Chapter 26: 26

Since then, Melody went through the same thing twice. She threw him some bait once.

“Would you like to hear about the time Young Lady Loretta and I first met?”

She thought he would bite at her bait in an instant since he was a fool for his younger sister. He didn’t respond at all surprisingly. Melody had no choice but to be sure of one thing at this point:

Claude and her first meeting was the worst, and he really hates her.

‘It’s alright if he hates me.’

The problem is that he was confusing Melody. He was courteous to her in the presence of the Duke’s family members and the servants.

“Please come here. It’s nice here since this place has shade. Higgins, can you get Miss Melody’s hat for a moment?”

He even suggested that she take a seat on a comfortable chair.

“I am glad the weather is nice. We can all come out together like this.”

Loretta and Melody smiled as if they were more than happy to spend time together.

If Melody wasn’t in the position to bring him tea every afternoon, she might have misunderstood that he was ‘kind just like the Duke’. So, Melody asked Claude in a low voice while Loretta was busy eating.

“……Were you always this kind?”

It was difficult to see the person who treated her poorly when she brought him tea.

“Of course I have to be kind.”

Even though he knew the true meaning of the question, he brazenly answered her while pretending to be unaware.

“I heard that Miss Melody was already kind to Loretta even before she had come all the way here.”

“Yes… that would be right.”

Truthfully, there was something I wanted. I wanted to protect my life at all costs unlike in the original novel. But of course, she could not say that.

“See, it is only natural that we treat the Duke family’s benefactor well with all our hearts.”

Melody was completely at a loss for words when she heard his shameless reply.

And that afternoon too, Claude slammed the door in Melody’s face cleanly. Recently, he would close the door without saying ‘Goodbye’ anymore, and just send her off with bang.

 

* * *

 

Actually, Melody wasn’t the kind of person to hold burning hostility against someone. It was to the extent that she didn’t react to the torment she received from the village children or from her mother when she was a child. But Claude’s attitude was enough to gently scratch at her insides.

‘I will definitely get into the Eldest Young Master’s room once after this.’

How can I get in? A loud noise resounded from the front door as she was lost in her thoughts.

“Duke! How can you treat us so poorly like this by leaving us at the door? Haven’t you been using us, our merchant group, since the days of the former Dukes?!”

Considering how the Duke’s servants groaned after hearing the commotion, it wasn’t enough that the loud merchant was being rude in front of the door, it seemed that he was eventually dragged away.

She wouldn’t normally be interested in such things, but for some reason, it didn’t seem like she could just write the matter off as other people’s business.

“Did something happen?”

When Melody went out into the main part of the hallway to ask a question, the servant who was just standing at the front door answered with a troubled face, “Stay in your room, Miss Melody. Things aren’t that good at the moment.”

“Who is getting kicked out?”

“Uh, that.”

Was it difficult to tell me the details of the situation? The servant lowered his voice and answered.

“A naughty liar.”

“…Yes?”

“That person was unable to meet with the Duke because he was a liar.”

Melody remembered that the man shouted ‘our merchant group’ a while ago. Perhaps, there was a problem with the goods they delivered.

“The Duke hates liars.”

‘Of course, everyone would hate liars though’ said the servant as he advised Melody to enter her room.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Melody changed her mind about performing some shenanigans to get in and went to Claude’s room normally. The door opened, and he picked up the tray this time as well.

“….”

He seems to have decided not to talk to her at all. She thought that he was a little too much, but….

“…..I’m sorry.” Melody apologized to him. He will probably ignore her again this time too.

“For what?”

He didn’t. He answered to her surprise.

“Th-that,” Melody paused for a moment. In the meantime, she was also worried that the door would close again, but it didn’t happen fortunately. “I lied.”

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“Um, did you?”

“Yes.”

Melody looked slightly towards the doorknob. She wondered if he might be closing the door.

“To be honest, I don’t have any interest in learning etiquette. I’m also not confident in learning. I am not even a noble… so I don’t know if I am allowed to learn such things.”

“I think you misunderstood something.”

He fixed the tray, “Etiquette isn’t exclusive to nobility only, especially here in the capital.”

“….”

“You don’t have to take it hard. It’s just convenient to have it.”

‘Anyway, thank you for being honest with me,’ he told her with a slight smile. Melody quickly shook her head, slightly reassured.

‘He obviously saw through my lies, so he sent me back….’

Since she had the courage to speak frankly and honestly, his answer was clear with her sincere words.

“I have another apology to make. Actually, I thought the Young Master hated me and sent me back every day.”

Without even dreaming that he was hoping for the sincerity of Melody.

“You did?”

“Yes, my apologies. You’re not… angry, right?”

He shook his head at Melody’s words as he looked at her, “No way.”

It seems that he wasn’t angry at her sincere words judging from his reaction. Melody was relieved.

“That is not a bad idea.”

See, his face with such a gentle smile and – huh? Thinking that there was something strange, Melody looked at him and pondered over his words.

‘Not a… bad idea?!’

Doesn’t that mean that he hates Melody so he sent her back?

“…?!”

Was he having fun with the surprised Melody?. He chuckled as he mercilessly closed the door again.

Thud! Melody was standing in front of the closed door with only her mouth wide open.

 

* * *

 

The day after their shocking conversation, Melody went to Claude’s room to do her duty.

What on earth will happen today? Will I be ignored again? Or will I hear his voice like yesterday?

Melody carefully knocked on the door, thinking about the two situations where it was impossible to distinguish between good and bad. She waited for a bit, but unlike usual, no answer came from beyond the door. She knocked on the door again, wondering if she knocked too quietly. No answer came this time as well. She jumped from joy inside. Apparently, today was her lucky day.

I came here when Claude wasn’t here! Then Melody was reminded by the ‘in case the Eldest Young Master isn’t there’ the maids told her.

「You can just leave the tray near the desk and come back. Bring the hot water back, so that someone nearby will only have to bring him more water later. 」

Melody took a deep breath and slightly opened the door – just in case he was inside, because she didn’t want people to say that she had shamelessly opened the door at her own will.

She shoved her face first into the gap between the narrowly opened the door and looked in cautiously. The room smelled of old books, with books on every wall. It smelled a little strange to her, but it somehow eased her mind. Melody then carefully pulled the wheeled tray in after confirming that Claude wasn’t there.

She carefully grabbed the porcelain kettle with water after placing the tray near the desk while listening to the sound of the wheels. She borrowed a thin piece of cloth from a tray for a while since the handle was rather hot, and wrapped it around the handle. Although it was a little worrying that the fabric was slippery, it would be alright to hold it with both hands.

‘Shall I go back now?’

Melody was happy that the things she was worried about ended faster than she expected. Even though she was a little worried that she had to do this again tomorrow as well, tomorrow’s Melody will take care of that.

She turned back with a light step. I’ll go eat some snacks with Loretta and do our homework together when I go back. Her tension was relieved as soon as she thought about it, and a smile naturally hung on her lips.

Melody held the kettle with one hand upon arriving in front of the tightly closed door. She then carefully tried to open the doorknob, but the door opened widely even before she could pull it. Melody was startled by the sudden automatic opening of the door, and unconsciously took a step backwards.

She was surprised again when it was Claude who was standing at the door, and no one else. Why did you come out now!! She was about to take another step back as she screamed internally, when she felt that something was slipping from her hand.

“….”

Melody quickly looked down to her hand. The hot kettle that she was holding tightly in her hand, was falling on the floor. A fragment of the past flashed through her mind at that moment.

The last day with her mother. Melody dropped a hot soup dish, and Loretta fell over and was injured.

Melody hurriedly stretched out her arms. She must not do the same thing. She had to somehow catch the falling kettle now.

However, humans couldn’t keep up with the force of the earth pulling objects downward. But someone followed after her to her surprise. As she was floundering her arms in the air, a large hand suddenly appeared and grabbed the kettle just before it could touch the floor.

But it couldn’t stop the hot water from pouring out, and the steaming hot water immediately ran down to the back of his hand.

“…!”

Melody alternately looked at Claude’s hand and his face as he set the kettle on the floor.

‘Wh-what do I do…!’

(T/N: I smell ML ^^ [sniff sniff])

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