Chapter 183

* * *

“I like you, Miss Melody,” he said, pulling her hand that he was holding a little closer.

“…What?”

“Miss Melody, you always avoid eye contact whenever I say something like that.”

“W-well, that’s because it’s embarrassing!”

“It’s embarrassing for me too. Then shall we bear that feeling together a little longer?”

Melody rolled her large eyes here and there before slowly answering.

“Ah… alright.”

“Thank you.”

But Claude, who had answered like that, tilted his head over the back of Melody’s hand that he had pulled close.

“It smells sweet. Is it sugar today?”

The scent seemed to have permeated the back of her hand from making the stewed apples that would go in the pie.

Soon, the tip of his lips lightly touched the back of her hand.

Melody had promised to share the ’embarrassment’ with him, so she tried her best to watch that scene until the end…

But the moment her eyes met Claude’s, who was kissing the back of her hand with a slight smile, all her resolve crumbled.

“Ugh…!”

In the end, Melody made a strange sound and turned her gaze away again.

* * *

After delivering the pie to Claude, Melody immediately went to find Isaiah.

However, he was in the middle of training among the other knights, so Melody decided to wait for him for a while under a nearby tree shade.

The knights were all training their bodies in their own unique ways, but even among them, Isaiah stood out.

He was taking on three knights by himself.

Isaiah skillfully blocked the knights attacking in turns, and even when they thrust their swords at him simultaneously, he deftly escaped through the gaps.

‘It’s amazing how he jumps around so well with such a large body.’

But that was only for a moment. He was soon caught by the three and started getting beaten up excitedly.

In the end, only when Isaiah shouted surrender did the brawl come to an end.

Soon, a servant approached and delivered the news to Isaiah that Melody was waiting for him.

Turning towards her, Isaiah started waving his hands wildly with a bright smile. Looking very happy to see her.

“…I-Isaiah!”

But Melody ended up screaming in horror for some reason.

Blood was flowing down from his nose to his lips.

But Isaiah seemed used to it, roughly wiped it with his arm, and started running towards Melody with excitement.

Blood flowed again, and his face became covered in blood.

* * *

“You’re really going to die!”

Melody wiped his entire face with the cotton the servant brought and quickly stopped the bleeding from his nose.

“What in the world is this? You’re hurt so badly, even your clothes are torn!”

“It’s fine.”

Isaiah grinned, looking very proud.

“I’m pretty good at sewing.”@@novelbin@@

“…”

“I’m good at laundry and ironing too. Aren’t I nice?”

Melody was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t give any answer.

“Isaiah, you dummy.”

Melody plopped down completely next to him.

The soft grass touched her ankles exposed under her dress, tickling her.

Sitting like this and facing Isaiah, it somehow felt like returning to childhood.

For them, village kids, dirt and grass were toys, chairs, and sometimes even blankets.

“…It seems like you’re training too aggressively.”

“It’s okay, it’s not like I’m the only one getting hit.”

He waved his hand largely at the fellow knights who had been beating him up just a moment ago. As if telling them it’s alright.

“We take turns playing the role of blocking. It was my turn when Mel came.”

“Still, it seems too dangerous.”

“Well.”

When he paused for a moment, she turned to see him making a very rare serious expression.

“A knight is someone who takes on danger.”

“Well, that’s true, but.”

While thinking she didn’t like such a thing, Melody couldn’t deny his conclusion.

“You have a look on your face that says you don’t like it.”

“…Mm, you noticed?”

“Completely. I told you before, Mel, you write all your feelings on your face.”

“Yeah, and you said it’s writing that only Isaiah can read, right?”

“That’s right.”

He plucked some grass growing nearby and started weaving it into various shapes.

“But I think it’s fortunate.”

“What is?”

Melody plucked a few small wildflowers that had bloomed beyond the shade and handed them to him.

Soon, white flowers were inserted between the grass he had woven.

“You see.”

Isaiah placed the circle of woven flowers and grass on top of Melody’s head with a light tap.

“In the past, I really thought I was the only one who could read the writing on Mel’s face properly.”

“…”

“But now I know that’s not the case.”

Just then, the wind blew. A bit rough from passing through the buildings.

With this, the flower and grass decoration he had gently placed on her head floated up into the air, following the wind.

“Ah.”

Melody was startled and tried to catch it, but Isaiah grabbed her hand to stop her.

In the meantime, the decoration fell from the wind and rolled over the knights’ training ground.

One knight unknowingly stepped on it with his foot.

Melody tried to get up from her spot again, but Isaiah held her back this time too.

“…It’s okay.”

“But!”

“Really, Mel.”

He grinned. As if to reassure her.

“It’s really a good thing that more people are able to read what kind of writing is on your face. I’m sincerely happy about that.”

Melody somehow felt that Isaiah knew everything.

He had always been the quickest to understand Melody’s situation since long ago.

“Isaiah, you know.”

When she opened her mouth with difficulty, he gently shook his head.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to accept my glory anew.”

“…”

“It was yours from the beginning anyway.”

He reached out his hand towards Melody’s hair, and she didn’t avoid it.

But just as his fingertips were about to touch, he clenched his fist and withdrew it.

“I’m all yours, Mel.”

He whispered while repeatedly clenching and unclenching his empty fist several times.

“Even if you don’t officially accept that glory, even if you say you don’t want it.”

He smiled, but to Melody’s eyes, it seemed like the result of putting in a lot of effort.

“I’ll keep dedicating everything to you.”

Naturally, a small question of why? flowed out from her lips.

He pondered something deeply for a moment, then soon fiddled with his hair and answered.

“Just, because I want to do that. Hmm, but I wonder if it makes you uncomfortable?”

“There’s no way I would be uncomfortable with Isaiah.”

“Then, that’s great.”

He seemed to think there was no further problem, but Melody thought differently.

Even if Isaiah offered her the most wonderful things in the world, Melody couldn’t give him anything he wanted in return.

“Isaiah, to you, I…”

“You still don’t get it?”

But before she could get to the point, he arbitrarily interrupted Melody’s story.

“It was you who made me want to become a knight, Mel.”

He recalled his childhood.

His mother kept telling him to become a doctor. To help and save people.

He didn’t want this, so he had to find another dream and persuade his mother.

But Isaiah had nothing else he wanted to do.

If there was only one thing he wanted, it was probably to protect Melody.

“Fortunately, the young me doesn’t seem to have been too stupid. I quickly realized that if I converted the word ‘protect’ into a profession, it would mean becoming a knight.”

“…”

“I really enjoy this life. I’m getting recognized in my own way too. Sometimes, I imagine what would have happened if I had become a doctor as my mother said, but.”

He let out a small laugh.

“I probably would have become a great quack, wouldn’t I?”

“Absolutely not.”

“No, I definitely would have. So, I…”

He bent his waist to look into Melody’s eyes from a closer place.

“I’m saying I’ll be above and next to you. This time too, you’ll lead me to a happy place… Ahh! Mel! A-are you crying?!”

While he was flustered and panicking, Melody quickly wiped her face with her sleeve. But the tears that had started to flow little by little didn’t seem to want to stop.

“W-why are you crying? Huh? Did I scare you?”

“That’s not it, dummy.”

She had just realized anew that this kindness had always been by her side.

“Don’t cry, okay? Oh no…”

He fidgeted and looked around, then as if something came to mind, he put his hand into his pocket.

From the very depths of his pocket, he took out a handkerchief and held it out to Melody.

“I’ll give you this, okay? Don’t wipe with your sleeve…. Haah, your eyes are already red. Somehow, you’re always like this when you cry. It’s saddening.”

Now, even Isaiah seemed to be on the verge of crying.

Melody forcibly swallowed her tears and took the handkerchief he offered. But she couldn’t use it.

“…This is the one I gave you.”

“That’s right, it’s the one you gave me. I cherished it and carried it with me every day. Aren’t I great?”

“I gave it to you to wipe your sweat, what’s the point of just carrying it around?”

“It would be a waste if it got dirty.”

“Isaiah, you’re not dirty!”

Melody brought the handkerchief to his sweaty forehead.

“Ah!”

He quickly rolled his body to the side to avoid Melody’s hand.

“T-that was close. Your handkerchief almost got my dirty sweat on it!”

“Isaiah!”

Melody glared at him, still with tears welling up in her eyes.

“Mel, you should either cry or get angry, not both at once.”

“…What?”

“Crying while being angry makes you extremely cute. You were always cute, but. Ah, why are you so cute?”

He ruffled her hair roughly while giggling. Just like he used to do when they were little in the village.

“Crybaby Mel, don’t worry.”

The hand that had been patting her gradually moved away. And soon fell into the damp grass on the ground.

“Protecting you and your precious people is something I really enjoy doing.”

He had a very adult-like face, and Melody thought that might be Isaiah’s true appearance.

“You just need to be as happy as you want. Got it?”

When Melody just stared blankly at him, Isaiah asked again, “Got it?”

“…Yeah.”

When she answered in a small but clear voice, a rather noisy sound was heard from behind them.

Turning around, Isaiah’s fellow knights had gathered and were trying to somehow repair the flower and grass decoration he had made earlier.

But they just randomly stuck flowers and grass together, each insisting their own method was right, and in the end, they completed a very large pile of weeds.

Isaiah started hitting the ground and laughing, saying “Those idiots!” so Melody somehow ended up laughing along with him.

Melody was very happy to receive the pile of weeds completed with the knights’ sincerity.