Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Translation: godsn
A warm, sunset-hued smile bloomed across Kyle's face as he spotted Leila making her way down the forest path with careful steps.
"Leila!"
When he called her name loudly, Leila—who had been walking with her eyes fixed on her toes—jerked her head up. Her eyes widened when she saw him. It was the moment Kyle loved most—when Leila's pace quickened upon spotting him. His Leila, approaching lightly with a bright smile.
"When did you get here?"
"Just now. I went to the cabin, but they said you'd been summoned to the ducal residence, so I was on my way to rescue you."
"Rescue?"
"It's obvious why Young Lady Brandt called for you."
"Not today."
Leila laughed as she took a step forward. Kyle matched her pace, walking slowly beside her.
"It wasn't Young Lady Brandt—it was Lady Norma who summoned me."
"Lady Norma? You?"
"Yeah. She congratulated me on passing the exam and asked if there was a gift I'd like to receive."
"What did you say?"
"That I didn't need anything. I told her I was already grateful just to be allowed to stay here."
"That's such a Leila Lewellin answer."
Kyle let out a soft chuckle, having expected as much. When he casually took her hand, Leila didn't tense up like before. That small change amplified his happiness.
Hand in hand, they walked along the familiar path. The mundane details of their day, the detective novel serialized in today's newspaper, their modest plans for the coming summer—the same intimate conversations as always unfolded between them as they walked side by side. Meanwhile, dusk settled around them.
The forest darkened swiftly, and Kyle, emboldened by the encroaching shadows, decided to gather his courage.
He tugged firmly on Leila's hand. Stumbling slightly, Leila leaned back against a tall tree by the path, and Kyle stood facing her. It happened in the blink of an eye, yet to Kyle, that moment stretched into eternity.
"Kyle?"
Leila's flustered voice trembled faintly. Her crimson lips shone vividly even in the dim twilight.
Kyle squeezed his eyes shut, mustering every ounce of courage he had before bowing his head. Soon, warm skin brushed against his lips—but the sensation wasn't what he'd expected.
When Kyle slowly opened his eyes, he couldn't help but laugh softly. What had met his lips was the back of Leila's hand. Her face was beet red as she stared at him, firmly covering her mouth with her own palm.
"I... I think this is kind of weird, Kyle."
As Kyle raised his head slowly, Leila mumbled hesitantly.
"When we do this, it feels like we're doing something bad. I mean, I just..."
Unable to continue, she trailed off and quietly lowered her gaze. Her pale, long eyelashes slowly drifted downward.
Don't you think this is even worse?
Swallowing the retort he wanted to make, Kyle forced another hollow laugh. His cheeks were now as red as Leila's.
"Hey, Miss Lewellin. What do you know about kissing when you don't even understand it?"
"Huh?"
"On the train, you were acting like such an expert, talking big."
"What are you... Oh."
A small sigh escaped Leila as she finally seemed to recall that day—when she'd rambled about reproductive acts, making him want to jump off the moving train in embarrassment.
"That was..."
Rolling her eyes as she struggled to find the right words, Leila eventually swallowed dryly and gave up.
"I don't really get it."
That whisper—her go-to phrase whenever she was at a disadvantage—hadn't changed one bit since the day they'd first met.
Kyle deflated with a soft sigh. He felt pathetic, unable to even properly kiss the woman he was about to marry, but he didn't entirely dislike it. What Kyle wanted most was Leila's heart. He couldn't bear to hurt it in the throes of passion.
Gently, he cupped Leila's cheeks with both hands and stroked them slowly. Then he pressed his heated lips to her smooth forehead. Straining not to ask for more, Kyle managed to keep that promise to himself.
As he inhaled deeply, the sweet scent of roses filled his lungs. It was Leila's fragrance.
After finishing his shower, Matthias slowly approached the window on the west side of the bedroom.
His daily routine was methodical. No matter when he fell asleep, he invariably woke early in the morning. Without lingering, he would head to the bathroom, shower for a set duration, and then begin his day. It was a habit that required no conscious effort—something that simply unfolded on its own.
Perhaps even this very moment was no exception.
With a faintly self-deprecating gaze, Matthias looked down through the open window.
As expected, Leila was there among the roses blooming in his garden. Perhaps because her departure drew near, she now accompanied the gardener far more frequently than before, chattering away tirelessly without a moment's pause.
He had once thought Leila Lewellin was a child of few words. After all, she had rarely opened her mouth in his or Claudine's presence.
"Master, it's Hessen."
Right on schedule, a familiar knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
Matthias answered curtly without turning from the window. The thin curtains swayed as a breeze drifted through the still-open window.
While reading the newspaper Hessen had brought, Matthias listened to the report on today's schedule. He had a leisurely morning ahead before lunch.
"Now that you've returned, Arvis finally feels whole again."
Instead of quietly withdrawing as usual, Hessen added this quiet remark.
Matthias set down the teacup he'd been holding and met the butler's gaze.
"Grandmother and Mother might be hurt to hear that."
"Ah—no, Master, that wasn't what I meant—"
"I know."
A faint smile brushed Matthias's lips.
"I understand exactly what you meant."
The brief smile soon vanished, but his gaze upon the middle-aged butler remained as calm as windless water. Relieved by his master's untroubled expression, Hessen hastily withdrew.
Even after the bedroom door closed, Matthias remained leaning against the windowsill, reading the newspaper. Sunlight filtering through his fallen hair made his eyes appear lighter than usual.
After carefully reading an article about Count Klein's business—with whom he would be dining at noon—Matthias finally set the paper aside. As he turned slowly, he saw Leila approaching the flowerbed nearest the mansion. The single braid beneath that straw hat he'd fished from the river swayed as she moved.
The gardener said something, and Leila responded with animated enthusiasm. Then she laughed. Though her face remained shadowed by the hat's brim, he knew—knew she was laughing brightly.
Matthias narrowed his eyes and slowly swept back his hair.
Perhaps I shouldn't have returned at all.
He'd been thinking this since first setting foot back in the territory.
His life had always been built upon meticulous plans—like a flawless staircase leading to a perfect life. All he needed to do was ascend it step by deliberate step.
Yet now those steps had gone awry.
Even now, Matthias couldn't readily comprehend why he'd made choices that defied his plans.
No. Perhaps it had begun even before that night he tore up his military service extension request. The day he postponed his marriage to serve another year. The day he'd succumbed to trivial desire. The day he approached that fallen bicycle. Or perhaps some day beyond memory's reach.
I still desire you.
Matthias understood the nature of his feelings perfectly.
Therefore, I wish you would disappear.
He knew this wish to be equally true.
This turmoil stemmed from the chasm between burning emotion and desperate longing. Though he couldn't yet find a clear answer, time would eventually resolve it.
Matthias closed the window at last and changed clothes. The shadow of the window frame passed over his head as he strode down the corridor with broad steps.
Dismissing his attendants, Matthias left the mansion alone and walked the forest path leading to the river. The brighter the light, the darker the shadows became.
In the deep shade cast by the dense trees, Matthias paused, momentarily lost in thought.
He had never wanted before, and thus had never understood yearning. But something flashed through his mind—the realization that there existed something even more unfamiliar than desire.
It was the way of the world to never obtain what one truly desired.
As he drew closer to the gardener's cottage, Daniel Rayner's face grew increasingly pale. Though the sun wasn't yet at its peak, his forehead was already drenched in sweat.
"This is insane."
When the roof of the cottage came into view in the distance, he muttered in despair.
Mrs. Etman had claimed she merely wanted to temporarily hold onto the gardener's university funds. But strip away the plausible veneer, and it was nothing more than theft.
That noble, elegant Linda Etman had urged her own cousin to steal. All for the sake of tearing that wretched girl away from her son.
By the time Daniel stepped into the front yard of the cottage, he had already pulled the handkerchief stuffed in his pocket back out to wipe his face. The hand gripping his briefcase kept twitching uncontrollably.
He, too, had found it regrettable when Kyle fell head over heels for a girl far beneath his station and resolved to marry her. Everyone had expected the Etman family to wed their son to a daughter from a lower noble house, after all.
But Kyle had genuinely wanted it, Dr. Etman had supported it, and above all, that girl—Leila—wasn't so bad, so he had reluctantly accepted it. He had assumed Mrs. Etman felt the same. Who could have known? That behind her gentle smile, she concealed such a dagger.
"Money is the root of all evil."
After a moment of bitter lament, Daniel strode resolutely toward the cottage, as if steeling his resolve.
Linda Etman had assured him the house would be empty at this hour. If Leila happened to be home, he was to claim he had stopped by the Etman residence and decided to congratulate her on her university acceptance while he was at it. Since he and Leila were already acquainted, it wouldn't be too awkward an excuse.
Hoping against hope that the girl would be home and his plan would fall through, he knocked—but the house remained silent.
Tasting both despair and resignation, Daniel opened the front door. Just as his cousin had promised, it wasn't locked.
'But sister, if the tuition money is stolen, someone will step in to replace it. Dr. Etman alone would gladly cover the girl's expenses in a heartbeat.'
When he had protested in disbelief, Linda Etman had smiled bitterly.
'Surely I know my own husband better than you do.'
'But why, then...?'
'The missing tuition is just an excuse.'
'What?'
'An excuse to break that girl's heart.'
Her quiet reply had been laced with a sigh.
Daniel hadn't been able to retort, only blinking slowly. If he was already grasping at straws, he didn't want to know more. Knowing would only deepen his disillusionment and self-loathing.
He was merely helping his cousin temporarily hold onto the gardener's money. Repeating this rationalization to himself, Daniel Rayner stepped inside the cottage.
It didn't take him long to finish his task. Once he left the cottage with the money-stuffed briefcase in hand, he actually felt a strange sense of relief. The die had been cast, and his role in this scheme ended here. All he had to do now was deliver this dirty money to Linda Etman, collect the fee that would save his mortgaged home, and be done with it.
To avoid any chance of running into the gardener, Daniel chose a detour along the riverside. But that very caution ended up landing him in trouble. He realized it only after encountering a young man by the river.
The moment he spotted Daniel, the man halted his leisurely stride. Without a hint of wariness or surprise, he simply stared at him, unblinking.
Was he one of Arvis's servants?
Daniel's brief relief at the man's calm demeanor was short-lived. Soon, his face drained of color.
No servant would be idly strolling along the riverbank at this hour, dressed in nothing but a loose shirt, when they ought to be busy starting their day. And worse—that face was unmistakably familiar.
The face that had appeared countless times in the newspapers, the face he had glimpsed from afar on several occasions—it was none other than Duke Herhardt.