Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Translation: godsn
The commotion reached even beyond Kyle's firmly shut door. It was because his window had been left open.
Kyle slowly lifted his exhausted body.
"Hey, Mrs. Etman! Come out right now! Immediately!"
The booming voice shouting at the top of its lungs sounded familiar.
"...Uncle Bill?"
Startled, Kyle rose from his bed. As he approached the window, he saw Bill Remmer and a housemaid standing face to face at the front door.
"What is all this ruckus about?"
With that icy shout, Mrs. Etman made her appearance.
"So it was you, Mrs. Etman, that thief who deserves to be torn apart and killed? Is this how humans behave? No matter how much you dislike our Leila, how could you possibly do something like this?"
Kyle, who had been turning quickly to intervene in the argument, froze in his tracks.
Thief? Why was he talking about that thief here, to his mother?
As Kyle stood rooted in place, bewildered, Bill poured out an unbelievable story with furious rage. Kyle listened to those unbelievable words, his body stiff as a statue.
"That's impossible."
Muttering blankly, Kyle staggered out of his room. His steps wavered precariously as he descended the stairs. Even if it was Uncle Bill, this absurdity was unacceptable. How, no matter what, how could he say such terrible things...
"Did Leila say that?"
As Bill's shouting subsided, Mrs. Etman sharply retorted.
"This is outrageous. How dare you make such vile accusations..."
"Do you really think Leila is the kind of child who would say such things?"
Just as Kyle was about to step outside the front door, Bill cried out in a choked voice.
"I wish Leila had tattled! Then my heart wouldn't be torn apart like this!"
"If you're going to cause a scene with such nonsense, leave right now! Before I call the police!"
"It's what those policemen you're talking about said! The postman—your esteemed cousin—saw them bring someone into the station and told me! Are you going to deny that too?"
"...W-what did you say?"
Mrs. Etman faltered and took a step back.
Please. Kyle prayed as he looked at his mother's retreating figure. Say it's not true, say it's a false accusation, say it's absurd. But Mrs. Etman seemed to have lost her voice, only exhaling irregular, ragged breaths. Her bloodless hand gripping the railing began to tremble uncontrollably.
Kyle staggered toward his mother.
"Mom."
Only after hearing that sigh-like call did Mrs. Etman realize her son was standing behind her.
"It's not true, right?"
Kyle's hand touched her arm.
"Uncle Bill must have misunderstood, right?"
Kyle tried to smile, but it didn't quite work. Though it was painfully clear that this moment was reality, his mind felt shrouded in thick fog.
It had been hellish days. No matter how many times he went to persuade and beg, Leila wouldn't change her mind, and time slipped away helplessly.
But Kyle had held onto a vague hope. Dr. Etman, who had gone to Latz, had paid Leila's tuition as planned. So if he could just persuade Leila, if he could just stop that foolish girl from her silly thoughts, everything would go smoothly. That's what he had believed.
If marriage was too burdensome, then what about just an engagement? He had planned to visit Leila again this evening to persuade her once more. Let's go to university as an engaged couple. That would be enough. Given enough time, you'll come to love me as your lover. And then we'll live happily ever after.
But.
"Mom!"
Kyle's voice trembled with tears. Mrs. Etman could only stare down at the railing with a flushed face, unable to bring herself to speak another word. It was then that Dr. Etman returned.
Two police officers stepped out of the car with him. At the sight of them, Mrs. Etman turned deathly pale and collapsed onto the spot.
Dr. Etman, after apologizing to the visibly uncomfortable officers, approached his wife alone.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Remmer."
He first walked up to Bill Remmer, removing his hat as he spoke.
"Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn't know what to say. I'm so sorry."
Kyle's eyes filled with despair as he watched his father apologize repeatedly.
"As you can see, the situation today has made it difficult to have a proper conversation. Would it be alright if I came back to apologize properly once things have settled down?"
"...Very well."
Bill Remmer rubbed his eyes roughly, swallowing his anger as he gave a stiff nod. As he stepped back, the officers moved forward a few more paces.
"Why did you do this, dear?"
Dr. Etman's gaze turned icy as he looked down at his collapsed wife.
"No, it's not like that..."
"Daniel is at the police station. He's already confessed everything. That you put him up to it."
At the name that slipped from her husband's lips, Mrs. Etman's stammered excuses froze on her lips.
"So don't even think about lying to me, Linda."
"Dear!"
"You pretended to accept Leila outwardly while scheming something like this behind the scenes? You—my wife, Kyle's mother!"
Dr. Etman's face, which had been struggling to contain his emotions, finally twisted with unrestrained fury.
"This is all your fault!"
A scream-like shout burst from Mrs. Etman's lips as she choked back sobs.
"Then why! Why did you allow Leila in the first place, making me into this wretched mess?"
"Do you really think you, who committed this absurd act, have any right to say that now?"
"No. This is all because of you! I told you from the start I hated that girl! If you'd listened to me then, we wouldn't have come to this! If it weren't for you, I—I would've—!"
Mrs. Etman, who had been desperately fighting back, finally broke down into tears. Her hands, covering her face, were soon soaked.
After releasing several heavy sighs, Dr. Etman helped his wife to her feet. The officers showed their respect for the esteemed doctor by allowing him to personally escort his wife to the car.
Kyle stared blankly at the nightmare unfolding before his open eyes. The thick dusk had already fallen unnoticed. But even that twilight was too painfully bright, and Kyle closed his eyes instead.
He wished the world would plunge into darkness. That was his only desire now.
"Don't cry, Uncle. Okay?"
Leila gently pushed a handkerchief across the table toward him. Bill, who had been glaring at his beer mug like it was his mortal enemy, startled and looked up.
"Cry? Who's crying?"
Stubbornly denying it, Bill nonetheless took Leila's handkerchief and roughly wiped his damp eyes.
The food on their plates remained untouched, growing cold. But no one could bring themselves to suggest eating. Both Bill and Leila knew better than to even try.
As Bill downed his drink in gulps, Leila wearily stared at the far end of the table.
It wasn't until the servants of Arvis came pouring into the cabin with words of comfort that Leila understood what had transpired. There was no way Mrs. Etman would have revealed the incident herself, and Leila had kept her lips tightly sealed—yet every detail of that day had come to light.
Leila couldn't begin to guess who might have reported the suspicious conversation to the police. That day, in that shabby tearoom on the outskirts, there had been only Mrs. Etman, Leila, and that unfamiliar man.
"Then was that man the source of the rumor? Just who is he?"
No matter how much she thought about it, Leila couldn't even form a vague guess. But one thing was clear—she had inflicted an unforgivable wound on Kyle. The very heart she'd wanted to protect had been torn to shreds. The officers who came with Dr. Etman had taken Mrs. Etman to the police station, they said. And Kyle had witnessed it all.
"Don't cry, Leila."
Setting down his glass, he held out the handkerchief to her.
"Cry? Who's crying?"
Just as Bill had done moments before, Leila stubbornly denied it while rubbing her reddened eyes.
"I'm sorry. I pushed you into this mess, egging you on when I'm still hopelessly naive about how the world works."
"If you keep talking like that, I'll really get angry, Uncle."
"Marriage... yes. It's better not to go through with this kind of marriage. That's right. It should be this way."
Instead of answering, Leila nodded deeply. The corners of her faint smile glistened with tears.
"But you should still go to university, Leila. Dr. Etman has already paid the tuition, and if we return the money we got back to that family, then it'll become the tuition I'm providing. University has nothing to do with Kyle."
"No."
"For housing, I can chip in for something like a boarding house. It'll be tight, but with some effort, we can manage living expenses—"
"I will go to university, Uncle. I haven't given up. But not now."
Leila reached out and took Bill's hand.
"I'm going to become a teacher. So I'll save up money, and when I'm in a position to study in the Capital, I'll take the entrance exam again. That was my original goal and dream anyway. I just got momentarily blinded by a shortcut before returning to my original path."
"But you can't just abandon a university you've already been accepted to."
"Surely you don't doubt me?"
Leila could now manage a natural smile.
"I'm confident I'll pass the exam again. Next time, I'll get accepted with grades good enough for a scholarship. Just wait and see."
"Leila, child..."
"You always said it, Uncle. That I'd grow up to be quite a decent adult. So please, believe in me just once more."
What am I to do with this child?
He almost wished she would burst into messy sobs instead, but Leila smiled so beautifully instead. That smile tore at Bill Remmer's heart without her knowing.
What am I to do with you? And what about that Kyle boy?
Unable to contain the emotions surging within him, Bill Remmer's shoulders began to shake. Not wanting to show such a pathetic sight, he quickly bowed his head, and thick, hot tears splattered onto the table.
"It's okay, Uncle."
Leila rose from her chair and moved to his side.
"I'm really okay."
The girl embraced him in her small arms.
"Truly. So tell them—that I don't want Mrs. Etman punished, that returning the money is enough, that we're done."
Speaking in an astonishingly calm voice, Leila gently patted his back. What am I to do with you? The words he'd struggled to swallow surged up as even hotter tears. Choking them down, Bill nodded.
He'd thought forgiveness impossible, but seeing Mrs. Etman broken before his eyes and Kyle deathly pale had unsettled him all along. No matter how terrible Linda Etman's actions were, she was still Kyle's mother. To Leila, she was no different than family—the mother of that precious boy who meant the world to her.
"Very well. If that's what you wish, then it makes no difference to me, Leila."