Melody continued to sip her tea, stealing glances at him every now and then. Each time she did, Michael felt his annoyance stir, to the point where he acted without thinking.
"I know what you and your parents are planning," he said, his emerald eyes locked onto her doll-like face.
"E-Eh!?" The cup that was almost empty dropped from her hands, the fine ceramic shattering as it struck the ground. Melody's head snapped towards Michael, her expression like a thief caught red-handed in the night.
Instead of continuing, Michael walked over to the shattered cup and began to clear the mess, choosing to do it by hand instead of with magic. The task gave him enough time to let his statement sink in.
A quick glance at Melody's expression was enough to know that she was experiencing a great deal of inner turmoil. By the time he'd finished clearing up the mess, the girl had composed herself enough to respond.
"Whatever could you mean by that?" she asked in a soft voice.
"You know exactly what I mean, Melody." Michael replied, his tone calm. "I might seem young, but I understand the noble society more than you might think."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, crossing her arms.
But Michael could see through her lies in an instant.
"Your father needs an heir within the family," he began, casually walking over to a nearby arm chair and sitting down, "he told me as much when we first sat down over dinner."
"You're lying…" Melody said, though her tone made it clear she wasn't certain.
Michael shook his head, "If I remember correctly, this all happened after you excused yourself from the table," he commented.
"Your father even went as far as offering me a position—becoming a pillar of the Winterborne family—I believe were his exact words."
Melody was silent as she took in his words, her cute brows furrowing in thought.
"But that makes no sense… Why are you my butler then?" she asked, her voice soft and filled with confusion.
"Because I declined," Michael stated.
"What!? Why would you decline such a thing? Are you stupid?" she cried in shock.
Michael laughed, not offended by the question. Right now, he felt kind of stupid for not accepting the offer, especially now that he knew the Winterborne's were not as virtuous as he had initially believed.
"Perhaps I am," he admitted, "but I did not want to disappoint the lord if my talent turned out to be… subpar. Since I have very little knowledge of magic, I was worried that things might not work out like your father intended."
Melody didn't respond, her blue eyes evaluating him cautiously.
"Anyway," Michael announced, placing a leg over the other, "It seems like your father thought of another way to tie me to the family… You know what I mean right?"
"Marriage…" the girl replied, lowering her head.
"Exactly. By me marrying into the family, not only would the Winterborne's gain a potential Verdant mage, they would not have to hand their daughter to another noble family." Michael stated, tapping his finger upon the arm of his chair.
"Quite a brilliant plan if you ask me," he commented.
"So you know… Now what do you want?" Melody asked after a drawn out silence.
Eh? What do I want?
The question posed by Melody suddenly made him realize how spontaneous his decision to verbalize his knowledge was. He didn't have a goal, and in hindsight, revealing that he knew this information might not even benefit him at all.
"I… I guess I wanted to drop all pretenses," Michael said, scrambling.
In actuality, he felt like Melody's current behavior was unsettling. The fact that she could barely look at him and acted completely different to how she was in the beginning made him uncomfortable.
Just who was the real Melody? Was she the immature and pompous noble that had driven her last personal servant to exhaustion? Or was she this coy and reserved girl he was seeing in front of him?
"Drop all pretenses huh?" Melody repeated, her blue eyes evaluating him intently.
Ah man… Have I gone and put my foot in it? Michael lamented, realizing his error.
If the arrangement was left unsaid, they could have danced around the issue. There was no need for any pride to get wounded, nor would it infringe on anyone's values. But now that he'd said it aloud, things were about to change.
A crooked smile crept onto Melody's lips, "Thank the gods!" she exclaimed, "putting on such an act was quite taxing."
Eh?
Michael blinked incredulously, unsure if she was joking or not. But he watched as the girl raised her hands above her head and stretched deeply before slouching back in her chair, throwing noble etiquette out the window.
"You know, I'm quite surprised you were able to figure it out Michael," she praised, propping one leg atop the other as she lounged. "You see, I was certain that I could have you smitten by the time we left for Arcadia Academy."
Michael was too stunned to respond. He had thought that Melody might have been acting, but this was far too unexpected. Was it possible that the person he was seeing right now was her true personality?
"Sorry to disappoint you," he replied, trying to contain his shock.
She waved her hand dismissively, "It's no matter, in fact, this might actually be better… Provided you don't intend to go against the arrangement, that is." Her tone lowered as she sent him a dangerous glance.
Michael suppressed the shudder he felt from within.
"I don't wish to be married off to some other noble family, as you can imagine." Melody explained casually, "so when my mother told me of an alternative, of course I made up my mind rather quickly."
"As for you, I guess you're quite handsome—albeit a little scrawny." She added offhandedly, "but its not like you're getting the short end of the stick anyway."
She sat up abruptly, leaning further forward from her chair, "Not only do you get to stay in the manor, you'll also be able to attend Arcadia Academy, the number one academy in the nation."
"Pretty sweet deal right?" she said, the crooked smile returning.
"Of course, becoming the husband of yours truly is the true prize."