Chapter 45

***

In truth, Isaiah had braced himself for the possibility of having to abandon everything he had strived for in the capital. The thought crossed his mind while he was impulsively dragging Melody away. After all, it was a commotion caused by rashly taking a guest of the Baldwin Ducal House.

In retrospect, it was a rather pointless resolution, as he hadn’t even considered Melody’s wishes at the time. But back then, he was dead serious.

However, the very next day after the incident, Duke Baldwin, who was Melody’s guardian, personally sought out Isaiah.

The Duke made Isaiah, who had been prostrating on the ground, stand up and observed him for a long while.

“Are you planning to become a knight?”

Isaiah immediately answered affirmatively to the short query. Of course, given the situation with Melody, he felt compelled to add, “…if you permit it, that is.”

“Understood.”

“Does this mean you forgive me?”

“Granting permission is my prerogative, but forgiveness is Melody’s matter,” the Duke replied curtly and left shortly after.

Isaiah’s ‘punishment’ was also decided. As a condition for maintaining his current lifestyle, he was assigned to exclusively wash the knights’ socks for the time being.

“Socks laundry?”

Melody thought it wasn’t as big a deal as she expected, but that was because she was unaware of the grueling day the knights and their squires put their feet and socks through.

Isaiah, who couldn’t bring himself to say it, struggled daily in an environment that felt like it could numb his sense of smell, striving to turn the pitch-black socks white. It was quite a pitiable task.

Nevertheless, Isaiah was content just to have not lost his dream. Moreover, being able to get along with Melody like this again was a bonus.

“Now it’s your turn, Mel. How did you hurt your hand?”

“Well, that…”

Melody hesitated for a moment and then awkwardly scratched her head.

“…while serving.”

“What?! Why are you serving?!”

“Since the Ducal House feeds and shelters me, I wanted to help out somehow. I’m currently in charge of serving tea to Master Claude.”

Upon hearing the name ‘Master Claude,’ Isaiah’s face contorted as if he had just bitten into something bitter.

Somehow, he disliked that man. Especially after the incident that occurred in prison last time.

It was strange.

The person who had stopped Isaiah’s odd behavior (?) was the very same man, yet he only felt more animosity towards him.

“So, this ‘Master’ is the one who caused your hand to be like this?”

“Uh, no. This happened while serving Master Ronny.”

“How many masters are there?!”

“In addition to the two masters, there’s also the youngest master whom I haven’t met yet.”

“This is driving me crazy!”

Isaiah suddenly yelled out. Since forever, Melody had always been surrounded by too many boys. And there always seemed to be one among them causing her trouble.

“So, how did you get hurt?”

“It wasn’t anything serious.”

One day, Ronny suddenly rushed into Melody’s room, insisting that she should serve tea to him as well.

“You want me to serve you tea? Why?”

“Because, I deserve the same treatment as my brother.”

Melody nodded slightly, understanding his sentiment. It seemed Ronny admired Claude and wanted to imitate even the smallest things he did.

“Not that Melody, who wasn’t even the responsible maid, would have been asked to prepare tea otherwise.

“Yes, I understand. It’s not a difficult task,” she replied to Ronny’s request, and his eyes sparkled in response.

“Really?!”

“But you don’t like drinking tea, Master Ronny. I’ll bring you some milk instead.”

Despite her gentle suggestion, Ronny’s face scrunched up as if offended.

“Wh-who do you think you’re treating like a child! Do you think I would drink something like milk?!”

She wanted to retort, ‘Yes, you drink it quite well,’ but instead, Melody just acquiesced.

“So, how did you hurt your hand?”

“Well, I was about to leave with the tea when Master Ronny suddenly stood up, insisting that I stay until he finished his tea, and accidentally broke the teacup.”

In his panic, Ronny haphazardly tried to pick up the shards and hurt his hand. Melody, too, in her confusion, ended up cutting her hand on the fragments.

“It’s just a tiny scratch. The adults made a fuss and applied so much medicine that it looks worse than it is.”

Melody giggled as she recalled how Grandma had jumped in alarm, exclaiming, ‘Are you trying to scare this old woman to death?’

She also enjoyed the scolding she received while expensive medicine was being applied, ‘You healthy little rascal!’

“Actually, it’s almost healed. I don’t even need to apply more medicine.”

Wanting to prove she was fine, Melody gently unwrapped the thin bandage.

As she said, the remaining wound on her fingertip was almost invisible.

“See.”

Melody spread her hand to show him.

“It’s fine, right?”

Isaiah carefully held Melody’s hand, scrutinizing the area that had been wrapped in the bandage until a moment ago.

‘I’m glad it healed without a scar, but…’

He was still uneasy about Melody having such a headstrong master by her side.

“Mel, you see…”

He was about to suggest that she should stop serving that master when suddenly, the door to the parlor burst open without a knock. Startled, Isaiah and Melody turned their heads towards the sound.

The intruder was Ronny, followed by a servant who had failed to stop him, mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ to Melody.

“How long are you going to play around here?”

Ronny barked in an annoyed tone.

Despite his rudeness, Melody wasn’t particularly angry. Ronny’s behavior wasn’t harmful, after all.

However, his more wrinkled-than-usual face was somewhat worrisome.

“Master.”

As Melody stood up and approached him, Ronny flinched and stepped back.

“Is something the matter?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Well, you don’t look very happy.”

“It’s all your fault!”

He yelled, gripping the doorknob tightly.

“How long do you intend to keep me waiting? The jelly’s going to melt away at this rate.”

“Jelly?”

“Yes!”

He muttered, “It’s really expensive. I’ve been waiting so long to get it.”

“Oh, should I bring it to the young lady?”

“You really, with your injured hand, how are you planning to carry jelly… oh?”

Noticing Melody’s unwrapped hand, he quickly hid his own left hand behind his back, as if embarrassed that it was still bandaged.

“Anyway, you have to come with me. I need to drink tea, and above all… the jelly…”

“As I’ve said before, Master Ronny, it’s better for children to drink milk.”

“I’ve told you repeatedly, I’m not that kind of trivial child.”

“But you won’t grow taller.”

Challenged about his height, Ronny discreetly glanced over Melody’s head, seemingly comparing their heights.

“…I can’t help it. If you insist so earnestly. I’ll drink the milk.”

“I didn’t insist. I was just stating the fact.”

Ronny bellowed again at her sharp response.

“How long are you going to chatter about trivial milk?! Hurry up. Are you planning to let the fruit jelly spoil?!”

It seemed unlikely the jelly would spoil that quickly. Ronny just seemed eager to deliver it to Loretta as soon as possible.

He could have delivered it himself. Was he too embarrassed for that?

‘He’s really quite adorable,’ thought Melody, nodding her head.

“Understood.”

It was only a matter of time before Isaiah would leave, and there was no reason not to heed Ronny’s request.

‘That’s good, I guess.’

Things had been somewhat awkward between her and Ronny since the incident with the broken cup. Having milk together might improve their relationship.

Melody internally appreciated the opportunity Ronny had inadvertently provided, though she was somewhat regretful about his abrupt intrusion into the parlor.

At any rate, this would bring perfect peace to Melody’s mansion life.

…Or so she thought.

“Mel is not your maid, Master!”@@novelbin@@

That was until Isaiah, who had been quietly observing, grabbed Ronny’s collar and started shaking him vigorously.

Melody, in a panic, unwittingly clutched a rolled-up catalog.

***

‘How did things end up like this?’

Melody sighed, alternating her gaze between Ronny and Isaiah, who were seated across from each other at the small table.

When Isaiah had grabbed Ronny’s collar, Melody had instinctively raised the catalog in her hand.

For some reason, noticing the catalog in Melody’s hand, Isaiah paled and hastily stepped back a few steps.

Melody was relieved that she had managed to calm the situation a bit.

But then, Ronny lunged at Isaiah and grabbed his collar in retaliation.

Eventually, the friction between the two escalated.

“Don’t treat Mel like a maid!”

“How I treat her is my business!”

They yelled at each other, each clutching the other’s collar.

After a while, realizing that their voices and determination wouldn’t resolve the conflict, they threw down their gloves and began a duel.