Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Translation: godsn
Leila left the mansion as the western sky began gradually tinting rose-pink. When she stepped through the rear exit leading to the rose garden, a refreshing breeze greeted her.
Clutching the gold coin tightly in her right hand, Leila walked with spirited steps. But her momentum didn't last long. Beneath the arbor overflowing with blooming climbing roses stood Claudine. The young noblewoman, who had been chatting cheerfully with her cousins, met Leila's gaze and offered that same ambiguous smile from earlier.
"Safe travels, Leila."
Claudine initiated the greeting first. The gazes of the young men accompanying her also turned toward Leila one by one. Fortunately, Duke Herhardt was nowhere in sight.
Leila responded with a slight bow of her head instead of words. It must have been passably polite, for Claudine didn't add any further remarks.
Breaking into a half-run, Leila began sprinting in earnest once she was out of their sight. She desperately wanted to escape this strange, unfamiliar world and return to Uncle Bill's cabin as quickly as possible. But the greatest misfortune arrived at the very last moment.
At the boundary between the garden and the forest path, Leila tripped and fell flat. The gold coin rolled tauntingly across the stepping stones before coming to a stop against the toe of a man's polished shoe several paces ahead. Wincing, Leila stared at the coin spinning in dizzying circles. The man lightly pressed his shoe down upon the coin, silencing its clatter.
Leila's gaze traveled upward from the well-polished shoes and long legs until it froze upon the face of the man looking down at her. It was Duke Herhardt.
Startled, Leila reflexively scrambled to her feet. Her pristine white dress was now soiled with blood from her scraped knee and dust from the ground. He simply observed her with those same detached eyes, though one corner of his crimson lips seemed slightly upturned.
Clenching her lips, Leila brushed off the dirt. Meanwhile, Duke Herhardt leisurely took a step back. The coin beneath his foot glinted, reflecting the sunset's glow.
Though every fiber of her being wanted to abandon it, Leila still approached to retrieve the gold coin. As she bent before the Duke to pick up the glittering coin, Claudine's parting words suddenly resurfaced in her mind—that biting remark about being no better than a dog, which had clawed deep into her heart.
After tightly grasping the coin, Leila offered the Duke a polite bow. Yet she never once raised her head. She kept it lowered as deeply as possible, holding her breath. Though her entire body had ached when she fell, she now felt no pain at all. How peculiar.
Turning her back on Duke Herhardt, Leila began running again. Her injured knee prevented her from sprinting as fast as before, but she kept moving her legs without stopping. Something swelled at the base of her throat, threatening to spill over in turbulent waves.
Only after passing through the forest path and seeing the cabin's welcoming light did Leila finally recognize what that something was.
Sorrow.
"I brought this for you, Uncle."
With an air of solemnity, Leila held out the single gold coin. Bill's bushy eyebrows twitched slowly.
"What's this?"
"A gold coin."
"You think I don't know that?"
"Lady Claudine gave it to me."
"Claudine? Ah, that young noble girl."
Bill nodded as if finally understanding.
After being summoned to the mansion and returning, Leila had remained despondent for two full days. She neither chattered needlessly nor roamed the forests and gardens. Ironically, those two days made Bill realize just how accustomed he'd grown to sharing his daily life with that little girl.
The world was quiet when the child was quiet. And Bill found that quiet world rather disagreeable.
"But why are you giving that money to me?"
Bill leaned slightly forward over the table. Leila sat upright, staring straight at him.
"Because it seems like a lot of money."
"It is a lot of money."
"So, if it's a lot of money, you shouldn't throw it away even if you're upset. I thought about it, and that seemed like a bad thing to do. But if I do this, I can repay just a tiny bit of the debt I owe you. So, I'll give this to you, Uncle."
"Damn it all."
Bill muttered impulsively. Leila flinched but didn't seem to mind.
From the moment he'd seen the child flee back in such a disheveled state, he'd expected she'd suffered some heartbreak there. That's just how those noble bastards operate. He'd pretended not to notice, afraid of prying and making her cry, but now, the anger welling up inside him was hard to suppress.
"Leila."
When he called her name, the mature facade Leila had been maintaining crumbled, and her expression became childlike again.
"That's money you earned, so you keep it."
"Money I earned?"
"Yeah. Money you earned by working. The work of entertaining some noble brat bored out of their mind. A damn miserable job, but you did it well. So, you've got every right to take the reward. That's how it should be."
Leila frowned slightly, as if the words didn't quite make sense to her yet. Watching her sink into thought, Bill downed his beer in large gulps.
"Is that so?"
Leila tapped the gold coin lightly, tilting her head.
"That's how it is."
Wiping the beer foam from his beard with his sleeve, Bill answered heartily.
Money I earned.
As she silently repeated those words to herself, Leila's expression brightened.
"Congratulations on entering the world of adults, Leila."
Bill plopped a thick slice of meat onto the plate in front of her.
"An adult? Me?"
"If you can earn your own keep, that makes you an adult. You've done that."
"But it's just once, and just one gold coin..."
"There are fools twice your age who can't even manage that much. It's a damn good start. And if you start strong, you'll turn out to be a pretty decent adult."
Bill piled bread and roasted vegetables onto Leila's plate until it overflowed.
"Uncle, that's too much."
Leila's eyes widened at the heaping plate.
"You've been pecking at your food like a bird for days. Eat up."
"But..."
"You know what? I like kids who eat like cows."
Leila, who had been holding her breath, suddenly burst into clear laughter.
"Uncle, if I eat well, I'll grow big, right?"
"Sure. Why? Someone giving you trouble for being small?"
"Not exactly, but I think I look too much like a little kid. It's upsetting."
Well, that's because you are a little kid.
Bill barely swallowed the words before they slipped out.
Leila began cutting her meat with surprising deftness. Watching her, he realized she'd grown quite a bit over the past few months. No longer as scrawny as a twig, she was even starting to look pretty. Her natural frame was small and delicate as a bird's—she'd never grow very large—but there was no doubt she'd turn into a beauty someday.
The thought made Bill uneasy all over again.
For a girl in difficult circumstances, beauty was practically poison. Drifting from place to place with nowhere to go, she'd be easy prey. She needed to be sent somewhere safe—but could an orphanage be trusted? That might just be the perfect place to ruin her life.
Damn this world. Damn these rotten people.
Bill drained the last of his beer, cursing once more those who'd left this child in his care. How had worries like these crept into the life of Bill Remmer, who'd once been content just to see flowers bloom and fruit ripen? It was beyond him.
"Uncle, is this something I can spend my hard-earned money on without feeling ashamed?"
Leila asked after thoroughly chewing and swallowing her food.
"Of course it is. I suppose there's something you want to buy?"
"I've filled up all my notebooks. I want to buy new ones."
"Go ahead."
"Could I maybe get some colored pencils too?"
"As many as you want."
"Don't you need anything, Uncle?"
"Hmm? You want to buy something for me too?"
"Yes."
"What if I ask for something ridiculously expensive?"
"Then I'll save up more money to buy it for you."
Leila's expression grew even more serious. When she became earnest like this, her pupils took on a deeper green hue, making her look exceptionally bright and adorable at such moments.
Bill let out a hearty laugh as he refilled his glass. He placed a cup brimming with apple juice in front of the child.
Leila suddenly raised her glass toward him. Bill gladly clinked his drink against the glass she offered. Beaming, Leila downed her juice in one gulp.
At this rate, I might actually see this kid grow up to be a drinker someday.
A sudden ominous premonition flashed through Bill's mind, making him shake his head vigorously.
It's just temporary.
He tried convincing himself as he emptied his glass.
Days like these continued, and throughout those long days, Bill kept thinking.
About why he couldn't raise Leila himself. About finding a suitable place to send her. About Leila—that lovable little troublemaker who had suddenly appeared in his life one day.
And in the midst of all this thinking, the child grew.
The new clothes he bought for her became too short, and her complexion blossomed into fairness. The makeshift storage room he'd lent her had somehow transformed into a young lady's quarters filled with soft air. He could still vividly picture the child skipping down the forest path, but now a fully grown young woman approached from beyond that path with steps as graceful as walking on water.
Sitting on a chair under the porch enjoying the breeze, Bill looked at Leila with dazed eyes. The young woman holding a willow basket full of wild strawberries waved at him.
"Uncle! You're back early today."
Leila came running lightly as if dancing. Her thick golden braid swayed beneath the wide brim of her straw hat. Her flushed cheeks looked as fresh as the premium roses he cultivated.
"I see you've been to the woods again."
"Yes. Isn't this an amazing harvest?"
Leila proudly lifted her basket to show him.
"I'm going again tomorrow. I'm going to make loooots of strawberry jam."
"Planning to go into the jam business, are you?"
"That doesn't sound bad either."
Leila smiled brightly as she sat on the chair beside Bill. Come to think of it, there were naturally two chairs now. And it wasn't just the chairs. Before he knew it, everything in the cabin had changed to accommodate two people. Even though Bill Remmer's thoughts on the matter still remained unresolved.
Rummaging through the basket she'd placed on the floor, Leila pulled out a wild peach and handed it to Bill. He automatically split it in half and gave one piece back to her.
The two sat side by side, sharing the peach while gazing at the woods. The rustling of leaves in the wind tickled their ears. Birdsong from afar sounded as clear as Leila's voice.
"Summer's come around again already."
Bill muttered unconsciously. Leila, wearing a quiet smile, stretched lazily while still holding her hat. When Bill noticed the worn-out tool bag slipping down past her knees, he burst into booming laughter. It was what he'd given Leila during her first year here.
"You planning to use that old thing until it completely falls apart?"
"It's comfortable and I like it. It's still perfectly usable."
Leila shook the bag and smiled back at him. Bill could easily guess the source of the jingling sounds—a tin pencil case, a pocketknife, a worn-out notebook, a few beautiful feathers, and some flower petals. In some ways, she was still remarkably unchanged.
It was an ordinary evening.
While Leila gathered and folded the freshly dried laundry, Bill chopped firewood. While she skillfully prepared dinner, he fed the chickens and goats. By the time the two sat facing each other at the table, the sun had already set.
"Kyle is coming over tomorrow. We're going to study together and have dinner. That's alright with you, right?"
Leila set down a plate wafting with delicious aromas as she asked.
"Why does that brat keep coming to my house and eating up my food when his rich doctor father is right there?"
"You say that, but you like Kyle, don't you?"
"Tch, somewhat."
Even as Bill snorted dismissively, Leila simply laughed and placed a half-filled beer glass in front of him.
"What's this half-poured drink supposed to be?"
"They say you should cut back on alcohol for your health."
"That Etman family's little pest said that, didn't he?"
"Uncle!"
"That good-for-nothing brat, one way or another."
Grumbling, Bill didn't put up much of a fight.
By the time their cozy dinner ended, night had deepened. After finishing the cleanup, Leila leisurely took a bath and returned to her room. Sleepiness weighed on her, but she still turned on the lamp and sat at her desk. Exams were just around the corner. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this summer's happiness depended on the results.
The sound of night birds singing drifted in on the evening breeze, mingling with the scratch of pencil on paper.
After focusing for a long while, Leila, unable to bear the strain in her eyes and the faint headache, finally set the pencil down. Her vision, never particularly good to begin with, seemed to have worsened considerably. Since childhood, she'd had to squint and concentrate to see things clearly, but lately, it had gotten much worse.
Leila turned off the lamp and lay down on the bed. Just a little more money, and she could probably get herself a pair of glasses.
Twenty jars of raspberry jam. No, maybe thirty.
Either way, it wasn't too far off.
She knew she could just ask Uncle Bill, but that only made it harder to bring up. Despite all she had received, she still hadn't repaid him for anything.
When Bill had declared he would send Leila to school, most people had scoffed. What was the point of educating an orphan girl? Once she came of age, she'd just end up a maid in some household, wouldn't she? But Bill's resolve had been firm. He'd said it like a habit: Leila, you're going to grow into a fine adult.
Closing her eyes eased the headache somewhat. Leila tried hard to fall asleep, but the more she tried, the clearer her mind became. On nights like this, as always, all sorts of thoughts began drifting through that clear mind.
The birds that had returned. Plans for the summer. The culprit in the intriguing mystery novel serialized in the daily newspaper. And—Duke Herhardt.
The moment that name surfaced, Leila's eyes fluttered open. Beyond the familiar darkness, the scenery outside the window came into view—lightly swaying branches, the night sky beyond, the moon and stars.
Staring at the hazy white glow, Leila unconsciously held her breath.
After graduating from university, the Duke had followed family tradition by attending the Royal Military Academy and commissioning as an army officer. Immediately deployed to an overseas front, he hadn't visited his estate in the past year. It had been a peaceful time—for the birds in the forest, and for Leila.
But this summer, he would return.
The master of Arvis, Duke Herhardt.