CHAPTER 3: THE SON OF THE KING WHO COULDN’T SPEAK
Thirty minutes later, the mansion was quiet.
Not peaceful.
But still.
Like a storm that had not yet decided to return.
The boy remained in the corner.
But now—
he wasn’t covering his ears as tightly.
Melody still sat where she had been.
Cold floor.
Shattered glass nearby.
Rain hitting the windows like distant static.
The man in the black suit finally spoke.
“Everyone out.”
The guards hesitated.
“Sir—”
“Out,” he repeated.
No one argued the second time.
Doors closed.
Silence deepened.
Now only three remained:
Melody.
The boy.
And the man who owned the house.
He walked slowly toward her.
Not threatening.
But heavy.
Like gravity itself followed him.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said.
Melody looked up at him.
“I didn’t do anything.”
A pause.
“I just stayed.”
The man studied her longer this time.
“What’s your name?”
“Melody.”
Another pause.
“And why are you here, Melody?”
She lifted the food bags slightly.
“Delivery.”
That earned a faint, humorless exhale.
“You walked into a war zone to deliver food.”
Melody shrugged slightly.
“I get paid per drop.”
Something flickered in his expression.
Not amusement.
Something more complicated.
The boy made a small sound behind her.
Melody turned slightly.
“Hey,” she said softly.
He looked at her again.
This time longer.
Less panic.
More awareness.
The man noticed instantly.
“That’s new,” he murmured.
Melody asked quietly:
“Is he always like this?”
The man didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“No.”
A pause.
“He was not born like this.”
Melody frowned slightly.
“Then what happened?”
Silence.
Heavy.
Then the man finally said:
“He hears everything as noise now.”
Melody looked back at the boy.
“And people don’t know how to be quiet?”
The man’s eyes sharpened slightly.
“It’s not that simple.”
But Melody didn’t respond to that.
Instead, she said:
“Do you want him to calm down… or do you want him to be controlled?”
The question hit differently.
The man stopped walking.
For the first time—
he looked uncertain.
No one spoke.
The boy shifted slightly behind her.
Then, very quietly:
“Safe…”
Melody turned immediately.
“Yes?”
The boy repeated it.
Not clearly.
But enough.
“Safe… sound…”
Melody smiled faintly.
“That’s a good start.”
The man’s expression changed.
Something like realization.
Something like disbelief.
“You’re not trained,” he said.
Melody shook her head.
“No.”
A pause.
“I just know what it feels like when the world is too loud.”
That silence was different.
Because now—
even the man didn’t interrupt it.
CHAPTER 4: THE GIRL THE MAFIA DID NOT UNDERSTAND
Morning came without warning.
Rain still on the windows.
Broken glass still on the floor.
But the boy—
was still sitting.
Not screaming.
Not rocking.
Just… existing.
Melody had not left.
The man had not asked her to.
That alone had become a problem for everyone else.
Guards whispered outside.
Staff avoided eye contact.
Because something had shifted in the house.
And no one liked that.
The man finally spoke.
“You can leave now,” he said to Melody.
She blinked.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
A pause.
“You’re… unexpected.”
Melody nodded slowly.
“That sounds like a polite version of ‘dangerous.’”
A faint pause.
Then—
“No,” he said.
“Worse.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“What’s worse than dangerous?”
The man looked at her.
“Influential.”
Silence.
The boy made a small sound again behind her.
Melody turned.
“You okay?”
He hesitated.
Then, very quietly:
“…stay.”
Melody froze slightly.
The man noticed instantly.
“So that’s what this is,” he murmured.
Melody looked up.
“What?”
But before he answered—
a new voice entered the room.
Cold.
Familiar.
“You allowed a civilian near my son?”
A woman stood in the doorway.
Perfect dress.
Perfect posture.
Eyes like judgment.
The boy stiffened instantly.
Melody felt it immediately.
The shift.
Fear.
Not of noise.
But of her.
The man exhaled slowly.
“Not now.”
The woman stepped inside anyway.
“I will decide what is ‘now,’” she said sharply.
Then she looked at Melody.
And smiled.
But it was not kind.
“It’s impressive,” she said.
“Even servants are getting creative these days.”
Melody didn’t react.
But the boy did.
A small flinch.
Melody noticed.
And for the first time—
she understood something important.
The boy wasn’t just afraid of noise.
He was afraid of people who didn’t listen.
Melody stood slowly.
“Don’t talk about him like that,” she said quietly.
The woman blinked.
“…Excuse me?”
Melody met her eyes.
“You’re making him worse.”
The room went silent.
The man in black didn’t interrupt.
No guards moved.
Because no one had ever spoken to her like that.
The woman laughed softly.
“You think you can fix him?”
Melody shook her head.
“No.”
A pause.
“I think you stopped trying.”
Silence shattered the room.
The boy behind her whispered again.
“…stay…”
This time—
he reached for her sleeve.
Just barely.
And the entire mansion changed again.
Because everyone saw it.
The mafia heir—
touching the delivery girl.
Not out of fear.
But out of trust.
May you like
And for the first time—
no one knew what to do about it.
