Chapter 41

***

Melody turned her gaze back to Isaiah, whose face was flushed with agitation, his expression full of confusion.

“Isaiah, there are a few things I want to ask my mother.”

She spoke in a gentle tone, as if soothing her precious friend’s troubled heart.

“They might seem trivial, but to me, they are quite serious matters.”

For instance, matters like birthdays.

She didn’t want to make those around her feel uncomfortable every time her birthday was mentioned.

It might be trivial, but it was important to her.

“I’m not going to see my mother because I’ve forgotten how I’ve lived.”

Melody took Isaiah’s hands, gripping them tightly, just as he had done to her moments before.

“I’m going because I’ve decided how I want to live my life.”

Melody stood there for a long while, holding Isaiah’s hands.

“Don’t lie!”

He pushed her hands away roughly and yelled. The force of his push caused Melody to stumble and fall to the ground.

“…!”

Isaiah was visibly shocked by Melody’s fall, as if he had received a great blow.

“Isaiah.”

Melody, with Claude’s help, got up and called out to him tenderly. However, it seemed her words didn’t reach his heart.

He murmured something inaudible, his lips barely moving, then abruptly turned and began to run away.

Soon, his fellow knights caught up to him.

“Wait…!”

Melody called out to the knights urgently. She didn’t want Isaiah to be punished in any way.

Just then, Claude spoke in a stern voice.

“The punishment will be decided by the Duke. Until then, ensure the squire’s safety.”

He emphasized ‘safely,’ to reassure Melody.

The knights, though not keen on the idea of their squire being judged by the Duke, had no choice but to comply.

After all, it was true that Isaiah had recklessly taken Melody, a child under the Duke’s protection.

“…Isaiah.”

When Melody called his name in a sad tone, his lips moved slightly, muttering something.

‘Liar.’

That seemed to be what he was saying. Melody smiled bitterly. In the end, she had lied to him, so his words weren’t entirely wrong.

Melody watched with concern as the knights took Isaiah away.

She was glad to have met Isaiah again. But what if this was their final farewell? What would she do then?

“It’ll be okay.”

Melody turned her head towards the voice beside her.

Claude was looking down at her, their eyes meeting instantly.

“It’s just that his head is hot right now. Once he calms down and reflects on the situation, he’ll surely want to apologize to you, Miss Melody.”

“I should be the one to apologize first. I lied. I promised not to come meet my mother, but…”

“Even so.”

Claude glanced briefly at Melody’s wrist. Red marks were left where she had been held strongly for too long.

Noticing his gaze, Melody quickly hid her arms behind her back.

“It didn’t hurt at all!”

“You’re lying.”

At his accusation of lying, Melody made a slightly sad face.

“Ah, it did hurt, but it’s okay.”

“If you want, you can come back here later.”

At his suggestion, Melody shook her head. Despite the friction with Isaiah, her determination was still firm.

“It’s okay.”

“You’re brave.”

He smiled and admired her, just as he had done in the carriage earlier. He even extended one hand to her in the same manner.

“Take me with you. It seems I’ve become necessary.”

Surrounded by the squire in charge of guidance and the knights drawn by the commotion, Melody had no choice but to place her hand in Claude’s.

“But, sir.”

As they passed through the long corridor, Melody quietly asked him a question.

“How did you know to come?”

“Hmm.”

Claude touched his chin as if pondering something.

“Actually, I saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“I saw Isaiah Mullern discover you and quickly run somewhere else.”

Claude had spotted Isaiah about ten minutes earlier while he was idly passing time in the carriage.

He knew Isaiah well enough to expect him to greet Melody right away, but the fact that he ran off somewhere else seemed worrying.

Worried, Claude followed Melody.

He was concerned about being stopped on the way in, but as soon as he presented his identification at the office, the person waiting there said, ‘Ah, we’ve been expecting you,’ and readily opened the door, allowing him to enter quickly.

“I see.”

Melody nodded slightly and soon after said, “Thank you.”

“If you’re that thankful, come visit my room more often. There’s plenty of work waiting for your diligent labor.”

Ah, she’d forgotten. This man didn’t keep anything in his mind except for his sister and his studies.

But having received his help, Melody couldn’t bring herself to say she didn’t want to.

“Ah, okay. I’ll come… and help with the work more often.”

“Happily?”

“Of course.”

Claude chuckled a little at Melody’s face, which clearly showed she didn’t want to work in his room. Her whole body seemed to be saying it.

He then tapped Melody’s forehead, which was overshadowed by despair, with his fingertips.

“You’re lying again.”

At his observation, Melody’s face turned away in a different direction, as if she wanted to say, ‘I had no other choice but to respond like that.’

Just then, the squire in charge stopped in front of a door.

He pulled out a large key and began to unlock the three locks.

“I’ll wait for you.”

When Claude said that, Melody asked if he wasn’t going to come in with her.

He shrugged his shoulders.

“If I meet your mother, then I’d have to share my mother’s story as well.”

Melody knew somewhat about that… Besides, when it came to his mother, Melody probably knew more than Claude did.@@novelbin@@

According to the original story, the Duke had kept the truth about the Duchess to himself.

Nevertheless, she decided to respect his discomfort regarding the topic of mothers.

“I’ll be back. I’ll be waiting.”

“Are you going to wait in an uncomfortable posture again?”

“I came here because I wanted to make you uncomfortable.”

His light jest ended as the door opened with a clank. Melody took a deep breath and stared at the half-open door.

The reception room filled with delicately crafted  furniture was visible. However, it didn’t look ordinary.

In the middle, there was a dense lattice, dividing the spacious reception room exactly in half.

On the other side of the lattice stood one person.

Holding the dense lattice with both hands, looking desperately through the slightly opened door.

‘…Mother.’

Unknowingly, Melody clenched her fists tightly. Fortunately, there was no hesitation in her steps as she moved forward.

***

“Oh my!”

As soon as her mother saw Melody, she cried out in a voice that sounded like she was about to weep.

“You came, you really came.”

She desperately reached out her arms through the narrow lattice, as if she wanted to touch Melody’s cheek.

Melody just gazed at her mother, then followed the squire’s guidance to close the door and take a seat.

Her mother’s eyes drew closer, causing her heart to race a bit, but she wasn’t afraid.

“So? Are those nobles bullying you? You’re not being treated like a slave, are you? Tell me!”

Her mother asked that right off the bat. It was an inappropriate question coming from a mother who had treated her daughter like a slave.

Melody didn’t respond. But it didn’t seem to matter. Her mother’s monologue continued without pause.

“I have something to tell you. You’ll listen, right? You see, I met this priest here.”

“Mother.”

Melody didn’t want to hear the continuous talk, so she interrupted her mother.

“No, listen to me. He scared me, saying if I die like this, I’ll receive a great punishment. Can you believe it? All night long, he’s been threatening me, saying it’s all written in some book full of letters I can’t even read, huh?”

It was then that Melody realized.

Her mother must have heard stories about the afterlife. She had never believed in anything like religion, but as death approached, she must have felt the need for something to lean on.

‘People facing death suddenly want to atone for their sins. There’s no reason for you to be used by that feeling.’

The Duke’s prediction was right. Her mother had planned to seek forgiveness from Melody and die with a clear conscience.

“Don’t apologize.”

“No, what are you saying? Just listen for a moment, I have to tell you…”

“Don’t apologize to me. And don’t answer questions I haven’t asked.”

“Melody! You!”

Her mother couldn’t contain her temper and shouted loudly. But soon, her face turned pale, and she looked bewildered, begging.

“No, it’s not like that. I have something to tell you, but if you say not to, then…”

Her words naturally shifted to blaming Melody. Looking back, it had always been like this. She incessantly spoke as if all the misfortune was brought by others.

When in reality, it was all scraped together by her mother’s own hands.

“So just listen quietly for a moment, alright? I told you I have something to say…”

Melody abruptly stood up from her seat. Her mother, taken aback, quickly closed her mouth.

“I’ve already told you.”

She glared at her mother, imitating ‘Claude’s devilish expression’.

“Don’t apologize to me. And don’t answer questions I haven’t asked. I won’t spend time on anything else.”