Chapter 218

 

* * *

 

The next day, Wendel Benton came to Melody’s room to check her schedule.

“You know that product!”

Melody wanted to complain about the auto-completing stationery first rather than the schedule.

How could it complete such nonsensical sentences! It’s not a proper product, is it?

Moreover, it made her dizzy to think that Loretta had bought such a defective item.

“Oh, I see. Did the letter turn out great? Sometimes the sentences don’t appear though.”

“The sentence was completed! But the content…”

Melody’s voice, which had been answering excitedly, gradually subsided.

“The content?”

“The, the content…”

To complain about the product, she had to tell Wendel Benton the embarrassing sentence that was completed yesterday, but Melody couldn’t do that even if she died.

“Uh… It’s nothing.”

In the end, Melody glossed over it, and Wendel Benton nodded as if he understood.

“Anyone would feel repulsed at first when faced with excessively honest feelings. It’s okay.”

“H-honest, you say!”

Melody shouted, but he only laughed.

“…And about the schedule, I’ll rest at the mansion today. If I go out every day like this, I’ll collapse during the festival period.”

“Yes, it’s just as well. I’ve been told that a messenger from the ducal family in the capital is expected to arrive in the afternoon.”

“The Duke sent a messenger here?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been told. I’ll let you know as soon as the messenger arrives.”

Melody thought about what news the messenger might bring one by one.

The repair status of the mansion, the atmosphere in the capital, and perhaps a letter from the Duke as well. If she was lucky, there might even be a letter from the Higgins couple.

‘And.’

Maybe a letter from Claude too…

Melody hugged a nearby cushion, feeling somehow excited.

 

* * *

 

Thankfully, the messenger arrived a little earlier than the announced time.

Melody asked Wendel Benton to prepare a room and meal for the messenger to rest.

After that, she sat next to Loretta on the reception room sofa and opened the package from the capital together.

First, as Melody expected, the Duke wrote letters to each of them.

In addition, there were condolence letters and various invitations that had arrived for them during their absence.

“Miss Hatfield sent an invitation.”

Melody was very happy and opened the envelope.

Judging by the mention of wanting to spend the summer vacation together, it seemed she had made some fun plans.

“I’ll have to write a reply apologizing for not being able to join.”

Melody soon found a letter from the Higgins couple as well.

They wrote over five pages about the importance of three meals a day and to take care of the quantity and quality of sleep.

“Is it a letter from Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Yeah, it seems they’re having a good time at the Ainz house. We should reply that we’re doing well too.”

“There’s a letter from brother Ronny too!”

“Yeah, he wrote to me too.”

He sent a boastful letter about how much he was being praised in the duchy.

“Brother is a show-off.”

“It also means Ronny is doing very well.”

“I’ll write that I’m going on dates with Melody every day too! I’ll boast tremendously.”

“Of course, I’ll also write that I’m going on dates with Loretta every day.”

The two put down Ronny’s letter and rummaged through the package again.

“Ah.”

Loretta and Melody simultaneously let out a sigh and each took out a letter they were happy to see.

“There’s a letter from Young Master Jeremiah.”

“It’s from brother Claude!”

For a moment, they looked at each other and then started looking through their own pile of letters again.

Melody to find Claude’s letter.

Loretta to find a letter from Jeremiah or the Magic Tower.

But in the end, they couldn’t find the letters they wanted and both made gloomy faces.

The letter Melody received from Jeremiah contained a ‘recording paper’ asking her to observe and send Loretta’s condition.

The two carefully scanned this document to see if there was any trace of Evan, but there was none at all.

Loretta bowed her head in disappointment.

“Could it be that brother Jeremiah doesn’t like me being close to Evan?”

Melody thought it was highly likely.

Even though Jeremiah didn’t express it, he also had a tremendous side of being a doting brother.

‘But at the same time, he’s also a doting teacher, so I don’t think he would greatly oppose the relationship between the two.’

“Don’t worry too much, Loretta. The Young Master is probably.”

Melody gently stroked Loretta’s cheeks, which had recently become plump again.

“He’s probably organizing his thoughts. Because he cherishes both you and Evan.”

Loretta pondered for a moment with her lips protruding, then slowly nodded.

“…Okay. I’ll wait patiently without rushing until brother sorts out his thoughts.”

Now Loretta unfolded Claude’s letter.

As he had announced in the capital, the letter contained three more mentions of not carelessly crossing the bridge.

This was followed by content worrying about Loretta’s well-being.

Be careful not to fall because your vision will be narrowed when wearing a mask. Follow Prince Samuel well. Even if a stranger offers to buy you candy, don’t go with them.

As his nagging piled up one by one, Loretta made a gloomy face and complained.

“…I have three brothers, but why isn’t there a single person who sends a normal letter?”

“Uh, well.”

Melody had nothing to say to that complaint.

Certainly, there were no normal letters.

 

* * *

 

After reading the letters together, Melody and Loretta decided to write replies in their respective rooms.

Before parting, Melody advised Loretta, “It’s better not to rely on the power of the auto-completing stationery.”

She was afraid that the mischievous stationery might show indiscriminate sentences to the young Loretta.

Melody wrote letters of understanding to her acquaintances who had sent invitations, including Miss Hatfield.

She also didn’t forget to write affectionate letters to the Higgins couple and the Duke.

After writing brief replies to Ronny and Jeremiah as well, she decided to write a letter to Claude last.

‘How should I write it?’

After pondering for a moment, Melody soon started moving her pen slowly.

 

[To Young Master Claude.

Perhaps you recommended going to the duchy to have me meet Miss Sherry.]

 

But she stopped before completing a single sentence. Melody crossed out the unfinished sentence and brought a new piece of stationery.

 

[I’m worried that you might be concerned about the promise we made.]

 

Again, she put down the pen before getting past one sentence.

‘No matter how I write it, I don’t like it!’

At this point, she was starting to feel a little frustrated.

It was already the second day she couldn’t decide what to say to him. No, to be honest, the time she had been choosing what to say to him had been going on since the mansion.

Claude didn’t even send Melody a short greeting asking how she was doing!

‘How could he do that?!’

Last fall, he acted like he couldn’t even breathe without Melody by his side!

Feeling a bit angry, she got up from her seat, picked up a crumpled piece of stationery.

 

[Please kiss me.]

 

Melody was willing to send this outrageous sentence to the capital.

And if Claude didn’t reply to this letter.

‘Then I’ll really…!’

Melody left the room with stomping footsteps and personally delivered this mischievous letter to the messenger.

“It’s a letter for Young Master Claude!”

 

* * *

 

After confidently handing over the letter, Melody advised the messenger to rest in Kristonson for a long time.

‘I-it’s not like I’m scared of that letter being delivered. The messenger was tired from coming quickly from the capital…’

Of course, that was a lie to avoid reality.

In fact, Melody was afraid of that letter reaching Claude’s hands.

Putting aside the embarrassment, she knew how desperate she would become if there was really no reply.

‘I should probably rewrite the letter. With a slightly less… extreme content.’

Melody wrote a new letter until dawn and ended up sleeping in the next day.

As soon as she woke up, she took the letter and went to find the messenger.

But his room was empty.

“Melody, what are you doing?”

When Loretta, who was passing by, asked, Melody turned to her, trembling.

“The, the messenger?”

“Ah.”

Loretta clapped her hands and gave a bright smile.

“He was worried that he should be heading back soon, so I told him to leave quickly.”

“…He left?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. He took your letter too.”

“Oh my God.”

At this rate, the letter asking for a kiss might really reach Claude’s hands.

“W-when did he leave? Can I catch up to him now?”

“Huh? Did you have something else to send?”

Loretta thought for a moment with her fingertips near her lips, then shook her head.

“It’ll be difficult to catch up now.”

“Wh-why?”

“Wendel Benton lent the messenger the fastest magic carriage.”

“…”

Melody was in despair at the fact that the letter was rushing straight to the capital at a fierce speed.

“Don’t worry, Father will send another messenger soon after he writes a reply.”

A reply to that letter would come ‘soon’.

…That wasn’t comforting at all.