Chapter 44

***

Melody inadvertently gulped down a deep breath.

She was already an accomplice!

Good heavens, she had heard numerous times in her past life that one should not carelessly help others move their luggage!

Thump.

A ‘record taken by crossing the line’, impressively marked with a luxurious pattern, was placed onto Melody’s startled hands.

“It’s alright. The ancient sages used to say.”

Claude, picking up another book, offered a comforting tale to Melody.

“If you cross the line together, there’s nothing to fear.”

That was utter sophistry. The sages would not welcome applying that saying to ‘laws’.

“We might find what we want to know in here, right?”

“…We?”

“Three things to keep in mind. The path a member of the royal family passed, near the capital.”

And as he paused, Melody provided the last piece.

“The day the painful snow… fell.”

“That day will be our new party day.”

There was a sense of certainty in his response, as if ‘we will definitely find the date.’ But Melody, with a slightly worried expression, broached a possibility.

“There might not be a day that satisfies everything. It might not even be near the capital. Or my mother’s memory could be incorrect…”

“Are you scared?”

“Pardon?”

“About pinning your hopes on this.”

Well… Isn’t that obvious? She was even trying hard not to get overly excited.

“We will find it.”

His voice sounded more like conviction than encouragement.

“I will find it for you. So it’s alright for Miss Melody to be excited.”

“…”

It was probably just consolation offered so Melody could purely enjoy herself… but still, Melody was truly grateful for such kindness.

And it felt a little strange.

“Sir,”

“Yes?”

“Why are you so kind to me?”

He looked at Melody intently for a moment with a ‘why are you asking that now?’ expression, then replied as if it was the most natural thing.

“There’s no particular reason for me to treat Miss Melody badly. There are reasons to be kind, though.”

“What reasons?”

“How would it be if I mistreated someone my sister likes?”

“Well… Miss Loretta would be upset.”

“See? The answer comes quickly.”

Melody slowly nodded, yet something still didn’t sit right with her.

If he harbored such thoughts, then what was the meaning behind the way he usually teased Melody?

“Still, it’s a bit upsetting. To think I have to say something as pitiful as ‘someone my sister likes’ from my own mouth.”

He sighed deeply and slumped down on a nearby sofa, then opened the record.

From that point on, no matter what Melody said, he hardly reacted and began to focus on reading the record.

Soon, Melody also sat opposite him and started examining the record he had handed her.

“I will find it for you.”

Was it because of the conviction in the words she had heard earlier?

With every page she turned, Melody felt her heart inexplicably race.

And as time passed, surprisingly, the anxiety about her expectations ceased to be felt.

Somehow, that was the case.

***

The next day, when the postman arrived at the Duke’s house, Butler Higgins handed him a yellow envelope.

Surprisingly, the recipient was the postman himself.

Upon opening it, the first line of Melody’s letter, written because ‘I might not be able to meet you due to class,’ was visible.

“What does it say?”

Higgins looked at the postman with a pleading gaze, begging to be informed.

“Oh, you mean you haven’t heard anything from Melody?”

The postman was somewhat surprised that Higgins, who usually knew everything about the Duke’s house, was unaware.

“Hmm.”

Higgins did not hide his discomfort.

To Higgins, it seemed that Claude and Melody had been very happy since the early morning. But as they didn’t share the details, it was frustrating.

“Wow! To think there’s a day when I know something about the Duke’s house before Butler Higgins.”

The postman chuckled and quickly escaped onto the carriage.

“Don’t worry! It’s a really good… uh, is it good? More work doesn’t exactly sound good…?”

He mumbled to himself, shaking his head, then hurriedly left the Duke’s estate.

In the afternoon, Higgins, despite his restless curiosity, came to know about the ‘really good thing that increases work’ the postman mentioned.

And on all the calendars in the Duke’s house, a certain date was marked with a yellow circle.

Beneath that pretty number, it was written:

[Melody’s Joyous Birthday]

***

Not long after, the execution was carried out.

Even on her mother’s last day, Melody spent her day as usual. Without showing any particular sadness or anger.

Just like everyone else.

She didn’t feel the renewed sensation of being ‘alone’.

Melody had Loretta, who came every morning to hug her, and Ronny, who grumbled behind her every time.

Plus, today, a special guest had come to visit her.

“Miss Melody, you have a visitor.”

Of course, Melody knew that the visitor was due to come today.

They had expressed their intention to visit a few days earlier and had politely arranged an appointment.@@novelbin@@

Melody immediately headed to the drawing room.

Her palms were sweating, strangely nervous.

As the door clicked open, the person sitting on the sofa stood up abruptly.

Last time he visited, he had seemed almost like a half-melted, languid jelly, but today, his actions were as sharp as ice, which was quite surprising.

And Melody felt sorry.

“Hello, Isaiah.”

As Melody called out and closed the door, Isaiah dashed towards her and knelt on the hard floor with both knees, with such force that it sounded loud.

It seemed like it would be incredibly painful, but he didn’t care about his knees and looked up at Melody with desperate eyes.

“I was wrong!”

He seemed unsatisfied with saying it just once. Before Melody could even respond that it was okay, he repeated the same words several times.

“I was really bad, I shouldn’t have done what you didn’t want! I really didn’t do well! If you want, hit me, Melody.”

Melody was reminded of Claude’s words after that incident.

“It’s just that his head is hot right now. Once he calms down and reflects on the situation, he’ll surely want to apologize to you, Miss Melody.”

It seemed his words were true. Seeing Isaiah’s face, unable to be satisfied even after repeating his apologies, gave her that assurance.

And she also remembered what she had responded to Claude.

“I should be the one to apologize first. I lied. I promised not to come to meet my mother, but…”

“Isaiah, listen.”

Melody knelt down in front of him.

“I’m sorrier.”

“You, why are you sorry to me!”

“Well, because of the promise…”

Melody started to say but then shook her head quickly.

“Before that.”

There was something else she needed to apologize for first.

“Isaiah, you told me several times that I have to fight for myself. But I always just ran away.”

“Well.”

“Thank you.”

Behind that ‘thank you’ was an unspoken ‘but from now on, it’s okay.’

Isaiah seemed a little disappointed, realizing this from Melody’s expression and tone.

Strange, isn’t it? He always thought he wanted Melody to stand on her own, but when it actually happened, a sense of loneliness crept in.

‘Maybe… I.’

Even though he said so, it seemed he quite liked it when Melody relied on him. Isaiah thought to himself.

“I was thankful too, Mel.”

He brushed off the regret with a grin. Melody offered a handshake as a sign of reconciliation. Somehow, she felt they could become even closer friends from now on…

“Ah?!”

Just as she reached out her hand thinking they could become friends. Isaiah suddenly screamed upon seeing Melody’s hand.

“Isaiah?”

She called out worriedly, but he was just shaking, his face pale, his eyes trembling.

‘What’s wrong?’

As Melody tilted her head slightly, Isaiah pointed at her hand. A thin hand was wrapped in a white bandage.

Isaiah grasped his head and then thumped his forehead against the floor.

“Is it because of me?! Right! It’s because I held on too tight, isn’t it?!”

“Ah.”

Melody quickly grabbed Isaiah’s shoulders to stop his bizarre actions.

Lifting his head, Isaiah’s eyes were, for some reason, brimming with tears.

“Hit me, Mel! It’s okay if you beat me until your anger is gone!”

“This isn’t because you held on too tight.”

“Really? Then why are you hurt?”

“Just shake hands for now.”

He cautiously took her hand, responding to her invitation with a smile, as if handling a piece of delicate, breakable glass.

“But Isaiah, what punishment did you receive for that incident?”

“Uh…”

At the mention of punishment, Isaiah’s expression turned as if he was about to cry again.

“Was it such a scary punishment?”

“No. Compared to what I braced myself for, it was nothing.”