Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Translation: godsn
Matthias saw Leila first. Then his gaze slowly moved over Claudine, followed by the Etmans. That was all he needed to assess the situation.
"You've returned early, Duke Herhardt."
Claudine, who had quickly regained her smile, broke the icy silence.
"Yes, Young Lady. My business concluded ahead of schedule."
Matthias leisurely crossed the drawing room to stand before Claudine. Leila, who had been beside Claudine, faltered and retreated step by step until she stood by the window.
"I see the Young Lady has guests."
Matthias glanced at Leila, who stood as if trapped in the window's shadow, his tone unhurried.
"...No."
After a brief hesitation, Claudine chose truth over an obvious lie.
"My lady's maid severely injured her hand, so Leila has been temporarily filling the role these past few days. She's been most helpful."
With each word, Claudine's mind grew calmer. She even began to think this might be for the best. Here was an opportunity to test how the Duke would treat his mistress in front of his fiancée.
"Ah. A maid..."
Matthias studied Leila thoroughly before standing beside his fiancée with an impassive expression. Claudine naturally linked arms with him, maintaining her dignity.
"Then the Young Lady's guests must be the Etmans."
Matthias indicated the doctor and Kyle with his gaze, both clearly lost in profound confusion.
"Yes. These are my guests."
Claudine's reply was bright and cheerful, without hesitation.
"We were about to have tea together after so long. Oh! Now that I think of it..."
As if suddenly remembering the awkwardness between Leila and Kyle, Claudine's expression turned abruptly uncomfortable.
"My apologies. I failed to consider the situation and committed a grave discourtesy."
"...Not at all, Lady Brandt."
Though Doctor Etman forced his voice to remain gentle, his face had already hardened.
"Then let us have tea with our guests."
Matthias behaved as though there was nothing unusual about this absurd gathering. Claudine's pupils trembled slightly at his unexpected response.
"We'll be taking our leave now."
Kyle spoke coldly, his breathing deep and measured.
"We have another house call to make—I'd momentarily forgotten. Isn't that right, Father?"
"Ah. Yes. Kyle. That's right, we do."
Doctor Etman hurriedly matched his son's rhythm. His gaze, filled with unconcealed pity, kept drifting toward Leila, who stood with her head bowed deeply.
"What a pity. Then we shall formally invite you again another time."
"Yes, Your Grace. We'll take our leave now."
Eager to depart quickly for that poor girl's sake, Doctor Etman hastily bowed and turned to leave. But Kyle remained rooted in place, staring at Leila.
"Leila, you're coming too!"
Kyle's forceful words reverberated through the drawing room.
"You're not a maid! Why are you playing servant here!"
Stunned by this unfamiliar display of anger from his son, Doctor Etman could only sigh helplessly, at a loss for words.
Even as all eyes turned toward Kyle Etman, Matthias's gaze remained fixed solely on Leila. For a moment, Leila blinked in apparent confusion, unable to immediately comprehend the situation—then she looked at Kyle with desperate eyes.
As if clinging to him. As if pleading. As if Kyle Etman were the only person left in her world. Just like that.
"The Etman family should attend to their own affairs. The matters of Arvis will be handled by its master—myself."
Matthias erased Kyle's outburst with a composed command.
Kyle Etman stood his ground, determined not to budge until he could take Leila with him, but in the end, he couldn't persist in his stubbornness. He couldn't bear to ignore his flustered father, who was at a loss for what to do, or Leila, who pleaded with trembling lips.
Unable to contain his frustration, Kyle roughly wiped his face and turned away. With heavy footsteps echoing behind him, he stormed out, followed hastily by Dr. Etman. Matthias dismissed the hesitant servants lingering at the door with a glance. Now, only Leila, Claudine, and he remained in the parlor.
"Well then, it seems the two of us shall enjoy the tea."
Matthias guided Claudine to the tea table with effortless ease, as if nothing had happened. As she took the seat he pulled out for her, her face had noticeably paled.
Before settling into his own chair, Matthias glanced at Leila, who still stood motionless by the window. Her large eyes, fixed on the spot where Kyle had been, were filled with sorrow.
He isn't coming back, Leila.
Instead of whispering those words, Matthias smiled. Just then, Leila turned her gaze toward him, biting her lip as she glared.
Her beautiful eyes now flashed with sharp fury.
Matthias's mood improved considerably.
"The ladies who stepped out will be returning soon."
In the end, it was Claudine who broke first. The unbearably prolonged, unnaturally composed teatime was more than she could endure.
"I believe I must prepare for the banquet. Shouldn't Your Grace do the same?"
"I'll finish my tea. You may excuse yourself first, Young Lady."
"...Very well. Then, I shall take my leave."
Claudine rose from her seat as if surrendering. Matthias, leisurely crossing his legs as he sipped his tea, now seemed chilling to her.
"You'll need a maid to prepare for the banquet, Young Lady."
After taking a sip of the now-cold tea, Matthias turned his gaze toward Leila—who had remained motionless by the window throughout their entire teatime, as if standing in punishment.
"I don't believe that will be necessary."
Claudine glanced between Leila and Matthias, forcing an uncharacteristically awkward smile.
The Duke of Herhardt had conducted himself impeccably.
In front of everyone, he had preserved his fiancée's dignity while treating his mistress like a shadow, maintaining decorum. It was the ideal image—exactly what Claudine had wanted—yet it made her breath catch and sent shivers down her spine. She might have preferred it if Matthias had lost his temper and raged instead.
"You've done well, Leila."
Before leaving the parlor, Claudine mustered her last shred of pride by praising Leila. With a subtle gesture, she signaled a waiting maid, who approached and pressed money into Leila's hand. Matthias watched the exchange without so much as a flicker of his brow.
Once Claudine and the maid had departed, the silence in the parlor deepened.
Leila remained still, as if she had erased all emotion, her expression eerily placid. If not for the faint tremor in the hand clutching the money, she could have been mistaken for a doll. The absence of color in her face made the redness around her eyes and lips all the more striking.
Matthias set down his teacup with a sharp clink, having gripped it so tightly it might have shattered, and rose from his seat.
"Wait for me in the annex."
He stepped closer to Leila and issued the command.
"If you don't come, I'll go to you instead. Choose whichever you prefer."
He whispered in an even lower voice to Leila, who remained silent and motionless. She still refused to look at him. Only the trembling in the hand clutching the money grew slightly more pronounced.
Leaving Leila behind, Matthias also exited the drawing room with deliberate ease. Instead of heading to his bedroom, he went to his study and rang the bell to summon Hessen.
"Call Dr. Etman back."
Hessen's eyes widened at his master's unexpected command.
"But, Master, Dr. Etman clearly has a house call scheduled for this afternoon—"
"Tell him there is a very serious patient at Arvis, and that he must make the trip again, no matter how inconvenient."
Matthias cut him off, his voice flat and devoid of inflection, making his emotions unreadable.
"Yes, Master."
Though troubled by what was unfolding, that was all Hessen could say in response.
Claudine changed her dress and returned to the drawing room. The space left vacant by Matthias and Leila had since been filled by noble ladies and gentlemen who had returned from their outings. The women, deep in gossip, let out a series of exaggerated exclamations upon seeing Claudine approach with light steps.
"How lovely you look, Claudine."
"Claudine is tall and has such a fine figure—everything suits her."
"Oh, my lady! The Marquess of Lindman is present, and yet you speak so frivolously!"
The mischievous gazes of the noblewomen turned toward Liet, who sat at the edge of the sofa. Claudine, who had been smiling shyly in modest acknowledgment, also let her eyes linger there. Liet had returned from the social club in the city. Just that fact alone lifted Claudine's spirits considerably.
Yes. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing after all.
As she forced herself to think positively, everything began to feel manageable. Leila had known her place and behaved obediently, and Matthias had demonstrated that he knew how to treat a mistress—as nothing more than a mistress.
The lively atmosphere of the drawing room, which had grown even more animated as the guests enjoyed conversation before dinner, shifted abruptly the moment Matthias entered. To everyone's astonishment, he strode in accompanied by the family doctor who had visited just hours earlier.
"Dr. Etman! Didn't we just see you this afternoon?"
Katharina von Herhardt asked, unable to hide her surprise.
"I received word that there is a serious patient at Arvis, so I returned, madam."
"A serious patient? Who on earth is ill?"
The noble ladies and gentlemen exchanged bewildered glances. Only one person—Claudine—stared at Matthias with a face drained of color.
No...
Clutching and twisting the hem of her dress, she repeated the word like a prayer.
No, he wouldn't.
But Matthias shattered her hopes with an indifferent smile.
"Call that maid, won't you, Young Lady?"
"Maid...?"
"The one who was severely injured—your maid."
The eyes of everyone listening widened in unison.
"Good heavens, Matthias! Are you saying you called Dr. Etman back just to tend to a maid's injuries?"
"I was under the impression that this was a maid particularly dear to the Young Lady of Brandt, Mother."
Matthias remained composed even as his mother frowned.
"If such a maid is gravely injured and unable to use her hands, it must weigh heavily on the Young Lady's heart. Isn't that so, Young Lady?"
"Well, yes, but... You needn't go to such excessive lengths, Duke Herhardt."
"Nonsense. If she is someone special to you, she must be treated with care."
Before Claudine could respond, Matthias turned to the attendants waiting by the door and commanded:
"Bring the Young Lady of Brandt's maid here. Right now—to this room."