Chapter 6

I bit my lip.

Even calling this fried rice delicious would have been a lie.

I’d added far too many eggs, making it soggy, while the green onions and bacon had been chopped into a complete mess.

I hadn’t even dared to tackle the raw shrimp, so I’d given up on that from the start.

And as for whether I’d actually fried everything properly?

The bottom was burnt, while the top was still undercooked.

It was a complete disaster.

I’d at least piled the better-cooked parts onto Melissa’s plate, but it was still far from decent.

And yet Melissa ate it all.

She even scraped up every last grain of rice.

“……”

Suddenly, I realized something.

I wasn’t giving up my weekend to take care of this child because of anyone or anything else.

Because I was the Deputy Director of the Child Protection Bureau?

What sense of duty could I possibly have toward a title that was nothing more than a hollow name?

Because I felt sorry for Melissa?

There were countless children in this world who were suffering. It wasn’t as though she was the only one.

Besides, I hadn’t asked the Grand Duke for anything in return, so there wasn’t a single benefit I could gain from taking care of Melissa.

And yet.

‘I’m doing it for myself.’

Not for the me I was now.

For the eighteen-year-old me who had woken up five years ago in an unfamiliar, moldy little room.

Back when I had to scrape by doing odd jobs, desperately struggling to survive as Tessa Harrington, an orphan the same age as everyone around her.

More than anything, what I had desperately wanted was another person.

Just one person who could understand my hopeless situation and lend me a shoulder to lean on.

Of course, no such person ever appeared.

But.

‘Melissa has me.’

And I wouldn’t let go of those tiny hands until the wounds this child had suffered at far too young an age had healed.

“Unnie, are you crying?”

Melissa’s voice was slightly frightened.

“Di… Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

I firmly shook my head.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Melissa. Not even a little.”

“Really?”

Melissa stared at me with a confused expression.

Seeing all the confusion and pain the child must have endured until now, my eyes began to well up again.

I barely managed to answer through my tight throat.

“You know, I think I’m crying because I’m so happy.”

“……Happy? Why?”

“Because I’m eating fried rice with you. Actually, I’ve never… well, I’ve never eaten food like this with anyone here before.”

Melissa hopped down from her chair and came toward me.

Then, as though she were telling me a secret, she leaned toward my ear and whispered.

“Me neither. This is the first time I’ve eaten with you here, too.”

Time flew by.

After Melissa and I polished off the fried rice, we spent the entire day talking about our memories.

Thanks to that, I learned a lot about her.

The name of her closest friend, the age of the Maltese next door who had gotten along so well with Choco, the elderly woman who was practically the queen of the senior center and always gave Melissa candy whenever she greeted her, even the last place her family had gone on vacation.

Of course, we didn’t only talk about personal things.

Melissa knew the latest songs from all the popular idol groups by heart, and she even sang and danced for me.

I didn’t recognize any of the songs, of course, but I was still happy just to learn the latest releases from singers I knew.

“You’re pretty good.”

I clapped my hands and laughed.

For the first time, Melissa looked exactly like an ordinary third grader from Class Seven.

Melissa pouted.

“The dancing they teach here is weird. It’s not fun at all… So I showed them the dance I’m best at, and after that, even the dance teacher stopped coming.”

“……”

I barely managed to hold back my laughter.

I could only imagine how shocked the dance instructor, who mainly taught aristocratic dances, must have been after witnessing Melissa’s outrageous idol choreography.

Still, I couldn’t take Melissa’s side on this one.

“That was your fault, Melissa. Your teacher came to teach you dances you could perform at balls.”

“……Is that so?”

Melissa looked at me with innocent, wide eyes.

“Then can I not dance the dances I know really well from now on?”

“Not in front of other people.”

Melissa would have to live in this world from now on.

Whether she liked it or not, she would have to live as a noble lady.

If I was thinking about the child’s future, I couldn’t indulge her forever.

“But when it’s just the two of us, you can dance whenever you want.”

Thankfully, instead of crying or throwing a tantrum, Melissa threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

“I’m glad I have you, unnie.”

Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time for me to leave.

“Ugh……”

Melissa looked at the clock and made a miserable face.

“Unnie, we’re meeting again next Saturday, right?”

“We’ll have to see how things go. I want to see you again too, of course, but sometimes unavoidable things come up.”

“Sniff… ugh……”

Tears began to gather in Melissa’s large, clear violet eyes.

“I don’t want to… say goodbye to you, unnie…”

“Neither do I. But we’ll be able to see each other again, won’t we? If I can’t come next week, I’ll write you a letter.”

……Though I wasn’t sure whether that letter would actually make it safely into Melissa’s hands.

Still, I had to find a way to communicate with her no matter what.

Because the only way to prevent that terrible future was to work together with Melissa.

Clatter, clatter.

The sound of horseshoes striking the hard stone ground rang out, then came to a stop right in front of the door.

‘He got here sooner than I expected.’

I took Melissa’s hand and opened the door.

“……?”

I’d naturally assumed it was a servant who had come to pick us up.

But the person who stepped out of the luxurious carriage bearing the emblem of the North was the Grand Duke of Cardicha.

He looked much better than he had at the ball, but there was still something troubled and melancholy about him, a deep worry lingering in his expression.

……And he was still handsome.

Especially today, with his hair swept back, accentuating the perfect shape of his head and giving him an entirely different air.

Instead of the elaborate formal attire he’d worn to the ball, he was dressed in a simple overcoat, which somehow suited his cool, austere charm even better.

‘……What am I thinking?’

My face grew hot.

Was I really this weak to visual stimulation?

“U-Unnie……?”

Melissa spoke in a tiny voice and grabbed my sleeve tightly.

The heat already rising in my face grew even worse.

I’d been so flustered by the fact that I kept finding myself looking at him that I’d just stood there staring at him blankly.

‘What on earth am I doing?’

I quickly pulled myself together and lowered my head.

“Y-Your Grace. I apologize for my rudeness.”

I hurriedly bowed, but the Grand Duke seemed not to notice me at all.

He immediately approached Melissa and knelt on one knee.

“Melissa.”

“B-Brother……”

I gave Melissa a quick wink.

‘You’ve practiced enough. You can do this, Melissa.’

I put as much encouragement into my gaze as I could.

Had my feelings reached her?

At last, Melissa spoke in a trembling voice.

Her left hand still held mine, while her right reached toward the Grand Duke of Cardicha.

“I-I-I missed you……”

It was the first time since becoming Lady Melissa that this utterly ordinary child—

a third grader whose favorite food was shrimp fried rice from a Chinese restaurant, whose closest friend in the world was a poodle named Choco, and whose dream was to become an idol—

had ever reached out to Achilles Cardicha first.

“……Melissa.”

The Grand Duke of Cardicha was so stunned that he couldn’t even properly take her hand.

He caught it almost reflexively, but even he seemed unable to believe what was happening.

“You…… missed me.”

Instead of answering, Melissa let go of my hand.

She spread her arms wide, bravely took one step forward, and threw herself into the Grand Duke of Cardicha’s arms.

“……!”

The Grand Duke’s violet eyes widened and trembled violently.

Those eyes, the exact same shade of purple as Melissa’s, grew moist as he stared at the child in disbelief.

“Melissa……”

No more words were necessary.

The Grand Duke couldn’t bring himself to embrace his little sister, but Melissa held on to her brother tightly and refused to let go.

“Brother……”

Melissa’s voice trembled with tears.

“You’re not going to abandon me, are you?”

“……Why would I ever abandon you?”

There was no way I could have positive feelings toward Achilles Cardicha.

He was still the villain, the very man who was plotting to lead himself—and the entire country—to ruin.

But.

“You’re my little sister. My one and only, precious little sister.”

My eyes suddenly filled with tears.

It was a sight that had absolutely nothing to do with the reputation of a villainess who was supposed to be devoid of both blood and tears.