Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Translation: godsn
Unlike the day she had stormed out in a huff, Leila appeared with the demure demeanor of a proper young lady. Matthias, lounging lazily on the sofa, observed her with detached interest.
"I sincerely apologize for this sudden and impolite visit, Your Grace."
Leila, who had hesitantly broken the silence, ducked her head as if avoiding his gaze. Her thick eyelashes were remarkably long and straight—this seemed to be why her habit of gently lowering her eyes left such a distinctive impression.
"Forgive my presumption, but there's something I'd like to ask."
After several false starts where her lips merely twitched, Leila finally managed to speak. Just then, the telephone began to ring.
Rising leisurely, Matthias brushed past Leila—who startled and stepped back—to pick up the receiver. From the businesslike tone and discussion of complex contracts, it appeared to be a work-related call.
Leila watched the Duke mid-conversation with wide eyes. He guided the discussion with practiced ease. Even amidst his occasional polite smiles and courteous tone, there was an undeniable air of authority and nobility that dominated the exchange. This was the flawless Duke of Herhardt whom all of Carlsbar admired without reservation.
Which made it all the more absurd.
The suspicion that this man might have actually taken her glasses now seemed utterly preposterous.
Am I just making a fool of myself...? Then was it really the crows after all?
As she mentally calculated how many crow nests might exist in these woods, Leila gave a silent bow toward the still-conversing Duke and turned to leave. Unexpectedly, he suddenly covered the mouthpiece and turned sharply toward her.
"Wait."
That terse command sounded nothing like the impeccable Duke of Herhardt from moments before.
Leila froze in an awkward half-step. Matthias returned to his call as if nothing had happened. Watching him, Leila realized something new.
Even during the most sociable conversations, Duke Herhardt's eyes remained utterly calm. His occasional smiles didn't change that. Yet his posture remained consistently straight and elegant. Though the person on the other end couldn't see him, he never once relaxed—as if this composure was ingrained in his very being.
When the lengthy call finally ended after several more minutes, he returned to the table to jot something down. Leila fidgeted nervously, clasping her hands behind her back. Just as she began wondering if he'd forgotten about detaining her, Matthias's gaze finally turned her way.
"Speak."
"Pardon?"
"What you came to say."
Under the weight of his direct stare, Leila instinctively lowered her eyes.
"Ah... well, it's about my glasses. I was wondering if... perhaps you might have seen them at the dock on the day I fell in the water..."
"Hmm. I don't recall seeing them..."
Matthias rose slowly from the sofa and began approaching her.
"...nor hiding them."
"Uh... what?"
Leila was so startled she looked up without thinking.
"You mean... you actually hid my glasses, Your Grace?"
"What do you think?"
"I can't imagine you would do such a thing."
Leila answered with a slight frown.
"Why not?"
Matthias tilted his head in amusement, his raven-black hair swaying like crow feathers.
"Because... Your Grace, that would be too cruel."
Leila planted her feet firmly, refusing to retreat.
After days of searching crow nests with Kyle, she'd finally gathered the courage to come here. Even if she disliked him, the Duke was at least someone she could reason with. She'd thought it better to ask directly and eliminate either the crows or the Duke from suspicion. But now she wasn't so sure. With his cryptic responses only deepening the mystery, she questioned whether Duke Herhardt was truly someone she could communicate with at all.
They stood in silence for a long moment, simply staring at each other. Had the butler not returned with urgent telegrams and mail, the moment might have stretched on much longer.
Cheeks slightly flushed, Leila retreated toward the window.
As Matthias conversed quietly with the butler, it was some time before he finally lifted his head at an angle to look at Leila. Though the distance was considerable and she couldn't be certain without her glasses, his red lips seemed to be curling ever so slightly.
"Um..."
Leila mustered all her courage to speak, but Matthias cut her off with a slight jerk of his chin toward the door—a simple yet icy gesture that made it clear there was no longer any place for Leila Lewellin here.
"Sarani. What's with this sudden peculiar hobby of yours?"
Liet looked at the birdcage with an incredulous expression. Inside the beautiful golden cage sat an equally beautiful golden bird.
"Are you planning to raise it yourself and then shoot it?"
At Liet's joke, the guests gathered in the suite's drawing room burst into laughter. Matthias let out a light chuckle as well. Still, no answer came. While Liet added a few more frivolous remarks, servants arrived with champagne.
After the celebratory dinner marking the gathering of relatives spending the summer together, the younger generation had moved here. The fact that they were seated in the drawing room of Matthias's private master suite—a space he rarely allowed others into—was due to Claudine's coaxing request. That Matthias had readily agreed suggested he was rather indulgent toward his fiancée.
Among their relatives, Matthias and Claudine's engagement was already considered a foregone conclusion. It was obvious why Countess Brandt had brought her only daughter to Arvis every year, just as it was obvious why the Herhardt family had so conspicuously welcomed them.
Since this outcome had long been expected, none of them found the engagement surprising. Had Matthias chosen any other woman as his duchess, that would have been the shocking turn of events.
"That bird must not know what kind of man Duke Herhardt is."
As the bird flew from the open cage door to perch on Matthias's shoulder, Liet let out an amused laugh.
"A bird in love with the master of avian hunting! Should we call it foolish or pitiful?"
When Matthias extended his hand, the bird promptly hopped onto his finger as if it had been waiting.
"Claudine, what do you think?"
At Liet's question, all eyes turned to Claudine.
"Hmm. Well."
Claudine glanced at the bird chirping on Matthias's finger.
"How about we call it both foolish and pitiful?"
Her compromise drew another round of laughter.
Having known each other for years, the atmosphere among them was intimate. Laughter flowed easily, woven with familiar names, shared experiences, and occasional inside jokes.
"That bird—what's its name?"
Claudine, who had been gazing at Matthias's face as he watched the bird, asked warmly.
"If it doesn't have a name yet, shall I give it one?"
"That wouldn't be worth your trouble, my lady."
Matthias turned his gaze to her with a smile. Though his expression seemed unchanged from before, there was a subtle shift in its air.
"A bird is just a bird."
His reply was callous, starkly at odds with the softness in his eyes as he watched the singing creature in his hand.
"Truly, a foolish and pitiful bird."
Liet clicked his tongue briefly and looked at the bird with pity.
"To fall for a hunter who won't even grant it a name!"
The group, chatting and laughing over champagne, didn't leave the suite until deep into the night.
Matthias, brushing past the servants who had come to tidy the drawing room, set out alone for a nighttime stroll. His expression, no longer smiling, was as still as the night.
The trap had been set—now it was time to check. She wasn't a complete fool, so she must have noticed. And once noticed, she wouldn't be able to let it go.
Which meant she would take the bait.
Matthias walked through the rose garden, slowly turning over the answer he already knew in his mind. The breeze grew cooler as he passed through the woods and neared the river. His steps halted at the annex by the riverside, where moonlight spilled white upon the water.
Entering the drawing room, Matthias approached the console and opened a drawer. A pair of glasses lay neatly inside, glinting as they caught the moonlight.
Cradling them gently, as one might hold a bird, Matthias sank wearily onto the sofa.
What kind of bait was this?
Staring at the shimmering glasses, he pondered. Though the answer eluded him, he felt no impatience. He would find out once he caught her.
As he absently tossed the glasses into the air and caught them again, the night deepened around him.
The night was bright with moonlight.
This is insane.
Leila was acutely aware of it. Sneaking into the Duke's annex was absolutely not something a sane person would do.
"Right. I should just go to sleep."
Pacing around the room, Leila flopped onto the bed. She wrapped herself in a thin blanket and squeezed her eyes shut.
"My glasses..."
But once again, she couldn't fall asleep.
The Duke had hidden her glasses.
Leila was certain of it now. She couldn't understand why he would do such a thing, but there was no doubt about it.
So she had to find her glasses.
With renewed determination, Leila abruptly sat up. He surely wouldn't have taken them all the way to the main mansion—they must be somewhere in the annex.
The place was isolated, and now was the deep night nearing midnight. If she went quickly and left no trace, it might be alright. The moon was exceptionally bright tonight, so the darkness wasn't too frightening.
"Right. It'll be fine."
Muttering as if to convince herself, Leila opened the door. The cabin, filled with clear darkness, was silent. The only sound was the snoring drifting from Uncle Bill's bedroom.
Grabbing the lace shawl hanging by the door, Leila hurried out of the cabin. Whenever she felt like turning back, she reminded herself of all the berries she'd gathered to buy those glasses, the hours spent stirring jam until her arms ached.
"They're my glasses anyway."
As the glittering Schulter River came into view in the distance, Leila suppressed her unease with another muttered reassurance. Her soft golden hair, cascading past her waist, rippled with the rhythm of her quickening steps.
But the more she thought about it, the Duke was a strange man.
Walking along the dock connected to the annex, the thought suddenly struck her.
Does he actually like shiny things like a crow?
Repeating this irritated question to herself, Leila soon arrived before the annex where her glasses were hidden. Only then did she realize she was walking the night path in her sleepwear, but it was the dead of night with no one around anyway.
Taking a deep breath, Leila took one final decisive step, erasing the last of her hesitation.
As expected.
Once again, Leila Lewellin's actions didn't deviate from expectations.
As the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs drew nearer, Matthias's breathing slowed. Though he'd left the door open to make entry easy, Leila had lingered outside, pacing for a long while before finally opening a corridor window.
Never deviating from expectations, yet always with a touch of audacity.
Leila Lewellin climbed through that window. Matthias remained lying on the sofa, listening to her movements. The faint creak of the corridor floorboards was followed by Leila's sigh of relief.
Matthias smirked soundlessly, lowering his gaze from the ceiling. Soon after, Leila entered the drawing room. Frozen stiff, she glanced around cautiously before taking tentative steps. It seemed she planned to start searching by the windows first.
Matthias's eyes, long accustomed to the dark, instantly captured Leila's figure. Moonlight streaming through the parted curtains illuminated her as she stood before the table.
Just as Matthias's eyes narrowed, Leila moved to her next target—the cabinet. Her steps were feather-light, the hem of her dress swaying around her slender calves. The thin white fabric of what was likely her nightgown was nearly translucent against her form.
What was the bait meant to catch?
Matthias slowly ran his fingers along the delicate arms of the glasses in his hand. The cold, smooth texture sharpened his awareness. Meanwhile, Leila had reached the console table opposite the sofa where he lay.
Matthias shifted his gaze back to Leila's silhouette, illuminated by moonlight.
That woman.
Matthias readily accepted the reason he'd set this pitiful trap and waited.
No longer just a little girl—that woman, Leila.
"Looking for this?"
Matthias slowly waved the glasses in his hand as he spoke.
Leila, who had just reached for the console's drawer, whirled around as if struck. Trembling violently, she clamped a hand over her mouth and staggered backward—only to be stopped by the wall.
Matthias rose leisurely. As he sat up against the sofa, moonlight finally fell upon his face, which had been shrouded in darkness until now.
Under the bright moonlight, their eyes met.