Chapter 7

***

The Baldwin Ducal House was in quite a turmoil for some time. The reason was the succession of misfortunes that befell their lord. First, the news surfaced that the lady of the house, who had been missing for six years, had died in a mysterious attack in a foreign land. Added to that was the revelation of a young daughter she had secretly borne and raised.

Rather than investigating what had happened to his wife or why she had hidden the existence of their daughter, the Duke focused on tracking down the daughter who had disappeared from the scene of the accident. The news that “Duke Baldwin is searching for his lost daughter” quickly spread through the information guilds and along the dark paths far and wide.

Some, capitalizing on the fact that the Duke had never met his daughter, sent young girls resembling the Duchess to him, claiming, “This is the daughter your Grace lost.” Such incidents were not uncommon. Despite knowing about these unscrupulous individuals, the Duke brought every child claimed as his daughter to the temple. The holy power of the priests revealed the truth, and each time, it turned out the child was not of the Ducal bloodline. Some fraudsters even dared to suggest, “With all due respect, Your Grace, the child raised by the Duchess might not share your bloodline…” Of course, the Duke never believed such claims, and those fraudsters could not escape charges of fraud.

Amidst all this, a rumor surfaced in a village near the site of the attack: “A noble child is being sold as a slave.” The Duke immediately rushed to the village, and now he was returning to the Ducal House in a carriage with the children he had met there.

Sitting upright, the Duke looked at the young girls sitting opposite him. Despite the long carriage ride, which should have been boring, the children found ways to amuse themselves, laughing and giggling. However, after more than half a day, Loretta, exhausted, fell asleep on Melody’s lap.

“They seem quite close.”

The Duke commented, looking at the defenseless appearance of the sleeping child. Indeed, if it weren’t for their closeness, he wouldn’t have considered taking Melody with him.

“Yes, thankfully, Loretta has been very fond of me.”

Melody replied, a strange shadow crossing her face as if something weighed on her mind.

“Umm…”

Hesitating for a moment, Melody then cautiously started a conversation with the Duke. She had come along to protect Loretta, so it seemed better to share her concerns.

“I’ve been thinking about whether to tell you this…”

“What is it?”

“Loretta,” Melody’s voice turned into a whisper, as if worried that the child might wake up and hear the conversation. The Duke thought her to be a child wise beyond her years.

“Sometimes she seems to not remember past events properly. I’m not sure, but…”

“Past events?”

The Duke pressed on, curious about Melody’s indirect expressions.

“Like her mother… I mean, the Duchess. She said a few times that she doesn’t remember much about her mother.”

The Duke found it slightly curious how Melody was careful about mentioning ‘the Duchess.’ It almost seemed as if she knew the affairs of the Ducal House, but that was unlikely. He thought she must be a child with good intuition. And the Duke generally had a liking for quick-witted people.

“I think the day of the accident must have left a scar. She was scared of the sound of rain.”

The Duke remembered the analysis report of the carriage accident on a rainy day and nodded. It was plausible for a young child to categorize sensations felt at the accident scene as fear.

“I didn’t probe further as I didn’t want to confuse her. She’s still young…”

“That’s a wise decision.”

The Duke nodded, guessing Loretta’s psychological state.

“Time… she will need time.”

During that time, Melody’s presence would be of great help to Loretta. It seemed Loretta was wholeheartedly relying on her.

“I will be indebted to you, then.”

Melody vigorously shook her head as if such a thought was preposterous. It was she who was indebted to the Duke. After all, she was getting the opportunity to ride in such a fine carriage and travel with him.

“You must have it harder than me, Your Grace. She is your only daughter, after all.”

Melody said, recalling the content of the original story and smiling slightly. That stoic Duke choosing fabrics for a teddy bear, perhaps?

“Well.”

He thought of the numerous young girls who had been brought to him, each claimed to be his daughter. Among them was a child who had eyes strikingly similar to his wife’s. But none were his real daughter, all had someone behind their deceitful schemes.

Of course, he didn’t suspect Loretta or Melody of luring him under someone else’s influence. Even when he had the captured slave trader woman investigated, there was nothing suspicious.

They were just really unfortunate children who had lost their way. So, even if Loretta was not his daughter, he was planning to ensure both children could live well in the capital. After all, as the little girl had said, he was a human resembling a purse full of money.

“Right now, I can’t even be certain if she really is my daughter.”

“Loretta is definitely your daughter, Your Grace!”

Melody protested, her face conveying how could he even say such a thing. It was a rather bold expression, but the Duke didn’t take offense.

“How would you know that?”

He asked. He had heard the phrase ‘This child is undoubtedly your Grace’s daughter!’ countless times. Those who brought young girls before him always said the same thing.

Whenever he asked, ‘How do you know that?’, they typically responded with ‘Just look at this face, so much like the late lady. There’s no doubt.’ Although the children did resemble, he couldn’t outright refute that.

“How do you know this child is my daughter?”

He posed the same question to Melody as he had to the fraudsters.

“Well…”

Melody, rolling her big eyes, seemed a bit troubled. She only stroked Loretta’s soft hair, which was within reach, and then answered in an unsure voice.

“She resembles you.”

Not that line again.

The Duke slightly furrowed his brow in frustration.

“You mean Loretta resembles me?”

“Hmm…?”

He made a sound of curiosity, examining the face of the sleeping child. It was quite different from the face he saw in the mirror every day.

Realizing what was on his mind, Melody explained with a smile, “Not in looks, but there’s a similar sparkling feeling.”

“What kind of feeling is that?”

“Like this!”

Melody pointed to the sleeping Loretta’s face, ‘She’s sparkling, right? With such a cute daughter, wouldn’t you be happy just watching her sleep all day?’ she added, with an odd sort of remark.

The Duke, thinking he had asked a pointless question to a child, turned his head towards the window and muttered softly, “Are there really such pathetic humans in this world who find joy in stupidly staring at their daughter’s sleeping face…”

Melody couldn’t bring herself to say, ‘That’s going to be you in the future, having finished your unnecessary denial phase.’

* * *

The carriage carrying the three of them arrived at the capital’s city gates. And there, the Duke encountered an imperial messenger looking for him.

The Emperor, seemingly indifferent to the Duke’s circumstances, had ordered him to come to the palace immediately. It seemed a lot had happened during the month the Duke was away.

“It can’t be helped.”@@novelbin@@

He looked back and forth between Loretta and Melody.

“First, return to the mansion. I have made arrangements, so there should be no discomfort.”

Without waiting for a response from the girls, the Duke borrowed a horse from a knight and left straight for the palace.

Left alone in the carriage, the girls pressed themselves against the window, fascinated by the streets of the capital filled with elegant people and curious items. The entirely different scenery made their hearts race with excitement, but it was also a bit frightening. Especially when the coachman pointed towards an enormous building, saying, “It’s over there. We’ve arrived,” the girls were so astonished that they hugged each other in surprise.

They knew the Duke was wealthy, but they hadn’t expected this extent of grandeur. The carriage passed through a vast garden and finally stopped in front of a huge mansion. Two elderly servants, dressed in formal attire, and other male and female attendants were lined up in front of it.

“Welcome.”

An old butler in formal wear opened the door.

“His Grace has informed us. Miss Loretta, I am Higgins, the butler.”

He extended a gloved hand towards the little girl, apparently to lead her inside the mansion. However, Loretta, looking back and forth between Melody and the butler, just wore a sad expression. She must have been scared to go with a stranger to an unknown place. Considering how long it took Loretta to adapt when she first came to Melody’s house.

Melody whispered to Loretta in a voice quiet enough not to reach the butler.

“It will be okay.”

“Will you be there too, Melody? We won’t be separated, right?”

Upon hearing the cautious question, Melody quickly nodded, signaling ‘of course.’ Only then did Loretta let go of Melody and take the butler’s hand.

Melody watched from the carriage as Loretta entered the mansion, frequently turning back, seemingly worried about leaving Melody behind.

‘So adorable,’ Melody thought, smiling slightly. Just then, another servant who was with the butler stuck her head into the carriage. An elderly woman with deep wrinkles, she appeared to hold a high position within the mansion. She was different from the other servants, from the elegant dress she wore to her overall demeanor.

“Tsk.”

The woman clicked her tongue lightly, indicating she wasn’t too welcoming of Melody’s sudden appearance.

“Coming here dressed like a dirty little lamb… Tsk.”

Uh-oh.

Melody found the woman’s manner of speaking strangely familiar.

“What are you looking at so stupidly like a sloth! Can’t you get out quickly?!”

Melody hurriedly scrambled out of the carriage. The servants lined up in front of the mansion had already gone, leaving only Melody and the intimidating lady.

The woman looked Melody up and down and even grabbed her arm to feel it.

‘Is she checking if I’m healthy enough to work?’

If that was the case, looking frail here would be problematic. Melody puffed up her cheeks and stomach, trying to appear bigger. Hopefully, it made her look a bit more robust.

Despite her efforts, the lady didn’t seem too pleased with Melody.