Chapter 43

***

The Duke, on one hand, highly regarded Isaiah’s actions. If the Duke hadn’t intervened, the boy could have lost his position as a squire over the commotion he caused. Knowing this, it wouldn’t have been easy for him to act on Melody’s behalf.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Melody quickly bowed in gratitude.

“Indeed.”

The Duke, seemingly reminded of something, shifted the topic.

“You’ll need clothes to meet that squire boy.”

However, his tone was awkward, unlike his usual manner of speaking, like an actor who hadn’t mastered his lines.

“Clothes… I already have many.”

“But not for winter. If you don’t dress warmly when you meet the boy, you might catch a cold.”

Ah… Really?

“Is that so?”

Feeling as though the Duke was desperately seeking agreement, Melody nodded.

“It does seem so…”

“Good timing.”

He then ‘coincidentally’ handed her a thick catalog the postman had delivered.

“I haven’t read it myself, but it’s said to be organized with items girls use in winter, categorized by purpose and design.”

Contrary to his claim of not having read it, the catalog bore marks of being fervently read, its corners worn. Hmm, it seems the Duke had secretly been pondering over what winter clothes to buy for Loretta.

Realizing this, Melody smiled broadly, clutching the catalog. She could certainly help with that.

“Don’t worry. I’ll pick out the most suitable winter clothes for Miss Loretta and inform Butler Higgins. Finding clothes that suit Miss Loretta is something I’m best at!”

The Duke wanted to say ‘And for you as well’, but Melody, tapping her chest confidently and declaring ‘Leave it to me!’, turned and left before he could.

“…It seems a conversation is needed between the Duke and Miss Melody as well.”

Butler Higgins, quietly arranging books in the corner, smiled and commented.

The Duke couldn’t deny Higgins’ observation.

***

Exiting the Duke’s room and heading downstairs, Melody unfortunately ran into Claude.

Her regretful description of this encounter had a valid reason.

Behind him was a trolley stacked with records.

Yes, those ‘records’ he always made Melody work on.

“Thank you, Miss Melody.”

“…I didn’t say anything though?”

“You thought you should help me, didn’t you?”

Melody intended to retort with ‘What kind of nonsensical remark is that?’ until he added this before she could.

“I appreciate you still remembering the help I provided during the day. It wasn’t anything significant.”

He must be referring to accompanying her to the prison. Was this his way of pressuring her to repay the favor?

“Uh.”

As Melody struggled to find a rebuttal, he signaled the servant who was pulling the trolley to leave.

“I will really only help with carrying.”

Melody sighed softly and began to push the handle of the trolley.

“Thank you. You’re very kind.”

Despite forcing her into labor, he thanked her with a shamelessly gentle smile.

‘Annoying young master.’

Melody turned her head sharply, looking at the trolley stacked with records.

Even at a glance, there seemed to be a considerable amount, well over thirty volumes, and all of them were quite thick.

Why would he need these late at night?

“Are you researching something for the academy again this time?”

“No, this is just something I started out of personal interest.”

They arrived in front of his room. He pushed the door, which was ajar, open with his shoulder, and the two placed the records on a side of the large desk.

Maintained as if new by magic, Melody hadn’t realized, but seeing the dates on the spines, these records were quite old.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Melody slightly opened the topmost book.

It was detailed, from the weather to events in certain regions. Not much different from what Melody had been transcribing until now.

“Is there a story in these records that interests you, young master?”

“As I said before, records are important. You can find what you’re looking for with a few clues.”

“What you’re looking for?”

Instead of answering immediately, he gave a slightly enigmatic smile.

Suddenly, Melody’s eyes widened.

She remembered.

“You said it was spring, but painful snow was pouring, right?”

Melody recalled her mother’s words and exclaimed. She wondered why she had only let it slide at that time.

Records about painful snow had been seen several times while transcribing. It was customary for travelers to note the peculiarity of days when thick, heavy snow fell.

Feeling like she was onto something, Melody paced frantically in front of the desk, thinking of other clues.

“And, and then… soldiers came out and acted menacingly. It seems she was running away from them. But why?”

Her mother was a heavily pregnant woman, in a pitiful situation with nowhere to go. If a soldier had found her, they would have tried to help somehow.

“That’s probably because she had just committed something dishonest.”

“So, you mean the soldiers were after my mother?”

“No.”

Claude shook his head slightly.

“If that were the case, it would have been recorded, and she would be held accountable for her crime even now. But there’s nothing like that. It’s more natural to assume she panicked and fled on her own.”

“Then why were soldiers roaming the village? Especially on a day with painful snow.”

Melody, lost in thought, relayed to Claude everything her mother had told her. It might hold a minor clue, so she explained in as much detail as possible.

Claude, who had been listening attentively, fiddled near his chin for a moment.

“It’s odd that on such a day, a pregnant woman came seeking shelter, yet no one opened their door for her.”

Commonly in the religions that people believed in, it was taught to open one’s door to the distressed, treating them like guests.

There would be no one ‘more distressed’ than a pregnant woman about to give birth.

“Perhaps…”

He swept his hand over the surface of the stack of records.

“There must have been an order. Something like not to let strangers into their homes.”

“The soldiers roaming the village?”

“Yes. Precisely, it would have been decided by the knights above them.”

Such extreme orders were, in fact, not common.@@novelbin@@

“That kind of order would only be given when someone from the royal family was passing through the village. I’ve read it in the records a few times.”

A long time ago.

There was an incident where an assassin hid in a village house on the route a royal was to pass, posing as a guest in order to murder the royal.

Eventually, the plan failed, and after harming the house owners to silence them, the assassin was arrested.

Since then, whenever a member of the royal family traveled far, the villages along their route had this rule – ‘not to accept any unfamiliar guests.’

Of course, members of the royal family seldom left the capital, so such orders were rarely issued.

“And around the time Miss Melody was born, it was when His Majesty’s brother personally descended to the Earldom of Graimes.”

Claude toppled the stack of records and picked out one with the royal emblem imprinted on it.

Seeing it for the first time, Melody looked on curiously, to which he explained, “I borrowed it, just for a bit.”

‘…Is it even possible to borrow records from the royal archives?’

Melody harbored a moment of skepticism. After all, this was the Duke of Baldwin’s residence, so perhaps such special allowances could be made.

“Don’t look at me with those eyes. I didn’t cross the line that much.”

Melody exclaimed in surprise.

“So, you’re implying you did cross the line!”

“Hmm. If I had to put it into words, I’d say I only just touched it with the tip of my toe.”

He selected one of the royal records and extended it towards Melody.

“If the line is drawn so lightly that you can barely step over it, isn’t that almost the same as permission to take a look?”

The light-heartedness in his words was somewhat shocking, and Melody couldn’t bring herself to accept the record he was offering.

“I don’t think so…”

Forbidden is forbidden. Surely the Duke, a man of principles, would think the same.

“But really important things in the royal archives are made so you can’t see them no matter how much you cross the line. So, you see.”

He extended the book towards Melody again.

“This is just drawing a line that’s easily crossed, for the sheer pleasure of sneaking around. Here, take it.”

“You want to make me an accomplice now?”

Melody frowned slightly. If this was discovered, Claude might be forgiven in the name of his family, but Melody had no such protection.

Even before the Duke could exert his influence, she might be beheaded.

A child of a commoner, moreover, a child of a criminal, caught peeking at royal records.

“Don’t be silly. I had no intention of making you an accomplice from the start.”

He said this in a gentle tone, wearing an utterly cunning smile.

Of course, to Melody, it seemed wicked, but to anyone else, it might have appeared as sweet as cotton candy.

“The carrier, Miss Melody.”

“…!”