Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Translation: godsn
Was it because the coin had landed wrong-side up?
When Leila Lewellin heard the news of Duke Herhardt's return, that was the first thing that came to mind.
The man who had clearly stated he would serve another year in the Royal Guard was coming back. Having concluded his life of traveling between the capital and the estate, he would now remain permanently in his territory. The elderly Grandmother had wished for her grandson to take care of the estate and stay by her side. It seemed he could no longer ignore that wish.
Be that as it may.
Leila stretched her arms high before tightening her apron with a firm tug. It was the business of a world that no longer concerned her, a matter of little consequence. All that lingered was the regret of a misfired coin toss and an unfulfilled wish.
'Please don't let me meet Duke Herhardt again.'
With that final gold coin he had left behind, Leila had prayed fervently as she tossed it.
After leaving the estate last summer, he hadn't returned even once as the year drew to a close. She had assumed those days would continue until his service in the Royal Guard was complete. And if Leila Lewellin could just leave Arvis before then, that wish would surely come true.
Lost in thought for a moment, Leila shook her head and stepped out into the backyard. Perhaps, in the end, her wish would still be granted. The Duke might be returning, but she would be leaving these woods behind.
With a lighter heart, Leila tended to the livestock and the kitchen garden. The white pigeon Phoebe, who had flown to the Etman residence, returned just as she was finishing her morning chores. Tied to Phoebe's leg was a letter from Kyle.
Mom wants to invite you for dinner tonight.
See, Leila? I told you so.
The letter practically carried Kyle's voice in her ears.
To the worried Leila, Kyle had confidently assured her that his mother would undoubtedly come to like her too. That everything would work out. That by autumn, they would be walking across the university campus as a married couple. Happily, so very happily.
"Uncle Bill, I'll be having dinner at the Etmans' tonight."
Spotting Bill Remmer returning just then, Leila hurried over with quick, skipping steps.
"Mrs. Etman has invited me."
"See there, Leila."
His booming voice echoed the same words as Kyle's.
"Didn't I tell you it'd all work out?"
As Bill chuckled heartily, Leila allowed herself a small smile.
Her heart pounded. She chose to believe it was anticipation.
Matthias arrived at Arvis in the late afternoon. As the carriage carrying him came to a stop before the mansion, a wave of tension rippled through the line of waiting servants.
Nothing was out of the ordinary. The usual respectful greetings, his brief acknowledgments, his grandmother brimming with joy, his mother smiling warmly.
Passing by the head gardener, Matthias instinctively lowered his gaze. Beside the gardener's large boots were a pair of neat brown shoes—small ones. Leila Lewellin had always stood by Bill Remmer's side. Though after this summer, she wouldn't be there anymore.
Without turning his head, Matthias walked past the gardener. His gaze remained fixed ahead, toward the staircase leading to the lobby hall.
"That bird has returned with you as well."
Elise von Herhardt let out a light laugh as she noticed the golden cage carried by a servant following behind. Inside the cage was the canary Matthias had taken with him when he left Arvis last summer.
"How peculiar. Matthias, who never even kept a dog by his side, suddenly doting on a bird like this."
"If you've taken an interest in birds, why not expand the greenhouse and keep a variety of them?"
The Grandmother added with a smile.
"That won't be necessary, Grandmother."
Matthias answered with a face that mirrored their smiles.
"One is enough."
With that bland, dry reply, Matthias stepped inside the mansion.
Before ascending the stairs, he lifted his head to gaze at the enormous chandelier overhead. And beyond it, the Herhardt family crest adorning the impossibly high ceiling.
He was born beneath that crest, he would live beneath that crest, and he would close his eyes for the last time beneath that crest. It remained as natural and effortless as breathing.
Lowering his gaze, Matthias took a large stride and ascended the stairs.
"If he was going to retire this year anyway, why on earth did he insist on serving one more year?"
Countess Brandt grumbled, not bothering to conceal her irritation.
The decision to extend the engagement by another year had been made entirely out of respect for Duke Herhardt's choice. Had she known it would turn out like this, she would have insisted on holding the wedding before the end of summer, no matter what.
"I had no idea Matthias was the type of man to be so capricious."
"The wedding may have been postponed, but it's a good thing Duke Herhardt returned to his territory early, Mother."
Claudine's face showed not the slightest hint of distress.
"You're far too easygoing. This mother of yours is beside herself that the wedding won't happen this year."
"Is there any need to fret? Isn't it better to take our time and prepare properly rather than rush into a sloppy ceremony?"
"A year is a long time, Claudine. Who knows what variables might arise in that span?"
"Think back on the past year, Mother. It was short, and peaceful. This will just be another year like that. And with Duke Herhardt staying in the territory, wedding preparations will go much smoother."
"Claudine, men are not to be trusted, and an engagement is not as firm a promise as marriage."
"That man is Matthias von Herhardt, Mother."
Claudine even smiled serenely now.
"A man who will never love anyone but himself—Duke Herhardt."
Had she not heard the news of Leila and the family doctor's son getting married, Claudine might have felt a twinge of unease herself. But now that the variable named Leila Lewellin had been removed, her mother's concerns were nothing more than needless worry.
"To him, this engagement is also a matter of Herhardt's pride. There's no variable significant enough to break it."
Claudine spoke decisively as she straightened her sleeves.
A kind-hearted cold-blooded man.
Matthias had always been like that since childhood. While her other cousins teased her and played mischievous pranks, he had always been polite and kind. That very distance made him all the more unapproachable.
Did that man even possess emotions?
Claudine sometimes wondered.
She found it difficult to imagine Matthias consumed by rage, sorrow, or joy—any passion at all. It seemed more likely that, until his very last breath, he would gaze down upon the world with nothing but an arrogant, elegant smile. And it was precisely that Matthias von Herhardt whom Claudine wanted.
"I should visit Arvis sometime next week."
With a lighter heart, Claudine rose from the sofa.
"I'll see Duke Herhardt and congratulate the friend who's about to get married. Two birds with one stone."
"A friend getting married? Good heavens. Don't tell me you're referring to that gardener's orphan?"
Countess Brandt's expression darkened, but Claudine only smiled leisurely, as if to provoke her.
"Leila is my friend. I should even prepare a wedding gift for such an old friend."
After much deliberation, Leila wore the white dress she had bought when she went to Latz to take her exams. She tied her hair neatly into a braid and fastened her favorite ribbon at the end.
Though it wasn't her first time visiting the Etman household, she felt as nervous and jittery as if it were. The thought that this visit was in consideration of her marriage to Kyle—and that she had been invited by Kyle's mother—made it all the more daunting.
"How do I look, Uncle?"
Stepping out of her room, Leila stood before Bill with an unusually solemn expression. Sitting leisurely by the open window, smoking his pipe, he laughed aloud as he looked at her.
"Preparing for marriage has you dolling yourself up like never before."
"It's not that. I'm just nervous because I'm meeting Mrs. Etman."
"No need for that. It's not like you've only met Mrs. Etman once or twice."
"But today is a special occasion."
"There's nothing to find fault with, so don't worry."
As Bill stubbed out his cigarette and stood up, his face broke into a benevolent smile.
"Just be yourself, Leila. That's enough."
The hand that wrapped around Leila's shoulder was as warm as his smile.
Though she knew his words were highly subjective and lacked credibility, Leila nodded with a smile. As her heart eased slightly, it suddenly struck her how anxious and restless she'd been all day. That was when Kyle came to the cabin.
"Kyle, I—"
"Perfect."
Before Leila could even finish her question, Kyle answered firmly.
"You're enough just as you are."
Kyle's smile was as warm as Bill's.
"That's all I need, Leila."
"Hmm. That sounds exactly like what another man told me?"
At the strikingly similar words from two people with matching smiles, Leila couldn't help but laugh.
"What? Who? What man?"
"Enough nonsense, let's get going, you brat."
Bill gave Kyle's back a hearty slap. Caught off guard, Kyle staggered and turned around, his face scrunched up in a scowl.
"But Uncle, some idiot was just—"
"That idiot is me!"
"So... huh, what?"
"You impudent little bug. I might need to seriously reconsider whether I should entrust Leila to you."
Despite his gruff tone, Bill's hand patting Kyle's shoulder was remarkably affectionate. Leila watched the two bickering from a few steps away.
The two people she loved most in this world. Her two precious people. The two she wanted to protect. As a slow smile spread across her lips, her heart warmed. To Leila, Bill and Kyle had always been just that. She could no longer imagine life without them.
That was why she had finally made the decision to marry after so much hesitation. Days of Kyle proposing and Leila refusing had gradually strained their relationship. If she couldn't accept Kyle's feelings, then distancing herself was the right thing to do. Though Kyle had tried hard to bridge that gap, once he'd proposed, there were ultimately only two choices left before them.
Marry, or become strangers.
Leila's wish—to maintain a proper distance, grow into adulthood, and remain precious friends for a long, long time—had become meaningless. That truth had pained her heart throughout the passing autumn, winter, and spring.
Marriage, the future Kyle spoke of, remained vague and uncertain to Leila. She was also afraid of crossing the line with greedy desires. But if that was the only way not to lose Kyle, she wanted to muster her courage.
That resolution had crystallized in late spring, after she'd been humiliated by Duke Herhardt and cried her heart out. On that evening when she threw the gold coin he'd left into the fountain, wanting nothing from him—the very moment she looked up to see Kyle's face as he came to find her.
Facing Kyle, her sorrow and pain were forgotten. He was like the light from the cabin. The warm glow from the house where Bill waited, visible after walking through the dark forest path. The very light that soothed all the sadness and wounds inflicted by the world beyond those woods.
As always, Kyle and Bill's meaningless squabble ended in cheerful laughter. With that laughter still lingering on his face, Kyle turned back to Leila.
"Let's go, Leila."
Naturally, Kyle held out his hand. Hesitantly, Leila lightly grasped just the tips of his fingers. Watching her quietly, Kyle smiled and adjusted his grip, clasping her hand fully, as if enveloping it.
Though their changed relationship still felt awkward and embarrassing, Leila didn't pull her hand away. Because Kyle was someone she didn't want to lose.