Chapter 48

***

“Yes, back then…”

However, unable to bear looking at Melody, Ronny just stared at his own toes.

“I said that to you.”

“To me? What did you say?”

Ronny’s head drooped even lower. The tips of his ears peeking out were so red they almost looked black.

“Con artist… that you should go home…”

“Ah.”

Melody recalled their first encounter.

“Con artist! Go back to your home! Are you trying to freeload in our house?!”

He had yelled at Melody, his voice full of anger.

“At that time, there were so many people coming to the mansion with lies that I thought you were one of them…”

Ronny seemed to be trying to make an excuse, but soon he shook his head and closed his mouth.

That wasn’t what he wanted to say.

Gathering his courage, Ronny abruptly lifted his head. As their eyes met, the words he had long suppressed burst out.

“I’m, I’m sorry! It was my fault!”

Despite the rough apology, laden with a shout, the boy’s eyes were brimming with tender tears.

And his face was the reddest Melody had ever seen him – a true, very sincere red.

Caught off guard by the unexpected apology, Melody couldn’t respond, and Ronny used his sleeve to wipe his eyes.

‘Did the young master still harbor that incident in his heart?’

Truthfully, Melody hadn’t been hurt or bothered by that day’s events.

So this earnest apology was somewhat disconcerting, to the point where she didn’t know how to react.

“Were you really that upset?”

But seeing Melody’s silence, Ronny became even more self-conscious and cautiously asked.

“No, not at all.”

Melody quickly shook her head, trying to reassure him. But it backfired.

“Don’t joke! You can’t just brush off hearing such words!”

“It’s true, though.”

Of course, Ronny didn’t seem to believe Melody’s words this time either.

“I don’t think of you as a con artist anymore. Really.”@@novelbin@@

“I know.”

Melody smiled broadly. Ronny’s every emotion was plainly visible in his expressions and actions, so it was impossible not to notice.

“And also… uh.”

Ronny fumbled with his lips, mumbling to himself for a while.

“You don’t have to go back to your home. Even though it seems you’re already doing that.”

“Does that mean it’s alright for me to stay in the mansion?”

At Melody’s question, he responded with a shout.

“I can’t help it! Father has permitted it!”

“Ah…”

“No. It’s not just because of that.”

He fidgeted, regretting raising his voice.

“You don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“That’s true, but…”

“I also don’t like being alone again.”

Ronny’s softly murmured words somehow sounded desolate.

Thinking about it, Ronny was the only child in this mansion until Loretta arrived.

In such circumstances, Ronny must have held a daily hope that ‘he might have a sibling’.

But the visitors were con artists, bringing nothing but continuous disappointment.

Now, Melody fully understood why he was a character who fell in love easily.

His loneliness had been too profound.

“Now we are together, but usually, my brother is at the academy, and…”

“Jeremiah, the third son, hasn’t returned to the mansion even once since he went to the Tower of Mages.”

The third child, Jeremiah, had always lived in the Tower of Mages since his childhood, bearing the potential to become a great mage.

Of course, Melody remembered this fact through the original story…

‘Wait?’

Sensing something odd, she looked up, and sure enough, Ronny was looking at her with surprised eyes.

“How do you know about Jeremiah?!”

“What, what?!”

Melody, you fool!

She chided herself while desperately trying to think of an excuse.

“That… that’s…”

But no plausible words came to mind.

Coming up with an excuse was easy, but she couldn’t bear the potential fallout if her lie was exposed.

“Aren’t you going to answer my question?”

He stepped closer to Melody, staring intently at her troubled face.

‘What should I do?’

Ronny, now right in front of her, suddenly seemed intimidating.

“…”

The silent standoff continued.

Then, at one moment, Ronny clapped his hands with an ‘Ah!’ as if he had realized something.

“It’s my brother, right?!”

“…Yes?”

Confused by his words, Melody just blinked. But to Ronny, her reaction seemed to confirm his suspicion.

“I knew it. Who else but my kind brother would tell you about Jeremiah’s story.”

“No, no.”

Not at all. Absolutely not.

Claude was neither kind nor had he mentioned anything about Jeremiah.

Melody wanted to vehemently deny it, but Ronny’s words continued unabated.

“Jeremiah is really amazing, you know? Last time, he went to the royal palace on behalf of the Tower Master. Even though he’s still young.”

“Remarkable…”

Melody nodded, her expression a bit stunned.

“Do you really think it’s remarkable?”

But Ronny seemed not quite satisfied with Melody’s response.

“That means Jeremiah perfectly understands and represents the will of the Tower Master, and that means…”

Ronny puffed out his chest with pride.

“Someday, Jeremiah might become the next Tower Master.”

“Ah…”

“Plus, once Jeremiah becomes an official mage, he’ll be known as ‘Mage Baldwin.'”

Ronny continued, his face unable to hide his excitement about Jeremiah’s accomplishments.

“Do you realize how incredible that is? The name Baldwin reaching the pinnacle of the Tower!”

“Incredible…”

Melody responded sincerely.

In her mind, Ronny’s pride in a brother he hadn’t met for years was truly remarkable.

“Of course. No matter what anyone says, Jeremiah Baldwin is my brother.”

He nodded satisfactorily and then asked Melody,

“So you understand, right?”

“…Understand what?”

“What do you mean? I’m saying it’s alright for you to be here. What have you been listening to all this time?”

“Oh. That, right.”

“In truth, I prefer being alone.”

Ronny’s face seemed as though he was doing her a favor.

“I’ll bear with it until you find a place to go. Even if it’s inconvenient.”

“A place to go?”

Wait.

Melody paused for a moment at his words.

A place to go?

That was something Melody had never considered. Since coming to the Ducal house, she hadn’t had the luxury to think about such things.

Up until now, she had only tried to adapt somehow to life in the Ducal house.

‘Come to think of it.’

Ronny was right. Melody would eventually grow up, and she couldn’t stay here forever.

‘I have to… find a place to go.’

“Of course, you can stay here if you want to…”

“Thank you, young master.”

“What…? For what?”

His puzzled response made Melody shrug.

“For everything you’ve just said.”

Responding with a laugh, Ronny intently gazed at Melody’s face before abruptly standing up.

“Young master…?”

“I don’t have time to stay here like this! No matter how much you try to hold me back, I’m going to win the bet with him.”

He strode over and picked up the June records that Melody had set down earlier.

Then, after checking the hallway for any sign of people, he flung the door open.

He must have confirmed that it was safe to open, but…

“Gasp!”

A gasp came from beyond the wide-open door.

It was Isaiah.

***

Isaiah, having waited past the time Ronny had promised and seeing no sign of him, stepped out of the guest room and peered towards Higgins’ office.

In the midst of this, the door to Melody’s room opened right behind him, causing him to let out an involuntary gasp.

His voice resonated loudly in the otherwise quiet hallway.

Startled, Ronny quickly pulled Isaiah into Melody’s room and shut the door.

The two boys leaned against the door for a while, listening intently to see if anyone was coming because of Isaiah’s outburst.

Fortunately, no one came.

“I thought we were caught…”

Ronny sighed in relief, then soon glared at Isaiah and reproached him.

“I told you to wait until I came. Why are you wandering around on your own? What if we got caught?”

“And why are you in Mel’s room, losing your way in your own house?”

That’s because he was dragged here by Melody. But somehow, Ronny felt embarrassed to say that.

“I don’t have to answer every single question!”

“Uh… young master, have you been crying?”

Isaiah looked at the slightly reddened area around his eyes and asked with concern.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Who’s crying!”

Ronny’s overly defensive reaction made Isaiah feel that he was lying.

“Young master, did something happen with Mel…?”

Isaiah, with a face full of suspicion, began to question him about the time the two spent together.

“What! Why! What?!”

“Were you hit with the catalog?”

“What are you talking about?!”

“If that’s the case, it’s not embarrassing to cry. Last time, I almost shed a tear too. When Mel holds the catalog, you should run away quickly. Otherwise, you might even die, you know.”

Ronny thought his exaggeration was a bit much.

But it didn’t take more than a few seconds for him to start believing Isaiah’s words.