Chapter 6 – Contract

This time, they met after arranging it in advance. The young lady replied at once to the letter Melian had written with the utmost courtesy.

The meeting place was an elegant tea house within Millium territory. It was the young lady who chose the location, and Melian merely obeyed.

Unlike last time, when he had focused more on practicality than appearance, this time he paid much more attention to his clothing as well. Instead of rough boots, he chose neat shoes, and he combed his hair properly and smoothed it back with hair oil.

Melian arrived at the tea house thirty minutes early. When he went inside and gave Lady Millium’s name, a neatly dressed employee led him to a private room.

Melian sat on the sofa with a somewhat awkward feeling and waited for the person he was meeting. At last, about twenty minutes later, the young lady arrived.

“My Lady.”

“Mr. Raison.”

When Melian rose from his seat and greeted her politely, the young lady responded in a calm manner. Melian waited until she sat first, and only after she seated herself on the sofa and removed her hat did he sit down again as well.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me.”

“So, did you think I might refuse?”

“Because I was so terribly rude last time. I am still reflecting on the fact that I went to see you so rashly without sending word.”

“I think you may stop reflecting now. This time you even sent a letter in advance, so let us consider the mistake from the other day to be cancelled out.”

The young lady’s manner was plain and composed from beginning to end. Then again, even back when they attended the academy, there were few times when she became excited or lost her composure. She was someone who, in any situation, did not become agitated and always maintained restrained dignity.

At least, that was how it must have seemed to others. Melian’s memories were a little different. But now all of it was faded recollection, and there was no point in reviving it and comparing it to the present.

“Shall we order tea?”

“If you are drinking, then I will as well.”

“Then let us both have some. The fruit tea here is good. The black tea is good too.”

“I will have black tea.”

“No sugar, correct? And only two spoonfuls of milk by teaspoon.”

Melian faltered at the casual question the young lady tossed out. Seeing his strange expression, Helena realized her mistake. She carefully asked again,

“Have your tastes changed in the meantime?”

“……No, I still drink it that way.”

No other words came to mind. For a moment, an awkward silence passed between them. Melian was the first to break it.

“Then, shall we order?”

“……Yes, all right.”

“Will you have black tea as well?”

“Yes. Please leave out both sugar and milk for mine and add only lemon.”

“Only one slice?”

“Only one slice.”

No sugar, no milk, only one slice of lemon. It was exactly the same taste the young lady had had in Melian’s memory.

Though enough time had passed for their shining memories to dim, most of each other’s habits still remained just as they had been before.

When the young lady rang the bell, an employee entered. After taking their order politely, the employee withdrew again at once.

Once the door closed and the two of them were left alone again, the young lady looked steadily at Melian with a calm expression.

“Why did you ask to see me?”

Melian hesitated. He had nearly lost the courage he had managed to gather with difficulty.

But he no longer had the leisure to hesitate, bound by pride. Hoping that his voice would not tremble too badly, he took a deep breath and finally spoke.

“What you said last time, is it still valid?”

A brief silence followed. Cold sweat gathered in Melian’s palms. Looking at the young lady’s unreadable face, calm and giving nothing away, he added haltingly,

“If, you are still in need of a husband…… I wished to ask whether I might take that place.”

The young lady still said nothing. Looking closely, she even seemed a little surprised. It was the expression of someone who had not expected the other party to bring that up first. Enduring his shame, Melian continued speaking steadily.

“You said it to me then. That since we both happened to need something, we could help each other. I still need money, and if you are still in need of a husband, then I can fulfill that need for you. In return, I would like you to help my family. Please help my elder brother repay his debt and be released on bail.”

The more he spoke, the harder it was to believe himself. Was he really saying these words right now? Had he truly been the sort of man who could behave this shamelessly?

‘I will marry you, so please repay my family’s debts.’ If he had heard someone else say such a thing, he surely would have thought him insane.

But this had undeniably been the proposal the young lady herself had made first. Reminding himself of that fact over and over, Melian endured the feeling that he might die of self-loathing.

Even so, as her silence dragged on, he grew anxious that perhaps her feelings had changed in the meantime.

It had been two days since he had heard her not-quite-a-proposal and cut it down at once with a refusal. It was not a long time, but it was enough time for a person’s feelings to change.

‘Surely this will not end with only me becoming the madman now.’

Had she perhaps already found a new husband candidate? Or had the situation changed so there was no longer any need to hurry into marriage? Had it all been a joke from the start?

Surely she had not simply made a tasteless jest because she was curious about my reaction, and I alone took it too seriously…. 

At that moment, an employee suddenly came in carrying the drinks, and Melian’s waiting grew longer. The employee placed a pretty cup of black tea with milk before Melian and a pretty cup of black tea with lemon floating in it before Helena, then bowed politely and turned away.

In the wake of the employee’s departure, the bitter scent of tea lingered in the room, mixed with the rich smell of milk and the fresh sharpness of lemon. Even that familiar fragrance could not calm Melian’s heart now. Still tense, he waited for the young lady’s answer.

“……The other day, you said you did not want it. Why did you change your mind?”

Fortunately, the silence was not eternal. Judging by the young lady’s serious expression, it did not seem that she was joking. With a complicated mixture of relief and misery, Melian answered her question bit by bit.

“My family’s circumstances are more serious than I first thought. It turns out my brother had even borrowed money from people back in our hometown. He borrowed it and did not repay it all, so the other day debt collectors came to our house. Father says we should ask our relatives for help, but honestly I do not want to, and when I suggested selling land, Father strongly opposed it. So I thought that perhaps, if I were to marry you instead…… perhaps you might be able to help us, and that is why I changed my mind.”

Ah, now that he had said it aloud, it felt even more miserable. He truly sounded like some pathetic wretch trying to improve his fate by clinging to a wealthy family through marriage. Both his cheeks flushed red as if heated over fire.

The young lady stared quietly at his pained face, then lowered her head. Watching her as she seemed to consider something, Melian waited anxiously.

After a moment, the young lady raised her head. Her light brown eyes shone with a sweet gloss, like caramel softened and melted by sunlight.

Melian’s gaze was stolen by that light. In truth, there had hardly ever been a time when he had not been captivated by those eyes.

“Mr. Raison, do you perhaps have a lover?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked whether you have a lover. Or at least someone you like. If you marry me, is there any other relationship you would be forced to break off?”

Melian stared at the young lady in disbelief.

Surely, surely she did not think he looked like the sort of man who already had a lover but came asking another woman to marry him because he needed money? Did he really look that worthless?

‘……Well, it would make sense.’

He was already in a position where he had thrown away all pride and come pleading to a wealthy former classmate to marry him and please repay his family’s debts. In such a situation, even if he turned out to be scum who also had a lover on the side, it would hardly be surprising. Even so, there was no helping how much more miserable he felt.

“No, I do not.”

After a brief silence, he answered in a trembling voice. The young lady’s eyes narrowed slightly.