“Dinner is ready, Master Hugo, Lady Meltreza.”
I was busy chatting with Melza when Ellen came calling on us.
Must I see those people again so soon…? I sighed.
“After tonight, why don’t we take the rest of our meals until the engagement ceremony here in the cottage?” Melza said, peering into my face. She then turned and looked across at Ellen.
Ellen briefly frowned, before quickly hiding the expression.
“Let’s go, then,” I suggested.
“Yes.”
I took Melza’s hand in my own, and we followed Ellen out into the courtyard.
“Oh… The moon looks beautiful tonight,” Melza murmured as she gazed up at the night sky.
“…Once dinner is over, there’s a place I’d like to show you,” I said.
“By all means. I’m looking forward to it.” Melza smiled.
It was nothing grand, but I hoped she would enjoy it.
“This way.” Once we were inside the main residence, a steward led us to the dining hall.
“……”
My stepmother, Louis, and Anna were already there, and they watched us enter in stony silence. However, I couldn’t help but notice that their expressions were quite different from one another.
My stepmother fixed me with a reproachful glare, while Louis stared unpleasantly at Melza, and Anna looked on with a derisive smirk.
As expected, they didn’t waste a moment before committing yet another faux pas.
“Please sit here, Lady Meltreza,” a maid said, pulling out the chair directly across from my stepmother’s—in other words, the one closest to Marquis Grenville.
“…What is the meaning of this?” Naturally, Melza responded with a sharp glare.
“Oh… U-um, we just want to make sure you’re seated according to your station…,” the maid stammered, glancing toward my stepmother.
I see… In her own way, my stepmother was trying to be considerate to her guest. But she completely blundered this one.
“Hugh is Marquis Grenville’s eldest son and my fiancé—the future Archduke Woodstock. How can it be reasonable for me to be seated before him?” Melza asked, turning her frigid gaze on my stepmother. There was a challenge in her eyes: “Give the wrong answer, and the consequences will be severe.”
“…But Lady Meltreza,” said my stepmother, “Louis is the heir to House Grenville, and you aren’t yet Hugo’s fiancée. Under the circumstances, I don’t believe he’s qualified to sit there.”
Wow… That was surprisingly smooth for my scatterbrained stepmother. Usually, the only thing she’s good at is throwing fits.
She must have gotten that excuse from someone else. In any event, it wasn’t going to work on Melza.
“…Do you intend to disregard my grandfather’s stated wish that Hugh and I be betrothed?”
“…N-no, I didn’t mean it like that…!”
“That’s essentially what you just said. I can see quite clearly that House Grenville has little respect for House Woodstock, which presides over the empire’s military forces.”
“……”
It should have been obvious that this would happen. Realizing the bind she was in, my stepmother turned deathly pale.
Just then, Anna rose to her feet. “Our deepest apologies, Lady Meltreza,” she said, putting a hand to her heart and bowing low. “My mother was only trying to show you respect, but she seems to have missed the mark.”
Hmm… Come to think of it, that kind of comment is very like Anna.
She loved conducting herself like a genuine lady, always feigning concern for the opinions of those around her. But in reality, she had more disdain for others than anyone else I knew. Her ill will wasn’t just directed at me, either—she looked down on her own mother and brother, too.
And right now, her response wasn’t going to smooth things over so easily.
“I have no intention of accepting such a superficial apology,” Melza shot back. “What right do you, sitting at the lower end of the table, have to speak for House Grenville?”
“Wha—?! …It seems I overstepped.” Anna bit her lip and sat back down.
Such maneuvers would never work on Melza. She could see straight through people’s lies and hidden malice. Such a two-faced gesture would only rile her up even more.
At that moment, the master of the house appeared.
“… Just what is going on here?”
Marquis Grenville, the last to arrive, was quick to notice the unusual atmosphere in the dining hall.
“Your Lordship…” The chief steward leaned over to speak in his master’s ear and explained the situation in a hushed whisper.
“…I see. Lady Meltreza, I apologize for my wife’s discourtesy.”
“…Not at all. How would you like Hugh and me to be seated?”
“Hugo may take the place closest to me, with you next to him, of course.”
“I’m relieved to hear that,” Melza answered with a smile.
With that, we finally took our seats.
“Then let’s begin,” announced the marquis. “House Grenville welcomes you, Lady Meltreza.”
He raised his glass, signaling the start of a rather unenjoyable dinner. As one would expect from a house entertaining a guest of Melza’s status, the table was quickly lined with an assortment of sumptuous dishes.
The meal proceeded in silence, until Louis decided to speak up.
“Lady Meltreza, I must say…you look simply splendid with your knife and fork in hand. I can see why Hugo is so taken with you. If you don’t mind, I would love to memorialize this sight in a painting.”
“Is that so?” Melza responded flatly, casually disregarding his praise.
If even I could effortlessly discern his ulterior motives, they must have been crystal clear to her.
“Hee-hee… Could it be that you’re besotted with her, Brother?” Anna asked.
“I’m not completely unprincipled, you know,” he replied.
…Damn him, talking out of both sides of his mouth. And right after he tried to take advantage of my absence to barge in on Melza in the drawing room.
“…Louis,” warned the marquis, “you are forbidden to go anywhere near the cottage while Hugo and Lady Meltreza are with us. Do you understand?”
“…Yes,” Louis answered. He frowned and lowered his head.
It seemed Ellen had followed my instructions.
And so our family dinner—the kind I’d spent lifetimes longing for—ended on a rather tense note.
“…I’m so sorry.”
Once dinner was over and Melza and I had returned to the cottage, I apologized to her.
“There’s no need, Hugh,” Melza replied. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“B-but their behavior was truly intolerable…”
“Well… I suppose it was…” Melza paused, recalling the way things had gotten out of hand the moment we stepped into the dining hall.
My family’s actions had been undeniably rude, and it was only natural that Melza took offense.
“Let’s try to put it behind us, Hugh. You said there was somewhere you wanted to take me…?” Her eyes sparkled with expectation.
“Right. It’s warm out, and there’s a nice breeze. Shall we take a stroll to cool off after you’ve washed up?”
“Of course!”
I picked up the bell for summoning the maids and gave it a light ring.
“You called?” Ellen asked, popping up immediately. It was as though she’d been hiding right outside the door.
“Sorry, but Melza would like to take a bath. Could you get it ready for her?”
“Understood!” she said, offering us a polite bow and darting off.
Well, she’s acting strange…
“Oh-ho… I suspect Marquis Grenville said something to her. I could see the fear in her eyes.”
“You must be right…”
Hmm… I better make sure not to get any weird feelings around Melza. I don’t want her to end up hating me or something.
“Oh-ho… You’re not very good at hiding your emotions, Hugh…,” Melza said as she leaned forward to peer at my face. Her crimson eyes glistened invitingly.
“Ah-ha-ha… Do you want more blood?”
“…Once a month should suffice… But I am feeling something of a craving…,” she murmured, bringing her face close to my neck.
Chomp.
“…Ngh… Mmm…”
She bared her fangs and started drinking my blood. But after making a cute gulping sound, she quickly let go and backed away.
“…Have you had enough?”
“Yes… If I let myself keep going, I might drain you dry…,” she confessed, her cheeks turning scarlet.
“Oh. Ah-ha-ha… Yes, that would be a problem…,” I said with a wry grin.
Knock-knock.
“The bath is ready for you, Lady Meltreza,” Ellen called out as she reentered the room.
“Oh-ho… I won’t be long.”
“Take your time,” I said, and saw her off with a grin.
“Whew… Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Melza returned an hour later, her face red with embarrassment. Still slightly damp, her lustrous black hair looked even glossier than usual.
“…Hugh? Are you okay?”
“Oh, i-it’s nothing…”