Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Translation: godsn
Leila Lewellin of the Remmer household had been accepted into Ratz University.
The news spread through all of Arvis in the blink of an eye. The rumor that Dr. Etman's only son had also been admitted to medical school with outstanding grades came along with it, but since that was an expected outcome, it didn't become much of a talking point.
Thus, Leila. These days, whenever two or more people gathered, they would all chatter about Leila Lewellin without exception. The greenhouse of the ducal family was no different.
"To send an orphan who's no different from a stranger—moreover, a girl—all the way to university. Bill Remmer has made quite the remarkable decision."
Even Grandmother Katharina von Herhardt, who normally wouldn't deign to participate in gossip about lowborn children, spoke about Leila with considerable interest today.
"It seems that girl was born under a lucky star. To meet a benefactor and even marry Dr. Etman's son—she's truly blessed with good fortune."
Elise von Herhardt chimed in as well. Claudine, who sat quietly between the two women sipping her tea, nodded with her usual polite and bright smile.
"How fortunate that such luck has followed that pitiable child."
Claudine could praise Leila with more sincerity than ever before. Just then, the maid who had gone to fetch the girl at the grandmother's command returned to the greenhouse. Leila, neatly dressed, accompanied her.
"Come, sit here."
The grandmother spoke calmly upon spotting Leila. Leila, of course, as well as the Duchess and Claudine, widened their eyes in surprise.
"There's no harm in offering a cup of tea to a commendable child, is there?"
The grandmother chuckled softly.
Like all members of the Herhardt family, Katharina von Herhardt was such a lofty noble that one could easily imagine the blood flowing through her veins was tinged with deep blue. It was no wonder everyone was shocked that she would share a tea table with an orphan girl raised by a gardener.
Leila sat nervously in the seat the maid guided her to.
"I heard you've been accepted into a university even the sons of prestigious families struggle to enter."
As tea was served for Leila, the grandmother was the first to speak.
"It's all thanks to Uncle Bill."
Leila lowered her eyes respectfully as she replied.
"Indeed. You must never forget the kindness of your benefactor, Bill Remmer."
"Yes, Grandmother."
"You're from Lovita, I hear."
"My mother was Lovitan, but my father was from Berg."
"That makes us alike in that regard."
At the grandmother's casually dropped remark, Elise and Claudine's eyes widened simultaneously.
The Herhardt family's grandmother hailed from a prestigious marquess family, maternal relatives of the Berg Emperor. Her mother was of Lovitan royal blood—a lineage that could never be compared to that of a lowborn orphan.
"Tell me one thing you desire."
At the grandmother's sudden command, delivered as she set down her teacup, Leila startled and lifted her head.
"Bill Remmer is a servant I hold dear, and you're the child he raised like a daughter. It's only right I give you a congratulatory gift."
Her additional words were just as composed.
While the flustered Leila forgot to avert her gaze and stared at the grandmother, another person entered the greenhouse. Claudine was the first to notice the sound of his steady footsteps.
"Duke Herhardt!"
At Claudine's delighted exclamation, everyone's eyes turned.
Leila, too, instinctively turned her head. Matthias von Herhardt stood there, having approached the table unnoticed. When their eyes met, both pairs of eyes narrowed for different reasons. The small disturbance ended with Leila being the first to look away.
"This child has been accepted into Ratz University. We were just having tea to celebrate the occasion."
Elise von Herhardt explained the unexpected situation with a voice tinged with laughter.
Matthias gave a brief nod before taking a seat beside Claudine. Coincidentally, it placed him directly across from Leila.
"You've returned early today."
Claudine greeted her fiancé with a warm smile.
Having recently taken full charge of the family's business affairs, he typically left the mansion at dawn and returned late at night. Though nearly a week had passed since Claudine's arrival at Arvis, this was the first time she'd seen Matthias return before sunset.
"The meeting ended earlier than anticipated, Young Lady."
"That's fortunate. I've been quite worried you've been pushing yourself too hard lately."
"Claudine is right, Matthias. These are matters you can take at a measured pace—there's no need to rush. Compromising your health would be disastrous."
Elise von Herhardt added her own remark.
With that, the conversation at the table swiftly shifted to Matthias's recent activities and family business matters. Leila Lewellin's presence seemed to have been erased in an instant.
Grateful for the reprieve, Leila took a sip of her now-cooled tea. Though she longed to escape this uncomfortable gathering, she couldn't possibly show such impropriety before the two noblewomen of the ducal household.
Leila carefully set her teacup down on the saucer, making no sound. But the moment she inadvertently lifted her gaze, she flinched and instinctively pressed back against her chair. Between his chatting fiancée and mother, Matthias was watching her. Those merciless eyes were no different from the day they had trampled her heart and walked away.
She considered reaching for her teacup again but instead hurriedly lowered both hands beneath the table. Even as he exchanged words with Claudine, the moment her attention turned to her mother, Matthias unhesitatingly fixed his gaze back on Leila.
Leila quickly bowed her head, yet the discomfort of his stare lingered. And without fail, that gaze dredged up memories of last summer. Recalling that day in Claudine's presence made the humiliation sting all the more, and Leila suppressed a shudder. The Duke was the one who had committed wrongdoing, yet it was always Leila who bore the guilt.
"Well then, have you thought about what you'd like?"
The matriarch's question abruptly returned the table's focus to Leila Lewellin.
Instinctively raising her head, Leila found herself biting her lip—Matthias's blue eyes were still fixed on her. Struggling to conceal her flustered state, she hastily turned her attention back to the matriarch.
"You've already given me a tremendous gift, my lady. That is more than enough."
"Already received one?"
"Yes. Merely allowing me to stay here at Arvis, in Bill Uncle's cabin, is a kindness I could never repay in my lifetime. It is the greatest, most precious gift—one I will be forever grateful for."
"We merely granted Bill Remmer's request."
"That permission was the gift that changed my life, my lady."
A faint smile touched Leila's lips.
"I am also deeply grateful to you, young madam."
She offered a respectful bow toward Elise von Herhardt as well.
"...And to His Grace and Lady Claudine as well."
Instead of voicing her true desire—to escape this unbearable world as quickly as possible—Leila dutifully expressed gratitude even to those whose names left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"The kindness you've shown me is something I will never forget, even on the day I leave Arvis."
With a deep bow, Leila punctuated her polite refusal with perfect decorum.
The elderly lady carefully scrutinized Leila before finally nodding her head at that point. Though daring to refuse the Herhardt family's goodwill was audacious, her demeanor carried a dignity unbefitting a child raised in humble circumstances.
"Already bidding farewell? I find myself growing rather sad, Leila."
Claudine, who had been quietly observing, spoke with evident regret.
"I understand your feelings, but I'd still like to give you at least one gift. Ah, what if I were to pay your tuition?"
"No, my lady. I shall gratefully accept only the kindness you've shown me."
Leila continued to gaze at Claudine with a smiling face.
"Uncle Bill has already arranged for my tuition. He was quite insistent that my first tuition must be paid by him."
"Is that so? Then I shall have to think of another gift. I simply cannot send off a longtime friend empty-handed when she's not only been admitted to university but will soon be married."
A bright smile blossomed on Claudine's face as she looked at Leila.
"Isn't that right, Duke Herhardt?"
Claudine's voice calling to him was as sweet as honey, with a hint of insistence. After briefly glancing at Leila, Matthias gave a slight nod of his head, showing respect for his fiancée's wishes.
After exchanging a few more ceremonial words and farewells, Leila was finally able to leave the uncomfortable tea table. Only when she turned her back on the Herhardt family did the greenhouse scenery finally enter her vision.
Arvis's paradise.
Whenever she entered this extravagant greenhouse that people praised with such clamorous admiration, Leila felt endlessly uncomfortable and stifled. Facing the beautiful birds with clipped wings and flowers with excessively vivid colors and overpowering fragrances somehow made it hard to breathe. The sound of water from the marble fountain and the sunlight streaming through the glass panes were no different.
Leila left the greenhouse without once looking back. Only when the unadorned sunlight and wind enveloped her body did she finally release a sigh of relief.
The long shadows of evening followed Leila as she walked with quick steps toward the forest.
"Sister, do you realize what you're saying right now?"
Daniel Rayner asked again in disbelief. The sunset light streaming through the uncurtained window illuminated both him—dumbfounded—and his cousin sister Linda Etman, who sat quietly across from him.
"Sister!"
"Lower your voice, Daniel."
Mrs. Etman, who had glanced at the closed door, admonished him with an astonishingly calm expression. Daniel let out an exasperated sigh.
Daniel Rayner, whose family fortunes had rapidly declined after a failed overseas mining investment, had repeatedly sought help from his wealthiest relative—his cousin sister. Each time, she had expressed her refusal with elegant yet cold finality. That she had sought him out first was utterly unexpected.
He had naturally assumed it wouldn't be without cost. But the words that came from Mrs. Etman's mouth were perplexing enough to give pause even to Daniel, who was desperate enough to clutch at straws.
"That's theft, Sister. How could you...?"
"No."
Mrs. Etman, who had slowly closed her eyes, opened them and coldly cut him off.
"It's merely a matter of temporarily holding onto something before returning it."
"But..."
"You're quite fond of Kyle, aren't you?"
"Of course I am."
"And you do need my help."
Mrs. Etman raised her hands, which had been neatly folded on her lap, and rubbed her throbbing temples. As expected, Daniel Rayner merely flushed red without offering any rebuttal.
"You'll simply take that money for a while and return it when the time comes. If you do just that one simple thing, you can protect your family, and I can protect my son."
Straightening her posture, Mrs. Etman gazed at Daniel Rayner with insistence.
"I'd consider this quite a fair deal. What do you think?"