She looked as soft as bread dough, but her temper was pure fire.
It was then.
“Waaah!”
The child came charging at him.
Gasp! Jayden threw both arms up to protect himself without thinking, but—
The child simply darted right past him and went straight into the room.
Then she began dashing this way and that, as if searching for something.
“Mommy!”
Rummaging under the bed…
“Mommy?”
This time she yanked open a drawer.
“Uu-uu, Mommy!”
What is she doing?
Viola might look like a fairy out of a storybook, but she wasn’t actually a fairy.
There was no way she’d be hiding in a drawer.
“Viola isn’t here.”
Jayden went over to stop the girl, but at that very moment—
“Mommy?”
The child reached for a small box sitting on the side table by the bed.
Huh? That’s—that’s my treasure box…!
He’d carefully hidden the pin Viola gave him in there…!
Jayden yelped in alarm.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”
But it was at that very moment.
“Melody, you. Why are you here.”
Viola, wearing an incredibly frightening expression, caught hold of the girl.
At the sight of Melody, having somehow ended up bursting into Jayden’s room out of nowhere, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Of course, outwardly, I was putting on the most terrifying face I could manage.
“Melody, you little rascal! You scared me half to death. I went to your room and you weren’t there.”
“Heehee… Mommy…”
Even knowing she was being scolded, Melody only turned on the charm, thrilled to see me.
Haa. I couldn’t go soft over something like this.
It was obvious she’d come all this way because she missed me, which made me feel guilty.
“You’re getting a proper scolding once we’re back.”
“Uu-uu.”
Not seeming to register the word “scolding” at all, Melody clung happily to me.
Ah, right, this wasn’t the time for that.
I got down to Jayden’s eye level, where he stood beside us looking blank.
“I’m sorry, Young Master. That’s my daughter—did she get in your way?”
“Huh? No? Not at all!”
Jayden shook his head hurriedly, as if hiding something.
“Really? Melody didn’t cause any trouble?”
“Not at all. If anything, we were playing together really well. Right?”
“Uu?”
Haha!
Jayden hurriedly stepped beside Melody and laughed awkwardly.
Did the two of them fight, by any chance?
No, that couldn’t be.
Jayden had doted on his little sister so much in the original.
Still, just in case, I decided to check properly.
“…You two didn’t fight, did you?”
“No we didn’t!”
Jayden said it while his eyes darted around wildly.
That really is suspicious…
“…You two didn’t fight, did you?”
“No we didn’t!”
Jayden cried out hastily, then swallowed hard.
Viola was looking at him with suspicious eyes!
Get a grip, Jayden Asheln!
Well, it wasn’t technically a lie. They hadn’t fought.
There’d been a bit of a standoff, but… that wasn’t really a fight, was it?
Jayden decided to calmly play it off.
He couldn’t quite explain why, but his instincts were screaming a strong warning: he could not let it show that he found this girl unpleasant.
Jayden raised the corners of his mouth as though nothing were wrong, but soon felt a little wronged all the same.
“Uu-uu. Mommy.”
Melody was clinging to Viola right beside him.
Come to think of it, I haven’t even done anything wrong! She’s the one who barged in uninvited!
Melody felt it was unfair how calm the situation was, with only she herself so flustered.
But rather than show his feelings, Jayden decided to see the situation in a positive light instead.
If I get on her good side, maybe I’ll get to see Viola even more often than now.
And so he sidled up to Melody and tried acting friendly…
“What have you been up to this whole time? Ha, ha. Looks fun.”
“Hmph!”
The child only acted difficult.
What’s her problem, I don’t like her either! Jayden’s lips pushed out into a pout.
And here I was, being nice enough to come over first! Just because she looks like Viola, does that mean she can get away with anything?
Jayden was about to shout that, but held it back. Instead, he started turning it over in his head.
His etiquette tutor had once said that in noble society, understanding the balance of power was crucial to survival.
Right now, the weaker party was clearly himself.
Because this child was surely someone precious beyond measure to Viola…
She’s probably the reason Viola always rushes home in the evenings…
Jayden suddenly found himself envying Melody. Unlike him, who could only see Viola when he was sick, this child got to be with her mother as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He was staring blankly at the child when—
“Uu!”
What are you looking at!
This time, without him even saying anything, she suddenly snorted at him out of nowhere.
She seemed to dislike him quite intensely.
And the reason she hated him was probably because he’d been hogging Viola all day…
Huh?
Then it dawned on Jayden. Their goals were exactly the same. In that case…!
His etiquette tutor had also said, on another day, that yesterday’s enemy could be today’s friend!
A brilliant idea flashed through Jayden’s mind.
Jayden hurriedly grabbed Melody’s small hand. And then—
Hahaha!
He laughed out loud, as loudly as he could.
“Uu?”
Just as Melody was about to turn prickly again, he leaned over and whispered quickly into her ear.
“Hey, act friendly.”
“Uu!”
No way!
Sure enough, her response was anything but friendly.
“Hmm? I knew it, you two really did fight, didn’t you? Something about this mood is strange…”
Viola narrowed her eyes and studied them, and Jayden shook his head vigorously.
“No! We just had something to talk about between just the two of us!”
Then he pulled Melody by the hand toward a spot beside the bed, out of Viola’s line of sight.
“Uu.”
What is it.
Thankfully, Melody had come along for now and asked. Jayden spoke to her in a hushed voice, using his most persuasive tone.
“You don’t like it that I keep hogging Viola all day, do you?”
“Hmph.”
Is that even a question?
At first, it had been hard to understand what she was saying, but now that he knew their goals matched, understanding the child’s words came much more easily.
I knew it. In that case…
“Let’s form an alliance.”
“Uu?”
What’s that?
“It means we’re on the same side.”
Despite her unfriendly attitude, Melody’s ears twitched, clearly curious about what he meant.
“From now on, come with Viola sometimes when she visits.”
That way Viola doesn’t have to rush home right away, which works out for me too.
“But in exchange, the three of us eat dinner together with me before you go. What do you say?”
And you get to stay with Viola in the daytime instead of being apart from her, which works out for you.
Jayden confidently curled up the corners of his mouth.
Melody, who had been pretending not to care, whipped her head around at once.
Terms too good to refuse!
“…”
“…”
Jayden and Melody stared at each other in silence, exchanging looks.
An intense gaze passed between them.
And then—
Slap!
The two of them clasped hands passionately. Their expressions were more resolute than they’d ever been.
A dramatic agreement reached!
Jayden and Melody threw their arms around each other’s shoulders and came back out from the corner.
The height difference made it look awkward, but neither of them gave it a second thought.
“Kyaaa~”
“Hahaha! Playing with me is fun, isn’t it? Buahahaha!”
“Huh?”
Viola seemed puzzled, watching the two of them, who had somehow become fast friends in the blink of an eye.
Noticing this, Melody and Jayden pretended to be having even more fun, shameless as ever. This is the only way for both of us to be happy!
Thankfully, their desperate performance, staked on a combined ten years of life experience—six and four—paid off successfully.
“Come to think of it, you haven’t had anyone your own age around the residence, have you? Do you like Melody?”
“Mm-hm! I mean, once we started talking earlier, we understood each other pretty well.”
“Melody, is it fun playing with Young Master Jayden too?”
“Uu-uu! Uu-uu-uu!”
The child raised a thumb high and thrust it toward Viola.
This is my chance. Jayden hurried to get to the point.
“Viola, Viola.”
“What is it?”
“Can she come with you sometimes? Please? I get lonely.”
“Uu-uu. Uu-uu-uu… Mommy.”
Melody joined in, pleading too.
Viola tilted her head slightly, as if considering the sudden proposal.
The children were on tenterhooks.
“Please? Pretty please.”
“Uu-uu, uu!”
Both children clasped their hands together and looked up at Viola imploringly.
Sparkling, sparkling. Two pairs of eyes as big as a calf’s launched an earnest assault.
…This kid’s pretty good.
Watching Melody’s eyes go moist, as if she might burst into tears at any moment, Jayden thought to himself.
At first sight, he hadn’t liked her at all, getting angry like some old witch despite having Viola’s face…
He still didn’t like her, but she was, at the very least, a solid actress.
Not bad, for a four-year-old.
And the result of that performance was…
