not difficult to alter handwriting itself.”

“Moreover, the ink used was quite expensive.”

“Above all, seeing how they directly copied and drew Melody’s shoes, it’s certain. It’s Prince Samuel.”

Now that they knew the shoes were Prince Samuel’s means of contact, there was only one thing left to do.

“We need to go to the address written in the orderer information and find ‘Samantha.'”

“Fortunately, I know that address. It’s a quite noisy club where gentlemen who enjoy pleasure gather.”

“Like the place I went to with Ronny last time?”

“Yes. But while the place Miss Melody went to is a rather well-behaved establishment anyone can enter, that place is… hmm.”

Claude hesitated to explain, looking a bit troubled.

“I’m not a little kid either.”

Soon Melody answered with a frown.

“I don’t think all clubs will maintain excellent dignity. It means it’s a place where so-called illegal transactions frequently occur, right?”

“…Yes.”

“You’re quite good at recognizing such places just by looking at the address, Young Master.”

“…!”

At Melody’s admiration, Claude answered resentfully.

“I only engage in legal transactions! W-Well, of course, when it comes to matters related to Prince Samuel, I sometimes use other routes, but that’s always safely and fairly under Father’s permission and presence…!”

But Melody didn’t seem the least bit interested in that fervent excuse. Seeing her just nodding with an indifferent face.

“Well, I expected that from you.”

“…”

No, maybe she wasn’t interested in Claude Baldwin as a person at all.

He let out a deep sigh.

 

* * *

 

That night, Melody didn’t fall asleep until quite late.

To wait for the Duke.

After Tower Master Owen discovered mana stones, the Duke became even busier than before.

Not only research to find more mana stones in cooperation with the Magic Tower, but he also had to do the official duties he had been doing all along.

If Claude hadn’t taken over most of the ducal territory’s work, he might have collapsed from overwork by now.

As Melody, who had been waiting while drinking tea in the Duke’s room, let out a long yawn, Butler Higgins approached with concern.

“It would be better to take a short nap. I’ll wake you up when the Duke arrives.”

His suggestion was very sweet, but Melody shook her head vigorously.

Somehow it felt like if she fell asleep once, she wouldn’t be able to wake up. Like Loretta, who had fallen asleep with her head on Melody’s lap.

“Isn’t it difficult?”

Higgins rarely frowned slightly at Loretta.

No matter how precious a young lady Loretta was, he was worried if she was making his daughter struggle.

“No, not at all.”

Melody stroked Loretta’s hair and smiled.

“I like being with Loretta. Recently, our schedules didn’t match somehow, so we couldn’t be together.”

“…I see.”

Higgins took out a small candy from his pocket and handed it to Melody. Saying it would help drive away sleepiness.

After the moon and stars took a little more walk in the sky, the sound of a carriage was heard in the quiet garden.

Butler Higgins went out to the entrance first to greet the Duke, and Melody couldn’t move from her seat until the moment the Duke entered the room.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

She first asked for understanding of her rudeness.

“It’s alright, I’m the one who made you wait. I’m sorry.”

Butler Higgins gave them space, so soon only the two of them and the sleeping Loretta remained in the room.

Despite the late hour, the Duke’s appearance wasn’t much different from the morning. A perfect suit without a single wrinkle and a face that didn’t even show a hint of fatigue.

However, the moment his gaze touched Melody and Loretta, the corners of his lips drew a faint, very faint smile.

“Loretta has fallen into a deep sleep. Your Grace.”

When the Duke sat across from her, Melody reconfirmed that Loretta was completely asleep.

“I heard the young master reported the situation about this matter first.”

“Yes, I heard.”

He nodded and praised, saying “Well done.”

It was a blunt statement with no equal, but Melody blushed slightly and smiled because it was a sincere one.

“The young master worked the hardest.”

“That child’s opinion was different.”

It seemed Claude had said it was thanks to her.

“It’s an honor that the young master said that.”

“So.”

The Duke brought the conversation to the main point, mindful of the late hour.

It was because he felt sorry that Melody was staying up late to wait for him.

“I heard you have something to tell me.”