Chapter 197

 

* * *

 

The moment Claude’s question ended.

For some reason, the Magic Tower Master’s condition began to deteriorate rapidly.

Jeremiah came rushing and hurriedly used a sleep spell on him and laid him down.

Claude realized that even if he stayed longer like this, he wouldn’t be able to talk to him, so he returned to the mansion.

Behind the carriage leaving from the Magic Tower to the ducal residence, the cat Echo secretly boarded, but Claude and the coachman didn’t notice this fact.

 

* * *

 

Loretta, who was feeling much better thanks to Echo and the mana stone, was very surprised by the sudden knocking sound.

First, she piled blankets and cushions around the cat Echo.

“Echo, you absolutely must not move. It would be troublesome if anyone other than me finds out, okay?”

After warning the clever Echo, she put the mana stone deep into the drawer.

When she opened the door, there was a maid who was close to Loretta.

“Miss.”

As soon as the maid saw Loretta’s face, she approached with a tearful expression and hugged her neck tightly.

“You must have been very upset, right? Oh dear, our young lady. How heartbroken you must have been after looking forward to it so much.”

The maid seemed to have been worrying about Loretta until late at night.

Loretta felt very sorry for telling such a kind maid not to come into her room.

“You know… I was wrong. I’m sorry for being a bad young lady.”

“No.”

The maid shook her head repeatedly.

“You’re not bad at all, Miss. Ah, right. Actually, the Duke has been waiting all along.”

“Father has?”

“Yes, Ronny is desperately trying to stop the Duke who wants to come in person.”

“…Why?”

When Loretta asked with a tilted head, the maid shrugged and answered.

“Maybe Ronny wants to wait for you to open the door and come out on your own, Miss. He even told the Duke, ‘She’s not a child.'”

“Really, my brother always calls me a child.”

“Then shall I tell the Duke that you’re feeling better now, Miss?”

“Well, of course…!”

Loretta, who was about to answer like that, froze with her lips slightly parted.

“…Is there perhaps any problem?”

“Oh, yeah. Well.”

She fidgeted with her small hands clasped together.

“I… did something bad, and I’m really reflecting on it now. Could you possibly keep it a secret from my father?”

“Something bad?”

Loretta quietly gestured towards her room. The maid lifted her head high and looked around Loretta’s messy room.

“Oh my, are you hurt anywhere, Miss?”

“Mm-mm. Could you just clean up the glass? I’ll organize the books myself…”

“Of course. Just a moment.”

The maid quickly brought a bright lamp and cleaning tools.

While she cleaned up the broken glass shards and candies, Loretta picked up the fallen books.

Meanwhile, Echo was lying quietly on the bed, so she didn’t catch the maid’s eye.

“Miss, how on earth did the glass break?”

“Well, I think it happened when I threw the pillow.”

“What about the books? I didn’t hear the sound of books falling in your room, Miss.”

“Mmm, I guess no one heard it because of the thunder.”

Loretta awkwardly smiled while pressing down on the slightly crumpled book.

“You know. Could you possibly keep it a secret from my father and brothers that my room became like this?”

At the cautious request, the maid shook her head. In fact, there was a special order from the Duke.

To definitely report when something breaks or gets damaged in Loretta’s room.

“I’m sorry, Miss. The Duke…”

“But.”

Loretta looked at the maid with a tearful face.

“If Father finds out that not only did I say bad things to everyone, but I also damaged things… he might be disappointed in me.”

“The Duke won’t be disappointed in you over something like this. He loves you so much.”

“But he might think I’m an ill-mannered child… Well, of course I think I did something really ill-mannered. I’m truly reflecting on it.”

Loretta begged earnestly with her hands clasped together.

“So just once, only this time, please don’t tell Father. Okay? I’ll be a very good Loretta from now on.”

The maid sighed deeply with a face full of concern.

In fact, in the ducal residence, the Duke’s orders should take priority no matter what.

But it was also not easy to refuse when Loretta begged for something so earnestly for the first time.

The maid had no choice but to approach Loretta and hold out her pinky finger.

“Alright. I promise you, Miss. But in exchange, you must never do such dangerous things again, okay? You know that everyone will be sad if you get hurt, right?”

Loretta quickly hooked her finger with the maid’s and made a promise.

“Yes, I promise! I’ll apologize for all the bad things I said and never do this kind of thing again!”

Now that the room was all cleaned up, Loretta headed to the Duke’s room with the maid.

As she entered, not only the Duke and Ronny, but also Claude who had returned from the Magic Tower welcomed her with joy.

Loretta politely apologized for the bad things she had said.

They willingly accepted Loretta’s apology and even apologized together, saying they were sorry for not understanding how difficult it had been for her to endure alone.

After spending time comforting each other.

Loretta, Claude, and Ronny returned to their respective rooms, and the Duke casually asked Loretta’s maid as if confirming a fact.

“Was there perhaps… any problem in Loretta’s room? Hmm, like something breaking or getting damaged.”

The maid grinned and shook her head.

“No, not at all. The young lady was very well-behaved.”

“I see.”

The maid also felt a bit relieved to see the Duke look very reassured.

Come to think of it, there was no need at all to tell a story that would unnecessarily cause conflict between the family members who had finally become peaceful again.

Moreover, since Loretta said it would never happen again, the maid decided to remember this matter alone forever.

 

* * *

 

The spring rain that had been falling until late stopped, and true spring arrived with yellow flower buds blooming in abundance.

The day after returning from the Magic Tower, Claude had to leave on a long journey with Isaiah Mullern, who was in charge of his escort.

“Brother, do you really have to go to the duchy now?”

Loretta, who woke up early in the morning, saw him off with a tearful face.

She seemed to feel sorry until now for getting angry at him yesterday.

Claude gently stroked the head of his little sister clinging to his arm.

“Yes, I should show my face at the workshop from time to time.”

“Still, I… didn’t properly apologize to you, brother.”

He lightly bumped his forehead against Loretta’s and smiled brightly.

“It’s okay, I was at fault too. Let’s talk more when I return. Alright?”

“…Yes, and.”

Loretta received two small glass bottles from the maid standing behind her.

“This. It’s the candy I made last time, there are hardly any proper shapes left because it’s only what’s left after packaging…”

“Are you giving it to me?”

Claude asked with great joy, and Loretta nodded and held out one bottle.

“Yes, here.”

“Thank you. I’ll cherish it, but what about that one?”

When he looked at the remaining bottle and asked, Loretta smiled brightly and glanced at Isaiah who was loading luggage onto the carriage.

“Sir Mullern!”

Loretta jumped in front of him and held out the candy bottle.

“Are you really giving it to me?”

“Yes. I wanted to tell you to take good care of my brother!”

“How touching. Now that I see, it seems mine is bigger than what the young master received?”

“Well, Sir Mullern has a large body, so I thought you might eat more.”

“Wow! I’m so happy…”

Isaiah, who was rejoicing, stopped talking for a moment.

That was because a tremendous murderous aura was rushing towards him from beyond Loretta, as if to strangle his breath.

He slightly raised his head and saw Claude Baldwin alternately looking at their candy bottles, his eyes burning with anger.

“…Uh, um.”

If this continued, it was certain that Claude would torment him throughout the journey, so Isaiah decided to find a way out somehow.

“Well, the quantity is more for me, but I’m sure the young master’s will taste better. Right, Captain?”

“Huh? No, it’s the same?”

“No way, there must be something different from the young master’s, right? There is, right?”

Isaiah sent signals to Loretta, gesturing desperately as if it would be heartbreaking.

Please say that what she gave to Claude is more special, no matter what.

Perhaps his earnest wish was conveyed, Loretta clapped her hands and shouted, ‘Ah!’

“Oh my, Sir Mullern is a cowardly knight when you look closely.”

Having said that, Loretta untied the green ribbon tying her hair and tied it around Isaiah’s wrist.

“There, now that you’ve received a token, you can feel at ease, right? Have a safe trip, knight of the ducal family.”

Loretta slightly lifted her dress on both sides and greeted him.

Isaiah, who had received a token in an instant, checked Claude’s expression while trembling both arms.

“Eek!”

There was no gentleman named Claude Baldwin.

Only a white demon burning with jealousy was standing there.

 

* * *

 

In the carriage going to Belhold, Claude did not harass Isaiah.

Come to think of it, there was no way he would bother Isaiah who was also acting as a coachman. Instead, Claude sometimes stared at his wrist with scary eyes.

After a little more time had passed and the carriage had completely entered the outskirts, Claude came out to the driver’s seat and took the reins himself.

Isaiah thought it was strange to go inside the carriage leaving the person he was serving, so for now he sat next to him on the driver’s seat.

On the long journey where they alternately held the reins, Claude began to tell Isaiah one by one about the secrets the ducal family and Melody had harbored together.

Of course, it took quite a long time for Isaiah to fully understand the situation and nod his head.

“I know it’s hard to believe, Sir Mullern.”

After finishing all the explanations, Claude added carefully, and Isaiah shook his head.

“No, rather, when you say it like that… there are things that make sense in a way.”

Like how Melody was unusually concerned about Loretta, and how she suddenly left home.

“So the boy we’re going to meet now is Prince Samuel’s son, found with Melody’s help, right?”

“Yes. Anyway, since we need to check on him regularly, sometimes you and I will visit him like this. Above all, we need to deliver Prince Samuel’s letters to the child as well.”

Prince Samuel seemed to write to his son almost every day, as there were many of his letters loaded in the carriage.

Claude remembered reading somewhere that he greatly enjoyed writing letters even before he was isolated like this.

“Then, did you go to the Magic Tower yesterday to find a way for Melody to return to the mansion, Young Master?”

“I’m not at the stage to be certain yet, but anyway, unless His Majesty the Emperor completely resolves his misunderstanding about Prince Samuel, Miss Melody won’t return to the mansion.”

Because she would think her presence might harm the mansion.

“…Is there really anything left that could be a clue to that?”

Isaiah was skeptical.

In his childhood, he often heard stories of many people dying in the capital.

In the midst of that dark era, people were eager to erase anything related to Prince Samuel or his family.

He had heard that there were many people who were falsely accused and unjustly killed for burning trivial documents.

“Well, but… it seems a promise remains.”

Isaiah didn’t hear the words Claude muttered in a small voice.