Chapter 190

* * *

When Loretta woke up in the morning, the area around her bed was a mess.

The books she had piled up on the bed after reading last night had all fallen and scattered on the floor.

Among them, some books were lying face down on the floor, and when she carefully picked them up, the pages were crumpled in a mess.

“Ugh. How could all of these fall?”

Loretta made a gloomy face and frowned while vigorously pressing down on the crumpled pages with her palm to flatten them.

“What should I do? These are Melody’s books…”

“Don’t worry, Miss.”

The maid who had woken Loretta up consoled her while helping gather the books.

“If you take the wrinkled books to the linen room and gently press them with the residual heat from the iron, they’ll flatten out perfectly.”

“Really? But that seems like too much work…”

“Yes. So, Miss.”

The maid leaned her head forward and smiled brightly.

“From now on, you should stop piling books high on your bed before sleeping. Understand?”

“…Ugh, yeah. Sorry.”

Loretta slowly nodded while touching the cover of the book she had picked up.

The maid said, ‘Then I’ll take the crumpled books,’ and left the room first, and Loretta remained seated on the floor next to the bed, organizing the remaining books.

The first thing that caught her eye was Melody’s bookplate.

It was the one Ronny had gifted to Melody last time.

Melody was very happy every time she attached a bookplate to her books.

Loretta, who had been watching her, also volunteered to help, but.

The result was quite disastrous.

She had attached it crookedly, and some corners were curled inward or backward.

Loretta was so embarrassed about how it turned out that she just kept glancing around, but surprisingly, Melody laughed out loud.

“…Why?”

“Because I like that Loretta worked hard to attach it for me.”

“B-but. I… ruined it.”

“Hehe, that’s why I like it even more.”

When Loretta just stared blankly, not understanding what she meant, Melody gently brushed her hand over the crooked bookplate Loretta had attached. With a slow touch.

“Whenever I see this bookplate, I can remember today’s Loretta. It will definitely make me smile.”

“I’m glad you’ll smile, Melody, but I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. I’ll accept your apology, but in exchange, will you attach bookplates to other books too?”

Loretta didn’t want to ruin any more books, so she tried to refuse that request.

But Melody looked at her with such an expectant gaze that she had no choice but to nod and attach bookplates to a few more books.

‘…It was fun though.’

Escaping from the old memory, Loretta slowly read the phrase commonly written at the bottom of the bookplate.

“This book is owned by Melody Higgins…”

And she paused her touch on the word ‘owned’ for a moment, caressing it several times with the tip of her white fingernail.

“…I envy this. Having something like this attached.”

For the first time since she was born, Loretta envied a book.

This book belonged to Melody no matter where it was. It would always be like that.

Even if someone who didn’t know Melody saw it, they would discover the bookplate and say, ‘This is Melody Higgins’ book.’

Loretta carefully picked up the book and rested her cheek on the bookplate.

“I wish she had attached one to me too…”

If Melody had clearly left something like this on Loretta’s heart that loved her, maybe she would have been a little less lonely.

“Although Melody asked not to look for her for a while, I miss her so much. To the point where I want to find her right away. If I ask Father, maybe I can at least get news of Melody without her knowing…”

The girl, who had been muttering alone, quickly shook her head.

Loretta had a favor Melody had asked of her.

Not to look for her and to be there for her father and brothers at the mansion.

In a forceful handwriting unlike Melody’s usual style.

Loretta thought that maybe Melody had written that letter while holding back tears.

‘I can’t go against the words she conveyed with such difficulty.’

But the inevitably felt emptiness was so hard that Loretta climbed back onto the bed, hugging the book.

“You know, Melody.”

Loretta quietly whispered while resting her forehead on the book. In the way she used to speak when she was young.

“…I miss you.”

The tears she had shed countless times fell again.

After Melody left, she always had to hide and cry like this.

If Loretta also cried honestly, the entire mansion would be filled with sadness.

‘If that happens, Melody might really not come back here…’

Loretta wiped her eyes while hugging the book deep into her chest.

* * *

In the afternoon, someone came to visit Loretta’s room, where she had been lying on the bed all along.

Loretta had the blanket pulled over her head, but even without seeing with her eyes, she knew who the visitor was.

There were two clues.

The door that swung open without knocking.

The thudding sound of uncultured footsteps.

In this mansion, there was only one person who met these conditions.

“Do you have any desire to become an excellent child?”

It was Ronny Baldwin.

He arbitrarily lifted the blanket Loretta had covered herself with.

“What are you doing to a lady!”

Loretta sat up while hugging the book and shouted angrily, but Ronny only snorted.

“Lady? That’s ridiculous, you’re still a snotty little kid.”

“I don’t have a runny nose!”

“Yeah? Then an excellent child?”

That was a better term than a snotty kid, so Loretta nodded.

“If you’re really an excellent child.”

Ronny snatched the book from Loretta’s arms and carelessly placed it on a nearby stool.

“Ah!”

Loretta quickly tried to grab the book, but she couldn’t do anything as Ronny held her waist and lifted her up.

“Let go! Big brother! Put me down, I said!”

“Stay still! And look at what’s in front of you!”

“In front of me…?”

Loretta stopped moving and blinked her eyes for a moment.@@novelbin@@

Ronny carried Loretta on his shoulder and went to the window, and finally, the snow piled up in white came into her view.

“It snowed.”

“Yeah. Did you realize it now?”

“Mm-hmm. I didn’t know.”

“Then you know what you should do now, right?”

Ronny moved his steps and put Loretta down next to the folding screen, then disappeared behind it.

Soon, Loretta’s maids approached and started dressing her in winter clothes.

“Why do I have to wear winter clothes?”

Loretta asked while absentmindedly putting on the clothes one by one. Today, she didn’t want to do anything, let alone go out.

“Why, you ask?”

Then, Ronny’s questioning voice came from beyond the folding screen.

“You. Are you, a child, not cherishing a day when you can make a snowman? How many times a year does it snow?”

“Are you telling me to make a snowman now?! Even without Melody?!”

“What? You don’t know how? You can’t do it if Melody doesn’t help you?”

“…!”

Loretta immediately brushed off the maids’ hands and ran out from behind the folding screen to where Ronny was sitting on the desk.

“I can do it alone!”

She clenched her fists tightly and shouted fervently.

“Melody taught me so incredibly well that I can do it by myself!”

Perhaps because she was so fired up.

Even though she hadn’t said much, Loretta’s breathing became heavy.

Ronny looked down at Loretta for a moment, then got off the desk with a crooked smile.

“Ah, is that so? That’s good.”

He snatched the gloves from the maid’s hand and snugly put them on Loretta’s hands.

“One more pair of gloves, the really thick ones. And a coat too.”

Following his orders, the maids brought fur leather gloves and a thick coat.

He dressed Loretta in them one by one, and even wrapped a scarf around her neck tightly.

“…It’s like I’ve become a snowman.”

When Loretta commented while looking down at her heavy body, Ronny said, ‘You’re far from it,’ and even put a fur hat on her.

“It’s better than catching a cold, isn’t it?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“If you understand, let’s go, hurry up and fulfill your duty as a child.”

He grabbed Loretta’s arm and walked a little faster.

At first, Loretta seemed to be dragged along, but soon she started walking quickly, almost running, and took the lead ahead of him.

“You’ll do it with me too, right?”

“Well, if you ask me so earnestly, I can’t refuse to help.”

“You’re a liar, big brother.”

Loretta said that while sticking her tongue out slightly, then turned her body and started running ahead first.

Ronny must have intended to make a snowman with Loretta from the beginning.

He must have been worried that she had been cooped up in her room all morning.

‘He could be honestly affectionate.’

Loretta had that thought for a moment, but soon shook her head.

‘If he did that, the whole world would find out about Ronny’s good points.’

She didn’t like that somehow.

Ronny’s kindness was a small secret just for the Baldwin family.

‘Kindness being a secret is a bit funny, but.’

Loretta smiled for the first time in a while and headed towards the front door. A servant nearby spotted Loretta’s attire and quickly opened the door for her.

A white world spread out in front of her, and Loretta ran into the garden with a shout of ‘Wow!’

* * *

Loretta made two large snowmen with Ronny’s help.

While Ronny went to find carrots to use for the snowmen’s noses, Loretta squatted down next to the snowmen.

‘When it snowed, I always made snowmen with Melody…’

Loretta picked up a fallen branch nearby and wrote Melody’s name on the white snow.

‘I miss you, Melody. I miss you so much.’

As she was thinking that and writing her name again, at that moment.

“Meow.”

The sound of a cat meowing came from behind Loretta. There were no other pets kept in the ducal garden, so Loretta was startled and looked back.

Surprisingly, there stood a familiar(?) cat.

“Could it be…?”

Loretta quickly took off her gloves and carefully approached the cat, holding out her hand.

“Echo?”

Soon, a moist nose touched the tip of her fingers.

“It is Echo!”