Chapter 163

* * *

Actually, she sometimes resented Evan’s long hair. In the sense that it hid his neat face.

But she really liked how he would smile shyly whenever Loretta brushed aside his fallen hair.

‘He cut it off…’

“Yeah, I was surprised too. It seems Master Jeremiah is good at cutting hair too. Evan looked very neat, just like a noble young master.”

“I… see.”

Loretta answered a bit gloomily.

She was so upset that his fluffy hair had been cut off and she couldn’t even see how it looked.

“It must have been fun. I’m envious.”

“Yeah, but everyone seemed somewhat empty without Loretta there.”

Since Loretta was the only one missing among the ducal siblings.

“Evan even said ‘The Young Miss isn’t here.'”

At the last thing Melody added, Loretta’s face gradually started brightening.

“…Really?”

“Yeah, really. Though it was hard to hear since he spoke in such a small voice.”

“Heh heh.”

Loretta could easily imagine Evan saying that.

“You know, Melody. I’ve made up my mind.”

Loretta firmly pressed her lips together and nodded.

“What did you decide?”

“Next time something like this happens again, I will definitely go to the banquet by myself. And return to the mansion ahead of everyone. Like Cinderella!”

“You’re going to leave your shoe behind for the handsome partner on your way out?”

“I won’t do such a sloppy thing as leaving evidence.”

Loretta’s shoes had the Baldwin ducal family’s crest engraved inside the heel.

So if she left her shoes behind, they would be delivered to the Duke at the banquet hall.

Loretta would be completely caught for secretly enjoying the banquet.

“Above all, there’s no need to leave my shoes behind anyway.”

Loretta raised her chin slightly and smiled confidently.

“Since there’s no way anyone wouldn’t recognize me.”

“…That’s true.”

Loretta was the capital’s most popular child who even melted the stoic Emperor’s heart.

“Ugh, Father is really too much. He must be strict only with me.”

“That’s not true, Loretta.”

Melody answered in a tone filled with deep worry.

“The Duke is very strict with me too.”

Actually, Melody had been summoned to the Duke’s study this morning.

It was probably because she had gone to Kristonson with Claude while he was away.

‘…I’m going to get scolded so badly.’

Melody sighed.

At the same time, Loretta also let out a deep sigh, so the two ended up looking at each other and smiling radiantly.

* * *

After finishing a quick breakfast with Loretta, Melody arrived in front of Duke Baldwin’s study.

Standing in front of that sturdy door, the night she had pierced Claude’s ears suddenly came to mind, making her feel momentarily dizzy.

Some of the events that happened that night were not appropriate to take place in the Duke’s study while he was away on a business trip.

‘He couldn’t have found out about that too, right?’

If even that became known to the Duke or her parents, Melody would surely be too embarrassed to even lift her head.

Melody pondered a bit more in front of it, then mustered her courage and knocked.

As if waiting, an answer came right away.

“Come in, Melody.”

It was a somewhat angry-sounding voice, so Melody entered the study with her head deeply bowed.

“I… came as you called, Your Grace.”

“Sit.”

When he offered her a seat, she carefully lifted her head to see Claude Baldwin, another sinner being scolded first, sitting across from the Duke.

Judging by the somewhat heavy atmosphere, it seemed the Duke had definitely found out about their trip to Kristonson.

Melody sat a little distance away from Claude and lowered her head again.

Even while only looking at her knees, she felt like she could sense the Duke’s strict gaze staring at her intently.

‘Oh, he must be really angry.’

What Melody and Claude had done could potentially go against the Emperor’s mood. It was only natural for the Duke to be furious.

“Melody.”

At the calmly spoken call, she slowly lifted her head.

“…Yes.”

“I thought you knew you were loved.”

But the first thing the Duke brought up was a bit different from what she had expected.

“Huh?”

“But it seems it wasn’t enough.”

“Ah, no. How could I not know? How much you and my parents…”

“How long will it take.”

The Duke waited for Melody’s unfinished words, then quietly opened his mouth.

“For you to realize we worry about your future with the same heart we worry about Loretta’s?”

“I… know.”

Melody quickly answered.

“I’m always grateful. But Loretta’s situation is different. It’s right to worry about her more… I think.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, Loretta is…”

Since she has the same constitution as her mother, she won’t be able to live a peaceful life without the male protagonist.

“Melody Higgins.”

The Duke called her name again.

“…Yes.”

“Whether it’s a future you know or not, it’s the same to worry about. Moreover, if it’s about my children, it’s not something to weigh the importance of.”

Melody hung her head deeply again.

“I was wrong.”

“As long as you’re reflecting, that’s enough. And I express my gratitude for finding that child.”

“No. I was just lucky. Really.”

“Well, since you’re safe… Anyway, I’d like you to be a bit more careful from now on.”

When she didn’t answer, he asked again if she would do so. He must be worried about Melody getting more deeply involved.

“…Yes, I will.”

“Good, I appreciate you saying that. You may go back now. I heard you have an appointment, so you’ll need to prepare.”

“A-Already?”

Melody lifted her head in surprise. She had expected to be scolded to tears for at least two hours.

“Isn’t it strange to deliberately hold back and scold a child who is reflecting?”

“That’s… true, but.”

She alternated between looking at the Duke and Claude, then hesitantly stood up from her seat.

“Then, um. I will take my leave first.”

After Melody left the study with a bow.

The Duke silently stared at his eldest son sitting without a word.

The Duke was insensitive to others’ emotions, but he wasn’t pathetic enough to not notice his long-raised child’s true feelings.

During the short time Melody had been in the study, the Duke knew Claude’s eyes had no choice but to follow her footsteps.

And the Duke easily guessed from what kind of heart such actions of the young man stemmed.

“…I apologize.”

At the words the Duke spoke after a long while, Claude looked at him with surprised eyes.

“I was the one who taught you to utilize everything you have.”

Claude was a bit special compared to the other children.

The Duke became a parent for the first time because of Claude, and naturally ended up teaching wrong things often due to being unaccustomed to it.

It seemed that was the case this time too, so the Duke felt a small sense of guilt.

“No.”

Soon, Claude shook his head.

“I’m not a child either. I should have been able to think for myself what I could utilize and to what extent.”

His voice was already mixed with deep regret.

“…When coveting Miss Melody, I shouldn’t have used the Higgins name… No, I shouldn’t have. At least from the moment I clearly realized my feelings.”

“Yes.”

The Duke nodded.

“It’s easy to keep someone by your side through orders.”

“Yes, and Miss Melody has a tremendous sense of duty towards the Higgins name.”

He smiled bitterly.

“I shouldn’t have taken advantage of that pure heart.”

“Actually, I was going to punish you… but it seems you’re already receiving enough.”

“I wonder.”

“So.”

The Duke sat up straight and leaned forward.

“Has there been any contact from him so far?”

“Not yet. However, I investigated where his child and wet nurse are staying, so we can utilize that in case of emergency.”

“…So it was true.”

The Duke muttered in a new realization. But noticing Claude’s gaze, he added an explanation.

“Of course, I didn’t mean I didn’t believe Melody. It’s just…”

“I know. In what sense you said that.”

As Melody had said, Prince Samuel’s son was found. So the cruel fate approaching Loretta was also truly drawing near.

“What will you do?”

“We must join hands.”

The Duke answered without hesitation.

“He and I are comrades with children in peril, so we can be of help to each other. Although the political issues may…”

But regarding this part, he seemed a bit troubled as he pressed his forehead with his fingertips.

“Arise quite seriously, hiding a young child safely away from prying eyes is not that difficult either.”

“Yes, it’s something Mother did too.”

“I never imagined we would utilize the mansion she secretly prepared like this.”

The Duchess had quietly raised Loretta in a cozy and quiet mansion, avoiding the eyes of the world.

The Duke planned to utilize that mansion for this matter.

As a place to hide Prince Samuel’s son and his wet nurse.

“But that mansion is quite a distance from Kristonson. Would Prince Samuel want to be separated from his son?”

To persuade him, they would need to convey the fact that ‘in the future, the Emperor finds out about his son’s existence.’@@novelbin@@

The problem was how to tell Prince Samuel about this future event that hadn’t happened yet in a way he would believe.

“If we inform him about the birth mother’s execution, he will probably know he has to do that even if he dislikes it.”

“He will be very curious about our intentions.”

“Probably so.”

“To what extent do you plan to share the truth?”

“Well…”

The Duke pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

“That can only be decided after meeting him.”

“Let’s hope he will be a good collaborator.”

“If you wish for that, I should show the attitude of a good collaborator first. So for now, all we can do is wait for him to make up his mind and contact us.”

“That’s like you, Father,” Claude said with a slight smile.

“So, Claude Baldwin.”

“Yes?”

“If there are any important words you need to convey to ‘someone,’ it would be better to say them now. Whether it’s an apology or an explanation.”

At the Duke’s words, Claude’s shoulders drooped deeply.

“…Yes.”

“Because we don’t know what might happen in this mansion after we receive contact from that side.”

* * *

As the Duke had said, Melody who left the study first had an appointment.

That appointment was a bit special, so Melody was somewhat nervous.

In fact, until now, appointments for her had only been related to the ducal family members.

But today was different.

Yesterday at the imperial banquet, Melody had the opportunity to exchange greetings with a few noble peers.

They were all kind and seemed to want to talk more with Melody.

They looked so regretful when she was leaving that they urgently asked to meet again today.

Melody couldn’t refuse their request and ended up nodding.

‘But… it’s strange.’

Staring blankly at the gloomy sky that looked like it might rain at any moment, Melody rode the carriage to the Hatfield mansion.

‘It felt like they all had tremendous interest in me for some reason.’

At first, she thought they were interested because of Melody’s special circumstances. Going from a slave trader’s daughter to a noble young lady.

But no matter how much she thought about it, that didn’t seem to be it.

If it was that kind of interest, their gazes should have contained some sort of contempt as was usually the case, but Melody didn’t really see such an indication.

Rather, how should she put it…

‘…Admiration?’

Thinking about those sparkling eyes, it kind of seemed like that…

But there was no reason for nobles born with noble blood to look at her that way, so she put aside that assumption for now.

‘What was it, that gaze?’