Translator and Editor: Skye and Clisely

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Chapter 4

The doctor paused for a moment at Melody’s desperate cry.

“The little girl… you mean?”

“Yes!”

The doctor was reluctant to give an enthusiastic answer.

In the village, treating slaves held by slave merchants is considered to be tantamount to participating in the crime.

That’s why all the villagers hated the sudden appearance of the slave merchant mother and daughter.

They’re afraid they’ll get in trouble one way or the other.

“I was bad. Loretta stopped me from throwing and breaking the plate on the window.”

The way she balked, Melody began to beg.

“My dear.”

She swept the wet hair of Melody with pitiful eyes.

This little child was bullied by her mother, thus she is always in charge of the housework.

Without asking for help from anyone. She tried to do anything with her little hands.

Maybe it’s because of the firmness. Before she knew it, the villagers began to think a little differently about Melody from her mother.

A little sympathy came out for the girl.

“Sir, please.”

And now, such a skinny child is for the first time hoping for help from others.

To help another child, too.

“Melody.”

The doctor was rather heartbroken. Melody had never visited a hospital with a scar on her body.

Until now, whenever a doctor found Melody on the road, he/she would only bring her to a hospital and treat them by applying medicine to large and small wounds.

“Help Loretta.”

The doctor let out a deep sigh. Anyway, the little one reached out eagerly for the first time, and it is hard to ignore it.

“I wish I had asked you more for yourself, but…”

“All right, all right, get some heat here. You’ll catch a cold at this rate.”

“No, Loretta would be scared without me. Loretta is afraid of the rain.”

“No, but.”

“Hurry up, doctor!”

The child grabbed her clothes and led her, so she immediately ran outside with a suitcase and an umbrella.

The rain grew stronger and stronger. The girl and the doctor shared an umbrella, but were caught in the rain, almost drenched everywhere.

After they frantically run, they arrive near Melody’s house.

“Just a little further!”

Melody let out a short breath, careful not to slip in the rain.

“Melody, stop!”

Then suddenly the doctor grabbed Melody’s arm and pulled her up. Just a few steps from her house.

“Ma’am, we have to hurry!”

Melody pulled the physician’s sleeve out of the adrenaline rush, but the doctor didn’t move a step.

Then she lowered her posture and tapped Melody on the shoulder.

“Calm down, Melody. Do you see the carriage in front of your house?”

“……!”

Melody finally calmed down and looked in front of the house. As the doctor said, several carriages were lined up.

“There’s a blue wagon on the ceiling, isn’t there?”

The doctor is calm, she’s at the back and pointed to the carriage. Melody nodded and she went on to explain.

“It’s a knight’s wagon. And the carriage that came together is probably the carriage of a noble.”

“ …!”

The noble man’s carriage… Melody felt her mind go blank for a moment.

‘Oh, my God. I think I’ve become really stupid. How come I have only thought of it until now.’

The day the Duke comes to pick up Loretta.

In the original novel, it rained like this.

“…I see.”

Melody now realizes one important thing.

Today is her last day with Loretta.

It was the day they had to separate.

* * *

The doctor patted Melody on the shoulder with a friendly hand.

“We’d better go back to our hospital for now.”

“But…”

“Your mother committed a sin she shouldn’t have committed. You don’t have to be involved.”

That…she is fully aware of.

That’s why Melody tried to lower her crime. Of course, it seems like it failed.

“The security guards are good at first aid, so maybe the kid in your house is fine by now.”

As the doctor said so, she could see the door of her house open.

The first thing she noticed was a man in a black suit. He opened his fancy umbrella and looked inside the house.

“That… person.”

While Melody murmured quietly, a small child limping followed him out of the house.

“Loretta…”

Melody glanced at the little child who did not cover her ears even in the rain.

Well, chapter one is over now.

There is no reason for Loretta to be afraid of rain in the future. Because she had finally met her father who would bring a big umbrella.

Melody felt a little far away from the little child who was following behind him.

It’s weird, she always wanted Loretta to go home and live a life of luxury and comfort.

But she can’t believe she got a little upset when she saw Loretta in that situation.

‘I really am mean.’

Melody grabbed the hem of her clothes. And somehow thought she didn’t want to show Loretta this selfishness she felt.

“Melody.”

The doctor called her as if to urge her.

“You’re a smart kid. Come with me. Even if you’re not comfortable with being a doctor, you may be able to do well because you’re righteous and smart.”

“But I’m the daughter of a slave merchant… The police might be looking for a doctor.”

“Melody is like the daughter of the whole village. Perhaps anyone would think so. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to the chief.”

Otherwise, the chief and the doctor talked together, worrying about Melody’s work.

Perhaps the chief would be pleased before anyone else if she were to teach her to be a doctor.

“Will you come back with me?”

When the doctor asked again, Melody looked in front of the house for the last time.

Splash.

Her mother’s face, who was dragged out of the house, was stuck in the mud floor.

The security guard’s gesture toward her was just plain. The frightened Melody turned its trembling gaze away.

“Let’s go, it’s dangerous here.”

The doctor urged and pulled the girl’s arm.

When she’s one step away from home, Melody felt as if she had heard someone calling her behind her back.

‘Melody!’ it was the way Loretta called her, so she quickly looked back.

But before she knew it, she didn’t see any fancy carriage and the little girl who taught her joy.

Ah…

Melody couldn’t even say goodbye wholeheartedly.

* * *

Melody returned to the doctor’s house, healed her wound, and ate a warm stew.

“You must be tired. Sleep here.”

Ms. Mullen even put Melody in a patient bed.

She climbed meekly up to bed and tucked herself up to her chin.

The rustling sensation is awkward, but she closed her eyes tightly.

Even if the morning comes, there’s no way anything’s going to change. She tried to sleep as if she believed there is hope for tomorrow.

* * *

Melody opened her eyes at dawn. Last night there was a lot of rain outside the window, and now it’s all quiet.

Melody rubbed her sleepy eyes.

She forgot to mention the first chapter of “The Duke’s Four Children” after a long time.

The slave merchant asks for mercy on the grounds that her daughter is young, but the Duke did not allow it.

After that, it is reported that she was dragged to the extreme.

At the same time this morning, Loretta wakes up in the middle of a very fancy room and is puzzled.

And there will be a scene where the maids are happy touching her cute cheeks.

And it just so happens that the Duke appears.

He was angry with the maids who were touching her, and when Loretta’s stomach twisted, he got angry again.

That naturally led Loretta to think of her father as a little scary.

Well… eventually they become good father and daughter to each other.

Melody got out of bed, arranged the covers, and wore a dress that was hanging on the wall.

It was a little damp because it rained yesterday.

“I should go home and change my clothes.”

Perhaps there is no one there now, so the doctor would not object if she returned back home.

When she went out to the kitchen, the doctor who bought bread early in the morning was heating the milk.

Melody thought it looked just like “Mom.” Like she’s a wonderful mother in a fairy tale book.

“Are you up, Melody?”

“Good day, doctor.”

“I’m glad you have a nice look on your face.”

Melody hurried to help her with the dish and heated the cup.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

Ms. Mullen talked carefully, placing the white bread on Melody’s plate.

“I wonder what it would be like if you stayed in this house all throughout.”

“……What?”

“You know, my son left to become a knight. There’s only one room left, so if you’re here, I’ll… It would be a lot easier to take care of you.”

Her face was filled with worries about her only son.

Even if she said she didn’t need a bad son who had left her house, she must have always been heartbroken.

“Isaiah…”

Haven’t you heard from him yet? Melody was about to ask, but she stopped. She thought she knew the answer from the look on her face. Bad Isaiah. She can’t believe he had never contacted his good mother.

Melody frowned slightly, recalling Isaiah’s mischievous smile.

“There’s nothing to worry about my son, Melody. For now, let’s just think about your protection.”

“I don’t mind going back home.”

“That’s hard to agree with.”

The girl’s mother is a slave merchant, and she naturally socialized with bad people.

They are cruel to children too, so they don’t know what kind of acts they’re going to do when they come to Melody, who is all alone.

“You still need protection. Maybe it’s safer for you to stay here.”

Having said so, she added an important condition.

“Of course, if you don’t mind.”

“… No, I don’t like it.”

Melody put down a small piece of bread, and bowed her head at her.

“You’re saying that because you’re worried about me. Thank you.”

“I-it’s not really that much. I’m a very strict doctor.”

The doctor must have been a little embarrassed, but she coughed out of nowhere and turned her head.

“Do you mind if I think about it a little bit?”

“Yes, you can’t just make a sudden decision after all.”

” I think I’ll have to go home when I’m done eating. I have to change my clothes and…”

“There’s a lot of things that need to be sorted out, but if you see someone in good clothes in front of your house, you should come straight back here instead of walking away. Do you get it?”

Melody nodded due to her warm worry and quickly finished her meal.

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