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Chapter 37
She looked like soft dough—pale and squishy—but her personality was fiery like a blaze.
Then it happened.
“Uwaaaah!”
The child suddenly ran straight toward him.
“Huh—!”
Jayden instinctively raised both arms to shield himself—
But the girl simply darted past him and rushed straight into the room.
She immediately began rummaging around as if searching for something.
“Mommy!”
She peeked under the bed…
“Mom?”
Then opened the drawers.
“Uu, Mommy!”
What is she doing?
Lady Viola did look like a fairy from a storybook—but she wasn’t an actual fairy. There was no way she would be inside a drawer.
“Viola isn’t here.”
Jayden tried to stop the girl, but then—
“Mom?”
The child reached toward a small box placed on the bedside table.
Huh? That—that’s my treasure box…!
I hid the hairpin Viola gave me in there…!
Panicking, Jayden shouted.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”
But at that exact moment—
“Melody, what are you doing here?”
Viola grabbed the girl with a terrifying expression.
Meanwhile—
I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside upon seeing Melody suddenly intruding into Jayden’s room.
Of course, I kept a stern expression on my face.
“Melody, you little troublemaker! You scared me—I went to your room and you weren’t there.”
“Hehe… Mommy…”
Even though she knew she was being scolded, Melody clung to me happily as if she was just glad to see me.
Haah… I really shouldn’t be soft like this.
It was obvious she came here because she missed me, which made me feel a bit guilty.
“You’re getting properly scolded when we get back later.”
“Uuu.”
She didn’t even seem to hear the part about punishment and just hugged me tighter.
Ah, right. This isn’t the time for this.
I turned to Jayden, who was standing awkwardly nearby, and matched my eye level with his.
“I’m sorry, young master. She’s my daughter—she didn’t cause you any trouble, did she?”
“Huh? No! Not at all!”
Jayden shook his head quickly as if hiding something.
“Really? She didn’t misbehave?”
“Not at all. In fact, we were just playing together, right?”
“U?”
“Haha!”
Jayden hurriedly stood beside Melody and laughed awkwardly.
Could it be they fought?
No… that couldn’t be it.
In the original story, Jayden was such a total little sister fool.
Still, just in case, I decided to confirm it properly.
“…You didn’t fight, did you?”
“We didn’t!”
Jayden answered quickly, then swallowed nervously.
Viola was looking at him suspiciously!
‘Pull yourself together, Jayden Ashlen!’
It wasn’t a lie. They hadn’t fought.
They had just exchanged a bit of tension… but that didn’t count as fighting, right?
Jayden calmly tried to act innocent.
Still, he felt slightly wronged.
Melody was clinging to Viola beside him.
If he thought about it, he hadn’t done anything wrong! She was the one who barged in!
But instead of showing his feelings, Jayden decided to spin the situation positively.
‘If I get close to her, I might get to see Viola more often.’
So he cautiously approached Melody to act friendly…
“What are you doing all of a sudden? Hah, hah. This looks fun though?”
“Hmph!”
The girl only responded coldly.
What? I don’t like you either, you know?
Jayden puffed out his lips.
I tried to be nice first!
Is it wrong just because you resemble Viola?
He was about to retort but held himself back and began thinking.
His etiquette teacher once said survival in noble society depends on understanding power dynamics.
Right now, he was clearly the weaker side.
That child was precious to Viola without a doubt…
‘She probably rushes home every evening because of her…’
For a moment, Jayden felt jealous. Unlike him, who could only meet Viola when he was “sick,” that child could naturally stay by her side.
As he stared blankly,—
“U!”
What are you looking at?
She even snorted at him without being spoken to.
She really didn’t like him.
And the reason was probably because he monopolized Viola during the day…
Huh?
Then it clicked.
Their goals were the same. If so…!
His teacher’s words echoed again: Yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend!
A brilliant idea flashed through Jayden’s mind.
He quickly grabbed Melody’s small hand and laughed loudly.
“Ahahaha!”
“U?”
Just as she was about to react irritably, he hurriedly whispered into her ear.
“Hey, act like we’re close.”
“U!”
No way!
Of course, she didn’t respond positively.
“…Hmm? You did fight, didn’t you? The atmosphere is kind of strange…”
As Viola narrowed her eyes, Jayden shook his head firmly.
“No! We just have something to talk about!”
Then he pulled Melody toward a corner of the bed where Viola couldn’t see them.
“U.”
What.
Luckily, Melody followed for now. Jayden lowered his voice.
“You don’t like how I keep taking Viola during the day, right?”
“Hmph.”
Obviously.
At first it was hard to understand her words, but once he realized their goals aligned, it became easier.
Just as I thought.
“Then let’s form an alliance.”
“U?”
What’s that?
“It means we’re on the same side.”
Though his tone was unfriendly, Melody’s ears twitched with curiosity.
“From now on, sometimes come when Viola visits me.”
“Uu?”
Then Viola won’t leave right away, and I’ll be happy too.
“Instead, we all eat dinner together sometimes. Deal?”
You won’t have to be separated from Viola during the day, so you benefit too.
Jayden curled his lips confidently.
Melody, who had been pretending not to care, slowly turned her head.
It was too good of a deal to refuse.
“……”
“……”
The two silently stared at each other.
A heated exchange of gazes followed.
And then—
Clap!
They slammed their palms together with fierce determination.
It was a dramatic agreement.
They hooked arms awkwardly and returned from the corner.
Their heights didn’t match, but neither of them cared.
“Kyahaha~”
“Hahaha! Isn’t playing with me fun? Hahaha!”
“Huh?”
Viola looked puzzled at the sudden friendship.
Sensing this, Melody and Jayden acted even more exaggeratedly cheerful.
If we want both of us to be happy, this is the only way!
Thankfully, their desperate acting—built on 6 and 4 years of life respectively, a total of 10 years of experience—worked perfectly.
“You didn’t have many children your age in the estate, right? Do you like Jayden?”
“Yeah! No, after talking, she actually understands me pretty well.”
“Melody, are you having fun with young master Jayden?”
“Uu! Uuu!”
The child gave a thumbs-up right in front of Viola.
Now’s the chance.
Jayden quickly moved to the main point.
“Viola, Viola.”
“Yes?”
“Can she come here sometimes? I get lonely.”
“Uu… Mommy…”
Melody also joined in, pleading.
Viola tilted her head slightly in thought.
The children grew anxious.
“Please, please.”
“Uu, uu!”
Both children looked up at her with clasped hands.
Sparkling, calf-like eyes launched a full emotional attack.
“…That kid. Not bad.”
Looking at Melody’s tearful eyes, Jayden thought to himself.
At first, he disliked her for yelling like a witch with Viola’s face…
But even if she was still annoying, her acting was impressive.
For a four-year-old, it was surprisingly good.
And the result of that acting was…
