Chapter 221

* * *

Coming to give a reply to the letter asking for a kiss.

Melody looked at him again and asked in a tense voice.

“Here…?”

Judging by his reaction alone, it seemed he knew how stupid that question was. She saw him putting strength on his lips as if holding back laughter.

“D-don’t laugh! I’m asking seriously…!”

“I’m sorry, I just thought it was a very Melody-like question.”

He laughed outright with chuckling sounds, then readily nodded his head and answered.

“Yes, I’m planning to do it here.”

“In the middle of the street?! Moreover.”

Melody glanced around. The nobles from the capital were still near them.

“Rumors… will spread.”@@novelbin@@

“What rumors?”

“Well, that you, Young Master…”

As Melody’s voice trailed off, he pulled down the hood she was wearing, saying, “I can’t hear well.”

The hair curled up inside the hood fell down with a rustle.

“…!”

“Keep telling me, what rumors you’re worried about.”

He had already returned to his usual relaxed self. Even though he had been fretting just a moment ago, trying to read Melody’s mood.

“…You really always do as you please.”

At her resentment, giving up on answering, he smiled.

“I know.”

After that, he slowly untied the knot of the mask fixed on his head with one arm.

“So I’ll just do one more thing like that.”

He shook his head for a moment after completely removing the mask.

“I wanted Miss Melody to keep the order, but it seems difficult to do that now.”

“…That.”

“As you said, if I slowly, very leisurely take my time.”

He tilted his head slightly and smiled softly.

“I think I’ll really go crazy now.”

“…Young Master.”

“So Miss Melody, if I…”

He approached her, tilting his head, and stopped talking for a moment in front of Melody’s lips.

“…Can I act a little hasty?”

Even while saying he would be hasty, his tone in asking was very gentle and slow. To the point where it was agonizing to wait for the end of that question.

Melody slightly moved her lips to answer him.

But no matter what, words that could convey her current feelings didn’t come to mind.

“…”

She closed her lips again and fixed her clumsily linked hands.

Just like on that day long ago when painful rain had fallen between them. Perhaps she pulled him more stubbornly than that day. Until the tips of her fingers putting strength turned white.

He whispered softly, thank you.

No, to be honest, she didn’t hear the voice saying that at all. It was just Melody’s arbitrary imagination of the words rustling like breath on her lips.

He also conveyed other words like that, brushing the tip of his lips.

It was a confession full of only affection.

How could words that couldn’t even be voiced be so clear?

Melody slowly closed her eyes with her lips pressed against his.

Soon his fingers sank into her hair. Following the firmly supporting touch, Melody raised her chin.

At that moment, all her breath was taken away by the deeply approaching kiss.

Even at the moan that came out from surprise, Claude never backed away even a little. No, he rather drove her even more persistently.

Just then, a tremendous boom was heard from afar.

Melody was startled and quickly removed her lips, only then realizing it was fireworks commemorating the festival.

White smoke rising high above the city wall in the distance could be seen.

Tourists filling the large town shouted cheers all at once, and as if responding to it, more fireworks exploded.

Now people were randomly taking off their masks and starting to share blessings with those close to them.

“Shall I bless you too, Young Master?”

Melody asked, looking up at Claude, but unfortunately, fireworks went off again at that moment.

“Pardon?”

“Bless you, bless you!”

She repeated the same words while slightly raising her tiptoes, but perhaps due to the aftermath of the fireworks and the cheers of the people around, it wasn’t properly conveyed.

“I said I’ll bless you!”

“…What?”

Feeling a bit heated, Melody took off the mask covering her face and shouted again.

“I’ll kiss you!”

“Ah.”

He nodded as if he finally understood.

“…You pretended not to understand on purpose, right?”

“Who knows.”

Claude smiled beautifully enough to be annoying and bent his waist again.

As if waiting, saying, ‘Go ahead and kiss me,’ Melody only gave a clumsy kiss, barely pressing the tip of her lips and pulling away.

“I’m not good at it either, so don’t laugh.”

Claude, who slowly opened his eyes, didn’t laugh as Melody hoped, but he had a somewhat serious expression.

“No. How should I say…”

After pondering for a long time, he dropped his head and mumbled self-deprecatingly.

“It feels too good. To the point where it’s difficult to explain…”

Claude shifted his gaze elsewhere for a moment.

She didn’t know what was so good about a kiss that barely touched the tip of the lips, but now his ears were completely red.

“…Then shall we do more?”

At Melody’s suggestion, he made a groan and eventually pulled Melody’s back and waist to completely embrace her with his arms.

“Let’s stop, there will be quite a lot of days in the future when Miss Melody will torment me.”

When he bowed his head and whispered, Melody’s eyes met exactly with Hatfield’s standing very close by.

“…!”

The startled Hatfield screamed unintentionally, and at the same time, the attention of the capital’s nobles was drawn to Claude and Melody.

“Y-Young Master! We’ve been caught! Completely caught!”

Even though Melody was flailing her arms, not knowing what to do, he didn’t let go of her.

“It’s good. I hope the story of me opening my body and heart to your skill spreads everywhere.”

“Don’t lie. You’re really mean, Young Master. I really hate you!”

“…I especially hope Christian Carver knows.”

“No one should know such a thing!”

Melody quickly pushed him away with both arms and looked at Hatfield with pleading eyes, clasping her hands together.

It was a request to please not spread this matter widely.

Fortunately, it seemed Melody’s heart was conveyed, and Hatfield quickly nodded with a bright smile.

However.

…Miss Hatfield, who completely misunderstood Melody’s request, began promoting them beautifully as “a love that transcends the master-servant relationship between families, like a 221-chapter novel.”

It was three weeks from this day that Melody would hear the rumor.

By the time Hatfield had packaged their relationship so prettily, there was no one left questioning Baldwin and Higgins dating.

Even the people at the mansion.

Anyway, that was something that would happen in three weeks, so on the last night of the festival, Melody had the best time with Claude without knowing anything.

It was also their long-delayed official first date.

* * *

Claude, Melody, and Loretta stayed in Kristonson for two more weeks and set off for the capital.

Claude continued his reckless consumption of buying anything in different materials and colors if Melody or Loretta needed it, even on this return shopping trip.

But in the end, he easily won a contract to expand the distribution channels of metal products made in the duchy, so it didn’t end up being a shopping trip where he only suffered losses.

Before they knew it, the carriage passed through the city gate of the capital.

Melody was stuck to the window, appreciating the bustling sight of the capital she hadn’t seen in a long time. Sophisticated people, stores selling new and interesting things.

‘It’s really amazing.’

When she first saw this street, it only felt unfamiliar, but now she felt a familiar comfort.

The change brought by time wasn’t just that.

In the past, Melody didn’t gain any emotion from the word ‘home’.

No, the word ‘home’ only hurt her and made her lose emotions one by one.

She thought the heart that had become so empty would never be filled again.

“Melody, I can see the mansion!”

Loretta, who was next to her, hugged Melody’s arm as if she couldn’t hold back.

This little child was the eternally first person who placed love in Melody’s heart.

“Loretta, stay still. If you fall over in the carriage, you’ll get badly hurt. Miss Melody, don’t lean your head too far out the window either. It makes me anxious.”

Melody sat back a little from the window and smiled wryly at him.

He was also someone who had given emotions to Melody.

It’s just that this man… had a talent for arbitrarily shaking the emotions that filled her.

Melody sometimes buried her face in her palms and despaired, wondering, “Why is that face my type?”

Of course, it wasn’t just his face she liked, but anyway, that man was surely a demon.

Soon the carriage got closer to the mansion.

Passing through the large iron gate the gatekeeper had opened in advance and the garden densely packed with tall trees, the completely renovated appearance of the mansion came into full view.

As they approached the front door, the speed gradually decreased.

Even though Claude had said a moment ago not to act dangerously, Loretta passed over Melody’s lap and stuck her face out the window.

“Looks like we arrived last! Everyone’s here!”

Following her gaze out the window, the family members Loretta called “everyone” were waiting for them.

Not only the Higgins couple but also the Duke and his sons, all the way to Isaiah.

The carriage stopped in front of the entrance where they were waiting.

Isaiah opened the door, and Claude got out first and looked back at Melody and Loretta.

But being a perfect gentleman, he didn’t make the mistake of offering his hand to the two ladies.

Holding hands, Melody and Loretta relied on each other and cheerfully jumped out of the carriage.

The Duke ran over in surprise, scolding them for doing something dangerous, and the Higgins couple shouted “Our little lamb!” and hugged Melody tightly.

Meanwhile, Loretta, who became afraid of the Duke’s scolding, stretched her arms out to Isaiah Mullern and requested salvation, shouting “Save me!”

Isaiah displayed his loyalty to his leader and immediately picked up Loretta and started running into the mansion.

However, he was soon caught by the collar by Ronny and failed to prove his loyalty to his leader.

Jeremiah silently approached Melody and held out his hand.

When Melody absentmindedly grasped his hand, he shouted, “I’m asking for the recording papers!” with a beet-red face, adjusting his glasses several times.

A little later, Ronny, still holding Isaiah’s collar, guided everyone to the dining room.

“Brother Ronny, did you prepare a banquet?”

At Loretta’s words as they entered the mansion, Ronny nodded as if it was obvious.

“I hope the first dish isn’t cake again?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

The two giggled together as they passed through the entrance. Now Melody was also about to follow the family into the mansion, but she felt someone lightly tugging on her fingertips from behind.

“…?”

The moment she turned around, wondering what was going on, Claude lightly kissed the corner of her lips and pulled away in an instant.

The surprised Melody quickly checked her surroundings first.

“There’s no one.”

Claude smiled brightly and started entering the mansion ahead of her, brushing past her side.

Glaring at his back, Melody felt somehow very wronged.

“…I really hate you, Young Master.”

At the words she spoke with a very sulky face, he stopped walking and turned around to look at Melody.

“Do you really hate me?”

“I said so.”

“That’s a big problem.”

With a face that didn’t feel any sense of crisis, he shrugged his shoulders and held out his hand to Melody.

“Come here, I’ll make you like me again.”

“You think I won’t be able to refuse if you say that?”

Even while speaking coyly, Melody ended up holding his hand.

“…You’re really hateful, Young Master. It’ll probably be like this for life.”

“Miss Melody is lovely. It will definitely be like that for life.”

Soon they also followed the family and arrived at the dining room, sitting in their usual seats.

Now there were no empty seats.

Melody carefully looked around at the family members filling the table.

They all looked healthy and happy.

Melody felt a miracle in this utmost everyday life.

As much as she had thought such a moment would never return.

“Melody.”

As Loretta quietly called her, she turned to the side and saw her smiling brightly at Melody.

“It’s fortunate we have the same home, right?”

“Yes, it was fortunate that the Duke was a pot of gold.”

They pressed their foreheads together and chuckled.

What young Loretta had said wasn’t wrong.

As long as Melody and Loretta like each other and Duke Baldwin exists as a pot of gold, they will continue to live happily under the same roof.

And in fact, that means.

They will live together forever…

Melody and Loretta actually shared eternity together.

Fin.

——

TL Note: The next chapters from here on will be the side stories.