CRY, EVEN IF YOU BEG

Cry, Even Better if you Beg

Chapter 1

The child arrived in a mail wagon.

It was a late afternoon in the early spring. Bill Remmer was busy planting rose seedlings all day long.

“Are you Mr. Bill Remmer?”

Standing with a dazed look on her face, the child asked a cautious question. Her smooth pronunciation
gave off a strange feeling.

“Yes. I am indeed Bill Remmer.”

Bill took off his straw hat with the same hands that had dusted off the dirt from his clothes.

When the tanned face, which had been hidden by the shadow of his straw hat, was revealed, the
startled child swallowed her saliva. The child’s reaction was nothing out of the ordinary for Bill. Anyone
who first saw Bill Remmer generally reacted like the child because of his rough-looking appearance.

“Who are you?”

Bill’s face grew more terrifying as he frowned upon the child.

“Hello. Uncle Bill. I am Leyla Lewellin. I came from Lovita.”

The child enunciated clearly and slowly. Lovita huh.. Bill realized why her pronunciation sounded rather
strange.

“You’re saying, you crossed the border into the Berg Empire all by yourself?”

“Yes. I rode the train.”

The child smiled awkwardly and unnaturally straightened her posture. The mailman who had brought
the child approached the two from behind.

“Ah. This child finally met you Mr. Remmer.”

“Good timing. What made you bring this child?”

“This child was walking alone in front of the station so I asked her where she was going and she said she
was on her way to find Bill Remmer, the gardener of the Herhardt family. I brought her here because I
was on my way to deliver some letters.”
The mailman replied with a smile and handed an envelope to Bill Remmer. It was a letter from a distant
relative living in the neighboring country of Lovita.

Bill urgently tore open the envelope on the spot. The letter contained the story of a child who was an
orphan and was taken in by relatives who were now no longer able to foster her due to their supposed
‘poor’ circumstances. The child’s name was Leyla Lewellin. The little girl standing in front of Bill was the
orphan.

“Damned people. They sure are telling me this news fast.”

Bill lost his breath in amazement.

No one in Lovita could take care of this mere orphan. Bill Remmer was the last among those who had a
faint connection with the child. The letter stated that if Bill’s situation was not favorable, he should
leave the child in the orphanage.

Bill muttered a curse and threw the crumpled paper to the floor.

“These people should go to hell. How can they send this little thing here alone.”

Now that Bill understood the whole situation, his face gradually turned red with anger. The child was
treated like a bomb that was passed back and forth from one relative to another and meant to be
thrown away when no one else wanted her. She was ultimately sent away to a different country with an
address of a distant relative she did not even know of.

“Excuse me, Uncle Bill. I am not that young.”

The child who had been silently watching Bill suddenly opened her mouth.

“I’ll be twelve in a couple of weeks.”

She whispered in a rather grown-up tone. Bill chuckled in amazement. He was relieved that she was
older than he thought. The child looked smaller than her age.

When the mailman who delivered the troublesome girl left, the two were left in the garden. Bill
wrapped his head around with his hands and pleaded God for help.

Even though they were distant relatives, the two seemed more like father and daughter from afar. Bill
had never met his distant relatives for more than 20 years and yet, there he was, stuck with a child who
he never knew existed until today.

Even though the weather was chilly, the child wore a thin layer of clothes. She was emaciated- like an
iron skewer. All Bill could see of her was her vivid green eyes and gold-threaded hair.

It was impossible for him to take care of her. Bill concluded.

But the only solution left was to put her in an orphanage, which drove him crazy. Bill once again
murmured a curse towards the relatives that put him into this mess. The child flinched and started biting
her red lips.

“Follow me.”

Bill shook his head in frustration and led the way.

“Let’s fill our stomachs before I make my decision.”

His blunt words were carried away by the evening breeze. As the two walked further towards Bill’s
cabin, the child’s timid steps gradually became light and cheerful.

~~~~

“Is that all you’re eating?”

Bill frowned upon the small plate the child was holding.

“Yes. I eat a little.” The child smiled.

“Child, I hate children who don’t eat a lot.”

The child’s eyes widened at Bill’s words. The light of the table lamp lit over the child’s skinny wrist that
was revealed under the carelessly raised sleeve.

“You should eat everything like a cow.”

Bill’s expression became more stern. The troubled Leyla, slowly blinking her eyes, moved more loaf of
meat and bread onto her plate. She then hurriedly began to gobble up her food.

“I can’t eat like a cow but I do eat quite well uncle.”

The girl brightly smiled with bread crumbs near her dainty lips.

“Yes. I can definitely see that.”

Bill laughed and started filling his tall glass with alcohol.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?”

Bill scrunched his face to deliberately scare the child. The child simply stared at the man, not daring to
avoid his eyes.

“No. You don’t yell at me. You give me lots of good food. So I think you’re a good person.”

What kind of life has this child been living? Bill thought as he filled his glass of beer again.
The letter said the child’s mother abandoned her husband and child to elope with another man. The
father of the child, who was heartbroken by the betrayal, became an alcohol addict and had died of
alcohol poisoning. After that, the child grew up in the homes of her relatives, only left to be deserted by
them.

Even though the child had a pitiful past, Bill believed it was still absurd to raise her.

Bill Remmer chugged down the glass of beer and decided that he will make his decision by next week.

~~~~

“Did everyone hear? The gardener Bill Remmer has started to raise a young girl.”

A young maid hurriedly rushed into the lounge servants used during their free time. The servants who
were taking their rest all turned their eyes toward the young maid.

“A girl? Mr. Remmer? It would be more plausible to say that he decided to raise a lion or an elephant
instead.”

One of the servants snorted.

The Herhardt household’s gardener, Bill Remmer, was a man who had a natural talent for growing
flowers. Thanks to his talent, he has been able to maintain this position as a gardener for 20 years even
with his brusque temper. He was deeply trusted by the Herhardt family. Especially Norma. Due to
Norma’s unique love of flowers, she gave infinite understanding and tolerance to Bill’s gardening and
temper. It was also her decision to give the gardener a cabin in the woods located behind the Herhardt’s
mansion.

Bill Remmer’s life was simple.

He worked in the garden and took a rest in the cabin. Despite his time drinking with his fellow workers,
he spent most of his time surrounded by flowers and trees. Even after decades have passed ever since
his wife died of an illness, he did not get close to any woman.

The Bill Remmer raising a little girl? The servants who were resting in the lounge reached a consensus
deeming that the rumor was nonsense until one of the maids sitting by the window burst into an
exclamation.

“Oh my. It must be true! Look over there.”

The maid pointed over the glass window with her eyes wide open. The servants all at once rushed over
to the window and soon became shocked with wonder. On the other side of the garden, Bill Remmer
was gardening with his body crouched down and the rumored petite girl was following his footsteps.

The girl’s golden hair, braided in one strand, shook back and forth like a pendulum as she trotted along.

‘”I still haven’t made my decision.”

When there were questions asked about the child, Bill repeatedly answered the same response.

“I can’t leave her here so I need to think well.”

While Bill’s thoughts continued through spring, then to summer, Leyla Lewellin was slowly settling down
on the Herhardt estate. The child’s diligent stroll through the gardens and forests had already become a
familiar scene for the Herhardt servants.

“I think she’s grown a bit.”

Mrs. Mona, the Herhardt’s chef, smiled while looking out the window. Leyla was examining the grass
and flowers that were beginning to bud behind the forest cabin.

“She’s got a long way to go. She’s still smaller than average girls.”

“Look, Bill Remmer. Kids are different than your plants. They can’t grow overnight.”

Mrs. Mona shook her head as she lowered her basket down on the table.

“What’s this?”

“Cookies and cake. There was a tea party yesterday at the mansion.”

“I hate sweets.”

“Really? This is Leyla’s”

Bill Remmer’s dark eyebrows wrinkled at Mrs. Mona’s nonchalant response.

This child was not meant to be here and yet, the Duke’s servants began to look after Leyla every day.
They greeted her, brought her food, and sometimes visited her. It was becoming troublesome for Bill
Remmer.

“You should buy her some clothes. The young lady’s skirt seems like it will go up to her knees.”

Mrs. Mona tsked as she stared at Leyla running after a bird. Bill failed to refute. Even in his eyes, it
seemed obvious that Leyla was wearing clothes that didn’t fit her.

“Oh my! Oh my! Look at her!”

Just when Mrs. Mona was about to leave, she suddenly pointed towards Leyla and shouted in dismay.
Bill glanced at where Mrs. Mona was looking towards with a queer look. When the bird Leyla was
chasing after landed on a tree branch, she started to swiftly climb up the tree. Her movements were
athletic and light like a squirrel.

“She sure has a talent for climbing trees.”

Mrs. Mona scowled at Bill’s unconcerned reply.

“Bill Remmer! You knew about her climbing trees and you let that go? How the hell are you raising your
child?”

“She’s growing strong and well as you can see.”

“You’re raising that girl like a wild beast! My God.”

Mrs. Mona raised her voice and made a fuss as Bill snooped around the window deafeningly. Leyla
perched on the thin branch and watched the mini birds playing on the thicket.

After watching over the girl for a couple of months, Leyla Lewellin was proven to be a curious child who
wanted to know more about the world. Flowers and grass, birds and insects. Anything that caught her
eyes amazed and piqued her interest. One day at night, when Leyla wasn’t returning for dinner, Bill had
gone deep into the forest to find Leyla sitting by the river looking at a flock of water birds. She was so
focused that she couldn’t even hear Bill calling her name again and again.

After spitting out a couple of more harsh lectures, Mrs. Mona had returned home. Bill had slowly walked
out to the back of his cabin.

“Uncle!”

Leyla delightedly waved towards him.

The child, who came down from the tree as quickly as she went up, hurriedly dashed towards Bill. The
dull gray one-piece dress Leyla was wearing had short sleeves and was ragged. Her hand-me-down like
clothes seemed inappropriate when meeting the duke so Bill had made his decision to buy her new
clothes.

“Get ready and come out.”

Bill said impulsively when the two arrived in front of the back door cabin.

“Ah. Uncle?”

“We’re going downtown to buy some clothes so you don’t have to look so puzzled.”

Bill awkwardly gave off a dry cough and scratched his back neck.

“Duke Herhardt will be here soon, so it’ll be a bit weird to greet him with your state right now.”

“By the duke, you mean the owner of this land right?”

“Yes. Since it’s break, he’ll be back.”

“Break? Does the duke attend school?”

Leyla frowned as she tilted her head. Bill grinned and stroked the child’s disheveled hair.
“The duke is only 18 years old so he has no choice but to attend school.”

“Whaat? Eighteen years old? The duke?”

Bill’s laughter grew louder at the child’s stunned expression. The child’s fluffy hair that Bill had touched
with his rough fingertips was as soft as cotton.

~~~~

A train from the capital had entered the platform at the Carlsbar station.

The waiting servants approached the private section of the station. By the time they lined up in a
straight posture, a tall, slim boy descended onto the platform.

“Hello, master.”

Starting with the polite greeting of the butler Hessen, all the other servants soon bowed their heads
towards the boy. With a straight and graceful manner, Matthias responded to their greetings with a light
but silent salute. His rosy lips were curled up in a smile that was neither excessive nor insufficient.

It wasn’t until Matthias took a few steps when the Herhardt’s servants began to move. The onlookers
quickly backed away and opened the path for the young master to pass. Matthias walked past the
platform without showing any chance of slowing down.

“A carriage.”

Matthias smirked as he found a carriage waiting for him in front of the station.

“Ah….. Yes, master. Madam Norma doesn’t believe cars are trustworthy.”

“I know. For grandmother, cars are simply a lump of iron that is unbearably vulgar and dangerous.”

“My apologies. Next time…”

“No. ‘Classic’ is not bad. Once in awhile.”

Matthias calmly got on the carriage. His long arms and legs gave off movements were slow but steady.
The carriage gradually picked up speed as it passed through the square and the bustling shopping
streets. The separate wagon that was loaded with Matthias’s baggage followed the carriage that was
engraved with a golden crest off into the distance.
Chapter 2

Visits by relatives who are planning to spend the summer in Arvis. Social gatherings. Insurance issues for
the trade ship to sail next month.

Matthias, sitting at the backside of the carriage, stared outside the window as his butler Hessen
reported the family’s pending issues. Matthias replied to Hessen’s words with a brief answer or a nod.
The directors were in charge of the company, and Mattias’s mother and grandmother were in charge of
the family affairs, but the power to make the ultimate decision was up to Duke Herhardt. And Matthias
has been in that position ever since he was twelve years old.

By the time Matthias entered the Platanus road to the Herhardt territory, Hessen’s report was over.

Matthias gazed at the familiar scenery with his head tilted at an angle. The tall trees that lined both
sides of the driveway were arched as if they were holding hands. The fragmented sunlight gliding
through the swaying leaves embroidered the path like a beautiful pattern.

Passing the road and into the territory, a white mansion with a deep blue roof had revealed itself. At the
front door, the mother and grandmother were out to greet the family’s head. While Matthias was
straightening the position of his already linear tie, the door to the wagon opened.

“Welcome, Matthias.”

The Dowager Duchess of Arvis, Norma Catarina von Herhardt, greeted her grandson with a bright smile.
Matthias bowed his head and accepted his grandmother’s kiss. Elysee von Herhardt, who was standing
behind them, approached Matthias with a slightly more straightforward attitude.

“You’ve grown taller.”

She gave him a warm hug and smiled. Her dark black hair, just like her son’s, shined in the early summer
sun.

Matthias replied with a corresponding smile. The greetings that were shared with the other servants
who were waiting in line were not much different. Matthias’s refined manner and proper courtesy were
distinctly shown towards the servants. He was the perfect owner of this family, Duke Herhardt.

Standing between his grandmother and mother, Matthias took the lead and crossed the lobby hall.
Before he climbed up the stairs, he suddenly raised his head and looked up the huge chandelier that was
lit up in the middle of the day. Beyond the chandelier was the crest of Herhardt family imprinted on the
ceiling.

He was a Herhardt.

It was another name for intelligence, elegance, and unrelenting character.

In his own life, Matthias never had any complaints or doubts. He was well aware of the type of life he
had to live in and was willing to accept it. He handled his life as if he were breathing and it was easy as
that.

With his gaze focused down, Matthias climbed up the stairs with large strides.

When the owner of the household safely entered the mansion, the servants were now able to properly
breathe.

The people of Arvis prepared for days in advance to thoroughly greet Duke Herhardt. Everything and
everyone had to be perfect on his arrival, including those who were residing on his land. The servants
had to be on their best appearances. The Arvis’ uninvited guest, Leyla Lewellin, was no exception.

~~~~

“Did the duke go in? Already?”

Leyla, standing at the edge of the group of servants, whispered in a rather disappointed voice. The ivory
dress that Bill had bought fluttered along with the girl’s movement.

“You’ll see Duke Herhardt in the woods. I’ll have to ask for permission then.”

Bill Remmer gave out a blunt answer and started walking towards the woods. Leyla ran after him.

“Does the duke like the forest as well?”

“Well, yeah sure. He likes hunting.”

“Hunting? In the woods?”

Leyla’s eyes grew wide open. Bill snorted as he glimpsed down the child.

“Isn’t it natural the forest is the hunting ground for this family?”

“Then… does he hunt birds too?”

“The duke enjoys hunting birds the most.”

Leyla stopped walking in contemplation at Bill’s insignificant remark. After realizing what he had said,
Bill awkwardly gave out a dry cough.

He thought of appeasing her with a proper lie but Duke Herhardt was scheduled to be on the hunting
ground in a couple of days. He was worried that he might give the child a greater shock if he tried to
relieve her with his white lies.

“You’ll be surprised when you see the duke’s shooting skills. He’s young but he’s a great marksman.”
Bill babbled because he thought he had to say at least something to reassure the young girl. But Leyla
was already on the verge of tears.

“Why does he like catching birds? There’s lots of food in a mansion like that.”

“To the noblemen, hunting is just a form of leisure. Birds are the most interesting targets to shoot at,
and….”

Bill once again realized what he had said and turned towards Leyla. His eyes were met with Leyla’s upset
face.

Why did you have to like birds so much!

Bill almost yelled out. He didn’t know why he was bothering to explain all these things to her while
having to be careful of the child’s feelings. Bill ended up keeping his silence because if he said one more
word, she looked like she was about to cry.

A crying Leyla.

He hated the sight of crying children.

After hesitating, Bill started to walk again. The child followed his footsteps with her shoulders limp. The
exact child who was excited to wear her new ivory-colored dress was now nowhere to be found. It had
been quite a sight to see her getting so jumpy about a dress she just got.

“I hope the duke starts to hate hunting.”+

The child, who had been silent for a long time, said cautiously.

“Maybe he’ll grow bored of hunting?”

Leyla looked up at Bill with eyes full of hope. Bill could only reply by sheepishly scratching the back of his
neck.

Leyla believed her prayers could have been fulfilled.

A week after his return, the duke was nowhere to be seen near the hunting ground. It was
understandable because he was busy taking care of the guests who had flocked to the mansion to see
him.

Every day, there were clamorous gatherings held at the mansion but the forest was silent. Summer was
near its end. Baby birds hatched from the eggs and the wild roses, which used to be in their early buds,
were now in full bloom. Leyla happily observed the minor changes that were happening in the forest.

“Don’t go too far Leyla!”

Bill raised his voice when Leyla excitedly left the cabin.
“Okay! I’m just taking a walk by the river! See you later, uncle!”

Leyla turned around and frantically waved both her arms over her head. The old leather bag the girl was
holding over her shoulder shook along with the jumpy child.

Leyla was the first to see the recently hatched birds over the tree branch. The hairless baby birdlings
were waiting for their mother to bring their food. Leyla scurried down from the tree and recorded the
baby birds she saw today on a small note taken out from her leather bag. Although the sketches were a
bit messy, she tried her best to capture the tiny birds through her drawings.

Leyla drew and wrote everything she saw in the woods in her little notebook. The land was more
beautiful than any other place she had ever lived in. Leyla wanted to write down everything so when the
time for her to leave the place came, she could recall the memories she had in the forest through her
notebook. The thought of leaving the place one day saddened her.

As Leyla walked along the path leading to the riverside, she steadily recorded the forest. She stuck in
pastel-colored flower petals between her notebook pages and picked some strawberries she found on
the way. The sun was beginning to set when she reached the glistening riverside.

Leyla climbed on top of a massive tree that stood at the border of the forest and the river. The thick
lengthy branch of the tree was her favorite spot because it was as comfortable as a chair. Just when
Leyla was about to open her notebook, faint clatter of horseshoes was heard from afar.

Leyla hastily shoved her notebook into her bag. In the meanwhile, the galloping sound of the horse
came closer. Frightened by the incoming intruder, Leyla held her breath while hugging the tree branch
she was laying down on.

Soon after, a horse with a smooth dark hazel fur appeared. A man was on its back. Of all places, the man
chose to rest his horse right underneath the tree where Leyla was on. The man’s movements from when
he descended from the horse were light and flexible.

Leyla believed she should come down but the strange man was already leaning his back under the tree.
Not knowing what other excuses to say, Leyla simply stared at the man raising his hand to take off his
hat. It was at that exact moment when Leyla’s leather bag slid off her shoulders and hit the branch.

The memory of the next moment was vague.

The man reflectively turned his head towards the tree branch and met eyes with Leyla. Leyla gazed upon
his eyes. His blue eyes, seen through the thick black hair flowing over his forehead, were like
transparent glass beads. By the time Leyla pulled herself together, the man was pointing his gun
towards her face. Leyla’s face grew pale at the thought of getting shot by the long, threatening gun.

Leyla, frozen in place, simply hugged the tree for dear life. Her whole body was trembling in sweat. The
man slowly gave off a silent sigh and lowered his gun.

“What are you.”

A low voice streamed through his crooked lips.

“…..Leyla.”

Leyla managed to squeeze her voice out but was on the verge of tears. Her gold hair fluttered in the
wind.

“What?”

His eyes narrowed further. Leyla hugged the tree so hard that her fingertips began to hurt.

“Leyla. Leyla Lewellin.”

~~~~

“Uncle! Uncle Bill! Uncle!”

Leyla’s voice rang out in the woods.

Bill was sitting in front of the cabin warehouse. He turned his head in bewilderment at Leyla’s frantic
call. Leyla rushed towards him with a crimson red face.

“What’s the matter?”

“The- There’s a man in the woods! He was tall!”

Despite her shortness of breath, Leyla was about to explain her encounter with the strange man.

“You must’ve met the duke who came out hunting.”

Bill retorted as he picked up his tools from the warehouse.

“His hair was black and his eyes were really blue. His voice was light as a feather.”

“It’s Duke Herhardt without a mistake.”

Bill snarled with laughter. Leyla stood in front of Bill for a long time, trying to catch her breath.

The beautiful but scary man stared at Leyla for some time and had turned away without saying a word.
When he got back on his horse, two other men appeared from the deep forest. The man turned his
horse to join the other two men as they drifted further into the woods. When they were no longer
visible, Leyla climbed down from the trees and fled to the cabin.

“Then the duke…..”

When Leyla was able to say something, a cold shot rang out, shaking the calmness of the forest.
Leyla was startled and she turned her head towards the direction of the sound. Surprised birds arose
from the far side of the forest. One of the surprised birds fell into the trees, with its wings drooped
helplessly.

The shots went on a few more rounds. Bill gave Leyla a pat on her shoulder in an effort to calm the
scared girl.

“Leyla.”

Leyla slowly raised her head. When their eyes met, Bill unconsciously held his breath.

The child was crying.

~~~~

The beautiful bird slaughterer.

That was the title Leyla Lewellin decided to give him.

All the people of this estate, even Bill Remmer, praised him for being a perfect aristocrat. People
seemed to care and love Matthias von Herhardt, who had outstanding qualities as the owner of this
land.

But Leyla did not agree.

Ever since the day the duke went out hunting, the mother bird disappeared. The baby birds that had
recently hatched no longer than their mother to feed them. In addition, countless birds were no longer
to be seen.

Why did the duke hunt only small, beautiful birds instead of large birds that are meant to be eaten?1

Leyla, who had been observing and agonizing for over the past month, now seemed to know why.

To him, the birds were moving a target.

The smaller they were, the more difficult and interesting they were to aim. The duke did not bother to
look at the prey he hit. He simply turned away after hitting his target. On the days he went out hunting,
Leyla buried the dead birds that were covered in blood.2

Bang-

The gunfire rang once again in the distance.

Chapter 3

The sun was scorching hot but the tree shade was cool. Leyla sat on a blanket with her arms wrapped
around her knees. Bill and the other garden workers were engrossed in digging up the rose tree that had
started to wilt.

The garden behind the mansion seemed to have roses of all different sorts. The rose was said to be the
national flower of the Berg Empire and the flower that the duke’s mother and grandmother adored.

Due to another day of gunshots coming from the forest, Leyla wandered nervously around the cabin.
Uncle Bill had seen her nervous state and decided to bring her out into the garden. Her mind was put to
rest when the sound of gunshots faded away.

Is it really okay for me to rest when Uncle Bill is working under the burning sun?

Leyla uncomfortably looked at Bill. She slowly closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. Uncle Bill
threatened to get angry if she helped him. He told her he hated children who don’t listen. Even though
Leyla’s heart wasn’t at ease, she decided to wait for him until he finished his job.

When Leyla opened her eyes again with resignation, she was startled by an unfamiliar boy standing in
front of her. The neatly dressed boy looked like he was around Leyla’s age.

“Hey.”

When their eyes met, the boy greeted her with a lovely smile. He was a boy with charming platinum
hair.

“You live here?”

The boy looked around and asked solemnly.

“Yeah. With Uncle Bill.”

Leyla answered as she squinted her eyes.

“Mr. Bill? You mean that scary gardener guy?”

“He’s not scary.”

“Really? Seems scary to me.”

The boy tilted his head and casually took a seat next to Leyla.

“Do you live here too?”

Leyla asked with caution. The boy smiled and shook his head.
“Nah. I followed my father. He’s the family doctor at the Herhardt household. He’s here to give Madam
Norma a medical examination. I come here with my father sometimes. Madam Norma said it was
okay.”1

“I see.”

“How old are you?”

“Twelve.”

“Same. But you’re kinda small.”

The boy staring at Leyla began to laugh. Leyla’s cheeks started to flush bright red in fury.

“You’re small too.”

“I’m the tallest in my class though.”

The boy stretched out his back to prove his tall height. He certainly looked a little taller than his age.

“Anyways… You’re still shorter than Uncle Bill.”

Leyla whispered softly. The boy giggled again at Leyla’s words. He seemed like a happy-go-lucky child.

“Hey, it’s impossible to find a kid or even an adult taller than Mr. Bill.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Leyla picked at the grass growing near the blanket for no reason. Her delicate fingers slowly tainted
green. She wished the boy would quickly go away but he showed no signs of getting up.

“Do you want some?”

Leyla, who then focused her attention on the peach sitting at the edge of the blanket, asked impulsively.
The boy gladly nodded.

Leyla took out a pocket knife from her leather bag. The boy snickered at the sight of Leyla gently cutting
the peach.

“You’re funny. Why is a knife coming out of a girl’s bag?”

“Don’t make fun of me. Uncle Bill gave it to me.”

Leyla slightly wrinkled her nose in annoyance as she gave the half-cut peach to the boy. The sweet scent
of the peach pulp tingled two children’s noses.

“Why do you look so down? Did something happen?”

The boy carefully asked after he gulped down his peach.

“The duke and his friends keep hunting down birds.”

Leyla somberly answered. The boy titled his head, wondering what the issue was.

“What about it?”

“They’re murdering birds for their own enjoyment.”

“Isn’t that how hunting works?”

“Do you think so too?”

Leyla stared at the boy with her stern green eyes. To Leyla, the boy seemed like he would have a hard
time holding the big, long hunting gun.

“Uh….. No.”

The boy shook his head violently.

“I don’t. It’s cruel.”

The boy replied. A smile gradually began to spread on Leyla’s face.

“Do you want another peach?”

Leyla asked in a brighter voice. The boy nodded. Leyla cut another peach in half and handed the larger
piece to the boy. The boy’s cheeks started to flush as he tried to fix his uncomfortable collar.

“Kyle! Kyle!”

A faint voice was heard. The boy, who was fiddling with the dead peach seed, sprang to his feet.

“I have to go now.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Kyle Etman.”

The boy held out his hand.

“My name. What about you?”

“I’m Leyla. Leyla Lewellin.”

Leyla awkwardly shook his hand. With their small hands covered in sticky peach nectar, the two shook
hands as if they were making a truce.

“Bye, Leyla. See ya. I’ll bring you something more delicious next time.”

The boy shouted as he dashed away in the distance.

Leyla simply gave out a small wave because she was unsure if she could see him again if she ever stayed
in this estate.

When Kyle left, Leyla’s world was at peace again.

While taking a whiff of the rose-scented breeze, Leyla patiently waited for Uncle Bill to finish his work.
But at some point, she had fallen asleep and opened her eyes to Uncle Bill calling her name at sunset.

Leyla rose up from her seat, carried her bag, and picked up the blanket.

“Uncle Bill. I saw a kid….”

When Leyla was about to tell her encounter with the boy who she shared her peaches with, she was
interrupted by silhouettes of people walking out from the other side of the forest. It was Duke Herhardt
and his friends.

Matthias paused in the center of the rose garden. The blunt gardener, Bill Remmer, was there bowing
his head towards the duke. It was not long before Matthias realized that there was a tiny child hiding
behind the gardener.

“Long time no see, Mr. Remmer.”

Matthias lightly nodded. His acquaintances that were with him during his hunting session stopped
behind the duke at a moderate distance.

“She’s going to be staying here at Arvis for the time being.”

Bill Remmer informed the duke with a slightly uncomfortable look.

When Bill tapped the girl’s back to come forward, the girl hesitatingly took a step towards the duke.
Thanks to her sparkling blond hair, Matthias was able to recall who the child was. The girl who he almost
shot. The absurd little girl who almost got shot for being thought of as a bird.

“I’ve already received approval from Madam Norma and Madam Elysse but I believe I should ask for
your approval as well.”

Bill Remmer bowed his head once again. The child standing beside him bowed along.

Matthias slowly glanced at the child. When they exchanged looks, the child frowned at him. Thin
scowled eyes and clamped lips. Her expression was the exact same when they first met in the woods.

“You’re that girl. The girl who lives in the forest.”

Matthias’s cousin, Riette, snickered from behind. The red-faced child hid behind the gardener’s back in
embarrassment. The girl he occasionally met in the forest was like that as well. As soon as she stared
into the duke’s eyes in wonder, she hid behind the tree. And after Matthias had finished hunting, she
always came out from behind and buried the dead birds.1
“Sure. If that’s what you want Mr. Remmer.”

Matthias gave a brief answer with a grin. Whatever the gardener raised in the forest was none of his
business.

“Thank you My Lord.”

Bill gave him his thanks. After Matthias’s chin ever so slightly nodded at Bill, he began to move.

After the duke passed the gardener and the girl by, Leyla flinched at the sight of Matthias’s servants
following him with their hands full of hunted animals. The deep, unpleasant scent of blood ran through
the girl’s nose. Leyla’s shoulders hunched and she closed her eyes.

Uncle Bill’s large, warm hands patted Leyla’s frail shoulders.

~~~~

Claudine let out an exaggerated sigh with her chin rested on the palm of her hand. Her curled brown
hair bounced along to the beat of her constant sighs. Countess Brandt glanced at her daughter with her
thin eyebrows.

“Claudine, behave like a lady please.”

The countess’s inarticulate voice grew in impatience. Although Claudine was rather too young to be
called a lady, she was soon to be the Duchess of Arvis. Claudine’s mother let out a long sigh at her
daughter’s immature attitude.

“But I’m so lonely and bored.”

Claudine grumbled. The other noblewomen who were drinking tea at the tea table turned their eyes at
the upset brunette girl.

“Then go play with your cousins.”

Countess Brandt huffed as her face turned crimson red. But Claudine did not bother to notice her
frustrated mother.

“They treat me as if I’m not here. They say things I don’t understand.”

The ladies let out a soft smile at Claudine’s annoyed expression.

“Well, it can be boring. Claudine doesn’t have any friends her age.”

Elysse von Herhardt nodded as she stroked the white dog sitting on her lap.

“See? Madam Herhardt understands.”

A lively smile bloomed on Claudine’s lip when she found someone who could understand her pain.
“Who’s that child?”

Claudine suddenly directed her finger towards a garden after glancing at a young girl for some time. All
the ladies turned their heads toward the direction Claudine was pointing at. The young girl Claudine was
talking about was talking a stroll with a gardener.

“Can I play with her? I think she’s about the same age as me.”

“Well… Isn’t she an orphan from abroad? That kind of girl isn’t suitable to be your friend.”

“I’m fine. I think it’ll be more amusing than playing with a dog.”

Claudine’s tone was calm and imposing. She didn’t pay any attention to her mother’s red ears that were
about to burst in embarassment. Elysse von Herhardt laughed and happily rang the bell.

“Bring me that child.”

A maid arrived at the call of her master’s bell.

“The child the gardener is currently raising.”

~~~~

The maid brought Leyla to an unknown world. It was a place where fancy people, dressed in candy-
sweet colored clothes, sat under the white mansion shade.

“She’s very cute.”

One of the ladies complimented.

“What do you say? Do you like it, Claudine?”1

After examining Leyla, the black haired woman turned over to the chestnut-haired girl sitting besides
her. The girl, named Claudine, smiled happily and nodded.

“Thank you, Madam Herhardt.”

Leyla blankly stared at the people in front of her. She wasn’t sure what the ladies were conversing
about. She just wanted to get back to Uncle Bill’s cabin but no one seemed to notice her desperate
desire.

When one of the ladies murmured an order, the maid held Leyla’s hand and dragged her into a room.

Leyla had washed herself in a fancy bathroom for the first time and wore clothes that were surprisingly
soft and white. The maid roughly combed her messy hair but Leyla endured the pain. She believed if she
said something wrong, she would risk Uncle Bill’s job.
“Lady Claudine is the daughter of Count Brandt. You shouldn’t act recklessly in front of her. Do you
understand?”

The maid who dragged Leyla into the second floor of the mansion sternly warned Leyla.

Leyla dazedly nodded. The maid cautiously opened the door of the drawing room. Claudin had greeted
them with a posh attitude.

“Hello. What’s your name? Age?”

Claudine lowered her head and attempted to make an eye contact with Leyla.

“Leyla Lewellin. I’m twelve years old.”

“Really? I thought you were younger since you’re so small.”

Although Leyla hated being called ‘small’, she decided to hold in her frustration. For Uncle Bill. She
calmed herself as she repeated those words like an incantation.

Piano. Music. Floral Arranging.

Claudine recommended this and that, but there was nothing Leyla could do.

Dice game. Word game. Chess.

The other alternatives proposed by Claudin were the same.

A vague smile came upon Claudine’s mouth as she alternately looked at the table full of toys and at
Leyla.

“Poor you.”

With a disappointed sigh, Claudine slowly rose from her chair. Leyla stared helplessly at the toys
assorted on the table.

“You don’t know a thing.”

Claudin walked towards Leyla’s chair and sighed in resignation. Her soft voice, trying not to give any
hints of disappointment or annoyance, gave Leyla a greater humiliation.

Leyla thought she should at least answer something but her mouth was closed shut. In a situation like
this, It was hard to say anything polite. Fortunately, Claudine turned away without waiting for what
Leyla had to utter.

Before closing the door, Claudine muttered a sigh to herself.

“What the heck. No better than a dog.”

When Claudine left, Leyla was left all alone in the gleaming drawing room.
Leyla wanted to leave right away but she decided to wait. Maybe she’ll come back. Leyla thought. But
when the afternoon sun gradually ripened to a golden color, Claudine did not return.1

The maid who brought Leyla in did not show up until evening.

“You may go back.”

The maid’s voice was softer than before.

“The lady said you can keep the clothes. And this as well.”

The maid extended a glittering gold coin towards Leyla. When Leyla froze in place, the maid shoved the
coin into her hands.

“Take it. It’s polite to be thankful for what your superiors give you. Do you understand?”
Chapter 4

Leyla left the mansion when the sky started to paint itself into a rosy color. As she left the entrance
leading to the rose garden, a refreshing breeze greeted Leyla.

With a gold coin grasped in her right hand, Leyla walked proudly. But her gallant steps did not last long.
Claudine was sitting under the pergola that was located near the vine roses-which were in full bloom.
Claudine, who was having a pleasant chat with her cousins, vaguely smiled when her eyes met Leyla’s.

“Goodbye, Leyla.”

Claudine greeted first. The eyes of the young men sitting next to Claudine turned to Leyla. Fortunately,
Duke Herhardt was nowhere to be seen.

Leyla replied with a bow. Claudine did not say much in response.

Leyla began to run after she was out of their sight. She was eager to escape the strange and unfamiliar
world and return to Uncle Bill’s cabin. But the greatest misfortune came at the last moment.

At the border between the garden and the forest path, Leyla fell down. The gold coin mockingly rolled
down the paving stone and hit the edge of a man’s shoe. Leyla frowned at the spinning gold coin. The
man lightly stepped on the coin with the tip of his shoe to quell the clamorous sound.

Leyla slowly gazed at the well-polished shoes, long legs, and then the man’s face looming down upon
her. It was Duke Herhardt.

Surprised, Leyla reflexively rose herself up. Her white dress was stained with blood and dust from her
scratched knee. The duke simply stared at Leyla with a calm look. His red lips seemed as if they were
slightly tilted to one side.

Leyla clenched her lips and swept the dust off her clothes. In the meanwhile, Duke Herhardt leisurely
took a step back. The coin that was underneath his foot shined, reflecting the sunlight.

Although Leyla wanted to leave it, she crouched her body in front of the duke. Just when she was about
to extend her arms out, she was reminded of the words Lady Brandt left her. No better than a dog.
Those words had scarred a deep wound in Leyla’s heart.

Leyla grabbed the coin and politely bowed towards Duke Herhardt. She did not dare to raise her head.
All she could do was to bow her head down as low as possible and hold her breath. Surprisingly,
although she felt pain when she fell, she could no longer feel any pain when she bowed.

Leaving the duke behind, Leyla started running again. She wasn’t able to run as fast as before because of
her injured knee but she continued to move her bloody legs. She felt something rising from the bottom
of her heart up to the end of her throat.
After passing through the forest path and facing the light that came from the cabin, Leyla realized what
it was.

It was sadness.

~~~~

“I’ll give this to you, uncle.”

Leyla held out the gold coin in a rather solemn manner. Bill’s hairy eyebrows slowly wrinkled.

“What’s this?”

“A gold coin.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“Lady Claudine gave it to me.”

“Claudine? Ah, that little noble lady.”

Bill nodded as if he knew the lady.

Ever since Leyla was called upon the mansion, she had been looking down for the next two days. She
didn’t talk or take a walk around the woods as well as the garden. Bill realized that he missed the child’s
past, bright lifestyle.

The world was quiet because the child was quiet. And Bill did not like that quiet world very much.

“Why do you want to give me that money?”

Bill leaned a little towards the table. Leyla sat in a straight posture, facing the man.

“Because I think it’s worth a lot.”

“It is worth a lot.”

“…Even though I initially felt miserable receiving this coin, I couldn’t possibly throw it away because it’s
worth a lot. So I realized that if I gave this coin to you instead, I can at least start paying you back after
being so indebted to you.”

“Damn it.”

Bill impulsively muttered. Leyla slightly flinched but didn’t pay any mind to his curse.

Ever since the child arrived in Arvis, Bill worried about the aristocrats hurting her fragile heart. He
expected them to harass the child because of her low status. All the aristocrats were the same to Bill.

Arrogant. Rude. And Condescending.

Although Bill was afraid he might make the child cry if he asked what had happened at the mansion, he
could guess how bad the child was treated there.

“Leyla.”

Leyla, who had been pretending to act mature for her age, gave a childish grin when he called her name.

“Since you earned the money, take it.”

“The money I earned?”

“Yep. It’s the money you earned from your work. Dealing with a bored aristocrat is a pain in the ass but
you did it. So you can confidently claim your reward.”

Leyla scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. While looking at the pondering child, Bill gulped down the
thick glass of beer in front of him.

“Really?”

Leyla tilted her head as she tapped on the gold coin.

“That’s right.”

Bill swiped the alcohol that had drizzled on his beard with his sleeve.

The money I earned.

Leyla’s face suddenly started to brighten.

“Welcome to the adult world, Leyla.”

Bill sliced a huge chunk of meat and placed it on the child’s plate.

“Adult? Me?”

“If you can make money on your own, you’re considered an adult. And that’s exactly what you did.”

“I just made one gold coin?”

“There are plenty of old people who still can’t manage to earn a coin in this world. So you’re off to a
pretty successful start. Because you’re off to a nice start, you’re bound to be a pretty good adult.”1

Bill soon started piling Leyla’s plate up with bread and baked vegetables.

“Uncle, it’s too much.”

Leyla’s eyes widened at the large amount of food.

“You’ve been nibbling at your food like a bird for days, so eat a lot.”
“But….”

“You know right? I like kids who eat like a cow.”

Leyla burst out laughing.

“Uncle, if I eat well, I’ll grow a lot right?”

“I suppose so. Why? Did someone bully you for being too short?”

“Not really, but I do think I look too young. It’s upsetting.”

That’s because you are still a child. Bill stopped himself from stating the obvious.

Leyla began to proficiently chop up her meat.

For Bill, it seemed like Leyla did indeed grow quite fast in the last few months. The child no longer had a
body like an iron skewer. She was quite pretty. Her natural frame was small and slender like a bird so
she didn’t seem like she would grow to have a big physique. There was no doubt that she would become
a beauty.

Bill was surprised when his found himself praising Leyla’s beauty and shook his head to pull himself
together.

For women living in poverty, beauty was poison. They were bound to be subjected to trouble. That was
why Bill was determined to send the girl to a place where he can trust. The orphanage wasn’t a place he
could totally trust because he believed it was the perfect place to ruin a child’s life.

Damned world. Damned humans.

Bill emptied the rest of his beer while cursing at the names of those who left the child in his care. It was
hard to know why such worries were embedded in Bill Remmer’s life. He wished for days, where his life
had used to be just full of flowers and trees, to come back.

“Uncle. If I earn money, it’s not a shame to spend it right?”

Leyla asked while thoroughly chewing on her food.

“Of course. Do you have something you want?”

“I used up my notebook. I want to buy a new one.”

“By all means, go ahead.”

“Do you think I can buy colored pencils as well?”

“Of course.”

“Is there anything you need?”

“Why? Are you planning to buy something for me as well?”

“Yes.”

“What if I asked you to buy me something ridiculously expensive?”

Leyla’s expression became solemn. Whenever the girl got serious, her pupils grew darker and wider,
which made her seem a bit more lovely.

Bill loudly laughed as he filled up a glass of apple juice for the child.

Leyla lifted the glass and motioned Bill to clink his glass towards hers. Bill gladly bumped his glass onto
the glass the child reached out. Leyla then emptied her juice all at once.

Bill started to worry if the child began to pick up his drinking habits.

He shook his head at the thought of Leyla becoming a drunkard.

I’m only allowing this just for today.

Bill persuaded himself.

The long days had continued to pass, and during those long days, Bill thought about the reasons why he
couldn’t raise Leyla and wondered where to send the young girl.

Leyla. The lovely troublesome child who suddenly appeared in his life.

During those days of Bill’s endless wondering, Leyla grew.

The new clothes Bill had bought for Leyla got so short that her milky white calves started to show. The
warehouse-like room meant for Leyla to temporarily reside in at one point transformed into a lady’s
room. The troublesome child who used to hop around the forest trail, soon finely matured into a grown
lady who now crossed the exact trail with soft steps as if gliding on water.

Bill, sitting on a chair underneath the porch, looked at Leyla with a puzzled look on his face. A young lady
with a willow basket full of raspberries was waving at him.

“Uncle! You’re back early today.”

Leyla lightly ran as if she was dancing. Her attractive blonde hair, tied into a single braid, shook under
the wide brim of the straw hat. The color of the lady’s two red cheeks looked as fresh as the breed of
roses Bill had recently cultivated.

“You must have gone to the woods again.”

“Yes. It’s a great harvest, isn’t it?”

Leyla lifted the basket with pride.

“I’m going to pick some more tomorrow. I’m planning to make a lot of raspberry jam.”

“Are you planning to open a business or something?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

Leyla, smiling brightly, sat on a chair placed beside Bill. Bill suddenly noticed that there were two chairs
on the porch. And it wasn’t just the two chairs. Before he knew it, all the furniture in the cabin was
arranged for the two of them-even though Bill still hadn’t made his decision on what to do with Leyla
yet.5

Leyla placed the basket on the floor and rummaged through it to find a wild peach. She held the peach
out to Bill. Bill naturally took the peach, split it in half, and gave Leyla the nicely half-sliced peach.

The two sat side by side and observed the forest while eating their peaches. The sound of leaves
blowing across the clear sky tickled their ears and the birds chirping from afar were as clear as Leyla’s
voice.

“It’s summer again.”

Bill muttered unconsciously. Leyla, with a silent smile on her face, took off her hat and languidly
stretched her arms. When Bill found the old leather bag that ran below Leyla’s knee, he burst into a loud
laughter. It was the first thing he gave her on the year she arrived.

“Are you planning to carry that old thing around until it’s worn out?”

“I like it because it’s comfortable. It’s still useful.”

Leyla held up her bag and gave it a good shake. Bill could easily figure out the identity of the rattling
sound. Tin pencil case. Pocket knife. Old notes. Some beautiful feathers and flower petals. In certain
aspects, she didn’t change much.

It was a normal evening.

Bill chopped up some firewood while Leyla took out and organized the dry laundry. While she skillfully
prepared their dinner, she didn’t forget to feed the chicken and the goat. By the time the two faced
each other from the opposite sides of the table, the sun was already down.

“Kyle’s coming over tomorrow. We’re going to study together and have dinner. That’s okay right?”1

Leyla asked while setting down her delicious smelling plate.

“Why does that rascal keep coming to my house to eat when he already has a rich father already feeding
him well?”

“Even though you talk of him that way, I know you like the guy.”

“Unfortunately.”
Bill snorted. Leyla causally laughed as she placed the half-filled beer glass in front of him.

“What’s this? It’s not filled to the brim?”

“You need to cut back on drinking for your health.”

“Did that glutton Etmon tell you that?”

“Uncle!”

“That good-for-nothing fellow.”

Bill grumbled. But he did not go against Leyla’s words.

~~~~

The night deepened at the end of a cozy dinner. Leyla took a leisurely bath after cleaning up and
returned to her room. She was sleepy, but she decided to turn on the lamp and sat on her desk. An
exam was just around the corner. Her summer break happiness depended on that exam result.

The sound of birds crying at night was carried away by the night breeze. The noise of her pencil making
marks on the paper was mixed along with the sounds.

Leyla, who had been concentrating on her studies for a long time, let go of her pencil- unable to
overcome the eye strain and faint headache that came over. Her eyesight, which wasn’t originally that
good, now seemed to have gotten worse. Ever since she was young, she had to squint her eyes to clearly
see.

Leyla turned off the lamp and lay down on her bed. She was almost on her goal to get a pair of glasses
fitted for her.

Twenty bottles of raspberry jam. No, should it be thirty bottles?

Anyways, it wasn’t that far away.

Even though her problem could have gotten resolved by telling Uncle Bill, she was afraid of burdening
him. He was already providing her so many things and she wasn’t able to repay him back.

When he announced that he would send Leyla to school, a fine majority of people laughed at him. They
told him there was no point in educating an orphan girl. They told him she was bound to become the
maid of the Herhardt family when she grew. But Bill was firm with his words. He spoke to her every day.
Leyla, you’re going to be a pretty good adult.

The headache somewhat calmed down when Leyla closed her eyes. Leyla attempted to sleep, but the
harder she tried, the more her mind turned clear. At a night like this, as usual, odd thoughts began to fill
her blank mind.
The birds’ return. Plans for this summer. The culprit behind the series of an interesting mystery novel
written in the daily newspaper. And Duke Herhardt.

When the name came to mind, Leyla gently opened her eyes. Beyond the familiar darkness, she could
see the scenery out of the window.

Slightly wobbling branches, the night sky shining beyond those branches, and the moon and stars.

Staring at the blurry white light from afar, Leyla unconsciously held her breath.

The duke, who graduated from college, was commissioned as an army officer after passing the Royal
Military School in accordance with the family tradition. He hadn’t visited the estate for the past several
years because he was assigned to the frontier overseas . It had been a peaceful time for both Leyla and
the birds in the forest.

But this summer, he was to return.

Master of Arvis, Duke Herhardt.

Chapter 5

Standing in front of the main gate of Gillis Women’s Academy, Kyle Etman’s existence was as natural as
the school’s streetlights. He’s here again. The female students thought as they impressively glanced over
the young man waiting.

Kyle looked over the gate and slyly grinned. He could see a young lady dragging her bicycle from afar.
Kyle could recognize who the lady was through her graceful and gallant walk.

But it wasn’t just her way of walking that he could recognize the girl.

Her face was always full of rich expressions and her body gestures were soft and subtle.

Her entire existence was everything to him. There was no other girl like Leyla and he had realized that
ever since they met that summer-underneath the shade of the willow tree.4

“Leyla!

Leyla stopped when she heard someone vigorously call her name. She squinted her eyes towards the
direction of the man who was approaching her.

Kyle liked those moments.

The moment the girl’s steps grew faster after she recognized who he was. The moment the girl came up
to him and smiled at him gently.

“Why are you here again? It would’ve been more convenient for you to meet at the cabin.”

“Nah. I had plenty of time anyway.”

That was a lie. In order to return home from school with Leyla, he had ditched his tennis club members.
Even though his seniors might have been waiting for him with a racket on their hands the next day, Kyle
was not worried at this moment.

Tomorrow’s problems should be taken care of tomorrow. It’ll all resolve.1

~~~~

The two students walked side by side on a busy street. They bought some ice cream as they passed by
the shopping district. They then stopped by a bookstore that smelled like dust.

Leyla laughed often. Besides Uncle Bill, Kyle Etman believed he was the only one in this world who knew
how often Leyla laughed in front of him and how beautiful her smile was.

As they entered the path leading to the Arvis territory, the wind got cooler. Leyla’s eyes deepened when
their conversation led to the school exam. There was a bit of despair in her eyes when geometry was
mentioned. Kyle carefully observed the minor changes in her facial expressions.
Not yet.

Kyle suppressed the heart fluttering words that almost came out of his mouth. He didn’t want their
relationship to get uncomfortable through his hasty confession. He then wondered if it was necessary to
ask her to go out with him when he was already thinking of marrying her instead.

Leyla Etman. That sounds nice. That’s good.3

“Why are you laughing?”

Leyla asked him while she frowned. She was complaining about her grade struggle in geometry until she
found herself looking at Kyle dazedly chuckling.

“Huh…… Well, ah! I heard Duke Herhardt is coming back?”

Kyle suddenly changed the subject.

“It’s been a long time. When is he coming?”

“I don’t know.”

“Everyone’s been babbling on and on about Duke Herhardt returning but you don’t seem to really care.”

Leyla’s hands that were on the bicycle handle tensed up.

During the past years, there wasn’t much contact between Leyla and Duke Herhardt. They only greeted
each other when they met in the woods or whenever Claudine summoned her to the mansion. Even
passing by the duke was uncomfortable that she tried to avoid him at all costs.

She didn’t want to see him.

And she had never wanted to see him again ever since the day Duke Herhardt stopped her spinning gold
coin with his foot that summer evening.

Claudine was the one who invited her and left her but the duke was the one who made her realize how
much of an insignificant being Leyla Lewellin was in that strange, colorful world.

That encounter left a scar different from the mistreatment she experienced at Lovita. It was a memory
she wanted to forget but whenever she faced the duke, he made her recall that terrible day. Leyla hated
him. The duke’s appearance kept reminding her how irrelevant she was in that beautiful estate.

A black car passed by as Leyla struggled to calm her uneven breathing. Madam Norma never rode a car,
so Leyla figured it was Madam Elysse, who must’ve come back from a social gathering.

“With the duke back, Arvis must be hectic for a while.”

“Yeah.”
“Oh yeah. Leyla. Should I try becoming an officer too?”

Kyle now began to walk backwards while facing Leyla.

“I want to receive a medal just like Duke Herhardt. Captain Etman, a brilliant marksman who can shoot
down every enemy with just single shots.”

Kyle pretended to shoot an imaginary gun and then smiled like a naughty boy.

“Look here, Mr. Etman. You can’t even kill a chicken.”

Leyla smirked. Although his pride was hurt, Kyle failed to refute.

It was at that time last year when Kyle proudly insisted that he would pay for his meals in the cabin by
helping out. Uncle Bill had ordered him to catch a chicken for dinner but when he stepped into the
chicken hen, he was unable to even pull out a single feather out. That was when Etman got his
embarrassing nickname: ‘the gluttonous herbivore’.

“My sweet friend Kyle Etman. That is why I like you.”

Leyla smiled at Kyle’s upset face.

“I hope you use your hands to save people’s lives instead of killing them.”

“Uh…… Of course. I am planning to become a doctor.”

Kyle awkwardly touched his cheek.

“Then should I be a military doctor? Do they give medals to military doctors?”

“If you save a lot of people, wouldn’t they give you one? It’s a better achievement than killing.”

“Really?”

The two arrived at the crossroad amidst their conversation. Etman’s house was at the end of the road
leading to the left.

“Ah! I left the geometry note I promised to lend you at home.”

Kyle wrinkled his eyes in sudden realization.

“Then come in time for dinner later. Make sure to bring the notes.”

“Hey. Are you planning to wait for me or the notes?”

“The notes.”

Leyla brazenly replied as she soon burst into a mischievous laughter. Kyle started to rush home.
“You don’t have to hurry! Dinner takes time anyway!”

Leyla loudly shouted toward Kyle’s back.

“Don’t bother! I’m going straight to your house after picking up my notes!”

Kyle’s retort was even louder.+

Leyla shook her head at Kyle’s stubbornness and started to ride her bike towards the platanus road
leading to the Arvis mansion.

Matthias pulled the car over in the front of the mansion driveway. The driver and the butler panicked at
their master’s abrupt request.

Duke Herhardt’s return was sudden. The Arvis servants and residents were busy frantically moving
around to prepare for the duke’s early arrival. As a result, his arranged social gatherings with the nobles
were all moved up.

Butler Hessen swallowed his dry saliva out of nervousness.

“Master, we still haven’t…..”

“I want to take a walk.”

Matthias cut off the butler’s words with his calm tone. The driver hesitantly got off his seat and opened
the back seat door.

“No.”

Matthias briefly shook his head towards Hessen, who was about to follow him out.

“See you at the mansion.”

Matthias smiled as he turned his back. Hessen obediently got back in the car at his order while the driver
swiftly returned to his seat. As they drove away, the road became quiet again.

Holding his officer hat in one hand, Matthias began to leisurely walk underneath the tree shade. The
sound of his boots and the sound of the leaves swaying in the wind created a strange, but pleasing
harmony.

Matthias von Herhardt was a perfect child, a perfect student, and a perfect officer. And now, he was
about to marry a perfect woman and become a perfect father. All of these things were so obvious in his
life that he started to get somewhat bored.

Matthias gradually slowed his pace. The bright stream of light flowing through the cracks in the tree
leaves made the edge of his slightly slanted eyes stand out. The light then gently flowed down upon his
golden belt buckle and the shining insignia that adorned his blue-gray uniform.
‘You should get engaged this summer.’

Matthias had gladly agreed to his mother’s words; simply because it was his rightful duty to marry at the
right time and give birth to a successor.

‘I think Claudine is the best lady for the next Duchess of Arvis.’

Matthias had also accepted his grandmother’s notice with good grace; simply because Claudine von
Brandt was a highly qualified bride and had a brilliant lineage.

Matthias had never desired anything.

Because everything was already in his hands before he knew it. Desire was a distant emotion that
seemed fictitious to him. So was marriage.

Matthias hoped for a perfect marriage.

To him, marriage was simply a stepping stone that allowed him to strengthen his world. He believed
there was no need to exhaust any unnecessary emotions in a marriage. Claudine von Brandt was his
most reasonable partner, and for him, she was enough. He wasn’t interested in anything else. He didn’t
feel like the need to.

Matthias paused in the middle of the road. He had suddenly sensed an unexpected presence of a
woman. When he raised his head, the shredded sunlight pierced his eyes.

Matthias turned his eyes at a woman riding a bicycle headed towards his way. When he slowly backed
away, the woman brushed past his left. Her clear golden locks fluttered in the air like waves.

Leyla Lewellin?

The moment Matthias remembered her name, the woman flicked her head towards his direction. The
woman’s green eyes widened when she met eyes with the man.

While they stared at each other, Leyla had lost her balance and fell from her bicycle. Her screams were
heard as the bicycle made an impact against the ground.

Even after her collapse, the wheels of the bicycle still continued to wildly turn.

Matthias steadily approached the woman who fell on the street. The woman raised her head
underneath his shadow. Without a doubt, it was Leyla Lewellin.

The little girl who was a crazy bird lover.

“…… I’m sorry, my lord.”

Leyla frantically bowed her head to apologize. She waited for him to pass her by.
Matthias was about to make his leave until he was distracted by Leyla’s clothes. Her school uniform was
dirtied with dust and blood was seeping through her torn stockings.1

When the spinning bicycle wheel stopped, silence came upon the two.

Leyla raised her thinly frowned eyes and glanced at Matthias. Although the look on her face was
insolent, it strangely made a soft impression.

This girl grows as well.

Although it was natural for the child to grow as time went by, her change in appearance had somehow
scratched his nerves.

To Matthias, Leyla Lewellin was just a little girl. The girl who always tried to desperately avoid him. The
girl who he thought was insignificant. But he could no longer see the insignificant girl he knew of in his
memory with the Leyla Lewellin who stood in front of him now.

The slender lines of her body showing underneath the thin, summer school uniform were no longer
those of a skinny child as well as her fresh cheeks, lips, and her soft body scent carried by the wind.

Leyla struggled to get up as Matthias felt a strange displeasure. Taking a step back, she fixed her shoes
and dusted off her school uniform. Although Leyla was now a grown woman, her height had still failed
to reach the tip of the duke’s chin.

“Leyla Lewellin.”

Matthias impulsively called. Leyla’s shoulders flinched at his voice.

“I’m sorry, my lord.”

Repeating the same words over again, Leyla crouched under his feet and began picking up her scattered
items.

Bag. Books. Notebook.

Matthias’s eyes moved along the small, pale hands that were soiled with dust and blood. His gaze
fixated on a pen Leyla gently nudged while gathering her stuff.

Matthias slowly took a step forward and purposely stepped on the pen. Leyla only then glanced up and
saw his eyes filled with irritation.

“Leyla Lewellin.”

He called her again.

“I’m talking to you.”

“Yes, my lord.”
Leyla answered as she tightly closed her eyes. She struggled to pull the pen out of his feet but Matthias
didn’t bother to budge.

“I’m listening.”

Leyla said quite confidently even though her body trembled. Her green eyes that had resembled the
vivid summer forest sparkled in anger mixed with humiliation. She was suddenly reminded of the time
when the duke stepped on her gold coin. On that day and today as well, the duke was looking down at
Leyla with the same expression and the same gaze.

After letting out a silent laugh, Matthias lifted his foot and nonchalantly passed by Leyla. He put on his
officer hat and started walking leisurely along the road as if nothing had happened.

Leyla blankly stared at the back of the distant Duke Herhardt.

Why would he do such a thing if he’s not going to say anything?1

Leyla’s pen twitched in her hands.

Would the people of Arvis believe that Duke Herhardt, who’s praised as the perfect aristocrat, act like
this?

She bet her whole savings that no one would ever believe her. Everyone would’ve called her crazy.

Leyla tightly closed her lips and pulled up her bicycle. She made sure to thoroughly wipe the pen and
placed it in her bag.

She then started to follow the duke who was walking at a slow pace. Her skin that had peeled-off was
terribly sore. Even though she was sure the duke wouldn’t look back, she tried to walk properly. To
prevent herself from limping, she constantly flexed her leg muscles.

It would’ve been great if he used those long legs to walk faster.

When Leyla was about to sigh out of frustration, Duke Herhardt had abruptly turned around. The soft
wind shook the tree leaves and the pattern of the sunlight oozing through the leaves bounced over the
path in a slow rhythm.

The surprised Leyla stood still. Matthias focused his eyes on her face. His gaze slowly shifted downwards
along her loose, wavy hair and then onto her body.

The upright chest irregularly panting up and down. The pale hand holding the bicycle handle. The
unbelievably narrow ankle and petite feet.

And then the eyes.

Matthias examined Leyla’s emerald-colored eyes for a long time in deafening silence.
Leyla was still just an orphan living in the dugout located on his estate, but one crucial fact had seemed
to change everything.

Time passed and the child grew.

And when he accepted that fact, he noticed Leyla.

She was no longer a child. That woman, Leyla Lewellin.

Chapter 6

There was always a nominal meeting scheduled at the Herhardt’s mansion every summer. But this year,
everyone knew that Claudine von Brandt did not visit Arvis just for that simple reason.

The meeting was created for the two families to pre-negotiate and promote friendship between the
different parties before announcing the engagement to the public. The two families’ purpose of the
meeting was clear and neither side had tried to hide it. Especially Claudine.

“Hello, Duke Herhardt.”

Claudine greeted Matthias with perfect courtesy. The cousin that stood in front of Matthias had grown
into a refined lady. He could barely see any traces of the short, whiny girl.

“Welcome, Lady Brandt.”

Matthias also formally greeted Claudine back.

The two gracefully smiled at each other.

There was nothing new going on between the two. Although they weren’t very close or intimate, they
have seen each other for a long time, so they both knew: how thoroughly aristocratic Matthias von
Herhardt and Claudine von Brandt were to the bones. And that was the most biggest and obvious
reason why they chose each other.

Matthias skillfully escorted Claudine. Elysse von Herhardt had ordered her servants to prepare their
afternoon tea in the glass greenhouse connected to the back of the mansion. It was one way of showing
Elysse’s consideration for Claudine because she loved the greenhouse.

“This greenhouse is always beautiful every time I visit. It’s as if Duchess Elysse has moved heaven in
here.”

Claudine, who drank the tea without a sound, gladly complimented. She spoke in a cheerful, yet calm
manner like a courteous lady.

“I’ve spent so much time decorating this place. I’m looking forward to passing it on to a hostess who
knows its value.”

Elysse von Herhardt replied in a soft voice. Countess Brandt glanced at her daughter with a proud and
emotional look. Claudine gave a moderate, shy smile.

“Matthias, show Claudine around Arvis’s heaven.”

Elysse von Herhardt whispered at the end of their tea time. Full-scale negotiations seemed to have
started taking place.
As Matthias extended his hand, Claudine smoothly placed her translucent lace gloved hands over
Matthias’s. The sudden image of the pale white hand, stained with dust and blood, was briefly revived
over Matthias’s head and then disappeared.

The two walked along the trail as they conversed on a moderate topic. A slow stream of water flowed
down from the marble fountain that adorned the center of the greenhouse. The clear cries of birds
diluted the afternoon’s languid atmosphere.

Claudine stealthily glanced at Matthias. Even though he always had a peaceful smile, it was hard to read
his true emotions. As well as his attitude towards the world.

He was a man of impeccable politeness but he was also a man of arrogance who had never bowed down
to anyone in his life. He was quite an interesting subject to observe, according to Claudine of course.

“The birds in this greenhouse are really pretty.”

Claudine marveled at the colorful birds perching on the branches. Matthias had only now recognized the
existence of these birds in the glass greenhouse.

Arvis’ current hostess, Elysse von Herhardt, loved birds as much as she loved roses. Just as how the
gardeners were in charge of growing the roses, the zookeepers were in charge of caring for the birds in
the greenhouse. Elysse’s role was to just enjoy the view.

That was how Elysse von Herhardt viewed her beautiful world.

Enjoy the work others had completed for her.

“I can’t believe it. This one’s so obedient. What’s your secret?”

Claudine asked as she smiled at the small bird that had landed on her hand.

Matthias leisurely looked around his surrounding. The birds in this greenhouse were surprisingly docile.
Even though the window was wide open, the birds didn’t dare to fly away. They continued to sing
beautifully in the tranquil environment.

Matthias observed the parrot waddling over its perch and the Bengalese finch singing on Claudine’s
hand. He then focused his attention to the gray-haired zookeeper. The zookeeper slowly walked in front
of Claudine and answered.

“I cut their wings, Miss. Then, they can neither fly away nor escape so they become submissive. If I let
them be with their wings uncut, they become impossible for me to tame.”

“Wings? Wouldn’t that hurt them?”

“I only cut their feathers so they won’t feel pain. It’s actually a good thing for the birds because it’ll
prevent them from accidentally flying to dangerous places and get injured. Would you like for me to
demonstrate?”
“Would that be okay, Lord Herhardt?”

Claudine asked with her eyes twinkling.

“As you wish, my lady.”

When Matthias willingly gave his permission, the zookeeper escorted them to a large cage located at the
end of the greenhouse. There were birds whose wings weren’t clipped yet.

The zookeeper pulled out a gorgeous, yellowish colored bird among the flock of birds and approached
the workbench.

“What type of bird is it?”

Matthias asked as he watched the bird.

“It’s a canary, master. A lovely singing bird.”

The zookeeper briefly answered as he covered the bird’s eyes with a small handkerchief and then spread
its wings with his left hand. The zookeeper swiftly grabbed a pair of sharp scissors with his remaining
hand.

The zookeeper moved the scissors’s blade without hesitation. The feathers of the cut wings scattered
over the workbench. He finished up his work by snipping off the other side of the wings and let the bird
free.1

The bird fluttered its wings desperately, but it did not fly far and slowly sank. As if the bird couldn’t deny
the fact that it could no longer fly, it tried to fly away several more times, but the result was the same.

While watching, Matthias leaned his waist forward and picked up the panting yellow bird resting at the
end of the flower bed. The little bird trapped in his grasp began to struggle and chirp, but its chirp
sounded more like a scream than a song.

“It doesn’t get tamed easily, master. It takes time for the bird to get used to the clipping.”

Matthias handed the bird over to the zookeeper.

“Would you like to try taming one, Miss?”

The zookeeper gently caressed the bird to calm it.

“I’m interested in watching animals, not taming them. Thank you for resolving my curiosity.”

Claudine politely refused and turned.

“Let’s return to the tea table now.”

This time, Claudine reached out her hand first. The memory of the beautiful, sculpture-like hand that
was soiled with dust and blood briefly came into Matthias’s mind once again and then faded away.

Before he left the area with Claudine, Matthias left an impulsive order.

“Take it to the bedroom.”

“….. Pardon?”

The zookeeper’s eyes widened at the unexpected remark.

“That bird.”1

Matthias pointed to the bird with this thinly opened eyes.

“My canary.”

Leyla neatly tied her combed blonde hair into a single ponytail. After that, she wore an apron and didn’t
forget to pick up her massive basket.

“I’m going to put an end to this.”

Leyla’s face, as she muttered to herself, was quite serious.

In addition to Duke Herhardt’s arrival, Lady Brandt had visited Arvis several days ago. As a result, Leyla
was in a rush. She had to gather up all the raspberries in the forest before she came across the duke or
before she got summoned by Lady Brandt. Thankfully, the two were busy. It seemed like they were
getting ready for their engagement to go public.

Wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, Leyla made a quick step towards the forest. There, she found a
bush of overgrown raspberries. No matter how hard the people of Arvis and the forest animals worked
and ate, there were still plenty of fruits falling on the floor and rotting away.

Leyla, who diligently roamed around the forest, filled up the basket before noon. Even though she felt
like her arms were about to fall out because of the basket’s heavy weight, she felt lighthearted.

Leyla threw her basket under the tree shade. She then swiftly headed towards the river to thoroughly
remove the traces of the fierce raspberry scent and color off her hands and her face.

The Schulter River encased the Herhardt’s garden and its valleys. The river looked beautiful from the city
center, but the place where the Schulter River looked the best was at the Arvis cemetery.

Leyla took out a handkerchief from her apron and wiped off the water droplets drizzling down her face.
The refreshing river played a big role in cooling down the scorching weather during the summer. Leyla
thought of dipping her feet into the river but she then shook her head.

There were five cousins older than Leyla in her aunt’s house, where she first resided in before getting
sent out. Everyone was rough and mischievous. One day, her cousins had dragged and plunged Leyla
into a river. They justified themselves by stating it was her initiation ceremony into the household. If it
weren’t for her neighbor who saved her after hearing her yells, Leyla would have been taken by the
water ghost.

Even though it was her cousins in the wrong, Leyla was the one who was beaten that night by her drunk
uncle. And within a few weeks, she was driven out and had moved to her next relative’s house. They
said they couldn’t take care of a child who took their kindness for granted.

Although it was unfair, Leyla decided to consider it as a good thing because she believed her next
relative’s house would be better to her.

The next house. The house after the next. Every time she was passed on from one place to another, she
hoped for a better treatment. She thought her earnest wishes came true when she finally settled down
at Uncle Bill’s cabin.

So all was good.

Leyla turned around and headed underneath the tree. She put the newspaper that was pinned in the
corner of the basket into her apron pocket and began to climb the tree. Although she wasn’t as quick
and agile as before, she had her know-hows. She learned it from Uncle Bill.

Leyla sat cozily on the tree branch like a fitted chair. She firmly believed the Schulter River was the most
magnificent river in the world. Kyle, who was used to traveling to many cities, agreed to her words. Leyla
thought her opinion was proved to be an objective fact.

She observed the water birds looking for food as the fresh scent of the river seeped into her nose.
Summer was definitely a heavenly season.

Leyla, with a determined look on her face, suddenly opened the newspaper from her apron pocket and
flipped to the mystery serial novel page. The detective, with his brilliant brain, was about to expose the
criminal through his deductions.

She began to excitedly race through the novel.

~~~~

It was only after a while when Matthias emerged his face out of the water’s surface.

His distinct Adam’s apple moved up and down to the rhythm of his heavy breathing. The man’s healthy,
nude body reflected over the river current.

When he was about to return to his mansion, Matthias had changed his mind and began to swim
towards the direction of the current.

Matthias, who liked the Schulter River and the Arvis forest, moved to the boathouse next to the dock,
where he could see the whole landscape in the mini annex. His grandmother and mother rarely walked
near the riverside so the place was Matthias’s private world.
When there were no visitors stopping by the mansion, Matthias often visited the annex in order to
blankly stare at the landscape beyond the window, read a book, or even take a nap if he was bored. It
was the most comfortable place to do anything. Of course, his most favorite thing to do was when he
entrusted his body into the river just like now.

While lying in the water, Matthias stared up at the sky covered in between the green branches. The
wind permeated the sound of leaves swaying and the sound of rippling water along with the birds’ cries.
He could exceptionally feel the river’s calmness today as the mansion had been noisy over the last few
days.

Negotiation contracts on the marriage the Herhardt and the Brandt household were about to sign had
been going along smoothly. If nothing unusual came up, his engagement with Claudine was to be
announced before the end of this summer.

Matthias agreed for his engagement period to last for about a year.

If he gained enough honor as the Duke of Arvis, he didn’t have to maintain his position as officer any
longer. After spending around one or two years in the military division, he was at the most appropriate
moment to discharge from the military and get married. He planned to focus all his attention on his
family business after the marriage.

It was a life that he would go along like the flow of the calm current.

Matthias resigned his body to the river as his eyes closed. The warm sunshine, cold currents, and the
sound of ripples breaking down in his ears felt as if that was everything in his world. But the moment he
opened his eyes again, his perfect peace was disturbed.

There was a woman sitting on the branches of the steady tree standing by the river. Before he could
blink, Matthias instantly recognized the woman’s identity. At that same moment, the woman who
folded up her newspaper she was reading turned her head towards him.+

It was that annoying woman, Leyla Lewellin.

Chapter 7

For a long time, Leyla thought she was hallucinating.1

Leyla often did. Because of her bad eyesight, she saw the fruit that fell from the tree as a squirrel and
she often got startled thinking a tree branch floating in the water was a person.

But this time, the visible silhouette was no doubt, a person. And it was a man. A tall, naked man. When
his wet, black hair came into view, she could no longer cling onto her self-justification that it was an
illusion.

Right now, that thing floating on the current was undeniably Duke Matthias von Herhardt.

The bewildered Leyla dropped the newspaper in her hand. If she hadn’t reflexively grasped the tree
branch, she would have fallen to the ground along with her newspaper.

Her conscious told her.

Close your eyes right now. No, get off the tree as fast as you can and leave this forest. Or at least scream
in shock.

But all Leyla could do was speechlessly stare at the man without any clothes on. It was indeed Duke
Herhardt. The man just stared back at Leyla with no intention of hiding his naked body while still floating
in the water.

I hope he’ll just wash away with the current!

By the time the wind started to eagerly blow, the duke suddenly began to swim towards the shore of
the river, where Leyla was.

“Ah, no!”

Leyla’s scream reverberated high into the clear sky.

“No! Don’t come! You can’t come!”

Shrieking with fear, Leyla frantically descended from the tree.

She didn’t bother to show her courtesy towards the duke. She couldn’t think of anything. Leyla
discarded her basket as well as her hat and simply ran. She ran without realizing how swift how legs
moved into the forest.

“Leyla!”

Around the middle of the trail leading to the cabin, Leyla came across Kyle. The puzzled Kyle caught
Leyla, who almost fell over.

“Where have you been? I was on my way to find you because you weren’t at home.”
“Kyle, Kyle, what should I do?”

Leyla’s hoarsely muttered as she breathed heavily like a half-crazy person.

“Why? What’s going on? Did you come across a wild animal?”

When Leyla vigorously shook her head, Kyle looked further beyond the road. There wasn’t anything in
sight. There was just an ordinary forest in front of them.

“Then what is it? Why are you so surprised?”

“…… What should I do?”

Leyla collapsed to the ground in tears. She used her apron hem to cover her face and shook her head
several times.

She didn’t want to remember, but the image of his well-built body kept appearing in her head.

Leyla clasped her hair.

“What should I do? What should I do, Kyle?”

“I’ll answer you if you could just tell me what the problem is. What the hell is it?”

Kyle frowned as he kneeled down in front of Leyla. It wasn’t long before Leyla’s face turned as red as a
ripe raspberry.

“Hey, what the hell did you see? Did you see a ghost?”

Kyle began to giggle.

No.

Leyla wanted to say but her lips did not budge.

Something scarier than that.1

The words she quietly muttered poured out through her hot gasps.

~~~~

The wild scene that had occurred front of him was so unbelievable, Matthias lost his breath. Drops of
water from the wet end of his hair trickled down his nose.

After swimming to the dock of the annex, Matthias got dressed and returned towards the tree. It was all
after Leyla had dumped all her luggage and ran off.

Matthias looked through Leyla’s traces. A large basket and a hat underneath the tree. A newspaper on
the floor. A wet handkerchief.
He let out a false laugh after scanning the basket full of raspberries. Was she planning to exterminate all
the raspberries growing in the Arvis forest? He was amazed to imagine that girl carrying such a huge
basket with her slim arms.

Come to think of it, this was the exact tree where he almost shot that little child.

Matthias glanced up at the beautiful tree. He also remembered the time when the little face, sitting on
the branch, vacantly stared at him. He burst into laughter.

No way, she still plays around climbing trees.

He was thinking of chasing after her but he changed his mind and headed towards the mansion.

Matthias was scheduled to meet the directors of his family company this afternoon. Although he wasn’t
directly involved in the management of the company, it was his job to look over their plans. He also had
to oversee the overall structure and the work quality of his subordinates.

The Herhardt family expanded their scope to trade and resources based on their land assets. Matthias’s
grandfather, who acquired a huge fortune for the family, had made the bold choice to invest in the oil
fields in the new empire.

All the honor and authority that had been built through the previous owners of the Herhardt household
were now in the hands of Matthias.

Matthias was well aware of that and he knew it was his greatest duty to maintain the honor and
authority and pass them onto the next Herhardt. He was confident that he would perform his duty more
perfect than anyone else. He had never doubted himself.

Matthias headed straight to the bedroom after he arrived in the mansion. He changed his clothes and
cleaned up his disheveled hair.

After all that preparation, Matthias obliquely leaned against the chair positioned by the window on the
west side of the bedroom. There was still an hour remaining until his next appointment.

Judging that it was a waste to simply sit and wait, he was about to rise from his chair until he heard a
bird’s cry.

Matthias headed his gaze towards the direction of the sound. The canary in the birdcage was singing on
the table. He had used to believe the bird didn’t know how to sing because it was so quiet but now, the
canary sang beautifully enough to overshadow his past thoughts.

Matthias slowly approached and opened the birdcage door. The canary, who stopped singing, flapped
its clipped wings and escaped the cage.

He was thinking of leaving the bedroom but had changed his mind and observed the bird while leaning
against the window frame. The tiny thing was very diligent. It flew a little, fell, and then hovered around
the room without taking a break.
The canary eventually got exhausted and gently sat down on the chair’s armrest. Matthias picked the
bird up to put it back into the cage. Instead of struggling and letting out an ear-splitting cry, the canary
obediently entrusted itself to its owner.

Matthias was fascinated by the change in the bird’s attitude so he tried placing the bird on his finger. He
thought the bird would’ve run away but it unexpectedly stayed still as it boldly stared back at him.

“It feels like I’ve met a new world.”

Leyla absent-mindedly whispered in shock. The gray-haired optician laughed heartily.

“It’s understandable. Your eyesight was pretty bad. You must’ve had a hard time.”

“No, it wasn’t all that bad. Except for when I had to read a book.”

Leyla cheerfully answered while putting down her glasses after she had lifted them up. The cloudy world
magically became clear. Leyla was once again thrilled by the obvious.

The numerous raspberries the forest provided turned into jam through Leyla’s fingertips. When she had
enough money to match her glasses, Leyla rode her bike downtown. She easily found the optician’s shop
that she used to frequently pass by.

After conversing with the optician for a few more minutes, she left the store. The scenery outside
became too crystal-clear that it was a little foreign, but amazing.

Leyla expressed her gratitude and love towards the wild fruits of the Arvis forest, which shined brightly
in the summer sunlight. She also thanked herself for stirring raspberry jam in front of the fire
underneath the scorching sun.

But why was she remembered of that terrible memory on such a happy day?

Leyla suddenly frowned upon the day she unintentionally saw the duke’s naked body.

How embarrassed and scared she was.

Leyla hadn’t dared to go back to pick up her basket and hat until the sun came down.

When she finally went back, the forest was serene and the river peacefully glistened.

The relieved Leyla hurriedly left the river with her basket and hat. But her cheeks had continued to burn.
She was so distracted that she didn’t even how heavy the basket was in her arms. After that day, she
was embarrassed to even look at Uncle Bill and Kyle.

Even though it’s his estate, how could he swim nude in the river? In the broad daylight?

Leyla shook her head to shake off the hateful memory.

I shouldn’t go to the riverside until the duke leaves this estate.

Leyla made a pledge to herself and was about head towards the direction of the cabin until she heard a
familiar voice.

“…… Leyla?”

This high, clear voice was undoubtedly Claudin von Brandt’s.

Yep. That’s her alright.

Leyla collected her breath and slowly turned herself around. She prepared herself with a courteous
smile. But when she unexpectedly met eyes with Duke Herhardt, the man who had disturbed Leyla’s
mind just a few moments ago, she froze.

Leyla could clearly see the man standing in front of her.

Leyla frantically turned her eyes over to Claudine, who stood beside him. While Duke Herhardt was out
working as an officer in the overseas front, Claudine didn’t visit Arvis as much as she used to. It had been
quite a while ever since Leyla saw the lady. Claudine had matured into a flawless woman.

Leyla politely gave her respects and the two gracefully nodded to accept her greeting.

“When did you start wearing glasses? I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Leyla hoped for her to leave but Claudine spoke again.

Leyla faced her with a prepared smile. She tried hard to not meet eyes with Duke Herhardt.

“Have you been well?”

Claudine meticulously examined Leyla with her thinly opened eyes.

“Yes, Miss.”

“We were on our way for tea.”

Claudine pointed to the hotel across the street with her eyes.

Yes, Miss. Or I see, Miss.

Leyla was contemplating over which response to answer when Claudine generously said,

“Let’s go together, Leyla.”

“What?”

“It’s been a long time since we met, so I’d like to have a cup of tea with you. It that alright, Duke
Herhardt?”
Claudine asked Matthias. Matthias expressed his consent with a slight grin at the tip of his lips. They
didn’t seem to care about what Leyla had to say. As usual.

The two began to start their walk as Leyla followed from behind. The servants who accompanied them
quietly followed suit.

Leyla sighed and dragged her bicycle. The creaking sound of the old wheel mingled to the sound of the
footsteps.
Chapter 8

The doorman looked flustered.

Leyla nodded towards him as if she understood. She was sure one’s ever brought a junk bicycle to the
best hotel in the city.

After the doorman took several turns of examining Leyla and Claudine, he took away her bicycle. Leyla
expressed her gratitude with a short greeting and entered the hotel. The tearoom was sitting on the
right side of the central lobby.

Coming with his quick steps, the manager guided them to the terrace that was headed to the riverside.
Leyla was the last to sit at the table. Her seat had happened to be facing right across Duke Herhardt.

Leyla hurriedly focused her eyes on her legs in order to avoid his vacant stare. The thin, gold-rimmed
glasses glistened in the summer sun.

Shouldn’t the person who was seen naked be more embarrassed than the person who saw it?

Leyla was amazed at the duke who continued to casually look at Leyla as if nothing had ever happened
at the river.

It was understandable. To the aristocrats, commoners and servants were nothing more than furniture or
painting. No one was ashamed of being naked in front of a furniture. And there wasn’t a furniture that
was ashamed to see a naked person.

When Leyla reached her conclusion, the tea-table was set up. Even though Duke Herhardt didn’t order
anything, there was a cup of strong-scented coffee placed in front of him. His fingers holding the teacup
were very smooth and long.

Claudine and Matthias continued their own conversation as if they had completely forgotten about
Leyla’s presence. The exhibition they saw today. An update on their relatives. A weekend party at the
mansion. Matthias’s soft, low tone and Claudine’s fluttering, high tone crossed at regular intervals.

Leyla wondered why they decided to bring her along if they were going to converse among themselves.
Lady Brandt’s actions were largely beyond Leyla’s understanding. She never understood her ever since
the first summer they met.2

“So, Leyla. How’s school? Are you having fun?”

Claudine’s voice was suddenly heard along with the sound of the cup being laid down on the saucer.
Although she was only a year older than Leyla, she always spoke as if she was talking to a child in an
adult-like way.

“Yes, Miss.”

For Uncle Bill. Leyla incanted in her head while she answered Claudine.
With a satisfied nod, Claudine formally asked a few more questions about Leyla’s school life and Leila
repeatedly answered with a consistent smile.

‘Yes, Miss’ was what Claudine had only expected from Leyla’s responses. And Leyla was accustomed to
answering that way.

“You’ll be graduating next year right?”

Although she had a dull look, Claudin’s tone was rather amiable.

“Yes, Miss.”

Leyla continued to answer faithfully.

“What are you planning to do after graduation?”

“I’m taking a class preparing for a teacher certification.”

“A teacher…”

Claudine stretched the corners of lips as she grasped the teacup. The ribbon and the corsage that
decorated her small hat shook along with her nods.

“Good girl, Leyla. That’s a great goal. I think it would suit you very well.”

Claudine smiled again, praising the commendable child.

“Isn’t that right, Duke Herhardt?”

Leyla inadvertently turned her eyes towards Matthias. With her glasses on, his eyes gave off a more
lucid blue color. When Leyla realized that she had been staring at the duke for too long, she hurriedly
dropped her gaze.

“I see.”

He casually expressed his agreement. After that, Leyla’s presence faded away again. Leyla was relieved.
She simply wanted this uncomfortable teatime to quickly end.

She was supposed to meet Kyle in town, who had gone out to play tennis. She was worried was late for
her promise.

The anxious Leyla raised her head. At the same time, Matthias turned his eyes and met hers. Instead of
avoiding eye contact like before, Leyla looked back at him in silence.

When she was young, she thought his blue colored eyes would make a clear, tingling sound. They
resembled her of a round, sapphire-colored glass candy. Leyla shook her head at her young self’s absurd
thoughts.
“Well, pardon me, Duke Herhardt and Lady Claudine.”

Leyla could no longer stand waiting in silence and opened her sweet lips.

“May I be excused?”

After she moved her gaze from Matthias’s eyes to Claudine’s face, she felt like she could breathe again.

“I have made a promise to meet my friend later today.”

Leyla nervously but impatiently said.

Claudine smiled and gave her permission with a nod. Leyla relieved her tensed up face.

After she gave her polite farewell, Leyla hurried out of the hotel and pedaled her bicycle frantically
across the busy streets. However, the further she pedaled away from the man, the more vivid his face
appeared in her head.

It’s because of the glasses. Leyla thought with a heavy breath. She believed her glasses was the main
reason why she was bewitched by the duke. It was natural to have her breath taken away at the sight of
the duke with her improved eyesight.

When she was about to feel faint and dizzy from all that pedaling, Leyla arrived at her appointment. Kyle
was there first. He broadly smiled and waved towards Leyla.1

She had entered her safe world.

“She’s grown up quite a bit, hasn’t she? She seems like a lady now.”

Claudine looked towards the direction Leyla had left. She sounded like Leyla was her daughter even
though she was only a year older.

“Because she is a lady.”

Matthias gave a moderate, impassive answer with his proper smile.

“Yes. Because she is one.”

Claudine, lost in thought for a moment, then smiled as brightly as the summer sun.

“Oh. Did you hear? Riette had recently bought a nice new car.”

Claudine skillfully changed the subject.

The two resumed their conversation in the world they shared. It was as if Leyla Lewellin, who used to sit
on the opposite side of their table, had never been there in the first place. But Leyla had revealed
herself in front of Matthias again at an unexpected place.
After having a relaxing tea time, Matthias was on his way back to his mansion. The road was congested
so his car was stopped. Matthias casually glanced out of the car window. Leyla was there. While
dragging her bicycle, she was walking along the street with a boy. It seemed like the friend she had
promised to meet.

Matthias then remembered the name of the boy with a familiar face. The doctor’s son. Kyle Etman.

Leyla Lewellin shouted at the boy who kept tapping on her glasses but the boy’s mischief became more
naughty. Leyla sighed in frustration and then laughed.

After a long time of laughing and joking around, the two stopped in front of the library stairs. Leyla
parked her bicycle and sat at the end of the stairs. The boy followed her with a paper bag. Two bottles of
soda and a sandwich came out of the bag.

Leyla Lewellin and the boy sat side by side and shared their food. Every time the boy said something,
Leyla laughed. And when Leyla laughed, the boy laughed along with her. In the meanwhile, the
congested road started to clear out.

When the car started running again, Matthias moved his gaze away and turned towards Claudine, who
was sitting on the opposite side of the car window.

The two smiled at each other and once again, their proper conversation began. At that moment,
Matthias unconsciously recalled his memory during their teatime. Leyla Lewellin never touched the
teacup in front of her. She sat still in an upright position with her hands on her knees and then left
quietly.

She left me for the boy.

The painful truth evoked his recollection of Leyla’s nervous and agonized expression.

She wanted to go to the boy.

When his thoughts reached that point, his memory of Leyla’s back, which was leaving the hotel terrace,
was revived. She had hurried as if she was running away.

She left me, to go to the boy.1

The car carrying the two had already entered the platanus road leading to the Arvis estate.

When Claudine and Matthias passed by the very road where Leyla had fallen from her bicycle, Matthias
admitted. Leyla Lewellin couldn’t dare to be anything to him. Yet, he was not very happy about this
emotion he was experiencing.

~~~~

“Since I ate your sandwich, I’ll buy you ice cream.”

Leyla stood up from the library stairs with a light smile. She carefully packed the empty paper bag along
with the bottled drinks and placed them into her bicycle basket.

“No thanks. You don’t have to owe me.”

Kyle got on Leyla’s bike with a slightly awkward smile. Leyla naturally sat on the back seat of the bike. He
could clearly feel Leyla’s body temperature being transmitted to his back even in the midday heat.

Kyle started pedaling, trying to cool off the warmth from his cheeks.

She can hold onto me a little tighter.

Leyla held his shirt so gently that it seemed like she was tantalizing him. But he was still satisfied with
her grip.

He had purposely left his bike behind in order to ride Leyla’s bike with her. Of course, Leyla was
oblivious of his intentions.

“You know what, Kyle.”

Leyla’s soft voice permeated through the rushing wind.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll still buy you ice cream.”

He was wondering about what she had to say so he laughed at her sudden offer.

“Tell me honestly. You just want to eat ice cream, don’t you?

“….. It’s not like that.”

It was like that.

Kyle pulled up his bike in front of the ice cream shop while Leyla ran inside.

He was about to follow her inside but he changed his mind and leaned against the store wall to cool off
underneath the shade. Leyla soon came out with two vanilla ice cream cones in both her hands.

The two ate ice cream alongside each other. Although this was one of their daily routines, Kyle kept
gazing at Leyla. Her new glasses seemed unfamiliar to him.

“Leyla.”

Kyle softly whispered her name. When Leyla turned her head, her cheeks were red. Although her cheeks
were red because of the hot weather, Kyle’s heart palpitated loudly. After nervously swallowing his
saliva, he gulped down his ice cream in one big bite.2

“It’s delicious. The ice cream.”

Leyla smiled after waiting for Kyle’s words.

“I know right? Vanilla’s my favorite flavor.”

Leyla looked up at the clear summer sky. Kyle stared at Leyla’s long, thin neck as he started to eat his ice
cream again.

It was cold and sweet.

Chapter 9

“Is she the one? The orphan the gardener is raising?”

Wrinkles formed on Countess Brandt’s forehead as she gazed at the garden over the window. A lady in
glasses was helping the gardener organize the rose garden.

“Yes, mother. Leyla, it’s her.”

Claudine bluntly answered.

While Countess Brandt was distracted by Leyla, Claudine calmly moved her needle through the cloth.
Colorful roses bloomed from her fingertips as she diligently finished up her embroidery.

“She’s a very pretty girl. I think she’s getting prettier as she matures.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

“I know what you’re worried about, mother.”

Claudine put down her embroidered cloth. Countess Brandt’s eyes were wide open with a worried look
on her face.

The weak Countess Brandt had one daughter after a series of miscarriages. That child was Claudine, the
Brandt household’s only daughter.

The countess, who was suffering from an inferiority complex of being unable to provide her husband a
successor, lived in fear of her husband falling out of love. Although the count’s mistress was also unable
to provide him a son, Countess Brandt was still worried. Worried that one day, some young, beautiful
woman will show up and birth him a son and take away everything.

Claudine felt sorry for her mother. But she was tired of her mother’s excessive concerns.

“I don’t want to dwell on those type of things.”

Claudine’s words were solemn as if she was making a declaration. The countess helplessly sighed.

“You’re too young to know men. Claudine, if I were you…..”

“You would get rid of all the beautiful women in the world out of Duke Herhardt’s sight?”

Claudine let out an exaggerated sigh.

“As you said, I am still young and I don’t know men that well. But I do know that men of great reputation
usually have one or two mistresses alongside them.”

“Oh, my God. Claudine!”

“Of course, I hope such a thing doesn’t happen, but even if it does happen, I know it’s not a big deal.”

Claudine lightly shrugged.

When she had recently come across Leyla by chance, the usually calm Claudine was surprised. Although
it was natural for a sweet girl to grow into a beautiful woman, Leyla’s mature appearance was more
beautiful than expected.

With her unique, small body and delicate facial features, she looked like a fairy. The combination of her
mysterious green eyes and her transparent white skin enhanced her resemblance to one.

That was the reason why Claudine had asked Leyla to accompany her for tea. She was curious. Curious
to know how the Duke would react to such a woman. And he had exactly acted up to Claudine’s
expectations. With proper interest and indifference, with perfect decency and moderation. That was
enough for Claudine.1

“But Claudine, there’s nothing good about keeping that child close to Matthias.”

Countess Brant still looked restless.

“Why don’t I have a talk with the Herhardt household?”

“Mother.”

Claudine’s voice sank low.

Claudine was determined that she wouldn’t live like her mother, who cried because of love despite the
fact that she had everything. That was why Claudine agreed to be engaged to Matthias.

Matthias von Herhardt was noble, rich, and handsome. Claudine believed that kind of man would never
only love his wife that he married in an arranged marriage. She knew her life wasn’t the happy ending of
a fairy tale.

Maybe he too might be swept away by his desire for a beautiful woman. Like father. Like so many other
men.

But men who regarded their mistress simply as a mistress were harmless. It was men who didn’t regard
their mistress simply as a mistress that caused trouble. Claudine was sure Matthias was the former type
of man.

Do I love him?

Claudine tilted her head and just smiled.

Maybe. Maybe not. But it wasn’t a big deal. Matthias knew that as well.
What mattered to her the most was whether the Duke of Arvis was capable of playing the role of a great
husband and the role of a perfect father. Claudine simply wanted that. A marriage that could protect her
dignity and elegance.

“What’s the big deal if Duke Herhardt’s interested in that humble, beautiful child?”

The words that were calmly brought out by Claudine astonished Countess Brandt.

“My God, Claudine! What the hell are you talking about?”

“She’ll simply just become a mistress at least.”

Claudine laughed.

“It actually might be convenient for me for a girl like that to become a mistress. A woman who can’t
dare to threaten my place, who I can tame with the grasp of my palms.”

“Claudine, my child. You…… you really don’t know anything about love.”

Countess Brandt’s lament for her daughter deepened.

She looked into her mother’s shiny blue eyes and then turned her head away with a strange smile.

She looked at Leyla out the window. The woman stood up from the flower bed and was laughing while
massaging her back.

The cabin was empty when Kyle arrived. Leyla and Uncle Bill had seemed to have gone to the garden
together. Kyle sat on the porch chair, waiting for the two to come back.

When he thought of Leyla’s face with glasses on, Kyle grinned. The future Mrs. Etman was attractive
even in glasses. Although he initially felt a little strange looking at her new appearance, his heart now
fluttered at the thought of her face.3

Kyle purposely coughed in order to prevent himself from having his cheeks turn red. Around that time,
Leyla and Uncle Bill had returned.

“What the hell is that hat?”

Kyle’s brow frowned when saw a rustic hat covering Leyla’s lovely face.

“Wow. So tacky. You didn’t pay for that, did you?”

When Kyle mischievously teased her, Leyla’s and Bill’s eyes both turned towards him. Their glares were
quite fierce.

“Uncle bought it for me!”

Leyla shouted as she scowled at Kyle. Bill retorted by picking up the shovel he had loaded on the cart.
“On second thought. Wow, it’s pretty! Uncle Bill has a good eye!”

Kyle hurriedly changed his view.

“Don’t make fun of it. It’s really precious to me.”

Leyla took off the problematic hat with a look of disapproval. It was a rather glitzy straw hat, lavishly
dressed with artificial flowers and ribbons.

Leyla prepared lunch while Bill was busy putting away his cart. The problematic hat was placed at the
end of the table. Kyle sat in front of the hat and tried to read Leyla’s expression.

“Leyla, are you mad?”

“Yeah.”

Leyla slammed Kyle’s plate down as hard as she could.

At least she’s still feeding me.

Kyle was relieved.

“I’m sorry. You know I wouldn’t have said that if I knew?”

“Whatever.”

“But why did Uncle Bill decide to gift you a hat?”

“Because I asked him to.”

“You? You know how to ask for stuff?”

Kyle asked in surprise. The Leyla he knew was a child who rarely asked anyone for anything.

“My glasses upset him a lot.”

Leyla’s voice dropped.

“Was he upset that your eyesight got worse?”

“No. That’s not it. He was upset I never told him that I was planning on buying expensive glasses with my
own savings.”

Leyla sat across Kyle after she was finished setting the table.

Uncle Bill was dazed. It was as if he had been hit on the back of his head when Leyla showed up in the
cabin with glasses on. After hearing her explanation of how she came to get her glasses fitted, his
expression was as cold as an ice sheet. It was the first time Uncle Bill been so angry towards her.
‘Leyla. Am I not that reliable to you?’

Bill sighed. Leyla felt suffocated looking at Bill’s sad eyes.

The more she clarified, saying that she didn’t want to burden him and was thankful for everything that
he had done for her, the more his eyes saddened.

Ever since that day, their relationship had gotten rather awkward.

Bill was sulky and refused to speak while Leyla was at a loss of what to do. The answer she found was
the hat.

‘Uncle, please buy me a hat.’

Leyla blurted at the dinner table a few days ago.

‘I’d like a very pretty hat, please.’

Uncle Bill laughed at her serious tone.

The next evening, the old man who had gone downtown to buy a pair of electronic scissors came back
with a straw hat decorated with flowers and ribbons.

‘I bought it at Lindsay’s, so if you don’t like it, go ahead and return it.’

Bill carelessly added while holding out the hat.

‘Did you pick it yourself?’

‘Well, yeah.’

‘It’s so pretty.’

Leyla brightly smiled and wore the hat.

Uncle Bill had personally bought her many things, but in most cases, he had asked Mrs. Mona to buy
stuff for Leyla or he directly took Leyla out to the store to pick out what she needed. Leyla knew too well
how difficult it must’ve been for Uncle Bill to choose a female hat. She also was aware of how big his
love was for her.

For Bill Remmer, flowers were the prettiest thing in the world. So he believed a hat with many flowers
was the prettiest hat. He was sure he picked the most charming hat.

“Hey! You should’ve told me that before.”

There was an embarrassment in Kyle’s face as he attentively listened.

“Now I feel like a scumbag for making fun of that gift!”

“When did you give me a chance to talk? You teased me as soon as you saw it.”

“That’s true, but……”

“You cheeky gluttonous herbivore. You’re eating up all my food again. Someday I’m going to ask Dr.
Etman to pay for all that food you ate here!”

Bill, who burst into the door, loudly yelled. But his face was friendly and his tone was playful, which was
completely different from his harsh words.

Bill then chuckled awkwardly at the sight of Leyla’s hat on the table. Leyla’s expression, smiling at Bill,
was so sweet that Kyle was almost pathetically jealous.

The man who loved Leyla Lewellin had no choice but to accept the fate of being second place in Leyla’s
heart. Leyla’s number one was forever Uncle Bill.

Comforting himself, Kyle grabbed the fork. He didn’t mind Uncle Bill’s nagging. Leyla’s food was delicious
enough to bear Bill’s harsh lectures.

~~~~

When Uncle Bill went back to work after lunch, only Kyle and Leyla were left in the cabin.

Leyla sat on the porch, reading as usual. Kyle stared at Leyla as he pretended to read. Except for the
time when she had to put down her book to eat some biscuits, Leyla was totally fixated on her book.

I shouldn’t have lent you that novel.

Despite his bitter regret, Kyle smiled.

Leyla wouldn’t know. How charming her face was when she was concentrating on her book. How lovely
she was when she munched on her biscuits with those luscious lips.

Should I tell her today?

Kyle, who had put the book down on the floor, looked at Leyla with a stern expression.

He believed he could wait a little longer, but now, he wasn’t so confident.

Even the touch of Leyla’s fingertips made his heart feel like it would burst. His body heated up as he
often had guilty dreams of her.1

Kyle was recently worried about his concern. He feared that one day, someone would appear to take
Leyla away from him.

So wouldn’t it be better to make a reckless confession?

The sound of slow horseshoes was heard from a distance when Kyle was about to open his warm lips.
When Kyle turned his head to the direction of the sound, he saw Duke Herhardt in his equestrian
uniform. Leyla, who was just about to take another bite of her biscuit, was surprised by the visitor.1

The duke stopped his horse in front of the porch railing.

His glance, which briefly brushed past Kyle, paused on Leyla’s face. Her face was blushing in confusion.
Chapter 10

“What about Mr. Remmer?”1

The duke asked Leyla.

“Uncle went downtown for the moment. Is something the matter?”

Leyla managed to answer after wiping the biscuit crumbs off her lips.

With a short nod, Duke Herhardt turned his gaze towards Kyle. When he met eyes with Kyle, his lips
curled into an affable smile. Only then did Kyle relieve his instinctive vigilance.

After asking to convey his gratitude and regard to Kyle’s father for taking good care of Norma’s health,
he then looked back at Leyla again.

“Miss. Lewellin can bring the roses in on behalf of Mr. Bill, right?”

He slowly spoke as the smile on his lips disappeared.

“Roses? You mean the roses in the garden?”

“Moderately cut off some roses and bring them to the annex.”

With a slight nod, the duke left. He hadn’t even listened to Leyla’s answer.

Leyla sighed hopelessly after looking at her blouse and skirt, which was covered with biscuit power.
Although she shook off the powder, it wasn’t enough to shake off the humiliation.

“Stop it. There isn’t any powder on your clothes anymore.”

Kyle burst into laughter as he then watched Leyla repeatedly rub her lips.

“Why did he have to show up like this?”

“Why not? Do you think the duke’s never eaten a snack in his life?”

“But…”

Leyla unwittingly rubbed her mouth again.

“Why do you care when you always eat messy in front of me?”

“You’re my friend.”

“And Duke Herhardt is a stranger. You don’t have to care about him more than your friend.”

“That’s true but…. I don’t know. It’s so uncomfortable.”

Leyla wrinkled her nose.

“Why? Did something happen?”

“No, it’s not that, but… it’s so uncomfortable and suffocating with the duke around. Anyways, I don’t like
it.”

“What about me? I’m comfortable and nice right?”1

Kyle asked with a subtle expectation. Leyla smiled and put on her hat.

“Of course, Mr. Etman.”

Kyle’s grin lit up at the satisfactory answer.

“As expected. I knew it. Ah, should I help you with your errand?”

“No, it’s not a big deal. You should go home now.”

“Then I’ll wait here.”

“I’m fine. Mrs. Etman will be veeery upset if she finds out you were hanging out here again. Don’t get
me scolded along with you and go study.”

Kyle’s eyebrows flinched at Leyla’s reasonable point. He wanted to refute but couldn’t.

Kyle looked carefully towards the direction the duke had disappeared to.

I’m probably being too oversensitive these days.1

It was just Duke Herhardt. The flawless aristocrat who was about to announce his engagement to the
public. But then…

“Leyla!”

Kyle tried to stop her. The thought of Duke Herhardt and Leyla being together still somewhat made him
anxious. Meanwhile, Leyla was about to leave the porch as she said her farewell while holding a pair of
scissors and a basket in her hands.

“See you tomorrow, Kyle!”

Don’t go.

Kyle simply waved his hands in effort to swallow down the words that he had wanted to say.

It’s Duke Herhardt. What could go wrong?

While Kyle was repeating those words like a spell, Leyla had moved towards the other side of the path.
~~~~

“Again.”

Matthias’s voice touched Leyla’s back. Only after a few moments of blinking did Leyla realize that his
words were directed at her. Leyle turned to him while holding her breath. Matthias sat, facing the butler
at a table placed by the window. He was examining the documents that were piled up on the table.

“With colors that aren’t flashy.”

Matthias slowly said with his eyes focused only on the documents that he held in his hands.

“Again.”

Soon, there was a ridiculously gentle smile on Matthias’s face when he looked at Leyla.

Leyla clenched her fists tight in order to bear the pent-up irritation. So the roses were the problem. The
roses that he told her to ‘moderately’ cut down.

While Leyla glared at the roses, Matthias’s gaze turned emotionless. The butler Hessen then continued
his report, and Matthias, who was listening, replied back with brief instructions. The presence of the
insatiable errand girl was completely erased in the room.

For Uncle Bill.

Reiterating the incantations, Leyla quietly left the annex located by the river and headed back to the
garden. That guy, who bullies a person at 2 p.m. in the middle of summer, is supposed to be a
gentleman. She emphatically expressed her dissatisfaction at his unacceptable reputation.

Even though she was disinterested in the mansion affairs, Leyla was aware the detached annex along
with the river was Duke Herhardt’s. He rarely had guests in that annex and the number of servants who
came in and out was limited.

Leyla initially thought the reason why he wanted the flower in the annex was because of Claudine.
Claudine was about to get engaged to him so there was a chance that Claudine might’ve started using
the annex as well. So Leyla, who knew Claudine’s preference of bright flowers, had cut down the most
gaudiest colored roses and presented them to the duke. Only to get rejected by him of course.

When Leyla got out of the forest, the shadowless garden appeared in sight.

Leyla boldly walked and cut the roses again with great care. In response to the duke’s stressful demands,
she chose subtle colored roses this time. Most of them were the types of roses that Leyla liked.

While holding a basket full of flowers, Leyla headed towards the annex again under the stifling summer
afternoon sun.

Why didn’t you just tell me the color you wanted in the first place?
Leyla vented her anger by kicking the stones on the floor instead of spitting out the words that she had
in mind for the duke.

I hate you.

The words that Leyla could never directly say to him were left behind along with the stones she
purposely kicked.

By the time she was about to feel dizzy from the sweltering heat, Leyla arrived in front of the detached
house.

The beautiful annex located next to the dock was built as if it was half-floating on the river. On the first
floor, there was a boat hangar and a kitchen filled with simple refreshments, and on the second floor,
there was a reception room, a bedroom, and a dining room intended for the duke to rest and eat in.

Leyla climbed the outer stairs leading straight to the second floor while holding the basket of roses in
her hands. The butler and a middle-aged maid were about the leave the annex.

After greeting them her farewell, Leyla turned to the reception room. Matthias was still sitting on his
chair, with his eyes closed and head tilted back.

Should I wait?

While Leyla was contemplating, he thankfully opened his eyes. His softly tangled hair was covering his
forehead.

“I’ve brought you new roses, your grace.”

Leyla slightly lifted the basket full of flowers.

The duke simply stared at the cup of whiskey placed in front of him and didn’t bother to open his
mouth. He had taken off his horseback riding jacket and loosened up a few buttons on his shirt. Because
of his getup, he looked much more defenseless and languid than before.

“Should I…… go back again?”

Leyla’s voice quivered as she carefully asked. If she had to go to the garden once again, she felt like she
could’ve hit the duke with the roses.

“If I tell you to go, are you going to?”

He asked with a slight drowsiness in his voice.

“If I made another mistake, I’d go but please tell me the color of the roses you prefer this time.”

Yes, your grace.

That was the answer she had originally planned to say but her mouth said the other.
Matthias, who was leaning deep into the chair’s back, fixed his posture and sat upright.

“Sit down.”

Matthias pointed to the seat that was placed at the opposite side of the table with his eyes.

“No, if my lord is satisfied, I’d now…….”

“If you brought the flowers, wouldn’t it be your job to arrange them in a vase? Miss. Lewellin?”

“But your grace, I’m not very good at arranging flowers.”

“Then, do you expect me to do it?”

Matthias looked around the room and then turned his eyes back to Leyla. Leyla didn’t find it difficult to
recognize what that brief gesture meant. He and Leyla were the only ones in this detached house. She
had no choice but to do something she wasn’t confident in.

She took a cautious step forward. The opposite seat was too burdensome for her so she carefully sat on
the wooden chair in front of the window that was facing the river.

As Leyla began to trim the roses, Matthias turned to his piles of document scattered across the table.
The sound of the scissor blade cutting the fresh flower stalk and the fluttering of the document paper
permeated into silence.

At the moment he finished signing the last reviewed document, Matthias suddenly recalled the bird
living in his mansion bedroom. Putting the zookeeper’s words that canaries were difficult types of birds
to tame in vain, the canary in Matthias’s bedroom followed him well. It sat on his finger and sang
without any hesitation.

He looked at it for a long time, amazed at the fact that the unbelievably small bird could sing so
beautifully. The flapping bird that had sat on his finger even cried a little, as if it was chatting about its
day.

While he was organizing the documents, Leyla quietly went to the bathroom and filled the vase up with
water. Her steps were light and swift.

It was soon proved that Leyla’s words were no lies. Her flower arrangement was a mess.

“Do you like it?”

Leyla hesitantly asked as she brought up the rose filled vase up to Matthias.

“It’s terrible.”

Matthias’s tone wasn’t condescending, but dry. Leyla’s eyes blinked in shock as her cheeks turned red
with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry. I’ll bring in a qualified maid.”

“Sit.”

“Pardon?”

“Sit, Leyla.”

When his voice dropped, the tension in the atmosphere increased. His fingers pointed exactly towards
the sofa located at the opposite of his seat.

Leyla placed the criticized rose vase on a console table near her and stiffly sat where Matthias had
pointed to.

“Eat.”

Matthias turned his gaze towards the silver-colored dome dish that was placed near the sofa.

Leyla awkwardly opened the cover. There were sandwiches and a glass of lemonade meant for one
person.

Matthias stared at the perplexed Leyla. He thought if she liked those types of food, he was going to give
Leyla the right amount of expenses for her work. The results of her work were lousy but she had made
quite the effort.

“Thank you, your grace. But I’m fine.”

Leyla laid down the dome dish with trembling hands. Her face, that used to brightly smile in front of the
doctor’s son, simply looked perplexed now.

“If you don’t want me to do anything else, I’ll take my leave….”

“Leyla.”

Matthias’s voice was now close to a whisper.

Leyla slowly blinked while Matthias took a sip of the cold whiskey in front of him. The droplets on the
surface of the crystal glass slowly rode down his long fingers.

“Do my words sound like a request to you?”

Matthias smiled as his lips reddened with the wet whiskey.

Chapter 11

The annex, which had large windows attached in all directions, provided a panoramic view of the forest
and the river. It was also a place where the wind could freely flow in and out.

The weather today was hotter than ever, so it was hard to feel any chills.

But Leyla felt shivers go down her spine. She was determined to quickly eat and leave, but the food in
front of her didn’t seem to reduce in amount.

Leyla didn’t think she could swallow anything. She already had lunch and even ate a snack. And to count
it off, she ran an errand under the sultry heat so she had lost her appetite. Matthias concentrated on his
work with his head tilted, but Leyla still found it hard to breathe properly.

Is this like a punishment for my poor errand and flower arrangement?

Leyla pondered as she swallowed another bite of the sandwich. If so, Duke Herhardt had accomplished
his goal. Leyla felt like she was being punished.

Leyla hurriedly drank the lemonade to beat the urge to spit out her sandwich. After she wiped the water
droplets off her hands with her apron, she picked up the sandwich again. Leyla then lowered the hem of
her hat to cover her face that filled with dread. It was at that moment when a long finger suddenly
touched the tip of her chin.

“If you’re a lady, Leyla.”

His hand untied the ribbon knot that was tied under her chin.

“You’re supposed to take off this hat when you’re inside.”

Before Leyla could even reply, Matthias took off her straw hat. Surprised, Leyla reflexively leaped from
the sofa. The sandwich fell because of her sudden movement and rolled over the floor. The corner of
Matthias’s eyes slanted, but Leyla’s attention was only focused on her hat.

“Gi- give it back.”

Leyla’s voice was now quivering with anger, not fear.

“Give it back, please. I will take my leave now. I want to go home. Give it back.”

Matthias tightly clutched the hat he snitched. He had no intention of returning it. Leyla reacted as if she
was stripped naked, even though it was just her hat that had been taken away. Leyla’s red blush that
had traveled down her neck amused Matthias. Her sensitive skin had easily responded to her irritation.

“Eat.”

Matthias pointed to the sandwich that still had two slices left.
“Eat, get your hat, and go back. It’s easy.”

“No, I don’t want to.”

Leyla shook her head as she approached him.

“I don’t want to eat. I can’t anymore. I hate it.”

Leyla’s frightened eyes were shaking. She seemed like she had no idea what she was talking about.

Matthias rose from his chair as his grip on the hat tightened more. His figure had cast a shadow over
her.

“……You hate it?”

“It’s all my fault, so please give it back.”

Leyla stretched out her hand. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears. Matthias looked at her
face and slowly lifted her hat over his head. Leyla’s eyes moved along with his movement.

When their eyes met, Matthias threw the hat lightly over the window. The wind carried away the hat,
and it gently flew over the river. Leyla gave him an icy glare and frantically ran out of the reception
room.1

Matthias approached the front window that overlooked the dock and the river. Leyla, who soon
appeared on the dock, started stamping her feet around in panic after looking at the hat that was
floating on the water. She suddenly took off her apron and glasses and set them on the dock.

Are you going to jump into that river just to get that stupid hat?

Standing in front of the window, Matthias gave her a rather amused stare. Leyla was shaking. It seemed
like she was afraid of the water.

Are you serious?

Matthias sneered as Leyla entered the river. She hesitated in the river for a moment, but then started to
walk towards her hat. Leyla Lewellin didn’t stop when the water level reached her knees, her waist, and
then her chest.

Matthias watched with his arms loosely folded.

Leyla reached out her hand to the fullest, but the river current had pushed her hat as it traveled farther
away. When Matthias thought she was going to give up, Leyla suddenly took a bigger step closer to her
hat.

The water level should be deeper than your height by now.

Leyla’s hand finally grasped the ribbon end of the hat while Matthias slowly tilted his head. At that same
time, Leyla Lewellin’s figure disappeared below the surface.

“As expected.”

Matthias softly murmured and frowned. Leyla drowned exactly at the point he had predicted her to
submerge in. Surprised by the sudden deepened water, Leyla struggled desperately. But the more she
struggled, the deeper she was pulled into the river. She was grabbing onto her hat for dear life.

With his arms now unfolded, Matthias headed for the dock with wide steps. His other prediction was
proved right. Leyla Lewellin had jumped into the river even though she didn’t know how to swim.

Stopping at the end of the dock, Matthias looked upon the floundering Leyla. Her screams gradually
faded away as she repeatedly rose to the surface and sank.

Eat, get the hat, and go back.

What a fuss she created when she could have done that simple task.1

Sighing between his twisted lips, Matthias dived into the river.

The wooden panels on the dock that touched Leyla’s cheek were hot from the sun. When she felt the
vividness of the heat, Leyla realized that she had safely come out of the river. Pain and fear soon
followed the relief.

Leyla trembled as a deluge of coughs came out of her mouth. Even at that moment, she had refused to
let go of the hat she held onto.

Leyla’s appearance was so absurd that Matthias lost his breath. She heard a mixture of weak breaths
and a low laughter coming from the duke. Leyla Lewellin met eyes with him by the time the droplets of
water from her wet body left a dark stain on the wooden floor.

“How….. Can you do… something like this….”

Leyla asked while gasping for breath. She gave him a dirty look, but it was the tears in her eyes that
caught his attention.

Sweeping his wet hair that covered his forehead, Matthias looked at her as if she was something
entertaining. As Leyla’s breathing calmed down, his laughter grew louder.

Leyla lifted her upper body up with her trembling hands, touching the scorching wooden floor. Droplets
of water poured down like rain from her wet head. Her eyes turned red, but Leyla didn’t cry. Instead,
she continued to glare at Matthias. That wicked man with a pleasant smile.

Leyla, who changed her mind after trying to figure out what to say, stood up. Matthias sat on the
wooden floor as if he was enjoying his sunbath. He then looked up at her. The thin, wet clothes starkly
revealed the lines of her body.
While Matthias’s eyes focused on her trembling shoulders, Leyla suddenly shook off the water from her
hat.

The cold droplets of water hit Matthias’s indifferent face. Although Leyla flinched a little, she didn’t stop
her revenge. After wearing the hat that was still dripping with water, she now brushed off her skirt. Her
eyes glistened provocatively at Matthias.

“Is it fun?”

Matthias slowly swept his face as if he were washing it and opened his mouth.

“I’m starting to get a little bored.”

His laughter quickly disappeared from his stony face. Although Leyla cowered instinctively, she didn’t
avoid his gaze.

“How… What… Why… Are you doing this to me?”

“Leyla, your gratitude.”

Matthias slowly rolled up the sleeves of his wet shirt.

“Your gratitude towards your lifesaver.”

He nonchalantly teased Leyla, who looked back at him in astonishment.

“I don’t think any of this would have happened if you hadn’t thrown my hat into the river.”

“No.”

The gap between his eyebrows narrowed.

“If you’d patiently eaten your sandwich and left, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Leyla simply blinked. His tone was too calm for it to be a joke.

“Nor if you hadn’t made the pathetic decision to jump into the river, even though you don’t know how
to swim.”

Matthias lightly brushed off the dripping water with the tip of his finger and tilted his head.

“…… Thank you for saving me, your grace.”

Leyla clenched her jaws and bowed. Uncle Bill. Uncle Bill. Uncle Bill. She once again started her
incantation.

“Again.”

Matthias ordered as if he was checking the sincerity of her gratitude.

“Like a lady. Again.”

The duke didn’t smile or laugh.

“My apologizes, your grace, I’m not like the other aristocratic ladies. I’m not even a lady.”

Leyla’s angry words slipped out of her mouth. Matthias silently stared at her without any agitation.

“But you have to be a lady in front of me, Leyla.”

The droplets on the tips of his fingers bounced off Leyla’s foot.

“Whatever you are, I’m still a gentleman.”

The duke smiled while quietly staring at Leyla.

Leyla grasped her soaked skirt with her white, hardened hands. Just like the graceful lady the duke had
wanted her to be, she gave a courteous bow. The droplets of water from the straw hat brim fell onto the
wooden floor of the dock.

“Thank you very much for saving my life, your grace.”

Although her body trembled to the point her teeth collided against each other, Leyla lowered her head,
enunciating her every word correctly. Matthias gave a pass for her ladylike gratitude with the nod of his
chin.

Don’t cry, Leyla Lewellin.

Leyla tightened her fist.

Don’t cry over someone like that, please.

Comforting herself, Leyla then straightened her waist, which used to be bent towards the duke.

“Then, I’ll go back now. Goodbye, your grace.”

Leyla resolutely turned, leaving behind the silent Matthias. Behind the walking Leyla was a long trail of
water droplets falling from the skirt.

Her legs were loose, and she nearly fell several times, but Leyla desperately tightened her leg muscles.
She clenched her teeth and made her mind that she wouldn’t fall today. That she won’t be his plaything
anymore. Never.

Once Leyla was out of Matthias’s sight, she now ran. The corners of her eyes were so red that even the
hat’s shade couldn’t hide her eyes. Leyla ran faster and faster, increasing the speed of her running.

She saw it by chance one day. He was walking along the forest path with Claudine. The elegant
gentleman escorting the alluring lady was just like a scene from a fairy tale or a court novel.
When they reached the end of the road, the wind blew off Claudine’s hat. Matthias slowly approached
the hat and picked it up to give it back to Claudine. His non-urgent gesture was very graceful. By the
time Leyla noticed how he always moved that gracefully, the two were out of Leyla’s sight.

With that non-urgent gesture as that day, he had insulted Leyla today. She stopped running after
realizing the harsh difference between his attitude towards her and Claudine.

The pale-faced Leyla staggered to the grass to throw up the food she forcefully shoved in. Tears welled
up in her eyes, but she didn’t cry.

When the nausea stopped, Leyla went to the shallow stream running through the forest and rinsed her
mouth. She felt much better after taking a rest in the tree shade.

Leyla wiped her lips with the back of her hand and returned to the path leading to the cabin. She had no
more energy left to run, so she trudged her legs along. The damp stocking and skirt got dirtied, but she
didn’t mind because her appearance was already messy.

When the cabin in sight, Leyla gathered up her last energy and kicked the hazel tree fruit off the side of
the road. While she watched the fruit roll down, she suddenly realized the fatal mistake she had made.

“My glasses…”2

Her face crumpled up. The road she looked back on felt far away.
Chapter 12

When he moved the stylus needle, music began to flow out.

The aria of an opera carried by the phonograph placed on top of the mahogany cabinet instantly
defeated the silence that was filling the reception room of the annex.

Matthias changed the frequency a few times to let a different music genre, the waltz, to flow out and
then sat back on the sofa. The melody was bright and cheerful. His long fingertips, lightly touching the
armrest, slowly tapped along to the beat. The desk clock on the opposite console table indicated it was
currently five o’clock.

Matthias’s gaze briefly focused on the lousy arranged rose vase next to the clock and soon turned his
head towards the window. The wind got cooler as evening approached. The wind from the river shook
his gown before it headed out into the forest.

Matthias reached out and opened a small silver box placed at the end of the drawing table. While he
picked up a cigarette from the box and lit it up, the waltz song was over. Matthias slowly smoked,
listening to the raucous string music that followed. The late afternoon of the summer was boring and
still.

When the song stopped, Matthias picked up Leyla’s glasses, which he had carelessly thrown in the tray
next to him. Matthias held up the glasses to his face. Her eyes seemed to be pretty bad because the
world he saw over the lenses was dizzy.

Is that why she always frowned?

He suddenly thought of the little child staring at him with a sulky frown. The scrawny, unpretentious girl
whose eyes were glistening despite her appearance.

The child who was supposed to stay for a brief time had grown in Matthias’s world and matured into a
woman.

The woman’s slender face with the thin gold-rimmed glasses overlapped the scrawny girl’s face. The
woman with the glistening eyes still had that fresh, sweet smell. It was the fragrance of a rose, the
flower that filled up Arvis’s summer garden.

Having let out a long stream of cigarette smoke, Matthias went out to the balcony that stretched
towards the river while loosely holding Leyla’s glasses. His shadow lengthened as he playfully threw up
and caught the glasses several times.

“Leyla.”

He whispered in the hot summer.

“Leyla Lewellin.”
The fact that he had to tickle the tip of his tongue in order to fluidly pronounce her name annoyed him.

After returning to the reception room, Matthias put her glasses in the drawer of the console table.
When he closed the drawer, the memory of the green eyes that he saw over her glasses disappeared.

Matthias went to the bathroom and took a long shower. He changed his clothes and waxed his hair. By
the time he left the annex to attend dinner, he was again the perfect, Duke of Arvis.

~~~~

“What if the crow took it again?”

Bill asked with some jest. Leyla, who was sitting at the table with a serious look on her face, shrugged.

“Well…… I hope not.”

“Just saying. They’re the type of birds who go crazy if they see something sparkling. Remember? Your
hairpin.”

Bill burst out laughing. Leyla’s face hardened by the memory that Bill reminded her of but soon laughed
with him.

Uncle Bill had bought Leyla a shiny hairpin on her thirteenth birthday. It was chosen by Mrs. Mona, who
had researched the type of hairpins girls her age liked.

Leyla tried to carefully preserve the pin. If Bill hadn’t said he’d throw it out if she didn’t wear it right
away, it might’ve been asleep in her drawer forever.

But on the first day she wore the gift, the pin met its harsh fate. The crow carried away the pin Leyla had
briefly placed on the fence in order to take care of the garden. It was an incident that caused Leyla, who
used to love all birds, to have a disdain for crows.

“If you can’t find it, tell me Leyla.”

Bill strained his voice as if he was requesting.

“You don’t have to look like that because I can buy you a new one. Okay?”

“Okay, uncle.”

Leyla gladly nodded.

“I will.”

She was able to answer back because she was completely sure her glasses were at the dock, where she
had taken them off before diving into the river.
However, the next morning when Leyla came out to the riverside, she was devastated. She tried to
thoroughly search the dock as well as the surrounding area of the annex, but her glasses were nowhere
to be found.

The undone apron was still in its place, but only the glasses were gone. She thought the wind must have
it blown away, but because of the apron on the dock; she dismissed her thought. She was sure she took
off her glasses first and then her apron. There was no way her glasses alone could disappear.

No way… Maybe?

Leyla snooped around in front of the annex and then shook her head as if it was nonsense.

There’s no reason for the duke to take it.

Leyla turned around with her drooped shoulders. She regretted not coming back earlier to pick up her
glasses. She was just afraid of running into the duke.

“Is it really you?”

Leyla muttered, staring at the crow sitting on the branch. The crow tilted its head several times and soon
flew away into the far woods.

With a determined face, Leyla clenched her first. She began to walk with wide steps.

She was first going to go back to her cabin, have breakfast, and think again with a clearer mind.

The suspect seemed to be one of the two.

The crow, or the duke.

~~~~

The snow-white dove sat by the window. Kyle, who casually turned his head, smiled and opened the
window.

“Hey, Phoebe.”

The dove didn’t run away even though he had reached his hand out. Kyle naturally pulled the letter from
the bird’s leg.

The mountain dove, Phoebe, was Leyla Lewellin’s messenger. Having been obsessed with birds since
childhood, she read a book about doves being able to deliver letters so one day, she had a grand
ambition to have a dove of her down.

‘Sure. Go ahead.’
When Kyle snickered at her ambition, he never dreamed that day would actually come until the ancient,
legend-like precursor suddenly flew through his room window. The persistent girl, Leyla Lewellin, had
done it. Leyla, who did not give up despite her many failures, managed to train the bird.

It was late spring two years ago when Phoebe first flew into Kyle’s window. He had opened the window
and a dove that brought Leyla’s letter stared at him. It was a pretty dove with shiny white feathers and
black eyes.

[Hello, Mr. Etman]

Leyla’s letter brought by the dove that day contained only one short line. But Kyle was able to read
many other things. Leyla’s excitement in her success. Leyla’s eyes sparkling with joy.

Leyla. My dear friend, Leyla.

Doves delivering letters in a world like today.

Kyle laughed at the absurdity but he understood. For Leyla, Phoebe was, so to speak, a telephone. In a
cabin with no telephones around, letter-carrying pigeons were quite efficient.

But today’s letter from Leyla’s messenger contained tragic news. The letter read that she had lost her
glasses. She had to go find her glasses. She couldn’t keep their promise to go to the library. And that she
was very sorry.

After finishing its work, Phoebe left the window while Kyle read the letter with a serious face. Kyle put
the folded letter between the thick book that was spread out on the desk and hurried out of his room.

“Kyle Etman! Are you going to Leyla’s again?”

Mrs. Etman frowned at the sight of her son coming down the stairs but Kyle silently smiled.

“You need to study, Kyle!”

“I’ll do it at Leyla’s!”

Kyle left the front door, leaving only a lively answer behind.

The shiny silver bicycle glided past Etman’s house. When he entered the Arvis territory, Kyle frantically
peddled as he grew more and more impatient. He wasn’t interested in going to the library. He had made
the promise just to be with Leyla. He was worried about her.

Those were the glasses she bought with her hard work.

His heart ached when he thought of Leyla, the fool who saved and earned money by making jam and
selling it just because she was worried of being burdensome to Uncle Bill.

“Uh, Kyle?”
When the bicycle squealed to a halt, Leyla, who was hanging the laundry, looked at Kyle with a surprised
face.

“Did you find your glasses?”

“No. Not yet.”

Leyla’s face grew sullen.

“I’ll buy you a new one!”

Kyle blurted out because he was upset to see the depressed Leyla.

“…… Kyle. You? Why?”

Leyla replied back with confusion in her eyes. Kyle suddenly realized what he had said. His feelings got
the best of him so he had forgotten what kind of person Leyla was.

“Thank you, Kyle, but I can’t.”

Leyla smiled brightly as if to keep him from being embarrassed.

“And I, really want to find my glasses.”

Unlike her smiling lips, her eyes were firm. Kyle knew those eyes well. It was the eyes of Leyla Lewellin,
the stubborn woman who wouldn’t back down no matter what.

“I’ll find it for sure.”

~~~~

Leyla had been stirring the forest for days. The doctor’s son was with her.

Their vain efforts were so admirable, Matthias pretended not to know. It was quite entertaining to see
them search around the innocent bird nests.2

Do you really don’t know or are you pretending not to know?

Matthias paused his legs that were climbing the annex stairs and then looked at the vast expanse of the
forest along the river. He was about to get bored with their foolishness. He was also getting bored of
visiting this place for the past few days, smirking at their search attempts despite his busy schedule.

Matthias continued climbing the stairs while slowly sweeping his hair that had been disheveled by the
strong wind. Hessen, who followed, took a step back after quietly opening the door.

Matthias headed straight to the reception room. Instead of usually sitting on the sofa, he leaned against
the window, facing the forest.

“Marquis Lindman will arrive around noon today.”

“Riette? His arrival is earlier than scheduled.”

“Madam has instructed me to pay special attention to the luncheon. She asked the master to join if you
didn’t have any previous appointments scheduled.”

“Sure. I will.”

The chiffon curtain that was covering half of the window slowly swelled up with the gust of wind. When
the curtain deflated, Matthias’s eyes narrowed when he saw the path covered with the tranquil sunlight.
Leyla stood under the tree at the end of the road. She was circling around the tree with her hands held
together.

Maybe she isn’t a complete fool.

Matthias silently grinned and he focused his attention to Hessen’s reports while the middle-aged maid
served him cold lemon water. The clatter of ice in the glass was quite pleasant to hear.

When the maid and the butler left after finishing their job, Matthias watched the scenery beyond the
window with the long-necked glass cup in his hand. Leyla began to approach the river when the maid
and the butler were completely out of sight.

Not long after, the doorbell rang out the tranquil annex.

Matthias slowly rose from his seat.

Chapter 13

Unlike the day she had angrily left the annex, the Leyla now looked like a gentle, precocious lady.
Matthias stared at the ‘gentle’ Leyla while languidly leaning on the couch.

“I’m terribly sorry for this sudden discourtesy, your grace.”

Leyla hesitatingly opened her mouth while she kept her head down in efforts to avoid his gaze. Her
dense eyelashes were very long and straight. Her long eyelashes seemed to be a reason why she left a
soft impression when she gently lowered her eyes.

“Pardon me, but I have a question.”

Leyla, who had been licking her lips several times, finally managed to open her mouth. But at that
moment, the phone started ringing.

Matthias slowly stood up to pass by Leyla as she retreated. He picked up the phone. It seemed to be a
business call regarding a complicated contract he had to look over.

Leyla looked a little surprised when she saw Matthias on the phone. He skillfully led the conversation.
Even with his brief smiles and polite way of talking, she could feel the power and dignity that
overwhelmed the person on the phone. He looked like the perfect Duke of Arvis that everyone
admired.1

I mean, no way.

The suspicion that the man could have taken her glasses felt ridiculous at the moment.

I feel like I’m doing something useless….. Then was it the crow?

While judging how many crows’ nests there might be in the forest, Leyla silently greeted the duke, who
was on the phone, and was about to leave. He unexpectedly turned to Leyla while holding onto the
telephone mouthpiece.

“Wait.”

His short order sounded like someone else’s. His voice was quite different from the perfect Duke of Arvis
she heard while he was on the phone.

Leyla stopped at a strange position. Matthias was focused on his call again as if nothing had happened.
Leyla realized another trait of Matthias while watching him.

Even at the moment of his social conversation, Duke Herhardt’s eyes were calm. His smile was also calm.
But his posture was uniformly straight and elegant. Despite the fact the phone caller wasn’t able to see
him, he didn’t lose his posture. Leyla thought perhaps it was a trait that was embedded into his body.
After a few more minutes of his call, he went back to the front of the table and made a note of
something. Leyla nervously grasped her wriggling hands from behind her back. By the time she
suspected that he must have forgotten about her presence, Matthias’s eyes finally turned to her.

“Tell me.”

“What?”

“What you were going to say.”

Leyla gently lowered her eyes when Matthias’s stare made her uncomfortable.

“Ah….. The thing is, my glasses. On the day I jumped into the river…..I was wondering if you saw my
glasses at the dock.”

“Well. I don’t think I’ve seen it…….”

Matthias slowly stood up from the sofa and started approaching her.

“I might have I’ve hidden it.”

“Uh….. What?”

Leyla was so shocked that she raised her head.

“My glasses. Did you really hide it?”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t think you would’ve done such a thing.”

Leyla answered with a slight frown.

“Why?”

Matthias tilted his head as if he was amused. His black hair that slightly shook on his forehead
resembled the crow’s feather.

“Because… that’s… that’s rude.”

Leyla curled up her feet in order to not back away.

After days of searching the crows’ nests with Kyle, she managed to muster up her courage and came
here. Even though she didn’t like Matthias, she could at least communicate with the duke, unlike the
crows. She felt like it would be better to quickly eliminate either one of the two suspects, the crow or
the duke. But she wasn’t sure now. She wasn’t sure if the duke, who only increased her confusion with
his enigmatic words, was really a person who she can communicate with.
The two looked at each other’s eyes without saying a word for some time. The moment would’ve lasted
longer if the butler hadn’t returned to the annex with an urgent telegram and mail.

Leyla headed towards the window with a little blush in her cheeks.

After a low conversation with the butler, Matthias obliquely looked at Leyla. His red lips seemed to be
slightly tilted, although Leyla wasn’t completely sure because of her glasses missing.

“I……”

With all the courage she had, she opened her mouth but Matthias cut her off by lifting the tip of chin
towards the door.

It was a concise and cold gesture to announce that there was no room left for Leyla Lewellin.

“A bird. What’s with your weird hobby all of a sudden?”

Riette looked at the cage with a puzzled look. In the beautiful golden cage, there was a golden bird.

“Are you now planning to raise a bird and shoot it yourself?”

Riette’s jokes brought laughter to the people sitting around the mansion suite reception room. Matthias
gave a small chuckle. But his answers weren’t heard. While Riette added a few more silly words, the
servants came in with the champagne.

A huge dinner was held at the Herhardt’s place to celebrate the gathering of all the relatives who had
spent the summer together. Matthias, Claudine, Riette, and other aristocrats of similar ages had moved
to the reception room after finishing their dinner. By Claudine’s special request, they were in the master
suite reception room, the space that Matthias only used. Matthias, who rarely shared his own space,
seemed quite generous to his fiance as gave her his chaste permission.

The engagement between Matthias and Claudine was pretty much confirmed by the relatives. It was
obvious why Countess Brandt visited Arvis every year with her only daughter and how the Herhardt
family gave their conspicuous welcome every time the Brandt household came to their estate.

This engagement surprised none of the relatives. It was as if natural things had come true. They
would’ve been more shocked if Matthias had chosen a different woman.

“That bird doesn’t seem to know what kind of person Duke Herhardt is.”

When the bird flew out of the open cage, it sat on Matthias’s shoulder. Riette broke into a jolly laughter.

“A bird in love with the bird hunting master. Should I call this foolish or pitiful?”

The bird moved over his finger when Matthias reached out his hand.

“Claudine, what do you think?”

Everyone’s eyes were on Claudine after listening to the question Riette threw.

“Well. I don’t know.”

Claudine glanced at the singing bird sitting on Matthias’s finger.

“You could call it a foolish but pitiful bird.”1

Another burst of laughter broke out at her compromise.

The atmosphere between the people in the reception room was intimate because they had seen each
other for many years. The names everyone knew, the world everyone shared, the same interests
everyone had. It was truly a society that only they could enter.

“That bird, what’s its name?”

Claudine asked a friendly question.

“If you don’t have a name for it yet, would you like me to name it for you?”

“It’s not worth your effort, my lady.”

When Matthias turned his eyes and looked at Claudine, he smiled. His smile seemed the same as before
but it somehow felt subtly different.

“A bird is just a bird.”

His answer was heartless in contrast to the soft gaze of the singing bird on his fingers.

“As expected, the stupid poor bird.”

Riette tsked as he showed his sympathy for the bird.

“It loves a hunter who doesn’t allow to have a name of its own!”

~~~~

The group of people laughing and chatting over the champagne didn’t leave the suite until it was late at
night.

Passing by the servants who came in to clean up the reception room, Matthias left the mansion for a
night walk alone. His face, no longer smiling, was as still as the night.

The trap was laid, so it was time to check.

It wasn’t a fool so it would’ve noticed but he knew it wouldn’t give up.

That’s why he was sure it’ll get caught.

Matthias walked through the rose garden. The wind got cooler as he got closer to the river and then
through the forest. His steps stopped in front of the annex along the river. The moonlight was white.

Entering the annex’s reception room, Matthias approached in front of the console table and opened the
drawer. The neatly placed glasses glistened, reflecting the moonlight.

Holding the glasses as if it was his canary, Matthias laid his tired body on the sofa.

What do I want from the bait I set up?

Matthias thought while looking at the glasses. He had difficulty answering but he wasn’t impatient. He
believed he’ll find out once he caught it.

The night grew deeper as he repeatedly threw the glasses up and down. It was a moonlit night.

~~~~

It was a crazy act.

Leyla was clearly aware. Sneaking into the duke’s annex was something no one with the right sanity
would do.

“Yeah. Let’s get some sleep.”

Leyla, who had been wandering around the room, threw herself onto the bed. She wrapped herself in a
thin blanket and tightly closed her eyes.

“My glasses…”

But she couldn’t fall asleep.

Leyla was sure of her decision. Although she knew she was acting ridiculous, she was determined.

She needed to get her glasses.

Leyla sprang to her feet. She predicted that Matthias couldn’t have brought it to his mansion so she was
sure that it was somewhere in the annex.

That place was remote and it was near midnight so Leyla thought it would be fine. The moon today was
so bright that the darkness didn’t scare her.

“Yes. It’s all right.”

Leyla opened the door with a convincing murmur. The cabin was filled with still darkness. Uncle Bill’s
snoring was the only disturbance.
While picking up a lace shawl that hanged on the door, Leyla hurried out of the cabin. Whenever she
had second thoughts, she thought of the countless fruits she had collected and the jam she boiled in
order to buy the glasses.

“It’s my glasses anyways.”

As the glittering Schulter River was seen in the distance, Leyla suppressed her anxiety by talking to
herself. Her soft blonde hair that went down her waist rippled along to the fast-paced rhythm of her
footsteps.

But the more I think about it, the duke is a strange man.

Leyla suddenly thought as she walked along the dock that was connected to the annex.

Does he like sparkly things like the crow?

In the midst of her questioning mixed with vexation, Leyla arrived in front of the annex where her
glasses were hidden. She realized that she was on her pajamas but soon shrugged it off because it was
the middle of the night and no one was there to see her.

Leyla took a deep breath as she took a step forward.

~~~~

As expected.

Leyla Lewellin’s actions once again didn’t go beyond Matthias’s expectations.

When he heard the footsteps climbing up the stairs coming closer, Matthias’s breathing became slower.
Even though he had left the door open for easy access, Leyla eventually came in through the hallway
window after wandering outside for a long time.

She was a girl who didn’t deviate from his expectations, but she always gave a little impact.1

Matthias lay still on the couch and listened to her approach. Leyla’s sigh of relief was followed after the
hardwood floor creaked smoothly.

Matthias silently sneered and lowered his gaze from the ceiling. It wasn’t long before Leyla entered the
reception room. She initally looked around her surroundings with a stiff stance, and finally took a
cautious step forward. She started her searches by the window.

Matthias’s eyes, already accustomed to the darkness, instantly captured Leyla’s figure. The moonlight
that flowed through the window shone upon Leyla, who stood in front of the table.

By the time Matthias narrowed his eyes, Leyla had moved to her next destination, the cabinet. The skirt
wrapped around her slender calves shook along with her footsteps. The white dress made with thin
material that distinctively revealed her body line clearly looked like she was in her nightwear.
What do I want from the bait I set up?

Matthias stroked the slender temple of the glasses with his fingers. The cold, smooth texture made his
conscious clear. In the meanwhile, Leyla now moved to the front of the console table, which was placed
right across the sofa where Matthias lay.

Matthias looked back towards Leyla’s back, which was illuminated by the moonlight.

That woman.

Matthias acknowledged the answer to his question.

The reason why he endlessly waited while setting up this pathetic trap.

In order to have that woman. That woman, Leyla Lewellin, who was no longer a little girl.1

“Are you looking for this?”

Matthias steadily shook the glasses in his hand and opened his lips.

Leyla, who was just about to touch the console table’s drawer, quickly turned around. She looked like
was about to faint. She staggered backwards while her trembling hands covered her mouth.

Matthias slowly raised himself up. As he sat, leaning against the sofa, the moonlight glistened over his
face, which had been in the dark all along.

The two person’s eyes met in the moonlit night

Chapter 14

In his sight, Leyla was trembling helplessly.

Even though she often pretended to act brave, she was always easily
frightened.

She had been like that since childhood.

Matthias started walking towards Leyla while he recollected his memory of

the young girl. He stopped a few steps away from Leyla as her eyes gradually
turned to his hand. To be exact, to the glasses he was holding in his hand.

“I’m….. sorry.”

Leyla barely opened her lips. Her eyes were filled with anger, but her apology
was polite.

“I didn’t think you’d be here. I’m very sorr….”

“What if I didn’t have it? Did you think it was okay to sneak in?”

Matthias tilted his head to look at Leyla. Every time she blinked, her eyes
progressively got redder. Even though she looked like she was about to cry,
her eyes were still steady.

“Like… a thief?”

Matthias sneered with his low voice. Leyla’s blushing cheeks were visibly seen
even in the dark.

“I just wanted to get back what was rightfully mine.”

“Ah. This?”

Leyla’s cheeks flushed harder when he lifted her glasses. When Matthias
looked closer at Leyla’s face, her ears were even beginning to turn red.

“Yes.”
Her replies to his questions were quite fearless.

“My glasses that you hid.”

Even though you’re shaking that much.

Matthias headed to the window with the glasses still in his hand. It was the
same window that he had thrown her hat over.

“N… No!”

Leyla, who was blankly watching, turned pale as she rushed after him.

“Give it back! Please!”

The lace shawl that had covered Leyla’s shoulder fell to the floor. Leyla
hurriedly raised her arms to cover the deeply-cut, v-neck pajamas.

“Isn’t it kind of hilarious that you’re making a big deal over your nightwear
when you’ve already thoroughly seen my whole body?”

Matthias now scoffed at Leyla. Her blush had reddened down to the nape of
her neck.

“….. That. That was inevitable!”

The frightened Leyla shook her head.

“It’s not what I wanted, so I had no choi….”

“Did you think I wanted it?”

“What? Oh….. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Leyla hastily picked up the shawl and covered her shoulders and her chest.
Her half knocked-out expression was fairly amusing that Matthias softly
chuckled.

“Why are you acting like a lady all of a sudden? You said you weren’t a lady.”
“….. Whatever I am, the duke is still a gentleman.”

Her refusal of losing to his words was provocative but still respectful. Matthias
chuckled once again.

“Well.”

When his chuckling stopped, Matthias’s voice dropped a little more lower.

“I don’t know, Leyla. Maybe I’m not a gentleman.”

“Oh…No!”

Leyla urgently shouted as she firmly tied the end of her shawl.

“The duke is a gentleman!”

“Really?”

“Yes! You’re the best gentleman in the Berg Empire!”

“Your appraisal is quite generous.”

“That’s what everyone who knows you would think.”

“Aren’t your thoughts different?”

“…… No.”

Yes!

Although she wanted to agree, she held back her true thoughts by vigorously
shaking her head.

“No way.”

Leyla decided to sell her soul for her glasses tonight.

“So, your grace, please give it back.”

She was so upset that tears were about to fall but Leyla begged again.
“It’s very important and precious to me.”

She bowed her head and suffered the humiliation.

Leyla felt like she could kick all the stones in the forest to release her pent-up
rage but Leyla knew how much of a disadvantage she was currently in.

If he put his mind to it, the duke could’ve driven her into a thief. He could’ve
thrown her glasses into the river beyond the window. All those actions that
were simple to him were fatal to Leyla.

So she had to endure.

Matthias approached the determined Leyla. As he threw the glasses up and

down again, the gap between the two narrowed. They were now at a distance
where they were close enough to feel each other’s body temperature.

Leyla glanced up in surprise. Matthias’s eyes that looked down upon her were
deep and tranquil. It was like the bottomless river. The huge, cold river that
had engulfed her on that hot afternoon where all this misfortune began.

Leyla was immersed in her thoughts when all of a sudden, her vision, which
had been blurry, suddenly became clear. Leyla slowly realized that Matthias
had put on her glasses for her. His hands that covered her cheeks, were soft
and hot like the sun-heated sand.

His face was distinctively clear, yet everything else surrounding him was
cloudy.

The flustered Leyla tried to avoid his eyes but Matthias drew her attention by
applying a little force to his hands.

Why…..

She wanted to ask, but a strange and fearful sensation overwhelmed Leyla. It
was then, when Matthias’s fingers started caressing her lips.
His relaxed fingertips stopped in between the crevice of her lip. His frustrated
sigh tickled Leyla’s forehead. His breath was also soft and hot, like the touch of
his fingers.

While directly staring into Leyla’s eyes, Matthias fondled the wet, soft skin that
was inside her lower lip. His fingertip deeply moved in and out of her mouth,
that the end of his fingernail almost brushed her lower teeth. Leyla, who had
long forgotten to run away, innocently endured his gaze and his touch.1

Matthias slowly closed his eyes by the time Leyla was about to cry over his
incomprehensible, strange act. The hands that had grasped her cheeks
gently gained strength but then was let loose.

Leyla staggered back when his hands finally released her face. She was now
able to properly breathe after being tense at his grip.

Leyla’s body gingerly trembled as she gasped for breath. In the meantime,
Matthias had opened his blue eyes. It was the crystalline blue eyes that had
shamed and frightened Leyla.

Duke Herhardt, who had been staring at Leyla for a long time, quietly ordered.

“Go on.”

Leyla couldn’t remember what had happened after she left the annex.

She said goodbye, turned around, and walked away. But all that memory was
vague. Leyla realized she was already standing at the end of the forest road
when she heard the cries of the grass bugs, felt the cool wind, and saw her
own shadow walking under the moonlight.

Leyla headed for the cabin, still dazed. She didn’t vent her anger on the stones
and the tree branches, nor did she run away. She just walked. Her slower-
than-usual pace was as weightless as a ghost.
Leyla drew water from the pump that was located in the corner of the yard
and washed her lips. She unconsciously rubbed and rubbed her lips until it
was swollen and crimson red. Although she felt like her skin was about to peel
off, the water had still failed to wash away her strange feelings.

Leyla’s face, her shawl, and the front of her nightwear were soaked with cold
water by the time she quietly returned to her room. Without even thinking of
drying them, Leyla sat at the edge of her bed.

She didn’t know what had happened, but Leyla was sure for one thing.

She didn’t want to run into him ever again.

~~~~

The canary that was quietly sitting in its cage flew towards Matthias at the
snap of his fingers.

Matthias stretched out his hand towards the bird while he languidly leaned
against the window frame. The canary naturally sat on his finger. Its clipped
wings had grown long enough for it to fly a little farther. It needed to have its
wings cut again, but he didn’t feel the need to cut it as short as before.

Matthias looked down the window while listening to the canary singing. The
gardener, Bill Remmer, was in the middle of his job. Leyla Lewellin, who had
been helping him from time to time, was nowhere in sight for several days.
She was gone the day after the night she went to find her glasses. Leyla
desperately started to avoid him.

Matthias wore a scarlet red hunting jacket after returning the canary to its
cage.

He desired her.1

Matthias now clearly knew what this emotion was.

That woman, Leyla. He desired her.

There was no reason to deny that fact anymore. Leyla Lewellin grew up to be
a beautiful woman. Beautiful enough to provoke a man. But Matthias knew.
This kind of desire was bound to disappear shortly after.

Do I need to leave a stain in my life just to satisfy that desire?

That night, with Leyla in front of him, Matthias thought and thought again. And
he concluded.

No.

Leyla Lewellin wasn’t worth the trouble and his desire for the woman was
within his control.

Then why.

He released Leyla that night. But if she had acted like this after he had set her
free, then he had no choice.5

“I’ve prepared your hunting session, master.”

Hessen quietly approached. Nodding his head, Matthias took the gun Hessen
had handed him and left the bedroom.

~~~~

“Did something happen?”

Kyle worriedly asked Leyla. Leyla, who was gluing the pedals of a well-dried
flower into her notebook, calmly looked up and faced him.

“No.”

Leyla’s unhesitant voice was bright was usual.

“Do I look that way?”

Leyla lowered her voice and whispered as she wrinkled her eyes. Kyle
somehow felt a burning sensation around his neck when he saw her
expression.

“You’ve been stuck in the cabin these days. It’s strange.”

Kyle calmly shrugged.

Leyla blankly blinked a few times and soon regained her bright face. Her lips
left a faint smile as her eyes brilliantly twinkled.

“Now that you’ve found your glasses, you should travel around more. But it
seems like you’re doing the opposite now.”

Kyle stared at Leyla as he rested his chin on his hand. She blandly smiled and
started to meticulously write down the places and the features of the flower
petals she found in her notebook.

Leyla usually drew and pasted unfamiliar flower petals to her notebook and
took it to the library to search for their names. Kyle always came along with
her to see the smile Leyla would make when she found out the names of the
flower petals. Leyla was a child who wanted to know the names of all the birds
and flowers in the world. Kyle loved that geeky side of her.4

Leyla carefully covered the notebook after lightly pressing it with a piece of
blotting paper to prevent the ink from smudging. The returned glasses
glimmered on her small face.

“Wanna take a walk? To that tree you like, the one that stands in front the
river.”

“No.”

Leyla briefly replied as soon as Kyle had finished his sentence.

“Didn’t you always go there? Why? Did you see something scary in the woods
again?”
“It’s not like that. And I can’t go into the forest today anyways.”

“Why? Ah, is today the duke’s hunting day?”

Leyla nodded after pushing the note to the end of the table. Not long after,
there was a sound of horseshoes coming from a distance.

“Wow. That’s awesome.”

Kyle quickly ran in front of the window and admired. Duke Herhardt and his
group of men were about to enter the forest through a path beside the cabin.
The hound dogs were leading the way, followed by five young men on
horseback.

Leyla glanced out of the window along with Kyle. The duke was riding a glossy
horse with dark brown fur today. His red jacket and sparkling shotgun caught
her eye.

“But of course, Leyla. I don’t hunt. I won’t hunt for the rest of my life.”4

Kyle suddenly changed his expression after admiring the duke. At that
moment, Duke Herhadt had turned his head towards the hut. Even though
Leyla was already hiding behind the curtains, she was startled and backed
away from the window.

For the past ten days, Leyla tried her best to evade him. She didn’t go near the
river and she didn’t even take a stroll into the forest. She felt apologetic
towards Uncle Bill because he had recently gone out to manage the garden
all alone. She only helped when the duke was out of the estate and when he
returned, she briskly left the garden.

She was planning to endure her inconvenient actions until the end of this
summer. When autumn came, Matthias was going to get engaged and leave
for the capital city. Then, Arvis was going to be at peace again.

“Do you not feel well? Do you want to come over to my house?”
Kyle anxiously asked while looking at Leyla’s pale complexion.

“No, Kyle. I’m fine.”

Leyla shook her head and sat back on her seat that faced the dinner table.

“It’ll be over by evening anyways.”

The moment she carelessly opened her book, shots rang out. It was followed
by the barking of the hounds and the running of the horses.

With her fist clenched, Leyla turned the pages of her book that she couldn’t
read properly.

She thought she had no choice but to go to the woods this evening. There
were many poor birds to bury.
Chapter 15

After sending his party first, Matthias pulled up his horse in the middle of a wide road between the
woods. When he took off his hat, the tangled hair draped down his forehead. The forest, which was
swept away by the bloody disturbance, felt more tranquil than usual.

Today’s hunt was quite enjoyable. Matthias hit every target he aimed at and each moment was as
thrilling as ever. But he somehow felt unsatisfied because of that one bird that had desperately
attempted to fly away.

While looking towards the direction of the cabin, Matthias slowly turned his horse. The little girl who
lived in his hunting grounds came out of the woods crying when the hunt was over and had buried the
dead birds. He still remembered her actions because it was so absurd.

Then what about that woman who is no longer a young girl?

Brooding his curious interest, Matthias aimed his gun at the little bird resting at the edge of the branch.

Bang.

With an upbeat shot, the bird dropped to the floor.4

Matthias steadily motioned his horse to move as he left behind the prey he hit.

Once. And then once again.

Aiming and firing, Matthias headed for the evening forest. One by one, the blood-stained birds fell along
the road.

~~~~

I hate him.1

Leyla dug a hole and repeated those words every time she buried each and every bird.1

I hate the duke’s atrocious hobby. I really hate it.

Wiping her sweaty forehead, Leyla swallowed down her sorrows. She thought she was almost at the end
when just a few meters away, another bloody bird was there lying down. Leyla grabbed her shovel and
approached the bird.

She didn’t want to blame the act of killing an animal. Uncle Bill had also hunted for food and Leyla raised
livestock. But it was hard to understand why the duke killed for entertainment and thoughtlessly left his
hunt behind.

When will this summer be over?

With a long sigh, Leyla prayed that her favorite season would quickly come to an end as she buried
another bird. It was a red-crowned bird with a beautiful pattern.

Leyla suddenly felt something strange after she had already entered deep into the evening forest. Duke
Herhardt enjoyed hunting and Leyla buried those birds he hunted down every year. But somehow, Leyla
never had any previous memories of making a regular sequence of tombs. It felt like she was creating a
pathway made up of dead birds.

Should I turn around now?

Leyla seized when she sensed an ominous feeling. The sky she looked up was blazing red. As she turned
her gaze from the sunset down beyond the bush of shrubs. She saw him.

Duke Herhardt, who was sitting on the cut tree trump, stared back at her.

Leyla almost stumbled as her mind went blank. He greeted her in a carefree way.1

“Hello, Leyla.”4

Matthias von Herhardt’s voice was as smooth as the feathers of the birds he shot and killed.

~~~~

“By the way, Matthias is quite late. I think the people who went out with him are already back.”

Elysee von Herhardt’s eyes slanted while she put down her card. The card game she was playing was
getting boring. She wanted to start dinner early but Matthias hadn’t returned from the hunting grounds
yet.

“He said he’ll take a walk in the woods.”

Claudine answered with a friendly smile. Her expression was unlike that of a person who had just lost
the game.

The ladies, who were well aware it was her deliberate defeat, looked at Claudine with a pleasing smile.
The next Duchess of Arvis was sharp and had courtesy as well as grace. Claudine knew she was greatly
praised between the aristocratic ladies.

“Matthias sure loves that forest.”

Elysee von Herhardt lightly rang the bell and the maid began to organize the table.

The bored ladies who sat around the reception table enjoyed a simple snack and chatted. They chatted
about the most obvious stories with the most formality.

“Oh, Claudine. Why don’t you invite your friends and open a party?”

Claudine’s eyes went wide open at Elysee’s von Herhardt’s recommendation.

“Me? Here in Arvis?”

“You’ll be bored dealing with us every day, so don’t you need a change of heart?”

“No. Not at all.”

“Why are you so surprised. I was just kidding Claudine.”

Elysee’s relaxed, smiling face was so young and beautiful, it was hard to believe that she was the mother
of an engaged son. She resembled Matthias.

Although the Duchess Elysee von Herhardt was praised by the people of the empire for her time-
honored beauty, she had failed to win her husband’s love. When Claudine thought about Elysee’s tragic
love life, she believed women who were obsessed with love were ridiculous.

Matthias’s predecessor had a mistress like any other man in his position, but he didn’t cause any trouble
for his next successor by bringing in an illegitimate child. Even though they didn’t love each other, the
Duke and Duchess of Arvis respected each other and remained faithful to their duties. There were no
meaningless greed or hope that gnawed out the calm household. Claudine had hoped for the same
relationship with Matthias.

“You don’t have to feel pressured Claudine. Think of it as a rehearsal. We’ll also have fun if the mansion
is crowded with young people.”

Elysee’s smile had gotten much brighter.

“Don’t you ladies think so too?”

Everyone in the room knew that her question was not actually asking for their opinion.

“The duchess is truly generous and caring.”

Countess Brandt praised Elysee. Soon, other ladies joined by making complementary remarks with some
exaggeration added.

Claudine shyly smiled as she gently lowered her head. She was thinking of the names of friends she had
wanted to invite until she drew her eyes to the window. That girl came into mind when she saw the
forest beyond the sunset garden.

Leyla, the poor orphan who lived in that forest.

She was well-mannered and very mindful of her own circumstances but she was still somewhat
arrogant.2

“May I invite Leyla?”

Claudine’s cheerful question raised the eyebrows of the ladies.

“You mean the orphan the gardener raises?”

“Yes. That girl, Leyla Lewellin.”

“Hey. Claudine.”

The embarrassed Countess Brandt glared at Claudine but Claudine was undisturbed.

“That pitiful girl must have never attended a formal party before. I want to give Leyla an unforgettable
experience.”3

Claudine didn’t lose her ladylike courtesy and dignity even when she made those imposing remarks.

“After hearing your words, it does indeed make sense.”

A satisfied smile was on Duchess Norma Catarina von Herhart’s face, who had been watching Claudine
this entire time.

“Do as you please, Claudine.”

Leyla looked back at the path of buried birds. When she turned her head and examined the duke, there
was only one conclusion that she reached.

Crazy person.1

There were no other words to explain this situation.

Leyla’s bloody gloves were filled with sweat. Her heart began to throb with rage mixed with fear.

Run away.

That was what she could only think of and was about to return to the cabin when she heard his voice.

“Leyla.”

His expression was impassive while he steadily pronounced her name.

“Leyla Lewellin.”

The name he quietly intoned sounded like a song.

Leyla used the shovel in her hand as a cane to straighten her posture. She firmly closed her lips and
applied strength to both her legs.

There was no use running away. As long as he put his mind to it, the duke could easily catch Leyla. Her
mind became clear and cold.

Leyla raised her twitching eyes and met his gaze. The sound of the forest swaying in the wind rose while
the quiet stares remained.
“Continue.”

Matthias broke the silence first.

“You should do your job.”

On the side of the bushes he indicated with his eyes, there lay a bird that seemed to be the last of his
hunt. Leyla plodded up to the bird. There was a red thread tied to the bloody bird’s ankle. It was the
thread Leyla had tied to the baby birds who hatched near the Schulter River last year.

Leyla dug a hole without a word and buried the bird. She was now used to her actions because of that
beautiful bird slaughterer.

“That thread. Did you tie it?”

He asked while observing.

“Yes.”

“Why.”

“I wanted to notice the birds that left their nest to migrate… When they ever came back.”

Leyla answered while patting the soil.

“I didn’t want this kind of reunion.”

As she felt a shortness of breath, Leyla saw Duke Herhardt’s nonchalant face.

“Do you want to criticize me?”

He asked while sitting cross-legged. At that moment, the mockery that grazed past his lips made Leyla’s
patience run out.

“I can’t refuse to say no.”

“What’s the problem?”

His eyebrows frowned.

“I only hunted my birds, in my territory, and in my hunting grounds.”

“But the birds don’t know.”

Think of Uncle Bill.

Leyla finally opened her mouth despite the repeated words in her head.
“For the birds, it’s just a forest. A place where they are born and raised. It’s also a place where they
would want to come back after their migration.”

“Do I need to bother understanding them?”

“Not really, but…..”

Leyla took off her bloody garden gloves and steadied her breath.

“You don’t have to hunt them down so cruelly.”

In order to let those words come out of her mouth, she had mustered a lot of courage. There was a
belated regret that came after, but the duke showed no displeasure or anger. The strange calmness
made Leyla feel more suffocated.

“Leyla Lewellin, the woman who knows the birds’ hearts well.”

Matthias opened his mouth after a long period of silence.

“What the hell do you think hunting is?”

“What?”

“Do you want me to do some kind of friendly hunting?”

His ridicule clawed out her heart. Leyla endured his insult by simply twisting her skirt.

“…… I’m sorry. I’ve said something presumptuous. Please forgive my disrespect.”

“Why do you like birds so much?”

“I don’t think it’ll be an interesting story for you.”

Leyla lowered her eyes because she didn’t want to see him anymore. The duke stood in silence.

“Now that I’ve finished my work, I’ll get going.”

She bowed deeply as he still remained hushed.

Leyla relievedly turned her body. And just when she was about take a step forward, a bitter shot rang
out.

Leyla swiftly turned around with a ghastly expression. The duke had fired a shot towards the end of a
tree branch and was looking at her with a gun in his hand. Another bloody bird lay in between him and
Leyla.

“What to do, Leyla.”

The duke sat back on the tree trunk as if nothing had happened.
“I don’t think your job has finished yet.

Chapter 16

As the sun began to set, the forest rapidly darkened.

Leyla looked at the dead bird with unfocused eyes while Matthias stared at Leyla. There was a long
moment of silence, but Matthias wasn’t impatient. Leyla was right in front of him and he believed she
probably wouldn’t able to run away for a while.

“Just……”

Leyla soon lifted her head. Her eyes were filled with indignation that even the darkness couldn’t hide.
Her eyes were arrogant and daring, but he thought that was much better than avoiding eye contact.

“Just tell me. What did I do wrong?”

“Wrong?”

“Yes. What kind of wrongdoing did I commit for me… for me to get punished like this?”

“I never gave you any punishment.”

Matthias answered quite seriously.

“I did my job, and you did yours, Leyla.”

He was sincere.

“Wrongdoing… Well…”

After a moment of thought, Matthias looked at Leyla with a subdued look.

“Why do you like birds so much?”

The same question was asked with a tone that wasn’t a bit different from a little while ago.

When she opened her tightly shut eyes, Leyla looked at the sky, the dead bird, and then at Matthias
again. Her shoulders were trembling, but her eyes were wide open. Matthias found it quite hilarious and
a little irritating.

“For always being by my side.”

Leyla Lewellin clearly answered. She sounded a little furious, but she wasn’t threatening.
“I’ve always been wandering around so many places ever since I was a child, but the birds were always
there wherever I went. Always near me. When the seasons changed, some of the birds that left never
failed to come back when I waited for them. The birds always returned.”

Leyla’s voice calmed down as she continued to speak. Her voice sounded very delicate. It was perhaps,
because of her soft pronunciation.

“There are no seasons without birds. There are no places that don’t have birds. I love being around
those beautiful and free creatures.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Although my words may be meaningless to the duke.”

Bluffing with a face that’s about to cry.

Matthias stood up with a low snicker. His dinner feast was drawing near before he knew it.

“Are you going to hunt like this again?”

Leyla hurriedly asked him as he was about to make his leave.

“If necessary.”

Matthias answered with no hesitation. At that moment when Leyla’s eyes filled up with despair, fear,
and anger, Matthias was pleased.

“Leyla.”

After changing his mind to pass by her, Matthias stopped in front of her.

“I want everything in my world to be in its place. In a place where nothing needlessly hides or runs
away.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stay in your place.”

“I…. I don’t know what you mean by ‘place’.”

“Think it over.”

“Duke.”

“Who knows? If you find the answer, I might start having ‘friendly’ hunting sessions.”

Matthias turned with no hesitation while Leyla was left behind in a daze. He really didn’t want much
from Leyla Lewellin. However, he wanted Leyla to be in Leyla’s position. As an orphan who lives in the
forest. As a curious schoolgirl. And soon, as a female teacher at the place where she should be in.
Sitting on the back of his horse, Matthias turned his head and looked towards the bush. Leyla had
crouched her small body in front of the dead bird. Seeing her cheeks sparkling, he believed she was
probably crying. There was a sense of satisfaction in Matthias’s eyes when he saw the tears.6

He was born into a world dominated by perfect order and was soon to become its master. Everything
was simple and clear under that order. It was not at all difficult to live up to a given role and
expectation.1

The grandmother’s and mother’s proud successor. The generous master to the people of Arvis. The
brilliant officer on the battlefield. The directors’ competent businessman.

Matthias was always someone’s ‘something’ and was willing to play the appropriate role. The people
who treated him were no different. The prescribed roles, attitudes, and refined emotions came and
went by him in an orderly fashion. Those were the feelings that Matthias saw, heard, and learned.

But that lowly orphan who lives in my forest?

Matthias’s eyes at Leyla narrowed.

She’s nothing.

The easy conclusion made Matthias smile.

It was his first time to have something that was ‘nothing’. There weren’t any unnecessary stains needed
in Duke Herhardt’s life.

It was strange to have something that wasn’t necessary in his life, but he thought it wasn’t too bad. The
emotions that woman, who was nothing, showed toward him entertained him. Just like the moment of
a flying bird falling to its death entertained him.

Most of all, the tears. He liked the crying Leyla. She was a woman who cried prettily. Pretty enough to
make her cry again and again.

Matthias left the forest with a lighter heart.

The usual routine was repeated in the mansion he returned to. The boisterous dinner time. The empty
but elaborate conversations. The cold champagne and the phony laughters.

When the short summer night passed and morning came again, Matthias thought it wouldn’t be too bad
to do a ‘friendly’ hunt next time. When he looked out the window, Leyla was there in the rose garden.
She was silently helping out with the gardener’s work.

See?

Matthias turned away from the window with a smile.+

It’s easy, Leyla.

“Thank you, Leyla.”

Claudine kindly expressed her gratitude. Claudine’s friend, who had sat beside her, also thanked Leyla
with a slightly pulled smile.

“No problem, Miss.”

Leyla politely bowed. Her white hands were grasped together. There were grass stains at the end of her
fingertips, which were from the flowers she had picked. There were also several bloodstained wounds
from the rose thorns that had stabbed her fingers.

“I’m now……”

“Can you cut off that red rose as well? I think a bundle would be enough.”

Claudine cut off Leyla’s words with a gentle question.

Leyla turned her head and looked towards the direction that Claudine had pointed to. It was the central
flower bed of the garden. There were splendidly colored red roses in full bloom.

“Yes, Miss.”

Leyla obediently followed orders as usual.

Claudine quietly looked at Leyla’s distant back as Leyla grabbed her basket and scissors again.

Claudine had found Leyla while walking in the garden with a friend who had visited Arvis. After being out
of sight for several days, she was now working diligently today to help the gardener.

Claudine changed their plans to have tea together and then suggested arranging flowers to her friend.
Emilia agreed with delight, and the floral arrangements for the two ladies were prepared under the
pergola that was beneath the vine roses.

And then Leyla.

Claudine sent a maid to call Leyla. They’ve been like that since childhood. It was Leyla Lewellin’s job to
pick up the roses Claudine needed whenever she started arranging flowers under the pergola.

She was not enough to be Claudine’s playmate, but Leyla followed errands well. On days where
everything was boring, Claudine occasionally called for Leyla to say a few words.

“That girl, she acts very politely, but it strangely feels arrogant.”

Emilia pouted her lips as she watched Leyla.

“What should I say… It seems like she doesn’t know her circumstances that well.”

“Don’t be like that, Emilia. Leyla is a pitiful child.”

Claudine lightly frowned. The rose branches were cut off with the scissors that Leyla had given her.

“Of course, she does have some flaws, but let’s still be tolerant of her.”

Emilia grinned at Claudine’s words.

“Well. You’re too generous to your residents.”

“Residents who do their part faithfully should be respected.”

Claudine’s voice got lower and softer. The blue porcelain vase was filled one by one with the flowers she
trimmed.

Leyla soon returned with a bundle of red roses. Again, with impeccable politeness, Leyla bowed and put
the roses on the table.

Claudine stopped her moving hands and looked at Leyla. Emilia’s critique of Leyla was correct. Claudine,
who had seen that child for a long time, agreed with Emilia’s remarks.

Claudine had a vague idea of why Emilia was able to make such a critique.

Leyla Lewellin’s docile demeanor seemed like it actually came through her unconcerned attitude. There
were famous aristocratic daughters who were anxious to be friends with Claudine, and yet, Leyla was
not excited or pleased at all whenever Claudine was near her. Leyla didn’t bother to look good in front
of Claudine. She never flattered Claudine either.

She was just that type to submissively endure and follow orders.

Claudine wasn’t used to such indifference. The fact that Claudine had received such indifference from
the orphan made her feel humiliated.

“Good work, Leyla.”

Claudine smiled.

Leyla stepped back as she bowed and the maid, who was waiting a few steps away, approached Leyla. It
was the moment Claudine had looked forward to the most. The moment when Leyla’s authentic
emotions were revealed through her eyes when she was given the gold coin in her hands.

After all these years, Leyla still couldn’t maintain her composure when she was presented with the gold
coin. Claudine was satisfied when Leyla’s hand that held the gold coin, trembled as if she was holding a
hot potato. Claudine was planning to present her with another gift to top it off. An invitation to the
party that would give that pitiful child a beautiful memory.

“Are you giving this to me?”

Leyla’s eyes grew bigger when she received an invitation from the same maid who had provided her the
gold coin. She looked very flustered.
“Yes. I had asked for permission and the two madams allowed it.”

“But, Miss…..”

“I really want you to come, Leyla.”

Claudine smiled as she cut off Leyla’s words again. Leyla’s face turned pale while Claudine’s smile grew
brighter.

“I’m sure you won’t refuse my invitation.”

After Claudine spoke to Leyla as if she was her longtime childhood friend, Claudine then turned her eyes
away.

I’m going to have to tame that stiff child before I become Duchess of Arvis.

Claudine started to trim the red roses while calmly reflecting on her intentions.

The rose vase decorated by the skilled Claudine was perfectly beautiful.
Chapter 17

Mr. Remmer’s Leyla was invited to the duke’s party.

The rumor quickly spread among the residents of Arvis. Everyone was initially puzzled, but at the end,
they expressed their sympathy for Leyla. The people who lived at Arvis well knew how Lady Brandt
treated the pitiful Leyla like her dog.

“I don’t get why all the aristocrats are so malicious.”

Upon hearing the news, Mrs. Mona, the cook, immediately rushed to the cabin that afternoon. The
news was a bolt out of the blue for Bill Remmer, who was taking a break from the midday heat.

“The aristocrats say that they’re being considerate, but how intimidated Leyla would be in such a
place?”

“Leyla isn’t that type of child to get intimidated by things like that. She can just show her face for a while
and come back.”

“Ugh. Men. They know nothing!”

Mrs. Mona shed a tear while Bill scratched his neck and put out his cigarette.

“Let’s show them what they deserve!”

“What the hell do you mean?”

“What else do you think I mean? With Leyla’s pretty looks, let’s take the aristocrat ladies down a peg or
two.”

“No, why are you so…….”

“I knew it. Were you thinking of sending Leyla to the party in her uniform?”

What’s wrong with school uniforms?

When Bill made a puzzled look, Mrs. Mona tsked and shook her head.

“Look here, Bill Remmer. Don’t you think you should know how to raise a daughter now, after all these
years?”

“What do you mean daughter? I’m just… Still thinking about where to send her….”1

“Sure. That thinking you do. You’ll think when you send Leyla off on her wedding day, think when you
hold her children, and think even when you’re in your coffin.”

“No! How can you possibly send that little girl away to a marriage! You’re talking nonsense.”
Mrs. Mona’s lips softened after she saw Bill heat up with anger.

“And you say she’s not your daughter. You’re a man I really can’t understand.”

“If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, leave.”

“Let’s buy her a fetching dress, Mr. Remmer. Like a surprise present. She’s a girl. How happy would she
be?”

Mrs. Mona emphatically said as if it was a command.

“Leyla’s not that kind of child to ask for a dress, and you’re not the type of person to care, so I have no
choice but to come forward. I’ll help you.”

“…… How?”

“If you pay for the dress, I’ll prepare it for her.”1

“Then go ahead.”

While grumbling, Bill entered the house and brought out his purse. He always kept money in the cabin
because he distrusted the bank.

Leyla, who had been to the goat’s cage, returned when Mrs. Mona steadily accepted the money for the
dress, including the shoes. The two hurriedly hid the traces of their deal and acted in pretense.

Leyla offered her a cup of tea, but Mrs. Mona refused and left the cabin. In the meantime, Bill hid his
purse into his back pocket.

“Did Mrs. Mona nag you about me again? I haven’t been climbing trees lately.”

Leyla anxiously asked after sitting on a chair next to Bill.

“It’s not like that, so don’t worry about it.”

Bill cleared his throat and then lit up the cigarette he had extinguished for a while.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Leyla smiled and leaned deep into her chair after taking off her hat.

This summer, Bill was more than happy to see Leyla’s straw hat she wore every day. When he thought it
would be several times more rewarding to see Leyla dressed up in a lavish dress, he no longer regretted
giving his money to Mrs. Mona.

“Leyla.”

Leyla looked at Bill when he suddenly called her name.

“What are you planning to do? The duke’s party.”

“I’m just going to stop by and show my face. The Etman household was also invited, so I decided to go
with Kyle.”2

“Really? That herbivorous glutton is finally paying off all that food he ate in my house.”

Bill felt a deep sense of relief when he heard Kyle’s name. Bill deeply trusted Kyle.

“Even so, don’t you need anything? Clothes to wear, things like that?”

“I’m fine, uncle.”

“What do you mean you’re fine. Are you planning to wear your uniform?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

Leyla snickered playfully. Her face looked so calm that Bill was lost in thoughts.

Do I really not know how to raise a daughter?

“No.”

Bill muttered to himself in astonishment.

What do you mean, daughter? What nonsense.

He shook his head.

Leyla looked at Bill with a confused look on her face. He felt uncomfortable when he saw the glittering
glasses on her small face.

Bill was well aware of the child’s struggles to avoid causing trouble and not be indebted to him if
possible. It was understandable. Nevertheless, he didn’t know how to comfort her, so he always said
blunt things to her.

He admitted that Mrs. Mona, although she was somewhat extreme, had made a brilliant decision to
surprise Leyla with a dress and shoes.

“Leyla.”

Bill gathered up his courage and called her name again.

“….. The weather is awfully hot.”

The words he had originally wanted to say failed to come out.

Bill cleared up his throat after saying useless things. Leyla laughed and gently grasped his hand that was
on the chair’s armrest.
I’m the one who should be comforting you instead.

Even with a sour look on his face, Bill couldn’t shake off that little hand. Leyla gave him a smile. She was
a child that smiled gorgeously.

Leyla woke up instantaneously. It was dawn, and the room was filled with ink-colored darkness.

Lying motionless, Leyla slowly looked around.

Familiar ceiling. Window with creamy curtains. Old desk with a few books spread out on it. Soft quilt
with a faint smell of sunlight.

I’m in my room.

A sigh of relief came out when she realized where she was.

She had a nightmare after a long time. She was reminded of the time when she was left all alone in this
world and had moved around the homes of her relatives. Every day, she had experienced a repetition of
nightmares until she met Uncle Bill. But her memory of the house that instilled her fear of water
remained deep and clear.

‘This is all because of her!’

When her uncle was drunk, he had expressed his anger at Leyla. He was a timid and quiet man when he
was sober, but the uncle Leyla remembered was a man who was drunk five days a week. On the days
when he lost his money at the gambling table, he became more aggressive. He had cursed and smacked
Leyla without fail.

She hated him. She despised him. But all Leyla Lewellin, the orphan who had nowhere else to go, could
do was to bear it.

Leyla desperately tried her best. She helped with housework without a break. She tried to eat less. Like
an object placed at the corner of the house, she barely moved around. Yet, on the day she was
eventually kicked out of the house, her aunt handed her a paper bag with some cookies in it. Leyla
received the paper bag and greeted her bruised aunt goodbye.

Leyla took out a cookie and ate it in the back of the wagon before heading to her next relative’s house.
Her heart broke because the chocolate cookies were so delicious.

But Leyla didn’t cry. She practiced smiling on the way to her destination. The more she wanted to cry,
the brighter she smiled. No one in this world liked crying orphans. Her smile had improved after getting
kicked out again and again.

But she wasn’t able to easily smile when she had to cross the border to Berg. The young Leyla believed
the one address grasped in her hand was her last hope. If she was abandoned again, she was forced to
go to an orphanage.
Leyla still couldn’t forget the day she had her best smile the moment she met Uncle Bill’s eyes, which
were full of warmth and compassion. She would never forget the day she finally had a family and a
house that she would always want to go back to.

So everything was alright.

Leyla relieved herself and lightly got out of bed.

The duke’s party was held this evening. Leyla didn’t want to mind or dwell much about it. She was
planning to proudly attend the party and quietly leave.

Lady Claudine didn’t know. How much Leyla was willing to do anything for Uncle Bill and this warm
cabin.

Leyla opened her window. She hurriedly washed her face and changed her clothes. When she vigorously
opened the door, she saw Uncle Bill, who has already prepared to go out for gardening.

“Let’s go together, uncle!”

~~~~

When the afternoon came, the mansion was already ready to welcome guests. It was a large-scale party,
but it was a daily part of the life of the Arvis residents.

They did what they had to do in their respective positions. All that remained left was the sun to set to
mark the start of the fancy party. No one in this Arvis was worried about the success of today’s party.
For tonight’s party would have been perfect, as was everything that lay in the Herhardt’s name.

Matthias left the dressing room in his evening coat. He left a colder impression whenever he combed his
hair back and revealed his forehead and eyebrows. The faint smile on the tip of his lips had failed to
soften his sharp facial features and his piercing eyes.

“It went well as you ordered, master.”

Hessen whispered. Matthias turned around with a cigarette in his hand and slightly raised his eyebrow.

“They left about an hour ago, so the prepared items must have been delivered by now.”

“I see.”

After he nodded, Matthias lit the end of the cigarette that was in between his lips.

“Well done.”

Hessen bowed his head at Matthias’s response with a slight smile.

The news that Claudine had invited Leyla Lewellin to the party came to Matthias through his mother’s
mouth. His mother praised the kindhearted Claudine, who had shown compassion and charity to the
poor orphan.

Matthias didn’t bother to oppose because he thought it would be quite an entertaining sight. The sight
of Leyla arriving to the party in her shabby clothes, and Claudine showing her full sympathy and
kindness.

Matthias seemed to know what aspect of Leyla Lewellin was stimulating Claudine. Leyla was an
annoying little girl, so it was quite the enjoyment to break her pride.3

That was why.

That was why he didn’t want to give her to Claudine. All that enjoyment and pleasure belonged to him
and him only. Matthias von Herhardt didn’t know how to share his own with others.

“What shall I do with these, master?”

Hessen pointed to the box near the fireplace where the fire was put out. It was the gift box the chef had
prepared for Bill Remmer.

The gift, which was supposed to be delivered to Bill Remmer’s cabin today, was moved here through
Hessen. Hessen had switched the chef’s gift with the box Matthias had ordered him to prepare.

Matthias slowly smoked as he gazed at the gift. It was not that difficult to guess what was in it without
opening it.

“Get rid of it.”

His order that flowed out with the cigarette smoke was calm.
Chapter 18

“Uncle, this is… too much.”

Leyla, who looked into the box with wide eyes, said in a trembling voice. Bill couldn’t find a suitable
rebuttal. He too was surprised.

“How much did you spend?”

Leyla gave Bill a look of reproach.

“No. That’s…. Well…. I’ve spent enough! You care too much about everything.”

Bill barely came to his senses when he answered back. The dress Mrs. Mona prepared had arrived at the
cabin on the day of the party. Bill believed the mailman would bring the dress in, but a young man who
seemed to be an employee of the dress shop delivered it himself.

Bill thought Mrs. Mona must have paid special attention to the dress well enough for the nicely dressed
employee to deliver it directly to them. When Leyla opened the box, the dress was beyond Bill’s
expectations. Even in Bill’s eyes, who didn’t know a thing about women’s clothes and accessories, the
white dress stitched with gold threads looked very luxurious and heavenly. The same was true of the
shoes, gloves, and the necklace.

How much did I pay Mrs. Mona again?

Bill calculated with his fingers folded.

But did she take the money for the necklace?

Bill was puzzled and had calculated again while Leyla firmly covered the box lid.

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“No way.”

“Then why?”

“Let’s return it. I can’t let you spend this much money on a party that lasts for just one day.”

Unlike Mrs. Mona’s assurance that the gift would thrill her, Leyla simply looked worried.

“Leyla, if you don’t wear this to the party. I won’t ever see you again.”

Bill’s face suddenly turned cold.

“You always don’t want to be indebted to me. I know your reasons, but Leyla, you shouldn’t draw a clear
line between me and you.”
“Uncle…..”

“If you don’t take it, I’ll just use it as a firecracker. And I’ll never see you again, Leyla.”

The red-faced Bill stepped out of the front door as if he was running away. As he circled around the
flower bed and smoked, his mind was filled with late regrets for saying such mean words to the child. He
didn’t mean it when he said he’d never see her again.

While Bill was wondering if he should go back in, Kyle walked in from the other side of the road in his
tailcoat. Bill used to believe Kyle was just a little boy who always pretended to be an adult, but seeing
him dressed up so nicely, Bill realized that he was all grown up now.4

“Mr. Remmer. What about Leyla?”

Kyle excitedly asked.

“Well. I don’t know.”

“What? Leyla’s not home? The party’s about to begin.”

“Not really, but……”

While Bill hesitated, not knowing how to explain the situation, the front door creaked open. The two
men inadvertently turned their heads and gasped.

An unfamiliar Leyla stood there.

~~~~~

“Kyle, don’t I look weird?”

Leyla asked with a grimace.

“I feel so awkward wearing these clothes…..”

“You’re pretty.”

Kyle, who had barely been able to speak for a while, decisively cut Leyla’s words.

“You’re beautiful, Leyla. I mean it.”1

Kyle said once again with conviction. His childlike smile disappeared as his face turned red. He was
aware that Uncle Bill was planning to prepare a gift for Leyla, but he had never imagined it would be this
much.

He was really worried about Bill’s eye for picking tacky things, but this was……

“Wake up, Kyle Etman.”

Bill clicked his tongue and patted Kyle’s flustered back.

“You’re going in my place today.”

Bill looked at Kyle with a serious look.

“That means you have to take responsibility and protect her. You can do it, right?”

“Of course, Mr. Remmer.”

Kyle replied emphatically.

“I’ll make sure to protect her!”

Bill burst out laughing when he watched Kyle vow with a crimson red face. In the meantime, Leyla took a
cautious step towards Kyle. Kyle relieved his beating chest with repeated deep breaths and reached out
his hand in a dignified manner.

“What’s this?”

Leyla confusedly asked about his hand, but Kyle didn’t panic.

“Today’s the party. And we’re partners.”

“Yeah.”

“So.”

Kyle mustered up his courage and led Leyla’s hand over his arm.

“It’s what it’s supposed to be. Being your partner for the party.”

Kyle was so nervous, he almost stammered.

Leyla, after being lost in thought for a while, nodded assiduously and lightly linked her arms around
Kyle’s.

“Let’s go, Kyle.”

The moment Leyla smiled brighter than the sun, Kyle thought.

I will never forget this moment for the rest of my life.

Leyla Lewellin appeared with the doctor’s son.

When Matthias was greeting the guests, he suddenly turned his eyes and saw Leyla entering the hall
under Kyle Etman’s escort.
Hessen had proved himself to be the most competent butler through Leyla’s appearance. Leyla Lewellin
was gorgeous with the outfit Hessen picked. Matthias believed she would still be beautiful, even with
the shabby gift the chef had chosen for her.

Matthias’s gaze shifted from her shoes, her dress, and then to the necklace that adorned Leyla’s white,
slender neck. It was a stunning necklace pieced together by pearls and emeralds. Hessen prepared the
dress and shoes, but Matthias chose the necklace. It was unexpected. He was on his way to the hotel
because he had an appointment and saw the necklace in a display window near the hotel. The lucid
green color of the emerald, delicately crafted, was quite impressive. While he was returning to his estate
that day, Matthias had instructed Hessen to buy the necklace.1

Leyla noticed Matthias’s gaze as she suddenly turned her head. Her eyes, resembling the lively summer
forest, stopped exactly on Matthias’s face. Leyla seemed to recognize who he was only after she
squinted her eyes.

Unlike Matthias, who looked at her with an unwavering stare, Leyla avoided eye contact in surprise. She
tightly held the boy’s arm and hid behind him.

“Long time no see, Duke Herhardt.”

Matthias turned away after a familiar face gave a greeting.

With a modest smile, he welcomed the guest and exchanged brief regards. Although his mind was in a
different place, Matthias was able to perfectly accomplish his job.

When Matthias turned his eyes again, Leyla and the boy were moving away to the other side of the hall.
Kyle Etman triumphantly escorted Leyla. He led that woman and acted as if she was his.

~~~~

“This is Leyla. She’s my friend.”

Claudine took Leyla to another group of ladies.

“Hello. I’m Leyla Lewellin.”

And Leyla did her part again with a polite greeting. She acted as if she was a doll without any will or
emotion.

Claudine gave a gleaming smile and continued to introduce her to other people. Claudine was satisfied
with how obedient and kind Leyla was.

“Leyla’s preparing to become a teacher. Isn’t that wonderful?”

The ladies agreed with Claudine’s proud praise in unison and complimented Leyla. Their compliments
were a tribute to Lady Claudine, who regarded the poor orphan as her friend. The ladies knew the two
couldn’t be real friends, and that reality didn’t impair Claudine’s dignity.
“Oh, Claudine. I heard you’re about to get engaged.”

One of the ladies gracefully changed the subject as if she was done talking about an orphan who was
about to become a teacher. Everyone’s interests were now focused on Claudine Brandt’s engagement.

Claudine took a shy and humble attitude. Since the engagement hadn’t been officially announced yet, it
was frivolous to act as if she had already become Duchess Herhardt.

“The Duke Herhardt is here!”

Another lady standing in the opposite direction of Claudine gasped in admiration.

Everyone’s eyes moved toward the direction the lady pointed at. Leyla, who had a perfunctory smile this
whole time, had widened her eyes along with Claudine.

Matthias brushed past Leyla and naturally stood beside Claudine. Claudine wrapped her arms around
his. Leyla’s face, when she glanced at the two, was visibly paler than before.

“They’re my friends, Duke Herhardt.”

When Claudine started introducing them, Matthias greeted them elegantly. Matthias’s gaze, as he
looked at one person after another, stopped on Leyla’s face standing at the end of the group.

“It’s Leyla.”

Claudine tightly grasped Matthias’s arm.

“You couldn’t recognize her, right? She so different than usual that I almost didn’t recognize her either.”

Leyla blushed in embarrassment at what Claudine said in the guise of sarcasm. No matter what insults
Claudine gave towards the emotionless Leyla, Leyla always seemed to react differently when Matthias
was in front of her.

“Um, excuse me.”

A warm voice dissipated the sudden silence. It was Kyle Etman, the boy who had been loitering around
with a disapproving look ever since Claudine took Leyla away.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but may I take my partner now?”7

Kyle held Leyla’s hand without hesitation. She seemed a little surprised, but Leyla didn’t refuse his
touch. Rather, she looked as if she was a lost child who had found her parents.

“My friends are also eagerly waiting to be introduced to Leyla.”

Unlike his gentle demeanor, Kyle’s eyes on Claudine were firm and cold.

“Then I’ll have to give my permission. We can’t keep holding Leyla on for too long.”
Claudine willingly nodded her head and looked at Matthias. Matthias was watching Leyla and Kyle with
insensitive eyes.

“Thank you, Lady Brandt. And Duke Herhardt.”

Kyle bowed politely.

“Let’s go, Leyla.”

It wasn’t until Kyle showed a gentle smile when he saw Leyla’s face. Through his mellow smile, Claudine
could tell. That boy loved Leyla.

Leyla looked smaller and thinner next to Kyle, who was as tall as Matthias. The boy seemed to cherish
Leyla like a treasure.

What about Leyla?

Claudine carefully examined Leyla with her lightly opened eyes. She was smiling back at Kyle. Leyla
Lewellin always smiled in front of Claudine, but it was the first time Claudine had seen her face smiling
as comfortable and bright as now. It didn’t seem to be unreasonable to say that she looked like a girl in
love.

It was the son of the doctor, not Duke Herhardt?

Claudine was in confusion as Leyla and Kyle turned around.

Then was it him that made Leyla Lewellin into a princess?

“Ah, Leyla!”

Claudine, who had been pondering, impulsively opened her lips. The chandelier light had shined down
upon Leyla.

“How pretty you are today. Especially that necklace.”

“What? Ah….. yes. Thank you, miss.”

The bewildered Leyla fondled her necklace. The long necklace that dangled over Leyla’s chest suited her
well. The edges of the emerald that gave off the same color of her eyes were meticulously crafted into a
flower petal. It looked authentic. The same went for the milky-white pearls. All the jewels were too
delicate and alluring to be regarded as imitations.

Can that Kyle Etman, the son of the doctor’s family, afford to hang such a necklace on Leyla?

“Isn’t that right, Duke Herhardt?”

Claudine faced Matthias and smiled.

“Yes. She does.”

Matthias answered without a grain of hesitation. He looked undisturbed.

Chapter 19

Kyle led Leyla to a terrace connected to the rose garden. As the tumultuous and colorful atmosphere of
the party faded from a distance, Leyla finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Kyle. Thank you so much.”

Leyla thanked while leaning against the marble railing. She thought Kyle would laugh, but he somehow
looked austere.

“Kyle?”

“Why are you holding it in?”

“Huh?”

“They’re dragging you around like a spectacle. Why are you staying still? You’re not like the prideful and
clever Leyla Lewellin that I know of.”

“Who cares.”

Unlike Kyle, who was unusually furious, Leyla simply smiled.

“They’re not wrong. I am an orphan, I am indebted to Uncle Bill, and I am planning to become a
teacher.”

“I really don’t get you.”

“People are born two-faced, Mr. Etman.”

“You’re only good at saying useless things.”

Kyle ended up smiling at Leyla’s mischievous reply.

“Go now, Kyle. I’m really fine.”

“Go where.”

“You have a lot of people to meet here. You also have a lot of friends.”

“No thanks.”
Kyle waved his hands as if he was annoyed and leaned his back against the railing along with Leyla.

“Don’t be like that…..”

“Leyla, I’m here as your partner today.”

Kyle slowly turned his head. His brown eyes gleamed warmly in the dark.

“So I’ll be by your side.”

A smile slowly spread over Kyle’s lips.

“I want to.”

The wind carried the sweet rose scent from the garden. Leyla tried to answer back, but all she could do
was to grasp the handrail with her lips tightly closed.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“……. I’m not sure.”

“Are you being shy in front of me?”

“No way.”

“Your face looks red.”

“No!”

Leyla raised her hands and stroked her cheeks.

“Fooled ya.”

Leyla laughed when she saw Kyle playfully giggling. It was then when Mrs. Etman, who had been
searching for her son, found the two on the terrace.

“Kyle. What the hell are you doing here?”

She approached and let out a deep sigh.

Leyla hurriedly straightened her posture and bowed her head. Mrs. Etman accepted her greeting with a
frank look and then turned to her son.

“There’s a lot of people waiting to see you.”

“You mean my father.”

Kyle grinned, but Mrs. Etman’s eyes became stern.

“Kyle Etman. Are my words funny to you?”

“Mom, you know that’s not what I meant.”

“Let’s go. Madam Norma’s waiting for you. You’re not thinking of making her wait are you?”

Mrs. Etman’s attitude was obstinate, it was as if she wouldn’t allow any further counterarguments.

“See you, Kyle.”

Leyla carefully opened her mouth after holding her breath.

Madam Norma adored the only son of her doctor. Leyla knew how proud Mrs. Etman was.

“I’ll wait here.”

Leyla smiled to reassure Kyle.

“Thank you, Leyla.”

Mrs. Etman was, only then, able to smile at Leyla. Her brown eyes that resembled Kyle’s had always
looked bitter towards Leyla. Leyla knew that as well.

Kyle reluctantly took a heavy step. Leyla gave a small wave at Kyle, who kept looking back.

“Wait for me!”

Kyle cried as he grimaced.3

“You have to wait for me, Leyla!”

Ok.

She was willing to answer, but Leyla couldn’t take her lips off. All she could do was to wave her hands
more vigorously.

After Kyle and Mrs. Etman left, the terrace was calm again. The music and laughter from the hall
mingled with the beautiful lights, creating a relaxed atmosphere. Leyla had left her glasses at home so
the lights looked blurry, but the scenery looked more dreamy with her blurry vision.

Now Leyla Lewellin’s role was over.

Leyla was able to relax. With her relaxed state, her unfamiliar clothes came into view.

When she slightly moved her legs, the waist decorated ribbon and the bottom of her dress shook. Leyla
started becoming jolly as she tiptoed up and down while looking down at the rich hem of the flowing
dress.

The white dress embroidered with the gold thread was as majestic as the dreamy night. The dress’s
texture that brushed against Leyla’s skin was so soft that her entire body was ticklish.
And the necklace.

Leyla gently fondled her necklace as she lost her shy smile.

Why did Lady Brandt say that?

Leyla guessed that Claudine was probably expressing contempt and sympathy in a sophisticated way,
but Leyla didn’t mind. Uncle Bill’s gift was dazzlingly beautiful. No matter what others said, Leyla was
content with her gift.

Leyla smiled again, and when she raised her head, a tall man came out onto the terrace. Leyla believed it
was Kyle and had gotten excited, but when she recognized who the man was, she froze.+

It was Duke Herhardt. Along with Lady Brandt.

“It’s very clear at night, isn’t it?”

Claudine asked as she took a deep breath. Her behavior seemed like she had led Matthias to the terrace
because of the night breeze.

“I like the summer because its nights are pleasing. What about you, Duke Herhardt?”

Claudine smiled brightly as she stood in front of the marble railing. Her gaze had left Matthias’s face and
went towards Leyla Lewellin, who was standing at the far opposite end of the terrace. Leyla was the
primary reason Claudine had brought Matthias here.

“I don’t like summer very much, my lady.”

Matthias stood beside Claudine. His eyes that were looking at the rose-filled garden then briefly passed
by Leyla’s face. She looked very embarrassed and nervous at the appearance of unexpected guests.

“Really? I thought you liked summer.”

Claudine now looked at Matthias with her back against Leyla.

“Come to think of it, I feel like Duke Herhardt is a heartless man. Of course, you know that’s not a
reproach, right?”

Claudine, with her hands held together behind her back, came a step closer. The distance between the
two was close enough to reach each other’s breath.

“I actually like your insensitivity. I think it accentuates your nobility and elegant manner.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Matthias didn’t back down and faced Claudine.

“Kiss me, please.”

Claudine demanded boldly. Matthias stared at her in silence.

“I like the heartless Duke Herhardt, but don’t we still need to put in some passion or enthusiasm?”

As Claudine tilted her head, the thickly curled brown hair shook elastically.

“I mean, we are getting engaged, married, and will live together for the rest of our lives.”

“Minimal passion…..”

Matthias narrowed his eyes for a while and gave a nod to agree.

“Indeed.”

Matthias wrapped Claudine’s cheek without much hesitation. Claudine looked a little surprised but she
soon naturally closed her eyes.

While looking at the shadows of Claudine’s eyelashes, Matthias’s gaze unconsciously turned to the
opposite end of the terrace. The fidgeting Leyla had met eyes with him just in time.

Leaving his gaze of Leyla intact, Matthias lowered his lips over Claudine’s lips.4

The spectator Leyla Lewellin that Claudine wanted was faithful to her role. Frozen in place, Leyla blankly
watched the two. Even the darkness and the long distance couldn’t hide Leyla’s red cheeks.

Throughout the very restrained kiss, Matthias’s eyes had continued to be on Leyla. Her green eyes
helplessly looked at him in a paralyzed state. Although the moon was bright, her eyes looked as dull as
the night.

When Leyla avoided his eyes, the two people’s blunt kiss was over. Leyla ran down the stairs leading to
the garden while Claudine slowly opened her eyes and oddly smiled.

“Let’s go.”

Matthias politely reached out his hand. Claudine held the hand as if nothing had happened.

“I’m sure, Duke Herhardt.”

Claudine, who had just entered the hall, grinned.

“I’m sure that we’ll become a pretty good couple.”

~~~~

Leyla frantically ran down the stairs. She knew she wasn’t being chased, but Leyla kept running faster.

The sound of Leyla’s shoes on the promenade shook the serene garden of the night. It wasn’t until she
reached the massive fountain in the middle of the garden when Leyla finally stopped. She didn’t realize
the pain in her feet because all she could think of was escaping the terrace.
“Ah…….”

Leyla slightly took off her shoes and winced. There were raw scratches all over her feet, which suffered
from the new pumps. Her heel was skinned and blood flowed down. All she wanted to do was to run to
the cabin but she eventually turned around.

She promised Kyle that she’ll be waiting. Leyla believed she had to at least tell him that she was making
her leave first. But she was afraid to go back to that mansion, to that strange and uncomfortable world.

Leyla agonized as she limped along the right side of the path. She stood under the vine roses where the
pergola stood. She was planning to first wait in the garden and then visit the mansion when Kyle was
about to come back.

Can I sit down?

Leyla stared at the bench and wondered. It was the rose vine Uncle Bill pruned with special care, but she
had never gone under it. It was a seat not allowed by any other residents or servants.

But wouldn’t it be okay today since I’m here as Arvis’s guest?

After more thoughts, Leyla was able to quietly sit at the end of the bench. She needed a little more time
and courage to then take off her shoes.

Leyla leaned her back against the armrest of the bench and wrapped her knees in her arms. The
throbbing feet touched the cold marble and the pain started to subside a little. She now learned how
good looking shoes wore out her feet, so she couldn’t bear to wear the shoes again.

If I hadn’t ran, I could’ve at least saved my heels.

Leyla gently grazed the painful wound with her fingertips. She shook her head to shake off the sudden
memory.

When she thought of the man who stared at her while kissing his fiancé, Leyla frowned. Leyla didn’t
understand why Claudine had casually accepted the kiss even though she knew there was a person
there.1

“Why are they like that?”

Mumbling to herself, Leyla unwittingly rubbed her lips.

“….. So shameless.”

This time, she rubbed the inside of her lips with the back of hand. It was as if to erase the memory and
the strange feeling of that night when the moon was lit.
Chapter 20

“How kind of you, madam.”

Mrs. Etman’s eyes, looking at Madam Norma, were full of heartfelt admiration.

“How can you show such great kindness?”

The clearer the joy spread on Mrs. Etman’s face, the more troubled Kyle Etman looked as he stood
beside her. Matthias watched the two with an interested glance. He knew that his grandmother liked
her doctor and adored his son. Dr. Etman was a competent doctor and had excellent character, so it was
reasonable.

Maybe Kyle Etman, who resembles his father, will live that same life as long as there is no change.

Grandmother was sure of it, and Matthias agreed.

But that was it.

There was no reason for Matthias to pay any more attention to the obvious and tedious facts. Linda
Etman, the very ambitious lady of the house, acted differently from the two men of the Etman’s family.

“May I greet them now?”

Fearing that Norma might change her mind, Mrs. Etman lost her composure and pressured Norma.

“Dear.”

Dr. Etman, who had been quietly watching, gently dissuaded her, but she didn’t seem to be willing to
give up at all.

Matthias turned to Kyle Etman again.

His grandmother had offered to introduce Baron Arundt’s family to the Etman family. There wasn’t
anyone who didn’t know the hidden meaning behind her words when Norma said the two families
would match well so they could be good acquaintances. Baron Arundt had a daughter who was around
the same age as Kyle Etman. A daughter who was at the age to start thinking about getting married.

Even though the Etman household had no title of nobility, they were wealthier than the Arundt
household. They also had greater prestige. If the two families became in-laws, it was Baron Arundt who
benefited the most.

“Yes, Mrs. Etman. That sounds good.”

Norma Catarina von Herhardt called in her servant with a generous smile. She had ordered to bring in
Baron Arundt and his wife. The servant quickly disappeared through the crowd. Kyle’s face, glancing
towards the terrace that connected the garden, was now indescribably nervous.
It was as if he had left behind something precious there.

A smile flashed on Matthias’s lips as he was sure of what that was.

A mother who had an infinite attachment and expectation for her son, and a son who didn’t know how
to disappoint her. When Matthias thought of Leyla Lewellin in between the two, he almost chuckled. In
the meantime, Baron Arundt and his wife, who were guided by the servant, appeared. Their daughter
was with them, of course.

Kyle seemed to have noticed the meaning of the occasion. Even though he had a look of immediate
desire to run out, the boy couldn’t let go of the role of a good and polite son.

If that was the case.

Matthias left the stage of a boring matchmaking scene. His gait across the terrace and down the stairs
was relaxed without the slightest sign of impatience.

It was obvious what kind of ending the dutiful son’s puppy love would come to. Leyla was ultimately
going to be abandoned and left in Matthias’s woods.4

By the time the obvious conclusion was reached, Matthias found Leyla. She was staying underneath the
pergola in the corner of the garden, not bothering to go far because she had promised to wait for the
boy.

Matthias moved towards her at a slower pace. He was wondering why she didn’t become flustered as
usual, but he then realized that she was fast asleep. The faint moonlight that traveled through the rose
bushes shone on the small, crouching woman.

Matthias stopped at a short distance from the bench. And deeply looked. At her neatly taken off shoes,
wounded feet, slender arms wrapped around her knees, and her face that looked more innocent when
asleep.

A long stretch of hair wrapped around her thin neck and shoulders. Matthias gently lowered his waist
and picked up her shoes as he wondered how soft her golden locks would feel.

It was then when Leyla slowly opened her eyes.

~~~~

It’s a dream.

Leyla vaguely thought. In the meantime, Matthias stood against the pillar of the pergola that faced the
bench. In his hand, there were shoes that looked like a woman’s.

But even if this is a dream, isn’t it too strange?

When the question came to mind, the lingering feeling of sleep receded.
“…… the duke?”

Leyla couldn’t believe what was seeing, so she had whispered to him. Instead of answering, Matthias
took out a cigarette and held it to his mouth. The white smoke of his lips streaming out of his mouth
proved that this moment could never be a dream.

Leyla, who was about to faint in surprise, belatedly realized that the shoes he held in his hand was hers.
Leyla crouched her body to the edge of the bench. Matthias stared at her as if he was amused and
slowly waved her shoes.

“Do you want it back?”

A low voice came along with the hazy cigarette smoke.

“Yes.”

“Then cry, Leyla.”7

The following words were even more languid and appalling.

His unbelievable words stunned Leyla. She hoped that Kyle would come quickly, but the road beyond
the pergola was empty.

“He’s not coming.”

The duke spoke calmly as if he had read her mind.

“Kyle Etman.”

Matthias whispered as he looked at Leyla frowning in doubt.

“The one you’re waiting for.”

Matthias dropped the half-smoked cigarette onto the ground.

When the thinly rising smoke stopped, Leyla looked up in tears.

“No.”

Leyla pulled herself up as she was determined to not show her wounded feet. She faced Matthias with
both her feet strongly placed on the floor. Although she was still afraid of him, she didn’t want to
become his amusement anymore.

“Kyle always keeps his word.”

“Does he?”

“Yes.”
Leyla replied with conviction.

“You look quite confident.”

“I think I know more about Kyle than you do.”

Leyla clearly and emphatically said, mustering up all the courage she had. A smile spread over the duke’s
lips.

“Confidence isn’t something to be reckoned with, Leyla.”

The duke approached along with his words. Although her shoulders cowered in fear, Leyla didn’t back
down.

“I…. I really don’t know.”

“About what?”

“Why do you hate me so much?”

Leyla’s eyes were direct and lucid, unlike her trembling voice.

“I feel pleasant when I hate you.”

He calmly answered with one corner of his mouth raised.

“It’s enjoyable when you cry, and it’s fun to see you beg.”

“How can you say that?”

“Leyla, I’m just answering your question.”

Matthias simply looked nonchalant with the astonished Leyla in front of his eyes.

“You don’t act like this to anyone other than me.”

His insults had brought tears to her eyes, but Leyla managed to put up with it. Matthias willingly nodded
to her words.

“Right.”

“Then why is it only me…..”

“Because it’s you.”

“What?”

“Because it’s you, Leyla. Because you’re a nobody.”7

His reply was calm and dry. His tone had made Leyla even more miserable.
“I’m sorry, your grace.”

Leyla stared at him as she tried not to cry. She started to miss the relatives who had kicked her out for
various reasons. Not even her drunk uncle was that cruel to Leyla.

“I’m so sorry that I’m a nobody that dares to stay in your territory.”

Now, not only her voice but also her hands that were clenched into fists trembled.

“If you were going to act like this, why didn’t you just disallow me to stay in your estate instead?”

“Leyla, isn’t that too unsympathetic?”

“You’re truly unsympathetic enough.”

No matter how hard Leyla had tried to hide it, her voice continued to whimper.

“Are you going to kick me out now?”

“No.”

Matthias’s eyes grew darker.

“Don’t worry about that. You’re doing enough for your use.”

“You said I was a nobody.”1

“That’s your use.”5

When she slowly opened her closed eyes, Matthias erased the scorn that used to remain at the end of
his lips. His expressionless face now looked stiflingly cold and still.

“That’s enough of an apology.”

Matthias raised his head, which had been leaning deeply towards Leyla, and stood in a straight posture.

“The Kyle Etman you’re waiting for is not coming.”

Matthias’s hand pointing to an empty path touched Leyla’s hair that flowed over her shoulder. Leyla
backed away in fear, but was blocked by the bench and couldn’t take a step further.

“So Leyla…..”

With her golden hair grasped and fondled by Matthias, he looked at Leyla with a deeper look than
before.

“Cry.”

Even at the moment he gave a heartless order, Matthias remained calm.

“Even better if you beg.”

With the addition of his suggestion, Matthias’s lips had formed into a faint smile.

Crazy person.

Leyla had been thinking that for a long time, but she was sure now. This man was definitely crazy.

~~~~

When Matthias had returned to his mansion, Kyle Etman was still held up by his mother. The Baron and
Baroness Arundt seemed to like the idea of becoming in-laws with the Etman household. They showed
considerable favor and Mrs. Etman’s response was not much different. Kyle’s attitude was now
noticeably stiff, but his mother didn’t seem to care much about her son.1

Matthias once again drew away his attention from the obvious and tedious affairs. Mixed between
familiar faces, he began to play the role of the master of Arvis, Duke Herhardt.

Leyla cried.

Matthias felt satisfied while recalling the moment. She trembled and droplets of water fell from her face
as she couldn’t hold in her rage. Her wet eyes looked more clear because of the corners of her eyes that
had turned red. At the moment, Leyla Lewellin’s eyes sparkled like the jewels that hung around her
neck, and Matthias liked that.

He returned her shoes because she cried beautifully.

When he was about to leave the garden, he looked back and saw Leyla still standing there crying. She
cried because of him, therefore, the tears that came from Leyla’s was his. Matthias’s steps became
lighter.

His despondent feeling of when he saw Kyle Etman escorting Leyla into the mansion was washed away
with Leyla’s tears. As well as the indescribable feeling he felt the moment he kissed Claudine while
staring at Leyla.

Tonight, in his world, Leyla was beautiful, and the beautiful Leyla had cried in front of him.

So it was a perfect summer night.

By the time Matthias reached that satisfactory conclusion, Leyla unexpectedly reappeared. Standing on
the edge of the aisle linking the hall to the terrace, she was carefully looking for someone.

“Kyle Etman.”

Matthias slowly whispered the name.

Leyla seemed to have found him soon. However, she wasn’t able to approach. She seemed to have
understood what it meant for Kyle Etman to be surrounded by the Arundt household, especially Baron
Arundt’s youngest daughter.

Leyla, who had been hiding behind the post for a long time, approached the passing servant and had
said something to him. The servant nodded his head and started to head towards Kyle Etman, who had a
cold look on his face as if he had reached his limit. Meanwhile, Leyla had left the terrace.

Matthias impulsively approached the servant.

“Please call Count Klein.”

The eyes of the servant grew bigger at Matthias’s order. For a moment, he glanced over to Kyle Etman’s
side, but gave the very answer Matthias expected.

“Yes, master.”

Turning his steps, he hurried through the crowd to accept Matthias’s order.

Matthias left the terrace and leaned on the pillar where Leyla had stayed a while ago. Leyla was drifting
absently along the promenade and then to the center of the garden. Her feet seemed to hurt as she
limped. She later took off her shoes and walked barefoot from the middle of the path.

Matthias watched her as he waited for his servant. Of course, Count Klein wasn’t going to come. Having
a neurotic headache, the count had only shown his face early in the evening and returned home.

By the time Leyla disappeared deep into the forest, the servant from before had approached.

“I’m sorry, master. Count Klein had already returned home.”

“I see.”

Matthias nodded and smiled.

“Well done.”

Matthias leisurely left the terrace after his salute.

Only then did the servant return to his previous duty. As he approached Kyle Etman, he delivered Leyla’s
words and a sense of dismay flashed across Kyle Etman’s face.

Kyle suddenly began to rush out to the terrace after asking for his understanding, but Matthias didn’t
mind any longer. Leyla Lewellin, despite her little figure, walked pretty fast. It was too late for Kyle to
catch up to her.

Matthias willingly took the glass of champagne Riette had offered.

The glamorous midsummer night, the party was perfect.

Chapter 21

“I don’t know if I can leave you here alone.”

Bill sighed with a worrisome face.

“Uncle, you’ll really miss the train at this rate.”

Leyla kindly urged him. Bill was reassured at her confidence in being home alone, but he somehow felt a
little sentimental.

An obituary was delivered to the cabin yesterday afternoon. Bill’s brother had passed away. Even
though the two brothers weren’t close and hadn’t seen each other for a long time, Bill couldn’t ignore
the fact that his brother used to be the only family left in the world.

Bill eventually decided to take a few days off and travel to his hometown. Going there was not a
problem for Bill, but leaving the little Leyla alone made his heart feel as heavy as lead.

“You have to make sure to keep the door shut. Even if it’s hot, keep the windows closed.”

Bill repeated his words of advice several times since last night.

“The hunting gun is hanging in my room…..”

“I’ll make sure to lock the door, the windows, and move the hunting gun that’s in your room next to my
bed. If a bad person shows up, I’ll shoot them.”

Leyla calmly recited the words she had heard so many times.

“I’ll eat well, sleep well, and stay well.”

He would only be gone for three days at most, but Bill worried about Leyla as if he was going to be away
for months. Bill reluctantly took off, even though he still had a concerned look. Leyla followed him to the
entrance of the mansion to see him off.

“Leyla, did something happen at the party that day?”

Bill carefully asked after taking a glimpse of the magnificent mansion building.

“No, I had fun. There weren’t any trouble. I’m serious.”1

“I’m glad you did…. But somehow, you seem to be distancing yourself from Kyle after that party.”

“Me? Kyle?”

Leyla laughed as if it was nonsense.

“No way. It’s just that… we’ve been busy these days.”
“Can I take your word for it?”

“Yes. Why would I tell such a lie?”

“That’s true. There’s no way your relationship with Kyle would get awkward. Then Leyla, if you’re too
scared to be alone, then bring Kyl…. No, no. Pretend you didn’t hear.”

Bill shook his hand with a serious look.

“He’s the most dangerous.”2

“Uncleee.”

“If he comes over, make sure to send him back before sunset. Keep in mind.”

“Stop saying strange things now, go ahead.”

Leyla comforted Bill’s back with a warm touch.

Bill looked back several times and repeated his advice as he moved further away on the other side of the
platanus road.

Leyla stayed there for a while until Bill was no longer in sight. Every time he turned around, Leyla smiled
and waved her hands.

She believed the next three days were going to be very long.

~~~~

“Leyla’s avoiding me.”

Kyle was sure now.

“I think it’s because of the party that day.”

The reason wasn’t that difficult to find.

“You think so too? Phoebe?”

Kyle seriously asked, but Phoebe sat on the window frame pecking at the oats and pretended not to
hear. Kyle deeply sighed when he found himself talking nonsense to the dove. Phoebe brought Leyla’s
note again today with disappointing news. The note read that Uncle Bill was going to be at his
hometown for a few days and Leyla was planning to be at the library all day long so the cabin was going
to be empty.

He’s been getting these types of messages for days lately. Her notes said she was planning to go to
another friend’s house; she had an appointment downtown; she was busy helping Bill with the orchards.
At first, he thought it was her consideration of notifying him instead of having him come into the cabin
in vain when it was actually empty. But at this point, it all seemed like excuses. Clumsy excuses to avoid
Kyle Etman.

“I don’t blame her. I would do the same.”

Kyle clutched his head and gave a deep sigh.

He proudly declared that he was her partner and promised he would protect her. Yet, he had left Leyla
alone. After hearing the servant’s words that Leyla left him, he ran out of the hall, but she had already
taken her leave.

He didn’t know why he couldn’t get out of there sooner. Even though he had told her to wait. He made
her wait. He failed to keep his promise.

Kyle nervously wandered around the room while Phoebe, who ate its fill, left. Kyle stared into the
direction where the dove flew away and impulsively stormed out the room.

He couldn’t remember how he got on his bike and pedaled. He thought of Leyla as he went out of
breath. By the time his heart was about to burst at the thought of Leyla, Kyle had arrived at the cabin in
the Arvis estate. His shoulders moved up and down as he tried to catch his breath in the scorching sun.

There were white sheets and pillowcases dripping with water on the clothesline at the yard. And beyond
it, there was a shadow of a woman with a soft, thin body line.

Feeling both relief and despondency, Kyle slowly swept his sweaty hair behind his forehead. Leyla gently
showed her face over the sheets as if she had felt his presence. Her green eyes grew round when she
met eyes with him.

“…… Kyle.”

The sweet voice that came through her lips was enough to make him forget this embarrassing situation.

~~~~

“I’m sorry.”

Kyle, who had been sitting in front of the table, remained silent for a long time and then sighed. Leyla
sat on the opposite side. When she was looking down at her fingertips, she had suddenly raised her eyes
at Kyle’s apology.

“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“No. Don’t.”

Leyla shook her head after being taken aback.

“I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m sorry I lied about not being at home.”
“No, it’s because of me. It’s all my fault.”

“It’s not like that. I’m not upset or mad at you. I’m serious, Kyle.”

“Then is there another reason? Why…. you’re avoiding me… “

“You know Kyle, I like you as a friend. You’re kind of like my family. So….. so I think we should further
ourselves now.”

Leyla attempted to pull up the corners of her lip to calmly smile, but Kyle didn’t seem to notice.

Leyla was sincere when she said she wasn’t upset or angry at Kyle. But that night, at that dreamy party,
Leyla saw a clear line. A line drawn between Kyle and herself that she couldn’t cross just because they
were friends.

She had already thought that she wasn’t enough to be hanging out with a son of a brilliant household.
But the gap between her vague thoughts and the sight of reality was painfully cruel.

The heir to a widely respected family of doctors who can easily mingle with the aristocrats. The Kyle
Etman that Leyla saw on that day at the duke’s dazzling banquet hall, was a man who lived in a world
beyond that definite line. Kyle Etman could no longer be the child who used to play with Leyla.

Why should a child grow up and become an adult?

That night, as Leyla walked along the dark forest path with her shoes in her hands, she brooded on that
transparent, sad question. And then she decided. To accept time. And to accept the only way she could
protect her precious friend, even in that passing time.

“You know you’re talking nonsense, right?”

Kyle opened his lips after a long time. His voice was lower and calmer than usual.

“No. I mean it.”

“You like me, but why should we be apart?”

“That way, we can be good friends for a long time. Kyle, I don’t want to lose you.”

“You think I’d want to lose you?”

Kyle’s eyes shook as he looked at Leyla.

“How can we, not anyone else, be apart? That’s impossible, Leyla.”

“Kyle.”

“I’ll never lose you. I won’t even go further away from you. How can you say that?”

Kyle set down the glass cup and clenched his fist with all his might.
You can’t do that, Kyle.

Instead of saying what she wanted to say, Leyla smiled.

It’s time to become an adult.

Leyla stood up while swallowing the thorn-like words.

“Let’s have lunch, Kyle.”

Leyla hurriedly fastened the apron she had taken off earlier ago.

“As an apology for lying, I’ll make you a veery delicious lunch..”

~~~~

“Matthias, can’t you just discharge from the military and concentrate on your family’s work now?”

Riette lay down on the sofa as he put down the newspaper he scanned over. As he turned his head
while yawning, he saw Matthias sitting on the wing chair reading a book.

“It’s not that bad spending a couple of years in the military division.”

Matthias gave a leisurely reply as he turned the page. Even on this hot summer afternoon, he wore a
jacket and a tie in his bedroom.

“Well, that’s the tradition of the Herhardt family all right.”

Riette murmured while languidly stretching.

“Matthias von Herhardt will be the most perfect Duke of Arvis, better than any other predecessors.”

While Riette chuckled, the canary, who was playing well in the cage, suddenly spread its wings. The bird
lightly flew and landed on the book that Matthias was reading.

A soft smile came upon Matthias’s face as he stared at the chattering bird. It was quite an astounding
scene for Riette, who had seen Matthias shoot and kill birds without batting an eye in the hunting
grounds for years.

“I hope that bird is a she, Matthias.”

Riette shook his head as he lost his breath.

“If it’s not, I think I’ll be grossed out.”

Matthias reached his hand out to the bird without a reply. The little bird tilted its head from one side to
another and then started to gently rub its beak at the tip of his finger.

“Don’t you think so, Claudine?”

Riette turned to Claudine, who was sitting right across from Matthias and Riette. She looked at Matthias
and his bird with an embroidery on her hands. When she met eyes with Riette, a faint smile spread over
her expressionless face.

“I heard that birds with beautiful voices are usually male.”

“Ugh. Please, Claudine. Let’s just believe its a female.”

Riette jokingly shuddered.

“It’s creepy to think they’re interacting like that if they’re both male.”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s just a bird.”

Claudine laughed and grabbed the needle to start her embroidery again.

Matthias turned a page only after the bird that was bouncing on his book moved. He looked
unconcerned even when the bird distractedly flew around tapping his hands, shoulders, and head.

“You should wear a light yellow dress at the engagement party, Claudine. Duke Herhardt might love you
like that bird.”

“No.”

Claudine answered back without a delay.

“I hate yellow.”

After taking a deep breath, she continued to stitch.

“It’s somewhat vulgar.”

Her words were accompanied by a little scoff.

A strange smile came upon Riette’s lips. At that point, he stopped talking about the bird and began to
rattle on about Matthias’s military service and the engagement ceremony that was just around the
corner.

“Our little lady Claudine will soon be the lady that beat the royal princess.”

“I’m ashamed of that kind of flattery, Riette.”

Although her eyes frowned, Claudine brightly smiled.

It was an open truth that the Berg Emperor coveted Duke Herhardt as his son-in-law.

The emperor’s love for his youngest daughter was extreme. Moreover, she was a beautiful lady who was
called the ‘Flower of the Socialites’. Claudine, who had taken the position of Duchess Arvis for granted
since childhood, felt a sense of crisis because of the princess.
But in the end, Claudine won. Of course, she didn’t win because of love.

‘Matthias doesn’t need to.’

The Herhardt’s response to the reason for not becoming in-laws with the imperial family was summed
up in that brief remark.

Herhardt was a household with history, wealth, and honor that were no less than the emperor’s. It
wasn’t unreasonable to judge that the hassle of serving the princess was greater than the benefit of
having her as a duchess. Such arrogance was understood when placed before the Herhardt’s name.

Thanks to that, Claudine Brandt became a lady who beat the emperor’s daughter. It was obvious why
the Herhardt family chose her. She was the only daughter of a reputable count who didn’t have a
successor. So the Herhardt family judged Claudine to be a bride with a good pedigree and dowry no less
than the princess. They also didn’t have to serve Claudine, unlike the royal princess.

When the engagement ceremony was held, Claudine Brandt’s name was expected to be placed in a
higher position than the emperor’s daughter. The thought made Claudine feel like she could love
everything in this world. Including that vulgar little bird.

“I can’t believe your engagement is just around the corner. It makes me feel all strange.”

Riette sat up and stretched his arms.

Claudine, who had been calmly looking at Riette, began to casually stitch again.
Chapter 22

Into The Blanket of Light

Matthias had made a wrong decision by turning around.

He was planning to stay in the annex before dinner time to finish his pile of work. In hindsight, nothing
had changed in his plan. At least until he left the annex.

Matters were thrown into disarray after he twisted his body to look behind and found himself standing
on the road leading to the gardener’s cottage.

Matthias halted, pausing in his footsteps with a pensive look on his face.

The days had marched on as they should. Everything went off without a hitch and in an orderly fashion.

Her tears on that night had also been washed away and cleaned off all traces of his foreign feeling.

Matthias expanded his stride and strolled through the shady forest path. He tugged at his tie and
loosened it, then pushed open a few buttons on his tight-fitting shirt. His gestures were a bit rougher,
and he wasn’t as calm as he always was.

It was sickening.

He loathed these emotions that were out of his track.

It was aggravating for him to be plagued with feelings he couldn’t curb.

Mathias wanted everything in his world to be in its place. So did his own feelings. That’s the reason why
he had never been enamored of a creature called a woman.

In his orbit, the lust for sex was simply an instinct. He had never dwelled on it or been swayed by it.

Rather, it was cumbersome-nothing more than a need to be adequately satisfied and dried away. Such
desires, to begin with, didn’t rule the roost in his mind.

That’s how the annoyance and discomfort he felt because of Leyla grew and wreaked havoc on his
stable world.

Only she now could be in his world.

His whole five senses were fixed on her and blinding passion welled up deep inside him uncontrollably.
There were oftentimes when his gluttonous desire and lustful thoughts to possess her became too much
for him to handle.

Matthias was displeased as he learned he was obsessed with such trivial things. He couldn’t even put it
on his list of priorities.

Leyla Lewellin was a good-for-nothing who belonged to that league.

Still, he needed to make sure.

The long line of the forest trees gradually petered out as the cottage building grew closer.

Pondering, Matthias walked into the blanket of light. The jolly beam of summer sunlight was drifting
down, permeating his eyes through the slats of twigs.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla had found a baby bird sprawled on the ground.

She was traveling home after sending Kyle off when she suddenly heard the sound of a helpless squeal.

Leyla spotted a fallen baby bird under a tree in the backyard. A tiny, fragile nestling that had just
recently had it’s feathers begin to grow.

“Oh, did you fall?”

Leyla wrapped the baby bird with a careful touch and raised her eyes, looking up at the tree.

Precisely as she had thought, there was a bird’s nest sited in one of the tree’s limbs. The tree loomed
quite high, but thankfully, the baby bird wasn’t severely injured.

“It’s okay. I’ll take you home.”

Leyla petted the baby bird gently and tucked it into her apron’s pocket. She hurried back to the cottage
to take the ladder stashing in the warehouse.

She securely leaned the ladder against the tree and started climbing up.

The nest was nestled between branches higher than the ladder, so she had no choice but to clamber
further.

Climbing that high usually had never been a problem for her. But with the baby bird in her pocket, Leyla
became more circumspect in her movements and couldn’t be as nimble as usual.

After ascending the closest bough to the bird’s nest, Leyla snatched the branch with one hand and
thrust the other into her pocket.
She painstakingly stretched her arms as far as she could and safely handed back the baby bird to its nest.

Too bad, just as she breathed a sigh of relief, her foot suddenly slipped off, and she lost her grip on the
branch.

The world spun upside down in a split second as her body bounced and lost its balance. She had
managed to grab the branch’s end and hold it tight, but the ladder had dropped to the ground. Alas, the
branch that was too weak to support her body weight, started making a crackling sound.

“Uncleeee! Uncle Billlll!”

The terrified Leyla reflexively screamed aloud. But her shout was met by the silence that she realized
Uncle Bill wasn’t at home.

“Kyleee!”

Though she knew Kyle had walked too far and couldn’t hear it, Leyla kept crying and calling out to him.
Kyle was her only hope when Uncle Bill wasn’t here. Because they were the only ones who would come
to help her when she was in trouble.

“Leyla.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared out of nowhere.

The mellow voice called out her name softly as if singing a song.

Her mind had turned white with fear, but Leyla could still recognize the owner of the voice. She lowered
her frightened gaze, and someone she knew was standing right below her.

Duke Herhardt.

With an unbothered state–his eyes strayed at the fallen ladder and calmly watched her hanging
precariously on the half-broken tree branch.

He laughed, asking her.

“Shall I save you?”

‘That crazy person, why does he …?’

“No need!”

Even amidst her fear, Leyla flatly refused his offer of help. She persisted in holding onto the tree branch
though she knew her tries were fruitless.

The branch began to shake even more showing how rickety it was quickly becoming as the crack became
deeper.
“Kyle! Kyleeee!”

Her cries mingled with fright, calling for Kyle reverberated through the Arvis’ forest.

Matthias giggled at a peek. He turned to look down the path that the young man had gone.

“He’s not coming.”

He said and relaxedly folded his arms.

‘No matter how heartless he is, doesn’t he feel the least bit concerned when he sees people in danger?’

Leyla soon understood that astounding fact about the person standing before her. He was Duke of
Herhardt. That insane duke wouldn’t be able to have a reasonable mind like a normal person.

“Go away!”

She snapped at him in annoyance and shooed him away.

“If you’re not willing to help, just go! Why are you still standing there!”

“It seems you’re gonna fall, I’ll call someone to save you.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m not such a heartless person, Leyla.” Matthias’s lips curved into a drowsy grin. “I’ll call Mr. Etman,
whom you were calling desperately.”

‘You dipshit.’

His voice could no longer be heard as the noise of her panting breath had drowned it out.

“Well, let me see, what am I gonna do? Looking at the height, I think It’s better to call Dr. Etman
instead.”

‘Goddammit.’

Leyla felt she had every reason for mowing him down with a hail of the most virulent cusses, if only her
position right now didn’t hinder her from doing so.

“… … Sa, save me!”

Leyla wailed in despair.

Rather than begging the man in front of her, she would rather crumble to the ground and be wounded.

That’s all she thought before her fear compelled her to forego her principles.

“Are you sure?”

Matthias asked, leisurely taking off his coat.

“Call me, then.”

“What?”

“Call me.”

He took a few steps closer to the tree before coming to a stop and staring longingly at her.

As if he were waiting.

Waiting for the moment of her fall if his demand would not be met. Leyla freaking knew it, that he was a
man capable of those deeds.

“Duke, please!”

Leyla begged him with teary eyes and her voice miserably sobbing.

“Dukeeee!”

Her plea grew more despondent as the moment for her fall drew nearer.

After she hailed him for the millionth time, the branch ended up broken.

She fell.

Leyla’s mind went blank. Her vision became hazy as her body floated down from the tree.

Then he cometh.

Matthias ran hell for leather towards the tree and embraced her deeply in his arms. Their bodies
bumped onto the ground but Matthias refused to let go, and kept hugging her with all his might.

The dirt and dust brume clouding them colliding on the soil gradually dissipated. Leyla’s head was
buzzing, but slowly she got her consciousness back.

Soft.

It felt pillowy and unbelievably cozy even though she had fallen from a elevated place.

Leyla opened her eyes. The warmth she felt belonged to a man, whom she had unknowingly hugged
tightly.

Duke Herhardt lay underneath her. And she was blanketed safe and sound in the his arms.

She could feel the sound of his beating heart transmitted to her chest that were intimately in touch with
each other.
His arm muscles wounded around her waist and the back of her head stoutly, were incredibly strong.

As she slowly raised her head, a faint minty scent of water could be smelled from the nape of his neck.
His skin was smooth and warm, and mantled with a wonderful fragrance.

The heat, which had started from her cheek, quickly dispersed throughout her body in no time.

It gave Leyla a startled shudder when her body started to reheat. She wrestled her hardest to escape
from him.

Glossing over the shame as their bodies were entwined in a close knot. He was too big and too hefty.
Matthias’ bondage had only gottem stronger the harder she tried to secede.

“Ssst..Stay still.”

Matthias ordered her with a low sigh. But Leyla’s resistance grew fiercer.

‘No.’

She was fed up. Her blood was boiling.

‘What a jerk. I don’t want to.’

Leyla tried to scream, but she didn’t get a single word in.

Matthias’s choking embrace which was trapping her, meanwhile became growingly hot. His head and
waist hugging her were ever mightier. All of those strange yet unfamiliar sensations were getting awol
to her and Leyla couldn’t take it any longer.

She was scared shitless and desperately tried to break free. But the more she wanted to resist, the more
helpless she felt. Whatever she did, Leyla couldn’t push herself off of him.

The moment her delusion soon coalesced with her worst dread, without heed of, she blindly bit the
duke’s ear.

“Ackh!”

Matthias grimaced in pain and straight off shoved her backward. He was dumbfounded, but soon, his
mouth twisted in a pucker of amusement.

Matthias found it hilarious watching her trembling so badly when she was the one who had savagely
assaulted him.

Leyla’s vivid green eyes glared at him ferociously, acting as she wanted to rip him into pieces. Matthias
stopped laughing.

“Be a lady, Leyla.”

Matthias lightly caressed his bitten ear— immediately grabbed Leyla by the hair without batting an eye.

Without reflexes, she had been pushed to the ground. Matthias’ visage loomed above her, glowering at
her with his void-slitted eyes.

“So this is what I get in return after saving your life? Don’t you think it’s too unladylike?”

“Why should I be ladylike when you’re not even a gentleman?”

Leyla turned her face aside. Embarrassment was splotching her cheeks with red color as she tried to
push his body one more time. But Matthias had snatched her chin with his scorching-hot hand and
dragged her face to his.

“Didn’t your mouth just say I was a gentleman?”

“… … No! I misspoke!”

“Did you?”

“A gentleman, huh. It’s hogwash. If you’re a gentleman….H-How can you d-do …this?”

Leyla stammered with a face that was going to break into tears and struggled to get away from him.

Matthias’s eyes narrowed. A small furrow formed between his eyebrows as he looked at Leyla rubbing
her lips as if they had been polluted with something filthy.

“Please step aside.”

Leyla glared at him with a sullen look invading her face.

“Something like this, I……Argh!”

A shrill scream came out, letting the last syllable hang in the air. Matthias had lowered his head and bit
back her ear.

All happened in a snap, almost unexpectedly.

With a relentless thud, Matthias slammed her onto the earth. He gripped her clawing little hand,
hindered her move, and roughed up her ear.

“Ackhhh!”

Her shrieking breath fell when Matthias began to suck and nibble on her lobe.

Matthias initially planned to repay what she had granted him, but he had changed his mind and pushed
her with a tenacious force.
Leyla groaned and twisted her body when he bit her clammy earlobe hard. The sound of sobbing and
gasping was muggy and ovenlike. Matthias weight-pressed her flailing limbs and branded his teeth’ mark
all over her reddish ears.

A satisfied smile presented on his face after he saw Leyla’s messy countenance.

Her innocent eyes were soggy, transparently swollen with tears. Her slightly open lips, which were even
darker than its hackneyed shade, gulped in a lungful of heavy air.

Matthias tightly clutched her crumbly intertwined fingers and sensuously devoured her moist lips.

Astonished by his sudden kiss, Leyla firmly clenched her lips, but Matthias had easily dispatched her
resistance.

This sweltering summer would end by soon enough.

Matthias perfectly got the picture. Still, it didn’t stop him.

He kept shoving his hasty tongue in, sucked it up, and swallowed it as if he meant to engulf her.

Pellucid saliva, moaning voice, and rough breathing began to flow through their overlapping lips.

Chapter 23

Tore It Out, Crushed It Up, and Threw It

Whenever Leila struggled, Matthias increased the strength of his hold and Leyla desperately resisted as
he did so.

What was plastered over her sight every time she opened her tightly closed eyes was only a fickle scene.

The shaking leaves…

The unfolding sky…

and Matthias….

The dirty floor, wherein the leaves’ silhouettes flickered over it, and him again.
The yellowish dust clumped onto and canopied them in a sandy shroud. Their passionate kissing came
perilously close to a brawl.

At some point, Leyla didn’t even know what she was up to. The fear of not breathing and the necessity
of needing to do so were grouped into one.

On the flip side, the duke’s attempt to suck her lips and tangle her tongue with his only seemed to flare
more. Leyla had no choice but to resigned herself defeatedly as if she were a living prey that was being
had been consumed by a predator.

Her breath became weak and thready at the brachial. She cried out in heartbreak when Matthias’
desirous lips started to travel her scruff quickly and strongly.

A flurry of buttons scattered as he tore off her blouse, revealing her slender clavicle. His lips persistently
provoked one specific spot on her neck where her pulse was beating.

His hand that had fondled her thighs and waist, tardily made its way up and grappled her luscious
bosoms.

“Ah… !”

Leyla shook her head hard and yanked on Matthias’ shirt. The ripped button on his shirt bounced on the
ground. She scratched his skin with her sharp nails, stamping red streaks on his neck several times.

The red hickey engraved by Matthias’ lips one by one began to garnish her clavicle. Tears sprung to her
eyes as his lips began to trail down her collarbone.

Leyla’s mind went numb.

Matthias’s body heat, which came into contact with hers, did give her a discombobulation and novel
feeling.

She was afraid and baffled as to why she had to go through this nightmare.

Matthias, thankfully, was able to put a stop to his deeds. He bowed his head and glanced down at her,
one arm supporting his body.

Leyla opened her eyes; Matthias’ gasp was still erratically rough, but his eyes didn’t seem to be those of
a man engrossed in lust.

His eyes were deep and serene. Akin to the day he stomped on a coin or the moment he calmly shot a
bird to death. The way he looked at her made Leyla’s face flush in indignation.

Matthias placed his stare on her for a few seconds. He drew his eyes closed and slowly opened them.
The wriggling of his Adam’s apple had ceased as he got a grip on his breathing a little.
The forest wind randomly fluttered Leyla’s hair into a complete mess. The smooth golden waves
hovered in front of him as he lowered his gaze.

Matthias wiped off the dirt from his hands, then twisted his body to the side.

He carefully took in his surroundings.

A woman who was lying under the shade of a tree and sobbing.

A yard with a clothesline loaded with freshly dried laundry.

The old cottage that stood alone.

And he who was seated in this ludicrous world with a screwed-up appearance.

Matthias scoffed faintly and swept his drooping hair off his forehead. Beside him, Leyla curled up her
body in a circle, trying to suck in more air.

” Pfft..Ha..ha..ha…”

The moment he saw her battered figure riddled with dust, Matthias’s laughter, became more and more
devastating to her ears.

‘You.’

Drawing in a long breath, Matthias wiped his damp lips with the back of his hand. There was a splotch of
blood.

‘Just because of a nobody like you.’

When he turned to look behind him, Leyla had already bolted to the bottom of the tree. She glared at
him vehemently and scrunched the picked-up tree branch with her quivering hands.

Tears were still dripping from her gleaming eyes.

Matthias lifted himself from the ground after receiving such a menacing glare from a woman who was
doing the same thing to him. He gazed down, hushedly, at his hand, which had recently grabbed a
handful of toasty soil.

‘You may not know. I truly wanted to wring your little neck with this hand.’

Mathias turned around unhesitatingly after having grabbed his coat.

Summer in Berg was brief.

When the time was ripe, a cold breeze would blow, and the seasons would change in a jiffy.
Mathias was no stranger to it.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla was only able to get up after Duke Herhardt was no longer in sight.

She picked up her glasses and put them on. Both of her legs seemed to rumble. She walked stumbling,
trembling, tripping, and had to take several break before she finally reached the cottage.

‘I shouldn’t have fallen to the ground.’

The tears beaded down her cheeks with great regrets. The unpleasant taste was still there, no matter
how many times she cleaned her lips with her hand or her apron.

Leyla strolled over to the water tap and pumped it hard. The cold water spilled out of the bucket
because of the pressure, soaking her clothes but she didn’t care.

“…No.”

She muttered, unsure about what exactly she was trying to deny.

‘No. No. No.’

Leyla shook her head. The bucket was full as her irregular breathing mingled with those repetitive
sentences.

She covered her shaking hands and looked around nervously as if she were being hunted by something.

But, everything was the same.

It was Uncle Bill’s cottage. The homiest place in the world. The place she endlessly loved.

The wind ruffled the leaves, and birds sang while perched on the tree’s slats. The backdrop of the forest
looked beautifully dazzling and still as the time neared the sunset, bathing everything in a golden shaft
of light.

But Leyla’s heart kept throbbing uneasily. She was mystified with what she denied but also didn’t know
what she was afraid of.

One thing was clear though. She had to get away from all this.

Leyla took off her glasses and washed her face repeatedly with the water-filled bucket. She wiped the
nape of her neck which was mottled with red marks. She continued to clean her ears, yet the finer
traces that he left behind were still vivid.

The overcast sky appeared so buff, Leyla stared at it with a blank look on her face.
She suddenly clenched her teeth, lifted the bucket, and submerged herself with cold water. Her body
trembled with a chill as the water washed her down from the head to toe.

Leyla drew water from the tap again, shaking, as she was fed up with the unpleasant memory of her
persistent survival. This time, she thoroughly rinsed all over her mouth with her palms full of water.

Cough!

Splashing water, she thought, would flush away those memories. But it was no use. She still recalled that
nasty and absurd things.

Cough! Cough!

Leyla stopped washing. Her throat choked as she had accidentally swallowed the water.

She crouched, crying, before pumping more water from the tap.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias took a leisurely walk around the garden before stopping at the periphery where the rose
flower bed garden and the marble stairwell leading to the manor were assembled.

Though he had brushed the dust off his clothing, the remnants of it still could be seen in every place. For
it was of no account to him. The problem was his memory. Those memories only became more clear
whenever he took a step at a time.

When Leyla huddled in his arms, any semblance of his rationality evanesced. There was nothing but a
hunger-like thirstiness to have her; as if he had morphed into a wild beast.

Matthias licked his lips and batted his bangs aside from his forehead. He sought to see how and where
this lascivious desire would stop.

If that nobody woman, Leyla, hadn’t cried, it would have been meaningless, vain, and ultimately
insignificant.

If only he could restrain himself. If only he could refrain from hurling abuse at such a woman. Perhaps…..

Rearing his head, Matthias saw the mansion sitting in the tawny sun of the afternoon. Behind him, the
forest across the garden seemed to be a desolate world cloaked in stillness.

It was quiet.

Something stood by itself in a place of nothingness.

A hankering interest and ruling passion for a beautiful woman. Matthias haltingly closed his eyes as if
erasing something silly that was bothering him.

He opened them again and plucked a cluster of roses in full bloom which resembled her tears.
From his grasp, the pungent scent of crushed roses spread thickly, poking the nose. It had a pleasing
redolence that reminded him of that woman’s body odor.

He tore it, crushed it, and threw it.

The torn and broken rose petals fell scattered strand by strand at his feet in a lumbering pace.

The memory of a girl passing through this garden came to his mind one after another along with the
fallen petals.

Every time he returned home to the Arvis manor, that child always grew up more hearty.

A full-blooming rose meadow had become a familiar sight in the neighborhood where the child resided.

As the winter months came, the flower bed was peacefully carpeted with snow. Seasons continued to be
repeated, the time elapsed, and the girl did grow up and turned into woman like a sequence of scenes.

By the end of the day, however, it was all for naught.

Matthias fondled his lips with the rose-scented hand and strode over the flake of petals.

As the sun began to set, a cool breeze blew clemently, foretelling the end of the summer.

Matthias never looked back as he climbed the stairwell and entered the blinding artificial light of the
mansion.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The sky on the western horizon, where the sun had returned to its nest like the doves was now tinged
with deep purple hues.

The darkness ploddingly inked across the room, but Kyle didn’t switch the lamplights on. He leaned
deeply on a chair by the window, his gaze reared at the sky, which was continuously shifting its radiant
shade.

Ever since coming back from the Arvis’ cottage, Kyle had been confined to his room. Without a playful
grin teased on his lips, his grayish eyes gave a shady cold nuance.

He ate lunch with Leyla in a friendly setting. Kyle didn’t say no because she was trying to act as usual.

But he knew. Their time together wasn’t the same as before.

If he can’t find a solution any sooner, he’d have to let her go.

Kyle wiped down his dry face with his hand as if washing it.

Leyla said that she wished for them to remain good friends for a long time. And to stay as friends, they
should keep their distance.
He finally grasped the meaning of it. Yet, Kyle had a very different plan. Surely, he wanted to spend a
long time with her, but not as a good friend in disguise.

Thereby, he was unable to wait for long.

Kyle took a hard stance after he came to that conclusion. He didn’t want to squander those happy days
with Leyla, so it was time to let go of his unseeable feelings.

Taking a deep breath, Kyle opened the door and stomped down through the corridor.

A dim light glinted, seeping beyond the door of his father’s study. Kyle reassured himself in front of the
door before drawing yet another breath.

At the duke’s party, Kyle got the gist of his mother’s reason for presenting him to the aristocracy. He
didn’t have the faintest notion of what was going through his mother’s mind when she was considering
engagement or marriage at the time, but today, he was rather grateful for that, somehow.

‘I can’t lose you. Or be apart from each other. How can we do that?’

Mulling on the words he said to Leyla, Kyle knocked on the door vigorously.

“Father, it’s me.”

“Come on in, Kyle.”

He heard his father’s warm and loving voice beyond the door. Encouraged by his sweetness, Kyle slowly
opened the door to the study. Dr. Etman, who sat in front of the desk, smiled as he welcomed his son.

Instead of slumping in the chair across his father’s desk like he usually did, Kyle stood upright in front of
his father.

“I have something to tell you, father,” he said.

“This isn’t something you usually do. It’s quite a serious thing to say, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Kyle clenched his fists tightly to muster up his courage.

When push came to shove, he was going to say this anyway.

He heartened himself and swallowed.

Next year, he will enroll in the college and leave for the capital. And Leyla, on the other hand, had
planned on staying in this city and pursuing a career as a teacher.

Distance would separate them for a long time.

Kyle, however, wasn’t quite convinced with just that. The fact that there would come a day when Kyle
Etman wouldn’t be standing next to Leyla Lewellin.

He pondered upon this.

What if they both went to college together? How about they studied as medical and ornithology
students at the same time? And what if they lived together for the rest of their lives as they had been?
As friends, lovers, and family.

“Mother seems to be thinking about my marriage nowdays.”

Dr. Etman soon let loose a short lived barking yet delightful laugh at what Kyle said.

“That day, your mother went a little ahead of herself. Don’t let it bother you too much, Kyle. I
understand your mother’s feelings, but I disagree with her. There’s no need to hurry.”

“No, father.”

Kyle looked at his father with a determined glance.

“I’ve been thinking of getting married.”

“Marriage? Kyle? You?” Dr. Etman’s eyes creased slowly as he faced his son.

“Yes.”

Kyle replied with a nervous but laid-back voice.

“I want to marry Leyla and go to college with her.”

Chapter 24

Blue Candy

The four days Leyla spent alone were daunting and somewhat bizarre.

Listening to uncle Bill’s word of advice, which she initially ditched as a joke, Leyla locked the window and
put the hunting gun hanging in her uncle’s room next to her bed.

Even after getting ready for her slumber, Leyla stayed awake and had trouble sleeping. She jolted by the
owls hooting and suffered from the suddenly-flashing nightmares. The duke’s countenance often
dawned between dreams of her being beaten or thrown away. The memory of their kiss littered along
tirelessly, and deepened in her dreams like a glutinous swamp.

The first blush of the morning rose and each passing day seemed so long and eternally lasting. Leyla
occupied herself and kept moving without taking a single break.

She took care of the livestock, tended to the lawn, and swept and polished everywhere in the already
spotless cottage. She washed all the curtains and bedding and even organized the warehouse. Reading a
book or studying was the only chore she gave something a miss: as her eyes, strangely, couldn’t draw a
bead on the book’s prose.

Leyla had spent the whole day alone, pacing until the nightfall brought upon her another nightmare.

On the morning of the fourth day, she went out to take care of the backyard, tightly knotting the apron’s
string behind her.

Everything was so mind-numbing.

Bill Remmer regularly spent most of his day at work. Apart from helping him with his job, Leyla went
through her everyday chores and studies.

Living together didn’t mean that everything could be done together. They just sat at the same table,
returned to the same warm house in the evening, shared stories from their days, and so on…

“This is the first time.”

Leyla murmured pensively at the flash of realization.

Ever since she was driven to Berg, she hadn’t led a single day apart from Uncle Bill. He had always been
by her side, and there was never a day that she was alone. Bill Remmer was always there with her, at
both day-peep and eventide, like a clockwork.

But now, she was on her own.

The realization that Leyla Lewellin had realized over the span of four days brought her another
realization. It enlightened her: how lonely, sad, and afraid she was when she wandered in this world, all
alone.

Leyla plodded a step back after momentarily standing idly. While feeding the chickens and milking the
goats, she kept taking a glance across the yard.

Her fondest wish for Uncle Bill’s return had grown into a sincere prayer. She was pretty sure much of her
perplexity and frustration would wither away once he returned. Her loneliness, her teen sadness, the
loathsome memory of her first kiss could be forgotten with someone to keep her company.

Everything was going to be okay, and things would go back to the way they were before.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Kyle Etman.”

Kyle looked back, startled after someone suddenly hailed his name from behind. His father had already
loomed behind his chair.

“Yes, father.”

Kyle hurried to his feet. A book remained open on the same page for several days on his desk. The page
hadn’t been flipped since the evening when he announced he would marry Leyla to his father.

“You’re home early.”

Kyle alternated between staring out the still-bright window and at his father’s face. Dr. Etman’s lips bent
into a gentle smile when he saw his son’s darting eyes. “It’s a weekend, Kyle.”

“What? Oh, already?”

“I won’t ask what you’re thinking. I think I know even if you don’t tell me.”
Dr. Etman mumbled a laugh and leaned in the chair where Kyle was flumping a while ago. It was his
quirk whenever his father had something to tell. Kyle pulled a chair in front of the table and sat facing
his father, a little nervous.

His father hadn’t answered and was silent on that very day. After giving Kyle a long stare, all he said was
to give him a few days to think about it.. Kyle was mindful that there was no use of daring to talk when
his father had expressed himself in such a manner and tone.

Hence, he did nothing but wait. Though his desire tempted him to sprint towards her in that split
second. So Kyle endured it and wasted his days living in a slow-moving damn clock. Because he didn’t
want to hurt Leyla by giving her ambiguous promises.

“I completely understand how you feel. I know how much you love Leyla. But Kyle, you and her are still
too young to talk about marriage.”

“But father, you married mother when you entered medical school, didn’t you?”

“That was already 20 years ago.”

“Lady Brandt is only a year older than Leyla, and she’s getting engaged next week.”

“That’s…”

“Lady Arundt, who was introduced by mother, is also the same age as Leyla.”

Seeing Kyle refute every single one of his words with a stiff face, Dr. Etman’s laughter eventually burst
out, “It seems, you’re more serious than I thought.”

“Father, I know I’m still young. I also understand what worries you.”

“Do you love Leyla so much that you’re willing to sacrifice anything for her?”

“Yes.” Kyle answered with no hesitation. For him, loving her was as natural as breathing. And so, it
wasn’t even necessary to take it for granted.

“I can help Leyla go to college by becoming her sponsor.”

With a stern yet loving gaze, Dr. Etman looked at his beloved son dearly,

“Leyla is a good child. She’s good-minded and smart. I know her well, Kyle, and I’m willing to sponsor her
to go to college if she wants to.”

“Of course I’m really hoping Leyla can continue in her favorite field of study. But father, what I want the
most is to marry her.”

“It takes more than two people to make a marriage happen.”

“Household, dignity and prestige. I’m not saying that those things are unimportant.”
“So, how come you’re so obstinate?”

“No matter how important those things are, Father, there can’t be something more important than the
person who will be with you for the rest of your life.”

“Kyle.”

“I want to be a great doctor, as well as a good husband and father. As much as you. But, Father,
everything starts with Leyla for me.” Kyle said. His heart started to pound, almost as if it wanted to ball
out of his chest. But he suppressed it and began to broach about all the things he had kept under his hat
for years.

“I want to live with Leyla, by her side, as Leyla’s good person, her good husband, the good father of her
child.”

His heart now felt like it would burst open, but Kyle went on to say.

“If I have Leyla by my side, I firmly believe that I can make all of that happen, but father, without her,
those things are just a pie in the sky.”

He spelled back to his father in a firm, unwavering tone.

“Without her, I don’t have the confidence to live as such a person.”

Kyle raised his head to see his father; his hands clamped together on his lap.

“I believe Leyla is a woman who meets both her father’s and mother’s expectations. She’s perhaps the
most wonderful thing I’ve ever had.”

Dr. Etman gave the eye to his son with a solemn face.

“I don’t want to lose her.”

Kyle’s eyes glistened with a determined light.

“Please help me protect Leyla, father.”

( ED: I don’t love him but good luck Kyle! At least you’re better than that a**hole Mathias.)

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The night was getting longer, but Bill Remmer hadn’t returned yet.

Leyla sat drowsily on a porch chair, waiting for him since she couldn’t think of any more domestic chores
to focus on. Uncle Bill’s vacant chair felt so big today in a strange kind of way.

Was there a mishap of any sort?

The alarming notion that passed Leyla’s mind made her spring to her feet. One day, she recalled reading
an article in the newspaper about a rail accident. Trains, in addition to carriages and cars, often engaged
in a variety of incidents.

Which train was it?

Leyla circled around the yard and plucked up her courage to head towards the mansion’s gate by the
time the sun plummeted. It had become a path she couldn’t cross in the last few days due to her fear of
encountering the Duke.

For every step she took, Leyla kept thinking of Uncle Bill. She did have a propensity of assuming the
worst since she was a little girl. The unhappiness of a like-a-clay-pigeon person was harrowing. So she
believed, if she had just the barest of preparations, at least, she would be able to accept the ill-fortune
without becoming too overwhelmed.

Leyla braced herself for the unhappiness that would follow after her relatives stared at her with
displeasure in their eyes.

Don’t cry even if you get hit.

You’ll hear harsh words, but don’t get hurt.

I should be polite and brave even when I’m getting kicked out.

I’ll try to smile brighter on my way to another house next time.

Her efforts had been fruitful. Leyla was less hurt and able to smile a little better. The misfortunes
seemed to follow her like straw in the wind, but she was able to bear them with ease, because she had
steeled herself, ready for everything.

But, she was having qualms when it came to Uncle Bill.

“Uncle….”

Calling his name, she passed the entrance to the mansion.

Uncle Bill was not the type of person to leave her behind. Undoubtedly, he would return.

But if he didn’t, then…

“Please come back….”

Leyla put her hands together like she was praying.

“Don’t leave me alone…”

The picture of her from yesterday, which had calmly soothed the man who had been frightened about
leaving her for four days, now had dissipated, replaced by her own worry.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

‘Mom, where are you going?’

Leyla innocently inquired of her mother when she gave her candy in a pretty glass jar for the first time in
her life. That day, her mother was as lovely as the sweets she was holding.

‘Far away.’

Her mother had been looking at her for quite some time, as she replied in a word.

‘Then, are you coming home late?’

Leyla asked again, impatiently, since she was eager to taste the candy.

‘Yes.’

‘How late?’

‘Very late.’

‘You’re coming home before I finish eating this, right?’

Leyla shook the glass jar full of colorful candies and her mother languidly nodded

‘Yes’

Again, she gave a short reply.

‘I will.’

“You shouldn’t have left me such an answer if you’re going to forsake me.”

Her mother was reputed to be too beautiful to exist as the wife of a poor man. She had eventually fled,
leaving behind her husband and daughter as if she were discarding her ill-fitting clothes.

In keeping with the grapevines, she had become a high nobility’s mistress or married a silk-stocking
merchant, and emigrated to another country.

People enjoyed overblown and twisted rumors like these which often soon withered. The only thing left
was a man abandoned by his beautiful wife and a neglected young daughter, let alone such a cruel
reality.
Thenceforth, her loving father became an alcoholic and bedrinked every day. He didn’t want to see
Leyla’s face any longer, because it was hard for him to look at someone who reminded him of his truant-
wife.

Leyla cherished her candies as she awaited her mother’s homecoming. By the time the bottom of the
pretty glass bottle was exposed, she realized that her mother would never return. But she didn’t want to
accept that painful truth. That’s why she couldn’t eat the last piece of her candy.

She ate that last candy for dinner only after she was left all alone in the world.

Her father, whose health was ruined by alcohol, at a later time passed away due to sickness.

‘Was it a foreshadowing of his departure and last farewell? ‘

Her father, who had ignored his daughter for years, smiled at her on the day he died.

‘Let’s go to the park together when the flowers bloom, Leyla.’

Her father whispered in a lifeless voice. But, after he departed that evening, his words only became a
vain will.

“Don’t leave any promises if you’re leaving.”

Leyla was orphaned in an empty house. Her relatives couldn’t figure out what to do with the
troublesome child, so they deserted her for a time. It seemed as if they were gawking at her. There was
nothing left for her save the empty words of a worthless promise and a solitary piece of candy that
provided little comfort.

Even after all these years, Leyla still remembered the color of that candy. A glossy blue luster of
confectionery that glistened much like crystal.

A few days later, on the day when there was nothing else left to eat, Leyla ended up eating the last
candy. When she nibbled on it hard, some of the shattered candy shards scraped her fragile gum and
the tender skin of her taste buds.

Her mouth was bleeding, but Leyla went on munching on the crunchy candy. Tears streamed down her
eyes as she ate it. Her sadness tasted so sweet, like biting into a luscious candy but with a fishy
aftertaste.

There was a shower of blooms outside the window, ornamenting the scene with spots of dappled
sunlight. It was an afternoon in early spring when the wafting pale pink flower petals in the breeze
looked like falling flakes of snow on a fresh layer of grass.

“… Uncle?!”
Leyla’s eyes went wide with surprise on her walk along Platanus Road.

“Uncle!”

A dazzling smile flourished over her face.

“Uncle! Uncle Bill!”

Leyla ran toward Bill Remmer, who was crossing the road from the opposite side.

At the same time when a black limousine transporting the duke entered the Platanus roadway.

Chapter 25

The Color of My Sadness

By a mere chance, Matthias saw Leyla through the other side of the car window.

Leyla was running across the road with a beaming smile on her face that he had never seen before. She
let her long, loose blonde hair whip around by the wind following her springing footsteps.

Matthias clenched his hand slightly. He was about to tell the driver to slow down the car, but eventually,
he changed his mind and merely scoped a glance at her running towards a middle-aged man who was
none other than Bill Remmer.

Leyla leapt with light steps into the gardener’s arms like a winged bird, and the gardener caught her in a
bear hug. She appeared like a little girl in his big arms and smiled so widely as if it were the brightest
smile in the world and seeing that the gardener burst into laughter.

At that moment, the car whizzed past them. Matthias left his gaze from the window and peered down
onto his hands. From that slightly raised hand, he still could feel her touch and the lingering smell of her
body on that day.

The engagement was soon, around the corner.

By the time Matthias felt alleviated by that verity, the car had passed through the gate of the Arvis
mansion.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla’s wish came true.

Everything was back to being fine after Uncle Bill’s return.

Her adolescent sadness, the unpleasant memories of her horrible first kiss, all of her bewilderment and
despair wound down as she was no longer alone.

In the meantime, the morning and evening weather grew chillier. The days wore down, and the Arvis
manor began to have a more stately jubilant atmosphere than it ever had in the past.

“Oh, don’t even mention it, I’ll serve all the greatest cuisine in the world.” Madam Mona, who had
barely made it to the forest, kicked up a rumpus with a straight face. She leaned leisurely on a chair next
to Bill Remmer and began to bleat in earnest. “I’m already scared to think how grand their wedding
would be if their engagement ceremony is so ritzy like this.”

Leyla had just returned from milking the goats and greeted her with a cheerful smile.

“Wait a little longer, Leyla. Tomorrow I will make your mouth water until you’re sick of it. Regardless of
how many guests are invited, they won’t be able to finish half of the food I will cook.”

Leyla unconsciously clutched the tip of her blouse at Madam Mona’s hearty laugh. The hickeys sowed by
the duke on her neck were still painfully obvious even after a few days. The red marks which showed in
the mirror every time she looked in it made her feel ashamed and disgusted.

“Is the engagement ceremony already tomorrow?”

“Please, don’t use the word ‘already’ Leyla. I hope that…..no, I’m simply hoping for a quick ending to this
engagement ceremony.”

“It’s tomorrow…” Leyla muttered quietly, then smiled again. “Yes, auntie. I will wait for it.”

She sought to grin more brightly as if to erase her nightmare-like memory. Ever since that day, the duke
had never once set his foot in the forest. Pleased to state, it was a glee for Leyla to know that.

“I like chocolate cookies. And raspberry cake too!”

“I’ll bring you a bulk of chocolate or raspberries.”

“How can I repay you?” asked Leyla.

“Repay? Just eat a lot and grow up well.”

“Do I have to grow up to be as big as Uncle Bill?”

“Oh my God, Leyla. You’ll be single for life if you grow up to his size.”

Madam Mona giggled as she rose from her seat and waved goodbye. Bill Remmer furrowed his brows,
but later he tardily joined in the mirth.

Not long after she left, the usual night dawned at the cottage.

After having supper with her uncle, Leyla tidied the house and reopened the textbook she had
overlooked till now. She opted to sleep for a little while as drowsiness engulfed her. But by the time she
awoke, the sunup had already begun to appear; and the Duke’s engagement day was already here.

Leyla put on her glasses from the desk and rubbed her sleepy eyes before strolling up to the window.
She flung the window wide, letting the cold morning air flood in.

The wee hours of the morning drew near and the sky was dyed with a clear, transparent tint of blue.
Leyla reared up her eyes-the hue of the azure sky today reminded her of the colour of her last piece of
candy.

The duke’s eyes were also blue, similar to the shade of that candy’s.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Claudine picked a pastel pink dress for her red-letter day. Donned in a gown garlanded with chiffon on
top of the silk, her figure was so graceful and stunning as the event’s protagonist.

“You’re so gorgeous, Claudine!” Countess Brandt cheered in jollies as she watched her daughter. Her
face was etched with awed looks, akin to those of the Brandt’s maid, who stood in the rear of the room.

Claudine smiled sweetly to show her gratitude for the honeyed flattery that had been bestowed upon
her. Even at this moment, the spark of pride and satisfaction in her eyes didn’t wear off after seeing her
reflection in the mirror.

It was Claudine’s idea, holding the engagement ceremony at the Arvis manor. Aside from wanting to
show respect for the Herhardt family, Claudine wanted to assure through dint of her presence that she
was gonna be the Arvis’s next duchess.

“Marie, is she still not here?” Claudine turned slightly and asked the maid as she wondered.
“She should have arrived by this time… Oh, look over there! She’s coming from the garden!”

The maid hurriedly exclaimed and Countess Brandt creased her brows as she looked out of the window.

Leyla Lewellin was seen ascending the marble staircase bridging the rose garden to the mansion,
carrying a basket of flowers in her hands.

“Goodness me, Claudine! Did you bring her in again?”

“It’s okay, Mom.” Claudine calmly lulled her mother. “I merely need flower ornaments in my hair to
make them look nice.”

“Is there a reason why it had to be her?”

“Well, there is no specific reason.”

Claudine shrugged her shoulders, then stepped in front of the mirror once again. Her face reflected in
the mirror was no longer smiling.

“It’s a good thing to get flowers and congrats from an old friend.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The Arvis house was wrapped up in a festive excitement as the Duke Herhardt’s residence readied to
greet the guests who would be in attendance for the engagement party later in the afternoon.

Leyla plodded the passageway behind the mansion designed for servants to enter. Her feet shook
nervously numerous times as she was treading on a floor that sparkled like a clear mirror.

Claudine had sent a maid to the cottage to call her in. Leyla immediately knew the moment she was told
to pick roses to decorate her hair.

It wasn’t a matter of flowers that Lady Brandt wanted to meet her for.

Leyla began to slow her pace down as she neared the east side of the fourth floor. It was a guest
bedroom where Claudine was staying in. Her hand, which was holding the basket, stood out pallid. Her
heart felt as if it would pound out of her chest and her lips were feeling parched.

‘No.’

Leyla mumbled, convincing herself.

‘It’s merely an unfortunate accident. The duke would also think the same. So it’s fine. There’s nothing to
be scared of.’
While she was hesitating, trying to make up her mind, Leyla had already set her foot in front of
Claudine’s bedroom. She knocked on the door and it began to slide open slowly.

“Hello, miss. I’ve brought you the roses you had asked for.”

Leyla greeted her with politeness like she usually did. She had brought Claudine a bouquet of roses in
the colour pink, which matched the shade of the dress she was attiring for today’s occasion.

Claudine approached Leyla with a wide smile. “How do I look? Do I look good?”

“Yes, miss. You look beautiful.”

Leyla answered wholeheartedly. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t. Claudine’s beauty today was
undeniably as beautiful as a blooming rose.

“Before, I was very anxious, but now that you have said so, I feel relieved. Do you think Duke Herhardt
will think the same too ?”

“…Yes.”

The duke’s name that came out suddenly from Claudine’s mouth made her flinch..

“I’m sure, he will.”

A faint tremor was noticeable in her voice.

Leyla felt woefully pathetic, as if she were a child who had done something wrong. Their kiss was an
unpleasant incident, but she couldn’t rule out her feeling of guilt as if she had become a shameless thief
who stole Claudine’s fiance.

Leyla he could see that her pride she had puffed up and toiled for in front of Claudine for so many years
had been shattered, making her look shabby at this given time.

Claudine gave a sideways glimpse at a maid to accept the rose basket. And, as if it were a natural thing,
she gave out a handful of gold coins to Leyla. The amount of money she gifted to her today was more
than usual. Unknowing it just served to wound Leyla’s heart even more gravely.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you showing your gratitude?”

The frowning maid rebuked her.

Leyla quickly bowed her head while tightly gripping the money in her hand. She didn’t feel insulted
bowing down to Claudine as she had repeated this stance countless times since she was a child and had
been used to it.

“Thank you, miss.”

Thankfully, Leyla was able to convey her thanks calmly. Claudine, who had been staring at her with a
deadpan face, soon regained her bright smile. “No problem. Instead, I should be the one to say thanks,
Leyla. Thanks to you, this engagement ceremony will turn out to be perfect.”

Claudine turned around as she was done with the talk.

Leyla gasped a big sigh and rushed out of the room in a headlong dash. What was buzzing around inside
her head right now was the urge to get out of this uncomfortable and unfamiliar place as quickly as
possible but she couldn’t act in a reckless manner inside the mansion.

She neatened her clothes and organized her flower basket first before walking down the corridor meant
for workers at the quickest possible speed.

She was about to walk through the passageway’s entry door when a surprise caught her. Just as she was
about to turn the corner, she crossed the path with the duke who had come up the stairs.

“It looks like you’ve been doing Lady Brandt’s errands, Leyla.”

Butler Hessen, who stood behind the duke, spoke with a gracious smile.

Leyla greeted him back politely and scurried back to the side of the corridor. She only wanted to go
ahead, but the duke stopped still and lowered his gaze on her.

Her cheek blushed. She bent her head even deeper as she dared not to make eye contact with him. It
was just eye contact, but her heart was erratically pounding. While the duke looked fine, as if he
couldn’t care any less. It seemed he had forgotten everything that had happened between them.

‘How foolish of me. How could my heart throb in snatches of a man like him?’

The duke walked past her just as she wanted to run away unmannerly. Only after she could no longer
hear the stomping of his shoe-steps did Leyla dare to move her feet and leave the mansion.

After completing her errands, Leyla returned to her daily routine.

As the evening drew near, the guests invited to the engagement party began to flock to manor. In
contrast with the rollicking mansion, the little cottage loomed peacefully deep in the forest as if it had
been sojourned in another world.

There, Leyla lived her life diligently.

She weeded the garden and cleaned the goat pen. Continued by cooking a stew for dinner and folded up
the sun-dried laundry stocked in the hamper.

After all of her house chores were finished, Leyla took a leisurely walk in the forest to get a thrill of
nature. She was enjoying her stroll before long she realized she had arrived at the riverside.
Leyla clambered her favourite beautiful tree to watch the evening scenery laid bare on a windless
summer day. The awe-inspiring view surrounded her; birds were soaring above the sky, the red-tinged
Schulter river drenched in light by the setting sun, and a white swan-like annex floating on it, all of which
led to greater beauty of the scene.

It was a millions worth sight to see. Her eyes were drawn to all of those beautiful things.

As the sun set, a few thin strips of the cloud on the horizon turned shimmering gold. The clear darkness
of early nightfall settled over the sky like the blue candy she remembered from her childhood.

The thought came to her.

The Duke’s eyes were likewise the same as those colours.

“Your blue eyes are the same as the color of my sadness.”

Leyla laughed a little as she somehow was feeling dejected. Then suddenly, she sensed someone’s
presence approaching her.

“Kyle!”

Leyla shouted with delight when a familiar face standing underneath the tree.

“How did you know I was here?”

“You like taking a stroll on a summer evening, when you go out for evening walks you always go to this
river.”

Kyle’s playfulness had disappeared, and his eyes were deeper and gentler than they had ever been.
Leyla observed him quietly, his gaze towards her felt a little strange.

The wind was sighing through the river. The sound of the leaves rustling in the treetops and the boughs
moaning breached the silence that had been created between them.

“Leyla.”

Kyle opened his lips after a while.

Leyla replied by tilting her head a little as she waited for him to speak.

“Let’s get married.”

Those overly unrealistic words were torn asunder on a gentle evening breeze. Leyla was dreamingly
dazed in disbelief, but now Kyle said it once again. This time with a more serious tone.

“Let’s get married, Leyla.”

Chapter 26

Let’s Get Married

The spring season came a little earlier in Ratz, the capital of the Berg Empire, which was located in the
southernmost province of Carlsbar. Arvis estate was starting to bear buds as May came, but the whole
city of Ratz was already awash with the sweet scent of roses.

Matthias had a sudden glimpse of thought over the changing of the season while passing through the
gardens of the Crown Prince’s Palace. He suddenly halted in his steps, and the other officers who were
trailing from behind stopped as well.

“What’s up?”

“No.” Matthias answered short, “Nothing.” He smiled a little, the tip of his lips lifting.

The brief silence broke after Matthias got his stride back. The young aristocratic guard officers continued
to converse playfully. Their faces and voices glowed with excitement while discussing how to spend this
fine spring weekend and roughly met with a very similar conclusion altogether.

Party. Horse racing. Alternatively, having a spring date with a lover.

“Our Captain will leave his fianceé and spend a lonely spring.”

The horde of officers giggled in a bunch when one of their peers cracked a joke. Matthias just casually
grinned and gave a faint chuckle in response to his men’s jesting.

The engagement ceremony between Duke Herhardt and Lady Brandt, which was hosted at the end of
last summer, took place successfully. Over several weeks, the couple who had been officially betrothed
had become a hot topic of buzz within the society.

However, Matthias didn’t feel much of a change from his everyday life. A week after his engagement, he
was assigned to the Berg’s army garrison and had to leave for the capital the day after. Meanwhile,
Claudine, who had been staying in Arvis estate, returned to the Brandt’s estate, which was situated in
the center of Carlsbar, a metropolis that was a long distance away from the capital city of Ratz.
So, nothing had changed from their previous mode of living, except for the fact that their engagement
had been made public. During the social season, Claudine stayed at the mansion the Brandt’s had in Ratz
for a while. It was nothing new for her, however, since she had been a regular visitor to the estate on a
seasonal basis for quite some time before then. Aside from that, they also attended the social events
together, as they always did in the past.

Everything else basically remained the same, except that they now had a definite official status as each
other’s fiancées, which was the only thing that had altered in their life.

“I’m about to finish my military service soon. What about you, Matthias?”

A fellow officer who was strolling alongside him posed a question that drew everyone’s attention to
Matthias.

“Currently, I’m thinking about extending it for another year.”

As soon as he said that, those around him seemed to be taken aback by his surprising answer.

“Aren’t you going to get married and focus on the family business?”

“The wedding? Maybe next year.”

“Is it because the hot dish over Duke Herhardt’s marriage has eased in social circles? So you want to
postpone the wedding?”

Matthias flicked his chin instead of answering. Rather than calling it a postponement, things went that
way naturally like it was supposed to. He intended to stay in the capital for another year. At the same
time, the Brandt’s wished for their daughter to spend her honeymoon in Arvis with her husband.

When the Brandt’s first requested for the engagement to be tabled for one more year, the Herhardt
family consented without hesitation.

Given her young age, there was no pressing need for Claudine to get betrothed so soon. And more than
anything else, both families yearned for this marriage to be perfect from the beginning.

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Matthias didn’t waste any time returning to his home.

In terms of age, the old brick mansion, which was located in the heart of Ratz, was the second-oldest
building among the Herhardt family’s properties after the Arvis mansion on their estate. That mansion
served as the family’s headquarters for generations, during the time they were responsible for the
capital’s work. The architecture of the house was more modest and classic compared to the Arvis
manor, which epitomized the aesthetic tastes of the hostesses.

“The two madams are here,” reported the servant as he approached Matthias, who had just got out of
the car.
“My mother and grandmother?”

“Yes, the madams arrived this morning. They said, “they came here to attend the forthcoming wedding
of Her Majesty the Crown Princess.”

Matthias nodded his head and slowly entered the mansion.

The princess, whose pride had been crushed after being pushed out and losing the seat of the Duchess
Herhardt’s, was eager to find another running mate so that she could proceed with the wedding
ceremony as she planned. Thereafter, the title of her spouse fell to the Grand Duke of a nearby duchy
with the same social standing as the Herhardt’s.

“It’s been a while, Matthias!”

Catharina von Herhardt, waiting for Matthias to enter the foyer, greeted him with a bright smile and
wide opened arms.

“Son, we can see your face only when we come here like this.”

While his mother Elysee, stayed the same as always; her approach towards her only son was more
straightforward.

Matthias approached the two with a warm smile on his face. It was another Saturday afternoon, as
much as every other day. Just like the brimming garden of blossoming roses during the early season of
spring.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“The weather this evening is so nice, Leyla.”

Kyle walked up to her with a jolly face after parking his bike. Leyla, who was busy helping Bill clean his
cart in the garden, quickly turned her head towards the voice, so did Bill, who was holding a shovel.

“Let’s get married.”

Kyle shouted.

After hearing it over and over again, his marriage proposal no longer came as a surprise and it sounded
more like a daily morning greeting these days. After having taken a slight pause for a moment, Leyla and
Bill nonchalantly returned to their work.

“Hello, Kyle.”
Leyla greeted him brightly as she carried whatever was leftover of the planted seedlings.

“I’m not getting married.”

Leyla spoke in a friendly tone afterward, emphasizing her firm rejection of his proposal.

Sigh.

Bill heaved a sigh. He seemed to be feeling the pain of Kyle’s broken heart. But in contrast, Kyle
appeared unfazed by Leyla’s constant rejection. He just smiled gently and volunteered to help her
without being asked.

“Fine, I’ll accept your rejection today. I’ll ask you again tomorrow, then.”

“Enough. Don’t ask anymore.”

“No, I will keep asking. A person’s minds is bound to change.”

With the way he was behaving, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Kyle’s shameless and stubborn
spirit was maybe the toughest in the whole Berg empire.

Bill tried to maintain a straight face as he looked at Kyle and Leyla while struggling to stifle his laughter.

***

Kyle Etman began to propose in the late summer, and stuck to his guns until the seasons changed
several times.

When Bill first found out that Kyle had proposed to Leyla, he believed it was most likely due to one of
the two possible causes. Either that kid was drunk, considering he couldn’t drink well, or he was insane.
That’s why Bill didn’t smack him in the head with the shovel after all. But the following day, Kyle showed
up again with a very sane face and repeated the same thing.

‘How many times has it been since then?’

Kyle stopped by the cottage without missing a day throughout fall, winter, and even this spring, saying
the same thing every time. Only to be rejected on every one of those visits.

At first, Bill was cheering for Leyla since she was so staunch, but he began to feel sorry for Kyle and his
plight as time went on. If it weren’t for his father, Bill would have been excessively vocal with Kyle to get
him to stop his doing. Bill, however, opted not to speak more since Dr. Etman had granted his son a
green-light.

‘How about sending Leyla off to college?’

Said Dr. Etman when he paid a visit to Bill at his cottage last fall.
Bill’s heart suddenly slumped like a dreary chimney pot. Even if he wished Leyla could pursue her study
to a higher level, his current circumstances, in which he was forced to live from hand to mouth,
prevented him from doing so. When he replied hesitatingly, ‘I can’t afford it.’ Dr. Etman’s face was lit up
with a smile. He continued.

‘If our children have feelings for each other and want to become a couple, it would be good to get them
married and send them to college together.’

Bill stared blankly at the doctor in stupefaction. He couldn’t believe what he had heard, though he was
thrilled with the offer.

To him, Leyla was the most wonderful child in the world. Yet, he soon realized that the rest of the world
had its own set of standards that he couldn’t grasp. One of those was regarding the Etman family’s
social standing in Carlsbar society, something about which he had been entirely clueless up until today.

Dr. Etman seemed to understand his befuddlement, so therefore, he spoke first.

‘Kyle said that Leyla is the one person who could bring out the best in him, so he wants to live by her
side as a decent person for her.’

Bill was reasonably surprised, as he learned that the young boy who spent most of his time lounging
lazily in his cottage and stuffing his stomach with free food had said something like that to his father.

‘It was a very sincere thought that came from youngsters who are still in their adolescence.’

‘But Doctor, Leyla is….’

Bill clammed up, but Dr. Etman’s expression grew kinder.

‘I don’t require his future bride to come from a wealthy family or have a perfect upbringing, because I
know that Leyla is a good child even if she doesn’t have such privileges.’

He said so with a smiling face that resembled that of his son.

‘If Kyle doesn’t change his mind till he decides on his career path next year, I’d like to allow them to be
together. How about you, Mr. Remmer?’

Deep down in his heart, Bill Remmer was on a cloud nine and felt grateful that he was willing to carry Dr.
Etman-whom he regarded to be an angel in human form- on his back and run across the Carlsbar or
even the whole Berg Empire. It didn’t matter how tired his physical state was; Bill would be able to
endure it every time he pictured Leyla’s happy face in front of him.

Those were his true feelings.

Kyle’s stupid proposal may have ended up being a blessing in disguise for Leyla.
Bill tossed the shovel into the warehouse as he had made up his mind to do something about this
matter.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Oh, Matthias. You know Dr. Etman’s son, don’t you?

Elysee von Herhardt lowered her voice a smidgeon amid a boring talk on the princess’s nuptials. It was
just the two of them at the spacious dining table, savoring their blue-plate dinner since Catharina had
gone to bed early that night.

“Yes, mother.” Matthias nodded calmly, putting down the glass of water from which he had taken a sip
on the table. “Kyle Etman. Dr. Etman’s only son.”

“You’re right. That kid, Kyle, he’s getting married.”

Her voice sounded keen. It was a hint that the woman who became Kyle’s Etman’s companion was an
unwelcome figure. But Matthias remained quiet, patiently waiting for his mother to finish her story.

“She’s an orphan raised by our gardener, if I’m not mistaken, her name is Leyla.”

‘Leyla.’

Matthias muttered, with no sound flowing from his lips.

“It doesn’t seem to me that she will satisfy the criteria of the Etmans as their prospective daughter-in-
law.”

His throat felt a little tight when he heard his mother mention her name.

“It’s amusing, don’t you think?” Matthias then came up with a bland retort. “Sadly, all of Grandmother’s
efforts to find him a good mate have been in vain.”

His voice was a bit taut for some reason.

Matthias didn’t give a further response, but Elysee enthusiastically recounted Kyle Etman’s marriage
story, which had been garnering a lot of snooping in the Arvis estate these days.

Mrs. Etman was teed off with Kyle’s decision to marry Leyla since she had been striving for years to get a
title from her in-law’s family, which now she was unable to get because of her son’s choice. However, it
seemed that she was actually put on the spot in the face of her husband and son’s wishes.

If all went according to plan, rumors said that Leyla would marry the doctor’s son and continue her
education. After they went for their honeymoon in Ratz, they would attend college together.

After the upcoming summer passed. Shortly after the season of roses.

“Grandmother must be heartbroken. She eally adores Dr. Etman’s son.”

“Yeah. She must be.” Matthias put down his cutlery and grabbed a napery on the table with his
alabaster hand.

“I feel so sorry for Mrs. Etman. She was a respectable doctor’s wife, much more so than them, who were
nobles in status. But she lost her hard-earned social standing because of a ridiculous daughter-in-law.”
Elysee took a sip of wine to moisten her lips. “What kind of noble would want to befriend a wife who
takes a lowlife orphan as her daughter-in-law?”

“The situation may change.”

Matthias straightened his posture and turned to face his mother.

“Because they’re not married yet.”

“Well, Matthias, if things could be changed, Mrs. Etman wouldn’t have been so depressed like this. As
you know, Dr. Etman is a persistent person and above all, Kyle is completely smitten with that orphan
child.”

Elysee flicked her tongue, expressing her sympathies for the doctor’s wife, who was about to-be-
shunned by society as of now.

“She’s a remarkably pretty girl. It was a troublesome reason why her son couldn’t get away from her.”

When she rang the bell, the waiting maids started to serve the dessert on the table.

“I can’t believe that girl was able to take over Mrs. Etman’s position in such a blatant way. She’s a real
freak. No, should I say she’s smart?” Elysee shrugged her shoulders lightly and slid her dessert fork into
her mouth. “Actually, it’s absurd to place the blame on her alone. The most foolish is Mrs. Etman’s son,
who got blinded by a girl and brought disgrace upon his whole family.”

After she was satisfied with schmoozing and reaching her desired conclusion, Elysee von Herhardt finally
changed the topic of her talk.

Now, she was back to bring up the topic of her social life, which included a slew of well-known and
uninteresting names.

Matthias, on the other hand, stayed deafeningly quiet while listening to her drone on.

‘Leyla.’

That name lingered on the tip of his tongue, like the sip’s taste of wine that had left a sweet mark on
him.

Leyla.

Leyla Lewellin.
Chapter 27

Season of Roses Without You

The night had fallen outside when Matthias stepped out of the bathroom after finishing his shower.

With the strap of his robe loosened, he leaned against the windowsill which overlooked the garden
below.

Compared to the Arvis manor, a sprawling estate renowned for its beautiful gardens and forests, the
garden of the Ratz mansion was considerably more homely.

Its garden wasn’t that big as the manor was located in the center of town.

Neither the previous Dukes of Herhardt nor Matthias himself had even the slightest interest in
landscaping or floriculture. For that reason, the Ratz garden was landscaped modestly to add-on to the
mansion’s austere style of architecture.

Once the spring season arrived and the roses of different varieties imported from Arvis were in full
bloom, the flower beds transformed the drab gardens into a site that was well worth seeing.

When the scent of flowers began to linger in the blowing wind, Matthias had a passing thought about
returning to the estate for the summer break.

Before suddenly, the shadow of a girl who had been diligently wandering about the garden, helping the
gardener, snapped him out of his reverie.

Leyla.

Matthias unwittingly frowned.

That girl smelled like a rose.

A gardener with a natural aptitude for growing roses had painstakingly succeeded in blossoming one of
the most beautiful roses in the world.

But he never thought the precious rose the gardener raised in the woods would soon become his
misfortune.
Leyla, the nobody girl.

That was the name that had been embedded in her.

Matthias closed the window and turned around. Droplets of water from his wet hair sprinkled over his
feet.

‘Still, didn’t fortune favour her now?’

Someone like Leyla Lewellin could only dream of having a companion like a doctor’s son.

She was blessed with once-in-a-lifetime great luck. Thanks to Kyle Etman’s foolish naivety, she could
become the future Mrs Etman and attend college in the nation’s capital.

“…Leyla.”

Matthias made a hushed mention of her name beneath his breath. He mused for a beat.

Perhaps, if that beautiful thing disappeared from his sight, things might turn out better for him as well.

Assuming this was true, he should give her a bigger round of applause for the marriage more than
anyone else.

Even when he closed the window, the smell of roses still lingered on the tip of his nose.

Matthias spotted a vase of roses that had been put on the console table. Someone seemed to have
plucked the roses that had bloomed in the garden and placed them in his bedroom.

After passing by the vase, his gaze was rested on the golden cage he had brought along with him to Ratz
and then turned towards the vase again.

“Leyla.”

Her name sounded even sweeter when he said it with more clarity.

“The roses have bloomed but you’re not here.”

Meanwhile, he was lost in his musings; Matthias suddenly snatched the coveted roses from the vase and
clasped them firmly with his hand.

The memories of Leyla, who had tears pouring down her face, flooded back into his mind. The pale pink
roses reminded him of her sobbing cheeks, which were dripping wet with tears.

Matthias’ grip on the rose gradually became tighter and tighter until the flower was crushed to a jumble
of petals in his palms.

‘It’s a good thing.’

He conscientiously believed so.

‘But…’

Matthias’ eyes narrowed slowly.

‘Can there be a season where the roses bloom without you there?’

‘The flowers will blossom, and I will return, but why aren’t you there with me?’

In those questions, Matthias revived a memory that he wasn’t even aware he had.

That the child was always there.

In the rose-filled summer garden, as if she had become an inseparable part of Arvis itself.

Which means she was also a part of him.

His little yellow bird chirped when it couldn’t fly after he cut its wing off. Matthias now felt a strong urge
to kill a person for the first time in his life at this point.

It was unclear which one of them, whether it was the doctor’s son?
….or that woman.

It wasn’t until the night had gotten dim when Matthias released the petals that became a hard lump. His
rose-scented hand reached out and took one of the papers on the table and tore it into shreds.

It was a document required to be submitted by the end of the following week.

An eligibility document to extent one year service as a military officer.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“I wholeheartedly give my approval.”

Bill strenuously broached his long hesitated words.

Sitting across the table, Leyla was gazing at him with a perplexed face.

“That glutton, Kyle. I agree. You have my blessing.”

“Hey, uncle…”

Leyla frowned. But Bill kept running his mouth off.

“Stop rejecting him now. Marry him and go to college. I really want you to do that, Leyla.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Don’t you like Kyle, too?”

“I do, it doesn’t make sense for me to marry him.”

“What do you mean by it makes no sense? What’s so strange about two people liking each other and
getting married.”

Bill choked up, but Leyla’s eyes were fixed on him and didn’t budge.

“Kyle and his family will become everybody’s fool because of me.”

“Dr. Etman has allowed it, too.”

“But ….”

“Leyla, stop thinking about this and that and just look into your heart.” Bill raised the tone of his voice.
“If you like Kyle, get married, but if you don’t like him, then don’t. You don’t need to think about
anything else.”

Leyla blinked her eyes shut at his words and took a big gulp of the beer before her.

Bill quietly watched her. The child he had nurtured had now grown into a great drinker. Now, they were
each other’s best drinking buddies. Ones who could share their woes while sipping a pint of beer
together.

“I like Kyle. There’s no other friend in the world who is as comfortable, warm and kind as him.”

Leyla wiped the beer’s froth from the corner of her lips as she eyed Bill even more sternly.

“So, I don’t want to bring shame on him.”

“No, what’s wrong with you, Leyla? Why are you looking down on yourself?”

“It’s not like that. Uncle, I like the person I’ve become. No matter what other people think of me, I’ve
never been embarrassed of who I am. All I want to do is be a good and responsible adult, much like you
wish for.”

Leyla knitted her brows. Her eyes clouded over with somberness beyond her glasses.

“But, uncle, I’m completely clueless when it comes to marriage. If I were to get married right now, it
would mean that all of my efforts have been in vain.”

“Ha. I hope you’re not possibly thinking of spending all your life stuck in this cabin old widower for the
rest of your life, Leyla.”

“I’d love to. I don’t want to leave this Arvis forest, uncle. And neither do you.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say.”

“Now that I have a teaching certification, I’m going to get a job at a school nearby. And I want to live like
this forever. Living here, together with you, uncle. Maybe I can help you, too.”

“Is this forest going to run? It’s going nowhere. And I’m always going to be here in this forest. Well,
maybe someday when I’m getting older and don’t have the stamina to continue working as a gardener,
I’ll resign and leave this place. However, I’m still healthy, and I’ll still be in good shape for the next ten
years as well.”

Bill gulped down his beer.

“Leyla, whether you leave here, go to college, get married, wherever you are, whatever you do, you will
always be my little Leyla.”

Bill reached out and gently squeezed Leyla’s tiny hand on the table.

The college entrance exam was just around the corner, but Leyla still had no signs of changing her mind.
Bill was so frustrated, that he had decided to arrange this talk with her today.

“If you get married to the Etman household, you’ll be living in the neighborhood, there’s nothing better
than that.”

“Uncle.”

“Leyla, there’s a very rare kind of man in the world. A man who assured me that he would be a good
husband and a good father. And Kyle is the kind of man who fits that bill.”

As he smiled, Bill patted the back of Leyla’s hand with his palm.

“Think about this. I hope you get married to a nice guy and build a real family. Make your home a hive of
life, filled with the sound of children laughing. I believe Kyle will never let you be lonely.”

“…… We’re an actual family too.”

Leyla, who was fiddling with Bill’s fingers, raised her head.

The corners of her eyes were red

“Uncle, we are also a family. A real one.”

“… What’s that… … ?”

Since she came from Lovita, this hapless child had carried tear sacs full of sadness with her. Bill’s eyes
would sometimes heat up and get teary when he looked at her.

“If you think we’re a real family, you should listen to me even more!”

Bill yelled and dropped an envelope he had prepared in advance in front of Leyla.
Immediately upon receiving and opening the envelope, Leyla’s eyes widened. Inside the envelope was a
train ticket to Ratz with a sum of money to cover travel costs.

“The test is next week. Study hard from tomorrow. You always work hard, but you still have to work
harder to pass. If you don’t go to Latz, then I’ll consider us as a fake family.”

“Uncle!”

“If you don’t take the entrance exam, I won’t see you again, Leyla.”

Bill had let go of her hand and sat with his shoulders straight. He stared down at her with a severe look.
Albeit, his eyes were endlessly warm, with no hint of a threatening expression in them at all.

Leyla was lost in thought with the envelope in her hand.

Bill looked at her deeply, wholeheartedly, at the figure of a bright and lovely child before his eyes, things
that for him hadn’t changed and had remained the same since she was a little kid.

After contemplating for quite some time, Leyla ultimately made a difficult choice.

She stuck her sparkling glass of beer in front of Bill with a still severe expression on her face.
As she had done in the old days, drawing on her pupilage when she tried tried to bump her glass of
apple juice into Bill’s glass of beer.

Bill gladly bumped his glass against hers.

Leyla downed the beer all in one go and drained the glass entirely of its contents. Her cheeks quickly
began to flush, but she remained steadfast in her pretence of being a good drinker.

“Even though we’re apart, we’re still a real family, right?”

That smothering question came close to bringing tears to Bill’s eyes all over again.

“Don’t be worried about that.”

Unlike his blunt way of speaking, Bill smiled so warmly at her.

Leyla smiled as she watched him still.

They were like a genuine family.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“You will definitely like it the most. The museum of natural history.”

Kyle once again spoke excitedly.

“It’ll probably be like heaven for you.”

He was listing out the must-see places in Ratz and was most excited when he began to talk about the
Natural History Museum.

Outside the window of the rattling train they were riding, a breathtakingly beautiful sight of springtime
landscapes with flowers in full bloom greeted them everywhere.

This was Leyla’s first visit to Ratz, and she couldn’t have been thrilled.

But for Kyle, it was the umpteenth time since he often visited his relatives in the capital and thus was
quite familiar with the city.

Kyle had meant for Leyla to stay at his relative’s house, but she politely refused his offer and opted to
stay at a small hotel nearby.

“You must be tired right now. Shall we go tomorrow?”

“I have to study for the exam.”

“When it comes to studying, what is the difference between studying now and studying later before the
exam day? You just need to make sure you memorize what you’ve learned.”

“Wow. You look very confident, Mr. Etman.”

“Of course I am, Miss Lewellin.”

“Well, that’s great.”

“So then, let’s get married.”

Instead of hurling her rejection at him like in the past, Leyla set her gaze intensely on Kyle’s face. Her
sudden shift in reaction made Kyle startled a bit.

“W-why, what’s wrong?”

“You know, Kyle. Can you imagine it?”

“Imagine what?”

“We are married to each other and become husband and wife.”

The moment Leyla stated it with a serious expression, Kyle’s cheeks began to burn crimson.

“Of course! You can imagine it! Go ahead, do whatever you want!”

“I don’t know. It strikes me as a bit weird. Us getting married, having children… You know, getting into
that type of relationship.”

“What are you saying now? It’s not weird at all.”

“Really? We’ve learned about the act of reproduction, haven’t we? How to make and give birth to a
baby, are we really going to do that?”

“Make… Birth, what?”

Kyle doubted his ears. He felt like he had misheard something improper, but Leyla, the person who
threw the bomb words, precisely had an innocent face with not a trace of shamelessness on it.

“Act of reproduction.”

Leyla hurled a bomb for the second time without even batting an eye.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Kyle. Birds, flowers, and all other living things do it to preserve their
species.”

“Do you know what you’re saying right now?

“Yeah. I’m only a little weak in geometry, but I am pretty good at other subjects.”

Kyle’s throat tightened, and he turned head sideways to avoid staring straight ahead. He was
embarrassed when Leyla seemed so proud of herself after uttering all that saucy stuff.

“Isn’t it a bit weird for us that we’re going to do that, and…….”

“uh… … Leyla, come on, eat this.” Kyle quickly slipped a slice of sandwich between Leyla’s talkative lips
to cease her babbling.

Though it wasn’t yet summer, the temperature within the train, for some reason, was as scorching as if
he were inside a kiln.

Leyla munched on the sandwich with relish. In between bites of the sandwich, she mumbled and
opened her lips again.

“Eat this too.”

Before she could say anything, Kyle had already shoved another cookie into her mouth, clamming her up
from speaking further.

‘Please, don’t say that stuff anymore.’

Kyle sucked in everything he wanted to say and just shook his head.

( ‘When you start thinking of shit, think about my shovel.’ )

Uncle Bill’s voice suddenly rang out in his ears.

He greeted Kyle with a very kind and creepy smile when he came to the cottage to pick up Leyla this
morning.
‘Yes, shovel.’

Kyle’s thoughts wandered back to Uncle Bill’s giant dirt shovel, which looked close to a weapon.

“So Kyle, I mean…..”

Leyla’s lips began to twitch open once again as soon as she finished all the cookies. Her look was a mess
yet lovely, with cookie crumbs smeared all over her dainty red lips.

“Leyla, if you say one more word.”

Kyle sighed and scratched the back of his head.

“Huh?”

“If you say one more word…”

He gulped.

After digesting his feelings that had been stifled by the shovel, Kyle made a tragic confession.

“I’m going to jump off the train.”

Chapter 28

Fly in The Spring Like A Bird

“I respect your decision, but I can’t help feeling disappointed.”

Colonel Farrell, the commanding officer of the Military Forces, looked at Matthias with a faint smile.
Matthias remained still. His countenance was quite ample.

“I feel like I’m losing a capable officer. Well, it would be a greater loss for this Empire if Duke Herhardt
were to continue serving in the army with his competencies. However, speaking from the standpoint of
a soldier, I’m a little upset.”

He said. The sense of disappointment and loss in his eyes was earnest, given that they were in a formal
military relationship as superior and subordinate.

Captain Herhardt, his most trusted underling, who was due to remain in the service for another year,
had unexpectedly changed his mind. Imagined his surprise when a paper was delivered to his desk.
Instead of the document to extend his service period, a letter of resignation was sent to him. It was his
wish that Matthias would stay, but Colonel Farrell had no reason to detain him since the grounds for his
appeal, as stated in the letter, was none other than his grandmother, the Duchess of Herhardt.

“Thank you for all this time.”

Matthias thanked him politely.

He always showed due respect for his superiors even though the Duke of Herhardt was a considerably
higher-ranking nobleman based on social status.
His attitude was markedly different from that of other aristocratic officials, who were often unable to
differentiate between public and private affairs.

Colonel Farrell admired Matthias for that.

Secondly, if considering his meritorious service to the empire, his first task by selecting the frontline, a
problematic area of the outpost, was noteworthy.

“Make sure to visit me when you come to Ratz.”

Matthias was more than glad to comply with the colonel’s request for a farewell handshake.

“Yes, Colonel.”

He shook his superior’s hand firmly and exited through the colonel’s office door, having been entirely
freed of his duties.

The outpouring of the spring sunshine drifted across a clear blue sky welcoming his steps once he
walked out onto the street.

Matthias got into his car and drove toward Ratz’s downtown. He had to go to several places to meet
with some of his other superiors. It was only after then, the farewell activities for his retirement, which
had been rolling on for several days, were finally brought to an end.

When he was about to walk up to his waiting vehicle, something went by and halted him in his tracks.
Matthias turned his eyes towards the end of the road across the street. Over there, came to his sight a
figure he used to know.

Leyla.

A woman who turned out to be none other than Leyla Lewellin was walking the road leisurely along the
promenade at the downtown area.

“Master.”

The driver approached him as he stood still and didn’t get into the car.

“Go back first.”

Matthias ordered him while keeping his gaze fixed on the opposite side of the road.

‘It’s Leyla. No way, she couldn’t possibly be here. ‘

Straightaway, with broad strides, he got across the road.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The museum she visited was huge.

Leyla looked around in amazement at the magnificent building of the Berg Empire Natural History
Museum, the same way she did on her first day setting foot in this place.

The day after arriving at Ratz city, Kyle took Leyla on her first visit to this place. The Art History Museum
and the Natural History Museum, which sat across the street, opposite to each other, and were said to
be places of Ratz’s greatest pride.
Leyla had grown used to the grandeur of Carlsbar city, which was reputed to be on par with the splendor
of the capital. But she remained so mesmerized by the architectural wonders that lined the streets of
Ratz every time she passed through them.

The girls at her school who toured the capital often gushed about how beautiful the Art History Museum
was. Still, Leyla unhesitatingly chose the Natural History Museum to be named the owner of the most
beautiful architecture.

As Kyle described it, the museum was like a piece of heaven on earth for her. All she could think about
was how vast the museum was and how impossible it seemed to be for her to explore every corner of
the building in just a single day.

Leyla was eager to devote her entire day exploring this place to the fullest extent possible. She also had
planned to empty her schedule on the last day to come here once again before leaving Ratz city.
Hopefully, she would be able to view the whole of the museum’s collection and accomplish her mission.

Having finally made up her mind, Leyla was raring to go and walked into the museum foyer with a spring
in her step.

Literally, Kyle wished to accompany her today, but Leyla shunned his goodwill. Unlike her, who had
completed her exam the day before, he was just getting started with his exam tomorrow morning.

Though Kyle was full of confidence in his brains and had studied in advance, Leyla didn’t want to bring
him here for sightseeing just one day before the exam.

Before entering the exhibition hall, Leyla once again double-checked her outfit, making sure there was
not a single hair out of place.

‘Comfortable shoes, checked.’

‘Notebook and pen, checked.’

‘Stamina in full, I’m ready to go.’

After drawing out a notebook and pen from her bag, Leyla stepped into the viewing gallery, which she
hadn’t had a chance to see on the first day of her arrival.

***

Leyla Lewellin today was just like a child at a picnic.

Matthias stood at a safe distance away, quietly watching her as she strode through several spacious
exhibit galleries without a trace of tiredness devouring her.

Matthias was already convinced that the woman’s back he saw going inside the Natural History Museum
belonged to Leyla, so he quietly followed her while keeping his distance.
Curiosity got the better of him, leaving him wondering what the hell she was up to.?

But soon after seeing what she was doing, Matthias was willing to wait and keep a closer eye on her.

As he waited, Matthias suddenly remainded about the college entrance exam that took place in the
capital around this time. Seeing that she had traveled to the capital city to take the test, Matthias
concluded that she had decided to continue her study at the college. So was her marriage to Kyle Etman
as well.

Leyla was standing in front of a glass display case containing various plant specimens, diligently penning
things down in her notebook. Sometimes, her lips were tinged with a smile, and her face took on a jolly
beam as if she was looking at a precious jewel. Matthias was hard to believe that a mere plant sample
could elicit such a giggle from her face.

In the end, Matthias decided to stalk her a bit further, but he didn’t go any closer since he knew her joy
would perish whenever she saw him.

Matthias folded his hands behind his back and slowly trailed in her footsteps at the same pace.

He hadn’t seen her since last summer, and Leyla didn’t seem to have changed much since then. Even
yet, there was only a slight changeover in her delicate appearance from before.

Her face had become slimmer, her expression looked more gentle, and every movement of her body
appeared more graceful as time went on. Donning a lace-embellished white dress, Leyla seemed more
mature than she was before.

After she had been there long enough, Leyla left the herbarium exhibition room and abruptly stopped
for a while in front of the passage leading to the next gallery.

Matthias was able to figure out what had piqued her attention.

The passageway that ran between the two exhibition rooms was conjured up in such a way and
incarnated like a heavenly place. The branches, painted with silvery hue, were decorated with white
feathers and garland hanging like leaves.

As the light trickled in through the window glass, the colorful bird-shaped crystal ornaments draping all
over the branches reflected its rays. They created a dreamlike atmosphere to the eye, reminiscent of a
fairy tale realm, enhancing the magical beauty of the space even more.

“Gosh—.”

Leyla’s naive admiration came to his attention.

Matthias couldn’t keep a smile off his face as he watched her run about with such abandon. Her wavy
blonde hair and the hem of her dress bounced with her as she sprinted excitedly inside the area like a
little girl at a playground.
In the middle of that beautiful passage, Leyla halted her steps.

She stretched out her hand towards the branches, but her fingertips were unable to grasp the bird-
shaped ornament.

Leyla was still staring up at the ceiling gazing in awe, when Matthias sauntered and walked straight off
to her side.

Before she had a chance to realize his presence, Matthias already grabbed her by the waist and lifted
her body off the ground.

Leyla jolted in surprise when she floated into the air. She turned her head, and a crystal bird, which had
previously been beyond her reach, was now right in front of her eyes.

She felt like she could fly like a bird in the spring and go anywhere. As if she were dreaming with her
eyes open.

It was strange, but breathaking moment.

Matthias dropped her down to the floor and acted as if nothing had happened.

The hem of her voluminous, puffy white dress slid down her calves and caressed her skin softly on the
inside.

Leyla raised her head and hid her hand that had touched the crystal bird behind her back.

Matthias slowly took off his officer’s hat. His pairs of blue eyes, bluer than the sky at the end of the
summer, were fixed on her with a dazzling vividity.

***

Below the museum’s dome was a little cafe selling refreshments where visitors could rest and refuel
their stomachs. Leyla and Kyle had already had lunch at that place when they came on the first day of
their visit.

Matthias took the lead in heading there. Knowing the meaning, Leyla stood still, a scowl on her face.

“It was nice to meet you, duke. I’m going to take my leave now.”

At her words, Matthias turned around. Leyla steeled herself, bowed her head in greeting, and began to
walk to the other way.

“There.”

He commanded.

She refused to comply and took a few more steps, but at the end she failed to escape.
Matthias had passed by her and blocked her way.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Leyla looked around her and asked sharply. Some passersby narrowed their eyes, staring at them in a bit
of wonder.

“I hate it.”

“What?!”

“… Someone like you, I hate it.”

Matthias’ arrogant attitude suddenly drove her up a wall.

“You can’t be like this to me.” Leyla clasped the straps of her bag, which she was carrying over her
shoulders. Her hands trembling nervously,

“I-I mean…”

“Do you want to do something that we shouldn’t do?”

A smile teased the corner of his lips as he stated it in a somewhat sarcastic tone. For a short moment, a
maddening rush swept through Leyla’s body and knitted her brows in disbelief.

“No!”

Both of her hands began to shake fiercely after Matthias made such offensive remarks,

“Never!”

A sharp feeling of heat seared Leyla’s cheeks. Her face became blazing red as she seethed with rage. The
humiliation Matthias piled on her had trodden on her toes. Mainly because how aloof and arrogant he
was when he said so.

After a few moments of looking around his surroundings, Matthias returned his gaze to her.

“I want to buy a cup of tea for an orphan who lives on my estate I happened to meet while in the capital
city. What’s wrong with me being kindness?”

His attitude consistently unabashed even when he said something disrespectful.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Matthias spoke coldly. His face lost its grin.

“Isn’t that right, Leyla?”

Ending his question that he had answered himself, Matthias slithered his way to the cafe.
Leyla let out a long, weak sigh as she looked at his back.

Though she didn’t know Duke Herhard very well, she now knew one crucial aspect about him:

achieving everything he desired at whatever cost. The more challenging something was to get, the more
valuable it was to own.

That man always had to get what he wanted.

Giving up, Leyla walked behind the duke with heaviness in her stride.

***

They were sitting across from each other.

Shortly after the take-out order was made, the waiter brought two cups of steaming hot coffee to their
table. The teacup billowed a cloud of white smoke, which rose into the air; had been laid between the
two people who were appearing to be silent.

“I never thought I’d meet you by coincidence in a place like this.”

Layla opened the conversation with some trepidation. She was feeling awkward with the stillness
between them, so she decided to speak up first.

“In the natural history museum…do you….”

“I’m not interested.”

Matthias cut her words, taking a sip of his coffee.

“You already know it, Leyla.”

A smirk hung on the corner of his lips. “I have absolutely no interest in these kinds of things.”

“Then why you….”

“You already know it’s not a coincidence.”

“No.”

Leyla replied reflexively. Her whole body grew tense, and her heart began to beat in a blue funk. She
would rather be an impoverished orphan who would get pity from him. She didn’t want to be seen as
‘something’ else by this man in any way.

“All I know is…”

The sound of her voice was a bundle in nerves, and Leyla gulped back her agitation for a moment.

“All I know is just that, you hate me.”

Leyla closed her eyes as if she were trying to erase the horrifying memories of their first kiss that
suddenly dawned on her. But it was to no avail. Once she blinked her eyes to see, Matthias’ blue eyes
were still fixed on her, and those memories flooded back in, anchoring her to the nightmare once again.

“Right, I hate you.”

Matthias assented her words with ease. A smile bloomed on his face.

“Now, I terribly hate you, Leyla.”

Chapter 29

A Failed Wish

The smile formed on Matthias’s face faded in a jiffy. When he looked at her with a cold glint in his eyes,
Leyla felt her heart leap into her mouth.

“I’ll leave then.”

As she spoke, Leyla dipped her gaze into the teacup in front of her, utterly disregarding his presence.

“… Pardon?”

“I won’t be staying there anymore. I’ll leave and won’t be a bother in your estate.”

“Where are you going?”

“Anywhere.”

She clenched her fist which began to shiver, together with the chill she felt. Don’t be scared– Leyla
reassured herself, though she knew it was a fool’s errand.

“Arvis isn’t the only place in this world where I can make a home for myself.”

Her words lost none of their venoms, spewing a thorn as sharp as the blow he spat to her. But Matthias
simply gave her the cold shoulder, taking her grumbling as a passing whim.

Leyla wanted to flee from her seat and get out of there as soon as possible, but what happened last
summer—the day she lost her hat and fell into a freezing river because she refused to eat what he
offered her, had presented itself in her mind and pinned her feet firmly in place.

She didn’t want to go through that trauma all over again.

As she set her sight on the teacup, Leyla sipped her hot coffee in a hurry. She almost choked, but Leyla
managed to finish it in one gulp, until the teacup revealed its bottom. Then, she sucked in a long breath
to calm herself.

“Leyla.” sibilated Matthias, pointing at her.

Lelya stiffened and hurriedly took out the money from her purse and put it on the table’s edge.

Matthias scoffed, “What’s this?”

“It’s money to pay for the coffee I drank.” Leyla opened her lips and struggled to get the words out. Her
gaze remained affixed on his finger.

“Do you think I’m the kind of person who needs someone like you to pay for a cup of coffee?”

“I don’t know about that, but I don’t want to receive anything from you.”

With that phrase, Leyla felt a chill run down her spine. The trembling began anew as her hands became
soaked with cold sweat, and her fingers turned a paler hue. Still, her inquisitiveness won against her, in
the end.

Because this place wasn’t Arvis, where Leyla Lewellin used to live the life of a poor orphan under his
world.

“Lift your head.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Lift your head, Leyla.”

“Stop bossing me around.”

The mounting exasperation tightened her throat. She looked daggers at Matthias with a blaze of
indignation burning furiously in her eyes.

“I am not your maid.”

A sudden rush of reckless courage had obliterated the ripples of dread that had been roiling within her
for some time, heating her response.

“Maid?”

“I was obviously raised by Uncle Bill in Arvis, but that doesn’t mean that I’m your maid.”

“Is that so? What are you, then?”

“… I’m a nobody.”

The corner of her eyes faintly flushed

“I have been and will always be.”

A sharp pain seared through her feelings right at the moment. Her emerald eyes were moist with tears
as she glowered at Matthias. But even so, she still got a hold of him and even ventured to confront him.

Matthias just held his coffee cup’s handle wordlessly. He mused about the day he wished to strangle
Leyla Lewellin, and he longed to do so again right now.

The sweltering heat of a late summer day afternoon; when he felt as filthy as his messed-up clothes
after rolling around on the dirt ground. When he went ballistic at the acts of a mere worthless woman.

‘What if I had strangled you then…’

In his mind, Matthias concluded that what he felt at the time wasn’t quite as bad as what he was
presently feeling. Right now, he felt like a freak. The feeling of being carried away by an inexplicable
desire and compulsive obsession over a no-name woman disgusted him the most.

Matthias took the money that she had left on the table and rose from his seat. Then, he dropped it one
by one onto her lap.

“Take it.”

Leyla glowered at him. Taking in her eyes, which turned a livid red, Matthias threw some of his gold
coins down her skirt. “And this, too.”

“W-what are you…”

“Thank-you; is what you should say, Leyla.”

Matthias scoffed in ridicule.

“Similar to how you receive Claudine’s money. With gratitude. With courtesy.”

Leyla’s eyes blurred as he snickered, but she wouldn’t let her tears fall. She twitched her lips to counter
his severity, yet words slinked and slid off her tongue.

“I’ve taken away your time, even though you’re not my maid, so I’ll pay you your labor fee.”

A great tremor now overtook her. Leyla gritted her teeth, but hot torrents of grief already coursed down
her face.

“If you don’t like it, simply think of it as my sympathy for the poor orphan.”

Tears began to tickle her cheek. Deep emotions stirred with no other outlet but through her long-lasting
sobs dripping down like a piece of jewelry.

“You bootlick a guy who wants to marry you out of pity, yet you wish to sustain your pride for a few
coins. How amusing.”
Matthias’ sneer was like an invisible thread that pulled her over. Leyla gallantly scowled at him, but her
total disgruntlement had already converted into tears that continued to rain down her cheeks like a
river leaving a dam.

Matthias walked out of the cafe with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

Leyla Lewellin was a woman who never once smiled in his presence, but she was also the woman who,
whenever he came into contact with her, would break down and cry uncontrollably.

‘If I can’t make you smile, then I will make you cry.’

Her laughter or tears, Matthias loved her in all of her manifestations. If he only could give her pain, he
would hurt her as deeply as he could.

‘At the very least, you wouldn’t see me as a tiny blot in your life.’

Before leaving the cafe, Matthias turned around and gave her face a good stare. Leyla wiped her cheek
every few second as she cried; her glasses laid on the table’s edge.

Matthias made a wish as his long strides slowly brought him to leave the Natural History Museum.

‘May Leyla soon marry the doctor’s son, and disappear from my world.’

‘And may the tears and wounds I had sculpted, last forever in her memory.’

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The sun had already drowned itself on the west skysill, but Leyla hadn’t returned to her hotel yet.

Kyle, looking for Leyla at her hotel to have dinner with her, exited the lobby with a worried face. Though
she was a little kid no longer, this city was a stranger to her; bad people might be clustered everywhere.

“Well, she has no fear, but still…..”

Kyle took a hesitant stride along the street. His mind was racing faster than his feet. He had assumed she
would be at the museum, but it had already closed by the time he had arrived. The search for her had
taken him all across town, but Leyla was nowhere to be seen.

‘Is she lost?’

Kyle darted past people, buildings, and trees.

‘If not, has she met a bad guy?’

Kyle wanted to bury all of the negative thoughts that had crossed his head; he didn’t even want to
consider the possibility.

It was then that he found her.

Leyla stood before a fountain in the park square at the end of the museum street and dubiously threw a
coin towards the statue of the water fountain.

“Leyla!”

Her eyes naturally moved towards the direction of the voice that was calling her name.

“Uh, Kyle?”

Leyla seemed befuddled as if she had no idea that she had scared someone out of his wits.

“What are you doing here?”

Kyle approached her, brushing the sweat-drenched hair from his forehead.

“Kyle, why are you here? How about your exam preparations?”

“Does it matter right now? You really… Seriously, you….”

Kyle grabbed her shoulder. He slowly drew a breath and let it back out with a loud sigh. It wasn’t long
before his daunting gasps calmed down a little.

“Are you alright? Would you like to have a seat?” Leyla asked; her eyes were drawn to his face with
worry.

‘Who cares about who now?’

Kyle clasped his heated palms over Leyla’s face and heaved a long sigh that sounded more like a
mournful laugh. It was then that he noticed that her eyes had swelled and reddened a bit.

“Leyla, are you crying?”

“No, I’m not.”

Leyla answered his question in such a hurry as if she had run out of words, which only made Kyle even
more sure that she had been crying.

“Why did you cry?”

“I didn’t.”

“Who made you cry?”

“No one, it’s nothing like that,” Leyla smiled and gently pushed his hand away. “I just, uh, looked around
the museum. Took a walk in the park and made a wish.”

“Wish?”

“Yeah. I saw everyone doing it.”

Leyla gestured with her finger toward the fountain in the middle of the park. People with bright smiles
on their faces were throwing their coins into the fountain and making wishes.

“I also made a wish for you to get into medical school.”

“Are you sure you threw it accurately?”

Kyle began to chuckle as he pointed to the water bowl the statue was holding. The disappointed moans
of those who failed to throw their coins into the pot resounded across the throng.

“Of course I made it,” said Leyla with a proud smile on her face, “I’m really good at this thing.”

“I know, I can already imagine it.”

“It is already dinner time. Are you hungry? Let’s make one more wish before we go.”

Leyla made a beeline for the fountain, holding a shiny gold coin in her hand. Kyle, to her surprise,
obediently trod on his heels from behind.

“Leyla! Do you seriously want to throw your gold coins there? To that fountain? A penny-pincher like
you?”

In lieu of responding, Leyla pitched the coin with all her might. Unluckily for her, the gold coin hit the
edge of the bowl and bounced off towards another side. She gasped and frowned, dismay enveloping
her face.

“Leyla, are you really good at this?”

“Why don’t you believe me? I successfully threw all of my coins in one fell swoop just now!”

“Just how many gold coins did you throw, huh?” Kyle asked in a giggle at her slipshod feat that wasn’t
like her at all.

“Okay. Since I’ve already given a big donation to the Ratz’s fountain today, I’ll toss in one more coin.”

“Are you going to throw another one? That’s enough! Don’t do it!”

Kyle snatched the coin from Leyla’s grasp, leaving her to scowl and lunge for his hand in annoyance. “It
must be spent!”

“You may say that, but how many gold coins have you already thrown in there?”

“It’s the value of money.”

“Is there money that needs to be wasted for nothing like this?”

“There is!” Layla shrieked.

“Enough! Don’t throw any more money. It’s a waste. If you want to squander money, let’s go and get
some ice cream.”

“You really do look like Leyla Lewellin when you say that.”

“Whatever.” Kyle shrugged his shoulders and put the coin back into his pocket. “Let’s go.”

He knew Leyla would reject his hand, but Kyle still extended his to her. Leyla lightly clapped his hand and
seized the lead by taking a small step ahead of him.

Kyle was moving quickly to catch up with her

“Hey, what did you wish for?”

“I wished for Uncle Bill’s well-being and happiness. Then for you to get into college and become a good
doctor. And I wished to be a decent grownup. That’s all of the wishes I had for us.”

“Then what’s the last one?”

“Hmm?”

“The last wish of your failed attempt.”

“That’s…”

Leyla’s face suddenly grew sour.

“It’s a secret.” She abruptly shook her head in disgust and widened her stride.

Kyle just chuckled cheerfully, his face lighted up with interest.

“Let’s get something delicious to eat, shall we? I’ve been frantically running around searching for you,
and now I’m starving to death.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Dr. Etman heaved a sigh before he opened the bedroom door.

When he switched on the light, he saw that his wife was already lying on the bed. She had been like this
ever since Kyle and Leyla had left for Ratz to take their exams.

“Dear, dinner is ready. Let’s go.”

“Don’t mind me.”

Her voice sounded icy, which contrasted with her lackluster appearance.

“I understand how you feel, but….”

“No. You don’t. The generous and benevolent Dr. Etman would never understand.”
Her eyes were ablaze with anger.

“But dear, you also like Leyla, don’t you?”

“Yes. I know. Leyla is a good girl. If it weren’t for you and Kyle, I would have continued to like her.”

“Marrying Kyle won’t change Leyla, dear. It’s just that Kyle will marry that good girl that he truly loves.”

“You might think of me as an exorbitant snob, but marriage is a reality. This marriage is degrading our
son, and you’re allowing it to happen!”

“Dear, the world will keep changing. Someone’s social status will soon become an outmoded value.”

Mrs. Etman arranged her long, flowing hair into a bun and pulled it up neatly before getting out of bed.
She stared at her husband with an upset face; she didn’t exactly look like someone who had been
starving for days.

“In a world where people live, social status won’t disappear. Even if the title is no longer in use,
something else will separate society’s social classes in the future.”

“Dear…”

“And whatever the standards are, the fact that Leyla is not a good fit for our Kyle will never change.
Ever.”

Rounding off the talk with those bitter words, Mrs. Etman walked past her husband.

Dr. Etman watched his wife’s back, who had left towards the garden, and smiled faintly to the maid, who
was standing there looking confused.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Becker. Please clean the dinner table.”

With a sigh, Dr. Etman followed his wife into the unlit garden at this hour of the night.
Chapter 30

I’ll Do My Best

After a satisfying dinner, Leyla and Kyle shuffled down the night street, enjoying the ice cream in their
hands. Kyle was keen on staying with her though she had told him to hurry back and prepare for
tomorrow’s exam.

“I need to digest the food first so I can properly prepare for tomorrow’s test.”

Leyla belted up, unable to come up with a retort to his confident reasoning.

“Let’s walk for a bit then,” she said, “but Kyle…”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you want to marry me?”

Leyla asked cautiously. The aftertaste of cold, sweet ice cream smeared on her lips.

“If you’re just doing it out of pity….”

“Leyla Lewellin.”

Kyle cut her off, calling her name firmly, and stepped in front of Leyla, who was a little startled by his
frigid voice.

“Do you see me as the kind of crazy guy who marries someone out of sympathy?”

His unfamiliar expression made Leyla freeze in her tracks, and she fell silent.

“Well, the world is wide. There might be a lot of crazy people who marry for such reasons, but I’m not
one of them.”

Kyle eased the air out of his lungs slowly, letting his temper settle.

“Do you know why? It’s because I love you.”

“Kyle…”

“That’s my only reason. Because I love Leyla Lewellin.”

As he looked down at Leyla’s cocked eyebrow, Kyle sighed and then chuckled. “Who do you think is
more pitiful? Me, who’s been rejected hundreds of times or you? I’m the sadder one, Leyla.”

Kyle said as he began to ruffle Leyla’s hair and moved a step ahead. He didn’t want Leyla to see what
expression he was making right now, which must have been pretty silly.

As if she knew what he was going through, Leyla followed him from behind, creating some distance
between them.

After travelling home shackled in deafening silence, the two finally arrived in front of the hotel.

“Go in,” Kyle told her. With a smile on his face, he added, “Oh, I forgot, I haven’t done it today.”

He slowly lifted his eyes after staring down at the cup of melting ice cream in his hand. He had
remembered something.

“Leyla, let’s get married.”

The turndown was already flashing before his very eyes, though. Yet Kyle felt a little weird skipping it
now since Leyla’s rejection had become something of a daily routine for him.

For some reason, today, Leyla, who was accustomed to rejecting his proposal with a nonchalant shrug,
was unusually quiet.

Kyle looked at her with his eyes narrowed as he studied her attentively. “I’m not getting married,” He
readied to hear such a sweet but heartless response that was supposed to come from her slowly parted
lips. But instead, her response was something beyond his wildest dreams.

“Mm.”

“…Leyla?”

Kyle jolted in surprise. The ice cream cup he was holding fell to the ground, soiling the tip of his shoe.

The words failed him. He was in a conundrum at her straightforward reply.

“Eh…… So, do you agree to marry me?”

As he made sure, Leyla lowered her head and nodded.

“You want to marry, right? Me?”

He repeated the question in a shaky voice. Leyla glimpsed at him sheepishly and nodded her head
slightly once more.

She was momentarily at a loss for words. But Kyle was already screaming in delight as he held her by the
shoulders.

“Woohooooooo!”

Their shindig floored guests at the hotel who happened to pass by stared at them. Kyle didn’t seem to
care even though Leyla let out her scream when he spun her around.

It was a beautiful spring night.

A gentle wind was lulling the city back to its slumber.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

That night Kyle had a dream.

He dreamed of marrying Leyla and living their everyday life in complete bliss as an Etman couple.

Leyla once said to him; having her own house with a small flower bed was her long-held dream. She
smiled shyly and voiced her happiness. She wished the roses she had planted in the garden were all
blooming beautifully.

In his dream, he saw Leyla diligently tending to that very flower garden. The little child who was running
alongside her was more lovely than a blossoming rose.

The sun shone brilliantly, and the child’s laughter was brimming with glee.

‘Daddy—!’

The child who saw him quickly came running. She was a pretty little girl who looked a lot like Leyla with
her blonde hair. The child, still a toddler, jumped on his feet and welcomed him with her eyes sparkling.

The whiff of air caressed him as he walked to her with their lovely daughter in his arms. The scent of
sweet roses borne by the fluttering wind faintly tickled the tip of his nose in a pleasant way.

Leyla laughed as her eyes held his a moment longer. Her smile was so beautiful, perhaps even more
beautiful than his beautiful dream had been.

In the fading remnants of his dream, Kyle awakened with the phosphenes still in his eyes. Thanks to that
feeling of happiness, he performed much better than he expected on the exam.

He couldn’t believe it.

Will his dream soon come true?

Is there such a thing as a beautiful blessing in this world greater than that?

Once he stepped out of the exam hall, Kyle had the feeling that he could leap to great heights in the sky.
His footfall seemed to have wings, he felt free like a bird just leaving its nest the moment he spotted
Leyla sitting on a bench outside, waiting for him.

“Leyla!”

Leyla raised her head at his shout. She folded the small notebook she was reading and put it back into
her sling bag.

“How was the test?” She approached him blithely. “Was it hard? Did you do well?”

“You’re always worried about everything.” Kyle tucked his chin up as though he were flaunting. “I’m Kyle
Etman. I don’t know how to get second place in studies.”

“Oh, hahaha. You did great, then.”

Leyla hooted with laughter.

“I forgot how smart Mr. Etman was for a moment.”

“Wow. That makes me very sad to hear. Make sure you keep it in your mind from now on.”

Kyle suddenly grabbed her hand. Leyla didn’t wave his hand away though his touch took her by surprise.

While she was looking at him, the late afternoon spring sunlight in dazzling crimson gold glowed on the
corner of his lips as he gave a gentle smile back to her.

“Are you sure you did well on the exam?” asked Leyla carefully, as she looked like she couldn’t shake off
her trepidation.

Kyle grinned at her after seeing how adorable she was. “Don’t worry. I won’t fail the exam, so there
won’t be anything bad that may prevent us from attending college together.”

“That’s not what I meant….”

Leyla’s cheeks were flushed with rosy pink. The moment he caught the sight of her adorable, sweet ripe-
peach face, Kyle’s heart began to skip a beat erratically. He regretted that they were at the exam
location presently. If they had been on an empty street, Kyle would have mustered up his guts to kiss
her right at this moment.

‘No.’

‘If I do that for no reason, Leyla will get scared, so I’d better wait for a little bit longer.’

One of his thoughts wandered back to the shovel, which he had forgotten about. The giant shovel full of
dirt, and Uncle Bill’s alarming smile.
The two slowly hiked around the campus, with hands intertwined tightly. Walking from the medical
facility where Kyle would study as a doctor, then to the biology hall where Leyla would be enrolling in
the future. They laughed and chatted excitedly and had a great time along the way.

“You will definitely pass, but it may be a bit difficult for me.”

Leyla muttered with a serious face as she reached the biology faculty building.

“Why are you worried about that? Didn’t you do well on your exams?”

“That’s true, but only a few female students took the exam earlier.”

Her countenance became more gloomy as the talk continued.

Kyle nodded his head, “Ah… that’s right.” He momentarily sighed a little.

It had only been a few years ago since women were allowed to pursue higher education at the same
level as the men in the Empire’s universities. Due to the rigorous selection process, only a few students
could pass since the threshold for college admission test scores was much higher for female students.

“Still, I’m sure you will pass.”

Kyle spoke with confidence.

“If you don’t pass, who else will?”

“Don’t you think you’re being overconfident?”

“Not in the least. This is my opinion based on your grades during your eight years of school.”

“Eight years… So much time has passed already.”

Leyla could still vividly remember the road she had ridden to Arvis by a mail wagon. Time had passed by
in a flash. The well-grown Kyle who was standing before her eyes suddenly felt like a new person.

“What’s wrong?”

Kyle, who was a little embarrassed from the deep gaze fixated on him, asked awkwardly.

“You have grown so much.”

Amazement reigned in Leyla’s eyes as she stared at him for a moment. Stunned, Kyle was utterly at a
loss for what to do as though fluffy feathers were popping from his chest. Leyla Lewellin’s attractiveness
didn’t appear to diminish even when she uttered such ridiculous things, leaving him speechless.

“Uh-huh.”

Kyle gave a false smile. He took a deep breath and continued,

“Yeah, I’ve grown up well to be a decent husband. Do you like it?”

“That’s… I don’t know.”

Leyla stiffly hastened her stride. Kyle couldn’t stop himself from grinning from ear to ear when he saw
her face was daubed with shyness.

On their way back, Kyle talked about his pleasant dreams, which would soon become a reality.

About the house—how they would live together. Their daily life as husband and wife. And also, their
soon-to-be-born, beautiful child in the future.

He was keen to write a fresh chapter in the history of the Etman family, along with their offspring.

Kyle cherished the look of cautious eagerness that graced her face when he talked about that dream. He
was ecstatic to see those hopes and dreams were on the cusp of becoming a reality.

It was a rather funny and sentimental thought. But he believed it was the reason why he was born into
this world—to make her expectation come true.

“How many children do you want to have?” Kyle asked her, “I wish I had a daughter and a son.”

“Well… maybe five?” she answered.

‘Fi…Five?’ Kyle stood gaping. The number she said was in contrast to her timid attitude.

“We won’t be lonely if we have so many kids,” Leyla chuckled and continued, “We can depend on one
another. I think it would be great if the house were full of people who resembled one another.”

For some reason, Kyle felt bitter when he saw Leyla say those things with a radiant look. He could tell by
gazing at Leyla’s bittersweet smile how long she had lived in loneliness.

“Five… okay, Leyla. I’ll do my best!”

“Huh?”

Leyla’s eyes grew round at Kyle’s loud pledge. They looked at each other with blank expressions for a
spilt second, then their cheeks blushed nearly at the exact moment.

“Hey, that’s not what I meant!”

Kyle took a step back, he had a redder complexion than hers.

“I’m not thinking only about that.”

“Neither am I!” Leyla snapped back, ashamed by his words.

The two quickly released their grip and walked a step apart, not daring to make eye contact. Kyle gave
Leyla a sideways look, and the peals of laughter he’d been holding in eventually burst from deep within.
“By the way, Leyla, did you feel ashamed after deciding to have five children?”

Gasp. Leyla turned away. Her brows knitted.

“You didn’t think a stork would give you five babies, did you? Our Miss Lewellin, who is well-versed in all
subjects except geometry.”

Leyla kept walking, a scowl on her face, disregarding his mischievous teasing. Kyle’s jolly laughter grew
louder along with the clacking of her heeled shoes.

“Oh wait for me, Mrs Etman!”

His jovial cry reverberated across the campus on a sunny spring day.

Leyla started to run. Her braided ponytail on the back of her head swung in rhythm with her stomping
shoes on the asphalt.

Kyle was smitten with the look of her back. Her statuette gave him the feeling of returning to that
pleasant dream once again.

And he didn’t want to ever wake up.

Forever.
Chapter 31

The Kind Yet Heartless Man

‘Was it because the coin missed?’

That was the very first thing she thought of at the news about Duke Herhardt’s homecoming.

The Duke, who had announced the postponement of his service in the military post by another year,
would return home and reside at the Arvis estate for good after settling all of his business affairs in the
capital.

The grand Duchess wished for her grandson to stay close by her side and take care of the 20,000-hectare
Estate they owned. The Duke seemed to take it into account as he couldn’t rule out his grandmother’s
request.

Oh, whatever.

Leyla stretched her apron and laced it tightly around her waist. The matter had nothing to do with her,
though. She merely lamented that her bouncing gold coin had hindered her wish from coming true.

‘Please don’t let me run into Duke Herhardt again.’

Leyla fervently prayed as she threw the last gold coin he had given her onto the fountain.

Since last summer, after he left Arvis Estate, Matthias hadn’t returned for a single day visit till the end of
the year. Leyla thought her prayer had been granted by all means; the peaceful days of her life would
last until his military service was over, and she would have already left Arvis by the time he returned
home.

Leyla fell into a daze for a moment, but soon, she shook her head and walked out towards the backyard.
Besides, her wish would likely come true since she would have already left the Arvis forest by the time
the Duke arrived back from his trip.

With a lighter heart, Leyla started caring for the livestock and tended to the garden diligently. The
moment her morning routine was winding down, Phoebe, the mountain pigeon, returned from the
Etmans’ house, bringing a letter from Kyle that was attached to its ankle.
‘My mom wants to invite you to dinner tonight.’

‘See, Leyla. I was right, huh?’

She could hear Kyle’s voice in the letter.

After seeing her anxiety, Kyle had reassured her a million times that his mother would like her and that
she would be accepted in his family.

‘Everything will be fine.’ He soothed her. When the autumn dawned, they would become a campus
couple and enjoy their college years together happily, very happily.

“Uncle, I’ll have dinner at Etmans’ house tonight.” Leyla approached Uncle Bill, who had just gotten
home from work. “Mrs. Etman invited me.”

“Look, what did I say before,” said Bill in a raspy voice, reiterating the same thing Kyle had said in the
letter. “Didn’t I tell you that everything would be all right?”

Looking upon his gleeful face, Leyla also gave a soft smile of her own. Her heart was pounding. She put
her faith in his words and was looking forward for tonight’s dinner.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The evening sun had cast long shadows on the ground when Matthias arrived in Arvis manor. The
tension didn’t escape the faces of the waiting staff in line when the car transporting him appeared in
front of the lobby.

Everything was in the groove. He was welcomed with loving arms with courtesies and was given some
joyful smiles from the two Duchesses, who were standing next to him.

Every time he passed in front of the gardener, Matthias tended to lower his gaze. A little girl in neat
brown shoes always stood in line next to the gardener’s big feet, ready to greet him whenever he came
home. But Leyla Lewellin, who had always been by Bill Remmer’s side, would no longer be here after the
summer season ended.

Matthias walked past the gardener without even bothering to look at him. His sight turned back towards
the front entrance, where he could see the stairwell in the lobby leading to the manor’s main hall.

“Oh my, that bird also returned with you.”

Elysee von Herhardt chuckled the moment she gazed upon the gilded cage that a servant was holding.
Inside the cage, there was a little canary that Matthias had brought with him when he departed the
Estate last summer.
“What a very strange thing. How could Matthias, who has never even had a pet dog, take care of a
bird?”

“If you have a hobby with birds, why don’t you expand the greenhouse a bit more and bring in different
kinds of birds?” suggested Norma with a smile on her face.

“It’s fine, Grandma.” Matthias grinned as he said. “One is enough.”

After giving a prudent answer, Matthias entered the mansion.

Before going up the stairwell, Matthias reared his head and gazed at the huge chandelier for a long,
thoughtful moment. Right above it, the insignia of the Herhardt family was emblazoned on its distantly
high ceiling.

He was born under that crest. He lived beneath that crest, and he would close his eyes under that crest.
It was a natural cycle—just as breathing in, just as easy as he was living.

Matthias lowered his gaze and started ascending a flight of steps.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“If he had retired this year, why would he still want to put it off another year?”

Countess Brandt grumbled beneath her breath. Her voice was laced with annoyance that she couldn’t
keep hidden.

The reason she had agreed in the first place to extend her daughter’s engagement period for another
year was solely out of respect for Duke Herhard’s choice to serve the Empire. Nonetheless, if she had
known what was going to happen, she would have insisted on having the wedding by the end of this
summer, no matter what.

“I had no idea Matthias was such a fickle guy.”

“Our wedding has been postponed,” Claudine passively said, “but I think it would be better if Duke
Herhardt returned to the Estate earlier, mother.” Nothing on her face indicated that she was upset.

“You seem so relaxed. This mother of yours is very worried to see her daughter unable to marry this
year.”

“Is there any reason to be concerned? It is better to take the time to properly prepare rather than have
a wedding that is less than perfect due to hastiness.”

“One year is a long period of time, Claudine. How do you know what might happen within a year?”

“Think about last year, mother. A year passed in a flash—and peacefully. We just have to wait one more
year. Wedding preparations will also be easier if Duke Herhardt stays on the estate.”
“Claudine, men aren’t to be trusted, and engagement isn’t a binding commitment like marriage.”

“He’s Matthias von Herhardt, mother.” With a nonchalant face, Claudine added “He is Duke Herhardt, a
man who will never love anyone but himself.”

Claudine might as well have been feeling uneasy about her wedding if she hadn’t heard the news that
Leyla and the doctor’s son were getting married. But now that Leyla Lewellin was a fly in the ointment
no longer, her mother’s worries were nothing more than the elderly’s fuddy-duddy fears.

“For him, this engagement is also a symbol of pride for the Herhardts. There’s no one who can get in the
way.”

Claudine spoke her thoughts with confidence as she cut and neatened the embroidery thread.

The kind yet heartless man.

Since childhood, that’s how Matthias was nicknamed. While her other cousins often made fun of
Claudine with their snarky jokes, only Matthias remained polite and kind to her. Whereas, his good
samaritan attitude also built a barrier between them and made him a difficult man to attract.

‘Does he even have feelings?’

Claudine sometimes wondered about it.

It was difficult for her to envision Matthias being angry, sad, or happy.

From the beginning of his life to this day, he seemed to look down on the world with his arrogant yet
elegant smile. And this Matthias von Herhardt was something Claudine wanted to own.

“I should visit Arvis sometime next week.”

Claudine rose from the sofa, her mood became a bit lighter.

“I want to meet Duke Herhardt and congratulate my friend who is getting married soon. It’s for both of
these reasons.”

“A friend who’s getting married? Oh my goodness. By ‘friend’ did you mean the gardener’s orphan?”

Countess Brandt gave a fretful moue. Claudine smiled without a hitch to her mother and said,

“Leyla is my friend. Of course, I have to give my old friend a wedding present.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla wrapped herself in a white dress she had bought in Ratz after so much consideration when she
travelled there to take the exam. Her golden hair was nicely braided, and she adorned the end of her
hair with her favourite ribbon.
This was not her first visit to the Etman household, but Leyla felt uneasy for some reason. Her insides
felt queasy as if this was her first.

The thought of her upcoming marriage to Kyle exacerbated her nerves, and the fact that the person who
personally invited her was Kyle’s mother further added to her concerns.

“Uncle, how do I look?”

Leyla walked out of her room. She stood in front of Bill and asked with a solemn expression. Bill, who
was mellowing out by the opened window with his mouth smoking his cigarette, looked at Leyla and
grinned widely.

“Wooho… Since you’re going to get married soon, it seems you’re going all-out in dressing up unlike
before.”

“It’s not like that, I’m just really nervous about meeting Mrs. Etman.”

“Goodness me! Haven’t you already met Mrs. Etman once or twice before?”

“But today is a special event.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. It won’t be a problem.” Bill gave a gentle smile as he stubbed out his
cigarette and got up from his seat. “You just have to be yourself, Leyla. That’s enough.”

Bill gently patted Leyla’s shoulder. His smiling face felt warm, so did his hand.

Leyla smiled. She willingly nodded, even though she knew it was simply his subjective point of view.
After a whole day of fretting, she was finally able to relax a little bit. Kyle arrived in the cottage at that
moment.

“Kyle, I….”

“Perfect.”

Kyle lauded her before Leyla could raise a question.

“Just be yourself.” He cracked a smile. His gaze was warm, identical to Uncle Bill’s. “That’s all you need,
Leyla.” Kyle reassured her.

“Well. Someone else had said precisely the same thing as you did.” Leyla giggled as she witnessed two
people with the same expression and said say very similar the exact same things.

“What? Who? What kind of person?”

“Don’t talk crap and get going, you little prick.” Bill smacked Kyle on the back with all his might. Kyle
staggered back and turned around, his face scrunched up.

“But, uncle, some jerk is hitting on her….”

“That jerk is me!”

“So… uh, what!?”

“You spoiled gluttonous brat, you! I’ll seriously consider whether or not I can entrust Leyla to you.”

Contrary to his scathing tone, Bill Remmer kindly patted Kyle on the shoulder. Leyla stood aside and
quietly watched the pair’s bickering.

Her two most beloved people in the world. Her two precious people. Two people she wanted to protect
by all means.

Her heart began to warm, a smile blossomed on her face. Uncle Bill and Kyle were her everything, and
Leyla couldn’t fathom living her life without those two by her side.

That’s why Leyla decided to get married after a long shilly-shallying.

As Kyle proposed to her and she turned him down, the strain in their relationship grew bigger. If she
couldn’t accept his feelings, it would be right for her to walk away. Kyle tried hard to narrow the
distance between them, but since he had already revealed his feelings, they were faced with two
choices.

Get married or become strangers.

It would crush her innermost hope for them to stick as dear friends forever if they grew up by keeping
their distance from one another.

Leyla could feel her heart breaking every time she thought of them, from the fall through the winter,
and into the spring living as strangers.

For Leyla, the marriage and the future that Kyle had proffered to her, was a vague picture in the
distance. She was cowed into indulging her avarice to a line that was beyond her reach. But if it was the
only way for her not to lose Kyle,

Leyla wanted to be brave.

It was late spring; after Duke Herhardt had insulted her until she cried her eyes out, Leyla finally made
up her mind. On that night, she dumped his gold coins into a fountain because she didn’t desire
anything he had given to her, then she saw Kyle’s face, who had come searching for her soon after that.

The moment she met Kyle, all of the sadness and grief in her heart were wholly forgotten. He stood out
like a beacon of light amidst a dark forest. Like the warm light from Uncle Bill’s cottage, which always
awaited her return, and belighted her voyage through the dark forest trail. That glint of light became her
solace and comforted all of her wounds that the world beyond the forest had given to her.

Wontedly, Kyle and Bill’s futile argument ended with a jolly laugh. With a lingering peal of a smile still
hardened on his face, Kyle walked up to her.
“Let’s go, Leyla.”

Kyle reached out his hand to her. With some reluctance, Leyla grabbed the tip of his. Kyle held his gaze
at her for a long moment. He grinned and then gently took her hand. So intimate and in such a tight
hold.

Though the changing of their relationship was still very awkward and embarrassing, Leyla didn’t brush-
off his hand.

Because he was Kyle.

The person she didn’t want to lose.

Chapter 32

Happy Days

Mrs. Etman welcomed her guests with a table loaded with delectable dishes and lavishly garnished with
exquisite decorations. Leyla, as well as Dr. Etman and Kyle, were dazed by the warm hospitality
presented by the Lady of the House, which was something above their expectation.

“Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Etman.”

Leyla delivered a greeting which she had rehearsed dozens of times during the day and politely handed
over the gift she had prepared: a bouquet of roses and pickled peaches parcelled nicely in a beautiful
mason jar.

“Thank you.”

Mrs. Etman gladly accepted the gift. As a heave of sigh washed over her, Leyla’s face lit up and Kyle’s lips
twitched like a grin. Mrs. Etman’s eyes grew icily cold as she watched her son, yet she deftly set her
expression like a Mother who was full of tenderness.

Dr. Etman alluded that they’d tie the knot after the College’s enrollment announcement was released.
However, since Kyle and Leyla were both unquestionably accepted, it could be said that their marriage
had been officially confirmed.

‘My son is together with such a girl.’

Mrs Etman slowly clenched her hand beneath the table. She was disenchanted, yet she had stalled
voicing her disapproval. She clearly knew what kind of people her son and husband were. Her
intransigent opposition had only served to backfire back on her in the end.

“Eat a lot, Leyla.” Mrs. Etman’s expression softened after taking a deep breath. “I specially prepared the
food to your taste.” She looked at Leyla with a more pleasant countenance.

Leyla blinked her eyes in surprise and smiled back at Mrs Etman, though she felt strange slits of fury
flickered on her beautiful face.

‘Bitch, you must have seduced my son with that face and smile.’

Mrs. Etman quickly snatched a glass of water from the table. She could feel the slightest drip of ice-cold
water drained down her esophagus.
“Thank you very much, Ma’am.” Dimples appeared on Leyla’s cheeks as she said, expressing her
heartfelt gratitude.

‘Leyla was a good girl, a really nice girl. ‘

Mrs. Etman acknowledged that fact. And it was for that reason, above all others, why she never wanted
Leyla to become her daughter-in-law.

It’s probably a lot better if she was a troublesome child. That way, she could loathe her for the proper
reason instead of hating her because she was poor.. At the very least, she wouldn’t be ashamed of
herself for being such an terrible mother.

But now,

She hated everything about Leyla Lewellin.

She detested all of her: her kindness, her brilliance, and her impoverishment.

“Leyla, do you know? Dr. Lorentz, a professor at Ratz University is an avian biologist?”

Dr. Etman abruptly changed the topic after witnessing his wife’s unpleasant expression.

“Once you enter, be sure to take Dr. Lorentz’s classes. It would be very beneficial to you if you can get
direct lessons from an expert such as him.”

“Dear, you’re talking as if Leyla has already entered college.”

Mrs. Etman, who had been quietly watching Leyla for some time, sprang into reaction with an
unexpected retort. Dr. Etman and Kyle both had their eyes on her. Their expressions were befuddled.

“There’s no way she’ll fail, dear.”

“Right, Mother, there’s no way Leyla will fail.”

They were ready to debate her with identical facial expressions and tone of speech. Both of her husband
and son were like two peas in the pod whenever they paid attention to Leyla.

Mrs. Etman was compelled to swallow back the words that had been pushed to her throat. “…..That’s
true…… Leyla is such a smart girl.” She curved the corners of her lips upwards with slight coercion.

Sitting across from her, Leyla was a little embarrassed and slightly blushed at her praise.
Whenever Leyla’s past story at Lovita came up, Bill Remmer always kept his lips shut. Everyone at Arvis
manor knew about Leyla: she had lost her parents overnight and had travelled to Berg after moving
from one relative’s household to another.

And Linda Etman detested this truth of Leyla Lewellin beyond all else. A child with no proper relatives to
care for and nurture her. A child who had travelled across the border, and was repeatedly kicked out.
She was on the verge of getting chills whenever thinking about how lousy her foundation for starting a
family would be.

‘Wouldn’t she be getting something too big?’

Even if Leyla came from a ordinary well-off family, she would still hinder that girl from being together
with her son. Linda Etman believed: a girl who grew up without a good background won’t become an
excellent spouse. Moreover, seeing a ‘skint’ girl like her who was so eager to study at College, was very
irksome to see.

Despite her lesser means, watching how Leyla had lofty ambitions that were out of her league, and
considering her poor circumstances led Linda Etman to label her as a greedy person. She thought for
sure: Kyle would never be able to live happily if such a child would become his wife.

‘That’s why I have to stop it.’

Mrs. Etman tightened her grip under the table.

She had to stop this marriage by all means possible.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla Lewellin’s acceptance note to university arrived in the mail from the very same postman who had
delivered little Leyla to Arvis in the past.

Bill Remmer, who received the letter while Leyla was out and in the forest, stood still for a long while.

“Mr. Remmer?”

The Mailman glanced at him with a worried face after Bill didn’t give a response after he said his
congratulations. His expression that was carefree a moment ago, suddenly became a blazing bright
crimson.

“Are you okay, Mr. Remmer?”

“…Well, there’s nothing to fuss about.” Bill rubbed his eyes with his rough hand. “I was just thinking for a
moment.”

He raised his voice as he spoke. His eyes glistened. The postman, who had known the gardener of Arvis
was ‘The bruiser with a soft center’, nodded quietly, pretending not to notice a tear which was forming
on the corner of his eyes.
“Anyway, congratulations. I’m thrilled to know that Leyla is going to be a student at the best university
in the Empire.”

After congratulating Bill for a second time, the postman departed from the cottage.

Bill glided back to the terrace holding the acceptance letter and sat on his chair. He reread the letter
many times and softly stroked the letter typing with his fingers. After taking a deep breath, his face
gradually returned to normal, which was getting redder with compassion. That was when Leyla came
back.

“Uncle!”

Leyla waved her arms up in the air while running as she saw Bill sitting on the terrace. Her old leather
bag that was draped over her shoulder swung slightly in rhythm with her running steps.

“That damned bag.”

Bill chortled as he hissed faintly. It was his tool bag that he had given to her when she first arrived at
Arvis over the summer. Leyla had a few nicer bags than that one, but still, she relied on that old,
battered bag every time she went for a stroll in the forest.

“When are you going to throw away that trash bag?”

Bill began to ask Leyla, who was sitting next to him.

“Throw it?” She yapped. “Why?! It’s still usable.”

“Now, please throw that bag into the trash! That grody thing could bring you bad luck!”

“I’ll use it a little more.” Leyla giggled softly as her finger fiddled with the tattered leather bag strap. “I’m
feeling a little empty without it.”

‘Well, I know it sounds like a fool’s talk. But….’

She murmured. Without saying a word, Bill quietly held out the letter in front of her eyes.

“Uncle, what’s this?”

“You’ll know when you read it.”

Leyla blinked at the letter with her eye-popping. Bill thought that she would burst out into cheers of joy,
but Leyla’s face just grew more composed as she continued reading the letter of acceptance.

“…Leyla?”

Bill spoke first, and he did so with some trepidation after he saw her overly muted reaction. Only then
did Leyla lift her head and turned to face him. A faint smile appeared on her lips.
‘It would be nice if you were jolly like a little girl in a moment like this.’

Bill scratched the back of his neck at her silent slant, which was mature enough to make him feel ill at
ease. Leyla momentarily smirked at him, who was standing still for a brief moment.

Suddenly, she hugged him tightly.

“Hey, it’s stuffy!”

At odds with his prickly words, Bill tepidly patted her back.

“Thank you.” Leyla raised her head and whispered in a hushed tone. “Thank you so much, Uncle.”

With every glance he gave her, Leyla’s eyes welled up with tears and her lips melted into a wide grin.

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“You’re saying nonsense.”

Bill gulped for air and started counting in his head. He reflected on the chores he needed to do one by
one before the sunset, but the heat in his eyes showed no signs of abating.

Now Bill was sure: ‘This little child must have brought her tear bag from Lovita.’

“You were the one who studied hard and earned a passing grade on the exam. What did I do, huh?”

“No. No, Uncle.” Leyla shook her head and reached out to take Bill’s hand in hers. Her tiny hands had a
tough time holding his.

“I…”

She stuttered. The hand she was grasping had flowed a warm feeling that was akin to the tepidness she
had after sipping a shot of vodka.

“Uncle, if it weren’t for you, I’d have been….”

On this happy day, Leyla looked like she’s about to cry. Bill didn’t like it, and he dreaded the sight of her
sobbing face the most. He didn’t want to witness Leyla’s tears, even if they were tears of happiness.

His fondness for this child was far greater beyond all the love and care he had devoted to the flowers
and trees that he had planted throughout his life. Bill was perplexed knowing he cherished this child
more than his precious flowers and trees.

It just happened naturally before he knew it and he was more than happy to accept that fact.

“Shall we go to the Capital together next weekend?” asked Bill in a cheerful tone after coughing a little
bit to calm his emotions.

“Both of us?” Leyla’s pupils dilated. “Going to the Ratz?” it left her bewildered.
“I have to pay your tuition fee since you’ve been accepted into college. Besides, I haven’t brought you to
any place yet, so let’s go sightseeing around the capital city.”

“Really?” Leyla’s tear-stained face glowed with zest. “Uncle, are you serious? We’re going on a vacation
together?”

“What vacation?” He jested. “I’m just going to pay your tuition.”

“Ah, whatever it is. All that matters is we’re going together.”

A tinge of regret lingered in his eyes when he looked at Leyla, who was such a happy camper at the
moment.

He wanted to take her for a walk to a nearby place, show her something interesting, and buy something
delicious to eat.

But why?

Bill questioned himself, lamenting. Why did all of these thoughts occur to him only now? As the day
when he would have to let her go from, his arms drew nearer?

“That’s a lot of money, even though the two of you are going to get married, I’m still worried about
letting you go alone with Kyle carrying that much money, so I can’t help it, but…..”

The babbling Bill eventually hooted with laughter. Leyla flung herself once again onto his hug.

“Look, Leyla.” Bill gave her a lovely smile. “ Am I right?” He gently combed her hair with his fingers.
“Didn’t you say you’ll be a good adult?”

In the end, he couldn’t put it into words, and Bill was at a loss for what to say as well, so he just stroked
Leyla’s head again, over and over again.

Bill Remmer needed to count more than ever before to keep his ugly crying face on hold.
Chapter 33

Eden of Arvis

Remmer’s Leyla had been accepted at Ratz University.

Within a few moments, the news spread among the people in the Arvis manor. Since it had been widely
expected, nobody was surprised to hear that Dr. Etman’s lone son had been accepted into a prestigious
medical school with outstanding grades.

It was Leyla who topped the talk. In these past few days, she had become the talk of the town wherever
people gathered. Even the Duke’s greenhouse listened regarding this kind of talk.

“I just can’t believe it,” Norma gasped. “Bill Remmer made a great choice by sending an orphan, and
moreover, a girl, to a College.”

Norma Catharina von Herhardt, who wouldn’t usually say anything on the street about low-income
youngsters, tuned in on today’s chatter about Leyla with great interest, just like others.

“I supposed she was born under a lucky star.” Elysee von Herhardt added a pinch of salt to the table talk.
“She met her daddy-long-legs and was even now engaged to Dr. Etman’s son.”

Claudine was quietly sipping her tea next to the Duchess, nodding graciously in accordance, then a
radiant smirk appeared on her face, “I’m so glad that a poor kid like her has such good luck.”

She praised Leyla more sincerely than she had previously done. As luck would have it, the maid who had
gone to pick up the kid on Norma’s orders returned to the greenhouse just in time. She was with Leyla
who was neatly dressed.

“Come here and sit down.”

Duchess Norma calmly instructed her to take a seat. Elysee and Claudine both stared at her, their brows
slanted, so as Leyla’s.

“There’s nothing wrong with serving this special child a cup of tea, isn’t it?” Norma flashed a smile as she
said.
Like many of Herhardt’s, Catharina von Herhardt was noble to the bone to say that the blood coursing
through her veins must have had a deep blue tint on it. Hence, everyone was astonished with wonder by
her willingness to share a tea table with the orphaned child raised by her gardener.

Ushered by the maid, Leyla sat on her chair, her cheeks flushed with nervousness.

“I’ve heard that getting into Imperial University is very hard, even for the sons of the most illustrious
families.”

Duchess Norma opened the conversation first after the maid placed the cup of tea in front of Leyla.

“It was all thanks to Uncle Bill,” Leyla responded, as she politely lowered her gaze.

“Yes. You must not forget the kindness of your benefactor, Bill Remmer.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Are you from Lovita?”

“My mother was from Lovita, but my father was a Berg.”

“Same as me.”

Elysee and Claudine both dilated their eyes simultaneously in response to Norma’s peculiar words that
sounded like a veiled innuendo.

People knew Duchess Norma von Herhardt was a Marquise of repute and the sole cousin of Emperor
Berg. Her mother was a progeniture of Lovita’s aristocratic line; no one would dare to draw a parallel
line between her to an orphan who was raised from a humble background.

“Tell me what you want.”

The abrupt request from the elderly Duchess, who just laid her teacup down, caught Leyla jerking her
head up, startled.

“Bill Remmer is my favourite employee.” She stated it quietly, “And you’re a child he raised like his own
daughter, so I should give you a congratulatory gift.”

Embarrassment immediately rose up to Leyla’s cheeks. Just in time, she stared at the Duchess; instead
of concealing her eyes, the greenhouse received the arrival of another visitor. Claudine spotted him as
he neared them and blurted out,

“Duke Herhardt!”

Claudine’s cheery voice got everyone’s attention, and their eyes fled to a distinguished man.
Leyla swiftly turned her head and saw Matthias von Herhardt standing haughtily near the table. Their
eyes met, faces frowned on one another for a host of reasons. The tension persisted between them until
Leyla averted her gaze from him.

“This child had been successfully accepted into Ratz University. So we took her out for tea together
because it was something to celebrate,” Elysee explained in a voice laced with hilarity.

After a brief nod, Matthias sat down on a chair beside Claudine, which happened to be the seat facing
Leyla.

“You’re back early today.” Claudine gave a warm welcome to her fiancé.

Matthias always departed the mansion right after the clock hit the dawn of the day and would always
return late at night after he had taken charge of the family’s business for good. It had already been a
week since Claudine stayed at Arvis, but this was the first time she had seen Matthias come home
before gloam.

“The meeting came to a close earlier than planned, My Lady.”

“What a relief. I was worried you might be overdoing it these days.”

“Claudine’s right, Matthias,” Elysee added. “Take your time and avoid rushing. If you end up ruining your
health, it would be a real concern.”

Following that, the conversation drifted to Matthias’s current situation, with the family-run business and
Leyla Lewellin’s presence seemed to have been wiped out in a blink of an eye.

But thanks to it, Leyla had a moment to catch her breath and take a sip of her already cooled tea. She
wished she could escape this unpleasant situation, but she knew it would be rude to do so in front of the
two Duchesses who were keeping a keen eye on her every move.

Leyla put her teacup down onto the saucer, cautious not to create any noise within her gestures.

When she elevated her sight, she flinched slightly, and her back banged against the chair.

Matthias sat quietly between his chattering fiancée and his mother; his callous eyes fixed on her in the
same gaze he had on the day he ruthlessly trampled her heart and abandoned her behind.

Leyla, who was trying to grab the teacup again, hurriedly slid her hands beneath the table. Matthias was
seen speaking to Claudine for a while before turning his attention to his Mother and then back to her.

She lowered her head, daring not to look at him in the eyes, but Leyla could still feel his menacing glare
piercing through her body.

That gaze served as a constant reminder of her last summer’s memories. In the face of Claudine, those
memories grew even more humiliating, and Leyla had enough of it. Although the Duke committed
wrongdoings, it was always her who felt guilty.
“So, have you thought about what you want?”

Norma’s questions brought the table’s spotlight back to Leyla Lewellin.

Leyla clenched her jaw hearing Norma and bit her lip involuntarily as she witnessed Matthias’ blue eyes
remain glued on her. She immediately switched her look to Norma, attempting to conceal her reddened
face.

“You’ve already given me a wonderful gift, Ma’am. That was more than enough.”

“You already got it?”

“Yes. Just allowing me to stay here in Arvis, in Uncle Bill’s cottage, is already a gift I cannot repay. It was
the biggest and most precious gift I’ve ever received and I’ll be forever grateful for it my whole life.”

“We just granted Bill Remmer’s request.”

“That permission was a gift that changed my life,” said Leyla, her lips curved in a faint smile. “I am also
very grateful to you, Ma’am,” she also didn’t forget to express her polite gratitude towards Elysee.”….
Also to the Duke and Lady Claudine.”

Somehow, Leyla was more than delighted to express her gratitude to everyone, including those she
disliked, rather than asking for permission to leave the place.

“I won’t forget the kindness you have given me, even when the time comes for me to leave Arvis.” With
a deep bow, she took Norma’s question into appreciation.

Duchess Norma scrutinized her thoroughly before giving a slight nod. It would be impolite to turn down
Herhardt’s favour; nevertheless, Leyla’s courteous attitude seemed to astound her, which she found to
be quite commendable for a plebeian young girl.

“Have you already said goodbye?”

Claudine asked sadly.

“You must be sad, Leyla.” She kept a silent gaze on her and offered something to her, “I understand how
you feel, but I still want to give you a present. Oh, how about if I pay for your college tuition?”

“No, Miss. The kindness you have shown me has already made me feel very grateful.”

Leyla looked at Claudine; a smile tightened on her face.

“Uncle Bill has already saved the tuition money aside. He wants to cover the cost of my first semester of
college.”

“Really? I’ll have to think of something else to give as a present then,” she declared, “I can’t let my old
friend leave empty-handed who had been accepted into College and is about to marry. . Isn’t that right,
Duke Herhardt?” Claudine said. Her lips curving into a brilliant grin, and her voice calling his name
sounded as sweet as a honey.

Matthias took a moment glancing at Leyla before he gently gestured his head in agreement with his
fiancée.

Leyla was eventually allowed to leave that unsettling tea table after many more formal talks and
niceties.

She was standing with her back to the Herhardt family at the time when her eyes were drawn to the
scenic view of the greenhouse.

Eden of Arvis.

That’s what everyone called it.

The opulent greenhouse, where people say lavished grandiose praises on one another, left her feeling
uneasy and out of breath.

The stifling feeling that engulfed her was analogous to the one she had when she saw lovely crippled
winged bird or mixed flowers of colours, its scents stinging her nose. From the gurgling water that was
flowing from the marble fountain to the sunshine that was cast in through the surrounding glass
windows, the whole nine yards echoed that sentiment precisely.

Leyla strode out of the greenhouse without giving a second glance behind. Only when she clapped her
eyes on the glimmer of light outside and smelt the wind blowing over her body did she expel her sigh.

Long shadows trailed her footsteps beneath the twilight gloom as she walked into the heart of the
forest.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Sister, do you know what you are talking about?”

Daniel Rayner was stunned and therefore asked in disbelief. The crepuscular light cascading in through
the uncurtained window blinded him and his cousin, Linda Etman, who sat calmly opposite from him.

“Sister!”

“Tone down your voice, Daniel!”

Mrs. Etman sternly chastised him as she cast a quick peek through the closed door. Daniel heaved in
shock.

Daniel Rayner, who had just regained his business’s impetus after the failure of his overseas mining
venture, had frequently sought help from Linda Etman, his cousin’s-sister and his wealthiest relative.
She, who had consistently rebuffed his appeals graciously yet heartlessly, this time came to visit him
first.

It went without saying that the promised help won’t be returned back. However, Daniel’s excitement for
taking her helping hand soon turned to hesitation upon hearing Mrs. Etman’s improper words.

“It’s stealing, Sister. How….”

“No.” Mrs. Etman abruptly cut-off his words and narrowed her eyes onto crinkled slits. “It’s just a matter
of hiding it for a while and returning it.”

“But…”

“Don’t you care about Kyle too?”

“I do.”

“And you, too, need my help,” Mrs. Etman said as she lifted her hand from her lap and caressed her
heated temple. As foreseen, Daniel Rayner was unable to counter and could only bend his head in
shame.

“I’m going to keep the money for a while and return it at the right time”, she reasoned. “If you can do
that simple task, you will be able to safeguard your family, and I will be able to protect my son.”

Mrs. Etman straightened her sitting posture and looked at Daniel Rayner with a satisfied expression on
her face.

“I don’t think this is a bad deal. What do you think?”

Chapter 34

An Excuse for Breaking Her Heart

Like the light of the dusk, a warm smile tinged on his face the minute he found Leyla strolling down the
forestry trail.

“Leyla!”

Kyle yelled her name aloud. Leyla, who was walking with her gaze down staring at the ground, promptly
lifted her head in eyes widened.

Kyle couldn’t keep the grin off his face from adoring that moment. The moment Leyla quickened her
stride whenever she got a hold of his presence was always very adorable.

Leyla flashed a beaming smile as she neared closer to him.

“When did you get here?”

“I went to your cottage a while ago and they told me that you had been summoned to the Duke’s
manor, so I was on my way to save you.”

“Save me?”

“Isn’t it obvious why Lady Brandt called you?”

“Not today,” said Leyla as she took a step forward. Kyle trailed behind, his stride was perfectly timed
with her.

“It was Grand Duchess Norma, not Lady Brandt.”

“Grand Duchess? She did?”

“Yeah, she congratulated me on passing the exam and asked if there was anything I wanted as a gift.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said nothing. I just conveyed my gratitude for letting me stay here.”

“Wow, it was so Leyla Lewellin-Esque answer.”

Kyle just smirked at what he had guessed. He gently scooped her hand, and Leyla seemed to be less
nervous compared to the past. This small change brought his level of happiness climbed by one or two
notches.

They strolled along the familiar road, hand in hand, as they shared stories. It began by their everyday
routines, mystery novels published in today’s newspapers, and their meagre summer plans for this year.
As always, the intimate atmosphere snippet mingled with their rhythmic footfall, who was walking
alongside one another.

Before long, the afternoon sky was broken, and jolted the twilight from its light slumber.

When the nightfall dawned, the sea of trees was soon blanketed in its beauty. Kyle yanked Leyla’s hand
and dragged her into the darkness with him.

He leaned her body against the tall tree on the side of the road as she reeled, then stepped in front of
her. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, yet Kyle felt as if time had halted still for eternity
throughout that moment.

Leyla glanced at him, bewildered.

“Kyle?”

Her voice was trembling a tad as she spoke. Her bonnie pink delicate lips glowed attractively even in the
pitch blackness of the nite.

Kyle summoned all his courage and bent his head towards her; his eyes slammed shut. The warm skin
soon reached his lips, but he wasn’t pleased with the touch he was getting.

Kyle opened his eyes and laughed out loud. He found out that his lips had kissed Leyla’s hand rather
than what he planned.

“I felt weird doing this, Kyle.” Leyla was gazing at him with her blushing face while her other hand was
firmly covering her lips.

As Kyle slowly raised his head, once again she spoke,

“It seems like we’re doing something bad if we do this, and I….”

Leyla dropped her gaze quietly, unable to bring herself to finish her words. Her pale, long eyelashes
were likewise heading down.

‘Don’t you think this is wrong?’

When Leyla struggled to swallow the words she so wished to talk, Kyle flashed a grin. The hue of his
cheeks now had matched hers in colour.

“Hey, Miss Lewellin. An innocent person who doesn’t know how to kiss like you knows what?”

“Huh?”

“Though you were chattering really loudly in the train back then as if you were an expert.”

“What do you mean…Oh, gosh!” Leyla hunched over to look shorter after recalling the day Kyle wanted
to leap off a speeding train after she gave him a lecture about the act of reproduction.

“T-that’s….” Leyla’s eyes rolled skyward, and she gulped, finding she lacked the right words to debate
him. “I-I’m also not sure about that…..” she softly whispered.

Her habit of muttering low when she was in a position of disadvantage had remained unaltered since
their childhood, to which Kyle let out a faint sigh.

His heartbeat went loose; it was pathetic that he couldn’t kiss the woman he would marry, but Kyle
didn’t abhor it either. His deepest wish was to win Leyla’s heart, so he refused to shatter her heart
merely because of his fleeting lust.

Softly, Kyle fondled her cheeks, wrapping his hands around them. And then, he kissed her. His heated
lips found their way to her forehead. He tried his best not to be greedy anymore, and with that, Kyle had
kept his promise.

As he drew in a steadying breath, the pleasing scent littered his lungs.

The sweet scent of roses.

It was the scent of Leyla.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias gingerly walked towards the window on the west side of his bedroom after taking a shower.

His routine went on wontedly. Though he slept off after midnight, he would usually be awake pretty
early in the morning. He made his way to the bathroom without losing a beat and took a quick shower
before getting ready for the day ahead. It had already evolved into a sort of habit, which he could do
effortlessly since it had been ingrained into his bones.

Maybe, even right now.

Like it had become a habit, Matthias looked over the open window. In his garden surrounded by
blossoming rose fields, Leyla was there, hard at work.
Perhaps as the day of her departure drew nearer, she had been seen following the gardener much more
often recently. The two of them didn’t separate for a single second and kept conversing without the
slightest pause.

He once described Leyla Lewellin as a ‘very reticent child’ who seldom opened her padlocked lips in
front of Claudine.

“Master, this is Hessen.”

He heard the familiar sound of a door-knocking at the scheduled hour.

“Come on in.”

Standing with his back against the windows, Matthias gave a succinct response. The chiffon drapes were
rattling in the wind that wafted through the open stile.

While reading the newspaper Hessen had brought, Matthias overheard the reports about his to-do list
for the day. He seemed to be having a laid-back schedule before the luncheon.

“It seems that Arvis was completely filled upon the return of its Master,” Hessen added a word rather
than retreating silently as he usually did.

Matthias turned to face him, setting down his teacup on the table. “My grandmother and mother would
probably be sad if they heard that.”

“Pardon? Oh no, master. I didn’t mean that ….”

“I know.” A smile crept across Matthias’s lips. “I know what you meant.”

His momentary grin soon melted away, but his eyes stayed riveted on the middle-aged butler calmly; it
was placid like a windless night. Hessen hurried off the room, after noticing the look of displeasure in his
master’s eyes.

Even after the bedroom door was closed, Matthias continued reading the newspaper while leaning on
the windowsill. His bluish eyes, exposed through the loose strands of his hair, sparkled even brighter
when the sunlight hit them.

After thoroughly reading the article about Count Klein’s business-someone he would have luncheon
with, Matthias put down the newspaper.

He slowly turned his head and saw Leyla walking into the flowerbed near the manor. Her braided hair
beneath the straw hat was swinging as she hopped around.

The gardener appeared to be shouting something at her, and Leyla answered excitedly. She burst out
laughing. Even with the hat shade obscuring her face, Matthias nonetheless could tell she was laughing
with a bubbly voice.
Matthias’ brows furrowed in a scowl. He ruffled his hair and slowly swept it back.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come back….”

The thought was running rampant in his head from the second he set foot on the manor ground.

His entire life had been meticulously orchestrated. It was analogous to the stairwell leading to a perfect
life and he needed just to tread on it.

But, the stairwell was twisted, which muddled his steps.

And Matthias still couldn’t understand why he had taken a choice that broke his perfect life cycle.

‘No.‘

He may have already broken it long before the night when he tore up the letter extending his military
service.

It all began from the day he decided to serve an additional year in the military and postponed his
wedding— the day when petty desires blindsided him.

The day when he approached her, after she fell from her bicycle.

Or maybe from the day, he didn’t even remember.

He still desired her…

Matthias was keenly aware of the amplitude of his feelings.

As such, he desired that she would disappear from his life. And he believed that his desire was
something right.

His state of shambles was sparked by the inner conflict between his raging emotions and guileless
desires. Matthias was unable to provide a definitive answer, but he trusted the passage of time would
eventually remedy the matter.

The window was slammed shut, and Matthias changed his outfit into a different one. The trellis shade
slid over his face as he strode along the colonnade.

Luring by his discernment, Matthias left the manor alone and followed the forest trail leading to the
river. On the underside of the dazzling moonlight, the dancing shadows loomed sombrer.

Matthias stalled for quite a while beneath the thick shadow cast by the surrounding trees to get sucked
up onto reverie.

His world had no concept of longing since he had never had a desire of his own. There was a raw feeling
that he had discovered when he was unable to get what he desired.
It was a pretty odd frisson that had seized possession of his body.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Daniel Rayner’s countenance grew paler as a ghost as he got closer to the gardener’s cottage. The sun
wasn’t yet scorching, but the sweat was already dampening his forehead.

“This is nuts.”

Daniel mumbled frantic words as the cottage’s roof had shown itself from the distance. Mrs. Etman told
him that she wanted to temporarily withhold the tuition money the gardener had prepared,—which
amounted to nothing more than a stealing act if her discourse was condensed.

‘The noble and graceful Linda Etman beguiled her cousin into committing a sin in the hope of severing
the poor girl’s relationship with her son.’

Daniel Rayner heaved a sigh and entered the cottage’s front yard. He took out the handkerchief from his
pocket and again wiped his face. His grip on the briefcase stretched tightly.

He also felt sorry for Kyle, who had fallen in love with and chosen to marry a girl who wasn’t a suitable
fit for him. Despite their low social standing, everyone expected that the Etman family would have a
daughter-in-law who was nonetheless a silk-stocking.

However, it was something Kyle sincerely wanted, and Dr. Etman supported it. He believed that Leyla
Lewellin deserved to be their son’s companion. Mrs. Etman, too, acquiesced in her husband’s decision.
But, who knows? A hidden dagger may be lurking behind her benign smile.

“Money is your foe.”

After a moment of despondence, and making up his mind, Daniel gallantly strode towards the cottage.
Linda Etman said that the cottage would be vacant in the morning. So if Leyla happened to be there,
Daniel only needed to reason that he had just returned from Etman’s home and dropped by to
congratulate her on getting into college. It wasn’t a suspicious excuse, given that they had met and
known each other before.

With cautious, Daniel knocked on the front door. Guilt seeped into his veins as he prayed Leyla was
inside, and this scheme would fail. Yet, the thing that greeted him inside the house was all quietness.

Daniel then pulled on the doorknob, and feelings of despair and hopelessness started to blend into one.
As his sister had assured him, the door was unlocked.

‘But, sis, didn’t you mention that even if the money was stolen, someone would undoubtedly help her in
paying her tuition? Even Dr. Etman was willing to pay for her tuition fees.’

Linda Etman stiffened her cheeks with a bitter smile when Daniel questioned her in bewilderment.

‘I know my husband better than you.’

‘But why….’

‘The missing tuition was just an excuse.’

‘Huh?’

‘An excuse to break her heart.’

‘….’

A sigh punctuated his silent reply.

Daniel refused to comment and could only blink slowly. He had no interest to become involved in their
household matters and this shameful deed just made him feel more guilty and disappointed in himself.
But he kept grasping at straws, although it made him feel like a despicable person.

He was only helping his cousin sister to keep the gardener’s money for the time being; Daniel recited
that rationalization thought a thousand times in his head before summoning the courage to enter the
house.

He completed the job quickly. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief after successfully leaving the cottage with
a bag of money. He had rolled the dice and succeeded in his role on the game board. He just has to hand
over the scruffy cash to Linda Etman and then go home, content in the knowledge that his laborious
efforts to protect his family would be repaid in full in the near future.

Daniel opted for a loop along the riverside to avoid a situation where he might encounter the gardener.
Worse luck, his prudent choice landed him in a pickle when he met paths with a young man near the
river.

Seeing Daniel Rayner, the young man stopped his sluggish steps. Without even a speck of suspicion or
surprise in his face, the young man stood still and regarded him stoically.

‘Is he one of Arvis’s employees?’

It was not long after his momentarily nonchalant attitude soothed him; Daniel’s complexion soon grew
like a death warmed up.

Wearing a comfy shirt, that young man didn’t look like a servant as he strolled down the riverside at the
busy time to start the day. Moreover, his princely face had all the hallmarks of the familiar figure he
recognized.

The very face that was featured countless times in newspapers and which he could only see on many
occasions from a distance.

The young owner of a heaven-like place called Arvis.

It was Duke Herhardt.

Chapter 35

What The Thief Stole

From the previous several days, Leyla Lewellin’s name was once again marching briskly through the
tongues of Arvis’s workers. This time, with a radically different narrative.

Now, the outline was; ‘The gardener’s cottage had been burgled.’

The news traveled fast around the Manor like a wildfire. The incident was met with people’s doubts.
Few believed a thief had the nerve to steal from Duke Herhardt’s estate. Only until they saw a half-
dazed Bill Remmer looking for the culprit did they believe the robbery really happened.

Matthias departed the Mansion at the peak of the clamor. The scheduled time had come, and he must
leave now to avoid being late for lunch.

He wasn’t the kind to chime in on gossipy talks, sensing something different upon passing the Arvis’s
driveway flanked by Platanus trees.

From the opposite side of the road, police officers on horseback were making their way toward the
scene. Matthias didn’t even have to make logical assumptions of where they were going since the route
would lead them to the Arvis forest.

“They said a thief broke into the gardener’s house.”

The quick-witted aide answered first before Matthias could open his mouth to ask.

“At Bill Remmer’s house?”

“Yes, he was in a big pickle since the funds he’d set aside for his daughter’s College tuition were stolen.”

Thief.

Tuition.

Leyla.

Matthias tilted his head to one side, elatedly repeating those three syllables.
Just as his vehicle exited the Platanus’ shade, he recalled his unpleasant encounter with a strange man
on the Schulter River this morning.

The guy introduced himself as Daniel Rayner, Mrs. Etman’s cousin. He was in the neighborhood paying a
visit to Etman’s house and stopped by the Estate to congratulate Leyla.

His following few speeches were full of baloney; the investment firm he ran, the mining rights of
overseas mines, the stock market, and other business-related matters. But most of them had been
spilled and were now just a blot on Matthias’ mind.

Matthias did, nevertheless, remembered a few details about the event. His wristwatch read nine o’clock
in the morning when he met a middle-aged man drenched in sweat by the riverside.

It seemed strange for a well-heeled middle-class businessman to bother coming just to congratulate his
cousin’s future daughter-in-law at such an early hour.

Matthias, however, didn’t mind it since it was irrelevant to him. He treated the thought as a passing
interest until he overheard a ludicrous report of a burglar sneaking into the gardener’s cottage.

But why?

As a civilized business person, sneaking into Arvis to steal the gardener’s money seemed so wrong no
matter how dire his financial circumstance was. If he were him, Matthias would instead steal from the
house of his wealthy cousin sister.

“Linda Etman.”

He was ready to quit on thinking such a nonsensical idea when he muttered that name without knowing.

After he inserted Linda Etman’s name between that guy and Leyla, Matthias was able to draw a very
plausible relationship line between the three of them.

He was just guessing. Yet, it was fascinating, how perfectly fit the jigsaw pieces were in place together.

The car finally reached their stop in front of the Hotel, where his appointment for the luncheon will take
place. Before stepping out, Matthias issued a short order to his assistant.

“Evers…”

“Yes, Master.”

“Find out about Daniel Rayner. ASAP.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
The food on the dinner table was left nearly untouched, but it was hard to get up from the table where
Bill and Kyle used to dine together.

Leyla, who was well aware of the cause, quietly cleaned the table.

Leaving his half-eaten plate, Bill Remmer went straight to the porch and lit up a cigarette. Since the thief
broke in, the mood in their cottage had lost its thrill.

“It’s all right, Leyla.”

Kyle spoke cautiously as he helped her. Leyla’s hardworking hands screeched to a pause, and she lifted
her emerald eyes to meet his.

“That thief, I’m sure we can catch him.”

“…”

“Even if we are unable to arrest him, don’t fret about the tuition. My father said that he will also pay
yours.”

“Kyle.”

“Don’t try to say no. My father wanted to pay for it from the very beginning. But Uncle Bill was so
stubborn that my father caved.” Kyle firmly argued, “To get married means being family, Leyla. It’s not
about being in debt, it’s about helping each other… Isn’t that how families should be?”

Leyla lowered her gaze, stood still and finally nodded her head slowly. Her face had grown so gaunt in a
matter of days, fueling Kyle with hatred for the robber who had despoiled the woodland’s peacefulness.

“Anyway, just in case, let’s just think about how to catch the thief first.”

Kyle expressed his optimism by saying, even though he knew that the odds of catching the thief were
very slim. Leyla gave a sliver smile.

“…Thanks, Kyle.”

“Thank you? What did I do?”

“For everything…”

Once again, a grin crept on her lips, yet her smiling face caused Kyle’s heart to feel heavy.

Kyle clearly remembered the tinge of happiness plastered on Leyla’s face at the idea of coming to the
Capital with Uncle Bill. Though Uncle Bill downplayed his trip by claiming it was to pay for her tuition, in
truth, it was their very first Family Vacation.
Uncle Bill couldn’t express his elation well, owing to his blunt personality, but undoubtedly, he was
thrilled to go on a trip with Leyla, to the point that he teased her, and claimed that she would make an
excellent guide for him since this would be her second visit to Ratz.

Places to visit, foods to try, and activities to do together were all must to do. Kyle almost got jealous at
Uncle Bill witnessing how endearing was Leyla when she was talking with passion bad giddily with him.

But, the thief ruined everything.

Even if they could get the money back, Leyla and Uncle Bill couldn’t go on a trip with such pleasure, and
Kyle couldn’t do anything about it.

Kyle shook off his boundless helplessness as he caught his breath and approached Bill who was sitting
suddenly on the porch.

He cast a look at Kyle, who was seated next to him before he resumed heaving the cigar. Depression had
been consuming him for the recent days. Inside him, a boiling hatred against the thief was brewing, to
the point he devised hundreds of different methods to kill people.

After some silence, he spoke.

“It was all my fault.”

His voice was choking.

“I left a lot of money at home, but didn’t properly lock the door.”

“You weren’t at fault. Who would have thought someone would dare to steal in the Arvis Estate?”

“The payment deadline is next week, and I’m not sure if the thief will be caught before then.”

“Don’t worry about that. If there’s no progress in catching the thief before then, my father said that he
would pay Leyla’s tuition as well. I’ve told Leyla about this.”

Kyle’s beaming face drove Bill Remmer’s eyes to sink beyond a deep well.

“I will call the Police tomorrow. I will ask our Officer acquaintance to properly investigate this case.”

“Thank you Kyle, I owe it all to your family.”

“I feel bad to hear that, I haven’t even paid half the price of the food I ate all this time.”

At his witty, Bill could smile a bit, albeit, it was a weak smile.

“Please convey my gratitude to your parents. Ah no, please tell them I will pay them a visit once this
matter is settled?” He squeezed Kyle’s shoulder as he said so.
Kyle nodded, dissuading him from saying, ‘You shouldn’t.’ He couldn’t pinpoint why, but he had that
unexplained feeling about Bill Remmer.

Kyle also didn’t want to offend him in any way.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The Duke’s manor had two study rooms.

The study on the second floor was a spacious, book-filled space that rivaled the scale of a public library.
The second one, that was located at the end of the third floor next to the master bedroom, was less in
size.

The library, that was loaded chiefly with history, politics, and economics books, had been used by Duke
of Herhardt for generations as a place for receiving guests and conducting business meetings.

Similarly, Duke Matthias von Herhardt did.

Mark Evers, the Duke’s aide, rushed off his feet to the third-floor office. He seemed in demand.

He had been Matthias’s Assistant since he was fully fledged. But never once did the Duke give him
orders in such haste like now.

All along, Matthias always presented him the image of an easy-going Master with an innately laid-back
attitude. But soon, he realized. Perhaps, that was because nothing existed under the skies of the Berg
Empire that could make Duke Herhardt chomp at the bit.* (To be very eager or impatient to do
something)

Matthias von Herhardt was a man of influence.

He had it all.

And everything he did went as slick as a whistle.

Mark Evers deemed that his Master’s generosity and kindness stemmed from there.

His calm-wolfish-predator persona led him to feel the air move slowly whenever he was around
Matthias. It was Duke Herhardt, whom he was familiar with.

Hence, when Matthias added the term ‘ASAP’ to his order, Mark Evers briefly questioned his ears. After
his brain processed hard, he quickly grew impatient and frantically began investigating Daniel Rayner.

“Master, this is Evers.”

Mark Evers galloped to the Duke’s Office on the third floor and knocked on the door. A light source
glinted through the door plate, but no answer came from behind the closed jamb.

In other words, it meant ‘Yes.’

He slowly threw open the door and entered the office. Matthias was sloping on the spacious leather
sofa. It was a brisk night, yet he was still clad in formal attire from his previous meeting with a business
partner.

“It’s about Daniel Rayner, as you asked.”

Mark Evers politely placed the file folder he was carrying on the table.

Matthias dropped his hand from his temple and took the document; he then started flipping the pages.
His stance, attentively scanning the papers in his hands, was definitely that of the Duke Herhardt Mark
Evers knew.

But the peace was short-lived, and Mark Evers was soon thrust into a direful scene.

Matthias busted a gut as he reached the last page of reading. He had no clue why misfortune was
playing such a cruel joke on Daniel Rayner; enticed by foreign mining investment but duped, then
detained and forced to give up his house as collateral, he invested a huge sum of money and ended up
in Queer Street*. (T/N: In difficulty, typically by being in debt)

What a gut-wrenching loss!

“Daniel Rayner, it seems he has paid off all of his bank debt recently.”

Matthias folded the document in his hand. One of his lips curled upward. His expressionless face was
quite gentle, but when he giggled like it was entertaining, he portrayed an image of himself as a cold-
hearted person.

“Yes, Master. I’d like to report it to you. He didn’t pay off the whole balance, but it was big enough to
save his house from being seized. It happened this afternoon, and therefore, I am unable to include it in
the report.”

“The amount of cash must come from Etman.” said Matthias. He continued,

“Linda Etman.”

Matthias spoke the name slowly and gave a Bronx cheer.

“So, what should I … .”

“Good job. Call Hessen.”

Instead of responding, Matthias gave another command.

Although he looked puzzled, Mark Evers followed the call, and he didn’t ask anything.
Chapter 36

So, Then?

“Did you find it, Master?”

Hessen entered the office shortly after Mark Evers’s left.

“What happened to the thief who stole Bill Remmer’s money?” Queried Matthias in an undertone.

“The officers are already on the site, but they are having a difficult time finding evidence and
eyewitnesses.”

“Then what about Leyla Lewellin’s tuition money?”

“If the thief is not caught, the Madam and Miss Brandt both said that they want to pay the tuition. And I
think Dr. Etman was equally willing as well.”

Nothing in his report seemed surprising.

Jutting his chin, Matthias giggled and put down the file.

Linda Etman was the scheme’s brain.

Matthias fixed on based from information he got about the stupid stranger he had met that morning.

Mrs. Etman seemed to be pleased with his son’s marriage at first glance. But who would have expected
that her revealing-true-stripes would be much more toxic and menacing?

Though it’s unrelated to him, but Matthias didn’t want to miss the spectacle of their household’s
intriguing drama.

The look on Leyla’s face gave an impression that she was all-knowing. Yet, in reality, she was completely
clueless about how the world went about its job.

Should he now refer to her as a fool?

As he took Matthias’ silence as a kind of opposition, Hessen braved to ask,

“Master, if the your will is different….”

“No.” Matthias cut him short. A sneer surfaced on his lips. “I respect grandmother’s wishes. I’m not
against it.”

From the time he said it, Matthias was inwardly in no doubt. Linda Etman must have planned the plot
wisely without a lapse in her forethought.

The chess piece she had bought with her cash was a kind of a moron, but not with her very precise and
bold scheme. She wasn’t naïve enough to be ignorant that many people would gladly pay for Leyla
Lewellin’s lost tuition. She must already be aware of it just by looking at her husband.

So what’s her true purpose?

Matthias touched the tip of his chin, having her inside his brain.

Why would Linda Etman create such a fuss when she knew it’s hardly possible to hinder Leyla from
going to college with Kyle Etman even if her money was stolen?

Matthias pursed his lips as if faced with an enticing riddle.

“Put someone on Mrs. Etman.”

Announced Matthias as he elegantly crossed his legs. His unamused visage was gentler than the recent
command that escaped from him.

“Mrs. Etman? Are we talking about Dr. Etman’s wife, our family doctor?”

“Yes. Linda Etman. The doctor’s wife.”

His plainspoken reply made Hessen stagger somehow.

“There’s just one thing you need to report.”

Matthias rested his tired back against the sofa, a grin was tightly plastered around his face.

He said,

“Does Mrs. Etman meet with Leyla Lewellin separately? And what she talks about if she does.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The next day at dawn, the police officers returned to Arvis. They visited the Duke’s manor and came
upon Matthias by chance when he was descending from the stairway to the grand lobby.

“Good morning, Duke.” A man with silver hair who was the commander of the police officers gallantly
greeted him. “Well, I felt ashamed by the theft incident.”
Matthias paused his steps in the middle of the hall, followed by Claudine and his attendants.

Hessen made a subtle approach and said, “They want to ask permission to do another investigation to
find eyewitnesses.”

Matthias nodded approvingly, “Sure, as much as you want.”

“Thank you, Duke.”

Upon the salute from their commander in the front row, the young officers at the rear dipped their
heads quickly.

Matthias was about to continue his stride when the silver-haired officer lifted his head and suddenly
addressed him.

“So, Duke.”

Matthias turned his gaze back, his face had a calm demeanor.

“Did you see anyone suspicious in the estate that morning?”

The hesitant officer posed the question cautiously. Matthias took a second then made his way slowly up
to him.

‘I saw it.’

That was a simple answer he should have given, however, Matthias just smiled gracefully instead. He
mulled his thoughts regarding Leyla Lewellin for a while;

‘What should I do?’

What if he exposed Mrs. Etman and her early-bankrupt cousin’s conspiracy to thwart her son’s marriage
now?

Though the dire situation was on her hand, Linda Etman could still settle things as long as she wouldn’t
show her real fangs in front of Leyla. There would likely be some uproar, but Matthias believed that it
would be for a brief moment; Dr. Etman and his son would strive to make sure the marriage will happen.

However, Linda Etman was not the kind of person to give up.

‘Then.’

Matthias looked up to the ceiling, and his gaze was drawn to the chandelier’s light.

Leyla Lewellin had gained a once-in-a-lifetime windfall; she would live happily ever after.

Mrs. Etman wouldn’t be able to meddle after the two of them moved into their newlywed residence in
Ratz. Kyle Etman would be a devoted husband who loved and cherished his wife. With the spillage of his
love, Leyla would be able to study as much as she wished and perhaps pursue her dream of becoming a
scholar.

Matthias raised his gaze to the ornate inscription chiseled on the ceiling, high above the chandelier
lampshade.

He surely could help Leyla if he were willing to trouble himself a bit. Before Linda Etman met her,
Matthias had the privilege of meeting Kyle’s mother ahead. Linda Etman would likely withdraw quietly
without fanfare if she knew Duke Herhardt had discovered all her schemes, and at least to save her face.

It seemed to be a viable way to lessen Leyla’s wounds.

Matthias gave the officer a once-over without a word being spoken. The senior officer stood in the state,
interpreting that the Duke’s silence was a reprimand for his rudeness.

Matthias knew what makes Leyla happy And he could save her source of happiness just with a single
flick of his fingers.

‘So then…?’

Matthias’s lips were drawn onto another smirk.

‘What pleasure can he gain from helping Leyla in finding her happiness?’

All that remained in him was the dreary roses season in the absence of her, which would be a fissure in
his idyllic world.

“…I saw no one.”

Matthias replied curtly, as his eyes narrowed while staring at the officer. The faces of people watching
them were a mixture of worry and soon-relief.

“Ah, yes. Well, thanks for your understanding, Duke. My apologies for all of my rudeness.”

Matthias accepted his apologies with a kind nod.

“Have you ever seen a stranger?”

The officer’s cooperative attitude had prompted him to pose the same question to Claudine, who stood
behind Matthias.

“No.” Claudine answered without a moment’s pause. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any information that
can help your investigation.” She gave Matthias a passing glimpse before turning to look at the officer
with a smiling face.

After the case was closed, Matthias then resumed walking. The officers were left to question the
employees, and Matthias got into the car which was parked outside the front door.
“You didn’t forget your promise, did you?”

Claudine kindly reminded him about their afternoon appointment; to join Riette for dinner after drinking
tea together.

“Of course I remember, My Lady.”

Claudine’s face lit up at Matthias’ answer.

The car sped away from the Estate’s main gate, and soon departed the Estate. Matthias averted his gaze
out of the window as the car drove down the road passing through the Doctor’s residence.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Linda Etman wished for an amount of fun beyond her wildest dreams as a reward for her wait-and-see
hard work.

She donned a stylish lilac dress. Her face had some light y makeup, and her chosen hat was both classy
and modest in style. Her appearance wasn’t supposed to be showy. However, her elegance barely made
her appear shabby in her attire today.

Mrs. Etman admired her reflection in the mirror for the second before stepping out of the bedroom.

Today she chose to walk rather than take the carriage.

The place she was going to wasn’t a crowded one. She would go unnoticed from all eyes, so she
purposely cherry-picked a location distant from the cottage as she needed a quiet place to meet Leyla.

Mrs. Etman was a million miles away as she waited for the carriage at the stop. She had started
everything, and with no way to turn back, she was left with no choice but to go ahead.

For her son, Kyle.

The carriage came shortly when she sought to gather her wits. Mrs. Etman climbed into the carriage,
and from her mouth came out a slight sigh within her breath.

She was willing to go to any length for Kyle even if she were to become a villainess.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The tea shop that Mrs. Etman told was located a couple of miles away from the downtown area. Leyla
arrived earlier than their appointment time, so she sat at the table near the sunny window, waiting for
Mrs. Etman’s arrival.

Rows of brick houses draped in ivy were lined the opposite side of the narrow road, it was barely wide
enough for a wagon to pass. Stores with rustic and plain signage padded the left and right sides of the
alley.
Likewise, the tea shop. The fading paint, worn furniture, and antique windows, as well as the tea-stained
tablecloths, to name a few things. It was a place that didn’t seem to be to Mrs. Etman’s liking.

‘Why did she choose this place?’

Leyla decided not to be biased despite her cryptic feelings. The more she thought about it, the more
anxious she became. She was averse to adding more to her already overburdened mind’s about the
thievery.

So, Leyla didn’t want to continue assuming the worst that may happen. Mrs. Etman may need a private
talk with her in a less crowded place. There was undoubtedly plenty of things to discuss, and…

Layla’s thoughts that were trapped by the paralysis of analysis, were shortly disturbed by the clatter of a
chime. She sprang to her feet, thinking it was Mrs. Etman who was coming. Instead, a young man
walked into the shop. He was dressed conservatively in a suit complete with a fedora hat. He took a seat
at a corner table and then opened a newspaper.

Leyla slumped on her chair, her eyes were fixed on the tea stains on the tablecloth.

She went to the police station today, but the case made no significant progress thus far. The lack of
witnesses and evidence made it difficult for them to catch the thief. A policeman who took pity on her
kindly advised; it’s better not to cling to a shaky hope and find someone else to lend her money
urgently.

‘Should I?’

Dr. Etman, together with Duchess Norma and Lady Claudine, said that they would instead pay for her
tuition. This morning, Madam Mona also visited her. She sweetly consoled Leyla and Bill by telling them
if the thief wasn’t caught, Arvis’s workers had committed to fundraising for her college.

Their kindness weighed heavily on her heart.

When her deep sorrow was expressing itself through a sigh, the bell sounded again. Leyla jumped up
from her chair reflexively and turned around.

“Hello, Mrs. Etman.”

Leyla faintly smiled and bowed her head. The real Mrs. Etman was now standing in front of the opened
door.
Chapter 37

I Really Hate You

Mrs. Etman froze and glared at Leyla before walking to the chair and sitting on it. She straightened her
posture and put her hat on the other chair.

Different nuances presented by Mrs. Etman when she saw her today left Leyla feeling uneasy.

“You’ve probably just returned from the police station.” Mrs. Etman spoke first, “How’s the investigation
going on?”

“They haven’t found any clues yet,” Leyla said. “But it’s not over yet, so I don’t want to give up.”

“Well, Leyla. I don’t think it is a wise choice.”

“Pardon?”

Taken aback, Leyla asked once again when the tea she had ordered came. An awkward silence prevailed
between the two until the waiter left after carelessly dropping the cup on the table.

“May I ask what you mean, Ma’am?”

Leyla breached the stillness first.

“Your money, I have it.”

Mrs. Etman uttered those without a trace of guilt; her sight dipped to the clouded boiling steam of the
teacup.

Leyla’s face was soon obscured by fluster. The words she had clearly heard sounded just like a delusion.

Mrs. Etman lifted her gaze to Leyla and again firmly said, “I was the one who stole your tuition.”

“No, that can’t be. How could someone like you do that?”

Her stiff lips tried to smile. Leyla was unable to understand how Mrs. Ethman could make such a bad
joke. Yet, Mrs. Etman’s eyes were chilling.
“I hid it. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to prevent you from going to college with Kyle.”

“No, that can’t be-….”

“Yes, it’s stealing—a pathetic and cruel theft. Nevertheless I did it. I want to keep you away from Kyle.”

Leyla’s mind went completely blank. The gruesomely obvious truth said by Mrs. Etman jolted her awake,
and she decided that she could no longer keep on living in denial.

“Leyla, I hate you.”

Mrs. Etman stared at Leyla. Her disappointment and fatigue were epitomized in her greyish eyes.

“I really hate you to the point that I believe it would be better for me to be a criminal than to accept you
as Kyle’s wife.”

“M-Mrs. Etman…”

“I thought you were a good girl who knew her place. I never thought that you were trying to use Kyle as
a launching pad for your greed.”

“What do you mean, Ma’am?” Leyla fiercely shook her head. “No, I’m not like that. How could I think
like that about Kyle? I-I could never…”

She got the shock of her life and failed to notice her hands trembling at the edge of the table as well as
her entire body starting to shudder.

“Are you friends with Kyle for this purpose? Using Kyle to go to college and marrying Kyle to improve
your humble status in life?”

Mrs. Etman chastised and cornered the wordless Leyla even more harshly. Though she knew that Leyla’s
feelings for Kyle stayed within the bounds of brotherhood or friendship in the past.

Rather it was her son, Kyle, who fell head over heels in love with her, instead of Leyla. Leyla would not
be caught up in this presumptuous affair if it weren’t for her bumbling son. It was always this truth that
wounded her self-esteem, and now it became the reason why she loathed Leyla even more.

“My hatred for you has turned me into a thief. I resent you enough to do this, and that will never
change. Do you think we can become a family like this?”

“What do you want to tell me, Ma’am?”

Leyla’s voice trembled, but she kept a straight face before Mrs. Etman.

“You must already know. You are a smart girl.” Mrs. Etman stated briefly. Her eyes shone as cold as the
untouched cup of cheap tea, while looking at her.
“If you have something to say, just tell me,” said Leyla. Her glassy, round eyes glimmered in the rays of
sunshine that fell upon her despondent face. The ugly face she wished to conceal at the moment.

“You can tell Kyle and the rest of the world that I did such despicable acts to stop you two from getting
married.”

You’ll never be able to do that– Mrs. Etman looked confident through her words as she knew Leyla’s
personality.

“Kyle will be very disappointed with me if you tell him regarding this,” She recited. “Our relationship will
all but be broken, and maybe even our whole family’s harmony.”

Mrs. Etman’s expression became colder as she saw Leyla stiffening.

“Since all of this has happened, it makes no difference whether you keep this a secret or tell Kyle
everything. You and Kyle won’t be able to get married. That’s all I want.”

“Do you hate me so much that you have to do this…?”

“Didn’t I already tell you? I really hate you.”

Mrs. Etman rose from her seat and walked away.

“I hate you terribly. You pushed me to take such an extreme choice; I really despise you, Leyla.”

Mrs. Etman stared at her with a steely gaze. Her eyes could not hide her contempt.

“I will refund your money after the registration date.”

She swallowed the curse words that were already on the tip of her tongue, knowing Leyla would have
understood; that she should leave Kyle without wasting time or making a scene out of it.

Mrs. Etman was about to turn around when she groaned and lowered her eyes down.

“Today, I’m very resentful of Mr. Remmer.”

She said,

“Why did he have to take you in and create such a tragedy in Arvis ?”

Those last words……. hit Leyla the hardest.

Her eyes froze and then turned glassy in a blink.

Mrs. Etman strolled out of the tea parlor leisurely, leaving the poor little girl behind, who didn’t weep till
the very end.

In her wake a tinge of pleasure and guilt was clinging like a shadow on the tips of her toes as she went.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

He saw Leyla.

Her petite frame was crouched down beneath the blooming dry cottonwood tree on the roadside
leading to the manor.

Matthias, who was peering out the car window, did recognize her figure. All he could see was her back,
but he felt confident that it was her.

“Doesn’t that girl under that tree look like Leyla?”

The driver frowned as he kept an eye on a girl he seemed to know.

“Is she sick?”

Mark Evers, the Duke’s aide, wondered as well so his voice was filled with concern.

Meanwhile, their car edged closer to Leyla, who was curled up on the ground. Leyla quickly stumbled up
and straightened stiffly when she sensed their upcoming approach. She bent her head so deep that they
couldn’t see her swollen face, but it was noticeable that she wasn’t fine.

Following that, Mark Evers continued to look out the car window before turning his gaze to the rear
seat. He was reluctant to ask his Master, but his eyes were filled with hope that they could stop the car
for a moment and help Leyla.

The driver’s thinking seemed to be in tune and he steadily slowed down the car’s speed.

Matthias glanced outside the car window at the slow-moving scenery beyond. Leyla was leaning against
the trunk of the tree with her head down.

She was crying.

Matthias was sure of what he had seen on her face. Nobody else in this world had a better
understanding of Leyla Lewellin’s tears than he did.

Matthias clammed up. He turned his gaze away from the car window in place of his answer.

His assistant couldn’t add any more words, with only a sad expression on his face. The driver, likewise,
accelerated the car’s speed to comply with his Master’s wishes.

Matthias immensely enjoyed Leyla’s tears, as he always did.

It entertained him. But, he wanted to monopolize her tears for his own pleasure.
The idea of someone else having to step in to create those kinds of entertainment wasn’t pleasurable.

The car fled the scene, leaving Leyla alone with her tears, and soon stopped at the Mansion’s entrance.
Matthias stepped out of the limousine, with a face that appeared more relaxed.

‘Linda Etman, has she taken action?’

That was the only explanation he could think of for Leyla to cry until her shoulders sagged. And his guess
seemed to be right. It was proven by Hessen, who approached him with a concerned face.

“Master, I have something to report.”

He spoke secretly in a hushed voice as he walked beside Matthias.

“It is an unbelievable story; I’m at a loss for words…”

When the voice of his capable butler, who seldom panicked, shook a little, Matthias knew that Mrs.
Etman had lived up to his expectations.

“I’m going to the office.”

Matthias said so in matter-of-factly, gentle voice.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Got cold during summer, huh? It’s all because of that damn thief that you’re sick like this.”

Bill who strutted around Leyla’s bed said.

He became concerned when Leyla said that she was ailing and after he saw her going to bed early last
night.

Leyla said she had a cold and would recover with a bit of rest, but in Bill’s opinion, her condition did not
seem to be getting any better.

“You can’t be like this. Mr. Etman….”

“No.”

Leyla struggled to rise from the bed when Bill was about to turn around. She was shivering even with her
thick pajamas, even though the weather had been relatively warm since it was still the wee hours of the
morning, she looked as if she had gotten ill overnight.

“No, Uncle. Don’t do that.”

“I just wanted to call the Doctor because you’re sick? Why? Did you have a fight with Kyle?”

“No.”

“Even though you fought with Kyle, but Dr. Etman…”

“Uncle, please.” Leyla’s clammy hand, drenched in a cold sweat, groped Bill’s clothes. “I just need a little
rest. That’s it. Please let me be.”

“Leyla… … .”

“I think I’ll get better soon. Please?”

Bill could no longer stay stubborn in the face of her desperate begging. He had a hunch it had to be
related to Kyle, but he wasn’t in a place to unearth it.

He grudgingly nodded, and Leyla seemed relieved just then. Bill could feel a searing pain in his heart
when he saw her lying limp on the bed as if she’d fainted.

“Right, eat well! Sleep well! I should’ve said that!” Bill yelled aloud, “I’m going to sort it all out. I was on
the verge of bursting within now!” He pulled up the blanket’s seam with careful gestures that contrasted
with his rough hand and then put a wet towel on her feverish forehead.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Even if I can’t catch and kill the thief, I will pay your tuition in some way…”

“Uncle.”

Leyla’s frail voice blended with her heated breaths.

“Please stay here. Don’t leave me alone.”

“You are thinking negatively again.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle.”

“What gibberish are you talking about?”

“It was because of me.”

“If you keep saying that, I’ll get angry. I’ll come back for sure.”

Bill regarded Leyla as lying and babbling, and then heaved a deep sigh that silenced her. “First, take a
rest, Leyla. I’ll be right back.”

Bill shut the window in Leyla’s room and draped the curtains to cover it.

“I’m stuffy… Please open it up a bit.”

Leyla, who was shivering from the cold, asked him once again to open it. Her stubbornness persisted
even as she lay weak on the bed.

Bill had to yield to her pigheadedness for the nth time. Again he rolled up the curtains a bit and partly
opened the window, and finally, Leyla closed her eyes.

“If your fever’s not coming down by the evening, whatever you say, I’ll call Mr. Etman. Got it?”
He threatened her, but Leyla stayed quiet as if she hadn’t heard him.

Bill then reluctantly left the house, leaving Leyla, who was already dozing off like a log.

He hastened off, determined to complete today’s job as soon as possible.

Chapter 38

The Time When I Loved You

Accurate predictions may sometimes be displeasing. Matthias suddenly realized that this morning, when
he was gazing down at the rose garden without Leyla Lewellin.

He had his doubts if she would show herself up for now, after being such a downer. Matthias had
guessed it at the moment he heard Hessen’s report in his office last night. Nevertheless, witnessing
Leyla’s absence with his own two eyes had given him some annoyance.

‘She’s pretty damn stupid.’

While laughing, Matthias rolled down the thin curtain then turned around.

Linda Etman’s heist was a ruse.

Breaking Leyla Lewellin’s heart and tarnishing her pride was her true purpose. She devised another plan
after her failure to stop his son; It would be Leyla who needed to be stopped.

Matthias delightedly applauded and gave a hats off to Mrs. Etman’s great approach. She had a superb
hold on her opponent and stabbed her blade precisely on the target.

Her hostility towards Leyla bestowed him with a lot more entertainment than he had expected.
Matthias couldn’t keep the laughter from escaping his lips as he listened to Hessen’s report yesterday
night.
His leisurely weekend morning felt particularly lengthy and stodgy. After changing his clothes, Matthias
was once again gazing out of his window while drinking his coffee. Only Bill Remmer and the garden’s
employees were there, but Leyla was nowhere to be seen.

Was he too greedy in his desire for someone as pathetic as her?

Matthias took a little morning stroll while mocking her sorry state of affairs. Usually, he would stop by
the annex to swim in his spare time. The servants who were well acquainted with their Master’s
routines would flee as soon as they saw him approaching.

He wished to see Leyla cry so he could have some good time today.

As he was taking pleasure as the wind blew in, Matthias happened to arrive at the gardener’s cottage.
The house without Leyla lounging on the porch while reading a book or doing chores diligently in the
yard, was much too quiet.

Matthias’ annoyance rose a little. It was when a white pigeon suddenly flew into the house.

The bird flew straight towards the window at the back of the cottage as if it had a specified destination.
Without a second’s hesitation Matthias made a beeline to where the bird had passed. It perched calmly
in the half-opened window, and he noticed a note attached to the bird’s leg.

Beyond the window was Leyla’s room.

The pigeon didn’t flee as Matthias approached it.

‘Carrier pigeon?’

Matthias looked at the bird with a scowl before gently catching it.

Although being in human hands, the pigeon was very docile. Matthias stared carefully at the note the
bird brought before a sudden cry from the window jarred him out from his muse.

Matthias lifted his head, and he found Leyla sniveling and laying in bed like a dead person in her room
that he had previously thought was empty.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla opened her eyes and laid still, her gaze was glued to the ceiling for some time.

The room was lathered in blinding light. The sound of birds chirping in the tree outside the window was
clear and lively , like the summer sunshine in the morning.

As her dreamlike senses reawakened one by one, the bitter truth that she had forgotten due to her
sickness slowly revived.
‘How strange…’

Leyla felt more at ease when the reality before her eyes grew clearer. The plethora of emotions that had
filled a gap in her breath melted away in the guise of cold sweat and tears that broke out without her
realizing it.

It had been about two… No, three days had passed.

Leyla was counting how much time she had spent laying on bed before slowly raising her body and
sitting down. She momentarily felt a little bit groggy but soon regained her composure.

She took a look at her bed sheet and thought that it needed to be laundered. The window sills should be
wiped as they have become dusty. The dish that Uncle Bill had washed before wasn’t clean enough, so
she had to polish it again to get rid of any residual stains, and…

For a short spell, Leyla was stunned and closed her eyes, thinking of the many tasks she needed to do.
When she reopened her eyes, she calmly decided that one thing should take priority above all else.

She has to meet Kyle.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“You can’t go around like this yet, Leyla. You should rest!”

Kyle speeded up his steps when he spotted Leyla sitting by the stream.

Leyla was looking down at her reflection in the water, slowly raising her head to face him. She was pale-
faced, with visible symptoms of sickness.

“Why did you come all the way here?” Kyle hurriedly walked over to her side.” I can meet you at home.”

With her knees clasped together, Leyla was sitting on a wide, flat rock by the river. Her wavy, silky
golden hair, which draped naturally over her slender shoulders, was like a part of the gleaming
afternoon sun.

“I have something to tell you.”

Leyla spoke as she stared at him solemnly, without her usual smile.

“So, what amazing thing are you going to say?”

Kyle laughed on behalf of her, who showed no sign of mirth. Leyla gazed at him without a word, turning
up her nose to join in the laughter. Without the slightest hint of a bad feeling, Kyle broadened his grin.

“Meeting somewhere else like this is nice at times, but you’re still unwell. That’s what concerns me.”
“Kyle.”

“Anyway, I had something to convey as well. How fortunate we are to be able to talk here.”

“Kyle.”

“Don’t worry about the stolen money, Leyla. Tomorrow my father is going to Ratz. Your tuition will–”

“Kyle, I’m not going to college.”

Kyle’s words were cut off by Leyla.

“… What?”

Kyle, who was sitting beside her and watching the river flow, tilted his head. Both exchanged glances. A
heavy silence rang between them in a moment as their trapped gazes were locked on each other.

“I’m not going to College.”

“What are you talking about? You passed that difficult exam! Don’t worry about the tuition fees. Leyla
please, don’t be so stubborn like th-…”

“I won’t marry you either.”

Layla straightened her knees and re-wrapped her fallen scarf around her neck.

“I’m going to stay here with Uncle Bill, and live the life I’ve always dreamt of. I’m sorry, Kyle. I should
have told you this from the beginning….but I… … I was blinded by greed for a moment.”

“Greed?”

“Yes, even though I always pretended I didn’t want to, deep down I really wanted to go to College and
continue studying. So I decided to get married with the belief that it was possible. In simpler words, to
use you on the way.”

“Do you think I’ll believe such a lie?”

Kyle scoffed coldly, but Leyla didn’t seem to be shaken.

It would be great if everything was a lie.

A bitter smile stole over her trembling lips. For a small span of time, Leyla believed it was just sympathy
or pity, but she soon got an understanding otherwise.

Kyle Etman viewed Leyla Lewellin as a romantic partner.

He proposed to her with the heart of a lover. But she accepted him with the heart of a friend.
It was a pack of lies if she said that she was not greedy on the inside. It was precisely that fact which
sank Leyla’s heart even deeper.

“I know you, Leyla. You’re not that kind of person.”

Kyle leaped to his feet, his towering shadow looming over her.

“You love me. Do I look like an idiot who doesn’t even know that?”

“I love you.”

Leyla said; she made no denials.

‘Is Kyle someone I love?’

‘Yes, she does love him.’ Leyla would nod her head repeatedly to answer that question. Even if she was
asked 1,000 times, she was willing to nod every time with the same answer.

“As my best friend, as an older brother, or sometimes as a younger brother. I love you so much, Kyle.”

Leyla remained unflinching even as she beheld Kyle’s growing hardened face.

She had to.

“But I know this is not the kind of love you want. I’m sorry Kyle, but I can’t… I don’t think I can love you
like that. I cannot marry you with this kind of heart.”

“… I don’t care.”

Kyle’s throat cramped as he swallowed his spit.

“Whatever kind of love it is, as long as it is love, I don’t care. It’s okay even if it isn’t the kind of love I’m
looking for, Leyla.”

“No. I don’t want to do that.”

Leyla slowly lifted herself up. Their gazes were riveted between the howl of the forest wind. As she
looked at the water that had been blown away by the wind, shaping small ripples on its surface, Leyla
caught her breath.

Not far from the cottage, this wooded creek was the playground for little Kyle and Leyla. Amidst her fear
of water, she was able to dip her feet in the stream that barely reached her knees. Rather than the
Schulter River, Leyla enjoyed visiting this place more.

She used to read her book on a boulder shaded by a tree, and Kyle would explore the brook, catching
crayfish or small fish. He would collect lovely freshwater clams or pebbles, both of which were her
favorites.
They laughed a lot. Those were always fun and heartwarming moments.

The time when she loved him was like that.

There were so many pristine memories that were more glorious than playing in the water’s ripples. But
still, that time of love was irreplaceable; it would stay within her forevermore.

‘Even so, I still have to lose you.’

“I can’t do it. I want to stop.” Leyla dropped her head to hide her reddened eyes. “I’m really sorry, Kyle. I
should’ve told you from the beginning.”

“If that’s your only reason, don’t even say that. This world is teeming with people who marry without
love. Still, you love me. That’s enough.”

Kyle approached her and wrapped her shoulders in his grip.

“You use me? Fine. Using me doesn’t matter either.”

“Don’t be like this.”

“As long as it’s you, I’m fine. If I can be of any help, feel free to use me.”

“Kyle!”

“I’m alright as long as you don’t desert me.” Kyle’s eyes began to flush.

Leyla clenched her fists, attempting to fortify her wounded heart.

“I hate that. I don’t want to do that.”

“If you really want to go to College. If you’re so desperate enough to use me, then you shouldn’t let me
go.”

“Kyle… I want to marry someone I love as a man and a lover. The thought of marrying you and going to
Ratz made me realize that.”

The vilest things she had been struggling to keep from saying eventually slipped out of her lips. Kyle’s
pupils dilated at her reply.

“I want to marry such a person and live without shame. My dream to feel that, that kind of love
outweighs my ambition to attend college with you.”

“Leyla.”

“I had thought about using you, and pretending it was alright until the end, but then I felt like I would be
ashamed of this choice for the rest of my life. I’m afraid I’ll regret it. I’m not happy about living in a guilt
fantasy.”
“Leyla Lewellin!”

“If I make such a choice, I fear it would taint my time and my heart, which loves you as a friend and a
family member. I hate it the most and am scared of its occurrence.”

Her heartfelt voice was faintly shaking.

When the time came for her to become a grownup, she made the most childish decision she could
imagine.

Leyla ballooned her dream of attending college together for fear of losing him. But, in the end, this
marriage turned out to be a genuine mistake that garnered her much regret.

Mrs. Etman was entirely right. The moment she accepted Kyle’s proposal, her relationship with him had
already crossed the line of no return.

Mrs. Etman’s resentment towards her was too much for her to endure. Leyla couldn’t separate Kyle
from his beloved mother; moreover, she didn’t want Uncle Bill to get hurt.

The trigger had already been pulled; the only thing that can be gained by revealing the truth would be a
gash in everyone’s heart. Leyla felt her body had been drained out of all the water after shedding so
many tears, and there was no turning back at the end of the road.

So she had to turn around at this point, in silence.

It was the only way to save her last semblance of pride, Kyle’s family, and Uncle Bill’s heart.

“Let me have that dream, Kyle.”

Leyla whispered as she looked at Kyle.

“We… Let’s do that”.

‘So, let us bid farewell to those precious sparkling days and become adults.’

Leyla let out a quiet sigh against voicing what she intended to say. Her faintly heated breath flowed
through her parched lips.

‘Don’t cry.’

Tears didn’t spring up in her eyes, fortunately. The spell she had learned along the way somehow had
shown its worth.

“Don’t go.”

Kyle, who was standing still, grabbed Leyla by the wrist as she passed him. His big, hot hands were
shaking.
No answer.

Leyla opened her tightly-closed eyes and pushed his hand away.

Kyle’s hand fell off so easily. His grip on her wrists had lost its strength.

Leyla walked away with weightless steps, leaving Kyle behind , who was standing stiffly staring at the
stream.

Her misty-eyed gleamed a shade of red, but they were held back until the moment she arrived at the
cottage.

Chapter 39

My Beloved Son

‘She’s a smart girl, as expected.’

Mrs. Etman felt a surge of relief washing over her as she saw her son’s bedroom door snugly closed.

After going out in the afternoon to meet Leyla a few days ago, Kyle returned home devastated like a
bewitched person. Mrs. Etman could foresee the ending of the two of them based on her son’s
condition, who was confined to his room with his lips clamped shut.

“Madam, the Young Master skipped lunch today as well.” With a worried face, the housekeeper
reported to Mrs. Etman, who had just come down from the second floor.

“Leave him alone. He will also have a hard time swallowing food when having a breakdown.”

Mrs. Becker’s eyes widened at Mrs. Etman’s unexpected response regarding her son. She seemed
overjoyed, even though her son had skipped every meal since yesterday. But Mrs. Becker decided not to
ask further, knowing that her milady would seldom reveal the actual reason, so she just bowed her head
and walked away instead.

Mrs. Etman visited the garden after a long absence to tend to the flowerbed. The garden at Etman’s
house was brimming with exquisite and different kinds of roses which were imported from Arvis’s
shrubbery. She received several roses from Elysee von Herhardt, who exclusively gifted the flowers to
her closest wives.

She was the only woman without a title in Carlsbar who had fellowship with the two Duchesses of the
Herhardt household and several people didn’t know how proud she was of it. She believed that Kyle’s
marriage to the lower-noble-lady that was introduced by Norma von Herhardt would enhance the
Etman family’s social standing.

How hard she toiled to get here, now her husband and son tried to thwart her efforts, only for the sake
of one girl named Leyla.

Linda Etman readily admitted that she had done a great wrong towards that poor girl. But she had no
regrets. For Kyle’s sake, she could have performed far more gruesome acts than that. Leyla would be
wise to seek a husband who was on par with her.

Mrs. Etman entered the living room, carrying a bouquet of roses that blended harmoniously in hues. She
was delicately arranging the flowers in the vase when Dr. Etman came in.

“Kyle? Is he still doing that?”

“Yes. Sounds like he went through a lot of trouble.”

“I think something happened between him and Leyla.”

“I’m going to see Leyla.”

Mrs. Etman spoke calmly as she centered the vase on the table.

“You?”

“Did you forget? Kyle is my son as well.”

She smiled as she stood.

“He is the son I love much more than you.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Leyla was sitting in the corner of the yard washing a big pot when Mrs. Etman visited her. Her
appearance was soaked; the splashing jet of pump water drenched her apron, sleeves, and the crown of
her head.

“Hello, Mrs. Etman.”

Leyla got up and greeted her without expressing surprise.

“Please come i-….”

“No. You don’t have to do that.” Mrs. Etman shook her head after thoroughly scrutinizing Leyla from
head to toe and handing her the leather bag she had brought.

Leyla could tell what was within without even looking at it. She came close to expressing her gratitude,
as she always did after receiving something. But Leyla decided to swallow her words and accept the
money bag quietly.

Seeing Leyla shut her lips after receiving it, Mrs. Etman furrowed her brow in annoyance.

“Judging from the expression on your face, you seem to have a lot to say.”

“Yes.” Leyla answered her without a grain of hesitation. She refused to bow her head, which she did the
last time at the teahouse.

Mrs. Etman erupted in laughter, “Well, go ahead. I’ll understand.” She flashed a kind smile through her
lips which were stiff from the bitterness. “Looks like you’re done talking to Kyle.”

“You already know, and that is why you returned our money, right?”

“What did you say?” Mrs. Etman’s eyes fluttered at Leyla’s bold tone, which contrasted markedly with
her usual self.

“Don’t worry; I made no mention of you.”

“Worry?”

“Yes. You appear worried that I will tell Kyle of what you really did that day.”

“Huh. I had no idea you were such a daring child.”

“My apologies if I sounded rude. I just wanted to tell you that Kyle doesn’t know what happened that
day.”

Leyla bowed her head to express her apology.

“I didn’t tell Kyle,” she said. As her gaze returned to Mrs. Etman again, her eyes grew fiercer. “I won’t
ever tell him in the future as well.”

Even mentioning Kyle’s name made Leyla’s heart ache. The memory of Kyle’s back, which she had
abandoned by the river that day, would forever change her life. It would undoubtedly stay as a pain
inside that will last for the remaining of her days.

“I’m going to do it for Kyle, not for anyone else.”

“For Kyle?”

Mrs. Etman was snide, but Leyla didn’t seem to mind.

“Yes. I know. I know that Kyle loves his mother very much. Whatever you do to me, you are Kyle’s
precious mother. So I want to protect the mother he loves.”

“I can’t help but marvel how a brat like you has lived this long wearing the mask of a sweet and kind
faced child.”

“I’m sorry if I offended you.”

Leyla again dipped her head politely. Mrs. Etman blanched in response to what she perceived to be a
sign of ridicule.

“But, I meant that sincerely. I just wanted to let you know that you have nothing to worry about.”

“It’s a ballsy promise, so I’ll try to believe it.”

Mrs. Etman felt relieved but scrunched her eyes to disguise it.

“Since you said that you did it for Kyle, I’m hoping you’ll explain to Kyle why you called off the wedding
in a way that doesn’t cause him undue pain.”

“Yes. I will do that. Instead, Mrs. Etman…”

Leyla looked down at her money bag, then slowly lifted her gaze.

“I want you to apologize for one thing.”

“… What? Apologize?”

“Yes. I can accept whatever you tell me, even if it’s false, I will still accept it. But I want you to apologize
for what you said about Uncle Bill.”

Leyla raged. Her hand holding the bag became pallid, but she did not attempt to revert.

“You said that you hated Uncle Bill for bringing about such a tragedy into your life by raising me.”
Mrs. Etman snorted as if she couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. Again, Leyla badgered her into
apologizing.

“Please apologize for that.”

Her voice was soft yet insistent, borne on the wind of a beautiful summer evening.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias’s lips broke in a grin as he leaned against the wall, having to eavesdrop on their interesting
conversation.

He just finished swimming when he suddenly stepped foot towards the gardener’s cottage while on his
way back home, expecting to see Leyla crying there. And Matthias had no regrets about making such a
snap choice after witnessing a spectacle that was even more enthralling than her tears.

He was eager to see what look Mrs. Etman would put on her face, but Matthias decided to be patient,
knowing that his entrance would merely bring their fascinating play to an end.

Matthias took a seat on the window frame leaning against Leyla’s room window facing the backyard. He
enjoyed watching the white pigeon pecking on its food as he awaited Linda Etman’s answer.

“What people say is true; One’s roots cannot be deceived”

After some silence, Linda Etman’s voice became strained with a maddening rush that she couldn’t hide.

“Apologize? I’d rather feel sorry for Mr. Remmer, that poor man who reared a child like you.”

‘Linda Etman, as one would expect.’

Pleased that his second prediction came true, Matthias petted the docile pigeon. He recalled seeing
Leyla’s figure through the window of his car a few days ago. It was all still fresh in his mind; she sobbed
piteously, and her body was soaked in a cold sweat. She had difficulty breathing properly, and her
shaking body appeared scruffy.

“Very pathetic.”

Matthias gave a mocking smirk. His twitching lips gleamed in crimson red.

“If she has something to say, tell her, say it aloud. Don’t you think so?”

After he gently spoke to the pigeon, Matthias left the cabin, dumping the drudgery spectacle behind.

Then, he decided.

If Leyla couldn’t provide him with some fun, he would simply create his own.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
The hearsay started from Mrs. Mona.

“Have you guys heard? The reason why Leyla and Kyle broke up.”

Whenever she encountered the other employees of the duchy, Mrs. Mona would return in her furious
tone to tell the marvelous story she had overheard previously.

“It was Mrs. Etman who stole Leyla’s tuition from Mr. Remmer! The Postman just told me. She sent
someone else to steal their money. She wanted to make Leyla drop out of College and cancel her
marriage with Kyle!”

Mrs. Mona held her breath momentarily as she spoke to add a dramatic effect, just like a popping
firecracker.

Everyone laughed in tandem, they were all blown away. Mrs. Mona was well-known as a chatterbox.
She eschewed idle gossip and never failed to give a solid grounding for every one of her storylines.

“I know. You can’t believe it. Because I was like that too at first. However, the police had arrested the
person who acted as Mrs Etman’s lapdog in stealing the money. The Postman, Mr. Berger saw the thief
in person when he was delivering the letter to the police station. He heard what had happened from the
policemen. I bet you would all be shocked to know who he is.”

Mrs. Mona deliberately dropped her voice as she reached the story’s most intriguing part.

“Do you all know Mr. Rayner? The businessman, who is also Mrs. Etman’s cousin? Oh, my God, he was
the thief!”

“What, Mr. Rayner? That Daniel Rayner?”

“Yes! That Mr. Rayner!”

Mrs. Mona’s tone grew more spiteful as they all noisily parroted the question in disbelief.

“And after she stole the money, Mrs. Etman asked for a face-to-face meeting with Leyla, at some point
she confronted her and said, ‘How dare you marry my son?’ A stranger who happened to overhear their
quarrel became suspicious and reported it to the police, which led to his arrest.”

Following that, the story rolled about like fireworks dotting upwards the night sky.

“Indeed, she was a wicked woman. How could she do such a cruel thing to that poor child?!”

The stunned looks on her audience’s faces grew wider when Mrs. Mona raised her voice as she
struggled to suppress her emotions.

“I knew it! There is no way that Leyla would ever give up on college or marriage without doing
anything.”

“How could she have done such a horrible act? That noble Mrs. Etman.”
The excited crowd flocked over to lend their voices. They all quickly developed into enthusiastic orators
with the same veins as Mrs. Mona and began spreading the truth at the same speed.

The word quickly traveled throughout Arvis’s Mansion, needing less than half a day, to be precise.

It was late afternoon when Mrs. Mona, who seemed to have subdued her fury, saw Bill Remmer who
was calmly working in the garden.

‘It seems, the dim-witted guy still doesn’t know.’

Regardless of how excited Mrs. Mona was about relaying the story, she was unhappy since this matter
concerned someone close to her.

‘But Bill Remmer is like Leyla’s father. He is someone who needs to know this better than anyone else.’

In her inner battle, Mrs. Mona made up her mind,

“Yes. I have to tell him.”

Finalizing her decision, she began waddling towards the garden.

Chapter 40

Go Back To My Track

The uproar was pitched through the open windows and made its way into Kyle’s ears beyond his tightly
sealed bedroom door.

“Hey, Mrs Etman! Come out now! Right now!”

Kyle slowly raised his tired body. The man’s thunderous yelling and whale-like voice was not a stranger
to his ears.

“…Uncle Bill?”
Kyle sprang out of his bed in surprise. He hastily walked to the window and witnessed a quarrel between
Bill Remmer and a housekeeper at the front door.

“What kind of commotion is this?” Mrs. Etman appeared with a haughty yell.

“Mrs. Etman, are you the damned thief? Is this an act that can be committed by someone who has been
revered as a noble? No matter how much you hate Leyla, how could you do this?!”

Kyle, who was rushing towards them to break up the brawl, suddenly stopped like a dead person in his
tracks.

Thief?

Why did Uncle Bill mention the thief?

To my mother?

Kyle stood frozen in a conundrum as Bill spewed forth an implausible gruesome story in a fit of anger.
His body suddenly became like a stiff board as he listened to those unbelievable utterances.

“No-Nonsense… How could he accuse my mother of such a heinous crime…”

Mumbling blankly, Kyle lurched out of the room. He made his way down the stairwell in stumbling steps.

He couldn’t take Uncle Bill’s persecution towards his mother, no matter how angry he was about the
theft incident.

“Did Leyla say that?”

Mrs. Etman asked sharply after Bill stopped screaming.

“Good grief, how could she slander me like that…..”

“Does Leyla look like a child capable of telling such things?”

Bill shouted out in tears when Kyle was about to step out to the front door.

“If Leyla told me, my heart would not have been ripped asunder like this!”

“If you want to create a scene by uttering nonsense, go back now! Before I call the police!”

“Do you dare to call the police?! Do you think you can bring the police when the postman saw your
cousin being taken to the police station?”

“… Wh-what?”

Mrs. Etman staggered. She took a step back.

‘Please, mother.’

Kyle prayed as he looked at his mother’s back.

‘Please say no, you’re not the culprit, say that it was just a slander’.

Mrs. Etman kept mum, but her breathing was labored. Due to fear, her grip on the railing started to
tremble.

Kyle waddled towards his mother.

“Mother.”

Mrs. Etman was stupefied. Only after hearing his pained voice, she noticed her son’s presence standing
behind her.

“That was not true, right?” Kyle grabbed her arm. “It was just a misunderstanding, right? Tell me. ?”

Kyle tried to laugh but failed. It was painfully obvious that this moment was real, yet a dense fog seemed
to shroud his head.

For him, the last couple of days were hellish. He visited, coaxed, and begged many times, but Leyla
refused to change her mind. In his profound sadness, time was slipping away.

Kyle had nonetheless pinned his vague hopes. His father, who went to Ratz, had already paid Leyla’s
portion of the tuition. He believed everything would be fine as long as he could persuade Leyla and
assure her. So he planned to visit Leyla this evening and cajole her once again;

‘If marriage was too much of a burden, then how about an engagement? Let’s go to college together
while we’re engaged.’

Engaged…That was enough for him.

As time passed by, he believed that Leyla’s feelings would grow into that of a lover. Thus, they would
live happily ever after.

But now….

“Mother!”

Kyle gasped as his voice was stymied by tears.

Mrs. Etman froze and gazed down at the railing. Her face was pale and her lips were zipped tightly.

That moment, Dr. Etman arrived at the scene. He got out of the car alongside two police officers. Mrs.
Etman’s legs buckled when she saw them and collapsed on the floor.
Dr. Etman begged the police to allow him to approach his wife alone. Strained expressions were
plastered on his face.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Remmer.” He went towards Bill Remmer first and took off his hat. “Even if I had
ten mouths, I have nothing to say. I’m sorry.”

Kyle’s eyes welled up with despair as he watched his father apologizing repeatedly.

“As you can see, the situation is dire now, and it seems difficult to have a proper talk. Can I meet you
and apologize again after things have calmed down?”

“… Let’s do that.”

Bill Remmer furiously wiped his tears and nodded his head. As he stepped back, the officers came
forward.

“Why did you do that, dear?” Dr. Etman’s gaze fell coldly on her crouched wife.

“No. It’s not what you think…..”

“Daniel is at the police station. He confessed everything. You bribed him.”

As soon as that name escaped from her husband’s lips, Mrs. Etman’s lips clamped shut. She had nothing
to say to defend herself.

“So don’t try to lie to me, Linda.”

“Dear!”

“Are you going to pretend that you accept Leyla and do things like that in the future? You are not just
my wife, but also Kyle’s mother!”

Dr. Etman eventually lost his temper. An uncontrollable surge of fury he couldn’t suppress anymore
distorted his face.

“It’s all your fault!”

Mrs. Etman lashed out irately as she cried.

“Why? Why the hell did you allow Leyla to wreak destruction on my life?!”

“What kind of rubbish are you spewing now that you’ve committed such a crime?”

“No. It was all your fault! As I had already said, I disliked her from the beginning! I would not have come
this far if you had just listened to me back then! If it was not for you, I, I…….”

A loud sob escaped her mouth, and the hands covering her face soon became doused with tears.
With a sigh, Dr. Etman roused his sobbing wife. The officers showed their respect for the notable doctor
by letting him bring his wife inside the car.

Kyle stood motionless, watching the nightmarish scene with his eyes wide open.

Before long, a thick layer of dusk began to cloak the blue yonder, and he had not yet awoken from that
hellish dream.

Kyle shut his eyes in the dazzling dusk of the twilight.

He wished the entire world would be buried in a blanket of darkness.

It was his only hope at the moment.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Uncle, please don’t cry.”

Leyla gently placed her handkerchief on the table. Bill, who had been staring at his beer glass sternly as
if it was his enemy, lifted his head in bewilderment.

“Crying?! Who is crying?”

Although he vehemently denied it, Bill wiped the wet corners of his eyes with Leyla’s handkerchief.

His untouched food had cooled on the plate, but no one was urging him to have the meal. Both Bill and
Leyla were mindful; they couldn’t eat.

While Bill gulped and emptied his glass, Leyla leaned her gaze at the table’s edge. Her face looked
drained.

Leyla was unaware of what had occurred until she heard the words of comfort from Arvis’ employees,
who came to the cottage. Mrs. Etman was unlikely to divulge the incident on her own, and she also kept
her mouth sealed. Nevertheless, everything about that day was eventually disclosed.

Leyla had no clue who had informed the police about their private talks. That day, the old tea shop on
the outskirts of town had no other visitor except for her, Mrs. Etman, and a stranger.

‘Who leaked the rumors then? Who the hell is he?’

Leyla could not even make a hazy guesstimate, no matter how hard she thought about it.

Whatever the case, one thing’s for sure; she had inflicted an irreversible wound on Kyle. She had broken
his heart which she wanted to protect. Mrs. Etman was taken to the police station by several officers
accompanied by Dr. Etman. And Kyle was there witnessing it all.

“Leyla, don’t cry.” Bill put down his glass and handed a handkerchief to her.
“Crying, who’s crying?”

As Bill did a while ago, Leyla stubbornly denied and wiped the corners of her reddened eyes.

“Sorry. I don’t know about the world out there, but I encouraged and pushed you till you suffered
painful things like this.”

“If you say that, Uncle, you’re going to make me upset.”

“Marriage is… Yes. I’d rather not let you marry. Right, it’s better like this.”

Leyla stayed quiet, but she nodded her head deeply. Her lips glistened faintly as she smiled, dampened
by her tears.

“But, I want you to attend College, Leyla. Dr. Etman had already paid for your tuition, and returning the
money to them is the same as me paying for your tuition. College has nothing to do with Kyle.”

“No.”

“If you need something like a house or boarding house, I’ll give you more money. My finances might be
a bit tight, but don’t worry, I’ll work harder to cover all of your living costs……”

“Uncle, I will go to college, ” said Leyla. “I am not giving up. But, not now.”

She reached out and held Bill’s hand. “I’m going to be a teacher.” she added. “I’m going to save money
and retake the exam once I’m able to afford to study in the Capital. That was my original goal and
dream. It was just that the shortcut blinded me for a while, but now I’m back on my track.”

“But you can’t just give up after what you’ve been through. You have already been accepted into
College.”

“Don’t you believe me?” Leyla smiled peacefully, “Even if I take the exam again, I believe I will still pass
it. At that time, I will be accepted with a higher grade to qualify for the scholarship. You will see.”

“Leyla, my dear….”

“Uncle, didn’t you tell me? I’ll become a good adult. So please trust me one more time.”

‘This good child, what should I do with her?’

Bill opined that it would have been better if she had cried, rather Leyla laughed merrily. She seemed to
have no idea that her smile had ripped a hole in Bill Remmer’s heart.

‘And Kyle, what should I do with you?’

Bill’s shoulders began to shake as he couldn’t control his overwhelming mixed feelings. He hurriedly
dropped his head, not wanting to show his pitiful state. His thick, hot tears streamed down his face and
dropped over the table.
“It’s okay, Uncle.”

Leyla rose from her chair and approached him.

“I’m really fine.” She hugged him with her petite arms. “Really. I don’t want to punish Mrs. Etman. It’s
fine now that we’ve got our money back.” Leyla comforted him with a gentle voice and patted him on
the back.

‘What should I do with you?’

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as his hard-strangled words seared from his throat.

Bill nodded as he wiped away the tears.

He judged what she did to be unpardonable. Bill, however, felt uneasy the whole time after he saw Mrs.
Etman collapsing in front of him and Kyle looking so pale. Linda Etman was Kyle’s mother, regardless of
how wicked she was. To Leyla, she was like a second mother, as she was the mother of Leyla’s precious
Kyle.

“Let’s do that. If that’s how you feel, then I’m fine, Leyla.”
Chapter 41

How to Let Go of Beautiful Blues

“What a louche story.”

Duchess Norma gave a short yet bitterly cold riposte when Mrs. Etman’s story was brought up at the
dinner table.

“I can’t believe her, the wife of such a prestigious doctor’s family, was arrested for stealing. I’m curious
as to what kind of nonsense this is.”

After taking a sip of wine, she wiped her lips together in disgust at the vulgar story.

“I have to wrap up my relationship with Mrs. Etman.”

Elysee von Herhardt responded similarly to her mother-in-law.

Linda Etman was locked at the police station yesterday night and just got released this noon after Bill
and Leyla visited the station, stating they didn’t want to prolong the case since they had already got
their money back.

“It’s a shame that Dr. Etman was greatly disgraced by this event. He’s a good person, but should we
change our doctor?”

“Since it’s not Dr. Etman’s fault, I suppose we don’t need to. This kind of scandal will quieten down after
a while.” Duchess Norma resolutely voiced her unwavering faith in Dr. Etman.

“I hope Kyle doesn’t get hurt by this.”

She showed some sympathy while speaking about Kyle Etman.

“Now that things have turned into such a mess, I regret allowing the child to stay at Arvis.”

Elysee von Herhardt blurted out at the end of her meal.

“Leyla created this whole situation. .”

She looked at Claudine as if seeking an accord.

“Right, I think so too.” Claudine gladly nodded her head. “Although unintentionally, Leyla has ruined the
Etman’s household.”

As she said it firmly, Claudine glanced across the table. Although he was a soft-spoken guy by nature,
Matthias was unusually quiet during dinner tonight. Nevertheless, he showed no signs of being strange,
rather he seemed to be as gentle as ever.

Like the dinner that came to an end, the scandal that had ensnared Arvis manor would soon be
forgotten.

Mathias went right to his bedroom instead of going to his study.

He had instructed Hessen to send the spy who tailed Linda Etman to the police station that day.
Matthias wanted him to testify against the theft when the postman was scheduled to deliver the
documents to the station.

Given the postman’s closeness to Arvis’s employees, he expected the rumors were sure to spread like
wildfire.

Everything went smoothly according to his plan.

And the Arvis’s Chef, a well-known newsmonger, played the last key part in helping the postman with
his whistleblower tasks.

It was a cliché ending, but Matthias had great fun.

‘Did Linda Etman cry?’

Matthias’s thoughts rummaged for that idea as he turned on the lamp near the window.

‘Probably she did, like Leyla.’

That simple climax added another layer of excitement to his stage play.

The marriage of Leyla Lewellin and Kyle Etman had now crossed the line of no return. Even if there was
such a thing as love, their marriage has undoubtedly been ruled out. To keep it short, Leyla Lewellin had
forfeited whatever luck she may have had.

Matthias left the window and sauntered to the drink’s cabinet. All of the beverages stored there were
still unopened as he wasn’t fond of alcohol.

He took out the bottle of wine closest to him and poured the clear amber-colored liquor into his crystal
glass.

‘Leyla’s wings have been cut off.’

Matthias pondered calmly as he turned around, with a glass of wine in his hand.

‘So Leyla will stay inside the cage called Arvis.’

His satisfaction at knowing this fact had outweighed his rude awakening.

Matthias spent a long time staring at his sleeping canary, snoozing in ‘her’ comfy cage. His gaze then
wandered to the garden outside the window before returning to the golden liquor in his hand.

His mood right now wasn’t as bad as the one he had on the late spring night when he heard of Leyla’s
upcoming marriage to the doctor’s son.

That night was terrible as he remembered when the desire to kill someone took over his head for the
first time in his life.

Leyla and Kyle’s love story had a better ending than the death of a person.

Matthias put the drink he hadn’t sipped on the table quietly.

Even without having to borrow the effects of liquor, he was already aware of the way to erase the lump
in his heart and his beautiful blues.

He just needed to own her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The case of stolen tuition, which made Arvis manor fall into a buzz, came to an end at the peak of
summer.

The matter was flawlessly settled, with Bill Remmer getting his money and Mrs. Etman avoiding
punishment thanks to his goodwill. Even so, it wasn’t enough to eradicate the consequences and her
ruined afterimage from the public’s mind.

“Kyle.”

Dr. Etman slowly opened the door of his son’s room, who didn’t respond to his knocking.

Kyle was sitting quietly in front of the desk. He kept looking out the window even though his father
approachied him.

“Kyle.” Dr. Etman called out his name for the second time and tapped him on the shoulder.

Surprised, Kyle turned around. His face was worn to a frazzle.

Dr. Etman slid his hand away from Kyle’s shoulder and leaned on the edge of his desk.

“Your mother is a little better now.” He said.

“…Yes.”
Kyle answered tersely.

Mrs. Etman, who was bedridden from shock after being taken to the police station, drank and ate
almost nothing. He was worried as his mother had been suffering from a high fever for several days, but
fortunately, her illness had not worsened to a critical stage.

“I’ve been looking for a house for you to stay in Ratz.”

Dr. Etman calmly informed him and Kyle looked stumped.

“What do you mean by…. house?”

“It’s a house that’s suitable for living alone, and it’s furnished…”

“Am I going to College alone?” Kyle asked with a peal of scornful laughter. “Without Leyla? After I hurt
her like that… Am I going to College alone as if nothing happened?”

“I understand how you feel, Kyle, but your stubbornness on this matter will only hurt Leyla more.”

“Father!”

“Let’s accept it, Kyle, that your relationship with Leyla is over. This is the best option for you and Leyla
and also for everyone else. Both of you must live your own lives.”

Dr. Etman sounded firm, even bordering on cold, ignoring Kyle’s heartbreaking gaze. The situation itself
was suffocating for his son, but precisely for that reason, he needed to address his son level-headedly.

Nothing mattered more than protecting Kyle. He believed that Kyle’s wounds would gradually fade away
after leaving Carlsbar, distancing himself from Leyla, and getting acquainted with a new environment at
the university.

That was the sole hope Dr. Etman could have for the time being.

“Your mother was at fault, but it doesn’t relieve us of responsibility either. We chose to overlook the
fact that your mother’s heart could never accept Leyla. You and I , we were the ones who drove her into
that corner.”

“Because Leyla is an orphan and doesn’t have a glamorous background, she cannot satisfy mother’s
snobbery, that was why Mother can’t accept her? Is that what you meant?”

“Kyle, enough! Even if she’s wrong, it’s unacceptable to talk badly about your mother!”

“I don’t know anymore. Is she my Mother that I’ve known and loved for so long? And I don’t know why I
have to go to college…?”

“Are you going to give up your life because of your failed first love?”

“Leyla… Do you think she only means that much to me?”

“If that’s not the case, you should strive to be more level-headed. The more you act like an idiot, the
more painful it gets for Leyla!”

“But, I’m unable to go alone without her.”

“You, and Leyla, are now past hope.”

“No!” Kyle howled. “There must be a way. Somehow… If I beg, if I apologize, if I convince her
otherwise…”

“Wake up, Kyle Etman! Don’t you already know that’s impossible?!”

Dr. Etman violently quaked his son’s shoulder, his voice rose.

Kyle shook his head in denial. He yanked his father’s hand from his shoulder and fled from the room.

Dr. Etman, who knew where he was going, decided not to chase after him.

Even if it hurts him, he believed, that Kyle had to face reality beyond his hope.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The weather today was sweltering, but Leyla’s attire was orderly groomed, bordering on stuffy.

Her blouse’s collar was neatly ironed, the buttons clicked to the neck, and her skirt was faultless,
without even a single pleat. Not to mention the pantyhose that cocooned her slender legs.

Her appearance didn’t seem to be unkempt at the slightest; even the afternoon sun was diligently
bathing the road in its scorching heat.

Her cheeks were flushed crimson and out of breath due to the heat. However, Leyla walked gallantly,
keeping her posture upright even after reaching a deserted street devoid of people.

Leyla Lewellin these days earned sympathy from everyone wherever she went. People openly consoled
her and spoke ill of Mrs. Etman. They kicked their tongue in the spleen, and few shed tears after hearing
her heart-wrenching story.

Similarly, today was no exception. The teacher at Gillis Girls’ High School, whom Leyla met when seeking
a teaching job, was the first person to express her pity with a heavy sigh.

‘Indeed, Leyla. You have to cheer up and think realistically for the solution. It’s sad, but what else can
you do? Everything had already happened.’

She grabbed Leyla’s hand and said words of comfort repeatedly. Likewise, the familiar faces she
encountered in the city did the same.

Her gratitude for them was tempered with some shame. Leyla was at a loss for words and just greeted
them cordially with a faint smile on her face.
Every time she did, Leyla tried not to assume things about the vague smiles that flickered on people’s
lips. It was fortunate that she didn’t have to dwell on anything else since she was too busy maintaining
her straight-grin mask.

‘I wish I could cut you off some slack, but this is the best thing I could do right now.’

Gillis’s teacher gave a sighing answer after consoling Leyla for a long time.

All teaching positions at Carlsbar Primary School had already been occupied. Her last remaining option
was to work in a small town about an hour away by train.

Leyla eventually accepted the job after much deliberation. Given that commuting would be too
exhausting, she needed to find a boarding house near the school. However, she would be able to return
to Arvis on weekends. Perhaps after a year of teaching there, she would be offered the opportunity to
relocate to a school in Carlsbar.

Leyla took off her hat for a moment to recover her breath after arriving in front of the Arvis Estate’s
magnificent gateway.

She had a harder time dealing with Uncle Bill than anyone else. Uncle Bill always gave her a somber gaze
whenever she smiled in front of him. Hence, she couldn’t shed a tear in his presence.

‘Well, this is good news, so I suppose it’s fine.’

Leyla strode along the path in a blue funk. Even if it didn’t mean like she would be saying goodbye to
Uncle Bill for good, she felt upset whenever she thought about attending a school that was too far away
from home.

As she walked, Leyla tried to make her smile a little brighter. She made her way to the garden, eager to
tell Uncle Bill the news as quickly as possible.

The moment she passed under the arching arbor of the rose garden, Kyle was already standing there,
waiting for her.

“… Kyle?”

Leyla’s pupils dilated. Kyle rushed up to her as if he were being chased by something and grabbed her
wrist. He seemed to be a completely different person right now.

“Let’s go, Leyla.”

“Go where? Let go of my hand first and then we can talk!”

“Let’s run away from here, just the two of us.”

Kyle’s grip, holding Leila’s wrist, grew stronger.

Chapter 42

Nowhere In This World

Leyla stood gawking. Her eyes shook the moment she stared at Kyle’s peaky face with his tousled hair
and wrinkly clothes.

“Don’t be like this, Kyle. We’re now…”

“Let’s go anywhere. Let’s go somewhere where just the two of us can become happy. Let’s do that.”
Kyle harshly grabbed her hand and dragged her while mumbling like a lost person, closing his ears.

Leyla’s fierce resistance only made Kyle widen his stride ahead without budging.

“Mr. Remmer! Mr. Remmer! Look over there! Leyla is being dragged away!”

A gardener who happened to be nearby witnessed the scene and exclaimed. Bill shifted his gaze to the
direction he pointed at.

Straightway, his face heated up.

Bill threw his pruning shears and frantically chased after Kyle. The baffled employees in tandem quickly
joined the bandwagon.

“Kyle Etman! Let go of her hand right now!?”

Bill shouted, as anger rose to the crown of his head, struck a chord like thunder. He slammed a punch in
Kyle’s face without delay. Kyle slumped and fell, but he dared not release his grip on Leyla’s wrist.

In the gusts of wind, Leyla’s body also hit the dirt of the rose bed.

“Leyla!”

Bill screamed in shock and hurried to assist Leyla in getting up. She had scratches on both of her cheeks
and the back of her hands from thorny roses.
Kyle’s spaced-out eyes began to gradually regain their focus. He got to his feet, ghastly-faced, after
seeing Leyla’s face smeared with blood in his sightline.

“Le-Leyla! Are you okay? Blood….”

“I’m fine.”

Leyla pushed Kyle’s hand away from her face.

“You look more hurt.”

“No. I’m not ….”

Kyle then looked at his shirt and bleeding hands. He felt a throbbing pain in his cheek and the back of his
neck, but he ignored it.

“Uncle. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Leyla hurried to stop Bill before he approached Kyle again.

“Kyle.”

She carefully spoke. Her swollen, glassy eyes captured his face.

“There is no such place.”

Leyla’s smiling lips quivered slightly at the corners. Her soothing tone of voice concealed her crimson
eyes and heated cheeks.

“There is no such place in the world, Kyle. There’s nowhere in this world where just the two of us can be
happy.”

“Leyla…”

“It’s too hard for me if you insist like this. I don’t know how much longer I can stand it.”

“Please, Leyla….”

“So take care of yourself. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine too.”

“How could I be fine without you?”

“Go to college as planned…..study hard, and stay healthy. Then, become a good doctor.”

Leyla gave Kyle’s wounded eyes a good stare. Bitter tears that trickled down her cheeks had glistened
her face in sadness.
“My Kyle. My good friend, Kyle Etman. I want to see you in that light.”

A single drop of grief welled up from the corner of his eyes. Kyle swallowed the sobbing with his teeth
gritted and stared at her with reddened eyes.

“If you’re doing well, I will be fine too. We might be able to greet each other with a smile as time passes
by.”

“…Sorry. I’m sorry, Leyla…”

Kyle’s gut-wrenching sobs that tore apart his chest escaped from between his lips.

“I, it was all my fault. Because of me, you… I’m so sorry.”

The sun’s piercing light descended on him like shards of broken glass. Kyle collapsed to his knees like
crushed rose petals strewn over the ground.

Leyla shook her head and crouched before him.

“No, Kyle. Don’t say that. I don’t resent you. How can I hate you?”

“Leyla.”

“So, take care. You will, right?”

Kyle gasped as if he was being strangled and hugged her tightly.

His dread erupted in a torrent of uncontrolled sobs. Blood and tears dripping from his wounds marred
Leyla’s white blouse.

Bill let out a long sigh. He withdrew his gaze, unable to bear the sight of the two youngsters hugging.
The workers a few feet away also did the same.

With resentful eyes, Bill glanced at the sun blazing down on him in the blistering heat. He longed more
than ever fqor this bitter summer to elapse ere long.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Kyle Etman left for the capital sooner than scheduled.

The Etman household put forward a flimsy reason that they had to prepare for college entrance, but no
one believed it.

On the morning of Kyle’s departure, Leyla woke up earlier than usual.

Kukukukuku….

A bird chirping could be heard from the outside. Leyla turned her head to follow the cries and saw
Phoebe sitting on her window ledge.
She put her glasses on, ambled up to the window and flung it open.

The bird’s ankle was tied along with a scrap of paper. Phoebe was trained as a homey pigeon to fly
between her window and Kyle’s room. Leyla didn’t have to candle who the letter was addressed to.

She hesitated a while before carefully opening the letter.

Leyla, I’m leaving for the capital today.

I’m travelling to where I was supposed to go with you. But like a coward I’m leaving alone.

I won’t say this is better for us by telling you a plausible lie. Eventually, I’m running away.

I’m turning a blind eye to the messed up reality and leaving you behind. I lack the courage to assure you
that everything is fine.

I’m sorry.

I know very well that my apology can’t wash away your wounds. Still, I want to convey these words.

I’m sorry for all the pains my mother foisted on you and for my inability to stop her. I was too naive to
think that everything could be sorted easily, deaf to your feelings, I ended up hurting you.

I’m sorry….I realized my mistake.

But Leyla, I’ll be back.

I won’t be too late. I’ll make sure to return to you soon.

You may be right when you said that there’s nowhere in this world where only the two of us can be
happy.

But Leyla, if there is no such place, I’ll ensure that I create one on my own. And I’ll bring you there.

Until that day, I will be doing good, just like you’ve asked of me.

So take care of yourself too.

My beloved Leyla, Goodbye.

….

Leyla read through Kyle’s handwritten letter slowly. The dawning wind ruffled her bushy blonde hair,
which draped politely over her cheeks.

After a long pause, Leyla turned away from the window. She stowed the letter inside her desk drawer
and hurriedly started her morning rounds.

***
It was an insanely hectic day. Leyla meticulously cleaned the entire house as if a single speck of dust
wouldn’t be tolerated to stay on the surface of any place. Her kitchen was brimming with delectable
food that she had cooked herself.

Before long, Bill returned to work after lunchtime, and a couple of Arvis’ workers who were close to
them came to the cottage.

“Leyla, are you alright?”

Mrs. Mona worriedly asked as she handed out a basket full of luscious cookies and pastries.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Leyla flashed a smile and gladly embraced the gift. “Thank you, ma’am. Kindly go in and
have a cup of tea.”

“Tea? Oh.. there’s no need to bother really.”

Mrs. Mona shook her head. Other coworkers nodded in tandem with her.

“That’s right! We just wanted to know whether you’re fine.”

“Yes Leyla, don’t be sad. First love doesn’t always come true. I’m sure you’ll find a better man than
Kyle…….”

“Hey, it’s almost time! Let’s go back soon. I have to prepare for the duchess’ tea time.”

Mrs. Mona swiftly cut her off as she glared at the maid whose words were about to cross the line.

Leyla saw them off and went back to the kitchen with a heavy basket. She carefully took out the cookies
and cakes from the basket one by one and arranged them nicely on the table.

Suddenly her hand stopped. She momentarily froze upon seeing a toasted cracker with a peach jam
filling.

It was Kyle’s favourite cake.

Leyla vacantly looked across the table to the chair where Kyle was usually seated. The day when the
three of them dined together at this table would never return.

That lone chair evoked pleasant memories in her thoughts. The time of their delicious good feasts, warm
dim lights and loud chatter on the table. All of it had now gradually perished into a gulf of silence.

Leyla blinked and rushed to tidy up the basket before leaving the cottage. She grabbed her well-used
sling bag and the hat hanging in front of the rear door and made her way to the forest trail.

**

Fennel. Yorkshire Fog. Buddleia.

Katydid. Green Linnet. Swallowtail.

Layla went along the path, whispering the names of the flowers that were blooming. The clinking sound
of the stuff in her bag chimed along with the mumbled names of mother earth as a cradle song.

After a long trek, Leyla stopped at the foot of an idyllic tree standing on the banks of the Schulter River.
She immediately began climbing it to the summit and perched between the thick branches of the
wooden trunks.

Leyla stared at the bend of the blue Schulter River through her empty gaze.

The sparkles of the water scales made her eyes feel cold.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“As you said, master, it has been handled well.”

Hessen, who turned back after a short phone call, said. Matthias gave the nod as he had grasped the
meaning of the word without the butler’s explanation. His gaze remained patched on the river beyond
the colossal window.

“They will notify us by telegram today.”

After concluding the report, Hessen moved on to the next agenda; the dinner scheduled for the
following week and the guest list. The visit of Count Brandt. The issue of workforce expansion. Daily
reports and Matthias’ pithy answers were sequentially layered on top of one another.

“Then sir, I’ll take my leave now.”

Hessen left the annex after everything was done.

Once alone, Matthias descended the stairs connecting to the bottom floor.

The pavilion was built in the shape of a floating house on stilts. Half of the ground level was devoted to a
boat hangar, designed to be openly attached to the river. Matthias could simply cross the river anytime
he pleased by untying their ropes and rowing over.

Matthias stripped off his clothes on the hangar’s floor and dived into the water. As he swam across the
arched foyer, the dazzling sun soon devoured his nude body bathed under its light.

Matthias let the gentle stream of the river cling to his flesh. Through his flexible stroke, he looked like a
part of the river at first glance.

The lingering attachment that he couldn’t have was bound to grow into a bigger and tougher desire
beyond his control, even if he believed, he would soon become tired of it once he had it. And Leyla was
no exception.
Breathing hard, Matthias reached that conclusion. He felt silly for getting carried away by the ephemeral
hankering. Still, he graciously accepted the desire to have her.

And now, nothing could stand in his way.

He was free to do anything he pleased.

The male lead who failed to protect their puppy love had eventually left, and Leyla was abandoned in
the forest at the end of their fairytale.

Everything in his world had been back to its proper place, in a perfect line, just as he wished.

By the time he turned around and began swimming back to the annex, the slanting rays of the setting
sun had tinted the sky a warm orange.

Matthias’ eyes narrowed at the river’s edge when he saw the familiar, beautiful tree. Ridiculously, there
was a woman present, where he casually cast his gaze.

Leyla Lewellin.

He chanted her name silently like a spell, sending ripples over the water’s surface.

Chapter 43

Beautiful Song

After swimming back to the hangar, Matthias changed his clothes and left the annex. The sky was
darkening as the sunset descended from its zenith. But Leyla was still there, crying on top of the tree,
oblivious of his arrival.

Matthias eased to his feet under the tree. The hose wasn’t long before Leyla turned her head and
looked at him from the top.
She didn’t seem surprised, nor did she try to escape his gaze. She also exhibited no signs of fear or worry
either.

‘why’

Matthias soon found the reason: she wasn’t exactly looking at him. Her dim eyes seemed to wander
somewhere far away, probably toward the place where the doctor’s son had left.

By the time Matthias slanted his lips, Leyla’s eyes had returned to focus. Her green eyes soon filled with
a sense of shame. Her shoulders sucked in, and her face became stiff. She was back to the Leyla Lewellin
that he knew.

Matthias casually peered at her teary eyes with his arms folded. He had a leisurely evening and wasn’t
bound by any schedule, so Matthias had plenty of time to wait for her to stop weeping.

He saw Leyla’s eyes flashed with contempt when he had no intention of leaving, but her scathing
arrogance only made him giggle.

“You know, Leyla. That boy is not coming.”

Matthias took a step closer to the tree in which she was sitting.

“Kyle Etman. The boy you’re waiting for. Ah! Should I now call him the one who left you?”

His lips smiled up at her. His tone was gentle and calm, though the sting in his words hadn’t dimmed in
the slightest.

Leyla teared up at hearing those words. The twilight sky above her revealed itself—devoid of the birds
that had returned to their nests. Her vision of the gradually swelling landscape soon turned into steamy
tears and flowed down her cheeks.

Leyla bit her lower lip, she kept silent until the darkness slowly snuffed out her surroundings. She
patiently awaited his leave but the wicked Duke was still standing beneath the tree. So Leyla decided to
climb down the back of the tree, which was unreachable from his sight. Her head was slightly dizzy from
all the crying. It’s fortunate that she didn’t stumble and was able to step on the ground safely.

Leaning against the tree, Leyla wiped her tear-stained face with her apron. She spruced up her tangled
hair and straightened her posture. Only after that, she looked back, and the duke was still blocking the
path to the cottage.

After building up some nerve, Leyla approached him one step at a time. She couldn’t care less about her
scruffy face as her untamed tears were still sticking on it. As she couldn’t keep her tears hidden, Leyla
chose to show it off with confidence.

This time she was determined to never again be his plaything.

“I apologize for my disrespect. Goodbye then, Duke.”

Leyla bowed her back with the greatest politeness from a distance of two steps away. At this point,
giving the nobility the courtesy they wanted, has become as easy to her as breathing.

“Leyla.”

Matthias called out her name the moment she was about to pass by him. Leyla flinched, but her stride
went undisturbed.

“Leyla Lewellin.”

Matthias laughed and turned. But Leyla ignored him and continued ahead as if she were deaf.

His brows wrinkled into a scowl at her rudeness that had crossed the line. He was about to stop her
when Leyla suddenly collapsed.

“Arghh..”

She sat slumped on the ground, unable to get up. Her tiny hunched shoulders and frail back trembled
intermittently.

Matthias scoffed and slowly approached her. Leyla Lewellin, the upright girl whose eyes never lost their
boldness despite her tears, was now wailing terribly after taking her nasty fall.

Matthias squatted in front of her, bending one knee and picked up her dropped glasses.

Still, Leyla didn’t raise her head.

The tears that had always entertained him this time no longer did. Matthias now learned what to name
this feeling after seeing her crying over the boy named Kyle Etman.

Hate…

A feeling of emotion he never had.

“Don’t cry.”

Matthias grabbed her chin. Leyla tried to dodge but was unable to escape his grip.

“Let me go!”

“Don’t cry.”

Matthias overlooked her protests and repeated his demand. With just one hand, he was able to tame
her fully.
“Shouldn’t you be happy to see me cry?” Layla threw a flout at him. The dewdrops in her eyes became
thicker and hotter as she endured his grip’s humiliation.

“Since when did you take an interest in my pleasure?” Matthias sneered at her, who sniffled frantically
in front of his nose. “Why? You don’t like me having fun?”

“No.”

Leyla shook her gripped face, stubbornly trying to contain her sobs.

“Whether or not the Duke likes it, it has nothing to do with me. My tears are not related to you.”

“What is that Leyla?” Matthias tilted his head. “It does have something to do with me.”

“….”

“So, don’t cry.”

Over again. Matthias’s gentle look held her a moment longer. Leyla was stunned, and she groused.

“Do I need your permission to cry?”

“Perhaps?”

“Why should I? You have no right to do so.”

“I have no right…?”

“You don’t own me just because you’re the owner of Arvis!”

“Really?”

After a quick frown, Matthias’ face soon lit up with excitement.

“Then….shall I have you now?”

Emotion fled his face when his smile disappeared. Leyla cowered at the sight of the face that reminded
her of the water’s still, windless surface.

“So that I can be your owner.”

Matthias fondled her lips with the tip of his finger. Leyla shuddered with dread when his touch rekindled
the memories of her odious last summer. Her burning heart, which had been aflutter in sorrow at losing
Kyle, seemed to freeze suddenly.

“…N-no, I-I don’t want to.”

Leyla heaved her body with all her might. She was sick to her core at the sight of herself groveling at his
feet. Matthias then let her go, much like a child who had become bored with his toy and threw it away.
Matthias rose first and stood there watching her crawl to her feet under his shadow. Soil dust and tears
marred her shape, but not her eyes—the flame had not yet burned out in her irises.

“Duke, I really don’t understand you…You already have a fiancée but you always do such inexplicable
acts… I hate all of this.”

“So what?”

Matthias asked back, fiddling with her loose glasses.

“What does your heart have to do with me?”

His tone was devoid of hostility.

“I just want to have you.”

He wanted it; then he had it. His principle was that simple.

Matthias von Herhardt wanted Leyla Lewellin. He wanted her, and he would have her. He believed;
something could be thrown away only after having that ‘something.’ And he had to leave her after he
had her so that his life would be complete again.

Matthias gently put the glasses on Leyla’s dejected face.

“Go on.”

He released his hand, and Leyla lost her balance and fell back on the spot.

Matthias stood peering down on her for a while before he left the riverside to continue his stroll.

Leyla stayed there alone for a long time, even after he was no longer seen.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Leyla! Leyla! Come here and look at this!”

Bill Remmer greeted Leyla excitedly after she returned to the cabin.

Leyla approached Bill merrily as he sat on the porch. She knew she couldn’t deceive her uncle with such
a sloppy laugh, but she didn’t want to show him her stupid weeping face.

“What’s going on, uncle?”

“A telegram arrived. It’s for you.”

“Telegram?”
Leyla was puzzled when Bill gave her the telegram. It was a letter of notice about job openings for
teaching positions at a rural school not far from Arvis estate. Beginning from the next semester, she
would be able to work at the school rather than commute to a neighboring city.

“It’s weird. They said that there were no more openings at Carlsbar…”

The good news left her confused. Bill raised his hands and softly patted her head.

“It’s so hard for me to send you far away, Leyla, but I’m glad this kind of luck came in.”

Looking at Bill’s relief-filled gaze, Leyla giggled as she nodded. She could come every weekend to visit
her beloved uncle despite her work in a nearby city. However, her heart was uneasy whenever she left
Uncle Bill at the cottage alone.

But…

Leyla was unable to savor her bliss once the Duke’s visage loomed in her thoughts. She was grateful she
didn’t have to part from Uncle Bill. But on the other hand, she loathed living under the same roof as the
Duke.

What a stupid thought.

“Leyla, what’s wrong?”

Bill seemed worried, and Leyla realized her face appeared glum.

“No. It’s nothing.”

A rim of brilliant moonlight shone over her smiling face.

“It’s like a fluke, so I’m a bit shocked.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

She twinkled, and her smile lit up a little more.

“Uncle, aren’t you hungry? Let’s have a nice dinner.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The draping curtains in the bedroom, which partially obscured the open window, swelled up in the night
air before repeatedly sinking.

Inside the room, the tinkling piano tune played the transition of a music piece. The tapping chords
flowed mellifluously, creating an extremely delicate and flashy symphony yet, to some extent, sounding
depressed.
Matthias reclined on a chair near the window, tin scissors and a handkerchief in his hands. when he
clicked his finger, the canary swooped down and perched on his hand. He learned that canaries, like
people, could improve their singing by being trained often.

His lips rose into a smile when the bird was humming in tune with the piano being played. The canary
wiggled its little body covered in soft feathers and cocked its head as if in deep study.

Matthias gently wrapped the bird with the handkerchief he had brought after the singing had stopped.

Knowing that the bird would be frightened of the person who cut its wings, the zookeeper always
covered the birds’ eyes before trimming their wings. After entrusting the job to the zookeeper for so
long, Matthias could now easily trim it overgrown feathers.

The first few times he cut its wing too short, the bird bled. It wasn’t severely injured, but seeing its
golden wings splattered with blood wasn’t a pleasant sight. Matthias disliked it, so he grew more
circumspect.

Matthias skillfully spread out and clasped the branches of the bird that trusted him. He grabbed the
scissors from his lap after deciding which feathers were to be clipped. Strand by strand, the feathers
were strewn along the slashed area. The plumages fluttered in accord and fell on his perfectly polished
shoes.

Matthias then rolled up the handkerchief that had been shielding the bird’s eyes after he had done
cutting off the last wings. The canary flapped its wings several times before sitting on his finger.

As if nothing had happened, the canary began to sing again

It was a beautiful song.

Chapter 44

The First Autumn

“Oh my goddess! Leyla! what are you doing up there!”

A high-pitched screech from below the tree nearly made Leyla drop her half-bitten apple.

She snatched the fruit before it fell. Mrs. Mona appeared in her sight as she lowered her gaze. She was
glaring at Leyla with her arms firmly crossed.

“Hello, Mrs. Mona. Isn’t the weather really nice today?”.

After a simple greeting, Leyla hurriedly stuffed the apples and books into her bag. Mrs. Mona’s brow
knitted as she watched Leyla fluidly glide down the tree trunk. At the same time, Bill Remmer returned
to the cottage.

“It’s all because of you, Mr. Remmer!”

Mrs. Mona growled at Bill Remmer moments after he ditched his cart.

“I warned you to raise her like a modest lady! I’ve advised you many times, with my experience of
raising three daughters, and yet you consistently ignore what I say! Take a look at her now!? A grown
lady and a teacher who’s supposed to educate children, climbed a tree like that!”

“Is there a rule that school teachers can’t climb trees? A good teacher should be capable of doing
everything!”

Bewildered by the matter, Bill raised his voice and was ready to debate her. Ever since Leyla’s stay in
Arvis, the pair’s parenting styles had never been in agreement.

Leyla wanted to say that she was now a grownup, instead, she wittily approached her uncle.

“Look at her! It’s all your fault! You should’ve gotten rid of her bad tomboy habits by at least spanking
her ass when she was a child!”

Mrs. Mona’s ghoulish grumble made Leyla gasp and impulsively caressed her bottom. Bill and Leyla both
had their feet freeze in place, as if they were being punished for making a mistake.
After a few minutes of nagging, Mrs. Mona suddenly remembered her original reason for being there
and handed a basket of food to them before leaving. Bill and Leyla met eyes and exchanged guffaws.

“I feel like her scold has smacked me in the butt.”

“I can’t handle this anymore, Leyla. You’ll have to climb trees secretly from now on. Don’t get caught by
her. I’m afraid I’ll become deaf if I hear her blaring voice.”

“Okay uncle, I’ll do that for you.”

After nodding, Leyla picked up the heavy basket and sauntered into the home. The old sling bag on her
shoulder shook, making a clattering sound as it moved in time with her steps.

“Anyway, that junk bag needs to be burned soon.”

Bill tutted as he gazed at the crap bag, which she refused to throw away.

His worries didn’t seem to have a bearing on Leyla’s everyday life; she lived gallantly. After the new
school semester started, she began teaching the children as a new primary school teacher. She was
sometimes careless and couldn’t avoid making a mistake, but she quickly overcame them.

School seemed to have gotten pretty interesting for her lately. Bill, who had been worried if she could
do well in teaching the child, could now relax. But he was keenly aware of Leyla’s pain and sadness that
she was hiding in the depths of her heart.

She was a child who could hardly throw away the worn bag because of her attachment to it. He knew
what Kyle meant to her better than anybody else. It was hard for her to mend her wounds from losing
Kyle. He was her closest friend, before he became an innocent lover so fast. She was much too frail to be
able to heal herself.

‘It’s not time yet.’

After a long thought, Bill shoved Kyle’s letter back into his pocket.

Even after moving to Ratz, Kyle sent a letter to Leyla once a week. Bill had explicitly asked to deliver the
letter to only him. The postman had understood his intentions, and willingly complied with his request.

Bill knew he was cruel, and his cowardice didn’t represent an adult’s attitude. But, his need to protect
Leyla trumped his regret and guilt over that boy.

“Uncle!”

Leyla waved at him, and Bill came to her.

They sat next to each other on the porch and shared an apple while enjoying the cool weather as the
forest was resplendent in the colors of autumn.
“Oh, I forgot. I have something to say to the butler. Uncle, would you please relay my message to him?”

“Butler? Do you mean, Mr.Hessen?”

“Yes. Because of school work.”

Leyla wiped the juice drop on her fingers with the handkerchief she took out from her apron.

“I’d like to ask the Duke if the children can have an autumn picnic in the Arvis forest.”

“Ah that’s right, you must tell Hessen first, since you cannot directly approach the Duke. Sure. I’ll ask
instead of you.”

“I’m a bit worried if it’s a discourteous request.”

“Discourteous? Don’t worry; the Duke is notoriously generous with such things, and I’m sure he’ll gladly
allow it. Besides, Duke Herhardt is a sponsor of the school.”

“Sponsor?” Leyla’s eyes grew three sizes. “Duke Herhardt is the sponsor of my school?” A look of shock
crossed her face.

Bill nodded, “Did you not know that yet? Duke Herhardt funds virtually almost all schools in this district.”

“I see….”

Leyla muttered a little. She clamped her eyes shut, wanting to block off the Duke’s face from her
thoughts.

Duke Herhardt’s name followed her wherever she went in Carlsbar, and Leyla was bound to accept that
unavoidable reality.

The King of Carlsbar.

That was the moniker bestowed to Duke Herhardt by the citizens of this city. An imperial nobility on a
par with the emperor’s family in terms of wealth and power. He served both as a symbol and a source of
pride for Carlsbar society.

“Why? Is there a problem with the Duke? Did his haughty fiancee bother you again?”

Layla shook her head, taken aback by Bill’s question. “No. How could that be?”

Once again, the Duke’s face, his stare, and their suffocating moments sequentially seared into her
memory, robbing her of her speech.

“Let’s have a cup of tea, uncle.”

Leyla stood up and fled to the kitchen before Bill could answer. She poured the tea into the cup and
placed the cake from Mrs. Mona on the serving plate after slicing it.
The daytime was winding down, and the night was creeping into the house. But Leyla hesitated to
switch on the light as if she wanted to conceal her wariness in the dark.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

There was no need to rush.

Matthias’ opinion of Leyla Lewellin was as follows. He had a burning urge to have her, but he didn’t
want to jump the gun.

“Oh, Miss Lewellin is over there.”

Mark Evers giggled when he spotted Leyla marching down the Platanus road with her students. After
Leyla established herself as a decent grownup and schoolteacher, Arvis residents started addressing her
as ‘Miss Lewellin.’

The driver chipped in. “Today must be their picnic day.”

His grandmother granted the children from the local school to have an autumn picnic in Arvis forest. His
mother gave a cool nod to the idea as well. In essence, such consent came under the hostess’s purview,
which explained why Matthias raised no objections and respected their decision.

The excited students surrounding her reminded Matthias of the first time Leyla came to Arvis. She was
still a child at heart who loved roaming the forest, who knew she could act so maturely in front of her
students.

A smile crept on Matthias’ lips as he gazed from the car window. In the following moments, his car
passed by Leyla and the children. But her afterimage clung onto his thoughts for quite some time after
that.

These days, toying around with Leyla Lewellin had been his favorite pastime.

The more severe he bullied her, the more vivid her reactions became. Her emotions didn’t stray from
embarrassment, anger, shame, and fear, but he savored every change in her emotions. Watching her
flinch, get enraged, and speak back to him was much more entertaining than seeing her docile face with
a polite smile.

Last weekend, they bump into each other in the mansion’s glasshouse. She was helping her uncle in
tidying up the flowerbed when she saw him. The color quickly drained from her face. Leyla dropped her
garden basket, and the soil-stained tubers were strewn over the paving stone. Bill Remmer, a few feet
away, was busy tending to another flowerbed and didn’t seem to notice the fuss.

He calmly approached and stood in front of her. When he stomped on the tubers with his shoes, Leyla
raised her head in a fit of fury. She looked nervous if anybody saw them, but her eyes were filled with an
uncontrollable hatred.
Matthias chuckled, remembering how the people regarded Leyla Lewellin as a kind and gentle lady who
never spoke ill of anybody. However, it didn’t stop him from being satisfied. As he had never learned to
share his things with others, he was elated when Leyla acted sharp-tempered just to him.

The majestic birds living in the Arvis’ heavenly greenhouse made a loud chirp. Leyla quickly scooped up
the tubers as if she didn’t want him to touch them, and then stood up.

As she bowed and was about to run, he tripped over her leg. The basket in her hands toppled, and the
tubers were scattered again on the paving stones. Leyla stumbled, but he had already hugged her waist
to save her from falling.

Matthias recalled how frightened Leyla was and how she quickly covered her mouth to prevent a
scream. Even though the flowering season had withered away, he could still taste the faint scent of
roses wafting from her skin.

After letting her go, he took a step back and pointed to the falling tubers with his gaze. Leyla scowled,
loathing visible in her eyes, but she had no option but to follow with his demand.

Gnashing her teeth, she knelt to collect the tubers. When he kicked some tubers with the tip of his shoe
towards her, a blush of heat bloomed on her cheeks.

Its crimson color beautified her skin tone perfectly.

Matthias wondered how beautiful it would be if he could paint her whole body with that hue. A lovely
shade of red. The color of him.

“What’s my afternoon schedule?”

Matthias queried when their car moved closer to the city center.

“Today’s last schedule is to attend the board of directors meeting.”

Matthias gave a satisfied nod and checked his wristwatch. He’d be able to return home earlier this
afternoon.

After getting out of the car, he took a moment to admire the cloudless high blue sky. The late-afternoon
sun bathed the buildings in its warm light and the wind kept everything crisp.

The weather was perfect to enjoy autumn picnic.

Chapter 45

Princess Teacher

“…I-Is that person our teacher’s father?”

Stuttered, the little boy blinked his eyes nervously.

“Lies! He’s not like our teacher at all!”

A little girl—smaller than the boy whimpered and other children who huddled behind Leyla, reacted
identically: their eyes opened wide with fear as soon as Bill Remmer appeared in front of them.

Bill was quite blasé at their not-so-extraordinary reaction. He disliked rowdy children, but Leyla had
especially begged him to spare his time to guide the children who came for a picnic in the Arvis’ forest
for a day. But he already felt that this wasn’t an easy job.

“Kids, Uncle Bill is a good person.”

Leyla smiled as she comforted her students. The timid little girl from a while ago again burst into tears
after Bill showed his toothy grin.

“Fuck! I don’t do anything…”

“Uncle!”

Leyla quickly hushed up Bill’s violent cursing and knelt in front of the sobbing child. Unable to smile or
frown, Bill could only stare at the tiny creatures with a quizzical face.

“Uncle Bill is a very nice man and he will take us around the forest today.”

The sniffling child in her arms stopped weeping, and Leyla continued her praiseworthy explanation.

“We’re going to study flowers and trees in the forest with Uncle Bill. Won’t it be fun?”

The children seemed to disagree with their teacher’s words, but they grudgingly nodded in tandem.

‘What a bunch of whiny!’

Bill scratched his head and began to lead the way. Leyla and the children were quick to follow his suit.

“Come to think of it, I think you were around the same age as those children when I first met you.”

Bill’s stiff lips softened when a flashback of memory flooded his thoughts.

“Uh, Uncle. These kids are all under the age of ten.” countered Leyla, with a frown on her face. “I was 11
years old at the time, about to become 12.”

Bill was joking when he said that, but Leyla took it seriously and she retorted by telling her age like the
way she did the first time she came to Arvis.

“He.. he.. he..”

Bill chuckled, remembering that day. Leyla, his little girl who had always disliked being labelled ‘small’,
now had grown up into a beautiful lady.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

It was a little past 1 o’clock when Matthias returned to the Estate.

The car made its way through the mansion and headed to the riverfront annex. The driver and his aide
were baffled at first by his surprising order, but soon understood when they recalled that it was a picnic
day for the rural school children. This kind of charity event was primarily the duty of the hostess, but
there was no reason to exclude the Duke from participating.

A gleam of bright sunlight bounced off the tree and caught the shrubs in its beams as the car drove
through the forest to the riverside. The splendour of the forest coloured with reds and oranges and the
pristine river sparkling with luminous water scales became a natural fence that encircled both sides of
the road.

Arvis was a place that offered picturesque vistas all year round, but the period with the most splendid
beauty by far was the autumn season.

Matthias stared at the scenic view which passed like a movie scene with an odd feeling.

Arvis, as he knew it, was either a verdant summer or a placid snowy winter. In the spring of his twelfth
year, he inherited the title of Duke after the death of his father. And the next summer, he enrolled at a
school in the capital. From then on, he spent the spring and autumn in Ratz and the summer and winter
in Carlsbar, leading a life divided between the two cities.

“Duke, it’s been a while since you spent the autumn at Carlsbar, hasn’t it?”

The driver who was watching Matthias as he gazed out the window, carefully asked.
“Yes, that’s true.”

Matthias nodded with an autumnal smile as he recalled his eleven-year-old autumn memory. A very
long time had passed, but his life seemed scarcely different between then, and now.

He was reared as the family’s heir from his birth and was groomed to succeed his father as the Duke of
Herhardt. It was a life mapped out in advance; only his turn had come sooner than planned. And the
same circle would apply to Herhardt’s future heir, whom he and Claudine would have. As was his life,
which paralleled his father’s.

Matthias drew his gaze from the car window where the unfamiliar autumn landscape was unfolding. The
car shortly came to a stop at the annex’s pier. When the driver opened the backseat door, he was
greeted by the children’s laughter and chit-chat.

After getting out of the car, Matthias looked in the direction of the sound. The little children he had seen
this morning were merrily strolling along the riverbank. The gardener was following them, and….. Leyla.
Her radiant smile resembled the fall sunshine.

They met each other’s eyes the moment she turned her head away from the children. She was dressed
in a wide lace collared top and a maple-red skirt. Her teacher outfit looked great, but everything else
about her was clunky.

Matthias buttoned up his suit and walked into the autumn sun.

“Oh. Is that Duke Herhardt?”

Mrs. Grever asked, taken aback while staring at Matthias approaching them. She was a mother of two
and the upper class’s homeroom teacher.

“Oh my god, this is my first time seeing him this close! He’s even more handsome in person than the
picture in the newspaper!”

She muttered in a lively tone, not giving Leyla a chance to answer.

Mrs. Grever’s jovial reaction made Leyla realize Duke Herhardt’s notable reputation. The citizens
admired and respected him, whose face was often featured in publications. But in her eyes, Matthias
Von Herhardt was nothing more than a psychopath.

“By the way, Miss Lewellin….”

Mrs. Grever was about to speak when Matthias stood in front of them.

“Hello, Duke.”

Bill, who was busy bickering with the children, hurriedly approached them and greeted him which also
made Mrs. Grever join in. Still soured by his jerk behaviour last weekend, Leyla belatedly bowed her
head.
‘Damn it! I should have thrown those tubers at him!”

She walked home from the greenhouse that day with terrible feelings. Even if she could rewind time,
she wouldn’t dare to commit such impudence~ That’s what she had to tell herself to quell her
frustration

“Would you like to introduce this person to me, Miss Lewellin?”

Matthias asked her nicely as Leyla had lifted her head. His gentlemanly regal and courteous manners
astounded her. He seemed to be a totally different person.

‘Others’ impressions of Duke Herhardt will always be like this.’

That insight amazed her.

“Le… Leyla?”

The confused Bill patted her on the back.

“Hmm? Ah… Yes, Duke.”

Leyla apace came to her senses and took a perfect stance, clasping her hands beneath her navel. She
decided not to lose her temper because she failed to throw the tubers at him. She set out to prove to
the Duke that she had polished herself into a decent adult, no longer like a forest child he could just
pester around at whim.

Leyla introduced Mrs. Grever to him in a professional manner. She also patiently explained to the
wondering children who Duke of Herhardt was. Leyla decided to go along with her children’s adoration
of him, even if she couldn’t agree with most of what they said. If she had to tell the truth about what a
terrible person he was, she would have to use offensive words that no child should ever hear.

“Thank you so much for allowing us to have an autumn picnic, Duke.”

Leyla stood confidently before him, with her shoulders straightened and chin slightly up, proud of her
performance.

“Thanks to you, the children are having a great time.”

She also gave a soft emphasis on the term ‘children’ to underline her position as a teacher.

“Really?”

Matthias’ lips rose slightly as she spoke.

“The one who is having a good time seems to be Miss Lewellin.”

“… Pardon?”
“….”

Matthias stayed quiet at her question. He did little more than snicker at her boggling expression and
greeted Mrs. Grever and the kids’ goodbye with his gentlemanly persona that was able to mask his
twisted personality.

Matthias, his aide, and the driver then reversed and left the scene. Leyla stood silently watching their
backs as they approached the riverfront annex. She did lose her understanding of his words until Mrs.
Grever gave her the answer.

“Um… Miss Lewellin….”

“Yes!”

“Your head…”

“Hmm?”

A little coy, Mrs. Grever pointed over her head.

“Head? What’s wrong with my head….”

Leyla’s bewildered face creased in a tick as she felt the soft touch of flowers and grass leaves on her
head.

Flower crown!

There was a flower crown adorning her head. Monica, her youngest and closest student, had put the
wildflower wreath she’d fashioned as Uncle Bill had taught her.

Mrs. Grever felt awful for not telling her. “I was about to tell you, but Duke Herhardt suddenly came.”

Leyla was stone-faced. She was unable to speak and just blinked.

‘So I pretended to act like an adult while wearing this.’

A rush of shame overtook her. She almost yelled out the curse words Uncle Bill often used if it weren’t
for the children.

“It’s okay, teacher.”

Monica, the child who gave Leyla the flower crown, cheered her on lovingly.

“You look pretty! Like a princess.”

The other children agreed with Monica and nodded their heads together.

Ha.. Ha.. Ha
Leyla seemed to know too well why Uncle Bill was laughing so wildly. If one could die of shame, she was
willing to fall deeply asleep on this beautiful autumn day.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Bill delightedly patted her back. “It was just a little embarrassing,
but it’s not like you committed a crime or anything like that.”

At his words that weren’t comforting at all, Leyla’s cheeks bloomed crimson as a ripened apple. Then,
out of the blue, an even more shockingly bad ordeal befell her.

“Mr. Remmer! Miss Lewellin!”

Mark Evers, who had left with the Duke earlier, returned with a sprightly smile.

“The Duke has invited the picnicking children to his annex. He wants to have tea with everyone. Of
course, together with the two teachers and you too, Mr. Remmer.”

“Woaaaaaaaa!”

The frenzied child’s cheering could be heard echoing through the forest. Mrs. Grever’s jaw hung open,
and Bill didn’t seem to dislike the Duke’s invitation.

In everyone’s thrills, Leyla looked blankly up into the sky, grabbing the flower that crowned her head.

She knew shame couldn’t kill a person, but she prayed at least it could knock her out.

Leyla earnestly begged, yet her mind was as clear as the dazzling blue of an autumn’s sky.
Chapter 46

The Moment Our Eyes Met

The chatty, and loud children who had been laughing until their ears hurt became surprisingly calm at
the moment they entered the annex. Their eyes twinkled with delight as they looked around the house
but couldn’t dare to make jokes and fool around like before.

Leyla had to appease the frightened Monica first, so she was the last to enter the annex, and the
servants welcomed the Duke’s young guest with the same servility they gave to the VIP guests.

“This way, please.”

One of the servants promptly escorted the waiting children from the guest lounge to the living room.
Inside, Matthias was sitting there with his back against the window overlooking the river—he had been
waiting for them to arrive.

Leyla held her breath as she walked into the place riddled with horrible, embarrassing, and humiliating
memories.

“Thank you so much for your kindness in allowing us to visit Arvis, Duke.”

Mrs. Grever was effusive in her thanks, and her vivacity put Leyla at ease. She hoped her-teacher-friend
would take the role as the Duke’s converser, so she could sit quietly like the room’s furniture and leave
the place when the pleasantries were over.

“Rather, I should be thankful to all of you for accepting my sudden invitation.”

Matthias welcomed them as he rose from his seat. The window’s backlight cast a shadow over his face,
but it amplified the sense of his presence.

“Teacher… it hurts.”

Monica’s whispers startled Leyla, who was staring blankly at his silhouette.

“My hand hurts.”

Monica moaned in pain. Leyla’s eyes widened as she realized she was gripping the child’s hand too
tightly.

“Ah, sorry. I’m so sorry, Monica.”

She massaged Monica’s wrist in a panic, and at the time, the door flew open to the balcony facing the
riverside.

The scent of fresh water was wafting from the opened door. Leyla swiveled to face the view. A
sumptuous tea table which was set up in the sun-drenched terrace and the white tablecloth that gently
swayed along with the wind, captured her eyes in a blink.

“Let’s go.”

Matthias’ gaze flew from Leyla to Mrs. Grever. The teacher accepted his escort by lightly placing her
hand on his arm with her blushing cheeks.

The astonished children who had never had a tea-time of this kind, happily followed the Duke with a
zealous expression on their face. Leyla walked with Monica in tow and was the last to head to the
balcony.

“Woah, Teacher! I feel like I’m becoming a princess!”

As she walked onto the balcony, Monica rolled her eyes, and her innocent face glowed with adoration.
Leyla couldn’t debate the child’s praises, as the vibrantly colored assortment of bites that was served on
the balcony’s table looked quite appetizing. It was amazing to think about how promptly they had
everything ready.

She caught sight of the bouquet of Baby breath flowers, and red asters gracing the table’s centrepiece.
There were teacups and exquisite silverware on the table, much too many for the rural schoolchildren.
And the scenic beauty of Schulter River beyond the railing was the perfect setting for their afternoon
meals.

A beam of sunlight hit her slender glasses frame and shattered like shrapnel. Matthias’s eyes wandered
throughout those shards of light…

The jewel-blue flowing river….The daughter of the sky—Bright white sun…

And….The sea of trees, beneath a garland of scarlets and golds.

In the autumn moment of Arvis, where all the beautiful colors of nature were at their most vivid,

Their eyes met….

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Monica was delighted over the moon. She roistered endlessly at how pretty the annex was, of how
handsome the duke was, and the tasty cake she had eaten. That child couldn’t stop herself from
extolling everything.

“Woaaa!”

This time, that child was hooked on by the scoop of ice cream. Her eyes sparkled at the ice cream dish,
and she hurriedly reached out her hand to Leyla sitting beside her.

Leyla gave a surprised look, and Monica whispered,

“Teacher, it tastes like clouds.”

Leyla blinked a few times before catching on to what the child was trying to say. With a smile, she took a
napkin and gently wiped Monica’s lips to clean the ice cream smudge on her lips.

Monica had just started school this year. She was physically smaller than her peers, a scaredy-cat, and
still a shy girl. Her introverted nature made it difficult for her to socialize with other children. She used
to cry, wanting to go back home every day. And for the first few weeks, Leyla had an uphill struggle to
cope with that child.

But now, she was Leyla’s best disciple among her classmates. After learning that Monica’s mother died
from an illness last spring, Leyla had a deeper understanding of the child’s heart.

“Teacher, you should try it too.”

“No, Monica. Teacher is fine.”

Leyla scrupled for a moment. But she maturely refused. Albeit, there was no law prohibiting adults from
eating ice cream, she didn’t want to seem childish in front of the Duke by eating the ice cream that was
prepared for the children only.

Leyla took another sip of the half-cold tea as she eavesdropped on the ongoing table talk. Mrs. Grever
was leading the conversation with a bubbly attitude, just as she wished.

Meanwhile, ridding her mind of its load, Leyla threw a glance at Matthias, who sat at the head chair. He
was listening attentively to Mrs. Grever. His brief replies and smile presented impeccable courtesy.
Strangely enough, by displaying such a perfect turn, the other people could sense his dominance and
classiness in the relationship. All of his gestures were haughty but graceful at the same time.

Like a researcher, she observed Matthias intently when Monica suddenly stood up and approached her
with a bowl of ice cream.

“Teacher… teacher! This ice cream is so delicious. Please try it?”

When her tiny hand was tugging her sleeve, Leyla flinched and pulled back. Monica dropped the ice
cream bowl and it splattered all over her skirt. The loud fuss drew the attention of everyone seated at
the table to her.

“I-I’m sorry teacher!”

Monica blanched when the bowl fell to the hardwood floor, covering her teacher’s skirt with ice cream.
Tears slowly crept out of her eyes.

“Don’t cry, teacher is fine.”

Leyla smiled and quickly wiped the ice cream with the napkin to soothe the child. Meanwhile, the maids
reached them quickly and rushed to wipe the wet floor.

Leyla was flustered after taking a look at her sticky hands and stained skirt. Seeing that, Matthias
gestured at the maid standing close to her and she hurriedly ushered Leyla into the powder room.

Monica was about to burst into tears when Leyla left the terrace, but luckily Bill Remmer calmed her
down. At the same time, Mark Evers discreetly approached.

“Duke, Count Klein wants to have a call with you.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The more she rubbed it, the larger and more stubborn the ice cream stain became on her skirt.

Leyla gave up and just washed her hands and face. By luck, she was wearing a dark-colored kilt, which
helped a lot in hiding the stain.

She carefully turned off the sink’s gold faucet and checked her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were
blushing red from a fruitless effort to remove ice cream stains off her skirt.

She tidied her droopy hair and took a breath before leaving the powder room. It wasn’t long before she
tensed up again, a heavy feeling in her stomach as she saw the Duke leaning against the hallway wall
leading to the living room. Matthias looked at her, smiling when she gasped.

‘Damn.’

A frown appeared on her face, and she looked around. There was no one else here, and her mind
whirled, alarmed of what could happen next.

‘Don’t tell me he’s been waiting for me….’

After several minutes had passed, he remained standing there, nonchalantly staring at her. A sneer
sneaked out the corner of his lips, a satirical grin that those who lauded him as a faultless aristocrat
would never know. And every time he cracked a smile like that, Leyla knew something bad was going to
happen to her.
Ominous hunch overwhelmed her. She gulped, her shaking hands clenched, waiting for him to get out of
the way. But Leyla decided not to waste time that would cause an unnecessary misunderstanding.

Without letting go of her guard, she took a watchful stride forward. Matthias, still leaning against the
wall, kept his eyes intact on her. And once she got closer, he blatantly stood in the middle of the
corridor.

Seeing her flinch in fear and step back from him, Matthias’ chuckle grew louder.

After a short phone call from Count Klein, without a particular reason, he went in the opposite direction
instead of going back to the balcony. He simply had the urge to wait for her since she hadn’t yet
returned. Just in case something interesting happened to her. Exactly just like right now.

Leyla approached him with a straight face, as if marching to a battlefield. She intended to avoid him, but
the hallway was incapacious.

As she walked right next to him, Matthias slightly stuck out his leg. Leyla reflexively backed off.

‘Dodged it!’

But her joy soon turned into shame when he just pretended to move to change his posture. She now
looked like an idiot-jumping rabbit in front of the upright and elegant Duke.

Matthias snickered and took a spin around as if nothing had happened. Alone in the hall, Leyla stayed
still until he entered the living room and was no longer in her sight.

A liar—She would undoubtedly be labelled as such if she told everyone about Duke Herhardt’s absurd
personality.

‘No.’

Leyla tossed aside the thought and walked into the living room. Upon reaching the balcony, she saw him
acting normal, like a model gentleman. He had a warm conversation with Mrs. Grever, and a smile never
left his face.

“Oh, welcome back, Miss Lewellin!”

Mrs. Grever was pleased when she came back.

“Let’s go boating!”

“Boating?”

“The Duke said he’d lend our kids his yacht. Isn’t it wonderful to have a boat ride in that beautiful river?”

“Uhm… But I….”

Leyla shot her uncle a worried gaze, and Bill stepped forward.
“My apologies, Duke, but Leyla is very afraid of water. It’ll be hard for her to get on the boat.”

“Ah. I see.”

Matthias pretended to be saddened by the story, although he had seen her drowning in the same river a
year ago.

“Then Ms. Lewellin, you can take a rest here.”

‘He… Why is he showing such consideration now?’

While his unexpected concern perplexed her, the children bolted off the balcony, accompanied by the
Duke’s servant.

“Yes, Miss Lewellin. I’ll go, so you can stay here.”

“Yes, don’t worry Leyla. I’ll take care of those little ones.”

Bill smiled and took Monica’s hand from Leyla’s. That child was scared and wanted to weep every time
she saw Bill, but she was willing to follow him out of the blue.

“Thank you, Mr. Grever and Uncle Bill too.”

Leyla felt embarrassed but thanked them for their kindness. They were nice people, unlike the enigmatic
Duke. Apart from that, she also felt lucky to be able to stay away from the Duke.

However, as she waited, Matthias didn’t get up from his chair.

She gave him a confused look.

Matthias remained in his seat even after everyone had left. She then realized that the Duke canoeing
with the village kids would be odder.

Realizing that she had made a grave choice, Leyla leapt from her seat. The two boats carrying the
children had already departed the bottom floor’s boat hangar and headed towards the river. The
servants were tirelessly rowing while Uncle Bill and Mrs. Grever kept an eye on the children in separate
boats.

“Teacher! Teacher! Teacher!”

The children laughed and waved their hand at her, who was standing beyond the railing.

“Teacher, I’ll be back!”

Even the timid Monica grinned with excitement.

She could no longer catch up with the children. She was engrossed in her despair when a voice as cold as
a river wind, suddenly broke the silence.
“Sit down.”

Leyla jerked back. Matthias was looking at her with his legs crossed.

“Leyla.”

He smiled, calling her name as if he was humming along to the tune.

Chapter 47

The Duke Laughed

A white pigeon flitted from the other side of the river.

“… Phoebe?”

Leyla gasped in disbelief.

“Phoebe!”

She blurted out its name when the bird grounded on the balcony railing. One of its legs was tied with a
red thread. It was unmistakably her carrier bird, Phoebe.

“Why did you fly here?”

She went up to the railing where Phoebe was resting.

Phoebe’s role as a letter-deliverer came to an end with Kyle’s departure. These days, the bird has
become her cherished pet. When the Duke went out for upland hunting, she always confined Phoebe in
a cage. But, on the other days, she let that pigeon to roam freely around the Arvis forest.

“You can’t come here. Here is… .”

Leyla darted a wary look towards the Duke. They met eyes as his gaze swiveled from the children’s boat
to her.

“Phoebe?”
His mention of Phoebe made her flinch.

“So the bird’s name is Phoebe?”

“Do you know Phoebe?”

“Well…” Matthias tilted his head. “Just ask the pigeon.”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t you claim you understood the bird’s mind.”

“That’s…”

Leyla was tight-lipped, unable to say anything more than a grimace. Matthias felt quite satisfied upon
seeing her bite her lips because she couldn’t debate him.

With her back fully turned, Leyla whispered a few more words to her bird as if they could communicate
with each other, but Matthias was certain she was mocking him without needing to hear her mutter.

Phoebe began gliding towards the other bank of the river. After the bird was out of her sight, Leyla
returned to her chair with a sense of alertness. She looked at Matthias with some trepidation before
deciding to speak.

“I’m sorry, Duke.”

She abruptly uttered words out of context.

“I apologize in Phoebe’s stead for recklessly entering your annex and leaving.”

“You’ll apologize in the bird’s stead?”

“Yes.” Leyla gravely replied to his scoff. “I don’t know why it came here, but I’ll train it to make sure that
this never happens again. So… so… Duke.”

She began to sweat; her fear was audible.

“Please …..Please don’t shoot Phoebe.”

Only fear remained deep in her eyes as all her bewilderment and curiosity dwindled. Matthias kept
mum, his crooked smirk on his lips seeming to fade as he stared into hers.

“….”

“Please…”

As his silence prolonged, her tone was heavily laden with desperation.
“Of course, I know you are Arvis’s owner, but Phoebe….”

Leyla kept pleading though her pride was in pain. She was ready to beg once again but a servant
appeared in front of them, pushing her to clamp her trembling lips.

Matthias left the balcony after the servant informed him he got a phone call from the company’s lawyer.
Leyla hardly took her eyes off of him through the window. Her mind was imprinted with the horrors of
his countless bird-killings. She couldn’t relax unless he promised that he wouldn’t shoot Phoebe.

Matthias returned shortly after.

Leyla no longer avoided his eyes like she used to; instead, she stared at him with persistence.

“Duke, Phoebe… .”

“I’m not interested in your bird.”

Matthias flatly cut off her vexing pleas. She heaved,

“What do you mean?”

“A target that doesn’t run away. It’s boring.”

“Then are you not going to shoot?”

Leyla’s eyes sparkled brighter, revealing hope and optimism. Her piercing gaze put Matthias in
exasperation. Ever since Leyla Lewellin set her foot in Arvis, this was the first time they had eye contact
that lasted this long.

“What do you think?”

Matthias asked back without averting his gaze.

He had no intention of hunting the carrier bird in the first place, but he was unwilling to give her a
straightforward answer. For the first time he saw her like that: willingly clinging to him in order to beg
for something.

“I don’t think you will shoot.”

“Why?”

“That’s because.. You’re a gentleman.”

‘Pfft…You only call me a gentleman when you’re at a disadvantage.’

Matthias let out a vexed laugh at her hasty and brash answer. Leyla hurriedly added onto her words in
anxiety.

“I don’t think you’re the type of person to hunt boring targets.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Leyla nodded along with her praise. “You’re titled as the greatest marksman and gentleman in
Carlsbar, I’m sure you won’t shoot Phoebe.”

Seeing her squirming as she talked, Matthias’s laughter suddenly cracked up. The servants behind him
exchanged conundrum glances, especially Mark Evers, his long-time assistant—he was the most stunned
of the others at the balcony.

Not because Duke Herhardt didn’t laugh much. But those in his ‘immediate vicinity’ knew that his
courteous laughs were mostly a display of civility towards others. Even as a little boy, if Mark Evers’
memory served him right, the Duke seldom laughed in a pleasant way.

The boats heading downstream now had turned their bows back to the annex. The children’s excited
laughter and chatter mingled with his chortle.

Leyla seemed eager for a definite answer, but Matthias continued to stay silent. He did nothing more
than spectate her as she repeatedly wetted her lips in a panic. And she spoke up first.

“Uh….. Duke?”

Both her voice and eyes wavered, but not in a fearful way. Matthias did think her rosy cheeks, flushed
with anticipation, were very attractive. Her eyes and delicate poise stated she wasn’t trying to miss even
the slightest of his facial expressions and body language.

Matthias changed his mind about answering and instead rang the bell. One of the house staff rushed
into the living room at his errand and brought out an ashtray and a pack of cigarettes.

“Duke…?”

Leyla urged him on. She needed an answer.

Phoebe was a bird she had been raising from its fledgling age. Beyond everything, that bird was like a
symbol of her and Kyle’s beautiful time they had spent together. She didn’t ever want to lose Phoebe,
even if those days would never return.

Matthias took out a cigarette from the silver case and lighted it up. The thin layer of smoke slowly
floated between their deliberate silence. The white puff played in her face. Matthias didn’t dislike her
outlook, who only looked at him and begged him. It would be great if this moment could continue to last
forever, he thought, quite pathetically.

‘Well, I should stop here for now.’

As he soon nodded his chin, Leyla’s eyes glistened.

” Phoebe….You’re really not going to shoot Phoebe, are you?”

Her questioning was very persistent.

Matthias turned aside and flickered his cigarette ash. After attentively watching his gesture, Leyla
grasped his meaning and retreated without pestering him further.

She hardly believed his promise, but there were other servants on the balcony listening, so she felt
positive Matthias would keep the promise he made with a lot of eyes watching him. She didn’t know or
care about Matthias von Herhardt, yet she had that feeling of trust in him.

Leyla finally could sigh with relief and glance out of the railing, to the river beyond. The tranquility of the
flowing river reflected the shadow of the forest with its autumnal leaves.

Her lips draped in a smile. She had managed to protect Phoebe, as well as her precious memories.

Her smile lit up as her relief grew.

Matthias’s eyes narrowed at her odd expression. ‘What good is it to guarantee the safety of a pigeon?’

He was unable to understand her, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off of her face.

The cigarette he was holding between his long fingers burned slowly. A sense of unidentifiable
annoyance and anxiety rose within the smoke. Both satiety and hunger battled each other to overtake
him. The uncomfortable and queer feeling he had was as vivid as the vibrant colours of the season,
which dyed the entire world. And as vague as the dream of last night when he opened his eyes.

Matthias threw the cigarette in his hand into the ashtray. He was thirsty, perhaps from smoking a
cigarette he didn’t enjoy, but instead of taking a glass of water, he took out a new one. The unlit
cigarette’s tip loosely wrapped between his fingers slightly shook along with the wind.

Leyla turned her head when she felt his stare on her. A smile still lingered on her beaming face, an
emotion that shined more vividly than anger and fear, shame and tears could ever have.

Matthias was pondering about what that emotion was when Leyla ripped away her smile with haste.
She avoided his gaze and bowed deeply. She was only looking down at her fingertips, but Matthias felt
quite humiliated at her actions.

Humiliation.

Leyla Lewellin had taught him the emotion that he now knew for sure.

‘Look at you now, Leyla’

Matthias unknowingly laughed in vain.

‘Now that you’ve reached your goal, you’re ignoring me again?’

He never knew Leyla Lewellin could act this sly. Her attitude was daft, yet it was also pretty cute. But her
abrupt mood swings really displeased him.
Matthias squeezed his unlit cigarette and tossed it again into the ashtray.

After the sunshine-like mirth had disappeared, the terrace was just left in a dark shade.

The gloomy place….he didn’t like it.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The autumn picnic ended when the children were taken to school and safely returned to their homes.

Leyla noticed tiredness had strained over her body the entire day. Her muscles were drained which
made her sleepy, but she was happy with her first picnic with the children. Ironically, the person she was
most worried about, was the key factor to the success of their autumn picnic, Duke Herhardt.

“For the time being, I think Lady Brandt will be the most envied woman in the world.” Mrs. Grever
sighed while walking beside Leyla. “She will have both that handsome gentleman and the whole of Arvis.
The world is so unfair at times like this. Do you know when they are getting married?”

“I heard it’s around next summer.”

“It will be a grandiose wedding that will stir the whole empire. Ah. I really envy her.”

Leyla just gave a moderate smile at Mr. Grever’s overblown admiration.

They split ways at a downtown junction. Leyla returned to Arvis after buying an armful of groceries. She
was going to cook a delicious dinner for Uncle Bill, who had provided her a great help.

‘I’m going to make lots of my Uncle’s favourite food.’

Impatience drove her steps faster. She started speed walking after entering the road leading to Arvis.
But suddenly, her feet froze in the middle of the road when a middle-aged lady came from the opposite
side. That woman also simultaneously stopped as she saw Leyla.

That person’s eyes was evocative of Kyle, Mrs. Etman..

Her hands, holding the grocery bag, turned pale.

‘What should I do?’

Leyla stood frozen in front of her eyes regardless of how hard she thought. It felt weird passing by her
like a stranger but even weirder to greet her.

After much hesitation, Leyla dipped her head in greeting without uttering a word, and Mrs. Etman
accepted it with a silent nod.

But as the stifling moment was about to end, Mrs. Etman opened her mouth.

“Leyla.”
Leyla swiveled in shock.

“It ended up like this, but I really don’t regret it.”

Mrs. Etman sighed as she stood in front of Leyla. Neither hostility nor guilt contained in her eyes—they
were as lifeless as a clump of leaves.

“Even if my reputation fell to the ground and my relationship with Kyle turned sour, I still hindered your
marriage. That’s all I need.”

“….”

Perhaps, Leyla would feel much better if Mrs. Etman’s tone was hostile.

Each word Mrs. Etman uttered calmly in a tired voice pierced her heart like a shard of glass.

After finishing what she had to say, Mrs. Etman started walking and passed her. The housekeeper,
standing at a distance with a flustered face, followed her suit.

Leyla hurried her way after giving a silent salute to the housekeeper, who threw a look of consolation
and compassion towards her.

She walked boldly and with a broad stride, then stopped like a toy with a loose spring.

She peered down at her two feet on the ground, stretched her hand, and took a deep breath.

‘Am I really a human?’

A sense of shame entered her thoughts.

Leyla slowly opened her closed eyes and started walking towards the cabin where Uncle Bill was waiting.
Chapter 48

Platanus Road

A white pigeon landed gently on the balcony’s railing.

Folding its wing, the bird naturally approached the feeder and pecked its food deliciously, doused in the
golden light of the fading sun that seeped in between its white feathers.

“Phoebe.”

Matthias blurted out its name after seeing that bird perched on his window.

‘Phoebe’—‘What a grand name for such a bird.’

His sneer at that bird-crazed woman flowed softly like a sigh.

Matthias rose from his sofa and opened the balcony door. The river winds, blowing near the sunset,
borne the damp and chilly air with them, playing in both up tempo gusts and gentle lulls.

When he went close, the pigeon continued to eat its feed, undisturbed. That docile bird’s personality
contrasted sharply with that of its owner.

Softly, the evening came with the sunset while he was leaning against the railing. Matthias closed his
eyes so he could hear the wind whispering. Their dulcet tones became a feast for his ears. The gentle
rustling sound of the autumn leaves, falling and dancing in the quiet, beautiful forest bloomed like a
soothing lullaby.

Everywhere he looked, he could only see Leyla in Arvis’s autumn.

He watched her diligently go to work by pedalling her bike and returning home with a tired face. In her
spare time, she volunteered to do the gardener’s work and sometimes scoured the forest with her big
basket to collect mushrooms and wild berries.

In his beautiful cage of Arvis, everything he had in this world stayed in its proper place.

That perfect world satisfied him. More than enough to erase the disillusionment he tasted last summer
after helping Linda Etman stop Kyle and Leyla’s marriage.

‘Leyla….she should be where she deserved to be.’

As he opened his eyes, Matthias could feel a semblance of satisfaction spreading over his system like a
pleasurable intoxication.

The stuffed pigeon soon left the balcony and flitted to the cottage, going back to its owner.

He believed that the bird would come here again tomorrow and the day after. He had no interest in the
bird’s feelings, but he knew well how to tame it.

To earn that carrier bird’s heart, he just needed to provide the bird a safe place and let it eat to the
fullest.

It was a trick he had honed while serving in the military. Soldiers often used carrier pigeons to deliver
messages when communication devices were poor, or there was a risk of information being leaked to
the enemy. He was currently using the same method the military bird trainers used to tame Phoebe.

Leyla’s carrier bird, Phoebe, realized there was no use in flying to Kyle Etman’s tightly shut window. A
new food source had appeared, and the place was safe, so unhesitatingly, Phoebe would fly to his annex
from now on. That bird was quite clever, unlike its foolish and clumsy owner.

Matthias looked at the flying bird and suddenly frowned. His memory slithered back to the autumn
picnic day— when her smile faded to nothingness the moment their eyes met.

“But it’s probably a smile you’ve countlessly shown to the doctor’s son.”

The annex shade that shrouded the balcony became darker when his train of thoughts jumped to that
conclusion.

Ever since Leyla was a child, never once had she smiled in front of him, nor could she hold back her
tears.

So ….he made her cry.

If he couldn’t make her laugh, he would have made her cry.

Whether it was her smile or her tears, he was satisfied with everything about her.

If all he could give her were tears, then he would make her shed them.

He was also willing to break her heart.

‘But what if you could give me something else?’

These days, Matthias often falls into such a reverie. He no longer wanted to see her being scared or
angry at him.
He simply wanted her to look only at him. Sometimes humoring him and smiling at him full of
overwhelming bliss after he granted her wish.

Now….he knew his desire…

Leyla Lewellin….

He lusted for her…

All of her…

Everything about her….

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“You’ve gained weight, Phoebe.”

Leyla tutted as she peered at Phoebe snuggling in her hands. She mistook it for a puff of thick feathers
preparing for the winter, but as she got a closer look, it was apparent that Phoebe had gained some
weight.

“Is it because it’s fall?”

Cuckoo… Cuckoo…. Cuckoo

Leyla kept questioning Phoebe, but the bird seemed to ignore her.

“Where are you eating now? You don’t even have Kyle now…”

Her last words, she unintentionally said, left her stunned. Tears welled up in her eyes, whenever his
name came out.

‘No, it’s fine. Don’t cry.’

Leyla tried to keep her tears from spilling out of her eyes. They had promised to take care of themselves,
and she would do her best to keep that promise.

She calmed herself down by taking a deep breath and then released her chubby Phoebe. That bird
roamed around the yard for a while before flying to the far side of the forest.

It was an ordinary day.

She diligently finished her morning routine and went to work after seeing off Uncle Bill.

The sound of her winding bicycle chain clicking along the Arvis’ road, splendidly carpeted with autumnal
leaves creating a noisy tune.

“Teacher!”
Students who recognized her waved their hands as she entered the road in front of the school.

Leyla dismounted her bike, greeted the children, and walked into the school.

It was an ordinary day, but she felt a bunch of happiness.

The children were much more obedient than usual, and they scored well on their mathematics and
spelling tests. The languid warmth of the classroom she loved, the lunchtime chatter with Mrs. Grever
she enjoyed, and the cloudless, high, bright blue sky beyond the window.

She smiled.

Leyla steeled her heart and smiled brightly every time she was reminded of Kyle at waking or on her way
home from work.

But, as she got closer to Arvis, she could no longer ignore the memories she shared with him as they
walked through the streets together.

Loneliness suddenly swallowed her up, taking what was once her inner light and replacing it with a
darkness that overshadows each moment.

Layla stopped her bike on the sideroad. She felt helpless.

The myriad of memories gliding above the road snowballed into a deep regret.

They couldn’t live like brother and sister for the rest of their lives, as they weren’t related by blood. Nor
could they live as best friends as man and woman. But they never knew their relationship was meant to
end in separation from the very beginning.

They never once expected that they would love, get hurt, and become like this in the end…

As her vision began to blur, Leyla squirmed and bit her lip. She encouraged herself, closing her eyes as if
she was enchanting a spell.

‘I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine for sure, so please take care of yourself, Kyle.’

Fortunately, she was able to contain her sobs and continue pedalling her bike.

A black car approached from afar and eventually brushed past her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias made the driver pull over the car at the entrance of Platanus road. After telling his aide to go
back first, he was then left alone on the road, just like the day when last summer had begun.

He took a leisurely walk, waiting for the approaching figure. The fallen leaves rustled underneath his
shoes.
When the sound of a bicycle running through the road was faintly heard, Matthias naturally slowed
down his pace.

He turned around at the same time Leyla stopped her bike at an appropriate distance from him.

The expected scene unfolded before his still eyes; Leyla was in front of him, along with her bicycle.

“Hello, Duke …Herhardt.”

Leyla awkwardly greeted him after glancing around. Her braided, curled hair was half loose and fluttered
in the wind. She didn’t seem to have a knack for dressing up as her hair was always tied too neatly or
too loosely like today.

Still, he quite liked her clumsy appearance.

Matthias nodded his head in a straight posture, one hand behind his back. Leyla blinked her emerald
eyes while holding tight her bike’s handlebars. Whatever she did, she always looked uptight whenever
she encountered him.

“Well then…. Excuse me.”

After bowing, Leyla dragged her bicycle past him and kept walking.

“You have to act like a proper lady, Leyla.”

Matthias warned, staring at her back.

Leyla had just hopped on the saddle when she flinched and pulled back the bike she was about to pedal.

“You know that. If you want me to be a gentleman, you need to behave like a lady.”

Matthias slowly approached her, who could neither get off the bike nor step on the pedal. He continued,

“And I need to be a gentleman for your bird to be safe.”

Leyla immediately turned her head. She frowned and stepped off her bike. Matthias smirked as he tilted
his head and peered down at her. Her moist eyes looked petrified, but her dainty twisted lips voiced
displeasure and defiance.

‘What a cranky woman.’

After a long stare at her, who pathetically trembled at his joke, Matthias walked forward as if nothing
had happened. Having no other choice, Leyla dragged her bicycle and followed him from behind with a
heavy stride.

Matthias sighed and turned around. “I never asked for you to act as my maid.”
Leyla, who grimly looked down at her toes and followed him like a shadow, suddenly raised her head,
taken aback.

“Yes? Ah… .”

Despite her stubbornness, she was smart enough to understand what he meant. She quickly took a
couple more steps towards him. Her gloomy expression conveyed her displeasure, but they were still
one step apart.

Matthias scoffed as he got his wish and stepped back.

As he began to walk again, Leyla carefully matched his pace. With a bicycle between them, they strolled
side by side on the Platanus road.

There were no words spoken between them. The refreshing evening breeze was filled with only the
sound of bicycle wheels spinning and falling leaves being tramped.

He was a man who walked very slowly with those long legs of his.

Leyla meekly glanced at him after turning her eyes at the road that seemed to be fading away. He was a
languid man, but his pace was especially slow today.

She wasn’t sure whether she was feeling that way because of the awkward situation.

He was a man of similar height as Kyle, but he gave off a bigger, and domineering presence. She
reasoned, it might’ve been because of his straight, elegant posture and distinctive eyes. His physical
appearance also looked firmer and broader than Kyle.

‘Maybe that’s why he seems so different.’

Leyla made her own findings and deliberately moved her gaze upward. She observed his white, smooth
hands, his dark grey suit, his delicately shaped tie, expressionless lips and his… eyes.

His sapphire eyes noticed her gaze and beheld her.

Leyla suddenly was seized with instinctive fear. She meant to bend her head, but her mind wandered
elsewhere.

As he thoroughly looked into her eyes as if he was captivated, Matthias opened his lips.
Chapter 49

Like A Wing

“This hairstyle doesn’t suit you.”

Matthias immediately said the moment their eyes met.

His remark startled Layla. Momentarily bewildered, she mused over his words, grasping the mocking
nature of it in an instant.

‘This man! Is he trying to pick a fight again?’

“I know. My hair is a little… untidy.”

Leyla said sharply, in response to his unsought criticism.

“A little?”

Matthias scoffed, eyes scrutinizing her from top to bottom. Under his disdainful stare, Leyla squeezed at
her bike handles, fighting the urge to run away. Her inability to restrain the strange emotions stirring in
her heart as she stood in front of him was already upsetting to her—Leyla refused to look like such an
easy target, blushing at just the sight of a man.

“Why don’t you untie your hair?”

“I’d like to, but they said I won’t look like a proper teacher.”

“Who?” He asked, forehead creasing with suspicion.

“The headmistress,” Leyla replied. As his eyes lingered on her, she averted her gaze, cheeks heating up
into a rosy red.

“She said that if I look too young, I wouldn’t seem like a teacher with authority.” She continued
hesitantly, fearful that the profound silence between them would make things even more awkward. “So
the headmistress advised me not to have a ‘student-like’ hairstyle.”

Matthias burst into laughter the moment she stopped speaking, a faint chuckle that sounded like a
soothing breeze. Ears burning, she continued to avert her gaze, feeling like a fool.
With a scoff, Matthias looked down at the petite woman standing before him.

“So that windswept, tied-up hair is a symbol of a teacher’s authority…” he drawled, full to the brim with
sarcasm. Hurt pride flashed across her face, and he dranked in the coy yet cute expression.

“I’m practising a lot, so I’ll get better at styling my hair soon.” Her quick retort, filled with the same pride
he saw, left him momentarily transfixed.

‘This woman never wants to give in even if it kills her, doesn’t she?’

Amused by her persistence, Matthias smirked once more.

“Well then, let’s see.”

“I’m absolutely sure that I can do this. And if my skill doesn’t get any better…I’ll just cut it short.”

“Cut it?”

The beam fell off Matthias’s face at her words. When he saw Leyla nodding, absorbed in thought, his
eyes narrowed as if he was witnessing something truly horrible.

“Yes. I’d look a lot more mature, and….”

“Don’t cut it.”

His demand was oddly soft and calm.

Puzzled and annoyed, Leyla shot him a look. “Don’t tell me, I need your permission to grow or cut my
hair?” She groused.

“Your hair… it’s beautiful.”

It was a stupefying reply to an irate question that was nearly impossible to believe.

Above all…. It sounded ridiculous.

Doubting her ears, Leyla frowned at him. Matthias looked back at her, calm in the face of her agitation.

“It’s like a wing.”

His voice had taken on the same exact tone he had used to insult and hurt her with merely a single
statement in the past, a cold bleakness that reminded her of winter.

Leyla could still recall how calm and unchanged his voice had been, even as he was calling her terrible
slurs.
As she stood fuming in anger, her memory flashed back to the day of their first meeting. It had been a
hot summer day when she first saw Duke Herhardt at the top of a tree, his voice cold yet eerily tranquil
even as he came dangerously close to shooting a child.

His soothing voice had been imprinted in her mind ever since.

Clear as crystal, she remembered jumping down from the tree and running towards Uncle Bill’s cottage,
crying out at the existence of such a human being.

‘The- There’s a man in the forest! A tall man!’

Struggling to catch her breath, the words poured out of her mouth, full of admiration in a way that only
a child could have.

‘He has black hair, and his eyes are blue. And his voice is as light as a feather.’

At that moment, struggling to explain the texture of the voice that had left her smitten, the only image
that came to Little Leyla’s mind was her most precious possession—the soft feathers that belonged to
the riverbirds from Schulter River, which she had painstakingly collected during her many walks along its
banks. Anything else would have came up short when compared to his voice.

Flustered by his bluntness, Leyla hurriedly avoided his gaze. Cruel and aimed to hurt her, Matthias’s
words had made him the person she most feared and disliked— after all, it was the Duke Herhardt
whom she knew of.

However, no matter how long she waited, Matthias stayed silent. Not a word or insult flew past his lips.

Instead, he simply walked away, leaving a bewildered Leyla behind. As the autumn leaves fluttered to
the ground she fretted, wondering if his odd compliment was but a hallucination, brought on by the
autumn leaves falling gently to the ground.

Her hair had cascaded down to her shoulders, strands fluttering in the cold autumn wind. Shaking away
her thoughts, Leyla combed a hand through her hair. She flinched as a sudden gust of cold wind blew
past her. Losing her grip on the handle, she tried to grab at it—only to crash into the ground with her
bicycle in tow.

“Ackhh!”

Her scream blended with the thud of her bicycle colliding with the pavement, a cacophony in a quiet
road.

Matthias grimaced as he watched Leyla struggle to stop her own bicycle from crushing her into a
pancake against the dusty road, unaware of his lips quirking up into a laughing sneer the longer he
watched.

“You trip and fall just like always, it seems.”

Leyla bit her lip in shame at his laughter. Oddly enough, it made her feel relieved.

‘Just laugh, harass me, and leave.’

Full of hope, she waited for him to do just that. As Matthias quietly pulled up her bike and walked
towards her bag, which had landed far away from where she had fallen, her hopes began to falter, and it
died completely when he brought it to her, kneeling at her side.

“Nnn…no-! No, it’s mine!” Leyla snatched the bag from Matthias in a blind panic when he attempted to
pick her scattered belongings. “I-I’ll do it myself.”

Matthias’s brows scrunched together at her blatant hostility.

“I….I’ll do it,” Leyla mumbled. Lowering her eyes, she began to collect her belongings with trembling
hands, even though Matthias had done nothing to frighten her so.

Even though he was agitated by Leyla’s actions and quivering tone, Matthias decided to watch her
patiently. Noticing her flushed cheeks and neck, he had an epiphany—it was merely emberrasment and
shyness that made her shy back from him, nothing more.

Standing in front of her, Matthias’s looming figure casted a shadow onto Leyla’s dropped items. She
appeared very distraught, he observed, gathering even roadside leaves and stones into her bags in her
frantic scramble to gather her belongings. Oddly enough, the quirkiness of it all quelled Matthias’s ire.

When she had gathered all of her belongings into her bag, Leyla rushed to her feet. Oblivious to the dust
that was all over her clothes and hands, she shot him a look.

“I know it’s rude, but Duke….”

Her eyes drifted between Matthias and the entrance to the mansion located on the opposite side of the
road. Perplexed, she wondered what to do next.

“If it’s rude of me to go ahead of you, I’ll wait for you to leave first.”

Her words were bold, as if she no longer wanted to walk with him, but Matthias could see the anxiety in
her eyes. She had a nosy attitude, but for once he tolerated it, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to walk
alongside her after passing the entrance of the mansion.

“Go on.”

His permission surprised her.

“Me first?” She asked, full of confusion.

Matthias clicked his tongue in lue of an answer. Leyla’s face lit up, and she quickly lowered her head.

“Thank you, Duke.”

Matthias seemed offended with her excessive politeness, as if it was an affront to his very being.

Leyla made her way to the entrance. Before mounting her bicycle she halted in her tracks, turning back
to the man with a frown, eyes full of suspicion. It was obvious that Matthias was being oddly kind
towards her, but she still didn’t trust him. After a quick glance, she tilted her head and turned her back
to him, riding off down the road.

“Should I have made her cry instead?”

Matthias’s regret came too late. Keeping a relatively pleasant expression on his face, he kept walking
until something shiny on the ground caught his attention.

It was a pen.

A pen that belonged to a woman who fell and lost her belongings with ease.

Swiftly, Matthias picked it up. As he kept his gaze on the woman in question, his grip on the pen grew
tighter. Momentarily, he considered stopping her.

Leyla was close enough that she could hear him if he called, but Matthias stayed silent instead.

He spun the pen with his long fingers as he strolled along the road. Meanwhile, Leyla, who was diligently
cycling her bike, soon disappeared from sight beyond the Arvis’s gate.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“That bird came again.”

Smiling, Mark Evers informed the man seated facing away from the window.

Despite the lack of explanation, Matthias understood. He didn’t even bother to look at the window. He
didn’t need to, not when it had happened so often that it had become a part of his daily routine.

It was time for ‘Phoebe’s’ visit; a pigeon that was much gentler and smarter than its owner.

Leaning against a chair by the fireplace, Matthias signed the last document required of him for the day,
handing it to his aide. After his aide retreated from the room with the paper, he was left to his own
devices in the living room.

Capping his fountain pen, Matthias glanced out of the window. Phoebe, as always, was seated on the
railing, preoccupied with gulping down its food with gusto.

He looked away from the bird, gaze falling onto the thin pen in his hand. He examined it carefully, noting
the pen owner’s name engraved in gold on the cap.

‘Leyla Lewellin.’
The pen appeared to be brand-new. It didn’t look like she had bought it with her own money, so it had
likely been a gift from the gardener.

Matthias hoped so. He was sure that Leyla would do everything she could to get it back if it was a gift
from Bill Remmer.

‘Would she have noticed by now?’

Matthias stared at the pen with a crooked grin. He uncapped the pen. Acting like a gentleman towards a
woman who had praised him didn’t seem like a bad idea. Besides, it was time for the pigeon to pay for
its own meal.

Matthias walked up to the balcony, folding a letter containing a single short sentence. Chuckling at the
thought of the bird’s owner fleeing on her bicycle, he tied the letter onto the bird’s ankle, which leant its
body docily towards him.

After Matthias made sure that the note was secure, he launched Phoebe into the sky.

And the carrier pigeon began to fly eagerly towards the gardener’s cottage.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Once the sun, gleaming like copper, settled behind the horizon, night came, along with Phoebe’s return.

Leyla was sitting and staring mindlessly at the empty desk when the sound of pecking on the window
startled her. Turning her head, she called the bird in chidingly.

“Phoebe!”

Leyla hurriedly wrapped the shawl over her shoulders, standing from her chair. The chilly wind blew into
the room as she threw open the window.

“Are you hungry? Wait a minute… huh?”

Her eyes widened with astonishment at the sight of the letter tied to Phoebe’s leg. She rubbed at her
eyes, sure that she was seeing things, but the letter remained present on the bird’s leg.

“…Kyle?”

Without thinking, His name slipped from her lips, even though she knew it wasn’t him.

‘No, Kyle has already left. There’s no way anyone else would tie a letter to Phoebe’s feet.’

Leyla stared blankly at Phoebe. Hands trembling, she opened the letter. As she skimmed through the
short sentence written in the letter, her countenance quickly changed from curiosity to dismay.

She gasped. The letter slipped from her fingers as she took an instinctive step back, fluttering gently
onto the floor beneath the window.
Staring at the letter, eyes blinking rapidly, Leyla took a step back, then another until her back slammed
against the closet, bringing her to her senses.

“I-It can’t be!”

Leyla mumbled shakily under her breath as she rummaged hastily through her bag. The pen she was
searching for was nowhere to be found. Even more baffling were the stones and leaves inside her bag
instead—she hadn’t the slightest idea how they had gotten inside her bag.

Leyla frowned and staggered back to the window, letter held in a hand that was now pale and wan like
moonlight.

‘[Where’s your pen, Leyla?]’

Wrapping her arms around her head, she read the note Phoebe had brought in once more.

She sighed.

‘No way.’

No matter how many times she muttered the words, Leyla knew nothing would change.

Guu… Guuu… Guu…

In the pale white moonlight of an autumn night, Phoebe, the pigeon whom the Duke had fed to the
point of rotundness, cooed calmly.
Chapter 50

For My Precious Cousin

Arvis was bustling with the preparations for Herhardt’s dinner party.

As Leyla walked home from school, the roads were swarming with carriages and vehicles. Uncle Bill had
been extremely busy these past few days, engrossed in arranging flowers for the mansion’s interior. It
was that time of the year when flowers start wilting, so he had to gather some from greenhouses and
procure the rest from local flower gardens.

Leyla helped her uncle out by making frequent trips downtown to buy flowers. Her hectic days made her
feel lucky; at the very least, she could forget about her missing pen and her unanswered letter from the
Duke. But now that her work was done, she had to return to Arvis.

As the entrance to the mansion loomed closer, Leyla slowed her pace.

Fortunately, Duke Herhardt seemed to have brushed the matter aside. Or more likely, he didn’t have a
chance to ponder over it. He, too, had been swamped with work lately, and Phoebe, who had been
secretly communicating with him, was confined within a cage in the backyard.

“I can’t believe it.”

She had uttered these very words at least a hundred times since Phoebe brought in the Duke’s letter.

“How did he come up with the idea of taming Phoebe and using it as his carrier bird?”

She hadn’t lived a long life, nor was she acquainted with many people. However, within her lifetime,
Duke Matthias von Herhardt was by far the most strange and yet enigmatic man Leyla Lewellin had ever
come across.

“Why does he keep taking other people’s things? Is he a kleptomaniac?” Leyla kicked an innocent stone
on the path as she grumbled.

She didn’t want to meet the duke, even though she needed to get her pen back. She didn’t really know
why she was determined to avoid him even more now, but Leyla felt like she had to.
Just as Leyla was about to enter the mansion from a side entrance, a blaring honk startled her. She
swivelled to see the Brandt family’s car park right in front of her.

As the back seat window slowly rolled down, Leyla approached the car with stiff steps.

“Leyla, long time no see.”

Sitting inside was the familiar face of Claudine Brandt.

“How have you been?” Claudine beamed, scanning Leyla from head to toe.

Leyla froze for a moment. A familiar sense of guilt, like that of a child who had made a grave mistake,
gripped her tight. It was the same emotion she had felt last summer, on the day of Duke Herhardt and
the Lady’s engagement ceremony. The memory of her first kiss being stolen by Claudine’s fiancé never
failed to make her feel pathetic.

The Duke’s gentle voice, his soft laughter, and the touch of his firm, fervent hands flitted across her
mind, but Claudine’s gaze brought her back to the present.

Clasping her frozen hands together, Leyla, as she’d always done, greeted Claudine with a polite bow.

“Hello, Lady Claudine.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

It was a surprise to no one that Herhardt’s dinner party had ended on a perfect note. Always the
epitome of grace and elegance, the two hostesses of the party were consistent throughout. In the Berg
Empire, the name Herhardt had earned the epithet ‘perfection’. A mishap in Herhardt’s dinner party
would merely heighten everyone’s unbridled curiosity.

“Would it be alright if we took a walk in the greenhouse for a while?”

Claudine politely asked Elysee after everyone had moved on to chat in the living room. Standing on the
other side of the room were the people Claudine had referred to – her fiancé and her cousin.

“Of course, go ahead.” Elysee von Herhardt readily consented. “You young people do need to spend
some time together.”

With her subtle tone, the ladies surrounding Elysee burst into laughter in tandem, as if they were
dancing in rhythm.

Claudine exited the living room and Matthias together with Riette followed suit, leaving behind the
ladies who began gossiping about the youngsters’ love affairs.
“Oh, Duke Herhardt, Madam Norma granted me permission to expand this greenhouse when I become
the Duchess of Arvis,” said Claudine, her radiant voice permeating the tranquil greenhouse in the dark.

“I see.”

Matthias’s lips twitched with a faint smile.

“What do you think?”

“I’ll go along with whatever my Lady wishes.”

Claudine already knew what Matthias would answer, but she still nodded with a pleasant smile. “You
can look forward to it. I’m confident that I can truly love this magnificent greenhouse, Arvis’ Heaven.”

Claudine walked along the pathway with a spring in her step. Although she was being escorted by her
fiancé, most of her conversations ended up revolving around Riette.

“Master.”

Claudine had just begun talking about what tropical plants to grow in the expanded greenhouse when a
servant arrived to see Matthias. Someone had sought him out to discuss business-related matters.

“Come back quickly.” Claudine smiled as she let go of her fiancé’s arm. “I’ll continue my walk with
Riette.”

“I always end up as the Duke’s substitute for my dear Lady Brandt.”

Despite his grumbling, Riette willingly lent his arm to Claudine.

After Matthias and his servant departed, Claudine and Riette were the only ones left in the greenhouse,
surrounded by the soft lull of the flowing fountain.

They resumed their prior discussion as well as their stroll. Claudine’s visualization of expanding the
greenhouse was quite specific; she had already made up her mind about which particular plants to
import and how to landscape them.

“It seems like you’ve already become Duchess Herhardt. Your love for Arvis exceeds your love for your
fiancé,” Riette surmised as he turned to look at her after listening to her ideas.

Claudine nodded without a hint of shame. “Either way, I’m still showing love for Herhardt.”

“You two really are something.”

Riette’s laugh was one of defeat.

“Matthias is pretty cold, are you okay with that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Duke Herhardt doesn’t love anyone. He never loved you before, doesn’t love you now, and will never
love you in the future.”

“Which prestigious nobleman marries for love?”

“Some do! It would surely happen if Lady Brandt would simply become my wife.”

As usual, Riette kept his expression and tone light and casual. Claudine just flashed a smile in response.

“Riette, I’ve been going in and out of Arvis with my mother for ten years.” Claudine turned to look at
Riette. “Do you know what that means?”

“It means, for ten years now, the aristocrats of this empire have already fancied you as Duchess
Herhardt.”

“Right, Riette, this is why I like you.”

Claudine laughed softly and placed her hand back on Riette’s arm.

Riette calmly escorted his cousin. The subtle tension between them soon disappeared as their casual
conversation and laughter flowed back in.

“I also want to raise a peacock after I expand this place.”

Claudine changed the topic while observing the birds in the greenhouse.

“Is this the birth of a bird-loving couple?” Riette asked sarcastically.

“Riette!”

“The bird is still there, by the way. That pretty little bird who dwells in the Duke’s bedroom.”

“I don’t mind. Duke Herhardt ought to have at least some small pleasures. We should respect his
wishes.”

“I hope it stays just at that.”

“It’s not worth your worries. No matter how pretty it is, you can’t bestow the title of Duchess to a bird,
Riette.”

“Well, that’s true.” Riette failed to refute. No matter how much Matthias adored the canary, a bird was
just a bird. “Do you know how long a canary lives? Does it have a long life?” He asked.

Claudine tilted her head, “I don’t know, but I hope that noisy bird doesn’t live too long.”

“Didn’t you just say that we should respect the Duke’s small pleasures?”

“Yes, but if that bird dies, there will be another bird who’ll entertain Duke Herhardt.”
“Claudine, I truly want to give my blessings to you and Matthias.” Riette laughed absent-mindedly as he
gazed at Claudine’s face, “You two are such a perfect match.”

Riette felt a brief pang of pity for Matthias’s little bird. The poor bird was bound to hover around the
well-matched couple helplessly.

Claudine’s lips lifted to a natural smile. Seeing her cruel, yet beautiful face, Riette blurted out, “Should I
become acquainted with that bird for my precious cousin?”

“I didn’t know you had that kind of hobby.”

“She’s not my cup of tea, but she’s still pretty.”

“It won’t be easy.” Claudine giggled as if she were having a lot of fun. “That bird may look pretty, but she
has the pride of a princess.”

“Hah. Do I look like the type to easily fail?”

“No… but I’m indeed curious. Will you be able to become friends with that haughty bird?”

Claudine was no longer smiling, her features as cold as the window panes reflecting the moonlight.

“If you succeed, I’d be happy to send you a congratulatory gift.”

“What gift?”

“Isn’t gratitude and love enough?”

Their ostentatious smiles dissipated as the pair’s intense stare-down grew profound.

“Not bad.”

As the door to the greenhouse opened, Riette let out a low sigh and the pair made their way forward.
Matthias had returned.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Neither the carrier bird nor Leyla had returned. Everything was exactly the same as it had been prior to
him sending the letter.

Matthias scoffed as he looked up at the sky, where the white pigeon used to flit about. He laughed
coldly, bitter and borderline angry.

“You can go back now.”

Matthias declared to the servant waiting in front of his balcony door.

“Then I’ll be waiting in front of the annex when it’s time for departure.”
Mark Evers left a polite greeting and returned with the rest of the staff.

Left to his own devices, Matthias let his mind wander as he looked down at the tranquil river below his
balcony. He believed that Leyla had been too preoccupied with assisting the gardener recently. But
now… that was no longer the case.

After lifting his cuff to check his watch, Matthias paced up and down his balcony. There was still some
time left before his afternoon appointment. Also, it was the weekend, so Leyla Lewellin would probably
be in her cabin.

Thus, he deduced a fair conclusion and decided to follow through with his plan without hesitation.

Matthias walked down the riverside and entered a forest path carpeted with fallen leaves.

He was filled with regret.

It flooded through him hot and thick, darker than the colour of autumn leaves.

‘I should’ve hurt her until she cried.’

However, he soon found Leyla Lewellin. She was hanging laundry near the cottage’s fences. She looked
very calm and relaxed, enough to make Matthias seem foolish for restlessly waiting around for the past
week.

Matthias stood still and watched her with discretion. Leyla continued hanging the clean bedding, her
attention entirely focused on her task. She pulled left and right, pulled once again, and then twisted the
sheet tight until it was dry enough to hang.

Her proud smile added to Matthias’ bewilderment.

‘Ha… Would you look at that?’

Lately, he’d been thinking about those words often. She was annoyingly cute yet ferocious, and she
always amused him with her quirky attitude. Matthias felt frustrated with himself for being so disarmed
by her.

Leyla turned around just as Matthias took a step forward. Her body stiffened like a pole as soon as she
saw him. So far, he had thought her actions were very adorable, but Matthias now decided to change his
outlook.

Leyla swivelled and started running. When she disappeared beyond the yard, Matthias realized that she
was running away from him.

“That woman…”

The sight of her running away as if she had seen a ghost made Matthias scoff. It was amusing to watch
and more amusing to think that she believed she could dare run away from him.
He withheld his sentiments for now. After he stopped laughing, Matthias began to chase her.

Leyla ran out of the yard and towards the harvesting fields on the opposite end of the Schulter river.
Matthias’ strides grew longer, and the gap between the pair narrowed. Leyla looked back in fear, and
then… she stumbled.

She finally got caught under a willow tree near the river. Leyla struggled against him, but Matthias had
grasped onto her shoulders tight and caged her between the tree trunk and his body. His hands were
blazing as he aggressively grabbed her matted hair.

When he looked down, Matthias was greeted by the sight of a tearful Leyla.

He smiled.

“Where are you going, Leyla?”

Chapter 51

Are You A Crow?

‘Insane.’

Leyla belatedly recalled a stark realisation about him.

‘Yes. Duke Herhardt is insane.’

“Ouchhh!”

“You must answer me when I ask you a question.”

Leyla’s breathing was ragged as Matthias smirked and tugged at her hair. Unlike the time he chased and
slammed her against the tree trunk, his touch was gentle. However, the shame and apprehension of
being dragged by the hair muddled her mind and prevented her from noticing his loosened grip.

“Leyla.”

His voice sounded huskier.

Leyla tried to step back, but the tree trunk blocked her escape. Although they had both run for quite a
while, Matthias’ breathing had already stabilized. Meanwhile, Leyla kept panting erratically. As her chest
heaved up and down, the sensation of his towering, firm body grew apparent, further adding to her
shame.

“Why…”

Leyla shoved his shoulder roughly, her voice shaking.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

Realizing that her two arms’ strength alone won’t be enough to push him away, she twisted her body
with all her might.

Matthias pressed his chest closer against hers, amused by her futile attempts. He looked pleased to see
Leyla’s helplessness at the state of their intertwined bodies.

“Don’t question. Answer me.”

He looked into her glare, eager and waiting.

“Answer me, Leyla.”

Matthias fiddled with a strand of Leyla’s golden hair, slowly wrapping it around his finger. The soft
texture of her locks somehow alleviated the displeasure that had consumed him over the past week. It
even managed to water down his irritation from Leyla’s lack of response.

“Don’t you think it’s unladylike to not answer?”

“….”

“Leyla.”

“….”

“Leyla Lewellin.”
Matthias’ grip on her hair gradually gained strength. Overcome with a foreboding feeling, Leyla finally
opened her lips in a bout of anger.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Didn’t my letter arrive?”

“I don’t know.”

“Leyla, you better think carefully before you speak.” Matthias’ lips spread to a wide grin seeing Leyla’s
eyes tremble with fear. “What do you think I’ll do with a useless carrier bird that can’t even deliver a
letter properly?”

“You- you promised!” yelled Leyla, “You promised not to shoot Phoebe!”

“Did I?”

“Duke!”

“I can’t seem to understand what you’re talking about.”

Matthias grew more mischievous with the woman who stumbled over her clumsy lies, failing to hide her
nervousness. Leyla glared at him briefly before lowering her trembling eyelids.

“…Sorry.”

“For what?”

“You already know.”

“For ignoring my letter, running away, or lying?”

Leyla flinched as he pointed out each of her mistakes. She looked particularly lovely when she was
docile, and Matthias regretted not being able to see her downcast, glassy eyes.

“I’m sorry…”

“That’s enough apologizing.”

Matthias raised her chin. His touch was careful. It had the tenderness of someone handling something
delicate. Yet, Leyla shivered at his mere touch. He didn’t mind her reaction though; he was already
content with her looking at him.

“I guess that pen means nothing to you since you’re acting like it doesn’t exist.”

“No, it’s precious to me! But…”

As Leyla turned to look away, Matthias captured her dainty chin again, turning her gaze back to him.

“But?”

He didn’t want the conversation to be avoided any further. Leyla finally admitted defeat, with her face
and hair firmly locked within his grasp. She let out a sigh of resignation.

“I really don’t understand you.”

Leyla’s serene, emerald eyes held Matthias’ gaze. Reflected in her beautiful eyes that resembled the
lush greens of eternal summer was his shadow.

“Why do you keep stealing my things?”

Matthias’ eyebrows shot up upon hearing her chastising tone, like that of a teacher disciplining a
naughty student. Her retort was so ridiculous that it brought a grin to his lips. Besides Leyla Lewellin, no
one in the whole empire would dare accuse Duke Herhardt of being a petty thief.

“Are you a crow?!” She snapped. Her gaze travelled from his jet-black hair to his piercing blue eyes.

“A crow?”

Her unexpected question made Matthias frown, but Leyla didn’t seem the least bit phased.

“You’re the one who’s always stealing my… I mean, you’re the one who did wrong. Why should I be the
one who has to go seek you out and beg for my things every single time? It’s not fair.”

Leyla’s disgruntled voice was a pitch higher than her regular tone. Somehow, it was clearer and more
pleasing to the ears, so Matthias willingly listened.

“That’s why you stayed put this time?” Matthias’ lips twitched at Leyla’s frustration.

His unruffled features left her speechless. Leyla had finally mustered up the courage to protest, but the
Duke had dismissed her with a simple smirk.

‘What in the world…’

He made her feel foolish.

“Leyla.”

Right when Leyla was about to speak, Matthias had called out her name. His obtrusive voice dampened
her resolve. It was a strange feeling that she couldn’t really describe. Hence, she promptly opened her
eyes and mulled over a possible reply.

“Leyla.”

Matthias murmured, his voice a low hum.

When she turned her head to the side, Leyla’s ear pressed against Matthias’ chest. She could hear the
faint beating of his heart.

She gasped, placing her pale, stiff hands on top of his chest, horrified at the possibility of him feeling her
thumping heart. Leyla pushed his shoulders once again, even though she knew her efforts were for
nought.

When Matthias finally took a step back, Leyla let out a long-held breath.

Despite being of timid nature, Leyla Lewellin was gentle, smart, and at times, daring. She was difficult to
comprehend but very entertaining to watch.

“Now, please return my pen.”

Matthias burst into laughter at Leyla’s abrupt request.

‘She never disappoints me.’

“It’s gone.”

Matthias eagerly answered.

“I threw it away.”

“What?”

“I didn’t think you would look for it.”

“Then why did you come looking for me?”

“Leyla, don’t you think I should at least inform you?” Matthias shrugged his shoulders as if she were
asking the obvious.

“I’m a gentleman.”

Matthias caressed her hair, still trapped between his fingers.

“I’m Carlsbar’s best gentleman, acknowledged by Ms. Lewellin herself.”

As he loosened his grip, Leyla’s hair fell on her shoulders like golden waves. She gave him a disapproving
look while staggering backwards. However, as soon as she’d been released, she let out a yelp of pain.

“Ouch!”

As the last strands of her hair slipped out of his fingers, Matthias suddenly strengthened his grip.

“Am I not?”

He looked elated, even when Leyla’s eyes went misty from the pain on her scalp.
‘Insane’

“I-It’s hurt!” Leyla struggled to release her hair from his fingers. Chuckling, Matthias played with the tips
of her hair as if it were nothing but a toy.

‘I can’t believe this deranged psychopath is the head of the great House of Herhardt!’

Just when she was about to start worrying about Arvis’s future, Matthias abruptly let go of her hair,
causing Leyla to trip.

Leyla expected to hear his musical laughter at her tumbling figure, but her plummeting vision came to a
sudden halt. Before she knew it, Matthias’ familiar features filled her view. Only after feeling his arms
encircle her waist did Leyla realize that she was looking up at him while being held against his chest.

‘Should I bite him?’

Leyla felt like a trapped mouse until Matthias casually set her down. His calm, yet sly demeanour caused
her to shudder.

She quickly ran to the river’s edge near the tree, while Matthias paused to check his wristwatch.

“I’m taking those words back. You’re definitely not a gentleman. Absolutely not!”

Leyla screamed at the top of her lungs.

“I guess I have a terrible reputation now.”

Her cheeks flushed with rage as he laughed again, and it reflected in her voice when she declared, “I’m
serious!”

“Ah, are you?”

“Yes! If you’re a gentleman, then I must be the Queen!”

Leyla was bitter at her past self for showering him with such servile praises.

Matthias flashed a wolfish grin while fixing the lapel of his dishevelled coat – as if to tease her by saying,
‘Is that all you have to say?’

Before he left, Matthias made a theatrical bow, as though he were a servant in the presence of a Queen.
His subtle jibe left Leyla speechless.

Leyla stared at the Duke’s retreating back, dumbstruck. The man who hunted her down and tormented
her like a predator had now left after insulting her in the most beautiful manner.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The car was already on standby with its door open when Matthias arrived in front of the annex.
He promptly stepped into the car, his prior annoyance and displeasure having vanished into thin air.

The car gathered speed as it drove along the riverfront road. Inside, Matthias gazed at the Schulter River
for a moment before turning to the pile of documents and letters his aide had arranged for him.

His twinkling eyes slowly returned to their usual, calculated gleam. However, his stoic visage broke when
he slightly pouted his lips as he retrieved a pen from the pocket of his coat.

‘Leyla Lewellin.’

The golden letters engraved on the pen sparkled in the afternoon sun.

Matthias’ fingertips softly glided over the pen’s glossy surface. Smiling, he opened the pen cap.

The scritch-scratch of pen-against-paper echoed throughout the sunlit car.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Ms Lewellin, this is for you.”

The mailman had a small parcel left in his hands once all the official letters had been given out.

“For me?”

Leyla hesitated before receiving a parcel at school rather than at her cabin. When she searched for the
sender’s identity, she was greeted with a name and an address that she had never seen before.

“Might this be a wrong delivery?”

“Huh? Um- no…”

Leyla dismissed her doubts with a smile. Although she didn’t know who the sender was, the recipient tag
on the box clearly mentioned ‘Leyla Lewellin.’

“Thank you.”

Leyla hurried back into the school building after thanking the mailman. As the school’s youngest teacher,
she was tasked with the duty of receiving and distributing all the letters and parcels – from the
principal’s office to the classrooms.

By the time she completed her tasks, break time was almost over. Leyla took a seat at her classroom
desk and started unwrapping the package she had received. She found a long box, free of any note or
missive.

Leyla checked the sender’s name and address once again. It was odd – the address mentioned a strange
city.

“Oh!”
Upon sliding the lid open, Leyla sat with her mouth agape.

Inside the box was a black pen with exquisite golden etchings.

‘Who on earth would send this and why…’

But then, the memories of the weekend flooded her mind and she let out an inadvertent sigh.

This new pen seemed far too expensive compared to her previous one.

Leyla carefully picked up the new fountain pen. Her name was engraved on the cap, just like her old pen
that the Duke had thrown away.

Before she could do anything else though, her students started pouring into the classroom with the
sound of the ringing school bell.

Leyla put her new pen back in its box and stowed it deep within her desk drawer. How dearly she wished
she could stow away her memories in the same, dark place, too. But alas, Leyla knew that was
impossible.

“Let’s get started, everyone!”

Leyla stood before the podium, a jovial smile in place.

Chapter 52

It’s Over Now

It was late afternoon when Riette von Lindman arrived at Herhardt’s mansion, his carriage loaded with
luggage for his short stay at Arvis.

“Welcome, Riette.” Elysee von Herhardt greeted him cheerfully, “I wish my sister had come with you.”

“My mother is going on a trip soon.”

“She must be planning a trip to the south for winter.”

“Yes, she detests the cold.” Riette smiled as he conveyed his mother’s regards with a gentle voice.
“Where’s Madam Norma?”

“She’s taking a nap at the moment. You may say hello to her later.”

Elysee von Herhardt led Riette to the living room.

As a cousin and a close friend of Matthias, he had wandered in and out of Arvis growing up, and was
already considered a part of the family.

The two had tea in the living room, after which Riette went for a stroll in the woodlands of the Herhardt
estate. Matthias wouldn’t return until nightfall, and it would take some time for the servants to organise
Riette’s belongings. Thus, curiosity got the better of him. Riette decided to set out for a special occasion:
to meet the elusive child who lived in the woods, Leyla. In other words, the woman who was wreaking
havoc in Matthias and Claudine’s once orderly life.

Riette knew the child, but he had never spared her a single glance. To him, she was just one of many in
the bevy of servants who took up residence in Arvis. He sympathised with her plight and thought of her
as quite a pretty girl, but that was all. So imagine Riette’s surprise when he discovered that the woman
Matthias had taken an interest in was Leyla Lewellin.

Scandalous affairs between aristocrats and their servants were nothing new, but if the aristocrat were to
be Duke Herhardt, the story would take on a life of its own. Even if it was just a passing fancy.

‘Duke Herhardt lied.’

As the gardener’s cabin appeared on the horizon, Riette reminisced about that evening last summer
when Claudine had abruptly brought up Matthias.

‘He lied in order to separate Leyla from the doctor’s son.’

Claudine had smiled, but Riette saw through her facade when he caught a glimpse of her frightening, icy
gaze.

‘The blue-blooded Matthias von Herhardt lied and schemed just to have that pathetic orphan. Can you
believe it, Riette?’ Claudine scoffed.

‘What kind of lies did he spew?’ Riette had asked, but Claudine had given no further explanation.

‘I hope he gets her as soon as possible.’

Claudine looked out her window impassively, as if nothing had happened. The long, summer sunset split
the skyline beyond Count Brandt’s estate like a blade of gold.

‘He needs to have her in order to dispose of her at the earliest.’

Claudine muttered with a look of boredom sketched on her face, as if she were a spectator of a third-
rate, low-class performance.

Riette could peer right into her mind. She didn’t look jealous of Leyla Lewellin. She simply portrayed
slight dismay and scorn at her noble fiancé’s lowly inclinations.

Rather, if Claudine had been jealous or distressed, Riette would have asked her to marry him instead of
getting tied to a marriage that would’ve made her miserable. However, Claudine was adamant that
marrying Matthias would be the only way for her to receive the happiness she so desired.
That day, the two of them had sat down for tea and chatted pleasantly, later enjoying their dinner in the
same amicable atmosphere. The following morning, Riette had left the Brandt estate with Claudine
standing at the door until his car was out of sight.

‘Why is that memory persisting and becoming a lingering regret?’

A forlorn laugh escaped Riette’s lips just as he arrived in front of the log cabin. A forest trail linked the
hedgeless hunting grounds and the small cottage.

Every passing second, the glorious lamp of heaven leisurely dripped gold onto the glittering river. As the
sun slowly set beyond the horizon, the lighting inside the house dimmed down. Instead of leaving,
though, Riette decided to wait. With his back resting comfortably against the porch railing, he looked up
at the deciduous branches.

Riette Lindman harboured feelings for someone who would never be miserable because of love. And he
knew well that the woman he loved was the root of his woes.
Yet, Riette enjoyed having a simple and carefree life, so he was willing to embrace his tragic love with
ease. He didn’t mind providing Claudine with some fun and helping her through his pranks.

Just when he was about to light a cigarette, Riette suddenly heard footsteps coming from the other side
of the forest trail. Sounds of conversation floated down the path.

He shifted his attention to the direction of the distant sounds and took a long drag of his cigarette. He
then exhaled a cloud of smoke as he kept waiting. Before long, a bear-like man and a woman half his
size appeared before him. They stopped short of the entrance when they noticed Riette.

With a grin pasted on his face, Riette approached the pair. The gardener blurted out a greeting upon
recognizing the man and the petite lady next to him bowed her head.

“Hello there, little forest bird girl.”

Riette greeted her calmly, similar to the time he watched her cry as she buried the bird that Matthias
had slain.

“Ah. Should I say bird lady now? Or bird teacher?”

Leyla’s eyes glinted in suspicion behind her glasses, her brows furrowing as she processed his nonsense.

Riette’s impression of Leyla Lewellin remained unchanged. She was certainly pretty, but not stunningly
so that it would dazzle the men around her. Yet, he seemed to have an inkling of how she managed to
tickle the fancy of the doctor’s son and his very own noble cousin.

“Anyway, nice to meet you, Leyla.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Be careful of Marquis Lindman.”

It was a severe warning when coming from Bill Remmer, who was glaring at something towards the end
of the table. Leyla giggled placing down the pot of freshly cooked stew in the middle of the table.

“This isn’t a laughing matter. Don’t just take it lightly”

“Uncle.”

“I don’t believe that lazy flirt just came out for a walk this far.”

Bill bit the loaf roughly, tearing it into smaller pieces.

“He greeted you and prattled on about pointless things. It’s extremely suspicious so you should be more
careful.”

“Yes, yes.”
Leyla readily replied, knowing his nagging would never end if she didn’t comply. At her half-hearted
response, Bill was unconvinced.

“Keep my words in mind, Leyla. Not all aristocrats are as decent and dignified as Duke Herhardt.”

“Yes… Huh, what?”

Leyla’s forehead scrunched up in the midst of her inadvertent nodding. Bill’s exaggerated reverence of
Duke Herhardt left her speechless; but she could not dissent because except for her, everyone else
viewed Duke Herhardt in such light.

Leyla just kept nodding as she hurriedly ate her bread, keeping her opinions to herself. Nevertheless,
memories of that indecent, undignified man became more vivid. She started coughing, choking on her
bread as she remembered the offensive bows and expensive pens he sent to her in school.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Leyla shook her head. “I was hungry, but ate too fast just now.” She took off her glasses, and
wiped away the tears that resulted from her violent coughs.

Bill burst out laughing as he watched her. “At moments like this, would you still seem like a child.”

He had a chastising tone, but Bill’s smile said otherwise.

“Eat some more. But carefully this time.”

Bill took a big serving of meat, placing it one by one on Leyla’s plate. Then another. The food piled up
higher everytime Bill moved his hands.

“This is too much!”

“Don’t you know? I like children who eat like cows.” Bill, like always, refused to listen to Leyla’s
objections.

“I am no longer a child.”

Leyla declared , yet Bill’s only response was adding one more piece of meat onto her plate.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Their balmy evening was spent chatting and laughing at the table. Leyla found it difficult to eat like a
cow; but she tried to eat enough, to please her uncle.

Leyla washed the dishes as Bill Remmer mended the squeaky desk chair. Afterwards, the two of them
sat on the porch, warm mugs of coffee in hand, and viewed the falling russet leaves . The wind brought
on a palpable chill, but Bill and Leyla would continue their day-end conversations for as long as they
could until winter arrived.
“Good night, Leyla.”

Bill gave his rudimentary but warm goodbye before entering his room.

“You too, Uncle. Good night.”

Leyla’s lips held a gentle smile, as usual. Her bubbly voice had the essence of a sliver of light flowing
through the gap of a curtain.

After returning to her room, Leyla sat on the chair Uncle Bill had fixed for her and corrected her
students’ test papers. Later, she read some mystery novels borrowed from the library and replied to
letters from friends who had become teachers at other schools.

After finishing the last letter, she suddenly remembered the pen the Duke had given her as she closed
the lid of her own worn-out one.

Leyla was silent for a brief moment as she looked blankly into space, before deciding to open the desk
drawer. The pen she had reluctantly brought home was still neatly stowed in its box.

‘I knew it.’

Growing up, Leyla had heard many a tongue-click whenever she made a mistake or tried to be more
well-behaved than her classmates.

‘As one would expect from a child who grew up without parents.’

The remarks she’d grown used to hearing always carried one of the two emotions: scorn or pity.

Leyla always wondered why she was singled out for blame every time, even though the other children
made the same mistakes as her. Nevertheless, as she grew older, Leyla realized that society’s rules
didn’t apply equally to all of its members.

So she wanted to do better.

Even if she couldn’t be perfect, she was determined to live a life where she didn’t garner sympathy from
others. Every time she faced the world’s harsh standards, Leyla tried her best to stand her ground and
fight. She wanted to live a respectable life for Uncle Bill, who had cared, loved, and raised her in all the
ways that count.

After she made up her mind, she pulled the pen out of the box without hesitation. Her hand reached for
a piece of paper to wrap the package in.

Leyla meticulously packed the parcel and scrawled down the address using an old fountain pen. The
receiver was the owner of Arvis, Duke Matthias von Herhardt. As for the sender, she wrote down the
stranger’s name and address from whom she had received the pen.
When dawn came, Leyla stuffed the box into her bag and set off for the day’s work. She had to leave the
house earlier than usual to make a quick trip to the post office in the nearby hamlet.

After returning the present, Leyla felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her chest.

Leyla believed it was over now.

She was sure of it.

Chapter 53

The Bird’s Owner

“My heart aches every time I see this, Matthias.”

Riette clicked his tongue as he pulled open the cabinet door. Even though he wasn’t a big drinker, the
minibar in Matthias’s room was always stocked with fine liquors.

“It’s not nice to overlook fine liqueurs in this way.”

With a vague grin, Riette took a bottle of alcohol and went back to the front of the table. Matthias’
expression was bland as always—he didn’t give a fig about what his cousin did.

The soulful melody of a piano played from the phonograph, perfectly harmonized with the crackling of
the logs burning in the fireplace. Riette filled a glass with the liquor from the bottle, handing it to his
cousin. Matthias took the glass gracefully, his movement in sync with the notes filling the room.

Leaning against the couch, Riette observed him as if he were a stranger. Matthias was staring at the rim
of his glass, lost in thought as a canary, which now felt like a part of the bedroom, played happily beside
him.

‘Your cousin is a demon of a gentleman.’

The reputation of Captain Herhardt, spreading ever wider with each social event held, suddenly rose in
Riette’s mind.

Matthias had never spoken about his time serving on the military front—not from modesty, as one
might have expected, but from feeling that his accomplishments during that period of time had no
meaning. Instead, word of Captain Herhardt’s heroics spread through the lips of other aristocratic
officers who had battled beside him during the war.

Riette might not have participated in the war, but the narratives he had heard allowed him to visualize
Matthias’s prowess on the battlefield as if he had seen it firsthand. Neither a warmongering idealist like
his fellow aristocratic officers, nor someone steeped with the boredom that came from the routine of
the military, Matthias’ ethos as a soldier-at-arms was noticeably different from his brethren.

His name was etched in gold ink, illustrating his brilliant achievements during his time in uniform. Yet,
Matthias deemed it all of little importance. Every time people gossiped about Matthias’ military
prowess, they invariably concluded their stories with an incredulous sigh :

‘…. I don’t understand him.’

Riette knew better than anyone else how that discouraging remark was the most apt description of
Matthias von Herhardt.

‘I really don’t understand.’

Each person had sighed once they uttered those words, much like how Riette was sighing at the
moment.

‘I don’t understand him.’

He had known Matthias von Herhardt all his life, yet the only conclusion that Riette could draw about
him was this— the man resembled a rainbow amalgamation that blended into a murky color with a
white finish.

A noble aristocrat. A worthy successor. A good cousin. A man of honour. Every facet of him was
prominent, yet nothing was discernible, even when all of the facets were arranged together.

Some praised Duke Herhardt for his self-learnt mastery of self suppression, especially when it came to
carrying out his duties, but Riette was skeptical of their analysis. As far as he could tell, there had never
been anything to suppress in the first place.

But how would Duke Herhardt act towards Leyla Lewellin?

More than a little tipsy, Riette grinned as Matthias gave him a sidelong glance. The canary was now
sitting still on Matthias’s shoulder, something that Riette believed would make Matthias annoyed, but
the man looked unfazed instead.
“How long do you plan to be the owner of that bird?”

“For as long as I want to.”

Matthias’s answer was quick and resolute. The bird fluttered up to his shoulder, rubbing its beak against
his suspender as he took a sip from the glass he was holding.

“When will that be?”

“Well.”

Placing his glass down delicately, Matthias leant aslant against the armrest. The warm light from the
fireplace reflected off the onyx buttons on his cuffs, gleaming a deep black in the light.

“Aren’t you curious? Why I came to Arvis, what I’m planning to do, that kind of thing.”

“No.”

Riette’s visit to Arvis that came out of the blue, and his impromptu weeks-long stay came as no surprise.
Yet Matthias’s reply was indifferent, as if he found what he was listening to was nothing more than a
pathetic affair.

“Whatever, you jerk.” Riette laughed, downing the last of his drink.

‘Is it lust?’

Riette looked at Matthias contemplatively. He knew well—men had the instinctive desire to own
beautiful women. Despite the lack of emotion Matthias externally, that didn’t mean his instinct was
gone. It was just a hunch, but Riette felt that it was a reasonable assumption to make with what he
knew about his cousin.

But why the orphan? Duke Herhardt was always unsympathetic to women who were more beautiful and
noble than the orphan.

The more Riette thought about it, the more it felt like he was in a labyrinth, increasingly confused by its
twisting turns. Riette shoved the thought away as Matthias whistled. The bird, which had been bouncing
on the table, flew over to Matthias immediately.

Gazing idly at the bird, Riette whistled towards it, tune longer and kitschy. Unfortunately for Riette, the
bird showed no sign of coming towards him. It sat on the back of Matthias’s hand, tilting its head up
towards Matthias instead.

“What the…. Can a bird recognize its owner?”

Riette scoffed as he recalled the woman who had kept a wary watch on him.
He didn’t view Leyla Lewellin as an elusive woman. No matter how long it took, Riette believed that she
would open up to him with time, just like she did to the doctor’s son and Duke Herhardt. Not just that,
but Riette knew Matthias von Herhardt would abandon the orphan eventually for the sake of his
marriage with Claudine, an end result that Claudine had long hoped for.

“Shall we go hunting on the weekend?” asked Riette, while refilling his glass.

After a moment of thought, Matthias gave a surprising answer.

“Go alone. I’ll have it prepared for you.”

“What?”

Eyes wide, Riette stared at Matthias. For as long as he could remember, Matthias had never turned
down a hunting offer.

“No way, are you serious?”

A knock on the door interrupted Riette’s question. The butler, Hessen, stepped inside the room.

“The mail has arrived, master.”

With a parcel and a tray of letters at hand, he moved smoothly towards Matthias.

‘Why does the butler have to come in at this hour for such a trifling notice?’

Riette flashed the butler an annoyed glance. The butler’s lips were pressed flat, a clear signal that Riette
had overextended his stay.

“Well then. See you tomorrow, Duke.”

Toasting a goodbye with the glass of alcohol in his hand, Riette left Matthias’s bedroom. After Riette’s
steps had faded, Hessen opened his mouth, saying;

“Master, the parcel has returned.”

“Parcel?”

Hessen awkwardly gave a small box to Matthias. The sender’s name and location were unfamiliar.

“Who is this?”

“It’s my relative. I used this name and address to follow your order.”

“My order? Ah.”

Matthias’s mind flashed back to the week before, when he had ordered Hessen to send Leyla Lewellin a
good pen. Understanding clicked into place at the memory.
“M.. master…..”

“I understand.” Matthias cut Hessen’s words short. “You may leave.”

He tapped his finger on the box he had taken. Hessen stared like he wanted to say something, but
followed the Duke’s orders without further questions.

Matthias rose from his seat once the door had closed. The box was held in his hands, ripped box’s
wrapper burned into embers in the hearth.

Inside the opened box was a note and pen, neatly arranged. Slowly, Matthias read the message, taking
his time to read the few scrawled words on the scrawled words on the scrap of paper tucked between
his fingers.

[Come to think of it, it was my fault for losing my pen.]

[It was my fault that I fell, didn’t properly pack things, and didn’t get it back on time. You don’t have to
take responsibility..]

[There’s no reason for me to receive this item, so I’ll return it to you.]

There was no name written on the message, but Matthias knew who it was anyway. Leyla’s note was full
of familiar conceit. The more Matthias read, the more slanted his eyebrows went, until eventually he
snorted and flashed a grimace, edges of his lips curved up in anger.

As he watched the fire in the fireplace devour the crumpled note, shiny new pen and the parcel box they
were originally wrapped in, self content, anger, shame and laughter loomed one after another on
Matthias’s face as he watched the shimmering flame.

His expression faded back to neutrality, vanished moments after the vivid emotions mixed into one.

The only thing left of his features was the very picture of calmness and serenity marred only with the
shadow of the lamplight growing over it.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The class had ended early, but Leyla was still quite busy.

It was the day of the school’s council meeting. The members were going to discuss the issue of the
school’s old, small building, which needed to be expanded.

As the person in charge of arranging the conference room, Leyla set up the chairs and desks in
accordance to the number of people attending, preparing simple writing instruments and notepads for
everyone to use before the meeting began.

“Miss Lewellin, are you done?”

Mrs. Grever asked in a hasty fashion. Smiling, Leyla looked around the conference room for one last
time and nodded decisively.

“Yes, I’m done.”

“Then, let’s get going. The sponsors are here.”

“Already?”

Leyla scrambled to get ready, following Mrs Grever as soon as she was done. The sponsors’ extravagant
carriages and limousines formed a long line as they entered the school’s front gate.

An ominous premonition flashed through her. She shook her head, as if to deny the feeling. In the
numerous times she had read the list of sponsors attending the meeting, Herhardt’s name had never
appeared in the lineup. She had nothing to be apprehensive about.

Nothing to worry about save for the gift she had returned to the Duke, that was, and the most likely
cause for Leyla’s erratically pounding heart.

Several days had passed since she had returned the gift. The Duke had made no mention of her—no
visits, no interrogations, no harassments, unlike his actions from before. Leyla, who had been terrified of
encountering such a mishap, could already feel her guard going down. She might have hurt the Duke’s
pride, but it was something that had to be done once anyway.

No matter how irrelevant their relationship was, Leyla had a dim hunch about him. She was aware of the
Duke’s desire for her and knew she could get harmed.

Leyla despised him for every single thing.

She hated Matthias von Herhardt.

She hated his selfish desires. She hated the repercussions she would face because of his freakish
obsession. Leyla had long since lost the desire to be embroiled in irrelevant affairs, and more
importantly, she didn’t want to get hurt, especially by the Duke, who had gotten wind of her heart after
she had returned the gift. As the aristocratic man remained silent, Leyla took it to mean that he had
accepted her rejection.

Slowly sweeping down her chest, Leyla stood still at the end of the line to greet the sponsors. The
autumnal rain had chilled the air. She had been concerned about the poor attendance rate caused by
the bad weather, but all the sponsors who had promised to attend were fortunately present.

Leyla performed her job well, smiling and bowing politely to everyone she met. She prepared the tea
and waited quietly as the meeting started. Leyla’s first council meeting would be considered successful
only when she escorted the sponsors off the premises.
The headmaster turned around as the last sponsor, a lady, drove through the school’s entrance. A black
car that had clearly been in a battle with the heavy downpours squeaked to a stop just as the other
teachers were about to do the same.

“My god! Duke!”

The headmaster’s countenance changed from a confused expression to a beaming grin very quickly.

Face prepared to smile and greet the guest, Leyla’s lips quivered.

‘No way.’

Leyla blinked. She blinked rapidly, nervously, as if to deny what she was seeing. Standing there in a
distinctive, straight posture under a parapluie held by an assistant was Duke von Herhardt.

His eyes wandered through the line of teachers, stopping at Leyla’s withered face.

When their eyes met, the Duke smiled.

For those who did nothing more than glance, it was a smile that could only be called gentle.
Chapter 54

Taking Responsibility

Although Leyla didn’t show it, she was thoroughly distracted throughout the entire council meeting. She
laughed, she talked, and she moved around, yet her focus was entirely on one person—the one and only
Duke Herhardt.

‘What is he doing here?’

Anyone who caught sight of Leyla’s eyes would have to be blind not to notice the mix of curiosity and
fear in them, as she studied Matthias’s face intently.

Matthias attended the meeting as if his sole purpose was to mock her. The Principal, however, was
excited with the surprise visit from the Duke, and even more delighted when Matthias agreed to
develop the school further.

Unknown to the Principal, Matthias wasn’t interested in anything related to the school. The same went
for the meeting. What he was interested in was the woman seated in the far corner, trembling as she
glanced periodically at him when she thought he wasn’t looking.

“Miss Lewellin.”

Matthias’s smile softened at the sound of a teacher calling her name.

“Miss Lewellin?”

The teacher hesitantly called out her name again.

As one, everyone in the conference room turned to look at the owner of the name. Matthias followed
suit. Leyla was standing still as stone in the corner of the classroom, much like a child being
reprimanded. As Matthias continued to stare, Leyla fidgeted nervously, not quite managing to look away
from his gaze.

“Ah…..”

Leyla hesitated under the weight of their stares. Full of reluctance, she raised her head, mumbling,
“P-Pardon me…”

The woman trembling and bowing her head repeatedly in apology was the opposite of the woman he
remembered; an outspoken, fearless woman who always acted courageously in front of him. It was
pathetic. The more Matthias saw her low-spirited attitude, the more Matthias could feel his temper
fraying, thread by thread.

“Now, Miss Lewellin..…..”

“Please continue.”

Matthias interrupted the frowning Principal as she opened her mouth to complain, voice blunt and
gruff.

“With the expansion proposal.”

The Principal shot him a look, eyes wide. He smiled graciously at her, baring his teeth.

“I’d like to hear more about it in detail.”

“Ah, yes.”

It took only a mention of the new building for the Principal to regain her excitement. Leyla’s clumsiness
was already fading from the Principal’s mind, replaced instead with new architecture and expenses.

As the discussion between Matthias and the Principal continued, Leyla helped Mrs. Grever prepare the
tea.

‘Get your head straight, Leyla.’

She told herself, doing her best to put herself into a calm, trancelike state in an effort to control her
nerves

‘Stop acting like a fool and behave naturally.’

Alas, her desperate wish was not to come true. It vanished into thin air without fail the moment she
approached Duke Herhardt.

Leyla’s hands shook with nerves as she held the teacup. Matthias looked at her as the teacup as it
clattered on the saucer, following her every move. The more he stared at her, the more emotions
hopeless she felt, eyes glazing over with a mix of fear and confusion that increased with every step she
took towards him.

Matthias had initially attended the school meeting with the expectation of seeing an incredibly flustered
Leyla. However, at the sight of her misery, the emotion in his heart was not happiness as he originally
thought, but a distorted sort of pleasure.
͢
Matthias looked away. Leyla appeared to be less intimidated by him if he didn’t look at her directly.
Although Matthias still had hopes of seeing her spill the tea in her fluster, it wouldn’t do for her to be
embarrassed in public, fun as it would have been to see her face grow red in fluster.

While Mathias had casted his gaze elsewhere, he caught a glimpse of Leyla’s hands out of the corner of
his eye, white and smooth like the skin of a wax doll as she placed the teacup onto the table in front of
him without spilling a drop.

Leyla walked back to the corner of the classroom as the meeting continued.

Her hands had a sensitive touch, with slender fingers and petal-like fingernails that sparkled at the tip.
Matthias’s mind strayed constantly to the image of Leyla’s hands during the long speech and the
Principal’s appeal, at how frantic and harmless those hands had seemed even as Leyla used them to
pummel and scratch him on that memorable summer afternoon. How small and delicate her hands had
been as he’d grabbed them and intertwined them with his own.

Lost in the lust-tinged memory of touching Leyla’s lips while clasping her dirt-covered hands to the
ground, Matthias barely noticed the ending of the meeting.

The school expansion would proceed as agreed by all sponsors. Satisfied with the arrangement, the
sponsors thus headed back to their residences.

“May I take a look around the classroom for a while?”

Matthias politely asked for permission from the Principal. The Principal, who was already in high spirits
after the successful meeting, would have seen no reason to refuse, especially when it was a request
made from the sponsor who had made the most generous donations to the school.

“Of course, Duke.” The Principal said immediately. But the other sponsors are returning, so I’m afraid I
have no choice but to bid them farewell.….”

Troubled, the Principal glanced around the classroom. Her eyes rested on Leyla, who was standing
awkwardly in the corner of the classroom.

“Would you mind if I assign Miss Lewellin to guide you around?”

It was the answer he had been hoping for. Matthias rose steadily from his seat.

“Not at all. Let’s do that.”

***

Leyla was in charge of the lower classroom on the first level, positioned at the very end of the school
corridor. As the students had returned home earlier in the day, the heater had been switched off,
leaving the classroom cold and humid.
Leyla switched on the light. She walked stiffly around the classroom, expecting her role as a guide to end
once she showed him around. Matthias conducted himself perfectly as a keen sponsor, checking over
the school’s amenities, and thanks to that, Leyla was able to guide him around without too much fear
and stress.

‘Just a little more.’

“This is where the young students stu….”

Slam!

The door slammed shut with a thunderous sound, cutting Leyla’s explanation short. She flinched at the
sound, back ramrod straight with shock as she whipped her head to the door. Standing there was
Matthias, leisurely standing against the closed door.

“This must be Miss Lewellin’s classroom.”

Matthias broke the silence as he carefully observed the teacher’s desk. Her belongings were placed
neatly on its surface, with her coat hanging over the chair’s backrest.

“Yes, that’s right, Duke.”

Leyla retreated a reasonable distance away to the window with small steps. Her heart was pounding in
her ears, like the insistent heavy drumming of rain beating upon a window pain.

She stuck close to the desk near the window, unable to do anything but fidget helplessly as Matthias
narrowed the gap between them.

“Pfft..why are you scared? Have I ever said I would hurt you?”

Matthias laughed, but his quips failed to provide her with any comfort. Gaze calm, smile sweet as honey,
the Duke was mean as he watched her.

“We’re in school, Duke. This isn’t Arvis.”

“Yes, we are in school.” Matthias walked up to her without stopping. “And I’m a patron of this school. Is
there a reason why I can’t come?”

“You didn’t even tell me that you were going to attend, so why would….”

“Do you take me for a fool, Leyla?”

Matthias stopped at a distance of about two steps away from her. He slowly clasped his hands behind
his back.

“If you had known earlier that I were to be attending the meeting, you wouldn’t have been here. You
would have avoided me at all costs.”
Unable to refute his words, Leyla moistened her lips. “If you have anything else to say, please say it at
Arvis.”

“Well, Leyla. I think it will be much better here.”

Matthias smirked. He stepped forward to the teacher’s desk as Leyla desperately stared out of the
window at the hallway, hoping against hope of finding someone for help.

“We’re able to have a conversation now because of this classroom.”

Matthias’s words were light. Leyla gasped for air, audible against the pleasant sound of rain against
glass. Looking away from her, he moved towards the desk, running his eyes over the neatly organised
items on the desk.

A quill pen and blotting paper.

An exquisite porcelain doll.

A pile of unused pen nibs in an empty chocolate box.

His eyes paused on the three ink bottles placed at the end of the desk.

Black. Blue. Red.

With each color he saw, Matthias’ lips widened into a grin. He reached out to the bottle nearest to him,
the one filled with red ink.

After much contemplation, Leyla bowed her head. Matthias was simply examining the table, Leyla
thought. She didn’t want him to see her reactions.

Please. Leyla held her hands in prayer, hoping for the return of the other teachers, who had left to send
the sponsors off. Meanwhile, Matthias had opened the lid of the ink bottle. Leyla heard the sound of the
lid falling , and the movement of the Duke finally caught her attention.

Hysteria hit her instantly.

“D…duke!”

Matthias had sidled up to her chair. As if he were serving wine from a decanter, he gracefully tilted the
bottle, pouring a stream of red ink onto her coat as Leyla screamed in shock and alarm.

Matthias backed away elegantly as Leyla rushed towards her ink stained coat, grasping the half-empty in
bottle lightly in his hand.

Whipping out a handkerchief, Leyla hurriedly tried to blot off the ink staining her light grey coat.

“What the hell are you doing!”

Leyla wailed, but Matthias appeared calm.

“Taking responsibility.”

Matthias’s nonsensical reply rendered Leyla silent, mouth agape, lips flushing scarlet.

Eyes locked onto her lips, Matthias sauntered over to Leyla with the bottle of red ink in his hands—she
barely had time to react before he upended the bottle over her shoulders. Ink splashed onto her blouse,
her skirt, her pumps, staining them a bright red.

The argument ended with Matthias pouring every last drop of the ink onto her clothes. The glass bottle
fell to the floor with a loud thump, rolling to a stop at his shoes. Their polish had been smeared by the
bright red ink as well, but Matthias gave no reaction.

Leyla was so angry that she wanted to scream. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Frozen still,
she gasped as if she were full of fear, the ink smeared over her upper body glistening red like blood as
she held back the urge to strangle something.

“What to do, Leyla?”

Glancing at the mess Matthias himself had caused, he narrowed his eyes.

“I’ll have to take responsibility.”

Despite the tragedy, his lips curled up with pleasure.

***

“Thank you very much for your kind understanding of Miss Lewellin’s mistakes.”

Walking by Matthias’s side, the Principal apologised once again.

After escorting the sponsors out of the school, the Principal and other teachers had rushed to see Duke
Herhardt, only to be left dumbfounded by the scene they witnessed inside the classroom—their
youngest teacher bathed pitifully in red ink with a very concerned-looking Duke.

“It was my mistake,” Matthias repeated. “I dropped the ink bottle on her by accident; I really should
apologise to Miss Lewellin.”

“Even so, your grace, it is your first time in this place. I apologise for failing to show you the better side
of our school.”

“I had quite a pleasurable visit here.”

Once they reached the school entrance, Matthias bade farewell to the panicked Principal.

“Miss Lewellin, please come along with me.”

His gaze shifted from the Principal to Leyla, who was scrubbing at the stain on her blouse. The more she
tried to scrub it off, the more the ink smeared, until her clothes looked like they belonged to a person
who had suffered grievous injury.

“No, I’m fine.”

Leyla’s voice trembled with anger. Despite the fear coursing through her, she gave Matthias a stern
glare. Matthias favored her current attitude much better than the low-spirited behavior from earlier,
even if her eyes were still filled with fear.

“Miss Lewellin. Please, just go along with the Duke. He’s trying to apologise.”

The Principal chuckled as if it was a trivial matter, but her eyes, full of nerves, told a different story.

“You didn’t bring your bicycle today, and it’s going to rain! Do as the Duke says.”

“Even if the rain falls, I have an umbrella, so I can walk back home.”

At Leyla’s stubborn refusal, the Principal’s complexion grew even more wane.

“I do understand you, Ms Lewellin.” Matthias said, smiling. “However, will you not scare the passers-by
that see you walking in the rain dressed as you are right now? The police officers would appear, thinking
there might’ve been a murder case.”

Leyla pursed her lips and looked down at her clothes as everyone in the crowd laughed uproariously at
Matthias’s joke. Like it or not, what he said had been nothing but the truth. The red ink stains on her
white blouse did indeed make her look like she had just committed a gruesome murder.

At a sharp glare from the Principal, Mrs Grever approached Leyla, who was stiff as a board. Getting into
the car, Matthias , calmly watched the scene.

Full of resignation, Leyla allowed herself to be dragged and loaded into the car like luggage. Matthias
moved to the side, giving her a comfortable amount of space to sit in.

The car’s engine roared to life the moment the door clicked shut.
Chapter 55

What Must I Destroy?

“I don’t think this is the right way to go to Arvis.”

Leyla was the first to break the silence upon noticing the car speeding through Carlsbar’s main street
instead of returning to Arvis. She clutched at her bag and coat, grip tightening until her knuckles turned
white.

“Mr. Evers,” She began, addressing the aide seated in the front. “This road-“,

“Leyla, I believe I’ve told you.” Matthias abruptly cut her off. “I will take responsibility.”

Leyla raised her face, shooting Matthias an angry glare. ‘Take responsibility?’ His words replayed in her
mind, and her hands clenched into fists with anger. She hadn’t heard anything more nonsensical.

“I ruined your clothes on purpose. It is only natural that I should be held accountable for it.

“No. You don’t have to. I…”

“Why? Are you insisting that I am not in the wrong?” Matthias repeated tenaciously, despite the
presence of his aide and the driver, who were seated stiffly in the front of the car.

Leyla grabbed her skirt. She took a deep breath. No matter how hard she scrubbed, the red stains on her
hands and clothes stayed stubbornly on, as if they were mocking her fury.

‘That gift… I should immediately throw it away.’

Leyla bit her lip. Even if it was utterly foolish to believe that refusing the Duke’s gift would sever the
relationship between them, she couldn’t help but think it.

Unable to deny how lost she currently felt, Leyla wanted to cry from shame.

‘How-‘

Hoping against hope for an answer, she glanced at the Duke. The look he gave her reflected the bleak
cityscape, cold and filled with a tinge of frustration. Hopes dashed, she looked away, breaking her gaze.
As the sun hesitantly peeked through a thick layer of clouds, the car came to a stop at a street filled with
high end stores and upscale boutiques.

The driver and the aide both exited the car without a word, leaving only the mismatched pair behind.
The instant they had left the car, the air in the car became heavier, temperature dropping by a few
degrees. Leyla immediately tensed her shoulders.

“I-I’m going to leave now.”

Grabbing at her umbrella, Leyla hurriedly spun to the side. Before her hand could reach the car door,
Matthias forcefully grabbed her wrist.

“Where are you going?”

“Home. I don’t need any clothes. I’m going home!”

Matthias kept his grip on her wrist without much effort as Leyla instinctively struggled to pull her hand
away.

“Don’t be selfish, Leyla.” He said gruffly. “Why aren’t you taking Bill Remmer into consideration?”
Matthias scoffed, loosening his grip on her wrist.

“W-what? What do you mean?”

The mention of her uncle was enough to make her struggles stop.

“How heartbroken would Mr Remmer be if he sees you like this?”

“I am surprised that the noble Duke Herhardt is concerned about my uncle after he did this to me.”

“Well, Mr Remmer has worked as a gardener for our household for decades. It is only right that I worry
for him.”

Grip tightening on her wrist once more, Matthias pulled her close to him, so close that he could feel her
breath against his face.

“Are you confident that you can come up with a good excuse when Mr Remmer asks about what
happened to you, upon seeing this pitiful appearance?”

“O- of course.” Leyla stammered. Matthias’s hand swiftly grasped her cheek as she tried to free herself
from him, leaning in close to her small ears.

“Unfortunately, Leyla, I am fully responsible for you.” He whispered. “After all, all your misfortune is
caused by me.”
Matthias’s gaze was intense, filled with the obsession she knew he had towards her. Leyla desperately
tried to break her gaze, but to no avail.

“It is my responsibility to hand you back to Mr. Remmer in perfect condition. Even a single blemish on
your clothes will not be tolerated.”

“N- No need! You don’t have to! Let me go! I…”

“Think about it, Leyla. There’s nothing wrong with accepting my apologies and receiving your rightful
compensation. Don’t you think your act of disobedience and stubbornness would appear quite weird?”

Matthias’s solemn gaze shifted towards the window. The driver and the aide were standing outside,
ignorant of the quarrel taking place inside the car. “They might think you’re a petulant mistress.”

Extremely offended by his vulgar joke, Leyla frowned fiercely.

Releasing her hand, Matthias smirked, reaching out to knock on the window. Mark Evers nimbly turned
around, opening the back door. Leyla quickly leapt out of the door like a bird that was freed from its
cage, unwilling to waste her newfound chance for freedom.

Matthias glanced at her ruined bag and coat. Gesturing to Mark Evers, Matthias gave brief instructions
to the aide, closing the door once he was done.

He resumed his staring out of the window. His blue eyes narrowed as Evers attempted to drape his coat
over the freezing Leyla. Before Evers could make a move, a faint knock on the window interrupted him.
Pulling his coat back on, he swiftly re-opened the back door.

Matthias took off his coat and handed it to Evers, who obediently took the coat without question.

The door slammed shut once again and the only sound inside the car was the raindrops hitting the
windows.

Matthias’s steady gaze never left Leyla, watching as his aide wrapped her, who was too dazed to realise
whom the coat belonged to, in his coat.

Soon, the driver returned and started the car’s engine. Leyla followed Mark Evers into the boutique’s
fitting room, her hands tightly gripping Matthias’s coat.

Matthias’s gaze lingered on her for a long time.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Why are we going in there?”

Leyla came to a stop as she glimpsed the luxurious hotel she had been given the privilege to attend last
summer, when she had tea with Claudine and Matthias.
“It was the Duke’s command, Miss Lewellin.”, Mark Evers explained, smiling. “The Duke informed me
that he will only return to Arvis after treating Miss Lewellin to a cup of tea as an apology.”

“N- no, it’s fine. These clothes are more than enough for an apology.”

“Miss Lewellin, it is not for me to decide.”

“But-”

“Miss Lewellin, I’m simply following the Duke’s orders.” Mark Evers said, a little baffled by Leyla’s
attitude. “Please don’t make it difficult for me to accomplish those orders.”

Running out of reason to give for her stubbornness, Leyla followed him with heavy steps.

“Did you know that the Duke is currently raising a bird just like you, Miss. Lewellin?” Mark Evers blurted
out as they entered the hotel lobby. “A tiny, pretty yellow bird.”

“A bird? The Duke?” Leyla frowned in disbelief.

‘That psychotic bird slayer raises a bird?’

It was the weirdest thing she’d ever heard, and even more difficult to believe in.

“Is he raising it to hunt it?”

The question filled with paranoia left Mark Evers dumbfounded. Before he had a chance to clarify the
misunderstanding in his master’s stead, they had already arrived to the entrance of the tearoom.

Mark Evers escorted Leyla to Matthias, who was seated near the window overlooking the rainy terrace,
promptly leaving the room the moment his job was done.

Seeing Leyla standing blankly without moving an inch in front of him, his stern voice rang.

“Sit down.”

Reluctantly, Leyla sat down in the chair opposite of him. She removed her coat, revealing a newly
bought turquoise velvet dress with shiny pearl buttons adorning its front, and a wide lace collar that was
white as snow. It was clear that everything she was wearing was brand new, from her shoes to the
stockings that ended mid calf. Her hair had also been done up into an elegant yet natural looking style.
Compared to her usual nun-like outfits, Matthias was pleased to see her in a more elegantly styled
dress.

They were served tea and an assortment of exquisite desserts not long after.

“Eat.” Matthias ordered while holding his tea cup.

Leyla didn’t move, flashing him a look of stern disgust instead.

Matthias met her glare headon, as if it held no threat to him. “Shall I feed you?” He asked arrogantly. “I
am more than willing to take responsibility for that as well.”

At Matthias’s declaration, Leyla hastily grabbed her fork. She hesitated only a moment before choosing
a light pink cream cake.

Satisfied by her obedience, Matthias straightened his posture and continued to observe her.

“What kind of delicacies do you prefer?”

Matthias asked curiously, watching her silently savor the cake. She appeared to be a fan of desserts, a
fact that was seemingly trivial that nevertheless piqued his interest in her.

“Save for the foods I have to eat in front of you, everything is to my liking.” Leyla retorted coldly, fiddling
with the fork handle. Despite her attempt to sound confident, her voice trembled.

Matthias’s chuckled, little pearl-like bubbles of sound that were soon muffled by the sound of raindrops
splattering against the windowpane. “Did you know that it’s your proud attitude which I am attracted
to?” He leaned towards the table, while saying, “My intrigue of you grows when you’re cocky like this,
believe it or not.”

“….”

“If you decide to continue to behave like you do now, then I reckon it won’t take long before I am
addicted to you,” Matthias scoffed, his voice soft like a bird whistle.

Petrified by his words, Leyla found herself leaning back instinctively as he bent closer towards her.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you acted innocent and docile?” Matthias said, grinning, “That way, I might
grow tired of you.”

Matthias leant back in his chair, as if he believed Leyla would fall out of her chair with fear if he moved
in closer.

After much thought, Leyla placed the fork down. Cheeks flushed, she quickly wiped at her lips with a
napkin.

“So, what do you like?”, Matthias asked once again.

“…I am not a picky eater.” Leyla replied calmly.

It was quite a sight for Matthias to behold, seeing Leyla striving so very hard to keep her “true” self
under wraps.

“Really? Good girl.”

At his remark, Leyla immediately tamped down her ire, although her eyes sparkled with fury, revealing
her true emotions.
‘Let’s see just how long you can act like this.’

Matthias devoured the words he wanted to say with a sip of coffee. Just the slightest glance of Leyla
glaring with impudence despite shuddering with despair sent him spiralling into madness. Matthias
couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else seeing that expression of hers—it gave him a strange sense of
superiority, thinking that he was the only person who knew of Leyla Lewellin’s other persona.

Leyla was demure and stoic, obediently answering any questions he asked while finishing her food
without causing a fuss—completely unlike the usual self that Matthias knew. The only times her facade
broke was the occasional glances of discontent she sent his way, and the blush that appeared once or
twice as she bit her cream smudged lips.

The time they spent together was sweet, if limited, but only obtainable by nefarious means, such as
pouring ink onto Leyla’s coat in a mischievous prank. At the realisation, Matthias laughed heartily, only
for his pleasure to fade as it dawned on him—he could only give Leyla something by breaking her first.

‘So, only by hurting you badly will you be mine…..How ridiculous.’

He stared possessively at Leyla, eyes gleaming with an odd light as a smile returned to his face. He found
it interesting how her docility, instead of dousing his interest in her, only served to drive him crazier
instead.

‘Leyla…. What must I destroy to possess you?’

Matthias tilted his head, sinking further into rumination.

The sky outside the window was getting dark. Leyla finally turned her head, meeting his gaze. Her eyes
looked as if they were softly woven with fine green threads, large and beautiful like emeralds.

Entranced in their beauty, he could do nothing but admire her gorgeous eyes.
Chapter 56

Phoebe

“You have my gratitude, Dr. Etman.”

The eyes of Norma Catharina von Herhardt were full of appreciation as she watched him pack his
medical bag.

“Oh, don’t mention it! I’m glad that you are back to your peak health.” Dr. Etman replied warmly,
smiling like his usual kind self.

“Given my old age…it wouldn’t be surprising if my health starts deteriorating.”

“Please, don’t say that.”

Dr. Etman left his work earlier to re-check Norma’s health. The Duchess had caught a cold and had the
potential to become serious considering her youth had passed.

“It’s all thanks to you that this old woman is enjoying these years in good shape. Isn’t that right, Elysee?”
She asked her daughter-in-law who had been silently standing next to the doctor the entire time.

“Of course!” Elysee von Herhardt agreed, gladly grabbing the chance to praise their family doctor.
“You’ve done well, Dr. Etman.”

“Thank you, Madam. I must get going now.” Dr. Etman replied as he picked up his already packed
medical bag, intending to leave the room.

“Oh yes, how’s Kyle doing?”

The instant he heard Elysee inquire about his son, Dr. Etman’s eyes twitched, but he quickly regained his
calm and replied with a bright smile. “Kyle is doing well. He’s currently absorbed in his studies.”

“I see. He will be a great doctor in the future since he resembles you a lot.”

“I’m honored that Madam thinks that way.”

“Will he return to Carlsbar during the winter break?” Elysee tried probing.
“I don’t believe he has decided yet.”

“True, he might prefer to stay and mingle with his new friends since it’s his first break and there’s also
the option of exploring the south.”

“Yes, either way, I’d like to respect Kyle’s wishes.”

“Do tell me his decision; if he decides to spend his winter vacation in the capital then I’ll introduce him
to an excellent social club or if he chooses to go on a trip, I’ll help him in any way I can.”

Elysee proposed without hesitation, leaving the other two surprised at her unexpected consideration
and kindness, especially Dr. Etman.

“Please send my regards to Mrs. Etman as well.” Elysee added as she accompanied him towards the
bedroom door.

Hearing Elysee’s considerate words even though her relationship with his wife had soured, a content
smile spread across Dr. Etman’s face.

Following his departure, the maids also stepped out of the room, and the Herhardt’s duo were left
unattended.

“You’re quite attentive to Kyle, Elysee.” Norma faintly praised her daughter-in-law as she leaned back
onto the soft cushion with a tender smile on her face.

“After contemplating for a while, I have realized that your words were indeed right. ” Elysee expressed
further, “If Kyle becomes an excellent doctor, he could be useful to our Matthias. Mrs. Etman and I have
grown apart, but I’m trying to respect the Etmans as our family doctor.”

“I’m glad you agreed.”

Norma replied with an eager nod. Kyle Etman was to replace his father’s role as the Herhardt family’s
doctor after he graduated, if everything went as predicted.

The gradual conversation between the pair that had begun with Kyle Etman eventually deviated back to
Matthias, the living honor of the Herhardt family.

“Matthias attended a council meeting at the town school recently.” Elysee informed with delight. “His
attentiveness towards such matters amazes me.”

“He is on the right path to becoming the head of the household. I am impressed at how fast he has
improved.” Norma said, praising her grandson wholeheartedly , which pleased Elysee von Herhardt to
no end. After all, Matthias was her son.

“Of course! He will become the best Duke Herhardt has ever had!”
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

So to speak, it was a coincidence.

Riette proposed attending a social gathering since there was no schedule prepared for the day, and
Matthias agreed.

The social gathering was pleasant, yet tedious. They finally excused themselves and came across Leyla
on their way back.

Matthias recognized Leyla from a distance instantly when the car entered the mansion. She cycled her
bicycle along the Platanus road in the October cold, wrapped in the white coat he had gifted her.

“Isn’t that Leyla Lewellin?” Riette noticed her as the distance from the woman on the bike gradually
shortened. “The bird lover that lives in the Arvis’ hunting grounds?” His eyes switched from Leyla to his
cousin who was staring unblinkingly at her with his piercing blue eyes.

Matthias nodded without removing his gaze from her. He could see how fatigued she was yet she
endured and pedalled her bike as usual.

Realizing that a car had been following her, Leyla parked the bike to the side of the road to make way for
the bigger vehicle. Matthias was able to get a good glimpse at her as soon as his car passed by; she was
also sporting a pair of brand-new shoes that he had bought for her.

“If I’m not mistaken, earlier, you told me that she’s a village school teacher. She should be on her way
back home from school .” Riette grinned as he kept staring at his cousin, whose eyes never left the girl.

“Maybe.”

Matthias drew his glance away from Leyla at the end of his vague reply, his lips still had a faint smile on
its corner. Riette couldn’t take his eyes off his cousin’s face, who seemed like a little boy experiencing
love for the first time.

“…Got something to say?” Matthias mischievously asked as he turned to face Riette who had been
burning holes on him with his gaze.

“We will hunt today. I hope you can join us.” Riette replied with an excuse. “I’ve invited some guests and
it wouldn’t be right if the Arvis’ owner is absent.”

After Riette announced his weekend plan to hunt in the Arvis’ forest, requests for invitations flooded in.
Matthias had shown green light to his cousin’s request to invite guests to his mansion.

“I can’t act like the owner of your estate, Matthias.” Riette added just as the car stopped at the front
door of the mansion.

‘Leyla would definitely roam the forest during the weekends, wouldn’t she?’
After contemplating for a moment, Matthias gladly agreed.

“Fine…”

“As expected.”

Riette got out of the car, looking delighted at Matthias he was familiar with.

“Now you’re acting more like Duke Herhardt, my cousin!”

Laughing, Riette wrapped her arms over Matthias’ shoulders, which Matthias let him do, though he
disliked such acts of intimacy.

The two men walked alongside each other, entering the mansion’s foyer, which was lit up at evening
hours.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Phoebe was a smart pigeon.

Intelligent enough to know how to scheme to get her freedom back after she got dissatisfied with being
confined in a cage in the backyard.

It all started with Bill Remmer. He forgot to lock her cage properly after volunteering to feed the bird on
behalf of Leyla one weekend morning as she was busy preparing breakfast for them.

The gluttonous pigeon hadn’t noticed the unlocked door right away as she was more interested in filling
her stomach. It was only while Bill and Leyla were busy raking up the leaves that blanketed the entire
backyard, that the bird noticed something unusual about her cage.

“Don’t go out into the woods today Leyla. The Duke is out hunting with his friends.”

Leyla sighed deeply as she cleaned the ground. “He has been quiet for a while but it seems his hobby
hasn’t changed.” Her disappointment was audible as she vented her frustration by sweeping.

“What kind of marksman would waste his skill?” Bill pointed out as a matter of fact.

“I feel like you’re siding with the Duke.”

“I… I’m not taking any sides! It’s just…I’m just telling the truth.”

Leyla smirked as Bill hurriedly turned his words around. “It seems that everyone in Arvis likes the Duke.”
She stated her observation and her uncle shrugged. “There’s no reason to dislike him. On the contrary,
he’s the noblest gentleman Arvis ever had. That saucy aristocratic lady is lucky to be engaged to a man
like Duke Herhardt.”

“…Yes.”
Leyla raked the backyard with a brighter smile as she relished the back and forth conversation with her
uncle. She occasionally glanced at the bird cage and would feel at ease seeing Phoebe safe and sound;
everything was fine.

The naughty bird, however, finally made its bold escape when Bill left for work and Leyla began to clean
the house.

The wooden door of the cage creaked by the wind. Following the sound Phoebe tried her luck by
pecking at the swinging door. She quickened her pace and the rickety door of the cage was fully open
not long after.

Phoebe was puzzled for a second as she stared at the opened cage door, thinking it was a perfect chance
to escape the unfair punishment Leyla had given her for delivering the Duke’s letter.

The fatty pigeon flapped her white wings vigorously and flew towards the forest, the same place where
the Duke’s hunting party would head for their session.

Leyla took a break from mopping as she heard noises outside and peered out the window. A familiar
sight unfolded before her: hounds leading the way and aristocrats following on horseback. She jerked
into a tense pose in fear. Repetitive flashbacks of gunshots firing with an eerie light resurfaced in her
head.

Leyla was startled when Matthias turned his head towards the cabin and caught her gaze. Facing an
overwhelming sense of dread, she withdrew from the window, her heart pounding hard.

Fidgeting frantically, Leyla fastened the window and drew the curtain hurriedly.

‘It’s not my first time seeing them, why am I behaving more cowardly than before?’

Her heartbeat had barely returned to normal even after the hunting party had left. The first gunshot was
heard as Leyla massaged her cold and stiff shoulders followed by the resounding barks of the hounds.

‘It’s him! The insane Duke who casually kills birds.’

The small, motionless bird drenched in its blood, wounded by the bullet.
The scent of blood…
All those memories began to re-live itself in her mind.

Leyla hurriedly took her bag and left the house to bury those dead birds in the forest once the hunting
session was over. She went to the backyard to check on Phoebe first , as if it was routine, to make sure
the pigeon was still there before leaving.

“Phoebe…”

Leyla’s face turned pale with fear as she stood in front of an empty and open cage. Trembling, she held
the bag strap and ran as she heard another gunshot ringing in the forest
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias was the first to shoot. His bullet immediately put an end to the roe deer’s life as it galloped
through the undergrowth.

“Are you considering hunting on the ground as well?” Riette asked with amusement while he applauded
Matthias’ success. “That would be a little disappointing, I really wanted to spectate Duke Herhardt’s bird
shooting ability.” He continued, commenting on Matthias’ sudden change.

Riette stopped his nonsense and picked up his gun as the hounds drove him to a new prey; a grey fur
rabbit.

The deeper they moved into the forest, the more intense the hunt grew. However, Matthias did not
make a move against any of the birds even though others added them to the catch.

‘As long as it’s not a bird, it’s fine, right?’

Matthias didn’t understand the reason for such a random thought but he soon came to a realization :

He didn’t want to see her cry.

He’d rather that it became a dull hunt than to upset her by aiming for a bird.

The sound of the horse hooves running over the thick layer of fallen leaves shook the serenity of the
forest. The hunting party set out for the rookeries at the Schulter River – Matthias’ favourite hunting
location.

On the way to the river, Matthias inadvertently saw a familiar bird with white feathers seated on a long
branch. It’s leg tied with a familiar red thread.

“Phoebe.”

His unwitting murmur drew the attention of the others. As one, they turned their heads towards the
twig to see the white pigeon perching leisurely without a care.
Chapter 57

Returning The Favour

Leyla ran through the thick vegetation of the forest, eyes frantically darting from one branch to the
other. The thick leaves allowed only small rays of the sun through, letting her see clearly whether or not
her precious bird was safe and sound.

She could feel the thundering beat of her heart against her chest, her heavy breathing as she grew more
frantic at finding her missing bird. Her baggage clattered along with every stride she took. She was the
only one disturbing the natural stillness of the forest.

She was practically heaving by now. The wind was chilly, but the temperature was quite humid, an
indicator that the autumn season had finally reached its peak and winter would soon begin to set in.
Leyla was beginning to feel the chill in her bones, making her body stiff, draining her strength quicker
than usual.

But she couldn’t stop, not when the continuous gunshots echoing in the forest only served to remind
her that she was still yet to find Phoebe, her beloved pigeon.

With every gunshot she could hear, another blood-soaked image of Phoebe would run through her
mind. Each one worse than the last, breaking her sanity bit by bit.

‘What if she’d already been shot? What if I’m already too late?’

She couldn’t help but think, her chest aching at the thought.

You would think that with every step she took she’d be more confident to find her bird alive, but it only
made it worse. Her steps began to falter as exhaustion was making its way into her joints, and the air
running out of her lungs. The faint scent of gunpowder wafting in her nostrils as the smoky scent
surrounded her as she inhaled huge bouts of air.

Matthias had promised her he wouldn’t touch Phoebe, that he would not shoot the bird. And she had
foolishly accepted his word as it is. Looking back now, she should have thought of the possibility that
perhaps he was only promising it to appease her. Now she can’t help but imagine him breaking that
promise as he aimed his gun and shot at innocent birds, Phoebe included, just to get her to pay more
attention to him.

‘How could I have blindly believed him?!’

She thought incredulously to herself as she kept running,

‘That promise probably meant nothing to him, brushed it off as something so trivial for him to really
keep!’

Leyla scolded herself for placing her trust in him blindly like a fool, despite already knowing he was a
vicious person.

She could feel the tears threatening to fall by the time she had reached the end of the forest’s tree line,
ending up by the road near the Schulter River. Should she fail to find her precious bird, she would go
find the Duke himself and seek answers to Phoebe’s fate.

It didn’t matter to her whether or not he would grant her an audience, she was prepared to do
whatever it took to make sure, even if she had to go down on her knees and beg him for mercy.

It was shortly after she stopped to take a breath, did the autumn breeze sweep past her softly. The skies
were painted radiantly by a pale blue hue, her eyes closed shut as she soaked in the breeze and wished
for a miracle. Leyla snapped them open once more, sweeping one last look around her surroundings
before she finally found him.

He was standing there….

Just there, on the other side of the forest trail. He sat atop his steed, all confident and unbothered as he
was surrounded by his peers and fellow comrades.

The moment Leyla tried to call out to him, she found herself devoid of a voice. She tried to; she really
wanted to call out to him but all the breath had left her lungs, and her voice stuck in her throat due to
the lack of air. It had been too long since she had started running, and now exhaustion was taking over
her, replacing her previous adrenaline rush.

She took one last deep breath, before pushing her legs past their limit as she resumed her sprint
towards the nobles on horseback. It was only when she neared them enough did she spot one of them
had poised their gun at an aim towards one of the branches.

A split-second later, she recognized it was him,

Duke Herhardt…

Her eyes trailed from the end of the gun to see what he had been aiming at, and felt her breath hitch as
her heart stuttered in fright.

Phoebe!
Her pace picked up as she tried to stop him from pulling the trigger, her legs screaming in protest at the
overexertion. She tried to regain her voice to let out a scream, but only managed a strangled gasp out as
a resounding gunshot echoed throughout the sleepy forest.

BANG!

The end of Matthias’ gun was smoking, as soon as he let go of the trigger, and Phoebe was no longer
perched on top of the branch.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Time seemed to stop after that one moment, until Matthias moved and broke the silence.

He slowly lowered his long silver rifle, the sunlight glinting as it slid off, it’s shimmer bouncing off the air,
twinkling through the forest. Meanwhile, Riette and the other nobles looked at him in a mix of
bewilderment as well as amusement on their faces.

“Well, colour me surprised Matthias.” Riette exclaimed, “What the hell was up with that shot?” he
teased, it wasn’t long before the other nobles followed suit in teasing the Duke.

“I can’t believe the Duke Herhardt actually missed!”

“Well I certainly saw something interesting today.”

“There’s always a first for everything I guess.”

They all started to remark, the easy laughter and banter flowing between them naturally.

Though Matthias did take the shot, it had only grazed the end of the branch on which the pigeon had
perched upon. After that missed shot, the bird fluttered away from the hunting nobles as a piece of the
wood broke off and landed on the forest floor.

Matthias took all the teasing in pride, smirking knowingly to himself as his sharp eyes trailed intensely
after the bird. It seemed to him it was flying towards the east wing of the estate.

“Huh, why is she here?” Riette wondered out loud, having managed to catch sight of a woman who was
standing stock still not too far away from the group.

Matthias slowly turned, following the trail of his cousin’s gaze, before finally spotting her. He grinned
minutely to himself when he noticed he held all of her attention now.

“Le-Leyla!” exclaimed a couple of the servants when they finally took notice of the unexpected guest.

Despite the commotion she caused, Leyla stood frozen as she regarded Matthias in a dumbfounded
manner, as if he was the only one she could see.
“Leyla!” a servant grabbed her arm, which shook her out of her frozen state, “It’s dangerous to go out
today! Didn’t you hear from Mr. Remmer? I specifically informed him of the Duke’s plans for hunting
today.”

“I,”

Leyla gulped, eyes wandering back to the Duke’s, before going back to look at the person talking to her,
“I’m sorry, he did inform me, but I must have gotten the dates mixed up.” She apologised, “Truly, I am
sorry.”

Leyla slowly bowed her head, her hand coming up to rest against her chest, still able to feel the
thundering beat of her heart as she lowered her gaze to her feet.

Shortly after scolding her a little more of her recklessness did the servants return to their posts, leaving
her alone. Meanwhile Matthias acted like he was above the small commotion that had just happened.
He pulled on his horse’s reins, nudging it to move along as he directed it towards the west wing of the
estate. Which had been opposite of the direction she knew Phoebe had flown off to.

Her tears threatened to fall once more, but only made her eyes shine as the water built up within them.
The overwhelming astonishment she felt was too much for her to bear.

She was no stranger to the Duke’s aim.

Throughout her years here, she had witnessed with her very own eyes shot after shot he made. His aim,
his posture, his concentration, and his skills with shooting; she was so familiar with, she was certain of
this one fact.

It was not a missed shot.

Today, he purposely aimed the branches and scared the bird off, to fly away from their hunting party so
that others could not take a turn at her. And now Phoebe was safe, far away from their bullets and silver
guns.

As Matthias was leaving, he expertly tilted his head back, eyes meeting with her before treading the
curved evergreen trail. Though they were quite some distance apart by now, Leyla instinctively knew
that the Duke knew she could see him back.

As soon as the hunting party disappeared from her line of sight, she hiked up her skirts before turning
around to go back the long way she came from.

Only then did her final strength leave her, the exhaustion fully settling in as she felt herself relax. She
felt so weightless, like a ghost floating adrift aimlessly, even though she knew exactly where she was
headed. She couldn’t help but recall a similar instance where she also felt this weightlessness.

Images flashed through her mind as she recalled fragments of events long past, but she thought nothing
more of it. Leyla can’t believe she remembered as much as she did from back then.
Gripping her bag tightly on her shoulder, she began to slowly trek through the forest this time. There
was no need to rush anymore. Her worries were appeased now. By the time she finally reached her
cabin, she felt herself get lightheaded, her vision turning blurry. Leyla no longer had the strength to
reach her bed for much rest, so with her last strength, she plopped down on the nearby chair by the
porch.

Matthias kept his promise.

A promise he made to her in particular.

And that, that was another fact she was certain of.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound echoed inside the quiet room. Sitting in front of her desk by a lantern, Leyla instinctively rose
from her seat at the familiar sound and ran immediately towards the front windows. Excitedly she
opened it up with a bright smile!

“Phoebe!” she exclaimed before her smile froze.

Leyla immediately muffled down her scream at the sudden sight of the Duke outside with a hand to her
mouth, wary of Uncle Bill, who was just outside, chopping up the firewood by their front yard. Had he
heard her shriek in alarm, he would have abandoned his task to immediately check up on her. And she
didn’t want that.

In a hurry, Leyla moved to lock her bedroom door before turning back towards her open window.

Matthias was still decked in his hunting gear. The dust and grime of his day’s activities adorning the
expensive clothing, while the faint smell of blood lingered on him. She could see some specks of blood
by his sleeves, and the front of his red hunting jacket.

“Your pigeon is over there.”

Matthias raised his head lightly to point towards the other end of the window frame where Phoebe, her
precious bird, was calmly resting.

She held in her cry of relief at seeing the bird, focusing back on the Duke who was standing outside her
window.

His noble steed, who stood patiently behind him made him look all the more intimidating for her.
However, the backdrop of the soft glow of orange sunset and slowly darkening skies also served to make
him look more alluring, bringing out the colour of his eyes. She can’t help but feel slightly mesmerised
by his figure.
“Have you thought about it?” Matthias interrupted her thoughts unknowingly, “On how you plan to
return the favour?”

He inquired, gesturing once more towards Phoebe, while his gaze held onto Leyla’s, with one pristine
brow rising up at her.

Leyla gulped nervously, eyes fleeting towards her bird momentarily before looking back at Matthias.

“I, I don’t think this counts as a favour,” she softly began, before slightly gaining more confidence, “After
all, you were only keeping your word.”

Leyla pointed out anxiously, but Matthias only smirked at her in a rather smug manner, making her
retrace a few steps back.

“Though I am very grateful.” She added, lowering her gaze.

“Grateful, you say?” he smirked, “And what could I do with gratitude?” Matthias prodded further.

“W-well,” Leyla stuttered slightly, “I think it means you are an honourable gentleman, who keeps his
word.”

“Oho,” he lightly scoffed, taunting her in a subtle manner, “Are you then retracting your words from
before?” Matthias asked, tilting her head, smirk still firmly in place.

Leyla frowned in confusion. What words?

“You described me as the furthest thing from a gentleman, if I recall correctly.” said Matthias as he
leaned on the window frame, after seeing her confusion.

Leyla flushed in embarrassment as the memory resurfaced.

“I, forgive me,” she immediately spewed out, “I had been too imprudent at that time!”

Leyla bowed her head further, she felt as though she was digging herself further and further deeper into
a grave. But no matter what was done, all she needed to do now was damage control.

“First you say I’m a gentleman, then the next I’m not, and now I’m once again one.” Matthias hummed,
cocking a brow at her once more, “So which is it?”

“Y-you’re a gentleman.” She stuttered. He then pursed his lips in thought, as he regarded her slowly,
raking his eyes up and down her person.

“Then does that make you the queen?” Matthias scoffingly asked.

Leyla blinked in confusion, brows furrowing as she racked her brain for a reason how the conversation
had turned out this way when a memory resurfaced from when she yelled out at him by the stream in
frustration…
“If you’re a gentleman, then I’m the Queen!”

She had meant it sarcastically of course, but now she found her words being used against her. Leyla
wanted to deny it vehemently, but she could tell by the knowing smirk on his lips that her face was
already too flushed in embarrassment at the memory.

Of course all this could have been prevented had she managed to let a few offhanded comments of his
slide, but for some reason, Leyla at that time had failed to control her temper in front of him. Sure when
it came to others she could play the perfect, polite girl act, but whenever it came to the Duke,
something in her just seemed to do the opposite. It was a struggle to even keep her calm around him.

“I apologise for that day. And I sincerely thank you for keeping your promise. I mean it.”

Leyla apologised to him, though the hesitancy in her posture spoke in volumes. Silence reigned between
them once more, the sound of Bill Remmer’s chopping axe the only one filling the void between them.

Matthias continued to regard her calmly, before sighing in feigned resignation.

“Ah, what should I do with you, Leyla?” His hand suddenly reaching out and gripping her chin to force
her to look up at him. Matthias clicked his tongue as he pulled her closer to him, “I don’t need your
gratitude after saving your bird.”

Feeling as though she was doused with a cold bucket of water, Leyla tried to shake his grip away from
her, but he was much too strong. Matthias was stronger and faster, and not a second later did her vision
blur as he too yanked her glasses off…

He had kissed her.

She tried to shake away from him, but too late did she realise that his other hand had come up behind
her head and grabbed a handful of her hair when she felt a sharp pain as he lightly yanked her head
back.

Leyla gasped out in pain, and that was the opportunity Matthias took to slide his hot tongue inside her
mouth.

His tongue darted inside, exploring her mouth ravenously, before sensually entwining around hers. Leyla
couldn’t help but moan at the sensation. In the background, she could still faintly hear Bill Remmer’s
grunts loudly as he split some more firewood.

Leyla’ hands shifted, moving from the window sill and up to Matthias’ shoulder, trying to shove him
away. But it only served to deepen their kiss instead.

This kiss now was quite different from the kiss she remembered having from last summer’s final day.
The kiss that scarred her deep in her heart. Instead of the fierce devouring kiss he let her taste before, it
was now firm, but gentler; demanding but more delicate against her lips.
It wasn’t long before his grip on her hair loosened up, allowing her to break free of his grasp. As she
gasped for air, Leyla’s nose picked up his body scent; a blend of the blood of prey along with his minty
fragrance.

She bit her lips defiantly as Matthias still held onto her chin resolutely, not letting her go just yet.

“Just a kiss?” he whispered in a sultry voice, “Is your precious bird’s life just this much?”

Such a seductively coercive tone fell on her ears. Unfortunately, she neither had time or the strength to
think past her current panic. All she could feel was the way her body locked up in place as she stared at
him in a flushed manner, her mouth agape as she continued to breath in air. Suddenly, she was yanked
forward, her face now a hair’s breadth away from his.

“Ackh!” Leyla exclaimed.

Matthias regarded her face a little bit, eyes flitting around her features. The grip on her chin was
tightening up, she feared he would crush it sooner. Leyla let out a quiet gasp as the grip pained her,
before his tongue dove back in her mouth…

All she could think about then was how she’d much rather be in pain instead. However, Matthias was
persistent in his efforts, his tongue resuming their previous ministrations, dancing expertly around her
own tongue as he tasted every nook and cranny in her mouth.

Their bellicose kiss continued, coupled by the loud grunts of Bill, alongside the splitting firewood. Each
time Matthias intertwined his tongue with hers and sucked on it, she gasped for breath, squeezing his
shirt, letting out involuntary moans that seemed to have been scraped up from the depth of her throat
with every brush of his tongue against hers.

With every noise she made, Leyla felt so ashamed of herself. She could feel herself grow dizzier with
each passing moment, her body moving in response to whatever he was doing.

Even her hands, who were tirelessly pushing him away, can now only hang limply on his shoulders. She
could feel the prickling of tears begin to form, willing them not to fall…

Finally, Matthias let her go, letting her gasp for air when he felt her cheeks grow wet, and a sob mixed
with her moans.

Their lips were now moist with each other’s saliva, making it glisten in the dark. Leyla felt her knees go
weak, but she caught herself before she fell to the floor completely at the thought of how the two of
them looked like right now.

“Leyla!”

Uncle Bill’s voice shook Leyla from her unforgiving thoughts.

“Leyla! Could you bring me a glass of refreshing water?” he requested.

‘Answer Leyla,’

She thought to herself,

‘I must answer quickly!’

She urged, but her movements were sluggish as she dazedly stared at the way Matthias took out his
handkerchief. Leyla watched him slowly bring it up to his lips and wipe off the evidence of what they had
done.

It was only when he slightly tugged her face forward did she remember he was still gripping her chin.
Next he brought the same handkerchief he used, to wipe off the evidence from her lips as well.

Calmly Matthias picked up her glasses he had discarded earlier and replaced them back to where they
should be until finally releasing his grip on her.

“Leyla?”

The sound of Bill chopping firewood suddenly stopped when he began to wonder why there was no
reply.

“Wash it and bring it back.”

Matthias ordered, taking hold of her hand, making her fingers grasp the used cloth firmly. He rubbed a
few small circles on her wrist before swiftly letting her go, and turned around to ride atop his steed.

“Leyla, child! Is there something wrong?”

Uncle Bill’s footsteps shook Leyla out of her daze as she noticed them grow closer. Hurriedly, she shut
the windows, and drew the curtains closed. Immediately, she rushed back towards her door and swung
it open, just before Uncle Bill’s hand, which was raised to knock, was about to hit it.

“Sorry, uncle. I… I was sleeping for a moment.” she lamely excused, making a show of fixing her hair,
which Matthias had been gripping not too long ago.

“Hmm, I did wonder why you were taking so long.” Uncle Bill told her.

“I, I’ll get started on dinner right away!”

“No need to rush lass,” he placated her, “Make sure you’re properly awake first. You can slow down.”
He reminded her, smiling at her fondly.

Bill gently patted her on the head before turning around back into the front yard, picking up a glass of
water on his way out, before leaving her alone.

As soon as she heard the front door shut, only then did Leyla allow herself to feel faint, and
unceremoniously dropped to the floor…
Matthias’s handkerchief, which was in her weakened grip, fluttered around her as it too fell, and
innocently sank in front of her crestfallen form.

Chapter 58

Play With Me

The Principal’s lips pursed into a thin line, her face set with a slight frown as she regarded the woman
across from her. Leyla, on the other hand, sat calmly, yet resolutely as she waited for her decision. From
her eyes alone, the Principal could see that Leyla was determined about this.

“Are you sure of this, Miss Lewellin?” She asked Leyla anyway, her eyes peeking above her spectacles to
look at her. Leyla only nodded in response.

“Yes. I’d like to do that.” She responded immediately, as though the thought hadn’t just hit her out of
nowhere. She wasn’t kidding about her desire to move away. To teach in a different school, a much
farther school.

“Forgive me for prying, but,” The Principal hummed as she rested her chin above her clasped hands,
scrutinizing Leyla some more, “Isn’t this school the closest one to home? Why would you wish to be
transferred away?”
As far as she knew, Leyla only had to pedal her bike to commute to school everyday. She was asking, not
because Leyla was a seasoned teacher, but because she was a hard worker. Sure, she was a novice,
often lacking experience in handling matters which would cause a few headaches along her way, but she
could see the potential the girl had.

In short, she had grown quite fond of Leyla. As a matter of fact, this school was also the best choice she
could have of growing experience and a career.

“Should I also point out that the other Carlsbar schools lack an opening to hire you?” The Principal
inquired, sighing briefly, “In addition to that, you would have to move away, find a place to stay in, as
well as travel quite a few times just to switch schools?”

“Yes, I understand, and I’m prepared to do it.”

Leyla did think about those things. It was impossible not to. But she knew she needed to do this. The
Principal hummed in thought before leaning back on her chair.

“If there is a problem within the school, then I assure you, we can handle this Leyla.” She said softly,
“Has there been some troubles between your students? Colleagues?”

“No! There has been no trouble.” Leyla vehemently denied, “The teachers have been good to me, you
most especially. And the children are absolute angels, it’s just…” the words caught in her throat. How
was she to explain her reasons for leaving were not even work-related?

“Just…?” The Principal prodded, a pristine brow raised at her for further inquiry. Leyla schooled her
features, smiling politely.

“I’ve thought about this not because of my troubles in school, but rather because I feel as though I need
more experience outside my comfort zone.” Leyla explained, “I want to broaden my horizon, move past
my home so that I could better my skills, for me and the children I will teach.” she finished. The Principal
whizzed at her answer, minutely impressed.

“How eloquently put.” She sighed in resignation, “If that is what you truly want, then who am I to deny
that?” She looked down on her work table and began rearranging papers, “Fortunately, there are many
who also wish to gain experience here in Carlsbar, so finding a replacement for you shouldn’t be too
difficult.”

“Thank you so much for your consideration!” She thanked profusely. Leyla knew that her experience in
Carlsbar was good for experience. The school was fairly prestigious, located in a flourishing city not too
far away from the capital of the Berg Empire. A prime job opportunity, in fact, that she landed a job in
such a place despite her lack of experience.

But it was the only excuse she could think of that would suffice the Principal of her requesting a transfer
of schools, far away from home.
“Though you will still need to serve the full semester before your transfer can be processed.” The
Principal continued, “However, should you change your mind, feel free to come back and retract your
transfer.”

Leyla doubted she would ever retract her request, even if she was given a whole semester to think
about it. She was resolute in moving far away from this place. Thanking her once more, Leyla got up and
left the headmistress’ office, softly shutting the door behind her, and walked back to her classroom
before letting out a long sigh of relief.

Checking she was alone, Leyla moved towards the window, watching the leaves of the oak tree outside
gently sway with the wind before its stem snapped and fluttered towards the ground. Autumn was
nearing its end as winter crept in ever slowly.

The sun’s rays flowed between its almost barren tree branches, filtering in the light seeping through her
windows, casting elongated shadows across her face.

‘I have to leave Arvis.’ she thought to herself, taking in the sight of what would serve to be her last
autumn in the school.

Leyla did, in fact, think this through carefully. It took her quite a few sleepless nights and busy days
before she reached such a decision. As much as it pained her to be leaving and thus wouldn’t be able to
spend more precious time with her Uncle Bill, she didn’t want to repeat the events that happened with
Kyle.

She had learned her lesson. She could no longer hold onto impractical wants and desires. It would only
complicate things more, make it harder for her in the long run, and ruin everything she had been
working hard for.

So Leyla decided to focus on her original plans.

Besides, just because she’d become a teacher in the neighbouring city or somewhere further did not
mean she couldn’t come to visit Uncle Bill from time to time. She reckoned she could even turn it into
weekly visits if she would do it during her weekends.

And maybe lodging and board would turn out to be expensive in a foreign place and delay further
preparations she had when continuing college education. Still, it was a far better alternative to staying
any longer here in Carlsbar.

She would do anything just to get away from that man and Arvis.

“It’ll be alright,” Leyla softly muttered to herself, “Everything will be alright soon. You’ll see.” she
repeated.
Perhaps after repeating those phrases over and over, she would start believing in them. And so,
schooling a smile over her lips, she went back to her desk.

She was no stranger to moving, after all. Her entire childhood consisted of her moving around from one
place to the next, staying with relatives, one after another. It made her feel miserable as a child, but it
certainly imparted quite a few valuable life lessons, which she found handy right now.

Yes, she was an adult now, with a loving uncle to support her every endeavour. Everything would
definitely turn out fine in the end.

Unconsciously, her fingers went up to gently rub her lips in a back and forth motion. She took in a deep
breath before standing up to put on her coat. She fixed her belongings and packed what she needed into
her bag for the next few days before her breathing stuttered at the sight of a simple white cloth.

There, stuffed innocently inside one of her bag’s inner pockets, was the Duke’s handkerchief. Memories
of their latest kiss assaulted her mind before she shook them away and breathed in deeply.

She couldn’t allow him to affect her any further. And so, without further ado, she locked her classroom
as she left and went out of the building. She beelined to her bike, hoisting herself over the seat as she
did a thousand times before, and began to pedal through Arvis.

She knew where she was going next.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Riette von Lindman dutifully drove his car, eyes kept resolutely on the road. His grip on the steering
wheel lightened as he made a soft turn, entering the path leading up to Arvis Estate. As soon as he
passed the boundary, he caught in his peripheral a woman, taking shade under the tree.

He slowed down to a stop, eyes glancing in her direction. He took note of the bicycle propped against
the tree as she stood idly waiting for someone.

‘Who is she waiting for?’ Riette hummed in wonder at sight. This was certainly quite the surprise, and he
wanted to know what she was there for. He unbuckled and got out of the car, locking the door behind
him. As he neared the woman, he blinked as he recognized her.

“Good day Miss Lewellin.” he greeted as soon as he was near enough to be heard.

Leyla, who had been busy spacing out, snapped her head up at the unexpected presence of the Marquis.
In her anxiousness, she staggered back when he stopped before her.

“Marquis Lindman, a good day to you as well.” she politely greeted back after a whole minute, though
the nervousness in her persisted. Nervously she looked around, noticing they were alone, and
unconsciously stepped back away from him, putting more distance between them.
She was already nervous being in the estate; she didn’t need any noble poking around to see why she
was here as well. But of course, she was never that lucky.

“What are you doing here?” Riette asked her.

Leyla struggled to answer him. What could she say? The more she thought about why she was even here
in the first place, the more she felt stiff and frozen on the spot. She couldn’t answer him.

Riette, on the other hand, watched as she slowly paled, silence reigning between them after his inquiry.
It didn’t take him long to piece out the puzzle, and he let out an amused chuckle at her terror.

“Hmm, well let’s see, the it couldn’t be the doctor’s son,” Riette chuckled, eyes watching her in scrutiny,
“He’s not in the estate at the moment.” He pretended to think about it for a few more moments before
gasping in mock dramatics, “Could it be? You’re here for Duke Herhardt himself?”

Leyla’s eyes snapped back to him at his mocking tone. She could feel her cheeks flush, eyebrows
furrowing in response, the shame she felt hidden in her eyes by the glasses she wore.

Riette drew closer, hands clasped behind his back, lowering his mouth next to her ear…“The man whom
Miss Lewellin is waiting for must be Matthias, right?” He whispered before straightening up, putting
some distance between them once more.

Upon hearing his suspicions once more, Leyla felt her palms turn clammy, cold sweat slid down her
temples, her knuckles turning white as the grip on her bag tightened in frustration.

She was only here to return the Duke’s handkerchief, but how was it that she felt as though she’d been
strapped with a time bomb instead? She didn’t want to be trapped alone with him at the annex, so
instead, she waited here, by the road…

Oh, what a mistake that was.

“Cat got your tongue, hmm?” Riette mused, “Why? Did I hit too close to home?”

“Forgive my rudeness, but I must leave now, Marquis.” Leyla forced herself to say, discreetly
manoeuvring her bag behind her as she turned to indeed leave the place. She’d catch the Duke at a
different time instead.

However, Riette was taller and nimbler than her. He managed to catch up to her quickly, herding her to
a stop as he blocked her exit.

“Ah, won’t you wait a little while for my dear cousin?” he asked, “You haven’t seen him yet, and you’ve
surely waited for sometime now. It would be quite a waste of time to leave now.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t a waste, excuse me.” Leyla dodged once more to pass through him, but instead,
Riette grabbed her by the shoulder and held her back.
“Oh but I insist!” He exclaimed, “By the way, did you know that the Duke is actually not at home right
now?” He told her informatively, “In fact, he left to escort his fiance!” He emphasised, “Does that upset
you, oh poor Miss Lewellin?”

Leyla frantically tried to get away from his grip, which in turn was also beginning to get on his nerves the
more she struggled. Couldn’t she see beyond her fear he was trying to help!?

When Riette had initially stopped and approached her, he had only meant to tease her a little. However,
when he learned or rather guessed correctly that she had indeed been waiting for Matthias, the teasing
turned into pity. The poor thing didn’t even realise her precious Duke had gone and left the estate.

He sympathised greatly; after all, he too was in his very own tragic love affair. Riette firmly believed she
was also suffering the effects of heartbreak at the news, the same way he suffered when he’d witnessed
Matthias heading out the mansion to escort his fiance, Claudine, this morning.

The painful sting of longing was still heavy in his heart, so of course, he understood her. But that didn’t
mean he wasn’t against playing with her a little longer for his amusement.

“Though come to think of it, Matthias is quite the simple man isn’t he?” Riette continued to hold her
back, his grip on her shoulder tightening before he grabbed hold of her bike instead, effectively stopping
her from leaving. “Also, your relationship with him, isn’t it akin to that of a mistress?”

“Wha-what?!” Leyla hissed, her breath hitching at the accusation.

“Yes, yes, that’s the exact word.” Riette insisted, straightening up as he held her bike far from her,
“You’re almost like the Duke’s mistress, are you not?” He blinked innocently before smirking at the
growing rage on her face, “What? Too vulgar for your tastes, Miss Lewellin?”

Leyla was fuming at the blatant insult to her face. She wanted to tear that smug look off his face in
response to baseless accusations. Though that didn’t help in easing the shame as she remembered the
latest kiss the Duke and her shared, never mind the fact she had been reluctant to do so.

“It is, isn’t it?” Riette found it amusing to keep pushing more and more of her buttons. “If so, then I
deeply apologise for using such a word.” He continued to mock, tilting his head for added effect, but the
smugness was still there.

“Give me back my bike!” Leyla demanded in anger, arms reaching out to yank her possession away from
him, but he dodged her quickly, effectively keeping her bike out of reach.

“Now, I feel a little disappointed that you, the esteemed Miss Lewellin, who like both the doctor’s son
and Duke Herhardt, couldn’t even stand to be around me! Oh, how you wound me!” Riette feigned
dramatics as he swooned in mock pain. “Very well, here’s your bike.” and he let it go.

Leyla immediately moved to gather her bike, but in her haste to get it, she had let go of her bag,
allowing the Marquis to snatch it up quickly. She gasped in panic, abandoning her bike instead as she
began to run after the Marquis, who was now busying himself with her bag’s contents.
“Perhaps I could find something here for me instead.” he teased her once more. Twisting and dodging
around her to keep it out of reach from Leyla. “I don’t know about the doctor’s son, but I’m sure I can be
more interesting than Matthias.”

“Give back my bag!”

“Come to think of it, even Matthias and I look quite alike.” He pointed out, pausing as he touched his
chin and looked down on her, raising her bag high above him, “Don’t you think so, Miss Lewellin?
Although I can’t give you as much affection as Duke Herhardt, I’m sure I can still make you happy.”

Uncaring of how she would look, Leyla grabbed on his arm as she jumped to retrieve her stolen bag. She
could feel the growing frustration threatening to burst inside her as her eyes blurred and lips began to
tremble.

“Let the dull Duke get along with his boring fiancée, and in the meantime, play with me, Miss Lewellin.”
Riette said in a sing-song voice as he kept the bag out of reach from her.

It was undoubtedly quite amusing for him to watch her hop on her tippy-toes to reach for her bag, as
though it held all the treasures in the world. Ah well, his hand was beginning to feel numb, and so he
immediately dropped it back down and let her have it back as well.

“Give it back!”

Leyla wasted no time in snatching it away from his fingers, wrapping it close to her bosom protectively.
She sniffed and grabbed her abandoned bike, righted it up and hoisted herself over, and pedalled away.

In her haste, she failed to notice her striped shoes slip off.

“Oh, come on now, I was only teasing!” Riette called out after her, “Oh Miss Lewellin, I promise to be a
good boy!”

But Leyla was no longer listening and was gaining steady distance between them. Riette only sighed in
pity before noticing the shoes left behind.

He picked it up, turning it over in his hands before groaning in resignation, and began sprinting towards
the direction she left before disappearing by the corner.

SCREEEEECH!

He didn’t get too far before he heard the alarming sound of a collision between something metallic and
another object. Riette slowly began to pick up pace as alarm bells rang in his head!

As soon as he turned the corner, he stopped in bewilderment when he saw the sight of a downed
woman in the middle of the road in front of a familiar black car, who seemed to have skidded to a stop.
Riette stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do when someone hurriedly exited the car. The driver, it
seemed, was the first to check up on the woman who stayed still on the ground, and soon a couple had
emerged from the back…

Matthias and Claudine.

“Oh my god! Leyla!” Claudine exclaimed in panic as she saw the woman. Riette could only stand dumbly
as he stared at the scene before him, taking in Leyla’s crumpled form and her dented bike by the front
of the car.

Riette’s eyes then were drawn towards Matthias, who regarded Leyla’s prone form with indifference. In
Leyla’s arms, she still clutched her bag like a precious artefact. Matthias raked his eyes over her before
his gaze turned to the side to meet Riette’s gaze, who stood uselessly in front of an overhead lamplight.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

It was fortunate that the accident looked worse than it actually was. Despite having been hit by the car,
Leyla had only sustained minor injuries, and thus, still managed to stand and walk fairly well. Matthias
had suggested taking her to the hospital to be sure, but Leyla had stubbornly refused.

After confirming she was fine, Matthias deemed it fit to put the incident behind them.

“Let’s get back to the mansion now.” He announced, glancing around at the servants with them, who
had been attending to Leyla. Though the servants were particularly concerned about Leyla, they did
nothing as they watched her until she disappeared from their sight.

“Yes, that would be a good idea.”

Claudine readily agreed after bidding Riette goodbye. So that was the end of that. Matthias dutifully
escorted her back into the car. Riette, who looked flushed, following shortly behind them as he headed
back into his, by the entrance of platanus road.

Claudine watched outside the car window, eyes staring worriedly as they both passed by Leyla. She
couldn’t help but recall the way Leyla had absolutely rushed in front of the car. Normally, Claudine was a
calm woman, but when Leyla appeared out of nowhere and got hit by the car, she assumed the worst!

“I thought she got hit pretty hard. I’m glad that she is fine.” Claudine sighed in relief. Speaking of Leyla,
she recalled the way Riette had been holding onto Leyla’s shoes just moments after he rounded the
corner where Leyla got hit.

She must admit, she almost let her composure slip at that very moment. She had not expected Riette to
be that rash and impatient. Claudine’s eyes shifted to her peripheral, discreetly scrutinising her fiance.
She expected something after that near-death scare for Leyla, but she could not read him at all.

Even after this, he was still so indifferent.

If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he did not care for Leyla at all. Matthias didn’t
even look livid about the driving hitting her accidentally, nor questioned Riette about why he had been
holding onto her shoes.

How very typical of Duke Herhardt.

By the time they reached the front door of the mansion, and the car came to a stop, Claudine couldn’t
help but feel sorry for Leyla.

Chapter 59

Decent Adult

It did not take long before they reached the mansion. Once the car came to a stop, Matthias got out
first, before holding his arm out for Claudine, who took it as she exited as well. They were then led
towards the reception room, where two ladies-in-waiting stood to receive them, alongside his cousin,
Riette.

’What if Claudine was mistaken?’

Riette thought as he observed his cousin. One would think he would at least show some bit of concern
towards the incident on Leyla, but Matthias remained calm and composed throughout the whole thing.

If Claudine was in fact correct in her assumption about the Duke being enamoured with the orphan,
surely there would be some sort of reaction from him seeing Leyla get hurt. He knew he would if it was
Claudine.
His cousin wasn’t an idiot as well, and was wise enough to cover up the earlier incident and brush it off
as something trivial. Still, it was baffling for Riette to see Matthias so indifferent. What were his true
feelings towards the girl?

He’d get to the bottom of things, one way or the other. And so they had dinner served early in
consideration for Claudine. As quick as it started, so did it end, and she retired early, leaving the two
men alone, to head towards Matthias’ study.

“To be honest, she looked quite lonely, waiting for your arrival on her own.” Riette started, “So I decided
to go and give her some bit of cheer when I arrived. I might have teased her some, but I had not
expected her to be so afraid and run away.”

He eyed Matthias carefully, watching for any subtle hints of emotion as he sat across from the Duke in
the study. When there was no change with Matthias, Riette cleared his throat, before languidly leaning
back on the chair.

“I’m talking about her, by the way,” He clarified, “Miss Leyla Lewellin.”

The name spilling out of Riette’s mouth as though he was spitting out sand, albeit in mild distaste. Much
of what he said was indeed true. He might have gotten a little physical, but he’d only meant to tease
her.

“Ah.” Matthias hummed, indifferent as ever, but sharp eyes regarding the Marquis in scrutiny. He then
let out a low, yet amused chuckle, before sighing at him, looking quite amused by his cousin’s antics.

It wasn’t the reaction of someone affected by a loved one’s near-death experience. It seemed too real to
be fake, Riette thought to himself.

“I guess even a womaniser by the likes of Riette von Lindman have their limitations!” teased Matthias,
“Imagine that, you, getting rejected by a woman. Such a woman does exist.” He declared jovially. Riette
couldn’t help but chuckle back.

“What? Such slander!” They both laughed at each other before it died down eventually. Matthias’ eyes
softened a little bit before turning serious.

“Well, it does serve you right.” Matthias told him, smoothly opening the silver box on his desk and took
out a cigarette. He flipped his lighter to light the end before offering one to Riette, who in turn took one
for himself as well.

Both men settled back in their respective chairs, languidly puffing out smoke. Riette continued to regard
Matthias carefully, wondering what would happen now. He was mostly convinced by now, after the
laugh they shared moments ago, that Matthias could care less about Leyla.
‘I can’t help but feel sorry for Leyla after all,’ Riette thought as they continued to puff smoke, ‘To think
he’d treat her this pathetically.’

“Not one of my best moments, I’d admit to that.” Riette said, sinking further into the comfy chair. He
felt as though he and Claudine had made complete fools out of themselves.

(‘That girl over there, doesn’t she resemble the canary Duke Herhardt raises in his bedroom?’)

Those were the words Claudine said last summer during one afternoon as she had been looking out the
window, still all smiles and hearts filled with light. She had been busy looking at Leyla Lewellin, who had
been returning home after a day’s work in the garden.

Riette could still remember the way Leyla looked at that moment. Her voluminous blonde hair bounced
softly with every step, swaying as the wind fluttered through her. The sweat on her brow glistened,
making her shine in the afterglow of the setting sun. She did greatly resemble a bird, whose wings were
flapping so exquisitely.

( ‘Are you possibly wanting to tell me that Matthias started to raise a canary because of her?’)

He had asked Claudine in disbelief that day. She only looked at him meaningfully, all confident as she
gave him a clandestine smile.

Yes, Claudine conveyed wordlessly. She was so certain, Riette couldn’t help but believe her. She was
always so rational, so logical, so he trusted that she wouldn’t make such a decision lightly on a small
coincidence. After all, he too had been a little apprehensive with Matthias’ sudden change of heart in
raising a bird.

Coupled with the fact he had overheard that Matthias had planned to create a rift between Leyla and
Kyle Etman, it seemed more and more plausible that Claudine’s assumptions were correct.

‘But how can he act like this?’ The more he pondered about it, Riette felt as if he had lost his way in a
maze of increasingly complex questions.

How could he act so indifferent towards the woman he has strong feelings for? Sit across him and make
jokes about the way his cousin acted so callously towards her, leading to injury? And if Claudine had
indeed been right, what did that mean about their relationship with each other?

‘Have they broken up already? But then why does Matthias still care for the canary, safely tucked in his
bedroom?’

“Riette von Lindman.” Matthias spoke up, blowing a drawn out puff of smoke, looking at his cousin now
with indifferent eyes. Riette, who had been preoccupied with his growing questions, looked up at the
sound of his name, schooling his expression immediately. “Why don’t you create your scandals in your
own estate and not mine?”
Though Matthias slightly quirked up the corner of his lips into a smile, his eyes told a different story.
“Don’t you remember? I’m willing to do anything to keep Arvis in order.” He blew one last puff of smoke
before disposing of his newly used cigarette to light up a new stick.

Both cousins locked eyes on one another, Matthias resolutely trailed on Riette, who still could not pick
up any hint of his emotions. There was no tell of jealousy, anger or anything else, other than
indifference. In fact, Matthias greatly resembled that of a mischievous child.

‘Your cousin was a gentlemanly demon.’

Riette’s mind flashed back to the officer he met not too long ago. He held quite the appalled expression
as he had been describing how the Duke looked like while on the battlefield. Riette involuntarily
swallowed his saliva, making his mouth feel dry. His hands lightly shook the longer they kept eye
contact.

“I’m sure you know that better than anyone else.” Matthias finished in a low tone, warning him slightly
before breaking eye contact. At that moment, Riette could see his cousin looked a little worse for wear,
a slight look of fatigue could be seen in his face.

‘I don’t understand him.’ Riette thought, before sighing out, his smoke mixing with the growing fog in
the room as both men continued to puff out their cigarettes. ‘Perhaps a little more provocation is in
order, though I do wonder…’

His thoughts trailed off as he regarded the growing embers at the end of his stick. He brought it to his
mouth and took a long breath in, before blowing another drawn out puff into the office…

‘I wonder if the answers I will find, prove useful to you, Claudine?’ and so Riette swallowed back down
his nervousness to calm his nerves.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The familiar sound of Phoebe pecking her window broke through the silence of the dimly lit room.
Normally, Leyla would have opened it up to let her bird in. However, she found herself stuck in her head,
staring into nothing but the space in front of her as she curled in on herself, lying on her side on the bed.

She blinked occasionally, looking but not really seeing what was in front of her. Should anyone stare at
her eyes now, they’d find themselves feeling as though they were looking inside a deep, yet empty well.

Leyla couldn’t remember how the accident happened or how she returned to the cabin. She had simply
wanted to run away from Marquis Lindman, but next thing she knew, she was met with a burst of light
coming towards her, and not a second later, felt faint pain that spread throughout her entire body.

Though it hurt a lot to be hit, it felt nothing compared to when she found out that the car she was hit
with belonged to Duke Herhardt, who had been inside during the incident, with his fiance, Claudine.
At that moment the physical pain she felt was nothing compared to the sudden sting inside her heart.
All she could think about at that moment was to escape, to be as far away as possible from them.

A few more minutes had passed before she was finally back to herself, but opted to remain in bed for a
little while longer. The accident earlier left her with no tear on her skin or fracture in her bones. But it
did leave behind a few bruises, and pain in her left shoulder and back, which took most of the hit. It felt
as though her bones would crack every time she moved.

She should probably get some sleep in, and rest early, but the pain made it impossible to even close her
eyes. Eventually Leyla managed to convince herself to get up from her fetal position to open the window
for Phoebe to get in.

Once the bird fluttered by the windowsill, Leyla noticed there was a note attached by her bird’s ankle.
Her eyes narrowed as she suspected the note might have come from Duke Herhardt. She was certain of
that.

With a deep sigh, Leyla untied the note, and lightly caressed Phoebe for a moment. Sensing that she had
done its job, Phoebe flew back to its cage, having eaten its fill back at the Duke’s mansion.

Leyla pursed her lips as she stared at the note, pondering if she could leave the note unread. Deciding
otherwise, she quickly closed her window shut and sat down by the edge of the bed. She unrolled the
note open, grabbing her glasses by the pillow beside her to read its content.

[You need to bring the handkerchief, Leyla. If you don’t come here, I’ll go there instead.]

Leyla’s hand shook as she read the note, her fists clenching at the trepidation that came over her. She
soon dropped the crumpled letter on the bed, before sliding down in anxiousness. She clutched the end
of the bed, hands fisting over the sheets as her body shook, before she let out a quiet sob.

Her hands came up shakily to grab her glasses, tossing it carelessly aside before burying her face into her
pillow to release a muffled scream! She felt as if she was going mad!

‘If only… If only I could run to a place far away from this man.’

However no matter how hard she wished, reality still caught up to her. She was still here, she was still in
Arvis, which meant she was still within his reach. Which brought her back to the letter’s content.

Should she decide not to go to him, he would not hesitate to come to her instead. He wouldn’t mind it
too, if he was to be caught by Uncle Bill.

‘Should that happen then Uncle Bill would…’ Leyla’s thoughts trailed off as she recalled one of the things
her Uncle Bill had told her some time ago…

‘You’ll become a pretty decent adult.’

Uncle Bill’s fond smile, and soft voice filtered through her mind, bringing fresh tears into Leyla’s eyes. No
matter what others had said about her, what rumours spread, Uncle Bill had always been there for her.
He believed in her when no one else did. He had been, still is, proud of her and her achievements. He
made sure she knew that too.

“You’re almost like the Duke’s mistress, are you not?”

That one sentence, from Marquis Lindman immediately crushed the light feeling from Uncle Bill, with a
bitterness that was hard to swallow.

She struggled for a while, but managed to find footing to raise herself up from the floor. Leyla gingerly
reached out for her bag, which had been thrown haphazardly on her desk, and took out the
handkerchief that had been weighing her down all day.

Resolving to end this quickly, she clutched the handkerchief and immediately turned to leave her room,
locking it behind her. As she passed by the living room, Leyla slowed her steps as she listened to Uncle
Bill’s soft and steady snores. She hated that she had to leave Uncle Bill, but she knew she needed to if
she wanted to escape Matthias.

She really despised the Duke, so much…, so she felt as though her heart would burst into flames. It
didn’t matter if it was Marquis Lindman who had been the indirect cause of her accident, it was the
Duke’s involvement with her to blame everything going wrong in her life.

She walked out of their house, and braved the woods at night, with only the moonlight to light her way.
Overhead the clouds rolled by, often dimming the moon’s glow, but Leyla could see just fine in the dark.
She was familiar with these woods.

She walked the same path she always took towards the annex, reaching the clearing that led to the
Schulter river in no time. Leyla picked up her pace, eager to put this entire thing behind her. She was
freezing, as the nightly chill washed over her, but her cheeks burned with her frustration, giving her heat
in the cold.

“You came.”

Leyla stopped when she heard the voice from the darkness. It was Matthias. He was leaning against the
railing by the stairway that led outdoors, connected towards the dock and the annex’s second floor. His
gaze was resolutely locked onto her form, regarding her with a resigned air.

“I was just about to leave.” He hummed, before he pushed himself off the railing, and began to saunter
towards her with a predatory grin as she stood frozen in place. Once he was only a step away from her,
he stopped in his tracks and took in the sight of her.

Leyla’s blonde locks were tussled by the wind, her hair and skirt swaying slightly with the night breeze.
He also took note of the goosebumps up and down her arms, and the slight shiver she involuntarily
made.

“Aren’t you cold?” He frowned in concern as he noted she wasn’t dressed warmly.
Leyla scoffed at the sudden concern he was showing her. Where was it when she had been hit by his car
earlier? But that didn’t matter to her, not anymore.

She thrust her hand out in front of Matthias, her hand holding the clean handkerchief towards him to
take. “Here, I’m returning your handkerchief to you.” She huffed out, cold puffs of smoke escaping her.

“Leyla-” but Matthias got cut off, as she hastily made him take the handkerchief back, before pulling
away from him.

“Goodbye then Duke,” She bid him adieu, “I hope to never see you again, ever.” She finished, turning
swiftly on her heels. Her task was done, and she felt some weight lift off her shoulders the more she put
some distance between them.

Only her soft footfalls echoed through the forest. Leyla breathed in the earthy scent of the trees around
her, making her head feel clear and refreshed despite her dark surroundings, despite the way her body
shook with every step due to her bruised body.

“I order you to stop, Leyla!” Matthias commanded, a few steps behind her, making Leyla jolt in surprise.
She attempted to break out into a run, but found her body frozen after hearing his command.

He caught up to her in no time.

“Leyla,” He called out to her softly, his hands grazing the back of her hand, trailing it up to her left
shoulder, before she regained her movement and slapped his hand away from her. “Leyla!” Matthias
exclaimed in frustration.

Immediately he crowded into her personal space, face set into a frown as he grabbed her, and lifted her
bridal style as though she weighed nothing more than a feather.

“Ackh!”

Leyla choked on her scream at the sudden change in orientation, before realising what was happening
to her.

“No! Let me go! Let go!” She yelped, struggling against his hold, but Matthias resolutely held onto her,
before shifting his hold on her and hauled her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes.

Leyla kept thumping her fists against his back, kicking and screaming against him but he made no
indication he had been affected by anything she’d done so far. Matthias resolutely climbed up the flight
of stairs into the annex building all poised and steady despite his struggling companion.

Leyla’s screams grew louder with each step, but they were deep enough into the forest and no one else
would hear them at this time of night. Matthias kept walking down the corridor, leading them both
towards the reception room.

He then reached his bedroom, opening the door without delay, before dragging Leyla inside.
Chapter 60

I Won’t Make It Hurt

Leyla continued to thrash in Matthias’ hold, squirming whichever way she could. Suddenly she felt her
whole body shift once more, before she was unceremoniously dumped off of him.

It was only when her back hit the familiar feeling of a soft bed did she realise where he had taken her
and what he planned to do with her. She looked around frantically before scrambling to get up the bed.

“N,no! Go away! No!” Leyla screamed hysterically, the pain in her body momentarily forgotten. The
white sheets which had been painstakingly prepared just this morning began to wrinkle beneath her
weight, her thrashing crumpling the sheets in no time.

“Stay still.” Matthias ordered sternly, immediately catching one of Leyla’s flailing wrists and pulled her
still…

“Ackh!”

The pain she had forgotten returned in full force, bringing tears into her eyes as she yelped in pain.
Matthias frowned, and immediately released his hold on her.

Just as he did, Leyla twisted her body further away from him that she had almost fallen off the bed.
Fortunately, Matthias’ reflexes were quick, and managed to stop her from toppling over, this time his
hold gentler from moments ago. However his resumed contact with her only served to make Leyla
thrash some more in panic.

“Let go! Let go of me!” She shrieked, but Matthias held onto her resolutely, careful not to put too much
pressure on her this time. Leyla continued to thrash, making him take a deep breath.

“If I let go of you now while you move so recklessly then you’ll only injure yourself further.” He tried
explaining, but Leyla wasn’t listening, continuing to thrash around in order to escape from him.

“No! No! No!” She kept pushing him away. The more she protested, the more it grated on Matthias’
nerves. He won’t say it out loud, but he would admit to himself that he misplaced his anger a while ago
on Leyla when he had scolded and grabbed her harshly.
The anger was for his cousin, Riette von Lindman, after all. And he had dumped it on her in a fit of anger.
However now, he could only feel concern over her battered body.

Matthias knew very well that Leyla would have hidden from her Uncle Bill the fact she had been
involved in a car accident, much less had been the victim of one, so he had prepared beforehand some
medicine, safely tucked away in his room at the annex. He brought it here, all the way from his mansion.

He had planned to bring her here from the start, reeling her in with the sparsely written note he had
attached to the leg of her precious bird. Matthias can’t help but laugh mirthlessly to himself as he
remembered how imprudent he had been acting, watching as she dragged herself to the edge of the
bed.

Just as Leyla was about to bolt off the bed and out of the room, Matthias intercepted her and gently
plopped her back onto the bed, making her huff out in surprise. She finally looked up at him and began
to beg…

“Duke, don’t be like this, please.” She pleaded, hastily moving back from him as she attempted to
escape once again, but Matthias swiftly got on top of her, straddling her waist, keeping her in place. He
grabbed both of her wrists gently, pinning them over her head as he held her down.

Leyla struggled feebly beneath him, squirming futilely before sobs wracked her body as a terrible wave
of helplessness washed over her. “St-stop, please,” She begged, fat tears streaming down her face,
“Please, I’m begging you, stop! It hurts, it hurts so much…” She whispered.

She’d been paralyzed by both her fear and the Duke looming above her. The pain in her body screamed
for relief the more she strained as she lay on the bed.

“Duke please,” Leyla called out pleadingly, whispering beneath him, “It hurts so much.” She sniffed,
crying softly from under him. The Duke’s face began to blur as fresh tears kept forming, but she
resolutely met his gaze, as he eyed her carefully.

“Did he touch you?” Matthias inquired, “Did Riette touch you in any way?” He whispered as he eyed her
slowly from the face to the bottom of her belly.

Matthias tilted his head as his eyes met hers once more, prodding gently for her to answer truthfully. His
hair swayed to the side as he did, revealing his intense gaze on her.

Immediately Leyla shook her head in denial despite the sobs wracking through her. She hated what
Marquis Lindman had done to her, but hated all the more that Matthias had found out about it. He
shouldn’t have to.

“N-no,” She began to explain, “He only teased me rather badly that I got so scared that I couldn’t help
but just up and left in such a hurry.”
Matthias listened intently as she stammered through her explanation. The shaking of her body seemed
to finally calm down after a few more rounds of her crying, then stopping, then crying again, until she
calmed herself into exhaustion.

Her cheeks glistened with the streaks left by her tears. Gently, Matthias pried off his fingers that held
down her arms before moving to caress her hands, gone was the strong grip from before replaced only
with such gentle and tender caresses.

“Stay still, Leyla.” He murmured softly, interlocking their fingers together as Leyla stiffened beneath his
touch on instinct. “Lie still,” He repeated as he held her gaze, “I promise it won’t hurt, not even a little.”
and he dipped his head down a little closer to her.

Leyla forced herself to watch as Matthias loomed over her, eyes darting to her prone figure on the bed,
then to the room they were in. The two of them were the only ones in the annex, which was located
deeply inside the forest.

In her head she had already imagined the multiple scenarios she could have done to push him away and
make her escape, but she knew there was no escape now. And that just pushed her deeper into despair.

“You promise?”

Leyla finally responded in a meek voice. She was being quite foolish right now, but she was also earnest.
She had no choice but to submit right now. She was at his mercy after all.

She hoped that he would also grant her a small mercy in her vulnerable state.

Leyla looked up at Matthias pleadingly as he remained unresponsive to her inquiry. She shivered as he
stared at her some more. His eyes raked her up and down in appreciation, wetting his lips lightly at the
sight of her tear-streaked face.

Finally, Matthias nodded at her in promise, making her sigh deeply in relief as she relaxed underneath
him. He pulled himself away from her, hands digging into the pocket of his jacket where he had shoved
the returned handkerchief carelessly in his haste to catch up to Leyla.

Leyla allowed herself to remain still despite being unbounded by the Duke’s hands, watching his hands,
and believing in the promise he’d take care of her. She watched as he brought the handkerchief next to
her forehead, and began slowly dabbing away the sweat on her brow.

Matthias kept gently wiping at her face, grabbing her chin gently to keep her eyes on his when she
instinctively tried to turn her head away from him. Her emerald orbs shone brightly in the dimmed light.
He tucked back her ear a few stray locks of her hair before fully standing up as he finished wiping her
face clean.
Leyla watched attentively every move he made, struggling to stay still so as to not aggravate him.
Matthias then got off the bed as he rummaged through some of the things he had set aside, and
returned with a medicine box in hand.

He then sat down by the edge of the bed, and laid it on the bedside table, before turning to her calmly.

“Show me your injuries.” He gently ordered, and Leyla immediately shook her head frantically, and
began retracting her words from before…

“Oh, there’s no need really! I wasn’t really injured even-”

“You said it hurts.” Matthias interrupted, “Your words were: it hurts… so much.” He reminded, eyes
narrowed as he regarded her.

“No, I was… that was…”

Leyla stumbled through an explanation, unable to provide a good excuse on the spot as she gingerly sat
up from her position. Her eyes darted everywhere around her but his.

Slightly annoyed by her stubbornness and refusal to look at him, Matthias began to uncuff the sleeves of
her blouse, immediately gaining her attention. She panicked and began to struggle once more as he
rolled them up to her elbows.

“I guess the arms were uninjured then?” He remarked dryly, swifting grabbing the hem of her skirts,
riding them up further as it hiked above her knees.

Yelping in the suddeness of his actions, Leyla stilled his hands immediately, “Back!” She blurted out,
“It’s… it’s my back… that hurts…” She trailed off in all honesty. Matthias stopped moving his hands as he
stared at her, urging her to continue, “I hurt my back a little, and my left shoulder.” she reluctantly
admitted.

He pursed his lips together, backing away from her to give her one more once over, to determine if she
was telling the truth. His fingertips tapped on the lid of the medicine box rhythmically, making Leyla
squirm in the silence between them, before the tapping stopped.

“I want to see it then.” He demanded, “Take it off.”

Leyla’s eyes snapped towards him, before shaking her head in denial once more, unwilling to remove
any layers of clothing around him. But Matthias wouldn’t take no for an answer. His eyes narrowed at
her before growling under his breath.

“If you won’t let me take a look, then I won’t hesitate to call the doctor for you!” He hissed and stood
up, grabbing the medicine box with him. “And not just any doctor, mind you, but Dr. Etman!” He
threatened her.
Leyla’s breath hitched at the thought, before shaking her head once more, pleading for him not to do it.
She would rather drown by the Schulter River than be caught dead by Kyle’s father in such a
compromising position! She looked practically scandalous as she lay on the Duke’s bed!

“Then make the choice Leyla.” He gave her an ultimatum, “Either strip and allow me to assess your
injuries myself, or I will call for Dr. Etman.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias had left her alone with her thoughts, basking in the room’s silence for quite some time now.
Leyla’s body was still aching due to the strain it underwent with her thrashing and squirming.

Matthias waited patiently for her final decision. He reclined against the nearby chair as he continued to
run his eyes up and down her figure.

He sighed deeply, watching her rumpled form on his bed, hair a mess and eyes swollen red. There was
something sensual in the way she basked in the dim lighting, all shrouded in doubt, fear, sprinkled with a
dash of hope and trust in him.

“Do… Do you really promise?”

Leyla finally asked, breaking the silence. Her eyes clenched shut as she resigned herself to her fate. It
didn’t matter anyway if she would try to negotiate with him. His promises, her promises, they were only
just words unless they made it true.

She was well aware by now that Matthias could do whatever it takes, just so he could get what he
wanted in the end. Just as he once did before. The circumstances between them hadn’t changed. She
was still bound to cross paths with him, doomed to suffer in his presence.

She would only complicate things further for herself if she would continue to resist. She had her answer
now. She’s made a decision. But that didn’t stop the fresh tears from running down her face as she felt
utterly useless in front of him.

The tears flowed, saturating her blouse the more she cried while Matthias continued to stare at her.

‘How happy he must be again to see me cry.’ Leyla thought miserably, she choked down her sobs,
swallowing as she turned away from him, giving him a silent permission to undress her himself.

She felt the rustle of his clothes, and the dipping of the bed. Calloused hands came up to her shoulder,
caressing her back gently as it trailed towards the buttons at the back of her blouse. Slowly, she felt the
gradual loosening of her blouse as his fingers deftly unbotted it one by one…

Her body shook with sobs as she kept her head down, aiding in removing her blouse once everything
had been unbuttoned. She wanted to keep even just a little bit of her pride by refusing to look at the
Duke.
The cloth slid down her skin, revealing the soft, smooth flesh underneath. It had only been a second, but
for Matthias it felt as though time moved slowly, sensually revealing inch by inch her skin, teasing him,
goading him to touch it. From the slender slope of her neck, to her petite shoulders…

His eyes travelled further down, following the perfect curve of her back, riddled with blotches of red
bruises. It looked as though any touch of his would bring her to her knees in front of him.

Matthias found himself mesmerised by the swelling on her back. It was littered everywhere on the
expanse of her left shoulder blade, down to her waist. It was no wonder why she wailed like she did in
pain.

He found himself amazed by her strength in brushing her injuries as if they were nothing as she
continued to bike away from him. Though she did look a little pathetic as she did so as well, running
away like a dog with her tail between her legs.

‘If I had ignored it , you would’ve hid your bruises and suffered all by yourself.’ Matthias thought,
causing an anger-like feeling to well up inside him. Opting to push it down, he began to move, lightly
touching the bruises…

Only Leyla yelped in pain, making her flinch away from him, twisting her body as if to shield her prone
side despite her state of undress. He hummed in thought, a frown marring his face. It would prove
difficult to treat her if a slight touch would cause her too much pain.

“Tell me if the pain gets worse.”

Matthias murmured softly as he moved his hands, touching the areas around the bruises instead as he
assessed the extent of her injuries. Whenever she tensed up beneath his fingertips, or let out soft
groans, he would ease up, and move to the next area after she had relaxed once more.

It was fortunate that Leyla could still move her arms and shoulders. The ribs and spine seemed to be fine
as well. Overall, she was in good condition considering a car had hit her. The creases on his forehead
disappeared as he found himself relieved and quickly proceeded with the treatment.

He took some smoothing salve, before wrapping her bruised shoulder with bandages in silence. Leyla sat
still, head still looking down, as her body shook in the tension between them.

Matthias rubbed smoothing circles on her uninjured side as he went and wrapped her bruises securely,
yet tenderly. He had been right; she was smooth to the touch, very soft beneath his fingers.

He wanted to touch her more. She was such a frail woman indeed; so small and so vulnerable.

“Leyla.”

Matthias softly whispered. Leyla found herself raising her head in response, a little dismayed at how
quickly she did so. By the mantle on the fireplace, hung a large mirror, with an intricate golden frame. In
it, was her reflection.
She met her gaze in it, seeing as clear as day, the shame and despair written in her eyes.

Her eyes then shifted to meet Matthias’ in the mirror, seeing his cerulean eyes staring back at her. A
strange feeling came over her, locking her in place as she found herself unable to look away despite the
terror she was feeling.

‘Why…?’

She wondered to herself the more she looked at him through the mirror, trying to convey the question
with her eyes…

So innocent… so clearly looking at him for some sort of explanation as to why this was all happening.

‘Ah …’

Matthias chuckled dryly to himself in his mind, his eyes breaking contact to take in her now bandaged
shoulder. He felt too hot, his breath controlled, yet too harsh as he struggled to wet his parched lips.

His eyes went back to look at Leyla once more, before realising that he had been the one to back away
first from her. In all his years of knowing Leyla, he’d never once backed down for her.

‘Damn it.’

He cursed himself for his ineptitude. He felt as though he had been cursed, but only he could feel the
way his body grew hotter, breathing out hot puffs of air through his mouth.

Before he could let out another sigh, Matthias leaned forward and planted a light kiss on Leyla’s
shoulder in order to turn a blind eye to the unfamiliar emotion stirring inside him and a vague attempt
to console the wounded girl. He wasn’t acting like himself, but he found that didn’t mind; not even a
little bit.

“It’s all right.” Matthias tenderly whispered in Leyla’s ear while she attempted to turn her body away.
His voice dipped down into a husky tone, creating a strange sensation travelling down Leyla’s spine.

She hastily avoided his gaze once more, unable to look any longer in the mirror.

The last sight she saw was seared into her mind. His strong imposing figure loomed behind her
vulnerable form; his large calloused hands wrapped around her bare waist. She tried to subtly shrug the
hand off of her, but was unsuccessful to do so.

Matthias continued to trail soft kisses through the expanse of her shoulders, before on hand travelled to
grab and interlock their fingers together.

As the pain in Leyla’s body began to soothe, she found it being replaced with a foreign sensation pooling
in the pit of her stomach.

Leyla clenched her eyes shut, feeling more vividly the way the duke’s warm breath grazed her skin.
The touch of his lips, and the impression it left as he continued his tender ministrations across her
bruises, were as soft as a feather.

Chapter 61

Charity Performance

Several days have passed since that night, and soon it faded as though it all had been just a dream. A
peaceful dream in an unfamiliar way. She still couldn’t believe it happened.

In the time that passed, Marquis Lindman had finally returned to his estate, and the Duke no longer sent
her letters demanding her, or gave her unexpected visits. Soon autumn left, and winter had taken its
first step upon its month-long journey, bringing with it a new season. Leyla opened up her window,
breathing in the cold chill in the air, loving the smell winter brought.

She quite enjoyed the breeze, senses numbed to the cold for a while, as she appreciated the way the
sun would hit the snow, making it glint as though the forest was made of diamonds.

She kept the window wide open, until the cold began biting at her fingertips. With one last deep breath,
she shut it closed and turned around to get ready for the day.

Today was the day of the charity performance prepared by the school children at the town hall in
downtown, so her preparation before going to work took a little longer than usual. Shosted royalty and
the children were the ones going on stage, which meant she couldn’t wear the usual clothes she would.
This year’s performance was being held in a reputable venue. It hosted many events which prominent
figures and powerful people had attended regularly. She needed to look her best for the school and her
students.

‘You have to present yourself as a dignified teacher. Okay, Miss Lewellin?’

Even the Principal knew she needed to improve her wardrobe. She even added in a few more remarks
about her image during yesterday’s meeting, especially about hoping to avoid seeing Leyla ride her bike
to the town hall.

Leyla couldn’t help but frown at the thought, hands busying themselves as she braided her hair into an
updo style. “What’s wrong with riding my bike?” she muttered under her breath.

She finished rather quickly with her hair. She was rather thankful for her newly gained experience in that
department by the way, seeing as she had to do so multiple times throughout the semester.

‘That hair, it doesn’t suit you.’

Ah, just when she thought he wouldn’t find a way to disturb her. But it seemed even in her thoughts she
couldn’t escape him. Those had been the words the Duke gave her by the platanus road during the early
autumn season.

The autumn sun had just filtered through her room, hitting the mirror and rebounding in an angle that
hit her hair. She had flinched at his sudden reflection of appearance on the mirror, having felt he was
watching her. Leyla quickly turned her gaze away, just like how she avoided his eyes back then too.

‘It’s beautiful, your hair. It’s like a wing.’

And suddenly, a dam broke in her mind as one after another she recalled every compliment he had ever
given her. It flustered her more than the insults he sent her way. Especially when he’d look at her with
those cold, indifferent eyes.

She resumed brushing her hair, checking her side profiles before deeming herself well and ready for the
day. It was fortunate that unlike her memories of their latest night together, the bruises on her shoulder
had begun to fade.

He had been true to his word that night after all.

True enough, she had been terrified out of her wits when he carted her off to his room. The tension
between them in the beginning had been so thick, you could have cut it with a knife. But that soon
diminished with each kiss he planted on her bruises.

He let her be, and treated her carefully, as though he didn’t mind the struggling and thrashing she made
moments before. His gentle touch trailed along her injuries, rubbing the soothing salve to numb the pain
before wrapping bandages protectively around them.
His movements were so calm, and skillful, it rivalled that of a doctor’s. Not to mention his azure eyes
resolutely trained on her, even as she sluggishly put her clothes back on…

In the corner of her eyes, she spotted a clock, making her gasp at the time. Immediately, Leyla rose from
her seat and rechecked herself on the mirror one last time, before flitting around the room for some last
minute preparations.

The dress she wore was brand new, which she bought with her own money just for today’s event. She
dashed around, looking for a good pair of shoes, before snatching up some high heels. Leyla could
already imagine her feet throbbing with pain by the end of the day, but she would need to endure it.
Satisfied with her final look, she finally went out of her room.

“Ah, you’re so pretty Leyla!” Uncle Bill greeted her with awe as he regarded his niece. He had just come
out of the kitchen, making some breakfast. “You’ll be the prettiest one tonight at the town hall!” he
praised. Leyla only giggled disbelievingly before responding.

“There’ll be plenty others who’ll dress better than I,” she pointed out, “There will be tons of young
ladies and madams attending the event.”

“Ah, but what have they got against you?” her uncle pointed out, “Neither their silver nor gold on their
skin could make them hold a candle to you!”

Leyla rolled her eyes. “Perhaps not in my uncle’s eyes.” she hummed, a fond smile creeping up the
corner of her lips as she sat across from him.

“Oh, yes, I just remembered,” Bill said before gesturing to his neck, “The necklace you have, why don’t
you wear it as well?” he suggested, taking a bite out of his breakfast. Leyla’s brows furrowed in
confusion before widening upon remembering.

“Ah! You mean the necklace you bought for me?”

“Yes! The one you wore for the Duke’s party last year.” he swallowed, before cutting up more of his
food, “I think it would perfectly complement your outfit today. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t
want to, but I’m certain what a sight it will be!”

Bill Remmer might know nothing when it comes to women’s fashion, he was certain indeed that no one
could hold a candle to his niece’s beauty. Just remembering the way Leyla stood out at the Duke’s party
was enough to make him so proud that even just for that one night, he could turn Leyla into a beautiful
princess.

Leyla smiled and nodded, seeing the smile in her uncle’s eyes as he suggested it. She got up from her
seat and went back to her room, searching for where she had kept the necklace in. She reached deep
inside her closet, before she found it.
She straightened up, and clasped the necklace around her bare neck. Deeming it secure and worn well,
she went back out and stood in front of her uncle, arms tucked behind her, as she puffed out her chest
to showcase the necklace more.

“So, how do I look?” she asked him demurely, and Bill cheered jovially at seeing Leyla wearing the
necklace once more.

“Ah! Absolute perfection, my dear.” he praised before clasping warm, gentle hands on her shoulder,
before giving her a brief hug. He pulled away and looked at her, eyes wrinkled with a smile, before
looking at her with a slight concern…

“Now you be careful out there Leyla, don’t stray too far,” Bill warned her softly, “You’ll catch a lot of
attention because of how you look, but be wary of them too, or they might just take you away for
themselves.” he finished, and Leyla nodded in agreement.

“I will uncle, don’t worry.” she promised.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

She was like a dot from a far, hardly recognizable at such a distance, but Matthias could spot her even
from a mile away, a slight curve up the corner of his mouth began to appear.

He knew it was Leyla, the woman who was walking along the path through the hunting grounds, all the
way towards the rose garden behind the mansion. He tilted his head at the sight of her, his brows
furrowing in wonder…

‘Why is she walking to work today?’

Matthias let out a low whistle, moving closer towards the window, and outstretched his hand, index
finger popping up in wait. Not a moment sooner a little bird fluttered to land on it.

He brought the bird up close to his eye level, using the sight of Leyla drawing near as a backdrop to it. He
leaned against his window sill by the damask curtains that hung from the ceiling down to the floor. It
swayed with the wind, framing him perfectly from behind, and hiding him from any passerby.

He shifted his arm, as if to present his canary to the unsuspecting woman, but the bird had fluttered
away, and right back into its cage. The introduction to his two birds were unsuccessful, but that didn’t
mean it was entirely a waste. And so Matthias stayed by the window, even long after Leyla had
disappeared from his sight.

It had become some sort of routine of his, to perch by the windowsill every morning for the view it
offered, day after day. And all the while, he’d only look, waiting for the moment she would leave the
quaint gardener’s cabin, and into the path through the forest just to go to work.

At this spot in his mansion, he could always see her, and what she would do whenever she’d go home.
‘Is she all better now?’

He couldn’t help but think as he recalled how frail she looked the last time he saw her so close. She had
been all bruised up and in pain. Her quivering body as she sobbed desperately at him…

Those flushed, tear-stained cheeks, and glistening emerald eyes. He could just lose himself at the sight
of her.

It was a shame he hadn’t had the fortune of running into her, or see her since then. He could have gone
to see her, much like he did before, but this time he chose not to. There had been some strange stirrings
in him, that night, feelings he couldn’t put a finger on.

Matthias pushed himself away from the window, and settled down onto the wingback chair near the
fireplace in deep thought. Absent-mindedly, he reached out towards the morning paper and flipped it
open, but his eyes unseeing the words printed on it.

His mind kept returning to those tears she shed that last night. He’s seen her cry countless times now,
but there had been something different about the way she did last. It was imprinted in his mind by now,
and he couldn’t escape it…

‘Wait,’

Matthias recalled him saying, as he prevented her from leaving right after he managed to bandage her,
and handed over some medicine.

‘These are painkillers, drink them sparingly.’

Leyla’s face, at that moment, grew contemplative as she eyed the bottle, still in his outstretched hand,
warily. Impatiently, he opened the lid as he neared her. She flinched under his touch when he had
suddenly grabbed her by the chin, gently prying her mouth open to pour the liquid medicine down her
throat.

She took it like a veteran, eyes trailed at him in an indecipherable manner, gulping the medicine down
as best as she could despite the bitter flavour. Matthias smirked as he watched her struggle.

Once he was satisfied by her medicine intake, he gently wiped the excess medicine that dripped down
the corner of her lips with the returned handkerchief. Once she had been wiped clean, he took out a
piece of candy in his pocket, and popped it in her mouth.

Leyla had blinked back tears as he continued to shower her with his care, unable to make a sound. The
tears flowed down her cheeks once more, as she kept the candy inside her mouth, neither spitting or
making an effort to swallow it.

Finally, he had been unable to hold back, and began to caress her cheeks, not minding the way it soaked
his hand. His movements were stiff, and unpracticed, but he kept going.

‘Does it still hurt?’

He couldn’t help but inquire. He’d never felt so useless before, so helpless, when he’d asked her that.
Leyla nodded back in reply not a moment soon. Unable to do anything else, Matthias gathered her up in
his arms once more, and held her in comfort.

She tried to resist him at first, but eventually gave in. She continued to tear up in his arms, tongue rolling
the candy around in her mouth for quite a long time. By the time she stopped crying, the front side of
his sweater was completely soaked with tears.

Even the memory of it brought a certain sorrow to Matthias. He let out a sigh, and set aside the paper
he hadn’t bothered to read. He leaned his head back, until all he could see was the ceiling.

He really can’t get that image of her out of his mind. Normally when Leyla would cry, all he could feel
was amusement. He liked seeing a pretty face cry, so he’d relentlessly bully her. Though there were
times, too, when it bothered him to see them.

It made him irritant that anything, or anyone, other than him had made her cry. During those times, he
would wish them to stop. No one else but him should make her cry. And not even just her tears…

Her smiles, her laughter, hopes and dreams… everything! Everything she has must be his!

She must be his.

The tears she kept crying back then made him feel as though he’d lost, and he was at a loss at how to
turn his defeat into a victory…

Such strange tears indeed.

Whenever Leyla would cry, she had the tendency to let her temper get the best of her. Sometimes she’d
feel afraid, or even terrified. And he would enjoy every emotion he’d managed to get a rise out of her.

But she didn’t even seem to understand why she was crying at that moment. They were not filled with
any anger, not even fear of him. They looked like something foreign…

Almost as though her eyes were empty. And he found out at that moment he hated those tears very
much. He wanted to stop them. It raised in him a feeling he hadn’t felt when he watched Leyla cry over
Kyle Etman…

Made him want to strangle her just so she would stop crying.

Such an odd, uncomfortable feeling indeed festered inside him, but Matthias did not mind it. It was
reminiscent of the feeling of getting drunk with a fragrant liquor against his nose. However, it also made
him feel as though something was closing in on him.

It confused and gratified him immensely.

Yes… it made him quite… happy.

He felt unbridled happiness, completely different from the enjoyment he used to feel whenever he
tormented Leyla. He hadn’t tossed her aside because he wanted to feel more from her. To know this joy,
and to experience it to the fullest capacity!

Leyla had entrusted herself to him. He remembered it, the resignation on her face as he gazed at her
exhausted form while he kept comfort.

And so he kept wiping the tears away, sweeping her hair back to see her more clearly in the dim lighting.
He watched as the slight hope in her eyes turned into unbridled fear, making her entire body tremble in
his touch.

He waited a long time for her to be at ease, to trust him once more, because whatever joy he felt before
was swiftly snuffed out of his system. He wanted it back! But how would he get it once more? The
answer was the same.

It’s always been the same.

A sudden knock disturbed him from his thoughts, making him frown at his broken trail of thoughts. He’d
just been onto something important, a little more time and he would have found some resolution. But
life has a way of making important things slip through you, much like holding sand in the palm of your
hands.

“Master, this is Hessen.” a muffled voice came from behind the door.

“Come in.” Matthias calmly answered, his eyes no longer trailed on the ceiling as he straightened up in
his seat. He watched as Hessen opened the door, approaching swiftly and stopping by the side of his
seat at a respectable distance. Hessen stood at attention, before dipping his head in a bow.

“Madam Elysee had asked about the master’s dinner schedule today.”

Matthias’ brow quirked up at the news. “My mother?” he asked.

“Yes,” Hessen confirmed, “Initially she had planned to attend a charity performance with Madam Norma
tonight at the town hall, but she’s fallen ill with fever so she won’t be able to go out.” he explained to his
master. “So, she wondered if you could go in her place, instead, in accompanying Madam Norma. That
is, if you have no prior engagements.”

“A charity performance you say?” Matthias hummed, as he tapped his fingers on the armrest.

“It’s a performance held by several schools here in Carlsbar,” Hessen hastily informed, “Even children
from this village would be taking part.”

“Ah.” he said, smirking to himself.

Now he knew why Leyla had walked herself to work today, all dolled up more than she usually does on a
normal work day.
“It would be my pleasure to escort my grandmother tonight.” Matthias responded as he got up from his
seat, “Well then, we best get prepared properly for the charity event.”

Chapter 62

A Night At The Town Hall

” The chatter around the town hall was loud, Leyla herself had been quite busy overseeing the progress
of her students’ preparations. Just as she’d come out towards the lobby, Mrs. Grever came up to her,
face flushed as she saddled up beside her.

“Miss Lewellin, look here!” she whispered hurriedly, “It’s Duke Herhardt! He’s here!” she squealed
rather excitedly. Leyla felt as though a bucket of cold water had just been dumped at her.

“The Duke? He’s here?” she hurriedly inquired, looking towards the direction Mrs. Grever had been
pointing to, “I thought it would be Madam Herhardt that would be attending tonight.” she murmured as
she realised Mrs. Grever was right.

Matthias was here.

“Yes, it’s the Duke, not his mother who is attending.” Mrs. Grever giggled, before cooing in awe, “And
look! He even brought his grandmother along with him!” she exclaimed.

It was surprisingly easy to spot the Duke, mostly because of the crowd that had swarmed him the
moment he’d arrived. It was the exact moment she was looking at him, did his eyes manage to meet
hers.

Leyla felt her chest suddenly constrict underneath his gaze, and lightly tipped her head forward into a
bow, pretending as though she was wordlessly greeting him from afar. Fortunately, they didn’t have too
much interaction as he was quickly swept away by the crowd.
Leyla found herself sighing in relief at his disappearance.

“Say, Miss Lewellin, you live right next to Arvis, don’t you?” Mrs. Grever asked, and she nodded, “Then
that would mean you see him quite often too?” The missus looked quite despondent that the Duke had
disappeared from their immediate vicinity, completely missing the way Leyla shifted on her feet
uncomfortably.

“I, well, I guess… sometimes,” she mumbled, hands clasped in front of her as she fidgeted, feeling
absolutely guilty even though she had no reason to. Mrs. Grever sighed, pouting slightly.

“Ah, how lucky of you!” she sighed once again, “It’s sure quite the treat to see such a handsome face
everyday. Even at a distance.” she finished before moving away to get back to choir practice as she had
been charged with taking care of the upper class’ performance.

Ever since the picnic last autumn, the one held in Arvis, Mrs. Grever had grown quite fond of Duke
Herhardt, never missing an opportunity to praise him and his deeds. She would praise how wonderful he
was, or how elegant he walked, or how aristocratic he acted.

With a sigh of relief, Leyla too went and joined the other teachers for some last minute preparations,
when she finally came face to face with the Duke by the hallway. Her steps faltered for a moment,
before she regained her composure to keep walking.

She hoped that he wouldn’t notice her passing through. He seemed to be engaged in conversation with
an elderly gentleman. She couldn’t help but pause once she did pass him by, just to take one last look at
him.

He looked so tall from where she stood, the long shadow on the marble floor he casted made him look
all the more imposing. The suit he wore accentuated his lithe form, though it also perfectly hugged
every firm muscle he had on his body.

Ever since they were children, he made her so fearful and uncomfortable around him. And despite the
numerous praises she heard about him, she couldn’t find it in herself to find out why they thought so
highly of him since she obviously thought otherwise.

Even now, that fact remained unchanged for her, though she now had an insight as to why he was highly
respected in their community. He played his role perfectly as the esteemed Duke Matthias von
Herhardt, making everyone believe he was born to be respected.

If only they knew, like she knew, how childish he could be. Indeed, she thought it so strange to see him
in such a respectable manner. Could she even describe him as her beautiful nightmare?

Also, his eyes glinted in the light…

‘Wait… eyes?’ Leyla blinked, before she realised Matthias was now looking straight at her, his body
turned slightly towards her direction even as he was talking to the person in front of him.

‘Why… Why is he looking at me?’ she wondered, slowly feeling her cheeks grew warm the longer she
held his gaze. Though his eyes betrayed no emotion, she could see the way the corner of his lips lift up
into an unnoticeable smirk.

“Miss Lewellin, why are you here?”

A voice interrupted their silent interaction as Leyla quickly spun around to come face to face with the
school’s principal. She drew closer to Leyla, momentarily appraising her looks before nodding
satisfactorily, “Come on now, stop dilly dallying, we have more guests to welcome.” she gently
reminded, pushing her softly towards the direction she needed to be in.

The Principal led Leyla towards where the other teachers had been lounging on, which coincidentally
was where Matthias and his grandmother currently were as well. As she was left to the crowd’s mercy,
she carefully avoided bumping into anyone, jerking left and right when someone got too close…

Before she knew it, she was right near the Herhardts, within Matthias’ line of sight. There was no way
she could escape without having to converse with him now. Leyla gulped back down her nervousness at
being so close to him after their prolonged separation.

Matthias had been busying himself in interacting with the others, guests and teachers alike, before he
noticed Leyla had managed to find her way in front of him. She averted her gaze, hoping it would buy
her more time, but caught the glimpse of a growing smirk.

She looked down, busying herself with the sight of his well-polished shoes and began thinking about the
nearing performance of her students…

Unfortunately for all her preparations, she hadn’t come to expect to be the butt end of a joke by the
time the night ended.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

After the crowd dialled down around them, Norma finally took the time to appraise her grandson. She
tilted her head as she observed him critically, seeing the slight glint of his eyes.

“You’re looking quite lively these days, Matthias.” she pointed out with a smile as soon as they sat on
their seats, “Is there something you’d like to tell me?” she hummed, eagerly awaiting for an answer to
her grandson’s sudden mood change.

“Hm? No, not really grandmother.” he answered truthfully, unwilling to divulge any information for her,
giving her a placating smile. Norma was disappointed that Matthias felt no need to share with her any
progress in his day to day life.
She knew something had changed. He acted differently than before, giving off a lighter aura about him.
He almost looked like someone his own age. Don’t get her wrong, she knows her grandson was one of
the most handsome people in existence. He just never acted like his age before, always so mature…

Sometimes she would forget how young he actually was until she noticed the slight bounce in his steps,
or how lighter he looked. Almost happier even. An absurd thought, if you will, but one she’s unwilling to
take back.

“Ah, well,” she hummed, turning away from him to look towards the stage as the others continued to
settle down around them, “Either way, it’s nice to see you like this.” She was only curious after all, but if
Matthias felt more comfortable with her not knowing, then who was she to pry further?

They sat there in silence, Norma busying herself with a conversation or two with people who stopped by
to greet them. She noticed in all their interaction, Matthias looked rather bored, eyes darting here and
there, before a slight slouch in his posture told her he was finding everything a little boring.

“I know these things may seem quite trivial to you, Matthias, but I like to see it as an opportunity to
receive support and respect in these gatherings,” she told him, quiet enough that only the two of them
could hear her. “And I am delighted to know that despite your duties as the head of our household, you
still found the time to participate diligently in events like this.”

She turned to Matthias and patted his chin lovingly, to which he automatically took in his hand and
kissed her palm in response.

“Oh, your grandfather and father weren’t half the man you were at your age. And of that I’m so proud.”
She praised him. He truly was the Herhardt’s masterpiece.

The public had given Matthias the moniker of being Herhardt’s masterpiece. They’d witnessed his
hardwork and glory in the deeds he’d done here and there. Norma couldn’t help but smile in the
memory of all of them. And though she’d like to be modest about it, she agreed with the public
wholeheartedly.

She had been saddened when she outlived her husband, as well as her son, but she believed it was to
witness her grandson rise up and beyond the expectations set for him, and see him thrive in it; to bring
glory to the Herhardt household once more when its last patriarch left them.

Suddenly the lights went out, making the crowd gasp in surprise as Norma was busy admiring her
grandson. A drumroll began as some spotlights began darting back and forth everywhere before settling
down on the stage. The crowd quieted down and the host finally appeared in a puff of smoke on stage.

The crowd began clapping at the dramatic entrance, Matthias included as he straightened up in his seat,
but not because of what was happening on stage, oh no. In fact, his eyes were glued on Leyla.
He can’t believe how he missed it before, but she was wearing it. She was wearing that exquisite
necklace she owned. Yes, upon prolonged inspection, he was certain it was his emerald necklace she
was wearing.

Matthias felt the stirrings of satisfaction deep inside him, loving the fact she had it on. It made him feel
as though he had marked her, and she was proudly announcing to the world that she belonged to him
alone.

Whether she knew that he felt that way when she wore it or not, it didn’t matter to him. She was his.

Eventually he managed to pull himself away from looking at her and focus on the show. He paid
attention to the introduction of the play and watched as the students performed, observing each one of
them carefully.

The play was about some fairies who lived by the woods. Each child wore translucent wings, with glitters
splayed strategically to give it some sparkling effects. They walked and acted in practised manners,
delivering their lines nervously.

The crowd oohed and awed at the play, chuckling here and there when they would do something
adorable. He found that he recognized them as the children who came to have a picnic with Leyla at
Arvis.

The thought of her made him seek her out, eyes glancing to the dimmed bottom part of the stage,
where Leyla sat attentively watching her students. He watched her interaction with them, noting from
time to time how the children would glance nervously, looking for their teacher amongst the crowd for
cues and validation they were doing the right thing.

Suddenly, the smallest, and probably the youngest, of the children began to openly cry, surprising the
crowd and the Duke. The wail echoed throughout the venue, momentarily drawing everyone’s attention
away from the play. Matthias then recognized the child as the girl who spilled ice cream all over Leyla’s
clothes on that picnic.

‘I wonder how Miss Lewellin would handle this?’ he wondered, tilting his head as he tried to imagine
how Leyla was looking like right now. Judging by how she straightened up, hands silently conveying for
the child to relax, that she was beginning to grow nervous herself.

“Oh dear.” Norma sighed. Matthias spared her a glance before giving the little girl his attention once
more. Said little girl was now leaning over the stage, staring right at Leyla as she tried to reach out to
her…

“Teacheer!” the little girl bawled, her voice echoing in the now silent hall. All other child actors also
ceased their presentation, distracted from the sudden interruption. It was clear at this point whatever
role the child had was void, which made all the other children begin panicking over what to do as well.
‘What are you going to do now, Leyla?’ Matthias asked in his mind, narrowing his eyes at her back.
Eventually the principal made her way inconspicuously towards the rookie teacher, whispering in her
ear.

Whatever she said had made Leyla tense. He watched as they exchanged a few words, Leyla shaking her
head frantically at the principal’s insistence. In the end though, the principal got her way and Leyla
resigned to her task.

Gingerly she got up from her seat amongst the teachers, and slowly went up the stage. She carefully
pulled the bawling girl aside and wiped her tears. She was speaking to the child now, softly placating
her, he would assume from behind the fake flower bush they used as a prop.

The child was now holding onto dear life on her teacher, Leyla letting out a sigh of defeat before rubbing
her palms up and down the child’s back to soothe her. Any further delay would only build up more panic
amongst the inexperienced children.

Just as Leyla was planning on getting off the stage with the child, the Principal came close to her once
more, handing her a stack of papers. Matthias watched as she paled at the sight of them, frantically
exchanging words with the principal. The principal tried to take the crying child with her, but the girl
refused. With that, she left Leyla and the little girl on the stage.

“Hmm, I think I recognize that teacher.” his grandmother remarked as she squinted her eyes in order to
see Leyla better, “Yes, isn’t that Bill Remmer’s foster daughter?” she exclaimed softly, looking pleased to
see a familiar face.

Reluctantly, Leyla went back, hands clasping around the girl’s arm as she dragged her along gently once
again, and began to sink down behind the way-too-small of a bush, and began flipping through the
papers rather hurriedly. She eyed the crowd a couple of times, clearing her throat as she took a deep
breath.

It was amusing to see her face growing redder by the second.

“U-waa… look at th-this everyone!” Leyla giggled nervously, “Pre-pretty flowers have bloomed.” she
finished awkwardly, stuttering through her line, leaving Matthias perplexed at seeing her be a bumbling
mess with such a public audience.

It seemed as though watching someone more nervous than themselves gave the children a boost of
confidence, and the play began to once again resume, each child growing more and more confident in
their gait and acting.

Though her lines were short, Leyla couldn’t seem to find her composure whenever it was her time to
deliver them. The crowd giggled, trying to keep their amusement at bay whenever it was her time to
speak.
It was just way too funny seeing Leyla so awkward and serious in her task. They tried not to laugh too
much, really they did!

But then one of the audience let out an unexpectedly loud accidental laugh when Leyla said a line, and
suddenly a dam broke! The entire town hall was then filled with boisterous laughter, finally unable to
hold back. Even his grandmother, who had been trying to be as respectful as possible, let out a laugh
along with the crowd.

Matthias went back to looking at Leyla, head resting on his knuckles that were perched on the arm rest.
His head tilted as he stared at Leyla with a frown on his face, hardly noticeable in the dim lighting.

The child had finally stopped crying, and was now sitting uselessly next to Leyla, flapping her hands up
and down. Eventually, the child looked up at her teacher, and as though trying to thank her, she
removed the flower crown on her head and placed it in a lopsided manner on top of Leyla’s golden
mane.

Unfortunately, the child’s efforts had gone unnoticed as Leyla was far too focused on reading the script.

“Th-this is a great party! Hahaha!” She laughed dramatically, but the stern expression on her face made
it humorous. “I’m so excited!” She then looked up and smiled shyly at the crowd.

At that point, Matthias finally snorted before laughing along with the crowd. Leyla was practically
already red in the face, matching the roses on her flower crown, yet she forced herself to continue with
the play.

Matthias could already predict that in the play, the crowd eagerly awaited for when Leyla would speak
up next. And consequently, he could also predict that amongst all the presentations today, this play by
the lower years would be the talk of the town starting from tonight.

When the play finally came to an end, and Leyla was finally done with her part, she hurried off the stage,
smiling politely, yet hurriedly through the crowd’s warm round of applause just for her. Matthias also
found himself clapping for her. He’d been thoroughly entertained by the pretty flower fairy tonight, who
ended up being the star of the show.
Chapter 63

Pretty

The play performed by the lower year students had come to an end, which drew most of the audience’s
attention and laughter. Everyone clapped as the children bowed on stage with Miss Lewellin and they all
exited the stage to give way to the upper years.

Each child immediately went where their families were located, those who had older siblings had to stay
behind and watch the remaining plays, while the rest of the children had to go home for their bedtimes,
leaving the town hall with fewer audiences.

“We apologise so much for Monica’s behaviour!” The little girl’s parents repeatedly apologised to Leyla,
who was escorting them to their carriage.

“Please, it’s fine!” Leyla tried to reassure them, “It’s my duty as their teacher to be there for them.”

“Still, because Monica couldn’t continue with the play, then Miss Lewellin had to endure getting laughed
at during the play.” interjected Monica’s grandmother.

At the reminder of the humiliation she had to go through, Leyla flinched slightly, effectively silencing
both Leyla and the apologetic parents. Eventually they settled in their carriage, bidding Leyla goodbye.
Once they were out of sight, Leyla sighed in relief.

“Miss Lewellin, shall we get a cup of hot coffee?” Mrs. Grever immediately offered with a kind smile as
she neared Leyla, finally finding her alone. Leyla jolted at her unexpected appearance, before gently
shaking her head, smiling back politely.

“Oh, thank you, but I’m fine.” she reassured, “I think I should get a breather alone for a while.”

“Oh well, that’s understandable.” Mrs. Grever agreed, before patting Leyla on the shoulder, squeezing it
comfortingly, “For what it’s worth, I think you make quite a cute fairy, and I enjoyed the play a lot more
because of you.”

Leyla giggled softly, “That really doesn’t make me feel that much better.” she jokingly, and both of them
chuckled.

“I know it doesn’t sound that much better, but it is the truth.” Mrs. Grever said, “Usually the nobles that
attend these events rarely pay attention, or even get entertained, but you did. You made them enjoy it,
and not make it feel like just a publicity stunt for them.” she sighed and squeezed both of Leyla’s hands
this time, “So you did an amazing job today.”

The words were meant to be comforting, and any other time Leyla might have found comfort in them,
but not in this instance. She fought back a grimace as she thought about someone who most certainly
was in the audience…

‘Oh, I bet he really was entertained back there. Oh god.’ she despaired in her thoughts.

“Also, because of you, the principal predicts our donations will also increase. Which makes her so
pleased with you as well.” At the mention of the principal, Leyla couldn’t help but groan.

“Ugh, I really hate her right now.” she sighed, before they both giggled once more. They both know how
overbearing the principal could be when she wanted to. Leyla then proceeded to tell Mrs. Grever, that
she would be fine on her own, prompting the missus to go back inside ahead of her.

Satisfied that no one was trying to approach or speak to her, Leyla began to trudge along the park,
which was located right behind the town hall. She needed time for herself. Each breath she took felt as
though she was leaving pieces of her soul behind as she embraced the chill in the night air.

The park was indeed devoid of anyone. She sat down on one of the nearest benches and gingerly took
off her shoes.

‘What have I done?’ she thought as she rubbed her painful feet. White puffs of air escaped as she leaned
her head back to look up at the night skies. She let out a long deep breath as she did so…

She was surprised she was still alive after that shameful display. Something was building up inside her,
threatening to burst!

“AAAAHHHHH!” she screamed into the open air, letting her breath turn white as though they carried her
soul with them.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias found Leyla at the very place he had predicted her to be.

He had predicted after being humiliated like that, she would run off to a secluded place. Additionally,
she had been wearing heels tonight, she wouldn’t go far and find somewhere to sit. Add to the fact she
was a bit of a coward, she would stay by a well-lit place, and still be nearby despite the seclusion. Which
could only be the park right behind the town hall.
And indeed she was right there, sitting as she looked up at the night sky, seemingly lost in thought. She
was barefoot, heels hung by the tips of her fingers instead. She was sitting on a bench by a massive tree,
with a street lamp lit up right next to her.

He walked slowly with steady steps, his footsteps almost silent in the quiet night and stopped when his
shadow loomed over her unsuspecting figure. “I expected you to be here.” he announced, making her
gasp in surprise.

Leyla whipped her head around, eyes widening at the sight of him within arm’s length.

“Ho-how did you-” she stuttered, staring up at him before her eyes were darting around them both in a
panic. Immediately she grabbed both of her heels tightly before hastily putting them back on,
remembering the time when her shoes were snatched away from her.

Matthias found himself grinning at the wary look on her face. He looked down, staring pointedly at her
shoes, which she was securing to her feet, he hummed as he took a step closer.

“You really think that’s going to stop me from taking your shoes?” he asked her teasingly. Leyla only
huffed out a breath, before locking the last of the straps securely and jumped up from her seat, looking
a little relieved she managed to completely put them back on.

Looking at her now, well, it seemed like he didn’t have to be so worried if her injuries were still
bothering her. They seemed to have healed up rather nicely, judging by how fast she was moving
compared to before.

“Don’t get up on my account.” Matthias tried convincing her to sit back down, but she shook her head,
now standing right next to the street lamp.

“No thank you, I’ve sat enough.” Leyla refused politely. Matthias eyes’ narrowed at her for a moment,
before pushing down his irritation at her resistance. The street light shone down on her much like the
stage lights did just a while back.

It wasn’t such a bad sight either, as he continued to roam his eyes appreciatively over her.

“You should’ve been an actress instead of a teacher, Leyla,” he pointed out with a wide smile, “I’ve
never seen such an actress who’s able to make that large of a crowd laugh so much in one sitting.” he
praised.

Leyla’s arms tightened around herself, hands gripping tight as she bit her lips and looked down on the
ground resolutely. She swallowed her pride before trying to politely reply back to him…

“Y-yes, my acting was quite clumsy, wasn’t it?” she laughed nervously, trying to pass it off nonchalantly.

‘It might even be the reason you sought me out tonight, isn’t it?’ she thought scornfully, but refused to
voice it out.
“Hm, it was, just a little,” he chuckled, eyes watching as her body began to tremble in the continued
embarrassment despite their play being over. Leyla began to shift nervously before finally finding the
strength to move.

“Well, then, I must get going now Duke…” she began to move away..

“So pretty.” Matthias slipped out, making Leyla freeze and look up at him in shock. Her face flushed
against the cold at the unexpected complement he had given her. He held her gaze as she struggled to
find a reply…

‘Should I say thank you? No, it’s too ridiculous! Not at all duke? Not that one either.’ she fully bit her
lower lip as she struggled to find the right words, squirming underneath his observation.

‘Should I just leave? But he’ll catch up to me anyway!’

She could feel the way his eyes trailed all over her. From her flushed cheeks, down to her pale neck, and
onto her dazzling emerald necklace adorning her neck. She watched as his lips spread out into a pleased
smile the more he looked down at her, eyes locked at her necklace.

“U-uncle Bill bought them for me.” Leyla finally said, careful to keep ample distance between them.
Perhaps he wasn’t talking specifically about her, but her clothes, or maybe her necklace! Yes right, he
must be talking about her necklace.

‘I also got a few compliments before about my necklace.’ she added as an afterthought. He hummed,
before lifting his gaze back to her eyes, watching her for reactions.

“Do you like it?” he inquired, making her blink.

“What?”

“The necklace,” Matthias gestured back down before returning his gaze to look into hers, “Do you like
it?”

A frown marred her face, she was confused as to why that mattered.

“Uh, of course.” she answered honestly, and Matthias chuckled, making her more confused. What was
so amusing? Still she had been surprised to see and hear his laughter. She hadn’t seen him like this…

And his laughter… it sounded low, like his voice, but soft and velvety to the ears.

She stared at him in a guarded manner, wary of this new side he was showing her. Eventually he
stopped laughing, before locking eyes with her once more. There was tension between them as they
both stared each other down…

The pregnant silence between the two was broken when there was a sudden chirp, and a bird flapped
away from the tree branch near them. Leyla was caught in a surprise, yelping at the sudden disturbance
as she whipped around in alarm, just in time to watch the bird fly off into the night.
She knew she had to get away quickly from him before they could be seen together. Unfortunately her
foot twisted in an awkward manner as she turned to step away from the unexpected intrusion.

Leyla tried to right herself back to a balanced position, but Matthias was quicker, swiftly grabbing her by
her waist, and pulling her flush to his body.

“Ah!” she exclaimed as he turned her around, their chests pressed together as he pushed her back into
the cold steel of the lamp. He loomed, tall and firm, over her, eyes glinting dangerously.

“I-I’m going to scream for help.” she softly threatened, breath quivering in terror. Leyla could feel the
tears pooling in her eyelids as she pushed her palms on his chest in an attempt to get him away from
her.

“Do as you wish.” he dared her, eyes still softly admiring her unwaveringly. Matthias cupped her face
with one hand, keeping her gaze on him. “Where do you hide it?” he asked her as she struggled.

Leyla frowned as she looked up at him.

“Hide? What do you mean? Hide what?” her voice shook as she tried to push him away with all her
might. Her eyes looked at him inquiringly, not understanding what he wanted to know from her this
time. Matthias kept looking at her, before sighing disappointedly.

He thought he’d catch a glimpse of those feelings again, but alas, he was mistaken as it disappeared too
quickly this time. Which was frustrating because her beautiful face was enough to erase his growing
desire.

He lowered his hand slowly, gently caressing her cheeks, grazing the back of his knuckles against her
jawline, before resting an open palm around her slender neck. His fingers gingerly wrapped around it,
fingertips grazing the pearls of the necklace as she gulped nervously at him.

He could feel the way her throat bobbed up and down as she swallowed. She’s so sensitive here…

It was so easy to leave his mark all over her body. Just a little pressure on her neck would probably be
enough for his hand to leave its mark on that pale skin. Or perhaps he should kiss it deep enough it
would leave a mark to stay for days?

‘How easy it would be, from the top of her head down to the tip of her toes, to leave my mark all over
her…’ he thought, entranced by her pale skin, ‘Then, everyone will know she’s mine, only mine.’

He could do it to her, but eventually decided against it as he let out another despondent sigh. Finally,
Matthias pulled his hand away from her neck, making Leyla breathe in a sigh of relief, before he was
replacing them against her cheeks once more.

His fingers touched her lips, rubbing against it’s warm moistness.

‘If I touch you in there*, would they feel like this too?’ he wondered out loud. Leyla opened her mouth
to protest, but Matthias was already pushing fingers in her mouth, drowning out her resistance.
The pads of his fingers rubbed against her tongue, fondling the inside of her mouth as they both
breathed heavily against each other. His fingers went deeper, reaching the back of her throat…

And with all her strength, Leyla bit down on his fingers. Hard.

But Matthias only laughed at such a weak display of strength. He barely even felt it now that his fingers
were so deep inside her mouth. He smiled at her feeble attempts to get free.

“You should bite harder, Leyla.” he mused as he watched the way her teeth met his skin. “Harder than
that, and then I’ll feel the pain.” he whispered against her, his warm breath hitting her face.

The only thought that ran in Leyla’s mind aside from indignation, was how out of his mind the Duke
really was.

‘He’s insane!’

She was appalled by the way Matthias was grinning down at her that she could feel her temper spike.

And so she loosened up. She knew that no matter how hard she tried to make it hurt, he wouldn’t back
off.

Seeing her calm down, Matthias gave her a victorious smirk before pulling his fingers out of her mouth,
before he stroked her lips with his wet fingers.

‘If I would kiss you, no doubt you’d protest once again.’ he thought as he rubbed her plush lips. It would
be an easy thing to do too. He knew by now how to quickly snuff out any form of resistance from Leyla.

How easy it would be for him to satisfy his lust and greed for her as he’d done so before. However, he
found himself unable to do so as he stared at the way she was trapped in his arms. So willing, and so
submissive as her hands were now only pressed on his chest, neither pushing or hitting him away from
her.

He thought of the dreamy moment that had passed by and the joy he had felt.

He trailed his hands lower once more, resting it against her neck as he stroked the pale skin again. He
found himself at a loss on what to currently do. Unconsciously, he swallowed his mouth dry.

‘Goddamnit.’ he thought, the curse threatening to escape from his lips. He found himself clenching and
unclenching his other fist, before bringing up both hands this time to cup Leyla’s face.

With a quiet sigh, Matthias finally pulled away, letting her go. Leyla felt puzzled about it, though she was
absolutely relieved to be free of him as he took a step back from her.

Matthias expected her to flee by now, but she remained rooted to the spot, blinking at him in a dazed
manner as she frowned in a deep thought. They stayed that way for some time, Matthias content in
observing her through it all.
While Leyla had been pondering about his strangeness tonight, she failed to notice when something cold
and wet skewed her vision a little, making her blink in surprise. She raised her head, leaning her head
back to look at the sky, Matthias following in suit.

The first snowfall was finally here.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

By the time the second half of the event was done, the night had gotten darker, and the audience soon
began to leave. Meanwhile the organisers were busying themselves in cleaning up the place and some
last minute checks that everything was fine.

Leyla was just finishing up, gathering the last of her belongings before deeming herself done for the day.
Her feet wobbled as she walked past her colleagues, bidding them goodbye as she quickly walked
through the halls.

The heels she wore dug painfully on her soles, it was best she took them off once she boarded the bus
or a stagecoach passing through Arvis. She quickly checked the time, noting it won’t be long before the
last of the transport would leave. She picked up her pace, eager to catch the last ride home.

“Excuse me, Miss Lewellin!” called out someone from behind her. Surprised, she quickly turned around,
towards the town hall, where she heard her name be called out. She recognized that voice.

“Ah, Mr. Pat!” she exclaimed as she saw just who called for her. Mr. Pat was a friend of her Uncle Bill, he
was also known as the coachman of Arvis. He waved towards her with quick strides, before stopping
right in front of her.

“I apologise for the late notice, but you’ve been invited to ride with us.” he told her, gesturing to the
nearby coach. It was unmistakable, the carriage of Herhardt household was parked where he was
pointing at.

Leyla reflexively began to decline, shaking her head as she saw the emblem imprinted by the side of the
carriage.

“Oh please, there’s no need for that-”

“Madam Norma insists, Miss Leyla.” Mr. Pat said kindly, halting Leyla in surprise.

“The madam insists as you are returning home to Arvis as well, you can ride with both of the house
Herhardt tonight.” Mr. Pat finished as he once more gestured for Leyla to go along with them.
Chapter 64

Glance

Once the snow had started to fall, it fell down heavily. Already, the roads were thickened of white frost,
making it difficult for the carriage to move faster than it could. Leyla couldn’t help but look out the
window, worry clear on her face.

“You don’t have to worry too much, my dear.” a kind gentle voice interrupted her. Leyla looked in front
of her to see Madam Norma Catharina von Herhardt smiling for her, eyes wrinkled kindly as she
regarded the young teacher sitting across from her.

“Oh, no, it’s not, um,” Leyla began to stutter, but Norma graciously cut her off with a soft laugh.

“I know this might be a little uncomfortable for you, but please, there’s no need to be so nervous.” she
comforted the young miss, “I don’t wish for you to be so tense in this ride. Especially since I extended
the invite myself.”

Leyla found she could not begrudge the esteemed woman. She radiated so much warmth, she couldn’t
help but feel a little bit at ease with her around. Norma sighed as she finally spared the outside a little
glance.

“Just the first day of snow, and already the roads have grown thick with snow. I expect this winter to be
colder, don’t you think so as well, Matthias?” Norma asked her grandson, turning to look at him for a
response.

Leyla, too, followed her gaze to spare the Duke some attention. They spared each other just a glance,
but already she could feel her heart beating loudly against her chest.

“I think so as well, grandmother.” he agreed readily. It was clear for Leyla that Norma was a tactful
conversationalist. She took charge with the small talk, asking her about her school life, and even praising
the latest charity event. Which of course led her to a conversation Leyla was hoping to avoid.

Her class’ play.

“You seemed so flustered up there, but I want you to know you did marvellously.” Norma said, eyes
glinting in amusement as she recalled how much she enjoyed the play. Leyla felt her cheeks flush at the
praise. Somehow, it sounded a lot more comforting than the other praises she received earlier.

“I thank you so much, madam!” she thanked profusely. Her cheeks felt hotter, the tip of her ears turned
red at the praise, giving her pale skin a vibrant colour akin to a ripened fruit.

Matthias fought to hold back his laughter at her expression. It was very reminiscent of her face when
she had been up on the stage. She sat up straight in front of him, hands demurely clasped on her knees
as she fidgeted restlessly with her fingers.

She was not good at acting indifferently. She can’t hold in her emotions very well. Not to mention how
terrible she was at lying, which was probably why her acting ended up being so hilarious during the play.

He leaned back against his seat, stretching his legs a little further, gently grazing the tip of his shoes
against her heels discreetly so his grandmother wouldn’t notice. Leyla felt him graze her foot, and
moved her feet farther from him, but he wasn’t giving up easily.

The carriage rattled as it began to rock due to the unevenness of the well-polished road before. Leyla
couldn’t help but feel as though she was about to cry. She tried so hard not to let him touch her, but she
could only move so far in a small carriage.

And now his feet were firmly pressed against hers. The contact wasn’t much, but it was enough to make
her feel as though he’d just stripped her naked.

“For such a young lady, you seemed to handle the children well.” Norma praised again, making Leyla
raise her head back up to look at Herhardt’s matriarch. As much as she’d like to avoid the small contact
Matthias was forcing on her, she didn’t want the matriarch to be suspicious, and thus reluctantly
ignored it.

“Tell me, do you like children, Miss Lewellin?”

“Of course madam.” Leyla answered earnestly. She wouldn’t have chosen to work as a teacher if she
didn’t like kids.

“Well then, I reckon you’d be a great teacher in the long run,” Norma smiled, as she leaned back, “You
are both intelligent and love children, two qualities that’s important to being a teacher. Don’t you think
so, Matthias?” she turned to her grandson again, prompting him to join in on the conversation.

“I completely agree, grandmother.” Matthias replied, quickly sparing Leyla a glance before giving his
grandmother his full attention.
Leyla on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel so perplexed by him tonight. She knew it was a general
answer, some polite courtesy on his part, but his behaviour by far was so polite compared to how he
was before.

If it were anyone else, he would have just nodded and given monosyllabic responses before leaving it at
that. That was how she knew him, that’s how she thought he would be. Just then Matthias’ eyes slid
back to her.

“The semester break is coming soon, isn’t it, Miss Lewellin?” he asked her directly this time, making her
jolt in surprise before hastily averting her gaze away from him.

“Yes, it is, Duke.” She tried not to act too flustered by him, mentally berating herself to keep her
composure and just pretend as though she was just like any other family member of her Uncle Bill.

“How are you planning on spending your vacation off school?”

“Uh, pardon that’s, uh,” she fumbled for words. Matthias had asked it so nonchalantly but Leyla could
see the slight curve up his mouth. He was having fun with her.

“Uh, I mean to perhaps help out Uncle Bill with his workload…” the foot pressed up against hers slid up
slightly, almost making her gasp in the sudden movement but managed to continue anyway, “A-and also
prepare for the next semester!” she finished, raising her voice slightly at the end of it due to
embarrassment.

Norma couldn’t help but laugh at the strange behaviour Leyla had. She had been watching with apt
attention, and noted as though she was trying to make a quiet declaration of what she wanted to do.

It was a refreshing sight to see for the matriarch.

“Those are very good activities over the break Miss Lewellin,” she told Leyla, “Bill Remmer raised you
very well indeed.” she smiled brightly, making Leyla flush in appreciation at the way Uncle Bill was
commended.

“I’m flattered you thought so, Madam.” she replied softly, voice now dropped to a whisper as she now
wanted to crawl into a hole. Matthias then shifted, crossing his legs as he looked at Leyla rather smugly,
from beside his grandmother.

“Yes, you would make a fine teacher one day yet, Miss Lewellin.” Matthias added and Leyla looked back
at him, “And I can’t wait to see more of you.” he finished.

Leyla can’t help but want to trample his nearest foot with her heels, but resisted to do so. For now, she
would have to give him the same respect she would with Madam Norma.
“I thank you for your words, Duke.” she politely responded. Satisfied the conversation was over, she
looked back outside, deciding to not look at the Duke any more tonight. Then again, it was a tedious task
to do because of the small carriage.

When their eyes met again, Leyla couldn’t help but flinch away. His eyes were now dull and held no
emotion, as though to compensate for the various expressions he’d shown her before.

Those eyes…

Those eyes reminded her of that summer day when the river engulfed her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The journey back took twice as long, no thanks to the growing snow before they finally turned towards
the road that led straight to Arvis.

The rest of the journey had also taken a quiet turn not too long ago, when the Herhardt matriarch fell
asleep along the way. The only sounds that could be heard was the stomping of the horses’ hooves
outside, along with some rattling the carriage made.

Matthias had looked out the window long ago, before finally turning his gaze towards Leyla, wondering
what she was doing to pass the time, when he saw her fast asleep as well. He noted that not too long
ago she had been awake, trying to be vigilant within his presence. Though it seemed at some point she
fell asleep anyway.

His eyes now unashamedly trailed along her figure, his gaze stopping right by her shut eyes. Even in the
dim light inside the carriage, he could see the way her necklace gleamed beautifully, reflecting the
moonlight that managed to seep in.

His eyes trailed further down, watching the way her lips parted, the slow and gentle rise of her
breathing, down to her heeled feet. They looked so small compared to his own, now that they lay side
by side with each other. Her feet almost reminded him of a doll’s.

He found himself amazed by how such small feet could carry such a majestic woman as though it was
nothing.

Suddenly, the carriage pulled into a stop, shaking Matthias away from his thoughts.

“Bill! Why are you out here?” Mr. Pat, the coachman exclaimed, when he saw his friend waiting around
in the cold. At the sudden halt, Leyla jolted awake, looking around in a daze as she rubbed the sleep
from her eye.

“I saw the weather beginning to look bad, so I got worried about Leyla.” Bill replied to the coachman.

“Leyla’s fine, she’s right inside here with the Herhardts, thanks to Madam Norma. I’m certain she was
well taken care of.”
“Oh? She rode with you?”

The muffled sounds of the conversation outside filtered towards the occupants of the carriage, that it
was enough to awaken Norma Catharina von Herhardt. Seeing her awake, Leyla quickly fixed her
appearance, before gently taking the madam’s attention.

“Uh, Madam Norma?” she called out softly, with a soft smile. Norma need not hear the words, for she
understood completely what Leyla wanted and nodded, smiling back at her.

“Well then, this is goodbye for now. Off you go, Leyla. Bill’s waiting for you.”

Leyla bid them both adieu before taking leave, leaving both Herhardts in the carriage behind.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“She’s lucky to have been raised by Bill Remmer,” Norma said as soon as the carriage began to move.

“I agree, grandmother.” Matthias responded, having practised his responses for her with ease over the
years, eyes staring outside, watching the way Leyla ran up to her uncle with a tight embrace.

For now, he could only stare uselessly at her back as she continued to grow smaller the further they got.
He didn’t like this feeling in his chest; this feeling telling him he was leaving something important to him.

“Hmm, I’m surprised Bill has a soft side to him,” it seemed like he wasn’t the only one looking back, “I
can’t even act like that around my own child. I doubt even God predicted such a side from him as well.”
Norma continued on as she stared wistfully at the old gardener and his foster child.

Matthias remained silent, unsure of what answer to provide his grandmother to show he was listening.

“I hoped she’d stay forever by Bill’s side. But I didn’t expect her to want to leave Arvis.” his grandmother
grumbled, making Matthias’ thoughts halt at the new information he just heard.

“Transfer? Leyla Lewellin wishes to be transferred away from Arvis?” he asked, a frown burrowing in his
brows and his grandmother nodded in confirmation, oblivious to the troubling thoughts of her
grandson.

“Oh yes, I received word she requested to transfer to a different city, something about broadening her
experience.” Norma can’t help but scoff, “Young women these days are never content to stay close.
Don’t they know home is the best place for them?”

She tutted softly beside Matthias, before continuing with her tirade. Matthias only opted to remain
silent, attentively listening by now.

“I only heard about the transfer a while ago, when the Principal told me. She tried to dissuade the girl,
but she was quite adamant to go.” Norma shared, “Even the Principal was shocked she wanted to leave.
All her students love her after all, including their parents!”
The frown on Matthias’ face grew deeper as he listened to the next part of his grandmother’s news.

“Though maybe her leaving has something to do after she broke off her engagement with Kyle Etman,
which is understandable to me; though that doesn’t explain why she wants to move so far away from
Bill.” she sighed finally finished. Matthias jaw clenched as he slowly fisted his hands in quiet anger.

“I see.” he finally said, eyes glaring at the snowfall outside.

“Of course the Principal told Leyla she still has the rest of the year to complete, and should she change
her mind not to hesitate in telling her so.” she added as an afterthought, “Though personally, I want her
to stay.” Norma sighed wistfully once more, looking somber at the thought of Leyla leaving Arvis.

And then a sudden thought struck Norma.

“Come to think of it, doesn’t the Principal have a distant relative nearby who owns that big grocery store
downton?” Matthias wordlessly nods, “Yes, I remember she mentioned wishing for Leyla to meet and
hit it off with him. Which would work perfectly!” she cheered to herself.

“Think of it, she might not come from a good background, but with her pretty face and her brain, she’d
be a catch to anyone. After all, it’s quite common for engagements to be broken off nowadays. Though I
wonder if marrying someone would be enough to change her mind…” Norma wondered out loud. “The
Principal seems to want to match them up.”

“I completely agree.” Matthias took a deep breath, trying not to make his irritation noticeable.

“Ah well, even if Bill disapproves of the merchant, I can always ask Hessen for a decent, young,
unmarried man who lives nearby and present him to Bill.” Norma said, content with her recent plan so
far, “After all, it’s best for someone like her to marry young and have a family while she teaches. Not to
mention still manage to live near Bill. Don’t you agree, Matthias?”

Just in time, the carriage halted to a stop, signifying they’ve arrived at their mansion. Wasting no time,
Matthias immediately opened up the carriage door, and got off, trying to compose himself, before
schooling his expression.

He turned around, fixing his lapel underneath his coat and gave his hand to his grandmother, who
gratefully took it. “Shall we, grandmother?” he asked, as polite and graceful as ever.

“Thank you, sweet boy.” she smiled at him as he helped her down the carriage. With their conversation
officially over for the night, the only sounds left were the click and clacking of their shoes against the
polished floors as they walked inside the mansion’s halls.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When Bill and Leyla pulled away from each other after they hugged, they held hands as they continued
their walk back home after seeing the Duke’s carriage had finally left the entrance of Arvis.
Bill had immediately asked Leyla about the charity event, who after being sworn by Leyla not to laugh,
eagerly listened. Leyla told him about the people, how the play went, before one of her students broke
down crying that she had to stand in as their substitute. The rest of the evening then went downhill for
Leyla as she was humiliated.

Bill couldn’t help but laugh out loud at her story!

“You promised you wouldn’t laugh!” whined Leyla, flushing red in embarrassment, which only served to
make him laugh more. Leyla harrumphed defeatedly, before resigning herself to the fact at least one
more person was laughing because of her.

Bill’s laughter soon died down as he wiped a tear from his eye, before patting Leyla on the back
comfortingly.

“There, there now Leyla, I have no doubt you looked absolutely adorable next to the children. No doubt
at all.” he grinned at his foster daughter. Leyla pouted before hugging him from the side, as they both
huddled for the warmth each other brought.

“I doubt the rest of the audience thought so as well.” she grumbled, resting her head on her uncle’s
shoulder as they continued to walk. Despite the growing ache in her feet, Leyla couldn’t help but feel all
is better in the world once again now that her uncle’s here.

They reached as far enough as the outskirts of the roe garden before Bill let out a cough and stopped to
look at Leyla’s feet. “Do you want to ride on my back, Leyla? It would make you feel better to be off your
feet.”

“What?! There’s absolutely no need for that!” she chuckled, denying vehemently the offer, “Besides, I’m
no longer a child, uncle. I’m fine, really.”

“Are you sure?” he asked her sceptically, “Because I’ve noticed for a while now you’ve been limping. The
heels must be uncomfortable by now.” he pointed out, making Leyla squirm. He sighed, knowing just
how stubborn she was, but he was equally stubborn too.

He crouched down in front of Leyla, waiting no further reply as he wordlessly encouraged her to get on
his back.

“Uncle…” Leyla murmured, touched by the caring gesture he’s given her.

“Well, it’s either a piggyback ride, or I carry you like a sack of potatoes, your choice.” Bill further
prompted when Leyla made no move. Leyla couldn’t help but pout at the suggestion.

“But you’ll get tired.” she protested, making Bill chuckle.

“Just how old do you think I am? I’m not that old, girl.” he reminded, “I’m only still a middle-aged man, I
can carry loads twice as much as you with no problem.” he boasted. Sighing deeply, Leyla gave in and
climbed on his back.
Bill hoisted them both up, Leyla grabbing him by the shoulders, as he supported her from under her
knees and resumed their trek back to their house. Bill strode down the forest path with ease, and Leyla
couldn’t help but smile as she felt like a child once again.

It didn’t take long for her teeth to begin chattering, as short, white puffs of air began to escape her. Bill
noticed this, and couldn’t help but laugh at Leyla once more, who lightly thumped his back in
indignation. Bill only laughed harder, and Leyla pressed her body to her uncle’s back looking at the pair
of footprints turning into one behind them.

Chapter 65

Suitable Groom

“Thank you for walking me all this way, I can take it from here.” Leyla smiled awkwardly at the man with
her, trying her best to be polite. However, he seemed to be unwilling to part with her just yet.

“Oh please it’s no problem, it’s just a little more distance.” he insisted.

“Oh no, there’s no need,” Leyla politely declined once more, “My uncle’s very strict you see.” she told
him, discreetly looking around, hoping no one has seen them yet.

It didn’t matter what Leyla would say as soon as rumours of her being seen around with a man would
spread like wildfire in Arvis. She hated having to throw her uncle’s name under the bus, but it wasn’t as
though it was untrue.

“Oh, I understand.” he finally complied, looking a bit dejected, before smiling at her once again, “Well, I
guess I better go then. I had fun today, how about we do this again through lunch on Sunday?” he asked
hopefully, making Leyla smile apologetically at him.

“I’m sorry, I can’t…”

“Or if this week’s not available, perhaps sometime next week? I don’t mind.” he quickly retracted, “I’m
just hoping we could do this again.” he finished, flushing slightly under her gaze, but sounded quite
sincere for her.

“I feel terrible having to spend such a short time with you over tea.” he reasoned out, “I’d love for us to
have a proper chance to get to know each other more, that is, if you feel the same.” he admitted, “If not
well, I promise not to trouble you any longer.”

Leyla could see he was being very truthful to her, and that no matter what her answer would be, he
would respect her wishes. But until then, he was not leaving without a proper answer from her.

Leyla and the grocery store owner’s son were not well acquainted with each other before this. As far as
she knew, he was the one in charge of the school’s delivery of their weekly supplies. She never expected
to get to know him beyond that.

So when she had been called to the headmistress’ office just this afternoon, she was shocked to see him
there with her. She soon found out he was the headmistress’ distant relative, looking for a relationship
leading to marriage.

Leyla’s mind blanked out at that information.

Again, she couldn’t help but give another once over around them. Immediately, she heard the familiar
sound of a car rolling down the pavement, and turned towards its general vicinity. She felt panic
beginning to seize her chest, as she hoped for a miracle she was mistaken, but she was never that lucky.

Bright lights flashed them both on the pavement, the car having slowed down as it neared them before
speeding up as it passed them by…

Leyla recognized that car anywhere. It was Duke Herhardt’s vehicle.

“Miss Lewellin?” His gentle voice shook Leyla out of her thoughts before she remembered she remained
unresponsive with him for some time now, having been locked in her thoughts.

“I, I’m sorry.” she apologised, bowing before him, “I’m not ready yet for that kind of relationship.” she
admitted to him, looking apologetic.

Though the headmistress might have set them up to have tea together, she found him to be amicable to
be with. It’s not that she’s against marrying, she was sure she wants to someday. But just not right now,
for now, it was enough for her to have a stable job and live a normal life.

“Oh, well, I completely understand.” he replied, sounding dejected. He stepped back, smiling back at her
reassuringly he was not angry at all, and apologised for the trouble she went through.
They parted ways, and Leyla watched as he left in a sullen manner. It made Leyla uncomfortable
knowing she had to turn down such a kind man, but it was for the better. If she had accepted him
sooner than she should, she would have hurt him in the end.

Just as she did with Kyle.

Leyla’s gaze turned dark as the name entered her thoughts.

There had been many times, since their separation, that she’d wonder how he was. However in the end
she found it enough for her to pray for his well being for now. She missed him dearly, but she couldn’t
go back to the times when it was so easy to be with him.

She can’t go back to the moments when she could still laugh, chat and walk freely with Kyle.

The skies have turned dark, the street lamps now lit up. Anxiety bubbled up in her as soon as she shook
her fond memories of him away out of mind. This anxiousness in her felt just like she did with the first
autumn she had spent with the duke.

She breathed in, and closed her eyes, imagining the distant spring time to come. She’d be in a new place
by then, planning to start a new chapter in her life. She hoped when she moved she could find a lodging
room with a huge window, allowing the sun to seep in and fill her space.

It would also be ideal if there were some trees nearby, or a park she could see through. That way she
only needs to open the window to breathe in the fresh smell of cut grass or the wet forest floor after a
rain. That’s what she would miss most in Arvis after all.

She soon found herself calming down the more she thought about her successful move away from Arvis.
Composed and confident everything would be fine, she gripped the handle of her bicycle tightly, and
began to move, turning carefully around the corner.

Her eyes were only set in front of her, on the empty asphalt road, framed by the trees on either side,
moonlight guiding her way home. She breathed in deeply, relaxed in her assumed solitude, pedalling
briskly as she continued in her way.

She was completely oblivious to the Duke Herhardt that had been nearby, waiting for her quietly by the
shadowed side of the pavement.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Kyle was overcome by a familiar trepidation whenever he approached his mailbox. It’s become a habit
now, whenever he’d retrieve his mails, for him to search for a particular letter. He always arrived with
that faint hope that this time, he’d get a reply.

However, when he sifted through his mail, none of them were from Leyla. His smile fell, as he turned
sullen. Week after week he’d write to her, hoping for word of how she was, a response to his letters to
her. But she’d never written back, not once.

With a dejected sigh, he closed his mailbox once more, and went back up to his dormitories. His room
was located on the east wing, third floor. With vacation just right around the corner, students were
busying themselves in packing for home. But Kyle was yet to be struck with the need to do the same.

His room was just as usual. He opened up his dorm room, greeted by nothing but the darkened room,
and tossed his meagre pile of letters by the console table, right beside the doorway. There were only a
couple of them today, an invitation to an upcoming social gathering, and one from home.

He plopped himself on his bed, not having the energy to read through their contents. He watched the
moonlight filter through his window, slipping through the gaps between his curtains as it shone on his
sulking form.

‘Why don’t you go on a trip during your first break?’

Those were his father’s words just a few days ago when he phoned home. While it was true that
nowadays, most of the wealthier students tend to go off on trips across the continent during breaks, he
was certain his father had some other reason in mind.

He glossed over a proper response to his suggestion, telling him he’d think about it. No matter what
he’d decide on, he knew it was pointless to go back and seek Leyla out by now. So what point was there
for him to travel?

‘Should I just lay here then, all miserable without her?’ he pondered, shifting to lie on his back instead of
his stomach. ‘To stay until I become insane from staring at concrete while drowning myself in studies?’

‘There’s no place in this world where only the two of us can be happy.’

He tossed his arm over his eyes, chuckling dryly to himself as he recalled Leyla’s words to him. He
couldn’t even answer her, couldn’t find his voice to speak back at that time. And now, all that’s left of
him is a deep sense of self-loathing.

He hated how weak he had been, how he was nothing if not for his parents. But most of all, he hated
how he couldn’t even protect the woman he loved most in the world.

‘Leyla, I wanted to be a doctor so that I could find a place where we could both be happy.’ he thought
wistfully, feeling the pinprick of tears in his eyes, ‘But that’s still in the distant future, could I survive that
long to be parted from you?’
He pressed his palms over his eyes before sighing. He pulled his hands away as he opened his eyes,
before trying to catch the light of the moon in his hands.

‘Even a few months away from you is torture.’

Kyle was almost of age by now, which meant he could finally claim the inheritance his grandfather left
him. He regretted having not thought about it sooner.

He sat up on his bed, and ran his fingers through his dishevelled hair, staring at nothing but the blank
walls of his dorm. Making up his mind, he immediately got up, flipped the light by his desk on, and
grabbed some pen and paper.

He was nervous when he wrote it down, but this was an urgent matter he needed to do.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Why, all of a sudden, is everyone trying to find you a groom?” Bill suddenly piped up as he watched
Leyla set the table for dinner. When he’d asked her about her day, he hadn’t expected her to have been
out with the grocery store owner’s son, a meeting set up by the headmistress.

Leyla looked up at him, frowning as she tilted her head in confusion.

““What do you mean by everyone?” she asked curiously. Bill scratched the back of his head as he
recalled earlier events.

“You know, Mrs. Mona, the chatty chef?” Leyla nodded to indicate she knew who he was talking about,
“Well she approached me a while ago, telling me she overheard Madam Norma asking Hessen around
for a suitable groom for you.” he informed her. Leyla couldn’t help but grow more confused, and more
curious.

“Why would Madam Norma do that?”

“I don’t know,” Bill shrugged, “Perhaps she took a liking to you.” he added offhandedly as he placed
their food on the dinner table. Leyla couldn’t help but scoff.

“No way.” she added preposterously, smiling as she sat across Bill from the table as he fetched the
bread out of the stove.

“Well, I don’t see any other reason why she’d find you a groom.” Bill pointed out and sat down on his
seat, “So why do you think she would?” he asked her this time, looking at her inquiringly.

“Uncle, you’re not getting tired of being around me, are you?” Leyla teased, making Bill puff out a scoff
and waved the accusations away.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“If that’s not the case, then you won’t mind if I’m going to live with you forever?” she further said,
grinning as they gathered food into their plates and began to dig in.

The conversation died down a little, the only sound coming was the scraping of their utensils against the
plates as they ate. Bill leaned back in his chair, deep in thought as he chewed carefully, eyeing Leyla,
before swallowing the food.

“So, if ever Madam Norma introduces you to a strapping young man,” Bill began, breaking the silence
between them, “You’d refuse him?”

Leyla only smiled sadly at him, seeing the concern reflected through her uncle’s eyes for her.

“Well, I’d certainly love to meet someone who’s just like you Uncle,” she admitted, “Unfortunately, I
think no one is like you.” she smiled, hoping to reassure him, but Bill could only ache for her.

Once more he couldn’t help but feel like it was Kyle why she was like this. He was certain she was so
hurt by their failed engagement, she found herself no longer wanting marriage, hence continuously
turning down marriage offers.

Though that’s not stopping Kyle from wanting to reconnect with her. As much as it pained him to lie to
her, Bill had to take Kyle’s letters away from her pile every time he saw one from the man. He knew that
they had a good relationship in the past, but for him it was beyond a point of repair.

“Should, uh, Leyla…” he trailed off, making Leyla hum as she listened to what he had to say…

‘If Leyla still has feelings for Kyle, would it help if Kyle cuts ties with the Etman household?’ Bill couldn’t
help but wonder, ‘It might be a rough start, but I’d help them settle down, even if they move to the
capital city.’

Should that happen, Bill has resolved himself to move with them. It might be difficult for him to get a job
as a gardener from Arvis there, but he’s willing to quit for Leyla. And should the time come to pass, and
Leyla gives birth to their child, then perhaps that wicked Mrs. Etman would come around to accepting
their relationship.

“Uncle?” Leyla called out, having heard nothing from him for sometime now.

“Hm?” He looked up at her in confusion.

“You were saying?” she prompted gently, making him remember they were still in the middle of a
conversation.

“Ah right, um, chicken!” he declared, “Yes, yes, chickens.” he murmured, tapping his fingers thoughtfully
against the tabletop. Leyla’s face twisted into confusion.

“Chickens?”
“Yes! Should we catch chickens tomorrow?” Bill asked rather jovially, before seeing the concern in her
eyes, “It slipped my mind for a while there, must be my age getting to me. I’m fine Leyla.” he excused
rather sheepishly, smiling brightly at her.

Next time, he’d think twice before opening his mouth to speak. He was fortunate that Leyla hadn’t
doubted him yet, so she only smiled and nodded brightly back at him.

“Sure uncle, let’s have some chickens tomorrow.” She readily agreed and they both began finishing their
meals.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Slender fingers grabbed the knob for the phonograph’s volume, turning it up. The figure turned around,
heading towards his wing chair, the firelight illuminating his face, revealing Matthias.

He sat quietly in his darkened room, staring into the fire, the only light source he had right now.
Suddenly, there was a fluttering of wings, as the cage rattled, and a bird landed by his perched fingers.

He regarded it slowly, gently turning his fingers, whistling the same tune of the music that was playing. It
didn’t take long for his bird to follow in suit, chirping along with the tunes. Matthias couldn’t help the
smug grin on his lips.

His bird was clever. Despite having never trained it, it followed him wordlessly, chirping along naturally
to the music. It was thanks to his beautiful canary he enjoyed listening to the music as it followed along.

The music he mostly played was waltz, though sometimes he liked to mix it up with either the orchestra
symphonies, or ballet bagatelles. As far as he could tell, his canary would sing beautifully whenever it
was a waltz it was copying.

Finally the music stopped, soft melodies fading out as the piece ended, leaving only the crackling of
firewood to fill the quiet room. Matthias lightly caressed his bird with the pads of his fingers, wordlessly
praising its natural talent.

Familiar with its master’s touch, the canary nuzzled towards his fingers, lightly tapping its beak as
though it was trying to kiss his hand. Matthias smirked, slowly getting up as he approached his bird’s
cage.

He lowered his hand, hovering right in front of the cage’s entrance, before it fluttered back in to settle
inside it’s plush and cosy nest. Matthias quietly locked the golden cage close, before turning towards the
phonograph to cut the beginnings of the next song off.
He breathed in deeply, before letting out an exhausted sigh as he languidly rested on top of his bed,
looking up at the ceiling. He then turned his head, to look at his bird with a smile, in his mind, imagining
a different one instead…

“Good night.” he said to it, seeing his canary settle down into sweet slumber. As soon as the bird was
asleep, the smile faded on Matthias’ lips as he kept staring at the bird.

Chapter 66

Ruined Heaven

When the mailman came to deliver their letters, Bill came out to receive it. He sifted through the letters
before spotting another one from Kyle. The only difference was, this one’s thicker than the previous
ones that came.

“What are you going to do about that, Mr. Remmer?” the mailman asked, his voice dropped in a
whisper. Through the past fall and winter seasons, he had been an accomplice of Bill from keeping Kyle’s
letters to reaching her. Making him just as guilty as Bill.

“You can’t keep hiding them forever.” the mailman couldn’t help but point out. Bill sighed, placing the
letter between his pile of mail, nodding to the mailman.

“I’m well aware of that.” he looked out to the road, breathing deeply as he stared at the direction
towards Leyla’s school, “I’ll tell her soon.” he admitted, the mailman appeared relieved with the news.

“Yes, it should come from you. I promise I won’t say anything.”

“Much appreciated,” Bill thanked, “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

“Hey, it’s alright, I know you’re only looking out for Leyla.” the mailman assured him, “Though it must be
troubling you greatly.” he smiled sadly at the gardener, as though he understood how he felt.

He loved to think he knew Bill better than anyone in Arvis. After all, he was the one responsible for
bringing Leyla Lewellin to Arvis as a child. He watched Bill change with Leyla in his life. It was that love
for the child that made Bill happier than he was before.

They bid each other goodbye, leaving Bill as he returned back to their cabin. Leyla had gone to work
earlier, which made him alone right now.

Bill tossed the letter onto the table, looking at it strongly, before impulsively pulling out all of Kyle’s
letters, tied into a bundle. There were so many he prevented from reaching Leyla, he suspected she’d be
rather angry and distrustful of him once the truth came out…

But it didn’t matter how scared he was of how she’d respond. What mattered was he couldn’t keep
doing this to her. The guilt of lying and keeping such a huge thing as this was getting too much for him.

And so he sat down, untied the current bundle, arranging them properly by date, before adding in the
latest one. He wrapped the string back around to keep them secure, before placing them down to the
edge of the table.

There. Maybe if he’d see it as he returned, he would be reminded of the guilt, and be unable to talk
himself out of coming clean to Leyla.

He had thought about it before, trying to ease his guilt by saying what he was doing was best for Leyla,
but really, the only choice that mattered in that department was Leyla. She was the only one who could
choose what was best for her, and whatever her choice, he’d support her fully.

With his mind made up, Bill got up from his seat and exited his cabin, locking it as he left. He neared the
chicken coop, scoping out his target. Once he chose which among them would be their dinner tonight,
he went towards the greenhouse, owned by the Duke. As soon as he entered, a familiar voice greeted
him.

“Good day Bill!” the zookeeper called out to him as he crouched down on a nearby flower bed to get
started with his work.

They’d been colleagues for a long time now. Bill liked to think they were friends by now. He waved back,
giving the flowers a once over, before getting up and headed to the warehouse to chop up some
firewood.

The zookeeper approached him not soon after he did so.

“By the way Bill, the butler made a request not to stack the firewood right next to the generators.” he
informed him, making Bill frown at the new instructions. Bill grumbled about how the new machines
were dictating his job.

The generators were a new instalment, which supposedly provided the mansion with this thing called an
electricity, which they apparently produced. Bill had no idea what the fuss was all about, all he knew is it
was a massive headache to learn.

“Thank you for telling me.” Bill replied, sighing as he looked around, “I think I can manage this one on
my own, no need to worry.” he assured, letting the zookeeper leave to do their own job.

He walked back towards the warehouse, and pulled the doors open, before being greeted with loud
whirring sounds. He winced as he strode in, the sound making the ground vibrate whenever he neared
the operating machine.

He cursed under his breath, complaining about how loud it was every time he had to be in the
warehouse. He shot the machine a glare as he passed by. Things were so much easier before, and a lot
less hassle than these infernal devices!

His distaste for modern technology was something he shared with the Herhardt matriarch, Madam
Norma.

He mourned the days where he once worked silently in the warehouse, without the fuss of technology.
He looked up, and was surprised to see Madam Norma, who was probably taking a stroll around the
greenhouse. He greeted her respectfully as she asked him how work was.

“Nothing much, madam,” he replied, “It’s just this thing is making more of a fuss today.” he observed,
and began stacking some firewood right next to them.

Perhaps making a physical barrier between him and the generator would make it quieter. It would
certainly help his sanity. He shook his head and brought more of the firewood he collected inside to pile
right next to the machine.

“Things were much easier back in the day.” Madam Norma hummed thoughtfully as she watched Bill
work. Of that statement, he couldn’t agree more.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
There was a loud cacophony in Leyla’s class, as the children portrayed mixed reactions. Some had
broken off into their respective groups, others opted to stay in their seats. There was a mixture of
children laughing, while there were those who were despairing.

Among the latter, was little Monica.

Leyla had just informed the students of her decision to transfer away from school, and thus was saying
goodbye to them. She was most concerned for Monica, who might have taken the news too hard. Still, it
was better to prepare them for their parting ways this early despite the remaining few months she still
had with them.

After making sure each of her students were alright, and understood she was only moving away and not
abandoning them, she deemed her job finished and dismissed them. School was done for the day, so all
she had to do was go back to her desk by the classroom to gather up her things.

She still has dinner to prepare for after all. Perhaps she could cook them some roasted chicken tonight.

As she was getting ready to leave school, and back to their cabin, she found herself busy with whether
she should buy Uncle Bill either some new socks, a sweater, or a nice bottle of wine to share. She
pedalled absentmindedly, wondering how he’ll take the news of her moving to another city by the next
semester.

‘He’ll be heartbroken for sure,’ she thought to herself, ‘Perhaps a nice drink will be a better consolation
gift after all.’ She slipped out of her school slippers, before putting back on her shoes, tucking the
slippers into the lockers properly, before smiling to herself in satisfaction.

“You really think that’s going to stop me?”

Matthias’ words to her during that night at the charity event echoed through her mind as she put on her
shoes. The more she recalled his words, the more she found it incredulous he would say such a thing. He
wasn’t the type of man to be throwing around such empty threats. Leyla always thought he would
remain the ever serious duke, even to his grave.

‘Is it because of winter that he’s like this?’ she couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Is the cold getting to him after
all?’

She hadn’t had much interaction with him at all since the season started. At first she had been so
anxious by his absence, but eventually grew relieved with her newfound peace. She really hoped it
would stay that way…

That one day, his interest in her would fade into nothing, and she could go back to the way her life was
before she even met him.

She grabbed her coat by the entrance of the school, tucking it around herself and closing all it’s buttons.
She pushed the doors open with her free hand, carrying a box of her belongings with the other as she
went to where her bike was. She secured her things first on her bike’s basket, before finally pedalling
back home.

She went through her usual route, passing by downtown to buy some additional groceries. Once she
was done, she tied it to the back of her bike instead as her basket was already full of her belongings.

“Give my regards to Mr. Remmer!” the owner called out just as she was about to leave, to which she
only nodded back with a smile.

“I will! Thank you!” She replied.

“Oh, and be careful on your way back! Bill might cry if the wine breaks once you get home.”

“I’ll be careful,” Leyla laughed, “Good bye!” She bid him goodbye and went on her way.

Despite the cold air, the sun provided her with enough warmth for the clear day still left. She sped up as
the skies turned orange, giving the afternoon a golden glow as the sun began to set. It has been a good
day so far. Nothing was amiss.

At least, nothing until she entered the streets leading to Arvis.

“Leyla! Leyla!” a shrill voice called out to her, making Leyla halt in alarm, just in time for a fire brigade to
pass her by, and straight towards the Duke’s mansion. “Leyla!”

She looked around, before seeing a frantic Mrs. Mona, who was practically in tears, held onto her hands
as though she was holding on to dear life! Leyla grew alarmed.

“M-Mrs. Mona, what is it? What’s wrong?” she quickly inquired, “Why did I just see the fire brigade?!”
she frantically looked around, before spotting the smoke trail…

Leyla couldn’t help but feel her heart constrict on her chest when she realised the smoke was coming
directly from the Duke’s greenhouse.

“No! It can’t be!” Leyla exclaimed, turning back to ask Mrs. Mona, “The greenhouse is on fire?!”

“Oh it wasn’t just a fire Leyla!” Mrs. Mona wailed, tears streaming down her face, “I heard the electric
generator practically exploded, taking half of the greenhouse with it in the process!” Leyla gasped in
alarm, “But the worst part of it, they say it’s Bill Remmer who was to blame!”

“What?!” she asked incredulously, “Why uncle?! What happened?”

And so Mrs. Mona talked.

She told her how she couldn’t understand fully what they had been saying, but from what she could
piece together was that Bill had done something to the generators which was why it exploded. But the
worst part of it all was not the explosion itself…

It was the fact that Madam Norma had been there during the explosion.
“She’s only gotten injured thankfully, but practically the whole mansion is in a disarray!” Mrs. Mona
paused, catching her breath, “Right now the police had been combing through the vicinity looking for-”

“Uncle!” Leyla called out, cutting off Mrs. Mona as she saw her uncle being escorted by policemen. She
quickly ran towards him. Bill looked up at the sound of her voice, surprised to see her. “Uncle are you
alright?!” she quickly asked but was halted by the other police from going near him.

She took in his appearance. He was covered in soot, parts of his clothes were singed, and he had some
cuts and bruises all over him. Leyla felt her heart breaking.

“Uncle what’s happening?! Why are they saying it’s your fault!?” She called out to him as the police held
her back as they dragged him away from her, “Uncle, it’s not true right?! It can’t be! It’s just a
misunderstanding!”

Bill tried to smile comfortingly at her, but it was difficult to look back when the police were adamant he
had to go.

“I’ll be alright Leyla, I’m sure this will all be over soon.” he told her comfortingly, but it wasn’t enough to
ease the cold chill in Leyla’s chest. “I’ll be back shortly. Okay Leyla, I’ll be back-”

“Start moving.” the police grunted as they pushed Bill to keep moving, Leyla tried to get away from the
police holding her back, but she was pushed away, and right into Mrs. Mona’s embrace who quickly held
back Leyla in a comforting hug.

“Uncle!” she called out, tears now streaming down her cheeks as she watched the police load Bill
harshly into their car, slamming the door on his face, cutting off whatever it was he wanted to tell her.
He only looked back at her silently, smiling comfortingly all this time.

Leyla crumpled to the ground when the police left with their cars, and Uncle Bill with them before
disappearing from the streets of Arvis.

People rushed about to Leyla’s side, trying to help her stand, when she stumbled and collapsed in their
arms. Leyla’s resounding cry echoes throughout Arvis’ winter night, before being drowned by the
surrounding sounds of worry by the servants.

But right before she passed out, she could have sworn the duke was there, standing right on the
mansion’s front porch, atop the staircase.

And then her world turned black.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Leyla arrived in Arvis with a sunken face as she stared blankly at the road in front of her. When she
regained consciousness, she immediately went to the police station and demanded to know what
happened to her uncle, and what she could do.

Unfortunately, there was nothing, the police informed her.

The explosion had happened because of the many firewood that had been stacked beside it, which
ultimately collapsed about half of the greenhouse. The glass around it cracked and shot out to everyone
nearby, including Madam Norma, who was admiring the flowerbeds by the greenhouse at that moment.

It was fortunate enough that the maid with her shielded her from the explosion, but the Herhardt
matriarch still sustained broken bones from the impact of the explosion when the debris struck her. Add
to the fact that the greenhouse, which was hailed as the most beautiful one around and home to various
rare plants, was irrevocably irreparable.

The police knew it was all an accident, but even if her uncle Bill hadn’t intended to do so, the accident
took place, and someone must be held responsible. Especially a prominent figure in the community as
Madam Norma had been injured in the accident.

The police did take pity on her, allowing her to speak with Bill on her visit, but it only led to more
despairing words before she had to say goodbye.

“Perhaps if the Duke were to lessen the charges against him, he could get out sooner,” the police told
her just as she was about to leave, “However, as of now, there’s nothing else for him to do but to serve
time for his current charges.”

They helped Leyla up, who had been begging on her knees for anything she could do for them to release
him. She had failed in getting her uncle out. None of the police in the station were able to look her in the
eyes after that. That’s when she knew there was really no other way they could show her.

‘Should his sentence be final, would uncle really go to jail?!’ she thought in despair as she walked the
lonely road in Arvis.

She’s not certain what exactly the procedure was for such incidents, but she knew it would need a lot of
time and money for a lawsuit to be filed. She can’t even pay the bail for her uncle right now.

She was unsure as to how she managed to reach Arvis, but she knew the only way she could help Uncle
Bill was to beg mercy from the Herhardt household. All she could do was cry in the dark, her body
moving in autopilot for her. But how could she do that?

Madam Norma had gotten hurt during that explosion, not to mention their precious greenhouse was in
shambles. Should she present herself in front of Madam Elysee, all crying and begging, she might make
the problem worse for her uncle…

And then she caught sight of the mansion, the only source of light in the dark neighbourhood. And then
a thought struck her!
‘Duke Herhardt! If it’s him, then surely…’ her thoughts trailed off as she began to pick up her pace
despite her staggering steps.

The Duke was ultimately the owner of the household. Sure he made her uncomfortable, terrified and
bullied her relentlessly, made her confused with his actions over the past autumn season, but perhaps
he would help her.

She clasped her hands together in prayer as she passed by the still rose garden, and through the forest
path. The river streamed restlessly once she passed through the riverbank, her breath quickening as she
drew closer to the mansion.

She could see the annex up ahead despite her white puffs of breath. The lights were still on!

And so Leyla broke out into a run, heading towards her light at the end of the tunnel.

‘Start from next episode, there will be many scenes of non-consensual sexual acts, that some reader
may find disturbing. So if you get triggered easily, please be careful when reading it’
Chapter 67

The Owner of Arvis

Norma watched as Elysee von Herhardt, Matthias’ mother, kept walking back and forth all over her
room. She fluffed up her pillows, tucked her in securely in bed, before checking over some last minute
details to ensure she was comfortable.

“I can’t help but feel sorry for Bill.” Norma piped up, making Elysee turn around in shock at the
matriarch’s words.

“Sorry?” she asked incredulously, before sitting down at the edge of Norma’s bed, “How could you say
your sorry for him? You’re the one injured by his negligence and destroyed the greenhouse!” she
exclaimed in an outrage.

Normally Elysee wouldn’t dare raise her tone at Norma, she respected the Herhardt matriarch too
much. However, in this case she couldn’t help herself.

“I didn’t get hurt that badly.” Norma softly explained, making Elysee scoff in disbelief at her words.

“I can’t believe how forgiving you are of this!” she exclaimed, “You have broken bones! You almost died!
The only reason it wasn’t worse than that was because the maid took most of the brunt of the
explosion.” she pointed out.

She got up and began to fix the medicine by Norma’s vanity, posture tense and angry as she tried to
calm her tone as she reasoned with Norma.

“Also, Hessen had already given them warnings about not stacking firewood too close to the generators,
and yet he deliberately did the opposite!”

“He’s not some rookie employee Elysee, we’ve known him for years.” Norma added, “You and I both
know this was all an accident.”
“Well, that accident of his cost me my birds, and around half of your rare plants! We were fortunate
that no person was involved in the casualties, but you could have been one too. Even the year end party
at Arvis is ruined now because the generator is gone.” Elysee ended her argument.

The rest of the banquet hall and dining room were now stuck with old fashioned lamps just to light them
up. The mansion’s electricity was practically non-existent at this point because most of the lamps had
been replaced to use the electricity, and now they were completely useless.

“I did tell you we didn’t need that crude electricity.” Norma huffed out. It was no secret from the start
that the elder matriarch had been against changing the ways of the house. She was practically happy
having lost the generators.

There was no need for useless things. Things worked perfectly fine as they were before.

“And I understand how you feel, Elysee,” Norma continued, “But what good will punishing a gardener
for things we can’t undo? It won’t bring back this electricity, nor rebuild the greenhouse. Better let him
go now, especially since I’m certain he can’t afford to pay us back.”

“It’s not about the money!” Elysee pointed out exasperatedly, “It’s about responsibility, and making the
rest of our servants vigilant in following orders.”

There was a tense silence between the two of them now. Elysee was trying to even her breathing while
Norma remained contemplative.

“So you’re going to send Bill Remmer to jail then?” Norma finally asked, and Elysee let out a deep
breath, shrugging.

“If the court deems him guilty, then he will be.” Elysee replied diplomatically.

“Elysee,” Norma softly called out, “Bill has been with us for years, been there since before Matthias was
born. He’s a friend by now. Also think about Leyla. What would happen to her now he’s gone.” she
pleaded, Elysee could only shake her head in disbelief.

“Leyla’s an adult now, she could very well take care of herself.” she stated, “Besides, we all know she
couldn’t stay forever in Arvis as a guest.” It seemed as though Elysee’s mind was already made up, and
nothing would change it.

“Also, I can’t help but think about how Claudine feels right now about the explosion,” Elysee continued,
“You know she loved the greenhouse, she even wanted to hold the wedding there.”

“That’s true…” Norma trailed off. She couldn’t help but wince at the mention of her grandson’s fiance.
She knew by now Elysee had given instructions for the diligent repair of the greenhouse, but it would be
impossible to finish it before the wedding.

Claudine did love the once majestic greenhouse of Arvis.

“So you see, he inconvenienced not only himself, but also plenty more people.” Elysee continued, “And
that is why we simply cannot let him be after the accident.” she sternly finished.

“I understand,” Norma finally conceded, “But it still doesn’t feel right.”

With a deep sigh, Norma shifted in her seated position to lie down on her bed properly. Elysee
immediately nodded to the maids at the side to assist her. They rushed and aided her carefully as she lay
down, rearranging her pillows to be more comfortable for her before going back to their previous post.

“Either way, the final decision lies with Matthias.” Norma finally said, looking at Elysee in the eyes with a
meaningful stare. Elysee’s jaw clenched as she knew what Norma was silently telling her.

Matthias was the current head of the Herhardt household after all. Ultimately, he held the fate of Bill
Remmer.

“Yes, I agree.” Elysee replied back, nodding in agreement, “Whatever he says will be final, I won’t
disagree. I just hope he makes a wise decision.” and with that she bid Norma good night, and left the
older matriarch to rest.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla had just managed to arrive inside the annex and immediately headed towards the reception hall.
Minutes later, Mark Evers went to Matthias, who was still in a phone call. Matthias turned to him, after
excusing himself for a while, before he was informed of Leyla’s arrival.

After checking Leyla was indeed there to see him, he nodded to the attendant, signaling him to leave
before continuing the phone call. Mark gestured for her to come closer, to which Leyla did, and
remained standing across Matthias, in front of his desk. And with that, Mark left them alone.

Leyla fidgeted as she caught snippets of Matthias’ conversation on the phone, growing more anxious by
the second. Matthias was calling about the impending repairs that needed to be done in the
greenhouse, as well as the generators, both of which got destroyed in the recent explosion.

When the phone call was done, Matthias put it down, before turning to look at Leyla, his hands clasped
in front of him as he rested his chin on his fingers. Leyla squirmed beneath his gaze…

“I see you got busy.” she softly started, licking her lips nervously.
“No thanks to Mr. Remmer.” Matthias replied, devoid of any emotion, making Leyla nervous. Was he
angry? Was he pitiful of her uncle? “Sit.” he commanded, gesturing to the sofa across from him. Leyla
hastily shook her head in denial.

Not in the mood to push her, Matthias only leaned back in his seat, and crossed his legs together.
Immediately, Leyla went beside him, and took a deep bow.

“I’m deeply sorry for the accident today, Duke.” she apologized, Matthias only stared at her, unsure why
she was apologizing for the accident.

“Why are you apologizing?” he asked her.

“I’m apologizing on behalf of Uncle Bill.” she immediately replied, bowing lower as she could, “Please
forgive him, just this once.” she pleaded, desperately hoping he would accept her apology.

“You know my uncle, Duke, what kind of a person he is.” she proceeded when Matthias remained silent,
“This was all just an accident! He’s still so confused about electricity and generators, he misjudged it
completely!” she knelt down this time. She proceeded to give him excuses, about how his head always
aches whenever he went in the warehouse due to the loud noises it produced, which was probably why
he tried to shut it down.

“He would never wish to harm Madam Norma, or destroy the greenhouse or anyone in it. You know
that.” she finished.

Leyla stuttered through her explanation, but that was only because she tried her best not to act
hysterical in front of him. All that time Matthias let her talk, not interjecting even once.

“Please forgive him, please.” she begged. She was as white as a sheet of paper, her hands shaking as she
waited for the verdict, refusing to look up at him as she kowtowed beside him.

“Leyla.” the Duke called out for her softly in a low and gentle voice. Leyla’s head shot up immediately,
looking up at him with red-rimmed eyes. “How would you suggest I show him forgiveness then? Just let
him go?” Matthias asked rhetorically, and Leyla frantically nodded, swallowing back her tears. Matthias
took a deep breath…

“Forgiveness, huh?” he murmured to himself, calmly observing her quivering form. Leyla immediately
stood up, and stepped back at a respectable distance. Matthias’ gaze went to her shoes, all covered in
dust and dirt, probably from all the running she did to the police station and back.

His gaze trailed up, glancing at her stocking clad calves, emphasizing it’s slenderness. He tilted his head,
leisurely moving his eyes up her form, seeing her clutch at her dark gray skirt, ending just above her
knees. His eyes went further up, watching her checkered coat envelop her, with a red sweater hiding
beneath.

The two top buttons of her shirt were open, revealing her slender neck, before he met her teary eyes
once more. She looked so desperate.
He had been certain he’d given her loads of pretty clothes, yet she always manages to dress like a nun.

“Why should I?” He finally asked her, his brows furrowing as Leyla found herself at a loss for words,
“Why should I forgive Bill? Show him mercy?”

Matthias then stood up from his seat and brushed up against her casually, heading straight for the
fireplace, stopping right in front of it. He stared into its flames, a frown marring his features.

“Pl-please Duke-” Leyla stammered, but was immediately cut off.

“The generator exploded because of a warning he ignored,” Matthias began, “Resulting in my

grandmother almost dying, and the destruction of expensive property.” He listed off all of the cases
against Bill Remmer, making Leyla face the harsh truth.

With every item, he took one step closer to her, looking all the more imposing. He only stopped when
he was only a step away from her quivering form…

“And you want me to just show him mercy?” he finished, looking down at her, “Tell me why I would do
that?”

“Please Duke-”

“So you wish for me to just dismiss all his wrongdoings then? To just let him go?” he asked her, eyes
shifting to caress Leyla on her collar with the tip of his fingers.

She looked rather cute with the way the shirt hung loosely on her shoulders, though it did look rather
familiar to him. It wasn’t long until he realized it was the same shirt she wore during that picnic in
autumn. The exact blouse he’d taken off when she had the accident as well.

He couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps this was also the same shirt she wore when she asked to be
transferred away from Arvis and work at a different school?

His grip on her collar tightened, as he stared at her coldly.

“Who do you think you are to ask for such a thing?” he practically snarled at her. Leyla felt as though he
slapped her in the face with his response. His hands moved up, and grasped her chin tightly. “Huh, tell
me Leyla.” he demanded.

Tears welled up in Leyla’s eyes as he forced her to keep eye contact. Tears flowed down her cheeks in
streams, drowning the fingers around her chin. His voice softened up as he straightened up, her face still
in his hand.

“Truly, who do you think you are?” he asked calmly, his voice back to being indifferent. Leyla couldn’t
help but wonder if their last interactions together were all just something she conjured up in her mind…
How he kept his word to not harm Phoebe, to not harm her as he healed her injuries. Even the jokes and
light hearted smiles they secretly shared in the latest autumn season. All those times he intrigued her
with every new side she discovered from him…

She could still see them as clear as day, and yet, looking now into his dull and cold eyes, she couldn’t
help but wonder if they all meant nothing to him after all.

Her voice was caught in her throat, unable to speak as her body was wracked in terror. Images of her
precious uncle trapped behind iron bars, shattering her safe haven in Arvis, and his cold imposing figure
muddled her brain.

She couldn’t think clearly.

“How bold of you to demand such a thing from me without an equal exchange.” he informed her. Leyla
bit her lower lip to stifle back her sobs, but wasn’t successful to do so as she openly cried in front of him.

Matthias continued to act as though her world wasn’t falling apart in front of him.

“I don’t like entering an exchange that will bring me nothing.” he finished, and Leyla couldn’t help but
try once more.

“D-Duke..Please-” she sobbed, but he cut her off once more.

“Sadly your tears are not enough to buy Bill Remmer’s freedom.”

“I-I have nothing to offer you but my apologies, please! We don’t have money-” She kept begging. But
his grip on her tightened as he forced her to keep quiet.

“I wasn’t talking about a monetary exchange Leyla.” He explained to her, “A deal can be made with
whatever one party wishes to have that the other can only offer to gain the favor they want.” he pulled
her closer, until their faces were only a hair’s breadth away. “And I’m willing to enter such a trade with
you.”

“A-a trade?” Leyla’s sobs have quieted as she grew curious as to what he wanted from her.

“Yes, a trade.” He slowly nodded, glancing up and down at her before meeting her gaze once more. Her
eyes widened in realization and began to pull away from him, shaking her head widely in refusal.

He released her from his grip, letting her stumble back as he returned to his position and sat unbothered
on his wing chair. The fear in Leyla’s eyes was now replaced with a silent fury as she glared at him
intently.

“I-I won’t do that!” she exclaimed, locks of her hair coming undone due to her struggling, making her
neck all the more enticing to him, “You’re engaged to Lady Claudine! You’re about to get married!” she
pointed out in an outrage.
Matthias only shrugged as he looked at her inquiringly, “And that’s relevant how?” he asked her,
casually pulling out a handkerchief as he looked back at her defiant figure. He looked rather bored to be
in this conversation.

Suddenly, the phone rang once more, making Leyla jump in surprise as she stumbled away from his
desk. Matthias only sighed softly, before brushing up against her again as he walked back towards the
phone.

“The final decision is up to you, think about it.” He told her as he placed his hand on the ringing phone.
“You can refuse if you want, and that’ll be the end of it.”

Just as Leyla was going to ask him what would happen should she refuse, he picked up the phone. She
watched as the perverse man in front of her transformed into a respectable Duke so seamlessly.

He was talking about his grandmother this time, asking about updates on her health. Leyla couldn’t
dream of being anything of value to this man.

She found it difficult to breathe as she stood still. She walked out of the room, and was greeted by a
nicely lit part of the annex, a complete opposite of the darkness threatening to overwhelm her.

She kept walking until she stopped by the stairwell outside, leading up to the second floor of the annex,
and crumpled down to the floor in a daze. She could feel her chest constricting as she pulled her knees
to her chest. She watched the currents of the outside river reflect the moonlight, getting lost in its shine.

She felt as though she had just woken up from a long sleep, dreaming of a beautiful nightmare.
Chapter 68

You Have No Choice

It’s been a few days since Bill Remmer had been taken in by the police. Leyla had gone earlier to meet
with the lawyer at the law office. And now, she was heading home with a dejected spirit.

“Oh Leyla, you’re back!” Mrs. Mona greeted her as soon as she arrived. She had been pacing worriedly
in front of their cabin for quite a while before Leyla arrived. “How was the meeting? Did you meet the
lawyer yet? What did he say?” she quickly inquired of the young woman.

But Leyla couldn’t speak coherently, too stuck in the endless reminder that there was nothing she could
do for Bill. She only shook her head, which made the small glimmer of hope in Mrs. Mona’s eyes
disappear.

The servants up in Arvis had helped raise some funds to free Bill, giving her the money they’ve gathered
from time to time to help her pay for the lawyer without her knowledge. Leyla could do nothing but
receive them with gratitude, feeling her heart about to burst with their show of care and concern for
both of them.

But what good was the money when even the lawyer told her the evidence gathered was stacked
against Bill?

“Oh dear.” Mrs. Mona gasped, “You know I heard that Madam Norma was ready to drop the charges,
but Madam Elysee felt different and wanted him to suffer for what he’s done. But it was only an
accident, she could have afforded to forgive him.” Mrs. Mona informed her.

Leyla gulped down her infocus, before turning towards the missus.

“Should I, perhaps, speak with Madam Elysee then?” she asked softly, but Mrs. Mona only smiled sadly
at the suggestion.

“I think the better course of action is to see the Duke instead.” Mrs. Mona suggested, “You see I heard
Madams Norma and Elysee couldn’t agree on what to do, so they left the final decision to the young
duke.” she explained.

At the news Leyla felt herself grow dizzy. Mrs. Mona immediately reached out to steady her back onto
her feet, gently escorting her back inside their cabin to get her to sit.
“Don’t worry Leyla, I’m certain the Duke will be more gracious than his mother.” Mrs. Mona comforted
her, “There’s still hope yet.” She patted her petite shoulders softly, rubbing her palms up and down the
frail woman to warm her up a little before walking around the fireplace to light some fire.

“I’m worried for you Leyla dear,” Mrs. Mona voiced out, “You look so thin these days, and have gone
pallor. Mr. Remmer would not like for you to ignore your wellbeing for his sake. Here, I brought some
stuff I think you might like.” Mrs. Mona immediately brought over her package she had set aside earlier.

Leyla could only watch as Mrs. Mona placed some food before her, alongside some water. She politely
smiled up at the missus.

“Thank you for these Mrs. Mona,” she finally said, “However I think I’ll eat them later.” she admitted
softly. Mrs. Mona only sighed at Leyla’s dispirited state, before wishing her well and finally took some
leave.

As soon as she was alone, Leyla buried her face in her hands and began to cry.

The lawyer she met with earlier had given her no solution, and more explanations as to why defending
Bill from his crimes was a fruitless endeavor. Should he be lucky, he might not serve time in prison,
instead, the litigation would only take more time and effort for them to accomplish.

Given that compensation for the damages inflicted would be unavoidable, going up against the Herhardt
in a legal battle was largely inadvisable.

“At times like this, it’s best for both parties to compromise before going to court.”

That was the last advice the lawyer had given her, which only served to fill her with more dread. She
knew that the Herhardt household was devoid of mercy. Perhaps not the entire household, but the
Duke certainly was.

She’d already gone to see him after all, three days ago to be specific. The last few days she struggled
with the decision and tried to take whatever alternative road was presented to her. She couldn’t find it
in herself to eat, drink or sleep regularly due to the stress her current predicament landed her in.

Her dignity refused to enter such a perverse deal. It was against everything she stood for. She didn’t
want to fall into another one of the Duke’s traps.

She bit her lip, a nervous tic she can’t seem to get rid of. She stood up from her seat and began to pace
around the kitchen, before she returned to the desk to take small sips from the glass of water Mrs.
Mona prepared earlier.

‘If I’m suffering this much, think about the pain Uncle Bill is experiencing right now!’
Leyla scolded herself as she recalled the hollow face her dear uncle sported within the past few days.
Seeing him like that was like a knife to her heart, being twisted deeper, embedding the blade within the
depths of her chest.

She can’t continue to act like this. She needed to do something to free her uncle. And she was presented
with the only way she could do so successfully.

It didn’t matter how much she tried to swerve away from making a deal with them, she always ended up
with the same anwer. And that was to accept the Duke’s offer.

Her jaw clenched at the thought, remembering the way the Duke gazed at her with unbridled lust,
making her feel so disgusted and ashamed of even entertaining the thought. He was so calm back then,
and even had the audacity to look so amused with her.

She knew that expression well. He wore it enough times whenever he went out hunting just for the fun
of it, or whenever he tormented her to the point of crying. No matter what she did to rise up against
him, despite her many falls in his presence, she was unable to escape him.

She collapsed back onto her chair, but no tears left her eyes. They were too dried up, and her heart too
numb to produce them. She could hear her ragged breaths in the still night, much like a soundless cry
for help.

Compared to the others, her life may seem so insignificant, but the way she lived was oh so important to
her. She tried to do right all her life; earn a living through honest, good work and to do nothing she
would be ashamed about. That nothing, much less a man’s petty desires, could trample upon her hard
earned life…

But she’s made up her mind.

‘What would Uncle Bill think of me, if he knew what I did?’ she couldn’t help but wonder. Just thinking
about him brought up a new surge of worry.

And thus in the dead of the night, Leyla embraced the darkness around her, not finding any will in her to
move for a long while.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

It was already late into the night when Matthias finally managed to sign the last of the documents for
the day after thoroughly reviewing it. He leaned back in his chair, before turning to his attendant
nearby.

“You are done for the day, you may go now.” he ordered bluntly. The attendant only bowed in
acquiesce, retrieving the signed documents in his arms, before swiftly leaving him on his own.
Despite the time Matthias spent on his own in the annex, he had lately been spending more time in the
building now that he had no access to electricity back in the mansion. Though that wasn’t the only
reason why.

He felt as though tonight was the night.

‘Leyla should be coming to visit soon enough.’

He thought to himself. He knew she’d been exhausting her resources, trying to find a way out of her
situation without having to deal with him. But she should have known by now that he always got what
he wanted in the end, no matter how long it took.

Matthias knew, on that day of Bill’s accident, that he finally found an undisputable leverage over Leyla.
To clip her wings, and have her stay by his side. He’d been making a plan with it in his mind when he
heard…

And seeing her so desperate in front of him just made him go through with it. And thus here he was,
awaiting for an answer he was certain of.

He knew her current predicament wasn’t the most proper, or the most correct way of gaining her favor
for him; he had been in a hurry to bind her to him. Though he had to throw away his initial plans
regarding her, he believed he would eventually be presented with an opportunity to seize that
happiness he so desired from her.

He reached out to the end of his desk, his fingers opening the cigarette box, grabbing a stick. He brought
it up to his lips, the other hand already reaching for the lighter, when a knock disrupted him.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Something shifted in his dull eyes when he heard it. It was so soft, so hesitant. A glint returned to his
eyes, and despite having not used it, he quickly discarded his cigarette to a nearby trash bin before
slowly rising from his seat with barely contained excitement.

He took slow, steady steps towards the door, wanting to make her squirm, before he swung the door,
slowly revealing Leyla in front of him. It was just as he expected. She did manage to make her decision.

A cold breeze rushed through him as he saw her, creating tension between them as they stared at each
other wordlessly. He would have thought the time had frozen between them, but the way their clothes
rustled and her hair swayed with the wind told him otherwise.

Eventually, he moved, stepping aside in a wordless order for her to come in.

Leyla turned paler at the sight of him, and despite the growing chill in her bones, she crossed the
threshold into his office.

The door slowly swung shut, the sound of a lock turning echoing through the silent halls, and the
occupants hidden from any outsiders.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla found herself in the exact same spot she had been a few days ago when she had come to beg the
Duke for mercy for Uncle Bill’s sake. She stood in front of him, just as she did before as well, but the
expression on her face was no longer filled with that glimmer of hope.

No, instead, there was only resignation and fear.

Matthias sat cross-legged on the sofa across from her, as if to show he was willing to give her space,
allowing her more time to gather her thoughts. She fidgeted with her fingers as she took a deep breath
before finally breaking the silence.

“I am nothing, right next to you, Duke.” she began softly, head held up high as she looked him in the
eye. Matthias snorted at her words, tilting his head at her inquiringly.

“And what of it?”

“You are a respectable member of this community.” she pointed out, “If you were to risk that all for a
slight fancy with a lesser woman, your reputation would be destroyed.” a slight defiant glint echoed in
her eyes at that statement. “So I implore you, Duke, I would do anything, please, but not this.”

Leyla thought he would reconsider, but it seemed even for this argument, he had prepared for a
counter-statement. He only smirked at her, a triumphant look on his face.

“Leyla,” he began, “Did you know my family actually owns a castle by the resort, south of Berg?” he
asked her, filling Leyla with a sense of dread with what he was to say.

“Because of its beauty, it became a pretty reputable castle in this empire. My grandfather eventually
purchased it for the sake of his mistress. She lived in the castle receiving my grandfather’s affection and
soon passed away.”

“D-duke…”

“You see, my father was a music enthusiast.” he interrupted, “And oftentimes he’d bring many women
there, who played fanciful music to him, but the longest he had with him was a famous singer. My
mother quite liked her too.”

He gazed up at Leyla, watching the way her face slowly turned pale.

“Oh she was a very talented singer.” Matthias continued, “Would you like me to tell you how their
relationship was? What fate did their reputations end with?”
His voice was sweet, as though he was just telling her an old wive’s tale, it made Leyla speechless how
crass he was at implying what he meant. She knew exactly how his predecessors’ reputations ended.
There was no way she couldn’t know.

Even to this day, even if they’ve long since passed, they are still widely respected and highly regarded by
the people of Carlsbar.

It seemed after all, there was really no way out of the deal he had given her. She knew that when she
came here, but she wanted to try one last time. A different angle to revise the deal set out for her.

“So, so for just one night then?” she clarified, finally looking back into his eyes. Perhaps she was more
worthless than she initially thought, she wasn’t even good enough to tarnish his reputation.

Leyla thought to herself numbly, that it would be just as though she had fallen from a very tall tree, and
got deep wounds from it. She would be unlucky, and it would hurt for a long time, might even leave a
scar, but eventually she will recover from it, sooner or later.

“Such an unfair deal that would be, don’t you think, Leyla?” the Duke hummed, “I refuse to enter deals
where I couldn’t get the maximum amount of benefits I could take.” he eyed her up and down, “Do you
really think yourself so impressive that one night with you would be enough for the price of Bill
Remmer’s freedom?” he prodded at her, making her squirm.

She couldn’t bear to look at him any longer, swiftly turning her back towards him, but was rooted in
place.

Should she leave now, she would forever surrender her only hope of helping her uncle. And even if he
were to be released after he’s served his sentence, her uncle would never be the same again…

Bill’s hollow face in her latest visit flashed through her mind. Her jaw clenched, knuckles turning white
as she balled her hands into a fist. Matthias leaned back on his seat, and watched as Leyla fought with
herself over what decision she would make.

Leyla couldn’t help but think just how despicable he truly was. But how could she expect any different?
He really was the type of person who would willfully destroy a person’s life just to get what he wanted,
with no regards as to how the other person would feel when it’s done.

When he gets bored of her, he’d no sooner throw her away as trash in his pocket. Just as he did with
those poor birds he shot and killed whenever he hunted them down for a little bit of fun.

Matthias could only smirk at the glare Leyla stared at him with. This time, she turned around to face him
fully. Unable to run or turn away from him any longer, Leyla immediately fell to the floor as her knees
buckled beneath her. Matthias wasted no time in kneeling in front of her, a smug grin on his face as
though he expected her to do so.

Deft fingers traveled up her arms, popping one button open at the top of her blouse. Leyla shied away
instinctively, but he held her in place…
“Leyla,” he whispered, a warm breath hitting her cheeks as he brushed his lips against her ear. “You
have no choice but to do as I wish, that was the deal.” he reminded her. “You said so yourself, didn’t
you? You’d do anything?”

He chuckled as he held open her blouse, his other hand coming up to grab her chin, forcing her to look
up at him.

“However, if you did change your mind, well,” he gestured to the entrance of his office, “The door’s
right there.” he pointed out, forcing her to look at the locked door, before slowly letting her go, and
pulling away from her.

He was reminding her she was the one making a choice to be with him, and not the other way around.
Oh how she despised him!

He practically cornered her between a rock and a hard place. She was completely desperate by now,
how could he make it seem as if she even had a choice in the matter!? She never had one in the first
place!

Her body trembled as she looked down on the ground, refusing to give him the satisfaction of her
looking up at him like a weak woman.

“I will never forgive you!” she hissed in a whisper.“Do as you wish!” she finally declared, and Matthias
wasted no time in closing the distance between them once again, watching as she shed her blouse,
popping the buttons away one by one.

Impatient, he grabbed her hands, and ripped her blouse open, the buttons scattering all over the floor
as he slid it down her shoulders and threw it aside. Leyla felt herself sink onto the floor, back pressed
onto the cold tiles as he nosed her neck, before his lips stopped right next to her ears…

“Don’t worry Leyla, I certainly will.” he responded.

She wanted nothing more than to hurl curses and insults at him in that instant! However she could only
bite her lips in response, feeling the way his eyes roamed all over her. She refused to participate in such
an act, turning her head away from him.

But, his hand grabbed her by the chin once more, and before she knew it, his lips were upon hers.

Leyla moaned in protest at the way he was shoving his tongue down her throat. She wanted to avoid
kissing in the activity, but he wouldn’t even allow her that kind of dignity. He covered her with his body,
hovering above her half naked form, making her feel more suffocated.

He pulled away, a strand of saliva connecting both their lips as he moved down, trailing wet kisses and
suckling on her unblemished skin, nipping and biting her wherever he wanted to. She couldn’t help but
wince with every action, resolutely looking up at the ceiling instead.
She felt his hands shift, calloused palms rubbing at her thighs, slowly going higher and higher. He was
rubbing circles at her inner thighs, making heat pool uncomfortably in her stomach with every touch. His
hands went up under her skirt, hooking nimble fingers by the edge of her stockings before pulling them
all the way down her legs.

She choked back a sob as the cool air hit her bare legs, feeling the goosebumps begin to form. The mixed
sounds of labored breathing, and moaning echoed in the room, filling the silence between them as he
pried her legs open for him.

Next he swiftly discarded the rest of her skirt and underwear, tossing them onto the growing pile of her
discarded clothes. He settled down between her legs and looked down in all her bare glory…

“Beautiful…”

He couldn’t help but whisper with such adoration as he gazed down at the perfection beneath him.
Chapter 69

Saviour

Her thoughts were muddled throughout the entire ordeal, blocking out the majority of the ordeal in her
mind. She knew only one thing could bring her peace once this was all over…

“You promised…” she couldn’t help but whisper in between her moans as she felt him thrusting deep
into her. Leyla arched her back as he kept going, hands grasping at his biceps, fingernails digging into his
skin at the reluctant pleasure coursing through her veins…

Matthias looked up at her, lust-filled eyes looking at her in a prodding manner to voice out her thoughts.
He was too drunk in euphoria at that moment, feeling her warmth engulfing him, squeezing him tightly
inside her. He let go of his grasp in her hair, and used it to cup her flushed cheeks…

“You promised to show mercy…” she continued, letting out a breathy moan when he hit her deep in her
sweet spot, hands hastily grabbing purchase on his broad shoulders, “Please…” she begged, unable to
voice further coherent words.

Despite being too preoccupied with the feeling of being sheathed inside her, Matthias still had his wits
about him, and understood her completely. He couldn’t help but release a dry chuckle as he picked up
his pace, grunting whenever she tightened around him.

How could he despise her?

She looked so delectable, begging for her dear Uncle Bill’s freedom as she writhed in pleasure beneath
him. It didn’t matter to him why she agreed to tangle with him at this moment, her eyes still shone
prettily like jewels to him.

He watched as she struggled to support her weight in her arms, grabbing blindly onto him as she hooked
her arms from behind his neck, bringing their faces closer. He could clearly see the tears in the corner of
her eyes and he couldn’t help but begin to chase his pleasure at the sight of it.

She could burst into tears any minute now, should he delay answering her. She threw her head back
with a wanton moan, her eyelids fluttering closed as she lost strength when she felt warmth pool into
her. Her body limply lay still on the floor, leaving Matthias panting with sweat on his brows as he
hovered above her.
He couldn’t help but admire her. Leyla still stubbornly refused to look at him, but that didn’t matter.
Nothing changed in the desire he felt for her, in fact it seemed to grow stronger.

One more, just one more time, he couldn’t help but think as he pulled her towards him, hands grasping
onto her tousled hair firmly, but gently. He saw a glimpse of fear in her as he did so, before she finally
turned to look at him.

And he ravished her lips once more as they began their intimate dance anew.

Truly, this was a fair deal, Matthias thought to himself.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When Leyla awoke from her deep sleep, the whole room was filled with a bright light.

She winced when the sunlight hit her eyes, blinking as it adjusted at the flood of light. She could feel her
body sore, parts she didn’t know would hurt making themselves known as she gingerly sat up on her
bed, before leaning against her headboard.

She had half a wish that everything that happened last night was just a cruel nightmare, but the stiffness
in her body proved it otherwise. She blinked back remnants of sleep as she turned to look at her
reflection in her mirror by the vanity.

Last night she had dragged herself half-awake back home. When she finally reached her cabin, Leyla had
just barely locked the doors before collapsing in a dreamless sleep on her own bed.

She would have liked to wash away last night’s traces on her body, but she was so exhausted she
couldn’t even lift a finger after hitting her mattress. The best she could do last night was to get home
without driving herself to insanity because of last night’s events.

Absentmindedly, her eyes trailed down her body, watching the hickeys he’d left on her skin, the dried
body fluids making her feel unkempt and sticky all over. Seeing them once more made the shame run
deep inside her as tears welled up in the memory of being violated in the most humiliating way.

‘It’s nothing,’

Leyla told herself as she tried to even her breathing. She dragged herself to her bath, and began to scrub
her body.

‘It’s not that big of a deal, not when you know why you have to do it…’ she kept telling herself.

She only kept scrubbing, rubbing her skin raw until it turned red and her shame was replaced with a
numbness as she watched the dirty water flow down the drain. Leyla slowly walked out, robotically
putting on some clothes before trudging towards their dining area and sat by the table, staring at
nothing…
Belatedly she thought she should get something to eat before heading out to visit her Uncle Bill. She
needed to gather her strength after all, she couldn’t afford to show signs of her fatigue.

Immediately she moved to grab the food Mrs. Mona had brought to her yesterday, setting some out on
a plate and placing it on the table. She only chose some of the lighter options. While she knew she
needed to eat more, for now she couldn’t find the strength in her to even swallow.

Despite not feeling hungry, she dutifully shoved some of the food down her throat, forcing herself to
swallow with the aid of some water running down her throat. Once she finished off the last piece of the
sliced bread, she caught an odd stack in the corner of her eyes.

She had been so out of it in the last few days, she hadn’t noticed it. It took her a while to realize it’s
been lying in wait for several days now, considering the light dust gathering on its surface.

Curiously, Leyla approached the stack of letters, untying the string around them and picking up the
topmost envelope to see who it was from. Her eyes widened and hands shook as she recognized the
penmanship written across the sheet…

‘Kyle!’ she thought in shock, her heart skipping a beat at seeing his penmanship on it. Immediately she
checked the other letters, flipping one after the next with a renewed urgency. Leyla dropped the letters
haphazardly on the desk, checking until the last…

All of them were from Kyle.

She braced herself on the edge of the table, steadying her breathing as she glanced at the multitude of
letters addressed solely to her. Where did these come from?! Leyla stared at them in shock for a while,
before tearing open the earliest letter she should have received.

Tears welled up in her eyes and her hands shook as she began reading the first of many letters Kyle had
sent to her. It had been dated back since the beginning of the latest fall season.

Her eyes went to the first line of the letter, choking back a sob…

[My beloved Leyla,]

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Thank you, Duke. I sincerely don’t know what else to say. Thank you so much.”

Bill thanked profusely as he bowed deeply to the Duke in front of him with a flushed face out of shame.
He looked a little worse for wear, his last few days difficult, but still held so much hope that everything
would be fine. And he was proven right when the Duke dropped the charges against him with no
compensation needed.

He was looking much brighter than ever.

“I can never repay you for this mercy you’ve shown me…” he trailed off, tears welling up in his eyes in
his ecstatic disbelief over the miracle he was shown. Just then, he saw Leyla entering through the
entrance of the police station…

He couldn’t help but beam happily at her arrival.

“Leyla!” He greeted excitedly towards her. Multiple pairs of eyes around them were drawn to the
commotion, looking back and forth from Bill and Leyla, including the Duke and the lawyer he was with.

Leyla froze as she momentarily met the Duke’s gaze before looking back at her uncle. Trepidation filled
her as she hurriedly went to her uncle’s side.

“Uncle!” she greeted back, grasping onto his arm tightly as though she was afraid to let go. “What’s
happening here?” she hurriedly asked.

“It seems congratulations are in order Leyla,” the police officer with them began, with a beaming smile,
“The Duke has just dropped all charges against your uncle.” he explained.

Leyla tried to act as though it was a surprise, but the smile on her face was stiff as she now turned to
face the Duke.

“I-is that so?” she asked slowly, her head turning jerkily before she fully faced the Duke to give him a
respectable bow of her head in thanks despite the deep rage filling her in seeing him, “M-my sin-
sincerest gratitude for you, Duke.” She thanked him reluctantly.

There was a rush of emotions circling inside her mind as both she and her uncle bowed in thanks in front
of him. Her hands grew clammy on her grip on her uncle’s arms, feeling her body grow colder every
second passing with him nearby…

At a distance, nothing seemed amiss to the others despite how awkward Leyla was acting. The people
only chalked it up to her innate shyness. No one else noticed her warring emotions, at least, no one else
but Duke Herhardt did.

Matthias and Leyla’s eyes met once again, as his lawyer spoke with the police for some last minute
details per his instructions. Leyla’s eyes stared at him with deep contempt, to which he stared back
challengingly, glancing discretely towards her uncle in a subtle threat.

If she wanted to keep their little affair a secret, she should know better to hide her emotions, starting
with stopping her hands from shaking so much.

There was a small upturn on the corner of his lips as he watched her dainty little hands. He could just
have easily left it all up to his lawyer to smoothen out the details of Bill’s release alone, but he wanted
to come.

He wanted to see his impertinent mistress, Leyla Lewellin.

Memories from last night flooded the back of his mind.

After their coupling had stopped, the annex had gone silent, leaving only their heavy breathing in the
air. Bloodstained shirt, torn cuff buttons, their clothes were scattered all over the floor, their figures all
disheveled. Matthias only took one look at his messy form, before forcing himself to stand up.

Leyla then remained curled up on the floor, hugging herself. The firelight nearby illuminated her
hunched form, casting a soft orange glow on her pale skin, littered with marks, courtesy of him. Her
shaky breaths echoing against the cackling fire.

Matthias picked up his discarded trousers, pulling them up smoothly and wore back his dress shirt
before plopping down on the sofa nearby to continue adoring Leyla’s naked form. He liked the dark
contrast of his marks left on her. It fed the hungry beast inside him with deep satisfaction.

Shame he couldn’t see her face from where he was because she still refused to look at him.

Her long golden locks were pasted on her back with the sweat she accumulated. Prints of his hands,
from the rough way he’d gripped her hips and thighs reminded him of how soft she felt in his hands. He
thought of calling out her name to make her look at him, but shook the thought away, replacing it with a
cigarette…

Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to light it up.

He couldn’t help but watch how she stubbornly refused to move from her fetal position, still turned
away from him. It grated on his nerves, he had half a mind to grab her form and force her to do as he
wished…

But that wasn’t what he wanted from her.

Losing the desire to smoke, he only discarded the unlit cigarette once more, before he stood back up. He
walked towards his adjoined bedroom, brows furrowed with the slight regret of not taking a few extra
minutes of taking her on his bed instead.

Matthias felt a slight guilt on having her experience their coupling on a cold hard floor instead of on his
plush, and soft mattress. He went back to check on her, and watched as she stiffened up at the sound of
his return.

He only scoffed at her childishness, grabbing his hung coat by the rack and tossed it haphazardly over
her prone form. She winced at the sudden contact, but still did not move. It was starting to become
difficult who was being insulted between them in his mind.

Trying to reign in his emotions, Matthias could only retreat momentarily to his bathroom to get his
emotions in order. She annoyed him as much as she satisfied him, which made him at a loss of what to
do next.

He took a short shower, resolving to soothe the lingering ache on Leyla, but when he was done, and
went back out to gather her in his arms, he found himself alone and bewildered. Leyla was nowhere in
sight anymore.
She had run away from him.

He frantically searched around the annex, before he finally came to terms she was gone and left with no
goodbye. He saw her discarded blouse, destroyed with the buttons ripped and scattered all over the
marble flooring. If he were to look closely, he could also see a few strands of her golden hair left behind.

He also saw his jacket hung carelessly by the rack and couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement. Did she
hate the thought of being with him so much she’d rather risk being seen in such a scandalous state of
undress to return home?

He was partially thankful he hadn’t gone after her then, for he knew his patience was reaching its limit.
Should he have encountered her one more time last night, he believed he could have treated her a lot
rougher than before.

And thus he only stared down at Leyla in front of him now, convincing himself he made a wise decision
last night. It had just been a few hours since he buried himself in her, and already he could feel the same
stirrings he felt for her last night when he found himself bereft of his mistress.

“You made such a noble decision Duke,” the police praised him, bringing Matthias back to the present
moment. “Truly you are deserving of the respect and praise as the head of Herhardt House.”

Matthias only briefly thanked him, ending the conversation effectively before leaving the police station
in a swift manner. It didn’t take long enough before Leyla, Bill and the other police officers to start
moving once more.

Bill went after as Matthias’ chauffeur opened up his door for him.

“Duke, I will never forget this kindness until I die!” Bill thanked him profusely, “Truly I won’t.” He
declared earnestly, bowing one last time at him. Matthias only stared at the gardener’s niece, a dark
glint in his eye.

“It was nothing, Mr. Remmer.” he replied, watching the way Leyla looked sick at the thought of her
uncle thanking him and singing his praises. “I expect to see you in Arvis again.” he concluded, before
finally getting in his car.

Leyla all that time refused to smile once more. He couldn’t help the small grin he sent to her as the car
door closed between them. Truly he’ll see her once more in a similar state soon.

He’d make sure of it.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When the Duke had finally left the police station, Leyla felt relief flood her body at his disappearance.
They both did some last minute checks on the charges that were dropped before they finally left. Leyla
hooked arms with her uncle, resting her head on his shoulder. They talked for a while, Leyla asking what
she missed before finally speaking up.
“What do you mean we’re still staying in Arvis?” she asked with a slight frown, “Why are we staying?”

Bill could hardly contain his joy as he squeezed an arm around her comfortingly. She found herself
deeply confused as they walked back to their quaint cabin in Arvis.

“Oh it’s all the Duke’s doing really,” he replied bashfully, still sporting a wide grin in his relief, “He told
me I could still work in Arvis, and continue living in the cabin.”

“What?” Leyla couldn’t help but ask dumbly. She had hoped they could take this as a chance to move
away. “But uncle-” Bill softly held up a hand, wordlessly imploring her to let him continue.

“At first I wanted to refuse my dear, really. I felt so guilty about my neglect that I couldn’t bear to go
back to work there.” He admitted, “However, the Duke only told me to take this as a penance for my
misdeeds, and work harder in restoring the greenhouse back to its former glory.”

Leyla could only feel the growing pit of dread in her stomach.

“He also proceeded to tell me that my skills and expertise were a crucial part in the restoration, and I
thought about it and agreed. I am a gardener, and have worked on the greenhouse for many years. Who
better to fix my mistakes than myself after all?” he turned to Leyla, looking for some sort of approval.

“Would the madams allow you to return to work?” Leyla asked him worriedly, to which Bill only smiled
softly at her fretting.

“The Duke tells me that Madam Norma welcomes me gladly, and Madam Elysee has conceded to their
wishes.” he answered her, “Ah what a godsend the Duke really is Leyla! Our savior he truly is!” he
praised.

Leyla could only numbly agree.

Saviour…

Uncle Bill sang him praises and called him their saviour. Leyla wanted nothing more than to shout her
contradictions and ruin their image of him. He was a vile and cruel man, and everyone deserved to see
him as she saw him…

But at the same time, she wanted to spare her uncle the unbearable guilt he would feel if he knew what
she had to do just so he could walk free once more. She couldn’t do that to him.

Thus she kept her mouth shut, doing her best to reign in her indignation until she could calm down.

Uncle Bill proceeded to tell her about how he felt so guilty for destroying such a masterpiece over the
last few days. And that perhaps, should he help it be restored to its former glory, he would feel a faint
sense of peace in seeing it through.

“Truly it’s the only way I could ever repay the kindness he’s shown us.” Bill finished.
“I understand, uncle.” Leyla softly replied. If only he knew their debt was already being paid, but she’ll
take that secret to the grave if she could.

“Truly Leyla, you needn’t worry too much anymore.” Bill tried placating her, “I promise to be careful
from now on, I’ll do better in following precautions.” he sighed, stopping in front of the gates of Arvis
before pulling her into a tender hug.

Leyla could only watch how her uncle’s vibrancy was slowly returning to him, and hugged him back.
Despite her shame, she was happy he was out. She never wanted to see him as hollow as he did ever
again.

Suddenly there was a cacophony nearby, growing loudly by the second. They both pulled away and
looked to see what the commotion was all about, and Bill could only laugh jovially, at the sight of the
servants rushing to greet them.

“Bill! You really are back!”

“Oh thank goodness!”

“We missed you Bill!”

They gathered around Bill, reaching out and hugging and touching him in any way they could. Leyla only
stepped back, giving them a wide berth to be sufficiently reunited with her uncle. She watched as they
excitedly welcomed him back.

Their joy was infectious that Leyla couldn’t help but smile serenely at the sight in front of her. She
turned away, eyes glancing at the beautiful and elaborate gates that seemed to close in on her.

The smile she had slipped, eyes returning to a dull state as the golden emblem was reflected in her eyes.
Chapter 70

You Mean Nothing to Me

“Well, I’m pleasantly surprised you decided to stay Miss Lewellin.” the headmistress told her after she
explained she wouldn’t be going away after all, “There really is no better school around than the one in
your hometown.” she laughed heartily in delight.

Leyla only faintly smiled in reply, doing her best to be cordial as she sat from across the headmistress.
Her eyes lowered to the ground, looking quite embarrassed at her changing her decision.

“I’m truly sorry for giving you trouble over my transfer.” Leyla apologized, bowing her head in remorse.
The headmistress only brushed off her apology.

“Nonsense,” the headmistress said, “As long as you’re staying in our school there’s no trouble to be
had.” she pointed out before clearing her throat, and looking a bit sheepish this time. “By the way Miss
Lewellin, may I inquire if you changed your mind about Theo?”

“Hm?” Leyla looked up, “Theo?” she softly wondered to herself, before memories of the grocery store
owner’s son popped up in her mind, “Oh! Theo?” she looked back at the headmistress who nodded
eagerly.

Fortunately, the headmistress’ spouse neared them, carrying a tray with tea, effectively cutting off their
conversation.

“Come now dear, let’s not force her.” interjected her husband, “Look at how embarrassed Miss Lewellin
is. Let the young people be.”

“I’m just saying that Theo is a perfectly good young man.” the headmistress haughtily shot back at him
before looking pointedly at Leyla, who only smiled awkwardly at the two of them.

She really wanted them to get together, and couldn’t help but wonder if Leyla thought Theo was not up
to her standards. She knew Leyla had been engaged to Dr. Etman’s son, but broke it off.

The headmistress couldn’t help but think Leyla should know by now that looking for better prospects
won’t look too good for her. It could even backfire on her, making her look greedy when she knew Leyla
was anything but.
Deeming a change of subject was in order, the headmistress cleared her throat before straightening up,
shaking further thoughts off her mind. She then gave a cheerful smile to the young teacher.

“Well then, now that you’re staying with us, how about we place you as the star of our play next year?”
she suggested jovially, “I think we’ll be able to garner huge amounts of donations once more if we do
that.”

Leyla only smiled at the sudden change of subject. She knew it was a poor joke on the headmistress’
part, but this felt much easier to laugh about now after the harrowing events she had experienced
lately.

Soon enough they wrapped up their conversation about the school, their students, and the plans for the
next semester. Leyla bid the couple goodbye, before exiting the headmistress’ house.

The temperature outside was freezing, the cold chilling her through the bone, making her walk at a
sluggish pace. However, Leyla found herself wanting to prolong the time it took her to reach Arvis.

She found herself stopping right by the central station’s square, looking around aimlessly. She began to
move once more, drawing closer to the display windows by the mall, gazing at the items with no
particular thought, vaguely looking at her translucent reflection…

‘What would happen if I just suddenly disappeared from here?’ she couldn’t help but wonder.

Huh, even wishful thinking proved to be depressing. Leyla knew deep down there was no way she could
ever go through with escaping the Duke. She couldn’t leave her uncle behind, not when it’s his life on
the line.

‘Even if I managed to convince my uncle to move and leave Arvis with me, the duke would stop at
nothing to find him.’

It would also be counterproductive of her if she were to summon the duke’s ire in her defiance. It could
make things worse than it already is.

With a deep sigh, Leyla closed her eyes, leaning her head against the cold glass, the helplessness
overwhelming her once again.

It was rather obvious to her the duke was keeping her on a leash by giving her uncle sweet opportunities
to stay in Arvis. She couldn’t believe he would go to such lengths just to satisfy his carnal desires. She
was sure now that once he was through with her, and thoroughly sated, he would dispose of her just as
quickly.

That cursed night said it so plainly and loudly just how little the duke thought of her.
She began to walk once more, finding no relief in prolonging her stay in the biting cold. She turned down
a familiar platanus road, feet moving through the snow. She never prayed for a miracle as hard as she
did now, when Kyle’s letter echoed in the back of her mind, halting her steps once more…

[My beloved Leyla]

He started every one of his letters that way. She knew this because she spent that morning reading the
dozen letters he’d sent her way. As much as she wanted to be crossed with her uncle for such deceit,
she could understand why he withheld them from her.

When they returned to the police station later that day, and he saw the letters spread all over the dining
table, Uncle Bill began to stammer and beg for her forgiveness. Leyla could only smile mournfully
towards him.

“I’m so ashamed to have done such a horrible thing to you.” he’d told her that day, his hair looking an
unusual gray in the light of the winter’s pale sun. “But I want you to know that I’m with you every step
of the way, Leyla, even if it means you want to go back to Kyle.”

He sounded so sure, Leyla recalled, his eyes shining determinedly. He kept apologizing again, explaining
how foolish it was of him to do such a thing and wanted to come clean the day of the explosion. Leyla
couldn’t find it in herself to mind…

“I’m fine uncle.” she replied then, before swiftly inviting him to some breakfast she had prepared before
leaving their cabin to fetch him. Uncle Bill could only nod in reply, both of them barely managing to
finish half their plates.

It didn’t take long for Leyla to spot the gates of Arvis. She arrived quicker than she’d like. Her fists
instinctively clench at the sight of them, inciting a deep rage at the memory of its master…

‘Just as I am nothing to you, you are nothing to me.’ Leyla thought rebelliously as she crossed the
threshold. Memories of that night still plagued her dreams, giving her restless sleep. ‘I won’t let the likes
of you have the power to hurt me.’

Her entire body was freezing, but her hands were clammy. She quickened up her pace, boldly marching
through the pavement when she finally arrived in their cabin. She quickly locked up the door before
releasing a sigh of relief.

The cabin was empty for now, with her uncle largely occupied with the repairs of the greenhouse since
early morning. She suspected it won’t be until later tonight that she’ll be seeing him. He really was so
eager to pay back the duke for his kindness.

Leyla plopped herself on top of her bed haphazardly, looking at the ceiling in thought.

[My beloved Leyla]

She closed her eyes shut, bringing up an arm to cover her eyes, wiping the memories of his letters off
her mind. But whenever she would, horrid memories of her night with the duke would resurface. She
wanted to do nothing more than cry that instant, but the light tapping on her window distracted her.

There was a sudden lurch in her heart when hearing the sound. Slowly, she turned her head to her
window. Once upon a time she had been eager to hear the sound of her precious Phoebe arriving to visit
her.

Now she could only fear dread, for when she drew her windows open, and Phoebe flew in, she had a
note tied to her ankle.

A note written by the Duke.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“You don’t plan to keep the gardener in Arvis forever, do you?”

Claudine immediately asked, cutting straight to the point. She had a polite smile on her face as she
looked at her fiance inquiringly. Upon her question, multiple pairs of eyes snapped in her direction,
darting back and forth between her and the Duke.

“Claudine!” the Countess Brandt hissed, scolding her softly as she sat nearest to her. But Claudine cared
not for everyday theatrics at the moment. She wanted clear-cut answers, and she would get them from
the Duke himself.

“Truly your decision to drop the charges against the gardener baffled so many of us, and while
commendable, it doesn’t explain why he’s still here in Arvis, working and living for you.” Claudine
pointed out. “Are you confident that he won’t make the same mistake again? What if it causes another
mayhem for you with worse consequences?”

“That is quite true my Lady,” Matthias replied, looking charmingly at her with a smile on his lips,
“However I also believe that he could better handle the restoration of the greenhouse you so dearly
loved. After all, he was the one mostly in charge of its design and arrangement since its conception.” He
explained calmly to her in front of their audience.

Claudine knew by then that whatever argument she would make, there was no changing his decision.

“Well, I won’t argue that I did love the greenhouse as it was, and would like to see it restored to its
former glory,” she began, “But I also fear that having someone, who’d once been careless in his work,
handling such a delicate project, no matter his expertise.” she calmly finished, sending a demure smile
to everyone present.
When she made no further argument, indicating she would retreat from such a discussion any longer,
the Countess Brandt looked more relieved sitting beside her.

There had been an uproar in the community when word had spread of Madam Norma being involved
with an accident caused by one of their seasoned employees. An even greater praise the Herhardt
House garnered when the duke dropped all charges against him. Her line of questioning could have
been interpreted as worry and fear about their upcoming wedding, but it couldn’t have been further
from the truth.

For beneath each word she masked in concern for their health and safety, was her concern of one Leyla
Lewellin.

She wasn’t worried about Leyla’s state of mind, or her uncle’s. No, she was concerned about whether or
not the duke used this opportunity to get Leyla to cave in to his advances.

Her eyes darted towards her fiance, and narrowed at his posture. He did seem a little laid back. She was
assured he did manage to have her already. It was just in his nature. She knew he would have milked
every opportunity he was presented with to the very last drop.

There was no way Leyla was disappearing from him any time soon.

Initially she had been worried at the news of the explosion in Arvis. Images darting to the worst case
scenarios when she heard Madam Norma had been within the vicinity of the explosion by the
greenhouse. She also rejoiced along with the others when she heard she only retained minor injuries,
but was saddened at the loss of the greenhouse.

She took it with grace, and allowed herself to act accordingly, but in the back of her mind she couldn’t
help but silently cheer at the fact this would be a great opportunity for Leyla and her uncle to move
away in Arvis. She was absolutely positive Leyla would have taken the chance.

But then she heard about the Duke pardoning Bill Remmer, and she grew suspicious and critical. Worry
surged through her at the thought of Matthias taking Leyla for himself, and she grew anxious at the
possibility of a relationship forming between the two of them.

How scandalous it would be for both his wife and mistress to be living under the same roof! She knew
that whether or not Leyla left Arvis, there would be no changing her status with Matthias. In fact, if
word of their affair were to get out, it would be their reputations on the line, not hers.

It was just a personal preference of hers that Leyla was out of the image by the time she ascended to
the title as Duchess Herhardt.

She seemed to recall as well of Riette warning her to not provoke Matthias, just recently even. He
advised her to leave them alone, and not butt in on their relationship. He looked absolutely serious in
telling her, hoping she would see the sense in his words.
But Claudine was a little stubborn, and she couldn’t see or understand Riette’s warnings. Despite that,
she would heed his advice as she saw fit. After all, she knew that the only reason the gardener was able
to retain his place in Arvis was because of Leyla.

Still for the life of her, she couldn’t understand how Leyla managed to wrap her finger around the Duke
so securely. Perhaps she did know how to work her charms against men after all. They do say it’s always
the quiet ones, the ones who seemed innocent.

But the thought of their affair would only further sour her mood further, and the day was just getting
started. She needed a different subject, and thus resolved to act more cordially in front of everyone,
appearing more pleasant than how she actually felt.

By the end of dinner, Claudine found herself absolutely parched. Her endless engagement in polite
conversation taxing her greatly. Fortunately, it was easy for both her and the Countess Brandt to excuse
themselves earlier, enabling them to retire back to their beds.

On their way out, the Countess immediately broke the silence between them.

“I might have scolded you earlier for questioning the duke, but I do agree with your sentiments.” she
began, “I don’t understand how he could just drop all the charges against the gardener. I can’t help but
think the Herhardt House has turned soft.” the Countess scoffed irritably.

Claudine was escorted by her mother to the guest bedroom, and continued to air out her grievances.
Claudine glanced by the room’s window, where she had a perfect view of the wrecked greenhouse. She
only hummed agreeably with her mother’s words, when a smirk found its way on her lips the more she
stared at the greenhouse.

“Fret not, dear mother,” Claudine replied once her mother quieted, “I can assure you, come next
summer, the gardener won’t be a problem anymore.” At her words, the Countess was startled and came
up to stand beside her.

“What are you saying Claudine? That you’d fire him?” her mother asked incredulously, “You’d go against
Matthias’ and Madam Norma’s wishes?”

Claudine only hummed for a moment, before turning to face the countess and smiling brightly back at
her mother.

“I’m just saying that the new Duchess of Herhardt would be in need of a new gardener.” she calmly
replied.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
“I’ve finished preparing it just as you ordered, master.” Hessen dutifully informed him with a bow.
Matthias, who had been staying in the reception room of the annex, glanced at him briefly before
looking down at the large silver domed dish on his desk.

“Well done.” he briefly said, before taking the slew of mail Hessen handed out to him. He dismissed his
butler, who left him alone to his devices.

Matthias leaned back on the sofa, flipping through his mail. Most of them were invitations for various
upcoming year-end parties and social events. He even saw some of them containing news of the Crown
Prince visiting with his wife. They were scheduled to tour the northern part of the empire early next year
after all.

Once he was done skimming through them, he grabbed his fountain pen by the inner pocket of his
jacket to begin writing his replies. The sight of the pen brought a forlorn smile on his lips, it had been
with him since last fall.

He clicked the pen closed, and on its lid was engraved a name in golden letters.

Leyla Lewellin.

Her name glistened in the firelight. He couldn’t help but feel some sense of amusement in using
something of hers for the most menial tasks he does everyday.

“Why do you keep stealing my stuff?”

She had complained about it once, the frustration clear on her face when she realized he was the one
who took it. He couldn’t help but let out a fond chuckle when she likened him to a crow. He could say
the same for her.

He turned the pen between his slender fingers, before he glanced down in his wristwatch. He counted
down the seconds, until finally the clock’s hands struck at a certain time, when a familiar knock echoed
inside his office.

He put the pen back in his breast pocket, and languidly rose to his feet. His footsteps clicked through his
polished office floor, and swung the door open as he neared it.

On the other side of the door was just the very person he expected to see.

His dearest mistress, Leyla.

Chapter 71

Throw Me Away

Matthias allowed himself to step aside for her to enter, just as he did that night. And Leyla entered
without pause, but unlike that night, she did not stop at the reception room.

No, she headed straight to his bedroom. Matthias couldn’t help the smug upturn on his lips, but chose
not to question her, and simply followed suit. He was looking forward to what she was planning for him
today.

She never failed him before, he doubted she would start now.

When Leyla reached the door of his room, her nerves gripped her once more, causing her to hesitate.
However, she also wanted this done as quickly as possible. She held onto the knob but had yet to open
the door.

[I’ve done my part. You should do yours.]

Those were his words, sent to her by her bird.

Matthias paused a few steps behind her, watching her for any further movement. Just as he was to
question her on her actions, Leyla swiftly turned the knob, walking in with a determined look on her
face. Silently he continued to walk a few paces behind her, observing her actions as to what she was just
planning to do tonight.

He leaned back against the closed door, crossing his arms across his chest as he continued to appraise
her. She stood stock still in the middle of his bedroom, fiddling with her fingers for a moment before
resolutely advancing to his bed.

Leyla immediately set her belongings: glasses, scarf, gloves and coat, by the bedside table, neatly
arranging them.

[I’ve done my part. You should do yours.]

How crude of him, she couldn’t help but think, to demand she fulfill their deal. What a role she had to
play indeed. Recalling his note only served to root her in place, she didn’t want this. He might have as
well told her outright to start acting like his mistress!
She felt so cornered, stuck between a wall with a cat in front of her, while she was the mouse! Her legs
gave in, causing her to drop to the floor, unable to move any longer.

She thought she had made her peace already, but the memories of that night came flooding back in full
force, rendering her paralyzed. For a moment she thought she had blacked out, but she was only numb
with the hurt and shame she felt in the face of her weakness.

What she did with the Duke was the furthest thing from an act of love. Despite the sweet nothings he
whispered to her ear, his actions only proved him to be a brute. And what’s worse, it wasn’t just a
simple carnal desire to bed a woman…

No…

“You’re so beautiful Leyla, especially when you cry and beg.” he whispered to her in the midst of his
throes of passion.

She didn’t know how long it’s been, only that she had sat too long on the cold floors when the winter
breeze finally seeped into her frame, through the room’s open windows. And then a different memory
came to mind, to a much earlier, and much pleasant time.

Back when the duke was still someone she could find redeeming qualities to.

“So Leyla, cry,” he smiled so sweetly at her, “Even better if you beg.” he finished off. And despite his
cruel words, she couldn’t help but think of him as beautiful that summer night last year.

Truly, he enjoyed seeing her cry so much, and that was the reason he could stand to make her suffer!
She chuckled hysterically to herself, sobbing through the memories. She hated how she kept trying to
find reason, to give him excuses as to why he’d do horrid things to her!

“Leyla!”

Suddenly, Leyla awoke at the sound of her uncle Bill calling out to her. Groggily she sat up, and saw she
was back in the Duke’s room. Ah, she couldn’t help but realize with such depreciation, she still had a role
to fulfill.

She nervously got up from her spot, and headed towards the windows, drawing the curtains to a close
as she rubbed the tears away with the sleeves of her shirt. If he wanted to see her cry and beg, then she
wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Not anymore.

He’d taken something from her in the worst possible way. And while she can’t escape him anymore, she
resolved not to give him any satisfaction as he took more and more from her. Then perhaps he’d grow
bored faster, and thus discard her sooner.
She turned around, hands immediately coming to the buttons of her blouse and deftly opened it one
button at a time. Leyla expertly undressed herself, fixing her clothes along the way until she was only in
her undergarments.

Her breath hitched as she went to remove it, but she managed to do so quickly and swiftly. Considering
he’d already seen her in a much more pathetic state before, there would be no point in delaying their
coupling due to her embarrassment.

Matthias could only stare at her in a baffled manner. He had been content to watch her cry and struggle,
but he hadn’t been expecting her to be so willing in baring herself whole to him. She even took her
clothes off herself.

He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d gone insane over the last few days. It’s his only plausible
explanation as to why she’s acting not like herself at all.

He watched as Leyla picked up her clothes, setting them down to the chair nearby in a neat pile. Her
hands then went up, and pulled loose the pin, keeping her hair in place, letting golden locks cascade
down her pale neck, and slender shoulders, falling up until the small on her back.

He felt himself being mesmerized by the sight of her in front of him. He was intoxicated by her, he was
beginning to lose his inhibitions. His breathing grew ragged the more he kept staring. She then gingerly
sat by the edge of his bed, waiting for him…

And oh, what a sight that was. She doesn’t know just what she was doing to him. He ran a palm through
his dark locks. Seated like that, with her body shaking in anticipation, it was almost like she was looking
forward to being with him.

And he stalked slowly over to her, watching as her flush spread from her cheeks down to her chest as
she looked down, struggling to avert her eyes from him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Matthias growled under his breath, grasping her chin in his hand,
forcing her to look up at him. Leyla kept quiet as she stared at him, her throat bobbing up and down as
she swallowed back an insult.

“My part.” she hissed at him in a whisper, but the shakiness in her voice failed to make it threatening.

He hummed, tilting his head at her, “And what is your part?”

He wanted to hear it straight from her. But Leyla clenched her jaw, refusing to take part in his
satisfaction.

“You know what.” she boldly replied, willingly looking up at him in defiance despite flinching at the way
his gaze narrowed at her. “Your deal laid it out so clearly.”
Matthias only gave her a once over, giving her body shivers as he glanced at her. He hummed as he
watched the way she acted like a prim and proper lady despite her state of undress.

When he finally met her eyes, he couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating laugh. At the back of his
mind, he couldn’t help but wonder if paying a random whore to sleep with him could make him feel as
dirty as he did now?

When his laughter died down, he turned back to Leyla with a glare.

He stroked her golden locks, humming indifferently at her, as though to praise her for being so obedient
to him. He started out slow, and soft, just as he does when it comes to her, smiling comfortingly at her.

When it seemed like she was relaxed enough, he poised to strike!

His hand came down to her neck, clasping it firmly, making her gasp in terror. He ignored the fear in her
eyes as she clasped onto his wrist with both hands, as he pushed her into the mattress, climbing over
her.

Matthias wanted to see what she would do if he tightened his hand on her pressure points, making her
gasp for precious air as he hovered above her. He only chuckled manically for a while, his reflection
catching on the mirror hanging over the mantelpiece by the marble-white fireplace.

No longer could he see the revered Duke Matthias von Herhardt. No, the man he could see was now
tainted. He could see it plain as day now, how ruined he’d become simply because for once in his life, he
couldn’t just have what he wanted.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When Leyla’s erratic breathing finally quieted down, Matthias roused from the bed, leaving Leyla to lie
on her stomach. She was exhausted, but not enough to miss his movements. She felt some relief in
seeing him leave.

‘It’s over now.’

She couldn’t help but quietly cheer in her mind. She stayed still, afraid to draw attention to herself. She
was faintly aware of the blanket tossed over her form in a poor attempt to give her some form of
decency. She only wished he’d leave her alone like he did that previous night so she could finally leave.

She heard his footsteps drifting away, before she finally let out a sigh. Until she heard the footsteps
growing louder. Did she rejoice too soon?

The tension seeped through her body. She felt as though she was at a breaking point.Her fists slowly
clenched onto the rumpled sheets. It was a simple task, to look up to see what he was up to, but she
was determined not to move.

She won’t make it easy for him.

The Duke, she assumed by the way the bed dipped somewhere behind her, was back. In the corner of
her eyes, she could tell he was already dressed.

Matthias looked down, a smirk curling up his lips as he gazed down upon her. He reached out, gently
caressing her tousled hair, patting her like he would a pet. He brushed her hair aside, to reveal her
flushed face, looking as defiant as ever.

He dipped his head down, breath brushing up against her earlobes. Leyla couldn’t repress the shiver that
ran through her spine. ‘Don’t start crying now!’ she scolded herself, feeling the tears threatening to
form.

She repeated it like a mantra. She had reached this far without crying, she wouldn’t dare start now.

“Good job Leyla.” Matthias praised her with a sultry whisper. There was a ghost of a kiss in his words,
before he finally pulled away from her.

She felt his weight disappear on the mattress and listened to the sound of his footsteps fading out.
When she heard the door swing and click to a close, and heard no other movement, she finally rose
herself.

She was finally, truly alone once more.

Leyla could feel the pain in her swollen lips, she faintly tasted a metallic tongue as she licked her lips.
She had been cut, but it wasn’t as though it was a big wound. She then found herself sinking to the floor,
her reflection catching sight, making her wince and avert her view of it.

After a moment, she found herself looking back at her reflection. She saw the way her eyes looked back
at her dully. This night was just another meaningless tumble beneath the sheets. But no amount of
excuses could make her brush away the pain she could feel so easily.

She could hardly find the strength in her to move, she would likely be unable to dress herself at this rate.
It was almost like Matthias made sure she would be exhausted to do so once they were done.

So instead, Leyla crawled poorly towards her clothes, reaching into her coat’s pocket to get some
handkerchief, and began to wipe her body down with any bodily and sticky fluids she had on. Her breath
kept hitching with every stroke of the handkerchief.

‘Don’t cry, don’t cry dont cry dontcrydontcrydontcrydontcry…’ she kept repeating like a mantra over her
head, growing more frantic with every second she spent longer trying to clean herself.

Finally done, she finally managed to stand up, and dressed herself once more, before moving out of the
annex and walked back home. She took great care to hide from the light of the moon, ducking beneath
the trees to stay in the shadows, kicking every random acorn or pebble in her path away from her
numbly.

[My beloved Leyla]

Kyle’s voice echoed in her thoughts as she recalled his letters. She managed to arrive back in her cabin,
undisturbed and quickly went inside her room quietly. She still had one last letter to read from him.

She’d burned them all, and now only one remained.

She waited for the fire to burn brighter, before she carried over the last letter closer, and broke the seal.
She flipped the papers open, and began to read it, his voice echoing in her mind as though he was
reading it to her…

[My beloved Leyla,

Will you marry me once more?

I can’t believe I’ve reached a point of proposing to you once more, and through a piece of paper at that.
It sounds less sincere this way, I know, but I’ve never been more sincere in my life than at this moment
to you.

This might sound a bit of consolation, but my grandfather has promised to me a share of inheritance.
Come next spring, after my birthday, I would have the sole claim to it. It’s not a lot of money I’m afraid,
but I am certain it would be enough for us to start over.

We could move closer to the college district, find a small house to make into a home, and continue our
studies and fulfill our dreams. If you fear we’re going too fast, then I don’t mind slowing down. We can
go entirely at your own pace, even if it takes until graduation before we can be wed. I could do it, I will
do anything so long as I can stay beside you.

So my beloved, please, won’t you come to Ratz with me? You can take the test again, and I’m certain
you would pass because you’re the most intelligent person I know. That way we could study together,
and we can work on our dreams side by side.

Do you remember those stories we used to share with each other Leyla? We promised that one day, I
shall become a doctor, and you the greatest ornithologist. We would lead the most wondrous life! I still
wish for that day to come. Whenever I dream of a future, you are the one constant I can always see in it.

You are my dearest friend, my sole lover. You are my future, and I hope one day to be your husband,
and father of your children. For you are forever my dearest Leyla.

I won’t deny the love I carry for my parents, for I know they love me just the same. That’s an irrefutable
fact, but Leyla, I will admit I cannot bear to walk down a path that makes me so unhappy. Their idea of
my happiness is not my happiness. It is merely my mother’s vanity winning.

But I know where my happiness lies. So Leyla, would you accept me back? Would you allow yourself to
be my happiness once more?

I cannot promise you a life of grandeur, I’m afraid. Not right now when I still can’t break free of my
parents’ shadows. As I am, I am a nobody in society and the world at large. But I can assure you this.
I will love and cherish you for as long as you will allow it. I swear that no harm shall come to you again,
whether by another’s hand or mine. I only ask that you reconsider us once more. Do not think about
what will be just yet, or what was.

I only implore you to think with your heart. Do our hearts still beat the same Leyla? If you say yes, then
I’ll hesitate no more. I’ll come to you at once! We can leave Arvis together, and find our happy place in
this world!

With love always,

Kyle]

Leyla lost track of how many times she’s read, and re-read the letter until the embers of the flame in
front of her died down. Dawn had arrived once more, the rooster croaking as the sun peaked out the
clouds.

She won’t deny that once upon a time, she dreamt of a future with Kyle. It had been within her grasp
once, but was then cruelly replaced by a nightmarish future with the Duke. Only it was no nightmare
anymore. Just her reality.

She could hear her uncle waking up, the way he groaned as he stretched his limbs to start an early
morning. She rose quietly from her bed, and headed straight out to their stove. She grasped tightly onto
Kyle’s last letter, staring quietly into the flame, before tossing it over fire.

She quickly moved away, standing at the other side of the room, and watched as the letter turned into
ashes before her eyes. As the fire consumed his love for her, she allowed a single tear to slide down her
cheek, and no more.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When Hessen had come back to check on his master back in the annex, he immediately noticed the
untouched cake he had prepared earlier by the reception table.

He had been initially surprised to receive an order from his master to buy some cake. And not just a
random cake, one made by Arvis’ finests bakers. But the thing was, Hessen knew the Duke was not fond
of sweets. He does not eat such food pleasantly. So he had been certain it wasn’t for the Duke himself,
but for someone else.

He took a deep breath, glancing one last time at the cake before knocking lightly on the duke’s bedroom
door. He heard a faint order, telling him he could come inside, before he entered the room. He was
greeted with the sight of Matthias reading the morning paper.

Hessen came to stand a few paces to his side.

“Master, shall I set out the cake for you again?” he asked politely, Matthias looked up through his
brows, before looking back down to read the newspaper.
“There will be no need for that.” he replied coolly. When Hessen looked questioningly back at the table,
Matthias flipped a page as he straightened out, “Get rid of it at once.” he commanded.

Hessen knew that questioning him further would be deemed impolite, thus he bowed to his master,
quietly dismissing himself and took the cake with him, leaving Matthias to his own devices.

Chapter 72

How Dare You Make Me Feel This Way

They were already a few weeks in on their arrangement, when Matthias finally saw Leyla through his car
window.

For the past few weeks, he had gotten acquainted with the sight of her lethargic state, always so
expressionless and forlorn whenever it was just the two of them in the annex.

Whenever she arrived, she would dutifully undress herself for him, and wait patiently until they began.
She always looked too exhausted, but so afraid of him whenever he would approach her. But the
woman he saw now was different.

Outside from the confines of his room, she looked livelier than she’d been. She dressed respectably, and
had an amicable smile on her face as she walked with a group of women roughly among her age. Among
them was the same woman she came with during their picnic in Arvis. Mrs. Grever, if he remembered
correctly.
Matthias couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at her as he observed them. She looked thinner than she had
been, but she no longer wore that haunted expression. She didn’t carry a sullen and gloomy air around
her peers, but rather a warm and sunny disposition. He could almost mistake her for a different woman.

He found himself torn whether he should rejoice she wasn’t acting so helplessly outside of their
meetings, or insulted by how well she was hiding their affair. Nonetheless, Matthias could respect her
boundaries. If she wants to act like his mistress, he’ll let her. Same as if she wanted to act as though
she’s a commonplace whore, he’d treat her as such too.

She has no one to blame for it but herself.

But despite that fact, he couldn’t help but feel more affected whenever he would be forced to be
rougher than usual with her. She took every insult, and every hurt he made her feel when they’d be
together quietly and resolutely indifferent. And it made him feel strange whenever the night would be
over, and he’d be left alone to his thoughts.

Lately, he found himself at a loss on how to deal with her. Matthias still felt the deep satisfaction of
seeing her wince in pain and flush in embarrassment, that much hadn’t changed between them. In fact,
it gave him a sense of pride that she wasn’t entirely indifferent to him.

What left him baffled was that whenever she would be on the verge of breaking down, as he’d learned
to read by the way her lips quivered and eyes began to water, she’d take a deep breath, and no tears
would come. It was as though she finally learned to calm herself down, cutting short the amusement she
usually brought to him, leaving him with a bereft feeling.

The audacity she has on making him feel so terrible. It brought him back to the time when he’d nearly
gone on a berserk streak, during spring last year. It was the first moment in his life he really felt that
strong urge to kill. And that happened when he heard from his mother’s lips that Leyla, his Leyla, was
planning on tying the knot with Kyle Etman.

A feeling that was often called upon whenever he’d see her turn away from him. Not for the first time
since they started their arrangement, did he wonder if that urge to kill was not directed at the poor
doctor’s son, but instead at Leyla herself?

Despite how much she’d irritate him these days though, Matthias can’t deny he was still and utterly
entertained by her. She drove him positively mad, invoking emotions he didn’t even know he possessed.

Never in his life did the sight of a quivering body give him such desire to give in to baser instincts he
once brushed off as of no mere importance, until he saw her.

“Uh, master?” an attendant had carefully called out to him. Matthias glanced to his side, to see the car
door already opened, only waiting for him to make his exit. It seemed like he had arrived.
With a sigh, Matthias gracefully got out of his car, and headed to the lobby. When he arrived, he was
suddenly greeted by a slew of company executives, rushing to welcome him.

Just before he would fully enter the magnificent building lined with enormous rows of corinthian
columns, Matthias subtly stopped in an angle that let him freely gaze on the sunlit streets outside.

He glanced down at the streets, watching each person that walked by it, fully knowing Leyla wouldn’t
take that road. Once his lingering thoughts were appeased, he resumed his walk, schooling his
expression back to a polite and calm one.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Everyday, Leyla would see her uncle off with a smile, watching solemnly at the heavy way he carried
himself whenever he’d go to work at the Arvis greenhouse. Carrying his large duffel bag down through
their steps, and through the Platanus road, walking with his fellow gardeners looking equally serious
made them look like soldiers heading off for war.

Most of the greenhouse’s structure has been restored to the way it was before the explosion, but the
variety of plants that had been replanted had mostly died during the winter frost. Many of them were of
the rare sorts, and couldn’t be easily replaced due to the limited sources.

And Leyla knew that her uncle would be the last to complain, for he’d taken it as his duty to repair the
greenhouse as payment for what the Herhardts had done for him.

Leyla couldn’t help the worry she had for him. Uncle Bill would work from dawn until dusk just so he
could atone for the accident. It was taking its toll on him, she could tell, but she could also tell he was
determined to see this through.

“Leyla! What are you doing out here?!” Uncle Bill exclaimed as soon as he saw her when he’d passed by
the street’s corner, “It’s cold outside, you should head back!” he implored her.

Leyla only nodded at him, but still found herself unable to move to the warmth of their cabin as she
watched him go. He’d taken it as his responsibility to visit every known horticulturist, renowned
botanical gardens, and aristocrats with a good number of plant collections to look for replacement of
the plants they’ve lost.

But that could take weeks before he’d return, and Leyla found herself wondering if she should take this
opportunity to also leave and accompany him in his travels? She couldn’t bear it if she must stay in Arvis
for weeks on end alone in their cabin.

But she feared if she were to request to do so, the Duke would tighten his grip on her, which would
make it even more suspicious that something was going on between them.
One by one, each family member that bid good bye to their respective gardener went back home,
leaving Leyla as the last one to stay in the cold. She didn’t know how long she stayed standing out there
with nothing but the bitter chill as company, until the sound of an approaching car shook her out of
reverie.

Knowing that the Duke was in it, she hastily made her escape, wanting no contact from him aside from
what was necessary. Unfortunately, a car would always prove to be faster than a human.

It passed her by, creating a strong gust of wind in its rush. Leyla clasped her hands together, hoping it
would not stop until it reached Arvis. Her chest pounded with anxiety as she remembered she cannot
hide behind her uncle in his absence.

But it wasn’t a big deal, it wasn’t like the Duke was responsible as to why he left after all.

When she could no longer see the vehicle, Leyla immediately hurried back to her cabin, her thoughts
growing frantic the longer she stayed outside. She locked the door behind her and double checked her
windows, before removing her clothes and warmed herself thoroughly.

She cleaned the house and ironed out her drying clothes, finding great comfort in her mundane tasks
everyday she spent alone. It was the only reprieve she had, making her believe that soon enough
Matthias would be nothing more than a stain in her memory.

‘He would probably abandon me right before his marriage.’

She thought gratefully. She had just seen the Duke and his lady standing side by side with each other,
looking like the most perfect pair to ever exist.

Leyla’s cheeks flushed as she went by unnoticed by the two of them, managing to arrive home
unbothered. There was a strange feeling in her chest when she recalled the two of them together, but
she mostly chalked it up to the cold weather back there.

Just as she was about to sit by her desk, Phoebe fluttered by her window, earlier than she usually
arrived. Once more, she carried with her a summon to the Duke. A deep rage erupted in her as she
ripped into the note, and tossed it into the fire.

Leyla proceeded to finish her duties, pushing his summons to the back of her mind. She went and fed
their livestock, and washed the dishes she used. Once she found that all her chores were finished, she
reluctantly got ready to leave, and locked her cabin before heading out to the annex, using the shadows
once more as a cover of her leaving.

One day, she hoped to be free of the Duke. She’d move to the farthest city from him, bringing Uncle Bill
with her. Maybe they’d settle somewhere south, by the borders of Lovita, she heard it was nice there.
Then she’d take her uncle out on a trip, just the two of them. They’d eat and laugh to their heart’s
content, watching birds as they lounged on a tropical island. Or perhaps they’d vacation in snowy
mountain peaks with majestic views.
Then they’d return, to their quaint little house, owned only by them, and not by the grace of their
betters. She’d decorate it just the way she’d like, while her uncle would grow his own garden in their
backyard and…

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off when the view of the annex came around, replacing her daydreams
with dread as she drew closer to the looming building. She was already counting down the days she’d be
forced to spend with the man.

She’d lived long enough beneath the thumbs of her cruel relatives in her formative years, she could
manage a few months with him. And thus, her pleasant disposition disappeared, casting a shadow over
her features as she walked dutifully up the steps to meet with the duke.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The sun was yet to fully set when she’d managed to arrive, making it difficult for her to move unnoticed.
Yet even in the light of the fading sun, the annex didn’t change much. She still stood in a massive
bedroom, with a lit fireplace in preparation for the incoming darkness. The elegant furniture still looked
the same, and Leyla was still waiting for him in complete nakedness.

Matthias took his sweet time in reading through his papers, treating the sight of her naked body as one
of his ornaments by now. He had grown busier these days, with the family business expanding their
influence. That was largely thanks to the improved company system his grandfather, and by extension
father, had made when they were still alive.

He remembered them telling him that no head of the business could handle everything in the company,
and thus ironed out every detail in delegating the tasks to their subordinates. It hadn’t been
implemented when they were still alive, but now Matthias was reaping it’s benefits. Thus, he only
needed to make the final decisions of major projects and developments that could make or break their
company.

Ever since he could read and write, he had been instilled with the sense of the best decision making. But
the world around him was churning and turning rapidly every day, creating new problems and new
circumstances that leave much to be determined.

So he would meticulously analyze every report handed to him. The one he was currently reading was
pertaining to mining rights, and oil fields located overseas. When he found himself reading too much, he
would only look up, and appreciate her bare beauty presented to him, before going back to his task.

If it were any other night, these walls would’ve been filled with moans and pleasures from both him and
Leyla. But for now, he was content in listening to the rhythmic cackling of the fire as he sifted through
the reports.

Leyla, on the other hand, grew irritable the longer she stared on the floor, waiting for him to have his
way with her. She finally looked up, and saw that the night had fully settled in, replacing the orange
hues of the setting sun.
She didn’t understand why he was ignoring her as though she was invisible today. Normally he’d begin
when she finished undressing for him, chasing after his pleasure. Now, she sat uselessly, and humiliated
at how naked she was.

She crossed her arms over her chest, now feeling the vestiges of shame return to her the longer the
Duke would do nothing but give her a side glance before returning back to his papers. He was doing
nothing but work the entire time she’d been with him.

Finally, he put down the thick document he’d been reading, and both their eyes met briefly.

She found herself shuddering when they locked eyes, and quickly averted her gaze away from him,
looking resolutely on back on her toes. She heard him abruptly get up, a sense of relief washing over
her, thinking it was time to start…

But then his steps grew fainter, and not louder, indicating he was leaving her in his room. Puzzled, Leyla
looked up once more and stared at the door once it clicked shut. She could hear the muffled sounds of
him speaking from behind the door. It sounded like he was talking business.

From his tone, she could tell he was using his polite, and resolute, persona of a respectable Duke. She
heard him quiet down, and him returning back into the room. When his door swung open, she found
herself freezing in place as they met eyes once again.

Leyla forgot she had been waiting for him to come back. But from what she’d seen, he was hardly
bothered by her. Matthias only gave her a once over, eyeing her with the look of an art curator admiring
a masterpiece, before casually returning to his work.

He casually leaned back in his chair, stretching his long legs to rest on top of his ottoman, before picking
up the papers by the side of the table. Once more, the room was filled with the sound of ruffling papers,
before the sound of a waltz seeped through the air.

The music was coming from the phonograph in the reception room. Leyla couldn’t help but grow more
puzzled the more he kept his distance from her.

Quietly, she reached out for her glasses, and put them back on. She glanced at him with a frown, eyeing
the way he twirled his pen absentmindedly as he read through more of his work documents.

As though sensing her eyes on him, Matthias looked up, curling up an eyebrow inquiringly at her. Even
with her glasses, she couldn’t read what his intentions for her were today.

Feeling flustered, she quickly got up and grabbed her undergarments. If he wanted to watch her as he
worked, well, she wouldn’t let herself be more humiliated by participating in his perverse fancies. She
hurriedly put them back on, sparing him glances from time to time, growing more flush by the second.

She found herself more humiliated tonight! She had been calm the entire time she was naked, but she
could only grow more frustrated with every clothing she put back on.
By the time she was wholly dressed, Leyla was completely flushed and red in the face, looking at him
with unbridled anger. Matthias only met her gaze calmly, the pen stopping from twirling was the only
indication she had that he was paying attention to her.

As the moonlight filtered through the half-opened curtain in the room, Leyla found herself unable to
stay silent any longer. And so with a quivering voice, her words rang loudly throughout the stillness in
the room as she asked…

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Chapter 73

Canary Song

“Sit.” Matthias said to her in reply in a calm manner as he sat himself down on the table where food
had been prepared for them. He gestured for her to take a seat at the remaining chair available, as the
others had been conveniently taken away.

Leyla remained standing in front of him, shooting him a scathing glare. She eyed the various food
arranged in front of her, while Matthias sat at the head of the long table, the table that brought forth
painful memories for her.

“I don’t think we’re close enough to share meals.” she angrily said to him. Matthias only hummed as he
unfolded the table napkin with a flick of his wrist.

“I thought you said you agreed to fulfill your role in our deal.”

“I am!” she protested, “I’m giving you everything you want from me!”

Matthias only sighed forlornly at her.

“Yes, that I can’t deny, but your skinny body makes it so painful to thrust into. I can hardly enjoy our
time together.” he told her nonchalantly. Leyla’s breath hitched in response to his criticism, hot shame
filled her as she listened to him.

Matthias looked at her in a challenging manner, and Leyla couldn’t help but wonder just how low does
he see her? How can he just sit there, and spit those words at her!? He might as well just slap her in the
face because that’s what it felt like to her, hearing those words.

Matthias picked up his wine-filled glass, cradling it between his fingers as he swirled the liquid around
the clear glass. He always held himself in a graceful manner, which was a shame because his personality
was equally repulsive.

“Do eat Leyla, you look starved to death.” he pointed out, but Leyla remained standing. Matthias put his
goblet down, and leaned back in his seat. “Do you wish to die then?” Still, she refused to answer.

“Well then, do as you please.” Matthias shrugged, smiling brightly at her before clasping his hands
together in a thinking pose, “Hmm, I wonder what I should put in your tombstone? Let’s see…” he
unclasped his hands, drumming one set of fingers onto the polished tabletop in deep thought.

“Ah, I know! It should be something to commemorate our intimate moments together!” he declared,
“Here lies Leyla Lewellin! The beloved mistress of Duke Herhardt!” he announced with a flourish, looking
at her with a twinkle in his eye, “I quite like the thought of it, don’t you?”

Leyla could only feel appalled.

“I’ll have it carved into the most exquisite marble in existence, with big and clear letters, so that
everyone can see you for what you really are…” he proceeded, “So don’t worry, live or die, you’ll always
be with me.”

He sounded so relaxed, so amused by the thought of toying with her even beyond the grave. Leyla’s fists
clenched so tightly, her knuckles turned white with rage towards the man, no beast, in front of her.

She tried to forget the first night she ever laid with him, tried to scrub it from her memory, but it just
kept coming back, over and over and over again. There was no escaping him wherever she went. No
matter how much he’d try to clean and redecorate the space, she’d always find her mind trapped
forever in that moment.

The marks he’d left her with had faded and healed over the course of time, but the wound she felt in her
spirit remained salted and open.

“I’m not going to die.” Leyla finally responded, making a point to drag the chair across the floor loudly,
and sat primly across from him, “In fact, I’m planning to live well.” They now sat across from each other.
She won’t let him bully her as easily as before anymore. She won’t get scared, or flustered in front of
him any longer. She won’t allow herself to be affected by him anymore.

“I won’t allow anyone by the likes of you to destroy my life.” she declared, glaring at him hatefully as she
reached out for the piece of bread nearby, She tore into the loaf, breaking it into pieces, lathering it with
smooth butter before biting into it.

She ate messily, hardly caring how she looked in front of him. He didn’t deserve to see her in her best
behavior. In fact, he might grow disgusted by her even, which was definitely something she wanted him
to do.

“Hmm, is that so?” he asked her, as he ate at a moderate pace, slicing properly into his food as he
chewed carefully on the piece of food he brought to his lips. He quirked up a smile, loving the way she
fell for his goading. “What a good girl for me.”

He put his utensils down, and stood up. He carefully grabbed a spare goblet, and the wine bottle,
pouring it’s contents into the glass as he made his way gracefully to Leyla’s side. He offered her the
poured drink, to which she greedily gobbled up in one gulp. Matthias chuckled when the glass was
emptied.

“Well, you’ve certainly got quite the appetite today.” he hummed with amusement, quickly refilling it,
when Leyla just quickly downed it in one go once more. She was clearly acting out, Matthias knew that,
which did manage to make her seem like the lowlife she was, but he could only be amused as he
continued to watch her.

She wiped the stray wine drops on the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, before angrily
stabbing into the food, shoveling in mouthfuls into her mouth as she chewed loudly. She didn’t look that
terrible to him, in fact, he rather preferred seeing her acting uncouth than the way she walked like a
dead man.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Soon the wine bottle had emptied, and Leyla felt inebriated. She winced at the ringing in her ears, the
sound of the music grating at her.

“Turn the music off,” she slurred, glaring at the device blasting its sound at her. She could hear him
humming right next to her…

“Just listen,” he said in a whisper, but it also sounded too loud. His voice echoed in her head. “It’s
beautiful.” he finished, his voice bouncing back and forth.
Leyla could only frown. She could make up the sounds, guessing it was a waltz, but the current section
she was listening too was complicated and hit way too many notes for her to follow, it made her dizzier
by the second…

Matthias slightly swayed along with the music. It was his and his canary’s favorite part. Leyla seemed to
be doing her best to follow the music but she only groaned in pain, complaining all the way how
annoying it was.

She grabbed a fork, sloppily stabbing through her last chunk of meat before stuffing it in her mouth,
mangling the meat through her teeth. Matthias laughed out loud as he watched her eating through
chubby cheeks.

“Then you have a worse taste of music compared to a bird!”

“Bird?” she asked in a slurred voice, looking so confused why they were talking about a bird. Matthias
wondered if she could finish her last bite, she’d been chewing on it for some time now. Eventually, Leyla
did manage to swallow it down, washing the meat down her throat with her last sip of wine as she
shakily brought the goblet to her lips, some drops escaping and sliding down the corner of her lips in her
haste.

She was practically plastered, having drank more wine than she usually does, face all flushed red as a
testament to her drunken state. Leyla regarded him seriously, eyes squinting in his direction before she
hummed and turned to look at her empty plate as she slapped her lips together in search for more food.

“So, when do you plan to get rid of me?” she asked him in a brazen manner, resting both elbows on the
table loudly, making some plates and utensils shake. Matthias only met her gaze, before smoothly
setting down his own empty goblet.

But his eyes held a serious look, despite the ease of his actions.

“Well?” she prodded, “I mean, you’ve already had me, many ways in fact,” she grumbled into her
goblet, before finding it was empty. She frowned at it, turning it upside down as though it would
produce more than just a drop. “It must be coming soon right?” she asked with a smug smile.

“I suppose you’re right.” Matthias finally answered. He was practical enough, after all, he couldn’t be
expected to forever keep her as his mistress. He wasn’t that foolish.

“Well, do it quickly then!” she demanded, and Matthias chuckled dryly.

“And what would you do the moment you’re free of me?”

“I already told you!” she reminded him, frowning when her goblet was still empty. “I’ll live well!” she
placed her glass down, grabbing the table napkin to wipe her greasy fingers and saucy lips clean. “Yes,
I’ll definitely live well and free away from you!”

“You make it sound as though you’re miserable with me.”

Leyla snorted as she chortled in amusement.

“Well, it’s true.” she told him, “You’re the bane of my existence!”

“Right, of course.” Matthias replied in a steely manner as he watched her examine her sticky fingers
with great interest. The firelight casted shadows on her face, and though he knew they were golden, her
lashes casted a dark shadow over her eyes.

Matthias kept watching Leyla as he leaned back in his chair. No matter how insatiable his current lust
was towards Leyla, he knew it was bound to die down eventually once he’s had his fill. And when that
time came, it would be most prudent if she were to move away and live on with her life.

But why does the thought of her leaving him fill him with such emptiness? It was an unfathomable
feeling to him.

He knew she was only stating facts, but it left him with a bitter taste. Suddenly, Leyla rose from her seat,
wobbling as she struggled to stand upright.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he hissed at her, also rising from his seat.

“I’m leaving.” she replied haughtily, and Matthias scowled in her reply. He charged at her within just a
few long strides and grabbed her tightly by the wrists, making her cry out in pain as he pulled her closer
to him.

She squirmed in his grasps as he trapped her within her arms. She was spewing profanities, but Matthias
only ignored her in favor of relishing the feel of her body writhing against his. Eventually, she grew tired
and leaned against him without further resistance.

He repositioned her in his arms, pressing her back flush to his chest as he buried his face on the nape of
her neck. Instinctively, she leaned further to the side, granting him easy access as he greedily breathed
in her soft, sweet scent. A fragrance he’d known to only belong to her.

He licked a strip up her neck, making Leyla hiss at the sudden contact. She could feel her pulse throbbing
erratically as he continued with his ministrations. He proceeded to taste her skin, licking away the sheen
of sweat that formed on her neck.

Her body shook and shuddered as his warm breath hit her. She couldn’t avoid him any longer. Heat was
pooling in her gut, her blood rushing to warm her cheeks, spreading to her ears as her clothes rustled as
he gripped onto them, hiking the hem of her blouse up before his hand sneaked right into it.

Leyla let out a breathy moan, throwing her head back unconsciously to allow him more access when her
eyes caught sight of the night outside the window. Not for the first time she wondered how late the
night had gotten.
His calloused palms moved all over her stomach, kneading them in that familiar manner, before they
trailed up, cupping her bountiful breasts, and began to massage them roughly. She whined as he
continued to fondle her, her eyes opening and looked down to watch him groping her breasts.

It was a strange view to her, but so erotic in her drunken haze. She leaned her head back, eyes shutting
as she basked in the sensation of his warm palms on her chest, his moist lips nibbling on her earlobes,
his ragged breathing beside her ears.

She vaguely remembered wishing it would all be over soon, but was snuffed out rather quickly by the
flooding sensations around her. The music was still playing, still grating at her ears as Matthias
thoroughly ravished her with his wandering hands and suckling lips.

How she wanted to believe that her enjoyment of this was all because she was drunk. Her sanity slowly
faded when his tongue was dancing gracefully on her body in a lustful waltz.

“Mu-music,” she gasped as he suckled on her neck, “T-turn it off!” she stuttered, wincing when the waltz
played a sharp tune, “My head hurts!” she hissed at him. But Matthias only sunk down, grabbing her by
her small waist before he hefted her skirt up.

He mouthed at her thighs, turning her to face him, before he looked up with sultry eyes.

“The music is so beautiful, Leyla.” he murmured against her skin, bunching her skirt up to her hips, “It’s
your fault for drinking too much tonight.” and how could Leyla refute that fact? She could only grow
angry at herself for letting herself go.

He nosed against her clothed nether region, sucking against her sensitive nub. She threw her head back
as the rough fabric rubbed against it, his warm tongue making her feel wet. Two warm and gentle
fingers sneaked past the borders of her underwear, swiftly burying themselves to the hilt, making
squelching sounds as they thrusted into her wetness.

Leyla cried out, half in pleasure and half in shame, hazily pushing his hand out of her, but he was
persistent, her legs buckling into his fingers as he curled them inside her, rubbing inside her with
practiced ease.

She brought her hands up to muffle her wanton sounds, but Matthias immediately grabbed them,
pulling them away, encouraging her to make more sounds. Even the music couldn’t drown out the way
she let out breathy moans, gasping whenever he’d rub against her sensitive nub.

Her body convulsed, struggling to hold herself up on the table. Eventually, Matthias pulled his fingers
out, leaving her with a bereft feeling of emptiness as she whined in protest. He cupped her cheek,
smearing her face with her juices…

“You said you can live well without me,” he whispered against her lips, “Yet you spread your legs so
eagerly for me.” He wiped her juices against her cheeks, making her sober up slightly as she tried to pull
away from him, “Feel how wet you are for me, Leyla.” Leyla only shot him a glare…
“Since you were so gracious as to give me what I want, let me give you what you truly desire.” he teased
her, carrying her to the closest sofa, easily trapping her beneath him. Leyla glared up at him.

“What I desire is to be away from you!”

“You don’t really mean that, do you?” he murmured, deft fingers swiftly unbuttoning her one by one,
the fire slowly returning to Leyla’s eyes, mirroring the shame and anger she was currently feeling.

“If you were just going to sleep with me eventually, you should have started earlier!”

“Ah, but where’s the fun in that?” he asked her, and Leyla couldn’t help but scold herself for being so
foolish as to hope he called for her to terminate their arrangement. He pulled her blouse off, tossing it
to the sides, before he moved to undress her skirt…

“After all, I want to see your distressed face.” he admitted, carefully removing her glasses and setting
them aside. He leaned down, spreading short kisses on her cheeks, showering her with them in every
crevice he could reach. Their intimate kisses looked similar to birds rubbing their beaks against one
another. “After all, that’s what I most desire from you.” he whispered against her ear.

Leyla couldn’t help the choked up sob that managed to escape her. She watched helplessly as his grin
grew wider at the sight of her tears, and all she could feel in the end was the stabbing pain in her heart
as she once again gave in to him so easily.
Chapter 74

I’ll Pick You Up

Leyla vaguely remembered the rest of the events as she lay exhausted on the bed, all she knew was that
they had been in the reception room when it started, and now they were back in the bedroom.

Her breathing was ragged as she tried her best to catch more air. She didn’t know what they were doing
now, but she was vaguely aware that right now her wrists were bound together above her head. She
hardly had any strength left in her to participate further in their activity, but she had enough left to
shoot glares at the duke.

Matthias on the other hand, only gave her a lethargic grin as he pulled tight the knot on his tie. Leyla
gasped as she felt her bounds tighten, making her arch her back in a feeble attempt to get some blood
circulation in her hands.

“Un-untie me this instant!” she hissed, struggling to loosen up the tie. Matthias only hummed, hovering
over her as he ran his fingers through her golden locks.

“Shh, hold still, Leyla,” he whispered next to her ear, “Try to keep still for me.” he murmured, breathing
in the scent of her mixing with that musky scent of sex. He straightened up once more, one hand hefting
her up the pillows as the other adjusted her wrists to a more comfortable position. “Keep struggling and
the knots will go tighter around you.”

Matthias got up from the bed, fetching the blanket that made its way to the floor, draping it all over her
naked body, when she twisted away from him, causing it to fall once more on the floor. He frowned
momentarily, before deciding that the warmth from the fireplace would be sufficient enough to keep
Leyla warm on his bed, and thus smiled to himself in satisfaction.

He climbed back on the bed, situating himself beside her, brushing back the locks that stuck to her face.
She kept glaring up at him defiantly, and knew he wouldn’t be able to get her to willingly take a bath
with him. Which was a shame because he really wanted to bathe with her. But he had expected she
wouldn’t stay inebriated for long, the alcohol’s effect having burned through her system by their
strenuous activity.

Eventually, he stood up once more, and headed straight for his bathroom. He was confident Leyla
wouldn’t be able to leave before he was through with her.
He took his sweet time in savoring the hot water running down his skin, lathering his body up with soap
as the water pelted his skin continuously. He then got out and dried himself off, before heading back to
bed, where he found Leyla dropping off to sleep as she let herself rest against the soft sheets beneath
her. Though his eyes narrowed when he saw the pillow he propped her back against had joined the
blanket on the floor.

With a sigh he came closer to her, swinging the towel over his shoulder as he loosened up the tie around
her wrists, revealing reddened skin underneath, making him sigh in disappointment at her continued
resistance.

“I told you to keep still.” he admonished her. Through her sleep addled brain, Leyla only glared in
response.

“Why would I take the advice of a crazy person?” she asked him incredulously, as Matthias proceeded to
rub smoothing circles around her sore wrists. She felt disgusted by his touch, but she couldn’t find it in
herself to pull away from the delicate way he was touching her.

Matthias repositioned her, hooking his arms underneath her back and under the knees. Leyla let herself
surrender to his whims, closing her eyes in defense as she felt her body was no longer in her control.

Once she was positioned in the middle of the bed, Matthias grabbed the wet cloth he had prepared
beforehand at the bedside table and began using it to wipe the dried body fluids and sweat off of her.

Leyla could feel the warm, moist roughness of towel scrubbing her all over. His hands trailed from her
face, down to her chest, through the valley between her breasts, and then further downward past her
lower abdomen.

As much as she wanted to continue lying on the bed, and drift off to sleep, she fought to open her eyes
to watch Matthias.

He looked so calm as he was wiping her clean, but Leyla could see in his eyes how numb he was
currently. He looked so different from when he had been busy thrusting into her a while ago. His hands
were different before too. Gone was the lust he had when he’d wrapped himself around her, which
further embarrassed Leyla deep inside.

Every time she thought she knew him, he’d break character all of a sudden, confusing her as to who he
really was. It was like he had a switch in his mind, letting him act differently from time to time, a switch
he could control when he wanted to.

Her eyes drifted close once more as her breathing calmed down to a gentle rhythm once more.
Matthias’ eyes drifted towards her, thinking to himself how much she resembled a marble sculpture
with how pale she was.
Matthias could see a trail of goosebumps up her arms and he pulled away, setting the wetted cloth
down on the basin. He immediately took his robe off, draping in on top of her body. He then climbed
behind her, pulling Leyla flush to his body, making her turn towards him in surprise.

He thought she would squirm once more, but after holding her gaze, she eventually gave in, and let him
pull her closer to him. He held her in his arms, watching, and waiting for the time her breathing evened
out to soft, gentle breaths.

Thinking her asleep, he pulled away from her, before taking a spot once more on his desk and reviewed
the remaining documents for the rest of the evening. He had been at it for a while, when Leyla spoke up
once more.

“I hate you.”

she hissed softly towards him, her voice just above a whisper, but he could hear her words clearly as
though she was shouting it right next to his ear. Matthias set the papers down, staring at the woman in
his bed. Eventually, he got up and went back to his previous spot, gathering her in his arms once again.

Drops of water from his hair tips cascaded down on to her pale cheeks as he stared her down. Her lips
quivered as he continued to hold her gently.

“I really… hate you… so much!” she gritted teeth as she tried to stifle her tears. Matthias began to rub
circles against the small of her back, while wiping the drops of water off with his free hand.

Leyla never felt so much hate for one person until recently. She never hated anyone before.

Not the mother who abandoned her, nor the relatives who beat and abused her. Not even Mrs. Etman,
who made it her life’s goal to remind Leyla just how insignificant she was. Yes, she held and let go of her
hate of them because holding it in her heart only felt like lead…

It kept weighing her down, and would soon poison her.

Because all her life, she wanted to live as free as a bird. And she worked hard to forgive them for what
they did to her, but with Matthias, she found it very difficult to forgive him for the hurt he put her
through. She can’t help but hate him to her core.

And suddenly, she wasn’t so confident in living that proud and free life she once dreamed of. Her hatred
of him weighed heavier than just a fist-full of lead. He felt like a boulder propped over her shoulders,
and she feared she would hate him for the rest of her life…

And she wasn’t willing to let go so easily.

‘I hate you. I hate you! I HATE YOU!’ She repeated like a mantra all over in her head, until she finally
succumbed to sleep.
Matthias, unaware of her hateful thoughts, only smiled down at her sleeping form, finally satisfied she
was fully asleep. With a sigh, he got up from the bed, grabbed the documents and his pen as he went
back to bed, opting to work on the bed instead of his usual desk.

He regathered Leyla in his arms once again, who seemed to snuggle instinctively closer to his warm
body. Matthias couldn’t help but think that if Leyla wanted to continue living well, she need only stop
wanting to live far from him.

The reminder of how badly she wanted to be free of him left a sour taste in his mouth before he let out
a dejected huff. His arms unconsciously tightened around her, and Leyla continued to rest snuggly
against him.

He had a myriad of things he wanted to give his beautiful mistress, things like a suitable house for her to
comfortably live in, an opportunity to study in her dream university. He could even give her the life she
dreamed about as she studied her favorite birds.

All these were things he, Matthias von Herhardt, could give her and not that poor excuse of a doctor’s
son!

‘And yet you continue to think you could live well without me?’ he couldn’t help but scoff at the
thought. He gazed down at her, caressing her parted lips as she breathed in and out, softly snoring
against him.

These were the lips that slandered him, and yet despite the cold words she spewed at him, they
remained warm and tender against the pad of his thumb.

But Matthias had work remaining, and thus reluctantly pulled away, immersing himself back in the word
of documents and business. Just having her near him, her smooth, rhythmic breathing as music, was
enough for now.

He found a different kind of contentment at feeling her warmth next to him, the way her scent flooded
his nose. She was absolutely perfect for him, and he loved it! He knew by now, his desire for her would
not wane easily.

Finally, he got through the last of the documents, and set it on top of the growing pile by the bedside
table next to him. When he glanced up, he caught sight of the snow, flickering against the dark as it fell
against the windows.

He took a trip down memory lane, his thoughts leading him back to when he first saw the snow this
year. It was just after the first half of the charity ball, right when Leyla’s chaotic play had just ended.
They stood close by the frozen river, as the landscape began to be blanketed by white frost.

And Leyla stood, so angelically in front of him beneath a lighted street lamp, haloing her golden locks.
He remembered how she looked up in awe as she witnessed the first snow of the season too. The way
her lips curved up sweetly at the sight of it falling gently on her face, kissing her skin the way he wanted
to.

“Leyla,” he whispered out in longing. There was a certain stillness in the air, much like it did that first
snow, but Leyla’s tossing and turning eventually broke the placid atmosphere between them. The
blanket slowly slid down her shoulders, revealing her naked torso as it pooled on her waist.

He couldn’t help but think of how prettily she’d smile this time around too if she were awake to witness
the snow fall once more.

He couldn’t find it in himself to wake her up, and ended up caressing her cheeks instead. Leyla nuzzled
into his warm hand, sighing contentedly. Such small gesture, yet it filled Matthias with a different sense
of satisfaction as he saw her willingly lean into him.

He opted to stay still, deciding not to do anything about his robe sliding off her. She trembled as the cold
began to seep into her body, seeking the warmest source she could find; which was him of course, and
buried herself further into his embrace.

Matthias breath hitched as she moved, not daring to make a move in fear of rousing her from her listless
sleep. He could feel something blooming in his chest, something far different, yet closely the same from
the lust he’d grown accustomed to around her.

It was a flutter, something fragile and miniscule. Much like a snowflake falling down from the skies,
resting beautifully as it sticks against the window’s glass.

He quickly, yet gently wrapped both his arms around her as her body shivered, giving her more warmth
as he pulled her impossibly closer. He ran a soothing palm up and down her back, rubbing some much
needed warmth as she burrowed further into him in response.

He could only lie awake next to her, holding her as though he was afraid she’d pull away, and leaned
into the plush cushion behind him, gently bringing her along with him. His eyes stared out at the swirling
snowflakes, watching as they swayed with the wind and felt his eyes grow heavy by the second…

He leaned down, planting a ghost of a kiss on each of Leyla’s shut eyelids, while his heart echoed her
name over and over like a velvety mellow tune.

Leyla….

Leyla….

My Leyla….

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
There was a screeching in the station, and the sound of pressure being relieved as the night train
entered the Carlsbar Central Station. It was just before the breaking of dawn, the day’s winter sun not
yet up in the skies.

There was a certain muteness in the air as people hurriedly rushed out of the train, equipped with their
belongings as they huddled in on themselves, wearing fatigue in their expressions as they rubbed the
sleep from their eyes. The platform grew more lively as more and more people piled out, while the
sparse people that already were in the station met to greet their returning loved ones.

Amongst the passengers was Kyle Etman, right in the middle of the bustling crowd. He had come
without any notice he was arriving, and thus had no one to greet him. Even Mr. and Mrs. Etman was
unaware of his plans of returning instead of traveling to the southern countries of the continent.

He still received no reply from Leyla, even after his last heartfelt letter to her. He poured all his heart
and soul into every word, and so when he received no letters from her in response, his initial thought
was it was time to give up.

Which was why he had accepted his father’s suggestion of traveling south. And yet, he changed his mind
at the last minute, changing his tickets to take him back home instead of further away.

Kyle didn’t know why he wanted to return at first, but the moment he caught sight of them entering
Ratz’s borders, something clicked inside him, making everything make sense.

He knew now why he wanted to return.

He knew where he wanted to go.

There was a sense of foreboding building in him as he grew closer and closer to home. It wasn’t like
Leyla to reject him without a proper goodbye. He knew her that much at least, and so he worried
something must have happened to her.

It might just be his desperation blowing everything out of proportion, and maybe she was just fine, but
he needed to see her.

He wanted to see her.

As the crowd slowly died down around him, Kyle found himself moving once more, hauling his
enormous trunk behind him as he walked out of the station alone with a determined look in his eye.

As he stepped out of the station, he was met with the sight of his hometown covered in snow,
everywhere he looked, he could see blankets of white surrounding him. Snow continued to fall, piling on
his shoulders the longer he stood still, dancing around him.

He was a different man from when he left. He’d grown over the time he parted with Leyla.

“Leyla…” he whispered like a prayer, her name flowing desperately out of him as wisps of white puffs
flitted around him.
Just the thought of her gave a twisted feeling over his heart, a trepidation washing over him at the
thought of seeing her for the first time since they broke it off. His knuckles turned white, as his grip on
his trunk tightened.

[ I will love and cherish you for as long as you will allow it. I swear that no harm shall come to you again,
whether by another’s hand or mine.]

Those were his words for her. A sincere confession as he wrote out to her, hoping his words would reach
her heart as well. He swore if Leyla even gave an inch of a chance, he’d take it as a mile, giving her
everything he’d ever promised.

[I’ll come to you at once! We can leave Arvis together, and find our happy place in this world!]

With that final thought, he found the strength to move forward once more and braved the frosty path
on the way to his happiness.
Chapter 75

Right Choice

Matthias was awoken by the sound of his canary’s song. His eyes fluttered open, wincing at the bright
light before it landed on the sight of his bird, merrily fluttering inside it’s elaborate cage as it sang
merrily.

It seemed to be happy today, Matthias noted to himself, and continued watching it for sometime,
content on laying on his stomach for the time being. It flew down, landing by its water bowl, dipping it’s
beak on to the water slightly, before dipping down once more, submerging and reemerging it’s entire
body this time.

It shook as it perched back on the bowl’s ledge, scattering rivlets of water. Matthias felt himself smirk,
sitting up before leaning his back against the headboard. Once it was done bathing itself, the canary
began to groom itself, spreading its little wings, nosing at its feathers with its beak.

He can’t help but be reminded of his woman.

Soon, the bird was done, and fluttered back up to its flush nest, when Matthias decided it was time for
him to get up. He picked up the bell from his bedside table, ringing it to summon Hessen inside.

Not a moment later, his butler came in, carrying a silver tray with coffee, and the day’s mail. Matthias
sat on his desk, waiting for Hessen to finish setting the coffee down. The butler then proceeded to
inform him of the progress in their preparations for the crown prince’s visit with his wife, along with the
list of guests they expect to host.

“I was also informed that Lady Brandt would be arriving this afternoon, master.” Hessen added, the
empty tray tucked neatly at his side. Matthias took a sip of his coffee, nodding along with the new piece
of information.

“I see,” he hummed.

“Also, the Marquis Lindman sent word he’d arrive no sooner than tomorrow afternoon. Since I know the
master would be absent in the next few days, I took the initiative of informing both families in advance
that you’d be unable to greet them personally.” Hessen helpfully supplied.
Matthias gave him an appreciative smile to be polite as he opened up the morning’s newspaper. Him,
the crown prince, and even Riette were of the same age, Matthias idly thought, it wouldn’t be strange to
know that they were closer compared to the other dukes and lords in the country.

Subsequently, Claudine was also one of the few ladies who grew close with the crowned princess. Which
also meant she would be spending more time in Arvis during the royal couple’s visit.

“Master, shall I start preparing for your departure? If you leave around ten o’ clock, you’ll be on time to
board your train.” Hessen suggested, and Matthias nodded.

“We shall,” Matthias replied, giving him another polite smile. Hessen bowed his head respectfully at his
master, backing out a few steps before moving aside to let Matthias walk ahead of him.

With the crowned prince’s upcoming visit, Matthias would have to quickly settle his business affairs in
the capital city, which in turn made his schedule all the more hectic before the royal couple’s arrival.

After bathing, Matthias was quickly aided by Hessen, and was suited up promptly as he continued on
with his usual calm demeanor.

News of Kyle Etman’s return spread like wildfire in Arvis, reaching him in less than a day of the doctor’s
son’s arrival. It wasn’t even through a formal relaying of information, but through the murmurs of his
servants he discovered Kyle had returned.

He couldn’t help but scoff to himself at the thought, Kyle’s return leaving a nasty taste in him. He didn’t
know, nor cared why Kyle chose to return to Arvis now. It didn’t bother him even if Kyle and Leyla had
lingering feelings for one another.

After all, Leyla was undeniably his already. And it was because of that, he knew Leyla would never
accept Kyle back, even if he groveled and poured his heart out to his mistress. He was confident in
leaving Leyla behind.

Just as the last of his buttons clicked to a close, Matthias’ mouth curled upwards in a subtle smirk.
Hessen assisted him in buttoning up his sleeves, pinning an elaborate cufflink on them, making him look
all the more regal.

As for Leyla, well, he did admire her chivalrous morals, no matter how foolish they were in his opinion.
Which was why he trusted that having laid claim on her was the wisest action he could take.

And so as he left his room, he reached a single conclusion. There was no further need for him to think
about Kyle Etman, in fact, he would sooner wipe his existence off his mind, and planned to enjoy the
rest of his trip away.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
There was an onslaught of conversation amongst the servants in Arvis as they gathered around the
reception room. Despite the hectic schedule they incurred from the royal couple’s pending visit, they
couldn’t help but dilly-dally as they gossiped about Kyle and Leyla’s reunion.

“But is it really because of Leyla?”

“Do you think they’re together again?”

“Surely there must be another reason he’s back in Arvis.”

“I heard he was supposed to be traveling the southern continent.”

“So it really must be Leyla! Oh I knew they wouldn’t split so easily!”

“Yes, especially since they’ve been together so long! They got along splendidly since their childhood
after all.”

“Ah, what a match-made in heaven!”

There were more swooning and sighing as they all fantasized about what would happen between the
past lovebirds. Most were gunning for the fact they’d be back together as soon as they saw one another
again.

After all, they’ve watched both of them grow, and seen how the two grew closer through many years. At
this point it wasn’t just a simple gossip, but well-wishes and hopeful thinking among the servants.

“Hmm, perhaps it’s time I visit Leyla once more later.” Mrs. Mona, one of the kitchen’s chefs, said to
herself softly as she stirred a simmering soup. Her ability to cook was only rivaled by her ability to sniff
out a gossip or two and spread it, she should hardly be behind the news!

Yes, with Mr. Remmer not home, it was only expected she’d be a little worried for Leyla, and how she’s
faring on her own. Perhaps she should bring along some food as well for the girl.

“Yes, it’ll also give me a piece of mind to see her with my own eyes.” she further hummed to herself,
and began to continue her chores for the day.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla spent the rest of her day in her cabin, doing nothing and staring into space. The sky grew darker,
but Leyla couldn’t find it in herself to continue being productive as the sun began to sink in the clouds.

“Leyla!” a familiar voice called out for her, suddenly breaking the silence. Leyla jolted in surprise, and
blinked back into focus, “Leyla are you home?!”

It was Mrs. Mona. She was right in front of their yard, bellowing out her name.
“Y-yes I am, Mrs. Mona!” she hastily replied. Leyla hurriedly fixed her appearance, before swinging open
the door to greet her nosy neighbor. Mrs. Mona beamed at the sight of her, and they exchanged
pleasantries before Leyla invited her inside.

“Oh thank you dear!”

“Shall I get you some tea?”

“Oh that would be lovely, thank you.” Leyla nodded, letting Mrs. Mona sit by one of the kitchen stools as
she busied herself in heating water for some tea. Just as she finished, Mrs. Mona began to speak up.

“Are you alright dear? You look rather pale.” she worried as she carefully looked over Leyla’s general
appearance. Leyla only laughed embarrassingly, nodding in a placating manner.

“I’m just alright Mrs. Mona.” she replied, smiling politely at her, but Mrs. Mona hardly looked convinced.
“I just haven’t been sleeping well.” she added, knowing she had to give Mrs. Mona a little something to
leave her be. It was just in her neighbor’s nature to meddle in things after all.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Mrs. Mona frowned, “Ah, have you been up studying again? While it’s good to learn,
it’s also good to know when to rest.” she gently admonished, sounding so sure she was right.

Leyla felt no need to correct her.

“Ah, yes, I brought you some cake!” Mrs. Mona announced, and made to prepare some slices from
them. Leyla got up along with her, and began to fix both of them with some tea when the kettle began
to whistle.

Mrs. Mona cut the cake into equal slices, bringing out two plates and forks as she set one slice on them
a piece, and placed them beside their cups of brewed tea.

“You should really learn to take better care of yourself Leyla, just think of how terrible Mr. Remmer
would feel if he finds you neglecting yourself.” she continued to admonish her. “By the way, when will
he be returning?”

“Ah, I just had a word from him saying he won’t be back in fifteen days.”

“Oh well, I guess that makes sense,” Mrs. Mona hummed, taking a dainty sip of her tea, before setting it
back down, “It must be difficult for him to find all those rare and precious plants in need of replacing.
Still, it was so kind for the duke to have dropped the charges, and let him work in Arvis again.” she
praised.

“Y-yes…” Leyla smiled stiffly, “How kind indeed.”

“He truly is one of a kind you know,” Mrs. Mona proceeded, completely oblivious to the discomfort of
Leyla, “If it were any other aristocrat, they would have left Mr. Remmer to rot in jail!”
Leyla opted to take a bite out of the cake instead, not wanting to contribute such false praise for the
duke. The cake tasted like nothing in her mouth as she continued to listen to Mrs. Mona speak.

And so Mrs. Mona spoke, with Leyla occasionally making agreeing sounds and hums as though she was
listening attentively to her. She mentioned something about the crowned prince and his wife arriving
sometime next week, and the grand party Arvis would be celebrating in their honor!

It was really a life of luxury that Leyla hardly knew anything, nor cared about.

“Oh yes,” Mrs. Mona paused, clearing her throat as she looked nervously over Leyla, “Did you hear
about Kyle? He’s just returned to Arvis.”

“Ah,” Leyla piped up softly, feeling a little more at ease with the change of subject, “Yes, I did hear about
that.” she replied, smiling at Mrs. Mona, yet it did not reach her eyes.

“Well, I suppose that is a given, what with the whole place talking about it!” Mrs. Mona chuckled
nervously, drumming her fingers against her cooled cup of tea, “Have you had the chance to welcome
him back?” she asked curiously, finally getting to the point of her current visit.

“No, not yet.” Leyla answered with an air of finality, but Mrs. Mona wasn’t known as a nosy person
because she respected boundaries…

“Well, personally, if I were you, I’d have eloped with Kyle by now.” Mrs. Mona carelessly remarked, and
Leyla stared at her with a foreign look on her face. “Sure Mrs. Etman will be humiliated if that were to
happen, but it’s clear the boy can’t be without you, so wouldn’t it be in both of your best interests to
just run away from here?”

Leyla pressed her lips into a thin line before giving her another stiffened smile.

“Mrs. Mona, Kyle and I no longer have that kind of relationship.” she calmly reminded, but Mrs. Mona
only scoffed.

“Of course I know that! But my point is, that he most likely returned here for you. The least you could do
is actually consider still being with him.” she insisted, “If it were any other man I would be advising
against it, but…” she trailed off, looking at Leyla who was intently staring at her own cup of cold tea.

Mrs. Mona reached out, and grasped her hand, squeezing it in a comforting manner.

“It’s Kyle, Leyla, and we both know that Kyle is different from the rest of the men in this world.” It was
the best she could do, because how could she really describe Kyle? He just is, wholly himself, and that
was his best description.

Mrs. Mona finally let her hand go, but still did not move to leave her alone.

“Anyway, I’ve talked it over with Mr. Remmer before,” she continued, “I asked him whether it was the
right thing to do, both of you breaking up the way you did.”
Leyla wanted to move on from this topic already, but Mrs. Mona was relentless. And so she resolved to
just sit across from her in silence, plastering a fake smile on her face. After all, she had nothing more to
say in this matter.

She’s made her bed, and she’d lie in it.

She’d broken it off with Kyle, and now he’s returned for her, or so everyone says. She suspects it has an
ounce of truth, after all, she’s read his letters. But how could she just go back to the way they were?

Even if she wanted to, there was no way she would ever drag Kyle into the mess she found herself in.
She had already agreed to be the Duke’s mistress. And there was no place for a woman like her on Kyle’s
side.

There was a sudden pang in her heart as though it was being ripped apart in two! Her fists clenched in
her lap, hidden from Mrs. Mona’s view, as it’s knuckles turned white. It wasn’t long before the growing
pain in her heart was replaced by her deep hatred in one Matthias von Herhardt.

“Oh silly me, look at the time!” Mrs. Mona gasped in surprise, “All I did was talk and talk and talk, I’m so
sorry.” she apologized, “Well, I better be going now.”

Both women stood up as Leyla escorted Mrs. Mona out the cabin, thanking her for both her visit and the
cake. Suddenly Mrs. Mona paused, and turned back towards her once more.

“Oh I almost forgot, I heard Lady Brandt would be coming, so everything’s just getting busier by the
second!” she sighed in complaint, “Anyway, she’s going to be staying in Arvis this entire time, just until
the crowned prince and his wife leaves.”

She proceeded to complain how she couldn’t see the relationship between the Duke and Lady Brandy
working out long-term, if the way they kept delaying their wedding was of any indication.

Leyla only politely nodded along, waiting for her to finally leave. With one last goodbye, Mrs. Mona
finally walked away, leaving Leyla alone in the frosty white forest, and silence enveloped her once again.

There was a strange sensation coming over her at the mention of Claudine. It made her throat feel dry,
as she struggled to keep her calm composure. And so, she numbly went back inside her cabin, and tried
to finish the cake she had begun eating.

Truthfully, she had no appetite, but she hadn’t been eating enough either. She didn’t want to worry her
uncle by the time he arrived back home, he’d be so exhausted by then. She couldn’t, mustn’t add up to
his worries.

Oh how she really loathed that man. Who did he think he was?! Making her lose her faculties at the
mere thought of him?!

She swallowed down the rest of the cake, washing it down her throat with the cold tea, before piling
more of the food Mrs. Mona brought onto her plate.
She just kept eating, and drinking; one bite, swallow, drink and then repeat until all that’s left was an
empty plate. Memories of how the duke insulted how skinny she was made feelings of shame and
humiliation resurface.

She’d bear it anyway. She wanted to live a normal life after this, and she’d make sure of it. She needed
only to endure for a little while.

She washed the dishes, did her chores, and then continued to read her book, slowly clearing her mind of
all the negativity piling over her in the last few weeks.

On the bright side, the Duke was going away, leaving for the capital and wouldn’t be back until the
weekend. It gave Leyla some room to breathe, though she was disappointed the only reason she was
given such freedom was because he wouldn’t be around.

‘When will this nightmare end?’ she wondered. She snapped her book shut, and looked around. All she
could see was nothing but loneliness…

She couldn’t help but feel as though the walls were closing in on her. Her breathing grew ragged, and
echoes of flesh slapping and guttural moans circled in her mind…

She could feel Matthias’ hands all over her..,

She needed to get away! She couldn’t stand it anymore!

Hurriedly, she ran out of her cabin, grabbing the bare minimum to keep herself warm in the chilled
weather. She grabbed her bicycle and began to pedal, aiming for nowhere, just as far away from the
confines of her mind’s prison!

She sped through the streets, before pausing in front of the library. Thankfully she had the foresight to
bring some books and other necessities, and went in to return them. Her next stop was by the grocery
store, and went on to buy things she needed for cleaning like powdered soap and brushes.

She even made time to stop at a nearby cafe to drink some sweet hot chocolate, feeling the warmth
seeping back into her body. She breathed in the cold winter air, smiling softly to herself as she began to
relax…

Up until she met the eyes of the one person she wanted to avoid most, next to the Duke.

“Leyla…” his warm voice breathed out her name. It sounded so good to hear, yet equally mortifying as
well.

Everything seemed to stand still as Leyla stared at him in shock and the world deafened to a silence
around her. It was really him…

Right in front of her, stood no one else but Kyle Etman himself, who was smiling beaming brightly at her.
Chapter 76

No Way Back

For a moment, none of them said anything. Kyle was too happy to see her in front of him after a long
time, while Leyla was too shocked and torn about how she should feel being confronted by him.

“I heard about what happened with Uncle Bill.” Kyle finally spoke, breaking the tense silence between
them. Leyla gulped, and nodded hesitantly…

“I see.” she replied softly before averting her gaze back down on the table she sat at. Kyle stared at her
for a moment, awkwardly standing in the cafe, before he took the seat across from her. He noticed how
Leyla tried to subtly look away from him, but he knew her too well.

“I’m sorry.” he continued, finally managing to get her to look at him. Leyla stared at him inquiringly,
asking what he was apologizing for behind the rim of her glasses. Somehow the sight of her looking like
that gave him a sense of familiarity he didn’t know he missed so much in his time away.

“I should have been here sooner, perhaps I could have helped ease some of your burdens.” he
elaborated, rubbing his palms on his lap in a nervous tic, “I didn’t know what had happened until
recently, and like an idiot I just kept sending you letters, probably irritating you with how many they
were.” he awkwardly laughed at himself, but Leyla could hardly manage a smile.

“It was no fault of yours Kyle, nor anyone.” Leyla pointed out to him, “Besides, I wouldn’t expect you to
know what had happened since it wasn’t anything to do with you. It was mine and uncle’s problem after
all.” she told him resolutely, “Besides, it’s all resolved now. So there’s no further need for you to worry.”

Kyle nodded mutely, nodding along as he wetted his lips, another nervous tic of his.

“So… so everything’s good now? You and Uncle Bill are fine?”

“Yes,” she smiled minutely, “In fact he’s working on restoring the greenhouse again, he’s been very
ecstatic.” she tried to say, but she knew her uncle was also having a hard time repaying a debt that was
already paid.

Leyla pulled on the sleeves of her sweater, eyes looking back down as she once more avoided his gaze.
Kyle observed her for a while, noting how sickly she looked right now. She wasn’t like this when he left.

“You can always ask me for help Leyla,” he softly reminded her, “I’d do everything I can to help you, I
hope you know that.”
Leyla’s jaw clenched as she listened to him.

“Why do you keep saying that?” she asked, coming out harshly than she intended. Her eyes held a
certain contempt as she stared back at him. Kyle only held her gaze.

“Because I know you’re not doing well Leyla.” he answered plainly. Leyla took some deep breaths as she
tried to calm herself down. “You forget I know you Leyla,” he explained, “Just because we’re no longer
together, doesn’t mean I care any less for you.”

Now that he’d seen her, he’s more assured now that something did, or was happening with Leyla. Every
minute he’s spent with her today was proof she was acting less and less like how she was.

Leyla grew up in an unideal environment, but when she met Bill, the old gardener had showered her
with the best love he could give. Though sometimes, he will fall short in identifying the subtlest of hints
when it comes to Leyla’s thoughts and feelings. And Kyle knew that no matter how tired or hurt she was,
her pride would never allow herself to seek out help.

The moment Kyle had gotten to know Leyla, how she really was, he’d formed the habit of looking out for
these subtle hints. Anything that would help him understand Leyla better since they were children. But
it didn’t mean he knew everything about her. After all, Leyla also got better over time hiding her feelings
from everyone around her.

It didn’t mean his efforts were entirely in vain though, because he could sense something was wrong. He
just couldn’t tell what it was.

“So why haven’t you been replying to my letters?” he finally asked, moving onto what he hoped was an
easier question to answer for her. Leyla held her chin higher, even though she still refused to look
directly at him.

“People change Kyle,” she said, “I didn’t know how to reply to your letters.”

“Yes, but why?” he insisted. “This isn’t like you!” Leyla only sighed out and shook her head.

“I just didn’t want to.” she said with an air of finality, “And just because it isn’t like me from before
doesn’t mean I can’t be like that now. I’ve changed, Kyle, it’s time to accept that.”

“So that’s it?” Kyle asked with disbelief, “You’ve changed this much in such a short time?”

Silence reigned between them once more, before Leyla finally replied.

“It felt so much longer for me,” she admitted, “So I’m telling you now, we can never go back to how we
were before.” She then moved to leave the cafe, finally done with this conversation.

“Leyla!” Kyle called out desperately, but she whirled around in anger, as she looked back at him.
“I didn’t answer you Kyle!” she exclaimed, “That should have been enough of an answer to you as to
how I really feel. We’re done. Don’t expect anything from me anymore because I’m through with it, and
I don’t want to go back.” she finished in a calmer voice.

She didn’t want to, but she had to do this.

“I just don’t feel the same as you anymore Kyle, our time apart has proven that to me.” she finally said,
“Even if your mother were to miraculously agree to our union, I don’t want to. Not anymore. In fact, I
can’t even bear the thought of moving away and marrying anyone.”

Every word was like a knife to his heart, and Leyla just kept adding to it.

“I kept quiet because I wanted you to hold on to the beautiful times we’ve had together, but you forced
my hand here.” Leyla continued, “I loathe you, Kyle.”

Kyle shook his head in denial as he stared up at her, while only Leyla nodded to affirm her words to him.

“N-no, y-you don’t mean that…”

“I do. And that’s my only answer to you.” she finished, “So please, let this be the last time we see each
other again. I don’t want to hear about your feelings for me, I don’t want to hear other people wishing
we’re back together because I’m sick of it all!” she sighed desperately. “Give me peace Kyle.” she
pleaded.

Kyle sat there stupefied. What had started out like a dream reunion ended up in a nightmare, only it
wasn’t a nightmare. It was real. When he couldn’t form a reply, Leyla busied herself into gathering her
belongings, eager to get away from him.

She then turned and left, pushing open the cafe’s doors as it chimed open, knocking Kyle out of his
reverie…

“No, Leyla, wait!” he called out, hastily packing up his own things as he rushed after her. He might have
tripped a couple of times to catch up to her, but he’d just managed to hold onto her shoulder right
before she mounted her bike…

And when she turned to look back at him, Kyle found himself looking at her red rimmed eyes. She
looked as though she was ready to cry any second. And Kyle found himself speechless once more…

How could he force her right now? She looked as if she was about to fall into a million pieces if he even
dared push through her walls. He couldn’t do that to her. He respected her too much for that. And so he
kept his mouth shut, and allowed Leyla to push him away, slapping his touch off of her.

He stood there in the middle of the road, watching as she hastily ran away from him, and stayed in his
spot long after she’d disappeared.

Something really was wrong, and she was suffering for it. No matter what it was, he’d do everything in
his power to save her.
Even if it’s the last thing he would do.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When Riette came with Claudine to look at the on-going reconstruction of the greenhouse, he couldn’t
help but let out a low whistle at the sight of it. He looked around in awe, absolutely gobsmacked at just
how much work needed to be done.

“Wow, it really is such a big mess!” he exclaimed, letting out an amazed chuckle or two as he continued
to look around. Claudine shot him an unamused glare, but he only disregarded it, already used to her
disappointment.

“Sure laugh it up, it’s not like it wasn’t a tragic accident… oh wait,” Claudine hummed, eyeing him dryly.
“It actually was. Look at that, I didn’t know you could be so heartless.”

“It’s not that I’m heartless,” Riette protested, “I’m just so amazed at how much damage had been
done!” he exclaimed, waving his arms towards the whole greenhouse as though to emphasize the scale
of it, “I mean, I never expected anything like this to ever happen in Arvis, to be honest.”

Truly the glaring difference from his last visit was prominent. The last time he’d been in the greenhouse,
it had been such splendor, filled with the most exquisite plants, all arranged perfectly to showcase their
beauty. It had been a paradise on earth.

But now it was in ruins, much like the aftermath of a war. The plants were dug up, soil was scattered all
over the ground, and a large pile of debris was just off to the side while there was continuing
hammering and chopping sounds all over.

“I still can’t believe Matthias dropped all the charges.” Riette commented, “I mean the damage is
massive! And he let him return back to work!” he added offhandedly, “Ah, what prestige it must be to
be one of the country’s most influential men.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure if it’s the prestige or the mistress’ influence.” Claudine whispered to him, taking
great care to lower her voice in case of any eavesdropper. She bit her lip, if only to prevent more words
spilling out of her.

Riette gasped from beside her quietly, looking at her in shock.

“I didn’t know the great Lady Brandt thought of it that way. Why do you say such things?” Riette asked
her worriedly, and Claudine felt some of the tension leave her as she sighed out in resignation.

“Nothing, there wasn’t any reason Riette, I’m so sorry,” she apologized, “It was just a slip of the mind.”
she backtracked, and Riette lightly held onto her elbow, and gently steered her to face him.
“Hey, it’s alright,” he placated, “There’s no need for you to apologize, okay?” he smiled down at her
gently, before it turned into a roguish grin, “Besides, I think the jealous look quite suits you, my Lady.”
he teased, and Claudine scoffed, barking out a short laugh as she turned away from him.

“Me? Jealous? As if!”

They exchanged a few more laughs before a comfortable silence settled between them as they
continued to walk within the greenhouse. This was why she wanted to be here with Riette, the reason
why she invited him over.

She knew he could comfort her like no one else. She could whine and complain endlessly in front of him,
and he’d distract her with a joke or two, which was just what she needed. There was a comfort in
Riette’s mischievousness.

They headed towards the small space just a few spaces away from the greenhouse where served tea
was awaiting them. Already they could hear the boisterous laughter and loud chatter from the gathering
family of the Herhardt house, despite its current head being away on business.

And just like that, a switch was slipped, and they were back to acting like the Duke’s fiance and his
cousin respectively, and nothing more.

Over the course of the gathering, Claudine found herself looking over at Riette, locking gazes from time
to time. He even winked at her once in a teasing way when he had been sure no one was paying
attention to him. And not for the first time she wondered if she should have chosen him instead of the
Duke.

However she quickly brushed the thought aside, having already reached the logical answer many times
in her solitude. Her parents’ decision on making her pursue the life of a Duchess Herhardt was better
than choosing the life of a Marquise Lindman.

With how fast the world changed around them, it was no secret the social class where aristocrats
belonged suffered the worst when it came to change. The Brandt Household, one of the empire’s main
sources of finance, knew that better than anyone. She might not have been trained officially because
she was no son, but she was a natural when it came to such analysis.

Which was why she went with Matthias.

She had poured over her list of suitors, weighing each and everyone of the nobles she had the chance to
be with, the Herhardt house was the one she knew for certain would survive no matter what challenge
the times would throw at them. And as they creeped into a new era, Claudine wanted to be part of that
story.

It may not end up in history books, but the house’s glory would forever be etched into society.

“I just hope the greenhouse could be fully restored in time for Claudine’s wedding.” a lady on the table
remarked, effectively steering the rest of the conversation on the topic of their upcoming nuptials.
They had decided to hold the ceremony by next summer, and neither of them seemed to be changing
their minds any time soon, with or without the greenhouse.

Claudine occasionally joined in on the conversation, looking down from time to time to appear meek
and polite while she smiled brightly and politely to those addressing her. When she caught sight of
Riette’s soft brown eyes smiling at her.

She couldn’t help the warm feeling she had at the sight of him. Even when they were children, she liked
seeing Riette…

But she chose Matthias already, and she didn’t want to change her mind, not now. Not when she
reached this far.

Indeed, there was no room for regrets now, Claudine thought to herself. She couldn’t, not when
everything was exactly as how she planned her life would be. A life filled with success, paid in full price
with her happiness.

The topic of her wedding soon shifted towards the possibility of Riette marrying. Claudine knew that he
would be expected to find a lady, just like her. A woman that hailed from a good, respectable family that
could contribute to the Lindman House.

She excused herself from their company, opting to head back into her assigned room. When asked why
she had to go, she feigned having a slight headache, nothing a good rest wouldn’t fix in time for dinner.

Once she was back in the room, her lady-in-waiting went to fetch some medicine she didn’t really need.
Claudine only sat in front of the fireplace, watching as the fire slowly ate away the firewood.

Leyla Lewellin.

She knew that Leyla was held in high-esteem around their society. She was intelligent as she was
beautiful. But no matter how respected she was, it didn’t change the fact she was born of a low-status
family. It was only a matter of time before Leyla would leave the life of a mistress behind.

There was no way she would allow herself to be in such a relationship too long…

But Claudine couldn’t entirely disregard that small possibility that Leyla would choose to stay with
Matthias.

She had no intention in actually confronting the girl. There was far too much on Leyla’s plate right now,
and she wasn’t that thoughtless. She actually decided to keep quiet and act as though Matthias was
sleeping around with Leyla behind her back.

Suddenly, her lady-in-waiting came in with the medicine, and Claudine schooled her posture into a more
appropriate way for one suffering a headache. Unfortunately, her servant tripped and fell, spilling the
tray of medicine, and shattering the glass of water she carried with her.
Claudine shrieked in surprise, hastily moving out of the way before rushing to her side, carefully avoiding
the shards of glass.

“Are you alright?!” she asked worriedly to her lady-in-waiting. The girl only hastily got up, bowing
apologetically at her.

“Yes, thank you my lady!” she sputtered, completely red in the face, “I’m so sorry for the mess!”

“Oh dear,” Claudine gasped when she saw the blood drip down her servant’s hand, “Oh my, your hand!”

“I-it’s just a small prick my lady!” the girl insisted, “See? It’s not a big… deal…” wincing when her hand
revealed a shard embedded into her palm. Claudine winced at the sight. It looked as though the shard
got it a little too deep to be just a small prick.

“Oh hush now,” Claudine said, quickly fetching some handkerchief to stifle the flowing blood, and gently
cupping the girl’s hand in hers. “It’ll be quite difficult for you to keep working with such a wound, why
don’t you take some time to recover?” she suggested, making the girl shake her head.

“Oh, no, my lady, truly I’m fine!”

“I insist you take some time off.” Claudine said, looking at her sternly, and the girl’s protests died down.
“Alright, Mary?” she called out, prompting for a response.

“O-of course, my lady.” Mary weakly agreed, letting Claudine smile at her agreement. She bowed deeply
towards her lady, and moved to get her hand fixed, but stopped for a moment, looking back at Claudine
hesitantly.

“But my lady-”

“I will be fine Mary,” Claudine insisted once more, “Come on, let’s find someone else to help you.”

Claudine led them through the halls of the mansion, finding a few servants to clean up the mess in her
room, while some headed off to fetch a first aid kit. She watched as they moved around her. She then
looked at Mary’s injured hand, being cleaned and wrapped neatly with a bandage.

Mary had been a servant from her own house. Her most favored one, in fact. It was why Mary had
volunteered to come with her to Arvis, to continue to serve her lady. Mary had also been with her since
she was a child, and Claudine enjoyed being around her so much mostly because of her quick wits and
occasional stutter.

Satisfied Mary was being well-taken care of, Claudine headed towards the lobby, where the other ladies
were chatting. Among them was Elysee von Herhardt. Upon seeing her, the Herhardt matriarch stood up
to meet her.

“Oh Claudine! I heard about your maid. Oh how inconvenient.” she said, “It would be difficult for you
these next few days then, how about I lend you one of my servants to assist you as your attendant in the
whole duration of your stay, hm?” she suggested, and Claudine shook her head.
“Oh, thank you for the offer, but I can assure you I would be fine.” She replied, “Besides, you’ll need
every hand you could get to help prepare for the crown prince and his wife’s arrival. I couldn’t possibly
add to their workload.”

“Oh nonsense! Please, I insist you take one of my servants! Otherwise I would just be beside myself if
you continue without an attendant.” Elysee insisted back, urging her to accept.

Claudine smiled brightly, a thought popping up in her head. She really shouldn’t…

But the nagging in the back of her mind grew louder, making her give in.

“Well then, how about I have Leyla as my attendant?” she brightly requested. And Elysee blinked back in
shock, her own smile stilling on her face at the mention of the gardener’s foster daughter.

“Leyla?” Elysee asked, “You want to have Leyla as an attendant?”

“Yes.” she said, smiling brightly at the matriarch, “I would be more comfortable with her as my
attendant, and seeing as it is the school break, she’s most probably free during my stay. That way I
wouldn’t be imposing on your servants.” she calmly explained, “That is, if you would allow it, my Lady.”
she added respectfully.

There was a dangerous glint in Elysee’s eyes at the mere thought of that gardener’s foster daughter
stepping foot in her home. She was still sore about the whole ordeal about the greenhouse too.

“Well, are you sure?” Elysee asked once more, “She probably couldn’t assist you as well as my current
servants will.”

“Oh, I promise Leyla would do just fine as my attendant!” Claudine politely insisted back, ignoring the
obvious glare her own mother was shooting at her. “She’ll only be assisting me, just for a few days
tops.”

Elysee hummed, nodding along in agreement. Her jaw clenched as she smiled at Claudine. And so with a
heavy heart, Elysee went to summon one of her maids with a ring of her bell.

One maid immediately came rushing in, politely standing a few paces beside her as she awaited for
orders. And so, through gritted teeth, Elysee spoke.

“Please summon Leyla to the mansion as soon as possible.”

Chapter 77

Be Pitiful

When Leyla had been summoned into the Arvis mansion by none other than Elysee von Herhardt, she
thought they’d been found out. She never expected it was because Claudine needed an attendant since
hers had been injured not too long ago.

Elysee had immediately explained to her what she was going to do, and when she should do it, but to be
honest, Leyla hadn’t really been paying attention. It was like the words entered one ear, and out the
other as she nodded along without really understanding anything.

“Well, that’s it.” Elysee hummed, “All you really need to do is help Claudine with whatever things she
needed doing. And don’t worry, it’s paid work.”

“Madam, I don’t really have the experience though…” Leyla weakly countered, but Elysee only looked at
her sternly.

“Haven’t you assisted Claudine before?” she cut off harshly, “I know you probably did when you were
still children. It won’t be hard work, I assure you. You’ll just assist her maid until her hand heals and she
can do it herself.”

The distaste on the matriarch’s face was clear. She had been in a foul mood ever since she called for
Leyla.

“Surely you won’t refuse such a favor?” Elysee prodded, raising a brow at the woman, “After all,
Claudine had been so graceful to the fact your uncle destroyed the greenhouse which was supposed to
be their wedding venue.” she said as though to add insult to injury, “Think of this as a way to repay her.”

The way the madam mentioned Bill was through gritted teeth. Leyla could tell Elysee wanted her to
know she hadn’t forgiven Bill for the accident he caused. A murmur amongst the other ladies with them
broke out as they whispered to each other.

“You mean her uncle’s that gardener?”

“My, if I were her I wouldn’t want anyone related to him working under me.”
Claudine eyed the ladies through her peripheral, before walking beside Leyla, placing a comforting hand
on her shoulder before pulling away to stand beside her future mother-in-law.

“Oh will you do this for me, Leyla please?” she said politely with a pleading smile, “I promise it won’t be
too much of a hassle for you.” she swore. “I just need help with simple tasks every now and then, the
rest of the time you’ll be free to roam the mansion even.”

Claudine took the time Leyla thought it through to observe her. She looked paler than she was the last
time she saw the woman, but at least Leyla didn’t appear more conniving and ambitious. When Leyla
still remained silent, Claudine decided to put her in a corner.

“It’s alright, isn’t it, Leyla?” Claudine asked, pushing her to agree. Somewhere across the room, Riette
tried to catch her attention, but she resolutely ignored him as she stared intently at her fiance’s
mistress.

After all, if Leyla were to decide to stay with Matthias, she’ll have to learn to live with her. She needed
this time to get used to that fact, as well as to ensure Leyla wouldn’t get any ideas in the long run.

“Claudine expects an answer, girl!” one of the ladies snapped at Leyla, looking at her disapprovingly
when she still refused to give an answer. Leyla, on her part, looked at Claudine with the eyes of a lost
child. Quietly imploring Claudine to let her be.

As Claudine looked back at her, she wondered if it were those eyes who managed to snag such an
emotionless man’s heart? She knew what she wanted Leyla to answer, and was content to wait as long
as she could to get it.

It wasn’t long until Leyla realized she wasn’t allowed to leave.

“Of course, my Lady.” she finally replied, bowing her head to look resolutely on the floor. Her hands
were clasped in front of her meekly, as she hoped for the upcoming days to be over soon.

“Oh how kind of you!” Claudine beamed at her, “Thank you so much, Leyla!” she added, Leyla finally
looked up to give her a hesitant smile in return.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

In his four-day stay in Ratz, Matthias’ work schedule was packed to the brim. He hardly had any time for
a break.

As most businesses belonging to the Herhardt empire, they were based in Carlsbar. However, there was
also a significant number of them in Ratz. All businesses were relevant in managing good relations
between the royal family, their respective political circles, as well as social connections in the capital.
Which also meant that half the time, the Duke of Arvis stayed in the capital. And that fact wouldn’t
change even if he were to get married soon, and would father an offspring.

Although, it made him think if perhaps he should make Leyla move with him to Ratz? It was a tempting
thought. Matthias looked up at the office’ ceiling after the last group of visitors left.

It was no secret that the Herhardt’s mansion in Ratz housed the duke’s mistress for generations. Even
his father’s longest mistress once lived here.

Back when he was young, Matthias always saw her whenever he’d stop by at the capital to visit his
father. Both him and his mother acknowledged her presence, after all, his father still showed them the
right courtesy as his wife and son despite his obvious affair.

As such, the mistress never dared cross his mother, nor him for that matter. It was the way things were
in their household after all. The Herhardt house he grew up in.

It certainly would be good for him.

After all, he had no plans to get rid of her any time soon, he might as well join the club of his
predecessors. It would make little sense for him to allow Leyla to live in Arvis after he got married.
Though he wondered if Leyla would be amenable to his plan.

She’d been getting a little rebellious lately. Matthias could perfectly recall the way she would glare at
him defiantly.

It was more likely she would deny the chance to move out of Arvis if that meant cementing her role as
his mistress. Plus, she wasn’t the type of woman who’d keep quiet for long. She’ll blab soon enough to
her uncle, Bill, who she would choose over him in a second every single time.

“Ah Leyla,” Matthias sighed out, clicking his tongue at the sound of her name. He swept his hand
through his hair, before he rubbed his face in deep thought.

That ill-temper of hers had been amusing at first, but it was proving to be more and more of a nuisance
as of late. He still didn’t understand her reluctance at being with him when he could give her so much
and more.

And yet he knew she’d refuse every single one of them if it came from him.

He knew he had a strong hold over her, but most of the time it felt as though it was the other way
around. He could hardly believe the times he had to reassess his plans because of what she wanted.

He thought about her for so long, Matthias finally realized it was becoming a habit for him to keep
thinking about her every time he had the time to spare. And yet through all that thinking, he’d yet to
reach a conclusion.
She filled his thoughts at every second of every moment of everyday.

A sudden knock came, and Mark Evers entered politely inside his office, bowing briefly before delivering
his news.

“Master, Colonel Farrell has arrived,” he announced. Matthias nodded at him briefly in
acknowledgement, before rising to his feet and fixed his appearance. Mark then stepped aside as he
strode past him to greet his guest.

Mark followed him obediently through the hallway as he proceeded to continue with his news.

“Master, I also received word not too long ago from the Museum of Natural History.” he informed. At
the news, Matthias abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned to his attendant, prompting him to
continue. “They’d given word that the person who had carved the crystal ornament of a bird in their
ceiling was some merchant named Kraken.”

Mark proceeded to inform him that aside from supplying the museum, Kraken was also the one
responsible for supplying the Imperial family with their exquisite jewelry.

“Shall I send out word to him that you’d like to purchase an order?” Mark asked him. Matthias took no
time to answer.

“Yes, send word I’d like to purchase a sculpture similar to the one in the museum.” he commanded and
went on his way, before stopping once more, “Though with some changes.”

“What changes would that be, master?”

“I want him to make the wings yellow.” he ordered, and Mark jotted the information down before
Matthias finally went on his way, stopping no more.

In the back of his mind, he recalled the way Leyla had looked up in amazement at the intricate ornament
in the museum when they had visited it the first time. The passageway was filled with gaudy bird-like
crystal ornaments, and she stood on her tippy toes to reach out to every single one of them…

She looked absolutely radiant at that moment when he held her in his arms. He wanted that feeling
again.

She had been content the entire time they toured the museum, and she spent the rest of the day just
writing, observing, and admiring every piece in the museum. Perhaps giving her the chance to study in
Ratz now wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

The thought of giving her an ornament struck him when he passed by the Museum during his stay in
Ratz. It was his sole reason why he sought out the sculptor, and instructed his attendant to order
something just as spectacular.

Which was unlike him really.

He finally reached the door to the reception room when the thought of her attending the same college
as Kyle struck him. The frustration came bubbling up like a volcano, before quickly dying down to a
simmer when he remembered Leyla was already his.

Yes, she wouldn’t ever leave him for Kyle, not anytime soon.

And so, he entered the room in a considerably lighter mood and played flawlessly his role as the perfect,
influential Duke Herhardt, schooling his features back into a neutral expression.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Oh, do you remember this place, Leyla?” Claudine asked as she sat across from her new attendant,
smiling brightly as she looked around, “This was exactly where we first met one another!” she recalled
gleefully.

“I remember well, my Lady.” Leyla supplied, looking absolutely stiff in her seat as she looked around
nervously.

How could she forget the place in her youth where the young Claudine had dragged her in and
eventually abandoned her at?

She kept her gaze down, hoping to avoid any tension between them.

At the very least, Claudine hadn’t been lying when she said the work would be simple. Aside from a few
random errands, the work she had to do was mostly minor compared to her work as a teacher. She was
mostly just a glorified companion, someone Claudine could talk to whenever she grew bored or restless
on her own.

Truly, it wasn’t anything different from how they interacted when they were still children.

“It feels as though it was just yesterday when we first met, but then I see you and I’m reminded of just
how much time passed us by!” Claudine moaned with an air of regret. Leyla didn’t know how to
contribute to the conversation.

Fortunately, it was when Claudine’s injured attendant rushed in, reminding her young mistress it was
time for them to prepare for a tea party, as such a change of clothes were in order.

Leyla quietly shut her book, and obediently followed them both inside, and back to the guest bedroom
where Claudine was staying. Already, her next set of wardrobe and accessories were laid out, all that
needed to be done was to get them on Claudine.

Leyla also had the privilege to assist Claudine in this area, with the maid boasting that on the side she
could do it with her eyes closed. Unfortunately, it was one of the tasks Leyla struggled to do. She doesn’t
know what half of the garments were, while the other she couldn’t secure properly in place.
The maid kept scolding her whenever she made a mistake, resulting in Claudine laying a placating hand
on her incensed maid, while giving Leyla a bright smile in compensation.

“I’m sure it’s all fine, Maria,” Claudine said, before turning to Leyla, “Go on, Leyla, you can do it.” she
encouraged.

It seemed like Lady Brandt had no intention in calling for another maid to assist her after all. Leyla had
to endure the difficulty of dressing her by herself. If it were any other maid, Claudine would have been
fully dressed by now.

It took Leyla over an hour to finish, and yet she heard neither peep nor sound of a complaint from her
temporary mistress. She tried her best really, but she just kept fumbling until it turned out to be an
absolute disaster! She couldn’t even secure the corset properly!

Claudine glanced at her attire in the floor length mirror in her room, letting out an inaudible sigh at the
sight of her. She then reached out, and took off the accessories Leyla draped around her, which included
the hat, gloves, shawl, and even the necklace.

She certainly felt a lot cooler, and lighter than a while ago.

“Oh dear, it must have been difficult for you,” Claudine sighed, careful not to let out any hint of irritation
or disappointment in her voice, “You definitely had a hard time just now.” she finished, giving Leyla a
pitying smile.

Without the accessories on her now, Leyla could definitely look much better than before. She couldn’t
help but stiffen up in embarrassment over her failure. With the way Claudine was looking at her, she
couldn’t help but feel as though she was just a child once more.
Chapter 78

Four People

Night had fallen, and Leyla had finally gotten the chance to retire back to her lonesome. She sat in her
bed, illuminated only by her sole lamp on the desk as she basked in the darkness of her room.

The night had gotten so late already, but she hardly felt the need to sleep. She tried to force herself to
sleep at some point earlier, but all she achieved was more tossing and turning. It was in her restlessness
she could find clarity in her mind.

Her windows immediately rattled by the strong gust of wind, snapping her alert as she whipped her
head to stare in alarm at her windows, fearing the worst.

For a second she thought Phoebe had come by with a note from the duke, until she realized that
couldn’t happen. The duke was away after all, it wouldn’t make sense for Phoebe to visit the mansion.

Relief quickly swelled in her chest, enabling her to get up and wrap a shawl around her thin arms. Her
lips chattered against the cold, and she tried to imagine what Uncle Bill would see if he were to return at
the moment.

She felt so lost right now. He’d only left not two days ago, and already she was feeling so lonely. She
couldn’t imagine just how hard the next two weeks would be for her.

She walked closer to the window, re-checking the locks were secure before she found herself seated at
the dining table, cradling a warm cup of tea in her palms.

“-it must be difficult for you.”

Claudine’s voice echoed in her head, rising above the mingling voices in her head. She could practically
hear her ear ringing in the loudness of the silence around her. Leyla put the cup down on the table,
having lost the appetite for the tea, the cold digging into her deeper.

She wanted to do something. She wanted to scream her heart out and probably kick some stones with
her feet in frustration, break something even! Anything!

But when she was walking back to their cabin, with her head trailed on the ground beneath her feet in
the light of the moon, she only found herself feeling so guilty and ashamed. It didn’t matter if Claudine
was antagonizing her purposely or not, Leyla felt like she lost the right to be upset with her.
She was sleeping with her fiance after all.

And so she could only take solace on the fact that Matthias was away, and didn’t have the luxury of
seeing her so submissive and obedient. If he did, it would have brought immense satisfaction for the
man, and she swore off that.

She downed her cooling tea in one gulp, before refilling it with a still-warm tea from the pot. She
removed her glasses, rubbing her eyes gently before pinching the bridge of her nose as she squeezed
them shut. She let out a tired sigh, before rubbing her palm over her face and through her hair…

She had a vague sense of what she really was to Matthias.

In front of others, he’d maintain the facade of a perfect gentleman. He gave them the image of a perfect
and respectable duke. But in the confines of his room, and in her company, only then did he feel
confident enough to let her see the darker parts he held in him.

She doubted he’d ever let Claudine know about that, even if they were to wed.

A steely gaze went over her, as she quickly emptied her second cup. She put it down on the table,
standing up abruptly to recheck the locks on the doors were secure this time. Leyla glanced out the
window, watching the darkened world outside her home.

She really hated him.

Everything, all the emotions she kept in her all day long; her torture and torment in the Arvis mansion,
the turmoil in her mind…

They were all because of him. And she’d hate him forever for that.

She might be a little unfair, after all, it wasn’t as if the duke was the only one to blame for the suffering
she was put through. He didn’t make her tear Kyle’s heart mercilessly earlier today. She did that of her
own volition, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to blame that to the duke.

She went back to her room, doing one last sweep to secure the locks on both doors and windows,
before she curled up in her bed in a fetal position. When dawn came, a thought entered her mind.

What if he were to come back earlier? That way, she could at least have an outlet for her frustration.
Direct it to the man who’s responsible for her suffering. Yes, that would work indeed…

And just like that, Leyla wanted to see Matthias returning soon.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
When Dr. Etman went to visit Norma, he brought Kyle along with him. At the sight of the doctor’s son,
Catharina beamed, to which Kyle returned effortlessly with his own kind smile to the old Herhardt
matriarch.

“Oh it’s so good to see you Kyle!” Norma greeted, “My, you’ve grown so much since the last time I saw
you!” she praised, and Kyle let out a short laugh in embarrassment. She then turned to her doctor, “It
was nice of you to bring him along, today.”

“Oh, it wasn’t much trouble really, my Lady.” Dr. Etman replied, “Besides, it was our pleasure to visit
you, isn’t that right, son?”

“Yes it is.” Kyle quickly agreed, shooting them a convincing smile, which he hoped would placate the
side-eye his father gave him. Norma seemed to have missed the tension between the father and son
duo, and smiled brightly at the confirmation.

She had wanted to meet with Kyle soon when she heard he returned to Arvis. She really was fortunate
that Dr. Etman suggested he’d bring Kyle with him by his next visit, which happened to be today.

She had gotten a slight cold not too long ago, but thankfully caused her no further health problems,
which made her treatments short. The rest of their visit was spent with them catching up with one
another, and regaling them of tales of their everyday life.

Kyle wasn’t really much in the mood to visit, but for Lady Catharina’s sake, he’d be amicable and
pleasant. He owed her that much at least. The old Herhardt matriarch always adored him as a child, and
he’d hate to disappoint her.

Still, his mind was filled with thoughts of Leyla. Just the mere thought of her threatened to break his
calm composure as he struggled to keep the tears from forming in his eyes.

He knew she lied to him. He was sure of it. It was the only thing that made sense. He replayed her words
over and over, how could he not? He remembered everything about her lately.

Her speech, the way she left, and her tears when she thought he wouldn’t catch up but did…

He was currently planning on an escape route from his father once their visit was over. He needed to
see her, despite her telling him she didn’t want to ever again. He wanted to help her, and he needed to
know why she felt the need to lie to him.

Fortunately, shortly after administering her medicine, Norma began to feel drowsy, an unfortunate side
effect. And so his father decided it was best to give her rest, and they all exchanged goodbyes, with a
promise to visit when she was better.

Kyle was quick to leave before his father after he bid Lady Catharina goodbye, but just as he began to
snuck off, he was unexpectedly greeted by one of Arvis’ maids, who stood patiently outside the room,
waiting for him and his father.
“Greetings Dr. Etman, and his son.”

The maid said, bowing in front of them, sparing him a glance before turning back to his father,

“I apologize for the abruptness, but Lady Brandt has invited you over for some tea. If you have time to
spare.”

His father’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise, exchanging a small look with Kyle before nodding along
with the maid.

“It would be no trouble to accompany Lady Brandt.” his father replied. She then began to lead them
towards where Claudine was, eyeing him in an indecipherable way.

Kyle couldn’t help but think that even if his father were to decline the invitation, the maid won’t let
them say no.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Earlier that day, Elysee had decided to go out to the city, which her entourage of ladies quickly agreed
and accompanied her with. Leaving Claudine in Arvis, in the peaceful reception room when afternoon
struck.

She did her embroidery in front of the fireplace. Sat opposite her was Leyla, reading a book as per usual.
Claudine knew that Dr. Etman came by to visit Lady Catharina today. She also knew he brought with him
Kyle. Perhaps their visit would be over soon.

Her eyes snuck a glance at the door to their reception area, before glancing back at her companion. She
was too focused on her book. Claudine couldn’t help but look at Leyla like a mother would with her
unsociable child.

She knew Matthias would be returning sometime tomorrow. Claudine wasn’t foolish enough to believe
it was just because he finished quickly. He probably finished quickly because he missed his mistress too
much.

She needed to tread carefully. She didn’t want to know what would happen if Matthias even thought
she was mistreating his precious Leyla. Since it was the last day she could be alone with Leyla, she
decided to give Leyla a little gift, of sorts.

Claudine’s lips curled up into a subtle smirk at the thought.

Yes, it was good to give Leyla some kind of gift for all the good work she did the past few days. She’d
done exceptionally after all, aside from the slight mishap with changing her clothes, she did wonderfully
as her aide.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t still an orphan, despite her holding her head up high as though she
wasn’t a low-born. Yes, even now, Claudine has yet to see her look even guilty or contrite for being
Matthias’ mistress. Although she did remain ever modest and polite around her.

She wanted Leyla to squirm around her. Such audacity for the mistress to remain so calm around the
fiance. She really was quite the shameless mistress. It was the best compliment Claudine could give her
right now.

Perhaps if she continued to work well as her aide, Claudine might be convinced to give her the position
full-time, even well into their wedding. She might even let Leyla take care of her child with Matthias
when the time comes.

“You know, I can’t help but wish your marriage with Dr. Etman’s son had come true.” Claudine suddenly
piped up, breaking Leyla’s concentration as she looked up in shock at her.

“P-pardon?” Leyla asked, her voice just above a whisper.

“Your marriage, with, hm, what was his name?” Claudine thought, “Kyle was it? I’m right, aren’t I?” she
asked Leyla, who nodded shortly in confirmation.

“Yes, you and Kyle, I wish you did get married.” Claudine continued, “Just imagine it! You and him at the
university in the capital, you two would have had the best life right now.” she finished brightly, looking
determinedly at Leyla.

Leyla’s brows furrowed at the topic.

“My Lady-” but Claudine cut her off.

“Plus, both of you look so good together! You had been so happy with him. I never saw you like that
around anyone else.”

“My Lady-”

“I can’t help but think Mrs. Etman had been too cruel to you.” Claudine continued on as though she
didn’t hear Leyla. “I know she’s his mother, but what right did she have dictating her son’s marriage, am
I right?”

This time, she looked at Leyla, allowing her the chance to reply. Leyla gulped under her stare, before she
stared resolutely at her fingers, which unconsciously gripped tightly onto the book in her hands…

“There’s no use reminiscing the past, my Lady,” Leyla sighed, taking slow deep breaths, “Kyle and I… I
don’t think we’d ever get back together again.”

“I know.” Claudine hummed, “I was just sharing my thoughts.” she replied back as she felt a sadistic
sense of pleasure at seeing the turmoil in Leyla’s expression.
She knew that even if Kyle wanted Leyla back, which he probably did, Leyla wouldn’t. She was far too
deep in the Duke’s clutches, she couldn’t find the will in her to leave him for anyone else, not while he
still wanted her.

It was a sad fate for anyone who’s wings got broken, Claudine supposed. In the end, living your life
makes you more miserable.

Deciding not to antagonize her further, she switched gears and gave Leyla another pitying look, sending
her emphatic signs.

After all, why wouldn’t she feel sorry for her? Leyla became a reluctant mistress to a man that was
ruining her life bit by bit.

Granting her the small opportunity to enjoy some time with Kyle over a cup of tea would be a great gift
from Claudine for all her hard work.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

There was a commotion amongst the servants as Hessen, head butler of Arvis Mansion, immediately
called the servants to an assembly in front of the lobby hall. Hessen had been prepared to welcome his
master tomorrow evening, but it was only a short while ago when he received word the Duke would be
arriving today instead.

The servants stood in attention, as they quickly schooled themselves with respectable expressions as
they welcomed back the Duke of Arvis. Hessen rushed to greet him as the chauffeur opened his master’s
door.

“Welcome back master!” He greeted, breathing deeply as he bowed in front of the duke. Normally he
was composed, but the unexpected change in schedules made him rush a bit in his haste to greet his
master properly, along with the other servants in the mansion.

Matthias only nodded at him, giving a nod of acknowledgement at his servants before continuing inside
the mansion, striding through the polished halls of his home. Hessen rushed after him, giving him news
of the events that happened while he was away.

“And my mother?”

“Lady Elysee had gone to the city along with a few other ladies not too long ago, while Lady Catharina is
resting in her quarters.” he dutifully supplied.

“And what of Lady Brandt?”

“She’s in the small lounge by the second floor, we just prepared some tea for her.”

Matthias hummed, swiftly turning on his heels to head up the mentioned area.
When Hessen heard Leyla would be serving under Lady Brandt, he’d been skeptical of it. Of course, even
if he wanted to be against the idea, it wasn’t in his place to question his master or his betters on their
decision.

He rushed after his master, wondering how to break the news to him that Leyla was around. He
panicked further, when he realized they were nearing the lounge area, and he’d yet to give his master
the news!

“Duke Herhardt, welcome back!” called out Dr. Etman, who just turned around one of the halls to head
into the lounge. Matthias stopped in his tracks to greet the doctor properly, when he caught sight of
Kyle behind the doctor.

It was only a split second, but Hessen had worked around Matthias long enough to have caught onto his
subtle tics.

“Thank you, I wasn’t expecting you here.” Matthias politely greeted back, smiling appropriately.

“Ah, we were just about to leave after a visit with your grandmother, when Lady Brandt extended us an
invitation for tea.” Dr. Etman jovially explained, smiling at the duke.

“Ah, then it’s fortunate we get to go there together.” Matthias smiled, gesturing for the doctor to go in
first. Matthias quickly glanced at Kyle, who waited for the duke to enter first, before shortly following
inside.

Hessen paled at the sight of the three men entering the area Lady Brandt and Leyla were in. He tried to
stall for some more time, to better prepare his master, but Matthias resolutely ignored him as he
pushed the door open…

Only for Dr. Etman and his son stiffened at the sight of the two women waiting for them inside. Matthias
could only stand still beside them.

“Oh God…”

Hessen swallowed down his trepidation, and prayed for the rest of the tea time to go smoothly.
Chapter 79

Maid

The first thing Matthias saw when the door opened was Leyla. He zeroed in on her almost immediately,
before he remembered his current company. He snuck a glance beside him, towards both Dr. Etman and
Kyle, just enough to grasp the current situation he would be dealing with.

Claudine gasped at the sight of him, before presenting him with a bright smile.

“Duke Herhardt! You’re back earlier than we expected.” She greeted him politely after a few tense
moments of silence. Matthias gave her a courteous smile back.

“I apologize for being unable to inform you of the change in schedule my Lady,” he began, “But I finished
work earlier than I thought and figured I should get home. No point in delaying.”

He took a few, long strides, before stopping beside Claudine and kissed her hand. He then turned to look
at Leyla, who had stumbled back instinctively under his gaze, almost hitting the window behind her.

“I didn’t realize you already had a guest.” he pointed out while staring softly at Leyla, who tried to
remain inconspicuous within the shadows.

“Ah, she isn’t really here as a guest.”

Claudine admitted after debating in her head what was the best course of action here, and decided the
truth was the least hassle to explain.

“My aide had unfortunately hurt her hand in an accident, so I asked if Leyla could replace her
temporarily. Your mother agreed.” She added offhandedly, sparing Leyla a glance, before turning back
to Matthias, “And she’d been a great help, I was so thankful I chose correctly.” Claudine finished
explaining.

This was also the perfect opportunity for her to observe what Matthias would do with both his fiance
and mistress in one room.

“Ah, so she’s your aide, is she?” Matthias hummed, straightening up beside his fiance in that same
undecipherable expression as always. Claudine acted innocently, just continuing to hold onto his hands.
Matthias then turned to the other two guests in the room.
“Then I guess only Dr. Etman and his son were your planned guests this afternoon.” he stated, and saw
both men looked equally confused and bothered by the information. He then turned to look at Claudine,
who only continued to beam brightly at him.

“Yes, I did invite them when I heard they were visiting today.” She beamed, before the smile dropped on
her face, and looked worriedly at Leyla, “Oh but I completely forgot…” she trailed off, her eyes darting
back and forth the past fiances’ in the room apologetically.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make things so uncomfortable.” Claudine apologized quickly,
before Dr. Etman cleared his throat and gave her half a polite smile, and half a grimace.

“There’s no need for you to apologize, Lady Brandt.” the doctor said, “It happens to the best of us.”

“Well, shall we proceed with tea then?” Matthias asked everyone in the room, acting indifferent to the
tension around him. Claudine couldn’t help but eye him warily, wondering what he would do next.

“No, I’m sorry,” Kyle spoke up suddenly, with a hardened look on his face, “I’m afraid we have to go
now, don’t we father?” he asked his father, but more like demanded them to leave by the tone in his
voice. Dr. Etman fumbled over his reply, but hastily agreed.

“Ah, yes, of course!” he almost stuttered and bowed apologetically at the Duke and his Lady, “I just
remembered we have another patient to attend to afterwards, we must make haste.” he quickly
explained, shooting a nervous glance over Leyla’s unresponsive form.

He clearly pitied Leyla’s situation.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear our time together must be cut short, but we understand.” Matthias replied,
nodding his head at them. “I’ll make sure to give you a formal invitation for tea next time.”

“Thank you Duke Herhardt,” Dr. Etman said, bowing to him, then to his lady, “Thank you once again,
Lady Brandt.” he then turned on his heels, and grabbed onto his son to keep moving, but Kyle kept
staring at Leyla with a fire in his eyes.

“Didn’t you hear Leyla? Let’s go.” Kyle called out, causing the tension around the room to rise once
more. Everyone’s eyes were on him, but he pressed on, “You’re not a maid around here, Leyla. Why are
you acting like one?”

Claudine’s eyes narrowed over at Kyle in a subtle manner, while Dr. Etman looked at his son as though
he was crazy. Matthias’ attention though, was solely focused on his mistress who first had an odd look
on her face, before it turned into something desperate…

His jaw tightened at the subtle change.

She looked like she was begging Kyle Etman. She looked as though it was Kyle, and not him who would
be able to help her!
“You may go now, Dr. Etman.” Matthias interrupted, his cold voice cutting through the tension like a
knife, “As head of Arvis, I will handle things from here.” he said, looking straight at the doctor with an icy
look.

‘Control your son.’

It was what his look demanded, and immediately Dr. Etman forcibly ushered his son out of the reception
area despite the wordless protests Kyle had against leaving without Leyla by his side.

Kyle caught Leyla’s pleading gaze, begging him to leave her alone. Kyle’s fists clenched beside him, but
ultimately had to respect Leyla’s wishes no matter how much he wanted to disobey.

The door clicked to a close, just as the doctor and his son managed to leave successfully this time.
Matthias then grabbed onto his cup of warm tea, and stirred its contents, watching the vortex swirl in
his cup.

“I guess you’ll have to spend tea with just me, my Lady.” he stated, and invited his fiance back to tea.
When he turned to look at Claudine, she was visibly pale as she nervously looked at him.

Matthias decided to ignore her for now, his attention back to observing Leyla, who now held a grief-
stricken expression as she continued to dutifully stand at the corner of the room to give them some kind
of privacy.

And yet she must have felt his gaze on her, for her eyes shifted away and met his own. A viscous smirk
paved its way on his lips as she looked at him.

‘He won’t be coming for you Leyla.’ he conveyed to her, and the fearful look in her eyes quickly changed
into rage. His smirk widened at the sight of it.

Yes, that was a much better look on her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Your mother should be back soon enough with the other ladies,” Claudine informed him as they sipped
on their tea, “She’d be happy to see you return sooner than expected.”

It had been silent as soon as the Etmans left them. She felt too much like an outsider between the Duke
and his mistress. She couldn’t stand it anymore, and decided to break the deafness she was beginning to
feel.

“Well, it seems to be getting closer to dinner, I should start preparing by now.” Claudine continued.
Matthias kept silent, content in letting her talk as he calmly sipped on his tea, “Aren’t you going to
prepare for dinner as well?” she prompted him to reply.
“I think I want to enjoy my tea a little longer.” He finally said, still not looking at her, “You’re free to do
as you wish though, Lady Brandt.” he pointed out. Claudine pursed her lips as she stared at him a little
bit more.

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me.” she sighed out, and stood up from her seat. There was no point in
bothering the Duke more. Should she press the wrong buttons, he might do something to her, and the
thought of it terrified her.

“Aren’t you taking your aide with you?” Matthias asked as soon as she passed him by to leave. Claudine
paused, and looked back at him to see him staring at Leyla, who stood in the same spot she had been
since tea time began.

She glanced at both of them for a while, pondering what to do, before waving her metaphorical white
flag to the Duke.

“Not tonight.” she told him, “I think Leyla deserves a little reprieve from her temporary tasks.”

Earlier, Matthias had acted like the perfect fiance, defending her in front of their guests, while acting like
he was unbothered with Leyla’s current status. He passed her little test that much at least, but she
couldn’t help but feel more nervous pushing him further as of the moment.

“Good work today Leyla,” she turned to the poor woman this time, smiling brightly at her, “Consider
yourself duty-free for the rest of tonight.” she praised before swiftly leaving them alone to meet up with
her actual servant, who waited patiently for her outside the room.

Claudine nodded at the woman outside, who then walked in quietly, handing Leyla some money for her
pay for the day. Leyla numbly accepted it, as both Lady Brandt and her aide left them by themselves,
and the doors swung to a close behind their retreating backs.

Leyla stood rooted in place, her face devoid of her feelings. Matthias would have thought she was a
statue if it weren’t for the way her hands shook in front of her. He regarded her thoughtfully for the
moment.

Was it just him, or her pale complexion that made her lips so rosy today?

With a click of his tongue, he gracefully stood from his seat and began stalking towards her like a
predator would his prey. He held onto his cup, his knuckles turning white with how strongly he was
gripping it. He only stopped when he stood just an inch apart beside her, and stared out the window.

“You are to wait for me in the annex.” he ordered, glancing at her from his side with an icy stare, “Or
don’t. It’s your choice in the end.” he whispered right next to her ear. He kept staring at her, and Leyla
bowed her head further down to avoid his eyes.

The pouch of money in her hands crinkled as her hands continued to shake.
Finally he stepped away from her and set the cup down back on the table before swiftly leaving her
behind the room alone with her thoughts. He quickly turned towards his study.

He sat down in front of his desk and drummed his fingers on the table top before he rang the bell in his
study. Not a moment longer, Hessen came walking in, and bowing beside his table.

“How can I help you, master?” Hessen asked dutifully as he retained his bow.

“Summon Dr. Etman once more.” Matthias said as he began to arrange the documents in his desk back
to their working order. Hessen looked up at him in confusion. “I’m afraid we still need his services after
all. I want him to look after another patient here in Arvis.” he finished, leaving no room for any
argument.

“I will do so at once, master.”

“Do send him my apologies for the inconvenience.” Matthias added as an afterthought, and Hessen
bowed at him once more, before swiftly leaving his study to call for the doctor once more.

Deep down inside, Hessen couldn’t help but worry what had happened earlier, and what would happen
later when the doctor arrived.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When Claudine was changed and dressed for dinner, she wasted no time in leaving her room and
headed out once more to the room, where the ladies had just returned, and were accompanied by
familiar gentlemen gathered around the area.

When she entered, eyes turned at her arrival and greeted her with warm smiles.

“Oh you look beautiful as always Lady Brandt.”

“Yes, Claudine’s always had a nice figure, and she’s quite tall as well.”

“Any dress would compliment her!”

“Hush you, don’t you see Marquis Lindman is here?”

The ladies chattered, and Claudine only gave them a pleasant smile before she locked eyes with Riette.
He had been away for a couple of days since he had to attend a different gathering by the central city,
and had just returned tonight. She couldn’t help but feel a little more at ease with him around.

Perhaps earlier’s incident wasn’t a big deal. She hadn’t seen hair nor hide of both Matthias and Leyla.
Perhaps they’re off frolicking under the sheets, and the entire mishap she made would be forgotten.

After all, if the past few days were of any indication, it meant Leyla knew her place was less than
Claudine’s. While earlier’s performance made her see that in front of an audience, Matthias knew how
to act accordingly and put her in priority compared to his mistress.
Yes, she would be fine. She had to believe that.

She mingled among them, the atmosphere becoming brighter as they chatted and laughed around with
each other in what they’ve been up to in the city. Everything had been going well, at least until Matthias
returned with Dr. Etman in tow.

The chatter died down, as they looked at the unexpected guest. Madam Norma was the first to recover.

“Oh, Dr. Etman, are you back so soon?” she asked him, looking confused. She had felt fine all day since
he visited her after all.

“Oh, I’ve been summoned by the Duke. He told me there was a patient I needed to see urgently.”

“A patient?”

“Is someone sick?”

“Perhaps someone’s injured.”

Murmurs slowly filled the room, as the nobles looked around to see who needed the help. Riette
glanced nervously towards Claudine, who had narrowed her gaze towards Matthias who looked right
back at his fiance.

‘No.’

Claudine thought to herself and felt a bead of sweat roll down the nape of her neck.

‘He wouldn’t.’

Her hands twisted into her skirts, fisting her skirt into her clammy palms. She caught the smirk Matthias
subtly sent her way and knew then and there he wouldn’t let her go so easily for the mishap earlier.

“Why, my Lady, don’t you remember?” Matthias asked innocently as he blinked at her. “You told me
your maid had gotten into an accident and had been unable to do her duties, so I summoned the doctor
to tend to her.”

“My maid?” Claudine asked softly in an incredulous manner, looking nervously at the eyes that turned
towards her, “Oh, you mean Mary?”

“Yes.” Matthias quickly nodded, “If you would so please summon her here so that the good doctor could
tend to her quickly.”

Every noble then began to look at the duke in awe at his thoughtfulness. Others couldn’t even believe
he would go as far as to summon their family doctor just for a maid, that wasn’t even really part of their
household, never mind the fact it was his fiance’s.

“Honestly Matthias, how could you summon our doctor for a maid’s wounds?” Elysee scoffed, and
Matthias only smiled at his mother politely.
“It isn’t just any maid dear mother, but my Lady’s.” he calmly explained, “I would hate to see the rest of
her stay be uncomfortable because of her maid being so injured to the point she can’t even use her
hands. It worried me greatly, so I can’t imagine the burden she must be feeling right now.”

The other ladies cooed at how sweet he was being, Claudine could only breathe deeply as she smiled
gratefully at the duke in a nervous manner.

“You are so kind, my Duke.” she replied, licking her lips, “But you didn’t have to trouble yourself over my
concerns-”

“Nonsense,” Matthias interrupted her, “What’s your concern, is also my concern. After all, we are to be
married soon enough.” he said, staring down at her in faux kindness. Waiting no further confirmation
from her, Matthias turned to one of the servants in the room.

“Find Lady Brandt’s servant, and bring her here this instant!” he barked, and they swiftly left to do his
bidding.
Chapter 80

What You Want To Do

As soon as the servants came back with Claudine’s in tow, Matthias wasted no time in making her unveil
her wound. As soon as the doctor unwrapped her bandage, it revealed a large gash on her hand, but not
deep enough to hinder her from doing her duties.

Elysee couldn’t help but scoff at the revelation. She sneered down at the maid, who squirmed
underneath all their gazes.

“What a lazy brat, feigning illness over something so small!” she exclaimed, prompting the others to
immediately agree in their assessment, even Madam Norma couldn’t hold back her disapproval at the
lie.

Claudine on the other hand kept her lips shut as she stared at the duke.

“Please mother, we don’t know if it really is just skin deep.” Matthias pointed out to his incensed
mother, “Doctor, if you please?”

“Ah, of course.” Dr. Etman cleared his throat and assessed the injury with an expert eye. “Well, it’s a
large gash, I won’t deny, but the bones beneath seemed to be intact.” he told everyone, “Overall, I
would say it’s just a minor cut.”

The maid suddenly burst into tears, unable to hold back her nervousness under their scrutiny. There
wasn’t even an ounce of pity thrown her way.

“Oh, but isn’t that absurd?” Matthias hummed thoughtfully, finally looking towards his fiance, with that
glint in his eye, “My lady specifically told me her maid had been injured and thus couldn’t do her job,
hence employing a temporary replacement. Was she wrong?”

All eyes then shifted to Claudine, who inaudibly gulped. On the outside it looked like she was just as
clueless as everyone, but anyone who would observe her closely could realize it wasn’t cluelessness, but
nervousness instead.

“I, I didn’t know,” Claudine stammered, “I honestly believed she was unable to do her work.” she
reasoned out, casting a nervous glance at her sobbing maid.
At this, Matthias drew closer to the maid and took her hand from the doctor’s, and caressed her gash
just right beside it. “Well if that’s true then,” he eyed the maid coldly, “It must be the maid who lied to
my Lady after all.” he pointed out, and there was an uproar amongst the nobles with them.

The maid just kept crying, and bowed her head deeply in apology, refusing to utter a single sound aside
from an apology. Matthias couldn’t help but feel a tad bit impressed with his fiance.

Claudine von Brandt was a different breed of noble, he’d admit. She was intelligent as she was beautiful,
and she knew how to use it to her advantage. A desirable trait for his future duchess. Which was why
her maid was determined not to rat her mistress out.

“I, I can’t think of anything else but believe she did deceive me.” Claudine weakly replied, and Matthias
hummed, turning the maids hands up calmly, making the sobbing girl look up at him in fright. He
couldn’t help the satisfaction he felt at seeing her cry beneath him.

“How dare you deceive my Lady?” he questioned in a low voice, his icy glare directed towards her. But
behind his harsh words, Claudine could hear a hint of amusement hidden so well if she wasn’t looking
for it.

Immediately Claudine stood up and walked closer to them.

“Please my Duke, let me handle Mary. Forgive her indiscretion, just this once.” Claudine interrupted,
gaining Matthias’ attention once more. The audience they had watched with bated breaths, wondering
what was about to happen.

“In the meantime, accept my apology on her behalf.” Claudine declared, ignoring the way her mother
reached out for her to stop her. The maid looked ready to faint any moment now by the intense stare
down Matthias and Claudine had between them.

“It’s my job as her mistress to take care of her, she’s my responsibility.” Claudine persisted, “I must have
been neglectful of her that she had no choice but to feign injury for time to rest.”

“And you would just forgive her like that?” Matthias asked, tilting his head in faux confusion at what she
was asking of him, “Someone who deceived you? You’re too kind for your own good, my Lady.”

“I can’t help it.” Claudine shot back politely, “She’s been with me for a long time. How could I just ignore
the years she served me well over a single mistake?”

Claudine had a feeling she would come to regret having said that, but as he was driving her into a
corner, she didn’t have any other argument in her arsenal to plead for Mary’s mercy without admitting
she lied and knew the extent of the injury.

“I’m not so sure I should let it slide.” Matthias admitted, frowning in thought, but Claudine persisted.

“You’d understand it most though, I’m sure my Duke,” she added, “After all, you did the same thing with
the gardener not too long ago.”
Matthias’ gaze hardened for a while at the subtle jab she gave him over his decision to let the charges
be dropped against Bill Remmer. He held his fiance’s gaze for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

She was confident, he’d give her that too. She wasn’t the kind to lose composure easily in public, even if
it was up against someone who already knew what she did. And so he flashed her a pleased smile in
front of everyone.

“Does this mean my Lady finally understands why I did what I did?” he asked, a smirk on his lips,
knowing he’s once more driven her to a corner. Claudine took a deep breath before nodding at him with
a soft smile.

“Of course,” she stated, her cheeks growing red, both in embarrassment and frustration, but for
everyone watching, they’d simply assume it was because of the loving way he seemingly looked at her,

“I am still so amazed by your kindness and generosity. Which is what inspired me to forgive my servant.”
she added. Matthias nodded along, and clasped his hands behind his back, before turning to the maid
and back to Claudine.

“That is admirable of you, but I believe your maid still owes someone else an apology.” Matthias pointed
out. “After all, we are not the only ones she’d inconvenienced.”

“Yes,” Claudine breathed subtly out of relief, “I’ll take Mary with me tomorrow and visit Leyla to deliver
her an apology.”

“You’re going with her?” Matthias asked, quirking up a brow at her.

Claudine seemed to have forgotten a few lessons in protocol in her nervousness, for she completely
forgot the implications of what she just said.

“Hm?” she asked cluelessly.

“That’s right Claudine, why must you go with Mary, it would look like you are the one apologizing
instead!” her mother chastised her, before it finally dawned on Claudine what mistake she made.

“You’re right mother, I must have forgotten, I apologize once more.” she said, and looking back at
Matthias. He noted how she was becoming more frazzled the longer they stayed on the topic. He
deemed she had been put in the spot long enough and decided to end his little test.

“Indeed, let your servant apologize to Leyla alone tomorrow, on behalf of both you, and myself.” he
finally said, placing his hand at the small of her back to escort her back to their seats.

Matthias appeared to be trying to be comforting, but having his hand behind her was like a weight on
her shoulders, giving her more pressure and nervousness that chilled Claudine to the bone. How could
she be so reckless, trying to take him on in a fight in front of an esteemed audience?!
However, she was also glad it was over now. Even more relieved that such a cold-hearted person did not
regard her as highly as he did with Leyla.

“As you will, Duke Herhardt.” Claudine finally muttered, and walked ahead of him back to their seats.

Satisfied that Claudine was dealt with, Matthias turned back to the maid, who immediately bowed her
head when he glanced back at her.

“See that you apologize to Miss Lewellin tomorrow.” he commanded, and glanced back at his pale
fiance, “And remember the mercy your mistress had shown you today.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When Matthias had gone over to the annex, his first observation was that it was dark. His breathing
remained steady as he sighed into the night, scattering his white huffs of breath into the night.

He had thought to stop by the gardener’s cabin just to be sure, but chose instead to head directly to the
annex. At first it was because she might have chosen not to come, but knowing her, she most probably
decided to stay in the darkness.

Such stubbornness, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in irritation.

He pushed the entrance doors open, and locked it behind him as soon as he entered. The sound of the
door’s locks bounced off the walls, echoing in the halls, before dying down and silence reigned once
more.

He pressed on, headed up to his room, where it was just as dark as the night outside. Not even the lamp
was turned on. His room was beyond freezing, the fireplace remaining unused.

Matthias frowned, wondering perhaps Leyla really didn’t come. He’d given her the choice not to after
all. And so he walked out, to check the whole property just to make sure. Something in him was restless,
and he found himself unable to ignore it as he looked all over for her presence.

He chanced another glance inside the room, pausing just outside the door to look. Everything was in
tranquil state, and still he found no sight of her. His hands dug into his pockets, his right hand clutching
into the box well hidden in his coat, as he could feel his lips dry in the chill air.

It was almost as if the annex was sucking in the coldness outside, accumulating inside bit by bit until it
filled the annex entirely. He swiftly turned on his heels and went back to his room.

Despite having ordered her to come over, for once, he wished she’d find the gall to disobey him. Just as
he thought she was indeed absent from the annex, he arrived in his room.
His eyes have long since adjusted in the dark. He began loosening up his clothes, and looked around
when he frowned at the lump he found waiting for him on his wing chair. Matthias sighed in
disappointment.

There, sitting in front of his unlit fireplace was the woman he’d just been searching for. In that position,
she looked so peaceful, all curled up in herself as she slept. She was dressed warmly, but not enough to
warm her in the freezing temperature.

Usually she would be defiant when they’d be alone together, now she looked a little bit docile.

She must have gotten used to him at some point, because it wasn’t long until her eyes fluttered open, to
see a half-undressed Matthias looming over her. She blinked up at him blankly, before the anger, fear,
disgust and resignation filled her eyes once more.

“Have you decided it was easier to freeze to death than starve?” he snapped at her in disappointment,
looking down at her like she was an inconvenience. He abruptly turned around and moved to lit up the
fireplace.

Hessen had already piled up some firewood in the room. It just needed to be lit.

“Or perhaps, and I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt here,” Matthias sighed as he straightened up
from lighting the fire, “You did not know how to light a fire?”

He peered up at Leyla, who only remained unresponsive. Finally he straightened up, crossing his arms
over his chest, waiting for her answer. Leyla finally gave in after a few more moments in silence.

“It would have been seen.” she weakly replied.

“What would have been seen?” Matthias prodded.

“The light, the smoke,” Leyla answered weakly, “Anyone would have seen it from the chimney.”

Currently, her face was shined upon by the light from the fireplace, giving Matthias a clearer view of her.
He couldn’t tell by the yellow light, but she looked rather pale. It wouldn’t have been a stretch to think
she could have frozen to death.

“After all, I wouldn’t dare light a fire without the owner’s permission.” Leyla clapped back at him, and
Matthias sighed at the glare she shot his way.

“No one comes by the annex at night.” he informed her, “It’s just me. So there was no point for you to
worry.”

“Still. I didn’t want to have others see it by chance.”

Leyla grasped onto her skirt, rubbing her palms on her knees to warm herself up some more, before
uncrossing her legs to plant them back on the ground. Matthias watched as she rubbed her palms
together, breathing warm breath over them, despite her gloves.
“Then why didn’t you stay in the cabin?” he shot back at her. Leyla shot him another glare.

“You ordered me to wait for you.” she hissed back, “I only did as you told me.”

“I also said it was your choice.” Matthias pointed out. When she refused to answer, he tilted his head at
her, and reached out to caress her cheek, making her flinch away from him, “When did you become so
obedient to my whims?”

Leyla bit her lip, and scooted away when he grazed his knuckles against her cheeks once more.

“If I didn’t come, you would have come after me in the cabin!” she hissed at him, “And I don’t want you
stepping foot in my home!”

“Oho,” Matthias smirked at her, “Then perhaps I should come to you next time after all.” he grinned,
before tossing a few more pieces of firewood into the fire. “I wonder how beautiful you’d be crying
beneath me then.”

“I hate you! I hate you so much!” she exclaimed, standing up to get away from him, despite having no
plans to run away from him. She just needed to put more distance between them.

Matthias clicked his tongue.

“Must you say the same thing every time Leyla?” he teased, “It’s getting cumbersome hearing the same
insult over and over again. Be a little more creative!” He encouraged her.

“That’s great then because I have no plans in entertaining you!” she snapped back, her rage bringing life
into her. Matthias seemed pleased with himself to know she won’t be freezing any time soon, not with
the way she paced back and forth in her anger.

He only chuckled to himself, picking up his coat and tossing it over to the bench nearest his bed. He then
walked over to Leyla, who had just taken a seat once more. When she noticed him coming closer, she
began to rise from her seat when he boxed her in.

He briskly gathered her up in his arms, and repositioned her until she sat on his lap. She struggled
against his hold, but he ignored it as he leaned back on the sofa, bringing her along with him. She
eventually gave up, and sat limply atop him.

His arm snaked behind her waist, as the other grasped onto her hands and he began to rub circles
against the small of her back. He gently tucked her head beneath his chin and sighed deeply as he began
to relax…

“Please, finish it quickly today.” Leyla whispered to him, muffling her plea against his chest. Matthias’
loving caresses stilled in place.

“What do you mean?” he asked, a bitter tone seeping through his voice.
“What it is you wanted to do with me.” she raised her head to look at him pleadingly, looking so
exhausted by everything. “After all, it doesn’t matter what I want. You’re going to make me do it
anyway.” she laid out to him, before she lowered her gaze once more. “So I don’t care what it is
anymore. Just do it quickly.”

Matthias remained unresponsive, which Leyla took to elaborate some more.

“I just want to go home and finally rest when all this is over.” she finished.

Chapter 81

The Unchanging Heart

Matthias felt himself grow enraged at her words. His hand came up behind her head, grasping her hair
tight in his hand.

He wanted to make her afraid, to intimidate her once more to submission. He wanted her to look at him
and know that he could destroy her beneath him without having to lift a finger.

He wanted to see her cry and beg for his mercy before he’d callously toss her aside like the trash his
mother sees them as!

But when he imagined that all happening, he couldn’t help the sinking feeling in his gut. His grasp on her
loosened up, losing his will to do those terrible things to her.

Instead, he pulled her closer, pulling her up flush against his warmth. He cradled her in a gentle way, and
Leyla went along with no resistance. He knew she told him she wouldn’t disobey him any further, but
something was unsettling by how easily she always complied with his wishes.
He then stood up from their seat, and carried her towards the bed, gently placing her down over the
covers. He tucked a stray lock behind her ear, and kept her gaze on him as he took off her clothing one
by one; her shawl, her coat, were the first to go.

Somewhere in losing her clothes, Leyla’s eyes wandered all around the room once more, refusing to
keep eye contact with him. She resembled a doll, with her strings cut off. She knew by the way her sight
blurred he’d taken off her glasses, then the chill bit her fingers as her gloves were taken off as well.

She gasped when he gently interlocked their bare hands together, making her look back at him in shock.
He then gathered her in his arms, seeing the way the goosebumps ran up her arms once the coldness
returned.

Leyla looked back at his deep blue eyes, and felt a different kind of warmth fill her as he stared at her
with those tender eyes she’d seen him look with before. Her heart fluttered at the knowledge it was
now directed at her, filling her with an odd sense of relief.

Matthias held themselves together, content at their current contact as he busied himself with keeping
her warm. Leyla wanted to look away from him again, but found herself unable to. She was drawn to
him. She’d always been drawn to him.

She could feel the blood rush to her cheeks the longer they kept eye contact, filling her pale face with a
healthy complexion once more. Matthias found himself so captivated by her, he’d let go of her hand,
making her gasp.

Whether in shock or relief, Leyla couldn’t know. He surged towards her, capturing her dried lips into his
warm mouth, and began to kiss her without meaning to.

It just felt right to do so.

Leyla moaned at the feel of his lips against her, feeling his tongue prod at her lips to gain entrance. She
gasped as she tried to pull away, only to let his tongue in, making her feel dizzy as the kiss gave her
newer sensations.

“Ah..”

Her body quivered under his roaming touches. One of his hands was busy fondling her, rubbing friction
against her skin in a bid to keep her warm, while the other fisted in her hair, tightening in a pleasurable
way as she let out a wanton moan in response.

These feelings were making her uncomfortable, it was like she had to succumb into his ministrations.
She squeezed her eyes shut, but it only heightened her sense of touch, and taste. She must remember
why she’s even allowing herself to be taken like this so helplessly!

Yes, memories of the hurt she felt by the Duke, his blackmailing, and the immense betrayal she felt
when he demanded her to do this was enough to save her from drowning in the tenderness he was
showing her.
It was as though he was trying to suck the life out of her, with how long he kept making out with her.
When he finally pulled away, Leyla could tell her lips were swollen from the kiss, but at least her body
was no longer freezing, instead there was a heat pooling under her stomach. She looked up, half-ready
to be disappointed.

“Are we done?” she asked him in a breathy whisper, they were both gasping for air, their chests heaving
in tandem. Matthias just kept staring at her, “Does that mean I get to go home now?”

When he still remained silent, Leyla took it as a go-ahead, and began to leave the bed, when Matthias
grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from leaving. He then snaked an arm around her waist, and pulled
her flush until her naked back pressed against his chest. His warm breath grazed the back of her ear…

“Be more like your body Leyla,” he whispered against her ear, “It’s been so honest so far.” his husky
voice encouraged, making her shudder against him. She could feel her cheeks flush once more at the
intimacy of their position, feeling his index finger caress her cheeks.

She could feel herself getting wetter the more she spent in his arms.

Matthias appeared at ease with himself, confident in the way he’d molded her body to respond to him…

And she hated it. She hated how her body did respond to him whenever he’d touch her. How she’d lean
into it and respond so readily to him.

“I-I can’t control how my body responds!” she protested, gasping when he rubbed up against her, “It’s
similar to how you shiver when you’re cold or grimace in pain when you’re sick…… It will be the same no
matter who touches me. This is not what my heart wants.” she finished. Matthias only hummed, nosing
against the nape of her neck…

“Is that really the truth? Or you’re just denying it?” he couldn’t help but ask her. His aloofness made
Leyla more nervous in his hold…

“Believe me,” she hissed at him, the flickering flames of the fireplace catching her vision despite its
blurriness as the fire reflected in her eyes, “I meant it with all my heart that I hate you!”

The memory of Claudine’s maid giving her money for her services, was burned painfully in her mind…

“And that will never change!” she declared, feeling the tears well up in her eyes, but she didn’t dare let
them fall.

‘I can’t keep living like this!’ she screamed in her head as she desperately wished for time to fast forward
where she was past all this!

The anger in her surged through the surface with her wish. All the pent up resentment and hatred she
couldn’t express towards Claudine because of her guilt in her affair, reared its ugly head towards the
Duke who was the main reason why her life’s been tumbling down the wrong road.
“Aren’t you prideful enough to not let a woman berate you like I do?!” She hissed at him, and Matthias
nodded in agreement,

“You’re right.”

“Then just let me go and no woman ever will again!” she exclaimed. Matthias just clicked his tongue.

“I told you already Leyla,” he stood up, peering down at her with an intense gaze as he gathered her up
in his arms until they’re pressed chest to chest with each other, ignoring the way she squirmed in his
hold. “I also find your rebellious ways so endearing,” he teased.

He then laid her on the bed, glancing at her naked body in greedy lust as he hovered above her, trapping
him within his arms. “You’re so captivating, it’s driving me crazy to be around you,” he whispered to her,
his voice dropping into a low octave, sending shivers up her spine at how hot and bothered she currently
felt.

She bit her lips, forcing herself to not make a sound. She just needed to endure it, it will be over soon
enough, just like the previous times. And then she can go home again and forget.

And so she turned away from him, and caught sight of the wall paneling on the side instead. She kept
her eyes trailed on it as she heard the ruffling of clothes, and felt Matthias’ warm body close to hers.

She squeezed her eyes shut whenever he’d brush up against her sensitive spots either intentionally or
not.

In Matthias’ eyes, she was absolute perfection. The way her pale skin was in sharp contrast against his
dark satin sheets, framing her so erotically as they rumpled beneath her nakedness. Her hair framing out
of her head like a halo…

She was his own sculptured glass bird ornament, that hovered sensationally in his mind.

He remembered stopping by a jewelry shop on his way to the train station. He had custom ordered a
piece earlier, and came to pick it up. It was the crystal bird ornament, fashioned into a jewelry piece
made only for Leyla.

Just the sight of it was enough to send him back on a trip down memory lane, when Leyla had tried to
reach up to touch the same ornament in the Natural History Museum. It was such a small thing, for
Matthias it was trivial, but it was lodged into his memories.

Nothing significant happened there, so why was he able to remember her smile so clearly?

Matthias eyes went further south of Leyla’s body, wetting his fingertips with his saliva, before dipping
two slender fingers into her moist folds between her legs. Leyla gasped out at the intrusion, arching her
back beautifully, her legs unconsciously spreading further to accommodate his body between hers.

And yet Matthias’ expression remained cooled and unchanged, so different from how any other man
would be when presented with a woman’s spread legs. His gaze kept watch of the way his fingers
disappeared knuckle deep inside of her, before trailing up to her slender stomach, her pert nipples, and
up to her sweaty face…

Beads of sweat were forming on Leyla’s temples, as she stared at him in a dazed manner. Matthias
leaned closer, pushing his fingers persistently back and forth, while his thumb rubbed up against her clit.
Leyla released a sweet moan, rutting against his fingers in response…

“Look at how accommodating you’ve been to me lately, Leyla.” Matthias breathed into her ear, before
he began to remove his clothes this time.

Leyla mewled as he rubbed circles against her, legs quivering when he curled the fingers in a come
hither movement, scraping gently her inner walls. She couldn’t help but watch in captivation the way his
shirt slid off to reveal his tanned skin, and sinewy form, bracing his broad shoulders over her as he
swiftly removed his fingers to shuck off the rest of his clothes.

She gasped at the suddenness of his movements, letting out an instinctive whine when she was left with
an emptiness. Leyla felt her heart thumping hard against her chest, watching him strip his underwear
down, joining her in bareness.

A shiver ran up her body at the sight of his picturesque beauty, before she caught herself and looked
away in shame. But Matthias was quick to return to her, situating himself back comfortably between her
legs, hiking them up on his shoulders to get closer…

She could feel his blunt tip brush up against her opening, making heat pool into her gut once more,

And then he pushed…

Deeper, and deeper he went in,

Leyla could feel herself opening up, stretching herself to embrace his girth. The sound of their bodies
rubbing together was coupled with the creaking of the bed. Their breaths mingled with each other’s and
she mewled again when he brushed up against that sweet spot deep inside her until he was fully
sheathed inside her…

“I guess there’s nothing else I can do to resist you too.” Matthias piped up, staring down at her as he
braced his shoulders on either side of her head. “I quite like you being docile like this too.” he confessed,
before swiftly pulling out and then thrusted in.

Leyla gasped, arching her back against the bed, pressing her chest up at his. Matthias kept up his slow
paced thrusting, gradually increasing the speed with a gentle circling of his hips.

“Tell me, Leyla.”

He pleaded against her neck, as he dipped his head, suckling into her sensitive skin to leave a mark, the
first of the many he planned to leave her with. He grunted when she felt him clamp down around him,
“Ugh, tell me the truth.” He hissed right at her ear, soaking it with saliva before pulling away, “If you
hate me, really hate me as much as you claim… then why do you stare at me in such a way that tells me
otherwise?!”

Leyla only moaned, shaking her head in denial, as her hands clambered to embrace him, pulling him
closer to her as they continued to rut against each other…

“Tell me!”

She could hardly be bothered to answer him, her mind muddled with intense pleasure as she
desperately tried to shake the feeling away, rendering her speechless. Any sound she could make could
only be incoherent, even if he demanded her for an answer.

She bit down on her lip, and would have bitten it until it bled if he hadn’t taken her lips into his and
locked themselves in a kiss as he hoisted her up until she sat firmly on top of him, bouncing her in his
lap, hitting deeper inside her in the most heavenly feeling she ever felt!

She let out sobs when he pulled away from the kiss, leaving more marks on her skin as he busied himself
with suckling on her collarbone. As their skins slapped against each other, Leyla couldn’t help but
reminisce about the time she’d seen this man with a glimmer of hope around him…

It was back when she’d locked eyes with him as he entered the drawing room. Claudine had been with
him, hanging off his arm as a noble lady should. She had been ashamed during that moment, but the
sight of him gave her some hope everything would be alright soon…

Yes…hope…

And like a fool, she thought he would be that kind of man again.

Now he instilled in her no hope, just more shame in herself. But she can’t deny the intense pleasure he
was indeed giving her.

His hips began stuttering, he dropped them back into the bed, her legs unconsciously tightening around
his waist to aid his thrusting as they both chased their own pleasures.

Her hands tightened in their grip on his shoulders, nails digging into his skin in forming half crescent
marks. It was like she was begging him to pleasure her further, to which he happily gave into.

‘How could I let this happen?’ she asked in despair to herself, before backtracking…

‘How could I have avoided this?’

“Ahh, ngh…” she moaned, turning her head away from him, when Matthias’ hand gently gripped her
jaw, to make her look back at him. He grinded up against her, making her moan in ecstasy and shame at
how wantonly she responded to him…
She looked so erotic, with a flushed face and tears by the corner of her eyes. The sounds she made were
music to Matthias’ ears as he groaned at how she tightened up around him, engulfing him in her warmth
he desperately craved…

He trailed his tongue up her cheeks to wipe the tears away, before diving his tongue deep into her
mouth to get another taste of her. And then she came.

Matthias knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on any longer when she coated him with her juices, and
pulled out, just in time to release himself in spurts of white. Leyla watched as his hands drowned in
white, unable to hold back the sigh of pleasure from her lips.

It was like she was nailing down her own heart.

She was a nobody. She was supposed to be just nobody to him. She was an orphan, with no riches to her
name, nor future prospects. And once he’d had his fill of her, she’d go back to being just that.

Nothing.

She could still remember that moment in the drawing room.

Claudine had thrown her arms around him so easily when he’d appeared for her, while she had been in
her shabbiest clothes, and not in her best looks compared to the girl. And yet he saw her…

And she regretted acknowledging how her heart fluttered at that fact.

Untangled thoughts formed as she let a loud moan. Ecstasy and humiliation mixed with pain and
pleasure in her thoughts and body. Although she tried a gallant effort to turn her head, Matthias refused
to let her keep her last shred of pride.

He firmly grasped her chin and redirected her gaze toward him. Tears streamed down her flushed
cheeks from her twisted, innocent eyes. She gasped and moaned, and the look on her face as she did so
set his heart aflutter.

He’d known she’d begun to take over his thoughts for a while now. How could he not realize it when she
was all he could think about when he’d been away from Arvis? She became a constant presence in his
thoughts at all hours of the day and night. It was a strange sensation, something he’d never felt before,
and he couldn’t place a finger on it.

It was what led him to ordering something so intricate, so expensive that he knew she would appreciate
it over anything else he could give her. A feeling that resurfaced whenever he’d open up the box, and
see that jewelry made only for her.

When he’d seen her, serving so lowly as Claudine’s maid, in his own mansion, something surged in him.
A need to rectify a situation that does not even affect him because it was Leyla. And he’d never felt that
way before.

‘Why?’
Why did he? It was a question he couldn’t ask anyone but himself, yet he was unable to answer.

He shook the thought away, opting to focus instead on the after care of their intercourse. He pulled
Leyla’s limp, and oversensitive body closer, making her whimper as he brushed up against her. She was
so exhausted by their coupling, she couldn’t even lift a finger against him.

All she wanted to do was to curl up beneath the covers, or go home and do that and cry. She had grown
warm during their activity, and now with the sheen of sweat on her skin, she could clearly feel the cool
air against her skin, cooling her body down.

Matthias pulled away from her, and headed to the showers, leaving her alone. She heard the faint sound
of running water, and thought he was taking a shower when it shut down, and Matthias came back.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, closer to where she was. She wondered what he was planning to
do now, and tried to open her eyes to glare at him. She saw him sitting beside her, with a basin filled
with warm water, and some cloth in his hands.

He set them down on the bedside table, and reached out for her hand, pulling it closer towards him.

“N-no, I-” Leyla began to protest when he hushed her gently. Looking at her with an indecipherable
expression.

“Stay still.” He commanded her, and Leyla watched as he dipped the cloth into the warm water,
wringing out the excess water, and began wiping her down, gently pressing the warm cloth against her
skin as he cleaned her body.

She grabbed his hand instinctively in panic, when he softly patted her head, whispering sweet nothings
at her. Her grip on his wrist loosened up, allowing him to continue.

“Just lie still and be quiet Leyla,” he whispered softly, as he scrubbed away the drying fluids all over her
body. “This will all be over soon.” he finished.

Gently, he wiped her down, her inner thighs, her stomach, her arms…

Even her neck and face got taken care of. Each brush against her skin was purposeful and gentle. He was
diligent, and his touch didn’t stray, or made her feel like he was doing this as a precursor to another
round of intercourse.

It was enough to make her heart skip a beat, before her eyes fluttered close, as his gentle strokes lulled
her to sleep.

Lub-dub … lub-dub … lub-dub…

She faintly wondered if she dreamed that musical laugh of his as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 82

Lie

Once Matthias was content she was fully clean, he tossed the used cloth into the silver basin, before
tucking himself behind Leyla, and hugged her back to his chest. It was crystal clear to him that he’d left
marks against her porcelain skin. He opted out of covering them with a blanket, wanting to admire her
body some more as the warmth from the fireplace adequately kept the biting cold away.

She was sleeping soundly in his arms, and he couldn’t help but admire the hickeys left on her body. They
had been fading since, and he made sure to mark the same spots as before.

She shuddered when a strong gust of wind breezed past them, before snuggling closer into him, letting
out a satisfied smile when he tightened his arms around her. Still, she remained asleep.

Matthias continued to pet her, rubbing some friction on her skin whenever she’d shiver, and smiled to
himself when she’d calm down at his touch. It was nice seeing her so content with him for a change,
even if she was asleep.

His hands drifted down, snaking past her waist and down between her legs.

Leyla frowned when he brushed up against her still sensitive nub, and her eyes fluttered open, looking
over her shoulder to glare at him. “Stop!” she hissed, trying to twist away from him, causing Matthias to
chuckle in amusement.

“I said stop! We’ve done enough already!”

She grabbed tightly onto his wandering wrist and pulled it away from her nether regions and glared back
at him in defiance. Even now, he still confused her by the sudden changes in the way he’d treat her back
and forth.

There had been previous times they had gone on for more than just one round, but Leyla loved to forget
it, quickly washing the memories off her mind whenever she’d shower once she got home.

It wasn’t that having sex was painful for her, in fact it was the opposite that made her worry.

It was getting increasingly difficult to deny herself the pleasure she was feeling during the activities. And
every time they’d do it, she found her body more and more into it.
Fortunately, Matthias did stop attempting to push his fingers into her, instead wrapped his arms around
her waist, while casually tucking her head against the nape of his neck as he turned her body towards
him.

They were both locked into an intense stare-off with one another, making her look so petite compared
to him. She was looking up at him with wide eyes, as a blush rose on her cheeks by how close they were.

He was looking at her with those soft eyes once more. And it made her heart skip a reluctant beat.

His hands moved back to her waist, giving her a gentle squeeze. He hiked himself up, and looked down
on her face, tracing her features with a finger, before pulling away when he saw it made her
uncomfortable.

“Come with me to the capital.” he whispered softly to her, a twinkling look in his eyes as though he was
begging her to say yes. His hand stroked at her gently as Leyla refused to believe it was anything but a
demand from him.

“Why should I?” she asked rather harshly, narrowing her eyes at him in contempt. It must be
increasingly difficult for him to keep his mistress in Arvis, especially with the wedding drawing closer.

He probably wanted to move her quickly to the capital too, which would be best to do while he’s not yet
tied down to Claudine.

“I remember you told me once you wanted to go to college there.” he supplied helpfully, and Leyla
couldn’t help but scoff at him.

“So what? You want to send me off to college?” she asked incredulously, and Matthias nodded without
a second to hesitate.

“If you wished to, I would.”

“Ha, no thank you.” Leyla huffed at him angrily, “I don’t want to add up my debts to you, and make you
use it against me further.” she reminded him, turning away from him successfully, pulling the covers
around them to cover her body.

Despite her bravado, Leyla couldn’t help but shudder at the animosity he was emitting behind her.

It was like she just stabbed him, by the way she casually threw his good intentions into his face, and
implied she was selling him her body. A tense smile came over Matthias’ lips as he stared icily at Leyla’s
back.

She knew exactly where he would hurt, and how to make it hurt worse. Such a clever bird he has, but
Matthias was not her master for nothing, and he’d make her see it! If she wanted to believe they were
in a give-and-take transaction, then he’d make it so!
“You think our bedtime activities would be enough to pay for college education? With your pisspoor
performance?” he spat back harshly, before grabbing her by the head of her hair and slowly pulled him
back towards him, making her gasp as she grabbed onto his wrists, looking positively frightened…

“Don’t grow cocky of yourself Leyla, it doesn’t suit you.” he warned. Her eyes blinked back unshed tears
and she gulped.

“Then why are you even offering?” she asked him in frustration, face flushing in embarrassment.
Matthias hummed as he thought deeply how to answer her.

Truth be told, he didn’t have any ulterior reason why he wanted to fund her education. He just thought
she would appreciate the opportunity, and he had the means to make it true. He could have just as well
given her a mansion of equal value, but she wouldn’t appreciate that as much as a chance to be
educated in her dream school.

“Believe it or not, I wanted to give you something out of kindness for a change.” he told her plainly,
looking at her with cold eyes when she barked out a laugh in disbelief, refusing to believe him.

Deeming she had enough of his farce, she moved to get out of bed when he held her back, keeping her
in place.

Matthias couldn’t believe just how brazen she’d become. While she grated at his nerves with her
persistent rebellion against him, he much preferred it to the puppet-like behavior she had when she had
been serving as Claudine’s aide, or in her death-like state as she curled in on herself in a cold, and
darkened room.

Yes, she does possess a bull-headed stubbornness, but he liked this better than her helpless demeanor.

But that was just amongst the many things he couldn’t even begin to comprehend whenever he was
with her.

The whole matter with Claudine was unavoidable, he knew that. She was his fiance, she had every right
to be irked, and he had every duty to put Claudine’s needs above Leyla’s…

But it was unbecoming of him to openly embarrass Claudine in front of their noble acquaintances, even
if it had been in an underhanded manner. After all, no matter what she did to Leyla during those past
few days was less worse than what he’d been doing to her for weeks!

But even his entire deal with Leyla wasn’t going as smoothly as he wished. And he didn’t know how to
make it so.

So he just kissed her, then and there, despite the way Leyla tried to dodge his advances, he just took,
and took until the lust returned to him because it was all that made sense to him right now.
Leyla felt that warmth pooling in her once more as he spread her legs around his waist. Instinctively she
grabbed him around the neck as he adjusted them, and in one swift move, buried himself balls deep
inside her, making her moan against his lips.

But instead of resisting him this time, Leyla allowed his slow and gentle thrusts to continue as he pulled
away. He rested his forehead against hers, and they locked eyes on one another. She knew deep down,
the Duke was ever doing things that would give him pleasure. This was no different.

But to send her to her dream college out of the kindness of his heart? Ha! The thought was ridiculous, it
made her laugh.

“You’re lying…” she gasped out, when he hit into her deeply, moaning at the contact. “All you do is lie…”
she protested, stifling back the escaping sounds of pleasure from her mouth.

Matthias’ hips stuttered in their movements, before resuming at a quicker pace as he held onto their
eye contact, trying to rid her of that hateful gaze directed at him. Her hold on him tightened, as her
anger was blanketed with a wave of increasing pleasure…

She threw her head back in an unstoppable mewl, her hips moving in tandem with his, before she
looked back at him resolutely with her own icy stare…

“I know everything about you now Duke.” she gasped against him. She thought she saw a hint of hurt in
him when she called him a liar, and she wanted to drive that nail further into him even as he had her
caught up in pleasure.

“You’re a liar by heart.” she moaned, biting into his shoulder, before pulling away when he hit her in
that sweet spot once more. “All of you is a lie…” she sighed, and began to lose herself in the pleasure.

Matthias smirked disdainfully over her shoulder, his thrusts quick and deep into her, before swallowing
whatever words she had for him next with a hungry kiss.

Perhaps she was right. Maybe he was lying. Maybe his entire persona was just a lie. But he’d been living
in the pretense of that lie too long now…

He didn’t even know where the real him lies, or if it was even there anymore.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The next day, Leyla woke up early in the morning, and washed her face. She stretched her limbs to get
rid of the lingering soreness from last night’s events as she changed her clothes and got ready for the
day.
Just as she was about to begin her chores, a knock came at her door, startling her. With a frown, she
went to open the door, and was greeted by the sight of Claudine’s maid.

Leyla stood there in shock, unaware of what she should do, when the maid suddenly bowed down in
front of her.

“I’d like to apologize, Miss Lewellin, for my indiscretions.” the maid began, before straightening up, to
present her hand, which presented Leyla with a healing gash. “I lied to my mistress that I couldn’t work,
and that led you to be inconvenienced because of me.” She explained, though there was a stiffness in
her.

Even when she was a child, Leyla could tell there was something a little bit off about the maid, despite
having done her no wrong and continuously being polite towards her.

She was a little perplexed by the apology she was receiving now, but she wasn’t entirely surprised by
this turn of events. She suspected something along the lines of this, but even if she did turn out right,
Leyla had no will in her to confront Claudine about it.

In her mind, she deserved that little bit of unkindness from Lady Brandt. And nothing would have
changed if she insisted on them to check if the maid was really unable to do her job.

As children, Leyla grew to fear Claudine because she knew she was a countess’ daughter. Had she in any
way disobeyed the girl, she feared the repercussions her Uncle Bill would take because of it.

But now she was in trouble instead, and it was a stronger fear to someone else.

And the whole thing about making her a temporary servant, well, it wasn’t worse than the fact she was
sleeping behind her back with the woman’s fiance. Leyla felt like a thief in the night, stealing something
that isn’t supposed to be hers. It didn’t matter that she was blackmailed into it.

She still did it of her own volition, and in her eyes, and the rest should they discover it, it is still,
undeniably, an affair.

The rest of the maid’s apologies to her were very polite and courteous towards Leyla. But she couldn’t
hide how stiff her movements were, as if she’d rather be serving her mistress than be apologizing to
Leyla.

And as Leyla looked into her eyes, she saw something more.

When the maid was finished explaining, Leyla accepted the apology, and the maid went on their way.
Leyla shut the door once she was back on the road, before it clicked in her mind what she saw in the
maid.

A hint of anger and disdain…

She knew it because she’d lately seen it reflected in her eyes. But it wasn’t directed to the duke, no…
this was directed towards her.
Lost in the thought, wondering what she could have done to offend the maid, she found herself sitting
on top of her bed, when a sickening feeling came over her…

‘Don’t tell me….,’

Leyla gasped, bringing a hand up to her mouth,

‘Does Claudine know after all!?’ she thought in absolute panic.

Her stomach churned uncomfortably the more she mulled over the thought. Just then, something bright
was reflected at her, and Leyla winced when the light hit her eyes. She turned to look, and saw it was
the jewelry box the Duke had given to her last night right before she left the annex.

There it lay innocently on top of her bedside table.

“What’s this?”

Leyla remembered asking when he’d given it to her. She had turned it over in her hand inquiringly,
refusing to open it.

He’d taken it out of his coat pocket when she started clothing back up. She was busy picking her clothes,
and looked up in shock when he’d suddenly stood in front of her, with the box in an outstretched hand.

“Open it.”

He implored her, grabbing her hand to put the box gently in her palms, closing her fingers around it. She
then reached out for her glasses, and wore it on her face to see it clearly.

She gasped in shock when she opened the lid, and revealed an intricately designed bird, with golden
wings. It was a pendant, clipped to a chain that could be worn. It was laid artistically against the red
velvet box, as though it was nesting in it, ready to take flight.

It oddly reminded her of those crystal birds she’d seen decorated over the arched aisle of the Museum
back in Ratz. They were so beautiful to look at too!

She almost dropped the masterpiece when the implication came over her. She refused to believe he was
giving this to her because of that day!

She looked up at him in disbelief, and saw the way he also regarded the intricate design in a fond
manner, before they locked eyes. And not a second later, the emotion she read from him was gone,
making her believe she just imagined it.

“Why are you giving me this?” she demanded from him, but it came out in a wobbly voice, just above a
whisper.

Did he really remember that moment? Did he make it because of that? For her?!
“I know you like it.” he answered plainly to her, bringing her an odd sense of disappointment when he
elaborated no further. Leyla only grew more confused, desperately stamping out the blooming hope and
adoration in her chest.

He can’t do these things!

He can’t just expect her to swoon back into his arms, as though the past weeks were nothing! She won’t
let him! She refused to let him!

Her breathing grew ragged, worrying Matthias who stepped closer to look at her, and see why she was
reacting in such a way to his gift. She tried to look away from him, but he’d grasped her chin, and made
her look up, searching her for an answer…

‘No!’ she had thought at the time, and swiftly shut the box to a close and handed it back out to him.
Matthias’ eyes narrowed at that action, but remained silent, not moving to take it back.

“I don’t like it anymore.” she had spat back at him, holding her chin up high as she glared up at him, “I
don’t even need it. So just take it back.” she told him, “Throw it away if you must, cause I don’t want it.”

Memories of the cool crystals beneath her fingertips rushed to her mind. There were so many of them in
that museum, and she had been so happy when she found that the Duke had lifted her up so she could
reach out and enjoy them.

But that moment was meaningless in the face of recent tragedies. It was gone, and she could never go
back to that foolish girl before.

Matthias had stared at the velvet box in silence for a long time before he finally turned away from her,
before he turned back. There was a tension in his body that Leyla hadn’t noticed before.

“Then why don’t you throw it away yourself?” Matthias challenged, glaring right back at her in that
indifferent stare. He then turned on his heels, and left her alone in his room with a loud bang, echoing
throughout the empty halls of the annex.

And then they parted ways after that.

She didn’t know why she didn’t throw it away when she’d left the annex. By all rights, she should. But
something in her wanted to keep it.

She couldn’t just let it go, that Leyla that had been so carefree before, she wanted her back. She wanted
to be her once more…

“You’re going to be a pretty good adult.”

Uncle Bill had once told her, so confident in her future. She’d believed him when he told her that, but
now it was like she was being choked up by her shame and disappointment in what she’d become.
Not wanting to look at it anymore, Leyla grabbed the box, and hid it deep under her bed. She may not
be able to throw it away, but she can keep it out of sight, and out of mind until she would forget about
it.

Chapter 83

Without knowing that Love is Love

Back in Arvis mansion, was Claudine. She was currently sitting in front of her vanity, her aide brushing up
her beautiful locks, and making sure there were no tangles in them. Things were silent between them
for a while, until Claudine broke it.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Mary.” Claudine began, and met her aide’s eyes in the mirror.
Immediately, Mary gently put the brush down on the table, before kneeling beside her mistress and
took her hands in hers.

“Oh please don’t say that my Lady,” she said to Claudine, looking up at her with tearful eyes, “It was my
fault really, I should’ve behaved more properly, and have not troubled you so!” Claudine only smiled
kindly at her.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine,” Claudine replied calmly, “And yet I let you take the blame, when it
shouldn’t have been you who got in trouble.” she sighed, and then stood up gracefully.
She went in front of the floor-length mirror, Mary following her dutifully, as she assessed how she
looked. She was preparing to greet the Crown Prince and his wife. She must look elegant in doing so,
even if she was just one of the hostesses in the estate.

“Truly, I won’t forget what you did for me back there,” Claudine told her when she turned back around,
“Thank you so much Mary, I mean it.” Mary’s eyes welled up with tears at how kind and beautiful her
mistress was to her.

Mary had been one of House Brandt’s servants who’d been with them for many years. Though in all her
years of servitude, this was really the first personal gratitude she received from her ward. It broke her
heart to see her mistress so helpless back there.

Her Lady, Claudine Brandt, should have the right to hold her head up high, as she belonged among the
proud noble family of a Count. Which was why she couldn’t hold back her thoughts on the matter…

“It’s all because of Leyla, isn’t it?” she asked her mistress, who blinked at her before shaking her head in
finality.

“Don’t bother thinking about it Mary.” she dissuaded, because really, it wasn’t like it should matter
much to her. Satisfied with her appearance, Claudine and her aide exited her chambers to walk around
the mansion, inspecting some last minute preparations.

It would be a while before the royal couple would actually arrive, but Claudine couldn’t stay cooped up
in her guest room as she waited for them. So she decided to go strolling along the still-renovating
greenhouse, careful not to dirty her clothes among the dirt and debris.

The general sight was still the same, but at least the new repairs were beginning to take shape, as the
framing of the wrecked parts were almost in completion. She turned towards the solarium afterwards,
wanting to visit the place where the plants and birds that survived had been moved to.

The sight of the greenhouse only served to rile her up, her anger at the careless gardener returning,
when a familiar voice caught her attention amidst all the noise around her. She turned around, and saw
Riette, smiling expectantly at her…

“My Lady, it’s so good to see you!” he greeted her, lightly grabbing her hand, to press a kiss on her
knuckles, “Are you feeling better today?” he asked her in genuine concern. They hadn’t seen each other
in a while, and Claudine could only smile at him.

They both sat down at the table in front of the solarium, where the sweet scent of the flowers wafted
over them, and the soft singing of birds replaced the incessant construction noises.

“I’m feeling much better, thank you for asking.” Claudine replied sweetly at him, he only beamed right
back at her.
“It was my pleasure.” he then sat himself down from across her, and they began conversing. Each of
them was regalling the other with tales of what they did when they were away, Riette more so than
Claudine, when she steered the topic to something else.

“To be honest, I think the entire problem was because of Leyla.” she admitted to him, “The rest of it was
simply a stupid idea.” Riette sighed, and looked around them, before leaning closer to her, and lowered
his voice.

“I think you worry too much,” Riette tried comforting her, “Us men do crazy stuff when it comes to
women, believe me, sooner or later his appetite will curb.” Claudine couldn’t help but laugh dryly.

“If he were like other men, I wouldn’t be this worried.” she pointed out, “But this is Matthias we’re
talking about.”

At that, Riette couldn’t form any rebuttal, because it was true. Matthias wasn’t like any other man Riette
knew or met before. His early arrival had been unexpected. And to the rest of their companions that
day, Matthias had only acted like a true gentleman should with his fiance, and defended her honor
successfully against the deceitful maid.

That brought a bitter taste to Riette.

“Have you ever seen him so attached to anyone before?” she asked him curiously. Riette sighed tiredly
at the question.

“No,” he answered without hesitation, “I don’t even think he’s attached to his mother.” Riette pointed
out. It was a bit of an exaggeration, Riette would admit to himself, but never out loud.

“I just can’t get my head around why he’s so invested with a servant girl.” she exclaimed, making Riette
look at her tiredly.

“Technically speaking, Leyla isn’t a servant in Arvis.” he pointed out dryly, making Claudine roll her eyes
at him.

“Details.” she scoffed, “It doesn’t matter what she is, my question remains the same.” She took a deep
breath to calm herself down. “I should have realized sooner he’d lied back then, I can’t believe I’d been
so blind.” she muttered softly, scolding her past self for her incompetence.

On that past summer morning, Claudine had seen Matthias walking alone, on that day someone had
broken into the gardener’s cabin. She initially thought he’d be headed to the annex, which was along the
way. She had been there earlier, cutting some roses for that flower arrangement she wanted in the
garden, when she decided to follow him, curious as to what he was doing so early in the morning.

All she knew was that Matthias didn’t want anyone to visit him when he went by the annex, which only
made her curiouser to what he really did back there. So with a basket full of roses, she followed him.
He moved quickly through the forest, and Claudine struggled to keep up with him, when she saw the
most unexpected sight in front of her. Matthias had halted in his tracks, and so she followed his gaze,
and found out why.

Walking towards him was an unfamiliar man. She’d never seen him before as any of Matthias’
associates, and quickly hid behind one of the trees. Something was telling her she should not have
witnessed this.

It wasn’t out of character for Matthias to meet with random strangers, Claudine knew she couldn’t know
everyone he made business with, but she could tell this was different. And then Matthias resumed
walking, not even stopping again when the man passed him by.

She had stayed there for a while, confused as to what she just saw before she opted to return back to
the mansion instead. It wasn’t long until they received word that Leyla’s money, which was for her
tuition, had been stolen.

The officers had come by asking questions around the Duke’s residence, and Claudine found herself
invested in the matter as well, when she saw them questioning Matthias. When they asked him if he’d
seen any suspicious individual around the estimated time of the crime, Matthias denied having seen
anyone.

She knew he’d seen that man, but she couldn’t piece together why he had lied. She opted back then it
was best not to contradict him, but she did suspect it was because of Leyla. Which she now believed was
the right and only assumption to what happened back then.

After all, the real culprit had been revealed as Mrs. Etman, who was against her son’s marriage with the
poor girl from the very beginning. And she’s certain her fiance wants Leyla for himself.

Claudine had laughed mirthlessly to herself when she found out.

Her fiance, the Duke, was wasting his time devising elaborate schemes, just to keep a servant girl by his
side? She shuddered at the thought. He even went as far as destroying one of Leyla’s best prospects.

She had thought Matthias von Herhardt was going to be different from the other men she had the
displeasure of knowing. But alas, he’s just another one of those sleazy types, who thought they could
get away with a mistress on the side. How dare he try and compare her to Leyla?

She felt absolutely mortified and humiliated when she realized he sought things she could not give from
someone of a lower stature than her!

As though sensing her growing turmoil, Riette broke the silence between them, to get her to listen to
him.

“Fret not Claudine,” Riette called out to her, pulling her from her thoughts as she looked back at him,
“Even if he is attached to the girl, Matthias is practical. He knows she’s not fit for the role as his
Duchess.”
“You really think so?” she asked him softly, the worry imminent in her eyes, and Riette reached out to
clasped her hand comfortingly over the table.

“I know so.” Riette told her, “He’d be a fool to choose her over you as the Duchess.”

But Claudine still seemed convinced that something was bound to go wrong. And Riette couldn’t have
her getting in trouble like she did just a short while back then.

“I get that you’re worried, but I advise you to let them be.” Riette pleaded with her. “Matthias doesn’t
get love!” he pointed out, making Claudine frown at him.

“What do you mean by leaving them alone?”

“Look,” he sighed, “Sooner or later, his actions will make him lose her. So just let their affair exist as is,
don’t bother trying to break them apart sooner.”

“Are you that confident he’s that unaware of his feelings for her?” she asked him sharply, and he
nodded confidently.

“How could he? He’s never been in love before.” he rebutted, “All his life, he’s been given what he
wants without really having to work for it, and then quickly discards it when it’s no longer his fancy.”

“I still don’t think he’s that unaware of his feelings.” Claudine scoffed, when Riette held onto her hands
tighter.

“Claudine please, I tell you this with utter concern for you,” he held her gaze, hoping she will understand
he’s only saying this for her own good, “Don’t try to provoke Matthias, it won’t end well.”

He wants to see his most beloved succeed in her life, even if it means she has to be his cousin’s wife,
he’d make sure nothing would stand in her way.

He couldn’t help but laugh dryly at himself at how pathetic he was becoming. Nevertheless, he truly
wanted her to be happy. And as she was determined it would be as the Duchess Herhardt, he’d be
happy to spend time with her in whatever way she can spare for him.

Just like at this moment.

“Don’t do what you did to Leyla again,” he warned her, “That could only push Matthias to see what she
truly means to him.” Claudine stared at him curiously, prompting him to elaborate, “A person’s heart is a
fickle thing, my Lady,” he smiled ruefully towards her, “Once you realize you’re in love, you can’t stop
loving them so easily.”

‘Just like I can’t stop loving you.’ he confessed to her in his mind.

Suddenly, there was a rush of commotion outside, making Riette pull his hand away from her. Not a
minute later, Matthias strode in, all dressed in his best suit and nodded towards his cousin, before
holding a hand out to Claudine.
“We must make haste, my Lady,” Matthias told her urgently, “The Crown Prince and his wife are about
to arrive.”

Gone was that cold look he’d thrown at her when he cornered her in front of their noble acquaintances.
He now wore a graceful smile and polite gestures for her instead, and Claudine couldn’t help but flutter
her eyes beautifully up at him in response.

She took his gloved hand with a smile.

“Of course, my Duke.”

Matthias nodded to him briefly, and quickly, the pair walked out of the solarium, leaving Riette to smile
bitterly to himself at their retreating backs.

What a pair they made.

He shook the unbidden thoughts of Claudine and his cousin together, opting to just get up and get ready
for the royal couple’s arrival as well. He arrived shortly after the engaged couple, joining the line of
nobles who were there to greet the prince as well.

Somewhere off to the side, Riette caught sight of Leyla, amongst the other commoners, who were out
to greet the prince as well.

The royals’ car came to a stop right in front of the mansion, and flashes went flickering left and right as
photographers fought to get a good angle in capturing the Crown Prince’s arrival.

Despite being a friend of the Duke’s, the visit was an official event, as the Crown Prince was officially
touring the entire Empire. They had to follow some protocol to welcome him officially into Arvis.

Leyla had been to many of these official visits before, but never one as extravagant as this one. Case in
fact, the larger crowds gathered around her, and the amazing reception prepared for them.

Though she was among many people, Leyla stood with the crowd in anxious tension. She anticipated
she’d see the Duke of Arvis, along his arm would be Lady Brandt. And she did see them when they
arrived. They were front and center of the Prince’s welcoming committee after all.

They looked graceful, and poised. All powerful and calm in front of the raging crowd. It was difficult for
her to connect him with the passionate man she’d been with every night, as opposed to this dignified
persona of his.

Tonight, he was a nobleman.

Something was stinging in her eyes the more she watched Matthias and Claudine standing there
together, welcoming the Prince with happy smiles. They descended the steps, hand in hand as they
exchanged pleasantries with the Crown Prince.
She could tell they were close, never mind she couldn’t hear what they were saying from where she
stood. Even Lady Brandt seemed well acquainted with the Prince’s wife.

She glanced down on her uniform, adorned with the Herhardt’s insignia. She unclasped her hands in
front of her, and tucked them behind her instead as she felt herself beginning to tremble.

She wasn’t holding onto anything, but they trembled as she felt the ghost of a feeling beneath her
fingers. It was achingly similar to when she’d stroke them against those crystalline figures in the
museum.

It also achingly reminded her of the coin purse’s heavy weight in her hand when Claudine had the maid
pay her.

She kept her head bowed down low, staring intently on her shoes, as the Crown Prince and his
entourage climbed up the steps. She sighed in relief when they passed her by, and finally looked up,
before freezing in place…

Lady Claudine was looking right at her. She was smiling brightly in her direction, and Leyla’s hand
tightened around her fingers as the ghost weight felt heavier and heavier in her hands.

She could even hear the loud way the coins jingled as she moved.

And so she stood there, amongst the crowd in the pale afternoon sun, casting long shadows over her
frozen form.

Chapter 84

My Little Bird

Mrs. Grever’s house was located a little farther from the Capital city. During its rapid development,
much of the neighborhood was turned into an idyllic rural setting, equipped with well-maintained roads
for ease of transportation. Flanking the roads were rows of beautifully made houses, constructed with
wooden frames and paneling.
Leyla decided that today was as good as a day to pay her a visit. She had bought a beautiful array of a
bouquet to bring with her as a gift, along with a jar of jam that was made with the best summer fruits
harvested in Arvis.

She drew closer to Mrs. Grever house as she commuted towards the center of the boulevard, where she
could see the green-roofed house. She had her transport stop a few blocks away, before she gathered
her gifts into her arms.

She then rang the doorbell as soon as she got in front of the door. She waited for a few moments,
hearing muffled sounds of footsteps getting closer, before the door swung open to reveal Mrs. Grever.
The older woman beamed at the sight of her, ecstatically inviting her inside.

“Oh Leyla! I’m so glad you finally arrived!” Mrs. Grever greeted, “When you told me you would be
visiting, I couldn’t help but get up earlier than usual.” she immediately began telling Leyla, “I apologize in
advance if I seem a little tired.”

Leyla only smiled at her pleasantly, before she looked around.

“Am I the last one here?” she couldn’t help but ask consciously, before looking down on her wrist-
watch. She didn’t think she arrived too late, in fact, she was ten minutes earlier than the appointed time
of their meeting. Mrs. Grever only waved her worries away.

“Oh, don’t worry, you’re not even late.” she told Leyla, and waved her over to follow her to the dining
room, where everyone was gathered, “The others just got here a little too early, they’ve all been eager
to hear about the Crown Prince’s arrival from you.”

Leyla blinked in surprise, before she saw her fellow young teachers gathered around the table, chatting
amicably with one another. Upon her arrival, they all turned to look at her, before greeting her
excitedly, immediately making space between them for her.

Even Mrs. Grever seemed to anticipate her tale about the Crown Prince’s arrival with his wife. Leyla
couldn’t help but feel a little bit overwhelmed by the expectation. She wasn’t really paying attention to
the prince and his family as much as she was looking at the Duke in anticipation.

When she asked them what they wanted to know about the Crown Prince’s arrival, they wasted no time
bombarding her with questions, one after the next like excitable little children.

“Tell us about the Crown Prince! Did you really see him?!”

“Did you see his wife?”

“I heard they had twin babies! Were they there?!”

“Oh I wish I could have gone, you’re so lucky Miss Lewellin!”

“Yeah, I only saw the pictures in the newspaper, it must have been a sight to see in person!”
Leyla looked from one person to the next, before she laughed awkwardly, holding her hands up in a
placating manner as she tried to get them to calm down a little bit.

“I’m not sure how much help I could be, I was some ways away from the entourage after all.” She then
held up one of the newspapers lying on the table with the pictures of the Prince’s arrival, “The pictures
here though seemed really detailed, I couldn’t even see this much from where I was standing.” she
pointed out.

“Oh boo-hoo!” piped up one of the younger teachers, “What matters is you got to be there in person!”
they squealed.

“Yeah!” The others agreed readily.

“Oh, aren’t the Duke and the Crown Prince best friends or something?” another piped up in the middle
of the conversation.

Leyla’s stomach dropped at the mention of the Duke, and cold sweat began to escape her temples at the
anticipation of where this conversation was going. Fortunately, Mrs. Grever had the foresight to give her
a glass of water when she had sat down on the table.

She grabbed it nervously, staring at it resolutely while she took a sip of water. The other teachers
seemed to be content letting her be for now, which she was thankful for. The conversation between the
teachers flowed easily between the Crown Prince, the Duke and even Marquis Lindman.

“Well personally, I think the Duke’s the coolest between the three.” Mrs. Grever haughtily declared
among the young teachers, “Don’t you agree so too, Leyla?”

“Huh?” Leyla blinked, finally back to the conversation, as she noticed the others were now quiet as they
waited to hear her answer.

“I said the Duke’s the coolest among the three, don’t you agree too?” she prompted, looking
expectantly at Leyla.

“Oh, now that I think about it, Leyla’s met them all in person now!”

“Hey, that’s right!”

“She could tell us better who’s cooler between the Crown Prince, Duke Herhardt and Marquis Lindman!”

Leyla looked like a deer caught in headlights. She looked back and forth at them with a nervous smile on
her face as she struggled to formulate her words.

“I, I…” she began to stutter, when one of her fellow teachers answered on her behalf.

“I think Leyla’s opinion is a bit biased Mrs. Grever,” they pointed out, “There’s no question she’s going to
choose Duke Herhardt, after all, he practically saved her uncle.”
She quickly nodded along to the teacher’s words. She knows they mean it well, and they were all just
having pleasant fun, but at the mention of her uncle, the conversation shifted into praising the Duke’s
action for dropping the charges.

Her heart sank the more she listened in on them.

‘A savior they say?’ she couldn’t help but think rather bitterly in her mind. ‘If only they know why he
dropped them.’

The rest of the visit went by without a hitch, allowing Leyla to enjoy the company and food when the
conversation about the Crown Prince and Arvis died down, and shifting to school and their student
shenanigans.

They all parted ways with light hearts and a full stomach, bidding their host, Mrs. Grever goodbye, with
a promise to return sometime soon.

Upon her way back home, Leyla decided to stop by at a grocery store along the way. Supplies for home
were running short, she should stock up while she’s still outside.

As she passed through the entrance, she wasn’t surprised to see another one of those newspapers with
the Crown Prince’s arrival as a headline displayed in the front rack. However, the picture on it made her
heart flutter, along with an unfamiliar pang in her heart…

On the centerpiece of the headline, was an image of the Crown Prince and Duke Herhardt shaking
hands, while smiling towards the cameras. Beside the prince was his wife…

And beside the Duke, was Lady Brandt.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

In the few days that the Crown Prince and his wife were in Arvis, it was filled with a long life of parties
and dinners to attend. Fortunately, the Prince had stated he wouldn’t attend more gatherings until the
dinner event to be held in the Herhardt Family’s mansion.

This allowed the busy atmosphere to die down in Arvis, giving the servants some room to breathe, as
well as their hosts. Come luncheon time, the Crown Prince was accompanied by both Matthias and
Riette.

The Crown Prince regalled them with the current events around the parts of the continent he recently
toured. Riette had been lying languidly across the sofa, while the other two sat on wing chairs. As he
listened attentively, he couldn’t help but interrupt the Prince politely.

“Forgive my interruption, your highness,” Riette began and the Prince nodded for him to continue, “I
can’t help but realize that most of the noble families in the continent are bound by blood.”

“Yes, that is true.” the Prince nodded.

“Well then, shouldn’t the discord between their families be easily resolved, taking that fact into
consideration?” Riette asked in all seriousness, despite the ease of his current position. The prince could
only smile, albeit a little sadly at his opinion.

“You would think that would be the case, but the opposite is true in this case,” the Prince explained, “In
most of history, it’s the arguments between families that end up having brutal aftermaths.” he sighed
resignedly, before looking over at the Duke.

Matthias had been content to sit out of the conversation. He just remained sitting on his wing chair, as
he stared intently into the flames cackling in the fireplace. The melody of the waltz danced around them
in soft volumes. His feet tapping along with the beat, head swinging along as he relaxed.

But the Crown Prince had a keen eye, and he’s been observing the Duke for some time now. He knew
the more quiet the Duke got, the more his mind was being troubled.

“And what of your thoughts Captain Herhardt?” the Prince called out, making Matthias snap his eyes
over to his two companions.

“You’ve been on the frontlines before, what do you think about the looming threat of a war in the
continent? Are we able to win it this time around as well?” Riette asked, finally sitting up, genuinely
curious about his cousin’s thoughts on the matter.

Matthias breathed in deeply, running simulations in his head as he also straightened up in his seat. His
finger drummed on the arm rests, staring into the flames with a frown, before he turned back to his two
companions.

“I don’t think things will be as easy as the previous ones this time around.” Matthias admitted calmly.

“The tensions between Berg and Lovita are simple, and we do stand a good chance of winning,”
Matthias began to elaborate, “But the scale of a war between the two won’t be kept small.”

The Crown Prince hummed in dry agreement, having already known about that, the royal family’s war
council already making the same predictions.

“I thought as much.” the Crown Prince sighed, as a sullen air settled around the three of them.

Riette hadn’t been wrong when he pointed out all the nobles had some blood relations with each other.
If you’d trace them far back enough, you can tell which side they’re connected to.

But the fighting between the powerful families in the continent was growing day by day. Each one has
garnered multitudes of connections through the generations. They’ve cultivated these connections, and
treaties have interlocked with each other.

It was just one mess growing bigger the more it spread down the line, affecting many more families and
businesses within the empire. Soon enough, the war between two regions would become a war for the
whole continent.
“Well, look on the bright side, Your Highness,” Riette interjected when he noticed the gloomy
atmosphere, “This threat has been going on since my father’s time. Still there’s been no actual war
happening. I’m sure we’ll breeze past through this until we’re all old and gray with nothing ever really
happening.” Riette joked about, before he stopped and sighed.

“Although in the event it does happen, we’ll be there in the middle of it, aiming to return as war
heroes!” Riette proudly declared, making the Prince chuckle good-naturedly at his attempts to lighten
the mood.

“By the way Riette,” the Prince began as he regarded the Marquis with a thoughtful look, “You’re
looking a little too serious there yourself. Where did our Riette go?” he exchanged looks with Matthias
who only shrugged back at him, “You’re making me all nervous with being all proper!” the Prince teased.

Riette gasped in an exaggerated manner, before mockingly swooning on the couch as he shook his head,
while he lay back down on the sofa.

“I wouldn’t dare to show my disgracefulness in front of such an esteemed figure!” Riette gasped out
loudly, making the Prince bark out in laughter at Riette’s dramatics. And just like that, the air was lifted
around them as the Prince was thrown back in pleasant nostalgia.

Even when they were children, things were always like this. And though many years have passed, and
they spent time less and less with each other as their responsibilities grew, the Prince was glad that they
could still behave like this around each other as though they were kids once more.

Matthias had smiled and responded accordingly with the conversation, before leaving them both to
their own devices as he decided it was more interesting to look out the window. He had noticed Leyla
had gone out in the late morning, and was eager to catch sight of her return.

She had been dressed beautifully today, that was enough to make him forget about their last
conversation. That one had been grating across his thoughts painfully and insistently since she left him.

‘So she didn’t like the gift, huh?’ Matthias thought, as a tension settled in his jaw. She wasn’t happy with
the gift he presented her with.

If it was true that being useful and pleasurable in company was the true worth of a mistress, well, Leyla’s
been the farthest example of that by far. He could dig deeper into his thoughts as to why he’s so
reluctant to let her go, but it doesn’t seem worth it to him.

All he knew, and was comfortable to understand, was that he just wanted to keep her beside him for as
long as possible. Even if it meant enduring the endless hate she spewed at him. He’d keep her by his side
until his dying breath.

She was his alone, and his to use. No one else’s. His little canary.

A devious smirk gave way to his lips as he took a careful sip of the lukewarm tea.
He could still feel the ghost of her locks running across his palms; still see the silhouette of her quivering
form due to his ministrations; hear the echoes of her voice as she gasped and moaned because of him…

The more he got to know the inside and out of Leyla Lewellin, the prettier she got in his eyes.

Especially if she was in tears. Which reminded him, it had been a while since he last made her cry for
him.

Just the thought was enough to make him grip his cup tightly, as the urge to seek her out and see her
tears grew inside him. Matthias couldn’t understand his obsession with her. It was like he was going
crazy without her, and he had no will to stop it from happening.

Their first night together had been pure bliss for him. All of his senses drowning in her essences,
embracing him in a way he always sought for, yet so much better!

His thoughts and feelings drowned in her, and he happily let it overtake him if it meant he’d get to have
her for himself. At that moment, she was all he could process, as though she was the only thing in the
world he needed to be alive…

To feel alive.

In his research in taking care of a bird, he’d stumbled upon the knowledge of covering the bird’s eyes,
and cutting off their feathers from their wings. The bird would tremble in your palm as you prevented
them from seeing you trim their wings…

And when it’s all over, they would flap to fly, but found they could no longer go that far away from you.

Matthias had perfected it on his little canary bird. He’d dutifully covered the little canary’s eyes with a
soft piece of handkerchief, as he trimmed the feathers. He’d watch as they fluttered to the ground with
satisfaction before blowing it a kiss and removing the blinds as he showered it with clear affection,
before letting it rest inside its cage.

Lately he found the strange urge overcoming him. When his canary nestled lovingly in his palm, he
wanted nothing more than to close his fingers around its trusting form…

And then squeeze it. But then he’d catch himself, and focused on the beautiful songs his canary would
chirp for him, and the urge would go away.

The same urge kept coming whenever he’d hug Leyla. But unlike his canary, who’d sing to ease him, she
endlessly refused him. She kept struggling to escape him, and that just made him want to see her cry,
and stop time just so he could cherish those tears flowing out of her…

The only ones she seemed to freely give him.

But he desired to have her, take all of her and keep her for himself. If he could, he would have
swallowed her all up in one go during their sexual intercourses.
“Matthias?”

Matthias was brought back to the present at the sound of his name. He looked to the sides, and saw his
companions looking at him inquiringly as they both stood beside him. Only then did he notice the
gathered servants in front of the open door.

It seemed he got a little too distracted by Leyla after all. He didn’t like being caught unaware like this.

He put the cup down gently, before standing up, brushing off their inquiring gazes at him as though it
was nothing.

Finally, it was dinner in the Arvis Mansion, and the servants began to escort them towards the dining
room, while Matthias waited in the back to lock his study.

Just before he’d close the door behind him, a stray thought wandered into his mind.

‘Had Leyla come back?’ he couldn’t help but wonder, feeling a strange worry come over him at the
thought she hadn’t returned yet. Which didn’t make sense to him. After all, where else could she return
to but here?

He swiftly shut and locked the door before he decided to go back to his room to prepare for dinner.

As he walked through the long hallways, with the fading sun casting orange hues in the walls, he can’t
help but think about her again. A cold dread settling in his gut at the thought of her not coming back…

‘What if she decides it’s not worth it coming back?’

Reaching his room with his attendant, Matthias wasted no time changing as he mulled over that
thought.

Leyla couldn’t dare leaving Bill Remmer on his own. She looked up to him her whole life, she couldn’t
just up and leave him behind.

‘But if it meant she could leave me, then… could she?’ Matthias wondered instead.

Would she really leave? Because of him?

His movements halted just as he was about to secure his cuffs. The cold feeling grew inside him. He
could tell it was anger, or nervousness. He’d felt those before, and this wasn’t it.

“Master?” his attendant called out worriedly when he noticed Matthias’ movements paused.
Immediately, his master’s movements resumed, quickly finishing securing the cuff links and turned
around, to have his coat buttoned up.

Once Matthias had buttoned up the coat around him, the attendant busied themselves with brushing
some stray dust and flint all over Matthias as his master stood still in front of his floor-length mirror.
Matthias was thinking about the first time he tried trimming his canary’s feathers. The little bird
struggled incessantly in his grasp, making him cut more than he should, causing blood to ooze out its
wings.

He’d been worried at first, but was relieved to find his canary alive by the next day. He liked knowing it
couldn’t fly away from him. Adored the pitiful sight of its struggles in fact. It wasn’t until it fluttered
nervously towards him, and chirped beautifully for him that he got the sense the bird loved him.

It’s feathers would grow back, but even if he were to accidentally cut more than he should, the bird
loved him. It regarded him as their home. It wouldn’t want to leave him.

Though he can help but think it would be better if the bird couldn’t fly permanently too. He wouldn’t
need to put it in a cage, he’d just let it wander free forever in his sights. They’d be freer that way too.

“You’re all set, master.” The attendant called out to him once more, bowing his head dutifully at
Matthias.

Matthias took one last glance of his appearance in the mirror’s frame, before nodding to the attendant
in satisfaction. He casted another glance outside his bedroom window, looking over the fading shadows
of the trees that stretched across the road the further the sun set in the skies…

Leyla was still nowhere to be seen.

Chapter 85

Crack

Mark Evers was Duke Herhardt’s current attendant. As he followed after his master, he couldn’t help but
feel a little perplexed by his recent actions.

He’d been working in the Arvis Mansion for many years now. He’s filled up every position, from a lowly
servant, to an apprentice to the head butler, Hessen, down to the Duke’s attendant. He’d been them all.
He’d witnessed many things about them too, but not this.

This wasn’t the Duke he was accustomed to.

He’d noticed it for a while now, how unfocused his master had been, even in the presence of the Royal
couple. It wasn’t like him. The Duke had always been attentive, even though he pretended not to be
interested. So when he spaced out back there, Mark could tell something was amiss for his Master.

Suddenly, Matthias stopped, startling Mark by his sudden change.

His master was turned towards the window, his gaze resolutely looking out the window with an intense
look in his eyes. Mark couldn’t help but follow his gaze.

And there, he spotted her just as she was passing through the garden, basking in the fading light of the
sun as the skies gradually darkened, was Leyla. She was headed for the forest path, located just behind
the mansion as she carried a large bag in her arms.

Mark opted to wait for his master patiently, instead of breaking his reverie for them to get to the dining
room promptly. Leyla must have gone grocery shopping, and was now just returning. Though her load
looked rather heavy. It mustn’t be, for she was walking at a leisurely pace, neither in a hurry nor
struggling.

‘She’s back,’ Matthias thought with a certain relief, ‘Leyla’s returned.’ Matthias remained looking at her
beautiful figure, enamored by the sway of her french braid with every step she took further into the
forest.

It didn’t escape Mark’s notice how the stiffness in his master’s form slowly eased out of his shoulders
the longer he stared at the unsuspecting girl. She didn’t even bother looking towards the mansion.
Matthias gaze trailed over her body, taking in every detail. Like the way her coat and skirt fluttered with
the winter breeze, revealing some of her porcelain leg’s fair skin. He watched as she paused for a while,
shaking something off of her before continuing on her path.

Belatedly, he remembered it was supposed to be colder than usual today, and he couldn’t help but
frown at her carelessness. She must have been commuting too, because she wasn’t pedaling her way
back home, which meant she walked all the way from the entrance of the estate.

‘What a foolish woman, trying to brave the cold with such a heavy load on her shoulders.’ Matthias
mentally berated her. Deciding he’s had enough, he resumed his pace, and continued on his way to the
dining area.

But even though he walked away, his mind stayed resolutely on the retreating woman.

Even the sight of her was enough to call attention to those unfamiliar sensations he’d been feeling
around her lately.

“There you are, my Duke!” Claudine greeted him brightly as she came forward to welcome him into the
lounge area, where their other guests were currently assembled at. Matthias politely smiled back at her,
offering her his arm before she snaked her own over his forearm.

His arrival drew the attention of the crowd as they all welcomed him back.

“You were taking too long, so I decided I should go look for you.” Claudine informed him, “I got worried
something happened, it isn’t like you to be late to these events.” she pointed out. Matthias
absentmindedly patted her gloved hands.

“I apologize, my Lady, for worrying you.” he said, looking down at her indifferently, “I took longer than
expected to be prepared for dinner.”

Claudine regarded him carefully for a moment, before giving him a small smile.

“Well, I’m glad to know you’re alright, after all.” she then turned back to their guests, pulling away from
him. She conversed with each and every one of their guests naturally with ease. Matthias observed her
in a pensive manner.

She was going to be the perfect Duchess. A fact he was glad for, and couldn’t deny. Still, his thoughts
kept returning to Leyla. His eyes kept trailing to Claudine, following her movements in the room as she
drew closer to his mother, and grandmother, who were close to the Crown Prince and his wife.

The light from the fireplace casted a faint orange glow all over the lounge’s occupants.

Marriage was just another business transaction in their circle. The more powerful or influential the
family, the better. This was true for him as it was with anyone in his shoes and Claudine was the best
candidate he was presented with.
A marriage to her would just cement the Herhardts more into their place of power. But was that all
marriage was?

He wasn’t one to question his decisions, so why was he starting now?

There was a flickering of light from the room’s chandelier, before it brightened up the room indefinitely.
Matthias, along with the other guests, squinted at the sudden brightness. Seconds later, Hessen came
into the room, announcing that dinner had been served.

One by one, their guests made their way to the dining room, leaving Matthias as the last one to leave.

There in the middle of the lounge, he could see clearly the portraits of his predecessors, as though they
were staring at him.

As though they sensed how he was wavering.

“My duke?” Claudine called out, who looked back at him, and Matthias wasted no time in catching up
with the rest of his guests, escorting his fiance down the stairs and through the long halls leading up to
the dining room.

It was fortunate that Matthias had enough foresight to have the generator as one of the first to be
repaired. It made the chandelier in their dining room look more majestic, showing off it’s exquisite shine
as it basked their guests in a bright white glow.

On the long table were rows of their best silverware and cutlery. In the middle of the table was lined
ornate candelabras, along with a few cut orchids in vases and some sculpted desk ornaments.

All this served as reminders for Matthias that he was a powerful person. He’s the Duke of Arvis, and is
well-respected, and highly regarded in both society and among royalty. He had all this in his possession…

And yet his mistress walked in freezing temperatures on uneven ground. He could almost imagine her
back in her cabin, sitting alone in front of a shabby table, with a poor excuse of a fireplace illuminating
her.

“Duke Herhardt.” Claudine’s voice called out for him, taking him out of his reverie, and looked over to
her. She wordlessly gestured over to the seat in front of him.

It was odd. He’d known her since they were children, yet all of a sudden, it was like he was in a room
filled with strangers.

“Matthias?” Claudine called him softly once more, looking up at him in a confused manner. He
acknowledged her once more, before finally taking his own seat, along with a few others.

Dinner was just beginning.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
The royal couple stayed in Arvis for a total of five days before they finally moved on.

On their last day, all of Arvis’ employees lined up in front of the mansion as they all bid the royal couple
and their entourage goodbye. Leyla had been part of the group, and stood with the same crowd she was
with on the day of their arrival.

The security made things such a hassle to move along, but there was also a sense of dismay in the air
once they realized their guests would be leaving.

In all that time the Crown Prince and his wife were in Arvis, Leyla had not been visited by the Duke, at
all. It was almost like he even forgot about her. He sent her no note, not even from Phoebe. There was
also no summon for her.

She just got to live her recent days worry and stress free from the Duke. The past few days made her
feel like she did before this whole affair started, back when she was just Leyla, her uncle’s ward. The
days were peaceful for a change.

And she loved it.

She couldn’t help the hope blooming in her chest. Perhaps these few days were enough to make the
Duke rethink about keeping her as his mistress. Maybe he’s finally grown tired of her! After all, his
obsession with her made absolutely no sense!

Maybe he was just taken with her because he finally found something he couldn’t have for himself, and
now he finally did, he’d gotten bored once more.

She couldn’t help the smile on her face, believing this would be the day she’d be free of him at long last!
He was a prideful man after all. He couldn’t bear to stay with her ungrateful disposition and terrible
bedside manner towards him for too long.

In her relief at the prospect at the end being within reach, she failed to look away, just as the Duke
turned his eyes towards her direction. She knew he was looking at her, and he knew she saw him back.

There was that odd sensation running over her body once more, finally making her lower her gaze from
him in trepidation. After a few more seconds, she looked back up to him, and saw he was no longer
looking at her.

Instead, he was busy exchanging farewell with the Prince, with Lady Brandt by his side. Another familiar
feeling welled up in Leyla, but she couldn’t put her finger in it.

Soon the procession of the Prince’s farewell ceremony ended, and they all left Arvis. Leyla watched on
the sidelines as Matthias offered Claudine his arm, and began escorting her inside, with their own
entourage following them in suit.
The rest of the employees sighed in relief now that their important guest was gone, and things could
return back to normal. Leyla remained rooted in place, as the buzz around her grew louder when they all
began chatting amongst their respective groups.

Somewhere behind her, Leyla could vaguely hear a couple maids gossiping with each other in whispers.

“I just think they should have stuck with the schedule.”

“I know, they shouldn’t have to push back the wedding.”

“Lady Brandt is practically the Duchess already, isn’t she?”

Leyla felt uncomfortable with their conversation, feeling her heart beating fast at the new information.
She silently stepped away from them, and returned back to her own cabin. It didn’t matter what news
about the Duke’s wedding was.

She fully believed that their time together was running out, and that almost made her skip in her steps
for joy! Soon, she can finally work on convincing her uncle to leave Arvis, and she could forget this whole
kerfuffle had ever happened!

Yes, they would move to the farthest place from Arvis, one where no one knows her, or has even heard
of Arvis. Maybe she won’t get to go back to the way things were entirely, and maybe she’ll have to work
twice as hard to get their new life in order, but no hardship could hold a candle to the suffering she was
now facing.

With her world starting to fall in place, Leyla wasted no time in diligently doing her chores, humming
happily as she scrubbed the stain out of their laundry, brushed their floors clean. She even baked herself
some jam cookies! She hadn’t felt that urge in a long time now.

As soon as they finished, she took them out to cool on the rack as she grabbed her book, and poured
herself some tea to enjoy the cookies with. She sat leisurely for the first time since the accident at the
green house, and read her book as she gobbled up the cookies with no problem.

She paused reading after a while, deciding to pen some of her friends who had recently sent her letters.
When she just finished sealing the last of her letters, a knock sounded in front of her door, followed
soon by a familiar voice.

“Leyla! Are you in there?”

It was her friendly, yet equally nosy neighbor, Mrs. Mona. Leyla went out to greet her with a beaming
smile.

“Ah, Mrs. Mona!” Leyla greeted before gasping at the large basket her neighbor was holding, “What a
feast you got there!” she exclaimed, and Mrs. Mona smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, I was a bit worried about you dear,” Mrs. Mona sighed and went in as soon as Leyla stepped aside,
“After all, you’re a grown woman now, you should be eating a lot more by now.” she then breathed in,
sniffing the faint smell of cookies in the air, “Ah, but I see I shouldn’t have been too worried.” she smiled
at Leyla, who only laughed good naturedly.

“Well, I did learn from the best.” Leyla praised at Mrs. Mona, who preened at the implication. Leyla led
her to their kitchen, and began preparing her some tea.

Mrs. Mona did take it upon herself to teach Leyla how to cook when she had been younger. She taught
her what to do around the kitchen, following her instructions as best as she could until she became a
very skilled housekeeper.

It felt as though the warmth was returning in their small cabin, and Leyla couldn’t be happier.

They sat across from each other, sharing stories as they chatted back and forth between tea and their
sweets. Mrs. Mona was doing the most of the talking, while Leyla took her sweet time listening and
enjoying the food.

Mrs. Mona moaned as she took another bite from Leyla’s baked cookies.

“These ones really came out delicious, dear.” She praised, “Any man who marries you would be very
lucky!” she added as an afterthought, before pursing her lips as she looked back over at Leyla, “Speaking
of, about Kyle-”

Leyla quickly cut her off.

“Oh, that’s because you taught me so well yourself, so really this is all you!” Leyla exclaimed, grabbing a
snack from the basket, “Perhaps you can come over next time when I’m baking cakes, and then you can
tell me if they’re of any good!”

Mrs. Mona eyed her carefully, knowing full well Kyle was still a sore topic on the girl. And she looked so
happy today, she didn’t have the heart to be the reason it disappeared, not when she was looking so
relaxed the last couple of days.

“Well then, you’ll have to let me know when you decide to bake them so I can make sure to stop by.”
Mrs. Mona conceded, taking another bite of the cookie, moaning at the deliciousness.

Everyone was curious and worried at the slow progress of Kyle and Leyla’s reconciliation, but perhaps
that was a worry for another day instead, Mrs. Mona decided.

So she proceeded to complain to Leyla about the intricate and picky dishes the aristocrats had her
cooking in the mansion. They were very picky and snobbish. The kitchen staff never had to worry about
so much before, but alas, they had to. They were hosting very important people after all, and nothing
but the best should be served!

Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t bemoan the stress they had put on her.
“Pity that the Brandt girl decided to stay behind,” Mrs. Mona grumbled, “I thought she’d be leaving by
now, along with all the guests.” she huffed in a pout. “In all honesty, I don’t know why she insists on
staying in Arvis, when the master isn’t even around to entertain her.”

“Oh?” Leyla piped up at the mention of Matthias, “The Duke is not in Arvis now? What for?” she asked
curiously and Mrs. Mona nodded.

“Yes, I think it was something about a business, I wasn’t too privy with the information.” Mrs. Mona was
quick to answer, “But he left for the city, just after the Crown Prince and his entourage did. He won’t be
back for a few days, I’m afraid.” She informed.

Leyla tried to subtly breathe a sigh of relief at the knowledge.

The Duke would be gone for a few more days! Oh this was just the best piece of news she received in
forever!

“Unfortunately, the Duchesses Norma and Elysee insist on Lady Brandt remaining in the pretense of
discussing wedding arrangements.” Mrs. Mona scoffed, “In all honesty I’m sick and tired of having that
snobbish lady around! She’s the pickiest eater I’ve ever met! Doesn’t she know how to just eat what’s
being served? Honestly.”

They continued to chat, until Mrs. Mona noticed how late it was getting. They bid each other goodbye,
and finally, Leyla was back alone in her cabin. But unlike the aftermath of Mrs. Mona’s visits, Leyla
remained in a good mood, and easily finished the cookies left of the place.

Each crunch had crumbs breaking off the cookie, and Leyla just dusted them off from her clothes,
deciding she’d sweep them clean later. Today was a good day, and would continue to remain good in
the following days after all.

‘Thank god!’ Leyla sighed in relief as she resumed humming to herself in unabashed bliss.
Chapter 86

Child of Arvis

The schedule was tailored to be finished within four days at the least, but Duke Herhardt was able to
finish it all within three. To do that, he took on more work within shorter time frames, and even less
breaks over the past few days.

Mark Evers had never felt as exhausted as he did as soon as he sunk into one of the hotel’s plush chairs
as he waited in the lobby. His master was currently in a lunch meeting, which was the last of their
meetings.

He glanced out of the hallways’ window, looking outside.

The Duke had received invitation after invitation from prominent businessmen and nobles located in the
city. Oddly enough, he made sure to instruct them to make his time free after his schedule was done.
Though it didn’t take long for Mark to figure out just what he planned doing in his free time…

Or rather, who he was planning to spend time with.

The answer always pointed back to Leyla Lewellin.

Just this morning he received summons from his master, commanding him to send a car over to Arvis
with specific orders to be discrete, and bring the gardener’s foster daughter to him. He didn’t know
what it was for, and Mark wouldn’t dare question his master.

It wasn’t proper after all.

The car would have reached Arvis by now, so it won’t be long until Leyla would arrive.

Mark didn’t know why he had to be discrete, and he didn’t want to assume anything. Though he
wondered how long he could hide his master’s activities? He can’t help but be filled with nervous energy
at how precarious his current situation was.

Bill Remmer was a force to be reckoned with, and Mark was intimidated by him, but he doubts the
gardener knew what his foster daughter had been up to. The same could be said for his mistresses, the
Duchesses Norma and Elysee, along with the soon-to-be-duchess, Lady Brandt.

The recent events were nerve-wracking!

What should he do if they were to be found out? What should he say? Was he even supposed to say
anything?!

It didn’t even seem like his master was at all concerned about being found out though. He might have
been told to be discreet, but overall he had been calm and relaxed when giving the order. What had
Leyla gotten herself into?

Mark knew this thing happened all the time, but it was a different thing knowing about it, and becoming
unintentionally involved because of employment. Additionally, this was Matthias von Herhardt he was
talking about!

He had been the perfect gentleman all this time and now Mark was seeing a growing scandal in his
master’s clean slate! He’d known him long enough to believe he had nothing to worry about on his
master’s behalf, but now he was utterly so!

Mark couldn’t help but chuckle to himself softly in despair. What a predicament he’d entered. He leaned
his head back to rest against the back of the chair as he looked up at the ceiling.

His master would be fine, Mark was sure. But the one who would take the brunt of the scandal, should it
be revealed was Leyla. If his master was planning on exposing themselves, what did he plan to do with
Leyla?

Mark pushed himself forward, and hunched in on himself, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared at
the ornate pillars around him, and the marble sculptures being displayed. His gaze landed on a green
patch in the garden.

In the flowerpot, fresh green leaves bloomed beautifully, despite it being in the middle of winter.

Bill was just around his father’s age too. They aren’t really close, so to speak, but he was well aware
most of the servants employed were in good standing with the man. He was in no doubt the same could
be said about Leyla.

After all, among them servants, she was dubbed as the beloved child of Arvis.

A little too grand for a mere orphan who ended up being raised by their well-respected gardener, but it
wasn’t like anyone minded. Never mind, Leyla wasn’t the only child who grew up among their
community. There were plenty others.

But no other servant’s children were as highly regarded as they were with Leyla.

They grew up together, raced and played in the muds of the garden and forests; bathed in the river and
ran through the fields of Arvis together. She was beautiful though, Mark could faintly admit. He
sometimes thought of her as a fairy whenever they’d run into each other as children.

He vaguely remembered wondering if she found happiness in the prospect of marrying Kyle? Would she
be happy living as his wife? But then things went wrong, and their engagement broke off.
He remembered voicing his thoughts on the matter with Hessen.

“Choose your words carefully, Evers,” Hessen had softly warned him back then, “It is not in our place to
hold judgment over their actions.”

And Mark never brought it up again.

Shortly after, he was appointed as the Duke’s attendant, by courtesy of Hessen’s recommendation. But
when he met with his superior, Mark knew what Hessen really meant, and why he was placed as the
master’s latest attendant.

“Do nothing but your task, Evers.” Hessen had reminded him once more, “Nothing more, nothing less.”
The ominous warning rang through his head, and he’d kept it to heart even to this day.

Did Hessen know? Was this what he meant when he implored Mark to not ask questions?

Suddenly, the group of men he had been waiting for entered the lobby, and Mark immediately stood in
attention and walked over dutifully to the Duke’s side. The last meeting was finally done for the day.

Mark could tell his master was also feeling quite fatigued, despite his cool and calm demeanor. Matthias
turned to him, quirking up a brow, wordlessly asking for an update about his task.

“I sent for Miss Lewellin just before lunch had begun, master.” He quietly informed. “I expect them to
arrive around tea time.”

Matthias gave him a terse nod. Mark thought he saw some color return to his master’s cheeks, but he
wasn’t too sure.

“I’ll send her up to meet you in private as soon as they arrive, master.” Mark quickly added, “Why don’t
you take this time to rest your feet as we wait?” he calmly suggested.

Matthias swiftly bid his companions goodbye, before nodding back to answer Mark’s question. “Send
her up to my room, where I’ll be waiting for her then.” he ordered, to which Mark bowed to him in
acceptance.

“As you wish, master.”

He must have been more tired than usual because of how hectic the last three days had been, yet
Matthias remained tall and proud as they returned back to their place. Mark couldn’t help but feel a
little bit ashamed at thinking badly about his master.

Perhaps this wasn’t anything but a casual meeting between acquaintances?

This was Duke Herhardt and Leyla he was talking about after all. They were both respectable people in
their own fields, they couldn’t be doing that. It was downright insulting to even entertain thoughts
about their perceived infidelity!
“Oh, that’s right, Evers.” the Duke interrupted his thoughts, bringing Mark back to reality as he hurried
closer to his master’s side, “I have one more request for you.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla’s eyes had turned cold as she looked outside the window as soon as the car rolled to a stop. She
expected something would happen with the Duke when he returned, she just didn’t expect him to send
over for her.

The chauffeur had come with instructions from Mark Evers to bring her over as soon as possible. And so
when all was set, he drove as fast as he could to return without garnering any attention from the
onlookers as he delivered his cargo…

And that cargo was Leyla.

When he first arrived, Leyla was ready to get into an argument, and even refused a couple of times to go
with him. Unfortunately, he also came bearing a letter from the Duke, which left her with no choice but
to comply in the end.

What neither Mark Evers, nor the driver knew, were the contents of the letter, and how it convinced
Leyla to go along.

The chauffeur had been curious initially, but that curiosity soon went away as he rushed through traffic
on the road back to Carlsbar. He didn’t know how soon was “too soon”. The attendant never specified.

Mark waited anxiously for their arrival, wondering why they took so long to return. When he finally saw
the car rolling in, he hurriedly met them at the bottom of the steps. The chauffeur immediately got out
of the car.

“Mr. Crook, I was getting a little worried because you were running late!” Mark exclaimed, “Where’s
Leyla?” he asked right after. The chauffeur only bowed to him in apology.

“I’m so sorry Mr. Evers.” he then opened the door, to reveal Leyla in the back seat.

Leyla had been amazed by the extravagant sight in front of her, quickly thanking the chauffeur for
opening the door before she resumed sight-seeing.

Mark on the other hand, felt flabbergasted by the sight of Leyla.

She was dressed poorly! He couldn’t help but internally scream aghast at her state of dress!
First off, it was winter, hence it would be colder than usual. So what wasn’t she in a coat? Instead, she
only has a small, flimsy shawl wrapped around her shoulders! And the apron, don’t even get Mark
started on the apron. It was visibly dirty, having dark stains across its yellowed white fabric!

It seemed even the driver was embarrassed at how poorly she was dressed, to meet with their master as
he avoided the attendant’s gaze.

“Miss Lewellin…” Mark trailed off, unable to voice his disbelief. Leyla seemed unbothered by her clothes
as she finally looked at Mark with a steely gaze.

“So this is the place he wants me to be in?” she asked Mark, who was still too stunned to speak, “Am I
even allowed to enter the premises?”

Mark had to reluctantly give her an affirmation, still worrying about her clothes.

“Well, then, what are we waiting for?” Leyla asked no one in particular and just began to walk towards
the entrance. Mark almost cried in despair as he hurried after her.

“Wait, Miss Lewellin!” he urgently exclaimed, wincing when his cry garnered the attention of the
doorman, who also looked flabbergasted by the state of Leyla’s clothes.

Mark wasted no time in removing his long coat, and hurriedly draped it over Leyla’s clothes. It wasn’t
that Leyla didn’t look like she could be royalty, it’s just that she wasn’t dressed at all appropriately to
enter the premises.

He thought she would have at least changed out of her work clothes before coming over, it was only
proper. But at least, wrapped up in his long coat, she at least looked a little more respectable with it on.

The doorman at least had a little decency to say nothing about what he’d seen, and allowed them to
enter, before giving Mark a questioning stare. Mark only bowed apologetically before rushing to lead
the girl up to his master’s room.

Leyla was nervous about being in such a high societal place, but she couldn’t back down from Matthias.

Mark proceeded to expertly dodge the crowds, carefully making twists and turns in a way that hid Leyla
from the view of any passerby, and made sure to cover her face with some of the attention she caught.

In no time at all, they reached the Duke’s hotel room.

Mark Evers straightened up, and knocked on his master’s room.

“Master, we have arrived.” He called out softly. He listened in on the door, lightly pressing his ears
against it, and heard a faint murmur coming from inside. “Master?” he called out once again, a little
more loudly, but enough to not disturb any nearby tenants.

“Come in.” His master’s voice sounded through the door. Mark straightened up, and took his copy of his
master’s door key and let themselves inside the room.
Upon their entry, they saw Matthias lying haphazardly on the couch, with his eyes shut, before he
opened them to look at his new guest. Mark could tell he was still a little drowsy from his sleep.

With a sigh, Matthias then sat up on the couch, before he swept a hand from his face, and up to his hair,
trying to rub the sleep off his face. When he looked up, he locked eyes almost immediately with Leyla.

He frowned upon seeing another man’s coat wrapped around her.

Mark’s eyes darted nervously back and forth from his master, and then to Leyla. He could tell there was
some tension between them, and he could also tell he didn’t want to be anywhere near them when it
blew up.

With a gulp, Mark bowed to Matthias in an attempt to excuse himself. After all, he’s done his task,
Hessen told him to do nothing more than what was being asked of him. He could finally leave right?

“I shall leave you alone now, master.” he politely informed, before slowly backing up and turned to
leave the room.

“Oh, Mr. Evers!” Leyla called out, halting him from his retreat. Mark reluctantly turned back around, just
in time to see Leyla removing the coat around her, and handing it back to him with a smile. “Thank you
for this.” she said to him.

Mark blinked back as he internally screamed. He tried so hard to keep her presentable for his master.
But the Duke has seen it now, there was no point in keeping up with further pretenses.

“You’re welcome, Miss Lewellin.” Mark replied with a stiff smile, before successfully leaving them both
to their own devices to escape the thick tension in the room.

As soon as they were alone, Leyla reluctantly turned around to face Matthias, who was still looking at
her with a deepening frown. She felt blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment, and clasped her hands
in front of her.

“Forgive me for my clothes, but you said to come immediately.” she haughtily excused, refusing to
appear nervous in front of him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t hide the way her hands shook under his
gaze.

Matthias took a deep breath as he leaned back on the sofa. He placed a hand beneath his chin as he
continued to look at her.

Aside from the less than presentable clothes she had on, her hair was also wrapped in a loose braid.
There were even a few strands that managed to escape its hold. And her apron, well, it hardly matched
the cleanliness of her current surroundings.

His eyes trailed down, and saw the creases on the bottom of her brown dress. Further down, on her feet
she wore loose woolen socks, sagging around her ankles, and stained leather shoes. He couldn’t help
but chuckle in amusement over her poor state of dress.
Leyla winced at the sound of his laughter.

Matthias languidly got up from the couch, and stood on unsteady feet as he walked towards her. Even in
his less than perfect gait, Leyla couldn’t help but freeze in intimidation.

“You never really fail to surprise me Leyla,” he told her in a husky voice as he stopped just a step away
from her, “That’s what I like about you.”

He could clearly see the fire in her eyes as she stared up at him. Her face was less pretty with a frown
on, but he still found himself pleased to see her.

“You think this is funny?!” Leyla hissed at him, and Matthias shrugged before humming in agreement.
She wasted no time in throwing the letter he sent her in his face. Matthias scooted away in immediate
response, and watched the letter fall onto the floor.

“Now, now Leyla,” Matthias tutted, “How could I not find you fun? You’re so pretty all riled up, after
all.” he teased. Leyla scoffed at him, her body now shaking with brimming rage at him!

How dare he smile as if it was nothing!? She wanted to swipe that smirk off his face permanently!

Matthias then moved forward to touch her when she slapped his hand away!

“Don’t you dare touch me!” she exclaimed, stepping away from him as she looked up at him with tears
in the corner of her eyes. She had been shocked at how she managed to do that, but she couldn’t let
that stop her.

“How can you stand there smiling at me as if it was nothing!?” she asked him, “As if your threat was
nothing but a joke to you!?”

Matthias blinked at that, before looking down at the crumpled letter on the floor. He frowned, before
looking back at Leyla.

“What threat are you talking about?”

Leyla barked out a laugh hysterically.

“What do you mean ‘what threat’?” she asked him incredulously, “Those threats you made in that
letter!”

Matthias could only stand in front of her as he stared at her raging form.
Chapter 87

The Rule Between Us

They both stood in front of the other, Leyla in shaking rage, while Matthias was calmly regarding her,
before his posture relaxed. He put a hand in his pocket before brushing his hair up his forehead as he
remembered the letter’s contents.

“Oh, you mean that.” he finally said, breaking the silence between them. He let out a sigh, before giving
Leyla an amused smirk, cupping her cheek with his free hand, and gripping it tight when she tried to
brush him off once again. “It wasn’t even a threat.” he lightly informed her.

Leyla’s eyes widened in incredulity before she scoffed up at him.

“If that wasn’t a threat then how should I have taken it?!”

Matthias shrugged at her.

“Maybe advice?” he calmly suggested, “Or maybe a reminder?” he hummed in thought. Leyla only
laughed partially in hysterics and disbelief at his audacity.

She had been in a great mood these past few days, being away from him and his presence. Even the day
had started out beautiful with their clear blue skies, with a warmer temperature in the middle of winter.

So she had gone on with her business, enjoying her time away from any problems, a time she hadn’t had
much these past weeks with her being at the beck and call of the Duke. She didn’t even receive as much
of a note when he left so abruptly after the Crown Prince’s visit.

And all of a sudden, it didn’t seem far-fetched for her to think that their time was coming to an end! Life
was finally beginning to return to her usual peaceful days.

She went out to pick some excellent dried sagebrush, and had gone to bake herself some fresh bread.
Right after baking and eating, she had decided to clean her stove, airing out the kitchen as the smell of
bread wafted out and about the cabin’s kitchen.

All in all, her day had been going great!

Up until the time the inconspicuous car rolled in front of her cabin, sending alarm bells ringing in her
head when she recognized the Duke’s chauffeur stepping out, and headed for her front door. What else
could he be here for, away from the Duke, if it wasn’t for her?
She tried blinking back his existence to her imagination, and might have pinched herself in the process.
But he was real, and he was in front of her cabin. Hurriedly she answered the door, confirming the
dreaded feeling in her gut what this all was for.

“Good day, Miss Lewellin,” the chauffeur had greeted her when she came to the door, “I’d like to inform
you that the Duke has requested your presence at the earliest time possible.”

“What?”

“You can prepare yourself for a while, but I’m afraid we are in a bit of a hurry.” the chauffeur told her
kindly, but Leyla’s heart was thundering in her chest.

“Where did he want to see me?” she quickly demanded, narrowing her eyes at the chauffeur, who
blinked at her in shock.

“I’m to take you to the city, that’s where he’ll be waiting for you. It’s why he sent me here to get you.”
he supplied helpfully, which immediately got Leyla to shake her head.

“No,” she whispered, before finding her voice again, “No! I refuse to go there!” she exclaimed. “I’m not
going anywhere with you!”

The chauffeur regarded her carefully, before he gently pulled out a sealed note from within his breast
pocket, and gave it to her as an offering.

“I’ve been given instructions to give this to you as well Miss Lewellin.” he told her as she accepted the
envelope. Leyla quickly unsealed the letter, glancing through the contents at incredible pace.

His message was clear to her. He was asking her, no, he was demanding her to remember why she’s in
this predicament in the first place.

Do it for Mr. Remmer.

An overwhelming sense of rage and humiliation came over her, neatly tucking the note back in the
envelope before it crumpled in her shaking grip. He was treating her like nothing more than a toy,
demanding her to do things according to his wishes, to go places he ordered her to go without further
ado!

It was supposed to be a relationship between just the two of them, but it seemed like he had no qualms
revealing it to others after all. She never expected him to disregard her feelings as if they did not even
matter.

And it hurt her.

She didn’t want to go. She wanted to defy him, and make him wait for nothing! Except…

Do it for Mr. Remmer.

She was left with no choice but to do it. For her uncle’s sake, she will have to come to him, no matter
how humiliated she was feeling right now. And that’s why she moved, with no further ado, she got in
the car despite the chauffeur questioning her appearance.

She thought it was better for him to see him in such a measly manner. He’d bore of her quicker once
he’s reminded just how different and below she was of him. It’s her last act of pride before she’d be fed
to the lion for slaughter.

Though she couldn’t help but think of him cackling in amusement at her pathetic state too, and that
made beads of sweat roll down her back.

“Shouldn’t a noble man like you be knowledgeable of things such as honor, dignity and common
decency?!” she spewed at him, “How callous can you be?! Using Uncle Bill like that against me!?”

Still, Matthias seemed to be unbothered by her ire, and it stung her.

“I know if I didn’t remind you, you wouldn’t have gotten in that car and come to me.” Matthias
explained coolly, still looking at her in that soft, unfamiliar gaze in his cerulean eyes. “It wasn’t meant to
be a threat, Leyla. It never was.”

“Oh, forgive me for jumping to conclusions! How very gentlemanly of you to remind me!” she replied
sarcastically. Matthias only chuckled in amusement at her, and gave her a once over.

“Well, you’re looking quite the exceptional Lady right now, my mistress.” he smirked at her, “So it’s only
proper I become the perfect gentleman for you.” he said in the low baritone, sending shivers up her
spine at how husky he sounded.

‘I should stomp on his foot to make a point!’ Leyla thought belatedly to herself.

She held his wrists tightly with both hands, resolute in glaring at him straight in the eye, until a knock
resounded in the room. Fear seized Leyla’s heart as she immediately thought to hide from the incoming
guest, yet Matthias had no such qualms.

“Come in.” He invited coolly, ignoring Leyla’s look of panic, and casually sat back down on the sofa. Not
a moment later, a maid swung the door open, pushing into the room a food-filled tray cart. Leyla
immediately scooted towards the windows to retreat further into herself.

Her movement caught the maid’s attention, who seemed to flush in embarrassment at her dirty state.
Fortunately, she made no comment, and continued to set out their food in a timely and efficient
manner.

When she was done, she excused herself right away, smiling gently as she bowed respectfully at them,
leaving them alone once more. Leyla couldn’t help but scoot closer to Matthias after the maid had gone
away.

“What’s this for?” she couldn’t help but ask him.

On the table, there was food set. It had warm tea, along with an array of delicious food, that could be
enough for two people to share. Matthias only gestured at the table.

“What else do you think?” he asked her in faint amusement, mixed with a little teasing. He caught sight
of the single piece of cake he had ordered Mark to add. It had a pink cream filling, and elaborately
designed with pink and white icings.

Mark Evers was getting more efficient in his job. He did well today.

Matthias went to grab the plate, and held it out for Leyla to take.

“This one is for you.” he told her plainly, making Leyla grab it dumbly, “Make sure to eat it this time.” he
ordered her before he laid back down on the sofa.

“What are you doing?” Leyla wondered in confusion as she watched him throw an arm over his eyes as
he settled on the sofa.

“Wake me up in two hours.” he ordered her, while Leyla could only continue to watch him.

“What?”

When she received no reply, she put the cake down on the table and got around the sofa to hover over
him.

“What are you doing right now?!” she hissed at him in confusion. Matthias only hummed in reply,
content in letting her go unanswered, but she hovered persistently over him.

“Well, seeing as you’re my beautiful Lady right now, I should only treat you like one.” He answered
plainly, still keeping his eyes closed in an attempt to catch up on some much needed rest.

“I don’t even want to be your lady!”

“It’s a nice thought though, wouldn’t you agree?”

“You’re not making any sense!” Leyla complained, “What are you talking about?!”

“Well, if you’re so adamant on not being my Lady, then I shouldn’t have to act like your gentleman
either.” he told her in a drowsy manner, “Isn’t that the unspoken rule between us?” he finally opened
up an eye to stare up at her.

Leyla felt her body freezing in response despite his vulnerable position. How could he have this much
power over her?

“You’re staying rather suspiciously over there,” Matthias commented lightly, “Planning to kill me while I
sleep?” he inquired. Leyla only frowned down at him as she took a deep breath.

“I’m thinking about it.” she glared at him haughtily.

“Well, make sure you succeed then.” He softly challenged, “Because once you fail, it’s my turn next.” He
gave her a miniscule grin, before shutting his eyes closed once more, finally falling into a world of sleep,
with the warm afternoon glow basking them both in its fading light.

Leyla could only stand there in hopelessness as she watched him drift into sleep. She could never
understand him, not his words, nor the actions he’d done. He was beyond her comprehension. He was
the one who invited her over, even reminded her why she had to come.

And now he sets out a table filled with her favorite food, and falls asleep.

She half expected this to be just another ploy to get her to lower her defenses, but it seemed like he
really was asleep by the way his breathing slowed down to a rhythmic sound.

He really was an unbelievable person.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Claudine had spent the time alone with her maid embroidering. Something about the measured
movements gave her a sense of calm despite how stormy her thoughts had become lately. Her
movements then stilled, as a new thought came to mind.

“I’ve decided I want to go see Leyla after all, Mary.” she calmly told her aide, whose eyes widened in
surprise at her mistress’ words. Claudine had then set aside her embroidery as she demurely laid her
hands over her lap, to listen to Mary’s thoughts on her decision.

“But what for, my Lady?” Mary inquired worriedly, “Has she done something again?” Claudine just
smiled at her and shook her head.

“No, she hadn’t done anything,” she patted her aide’s hand to calm her down, “I just want to invite her
over to apologize.” she said in a warm voice, but her eyes held an icy look.

The thought just wouldn’t let her be.

The Duke had outwardly embarrassed her, just because she had Leyla be temporarily employed as her
aide. The others might not have seen it that way, but Claudine could tell he wanted to humiliate her.
And now, despite the outward pleasantries they showcased around other people, he was mostly
indifferent to her.

If Matthias would really bore of her soon, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths. Which made her
believe he did in fact, figured out his growing attachment to the girl.

“Do invite her over for some tea with me here.” She smiled at Mary. “I would like to properly apologize
for that last incident.”

“But my Lady, I’ve already apologized! You don’t have to lower yourself for her-” Claudine held a hand
up to silence her aide.
“Do understand me,” she held her aide’s hands in hers, “Do this for me, please?” she stared at Mary
imploringly.

Mary searched her mistress’ eyes for an unspoken meaning, before she finally understood her mistress’
wishes. Mary shut her protests down firmly and bowed respectfully at her Lady.

“If you wish it so, my Lady.” she solemnly promised, before dismissing herself to quickly do her task.
Claudine smiled to herself at seeing her servant’s retreating back, before resuming in her stitching.

Matthias might be difficult to read, but Leyla was the easiest. She wore her expressions as plain as day,
which is why so many are so entranced with her. She was absolutely transparent. She was looking
forward to seeing her again.

Upon her servant’s arrival, Claudine paused, and set her stitching aside once more, looking for Leyla.
Mary looked at her apologetically.

“I’m sorry to have failed in bringing her, my Lady,” Mary began as she bowed to her, “But it seems Miss
Lewellin is away.” Claudine looked rather shocked by that piece of information.

“Oh?”

“I’ve stood outside her cabin and knocked multiple times when I couldn’t get an answer.” Mary nodded
immediately, “I even went around the back, thinking I could see her outside, but it seemed like the cabin
was empty.”

Mary looked up nervously towards her mistress, whose face turned dark momentarily before she gave
Mary an understanding smile.

“Well, it seems like she really is away for the moment.” Claudine sighed, and leaned back on her chair,
tapping her fingers on the arm rest. “Perhaps you can try some time later, see if she’s back by then and
invite her over.”

“My Lady, must you really see her today?”

“Yes.” The reply came colder than expected, before Claudine smiled at her stiffly, “Yes. I will see her
tonight if I have to.” she replied calmer this time.

Unbidden thoughts came to mind at the implications of Leyla being away. But if she wasn’t to return
even if the night fell upon them, then she didn’t know what else to think.

‘Matthias couldn’t be so brazen. He wouldn’t!’ Claudine hissed to herself as her grip on the armrest
tightened.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Sometime in the middle of her thinking, Leyla had fallen right asleep after the Duke had. When her eyes
snapped open, the room had gone completely dark. She was certain it had been way past the two hour
mark the Duke told her to wake him in.

She carefully got up from the seat across the Duke, and tiptoed towards the lamp. She hesitated for a
moment, before turning the lamp on, wincing when light flooded into her eyes.

She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the brightness before her eyes fell on the Duke, still sound asleep,
even as the light blanketed him in its soft glow. He was still in the same position he’d been when she last
saw him.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she should wake him up now?

She quickly glanced at the wall clock in the room, before quietly returning to the seat she had slept in.
Waiting around for him to wake up made her restless. But she also didn’t want to disturb the tranquility
she felt around this quiet time she gained.

Quietly, she removed the apron around her waist, folding it neatly on an empty surface, before looking
around. She rubbed her arms as she hugged herself, feeling the biting cold seeping into her frame.

Her eyes were drawn back to the food-filled table, the tea having gone cold so long ago.

She refused to eat it in a foolish act of defiance, now all the food prepared had gone cold. Her eyes then
glanced at the single piece of cake he specifically set out for her, making her heart skip a beat as she
stared at it.

Suddenly, her stomach rumbled, making her remember that breakfast was the last thing she ate before
being whisked away to the central city. She could just as well go out and eat something to warm her up,
but she had left without much thought but to come here so she had no money.

She was also unfamiliar with the area, so that idea was terrible from the start.

But she also didn’t want to stay waiting for him to wake up.

She thought about why he specifically asked her to wake him up in two hours. What was he planning to
do in two hours? Suddenly, she found herself in a predicament, but decided not to pay much attention
to it.

Why should she care what he was planning about? He wouldn’t even bother thinking about her own
plans, and just kept making her life miserable! If she worried about him too, she’d just drive herself
insane.

Her stomach grumbled again, finally making her give in to eating the cake. It would be a good
compromise, now that she thought about it. It might have been from the Duke, but eating it would keep
her mind off him.
However, keeping an eye on him as she ate also seemed a little counter productive. She licked the
cream off her lips, as well as the fork, before setting the half-eaten cake back on the table, when the
Duke finally tossed in his sleep, making her freeze.

She waited in bated breaths, before sighing softly in relief when his eyes resolutely remained closed. She
dropped her hands unthinkingly, before she hit the fork by the edge of the table, making it fall on the
floor with a soft thud.

She cursed herself softly for her carelessness before kneeling down in front of the Duke to pick up the
fallen utensil without a second thought. Belatedly, she thought about how pitiful she looked right now
and glanced back at the Duke’s sleeping face in panic!

As if sensing her presence, Matthias’ eyes suddenly fluttered open making Leyla freeze just when she
was about to grab the fork.

Matthias woke up a little unfocused. He could see Leyla right in front of him, but with the lamp behind
her, he could faintly see her in the dark. Why was it so dark? He belatedly discovered night had fallen
between them.

His eyes narrowed at wondering why he wasn’t woken up earlier.

His immediate response was to grab onto Leyla’s wrist, who immediately squealed in fright as she
struggled to stand up, grabbing onto the fork as she tried to get away from him! The fork glinted harshly
in Matthias’ eyes, before falling back on the floor once more.

Matthias refused to get up though, opting instead to hold Leyla down as he regarded her critically. Leyla
felt flushed with his eyes upon her, feeling as though she was a child whose parents caught her hand in
the cookie jar.

She began to avoid his gaze.

There was that amused glint in his eyes once more as he stared at her. Her flush deepened in
embarrassment. All she does is bring him more amusement!

She struggled to rip her hand off his grasp, but Matthias gave her a strong tug, making her stumble on
top of him, her body sprawling over his prone form. He wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her,
sighing contentedly in her ear.

She squirmed on top of him, her body writhing on him in a futile attempt to get away, but he held onto
her tighter. He twisted them around, before Leyla found herself on her back against the sofa, trapped
beneath Matthias’ broad body.

She looked up, ready to give him more pieces of her mind, when she fell speechless with his intense look
on her. She struggled to avert her eyes, but it proved to be difficult, when she just kept getting
hypnotized in the blue pools of his gaze.
Chapter 88

Princess

How was it that this man could always invoke so many feelings inside her?

How was it, that his mere presence was enough for her walls to crumble, and let loose those feelings she
so desperately tried to keep out of her heart?

Suddenly, Leyla could feel that overwhelming urge to cry. She didn’t want to have to speak first, to
break this silence between them. Just thinking at how scared she’d acted right in front of him made her
heart ache in humiliation.

And yet Matthias could see straight through her, pry open her heart and see what she was trying to
hide.

His eyes landed on the fallen fork, noticing the icing smeared on its surface, before his eyes darted up to
the half eaten cake on the table. He barked out a laugh.

He had been wondering why she had a fork in hand when he woke up. She must have finally decided to
eat the cake he had ordered to be prepared for her. And just like that, all his suspicions on her
disappeared, and his heart felt infinitely better having his worries laid aside.

These past few days without her was maddening. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, how she was,
what she was doing. Day in and day out, his thoughts were filled with her. That’s why he pushed through
the meetings, took little rest, just to free up some time to be with her.

He would do anything, as well as buy things she liked, just to keep her beside him. And seeing her eat
something he specifically had for her filled him with an unfamiliar satisfaction. So instead of questioning
her why she hadn’t woken him up when he told her to, he pulled her to him in a kiss.

He could still taste the cake in her mouth, and though he generally disliked sweets, it tasted like heaven.

He hadn’t planned so far ahead what he wanted to do once she arrived. He just wanted to be with her.
He wanted to do mundane things with her for a change, like go out for walks. Or maybe they could even
dine together in a beautiful restaurant, and then drink tea to soothe their stomachs.

He found it ridiculous to have to go through the trouble of bringing her here, when he doesn’t even have
a proper plan for her. But he opted out of questioning her thoughts about that, for now, he wants to
focus on her…
To drown in the feel and taste of her against his tongue.

The kiss between the two deepened as Matthias’ arms pulled her further up, settling her more
comfortably against him.

As his arms wrapped around her body tight, he could feel something settling deep inside him. Like all his
time feeling nothing as she was apart from him finally made sense. He wanted nothing more than just to
stay like this, with just her.

Because Leyla wasn’t just anyone for him, and she was all he could ever want.

She was his. His little bird.

Finally, he pulled away from her, Leyla gasping as he released her lips. Their chests heaved in tandem as
they grappled for air. He could see the flush on her cheeks deepening, making her all the more adorable
in his eyes…

He couldn’t help but laugh in unbridled joy at the sight of her.

‘Why is he laughing?’ Leyla couldn’t help but wonder in bewilderment. She was currently anxious and
nervous about what he was doing, but she kept her eyes shut, afraid of what she’d see. All she wanted
was for everything to be over quickly.

But she was also intrigued.

He wasn’t acting like his usual self. Normally he would have stripped her off their clothes, and they
would do their dance beneath the sheets, but he wasn’t doing that now. Instead, he just kept planting
soft kisses all over her face. He would leave sporadic pecks on her cheeks, the tip of her nose, but
nothing more.

His hands never wandered away from her waist.

He turned her head to the side slightly, leaving a muted kiss on the back of her ear, making her look at
him in fright as the contact sent tingling shivers through her body. Their ragged breathing matched each
other, and he was still looking at her in that intense gaze of his.

“Don’t do that.” she whispered pleadingly, her palms splayed on his chest as she tried to push him away.
“Stop being weird and just do what you always do.” she demanded him, looking up at him with
complete confusion and terror.

He was doing things to her, things she couldn’t understand. And it frightened her more than usual.

Matthias’ movements stilled, before he regarded her carefully. He stared into her eyes, and he could see
she was begging him to go back to how things were between them. After a tense moment of silence
between them, Matthias gave her a nip in the ears, making her cry out in painful pleasure…
Soon the world faded around them, as nothing but their ragged breaths surrounding them in the
darkness.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Claudine lied in the guest bedroom, eyes staring resolutely on the ceiling right above her head as she
rested on the bed. Memories from when she had been thirteen years old, barely into her teens, came
flooding vividly in her mind.

It had been summer when it had been decided she would be the next Duchess of Arvis, Duchess
Herhardt.

It wasn’t their first time visiting the mansion in Arvis. It wasn’t the first time she was meeting with the
Herhardts either, but her mother made quite a fuss on her looks, making sure she would be absolutely
perfect when she would arrive.

“You’re not a child anymore Claudine,” Her mother admonished her as she harshly brushed the strands
off of Claudine’s face back then, “From now on, you must be the perfect lady, do you understand?” she
asked, after another harsh tug on her scalp, brushing away stubborn tangles.

They had gotten ready with the help of their aides, and rode the carriage without further delay. Her
mother’s grip on her tiny shoulders had been tight. Claudine could’ve sworn her nails would have dug
deeply into her skin if only her mother wasn’t so concerned how messy she would be if she bled.

As they grew closer to Arvis, the tighter her mother held onto her. Claudine had looked up at her
mother in worry, and saw her mother’s eyes glinted with unshed tears.

A few days prior to their visit, her mother gave her a crash course on what it really meant to become
society’s lady.

Claudine knew she was young, too young to fully understand how heavy the responsibility would weigh
on her shoulders, but she was no idiot. She could infer it from the way her mother talked, how harshly
she’d scold her from time to time, instilling painful yet memorable lessons as she lived her day to day.

It was her quick wit that made her understand that a match with Matthias was inevitable between
them.

“Does that mean that Matthias and I will be wed soon?” she asked her mother after one of her lessons.
It was her first week in Arvis, and out of the blue, she couldn’t help but question her mother about it
while they were in a communal space.
Countess Brandt grew embarrassed by her daughter’s brazen inquiry and gracefully grabbed Claudine
tightly by her arms, discretely dragging her to their rooms. Once the door shut behind her mother, she
shook Claudine by the shoulders, forcing the little girl to look up at her.

“It is what we have agreed upon, but you should also make sure you accept this engagement, do you
understand me Claudine?” her mother quietly hissed at her, “Once you do this, you will show all those
other girls you’re the best candidate for the job! Nothing less than perfect, and they won’t think twice
about choosing you to be the Duchess of Arvis!”

Claudine remembered pouting at her mother’s implication.

“But I’m already the smartest girl amongst my friends, mother.” She reasoned out, “Even my teachers
keep telling me that. I’m so observant I never miss anything!” She proclaimed rather proudly back in the
day, “I even mastered all the dances they taught and all the etiquette they made us remember.”

“Yes, yes, I get that, but that’s not what’s important here Claudine!” her mother interrupted, quickly
making the proud smile on little Claudine’s face fall, “What you must focus on from now on, aside from
being the best, is to get along with Matthias. You hear me, child? That’s the most important thing here.”

Little Claudine felt self-conscious. Had she been prioritizing wrong this whole time? If Claudine could go
back, she would have quickly shut those self doubts quickly. It wasn’t that she was doing the wrong
thing. She was just born a woman.

And so Claudine resolved to build a better relationship with Matthias, to allow their marriage to pass by
smoothly when the time came. But unlike the other boys she had managed to tame, Matthias was
different.

Firstly, he was already the Duke, and at such a young age. Every girl that wasn’t her coveted him, and so
badly they did. But it wasn’t like she hated Matthias. She didn’t.

In fact, her first impression of him was that he was handsome and a wonderful boy. She likened him as
the Herhardt’s crown jewel, more valuable than any works of art the Herhardt house possessed.

But she found it difficult to imagine being happy around him.

Matthias was on the cusp of adulthood back then, never mind they were close in age. Still, whenever
he’d look at her, she couldn’t help but feel inadequate in his presence. And Matthias had always been
different from the other boys.

He might have treated her respectfully, but she was always invisible in his eyes. And she didn’t like that.

It didn’t help that her mother was expecting her to be the best Lady in all of Berg. The responsibilities
just grew on Claudine. She no longer wanted to be the best, instead, she needed to be the best.

“Show everyone that only you, Count Brandt’s sole daughter, is the best! And make those people forget
about your father’s sons!”
Her mother might be Count Brandt’s wife, but she wasn’t the only woman to give him a child. In fact,
they bore him sons, while her mother was shamed for bearing a daughter.

“If I’m to become the Duchess of Arvis, does that mean I’ll be the most powerful woman in the Empire?”
she thought curiously.

There was a proud glint in her mother’s eye at her question.

“Without a doubt, my child. You’ll be part of the Empire’s elite families. No one will ever think nothing
but the best of you!”

“And all this, this will be mine?” she asked meekly, and her mother nodded excitedly.

“Yes! Yes, all of Arvis will be yours!”

Present day Claudine got up from her bed, and she looked out the window in deep thought. In front of
her were rows and rows of freshly trimmed bushes, and perfectly preserved colorful flowers blooming
as the vast estate stretched far and wide in front of her…

She had been in this very same position at thirteen.

“I like Arvis!” little Claudine beamed at her mother, “I’ll do it mother, don’t worry!”

And so her mother praised her for being the best girl, and Claudine had learned to perfect her poses and
responses for the crowd to see, and for people to judge. And the days just keep closer until that dream
would soon turn into a reality.

Her reality, no one else’s.

So how dare her fiance do this to her?!

Unable to sleep, Claudine grabbed her sleep robes, wrapped them around her small frame and began to
pace around the bedroom.

After Mary had returned a second time today to invite the peasant girl over, she still returned to the
mansion alone. At this point, Claudine could safely say that Matthias had gone crazy about the girl!

His recent actions further proved her correct!

Just the thought of them together made her seethe. He probably sent for her, Leyla, and brought her to
where he was staying.

She probably wouldn’t be very bothered if it had been anyone else, perhaps a lowly court lady or
anyone with a more respectable birth, but to replace her, Claudine von Brandt, with an orphaned girl?!

‘How dare he humiliate me like this?!’ Claudine seethed in her mind.

But there was nothing she could do against him. As long as he favored that girl as his mistress, she
would have to endure it. It was annoying, sure, but it wouldn’t be like she couldn’t tolerate it. She
doesn’t want to earn Matthias’ love. She wanted his status.

So long as she secured her position as his wife, and the mother of his heir, she would let them tumble in
their sheets no matter how long. She knew Matthias felt the same way about her. He could care less
about what she does.

But the foreboding sense of danger refused to leave Claudine. There was a threat to her, and she
couldn’t stand by idly and watch it wreck her ambitions.

Dawn broke through the skies, chasing the darkness as the sun slowly woke to a rise. Another memory
came to Claudine’s mind.

Matthias was looking a little suspicious at the last dinner party held in Arvis, the dinner they held to
commemorate the Crown Prince’s visit with them. He was acting rather differently, and when she
looked at him…

He was staring at her like he was seeing her for the first time, making her uneasy.

He had never been affectionate with her, aside from when there were other people around. But he also
never looked at her like that. And all of a sudden, she feared he would break off the engagement.

She feared he’d abandon her in exchange for a lowly peasant. But that was also a baseless fear because
Matthias was the Duke of Arvis first and foremost. It would be a grave mistake of his to do that just to
take his mistress as a wife.

But that was the old Matthias. This Matthias, this was someone she never knew.

She apologized mentally to Riette, knowing she couldn’t just stand aside anymore. She had a feeling
Matthias was close to figuring out his feelings. She must make a move now to end them before he ever
reached that point.

Things were different from when she’d been thirteen, but at the same time, her circumstances never
changed. Just now, her fears didn’t stem from being imperfect as a Duchess. It was because she wasn’t
born as Leyla, and yet she must marry Matthias.

It was the only reward she sought in life. It was the only way to justify all the sacrifices she had to make
all those years ago. The turmoil slowly disappeared the longer she stared at the frozen plains in front of
her, the moonlight illuminating her soft, yet harsh features.

She can’t do anything about Matthias, but perhaps she could do something about Leyla. Leyla must
disappear for her to secure her goal. But how could she push Leyla to the breaking point? Enough that it
would want to make her leave the Duke despite his hold on her?

A grin made its way on her smile as a single person came to mind.
“Kyle Etman.” she hummed to herself in a whisper, cold puff of air escaping her, fogging up the glass.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla drunkenly blinked awake, feeling warm all over, before her eyes landed on the sleeping man
beside her. She was perfectly content right now, and she wanted to bask longer in the mood around
them. She breathed in and out softly, rolling over to face him properly.

She could see the way his lips were kiss bitten, all red and swollen against his pale complexion. His sharp
features are more prominent, even in the dim lighting around them as the dawning light filtered through
the glass.

She couldn’t deny how beautiful he was. But something about him was familiar.

‘Ah,’ she thought with a wide smile as his name clicked in her head, ‘It’s the duke!’ she thought
ecstatically.

He’d gone with her to school! She could remember him vividly! She also remembered how intimidated
she was of him, but she was also in awe of him. Especially when she’d met him by the forest.

But something was strange right now though. Leyla frowned as she looked at him with a pout. He looked
younger in her memories, was he stressed? Or maybe he looked older when asleep?

She hummed, pulling the blanket over her head down as her head peaked out from under the covers.
She gingerly reached out a hand, and cupped his face. She giggled when she managed to do it
successfully, squishing his cheeks before frowning.

He felt warm to the touch. But then again, should she be feeling him? Wasn’t this a dream? She usually
never felt them in dreams.

She blinked back, her vision slowly becoming clearer by the second. Her eyes zeroed in on her
surroundings, belatedly noticing how different the walls were. She groggily looked around in confusion,
before realizing she wasn’t even in her own room!

And that was enough for Leyla to sober up, and immediately withdrew her touch on the Duke as though
his skin burnt her! She tried to put a distance between them, but Matthias’ arms tightened around her.

She was lying on her stomach, head pillowed on his arm. He threw his legs over her, entwining them
together, making it more difficult and uncomfortable for her to move. She tried wriggling away, but
soon gave up, when his grip remained tight around her waist.

One by one, last night’s events flooded her brain, painting one clear picture in Leyla’s mind. She
frantically tried to shake the memories away, and back into their forgotten places as she was stuck
looking at the Duke.
It was strange how she fell asleep so easily beside him. All she did was try to get away from him
desperately, escaping from his private touches when she could, and yet he’d come back at her with an
equal force, pulling her closer and closer with each step she took farther from him.

He was such a crazy person in Leyla’s eyes.

And now, instead of being his usual, greedy self, he took the time to ask her about things she liked.
Almost as though he valued her opinion. And when he took her last night, he took her gently, coaxing
her softly to open up for him.

She must have fallen asleep at some point, because she didn’t remember pushing him away from her.
She didn’t even remember how last night ended. All she did remember was the sounds they made as he
called out for her…

“Lewellin…” he cried out in passion from time to time, the sounds of their flesh slapping against each
other accompanying it, before her memories faded black.

She didn’t want them to resume that activity so soon after she woke up, and decided to lie still in his
arms instead. She couldn’t bring herself back to sleep, and thus was left no choice but to stare at him
until he woke up.

Looking back, nothing much changed in his appearance, but his features grew sharper the older he got.
The times had also made him rougher. As dawn crept in their window the more the sun rose in the sky,
Leyla could only imagine that day she first arrived in Arvis.

It had been so long ago, yet the memories remained as though it was like yesterday.

She’d come to Arvis, riding a small mail wagon. She was so little back then too, all thin and gangly, with
her shoulder blades jutting out of her skin. When she had met Matthias once more later in the years,
she remembered releasing a shuddered breath at the sight of him.

Because his eyes resembled the deep blue colors of the night sky.
Chapter 89

Weird

When Matthias opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Leyla. Immediately, his mind flashed back to
when she first witnessed the snow. But this vision here, there was also something ethereal in this
moment between them.

That strange feeling in Leyla was back, causing her to squirm away from him in an effort to look away
when his hand went up to cup her cheek, refusing to let her go and look away from him.

Fear flashed in her eyes, thinking they were about to resume last night’s activities, but nothing like that
came.

He just kept her in place, staring at her, and making her feel unfamiliar things. His fingers began to
caress her cheeks soothingly, pressing lightly on her skin. Leyla stilled under his touch, letting him feel
her face as they locked eyes with each other, their breath intermingling in the air…

‘Why does he do this to me?’ she asked herself.

Her head tilted in wonderment, as Matthias just kept staring at her without an outward response.
Instead, he seemed to be looking for something. He kept searching her eyes for an answer to a question
she didn’t know was being asked.

She likened this feeling between them to witnessing the first morning after winter came. Like a sudden
clarity had washed over her as she looked at the snowy white plains, just as vast and beautiful as the
sky…

The sun peeked through the gaps of the curtains, lightly hitting their skin, basking them in a warm glow
as Matthias kept caressing her face. The sun beams moved, perfectly framing Leyla’s emerald orbs,
redefining Matthias’ definition of a crowning jewel.

Because that’s what her eyes were to him, despite the lingering fear they held, a persistent curiosity
shone through them too.
But there was no answer provided to him, and it made Matthias feel dejected, chuckling mirthlessly to
himself, before he moved his hands to tangle them through her golden locks instead. They looked like
golden threads, gifted by the heavens.

Yet Leyla’s eyes narrowed with his movement, reminding him that she would always doubt his
intentions. But the way she squirmed in his arms was also maddening. He couldn’t bear it any longer-

“I’m hungry!” Leyla immediately exclaimed, having enough of this moment between them as his hands
shifted to touch her bare back. He blinked at her.

“What?” he frowned, displeased at her interruption.

“I said I’m hungry.” she repeated, before firmly pushing away his hand from her.

She wasn’t hungry. But it was the only excuse she could think of at the moment. Though demanding
something that ridiculous was a little embarrassing, she would rather face that kind of embarrassment
than have intercourse with him at such an early morning.

“I-I want to eat some breakfast.” Leyla haughtily added, giving Matthias a firm glare as he stared at her
in a dumbfounded manner.

Leyla’s stomach churned in terror. Had she provoked him after all? The longer the silence persisted from
him, the more she feared she did provoke him.

But alas, laughter like music echoed against the walls, making Leyla look at him in bewilderment. She’s
heard him laugh so many times now, yet every time she hears it, it never ceases to amaze her how warm
his laugh would make her feel.

She could almost believe this was a different person, but she knows this was still Matthias.

Matthias laughed on his back, hands clutched on his stomach as he threw his head back onto the pillows
as he chuckled to his heart’s content. His eyes squeezed shut as laugh lines creased the skin of his eyes.

An insecurity assaulted Leyla’s thoughts.

Was he laughing at her ridiculousness? Did she make herself look stupid in front of him?!

She quickly pulled up the blankets, wrapping them around her naked frame, pulling it up to her nose
securely. Matthias’ laughter died down as he finally sat up on the bed, before he turned to her with a
soft smile.

At this angle, Leyla could witness the way the sunlight rolled off his frame beautifully, hitting his sharp
features as they casted dark shadows on his other side, making his blue pools shine. His overall image
was softer like this, much like those marble sculptures she used to see in art books and museums…

It made her heart skip a beat.

“Okay, let’s do that.” Matthias hummed with that soft smile on his lips. His eyes held hers hypnotically,
making blood rise in her chest, “Let’s have breakfast together.”

As he left, still chuckling to himself for unknown reasons, Leyla couldn’t help but wonder how such a
cruel man possessed such beautiful laughter? It didn’t make sense. But at the crucial moment, he looked
like any other man Leyla saw.

He wasn’t a duke, he wasn’t powerful, he wasn’t cruel. Just a normal man she would have met randomly
at the street, and that image sent shivers inside her.

He was an uncanny man. He was acting so strange lately, it confused her greatly. So Leyla grabbed on
tightly on the blanket, and brought it up over her head, refusing to look at him any longer, but it didn’t
block out the sounds of his laughter still ringing in her head.

She was beginning to feel weird as well.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Kyle stood outside of the most expensive cafe in Carlsbar with clammy palms.

He took a deep breath, before he thanked the doorman for opening the door and searched the tables.
The cafe was crowded with many noblemen and ladies, given its prestigious reputation, it came as no
surprise to him. It was also located in the center of the city, so naturally, it attracted a lot of customers.

Finally, his eyes landed on the reason he was here in the first place.

He’d received an invitation from Lady Brandt, which he interpreted as a demand for him to meet up in
the city. And just as she said, Claudine was seated by the window seat, overlooking the occupants by the
second floor of the cafe.

It was quieter up there after all, plus, she had the bonus view of the city’s shopping district and its
beautiful park.

Kyle wasted no time to approach her, wishing for their meeting to be over as soon as possible. He had
more important things to do than waste it with her.

Claudine beamed at the sight of him, flashing him that sweet smile she used on everyone.

“Ah, Kyle! I’m so happy you accepted my invitation.” She greeted him. Kyle bowed his head at her,
before taking the seat across her. “For a moment I thought you wouldn’t come.” she lightly remarked,
eyeing him in scrutiny.
“Yes, I apologize for the delay,” Kyle said with a stiff smile, “But you weren’t very specific on the time of
our meeting, I’d been afraid I have missed you.”

His words were pleasant at best, but Claudine could tell there was a hint of dismay in his tone at their
meet-up.

“So, why have you invited me out today, Lady Brandt?” Kyle immediately asked, quick to the point, his
posture going taut. Claudine could only lightly tut at him in his brazen manner.

“Watch that tone Kyle,” she softly warned, “There are many eyes around us, who knows what rumors
would surface at them spotting us together.”

“If you were so worried about so much attention on us, then why did you arrange for us to meet here?”
Kyle asked her in confusion, and Claudine only smiled at him, before taking a dainty sip out of her cup.

“Because I have the perfect vantage point in this spot.” she answered plainly. “Also, meeting up here is
more wise if we are to remain inconspicuous instead of a shady place that hardly anyone knows.” She
explained to him with a pointed stare, “Just think of the scandal.” she sighed.

Kyle could only shoot her back with a wry smile.

He wanted to be anywhere but here with her. However, he also knew she had the answers to several of
his questions. He knew because she had her aide personally deliver him her letter of invitation.

[I need to discuss something with you.]

[Don’t you wonder why Leyla’s changed so much after you’ve gone?]

[I’ll see you in the cafe, in front of the central station in Carlsbar city. I’ll be eagerly waiting for your
arrival tomorrow.]

Those were some lines directly found in her letter, and it did make Kyle curious. And he couldn’t believe
that Lady Brandt, who had always despised Leyla since they were children for unknown reasons, had a
better understanding of her than him.

Something in him unsettled with that piece of information.

He could have just ignored her. He had no reason to attach himself with Leyla anymore, but he wanted
to help her. Even if it meant subjecting himself to feeling pathetic as he faced the soon to be Duchess of
Arvis.

It was as though she saw something in him give in, making her grin toothily at his resignation.

“I knew you would come,” Claudine hummed, “After all, you love her too much just to ignore something
this important.”
“Please tell me what I need to know quickly, Lady Brandt.” Kyle prompted, feeling his patience running
thin by the second. “I’d like for this to be over soon.”

“Oh?” Claudine smirked, raising a brow in a challenge, “Why, that would be so improper of me to not
even bother asking you about your day!” she gasped softly. Kyle could feel his jaw stiffen, stopping
himself from snapping at her.

Claudine seemed unbothered by his discomfort, and proceeded to flag a nearby waiter. They nodded at
her immediately, before rushing down. Kyle saw no words exchanged between them. Claudine only shot
him an innocent smile, before the waiter came back with a handful of coffee, balanced precariously on a
silver tray.

He set their cups down in front of them, taking Claudine’s cold cup of tea with him before leaving them
back to their privacy.

“Trust me, Lady Brandt,” Kyle spoke dryly to her as the waiter disappeared, “I won’t talk of your
improperness if you just say it now.”

“Well, alright then.” Claudine smiled victoriously at Kyle.

She had thought about this carefully after all. She needed to reveal her fiance’s affair with Leyla, but to
someone who cared greatly about Leyla, and had some power over her too.

Kyle was the perfect candidate. She could have gone with the gardener, after all, he was the most
important person in Leyla’s life, but she found that scenario too pitiful.

“First, let me clarify a few of my suspicions.” Claudine declared, making Kyle frown at her.

“Lady Brandt, I insist-”

“Did you or did you not return to Arvis in hopes of rekindling your love with Leyla?” Claudine
interrupted, making Kyle snap his mouth shut at the unexpectedness.

When Kyle resolutely remained silent, she could only smile at him in pity.

“Oh, poor you. I assume by your reaction Leyla rejected you, no?”

Kyle still kept silent as he glared at Claudine, who was unbothered by him.

“Yes, she did, didn’t she?” she hummed, tutting at him in pity, “Well, I can’t blame her for doing that.
After all, how could she juggle two men vying for her attention at the same time?” she said plainly as
she stared at her nails.

It was like a bucket-full of ice had been poured down on Kyle upon her words. He refused to believe this
was true, but the grin on Claudine’s face as she stared at his frozen form made him feel otherwise.
“What do you say Kyle?” Claudine leaned forward, resting her chin on her clasped hands, “Are you still
in such a hurry for our conversation to be over?”

“Who?” Kyle couldn’t help but ask after freeing himself from his frozen shock, before Claudine’s eyes
turned ice cold, but her smile remained.

“Why, it’s no one else but my fiance,” Claudine practically hissed, “Matthias von Herhardt, Duke of
Arvis.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The rest of their day together had gone smoothly, just as Matthias hoped.

Their breakfast together was splendid, and went beyond his expectations. It was every bit enjoyable as
he’d imagined and more!

The only downside so far was that Leyla refused to even look up at him. All day long she kept avoiding
seeing him, so instead he watched her. He drank in the sight of her rosy cheeks, the sunlight haloing
around her crown as she took small bites.

He watched her plump lips moisten up with the food and their drinks. It made him want to devour her
all the more. Especially when she’d bite down on her lips in that nervous manner.

But that was just typical Leyla to him.

It made him feel like bursting out into another fit of laughter with how high he was currently feeling, and
he didn’t care how it made him look.

She’d glance back at him every now and then, but when she’d catch him looking at her, she’d get
frazzled and immediately avert her eyes. He especially enjoyed seeing her face grow red, and because of
him!

But, he was done just watching her, instead, he lightly gestured to the corner of his lip, finally catching
her attention. Leyla paused, as she frowned at him.

The crumbs on her face looked more appealing than the ones on his plate.

Eventually it dawned upon her what he meant, and fumbled around to wipe the crumbs off her face
with a napkin. Her flush grew deeper, the red running down to her neck.

Once she was done, she proceeded to continue with their meat, albeit with a slower pace this time, still
blushing beautifully for him.
Every move she made was so delicate for him, even as she tapped on the egg to crack its shell. Matthias
couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, making her look up at him in even more confusion.

Leyla gingerly scooped out some of the egg, before it disappeared into her mouth with a frown and a
pout as soon as he chuckled at her once more.

When breakfast was over, they both took their sweet time in doing nothing but just being around each
other.

Of course, while Matthias reclined himself leisurely on the bed, Leyla refused to sit still and kept pacing
and mumbling nothings to herself around the room.

She was arguing with herself to keep it together quietly, afraid that the duke would hear. She didn’t
know why she felt so jittery around him lately, was it because she was afraid and uncomfortable with
him? Or was it something else!?

The next time Leyla looked at the Duke, his hair was damp just as he was finished dressing up. Fit to go
out.

Was he going out and leaving her?

‘Good!’ Leyla thought to herself, before she picked up the morning paper on the table and sat herself
firmly by the windowsill. She was intent on reading while he’d gone away, unaware he’d approached
her.

Matthias stared over her shoulder, quietly standing behind her as he read with her. He blinked back as
soon as he realized what it was she was reading on the paper. It was one of those serialized novels the
papers published, something he never really bothered to pay attention to whenever he’d read the news.

Leyla gasped, immediately flushing red in embarrassment once she realized he’d been standing behind
her reading all this time! In her rush to get away, she dropped the newspaper between them, looking
like a child who was caught with their hand in a cookie jar.

Matthias laughed in amusement once more! Who would’ve thought that Miss Prim-and-proper, Leyla
Lewellin, was the type who could read such riveting novels with a straight face?

She was looking at him as though he was crazy, but Matthias can’t seem to think it’s such a terrible
picture. He was having fun right now, and what’s a little fun without being crazy?

They left the hotel room as soon as noon struck.

Leyla had been against the idea at first, but Matthias was insistent, making her accompany him
reluctantly. He had his attendant bring them another one of his coats, before firmly wrapping his own
coat around Leyla as he eyed his attendant.

Mark Evers never rushed out of sight as fast as he did after that moment.
The tailcoat ended up being bigger than expected at Leyla. The ends of the coat were almost touching
the floor, but Matthias loved seeing her in something of his.

“Where are we headed?” Leyla asked him in a meek voice, just as they passed the hotel’s main
entrance. Matthias gave no answer. Instead, he just kept walking, making Leyla run after him.

Matthias slowed down from time to time, careful not to lose sight of her as he led them towards one of
the city’s most prominent boutiques. Leyla’s eyes narrowed at the sight of it in front of them.

“No.” she said, glaring at Matthias, “I don’t want it.”

But Matthias held her gaze steadfast in a wordless demand. Leyla shook her head adamantly, but
Matthias wasn’t budging.

It was inevitable of her to give in to him.

So with great reluctance, Leyla followed him into the boutique. The entrance clanged with a soft chime,
indicating new customers had arrived. Once they entered, almost every pair of eyes in the store turned
on the new arrivals.
Chapter 90

Lovers

Upon their entrance, every customer and employer were left confused by the new arrivals. Even the
boutique’s owner took a while to recover before she went up to them with a bright smile.

“Welcome!” she greeted jovially, giving them both a once over.

The man looked wealthy. He was tall and handsome, and had a regal air around him as he escorted the
petite woman inside, who looked around the store nervously. She had a tailcoat on, which he assumed
to be from her companion’s.

The man then went up behind her to remove the coat. As soon as the coat came off, the owner’s eyes
widened, before he narrowed his eyes on the two of them.

She was beautiful, the owner would admit, but she had such ghastly clothes on her! Not appropriate
when she’s with such a classy man. But judging by the way the man was looking at her, she would wager
a guess that they didn’t have a master-and-maid relationship between them.

‘A mistress would be most likely.’ She thought to herself as she gave them a welcoming smile. She
politely conversed with them, sending a smile towards the skittish woman as she continued to assess
them.

She knew many noblemen took on mistresses, but for this man to bring her in here, of all places. Wasn’t
that just asking for trouble on his part?

She noticed how the woman would scoot away from him, even going as far as shrugging off his touch
from her. They must have been at odds with each other for a while now.

It was a scene she’d seen many times. Being a boutique that boasted many things of luxury, it wasn’t
uncommon for quarreling lovers to bring their women here to buy them something. It was her job to
gauge out her customers in what they could potentially like, and convince the man into buying them for
her.

But these two were different, she could tell.

She didn’t even look like she’d like anything in store. She looked around as though she wished she were
anywhere else but in her store. She might even be a little bit afraid of her companion. But why would
she be afraid?

She’d seen many women who would have given anything to be in a position like her. They would even
be willing to sleep with men twice their age just to enjoy luxuries in life.

But it wasn’t her place to pry, even if she’d been itching to ask them a million questions. For now, she
will just have to wait for them to pick out what they want, and then help them make a purchase.

Another thing that surprised her from watching them was how incredibly stubborn the woman was! She
looked soft, and a pushover, but she was acting very headstrong with the man. Her companion, instead,
was the one who kept compromising, giving her suggestions here and there on what would look good on
her.

The owner loved meeting people who would obviously bring sales into her business like this man, but
the woman’s attitude was a little bit off-putting. Perhaps she should help them make a decision.

Did she want something more expensive? She just has the thing for them!

She made quick work around her store, choosing clothes just around the woman’s size with an expert
eye, and picking out some of their most beautiful products that would complement her greatly.

She hoped this would be enough for her. She didn’t know what was wrong between them, but she was
certain about one thing.

The man with her was absolutely taken with her. Surely she couldn’t be so blind to see the way he
looked at her?

And that made her confident the man would buy her just about anything, no matter the price!

With several items on hand, she approached them once more, politely asking them to try the items out
and to not hesitate in asking her for more.

The turquoise coat she got for her looked absolutely good on her!

Matthias made Leyla try them on, the shop owner beaming at her when she got the correct size. Leyla
wanted nothing more but to leave the shop, but she reminded herself she needed to do this. Matthias
had control over her after all.

She mustn’t deny him what he wants.

The shop owner did a good job in praising Leyla with lines she knew have been used multiple times with
other wealthy customers. She led Leyla towards their shoe display, prompting her to choose the one she
liked, before making her sit on the sofa nearby.

The other shop attendants came by to assist them, bringing some suggested shoes for Leyla to try on.
Leyla looked lost, not knowing what to do and looked away from their suggestions, staring resolutely on
the floor instead.

‘My, what a stubborn woman.’ The store owner pouted to herself. At that moment, the man chuckled,
before he approached them. He gave a glance over to the shoes, then back at his woman, before looking
back at the owner.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” she apologized, bowing her head at his approach, “These were the only shoes I made
that would be a perfect fit for her.” she explained.

With how busy she had gotten lately, she didn’t have the time to make more shoes and clothes that
would fit all kinds of customers she got with the highest quality materials. As such, the things she picked
out were one of the last in their current stocks.

Matthias hummed, stopping right in front of Leyla, before gesturing at her red-stained shoes. “Aren’t
these the ones you were wearing that day?”

The memory of Matthias pouring ink on her came to mind. She’d tried to get the stain out, but the red
ink he’d poured persistently stayed on her shoes.

Leyla looked up at him meekly, and bit her lip as she avoided his gaze, refusing to answer him. Matthias’
eyes narrowed at her in disappointment. It was the same shoes, although he also distinctly remembered
buying her new ones, to replace the ones he ruined.

Why was she still using these?

Sensing his disappointment, Leyla finally gave in and sighed.

“These were new shoes,” she pointed out, “They are stained, but they work perfectly fine. Besides, I had
been wearing them when I was home.”

Her toes felt frozen. She should have at least chosen proper shoes before leaving her house! Leyla
thought as she berated herself. She didn’t realize how much she’d regret not changing properly to come
meet him.

Though if he were a more decent person, he could have pretended to not know, or at least not have
pointed it out to everybody!

She hated how he could read her so easily, and how he’d casually reveal a secret or two of her and say it
so callously. Although she shouldn’t have expected anything different from a man who made a deal with
her just so he could take from her whatever he wanted.

She made a deal with him to be his mistress in exchange for her uncle’s freedom. She’d been able to
endure all those weeks of sleeping with him, because at the moment, it was the only stipulation he had
of their deal. She doesn’t want to owe him more, especially not priceless things she can’t repay him for.
Because no matter how much he’ll pay for her, she’ll have to keep paying him with her body. He kept
coming back for her dismal performance, but that wasn’t what made her despair. No, it was because if
she did accept his gifts, she might as well just be a prostitute.

Her cheeks flushed with frustration, head bowed resolutely.

Matthias stepped closer to her. She kept acting like he was punishing her.

So Matthias knelt in front of her.

Leyla snapped her eyes up to meet his gaze, while the others gasped softly as they witnessed him
kneeling. Matthias seemed indifferent to their audience, his attention solely on Leyla.

Before she could voice out her confusion, Matthias grabbed her by the ankles, gently removing her
shoes, and put on the ones he’d chosen would fit her. Leyla soon snapped out of her confusion, the
frustrated blush being replaced with a flustered red as she pulled her leg away from him, but he only
grabbed it back to secure the shoes on her feet.

Even her feet looked so adorable, Matthias thought to himself with a smile.

Once he had tied the last knot on the shoes, Matthias casually stood up, and looked down on her. Leyla
couldn’t help but hold his gaze in a mesmerized way, oblivious to their audience in the form of the store
owner and attendants.

But could anyone really blame them?

Leyla couldn’t help but watch as Matthias reached out for her…

‘He’ll just hurt me again.’ Leyla knew. Whenever he’d be this kind to her, he’d just quickly replace it with
an equally cruel act afterwards. How could this be any different than those times? She knew him. She
knew all his games, and she won’t fall for it again.

Finally, Leyla grew aware of their growing audience before she realized Matthias had been waiting for
her to take his hand, so that she could stand up. Embarrassed, she reluctantly took his hand, to which he
gave a gentle tug to put his arms around her, wrapping her in a warm one-armed hug.

Upon seeing their interaction, the owner sighed in relief. Her assumptions were wrong after all, she
wasn’t a mistress.

They were lovers…

The air might be chilly around them, but the sun surely was shining brightly on them. The boutique
owner thought ecstatically as she quickly rang up their purchases when the man told her they’d be
buying those things!

By the time they left the shop, Leyla was dressed in her brand new clothes, following him obediently as
he led them through the streets. Numerous people kept passing them as they headed for downtown.
Rush hour was just beginning, if the growing crowd was anything to go by.

Eventually they reached the park in the city, and Matthias held out his arm for her to take. Leyla grew
flustered at him before she stilled. She thought of the many people around them, before shaking them
out of her mind.

With a straight composure, she took it without further thought, and Matthias smiled to himself as she
accepted him.

‘I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t want this…’ Leyla kept repeating in her head as she drew
closer to Matthias’ warmth. He was starting to get on her nerves.

Matthias also grew a little restless at how stiff Leyla was being. He wanted to respect her boundaries,
but enough was enough. He removed her hand from his arm, before he firmly, yet gently entwined their
fingers together.

Her fingers fit perfectly on the gaps between his.

Leyla tried to pull away from him, but his grip on her tightened. She gave it a few more tugs, before
giving in to his whims.

‘This is only temporary.’ Leyla thought to herself as she allowed her fingers to rest in his.

The rest of their walk had gone uneventful, before they sat down in front of a cafe’s windows, with a
perfect view of the park. Matthias regarded Leyla carefully, knowing by heart she loved to talk. He’d
seen her around with other people, yet she refused to grant him the same privilege.

“What’s that bird?” Matthias suddenly asked, making Leyla jolt in surprise, as the cup clanged on the
saucer. She nervously looked at where his line of sight was, before seeing a black bird, perched on one
of the trees nearby.

“It’s a crow.” she answered after a quick assessment before looking at him suspiciously. Shouldn’t he
know what a crow looks like? After all, there were many of them in Arvis, even she knew that as a child.

“How about that?” Matthias asked.

Again and again, he kept asking about the different birds he would spot, and Leyla would answer each
one without fail.

Varied tit.

Forest thrush.

Yellow robin.

Those were only some of the birds he pointed out to, but the more he asked the more confused she got.
What was he playing at?
Matthias was content to keep asking his questions. He loved the breathy tone around her voice
whenever she’d speak their names. They sounded so much like music to his ears.

“How can you memorize all of them?”

“Well” she answered, “Since I am living near a forest.” Leyla bit her lower lip in serious thought.

“So what’s your favorite bird?” Matthias suddenly asked her, shaking her out of her thoughts.

“My favorite?” Leyla looked to the trees, a frown on her face, “I can’t really say. There’s too many to
choose from.” She turned to look back at him, “What about you?”

Matthias blinked at her in pleasant surprise. He thought for sure he’d be the one to initiate
conversations this whole afternoon.

“What’s your favorite bird?” Leyla parroted back to him, before she narrowed her gaze, “And I don’t
mean your favorite bird to hunt.”

He could only chuckle good naturedly at her.

“Ah, then that’s easy.” He hummed, perching his hand up in a way that made him see his perched finger
carrying Leyla, “A canary.”

Leyla blinked back in surprise. It wasn’t a bird she thought he would favor.

“You mean those birds that could sing beautifully?” She asked curiously. “Those kinds of canary?”
Matthias hummed in agreement, “But why? Don’t men like you usually prefer hawks? Or eagles? Or
falcons?”

An awkward silence befell between them. She waited for Matthias to reply, but he was content to see
her finally look at him expectantly.

‘If I hold my answer a little longer, will you keep looking at me that way?’ Matthias thought to himself in
melancholic wonder.

“Why not?” he asked Leyla, “I think they’re rather beautiful, don’t you?” he finished, looking intensely at
Leyla, making heat pool in her gut.

Leyla gulped, before she hurriedly averted her eyes from him to plop more sugar cubes into her cup of
tea.

“I think so too, Duke.” she answered quietly, staring resolutely as she swirled the sugar into her well-
saturated tea. Some of the crystals refused to dissolve into the tea, before she finally gathered enough
courage to look back at him once again.

He was still looking at her, and it made Leyla feel more bothered, but she didn’t know why. Once more
she looked outside, just in time to catch sight of a different bird.
“Oh, that one’s a pigeon.” She automatically supplied for him, and Matthias chuckled in amusement at
her, making her flush in embarrassment as she saw him grinning at her.

“I know.”

“Oh…” Leyla’s voice trailed off, before feeling foolish at telling him when he hadn’t even asked. But how
was she to know he knew?! He asked her about the crows after all! “Well, I see.” She cleared her throat
and grabbed her spoon to keep stirring the tea.

A pleasant smile broke out of Matthias lips as he watched her fumble in front of him discreetly. Leyla
flinched when she glanced back at him before renewing her attempts at stirring her tea.

Beneath the table, Leyla grew completely oblivious how close their pairs of feet had gotten, only
noticing it when she felt a familiar brush of his shoes against her new ones. She glanced up at him, and
he shot her another smile, sending tingling feelings in her gut…

Today continued to shape up into a weird, weird day.

Chapter 91

Just Such A Relationship

Kyle stayed behind in the cafe long after Claudine had left. He sat there, on his table, taking in what
Claudine said in frozen silence. The waiter quietly came up beside him. They dutifully wiped the table
down, taking with them the untouched third cup of coffee he had ordered.

They glanced over at Kyle, and felt concerned with how pale as a blank sheet he was.

‘Don’t listen to Claudine,’ Kyle berated himself over and over back when he was listening to what she
had to say to him. He firmly told himself that this was just how Claudine was. She hated Leyla ever since
he could remember. She’s trying to ruin Leyla’s image…

And he hated how he was beginning to believe her.

But he’d catch himself and tell himself that this was Leyla! She was not the kind of woman who’d enter
willingly into an affair with an engaged man! There was no way Claudine was telling the truth!

But the thought of what if kept bugging him. What if Claudine was telling him the truth? He did see the
way the Duke had eyed Leyla, that couldn’t have just been his imagination! All of a sudden he could feel
a chill in the pit of his stomach as anxiousness and despair came over his thoughts.

‘If the Duke really feels that way towards Leyla, then they could…’ Kyle’s thoughts trailed off, before
shaking the awful thought out of his mind.

“Their relationship blossomed right after you left for the capital, Kyle, did you know?” Claudine casually
pointed out as she took a sip of her cup of coffee. Kyle knew better to believe every word Claudine said.
He knew that…

But she made him believe they were only waiting for the right time, and he can’t help the doubt forming
in his mind around that. Another thing that made him doubt that she was telling him all but lies was the
tone in her voice.

There was something real in them. The genuine hate in her tone was unmistakable, and it strengthened
the possibility that what she had been telling him had ounces of truth in them.

Because as much as Claudine hated Leyla, she wasn’t the type to spread false rumors about her. Not
unless she knew, a hundred percent, what was going on with Leyla and the Duke. Claudine knew that if
she made any false accusations, it would make her look bad. Her pride and honor would be tarnished
because of misinformation.

There was no way she’d risk talking false slanderous things about her fiance and Leyla, just to say it in
front of a doctor’s son.

‘No, it’s not true. Claudine is lying, you know she’s lying!’ Kyle once again scolded himself, reminding
him that this wasn’t just anyone Claudine was implicating in having an affair with her fiance.

This was Leyla.

Kyle stood up with wobbly feet, and went out of the cafe with a dazed look upon his face. He was
looking straight ahead of him, but not really seeing or thinking about where he would go. As the cold
winds swept past him until his face numbed in the chill, he just wanted to do one thing.

Shutting his dry eyes were too painful, and his breathing grew ragged the more he walked. There was a
tightening in his chest that threatened to suffocate him. He can’t think properly, but he knew what
would give him his peace of mind back…

And it was still Leyla.

He was the only one who could lay his troubles to rest, the only one who could provide him a real truth.
The only source he trusted in this matter.

He must see her. But how would he bring this up to her?

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The rest of their day was spent exchanging casual conversation with each other. Most of the time, it was
Matthias initiating the conversation, asking Leyla questions every now and then to which she would
respond swiftly, yet briefly.

Sometimes she would ask him a few short questions, but not as much as he would. He even noticed
most of the questions she’d direct him were formal at best, and not really much about him in general.
She was only doing so to appear polite.

But he was happy he had her undivided attention. She was looking at him, and exchanging words
without hints of being scared or angry with him, and was actively listening to him. He didn’t know what
made her act like this, but he wanted it to continue.

Looking at her like this, where he could unabashedly stare at her jewel-like eyes and softly flushed
cheeks was exhilarating.
He took in every subtle change she made, the way her eyes would spark when he’d ask her about birds,
or how the tension on her shoulders slowly seeped out of her body with every passing minute. He took
them all in greedily, and kept wanting for more, for they filled him up warmly in a way that sent tingles
down to his toes.

This was getting crazier, how badly she affected him. This couldn’t be normal, but he also couldn’t put a
finger on it. He could feel his breath hitching the longer he stared at her, and the heated tension in his
body coiling beneath his skin like a snake waiting to strike…

And he loved every little sensation he felt from watching her like this.

“Are we heading back already?” Leyla asked him cautiously when she noticed Matthias glance down his
wrist watch. She was looking expectantly at him, in a way that couldn’t be hidden even if she tried to.

“Alright.” Matthias agreed with a hum, brushing off entertaining thoughts on making this moment
between them last a little longer.

If he could make it so, this time between them would have gone on for forever.

Leyla softly breathed out a sigh of relief on his acquiesce, closing her eyes in silent praise at whoever
was watching over her. Upon seeing her reaction, Matthias couldn’t help but feel offended at how
relieved she was for this day to be over and done with.

Yet he can’t keep his eyes off of her.

And he wanted her to look at him once more, and to keep him in her eyes at all times. There was a
burning need for her, blooming in his chest that grew stronger every moment they spent together.

Leyla shivered under a cold gust of wind, before feeling eyes boring holes into her, and nervously looked
back at him. Her breath hitched when she saw the intense gaze he had, unconsciously wetting her lips.

They had soft ragged breaths as they locked gaze, before Leyla voiced out a question that had been
deeply bugging her.

“This thing between us, you promise to keep it a secret right?” she couldn’t help but ask worriedly.
Matthias quirked up a brow at her.

“A secret?” he repeated, “From who?”

“From Uncle Bill.”

Ah, there it was again, that name; Matthias thought bitterly, an ugly feeling rearing its head in the back
of his mind. She said it so softly, you would have thought she was genuinely worried, but the look on her
eyes made it seem like she was determined to make him keep it a secret from her uncle, the most.
He’d almost forgotten about the gardener, which was of course why Leyla’s been so willing to spend
time with him. Whether he really meant it as a reminder or a threat, that didn’t matter. What mattered
was, with Bill Remmer being held over Leyla as leverage made him unpleasant.

“Please Duke, he must never know about us!” Leyla pleaded desperately in a quiet voice, when a frown
marred Matthias’ expression.

Finally, he straightened up and schooled his expressions back into his cool and indifferent demeanor.

“Do you really think you can hold out on never telling Bill our relationship together until your dying
breath?” Matthias asked her with a tilt in his head.

He knew this thing between them cannot stay like this forever, especially not this type of affair, but it
seemed like Leyla had completely misunderstood him once more. She was fond of doing that.

“What do you mean by ‘until my dying breath’?!” she asked, startled at the implications as she looked at
him in alarm. All of a sudden, it quickly shifted into a defensive expression.

The Duke was due to marry Lady Brandt by summer at the earliest possible moment. What he had with
her was a mere shallow obsession which she was indulging in. He shouldn’t force her to continue with
their deal even after he’d tied a knot with some other woman!

It isn’t right! Leyla won’t allow that to ever happen! Was he planning on making her miserable the rest
of her life?!

Her hands trembled in front of her.

‘Forever,’ Leyla thought hatefully, ‘Such a powerful word to use with our relationship.’ she couldn’t help
but think bitterly.

Matthias only hummed after he regarded her carefully, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m just saying,” he began once more, “One way or another, he will find out about us. Aren’t you
supposed to prepare yourself for that probability?” he asked her coldly, rephrasing his question as he
took a sip on his glass of water.

“No!” Leyla exclaimed, frustration and anger leaking out of her shouted whisper as she looked around
them nervously, before glaring back at him with all the rage she could muster. “I’ll make sure you or
anyone who knows will never speak about this to him!”

She would leave him before he could ever tie her permanently to him! She’d make sure of it! Above all,
she won’t ever let Uncle Bill know about what she’d done.

She can’t hurt him like that! She was already upset she had to sleep with him for her uncle’s freedom,
but she can take it. She can’t take the thought of causing her uncle grief.
If he would ever find out what she’d been doing with the Duke, he would be heartbroken about how low
she’d gotten! She’ll have to be extra careful from now on, and make sure this affair between them
would be over quickly and to never owe the duke anything ever again!

So she’d have to be a better toy for him, an obedient doll to his advances. She’d do anything!

“Duke,” she called out, begging for him to hear her as she looked up at him in a pleading manner. “Duke,
please…”

Matthias stared into her eyes with a sharp look on his face. He could clearly see the fear, mixed with a
hint of expectancy in her eyes as she looked at him. It was like something awoke deep inside him as he
looked into those two glimmering green orbs of hers…

Ah, she was so beautiful like this. He really wanted to have her…

And he did. He did have her…

But then a frown came upon him as he thought deeply about that fact.

‘Do I really have her all to myself?’

With her dream of leaving Arvis behind, and to marry a random man slipping through her fingers, she
had nowhere to go, but stay in Arvis, where he could see her whenever he liked. She’d willingly allowed
him to bed her, time and time again, solidifying she was his to have and his to use.

It was just as he planned it to be. All he needed to do now, was to just do as he wanted, and nothing
more.

With a tired sigh, he gave Leyla a terse nod, signifying whatever news Bill Remmer would get about
them, would never come from him. After all, it was only a matter of time now, but Leyla didn’t have to
know he intended for everyone around them to know she was his.

When that would be, he couldn’t really tell.

All he knew was that he didn’t want to let her go, and that was the big mystery wasn’t it? He couldn’t
fathom his obsession with her. Why is it, with all the women in the world, he chose a woman who was
essentially nothing for him?

Had he gone insane after all? Was it because she was alway hard to get, even though he’d finally gotten
a taste of her? Until when will she continue to torture him this way?

Leyla was completely oblivious to his turmoil, sighing in complete relief when he’d given her his word.
She’d always been so uncomfortable around him, and couldn’t help but be terrified to be in his
presence, but that intimidating air around him was strangely absent for today.

Instead, there was something blooming in her chest, something she barely felt before.
Suddenly, Matthias stood up, and came up beside her. Leyla followed his movements, looking up at him.
He stared down at her with a contemplative gaze, before he just grabbed her by the shin, freezing her to
shock at his sudden movements.

Suddenly, she took back what she had just thought about not being fearful of him today. She was
growing terrified of him right now. She tried to move away from his grip, but he only tightened it up,
refusing to let her move.

He kept looking down on her, it was like he was boring his eyes straight into her soul, seeing things she
didn’t know about her. Eventually, he let her go, pulling away from her.

She heaved a breath of relief, looking up at him in a nervous manner, as she massaged her chin, still
feeling the ghost of his grip on her. She wondered what he was thinking during that moment, which
made her feel a little bit flustered, but she didn’t know why.

All she hoped was that he didn’t see how flustered he’d made her.

“Let’s go.” He told her, and outstretched a hand for her to take. Feeling the eyes trailed on them, Leyla
reluctantly took it. As soon as she stood up, Matthias gripped her hand tight, making her wince at his
grip as he half dragged her behind him.

She bit into her lip, keeping her head trailed down on the ground as she hurried behind him, to keep up
with his pace. She wanted nothing more than to scream, but she couldn’t find it in her to do it.

Instead, she could only watch as the shoelaces he’d tied on her shoes swayed with every step she took.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Kyle headed back to Arvis as soon as he’d shaken out of his shock, making haste to not waste any more
daylight. He soon reached the crossroads that led straight to Etman street, and completely bypassed it.

He was focused on reaching Arvis as soon as possible. It was his utmost priority. Nothing else mattered
right now. In his one-track focus, he failed to notice just whose car it was that had passed him by.

Matthias’ eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Kyle as he stared out the car’s windows. He had a
determined look on his face as he stared straight ahead, and he had a good guess at why that is.

Why else would he be visiting Arvis outside of his father’s visits to the mansion? He was headed there
for Leyla.

Matthias took a deep breath, before looking over to the recently vacated space beside him.
He was content in delivering her straight in front of her cabin, but Leyla insisted they drop her off
somewhere in the downtown area of Carlsbar. She reasoned out she had just remembered she had
something to do there, and so with great reluctance, he let her leave.

But he knew she was only making excuses to get away from him.

She had looked so transparent, the nervousness and fear in her eyes were blatant to him as she asked
him to drop her off there. But Matthias soon found out that the look on her face was starting to get old.
He cannot find any more amusement in that expression of hers.

And he’d been so happy to see her cry before too. He felt such immense satisfaction in bringing her to
tears, begging in front of him so beautifully, yet none of those familiar sensations came at that moment.

It made him wonder what it really was he wanted from her if not for her misery?

The first time he took notice of Kyle, a similar question came to his mind. It was seeded into him at that
moment when he first saw how Leyla was around Kyle, and grew into a forest of nagging questions,
plaguing his mind day and night.

He’d always seen them together, so unabashedly content in each other’s presence, up until their
engagement being called off. Leyla, when she’d been with Kyle, always wore a bright and happy smile on
her face.

And suddenly, his mouth felt dry at remembering that, making him swallow down his unease.

She did not hold back in doling out smiles and loving gaze at Kyle. She kept giving it out without a second
thought, even if Kyle couldn’t offer her what she wanted like he could. No matter what Kyle did, Leyla
continued to be by his side, giving him all her time and attention.

But Matthias reminded himself he no longer needed to worry about Kyle. Leyla was his now, in a way
Kyle could never have her. He knew things about Leyla that Kyle never did. She wouldn’t dare leave him
for an old flame.

But that fact is rendered meaningless when Leyla would not even accept him as she did with Kyle so
freely. And maybe that’s why Kyle’s presence unnerved him greatly, because he had Leyla, in the way
Matthias wanted her.

Continuing this line of thought would only bring more discomfort for himself. And he knew he’d never
have that kind of relationship with Leyla, yet he couldn’t stop longing to have it. Matthias wanted to
erase their pasts, and start anew. Take back those things he did, but he can’t.

But when the car rolled into a stop in front of his mansion, gone was the turmoil in Matthias face, and
stepped out of the car with a schooled expression.
“Welcome back, Duke Herhardt!” Claudine exclaimed, as she went out to greet him back home.
Matthias stared at her for a moment, confused as to why she was here when she was supposed to be
back in Brandt estate, like their other guests who went home.

“My Lady,” he greeted with a practiced smile, “I didn’t know you were waiting for me here.” He greeted
back, kissing her on the cheeks as soon as she got close and pulled away, looking at her with an
unspoken question.

‘Why are you here?’

“Oh, yes, I decided to wait for your return here.” Claudine replied back with her own smile, “I wanted to
spend more time with you, so waiting for your return in your own estate was only more practical.”

Claudine eyed Matthias with a critical gaze. She then pulled her hands away from his and clasped them
demurely in front of her as she met his own assessing stare.

“Didn’t you miss me too while you were away?” She asked in an innocent voice, her eyes glancing
behind him to look at the empty backseat. She then looked back at him with a prompting gaze.

Matthias only widened his smile at her, as though he was pleased with her reasoning.

“Of course,” he replied.

Chapter 92

An Unexpected Way

Leyla knelt on her cabin floors, furiously scrubbing the floorboards clean before she sighed out tiredly,
and swiped off some of the sweat off her brows. With the sunbeam light flowing into the room, she
could see the fine dust particles floating all over her.

The cold was also beginning to subside in the air, signifying that winter was about to come to an end.

Despite that, Leyla couldn’t help but think about how strange Kyle had been when she’d returned to
Arvis from Carlsbar. Even remembering the look on his face gave her endless confusion about why he’d
been acting so weird.

It’s been a few days since it happened, yet still she reached no conclusion.

She had been successful in making the Duke drop her off in Carlsbar, and went home on her own. Upon
her way home, she’d encountered Kyle on the road to Arvis, just as Kyle was just about to leave.

“Leyla…” he called out to her with a breathy voice. He looked calm to her, but something in his voice
made her think like he wanted to cry for some unknown reason.

She wanted to go to him, and ask about how he is, but she caught sight of her shoes, and forced herself
not to. These shoes were the ones the Duke had just bought for her, and it reminded her why she
needed to get away from Kyle.

He repeated her name a few more times, it was almost like he was seeing her, but at the same time, it
was like he wasn’t actually seeing her. It was like his mind was stuck somewhere. At one point it seemed
like he was looking right through her and proceeded to look up at the sky.

His hands had been shaking when he ran them across his face. Whether it was from the cold or
something else, she couldn’t tell. And then he left, without talking to her or looking back at her once
more.

A few passerbys had seen them, looking over at them curiously, wondering what happened between
them now as Kyle continued to walk in a daze passed them. They shot Leyla questioning glances as soon
as they noticed his red-rimmed eyes.

All the while Leyla could only figure out he’d stopped by for something, as did the others who saw them.
But from their point of view, it didn’t seem like that last time Kyle had sought out Leyla.

Kyle had been Leyla’s broken first love, but before that he’d been like a brother and her best friend. But
gone were the days they would have freely confided in one another, those unspoken conversations
they’d exchange across the room with a simple exchange of glances.

By now Leyla had completely lost her ability to read Kyle.

“Leyla!” a new voice came, shaking her out of her memories.

Immediately, Leyla jolted back in attention and put down her cleaning brushes, before running towards
the front of the house. It was the mailman! She immediately swung the door open, running out to
excitedly receive the telegram delivered by her uncle.

She thanked him profusely for his hard work and he gave her a wave of goodbye. As soon as he was
gone from her sight, she immediately went back inside and ripped open the envelope to read the letter
Uncle Bill had sent her with a quick skim of her eyes. Immediately all the thoughts and worries flowed
out of her, temporarily forgotten the more she read the letter!

Uncle Bill was coming back to Arvis in two days!

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Lunch in the Arvis mansion was always a quiet affair, and it didn’t change even when Claudine was
there, temporarily living under their roof. Soft clanging sounds of cutlery, and scraping sounds echoed
along with light chatter among the three ladies in Arvis mansion.

The air around them was warm and pleasant as the beautiful spread of food was laid out in front of
them. The sunlight streaming into the room made it seem as though spring had just arrived, despite the
winter barely beginning its descent.

“I like it whenever Claudine stays in the mansion with us here,” Elysee praised the young girl, shooting a
grin over her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. “Arvis feels so full whenever she’s around!”

“I completely agree,” Norma hummed, exchanging smiles with her companions, as Claudine gracefully
set her utensils down and demurely wiped the food from her lips, “Having her around is very
reassuring.” Norma finished.

“I’m very happy you both think so, my Duchesses.” Claudine beamed at them gracefully, “For a while I
worried I was being burdensome, staying in Arvis for too long.”

“Nonsense, Claudine,” Norma assured her, before quickly glancing over to her grandson who had been
quiet as he ate, “I’m sure had the wedding not been postponed due to unseen circumstances, you’d
already be part of the family. Don’t you agree so too, Matthias?”
At hearing his name, Matthias finally looked up from his plate, and spared Claudine a glance, before
giving the ladies his usual smile, a smile Claudine was all too familiar with. It was his polite smile, that
although looked as though it held no ill-intentions, it sent cold shivers down her spine.

Only, Matthias wasn’t answering Norma right away. Instead, he grabbed a glass of water, and took a
long, composed sip on his glass of water, making Claudine more uneasy about the changes with him. She
had thought she’d stick to his usual style of giving short and succinct replies, but he wasn’t, and the
conversation turned into different matters in Matthias’ silence.

Claudine wondered what Kyle was doing with the information she’d given him. Had he not confronted
them about it?

Claudine’s hands, which were hidden beneath the table clutched tightly onto the table napkins,
crumpling them in her tightened fists in worry. And then the topic quickly shifted about the recent
rumors in Arvis.

The one about Leyla.

“I guess after what happened, the doctor’s son and the gardener’s foster child will always cross paths
with each other.” Elysee sighed out with complete disinterest. Duchess Norma on the other hand,
seemed to be excited with this information.

“Oh, you mean Kyle and Leyla? Oh what a lovely couple they could have been.” Norma sighed wistfully,
“Had Mrs. Etman not done what she did, they would have been married by now!” she exclaimed
indignantly on the wronged couple’s behalf.

“I remember seeing them as children, they really liked each other so much back then too! Got along
swimmingly.” Norma continued to praise them, Elysee hummed in slight agreement.

“Yes, I can’t disagree with you on that.” Elysee told Norma, “Does this mean he’s ready to go against his
mother’s wishes and elope with Leyla instead? Run away far from Arvis?” she asked a little more
curiously than before.

Norma hummed and frowned at the thought.

“Do you think Kyle should start acting so callously now?” Norma asked back a little disapprovingly at the
thought of Kyle going against his mother’s wishes. “Still, these are still just hearsays, we don’t know
what’s really going on between them.”

Norma sighed and straightened out in her seat, before continuing.

“Besides, I think Kyle should give his mother a few more years to think about it. He’s still young, and has
his whole life ahead of him. Time will tell whether he’ll really risk his relationship with his mother over a
first love.”

Claudine blinked back in shock at the older matriarch’s words.

“I’m surprised you think that Duchess Norma,” Claudine piped up after she finished, “Don’t you like
Leyla?” Claudine shot Matthias a discreet glance out of curiosity, yet he was still calmly eating his food
as though he could care less about what was being talked about.

“Oh, I completely adore Bill’s niece!” Norma praised, “She’s absolutely a sight to behold and such a
good-natured girl too, very agreeable that girl.” she smiled, before sighing out with a sad smile, “But
marriage and feelings are a different matter, and it doesn’t matter if I like her or not.”

Norma proceeded to tell them that although Mrs. Etman was publicly shamed and ridiculed for her
garish behavior which led to the engagement being broken off, no one could really fault her for her
reasoning. Especially not with the upper-class mothers.

All mothers want only the best for their sons, Mrs. Etman was no different. She went about it the wrong
way, but her heart was in the right place.

“Hmm,” Claudine nodded in understanding, “Though I really think Kyle wants to marry Leyla. He wants
to be with her with all his heart.”

“I’m surprised you think so my dear,” Norma hummed towards her, “As your own family’s heir,
shouldn’t you know by now that feelings don’t matter in marriages?” Norma asked her curiously.
“Having an orphaned person as a daughter-in-law has no place in the Etman household in the first
place.”

Norma didn’t mean it in any malicious way. It was just a fact in their society.

Claudine nodded at the older matriarch in understanding like the good girl that she was. She chanced a
glance over to Matthias, to gouge out his own reaction to what his grandmother just said.

‘Just this once,’ She wished in her mind, ‘Let me see behind his mask.’

But Matthias was good at pretending. He only looked at his grandmother with an agreeable smile on his
face. The fact he could pretend so indifferently unnerved Claudine deeply.

Yesterday afternoon, Claudine had been with the two Duchesses, and they all spotted Leyla walking
weirdly through the woods as though she was trying to hide from anyone’s sight. What Claudine
regretted most was how the other two Duchess had to witness how pathetic Leyla was acting, even
though she was sneaking around just to meet up with the Duke.

‘Are you happy having the love of this kind of a man, Leyla?’ Claudine wondered as she looked at the
Duke’s gentle smile that he would dole out to any noble woman, ‘No, does Matthias even know how to
love someone?’

Finally, she averted her gaze from him, feeling that small pity she held for Leyla for capturing the
attention of such a cold-hearted man. Leyla had already lost Kyle Etman, someone who undoubtedly
loved her as though she was the only treasure in the world, and now she was subjected to the whims of
a powerful ice king.
In Matthias mind, he saw no need to butt into their conversation. What his grandmother had said was a
fact he wouldn’t dispute. And she was also correct in her assessment of Leyla, it was why he wanted her
as his mistress. Because in doing so, he’d have her and not completely destroy the prospects of his
future.

He was only doing what he must do.

All in all, lunch between them was an uneventful affair, ending with Claudine continuing to spend time
with her soon-to-be in-laws for some tea, while Matthias opted to go out for a walk alone in the forest.

Afternoons in Arvis had most of the birds chirping overhead in the trees, echoing clearly throughout the
quiet nature as the warm sunlight shed light all over everything.

Matthias took off in the familiar forest path, with an inexplicable sense of restlessness deep within his
chest. Almost as though they were overriding his rational thoughts, filling his head completely with the
idea of breaking off his engagement with Claudine…

And putting Leyla in that place instead.

Just up ahead, saw the unmistakable cabin that housed that person that restlessly filled his mind. He
hadn’t intended to be here, but he wasn’t intending to turn around and go back. Instead, he pushed on
with a renewed vigor in his steps as the sunlight continued to bathe him in its warm glow.

Spring really is coming.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When Leyla got back to Arvis, the sky had been covered with red and orange hues as the sun sunk in the
west. She was pedaling as fast as she could, not wanting to reach home by dark. There was a brown
paper back on her bike’s basket, rustling against the wind as she picked up speed.

She had gone out to buy some ingredients for Uncle Bill’s favorite foods as his welcoming feast. She
could only imagine the stories he had for her upon his return when they’d sit by the table to eat the
meal she would cook. She really was looking forward to seeing him again!

Maybe by then, she’ll also be able to find the courage to convince her Uncle to move away from Arvis
with her. To start their lives anew away from the Duke.

Convincing him would take some time, but it wasn’t impossible. She knew with Uncle Bill by her side, all
will be right in the world again. He kept saying that to her when she was young after all. He’d talked
about his own dreams about moving away from Arvis when the work would get too much for him.

Of course, his moving away did not mean far from Arvis. He wanted to stay close, but within the estate
grounds. She was certain she could convince him to move farther away. And once she could leave with
him, she’ll look for a different job.
She’d teach new students in a new school, and forget about Arvis, and continue life with Uncle Bill and
live happily ever after! Much like they did in Arvis before this whole thing with the Duke started.

The more she dreamed about what may be, the lighter the feeling in her got. She’d been thinking about
this ever since she asked for a transfer to a different school far away from Arvis. She even got rid of the
new clothes and shoes he’d bought her.

They were not what she was after all. They didn’t scream Leyla Lewellin.

It wasn’t right for her to be selfish and take them as compensation for what he’s doing to her. She knew
how deep the poison of greed could get and wanted nothing to do with it. All she wanted is to erase
every bad thing that fell on her that night in the gazebo, that night she first interacted with the Duke.

Until she’d erase the image of him entering her life, talking amicably with her fiance.

But before that, she must first organize all the things she’d bought, and then change into more
comfortable clothes. And then she’d head out to feed their livestock. Things were going to get busier, so
she had to be more productive.

She was finally within sight of her cabin, and let out a pleased sigh at seeing her home, and quickened
up some more, eager to get home as she rode down the forest path. She should also start preparing for
her dinner and get the house warmed up too!

She parked her bike in front of the cabin, grabbing the shopping bags with her as she opened the door
to let herself in. In her excitement, she completely failed to notice the presence of her current
companion…

“Welcome back, Leyla.” A cool voice from behind greeted her, a cold shiver shooting up her spine at the
sound of that unmistakable voice. In her shock, she scrambled to catch the bag she had been carrying in
her haste to look at her trespasser!

There, seated on her dearest uncle’s chair, was none other than Matthias, sitting in crossed legs, as he
lounged back in his seat. He was looking at her in an intense gaze that made Leyla feel he was about to
do something to her.

She wanted to believe this was all just a nightmare, that she was seeing things, but she wasn’t. He really
was in her own home!

“Wh-why are you here!?” she squeaked out, stuttering in his sudden presence. Matthias only shrugged
as he looked around.

“It’s my property, why should I not be here?” he asked her with a hint of a challenge.

“It might be your estate, but you’ve given us this place as our home!”

“And so what if it is?”

Leyla couldn’t help but scoff at his callousness and disregard of their privacy.

“It means you can’t just invite yourself to come in here as you please!” She immediately put the
shopping bag down by the edge of the kitchen table, before going back to face him and firmly gestured
towards the door. “Leave.” She demanded from him.

Matthias held her gaze as he slowly stood up in his seat, and stalked over to her with a smirk like a
predator would to a prey. He took a once over at her body, before the smirk slid off his face at the sight
of her shoes.

Once again she was wearing those awfully stained shoes, when it was clear he made her throw them
away. Even her coat wasn’t the one he’d bought for her to wear. He clearly adored her stubbornness,
sure. But something churned deep in Matthias’ gut at the thought of her disregarding what he’d just
given her.

And he didn’t like that.

Leyla thought he was finally leaving and grabbed the door handle to hold it out for him as he left. But as
soon as she tried to swing the door open, Matthias quickly whirled her back to face him, and slammed
the door behind her, pinning her against the door.

Leyla’s breathing grew ragged as she looked up at him in fright. And then Matthias dipped his head
down…

Taking Leyla’s lips into a searing kiss.

Chapter 93

I Love Him

Leyla immediately pushed his lips off of her, allowing the kiss between them to break but didn’t manage
to get free from him.

“Please just go!” She exclaimed, glancing around in fear as she tried to find an escape route. Seeing her
back in these shabby clothes, and poor state of dress couldn’t help but mock Matthias’ rose tinted
glasses on their last moments in Carlsbar.

Matthias had already felt foolish when he found himself in the empty cabin. He was feeling lost without
Leyla, and just kept walking around as he ran the memories of her over and over in his mind.

He had entertained thoughts of letting her go like she was nothing to him. But it seemed he was the one
who was nothing to her! But he can’t help but want her too. She possessed something in her that drove
him wild beyond what his mind could comprehend!

And it’s been like that for a long time now. Perhaps, ever since the beginning.

“What is wrong with you?!” Leyla couldn’t help but ask him as tears threatened to escape her, “You
don’t have any right to do this to me!” she quickly darted out from under him, but just as quickly as she
escaped, he pushed her into the kitchen table, making the shopping bag tumble off the edge, and
sounds of glass jars being broken clanged in the kitchen.

“Right?” Matthias asked her, a hint of incredulity in his tone, “You think I have no right?”

“Yes!” Leyla spat back at him, “You don’t have any right to come here and do these things with me!”

Once again, she couldn’t help but feel foolish at how she allowed herself to lower her guard around him
all because of that one day in Carlsbar. That day was now just another distant dream. She shouldn’t
have expected anything different from him.

This would always be how things would be with Matthias.

“I am already catering to whatever you want me to do, so why do you insist on making my life so
miserable?!” she persisted, “Didn’t you give me your word to never come here?! To my cabin with my
uncle!?”
She tried to push him away again, but she was physically weak against him. He grabbed her by the waist,
securing her tightly towards him as she continued to struggle, making sure she didn’t have any room to
escape from him.

It only made Leyla more frustrated with him.

She’d seen the Duke and Claudin by the stables on her way back just yesterday, being such a typical
couple. She’d stop by because the stable keeper was a close friend of her uncle, so she went to help by
pulling a cart full of hay behind her. Afterwards, she would feed the cattle they were raising in Arvis just
as she did every other day.

He had offered to pull the cart for her, but Leyla had insisted she could handle it, firmly refusing his help.
And she was successful, but she found herself in an unexpected place.

Lady Brandt was with the Duke walking, with her arm in his, down the path located between the stables
and the forest.

It was odd seeing her there, because she wasn’t the type of woman to be casually taking a stroll outside
of the mansion, or the nearby promenade in the estate. Leyla was terrified at the idea of Claudine
noticing her, and immediately hid behind the trees in an attempt to remain inconspicuous.

At that moment, Claudine’s head whipped back to her direction, but Leyla saw no indication she had
been spotted. After a few tense moments of Leyla wishing to every deity up above she would remain
unseen, they resumed their walk until they disappeared in Leyla’s line of sight.

Without wasting more time, Leyla immediately hauled the partially filled cart behind her through the
trees, heart racing at the close call. She tried not to run too fast as the hays began spilling out of the
cart, but she still returned home in record time, with a few hays bundled in her arms.

She looked like an absolute mess, with strands of hays sticking on her clothes and out of her hair.

That strange feeling in her chest was back again. It happened every time she’d see those two together,
which she chalked up to her guilt for Claudine, and fear of Matthias. Still, it was almost like a mix of
relief, shame… and oddly enough, sadness.

“Why are you even doing this now?!” Leyla cried out, “Were these days too boring without your daily
dose of tormenting me that you would rather come here just to amuse yourself?!”

She wanted him to give her answers and to tell her why! Why, out of all the girls, he chose her to play
with? Why did he keep coming back just to make her life a living hell? She knew it was meaningless to
ask, but she wanted to lash out at him.

To make him suffer as she did. To feel all the pain he caused her.
These emotions were clawing at her walls, gnawing at her thoughts that she has every reason to
torment and disrespect the Duke! And she wanted to see it too. Just the thought of seeing the hurt in
him made her feel a different kind of exhilaration, she wanted it now.

The more she thought back to that day in Carlsbar, the more the rage in her was fuelled.

“You talk too much Leyla.” Matthias finally spoke in a calm voice, as he glared down at her shuddering
form. But her words kept ringing around in his head, echoing them louder and louder, making his grip on
her tighten up.

Leyla froze in shock at the coldness in his tone, but she refused to back down as fiery resentment blazed
inside her chest.

“Then I suggest you stop playing around so much!” she hissed, “You’re a real piece of work, you know
that? Always do what you want and then leave as soon as you’re done having your fun with no regard
for anyone else but yourself!”

As she spewed out everything she’d been holding back, she kept her eyes on him, locking gazes with
Matthias, not willing to let go. She was eager to see that hurt in his eyes.

“So tell me, Duke,” she said his title with such contempt, “Do you want your plaything to undress for
you? Oh! But I remember you find it so dull! You know what? You’re so used to doing what you want
anyway so go ahead!”

She dared him, finally stopping her resistance in his hold.

“Go ahead and take me in whatever way you want then. I don’t care either way. Not anymore.” She
finished, heaving a breath as she waited for him to make a move.

“Stop this nonsense Leyla.” Matthias scolded, a frown marring his features, yet Leyla remained
indifferent, a sense of satisfaction filling her at the shaky tone in his voice.

“Why? Am I getting too boring for you already? Come on! Didn’t you say I’m so amusing to you?” she
asked again, “You see, this is all that you’re good for, Duke Herhardt. You take and take and take, until
nothing you like is left for you to take and then throw it out.”

Matthias’ breathing quickened with every word Leyla let loose.

“So just throw me away now, and I’ll thank you for it.” She felt him loosening his grip on her waist and
stood a little taller in front of him. “In fact, it’ll be the one good thing you’ll ever be able to do for me –
ACK!”

A stinging sensation was left on her cheek as she was suddenly facing the table. Matthias wasted no
time in grabbing her by the waist, and laid her out on the table as she whirled around to face him, a
hand cupping her reddened cheek from where he backhanded her.
“And how about you?” Matthias growled as he pinned her down on the table, forcibly slotting his body
between her legs, bunching up her skirt around her waist, “Aren’t you loving the way you drive me crazy
too?” he asked her, a manic look in his eyes as he stared at her.

He immediately took hold of her wrists, even the one that had just been cupping her cheeks and held
them in one hand to pin on the table, in the spot above her head. Leyla looked up at him with a smug
look of her own.

“Perhaps just as much as you enjoy seeing me cry.”

Once more, Leyla reminded herself to never cry in front of him. She must hold herself together, until
she’d see the torment in his eyes…

But then her expectations were shattered when Matthias began chuckling slowly to himself, before
blowing out into a fully blown manic laughter and threw his head back as he laughed at her. When he
looked back at her, she could only see the face of a person who had finally snapped out of his sanity.

“Then, don’t you think it’s only fair by now to see you cry too, my Leyla?”

Wasting no time, his free hand grabbed Leyla by the chin roughly. She was certain he would be leaving
not just hickeys on her skin by the end of the night. She only prayed they’d be gone by the time her
uncle returns.

However, she wasn’t one to back down easily with Matthias, but he won’t let her continue to speak,
clamping her jaw shut with his strong grip around her mouth.

“Then, let’s begin our pleasurable deal with each other, shall we?” he purred in a low baritone, before
she heard the sound of cloth ripping and the sensation of the cool air hitting her legs before he drowned
her in the beginning of heated kisses he would leave with her tonight.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The last few days was the time Kyle needed to stop sending himself into a panic attack at Claudine’s
words. He needed to distance himself for a while to organize his thoughts before he could even begin to
confront Leyla with Claudine’s accusations.

It was getting late, but Kyle knew by now Leyla was back in her cabin, and he could talk to her there
alone, without any prying ears or eyes to spread further rumors about them.

He still had that nagging feeling of a small chance that what Lady Brandt had been telling him was true,
but his loyalty to Leyla made him refuse to entertain it. He’d go over there, and lay his mind to rest, and
Leyla would assure him all that Claudine said was a lie.

He believed Leyla. He knew she wouldn’t lie to him, not with this.

‘But what if she confirms everything is true? And that’s why she’d never go back to you?’
There was that nasty voice in the back of his mind again, growing louder the longer he put it off. He’d
been yelling at himself to shut up for hours on end since he returned from Carlsbar, but it kept going
louder and louder, making him lose sleep and more of his waning sanity.

But if it is even true, maybe Leyla was in trouble! He needed to help her! He knew she wouldn’t ask for
help, so that’s why he must go to her and assure her that he has her back, all she needed to do was to
let him.

He eventually stopped in front of her dark cabin. He took a pause outside as he slowly got off his bike,
parking it beside the cabin’s storage hut. Was Leyla asleep?

Should he come back tomorrow?

‘No,’ Kyle thought to himself as he approached the cabin’s entrance with a determined look, ‘It’s better
to rip the band-aid off quickly.’

But the more he got closer, the nasty voice in his head grew louder, making his anxiety worse and his
stomach churned uncomfortably with every step he took. There were odd sounds coming from inside
the house, but it was so muffled that he couldn’t hear it clearly…

He went to knock on the door, but a light gust of wind blew past him, making the door swing
minusculely open. Kyle paused as his heart froze, he could clearly hear some ragged breaths inside.

Quietly, he pushed open the door.

Thump…

Thump…

Thump…

His heartbeat thundered in his chest as the ringing in his ear grew louder, drowning out that nasty voice
in the back of his mind. He could feel his breathing quickening at the sight of a fallen bag of groceries on
the floor thrown haphazardly all over…

The next he saw some shards of glass glinting in the moonlight…

The next he saw was a fallen bag of groceries, with some shards of glass glinting in the moonlight…

And then he was drawn to the sounds of the table squeaking as it rocked back and forth. In the dark, he
could faintly make out a silhouette of a man rutting on the table’s surface. He was huddled over
something he couldn’t make out just yet as he groaned, breathing in ragged breaths…

And then he could hear more sounds, like flesh slapping sloppily against each other, and the
unmistakable sound of a woman moaning. And then his eyesight adjusted, he could see the tight grip of
a smaller arm, fingers digging into the man’s clothed back…
And then his eyes adjusted further, that he could make out a golden color of the woman’s hair beneath
the man’s form, and the way her legs wrapped around the man’s waist with a face full of bliss…

It was…

“Leyla…” he breathed out in a shocked daze, and Leyla’s eyes snapped open as she finally took note of
their unexpected guest. Even Matthias stilled in his movements, his looming form seemed to be hiding
Leyla from his view, but Kyle could see Leyla’s flushed face as she stared at him with wide eyes.

Time stopped as the three of them all locked gazes with one another, until the ringing in Kyle’s ears
turned into a deafening silence, and his breathing calmed down to a stop before his eyes shifted to look
at the Duke with an indecipherable gaze.

Matthias finally straightened out, his clothes having long been rumpled over the beginnings of what
could have been another night of pleasure, while Leyla was only partially undressed, the top of her dress
hanging off her shoulders, as her breasts laid bare for all to see.

Kyle’s eyes were fully adjusted by now, and could see the blooming hickeys left on Leyla’s collarbone, as
well as the forming wrinkles on the Duke’s usually pristine clothes. He looked so unbothered too at
being discovered, while Leyla hurriedly got up to right her clothes…

Alarm bells began ringing the back of Kyle’s mind, but the voice in his head stayed oddly quiet…

“What are you guys doing?” He couldn’t help but softly ask them instead, body numb at what he had
just witnessed. Matthias only stared at him nonchalantly as he straightened up to his full height,
allowing Leyla to scramble behind him to cover her indecency.

“What do you think we’re doing?” he asked the new arrival.

And then Kyle’s world turned red…

He could barely register Leyla calling out for his name, begging for him to stop as he wrestled with
Matthias. He had just tackled Matthias with a scream of rage, yelling profanities at how lowly he was
treating Leyla.

He’d hit Matthias, and the Duke would hit back just as hard, but the adrenaline running through his
veins made him oblivious at how poorly matched he was.

The only thought he could think about was how he should be protecting Leyla from such a vile man!

At some point, Matthias spared Leyla a glance, and completely missed the fist Kyle threw out to him
while Leyla rushed to Kyle’s side, as he was momentarily shocked.

Matthias could feel the taste of copper filling his mouth.

“What have you done to Leyla?! are you human, how can you do this??!!! “ screamed Kyle as he
grabbed her wrist, “Let’s go, Leyla. I… … I’ll save you. Let’s leave.” They both were pleading with each
other by now. Leyla kept insisting that Kyle should just leave her behind and that she was fine, while
Kyle yelling at him accusations and promises of taking Leyla away from Arvis, while …

And it just made Matthias’ blood boil and grabbed Kyle away from Leyla and resumed their fighting. In
Matthias’ mind, Kyle must disappear, and then Leyla can be his!

“Kyle!” Leyla screamed out worriedly as she watched in horror as the two men threw fists at each other
once more!

Kyle was not a fighter, Leyla knew that best, it’s what she liked about him. But Matthias was. He was a
seasoned soldier, who had fought in battles before, Kyle had no chance of winning against him!

She could see the way Matthias was pummeling Kyle, and she feared if she couldn’t stop them from
going further, Kyle would end up dead because of her…

“Kyle, stop it please!” she yelled out, tears falling down in rivers from her eyes. “Duke stop!” Still, not
one of them seemed to be listening to her anymore, both men had their senses overridden by
adrenaline and anger.

“Stop!” she screamed, voice cracking as she yelled out in frustration and fear, yet both men remained
deaf to her cries…

“I love him!” she exclaimed, her sudden declaration stilling both men into a stop as she sobbed
desperately at Kyle’s now swollen eyes, “I love him, Kyle… I love him…” she cried out as her heart broke
for a second time at seeing the fierce protectiveness in Kyle’s eyes diminish in front of her…

Matthias looked down, spitting the blood out of his mouth as he finally got off of Kyle’s prone form,
finally calm enough to let the man stagger up to his feet to approach his woman.

“It’s not true… Leyla, tell me it’s not true and I’ll protect you this time… I swear it…” Kyle whispered as
he stared desperately in front of her through his remaining good eye, but Leyla only shook her head at
him as she continued to sob at how terrible he looked…

And it was all because of her.

“I love him Kyle,” she lied through her teeth, before taking a deep breath to look at him more calmly to
convince him, “And that’s the truth.”
Chapter 94

I Know Everything

Leyla had to avert her eyes from the betrayed look Kyle held in his eyes. She couldn’t bear to look at
him after that, letting tears flow freely down her cheeks at the way her heart was tearing apart in the
knowledge she had to hurt Kyle to save him.

Kyle could feel the aches Matthias’ blows dealt him with, but none of them hurt as much as Leyla telling
him she loved the Duke…

But seeing her cry in front of him hurt even more, as her tears hit the back of his hands that lied limply
in front of him. So with a shaky hand, he went to gently cup her cheeks, futilely wiping her tears away. It
was like she was sapped of all her spirit.

He took in her appearance, eyeing bitterly the telltale signs of what they were about to do, like her
tangled locks, and her haphazardly clothed torso. He could even feel the way she began to shake in his
hands…

“So please Kyle, stop this,” Leyla whispered softly, “I did do it with the Duke, but not because of what
you thought.” she continued to say, unable to look at him in the eyes.

Kyle could faintly feel his heart breaking apart, mistaking her avoidance to look at him because of shame
at loving the Duke. At that point, Matthias moved forward, ready to pull Leyla away from Kyle’s grasp
when the battered man shot him a glare.

He could see the smug look on the Duke’s face, and it made Kyle’s blood boil, but he tampered it down,
because he didn’t want to cause any more trouble for Leyla. Which brings him to another concern about
their affair…

“You’re already engaged.” Kyle hissed lowly through his cut lips, glaring at the Duke with his remaining
good eye. “To Lady Brandt, I might add.” Matthias only shrugged as if that fact held no meaning for him.

Even despite the blooming bruise on his cheek, Matthias held himself up high and composed. One would
almost think he was just a passerby in the recent fight that ensued moments prior. How could he remain
so nonchalant?!
Wasting no more moment, Matthias scooped Leyla into his arms, pulling her away from Kyle. He made
sure Kyle was watching as he pulled out a handkerchief and successfully wiped away the tears in Leyla’s
face, trailing kisses over the tear streaks and gently ran his fingers through her hair…

He locked eyes with Kyle’s broken form as he pulled Leyla into a soft kiss.

And just like a final nail to the coffin, Kyle’s heart shattered at the sight of them kissing each other so
easily in front of him. He watched as the Duke’s eyes finally closed, and Leyla sank further into his
chest…

‘How could this happen?!’ Kyle thought, salty tears now flowing down his cheeks, stinging the cuts on
his face and lips but he welcomed that pain anyway. It was like he was on the brink of insanity, but at
the same time, all the pieces clicked into place.

He watched as Matthias pulled away from their kiss, and casually unbuttoned Leyla’s blouse, to button
them up properly and fix her clothes.

‘How long have they been doing this?’

“Their relationship blossomed right after you left for the capital, Kyle, did you know?” Claudine’s
mocking voice echoed faintly in the back of his mind…

“I’ll come back as soon as our uninvited guest leaves you.” Matthias announced softly, and Leyla nodded
tersely at him, refusing to make eye contact as fresh tears flowed down her face. Matthias planted one
last kiss on her lips gently, before swiftly taking his leave after giving a slight nod to Kyle.

Kyle didn’t know how long he sat limply on Leyla’s cabin floor, the air around them having stilled in place
and the silence deafening him. He completely missed the genuine concern Leyla gave him, along with
the fear she had just shown.

The next thing he had managed to register was Leyla’s hands reaching out to him, and the muffled
question of how he was feeling before all his hurt and anger welled up in him.

“Don’t touch me!” he hissed slowly, making Leyla’s hands stop right in front of him. He didn’t want to
look at her, he didn’t want to see the hurt in her eyes when he had so much hurt inside him too!

So he looked down resolutely on the ground, body brimming with pain and resentment over both her
and the Duke.

Leyla looked at Kyle’s face in shock, another set of tears welling up in her at the sound of his voice. He’d
never spoken so coldly to her before, and it made her freeze.

Kyle didn’t want to stay around Leyla any longer, so despite his limbs screaming at him for rest, he
staggered up to his feet, almost tumbling over as the adrenal fatigue came crashing onto him, making
him feel every pain in his body tenfold.
“Of all the people I expected this from, not once did I think you could do this.” Kyle whispered, the
betrayal seeping out of his voice, “How could you do such a thing, Leyla?”

“Kyle, I’m so sorry, I-”

“Is this why you discarded me so coldly?” he couldn’t help but ask, forcing his shaking fists to stay on his
side, afraid to lash out on Leyla despite the hurt she’d just given him, “To be his mistress? Is this the life
you wanted all along?” He heaved a sob, failing to keep the tears from spilling once more from his eyes…

He wanted her to deny his accusations, to yell, get mad at him for believing such a blatant lie! But she
didn’t, she only stood there, looking so dejected.

“I really am sorry.” She squeaked out softly, “I didn’t mean to hurt you like this Kyle.”

What good was her sorry? It only served as an insult for Kyle. He wanted to lash out, scream and yell
until everyone nearby would hear his despair…

But he had more questions.

He glanced around the darkened cabin, remembering every single moment he had passed through the
threshold. This was his second home. He felt like he belonged here, once upon a time. He had many
good core memories here, like when he and Leyla were children, sitting on the chairs with their legs
swinging back and forth as they excitedly chatted with one another.

If the table could make them see its memories, it would have reminded him of all the secrets they
shared, the jokes and laughter they had, and the dreams they made with one another.

Unfortunately, it would also remind him of the way Leyla had been in the arms of a man, engaged to
wed another.

“Since when did this whole thing begin between you?” Kyle asked softly, eyes still trailed on the table.
“Were you just waiting for me to disappear all this time?” He could hear Leyla’s soft denials amongst her
sobs.

“So I just unfortunately stumbled upon you, is that it?” Kyle asked, finally looking at Leyla. She looked so
ashamed as she shook her head, implying this wasn’t the first time either, but it wasn’t because he was
gone. It made Kyle feel ashamed for being so antagonizing with her, but he needed to push through.

He also noticed how thin Leyla had gotten. She was fuller before, healthier too. And it reminded him
why he needed to keep questioning Leyla. For her own good.

“Leyla, can’t you stop being with him?” he pleaded softly, heart softening up before he brushed off her
tears once more, “You know he’s getting married, who he’ll be married to.” He warned her in a whisper.
“I know you know the consequences, surely you don’t want that!”
Because he still remembers how much she shined when she’d tell him about her dreams for the future.
Her enthusiasm infected him deeply as she described how she’ll be in a few years or so. She wanted
nothing more than researching birds, and traveling to distant places to see them!

Staying with the Duke would only root Leyla in place. She won’t be able to live as freely as she does now,
not when the news of their affair would come out.

“You’d have to give up everything just to stay with him, Leyla,” Kyle added softly forcing her to look him
in the eyes, gently cupping her face in an angle that would let her, “Do you understand Leyla? You could
lose yourself to him.”

Memories of Leyla’s wistful expression when they discussed their marriage, confiding in him how many
children she wanted, the type of house they would live in. That much wasn’t fake. Leyla loved him
before.

All he wanted was for her to love him again. To choose him again.

‘Please,’ Kyle pleaded in his mind, ‘See me Leyla, choose me.’

“I know.” Leyla finally answered back softly as she gazed at him with pitying eyes, “And I am willing to
stay with him despite that.”

“Leyla-”

“I’m sorry, Kyle.” Leyla swallowed down the desire to wrap him in a warm embrace. Instead, she put her
hands on his shaky ones, and softly pulled away from him, before stepping back.

“You must leave now.” she softly demanded of him. Kyle searched her eyes for any lie, but there was
only stubbornness reflected in them.

After a while, Kyle nodded in compliance at her, before staggering outside of the cabin. As soon as he
got outside, Leyla closed the door shut behind him.

With only the moon as their witness, two broken hearts cried for a great love that had finally run its final
course, never to be together again.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Claudine had caught a glimpse of Kyle hurriedly exiting Arvis estate, but there was still no sight of
Matthias.

She had been informed moments before dinner that her fiance had expressed his wishes to dine
separately for the day, and would be staying in the annex. It wasn’t uncommon of him to do so, he’d
done it several times before. Yet, Claudine couldn’t help but wait for any sign of him curiously as she
watched the still garden outside.

He had given them the excuse of work pulling him away, but Claudine was no fool. She had a feeling
what he’d been up to in the annex.

‘I wonder if the three of them had their own confrontation yet,’ Claudine wondered idly to herself as she
stood in front of her window, ‘But if that was true, then why haven’t I seen Matthias surface yet? Kyle’s
already left.’

Claudine had always been much too curious for her own good. It was an unfortunate flaw in her she
tried to curb, but she must know what happened so far. Immediately she turned to grab her coat,
securing it around her before venturing out of her room.

In no time at all, she found herself walking through the forest alone, and giggled to herself at how
ridiculous she currently looked like. This was unlike her, but the things she must do to quench her thirst
for knowledge had her doing many things others would deem ridiculous.

And right now, her point of interest was Matthias and Leyla’s relationship progress. That and her Brandt
pride couldn’t just let their affair off the hook despite their less than desirable reasons.

The forest was different in the light of the moon. In the morning it seemed so full of life and bounty for
them, but in the night, there was a gloomy feel in the air. Claudine picked up her pace, nimbly stepping
around any roughness on the ground, while white puffs of air escaped her.

Soon, she had reached the riverside. She paused for a while, feeling relief fill her lungs. She looked up at
the annex, and saw a lone light coming from it. It made her frown, wondering if perhaps Kyle had missed
seeing them, and had gone to Leyla’s instead.

‘He must have brought Leyla here, then.’ She hummed to herself. ‘Though I was so certain he’d gone to
Leyla instead.’

Deeming her curiosity satiated momentarily, she decided it was time for her to return, when suddenly
the light went out in the annex. Interest piqued, Claudine felt a rush of thrill shot through her as she
quickly hid behind one of the willow trees.

She waited for a while, wondering why the light went out, when soon enough, a lone figure emerged
from the annex’ entrance.

It was none other than her fiance, Matthias von Herhardt.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
When Kyle had finally left, Leyla immediately got to cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, scrubbing blood
stains off her floor. She wasn’t really thinking about anything in particular, her mind kept rewinding the
horrific events just moments earlier as her hands moved robotically.

Once that was done, she soon found herself curled up on the bed, staring off into space. She left the
door unlocked, not wanting to have to rise up to greet the cruel man when he’d return.

And return he did after her silent torment. He’d knocked to let her know he was back, but she made no
sound in acknowledgement, the fight in her having long been extinguished along with Kyle’s trust in her.

Besides, if she left him locked out, it would only provoke him to do more terrible things towards her.

He gave another knock, but when even that was left unanswered, he turned the knob open, and let
himself in. The floorboards creaked beneath his weight as he took slow, gentle steps towards where her
room would be.

With click on the soles of his leather shoes growing closer, the higher the indignation in Leyla’s chest
rose.

A third knock came as soon as he came upon her door, and Leyla couldn’t help but chuckle mirthlessly to
herself.

‘Always so dignified.’ She mocked him in her mind. ‘Even when it comes to ruining a whole person’s life.’
she finished bitterly in thought.

And then the door creaked open, the chill filling the room before Matthias finally crossed into the space
of her solitude. Leyla spared him an icy glare, but Matthias remained indifferent, still dressed in the
clothes he wore before, with splatters of blood on the corners of his collar.

She hated thinking it had come from Kyle, but the blooming bruise by the corner of her lips gave her a
sadistic satisfaction.

Matthias stopped right in front of her fetal position, looking down at her with an amused expression on
his face.

“I trust you both reached a pleasant closure, then?” he inquired, the fists Leyla hugged close to her chest
tightened at remembering Kyle’s broken look when she denied him for the last time.

“You really are a monster.” Leyla hissed through her gritted teeth. Matthias blinked at her in surprise…

“What?”

“How could you do that to him?” She demanded from him, “How could you hurt Kyle like that!?”
Matthias scoffed at her.

“It was his own doing.” He reasoned out, “If he hadn’t come seeking you out so late in the night, then I
wouldn’t have had to hurt him.”
“You’re wrong!” Leyla exclaimed, shooting up from her bed as she rose to meet his eyes with a glare,
“You’re the reason why he had to seek me out! You’re the reason for this whole mess I’m in!”

Leyla’s eyes glinted in the moonlight as she tamped down the tears starting to form, refusing to let him
see her cry. A while ago it had been different. Her tears had been for Kyle, and she didn’t even think
about Matthias.

But even with her harsh words, Matthias kept looking at her in wonder, stepping closer and shamelessly
began to pet her on the head like he would an obedient dog. Leyla flinched when she felt his touch on
her.

“Say it again,” he whispered, drawing closer to her, before cupping her cheeks to pull her closer to him,
“Leyla, say it again for me.”

“What?” Leyla asked in confusion, “Say what again?”

“Say what you said to Kyle again,” Matthias ordered her softly, “Say you love me again.”

Leyla stood there in confusion for a moment, before all the anger and resentment in her faded, leaving
only a blank face for Matthias to see. She then sighed out in disbelief before turning her face away from
him, when he gripped her tightly to keep her eyes firmly on him.

“Don’t delude yourself Duke,” Leyla huffed out angrily as she met his gaze, “That had been a lie for
Kyle’s sake.”

“Then lie to me again,” Matthias grinned, “I want to hear it again.”

“What for?” Leyla scoffed, “There’s no reason for me to repeat such a horrible lie in your presence.”

“Is it really so terrible Leyla?”

“Yes it’s terrible!” Leyla shrieked angrily, roughly slapping his hand away from her in indignation. “Don’t
you see the gravity of the mess you caused tonight!? I had to hurt Kyle because of you!”

Matthias stood there in front of her, unresponsive, before something in his eyes turned dark. He
lowered his gaze, until the shadows hid them from Leyla’s view. She watched him with bated breath,
ready for whatever retaliation he had in store for her.

Suddenly, Matthias began to chuckle. It had been soft and slow at first, sending chills down her spine
before she watched him throw his head back and clutched his stomach in a full-blown laughter.

When he looked back at her, that manic glint was back in his eyes.

“Oh! What a wonderful relationship you both have to be able to endure such tragedy for me!” He wiped
the tears from the corner of his eyes before looking back at Leyla with a toothy grin, “Even I can’t help
but tear up at the thought!”
“You’re despicable!” Leyla exclaimed, before squealing in fear when Matthias pulled her harshly towards
him by the arm. But she bounced back quickly, having gotten used to his rough treatment of her. “Don’t
mock Kyle!” she scolded him…

And suddenly Matthias’ stare got colder.

‘Kyle,’ Matthias thought bitterly, ‘It’s always Kyle this… Kyle that… I’m so sick. Of. Kyle.’

Even the way she tried to throw herself in the middle of the fight to pull him off the man grated at his
nerves!

“So that lie was for Kyle’s sake?” he asked her calmly, but the menace in his tone was unmistakable.

“For Kyle’s sake, I’d do anything.” Leyla admitted freely in front of him. Matthias chuckled in a low tone,
pulling Leyla’s body to his.

“You gave up your body for old Mr. Remmer’s sake,” Matthias purred, dipping his head low to be at eye
level with her, “And you just gave up your heart for young Mr. Etman’s safety from me.”

He stopped right next to Leyla’s ear, his warmth breath sending shivers down her body in an
uncomfortable way.

“My, what a martyr you are becoming Leyla.”

“If a martyr is what I should become to keep Uncle Bill and Kyle safe from the likes of you, then I’ll gladly
be one!”

“I love him!” Leyla’s earlier declaration rang clearly in the back of her mind.

She wanted to take it back as soon as the words left her mouth, but she hadn’t. She’d done plenty of
horrible things for her uncle’s sake, but the lie had hit her harder than she thought. It was like she had
been forced to drive a stake into her own heart, and just kept twisting, making herself bleed more than
she should.

“What’s the matter? Are you wishing for a martyr for yourself?” Leyla asked him mockingly. She might
as well give him more of his own medicine back. After all, he’d been oh so generous with her!

“Have you eaten dinner yet?” Matthias hummed in wonder, quickly changing the subject, and therefore
confusing Leyla. “You should eat first, you’ll need your strength for our time together soon.”

“How could you remain so callous about these things!?” she screamed at him, unable to reconcile him
with such gentle and kind words of concern when she knew him to be anything but.
“I just watched myself destroy Kyle’s image of me! Do you get that in your rich and snobbish brain!?”
she asked him, “I lied about my feelings for you so that he wouldn’t end up dead! And you think I’d still
have the stomach to dine with you?!”

“Leyla Lewellin.” He called her out sharply, to get her to remain quiet, but Leyla was no longer listening
to him with one of her worst fears having just been realized.

Matthias was stronger than her, sure, but she had the element of surprise, and surprise he was when he
found himself being pushed abruptly onto Leyla’s bed. He was further astonished, and equally aroused
when she hiked her legs on both of his sides, effectively straddling him.

“Let’s just do it already.” Leyla sighed out tiredly, nimble fingers popping off the buttons of her blouse,
revealing more and more of her torso to Matthias’ greedy and lustful gaze.

“I love him!”

She wanted nothing more than to erase that moment in her mind, and losing herself in the sex between
them was looking more and more appealing by the second.

“Come on, aren’t you in a hurry to be inside me?” Leyla challenged, bracing her arms on either side of
his head after tossing her blouse onto the floor.
Chapter 95

Light and Shadow

When Matthias remained awestruck at Leyla’s sudden boldness, she proceeded to grasp him by the
collar, ignoring the traces of blood on it and deftly unbuttoned his coat, and vest following afterwards.

Again, she tossed them over her shoulder, the clothes creating a dull thud behind her. She kept eye
contact with him, noticing the way his breath hitched when she lightly grazed his collarbone with her
fingers, as she splayed her petite hands on his chest.

Matthias watched in a mesmerized way, feeling his pants get tighter with each passing second.

Leyla dutifully proceeded to take charge, wanting nothing more than to drown herself numb of tonight’s
events. She wanted to feel the hurt physically, and not just in her heart. She was practically throwing
herself at him, begging for him to take charge just this once because she wanted it tonight…

She wanted his roughness.

Finally, Matthias snapped out of his daze, and pulled Leyla to him, making her sprawl on top. Leyla
gasped when their bare chest made contact, Matthias’ warmth filling her up quickly, and she welcomed
the growing heat pooling in her.

She surrendered complete control over to him, and Matthias was all too eager to please.

He quickly flipped them over, Leyla now lied beneath him as his hands inched down her sides, grabbing
the hem of her skirt and began bunching it up to her waist, revealing her bare legs, underwear long
discarded before Kyle even arrived.

She was glistening underneath, and he could feel his mouth water.

Leyla sighed out erotically as he planted soft, yet heated kisses on her inner thigh, her slender fingers
grasping onto the tip of his head, lightly pulling at them, making him groan. Matthias held her lust-filled
eyes, before diving into her wetness, tasting every inch of her.

Leyla’s back arched, gasping quietly in complete ecstasy, legs widening to accommodate him more. His
fingers dug deeply into her thighs, her toes curling at the pleasure wracking her body until she felt
herself go taut as she reached a sweet release…

Yet she needed more.

Matthias rose from between her legs, lips wet because of her, to climb over her body. She heard the
telltale signs of him unbuckling his pants which soon joined the rest of their discarded clothes on the
floor, legs quivering in anticipation for the main event.

He rubbed the blunt tip of his member against her entrance, and Leyla bit her lips in impatience.
Matthias grinned at her.

“Let me hear you Leyla,” he enticed, flicking her sensitive nub, “I want to hear you scream because of
me tonight.”

And in one swift movement, he buried himself up to the hilt deep within her, making Leyla cry out at the
sudden intrusion. A hand fisted on the sheets of her bed as she pushed her chest up, lost in the
sensation, while the other firmly clamped on her mouth to silence herself.

But Matthias swiftly grabbed her arm, pinning it beside her face, and began to thrust in her. She writhed
against him, hips rolling in tandem with his thrusts, but eyes completely unseeing as she stared up at
him…

“Kyle… Kyle…” she gasped out, tears leaking out of her, which only served as a blow to Matthias’ pride.

“I love him!”

“Kyle…”

“I love him!”

“Kyle!” she cried out, and Matthias only picked up his pace, wanting to erase him from Leyla’s mind.

“I love him!”

There was a mix of resentment, anger and shame welling up in Matthias as she kept crying out for her
past fiance. Her words were insulting at best, but that horrible lie she told in the night still rang so loudly
in his mind, it drowned out the other man’s name.

He dipped his head, quickly devouring her lips into his own, as he shoved his tongue down her throat.
Leyla moaned against his lips, their tongues battling for dominance as the sounds of flesh sloppily
slapping against each other replaced their breathy moans.

Leyla’s eyes fluttered shut, mind completely overridden by the pleasure she submitted herself into,
moaning relentlessly with every ministrations, spurring Matthias to hit her deeper as she clamped down
around him.

“Leyla,” he growled, when she still sighed out another man’s name, “When are you going to stop holding
onto him?”

Leyla’s breath shuttered, as her eyes kept shut, but the tension in her body made him aware she was
returning to her senses.
“Open your eyes and look at me Leyla.” He commanded. His fingers dug into her waist from where he
gripped her steady. Leyla cried out, stubbornly squeezing her eyes shut, but he only tightened his grip
more, until finally, she revealed those emerald jewels to him as she glared hatefully at him.

Seeing her finally look at him gave him a deep sense of satisfaction, hands moving away from her hips,
to thumb her on the sensitive nub of hers. Leyla’s eyes widened, head thrown back at the new
simulation down below.

Her legs quivered and writhed as he continued his thrusts, while simultaneously swirling his thumb on
her nub.

She was his woman. She wasn’t allowed to think of anyone else. If she had time to think about anyone
else while he’s inside her, then he’ll just have to give her more than she was used to.

“Fine, be like that then.” Matthias growled when Leyla resumed covering her face away from him.

Suddenly, his thrusts stopped. Leyla gave out a whine when he pulled out with a wet squelch, and felt
his hands grabbing her by the waist. She had a feeling what he wanted her to do now. It was one of his
favorites.

And then Leyla found herself on her stomach, her lower body knelt on the bed, her backside raised in
ample position for him to enter, while he pushed her shoulders down on the bed, her forearms bracing
herself to ease the discomfort.

He draped himself all over her back, lightly rutting his member between the crevice of her backside as
he planted more kisses on the nape of her neck, suckling the skin there to leave a mark…

Leyla’s hands gripped on the sheets in front of her, body shuddering when he left wet, sloppy kisses on
her spine.

The bed creaked, and the sounds of their coupling resumed as Matthias buried himself deeper than
before in their new position.

Leyla moaned, hips thrusting back to meet him once more, her body having a mind of its own as they
both chased their own pleasure.

Matthias could feel the way she was coating him with her juices. He grabbed her by the hair, lightly
pulling her towards him in a way that heightened the pleasure in Leyla as he buried two fingers along
inside her, rubbing her sensitive nub once more.

At that moment, thoughts of her telling she loved Kyle was gone, replaced only by her desire for her
relationship with Matthias to remain strictly physical.

Suddenly, Matthias stopped and pulled out with a groan, hand gripped tight on his member, before he
began pumping himself, his blunt head rubbing against Leyla’s crevice, fingers firmly buried to his
knuckles as he pistoned them in and out of her.
Leyla reached her climax in no time, coming with a keen sound escaping her lips. Moments later, she felt
hot spurts being sprayed all over her backside when Matthias had also reached his own release.

Matthias watched as he painted himself all over her with white, licking his lips in appreciation as her
sheets got soaked by their bodily fluids. He gently grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her back flush
against his chest.

He licked the sweat off the side of her neck, sniffing in her scent before stopping right beside her ear.

“Hate me all you want Leyla,” he whispered in her ear, hand grasping her chin to make her look at him,
“But you can’t deny that you’re still mine.” And with that, he pulled her to a kiss, getting ready for
another round with his mistress…

With his Leyla.

Leyla……

My Leyla…..

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

It took Claudine some time to catch up with Matthias. She’d taken her sweet time, not wanting to get
too close to him in case he noticed her following.

As she expected, he led her straight towards the cabin she knew to be where Leyla lived with her uncle.
She pondered moments in front of the cabin, her figure still hidden amongst the trees until she pushed
forward, curiosity spurring her to move.

Still, the disappointment in her at how similar Matthias ended up being with other men who took
women on the side despite their marriage couldn’t be helped. And to think she used to think so highly of
him too!

She didn’t know why she was curious, but she noticed the door being left ajar, and strode in quietly in
confidence, assessing the shabbiness of the cabin around them. As expected, the house was mostly
dark, the lone lamp was the only source of light in the house she could see.

She waited for a few more moments, letting her eyes adjust in the darkness, when the growing sounds
from one of the bedrooms caught her attention. The more she stepped closer to the sounds, the more
she could make out the unmistakable sound of a woman’s soft moan, paired with the grunting of a man.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias let out a satisfied sigh, plopping right next to Leyla’s limp form on her bed as they both heaved
their breaths after another satisfactory round. Silence reigned between them, with Matthias staring up
at the wall in contentment, and Leyla resolutely looking at the wall beside her, trying to make herself as
small as possible.
He looked over at Leyla’s sweaty back, locks of her hair plastered behind her, and casually ran his fingers
up her spine. She shuddered beneath his touch, yet refused to look at him. Matthias couldn’t help but
smile despondently to himself.

He’d never felt such a rush of emotions before. It confused him greatly, driving himself mad as to why it
had to be Leyla, but it was. Only she could invoke such confusing emotions in him, and yet she kept
pulling away from him just when he thought they made great progress in their relationship.

The light in her room basked them both in a soft orange glow, and Matthias reached out for her once
more, urging her to turn back to him. He heard her sigh upon his touch, before she finally turned back to
him.

He cupped her cheeks immediately, and began wiping the sweat off her face with gentle hands, seeing
the way her eyes were firmly shut, her breathing hitching with every caress.

Leyla wanted to push him away from her, but she was tired of fighting tonight. Her heart was still reeling
with pain in her heart, but mostly numbed by her body’s own pain from straining herself in their
intercourse. She can’t even open her eyes to look at him.

She was just so exhausted.

The longer the silence between them stayed, the more relaxed Matthias felt in her room. Once he was
certain she was half-asleep, he pulled her into her arms, tucking her head onto the crook of his neck,
and planting soft kisses on her forehead.

Leyla faintly thanked whichever deity was watching over that there would be no more rounds tonight,
for she was already spent.

Matthias kept planting kisses all over her face. On her cheeks, the tip of her nose, behind her closed
eyelids, and back on her forehead. He was so drunk in endorphins, he couldn’t find it in himself to stop
these soft affections he gave her.

Leyla’s brows frowned, flinching her face away every now and then, her cute button nose wrinkling
when he’d smoothen it out with another kiss again.

“Stop it.” she grumbled drowsily, with her eyes still closed.

“Say it again, Leyla…” He requested once more..

“Huh?” Leyla groggily asked, burying her face into his chest, muffling her voice.

“Say that you love me again.” He reiterated, “If you say that, I swear to give you everything you want.”

Leyla laughed mirthlessly at his false words. Despite how heavy her eyes felt, she mustered up the
strength to look him in the eyes.
And just like that, the pain in her body diminished, and the one in her heart blooming in an unstoppable
force once more.

Leyla brought a hand up to cover her eyes, rolling off of his chest as she lay on her back beside him, and
proceeded to laugh at what a mess her life had gotten to be! She kept chuckling in that sad manner,
until tears began leaking out her eyes…

“Shh, don’t cry, Leyla,” Matthias cooed, softly pulling her arm away from her eyes to dab then gently
with a cloth. He proceeded to plant more kisses on her eyelids, to which she finally looked him in the
eye, the laughter finally dying down…

“This is so weird.” She couldn’t help but point out as she stared into his eyes. They almost looked…

‘Regretful…’ Leyla thought before shaking it away. He wasn’t one who knew the meaning of that word.
For that word to even have meaning, one had to possess a warm heart, but Matthias’ heart was stone
cold.

“What’s so weird?” Matthias asked softly.

“You.” She sighed out, staring up at the ceiling blankly, “You’ve gotten weird lately.”

“Why?”

“Because you keep acting like this.”

“Like how?”

“Like you’re so concerned about me.” Leyla sighed out, looking back at him, “Didn’t you say you liked
seeing me cry?”

Matthias hummed, eyes still focused on her tears, but feeling no satisfaction at the sight of it. He then
looked back at Leyla in the eye, propping himself up with one hand to wipe her tears away better.

“Just don’t cry Leyla,” he murmured, giving her an encouraging smile, “Smile for me instead.”

Leyla raised a brow at him.

“Do you want me to smile for you now?”

“Perhaps.”

A few beats of silence, before Leyla’s face turned blank, still crying as she met his gaze.

“Then I guess you would never see me smile again.” She softly declared, face scrunching up as she finally
sobbed her heart out in front of him. Matthias watched her in shocked silence, before he laughed to
himself at her stubbornness…

Strangely, his heart began to feel hollow.

Leyla cried for the innocence she lost. She cried for her freedom being taken away. She cried for being
involved with such a cruel man. She cried for having to hurt the people she loved in the world.

He was like a barbed wire, wrapped around her. The longer she struggled against him, the more she was
only harming herself.

She was so, so tired of it all, and couldn’t help but sink into his warmth because it was all she could have.
But most of all, she was crying because the cruel man she got involved with, was the first one to give her
such warmth before…

‘I’m so disgusting!’ Leyla screamed in her mind as she huddled closer to him, seeking out the comfort
only he could give her, ‘How can you make me feel like this!?’ She wanted to ask him, but bit her lips to
stop the question from spilling out.

“One day, I will see you cry,” Leyla told him, the crying finally coming to a stop once she calmed down,
“One day, I will give you a taste of your own medicine.”

She promised him. Matthias only chuckled at her.

“I’ll look forward to it.” He whispered, before kissing her on the lips.

Matthias used to think he was the one holding all the cards in their relationship. But maybe that wasn’t
always true. Maybe, the cards had always been with Leyla, she just didn’t realize it.

Soon Leyla’s vision turned dark, the dreamscapes finally claiming her from her current reality. The next
time she opened her eyes, dawn was breaking out of the sky.

She thought she was going to be alone, yet to her surprise, Matthias was still beside her, sitting up on
her bed, leaning against her head board, and looking down at her with a contemplative look in his eyes.

Regaining her strength from her night’s rest, she shot him a glare.

“Why are you still here?” She asked him, “Shouldn’t you leave by now?”

Matthias nodded at her, giving her no verbal answer before he just stood up, having long been dressed.
He was only waiting for her to wake up.

Leyla watched him through lidded eyes, settling snuggly back into her bed. She watched as Matthias
grabbed his discarded coat, putting it on, and turned back to look at her. Feeling conscious, she sat up
and pulled the blanket around her, all the way up to her shoulders.

She waited for him to say something, not knowing Matthias was expecting the same from her too. The
sun gently rose as they stayed in their positions, doing nothing but watch the other.

Sunlight crept into the windows, slowly revealing the vibrant colors of the world around them, signaling
the both of them that it was time to say goodbye. She watched the vibrant blue in his eyes, reflecting
the awakening blue skies outside.
Yet during the night, they reflected back dark pools like the night sky, echoing the deep sadness and hurt
inside her.

Matthias walked towards her, dipping down to plant a kiss on her cheeks, before straightening up once
more. He swiftly turned on his heels, and walked out in no particular hurry.

Leyla listened to his fading footsteps, until only silence remained with her.

Just her, and her tumultuous thoughts.

She clutched her nearby pillow to her chest, pulling it flush against her torso, before she plopped limply
back onto the bed, curling into a fetal position. She burrowed into the pillow, trying to suffocate the
sadness out of her to no avail, sending her off to another round of a listless sleep.

On and on it went during the rest of her morning.

Her eyes would flutter open to see morning light, before shutting back into darkness.

Open… close… open… close…open… close… open…

She awoke for the final time that morning, breathing out a resigned sigh before sitting up. She stretched
her arms overhead, feeling her bones crack as she loosened up the kinks in her muscles from last night’s
strenuous activity.

Sluggishly, she went to a bath, sinking into the warm water as she scrubbed away the traces he left on
her body until the water remained clear. Once the water was drained, she remained in the tub, burying
her face into her knees, hugging them close to her chest.

She breathed in the steam wafting all over her, wrapping her in fading warmth. Once the heat had all
but disappeared, she finally moved out of her daze, intent to finally get dressed when a firm knocking
echoed into her almost empty house, followed by a familiar voice, bellowing out her name.

It made Leyla freeze in place.

“Miss Lewellin!”

It was Mary, Claudine’s maid.

Chapter 96

Exceptions of the Perfect Marriage

Claudine found herself strolling along the rose garden. Their thin vines arched overhead on the pergola
they walked under through, allowing the morning sun to seep through the gaps, but enough to make
them remain in the shaded area.

She stopped for a moment, glancing around with a pleasant smile on the garden, before she finally
turned to her companion.

“Ah, don’t you think the weather today is nice? Seems like spring really is arriving any day now! Don’t
you think so too, Leyla?” She inquired, trying to engage the other woman in light conversation.

Leyla stood away from her, a few paces behind, and her head bowed pitifully as a stiff smile was held on
her lips. She remained silent. Claudine tilted her head, raising a brow over to the girl.

“Leyla?” She prompted once more, and Leyla finally let out a grimace of a smile.

She was very pale as she stood in front of the Duke’s fiance, and her damp hair was tied haphazardly
behind her, as she was prompted to come quickly in front of Lady Brandt. She barely had time to pick
out some proper clothes.

She couldn’t help shivering at the droplets that drizzled down her hair and landed on her back.

“I- I agree as well, my Lady.” She answered softly. Claudine shot her a satisfied smile, before turning her
attention back to the rose garden.

Leyla was acting just as she expected. Then again, Claudine also firmly believed if the Duke were to ever
have just one mistress, it would always, and remained to be, one Leyla Lewellin.

Mistresses in the aristocratic class were not unheard of. In fact, having one was hardly special. But while
the Lords would parade their mistresses like trophies on their arm, a mistress was a direct blow to a
Lady’s worth.

She’s seen and heard of the many Lords who fell for the less desirable sorts. People like their own maids,
or prostitutes. They all ended up being humiliated in front of society, especially when their husbands
proceeded to make a fool of themselves for everyone to bore witness to.
That’s why, as far as wives and fiances were concerned, having a mistress of high stature in society was
far better.

So perhaps Leyla wasn’t too much of a bad choice. She knew many wives who wished their husband’s
mistresses knew their place to not act above a wife, and someone who wasn’t crude or vulgar. Leyla fit
that criteria.

Additionally, she was considered to be intelligent among her peers, and beautiful. Despite her lower
stature, she’s garnered a reputable life. People would think her, Claudine, a fool to ever complain about
her fiance having such a mistress.

But as she thought earlier, all those qualities would be attributed as a praise for the Duke. Rumours
about the Duke’s affair couldn’t be stopped, Claudine knew. And society will praise him for having found
such a one-of-a-kind mistress! And where would that leave Claudine?

She’d be shamed twice. One for being an insufficient wife, and two, for the Duke’s mistress to be of
lesser stature than her.

Claudine approached a nearby bench, flapping her handkerchief over a spot with a flick of her wrists
before sitting down. The rose garden was in a transition between winter to spring season. She could
spot the light dew glinting with sunlight and the lessened thickness of the snow around the ground.

A gentle breeze went past them, brushing lightly up against her rosy cheeks, billowing some locks of her
hair and ribbons on her hat, behind her gently.

Events of last night came back to her, remembering the way she stood right outside the door as she
listened to their love making. It was unmistakably Matthias. She would recognize his voice everywhere,
but the words did not hear his profile.

Those gentle words, they did not seem as though they belonged to be said by such a foul man. If she
were an idiot, she would have burst through the doors just to really see it for herself that he was the
one saying them, and not someone else who just sounded like him!

But alas…

‘Should I have done that instead?’ Claudine mused to herself. It would probably have quieted the
incessant disbelief she had in the back of her mind ever since she listened to them.

Ever since she returned to the mansion last night, Claudine had kept pacing in front of the window,
which brought her a massive view of the forest path. She would have no trouble tracking Matthias’
return at that spot in the mansion.

So troubled, she hardly felt the need to sleep. And she was rewarded soon when Matthias returned at
the crack of dawn.
She watched as he went up the stairs looking a little worse for wear, before he abruptly stopped in his
steps, and looked back from where he’d come from. Almost like he was expecting for something to
follow.

He stood there longer than just a moment, before finally continuing on his path, a sullen look on his
face. Claudine had reached her decision by then.

She must act now. She didn’t have any more luxury to wait.

Matthias was becoming less and less of the Matthias she grew up around in her youth. He was getting
harder to predict, and the same could be said about Leyla. Last night’s events bore witness to that.

She never expected Leyla to be writhing wantonly in the arms of her tormentor as though Kyle hadn’t
just witnessed them moments before. She was getting bolder, and Claudine didn’t like that.

She finally spared her companion another glance. Leyla flinched when Claudine’s eyes went back to her.

“Why do you appear so nervous?” Claudine asked, taking off her gloves and holding them daintily in one
hand, “People might begin to think I’m bothering you, if you act like that Leyla.” She smiled at her
prettily, “Aren’t we just taking a walk together as friends?”

Leyla flinched as Claudine practically called her out.

“O-of course we are, m-my Lady.” She stuttered, resolutely standing away from her, turning pale in
complexion.

“Ah well, that eases my troubles then.” Claudine hummed, shrugging her shoulders before adjusting her
hat with ungloved hands.

Leyla couldn’t help but recall earlier events with Lady Brandt’s maid.

Mary had been insistent they needed to leave right away, barely giving Leyla enough time to get dressed
and dry herself into a presentable manner. Even before Leyla had come to open the door, she kept
calling and yelling for her name…

A repeated demand for her to hurry up and answer the door.

As soon as Leyla swung the door open, she was met with a cold and calculating gaze from Mary.

“I have been given a request to invite you over for a morning stroll Miss Lewellin.” She immediately said.
But despite her polite words, her tone implied Leyla had no room to refuse her mistress’ orders.

And that there was no further time for delay.

Hence Leyla’s less than presentable state of dress. Even her hair was a mess! As soon as they arrived,
Leyla felt fear grip her heart at the sight of Matthias’ fiance waiting for her by the garden trail, smiling so
amicably as though she was another one of her friends.
The two women remained in the garden in pregnant silence. The tension between them remained so
thick, you could have cut it with a knife, even as Claudine sat down on the bench, and Leyla remained
standing a few paces away beside her.

CLANG!

The sound of a bracelet hitting the stone floor broke the silence around them, as both looked down and
saw the way the bracelet rolled on the floor, before wobbling to a stop. It was Claudine’s platinum
bracelet, glinting on the stone floor as the sun’s rays hit it beautifully.

Claudine frowned as she felt her wrist grow light before hearing it fall. It seemed as though the clasp had
gotten loose and broken through the many times she wore it.

“Oh my, can you help me Leyla?” She called out softly, and Leyla blinked, unmoving.

“Y-yes, my Lady?”

Leyla felt a little frustrated over this whole thing. Why was it that she had to be here? But when she met
his fiance’s eyes, she immediately understood what Claudine was asking of her as soon as she shot her
that toothy smile.

With an inaudible sigh, Leyla leant down to grab the fallen bracelet. Just as she was about to straighten
out, Claudine’s foot moved, and stepped on the bracelet.

“Ah, m-my Lady-” Leyla’s breath hitched as she landed on her knees and looked up at Claudine, before
her eyes widened in surprise and the intense look Claudine was giving her.

“On second thought, I think you should have it.” Claudine hummed, Leyla gulped up at her. “Oh, why do
you look at me in such a way?” She wondered, before her foot moved up, and stepped right over Leyla’s
fingers.

She didn’t make any sound, but her eyes started glinting and shimmering as Claudine pressed harder on
her.

“Aren’t you happy I’m giving you something that’s rightfully mine?” she asked, tilting her head at the
speechless girl, “After all, you have a knack for wanting what’s mine, don’t you?” She hummed
thoughtfully, assessing her own pristine fingers before looking back down on Leyla.

Leyla refused to make any sound, though Claudine saw them twitch the more she applied pressure over
Leyla’s fingers. Her tone was patient with Leyla, as though she was speaking to a naughty child.

Claudine felt a tinge of pity at how pathetic Leyla looked. Almost like she’s got a noose over her neck,
waiting to snap it apart.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Leyla. It’s true isn’t it?” Claudine continued.
She bent down, and grasped Leyla’s face gently, caressing it softly with the tip of her sharpened
fingernails. Leyla’s breath hitched once more.

“After all, don’t you seem so fond of my fiance?”

Leyla’s eyes widened in fear at Lady Brandt’s words.

“So why should my jewels be any different? Let’s stop kidding ourselves Leyla, it’s so unbecoming.”
Claudine sighed in slight disappointment as she whispered against the poor woman’s ears.

Somewhere by the edge of the garden, stood Claudine’s aide, Mary. She had been tasked by her
mistress moments before she left to fetch the Leyla girl to be on a lookout for the Duke.

She was to warn her mistress if he arrived unexpectedly.

In her vantage point, she could see what was happening by the balcony. She knew before that her
orders, though simple, were of vital importance. But what could her mistress be discussing with a lowly
orphan?

She tried to take a peek out of curiosity at what was going on, but the pergola blocked most of the view
of the women from where she stood. Which was a disappointing moment, because she really wanted to
see how her mistress was putting that cheeky girl in her place.

Mary remembered the first moment she saw Leyla, and immediately felt unnerved about her presence.
She’d known the girl since childhood, yet something about her was off, especially when she remained so
stiff and ungrateful even as she was being paid to do honest hard work.

She took an assessing gaze around the mansion, jaw clenching as she performed her duties.

The Duke had mentioned he had a gathering to attend to, and thus couldn’t come home until evening at
the earliest moment. It was far from evening, but the Duke was well-known to be prone to finishing
things earlier than he said he would. He could even return a day earlier.

She needed to remain vigilant, even against the sun’s glaring rays.

Leyla remained frozen in place, her heart thundering in her chest as she grew numb to the way Claudine
was putting more pressure over her fingers.

Everything around her was muffled, as though she was seeing and hearing things under water. It almost
felt like a dream…

But if it was, then this was just a cruel nightmare.

“You poor thing,” Claudine cooed at her, “Look at how much you’re trembling right now.”

She continued to caress Leyla’s cheeks gently.

“Oh, but fret not Leyla, I could hardly do anything to my fiance’s precious mistress.” She sighed out, “He
adores you too much for me to be able to do anything.”

Her hands stopped caressing Leyla, before it moved to cup her chin gently, lifting it up enticingly to
make Leyla look up at her. Claudine looked so innocent and kind, but her eyes held a visceral anger
towards Leyla.

“Contrary to how I usually treat you Leyla, I don’t hate you that much.” Claudine admitted, “In fact, I find
that I am rather sympathetic to your plight, after all how could this have been your fault to begin with?”

Finally she removed her feet off Leyla’s fingers. The poor girl let out a shaky breath as she looked up at
the woman in confusion with a hint of fear.

“M-my Lady?” Leyla’s eyes began to glimmer as tears pooled on the corners.

“Shh,” Claudine hushed softly, “Are you going to cry in front of me?” She then let out a knowing smile,
“I’m sorry to say Leyla, but they don’t work on me as well as they do with my fiance.”

And then the smile slipped away from her face, and the look in her eyes darkened as she continued to
look down on Leyla.

Leyla felt as though her heart was being seized, her chest tightening as she tried to breath properly, yet
the chill in her bones kept her frozen!

She couldn’t help but let out a gasp, praying for the deities above to spare her!

“I’ll tell you a story of a maid just like that, Leyla.” Claudine told her, releasing her chin, before she began
petting Leyla on the head like one would with a well-behaved dog.

She began her tale about a daughter, she came from a high ranked family. She was getting married, but
before that, she made a request from her maid. She asked if she would sleep with her soon-to-be
husband, just to give her an assessment on what kind of a man he would be.

After all, no noble lady such as her must engage in premarital acts. It was frowned upon. And she
trusted her maid, she’d been proven to be very loyal to her lady, and accepted the task readily.

“Our situation is very similar to that one, don’t you think so, Leyla?” Claudine asked the unresponsive
girl, “Truthfully, affairs are no problem to me. I’ve learned to navigate around them. So I’m thankful for
you.”

She watched as the faint hope in Leyla’s eyes began to dim the more she spoke.

It was like she was already being sentenced to hang, and suddenly, the wooden floor beneath her feet
was pulled right under her and the noose tightened up around her neck with a painful snap!
Claudine had a feeling this could be the final blow for Leyla, and soon she wouldn’t have to endure the
incessant cries of noisy birds in the background. She might have gotten down and dirty against her
fiance’s mistress, but who could fault her for trying to create a perfect marriage?

“Are you surprised?” Claudine piped up once more, “To be honest, I was really surprised. All this time I
thought my fiance would always be such a cold and calculating man. He probably wouldn’t even break a
sweat when our wedding night arrives.”

She gasped, and then tilted her head towards Leyla.

“Is he good in bed? I’ve been dying to know. Perhaps it’ll be the only thing I can look forward to in a
wedding with him.”

Leyla remained trembling in place. With Claudine no longer holding her chin up, she could only remain
resolutely staring at the ground beneath her, wishing for the ground to swallow her up now and never
return her to this place.

“Come now, don’t be shy. After all, the maid in the story was very thorough in describing them to her
lady.” Claudine teased, “Also, I heard you moaning so wantonly last night, so he must be good at it!”

Suddenly, the gentle caresses stopped as Claudine gripped a handful of Leyla’s damp locks in her hand,
and pulled her up, smiling when Leyla gasped at the sudden harsh treatment she got. Claudine drew
closer to Leyla, their breath intermingling with each other.

“Tell me Leyla, tell me how much you loved it.” she softly demanded.

Leyla’s eyes could only glisten blankly as she stared into Lady Brandt’s icy glares. The glassy look in
Leyla’s eyes was grating at Claudine’s nerves, but she also found some satisfaction in them, and let it be.

“Come now Leyla, your Lady is asking you how much you love basking in the arms of the man who keeps
ruining your life?!”
Chapter 97

The Man Who Keeps Ruining Your Life

“-the man who keeps ruining your life!”

Claudine’s words kept ringing in Leyla’s mind as she continued to listen to a daze at Claudine’s words.
Everything was so muddled, she wasn’t paying attention, only so focused on the fact she was found out.

But why did she say it like that? Leyla knew how much the Duke ruined her life by making her enter an
affair, but why did Lady Brandt make it sound as though it started long before that?

It was like she saw something in her eyes, which prompted Claudine to let her go abruptly and laugh
pitifully at her.

“Goodness, you haven’t realized it yet, did you, you poor girl?” Claudine shook her head in disbelief as
she laughed. “Oh, you truly are so pitiful.” She sighed, drawing closer to look Leyla firmly in the eyes.

“He helped ruin your engagement with Kyle. Did you know that?”

‘What?’ Leyla blinked, as something in her sparked at the new information.

“Tsk, you’re still the same after all,” Claudine clicked her tongue in disappointment, “You’re still so
clueless about the things around you Leyla.”

And so Claudine began to tell her.

She told Leyla about what the Duke did last summer to break the two of them apart, just so he could
finally have Leyla all to himself.

Leyla listened in rapt attention, eyes frozen as she stared into space at the memories coming back to her
all at once as to why she broke things off with Kyle.

She told her about bearing witness to him, unmistakably, meeting with the man who was revealed to be
Mrs. Etman’s cousin, who had stolen Leyla’s college funds. She also overheard him lying to the
policemen that very morning about not seeing anyone.
He then proceeded to have someone run an investigation into Daniel Rayner’s bank finances, something
she recently discovered due to her using her father’s name. He must have already assumed Daniel
Rayner would be Mrs. Etman’s accomplice, and yet let Mrs. Etman took the fall for it.

“Can you see it now Leyla, how all the puzzle pieces fit together?”

Leyla looked gobsmacked and downright idiotic at this very moment. How could she have failed to see
the signs?

And so Claudine continued, telling her of her lack of knowledge what had transpired after that. But if the
Duke let Mrs. Etman took the fall, then nothing could be traced back to him. No one would even suspect
he’d been involved.

Claudine was very pleased she held her tongue back then. It wouldn’t matter as much as it would now.
Not for her at least. As for Leyla, well…

“If you doubt my words, then go ahead and ask him yourself.” Claudine hummed, “It’s merely just
speculation on my part after all, interpreting the data as I see fit. But you seem to trust him explicitly.”
She grinned towards the poor woman, “You can rest assured, he won’t lie to you.”

She made it sound like friendly advice, when it was made with intentions that were anything but. Leyla
was still stuck in the memories of last summer, even as she listened to Claudine’s words more clearly
than she ever did before.

She remembered the way the Duke remained in silence as her plans to marry Kyle were being discussed
around them, almost as though he was disinterested. He only came back as soon as the conversation
was finally over.

By then, autumn had just begun.

‘This was all planned?’ Leyla thought in disbelief, the gravity of his hold and influence over her life now
looming ominously overhead, ‘Impossible… no man could ever be so cruel!’

She refused to believe it!

“Well, it is difficult to believe, so I don’t blame you for it.” Claudine sighed, “After all, thinking all of that
was true would only make you more miserable, I suppose.”

She continued to regard Leyla, before finally sighing. Her job here was almost done.

“Believe it or not, it’s your choice.” Claudine told her, “It won’t change the truth anyway.”

She stood up from the bench, putting on her gloves back, before she walked over in front of Leyla, who
was now collapsed on the floor at the new information she had just imparted on the unknowing girl.
“Although I guess it was a good thing you didn’t know anything about that. I almost thought I
misunderstood you for a moment.” She told her, “I almost thought you’re another selfish girl, who just
wanted the benefits of becoming the Duke’s mistress, but alas, you proved me wrong once more.”

Claudine began to walk away, before pausing to look back at Leyla’s shivering posture.

“Although knowing you’ve been so clueless does bring me a new wave of sympathy over your situation.”
She leaned down, and patted Leyla’s shoulder comfortingly, ignoring the way she jumped up at the
touch.

“I am truly sorry for you. Perhaps, if I’ve been more careful, you would have become the next Mrs.
Etman by now, instead of being stuck to warm the Duke’s bed.”

Leyla remained quiet, her thoughts still swirling in the back of her mind.

“Oh well, it’s too late to change things by now. And look on the bright side! Claudine beamed at her, “It
does seem he’s taken quite a liking to you, so it can’t be so difficult to get him to dote on you, will it?”

She forced Leyla to look at her once more, gently holding up her chin to turn towards her direction.

“I plan to be friends with you Leyla, after all, we both will be stuck with the Duke, so I must get along
with you to some degree as someone he holds very dear.” She hummed. “So don’t feel so guilty about
it.”

Claudine then frowned in thought before she turned to look at Leyla.

“Ah, but it will be ridiculous for us to remain in the same estate as soon as we get married, so perhaps
looking for other living arrangements outside of Arvis will be best for you.” She informed Leyla.

“Then again, it’s the Duke we’re talking about, so of course he knows just where to place you! So really,
you have nothing to worry about.” Claudine finished with a smile.

Finally, she rose back to her feet, patting Leyla gently a few times, while Leyla hunched in on herself
further.

“Chin up Leyla,” Claudine piped up once more, “You must now hold yourself up proudly as the Duke’s
mistress at this point. There’s no more use for you to degrade yourself further in pity.”

Leyla remained silent, even as Claudine grabbed her hands gently, pulling her up away from her huddled
position. As soon as she stood up, Leyla hugged herself, wanting nothing more than to curl up.

“Come on, Leyla, you can do better.” Claudine told her, “Well, I have to say goodbye now, but before I
leave, I do want to establish a clear order between us.”

Finally Leyla looked at her with red-rimmed eyes.

Claudine might be being harsh on Leyla right now, but she needed to also hold herself up in high dignity
as the Duke’s future wife. Leyla only shook her head, as though she was in great pain. She looked as
though she didn’t know what she was doing anymore.

Claudine’s eyes narrowed at her.

“Let’s start again Leyla.” She scolded the girl, “You must remain polite.” She cautioned her.

Such cowardice she was showing her. It sickened Claudine even though her tears refused to fall.

Leyla only bowed her head further down in front of her. As soon as she did so, one fat drop of her tears
hit the top of her shoes. Soon, more fell down, as finally Leyla cried freely in front of her, as she
remained in a bow.

Claudine sighed and backed away from Leyla, finding a little more tolerance in her for the other
woman’s tears.

“Well, at least you’re a good girl.” She mused. Leyla’s mannerisms were still lacking, and considered to
be far from polite, but Claudine will have to take what she could for now.

Upon her words, Leyla once more collapsed back onto the group in a heapful of uncontrollable sobs. She
looked even more undesirable, looking like nothing more than a broken doll.

Deeming it time for them to go, Claudine swiftly left her alone, her dress sweeping behind her as it
fluttered with the wind as she walked out of the rose-covered pergola. Finally, it felt like she could
finally get rid of that nasty feeling as though she was being used like a common earthenware.

After all, this was a life rightfully hers, something she worked hard to get. For things like that, Claudine
could be downright terrifying, such was the life she was taught and learned to live in.

When she reached the end of the pergola, Claudine spared Leyla one last look behind her. She was still
in her pathetic state, crying soundlessly to herself as she lay broken on the stone cold floor.

Claudine scoffed before she faced forward once more, with a lighter look on her face. She calmly
stepped down the marble staircase, where Mary greeted her enthusiastically as soon as she reached the
last step in the middle of the rose garden.

“I think we should pack up my things by now, Mary.” Claudine calmly announced, making her aide blink
back in surprise.

“Your things?” She asked in confusion, “Does this mean you are returning to Brandt Estate, my Lady?”

“Yes,” Claudine smiled at her amicably, “Yes, I think it’s time to return now.”

“But, my Lady, shouldn’t you wait for the Duke’s return before leaving him so suddenly?”
“Mary.” Claudine called out her name firmly, and she quickly stilled as her mistress looked at her with a
smile, but a stern look in her eyes.

Immediately, Mary bowed in agreement, before Claudine wordlessly walked away with absolute grace,
and a lightness in her gait.

Claudine was absolutely confident that before summer even begins, everything would be set in place
once more. Perhaps even before spring truly arrives, all her puzzle pieces would be back in their
respective places.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The day of Bill Remmer’s return, was also the day Kyle Etman left Arvis once more.

Just as he arrived, rumors about his departure quickly spread throughout the estate. And where rumors
about Kyle were mentioned, Leyla’s name soon followed. Each of Arvis’ occupants gossiped with one
another in hushed tones, wondering why he would leave so suddenly.

“I don’t get it, how could he just come and go so quickly?”

“I bet it’s because Leyla won’t take him back.”

“I feel so sorry for him.”

“Or maybe he just came to visit his parents? He hasn’t come for a while, has he?”

“Impossible, I heard him and his mother were still at odds, even today.”

“Truly? Mrs. Etman must still be angry about his almost marriage to Leyla then.”

The endless chatter between the house maids only ended when the bell chimed across the mansion. It
was a sound they all knew to be coming from the third floor.

It was a summon from Duke Herhardt. It seemed he had some guests with him waiting to be served.

Immediately, the house maids scattered, each back to their tasks, while the maid with the longest
experience in serving the household wasted no time in preparing them some tray before she hurried up
the stairs to attend to their master’s wishes.

Although he wasn’t difficult to please, something about the Duke greatly intimidated them, which
caused every servant under their employ to hasten every task they were given if he gave the order. Even
serving the Duchess was easier to serve, despite her incessant need to complain and nitpick about every
single thing they do.
Once she arrived outside the Duke’s office, she balanced the tray in one hand, before knocking politely
against the mahogany doors.

“Come in.”

She heard faintly, and quietly opened the door, carrying the tray with both hands as soon as it was open
and went in.

Upon entering, her eyes widened momentarily at the sight of her master’s guest.

There, sitting across their esteemed Duke from his desk, was the man who was single-handedly
responsible for destroying Arvis’ heaven— as the people used to call it-– the greenhouse.

Mr. Bill Remmer.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla found herself stopping by a portion of the greenhouse’s walls, observing as the repairs were in full
swing as they hurried to restore it back to its former glory.

She also watched as a few more precious plant specimens were being airlifted overhead, before being
relocated to where they were supposed to be planted. Bill Remmer’s return signaled more tasks to
come, especially with the new varieties of plants he’d gathered with the others.

Leyla tried to keep herself calm as she watched all this progress, clasping her hands in front of her as she
fidgeted with her fingers, trying to clear her mind.

She hadn’t had the chance to spend much time with her uncle yet, what with the Duke calling for him as
soon as he arrived. He didn’t even allow her uncle a time to change and rest with Leyla back in their own
cabin.

He assured Leyla he’ll be back shortly, telling her it would be rude to refuse their gracious Duke, and
followed the attendant without any complaints. Watching him walk away from her, and towards the
Duke was a terrifying thing for her.

It was like his mere presence in Arvis was suffocating even though she couldn’t see the Duke nearby.

“Oh Leyla!” one of the garden workers looked up to see her with a teasing smile on their faces, “I
thought you’re all grown up now! Yet still you look so much like that little girl struggling to catch up with
Mr. Remmer.”
Leyla flushed at the observation, before laughing awkwardly.

“I’m sorry, I guess I just missed him so much!”

The others laughed as they began talking over each other, each with their own stories to tell while
they’d been away from Arvis. It was nice catching up with them, but soon they had their own tasks to
return, and once more Leyla found herself alone.

And the easy smile she had, slipped from her lips without a moment’s thought.

Was the Duke going back on his word? Would he tell Uncle Bill after all, about what Leyla had been
doing behind his back?

Her eyes looked over towards the mansion with a steely gaze. She was nothing more than skin and
bones now, filled with an endless combination of shame, sorrow, confusion and painful anger deep
inside her heart.

And that anger was embedded deep into her heart, festering the longer she refused to look away from
the mansion that Duke Herhardt owned and was holding her uncle over her head.
Chapter 98

The Way I Learned From You

“Have a drink, Mr. Remmer.” Matthias offered, gesturing to him the tea. He noticed that Bill seemed a
little bit tense, but the old gardener only stiffly agreed, immediately going to grab the cup of tea. Which
left Matthias feeling a little bit confused.

Matthias watched as Bill took careful sips of his tea as he did the same with his own cup. Once he
deemed he let the gardener relax enough, he spoke up once more.

“Firstly, I would like to thank you for working hard for us for a long time.”

“Ah, it was my pleasure, Duke.” Bill stammered, trying to calm himself down in front of the man who
spared him. “I’m really grateful that you even allowed me to stay in Arvis, and to correct the great
wrong I’ve done. Ah but I’m not saying this to appease you!” He flushed, “Truly, I am so grateful for you,
my Duke.”

Bill bowed his head in reverence at Matthias. He would forever be grateful for the act of mercy the Duke
bestowed upon him. He would have rotted in jail because of his negligence, and yet this man prevented
that, and allowed him to fix his mistake!

How could he ever repay the Duke?

“Well then, what do you say about continuing to work for us even after your work in Arvis’ greenhouse?
Say, in the Herhardt mansion, located in the capital city?” Matthias offered, cutting straight to the point.

He thought about it long and hard, and knew this was the only way Leyla would ever move to the
capital’s mansion he owned.

Bill Remmer was a permanent fixture in her life, she wouldn’t dare leave him alone. As such, if he were
to convince Mr. Remmer to move to Ratz, then Leyla would soon follow, just to remain by her uncle’s
side.

Bill looked at his young master in a mix of perplexion and confusion.

“My Duke, is… is this because of the accident?” he asked rather meekly. “It isn’t as though I’m ungrateful
for the continued opportunity to work for you, but I had thought after my job with the greenhouse was
finished, you would let me go?”
“You’re right,” Matthias hummed, putting his teacup down on his desk, before clasping his hands in
front of him as he stared at Bill, “But it isn’t just because of the incident that I am thinking of transferring
you.”

Bill looked even more nervous now.

“I recognize that the garden in Arvis is too large. I anticipate it will be harder and harder for you to
maintain it as the years go by.”

“Oh it’s not-”

“Additionally,” Matthias interrupted, eyeing Bill a little bit in disapproval for interrupting him when he
wasn’t even finished. “The gardens in the mansion in Ratz are of a smaller scale. Much easier to
maintain, plus I want it to be on par with the gardens here, in Arvis.” Matthias finally finished.

Bill wanted to deny that work in Arvis was fine as it is despite him advancing in age, but he can’t deny
the words of his master, because the Duke was not wrong. It was growing more difficult for him to keep
maintaining the vast gardens in Arvis estate, even if he is still in his middle-ages.

“Truly, I thank you for this opportunity, but I don’t know where to put myself, Duke.” Bill admitted
regretfully, “I’m afraid I’m at a loss at how I can earn your confidence in me.”

“Then you need only continue working for Arvis.” Matthias replied plainly.

Bill Remmer eyed him nervously, his eyes dropping down to look at his reflection in the tea, and saw
how weary his eyes looked back at him.

“Duke Herhardt, I knew since you gave me a second chance, I could never remain to work in Arvis after
that. In fact, I already planned to leave Arvis with Leyla as soon as my work is done with the greenhouse.
It’s only fair I leave, especially after you’ve given me mercy.”

Something in Matthias’ eyes darkened as he looked at the old gardener.

“Mr. Remmer, I didn’t free you from your sins out of mercy.”

His tone was calm, yet cold. Bill gulped his tea nervously, before putting the cup down in front of him to
look at his young master’s face properly.

“As I was saying, you worked for my family for many years, and your expertise and skills are
outmatched.” Matthias explained once more, “And that’s why, I want you in Ratz, to make use of your
skills there as well. So there’s no need for you to feel indebted to me.” He finished explaining, yet there
was still some doubt in Bill Remmer’s eyes.

“I-I see, my Duke,” Bill wetted his lips nervously, as he rubbed his clammy palms on his pants. “B-but
how could I move so far away and leave my Leyla behind?”

Matthias raised his cup over his lips, allowing himself to smirk victoriously before answering him.
“Then take her with you.” He pointed out, and Bill blinked in surprise.

“Take Leyla with me?”

“Why not?” Matthias hummed, and took a sip of tea, before putting it back down on the table. “In fact,
why don’t we become Miss Lewellin’s patrons while she’s staying there?”

Bill seemed even more flabbergasted.

“Patrons?” Bill repeated to himself, before looking back at the Duke with awe in his eyes, “You mean
you would fund Leyla’s college?”

“Yes.” Matthias nodded his head lightly in affirmation. “It was unfortunate that last year’s theft
happened, but my grandmother had expressed her wishes to fund Miss Lewellin’s education back then.”

Matthias proceeded to tell Bill that things had gotten too hectic before, which was why it hadn’t come
up until now. Should Leyla retake the college entrance exam, and get accepted, she would officially be
sponsored by the Herhardt house, as was his and his grandmother’s will.

Bill couldn’t believe such a generous offer from the people he caused so much trouble to!

He really was so fortunate to have been employed by such gracious people! Any other family would
have thrown him to jail for his crime, but the Herhardts just kept giving him and Leyla so many blessings
on their way!

How could such kind people exist in reality? People like this only existed in stories as far as he knew, and
yet here was one in front of him!

Matthias watched as the light began filling the old gardener’s eyes, and knew he’d convinced the man.

“Well, what do you say Mr. Remmer?” Matthias asked coolly at him, “Are you willing to accept this
opportunity?”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Uncle!” Leyla greeted excitedly, and half filled with relief at the sight of him.

The first thing she took note of was how healthy his complexion seemed. At the sight of her, Bill gave
her a warm smile, before huffing at the sudden force at Leyla throwing her arms tightly around him.

He couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm at seeing him return.

“Oof! What are you, a child!?” Bill teased as he pulled away and fixed his scarf, “You seem to forget
you’re not as small as you used to be Leyla. And what are you doing out here waiting for me? Didn’t I tell
you I’d meet you back home?”

He patted Leyla’s hair fondly like he used to when she was so much smaller, and Leyla only giggled,
immediately grabbing onto one of his arms and hugging it close to her as she rested her head on his
shoulders.

Quietly, she closed her eyes as she sighed in relief.

‘He still doesn’t know.’

They walked peacefully side by side, with Leyla feeling less alone with her uncle back at her side. The
trek back to their small cabin was long, but the walk hardly felt tedious with their pleasant company.

Leyla jogged a few paces ahead, holding the door open for him to enter as he shuffled through their
door, and praised Leyla for the feast she had prepared for his return. Leyla urged him to get changed as
she warmed up the food.

As soon as that was done, and all the food was warm once more, they both sat down at the table, ready
to eat.

“Ah, Leyla, I would like to tell you that the Duke just offered me a great chance!” He announced
excitedly at her, as he piled some of his favorite food on his plate. Leyla’s smile stilled in her expression
at her uncle’s words.

“A chance?” She asked quietly, careful to keep the smile on her face, “What kind of chance?”

“He offered me a transfer to their mansion in Ratz,” Bill started.

He proceeded to relay to Leyla the information the Duke gave him in their impromptu meeting. How he
would move to stay in the Herhardt mansion in Ratz and tend to their smaller garden there instead.

And how he was even allowed to bring Leyla!

“And that’s not even the best part!” He continued excitedly, “The Duke even offered to be your patron!
They’re going to send you to your dream college! Isn’t that amazing!?”

“Patrons…” Leyla mumbled in shock, to which Bill mistook her surprise in being given such a generous
offer.

“Of course you will need to pass their entrance exams once more, but I know you can do it again!” Bill
declared proudly, “It was originally Duchess Norma’s idea, but the Duke supports her decision
wholeheartedly. They both agree how amazing you would be.” He smiled proudly at Leyla.

Leyla could only think about how further it would drive her deeper into the Duke’s clutches and control.
“Do you think I should take the offer, Leyla?” Bill asked her, looking a little expectantly, and yet
despondent at the same time.

“Uncle…”

“Truthfully, I’m feeling a little shameless at accepting the offer about what I just did, but if it’s what you
want to do, then I can do it dear.” Bill said with a smile, “I’d be more than happy to stay and move to
Ratz if it meant you get to live your dream.”

Leyla felt like her throat was closing up. How could she even begin to tell her uncle no?

She steadily grabbed her glass of water, trying to delay the time she needed to say her answer. Looking
at her uncle’s happy expression stung Leyla’s eyes.

She couldn’t bear to see it gone.

Suddenly the day Claudine revealed to her all that she knew about the Duke and her affair with him
seemed to be so long ago. She didn’t even remember how she stood back up and brought herself home.

All she could recall was her bawling her eyes out on the floor, barely unable to stop herself from crying
until she exhausted herself.

She wanted to deny everything. All of Claudine’s accusations seemed too cruel to be true, but Leyla
found herself in front of Daniel Rayner’s house. And with no further thought, she rapped her knuckles
against his door to seek answers.

She couldn’t even think about how rocky her relationship with Daniel Rayner had become because of
what happened. Right now, she felt invincible within her armor of pain and numbness. She needed to
prove Claudine false.

She couldn’t be right about Matthias planning for her engagement with Kyle to be destroyed.

When Daniel had seen her that day, he looked as though he saw a ghost, and moved to close it once
more, but Leyla held it open, a desperate plea went out her mouth.

“I just need to know one thing!” She exclaimed, holding the door open, “Just one thing! You owe me
this!”

Her words, fortunately, made him stop and relent to her.

“That day you stole the money meant for my college fund,” Leyla began, ignoring the way he flinched at
the reminder of what he did, “Did you, or did you not, meet the Duke on your way out of our cabin?”

She didn’t know how much she would regret ever seeking the truth from him, for she regretted knowing
his answer.

It took him a while to give it, but by then it was too late for Leyla to turn back.
“I don’t know why you need to ask me that after all this time but…” He began, looking so exhausted, as
though he wanted to move on from his crimes.

“Yes…” Leyla trailed off as she recalled that moment.

He avoided looking at her as he said it, but she could hear he was telling her the truth. He spoke a few
more words, but it was drowned out by the ringing in her ears as the truth hit her in full force.

She staggered away from him, and faintly remembered how Daniel Rayner hurriedly slammed the door
behind her, sounds of the locks on his door being reinforced, but Leyla hardly cared anymore. She just
kept walking, even as the road darkened in front of her and her head pounded, unable to produce more
tears.

She remembered the police officers telling them how the money failed to turn up, and no witnesses
came forward. They even went to the mansion, and asked the Duke himself, but no one had seen
anything.

The puzzle pieces fell into place.

Claudine hadn’t been lying.

She knew it had been a possibility. As a noble lady, Claudine von Brandt would dare spread such a
baseless lie, not when she would lose too much if she were to get caught defaming her fiance’s good
name.

“Leyla?” Uncle Bill called out for her once more, shaking her out of her thoughts and she looked back at
him with a practiced smile.

“If you need more time to think about it, then I completely understand.”

“I agree I will need time to think about it, uncle.” Leyla smiled at him, and he reciprocated it, before
looking at her in an apologetic way.

“I do want you to consider it though Leyla,” He admitted, “Because we both know by now, I can’t give
you the life you wanted. The duke is offering to give you wings that I can’t give you.” He pointed out
sadly.

And Leyla felt her heart breaking at her uncle’s words.

‘Oh uncle, if only you knew he was the one who brutally broke my wings.’ She thought in complete
despair.

Uncle Bill reached out from across the table, to hold her hand in a comforting manner.

“I know you’re the kind of person who can reach beyond what people expect you to if you put your
mind into it,” He praised her softly, “Some will be envious, but more others will be inspired by you.”
He looked at her with such warm, and loving eyes, it shone brighter than the light Leyla had put on the
table for them. She could only smile shakily back at him, taking more sips of her water to keep her
throat from drying in her guilt and nervousness.

They continued to eat their dinner, the topic shifting to what he had seen in his travels, and then
exchanging mundane stories of what they had done while away from each other.

Dinner ended with them sitting out on the porch, cups of coffee in hand as they leaned against each
other. The night had rolled out of the sky, the wind picking up around them, but not yet cold enough to
make them freeze.

Fortunately for Leyla, Uncle Bill decided to retire to bed early. His travels still left him tired, and Leyla
happily let him, staying out on the porch to look up at the starless skies above.

She had been struggling to hold in her composure as her uncle was around, but she couldn’t deny the
unbridled anger simmering underneath her skin, especially when she closed the door to her bedroom,
only to see Phoebe return, with a note attached from the Duke.

Just as she thought as she unrolled the small piece of parchment open, his orders remained the same,
and she must go to him. But this time, she felt no fear or shame at their impending meeting.

No, her mind had never been as clear as they were tonight.

She’s determined to escape the clutches of both the Duke and Duchess Herhardt of Arvis Estate.

She ripped up the letter, and tossed it into the open flame as she walked over to her closet. She glanced
over her wardrobe, before grabbing the clothes and shoes the Duke had bought for her.

Next, she sat in front of her vanity, putting more effort into styling her hair in a presentable way. After
all, she must look her best tonight. She’s meeting someone very dear to her, she mused sarcastically.

This time, she’ll stop begging for him to release her.

She stared into her reflection with steely eyes, satisfied at how beautiful she made herself appear to be.
The intricate braid she made framed the nape of her neck beautifully, and complemented the clothes
perfectly.

‘Just as I learned from you, I’ll bide my time,’ Leyla thought as she put on some light make up on her
face and smiled enticingly at herself in front of her mirror, ‘This time, it’s my turn to play with you, and
break your heart at the right moment.’

A strange excitement came over her, making her feel giddy all over, even more than her previous plans
of simply denying the Duke whatever he wanted. This time, she knows better. This time, she finally knew
how to break a man’s heart.

‘Looks like it’s time for me to give you your own medicine, my Duke,’
She smirked, mind finally made up.

She’d be his perfect mistress, give him the excitement he craved, and present herself so beautifully for
him. She’d stop fighting him, and make him feel appreciated. She’ll give him promises she’d never
intend to keep, before she’d just casually…

And cruelly…

Rip his heart into a million little pieces.

Leyla quietly walked out of her cabin, weeks of experience making it a lot easier than before now that
she wasn’t dreading to see him.

After all, how would she dread the thought of seeing him on his knees?

How could she even dread the thought of seeing him so miserable and in pain one day like he did for
her?
Chapter 99

Terms and Conditions of Transaction

Matthias found himself immensely surprised as soon as he swung the door open when he heard her
knock on his door. He stood in front of the doorway in bewilderment, wide eyes staring at her from
head to toe.

She wasn’t the Leyla he had grown used to seeing.

All of a sudden she was here, in front of him. All dressed in the clothes and gifts he’d long given her.
Gifts she had sworn off of.

“May I come in?” She asked him in that cautious melodic voice, looking up at him through her curled
lashes, blinking them so enticingly.

Finally, Matthias stepped away, letting her in, widening the door for her to enter.

“Wait here for a moment.” Matthias softly commanded her before he strode back into his drawing
room. He could sense Leyla begin to follow him quietly.

Upon Leyla’s entrance, she saw multitudes of papers strewn across the table. There was a stack of other
papers and documents in one corner table. It was as if he was in the middle of doing his work.

“You must be very busy.” Leyla remarked softly as she looked around. Matthias only spared her a glance
before he expertly stacked some of the papers neatly on his desk.

“Only a little.”

“Perhaps I should return at a later time?” she lightly suggested, when Matthias shot her a knowing
smirk, before plopping himself languidly on his sofa.

He crossed his legs, spreading his left arm onto the backrest as he leaned back and looked at her with
sharp blue eyes. He casually brought over the folder with his right towards him, flipping it open.

“Don’t bother.” He said, “You can rest just fine here if you like to.” He invited, and Leyla’s eyes narrowed
in his direction.

“There’s no need for me to rest.” Leyla reassured him, taking a seat on the sofa right across from him,
her hair swaying with her every move in a graceful manner. “I can wait just fine for you to finish.”
And so she did. She sat patiently and quietly across from him, still dressed and well-poised. Matthias
couldn’t help but keep stealing glances at her, still drinking in the sight of her in all the things he’d given
her.

She hardly looked like the Leyla he knew. No, there was a more powerful air around her, one that
screamed neither in helplessness nor support of him.

Kyle. The name was right at the tip of his tongue, tempting him to speak the name. He wanted to test
her. He wanted to see how she would react if he were to say that name to her now. Especially after this
unexpected makeover.

But he wouldn’t. He didn’t want to destroy this image Leyla was portraying just for him. Not when she’s
at the precipice of acting so docile to him on her own volition.

He went back to work, a smile settling neatly on his lips as he scanned through his documents.

Sounds of papers flipping started filling the room, with the occasional rustling of clothes. Fire was
cackling in the background as well, the firewood burning into embers. The air around them was almost
peaceful.

But Leyla didn’t want to get too ahead of herself. To keep her jitters down, she picked up a nearby
newspaper on the table beside her and flipped through its contents. On one of its pages, was an article
talking about the resource market fluctuating because of the current unstable situation internationally.

She felt herself beginning to calm down, and eventually discarded the article. She hardly understood
what it was about, so instead, she looked up to observe Matthias. He was still focusing on his work.

Leyla couldn’t help but keep staring at his frame, his features being illuminated by the subtle orange
light from the flames.

He was still in the same position as before, but now she was beginning to feel that sense of intimidation
wafting out of him despite how serenely he looked. He really did have the perfect profile of a royalty.

As though he was born with the world being offered beneath his feet. And he’s owning it.

She wrung her finger in front of her in secret, biting her lower lip in thought as the anxiety was rising up
in her again.

‘Can I do this?’

She asked herself.

‘Do I really have what it takes to break such a powerful man?’

She gulped nervously, gaining Matthias’ attention, who looked up at her direction in that instance. She
jolted in her seat once his eyes landed on her, but she didn’t dare look away.
They stared into each other, with Matthias carefully looking over at her, before he flashed her a small
smile. It was that moment that Leyla could feel hope bloom in her chest.

That she could do this.

Because as powerless as she was, she was relieved to see how much the Duke wanted to keep her with
him too. It was a toxic possessiveness, but one she could use to her advantage. The more she would
encourage his attachment to her…

The more painful the hurt would be at the end.

She couldn’t understand why it took her so long to realize this. His lust for her was a double-edged
sword. He was hurting her because of it, but she could just as well use it against him too.

She looked back up at him, having failed to notice how her gaze fell back to the ground.

He’d taken all her precious firsts from her.

When he had forcibly taken her first kiss from her, not even a week later, she heard he’d gotten
engaged to Claudine. At that time she was already engaged to Kyle, but she couldn’t deny the stinging in
her chest at that knowledge.

And as if that wasn’t enough, he proceeded to be the key reason why her marriage to Kyle fell off,
through the use of cowardly tactics. And now he’d be marrying someone just as beautiful as she was
cruel.

Those two were perfect for each other.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Matthias wondered out loud, the smile still firmly on his lips,
yet he looked at her with a sharp glint in his eyes. Leyla held his gaze for a moment, before taking a deep
breath.

It was time for action.

“I heard you ordered Uncle Bill to work in Ratz, and you want me to go with him.”

Matthias nodded, not even denying it as he went back to his papers.

“Although I will argue that it was a suggestion. Hardly even an order.” Matthias argued nonchalantly.

“I think otherwise.” Leyla reasoned back, “You knew very well this so-called suggestion would be
difficult. And so you used my uncle, to further my becoming more into your mistress, even beyond your
marriage to Lady Brandt.”

Matthias chuckled softly, looking up at her through his lashes.

“Is that what you think?”

“Hm, you really are a despicable person.” Leyla hissed softly in a shaky voice.

Finally, Matthias closed the folder he was holding and set it aside. He then tilted his head towards her,
interest seeping through his eyes the more he observed this new Leyla in front of him.

“Are you even aware of how despicable you are?” She asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer as
she tried to blink back the welling tears. And Matthias didn’t even deem it important enough to answer
her.

“Are you aware of how much I despise you?” She slowly got up, and slowly stalked towards him. The
corner of her eyes were glinting as the firelight bounced off of her tears. Matthias only chuckled at her
words, finding her completely amusing, though half in despondent as well.

It flashed only for a moment, before that amused glint was back in his eyes. Leyla hardly noticed it. She
was drawn to the way his breathing began to get ragged.

“Since you’re all knowing, you would understand my next words too, won’t you?” She asked him softly,
eyes trailed on his hands as it slowly went up to loosen his tie around his neck.

In Matthias’ mind, he was absolutely prepared for her usual tirade of how much she hated him, how
much she despised him and was ruining her well-built life. But what she said next came completely
unprompted and caught him completely off guard!

“Do you know just how difficult it is to love such a man as much as I hate you?” She asked, stopping a
few paces in front of him, barely an arm’s length away.

Matthias’ brows crinkled at her statement.

“What?”

He looked up at her in confusion, and saw the raw hurt and vulnerability in her eyes. She couldn’t
possibly be lying. Not when she looked so unsure in front of him all of a sudden.

She was a terrible actress. He’d witnessed that first hand. She couldn’t be faking this.

“I do,” She admitted to him softly, voice just above a whisper, “I tried to stop it so much and deny it, but
I found myself inexplicably attached to you as well.”

Matthias watched her in shock, words unable to form in his mouth as something began to stir deep
within him with her words.

He hardly understood what was happening right now.

“What I said to Kyle back then, that wasn’t a lie.” She continued, “Because I do, I love you so much that I
hated the thought of it!” her voice cracked…

‘Am I doing it?’ Leyla thought desperately to herself, ‘Am I succeeding in deceiving him?’
The anxiety in her and the nervousness helped in her portrayal of how much her supposed love was
tearing her up inside. It let authentic tears slip through her eyes, further selling the story she wished to
tell Matthias.

“So I’m telling uncle to accept your offer, and I will go with him to Ratz.” She declared firmly, “I’ve long
been so ashamed of my feelings for you, I wanted nothing more than to run away and escape this
undeniable truth… but it’s getting harder and harder to deny myself this…”

Matthias hung onto her every word, slowly rising to his feet. She looked up at him with a tear streaked
face, and he wasted no time in backing her into the table behind her, trapping her within his arms.

Her breath hitched as she looked up at him in surprise. The hungry beast in him awoke, and his mouth
watered at the sight of her beneath him…

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He asked her softly in a sultry voice, and Leyla shivered in
his arms, “Are you finally accepting into becoming my mistress?”

Leyla felt herself flush at the growing intensity in his eyes, and she couldn’t deny the way he was looking
at her made heat pool in her gut. She looked down, blinking the tears away, yet his gentle grip caught
her, forcing her to look at him.

A lone tear ran down her cheek, as she bit into her lower lip and nodded shakily at him. Her heart was
pounding deep into her chest, she feared the Duke had heard it and would give her away.

She wished desperately for her success!

‘Just this one thing!’ She thought harder, ‘Let me succeed in deceiving him!’

“I do have a condition,” Leyla finally spoke out, regaining her voice as she grabbed firmly onto his arm,
and Matthias’ gaze narrowed towards her.

“Condition?”

“You once told me you don’t enter deals that won’t benefit you.” Leyla reminded him, “Well, I want
something in return as well.”

Matthias seemed to contemplate this, watching her carefully before his sharp gaze softened up. Leyla
felt a new wave of hope blooming inside her.

“Well, are you willing to listen to my conditions?” She asked again.

“Then speak your mind.”

“Give me your word first.” She demanded and Matthias raised a brow up at her.
“You want me to agree to a condition without knowing what the stakes are?” He asked her, his eyes
narrowing at her in suspicion once more, “Who do you think you are to demand such a gamble from
me?”

Leyla knew he would be like this. She’ll have to appeal to that primal instinct in him then.

“I’m Leyla,” She crooned softly up at him, “Your Leyla, am I not?” she asked, one of her hands letting go
of his arm, to cup his cheek tenderly. Matthias leaned into her hand, almost nuzzling into it, before he
began to chuckle at her boldness.

Leyla fervently wished she wasn’t acting too much, and that he would bite the bait she laid out for him.

Matthias had seen many beauties in the world. The river in the night, the lights on his ceiling, and the
rows and rows of luxurious paintings in the hallways…

But none as beautiful as Leyla.

“Tell me then Leyla,” he crooned right back, looking into her determined eyes.

“Give me your word first.” She demanded once more. She was hanging off his neck, her arm draped
around his back as her other hand gripped tightly into his arm.

Matthias let out a genuine laugh, his eyes wrinkling in delight.

“Your wish is my command.” He told her softly, “Speak to me Leyla.”

He cupped her cheek instead, his grip on her chin falling away. He looked deep into her emerald eyes,
which seemed to be reflecting back his own happiness.

“I give you my word.” He promised her.

‘Finally.’ Leyla thought in relief.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Norma paused for a moment, and looked over to her grandson in shock. Even Elysee, who had been
leisurely minding her own business, listening to classical music at the side, seemed to be taken aback as
well.

Only Matthias seemed unbothered by the news he’d just given them.

“You’re really sending Bill Remmer to live in our Ratz Mansion?” Norma inquired over to her grandson,
finally breaking free of her shock. Matthias hummed and nodded at her.
“That’s right.”

“This is all unexpected for you Matthias,” Elysee finally piped in, “Why the sudden decision?”

Matthias looked over to his mother’s direction.

“I’ve noticed how unhappy you’ve been with the old gardener since the incident happened.” Matthias
began to explain, “But I won’t deny how useful he’s been in maintaining the gardens, but Arvis is too big
and he’s getting older. Ratz would be far easier for him to maintain.”

“Well, that is true, but…” Norma trailed off, looking equally helpless as her daughter-in-law. The two
current Duchesses remained silent, while Matthias took a calm sip of his coffee, before placing it back
down in front of him.

He saw no reason to further delay his plans, not when Leyla’s being so agreeable recently. He also saw
no further reason to keep their relationship a secret. She’s made her decision after all.

“Then make me your lover.” She told him as soon as he’d given her his word. “As soon as you tie the
knot with Claudine, I can’t keep living in Arvis, which means I could never come back.” She laid out for
him.

She looked absolutely heartbroken when she said that. And Matthias couldn’t exactly deny her. Arvis
was the well-known house and Herhardt undisputable property. Which meant it housed the official
members of the Herhardt house, which includes the Duke’s legal wife, the Duchess.

This was how it had always been, and how it would always be.

No mistress had any place in Arvis. Matthias knew that very well.

“So until your marriage, while we’re still here in Arvis, keep me as just a lover.” Leyla asked him, “Before
you hide me away in the shadows of Ratz, let me bask in the sunlight until that time comes.”

But Matthias couldn’t understand. How different was a lover from a mistress? As far as he knew, there
wasn’t any. But Leyla seemed to think otherwise.

“-hide me away in the shadows-” her watery voice echoed in the back of his mind, something unsettling
in him at the thought of her being hidden.

Did she really have to voice it that way? It was so unbefitting for her, who needed to be shown off in the
light.

There was no way Matthias would keep her hidden. She thrived in the sunlight. She shined so brightly,
she had blindsided him with her beauty. He wanted to keep that light in her burning, even more…

To keep her burning for him.

Yet she was right. A mistress will always remain in the shadows of his wife. And that drew a slight frown
in Matthias as he thought of that for the first time.

‘Will she really be alright?’ Matthias wondered, ‘Will she remain shining just as bright as she does now if
I keep her in an eternal shadow?’

He’d drawn her into his arms that night, hugging her into his chest and she settled in his arms just right,
fitting perfectly the gaps between them.

If he had the choice, he’d never stifle that light. Let everyone see her for who she was.

She was his.

“Well I can’t deny your reasoning, even if it was a little sudden for you.” Elysee remarked softly,
humming in thought, “But if Bill goes to Ratz, what happens to his foster daughter here?”

“She’s going with him.” Matthias answered just as quickly, “I offered Bill that I would sponsor Miss
Lewellin’s education under the family’s name in that college she was going to apply to.” He elaborated.

“You’re sending her to college?” Elysee gasped in aghast, “And under the family’s name!?”

“Yes.” Matthias replied, completely unbothered, before he looked over to his grandmother, “I happened
to recall grandmother’s wish to sponsor her last year. So I extended the offer.”

Norma seemed taken aback that Matthias remembered that. She had almost forgotten she said it.

“Well, y-yes, I did mention that…” Norma was unable to deny it.

When the old Herhardt matriarch had heard about the young woman’s broken engagement with Kyle,
as well as her college admission fund being stolen, she had expressed her willingness to sponsor Leyla
instead.

“Very well, though I will state, whatever decision both Bill and his foster daughter reach in regards to
moving to Ratz must be respected.” She expressed.

Matthias allowed himself to smile minutely, which hadn’t gone unnoticed by the two women who had
raised him. Both Duchesses exchanged glances at each other, but opted to not point it out.

Not out loud at least. They didn’t have the right words as of currently.

“I’ll take your words into advice.” Matthias calmly replied. He gave them a respectful bow, before swiftly
making his exit out of their shared drawing room. He still had much to do in the afternoon.

Unbeknownst to him, as soon as he left, both his mother and grandmother shared their own
conversation.

His mind was too caught up in thought. Leyla’s voice still echoing prominently against his purposeful
steps, even as it echoed in his empty halls…
“-hide me away in the shadows-”

Alas, that statement never suited her at all.

Chapter 100

Am I Beautiful?

When vacation ended, and school began, Leyla found the children she taught had grown up quite a lot.
They seemed bigger now, but they also seemed rowdier than before. She had a struggle trying to keep
up with them, giving her such a hectic back-to-school day overall.

She had been so busy looking out the window, lost in her many thoughts, that she almost missed the cry
of a child right behind her.

“Teacher, it’s done!” they exclaimed, immediately jolting her out of her reverie. Leyla turned and looked
down, taking the abacus from the child’s hands and smiled at them in amazement.

“Wow! You’ve done so well today. I see your math skills have improved over the winter!” She praised,
leaving the young boy in a blushing mess as she acknowledged his growing skills. Suddenly, another
burst of cry sounded just off to the side.

When Leyla turned to look at what was the problem, she saw Monica crying as she tried to sit still to
work on her set of math problems. Further observation made Leyla see that the boy seated behind
Monica was pulling at the young girl’s hair, tugging it harshly as they snickered to themselves.

Leyla quickly returned the abacus to the young boy she had praised and quickly headed towards the
other pair to break off the trouble.
She had pulled Monica to her lap, while she harshly scolded the boy for his misbehavior, emphasizing
how it was not good to find hurting people funny. The rest of the day went off without any further
hitches as she continued to teach her lessons.

As soon as she saw them leave when the final school bell rang, she went back inside her empty
classroom.

She took a seat on her desk, and looked out the window, watching the new blooms of green on the
nearby tree branch. Slowly the color was returning all around her, with the winter white beginning to
fade out.

A new wave of determination washed over her.

‘I need to finish this quickly.’ She thought to herself, before quickly packing up her things.

After all, she had just accepted to become a cruel man’s lover.

Goosebumps ran up her body as she recalled how she had lied to him so blatantly. But despite that, she
thought the more appealing she was, the deeper she could hurt him. She could put up with any lie.

In fact, she had been so happy he fell for her trap, she could hardly sleep in glee! Ah, she never knew the
Duke was capable of giving her such satisfaction, never mind if he didn’t know what he was doing.

Right before she was leaving, Leyla made the decision to loosen up her hair, letting her golden locks
cascade down her back. She shook her head a few times, loosening up some tangles before she
retouched her makeup.

She had been working on how to make herself more presentable to the Duke, and she had been
improving, but in her mind it wasn’t alluring enough yet. Even the current makeup style she was trying
seemed clumsier.

Perhaps it was better to remove it? But she didn’t have much time left. She ignored the churning in her
stomach the more she tried to beautify herself for the Duke; ignored the thought she had to put on a
smile and pretend as if she was receiving gifts from someone she loved…

Ignored how she had to pretend once more she was torn with her love for him.

And so she looked at her reflection, and gave herself a confident smile.

‘Keep smiling Leyla,’ She thought to herself, ‘Keep smiling so beautifully, soon, you’ll show him your
fangs that hold a poison just for him.’

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias stopped at the end of the road leading to the village school. It’s been a while since he drove
the car, but it wasn’t as strange as he anticipated.
When he had expressed his wishes to drive himself, both the attendant and the driver looked at him like
he’d grown two heads all of a sudden. They didn’t argue with him though, so Matthias hardly cared
about their thoughts on him driving.

And so he checked the time, Matthias turning his head slightly to look out of the car window where he
had the perfect view of the school. Just as he looked outside, he saw Leyla walking from the end of the
road. She looked absolutely divine, especially with her golden hair fluttering along behind her with every
dainty step she took.

Matthias leaned back in his seat, breathing in deeply. He felt something easing up in his chest as he
watched her leisurely. She was a quiet and an exceptionally busy woman and yet he found her so
captivating.

It was almost like he was watching a bird soaring elegantly in the skies.

He’d always been so enamored by her. From the time he first saw her as a child until now, she’s
remained unchanged, only growing more beautiful over the years.

She appeared to have unanticipated the fact he would be waiting for her, and continued on with her
hasty pace. She was so focused on her path, she almost missed the sight of his car until she was right in
front of it.

She probably would have completely passed him by too if Matthias hadn’t knocked on his window.

As expected, she jumped in surprise, and stopped in her steps. She whirled around and looked at the car
next to her, before a beautiful blush bloomed in her face. And so Matthias unlocked his car, and casually
got out of his car.

Leyla took a couple steps back, sending him a grimace of a smile as he straightened up to his full length.
Matthias gave her his own grin and Leyla looked around nervously before tilting her head up at him.

“Uh, Duke, good to see you here.” She greeted politely, before she nibbled on her lower lip, “If you don’t
mind me asking, why are you here?” She then lowered her voice, “The meeting place was not here.”

Matthias only raised a brow.

“You’re a smart girl, why do you think I’d be here?”

Leyla glanced at the car behind him. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Are you… here to pick me up?” She asked, careful not to let her disdain for him show. “By yourself?”

She looked carefully in the car, and remembered he had gotten out of the driver’s seat himself. It was
highly unlikely for his chauffeur to be around and let his master drive the car when he could.

Matthias did not answer her, but merely walked over to the other side of the car, and opened the
passenger’s seat, “Get in!”.
Leyla stood undecided in place, hands gripping tightly on her bag’s strap, before she approached him in
stuttered steps.

As soon as she got close enough, barely a foot away from him, his brows went up in sligh surprise.

“Did you put on makeup?” he asked, a light laughter in his voice. It was so unexpected, Leyla floundered
in surprise like she had been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. Another blush bloomed
on her plump cheeks.

“Is it weird?” she asked timidly, and Matthias shrugged.

“A little,” he told her, feeling a bit mischievous, only because her serious inquiring expression was too
adorable to pass up on.

Now Leyla grew conscious and unsure what to do. She could feel herself grow more embarrassed, and
resolved to just remove the makeup. She hurriedly looked for her handkerchief when Matthias spoke up
once more.

“Don’t remove it.” He told her, gently grabbing her wrist and taking it out of her bag from when she’d
been looking for something to wipe it off with.

“B-but you said it was weird!” She spluttered, her blush deepening. He only smiled at her and shrugged.
“Then I should erase it!” She insisted, and he lightly shook his head.

“Keep it on.” He told her, “You’re beautiful still.”

Leyla frowned.

“How can I be beautiful yet weird?” She asked incredulously. Matthias remained unbothered by her
question, even though she had been obviously agonizing over what to do with her makeup.

‘Did I screw up!?’ She thought worriedly. Was her plan foiled because she couldn’t wear makeup
properly!? She couldn’t help but feel anxious as she got in the car, Matthias shortly following her.

Matthias spared her a side glance.

“Can’t you just tell me which it really is?” She asked again, the worry clear on her face. Matthias
hummed a little bit.

“If I tell you, will you finally do as I say?”

“Yes.”

“Oh?” Matthias hummed once again, “Don’t you like me having fun with you a little longer?”

“The makeup isn’t for you, Duke.” She insisted, even though it was all a lie, but her indignation made
Matthias frown.
“Then who’s it for?”

Leyla bit her lip, trying to even her breathing.

“It’s… it’s for me.” She mumbled softly, “I-I want to make myself look nice… and then perhaps, you’ll
treat me nicely.” She quietly admitted. The only way she could lie was to feed him half-truths, though at
the same time it was like she was digging herself further into the ground.

But she couldn’t pull back now. She needed to be all in this time.

Finally the sound of the car starting up reverberated around them, giving Leyla a sense of relief, until
Matthias spoke up again.

“Tell me Leyla,” He began, looking at her as the car vibrated beneath their bodies. Leyla squeaked out a
‘yes’ in question, looking back at him. “What is it you want me to do?”

Leyla spluttered for a few moments, unable to form her words.

“You mean….if I’m beautiful?”

Matthias lips curled up into a smile.

‘It can’t be this easy.’ Leyla thought nervously. But what if it was easy because the Duke has some sort of
ulterior motive for her. What if he already knew everything she’d been planning?! Was he testing her?
But then again, if she was succeeding then…

“Am I beautiful now then? To the point you’d wish to be nice to me?” She asked, a little more confident,
hoping her false bravado would help her convince him nothing was off about her.

The car began to move, removing Matthias’ eyes on her, making her breath a little easier after one last
glance over to her.

Matthias knew beauty was subjective. But Leyla was a different breed of beauty. He’d seen none as
beautiful as her.

She really was beautiful, but the prettier she looked, the more he wanted to see her crumble in front of
him. He wanted all of her, even her pain, under all costs. It was making him crazy the more he spent
time around her.

He knew very well when it came to these intense feelings he had for her, that all rational thought would
leave him. He was drawn to everything about her. Her walk, her looks, even her terrible attitude
towards him.

Everything, he wanted to devour all of her if he could. And it seemed as though she was finally accepting
him.
But did she really just want him to be nice to her? Was it enough for him to just treat her a little bit
better than he’d been? It seemed absolutely impossible for that to be all that mattered to her, he
couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement.

Normally he was unimpressed by the many noble ladies he’s met over the years. Nothing in their
expensive dresses, beautiful jewels and accessories made them exquisite to him. Yet here in front of her,
despite how dismal her clothes were, he can’t help but feel so driven around her.

And seeing her all dressed up heightened that attraction more. When she’d choose her clothes, her
hairstyle, and even how clumsy she’d put her makeup on, it just enhanced everything about her.

Looking back now, he was already fulfilling her wish despite just making it now. He’s been holding
himself back from ripping her clothes off her body and just taking her here and now. He wanted to see
her hair all messed up from when he’d dig his fingers into her hair as she’d throw her head back to
reveal her pale neck for him to suckle in. To take her lips into his and just ravish her…

“You’re not answering.” She pointed out, “I’ll take it as a yes then.” She quipped lightheartedly. She
could still feel the blush firmly on her cheeks and opted to avoid further eye contact with him.

A few moments later, she glanced nervously back at him. Feeling her eyes on him once more, Matthias
let out a soft sigh, his hands still gripping firmly the steering wheel, with eyes trailed forward.

“What is it now?” He asked her.

“N-nothing.” She clumsily replied, “I, I just didn’t know you could drive.”

“Is that so surprising?”

“Yes.” She plainly replied, “I didn’t think you knew anything else other than to ring your bell.” There was
a teasing glint in her eyes that made him believe despite her harsh words, she only meant them as a
light-hearted joke.

At first glance she was all so prim and proper. This certainly was a refreshing change for her, that
Matthias couldn’t help but chuckle in response.

“I think it’s nice though,” She added afterwards, “For it to be just us.”

This seemed like the good time to sprinkle in some forms of affection, so Leyla just went with it. She
even offered him a beautiful smile, she hoped it was convincing enough. She had been practicing them
late at night, when her uncle was asleep, and the Duke wasn’t looking for her.

The streets were congested, full of carriages and cars as they drove through. When the car had to stop,
only then did Matthias turn to look at her once again, yet Leyla maintained her relaxed state, even when
they made eye contact.

She held his eyes for a moment, before shyly looking away. A few moments later, she glanced back at
him.
Matthias on the other hand started feeling warm. It was like he’s spending time with the sun, being in
such close proximity with her, enclosed here in their own private bubble in his car.

Even his throat had gone dry.

“Have you thought about it then?” Matthias finally spoke up, licking his lips lightly before swallowing
saliva, “How do you want me to love you?”

The amused glint in his eye disappeared, now looking over at her slowly. Leyla immediately looked
away, eyes trailed on her fumbling fingers over her lap. She felt like he was directly looking into her soul.
Like he could see straight through her.

She had resolved to become his lover, to seemingly accept that she would be his mistress. But she
doesn’t know the first thing about this.

What do real lovers do?

She would have preferred if the Duke continued to do what he wanted, but it seemed like he was
completely fine with letting her take the reins in their relationship as of now.

“I, that’s…” She stuttered, and began looking out in the streets once the road began to move along once
more. She began to feel herself grow nervous, small beads of sweat sliding down her back as she looked
outside for answers…

“Dinner.” She finally said, after seeing some couples eating out by themselves, “Today, you should take
me to dinner.” She elaborated. It was the first definite thing she thought of as she searched for answers
outside.

“Oh, also the fields of Arvis during spring would be filled with beautiful flowers!” She jovially exclaimed,
“Did you know that?”

“No.”

“Really? In your own estate?” Leyla asked a little incredulously, “It’s a really beautiful view.”

She noticed a wistful expression came over Matthias, almost like he was remembering something. So
Leyla continued to ramble on about Arvis’ fields when he remained silent.

She talked about her childhood. How she used to play in the fields, and when she’d grow tired, she
would lie down beneath the shade of the tree. And when she’d grow bored, she’d sometimes bring her
books and snacks with her. Sometimes she’d even take a nap.

She just didn’t mention how she did all that with Kyle. The one person who’d been hurt by him so cruelly
simply because of his greed to have her.

She hid her anger at him behind her bright smile, crinkling her eyes to prevent herself from glaring at
him. To prevent her tears from forming.
“We should go out in the fields as soon as the flowers begin to bloom this spring.” She lightly suggested,
“And then I can show you just how beautiful your estate is.” She offered, looking a little calmly, Matthias
seemed to agree with her from the way his lips upturned.

“Do you like ice cream?” She immediately asked, feeling a little awkward.

“Ice cream?” He finally piped up, a brow of his raising.

“Yes! I like ice cream.” She prompted, “Vanilla’s my favorite.” She added offhandedly.

She had been on her way home, Kyle had been with her. He was waiting for her in front of their school
gate back then, and they went to buy themselves some ice cream. As soon as the cold, and soft treat hit
her tongue, its smooth and sweet flavor filled her with comfort and warmth.

She quietly mourned the fact that those memories will never come to life once more.

“I’ll buy it for you as soon as I get my paycheck this month.” She said, “Then we can go eat them
together sometime.”

Did she finally learn how to lie so effortlessly? Everything was coming so quickly to her now, like the
excuses and all these false lines just began flowing out of her. Matthias chuckled lowly, a smile on his
face as he kept his eyes on the road still.

“You’re so generous lately,” He pointed out, sparing her a glance at the corner of his eye, “Surely you’re
jesting me.”

Leyla felt herself go pale.

“Th-that’s…” She trailed off, trying not to let herself grow further anxious. In her mind, she was wishing
desperately for her lie to hold.

‘Please let me succeed, please let me succeed…’ Over and over, she repeated that phrase in her mind.

“…because I love you.” She told him softly, looking at him calmly, “Do you want me to go back to acting
like I hate you?” She asked him softly.

Every word out of her mouth tasted ashen. She wanted to take it all back, but she wouldn’t. This was
vital to her plan to break him. She could feel her heart thumping wildly in her chest, waiting for Matthias
to give her an answer.

“Because I don’t,” She continued, “I want to love you.”

Finally, something in Matthias’ eyes softened the longer he watched her. She was a terrible liar. He
could sense the truth in her words.

And suddenly the heat around them turned into a comforting warmth. That gentle smile she was so
freely offering him couldn’t be deceiving. And she was smiling so beautifully, all for him.
If only he knew that behind that smile, was the intense need to break him apart.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Chapter 101

Let’s Run Away

Bill Remmer was the type of man who stuck to his schedule. That meant he wouldn’t wake up until he
had to, which meant as soon as his head hit his pillow, he was out until the sun rose in the sky.

And yet this time, he was shaken awake out of his dreamscape because of a nightmare. A nightmare of
losing his foster daughter, Leyla, but he couldn’t recall what from.

He grumbled about dreams and the unclarity of it all, before he sat up on his bed. He stared at the dark
room in front of him, the night had barely finished. Staring further into the small abyss in his room made
him feel as though it was waiting to just devour him.

He grunted softly before sighing at himself, opting to lie back down and resume sleeping. But the
nightmare was still prominent in his mind.

In his dream he saw Leyla, diligent in her studies, having gotten in by the grace of their Duke. They had
both gone to the capital, living happily just as they’d hope with just the two of them. While it was a
concern for him that Leyla and Kyle would be in the same premises, he tried to calm himself down.

He had resolved long ago to step aside if the two of them still harbored feelings for each other, and
would support them all the way. He wouldn’t get in the way of his foster daughter’s happiness.

Still the nightmare left shivers in his body, he can’t even fathom where the thought sprung on him. How
dare he dream about something so awful about Leyla, who only had nothing but goodness in her heart?

Unable to go back to sleep, Bill sat up once more, willing the nightmare to leave his mind. He would
have washed it clean off as soon as he awoke if he was able to…

But he couldn’t.

‘Doesn’t make me not want to do it anyway.’ Bill grumbled in his mind.

With that, he threw the covers off of him and got up from bed. He went to the sink in the kitchen, just
about to turn on the tap when he stopped in place.

Right there, outside the uncovered window in the kitchen, was a woman.

Bill blinked a few times, squinting his eyes as he scrutinized the sight in front of him. Half of him believed
he was still dreaming, the other half hoping he hadn’t gone crazy because of the dream he’d just had.

The woman outside had a slender form, looking particularly ethereal and out of place in the forest road,
as she walked, her white robe fluttering behind her with the wind. But what stood out most to Bill was
her hair…

It was a familiar golden hair.

“Leyla?” he murmured softly in bewilderment, trying to get a closer look.

Upon closer inspection, she almost looked like a ghost with how pale she was. Her gait indicated
exhaustion, and her face…

‘It is Leyla.’ Bill’s eyes widened in realization, before frowning in concern, ‘Yet why does she look so
troubled?’

He’d never seen her so tired, like an old wizened woman who learned her lessons the hard way. What
was wrong? Did something bad happen to her without him realizing it?

A sudden pang grew in Bill’s chest at the thought of him neglecting Leyla. He resisted the urge to just
run out and begin coddling her in an attempt to make it up to her, but he didn’t. Leyla wasn’t the little
girl who’d arrive in Arvis for the first time back then.

She was an adult now, and she knew how to take care of herself, as much as she knew she could count
on him to help her. At least, he hoped she knew he had her back no matter how bad it seemed to be.

Instead, he went back to his room, pretending to still be asleep, oblivious to her nighttime walk just
now. Moments later, he heard the telltale sound of their backdoor opening, before the soft clicks of the
locks sliding back into place.

The floorboards in their old corridor creaked ever so slightly under shifting weights.

He could just get up now and ask her, but Bill remained in place.

‘Perhaps I am still in a dream?’ Bill thought belatedly to himself as he listened to the fading footsteps.
‘Or perhaps I’m being haunted by a ghost that isn’t there?’

And with that thought he felt his vision fade once more…

When the sun finally rose, and Bill woke up for what seemed to be a second time that morning, he
braced himself to see his foster daughter.
He braced himself to get ready to ask her about the nightly stroll, and that sunken look on her face, but
alas, when she turned to face him as he entered the kitchen, she only had bright smiles and a lightness
in her steps.

Perhaps he really was only dreaming.

She seemed so jovial and energetic in the morning that Bill could only watch as she flitted around the
kitchen, preparing their food and things for her work. Once she was done, she sat down across from him
and they began to eat.

Bill could only keep watch as he took in her smile, a pensive expression on his face.

“Uncle?” Leyla called out to him, shaking him out of his thoughts. “Is there something wrong?” She
asked, concern shining through her eyes.

“Oh? Nothing.” He smiled gently at her, “Nothing is wrong, dear.” He placated, waving off her concern
before resuming in eating his breakfast. But Leyla seemed to not be deterred by his dismissal.

“Tell me.” She insisted.

“There’s really nothing wrong.” Bill insisted back, “Just happy to be home again.” he shot her an honest
smile once more. Leyla placed more bread and eggs on his plate, the worry and nervousness now
breaking out of her.

But of what, he couldn’t tell.

“Are you sure?” She asked him softly, “Did something just happen to you?” She asked again with a little
more alarm than he expected and Bill chuckled softly.

“What a ridiculous notion, Leyla,” Bill teasingly chided her, “Really, there’s nothing for you to worry
about.” He reassured her once more.

“Maybe you’re sick, let me check.” She mumbled, moving to place a palm on his forehead worriedly, and
Bill only stopped her wrist and placed it gently, yet firmly back down in front of her.

“Leyla,” He said, this time firmer than before, “What have I told you about treating me like a fragile old
man?” She flushed, before looking despondent at his light chiding. Bill sighed and placed some food in
return at her own plate.

“I’m older than I used to, yes,” Bill started, “But I’m still strong. I know my limits Leyla, you don’t have to
worry about that of me.” When she still refused to look at him, Bill decided to try a different tactic.

“Would you like me to carry you like a sack of potatoes again just to prove a point?” He teased her, and
she looked back up at him with a flush of embarrassment and immediately shook her head.

Bill chuckled at her childish response and Leyla’s worried look was soon replaced with a look of relief.
“Well, I’m glad you’re fine, uncle.” She told him with a smile.

Bill had always been weak to Leyla’s smile, that even though he felt like something was wrong, he
couldn’t actively prod it out of her in fear of hurting her further. Taking care of her, and being in charge
of her taught him that love comes with certain pains.

“Well, eat up then,” Bill gestured to her barely touched food, “Keep up that appetite and you’ll be back
to being all skin and bones.” He grunted and began to eat again with much gusto.

He then picked a slice of bread and spread a generous amount of butter before handing it out over to
her. Leyla smiled thankfully at him and tore into the bread, humming in its delicious taste, which Bill
actively participated in as well.

‘Why was I even so nervous this morning?’ Bill thought moments later in their conversation.

Perhaps he was getting older than he expected after all. What a jarring thought it was. Once upon a
time, he’d been as young as Leyla, and now here he was, barely recalling his morning thoughts.

Still, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t enjoy these peaceful moments with her.

Bill always believed he had many times left still with Leyla. He’d live as long as her, and watch her
become the woman he knew she would be. And he’d always be on the lookout for whatever man who
dared clip her wings.

If one day he’d be granted the chance to see her born with children of her own, he wanted to live as
long as he could to watch them be their own persons too.

‘Ah, too fast,’ Bill thought, mentally keeping those thoughts under lock and key for later. He was growing
more sentimental with his age. Still the jarring feeling of the lucid dream he’d had still lingered in the
back of his mind, threatening to overcome his hopeful wishes.

Once breakfast ended, Bill insisted on seeing her off this time, finding himself in no particular hurry
today. Leyla looked ridiculous when she kept looking back as she walked out to check on him, eventually
bidding him goodbye with a loud declaration that she’d be back in no time!

Bill only waved back at her with a bright smile, sighing proudly as he watched her pedal away and
towards her work. The air around him smelled like the fresh morning dew on the grass.

Should they ever live in Ratz, he’d buy her a new bike to carry her to destinations he never could.

Ah, the panging in his heart was returning again. But that was to be expected.

“Well, off to work then,” He told himself, and began gathering the tools he needed to get to work.

Age did give him a lot more things to think about, he supposed.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Is there really a need to throw it away?” Riette, who had been silently watching all the time, finally
spoke out his mind. “It was something you loved.” He softly pointed out.

Claudine spared him a glance, before fiddling with the bracelet in her hand momentarily. After a tense
moment of silence, she finally tossed it into the flames with not an ounce of regret on her face. A
wordless declaration that she had no intention of changing her mind. A torn letter soon followed the
bracelet into the fire.

“It’s already been tainted.” She answered firmly, watching the flames consume the broken bracelet that
she’d offered Leyla moments before revealing she knew of her affair with Matthias.

The bracelet had been fully repaired and restored to its former glory, which meant Claudine could use it
with no problem of losing it once more. And yet she tossed it as if it was yesterday’s trash, along with
the letter that came with it.

Riette could only watch her with a pensive expression. A while later, Riette slapped his palms on his
thighs before letting out a sigh and stood up, gaining Claudine’s attention once more.

“It’s a lovely day out today, be a shame if you waste it doing nothing but insult your fiance’s mistress.”
Riette pinched the bridge of his nose, slowly approaching closer to the fireplace. Claudine looked at him
blankly, an eerie expression on her face.

She stood up eventually when he stopped in front of her to offer a hand, to which she gratefully
accepted. She chanced a final glance down at the fireplace, watching the last traces of Leyla Lewellin be
engulfed in the never ending flame.

Riette couldn’t help but wonder what the letter was about. When he’d stopped by for a visit with
Claudine, he’d been momentarily surprised to hear from the maid that Claudine had received a letter
from Miss Lewellin. It wasn’t unexpected for her to send a letter though.

Being one of the envied ladies in court, many men and women alike would often send Lady Brandt, soon
to be Duchess Herhardt, gifts to gain favor.

Though what favor Leyla wanted from Claudine, he couldn’t hazard a guess.

Still, he conceded she had at least been correct in her assumption that they were having an affair. Riette
himself had been expecting it too, so it hadn’t come as much as a surprise to know the affair was real.

But Claudine, it was Claudine who always made him pause and think. He admitted that most of the time
he’d be carefree and a risky person, but not when it came to her. He loved her too much, more than just
a cousin.
And he too, had been her most trusted confidante. Just now, when he’d arrived, she had no hesitation
in admitting to him what she’d done to Leyla just recently before leaving Arvis Estate. One would almost
think she was talking about someone else, but she’d hidden nothing from him.

She told him about practically pushing Kyle to confront Leyla about the affair in an attempt to thwart
their relationship, and when that didn’t work, she had purposefully been cruel to Leyla to dissuade her
further from getting ideas.

As Riette listened to her narrative, he couldn’t help but grow concerned for her. This wasn’t the
Claudine he knew, and grew to love.

“Don’t you think you should confront the Duke about this as well?” Riette finally asked after a good long
while. Claudine was startled a bit by his question, but she remained composed, resuming to look up
ahead of her as they walked outside.

“I don’t want word getting out to the Duke about what I did, and I hope he never will.” Claudine huffed
out angrily, “Why? You think I’m a coward? Not to confront him?” She asked with a mirthless smile as
she looked up at Riette.

“So you, dearest, think it’s fair to attack a lowly mistress instead of confronting your fiance, simply
because you deem him unbeatable? Is that it?” He asked her, and Claudine glared at him.

“What are you saying?”

“After all, why wouldn’t it be a fair deal? You need only make her disappear, and all will be right once
again, won’t it? Why should you confront the Duke and make a great spectacle of it?”

Claudine looked miffed, with a hint of betrayal as she listened to him chide her of what she’d done.
Riette sighed, he must make her see…

“Are you even certain that if she disappears, he won’t scour the country looking for her?” He asked her
and Claudine finally looked away from him, unable to hold his gaze.

The letter from Leyla had been apologetic, mixed with an earnest request for Claudine to keep their
affair underwraps. She needed only enough time before the wedding, then she’d leave Arvis for good
and leave Matthias to her alone once more.

[I’m so sorry for taking part in this grave sin against you. I swear to repent for this, and shall disappear
from both of your lives forevermore.]

That was one of the lines her letter contained.

And yet Claudine felt no remorse from her about her relationship with Matthias. Instead, she was rather
insistent that all this would be fixed if she could just escape from him. Claudine scoffed in her mind at
the ridiculousness of her plan.
This was a relationship born from Matthias’ greed and obsession from her. Was she really so naive as to
think her disappearing was enough to stop it?

“It’s not about making her disappear.” Claudine finally spoke up, “I just needed to ensure my station,
and provide him a male heir.”

Riette laughed despondently this time as he came up to stand beside her once more.

“And what then, Claudine?” Riette continued to prod at her, “You become the Duchess, and fulfill your
wifely duties, and then what?”

Claudine remained silent.

“Is that all your life is worth to you?” he continued, and Claudine hummed.

“Not all of it, I suppose,” she mused, “But half of it is, I guess. Though I can’t say I would deny wishing to
never see the Duke lose his rationality over such a peasant ever again.”

Claudine’s eyes grew cold at remembering the wanton sounds and their sweet whispers behind closed
doors.

“I’d rather she die, to be honest.” She finally admitted, and Riette looked over at her with great concern,
“With her forever out of the picture, the world will forever remain blissfully unaware of how low my
fiance had gotten. And he’ll return to the picture of the perfect Duke he was supposed to always be.”

“Claudine!”

“Why should I lie about it!?” She turned back to him in frustration, “In my heart I want to kill her,
everyday I think about ways to do it too! I know for a fact that because it’s Matthias von Herhardt with
the affair, it won’t be his mistake!” She exclaimed.

After all, Matthias was a duke, if he had an affair, it wasn’t such a big deal. She had also thought of ways
to make Matthias suffer for the humiliation she would suffer should an affair be revealed, but…

She was still a woman, and she needed her husband alive.

Riette listened, content in letting Claudine let out every troubling thought that had been festering in her.
He watched as the madness in her slowly rose to the surface, contorting the person he loved into
someone he couldn’t recognize.

Riette truly wanted the best for her, and wouldn’t dare stand in the way. And he knew for a fact before
that the one who could give it to her, was the Duke of Arvis.

But seeing her destroy herself by holding on dearly to this engagement she’d been carefully working
hard for, Riette was having second thoughts if he should remain silent on the matter.

She was destroying herself, Riette could see it as clear as day.

She’d held onto this picture-perfect ruse to please society and hold-up her family’s noble name, despite
never being man enough. She braced herself for a loveless marriage to keep her family in a good-
standing and yet…

‘Why should I give her up to a man who won’t even cherish her?’

There it was. A thought he’d buried so deeply in his heart, he thought it died so long ago. Seeing her chip
her own brilliance away was heartbreaking for him.

“It shouldn’t matter how great a Duchess’ position is,” He softly responded, gently holding her hand,
cradling it lovingly in his hands, bringing it up right to his chest, where his heart was, “Nothing is worth it
if you’ll end up destroying yourself, Claudine.”

Riette watched as her eyes widened, a glassy look washing over them. He gave her a soft smile, and
went to cup her cheeks.

“Don’t marry him.” He begged her softly, and Claudine blinked back what should be tears, as she looked
up at him disbelievingly.

“Riette…” She breathed out in shock.

“Don’t destroy yourself for him.” Riette begged as well, before gently kneeling before her in one knee,
now the one looking up to her as he held onto her hand with both of his so desperately.

Claudine’s breathing grew shaky as she watched him in shock.

Seeing him like this, with nothing but seriousness and determination…

For the first time, Claudine thought him to be more than just a dear friend who brought her joy and
comfort. Her heart skipping a beat in her chest as he knelt breathtakingly in front of her, begging for her
to leave Matthias…

It wasn’t the first time he’d done this, she knew that. Yet he always followed it up with a joke or two
right afterwards, which was why she managed to brush it off just as easily before…

An unspoken agreement between them to never cross that line. And yet here he was, crossing that line
in an attempt to be with her.

“If I don’t marry him,” Claudine’s voice was shaky, making her gulp down to regain some composure, “If
I break off the engagement, you’ll marry me instead?”

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t.” Riette admitted to her, still kneeling in front of her, and Claudine’s face
twisted into something in a panic and helplessness, hoping he’d see it from her perspective as well.

“Don’t fool yourself Marquis Lindman!” She hissed quietly, the glassy look in her eyes returning, “Have
you thought about what the people would say? I can almost see the headlines now! Lady Brandt,
Weighing Two Cousin Bachelors for Marriage, or perhaps Marquis Lindman betrays and steals his
cousin’s fiance!”

She cupped his face firmly, yet gently, willing for him to see it too!

“We’re going to be the ostracized ones here Riette, when it should be Matthias and Leyla!” She hissed at
him, a lone tear finally slipping through her cracks.

Riette only looked at her lovingly, his thumb gently wiping the tear off her rosy cheeks.

“So let them, I don’t care.” He told her plainly, finally standing up to be closer to her, his hand moving to
her waist. Claudine gasped as she looked up at him with widened eyes, stuttering in her words.

“O-our families would never support this!” She protested weakly, “Even the Lindmans would be
furious!”

“I know.”

“If we ever give in to ourselves and choose each other, we’d be banished and have a rough life together!
Are you even prepared for that?!”

Claudine’s voice broke as she saw the answer in Riette’s eyes long before he even answered her. Tears
streamed down her face freely, and she would have crumpled up if Riette wasn’t holding her up.

She could feel the warmth in his arms.

“I’m prepared to go through hell for you.” Riette whispered lovingly at her. He then removed the napkin
on his breast pocket and lightly dabbed her tears away, simultaneously bringing up her hand to kiss the
inside of her wrist.

“I love you, Claudine.” He finally admitted.“Choose me, marry me, my love…” Riette drew a shaky breath
as his face drew near to Claudine, just a hair breadth away from her lips.

“Run away with me.” He whispered, gently resting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes in a wishful
prayer.
Chapter 102

A Completely Different Road

Every year, in the early spring, was when the Empress’ birthday party would always be held. The noble
ladies of the Empire would then flock to the capital to take part in it.

Aside from paying their respects to the most powerful woman in the empire, the Empress’ birthday
celebration also heralded the beginning of the year’s social season. It was considered a great honor and
status to be invited, hence all invited families prepared for the banquet with ardent efforts.

Which also explained the current hustle and bustle of the servants in Arvis Estate. Some servants could
even be seen carrying the two duchesses’ luggage, darting back and forth, in and out of the mansion so
early in the morning.

“All preparations for departure are complete, madam.” Hessen informed them with a respectful bow
after appearing beside them swiftly.

The two duchesses graced him with elegant smiles before they stood up and made their way to leave.
Their ladies-in-waiting dutifully followed them outside. Matthias, on his part, escorted his grandmother
down the grand staircase leading to the lobby’s hall.

“It would be nice if you could go with us.” Norma mused out loud, looking at her grandson with regret.
He’d informed them beforehand that his schedule could not permit his attendance for the event, as
such he’d decided to visit the capital on the night of the banquet instead.

“Ah well, it is to be expected I suppose,” Norma continued, “You are quite the busy man, but that
doesn’t excuse you from attending these social gatherings you know?” She lightly chided him,
“Attendance in these events are just as important as expanding the business.”

The world she once knew was changing, even the societal norms were modifying themselves over time.
Nobles nowadays no longer have the luxury of staying and living in just one place for the rest of their
lives. Instead, they needed to expand their reaches far and wide.

And yet the walls between social classes grew thicker, and higher, widening the gap between the
aristocrats, and the less fortunate.

It was doubly important now for them to cement their status as high lords and ladies in their respective
lands. As such, continued attendance and effort is expected of them in these events.
“I understand, grandmother.” Matthias replied politely.

Norma felt a little relieved seeing him as how he usually portrayed himself, but the unease between the
glances of the two duchesses remained unchanged.

“Well then, we’ll meet you in Ratz, my dear.” Elysee hummed, bidding her son goodbye. Both exchanged
a brief hug with one another, before the two women climbed into the carriage. Matthias stayed in place,
shutting the door behind them firmly and watched as the carriage rolled away, and out of the estate.

He was the perfect example of an exemplary gentleman, until the moment the carriage they rode on
was gone from view. A few moments later, Hessen appeared, softly informing him of recent news of the
day.

“Atty. Staff had sent word he’ll be arriving around afternoon today, sir.” Hessen reported, shortly
following Matthias as he entered the front lobby. His master only gave him a curt nod to indicate that he
was listening.

For many years, the Staff family had been their most trusted advisors when it came to legal matters
within the Herhardt household.

Hessen politely advised him to discuss the current matters to the company’s own set of lawyers as well.
Matthias agreed with him, but wanted to discuss it first with Atty. Staff before that, and then he’d make
a decision.

After receiving his orders for the day, Hessen made his exit and left his master back to his own devices.

Now alone, Matthias paused for a moment in the middle of the marble hall, before his eyes slowly
drifted upwards to the Herhardt family crest that adorned the huge chandelier. His crystal blue eyes
gazed at it indecipherably, taking in its image with its elegant backdrop of the intricate ceiling. The light
from the chandelier gave it a deep, cool glow.

Moments later, Matthias resumed his walk across the hall.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Unbeknownst to Matthias, as soon as the carriage left the Arvis grounds, Norma’s face darkened
considerably at the thought of her grandson staying behind. Across from her, Elysee von Herhardt took
off her gloves with an equally weary look.

“Elysee, do you really think it’s that kind of thing?” Norma softly asked the younger matriarch. Elysee
breathed deeply in for a moment, taking the time to watch the scenery outside as they passed through
the road.
“I will admit, I am having doubts, he portrays himself as the usual Matthias we know.” Elysee began,
“But I raised that boy, and I can sense the change in him.” She stated, looking back at the older
matriarch.

“His sudden kindness to Bill Remmer was too out of character, even for him,” Elysee pointed out, “But it
makes a lot more sense when it comes to one Leyla Lewellin, doesn’t it?” Elysee huffed out bitterly.

Norma resorted to staring out the window of the carriage, neither affirming nor denying Elysee’s
allegations.

She drew a great pride in her past days as the Herhardt capable duchess, no doubt her daughter-in-law
was the same. Years of maneuvering how to conduct themselves perfectly in front of many eyes taught
them a thing or two about keeping faces. Even more in spotting someone pretending, even just a mile
away.

Norma was certain Elysee wasn’t just bluffing because she hated the gardener and his foster daughter.

“Perhaps we should confront him then, as soon as Matthias joins us in Ratz in time for the banquet?”
Norma suggested, and Elysee hummed.

“I entertained the thought before, but I think it’s for the best that we don’t.” Elysee answered as she
looked at her mother-in-law with uncertainty in her eyes. “With the way he’s been acting, it’s almost like
Matthias is baiting us to ask that question.”

Elysee took a deep breath, narrowing her eyes slightly as she peered outside. She doesn’t like getting
outsmarted, not even if it’s her son who had outsmarted her.

“You know him as well as I,” Elysee continued, facing back her mother-in-law, “If he really is planning for
something, what would it most likely be?”

Norma didn’t need time to think about what her daughter-in-law was pertaining to. She understood it
almost immediately. And it was those words that caused the old Herhardt matriarch to think deeper
about her grandson’s latest doings.

If ever their assumptions had even an ounce of truth in them, things would turn out very complicated
for everyone involved.

They knew there was something going on between Matthias and the gardener’s foster daughter. They
noticed it as soon as Matthias had announced the unexpected decision to sponsor Leyla’s education,
alongside with the transfer of Bill Remmer to their mansion in the capital.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t help but feel even more ridiculous! Matthias hardly tried to
make their affair a secret! He was actively flaunting this scandal out in public! And they were trying to
avoid it from ever blowing up and getting out into public knowledge by pretending they didn’t notice it
at all!
“If we are right about them, what should we do?” Elysee asked her again, the trepidation clearly heard
in her voice, “What’s best for our family?”

“It’s best for the Herhardt house to pretend we know nothing about this, Elysee.” Norma finally decided,
lowering her voice into a whisper, cautious in case there were stray ears nearby.

With Matthias and Claudine’s wedding just around the corner, it was more important to make sure
nothing was amiss. The wedding must happen without any scandals or problems surfacing.

This affair of Matthias must be kept under wraps.

“Given that he was going to send Leyla Lewellin to the capital, it meant he’s still willing to go through
with the wedding.” Norma hummed thoughtfully, “Yes, it’s a better option for us to never mention this
to him at all.”

“Well, my first and foremost priority is getting Matthias married to Claudine safely.” Elysee von Herhardt
huffed out softly.

She would have loved to confront Matthias about this at once, and consequently get rid of the person
who was the sole reason why the marriage that both their families have worked hard to make a reality
was still in the works all this time. Knowing Matthias though, he would just as well break the
engagement off and marry the peasant instead if that ever happened.

It would be best to currently acquiesce to Leyla Lewellin being her son’s mistress, as she ensured
nothing would ruin the marriage and union between the Brandt and Herhardt houses.

“Still, I can’t help but feel quite concerned about this.” Elysee murmured softly in a worried voice,
rubbing a delicate finger on her temple as she felt a headache coming up. “Matthias doesn’t seem too
worried about getting caught, in fact, it’s almost like he wants to be found out.”

Norma’s eyes dropped, unable to refute the younger matriarch’s statement.

“What if, because we failed to curb this affair of his, he’d break his marriage with young Lady Brandt and
marry Leyla Lewellin instead?” Elysee finally voiced out, and Norma gasped out in disbelief.

“I,” Norma felt herself grow speechless at her daughter-in-law’s words, “How could our Matthias ever
think to do that?”

Norma had been quite proud of her grandchildren, watching them grow up to be respectable people,
now in their primes. But the thought of Matthias doing that and marrying Leyla left a bitter taste in her
mouth. Elysee von Herhardt’s incessant worrying was becoming quite infectious.

“Matthias was never like the children around him, we knew that most growing up,” Elysee murmured
softly, staring outside the window, “It once gave me such relief to know that, but now it’s the sole
reason I’m so worried about this engagement of his”

Her gloved hands clenched in front of her as it lay limply on her lap.
As a child, Matthias never gave her trouble. As such, she never felt the need to talk to him about the
expectations and duties as someone of his stature because it came so natural for him. What would take
years to instill on a rowdy normal child, Matthias would take like bees to nectar.

And yet oftentimes she could feel it too. The desperate need inside him to rebel against the standards
society instilled on him and the generations before him.

Some would say it was because he’d decided as a child to become the perfect successor, that he’d led
such a perfect life. But if that really was the case then, Elysee knew he would also be the type of person
who could just as quickly abandon everything he worked for if he just up and decided to be someone
else too.

And that was the truth about Matthias.

He would be polite, outstanding, and the perfect model, but he follows no other will than his own. No
one else mattered to him, not unless he wanted it to. Being his mother did not spare her from this fact.

“You’re right,” Norma finally said, breaking the tension inside her daughter-in-law, “Hopefully it won’t
come to that.”

“Yes, hopefully.” Elysee quickly agreed, giving her mother-in-law a tight smile.

‘Just what are you planning to do, Matthias?’ Elysee wondered in her thoughts, unable to shake the
growing uneasiness in her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

After a long day of marking the children’s papers, Leyla stood up at the desk, rubbing her stiff shoulders,
letting her limbs stretch out as she took a short walk to loosen up some of her tightly coiled muscles
from sitting too long.

It was already past nine o’clock, and Phoebe returned home without a letter. She found it fortunate
there was no call from the Duke tonight.

With a sigh of relief, she had just decided to go open the closet door when she heard an unexpected
knock outside her window.

It made Leyla freeze, before she glanced at her bird’s cage. Phoebe was already tucked comfortably into
her cage. She checked the lock on the cage’s door several times, and there was no way that Phoebe
could have escaped her confined space and back in again.

‘Maybe it’s her hallucination?’ she wondered, trying to brush the sound off.
And there it was again! The knock on the window grew clearer and louder. It was not just her
imagination, and it definitely was not her bird. Leyla’s breath hitched and her eyes grew wide in sudden
realization!

‘Don’t tell me-!’

Hurriedly, yet quietly, Leyla slid her curtains open. As soon as the curtains were drawn, she saw no one
outside, it made her frown in confusion.

‘Then who the hell?’

She eyed carefully the darkened forest outside her window, before carefully opening it to get a clearer
look. She was almost convinced the sound was just another figment of her paranoia, when she noticed
an out of place shadow on the ground.

Following its source, she jolted back in surprise at the sight in front of her. She yelped out a small shriek,
before immediately covering up her mouth to stifle her scream. She didn’t want her uncle suddenly
waking up to see her like this!

It was Matthias in the flesh, suddenly in front of her. He gave her a smug grin as he leaned on the wall
right next to the window. He clearly meant to frighten her, and was content in watching her frighten so
easily over so small a thing.

He chuckled softly at the sight of her flushed face. She was so adorable.

“Good evening Leyla.” He greeted huskily, sending slight shivers down Leyla’s spine, her cheeks flushing
for an entirely different reason.

‘Don’t break character now Leyla!’ She scolded herself in her mind, before shyly tucking a strand of hair
behind her ear. She hugged herself, feeling a little vulnerable seeing him here in her cabin once more.

“D-duke, I wasn’t expecting you.” She politely told him, “Wh-why are you here?” she stuttered out.

“Well, why do you think that is?” He asked back at her, and Leyla couldn’t help but become a little
miffed at his playfulness. She had no time for this!

“Well, if you’re just here to annoy me, then kindly go back home!” She huffed out angrily before trying
to close back her windows. Her eyes darted back inside her room, watching her closed door anxiously.

She knew her uncle usually goes to sleep around this time, but having Matthias in their cabin put her in
great discomfort.

“Please duke, just, hngh!”

Her next words became muffled as soon as Matthias unabashedly pulled her to him to steal a long,
passionate kiss.
He gripped her chin firmly in place, prodding her mouth open as his tongue dove into her mouth, tasting
every crevice inside, selfishly taking her in. His tongue entwined effortlessly with Leyla’s, dancing around
each other until it coaxed an erotic moan out of her.

Matthias pulled away with a wet squelch, and grinned down at her flushed face. Their soft, ragged
breaths mixed with each other, and Leyla grew more anxious as seconds ticked by.

“Come out with me.” Matthias ordered her, but Leyla softly frowned at him, shaking her out of the daze
at staring at his plump lips in front of her.

“No, I can’t do that!” She quietly hissed at him, making Matthias frown at her.

“If you won’t, then invite me in at least.”

Leyla sighed at his insistence, unwilling to do that either.

“Why are you here this late anyway?” She asked him curiously, before bracing herself with one hand on
the windowsill, and another holding onto Matthias, but instead of moving to sneak out, she was
insistently pushing him away.

She couldn’t let him inside, she wouldn’t. Not with her uncle here!

“Please just go! I mean, I can’t go out now.” She pleaded, but Matthias kept frowning at her.

“Why?”

“Uncle Bill might be awake!”

She knew he wasn’t, but Matthias didn’t know that. Though it seemed, Matthias wasn’t bothered about
other people knowing about them.

“So what’s the problem?” He asked her, rolling his eyes at such a trivial excuse.

It seemed he really couldn’t understand her, and so Leyla relented. His eyes kept darting around them,
as if trying to see what was so difficult that she couldn’t just go out with him tonight.

“Give me one good reason why I should go with you tonight?” Leyla asked him tiredly, and he just
grinned at her.

“Because I want you to.” He spoke it so honestly and unashamedly, his smile became as soft as it was
arrogant.

Leyla took the time to assess her choices, before she gave out a sigh. Nothing would be changing
Matthias’ mind tonight, and the more she’ll insist he’ll leave, the less she would convince him she loved
him.

Which would brew more trouble for her.

Giving Matthias one last glare, Leyla hurriedly locked the door and returned to the window. Just as she
braced herself to go out, she glared back at him dryly.

“A gentleman will not ask her lady to go through the window.” She snarked at him and he only smirked
at her in return.

“I don’t think it’s applicable to someone who is good at climbing trees.”

Leyla spluttered at his statement, flushing in embarrassment, which only made him smirk more
pleasingly at her expression.

“I-I don’t climb trees anymore these days!” She huffed out haughtily.

Leyla soon decided to get it over with quickly, hoisting herself through the open window with quick, light
movements. Matthias stepped aside to give her some berth once she went over, before he approached
her.

It almost seemed like he was coming to help her, but Leyla ignored him and independently got through
with not much trouble, holding her chin up high as she did, as though telling him she didn’t need his
help.

“It seems you give yourself little credit,” Matthias pointed out with amusement, “You’re still as nimble
as before.”

He strode past her and closed the window behind her firmly, before he snatched Leyla’s hand as soon as
she turned to look back at him.

With no further word, he immediately walked away, half dragging, and pulling her to match his pace.
The two went around the backyard, and down towards the moonlit forest path. There were sounds of
crickets in the air, and the crunching of fallen leaves and twigs beneath every step they took.

Leyla watched the night sky through the gaps of the trees overhead, a wispy white breath escaping her.

It was only when she could hardly see the cabin did Leyla finally allow herself to relax, feeling the
tension eventually slip away from her body. She focused back ahead of her, before frowning at the
direction they were headed.

“This… this is not the way to the annex, is it?” She asked Matthias with slight alarm and confusion. As
usual, Matthias seemed unbothered, continuing to lead her down a completely unfamiliar path.

“This is the right way.” He informed her coolly, repositioning his loose hold on her hand. He slipped her
fingers on the gaps between his, holding on to her more firmly than before. Though the forest around
them was dark, the moon above their heads did an excellent job in shining down their path.

“Stay with me,” He told her firmly, his grasp growing tighter when he felt her hold loosen up in his, “I
have something to show you.”
Though he said it gently and softly as a whisper, Leyla couldn’t help the sense of foreboding that was
rising up within her.

Chapter 103

Breakdown

Music floated around the room as noble ladies from every corner of the empire gathered to celebrate
the Queen’s birthday. Among those in current attendance for today’s gathering, was Lady Claudine von
Brandt. Upon noticing her, immediately a few ladies made their way towards her in quick, yet measured
steps.

In no time, Claudine found herself circled by envious ladies.

“It’s been a while, Lady Brandt.” Greeted one of them.

“Ah, I remember seeing you at a gathering held at the Herhardt’s.” Claudine remarked amicably, “It’s
wonderful to see you again.”

“Indeed, though we met quite briefly so you probably won’t remember.” She replied with a bright smile,
“Please allow me to introduce ourselves again-”

“No need,” Claudine politely interrupted, smiling at the other lady, “I remember you perfectly fine, Lady
Esher.”

The younger lady’s cheeks flushed at the sound of her name leaving the esteemed Lady Brandt’s lips.
Claudine then turned to her quiet companion with an equally bright smile.

“And of course, Lady Diane.” The shorter lady’s expression mirrored her companion. The two ladies
exchanged happy glances at each other, each one giddy at the fact they were remembered despite their
short interaction previously.

The two of them were the Viscountess’ daughters. She had been observing them, just a few steps away
and couldn’t help the slight sneer appearing on her face at the sight of their inappropriate behaviors.
Nevertheless, the sister’s remained undeterred in their excitement, and proceeded to chatter towards
Claudine, praising her from time to time. One particular topic they were quite taken with, was the
upcoming nuptials of Lady Brandt with Duke of Arvis, Matthias von Herhardt.

Claudine kept the smile plastered on her face, content with listening to the two sisters’ gossip and
praise. Among their chatter included news from all over the empire. Claudine found it absolutely
interesting to hear about.

This habit of hers had been instilled forcefully upon her during her formative years, mainly because her
mother deemed it important to know what’s been happening and exploit opportunities. Now, it comes
to Claudine as a second nature.

Almost as quickly as she could in remembering names and matching it to the correct faces.

As soon as the sisters left her alone, new ladies would approach her, and then they’d talk and then
move on. On and on this went, and Claudine made quite a few more beneficial friends. The bright lights
shimmered overhead and the sweet smell of flowers wafted through the air.

Overall, it was shaping up to be a very good celebration for tonight.

Eventually, Claudine had made her rounds with all the noble ladies, before ending it with spending time
with the Crown Princess. Once they finished chatting, Claudine found herself lounging by the ottoman
chairs near the palace’s massive windows, overlooking the darkened empire outside..

Countess Brandt’s observing eyes bore into the back of Claudine’s head. Discreetly, she turned to look at
her mother, who gave her a broad smile, seemingly pleased with how active Claudine was in making
connections within the court.

In no time at all, her mother was back at her side, a perfectly manicured hand gripping her shoulder
gently.

“Look at you, acting all queen-like, Claudine,” her mother praised her quietly, her voice just above a
whisper, “What with the current Herhardt Duchesses unable to make their appearance.” Her mother
added, slight disdain leaking out of her voice, making Claudine frown a bit.

“Mom.” she softly chided, but her mother just huffed out, holding up her chin in a haughty manner.

“What?” she snapped softly back at her daughter, “It’s not as if I’m wrong in that regard.” She then
quickly fixed the stray locks on the back of her daughter’s dress. “You’re proving to be very well
equipped as the next Herhardt Duchess, and everyone knows it.” She remarked proudly, unable to hide
her giddiness at seeing the other noble ladies flock towards her daughter.

While it was true that the power of the family belongs to the men, it was the women’s job, the hostess,
who maintained the dignity and fame suitable for the powerful households.
No matter how high and wealthy a man would be, if the woman of the house was not of a respectable
and esteemed position in society, he would only be half of a nobleman.

And even for the great household of the Herhardt in the empire, the same was true.

While no one can deny the long history, honor, and high authority of the Dukes of Herhardt had allowed
them to reign as one of the empire’s top aristocrats, it was the Duchess’ of the family who have
maintained and cultivated their social status for generations. Because of their involvement in the
empire’s topmost social circles, they have strengthened their family’s integrity.

Countess Brandt looked at her daughter, smiling at knowing that Claudine was next in line to become
Duchess Herhardt. With one last fussing over her daughter’s impeccable appearance, she eventually
returned to the group of ladies she had been mingling with, moments prior to approaching Claudine.
Once her mother had left her alone, Claudine returned to the banquet hall to resume doing her part as
the soon-to-be Duchess.

“It truly is a pity that the Duchesses of Herhardt were not present, though I am happy at least the soon-
to-be Duchess is amongst us.” The Baroness, who was the day’s current host, approached them with a
graceful smile on her face.

“Thank you,” Claudine beamed gratefully at her, “It was indeed regretful both of them couldn’t attend
tonight as they just arrived this evening in Ratz,” she informed them with an apologetic smile, “Had they
arrived earlier, I’m sure they would have attended it with no delay.” She added.

“Ah well, it couldn’t be helped after all, though they are missed.” The Baroness assured Claudine, who
returned her a grateful smile upon her understanding.

Indeed the day she’d be wed to Matthias was drawing closer. She couldn’t afford to lose face now with
the date being so close…

Soon, she’ll be Duchess Herhardt.

“No.”

Her voice rang deep in the back of her mind as she pulled away from Riette’s warm arms and firmly put
distance between them. She had felt the tears flow down her face, a deep aching in her chest as she
turned away from her dear friend.

But she was not to be deterred. The fate of her family and their honor rests in her marriage with the
Duke. And even if that wasn’t true, Claudine couldn’t be led by her emotions.

“You and I both know that we are people who cannot lead a life away from what we’ve always known,”
Claudine explained, “Even if we love each other, we’d soon grow bitter towards each other. You know
that we will if we follow down this path.”
She knew now that Riette’s love for her was real. She knew him better than anyone before, and this was
why she must pull away before they made choices they will regret.

She also couldn’t bear it if she had to watch Riette’s heart be broken in front of her. But as true as his
love for her was, so was their harsh reality.

They were born and raised around luxury. It had been instilled in their youth that there would be no
greater honor than to keep their good name and honor of their families, and to remain respected and
influential…

And most importantly, above everyone. The higher the status you hold in society, the more you’d be
able to enjoy life…

And Claudine loved the luxuries in life. Riette was no different from her in this regard. They’re like the
flowers housed in a carefully conditioned greenhouse, tended and cared to perfection.

But once they’re taken out, can they even survive?

Even if they loved each other with everything they had, love was not enough to keep them alive, or their
relationship going. Love alone never was.

This was the best she could do, for both her and Riette’s sake. She must be the logical one, she must be
strong in her convictions, or else, everything will fall to ruin, and she and Riette will bear the worst of
the critics.

Claudine smiled despondently to herself, her mind immediately conjuring up images of a golden haired
peasant lying in a pool of her own blood.

Even in that moment, she killed Leyla in her mind.

Leyla must disappear for good in their lives, so that the most perfect husband she knew, Duke Matthias
von Herhardt, can return to his old predictable, and respectable self.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla let out a deep breath at the sound of the master suite’s door closing firmly behind her. From the
moment since she entered the Duke’s mansion, she could feel her legs shaking, gradually losing
strength. She would have almost fallen to the floor had Matthias not been supporting her.

“Don’t laugh.” Leyla glared fiercely at Matthias, who chuckled relentlessly like an amused child. Leyla felt
her face flushing in embarrassment. “Are you really laughing at me!?” She huffed out indignantly with a
shaky voice.

After escorting Leyla towards the nearest sofa, Mathias coolly walked towards the window, facing the
garden. His hands gripped the closed curtains, before flicking them wide open. He then flicked the lock
on the window open, allowing a cool breeze to pass through.
She watched him in pure focus, slowly regaining her bearings within her mind, before she looked around
them, eyes filled with a mix of apprehension and curiosity.

Like all places the Duke’s brought her to, the room was also spacious. It had high ceilings and splendid
carvings of design. No matter where she looked, she was met with undeniable proof of how powerful
the Herhardts really were, making her feel dizzy and air in her lungs suffocating.

Never once did she imagine stepping foot inside the mansion once she agreed to be Matthias’s mistress.
She almost didn’t recognize it in the dark, until he led her through the lobby.

‘How can you be anything but crazy?’ Leyla thought to herself as she observed him. She couldn’t fathom
the Duke to be sane at all, especially when he’d risk having her seen in his very own mansion.

“Keep making a racket and the in-house servants will come running here.” He then gave her a
mischievous smirk, loving the current struggle she was faced with upon arriving in his house, “Imagine
their surprise at seeing you here, with me alone.” He whispered right next to her ear, before pulling
away, “Either way, it won’t matter to me.”

Matthias was serious when he said that to her. To him, it would be nothing if they were to be
discovered. Upon realizing how futile it was for her to keep resisting tonight, she thought it best to give
in to his whims for now.. She also didn’t want to attract additional attention to themselves.

She just wanted everything to be over and done with.

The rest of their night together passed by in a blur for Leyla. So used to their nightly activities, she could
just lose herself completely in her thoughts while the rest of her participated in these illicit acts.

The only reminder she had left, was the soreness in her thighs, and the erratic beating within her breast.
She found it fortunate that the mansion was massive, and the rooms were spaced further apart from
each other.

The house servants remained unaware of her presence in their master’s bedroom, for outside the
Duke’s room, the corridors remained still and silent for the rest of the night.

Come morning, Leyla would be walking out of the front door, all skittish and paranoid at wandering
eyes. A far cry from when she once walked through these doors last summer season.

It was during that party held by the Duke, sometime in the middle of summer. Claudine had invited her
over, and she walked through these doors content and naive. Somehow, this time made her feel
intimidated.

“Why exactly did you bring me here?” Leyla finally asked him, breathless as her chest rose and fell in
tandem with his. With just a flimsy sheet between them, she rolled over to face him

Matthias spared her a glance, billowing out a smooth stream of smoke out his lips, admiring how perfect
she looked draped across his bed, wrapped in his sheets, and all exhausted by him.
“Oh? Does that mean you’re calm enough to be reasonable now?” He quipped at her, and Leyla huffed
out in a haughty manner.

“No,” She replied quickly with ease, “I just merely wish to know as soon as possible.”

“Why the rush?”

“The more you keep me in suspense, the more I can never calm down,” She explained to him irritably,
“So if you don’t mind, I want to see it quickly and leave before anyone else would see me.”

Despite how serious she was in her response, Matthias ended up bursting into laughter. Leyla remained
perplexed at his continued behavior, unable to even think about ways to make the man fall for her.

There were moments she worried she’d gone too far and had dissuaded him from believing she was in
love with him, but so far, he’d yet to pick up on her lies.

Disliking how he was finding her amusing, Leyla lifted her head up high, before feeling her breath caught
in her throat. She was trying to refrain herself from appearing foolish, and yet she couldn’t help but
fidget on the bed.

Matthias eventually discarded his cigarette, swiftly snuffing out the fire from the end of the used stick.
He then rose up from his seat, before walking over to Leyla, who sat up on his approach.

She gathered more of the sheets to wrap herself in, looking every bit like an incensed child. Matthias’
lips curled up in a genuine smile. He outstretched a hand towards her.

She stared at his offered hand for a moment longer, before relenting and begrudgingly accepted it.
Barely a second of contact, Matthias’ hands wrapped around hers and tugged her up. She squeaked
before looking up at him in shock, a pretty flush painting her cheeks.

Matthias repositioned her hand, until her arm was draping alongside his. Leyla’s brows furrowed in
confusion the longer she waited for him.

“You’re being weird again.” Leyla slightly pointed out.

“How so?”

Leyla stuttered her answer in a bunch of jumbled and incoherent sounds, unable to word her thoughts.
She wanted him to just let it be, but Matthias was stubborn all the way through.

“Are you actually embarrassed holding me like this?” Matthias inquired, a hint of amusement leaking
out of his voice, “When we’ve done much more than this? Your state of undress is proof of that.”
Matthias pointed out, looking up and down her naked body, which was only covered by a thin blanket.

He can see the outline of her body underneath it with no problem. Leyla flushed at his crude words.

“Y-you! How could you just say it like that?!”

“If you don’t like it, then just take my hand like my good mistress.” He coolly answered her with a smirk
firmly on his lips.

Unable to take anymore of his teasing and insults, Leyla reluctantly obeyed Matthias’s orders, firmly
grasping his forearm in resignation. Once he was satisfied with her cooperation, they began their
leisurely walk.

They were just walking together like this only served to confuse Leyla some more, rendering her unable
to decide what her next course of action should be. It was odd for her to imagine her like this, hanging
off his arm like how she usually saw Claudine doing whenever they appeared in public.

Claudine, whenever she stood by Matthias, always seemed as dignified and graceful as one would
expect a queen to be. Deep down, Leyla couldn’t help but feel inferior to the Lady’s natural grace and
talent.

Matthias spared her a glance, before letting out a chuckle once more, gaining Leyla’s attention back to
him.

“Hadn’t you gone to a prestigious school for girls? You should have been taught how to walk properly
like this.” He mused, taking note at how uncomfortable and stiff her walk was.

The Gillis Girls’ School, which Leyla attended in her youth, was considered to be one of the most
prestigious schools in the city.

Most of the aristocrats would entrust their daughters to the home based tutors, but some of the
wealthier middle class families preferred sending their daughters to the prestigious schools instead. As
such, there was no way that the school, which was solely aimed to cultivate women to act like noble
ladies, would have neglected this type of etiquette lesson.

“I did.” Leyla replied dryly, increasingly unsatisfied with his company.

“Well then, it seems to me that the Gillis Girls’ School is not very efficient at teaching their students,”
Matthias hummed in thought, “I feel cheated if I were to continue to sponsor you like this, should I
withdraw the offer then?”

“Fine, I was a poor student of etiquette! There! Are you happy now?!” Leyla snapped, and Matthias only
continued smirking at her.

“Ah, but if that’s the case, then it must have been a rumor that you were one of the top students in
school, wasn’t it?” He continued to tease her, which only evoked Leyla to be increasingly miffed at this
continuous accusations!

“How dare you insult me like that?! For your information, I did well in everything except etiquette!”

“Why was it so difficult for you to follow the proper manners and etiquette?”
“Simple, I found it beneath me to follow their standards. I had more fun studying actual things of
importance than how to greet beautifully and act gracefully.” She huffed out angrily.

So into their conversation, Leyla found herself caught unaware when a new door opened up in front of
her, to reveal a new luxurious and spacious room!

When Leyla saw what lay beyond, she felt the breath taken out of her. And yet, in the middle of it, was
another massive bed, which made her frown in thought.

Come to think of it, there was no bed in the room earlier. Knowing that all this space, all this freedom
belonged to one person, to Duke Herhardt, Leyla couldn’t help but feel glaringly inadequate in his
presence once more.

Oblivious to her warring mind, Matthias led a dazed Leyla further into his bedroom.

Truly she never ceased to amaze him! She was certainly more interesting than the rest of the noble
ladies he’s met with over the years. Even more amusing watch her stumble and be all clumsy in all terms
of manners and etiquette.

Had his grandmother and mother just heard what she said about what she deemed more important,
well, they would have been appalled and fainted at the spot!

“Do we still have a long way to go to reach our mystery destination?” Leyla asked him as she looked up,
forcing them both to halt in their steps. “Couldn’t you just show it to me now? I really need to be back in
the cabin quickly.” She pleaded with him.

Being in this room was suffocating for her, and she didn’t know why. She didn’t want to remain in here
any longer than she should.

Matthias simply hummed, cupping her cheek gently in one hand before drawing her face near. He
dipped his head down, before planting a sweet kiss on her forehead.

As soon as he pulled away, he looked back into the room and let out a sharp shrill of a whistling sound.
Leyla’s eyes widened at his sudden break in pattern and looked around nervously, stuttering through
her next words.

“D-duke, what are you doing?” She asked nervously in a whisper. But instead of answering her questions
to put her in ease, Matthias proceeded to whistle into the room again.

Leyla grew nervous, her eyes flitting towards both sides of the hall in wariness. She was half convinced
the Duke’s true colors of a madman was resurfacing once more, when she heard it…

The unmistakable sound of a returning chirp, perfectly matching the whistle the Duke had just let out.

Leyla watched in rapt attention, the nervousness sliding off her body as she waited to see what made
that mirroring melody.
There it was, a small bird fluttering from the other side of the bedroom to the other. It was a small
yellow thing, as far as Leyla could tell, and certainly wasn’t a figment of her imagination. She watched as
it flapped its wings, before landing on a nearby stand in the form of a peacock.

This small, melodious, yellow thing was a bird.

A canary.

Chapter 104

Like a Queen

Leyla and the canary stared at each other for quite some time. She watched the bird in rapt attention,
mesmerized by the way it flapped its wings behind its small body, chirping in perfect mimicry the tune
that the Duke had been whistling moments prior.

Leyla tilted her head at it, and in response, the bird mirrored her actions in equal curiosity. It resumed its
adorable chirping, flapping its wings once more, before landing perfectly on the Duke’s shoulder.

Eyes still on the small canary, Leyla couldn’t help but ask the burning question in her mind, her hurry all
thrown in the wind at the small distraction.

“Is this your bird?” she asked him softly, fingers twitching, wanting to caress its feathers. She was still
unable to comprehend if what she was seeing was reality, or was it just another one of her dreams?

“Oh, my God,” she murmured softly, watching how gentle the Duke was treating it with gentle caresses
of his long, slender fingers…

And the canary felt perfectly content nuzzling into the calloused hands that handled her a lot differently.

“Unbelievable.” she muttered, finally gaining Matthias’ attention back.

“What’s unbelievable?” He inquired, fingers still touching the canary.

“I, I,” Leyla flushed, just realizing she said it out loud. She gulped down her embarrassment though, her
thrill at the sight of him with the canary absolutely fascinating her!

“Mr. Evers used to say that you raise small and pretty birds.” She began, licking her lips nervously, “I
guess I never really believed it was true, until now.” She said the last part softly, eyes still trailed in acute
fondness of observing the canary.

Matthias hummed softly, pondering about what she just said.

‘I can’t believe that my attendant, who I assumed all this time to be quiet and faithful, would spill such
nonsense.’ He thought in slight distaste, a frown marring his features.

A movement was caught in the corner of his eyes, and when he turned to look properly, he found
himself pleased.

Leyla’s hand was slowly reaching out to take hold of his canary. How wonderful.

Unfortunately, upon realizing a foreign hand was reaching out to touch it, the canary started chirping
before it flapped its wings once more, gliding away from the two people.

Leyla’s breath hitched, and she felt her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Oh no!” She softly exclaimed in dismah, “Did I frighten it?” She turned to Matthias worriedly, the fear
and disappointment reflecting in her glistening emerald orbs.

Matthias only chuckled in amusement at her despondent expression.

Wanting to quickly make amends with the small bird, Leyla quickly trotted towards where the canary
currently was, whilst Matthias stood back and watched their impromptu game of chase.

Whenever Leyla would near it, it would flutter away out of reach, and Leyla would attempt once more.
Again, and again, and again, this kept repeating.

Matthias loved to think his little canary was teasing his mistress in his place. This truly was a momentous
spectacle.

Eventually, the chase had come to an end when the canary fluttered into its golden cage. Leyla, who’d
been chasing after it all this time, huffed out tiredly, walking slowly before finally stopping a few paces
away from the bird.

It was clear she wasn’t a welcome stranger by now.

Leyla looked to Matthias, curiosity clear on her face as she looked back and forth to him and the canary.

“It’s certainly not the kind of bird that would allow just about anyone to be near it.” She lightly
remarked, and waited for Matthias to fall in step beside her. “How did you manage to tame the small
thing?” She wondered in genuine curiosity, and Matthias gave her a serene smile.
“I merely cut off her wings from time to time.” He answered her plainly, and Leyla felt as though an ice
cold bucket had been poured over her head.

‘Of course he did,’ Leyla thought dryly in mild disappointment.

She watched him as he locked the door of the beautiful and elaborate cage. All the while, she kept her
mouth shut, and the sneer, threatening to take over her lips, was well hidden.

She watched as the bird perched beautifully in the cage, grooming its trimmed wings. Looking closely,
she could spot the freshly trimmed feathers. It chirps once, and then twice, before settling into it’s plush
nest, curling contentedly in on itself as it got ready to slumber.

The Duke’s eyes looking down at the canary were soft and sweet as if he were treating a lover.

She knew it well, for he’d look at her with those very same eyes.

On the moments she’d catch him looking at her like that, she’d feel utterly confuddled by the strange
feeling stirring within her chest. It was almost like a deep wound, festering deep inside her, unable to
heal completely.

Which brought her thoughts back to the Duke’s answer to her question.

So even with a bird, he’d do the same cruel things. He’d cut it off from its freedom, then present it with
lavish gifts, until finally…

He’d get what he wanted, and his victim would be none the wiser.

The longer she’d stay on this line of thought, the harder it would be for her to keep up the pretense of
being in love with him. She needed to distract herself from these morbid thoughts, and without further
adieu, Leyla approached the window nearest to them.

She stared out into the vast garden, observing the way the dark was slowly receding as the break of
dawn started appearing beyond the treelines.

‘Such big place, all owned by you,’ Leyla thought, once more a familiar pang stinging in her chest, ‘With
such things being handed to you on a silver platter, was it that easy for you to think of everything else in
this world below you?’

Though the gardens in Arvis were by name and money, the Herhardts, these gardens were the fruit of
her Uncle’s honest labor. And yet…

Everything seems to have changed now. It was all known, yet unfamiliar at the same time.

And it could all be attributed to the man who ruined her and Kyle’s marriage was not the Duke.

Even Leyla had known long before that their marriage was wrong from the beginning. It didn’t matter if
the Duke never meddled in on their engagement, it changed nothing about that fact.
Nevertheless, Leyla could not find it in herself to absolve him of his perceived faults.

From the very beginning, he had been dismissive of every boundary she’d set, as though she was a
random object so easily obtained! Not once did she see him even feel guilty about the things he’d done
and put her through. Nor did he make an effort to even make her understand his obsession with her.

He just came, and decided he wanted her, and took, and took, and took some more. In the end, he
made her feel like everything else but him was insignificant. That his wants and needs were more
important than anyone else’s.

And she was left scrambling at the edge of sanity, grappling for help she could never ask of anyone.

Leyla took a deep, shaky breath, trying to hold back her tears.

Such was the plight of orphans like her, she supposed.

But despite what was perceived as an unfortunate, or a bad life, she loved the life she’d led so far, never
mind how the rest of the world saw it. It was in this life she knew what it is to strive for a life well-lived.

And she worked hard and honestly to get the peaceful and honorable life she longed dreamed for her
and her uncle, no matter how difficult the situation was, or how high a hurdle she needed to overcome.

She didn’t need much, she just wanted to be that adult who could support day to day lives with their
own grit and merit. And someday soon, if fate permits it, to meet that person she would fall in love with,
and create a happy, healthy family.

She just wanted a mundane life, a little better than she had now. Where her worries would just be what
curtains to change the drapes with as seasons passed, or how much food she should prepare!

And then, as years go by, she’d place a carefully marked meter on the doorpost, charting the growth her
children had gone through over the years. And when she’s old and gray, she’d trace those marks with
her fingers, and her eyes will crinkle in happiness at the memories it left her with.

But those were her heartfelt dreams in a long past, back when Leyla was still the same naive girl growing
up by the gardens. And now, she was growing once more, and no matter how much she hated how she
had to, it couldn’t stop, not even for a second.

Some days she would stumble, but then she’d just get right back up and laugh at her mistakes when
she’d look back. Because she knew, someday, everything would make sense, and all would be right
again.

And that’s what gave her hope in the end. That “someday” would come. How was she to know that her
someday would disappear, by a single man’s fleeting desire?

“Leyla.”

Suddenly, Matthias approached from behind her, and whispered her name.
Leyla stared at him through her reflection, giving him a tight lipped smile. Matthias met her eyes as well.

The only thing left for her was to embody being the Duke’s mistress now, and that’s the woman she
must continue to play. It was this shell of her old self that could freely smile for the man who ruined her
dreams, the man who she hated most.

Claudine was right in the end after all.

What was the point of desperately fighting back against the Duke? For a meager sense of her dignity?

It was only then she was roughly reminded that her state of body, and her actions did not dictate what
her dignity truly was. Only she could decide her worth, and no one else.

And so she must play the part of the perfect mistress. In the end, the only way to free herself was to be
the perfect woman, the one who could steal another’s man.

She couldn’t hold in the bitter laughter that managed to escape from her lips with a shaky breath. At
that moment, she watched the Duke dip his head towards the nape of her neck in the reflection, and
flinched for a second when she felt the ghost of his lips.

It was so instinctive, she barely felt it before his strong arms wound around her slender waist, pulling
her back flush to his chest. He nosed along the back of her head, their hips pulled close together, she
could feel his lust for her.

This was a normal thing to just about any lover, and yet Leyla could only feel a sense of despair over this
intimate moment between them. Her eyes fluttered closed, her neck tilting to give him more of an
access to her sensitive neck as he planted small, wet kisses up behind her ears.

What was the point of gaining revenge over him? It wouldn’t change anything. What’s done, has been
done. All she really wanted was to get away from here, and from him. To live far away from his reach
and any semblance of his influence.

Even tonight, she just wanted to be as far as possible from him.

“Leyla.”

Matthias whispered her name, warm breath hitting the back of her ear as he nibbled on it, Leyla
couldn’t help the erotic moan from slipping out her lips. His hands began wandering all over her torso,
and down her growing moistness.

How long had they stayed like this? So out in the open in the main mansion? So free for any passing
servant, unfortunate to wake up this early, and witness their illicit affair?

But how could she not feel her mind fog up in the pleasure? She’d fought against him so long, that his
gentle touches ever since she pretended to give in to him turned to ecstasy? So gentle, and warm, and
all-encompassing her in pleasurable sensations?
‘Stop it!’ She yelled in her mind, fighting hard against that womanly urge in her to submit just once to
the pleasure, ‘Don’t let temporary pleasure cloud your judgment! Stay strong!’

With that thought, she finally snapped out of her lust-filled haze, and finally opened her eyes to look at
Matthias with renewed determination. The first sight that greeted her, was Matthias’ warm smile
hovering above her…

And that was when she realized it. She was now nestled comfortably in the middle of the bed, her thin
covers now gone, and she laid bare in front of the Duke! Her cheeks flushed red as she shivered in the
gentle gust of the nightly chill.

Matthias chuckled at her expression.

“Why are you laughing?” She whispered in embarrassment, crossing her arms over her chest, but
Matthias left her unanswered, instead, he dipped his head once more, giving a firm bite to one of her
flushed cheeks.

Leyla squeaked in surprise, trying to push his face away, but he only swiftly immobilized her with one
hand, bringing them up over her head and proceeded to bite at the other cheek.

Leyla squirmed away from his current ministrations, confused and a bit irritated.

But her defiance only served to entice him more. He really wanted so badly to dominate her, he wanted
to give her more pain…

But there was also the underlying urge to romance her, and treat her gently. Ah, what was he to do with
her?

“Ack! Stop, eek! Stop it!” Leyla hissed at him, managing to free one of her wrists and pushed him back
by the shoulders. Matthias could have easily ignored her pleas, but eventually he relented and finally
pulled back.

Still, it was amusing to see her look of confusion. It gave him a sense of familiarity that she wasn’t that
much changed.

In fact, she looked more exquisite like this. All drenched in a thin sheen of sweat, her breasts panting up
and down as her flush traveled down to her perky chest. It was fun, teasing her like this every now and
then, he couldn’t help but laugh at her.

Leyla’s thoughts turned pensive, watching him dryly as she half-anticipated him to resume biting her
shortly. And yet even though she knew he could overpower her so easily, he remained still as she kept
him at bay.

“What are you doing?” She asked him, and Matthias only sighed as he laid on his back right beside her, a
pleased smile on his face. He then turned towards her, and gathered her in his arms and pulled her flush
against him once more.
Having constant contact with her, skin on skin, was very relaxing for him.

Leyla was sprawled across his chest, and she angled her head in a way she could see him. The look of
confusion remained on her face.

Matthias lay on his back on the bed, hugging her. Leyla, sitting on top of the man, looked down at him as
if she didn’t understand.

“Is that really what you want to ask?” He asked her, a teasing glint in his eyes, and Leyla frowned.

“Y-you were the one who pushed me into the bed.” She weakly pointed out, and his grin grew wider at
her embarrassment. Looking at him like this, all boyish and normal, did not seem as intimidating as
before.

“Are you even strong enough right now?” She asked him after a few moments, and he only shrugged.
Leyla tried to move away from him, but his arms tightened around her, and she huffed out irritably.

“You’re not going to allow me to move, are you?” She asked him dryly, and he only grinned in reply.

“Maybe.” He said, and let out another laugh. Leyla pouted.

“Perhaps you should stop laughing at me and I wouldn’t be so opposed to being so near you.”
Immediately she shoved his arm rather roughly and tried to keep it there.

Matthias’ laughter died down, but the smile remained on his face as Leyla turned to look back at him.
She sat up and tilted her head, observing him.

“Aren’t you frightened, my Duke?” Leyla whispered sultrily towards him, and Matthias watched her with
rapt attention as she gingerly held out a hand, and began to caress his face in a lovingly manner. “Aren’t
you scared of what I could do to you?”

Matthias let himself follow her movements freely. He felt her slender fingers grip his chin, and gently
forced him to keep eye contact with her. As if she even had to do that.

She’s always had his undying attention after all.

Matthias closed his eyes to lean into her touch, before he opened them up once more and gave her a
languid smile.

“Do whatever you want.” He answered back in a husky voice, sending a thrill of excitement through
Leyla’s body.

Immediately, she gently brought her other hand to brace herself over his shoulder, before she swung
over him, effectively straddling him by the waist.

At this position, he could feel her heat directly over his stiffening desire.
Her hands wandered over to cup his face, and Matthias kept eye contact with her. In Leyla’s eyes was a
fiery passion so free, as though she was laying everything bare for him to see.

“Do it as much as you like,” He finished in a breathy whisper, loving the way things were progressing.

Leyla looked at his beautiful face, forgetting neither earlier’s hesitation nor the cold anger rising from
the depths of her heart. In her thoughts, she unconsciously let go of his face, and began to gently pat his
cheeks in small taps.

“Do you like what you see?” Matthias whispered to her with a knowing smirk. There was no hint of
shame at all coming from him.

“Yes.” she whispered back.

Leyla decided to be as calm as he was. Though perhaps, he wasn’t expecting such a response from her,
because his brows furrowed moments later.

She needed to rectify this.

“I like it a lot more than your personality.” She added offhandedly. Now that was the truth. She would
admit he did have a handsome face, and a glorious body to go with. But that was the only good thing
about him.

Matthias eyed her carefully for a while, before he began to laugh out loud. The echoes of his laughter
reverberated around the room, even as Leyla felt his torso shaking beneath her palms as he chuckled
into the silence.

“Are you okay, Leyla?” He finally asked, a hand reaching out to cup her cheeks in response. Upon his
touch, she felt a rush of heat pool deep within her. “I feel as though you’re making me go crazy.” He told
her softly, and Leyla shook her head, and caressed his hand with hers.

“No.” She murmured, “I won’t let you go crazy.” She falsely promised as she gave him an endearing
smile.

Leyla’s eyes passed over their surroundings. Her eyes trailed over the high ceilings and splendid walls,
towards the antique furniture and artwork, before stopping once more on his face.

She was once again how powerful of a man he was. His status as her master, and yet…

He was willingly submitting to her right here. Allowing himself to be lower than her.

Perhaps it was brought on by the fact that she was no longer afraid of him. However at this moment, the
Duke was just like any other man. Helpless in front of a woman’s wiles.

She couldn’t help the triumphant smirk slipping through the corner of her lips.
“You’re the one who should be worried about what I’m going to do with you today, my Duke.” She
whispered above him with a smirk, while Matthias gently rutted his hips upwards, invoking an erotic
gasp to escape from her.

Calloused palms gripped the thighs straddling him.

“Are you confident that you’ll be able to have great pleasure today?” He challenged, “So great in fact,
that I have to worry about it?”

“We’ll see,” She hummed, gently rocking her hips up and down the length of his hardness. “We’ll have
to decide on the verdict once I’m through with you.”

There was only a bright smile on her face, mirroring the excitement deep within her heart at this very
moment. Her eyes remained fixed on Matthias, she didn’t want to miss a single moment of this time.
She wanted it ingrained in her mind that she’ll remember this moment clearly for the years to come.

‘Soon, I will give you a lot of hurt and pain.’’ She grinned confidently above him.

As if brought on by her thoughts, Leyla’s hands traveled towards his neck, leaving a gentle pressure on
her sides, as she licked her lips, releasing a relaxed sigh. She dipped her head down, and dove right into
his mouth.

Their tongues fought for dominance, but Leyla was eager to ride in this current high, and make him
submit to her for a change.

She felt his breath turn ragged, and soon, soon he will be turned into putty once she’s through with him.

There was an underlying fear in the back of her mind, but it was oh so satisfying seeing this powerful
man brought down in front of her, a lowly peasant in their eyes, simply because of his greedy obsession
with her.

And then she pulled away, Matthias rising up to chase after her lips, but she applied more pressure into
his neck, looking at him firmly like she would with one of her rowdy students.

“Wait.” She voiced to him, pulling back. She watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he
swallowed down his excitement. His calloused hands, which had been fisted on the sheets beside them,
soon came up to grip on her waist.

“Ah-uh-ah!” She tutted, clicking her tongue in dissatisfaction, “You promised to let me do what I
wanted.” She reminded him, rocking her moist folds over his hardened length a couple of times.

Matthias bit back a groan, his hips jutting up in response, when Leyla raised her hips just a little bit out
of reach.

She then took both his arms, and pressed it down the sides of his head. She allowed her breast to dangle
enticingly above him despite the growing embarrassment at her immoral actions, but she pushed it
down, eager to see this through.
Bit by bit, his eyes trailed over her naked body, feeling himself strain beneath her as the hungry beast
within him coiled with every mark he’d left her with earlier.

And then he turned limp beneath her, a wordless admittance of defeat.

It took every ounce of will in him to not just ignore her and take her for himself once more, but he was a
man of his word. Plus, he couldn’t ever deny her anything when it came to her genuine enjoyment.

Satisfied with his cooperation, Leyla brought her hips back down and slowly released his hands as she
sat right above his groin with a triumphant smile.

Right now, she looked every bit like a queen sitting on her rightful throne, demanding him to give her his
life.
Chapter 105

Last Waltz

A sordid smile emerged from Matthias’ lips as looked up at his bold mistress. He laid beneath her in
dormancy, as if handing over the reigns completely under her command.

On the other hand, Leyla’s heart was beating wildly in her chest in a mix of anxiety and excitement at
the prospect of her leading tonight’s activities. She eyed him in a contemplative manner, before
eventually lowering her torso closer to his…

Matthias would have groaned out in relief the moment her bare chest draped across his, but he found
himself pleasantly surprised when Leyla’s tongue delved deep into his mouth not a second later,
swallowing whatever sound he would have made.

Their lips danced against each other, their tongues entangling with each other as they devoured each
other mutually. Matthias wanted to watch her more, but the feel of her lips against his was too
overwhelming, his eyes fluttered shut eventually.

With his sight gone from the equation, the other sensations heightened, making him feel the warmth
emanating from Leyla above him. At this distance, he could smell the sweet scent he’d come to
associate with her…

His fists clenched tighter around the sheets in an effort to reign in his building urges that the veins along
his arms were becoming more defined. He eagerly took and savored her fiery kisses, swallowing down
the saliva dripping from both their mouths.

‘There must be something,’ Matthias belatedly thought as Leyla pulled away with a wet pop, a thin line
of saliva connecting their lips. She eyed him with half-lidded eyes, before her nimble fingers grabbed
onto the collar of his shirt…

And she deftly began unbuttoning it one by one.

Her hips rocked temptingly above his clothed erection, making him groan in response as he threw his
head back at the sweet friction. Her dainty hands began roaming his bare chest, chilly fingers brushing
over his pebbled nipples, before he felt her shift her hips down to his thighs…
Leyla felt her hands freeze in their ministrations as she eyed the buckles of the Duke’s pants. The
prospect of having to undress the Duke by her own volition was so much like choosing to jump over a
cliff…

But she had to. She wanted to seduce him, and trap him in a lie full of sweetness and lust.

‘Something is happening here,’ Matthias’ thoughts continued as he watched her hesitate, ‘This sudden
change in tune, it can’t have happened overnight.’

Despite his willingness to indulge in such actions and sweet words, Matthias’ mind remained alert, and
was well aware something was amiss behind the recent smiles and amiability he was being shown by the
object of his desires.

But in his mind, he could only assume she was gearing up to ask something from him. And despite his
preference of gaining this sweet treatment from her, he wasn’t entirely fooled by her sudden easy
smiles and acts of intimacy.

‘It doesn’t matter in the end why she’s being very cooperative lately,’ Matthias thought. He’d just give
what she wanted with no question, so long as she kept staying by his side. She needed only to ask it of
him, and he’ll give her anything, and everything she dreamed of.

Leyla still had to completely remove Matthias’ shirt from his arms, She grabbed the edges of his polo
shirt, and got ready to pry them off of him. In the process of preparing herself, she vaguely noticed her
breathing quickening, as well as the rush of blood warming up her face, all the way down to the top of
her breasts as her hands shook.

Yet despite the growing nervousness, there was fiery determination in her eyes.

Taking slight pity at her sudden shyness, Matthias released one of his hands from laying limply at his
sides, and reached up to tuck a stray strand behind her ear. At his movement, Leyla’s eyes widened in
surprise, finally shaking out of her nervous wreck and suddenly moved back up his thighs, sitting firmly
on his crotch.

At the sudden return of her heat on top of his erection, Matthias let out a curse in frustration as he tried
not to thrust up into her. Leyla felt her face flush even more at the sudden break in character for the
Duke.

Matthias met her eyes, not even phased by the obscene word that escaped his lips.

He could see she was still a little nervous. He let out a resigned smile, and dropped his hand back to his
side, relenting the controls back to her as he returned to restraining himself.

Once he’d deferred to her control once more, Leyla felt a rush of momentary relief. She chanced a look
around her, contemplating, almost like she was regretting ever taking the lead.
All around them, all she could see was the blatant representation of the richness and power of the man
beneath her. Aside from the spacious and luxurious bedroom, her eyes darted back to the canary
sleeping soundly in a beautiful cage.

Her eyes glanced back down at the man lying under her.

And just like that, her previous bravado left her, and now she was left with an overwhelming suffocation
in the situation she currently found herself in.

How embarrassing this was. And to think she actually had the gall to be proud of taking control for once!
That was only possible because Matthias allowed it to be. If he wanted to, he would have taken absolute
control by now.

Even when he let her lead, she really wasn’t the one truly in charge in the end. It had always been
Matthias.

And Leyla couldn’t help the pang of shame and disappointment in herself for having forgotten that.

“Keep going, my Queen.” Matthias urged her, gesturing for her to continue and lead them to pleasure.
Despite how crooked his smile looked, it was equally fascinating as repulsive as it was to her.

‘What are you doing, Leyla?’ She asked herself as she tried to keep down the burning humiliation in her
actions.

How blinded had she currently been that she didn’t realize that even now, Matthias was still teasing her
to his own amusement?!

There was a familiar pin pricking sensation in her eyes, making her lower them in an attempt to hide
them from the Duke.

The sight of his naked chest harshly reminded her of how she was currently straddling him, and in her
embarrassment, she hastily looked back up to avert her eyes from it and saw his face instead, intensely
looking at her.

With her earlier confidence having left her completely, she twisted her body hastily, but Matthias’ finally
moved and quickly grabbed her by the waist, keeping her firmly in place. She gasped upon his touch,
and braced herself, palms landing on his shoulder as she kept him at arm’s length.

“I-I’ll stop here.” She stuttered in all seriousness, unable to keep going.

Everything about this was horrifying! She had been so confident in her abilities, that everything would
go as planned, and yet she fell right into his trap with the trap she laid out for him!

There was no other way now. She needed to make haste and escape from him immediately before she
got caught deeper into his schemes!
Leyla was roughly shaken out of her morbid thoughts, a squeal escaping her as the sudden rush of air
out of her!

She moaned as something prodded at her breasts, and she threw her head back at the quickening heat
welling up in her. She let out a breathy gasp, before she glanced down, and saw Matthias now sitting up,
and swallowing her left breast with much gusto, suckling on her perky nubs like an infant would.

She squirmed in his hold, her mind half-filled with the growing arousal in her, the other half battling for
rational thought to win over baser desires. But it seemed the time to let her do as she wished had come
for an end, for the Duke’s hold tightened around her, their hips grinding against each other insistently
despite his clothed state.

Matthias’ hand trailed up the nape of her neck, grabbing a fistful of her golden locks and pulled back,
making her moan in the added sensation of pain and pleasure mixing perfectly.

Matthias quickly switched breasts, repeating the same treatment over her neglected nub until all
strength left her, leaving her all ragged and wanton in the aftermath of his touch.

She knew by now her chest was littered with multiple bites and hickeys he’d left on her purposefully.
She sagged against his chest, unable to support herself up.

“Please, that’s enough…” she breathed out, but Matthias only gathered her limp form in his arms, and
maneuvered her in a position that well suited him tonight.

She noticed a shadow had come over her, and when she looked up, she saw the Duke hovering above
her, eyes devouring the sight of her marked body in a greedy manner.

She was back beneath him. She was trapped once again.

“Didn’t you say once that promises should be kept?” Matthias asked her as his legs pried hers apart,
creating space for him to get into, “You made a promise to me earlier,” His voice dropped to a low
baritone, a hint of a growl in the back of his throat and Leyla stifled back a moan as she shivered.

“I intend to make you keep that promise to me, my dearest mistress.” He whispered to her ear, and
Leyla began to squirm beneath him once more as she heard the sounds of his pants being unbuckled.

“My dearest queen.” He added, before his calloused palms gripped her inner thighs, prying them further
apart to accommodate him.

Leyla met his eyes in a daze, half in exhaustion and the other half in equal lust. She could feel the
arousal welling back up inside her, her inner walls turning moist at the blunt head rubbing up against her
entrance.

He must have seen the acceptance in her eyes, for he gave her a satisfied grin before filling her up
completely once again in one swift thrust.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Ratz’s spring party became more exciting as the night went by. Having been tired
of dancing along the music, drinking champagne, and chatting with the other ladies, Claudine quietly
slipped into the lounge, away from the others. As soon as she entered, the faint scent of flowers wafted
through her nose, blowing from the open window.

With spring approaching early, the flowers have already begun to bloom. Upon the thought that
summer would soon come in the blink of an eye, relief and disillusionment flooded within her, eagerly
awaiting for the season to arrive.

“It would be a shame if the queen of this party left so early.” A familiar voice piped up behind her, jolting
Claudine back into reality as she whirled around to see her new companion.

It was Riette.

Though things between them had turned tense, she didn’t bother trying to avoid him. Though it left her
with an empty feeling at this metaphorical distance that had come between them.

“I just needed a short break, that’s all.” Claudine informed him politely. And Riette let out a low chuckle.

“Ah, it’s never too early to be Duchess Herhardt, I suppose.” He remarked lightly, but a hint of bitterness
was in its undertones. Claudine’s brows crinkled at his words, and Riette’s eyes softened momentarily
before a nasty smirk made its way to his lips.

“Am I not wrong?” He asked her, tilting his head, “Why such a sour expression?”

“Riette….”

“After all you worked your whole life for this position,” Riette continued, interrupting her, “It’s just
around the corner after all, and then you’d become Duchess Herhardt for real.” He stated it in a mocking
manner, and Claudine’s hands fisted at her sides.

“If those words help your bruised ego, then I will gladly understand.” She huffed back before schooling
her features once more, and looked away from him.
Riette could only smile despondently to himself, cradling the half-filled wine glass in his hand as he
regarded her. Despite her cool tones, he could see by the way she was standing up, that this thing
between them was uncomfortable to her.

‘Is my ego bruised?’ he thought to himself, eyeing the flowing wine on the sides of his glass, ‘Am I hurt?’

Of course he was. He laid his heart out sincerely, only for Claudine to repeatedly refuse it. He knew that
it had the least probability of succeeding but deep down, he couldn’t help but hope.

A hope that if he had approached her sincerely, perhaps Claudine’s answer might change.

‘So do I hate her for it?’

What a ridiculous notion it was, when he’d ask himself such a question, he couldn’t help but laugh
despairingly at the most honest answer he could find in himself.

‘How I wished I could hate her…’

It had always been the same. Ever since he’d first laid eyes on her, and realized she was to be betrothed
to the Duke of Herhardt, he’d fervently prayed for a different outcome.

And yet, no matter what he did to change it…

Nothing’s changed.

Even as he’d been wholeheartedly honest, and stood by her side, Claudine was resolute in her ways. He
knew she was selfish in some ways, and more arrogant than the other ladies, yet he could never hate
her.

He could only pity the situation she’d been molded in.

“What an honor it is, that the Duchess, the queen of current society, to be worried about me at all.”
Riette chuckled smoothly, before kneeling in front of the ottoman chair where Claudine had been
sitting. “I’m afraid though, mere concerns are not enough to soothe me this time, my dearest Duchess,
when it’s you who’ve wounded me so.” He told her softly, and Claudine looked back at him in alarm.

“Be more careful about your words, Marquis Lindman,” She told him firmly, eyes discretely darting
around them, “You must keep your dignity.”

“Why, my dignity was never in question, my Duchess,” He replied smoothly, reaching out for one of her
hands, before bringing it close to his lips, “All I ask of you right now, is just one dance,” He then looked
up to her with half-lidded eyes…

“Will you allow me this pleasure at least?” He asked her with a sad smile, and Claudine found herself
unable to deny him, even though she didn’t want to.
Claudine’s first dance partner, when she debuted in the social world, was none other than Matthias,
himself. Everyone knew it was as it should be, and so did Claudine. However, whenever she’d recall her
dances that night…

The most memorable thing was her last waltz. When she had danced with Riette.

His movements weren’t as perfect as Matthias’s, but it was in his arms, she felt like she was being cared
for. Although not as elegant and courteous as Mathias had greeted her, it was his playful smile, spilling
heartfelt congratulations to her debut in the society that eased her worries that night.

It was the warmth that Riette shared that comforted her strangely aching heart, that scared her the
most in spending this added time with him. Even though she was treated like a princess by Duke
Herhardt, society’s most envied groom, and currently the most desirable bachelor..

And yet at the end of the day, Claudine couldn’t help but take Riette’s hand, accepting his invitation to a
dance. As he had implied, just because they danced together once, won’t mean a line between them
had been crossed.

As if to prove him right, no one batted an eye even as they watched the two of them glide across the
ballroom.

It was another ordinary night of festivities.

And yet, in Riette’s arms tonight, she felt a cold chill in the pit of her stomach. He danced with her in his
arms, yes, but there was a distinct lack of the warmth he used to hold her in.

He was dancing very politely, as though there was a physical wall between them. Like a gentleman who
had asked a lady stranger’s hand for a dance.

Soon their song had come to an end, as the music faded in the background and people stopped dancing
around them. Riette gave her a sad smile, before he moved to take hold of her hand…

Except, he retracted.

Instead, he dropped into a respectful bow in front of her.

“It was a great honor, to have danced with you Lady-no,” Riette shook his head and gave her a longing
gaze, before smiling brightly, “Duchess Herhardt.”

They held each other’s gazes for a second longer, yet Claudine could see this time, it was Riette who was
drawing a line, for both their sakes.

Just as she wished him to.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
In the end, Claudine was relieved. This was a good thing, she thought relentlessly as she returned to the
Brandt house that had been based in Ratz. She kept telling herself this was for the best, ever since the
festivities came to an end, up until she was back in the privacy of her own bedroom.

Still she kept tossing and turning when she’d gone to bed. Unable to sleep, she got up and turned on the
night lamp beside her bed, giving a soft warm glow around her direct vicinity. If anyone was to see her
though, she would still look unusually pale.

Was this goodbye then? Was Riette’s unrequited love coming to a close, finally?

If so, why was his last smile still stuck in her head?

Even though he’d yet to be engaged, it was unlikely that he’d be behind everyone else. She wagered
that he’d find a suitable bride within this year. As such, he will soon end up married, ultimately fulfilling
his duty.

Indeed this was a fitting goodbye, Claudine knew that to be true and yet…

And yet…

Claudine’s eyes screwed shut as she clutched her bed covers in frustration. She bit her lower lip to
prevent the threatening frustration screaming out her lips, before her eyes snapped open, and she
threw the covers off of her!

Getting up from her bed, she put on a robe and strode with purpose towards the door. But just as she
was about to grab hold of the knob, her hands froze, hovering unsurely at the door in front of her.

There was a sinking feeling of anger and frustration deep inside her at the thought she was losing Riette
forever…

Why should she be the only one who kept losing in this engagement?!

Claudine’s goals remained unchanged. She was still determined to be a duchess, but she had no desire
to endure an unfair loss between them. If this marriage was to be a business deal between the two great
families, then she should be gaining an equal share.

And so should Matthias!

Forcing herself to calm down, Claudine strode back towards her bedroom, and lit the lamp by her desk
table. She then sat down, before grabbing a piece of paper, a quill on the other. As she breathed in and
out deeply in slow rhythmic patterns, the cold glint in her eyes soon turned into a frozen tundra.

If she, Claudine von Brandt, was to lose her love for a perfect marriage, then so should Matthias.

Why should Matthias keep getting what he wanted? A perfect marriage, and now the mistress he always
wanted?
‘I won’t let it happen,’ she thought hatefully as she clutched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

“It shouldn’t matter how great a Duchess’ position is – nothing is worth it if you’ll end up destroying
yourself, Claudine.”

Riette’s voice of reason echoed deep in the recesses of her mind, making her hesitate in what she was
about to do.

He wouldn’t want her to do this. This wasn’t like her, and yet…

And yet…

Riette’s look of resignation at that last second they held gazes before he turned away from her earlier in
the night flashed through her mind…

Riette was no longer by her side.

Her grip on the pen tightened, before Claudine eventually took the quill pen, and dipped it in ink. She
wiped the excess off the edge of the bottle, before the tip of the pen touched the paper’s surface.

And she scribbled away, putting her thoughts into actions.

She did not doubt Leyla’s promise that she would leave Matthias. It wasn’t in her nature to sully her
morals, not when she’d been so humiliated! Not after everything Claudine revealed to her at that
moment.

If she were just that kind of woman, maybe she wouldn’t hate Leyla Lewellin like this.

But Claudine was getting impatient. She didn’t want to wait for that perfect moment, and leave
everything to Leyla’s timing!

Why on earth should she do that?

She might be unable to kill Leyla, but she knew exactly how to make sure Leyla would want to disappear
and die as far away from them as possible…

And ultimately make Matthias lose the one thing that was very dear to him.

Claudine’s words flowed effortlessly as she scribbled away in a mad rage, the words blurring in front of
her. She folded the letter carefully in a pristine envelope, and sealed it, scribbling the name of its
recipient…

One foolish, old gardener.

Chapter 106

But You’re Mine

Whenever Leyla fluttered her glistening eyes open, there were always two blue orbs looking back down
at her. And then this gentle push and pull between them would resume, his eyes never leaving her.

Despite the icy colors mirrored in his eyes, Leyla couldn’t help but feel engulfed in their warmth.

She raised her palms to cover her face, hiding it away from his penetrating gaze while simultaneously
pushing him out even though she knew it would be useless. Still, despite the cover and the distance she
placed between them, it was almost as though he could see straight into her heart.

A moan erupted through her lips, unable to keep down the bubbling pleasure building up inside her as
Matthias kept going with his erotic ministrations.

“Leyla,” he whispered out her name like a sigh, paving the way for that heat inside her to replenish as
his rough, calloused hands fondled her breasts, pinching and twisting her sensitive nub in one hand
while the other rubbed against her stimulated button in the nether regions.

Through lust-filled eyes, Leyla tried to keep eye contact with the man buried deep inside her as he
rutted against her thighs.

He was so beautiful like this. His dark locks matted against his temples, with that pinkish flush on his
face as their ragged breaths intermingled between them. He kept steady eye contact with her, his
expression barely changing with her attention, but she could see that miniscule quirk up his lips once
he’d registered he had her undivided attention.

Leyla began to curl in on herself at that moment because she couldn’t stand the strange feeling coming
over her. Matthias frowned at her pulling away from him but soon gave a soft smile in her direction and
chuckled lowly, giving that heated sensation in her an extra boost.

Matthias slowed down his movement a little, dipped his head down, and kissed Leyla firmly on the lips.
Only upon the feel of his lips ravishing hers did Leyla realize she was terribly disorganized.

In the background, she was still painfully aware of the creaking and rutting sounds the bed was made in
response to their movements.
When the Duke pulled away and moved to kiss her again, she firmly blocked his advances with her palm,
covering her mouth fully. She might not be able to physically part from him right now, but she needed
some distance between them.

And for now, physical barriers will have to do, which also made her firmly close her legs in an attempt to
regain composure.

But Matthias’s hands clamped back down on her thighs, forcibly keeping them apart as he settled in
nicely between her legs. Leyla felt her heart lurch to her throat as he hiked her legs up to his shoulders,
trailing kisses on her inner thighs.

She had no desire to do this now! She needed to be away from him right now! She couldn’t think clearly
with him so nearby… so intimate with her, and yet Matthias buried himself deep inside her heat in one
swift thrust.

“Don’t look! No!” she whined pathetically as the Duke’s lustful gaze watched their bodies turn into one
and chuckled when she scrambled to sit up and cover his eyes. He grabbed her wrists and held them in
front of him, kissing the inside of her wrists before hooking them up around his neck.

Leyla was now hanging off of his body, her entire body shuddering as he pistoned in and out deeply of
her. She felt her eyes begin to sting with the brimming of her tears, so she bit down hard on her lips to
stifle the moans and sobs threatening to spill out.

She knew from the moment she resigned to the title of his mistress that she’d be forced to satisfy all his
physical desires, but she couldn’t help the rising torrent of shame and guilt in her actions. It was
addicting as it was disgusting.

Calloused hands supported her, Matthias grabbing a fistful of her buttocks as she bounced on top of
him. She fell closer into his chest, allowing him to claim her lips into his as well, plunging his tongue into
her mouth.

When he pulled away, Leyla’s words were weak in protest and more indecipherable as it mixed with her
pleasured sounds, the creaking of the bed, and flesh slapping against each other with a wet squelch.

“Pretty.”

Matthias whispered against her lips before pulling her into another desperate kiss as her walls clamped
down around him.

“I’m shameful,” She gasped out, a moan slipping out as he hit deep into her. Her torso convulsed when
he scraped against her inner walls, giving her sweet friction and filling her up to the brim. His hands
kneaded her butt sensually, their chests rubbing up against each other as he suckled into her collarbone.

“It’s dirty,” Leyla’s lips wobbled as she felt herself clench up around him as he thrust deep into her.
“You’re insanely pretty, you.” He kept muttering against her breast before swallowing one of her nipples
and suckled into them like a newborn infant.

Leyla was at a loss for words and opted to look at him instead.

This was the man who trampled on her life without any remorse because of his desire to have her. This
was the man who used cowardly tricks by blackmailing her into agreeing and proceeded to violate her
with great satisfaction.

A despicable man to the core, and yet…

There was a shameful urge to sink into his arms deep inside her gut, sickening her to the core of how
wrong this feeling was…

Especially for a man who ruined her life.

She thought back to the humiliation and guilt she felt when she had been confronted by Claudine about
her affair. She thought back to the hurt in Kyle’s eyes when he saw them in the cabin and the crushed
look of his when she insisted she was in love with the Duke…

She imagined the great pain and disappointment Uncle Bill would endure once he learned of her
discretions. She could only imagine the stress she would put upon him once he realizes it was for his
safety that she was giving herself up to the duke…

The man who started all this tragedy in her life.

She knew that fact well, but still, her mind was having trouble connecting the face in front of her to the
man she knew lay behind these beautiful blue pools.

These cool blue eyes that stared into her soul always seemed sincere. Those lips who would engulf hers
in a fit of passion and whisper sweet nothings in the shell of her ears…

His genuine laughter, his warm and tender touch…

All these were true as well.

But Leyla didn’t want to think more about it and thus surrendered herself up to the pleasure he was
actively giving her. Her breath choked up in her throat with every gasp and moan he coaxed out of her,
so lost in the physical pleasure as her sanity drifted in and out of her.

She felt suffocated in his arms, but she didn’t want to part from it at the same time. Whenever her
thoughts turned morbid, his sweet words would always pull her back…

His compliments on how beautiful she was, body slick with sweat and orgasm. On and on, he kept
repeating it, making her feel more ashamed of how shamelessly she drank it all up.
He spilled nothing else but her name and her beauty, planting sweet kisses on the entire expanse of her
naked skin, searing deep into her soul just how satisfied he was, filling her up until her body grew taut
and maximum tension coiled in her gut…

And then she saw stars as she climaxed. Her juices spilled between them while he gave her a few more
thrusts before pulling out of her sensitive walls and spilling white, hot seed across her belly.

Both eventually came down from their high, with Matthias pulling her back flush on his torso and petted
her hair. Their ragged breathing soon turned soft once they calmed down. A smile bloomed on Matthias’
lips as he continued listening to the sound of their rhythmic breathing, allowing a subdued satisfaction
to lull him to sleep.

He then maneuvered Leyla to turn slightly towards him, her eyes fluttering open as she felt him leaving
butterfly kisses on her flushed cheeks. Despite the haziness that initially occurred in her eyes’ focus,
they eventually locked back onto him.

She blinked back a few times until her vision cleared, and the shameful feeling in her reared its ugly
head once more as she shuddered and tried to turn away, but Matthias’ hands went up to cup her chin
and held it in place.

“Leyla.”

He whispered her name as if hypnotized by it.

“Leyla.”

He called out again, loving how her name rolled off his tongue so easily.

He kept repeating it like a mantra, with no particular thought or reason why he kept calling her name,
but Leyla remained quiet as she continued to listen to the way he called out for her.

Leyla.

Leyla Lewellin.

My Leyla.

There was a bubbling feeling, like a laugh, welling deep inside him the more he thought about her. His
arms instinctively tightened up around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer to him as if he wanted to
meld their bodies into one.

He could see the startled expression on her face, which surged bouts of annoyance but also admiration
at how adorably cute she was acting…

But there was also a hidden nervousness buried deep inside him the more he looked at her.
“I can’t do it anymore.” Leyla weakly pleaded, her hand stretching out as her knuckles brushed his
shoulder lightly. “I’m so terrible at this… please.” She begged him in a whisper. At that moment, it
dawned on Matthias just what she’d been afraid of.

A casual smirk soon replaced the self-satisfied smile on his lips, but even so, Matthias’ hands continued
to lovingly stroke her hair.

It’s okay.

That was what his gentle brushes felt like. As though he was placating a child. Leyla slowly pulled away
from him, scooting slightly to put distance between them.

“Say it, Leyla.” He gently coaxed out, his calloused hands reaching out to grab hers. She turned her head
towards it, slightly tilting up to meet his gaze in a curious manner.

“What do you mean?” She wondered in confusion, and Matthias’ hands moved to cup her cheeks.

“How hard do you want me to go?” he asked, and Leyla’s eyes widened, and the vibrant flush returned
to her cheeks full force as she understood his implications.

“I-it’s not that.” She spluttered embarrassingly, vaguely registering the feel of his dried seed caking
against her stomach. “I – I just want to stay like this for a moment, cherish this tranquility between us.”
She told him lovingly and smiled sweetly towards him.

Matthias’ arms hiked up to support him, and he looked down at her gentle expression.

“Is that right?”

“Of course,” She whispered to him, “After all, I told you I love you, didn’t I? Did it seem like a lie?””

Matthias could only hum in response, smiling down at her in equal gentleness, but his eyes told a
different story. Whenever she looked into her eyes, she could only see deep darkness reflected in him
during the night.

There had been slight anxiety that resurfaced moments ago but eventually faded into relief when
Matthias had given her no indication that he figured out her lie. This allowed her to calm down and relax
on the satin sheets beneath them.

Which paved the way for another thought to spring up in her mind. Something she’d been finding the
right time to do.

“Actually,” She began, nibbling on her lower lips in nervousness, “I wish to ask for something.” Feeling
his eyes on her, she expertly avoided them, willing the following words to come out of her.

“As you know, my birthday is next month.” She reminded him, and Matthias chuckled at how nervous
she looked at the moment.
“When, next month, is your birthday?”

Now that he thought about it, Matthias never recalled when her birthday was. This was a perfect
opportunity to give her something lavish, something she deserved now she was his mistress.

“It’s on the first Saturday.” she meekly replied, eyes glinting in a show of excitement in the night.

Her birthday perfectly coincided with springtime’s full bloom the season. What a perfect day for a
beautiful woman such as her, Matthias thought in admiration.

“So, is this a birthday present?” He asked with a serene smile, and she nodded meekly.

“Yes.” She whispered in a small voice, hiding her face beneath the blankets, making the duke laugh. He
promptly pried the blanket off her face and brushed a finger against her cheeks as he looked at her.

“What kind of gift would you like then?”

“I-I’m having trouble choosing just one.” She admitted embarrassingly, and Matthias smiled
comfortingly at her, scooping a stray golden lock of hers, and kissed it.

“Then tell me everything you want, and I’ll get it for you.” He whispered enticingly towards her, but it
only made her frown.

“I don’t want that.” She replied, finding it utterly absurd at how easy it was to him to just purchase
things for her, and yet his willingness to give her everything she asked for made her feel warm.

The expression of her false bravado reminded Matthias pleasantly about her charity performance at the
end of last year. She was indeed the prettiest fairy that night yet gave the most hilarious performances.

His ever clumsy and most exquisite Leyla.

“I’m going to pick something that’s meaningful.” She suddenly told him, which made Matthias frown in
confusion. After a few more moments of silence, she finally looked back at him. “Soon. I will tell you
soon, which is it that I want.”

“Are you that confident then that I’ll give it to you?” Matthias asked her humoredly with a mischievous
grin, but Leyla only blinked up before looking contemplatively in thought.

“I want to believe you would give it to me.” She admitted quietly.

“Why do you think I will do that?”

The frown on her face deepened before she looked at him sheepishly.

“Because I’m pretty?” She trailed off, looking unsurely at him.

What else could she answer him after all? He just wanted her because she was beautiful in his eyes.
When he continued to stare impassively at her, Leyla couldn’t help but become self-conscious.

“I – I,” She began stuttering, “Y-you told me that I’m pretty.” She weakly reasoned out. “Was it a lie?”
She asked worriedly the longer Matthias regarded her silently.

Matthias narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he stared into hers. He tried remaining more impassively, but
the nervous she got, the more adorable she looked; thus, he’d been unable to hold back his laughter at
her expression.

Contrary to how she was trying to play him, he couldn’t find it to hate this woman. In fact, he looked
forward to be getting caught up in her schemes, ecstatically curious as to what she was getting to.

Matthias sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed. Leyla looked up at him timidly, trying to
read him, to gouge out his reaction.

Gone was the brazenly confident woman who tried to seduce him before, now replaced by her old,
clumsy self for that short moment.

Giving her a small smile, Matthias leaned his head back on the board to gaze upon the room’s ceiling, his
hand absentmindedly stroking Leyla’s hair in slow, gentle motions.

What would it be like to sleep next to her every night and wake up next to her every morning? The
thought came to his mind unbidden at that moment. But Matthias knew that was only wishful thinking
at most.

But why would he even think that? There was simply no logic he could come upon.

The title of becoming his Duchess was not just to plainly be his wife after all.

Even if he were to make her his Duchess, Leyla would not be accepted into the empire’s high society.
Instead, she would be pushed aside, and their family name and honor would crumble in the process.

It was best she would only be his mistress. But still, the thought persisted despite him knowing it
mustn’t come to be.

Still, it wasn’t as though Matthias was afraid of being scorned by the world.

After all, he was a Herhardt, first and foremost. This was just how he’s been raised. What he was born to
be.

He never had the need to look at it from another person’s perspective, nor did he have to bow his head
in deference to anyone. Whatever it was he wanted, one way or another, it’ll be given to him.

That was him, his whole life. Once a Herhardt, always a Herhardt. And he can’t find it in him to complain
about that.
But this with Leyla was unknown territory, and all that he knew for sure was he wanted her all for
himself. There were even thoughts of bringing in their family’s lawyer to gauge out the consequences he
would face if he were to break off his engagement with Claudine and take on Leyla instead.

But it wasn’t the correct decision. Nothing beneficial to their family would come if he were to pursue
this relationship with Leyla.

He needed to stop.

He took a deep breath, his hands stilling in Leyla’s hair before he pulled it away from her locks. Upon his
stilled movements, Leyla looked up at him inquiringly.

Yes, being his mistress was the best solution.

It might not be the one he wanted, but this way, he could still have her as much as he wished and then
stop when their relationship had reached a conclusion.

Moving her to Ratz would enable Leyla to live her life comfortably where he could keep tabs on her. In
this way, he could also continue being Arvis’ perfect Duke Herhardt. Nothing will change for him, and
Leyla would be solely his.

But Arvis without Leyla, well…

All of the main estate’s gardens, forests, riversides, and vast fields were nothing to him after all.

What made them so beautiful to him was her presence. He’d seen her constantly since she’d arrived at
the estate. Watched the frail young girl turn into a beautiful woman.

She was why he’d come home to Arvis.

“Ouch…” Leyla gasped out softly, gaining back Matthias’ attention. He saw her wince momentarily in
pain before realizing his hand wandered back into her hair, and now he was grasping a fistful of hair
firmly.

“I-it hurts.” She whimpered, eyes glistening in the dark, when Matthias found his grip tightening up. She
gasped out once again when he used this as a means to pull her up and towards him until his mouth was
leveled with her ears.

“You’re mine, Leyla,” he whispered, his hot breath hitting her ears, making her body shudder.

His grip on her hair remained tight as he gently leaned her head back to plant a gentle kiss on her
forehead.

“You belong to me,” He continued whispering as he planted more kisses from her temples, trailing them
down her face, “All of you belong to me.”
His other hand then came to grasp the back of her neck firmly before he abruptly let go of her hair. Leyla
squeaked in response, coaxing out an enamored smile from the Duke’s lips, yet there was a burning
intensity in his eyes as he looked at Leyla, chilling her to the bone.

Leyla found herself frozen, equally enticed with him.

“But you’re not mine,” she whispered absentmindedly before her eyes widened in surprise and then
shame. The familiar prickling sensation in her eyes returned as she tried to hold back tears.

Matthias only smiled and cooed at her praisingly.

“Yes,” he whispered in affirmation, “Such a good mistress you are.” He mumbled into her lips before he
began ravishing her slowly. In the midst of making out with one another, Leyla heard him whisper as he
pulled away…

“It doesn’t make you any less mine.”

He grinned at her affectionately, yet she could recognize that manic gleam in the eyes of Lady Brandt’s
fiance.
Chapter 107

Spring Has Come and Flowers Have Bloomed

When the mailman had stopped by earlier, Bill thought it was just another batch of his mail. And yet,
right in front of him was a very confusing letter.

There was nothing else on the envelope except his name. There was no sender to trace it back to—just
his name.

He glanced at it in confusion, turning it over in his palm as he set aside the other mail. He frowned the
more he looked at it, apprehensive about what it could contain. Deciding it was best to get this over
quickly, he plopped on a chair by the porch and finally opened the envelope just as the spring breeze
from the forest gently brushed past his dishevelled, graying hair.

What started out as simple curiosity soon turned into a boiling rage as he read, and re-read, and read
the letter for any logic to its words again. His grip on it soon tightened, crumpling up the page in both
hands as his lips were pursed into a thin line, and a frown burrowed its way on his face.

“Such crude accusations!” He all but hissed until the words were dancing in front of him with rage!

[I was uncertain how you would take this news, but I write it anyway because you have the right to
know about your foster daughter’s hidden affairs, Mr Remmer. To bring light on Leyla Lewellin’s darkest
secrets, secrets she’d been keeping from everyone and you.

She is currently in a relationship with an engaged man.

Yes, you read that correctly. I understand it would be difficult for you to believe this, and I wouldn’t
blame you, but it is my truth. You may think of me terribly; after all, in your eyes, Leyla is all but an
innocent child to you, but she isn’t. Ask her yourself, if you dare. It just pains me to know she’s been
keeping this secret for a long time, especially from you. You, who loved and cared for her since she came
into your care.

So I took it upon myself to finally reveal her secret to you.

What you do with the information I parted with you is not my business anymore. However, I would
advise you that if you really care for your foster daughter, don’t let this continue. Of course, I cannot
dictate your feelings on the matter, so choose wisely your next steps, Mr Remmer.
It’s genuinely revolting news to receive, but there was no lie in this. I swear on it in my life and the lives
of those I love.

I genuinely hope you make the right choice here, Mr Remmer. It’s not too late to rectify Leyla’s
indiscretions.]

Such elegant penmanship, yet such revolting words it contained, making Bill’s stomach twist and turn in
protest at this information presented in front of him!

And what a coward this person was! To hide in anonymity as they imparted such deliberate accusations!

“Lies! All of this!” Bill hissed quietly to himself. Upon closer inspection, he inferred that the sender was
most probably a woman. But who could do such a thing against his sweet and perfect little girl?!

Bill fisted the letter into a crumpled roll in his anger and threw it in complete rage across the room!

Such an insult to Leyla’s reputation! She was nothing but honourable and wouldn’t dare do anything as
horrendous as being with an engaged man! What malevolent creature could even think about such
horrible things to his girl!?

He caught sight of the letter and felt the urge to tear it into pieces once more. Just as he was about to
pick it up, he found himself in front of the kitchen sink…

With a window looking over to the forest.

Memories of him seeing Leyla walking through the forest came rushing in the back of his mind. She
walked back quietly to their cabin with her nightgown and white pallor, with messed up hair.

Bill’s hands shook before he clenched them up into a fist and quickly grabbed the letter off the floor,
shaking the memory out of his head.

It wasn’t true. This was all baseless accusations, and not an ounce true in it!

Why would she even entertain an engaged man!? It was wrong and completely against the values she
had!

These were only words of a coward who’s been jealous of his Leyla. Yes, that’s it. After all, if it was the
truth, why hadn’t they signed a name? Yes. What cowardice had been displayed here.

The more he denied the letter, the more his rage built up until he felt angry blood rushing to his face as
he clenched his fists hard around the letter! The wooden floorboards creaked beneath him with every
shift of his weight as he paced back and forth around the cabin.

Everything after it became a blur until Bill found himself tossing the letter into the flames, watching as
the flimsy paper eventually turned into ashes.

His eyes focused solely on the last line he could see.

‘She is currently in a relationship with an engaged man.’

“No, that’s not my Leyla,” He whispered into the flames, watching as the fire eventually ate the last of
the letter until it all turned to dust.

But the rage and ache were still in his chest, making him gather up the ashes left by the fire before
digging a hole in the back to bury it in manure and dung. Once he was done and cleaned himself off the
dirt and grime, Bill found himself sitting on the chair, staring out into nothing with a blank face.

He can’t get that image of Leyla walking back home in the middle of the night. It kept flashing across his
mind every time she appeared to be more and more like a girl, lost and stuck in the forest.

“There’s no way,” Bill whispered persistently to himself, “No way….”

The words flowed out like a mantra from his lips, berating himself over and over again for even doubting
Leyla’s credibility and reputation over a coward’s words.

So stuck in his head, he failed to see how his body shook in the confines of their cabin.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Miss Lewellin, why are you doing this again?!” Exclaimed the headmistress in surprise when Leyla had
once again put forth a letter of resignation. “You’re even resigning now instead of requesting to be
transferred!”

She narrowed her eyes in disappointment over to Leyla through the top of her spectacles before taking
a sip of her tea. She swallowed the warm liquid, revelling in its feel going down her throat, before letting
out a sigh and putting it down on the saucer.

“Is this another one of your fantasies to leave your hometown and go to a new city?” she asked her
critically, “If so, then forgive me, but I shall put your resignation on hold lest you change your mind,
again.” She told the younger woman pointedly.

Leyla could only smile sheepishly at her superior, grabbing her other arm by the elbow as she tried to
reason herself out.

“N-no.” She stuttered, shaking her head in response. “Th-that’s not why I put in my resignation.” She
added softly. The headmistress then clasped her hands before her as she scrutinized Leyla some more.

“Are you getting married, then?” She bluntly asked, and Leyla’s eyes shot up, a blush forming on her
face before shaking her head profusely!

“No!” She exclaimed, albeit a little too quickly, before quickly looking back down to fidget with her
fingers. When no further explanation was presented from Leyla, the headmistress began to feel
impatient with her silence.
“Miss Lewellin, I’d like for you to at least shed some light over this sudden decision of yours!” She
demanded, “Because as far as I’ve known and seen from you, you’ve been doing very well so I have no
idea why you’d quit this school.”

She knew Leyla had to have a good reason to hand in her resignation. Despite her chiding, Leyla wasn’t
an impulsive woman. She was very observant of all her teachers, especially the new ones. She’d seen
the way Leyla handled and prepared her lesson plans.

This was not someone who could just leave behind her students. And so she waited patiently for Miss
Lewellin to finally explain her reasoning.

“I,” Leyla paused, unsure of how to start. “I’m going to prepare for college entrance again.” She finally
said while her hands fisted on her skirt.

She needed to sell this lie. After all, she practised so hard in the mirror, trying to be as convincing as
possible. It helped that she had lots of practice in front of the Duke.

At her words, the headmistress blinked before re-reading the contents of her resignation letter.

“You’re going to college?” She asked in surprise, “You hadn’t mentioned it in your letter. Though, from
what I recall, you wanted to go to a university in the capital, didn’t you?” She surmised, trying to hide
her dislike for the idea.

As much as she wanted to hold on to her teachers, who was she to question them for trying to further
their knowledge? Certainly not her, a headmistress of a learning school.

Still, the headmistress had ample time to find a replacement for her.

“Well, if that’s really your reason, then who am I to deny you of resigning?” She finally relented, granting
Leyla to fully resign from her duties as this school’s teacher.

Leyla looked up at her and beamed a bright smile upon her acceptance before bowing in gratitude to
her.

But even that happy face of hers was a rehearsed ruse, and she kept it up even after she left the
principal’s office until it eventually faded away with every echo of her heels clicking at her step through
the empty halls.

There was a knocking loneliness banging against her chest; hearing the fading laughter of the children
outside as one by one left the school for their homes.

The day for her to leave was also drawing near as Leyla looked outside of the window, seeing the
springtime begin to blossom over the vast fields. Flowers were beginning to sprout in the apple tree
next to the window.

Now, she’ll just need to continue to cultivate her plan. Everything was going according to her plan, after
all. She just needed more of the Duke. More of his obsession, more of his desire.
Sometimes, she would almost mistake it for the love he was showing her. But that couldn’t be. She
wasn’t naive; she knew better that no monster could ever learn to love.

Every benevolent action he’d given her, they were all illusion to keep her subservient to him. And yet he
failed to see how it was all a trap.

And he, a willing victim.

What foolishness the Duke portrayed, naively believing all the promises she intended to break. She
found herself excited at every smile, laughter, and grin he’d given her freely. Truly, she was becoming
everything he wished her to be…

Now all that’s left is for her to break it down and stab him with the shards of her betrayal.

Leyla climbed on her bicycle, all the more determined to see the entire thing through. Whatever
nervousness was springing deep down in her mind, she firmly buried it down with the feelings of elation
and excitement upon her birthday.

“Pretty.”

He called her that relentlessly. His sweet whispers echoed enticingly in her mind, but she knew they
were all just poison nectar. Anymore and she would ruin herself.

Tender blue eyes flashed right in front of her, making her still in her movements.

Even if she thought about it…

Even if she believed some of this could be true… could really happen…

How further would this thing between them go?

‘What am I thinking!?’ Leyla scolded herself, hiking up the bike’s stand and got ready to pedal back
home. There was no logic to this. Why was she even thinking about things going beyond what they
already were!?

In her frustration, she pedalled furiously down the empty streets, mind running miles away from him as
she passed by the wildflowers on the way towards his property.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Spring signalled the beginning of the flowers blooming once again. It was an obvious fact that Matthias
always observed unceasingly.

He took his horse out for a ride earlier and found himself stopping beneath the shade of a willow tree,
firmly planted beside the flowing stream across from him. The scent of fresh flowers wafted over him,
bringing a cherished memory to mind.
His stallion had no qualms in taking a rest and enjoying the spring with him. And so Matthias swung
himself over the back of his horse and got down. He patted it for a well-done job before leaning against
the willow tree, still in deep thought.

Right across the stream was a meadow of budding flowers, yet to fully bloom.

This must be what Leyla meant. This must be where she watched the full bloom of spring come and go
every year, without fail.

A smile came unbidden in his mind, a buzzing thrum beneath his veins when he recalled the way she
told him before how she longed for them to enjoy this springtime together.

As much as he enjoyed riding on horseback and running through the glen, Leyla knew Arvis better than
he did. After all, this was the first time he’s been to this section of his estate. Was it right to bring her to
Ratz?

She might have loved Arvis more than he did.

But no matter, bringing her to Ratz was for the best. He would marry Claudine and keep Leyla to himself
in Ratz, and there he could do what he wanted into the light. Sponsoring Leyla to her dream college was
inconsequential.

He could still have her every night when she’s finished with her studies—a win-win situation for
everyone.

Content, he leaned his head against the bark and watched the cloudless sky. He laughed, feeling himself
light in the past few days. He’d never felt as listless as he did today, and it was because of Leyla.

And he doesn’t want it to stop. Leyla was everything for him.

Eventually, he managed to drift off, dreaming of golden locks and emerald eyes. She danced in a field of
sunshine and flowers, hands reaching out, beckoning him to take her for himself. And their bodies
molded together, limbs tangled up in one another as their breaths and sounds intermingled as one…

He could still feel the ghost of her warm body against his, even as he woke up.

The once blue sky was now basked in orange and red hues. Sunset had arrived.

He dusted off his hands and clothes with a sigh, before hoisting himself upon the stirrups and throwing
his leg over the back of his noble steed. Despite having stayed longer than anticipated, Matthias’ relaxed
gait remained, even as he galloped across the fields to return to his mansion.

Spring would inevitably come soon.

For now, he missed his canary dearly.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Bill had all but drowned his thoughts in alcohol, only stopping when he realized it was almost time for
school to be over. Which meant it was nearly time for Leyla to return home.

And so he cleaned up his mess, and then himself, and poured himself some hot tea to sober up a little
bit more before she figured something had happened in the moments she was gone.

As soon as she arrived, brightly beaming at him and kissing his cheek sweetly, any thought of
confronting her about the letter flew off his head.

This wasn’t a person who would commit an affair with an engaged man.

And so he asked her about her day, and they chatted amicably until Bill all but forgot the anonymous
letter when Leyla had dropped some unexpected news upon him.

“What?” He asked in disbelief, looking at her with wide eyes, “Is that true, Leyla? But why?” he asked
incredulously, “Isn’t the Duke sponsoring you for your college?”

It was like Bill’s feet had been pulled under him all of a sudden. This was disturbing news! What
happened? Did the Duke change his mind out of the blue?!

He had thought Leyla would be most affected by this, but she hardly seemed upset by it. Instead, she
had a serene look on her face, despite the dismayed tone in her voice.

“Yes, uncle.” She said softly, looking down on her hands that were folded in front of her. “That’s exactly
what I’m telling you.”

“But my dear…” Bill’s words trailed off as he stared longer on his beloved niece. The words were stuck in
the back of his throat, and he suspected that later on, he would be seeing the end of the alcohol bottle
once more.

He had thought that she would accept it in the end. After all, she asked for some time to think about her
decision. Instead, she did the exact opposite, and opted not to take the golden opportunity the Duke
was presenting them!

It was unfathomable for him that Leyla could just let that chance for her to pass by!

“How about it, uncle?” She hummed with bright eyes and an eager smile as she looked at him. “After
spring, let’s go somewhere else other than Ratz.” She suggested to him, “Somewhere far away! To a
place that has nothing to do with the Herhardt family!” She exclaimed excitedly, waving her hands to
emphasize just how far she wanted their vacation to be.

Bill chuckled half-heartedly, finding his chest a little lighter with how easygoing Leyla was. Still, he
couldn’t shake the undercurrent of worry upon her decision not to accept the Herhardt’s sponsorship.

“I don’t care where we go, my dear,” he told her gently with a smile, “We’ll go wherever you want.” He
reassured her but kept drumming his hands nervously on the tabletop.
“But Leyla, I need you to think about this carefully again. You being sponsored is different. It’s a one in a
million opportunity,” he emphasized. “This just doesn’t happen to anyone. Think about your future.” He
finished.

Leyla’s eyes softened as she looked at him before giving him a despondent smile.

“I know, uncle,” she reassured him, “But that’s why I decided not to take it.” She finished, beaming at
her uncle brightly. No matter how much Bill wanted her to change her mind, he knew how stubborn
Leyla really was.

“Oh that reminds me, uncle,” She beamed brightly at him, which he found to be a little more genuine
than before, “Monica got a perfect score on her arithmetic test today! You know Monica, right? She was
the youngest student you met on an autumn picnic.” She reminded him excitedly.

Bill felt himself a little apprehensive at the sudden change in topic, but understood it for what it was.
She won’t be changing her mind anytime soon, or ever. And so, he resolved himself to sit back, and
listen to her stories for the rest of their evening.

But the nagging question in the back of his mind remained. What was happening right in front of him?

He has felt so unlike himself ever since this morning. Almost as though he wasn’t even in control of his
actions as he’d gone through the rest of his household chores earlier. The letter might have rattled him
a lot more than he thought.

Should he ask her instead?

“Leyla,” He called out softly, the name slipping out of his lips before he even registered the need to call
her attention. She was currently cleaning out the table from their dinner, having finished rattling off
about the different adventures her students had at school.

Dwelling over speculations would do nothing to ease his mind and misgivings about the unpleasant
letter he’d received. It was best to ask now, and avoid further trouble later.

But how could he even begin to ask it?

Not a single word slipped out of his mouth after that, even though Leyla acknowledged his call, despite
being busy putting away some leftovers. Bill eventually cleared his throat, the aching pit in his chest
burning persistently inside him.

“I think…” he began, before quickly filling in the silence, “I should be getting to bed now, my dear.” He
informed her, and she smiled at him and nodded encouragingly, urging him to rest as much as he could
before tomorrow’s work.

How dare he have such doubts about his niece’s integrity? He knew her better than any accuser,
anonymous or not. He mentally apologized to Leyla for doubting her and believing, even for a small
moment, those lies held by a coward’s paper.
Wordlessly, Bill hurriedly left the kitchen, and headed straight into his room. He was far from ready to
go to bed from the harrowing news he’d received, but he found himself so exhausted from today.

It didn’t help that Leyla was acting a little strange from his point of view. But that could have been
conjured up by the doubts brought on by this morning’s letter.

He loathed to admit that his paranoia that something had gone wrong started long before the letter
arrived. The letter’s arrival only served to cement more of his worries to be true. No…It didn’t even start
after he’d gone and left for that trip last winter.

Now that he thought about it, the feeling of wrongness began long before that. Though he was certain
when the winter season began, everything had been fine then.

Leyla was still acting like the Leyla she once was.

And so he lied firmly on his bed, trying to erase the letter in his mind. In the end, it proved
counterproductive when its words were all that ran through his mind in the end, and the feeling of
anger in himself surged up in him once more.

Leyla isn’t like that. She wouldn’t, not in her life and dignity would she ever entertain a married man.

‘But what if… NO!’

He firmly scolded himself once more. Even if it were true, which guy in Arvis would even dare touch his
Leyla, when it was clear they already had a woman to pledge their life to?!

“No, there’s no way…” Bill muttered softly into the silence, hands shaking with rage as he imagined a
faceless figure of a man looming in front of him. It made him freeze in surprise, but he hadn’t loathed
the idea of strangling him until this imagined man breathed no more.

‘This was only the alcohol talking, it must be.’ Bill deluded himself into thinking. After all, he drank a lot,
before Leyla’s return home.

He suddenly regretted getting rid of the terrible letter. If he kept it a secret, he could have checked the
handwriting, matched it up to the documents he could get his hands on, and found out the mystery
sender’s identity.

Maybe then, he could face a feasible person in his mind, and throttle them in real life instead of even
sullying his niece’s name with horrendous lies!

As he gritted his teeth in anger, there was a sudden sound of a door creaking open. He didn’t know how
long he lay in bed, but a quick glance outside told him it was far too late for anyone to be awake.

Perhaps Leyla was getting some water to drink. She must be staying up late. It wasn’t unusual.
And so he lay still, listening to their floorboards creak until he heard the sound of the front door
creaking open before being firmly shut quietly. And Bill found himself moving unnaturally quiet as he got
up from bed and took a peek outside their cabin.

And there she was, with a flimsy shawl wrapped around her shoulders, walking through the forest in her
thin nightgown, looking as pale as a ghost-like when he’d seen her before.

But instead of coming back, she was now headed into a forest, and Bill could only stand dumbly in the
middle of his room, staring after his Leyla’s disappearing form into the woods.

Chapter 108

Everything’s So Easy For You

She arrived at the annex earlier than the aforementioned schedule. The building was still basked in
darkness. With a deep breath, she slowly went up the steps; hands buried deep in her thin cardigan’s
pocket as she fished for the key she’d been given once before.

With the cool metal in her palm, she deftly inserted it into the knob, and twisted the door open. Even
inside, only darkness greeted her back.

But it didn’t scare Leyla as much as it did before. Not when she’d roamed these halls, enough that she
could navigate through it even in the shadows.

She knew that even if she’d leave this place, this building would forever be embedded in the back of her
mind, unable to shake the looming memory of them in these walls.

Calm eyes raked over the drawing-room once she arrived in it. She stood still in place, hands back in her
pockets as she took the room in.

It was as beautiful, and as intimidating as ever. It also reminded her of that beautiful, and intricately
designed cage the Duke had for his canary. Because, in some ways, she mirrored that small canary the
Duke had raised.
She soon found herself sitting on the edge of the sofa; eyes trailed down on the tips of her toes. They
swung back and forth beneath her, before the urge to get up, and move returned, and so she did,
eventually finding herself outside on the balcony.

The cool night air, breezed through her face, making Leyla breathe in the fresh scent around her. It
wasn’t the same biting chill she felt whipping across her face when she first began this deal with the
Duke.

It’s only been a season since her life got pulled beneath her feet: just one, winter season. And yet so
much has changed, and so much more will have to change after this.

Leyla took a step forward, her body moving automatically, and her hands left her pockets to grasp the
cool surface of the balcony’s railings in front of her. Her eyes trailed mesmerized on the shimmering
waters of Schulther River.

The river had all but frozen over during the winter, but with spring around the corner, the ice had begun
thawing off, to release the rushing waters beneath the ice. She never noticed how shiny they looked
during the night, but perhaps that was because the moon was brighter tonight than before…

“How beautiful…” she muttered under her breath, completely taken with the flow of water. The
currents seemed to be pulling her in, and further down into her thoughts…

Suddenly, an intruding presence came up beside her, immediately snapping her back into reality. She
looked up, and finally saw the Duke, in all his grace and beauty, staring intently at her. A rush of warmth
came upon her.

As it gazed upon her, he was casually leaning on the balcony, eyes completely dark and soft. He lightly
gestured to the gardens below.

“The flowers have begun to bloom.” He casually began. Leyla felt her throat constrict in surprise at the
sudden topic.

“F-flowers?” She asked numbly in confusion before her eyes widened in realization, “Ah, the flowers!”
She softly piped up, suddenly feeling awkward around him. All of a sudden, that sunken feeling inside
her lightened up, giving her an energized feeling in return.

Oblivious to her inner turmoil, Matthias continued on.

“I think next week would be the right time for us.” He informed her, now overlooking outside, eyes
trailed on Arvis grounds.

“What?”

“You said you wanted to show me something.” He turned back to her, “To that special place you told
me.”
The gust of wind picked up around them, whips of golden locks flying around her face. Matthias’ hand
reached out to her, softly, and gently tucking in some of the stray strands behind her ear, caressing her
cheeks gently afterward as his fingers brushed against her skin…

Leyla took him in, drinking in his immaculate image, burning it in the back of her mind to forever
remember.

Right now, in this night and place, there were just the two of them. He wore a creamy white tennis
sweater, over flannel pants, wholly dressed in comfort than his usual formal suit and ties.

It gave her a surreal feeling, unable to comprehend this was the man in her nightmares. What a strange
man he truly was…

“W-what about this weekend, instead?” She counter suggested, hurriedly breaking eye contact and
gesturing wildly to the gardens. “Surely this weekend will give us the same beautiful view as next week.”
She smiled at him shyly.

Even as she smiled appeasingly towards him, it was like everything was slowly being muted. She was
hyper fixated on the wildly beating heart in her chest, afraid it would be too loud, Matthias would
quickly be onto her…

And now that she was so close to realizing her freedom…

Something inside her was hesitating.

What would the Duke do, if he knew the truth?

A sigh escaped from the man before her, bringing her attention back to the present once again.

“Unfortunately, we can’t.” Matthias told her, “I will need to leave for Ratz this weekend.” He regretfully
explained to her. He casually brushed up some of his hair, and Leyla’s heart skipped a beat when she
absentmindedly noted how it was the same hand he used to tuck in her hair, just a little while ago.

The casual motion messed up his perfectly quaffed hair, but Leyla belatedly noted how completely
comforting it was to see him in a less pristine condition. He looked younger than he usually did…

And she was reminded quickly how they were around the same age.

And her memories of him as a young boy came flooding. Him during school, meeting him for the first
time, encountering him as she wandered around Arvis…

Funny how nothing seemed to change day by day, but all of a sudden, everything had changed.

“You’re going to Ratz?” she clarified softly, sounding a little disappointed at that small fact, but she
quickly tamped down the feeling.
“I will.” He sighed regretfully once more, “There’s a birthday party being held, in honor of the Empress.”
He informed her, cupping her cheek with warm, calloused hands, “I’m afraid I won’t be back until the
end of next week. I plan to also use that time to finish my work in the capital.”

“Oh…” she trailed off, her voice sounding sullen, even to her own ears. Claudine’s sneering face
towering over her came unbidden in her mind, her chest tightening painfully in her chest…

‘It would also be ample time to spend time with your fiance.’ She thought unkindly, and quickly nodded
her head in understanding, before eyeing the river in complete resoluteness.

Come summertime; she was certain that the Duke’s impending nuptials would eventually be the talk of
the town, if not the whole Empire.

Even today’s lunchtime was spent on praising and admiring the young Lady Brandt, soon to be the
current Mrs. Herhardt, the next Duchess of Arvis. As she sat there with her colleagues, Leyla could only
find herself biting her tongue and listening to their words.

When engaged and asked about the wedding, Leyla could only nod and smile in response, never voicing
out any of her deep thoughts on the matter, opting to stay out of the conversations.

Even the thought of their wedding being grand and celebrated all over the Empire left a bitter taste in
her throat…

She focused back on the shimmering waters, drawn by the river’s innate beauty. It’s almost like the stars
were swimming, drifting along with the flow…

She reckoned that she’d miss the landscape the most when she’d leave Arvis inevitably. The thought of
its beauty already kept coming unbidden in her thoughts, and she found herself oddly comforted by that
fact.

She may leave Arvis, but Arvis would never leave her.

“Isn’t my queen afraid of the water?” Matthias coolly piped up beside her, immediately reminding her
she wasn’t alone.

Turning to him, with eyes widened in surprise, she blushed at the sight of that teasing smirk plastered
on his lips. Her brows furrowed, shooting him a dry glare.

“Stop teasing me.” She huffed out quietly, softly scolding him for calling her a queen.

“You said it yourself first,” Matthias pointed out, grinning and shrugging at her upon her constant glare.
“I believe your exact words were, if I’m a gentleman, then you’re the queen. Isn’t that correct?” He
hummed.

“Yes, but only when you’re being a gentleman.” Leyla shot back at him dryly. Matthias’ eyes crinkled in
delight at her response, and this time she did not shy away from his gaze. Despite the obvious passage
of time in him, Leyla would never deny how beautiful he was to her.
He’s grown strong, and more mature than he’d been before, but he was always so mesmerizing to her.
She gave him a slow once over, slowly drawing closer to him as she met his eye.

“Unfortunately, you don’t look much like a gentleman today,” She hummed, “So just call me Leyla.”

Just when she began to look away, Matthias stepped closer, and immediately cupped her cheek to keep
her looking at him. They stared into each other’s eyes, with Matthias’ thumb gently caressing her pale
cheeks…

“Come summer, I’ll personally teach you how to swim.” He promised her, eyes slightly glancing down at
the shimmering river. Almost as if he read her earlier thoughts, he went back to meet her eyes, “So then
you’ll feel how it is to swim in the stars.”

A painful lurch came upon Leyla’s chest, a watery sensation in the back of her eyes as she saw the
determination in his eyes. It was so out of the blue, it caught her off guard, and now she was trying to
blink back the tears threatening to make an appearance…

“No you won’t,” She whispered softly, “You’re lying.” She said, a tremble in her voice the more she held
his gaze, “I won’t even be here in the summer.” She said out loud, without meaning to.

At the last statement, Matthias’ could feel something burning in his chest, a wild beast unfurling awake
at her words. His eyes narrowed towards her. As if noticing her slip-up, Leyla tried not to react too much
but instead opted to clarify why that was…

“You’ll be married by then, won’t you?” She reminded him, “By then, I’ll have to leave Arvis. And we
won’t ever be here together again.”

“I… see…” Matthias’ voice trailed off as his brows furrowed in thought.

“So you see,” Leyla huffed out a breathy, despondent laugh, “You were lying after all.”

Matthias looked at her sorrowful eyes, and cupped the back of her head gently, drawing her closer to
him.

“Schulter River is not the only river in existence,” Matthias quickly rectified. “I will teach you how to
swim beside the stars.” He reiterated. Leyla smiled despondently at him.

“Everything’s so easy for you.” She absentmindedly pointed out, and he just shrugged at her.

“I never have to think hard about trivial things.”

“And what am I to you?” Leyla finally asked, looking so seriously at him, “Do you think I’m the type of
person with that kind of luxury?”

Because that’s the kind of man, he truly was.

No matter how beautiful, how powerful, he was an inconsiderate man, who thought nothing about the
consequences for others. He’ll take whatever he wants. And when he wanted her to be his mistress, he
got it as well.

And he’s also telling her to take what she wanted, as his mistress.

She would have to live in the shadows. But by his bedside, she’ll have everything she wanted in life and
more. And he will still get married, and carry on with his life as business as usual. Easy peasy.

“Do you think this has been easy for me?” She persisted, her palms locking up in its joints to prevent
herself from clenching them in frustration, “Don’t you even feel sorry for me?”

Gone were the thoughts of trying to keep up the act. She just wanted him to stop being quiet, and give
her an answer.

How did he really see her? Beyond being beautiful, beyond being his, what was she, to him?

“Do you regret any of it?” She asked again when he still remained silent, “Even a little of it? What have
you done to me?”

Still nothing, but something was already bubbling up deep within her.

‘I’m leaving you.’

She wanted to say it. Bring a reaction out of him to give her any hints of his answer. But she wouldn’t.
Telling him now would jeopardize everything she was trying to do.

And she won’t let him ruin this.

She’ll leave him and disappear to a place as far away from Arvis, and consequently its Duke, as possible.
And she will forget about both the Duke and Duchess of Arvis, no matter how long it would take.

But what if she did mean something to him? If he was sincere in his want of her, then…

Was it even worth believing him? Was he worth all the pain, the tears, the hurt she’d experienced with
his obsession and desire to have her?

‘Should I stop this now? And save my heart from the ache?’

The silence was beginning to deafen Leyla, until finally, Matthias gave her a reply.

“No.”

Something in Leyla cracked with his answer.

“I don’t regret anything.” He told her. She searched his eyes for any secrets or deceit…
There was none. He was wholly sincere that he did not regret anything he did to her. He was beautiful in
his self-assuredness, but it didn’t hide from her the ugly flaw in his personality.

“So, that’s your answer.” Leyla sighed out, half in relief, and half in acceptance.

“And what about you?” Matthias asked her, his voice dropping into a low baritone as he began to hover
behind her, his mouth right next to her ear, the heat of his body spreading to hers.

The plan was on, after all.

“Me too.” She told him with a bright smile, turning to face him, and cupping his cheek in exchange. She
stroked his face in a loving manner, coaxing him to draw closer to her as she gave him her sweetest
smile.

“I don’t regret anything with you.” She finished, thinking about how devastated he would be when she’d
turn up gone as soon as he returned.

Yes, she won’t regret anything with him indeed.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The night had been full of noises and sounds. Bill could even hear the Nightingale chirping outside, while
an owl hooted off at a distance as if to respond, adding to the symphony of the night.

He swept back his unkempt hair over his head, joint in his hands stiff in the chilly night. As he drew
closer to the Annex, he found himself frozen, staring into the lighted building.

It was an impulsive decision to follow Leyla; he knew that. He took extra measures to ensure she
wouldn’t realize he had followed her. He initially thought she had been sleepwalking and felt immense
worry for her…

But she was walking purposefully until she disappeared from his line of sight.

And so he rushed to follow her without any further thought. But he’d been unable to find neither hair
nor sight of her form in the dark. Instead, he’d been drawn by the river, its waters flowing nonstop,
echoing loudly in the quiet night.

And there he saw the Annex come to life.

But she wouldn’t. There was no way!

This was just the influence of the letter, running through his mind relentlessly. Leyla wasn’t that type of
girl at all!

He should turn back now, better get home and believe Leyla knew what she was doing, when he saw
another figure on the other side of the riverbank, ambling towards the annex.
It was a man, and Bill found himself hiding behind the tree, immediately taking cover not to be noticed.
When he’d chanced a glance at the newcomer, he immediately recognized him.

It was Duke Herhardt.

He watched as the Duke calmly entered the annex, walking up the steps, while different parts of the
separate house from the main mansion continued to light up inside.

This made no sense; Leyla would never!

Still, he found himself glued to the spot.

“Wake up Bill,” he muttered to himself, “You’re being delusional, it’s best we get some sleep.” He
further mumbled out.

Leyla might not even come by here, she must have walked the other way! Surely, she was back at home
now, all asleep and safely tucked in her bed. Yes, there was no reason for him to suspect it was Leyla in
the Annex, waiting for the Duke.

It could have been one of the attendants, sent ahead to get things ready for their master…

But just when Bill had fully convinced himself, he saw the Duke step out onto the balcony, and followed
closely behind by a woman…

Bill didn’t need a long time to recognize her either.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla’s face was pale as she walked down the connecting stairs in front of the annex. When leaving, she
grew all pale and cold, the chilling biting deep into her bones. The moon was high in the sky, illuminating
her path through the forest.

All traces of false niceties were also gone from her face. She was left with nothing but a broken spirit
and an indifferent look as she recalled the passionate kisses the Duke had given her before parting.

She made sure to fix her glasses, and then straightened out her face, before resuming her steps, a
routine she built over the nights with Matthias.

It was just like any night. It should have felt like it had every night before, yet that sinking feeling in her
gut refused to leave her be. But everything in her was numb.

There was no fear, no despair…

Not even an ounce of hurt as she replayed his answer of denial. He did not regret anything he did to her.
She will have to not regret what she does in return as well.
And there it was, that elated feeling welling up in her at the thought of what she’ll leave him with. An
obsession that will never be satisfied.

A minuscule quirk up her lips began appearing, making her feel like she was floating in the air. And then
she was skipping through the soft soil, soft giggles escaping her lips as she flailed her arms back and
forth.

‘See? I can do it well.’

She thought delightfully to herself, until she felt something dribble down her cheeks, again, and again,
and again…

Until she couldn’t ignore it anymore.

She blinked back in confusion, stopping in her victory skip, and brought a shaky hand up to her cheeks.

Why was her hand shaking?

Why did they become wet after she tapped her cheeks?

Her vision began to be blurry, and then it clicked in her head.

She was crying; why was she crying? She wasn’t hurt, was she?

Deciding to ignore that, she resumed her giddy skipping, yet still, the tears persisted in flowing. She
couldn’t help but giggle at her ridiculousness! This was tears of joy! Of course it was!

Still her hands shook, and her steps stuttered a couple of times. She could almost feel her knees
threatening to buckle beneath her…

Why was everything so muted?

Why was everything so numb?

She continued giggling to herself into the night.

She recalled that cold winter night, when she’d first embrace her hatred of him. Oh what a burden that
was! If she knew how tiring it would have been, she wouldn’t have bothered holding on to it!

It weighed heavily in her mind, making her boil with rage from just the mere thought of him, but now,
there was nothing. She couldn’t even invoke the usual level of hate for him!

‘Will the rest of my suffering and hatred leave me too, once I leave this place?’

She hummed thoughtfully, pursing her lips in genuine curiosity. She wanted to be free of the Duke, of
Arvis, and this hot-iron grip in her heart she knew to be resentment.
She also wished for the memories to leave her once she leaves too. To forget even his existence in her
life.

Her steps faltered as her grin grew shakier by the second. The darkness in front of her seemed to stretch
out, unending…

And then her giggles turned into sobs, until the weight of everything came crashing down. She was
wailing in her loneliness as she heaved for the air of salvation…

“Leyla!” a concerned yell of her name filtered through the haze of her wracking sobs. Leyla gasped for
breath, tears still flowing, as she hastily looked up and rushed to wipe away her still flowing tears…

“U-uncle?” she stuttered, hoping with all the deities in existence she was hallucinating. There was no
other way she would be able to hold onto her composure over anything else!

But it was true. This was no hallucination.

In front of her, she could see her uncle.

Her uncle who always stood so proudly. Her uncle who was unwavering in his strength. Her uncle who
cared and raised her as best as he could from her difficult childhood…

Was walking to her now in staggering steps.

She shook her head in a final attempt at denial, but even as her vision blurred once more, and cleared
up as she wiped the tears away, he remained clear and vivid in front of her.

Before she knew it, he was standing right in front of her.

And the chill in her bones turned frigid, as she fell onto her knees, the gravity of what she’s been doing
nailing the final blow to her sanity.

But instead of coming back, she was now headed into a forest, and Bill could only stand dumbly in the
middle of his room, staring after his Leyla’s disappearing form into the woods.
Chapter 109

Last Wind

It had been a while since Leyla had been led limply by the hands of her uncle. She was unresponsive
during the whole walk, and now, the cabin remained silent and still even at the break of dawn.

Consciousness eventually bled into her eyes, the glassy look disappearing into a resignation. Her eyes
flickered down, imprinting in the back of her mind every crack and crevice on the old wooden table in
front of her.

She blinked a couple of times.

Everything that happened was still so surreal. Each scene came in flashes, playing loop by loop endlessly.
But the most prominent one was Uncle Bill crying.

She let out a low chuckle, devoid of any emotion. Her uncle was crying because of her.

Sunlight eventually streamed into the cabin, Leyla’s eyes latching onto the silhouette of the sun rising
through the clouds, parting as though to tell her everything would be fine today.

The birds’ flapping their wings also drew her attention.

She vaguely remembered holding back her uncle as he tried to run back to the annex. She was hugging
him firmly from behind, holding him in her arms with an iron grip as he yelled profanities and promised
to kill him…

She was vaguely thankful they were deep in the forest, no one else would hear their commotion. But it
seemed to happen forever ago, and now, she was uncertain what would happen next.

“This needs to stop, Leyla.” Uncle Bill finally began, his voice cracking and rough after the long night,
“Tell me what’s wrong, because, this, this is not right sweetheart. Please, tell me the truth.” He pleaded
with her, yet Leyla couldn’t find any words to tell him.

Bill’s heart ached for the girl he raised. This catatonic state of hers greatly reminded him of that little girl
who came to him after a few tragic experiences.

He ensured she would want for nothing, and have a beautiful and better life than he had, than she had
in her youth…
And now…

He won’t let her become the Duke’s mistress! He’ll kill him before he ever let that happen! Bill promised
to himself, as his fists clenched at his sides.

“Uncle, I lo-” Leyla began to explain, but Bill could finally see right through her.

“Don’t you dare lie to me!” He scolded, making Leyla flinch involuntarily at his raised demand, “I know
you Leyla, I. Know. You.” He reiterated, “And I don’t believe for one second this had all been voluntary.”
He finished, breathing deeply through his nose as he tried to reign in his temper.

Leyla didn’t need that from him. She didn’t need his fury. But she also needed to be reminded she had
people in her corner, no matter how futile it seemed for her.

And it was like his words had cut deep into Leyla, for that passive poker face of hers twisted into
something undesirable. Her lips curled downwards as they trembled, and sobs wracked out of her body,
as she desperately hid her face in her palms.

Bill immediately sat beside her, and pulled her into a comforting embrace, whispering how he’ll make
things better soon, she just needed to trust him.

When he persisted in asking how long this had been going on, how it began, Leyla bit into her lips,
unable to look at him, he worried she’d draw blood…

But then things began clicking into place.

The accident in the greenhouse, the way the Duke dropped the charges and kept him employed despite
him knowing some employees had been sacked for lesser offenses…

The way Leyla started pulling away from him, while at the same time began to cling desperately around
him…

The added favors the Duke made to what he thought would help better his and his niece’s situation in
the long run…

And like a fool, he didn’t think twice about looking at the gift in the horse’s mouth. Bill despaired how
he’d been a willing pawn by the Duke to imprison his lovely girl further. He could only pale at the
thought of his involuntary compliance.

It wasn’t the Duke’s mercy and grace that got him out of jail. It was the promise of Leyla submitting to
his whims and desires that did.

And giving him that comfortable job in Ratz? And sponsoring Leyla in her dream school? That was only
to further indebted them to him and hold onto Leyla for an indefinite future, even as he married Lady
Brandt.

“No way… it was the accident wasn’t it?”

“No!” Leyla persisted, pleading it was anything but, promising she’d fallen in love with the Duke and
begged him to make her his mistress, but Bill could hear every lie now that he was well aware of it.

Blatant lies they really were, very plain to see. Leyla had never been a good actress, much less a liar. He
hadn’t been able to see it before because he didn’t want to see it.

“I foolishly thought he’d saved us from poverty when he released me, but I had unwittingly sold you to a
monster instead….”

“No uncle! Please, believe me, I love him! I was selfish, I wanted him to be mine!”

“I promise you I’ll kill him, with my bare hands if I have to!”

Bill shot up to his feet, unbridled anger now coiling beneath his veins, a hidden promise to deliver it to
the guilty party! Bill had no doubts the Duke even took into consideration the ruined reputation Leyla
would have once word of their affair would get out.

If that happens, Leyla would forever be trapped within his shadow, his to use and dispose as he wanted.
The Duke would bear none of the brunts of his actions, but Leyla would bear every shame.

“No uncle don’t!” Leyla pleaded as she blocked him from leaving the cabin and knelt before him, “If you
go to prison again, I won’t live!” She exclaimed, tears flowing out of her eyes as she wailed for him to
stay.

“Why should I not kill him for what he did to you?!” Bill demanded, still angry at his blindness and for
failing to protect his ward.

“Because I’m leaving anyway! I swear it, I will leave Arvis forever, and finish our affair before he even
marries Lady Brandt! I won’t go to him anymore after tonight, I’ll do my best not to!”

And then it all clicked, every conversation of hers trying to convince them to leave behind Arvis, and
settle somewhere else so far away…

She had tried to fix everything by herself. How could Bill jeopardize her even further by soiling his hands
with murder?

“Oh, my poor girl,” Bill sobbed, pulling her up to her feet and bringing her into a tight hug, “I’m so sorry,
my dear, I’m so sorry!” He begged her for forgiveness, as Leyla hugged him tight in equal desperation.

How brightly the sun shone in Arvis, completely oblivious to the storm clouds over the two unfortunate
people in the quaint cabin.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
“Master, we’re all set to leave.” Hessen quickly said after he’d approached quietly beside Matthias.

He nodded in acknowledgement, and swiftly stood to his feet. Hessen got to work, brushing his master’s
suit to keep it pristine, while Matthias gathered his things.

As his butler was fixing his clothes, Matthias looked out his massive windows, hoping to catch a glance
of his mistress walking through the gardens. He belatedly noted that the roses would be in bloom soon.

He smiled to himself at how similar Leyla was to the flowers. She lived and came into his life to make it
beautiful.

A slight pout appeared in his lips. Leyla must not have left for work yet. Usually he’d have seen her by
now. He really hoped to see her before he left. Perhaps they could work out a system once he returned.

Once Hessen had backed away, finished with fixing him up, Matthias headed to his golden cage, and
smiled at his canary. He lightly tapped against the sides of the cage to gain the bird’s attention.

Without fail, the bird stopped grooming itself and chirped in greeting him, drawing closer to his fingers.
It was happy today too.

Matthias turned on his heels and walked out of his mansion. His chauffeur held open the car door for
him as he descended the steps. Belatedly, he cursed himself in his mind for not asking what she wanted
for his return.

Nevertheless, he was certain he could pick her a gift worthy of her beauty.

“Oh, Mr. Remmer, good morning.” Hessen’s voice interrupted Matthias’ musings as he halted from
entering the car to look back and saw his butler greeting the old gardener, who held a muddy shovel in
hand.

Matthias hoped he wasn’t tracking mud all over the garden, and if he was, he’d clean it up soon.

“Can I help you with anything?” Hessen asked the gardener, who locked eyes with the Duke.

There was something there, Matthias could tell, but he couldn’t fathom where it would come from.

“Mr. Remmer?” Hessen called out softly, finally gaining the gardener’s attention once more.

“Oh, it was nothing. Must have blanked out for a while there.” Bill replied amicably to Hessen, his hands
on his shovel tight, judging by the way his knuckles were turning white.

Bill had decided to never go near the Duke again, in an effort to keep his promise to Leyla. But when
he’d seen the Duke going down his mansion, all pristine and untouchable…

He marched forward, making a beeline for the Duke.

It was only the memory of Leyla begging him not to, that kept him glued in his spot, long before the
butler even took notice of him.
The Duke must have brushed him off as something trivial, for he got in the car not long after that. He
watched as the chauffeur shut the Duke’s door, going around the car to get back in the driver’s seat.

Oh how outwardly he really was the picture-perfect gentleman. Bill had once been in disbelief and awe
of him.

“Bill, truly, what’s wrong?” Hessen turned to him once more, after giving his master a respectful
goodbye bow. “This isn’t like you.”

Bill’s grip on his shovel tightened, and he swallowed down his scowl and displeasure. Hessen wasn’t free
of his ire either. He was undoubtedly the head butler of the Herhardts and was well aware of his
master’s extracurricular.

He must have known it was Leyla, and still, he did nothing.

Bill gave him a tight smile instead.

“Really, it’s nothing.” Bill insisted, quelling his anger with righteous patience. For Leyla’s sake, and so
they can escape. He will reign in his rage.

The family he once saw as his fellow workers were gone. They weren’t family if they blindly allowed this
to happen, and never thought to inform him.

These were people he’d been with, grew up with since his youth. This new truth was sickening and
disheartening to him.

And now, he was just plain tired.

“I was just going to say goodbye.” Bill added as an afterthought, “That’s all, nothing more.”

Without waiting for a further reply, Bill hurriedly made his exit, and went back to the direction of the
gardens. Just as he was about to near a flowerbed, he was stopped by an image of a child, waiting in a
mail wagon.

And then his ugly emotions came rising up, immediately rearing its ugly head, as he threw his tightly
gripped shovel away in haste! His abrupt actions didn’t go unnoticed, drawing a few more stares from
his fellow co-workers.

But no one dared to ask him what was wrong.

“Ah, Mr. Remmer! Just in time, I see!” Remarked the mailman jovially as he noticed the seasoned
gardener. He began to approach Bill with a bright smile, and the old gardener fought to keep himself
calm.

Whether the mailman noticed his trembling hands as he received his telegram, he would never know.
His eyes focused on the telegram he had just received, a cold steely gaze formed in his eyes as he
realized what it was. It was a telegram replying to the one he had sent a few days ago.

Discreetly, he opened up his telegram away from any prying eyes, and read its contents swiftly. Relief
bled into his eyes the more he read its contents, his trembling hands coming to a relaxed grip, and the
burning ire in him was gradually doused.

He won’t make the same mistake again. This time, he’ll make sure he’ll protect his Leyla, and not fail her
as he did.

He only has one priority left, one promise to keep with all his heart, and he won’t fail it. He’s ready to
leave everything behind for this. Everything else pales in comparison than the promise this one thing
would bring them.

Leyla was now his utmost priority, and no one else is above that. Not even his own life.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Teacher, are you sick?” a small voice asked Leyla, when she looked down, she saw Monica, looking up
at her with worried eyes. Before she could even answer her, the little girl’s lips began to tremble and
promptly began to cry..

“T-teacher!” She wailed, and reached out to grab her by the edge of her sleeves to tug her arm down as
Leyla rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Oh sweet thing, I’m sorry for worrying you,” Leyla hushed, while simultaneously trying to keep herself
alert and awake to do her job. She reached down to hold the girl’s hands, while her other hand reached
to put on her glasses. “Why are you still here? Is your ride not here yet?” She asked worriedly, smiling
reassuringly to the young girl.

Monica whimpered as she still kept sobbing with worry.

“You look sick, teacher.” She persisted, fresh tears flowing once more, “Please don’t die!” She wailed
once more. “Don’t be like my mom too teacher! She was sick, and then she died! Don’t die, teacher!”
She kept saying.

In the end, Leyla was kept out of her depressing thoughts trying to console the young girl she was
nowhere near sickness nor death.

She ended up sitting the young girl in her lap, while wiping her tears away with her handkerchief, until
the wails and sobs turned into sniffling instead.
“So, teacher is not dying?” Monica sniffed, her red-rimmed eyes finally beginning to believe her. “You’re
not sick?”

“No, I’m not.” Leyla said with a smile, but inwardly, she was berating herself for holding herself rather
poorly that her student had to see her in such a pathetic state.

Meanwhile, finally convinced, Monica quickly beamed at her and hopped out of her lap. She darted
quickly to her things, and then back, holding a fistful bouquet of grass flowers up to her.

“Then, I’ll give you this teacher.” She sweetly offered. Some plants had already started to wither, but
Leyla could still see the brightly colored yellow petals, and received it kindly.

“Thank you, Monica.”

“Don’t get sick, okay?” Monica reiterated and Leyla nodded with a gentle smile. “You promise?”

“Pinky promise.” Leyla told her. Monica beamed at her brightly. Leyla set the bouquet down gently on
her desk, before wiping the remnants of her tears, and fixing the little girl’s hair back to how it had been
when she first entered the class.

The child finally left for home, leaving Leyla alone to her thoughts once more.

The novice teacher sat in her seat, looking out into nothingness before she shook out of her own
reverie, and gathered her things, before getting ready to return to their cabin. She half dreaded having
to see her uncle again, still being painfully reminded of what he now knew about her.

“Let’s leave, Leyla.”

Oh how she longed so much to hear those words from her uncle. But she hated how he had to know
about her sleeping with the Duke for him to say it. He’d been silent for several days since he figured it
out, leaving her to her thoughts and ruminations, when he broke his silence this morning just to tell her
that.

“I can’t leave you in his hands for another day. Let’s run away together, even to the end of the world so
that the Duke will never find you again.”

Her uncle’s eyes were cold, even though his words were passionate as he said them to her. Speechless
as she was, she couldn’t deny wanting to do the same, and nodded her ascent.

She was going to leave soon anyway, so why not do it sooner than expected? She hated she had been
caught by her uncle, but the damage was done. She’d been discovered, and Uncle Bill ended up getting
hurt.

At the very least, she could finally leave him now. All that was left was to leave him. It was what she
wanted most in the end after all.
It didn’t matter to her where they would end up. So long as it was as far away from him as possible. So
long as she could forget him in peace, and never see him again, she would be happy once more.

And then she could re-live her dream life, and live peacefully with her Uncle once more, as they did
before this whole mess even began.

She hoisted herself over her bike, occasionally rubbing her eyes to keep herself awake until she got
home. She then proceeded to pedal back home, quickly passing by the cityscapes and busybodies in the
streets.

Before she knew it, she had already turned down the road headed to Arvis, a fond memory quickly
resurfacing to mind when she’d been visiting Uncle Bill as she rode on a rattling mail wagon.

She had been practising milling with an old luggage bag in her tiny arms. She remembered praying
earnestly that her Uncle Bill would like her. If he turned out to be better than the others, then she
promised she would be a good little girl.

And when he turned out to be the best guardian she could ask for, she tried really hard to be a good girl.
And yet, she ended up with a lifetime of looking over her shoulder, in fear of a powerful man taking her
away from her uncle.

She also broke her uncle’s heart. Giving in and resulting in shameful acts just to ask for what she wanted
from the powerful man. It was an act not so easily forgotten…

She belatedly thought she should never have come to Arvis in the first place.

She should have gone with the orphanage instead. If she had, she would never have crossed paths with
the Duke, she wouldn’t be in this mess. She wouldn’t have had to suffer in her adult life…

Kyle and Uncle Bill would have been better off never meeting her too. If they hadn’t, they would have
never been so unhappy now.

But she was also selfish. Because she knew, if she were given a chance, she would still choose to come
to Arvis anyway despite knowing that. And it made her stomach churn uncomfortably at its
implications…

Suddenly, a car came around the corner, halting Leyla in her tracks. She’d recognize that car anywhere.

It was the Duke’s.

Chapter 110

For Eternity

The leaves around her were of a beautiful forest green, swaying along with the evening winds as the sky
was painted orange as the sun prepared to rest for the day.

Leyla found herself scooting closer to the shaded area on the sidewalk as she watched the car halt in
front of her. She had no doubt it had been ordered to do so by its master, safely nestled inside.

As expected, the doors in the car clicked unlocked, and Matthias pristinely stepped out of the vehicle
without further adieu, and made a beeline straight for her.

Leyla could only watch him in rapt attention, drinking in his image and form, unconsciously burning it to
her memory.

He stopped a couple of paces in front of her, and they stared into each other’s eyes. None of them made
any move to fill the awkward silence between them, aside from the rustling and whistling of leaves and
winds.

“Have you given it much thought then?” Matthias finally asked her, breaking the silence after a quick
glance at his wristwatch.

He was supposed to be departing Arvis, but that had been delayed due to an abrupt luncheon meeting.
Which meant he would have to miss the evening train, which he was supposed to take to be able to
attend the Queen’s birthday party on time.

Upon her confused look, Matthias decided to clarify.

“Your birthday gift, have you given it some thought?” He asked her again, deciding to ask now instead of
later, when he’d most likely forget to ask.

Leyla let out an indecipherable sigh, and Matthias faintly noted how her knuckles turned white as she
gripped her bicycle handles.

She seemed exceptionally smaller and younger today, and once more, silence befell them both once
again, with Leyla content to stare at him.
Matthias greatly adored these moments with Leyla. He was most fond of these moments because they
also gave him a great excuse to ogle and take in every bit of her features and memorize every crevice
and reaction in her body and mannerisms.

From the way she talks, to how he predicted her thoughts would be, down to her eyelashes, her golden
locks, kissable lips, and soft body…

He wanted more of her, even though he already had all of her. He wanted more of her kisses, more of
her smile, more of her touch, her warmth, her scent on his sheets. He wanted to make sure as well
everyone knew she was his.

And he wanted to hold her attention, her eyes, and her priority forever. Now that she was no longer
looking as scared of him as she was before, he wanted to see more of that blushing cheeks, and hear
more of her devotion to him.

She might often be lost in her thoughts, but he was lost in thoughts of her. And it made everything soft
and beautiful in his bland life.

It was an exhilarating feeling indeed.

“Yes, I remember.” she softly told him, smiling prettily at him with those soft, kissable, plump lips of
hers, “Can I say it to you now?” She asked him.

Leyla was sick to her stomach now that she was this close to him. Gone was the earned comfort she
found around him as images of her uncle’s heartbroken face flashed through the back of her mind.

She still had a part to play after all. She needed to look alive, like she loved his attention on her.

“Tell me.” Matthias ordered her with no hesitation and Leyla tried her best not to smile derisively.

“Hmm, even if I tell it to you, do you really promise to give it to me?” She tilted her head up cutely at
him. She tried to play coy with him, wanting to gouge out his reaction and drive the nail further in his
heart when she disappeared from him forever.

“Of course I will.” Matthias promised her, his sharp eyes softening in response to her adoring request of
him. “Anything you ask of me, shall be yours.” He swore to her, his confident grin turning into a soft
smile…

He could faintly feel the pounding in his chest. What would she ask of him? He was very excited to
know, as she looked up at him contentedly with her bright smile directed to him.

Evening might already be overhead, but with Leyla, everything was bright as day for him.

Leyla, on the other hand, felt so different from him.

She knew deep down, that no matter what she did, nothing would break this man in front of her. Even if
she were to escape, it wouldn’t be enough to destroy him in the way she wanted him to be distraught.
He will still live his life, free of the guilt and hurt he had brought upon her life.

He will still become Claudine’s powerful husband.

But it didn’t stop her one bit from wishing she held his heart, so that she could break it for him.

“Love me…”

She whispered earnestly, looking up at him in a pleading manner. The wind around them began to pick
up pace, while Matthias felt himself still with her words.

He looked down, and properly looked at her for the first time, beyond just the beauty he had been so
mesmerized with, and felt himself get sucked in even further.

She looked positively radiant begging him like this, even as her golden locks fluttered in wisps with the
wind.

“Please love me.”

She repeated, louder than before, pouring her most heartfelt wish in those words, giving him a watery
smile.

“I need you to love me. I want you to love me.”

Something throbbed in his chest at her words, confusion filling his mind, though outwardly he remained
unphased by her pleas.

Leyla looked up at him so expectantly, yet he was completely oblivious to the malicious intent behind
those sweet, flowery words.

She desperately wished that when she finally left him, he’d be wounded so deeply, no amount of time
would ever heal it.

‘Cry for me,’ She thought in her head, her wishes ringing loudly in the back of her mind, ‘Just this time, I
want to know you cried because of me.’

The fading morning light bounced on their skins, the Duke’s fair skin painted a golden orange as he held
his mistress’ gaze. Leyla could feel her tears begin to well up, but she’d gotten good at holding them
back.

Only her red-rimmed eyes indicated she was being emotional as of the moment. She tried to hide it with
an ever bright smile, but Matthias remained silent.

She thought back to her life before, her time with Kyle until how he finally parted from her for the last
time, her first meeting with Uncle Bill, and his expletives and promises of bodily hurt when he found out
she’d been whoring herself to the Duke…

Every good thing in her life had been destroyed without a second thought by this one man alone…
“Give me your love, for eternity…” She added wistfully with a sweet voice, holding up a hand to caress
his cheeks lovingly.

This would be the last time she would ever touch him. The last time she would ever feel his warm skin
beneath her palms…

It was time to say goodbye.

This would be her final farewell.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Finally, it was time to leave Arvis. Mark Evers had already gone ahead and opened up the car door for
his master, but when the Duke came, he stopped right in front, before he could even get it.

He squirmed minutely in place, glancing nervously at his master, and back towards his fellow servants.
Finally, he cleared his throat a few seconds after the Duke still stood in place, staring blankly into the
empty backseat of his car.

“Master,” He called out softly, finally gaining the Duke’s attention as he immediately snapped his eyes
towards him. Mark flinched in response, before bowing his head towards him. “I’m afraid time is of the
essence, we must leave now, to get to the Capital in time.” He politely explained.

Matthias looked outwardly calm, yet his mind was running nonstop, replaying his mistress’ words over
and over again. Something was unsettled in his gut, and he wasn’t certain why it was. Only that
something was amiss.

“Very well,” he coolly replied, seemingly still lost in his thoughts, before letting out a resigned sigh,
“Let’s leave.” He ordered, and swiftly got in his car seat, letting Mark close the door after him.

They arrived rather quickly, the driver expertly weaving through the traffic and into the train station to
not miss their departure. Immediately, the chauffeur came around to the Duke’s side, and opened up his
door.

Matthias pristinely slid out of his seat and began walking towards the train, as his servants trailed after
him, carrying his luggage. The train station was rather crowded at the moment, but at least no
pedestrians were standing in the way of the Duke as he waited for the train to come around in the front
of the platform.

Once the train rolled to a stop in front of them, and unloaded its current passengers, Matthias wasted
no time in climbing aboard, followed dutifully by his attendants. He was seated comfortably, while the
others sat a few seats down, but still close enough to make sure he had everything he needed.

Once the last passenger had climbed aboard, the train let out a sharp whistle, and thrummed with low
vibrations as it started to leave. Chatter filled around Matthias, but he saw little reason listening in, and
stared out of his window instead.
He watched as the train rolled out of the station, the buildings blurring in front of him, and every face of
every person he could see. It was a sight he’d seen so many times now, it had gotten dull so long ago.

This was only a short trip, after all. It was just a week, and not for anything special, despite what the
empire wanted to make it so.

Settling in comfortably in his plush seat, Matthias let out a low sigh and fluttered his eyes shut. Once he
did, a pleasant face surfaced in the forefront of his thoughts, letting him hum comfortably in peace.

Her green eyes reminded him wonderfully of evergreen leaves in the morning dew. How beautiful.

But what did it mean to love?

What an odd request, he couldn’t wrap his mind around it. How should he love her?

They already shared a bed, seen each other in their bare bodies, and utter vulnerability. He’d gifted her
the things she desired and more, and she’d welcome his advances in return.

How else was he supposed to love her?

He hadn’t answered her back then, because he didn’t see a difference in what they had been doing to
what he knew love to be. Her earnest wish for him to love her, left him completely baffled.

Though it seemed time had stretched between them in silence, it lasted only for a short while, before
his attention was brought back to the present and to his urgent schedule by his attendant, who had
interrupted their moment.

He had glanced back at her one last time, looking at those emerald orbs that seemed to glisten in
sadness as he turned away from her. He might have been wishfully thinking about that last bit, but he
classified it as something to think about later.

And that’s when the feeling of something amiss had begun. He’d left her behind for his trips before, yet
something in his gut was churning uncomfortably, the wrongness of their latest encounter bugging him
to no end.

But even though it felt like his feet were being swept up beneath him, her last pretty smile to him made
everything feel like he was floating instead. It was with her, he could feel he had wings.

She was his damnation, but she was also his salvation.

His eyes fluttered open once more, and focused back on the passing buildings outside his window,
before it was engulfed in pure darkness as they passed through a tunnel. Leyla was still firmly in his
mind, more prominent now in the darkness, as she was the only thing lighting his way.

She hadn’t held onto him once they’d been interrupted. Instead, she let out a nervous laughter and
stepped back to give some ample space between them.
And he got in his car without further adieu, watching the rearview mirror as she stood in place, watching
him leave her, until she was no longer within his sight.

He’d looked back several times once she did. Craning his neck around to catch more glimpses at her,
resolutely ignoring the stares of his attendant and chauffeur. The creeping feeling of him leaving behind
something important grew with the distance between them.

Once more, he pushed thoughts of those back in his mind and focused on the landscape that had
returned to view outside.

Leyla would be there when he returned anyway.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The feeling persisted, as did the thoughts that kept arising even as he tried to bury it for later thoughts
of her. In no time, he’d finally arrived in Ratz. And his attendants came bustling around him, preparing
him for the royal banquet and he only stood there and waited for them to finish their tasks.

And then the night was over, and a new day rose again, and he went on to do the tasks he intended to
finish earlier to spend more time with his mistress.

He suddenly felt the urge to look back once more, irrational as it was. He knew he wouldn’t see Leyla
behind him, no matter how hard he looked. Leyla was firmly in Arvis, and would remain there until he
moved her to their mansion in Ratz.

Still, every passing glance at a blonde woman, he wished them desperately to be Leyla. The more he
thought of her, the more clearly he could see her in every single thing in Ratz.

Even the clear memory of her bright smile gave him a jittery feeling. It made everything brighter in this
night of frenzy and socialites. How pathetic of him to think that.

Once he was done being prepared, automatically he came towards his large window, and drew the
curtains open, before belatedly realizing this wasn’t Arvis. He was already in his mansion in Ratz.

It didn’t matter, he told himself placatingly. Leyla would soon come to live with him here, and here, they
would be free to be with one another as they wished.

Did everything really come to him as easily as she said it did? He never thought about it before.

Perhaps she was right in that regard. But was it his fault he was born with a silver spoon? It wasn’t also
his fault that people loved giving him things he wanted at a moment’s notice. It was also why he’d never
felt threatened by anyone.

He could make anything he wanted happen with his own will and power.
And then the image of her falling down the road, her bike being upturned, and its wheels spinning
uncontrollably on the side of the road came to mind. He felt his heart quickening painfully in his chest at
the sight of it, he barely noticed the rustling leaves around them…

Was everything really so easy for him?

She wasn’t easily attained by him after all.

With a sigh, Matthias turned around, and leaned back against the windowsill in deep thought.

The Brandt family would be coming around to visit them in Ratz. He had no doubt it would be to discuss
details on his upcoming nuptials further. It would be what he would do, so this was a beautiful
opportunity.

After all, he would be married soon, so further discussions with them would also soon come to an end.
Less things to worry about.

It’s nothing to do with Leyla, his marriage. It was just something he needed to do. After all, it was the
proper path for him, a path he knew he would take one day.

But should it even come to fruition?

Just before a slew of unwarranted questions would come spilling out of his thoughts, a sudden knock
jolted him out of his thoughts. He turned to his door, and in came a maid informing him of Count Brandt
and his family’s arrival.

They’d come earlier than intended. Matthias hummed in acknowledgement, before turning away.
Shortly after, he exited his chambers, and came to greet his fiance and soon-to-be-in-laws.

Claudine was as radiant as ever, wearing the latest spring fashion. She looked as fresh as a newly
bloomed flower. Even the Duke’s nearby maids couldn’t help but be enraptured by her pleasantly.

He’d also heard that Claudine performed well last night, she was the most desirable lady in attendance.
Truly befitting for the next in line Duchess Herhardt. She even beat the Empress’ daughter, who’d also
tried to offer him her hand in marriage.

But being noble-born, Matthias expected her to do well on such occasions. So it wasn’t as awe-inspiring
as it sounded to him, even if the Empress acknowledged her superiority amongst the others.

Really, the only thing left for them to do was get married officially. It was something both families
worked hard to ensure for many years. And one that would ensure that the next generation of
Herhardts would grow into more power, and the glory of their family would continue to hold long after
they’re gone.

“Oh, Duke Herhardt, I’m very pleased you’re finally here!” Greeted Claudine with a beaming smile,
immediately standing up to greet him politely. Matthias only nodded politely towards her in response,
languidly approaching them and smiled at his other guests.
Claudine bitterly thought that while he’d been dutiful to her last night, staying by her side, and escorting
her wherever and whenever they were needed to, she could tell he wasn’t really paying attention at all
to anyone.

Even as he looked at her, he didn’t seem to find her worthy of any thought at all.

“Would you all care to join me for a walk in the gardens?” He immediately asked Claudine, wasting no
time for niceties.

Everyone was taken aback by the sudden request, as they all looked at him in confusion, and half with
apprehension. It was a very odd request, especially as he’d never done this before.

Any time they were meeting up, it was always with visiting families, and attendants. He’d never once
initiated contact, completely content the Brandt family would be the one seeking him out if they ever
need anything done.

“Y-you mean, just us? The two of us?” Claudine asked for clarification, and Matthias nodded promptly.

“Yes, my Lady. I wish to speak to you about something.” He told her, his tone indicating he won’t have
any qualms telling her anyway even if she were to deny an opportunity for any privacy.

It irked Claudine very much that she could tell just who he’d been thinking about before the odd request
even as he talked to her.

The least he could do was marry her first, before bringing up the subject of his mistress.

Unfortunately for many of them, before Claudine could even give him a response, a servant came
hollering, calling out loudly for their master’s attention. They rushed in without any preamble, all
frazzled and panicked and also…

Terrified.

“Master!” It was Matthias’ attendant.

Elysee frowned in displeasure, immediately shooting up to her feet in indignation!

“Have you no manners?! We’re in the presence of our guests! You would do well to make no
commotion unless it’s a life and death situation!” She immediately scolded, and the attendant blushed
furiously in embarrassment at being openly berated.

Matthias assessed him momentarily, before that uncomfortable churn returned in his gut. His entire
frame tensed in anticipation, completely ignoring his mother and went past her to regain his servant’s
attention.

“What happened?” He asked harshly, and the attendant’s eyes locked on his before the fear returned to
him.
Now everyone was eager to hear what was happening and watched as the attendant gulped down
nervously, and bowed his head deeply in front of them.

“We had received an urgent call from Arvis, my Lord.” He finally said.

Chapter 111

In the End, That’s All

Everything had come to a standstill after that, and Matthias took a deep breath, unknowingly glaring at
his attendant for whatever unpleasant news he was about to impart.

Matthias could feel the uncomfortable churning growing in his gut, and wondered if this was it? This was
what’s been bothering him since he left Arvis.

“What call? What happened?” He immediately demanded, while Evers stammered through his words,
“Just say it, Evers!” He commanded impatiently, and the man flinched at his raised tone, and bowed his
head even further, but spoke in a clear and loud voice.

“They had just discovered that Bill Remmer, and Leyla Lewellin had gone missing in Arvis,” He began, “It
seemed both of them had run away, my Lord.”

Silence came after his words; you could hear a pin drop with the tension in the room.

Meanwhile, hidden from Matthias’ view, Claudine made a herculean effort not to show the pleasing
smile threatening to reveal itself from hearing the news. Claudine stared at Matthias’ back, who
remained unmoving.

“No one realized it, until they stopped by their cabin, and found they were gone along with some of
their belongings. It seemed they’d left sometime last night.” Evers regrettably finished.

“What an ingrate!” suddenly exclaimed by Elysee after a few more moments of silence, “After all we’ve
done for them-!” her words were cut off abruptly when she realized the funny looks the Brandts were
giving them, and felt embarrassed.
To have a servant run away from you! That was utterly embarrassing! She thought of the nasty rumors
this would incur! Elysee was no stranger in using rumors to undermine a powerful family.

This could be the beginning of many conspiracies against them!

“Oh how awful of them to do so, for sure, Duchess Elysee!” Claudine quickly joined in, to show support
for her soon-to-be-mother-in-law, “What could have possessed them to do such an insult to your great
family!?”

She looked convincingly worried at her fiance, her body shaking with what they perceived to be hidden
rage…

But it was hidden excitement instead.

So her letter had arrived safely in the old gardener’s hand. She hadn’t been sure how it had gone, but
fortunately it went better than she expected!

“This seemed to be more urgent, my Duke,” Claudine began, looking at him, and then to their
companions, “We must postpone discussions of our wedding, and let the Herhardts settle their affairs
before imposing on them.” She told her parents.

‘Well done, Leyla,’ Claudine praised in her mind, ‘I couldn’t have asked for a better performance!’

Claudine looked back at the Duke, and took note of his prolonged silence. While the two duchesses were
hurt and confused by these sudden actions, Matthias remained outwardly indifferent to the news…

But Claudine could feel it in the air.

Finally, she had caused something to affect the great and powerful Duke of Arvis. She couldn’t help but
excitedly think about what he would do next? To what actions would he limit himself to?

How far would he go for her?

“It seems I must apologize,” Matthias interrupted the furious chatter and turned to them, looking
positively unaffected, “I seemed to have overlooked a few matters in regards to our own household. I
hope you’ll understand my absence.” He informed them.

To anyone else there, he was unshaken by the news, but Claudine had seen his hands shake as he fixed
the buttons on his coat. And she mentally applauded Leyla for a job well done indeed!

She might even be more inclined to forgive Leyla for the humiliation she’d experienced with their affair.

At last, this untouchable man that would be her husband, had something taken from him. At last, he
now knew the pain of not getting what he wanted most of all.

What a fitting end to the story of the Duke and his favored peasant.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

They had crossed borders way into the night. As Leyla looked outside her window, she could see the
fading outline of scenic views. Despite the darkness blanketing the outside landscapes, she could see it
vividly.

It was so reminiscent of the times she boarded the train by herself in her youth. It had been a strange
feeling then, going into a peculiar company all alone by train.

Just as she did back then, she sucked in a deep breath, holding it in as long as she could, before releasing
it slowly outside her airways in an attempt to calm down her beating heart.

When the train passed through another tunnel, for a split second, she saw herself again, but not her
current self, but the lost little girl she remembered seeing back then as she rode into Arvis.

Once the train completely passed the tunnel, and back into open air, her reflection reverted back to her
current image.

She couldn’t help but chuckle mirthlessly to herself. That wide-eyed look on her face in her youth was
replaced by a haunted look by a war veteran.

But Leyla was no soldier, nor a veteran. She was simply tired, and numb.

Something in her felt empty in leaving Arvis just like this.

“Focus on me, Leyla.” she faintly heard, “That’s a good girl.” Her uncle cooed comfortingly at her. She
looked at him with a mix of surprise and confusion. She had thought he’d been asleep.

A warm, and coarse cloth came to dab gently on her cheeks. Had she been crying?

“We’ve still a long journey ahead of us, but I guess you’d know it better than I.” He smiled at her sadly,
“It is after all, your hometown.” He finished softly.

Leyla’s eyes widened, before she smiled at him gratefully. She could see he was exhausted by their quick
escape from Arvis, yet still, here he was, making sure she was okay.

But at least, boarding the train didn’t leave her with a deafening silence. It helped in drowning her
thoughts out by the loud hollering of the train’s chimneys, the rattling wheels beneath them, and other
snoring and well-rested passengers.

Uncle Bill helped her adjust her blanket comfily around her shoulders, lightly tapping her rhythmically as
she nestled in her seat, before closing her eyes. She could hear him quietly humming a soothing lullaby
he used to sing to her when she’d wake up with nightmares…

She wanted this moment to last.

When he’d first brought up going to Lovita, Leyla had doubted he would go through with the plan. But
he moved quicker than she anticipated, and suddenly, they were both ready to leave.

She didn’t expect to leave so quickly.

When night fell on Arvis, he immediately carted her around, bringing a sparse number of their
belongings and snuck out in the cover of darkness, away from prying eyes. Leyla only brought with her
the meager savings she put aside, before they were off to a train, with a bag of their things and the
clothes on their back.

He’d explained to her quietly on the way about his distant relative. They lived in the southern end of
Lovita, and while they only shared a name between them, they had been willing to help them keep a low
profile, and settle down eventually.

Even the stinging in her chest felt a little muted at that.

“I’m sorry, uncle.” Leyla apologized, finding no sleep despite knowing Arvis was miles away, and she had
nothing left to care for in it. She looked at her uncle in the eyes, and felt a familiar sting growing in her
eyes, but her expression remained blank…

“If I hadn’t come to Arvis…”

“Hush now,” Bill interrupted quietly, patting her by the shoulder rhythmically still, and tucked her
further into the nook of his neck, half cradling her torso like he would a small child. “I don’t want to hear
those words, not from you, most of all.” Her uncle continued to tell her.

His eyes held a scary determination, but there was an abundant love and care for her underneath it all.

“It was with you, I found a new meaning to my life, a new purpose. So don’t say sorry,” he uncle
reassured her, “For I’m not sorry having met the most precious person in my life.” He smiled at her, and
patted her on the head placatingly.

Unlike the Duke’s, her uncle’s touch didn’t send uncomfortable tingles all over her body, but a rush of
warmth and security. She could feel the honesty in his words.

He didn’t regret having her in his life.

Because before he had been in charge of Leyla, Bill had been content in his mediocre lifestyle. Only ever
going through the motions of his chores and work, idle chatter with his companions here and there…

But once the child came around, he never realized just how dull his life had been before. It had been
peaceful before she came around, and his life got harder trying to support him and a growing girl’s
needs…

But he wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. Not when he’d experienced a surreal sense of fulfillment
and purpose in taking care of her all these years. Not when he realized how wonderful it was, to help
rear something wonderful into the world…
“So don’t worry about anything more, my dear,” He whispered against the head of hair tucked beneath
his chin, “We’ll get through this, together, as we always do.” He planted a reassuring kiss on the top of
her head, before meeting her eyes.

Leyla felt her eyes water, at the pure affection she could see in her uncle’s eyes. She might be crying, but
for the first time, in a long time, a comforting warmth was beginning to seep through her heart…

Spreading out in a safe blanket all around her.

They would be fine. She had to believe that. They were still together after all.

The night fell deeper around them, and soon, Leyla could feel the sleep calling out to her like a warm
embrace. Uncle Bill had fallen asleep not long after he reassured her, but Leyla stayed awake a little
longer, still basking in its peacefulness.

She untucked herself from the thick blanket, opening up a side, and laying it over her uncle’s shoulders
as well, sharing the blanket between the two of them. She snuggled back in his half embrace and tucked
herself comfortably by the crook of his neck, half laying on his shoulder.

And when she closed her eyes, she promised never to look back again.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

They had escaped through the night. That was the only explanation anyone could come up with ever
since they discovered the missing esteemed gardener of Arvis and his foster daughter.

“Have you gone by the school?” Hessen urgently inquired as soon as Mark Evers entered the butler’s
small office space. His subordinate’s expression was grim and serious, before nodding in response.

“I spoke with the principal,” Mark began, “But even she had been shocked to hear Ms. Lewellin’s
disappearance. Aside from Leyla resigning from her post, for the next school year, she doesn’t know
anything else.” He finished.

“That’s unfortunate,” Hessen hummed, “And what about Mr. Remmer’s relatives? Anyone he could be
visiting?”

“No,” Mark shook his head despondently, “His brother, his last living relative, passed away roughly two
years ago. No one else has been listed as his relative, nor anyone he could be affiliated with outside of
Arvis.”

“This is a mess.” Hessen sighed, rubbing his temples in a way to stave off an impending headache.
When they’d given word of the two’s disappearance, he half expected how quickly the Duke of Arvis
returned. He just hadn’t anticipated he would be arriving within the night, ready and geared in to launch
a full-blown hunt and investigation as to where they could have gone.

“Find them.”

Those were his master’s words. And while relayed calmly and in a monotone voice, Hessen could see the
hidden threat behind his master’s eyes if they were to fail in this task.

It sent shivers down the seasoned butler’s spine.

He half wished their master would openly lash out instead. At least it would be simpler to clean up
broken furniture or things, and replace them, than trying to appease the hidden dragon he knows is
threatening to burst within his master.

Even now, the Duke of Arvis remained cool and unphased, but Hessen could feel how different, and
much colder he’d become.

“But the Duke seemed to have calmed down by now, perhaps he’d finally given up?” Mark asked him
rather hopefully, but before Hessen could even respond, the bell rang sharply in the butler’s office…

The Duke was summoning him.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias woke up normally the days after Leyla disappeared. He went on as he normally would even
when she had been around. Still the picture-perfect Duke of Arvis.

He’d gotten up early as he normally did, read the morning paper as usual, and ate his simple, yet
expertly cooked and planned breakfast. After that, he got ready for work, and wasted not a second
more.

He went on receiving reports and meeting with prominent business partners. He’d met with concerned
directors, and offered expert solutions. He even attended afternoon meetings promptly, and finished
them satisfactorily to his standards.

There had also been added concerns of nearby disputes by country borders, and he’d sat back and
watched those meetings as well, but he hardly felt the need to participate. It was all very trivial to him,
nothing purposeful.

The Herhardt house will still prevail either way, despite the logical reasoning stemming from both sides
of the disgruntled parties. He quietly chuckled in amusement at their squabbling.
How very pathetic they all were. He hardly cared if anyone noticed his less-than-ideal behavior. They
didn’t matter to him at all.

He could feel their confused stares on him, but they didn’t matter to him either.

None of them ever did, and it made him burst into a rude laughter in the midst of the meeting,
effectively cutting off the argument, as they all stared at him in a mix of confusion, apprehension and
offense.

His laughter died down eventually, and Matthias smiled at them.

“I apologize, do continue.”

And they spared him some last glances, and resumed their talks. Matthias might have acted as a liaison
to both sides, and helped them reach a compromise, but it was hardly a noticeable feat.

The answer had always been in front of them, they’d just been too blinded by their own agendas, they
hardly reached the correct conclusion.

All in all, it had been a family business that expanded so rapidly, that eventually their management
methods for each expansion began to deviate from the original system. Which eventually led to many
inconsistencies, and mismanagement, but Matthias quickly directed them to which was proper and
more effective.

And after that, he went to a dinner meeting. While he found it relaxing being around familiar faces, and
slipped in easily to his usual role as the lead conversationalist, it wasn’t a memorable night.

He’d had many of those nights already. Just another easy day for him. So quiet and perfect.

How boring.

“We’re very sorry, my Lord.” Hessen apologized as soon as he arrived, bowing deeply at his side.

Ah, that’s right. He’d summoned his butler for their recent progress. How disappointing their
performance has been lately.

So far, they’ve told them they left in the middle of the night, and with no leads as to where. They neither
had colleagues outside of Arvis, or any living relatives remaining. No connections leading to where they
could have run off to.

“Find them.” He reiterated, still looking serenely into his fireplace. He shouldn’t have had to repeat
them in the first place.

“But, my Lord-” Hessen began after a tense moment of silence, but Matthias wasn’t interested in
hearing their failure.
“It’s simply impossible for anyone to disappear without a single trace,” He abruptly interrupted his
butler, “They have more relatives than the ones in their direct line, I assure you.” He pointed out, before
leaning back in his wing chair and closed his eyes.

“Use whatever means you need to. Just find them.” He finished.

Hessen remained standing in place, observing his master a little while longer. Outwardly, the Duke was
calm, and hardly affected by this news. But he’d been serving the young Duke almost all his life, he could
pick up the way his jaw had grown sharper…

His cheeks are hollower than before. And the tenseness in his frame, even as he feigned relaxation…

“As you wish, my Lord.” Hessen finally responded, bowing down once again, before quietly making his
exit.

Matthias took a deep breath, sinking further into the plush cushion of his wing chair. He hadn’t
bothered getting out of his suit, he was rather comfortable even. And then a beautiful face flashed in
the back of his mind, and he let out an amused laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

“Well played, my little bird,” He chuckled in amusement with himself, “I fell right in your trap!” he
praised, smiling maniacally.

It all clicked right then and there, when he’d heard they had disappeared, why he’d been so unsettled. It
was because of this. Always, his little bird always had tricks up her sleeves.

He expected her to be up to something, but not of this. He never thought she would escape him.

What a truly delightful being. He’d never grow bored of her now!

And to think she begged him to love her. Ah, she really was driving him crazy, wasn’t she? Ah well…

He’ll see her soon. Yes…

He’ll have her within his arms again soon. And she won’t ever leave him again.

Slowly, his eyes opened up, and he rose to his feet. Smoothly, he began discarding his clothes, replaying
in the back of his mind how Leyla’s deft fingers would undress him boldly as she stood bare-naked in
front of him…

He went to shower, images of their entangled bodies replayed with every sliding droplet down his skin…

Once he was done, he then went to bed.

The next day, his routine began once again. And when he walked out of his doorway, he felt…

Nothing.

No peace, no agitation…
Just plain… nothing.

He knew he wasn’t fine with Leyla being gone, but it also wasn’t unbearable. He will see her again, and
have her again…

But if she really were to be gone from him forever…

He won’t let that happen. He doesn’t know what would happen to him if she was forever gone from
him. He chuckled to himself once more, but it was devoid of any emotion at all.

Belatedly he could feel the lingering stared of his servants, but they didn’t matter to him either.

He settled down in the back seat of his car as Hessen promptly closed the door once he’d been settled.
He continued laughing to himself, ignoring the worried and questioning glances they were all giving
him…

Let them think he was crazy. They didn’t matter to him.

In the end, this was only temporary.

As the car rolled down, and Matthias watched the scenic route outside with a serene smile, he laughed
once again.

Ah, how beautiful the greenery was. It reminded him of her eyes.

What a funny thing all this was.

Chapter 112

If

Memories were triggered in unexpected places.

For this instance, what triggered him was the group of girls passing through the street, which he
happened to see outside his car window. When he looked at them, he didn’t really see them.

But he did see Leyla instead, wearing the same uniform they did. She once wore the same ones two
years ago, when he saw her fall as she rode her bike.

The uniform was a plain blue dress, with an overall of a white, short-sleeved blouse. Its sleeves were
thick, but cool enough to not be suffocating in the warm summer season.

Each grade level wore a different type of ribbon around their neck. For this instance, this group of girls
wore white ribbons. Leyla had worn red.

Matthias praised himself for remembering every detail of Leyla so vividly. What an impressive feat.

He was fortunate the roads were not blocked today, the traffic flowed smoothly outside as he settled in
nicely in the backseat, and they soon moved away from the group of girls he’d just seen.

He thought he’d be better at ignoring thoughts of her over time, but his control flew out the window
once more, as he impulsively barked out a command for the car to stop.

He’d just seen a group of birds fly off a branch on one of the trees down the Platanus road.

Did Leyla tell him how she loved birds because they were always there with her? He knew roughly the
feeling. The birds were always there around him, anytime, and anywhere he’d looked, one form or
another of a bird would be there.

And suddenly, he noticed more and more of these birds…

And it grew unbearable for Matthias to keep seeing them around him. His chauffeur looked befuddled
by his sudden request, and hastily called out to him when he parked to a stop on the side of the road…

But Matthias was already out, ready to take a walk alone on the road.
“Go back to Arvis, I’ll walk the rest of the way from here.” He swiftly replied and shut the door behind
him, even as he heard the tail end of the chauffeur’s concern…

“But master, your meeting with Count Klein-”

Matthias was off, and not a single thing mattered to him.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When the news of Leyla had reached Kyle Etman’s circle, he remembered it had also been around the
time when the scent of roses permeated the air prominently.

It was timed perfectly around the time he knew Leyla’s birthday would be. It was a bittersweet reminder
to him. This was Leyla’s favorite season of the year. Mostly because her favorite flower would be in full
bloom.

And so he’d busied himself with his studies, cramming into his brain every bit of subject requirements
and lessons to drown out the horrifying memory of his last memory of her.

He’d gotten into the habit of hiding out in the library during his spare hours, only leaving to go back to
the dorms, his classes, or when his group of friends summons him out. On and on, this went
unchanged…

Until a random group of his schoolmates came across him in the library.

“Kyle!” called out one of them. It was the magistrate’s son. He’d been estranged from him since he’d
been in his hometown; they’d been close before too.

Now, they only greet each other when they pass by each other.

“Oh right,” he suddenly interjected, “You won’t do as she did, won’t you?” he asked Kyle immediately,
and the medical student frowned in confusion.

Do as who? He had no inkling of what happened outside school lately, nor did he feel the need to know
about it.

“I apologize,” He began, still frowning in confusion, “But what are you talking about?”

“You know, like Leyla Lewellin?”

The frown deepened between Kyle’s brows. Something tight gripped in his chest at the mention of her
name.

Has something happened to Leyla? Something akin to fear was brewing in his chest for her…

“What about Leyla?” He asked softly, but the worry was clear in his tone. It was at this moment, his
estranged friend frowned in confusion as well.
“Are you saying you don’t know?”

“Know about what?” He asked, more urgently this time, “What happened?”

Pity soon came into the magistrate’s son’s eyes as he looked at Kyle.

“Oh,” he thought regretfully, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but…” he trailed off, deciding how best
to break the upsetting news to Kyle, “Word on the street was that the gardener from Arvis, and his
foster daughter, Leyla Lewellin had ran away.”

Kyle’s eyes widened

“It happened just recently.” He added, while Kyle continued to look at him with a slacked expression…

“You really didn’t know?” He asked again, and Kyle’s eyes lowered to the ground in disbelief. “I, I’m
really sorry you have to know it like this.” He eventually amended, perceiving Kyle’s expression to be a
mix of disbelief and distress.

Most of the students attending Carlsbar’s college had known Kyle and Leyla had been set to marry one
another. It was a fairytale love story for most of them. With Kyle being a prestigious doctor’s heir, and
Leyla a lowly orphan girl trying to make a name for herself…

They’d gotten along swimmingly since they’d been children, and everyone had been rather devastated
to hear their engagement had been broken off. It had been all anyone’s been talking about for a while.

Just as his colleague was about to leave him, an iron grip grabbed him by the shoulders, and he jolted
around to look at Kyle in surprise.

“Wait, just wait…” Kyle told him, the plea coming out through gritted teeth as Kyle tried to reign in his
swirling emotions, “Tell me everything you know.” He begged, and so his old friend did.

Later that afternoon, when Kyle was finally left on his own devices, he stood out in the warm afternoon
spring glow, but his pallor was as pale as though he was still standing in that cold winter night…

“Leyla, what happened to you and Uncle Bill?” He whispered off into the wind, “Please, I need to know.”
He finished, knowing his words would disappear into the wind.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The sound of rustling leaves drifted in and out of the Platanus road alongside the spring breeze.
Matthias remained observing of this matter, as he contemplated how unchanged his days had been
lately.

And then another thought came unbidden to him, a thought he’d been surprised to know he even
remembered such a thing.

But when exactly did such a day occur? He couldn’t recall specifically.
It had been around winter though, the last of the leaves were just about to fall from where he’d been
standing. He’d walked alongside her too, down this road, completely enamored by her presence.

She was the sole focal point in everything he did. She was like the road he stood on, leading him to his
righteous path.

But she wasn’t, was she? Perhaps she’d been the wind all along, drifting in and out of him, but
something he wanted around all the time.

He stood still, his steps halting in the middle of the pavement. This was the place.

This was where he last saw her standing. Looking all pretty, as though she’d been waiting for him to see
her. And he’d always come for her.

His breathing came out in ragged breaths as he closed his eyes, conjuring her in front of him. His hands
slowly shook as he imagined having her back in his arms…

To taste her lips, and devour her body as his…

The wind picked up around him.

He never wanted to let her go.

And the wind picked up, as if to give him its approval that he was right in feeling that way. What a lovely
wind it was.

This wind had been blowing around him, breezing past his skin like the ghost of her kisses. It bent and
floated the leaves that reminded him of her eyes relentlessly.

It was like he’d been trapped in a never-ending dream, where all that mattered was him and Leyla. And
he began walking home once again, retracing every step Leyla took home.

A bird flapped its wings, a short distance away from him. He watched as it fluttered in the air, riding the
wind before his eyes spotted the mansion’s door, still quite the distance away.

Matthias continued his leisurely walk, closer and closer to the mansion he got. He reached up his neck,
and loosed up his tie, and popped open the button at the top of his dress shirt.

How stifling they were.

But despite that, he smiled to himself, walking down the road of Arvis. He turned down the main road,
where Arvis opened up, revealing its beautiful gardens to him. And just past the garden, was the forest.

And beyond that forest, was Leyla’s dominion. He took note of every sway the branches made, every
shift in the shadows…

There was a pang of longing in him, something he perceived to be for that ruined perfect life he had. But
it also seemed like he’d only begun to truly live when the longing began as well.
Every step towards his mansion, it was almost like he was taking a step back in time instead, the further
and further back he got in his memory, the closer he got to his mansion…

And then in the back of his mind, he heard it. And Matthias turned around to look behind him…

It was that familiar sound of a bicycle, and Leyla had ridden it just past him. The sunbeams framed her
beauty perfectly, making her outshine everything around her.

He watched as little Leyla fell, her bike toppling downwards alongside her, making her eyes widen in
surprise. She’d just fallen, and her wheels kept turning despite it not moving an inch.

A loud thumping sound, like a heartbeat, echoed in Matthias’ ears. He could only stare at her fallen form
on the ground. And then she looked up, and it was the brightest set of eyes he had ever seen.

She was beautiful as a child, too.

“Leyla.” He called out her name softly, her small, plush lips parting in surprise at him calling for her. And
then her figure shifted…

The little girl was gone, and now the woman was in front of him, looking up with a beautiful smile. He
offered her a gentlemanly aid, and she took it with a second of hesitation before smiling graciously at
him as he saved her.

If he’d done that in the beginning instead of walking all over her precious things, would she still run
away from him?

But those thoughts didn’t matter now, and Matthias resumed walking with a quickened pace.

Further down the road he walked, deeper into the forest he went, swerving through the mud and the
dead plants until he reached his perceived destination.

“Leyla…” he called out again, wanting to conjure up her presence with enough will.

Maybe she’ll end up in front of him this time.

His quickened pace evolved into a sprint, her name slipping from his lips occasionally, until he saw it…

The weeds have been overgrown after some time of neglect. And the place looked gloomier than when
she’d still been living in it. The ghost of Leyla’s face peeking out her window flashed in front of him,
before he’s reminded of how desolate the cabin lately had been.

If he’d helped her in the beginning, would she still be here? Would she hold his hand willingly, showing
off his claim on her for everyone to see?

They had walked through this forest together multiple times before. Down the river they stood beside
one another, even in the middle of the day. And then she would laugh, play along with his jokes and
teasing…
And he’d pamper her, spoil her with worldly gifts everyone would die to have.

And then she’d let him in on her life, sharing stories of her day with him, and he’d listen to her voice.
They were music to his ears, every sound she made, and he’d make her sing praises for him well into the
night!

And he’d forever keep her with him, where he can see and have her to himself. Like his canary, which
he’d cut its wings and kept comfortably in an exquisite cage.

The wind picked up again, making the rustle of the leaves grow louder. He looked up at the sky, eyes
fluttering closed as he took in the warmth of the sun against his skin…

It was too bright for him, he couldn’t stand it.

He kept walking, kept moving forward as the panging in his chest grew and grew, like a snowball of
regret rolling downhill and getting bigger and bigger…

Ah, he just remembered his marriage was just around the corner. Come summer, he’d be a married
man. But when he’d imagined his bride and lifted her veil, he could only see a shy emerald gaze, looking
shyly at him.

And then she’d blush at the sight of him, a dust of pink painting her cheeks.

And her name would be Leyla, and she would smile beautifully at him as she stared deeply into his eyes,
and hold her chin high up as she’d declare herself as his.

Matthias’ hurried pace began to gradually slow down, and that metaphorical snowball kept growing and
growing instead, spiraling faster and faster!

Summer would come again, and he’d walk alongside the riverbank, with Leyla in his arms. And then the
next summer would come…

And then a blonde kid would appear resting beneath a tree, calling him her father, her eyes twinkling
like Leyla’s at the sight of him…

And he’d gather her up in his arm, and let her fly, before catching her in his arms again. And Leyla would
be there, just a few paces away, her smile matching her daughter’s as she watched them have fun.

He wanted her like that. But Leyla chose to run away instead.

Something wet trailed down his cheeks. And Matthias frowned. Was it raining?

He looked up, and the sky was clear, free from any storm clouds. The droplets kept going, and that’s
when he realized they were from his eyes, and not the sky as he’d initially thought.

Absent-mindedly, he brought a hand up to touch his cheeks, and stared at the wet patch on his fingers
afterwards.
Wishful thinking had no value in his life. So is crying. They’re both ephemeral and meaningless in the
progress of time.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, giving a rain of sunbeams within the thickened
forests as Matthias trudged forward, his gait significantly calmer than he did when he’d walked in the
forest.

His eyes fluttered closed once more, ignoring the gradual loss of wetness in his eyes, his heart feeling
lighter and empty at the same time…

And then the downhill spiral of his thoughts stopped, just as Matthias exhausted his own memories of
Leyla.

Even the wind had left him as soon as his steps stopped in front of the poorly kept cabin in his
memories.

“Do you regret any of it? Even a little of it?”

Leyla’s voice echoed in the back of his mind.

And yet in his mind and his heart, his answer remained the same, even now.

“No.” Matthias grinned manically to himself, repeating his answer into nothingness as he answered her
question in his mind once again.

“I’ve never regretted it, Leyla.”

He’d never regret anything. Not when it came to Leyla. And that was his absolute truth.

Turning back time was impossible, and thus dwelling on the what-could-have-been was a pointless
endeavor. As long as he and Leyla remained as they always were, that would be all that mattered to
him, and nothing more than that.

As long as they remained the same people they were in the beginning, his longing and desire for her
would forever remain. Even if it meant Leyla would run away from him in the end, just as she did now,
he wouldn’t change anything he’d done to have her.

And so now, he really did not regret anything he did for her.

His hands shook with his reasoning, a tightening in his chest making him uncomfortable. Matthias
popped open another button, and harshly yanked the tie off his neck before straightening out his suit.

His wetted cheeks and lashes had been dried by the wind shortly before, leaving no traces of his deep
thoughts for anyone else but him to see. Matthias’ pale pallor was back to his fair white complexion,
with a subtle fatigue reflected in his dark blue irises.

The sun was setting in the horizon. It was time to return.

And without further adieu, Matthias turned on his heels, and headed towards the general direction of
the mansion, fully knowing Hessen would be eagerly waiting for his arrival.

As predicted, his loyal butler had immediately raced down the steps of the mansion upon sight of his
master. He’d rushed to greet the duke, fretting over his well-being, but Matthias had business to attend
to shortly now.

“My Lord-!”

“Has Count Klein arrived already?” he asked, swiftly cutting off Hessen in his further line of questioning.
The butler’s lips snapped shut, before he bowed respectfully in acquiescence.

“Yes, my Lord. He’s currently waiting in the office, on the third floor.”

One of the many things Matthias was comfortable with the butler was how quickly he picked up on his
better’s moods. It’s been half an hour past since they were supposed to begin, and would normally be
considered an utter disrespect to the party doing the waiting but…

Matthias had deemed it to be a minor slight in his reputation. After all, he was meeting with a
competitor who once made him wait an hour into their previous meeting.

Hessen led him to the office, while simultaneously remaking his master’s appearance to something
respectfully presentable once more. Matthias continued his pace, and waited for Hessen to open the
door to the office, before striding in confidently, with his head held high and unbothered.

He was still the Duke of Arvis, Duke Matthias von Herhardt. He was, always will be, the perfect image of
what a respectable Lord is. It had to be.
Chapter 113

A bird That Doesn’t Sing

‘One, two, three, four…’ Leyla counted in her mind as she walked calmly on the fourth alley and headed
towards the square. She’d just come from the bell tower, and since she’d found the place unfamiliar, it
was expected for her to get lost for a few or more turns in the new territory she found herself in.

After reaching the square, she finally managed to find her way back to their new home without spacing
out and getting lost again.

Once arriving at their destination, Uncle Bill’s very distant relative had endorsed them to a residential
building, with a free space on its second floor. The space was narrower than the one they had in Arvis,
but it was also cleaner than the cabin they used to live in.

Understandably, Uncle Bill felt a little more out of place than she did. He was not used to living in a
house that had not enough space to grow his own crops and flowers.

With her arms full of bags of groceries, Leyla leisurely trudged up the stairs in their new residence. She
reached it relatively easily and put down the groceries to open up the door, before entering with them
through the threshold.

She went to their small kitchen, and began putting away the groceries. Once finished, she looked
around, noted her uncle wasn’t in, and decided to go out and look for him again. Locking the door
behind her, she quickly got back outside.

She walked calmly on the alley in front of their building, eyes glancing inquisitively at her surroundings
as she walked all the way down to the end of the street.

And there she saw her uncle, right across from her, looking out over at the spanning beach and sea just
off a distance.

“Uncle!” She called out, jolting him for a moment, before he turned around and saw her.

Bill wiped the forming sweat of his temples and smiled at her as she neared him. He’d just begun work
on the nearby dockyard in the harbor this week. She hoped it wasn’t too strenuous for him.

“What brings you here, my dear? Shouldn’t you be waiting at home?” He quickly inquired after greeting
her. Leyla only shrugged and smiled.
“I checked the time, and figured work was done for the day, so I came to fetch you!” She beamed at
him, as she showed him the wristwatch. Bill only chuckled half-heartedly, before playfully rubbing her
blonde head of hair.

Both new residents looked a lot better than when they did on their arrival. They were both more
peaceful, happier…

It was almost akin to the peace they experienced in Arvis before the greenhouse got destroyed. But
most of all, it hid from Leyla just how difficult Bill was taking to their new lifestyle.

He’d been a gardener his whole life, and while he didn’t regret leaving that behind, he reluctantly
admitted to himself that his new job hadn’t been easy to learn. But it seemed, he wasn’t the only one
hiding the difficulty of adjusting to a new place.

“Actually, I wanted to tell you I found a job too.” Leyla finally told him as they resumed walking back to
their small apartment. Bill’s eyes grew wide in awe and pride.

“That’s wonderful Leyla! And so quickly too!” He praised her, and Leyla beamed proudly back at him.

“Remember the hiring at the museum Uncle Allen told us about?” Leyla quickly elaborated, “Well, I just
had an interview with an assistant, and if it all goes well, I’m going to be working in it soon.”

“Ah that’s so wonderful Leyla! See? I knew you’d do well in anything!” her uncle praised her, making
Leyla feel giddy and proud of herself as well. “How soon do you start?”

“I start tomorrow.” She informed him, and a worried look came upon his face.

“Tomorrow?” He asked her worriedly, “But you’re still not feeling well my dear, are you sure you can
handle work in such a condition?”

Leyla quickly nodded her head in assent.

“Of course, uncle,” She reassured him, “Besides, they might think I’m a patient if I make that as an
excuse.”

“You’re not even eating properly since we got here, so what if they see you as a patient?” Bill asked her
bluntly, his worry for her not letting him be delicate in his questioning.

She really hadn’t eaten much, and whatever she ate, she’d hurl out moments later. It made him more
anxious and worried with every passing day.

“I’ll be fine!” Leyla insisted softly, “It’s just the new environment I’m sure, once I begin work, I’ll
integrate more into the community and adjust better.”

Bill took in a deep breath as he eyed his ward.

“Alright,” He finally conceded, “But only if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” she reassured him with a smile.

Bill didn’t like seeing that smile. She’d gotten thinner since they’d arrived. And she kept smiling at him
reassuringly, avoiding any topic of him helping her. He wanted to help her, at this point he even wished
for her to cry and scream out her frustration…

Yet still she kept smiling. And there wasn’t anything Bill could do when she’d refuse his help.

“Oh look uncle, we’re finally here!” Leyla beamed at him, pointing to their apartment as she quickly
averted the subject. She quickly pulled on his arm, pulling him towards the residential building when she
met some resistance.

“I know that Leyla,” Bill smiled at her, “Come on.” He encouraged her to follow him. Leyla frowned in
confusion.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s rather hot outside today,” Bill hummed thoughtfully, “And I suddenly feel a craving for some ice
cream. Come along now.” He kept walking away from the building, leaving his niece confused, yet still
eagerly following behind him.

Eventually they ended up sitting at the outside tables of a cafe that served soft ice cream. They sat
across each other, basking in the open-air and savoring their cold treat. It was a nice change of pace as
Leyla finally received her vanilla-flavored ice cream, while her uncle had an ice-cold beer.

“Eat quickly or it’ll melt soon.” Bill pointed out to Leyla when she just stared at her ice cream bowl. This
jolted Leyla to look at him dryly before picking up her dessert spoon and scooped a heapful of ice cream,
making a show of shoving it inside her mouth.

“It’s not like it’s difficult to eat.” She murmured to him, and Bill chuckled at her. “Oh, this tastes good.”
She remarked, smacking her lips together in appreciation.

“Do you want something difficult to eat then?”

“No.” She quickly responded, eyes crinkling in distaste, and continued to eat her ice cream heartily. They
laughed and talked with each other, as Leyla desperately drowned the thoughts of heated touches and
dark blue eyes in the back of her mind.

She looked up at the bright sky, and saw only blue. It was the clear summer sky. Not long now…

Not long now, summer will soon arrive in the distant city up in the North.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Cracks had begun to form from the solid foundation Matthias had built for himself. He could feel it grow
stronger the more time passes by away from Leyla. He could hardly sleep anymore, and the days had
begun blending together…

Nothing in his mind made any sense, nor became more important than finding Leyla. Day after day,
Matthias found it harder and harder to get out of bed.

It wasn’t until late in the morning that he finally rose out of bed. His eyes remained sunken despite the
prolonged rest, his face hollow and sharp, his blue eyes dull and darker than before.

He dragged his feet towards the bathroom, where he stopped and looked at his reflection with a blank
expression. His eyes were notably bloodshot, more indication of his restless night.

Lately he’d find himself laughing to himself, but nothing was funny. His chuckles and grins were all
devoid of any emotion other than numbness…

Prevalent numbness.

When had anything stopped being amusing? When did they all stop becoming ridiculous? He had no
idea, they all just ended up unimportant, shoved so far back in his mind, he couldn’t be bothered to
waste time to think about them at all.

He splashed the cold water on his face, a futile attempt to keep himself focused and wiped it clean
before looking back to his reflection again.

Ah, he needed to shower. And so he did, but the pounding in his temples grew worse as soon as he got
out. And then three sharp knocks came.

“My Lord, it’s me, Hessen.” The muffled voice greeted him from behind the thick doors. Matthias
grabbed his robe and went out of the bathroom.

Hessen was momentarily important too.

“Enter.” He commanded, his cool and composed tone never changing.

Upon the butler’s entrance, Matthias noted the way he had pursed his lips in contemplation upon the
sight of him. To be honest, Matthias still found himself rather dashing.

Matthias settled by his wing chair, which he’d since ordered it to be moved near the window, as
opposed to its original post in front of the fireplace. He let out a relaxed sigh as he leaned back, eyes
trailed to look over the budding roses out in the garden.

He glanced at the road Leyla took before, seeing her pass by as she usually did, before she once again
faded from his view.

What a tedious and normal life he led.

He listened quietly as Hessen rattled off with today’s morning news while simultaneously preparing his
preferred coffee. What boring news his butler brought him again. That wasn’t what Matthias wanted to
hear.

And it seemed his butler saw right through him when Hessen quieted down and bowed to him
apologetically.

“I’m truly sorry, my Lord.” Hessen said. “We still found no traces of Mr. Remmer and Ms. Lewellin.”

“So find them.” Matthias hummed disinterestedly, taking a relaxing sip of his scalding cup of coffee.
Hessen appeared to want to say something…

Day after day news of his servant’s failure to find his bird came, and day after day, Matthias’ mind
hadn’t changed.

He will find them. There simply wasn’t any reason why he couldn’t. They just needed to look harder.

“I will do my utmost, my Lord.” Hessen finally told him, bowing at him in resignation.

And Matthias smiled as he looked outside, waiting for the roses to bloom for him. He was satisfied with
the butler’s answer, but Hessen could only grow more worried for his master.

He knew how affected Matthias had been since Ms. Lewellin’s disappearance. Matthias didn’t have to
tell him. His actions and state of health were of great indication to him. And so he takes his master’s
unreasonable requests within stride, but he won’t stand idly by and watch his master waste himself
away.

That was not proper for a butler.

“I shall send Dr. Etman to you upon your return home later then as well, my Lord.” Hessen informed him
dutifully, which finally made his master get out of his musings. He could see the confused question on
the Duke’s face.

“Allow me to do this for you, my Lord,” Hessen requested his master, “For the ease of this old butler’s
heart.”

The Duke doesn’t sleep nor eat well anymore, that much he could tell. And he’s lost weight, if his
sharpened features were of any indication. Hessen feared his master was spiralling out of control,
hidden from anyone’s view aside from him, and he wanted to prevent that.

Matthias sighed, and let out a terse nod, and Hessen bowed gratefully at him.

“Do what you must ” Matthias sighed out at him.

“Thank you, my Lord,” Hessen replied, “I will.”

***
When the esteemed Dr. Etman had first entered the mansion, he’d initially thought it was just a routine
check-up, is all. But looking at the Duke, seated in his chair all relaxed and spacing out, eventually made
him feel worried for his patient.

The Duke greeted him the same, he was calm and composed the entire time when he’d give his focus on
the doctor, but Dr. Etman’s main concern was how emaciated the Duke had become. Once he was done
checking up, the doctor took his seat across from the duke, and got ready to relay his assessment.

“Just prescribe me some sleeping pills.” The Duke beat him to the chase, and the doctor blinked in alarm
before hastily protesting against such measures.

“Duke Herhardt, I must advise strongly against-“

“I only need to sleep well, then I’ll be fine.” Matthias quickly interrupted, disregarding his advice as
tiresome and trivial at most.

“Just losing sleep does not equate to losing so much weight and appetite, Duke.” The doctor persisted.

“If I can sleep well, then I can eat well.” Matthias rationalized with a shrug of his shoulder. “Like I said, I
need only sleeping pills.”

Dr. Etman was greatly disturbed by this insistence. He didn’t want to prescribe any medicine for the
Duke, and wanted to let him gradually gain weight, but the Duke was adamant that lack of sleep was the
only problem. At first glance he might be inclined to agree, but something in the doctor’s gut feeling told
him it ran deeper than just a lack of sleep.

What’s going on with the Duke?

It didn’t matter how much he’d assess and make assumptions and theories on the Duke’s ailment, he
won’t be able to guess it without thorough examination. And the Duke, as of the moment, was a little
uncooperative. Without further permission, Dr. Etman could do no further examination on him. And still
in a sound mind, and body, despite the body being in a less desired state than standard, he can only
concede to his patient’s wishes.

And Dr. Etman was dismissed and escorted out of the Duke’s chambers, with Hessen obediently trailing
behind the doctor.

Finally alone, Matthias grunted displeasingly as he plopped down on his bed haphazardly. The bed
beneath him was too cold, and too soft. It was like he was drowning in water, but never really sinking.

Even as he closed his eyes, his senses were on high alert still. Was this what dying felt like?

Thankfully, his sleepless nights won’t be here for long. After the sunset, the medicine the doctor
prescribed for him would soon arrive, and he’d be right as rain.

Still, in the meantime, he’d have to make due with resting while awake.
A sharp knock came, jolting Matthias back to his senses before noting how dark the outside had gotten.
Not waiting for a response, Hessen stepped inside the room, and set his prescribed dose and medicine
on the bedside table.

Matthias eyed it greedily.

“I’ll have the maids serve your dinner here, my Lord.” Hessen informed him and Matthias quickly shook
his head.

“There’s no need for dinner.”

“But, my Lord-” Hessen paused when he watched Matthias throw an arm over his eyes as he lay
stockstill on his bed. Hessen’s lips pursed into a thin line, before bowing at him.

“Then rest comfortably, my Lord.” Hessen relented, before quietly shutting the door behind him so as to
not disturb his master further.

And then only static silence remained with Matthias for a long while, before he found the energy to
move again.

When did it begin? And how much of it had been a lie?

Those were the questions that kept swimming in and out of his mind. As soon as he acknowledged he’d
been ridiculously deceived and driven mad by a woman, a new hell of questions kept turning up.

She wasn’t that masterful at lying. He knew that to be true. Leyla wasn’t good at deceiving anyone, not
even him. Some of her words had been true, but which ones?

Which of her feelings of him were true?

All those smiles she gave him, letting his hands roam over her soft mounds and smooth skin, her sensual
kisses…

Which of them were lies? He couldn’t find any evidence of it being one at all.

Which of them were fake? He had to know.

Was everything false then? Her love of him? It couldn’t be.

It was a futile attempt at regaining back control over his ruined life. But despite knowing that, Matthias
didn’t want to get rid of any thought of Leyla, pleasant or otherwise.

Finally, he sat up and leaned against the headboard of his bed.

He stared out into nothingness, watching every shadow cast in his room by the bright moon hovering
outside of Arvis.
And then he whistled, a music bubbling up within his chest, letting him play a tune to his heart’s
content.

Something was missing.

Matthias wondered what it was.

Ah. He realized after a moment, still whistling to nothing.

His canary was strangely silent.

His eyes wandered into the golden cage, noting its cage was open, but it lay asleep and curled up
comfortably in the nest he bought it.

This time, he whistled for it to come to him.

Strangely, it stayed asleep, never hearing him.

His canary eventually lost his attention, as his eyes drifted off to the side and assessed the contents on
the table. Something deep inside him was bubbling up, but he couldn’t put a pin on it.

He was staring at the medicine.

It was the urge to finally fall asleep, to give in to the magic of medicine and depend on it.

Should he? He did ask for it.

After longer contemplation, Matthias finally moved, his hands reaching out for the small pill that would
bring him one night of rest.

He swallowed the medicine dry, before settling back in his plush bed, a relieved smile on his face.

He can feel it taking effect, the buzzing underneath his veins eventually dying down.

He was right. Sleep was all he needed.

He’d be okay now.

Chapter 114

Where Everything Disappeared

“Dr. Etman is coming to visit Matthias?” Elysee von Herhardt asked after hearing that their doctor was
coming and going to check the Duke’s health.

“Yes my Lady, I heard that he went there today…” The maid, intimidated by the sharp tone she had
taken with her, visibly cowered down as she mumbled under her breath.

After hearing this, she was silent for a moment.

When the middle-aged maid next to the two duchesses nodded, the young maid took that as a sign and
hurriedly left with the empty dishes in the room. By the time she was gone, only two side dishes had
remained in the quiet drawing-room.

“What should I do? He was a child who grew up without getting sick…” Elysee von Herhardt looked at
her mother-in-law with anxious eyes. The former Duchess on her part, also appeared full of worry.

Bill Remmer and Leyla’s departure shocked and confused everyone in Arvis, and it was rather a great
concern for them as well. Even though the relationship between the two was concerning, Leyla’s
interactions with Matthias before gave no indication why they would leave them this hastily.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem as though Matthias was too bothered by their disappearance.

That’s right! It was needless for her to worry, Matthias was probably too worried about the wedding
drawing near.

Furthermore, it seemed as though Matthias had gotten quite busy with his responsibilities lately, he
appeared thinner than usual after all. Still, this much stress was expected, especially if he wanted to set
his businesses in order before leaving for his honeymoon.

“I worry,” Elysee fretted out loud anyway, “You don’t think he is getting sick because of that girl is he?”
she quickly turned to the older duchess, to which the old lady of the house gave her a sharp stare.

“Stop! We can’t entertain reasons like that to be true.” The old lady cut off her daughter-in-law’s
concerns with cold words, “He is only a little stressed and overworked. He’ll be fine once he gets some
rest.” She huffed out with finality.

“I guess you are right”.

“Of course. If we ask Dr. Etman later and listen to Matthias’ condition, we will know for sure. For now,
don’t worry about anything.” Norma quickly reassured her.

Elysee von Herhardt’s expression darkened. Her face also mirrored the tone of her mother-in-law which
grew more determined. Trusting her words, eventually Elysee nodded more confidently.

‘Was the love he held for Leyla in his heart deep?’ Elysee thought worriedly. It was certainly possible for
him to feel so strongly for her. After all, young people always fall in love so easily and quite earnestly
prematurely.

It is easy to feel so much passion when one is still naïve and immature. Still, this was Matthias they were
talking about and not anyone else. Her son was not like the others, was he? He had never been.

He always exhibited aristocratic traits of insensitivity and regal aloofness that always gave the
impression to others that he was a level-headed young Lord. For the longest time, she held the same
opinion of her son. However, recently he had been acting rather unusual, and as his mother, she felt
anxious that perhaps something strange had happened.

Their predecessors, the Dukes of Herhardt, never had the reputation of being friendly nor of being
sociable men, Matthias was the same too. However, lately Matthias’s temperament felt a little different
from theirs.

Still, even if he slightly differed from the previous Lords, he was an upstanding Duke that a little
deviation was hardly anything to take issue with. He is, after all, known as the pride of the Herhardts.
There has never been such greater praise than to be bestowed with such a title.

Therefore, she has always believed that she gave birth to the family’s living glory and honor.

It was also due to her son’s accomplishments as a young boy that Elysee also believed him to be perfect
for the longest time. It drove an immeasurable gap between her and Matthias, something she was
hesitant to fill in.

Even though she gave birth to him, and he was the fruit of her belly, he seemed so otherworldly.

He’s Matthias, no one else. Not her son, not her husband’s son, but Matthias.

As such, it was an entirely ridiculous notion that someone like him would suffer because of one lowly
orphan! Such blasphemy it was!

She shook her head, pushed these thoughts away, and assured herself that there was nothing to worry
about and she was too paranoid.

Seriously, she needed to stop worrying too much.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Matthias slowly opened his eyes, and as his blurry vision cleared, he realized that he was lying on his
back on a cold mattress. For a moment he just stayed there motionlessly staring into space.

As more seconds ticked by, he began to recognize the darkness that settled in his room as dark shadows
came in from his opened windows. He remembered falling asleep at dawn, the morning must have
already passed.

Ever since he started taking the sleeping pills, it felt as though he lost his sense of time. Night and day
began to blur together, he could no longer recognize one from the other.

He felt stuck in limbo where seconds, minutes and hours were unrecognizable concepts of time he no
longer remembered, nor cared for.

Even when he felt exhausted from all the work he’d been taking on, it seemed as if he couldn’t sleep
without those pills. No matter when or where he was, whether it was day or night, all he wanted was to
sleep…

And then he would find himself swallowing those pills like it was second nature.

Perhaps, at some point, it had become second nature.

Perhaps sleep had become his means of escape.

At least, while he was intoxicated and under the influence of the medicine, he did not remain plagued
with his memories of Leyla and her body against his.

But as soon as he opened his sunken eyes, he would find himself stuck in those memory loops all over
again.

He didn’t want to do anything. He had no energy to do anything but sleep.

Additionally, it proved to be all the more annoying that their family doctor kept checking up on him. He
didn’t even order for him to be summoned. The old doctor just kept coming in and out of his bedroom,
uninvited!

And it was wearing thin on his patience!

Dr. Etman even had the gall to tell him yesterday, he would no longer prescribe him with more sleeping
pills! How preposterous of him!

Still, Matthias saw no need to provide him with a proper answer, and smiled at him instead. Deep down,
he knew that the doctor was not the kind of person who says these things so carelessly.

He knew that he might actually take such measures against him.

Regardless, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t just pay another doctor to give him a prescription instead.
And so Matthias stood up from his bed, practically dragging his feet out of bed as his steps grew
sluggish. He cast his eyes at the clock after taking a bath and drinking a cup of water.

It was already past noon.

What schedule did he have today?

He tried to remember but his head felt so empty that nothing came to mind.

Eventually, Matthias decided to get dressed.

As he was fixing himself up alone, he pulled the bell and called the butler. By the time he finished
fastening up the last button of his shirt, Hessen was already at his door, knocking, to which he promptly
allowed him to enter his bedroom.

“I shall prepare a meal for you, my Lord.” Hessen quickly informed him, taking note of his dressed figure.

“No,” Matthias replied rather quickly, “Coffee is enough.” He ordered.

He was in no mood to eat. Everything tasted so bland in this house.

“My Lord…” Hessen began to protest, but Matthias quickly cut him off, not bothering with any other
word his butler had to say to him.

His opinions did not matter to Matthias.

“What’s my afternoon schedule?” Matthias asked as he approached the window and pulled open the
curtain.

His eyes raked over the skies, which appeared darker and heavier than usual. It was graying with
thickened clouds, blocking out the sunlight from shining over his property.

Despite the ominous cold weather, humid winds carried the sweet scent of flowers upon him opening
the curtains. Somehow, spring had danced its way inside his room.

“Your schedule is clear for the whole afternoon. So you can take a rest, my Lord.” Hessen’s answer
swam into his ears.

Ah right, he was still here.

“I see.” he hummed softly, eyes still looking outside to the gardens.

“You have to eat, master…” Hessen told him with great concern in his tone, “Should I call for Dr. Etman
again?” he quickly offered up and Matthias felt more irritation bubbling up inside of him at his
continued interference.

His butler was never this insistent before! And yet, Hessen seemed more persistent today than before!
Sweeping back his still wet hair, Matthias turned to stare pointedly at him and stood up. The old butler,
who rarely expressed his feelings, was now staring back at him with worried eyes.

Matthias does not understand why he was giving him such a look.

There was no need for concern, but it was too tiring to explain himself to people who’d never
understand.

He just wanted to go back to sleep and hoped that when he woke up, whatever he felt, all these
bundled-up thoughts would soon disappear like smoke.

The last thing he wanted now was a meal, a doctor and…

Everything was bloody annoying!

After taking a sip of the coffee Hessen prepared in silence, Matthias made his way to the cage solemnly.

These days, his canary, who used to fly around the room diligently, lately kept crouching in on itself like
a ball. Every time Matthias checked on it, it was always tucked inside its nest.

Did it crave for sleep and rest like he does right now?

Matthias reached out and wrapped his hands around the seemingly helpless bird and pulled it out of the
cage. He brought it up to his face, deciding to finally see what the change in behavior was all about.

After inspecting the canary up close, he gathered that it was ill. Its beautiful feathers, which used to be
glossy and reflected the sunlight beautifully, were now noticeably in disarray and rather coarse.

It had grown scruffy and dull yellow.

A random memory finally resurfaced to mind, completely devoid of Leyla. It was of his bird taking a bath
and shaking off the excess water several times a day came to his mind.

Just then, the canary which had stayed still in his hands, suddenly rubbed its small, soft body and beak
against his palms.

It was almost as if, it was seeking his warmth and relying on Matthias body temperature to fight against
the coldness.

Matthias stood there for a long time, just enveloping the bird in his touch. The longer he stood there
taking in his canary, the more his mind returned to being plagued with memories of a golden-haired
woman tormenting him over…

and over…

and over again.

“Please love me.”

It was the day she smiled like a witch and put a curse on him.

“I want you to love me.”

It was said in the late afternoon, when every sweet word was actually carving out his heart.

“Give me your love, for eternity…”

Every moment and every second of the day, it was Leyla. His terribly beautiful Leyla, who filled his
waking moments.

Eventually he carefully returned the bird to its nest.

With a sense of urgency and responsibility, he turned to Hessen, who was patiently waiting for whatever
he needed to be done.

Matthias wasted no time to give him an order.

“Get me the zoo keeper.” he barked at Hessen, “Have him check on my canary.” He finished, before
turning to face the cage once more.

Hessen blinked in confusion.

“Now!” Matthias reiterated, and Hessen bowed in acquiescence.

“At once, my Lord.”

And just like that, Matthias proceeded to turn on his heels. As he marched to leave the room without
uttering a single word, the butler took anxious steps and trailed behind him

“My lord, if you’re going out, let Evers…”

“I’m going to take a walk, so I don’t need him to accompany me.” He snapped at the butler. Matthias
abruptly stopped on his tracks in front of a window in the hallway. For a split second it seemed he was
hesitating about something.

When Hessen took a few steps back to maintain a proper distance, Matthias resumed his walk with
wider steps until his shadow completely left the hallway.

By the time he’d left the mansion and entered through the gardens, the sky was already brimming with
dark clouds, the likelihood of rain becoming more and more probable.

However, Matthias ignored the signs of bad weather and kept on in his path, unwilling to be stopped.
Honestly, he didn’t even know where he was headed. But even so, Matthias could hardly care where he
ended up in.
After days of filling up the spaces in his head of Leyla’s laughing figure, of her cute and embarrassed
expressions, he was suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of anger as he thought of how much he was
blinded by her.

Thinking about it now, he was more surprised at the fact that a bad actress like her could deceive him so
skillfully. Perhaps he was truly blinded by desire, so he couldn’t see how obviously she was playing him.

His self-loathing felt like oil that fueled the flame inside his heart and swallowed him whole.

Even though he knew he had every right to be angry, and indeed he was, somehow that anger did not
seem enough. He wished he would be angry, instead there was only an unsettling stillness and numbing
coldness in his heart..

‘Is this the extent of it? Is this all it amounts to? Is this the end? Is everything over now?’ He pondered,
almost not realizing that his feet had carried him by the riverside.

The waters reflected that dark skies, appearing colder and cloudier than before. Still, Matthias walked
along the bedside of the river, following its current.

‘If everything is over, there is no reason to find her, right?’

Once again, he found himself asking a question.

Maybe it’s a good thing that she is gone.

The thorn by his side has finally disappeared. He felt a sense of clarity washing over him, it seemed as
though the fog of the aftermath of her departure had finally been lifted.

He should return to his life as the unshakable Duke of Herhardt.

That’s right. It was this simple. Everything, in the end, was this easy.

Just then, the image of a bird at the foot of the river suddenly came to view. It flapped its wings
purposefully until it was near enough for Matthias to recognize.

He started to laugh, because it was such a funny sight.

The bird had a familiar colored thread at its ankle. It was a ribbon Leyla Lewellin had attached to
migratory birds born and raised in Arvis.

The bird is back.

After recalling that fact, and seeing the bird Leyla was earnestly waiting for return, his heartbeats
became a little faster.

What is this? His heart drummed loudly and reverberated throughout his body.
It was as if he had forgotten what he had resolved to do only seconds ago and only one thought ran in
his mind…

‘So Leyla, you have to come back to me, too.’

It felt so natural. It seemed that this wishful thinking would soon become a reality.

Then, the lips that had barely had any reason to laugh started to tremble and curve upward. He couldn’t
stop himself even though he knew it was a delusion created by a sick mind that was restless and lost
that it couldn’t even make any proper judgment.

He was trapped in a trance-like daze, and before he knew it, he was already running. His figure weaved
through the forest greenery where small patches of spring started to blossom. He did not pause to
admire the view and resolutely sprinted on until he arrived at the gardener’s cabin.

White sheets that were draped over the clothesline violently fluttered against the chilly breeze, but his
thoughts focused on the warm lights that came out of the window. And beyond that open door, was
someone who was wearing an apron…

Leyla rushed out.

Her braided hair swayed from behind as she walked in a hurry.

‘See? You’re back.’

But then rain started to fall, and he wanted to laugh like a crazy idiot. He should have known that things
were going to turn out this way.

The past few weeks have been so quiet, so inconsequential. It was at this moment of realization that all
those visions he was seeing disappeared in a split second.

As the next second chimed in, he finally let out a loud sigh laced with a burst of laughter. It was at this
instant that it dawned on him that he was standing alone in the courtyard of an abandoned cabin,
where weeds began to sprout due to neglect.

Matthias stopped there and calmly looked around in the rain.

He hadn’t gone in the cabin since Leyla had run away from him. He didn’t think he wanted to check up
on it again. He could convince himself to do so if he wanted to, he could make himself believe that none
of those things happened, that none of it was real.

Instead of moving on, turning around and leaving the place like any sane person would, like he promised
not even minutes before he would, Matthias’ feet were soon stumbling towards the cabin.

He did not know why he was doing it.

But it tasted the same as his feelings of not wanting to let go. He found himself being tugged at both
sides of wanting to release her and holding on to these lingering feelings. In the end he knew that he
was only losing, it was a meaningless game.

As his feet climbed the aged wooden stairs, it creaked beneath his weight.

He reached out, clasping the cold knob in his hand. He then turned the handle of the front door with his
wet hands and the locked door opened without any resistance to reveal the dark emptiness hidden
inside.

His breathing came in and out shakily and he shut his eyes, hearing the hard beating of his heart in the
back of his mind. Finally finding his composure, Matthias’ eyes opened once more…

And into the threshold he went.

Chapter 115

What’s Left Now?

Nothing changed. As far as he could tell, everything remained the same, except for the growing dust
covering every surface of the cabin.

He could clearly tell they left in such haste, taking only the bare minimum as they went in the dead of
the night. A dead chuckle bubbled up within Matthias’ chest as he continued to survey the room.

The frustration in him kept bubbling up as well, the more he stared at it. How could they leave this place
so suddenly? He knew very well how precious this place had been for the old gardener and his Leyla.

The sounds of pelting raindrops hitting the cabin echoed loudly in the darkened silence he found himself
in. His breathing became rhythmic in tandem with the rain. Matthias turned, and walked down the
hallway. He soon found himself face to face with the door to Leyla’s room. He’d been in here once,
savouring every feel of her body against his, drowning in the pleasure of her…

But now it was abandoned…

But it didn’t matter, he’d see Leyla here again and make new memories.

Matthias soon found himself sitting at the edge of her bed. He quickly flicked on the lampshade on the
bedside table and looked around the room.

It screamed Leyla. And for a moment, he wondered if he could summon her again with just the call of
her name. Every inch and crevice of the room, he could see ghosts of her.

Lately he kept dreaming of her running in front of him, and then she would stop and look back at him.
Almost as though she was waiting for him to come find her. There was a twinkling in her eye, almost like
she’s about to laugh…

And then she’d run again, and turn back to look at him again.

He often found himself eyeing her lips, watching as though they were whispering something…

“Please love me.”

Her honeysuckle voice echoed in the deep recesses of his mind. Matthias straightened up from his seat.
Those last words of hers kept looping in his head. A subtle warmth grew in his chest the more he
thought about her waiting for him to come to her for a change.

His lips pursed into a thin line, his eyes staring around him, but not really looking at the now-rundown
cabin…

His breathing grew ragged as the warmth in his chest started turning into an ice-cold grip. While her
sweet words swirled in his head, her absence was screaming at him they had all been lies!

His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists tightly to limit his shaking. He crouched in on himself,
ignoring the swaying dust all around him as he pounded his fists into the worn-down mattress.

He quickly shot up to his feet, and began pacing, trying to calm his breathing as the warmth returned
with a vengeance, burning hotter than ever….

And then he felt it. The blazing fire in his chest was suddenly doused, and he paused to look at what
he’d kicked.

It was a large wooden box, partially sticking out from underneath the bed. It piqued his curiosity. What
was in it? Were they more secrets of Leyla?

And just like that, Matthias felt reinvigorated at the knowledge of seeing only something Leyla knew.
This was another one of her secrets only he would know. The sudden elation he felt prompted him to
quickly pry into the box, ignoring the huff of dust upon the lid falling haphazardly on the floor.

They were all junk, as far as Matthias could tell. Why would she even keep them? Though he wouldn’t
deny that the box seemed familiar.

And then it clicked.

It was a gift—specifically, a gift from him.

He sat back down on the bed, and began to sift through the contents of the box, the curiosity in him
building up upon the knowledge Leyla left a box which contained a gift from him.

He pulled out a velvet box first, and popped it open. In it contained a beautifully carved crystal bird. It
shone brightly in the darkened room, its wings painted a faint yellow, appearing golden, like Leyla’s hair.

This was the one he had commissioned after seeing her delight in their visit under the passage in the
museum.

‘My Leyla…’ Matthias declared softly to himself, but a nagging voice, a quiet voice was whispering to him
he never owned her. Not even a little bit.

He closed the velvet box up swiftly, and returned to look into more of the box’s contents.
More and more, he found more of the gifts he’d given her left behind. Even the shoes he’d bought for
her in replacement for the one he’d stained with ink.

She really did it then, took every single thing he’d given her out of the goodness of his heart, and left it
behind, left everything behind as she left him.

He wanted to laugh at the pettiness of it all, he wanted to be angry even at her throwing away his gifts
for her. But what was the point? Leyla was not here.

She was not here to see him. She disappeared from him, leaving him behind.

So what did she have left?

A puddle of rain formed beneath him the more he stayed in the house. He could care less about creating
a pool of mess in this cabin. No one was left in it to care for it after all.

Surely, she must have left behind something else, not just his gifts. There must be something she would
be willing to return to. She can’t leave him like this.

He resumed wandering around the small room, digging through every crevice and corner of her room,
practically grasping at straws for something to cling on to. Her things have been upturned, her books,
and many other irrelevant objects.

Nothing personal, as far as he could tell, and stronger and stronger the rain pelted down on the cabin
outside.

And then he saw it, in the corner of his eyes. A small journal, haphazardly splayed out on the floor by the
foot of the bed.

A diary, the kind for a child.

His pale, calloused hands picked it up, scanning through the entry it had been opened on, and realized
whose it was.

It was Leyla’s diary from childhood.

A new insight into Leyla’s mind. How fascinating! At that moment, Matthias completely disregarded his
promise to himself to move on from her. He doesn’t want to move on from her.

Never.

He flipped immediately to the beginning, Leyla’s first day in Arvis.

[ I got in Arvis today. And I met Uncle Bill too. He’s very big and scary, but don’t worry, he wasn’t scary
at all!

He never even hit me! He doesn’t even make a lot of noise too. Also, I got dinner! He gave me one. He
said he likes seeing children eat like a cow, so I tried to eat like one!
He didn’t get angry I ate a lot. Plus, his food was yummy!

So yeah, I like Uncle Bill. He wasn’t scary. I guess Arvis pretty too.

Hopefully he’ll adopt me! Then I won’t have to go to that orphanage. I promise I’ll be really good too!
Wish me luck!]

Tucked in the pages behind the diary entry, were a couple of dried grass and petals of random flowers
Matthias never bothered to learn. There were also a couple of doodles here and there of trees, flowers
and birds.

He assumed they were rough imitations of what she’d seen in Arvis.

He flipped on to another page.

[I was in the forest today! And guess what I saw? The duke! And he tried to shoot me too! I got so scared
that I had to cry!

Though, I thought he was reeaaally cute! And his voice was so soft and smooth too! It was soft like that
bird feather I picked up! The one I gave Uncle Bill!

Speaking of, I asked him if all the noblemen were pretty like the duke, and he said no I guess the
duke’s special. Though I don’t understand why he would do bad things.]

The memory flashed in front of his eyes as he recalled their first meeting. He’d seen a small girl sitting
on the tree at that time as he had been strolling down by the riverside.

He’d shot at her initially, thinking she had been a bird. It had come as a surprise for him; it had been a
person instead. And since that moment, he’d often seen her around their designated hunting grounds.

When interacting with young nobles like he and Riette, most people, or servants would often shower
them with compliments and care. Not Leyla though, she had made it a point to turn the other way
around as soon as she gave her respects to him.

She made it clear early on, how afraid she’d been of him.

He was brought back to the present, hands clasped firmly around the edges of the child’s diary. Half of
him didn’t want to keep reading, but the prospect of letting Leyla go wouldn’t let him as well.

He needed to keep reading.

And so he did, and on and on it went. Her feelings in Arvis, her childish adventures and discovery since
coming to Arvis. Her day-to-day life with Uncle Bill. The more Matthias read, the more he understood
what it was that Leyla wanted.
And he’d also learned more about the flowers and birds that grew in Arvis, things that were
unimportant to him. He read about the compliments her uncle would give her, her experiences in every
season…

And then he stumbled upon the entry on her first time ever tasting an ice cream. He could hear the
sadness bleeding out of her entry as he read into it.

[I was called to the mansion today! I also met the duke’s relative. I wanted to play with her, but I didn’t
understand the game. She called me a puppy, and then left. I don’t know what that meant, but puppies
are cute, right?

I tried showing her how good I am at other things! But she just told me she’s a lady. She seemed to hate
climbing trees and running too. So I just kept following her around, and then she gave me money!

They told me to take it though, even when I told them I didn’t need money. But I did take it. I guess I was
so shy at the moment, I dropped the money on the floor and then the scary duke came!

He stepped on it too! And I felt terrified and embarrassed. I had to crawl in front of him to pick them up!
He’s still pretty, but scary. I went home crying, and told uncle everything!

He told me not to cry though, I was doing my job. So I should be proud I made honest money. It’s weird.
He told me I would be an amazing adult. But everyone kept calling me unlucky because I’m an orphan…]

Leyla proceeded to pour out her feelings, writing down her cousin’s from her aunt teasing her how she’d
be a prostitute. It wasn’t until later on that she realized what it meant, and she’d been so upset and
even fought with her brother when he said it to her too.

And then she wrote down the consequences of her fighting back. How they’d hit her, and starve her. In
her hunger, she even ate a turnip fresh from the garden, but she got caught and got hit again for
disobeying.

Her aunt called her a thief after that. And she’d end up a prostitute, cheating people off their money.
Everyone else kept telling her the same thing…

But Uncle Bill was different. He told her she’d be a good adult, but she didn’t understand what a good
adult was supposed to be. So she kept quiet, believing her uncle to be all wise, then she must grow up to
be one too.

[… I can’t sleep well. I keep dreaming what I’d be when I grow up! I wonder what uncle Bill saw. He’s
smart, so he can predict the future! Oh I can’t wait to grow up and be a good adult!

And then Uncle Bill will be happy and I will be happy! He laughed at me when I said that but that’s
okay, I like hearing his laugh.]
The words ran out long before Matthias moved on from that entry. It was a joke for him, stepping on
the money and making her pick it up with great difficulty. He didn’t think much of it, so he can’t
remember why he even did that to her back then.

All he knew was that she intrigued him, and he wanted to tease her more. Push more of her buttons and
see how much she could take from him.

It’s been so long after all. He hardly even remembered much of the details of his childhood. Leyla was
the only thing he could remember so vividly, her beauty, her green eyes, how she cowered from his
presence…

The sky grew darker outside. Still Matthias remained in the abandoned cabin.

She wrote and wrote every single thing in her childhood down, eventually refreshing more and more of
his memory with every account of hers that mentioned him. Her goals kept changing.

From getting good grades, mastering the bicycle, and then living a happy life with Bill, Kyle was part of
her plans here, but most of the names she mentioned he didn’t recognize.

Probably because they were inconsequential to him being with her. Never mind she kept mentioning
they lived around Arvis too.

The last entry was about winter. It stood out to Matthias because it was that winter, that he came upon
owning a beautiful bird to entertain him to his heart’s content.

He wanted to read more, and resumed his search around the room, but saw no more. She wrote
nothing more to leave him with.

How odd. He used to think his time with her was the highlight of his meager life. But it seemed as
though, for her, he was her nightmare in the flesh.

How odd. Why did she see it like that?

Perhaps it was because he spent too much time looking at her? He was merely a spectator of her life
from afar after all. And the more he watched, the more annoyed he got how out of reach she kept trying
to be from him.

But lately, he found himself devoid of caring about anything else. His fingers twitched.

He wanted to sleep again. Had he been in his room he would have reached for those sleeping pills again.
And then he’d be asleep shortly.

Deciding that nothing was left for him here, he flicked the lampshade off, and trudged out with heavy
steps outside the cabin.

It was time to return to his mansion.

He was only out for a walk, and that was what it looked like to his attendants who eagerly waited and
cared for him as soon as he arrived. They fretted over him and his health, telling him to get warm from
the rain…

That’s right, it had still been raining when he left the cabin. He wondered how he could have missed
that.

Still, despite their cries for him to get something warm in his, Matthias ignored them, heading sluggishly
back to his room. Every desperate plea they reasoned with him all became an annoying buzzing of
insects to him.

As he reached his bedroom door, he was greeted by the hardened expression on Hessen’s face upon the
sight of him. The old butler’s lips were pressed into a thin line, before sighing in resignation.

Just behind him was a sobbing maid. She looked familiar.

Ah, that was the maid Hessen showed him would be taking care of his bird upon his leave.

He walked forward, and addressed his butler.

“How’s my bird?” He asked softly, and Hessen’s face grew somber, as he bowed his head apologetically
at him…

“I am deeply sorry, my Lord,” Hessen began, and the maid’s sobbing sounds grew louder. “I’m afraid the
canary didn’t make it, my Lord.”

A loud ringing began to echo in Matthias’ ears.

“Your bird’s dead, my Lord.” Hessen finished.

Chapter 116

Leyla

After the night-long heavy downpour, dawn broke, and morning finally came. Matthias found himself
leaning against his wing chair in front of the west window and watched the bright morning sun as it rose
from the east.

A cold wind was blowing through the open window, carrying the fresh scent of roses. It seemed as
though they bloomed during the onslaught of heavy rains yesterday.

He soon found himself bitterly chuckling at the irony.

Even though the season had come for roses to bloom, Leyla was no longer here to witness it. And during
the time when he expected all living creatures to go back home and make his world livelier, his bird
would suddenly die.

Matthias cast his eyes at the now-empty cage where his canary had lived.

The only things that indicated it had been lived in were the several yellow feathers scattered all over it
and the bowls of uneaten rice and water. Those were the only things his canary left behind to remind
him of its existence.

His bird was gone.

Matthias’ eyes shifted back to the table in front of him. On top of it was a small wooden box that
embraced the cold body of his canary. Its once soft and minuscule body had hardened into a position of
eternal sleep. The memories he had with it slowly filled his head, and he had no choice but to let it take
him back to those times.

He remembers seeing it first as a small bird, an assuming creature that captured his heart with one
glance. He enjoyed seeing the bird gradually being tamed by him.

It used to thrash loudly and flee whenever he was near it, but then its countenance had mellowed, and
he could gradually tame its spirit. The joy he felt back then was so pure and unexplainable. It filled his
heart like the way a lovely song could fill a room.

The knowledge that it was a being under his domain…

That it was utterly his…

Also made its affection taste sweeter.

It brought him so much pleasure in the way the bird would just chirp happily and play in his room, the
way its eyes would search for him around its vicinity…

And the way he could run his fingers against its soft feathers while it sat on the back of his hand just
staring at him were moments of great pleasure and he loved every second of it.

But now…

These memories were nothing but ashes of a once burning flame.

He got up from his chair, approached the table, and then reached out and slowly stroked its cold body.
The feathers of its golden wings were still so soft that he could almost believe that the bird would open
its eyes again and fly toward him at any moment.

That it was fine, he told himself…

He still had his canary.

They told him they did not know the reason for his bird’s death. It just died like that.

Perhaps, it was suffering in silence with him, until anxiety drowned it in its vicious arms, and drained the
life out of it.

And just like that, it was gone forever from his life…

Much like the way she left him.

Like Leyla…

For a long time, Matthias remained in a catatonic state. He just sat across the table and stared at the
body of his dead bird in silence. He appeared to be waiting for it to flap its wings and sing its sweet
songs once again, just like it used to do when the bright morning came after a night of heavy rain.

The passing of hours quickly became apparent as the soft rays of sunlight shifted on his window and
began to shine down on the intricate box at the table.

Seeing its warmth fall on top of it, Matthias quietly called the bird’s name, “Leyla…”

That was the most fitting name he could give it. As soon as he saw the tiny bird, he knew he had to
name it Leyla.

He didn’t care if it sounded ridiculous. He liked that he could be as sweet as he wanted to with this bird,
and the bird loved him as much as he was affectionate with it.

Matthias liked it; liked the feeling of loving and being loved back.
But even after whispering the sweet name several times to the wind, the bird did not open its eyes. It
remained cold and lifeless to the touch.

An echo of something deep within him.

The day had just begun though, Matthias thought, fingers caressing the box absentmindedly. He looked
outside, and noted it was still early.

An ominous feeling gradually enveloped his mind.

The loss of his bird’s songs were only the beginning.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla woke up to feeling sharp pangs of pain enveloping her body. It seemed the slight fever she had
progressed into the night; now her whole body throbbed as if she was bruised.

She continued to have no appetite, and thus couldn’t find it in herself to even eat anything.

She curled up in herself and pulled on her blankets as she covered herself with it all the way up to the
top of her head. It draped all over her as she wished to drown out the outside world around her.

To be honest, despite her current predicament, she did not find the day as unbearable as the night. The
nights for her were always so hard to endure, even now…

Because the nights were his…

It had now been forever ingrained in her to be his time…

It will forever be Matthias’.

She closed her eyes tightly and pressed her pillow closer to her chest because she hated the fact that
she was still thinking of those nightmare-like memories…

His kisses against hers, his roaming hands all over and inside her body, his warmth pressing up against
her…

They kept replaying and replaying all over in an endless loop, making her feel as though she’s still with
him, and something inside her was aching…

It didn’t matter how hard she tried to erase him, her mind always found its way back to him without
fail…

Nothing made her forget.

Sensing it was a losing battle, Leyla gave up her pursuit of clearing her head and jumped out of bed. She
slowly approached the window and looked outside. The twinkling stars in the summer sky filled her
glassy eyes…

They were nothing but a blur to her. So unlike the clear skies in Arvis.

‘Did my wish come true?’ She asked the heartless deity up above as she glanced in the blurry night sky,
wondering if Matthias was now suffering as she wished he would in her absence.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“My Lord,”

A familiar voice flowed into the world where sounds tend to disappear and continue to beckon him back
into awareness…

“You need to get up now, my Lord.” So it repeated and once more, it had gone closer than it had been…

Matthias groggily opened his eyes without even moving his limbs. At first sight, everything was in a haze.
He blinked a few more times, before his vision began to clear up, and immediately saw the embarrassed
expression on his attendant’s face.

He was standing close by his bedside.

The attendant bowed at him nervously and spoke in a solemn voice, “I apologize for disrespectfully
intruding in here without your permission, my Lord.” He quickly apologized profusely.

“But I am afraid time is of the essence,” He quickly reasoned out, “You have to attend today’s meeting.”

For a moment, Matthias just blankly stared at him, watching him squirm uncomfortably in his presence.
Then, finally, he went and sighed in slight irritation.

“Fine,” Matthias quickly sniped at his attendant, “I shall be ready shortly.” He responded in a calm voice
that was so unlike the tone one would expect from a person who had just woken up.

He got up, and sat against the head cushion.

He watched as the waiting maids came in and opened the curtains of his room to let the sunlight in.
While warmth filled his room, Matthias found himself staring at the nearby clock, it was already past
one o’clock in the afternoon.

Still, this fact did not faze him and he stood up from his bed rather nonchalantly. Truthfully, he was
getting used to waking up this way, a daily life where time no longer mattered.
Nothing mattered anymore.

His legs felt like lead though and he just stood motionless, with bleary eyes that looked at the sun. Even
though all the maids had left, and everything was silent, we felt oddly bothered.

There was a constant irritation, like an itch he couldn’t scratch in his mind. With every passing moment,
the more it became unbearable.

And so he whistled, just something to break the deafening silence in his room. He smiled as he kept
whistling, loving the sound he was making.

But where was his accompaniment? Why was nothing singing back?

‘Ahh… that’s right. There’s no Leyla anymore.’ His mind helpfully supplied, his eyes drawn to the empty
corner of the room.

That’s where his bird should have been. That’s where its cage had been. But now, there was only an
empty space. Nothing to indicate it had housed a bird.

‘That’s right…it died.’ he thought nonchalantly.

Death was just another part of life, wasn’t it? Just as the weather is always part of a person’s day to day
life.

It wasn’t important.

He finally felt ready to go out that day and his nerves felt calmer too. He got dressed, and as soon as his
tie was knotted in tightly, the attendant reminded him once more that he needed to attend a meeting.

‘Meeting?’ he thought absently, wondering what worldly issues needed his express attention?

He can’t recall any detail about today’s meeting at all, he could hazard a guess, but there wasn’t any way
to know for sure. Who was he meeting with? Executives? Colleagues, or subordinates?

Matthias left the dressing room without bothering to check on his appearance.

Lately, he noted his clothes felt a little bigger on him, but he hardly thought it needed to be addressed
immediately. Everything was just so… unimportant lately. Even deciding whether he’s wearing the
proper clothing seemed like an absolute waste of time.

Nothing to be bothered about as it wasn’t something to entertain him.

Dressing up was just another mindless activity.

He came down to the lobby’s hall, and there Matthias saw his mother, greeting him with an awkward
smile. She was probably waiting for him to come out because there was no reason for her to be hanging
around there for no particular reason.
She drew close to him before she finally spoke, “Are you heading out, Matthias?” she asked with an odd
tone in her voice.

“Yes I am, mother.” he replied plainly.

“Is it for work?” She asked, and Matthias nodded stiffly.

“Yes. It’s the day of the board meeting.” He replied effortlessly with his usual elegant smile.

His brief responses made Elysee embarrassed by making such a huge fuss on his condition. Her son was
functioning optimally as he did before, despite his sickly appearance.

What more could she say?

It seemed like Matthias deemed her no longer important as well, for he swiftly turned on his heels and
walked away from her with only a quick nod goodbye.

As soon as Matthias stepped outside, he could fully feel the warmth of summer trying to seep in his ice-
cold limbs. How quaint this warm feeling was.

It reminded him effortlessly of her again. He wondered how long it had been since he last held her in his
arms?

How much time had even passed by? He couldn’t tell, so there was no point dwelling further on the
thought of it.

‘Was the wedding next month?’

But even that didn’t matter as much as it should have, such a lifetime concern ago. He felt like he’d just
returned from a different world.

A world where only he and Leyla could exist.

He must have been standing there for a long time and just staring at the sky, for his attendant had
approached him with a worried look, “My Lord…”

Matthias slowly raised his hand, not wanting to hear any more interruptions from his thoughts, before
getting into the car on his own.

Today’s meeting data prepared by Mark Evers was neatly placed on one side of the rear seat, and so as
the car started, he began to scan its content and refreshed his memory of its details.

At the back of his mind, he was finding it hard to concentrate but he continued to read and tried to
understand it calmly. It was the proper thing to do after all. There had never been a time in his life
wherein Matthias did not fulfill his responsibilities and commitments.

Today was one of those days.

And just like that, time seemed to flow without a hitch. His disposition did not change much, not even as
his car arrived and entered the center of the city and parked in front of the company’s building.

The driver, who got off in a hurry, opened the back seat door respectfully.

Matthias stepped out of the car with a light heart.

He greeted the waiting directors naturally and sat down in front of the conference room desk without so
much as a glance. As expected, the meeting was heated from the beginning. He suspected the
conference room would soon be a warzone before the borderline was engulfed by fire.

Today, he had to choose one clear route, and Matthias was well aware of how crucial his decision would
be. It is also the biggest responsibility of the Duke of Herhardt; to determine the direction and where to
proceed.

He focused on the data in front of him and tried to forget his faint headache that was starting. However,
complex numbers and phrases only wandered aimlessly in his mind and he couldn’t grasp any of them.

From some point on, it became unclear to him what he was even looking at.

It was at this point that he started to hear noises that did not make sense to him, but soon he was able
to decipher a familiar tone; the sound of a bicycle falling and its wheels spinning in the air, as well as the
sound of leaves rustling busily fluttering in the air, combined with the soft beating rhythm of his heart…

It was quickly intoxicating him.

He quickly reached for the glass of water in front of him with his bony fingers, the joints beneath the
pale skin protruding sickly. However, the more he tried to get out of its weblike hold and focus on the
present, the clearer the hallucination became and led him into a bog-like memory.

In his mind, he approached the image of Leyla, who was falling, and felt his heart beating loudly against
his chest.

Despite the distance he still felt close enough to smell her scent. Her body seemed to have been soaked
in roses, and his lips suddenly felt dry while his throat felt parched and thirsty. However, all those
sounds that resembled nursery rhymes soon disappeared.

The very moment Leyla looked up in his direction, everything faded out and only she was left.

The picture of a little girl who stood up after sprawling unceremoniously on a dusty road began to
overwhelm Matthias. Even though he was at the position where he was the one looking down at her, he
felt rather humbled at the sight of her.

He had never felt something like that before…

Perhaps, even though he did not know it back then…

His heart already knew from the get go.

He struggled to deny it, chalking up the sensations as normal seeing as he was always like that in front of
Leyla.

It’s the same now.

She made him infinitely weak and shabby in front of her presence despite his power and money.
Perhaps that’s why he kept pushing her. He wanted to feel better about himself around her.

“Excuse me… Duke.”

Matthias raised his head at the sound of someone calling him.

He couldn’t focus on anything else but the tremendous emptiness he felt inside him. He just wanted to
utter nonsense, finish his work, go back home, and swallow sleeping pills again.

He didn’t want to care about anything else. There wasn’t a care he could muster inside him, even if the
world were to end here and now.

He might as well just up and disappear and wouldn’t mind it in the least bit.

It was a crazy thought, but that’s his truth right now.

It’s the only truth that mattered to him.

His eyes slowly raked all over the conference room. He couldn’t help but feel out of place within its
prestigious walls.

Eventually, Matthias managed to organize his thoughts, before attempting to speak a coherent sentence
immediately before more of his strength and sanity completely deserted him.

“I apologize.” He amended, craning his neck left and right to relieve the growing tension in his body. “I
don’t think I’m in the right mindset to make any final decision right now.”

“No, what do you mean…” the protests immediately died down as they watched Matthias rubbing his
neck.

A pregnant silence filled the room, before someone else spoke up on behalf of everyone in attendance.

“I think the Herhardts will have to respect the board’s decision after further sufficient discussion.” The
executive director announced, gaining Matthias’ attention. “I’m certain Mr. Hessen can handle being in
charge of the final coordination.”

It was a logical decision. After all, Hessen, who has led practical management since the time of
Herhardt’s predecessors, was also Mathias mentor, and taught him everything about the workings of
the company.
If possible, a tenser silence enveloped the room after that.

One could only wonder about what was happening.

Was it true what the rumors said about the Duke? Has his health deteriorated? How badly did it affect
him?

What will happen to the Herhardts now?

Everyone watched with bated breaths, wondering what was going on with the young Duke’s mind.

Slowly, Matthias got up from his seat. He must have conceded with the decision the executive director
had come to.

“Once again, I apologize.” Regardless of how discouraged Matthias appeared at completing his work, his
voice remained impassive, solemn and elegant. Still, how his eyes shifted in the air gave everyone a
feeling of discomfort.

His presence screamed that he was someone wrapped in cold fire. No, he seemed to have become the
very flame.

Still, the rest of the executives couldn’t help but feel disappointed once Matthias left the room. The
murmurs eventually began as they continued to speculate on what was happening with the young Duke.

As he made his way away from the place, he felt the urge to take off his jacket, but his hand could barely
unfasten his top buttons. He roughly pulled out his tie and crumpled it in his hands before shoving it in
his breast pocket.

“I’ve no further need of your assistance or anyone else’s for the rest of the day,” Matthias ordered Mark
Evers, who had been trailing behind him. His voice cracked at the end as he gave out the command.

His attendant hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should push to stay with his master, but Matthias
kept walking down the marble steps through the magnificent lobby not even waiting for a response.

It didn’t take long for the young Duke to find himself staggering into a ridiculously bright world
afterwards.
Chapter 117

Forever be a Secret

Rumors began spreading like wildfire throughout Arvis when Kyle Etman suddenly arrived. It threw
everyone in even more confusion when he reappeared out of the blue!

Previous rumors largely believed that Kyle had whisked the gardener and Leyla out of Arvis, and had run
away with them. While Mrs. Etman vehemently denied the allegations above, no one really believed
her.

They knew how much Kyle loved Leyla. It wouldn’t have been such a stretch to believe they would
elope. It would have been the perfect ending for the two love birds to find their happy ending
somewhere else, away from all the fuss…

And yet, Kyle was here, in Arvis.

And it broke all their illusion of a fairytale ending coming true, for even he knew not where Leyla and her
uncle had gone to.

“Kyle!” a familiar voice fleeted into Kyle’s ears, making him stop in his tracks upon his arrival, “Kyle!”

Kyle turned around, and saw Mrs. Mona rush out of the kitchen doors, coming towards him in great
hurry. She huffed out momentarily as she slowed down, pausing right in front of him, and Kyle bowed at
her respectfully in greeting.

“Do you know where Leyla and Remmer are?” She immediately asked him without any preamble,
grabbing him in her haste, and Kyle blinked in shock, before looking somber and giving her a terse shake
with his head.

It was plain for all to see, he had no idea where the two people had gone.

He’d already informed his father earlier he meant to return to Arvis, to inquire about Leyla and Uncle
Bill’s disappearance and figure out their whereabouts. But Dr. Etman had only chided him at his futile
effort in looking for them, demanding immediately he go back to school and stay there instead of
participating in this folly.

But Kyle had learned to be stubborn.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t know where they are.” He told Mrs. Mona, who looked
particularly disappointed to hear him say so, and immediately waved his apology.

“Oh don’t apologize boy, I’m sorry for suddenly springing it up on you.” She quickly amended, Kyle could
see her eyes begin to tear up as she looked around aimlessly and tried to wipe a tear off the corner of
her eyes subtly.

Eventually, she let him go, and apologized for suddenly grabbing him. Kyle only smiled at her
reassuringly, before bidding goodbye, and walking fast past the garden.

He eventually came upon the forest, and being in it, and seeing it again after so long gave him an odd
sense of hope. Somewhere in his mind, although irrational, he couldn’t help but believe that when he’d
reach the cabin…

They’ll be there when he opens the door. That they decided to return to Arvis after all…

And so he kept walking, carefully cradling that hope in his chest like a precious, fragile treasure. But
when he reached the opening leading to the cabin, his hopes crashed to pieces as he saw the overgrown
weeds around the small house.

They really were gone.

“Leyla…” Kyle softly called out, his voice trailing off in the end as he took in the cabin that had once been
his home away from his parents. The longer he stood there, and stared at the cabin, the more the
strength seemed to leave his legs…

And he dropped sobbing onto the forest ground, sobbing and aimlessly calling out for Leyla, her name
slipping out of his lips. Birds flew overhead with his wailing, his cries echoing all over the empty forest…

But still, only silence greeted him back.

Leyla was not in Arvis.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias found himself wandering around. Half of him couldn’t believe he was unable to find a more
suitable thing to do after he’d been dismissed for a business meeting. And so he laughed…

And laughed some more as he walked, unbelieving and in denial of the utter ridiculousness he was
showcasing.
Perhaps this was the result of the sleeping pills he kept taking then? All he knew was that everything
seemed so real, and yet unrealistic at the same time. He’s awake, but reality feels as though he’s floating
in a listless dream…

He also had, as of the moment, a splitting headache. His whole body was throbbing with numbness and
heat, he felt as though he was burning up, and yet at the same time, he felt freezing!

Matthias couldn’t seem to stop walking, though; his legs kept pushing on, even as logic begged himself
to stop and rest.

He’d endure this pain. Pain was more welcome than more memories of her. More memories of Leyla,
and he’d just spiral more into the fading memories of her beauty and their time together, and where
would that leave him?

Nowhere but in ruins.

Was this true desperation? If it was, this was the first time Matthias ever felt like this.

He needed Leyla to come back to him. She must come back to him. He needed her to live his life as it
had been before…

And Matthias bursted into another breathless laugh as he begged her to return to him.

‘You worked so hard to make me like this, you should be generous enough to appreciate seeing me like
this too.’ Matthias wistfully thought of her…

“Come back…” he muttered out of his breath, aimlessly looking around for any sign of her, as he smiled
and chuckled dryly to himself when he still couldn’t see her anywhere nearby.

“Come back.” He reiterated.

He wanted her back with him, to see her laugh at his misery without her. He wanted to see her smile at
the broken man she made him to be.

Even just like this, he needed to see her again. He wanted to see her again, even in his misery. Even if
she hated him, he wanted her back.

And so he grit his teeth in anticipation, and his pace quickened as he continued walking around
aimlessly…

Before he knew it, he reached the road back to Arvis. The familiar Platanus road in front of him beckons
his calm, and the image of Leyla the last time he saw her appears in front of his eyes…

She was looking at him so earnestly, wishing for him to love her; it made him stumble in his steps as he
drew closer to that spot once more. She’s always been his magnet. He’d always been so drawn to her,
that without her, he couldn’t find his way back to sanity…
One step closer to her, and another and another…

She smiled at him encouragingly…

He reached out to touch her…

And she was gone.

She wasn’t in front of him. Just a mere hallucination of her.

Matthias’ breathing came in ragged puffs, his tired eyes staring desperately on the last spot he’d seen
her in the flesh. There was nothing there. Just his shadow looming over her last spot.

She’s gone.

Leyla left him. And she’ll never be his again.

Laughter bubbled up and exploded from Matthias’s chest as he threw his head back, hands coming up to
grab onto the sides of his head, hoping to grab onto his remaining sanity in the process. He thought he
should be crying, it certainly felt like he should be, but only laughter came out of his lips.

When the laughter died down considerably, Matthias only sighed and kept walking, and into Arvis he
went.

He should be returning to the mansion, but his feet had other plans, and led him back to the forest. The
forest that housed Leyla’s world in his. It loomed ominously over him, but Matthias only cared about
seeing Leyla…

He needed to be with her again.

Entering the forest made him relive all of his memories, and hers as recounted in her childhood diary.
Every meeting he’d had with her, every time he teased her to his heart’s content, and every time Leyla
ran away from him in fear…

He remembered one incident in their childhood. He’d been so annoyed with her always running away
from his presence, he purposely directed the horse he’d been riding to stop her in her tracks.

She’d been by the grass before, and when he physically blocked her from escaping, he watched in
satisfaction when she froze in fear as she looked up at him. Like the child she was, she quickly turned
back around and into the road she fell over and rolled on the ground…

But she just got back up and kept running from him.

As though sensing he was no longer following her, she stopped and looked back at him, physically
wondering why he wasn’t following her. Matthias could feel her eyes on him, and he could only laugh at
her ridiculousness, watching as she marched back into their small cabin.
She amused him, for a coward, she sure was bold. And ever since then, Matthias upped the ante on his
pranks on her, wanting to see more and more of her reactions. He was addicted to her, he didn’t want
to stop riling her up.

But the more he grew up, the more he realized she was like a deer instead. And afterwards, he tried
acting indifferent around her instead…

And then he left, and met her again as a full-grown woman on that summer day, and a whole new
obsession awoke inside of him at seeing her in full bloom.

If someone asked him when his obsession with her began, he couldn’t tell. Perhaps he’d just always
been obsessed with her, so hyper-aware of everything she did; it was just normal for him to be so drawn
to her.

And he kept watch of her, from the small scared girl, to his bold beautiful queen, he’d seen her evolve
through the years…

And he liked what he saw.

But he hadn’t seen her how she began, nor would he ever see how she’ll end up to be. All because she
left him…

Now what did that leave him?

What was he supposed to do without her? He can’t have things with Leyla be over. Even as he looked
around now, all he could see were their memories together, through Leyla’s eyes. Every word she
recounted…

They all kept ringing in his head, and none of them felt as vibrant before, marred by the knowledge of
Leyla’s feelings. Still, Matthias couldn’t stop laughing as he kept recalling every single memory.

Always, she tried to run away from him. Always, she cried in fear of him. If what he had with her, all
those nights they made love with each other were just all an act of revenge for her, then all he really had
of her were her fears and pain.

Everything in him was empty, still, he couldn’t let her go. He doesn’t want to. She was meant to be part
of his life, she always should be.

She shook him straight to the core on their first meeting, and he couldn’t stand that. And so he pushed,
and pulled on her, bullying her with every moment that presented itself, giving her gifts in
compensation…

Even the satisfaction he had at seeing her cry because of him made him feel powerful and safe in some
way. He affected her, as much as she affected him.

But he never once wished for her to disappear from his life.
Looking back on his actions, he could only laugh at how ridiculous everything had been. He should have
ignored her long before, like everything he did with something that bothered him. It had always been
enough back then…

But Matthias didn’t want to get rid of her so easily. He wanted her beside him, even if she kept begging
for him, and crying because of him, he would take anything…

So long as she stayed beside him forever, as someone that was his.

His Leyla.

Something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. Matthias stopped in his tracks, as he saw
movement. He whipped his head to its direction, and felt the jolt of hope die back down to a numbing
feeling at who he saw at the end of the road…

The man who held everything he wanted from Leyla.

Kyle Etman.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

It was an odd feeling, Kyle mused to himself, seeing the Duke in front of him right now. He once believed
if he ever saw that man again, he would kill him. And yet now, even as his heart sank, Kyle could only
look at him blankly.

He wasn’t eager to see him again for sure, but when he stepped closer, his heart continued to throb
painfully at the memory of Leyla begging him to leave her alone…

“I love him!” her painful cry of confessing her love to the Duke echoed loudly in the back of his mind.

As much as he wanted to believe she was lying to protect him from the Duke, Kyle couldn’t deny the
small ounce of truth he could hear in Leyla’s tone.

On that day he visited Leyla in her cabin, to ask for one more chance to win her heart, he knew for sure.
Even as he was blinded by his anger at seeing the Duke and Leyla having an affair with one another…

He knew Leyla loved the Duke. Some part of her genuinely did.

It wouldn’t matter what kind of trick the Duke had up his sleeve, or blackmail he had, he knew Leyla was
a smart woman. If she truly wanted to, she would have found a way out of her predicament.

Some part of her wanted the same thing as the Duke. Because that’s the type of person Leyla really was.
Nothing could make her do something she didn’t want to. No matter how powerful the person was.
And that’s why that night was so painful for Kyle.

More than the knowledge this wasn’t an equal relationship, more than Leyla’s rejection of him…

It was that he never really had her love.

She might not acknowledge it herself, and perhaps the Duke hadn’t realized it either. But Kyle could see
it. And it seemed among the three of them that night, Kyle was the only one who could see the truth in
front of them.

And what a bitter pill it was to swallow. That Kyle would lose his best friend, to a man who could never
truly care for what he had. And now, the man he knew for sure only further broke Leyla, and lost her in
the end.

What an irony it was.

But Kyle kept moving forward, stopping in front of the poorly kept appearance of the Duke, glaring at
him with all the contempt he could muster. The Duke was glaring at him with a fierce sharpness absent
in a drunken man’s gaze, but Kyle couldn’t exclude the possibility he wasn’t either.

But Kyle wanted to say something. His heart wouldn’t let him walk away without giving this faux perfect
Duke a piece of his mind, and possibly, his heart.

“Are you proud of yourself, Duke?” He asked through a calm rage, “You’ve ruined Leyla like this.”

The Duke just kept his sharp gaze on him.

“Do you regret what you’ve done now?” Kyle asked, “Do you see how you destroyed the one good thing
in your life?”

The Duke wasn’t answering still.

“Or maybe you don’t regret anything, huh?” Kyle scoffed, “Are you perhaps happy she’s gone? All traces
of your infidelity gone, and nothing would hinder your image of a perfect Duke?”

More silence reigned between the two, and Kyle deemed it useless to talk to someone who’d never
regret anything he’d done. Just as he was about to leave, finally, the Duke spoke up…

“You don’t know where she is, do you?”

It wasn’t a taunting question, but a genuine inquiry.

“Where did Leyla disappear?” the Duke’s voice asked quietly, “You, Kyle Etman, don’t know either.” He
mumbled. Kyle turned back to him with a calm rage, the medical student biting his lips to prevent
himself from making a bigger spectacle of everything.

He wanted to keep Leyla’s affair with the Duke a secret, to protect her.
The Duke was grinning at him smugly, as though happy he was also excluded from Leyla’s plans. And it
was like he was really happy with this piece of information. Kyle couldn’t help but scoff under his breath,
muttering about how crazy the Duke had gotten.

He heard from his father about the Duke’s condition, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it gave him an
odd sense of vengeance to know how devastated the Duke had been without Leyla.

The Duke was now chuckling and laughing to himself, and Kyle could only continue to watch him in great
disappointment.

“Tell me Duke, did you ever see her as a human?” Kyle asked him, genuinely curious what the Duke
really thought of Leyla. “Someone that’s beyond just her beauty? A prize to have? She’s not an object
you can just own!” Kyle exclaimed, the hands in his pockets clenched into fists.

And Kyle went off at him at how Leyla was her own person, and not someone he could keep as his own!
She has her dreams, thoughts, feelings, and her own morals.

“Do you even know how hard she tried to change what people thought of her? How hard she had to
work so she could reach the life she had before you ruined her?!” He asked again, but aside from the
laughter stopping, the Duke remained staring at him blankly.

He couldn’t read anything from the Duke at all. His eyes were blank and lifeless. And Kyle felt like a fool
trying to get him to see what he did wrong with Leyla.

What could he expect from someone born with a silver spoon? What could he expect from someone
who never had to worry about what people thought of them?

Nothing.

“I just, how could you do that to her?” Kyle’s voice cracked as he asked the question, “To Leyla! Leyla
who-” the words got choked up in Kyle’s throat…

‘To the person who loved you?!’

He wanted to scream it in his face, but saying it out loud would only make it more real. Leyla chose
someone who ruined her life, and could never appreciate her for who she really was, to someone who
loved her despite his own short-comings.

He wasn’t free of fault; he knew their engagement fell apart because of him as well. But Leyla chose the
Duke over him, and that only watered his hatred with the Duke. No amount of tears he shed for her
would change that.

He had begged her to stop the affair, and offered to help her escape…

But she didn’t take his hand. She didn’t accept him to save her. She only answered that she knew he
would destroy her, and willfully chose to stay, even as she cried admitting to it.
“You don’t deserve her.” Kyle finally said, calming down, and stared down at the Duke, “You don’t
deserve to ever find her again. Not even a glance of her. You deserve nothing from her.”

Kyle held the Duke’s gaze, speaking his true thoughts on the matter.

“And I hope you never find her, so just continue on with your life as you had been. You’re good at that.”
Kyle spat at him, “Good luck with your wedding next month. I hope you and your Duchess your best
life.”

Kyle gave him a mocking bow, eyes still locked on the Duke’s, as well as he straightened up.

“Have a long life on your own, you son of a bitch.” Kyle finished, and finally walked away from the bane
of his existence.

He prayed earnestly to the deities above to give the Duke a long life, and for them to keep Leyla away
from him even to his dying death…

And for Leyla’s feelings for the Duke to forever be a secret.

Just like this, Kyle wished for the Duke to keep suffering for his actions…

Until his dying breath.

Chapter 118

There’s No Way

Rumors about Duke Herhardt’s rapidly declining health began to spread like wildfire throughout the
upper-class society in Carlsbar. Talking about the Duke taking a break was stirring up interest left and
right amongst the nobles.

Most had initially brushed the rumor as just that, a rumor. But the Duke’s prolonged absence only
seemed to prove it more as time passed by.

The Duke of Arvis was simply gone from all usual appearances he’s had. Not even in the official offices
he’d usually be seen in.

People who’d come to Arvis and pay a visit to him had also been denied his presence. No one could see
him. And the intrigue of everyone only peaked the more the Duke became elusive. Whenever anyone
would ask, the official word from the Herhardts was that the Duke had been overworked.

Overworked? Did that mean the marriage would be delayed once again? As those rumors arose, it was
clear Claudine von Brandt couldn’t remain silent upon the matter any further.

Hence, her visit to the mansion today.

She’d arrive early and swiftly in Arvis, where the servants were thrown off by her arrival. Immediately
they went to fetch the current lady of the house. Elysee von Herhardt came striding gracefully into the
sitting room, where they exchanged pleasantries before Claudine immediately cut to the chase…

As expected, the Duke’s matriarch began to pull excuses left and right.

“I don’t think you could see him today Claudine,” Elysee smiled apologetically at her, “I believe he’s still
in deep sleep.”

“Still asleep?”

“Yes, he’s just been so tired lately, from work,” Elysee quickly added, “We opt to give him his time and
space to rest as much as we can.”

“Oh well, I don’t want to disturb him from his rest of course,” Claudine quickly agreed, “But if it’s all
right, I just want to see him, even when he’s asleep. I’m so concerned for him, you see.”
Elysee pursed his lips, before smiling stiffly at her.

“You and I both know Matthias dislikes it very much to have anyone intruding on his privacy, especially
while he’s in the annex.”

“Well, I am his fiance, privacy between us shouldn’t exist.” Claudine insisted stubbornly with a smile.
Normally she would let this slide, wanting things to run smooth between her and her soon-to-be in-laws,
but she was more determined to smoothen out whatever wrinkles appeared in her engagement.

She will not be deterred today.

Eventually, Elysee did give in to her subtle demands to see her betrothed, and allowed her to visit the
ailing Duke. She, too, understood the concerns the young woman had regarding their marriage.

They must know if things should be pushed back, or if they could proceed as scheduled. More and more
likely, it seems as though Matthias’ condition isn’t improving, the less likely he’ll be ready for his
wedding within the next month.

Claudine and Matthias needed to talk.

“Alright then,” Elysee relented to her, “If you’re certain you won’t be disturbing his rest.” She reminded
her softly, and Claudine smiled pleasantly.

“Of course, thank you so much for your permission.”

And without further adieu, Claudine gathered up the beautifully arranged bouquet she brought along, to
give to Matthias, and walked towards the annex with a certain bounce in her steps.

She got in her car, and there they drove down the riverside and towards the Duke’s annex. And
throughout that right, Claudine’s pleasant smile turned into a cold indifference in the safety of her car’s
privacy.

She wondered how badly the Duke’s condition had gotten. Could he even bear to stand? Or will he just
simply collapse?

Either way, she was expecting him not to be nearly presentable as he usually was. And she wanted to
see his misery. To see the perfect Duke be brought to his knees…

But then again, it would also be disastrous if the Duke began to lose face in the public. Claudine must
ensure whatever misery he had, would not interfere with her plans. She must ensure the power the
Herhardts had would not be lost by the time she married into their family.

Still, it was a little surreal to know the Duke had gotten this terribly because his mistress had
disappeared from him.

She clicked her tongue distastefully, before smiling in a pleasing manner at the sight of the annex.
The chauffeur rolled the car to a stop, and got out to immediately open up her door. Claudine smiled at
him gratefully, before raking her eyes over the majestic annex by the river. At a distance, it looked to be
floating in the river itself.

Her stomach churned uncomfortably, but she couldn’t deny the excitement upon seeing the Duke’s true
condition. It was exhilarating! She never thought she’d ever see the day the Duke would be so
miserable!

Perhaps she should thank Leyla for making this thing possible too!

Upon her arrival, the lone attendant was startled upon her appearance!

“Lady Brandt-!”

Claudine quickly explained her wishes, and watched as the attendant squirmed. He seemed to be under
strict orders to not let anyone disturb him, but hearing Claudine had the matriarch’s position made him
relent eventually.

He quietly led her up to the drawing-room he’d been residing in for a while, and knocked on the doors.

“My Lord, Lady Brandt has come to visit you.” He announced loudly, patiently waiting for a response.
When nothing came, he quietly slipped into the room, and took a pause.

Matthias was currently on the phone, talking to someone. His hair was wet, rivulets of water dripping
down his shirt, creating damp spots.

He must have just gotten out of the shower then. If he could hazard a guess on what the phone call was
about, it was most probably about Miss Lewellin. He’d still not stopped searching.

As the search for Mr. Remmer and Miss Lewellin continued to bore no fruit, the Duke took leave of all
his duties and began actively seeking her out instead of just leaving it to other personnel.

He’d used every connection he had and all means he could to track down the whereabouts of the two.
Still, there seemed only to be little progress.

It was the only thing the Duke would ever get up to these days as well. Day and night, he’d busied
himself looking for Miss Lewellin. And whenever he’s tired, he’d just quickly pop in the medicine and
proceed to sleep like the dead…

When he’s not sleeping, he’s just sitting out on the balcony; eyes trailed nowhere in front of him. He’d
occasionally laugh to himself, but then nothing again.

Clicks of heels against polished floors startled Mark Evers, making him remember why he’d entered the
drawing-room in the first place.

“My Lady Brandt, my Lord is still-”

“Step aside.” Claudine interrupted him immediately.

“But my Lord is still-”

“That’s an order, Evers.” Claudine snapped, and Mark Evers snapped his mouth shut. Vaguely he took
note of his master bidding goodbye over the phone, and bowed his head at her and stepped aside.

Matthias finally put the phone down, and faced Claudine, not even bothered by his state of undress. He
rose to his full height, locking eyes with his fiance. He was still dressed in a bathrobe, taking Claudine
aback by how inappropriate it was to see him like this.

But Claudine would not be cowered by Matthias either.

“It’s good to see you, my Duke.” she greeted pleasantly at him. Matthias only stared at her
disinterestedly. She took it as a chance to keep talking, “I heard my fiance had gotten sick, and I couldn’t
stay away so I’ve decided to visit you.”

Matthias hummed thoughtfully.

“I see, take a seat.” Matthias told her.

It was a little disheartening, that even with her surprise visit, Matthias could hardly be bothered to be
surprised by her. She got all excited for nothing.

He was still acting like his usual self, and smiled at her politely without it ever reaching his eyes. He was
still acting like the perfect Duke everyone knew. From his tone, attitude and gesture…

Claudine could tell, he had not changed at all. Broken, maybe, but not changed.

And so she sat as he ordered her to do so, and offered the bouquet to him. His smile widened at the
sight of the flowers, but Claudine had a feeling it was not because he appreciated her gesture, but more
of the roses itself was what amused him.

“I apologize for my appearance.” He finally said to her, his smile slipping back to the usual one he’d
show everyone else, “I’m afraid you caught me off guard, as such I am not dressed to greet you
appropriately. If you don’t mind waiting, until I am?”

Claudine straightened up and smiled at him in faux understanding.

“Please, take as much time as you need.” She acquiesced. Matthias nodded his head at her in
acknowledgment before sluggishly leaving the room. She eyed him critically, before looking all over the
place in thought…

Why was he staying in the annex?

Tea was soon served in front of her, and Claudine took careful sips of the warm drink as she continued
to examine the sitting room she was residing in. She couldn’t help but wonder, if perhaps it was because
this was the place they had their dalliance in?

She shuddered in deep-seated disgust at the thought of them romping all over the annex. She felt like
she was currently rolling around in the mud!

Before she could dwell on it further, Matthias had returned, all dressed and presentable with a flimsy
white shirt, and pants. His wet bed hair still scrunched up haphazardly.

“Are you upset I came here without your permission?” She immediately asked, looking up at him
defiantly as he stared down at her.

She could see how low he’d gotten. He looked worse for wear, but still he intimidated her. If not,
perhaps, even more than he usually did.

“No,” Matthias replied, sluggishly moving to the seat opposite of her, “You are welcome here, anytime.”
He told her offhandedly, “Besides, it’s good you came to visit me.” He told her, “I was thinking about
meeting with you as well.”

Claudine stiffened at that statement, and narrowed her eyes critically over at the Duke.

“What is it?” She immediately inquired, “What are you thinking about?”

Immediately she racked her mind with what topics they could possibly need to deal with together,
nothing else came to mind aside from…

“Is it about our wedding?” She asked, an undertone of worry seeping through her voice.

“Yes.” Matthias hummed peacefully, “It is about the upcoming wedding.” He smiled at her calmly, while
Claudine could feel a storm rolling up within her.

“If it’s postponing the wedding due to your health, then forget about it. I only care that you can walk in
our wedding, nothing else. I’ll take care of everything else, you just keep recovering well enough to walk
in our matrimony.” She quickly reassured, and Matthias smiled calmly at her.

It did nothing to ease the churning in her gut.

“The wedding will not be anything you will worry about.” Matthias hummed pleasantly.

“No, there’s no problem with proceeding as planned with the wedding.” Claudine quickly agreed.

“My Lady-”

“Stop.” Claudine demanded softly, “Don’t speak anymore of this. I don’t want to hear it!” She looked
away, visibly upset.

She could feel it coming.

All her plans…

“Claudine von Brandt.” Matthias’ sharp tone broke everything into tiny sharp pieces. And Claudine
looked at him, eyes wide in alarm.

The atmosphere between the two began to change. The tension had suddenly become so thick, one
could cut it with a knife.

A pregnant silence reigned between the two, and all Claudine could think about was that the last time
he’d spoken to her so harshly was when they weren’t engaged yet.

“Our engagement has run its course,” Matthias hummed, resting his head on the knuckles of his hand as
he reclined leisurely on the sofa across from her, “Let’s end it here.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Take it easy, dear,” a worried voice startled Leyla from behind her, “You might get hurt in the process.”

Leyla only smiled pleasantly at them in return, fixing her glasses up in her eyes. She’d been so immersed
in organizing the samples in front of her, she hadn’t noticed them coming up from behind.

“Oh don’t worry about me,” She reassured them, “It’s not so difficult after all.”

The words in her native tongue flowed out rather smoothly. When they first arrived in Lovita, Leyla
could hardly manage to speak once more in her mother language. She spent such a long time away from
using it, it took her a while to speak it so fluently once more.

“I like you Ms. Lewellin, you’re very intelligent.” They praised her, “Well then, I’ll head out first. Be sure
to finish this early and lock up on your way out.”

They bid each other goodbye with Leyla’s companion, a middle-aged doctor, going home first and
leaving her on her own. As soon as they left, silence was Leyla’s companion once again.

She finished up organizing the last of the biological samples she needed to examine, packing them up
nicely and securely in small packages. She also made sure to declutter the desk filled with books and
straying documents as she locked up.

Once all done, she locked up the door behind her, finally going home for the day.

Her hand gripped the straps of her sling bag tight, braving the steps through the hallway. Sunlight was
fading softly in the sky outside as she looked through the windows in the hall. The lowering sun painted
soft hues of orange and pink overhead.
Beautiful sunsets like this were the norm in Sienna, a coastal city, just south of Lovita. It was also hailed
for its beautiful beaches and harbors. It was not as big as Berg’s, but its culture was just as rich as any
city.

It also housed a fairly large natural history museum, which was affiliated mainly with the research
institute, which also happened to be another of Sienna’s specialties.

Before stopping by the local market, Leyla wasted no time heading towards the post, mailing the
packages she’d wrapped up quickly.

Upon her arrival, she quickly scanned the display for good quality peaches, which she’d just been craving
for lately.

She couldn’t help but muse in thought that if she’d still be in Arvis, she would just need to pick these up
in the forest. She chuckled half-heartedly, shaking the thought of the far-away place out of her head.

Thinking about it always brought an empty pit in her stomach, and unwanted flashbacks of an unwanted
man.

There was no point wondering how he was doing. He’ll be getting married soon.

Her stomach coiled uncomfortably in thought of it. Next thing she knew, she was walking along the path
that headed for home. She’d spaced out just now…

She also failed to see the incoming bicycle she’d stepped in front of!

The last thing she knew was a sharp cry of pain, and the familiar sounds of a bike crashing nearby.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

A deafening silence reigned between the two, with Claudine glaring daggers at Matthias’ calm
demeanor. Her fingers twitched on her lap, wondering if he was joking. But Matthias’ steady gaze on her
was shouting at her he was dead serious.

Time seemed to stop for Claudine as he heard him say it. Eventually, it was time to break the silence.

“Such poor humor you have, my Duke.” Claudine brushed off with a stiffened smile, “You mustn’t joke
about things like this so easily.” She took deep breaths, before trying to calm herself down. “You must
really be ill as it’s clouding your judgment like this, so I’ll let it slide just this once.”

“I’m dead serious.” Matthias clarified coolly, unbothered by the growing turmoil in front of him, “I’ve
never had a clearer decision made than this.” He answered plainly. “The engagement is off, there will be
no wedding.” He reiterated.
“No!” Claudine snapped, “I will not let you choose some orphan as your next Duchess to replace me!”
She exclaimed in frustration as she got up from her seat and began to pace furiously back and forth…

“You’re no longer a child Claudine!” Her mother’s voice rang in her head, making her stop in her tracks.

“It’s time you start acting like a lady!” phantom pains of her mother’s nails digging into her shoulders
made Claudine feel cold all over.

She was mortified she said it out loud! What kind of a lady was she that she couldn’t hold her tongue
in?! She’d be humiliated as both a high lady of society and in front of her family should her engagement
be broken off!

This was her sole purpose, the one thing her mother asked her so many years ago as she brought her to
Arvis. To secure her place as the next Duchess Herhardt. She must stop now before she made an even
bigger fool of herself…

But all her training seemed to leave her as rage and frustration filled her up.

“You know?” Matthias perked up in slight interest, but not really bothered that Claudine knew. In his
perspective, it made things easier to break off since she already knew.

“How could I not?!” Claudine exclaimed, “I watched her as a child, and I knew one way or another, she’d
be your mistress, and would stay by your side as long as she could!” She pointed out, and her pacing
resumed.

“What’s worse than that is you don’t even think about the people around you, don’t you?”

Immediately Claudine began pointing out how he’d been blatantly flaunting his affair out in public with
no thought of his family, her or her name at all! He’d just gone off and began galavanting with his
preferred woman in his arms!

Matthias only raised his eyebrows in intrigue, but couldn’t find it in himself to take the accusations at
heart.

“But you don’t care about me or anyone else, so how about your little orphan’s feelings, huh!?”
Claudine seethed at him, “Even if I was fine with breaking off the engagement, which I’m not, do you
really think she’d be willing to marry you? The man who terrorized her, her whole life!?”

A silence rang between the two nobles as Claudine breathed heavily, before a snarky smile made its way
through her lips.

“If you’re lucky enough, perhaps you can find her. But mark my words, she’ll never be yours.” Claudine
straightened out, looking down on his languishing form haughtily, “Especially not after I told her
everything you did behind her back.”

“Everything?” Matthias’ eyes narrowed at Claudine.

“Yes, everything.” Claudine confirmed proudly, “I told her every little scheme of yours I knew, how you,
the great Duke of Arvis orchestrated everything to make her life difficult, to push her into your arms.
How you masterminded every wrong thing that happened to her, or gotten involved in to ensure she
winds up with you.”

Finally, something in Matthias’ expression changed. No longer was he holding an amused indifference,
but rather something unreadable, and unfamiliar to Claudine.

“Do you think after everything, she’ll really come back to you? No sane woman would ever choose to
love a man such as you. No sane woman could ever love you.” She finished, and sat back down across
from him.

“So let go of this hubris of yours that you can find a happy ever after with Leyla, because you won’t.”
Claudine huffed out, “I on the other hand, am prepared to shackle my fate with yours as the next
Duchess.”

Matthias eyed her unconvincingly, still obviously confident he could in fact find his Leyla. In fact, he even
looked more amused at Claudine confidently declaring Leyla won’t ever come back to him.

Fine, if he was willing to be silent, she might as well enjoy taking this chance to voice out everything she
had wanted to tell him for a long time.

“Hasn’t it sunk in on your genius head yet, my Duke, Matthias von Herhardt?” She inquired mockingly,
“You’ve lost your mistress.”

She smiled at him pleasantly.

“You’ve lost Leyla Lewellin forever.”

Chapter 119

Exit

Uneven thumping could be heard as Leyla slowly made her way up the stairs to her home. The bike
hitting her had been painful, but manageable at least that she could limp home with just a bruised knee
and a sprained ankle. Hence, there was no need to make a big fuss out of it.

It wasn’t a big deal to her after all.

She soon walked in through their apartment door, ignoring the way her stomach began to churn once
more. She pushed on and changed clothes and arranged stuff around their small home until it continued
churning.

Her stomach was still persistently upset. Her eyes drifted towards the peaches. She didn’t understand
the sudden craving of the fruit, it was the only thing she had wanted to eat lately, and nothing else.

She hummed contently to herself, palms washing the peaches, putting them on a tray, and displaying
them on the center of the table. Her stomach churned once more, her hands absentmindedly rubbing
her stomach in a smoothing motion.

The discomfort was very reminiscent of when she’d been hit by the bike earlier, still it wasn’t anything
new. No alarm to be had there at all, save for the slight aches on her knees and sprained ankle.

Her stomach began to settle down once more, and Leyla proceeded once more with the stuff she
wanted to finish, before the uncomfortable churning returned with a vengeance…

She felt like she was about to hurl!

She groaned quietly, hunching on her stomach to stifle the feeling. She didn’t know how long she stood
there in that position; trying as she might to move back to her room, she couldn’t help the paired
onslaught of dizziness that usually accompanied her upset stomach.

She was so busy trying not to feel nauseous, oftentimes she’d forget the complicated memories that
usually kept her up at night ever since they moved to Lovita.

Eventually her stomach calmed down once more, and Leyla straightened out, huffing out in relief
momentarily, before limping towards the kitchen window to open it up and let some fresh air in.
Almost immediately the salty sea air wafted into the small home, wisping gently around Leyla’s face as
she breathed it in. She shivered involuntarily, unexpectedly feeling a little cold.

She walked back into the kitchen, taking time to assess which peach looked scrumptious, and grabbed it
before deftly taking a bite out of it. She hummed in delight, savoring the juicy fruit in her mouth in
complete satisfaction.

Before she knew it, she finished one whole peach, and was grabbing onto another.

In no time, it was finished as well.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

With the early summer sky reflected on the shimmering waters down below, one could almost call the
day ahead as peaceful.

The clouds overhead flowed seamlessly at a normal pace, and the birds flew in and out of their trees.
The light bouncing on the cerulean waters seemed almost unrealistic. The sound of flowing water only
added more to the serenity in the ambiance.

From there, Matthias, who had lately surrendered himself to the current flow of time around himself,
was beginning to take back control over his actions. It was like he’d been swimming so frantically before,
creating long ripples around him that he couldn’t see what was happening beneath him.

Now that he’d calmed down, and the ripples in his waters ebbed into a laminar flow, it was like
everything was cleared for him.

Just as the pain in his body kept increasing, the calmer, Matthias found, his mind would be. And so he
held fast onto it, and kept clinging into it.

Dr. Etman had indeed reduced the dosage of the sleeping pills he’d been prescribing. It was just as he
threatened. He even had the audacity to pull the doctor’s card, insisting that his orders would always
override the patient’s wants.

He’d been incredibly adamant about it, especially after hearing Matthias’ had slept for two whole days
because of it.

Initially, he thought fix this little hiccup quickly by just going to another doctor…

But, the truth of the matter is that Matthias found an odd sense of relief in being lazy.
He even found it incredibly amusing to let the rumor of his declining health run rampant in his absence.
The rumor was so widespread in Carlsbar that he’d started receiving countless offers from suspicious
doctors lately.

Still, he was certain there wasn’t anything wrong with him, despite what all of them kept telling him. He
needed no medicine, only sleep was what he required.

So, with the dosage lowered, he’d found another way to find sleep quickly.

And it was with exhaustion.

He found it to be just as effective as the sleeping pills. This way, he wasn’t exactly not taking care of
himself. Exercising to the point of exhaustion, before plopping down on the bed dead tired was no
different than the first dosage of sleeping pills he’s had.

“You’re begging for trouble if you continue like this, Duke Herhardt.” Dr. Etman chided him, tone heavy
with a warning in a previous late-night visit. “Exercise and sleep were created to help improve our
bodies, yes, but only with the right amount. The ‘enough’ amount. No less, and definitely, no more.”

Matthias hummed nonchalantly at the doctor.

“Exercise and sleep sound like a pretty healthy option to me.” He said with a smile that doesn’t really
reach his eyes. But the doctor wasn’t feeling amused the least bit by him.

He proceeded to explain that sleep can’t be a cure to whatever had been ailing him. And putting his
body to the point of exhaustion in the pretense of healthy living was only counterproductive in his
health.

Matthias needed to address the source of his drastic change in habit and lifestyle, and find the proper
and correct solution.

“It doesn’t matter what medicine I give, whether it’s sleeping pills or not, I can’t cure your illness for
you. Not when you refuse to do anything to correct it!” Dr. Etman huffed out frustratingly, before
sighing deeply to calm himself down.

Matthias vaguely wondered if this was how a father was supposed to sound like. The doctor had never
spoken to him in a tone like this before. It convinced Matthias that this one was at least genuinely
concerned for his health.

What a competent doctor his family had.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he faintly thought, what a great person this doctor was.

This was the kind of man Kyle Etman was trying to become.

Matthias leaned back, and assessed his doctor with critical eyes. He could see the faint similarities of
both father and son in their features. They both possessed the same passionate eyes…
The eye’s he’d seen shed a tear as he smiled in complete despair.

Truly, Kyle Etman and his Leyla would have been a match made in heaven.

If only Matthias was willing to let it happen and believe it was, as the people kept telling him. Perhaps
his Leyla would be happy to become Mrs. Etman one day too.

And she’d go off to college, supported by a respectable good man. They’d live like a fairytale couple, all
happy and sunshines for the rest of their lives…

She might even finally live comfortably later on in life, in the way she’d been unable to when she was
still a child.

Instead, he turned her into a sniveling mistress, so afraid and desperate to get away from the man who
called her his.

Deep down, Matthias could still find no regrets for his actions. It led Leyla to him after all. And even if he
were to rewind time, back to their first meeting…

He wouldn’t change a damn thing at all.

Even if he were to be given a hundred different chances to change the way he did things…

He’d STILL. DO. THE. SAME.

He was certain of himself after all, and had complete confidence in every action he’d taken. He’d admit
as much that personality-wise, Kyle Etman was the better choice between the two of them…

But he wasn’t the kind of noble Kyle was. Try as he might to pull the same advances as every gentleman
should, but he couldn’t fake himself in front of his mistress.

It was impossible to be anyone but himself in front of Leyla.

And so he strived to break her, so long as she was with him forever. He’d rather see her crying and
begging with him, than happy to be in another man’s arms…

Perhaps, it would have been better if he’d killed her even. That way, she’d never be another man’s.

But, was that even the problem anymore? Is killing her an acceptable solution to the glaring problem
right now?

In the solace of his thoughts, Matthias grinned somberly to himself.

No. The problem he had right now was that she’s gone.

He’d lost his Leyla forever.

And for all Claudine revealed to him, he didn’t find any of her revelations surprising. Half of him already
knew she’d been scheming something. But he found himself to be unbothered by it at all.

It was just like hearing a rumor, he supposed. Every one of them, even though they’re saying the same
thing, from Claudine, even to Kyle Etman. It was all just hearsay that he wouldn’t find his Leyla…

That he did not deserve to find her.

He already knew that, but still. He couldn’t help but scour for her. He’d rake every inch of the empire,
and even the world to find her again.

To have her again.

Feeling the remaining strength of his body leave, Matthias eventually rose out of the bath water he’d
been in. He could see in his reflection how sharper his features had become, how hollowed his face
appeared than before.

Still, he appeared as robust, especially with the way the water dripped down on the front of his chest,
reflecting the sunlight seeping in through the windows.

“If you truly think you don’t find my services satisfactory anymore, please tell me now, Duke.” Dr. Etman
huffed out in continuation as he busied himself with his apparatus, “I have no trouble referring you to a
different doctor that would be better equipped to take care and advise you. Because I don’t know how
much longer I can do this, Duke Herhardt.”

Dr. Etman straightened up, and looked at Matthias straight in the eye.

“I refuse to keep having my expert opinions ignored, and watch you waste yourself away wallowing.”

Matthias only chuckled in amusement, even as the poor doctor kept eyeing him with great concern. It
didn’t matter which doctor he went to. He knew Dr. Etman was the best of the best, but no medicine
would fix him…

Not unless that medicine was his Leyla. Or perhaps a god.

‘Maybe a change in scenery would be good.’ Matthias mused to himself, ‘Should I get a vacation away
from Arvis for a while?’

Immediately he shook the thought out of his head. The only reason he’d survived so long was because
he moved away from every busybody in the main house, and into seclusion to a place that held many
memories of his precious time with Leyla.

She was the only one Matthias would willingly worship without hesitation. This place was like her
temple.

The place she wept, begged and feared in…

A place she laid herself bare and accepted him into her. Perhaps many religious people would
understand him better, with the way he’d bound himself faithfully to Leyla…

It wasn’t any different from how they worshiped their deities.

His senses were beginning to blur. Should he return now? Absent-mindedly, his body began to move
sluggishly.

His muscles and limbs were screaming in protest with every movement. It felt like they would break
under his decreased weight, but Matthias found no reason to stop.

Stopping only made him afraid of what would happen.

What would happen when he no longer remembered Leyla and their time together? What would
become of him? What if one day, he’d suddenly stop searching for her?

His chest tightened at the thought of forgetting Leyla, and never seeing her again.

Never. He won’t survive that.

She was like a majestic tree, thriving in the middle of a roaring river. The sight of her was the only thing
that could give him back his sanity, and clear his head back to perfection once more!

She looked a lot like that tree she loved climbing so much! He could vividly see her laughing as he closed
his eyes, watching the way her gold hair billowed out behind her enticingly, her melodic laugh filtering
into his ears…

Such a bittersweet illusion…

Matthias smiled mirthlessly as he found himself in the middle of a calmed river, not a tree in sight
anymore.

Life was meaningless like this. All stagnant and quiet. What else was he living for if not for her? It was
like sinking. He could feel him sinking in, but he had no will to save himself from it…

He couldn’t help but recall many of Leyla’s journal entries in times like this.

Her life was so different from his. Where the world had been generous and kind to him, they’d been
unforgiving and harsh with her. But she did her best anyway…

But she was gone, so that life of hers was gone too. He made it so that it was the only way she could
think of.

His eyes opened and into the breaking dawn, he could see the golden sun beginning to wake up the
world around him once more like clockwork. They shone much like Leyla’s tears whenever she’d beg
him. A pleasant smile made its way to his lips.

The first one he was genuinely happy to do since she abandoned him forever.
It wouldn’t be so bad now, would it? To be lulled to sleep by her tears instead?

It was the last thought in Matthias’ mind before he succumbed once more to sleep. And when he’d open
his eyes after that, a brighter smile made its way to him.

Leyla was here!

They lay side by side, eyes locked into each other, their bare bodies so close that he could feel her
warmth next to him!

He wanted to grab her, praise how she’d returned to him! But instead…

He could only manage to reach out, and cup her cheeks faintly in reverence. She was as radiant as ever.

‘Leyla…’ his raspy voice echoed loudly in his head.

And then she was gone. And Matthias was awoken back to the reality of her disappearance. That was
just another illusion. An echo of one of their many memories. The space beside him was empty and cold.

She’d never returned.

“Ah, you’re awake.” Matthias looked up, and saw Dr. Etman sitting on the chair beside him. He sighed in
relief as soon as he saw the Duke awaken.

“It would have been tragic if your servants hadn’t found you in time by the river, Duke.”

He’d wandered off to the river? He barely remembered the walk there. Matthias was content to listen
quietly to further scoldings of his doctor.

They’d found him yesterday. Just how long had he been sleeping?

It didn’t matter.

He was still tired.

How pathetic could he be, that he’d lose control over his motor functions, yet still wind up surviving a
near-death drowning, and have to live to be scolded by his doctor?

They should have left him in his paradise. An illusionary world of just him and Leyla.

Were those times they looked at each other in comfortable silence just another lie of hers too?

‘What if it wasn’t?’ His mind rebelled wishfully.

‘But what if it was?’ The darker voice in his mind responded loudly.

He felt like a child once more, overwhelmed by everything around him, he shut everything out because
it was much easier like this.
Still, he couldn’t help but wish to be with Leyla again.

He might not know how they’ll end up to be. He might not know for sure if he would be right for her. All
he knew for sure was she was his purpose. Without her, there wasn’t anything in his life worth living for.

He can’t keep living without her.

‘Leyla, tell me what to do.’ He called out futilely to her.

“Duke Herhardt, do you hear what I’m saying?” Dr. Etman called out for him, but Matthias was vaguely
paying him any attention by now. Every word of concern continued to fall on deaf ears.

Matthias was still stuck in his head, now thinking about his dead canary. The persistent songs of similar
birds outside his open window kept him reliving every moment of when he’d known his bird was dead…

Matthias frantically stared at his open window with bloodshot eyes.

The song of his bird was gone. There had never been one at all. His canary had been dead. The song he’d
been hearing was the one his canary kept singing to him…

Still, the canary was dead, and he couldn’t help but find a little solace in that fact. It didn’t leave him. It
just died.

And a new sick hope began to bloom in both his mind and heart. An enticing thought danced its way
through his thoughts from the back of his mind and into the forefront…

‘Yes, if I’m to lose you forever, and never have you again…’ Matthias grinned subtly in a pleased manner.

‘I’d rather kill you instead than leave me at all.’

“Duke Herhardt?” Dr. Etman called out worriedly again, eyeing the duke with more concern than before
as Matthias began laughing to himself once more.

There was something ominous in this laugh, yet the doctor couldn’t put the finger on why that was. The
doctor’s throat began to dry with nervousness.

And just like clockwork, the phone began to ring.

Chapter 120

A Madman

“Would you mind giving me a little privacy?” Matthias politely asked Dr. Etman as soon as he dropped
the phone.

Dr. Etman pursed his lips, before sighing in resignation and did as he was told. Once he was out, in came
Mark Evers. Matthias was given a run down of what the call had been about, before he summoned his
attendant to the room.

And it seemed, his wait was finally over as he listened in to the full report of his attendant. Mark
reported every detail carefully, in hushed tones. And Matthias eagerly listened to everything.

Bill Remmer appeared to have a distant relative currently residing in Lovita. And upon further prying,
they managed to find a match on the description of their missing gardener and his mistress, who had
arrived within their borders around the same time they disappeared.

Mark was unsure how this news would affect the Duke’s help. He’d been so unpredictable lately, he
wasn’t even sure if he should be reporting this to the Duke. But he was a servant of the Herhardt house,
he had no room in disobeying his master.

Perhaps this news will reinvigorate his master back to his usual condition.

“And where are they in Lovita?” Matthias finally asked as soon as Mark finished his report. The
attendant squirmed under his intense gaze.

“I apologize, my Lord, but we haven’t gotten that information yet.”

“Then find out as soon as possible.” Matthias immediately commanded. He was outwardly calm, but
Mark could begin to read the urgency in his orders. It must be something in his attitude, but he knew
that his master was slowly making its way back to his usual self…

Even if something was a little off about him as well.

And then the Duke graced him a smile, and Mark retracted his earlier statement of something being off.
Instead he felt ashamed thinking so ill of his master.
It was a beautiful smile, much like a child finally getting their present. Still, as soon as Mark left the room
to continue their search for Mr. Remmer and his foster daughter, he couldn’t help but shiver, feeling
relieved he was out of the room.

For a second there, he thought his master had become a madman.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

As soon as Uncle Bill had arrived, he carefully placed a box in the middle of the table. Leyla had come
over to look at what he’d brought home, and saw a brown leather bag in the box.

At first glance it looked good, but upon closer inspection, she could see the intricate and delicate work
done on it during its creation. It was simply beautiful!

“Wow.” She gasped softly, eyes mesmerized at the work. “What’s this?” she asked him, and he smiled at
her.

“It’s a present,” he grinned, “For you.”

Leyla’s eyes widened.

“For me?” she gasped, “Why a present for me all of a sudden?”

“Should I need a reason to give you one?” Bill hummed teasingly at her, and Leyla couldn’t help but feel
warm inside her. Eventually Bill’s smile turned sheepish as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

“But, if you really must know, it’s more of a belated birthday gift really.” Bill admitted, “I couldn’t give
you one on your actual birthday this year after all.” He smiled sadly, and Leyla smiled at him.

Now that she thought about it, she forgot her birthday had passed as well. So many things happened
when the spring had begun to come, she eventually forgot it along with the process to forget a great
many things.

“Well, I thank you for being so thoughtful, but don’t you think this is a bit much?” She asked worriedly
despite being happy she was being given something beautiful.

“I know it looks expensive, but it actually wasn’t. So it’s not too much at all.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well tough luck, because you’re just going to have to take my word for it.” Bill said as he smiled at her.
He then gestured back to the back, “So, how do you like it? If you don’t want it, I guess you can always
just toss it over to the sea.” He mumbled softly, his smile diminishing to a small one in insecurity.

Immediately Leyla grabbed the bag in fright and hugged it close, before inspecting it more closely.

“There’s no way this isn’t expensive.” She insisted, and Bill shrugged.

“But do you like it, or not?” Bill asked again, cutting Leyla in the process when he noticed her opening
her mouth again in protest. “Otherwise if you just keep asking me for its price, I might as well just throw
it to the sea to prove a point of how it’s not expensive.”

Leyla still kept looking worriedly over at him as she eyed the bag skeptically. Bill sighed and sat down on
the table, indicating Leyla did the same. She did as he requested, and he gave her a gentle smile.

“Do you know why I know it’s not expensive?” Bill asked her with a smile, and she nibbled her lips and
shook his head. “I’ll tell you.”

Bill explained to her it’s not the worth of things that indicated how expensive a thing was. He bought it
because he knew its quality, and it was a great one. And in life, nothing in great quality is too expensive.
He knew this bag would be used over and over again. Carrying things Leyla would need in life, and using
it for more years to come.

“So I hope you never worry again about the cost of every little gift I give you Leyla. I don’t want you to
live like that. Life is supposed to be lived to the fullest, and make you happy. And all I ever wanted for
you, was to be happy with your life.” Bill finished, and gently patted her on the head like he did when
she was a child.

It was also an apology gift as well for Bill. He’d been so upset to have been so blinded by her troubles in
his stubbornness to believe everything was okay with her, he couldn’t stop thinking of how he’d failed
her so badly.

He kept a close watch over her nowadays, and compared to before, he wasn’t so blind to the obvious
agony she’d been showcasing ever since leaving Arvis. Moving to Lovita, and suddenly living in Sienna
couldn’t have made the transition so easy as well under the circumstances of why they had to leave
secretly.

He wanted to see her happy, even for a little bit.

It was odd, despite knowing she’s all grown up, knowing what horrors she had to go through. He
couldn’t help but see her as a child. Sometimes, she still was, like she’s still stuck in that mindset of
anxiousness and fear.

It was heartbreaking for him how he could never help her fully.
He watched as Leyla looked at the bag in a new light, and was now looking at it like she did before. In
wonderment.

“So, will you accept it now, wholeheartedly?” Bill asked her softly, watching her fingers trace over the
stitchings at the seams. “I heard this weekend will be nice,” Bill suddenly piped up, “It’s not bad to go
out and have a picnic together, don’t you think?” He hummed thoughtfully.

Picnics weren’t really his forte, but when he saw Leyla brighten up at the idea and nod enthusiastically,
he found himself determined to make it their best one.

“Yes uncle.” She grinned and grabbed his hand tightly. “Let’s go on a picnic this weekend.”

And when the weekend came, and everything was prepared, Bill and Leyla went out of their small
apartment and walked hand in hand. She clung onto him eagerly like she always did as a child. Bill
couldn’t find it in himself to pull away from her grasp.

Not when she was so happy.

“Oh! Leyla, are you going out with your father?” Their downstairs neighbor called out when she saw
them going down. They both stopped and exchanged a few short pleasantries, and when they pulled
away, Bill noted one small thing.

“Leyla,” Bill called out softly, and Leyla hummed in acknowledgement, “You didn’t correct her.”

“About what?”

“When she called me your father.”

Leyla pursed her lips and shrugged. It wasn’t news to her. Most people here thought they were indeed
father and daughter, and Leyla never once felt the need to correct them. But now that her uncle was
asking about it, she couldn’t help but feel self-conscious, her grip on him tightening up absent-mindedly.

She looked at Bill nervously to gauge out his reaction.

Meanwhile, Bill couldn’t help but feel worse than before.

Him, Leyla’s father? A poor man who’d sold this wonderful child to a terrible man like a Duke, while he
went on and enjoyed the fruits of her suffering?

How could he call himself her father? How could anyone call him one? Granted he didn’t know what
he’d been paying with every favor the Duke granted him with, but it didn’t help the overwhelming
shame he had on himself for being so gullible!

He didn’t deserve to be called her father.

The rest of the walk went on in tense silence, the furthermore Bill agonized over with the thought of his
failings in taking care and protecting her. He tried to ease her worry about him, telling her he wasn’t
upset to be called her father, and Leyla’s smile returned and went on to share a great many things she
had been experiencing since coming to Lovita.

But every food swallowed was like a rock going down his throat, every step felt like a noose tightening
up around his neck. The gravity of his ignorance worsened with the knowledge she saw him as her
father.

A bittersweet revelation it was.

He was proud to call her his daughter as well, but he wasn’t too proud to be called her father.

They finally arrived at the beach, and saw how festive it was!

The sands were white and beautiful, as blue waves gently crashed over at the shoreline. They could see
carts lined up with flowers and food on the sides. Bill wordlessly led her to the ice cream stand, and
bought them both a cone.

He knew Leyla had trouble keeping down food lately, but she gobbled the ice cream up enthusiastically
anyway.

They walked and talked, enjoying the sea breeze through their hair. At one point Leyla opted to remove
her shoes to feel the fine sand beneath her soles, wiggling her toes until they were buried with white.

She went ahead and revelled in the feel of the beach as Bill watched her go ahead and have fun by
herself.

He chuckled in merriment at watching her. This was how she should always be.

Happy.

Both lost track of time, each of them having fun in their own ways before they eventually decided it was
high time they returned home. Come next day, when both are seated at the breakfast table, having
laughs and making jokes on the mild aches all over their bodies, Bill found something in his chest
beginning to settle, something he’d been unable to do since yesterday.

It didn’t matter what he was called, in the end, a title is just a title. The essence of him and Leyla, that
was what mattered.

And they’d always been, and will be, family. And that was a real thing, and it was beautiful, and
something to be proud of.

Now that he was out of his thoughts, and back to being attentive, he’d recognized something different
from the way Leyla kept looking at him. Like she’s still worried about something, and wasn’t sure how to
fix it.

“Leyla, do you want to ask me anything?” Bill asked her with concern, and she smiled at him tightly and
shook her head.
“No, there isn’t anything.” She replied. Bill smiled back at her and rubbed his hands together.

“Well then, here’s to another week for work! Come on now, we don’t wanna be late.” Bill piped up
jovially before getting up and getting ready to work. He couldn’t figure out what it was that could be
making her worried.

Eventually the two left their home, and began to walk together to their respective works. Once they
entered the square, and reached the fork in the road, they noticed a large crowd had gathered around
the front of the city hall.

Certain crying and wailing of mothers and women could be heard, making Leyla look at them in worry.

“I’ll go ahead and have a look.” Bill grunted off quietly to her, and she nodded.

Leyla’s eyes were sweeping over the broken-off crowd, and couldn’t help the churning pit in her
stomach return. Somehow, she knew this wasn’t the nausea about to come.

The entire ambiance in the square had drastically changed. It was normally so vibrant and full of life, but
now, it was like Leyla had just entered a funeral. She hurriedly began to follow her uncle through the
crowd, the sobbing and low murmurs of reassurances they’d be fine were beginning to louden around
her…

Leyla gasped as her stomach dropped upon reading the announcement in the hall.

There was a war happening. And all men were being conscripted to join the military.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Look if you’re seriously ill, then just postpone the wedding.” Count Brandt huffed out as he stared
down at his daughter, “Also, while I understand image is everything, surely marrying someone while sick
isn’t so detrimental to your reputation.” He pointed out.

Ice clanking down a glass could be heard as Claudine carefully poured some punch in the glass and took
careful sips as her mother lounged a few seats beside her.

“I’m not sick.” Claudine firmly replied, a little incensed that her father thought she’d gotten sick from
Matthias’ illness when she’d visited. She proceeded to look out in the gardens, mind still reeling with
anger over Matthias’ decision.

“Well, you’re getting thin, hardly sleeping, hardly eating.” Count Brandt persisted, “Last I heard, the
Duke had the same symptoms.” He grumbled worriedly.
“Even if I was seriously ill, it’s more impertinent to proceed with the wedding as soon as possible and
not delay it.” Claudine all but snapped at him, before breathing deeply to calm herself. Losing her
temper with her father was not proper.

The wedding last summer should not have been postponed. She realized now the error of the decision.
She should have made the wedding push through, instead here she was, now suffering the
consequences of her lack of foresight.

Matthias had the audacity to give her a week to make the announcement, even went as far to tell her
he’ll go along with whatever story they wanted to say, like make it so the Brandts were the one who
decided to break off the engagement.

He would not be deterred by anything, and made no reaction to whatever she said.

He truly had gone mad.

Just thinking about him more made her blood boil at his continued indifference to her revelations and
what she’d told Leyla.

How he helped Mrs. Etman orchestrated the fallout of Leyla and Kyle’s engagement, how he practically
trampled over Leyla’s dignity and hard work by making her his mistress.

Yet all he had was a peaceful calm, hardly bothered by his heinous deeds. He simply told her again that
she had a week to accept their broken off engagement.

“Oh truly, I’m so worried for you Claudine, what if you’ve really gotten his illness? Think of your health!
How will you bear children if you’re so ill!”

Claudine shot her father a dry glare as he continued to fret and pace. Oh the small worries of a man. She
couldn’t help but mildly wish she could see into their brains and pry it open, seeing what other trivial
worries they had in their shallow minds.

Then again, should she feign illness after all? If such an illness did exist, it might be beneficial to do so.
Still…

“I will be married.” Claudine told her parents confidently.

She planned to still get married to the Duke. She hates the duke to the point she’s practically sick and
tired of talking about him, but she’d given up so much. This wedding will happen, if only to tie down
Matthias to her misery as well.

But the question now is how? How will she secure the wedding?

Matthias had made it clear nothing would stop him from getting what he wanted. Even clearer, he can
do anything he wants. If the Brandts don’t make use of the week of grace he’d given her, she had little
doubt he’ll go on and make the announcement himself that they had broken up.
‘All because of a lowly orphan girl.’ Claudine seethed as she took more sips from her punch.

Suddenly, a commotion came barreling in the form of a maid, frantically calling for them! Claudine
looked at her parents with some slight alarm, before the maid burst through the doors of their drawing-
room, looking positively panicked.

“My Lord! My Ladies!” She greeted, curtseying quickly, before straightening up once more.

It was Mary. Claudine had known her for a long time, and she knew the loyal maid hardly acted frantic
with anything. She was normally so calm…

But now she was only pale.

“What’s happened?”

“Why are you making such noise?”

Her mother and father asked her. Mary eventually burst into panicked sobs as she held out a declaration
for them to see.

“There’s been a war!” She wailed, “A war is currently happening!”

Chapter 121

Two News

The war that had broken out happened between two countries. Eventually, it began to spread out to
every neighboring land throughout the continent.

When the leader of the Confederation, who lived in Lovita, declared war against the Berg Empire, who
held massive power-up in the north, they were immediately met with an active response. It was almost
like they had been waiting for a war to happen.

And it quickly divided the continent into two major factions, actively dividing everyone.

When the Emperor of Berg made a declaration to mobilize his army, a somber tone befell the Empire.
Everyone was worried about the war…

Except one.

On the day of the declaration, another news made its way to Matthias, and with it, his spirits seemed to
rise in response.

He’d gotten word about the area where Bill Remmer’s relatives had been residing. It was just off the
southern border of Lovita, by the coastal city of Sienna. It was as far as they got, but largely eliminated a
wide area of his search.

Further investigations were difficult to do ever since the war broke out. This was unfortunate because a
large part of his resources and task force to find Leyla had to be reappropriated.

Still, he found himself satisfied. It will only be a matter of time before he has her again. All that’s left for
him to do, is get to Lovita.

“Captain Herhardt, are you certain about this?” a commander quickly asked him in concern as he stood
in front of the Duke. Matthias only nodded, his face full of seriousness. “You’re heading off into another
battlefield, Captain.”

“I know.” Matthias replied calmly.

If he truly wanted to, Matthias could always pull some strings and get assigned to the rear supply units
in the army. The commander had also suggested it, but Matthias had been insistent. He wanted to be on
the front lines.
“I’ll be assigned to Sienna then.” Matthias declared, and the elder general, who’d also been in
attendance in their meeting, gave him a tight smile. The general could see that Matthias could not be
persuaded to sit out in this war.

If approved, Matthias will be given command over the 6th Army of the Berg Empire. There, they were
tasked to break through the western forces occupying Lovita’s main navy. Which made their end goal to
reach Sienna.

Once Berg’s army seized and occupied Sienna, most of the Confederate’s armed forces, as well as
Lovita’s army, would be greatly diminished.

And Matthias would be closer to his goal as well.

“I won’t stop you if you’re certain you can handle this task.” The general sighed and gave Matthias his
stamp of approval. “I will trust you can handle this.” He gave the Duke a pointed glance, “After all,
you’re a Herhardt.”

Matthias nodded in affirmation, his hands twitching subtly in excitement.

The Herhardt name alone carried a lot of credibilities. Time and time again, the Herhardts had always
been quick to offer their services whenever the Empire needed them. They were known widely for their
loyalty, but also for their honor and glory in victories in the name of the Berg Empire.

And Matthias certainly seemed to be no different than his predecessors, eager to serve his Empire.

After the meeting, Matthias couldn’t help but feel elated, his footsteps light as he passed through many
nobles who had offered to serve in the war effort as well. Everyone glanced at him as he passed by in a
mix of admiration and intimidation.

To the rest, he seemed as though he’d just been to a calming walk, not from the war council. Stirrings
amongst the crowd who’d seen him began to talk about his sudden return from his reclusion as soon as
he disappeared in front of them.

“I heard he was dying!”

“I heard he’s just exhausted.”

“No, they said he’s gravely ill, he even had to take a break from his duties didn’t he?”

“I don’t think he was that sick.”

“Even so, why does he look so happy? It’s war.”

“Maybe they have a munitions business?”

“I don’t think they do.”

“I bet the Herhardts have everything though.”

“Yeah, I mean, look at him! He looks like he’s going to a picnic instead of being dragged to a battlefield!”

“Maybe he’s just born with good luck? I heard his ancestors weren’t that lucky to avoid gunshots and
being stabbed in wars.”

“Hey, come on now, he isn’t our enemy here.”

On and on these conversations took place the more nervous the men in the army became with the
ongoing war. Eventually, these heated exchanges managed to calm down after a few hours as soon as
everyone got everything out in their chest.

Soon the silence befell over the camp, and a somber air blanketed the army.

It was an air of quiet fear that remained unbroken.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“This doesn’t make sense,” low mutterings emitted from the Duchess, her heels clacking in the
background, “How could this happen?”

Elysee von Herhardt had been pacing back and forth muttering and fretting over the recent events as
she struggled to hold back tears, before finally bursting into frantic sobs. A few short moments later, she
managed to calm down and addressed her son.

“How could such war happen in such a prosperous era?” She asked him worriedly, “Matthias, what do
you know?!”

Her red rimmed eyes stared worriedly and frighteningly at her son. There wasn’t a single dry eye in the
room from the ladies, including the old matriarch Duchess, Lady Norma.

Except for Matthias. He was looking as indifferent as ever, despite knowing he had to participate in the
war soon. He was calm, even as he received news of the war. Instead, he only had a pleasant smile in
response to their worries.

“Well, there’s nothing much to worry about,” he began to say with a placating smile, “Most of the battle
will be isolated in the Borders between Berg and Lovita, there’s no reason why it would even reach
Arvis.” He helpfully supplied.

He proceeded to explain that while it may have seemed so sudden for such a war to break out, it wasn’t
as though it had been unexpected. The war clouds between the two regions had been there for years,
which was why the military from both sides had been so ready, as such they were all sufficiently
prepared with the right countermeasures.
“Also it wouldn’t affect many of our businesses,” Matthias added thoughtfully, still in a completely calm
voice, “I doubt the war would reach overseas even and affect our oil fields. So our profits won’t be
lessened considerably. Although the plans in Carlsbar needed to be put on hold, I suppose it’ll be
resumed as soon as the war is over.” He finished confidently.

It was one of the first things Matthias did as soon as word of the war finally happening reached him. He
immediately began to check their stocks, and reappropriate their assets in a way their loss would be
greatly mitigated. In such chaotic times, it was beneficial to keep a cool head.

It was also the first time Matthias revealed himself to society after the war had officially begun. In the
midst of clear panic, Matthias was visibly fine, despite his pale complexion. He was all calm and grace,
actively preparing his part for the war.

He was thinner, yes, and maybe less pristine than before, but he was a far cry from the image of a
lethargic, sick man. Which led many to believe he was finally beginning to recover.

“Every company that Herhardt owns has its own system, so my absence won’t have much impact. We
have a new system in place.” He finally surmised, looking at them expectantly as if that was all that
encompassed their concern.

Elysee was quick to follow up on what really concerned her the most.

“Our companies are important, yes, but I’d like to know what you plan on doing? If you’re headed off to
war, shouldn’t you and Claudine just move up your marriage and finally get it done already?” His mother
fretted, and Norma released a loud sigh as she finally decided to take part in the discussion.

“It’ll be hectic to hold a wedding in such grievous times,” the old Duchess began, “But I do agree with
your mother’s sentiments.” She looked at her grandson with great worry, “If a wedding should still
happen, it must happen before you go to war.”

“Is it succession you’re worried about?” Matthias hummed thoughtfully, his eyes raking over his
predecessors’ paintings on the drawing-room walls, “I don’t think it would be proper to marry anyone
that quickly.”

He proceeded to explain that even if he were to marry before he’d go to war and copulate with his wife,
there would be no guarantee his seed would have taken quick enough to ensure their line continues on
even if he were to die in this war. It was simply not rational to do.

“But Matthias-” Elysee began to protest, but he quickly cut his mother off.

“Besides, even if I were to die, that would only leave Lady Brandt as my widow. I don’t think that’ll be an
entirely good name to leave with Claudine, and the Brandt family.” Matthias finished quickly.

Even as he mentioned dying, Matthias appeared to be completely unbothered by the prospect. He truly
was the face of the perfect and responsible Duke of Arvis.
As if sensing their resistance to the idea of him not returning, he decided to retract his statement.

“Besides, you both don’t need to worry about me not returning.” Matthias told them with a pleasant
smile, “As a Herhardt, I will make it my mission to return to Arvis safely. Still, it doesn’t help to be
prepared, so maybe we should look to our living relatives as to who would be most fit to be next in line
as Duke should I pass on.”

Both Duchesses fell silent, listening to Matthias rattle off about his many countermeasures in case he
did in fact, never return to them. And for the first time, when Elysee looked at her son in a long time,
there was a sudden sharp pang in her chest.

Her son had always been exceptional; she knew that. He had all the power and influence only a good
name could buy.

But as the pang in her chest persisted, she couldn’t help but wonder.

Was he truly satisfied with his life?

Tears pin prick in her eyes once more, building up more and more as she struggled to keep the
composure of a strong mother for a strong Duke. Unable to listen more to Matthias countermeasures,
she immediately got up on her feet and strode even closer to her son, reaching up, to grasp him by the
shoulders tightly.

Matthias fell silent as he looked indifferently at his mother, blinking owlishly down at her.

“Do you really have to go to war?” She tearfully asked him. This wasn’t the first Herhardt she had to see
go to war.

“Your grandfather, my husband, had been willing to give their life up for the war, for the Empire.”
Norma suddenly said, as she too looked at Matthias earnestly.

“Your father, my son, had been just the same too.” She added with a despondent smile on her face, as
though she remembered a nostalgic memory. “I know the importance of reputation, of honor…” She
trailed off.

Herhardts had died in the name of the Empire. Every Herhardt before Matthias had been proud to bear
the weight of the duty in service to their country. It was what made their house great. It was what the
Herhardts had been known for in generations.

“I am proud of them, proud to be a Herhardt, don’t mistake it for anything else.” Norma continued with
a shaky breath, before determination went back in her eyes as she recalled receiving the news her son
had died.

“But I hope with everything, you, Matthias, would be the one to break that cycle, and grow old and gray,
and have a portrait of you, all silver-haired, placed inside these walls.”
Norma’s eyes raked over the many young and dark haired Herhardts. All of them died young, barely into
the peaks of their lives before tragically being ripped away from life during battle. It had been painful to
see her husband join them.

It had been hell to see her son follow in suit as well.

A gentle yet firm grip on her shoulder alerted her that someone was near. And when Norma looked up,
she could see Elysee smiling gratefully at her for wording out what she couldn’t bear to say to her son.
Norma smiled back, before gesturing for her grandson to draw close.

Matthias looked to both his grandmother and mother skeptically before doing so, and sat beside his
grandmother. Norma smiled at him, sighing as she glanced on her grandson’s hair, before running a
wrinkled hand over his dark locks.

Not even a gray hair in sight.

“I completely forbid you to die like this, you hear me?” Norma huffed out authoritatively, “Your hair
should be as gray as mine before you even begin to entertain thoughts of you dying.”

Matthias glanced at his mother and grandmother simultaneously, before smiling genuinely at them.

‘I understand grandmother,” He looked to Elysee, “And mother.”

His smile widened subtly after a moment, completely unbeknownst to the two duchesses.

“I’ll do just that.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“You must be so happy, having avoided marriage completely without further questions.” Claudine
smiled sarcastically towards him as soon as her family left the two of them alone in the drawing-room.

Though the engagement wasn’t completely broken off, only postponed until further notice. Suffice to
say, it wasn’t as if Claudine insisted on having the wedding anyway despite the plausible reasons
Matthias gave her family and his.

Still, with the countermeasure Matthias had put in place, even if she was to marry him now, and she did,
in fact, become his widow, the title of Duke would be passed on to his next living cousin.

So she’d still be powerless, which was entirely the point of their marriage.
And so Count Brandt accepted having the wedding postponed until the war was over. No one even had
the heart to complain about the sudden situation and the impending disgrace Claudine would suffer if
her husband were to die in war prematurely.

And of course, Matthias played it off that postponing the marriage was more inconvenient to the
Herhardt family, seeing as they were leaving the house with no secure way to leave behind a successor.
He even went as far as to say it was a decision made out of respect for the Brandts and Claudine’s
situation.

Claudine couldn’t help but scoff at his wording. Respect?

“Ah well, what a tragedy the war truly is, my Lady.” Matthias responded to her with a pleasant smile of
his own.

He still looked half as crazy as he did when he expressed his intention to break off their engagement.
Outwardly though, he had resumed his usual image of the perfect Duke Herhardt, but Claudine was
hardly blind to the underlying madness in her still fiance.

He was still the same madman as ever.

“I hope you still remember what I said.” Claudine glared at him icily, “I have no plans to break off our
engagement, the war doesn’t change anything. So I will wait, and once you do return alive, we’ll have
the wedding ceremony immediately.”

“I think it would be better for you, and your family, to end the engagement.” Matthias mused
thoughtfully, “You can use the war as your excuse.”

“Oh how absolutely thoughtful of you,” Claudine smiled tightly towards him, “To be so concerned about
my family and me.”

She let out a sigh, pursing her lips critically over to him, meeting his dry gaze with a determined one of
her own.

“Do you really think breaking off your engagement with me would make Leyla return?” She asked him
again, before chuckling gracefully and sighing despondently for him, “Poor Duke, he still doesn’t get it.”
She leaned closer to him…

“She’ll never return, not because of our engagement, oh no.” Claudine clicked her tongue chidingly,
“She won’t return, because of you.”

And Claudine’s eyes hardened once more as she glared subtly into Matthias’ eyes.

“So if you go now, to war and erase all chances of the Herhardt line ever surviving at all, you’ll always be
just another monster with cold blood.”
Chapter 122

On The Way to The Sea

At this point, Claudine hardly cared if she would turn out to be just as terrible as the man she was willing
to call husband. She knew from the beginning that her fate would be tied to this man, no matter how
much it tried to change, one way or another, her fate would always be entwined with him.

Moreover, that’s why she refused to let him go. She’ll drag them both through the ground, and tie them
together to hell if need be.

“So you see, you’re never getting her back.” Claudine sighed out, leaning back into her seat, “She won’t
ever want to go back to a monster like you.”

Matthias chuckled softly, and amusedly at her, giving her a big grin.

“I don’t mind her not returning.” He told Claudine, a genuine smile on his lips with a mad glint in his eye,
“She can’t return if she’s dead after all,” He elaborated, his eyes staring hopefully into space…

“If she’s dead she won’t be able to leave me and run away from me.”

A cold chill ran through Claudine’s spine as she narrowed her eyes over to Matthias. Her lips pursed in
observation as she continued to eye him warily.

“So you’re saying you’re going to kill her?”

Matthias met her eyes with a manic grin.

“Absolutely.”

Claudine scoffed in disbelief, before looking back at him incredulously.

“Have you finally gone insane?” Matthias only shrugged in reply.

“Who knows? Maybe?” He hummed delightfully, “Probably.”

“So you threaten her life,” Claudine asked him dryly, “That she’ll have to do as you say, or else you will
kill her?”

Matthias frowned at the word. He did not like how she saw it as threatening.
“I don’t see it like that.” He answered softly, before going back to the topic at hand. “Besides, breaking
off the engagement on your part will not have any negative effects on your family. In fact, it would seem
as though it had been my failing. Isn’t this the best solution to both our concerns?”

He then resumed smiling pleasantly at Claudine once more.

“After all, I would end up bearing all the blame and shame for why the engagement didn’t push through.
Take it as a compensation for all the trouble it will bring you and your family.”

Claudine breathed out, biting her lower lip in deep thought, before she narrowed her gaze towards
Matthias.

“And if I don’t want to? If I decide to keep the engagement even after you bear all the shame and
embarrassment, what would you do then? Kill me?”

Matthias chuckled amusingly at her.

“Why would I need to?” He asked her incredulously in amusement. Matthias shook his head lightly and
finally stood up to his full height. “I don’t need to kill you to make you suffer a fate worse than death.”

He politely straightened himself up, before smiling pleasantly towards Claudine once more.

“Though I’m quite certain I won’t have to result in those means,” He stared at her knowingly, “You’re
intelligence is beyond your usual counterparts after all.”

“Don’t speak as though you know me.” Claudine snapped at him in a harsh whisper, her mind already
running a trip down memory lane on the events of her younger days.

The harsh lessons, intensive grooming to be a Duchess. The incessant reminders that she’ll never
compare to her father’s bastard sons who will inherit everything, while she will become another man’s
responsibility, but still bear the responsibility to her birth family.

She’d cried endlessly before, trying her best to endure everything. The only reprieve she ever got was
whenever she’d go to Riette, who had distanced himself forever from her. He had been the only place
she could feel herself momentarily breathe in relief once more before going back to her real life.

And the internal embarrassment and knowing that despite everything she did to be the perfect lady, no
one, not even her fiance, found her worthy enough. He’ll always covet a lowly orphan, with no manners
and influence, compared to her.

Streaks of tears spilled out of her eyes, before she gracefully dabbed them away with her handkerchief.

“You don’t know anything about what I could do.” Claudine told him blankly, eyes staring into space,
“You don’t know how much I can do.”
Claudine began to sob, as tears flowed seamlessly out of her eyes. Her cry was echoing even through the
doors of her home. Anyone who’d be listening in could only assume it was tears of distress at the
knowledge of her fiance heading off into war.

Matthias stood there, looking at Claudine’s wracking form, before he decided to leave.

Once Matthias left the street leading to Brandt’s residence, he couldn’t help but look up at the sky. He
laughed to himself as he gazed at the dazzling, bright and beautiful sky overhead. He breathed in deeply
and felt his whole body relax with an undertone of giddiness.

And so the days began to roll by, and on the day that was supposed to be his wedding, Duke Matthias
von Herhardt reported to duty, and began to serve as commanding officer in the Berg’s Sixth Army.

As his men and companions around him hardened up and braced themselves to face enemy lines, he
couldn’t help but feel so excited.

Any moment now, he’ll be going to Sienna.

Any day now, he’ll reach the city of southern beaches and beautiful waves to find his true goal.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Kyle staggered to his feet as soon as the extreme nausea finally subsided. He groaned in pain, his throat
and stomach throbbing in the excessive hurling he’d just done. He took a few more steps, before
hobbling beneath a tree and sat beneath it with another groan.

He could still smell the disinfectant and antiseptic even if he was a distance away from the field
infirmaries set up. There was also a hint of iron in the air, reminding him of just how much blood was
being spilled and the ongoing field surgery in one of the tents.

He could see the military doctors flapping the tents open as they rushed in, out and around the
barracks. Kyle took a shaky breath as he saw some wounded soldiers walk in and patted his stomach
lightly, wordlessly willing it to settle down again.

He was so tired, and it seemed like his stomach had finally tired out as well from all the hurling he did.

“Hey,” a light tap made its way to his shoulders, making Kyle jump a bit as he looked up and saw another
military doctor crouching down over at him. “Are you feeling okay?” the doctor asked.

Kyle hoped he hadn’t spaced out long, and began to clamber back to his feet, when the doctor
prompted him to stay down.
“No, keep sitting.” the doctor lightly ordered him, and promptly took a seat beside him. Then,
wordlessly, the doctor brought over and gave him the bucket he had been holding.

As one of Kyle’s direct supervisors for field experience in their school, the doctor was also responsible
for ensuring Kyle and the rest of his classmates would be fine while they were rendering service.

Kyle wasted no time in giving him a heartfelt gratitude and began to rinse his mouth free of the
remnants of his vomit, and promptly took a huge swig from his bottled water once he was finished.

Unfortunately their reprieve had been short-lived, when all of a sudden shouts and calls of panicked
‘medic’ were soaring through the air. Some of them had come from the tent.

Some of the patients out of surgery were now waking up.

Immediately, Kyle and his supervisor rose to their feet and quickly resumed their duties.

“How long do you think this will continue?” Kyle asked, a mix of worry and exhaustion could be heard in
his voice. His senior-only pursed his lips grimly, their hands quickly working between themselves
absentmindedly as they did their work swiftly and efficiently.

“If the current progress continues,” the doctor grunted, eyes quickly scanning their current patient
before preparing the things they needed, “We should be able to break into the country in no time. It’s
any day now.”

Kyle efficiently assisted in the process, his eyes scanning their surroundings from time to time until his
assistance was once more required.

The lush green forests they once arrived in, were now beginning to turn red. But the trees by the
borders in Lovita were still of greenish-blue.

“We must keep on persevering, at least we’re not actively engaging enemy forces.” The doctor
continued, and patted Kyle on the shoulders in a comforting manner, “If we’re lucky, the war will soon
be over, and we can go back home in time for winter.”

Where the doctor marched, Kyle promptly followed, his eyes, ears and hands quick to aid whatever was
requested of him. Yet, with every passing day, the more Kyle believed an end could not possibly be
achieved despite the encouraging words from his superiors.

Not when everywhere he looked was only pain, destruction, and even death. Even if the war finally
ended, everyone’s lives had already been irrevocably changed. If he was already witnessing this much
destruction, on a side his betters believed to be winning the war, he dreads to see what the other side’s
camp looked like. And his heart hurt at the thought of it.

No one, especially the innocent, ever survived unscathed in wars.

When the declaration of the war came to their university, he was astonished to realize that even the
medical students were conscripted to serve in the war effort as well. Even other courses, like
engineering and the like, were made to serve through their respective skills.

Quickly the sudden arrival of war was buried in the urgency of serving their empire.

The school systems all over the region were quickly revised to accommodate the war. And in no time, a
large number of convening troops and armed forces were being transported to their respective posts.

Kyle had been so scared at the prospect of being in a war. His entire senses were heightened, his anxiety
spiking up with every task they were being given. In no time, Kyle quickly realized how soon he needed
to adjust to serve in the war.

He had no choice but to do so, lives were on the line.

When he and his group had been deployed to their respective stations, it had already been a battlefield.
Kyle was immediately shaken out of his frightened shell, and forced to swallow down his fears to save
the lives of those defending their country.

Half of the time he dreaded failing. This was no longer just all theoretical, no longer a certain number on
a test saying he failed. If he fails here, someone will die. He only finished one year in medical school, and
while it was spent most of the time assisting operations, it hadn’t been this urgent.

And especially not on a massive scale, like the continuous influx of wounded soldiers.

“Both of you, head to the commanding barracks!” Barked a random officer that Kyle vaguely recognized.

“How many officers were injured?” quickly asked by his supervisor as he immediately grabbed a first aid
kit.

“I heard the army captain had been shot. Most of the other injuries were minor as well, hence he hadn’t
been rushed into the infirmary as the others were.” they quickly grunted in response, “Go on! Make
haste!”

Immediately Kyle was quickly led back outside and followed quickly after his supervisor.

Something in Kyle’s eyes immediately changed, and hardened at the mention of heading towards the
commander’s tents. He knew it was poor of him to think so, but he hoped deep in his heart…

That whoever had been shot was a familiar face.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Leyla watched as one after another, the large trucks went in and out of the museum’s storage facility.
She couldn’t help but watch the entire process with a frown of confusion. She hadn’t really been
working in the place for so long, but she couldn’t help but hold on tightly on the strap of her bag
anxiously.

This process had been going on for days in the museum. The storage facilities housed many of the
museum’s precious specimens and national jewels. The director had made an announcement that they
were being relocated, and they had ample measures to secure every priceless artifact in those trucks.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel it was an unusual thing to do.

Once the trucks were gone, the dead silence in the roads resumed and Leyla stopped walking. She
paused and observed the roads with a somber expression. The trucks had been the only vehicles to pass
through these roads in days.

She remembered hearing the mayor of Sienna give an announcement that the Confederacy had
everything under control, and that the tides of war would soon be in their favor. But every day, more
and more refugees kept spilling into their borders that Leyla found it to be hardly encouraging when the
otherwise was evidently true.

From the refugees she managed to talk to, they had tales of the Berg’s empire fiercely advancing south.
Lovita had all but abandoned the northeastern fronts and reappropriated most of their forces down
west.

There simply weren’t enough men to defend the capital, and they had little doubt Sienna would soon be
forfeited to Berg as well.

Protests had been vocally made by the people in defense of their king, declaring they would not be
abandoned. Sienna was a key region in Lovita’s army after all, it was in this city that most supplies for
their navy and military were coming from.

Still, everyone had grown weary and a single thing going wrong could trigger everyone into panic
quickly. Bill and Leyla were in the same boat as them as well.

She quickly did the groceries, and promptly made her way back home. Unfortunately, everyday the
prices hiked more and more, while the supplies became less and less.

Most of the supplies were also being diverted towards the military front in the guise of defending their
country. As a result, even some items in the market that used to be everyday items were now becoming
scarce to see in stock.

Leyla found herself lying in exhaustion on her bed as soon as she arrived. She would prepare dinner
later, but for now, she needed to rest her sore feet. Her back was beginning to hurt lately, and she
couldn’t help but feel bloated.
The elation she felt upon releasing the constriction around her abdomen was simply immaculate. Upon
further thought, she entertained the idea of wearing looser clothes.

As she kept thinking about one thing after another, Leyla eventually found herself drifting off to sleep
without meaning to. She only woke up when a glaring thumping sound had suddenly begun. She quickly
awoke with a start, grunting in the suddenness of her awakening and groaning as she sat up.

Had something fallen off the table again?

She rubbed her eyes, yawning off the sleep and blinked the drowsiness away. She let out another quiet
sigh, when another blaring sound rang. She frowned and tilted her head in thought.

That sounded like it came from the streets. And followed shortly, were panicked calls of her name.

“Leyla! Leyla!”

She quickly gasped and shot up immediately to her feet! It was uncle Bill!

She rushed out of her room, just in time to see her muddied uncle burst through their front door in a
blind panic!

“Leyla!” He immediately sighed in absolute relief, before he quickly urged her to pack some essentials,
“We need to go dear, quickly now!” He grabbed a random bag and filled it with whatever they needed,
and, “Come on, Leyla!” Bill snapped at her urgently once more when she remained frozen.

Leyla snapped back into action, also gathering things she thought they might need before they rushed
out of the small apartment. By the time they reached the streets, another sound had rung all over the
streets once again!

And then it clicked to Leyla. They had been oriented about many different alarm sounds.

This one indicated an air strike from the enemy!

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Kyle stifled in a groan of distaste upon assisting in treating the injuries of the commanding cavalry
officer. In his opinion, while multiple fragments of shrapnel were embedded in his shins, most of his
injuries were wildly exaggerated from the prior report.

He couldn’t help but wonder how such a weak willed man ended up commanding a unit of the
Emperor’s vital army.
As soon as he was dismissed from assisting, Kyle respectfully turned away and released a quiet sigh,
before his eyes landed on a familiar face. Immediately, his eyes hardened into a glare once more and
bore holes into the man he wanted to see killed before the enemy.

Unfortunately for Kyle, the bastard was unscathed as ever.

Kyle glanced back and saw the doctor finally disinfecting the area around the wound, and beginning to
wrap it up. Kyle could feel eyes on him, and when he turned back around, he saw the Matthias, sitting
crossed-legged on his cot, and smoking.

He was watching them with an interested glint in his eyes.

“You medic!” a random soldier shouted at him once he saw Kyle simply standing, “Don’t just stand
there! Treat the Major!” he yelled at him and Kyle looked at him and back at the Duke.

The Duke was the major, how wonderful. He thought sarcastically.

Begrudgingly though, Kyle made his way over to him and stopped a foot away from the Duke. They
stared at each other for a while, before Kyle decided to break the silence and get it over with as soon as
possible.

“Are you injured anywhere, Major?” he asked dryly. Wordlessly, Matthias let out a low puff of smoke
before straightening up. He flexed his arm and stretched it, before rolling up the left sleeve of his
combat suit.

Kyle’s eyes were immediately drawn to the bloodied spot of the uniform, before a bloodied makeshift
bandage was revealed to him.

Kyle could immediately see it wasn’t a minor wound, and couldn’t help the small thought of satisfaction
at realizing the Duke won’t be coming out unscathed, even just physically, either. Immediately, he shook
the terrible thoughts away and knelt down to prepare for work.

“I need to take a look.” He said, snapping gloves on quickly, and looking for affirmation from the Duke,
“This might be a little tender.” He lightly warned, and Matthias nodded at him, before Kyle began to
assess the injury.

Still indifferent as ever, Kyle thought dryly. At least his antipathy was always consistent.

They weren’t in the same unit, that much Kyle knew. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fury and
amazement at the Duke’s complete ignorance of his presence, even as he’s being treated by someone
he knew hated his guts.

Kyle wished he could be as apathetic as he was, but he could not. While the war may have taught Kyle to
be more tolerable of things he did not agree with, he could not stop the ill wishes he had of the man.
But that doesn’t mean he’ll compromise his morals and work ethic. He knew he was chosen immediately
as the Duke’s medic because of the tag in his uniform. Everyone knew that the Etmans were the doctors
for Herhardts.

With calm, and practiced motions, Kyle eventually found himself frowning as he assessed the injury.

So the man with the shrapnels wasn’t the commanding officer they were reported about, but the Duke
then. This was a gunshot wound, and the other one was just another noisy commander wailing about
skin wounds from shrapnel of a grenade.

With complete concentration, and steady hands, Kyle managed to remove the bullet from the hole.

“It’s time to suture it.” Kyle sighed out, before frowning, thinking about the treatment carefully, “I
think.” He murmured quietly to himself, reviewing quickly in his mind if it was the correct process in
dealing with a gunshot wound.

Despite his obvious hesitation, Matthias seemed to have no qualms in trusting Kyle to do his job, and
only had one thing to say to him.

“Do as you want.” Matthias told him with an encouraging nod.

Chapter 123

That Name

“Did it hurt?” Kyle asked impulsively after he was finished disinfecting the area around the wound. Most
of the military doctors and medical officers around him had finished up their job around the barracks,
and had been summoned to the others who needed them.

The only ones left around him were Matthias and the other commanders who just got treated.

Kyle wasn’t asking because he was concerned about the Duke’s pain. Instead, he simply found it baffling
how such a madman could act so aloof and calm as though he was just another bystander in the war.

Perhaps it was because he was used to seeing people suffer that even a bullet in his body wouldn’t make
him feel pain at all.

Matthias looked at Kyle without saying anything. All he had to respond to him was a faint smile on his
lips.

Almost like mocking Kyle that he was unimportant. Kyle couldn’t help the boiling anger bubbling up in
him before tediously stamping his anger down. His grip on the scalpel loosened up, trying to flex his
fingers to avoid digging it into the Duke’s neck.

Something about the Duke here was different from the Duke he met previously in front of Leyla and
Uncle Bill’s old, abandoned cabin. Almost like he’s back to how he was before Uncle Bill and Leyla
disappeared than the wallowing madman he’d lately become.

He’d been receiving word from his father about the Duke’s health developments. Dr. Etman had made it
clear he was desperately worried about the Duke’s well-being, and expected Kyle to do the work for him
in the field as he was unable to.

It wasn’t that Kyle wanted to do this. On the contrary, he’d love to leave this man to his own devices,
and hopefully someone out there was skilled enough to kill the Duke.

But alas, Leyla loved this man. He had no doubt if she were to hear the Duke’s death, she’d be sorrowful
and inconsolable.

And so he resolved to just do as he’s told. Not actively seeking the Duke out for his health, but certainly
never shirking his duties.
Kyle stepped back with clenched teeth when he finished dressing the wound. Sensing he was done,
Matthias promptly stood up from his seat and rolled his sleeves down nonchalantly. He bent down to
pick something up, before turning back towards Kyle, with a drink in his hand.

“Join me for a drink.” Matthias offered him with his practiced gentleman smile as he held out the drink
for the medical student.

Kyle could almost laugh at his audacity.

“I don’t think the good Major and I are on good enough terms to be sharing drinks together.” Kyle
instead replied dryly yet respectfully all the same.

“Then drink with me all the same, even with the bad blood between us.”

Kyle pursed his lips, narrowing his gaze at the Duke. He couldn’t fathom what the point the Duke was
trying to make. Was he making light of Kyle’s righteous ire for him? Was he making fun of him?

If so, the Duke had a morbid sense of humor that only worsened every time he heard it. However, Kyle
was not in the mood to be ridiculed, and wordlessly took the drink.

Matthias seemed to have smirked and turned around to pick up a glass of his own, and they lightly
clanked the glasses together. After that, Kyle threw his head up as he tossed all the alcohol down his
throat, drinking it all in one go!

He could feel the brandy sliding smoothly down his throat, leaving fiery tingles in its path. He watched as
Matthias pristinely downed his own shot of brandy.

“Major seems to be very happy despite being shot.” Kyle remarked lightly, and Matthias hummed and
shrugged.

“Perhaps I am.” He answered, putting the glass face down on the table, and shrugged back on his
military coat. “After all, we’re finally breaching Sienna.” He stated with a confident smirk.

The Duke’s velvety voice made the statement sound more appealing, but Kyle could still see him for
what he truly is.

Nothing but a madman indeed.

Kyle promptly put down the shot glass the same way Matthias did, barely stopping himself from
slamming it down in his disgust of the man. The Duke was moving as smoothly as ever, when Kyle knew
how painful it would be to move the wounded arm.

But he acted completely unbothered, not even a little bit derailed by the pain.

Matthias von Herhardt was certainly bred for a war.

He could continue to eat, drink and sleep well despite the number of people he’s seen dead and killed,
or killed them himself. It had only taken him a few months to rise from the rank of captain to major, all
praising him for his skills and ability.

He even looked like he himself was preening from all the praise he was getting. Kyle had no doubt now
why the enemies would call him a demon.

And call it wishful thinking on Kyle’s part, but he seemed not to be the only one to find the Duke
especially unnerving. He’d noticed by now how guarded the other officers, even the higher-ranking ones
from the Duke, would keep him at arm’s length.

Still, they respected and praised him for his commands and strategies. Being under his command
certainly increased the probability of most of them returning alive. The statistics prove as much despite
his lack of interest about that certain feat of his.

So why was he excited to go to Sienna? Kyle couldn’t fathom it to be something relating to the war.
Matthias didn’t think like that. All he currently had to work with was how elated the Duke was to be
getting close to the city.

Seeing him so amused after so much blood had been spilled was odd. Kyle was only thankful he was
fortunate enough to not be facing him in the war. However, he had no doubt that if they continued to
press their advantage, the Herhardt family would gain another war hero for the empire as soon as the
war ended.

“Well then, you are dismissed.” Matthias commanded him, effectively indicating he had no further need
for his company. Kyle all but grunted out his frustration and gave him the proper salutations before
quickly leaving the Duke’s vicinity.

While he returned to his usual barracks, he looked up at the sky, listening aimlessly to the sounds
around him. The foreign sky was so full of beautiful constellations. He hoped with his entire being that
Leyla and Uncle Bill would be safe wherever they may be.

And then he hoped the next bullet to hit the Duke, to hit his stone-cold heart next time.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Once the ruckus had died down, multiple people began to pile out slowly from the chapel’s bomb
shelter in the basement. Darkness blanketed over the ransacked city, as rubble and ruin surrounded
them and filled the streets.

The fear fathering around the bell tower and the town’s square was palpable.
“I can still hardly believe this is what we’ve come to.” Bill muttered out softly in a daze.

Rumors had begun to spread as Berg continued to advance into their lands. First, Vellof, another
powerhouse of the Northern Union, would begin to mobilize their fleet to block their reinforcements
from sea. And then they’d bombard the cities nearby.

Everyone brushed it off as false rumors spread by the enemies to dishearten their spirits and tried to
believe the best scenario was still possible.

Only it wasn’t.

The evidence of the truth was glaring in front of them in the form of ruin and destruction.

“Well, Vellof certainly did a good job in clearing the city. At least we won’t have to hear those deafening
bells anymore.” Bill said, trying to cheer Leyla up with a little silver lining. But Leyla could only stare in
fear at the collapsed bell tower in front of them.

She turned to Uncle Bill with a stiff smile.

“Yeah, I just,” her frightened eyes stared back at the ruins, “I’m still wrapping my head around it.”
Unconsciously, she hugged herself, trying to self-soothe. “It must feel so empty now without the bell.”

She thought her problems were over as soon as she got away from Arvis. They finally have a place to call
fully their own. It was cheap, clean and beautiful, but the main problem in the area was the bell.

No one loved to live in a place where a bell would loudly ring to indicate a new hour had passed. But, of
course, now there was no more bell to worry about, but did they still have somewhere to live?

Are they ever truly lucky?

Now that she was thinking about something else, she could finally begin to feel herself breathing again.
Suddenly Uncle Bill piped up.

“Come on now, get on my back,” he quickly told her, as he crouched down in front of her, “Let’s see if
we can go home.”

Leyla’s eyes flashed with irritation as she glared at her feet. She felt stupid forgetting to put on her
shoes. Immediately, she started to decline his offer.

“Oh, no need Uncle,” she immediately said, “These socks are quite thick. They’re like second shoes.”

“Come now, it’s no trouble.” Bill persisted, “Quickly now, at this rate we’ll have to sleep in the streets if
you keep dawdling.”

“Please, I can walk.” Leyla kept insisting, telling him she’ll be able to rest after a walk.
Her dress fabric was rather thin. And she’d removed her belly band when she went for a short nap
before the warnings of the air strike. She had made sure to be extra careful, and began buying loose-
fitting clothes…

But the deep-seated fear of disappointing Uncle Bill still persisted in her.

Uncle Bill only eyed her carefully. He’d had some suspicions lately, but he wanted Leyla to come to it on
her own terms. But it seemed like he needed to confront this topic as quickly as he could.

But do current circumstances make the need to be immediate?

Uncle Bill was still at a loss on how to broach Leyla’s trauma. Every time he even thought about
addressing it, Leyla would just shut down and refuse to talk about it by steering the conversation into
something else.

It was frustrating, and made him more guilty of how an inadequate caretaker he was, still is.

“Such trivialities,” Bill huffed out softly, “Why are you so stubborn about this?”

Leyla hunkered in on herself, fearing she just disappointed him more.

“I’m sorry uncle.” She muttered softly. Uncle Bill eventually sighed, and rubbed her head comfortingly.

“Well then, you sure you can make it with just those socks?” He asked instead, pointing to her woolen
socks. Immediately, Leyla wasted no time proving her point by shooting up to her feet and making a
show of how unbothered she was.

Uncle Bill only smiled at her determination, and relented to her. He held out his hand for her to take, to
which she eagerly did, and clung desperately onto his arm before they walked down their rubbled
streets.

Some parts of the surrounding buildings were destroyed in the air strike, but the further from the bell
tower then walked, the less the damage seemed to be. It led Bill to think they had concentrated the
attack around the center of the town, and not all over.

To keep their spirits up, Bill engaged his foster daughter in conversation, playfully berating the piloting
and targeting skills of Vellof pilots, even going as far to compare their incompetence to the chef in front
their apartment, who only cooked dismal food at best.

“Don’t worry Leyla,” Bill said, “I doubt they’d return again.”

It was a lie. These things never happen just once.

“I’m sure you’re right, uncle!” Leyla quickly agreed.

They knew they were lying, but to believe otherwise would only make them resign to their fates.

“Hey uncle,” Leyla piped up, biting her lip nervously.

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t we talk about what we like instead?”

“Oh?” Bill piped up, “What we like?”

“Yes, talking about that will make me feel better. So let’s talk about that instead.”

Uncle Bill laughed, shaking his head at how childish she was being lately.

“Silly child, what do you mean?”

“I’ll go first!” Leyla piped up, continuing on without listening to her uncle’s further teasing.

“The first thing I really like is Uncle Bill!” She proudly declared, and smiled widely at him. Uncle Bill’s
eyes wrinkled as he smiled back at her.

“Well then, I really like the kid living with me.” Leyla blinked at him, before pouting.

“Kid?” she asked him, “But it’s been a while since I grew up already.”

She huffed indignantly at him.

“I’m not a child, but an adult.”

“Oh, don’t mistake age to be an indication of whether or not you’re an adult already,” Uncle Bill pointed
out, patting the hand on his arm comfortingly. “You’ve still got ways to go before you’re truly grown
up.” He sighed out softly, smiling kindly towards her.

And so on it went, listing down their favorite things from birds to flowers to trees, ice cream, mystery
novels, and even the first snow they had.

All these Bill already knew about her, but was quite content listening to her babble on animatedly about
why she loved them so. But whenever she’d ask him in return what his favorites were, he’d only ever
answer one thing.

Leyla.

His most beloved treasure. The one who gave purpose to him.

Eventually after a long while, Leyla began pouting again, gripping onto his arm tightly in frustration.

“Uncle, be serious! I can’t all be your favorite!” She whined bashfully, and he only laughed at her
heartily. He only shrugged and smiled through her scoldings.

It was true.
When he first heard the siren for the airstrike, his thoughts immediately went to Leyla. The deep-seated
tiredness in his bones from a full day of work was immediately replaced with an adrenaline rush of
worry for Leyla.

He ran like crazy for home, knowing Leyla was there by now, and in no time dragged her with him as
they went to the shelter.

Was this how parents usually feel for their child?

Perhaps.

He couldn’t help thinking that even if he died in that instant, it would have been fine to him knowing
that Leyla was safe. If his death meant saving Leyla, he would give his life up happily to ensure it.

He only hoped that after he passed, she would live well for herself instead.

Looking into her eyes, she still held that childlike innocence that brought both happiness and ache in his
heart. Finally, unable to hold her gaze any longer, he looked ahead, watching whatever may come their
way.

So many things could go wrong right now, and Bill wasn’t sure about which he should worry about
most?

Was it the war out of their doorsteps? Him continuing to be an incompetent father? Or the duke they
ran away from, one he desperately wanted to be killed in this war?

“Uncle?” Leyla’s hand was waving in front of his face. He must have been spacing out. Up ahead, he
could finally see their apartment. At least it was still intact. He turned to Leyla, wiping the worry off his
face and smiled at her.

“Ah, I feel so much better after that talk of favorite things Leyla,” he told her, “Thank you for that bright
idea.”

Leyla beamed proudly at him, seemingly oblivious to his lies.

“You’re welcome uncle,” She smiled brightly at him, “I feel so much better now too!”

He hoped she could keep smiling as brightly as that, even when he’s gone from her side through death.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
As soon as news of the cavalry battalion successfully securing the bridges and roads had reached them,
they wasted no time barking out commands for all their brigades to start preparing in the north and east
of their forces.

Major Matthias von Herhardt, and his infantry company had been tasked in breaking through the center
of the enemy’s center fortress, which had taken a beating from the airstrike. As they advanced, roars of
the mortars cracking and breaking walls ensued, until they finally stopped.

They reached the stand-off of their war.

Matthias waited for the dust around them to settle, with sharp eyes staring at the covered enemies
before they struck and dealt significant damage on enemy forces again.

All around them were sounds of walls being knocked down, shells flying overhead and hitting their
targets. The walls that once stood to protect the city for many years, had crumbled down to rubble.

The fortress was captured, and his entrance to Sienna was cleared. Matthias suspected that they could
take over Sienna in a matter of fifteen days, give or take. A month is the latest.

Still, he was close. He couldn’t help but feel giddy at the knowledge of this.

“We’re almost through!” shouted the scout in report over the massive sounds around them.

Tensions were being raised as they kept pushing their advantage, successfully invading the enemy
fortress and dismantling their defenses one after another.

Everyone around Matthias grew silent as they looked at their commanding officer. And then a loud
trumpet sound rose above the rest of the cacophony.

Matthias began to walk into the enemy’s destroyed base with an indifferent expression.

Their assignment was to seize the fortress, and secure it by taking no prisoners. Once done, they would
raise the flag of their empire on the highest peak, indicating it’s been successfully acquired by the Berg
Empire. And then Sienna would be theirs…

And Leyla, his.

A smile found its way to his lips at the thought of her. Her name slipped from his lips like poison velvet.
He looked in the direction of the far south, knowing that’s where his end goal would be.

When reports of Vellof pilots bombarding Sienna reached him, most of the army cheered at knowing
their enemy forces had greatly lessened. But Matthias couldn’t shake the worry of someone killing Leyla.

He needed her to be alive. It wouldn’t work if he weren’t the one to kill her after all. No one can touch
her, nor harm her but him. He didn’t care if they were allies or enemies in this war. Or even if it was a
god he had to fight, Leyla was his in all sense.
She was his sole purpose in life. Where she goes, he’ll follow, whether she wants him to or not.

She may see him as a monster, or the devil incarnate, it didn’t matter to him. She was his.

His Leyla.

Chapter 124

Only One Purpose

The marching sound of his infantry troops crossing the bridge echoed ominously in the empty streets.

Matthias had since broken off part of his company into two groups, who now both stood on standby on
either side of the fortress’ broken entrance. The rest continued their climb into the opening they made
forcefully.

Looking over the village, the smell of soot and rotting flesh filtered through Matthias’ senses. It was like
a mass graveyard, filled with the dead enemy.

His sharp gaze quickly swept over the broken buildings, all turned to rubble and dust. And then his eyes
glanced over at the chapel, which was missing both its spire and roof. Still, its walls remained standing
tall, and would provide excellent cover.
How fortunate that a foreign country’s god would give them their own protection. He had no doubt
even Lovita’s own enemy forces would see this as a blessing, especially the religious ones amongst their
ranks.

Matthias pushed on, running down several more stone walls, crushing beneath it the fallen bodies of
their enemy forces. He was only following instructions, never mind it led him straight to where he
needed to be. Immediately his company began spreading out, rounding the perimeter of the chapel at
an efficient speed.

Matthias observed the chapel, and his men’s placement, before pulling the pin out of the grenade and
launching it near the stained glass, before it shattered into a thousand more pieces. A distant scream
could be heard, as more of their enemy soldiers resurfaced and rejoined the fray.

Matthias had no love for any deity, as such it was easy for him to destroy such a sacred place. So he
merely raised his gun, trailing it at his enemies and pulled the trigger, feeling nothing as they dropped
dead like flies around him.

They were inconsequential to his goal after all.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

They thought the sound of bells ringing from the square would be over after the bell tower had been
destroyed. But alas, once more it resumed, followed shortly by loud sounds of heavy machinery and
firearms!

By now, the museum had been closed. Leyla still found everything so surreal the more the days
progressed. But she wasn’t even worrying about her current loss of job.

No, it was the war that was getting closer and closer to their doorsteps with each passing day they spent
was what’s been bothering her the most. She knew she didn’t have reason to, but her mind kept making
up the worst possible scenarios that could happen to her.

What if an air strike would happen again?

What if the Berg army finally breaches the borders of Sienna?

How long will the war last? Will they still be alive to see it?

A gentle touch awoke Leyla up, and she woke up with a slight startle before realizing it was only Uncle
Bill, who’d gently nudged her awake. She didn’t even realize she’d fallen asleep, her mind too
preoccupied with morbid thoughts. Nevertheless, it didn’t feel like she’d been sleeping.

“Uncle?” she mumbled out sleepily in question, and Uncle Bill gave her a small smile.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He apologized softly. He must have just gotten back. Leyla smiled
back at him and began to sit up, grasping his hand on her shoulder, and squeezing it in a comforting
manner.

“It’s okay,” Leyla said hurriedly, “You’ve finished early?” She took a quick glance at the clock, “You must
have, it’s not even dinner time yet.”

“No, I’m not finished yet, we’re on lunch break though.” Bill chuckled softly before gently putting a box
on the bed beside her. “I just stopped by to give you something.”

As soon as she saw the box, Leyla beamed up at him in excitement!

“Is it for me?” she eagerly asked, “What is it?” She wondered out loud, and Bill couldn’t help but chuckle
in seeing her glee. Then, bringing it closer to her, she could smell the faint scent of peaches in the air!

After the air strike, he was fortunate that his work wasn’t entirely rendered out of commission, and thus
returned to work. But everytime he left for work, he couldn’t help but worry and feel guilty at leaving
Leyla all by herself at home all day.

She wasn’t showing him any signs that would usually give him worry. But still, leaving her alone all day,
every day, can’t stop him from feeling so anxious.

This was the only thing he could think of to brighten up her day momentarily.

If he could only stop the war, and make her dreams come true by himself, he would do it. Make sure
she’d find someone good to her, and loved her, he would find them. But he’s long known how limited
his power in this life truly was.

He’s only Bill Remmer. And as a lowly peasant, he could only bring her favorite fruits right now.

“Eat up okay?” Bill lightly reminded her, to which she eagerly nodded at him.

“Of course!”

“And don’t just keep saying yes to everything I say, make sure you eat them for real, and eat well
alright?” Bill lightly chided at her. “It’s times like this that you need to make sure you’re healthy and
energized enough. So eat like a cow alright, I told you that before, didn’t I?”

Weeks kept passing, and more and more he could see the way Leyla’s features sharpened, her face
turning hollow, and bones jutting out more prominently against her skin. Why was she so thin?

Was she starving herself again?

Oblivious to his worries, Leyla only laughed at him, and reiterated she will. But, such naivety and
innocence still, Bill couldn’t help but think; he wondered what would happen to her as soon as he wasn’t
there to look out for her.
In some ways, she was still a child.

“Good, make sure you do just that.” Bill hummed, “And don’t worry about dinner, I’ll make sure to buy
us both some good food later.”

“Ooh, fancy!” Leyla giggled, “Are we having a feast later?”

“A feast, eh?” Bill hummed thoughtfully before smiling, “Why not? Let’s see if we can have a feast later.”
He patted Leyla’s head, lightly ruffling her hair and grinned upon seeing her indignation.

“Okay then,” Leyla smiled at him, before her expression turned serious, “If we have a feast later on, I will
tell you something too.” Leyla’s eyes turned sombre as she stared off into space…

“Yes, I have something to tell you.” She whispered softly, but still loud enough for Bill to hear. Her grip
on his hand tightened up some more, and Bill took the chance to assess her more carefully.

He could tell this would be a serious matter. He’d only ever seen such a determined expression on her
quite a few times before.

In Leyla’s mind, she resolved to come clean to him tonight. She no longer wanted this constant guilt in
her chest about hiding something this big to her uncle.

She wanted to stop being so afraid of his judgment. She won’t be a coward anymore.

“Well then, I best get going by now.” Bill said, squeezing her hand back in a comforting manner,
prompting her to finally loosen up her grip on him. “Take a good and long rest alright?”

Leyla watched as her uncle turned around to leave, and the cold feeling washed over her. Why did she
say that? What had she been thinking!?

“Uncle!” She called out and Bill turned back around, with an inquisitive look on his face.

Leyla only gave him a bright smile.

“Don’t worry about tonight, I was only joking!” She laughed it off, “Have a safe trip okay?” She then
reached out to put on her glasses back on.

Bill let out a dry sigh at hearing her words, and waved back at her with a small wave goodbye.

“Still a kid, quite the kid you still are.” She could hear him lightly chide her as he turned around to leave.
“Well then, I’ll see you soon, Leyla.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Another shot of a bullet rang through the air as it hit its mark! Another soldier of their opposing forces
dropped dead on the ground, his gun clattering loudly against the rubble beneath him. Major Herhardt
finally lowered his gun once more, eyes devoid of remorse or glee.
The war wasn’t important after all.

“We’ve got a runner!” someone shouted, pointing to a pair of enemy soldiers who were making a hasty
escape. Matthias’ eyes narrowed towards them, before he spotted a war horse tied loosely close by.

Matthias raised his gun, pointing it towards the horse, and pulled the trigger.

The window behind the horse shattered into a million pieces, effectively spooking the animal, before it
took off running. The Lovita soldiers tried their best to intercept the horse, but were immediately
surrounded by Berg forces.

Matthias signalled his men to hold their fire, leisurely approaching them. As he came to them, his eyes
were drawn to the middle-aged man, who held his head up, looking to the skies in complete resignation.

Judging by his uniform, he was the commander of the fort defense. Matthias at least graced him with a
common courtesy of respect for his rank.

“This battle is over.” Matthias spoke in the native tongue of Lovita. It was decidedly rough on his tongue,
but at least he was fluent enough to be understood. “Won’t you agree with me?”

The commander sighed, eyes darting quickly over to Matthias, before raising his gaze up towards the
skies again. Surrendering now would only mean that the battle indeed was over. And if he were to
surrender now, there was a high chance the rest of his remaining men would survive, even amidst
capture.

But what would that mean to Sienna?

Steeling his resolve to face his imminent fate, he breathed in deeply before huffing out a single
prolonged breath…

In no time, he pulled out a gun and pointed it directly to Matthias!

Sharp cries of soldiers around them echoed all around as a single shot was heard once more.

“MAJOR!”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla half-heartedly ate the peach Uncle Bill had gotten for her. She had little to no appetite right now,
but she didn’t want to disappoint him further. As soon as the sweet, saccharine juice hit her tongue, she
immediately felt hungry…

She didn’t expect it to be this savory. She eyed the other fruits as she eagerly bit into more of the fruit.

‘Should I eat more?’

she wondered in between bites, as the juices dribbled down her chin.
‘I probably should save some for later though.’

Eventually, her hunger won out and she immediately reached for more of the peaches, when an
unfamiliar sound soared through the stillness of the town! Leyla’s hand stilled, a breadth away from
another peach.

Her hand wavered and lightly nudged the peach, prompting it to roll off the table. Something unsettling
was churning in her stomach.

It was impossible…

But she couldn’t shake the feeling away. She couldn’t help but feel cold dread wash all over her as the
alarms rang again…

‘No! Please no!’

A scream broke out, not too far away, followed closely by a loud explosion, and the ground beneath her
shook!

Leyla screamed, holding onto the corners of the table as her entire apartment shook from the impact!
Frames fell down, and the cabinets clattered as more and more explosions rang out from all around her!

Finally, Leyla managed to crawl underneath the table, holding onto the legs for dear life as the shaking
grew stronger with each passing second!

The explosions were drawing closer and closer to her! More screams were heard out in the streets as
everyone hurried to a bomb shelter!

Leyla’s heart was beating so loudly against her chest, that she could hear it pounding in her ears! She
knew she needed to get out quickly, and race to the nearby bomb shelter, but her body was currently
frozen in fear!

‘Think Leyla! Think!’ she admonished herself, ‘What do you have to do!?’

Her minds raced back to that time Uncle Bill pulled her out of her frozen state, and immediately brought
them back to the nearby chapel where they all huddled in until the bombing was over.

She could do that. She did it once before, she could do it again!

A loud explosion suddenly appeared, and the building across from hers blew up into pieces! Leyla
wasted no time more in crawling out from under the table and rushed outside, bringing nothing but
adrenaline as she raced outside for safety!

As she rushed out of the building, she heard a fighter jet whizzing through the air loudly! Then, another
roof went missing from across the street!
Leyla’s legs felt weak upon seeing the wreckage in front of her, but she couldn’t stop! And so with shaky
legs, she continued down the flight of stairs, hoping for the next bomb to not land right on top of her!

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

A smoking pistol remained, and a gurgling sound came from the Lovitan commander. Matthias stood
over the dying man with cold, and unimpressed eyes, his gun still aimed perfectly to where the
commander had been kneeling.

The commander’s gun was soon soaked with his own blood in no time.

Feeling he was dead enough, Matthias pocketed back his pistol and turned to his men as though he did
not just kill a man. However, even Matthias’ men became unnerved about his indifference. Some
swallowed down the uncomfortableness of the moment.

“Like I said, this battle is over.” He reiterated and turned towards the Lovitan general, who remained. He
held out his hand for him to shake as though they were just finishing a business transaction.

The general squeezed his eyes shut, muttering about their god to show mercy and looked up to the skies
to pray once last time. Then, with a despairing sigh, he quickly removed his effects and surrendered
them to the young Berg major.

An official recognition of defeat.

He had no doubt another airstrike would happen, this time closer to the beaches of Sienna.

Matthias looked towards the defeated general, stepped back a few paces away, and bowed towards
him. The Lovitan General rose to his feet and straightened up his posture.

“I apologize about your commander.” Matthias hummed respectfully, looking down on the bloodied
corpse between them. He then gestured to his men, and immediately, the General was cuffed, and led
towards the square.

The general was now their prisoner of war.

Upon seeing this, cheers from the Berg army erupted loudly! Then, they began to celebrate their short-
lived victory before they began preparations to occupy the whole of Sienna.

Matthias felt somewhat detached from the whole thing. The war wasn’t important.

Victory, glory, and honor? None of that mattered, none of those ever meant anything to him. He was
only ever here for one thing, one important thing most of all, and the only one that mattered above
everything else for him.

If winning the pointless war for his emperor was the way to do it, so be it.

All he needed was Leyla.

His Leyla.

A small curve of a smile made its way to his lips at the thought of her.

He watched as his men tore down Lovita’s flag and replaced it with their own, declaring the city to be on
Berg’s property. His commanding officer was now making a big fancy speech to boost more of their
force’s morale, but Matthias didn’t need them.

His morale is boosted every time he knew he was closer to seeing Leyla again.

She would belong to him again, in every sense of the word, and he could now keep her safe in the way
he deemed fit.

Any moment now, he’d have her again. This was his fate. He couldn’t help but feel amused. People said
you could die any time in times of war, but Matthias never felt more alive than right now! He knew air
strikes were still being held around Sienna, and there was no way to guarantee her survival…

But he knew his Leyla was a survivor. Therefore, she’d find some way to be safe and remain safe until he
was there to see her again.

Besides, he’d issued an order to provide safe haven to any of the civilians they’d encounter along the
way. His men knew not to harm anyone that wasn’t an opposing soldier. But, of course, if they were met
with resistance, Matthias gave them a go-ahead to do what must be done.

‘Ah, Sienna,’

Matthias thought with a confident smirk, ignoring the dried blood splattered around his face.

‘You’re mine, any moment now.’

Chapter 125

Nothing Would Change Until Forever

The bombing soon stopped, but the people remained frozen from where they’ve been. It lasted a lot
shorter than before, almost as if Vellof’s air strike was only supposed to be a warning. A show of power
over them.

Still, the sounds of children crying echoed throughout the silent, quivering crowd. The basement was
still as dark and stuffy as before. Then, followed shortly by the despairing sounds of children, were the
despondent sighs of the adults around them.

Among the adults in the shelter was Leyla. She had reached the shelter in time, and now she was
huddling in on herself, nervously twiddling with her fingers. Her whole body was aching, having scraped
her knee quite a few times as she ran for the shelter. She barely felt them as she was running, but with
the sounds stopping, and with herself safe and sound, the pain was finally catching up to her.

At least the tightened coil around her stomach was finally loosening up.

The entire run from her apartment to here was entirely a blur. All she remembered was bumping into
some of the panicking crowd here and there as they all scrambled for shelter, and tried to get out of the
streets!

At one point her glasses got thrown off, further delaying her from finding shelter as she tried to locate
them quickly enough before resuming her run just in time for an explosion to go off not too far from
behind her!

Luckily she had shoes on when she left, but unfortunately lost one of them as she ran to safety. Her
socks were soaked, and she’d scraped her feet a couple times from the unsuspecting rubbles here and
there, but at least she was still alive.

She didn’t know how long she had been staying here.

“We must hurry and leave! They’re coming back!” shouted some of the younger men who volunteered
to be on the lookout. A slight rumble emerged from the gathered crowd in the chapel’s basement.

Leyla felt a faint sense of relief about the announcement, and was one of the few who rose to their feet.
Eventually, she found herself approaching the basement stairs, where she could see a faint light
radiating from.
She hadn’t seen a glimpse of Uncle Bill at all, even as she walked over the huddled crowd. She needed to
find him quickly. It was the only thought running through her head as soon as the bombing sounds
stopped, and the fear seeping into her bones left her.

“Are you alright?” a light touch gently jolted her out of her thoughts, and Leyla turned around hastily
and saw a stranger looking over at her with great concern.

Leyla could only meekly smile and nod in confirmation, before awkwardly making her leave and
following the few people who went up to survey the surface after the bombing.

The faint smell of rubble and explosives still lingered strongly in the air. And even more structures were
reduced to ruins as they emerged. It lasted quicker than before, sure, but the damage was far greater as
well, especially in the surrounding areas, compared to the ones in the square.

Her glasses started fogging up, and Leyla scrambled to wipe the moisture away with trembling hands
before shakily putting them back on. There were pinpricks in her eyes as she kept blinking back the
tears.

She faintly realized that one of her glasses had cracked amongst the commotion. She felt a small solace
with that. At least she couldn’t see the destruction as clearly as before.

But where was Uncle Bill? Was he okay?

He’d been off to work near the ports and informed her that there was also shelter there nearby in case
an emergency would strike. Should she meet him there instead?

Or perhaps he was already headed home? The houses across the street had been bombed, but last she
knew, their building apartment had been missed. It would be far easier for her, and her feet to just wait
for him there.

She stood still for a moment, before hesitantly walking back down the direction of their apartment. She
walked unevenly back, still the thought of seeing Uncle Bill the only thing driving her to move.

She wanted to hurry up and see him!

“Leyla!”

She paused, her heart leaping in her chest as she heard a familiar voice! She quickly turned around, and
found relief in finally seeing a familiar face!

It was Uncle Allen.

A sinking dread settled in her stomach as she saw he was alone. She’d been certain he’d gone with
Uncle Bill to the ports today, why was he alone?

Upon seeing her worry, Uncle Allen tried to get her to calm down for a little, and they exchanged brief
hugs.
“Uncle, have you seen Uncle Bill? Did he go home first?” She asked him, “You two must have emerged
from the shelter in the ports then, what a relief.” She sighed as he steadied her, letting her grasp his
arms tightly.

Leyla looked in the direction she knew their apartment was.

“That means I must go home quickly now, he might be very worried about me then! It was great to see
you alive and safe.” She hurriedly bid adieu, but he only grasped her hands firmly, and gently once more.

Leyla looked back at him, and saw a somber expression on Uncle Allen’s face.

“My dear, I need you to be prepared for what I’m about to tell you, but listen to me, alright?” He started
to say gently, but Leyla heard the crack in his voice, and she could feel the bone-chilling dread seep back
into her bones.

“Your Uncle Bill, he’s currently in the hospital.”

It was like a rug had been swept under her feet, and Leyla absentmindedly dropped to her knees upon
hearing the news! Luckily, Uncle Allen managed to brace her, slightly stopping her from dropping into
the rubbled ground beneath them.

Leyla burst into wails, her hands gripping onto Uncle Allen like a lifeline as he tried to calm her down.

“There’s still time, Leyla, hush now,” he tried to tell her, “We can still hurry up and see him, shh.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

There was a buzzing in his ears as his eyes blinked in and out of consciousness.

Where was he? Why was everything a blur?

It felt like he was being submerged in water. Yet it was odd, he could still feel himself breathing…

The next thing he registered was the numbing pain around his body. He can’t even move his fingers.
What happened to him? Why was everything so…

Faint?

He could faintly hear a sound beyond the buzzing, slowly getting closer…

“-cle!”

Was someone calling? Who were they yelling for?”

“Un— ill!”
Why did they sound so familiar?

“UNCLE BILL!”

His eyesight shifted back into focus, and he saw a head of golden hair, and a familiar and pleasant face
hovering above him.

Were her glasses cracked? He should probably find her some new ones as soon as he can. He gave her a
beaming smile…

How odd. He couldn’t move his body as well as he could right now. He wanted to get up and hug her.
Why was Leyla crying? Did something bad happen to her again?

He tried moving his hand to wipe her tears away like he usually would, but his arms felt heavy, and
painful. Perhaps he should try speaking to her to ease her worries instead?

He tried opening his mouth, and speaking his reassurances to her…

But no matter how hard he tried, he could only wheeze incoherent sounds out. His voice wasn’t coming
out as it usually did. Leyla’s eyes darted from him and to the nurse in the room.

Why was a nurse in their house?

Was he still in their house?

Was Leyla sick?

He tried speaking once again to ask Leyla what had happened, but the pain around his throat kept
worsening.

And then the memories came flooding back like a tidal wave!

Bill had been in the warehouse by the ports, doing his tasks when an explosion suddenly erupted on top
of them! He’d been carrying a box of ammunition, getting them ready along with the others to load
them into Lovita’s warships!

When the evacuation order was issued, every one of the workers began panicking and rushing all
around him! Bill tried to get away from the stampeding crowd as best as he could, but eventually got
swept into the middle of the crowd rushing out of the warehouse!

Just as he finally got outside, another resounding explosion blew up nearby, and a domino of explosions
was heard as a bomb dropped into one of the ammunition boxes!

Bill had gone back in time, and saw Arvis’ greenhouse exploding in front of him.

This was all his fault. So he thought in those moments.

If he hadn’t been so petulant about new technology and actually bothered to learn about it, he wouldn’t
have driven Leyla into the arms of such a vile man…

They wouldn’t have had to escape from Arvis, and get trapped in a war!

And then he blacked out as something hit him. After that, all he remembered was the sudden pain
erupting everywhere in his body.

Was he being drugged with painkillers? It sure felt like it. Everything was so sluggish, but his eyes
returned to see Leyla’s tear-filled ones.

‘Don’t cry,’ he wanted to tell her, ‘You shouldn’t cry for anything else, but happiness.’

She looked at him some more, before she began to sob uncontrollably once more, and Bill’s heart ached
to see how much he was hurting her. He could faintly feel her grip on his hand, and wondered how
tightly she was holding onto him.

‘This is just a bad dream,’ he thought to himself, ‘Once I wake up, everything will be fine, and Leyla will
be happy and safe.’ So he wished wistfully, as he blinked owlishly at Leyla.

Another person was coming up to Leyla, and Bill watched silently as they exchanged words, and Leyla’s
eyes hardened as they moved to remove her from his side.

Bill wanted to frown and chide the person himself.

Was he a doctor?

‘Damn you doc,’ Bill huffed out angrily upon seeing them try to remove Leyla beside him, ‘Let Leyla stay,
she doesn’t have to leave!’ He wanted to argue, but his vocal cords were still too painful.

He could hardly hear what they were talking about, but could faintly hear the sobs and wails by Leyla.
He wanted to tell her he’d be okay, and to look after herself…

But he couldn’t do anything.

Even until now, he was still so useless to her.

‘Hush now Leyla, don’t cry,’ he thought, ‘I’ll be fine, you’ll see. Just sit right there and keep taking care of
yourself, okay? Don’t be like ol’ Uncle Bill here. Can’t even bear a little pain.’

“I’m sorry.” The doctor began, as he turned to face Leyla.

Leyla looked at him sharply and wanted to shout she’ll pay for whatever surgery fee they had!

She just wanted them to heal her uncle now.

“A surgery won’t help him at all.” He began to explain, “Frankly, we consider it a miracle he’s still
conscious, not to mention alive.”
Leyla sniffed, blinking back her tears as she narrowed her eyes to the doctor.

Are they saying what she thought they were saying?!

Immediately, Leyla started shaking her head in disbelief, unwilling to hear more of the doctor’s excuses!

Surely they could still do something! So they brought Uncle Bill to the hospital after all!

After she’d calmed down, and been led quickly to the hospital, she’d been taken aback by how terrible
of a state her uncle had been in!

His clothes were soaked with blood, his body wrapped around in makeshift support and bandages, and
laid unconsciously on a hospital bed! She’d been given a rundown of what happened, but she didn’t
want to believe it had been this bad!

Just as the air raid began, and the people by the ports began to evacuate in an unruly manner, her uncle
had been one of the unfortunate few who got caught amongst the flying debris from the explosions
around the warehouses.

“No!” Leyla exclaimed, “There must be something you can still do!” She argued persistently, ignoring the
gestures of nearby nurses to stay seated.

“I’m sorry, but this is our limit.” The doctor told her softly, “Perhaps it’s best you say your goodbyes
now, we’ve no doubt he was only holding on this long enough to see his daughter.”

Leyla wanted to cry upon hearing that.

This couldn’t be happening! This was all a bad dream! This was a terrible, stress-induced dream!

She’d wake up soon, and see her Uncle alive and well, reminding and checking up on her to take care of
herself, and she’d retort back at him to do the same!

“No please, you have to save him!” She begged, now kneeling in front of him, and holding onto his white
robes for dear life, “You have to save him, please!”

“Miss, I really am sorry I can’t do more than this.” The doctor said, gently guiding her back to sit beside
Uncle Bill, “But it’s best to say everything now, before it’s too late.”

A nurse came up beside her, and gave her a glass of water.

Leyla was still reeling over the news about her uncle, and faintly felt the water touch her throat. She
immediately gave the glass back to the nurse, and went back to gently holding onto her uncle’s hand…

“Uncle, please, stay with me okay?” She whispered, trying to stifle in her sobs, “You stay strong for me
okay, and I-I’ll go find a better doctor,” She gulped down, clearing her throat as she hastily, yet gently
combed back his blood soaked hair from his forehead.
“And then when you’re all better, we’ll go back home okay? Don’t worry about the money, I can always
find it anywhere.” She whispered to him, “Just s-stay, please….” She sobbed…

“Please don’t leave me!” She whispered, her breath turning shaky as her hands shook from where she
was caressing her uncle.

She could see him blinking back his eyes, but the struggle was there. She could see how hard it was for
him to keep looking at her.

He groaned once again, with incoherent thoughts, and Leyla shushed him softly…

“Shh, uncle, save your strength, you still have a lot of healing to do.” She whispered, kissing his bloodied
temple desperately. She tried to ignore the taste of iron on her lips as she wetted them.

Unable to watch her any longer, the doctor began to pull her aside, and began to stress once more how
it was more beneficial for both of them to say goodbye now.

“Miss, even if you were to find a doctor who can guarantee they could still save him, he’d live the rest of
his life in pain, and paralyzed. It’s best you can say goodbye now, and that way, he’ll be able to die at
least comfortably.”

‘Die…’ Leyla thought, ‘They finally said it, huh?’

Ever since she arrived, she’d been avoiding ever thinking about that word. But now the doctor said it…

And it was all she could think about.

She didn’t want it. But it was the glaring truth in front of her.

Uncle Bill was about to die, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The doctor was right. She’ll regret not doing more later, but for now, she wanted her uncle to regret
nothing. And so Leyla cried out for a couple more seconds, before schooling her features into a pleasant
smile, before taking back her seat beside her uncle.

She hoped she could relay all her love and gratitude forever meeting him.

“Uncle,” She called out softly, and watched as Uncle Bill’s eyes shakily turned towards her, “Do you
remember, when you used to tell me I’d be a great adult one day? You still believe that?” Do you still
trust me?”

All of a sudden, Bill could hear her clearly now. And he wanted to chuckle at how ridiculous her
questions were.

She was already the greatest adult he’d ever met, and he’d always believed and trusted her, without a
single doubt in his mind.
Instead of a laugh though, he could only cough out in response, and Leyla gently rubbed soothing circles
over his chest. Finally, a nurse came by to lightly dab a cloth around his mouth, wiping away the blood
he’d coughed out.

“Well, if you still believe that, then I can do anything.” Leyla continued, smiling shakily towards him,
“After all, Uncle is so smart, and he never lied to me. So I can do anything, s-so long as you still believe in
me.”

Her voice cracked in that last part, and her lips began to wobble.

But she needed to keep talking. To say everything before her chance was gone.

And so she told him her thoughts ever since she first came to him, on that day they met when he was
planting rose seedlings in the gardens of Arvis.

The happy days they spent together seemed like a lifetime ago. Arvis and her childhood all of a sudden
began looking so bright, and innocent, and happy.

Yes, she had been happy back then, being surrounded by the smell of freshly cut grass, and blooming
flowers. Everyday has been a joy to live in…

Because she knew when she’d come home, she had Uncle Bill to fall back on.

A sob escaped from her lips, and Leyla brought up her blood-stained hand to cover back her sobs.

‘I can’t do this! I don’t want to do this!’ She screamed in her mind, as she tried to stop the tears from
flowing.

What would happen to her now?! She can’t live without Uncle Bill! She can’t! He can’t leave her alone!
Yet, there was still so much she wanted to do with him!

Suddenly, movement came, and Leyla watched as Uncle Bill struggled to sit up, before unceremoniously
rolling off the bed!

“Uncle!” She exclaimed, but eventually sighed in relief when two male nurses managed to catch him
before he fell to the floor. They placed him back securely onto the bed, and Leyla watched as her uncle’s
tears slid down his cheeks…

Leyla smiled at him through the tears, gently cupping his cheeks with shaky hands as she tried to keep
him still.

“I am s-s-so blessed… that you became my family.” Leyla sobbed out shakily, “And I never… felt so
happy… as I did… everyday… with you…”

Leyla choked back on a sob as she laid her head on his chest, her hand gently grabbing onto his limp one
and kissed his knuckles.
“You were always my real family. And if we were to be born again, I wished to be with you again, from
the start.” She whispered shakily, kissing his knuckles deeper as she tried to keep her tied down to her…

“And we’ll keep being family, won’t we?” Leyla asked him softly, “Even when we’re parted momentarily,
won’t we?” She asked him, looking at Bill desperately.

Bill’s eyes crinkled like he always did when he smiled at her.

Of course, they would always be family.

Bill’s eyes began to blur once more, his sight on Leyla fading in and out of focus as black spots danced in
front of his eyes.

“Then I hope to see you soon, okay?” Leyla continued, getting up to gently touch their foreheads
together, “We might be separated in this life for now, but I’ll make sure to keep being reborn to you.”
She whispered, and nuzzled against him…

“I love you…” She whimpered, and planted a long, and heart-felt kiss on his forehead, “So much…
father.” She sobbed.

Leyla pulled away to look at his eyes.

Bill’s eyes were wide as he looked into her general direction, before his eyes crinkled in happiness once
more.

Perhaps it was true about what they say about dying.

Your life would begin flashing right in front of your eyes, and Bill could only see the happiness he found
taking care of Leyla.

Watching Leyla grow.

Teaching her things she needed to know, things she wanted to know.

Seeing her flourish, and take steps towards her dreams.

Seeing her smile, laugh and cry.

Every single thing they did together, whether as mundane as eating their dinner every night, or as
exciting as walking down the riverside underneath starry skies…

Seeing her rush towards him, in her childhood, in her teens, and even now as an adult, whenever she’d
see him return. It was such unbridled joy that he relished seeing it!

Everything was so much brighter with Leyla. As long as they were together, he knew everything would
be alright soon…

But that was the thing, wasn’t it?

Being together would soon be a thing of the past.

He couldn’t leave her sobbing her heart out, without a few words to tide her over as he’d leave her
alone for an indefinite amount of time.

‘Please God,’ Bill prayed, ‘Let me say this last thing for her.’

“I…”

Leyla gasped as she hastily wiped her tears, and looked eagerly towards her father. He was speaking!

“I…love…you,” her father’s eyes drifted over to hers, and his lips curled up into a beautiful smile that
had Leyla smiling back over to him. “My… daughter.”

Because Bill understood now.

As much as he might have failed her, he was still her father in every sense of the word. He clothed her,
fed her, and sheltered her when no one would. He taught her, and helped her grow. He guided her, and
although Leyla had been great enough on her own…

They found happiness in each other.

Relief spread throughout him as he said those words to her. And so he breathed in deeply, as his eyes
fluttered closed.

When he’d wake up, he’d be back to his peak condition, and Bill would waste no time in buying them
both a feast to celebrate being a family. After all, he promised Leyla not to worry about dinner.

They’d have a feast for two soon enough.

And maybe he’d splurge some more, and buy them drinks to last a whole night! Or maybe not…

Leyla’s living for two now, alcohol would be detrimental for their health. Maybe an apple juice instead?
How about peach juice?

Do peach juices exist?

And Bill breathed out with a wide smile…

“I love you… my daughter…” He whispered once more, feeling his entire body lighten up, as the pain
eventually left his body.

What an amazing feeling it was.

His daughter, of course she was.

It was his absolute truth, and nothing would change it at all. It would remain to be true, until forever.
Chapter 126

A Day When Everything Is Beautiful

News about Sienna’s fall spread like wildfire throughout the whole city. In no time, numerous flyers and
posters were being rained upon the conquered people and posted everywhere in their ruined homes.

The forces for occupation would soon be arriving.

But Leyla could care less about what was happening in front of her. Everything was still like a dream…

No, a nightmare. All she wanted was to wake up.

She was swaying mindlessly as she walked around the corner of a street, absentmindedly blending in
amongst the huddling crowd. She caught sight of the poster and found nothing shocking. It was just as
she expected to see.

It was a declaration of surrender, urging everyone to comply with the Berg army as peacefully as
possible, and they will be provided with shelter. It also contained a set of guidelines to follow as soon as
the occupational forces arrived.

Government offices would seize control of the occupying forces, and double as a storage unit for their
ammunition and weapons. Communications would also be set up in them. Any retaliation will be met
with an equal hostile force, and no one could leave unless they have an authorized pass to do so, which
can only be granted by the highest commanding officer in the force.

All around her was a mixture of fear, frustration, and anger. But Leyla still felt so removed from
everything…

The war barely entered her mind as something important.

Nothing left was important anymore. So why should she even care if Sienna was still part of Lovita, or
Berg? It was all pointless.

She felt herself get pushed around left and right, still mindlessly walking towards the apartment she
once shared with her father.
She trudged up the stairs, limbs so heavy, but her mind so far away from reality. She barely remembered
when she reached her apartment. She only realized she had already arrived when she found herself
seated at an empty dining table for two.

She stared at the seat across from her, the numbing pain in her chest returning, but the tears long dried
up in her eyes.

Her father’s funeral had not been too long ago, but it felt like forever since he had gone and left her
behind.

She knew she was wide awake, but everything made less sense than it did before. It all still felt so
surreal. She couldn’t even find the motivation to do anything every day, but her body would move
without her thinking about it.

She felt like a dying plant, desperately being watered every day to bring it back to life…

But nothing was worth living anymore.

Not unless it meant visiting her father by the makeshift cemetery they had ever since his funeral. It was
the only thing that could get her out of the house.

Cold air blew into the hole in her apartment, from where a window once was. She should probably have
gotten it fixed by now, but she couldn’t find enough care to even bother.

The skies were a lot bluer without the glass. Normally, she would describe this one to be a beautiful day.
It was a crisp autumn morning, the rubble cleared from the streets as busy constructions could be heard
outside and by the neighbouring rooms…

But everything felt so faded to her.

She was so… lonely.

She didn’t want to be alone again.

“Uncle…” she called out, her voice raspy from the prolonged unused. “Uncle Bill!” She called out again, a
lot louder this time, before giggling to herself.

Why was she amused? She didn’t know, she just felt like laughing.

“Uncle Bill!” She called out for again, in a sing-song voice, before laughing by herself again when only
silence met her.

Thump… thump… thump…

She could hear familiar footsteps heading towards her in response, and she turned around to look at the
closed door to his room, expecting it to open any moment now! She grinned expectantly as she looked
at his room.
But nothing came.

Her grin grew stiff on her lips, but there was nothing but silence around her and her apartment. She
turned back to look at the table in front of her and began drawing circles with the gathered dust on top
of it, absentmindedly humming.

She missed the annoying sounds of the bell tower. If there was such a loud sound like that every hour,
she wouldn’t feel this empty inside.

Anything was better, no matter how annoying the sounds would be, than this complete silence
deafening her.

She could always leave Lovita. But Leyla found no energy to do so.

Instead, she found herself plopping back into her bed, eyes drawn to the glass-less window in the room.
The window was fortunate enough to not get wrecked into a hole, but the glass remnants still littered
on the floor.

She’d been extra careful to avoid them.

It was another thing she needed to get fixed but, what was the point?

Ah yes, winter was coming upon them soon.

Leyla blinked owlishly, eyes slowly gazing up on the plain ceiling above her.

Huh, when was the last time she bought groceries? She couldn’t remember. Food must have run out by
now too. What did she eat last?

Was it two days ago? She was certain it had been stale bread. She had to force it down her throat,
barely able to swallow and taste it.

The familiar pangs of hunger came over her at the thought of food. Still, she found no reason to get up
from the bed. By now, most of the people of Sienna had been confused, their lives uprooted so quickly
from what they used to know.

Any day now, the occupational forces would be arriving and making the necessary changes to officially
declare Sienna as a city of Berg.

Suddenly, she remembered seeing a grocery store on her way back from the cemetery. But it had also
been wrecked in the war, so she doubted she could buy food from there. She knew it was irresponsible
of her to be starving herself, especially in her condition but it is what it is.

Oh, Uncle Allen.

She remembered Uncle Allen and his family evacuating from Sienna as soon as her father’s funeral had
been finished. They were headed straight for the capital before more forces arrived and prevented them
from leaving.

He had apologized profusely to Leyla, even asking her to come with them, but Leyla couldn’t find it in
herself to flee. And so they bid each other goodbye, with Uncle Allen apologizing once more for having
to leave her alone…

But Leyla could not begrudge them for leaving.

He had been kind enough to offer them shelter when they left Arvis, despite having little to no contact
with Bill Remmer. Kind enough to get them back on their feet, so there was nothing for him to apologize
for.

She didn’t want to burden him further by tagging along. Not when it hadn’t been too long ago since they
first met. Additionally, she couldn’t leave her father’s resting place.

Before he left, he did stop by one last time, leaving her substantial rations and supplies she might need
in the immediate future. It was all he could do for her after all. One last piece of grace for their short
time together.

Uncle Allen couldn’t even look her in the eye when saying goodbye, Leyla couldn’t help but feel terrible
about it. So she thanked him for thinking about her, and wished him safer travels.

And just like that, she lost another family in her life.

Eventually she found herself fishing out the supplies he’d left her, grabbing hold onto a bottle of pickled
apricot. Amongst the other things he’d left her with was a box of her father’s things, which he managed
to salvage from the wreckage of the warehouses.

She couldn’t find it in herself to open it. She didn’t want any more reminders that he was gone.

And so she popped open the bottled glass of pickled apricot and began to eat it messily, her hunger
driving out the care for table manners as she gobbled one after another. She didn’t even bother using
any utensils, just using her hands to fish each piece out of the container.

Sweet juices dribbled down her chin and arms, and Leyla found herself smiling as she ate the sweet
food…

A hand went up to her cheeks, checking to see if she was crying. It was dry, save for the juice remnants
now sticking on her cheeks. This could be like crying too, she supposed.

How selfish it was of her, to keep eating like this. But it did nothing to ease the hunger and exhaustion in
her body.

How selfish it was of her to still try so hard to survive, when there was nothing worth living for anymore.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Sienna’s defeat came easier than predicted, with the Lovitan Army immediately losing their morale as
soon as their fortress had been breached. It was almost as though they were banking on it to hold up
the entire defense of the city.

As soon as the Berg Army broke through, they immediately began to retreat further into the city,
effectively trapping themselves for slaughter. As soon as a full-scale exchange of fire and explosions took
place, everything began to collapse at an immense pace.

More and more forces of the Berg Army filtered through the opening, quickly overwhelming the Lovitan
forces defending the line…

And soon enough, even the Mayor of Sienna had immediately waved the white flag. He stood in front of
the gate, welcoming them amicably as he could despite the clear despair in his expression.

His people would be guaranteed safety with their surrender after all. Sienna was only just a place. He
would surrender Lovitan control to keep them safe, and would follow every order they would be given.

It was the best choice they had with the hand they were dealt with.

Matthias was amongst the commanding officers who rode on top of a military car. His eyes raked
critically at the odd-looking city in front of him.

He could see exactly where the bombs from the air strike had been dropped, and how much damage
was done to the city, but generally, the city seemed to be calm enough. He even noted how brighter and
serene the surroundings were compared to the foggy sunlight in Berg’s cities.

The procession of the Berg Army continued on, slowly traveling across the city to showcase their arrival.
Some soldiers could be seen stopping by the square and immediately enjoying the spoils of war.

One by one each commanding officer stepped down from their vehicles, Matthias following not too far
after them. He held loosely his officer cap in one arm during the ride, before putting it back into place as
he got out.

He got up last from the stairs, before standing in attention, looking all elegant and pristine in his blue-
grey Bergian uniform. So unlike the cruel titles he earned for leading the assaults against the Lovitan
army.

How could a cruel man have the face of an angel?

His superiors began their speech, with Matthias instinctively tuning out everything they were saying.
He’s heard it a lot of times before. It was the same speech with every territory they occupied.

It wasn’t anything important to listen to anyway. It didn’t concern him enough.

Sienna was also warmer than he expected. But that was fine.
He achieved his goal a lot faster than he expected, but he found his arrival falling a little bit short in
expectation. It was a little disappointing despite the beautiful day outside.

Matthias eventually found himself finally relaxing into his stance. His path had been cleared after all. All
that’s left to do, was find his Leyla.

Immediately, his eyes began to rake over the gathered civilians in the square. Faces were all despondent
and angry, but Matthias barely bothered to remember them. He flashed them all his practised smile,
further alleviating him from the monstrous deeds he’d done in front of these unsuspecting civilians.

Upon noticing his smile, the officers beside him began shuffling in nervousness. But he didn’t mind it
one bit. He wasn’t interested in them, but he couldn’t hide his glee at knowing he would finally have his
Leyla once more.

Still, it must be so out of place for him to suddenly be smiling, wouldn’t it?

As the speech ended, the crowd began dispersing out as quickly as Matthias expected. He loosely took
off his cap once more, before steadily stepping down the stage, with no sign to indicate he was in a rush
to get down.

He was still as perfect as ever in appearance. All neat and elegant, even in the eyes who see him as a
foe.

The war made him bulk back up to his usual body form. He was no longer thin and hollow, but lithe and
stronger. In no time, he made a complete recovery while serving in the war, and even his men were
amazed at how quickly he bounced back from his seemingly deadly illness.

“Major!” a random soldier began to call out, halting Matthias in his steps as he waited for his
subordinate to catch up, “I found her!” He panted out quickly as soon as he stopped beside him, but the
random soldier looked particularly proud of himself.

Something darkened Matthias’ eyes at the news, making the soldier cower slightly as Matthias turned
his eyes on him. A cold chill ran down his spine as he met those icy blue eyes.

“I -I,” he began to stutter, but Matthias quickly cut him off.

“Where?” he all but snapped at the soldier as he inquired for her.

The soldier couldn’t help but find himself stammering with his words, sensing an odd urgency with his
major.

“I-I’m quite sure I saw her,” he scrambled to take out the portrait of Leyla he’d been given, “Yes, Leyla
Lewellin! I-I’m sure this is the one who left Berg, and moved to Sienna last spring!”

He then gave him a piece of paper, with a single address written on it.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Leyla had been back in bed, lying like the dead, before finally rousing herself up by the time noon came
around.

She found herself fishing out more supplies from Uncle Allen’s parting gift, this time munching on some
hard black bread, and boiled beans. She finished both off with a mug of warm water, mixed with some
sugar.

It wasn’t enough to satisfy her hunger, but at least she wasn’t feeling as weak as before.

She went back to her room, looked for a clean pair of clothes, and began to wash up and change. A
glance outside at the hole in her wall let her know that the day today was warmer than yesterday had
been.

She stepped closer to her missing window, eyes looking down at the street in front of her. It was said
that today would be the day the Berg Army would be arriving.

Perhaps it was that, but the streets were quieter than before, further making her loneliness more
prominent in the absence of distracting sounds. They had been guaranteed their safety if they
surrendered, but understandably, everyone was still apprehensive about their presence and afraid.

Huffing out tiredly at seeing no more movement outside, Leyla hummed to herself again, fetching a
clean pair of thick, woollen socks, before putting on some shoes. Knotting the laces on tightly, she got
ready to go outside.

The weather was warm, so there was no need for her to wrap a shawl around herself.

She didn’t bother locking the door behind her as she stepped out of her apartment in her new routine of
visiting her father.

As soon as she reached the streets, her eyes squinted at how bright the sun was today. She placed a
hand up to cover her eyes, and huffed out tiredly as she stood in place.

Should she even bother going out today?

No, Leyla thought after a couple more minutes, she needed to see him.

Being outside was much better than keeping herself locked up in silence all day in her empty apartment.
It frightened her how alone she truly was without her father. At least in the streets, she could keep her
mind more preoccupied.

The noises in the street outside her apartment usually gave her a small respite, but today there was
none of that. Everyone was too preoccupied with the arrival of the occupational forces. It was too
stifling to stay inside any further.

She’d be better off outside in the heat of the sun.

She hugged herself around her abdomen, trying to recall what her favourite things had been before. She
couldn’t help but laugh mirthlessly as one by one, each favourite thing returned to her.

She lost them all in a blink of an eye.

Leyla began to chuckle, holding a hand up against her mouth to prevent herself from being too loud! As
soon as her laughter began to die down, it was only then Leyla noticed a second pair of shadows
following hers on the ground.

Leyla stared at it for a moment, before looking up ahead of her. Judging by his silhouette, it was an
officer, slowly trailing behind her.

And then he stopped, eventually disappearing from behind her. Once again, Leyla found herself alone.

Leyla stopped as well and looked behind her, seeing not a trace of the officer. She tilted her head in
wonder.

Did she miss the announcement of a curfew?

Something other than numbness entered Leyla’s body once more. She couldn’t feel anything else but
emptiness since her father’s death.

It was fear, but she couldn’t fathom why. And then she spotted him, just off a distance.

It was the officer who’d been following her. She couldn’t see his face clearly, but she could feel his eyes
on her. He stood eerily still and made Leyla uncomfortable despite the distance between them.

She could feel her heart beating loudly against her chest.

This feeling…

This trepidation…

It was so…

Familiar.

‘No,’ Leyla thought, feeling her breath leave her the more she watched the unknown officer in return.
‘It’s impossible…’

She was only paranoid. Of course, it was a ridiculous paranoia she conjured up after being alone for so
long!

The longer she stared, the longer her memories began to warp around his form and unclear face…

Her past melded along with her present. Falsely making him familiar to her. But Leyla refused to
entertain more of this line of thought.
It was simply ridiculous of her to even think about it again!

She hastily turned around, unwilling to entertain more of her bad thoughts. She didn’t want to know
who that officer was. She needed to leave quickly, and be done with what she needed to do.

As soon as she began walking once more…

The officer moved with her as well.

Chapter 127

Like A Child or A Devil

He couldn’t find it in himself to hurry up. In fact, he was perfectly content to keep watching over her
from afar.

As soon as the officer gave him her address, he couldn’t help the fast beating in his heart.

At last! He finally has her again!

He felt like he was about to burst into complete happiness. But eventually, he needed to calm down. He
had a reputation to uphold, also, it was imperative he keeps a calm mind.

And so without further adieu, he went to the address, and as soon as he saw her, he immediately
recognized her.

She was as beautiful as he remembered. There was no other woman that could ever hold a beauty like
hers after all.

She was certainly his Leyla.

And so he followed, before realizing he shouldn’t spook her too soon. He didn’t want her being alerted
to his presence too early. He wanted to savour more of her, even if it meant he’d just look at her from
afar…

For now.

But then she stopped and turned around to look at him.

Oh, how wonderful. Had she somehow sensed their connection with one another? Surely this was a sign
she was meant for him, wasn’t it?

He was just about to call out for her too, to close the distance between them when she abruptly turned
away and began to walk away…

Away from him again.

But it was fine, he’ll let this slight insult to him go for a while. She looked quite adorable, scurrying away
from him like that. He also needed to prepare a few things too before he’d even begin keeping her
safe…

Before he’d wrap his hands around her neck and snap it until it broke.

And so he followed her slowly, quite content in giving her a headstart away from him.

Matthias was in no hurry after all.

It had just been last spring when Matthias was doping himself up with a myriad of sleeping pills despite
his good doctor’s advice. He could almost feel himself floating with each step toward her.

What an ecstatic feeling it was!

He watched as she eventually reached the end of an alley, before pausing once more. Matthias paused
as well and watched as her body trembled around her, and saw a beautiful stretch of white sands and an
emerald sea behind her.

Such a beautiful sight it was.

Leyla, on the other hand, found herself at a loss on what to do. Her feet were frozen in place, and she
began to feel faint, but she didn’t want to stop!

She wouldn’t dare look back either!

It was clear to her, by now, she was indeed being followed, despite how calm the officer was in trailing
after her.

She had been such an idiot, turning into an alleyway and expecting to find a few people huddling in it,
that she could seek shelter with them from the unknown officer shadowing her.
The only thing she could find was a beach, populated by nothing other than the seagulls flying overhead!

Everything was dead empty! Just like the streets.

Why was he even following her? Was he after her because she was disobeying a decree or something!?

If so, he wouldn’t have just stood there when she stopped and had approached her already to give her a
reminder or even arrested her for her disobedience.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he kept following her.

And it confused her to no end, making her feel all the more frightened.

Why? Why was he following her?

She wanted to cry in frustration! The trepidation in her made her feel so clammy all over!

He wasn’t even running after her. He was just walking. And it unnerved her to no end at all. Why was he
just walking if he was following her?

There was no way, and an army man like him didn’t have the speed and strength to catch up to her and
capture her already. She couldn’t even run properly! Her foot was still healing from the last air raid they
had!

Could it be-?

‘No!’ She scolded herself again.

It wasn’t that! She refused to believe it!

But the unsettling feeling was still there.

This wasn’t even the first time her mind had played tricks on her! Ever since they escaped from Arvis,
reality and illusion mixed and matched around her from time to time. There was no doubt in her that
the latest events in her life made it worse for her!

This was just like that. She was only imagining things again!

But why did it feel so real? Why did it feel like something really was following her!?

Surely it was just a mistake, wasn’t it?

Everyone’s gut feeling usually makes mistakes. This was just like that.

She chanced a glance behind her, and immediately caught sight of a tall, dark-haired man…
‘Duke!’ her mind screamed, and her heart dropped before she turned back to the beach, and began to
walk further away from the illusion once more, ignoring the way her body shook at the mere thought of
him.

She eventually reached the wet sand, hearing the soft waves crashing into the shore. The sand crunched
beneath her shoes, and she found herself with nowhere to hide.

Unless she’d rather brave the open sea than look behind her.

She watched as the waves bubbled up in the sand, retreating back and forth beneath her. It calmed her
down somewhat, watching this rhythmic motion. She might not be able to run anymore, but perhaps
she can wake up from this realistic dream.

It was time for her to open her eyes once more.

She closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply, trying to bask in the sea breeze and warm sunlight around
her. She quickly made a short prayer, before turning slowly around, to face her fears, and see it to be
nothing but an illusion.

She had been prepared to see nothing. Even prepared to see a complete stranger, ready to arrest her.
But now that he stopped close enough to be seen clearly…

It was undeniable now.

It wasn’t a dream, not even an illusion as she watched his familiar face look brightly onto her as the
autumn sun framed his form majestically in front of her.

Matthias von Herhardt.

It was really him.

And all of a sudden, her reality turned into a nightmare.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias was barely listening to the sounds of waves crashing behind her, his mind too preoccupied by
the lovely woman in front of him.

Ever since she turned around, neither of them felt the need to break the stillness between them. He was
quite content to look at her and drink in her presence in front of him after so long!
He watched as the wind whipped around them haphazardly, spraying a few grains of sand over their
clothes every now and then. It was a cool sea breeze, framing their bodies, further making Leyla look so
enticing to him.

The hem of Matthias’ trench coat fluttered towards Leyla, making a physical connection between them.

He loved it.

Seeing her in the flesh. She was still as beautiful as ever, but he never doubted her to remain so. Her
golden locks still whipped around her beautiful face ever so beautifully, like the soft fluttering of wings
of a canary!

Her green eyes, still glistening so brightly in the daylight.

His eyes began skimming down her body intensely, before stopping at the only change he could see on
her.

Her body, which used to be shapely and slender, was no longer just that. She was significantly thinner
than before, her bones protruding sharply when he last saw her…

And in place of her slender stomach…

Was now bulging and round.

His eyes narrowed at the sight of it. Eyes solely trailed on her stomach, the wind around them whipped
faster than before.

Leyla shivered under his gaze, arms unconsciously coming up to hug herself, and in a poor attempt to
hide her stomach from his view.

She looked beautiful with her stomach all swollen like that.

And then Matthias grinned at her, his eyes twinkling in glee before he barked out a laugh at seeing her
squirm in front of him.

There was no one else she could run! He truly has her now.

Yes, his mind was so clear right now. It was almost like he’d been waiting to wake up to see and savour
this moment.

He’d gone willingly into a place of madness, into war and participated freely and eagerly to reach this
moment! Time with her never existed. Everything was so still and serene when it was just the two of
them.

And now he was out of the waters he’d long been subdued in.

Ever since he had almost drowned in the Schulter River, everything had been so…
Muddled.

But now, everything has returned to its vibrant hues! He could almost describe the sun above them as
sparkling, but not more than Leyla was. Even the foreign sights before him were utter masterpieces.

And he could finally hear the birds singing around them once more.

Leyla. Matthias smiled so widely.

Finally, his little bird had been returned to him.

And so he straightened up, mind clear as day at what he needed to do. Leyla’s eyes shook and watered
as she watched his stance change from a relaxed pose, to an elegant posture with purpose.

But his eyes held a dark glint in them that did not match the serenity he was trying to show her.

She felt her mouth go dry with every step he took toward her, her breathing falling short with every
huff. Her body shook at the prospect of being in his arms once more!

Her stomach was churning uncomfortably. What was he planning to do to her?!

Instinctively, her arms wrapped around her swollen belly tighter.

He looked as beautiful as before, far from the nightmare he truly was, but she couldn’t help but feel so
overwhelmed by his presence. Especially now he stood in front of her, with nothing preventing them
from being together again.

“Hello Leyla.”

Matthias smiled genuinely at her, a malicious glint ever so present in his eyes as he watched her cower
further in front of him. He couldn’t help but laugh in unbridled happiness once more!

From anyone else, his laughter sounded as innocent and pure as a child’s.

But in Leyla’s ears, they sound a lot more like the devil’s.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Should I have stopped him?” a random soldier murmured to himself, “I heard she was quite pregnant
too.” He fretted worriedly as he kept pacing back and forth in the safety of his barracks.

He couldn’t help but quake in fear at the gravity of what he’d just done!

“You didn’t know what he would do.”

“Yeah, and even if you did, how are you going to stop him? March into the Major’s tent and rescue the
damsel?”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have to do anything!” exclaimed the young soldier, resuming his pacing while
his brothers-in-arms listened to his worries.

“Goodness, what situation have we gotten into.” grumbled another of his brother-in-arms.

“I don’t know, okay?!” blew up the pacing soldier, “I don’t know!”

He felt like sobbing.

He had been just given an order, by Major Herhardt himself. It had been a simple task, and he’d been
desperate to please his commanding officer and eagerly took the assignment with no further questions.

After all, good soldiers follow orders, not question them.

And so he did as he was ordered, and managed to gather information on the woman he was asked to
look for. He even secured her address and gave it without a second thought to his major. All this time,
he thought it had been a distant relative the Major had, someone he wanted to check up on!

But lo and behold, terrible rumours began spreading like wildfire around the camp as soon as the Major
took his leave with the flimsy piece of paper he’d written the address on!

The Major had kidnapped a woman!

Everyone brushed it off at first.

The Major? Creating a scandal amidst a war? Surely not, it was not in his character after all! He might
have been brutal during the execution of their orders, but surely he wouldn’t dare harm a civilian!

He had a respectable reputation after all. And he hardly seemed interested in anything, much less in
women in the short time they’ve spent under his command!

But eyewitnesses begged otherwise. They’d seen him in broad daylight whisking away a pregnant
woman in his arms, before leading her into his establishment!

He’d been seen, arms full of a protesting woman, walking with no care by the square, before entering
the current hotel, which had been turned into a makeshift quarters for all commanding officers.

Several witnesses, both Lovitan civilians, and Bergian soldiers would swear to see the same thing. But
the Major had been unbothered by the wandering eyes towards them, arms still held on tightly onto the
struggling woman he’d wrapped up in his trench coat.

She looked soaking wet beneath the huge coat on her.

At first, they thought it had been a child he’d randomly stumbled upon. She looked rather small in
frame, all covered up. But those closer to witnessing him carry off the person could swear it was a full-
grown woman and a pregnant one at that!

What could he even want with a pregnant woman?

No one knew. They all stood by and watched as both people disappeared into his room, and hadn’t
emerged ever since.

The soldier couldn’t help but be riddled with guilt. The woman had been struggling greatly in the Major’s
arms after all. And he’d been the one instrumental to let it happen!

He couldn’t turn a blind eye to it. He needed to rectify his misdeed and confront the Major into releasing
her!

This wasn’t right.

He’d tried to intercept him as he’d encountered the Major as he’d arrived, but the cold glare he got
made him cower in fear.

“Get out of my way.” That had been his order, and like a coward, he did as he was told. And the Major
wasted no time brushing past him, the protests still loud against the soldier’s ears as he squeezed his
eyes shut in shame.

The door to the Major’s room was slammed shut, and locked from outsiders. It was the last thing he
knew before he found himself fretting back to his barracks in guilt and worry.

He had an inkling feeling about what could happen behind closed doors, especially in a war. But he
didn’t want to think his commanding officer could ever do such a thing!

He was the epitome of honour and grace. There’s no way he would do it.

“Should I get someone with a higher rank than him?” he asked no one in particular and someone
scoffed.

“Oh yeah, and what do you think they’ll do?” they shot back at him, “It’s Herhardt, you fool.”

“Yeah, ranks among the army mean nothing when you’re an aristocrat.” Agreed another.

A blanket of despair settled over them as the conversation grew silent in their deep thoughts.

“Argh!” shouted out in frustration by the soldier as he struggled to not make more of a commotion, “I
don’t understand it! He never showed any interest in any girls we’ve encountered before! Why go
overboard now!?”

Curious about what all the fuss was about, Medical Officer Etman entered the barracks. Everyone
stopped and turned at the newcomer.
Kyle had been rather busy going here and about the entire camp, doing his duty and assisting wherever
he was called to. As such, he was once again late to the news about the current scandal in the camp.

“What is it? Are you hurt?” Kyle immediately inquired, and everyone eyed him nervously, before
another soldier immediately piped up.

“Hey, don’t you know Major Herhardt well?” they immediately asked, and Kyle couldn’t help but feel his
entire mood sour at the mention of the Duke.

To be honest, he’d been doing well lately in ignoring the fact he’s in the same area as the Duke. It helped
when he’d been quick to volunteer to assist in places he knew would take him as far away as possible
from the Duke.

“I don’t know if I know him as well as I should.” Kyle remarked dryly, “What is this all about?” He asked
anyway, his curiosity getting the better of him. “What is it?”

He asked again, noting the nervous glances that were being exchanged.

“Did something go wrong?”

“Well,” started the soldier right across from him, “We were wondering if he’d always been like that.”

“What?” Kyle frowned in confusion, “Like what?”

“You know, someone who likes kidnapping pregnant women and dragging them kicking and screaming
into their room, that sort of thing?” piped up another in a nonchalant manner.

Kyle felt his stomach drop at the sudden question.

“What?” he couldn’t help but ask in disbelief. “What nonsense are you talking about!?” He asked, louder
than before, looking around the soldiers in urgent inquiry.

One of the soldiers scratched their head awkwardly .

“I’m guessing this is unusual for him then, seeing as you’re so surprised by the news.”

“What?” Kyle asked again, looking around, so lost in what happened in his absence.

This time it was the guilty soldier who piped up.

“Oh it really is all my fault!” He fretted, “If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have done it! Oh this
is absolutely terrible!”

“What are you on about?!” Kyle frowned at him, “What did you do?”

The soldier fidgeted with his fingers, before sighing out.

“It happened as soon as we headed into Sienna,” he began…

The Major had randomly pulled him aside, and gave him a woman’s name, alongside with a picture of
her to help aid his search. He was tasked to get her whereabouts, and like a people pleaser he was, he
went and did so eagerly!

It didn’t even register to him how odd the whole order was!

Something unsettling was churning in Kyle’s gut the more he listened to his story.

“The woman,” he interrupted him mid-tirade, “Do you remember her name?”

“What?”

“The woman the Major asked you to find!” Kyle snapped, and grabbed him by the shoulders, “Do you
remember her name!?”

“Y-yes of course!” He stammered, “I-I, uh, it was- I think it was Rey, no, uh- May, uh-”

“Leyla?” Kyle asked him, “Was it Leyla Lewellin?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to him wide at the new name they just discovered. The soldier’s eyes widened in
recognization, and immediately nodded frantically in confirmation!

“Yes! Yes, that’s the name-!” He yelped all of a sudden when Kyle’s grip on his shoulders tightened up,
“Uh… do you, by any chance… know her?” He nervously asked the medic.

Kyle’s head bowed low as his breathing turned slowly ragged. His fingers clenched open and close,
flexing occasionally on the soldier’s shoulders.

‘That damn bastard!’ Kyle seethed in his thoughts, ‘I should have known this was why he’d been so
eager to be assigned in Sienna!’

All this time, Matthias had been working towards a singular goal. All this time, he used the war as a
means to get what he wanted.

He can’t believe Matthias found Leyla. All the more, he can’t believe Leyla had been hiding in Sienna!

“Etman, Etman are you still with us?” concerned voices floated into his ears as Kyle finally looked up at
the soldiers huddled around him, “We lost you for a moment there.”

“You absolute piece of shit!” Kyle seethed out loud with gritted teeth, and the soldiers unexpectedly
cowered away from the medic.

For some reason, they could tell it wasn’t directed to any of them.

All of a sudden Kyle jumped from his seat and stormed out of the barracks.

With adrenaline and rage pumping in his veins, Kyle wasted no time running towards the Major’s room.
Chapter 128

Time of Heaven And Hell

Silence befell the occupants in the room as soon as the door had been locked shut. Leyla cowered in
both fear and silence, curling in on herself in a poor attempt to hide from Matthias’ view, yet he kept
looking at her in a funny way.

Shivers wracked through her body, her arms tightening up all the more around her swollen belly.

“W-why are you here?” She asked him softly in a shaky voice.

This wasn’t another of her hallucinations after all. This was the truth. This was real.

Matthias had found her.

This was worse than a nightmare. Only he could ever make that possible. No one else scared her more,
nothing else frightened her to the core as deeply as one Matthias von Herhardt.

Her monster had finally caught up to her. And he had come for her.

“Why am I here?” Matthias piped up, giving her a wide grin, “Why? I’m here to kill you, of course.”
Matthias smoothly told her, his domineering form blocking the only exit in the room ominously.

Chilling air settled around Leyla upon hearing those words; her body shook worse as they began to
weigh heavily on her shoulders as she looked up and saw his happy face looking so serenely at her.

She felt frozen in her spot.

“I told you this before Leyla,” He gently tutted toward her, stalking slowly closer to her huddled form, “I
don’t do businesses that would bring me more loss than profit.” He hummed chidingly towards her, with
a smirk firmly on his lips.

“You running away proved more troublesome that calculated Leyla,” he sighed, looking extremely
disappointed in her, “By killing you, I would effectively cut out any more losses I might incur.”

His eyes scanned her frightened expression carefully, before he chuckled softly a few seconds later.

She looked simply adorable, all meek and frightened of him.

He forgot how simply exhilarating it was to see her so weak in front of him.
Leyla watched as his eyes glinted brightly against the dark, his blue eyes appearing more dangerous than
before. Leyla found her words caught in her throat as she listened to him chuckling.

The sounds of his laughter were like velvet to her ear, but ice in her heart.

“Ah Leyla, of course when I planned that, I didn’t expect…” his eyes trailed down her face, and towards
the poorly hidden belly from his view, “Such a wonderful surprise from you.” He cooed affectionately
towards her. “To be honest it still quite baffles me-”

He moved to approach her, when Leyla jumped up and crossed over the bed to place more distance
between them!

“Get away from me!” She screeched, “Don’t you dare touch me!”

‘I’m not her anymore!’ Leyla screams at him in her mind.

‘I’m not your mistress anymore!’

If possible, she wrapped her arms more protectively over her stomach.

He watched thin, wiry arms encircle around her belly, absentmindedly thinking how easy it would be
just to break them apart. If he were to do that, would he see more of those beautiful tears flow out of
her green eyes?

Ah, even now, her eyes glistened so beautifully like that last time he saw them before she escaped from
him.

“Hush Leyla,” Matthias smiled at her, “Don’t shout so loudly now, you’ll disturb the others.” He
continued to coo at her, swiftly crossing the distance between them in a few, long strides.

Leyla was backed up against the wall, and in no time he was framing an arm beside her to cut off her
escape, while another cupped her cheek insistently.

Once more, she slapped it away, frustration building up in her instead of the usual fear.

“It’s not yours!” She hissed at him, pushing against his broad chest to keep him away from her. Matthias
laughed at her poorly formed lie.

“Is it really?” He asked her lightheartedly, and kept leaning into her, effectively ignoring her feeble
attempts to distance herself.

“Yes!” She exclaimed in panic, “I found a husband, and we’ve married shortly after finding each other
here!” She proclaimed and Matthias tilted his head at her in intense regard.

She met his gaze with an equal fiery look, and his lips curled up into an impressed smirk.

She just got all the more amusing. He can’t wait to see how far he can push her now.
“Okay,” Matthias hummed, finally pulling away from her, much to Leyla’s confusion.

She watched as he turned around to turn on the lamp on the bedside table right next to the sofa in the
room. It bathed the room in a soft orange glow, revealing the curtains to still be drawn, and left the
room still dimly lit up.

He turned toward her once more, and Leyla wanted to shrink further in on herself, as he gently steered
her towards the sofa. Leyla sunk further into the backrest, wishing for this nightmare to end.

But there was nowhere else to run.

Matthias breathed in deeply, meditating shortly as he closed his eyes, before looking down on his Leyla.

Her eyes were red from the kicking and screaming, the tears long dried up on her cheeks. Her body was
still trembling, whether from the wetness or fear of him, it didn’t matter.

This was a woman who did a poor job in a children’s play.

And yet it was with those same eyes, she managed to deceive him.

He smiled encouragingly at her, his hands hidden behind his back.

“Tell me Leyla, what’s his name?” He asked her gently, “This… husband of yours.”

Leyla’s eyes shifted nervously towards him and then around. A pinkish tongue darted out of her lips
nervously as she wetted them, before pursuing them together in a thin line, unwilling to give him more
of a response.

Matthias knelt down in front of her, placing himself firmly between her legs as he scooted closer. Leyla
flinched at his sudden proximity but gentle, calloused palms gripped her chin firmly, bringing her closer
to him.

“I want you to think long… and hard about your answer,” Matthias whispered to her, before a click was
heard in the silence. She watched as Matthias swept his other hand through his hair, and let out an
involuntary whimper…

Matthias smirked at her, before displaying his pistol on the bedside table beside them.

“Whoever he is, I will kill them too.” He hummed with a pleasant smile.

Leyla tried avoiding his eyes, but he kept her firmly facing him, before his touch turned soft once more,
caressing her face gently.

“It’s not your child!” she yelled at him, “It’s mine alone! Mine!” She exclaimed loudly, “There is no
father! It’s entirely mine!”

“Oh?” Matthias chuckled amusedly at her declarations.

“It’s mine! There is no father! Mine alone!”

The wider Matthias’ grin grew, the loudly Leyla protested it to be hers alone, and no father was ever
involved in its creation.

“What an odd woman you truly are,” Matthias praised as soon as she stopped her proclamations,
“Leyla, are you saying you’re a holy maiden? Pregnant alone by a god’s will?” He smiled amusedly
towards her.

Leyla watched him warily, the curiosity in her wondering what was going through his mind.

“I suppose it could be considered that as well,” he murmured softly before cupping her cheeks tenderly,
his grin widening as she flinched under his touch, “What a great honor it is, to be your god.”

And Matthias’ shoulder shook as he began to laugh softly in great happiness.

Despite how soft and caring he was towards her right now, his eyes still held a cold, malicious glint in
them as he continued to keep his eyes on Leyla.

Her attempts were futile. Nothing could hide from him the truth of what really was. Despite Leyla’s
persistent protests, he knew she was his. They both were.

Including his child in her belly.

He resumed caressing Leyla’s face before his hands stilled around her face. He sighed eyes, trailed on
her face.

Leyla met his gaze, body trembling as the pressure of his hold on her gradually grew in pressure. She let
out a gasp once she realized his hold on her was gradually becoming tighter.

“Leyla,” he sighed out, and her hand shot up to grip him on his wrists. Trembling fingers feebly
prevented his hold on crushing her.

Ignoring her, Matthias held her jaw in one hand, while the other hand busied itself caressing every curve
and slope on Leyla’s face. The cute swoop of her button nose, the plump trembling lips, ample cheeks all
flushed in front of him…

The familiar motions he had caressing her face gave Leyla some somersaults in her gut, a warm
sensation pooling in the pit of her stomach with every caress. Her trembling eyes eventually relaxed, as
she turned enraptured in his gaze.

Just as Matthias thought progress had been made between them, a sudden commotion came right
outside his bedroom, and he narrowed his gaze in the direction of his locked door.

“LEYLA! LEYLA, ARE YOU IN THERE!?”

A familiar voice filtered through the door. Despite it being muffled, Leyla at once recognized the voice,
her body filling with a warmth she wanted nothing more than to sink into.

There was banging against Matthias’ rooms, and more other voices, but Leyla latched onto that one
voice…

“Kyle…” she murmured softly, wide eyes now trailed on the door. “Kyle, is it really-?”

Why was he here? Had he been conscripted in the war too!? Was he alright? Was he injured? Did he
partake in the war, take up arms and use it against the Lovitan army?

“Stop.” Matthias snapped, something ugly in him rearing up at her loss of attention on him.

His grip on her jaw tightened, as he forcibly turned her eyes back on him.

Always, always it was Kyle.

KYLE, KYLE, KYLE….

It grated on Matthias’ nerves how he had to try so hard to get her to see him, and yet one move from
such a lowly person, someone far beneath his status and influence could garner hers so easily!

When will he be worthy enough in her eyes to pay attention to instead?

He wasn’t just anyone vying for her attention. He was someone who could be deemed as the emperor’s
equal, thanks to the generation of Herhardts before him. And yet in front of her, nothing was worth it.

In every way, she kept humiliating him, refusing to give him the time he deserved from her.

Then and now, she always was like this.

“Leyla, oh my Leyla,” he sighed wistfully pressing their foreheads together, “Don’t do that, again. Do
that again, and I won’t promise to hold back anymore.” He pulled away and touched her lips with his
hands…

“If you dare utter his name again,” he eyed her carefully, eyes turning dark as his gaze dropped to her
lips, “If even a whisper of his name is out your lips, and I might just put a bullet through his head this
time.”

Leyla gasped, her grip on his wrists tightening up as she frantically began to shake her head in protest.

“So for his sake,” Matthias groaned, pressing their foreheads together once more, a hand cupping the
back of her head to keep them connected as he leaned against her hard, “Don’t ever say his name in my
presence again.”

Leyla paled in front of him, Matthias’ coldly holding her trembling gaze. But he was dead serious.

He wasn’t one to make idle threats after all. And Leyla knew that best of all.
Her body trembles grew worse, but eventually she nodded shakily at him, wordlessly accepting his
condition. Matthias hummed contentedly at her, nuzzling her affectionately before pulling away.

Gentle hands carded through her tangled locks, much like he was praising an obedient kid. Her breath
hitched upon the motion.

She hated how such a touch from a cruel man gave her a small sense of comfort.

And then he stopped patting her on the hand, and swiftly turned on his heels, leaving Leyla to sink back
down on the sofa, curling her legs up to her chest as best as she could. She watched Matthias approach
the commotion by the door and turned her head away.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Private Etman, cease this at once!” barked a nearby commanding officer, as a couple of other soldiers
tried to pull the young medic away from the Major’s door.

But Kyle could care less how he was violating every chain of command in the army. His vision tunnelled
only into the locked door in front of him, demanding loudly and wildly for an audience with its
occupants!

“LEYLA!” he screamed through the door, head angling against it to listen into what was happening in the
room, “YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER!?” Kyle screamed, fists pounding against
the sturdy door.

“PRIVATE!”

Hands scrambled to pull him away, but Kyle yanked himself back, firmly plastered against the door!

“LET GO OF ME! LEYLA!”

A sudden click echoed in front of them, and everyone, including Kyle, stilled. The door was now
unlocked.

They watched with bated breaths as the knob twisted open, to reveal Major Herhardt.

Cold eyes scanned the entourage that had formed in front of his room, before Matthias’ eyes landed on
a seething Kyle Etman to the very front of everyone.

Wordlessly, Matthias stepped outside, and closed the door back shut behind him. He watched as Kyle’s
body began to tremble, but unlike his Leyla, whose body trembled with fear of him, this was pure,
unbridled anger.
Suddenly, Kyle lunged at him, hands fisting on his color, as the others scrambled to pull him away from
the Major.

Matthias was smirking subtly, at him, completely hidden from everyone else in the hallway.

“Where is she, you bastard!? Did you kidnap her, huh!?” Kyle accused him openly.

“Private Etman, this is entirely unbefitting of someone of your stature! Control yourself this instant!”

“No!” Kyle looked up around Matthias, “LEYLA! LEYLA, I’M HERE!”

“You heard your commander, Etman,” Matthias calmly replied to him, “It’s best you return to your
barracks.”

“You asshole!” Kyle continued to seethe at him, “You knew didn’t you? All this time, you knew she was
here, and that’s why you wanted to be in charge of this whole thing, didn’t you!?”

Matthias only stared him down, unbothered completely by anything he was saying.

“All this time, pretending you were sick, and then using your power and position to get to her, and now
this!” Kyle exclaimed, pointing towards the closed room behind him, “You just go back and treat her like
another one of your objects. How dare you do that? Even now, you’re still the same monster as you
were.”

The soldiers around them watched with apprehension the exchange between the two men. It was clear
to them that Etman felt so strongly about this, but the Major was a picture perfect calm, which also
made them believe things weren’t as bad as it was being portrayed…

A click, and then a pistol was trailed against Kyle’s forehead.

“MAJOR!” barked a random soldier in the room, but Kyle held his ground, even as he shook in place at
the obvious threat to his life. Soldiers grabbed him in both arms, trying to get him to back off, but Kyle
struggled to stay in place.

“You’re very loud, and unruly Private Etman,” Matthias sighed out, before holding an index finger
against his lips, “Please do not make any more noise, less you frighten the child.” He told him, taking
back everyone in the hallway.

A frown made its way to Kyle’s expression in confusion. Matthias watched it, holding the other’s gaze
long enough to send him a smug smirk.

“You’ll frighten my child.” He told the young doctor-to-be.

Matthias watched as the fight in Kyle’s eyes was once more doused in front of him as the realization
soon sank into him. Matthias could feel a sense of victory seeing such devastating expression on him a
second time.
It was a look of someone who had lost hope. Much like the look he remembered seeing these past few
months of both enemies and comrades alike the longer the war took place. But Matthias’ eyes held a
spark of triumph, and glee…

Like he only just began to live now.

A hush silence gathered around them as everyone else was taken aback.

With his pistol still trained on Kyle’s forehead, Matthias finally stepped back, watching the fire and life
slip out of Kyle’s eyes, who turned dead silent as soon as the revelation had come.

New footfalls came, and Matthias looked to the side and saw some military police finally come. The
soldiers stepped to the sides to make way as they watched Private Etman sink to the ground. The police
wasted no time in subduing the Private.

They slapped him with charges of insubordination and disrespect of the chain of command. They cuffed
him, and dragged him up to his feet and away from everyone gathered in the hallway.

One of them met Matthias’ eyes and nodded respectfully at him before they left dragging Kyle with
them.

Everyone in attendance grew still and silent, eyes trailed warily on the Major who was still a picture-
perfect calm, and composed soldier. Once both the military police and Kyle were gone from sight,
Matthias wasted no time turning on his heels and entering his room.

A shut, and a click…

The door was locked from outsiders once more.

As soon as he entered the room, Leyla stumbled a couple steps back as their eyes met. In her mind she
was screaming to demand for Kyle’s well-being, but she bit her lips to keep herself from saying his name.

Her body shook, and eyes watered as she held the Duke’s gaze, unable to voice out her utmost
concerns.

Satisfied with being together, and with her keeping her word, Matthias gently approached her, hushing
her softly, before pulling her into a warm hug.

She staggered away from him, but Matthias ignored it, simply gathering her up quickly in his arms, and
holding her firmly against his chest. He cradled her against his chest, swaying their bodies back and forth
in gentle rocking motions.

Having her in his arms really made him feel complete. Almost like the final puzzle piece falling into place.

And he loved it.

All tuckered out of a fight, and finally giving into his wishes, Matthias gently steered her towards his bed,
laying her on the center, before kneeling at her feet.

In no time, practiced hands slipped her wet socks and shoes off her tired feet. His calloused hands
cradled her feet, lightly assessing the damage it accrued over their time apart with a slight hum, before
gently placing them on the bed.

She’d been ready to drown in the sea just to escape him. Luckily Matthias could predict her every
movement and managed to grab her just in the nick of time before she grew wetter than she already
was.

Such a beautiful woman. It was truly a shame she hated him so much.

Both happiness and pain surged in him at the sight of her, with a dash of both disillusionment and joy
once he held her in his arms again.

She was still stubbornly quiet, teeth digging into her lips. Matthias reached out, and lightly brushed a
thumb on her plump lips. She shouldn’t wound such a kissable part of her face. He smiled down on her,
watching as her eyes turned glassy.

Hands then trailed down to cup the beautiful stomach carrying their child. And Leyla gasped, and
cringed, turning away from him.

Ah, how he really loved her.

He loved her so much, he was prepared to kill her to never lose her again.

Even now, all thin and swollen from their child, she still looked as dazzlingly beautiful as a queen.

What a time for heaven and hell to meet on the same plane indeed.
Chapter 129

Chain

“Come now, stop being stubborn,” Matthias tutted softly once he saw the food prepared for her remain
untouched.

Leyla remained unmoving on her spot, eyes refusing to look at him.

“What a selfish woman you truly are, Leyla. Thinking of no one but yourself.” Matthias continued,
sighing out in disappointment, before he rose from his seat to approach Leyla.

It had been clear in a short time to Leyla that no amount of resistance from her would ever convince him
that having her with him was more of a loss than releasing her. As such, she was resolved to become as
lifeless and as boring as a doll towards him instead.

And so she refused to eat, drink, and even talk at all. She moved when he moved her, and stared off into
space even as he forced her to look at him.

She would only exist and sleep in his presence.

“Think about our child.” He hummed beside her.

“My child…” Leyla’s raspy voice softly protested. “You’re not the baby’s father… you’ll never be a
father.”

It was soft, and raspy, the first time she spoke again since she’d been threatened not to utter Kyle’s
name again. It was also a testament to how dry her throat had become when he was not forcing drinks
and food down her throat.

It’s only been half a day since they met again, but already it felt like the nightmare was endless with him
around.

Despite the continued rejection of his paternity to their child, Matthias ignored her as he busied himself
to forking up some food to feed her. Satisfied, he smiled at her as he firmly held up the fork, filled with
food, against her lips.

“I’m willing to take full responsibility for you and our child, Leyla.” He hummed softly, “I’m sure you
know very well how well I can provide for both of you.”

“I don’t care!” Leyla hissed at him, “It’s my child. It won’t have anything to do with you. So I don’t need
your responsibility.” She huffed out, turning her chin away from the food he was holding up for her.
“If you don’t want my responsibility, then how about my will?” Matthias grinned at her when she turned
back to glare at him, “After all, aren’t I your god? Isn’t my will supposed to be done?”

He gently placed the fork down her plate, as his hands dropped to take hers in his.

“After all, it was also my will that created this child.” He smiled lovingly at her. He then led her hand
towards the plate, curling her fingers on the fork, guiding it as it dug through the delicate meat on her
plate.

Satisfied she was partially cooperative once more, the grip on the fork tightening up, Matthias sent her
another pleased smile before going back to his own seat to finish his meal.

Leyla stared at him as he leisurely dined across from her. In her indignation, her grip on the fork
tightened up, and she threw it down on the floor as she shot up to her feet, dragging some food along
with it as it spilled across the floor.

It fell onto the floor with a dull thud. Her eyes burned holes into him with rage. Matthias sighed in
disappointment once more, raising his head to meet her gaze before frowning at the spilled food on the
floor.

“If you’re going to kill me, then do it!” Leyla demanded, “Don’t sit there and feed me like a pig for
slaughter! Just kill me already!”

She heaved as she demanded him to do as he promised, and Matthias let out a despondent sigh, before
standing up once more and bent to pick up the fork she threw away. He placed it back on the table, eyes
still holding her gaze.

“Oh believe me, I plan to do just that.” He said soothingly towards her, “After all, I’ve turned quite
desperate lately.” He mused with a light smile that didn’t really reach his eyes.

“I did plan to do it as soon as I found you but, unexpected surprises came.” Matthias smiled as his gaze
dropped to her stomach, “If you were still on your own, you would be dead by now, Leyla. But alas, our
child doesn’t deserve to die with you. So you’ll have to live on a little longer, wouldn’t you agree?”

Swiftly, he turned around to leave the room, grabbing the fork in tow. Leyla heard the familiar sound of
a lock clicking into place, and knew she’d be unable to leave the room.

She was trapped like a mouse in a puzzle box. She immediately walked away from the table, standing
firmly in front of the window and looking outside at the army slowly turning Sienna into part of Berg.

Shortly after he left, he came back, in his hands now a new and clean fork. A shiver went down her spine
upon his entrance, ears straining to hear his every movement.

In the reflection of the mirror, she could see him grabbing a steak knife on the table.

“Without you looking at me, I suddenly feel so confident.” Matthias mused to her, and she couldn’t help
but shake with rage.
“Get out! Get away from me! Let me out already!” She demanded incessantly, but Matthias let her rage
on, before responding in a calm manner.

“Oh Leyla, I thought you were smarter than this.” He hummed, the fork now placed on the table, right
next to her still full plate. He now toyed with the steak knife in his hand.

Leyla eyed him warily. He gestured to the bedside table.

“There’s a gun right there, all this time.” He hummed, before clicking his tongue in disappointment at
her having missed it.

He eyed her, and the window behind her.

“Do you really plan to go like that?”

“What choice do I have? I don’t plan to go back with you! Never!” She screeched at him, stepping away
from the window this time, and putting more distance between them…

“I don’t want to be your mistress! I’ll never return with you!”

Matthias suddenly chuckled, shaking his head, before sighing out. He looked at Leyla for a moment.

“Are you so certain that’s really what I want?” He asked her with a smile. Leyla stilled in place, her brows
frowning as she wondered what he was getting at. “Do you really think that I’m the same man as I was?
So easily tricked by a mere mistress?”

Leyla’s thoughts drew to blank at his words.

This was different. This man was different.

This wasn’t the Matthias von Herhardt she’d grown to know and observe. This was so different from
how she once knew him, and it made her so confused! His eyes landed on her stomach once more.

“Leyla, don’t you know you’re killing the baby?” He hummed thoughtfully, as she clenched her fists on
her side. He then chuckled lowly at her, before his eyes turned cold. His fingers balanced the knife
between them.

“What do you want from me?” Leyla hissed at him in a whisper, eyes trailed on the ground. She moved
again, her back to the window once more, pressing up against it.

Matthias shrugged at her, effectively dropping the knife with a dull thud onto the floor.

“Eat first, then we’ll discuss what I intend to do to you afterwards.” He commanded her with a smile,
holding out a hand as he gestured for her to take her seat back on the table like the gentleman he
portrayed himself to be.

“After all, I need to feed my child, don’t you?” He asked her with a tilt, and Leyla glared at him with a
thinly veiled disgust.
“It’s not your child.” Leyla declared, “No matter how many times you say it, I’ll keep denying it.”

“Leyla,” he sighed out, “I fully understand, and intend to do as I promised to kill you. But it’s quite
difficult to do so while my child is still inside you. Rest assured, as soon as it’s out of you, your wishes
will be granted.” He smiled at her serenely.

A clink, and he looked down to see the knife on the floor.

He clicked his tongue in slight distaste, lightly kicking the fallen knife away from him, before taking a
second knife on the table, and began to cut out her steak for her, himself.

“As such, these are difficult times we have ahead, so eat up.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but it upsets my stomach to eat food with the likes of you around me.” Leyla
huffed out, turning her cheek away from him as he cut up her food for her. The glistening in the corner
of her eyes made Matthias bark out a laugh.

He wondered what else he could say.

So indignant, and stubborn, she resembled a spoiled little puppy who had yet to encounter the
harshness of the world around it. Ah, but Matthias did not feel too bad about it. He forgot how
refreshing it was to witness someone act so blatantly disrespectful of him.

It’s one of the things that made her so interesting to him. Ah, if only she knew it was her stubborn
refusal and rejection of him that only drove him further mad about her, then she would have long
abandoned such treatment of him.

“Then how about you act?” He dropped down, to whisper it right next to her ear, “You’re good at acting,
aren’t you?” He teased her, and Leyla whipped her head around, face flushing in hardly concealed anger
at his words!

Matthias then grabbed his cup of water and took a sip from it, soothing his throat.

“To be honest, I was quite amazed at how effectively you managed to pull it off.” He praised her, “Who
knew you could act so perfectly like that?” He smirked at her and Leyla shot back to her feet!

“Quiet! You don’t know what I’ve felt going through it!” She exclaimed, clasping both hands around her
ears. But Matthias only blinked at her in confusion.

“Why are you so mad? It was a compliment, really.” Matthias pointed out to her, but she only
stubbornly shook her head, arms still covering her ears in protest. “After all, it was of your own brilliant
acts that our baby had been conceived.”

“It’s mine! Not yours! Never yours!”

“In fact, you were acting so well at being in love with me, perhaps we could call it our love child isn’t it?”
“Stop it!”

“Yes, though you were acting, it was the principle of the acts wasn’t it?”

“I said stop!”

“You were acting you love me, so it was a child made out of love, isn’t it?”

“I said stop it! Stop talking about my baby!”

Matthias grew quiet as he watched Leyla curled into herself, hands still pressed firmly against her ears,
eyes squeezed shut in front of him. His long, slender fingers circled the rim of his water glass as he
observed her, waiting for her to eventually calm down again.

Tears fell from her eyes, and Leyla began to sniffle and whimper softly in front of him. Matthias
chuckled, shaking his head slightly, before dropping down beside her on one knee, lowering himself
further to whisper in her ears…

“So act like it again.” He told her.

She acted like she loved him so well because she wanted so badly to run away and escape him, didn’t
she?

“Give me another of your world-class acts, because this time, not only your freedom, but your life
depends on it as well.” He murmured against her, kissing her lightly against the back of her ear.

“I won’t,” she sniffled, “You can’t make me do anything anymore with your cruel tricks.” Leyla seethed
at him, and Matthias quirked up a brow.

“Tricks?” Matthias asked incredulously, before laughing in amusement, “Ah my Leyla, this isn’t any trick,
but a mere toleration of your continued existence.” He sighed out.

“Either way, I won’t drink even a single drop of water until you let me free.” She hissed at him, “No
matter what you do, or what’s at stake, I won’t do a single thing to prolong my life.”

Even now, he still managed to get underneath her skin, to make her feel like bugs were crawling in her
veins. He still had the power to humiliate her completely.

And maybe that will always be true. Because she couldn’t change her past, no matter how hard she
tried.

She would always be the woman he’d violated, coerced to be with for the whole of winter and some
more to be his lover. For her to be so shamelessly and horribly paraded like his trophy…

There was nothing else he had to hold over for her.

“You should get changed.” Matthias suddenly piped up, interrupting Leyla’s morbid thoughts. He then
stood up to his full height. Just as he was about to move away to get her a change of clothes he wanted
for her, he paused and turned back to her.

“Did you know that Kyle is currently imprisoned right now?” He casually asked her, and Leyla’s eyes
snapped up to him, all wide and full of worry. “Yes, because of you, that I had to take drastic measures.”

“What?” Leyla asked dumbly, before she struggled to rise back to her feet, “Prison? You locked him up
in prison? How could you do that!?”

Matthias frowned at her with a slight pout.

“It’s unfair how you’re blaming me for this Leyla,” he reasoned out, “After all, it wasn’t my influence that
led him to be insubordinate, and attacking his superior, isn’t it?”

“Liar! It’s your fault!” Leyla shot back at him, tears falling from her eyes and Matthias smirked at her
before shrugging.

“Either way, he’s still in jail, and ah,” Matthias suddenly piped up, “Probably starving as well.” He told
her with a smile. “So you see, it’s not my fault he got dragged to prison, that’s yours.” He told her.

“But the starvation, that’s my doing.” Matthias smiled at her proudly, before sitting on his chair and
leaning back against the backrest to recline himself as he crossed his legs.

“You see I specifically gave them an order to not give him any food yet.” He elaborated for her, “I’m only
going to order them to give him as much as you eat after all. So if I don’t see you eat, or drink anything
then… neither does Kyle Etman.” He finished off with a smirk in her direction.

Leyla eyed him hatefully, tears flowing freely down her face as she stood before him.

“Are you even human?” She couldn’t help but ask in a soft voice.

First he dangled her father’s freedom in front of her.

Now he dangled Kyle’s health and life above her head once more.

“Always, always, you keep doing this to me…” She whispered to him. Her hands grabbed onto the edge
of the table, knuckles turning white with quiet rage. “First Uncle Bill, and now…” she bit her lips,
preventing herself from uttering Kyle’s name.

Matthias blinked.

Bill Remmer.

Now that’s a name he hadn’t heard for a while now. And the first he’d heard from Leyla since meeting
her again. But Matthias schooled his expression back to indifference, when Leyla slammed her palms
over the table, its contents rattling against the sudden impact.
He watched as her body wracked in front of him, before he saw her hands fist the tablecloth’s seams. It
wasn’t difficult to predict what she would do next.

In no time, Leyla pulled on the tablecloth, dragging every plate, food and drinks on the table, sliding
them off and wasting them all so she won’t be able to eat anything at all! The utensils clattered noisily
on the floor, plates and glasses shattering to pieces as they hit solid ground.

She eyed Matthias hatefully as she did so. He could only hum in thought at it.

“Poor Kyle Etman,” He mused out loud before sighing as though he didn’t want to do it, “I guess he’ll be
starving then.”

He flicked his napkin to lightly dab on the sauce that splattered on his clothes before he stood up and
started to turn away from her. She watched as he went up and out the door, closing it behind him softly.

It was soon followed by a series of sounds of locks and chains clicking into place, before she heard his
footfalls begin to fade…

And then cold silence began to keep her company once more.

She sank back down into her plush seat, body shaking with barely contained rage, frustration and fear.

In the warm light of the afternoon sun, Leyla remained alone in the storm she had made around her.
She wrapped her arms around her, trying to emulate the way her father used to wrap her safely in his
arms and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to block out the mess she was trapped in.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Sometime later, a soldier on-duty passed by the locked door in the hallway. It had once been the
Major’s assigned room, but now, with all the hastily made locks, and chains outside, it might as well be a
makeshift prison.

Word on the street was the Major was keeping a pregnant woman inside it. And no one would enter, or
leave it, aside from him, and him alone. Whenever the Major left, he’d ensure all the locks were secure
and in place.

Ever since he’d arrived in Sienna, he hadn’t been the same aloof Major. Others theorized he’d finally
gone mad with the war.

Trepidation began to fill him, as his shaky hands reached out towards the locks, eyes darting left and
right to make sure no one was coming.

There were orders issued not to enter. But this time, he’d been ordered to do differently.
“It’s only for a little bit,” he whispered reassuringly to himself, “Yeah, just a small peak.”

Softly undoing every lock and wrap of chains, he slightly cracked open the door to the room, quietly
clearing his throat in his nervousness. As soon as he peeked his head in, a woman, who’d been sitting in
front of the windows turned around.

His eyes first trailed onto the mess on the floor, looking absolutely aghast at the state of the room.

“This is…” He muttered softly, before locking eyes with the only person in the room. She looked paler
than she should have been.

He gulped, his grip on the meager meal he’d brought tightening as she narrowed her eyes towards him
critically. He held it out for her, like a peace offering…

“H-here,” he stuttered, “Eat this at least.” He softly offered for her, eyeing her baby bump nervously, “If
not for you then your child at least.” He added softly.

When she still eyed him warily, he decided to continue.

“Don’t worry, Major Herhardt doesn’t know I’m here.” He added, as a small consolation. She might have
been under the impression he was ordered to give it to her.

He was. But he wasn’t about to say it to her lest she might not eat it some more.

He didn’t understand what this all was for, nor why she was even being detained. The rest of their
problems would be solved if the Major would only let this woman go. Either way, there was nothing he
could do but follow orders.

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t know I’m here. You won’t get in trouble for eating it.” He encouraged when
she still refused to move from her spot, “I promise he doesn’t know.”

Meekly, he placed the food onto the table, backing away slowly.

“I’ll be back in half an hour to get the plates. Eat well then,” he whispered to her as he backed out of the
room, grabbing hold of the knob to close the room back up.

His task was done, and the food the Major had ordered to be given to her had been successfully
delivered, if not received. She was still looking at his retreat, before her eyes looked down on the silver
domed covered meal.

He paused, wondering if perhaps he should stay instead to watch her eat? Or should he just come back
later to check up on her instead, like he said?

“Hey…” a soft voice called out to him, and he looked up immediately to see the woman now anxiously
fidgeting in front of him.

He made a small, startled noise, before calming himself down.

“Kyle,” she whispered, “Is he really in prison, right now?”

The soldier blinked, before trying to recall the ones recently tossed to prison.

“Kyle, Kyle… oh, Kyle Etman? The medical private?” he inquired further to clarify, and she gave him a
terse nod.

“Yes, that’s him.” She confirmed softly, “So… is he really in prison?”

He frowned at the question in confusion, before eventually nodding at her.

“Yeah, he did get tossed into jail recently. Something about insubordination and attacking a
commanding officer.”

Silence reigned between them once more, and the soldier squirmed. He didn’t have a good feeling
about interacting more with this woman. It was best he left now before he’d inadvertently insult or
slight anyone powerful.

“Well, eat up. I’ll be back shortly.” He hastily bid goodbye, before she piped up once more.

“Can you give this to Kyle, instead?”

The soldier paused just as he was about to close the door behind him. He opened it back up to look at
her incredulously.

“What?”

“Can you give the meal to him instead?” She asked him again, in her hands now the tray he’d left on her
table.

“I, uh…”

So many things could go wrong if he were to give in to the woman’s wishes. Firstly, he’d directly disobey
orders, undermining his superior’s authority. He could very well follow Kyle Etman to jail for
disobedience as well!

They might even have cells right next to each other!

“I, I don’t know.” He murmured, “I could get in real big trouble if I do that.” He told her apologetically,
and watched as her shoulders sagged.

“I, yes, that’s true.” She huffed out in resignation, “I’m sorry for asking you to do it. Thank you though,
for the meal.” She told him with a slight smile.

He gave her a terse nod, and softly shut the door on her, quickly replacing and securing the locks back
into place.
Before he could close the door though, he watched as she approached the meal, and uncovered it to
reveal a piece of sandwich and a can of soda. He couldn’t help but feel slightly affronted by the poor
meal he had prepared.

It was a far cry from what he knew the noble officers ate, however, it was impossible to have the meal
changed to something more substantial for a woman of her condition instead.

He only hoped she would eat it as soon as he left.

Chapter 130

Tasted Like Heaven

Eventually, Matthias returned once more to the chained room. And once he did, he noted that Leyla was
still by the window, looking more tired than before.

The room around her had also grown dark as the sun had finally begun to set for the day. The fire in the
room remained unlit.

He locked the door behind him, stalking slowly towards her as he flicked on the lights in the room.
Unexpectedly, she was the one to break the silence before.

“I ate.” She muttered towards him in a defeated manner, just in time for him to finally draw the curtains
to a close. He then turned to face her once more.

“A soldier,” she continued, “Brown hair, brought me a sandwich. So I ate that.” She supplied helpfully.
And he hummed, nodding along in disinterest towards her.

“And what of it?”

Leyla made a small affronted noise, before sighing out.

“So, give Ky-him some food too.” Leyla huffed out, the name almost slipping back from her lips.
Matthias stared down at her before chuckling and leaning back against the windows.
She had expected him to see her attempt at something ridiculous, but she still couldn’t help but feel
insulted by his nonchalant demeanor.

“I’m not making this up.” She insisted to him, “If you want then you can go and check-”

“I believe you.” Matthias told her, eyes crinkled in delight towards her before sighing out,
“Unfortunately, just because you ate something doesn’t mean I’d give him any food.” He hummed out in
slight satisfaction.

Leyla’s mouth dropped open in disbelief before she hit her fist on the table.

“You promised me!”

“I did, but eating wasn’t my only condition,” he reiterated, smiling smugly at her, “Don’t you
remember?”

“ – if I don’t see you eat, or drink anything then… neither does Kyle Etman.”

Finally, he dropped his smug smile upon seeing Leyla turn speechless and pale at his reminder. Unless
he’d seen her eat anything, Kyle won’t be getting any food, even if she did eat without him.

Her body shook once more, as her eyes darkened, trailed solely on the messy floor around them.

“How do you even live with yourself?” she couldn’t help but ask incredulously, “How can you keep being
so… so… cold-hearted and cruel!? What does that benefit you!?”

Matthias only kept staring at her blankly.

“Where did the once honorable Duke Herhardt go?” She asked him in a mix of disappointment and
disbelief.

Finally, she managed to convince herself to approach him. With shaky steps, she grew bolder, wanting
her words to pierce him where she wanted it to hurt.

“Look at you, abandoning your pride in upholding your empire, running away because you grow tired of
them,” she scoffed, looking up at him in pure disappointment, “And now here you are, abandoning your
newly married wife to play hero in the battlefield.”

Matthias’ lips curled up in a minuscule smile.

“Oh, I don’t know. But is that what you think?” he hummed curiously towards her. He reached up to
remove his hat, placing it gently on the swiped clean table.

He couldn’t find it in himself to even be angry at her. Far from it, he found it difficult not to feel so
relaxed and amused with her nearby.

Leyla looked at him as though he was crazy, and maybe he was.

Their time apart had made her forget how he truly was to her. He was someone whom she hated with
every fiber of he being, and will continue to keep on hating and hating and hating until—

“What are you thinking of doing to me?” She asked him instead, “What are you planning to do? Are you
just going to keep teasing me like this? Torture me as revenge for daring to escape you?!”

She stepped back, hands cradling her belly gently as she looked at him.

“You’re so eager to tie me down to you, but did you ever stop to consider whether you deserve to even
have this?” She asked him hatefully, “Did you ask yourself whether you’re worthy or not to be a father?”

When Matthias remained silent, she scoffed at him, and hugged her arms around her belly.

“And that’s why this child will never be yours.” She spat at him, “You don’t even deserve to mention my
child at all.”

She turned away from him as soon as she felt tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

“So I don’t care, in my life and in my child’s, you do not even exist.” She declared to him, “So don’t
bother taking responsibility. I’d rather you let me go, and for you to go back home to your Duchess!”

‘Don’t cry.’ Leyla scolded herself once more, ‘He doesn’t deserve your tears.’

She knew she shouldn’t expect anything from him. And she resolved herself to never do it.

She’d long made up her mind that nothing would of that fact. This decision of hers had been long in the
making, cemented firmly as soon as she’d been reunited with Matthias.

But she was also so… terrified.

Something in her heart was skipping indecipherably, that she couldn’t help but look forward to what his
plans were. And she couldn’t stand it, always raising her expectations of him, just for him to trample it
down so carelessly as if she mattered next to nothing!

“Think about this in a logical way then Leyla,” Matthias remarked back at her, “What can a woman of
your stature even do in a time of war? How could you even raise that kid by yourself?” He asked her, the
cold, amused glint in his eyes long gone, now replaced with cold seriousness.

“We’ll do just fine, no thanks to you!” she retorted back at him, “A war’s compared to nothing next to
living with you!”

His hands shot out to grip her tightly by the shoulders, making Leyla gasp half in surprise and the rest in
complete fright!

“L-let go!”

“Leyla Lewellin.” Matthias growled at her.

“Keep your dirty hands off me!” She screamed, slapping his hands away before bodily freeing herself
from him.

Matthias stared at her, then to his hands, and then back. He then laughed at her.

“My hand, you think,” he chuckled in disbelief, “You think my hand is dirty?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, “There’s no way it isn’t!”

She wrapped her hands around herself, rubbing her arms furiously as though to physically rub his
scorching touch off of her.

“I hate it! I hate it! I hate you!”

Leyla’s muffled screams of hate for him could be heard out in the empty hallway. Shouting with all her
might how it’s always made her body crawl whenever he touched her, and it will keep making her feel
so disgusted with herself forever and ever.

“Are you finally satisfied with my answer?” She asked him, panting heavily, to a silent Matthias after her
enormous tirade.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Kyle! Hey, Kyle Etman!”

His name echoed in the rubble walls of his makeshift prison. As soon as he’d been dragged away from
the major, he was lumped into a solitary prison, beneath the basement of the hotel, which also doubled
as a warehouse.

Kyle was currently leaning against the rough, cold stone behind him. His eyes trained solely on the tips
of his shoes, but did not really see anything. His mind was leagues away from his prison, but now he’d
been brought back with a call of his name.

When he looked up, he saw the familiar face of his military doctor supervisor behind bars.

“L-Lieutenant!” Kyle stuttered, scrambling to get up, wincing when he realized his legs had grown numb
in his immobility. He staggered closer to the bars, “Why, I don’t, here?” he huffed out tiredly.

The doctor merely looked at him somberly and sighed.

“I’m here because I grew worried about you.” The doctor sighed deeply, gesturing for Kyle to sit back
down, before lowering himself as well. Off at the corner of Kyle’s prison cell, was an untouched meal.

The meal was barely substantial, but it was what was given as a standard to anyone then as prisoners.
“You should still be eating, even in prison.” He told Kyle, “It’s times like this you need to keep your
strength up. You don’t want to make things worse for yourself Kyle. Think about your health.”

“The duke’s — no, the woman the major took back to his room,” Kyle asked instead, “Is she alright? Did
they release her?”

The doctor blinked at him unsurely.

“I, Etman,” the doctor sighed, before shaking his head in response, “No, as far as everyone knows, she’s
still with the Major.”

The doctor pursed his lips thoughtfully, before continuing.

“He’s had her locked up in his room, the door barred and locked from the outside to prevent her from
leaving.”

Kyle scoffed at the information, half expecting the outcome, while the other half was still in disbelief at
the audacity the Duke had in handling Leyla like a pet.

She was a person. And he kept treating her like less than one.

“He really is a crazy guy.” Kyle grumbled.

“Stop that Kyle,” the doctor chided him, “We’re in a battlefield. Whatever your personal differences are
with the Major, let it go! He’s still your superior.” He reminded him, “So eat up, and then bow your head
in apology to him, and then you’ll get released from this poor cell.”

The advice was well-meaning, and made out of concern for him, Kyle knew. But his heart and mind were
in complete agreement that he wouldn’t ever apologize to the Major.

“No.” Kyle declared, “I won’t bow my head to apologize to that kind of man. Never.”

“I don’t understand you Kyle, you’re usually very level-headed.” The doctor sighed out in frustration,
throwing his hands up in the air before looking back at the imprisoned young medic.

“Who is she even to you Kyle, huh?” he asked him, “Why are you so adamant to go against the Major for
her?”

He’d heard the rumors through the grapevine. Kyle Etman had up and attacked the Major out of
nowhere, demanding the release of the woman, and was ready to be killed for it. Apparently the Major
had held up a gun to his head before the authorities arrived to haul him away.

But the Duke was well-known to be a respectable man back in the empire. He was the best aristocrat,
second only to the members of the royal family. Kyle was the son of his family’s doctor. One would
assume the two would be close but alas…

A woman stood between them.

It was a scandal sure to grab the attention of anyone who’d caught wind of it. But none of the
concerned parties would budge, nor indulge in any information about the entire situation, as such,
theories about the three only grew wilder with every silence they kept.

Kyle was tight-lipped as ever, much like the Major. Both refused to shed even a little light over what’s
really been happening aside from what’s already been witnessed.

“Still, you should at least eat.” the doctor sighed out in resignation, “You understand me, Kyle?” he
reminded, but received only further silence.

As the younger medic’s stubbornness won out, the doctor finally got up, patting the bars slightly like it
was Kyle’s shoulder before eventually leaving the young man back to his thoughts.

His shadow grew with every distance growing between them on top of the cooled dinner by the corner.
When the doctor looked back to see if Kyle had heeded his words…

He was still in the same spot as he had left him.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias remained in his silence as he regarded Leyla. He showed no indication as to what his thoughts
truly were despite Leyla repeatedly and earnestly disrespecting and insulting him right in his face.

As soon as she was done spouting filth about him, he took a step towards her.

Leyla’s hands fisted around her skirt, squeezing them tightly between her palms, but remained
resolutely in place. She was done cowering.

And then her mind flashed back to Claudine.

She tried to shake the feeling and memory away, but she remained persistent in the forefront of her
mind.

She could still remember, as clear as day, the humiliation and shame she felt upon her revelations. How
she knew all this time, what had been happening behind her back!

It made Leyla feel more miserable and dirty, especially so when she knew she couldn’t deny a single
accusation thrown at her.

She thought she’d forgotten everything that’s happened by now.

But what a fool she’d been.

She had known that when she left, the wedding of the two of them had been fast approaching. There
was no doubt in her mind that they were finally married by now. It had been set to be around late
Spring to early Summer after all.

It was also around the same time she began to experience sudden bouts of morning sickness, leaving
her all exhausted and in pain right afterwards.

She remembered heaving whatever contents were left in her stomach over the toilet, and when finished
she would sit limply on the stone, cold tiles on the bathroom floor. If she’d be at work at the time, she’d
hide away in the corner of the museum’s warehouse.

She had been desperate to not be found out that she was pregnant.

As the bump grew, so did the sorrow in her heart. Nothing could erase the ache in her heart. It could be
numbed temporarily, like when she’d eat what she wanted, or when she passed by a newly wedded
couple cradling a baby to their breast…

But it remained persistently constant.

And then the war came, and that sorrow for her growing child took a backburner, replaced only with the
terrible fear of the war right in their doorsteps. Everyday she would rub a hand over the growing bump…

‘We’d be okay.’

Words she’d whisper or think about to her child.

The Duchess, she knew, had no doubt been showered with praises and well-wishes on her wedding day.
Someday soon, she too would raise her own children.

Visions of how the duchess’ children would grow to be made Leyla feel like something was squeezing
out of her chest. A whisper of how her child could grow up to be, bringing sweet temptation into her
thoughts…

But she shooed it away fervently.

‘I’ll love you twice as much,’ she thought. So they will be okay.

She’d endured worse days before. She can endure them again in the future.

All she knew was that she never wanted to be in the shadows of such a man once more, even more to
never let the child grow in her, live through the pain and humiliation she suffered around his presence.

She was determined to not let it live like she did.

Matthias approached her, stopping only at arm’s length away from her. He still looked so calm and
composed, and Leyla felt herself beginning to cower, her shoulders hunching in to make herself appear
smaller.
But she kept her eyes locked on his.

“Leyla, how do you expect to raise a child of someone you accuse to disgust you?” He asked her plainly.

“Shut up!” Leyla yelled at him, arms back to wrap around her belly, “It won’t care about you!”

She grew tired of his incessant persistence to be responsible for her child. He was giving her a false
sense that he was growing desperate, but she knew him to feel nothing but pleasure for himself.

Matthias appeared to be thinking deeply.

“You must love it a lot, then.” He surmised after a moment, eyes looking at her abdomen, before raising
them back up to meet her glare. His lips then split into a smile, before he burst into low chuckles.

“A cruel man, and a woman who loves his child.” He kept chuckling as the words slipped out his mouth.
Leyla squirmed minutely farther from him.

And then he sighed, the laughter dying down, and his eyes unnervingly blank.

“So amusing.” He murmured.

“Have you turned crazy?” Leyla asked with a scoff, and he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Why not?” he asked her with a serene smile. Unbridled joy was shown on his face, which made Leyla
grit her teeth tighter in anticipation at his next actions against her.

Did it really not matter?

Was there really no escape from this man and his power?

“Do you think this is all I’ve come for here?”

The sudden question from him threw her back. What was he going on about now?

“This, seeing you like this…” he continued, a faraway look in his eyes, “It really tickles me happy to see it!
It’s like I’ve grown vulnerable around you!”

He praised so melodramatically, making Leyla take a couple more steps away from him.

“Wh-what are you on-”

“Hate me all you want! Insult me, Leyla!” He dared her, his grin turning manic, before he held out his
hands in a motion to grab her…

But didn’t lunge at her to do so.

“But you’re mine, Leyla.”

“No, I’m not.” Leyla denied.

“Oh but you are!” Matthias insisted, “It’s what’s happening right now after all,” he grinned at her,
before his eyes dropped down to her stomach, “Because I’m going to have that kid of yours.”

A gentle wave came over him, and he was back to his own bubble of serene happiness.

Leyla could hardly believe her ears. There was no way she’d continue to listen to such a madman! And
now he was smiling like a child about to be given his present!

His eyes went back up to meet hers, and she flinched back.

“I decided not to kill you, Leyla.” He told her with a smile, “So I will let you go, and you can run wherever
you want to. I won’t stop or find you again.”

Leyla frowned, feeling a cold dread settle in her bones once again.

“But you’ll need to leave your child behind, before I’ll give you your freedom.”

Matthias had finally given her his stipulation, and Leyla began to frantically shake her head, unwilling to
give in to his conditions!

“No! No!” She screamed, “Let me go! Let me go! You won’t take it from me!”

With every scream, Leyla grew frantic, she threw her hands up flailing and hitting whatever she could
grab her hands on towards him. At one point she found herself pressed up against him, and she doubled
her efforts.

She kicked, and screamed and scratched at his shoulders, arms, and whatever part of his pressed up
against her…

But Matthias had a clear hold on her, and she couldn’t break free.

“Shh, calm down Leyla, shh,” he kept muttering softly, arms caging her against his chest as she flailed
and wailed. “Think of our child, you don’t want any harm to come to it, don’t you?”

Eventually the struggling in his arms died down, and silent sobbing could be heard. Satisfied enough that
she’d been weakened after her tantrum, Matthias finally allowed himself to pull away, before cupping a
hand onto her wet cheeks.

He repositioned themselves into a hug, Leyla leaning limply in his arms and rocking them both back and
forth in a slow dance. His hands drew lower, finally able to rest his palm against the swell of her
stomach.

Leyla hiccuped, and began to sag against him. She’d grown exhausted.

He looked down at her red-rimmed eyes and flushed face and smiled affectionately on her while
soothingly rubbing her belly. He hadn’t smiled as wide as this since she disappeared from him last
spring.
They still fit perfectly against each other, just as he expected them to be.

He gently steered her towards the bed, tucking her in all nice and cozy. His hand still caressing her belly
in soothing motions.

He’ll have Leyla, one way or another.

Even if she’d never forgive him. He will have her.

As soon as her head hit the soft pillow, Leyla found an odd sense of comfort and relief, her breath
eventually evening out. She licked her dry lips, as big drops of tears rolled seamlessly down her cheeks
from her eyes endlessly.

Matthias plucked out her glasses gently, setting them aside on the table, before returning.

He hovered above her, planting sweet, gentle kisses on her wet eyelids.

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, feeling as though her tears were being consumed by a monster.

‘I’ve truly gone crazy,’ Matthias thought to himself as he licked off Leyla’s tears from his lips and smiled
down on her.

Her tears still tasted like heaven.

Chapter 131

Road to Salvation

Matthias woke up early in the morning when dawn had not yet risen.

The first thing that came into his mind, as soon as his eyes were familiar with the darkness, was the
empty seat next to him. It had been the place where Leyla, who was tired of crying, fell asleep. The place
he last saw her in.

Now, only darkness filled the spot.

The moment he realized this, Matthias shot up immediately to his feet. He first went to the closest
room. Its door was firmly locked. Other than this one, the other place she could have gone through was
the door that led outside to the hallway…

His eyes quickly darted to the window in the room, immediately brushing off the thought of her jumping
out the window.

Still, the thought unsettled him greatly, and Matthias moved to quickly take note of what was outside
the window. Dust still settled firmly on its surface, nothing was out of place.

The window was still sealed shut, but the unsettledness remained persistent. Matthias could feel his
heart beating against his ribcage in anxiety the longer he couldn’t find Leyla…

At an ominous thought, Matthias rushed to the window. He confirmed that all the windows were closed
well, but the anxiety did not go away easily. He quickly whirled around to continue his search, when
everything settled back down…

Matthias sighed in relief at the sight of her, even though it was a place he least expected her to sleep in.

There she was, huddled up and curled in on herself and their baby, sleeping soundly. He frowned at the
flimsy blanket she chose to wrap around her, before chuckling in amusement. Her cries still rang loudly
in the back of his mind.

She’d accused his hands of being dirty. Commanding him not to touch her.

Leyla was crouching down on the sofa and sleeping. When he saw her crouching on a thin sheet of cloth,
he could not help but laugh out loud.
He still remembered the way she smiled so beautifully in front of the man she accused of being so cruel;
she couldn’t bear to even be in the same room with him. And yet it was she who came to him sweetly.
She, who had whispered her love to him unwaveringly.

It was funny how far she had to go through for a man she hated so much.

There was a pensive expression on his face, indifferent to any outsiders who would see him at this
moment. He’d known it for a long time, even as it had been happening, he’d like to think. That didn’t
stop him from finally accepting a fact he’d long turned a blind eye to.

How much of what she said was a lie?

How much of what she said had been true?

Matthias now knew the answer to the question that had continued since the spring when Leyla
disappeared.

Everything was a lie.

He wanted to stop loving her. But even with the time away, the emotions that still didn’t fade made
Matthias even more heartless.

Matthias carefully approached her, taking great care and gentleness before carting her off gently to lie
on the bed. Fortunately, Leyla didn’t wake up, though she tossed and turned before curling up as though
to make her appear small. With her in his arms, he could still tell that the woman was too light,
especially with a child on her belly.

His hand slowly drifted off of her, reaching out to spread the blanket over to her collar, and wrap it
snuggly around her petite body. His motions remained slow and cautious, careful not to rouse her.

Opting out of sleeping next to her again, Matthias pulled a chair instead and sat next to the bed,
observing her quietly.

Leyla’s face, who fell asleep quietly, was gentle and clear. Come to think of it, she was a woman who
had consistently shown this face to everyone other than him.

A bright, brave, sweet lady. That was Leyla Lewellin, whom everyone knew.

Perhaps, he was the only one in the world who was more familiar with tears than this woman’s laughter.

But there’s a baby too.

It was amusing how much he was clinging on to by using the baby, but he couldn’t let go. He couldn’t
help but continue to cling to her, with the baby she was growing.

He didn’t understand it at all. Why in the world would Leyla, who hated him so much, would fight so
hard to keep their child with her at the same time?
But matter, the baby was now his only hope.

Leyla was a woman who would never die or run away from her beloved child. So, as long as the child
was tied to his side, Leyla would naturally be his.

The most perfect shackle and cage he could ever hope to find!

The child was an unexpected variable he hadn’t anticipated, but it was all that he could see. The child
was his means to keep Leyla with him, everything else felt so foreign and strange to him.

Aside from the occasional fleeting sensation of regret.

Yes, regret.

If he had gotten her pregnant earlier, perhaps he’d never had to find Leyla in the first place. She would
never have been lost to him.

Matthias smiled like a child holding a candy when the anxiety in his blank face disappeared. His heart
remained calm and settled with everything he wanted back in his possession.

Until he started and entered Sienna, he prayed for Leyla to be safe at every moment. That’s how he can
kill her. Of course, it was not because of hatred or resentment.

Love.

There was always only one reason why he wanted to kill Leyla.

If there was no way to get her back, and yet his love remained persistent and longing for her…

He’d kill her instead.

It was like a fire that would not stop even after swallowing life. He had to kill her, so he could end it only
if there was a clear fact that he killed her with his own hands. So Leyla had to be alive. She shouldn’t
have died recklessly, and been stolen from him yet again!

He loved her more day by day. And he wanted to kill this woman as much as that love.

He grew desperate.

Just as he was now.

But the moment he had come face to face with Leyla on that beautiful beach, Matthias also knew.

That he could never kill this woman.

He wanted to kill her, he knew he had to kill her…

but he couldn’t.
And in that moment of despair and joy, he saw the child in her womb.

And it was his salvation.

Had he killed her there and then, he would never have lost her again. But with the miracle of a child…

It opened up a new path for Matthias to keep her with him.

So there was no longer the urgency to kill her, no, there was no longer a need for it. So long as the child
existed, so long as he would claim the child his, Leyla would be his willing forevermore.

Matthias slowly reached out and wrapped a hand around Leyla’s face. Leyla gently nuzzled her cheek
against his warm palm, as if sucking in his body temperature. Like those enchanting false moments that
broke his heart.

Trying to suppress the urge to grab the face with all his might and drag it in, Matthias stroked her pale,
tear-streaked cheeks instead.

He’ll be hated forever, he knew, but it didn’t phase him.

He could take not being forgiven for what he’d done. He could take all the insults and degradation if it
meant he could get his Leyla back. It could be anything. No matter what pain this choice causes, it can’t
be more miserable than the days when he was left alone without Leyla.

In the light of dawn, Matthias looked at Leyla for a long time. From some point on, weak hope filled up.

Leyla will be given the Duchess’ seat. The child would naturally be his successor, and he would enjoy all
the power and glory of Herhardt.

It would be all that he wanted.

There were also countless things he could give to Leyla and his child in compensation. It didn’t matter
how long he had to do so. He was optimistic. One day, there may soon be a day when Leyla’s mind turns
around and accepts him inevitably.

Even if it took a very long time, Matthias could endure as much as he wanted.

When the morning was bright, Matthias slowly bowed down and kissed Leyla’s cheek, who fell asleep.

“I love you,” he whispered on deaf ears.

‘I’m so happy to have you again without killing you, Leyla.’

Matthias’ answer to a woman who despised and hated her quietly permeated into the transparent
sunlight.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Breakfast continued in silence.

The sound of the cutlery and the plate ringing regularly, and there was no conversation between the
two sitting face to face. Leyla kept swallowing food with a firm face, and Matthias was all about
watching Leyla like he was having fun.

“Stubborn Leyla Lewellin has changed her mind not to starve her friend. What a tearful friendship.”
Matthias teased her light-heartedly as he watched her eventually empty the plate of breakfast brought
to them.

Trying to suppress the urge to hurl the contents of her stomach, Leyla quietly drank the water instead.
She had no more fight left to give to the Duke.

As long as she didn’t die, there seemed to be no way out of that crazy man. No. It was now difficult to be
sure whether she could escape him even in death.

She thought he had no more power over her, and yet was proven wrong, time and time again.

If it wasn’t Uncle Bill he was dangling over her head, then it was Kyle he’d use instead. And if Kyle wasn’t
enough…

He had no qualms in using his child to bind Leyla. She didn’t want to dwell anymore about what his
reasoning was.

Twisted desire. Obsession. Or love. Anything, none of that mattered to her anymore.

She would still be Leyla Lewellin, nothing more than a proper possession that he grabbed and used
relentlessly at his will.

“I ate it! In front of your eyes, all my share!” Leyla, who put down the cutlery, spat out coldly. Matthias
readily nodded as if he accepted.

“Yes. Thanks to you, Kyle Etman won’t be hungry today.” He hummed, smirking over at her. She gritted
her teeth in frustration at him.

“Are you satisfied now?!”

“It’s enough.” He chuckled light-heartedly as he told her. It was a pure, unabashed smile. Any other time
it would have been refreshing to see.

But not at this moment.

And not for what he was doing to her.

“Let me go! I want to go home. But I know better than anyone else that I can’t run away anyway.” She
knew it was no use, but that’s all Leyla could say.

“You have to get used to this place, Leyla.”

“How can you get used to this prison”?

“You should.” Matthias, who stared at her as if seeing a child whining immaturely, briefly clicked his
tongue at her, tutting in a chiding manner. “You could live like this for the rest of your life. Don’t you
think it’s better to get used to it?”

“Don’t say nonsense!”

“If you don’t like it, run away again.” He dared her, shrugging nonchalantly at the suggestion of her
running away, “I told you I’d let you go without killing you. As long as you give me that child.” Matthias
tilted his head obliquely, sitting with his legs crossed. The gaze on her pregnant belly made cold dread
run over Leyla.

“Are you truly going to take the baby away from me?” She asked softly, eyes dropping down to look at
the bump in her stomach.

“Isn’t the expression ‘taking away’ too much? It’s my child.” Matthias pointed out to her. And Leyla’s
fists clenched on her lap.

“…How can you be so sure that it’s your child?” Leyla wrapped her arms around her stomach as if she
worried the child would hear. Even if it was of little use, she didn’t want her child to hear the terrible
things he would say.

“It’s so presumptuous of you to believe that you’re the only man in my life.” Leyla continued to
challenge him.

“So, do you want to lie again that it’s not my child?” Matthias hummed thoughtfully to her.

“There were a lot of guys besides you.” The more serious Leyla’s expression became, the lighter
Matthias’ laughter became.

“Oh?”

“Yes. I deceived you. You know that. I’m good at lying to you. I’m good at pretending to love someone
like Duke Herhardt, so why would it have been so hard to hide another man?”

Even though she was trembling, Leyla continued to say amusing things in Matthias’ ears. He watched
Leyla with narrowed eyes, and one corner of his mouth quirking up as he listened to her theories of
having many men on the side.

But he couldn’t hide the ice-cold cruelty in his eyes that once helped his light disposition. It rivaled even
the frozen Schulther River in the middle of winter.
“So, whose child do you claim it to be? Kyle Etman?” He casually played with his pistol as he said so,
“Then perhaps it is time to make true to my promise and shoot a bullet through his head after all.”

“Ky-, don’t get him involved in this!” Leyla protested immediately at the threat.

“If the father isn’t Etman, do you have any other names for a guy you know?”

“I’m never going to tell you because I know everything you’re going to do.” She seethed at him, “But
what’s funny is how you believe that this is your child, who’s been tricked and voluntarily deceived by
me.”

I’m sorry, baby.

Leyla kept praying and praying and continuing her spiteful words. But this was the last hope. He
wouldn’t be obsessed with a child who’s not his blood. But Matthias soon recovered his wistful
expression. The giggling laughter felt joy rather than anger.

“Yes. If that trivial lie comforts you, I’ll be happy to respect you, Leyla.” He hummed at her, his joyful
disposition returning.

“If you want to believe it’s a lie, yes, I’ll respect the Duke’s insignificant pride.” Leyla spat back, unwilling
to lose in the verbal back and forth between them.

She was so scared that her teeth were about to bump, but she didn’t want to let the child be taken by
the shameless and cruel man sitting in front of her.

It was also impossible to take away the child like this.

“Lelya.”

Whispering his name as if he were giving a friendly confession, he slowly raised himself. His shadow,
which approached, soon covered Leyla and the child.
Chapter 132

The Only Way

She watched him with great trepidation as he began to approach her and the child in her belly. There
was something malicious in his eyes with the way he was now looking at her.

“You misunderstand something,” Matthias hummed as he stepped closer, and closer to her, “I don’t
care if it’s the child of another man,” he told her softly, reaching out with a lone hand before he gripped
Leyla’s chin.

Leyla struggled to get out of his grip, but eventually, he easily overpowered her. After shaking her head
out of his grip, she eventually stopped before she relaxed, feeling her chin being pulled up to make eye
contact.

“Whoever the father is, as long as it’s in your stomach, and it’s clear that you’re the mother of the child
it’s enough.” He informed her plainly, “So long as you love that kid. That’s enough.”

Matthias’ eyes on her were soft and happy as he finished explaining to her. Before a new glint emerged
in his eye…

“And Leyla, if the baby is not my child at all, shouldn’t you stay by its side even more?” He pushed,
goading her even more about the child’s wellbeing. “Just think about what I can do to it the very second
you run away after having another man’s child.”

Leyla gritted her teeth, letting out a suppressed growl. The sounds she made, made it seem like he was
strangling her, but his grip on her chin was unobstructed.

Matthias began stroking Leyla’s head once more with the other hand. Then, he resumed petting her,
treating her like some sort of domestic animal.

“If it’s truly someone else’s baby, a little unsavory for me,” Matthias hummed softly, before breaking out
into a smile towards her, “But no matter, I’m resolved to be the father of all and any children you’ll ever
have, so worry not about having a fatherless child.”

“I refuse!”
“Has your memory gone bad, Leyla?” Matthias tutted in disappointment at her, his grip on her chin
tightening for just a fraction of a second, “I told you, you will live like this forever.”

Matthias lowered himself to match Leyla’s gaze, and her mind flashed back to the sight of him she had
witnessed before.

At the moment she saw the snow, Leyla understood what he had said, that the old Matthias von
Herhardt was dead.

There was no longer the man who looked at her with the same gaze as the evening of a spring day last
seen in Arvis. This man in front of her was now just a completely unfamiliar, and unhinged lunatic.

“Listen carefully, Leyla.” He murmured, kissing her forehead lightly before whispering in her ear, as
though to soothe a whining child. Leyla glared at him indifferently, her clammy hands clasped together
in an ironclad grip.

Her whole body began to tremble.

“You will be by my side, give birth to my child, and live as my woman. That’s your life.” He dipped down,
planting a soft kiss on her pale cheeks this time.

“So you have to learn to live with me, if not for the sake of the child in your stomach,” Matthias
straightened up and looked down at her, “After all, who would be foolish enough to support you and say
it’s not my child? Don’t you, agree?”

Satisfied with her momentary silence and compliance, Matthias swiftly turned on his heels before
vacating the room, leaving Leyla alone as he shut the door behind him, making sure to put the locks back
in place.

She got up and felt the cool surface of the door beneath her palms before stepping back from the closed
door. Then, in a fit of rage and frustration, she grabbed the candlestick on their dining table and began
hacking away at the door.

She didn’t know how long she did so, but in the end, she was exhausted.

Ragged breaths began to escape her as soon as she was alone, staring idly at the closed door in front of
her. There were ugly marks on the door stamped on the candlestick, but it was not enough to break the
tightly locked door.

After all, she made those marks.

After looking at the door for a long time doing nothing but heave and despair, she swiftly turned around,
absolutely tired. Every day, it was like something deep within her was breaking…

When she put down the candlestick, she buried herself deep in the chair before sighing long and hard.
The child, who was steadily growing in her belly, finally began to move. She felt its fluttering kicks and
rubbed a gentle hand over her growing bump.
“It’s nothing.” She soothed, patting her belly, as though to make it go back to sleep, “It’s okay.” Her
voice was light and bright when talking to it, as she stared blankly into the empty room in front of her.
With every stroke she made, she felt as though her child was reaching out in return.

She was used to it by now, but the first day she felt her child moving gave her such a shock and scare.
She was sent into a quick tizzy, all scared and clueless about what to do, but as time passed, she learned
a simple touch to her stomach would settle it down, with a few return soft taps for her.

It was that moment when the fact she was to be a mother finally sunk deep within her.

It was so amazing, that her heart was overwhelmed with happiness. Of course, it was also a little sad she
couldn’t tell anyone how she felt, but she figured it was okay.

Because at least she had a baby now. She had everything she ever needed with a baby with her.

She’d never be alone again.

Thinking back, when Leyla was in a good mood, the child in her belly also seemed to dance joyfully for
her.

In return, when she became depressed, she could barely feel the baby in her move even a fraction of an
inch. Leyla found herself falling more and more in love with the child who understood her perfectly.

It had nothing to do with Matthias.

Soon the child calmed down again, and Leyla tied her tangled hair tightly. She wiped off her escaped
tears before she went to fix her glasses as best as she could.

No matter how desperate the situation was, she was now a mother. A mother who is the only family this
child will ever have in this world.

Leyla stood up to go and change, she also ate a little lunch that the soldier from before had left behind
for her to eat as well. As the days went by, she found that most of her stuff at home was steadily moved
to this room.

The Duke was more and more likely not planning to ever let her regain her freedom.

She needed to think. She needed to be calm.

Leyla carefully looked into the room, trying to find something to comfort herself. She even shouted for
help, begged the soldiers she heard passing by to let her go, and even tried to break the door in vain.

But no help came.

No freedom or an opportunity to be free presented itself to her. Not even the soldier who kept bringing
her few meals to eat when the Duke wasn’t around.

It was getting harder and harder for her to deny her absolute truth.
She knew there was no way out unless the Duke changed his mind, but she didn’t want to give up like
this. She can’t live like this forever. She had to protect the child from the man.

But how?

The sound of the lock opening came as the growing anxiety became tears. Something in her broke with
every sound of the lock being opened. Leyla reflexively stopped her fretting, before she hurriedly went
to bed to lay down and bury herself in the covers to hide from him.

The chain was lifted while she pretended to be asleep, closed her eyes, and relaxed her breathing.

Leyla lay on the side and crouched down and grabbed her pillowcase. Soon after, the door opened and a
movement began to come across the room.

Leyla could tell just by the sound of footsteps that the Duke was back.

Leyla focused only on pretending to be asleep. It started because she didn’t want to see the man, but at
some point, fear eventually made its way into the back of her mind bit by bit.

She had grown more afraid of Matthias.

It was really like that now. But, oddly enough, Leyla had learned from this fear instead. Then again, Duke
Herhardt had always been a fearful being, but he had never been such a perfectly cold and heartless
man back in Arvis. She hadn’t expected it until she saw the current Duke.

He had changed.

Immensely so.

She seemed to have broken a part of that man’s heart during her escape. But, if that was true, did it
mean that her wish came true?

She remembered when she prayed earnestly that she could be the pain of that man. It would be so
unfair to be forgotten as nothing as soon as she was gone, so she wanted to leave him at least a scar.

Or at least break his heart like the way he kept doing to her.

But… she didn’t want him to become like this.

Leyla bit her lips because she thought she was going to burst into tears. She heard the sound of the
Duke putting down his military uniform coat and jacket at the end of the bed. Subsequently, the sound
of moving a few steps was heard, and the bed shook at the end of the sound.

Leyla held back the scream that was about to burst and tightened her pillowcase. Meanwhile, Matthias
lay down behind her back. And slowly pulled Leyla deep into his arms and hugged her snuggly on his
chest.
Startled by being so blatantly manhandled in her sleep, she almost struggled, but Leyla endured it well.
Fortunately, the Duke seemed to have no intention of violating more of her, hence she deemed it better
to endure now. She tried to ignore the way her shoulders relaxed as he hugged her.

She just didn’t want to encourage him more after all. That’s all. She didn’t want him to hurt her or be
crueler if he knew she was only acting asleep this entire time.

Leyla only prayed for the passage of time. Or she hoped she could fall asleep like this. But none of the
wishes came true.

Time went by slowly and the more her senses remained vigilant to every breath he took. She could feel
him so vividly against her skin, that it was hard to fall asleep with him beside her.

Her hair moving like a brush of a feather when Matthias gave her a light kiss at the nape of her neck and
then he moved to kiss her earlobes, forehead, and even her cheeks.

His hand was also moving, rubbing and caressing her by the neck, shoulders, and even her waist. It was a
slow and soft sensation running through her body, making things warm all around her the more he
touched her in her faux sleep.

She was scared and sad.

While Leyla was in a state of confusion about how soothing the strange feeling gave, Matthias’
breathing gradually slowed down. The touch and lips that touched her also gradually stilled, before
finally stopping.

This Duke, she remembered so well. It was reminiscent of their nights together back in Arvis.

A silent sigh of relief flowed through Leyla’s lips, noticing that the Duke had finally fallen asleep.
However, Leyla stayed in his arms anyway because she was not confident about looking back. His arms
were as cozy as before, making her feel all fuzzy and treasured…

It was confusing to her and made her feel even more miserable.

It was not until late afternoon when Leyla began to see the red and orange hues of the sun seeping
through the window that she could barely keep herself awake and aware of him.

Matthias was already fast asleep, no doubt with a peaceful face.

This was the memory she wanted to impart to her child about their father. It had still been so ingrained
in her mind, that she found herself unwilling to not pass the memory down.

She wanted to give her child all the good points about their father, and leave out all the terrible things
he truly was.

She didn’t want to give her child any hurt by telling them the truth about their father.
‘Your father died when you were in your mother’s stomach. But he loved us a lot.’

It was a lie she would readily tell her child if asked about him.

And then she would tell him the more beautiful parts about him, like his blue eyes, his princely smile,
and the soft voice he would use on the gentle nights.

It’s terrible that she had to fish out good parts about her terrible nights with him, but it was all she had.
Those nights when he forced her to be with him were both endearing and frightening to her.

But not anymore.

Leyla clenched her teeth and tried to escape from his arms.

She knew she couldn’t run away from him. Not anymore.

Even if she somehow managed to escape out of this room, she may be caught by soldiers even before
stepping foot outside of the hotel. And even if she was lucky enough to get out of the hotel, the city was
still largely occupied by soldiers who would follow Matthias’ orders without question.

She’ll still end up in his grasp, more miserable than the last time she was with him.

But a small voice in her was still insisting on finding a way.

But what way was left for her than to just accept she’ll always end up with him?

It was at the very moment when Leyla hardened her mind that she found weak hope. Clothes that the
Duke took off…

Maybe there’s a key in it!

When her thoughts reached that point, Leyla hurriedly left the bed they were sharing. And just as she
reached for the Duke’s coat, something caught her attention in the corner of her eye.

It was a colorful paper box lying on a bed bench.

It wasn’t in this room previously, so it was something he’d just brought in with him. Curiosity got the
best of her and wondered if he brought it for her.

Nimble fingers pried the top carefully, to unveil what had been hidden beneath. Once she saw its
contents, she felt her hands shake at the sight of it.

She shouldn’t have gotten derailed.

It was a cake. A pretty cake with light pink cream on it.

Her eyes shifted between the cake in her hand and the sleeping Matthias in a frenzy, her mind battling
with the sanity and fear mixing up within her mind. Her breathing soon became ragged, as she felt her
growing erratic heartbeat.

“Ah!” Leyla yelped as she hurriedly stepped away.

Unfortunately, she still held onto the cake, before it fell all over Leyla’s clothes. With shaky hands, she
futilely tried to clean herself up, but it only served to smear more of the sweet-smelling cake all over
her. When she came to her senses, she realized that it was not only her hair and clothes now messed up,
but also her hands and shoes were stained with cake.

Leyla, who shook her head small, hurriedly rubbed her hands at the skirt furiously trying to erase any
evidence of her mess. Once her hands were clean enough, she then began to search the pockets of
Matthias’ military uniform jacket and coat.

Even if it was a futile effort, this was better for her. She’ll take getting out of this room even for a
moment, even if she’ll end up back with Matthias in the end…

“Leyla~”

A friendly called out to her, and that’s when she froze.

She’d just searched the last of his pockets.

There was no key in sight.

She lifted her frightened eyes and saw Matthias now sitting up on the bed.

He then leaned against the cushion against the headboard. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, but he
soon regained smiled amusedly at her. His hands moved to the pocket in the pants he was currently
wearing, and then slowly, he took the key out and dangled it enticingly at her.

“Is this it?” Matthias asked her, laugh lines in his eyes, before hardening into a predator as he stared
longer towards her, “Is this what you were looking for?”

‘This is it,’ Leyla thought, ‘He’ll kill me now.’

Trapped by the overwhelming fear, Leyla reflexively picked up the pistol under the coat. Not until she
had already pointed the gun at him did she realise what she had grabbed in fright.

She felt like she was going to burst into tears at the touch of the cold, hard iron; this was it!

There was no more turning back!

Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she pointed the gun at him.

“Ah, do you like it? My eye for weapons has improved a lot. You could kill someone with that.” Matthias’
voice was as sweet as praising a child for doing good, though equally challenging.
He was unphased even as she pointed a gun at him, still dangling the key in front of her.

“Key! Give me that key!” Leyla demanded, taking a few steps closer to him, emboldened with the gun in
her hand.

Instead of looking at her in fear as she expected, Matthias only settled further into cushions, as though
relaxing even as she threatened his life. It made Leyla’s hand with the gun shake at the sight of his
indifference.

She eyed the key in his hand desperately.

“I can open it up for you.” He offered nonchalantly.

“No, give me the key!” Leyla shrieked at him as she demanded he hands it over to her. However,
Matthias only looked at her with an expression as if she were still a spectator of an interesting play.

“Then take off the safety, Leyla,” Matthias advised her, and her hand shook all the more.

“Does this seem like a joke to you?!” She exclaimed, tears running down her face as she pointed a shaky
gun in his direction, “If you don’t give me the key, then I’m going to shoot!”

“So shoot!” Matthias encouraged her, making Leyla jump at his insistence. He smirked at her sudden
silence.

Leyla only wanted to escape from him, but even her threats to his life seemed useless.

“Kill me.” Matthias urged her, tossing the key in the air and grabbing it again. He was playing with it,
juggling the key in one hand as he grinned challengingly up at her.

His last toss made him grip the key hard enough, it made her wince.

“Because at this point, that’s the only way you can escape from me.” He finished menacingly as he
looked her in the eye.
Chapter 133

Scary and Sad Dream

Matthias leaned back and closed his eyes as soon as he finished. He remained unmoved even in the face
of death at Leyla’s hands.

She trailed the gun at him shakily still, swallowing down the bile at the thought of having to kill him.
She’d never fired a gun before, despite the fact she’d watched countless huntings in Arvis.

He always made killing look so elegant despite her knowing it was a brutal sport.

So really, he should have seen this coming.

Just a bullet. All she needed was to shoot him once, and she’d be free!

Leyla’s finger was now on the trigger. Her hand was shaking so much, but she needed to be firm with
this! She was just standing still and aiming at the gun, but she was very out of breath, almost as if she
had been running a very long distance.

The tears just kept coming, and she didn’t know what for!

She didn’t know.

Her head was screaming at her to do it!

But her whole body refused to do so.

What was so wrong with what she was about to do anyway!? It’s what that scary, cruel, and friendly
maniac wants too! He’s encouraging her to pull the trigger, too. Now if she were to do that, she didn’t
know what would happen next to herself and her child.

She’d forever be clueless on what to do or how to do anything! She couldn’t survive on her own!

She couldn’t do this on her own!

Leyla let out a loud cry of frustration, sobbing openly as she dropped to her knees.

Languidly, Matthias opened his eyes, landing on Leyla’s crumpled up and desperate form on the floor.

She looked so adorable, all covered up in cake and cream, while her hands lay limp with the gun she had
been threatening him with.
So pitiful, so ferocious, and oh, so beautiful.

While Matthias looked at her quietly, Leyla’s sobbing grew even louder and more desperate. Her grip on
the gun tightened up before she pointed it at him again.

A smile made its way to his lips with how stubborn she was being. He eventually moved to finally stand
up, to which Leyla tried to do the same thing as well, but only lost balance and further stumbled back
down on the floor.

Overpowering her always came so easy to him. From the start, her efforts had remained futile against
him.

He was finally in front of her in a few short strides before yanking the gun out of her limp arms. She
yelped and sobbed in protest, but he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her up to her feet to drag her.

Before she knew it, Leyla fell onto the bed.

With the gun finally off her hands, Matthias hovered above her prone form on top of the bed. Leyla was
still too preoccupied with heaving and sobbing as she lay down limply on the bed, feeling so hopeless
about her life.

“I told you to kill me,” Matthias muttered calmly, before he flicked the safety of the gun off, just as he
advised her to do before. He then looked down at her limp expression, the sobs still escaping from time
to time. “If you can’t do it, I have to do it, Leyla.”

A clinking metallic sound penetrated echoed through the silent room, and Leyla’s sobs intensified,
borderline hysterical now. She blinked back tears that kept blurring her line of sight, eventually
managing to look up at him with tear-filled eyes.

The gun was now trailed on her forehead instead.

“Do you want me to spare you?” Matthias crooned softly at her as she blinked back tears at him.

She stared at him with a dazed expression, his tone of voice soothing and merciful in her ears. She
nodded at him.

Everything felt surreal to her, almost like she was in a dream. There was a fog in her brain, convincing
herself none of this must be real.

This was all just a nightmare that could be turned into a dream…

“Then you should be nice,” Matthias crooned at her, bending down to be closer to her.

He looked at her in such a caring way, she couldn’t help but be so receptive to him, nodding in
agreement with his condition to her.

She couldn’t say no to him, not when he looked at her so tenderly…

So caringly…

She lost track of how long they stayed like that, but eventually, she heard him laugh. A couple of
seconds later, there was a dull thump in the room as something fell to the floor. It wasn’t until she
turned her head to see what made the noise, that she saw it was the gun that Matthias had been
pointing at her head.

He’d spared her, and thrown the gun away. Its dull silver faintly reflected the bleeding red of the setting
sun outside the window.

Tears fell from her eyes once more in streams, wetting the sheets of which she laid in, as the relief
began to spread in her body, while the energy gradually drained from her.

A sweet whisper from Matthias broke through the relief in her foggy mind.

“How unsavory it is.” He hummed, referring to the discarded gun, while simultaneously stroking her
head lovingly with that sweet, velvety voice in her ears…

“It’s okay, Leyla.” he whispered to her, calloused hands slowly turning her to face him once again, “I’ll
make sure to wipe anything dirty clean just for you.”

Her consciousness blanked out before Leyla could witness anything more from him. It was all she could
remember once the world faded to black around her.

When she regained consciousness, Leyla found herself sitting in a bathtub filled with warm water.
Groggily she looked around, before seeing Matthias’ face through the wispy steam.

He looked as calm as she last saw him.

“Is it too hot?” He asked as soon as their eyes met. Leyla meekly shook her head in response to him.

She remembered not fainting but couldn’t remember how she got here either.

‘No.’ She immediately corrected herself. There was a faint memory in the back of her mind, but it didn’t
seem like it had been real.

Standing up alone from the bed, Matthias went straight to the bathroom. As the sun continued to set
outside, she remembered listening to the sounds of water flowing from the bath and the rhythmic
thumps of his steps.

Throughout that time, Leyla remained motionless and looked up at the ceiling instead, all fight lost
within her, resigning unconsciously under Matthias’ control.

And then he returned by her side.

He patted her head as if praising a good child, before expertly taking off her dirtied clothes at a sensual
pace. He’d been in no hurry undressing her, his touch lingering more than he should have in certain
places. It was a terrible feeling, but Leyla didn’t refute his touches, just letting them happen.

At some point, the shame she felt eventually faded. Although she hated everything, she just wanted to
give him everything he wanted from her so that he may leave her alone.

All those moments felt like a very distant world, a world she thought to be perfect it could only be
impossible. But it had all been real. Sitting before the Duke, naked and bare in front of him, she couldn’t
muster up a single emotion.

“Eyes,” Matthias whispered at her, and immediately she understood the meaning of the word after brief
thought.

When she closed her eyes like a gentle child, Matthias’ hands caressed her face. For a man who would
never have taken care of a dog in his life, she expected him to be clumsy, but he washed Leyla quite
leisurely and efficiently.

Leyla stared ahead blankly, hunched minutely at his ministrations as his hands moved below her
shoulders. Her two arms surrounding the knee were clenched tightly in one another, as the life and
focus gradually returned to her eyes. The sound of pouring water stopped, and the two looked at each
other quietly.

“Be nice, Leyla.” Matthias reminded her sharply before he gathered Leyla’s wet hair, which was covering
her shoulders and chest and handed it over to her back. Leyla trembled quietly as she began to feel cold.

“You promised, didn’t you?” Mathias continued and kept drawing Leyla’s gaze back to him again and
again.

He was addicted to any attention she would give him. He craved it desperately.

Leyla, who had been smacking her lips several times now, soon lowered her arms which had been
covering her chest away from him. It was almost as if she was finally giving up control to him a second
time that day.

It was enticing.

There was no significant change in Matthias’ expression as his eyes continued to rake all over her bare
form. His observant gaze was looking at the obvious changes on her body, specifically her skinny
shoulders.

A faint hint of embarrassment and satisfaction came to her mind, but eventually faded back into
nothingness.

“I’ll buy you that cake again tomorrow.” He said as he drew Leyla’s wandering gaze back to him once
more.
Leyla looked at him with a frown of confusion.

The current situation she was in, and the promise to her were so strange and funny to her. All the same
though, he seemed like a person who could do anything he wanted to do.

It was his only personality.

“I don’t need it,” Leyla murmured tiredly in response. All she could feel was a sickening sensation in her
and pure exhaustion from everything that had happened by far from just this day alone.

It was almost like she was in the middle of another war. One that would only begin again with every new
dawn that comes. like another war, would be repeated tomorrow.

“No.” Matthias refused, he was quite adamant in his refusal. It seemed like even her opinions mattered
not to him either. “You like it.” He declared confidently and sternly. Leyla chuckled humorlessly.

“And what do I like and dislike?” She asked him rhetorically, “Do my preferences even mean anything to
you?”

Leyla put her knees up again and wrapped her arms around them. She further hunched in on herself into
the bathtub. That way, in the end, it would still feel like she was denying him something.

Matthias smiled languidly instead of answering her.

Somehow it only served to unnerve her some more. Making her feel so stifled with how friendly his
smile continued to appear. It was then that the wound on his arm across the bathtub caught her eye.

Leyla examined the wound, which appeared to be exposed under the sleeve of his rolled-up shirt with
her squinted eyes. It was a scar, presumably made not too long ago. It suddenly sunk in her that this
man was an officer in the army. One who was capable of taking over the city through a fierce front.

Realizing what Leyla was looking at, Matthias began to pull down his shirt sleeve with a softened smile,
but Leyla stopped him by grabbing his arm tightly.

“It must have hurt a lot.” Leyla wondered softly, fingers softly caressing his scar like a doctor who was
examining it carefully.

It made Matthias laugh wonderfully at her softness.

“What an odd thing to worry about, when not even a moment ago you trailed a gun my way.” He
pointed out in great amusement to her, making her snap her lips shut from her awe at hearing him
laugh so purely with her.

“It didn’t hurt.” He relented not a moment too soon, and Leyla’s brows scrunched up, almost as though
she was pouting at his words.

“Lie.” she protested weakly

“It’s the truth.”

Matthis soon removed Leyla’s grip on him and moved her hand back in the tub. As soon as their
conversation stopped, the sound of pouring water filled the bathroom again as they settled into an
agreed silence.

Leyla was looking down at the surface of the murky waters around her with red-rimmed eyes. She
wished he would stop now, but Matthias washed Leyla as if he were a boy taking care of his precious
toy. He had no qualms nor hesitation to touch her, even when his hands rubbed her swollen stomach.

It was like he was unbothered by the existence of the child in her stomach. Like he didn’t care one bit
about it.

Did he come to believe that the baby was another man’s child?

Leyla held her breath with anxiety. The thought troubled her greatly. She had no doubt even her baby
was nervous, as it was currently not moving or giving her any fluttering sensations.

Matthias continued to wipe and wash her body down with great ease. Even though he served her like a
servant, she was under no illusion that he was still her master.

Befuddled, Leyla eventually closed her eyes, and she opted to just sit still and let his touch caress her
body.

Despite that, she could feel her breathing gradually turning ragged.

Matthias wiped Leyla’s cleanly washed body dry and proceeded to dress her. He then dried her wet hair
before laying her on a new sheet of the bed.

Leyla mostly had a blank face as he did all this for her.

Sometimes she looked at him with a keen eye, but soon after, she dropped her gaze or turned her head
away from him. Other than that, she looked calm as if she had become a doll with no string in sight.

Matthias, who proceeded to dim the light in the room, eventually found A tie, and he went to grab it,
before going back to Leyla.

She lay perfectly still and stared at him, blinking her eyes owlishly at him.

With a reassuring pat on the cheek, Matthias gently tied Leyla’s hands securely in a difficult knot, but
not before wrapping her wrists around with a soft cloth. He didn’t want her to bruise if she struggled
against her constraints.

“Sleep.” He commanded her, before bringing the other end of the rope to the bed’s pillar and began
wounding it securely on the post. Matthias then came up beside her afterward, covering her body well
with a warm blanket, tucking it snuggly around her.
He then left her alone.

Leyla found herself tossing and turning a few times before she soon calmed down again. She remained
in the same position until he returned from the shower. Her eyes were drawn to him immediately,
looking innocently clueless as if she didn’t know what was happening around her.

All bathed and dressed, Matthias released the knot on the post but did not release her, at least not fully.
Instead, he tied a hard knot only on one of her wrists this time and tied his wrist at the other end of the
rope.

Leyla just watched and did not resist again this time, and she still looked exhausted. Considering what
happened today, it was understandable.

Turning off the lights, Matthias lay beside her, their bound hands resting right next to each other.

“Don’t go.” Matthias’ whispered in the darkness, his fingers twitching to reach out to her. “Stay with
me.”

His tone was so soft, and endearing, that it made her eyes sting at the sound of it. But she would not
utter a single response. Matthias grasped her hand, his grip tightening up gradually to keep her further
with him.

“Good night, Leyla.” He bid her, kissing her forehead.

The act was too intimate, more than just friendly, and out of harmony with this battlefield between
them.

Leyla found herself drifting to sleep as she rocked her gaze back and forth at her tied wrist and his
serene face.

She found herself dreaming in a deep sleep.

It was equally a nightmare as it was sad.

Chapter 134

Untold Confession

The Major’s woman had changed. It was an observation the soldier-on-duty, who had been tasked to
deliver her food every day, could see as plain as day.

When he would stop by to see her, she would usually, and immediately, beg for him to help her escape.
Often too, she would ask after Kyle Etman, demanding to know his current condition…

But now, she would only sit in silence, not even reacting as he stopped by, and continue to stare out of
the window with a blank expression.

There was no more resisting or starving, or even attempting to break the door anymore. The woman
only ate what was given and would sit calmly in wait. She became obedient, and it made his work easier
in the process.

He should be happy, but somehow it was hard for him to do so.

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this.” he fretted guiltily as he locked the door and turned to walk away.
Things had gotten ansty as of late, it made him severely nervous. He could only go pale the longer he
stood in the hallway after doing his duty, before returning to his barracks.

“I think the woman is a little weird…” he murmured absentmindedly, before halting to a thought.
“Shouldn’t I say something to him?

“To whom?”

A sudden voice piped up from behind him, making him jump and turn around in haste, before sighing in
relief. It was just another soldier.

“To the Major,” he aired nervously.

Though come to think of it, wouldn’t that be useless? He thought before sighing. Surely the Major knew
how much his woman changed. After all, he’d been with her the most, he’d be the one most in tune
with the condition of the woman he kept under lock and key.

Still, Major Herhardt’s current behavior looked like a person who just enjoyed every moment. He didn’t
appear to be bothered by anything happening behind the locked door.
Additionally, it was getting more difficult to talk so callously about the situation. Lately, the Major had
been more and more efficient and invigorated in his work. No one wanted to get in the way of his
current productivity.

So unless he were to bring it up first, it was becoming an unwritten rule for everyone in the army to not
mention even a pip about the Major’s woman.

“I mean she is carrying the Major’s child, or so they say,” the soldier began to reason out, “So doesn’t it
stand to say that it is also the illegitimate child of Duke Herhardt?”

A thoughtful look flashed in their eyes.

Was she truly the mistress of the duke who ran away?

The soldier, who carefully examined the empty hallway, shrugged before lowering his voice.

“That’s what people say.”

“Oh, that’s right,” piped up the other soldier, “I heard the woman in the room was originally Medic
Etman’s fiance, the son of his family doctor!” exclaimed the other before letting out a low whistle, “But I
guess the Duke went and seduced her anyway.”

“Hey!”

Seeing the long shadow approaching from the end of the hall, the soldier on duty urgently hit the side of
the soldier standing in front of him. It was only later that he noticed that the man they had just been
talking about had finally appeared!

They couldn’t help but grow nervous, wondering if he’d heard their gossip.

Matthias leisurely approached the direction where two frozen soldiers stood in attention for him. It was
difficult to reconcile such dirty rumors with a man who was the epitome of great eloquence, elegance,
and grace.

They gave him a customary salute as soon as he neared them, and he responded in return, wordlessly
dismissing them before finally disappearing into the locked room they were never to open without his
permission.

Relieved sighs left them as soon as he was gone. They eyed each other warily before standing both in
attendance as they stood in the hallway of the hotel, where amidst the sunshine, they were once again
engulfed in silence.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Matthias brought a book back with him.

She knew what it was, but she didn’t understand what his purpose in bringing it was, so she settled
down and stared at the pile of books on the table.

“Read it when you’re bored,” Matthias commanded nonchalantly of her as though he was speaking to
her like a child. He picked up a random book in the pile.

“Here’s a mystery novel.” He hummed, laying it out in front of her, “I’m positive it’s something you will
like.”

Leyla continued to sit in silence as he picked up another.

“There’s also a book about birds.”

And so she watched, eyes fleeting over the selection of books and their covers with barely an ounce of
enthusiasm. Still, she uttered not a word to him.

Snacks, flowers, books.

All these things the Duke had brought for her. So unbecoming of the reality of her situation, she was
having trouble remembering why she was being so stubborn.

But she couldn’t bear to point the oddity out. It was clear to her that Matthias was not aware of what
this situation was doing to her.

Covered snuggly in the blankets, and tucked in comfortably in the bed, Leyla found herself opening up
the book on top of the pile.

The letters and words danced into oblivion in front of her even as she stared at them. But a good excuse
to not face the Duke.

Sitting on the chair across from her, Matthias looked at her on the bed with a satisfied expression. Her
loosely braided hair flowed down on slender shoulders, bunching up around her hips as it cascaded
down her swollen stomach.

This image of her, pregnant with his child and reading in the sun was peaceful and beautiful.

A few moments of silence reigned between them once more aside from the rhythmic sounds of flipping
pages. Leyla looked at him imploringly.

“Let me out for a moment.” She begged him, “I won’t run away. I promise.”

Matthias’ eyes narrowed at her, and a tinge of fear emerged deep within her. He was not pleased with
the tranquility being disturbed, even by her.

“I want to go home.” She continued, “To Uncle Bill-”

“Leyla.” He cut her off sharply, his voice low and thick, sending shivers throughout her body. “Don’t you
remember?”

He leaned closer to her.

“You don’t have a home anymore,” He told her plainly, “Or family left.”

Standing up, he approached her, gently grasping her chin to keep her eyes on him.

“Don’t you see? I’m your family.” He whispered to her, “Leyla, I’m all you have left, and all you will ever
need.”

“No!” the instinctive protest escaped from her, “I-I refuse to believe-!”

His grip on her chin adjusted, tightening up around her jaw.

“It’s a dangerous battlefield outside.” He whispered, turning her head to look at the ruins outside their
room, “So stay with me. I’ll protect you.”

Leyla’s head was turned back to look at Matthias. A single thought only ran into her mind.

All the bombings she’d experienced could never compare to the absolute terror this man was to her.

“You have to think about your child.” He implored her instead, rubbing her chin soothingly.

Leyla’s face crumpled at his words, lips wobbling with barely concealed despair.

Whenever talking about the child in her stomach, Matthias’ face would take on such a loving and gentle
look. She could almost believe he would be a father who truly loved the child.

But only the contrary was true with him.

He’s a man who only sees the child in her belly as a means to satisfy his greed, to shackle her
permanently to him.

What an abominable man.

“Please don’t insult my baby like that!” She seethed, wrapping her frail arms around her stomach
stubbornly away from him, “I don’t want them to hear such insults!”

It was a futile effort, but she felt the need to do something, despite how useless.

“You think it insulting?” Matthias hummed thoughtfully, but Leyla knew he wouldn’t understand her
plight at all.

“There seemed to be a misunderstanding, Leyla,” Matthias rebutted softly, his gaze dropping to her
swollen stomach barely even hidden from him. “I adore the child. Thanks to it, I’d been persuaded not
to kill you,” He then smiled roguishly at her, “And thus here we are now, as happy as we can be again.”
She heard no malice in Matthias’ voice. With the way he was now, he seemed to be only laying out the
pure, cut-dry facts for her. And once again, Leyla lost another ounce of fight in her at his words.

She could only hide in silence again.

Matthias bowed down and kissed her on her forehead. Then he went back to his seat and returned to
appreciating just the sight of Leyla in front of him.

Like she was only a piece of art to be ogled at.

Evening came swiftly, and once more he hugged her and secured her back to bed.

With his bare chest flushed against her back, Leyla noticed her temperature was a little warmer than
usual.

“I have a fever.” She pointed out weakly.

Matthias frowned, before spreading a palm on her forehead, checking if she had a fever. Leyla only
turned back around, her back now to him once more.

“I feel tired, I want to rest.” She declared.

With a resigned sigh, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Now sitting on the bed, watching her back, Matthias gently reached out to put the tie on the table
around her wrist once more. Once satisfied and secured with the knot, he laid back down behind her
before encasing her in his arms like a trap.

To Leyla, whom he cherished, Matthias told many stories.

He told her how much he knew what she liked, and how he was going to create a world for her. Should
there be no such place among the mansions owned by the Herhardt family, he would build a new one in
her name.

He could even buy an island for her if it’s what it took.

“Let’s build a tower, and build it high so it reaches the sky.”

“I’ll keep you with me forever to make our heaven.”

“I’ll give you my world. Leyla, as long as you stay by my side, as you are now.”

“I love you.” He whispered in Leyla’s ear, who’d long fallen asleep dreaming about his sweet tortures.

It was still a confession, one that can only be conveyed in this way for now.
But one day, perhaps soon, he may be able to say it while looking at the beautiful green eyes he’d long
wanted to keep on him forever. And that day he eagerly waits for it. Leyla won’t leave him anymore
when she learns to stop fearing him.

Perhaps it wasn’t long now. After all, Leyla loved this kid that came from him. As soon as the child is
born, and would need its father, Leyla will have no other choice than to accept him.

And he’s more than willing to play the role.

To make a loving family for the child she cherishes so much.

Matthias kissed Leyla’s soft hair, grasping tightly and securely one of her hands with pure joy.

Despite the burning fever against his skin, he only ever had one truth for her.

I love you.

Suddenly there was a sound of a sigh, hitting hotly against the cold chill around them. Repressing the
urge to suddenly break down in vulnerability, Matthias buried his face in the nape of her neck, nuzzling
it snuggly. The fresh scent of roses flooded his nostrils.

She still smelled so sweet to him.

It’s funny to see himself begging for the heart of the woman who only had hatred for him, but he’s
undeniably happy right now, with Leyla in his arms.

The night was lovely.

He looked around with a dazed face, not knowing what to do before he settled on pulling her body flush
against him instead, wounding an arm around her to securely her firmly against his body.

She squirmed in his arms, but only for a moment. And he found a sadistic form of pleasure in her
mindless resistance.

He chuckled, low and quiet in the night.

But there was a hidden urge in him to cry.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla opened her eyes to the sunset. It was a dreamy color that made unrealistic days feel more like a
dream. Looking at her forehead, all drenched with cold sweat, she curled up before sighing against the
heat.
Her hand went to rub her stomach.

‘Are you okay?’ She asked it, smiling at the soft, fluttering sensation she felt when she stroked her
stomach, as if in response to the question. A sense of relief washed over her, along with a minor ache in
her bones that began to spread.

The mild fever and chills that began a few days ago were getting worse, she soon noted. She endured
well even when she was left alone in the broken house after losing Uncle Bill…

But after her encounter with the Duke, her body and mind felt as if it was on the brink of collapsing. She
hated the feeling so much, but her body refused to bend to her will.

Every day was getting scary and difficult to live through.

She felt like this was it.

After Uncle Bill’s funeral, every night that came made her go deeper and deeper into the comforts of
sleep to escape the pains in her life. When the house would grow quiet, she was suffocated. And when
the strong night wind kept blowing through the broken window, she could only tremble in fear that
another air raid would come…

But she still has a baby. She had to protect them, so she tried to hang in there, but there were many
moments when it didn’t work out.

Moments even her child wasn’t enough to bring her to care about her life.

And Leyla hated how she truly realized it now she was forever by Matthias’ side.

She was dragged humiliatingly captive. Forced to eat for survival despite her wishes…

-and slept more comfortably in a cruel man’s arms than when she was alone, which sometimes came as
an unbearably painful wound.

Above all, she found it unbearable how well the baby had taken to the man who kept imprisoning her.

The baby would soon begin fluttering here and there when they heard his voice. When he’d touched
her, she could also feel the baby kick in joy. They moved a lot more with Matthias with her, than they
did for her alone.

They didn’t understand how cruel the man was, they were just content with having another being
around than just the mother. Because the baby has only ever had just a mother.

Leyla was very upset and guilty about that.

She only found out she was with child once they finally left Arvis. She tried too long, and too hard to
pretend she didn’t know that she wasn’t growing a human in her belly…

But eventually, it had grown too big to deny.

Too big to ignore.

As soon as she accepted reality, Leyla grew to find solace with the child, surprisingly. She knew what it
meant to have an illegitimate child whose father would never even know its existence, how her life
would change irrevocably if she were to keep it!

And what disappointment and sadness she would bring to Uncle Bill once he knew she’d keep the child
of her torturer.

So she kept quiet, unwilling to disclose its existence.

She wanted to protect the baby, but she was afraid it’ll look like a lingering regret that she brought to
this far place without leaving it in Arvis. Surely Uncle Bill would think so too.

She was so embarrassed.

But it was more crippling to carry the knowledge that she’d never know what Uncle Bill truly thought if
she was carrying the Duke’s child. If she had known it would remain such great guilt, she shouldn’t have
hidden it from Uncle Bill.

After losing Uncle Bill overnight, the most painful crushing feeling of regret bore down on her chest.

Was the baby lonely like her then? Was that why, even when its father was cruel and heartless, the baby
has taken such a liking to him this much?

‘I don’t want you to. You’ll only get hurt.’

She implored it to hate their father.

“Leyla.”

She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep, before waking up in confusion. Looking up, she saw Matthias.
The lights were already turned on, lighting up the once darkened room.

She thought he was continuing what he was saying, but she couldn’t hear him well over the fog in her
ears. There was just a biting chill in the air…

But her body still felt too hot, she soon found herself out of breath even though she was lying still on the
bed all this time.

“Leyla.” His voice that kept calling out her name only grew louder. The child’s movement in her belly
also grew in strength. They kicked harder and harder every time Matthias called out for her.

‘What if the baby thought their name was Leyla?’ She thought idly before she laughed at the thought.

What a funny mistake it was if that were true, Leyla thought to herself, before the laughter died down.

Soon, only a hot breath escaped her lips, replacing the soft chuckles she’d let out.
He was still calling out her name, and the child was still moving around excitedly, but could only register
the mixed sensations all around her.

The heat, the chill, the fluttering in her stomach, and the soothing sensation of Matthias saying her
name…

She missed Uncle Bill, she thought belatedly to herself, before her vision soon turned to black.

Chapter 135

That Name

The military doctor looked at the patient with puzzled eyes.

The woman Was not recovering for several days now. It was difficult for him to find a proper way to
examine her condition because he couldn’t use the usual medicine.

Her pregnancy was proving difficult for him to treat her.

“When will the fever go down?” Major Herhardt asked as soon as the doctor stepped away from Leyla.

The military doctor grimaced to face him, swallowing down his nervousness at disappointing the Duke.

There was more than just a fever ailing the Major’s woman. He had been surprised she’d managed to
survive so far with such a myriad of conditions happening to her body alone.

Any other average adult would not be at risk of death with this fever. Still, with her pregnancy, and
further weakened body by other ailments, it was a different matter altogether.

Death was proving to be more likely, but he didn’t know how to break it to the Major without fearing for
his life in return.

On the first day he was called to this room, Major Herhardt’s eyes, who spoke blankly about the
woman’s worsening condition, had a cold and shuddering glint.
He hardly looked like amongst the living and seemed just about ready to swallow a bullet up his mouth
to follow his woman.

“We still have to wait and see-” the doctor began to stammer when Matthias cut him off rather rudely.

“Until when?” Matthias growled threateningly deep and low towards the doctor.

Ever Since he saw her collapse, he immediately began to nurse her back to health. All by himself, he
wanted to do it. He refused anyone else’s aid, snapping at them for even offering to take care of her.

“If we take her to a military hospital in the back, can we treat her?” He urgently inquired, looking down
at her matted, sweaty golden hair, and stray locks plastered against her temples as she sweated
buckets.

But the doctor shook his head.

“With the patient’s physical condition, the journey itself will be too difficult to endure.” He quickly
explained to the Duke, “And if by some miracle we manage to send her there, her pregnancy would still
prevent us from treating her with any medicine.”

He wanted to explain more about the woman’s condition, but judging by the Major’s ominous
expression, continuing to speak would only gain his ire. This terrifying expression of his, which made him
look like a dead man walking, only made him be seen like a cornered animal.

But despite his posture, his expression remained blank and impassive.

“I’m sorry, Major.” The doctor finished with a sullen and resigned tone.

Matthias approached Leyla’s bedside again, instinctively grabbing her hand in his. She remained
stubbornly unconscious.

The frighteningly high fever had refused to subside for days. Leyla had stayed unconscious for most of
the time. When she was, it was still barely enough to keep her awake for long, unable to eat beyond a
spoonful of porridge properly.

She would groan endlessly complaining about the heat and murmur incoherently before blacking out
again.

However, Matthias did not give up.

To somehow lower the heat, he wiped her forehead with a wet towel, wiping it and her body off of the
grime and sweat that had begun to accumulate. Then, he’d religiously cradle her head and feed the
porridge when she awoke.

Leyla would scold him half-heartedly for his manhandling of her, but he let it slide. Day in and day out,
he would patiently change her clothes, wipe her sweat, and do the same things again and again with
every passing day.
“It’s all right, Leyla.” He cooed softly over her delirious fever haze. Then, breathing raggedly in his arms,
she groaned in pain as she struggled to keep her eyes open and stare deliriously around them.

“You’ll get better soon.” He promised. Leyla’s eyes snapped to the light source overhead.

“Uncle Bill.” She called out, eyes unfocused as they stared up at him before she gave him a sweet, sweet
smile.

“Leyla.” He breathed reverently.

“Later… in the evening, Kyle-” Leyla’s words trailed off, as she resumed babbling incoherently.

Something cold settled in his chest at the mention of the name.

Kyle.

Despite being unconscious, the name this woman called affectionately stilled the loving caress that was
being given to her. Matthias’s hands that had been wiping her sweat away froze in contemplation.

Amongst her fevered ramblings, Matthias inferred she believed herself to be back in Arvis before they
began their relationship together as she began babbling on about a few stories he’d already read in her
diary, her taking care of the flowers in the garden with Bill Remmer. Having so much fun in the forest
and the flower fields. Doing homework with Kyle Etman in their quaint little cabin.

Always only three.

Only the three of them always flashed in her memories as they spent time together, ate dinner, and
laughed together.

He looked down and watched her happy expression as she babbled on and off of eloquence. Not a single
moment as she shared her memories did her smile fade. Even as the pain worsened, and she’d grown
red in the face, it disappeared.

After wandering in such illusions for a long time, Leyla lost consciousness again and fell into a deep
sleep. Instead of waking her up, Matthias dipped a lukewarm towel in a basin. The bones of the hand
that twisted the towel as hard as possible were turning white as he poured every terrible thought he
wanted to do.

When night came around, Leyla called out for other more names, but they stayed mostly the same.

Mom.

Dad.

Uncle Bill.

Kyle.
And yet, not a single moment did Matthias cross her fever-addled brain.

A rising rage awoke in him at the blatant insult Leyla kept showing him even as she was sick.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Outside the makeshift infirmary, a military car came rolling by to a stop belonging to Bergian forces. One
of those that dismounted was Riette von Lindman.

He had stopped in front of a hotel standing in the square of the city, stretching a limb overhead as he
loosened his limbs up from the long journey. He watched the young soldiers sitting in groups and having
a leisurely afternoon smoke or chat.

This relaxed aura in the camp, a different cry from the war he’d come from, immediately brightened up
Riette’s eyes.

“Riette Lindman!” A noble officer, who recognized him, approached with a smile as they greeted each
other. Riette shook his hand in return with his roguish smile.

“Oh, you’re still alive.” He jested.

“You know how I am.” They lightheartedly rebutted. The two continued exchanging pleasantries and
jokes before they sat side by side at a bar on the hotel’s first floor.

After achieving the top priority of occupying Sienna, the Berg army was scheduled to reorganize its
battle lines here and march west to attack the capital of Lovita. However, soldiers who had been running
nonstop and winning the war were given temporary leave to enjoy some time in a warm resort city in
the south as a reward for all their hard work and sacrifice.

Before the start of the new year, the emperor’s solemn declaration that he would win and return Berg’s
sons, which he pertained to Sienna city, to his family’s arms, but no one readily believed it.

Now it was looking more and more likely to be true.

“What about Matthias?” Riette lightly winced as he downed a shot of brandy, looking around in search
of the duke as he asked for his whereabouts. After all, he was the reason why Riette, who’d been
assigned to the rear units who supplied the bulk of Berg Army, came over here in the first place. To
check up on his cousin.

“It’s…” The officer, who was laughing mischievously with him not a moment ago, suddenly looked
pensive and hesitant. Riette frowned with concern.

“Why? Did something happen? I didn’t hear that he was injured.”

“It’s not like that. Major Herhardt is safe, but…” the officer began to trail off, sighing, “There have been
some strange things happening here lately.”

“Oh?” Riette asked, now intrigued, “What could have happened to that boring guy?”

Fingers drummed against the glass.

“He dragged a pregnant Lovitan woman to camp.”

Riette’s hands stilled before he could throw back another shot of brandy down his throat.

“What?” he croaked, Riette doubting he heard him correctly.

“It’s a shock that Duke Matthias von Herhardt, who is not like the other men, would suddenly feel the
urge to claim a woman out of the blue! Especially a Lovitan woman.” He grumbled, rubbing his temples
in great confusion, still unable to wrap his head around their Major’s behavior. “I can’t explain it.”

“Aw, come on,” Riette prodded, “Don’t leave me hanging now that you’ve told me the interesting bits.”

“In Room 308, go and see it for yourself.” The other soldier grunted, throwing back another shot of
brandy for himself, “You’ll know when you see it.”

He drank the rest of the drink and shook his head and sighed. Riette, who was looking at him with a
frown, left the bar, alongside the rest of his luggage.

Even as he climbed the stairs and passed through the hallway where the room was located, he did not
believe his friend. Riette thought it was certain that he was drunk from all the day drinking he’d been
doing. Or perhaps he went a little crazy due to the shock of war. That made more sense than Matthias
von Herhardt committing such a Scandal amid a high-stake war.

Soon after, however, Riette was able to confirm the ridiculous reality with his own eyes.

Just as he was about to knock, the door to the room suddenly swung open. He nearly crashed into the
military doctor, who was just about to leave the room.

“Oh, is Matthias in there?” he politely asked the doctor, before a sudden burst inside the room gave
them great alarms!

“Open your eyes! Open your eyes! Come on!” a demanding yell echoed from inside, before the doctor
turned back inside in haste, with Riette following in suit.

What he saw greatly baffled him as soon as he saw his cousin.

His perfect cousin, the ever revered Duke of Arvis, now looked manic as he shook roughly the arms of an
unconscious, and definitely, heavily pregnant woman in bed as he shouted at her.
Matthias had Bloodshot eyes, and age lines on his face were more prominent than he remembered.
Even the shirt he had on was loose and crinkled. It was unbelievable even when he saw his state with his
own eyes.

“Don’t do this, Major! The patient needs to rest!” protested the doctor as he gripped the major’s wrists
to prevent him from shaking the woman roughly some more.

“Do you think you can run away if you die?!” Matthias screamed at the woman’s face, “Don’t
underestimate me!”

Without any mercy or regard, Matthias shoved the military doctor holding his arm away. He resumed
grabbing the unconscious woman lying in bed again.

Riette had no clue what was going on, but his body moved anyway, immediately grabbing Matthias’
wrists to prevent him from aggravating the woman’s condition more.

“What’s going on, Matthias?!” Riette yelled over his cousin’s screams, “What’s the meaning of all this-”

In his shock, Riette abruptly let go of Matthias as soon as he saw who was lying on the bed.

He took a few steps away from his cousin.

It was Leyla Lewellin, the woman whom Riette recognized well enough.

Taking advantage of Riette’s shock, Matthias rushed back to Leyla.

“If you run away to death, I’ll die too! I’ll chase you!” Matthias exclaimed as he shook her unconscious
frame roughly, “You hear me, Leyla?! You’re mine! Even if you die, you will not escape me!”

Matthias, who held and screamed at an unconscious woman, looked like a made beast, forced into the
last of his sanity. Like a pitiful prey thrown in front of the gun, weighed down by uncontrollable fear and
left only with its baser instincts.

Riette reeled back in great disbelief as he watched the madness unfolding in front of him.

This… This didn’t make sense.

As far as he knew, Matthias was a man who had lived perfectly all his life. He was always calculating and
composed, always an intimidating predator, and a perfect hunter all his life.

There was no reason to believe he could be anything else than that.

“Open your eyes now. Open your eyes, Leyla!” Matthias demanded from Leyla, who remained
stubbornly limp and unwaking, “See who is in front of you before you kill Kyle Etman!” He seethed
desperately, his body shaking with a barely concealed rage.
A few days ago, perhaps Leyla could have been roused back to unconsciousness with his current actions,
but her condition had greatly worsened with every passing day. And now, even with her ragged breaths
and groans of pain…

Her eyes could only remain closed off from him.

Matthias saw this as a slight to him, a stubborn refusal on her part to deny him of her attention.

And it made Matthias want to go crazy.

“Uncle…” Leyla murmured painfully and longingly in her delirium, when she sighed out, Matthias caught
the smell of a familiar tang-iron scent. He could only slump back into bed, unable to say anything more
to make her see him.

She called out for Bill Remmer a few more times, a smile always following suit before her cloudy green
eyes blinked up unfocused in the room. It was almost like he was there with them, about to fetch and
steal Leyla away from him.

Matthias looked around with blank and dead eyes, before landing on the window in the room. It must
be a bright day outside, yet he saw no light. It was all darkness.

Perfect darkness without even a single piece of light.

Was the gardener truly trying to take Leyla away?

What ridiculous thought, he rationalized, but the persistent fear refused to leave him.

Just as Bill orchestrated the escape from Arvis with Leyla…

He comes back once more to take Leyla back from the man who fought tooth and nail to reunite them.

“Leyla.” Matthias’ called out softly, his tune changed once more in the face of looming death for her. He
wrapped Leyla’s heated cheeks with his hands which began to tremble.

‘Leyla, please.’ He begged in his mind as he pressed their foreheads together, before pressing their lips
together and tasting the blood that had settled on her lips.

She was whispering once more, weak and soft against his lips.

“Uncle…” Leyla’s lips became soft as if she had met Bill Remmer again.

“Kyle…” she called out with a delirious smile.

Naturally, the name followed. Leyla laughed happily against him, even though he knew in his heart she
was about to die.

She was dreaming of beautiful things with a man that wasn’t him.
Matthias flashed back to the girl smiling brightly at Kyle Etman in front of him.

She was the child of Arvis, who grew up to be so smart as she was pretty, her eyes forever twinkling and
loving with everything she saw. The woman who escaped from him relentlessly, the woman he was
hoping was his but never was.

Was he killing her?

“Matthias.” Riette, who approached him, grabbed his shoulder slightly. It was only then that Matthias
noticed the existence of his cousin.

But it didn’t rouse any sense of alarm in him. Just a void remained. Even with Riette in front of him,
Matthias’s eyes were just empty.

Matthias’ touch returned to Leyla, being spurned by Riette’s touch on his shoulder.

His hands roamed all over the sweaty hair, the matted red face. His hands lingered on her neck, before
moving to her arms, and torso before he finally leaned back.

His hands dropped to the sides limply.

With a terse voice, he finally spoke.

“Bring me Etman. Now.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Kyle Etman!”

Kyle hurriedly looked up for the voice that was urgently calling for him. The military police, one of those
who put him in this prison, were rushing in, keys jingling as they stood in front his cell.

“You’ve been requested, Private Etman.” the police informed him as they unlocked his makeshift cell.

Deciding to be a little snarky after being imprisoned, Kyle couldn’t help but snap back at them.

“Oh? Don’t I still have more days to serve as punishment?”

“Stop talking smart and come out!” the police barked harshly at him, yanking him up to his feet, “You’ve
been given an important job in place of your punishment, so be grateful! Double time Private!” They
urged him, roughly grabbing him by his biceps and hauling him out of prison

“What do you mean?” Kyle asked with great confusion, “What mission?”

“It’s Major Herhardt’s orders.” the police grunted at him.

Ah, so he was being released under the Duke’s leniency huh? Kyle wanted to laugh mockingly at the
thought. Surely this was just another sick sense of justice the Duke had!

Just about as Kyle was about to snark back at the police, he was interrupted by an explanation.

The Duke’s leniency for putting himself in this warehouse. As soon as he wanted to laugh, the military
police continued.

“The woman the Major brought is very sick,” the police sternly explained, “And for some reason, he’s
convinced you can help. So get up, Private Etman! Time’s a wastin!”

Chapter 136

Your Dream Came True

“There’s not much I can do for the patient at the moment, Major.”

The military doctor opened his mouth with an awkward face. It was very embarrassing to have to repeat
the same words every day in front of his increasingly cold superior.

“Why?”

The returning major’s answer was also the same.

“As you know, she’s pregnant, so I can’t use medicine carelessly. If something goes wrong, the child in
the stomach-”

“I’m asking about Leyla right now.” Matthias interrupted rudely, which ultimately paved way for a
newfound tension in the room between the current occupants.
The military doctor flinched upon the Major’s harshness, especially as Matthias immediately shot up to
his feet.

Before anything else could happen, the door swung open to reveal Kyle as he finally returned.

Uniform crumpled up, hair unkempt, and dark circles beneath his eyes, Kyle held a murderous glare as
his eyes landed on Matthias. But unlike him, Matthias only held a quiet, haunted look in his eyes.

Unlike Kyle, who glared at him as if he were going to kill him, Matthias’ eyes were consistently silent.

The first day he’d been called into the room, he’d witnessed a ruthless quarrel between the two men.
But more so on Private Etman’s part than it did with the Major’s.

Kyle, who saw Leyla lying dead, went half-crazy and attacked him without hesitation.

If only he could kill that devil.

However, even if Kyle cursed, waved his fist, and made a fuss, Matthias did not show any reaction.

‘Save Leyla.’

That was all he said to Kyle.

He ruined her, drove her to the threshold of death, and dared to give such an order to him?! Yet Kyle
wouldn’t reject the order.

It’s Leyla after all. Why should she suffer for what the Major did? Even if it was not a major’s order, he
had to save Leyla at all costs. But it was, so he couldn’t do anything else about it.

Leyla’s condition has not improved at all. Sometimes, when her consciousness came back from time to
time, she would recognize Kyle and say things as if he had returned to his childhood friend, but that was
all.

“Focus on Leyla, not the child.” Matthias hissed, “Just think about Leyla, and make sure she’s healed!”
demanded Matthias after a glance at Kyle, before addressing the doctor once more.

“But Major, the mother, and the baby’s condition are not separate. Inevitably together-”

“Use the medicine!” Matthias ordered and the doctor clamped his mouth shut at the raised voice, “Use
the medicine to lower her fever, and wake her up!”

Finally, Kyle broke his silence on the matter.

“She’s too far along in the pregnancy already.” Kyle seethed at him, “If we use any of the stronger
medicine, the child would come out stillborn!”

“So what?” Matthias snapped before he looked down at Leyla, who was breathing hard. “Bring your
medicine, Etman.”
“DO YOU WANT TO KILL THE CHILD?!” Kyle asked him incredulously.

“I don’t care what happens to the child,” Matthias admitted truthfully, and Kyle couldn’t help but scoff.

“HOW COULD YOU-”

“You’re here to save Leyla,” Matthias cut off, his tone more ominous than before as he glared at Kyle,
“Do what is asked of you and nothing else.”

He’d lost care about keeping the child alive the moment he realized he would lose Leyla anyway. It’s
true that when the child dies, the last hope of regaining Leyla by his side forever would disappear.

It’s the thought that made him hesitate most about the treatment he knew could save Leyla’s life. But
ultimately…

He’d rather endure the hell of letting her go and live her life than watch her die.

There was nothing else to consider. Nothing else would matter, and that’s what Matthias had come to
do.

“HOW CAN YOU TELL ME TO KILL HER CHILD SO CALLOUSLY?!” Kyle persisted, “HAVE YOU EVER TAKEN
INTO ACCOUNT HER FEELINGS IN THIS MATTER, OR JUST YOUR SELFISHNESS AGAIN!?” Kyle burst into
anger that he couldn’t hold back anymore.

Riette, who was watching from afar, also stepped in to put his two cents in.

“I agree, Matthias,” Riette piped up softly, “We’re already in a war, and if that child that Miss Lewellin
has is your child, you have to save it, too.” His eyes were serious when he looked at Matthias.

“If you were to be killed and die, and if that child in your stomach is your child, it would be Herhardt’s
only successor.”

Riette spoke in the count of the nobility. It was the right thing to do if you were an heir to a prestigious
family. And Matthias von Herhardt was said to be the most perfect aristocrat in this empire.

“Be reasonable.” Riette urged, imploring to the rational Duke he knew Matthias was. After a glance
towards both Kyle and Riette, who stood in front of him in protest, Matthias whirled around swiftly to
face the military doctor again.

“Give me the medicine.” He immediately demanded it. The calm voice that broke the heavy silence was
no different from before. If no one had the balls to save Leyla, he’d do it himself!

“I’ll save Leyla.”

Matthias repeated the cold-blooded orders as if he knew nothing else but that.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
‘My dream has come true.’

Leyla thought happily. Even though she knew it was impossible, the dream she had deep in her heart
became a reality.

It was the beginning of summer when the forest of Arvis would turn the most beautiful green.

She pedaled her bike excitedly and ran to the cabin. She wore the summer uniform of Gillis’s Girls’
School, where the hem of her blue dress fluttered along the wind shaking the forest.

The old bicycle creaked and stopped in front of the warehouse in the front yard of the cabin. Leyla
jumped slightly off the bike, quickly running the remaining distance home.

It didn’t take too long to change her clothes and come out again.

She wore a wide-brimmed straw hat and held a large basket, walking gently toward the deep forest as if
dancing. She was going to pick raspberries until Kyle came to study together. She had to make enough
raspberry jam to fit the glass bottles before the end of this summer.

Yes, it was a dream come true. At the beginning of summer when she was only eighteen years old. Back
when everything was still all fun and happy days.

Leyla hummed and picked raspberries. She also thought about the dinner menu from time to time. For
both Uncle Bill and Kyle, she could make their favorite foods. Should she have asked Uncle Bill to catch
the chicken?

While thinking diligently and picking raspberries, Leyla reached the riverside. The smell of water tickled
her nose as she wiped her sweaty forehead.

Now, these days will continue every day. Leyla could tell that her dream came true and she can live in
this time forever.

She was so thrilled. She felt her heart was full when suddenly Leyla heard a child crying.

It was strange.

There are no children in this forest. However, the sound was too loud and clear to dismiss as something
she’d just misheard.

Leyla, who hesitated, put down the heavy basket for a while and looked in the direction in which the cry
came. And after a while, she spotted a strange child crying. A small and pretty child, who seemed to be
around Leyla’s age when she was abandoned by her mother, was crying and walking alone from the foot
of the river.

Puzzled, Leyla’s steps faltered before she stepped back.

She didn’t know who the child was. She gently pressed a palm against her pounding chest and shook her
head.

She had to hurry back to the cabin. Uncle Bill will be back soon. She had to make dinner for the three of
them.

‘But who is that? Why is the child crying?’

Leyla took a step back, suddenly overcome with the urge to cry. In the meantime, the child’s cries only
grew louder.

‘What should I do? What should I do?’

She kept biting her lips out of nervousness. Her ears were ringing with the deafening cries of the
unknown child.

And then she gasped, pupils, dilating as a vision flashed right in front of her.

It was fuzzy at first until it gradually became clearer and clearer…

And then she saw the blue eyes.

As soon as Leyla realized that it was Matthias who’d been looking right at her, she suddenly became
aware of one other thing.

Large, firm hands grabbed her chin and began to pry open her mouth. Naturally, she resisted weakly in
protest, confused and unknowing of what was happening. After a while, something smooth, hard, and
cold touched her lips.

It was a medicine bottle.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

A sharp scream erupted in the whole room.

Leyla’s scream was so loud that other occupants found it hard to believe she was the same woman who
had only been suffering, dying even, just a while ago.

“LEYLA!” Kyle called out for her, while the doctor and Riette stood uselessly at either side. They looked
at him sheepishly, but Matthias, who was holding down a thrashing Leyla, remained surprisingly cool-
headed.

“It’s all right. You’ll be fine soon.” Matthias promised her quietly as he continued to overpower Leyla,
who was struggling, and then fixed eyes on the medicine bottle and grabbed it hastily. However, Leyla
continued to thrash around relentlessly as she screamed bloody murder against his hold!

“DON’T! GET AWAY FROM ME! I DON’T WANT IT!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“DON’T BE STUBBORN, LEYLA,” Matthias grunted as he continued to keep her head still to force the
medicine down her throat.

“MY BABY! MY FAMILY! WHO ARE YOU TO KILL MY FAMILY?!”

Matthias’ frown deepened as he looked at Leyla, thrashing and screaming around like he was the devil.

“IF YOU KEEP THIS UP, YOU’LL DIE.” He pointed out to her, sticking fingers at the side of her mouth, to
open it up. A frustrated look emerged from his eyes as Leyla started to bite and scratch at his hands.

Hysterical sobs all but replaced her screams, but Matthias didn’t back down one bit.

“Sa-save it.” She wheezed at him, all frail and weakened, limbs as thin as twigs, but her grip on his hand
holding the medicine bottle was stubbornly strong as she pushed it away from her.

The desperation in her voice eventually stilled his hands.

“I lied. I lied. I LIED!!!” Leyla rasped breathlessly, eyes wide and panicked as she pleaded with him, “It’s
your baby! It’s only ever your baby!”

Tears that flowed nonstop soaked her fever face.

“I know,” Matthias answered without any hesitation or remorse as his resolve remained strong. It was a
fact that he knew from the beginning and had never doubted for a moment. And it didn’t have any
effect on Matthias’ decision.

He’d kill his child to save her.

Only Leyla was important to him.

Leyla stared at him in a daze, in complete disbelief at the man who now held her child’s life in his hands
quite literally.

Matthias was steadfast. He wasn’t backing down.

“No, it’s you… it’s your baby!” She sobbed as she wheezed and pleaded with him to spare her child. Her
ramblings turned inconsolable as she continued to

Leyla muttered incomprehensibly.

‘You’re going to kill the baby even though you know it’s your child?! How?!’

“I’m telling you the truth.” she sobbed, but Matthias remained silent, “It might look like you.” She tried
again, but nothing. He remained quiet, and his grip on her still strong.

“The baby, it loves you. It loves you, my baby.” She rasped out, delirious and weakened. Still, Matthias
remained silent, even as Leyla’s pleas became more desperate.
Of this, Matthias couldn’t comprehend the importance. Leyla continued to spout nonsense for him.
Whether the child resembles him or likes him, it didn’t mean anything to Matthias.

The child only ever served as an excuse to have Leyla by his side without making him kill her, so it was
important then, but not anymore.

The child in his eyes now was nothing more than another parasite, trying to take Leyla away from him.
And Matthias could not tolerate that kind of existence. Even if it’s his child doing it.

No one would take Leyla away from him. He won’t allow it.

Renewed with this knowledge, Matthias now climbed over Leyla’s frail form, grip hardening on the
medicine bottle.

“NO! DON’T DO THAT! DON’T KILL MY BABY! I’M DYING TOO! IF MY BABY DIES, I’LL DIE TOO!” Leyla
wailed as she struggled with all her might. “WITHOUT MY BABY, I WILL BE ALL ALONE IN THE WORLD!
I’LL DIE! I DON’T THINK I CAN STAND IT. SO… PLEASE.”

By now she didn’t even have the strength to keep her eyes open anymore, but Leyla…

She still hung on tightly to him. Matthias’ deepened more as he kept looking at her ever-weakening
state, a painful lurch in his heart at her statement.

‘What about me?’ He wanted to ask, but couldn’t.

Why can’t he be her family instead? He’ll take care of her, give her everything she would ever desire.

He’d be with her always, so she won’t ever be alone.

He’s right here with her, always had been, and yet Leyla continued to say she’s alone. Had she already
considered he’d never be part or important to her life then?

His grip eventually loosened up, and the medicine bottle rolled down from Matthias’ grasp as he stared
down at Leyla. His hollow laughter flowed ruthlessly out his lips, as the glass bottle shattered into a
million pieces as it hit the floor.

“Leyla, if you want to save your child, you should live, too.” Mathias, who opened his slowly closed eyes,
looked at Leyla with a more convincing gaze.

“If you give your life to save the child, it will die anyway.” He told her gently, caressing her chin…

“Because if you die just to save it,” before his hands still and his gaze hardened. “I’m going to kill it.” He
promised her. He held her face still for her to look at him, but her eyes had gone unfocused, her lips
remained wordless with his threats to her child’s life.

“Listen up, Leyla….. LIVE.” he commanded her in a whisper, “LIVE… if you want to save that child. Do you
understand me?” He demanded of her.
Her hands trembled with feverish heat, but eventually, Leyla found the strength to nod a few times
before she lost consciousness again.

Still, Matthias shook Leyla’s unconscious form urgently to confirm her answer. He kept at it, even as it
was clear she was no longer conscious.

It ended only after Riette, who couldn’t just watch the nightmare anymore, managed to eventually pull
him away from her and forcibly pulled him out of the room.

Everyone in the room could tell that if Leyla were to eventually die…

So would the child in her belly, by Matthias’ hands.

Chapter 137

If I Can’t Be Your Sky

A strange routine soon formed between Matthias and Kyle.

Kyle would step in to take care of her when Leyla came to consciousness, and Matthias would take
charge as soon as she fell into a deep sleep.

It wasn’t intentional, but it just came to them naturally.

A wordless agreement between the two of them.

Fortunately, a few days later after the whole kerfuffle, Leyla’s fever was finally breaking, little by little.

The military doctor was relieved that it turned out to not be pneumonia, which was the worst-case
scenario for the pregnant woman. He was also quite certain that should the woman die, he too would
be killed by the major for his failure.

“All that’s left to do now is to leave it to the patient.” He cautiously informed the Major, who was
holding the hand of the woman as soon as she fell asleep.
“To do that,” the doctor started anxiously, “Her comfort is of utmost importance. Please refrain from
stressing her out in any way, and not handle her so roughly.” The doctor eventually laid out.

While he was afraid for whatever lashing out the major would give him, this too was necessary advice. If
the Major wanted to keep the woman alive, he needed to heed this advice as well.

Matthias stood up abruptly, making everyone else in the room flinch. He remained quiet, before letting
go of Leyla’s hand. Kyle, who brought her meal just in time, finally entered the room.

They locked eyes with one another.

As they continued to hold each other’s gaze, the nervous eyes of the military doctor flitted between
them, as he gulped down his trepidation. Duke Herhardt and his family doctor’s son. More and more the
rumors about the Duke stealing the doctor’s son’s woman were becoming more truthful with every
passing time.

Fortunately, the silence did not last very long.

Matthias eventually stepped back, and Kyle finally took over his recently vacated space beside the
unconscious woman. And just in time too, as Leyla finally opened her eyes.

“Kyle.” A bright, and pleasant smile spread across Leyla’s lips as soon as she saw him.

“What about the note? Did you bring your geometric note?” She asked him incoherently. Kyle gave her a
soft, and despondent smile in return.

She was still half delirious and crazed from the high fever. He’d play along with her until she got better.

“Of course I brought it.” He piped up softly, wiping down gently the sweat from her forehead, “That
way, I can get dinner from you.”

“No, not yet.” she mumbled, looking around with a frown.

“Don’t you want to have dinner, Leyla?” Kyle softly inquired, waiting patiently for her response.

“Uncle Bill hasn’t come yet.”

Kyle blinked back the tears stinging his eyes at the mention of him. He cleared his throat for a bit to
compose himself before responding to her.

“U-Uncle Bill had told me he’d be running a little late, Leyla.” Kyle excused as he smiled brighter after
rubbing his red-eyed face in a hurry.

Matthias watched them from a distance from the bed, hidden from her direct line of sight.

He watched as Leyla smiled like an innocent girl and believed Kyle’s words almost immediately, not an
ounce of hesitation. And Kyle was there, carefully feeding her porridge, blowing on every spoonful to
cool it down for her.
What a cozy and peaceful sight.

One he’d never had with her at all.

After watching them for a moment more, Matthias swiftly turned on his heels, quietly turning around to
avoid seeing more.

As the bright sunlight poured over him as he went out into the hallway, a bitter smile paved its way to
his lips.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias did not return to his room until late at night. Kyle had just left the room, and now only Leyla
remained in it, deeply fast asleep.

The fever was finally breaking albeit gradually, but at least Leyla’s breathing was no longer ragged and
wheezing. She was breathing normally once again. Thanks to this, Matthias can observe her endlessly in
the undisturbed silence. Her face was calm, almost as if she was in a pleasant dream. He didn’t know
what dream she was having.

But he was certain of just one thing about it.

He wasn’t in it.

He didn’t want to think about the mess around him, but eventually, he found himself in the bathroom,
cleaning himself up. He took longer than usual in the shower, hence by the time he got out, Leyla was
awake.

The woman was lying still, staring up at the ceiling like an innocent child. He hesitated for a while, but
Matthias still approached Leyla.

Upon hearing his nearing footsteps, she turned curiously to look at him. Eventually, it hadn’t come as a
surprise to him that as soon as she saw him, her innocent and wide-eyed look was soon replaced by a
frantic and unbridled fear.

“No, don’t do it!” She whispered pleadingly at him.

Matthias continued forward, stopping by the bed, and lifted the covers, watching her shrink in fear with
his proximity. He found himself not minding it one bit, before pulling her closer and began to remove
her clothes anyway, and proceeded to wipe down the building sweat and grime all over her body.

She gasped and whimpered at his touch, thrashing weakly in his grip, but he kept going. She shook his
arm off of her weakly, and when she realized that it was useless, she covered her face with her hands.

He could have gone and ordered a woman to do this, their military wasn’t short on staff female nurses
after all. But he didn’t want to let anyone else near Leyla.
He hated seeing someone else fretting over her, being with her, touching her, and seeing her the way he
did now. It didn’t matter if it was a man or a woman.

Only he must be with her.

Matthias kept carefully wiping her shivering and frail body. As soon as his hands reached her stomach,
his frame froze for just a moment.

While Leyla was growing weaker due to her sickness, the child kept growing persistently. He had hoped
that somehow she would miscarry eventually and Leyla would be back to full health, but the child
stubbornly remained healthy in her belly.

Truly it could only be his child, seeing as it was persistently sticking close to the woman, like he was.
Funnily enough, while Leyla would have no qualms in leaving him behind, seemed to be quite enamored
with the small parasite she was ready to even die for.

At that moment, an ugly feeling bloomed in his chest toward his unborn child.

He envied and hated the child like crazy. Back then, he only had to be content with Kyle Etman and Bill
Remmer. But the old gardener was already dead, and Kyle was no threat to him.

And now this parasite of a child.

He did not doubt that Leyla would put even her favorite birds, flowers, and even grass above him. His
situation was truly miserable and pitiful, and frankly pathetic, but he couldn’t get rid of his feelings for
her.

‘Should I just get rid of everything?’ He wondered curiously. The urge to do it was strong, to get rid of
everything in his way to be with Leyla, despite his rational side saying otherwise.

If he were to get rid of everything she loved, she would have no choice but to stay with him. A crazy
thought, but he could do it, he supposed. He’d drive her mad, just as she did when she left him.

Oh.

He hadn’t seen it before.

But one day, his love will eventually kill Leyla, won’t it?

But this was how he loved her. He didn’t know how to love this woman any other way. He didn’t think
he’d need to find a different way in all his life.

Matthias fixed the towel and grabbed it as he gathered his racing thoughts, calming down his breathing.
His eyes stared deep into the abyss, even as he laid down and covered Leyla in new pajamas.

“Let’s sleep”. Matthias whispered, sweeping Leyla’s hair over her forehead and cheek.
Leyla nodded at him breathlessly, and soon closed her eyes. She didn’t feel like she fell asleep. She
would have just wanted to avoid it. She can’t afford to lose her bearing around a man she hated and
feared so much.

Matthias remained by Leyla’s side though, despite knowing how much she hated him.

It was good to see her either way. He loved her so much, about as much as he was sick and tired of
himself.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When she woke up, Leyla was in Matthias’ arms again, encased securely and gently in them. The
morning sunshine seeping through the window was illuminating them beautifully together.

As her mind gradually focused back to the present, one by one her memories came flooding back to her
during her fever.

She remembered vaguely complaining during her sleep. She also voiced her wishes to go out. She also
remembered feeling frustrated. She only wanted to get some fresh air. And yet she remembered
Matthias giving her a hard, cold glare, obviously not allowing it.

But they were all so fuzzy, they seemed surreal.

Leyla chanced a glance at Matthias, before turning her eyes to look at the sky over the open window. He
was still snuggling deeply, his back to the window as his arms wrapped warmly around her. His fingers
were absentmindedly stroking and caressing the small of her back, feeling like a small gentle breeze was
running through her.

“Leyla.” He called out, snapping her gaze back to his now opened lids. He’d finally awoken, but then he
lowered his gaze from hers and turned to the distant sky before he locked eyes with her again.

“Leyla.” He called out in a whisper, almost like her name was the only song he knew to sing. It sounded
too sickly sweet in her ears, she couldn’t help but listen to him.

“Your child is okay. I’m happy it’s fine.” He hushed her gently, as he kept stroking her lovingly.
Subconsciously, she sank deeper into his arms, feeling her heart jump with hope with his gentle words.

‘It was only because he panicked after all,’ Leyla thought to herself, ‘He’s only human, the stress surely
clouded his judgment. He doesn’t hate his child after all.’

“Still, I need to have it, to have you again.” he continued, before his arms marginally tightened around
her frail form, “But I must admit, I find myself rather furious with it.”

Leyla’s heart leaped to her throat in his words, a cold dread slowly filling her.
“I keep watching you cherish it dearly, and yet you keep casting me aside, declaring your endless hate
for me, and I can’t stand it.” He hissed, holding her closer to him with every passing statement, “I need it
to have you, and yet I hate it so much because you love it so.”

She looked up at him, in a mix of trepidation and confusion. He looked straight into her eyes, as the
sunlight cast shadows over his face.

Was she still in a fevered hallucination? Leyla couldn’t help but wonder.

It must be, she desperately wished. She couldn’t imagine any father talking about their child like he was.
Surely this was just a nightmare she conjured up in her fever, like the many others she imagined about
his torture of her.

“I know better than to do it, but I can’t help but want to lock you up all over again,” Matthias smiled at
her, “Even if I hostage that child you bear, I’ll do it, so long as you stay by my side.”

He cupped her cheeks lovingly, staring at her glassy, wide eyes with great adoration.

“I can do anything, no matter how extreme, just to keep you with me.”

He kept talking. About how she drove him to be like this, and how he only knew how to be with her like
this. How it pained him to see her suffering so much, getting sick and delirious. And as he spouted about
himself, and his treatment of her…

The child in her belly kept moving, almost as if it loved hearing his voice, no matter how cruel his words
were. Leyla couldn’t help but be mesmerized by him either.

“But I’m still so happy,” He continued as he kept smiling at her, “Because I still have you in my arms like
this.”

Her mind was warring, but her body and child were settled with him.

“I’m like this, Leyla. To you, I’ll be this monster forever.” he grinned, and still, she can’t bring herself to
pull away…

“And one day this monster will kill you.” He declared, “And even though I will be the death of you, I can’t
help but love you anyway.”

Matthias sighed as he kept muttering nonsense to her, he then kissed the golden hair he had wrapped in
one hand.

In the beginning, he knew that he would never do anything to ruin this woman’s hair. He already knew
at the moment when he pledged to find and kill her, and if he couldn’t have her, he would kill her and
escape with only this piece of her with him as he escaped his crazed longing.

‘My queen, the ruler of my life, how can I kill you?’ He wondered longingly as he stroked Leyla’s face in a
gentle caress as if he were an old man trembling with fear in the face of such beauty.
Even when this woman kept hurting him, and tearing his heart apart, he was all too willing to smile and
die to be with her. And yet…

His love was only ever poison for Leyla.

There is only one thing Matthias could do for his queen.

“Go then, Leyla,” he whispered, letting her golden locks finally slip from his grasp. His other hand still
gently touched her cheeks, imprinting her blinding beauty in his memory, to burn it in his mind for
eternity, making him a madman all over again.

If this was where their relationship would run its course, there’s only so much Matthias could say now.

“Get well soon,” he whispered against her skin, “-and leave me then.”

It was all he could do, wasn’t it? It was all he should ever do, and yet still, his heart was raging against it.
He let out a hollowed laugh, chuckling mirthlessly at his last command to her.

Letting her go was a death sentence to him.

He loved everything about this woman.

Her lips, her hair, her eyes, even more so when they’re filled with relentless tears. Even when she
trembled at the sight of him, even when others scorned him now for his obsession with her…

He’ll bask in this hell he’d created because it led him to her.

He still wanted to keep her by his side, to take her child and shackle her with him forever even if she’ll
loathe him for eternity.

He’ll gladly take up the role of her monster, the villain in her life, and proudly so just to trap her with
him.

But he also knew.

The woman he loved the most, the one he was crazy in love with…

She was Leyla, one who thrived more when she was free and beautiful as a bird. Like the girl of Arvis,
who for her whole life, sat alone on a rainy day in her quaint cabin, and spent the entirety reading the
books she loved.

“Leyla…..If I can’t be your sky,” he rasped longingly, “Then…….. I’ll let you go…..”

Because even if he were to let her go, his love for her will never wane. Not for a long time.

He’ll bring it with him to his very grave, even if it means living endlessly in tortured pain, without
salvation in sight.
“But I will love you, and I will endure this loss of you…”

‘Leyla, my dear Leyla, please.’

“So go.” Matthias’ voice was as soft as the wind. Leyla just stared at him with mesmerizing eyes. His
agony and beauty were so hypnotizing to her.

“Fly into your sky…far away from me.”

‘Before my love finally kills you.’

He still couldn’t bear to say the words, but for now, he’ll settle for one last parting kiss on her forehead.

“Fare thee well, Leyla.”

The child in her stomach was fluttering light, and actively. It was still dancing enthusiastically to their
father’s words. Leyla could feel a warmth wash over her with his kiss on her forehead.

What a beautiful dream this was.

And yet, what sadness it gave her in return.

Chapter 138

On Such a Beautiful Day

The fever further simmered down, so the time for Leyla’s full consciousness to return won’t be long
now. With her health gradually improving, she had taken to sleeping like a log most of the time in her
recovery.
But for the most part, Kyle continued to fret over her condition and the baby’s, even when he knew the
worst had already come to pass. He knew this because while he was still a novice as a medical student,
he had been shadowing his father for a long time. He knew there could still be further complications
that could spring up with a patient like Leyla. The fever itself would have taken a great toll on her mental
and physical health.

“Uncle…” she moaned, tossing and turning in bed as she called out for her dead uncle. She must be
dreaming of the past again, he mused. All Kyle could do was to stay by Leyla’s side, at best.

But the question remained. As soon as her condition gets better, what should he do next?

The answer he’d immediately concluded made Kyle’s stomach churn uncomfortably.

It is pure cruelty to leave Leyla by the Duke’s side like this. But Kyle was only more certain that the man
would never let Leyla go. He would go to such lengths just to keep her with him.

Should he run away with Leyla, then? Make a break for it now, and ask forgiveness later for acting so
rashly.

But where would they go?

In this time of war, nowhere was safe. The Duke would only be more likely to get himself in a position to
raid where they were to reside, and he’d be branded a deserter, sentenced to die for abandoning his
post.

Not to mention Leyla was with child. The travel alone could stress her so much either to an early grave,
or early labor.

“Uncle Bill, help us.” Kyle quietly pleaded into the wind, raising his head to look up at the ceiling in
despair.

What would Uncle Bill do?

He didn’t know. No matter how much he gave it thought, his mind came up blank on any possible
solution.

All he knew was one thing, though.

He needed to flee with Leyla, far away from here. He never wanted to subject her to more of the
treatment she got at the hands of the Duke.

He needed to come up with a way to escape. There was no other choice left for him.

For Leyla’s sake, and the baby’s, they needed to leave Matthias.

The door of the room opened as soon as he wanted to tear out a handful of hair from his head. And
when Kyle turned to look at who’d entered, there he was as expected.
Matthias von Herhardt.

Kyle made a deliberate discourtesy of not greeting, not that the Duke even noticed anyway.

No.

He didn’t even spare a look at Kyle. His eyes already resolutely trailed on Leyla’s recovering form. In a
few short strides, Matthias was back at Leyla’s side, stroking her cheeks as though he wasn’t the one
responsible for making her like this.

He hated the Duke’s eyes and hands, and how they roamed shamelessly over Leyla’s body.

“I have something to discuss with you.” the Duke spoke up first, interrupting Kyle’s murderous thoughts
of him.

Kyle clenched his jaw and nodded tersely.

“So speak.” he offered rather rudely, but the Duke did not react.

“Not here,” Matthias told him as he swept Leyla’s baby hair behind her ears, and finally straightened up
once more.

“But leaving Leyla alone-” Kyle began to protest when the door swung open and revealed a young
nursing officer who had just entered, immediately cutting off Kyle’s concerns.

Confused at the sudden newcomer, Kyle could only look back dumbly at the Duke.

“I think this is adequate to ease your concerns,” Matthias coolly pointed out, “So come, Etman, there
are things I need to discuss with you.”

“I don’t have anything to talk about with Major Herhardt.” Kyle spat, unwilling to follow any more
commands from such a monster.

“This is not a request, Private Etman.” Matthias stared at him indifferently, “It’s an order by your direct
superior, anything less than obedience is strictly forbidden.”

Matthias’ gaze on Kyle hardened as he pulled rank once more, making Kyle snap his lips shut in an
attempt to mitigate instigating the Duke’s ire. Talking back would only prove more troublesome in the
future. Leyla needed him, so for now, Kyle will hold his tongue.

But before Kyle could even answer back, Matthias turned on his heels and left the room. Kyle hesitated
for a moment before he eventually got up and followed suit.

The discussion between the two men lasted longer than anticipated as soon as they began a baffling
conversation.

One that Kyle Etman never expected from a cruel man.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The atmosphere of the meeting held at the 6th Army Command was quite friendly. Military plans
prepared for years in preparation for the war were going smoothly, and the important goal of occupying
Sienna was achieved early on. It was an achievement that mocked the people who tried so hard to avoid
participating in the war at all.

“Since the 4th Army is advancing to the western front, we have decided to keep the unit here as a
reserve force to stabilize the rear supply line around the occupied area for the time being.” The
commander standing in front of the map said forcefully.

General von Delman, who possessed a lithe body, and wore glasses, looked very fit for someone well
over sixty.

“We need to overpower the troublesome guerrillas properly.”

His eyes narrowed as his fingers went up the supply road from Berg to the southern part of Lovita to the
end of the baton on the map laid out in the middle of the meeting.

Lovitans in the occupied territories kept resisting back by blocking roads or cutting telephone lines.
Occasionally, attacks on supply vehicles or attacks on the Bergs were gaining momentum, which raised
the commander’s anger.

“That’s why we shouldn’t get too complacent in managing these occupied areas.” General von Delman
reiterated, with a small hint of regret.

He consistently expressed the need to rule the occupied area with fear, but the emperor and the crown
prince felt otherwise and did not take stern orders to follow the rules specified in the international
treaty.

Amongst the officers in the meeting was Matthias, who sat up straight and listened carefully to the
commander’s explanation of future operations and plans.

If the situation on the battlefield remains unchanged, it is likely he will be stationed in Sienna for at least
a few more weeks.

Which meant he only had a limited amount of time to send Leyla away within that same timeframe. His
breathing turned ragged for a while at the thought of sending her away from him, but Matthias soon
regained his composure.
“Major Herhardt.” The commander’s voice cut through sharply into his attention. He’d been grazing his
eyes over the commanders in the meeting gaze as he looked through barracks when they landed on the
Major.

“We need a messenger to report the situation to the rear units.” the commander began, “And thanks to
the guerrillas, protected by the international treaty, making communication difficult, you’d be most
suitable for the task.” He finished before his eyes narrowed challengingly at the Duke.

“Besides, aren’t you close friends to His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Regardless of what Matthias wanted, the commander had already made up his mind. He knew he
couldn’t do anything to change the order.

The 8th Army in the rear units was directly led by the crown prince. He was the most difficult opponent
to deal with, so choosing a messenger was also quite difficult.

“Yes, General.” Matthias accepted his orders without any protest, while his mind was already turning
over plans. It would be good for Leyla to leave her room for a while. The fresh air might even do
Matthias some good. “I’ll get to it at once.”

Satisfied with his compliance, the general nodded at him in the affirmative before continuing.

The task wasn’t something he would normally assign to a soldier like Major Herhardt. With the rumors
going around as well, he was worried that the Major had gone insane from the war as well.

Fortunately, it seemed to be just that, rumors.

Changing his mind to give a lecture on the dignity of a noble officer, the commander concluded the
meeting, finally concluding it a little early. At least this afternoon, the young officers of the Berg army
would have to thank the enemy for this small respite. To be exact, to the guerrillas of the enemy country
who gave him this ever-growing headache.

“This matter is urgent, so you must leave as soon as possible.” He finished with those parting words to
Matthias. With a throbbing forehead, he left the conference room, effectively dismissing the meeting.

Matthias stood up from his seat, when the hat he’d been wearing, toppled off his head. When he
stepped out of the building after his uniform was neat and fixed enough, the dazzling sunlight almost
blinded him as stray rays hit his eyes.

The sun was high up in the sky today, and it made the world shine with it.

Matthias laughed mirthlessly at himself at the thought, was he projecting himself in nature? He wasn’t
sure. However, even at that moment, his upright posture and eyes did not seem shaken at all.

“We’re all set for departure, Major.” announced the driver, who had rushed to his side.

Matthias, who nodded briefly, turned around before he climbed onto the mobile vehicle.
The car carrying him soon left the square.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The strange child was still wandering in the forest and crying incessantly. Now the sound was close
enough, she could hear it from the cabin.

Is he waiting for her mother? Looking for her?

Was someone looking for the child in return?

Leyla sat on a chair on the porch and pondered over it while enjoying the wind wisping past her gently.
Leyla was well acquainted with the sadness of being abandoned by a mother, one that would not return
no matter how long she waited.

If they were the same, she could only feel sorry for the child.

However, Leyla could not find it in herself to go looking for the child herself. She usually wasn’t so
indifferent, but she feared what she’d find if she would.

“Oh, Uncle Bill!” Leyla exclaimed joyfully and leaped up to Uncle Bill, who came back with a fully-loaded
cart. Her skirt fluttered as she skipped along the steps.

“There’s a child in the forest.” She informed him, and he nodded.

“All right. I see.” Uncle Bill replied thoughtfully as he was organizing his muddy tools.

“The child keeps crying,” She pointed out, as if Uncle Bill was deaf to its cries, and tilted her head at him,
“What should we do?” She asked him nervously, waiting eagerly for his solution.

“I think they’re looking for their mom.” She piped up, as she stood by his side, watching him clean his
tools. “Though it’s most likely they aren’t coming for them.” She finished, with a defeated sigh.

“Then you should go.” Uncle Bill finally piped up, and Leyla blinked at him in shock and confusion.

“Me?” she looked in the general direction of where she could hear the child crying. “But… I don’t know
them.” She pointed out, aghast.

“That’s weird.”’ Uncle Bill, who was still looking at Leyla, burst into laughter, looking at her with a wide
smile…

Yet it was equally sad.

“Leyla, do you not know them?” He questioned, “Think harder, you might be surprised to know how
much you know about them.”

“Really?” She blinked at him, before frowning, huddling closer to her uncle, “So, who is it?”’

“Me? I don’t know.” Uncle Bill shrugged playfully at her, refusing to give her any clear answer.

“Go and meet them. You’ll find out when you see them.”

After saying that, Uncle Bill took his newly cleaned tools and entered the cabin.

She wanted to follow him, but Leyla eventually changed her mind and turned toward the forest path
where the child’s cry could be heard.

As soon as she reached the clearing, she saw the child. It was a little boy crouched down on the side of
the road in the summer forest where the birds would be singing, all snot-nosed and sniffling.

“Hello.” Leyla, who was hesitant about what to say, called out eventually in a friendly greeting. The child
lifted his tear-soaked face and looked up at Leyla. His eyes were wide and blue, as clear and pretty as
glass beads.

“Why are you alone?” She couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s your mom?”

Leyla carefully took another step closer, trying to appear friendly, but the child only looked at Leyla
without sound or a peep from him.

Who the hell is this kid? She couldn’t help but wonder in confusion. The more she thought further about
it, the child looked familiar. Yet different and unfamiliar at the same time.

Who was he?

Leyla suddenly stopped walking. Her heart was pounding and my breathing was disturbed. Leyla quickly
whipped her head and looked at the cabin at the end of the road.

Today, yesterday, and tomorrow.

They were all melding together in an endless cycle.

Deep inside her, Leyla knew she would end up only here. Where every day was the beginning of
summer. Here where the buds did not bloom, and the eggs in the water bird’s nest remained the same.
The same was true of the rambunctious commotion up ahead with the return of Duke Herhardt, who’d
finished his service on the overseas front.

In this peaceful time, Leyla wanted to go back to the early summer of her eighteenth year, and live in it
forever!

So she shouldn’t know the child, but she had to look back, and see more of the child Uncle Bill swore she
would recognize.
No.

She has to go back. She still had to prepare dinner, and after that, she would study for the test with Kyle.

But…

She thought she knew the child. She should know the child.

More specifically, she thought she knew who the child would end up to be, about 20 years later. Leyla
looked at him, she saw him be just like the person she hated the most in the world.

And loved as much as she hated him.

Leyla approached the child hesitantly. As she approached, one step after another…

She felt her pick up her pace before she ran and scooped the child up in her arms, and sobbed
relentlessly as she snuggled him close to her breast.

The wind around them shook the forest, whipping around the two ceaselessly. When she opened her
eyes again, she was riding her bike on the road leading to Arvis again.

As she turned the corner of the street, a green-colored Platanus road unfolded. A tall man in the
uniform of an officer of the Berg Empire was walking leisurely down the road.

At the moment when the sound of the chain winding harmonized with the sound of the wind shaking
the leaves, Leyla’s bicycle passed by the man swiftly without a second thought.

But something in her urged her to look back. She’d regret it if she wouldn’t.

And so she did. Leyla looked back bewitched, even though she thought she shouldn’t give in to it. She
made eye contact with the man who was looking at her.

The moment made her heart beat faster in her chest and muted all the sounds around her.

Leyla lost her balance.

How fortunate it was that the wheels of the fallen bicycle were spinning in vain endlessly. It was like a
mirror of her, and she ended up stuck looking at it, she failed to completely notice him nearing her, until
his shadows blanketed her fallen frame.

He approached her. And when she looked up, she knew at that moment everything would begin again
for her too. This was her undoing, and her salvation.

So at the beginning of that summer, on such a beautiful day.

Leyla slowly opened her eyes in that clear memory. She stroked her belly first. The child responded
immediately in soft fluttering kicks.
‘I’m sorry.’ She sat up and apologized several times. ‘I’m so sorry to say I don’t know you, baby.’

She took a deep breath, and raised her head, before she felt her heart jump much like it did that day.

It always would beat for him, and him alone. She had mistaken it, so wrongly to be terror or great
anxiety around him. And maybe there were times it was that, but that wasn’t entirely true.

She knew it now, more certain than ever what she truly felt for him.

“Leyla!” Kyle, who’d just returned back into the room immediately rejoiced as he dropped to his knees
beside where she lay.

“You’re awake!” He laughed joyfully, “You’re finally awake.” He praised.

“Oh this is great news.” He beamed at her, before holding up something for her to see. “I have some
excellent news for you.”

Leyla looked back at him blankly, before looking down at what Kyle was pointing at. In his hands was a
document…

and the seal on it, was the Duke’s.

Chapter 139

Last Chance

Leyla had remained silent since waking up and had been presented with the documents. She read them,
and understood them, her face all calm and composed.

She didn’t know whether she should be happy, or surprised. All she knew was that she was neither of
those things. Nothing but a blank slate as she read them over, she just calmly nodded her head; still as
tranquil as she was from the start.

“Leyla?” Kyle called out softly for her attention. She’d been so silent, that he immediately became
concerned for her. He might have inadvertently worsened her condition, springing this all up when she’d
just finally recovered.

“What about him?” she finally rasped out, still calm and composed, eyes looking over the room in search
of him.

“The Duke’s not here.” Kyle kindly supplied. “He’d been called elsewhere.”

“And you haven’t?”

“No, I wasn’t,” Kyle responded with equal calm, not wanting to aggravate her further. “I left to deliver
you the news, he was tasked to relay a message to the rear unit, where his Highness was located.”

When Leyla remained silent, Kyle continued.

“They said it’ll take about three days to complete the assignment.”

“Three…. days.” she echoed back in a hollowed voice, repeated back his words like a child learning how
to speak.

“But it’s fine now Leyla, okay?” Kyle smiled at her eagerly, “You can leave while he’s gone. No one would
stop you too, because the duke gave the order.”

“I see,” she mumbled unenthusiastically.

“So you don’t have to worry anymore, Leyla.” Kyle told her soothingly, “Those documents were also
drafted by the duke himself. His promise to never go after you.”
Promise. Her mind echoed uselessly. She glanced down at the documents once more and re-read them
all over again, her mind still refusing to understand it.

The Duke promised to lay the groundwork for Leyla Lewellin and her child to live without any
inconvenience. It was neither out of sympathy, nor a sense of duty for impregnating her after all. Just
the bare minimum effort should she allow it. He even added a clause that no one would interfere nor
inconvenience Leyla at all, not unless she would allow it.

He also guaranteed that the child in her womb would be named Matthias von Herhardt’s legitimate
child, should she choose to allow it. But regardless of whether she did or not, she was free to raise her
child as she saw fit.

He concluded it with an irrevocable acceptance of whatever she desired from him. Her wishes would not
be contested.

Yet despite this, there too were still conditions she needed to fulfill. Seeing as she’s still pregnant, she
will be housed in the safest region in Berg Empire territory. Should she decide to leave at a later time,
she was welcome to do so, but only after she’d given birth.

It was his only stipulation, everything else was for her to decide to do.

Whether she’d go to Ratz, she had the Herhardt family lawyers at her disposal to assist in whatever she
wanted to make happen.

Choice.

Respect.

Freedom.

All these three were perfectly outlined in the document, something in her twisting and coiling
uncomfortably. Freedom to choose and respect for her decisions. She stared at the document that
prioritized her will more than anything else. Something like that was non-existent for the entirety of the
time she spent with him. This seemed too good to be true, yet why did she feel so empty now he was
letting her go?

‘That morning’s conversation was not a dream.’

The single thought made her freeze. Unable to comprehend what’s next now.

“It’s too much to travel now, right?” Kyle asked Leyla impatiently. “How about leaving tomorrow?”

One look in her eyes made Kyle know that she was still too unfocused. He knew it. The news was
brought too soon, too eagerly. He didn’t want to push Leyla to make a decision now, not when she
hadn’t fully healed yet, but in his excitement, he forgot how fragile she still was.
In his defence, the Duke offering such a thing was completely surreal for him. He’d seen the Duke’s
madness, with or without Leyla, and he’d hardly seemed willing to let her go, even when it meant killing
his child.

How can he just let Leyla go? A complete 180-decision, and not a moment too soon after he swore he’d
kill his child.

Even with the documents, it was still unbelievable. Which also contributed more to Kyle’s anxiety in the
whole change of heart. His tune changed too quickly before, who knows how long it would take before
he changes his tune again?

He’d been instructed to move in with Leyla while he was away from Sienna. They were already
preparing for them a place to stay in, instead of a random house damaged by the bombing.

He figured she could stay there for the time being to recover enough to be able to handle the long
journey back to Berg. And then they’d settle in Ratz.

This was the final order the Duke gave him before he left.

“Are you okay, Leyla?” he asked tentatively, and she finally looked up at him, eyes indecipherable and
blank as she looked at him.

“You must still be in shock,” he began softly, smiling at her with understanding. “I know this is a lot to
take in, I, too, thought it surreal.”

Kyle reached out, grasped her frail fists, and wrapped warm, gentle hands around hers. He barely held
back his excitement as he knew well that it was still too early for him to celebrate.

So cold. She still felt so cold.

Where was her warmth?

“But I promise you, this is real. There is no longer any reason for you to be scared.” He beamed at her,
excited for her. Now she could be free from the Duke.

He got Leyla back. His insides were giddy, and his heart full. He could almost burst into happiness at her
freedom. Things could go back to the way it was before…

That summer when they were still barely adults before everything went wrong and kept going wrong.

A movement and she pulled away from him and placed the documents in her hand on the side table.
She looked at it blankly, before gingerly, she swung her legs over the bed and stood up.

Kyle instinctively reached out to help her stand, but she shook her head tersely in denial.

She wanted no help. But she couldn’t help feeling lost and empty.
So he followed her tentatively, vigilant to help should she need him. She walked a few more paces,
sluggish and stumbling quite a few times as she approached the door.

The door that kept her locked in.

Frail hands wrapped around the cool metal of the knob. And she twisted.

It swung open.

The door creaked, and her eyes watered at the sight of the open door. While battered and bruised from
the locks it once held, the wood of the door was completely devoid of any of it now. Her fingertips
trailed in awe at the indents of the missing locks.

No more resistance in front of her, between her, and around her.

She’d gotten away.

She was truly free of him.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The car stopped once more, its wheels getting stuck in another pit of mud. It frustrated The driver so
much with how much it kept happening, that by now, he gave up on getting there within schedule.

“I’m sorry, Major.” Apologized the troubled driver. Matthias only gave him a slight nod of
acknowledgment before he got out of the car.

The downpour of rain for the past two days had practically turned the muddied road into mush. But it
was the best route they could take, with the rest of the proper roads and bridges turned to rubble by
the ongoing war.

“The sun is going to set soon, by then it’ll be too dangerous to move at night.” Said the lieutenant with a
concerned look as he observed the skies overhead. Sunset would begin soon.

“If we continue with our course, we’ll reach a base for our unit within an hour.” Matthias assessed.
“Let’s stop there for the night.”

“Yes, Major.” Agreed the lieutenant, immediately heading off to help the other two soldiers in pushing
their vehicle out of the mud pit, while barking orders.

Matthias took note of the time, before pulling out a single stick of cigarette, and lit it up. He smoked for
a moment before he started to ask himself the questions he’d never answer.

Once he returns, he knows he won’t be with Leyla anymore. But that didn’t mean he wanted to waste
his time like this either.

But that’s just it.

His whole time and existence will end up being wasted without her by his side.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips, recognizing the growing nervousness in himself. His days will end up
like this.

Full of blandness and routine. Nothing will change in his life anymore now that she would leave him.

Perhaps he should also hurry up and let her go as well.

The front here was stable. Even if the guerrilla is in trouble, it will not be difficult to advance because the
troops and supply lines in the rear are stable. However, the crown prince was concerned about the
overly quiet Confederate forces.

Matthias himself had the same concern.

They had a huge setback from the beginning, and even now, the enemy’s strategic locations are falling
more quickly than before. It was an odd pattern. It didn’t add up at all.

While the rest of their troops thought it to be an overwhelming victory, a small voice in the back of his
head kept reminding him of the possibility it was a strategic loss instead of the Lovitan forces.

What if there was a trap being put in place? What if at this very moment, the supply routes for the Berg
army are being blocked and scavenged, especially now that they’re deep in Lovitan territory?

The crown prince expressed concern assuming the worst case. Of course, General Fondelman, who is
confident that there are no more countries left to help the Confederacy, will not back down Emperor’s
will.

It was Ettar, the kingdom across the sea, who held the key to the situation. They, who were the most
trusted allies of Lovita, have already been sluggish for months and avoiding participation.

It would be nice to remain as a traitor, but it was difficult to be optimistic because Lovita would try to
drag them down to the front even if it grabbed them by the collar.

If any counterattack begins, Sienna will turn into ground zero of a full-scale war between the two
regions.

Before that could happen, he needed to quickly find a way to send Leyla back to Berg.

“It’s over, Major!”

The soldiers who were ready to depart raised their voices and called him.

Matthias, who finally stopped smoking as he stomped out the cigarette into the cold, muddy ground,
began heading towards them when he suddenly stopped with a frown.

His eyes narrowed as he immediately began scanning their surroundings. Noticing the sudden change in
him, one of his soldiers thought to point it out.
“Major, are there more prob-” he was immediately hushed when Matthias held a hand up to stop him
from speaking any further. The rest of his men also stopped whatever they’d been doing, waiting for
what Matthias was seeing to make itself known to them as well.

They were already near the base, but that didn’t matter.

With no warning aside from the ominous churning in their guts, men from all around them sprung up in
camouflaged outfits and ambushed them!

Gunshots rang throughout the desolate road, and birds had fled from the trees they’d rested in,
effectively disturbing the once peaceful country road.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Three days had passed since they left. Yet there wasn’t a sight of him returning.

Leyla couldn’t help but fret over his absence. Her mind was unable to settle with not knowing where he
could be as she stayed vigilant by the window, waiting to catch any sight of him.

With a click and a turn on the door’s knob behind her, her heart leaped from her chest in anticipation,
before she saw who it had just arrived.

Her heart felt a little dismayed upon seeing it was Kyle.

Kyle was looking at her with an encouraging and gentle smile.

“Are you ready?” he asked her kindly.

Deep down, he tried not to show his disappointment at seeing how eager Leyla still was to wait for the
Duke’s return. He knew that’s why she kept watching by the window.

She wanted to see the Duke return.

“It’s time to go now, Leyla.” He gently prodded. He knew it was still difficult for her to move around,
much less travel back to Berg but anywhere was better than staying in what is essentially a warzone.
Especially for a pregnant woman.

“Kyle…” Leyla began to protest, but Kyle decided to push forward.

“This is all you need, right?” he asked as he calmly picked up her luggage bag at the end of the bed,
trying to keep his tone light and kind.

“I’m… Kyle…” She persisted, and at this, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“You have to leave the man, Leyla.” He urged her, his expression turning serious and pleading as he
looked her in the eye.
He wasn’t going to lie to himself, or to her. But since the Duke told him of letting go of Leyla, he’d
succumbed to his fantasies of living his dream of being with Leyla.

The war would soon end, and they’d live in Ratz, wed with each other and he’d raise her kid like his own.
And somewhere along the years they’d be together, perhaps raising his child with her too.

They’d be the happy family they’d always dreamed of having. He was on cloud nine until he saw Leyla’s
reaction upon waking up.

He was not what she wanted in the end.

“I’m not trying to force you to come back to me.” Kyle added when she saw her beginning to protest
once more, “I thought you knew me better than that, Leyla.” he smiled sadly at her.

His wishful thinking was just that. A fairytale-like future that would forever remain in his mind, but never
in reality.

He already knew it. He wasn’t going to lie to himself about this either. After all, he’d been her best
friend first, before she accepted him as her lover.

And that was the Kyle she wanted. The Kyle she missed. Not him who loved her, but he who was just
content to be her friend.

He’d want nothing more than to play the blind fool in love with her. But he can’t forever play the fool or
be blind to the truth.

Leyla would never want him to raise a child, not his own. Even more so when she doesn’t love him as
much as he loves her.

It was her undeniable truth. Their undeniable truth.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to see her find her happiness and heal from all the hurt she’d gone
through.

He’d learn to be content as her friend instead because as much as he wanted to be with her, he’d rather
see her happy instead.

“All I want is for you to be happy.” He began, a frown marring his features as he looked at her, “And
forgive me for saying this, but that man can never make you and the child happy.”

With all the things the Duke did to her, was willing to do to her…

All he’d seen was Leyla suffering just to be by his side. And she’d not had a single moment to heal any of
the hurt before he gave her more and newer traumas.

It would mess anyone up. And Leyla was no exception.

“You’re not in the right mindset right now.” Kyle explained to her gently, “Believe it or not, this whole
ordeal left you quite unable to make proper judgments as of this moment. So please, can you trust me
for now?”

Unable to contest his claims, Leyla fell silent as she fretted over what her head was saying and what Kyle
was telling her.

She should be able to understand him. After all, it wasn’t as though Kyle was lying to her.

He’d bullied her, blackmailed, and raped her. Coerced her forcefully or willingly to be with him. It was
obvious he didn’t love her at all. Everything was just an obsession and desire thought to be love.

But it wasn’t.

Love shouldn’t have to hurt.

It was not love at all, even when she thought it could be.

Kyle, who approached, held Leyla’s hand. And slowly, but firmly moved toward the door of the room.
Leyla followed Kyle in a dazed mood as if walking on a cloud, unable to see beyond her worries about
leaving the Duke behind.

To see she had left him behind.

Just as the door in front of her opened up, Marquis Lindman showed up in front of them, making their
trek outside the room come to a halt.

“Are you going to leave?” He asked with no qualms, as he leaned against the wall in front of them.

His eyes were sharp and indifferent, even as his gaze landed on her.

“Miss Lewellin, are you going to just leave him?”

“The Duke himself allowed her to leave.” Kyle shot back at him with a stern glare, “So this isn’t any of
your concern.”

He blocked Riette from getting closer to Leyla, and the nobleman’s attention shifted to him.

“You think you’re different from him?” He asked Kyle critically, who bristled at the implication.

“We’re in a hurry, Marquis Lindman, so if you’ll excuse us, we have places to be.” Kyle huffed out
indignantly, trying to lead Leyla away when Riette persisted.

“Look, I’m not making any excuses for Matthias, okay? He’s sick and crazy for doing those things, but-”
He looked pleadingly at Leyla, whose eyes were now on him, looking from behind Kyle’s shoulder.

Looking at him expectantly as if she was just waiting for a reason to stay.
“Ms. Lewellin, he came all this way just for you.”

“Marquis!”

“Matthias wouldn’t do that for just anyone. Wouldn’t give up his marriage, and volunteer for a high-risk
mission when he had an out.”

Riette persisted, and Leyla’s heart clenched in her chest.

“Wouldn’t come all this way to get you back if he didn’t have feelings.”

He looked so earnest, pleading with her to understand. But she couldn’t let her hopes get up.

He’s only obsessed with her.

He’s only ever wanted her because she was beautiful and easy to break when he wanted. Nothing more.

“What are you talking about?” She murmured, her heart already filling with treacherous hope.

“He broke off his engagement, just before volunteering to take the lead on this front. So he can come to
get you back from Sienna.” Riette informed her.

He looked bashful and embarrassed in admitting it, just as Leyla’s cheeks flushed with warmth and
happiness at hearing about his effort to come to get her.

“It changes nothing.” Kyle interjects seriously as he glares at Riette, “He’s letting Leyla go because he
knows it’s what’s best for her.”

At this, he turned to Leyla.

“And just because he’s not marrying Lady Claudine, does not negate every horrible thing he’s done to
you either.”

“No, Kyle-“

“And if you think it’s for the child’s best interest, then think again as well, Leyla,” Kyle continued, “Do
you truly think, after what he just tried to do, he’d make a good father?”

Her child.

That’s right. She had her child to think about.

At the sudden reminder, Leyla looked down to look at her swollen belly.

His feelings, whatever they were, they’re not normal. Whatever he feels for her and her child, would
never be.

Perhaps he knew this fact too, and that’s why he finally let her go.
Set her free.

Set them both free of him.

“Miss Lewellin-” Riette tried protesting by urging her to search for his feelings and ignore logic instead,
but Kyle stood resolutely between them, calling for her to think rationally rather than with her heart.

“Please, just give him one last chance.” Riette pleaded with her, “Be his miracle.”

Kyle looked at her softly, yet imploringly all the same.

“It’s time to go, Leyla.”

Chapter 140

That’s All

It was a day later, in the afternoon, when the unit they sent out to send a message to their prince finally
returned. Everyone felt relief upon their return, but it soon turned into a grim atmosphere upon seeing
the state of their soldiers. Upon giving their report, the higher-ups were made aware about the ambush
they encountered. One of them got injured by a gunshot and had immediately been rushed to their
makeshift infirmary to get treated.

The others, who had minor injuries, were treated briefly before they immediately resumed their way
back to Sienna.

As soon as they arrived, it was only then revealed that the injured party was none other than Matthias
von Herhardt. He’d forgone getting treated as he prioritized informing the Crown Prince first of the
recent developments. As soon as Riette heard the news, he immediately made his way towards the
infirmary, just in time to see Matthias finishing his treatment.

“I heard you got hurt. Are you okay?” Riette asked with great concern, eyes raking over his cousin’s
figure worriedly. He didn’t look to be in pain, or in any way injured at all.

Had he heard wrong after all?

Without bothering to acknowledge, or even answer his question, Matthias just bypassed him with an
indifferent expression, carrying the unmistakable smell of disinfectant.

“Hey, answer me! Where did you get hurt? How did you get hurt?” Riette asked after him, hastily
matching his strides, “And what happened with Miss Lewellin?! Why did you let her go so suddenly,
huh? Answer me!” Riette demanded when Matthias made no indication he was even listening to him.

He remained resolutely silent for a few moments, before half-heartedly answering the questions sent
his way before leaving him in the dust once again.

Not even a single emotion was shown on Matthias’ face as he answered the questions nonchalantly.

He’d gone back to that perfect Duke of Arvis persona of his, and Riette didn’t like how he regressed to
his usual self.

“Has the war made you deaf, after all?” Riette asked in disbelief, still persistent in getting answers. Real
answers.

He’d seen how Matthias was all his life. Known for his stubbornness and wilfulness all his life.

There was no way he’d let go of Leyla so easily, and go back to the shell he once was. Not when he’d
seen how crazy Matthias had acted when it came to Leyla. And now he’d just let her go like that? Back in
the arms of the doctor’s son, no less?

It was unbelievable. And that’s why Riette couldn’t help but feel so unsettled by this abrupt change. It
was so unlike Matthias. The Matthias they all knew to be.

They soon reached Room 308, and Matthias stood in front of it with darkened eyes.

The first indication Riette had that his cousin was indeed affected by these things.

He can’t even hide his current displeasure from Riette right now. The conflict was warring visibly in his
expression.

His anger, his acceptance.

His resignation, and his expectations.

They emerged back and forth as if Matthias is arguing deep within himself about how he should handle
these things. Anyone else would have missed these minuscule facial changes. But Riette has been
watching Matthias all his life.

He’d learned to read him in that time as well. The word was at the tip of his tongue but…

‘Dickhead’ Riette thought instead, unwilling to say anything worse about his cousin, even in the shelter
of his mind. He pursed his lips to a thin line as he waited to see what Matthias would do.

Wasting not a moment more, Matthias reached out to grasp the handle of the door and twisted.

As soon as it opened, it revealed a well-lit room, from the shining sun outside the room’s windows.
Every mess he’d seen before he left, was now pristinely arranged and fixed.

There wasn’t even a trace of a woman’s touch left behind.

Not a trace of Leyla was left for him.

Matthias remained there for some time as he had wrapped and held the door handle with whitened
knuckles. His eyes wandered all over the room in silence. On Matthias’ face was a slight, yet despairing
smile.

He did it. He finally did it.

He let her go, and she left.

And took his purpose and heart with her in the process.

And yet instead of the burning need to have her back, the obsession to know where she’d gone and the
madness of her leaving him overwhelming him like it once did…

There was only a calm acceptance washing over him.

Leyla was forever lost to him after all.

She wouldn’t forever be his, after all.

And it made him feel so empty inside. Yet for now, the emptiness was bearable. Manageable.

There was no point in denying it. All he had left to do was to get used to the empty feeling inside him
with time. For this is how he’ll live out the rest of his life without her by his side.

Matthias, finally and quietly, crossed the threshold of the room. Riette dutifully followed after him.

“The guts you have, doing such a crazy thing just to end up like this.” Riette finally spoke up, “You left
Claudine behind, and insulted her in front of many people, just to come here, and proceed to torment
Miss Lewellin. And you let her go, just like that?”
Riette couldn’t help but ask incredulously. The anger in him simmered up to a boil the more he thought
of all the trouble Matthias left in his wake to pursue a woman, who he was just going to let leave so
easily.

It was insulting as it was despicable.

Matthias only proceeded to unload his things and change his clothes to more comfortable ones.

Riette wanted to keep going, to let rip the insults and curses he had prepared for Matthias when he
finally caught sight of the bloodied shirt underneath the thick and dark coat of their army on Matthias.

A shiver runs up his spine at the amount of blood on it.

Ignoring his sudden silence, Matthias removed his bloodied shirt, to reveal his bandaged torso, which
seemed to be sporting an ever-growing red spot, albeit minutely.

“That’s where you were shot.”

“It barely grazed my skin,” Matthias answered dryly before he laid down on the bed and he finally
looked at Riette, who’d begun to approach him, swearing under his breath at Matthias’ lack of self-care.

“Judging by how you look, you should be hospitalized.”

“This is the battlefield.”

“Exactly. It’s a battlefield. Getting shot could get you killed!”

Riette knew that hospitalization or transportation to the rear units where it was safer was next to
impossible being this deep in a war zone, especially with this type of injury during the war. But he
couldn’t control his worry over his cousin.

And yet Matthias remained to stare at him unbothered by his still-bleeding wound, leaning against the
head cushion.

“You’re crazy,” Riette muttered softly, to which Matthias acknowledged with a mirthless chuckle. At that
moment, great fatigue washed over Matthias’ face, broke eye contact with him, and just stared off into
the space in front of him.

“I want to rest, Riette.” He answered.

The first real answer he gave Riette since his return. Blinking his eyes back slowly, he could faintly hear
his cousin muttering more about his craziness, but Matthias couldn’t find it in himself to contest the
claim.

His woman just left him, presumably to be taken care of by someone else that wasn’t him, and would
never be him. And he’s stuck here in the middle of the war, pretending he was fine with all of this.

Indeed, only a crazy man would live through this.

Riette watched as Matthias kept smirking to himself before his cousin slowly swung an arm over his eyes
to block out the sun from hitting his eyes.

He watched as Matthias’ breathing evened out to slow, and rhythmic breathing, before Riette finally
decided to leave him alone.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“It’s hot.”

It was what she said on the last night they spent together.

Leyla, who woke up after tossing and turning, whispered to him with her eyes wide open. Of course,
Matthias thought she saw him as either Bill Remmer or Kyle Etman, and looked at her with a disdainful
expression.

“It’s hot. It’s frustrating.”’ She kept complaining before she pulled the blanket down, acting like an
irritated child about to throw a tantrum.

Matthias moved to stop her before he went to the bathroom and brought a towel soaked in cold water.
Lately, he’d gotten good at wiping only the edge of her forehead gently so that her body temperature
did not drop too much.

“I want to go out!” Leyla whined again at him, just as soon as he put down the wet towel. Eyeing her
dryly, he quickly noted she was still half-asleep the entire time.

Matthias sat in a chair on the side of the bed and covered it with the blanket that Leyla had removed in
her fit.

“This is frustrating! I want to go get some fresh air!”

“Not now.” Matthias whispered sternly, even as he soothed and swept Leyla’s hair away from covering
her forehead. Leyla’s pale face was as clear as the light of dawn when she asked

“It’s still cold and dark outside, Leyla.”

“But I still want to go! I’m going to do whatever I want!” She huffed out before she blinked back bleary
eyes as she stared right into his eyes, “I live to torment you, after all. I need to.” She grumbled, even
half-delirious.

Matthias’ chest tightened.

“Leyla-“
“I hate you so much…” she trailed off, “So I’m going to torture you as much as I can.’’

Her threats would have sounded more convincing if it wasn’t for the obvious fact she was falling right
back asleep. She was sleep-drunk, and actively insulting him, but he couldn’t help but smile anyway now
that she was seeing him.

He could live with her like this, every day. He’d accept her hate if he couldn’t have her love.

“So torture me.” He begged her, even as he whispered the words enticingly at her. Leyla’s eyes only
became blank at his answer. Blinking fast as she fought hard to stay awake to keep her torment over
him.

“Torture me, as much as you want.”

“Really?” she asked, eyes wide, yet still on the verge of sleep.

“Really.”

She hummed, eyes closed as though she was deep in thought.

Her next words were beginning to sound slurry.

“Of course, you have to.” Her eyes were already half-closed. She proceeded to mutter a few incoherent
words after that but soon returned to a night of deep sleep.

Matthias, who had been looking at the figure endlessly, reached out to hold Leyla’s limp hand before he
turned to the window, and watched as the morning dawned and the warm sun shone. The window was
opened up a little, and let the sea breeze that blew in envelop him in a pleasantly cool and soft feeling.

With Leyla’s hands held tightly, he sat down deeply against the nearby chair, enjoying the sun and wind,
and before his eyes drifted closed slowly.

The lovely woman who looked at him not too long ago as though she was pampering him with affection,
was about to disappear the moment she woke up. Reality will come again and destroy his fantasy.

Her eyes would continue to look at him with great disdain and rejection.

She’d never change how she felt about him.

And so he planted his last forehead kiss on her sleepy head. Just for this moment, he would think this as
a continuation of their lovely times together, even as she revealed her love to him back then to be all
just a lie.

Let him have this moment with her.

This would be his last after all.

So that the intimate and sweet time can be kept as the last memory of the time we spent together.
Matthias was content to bring this memory to his grave.

That was enough.

It had to be.

It wasn’t until the long sunset of the impending evening that Matthias lowered his arm from covering his
face. His gaze at the rosy sky was as still as the serene evening landscape.

He was alone.

He let her go, and she left. And he was left behind.

That was all.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The person who delivered the gift box to Leyla was the soldier who organized and brought the luggage
from home.

“It seems like an important item.”

When Leyla looked at him curiously, he hesitated to explain.

“It was in the box. The box in the kitchen, next to the grocery box.”

“Ah…” Leyla’s eyes widened in realization. It was Uncle Bill’s belongings!

She had ignored it at first, unable to see the last vestiges of the man she considered her father. And then
Matthias happened, and she forgot about it completely!

Leyla hurriedly accepted it after thanking him. After the soldier who carried the luggage to the room left,
Leyla found herself to be alone again.

She sat on a chair by the window with a box tied with a pretty ribbon in her hand. Her residence was a
small wooden house on the side of the road near the beach. Most of the furniture remained intact as if
the landlord’s family had rushed to evacuate.

She felt ashamed to be living in such a nice house, so Leyla decided to use the guest bedroom. She
wanted to just stay quiet for a while here, and leave no trace she’d live in the house when she would
move again.

Because she resolved she would be leaving.

She needed to leave.

Over and over she muttered the words to herself, to remind her not to stay and hope for more. It was
just not realistic.

But why did every distance she put between her and him, left her feeling like she was being choked up
by a collar in her neck?

Matthias reportedly returned to Sienna a day later than expected. That was all Kyle said, and Leyla didn’t
dare ask anymore.

She needed to remind herself it was all over now.

She couldn’t believe it, but it was. Kyle was right. Just because he ended up not marrying Claudine didn’t
make everything he did to her valid. That much she could see he was right about.

But her days were still spent with her obsessing over the Duke, even as she watched over the peaceful
scenery beyond the window. Gone was the intense sadness, pain, and hate in her heart as the reality of
him setting her free finally settled in her.

What was left behind was just the hollow feeling that she was alone.

Again.

It was not until the evening, when the nursing officer was supposed to stop by, that Leyla caught herself
looking at the empty road in a daze. She saw the box of Uncle Bill’s things.

And then an impulse came over her!

All of a sudden, she found herself unwrapping the ribbon on the box, and placing it on her knee. As soon
as she lifted the lid off…

Her hands began to tremble at the sight of its contents.

In it…

Was a beautiful pair of baby shoes.

‘He knew…’ was her first thought, before laughter and tears welled out of her as she gazed at Uncle Bill’s
final gift to her.

To them.

‘I have something to tell you, so let’s have a party.’

It didn’t click in her at all, until this very moment what her uncle meant while saying those words as he
kept stroking her head. He must have been trying to welcome the child, with such a pretty gift.
He must have wanted to tell her she didn’t have to hide anything from him at all.

For just as he loved an orphaned girl who suddenly appeared in the mail carriage one day, he was willing
to love her child, too.

‘Uncle…’ tears kept spilling out of her, even as she wailed and laughed at the same time.

A few moments later, now calmed down, Leyla got up after scrubbing her wet eyes. The white baby
shoes were put back in a box and packed deep into the luggage bag.

‘I’ll live well.’ Leyla promised her Uncle’s soul.

She was alone for now, but not forever. She still had a purpose.

And now every hollow feeling that filled her heart, was soon replaced with overwhelming acceptance
and grief at the same time. She hadn’t imagined she’d get this far without him, but she made a promise
to Uncle Bill.

She can do anything if he believes her. She’d grow up to become a decent adult and do everything well.
He made sure to allow her to be one. Made sure she knew, even as he died, that he believed in her
ability and capability.

Still believes in her, even.

So it was her turn now to believe in herself. She had to repay him because he believed her.

“Let’s leave, baby,” Leyla said resolutely to the child who was yet to be born. Uncle Bill wouldn’t want to
see his daughter sitting helplessly like this.

The Duke will keep his promise. She knew that.

He was just that kind of man. He was cruel and mean, but he kept his promises, no matter how twisted
they got.

Leyla still hated him. She didn’t think she would ever forgive him for the things he made her do. But
oddly enough, she trusted him without fail.

Just as his feelings for Leyla were not normal, so were Leyla’s feelings for him.

She hated him, yet she longed to stay with him too.

They were like that. They’d always been like that. And that was not normal. It was not healthy.

She watched as the sunset began out of the window, and finally, Leyla learned to stop closing the
curtains from falling before her story would even end.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Matthias stopped on the road where Leyla’s residence could be seen.

He found himself always stopping by. Checking up on her when he could. He would wander on this road
several times a day, but he never crossed the line he drew.

Matthias knew it wouldn’t be easy letting her go.

He wanted to see her, but the desperate need in him stubbornly remained. He knew he shouldn’t. But
like an addict trying to get clean, he needed to wean her out of his system, bit by bit.

And then he won’t end up looking for her when she’d truly be unreachable for him.

It was still hard for him to turn around and leave her be, not when he knew she was just within reach.
He was as presentable as ever and made sure to clean up nicely whenever he’d stop by several times a
day but…

He knew nothing would change beyond this.

He’d be stuck always watching her from afar. And he’d have to live with this. He would be okay,
eventually.

As long as she lived well, and he could see her, even at a distance every once in a while, he’d be okay.

Therefore, he had to endure this kind of life well.

He knew that sometimes, Leyla would be informed of some news about the Duke of Arvis. The news
didn’t shy away from any mentions of him after all, and even if he was broken up inside with her leaving,
he didn’t want to appear affected by it. He had a reputation and image to keep after all.

But it didn’t stop him from thinking about her day in and day out.

She was his first love.

And she would also be his last love.

Of course, Matthias intended to survive the life of an empty shell. As long as Leyla is alive somewhere in
the world, he would survive being without her.

But he didn’t think there would be a day in this life when he would love and yearn for someone again.

Someone who wasn’t Leyla.

No one else was as beautiful and as desirable as her.

If Leyla didn’t exist, he wouldn’t ever know what real beauty looks like. Even if she’d been gone, no one
would ever compare to her. They would all fall short, without fail.

So he’d live as a shell, a sham of a human, for as long as he breathes.

So Matthias turned away again, hoping that this wound would never heal from her. The edge of his coat
shook behind him as he walked slowly, the chill of the wind making it flutter around him as he walked
away.

Even though he knew he would come back here again, and leave without seeing her once, he visited this
place every day in perfect shape, not wanting to look less than his best for her.

Just in case he ran into Leyla by chance.

If he had to be hated anyway, he wanted to at least be a wonderful man physically for her. Even if it was
meaningless for Leyla, Matthias hoped it counted for something at least.

Laughing mirthlessly to himself about the stubborn pride he had over his image, Matthias found himself
returning to the town’s square.

The air around the Berg Army had shifted. He didn’t know what caused it, but he just knew something
had changed since he’d been gone to visit an oblivious Leyla.

There was a sense of urgency, and anxiety in the air, even as the soldiers weren’t actively trying to
prepare for any confrontation with enemy soldiers.

“Major!” a soldier called for him, hurriedly rushing to his side and saluting him upon sight of him.

Matthias frowned, sensing trouble already was here. A sensation backed upon by the message just
relayed to him.

“Ettar’s army has joined Sienna’s landing operation. An emergency meeting has been called and all
commanders have been ordered to attend!”
Chapter 141

I’m Here

A blockade was issued as soon as the war clouds began to roll by. The order was immediately relayed to
all civilians. Movement in and out of the city was immediately suspended, hence no one could either
enter or escape from the city.

Kyle paced in front of the headquarters with a worried look on his face as he wandered about the
barracks.

It had come so quickly and left them all rattled and unprepared, as such, the plan to send Leyla back to
Berg was halted.

Everything had suddenly gone wrong in such a short time.

Ettar, who became a traitor and put the entire Berg Confederacy in trouble, eventually decided to
participate in the war and sided with Lovita. And Sienna ended up being in the middle of the warzone,
seeing as the surrounding regions of both confederates soon began to pick their sides.

Most of the higher-ups feared an imminent recapture of Sienna would soon take place.

Kyle’s expression after checking the watch on his wrist became more anxious. He could no longer afford
to wait for Leyla to recover sufficiently, or even wait for the legal documents to come through to allow
them to travel back to Berg. There wasn’t any news from command, but the alert that the enemy was
just around the corner made things so tense around the barracks, it could be seen plainly by the urgency
in each soldier’s actions around camp.

Gone was the easy-going air around the camp before, now replaced with baited breaths and tense
postures as everything could go wrong at a snap of a finger.

Sienna had once again become a dangerous battlefield that could be engulfed in gunfire at any moment.
Thus the need to get Leyla out of this city right now was becoming more imperative, but how would
they break through the blockade?

When the hot bloods in command managed to calm down enough, the officers finally left the privacy of
the command tent after the high-tension meeting.

Kyle found Mathias in a heartbeat.

As expected, he acted no differently than usual. They both met each other’s eyes from time to time
before they would part ways. This time, Kyle needed him.

“What’s happening in the borders?” Kyle urgently asked after him, strides matching the Major hurriedly.
He needed to have hope they still had some time to leave.

But Matthias’ gaze only hardened. He needed not to say a word more. Kyle knew they won’t be allowed
to leave now.

“Then Leyla…” Kyle trailed off with a muttered fretting, but Matthias finally spoke up, interrupting his
worries.

“Leyla will leave Sienna soon,” Matthias spoke confidently to him. Kyle frowned in confusion.

“But aren’t civilians forbidden to pass through the blockade as well?” His question was ignored,
Matthias continued.

“Kyle Etman, can you drive?”

“What?” Kyle frowned, before hesitantly answering, “Yes, I can. But why are you…” Kyle trailed off as he
followed the stern gaze Matthias had off at a distance.

On the other end of his gaze, was a row of rushing ambulances in and out of the camp. This had been
going back and forth for a while now since the issuance of the blockade.

As far as they knew, critical patients are being transported out of their camps, and towards the military
hospital nearby, yet far enough away to be safe from any enemy attacks.

“Are you seriously thinking-” Kyle looked to the Duke incredulously, who only gave him a pointed stare.
Silence reigned between them as the two men made a wordless conversation.

Whatever the Duke was planning, it was clear that he had already made up his mind.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla closed the luggage bag after checking it one last time.

She then put on thick-soled shoes, as well as buttoned a thick winter coat tightly around her frail body.
All that was left for her to do was to go out to the meeting place at the time Kyle specified for her.

She had finished early with a few hours left before she needed to leave, but her nerves were beginning
to become frazzled. Things were progressing much more quickly than she thought they would be, and
now she found herself having to escape from Sienna in just a few short hours.

She never expected to be this nervous about leaving Sienna.

Kyle had informed her that he was put in charge of driving an ambulance to transport a critically ill
patient outside of Sienna and towards the rear units where the military hospital was located.

He gave her specific instructions that she would need to hide in the ambulance so they can get out of
the blocked city. Accompanying them was Marquis Lindman, who had been summoned to return to the
rear unit as well.

He made no mention of Matthias at all, but Leyla just knew he was the mastermind in this risky escape
plan for her. Who else would come up with such a scheme just so she’d be safe after all?

She can’t be wrong about this.

But it seemed the time for her to leave him had finally come as well.

Leyla had thought about everything over and over again as she prepared to leave. It was all she found
herself being able to do.

She’s about to leave this city, the man, and the days of oppression by him would soon be nothing but
memories for her.

To forget everything and start a new beginning with her child. There will be no shadow of a Duke
anywhere in that future life.

That’s right.

This was the best thing to happen to both him and her.

Unable to sit in her thoughts in silence anymore, Leyla rushed to open the curtains a little. The bright
pale white light from the moon immediately flooded the room she was in.

Marquis Lindman said he would come around to pick her up here while Kyle would busy himself driving
the ambulance he was assigned to, towards the specified location. She will go with him to where Kyle
would be waiting for them.

A simple plan, hardly anything would go wrong if nothing interfered.

And least of all, Matthias will not come to even bid her goodbye.

Her chest clenches at the thought. He was letting her leave. She knew he was a man of his word, but
still…

Unbidden, her hand came to rub her swollen belly in yearning. Her child would have to leave behind a
good father.

She can’t help but mourn for the bond they would never have.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
This should be a secret that only three to four people would know. For Matthias’ sake, Riette had kept
his thoughts to himself, but everyone in on it already knew.

Violating the military order given by the commander during the war is a serious crime that cannot be
covered, or pardoned by any brilliant acts or miracles Matthias was planning to make during the war. He
wanted to know why his cousin would go to such great lengths to do something so criminal that it could
lead him to be tried in front of a military court.

And what he was thinking at the moment he agreed to help him do it!

Riette splashed water on his face and wiped it dry after a deep sigh. Across from him, Matthias sat.

Both cousins were now seated and staring at the darkness beyond the window with contemplative
looks. Gone was the intense look he had when outlining his plan to sneak Leyla through the blockade
moments earlier.

“You can leave.” He dismissed as if he had sensed Riette’s anxiety. Their eyes met each other, but Riette
made no move to leave just yet.

“Is there nothing else I can do besides this?” Riette had to ask.

He knew what he had to do. He was just to head to the ambulance and returned to the rear units, where
he’d been originally assigned to.

Now if he were to fetch and bring Leyla along on his way to the ambulance, that wasn’t exactly
disobeying orders. He’s still hitching a ride out of Sienna in an ambulance, after all. Just an ambulance
with a stowaway.

Officers leaving the barracks during a war weren’t necessarily out of place. An officer in a hurry to leave
in the threat of war during a blockade even more so. Hence, their leaving wouldn’t raise any eyebrows
or bring any unnecessary attention to them.

Not unless they catch wind that Leyla would be coming along with them.

“Well then, I’ll consider this as a debt paid.” Riette sighed, “But not with you, Duke.”

“Debt?” Matthias’ eyes narrowed at his cousin’s words possessively, and Riette would have scoffed in
amusement if he wasn’t so relieved to find an ounce of expression in the stoic man.

“It was a while ago when I joked around Miss Lewellin and caused her an accident.” Riette explained,
“So I’ll do this one risky thing for her. As penance for my teasing from before.”

A beat of silence reigned between them before Matthias spoke up.

“I guess you’ll propose to Claudine soon now that our engagement is broken off officially, right?”

Riette blinked in surprise.

“H-how can you tell?”

Matthias only smirked at his look of surprise. To be honest, Riette expected Matthias to be a little mean
and callous about this, but he seemed so at ease. As if there was nothing to worry about.

“How long have you known?” Riette couldn’t help but ask with a resigned sigh. Matthias shrugged.

“Can’t exactly tell you when I knew,” Matthias replied. But he’d known for a long time that the two had
feelings for each other. The pieces just clicked together one day and shrugged the information away.
When Claudine had pieced things together between him and Leyla, well, he couldn’t help but laugh at
the irony of it all.

“Had you known about it then? Before you got engaged to Claudine?”

“Yes.”

“And yet you went with it anyway?” Riette couldn’t help but ask bitterly.

“I didn’t agree on it for the union,” Matthias said in a matter-of-factly tone. And Riette sighed once
again, losing whatever building ill will he had upon the revelation.

“Yes, yes, you were very unfortunate and yet successful back then,” Riette remarked back dryly at him.

For Matthias, marriage was just another means to expand his business. Claudine was no different from
entering a school worthy of the family’s honor and succeeding in the family business.

They would have been perfect for each other, Riette thought mirthlessly, if only they got along and saw
where the other came from instead of being blinded by their lust and greed.

Riette might have grown with him, but there’s much he’s yet to know about his cousin, but he’s only
ever certain about him with one thing, and one thing alone, no matter how long a time would pass.

Matthias von Herhardt loved Leyla Lewellin.

And he let her go because of it.

“I changed my mind. I will never be sorry for you.” Riette declared to him with a stiff smile, and the Duke
just shrugged nonchalantly.

“Do as you wish.”

Matthias once again marked the end of the meaningless conversation by checking the time. A faint
compassion passed by Riette’s eyes, who was looking at him as if he was a little tired of it.

“I’d rather-”
Before he could even finish, a heavy sound disrupted the silence throughout the deep dawn in the
whole barracks. Matthias immediately shot to his feet, then ran to the window and flung open the
curtains in alarm.

Another heavy boom, and this time, the building rattled around them. It was getting closer, whatever it
was that brought the sound.

“AIR RAID! ENEMY AIR RAID IS IN PLACE!”

Distant screams accompanied soon after as another boom, further away and then another at a different
direction came…

“SOUND THE ALARMS!”

“TAKE SHELTER!”

With an alarm sound, a shout rang out to announce the evacuation. The once-quiet hotel was a mess in
an instant! The time for the ambulance driven by Kyle Etman to leave Sienna was still an hour away.

They needed to move up the schedule, immediately.

“Damn it! Matthias!” Riette called out as they held onto the furniture when another boom shook the
building.

“Go to Etman!” Matthias cried out in urgency as he held still to avoid being toppled by the nearing
blasts!

“Tell him to get to the rendezvous point immediately and she’ll be there as soon as possible!”

Another boom, and this time, the screams were closer!

“As soon as she’s in, he’s to book it out of here immediately!”

“What about you?! I don’t think I’ll get to her in time if I’m to relay this message to him now!”

Without an answer, Matthias turned around immediately as he left the room, even as the building shook
around them.

Time was of the essence, he mustn’t wait any longer.

“HEY MATTHIAS!”

Riette’s cries were soon buried in binge drinking and alarm sounds.

Matthias ran without looking back. Still in deep darkness, into the streets and hellfire as shells rained
upon the captured city.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
The roar, which she has never gotten used to, was still too loud even as she clamped both hands over
her ears in fright!

As soon as the first bomb dropped, Leyla threw away the bag she was clutching before she crawled
under a small table in the bedroom and curled up.

‘Basement! I have to go to the basement!’

Her vision flashes back and forth from the neat room she was in, to the overcrowded basement she hid
in before.

The basement was in a town square!

Where was Uncle Bill?

She needed to move!

Was she in the streets? Her shoes were left behind, and her feet turned her socks bloody, didn’t they?

Basement. She needed to get to the basement.

Another boom and Leyla cried out for her Uncle Bill!

She was having flashbacks, she needed to move, she knew she was still safe, but not for long if she won’t
move…

But her body was frozen in a hunch as she stayed crawled beneath the table, wailing for her dead uncle
to come to get her.

The next explosion had come too close, and all of a sudden glass erupted around her and Leyla
screamed!

Gone were the rubbled streets, and in front of her laid the bandaged and beaten-down body of Uncle
Bill. The doctor’s voice filled her head telling her he was dying and her distant screams for them to help
echoed all around her in deafening madness!

The fire was across the street! The beautiful home across from the house she’d taken shelter in was
turning to ashes. Leyla could only rock back and forth as she tried to lull the unborn child in her belly to
soothe up.

“Shh, we’re gonna be okay, we’re gonna be okay, we’re gonna be okay…”

She kept saying like a mantra as her eyes stared widely in a hypnotized daze at the fire and debris in
front of her.

Her head was bobbing up and down as she couldn’t look away. She could only hug her knees closer, as
much as she could.
Her heart was beating erratically, and the smoke and soot started wafting through the broken windows.

Soon, she would suffocate, and her baby would suffocate in her womb.

More bombs rained from the sky, and she kept flinching even as her eyes remained unblinking.

Bony fingers hugged and gripped her arms as she wound them around herself. Nails digging into her skin
soon dug too deep as she began to draw blood.

Calm. She needed to be calm.

She has to be calm!

Although her whole body began to tremble, Leyla tried not to let go of her reason somehow.

Tick. Tock. tick. tock.

The still functioning clock was now echoing loudly in her eardrums. Her chest tightened as the air
around her began to thin out. She can’t breathe!

She needed to breathe!

How long had the bomb rain been?

Was it over?

Did it just begin?

Was anyone coming to save her?

Where was Kyle?

Marquis Lindman?

Did she have to leave?

She can’t go alone! She doesn’t want to be alone!

What if they left her alone?

The building shook again, matching the tumultuous thoughts she had in her mind before it returned to
him.

Matthias von Herhardt.

He would come.

He always came for her.

He’d save her.

He was always there for her, whether she wanted to or not.

He was just like the birds. Always everywhere, anytime.

Surely, he would come. After all, he came here for her once.

If anyone would be with her, it would always be him.

He would cross an entire battlefield for her.

“Hi, Leyla.”

The voice that rose from the heavy ringing in her ears. The moment that gave despair and fear, but more
unbearable, was a shadowy feeling that could not and should not exist behind it.

Her feelings toward him were like both sides of the coin.

From the moment she first saw him until now, it was always like that.

A scary and beautiful boy aimed a flash of a gun at her and stepped on her gold coins. The person who
made her heart a little more shabby every moment, when she kept looking back even though she didn’t
want to see him again.

Holding back tears, Leyla crawled out of the table and hugged the bag. She knew where the location
was. However, the question was whether they could get there safely to avoid this bombing.

‘Don’t cry.’

Leyla comforted herself and forced herself out of the shell she made herself become.

She walked out staggering, holding on to the walls and furniture she could grasp as the ground
continued to shake sporadically beneath her. However, her vision was getting blurred.

The night when she cried after biting a piece of candy that he gave her began to rise beyond her tears.

It was her first time tasting such a delicious treat.

Why did she have to leave him in the first place?

She had a place where she could cry as much as she wanted to back then. Sure he made her do terrible
things against her will, but at least his arms were cozy when they wrapped around her.

She never should have left him.

The hand that hugged and comforted her a little clumsily was warm. It was ridiculous.

Such a shame added to her tears.

For such a long time he held her in his arms and stayed still. She could clearly remember the texture of
the sweater on her cheek and the taste of the candy that melted away on her tongue.

When Leyla, who barely stopped crying, raised her head, she reached out and wiped her wet face.
Slowly and gently until she stopped crying.

Leyla looked at him blankly. The child inside her, who cried sadly while biting the last candy she had
saved, felt like she had stopped crying for a long time. The taste of the candy that was no longer fishy
was sweet. The Duke smiled faintly at the moment she realized it.

It was very strange.

No one in the world likes crying orphans. So Leyla Lewellin has been laughing and laughing.

Now she can smile more brightly than anyone else.

As if denying an unfamiliar feeling, she hurriedly looked away from him. And he stepped down without
being as intimidated as before.

The whole time, whenever she left the annex, it was as if she were running away.

Back then Leyla thought it strange. Because she was running away from the Duke. As the shadows of the
dense trees grew the deeper she entered the forest path that it even covered the moonlight, she turned
around without realizing it.

Going back to take shelter in his arms.

It was a night when the road back to the cabin felt very long. And on that dark road, Leyla looked back
and forth over and over again. Every time, she felt like her shadow was growing little by little.

She’s so embarrassed about that.

She hated it.

After cutting off such a long shadow.

Still, the shadows continued to grow and continued to overwhelm her and the path she walked on.

Maybe she was still walking on the road with a long shadow?

Maybe this all was just a terrible dream?

She’d wake up in his arms soon.

Yes, she’d wake up in safety soon.

Leyla reached for the door of the bedroom with her squeezed tightly shut as she reached out for the
escape…
However, even before she opened the door, a clearer, and louder voice broke through the muddled
ringing in her ears!

“LEYLA!”

Despite the terrible noises around her, Leyla would recognize that voice anywhere!

Matthias, it was him!

He did come for her! He was here with her in the flesh, and she couldn’t help but be filled with
unexpected hope!

“Here! I’m here!” Leyla screamed with all her might. “I’m here!”

The door burst open not a moment later! Once again her vision blurred, but with relief instead of terror,
as she cried at the sight of the new arrival in front of her!

She’d recognize him anywhere, even if her vision was obscured.

Matthias had come for her!

Chapter 142

Promise

They did not have much time to just stand and take in the sight of each other. In no time, Matthias
began to hold on to Leyla as soon as she began to fall.

Without waiting for her expected protests, he carried her limp form in his arms and ran towards the
house’s cellar. He had just about enough time to open the basement door and jump down the ladder
before the ground above them shook and dust began falling from the ceiling!

The bomb was much closer than before.

Not bothering to find the light in the dark cellar, he immediately put Leyla down, who backed up from
the door and leaned her back against the cellar’s wall.

She was dazed, breathing heavily as her body shook with the continued rain from outside.

Immediately he gathered her securely in his arms and drew her away from the shelves where many
stored foods were placed in case they fell on her. He caressed the back of her head soothingly, making
her rest against the crook in his neck.

“It’s all right.” He murmured soothingly against her temples, breaking the monotone sounds of muffled
bombs over their heads. After a while, he felt her begin to pull away, just enough to look up at him.

He cupped her cheeks, and caressed her wet, and flushed skin with the pads of his calloused thumb.

“You’ll be fine soon.” He whispered, resolute and softer.

Even in the dark, she could feel his intense gaze on her, she could see just how deep his eyes reflected
his soul, like an ocean inviting her into its depths.

A depth that often made her scared, hate…

And the less acknowledged excitement at the sight of it, especially as he embraced her securely.

Matthias was certain there could be a lamp somewhere to shed some light, but he couldn’t afford to
find it. And so, in the thick darkness surrounding them, they endured the long night, relying on each
other’s body temperature to keep warm, and their synched breathing for comfort.
The longer they stayed down in the basement, the more Leyla’s eyes gradually got used to the darkness.

Without thinking about it, Leyla reached out for a change and cupped Matthias’ face. She still couldn’t
see clearly, yet she could finally make out some of his features. He looked positively unprepared and
haggard in front of her.

With her other hand resting against his chest, she could feel his abnormal warmth and sweat rolling
down his body, his breathing ragged, and the heartbeat beneath her palms erratic and strong.

He came.

He came running just for her.

There was a sense of glee upon the realization he braved through fields of dropping bombs, just for her.
It made her feel safer.

Made her breathe a lot easier than earlier when no one came for her.

The relief, sadness, and indescribable emotions began pouring out of her into silent, crocodile tears.

It was ridiculous how easily she could tell Matthias apart even amidst her blurring visions. Ridiculous
how she waited unknowingly in the middle of an air strike for him to come to rescue her and cradle her
in his arms.

She had told herself time and again that he would never take her back. And like a fool, she waited for
him to come and get her anyway.

She gripped Matthias’ arm tightly, a wordless plea to keep him connected to her when she felt him
begin to pull away from her.

“Hold on, Leyla.” Matthias grunted after a momentary pause, “It’s dangerous right now.” He told her
seriously before looking off at a distance, through the only small window in the cellar to catch sight of
explosions and rubble in the grounds above.

“I’ll take you to Etman as soon as the bombing stops.” He promised her, gripping her closer to him in
tandem.

She felt her heartbreak at his words, as her lips trembled at the implication. He was rejecting her when
she wanted nothing more than to stay with him.

She immediately began to protest against his wishes with a shake of her head, but Matthias was no
longer paying attention to her.

He wasn’t looking at her anymore.

She wanted to ask what he was seeing, and whether or not he was fine, but the words remained stuck in
her throat. Instead, she made do with looking at his side profile instead as he surveyed their
surroundings…

Not even sparing her a single glance.

Memories flowed along with Matthias’ heartbeat, which deafened her to the sound of the world
collapsing around them.

A man who brutally harassed and hurt her. The person she declared to hate the most in the world. The
cruel man ruined her life without any remorse.

That’s why she shouldn’t forgive him. Why she’ll have to live without seeing him ever again.

It was a natural thing to do after the abuse he’d put her through.

What she should be doing.

But…

He was also a man who couldn’t be truly cruel to the very end despite his harsh actions towards her.

How could she have ever thought to resist him?

Even with their lives threatened to be over now, she couldn’t help but look and savor this image of his
sweet eyes and warm touch. Her mind fought back with those heartless and affectionate moments they
had in the past, tangled in sheets and limbs wrapped around each other.

She wanted to turn a blind eye to it, but it didn’t work out.

It always had been like this.

She’d always been in love.

Even if she thought it couldn’t be, her heart kept yearning for him to love her. Even if it had gone
twisted and distorted, clumsy, or even if she tried to deny it with every fiber of her being, she still loved
him with everything she had.

She always belonged to him. Both her mind and heart had already been his. All their moments together
could’ve been a fairytale if she’d been honest in the beginning.

And now she’s the one begging him to look at her.

‘Look at me.’ Her mind screamed at him, but no words came out of her mouth. Instead, she reached out
and cupped his cheek to direct his gaze back to her.

When he finally glanced down at her, he gave her a look of confusion. She looked at him only in a dazed
manner, trying to convey her confession.
But after a few seconds, he turned away from her once again.

Even though he wrapped her tightly in his arms, he refused to see her. As soon as he turned away from
her, it finally dawned on Leyla.

She’s always been the one looking at him from afar. Always been yearning to be part of his world. And
that the time she spent crying out because of him was not just because of pain and shame…

Shaking the bittersweet memories out of her mind, she reached out once more, urging him again to look
only at her, gently yet firmly turning Matthias by the cheek once more.

A mirror of his actions to her from before.

‘Look at me.’

“Leyla.” Matthias pointedly stared at her.

“Baby…” She murmured, finally finding her voice once more.

The sound of shell explosions was still echoing on the ground.

“Name my baby.” She pleaded for him, caressing his cheeks like she once did when she laid naked
beside him back in Arvis. Her hands began to tremble as he continued to stare at her in silence, so she
pressed on…

“I’ll wait for you,” she told him in a whisper, hot breath reaching up to touch his lips, “I’m going to wait
for you with my baby, so give it a name. Please.” She begged him.

Blinking up prettily at him in the way she knew he could never resist.

She would never have been able to start anew.

She just wanted to be with Matthias.

It may be a stupid choice. This might not be normal love even, or a healthy one.

But she didn’t care anymore.

This felt too good, to be in his arms like this, to be the wrong kind of love. She doesn’t believe this love is
wrong.

She loved this man. She will only ever wish for this man to be by her side.

“It’s all right now. We’ll be fine.” She told him with a watery smile, tears still pouring out of her in a
pleading way even as she wet her lips.

“The baby already loves you.” She cooed at him lovingly, “Since I love you, the baby surely will too!”

“Leyla-“
“I love you.” She finally said, smiling so widely and brightly at him. So out of place from the war and air
raid happening outside, even as dust continued to rain down on them, blinding her momentarily as she
fought to keep her gaze locked on his.

She denied herself of this for so long. She can’t bring herself to stop now.

She doesn’t want to stop. Ever.

“I love you. You were so terrible to me, and I hate you for it, but I love you anyway!” She confessed
desperately to him, clinging to his neck, “I love you!” She cried out in a whisper, begging for him to
believe her now.

Because she does. She always will.

No matter what hell he put her through, she’d always choose him.

Something shook deep within Matthias’ core the longer he stared at her pleading form. She loved him?

Does she truly love him?

“I swear if this is another one of your lies again, Leyla, then…. I will kill you.” He growled at her, but she
only smiled brightly at him, “I’m gonna kill you, and then myself afterward because I won’t ever be
parting from you again.”

“No, I’m not lying.” She grinned widely at him, with a quick shake of her head to dissuade any disbelief
he had of her.

“I never lied before either,” She giggled at him, “From the moment I tried to fool you, I already meant
everything I told you.”

Matthias continued to stare at her in disbelief, but she continued. This time, she’d tell him how she felt
all this time.

“I hated how much I enjoyed everything we did. But I loved all of it. I’ve always loved it. Always loved
you.”

One day, she’d give her heart wholly to this man when the war is over. She hated him.

She was afraid of him.

She despised him.

She was hurt because of him.

She was sad because of him.

She wanted to erase him.

She wanted to escape from him.

Sometimes she wanted to die because of him.

But in the end…….

“Then Leyla, you can’t escape me forever.” He grinned back at her, showing her his perfect, pearly
whites, and she couldn’t help but giggle up at him now that he believed her. His frown turned upside
down into a wide, pure, genuine joy.

Now that he promised he wouldn’t ever let her go again.

She could see now. Her mind and heart didn’t need to be mended back together, because everything
was fine now.

This was it.

This was the love she always wanted.

The love of this man.

Maybe she already knew. In the afternoon, when the sea of Sienna was beautifully shining, the moment
she saw him coming to her after passing through the hellish world.

“Don’t let me go again.” She told him and brought their foreheads together, then their noses…

Before finally bringing their lips together.

She was back home now. With him, engulfed around her senses, she was forever safe.

They both pulled away, leaving the tips of their noses together as they exchanged sweet smiles.

The crumbling world above them didn’t matter anymore.

“I’ll be waiting for you to come back, and then I’ll forgive you for everything if you come back alive.” She
told him sternly with a pout, “I won’t hate you anymore if you do that. And then, we can start all over
again.” She finished with an excited grin.

The prospect of their future together…

She can’t wait for the time to come. Belatedly she could tell there was a fast-beating heart in the cellar.
Whether it was his, hers, or both, it didn’t matter.

Their hearts now beat together, and that was all that mattered to her.

“Towards that time, without hate or sadness, we just have to start over with only our love.” She
whispered against his lips, and he gripped her tighter in agreement, “You can do it. I can do it, so I’m
confident. The baby agrees.” She giggled and began to cry once more.
But instead of longing tears, they were now tears of happiness.

Because who else would she love if not him? Who else would she have a family with if not with him?

There had never been anyone else, but him.

Another explosion came nearby, but Leyla found herself no longer scared. She was with him, there was
no reason to be afraid anymore.

Their foreheads rested against each other once more as he breathed a sigh of relief. The tension in his
body seeped out of his body the more Leyla nuzzled against him comfortably.

This was all he ever wanted. For her to love him back truly.

Unable to help himself, he brought her up to kiss her passionately on the lips.

Now accepting of her feelings, Leyla eagerly participated and moaned against his lips. This was heaven,
she thought with a sigh.

Their hands wound around each other’s bodies, roaming and clutching everywhere they could, clinging
to each other as if their worlds would end if they don’t cement this moment now.

“Promise me.” She breathed out, as soon as they parted for breath, and looked up at him fiercely in
demand, “Promise me that you will come back to us as quickly as you can.”

“Anything for you.” Matthias murmured to her and planted a kiss on the back of her eyelids as her eyes
fluttered close. A bright, and beautiful smile spread over her kiss-bitten lips.

“I’ll come back to you.”

“Promise me, and I’ll trust you. I believe in you forever no matter what anyone says. You are a man of
your word, are you not?” She demanded of him, and he chuckled with amusement at her.

“I promise, Leyla.” He breathed out with a wide grin of his own and brought her lips back to his, as he
hugged her impossibly closer to him. She cried and moaned and sighed against him all night, but he was
now complete.

For the distrust and hate and disgust in her eyes, were now filled with open longing and love and
acceptance, just for him to see. For him to take. And it was all he ever wanted in the beginning.

“I’ll come back to you.” He breathed out. “I promise.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
The bombing stopped at the crack of dawn. And as soon as the coast was clear, Matthias wasted no time
in leading Leyla through the rubble, hugging her close to him by the waist.

They were long past their due time, and he was certain that no matter how long Kyle and Riette would
stall for more in time for their arrival, any more than now would cause suspicion to arise.

The dawn revealed only rubble and smoke in its wake the more the sun rose, but Matthias could not
afford for them to stop.

Leyla must still leave this city now, before more attacks come.

It was the only thought pushing him past his limits, even as Leyla was visibly getting more tired from the
traveling.

Kyle decided to wait in front of the north gate of the wall surrounding the city. Originally, it was a
deserted place, but now that all troops are gathering due to the enemy’s surprise attack, the vicinity has
been turned into nothing but a ghost town.

The blue clear dawn light shone on the world, where the debris from wall buildings, and shrapnels from
the bombs were slowly revealed to everyone who survived the night. The sound of waves flooded his
ears, before Matthias’ rough breathing was all he could take note of!

“Matthias! Come on! We have to hurry!” Riette shouted to a whisper as soon as he caught sight of
them.

Matthias need only look at the once to see they just arrived in the nick of time before someone would
come to question why they haven’t gone yet. Without stopping for any pleasantries, Matthias
immediately rushed to the front of the ambulance, just as Riette swung open the door to receive Leyla’s
pregnant form.

But Matthias did not let her go, just gently deposited her immediately in a comfortable position, and
wrapped a snug wrap around her shoulders as he sat her next to Kyle.

“Leah.” He spoke up immediately as soon he was done securing her. He squeezed her hand, and brought
it up to his lips as he stared into her wide, happy eyes as she smiled at him.

He finally answered her.

She squeezed his hand back tightly, one last reminder of his promise to her.

To both of them.

“And if it’s a boy?” she asked him with a grin.

He merely raised a brow at her, as though he didn’t think it could be anything else but a girl.
“Felix.” He answered plainly after a few beats of silence. Riette’s eyes widened in surprise at the change
of air between the two. Even moreso when he realized where the name had come from.

Duke Felix von Herhardt was Matthias’ grandfather. The glorious name of a Herhardt man, who was
named as the next successor, and thus led to the creation of the prosperity of the family, which in turn
was serving them well for the rapidly changing era.

‘Does Leyla know what it means to pass on the name?’ Riette looked at Leyla, with that thought.

But she only beamed in satisfaction at him, like a good little child who was receiving her well-earned
reward. There were tears now flowing down her cheeks, and he noted how reluctant she was to let go,
but she eventually dropped Matthias’ hand from hers.

This is how the man who proposed to give the woman everything and the woman who accepted the
proposal would part ways. Now, it was the woman’s turn to leave and the man to be left behind.

Damn it.

Riette swallowed a hot breath, spitting out a curse under his breath without realizing it. However, they
were out of time for any more sentiments to occur between the couple.

As soon as Matthias stepped back from the ambulance, Riette hurried back to the passenger seat, caging
Leyla in securely. With both men beside her, she would now be easy to miss.

Without waiting for more instructions, the ambulance began to move away. Matthias watched them
leave, without a glance back to the ruined city behind him.

He was just about to return back to the barracks, when suddenly, the ambulance came to a stop, not a
second later, the passenger door flew open, and Leyla came spilling out into a stumble and began
running back to him!

He rushed to her immediately, and gathered her into his arms just before she would stumble to the
ground!

“Leyla.” He breathed out in surprise, confused as to what she had yet to do. She was only breathing
heavily, looking at him wide-eyed and crying. Shaky hands began to untie her braid, and clutched her
ribbon.

Wordlessly, Matthias held out his wrist in understanding, watching as she took her time to wrap it
securely around his wrist.

He watched her do the same to the birds back in Arvis. And now she was doing the same to him.

That was all.

Leyla couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She believed, if she opened her mouth, she’d only say more,
inconsequential things.
Matthias, who alternately looked at Leyla’s face with a white ribbon tied to his wrist, smiled and nodded
to her in understanding. It was the same smile with a little playfulness and pride, where he had many
moments of holding his breath and looking at it without realizing it.

The alarm to announce the gathering of the army began to ring again, shaking them out of their reverie,
and imposing the urgency they forgot they had.

Leyla’s lips began to tremble, unwilling to leave him. Still, he stroked her rosy cheeks, which did not cry,
and nodded once again.

“Go, Leyla.”

Smiling as he swept over her hair tangled in the wind, Matthias lowered his head deeply and kissed
Leyla’s cheek, which was stained with tear marks

“I love you.” He whispered against her ear, even as the siren of their army threatened to deafen them
with its loudness.

That was the last one.

Leyla had to stop turning toward Kyle and Riette, who urgently called her name, telling her there was no
time left to waste anymore. Matthias also turned toward the square where the siren rang.

Leyla’s sob, which began the moment she turned away from him, soon came pouring out of her
relentlessly. While crying like a child, Leyla walked without stopping or looking back.

She didn’t want Matthias’ steps to be heavy. She thought he would come back lightly if he left lightly.
Like the birds of Arvis that she loved, who returned without fail if she waited.

The ruined city showed its terrible appearance in the clear morning sun.

Before turning the corner of the wall, Matthias turned his head and looked at Leyla. The loose blonde
fluttered like a wing behind her running back.

Matthias captured the beautiful golden waves in the gray ruins. And then again, he started walking
towards the world that was going to be a battlefield.

The Confederate Army, in which Ettar’s troops fought, landed that morning through the Northern
Union’s blockade. It was the day when the largest battle began since the war when the autumn sky of
Sienna was dazzlingly clear.
Chapter 143

Time of The Wind

The downtown streets of Ratz turned hectic as more than the usual amount of delivery boys for the local
paper ran through to toss out the morning papers.

In a nearby cafe, seated by the window, Claudine gazed through the glass in quiet observation. The air in
the once bustling capital had turned sour and somber as soon as the war came, and their men left them
behind.

There were mostly children and women around. A common sight she’d finally gotten used to. It didn’t
help that the recent news from the war front brought them no comfort at all.

Berg’s army, which had largely dominated the war, had its fortune turned in the latest skirmish. Now,
they are struggling against Ettar since they have recaptured the city of Sienna.

And now they’re gradually being pushed further north, where not too long ago, the Union’s latest
attacks had largely been successful. Tensions continue to rise between the two nations, and soon no
good news will reach them if it keeps up.

Even the fast-approaching New Year’s was not enough to lift the spirits of the families the men left
behind, especially when it wasn’t certain they’d be returning home in glory and victory.

The Empire had failed to keep its promise to its people.

“Don’t worry too much, Lady Brandt. Duke Herhardt will certainly return safe and sound.” Piped up one
of the ladies she was with within the cafe.

“Of course. No matter how fierce the battle takes place, the Duke will surely return safely.” Immediately
added another one of Claudine’s friends after seeing her contemplative look, mistaking it for worry and
longing for her fiance.

That’s right. Claudine thought belatedly, to the rest of society, shernpl was still engaged with Duke
Herhardt. A minute, and mirthless smile curled up on the corner of her lips, unseen by those she was
with.

Officially, they were still engaged, and therefore Claudine von Brandt had every right to worry about the
safety of Matthias von Herhardt, as is expected of his woman.
Even though deep inside, she was more than hoping he would meet his demise instead in this war and
never return again.

Perhaps a little earlier, when she had still been less bitter and more amenable to his presence, she
would have wished otherwise. But not anymore. It only became increasingly clear how less likely he
would return as her soon to be wedded husband.

Still, she had an image to uphold, and a pretense to act; loathed as she is to act as though she cared
about the Duke.

She often wondered what news would arrive next. A question she asked habitually to herself whenever
a new one would arrive in the form of Riette’s letter updates to her.

He was still in the warfront, and she hadn’t heard anything of him aside from the ones he sent her, but
he was always more than generous in relaying to her the events that he was witnessing.

Even when she didn’t ask it of him, he still gave her more than she knew she deserved. Even Matthias
was less generous than this, even when they were properly engaged.

And through Riette’s letters, she had learned about Leyla’s whereabouts and current condition. That
Matthias had indeed, and eagerly took part in the war because that was where she would be found.

And found her indeed! The big bad Duke had finally been reunited with his lowly orphan girl. The anger
she expected to come had long since dried up. Not even news of Leyla’s pregnancy ignited a single spark
of anger in her anymore.

Officially they might still be engaged. But Claudine was no longer in the running to be the next Duchess.

She’d never been in it. Belatedly she wondered why Matthias even agreed to wed her when he had no
intention in following through in the end.

This engagement had long been over.

Claudine now accepted the fact that she desperately denied, even though she knew it would happen
eventually. Truthfully, she would have been fine with their engagement being broken off…

If only it didn’t lead to Matthias’ happiness.

Why was it, after everything he’d done, he got to have his own happy ending? She didn’t want them to
be happy.

She wanted them to remain miserable as they should be. They were the disgraceful ones, the ones who
cheated, and couldn’t stay away from each other even when they both promised themselves to another.

They shouldn’t have a happy ending, when they were the only ones in the wrong.
They should both just stay back in Sienna and die in the war. It was the only thought that consumed her
in the long nights.

A loathing wish for Matthias, and his lowly orphan girl, to die and perish. Never to be with each other for
all eternity.

Eventually, even if their engagement would be broken off officially, Claudine was still able to make a
fresh start. Keep her reputation intact, and get engaged anew to a more suitable candidate. While not a
widely acceptable tradition to do so, marrying her deceased fiance’s cousin, it wasn’t too bad of a
reputation that she couldn’t just brush off.

She resolved to pen him her reply soon.

Even though in the present, Claudine was actively taking part in her friends and ladies’ conversations,
her mind was stuck back in her room, with the latest letter Riette had sent her.

More specifically, his penned confession.

In it, she realized that despite his parting words to her that he’d let her go, he still held onto his feelings
for her strongly.

She thought she’d lost him forever, and she allowed herself a momentary relief at the knowledge he still
loved her. But she couldn’t bring herself to write back to him so quickly.

They lost too much time, trying to do what they thought would be better for themselves before.

This time, she wanted to convey her returned feelings for him perfectly. It’s the least she could do, for
whose heart she broke so selfishly for.

Because she wanted this marriage to work.

For this engagement to go beyond just a mindless agreement. An engagement where her mind and
heart were both in agreement.

A union that was both formed out of love and honor for a change. A far cry of the faux engagement she
had with the Duke for years.

And should Matthias cry, perhaps she will shed some tears, but only out of joy, instead of sorrow.

Soon, the time came for them to leave, and one by one, the ladies around her began to go home. The
time for social gathering and afternoon dallying with one another had remained to only be mere
formality.

Their day to day gatherings were only ever meant to be for show after all. They found no need to keep
up with the pretenses, not with the influx of news about their lost sons, husbands, and brothers to war.
A cold and gloomy winter soon rolled by, making the endless funerals day in and day out an even more
somber occasion. The only genuine gathering left in Ratz, was when they’d go out and send their
condolences.

Which was really, why she’s even out here in the cafe in the first place.

Waiting for her by the main street, was her vehicle. She got in, and the chauffeur immediately closed the
door behind her before they began to drive back home.

Just when the car turned around the corner of the boulevard between the Museum of Natural History
and the Museum of Art, Claudine was immediately shaken out of her immersive thoughts at the woman
she’d just seen around they corner of her eyes that passed outside her window.

It was a blonde woman, wearing thick-rimmed glasses and bundled up warmly, plainly walking down the
street. She was already quite a distance away from her now, with her back turned, but the figure eerily
seemed familiar to her anyway.

“Miss, what’s the matter?” The maid, who was looking around, asked her when she noticed the look of
alarm in her mistress’ face. Claudine, who looked like a cross between suspicion and contemplation,
immediately shook her head before she leaned back against the car’s seat.

“Nothing.” she quietly replies, mind running a mile a minute.

‘Is it Leyla?’

The last news she heard from Riette’s letter was that Matthias found Leyla, who ran away, pregnant
with the Duke’s child, and he’d caught her.

‘But did he send her here? That guy?’

“It’s nothing.” She reiterated when the maid still looked unconvinced that nothing was wrong.

Either way, Claudine didn’t want to take any part in their affairs anymore. She’d learned that only
getting involved with them brought on more shame than satisfaction. She’d settle only with thoughts
and wishes that they’d both have their happy ending tarnished by the war.

Today was just a normal day.

Ad when nightfall came that night, a new, and hopeful wish overtook her normal thoughts. Instead of
wishing for Matthias to die, she wished desperately to receive more news from Riette…

And this time, she will give him the answer he deserved from her. She’d keep it short, and succinct, so
he can get it quickly.

And as if her prayers were finally heard, the maid who brought her mail, suddenly burst through her
bedroom, with a wide, open smile, in her hands an envelope, scrawled with her name by a familiar
penmanship.
“My Lady! Marquis Lindman’s letter has arrived!” she announced gleefully.

Claudine, who had been leaning against the bed and drinking morning tea, shot up to her feet like an
excited girl. Barefoot and running, the letter was snatched out of the maid’s hands with an excited
squeal. The maid’s eyes crinkled knowingly at her with a smile as she met her mistress’ eyes.

Claudine blushed a little and began to look for her slippers and wore them. While the maid turned a
blind eye to her mistress’ momentary lapse in proper decorum, the door swung open once more
without warning. It was the Countess Brandt.

“My dear, Claudine! What are you going to do?!” immediately wailed her mother as she strode into her
daughter’s room!

It surprised Claudine because her mother was the image of proper etiquette and manners. She would
have beaten Claudine’s hands with a stick for bursting unannounced into another’s bedroom. Before she
could even ask what was wrong, Claudine found her arms filled with her sobbing mother, and caught
sight of this morning’s newspaper haphazardly tossed on the table.

Great trepidation began to fill her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

When it was time for a boy to read the newspaper to come, her heart jumped. It happened on its own
without checking the time. Today, Leyla wandered in front of the house with an anxious face. Soon
after, the big eyes of the newspaper delivery boy looking over the street shook nervously.

On that clear autumn day, the ambulance that hid Leyla escaped the blockaded Sienna safely.

She parted ways with Marquis Lindman as soon as they arrived in the rear supply unit, and also bid
goodbye to Kyle at a military hospital across the border between Lovita and Berg. Once Leyla found
herself bereft of companions, she ended up relying on a piece of paper with an unfamiliar address,
before she got on the train headed back to Ratz.

It was reminiscent of when she came to Arvis on her own. Travelling alone, just like she did as a child.

The sadness filled up to the end of her neck was overflowing, but Leyla did not cry. She wasn’t alone
because she had a child now in her belly. And there was Matthias too.

A giddy feeling filled her up as she remembered their kisses.

Soon, they’d be reunited once more. So Leyla had to recover her health, give birth to the child, and wait
for him with the child. It was as easy as that! And while she waited for his return, she could do whatever
she wanted in the meantime.
Every day, she waited eagerly for him to return, and made sure to take care of herself without any worry
at all! She had nothing more to worry about after all. Matthias was returning to her. And with that in
mind, Leyla was able to endure day after day on her own, in her quaint new house.

The time for the season to change would soon come, and the child kept growing in her womb. In no
time, she’d be giving birth, and finally hold their child in her arms!

Oh how she wished he’d be back in time to be with her during that time too! She was as desperate as
she was excited for his return.

But despite her newfound freedom and luxury, she was still a little scared. If anything happened to her
during childbirth, what would happen to her child if Matthias hadn’t returned yet? Of course, Matthias
made sure there were butlers and the Duke’s lawyers at her beck and call while she recovered and lived
in this house, but they were not partners with whom she could rely on her heart.

“It’s okay. Everything will be fine.” As Matthias had done to her, Leyla whispered to the child in the
stomach. It was then that light and fast footsteps began to be heard.

A boy delivering newspapers was running from across the cold street.
Chapter 144

Perfectly Brilliant Light

“How are you doing, Claudine?” asked Countess Brandt in a hesitant voice, her red-rimmed eyes looking
at her carefully. The maid who’d been serving them immediately dropped her gaze to the floor,
recognizing this moment to be a private affair between her mistresses.

This time between them was a tenuous moment.

“It’s…” Claudine began to speak up softly, before trailing off, a far-away look in her eyes. “It’s a difficult
time, but I have to endure it well.” She diplomatically answered, nodding tersely as though she was
trying to convince herself to do so.

“That’s right. We should all do that.” Her mother interjected, also preoccupied with her thoughts and
feelings to notice just how broken their daughter had turned out to be in the latest news that befell
them.

The war might as well have dropped a bomb on their house.

“Well then, make sure you are eating.” Her mother added, patting her on the hand absentmindedly,
“Think of what he would want for you.” She commanded offhandedly, before breaking down into more
sobs.

Recognizing the order for what it was, the maid hastily excused herself to prepare them a meal, despite
the knowledge that Lady Claudine wouldn’t touch a single food that would be prepared. Still, she
needed to make sure her Lady would have something to eat to keep her strength up for these difficult
times.

After hastily preparing easy-to-eat foods, she immediately went back up to her Lady’s room, and softly
knocked on the closed door.

“My Lady, I have brought you something to eat and drink.” She announced, when no answer came, she
knocked again. “My Lady?”

A beat of silence came before a loud wail began to erupt inside the room! Worried about her mistress’
well-being, she burst through the door to come to her aid!
“Oh, my Lady!” she fretted almost immediately, the tray in her hands dropped in her haste and spilling
its contents on the floor!

Crouched pathetically in a fetal position, still in her sleeping gown and hair loose and barefoot, laid her
mistress, Lady Claudine, sobbing her heart out, a letter clutched tight against her breasts as though she
was trying to merge with it.

“Leave me alone!” she demanded upon the sight of her maid, her eyes turned into a sharp glare almost
immediately but lost some of their intimidation at the tears that persisted to escape from them. Mary
sharply halted in her steps, appearing to hesitate in obeying her mistress’ wishes.

She can’t possibly let her mistress wallow in her sorrow alone.

“But-“

“Out! Get out, Mary!” She screamed, tears still pouring out of her.

Mary wanted to protest.

“But you…”

“Please…” she begged, softly this time as she sobbed, “Please just leave.” She pleaded before she went
back to curling on her room’s floor, hugging the letter back to her chest.

The protest left the maid’s heart in a quick second at the sight of her broken-up mistress. She thought
that Lady Claudine could remain graceful in her grief, but she too was just human. And when a loved one
dies, no amount of grace can hide the pain one truly felt in their passing.

Deciding to finally give her some space, Mary softly closed the door behind her to leave her mistress
alone for now.

Even as she closed the door behind her, Claudine’s cries echoed ominously throughout the empty
corridor as she cleaned up the dropped tray of food before leaving.

Claudine, for her part, could barely remember why she ended up crying on the floor so pathetically. As
soon as her mother had taken leave, she opened up the last letter and read it. She was just reading the
letter. Yet after the sleepless night she had, and when the morning sun rose to a new day, she found
herself weak, and unable to bring herself to even rise from where she laid catatonically.

The only thing that convinced her was the sight of his unopened letter.

She needed to read his last letter. And so with shaky hands and a broken heart, she opened the last
letter she would ever get from him.

[I love you, Claudine.]

A phrase he’d penned her multiple times, in every letter since the war happened.
[I know how afraid you are, what you’re afraid of. And I cannot promise you that it won’t come true,
because, in reality, I’m no miracle worker like Matthias. But I have to believe that whatever hardships
may come our way, we will endure because of my love for you. I’ll shoulder everything you’re afraid to
face, my love, because that’s just how much I want to be with you. I plan to drown out all your problems
with my love alone, if only you’ll have me.]

He’d promised her a million times he’d return. Promised how his love for her would make him endure
the war.

And now he’s dead, and she’d yet to give him her millions of confessions in return.

The obituary in the newspaper brought by the Countess belonged to Marquis Lindman, not Duke
Herhardt. News of Riette’s was listed along with many others and arrived just as his last love letter did.
There was another unexpected air raid, the paper had announced, and this time, they targeted the rear
units, which were largely undermanned.

The rear unit was caught so unprepared, housing most of the army’s patients, that Riette had been
counted along with the many casualties to be shot and killed in action.

“He’s not dead… he’s not…” She muttered absently under her breath, the letter clutched tightly in her
palms.

Another night came, and then another day rose, still, Claudine found herself unable to part with the
letter, still huddled pathetically on the floor, sobbing wildly in grief and mourning.

How long has it been? A day? Two?

Did it even matter anymore?

She supposed it didn’t.

What was the point in trying to live such a miserable life anyway? Even he, who wrote her such
enthusiastic love letters, ended up dying alone and far away from home.

She wished to read a different man’s death, and wished for Riette to return. And yet had always been
cruel to her, because her Riette was now dead, and she dreads to see the Duke’s return home.

Just when she was ready to say she loved him too.

He was ripped away from her before he could even call himself hers.

“I love you… I love you… I love you…” She repeated like a mantra, the light gone from her eyes, yet her
tears far from stopping.

There was so much she needed to say, so much to apologize to him for…

And now she’d never be able to say it.

Why him?

Of all people, why did he have to die?

“I love you.”

The more she re-read the letter, the more the emptiness in her heart threatened to overwhelm her. The
line of him declaring his love for her kept flashing back and forth in front of her, she had to let it go.

But the moment she did, she found herself unable to breathe a moment more, her chest tightening so
painfully, she reached out for it in a panic, that she fell from her chair!

The threat of a sob began to escape from her, and as soon as her fingers brushed upon the edge of the
paper, she gripped it tight and brought it down to her chest, and gave in to the overwhelming despair
swallowing her whole!

The only warmth in her stemmed from the flimsy paper in her grip. Just ink and paper were all she had
left of him. Like his touch still lingered on the letter, she wanted to will him back to life, to be back with
her…

Close to touching…

Close to confessing…

Memories of his fading voice and laughter only made her scramble around to keep him tightly anchored
to her.

Wound up so tightly, she felt something in her break…

Ah, so this was how it was.

This was how it was to be truly heartbroken.

And when something is broken, nothing will ever be the same again.

“I love you,” she repeated, her hopeless plea carried off by the silence, unable to reach its recipient.

How cruel fate was to her, that the world should keep turning when hers had just ended before it had
even begun.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The memory that remained buried deep within his heart served as Matthias motivation to survive, his
sole raison d’etre. Like the beautiful golden wings of a butterfly fluttering in this solemn gray world, it
illuminates this painful and arduous path of his to the place where he needs to return, back to that place
where he truly belongs. He slowly opened his closed eyes, staggering for a bit as he tried to stand up.
The afternoon sun seemed to be teasing his eyes with its bright, irritating ray of light.
A fellow soldier, who had been by his side shooting at the enemy a while ago, was now covered in
blood; their unmoving body had collapsed on the cold, hard ground. The dark-red blood flowing from
the corpse’s fragmented head and chest caused by the artillery shell wetted Matthias’ military boots. If
he was the one who stood in front of the window just now, he would have been the one who was now
lying there as a shattered, cold corpse.

Life and death would always be a second away from one another. Did Riette also feel the same way
before his life trickled away like grains of sand in the wind?

Did he expect that he would die before Matthias?

For a moment, the dead comrade’s face shifted into Riette’s, before returning back to its real face.

After exhaling deeply, Matthias picked up his gun lying on the floor and turned around. Another shell
flew in with a rumbling sound which shook the stone walls around him, hinting its imminent collapse.
He, however, persistently continued on his way, completely ignoring the danger surrounding him.

Unlike the information he had received from the intelligence reports, the enemy commenced their
attacks in broad daylight in an attempt to recapture the city occupied by Berg a few weeks ago. The city
possessed a junction where three railroads intersect making it a key point of supply; which meant that it
was a place where multiple fierce battles were bound to take place.

Schwip

With a shout that couldn’t escape from his mouth, an enemy soldier completely fell down without even
knowing how he died.

Matthias stepped out behind a pillar located opposite to the now lifeless body of the enemy who
couldn’t even utter a single scream before his life was extinguished. He proceeded to stand behind a
nearby wall, the warm rays of the sun together with a gust of cold wind wrapped around his tired body.
The wall on the other side was already half collapsed by the enemy’s artillery fire and the wall where he
stood behind would face the same fate soon.

When they had difficulties breaking through the enemy’s defensive line, the army would resort to
breaking down all the small-scaled walls to enter the opposite side’s territory. Doing so reduces the
enemy’s defensive structures and lessens any potential threat of ambush. He was well aware of such
tactics since it was one of the most common strategies that the Berg army would use when advancing
on enemy’s territories.

However, Ettar’s participation changed many parts of the battlefield.

Initially, the Confederate forces had been powerless since they didn’t possess a mortar that could break
down the castle’s thick wall. But, thanks to the weapons provided by Ettar, they were now attacking
vigorously with weapons that could even rival Berg’s and implementing the same tactics that Berg used
without hesitation.
“Retreat! Retreat!”

“Retreat! Retreat!” A desperate command to retreat was ordered to the troops, who were deployed to
defend the wall, rang out accompanied by the unending sound of gunshots.

He found it a little ridiculous that they finally issued such a command after half of their troops were
already dead. If it had been ordered at least an hour ago, then perhaps more people would have
listened and survived from this unexpected ordeal.

Matthias, with a mirthless smirk on his lips, hurriedly moved towards his destination. If only he could, he
would have run with all his might but his injured body prevented him from doing so.

‘Did I get hurt?’

He tried to remember, but he couldn’t recall any instance where he could have sustained any injuries.
His dizzy head was also still reeling from the recent explosion that their troops had just experienced,
inhibiting his mind from thinking too deeply.

In the end, their commander failed to properly grasp the enemy’s firepower. Just a while ago, their side
firmly believed that their enemy was not reckless enough to continue deploying their troops to attack
the defensive wall. Thanks to this firm belief, they became the perfect candidates for betrayal, to turn
one’s allies into rats trapped in poison and dedicate them to the enemies. However, it was difficult to
fully put the blame on the commander’s shoulder since no one had expected the Confederation to be in
possession of the same weapons as Berg’s; not until the Lovita army fired the first mortar.

As his vision started to blur once more, the beautiful wings appeared in front of him again; fluttering
mesmerizingly amidst the chaotic scene.

Ever since the day he had left, Matthias had always seen the golden wings in his vicinity as if it was his
guardian angel. Thanks to this, he still firmly believed that there was still a chance to successfully
counterattack and turn this hopeless situation around despite their armiy’s complete disastrous defeat.
He was convinced that he was still alive thanks to his lovely little bird waiting for him back home.

“Leyla.” With his lips smiling softly, Matthias uttered his beloved’s name sweetly. Just saying her name
filled his being with sweetness enough to drown his whole being

The time to blink his eyes was getting longer and his urgent movements changed slowly to a pace similar
to a person enjoying a leisure walk. As soon as he became aware of his sluggish body, Matthias’ tired
body immediately fell flat on the sun-heated stone floor like a doll whose strings were suddenly cut off.

He struggled to keep his drowsy eyes open and finally noticed the path where he came from. Dark-red
streaks flowed on the rubbled walls and destroyed paths which he had passed. It took him a few more
blinks to realize that it was actually his blood.

It was his blood, it was him that left those bloodied traces….
The blood flowing from his left shoulder, perhaps due to an embedded shell fragment, had now
completely soaked half of his military uniform. Spilling this much blood would be deemed a serious
injury, but his muddled brain couldn’t even perceive any pain, much alone comprehend he’d lost so
much blood until the critical moment. Fully comprehending his current situation, his throat let out a
short and sudden voice.

It was a giggle mixed with his ragged breath, ironically laughing at his current situation. He was fully
aware how bad this turn of events was and its potential end result; his death.

He leaned his battered body against the railing and gave his all to keep ahold of his slipping
consciousness; the smell of rusted iron began to intermingle with his breath. His hand, which grabbed
his hair like he was trying to tear his head off, gained more strength as he continued to inflict pain upon
himself.

Matthias leaned against the railing and tried to hold consciousness. The smell of rusty iron began to
seep out of his breath. His hand, which he grabbed like he was tearing his head off, gained strength.

‘Wake up!’

He relentlessly commanded his muddled brain while pulling his hair harder. However, even after doing
so, his eyelids only felt heavier with every passing second. The sound of the mortar, which should have
been close to where he was, felt like a faint noise that came from a distant place.

‘Wake! Up!’

He wanted to fall asleep for a second, to just take a quick rest. He would just let his body recover for a
bit, then he could finally get up and continue once again.

“Leyla. To you. I’ll be back, I promised. So.. just for a bit…….”

‘FUCKING WAKE UP NOW!!!’

By the time his eyes were almost closed, Matthias caught a glimpse of a ribbon fluttering in front of him.
It was the same ribbon that Leyla had put around his wrist, his talisman that protected him without fail
since that day.

When Leyla’s image of tying colored threads together while searching for various bird nests in the
forests and rivers of Arvis came to his mind, his lips, which were shut in a flat line, let out a genuine and
lighthearted laugh full of joy. She always enjoyed seeing the birds return back to their nests and she
would always become happy and be filled with overwhelming joy once she saw those birds. She was so
unlike him…

A lonely kid.

He stared at the fluttering ribbon with blank eyes. He thought of her life full of loved ones who once left,
but never ever returned back to her lonely self that was waiting earnestly.
He now finally fully understood.

The reason why Leyla loved Arvis’ migratory birds so dearly.

‘Leyla….’

With his voice also gone, Matthias whispered his beloved’s name with quivering lips.

He promised her,

He said he will definitely return.

Leyla said she believes him and will wait for him…’

And he would give his all to fulfill his promise, no matter what cost.

‘I have to go back, I need to go back. I must!!’

He stubbornly lifted his injured body, biting his lips hard to the point of bleeding. Even with his hazy
consciousness, the sound of artillery fire penetrated his mind continuously.

He began to walk once again towards the wall where dust clouds rose and broken bricks were rolling
around. His legs were twisted together and his body stumbled repeatedly, but he never showed any
signs of stopping on his path. Taking a few shaky steps after he just got up, he , in the end, collapsed
once again.

Matthias supported himself against the stone floor with his blood-soaked hands. A slight giggle erupted
after taking a few rough breaths. When he opened his closed eyes that he hadn’t realized were
squeezed shut, his vision blurred by fatigue became a little bit clearer.

Tears and sweat mixed together as it slid down towards his chin and dripped down to the back of his
hand.

‘Just one more time….’

‘Get up… one more time…’

Whenever he blinked and tried to focus his dazed eyes, tears continuously flowed down from his eyes,
flowing down towards his chin and dripping at the back of his wet hand. Each drop felt hotter than the
last, stimulating his muddled brain bit by bit. He found his desperate situation funny, so Matthias
repeatedly let out a dry laugh; his breath accompanied by a thicker smell of blood.

‘You have to live!’

He repeatedly whispered to himself quietly.

‘Leyla, for my Leyla, you have to live!’

He had to live because she was still waiting for him.

It took him more time than before to finally be able to support his body and in the end, he finally
managed to get up once again. After rubbing down his wet face, he straightened his back and began to
move forward, taking a step after step. His bloody eyes were now half closed from exhaustion, but
Matthias never stopped walking.

He had to go.

Even if he would also become someone who had failed to return back to his lonely bird’s life.

Even if he would also become someone who had failed to return back to his lonely bird’s life.

He needed to keep his promise till the bitter end.

He wanted to be forgiven.

He wanted to return to the place where Leyla was, to stand beside her. To that place where they could
start once again with their love for each other, where their love story would begin and unravel through
thick and thin.

Matthias moved quickly with renewed vigor when he finally caught a glimpse of the stairs below the
wall. At the moment when his foot just stepped at the stairs, the mortar’s shrapnels, which battered the
solid wall one after another, finally broke through the wall accompanied by a loud explosion!
In the collapsing world, he caught a glimpse of the brilliant golden wings fluttering in the wind.

‘Leyla…’ He whispered with a smile. This was the last sight that was burned to his memory before
everything went black.

News of the battle in the city of Lovita was not d

elivered to Berg until a few days later.

The newspaper, which featured a photo of Duke Herhardt donning an officer’s uniform on the
frontpage, began to spread rapidly throughout the streets a day before the New Year.
Chapter 145

New Year’s Eve

The morning paper, which had been delivered since early in the morning, lay untouched on the table
even though lunch had already passed for quite some time. Like a buzzing bee, Leyla had been hovering
around it from time to time in a nervous fret.

Whenever she tried to reach out and open it, she would end up turning around and walking away in
fright. This scene had occurred multiple times already since early in the morning.

In an attempt to somewhat ease up her anxious mind, she would every now and then talk to her only
companion, which was the unborn child in her womb. She couldn’t help but to speak to them at every
available moment she had, even as she warmed up a cup of milk to distract herself. She turned her head
towards the windows, flipping open the curtain slightly before immediately drawing it shut once again.
In the past few hours, she had been doing such random actions repeatedly, including tossing a few more
pieces of firewood into the fireplace.

Finally running out of chores that she could use as an excuse to distract herself from the crippling
anxiety, she finally managed to return her attention back to the morning newspaper and opened it at
long last. She apprehensively stared at the newspaper for a long time and finally made sure his picture
was fortunately not included on the list of those that passed away in the war, which was what she noted
immediately after checking repeatedly. A huge sigh of relief finally escaped from her soft lips, her hands
that were gripping the paper were now notably shaking less.

Reading the list of names of those that had passed away once again, she closed her eyes and finally
breathed in deeply. Ever since she read the news about Marquis Lindman’s death, realization dawned
on her that perhaps the next paper that would arrive might be bearing Matthias’ name instead. As much
as she didn’t want to see this thought become reality, there was no other way for her to know but to
regularly check for his name on the papers.

“Hi, Ms. Lewellin. Or should I call you Duchess now?” Riette turned to greet her dryly in a drawl, just
before he had to leave and return to his unit. “When we meet once again, I guess your baby will have
already been born. I’ll go see you both once that happens, you’re going to allow me, right?”

“Of course.”
“Thank you.” He thanked her, this time sounding genuine in her ears. “And I’m sorry.” He added shortly
after.

“Sorry? For what, Marquis?” Leyla tilted her head in confusion, and Riette, on the other hand, only
smiled sadly at her. At first glance, his smile, that was only lightly uplifted on one corner of the mouth,
slightly resembled Matthias’.

“Just for this and that.” He told her with a wink, pertaining to all the schemes with Claudine that he
participated in, while also apologizing on behalf of his beloved. Leyla couldn’t understand why he
apologized for something that had long passed, but there was no time left for them to have a long
conversation.

“Ah! I hope that the baby will only look like the mother. Especially if it’s a son!” After taking a few steps
away from her, Riette looked back and shouted. “Think of it as a wistful wish for my nephew.” He
jokingly shouted with a playful smile as he left.

That was the last time she ever saw him, her last memory of the playful Marquis. And that would be
how she would remember him forever, playfully smiling while bantering back and forth with her. Leyla
removed her glasses and put them down at the end of the table then rubbed her eyes wetted by tears
so hard they began to hurt, her hands that were tightly clenched were as cold as ice.

The obituary, which she was only able to check after a long time, did not contain any familiar names that
she knew. A sigh of relief flowed out from her once again, but her anxious heart still could hardly calm
down. She didn’t like feeling this way, so she decided to go outside for a walk.

Leyla walked slowly through the residential area and towards the park at the end of the museum. When
she reached the final term of her pregnancy, her ability to move was compromised by her bulging belly
and that made her take quite a long time to walk even at such a short distance.

“Look at your mom. She’s just like a penguin waddling around, right?” She burst into laughter when she
saw herself reflected in a shop’s show window.

“Oh! You must not be able to see because you are still in my stomach. Don’t worry, we’ll see each other
soon, right? By that time your mom wouldn’t be a penguin then.” Such a funny image occurred inside
her mind and she smiled happily once again.

After taking a short break, she continued walking carefully once again, waddling around like a penguin
threading on ice. She noticed that there were more people like her walking around on the streets
decorated with various festival ornaments, when typically, during this time of the year, the majority of
the residents stayed inside at the comfort of their homes with their loved ones. Perhaps they were also
like her, trying to distract themselves from the dreary and suffocating atmosphere that the war had
brought to their homes. However, she could still see the affectionate faces of lovers and families out and
about, showing their odd excitement and hopeful expressions on the upcoming year-end and New Year
holidays. Not even the war clouds overhead could dampen their faith for a better tomorrow.
“Shall we eat something delicious for dinner tonight?” She immediately inquired her baby, trying to
shake off the desperation in her bones.

“What would you like? Would you like what I like? Or perhaps something your father does?” Even if she
patted her stomach repeatedly, the child inside her belly continued to be unresponsive. Feeling a little
lonely, Leyla walked more vigorously while slightly kicking the floor.

“Come to think of it, mom doesn’t know what dad likes. I should’ve asked him at least once.” Her sullen
words were accompanied by a white mist from her breath as it scattered in the air.

“I actually had a lot of questions for him. I will definitely ask him a lot when he finally gets home.” She
murmured with determination while walking a bit faster, however, among the people walking on the
street, she was still the one with the slowest pace. Just as she turned around in the corner in front of the
museum, some boys skidded past the streets with shouts of news!

“An extra, an extra!”

Almost everyone in the streets froze upon the announcement. At this point everyone knew that any
news would only be more updates about the war, and any update most likely came bearing misfortune.
Leyla began feeling a dreadful pit in her stomach, churning uncomfortably as the worst thoughts
immediately began racing in her head. With her tense and worry-filled mind, she missed the fact that
she had been handed a newspaper it ended up falling to the snowy ground.

She needed to pick it up but even as her fingers twitched, her body refused to listen to her will.
However, her eyes could still see the headline and the picture on the front page, which made her vision
turn blurry as the strength on her feet slowly left her.

[Duke Matthias von Herhardt was killed in the battle to defend the southern front]

She blinked her eyes at the horrible sight in front of her, hoping that her eyes were only playing a trick
on her. But, the awful news was still there as if it was embedded deeply into her eyes as if someone was
poking a knife right through them. Deafening ringing persistently rang out in her ears as the world
around her blurred out completely.

‘He promised. He made a promise to me’ She repeatedly stated his vow inside her head.

‘He wouldn’t break his word. He told me he will definitely come home.’

‘He can’t be dead. He can’t! He wasn’t allowed to die just like this!’

“Miss, do you need help?” A middle-aged woman approached Leyla, who was standing still. She picked
up the fallen newspaper and kindly placed it in Leyla’s hand then continued back on her away again.

However, the newspaper fell back to the ground once more, slipping out of her fingers again as she
refused to believe that everything was real. Leyla, who finally couldn’t hold back her grief, also fell down
along with it.
She gasped for air, trying to make sense of the news, she knew that he mustn’t be dead, that it was not
real. She tried to get back up, but she could only feel hopelessness and was unable to find the strength
to get up from the freezing ground. She wanted to erase the memory of seeing the news, but she could
only continue staring at it and nothing else. Shaky fingers stroked his picture on the newspaper, as if
trying to summon him in front of her by just reaching out to his picture.

“Oh my god! Hey, are you okay?!” The middle-aged woman from a while ago shouted in astonishment
after she worriedly turned around once again. The eyes of the passers-by followed her figure that was
running towards Leyla.

“Everyone, help me!”

All they could see was Leyla struggling to breathe as she clutched her stomach desperately. The woman
tried to hoist her up to her feet but Leyla was stubbornly unable to move.

“We have to move her to the hospital! I think her baby is going to come out! Come on!”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Lies! I don’t believe it, I don’t!” Elysee von Herhardt’s sharp scream shook the spectacular parlor that
was unusually silent. The Herhardt family had gathered in a hurry after they heard the news of Matthias’
death and all of them were currently focused on the grieving lady.

“I understand how you feel, but please…”

“My son didn’t die! That can’t be true!” She shook her head vigorously in denial that her gracefully tied
hair became messy. “Hurry up and tell me! No, he can’t do this to me!” She hastily approached her
mother in law and hopefully asked, trying to deceive herself that the news of her son’s death was just a
bad dream.

“My dear…” Norma stared at her sobbing and pleading daughter-in-law as her eyes also slowly turned
red due sadness. She had lost her husband, her son, and now, even her grandson. She had lived far too
long and suffered so much for the same terrible reason over and over again. This was not the first time
she received such news, but the deep sorrow that could break her heart to pieces that accompanied it
was something she would never get used to.

“Let’s accept it, Elysee…” Norma lifted the handkerchief in her hand and wiped away Elysee’s tears.
“…We should do so for Matthias’ honor. You know that, don’t you?” She resolutely declared, either to
support a fellow mother that had lost her son, or as a message to her own self just to prevent herself
from breaking down; or both.

Unlike her cool-headed words, her voice was shaking with grief, her eyes holding back the tears. Elysee
stared resentfully at her mother-in-law, but soon sobbed with compassion, and eventually she collapsed
due to shock.

The news caused a grave disturbance in Arvis.

Every servant and employee in Arvis ran about wildly and frantically upon the news of their master’s
death. Messages of condolences from various business partners and clients immediately flooded the
estate. Hessen, who had taken the duty of dealing with them, could only absently take their well-wishes
as he sat numbly by his desk from dusk until dawn.

“Mr. Hessen, a call from the lawyer, Mr. Stauff, has arrived. He’s looking for you in a hurry.” As the
sorrow that he had been trying to suppress began to rise, a servant suddenly delivered an unexpected
news.

Stauff, a lawyer in charge of Herhardt’s internal affairs, was the person who helped Leyla settle in Ratz in
accordance with the will of the Duke. It wasn’t difficult for him to guess why the secret conspirator
would contact him at such a late hour Hessen tucked in his sorrow deep down his heart and went to
answer the phone. He couldn’t break down now so it was not the time for him to mourn yet. For now,
he still had a job to do.

“Ms. Lewellin is currently in the hospital. It seems that her labor has started suddenly and it’s already
been a while.” Hessen’s eyes grew bigger with the sudden news.

“Isn’t it too early”?

“That’s true, I think it was caused by the shock of hearing the news of the Duke’s death. I also just
received this news, I’m contacting you in advance before I leave to Ratz.”

“I see. Thank you, Mr. Stauff. I’ll do my part, too.”

Hessen put down the receiver with trembling hands. A child born on the day the news of his father’s
death was delivered to the whole empire. He gently closed his eyes in an attempt to hold back his tears.

Should he reveal it?

The Herhardt Family would soon be embroiled in great confusion and quarrel over succession because
of the sudden death of the Duke. If the soon-to-be-born child was a son, he would become the only
successor of the Herhardt family. Thinking of the current circumstances, the child’s existence was very
important and should be revealed. However, the Duke had already given his orders regarding this
matter. He ordered that he would respect Leyla Lewellin’s choice, leaving everything for her to decide.
In the end, even if he was no longer in the world, Matthias von Herhardt was undeniably still his master.

Hessen stepped out into the dark hallway with her lips tightly closed.

A child was born on New Year’s Eve. As if proving his existence, he let out a loud cry on a deep night just
before the bell rings, which marked the end of the year and the beginning of the new year.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The nurse firmly held out the newborn child wrapped in a white cloth to the arms of the mother, who
endured the pain of childbirth alone. Leyla’s face was ashen, and she was still half-conscious by the time
the nurse presented her child to her. Finally seeing their beloved child, her heart couldn’t help but to
feel torn with a bittersweet happiness and despair.

“The baby is healthy.” The nurse smiled and told Leyla, before she gently handed the baby to the new
mother, who cradled the child stiffly in her arms. “He’s a little small, but there’s nothing wrong with his
health.”

“Really…?” Leyla asked the nurse, anxiety clearly shown on her face. Her lips trembled with
apprehension as she stared at her child. He was a child who had suffered a lot already even since he was
still inside her womb. Additionally, he was also born earlier than what was scheduled.

“Of course. Here, look at him.” The nurse stepped back after adjusting Leyla’s posture so she could hug
the child comfortably. It was only then that she carefully lowered her gaze and finally looked at the child
in her arms.

When she gently stroked his black hair, the child wiggled his small body as if silently protesting against
his mother’s actions. The deep dark color of his hair made his skin appeared paler than what it is. Leyla,
who had spaced out for a while, gave a light smile and proceeded to stroke her child’s cheek. The soft
texture made her wonder how it could be possible for his cheeks to be so soft as her eyes slowly got
teary again. Suddenly, a faint sound of bell ringing enveloped the room, and the frowning child in her
arms gently opened his eyes.

It wasn’t too long, but she clearly saw it.

‘Blue…’

A pair of beautiful and clear blue eyes.

More tears poured out of her eyes, wetting her cheeks and smiling lips.

Accompanied by the sound of the bell announcing the New Year, Leyla cried while laughing, either due
to happiness or sadness, or maybe both, she didn’t know. Their beautiful baby inherited his father’s
pretty blue eyes.

‘Our son….he’s so pretty…’

‘Please come back.. Come back home to us.’ She pleaded desperately as she cried
Chapter 146

Summer Again

Winter soon passed, then spring came and went like a breeze…

Now the time for summer has arrived once more. The war had eventually come to an end with the
Northern Union coming out as victorious, however, both sides suffered enormous casualties during the
war. Whatever advantage both sides had gained from the war was nothing compared to the losses they
had suffered in the end. The citizens could only comfort themselves by thinking that their friends and
loved ones died fighting for what they believed was right.

A single golden tower was erected as the symbol of victory that would mark the end of such a historic
war.

“What is the use of such honor in the face of sorrow?” A noble lady lamented as the procession of
returning soldiers ensued. Many family members had come to greet their long separated relatives,
finally reuniting with them once again. Still, messages of condolences and fond stories were exchanged
here and there for the families who had forever lost their loved ones. Amidst the many questions that
were asked at the moment, the most prominent was…

“Who would succeed the Herhardt Family?”

Any recent mention of the late Duke would often lead to the issue of his succession. The topic was both
considered taboo and intriguing for everyone who had visited the Herhardt Matriarchs to give their
condolences. Without a successor left behind after the Duke’s passing, his loyal followers had taken to
vaguely answering any questions regarding succession, not willing to reveal any future plans. As much as
they had wanted to proceed with choosing a fitting successor, the current figurehead of the family,
Elysee von Herhardt, refused to choose until her son’s body was returned and buried in their home
estate.

Until then, the seat of the Duke would remain vacant for the foreseeable future.

“They shouldn’t delay deciding for the successor of the Duke for far too long. If he had only married Lady
Brandt the year before last then this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.”

“Marriage doesn’t guarantee that Lady Claudine will have a son though. Alas, they are still a very
prestigious family in the end.”
“I guess that’s true.” Everyone either agreed or disagreed with various stories regarding the issue.

“Although I guess it’s also a relief for the Brandts, if their lady had gotten married in a hurry before the
Duke participated in the war, he would have made their daughter a widow.”

“How’s Claudine doing?”

“I heard she’s going to have a new engagement soon”.”

“Oh, already?”

“There’s no reason for her to delay when the engagement with Herhardt Family has been nullified
anyway. Count Brandt must have been very diligent to be able to find a pretty good marriage so
quickly.”

“No matter how good the marriage candidate is, he couldn’t be better than the Herhardt Family’s heir. I
felt so sorry for Claudine and Count Brandt when I heard the news about the annulled engagement.”

Multiple individuals exchanged their opinions with a feeling of compassion and relief. Suddenly,
enthusiastic cheers began to resonate from the other side of the street.

Before long, their lost husbands, sons, and lovers were finally able to march their way back home.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The park currently felt desolate and empty since the people of the whole city had gone to greet the
returning army. Thanks to this, Leyla was able to enjoy a leisurely walk more than usual. The sound of
light footsteps walking slowly with the sound of the wheel rolling of the stroller, and the sound of the
wind shaking fresh leaves harmonized like music in her ears. As she left the street lined with trees, she
raised the shade of the stroller that casted a shadow over her sleeping child. The child, who was born
smaller than normal, now grew up well and healthy, and the days where she was filled with worry had
long passed. He was such a blessed child because he didn’t catch any illness even once and had a gentle
personality.

Leyla continued walking and deliberately chose the way around the boulevard. The sound of footsteps
continued along the quiet road. She was not confident, nor up to the task of seeing the returning army.
Still in deep denial that Matthias wasn’t going to return to her side in the end, she became more
unwilling to go greet the soldiers marching back home to Berg.

“The weather is so nice today, right?” She whispered to his sleeping son for no reason. Her breath gently
moved the child’s soft hair. “Mom likes summer.”

She shared offhandedly, before looking down at her baby. “How about you? Well, I guess you still don’t
know autumn yet.” She hummed thoughtfully, a rueful smile showing on her lips, before her smile
began trembling due to sorrow.
Not even the child in her arms could stop the deep loneliness festering inside her.

She continued talking quietly to her child who was sleeping soundly, when suddenly, she finally realized
that the residential area where their house was located was now in front of her after looking around.
The house, which Matthias had decided for them to stay temporarily until he returned, had now
become her and her child’s home. The Herhardt Family’s lawyer and butler tried to fulfill everything that
the Duke promised to become a reality, allowing Leyla and their child to live a stable life.

The days she’d had since then had been peaceful.

Uneventful.

In the end, these boring days will continue in the future, because he was not here anymore.

He was never coming back.

Realizing the depression trying to flow inside her heart once more, Leyla hurriedly walked as if running
away from the feeling she had long hated. In the end, it didn’t take a long time before the sadness
disappeared once again like a bad dream, and she finally realized her shoelace had already been untied.

With a small sigh, she leaned down and began to tie the loosened string. As soon as she was about to tie
a knot, unexpected memories came inside her mind like a raging flood.

A day she once spent together with Matthias in a strange city, where everything was so bizarre. His
image kneeling in front of her as he tied her loose shoelace came to her mind as if it happened just now.

His quiet blue eyes…

The warmth of his long fingers….

The texture of the shoes she wore….

and the neat knot he tied that would shake along every step she took….

As the memory became clearer in her mind, her eyes became blurry with tears once more. She didn’t
wipe the tears away, but let it fall freely from her eyes as he cried her sorrow out until nothing but
numbness was left once more.

After catching her breath, Leyla hurriedly finished tying up her shoelaces and stood up. Breathing in
deeply, she gripped the handle of the stroller and began to walk again, feeling lighter and more
determined than a while ago.

Just as she arrived at the front of her house, the redness in her eyes now barely noticeable, she noticed
a tall man donning a military uniform standing at the front of her door.

Her breath hitched, and heart stuttered.

The man slowly turned around, and although Leyla beamed at the sight of him, the excitement inside
her died down a little upon the realization that it wasn’t the person who she was waiting for.

Still, she couldn’t help but to smile once again upon seeing him return home.

“Kyle!” She greeted warmly, before the sleeping child fussed and opened his eyes upon the commotion.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Kyle stayed inside the sunny living room together with Leyla’s child as she diligently prepared tea in the
kitchen. The baby did not cry in front of him, but despite Leyla’s assurances that he was a gentle child,
Kyle felt a little skeptical.

He would have believed her, if it wasn’t for the way the baby was looking at him. Almost like in a
distasteful manner, the child seemed uncomfortable at the mere sight of him. It was a bit jarring to Kyle
too, to see such a familiar face in a younger human being, but he still smiled and cooed at the child to
the best of his abilities.

“What’s his name?” Kyle asked Leyla with a smile, who had just arrived with the tea as he bounced the
baby on his lap.

“Felix.” Leyla answered with a sullen smile. Kyle handed the baby back to her, as she hugged the child
and sat opposite of him.

The two exchanged some mundane conversations with each other, with a friend who they felt that they
hadn’t met in a long time. Wars, in some way, had its way of making time stretch longer than they
actually were after all. Kyle smiled at the fact that he was able to face Leyla now in a comfortable
manner.

“It’s a great relief to see you home safely.” Leyla told him with a smile.

“You too.” Kyle, who quietly put down the teacup, also looked at her with a smile.

“I’m so glad that you have recovered your health and that you gave birth to a healthy child.”

“It means we kept our promise to each other.” Leyla beamed at him widely.

“I know.” Kyle’s voice dropped to a whisper as his eyes turned a little red due to the memory of last
autumn that he remembered due to Leyla’s words.

Originally he received a vacation certificate and planned to visit her, but it was canceled due to a sudden
change in the permit. Leyla, who had not fully recovered and just gave birth, was going to be alone with
her child. Kyle wanted to stay with her but she assured him that she was going to be fine alone with a
bright smile.

That day, he promised he would return as he said his goodbye. He left and was assigned to a military
hospital on the border.
“Let’s meet again in good health.”

The moment he held her hand, Kyle finally burst into tears that he couldn’t hold back. She comforted
him until he cried his tears dry. She told him he needed to hold his luggage tightly, to be brave. He knew
her slender back was also shaking, but Kyle decided to pretend that he didn’t notice. That was how the
two of them bid farewell to each other.

“Are the Duchesses of Herhardt aware about Felix’ existence?” Kyle, who was looking at the child
laughing in his mother’s arms, asked worriedly. Leyla shook her head, determination in her eyes.

“Are you going to be fine? Raising the child on your own?”

“I’ll wait until he comes back.” She answered him resolutely.

He was a little taken aback by her answer, before nervously wiping his hands on his lap. “Leyla-“

“He promised. He made a promise to me.” She snapped almost immediately, cutting off anything he had
to say. She then patted the child’s head, before laughing suddenly.

“He promised he’ll be back. So, I will wait.”

“Leyla…that person…” Kyle continued softly, before trailing off as he watched her eyes begin to be filled
with tears.

“I know. I know, Kyle….” Her watery eyes glistened with tears, but Leyla did not lose her smile. “…But I
still want to wait. I thought he’d definitely come if I waited. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I will still
wait.”

‘What should I do with this fool waiting for a man who has already died?’ Kyle stared at Leyla with an
indescribable look.

He personally went to the place where Matthias was last seen. He braved the terrible battlefield himself
when they realized the Duke hadn’t returned only to see the walls had all been turned to rubble and
dust. It smelt like a day-old tomb as allies and enemies alike were strewn about just anywhere.

Almost everyone was wiped out.

Still, Kyle kept going because he was a medic, they needed to see if there were still survivors that they
could save. Had he been anywhere other than the field hospital and was transporting critical patients
during the raid, he would have become part of the casualties in the end.

There was a lot that he wanted to say to Leyla, to make her understand, but he chose to keep his silence
instead. They changed the subject and talked about typical everyday stories once again, but Kyle and
Leyla knew that it could never be the same as before. When they realized that, they felt more
comfortable with each other. With the war over, recovery from the trauma they had garnered during
the war was their greatest concern.
Leyla needed this time to recover most of all.

He clapped his hands, and gave her a smile. “Well, I need to get going. My train’s almost here.” Kyle
informed them before he stood up and gathered his things.

“You’re going back to Carlsbar, right?”

“Yes. I’m going to stay with my parents until I return to school.”

“I see.”

“Take care, Leyla.” He said with great wishes and concern, before winking at the baby. “Felix, take care
too.” Kyle smiled and greeted the two people who escorted him to the front door. This time, he reached
out his hand first, just like what he did to a strange girl he met in the garden of Arvis, which was full of
rose scent in the summer.

It was really time to say goodbye.

The day that changes one’s life may come accidentally, just as it did many years ago with him. But when
that same reason appeared once again in front of him, he hoped he could greet her comfortably despite
past sorrows. He could now finally accept the fact that despite his heart still longing deeply for Leyla,
parting from her was what’s best for him to do. It was the best for both of them.

“Thanks, Kyle. Take care too.” Just like on that fateful day, Leyla held his hand with a smile. The child,
who was looking at the two people shaking their hands with a curious face, also burst into a clear smile.

Without any remorse or grief, Kyle turned around and began to walk along the not-so-hot summer road
as a cool wind blew past him.

He didn’t look back until he passed the corner of the street.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

A luxurious black car stopped in front of the military hospital in southern Lovita. An old gentleman with
a tired face came down when the driver in uniform hurriedly opened the door of the back seat.

“Thank you for coming.” The waiting officers bowed their heads at the old man. It was none other than
the King who asked him, someone whose lineage was from the royal family of Lovita and a prestigious
nobleman, to such a remote place. He said there was a serious issue to be confirmed and it was a royal
order, so he had to follow it.

One of King Lovita’s beloved nephews was seriously injured during the war and was being treated at a
military hospital in Berg. When the royal family of Lovita asked for prompt repatriation, the Kingdom of
Berg demanded that conditions must be offered. It was an absurd task entrusted to him to inspect said
‘conditions’.

The reason was because he was the cousin of Catharina von Herhardt.
“I’ve already confirmed his identity through our most verifiable means, but I must ask for your final
confirmation.” The officer who led him to the quiet ward politely explained.

“This is it.” Their footsteps stopped at the door of a certain hospital room at the end of the hallway.
When he nodded, the officers who came with him knocked briefly at the door.

As soon as the door opened, a young man, who was reclined in an upright seating position, was
revealed. He was looking outside while smoking, white wisps of smoke billowed around the room. He
slowly straightened himself up at the arrival of visitors. The daylight behind him made it difficult to
identify him with the shadows in his face, but physically, he appeared healthy and in good condition.

These days, one can never be too careful since the war had turned many good men into insane people
upon the slightest of sounds. Despite the patient not looking like a sick person anymore, his arrival to
the hospital wasn’t easy. The officer who found him even had to drag his battered body to the hospital
for treatment. The officer knew he was an enemy, a part of the Berg army that they’d just wiped out,
but he was a medic first and foremost. He only saw a patient whose life he could still save.

And so, they cared for him and nursed him, even as he remained unconscious for a long time due to
severe blood loss and injury. Whether by miracle or sheer force of will which made him survive such a
massive attack on their camp, the man kept breathing. And now here he was, awake and physically able
to move and was able to smoke too. His status alone allowed him the privilege of staying in the hospital
rather than being sent to their concentration camps for POW.

The Herhardt Family said they were ready to hold a funeral as soon as the war ended and the Duke’s
remains were recovered, but it seems they were fooled by a scammer. If not a scammer, which sane
man would let himself be treated as a dead person and for what reason?

No matter how chaotic the war was, all military doctors who believed in a swindler’s words and
participated in such acts should be governed by strict military law. As anger began to soar inside the old
man’s chest, the young man threw his lit cigarette into an ashtray then began to walk slowly towards
the group of officers. As soon as he thought that the young man’s straight posture and elegant steps
were real, the old man suddenly stumbled and gasped for breath.

The young man, who glanced at him after a while, looked very calm.

The moment the old man bowed his head and greeted the young patient with a slight smile on his lips,
the said young man burst into a ridiculous smile.

It was the only answer that he could give.

Chapter 147

The Color of My Happiness

Matthias watched as the trees swayed against the wind outside, his gaze contemplative as he sat in the
car and observed how much the world had changed, yet not. Spring still came, and what had once been
dry and brittle was now verdant with life. The border was the biggest surprise, however. Though he
expected passage to be facilitated now, the car was allowed forward with barely a look and none of the
previous, strict inspection procedures.

Berg lay ahead, untouched by the war, an alien planet to eyes that had seen too much destruction and
loss. As if nothing had happened, life continued on there, undisturbed. By the time the long-distance trip
ended in Ratz, his mind was already far away, rehashing recent events. Flashes of the collapsing wall
that caught his fall as he lost consciousness were followed by his first, hazy moments as he woke up in a
military hospital in Lovita. The terrible pain that greeted him allowed for an amazing realization. He was
still alive.

“If I am alive, I will come back to Leyla”, was his first, fully-formed thought.

Painkillers were generously administered by the frazzled, but efficient nurses. Nonetheless, his greatest
comfort was knowing what the future now held. Happiness flowed such, after so long with so little of it,
that Matthias would smile and laugh through the pain, uncaring if that made him seem a bit mad. When
he finally fell into a restless, medically induced sleep, he dreamed of Leyla. It’s such a beautiful dream.

The pain gradually eased, but Matthias remained in bed for quite a while, his recovery slow. By the time
that he was able to move freely, the flowers that he stared at through the tiny window near his cot were
in full bloom. Spring had arrived to grace the world with sun and colour again.

He knew war made simple things complicated, so it was likely that his news never arrived at Berg. Any
new communication, as well, could just as easily fall prey to the conflict, lost forever. With no way to
inform his survival, he chose to stand by and plan. For the next two seasons, Matthias didn’t exist in this
world. What made the wait bearable was thinking of it as a time in which he was laying the foundation
for getting Leyla close to him again, and the both of them to a place without a single shade.

Of course, it was still hard.

Leyla and her family were probably heartbroken by thinking he was dead, and that knowledge ate at him
as he laid alone in bed late at night. But as with everything surrounding Leyla, Matthias couldn’t regret
his choices, not when he knew – hoped – they would allow him to make his way back to her. It’s still like
that, now. It will forever be.

“We’ll be there soon, sir,” the driver informed him, voice calm, as they entered the boulevard in front of
the museum. Matthias was overwhelmed. He kept his expression shuttered, but the redness on his eyes
gave his emotion away. Uncharacteristically, he fidgeted with his clothes, straightening his posture as he
rubbed creases away. His eyes caught the residential area by the end of the street and he knew it
wouldn’t be long now.

But not yet.

He had a few things left to finish first. Nothing that would take a long time. The picture of grandiosity,
Herhardt’s mansion in Ratz appeared as the car approached. The driver slowed down as they entered
the path through the meticulously cared garden, and Matthias’ lips tilted into a pale smile.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Elysee von Herhardt couldn’t let go of the doubt until the end.

She knew it was unlikely to be a mistake, but she was too afraid to believe it. After having accepted her
son’s death, she spent a long time waiting for his remains to arrive so she could hold the dignified,
emotional service he deserved. But now, everything has changed.

“Matthias will come back alive!” She said out loud, as if the words would sink into her brain if she
sounded them out. They did not.

Still, if the news turned out to be false, she wouldn’t be able to stand it. There was a reason why this
matter was kept strictly confidential from the outside, as well, and Elysee wouldn’t discard this being
some kind of mistake. She needed Matthias, in the flesh, to truly believe it. Check him over with her own
two eyes. Only then.

“The car just arrived.” Hessen reported, hurriedly entering the drawing room.

The two duchesses looked at each other with a mixture of anxiety and nervousness, overwhelmed by
the expectation of what came next. They heard the large, front doors open heavily, followed by the
staccato sound of footsteps. Elysee stared at the door of the drawing room, holding her breath, eyes
already filling with hot tears. And Norma was no different.

The women could swear they were able to recognize the steps, and they couldn’t belong to anyone else.
They didn’t have to wait long for their miracle. The door opened slowly, revealing the unharmed, very
much alive face of Matthias. He cautiously approached the women, who stood there, in shock, for a few
moments. Elysee, however, soon broke down into tears, overcome with emotion.

The sun shone bright on the expensive carpet, invading the room through half-open curtains,
illuminating this miraculous moment with a glow that seemed nothing short of divine. Without being
prompted to, Matthias strode towards his crying mother and enveloped her in a hug, soon followed by
his teary-eyed grandmother.

“I’m back, mother, grandma. I’m back, now,” he said.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla quickly finished preparing for the picnic by packing blankets and lunch boxes. She wore a straw hat
with a wide brim and a ribbon tied snuggly under her chin. The leather bag she wore across her shoulder
was full of a delicious, fresh assortment of fruits and pastries. Her braided hair hung behind her back, a
simple, but neat hairstyle. Her little boy was cradled on one arm as she left the house, a healthy, pink-
cheeked baby.

As if to make up for the time he was stuck inside his mother and had his growth limited by her body, the
baby grew as fast as weed left unchecked. He looked bigger than other children his age, and she was
already sure he would grow to be as tall as his father. As much as he was already getting too heavy to
carry for long, Leyla couldn’t help but be gladdened by the thought. She wanted her boy to be strong.

It was a typical summer day in Berg, with very bright sunlight softened by the cool wind. Leyla walked
toward the park, skilfully pushing a baby stroller. The child was excited and babbling, perhaps in a
particularly active mood today.

“Was he like this when he was a baby?” She thought to herself.

Truthfully, Leyla couldn’t imagine Matthias von Herhardt, as a gentle and bright kid, like her son is, no
matter how young he was. Perhaps, somehow, he had been an elegant baby at Felix’s age. She laughed
at the silly thought, approaching the crowded park. Weekends were always busier around here, many
people enjoyed the free time to go out and see the nature. Leyla smiled at her chubby little boy, and
Felix smiled back adorably. That was enough.

Fixing the bag, Leyla turned the stroller to the direction of a quiet and pretty clearing, where she would
have a little privacy to be with her son. On the road, by the front of the park’s centre fountain, she
bought bright, colourful balloons from a stand. Felix’s blue eyes grew round when she tied the balloons
to the stroller and she smiled at his reaction.

For Leyla, blue was no longer the colour of sadness. Now, it was the colour of happiness, the colour of
her greatest love in this world. From the first moment her child opened his eyes and greeted the world,
that was it for her. But no. She remembered a quiet morning, a face so very close to hers as she laid
side-by-side with him, looking deeply into his eyes, the quiet hanging undisturbed. Maybe blue became
a happy colour for her a long time ago, in a moment she couldn’t help but remember.

“Wow, the balloon is so pretty, don’t you think?” Leyla grinned as she looked upon her child, who was
staring at the balloon, transfixes. Her soft, lilting voice caught his attention, and he smiled with
excitement.
The balloon shook against the wind as they entered a quiet, peaceful stretch of woods in the park. The
soft, nature sounds mixed with the laughter of mother and child, flowing together easily.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

As much as had happened, Herhardt’s masterpiece miraculously returned to life was no different from
before. Without hesitation, Matthias von Herhardt said something he should never say.

“Leyla is here.”

His tone was so calm that Elysee von Herhardt doubted her ears for a moment.

Earlier, Matthias spoke calmly of his injuries, treatment, and repatriation. He apologized for causing
great concern and damage and failing to fulfil his proper responsibilities, though his tone would indicate
that what happened was not remarkable in any way. Even after he had returned from the threshold of
death, Matthias still managed to keep surprising her. On one hand, that was a relief.

“But what does he mean Leyla?” She thought, confused.

Unpredictable, as life was, his words were too. Elysee’s mother-in-law arrived then. The two women
shared uncomfortable glances, minds confused with unlike thoughts, filled with uncertainty. Matthias
glanced at them and continued to speak in a low-pitched voice.

“I have a child, too.” He proclaimed.

If their minds were confused before, they lost all reasoning now. They were shocked, their faces full of
disbelief, looking at the brooding man as simultaneously they let out a gasp.

“I-Oh my God… Matthias?” Elysee, voice laced with surprise, hardly supported her wimpy body on the
sofa’s armrest. She sat upright, head raised. Her gut feeling was right, she guessed right. She knew he
was too invested. Even if she had guessed the relationship between the two ages ago, Elysee
comprehended that the existence of the child was an unexpected truth.

Matthias, eyes holding decisiveness, looked at the old lady that barely blinked at the words he had
uttered without consideration just like he had done again. “Don’t worry, we’ll go about it the proper
way. I will marry her.” Another declaration from him. Another surprise for the women who glanced at
him with astonishment.

“Matthias! Do you even know the weight of your words?!” Elysee wailed her son’s name, as if mourning
what he could have been. “Tell me! Huh?”

Nothing. Matthias didn’t consider answering. Human nature is rebellious, once you get its taste, you
crave it more until it leads to chaos. With a deep sigh, Norma ultimately leaned her back against the
chair, body tired and mind blanked.
“The illegitimate child… Alright. I know it’s not a light thing. But Matthias… there are many other ways to
deal with this kind of problem.” Elysee assured.

“Elysee is right, Matthias. If you think so because of the breakdown of the mixture with Brandt, feel free
to go back to other great infants and children..….”

The old lady, who was continuing her words with her head in her hands, frowned as she trailed off. She
tried to give it a thought but felt contrary to her own opinions. No matter how much she pondered, she
understood what was peculiar.

Matthias, the man who could have reached out to Lovita’s relatives as much as he wanted, why let go of
their hands and stayed in the hospital of his enemy’s country?

What else did Matthias gain in reciprocation for watching the news of the Duke of Herhardt’s death
spread to Berg? Perhaps thinking the same way, Elysee von, Herhardt turned to her with an awestruck
face.

“I know it’s hard for you two to accept.” Even in the face of suspicion and reprimand from the two old
ladies, Matthias remained silent. Just like when they were finding out about his relationship with Leyla,
the woman for whom he was ready to give up everything. Perhaps, he knew the significance of silence
and the answers it gave. He understood human nature, loud and rebellious, contrary to tranquility or
maybe he was just waiting for the right time to utter words.

“But the world is changing. I think a lot of things will change, perhaps quicker than they have in the
past.”

“Matthias…”

“Actually, it doesn’t matter even if it doesn’t change.”

In Matthias’ attitude, it was difficult to find any willingness to persuade his opponent. As if to say that it
is nothing more than a notification of the decision he had already made. His steady gaze, carrying
determination, looked at Elysee. He waited for a few seconds, parting his lips as he talked.

“If it’s so hard to accept, I won’t stain the Herhardt name with my stubbornness. Perhaps that will ease
your worries a little.”

“What does that mean?” Elysee von Herhardt, who was barely able to speak, asked sharply. Her hold on
the armrest tightened, perhaps she knew what was coming next, or maybe she just wanted to hear the
words from her son.

“I won’t live as a von Herhardt.”

“Matthias!” she snapped.

“I will leave the name of the Duke of Matthias von Herhard as it is now as it belongs to an honorable
nobleman who has oxidized for the empire… I’m not that man anymore.” he continued undeterred.
Oh my god.

The joy of seeing his son, who returned with nothing different, disappeared without a trace. It’s none of
your business how the world is changing, but the fact that the war completely changed her son seemed
certain. He seemed foreign like she was not seeing her son but a menacing man. And the fact that
Matthias is not threatening to hit.

Her son, who decided to become a perfect successor and lived a life perfectly, seemed to have decided
to become something else now. Something she never thought of, even imagined it. So she knew that he
would definitely make it out of it at all costs, it reflected through his eyes.

The son, who they thought was dead, came back alive. Happiness that came like a divine feeling had
vanished into the quietness. And now, there were two options. Either you lose the son or accept his
decision.

“This is my decision. It won’t change.” Matthias looked at the two with a determined look that
cemented the sincerity of his words.

Herhardt’s two duchesses, glanced at each other, confused as to whom would initiate the step toward
the child who had professed his choice.

“Now, you two decide.” With a face that still had no agitation, Matthias politely declared. “I’ll follow
that choice.”
Chapter 148

The Bird Is Back

(END)

The park in downtown Ratz was large enough to contain lakes and forests, giving a peaceful scene for
the city’s residents and visitors. A place that could become someone’s healing and personal one, away
from the world’s gaze.

The western part of the park, with the most beautifully blended lake and forest, was Leylas’s favourite.
The vista from there resembled Arvis at first glance. It sparked a flood of memories, one might say full of
pain, but it remained the most beautiful and missed place on earth despite all the pain and suffering it
had given her.

That place was still a part of her…

A piece that she would never forget…

Leyla unfolded a blanket, spreading it, under the shade of the tree, and took out the packed baby’s
lunch box. The first picnic she went on with Felix, it was just the two of them, yet it was brimmed with
care and tenderness.

She didn’t mind that this moment might not be in his memories, as he was still young, but she was
assured that he would always carry the fond memories of his childhood with him, and this moment
would be one he treasured for the rest of his life.

Leyla had a lot of things she wanted to give her child, the things that include happy moments with his
mom, kind words, gentle touches, and a smile. The things she had wanted from her mother but never
received them. She wanted to let her child know that there is someone in the world who will love him
no matter what, someone who would be there for him against all odds.

Just like Uncle Bill did for her.

She would do everything for her baby.

Leyla would take on two jobs till he returned, eat well, laugh a lot, and cheer up. She would never make
him a child who was half-loved without a father.
Never.

Leyla opened Felix’s lunch box before digging into her own. She watched him, happy and content, as he
played cheerfully after his meal. His being focused helped her as she could eat peacefully without a need
to rush.

The child crawled over to her when she took a mouthful of fresh peach, she had bought for dessert,
sweet and delicious. He tilted his head, grazing at his mother through big blue eyes, every time she bit
into and chewed on the peach.

Leyla looked at him, blue eyes staring back, in a daze. She saw the face of the familiar man staring back,
the memory of the man superimposed on the child’s face grew uncontrollably large and clear.

All she could see was him… the same blue eyes that once looked at her with hope.

“I’ll be back. For sure.”

He made a promise, the promise, she was waiting to be fulfilled.

“I love you.”

A confession to which she had not answered. She didn’t know why but as she stared at the blue eyes,
her lips parted, as she uttered the same words the man had once.

“I love you…”

Leyla lifted her glasses and discarded them on the blanket, before turning to the child and whispered.

“I love you so much.”

The moment she confessed, she felt unfamiliar like something had changed. Perhaps, because she could
utter those with sincerity, and meant every word.

The child giggled, maybe he loved hearing his mom’s confession. A smile formed on her lips, eyes
brimmed with tears, as she cradled her son in her arms warmly and protectively.

The baby’s sweet smell touched the tip of her nose as the child provided her mother happiness with his
blissful giggles. And Leyla hugged him tighter even, feeling content with her son in her arms.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Two feet stopped at the entrance of an apartment, the man stared at the door. He lifted his hand,
bringing it closer to the door, to knock.

“Hey, are you…” Just passing by the neighbor’s house, the woman gave the man with an oddly
suspicious gaze. He stopped, disturbed by a voice, as he turned his head in her direction. “Did you come
to see the baby’s mother who lives in this house?” Her question, voiced with a look of relief, was tinged
with wary interest. The man, with cautious, turned his attention to her.

“Yes.” He answered short.

“The blonde little baby mother in the glasses. Is that right?” Another question, she asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh, you must be a baby daddy who went to war! Right?” She, who was looking at the man’s face
carefully, shouted with delight.

He must be the baby daddy. Oh my…

The woman thought, her brows raised, without waiting for a response, she scrutinised him and
immediately began to fuss. “What should I do? Her husband came back from the battlefield and she
went out.”

“Is her house empty?” he asked, voice deep and serious, glancing at the door.

“She went out with her baby earlier. I heard they’ll go on a picnic in the park.” She clapped her tongue
with regret. Even at that moment, her gaze wandered over the man’s face, who lifted his brows, gazing
back at the woman.

‘So Leyla was true when she said that her son looks nothing like her. But, his face looked familiar. Where
the hell did I see that guy before?’ She thought. “Well, the baby’s mom often goes to the park. It usually
comes back around sunset. Why don’t you wait at my house until then because we’ll be in trouble if the
roads cross?”

“No, thank you.” The man declined the offer, looking in the direction of the park for a while, he came
down the stairs and stopped in front of her. “Thank you, ma’am.” The man nodded and passed past her
without so much as a backward glance. A black car was waiting at the curb, and as he got closer, an
occupant hurriedly opened the back door

He was clearly no average Joe. She spent a long time staring after the car as it drove away, unable to
escape her unsatisfied curiosity.

“It’s definitely my first time seeing him.” The afternoon breeze carrying her murmur ran up the quiet
weekend afternoon road.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The child, who had a good day of eating and playing, drifted off to sleep with an angelic face beside his
mother. Leyla watched her son, lying face to face as he dozed off. She lifted her hand and caressed his
head.
The child’s hair was in mess and she could clearly see, the fingerprints stamped on the glasses, through
her blurred vision. Leyla cautiously approached the end of the blanket. She began fixing her glasses and
wiping them off, then loosened her messy hair.

It seemed that the child had the same fondness for her hair as his dad had. It wasn’t simply his
appearance that resembled that of his father; he seemed to have adopted many of his father’s quirks. Of
course, his kid is more aggressive in his approach.

He probably found something intriguing about her dazzling blonde hair, so when Leyla held him in her
arms, he grabbed her hair and pulled it. He was happy and smiling cutely but she felt sorry for loose
strands of hair that had-been-tugged-without-mercy in his chubby hands. There was a time when she
hated if someone would, by mistake, pull her hair. She never thought a time would come, she would be
happy with her hair pulled out.

With a smile on her face, Leyla began to gently untangle her messy hair using her fingers as a comb. It
was useless to tie or braid, so she thought she would rather cut it short, but he didn’t like it. The fine
blonde hair flowed down her shoulders and back, gracing her beauty, wrapped in the collar of a white
dress.

For a second, Leyla stopped paying attention to the braid in her hair and instead stared blankly at the
late afternoon sun filtering down through the verdant leaves. The calm water of the lake was also
colored brilliant gold as the soft waves played with light.

“Pretty.”

A modicum of awe flowed out of her lips at how the world looked; serene and lovely, like something out
of a painting, as if those hellish days when shells rained down from the sky and shots rang out, were
nothing more than fleeting dreams.

Leyla sat in silence with her curled knees to her chest, her eyes drifting over the lake and the birds
gliding lazily over it. Wild rose bushes wafted their pleasant scent on the breeze as it blew across the
park. The rustling of the thick leaves in the wind seemed eerily reminiscent of a bicycle chain.

It was a perfectly beautiful summer day, yet for some reason…

It felt so weird…

Unfamiliar.

Memories of the blue-eyed man stuffed her heart.

‘How could he do this to me?’

‘He’s not here. He’s not coming back.’

Her eyes narrowed, staring at nature when the child’s cry roused her. She looked at Felix, who had just
woken up, was looking into the air and crying. She soon realized why her child was so upset : The
balloon, which had been tied to the stroller’s handle, flew away in the wind and hung between the
branches of the tree. The rope seemed to have come loose.

“It’s okay, Felix!” Leyla soothed the child in a powerful voice, caressing his chubby cheeks. “Don’t cry!
Everything’s okay!”

Perhaps surprised by his mother’s courage, the toddler stopped weeping. After wiping her son’s tear-
streaked face, Leyla sprang to her feet and ran over to the tree where the balloon was hooked.

“Wait a minute! I’ll get it for you!”

True to her word, she’d do anything for her child’s happiness.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Finding Leyla was easy. He felt strange as he couldn’t believe he had found her in this big park, with one
vague clue that she was somewhere.

But he did.

He found her, sitting on a blanket under the shade of a tree, as she watched the scenery of the forest
and the lake calmly. A place where it was difficult to be crowded because it was too remote. Even she
played up her bravery, he knew his beautiful bird was actually quite timid.

Matthias then recognized the existence of another person, his child. While he was still watching his son,
Leyla began to go somewhere with a strong step.

Left alone, the child tilted his head and looked at his mother’s back. Matthias took another step towards
him. By the time he reached the side of the blanket, Leyla had already made it to a tree standing a short
distance from it.

Just when he was beginning to wonder she was going to do, Leyla started climbing the tree. Matthias
noticed a balloon dangling from a low-hanging limb, and finally realized what she was trying to do.

He picked a low, low laugh, and the child sitting quietly in the blanket raised his head. Matthias followed
the child’s gaze and turned to look at him. The child arched his brow and gently blinking his eyes.

Matthias looked at his son, before turning his attention to Leyla, who was seated on a branch and
preparing to catch the balloon.

And he began to take an unhesitating step toward her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Though it was difficult for Leyla to reach the balloon, she was able to just barely grasp the string through
the tree’s thin, looming branches. She smiled to herself at the accomplishment as she descended,
landing on the ground safely.
“Felix! Look at this! Mom…”

Leyla, who had turned her head at the sudden noise, was frozen. She could not form coherent thoughts,
let alone speak the moment her gaze met blue eyes.

A man stood not too far from the tree.

He was looking at her as he stood alert, with his back straight, and an arm behind his back. Their eyes
met and he tilted his head, almost as if in invitation.The rather crooked and playful gesture, was in stark
contrast to his elegant appearance.

Leyla gasped. She had suspected, but now she was sure.

It was him.

He has returned.

Her heart thundered in her ribcage, fighting to jump into his arms. Her head, though, remained blissfully
blank as she stared at him. It was ridiculous how her mind was in denial , and yet her heart had reacted
to his presence.

It was him, in the flesh – there was no doubt.

It couldn’t be anyone but him.

He was here.

Leyla stared at him, still clutching a balloon. She had placed a hand on the tree for support, and it
continued to tremble like a leaf as she stood in a trance. The beady blue eyes crinkled near the corners
as they continued to gaze at Leyla, indicating a smile.

Wordlessly, he slightly raised the hand that had been behind his back. There were ribbons tied in the
sleeves of the jacket and shirt, and they fluttered in the soft evening wind.

It was very scenic, but still…strange…

She had dreamt of this moment every single day without fail, conjuring up fantasies of the second their
eyes would meet again. She had had enough time to play out each scenario over and over: how she
would welcome him, wrap him up in her affection till it got hard to breathe for both of them.

She had it all planned out, so why ?

Why were her feet frozen?

Why was her mind empty now, when she had thought of nothing else for so long?

Perhaps, there was no answer, not that she wanted, or he needed one.
Leyla bit her lips, trying to control the tears that brimmed in her eyes, and just used all her strength to
stare at him. Matthias’s signature grin graced his face as he slowly opened his arms, unsure if that was
the right move.

She couldn’t comprehend whatever happened next, and even her memories of the next few minutes
were blurry, the details dim.

All she remembered was her feet treading on the ground, tears streaking down her cheeks, and running
towards him. Her vision may have been a blur, but her heart could see and feel with perfect clarity.

Her golden hair was flowing as she ran towards him,faster, and faster, like he would disappear if she
even paused to breathe.

Her heart continued to thump, erratic and unstoppable. She might as well have been choking on the
words she had prepared for him, yet they refused to make their way to her lips.

The moment she finally landed in his arms, a soft cry escaped her, not unlike the sound of a child that
finally finds its beloved object after searching for so, so long.

All her speeches and declamations went down the drain. Just one word was enough. Her one truth:
Matthias.

“Leyla,” he murmured, tightening his arms around her, pulling her closer as if they could melt into one.
A balloon, that she had missed, rose high with the wind. Its string mimicking the ribbon tied on
Matthias’s wrist.

The child looked at the pretty balloon floating around, with eyes that resembled his father’s. He
watched the balloon float away, pouting and grimacing as if his tears had the power to bring it back. His
mother certainly did.

The balloon flew higher into the sunset sky and eventually disappeared from view. The child’s eyes,
sparkling with curiosity, turned to his mother and father who were still wrapped in embrace, even as his
mother continued to weep.

The child kept turning his head from side to side, seemingly in pain, as if he couldn’t decide whether or
not to cry like his mom. Eventually he burst a broad smile.

The lake was calm and clear as the birds slowly circled above the still water, the sky above them was a
vibrant palette of reds, oranges,

The bird is back.

It was a long and pleasant summer evening with little to do, and they for sure would make the most of
it.
 Epilog I

Duke Matthias Von Herhardt’s news of death in the battlefield threw the whole nation into a state of
mourning. Every newspaper in the country ran front-page obituaries about the Duke’s illustrious life.
And it came as the most delightful surprise to everyone when he returned alive.

The surprising news of Duke Herhardt’s ludicrous marriage quickly overshadowed the amazement of his
miraculous return from the dead, however.

The wedding bells were scheduled to ring at summer’s end.

Unthinkable: a marriage between a prominent imperial nobleman and a lowly orphan girl. Furthermore,
she was the adopted daughter of a mere gardener who worked in the Duke’s estate.

That was just the outset of the girl’s checkered past. When word got out that she was once engaged to
be married to the son of the Herhardt’s family physician, even the families with whom the Herhardts
had great relations felt gravely concerned.

“He must have suffered a serious head injury! Why would he scare everyone with such a news if he was
in his right mind? There are already so many patients still traumatised from the shock of war! Did we
need more distress?!”

“If that’s the case, there’s no way Herhardt’s dowagers would have given their permission. I heard that
he even had a child with her who was born at the end of last year!”

“I beg your pardon? So the Duke was involved in such a clandestine affair, when he was courting Lady
Claudine?”

“So, now Matthias Von Herhardt is marrying the mistress who has his illegitimate child? Oh my God, I
smell a honey trap.”

“This is a betrayal and an insult to us all. I wont be going to the wedding. Such a woman holding the title
of Duchess is unacceptable.”

Such whispers flowed around the city like a rising tide or the leading edge of an oncoming storm.
Everyone you met or socialized with had an opinion on the looming wedding of Duke Matthias von
Herhardt and low born woman.

When someone dared to speak out in public, all the gentry would form a line behind the outspoken
individual, shaking their heads in disdain and mumbling under their breath. They were always so eager
to reinforce their narrow viewpoint, only backing the fight that benefited them personally. They still
intended to take advantage of the situation without sparing a thought to the Duke, who they had once
held in such high regard.
“But, no matter how despicable we find it, its the Herhardts we’re talking about here. It’s difficult to run
a business in Berg when at odds with them.”

The Herhardt’s business empire was mounting fast. It was tough to voice your disagreement with the
Herhardt without inviting their wrath. The family was in the front of an economic boom that was
upending the status quo. Especially in urban areas, where they had an especially prominent role in
symbolising the traditional order.

The situation appeared more dire as the wedding date for this contentious union approached. Conflict
broke out among the nobility when they couldn’t decide whether to side with the Duke and ignore his
outrageous decision or sever ties with him altogether.

The wedding was set for a late summer evening in the picturesque state of Arvis, just as the leaves were
beginning to change and lend a brilliant hue to the scene.

And the Duke again shocked everyone by opting for a small wedding attended only by close relatives, so
ending any talk of boycotting the wedding in protest. This only seemed to add ever greater outrage.
Now the Lords and Ladies openly spewed offensive comments to vent their anger.

Doubt filled the rumour mill as talk was turned to that of conspiracy: The Duke was not really getting
married and it had all been some jaded publicity stunt!

Nonetheless, the long awaited wedding in question was just around the corner….

It was definitely happening!

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

As the light shone through the bedroom curtains, which were a poor defence against the bright summer
sun, Leyla could see the dried wounds on Matthias’ body.

For the entirety of the night, she had been tossing and turning in bed, unable to get comfortable enough
to sleep. She awoke before daylight, lying in bed silently staring at his scars. They made a gruesome map
of violence across his body and each one she committed each one to memory. The gunshot on his arm
was the only wound of him she recognized.

The usual strikingly handsome appearance of him was unaffected, remaining the same both
appearance-wise upon his return from the grip of death. Aside from his appereance, his gesture and
facial expression remained unchanged, calm and collected as ever, carrying himself with the same air of
refined elegance.

Every aspect of him was still the same.

That simply served to highlight his scars more prominently. His flawless face was in stark contrast to the
tangle of dry sores and scars that covered his body.
When Leyla first laid eyes on his mangled physique, she wept. The sight of his wounds broke her heart
into a thousand pieces, imagining the pain he must have gone through to acquire them.

“Don’t cry. See, my face is still untouched. Don’t you favour it the most?” Matthias gave her a teasing
smile, and pointed to his untainted face to comfort his crying sweetheart.

His joke left her speechless. In her rage, Leyla punched him, but her clenched fist hardly registered on
his chest. She didn’t have the energy to apply much force and hurt that man even a little.

Like that day, she reached a hand out from under the blankets and started to trace lines around the
cuts. Time would bring healing, but the scars would remain. They did not tarnish the muscular physique
of the Duke, but still she failed to quell her grief.

Matthias stirred, sleepily looked at her. His gentle glance emitted a hint of amusement.

“D-does it hurt?” Leyla startled, thinking her touch caused him pain and disturbed his sleep.

“No… you can keep doing it.” Matthias prodded her on, evidently moved by her touch,

A little flustered in front of his fixed gaze, Leyla jerked her hand away, “Get up! You should go now.”

“Go where?”

“Where?” Shyness showing, Leyla frowned at the happenings. “Of course back to your own room!” she
continued and gestured toward the door that led to their shared bedroom. “Before the chamber maids
come in.”

Both soon-to-be-weds, who had been living together at Ratz Mansion, travelled to Arvis for the
wedding. The beautiful landscape of Arvis refreshed her, fueled her body and soul, but her cheerful
state was short-lived.

Leyla felt unwelcome. The rumours around the pair grew in intensity with each day, even the staff were
failing to hide their thoughts on the matter and openly started to display their discourtesy. No one
seemed able to see past the fact that Leyla Remmer was the adoptive daughter of a gardener, despite
they were obligated to treat her with the respect befitting a Duchess.

Even if the attitudes of others weren’t so obviously hostile, Leyla would still feel like an outsider. She
could not act like a Duchess over night. This tense and unfavourable situation felt like it was going to last
forever, no matter her efforts. She couldn’t express this to anyone, without feeling like she was letting
them down.

She knew that her life after marrying Matthias von Herhardt wouldn’t be a happily ever after like in the
fairy tales, but it didn’t make confronting her new duties any easier. It also did little to help her deal with
the shameful predicament she found herself in.

She had no idea how she’d made it through the past week.
The Dukes residence in Arvis was a lot different place from her familiar world. She had to watch her
every word and action. She felt like walking on eggshells and that feeling permeated even her own
thoughts. Worst of all, she was separated from Felix, who was like a part of her soul, according to her
preference. When she protested, voicing the desire to look after Felix herself, Elysee Von Herhardt
stared incredulously at her future daughter-in-law.

“You are Herhardt now!”

The answer was brief, but Leyla could grasp the layers of meanings behind within that simple statement.
As a member of the Herhardt family, she was expected to accept and abide by all of the traditions and
rules that had been set in place without ever giving rise to her own wilful thinking.

Though difficult, she decided to put up her best effort for the sake of Matthias and their son.

She did not want to get labelled as a troublemaker, especially not with all the gossip floating around,
that was bad enough without adding fuel to the fire.

Sadly, the more she tried to blend in with the society, the wider the disparity appeared to get. Despite
her title, she never felt like a Duchess.

She could never manage to turn into some socialite “queen” elegant enough to represent the Herhardt’s
predecessors.

The first night she spent in Arvis was a welcome reprieve from the stress and exhaustion of the first day.
Night appeared with its dark and Leyla was able to unwind in her room after a long day. She was safe
from prying eyes, but the room’s grandeur and glitzy decor itself affected her nerves.

Her stomach would churn whenever she made eye contact with the strange women depicted in the
pictures that adorned the walls. She felt like being severely reprimanded by their fixed gaze and her
heart sank. The portraits even looked at her with judgmental eyes.

She wished she could have wrapped her arms around Felix, to feel his warmth and sweet scent. But she
had to let him be, somewhere in the nursery, being tended by a nanny that his grandmother
painstakingly picked out for him.

That first night, she could not get any rest. Anxiety and fear kept sleeping a stranger to her as she laid in
the bed, staring up at the ceiling, or out the window, unable to calm her racing mind. But then, Matthias
suddenly appeared in her room, coming from a door she didn’t even realise was there.

At first, she nearly fainted. Being in a new house, new room, with hidden doors, but Matthias quickly
announced himself, seeing the shock on his fiancee’s face. He took her into his arms and they laid
together until the morning sun warmed up the room.

Leyla still remembered, quite vividly,when the two duchesses called them and forbade any more private
“meeting” before their marriage. Despite having a child together, there was still etiquette and traditions
that had to be followed and they were not allowed to share bedrooms until they were married.
Obviously, Mathhias nodded his head in agreement on whatever his mother and grandmother made a
request, but he would “forget” the very next moment and and slip into her room in the middle of the
night

In a way, it was like they were continuing their secret affair. Leyla was worried about Matthias’ mother
and grandmother catching them again, but she couldn’t bring herself to push him out of her room.

She always felt relieved having him by her side. It felt quite similar to holding Felix like a fluffy kitten in
her arms, albeit he was a little bigger and warmer. Above all else, his tight embrace gave her the most
comfort and relief.

As the dawn fully clearly dispelled the remaining darkness in the room, Leyla’s anxieties had begun to
fray once more.

“Go, now. Do you want us to get caught by your mother again?”

Matthias remained still. He laid on his arm, looking at her, his lips stretched out to form a mischievous
grin as he watched her fluster. He found it endearing to see how much she fussed over him. She was
cute when she behaved like an innocent girl trying to hide her forbidden romance from her parents.

Matthias did not wish to point out her naive act of secrecy. He was enjoying himself in his new role.

“Leyla,” Matthias’s voice was deep and velvety, but tinted with sleepiness as he spoke. His sleepy voice
had an allure that made her blush. She felt bashful and awkward, unsure of what to do with her hands.
She wringed them out with the covers.

“Smile, Leyla.” He said, out of the blue as he slid his fingers through her unbraided hair. There was
something to his tone, a subtle hint of imposing command. Her memory flashed back to the day when
she was forced to do as he said. To act however he pleased, to laugh, to cry, and to beg at his will. Leyla
stayed quiet for a moment, before shaking her head.

“Don’t order me like that, I hate it.”

Matthias paused, deliberating over his next words, “Could I ask you for a smile, as a present?”

“What present?” Leyla said, pouting. She wasn’t about to entertain any of his childish games

“Well, it’s our wedding day. We should be given presents on our wedding day, Leyla.”

He may have casually brought up their upcoming wedding, but Leyla’s heart sped up and her face
flushed with anxiousness anyway. She gave him the eye, started to speak, then glanced around the
room before returning to him. She arched an eyebrow at him and and her countenance gradually grew
pathetic, as if she were on the point of tears.

“I’m…scared.”

“What? Why? “
“I don’t know, I don’t feel like a real Duchess. I want to work hard and do my best, but what if its not
enough? What if me and our son only become a burden for you?”

“That’s not going to happen, Leyla.” Matthias very calmly assured her who was almost wrecking her
brain in nervousness.

“How do you know that?!”

“I know.”Matthias leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Leyla’s cheek. “Because I’m not going to let that
happen.” His tone did not hold a single note of hesitation, like he had been recursing this conversation.
It was very close to bold arrogance. It almost lit the fires of anger in Leyla, to hear him speak so brazenly.

This man still felt so unfamiliar to her, as if she did not know him from before.

She was so happy to have him in her life and moved that he kept his promise to come back to her. At the
same time, she felt betrayed that he hid away for two whole seasons. She didn’t feel like she had any
room to complain, especially when he casually said that it was all for her.

There was, as always, not a shred of regret or remorse on his face.

A man who could fabricate his own death as a means to achieve a goal should not be considered a good
man. It perplexed her and she could not fathom his methods.

Nevertheless, she decided to compromise.

The moment she ran into his arms, when he returned, she embraced the wounds and sorrows of the
past, as well as the uncertainty of the future.

All she wanted was to love him.

To love this man, and to be loved by him.

That was the end-all, be-all of everything.

“Again.” Matthias lovingly stroked Leyla’s cheek as he looked into her emerald eyes. She held his stare
and smiled, willingly resigning any resistance.

Every day, beginning now, she surely could gift him her smile for the rest of their life. As he said, it was
the morning of their wedding day!

The morning, which had started with a quiet gaze, a loving smile and a tender kiss, gradually became
brighter and more passionate. The lovers remained entangled in each others arms, much in the same
position they had spent the night.

“I’ll give you a present too.”

Matthias kissed Leyla on the forehead before leaving the Duchess’ room. Leyla simply smiled in reply,
remaining limp on the bed, tangled within the sheets, visibly worn out after the morning full of raw
intimacy.

“It will make me feel good if you look forward to it.”

After said that, he exited the room and closed the door behind him.
 Epilog II

Felix von Herhardt quickly won over the hearts of both his grandmother and great-grandmother. The
very same day that Mattias brought Leyla and Felix to the Ratz mansion, the Duchess’, Elysee and Norma
von Herhardt, fell in love with their grandson.

It wasn’t hard to believe either, the young boy resembled his father so much and reminded the two
ladies for a young version of Matthias. That striking resemblance between the father-son pair
completely stunned everyone.

How could they deny a child who embodied the shape of a Herhardt so perfectly?

“Do not worry, Elysee, this is what’s best for the child.” Norma comforted her daughter-in-law. A sad
expression was plated on her face, yet her voice was kind and had a hint of laughter on its fringes.

“Yes, I know.” Elysee said, nodding slowly as she tried to keep her inner strife and worry at bay. Felix,
enfolded in her arms, soothed her dejected heart with a bright and innocent smile.

Early on, Matthias announced his plans to move his family to the Ratz Mansion, along with the family
business . They officially announced it as “renovation for a new era” and had major plans to expand
exponentially. People knew the real reason behind these sudden changes. Their scandalous marriage
was too terrible for everyone to accept, yet vocally opposing it was tough.

Given the materialistic and social concerns within the aristocracy which values material adornments and
social class over someone’s noble intentions or hard work, Leyla would never be accepted as a Duchess,
even if she legally carried the title.

As far as they could tell, She had nothing that could be used as her spark. She didn’t come from a
reputable background, or family of rulers. She had no special talent or skill that made her stand out from
the rest of the crowd. She didn’t even seem to have any confidants about her, the sort of forthrightness
you’d expect to find in a Duchess. She was smart and with the right guidance, she could learn to
cultivate that, but it was going to be difficult for her, to say the least.

No matter how hard Leyla would try, the noble families would never accept her into the ranks of their
social circles. She would never be able to meet the standards they set for others. That’s just the vile
truth of the today’s social world they were living in.

Matthias knew very well how disturbing everything already was, how hard it would be for Leyla and for
their family, and how draining it would be for his own peace of mind. So before things turned grave and
disturbing he decided to move. He believed that it was better to get out now, while they only looked
down on them, out of sight, than risk open resentment and rejection later.
The human heart can be very cunning. They looked down on those who compared their loyalties to a
wagging dog. They would waste their time distracting others in showing concern for those who hold no
care for their ideals and social status. If only to divert attention from their own inadequacies.

People were concerned about Duke Herhardt’s social standing after he distanced himself from the social
circle, leaving the hostess’ seat next him practically empty.

“Then you will be crippled, like a bird with only one wing, would you be able to afford that?” Matthias’
Grandmother, Norma von Hearhardt had asked.

“Yes, Grandmother.” Matthias showed no hesitation in the face of Norma’s anxious questions. He didn’t
give a hoot about what people in those social castes thought. “In this new era, I will make the Herhardt
name shine brighter than ever and we will be the strongest we have ever been.” He continued staring at
the spotless yet gloomy sky through the window for more couple of seconds, a smile on his face.

Matthias was careful not to show any unwarranted confidence or unnecessary enthusiasm. He
presented his goals and ambition to the two Duchess’ as he saw it, a simple truth. His cold and
unflinching attitude was more than enough to reassure the two elderly women. But they still didn’t
know why he had sent Leyla to college.

“At least we got a good deal for Felix.” Elysee smiled down at her grandson.

In return for allowing Matthias and Leyla to stay in Ratz, they would have to let Felix stay at Arvis for at
least one season at a time. The Duchess Norma believed that, no matter how the world changed, there
was always a place for tradition and customs. Values that would be best taught at Arvis, where these
values were the strongest. She hoped that the future Duke von Herhardt would grow to embrace and
upheld those values.

“Fine, I will acquest your demands, mother.”

Matthias accepted her unreasonable offer without hesitation, surprising Elysee. Perhaps he didn’t
realize the agony of being apart from your child for such a lengthy period of time. Given his attachment
to Leyla, she expected a fight, but this did not mean that Matthias was neglecting his duties as a father.
Elysee knew Matthias better than anyone else, it was not something they could question him about, but
Leyla seemed to be the lone exception

Did Leyla know about this arrangement? Elysee thought to herself, as she looked up at the stage of the
wedding. Could it be that it was an arbitrary decision Matthias made, that Leyla knew nothing about?

She got the impression that Leyla was not a very cunning girl though she herself considered Leyla was
not suited for the position of Duchess. She could see that Leyla was struggling to adjust to her new life,
but she was willing to do her best for the sake of her child and Matthias.
Elysee had wondered into the garden after hearing that people were finally starting to arrive. The
flowers were in full bloom, soaking up the warm summer sun and spread dazzling colour around the
border of the vibrant green lawn.

A handsome groom and a beautiful bride.

If you’ve ever witnessed a wedding, it will be nothing short of a masterpiece compared to this one.

A small number of guests were invited to the wedding, but word of the nuptials quickly spread. The
story of this sordid wedding spread throughout all the social circles and the talk was of the new Duchess,
Leyla von Herhardt.

Everyone, at the very least, praised Leyla Lewellin’s beauty and agreed that she was a good match for
the handsome Matthias von Herhardt. They further said that the beautiful gardens of Arvis were the
perfect place for the lovely couple to share their first kiss as husband and wife. Following the
solemnization of their holy marriage, the sweet scent of flowers drifted on the breeze, illuminated by
the rosy glow of the setting sun.

All too quickly and eagerly did the conversations slip into negativity. Putting up arguments that Leyla
had bewitched the Duke some how. Matthias treated his little bride like precious jewel, which was a
hard pill to swallow. How had this girl made a cold and hard to reach noble~Matthias von Herhardt
behave this way?

For a little while, the disgraced nobility put aside the snub of being excluded from the wedding in favor
of being invited to the reception. They hoped the to be invited to the beautiful gardens of Arvis to
celebrate the up coming Duchess, that party, at the least, should be public.

The season changed gradually, but their expectation did not result in reality. The news that the Duke
and Duchess were settling in Ratz rather than Arvis brought more disappointment. This went against
tradition and against their nerves. There was so much to this couple that was unorthodox. The Duke von
Herhardt even stated that they would not be going on a honeymoon, as the Duchess would be going to
collage in the Fall.

However, the rumors progressively became true. By his countless deeds, the cold-hearted and stern
Duke evidenced affection toward his wife. He was showing that he was madly in love with his beautiful
wife, Leyla von Herahrdt.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla walked out of the Biology class clutching her book firmly to her chest. She could always feel the
stares of the other students upon, whether in class or wondering about the campus. She had been
tolerating these probing gazes on herself since the first day of her freshman year at this college. She was
used to it by now. It seemed no matter where she went, she was destined to draw the attention of
others around her.

The news of the Duchess spread around the campus like wildfire. People really had a hard time believing
the Duchess was attending the collage, studying biology. Once the semester started, the gossip died
down a little, to which she was very thankful.

They still called her Duchess, though, a grand title she was never going to get used to. She would have
preferred it if they called her by her name, however, she had to bare this burden for Felix’s sake for the
time being

Leyla stopped in her tracks as she noticed a group of young men staring at her. She recognized them as
the aristocratic heirs to the families she had dined with recently. Unlike before when they were more or
less friendly~their looks were now filled with animosity and derision—a attitude to which she was
familiar with.

She straightened her stance and held her books tight. Nervous sweat started to form and she could feel
her strength sap away, but her gaze never faltered.

Leyla gave a light smile, raising the corners of her lips only a little and gave a delicate nod. She imagined
herself as her ever graceful and refined husband. Then, with grace and pace, she glided down the
corridor, leaving the lads stunned at her unexpected internation.

Once out of sight, she made a beeline towards the stone fountain in the plaza in front of the building.
Her plan was to meet Felix at this place and then take him to the park for the afternoon.

Now that he could walk on his own and was starting to talk quite well, he only grew more and more
adorable.

‘The Kind Matthias’

That was the title people had started to give the young boy. As he grew, he resembled his father more
and more, but shared his mothers kindness.

“That’s why you’re so lucky.” Elysee von Herhardt, whom they had met recently, told that she was lucky
in that regard. Leyla was taken aback by such kind words. Matthias was right by her side, but did not
seem to react at all.

“Mommy!”

Felix called out, struggling in the arms of his nanny. Leyla smiled as she saw that Matthias was there too.
He was sitting beside the fountain, silently staring off into the sky, thinking god only knows what. Felix’s
cheerful shout drew him from his thoughts and he smiled as their eyes met.
Leyla ran towards them and dumped her books into Matthias’ arms, who was expecting a hug and
looked rather startled at the change. Leyla thought it amusing, but was distracted with replacing the
books with Felix and took the little bundles into her bosom.

“What’s going on? You said you had an important meeting today. Not busy anymore?” sshe inquired,
smiling brightly as she stood before him. The child in her arms was laughing innocently too, shared her
mother’s adorably happy smile.

“It ended early.” Matthias gave a brief answer and took Felix into his arm. The child nested comfortably
in his father’s without showing any concern about being separated from his mother’s embrace.

“Then you can come with us?” Leyla’s eyes sparkled in expectation, but she was prepared for
disappointment.

Since they tied the knot and moved to Ratz, Matthias’s work schedule had been fairly full. The process of
relocating the business from Arvis was time-consuming and taxing, so he was kept busy working long
into the night. He could finally catch his breath after finishing off the final steps of moving the
company’s headquarters to Ratz. But, no matter how much free time he had, such an unexpected
surprise visit from him had never happened before.

“Sure. Shall we go together?” Matthias said. His eyes were full of ardour and his lips rose to a kind smile.

Leyla was pleasantly delighted to discover this man’s tender side. Who would have thought this man
would be willing to visit a park with his wife and son!?

She was reminded of the first time she saw him. The little boy beamed at the her, an unaided orphan girl
nd grinned in a little mischievous way. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from him: the beautiful yet
terrifying young Duke of Arvis.

“If we go together, I will buy you some ice cream too…” Leyla could hardly contain her excitement. It
seemed strange to her at times. Being as family with him and enjoying such a lovely days together, she
still found it hard to believe.

Leyla hummed a question in hopes of getting an answer from Matthias, but he remained silent
throughout. She rolled her eyes and stomped the ground, embarrassed. Matthias then gave out a quiet
chuckle,

“Alright,” Leyla glanced up into his eyes’ deep blue sky and saw herself reflected in those sparkling orbs.
His free arm wrapped around her shoulder. “Lets go then.”

Felix grinned and chuckled as he saw his father smiling. His laughing was so contagious that Leyla found
herself smiling along with him. She reached for his hand that was tangled in hers playfully. The
afternoon light was dazzling and bathed them in a warm glow as they made their way to the park.
 Epilog Ill

Riette von Lindmann.

The embossed letters spelling out the deceased’s name glowed brightly on the grave stone under the
glaring afternoon sun. Claudine was stood staring at the name, willing it to change, for some revelation
that there had been a mistake and this was someone else entirely.

The ocean blue eyes of the man who bore that name were shut for eternity. No longer could she find
the reassuring peace in the quiet depths of those eyes which had always served to calm the chaos that
was constantly present in her mind.

The shadows of the trees gr ew long as the sun set. They stretched out across the cemetery toward her,
threatening to drag her into the cold. Claudine shivered and hugged herself tight. Her pallid face, half-
exposed behind the wide-brimmed hat, bore no emotion.

The countless memories that had been cluttering her mind all the way there disappeared the moment
she stood in front of his grave, leaving only an empty feeling and layers of fatigue on her face.

‘I love you, Claudine’

‘Let’s go away together.’

The cool breeze rustled the leaves, as if they were whispering Riette’s sweet words to her.

His warm blue eyes sparkled with pure sincerity seemed to be glistening in the sun. She really wanted to
say yes to his proposal and escape this nightmare with the only man who truly cared about her, but he
was gone now, went off to fight in someone else’s war, never to return home.

That thought burned in her heart, that Riette was not even buried under this marker, she was alone.
Could he even hear her, or was she just talking to the cold wind? The shadows of the trees widened and
enveloped her in a chilly, void. She sunk to her knees and let the shade take her in.

She didn’t feel the cold anyway. It is said that when someone undergoes too much bad luck, when there
life is nothing but misery, they become emotionless husks, as cold as the stone the marked the death of
her love, that’s what she felt now, if she felt anything.

She wished that he could some how hear her answer, for him to know that she wanted an escape with
him, for it to be just the two of them.

“Yes.” She said to the ground. The trees whispered amongst themselves, at her proclamation, they
conspired as they leaned into one another, whispering their deep, dark thoughts. They knew. For sure. If
Claudine was back in that situation, she would still give the same answer in the end. She still wouldn’t
change her mind about what she said, even now. Her niggling feelings of regret, however, were about
very small things and moments.
She felt today that memories are also torture.

She recalled. Many times she had stood by the front door and watched Riette depart, never once had
she waved goodbye to him.

Why didn’t she wave? Maybe if she laughed a little more around him, or maybe simply smiled to show
him how happy she was. Would things be any different?

‘Hello.’

She probably started loving these words when they used to share them.

A simple “hello” was all that they had shared on the last day she had seen him. That was the last time
they spoke. That brief exchange of “hellos” stayed with her. Now she had so much to say, to ask that
they would have spoken none stop for days.

“Why didn’t you give up on me, and how could you love me like that?” Her mind raced with questions,
but she shoved them down, letting the lump of it pass through her chest and into the depths of her soul.
There is no point in lingering on unanswerable questions.

She laid the scarlet roses at the base of the tombstone. The colourful feathers and ribbons of her hat
swayed and bobbed as she got up off the ground

“Hello, Riette.” Claudine returned his greeting, slightly smiling despite her tardiness.

‘Hello, my love’

She longed to hear his voice once more, and hoped he would reply. Those seemingly meaningless words
were quietly engraved in the depth of her heart.

It was foolish fancy, but it did not stop her wishing just one flight of crude imagination.

‘I think we’ve said our final goodbyes.’

Claudine dabbed the corners of her eyes before she turned away from the tombstone. Without looking
back, she left the cemetery and entered the waiting car. A little redness appeared in her eyes, but the
hat’s brim shaded that entirely.

The car took her back to the city. The Brandt’s couple, her parents were expecting a visit from her new
fiance today and Claudine was exacted to be presentable for the occasion. Her gaze was fixed on the
moving scene outside, butshe paid little attention to the bright blue streets winding through the city
outside the window.

Now her life had become a victim of immense confusion.

Her fiance was not tremendously affluent. certainly not by the Herhardt’s standards. He had a
reputation as a gentleman and as a landowner on the new continent across the sea. This was more an
arranged marriage of convenience. This would never have been acceptable in the past, but her parents,
realizing that the instability brought on by the war necessitated a great deal of change, happily selected
him as their son-in-law.

Claudine remained indifferent.

The face that Duke Herhardt, who was thought to be dead, turned up alive and married his mistress, the
mother of an illegitimate child, was still the hot topic of most social circles within the Berg empire, and
Claudine’s name also came up from time to time.

The victim of a “filthy” marriage.

Not all of it was pity or compassion. Claudine von Brandt’s misfortune in losing her fiance to such a
woman was met with glee by a sizeable portion of society. But it was just a little fuss in her eyes. She
tried not to let it get to her and keep herself away from such conversations.

Her eyes, observing the colorfully bright streets passing by through the car window, suddenly reverted
to their calmness. Their arranged summer wedding was supposed to take place at her new fiance’s
estate across the ocean. Everything was ready to go, and all that was left to do was for her to climb
aboard the boat and sail to the new continent.

The car stopped in front of a hotel On an avenue lined with high end shopping centers. Here, she was
supposed to attend a social event with her mother before heading back to the Brandt mansion.

“Welcome, milady.” Said a maid. She was watching her with placid eyes.

After adjusting her hat in place, Claudine got out of the car in practiced grace. They came naturally to
her now, but years of practice as a child was painstaking work. SShe confidently up the steps, waited for
the doorman to open the hotel door for her, and then walked right in.

The huge, luxurious chandelier gleamed and shone above her head, casting golden light around the
foyer, giving everything a very rich hue. Today as usual, the world of affectation was looking beautiful in
all its splendor and sophistication.

She loved this world despite its deceptive appearance.

The world where everything was crafted with such loving elegance. The life she was familiar with, and
was comfortable in.

Claudine suddenly stopped in the middle of the lobby and closed her eyes.

Was she hesitating?

Or, was she trying to forget something?

No one knew.
It was hard to tell, but deep down, she felt ready to move forward with her life despite her illustrious
past.

She blinked her eyes open and resumed the step into the dazzlingly beautiful world she loved.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The car carrying the Herhardt family drove out from the university grounds and towards the park.
Together, they took a stroll in the park, enjoying the spring flowers that tinged the air with the sweet
smell.

They walked together like an ordinary family of three. They seemed happy enough, a couple who loved
each other doting on their little child. It seemed like something out of a fairy tale: a family who had
finally found one other and live happily ever after.

Mark Evers knew differently as he watched them as they walked. He was one of the few people that
knew what Duke Herhardt had been doing that very morning ad it left him with a slight uncanny feeling.

After moving to Ratz, the Duke was very much a business man. He attended important events and
fulfilled his duties as the Duke with an air of professionalism, however he clearly kept a strict line
between formality and socialising.

The aristocrats of these formal circles found this to be an insult to their honour and they were very
much outraged. They did not dare confront the Duke directly on this, they were not imbeciles and knew
that to question a man who appeared to be doing his job damn well, would only look bad on them. They
considered the Dukes family was his Achilles’ heel and looked to target the Duchess and his son.

They ordained to spread malicious rumours about the Duchess and spoke of the boy with less than
favourable words. Their dirty talk spread like the plague and since the Duke did not put stock in such
none sense, he ignored them, which only made them worse as the days went by.

That was, until now. Once word spread of what the Duke had done this day, it would stop these vicious
malcontents and halt their back room whispers.

Count Stein, who was one of these ringleaders, who spread news that would spoil Countess Leyla von
Herhardt’s reputation and stated that her son was nothing more than a mongrel child of unclean blood,
went bankrupt today.

One by one, the Counts tobacco business and other meagre venters, collapsed right out from under him.
The Duke had finalised the decisions that very morning and the Count would no doubt be finding out the
news just now, as the Duke slyly stole a bite of his wife’s ice cream.
After the Duke had dealt with some other small affairs in the mornings meeting, not batting an eye, or
raising a glass to victory, he returned to his family to enjoy the rest of the afternoon, just as if nothing
had happened.

The ruthless man’s telltale sign was no where to be seen. No one would have guessed he had just
toppled an empire with a swish of a pen, but the impact will have a profound domino affect on all those
who had spoken ill of his wife and child.

Mark Evers stifled a laugh. The Duke caught sight of him and gave a discreet wave of the hand.

Immediately, he withdrew, and went wandering aimlessly, enjoying the nice weather in the beautiful
afternoon light.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

They were resting in the shady canopy of a tree which flowers were a delicate shade of pink. Leyla sat
facing the tree and Matthias laid his head in her warm lap. Two seconds was all their son was able to sit
still for before he started running in circles around the tree.

“You look tired.” Leyla said, examining his face.

Just a single “hmmm” from Matthias was all he could muster. His mind was elsewhere.

“You’re very busy these days,” Leyla carried on.

“Perhaps a little.” Matthias said softly and closed his eyes.

“What were you busy with today?”

“Just…nothing,” Matthias shrugged. “It wasn’t anything special, but important either way.” he continued
in a tired voice.

He had never been this hostile toward business associates in the past, he liked to show generosity. The
last time he saw Count Stein, he gave him a chance to recount his words and show humility, one last
chance to gain his favour.

But the couple’s attitude remained unchanged after they openly slandered his wife and son. Last night,
during a social event, Countess Stein shamelessly snubbed the welcome Leyla had extended, leaving her
embarrassed in front of the whole gathering.

They had tried to hide their little whisper groups out of Duke Herhardt’s eyes but Matthias’ six senses
were always directed toward his wife, Leyla von Herhardt.
After dinner, when the men gathered in the cigar room. Matthias approached Count Stein with cigar in
hand.

“This cigar is proof of your families good word, Count Stein.” Matthias said politely, examining the cigar
between thumb and finger, rolling it slightly. ”Would you say it’s as good as your bloodline?”

“I…don’t get your meaning.” Count Stein frowned while asking in a defensive manner.

“What meaning is there?” Matthias let out a billow of grey smoke toward the ceiling. “Such pure
bloodline producing such pure tobacco, your business must be well coveted.”

“I guess so.” The Count said. “There have been some that have wanted a part of my business, but you’d
have to be a rich man.” He let out a chuckle that was echoed by the stooges he had standing around
him.

“Well, this cigar is fine work and a testament to the purity of the Stein bloodline.” Matthias said
appraisingly.

The laughter faded away. “I’m sorry, but I still don’t get your meaning.” The Count asked

“Well, if the cigar was made by someone of, say, mongrel stock, would it taste as good?” Matthias
pantomimed a sigh. “I just wish I could enjoy pure bread cigars like this more often.”

“Are you trying to make threats because of your wife?” Count Stein was starting to get agitated by
Matthias’ little game.

“My, quick witted aren’t you.” Matthias smiled then stood up straight, giving a very lordly baring that
was hidden until now. He exhumed authority and the playfulness of his words were gone. The Count
took a step back in suprise. “I’m not joking with you, Count Stein. This talk has certainly made me
interested in the tobacco business. In Your business.” Matthias said with a deep authority. His gravitas
was so subtle, no one noticed Count Steins stooges slowly edging toward him.

“I believe Duke Herhardt can distinguish business and social gossip, if you wish, we can talk in the
morning, when its more appropriate.” The Count said confidently. He probably thought he could scam
the Duke out of some of his money and make him the butt end of a lot fo social gossip.

“Even so,” said the Duke, standing firm and tall. “I have very little patience for people like you, who
would slander a good ladies name just to win some petty attention from these grovelling sycophants.”
Matthias tossed the half smoked cigar into an ash tray. “Every little flaw can be used as an advantage
and you are rife with flaws Count Stein, even ones you think are your strength.”

“Duke Herhardt!” The Count declared.

Matthias brushed ash from his crisp, black suite and approached Count Stein, murder in his eyes. “I am a
deeply passionate man when it comes to my wife and my son.” Matthias looked out the door of the
cigar room, where he could see into the sitting room and his wife. She stood alone, at the edge of the
paired gatherings. “Everyone makes mistakes, Count Stein, everyone. Some are worse than others,
some condemn a man.” Matthias paused. “I look forward to tomorrow, when even emperors may find
their empire razed before their helpless eyes.”

Giving a bowed to Count Stein, Matthias strode out of the cigar room and went to fetch his wife. The
party had soured and any prospect of building bridges was dashed before ground was broken. He really
waited patiently. However, the pair brought doom upon themselves by spreading further slander about
Leyla and Felix when a simple gesture of apology could have saved them.

“Then, What is this wrinkle for?” Her soft touch brought Matthias back to the present. He opened his
eyes and looked up into hers. They were pools of deep curiosity and looking into them made his heart
itch with warmth. But he closed his eyes again after grinning a bit to avoid the boring topic. There was
no reason to let Leyla know that Stein had gone bankrupt.

“Are u feeling unwell?” Leyla asked worriedly.

“No,”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Alright. Get some sleep, then.” As Leyla’s soft fingers traced his face, Matthias closed his eyes in
comfort. They tingled his face and sent him into a trance. He didn’t feel sleepy, still, he nodded his head
obediently.

His tender-hearted wife would showered him with unending affection when her husband looked even
slightly unwell. Now he knew how to put it to good use. Scars on his body could prove useful on
occasion.

Even while it made Matthias feel bad, but he loved the moments when Leyla would seem heartbroken
and upset, only for the fact that it gave him a sense of purpose.

At that time, it seemed that he was the only one in his world, when there was no one else in the world
but the two of them. It was like this most of the time, even when they walked crowded socials, or
bustling museums and art galleries. Even when Felix ran around them, laughing and giggling at his silly
games. There really was no one else in the world but them two.

“Don’t get sick.”

He felt a gentle twitch in his ear from a faint, hushed voice. Leyla’s hand that had been holding his cheek
a moment before was now gently stroking his hair, an action which was her own special way to show
her love for her husband.
There was peace and quiet until his wretched son destroyed the atmosphere. His beloved wife, who had
been kind enough to give her lap as a pillow, had to leave to comfort their fussing baby, leaving behind a
cold rolled shawl for him to use instead.

Matthias slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at them, his chest slowly being filled with
disappointment while myriath of thoughts started to swirl inside his head.
 Epilog IV

Matthias laughed as his son toppled over, but he knew it wasn’t serious because Leyla’s face didn’t show
traces of deep concern. Instead, her face showed an expression of exaggerated sympathy that was
suitable to help soothe their crying child. He stopped laughing soon enough when he caught a glimpse of
his son, whose face was screwed up and red from crying as he clutched to his mother’s nape.

Being a father for the first time, he had no idea how to deal with the child. It felt awkward for him to
care so much for a child that he had once tried to kill, even when Leyla protected their son
wholeheartedly while he was away to participate through the war.

However, the child’s innocent smile made him change his mind. His smile closely resembled his mother,
reminding him of his beloved wife. That child resembled him in a lot of ways, notably in looks, but he
took after his mother in areas that mattered to Matthias the most. His feelings for the baby quickly
grew, and his love to his kid only deepened with each passing day.

He decided to get up from the grass when Leyla, together with Felix clutched close to her side, sat back
down next to him. He was happy to join her allotted time for family bonding since it was her most
favorite way to pass the time with them. Although he felt awkward when she declared it was family
time, deep down in his heart he actually adored and enjoyed every second of it.

He could feel Leyla’s gaze staring at him, admiring him with that exact same smile Felix was sporting
now, all thoughts of the recent tumble gone from his head. That exact same smile was the reason he
loved their son even more, the same smile full of warmth as his beloved little bird.

“I’ll make something delicious for you tonight.” Leyla said in an excited voice as Matthias nodded and
scooped up Felix in his own arms. She still loved to cook even after becoming a Duchess, much to the
chagrin of the cooks he had hired, particularly when she wanted to make something savory for her
husband or son. The butler had mentioned it numerous times, but the Duke never seemed to mind,
likely because he didn’t want to limit his wife simply because she was now a Duchess.

During the early days of their marriage while staying in Arvis, he was already adamant about not
dragging her down with the title of Duchess. He did not wish to see her groaning under the pressure like
an overladen bookshelf or struggling like someone who wore a wrong set of clothes, just to play such a
role.

She was a free soul who needed a vast field to flutter her wings, someone who still loved him dearly
despite all of the torture she went through, and his beloved who still returned and forgivenhim for his
misdeeds even when he had forced her to leave him. Such a lovable woman, It’s easy to understand why
he became resolute to be her dazzling sky, showering this beautiful flower with all the love and sunshine
she desired from him.
Because she was someone he loved with everything he had.

“Oh, I just remembered, aren’t we going to the Imperial Palace next week?” Leyla suddenly asked,
bringing Matthias back to the present. He reckoned she was talking about the Empress’ upcoming
birthday celebration.

“Don’t worry, Leyla.” He smiled and brushed his fingers through her messy hair, the spring breeze
seemed to be harsh to her glowing beautiful locks. “Everyone there will be kind.”

By the time of the birthday party, the talk of Duke Herhardt’s take over of the Stein tobacco industry
would have spread far and wide. This would act as a valuable lesson, and a clear warning, to those who
harbored wicked thoughts regarding his wife. And he knew she would never speak out against the
“noble” class’s cruel treatment of her. In the end, she was too much of a devoted wife that she didn’t
even want to burden her husband with such little matters.

However, without Leyla’s knowledge, Matthias was aware of the circumstances she was in. While she
might be able to brush off other people’s opinions of her, he simply couldn’t stand to see her
disrespected. Maybe he can’t change the minds of the narrow-minded classists in a day, but he can
make efforts to force a change and show that he would not condone any ill treatment that would befall
on his dear wife. She might have been born as Leyla Lewellin, but she was now Leyla von Herhardt, the
Duchess of Herhardt and his wife. No matter how her title was earned, he demanded that they would
respect her appropriately regardless. Others might see his wife and son as a weakness to exploit, but
they were his strength, and he was much stronger with them at his side.

“Yes, I know. I will not worry since I’m sure I will do well.” She replied unconvincingly, silently hiding her
misgivings while nodding her head. It was obvious that it was her futile attempt to avoid disturbing his
pleasant mood after such a wonderful day.

Nonetheless, it was time for them to go home. After the car pulled up outside the Ratz Mansion,
Matthias wormed his way out of the car, closely holding his sleeping son on his shoulder. Leyla followed
closely behind him, gliding outside of the car like a dancer and smiling crookedly at the lovely scene in
front of her.

Family. Family was such a beautiful word that she adored deeply, and of course, he naturally loved
everything she treasured. The three of them entered the mansion together as she began to chatter
gleefully about the evening’s meal while he only half listened to her prattle, his gaze kept going back and
forth between his wife and son.

Today was one of the loveliest days in recent memory.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Did Mathias’s comforting words from a few days ago truly come true?
The day of the Empress’ birthday finally came around. Leyla had been fretting about it for the entire
week, but the woman who had shown her such malice before seemed oddly indifferent toward her
while some even extended awkward greetings.

“Did you do something?” She asked her husband during their journey home.

“I told you not to worry, didn’t I?.” He only looked at her without answering her question directly.
“Everyone will treat you with kindness and respect, haven’t I told you?”

“Oh? Did you really?” Her bright eyes stared at him as if lighting him on fire as one side of her lips
contorted in confusion.

Matthias laughed that she pretended to recall it only now. “Yes, I told you. In the end, I only needed to
do just a little bit of encouragement and that seemed to work.”

“Really?”

“Yes, why?”

“Well, that’s very kind of you.” She sat back, an obvious desire to cross her arms together written on her
whole being. He knew she always did that when she didn’t get what she wanted.

“I’m glad you like it.” He hummed, obviously being so uncooperative to her interrogation that she had to
give up in the end. Instead, they both ended up looking out of the window.

They were passing through the city of Ratz, which always went through the seasons faster than their
neighbor, Carlsbar. With the window slightly opened, the spring breeze brought in the scent of roses,
lifting Leyla’s mood a little by its sweetness. As she closed her eyes, Matthias kept his gaze on her, the
sweet scent of roses lingering in his nose.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

They were going to spend the weekend together without Felix, who would be staying with his
grandmother. They were very nice ladies, but Elysee von Herhardt can be very blunt at times.

“Matthias, I never thought you’d be so stingy with your wife!” In a confrontational stance, Elysee
narrowed her eyes towards the pair. Leyla’s face stiffened when Elysee’s gaze turned towards the
emerald necklace she loved so much to the point that she wore it everywhere. “She is always wearing
that necklace, I fear that the Duchess of Herhardt will be criticized for having only one piece of jewelry
at this rate.” Elysee declared.

“I chose this necklace myself because it brings out my wife’s natural beauty more and to me, she is the
most beautiful with it.” Matthias stated with an imperious tone of respect.

Elysee’s expressiony turned to mild surprise but she understood his point of view. There was nothing to
be angry or upset about, albeit it was a bit unexpected and disappointing to her.
Hearts colliding, skin touching, faces beaming with happiness, they both bade farewell and left the
mansion, taking their steps towards the world waiting for them. Holding each other’s hands,
intertwining their fingers, they strolled toward the street.

“Thank you,” Leyla murmured as she grabbed her husband’s arm tightly, moving closer. They paced
down the sidewalk outside the museum’s exhibition halls.

“For what?” He asked, his gaze fixed on her, smiling.

“Uncle Bill’s Necklace.” Her reply had his smile vanish. He watched, as she stroked the piece of jewelry,
the glint in her eyes. The necklace, adorned with pearls and emeralds, glimmered around her neck
matching the dazzling gleam in her eyes and her soft glowing skin.

He thought, as he glanced at the woman beside her. Matthias had no intention of destroying the illusion
that Uncle Bill had bought the necklace. Not that he meant to deceive, rather, he was trying to protect
her future happiness.

“Thank you for saying that,” Leyla’s eyes gleamed in a soft green light. Matthias graced her with a small
smile, choosing to remain silent. It was needed at that time. The silence was necessary, secrets that
resided in his heart, it held their futures and he planned on treasuring them.

They strolled hand in hand down the street between the exhibition halls, basking in each other’s
affection and the peaceful atmosphere. Matthias was reminded of their wedding day, when he had
made a promise to Leyla, hands in hands and stares owning emotions, with a sky as rosy as her.

‘I will be your sky,

so fly freely and as long as you don’t leave me,
Your every hope will be yours.
I love you.’

She didn’t understand what he meant until after the reception. She was shocked when she found that
they would be moving to the Ratz mansion, rather than staying in Arvis. Her surprise had only doubled
upon the revelation of the fact that she had been enrolled in the college.

“What the hell did you do?” Leyla had demanded, more out of shock than anything. “I didn’t ask for you
to do this, why would you do this on your own accord?”

She had been appalled. And truth be told, anyone would be.

Matthias just smiled at her, “I’ll do anything for you, Leyla, you don’t need to ask.”

His brazenness in providing for her was infuriating at times, even downright selfish. At the moment, her
feelings toward him were primarily annoyance. And now that time had passed, she had realized what he
was thinking when he took such drastic steps and the only answer she would get was;

compensation,
for all the pain he had caused her in the past.

Every attempt at mending her wings was because he had broken them before out of pure but twisted
love. But what was disappointing was that he had used their son in order to make that happen.

Matthias loved his son- so much, that some days it seemed like he would drown in the depth of his love
for his son. Leyla was concerned, scared, and anxious that the father and son would be at odds with one
other, that there would be walls hard to cross between them. But her fears quickly gave way to a feeling
of overwhelming joy. Leyla almost thought it a dream, but he had proven himself a commendable
husband and father.

She could now barely imagine looking at him with hatred.

She glanced at her husband, mesmerized by him, who was gazing at a painting displayed for the people.
His eyes shimmered under the sunlight, playing hide and seek, through the window.

He looked ethereal.

He turned his head, looking down at her, and tightened his hold, possessive yet gentle, around her hand.

They explored a few more exhibition rooms, clinging to each other like lovers. Everyone else in the
world would be green with jealousy if they had a glimpse of them. As they walked, Leyla chattered away
about her time in college, Felix’s impressive vocabulary, the curtains in the bedroom she had changed a
while ago, and summer vacation plans. Stories that were mundane, yet affectionate. The small gestures
and signs of contentment.

Matthias looked adoringly at his wife. Every time she closed her eyes to think, the shadow of her long
lashes would flutter like a butterfly, and he felt hypnotized by her beauty. She would face him again and
start talking, the sparkle in her eyes would light up the room. But for him, it was his world that she
would brighten with her pretty smile.

It was the face of a woman he had tried and failed to comprehend, and that had driven him crazy in the
end. It was a woman that he had ruined once, engulfed in his twisted desires and fantasies.

Now, he finally had this woman completely…

along with her blissful love.

For him, love was merely a noun, and she was its very definition. Now, at the end of it all, he was able to
walk around holding her hands. He could say it now that she was his, completely and utterly. Without
end; forever and ever. They had started again, this time as lovers, as a couple, and as a family, filled only
with love and without hatred or sorrow.

“Matthy,” a murmur, a lullaby, to his ears. Leyla stopped walking suddenly, raising her head to look at
him. Her eyes, visible through the thin gold-rimmed glasses, gleamed brightly. “Don’t you want anything
from me?” She questioned. He blinked, taking his time, as he spoke.
“Should I?” Matthias asked, not entirely sure where this conversation was going, but he would listen to
all of the things she had to say.

“Yes, of course… you always let me do what I want to do, and give me everything I could ever ask for,
without ever needing to ask for it,” Leyla said, looking guiltily off to the side. Perhaps, she wanted to
compensate him for his every affectionate action.

He never wanted her to return the favor, for all he knew was giving her the world.

“Well, I don’t think there is anything. I don’t seem to need anything.” Matthias replied, gazing away into
the distance. As he spoke, he realized no words had rung truer. “Yeah,” Matthias looked at Leyla again.
“Nothing”, he could answer without any hesitation. “Everything I ever wanted, everything I wished for, I
have them now.”

The only longing in his life was Leyla. A sweet truth, an addiction, and for it he was ready to give up
everything.

“What if I said I wanted more things? What if I was so greedy as to ask- everything from you?” Leyla
said, squinting her eyes.

He turned his body towards her, moving his hand closer to her face, he caressed her rosy cheeks, his
gesture as languid and full of love as the afternoon sun.

“You can take everything if you want to,” his thumb grazed her skin, eyes holding raw emotions, that felt
warm under his touch. “Whatever you want, Leyla,” Matthias spoke, his tone mellowing out again.

He enjoyed the idea of a greedy Leyla, being able to satisfy her harmless greed. It opened up in him a
need to fulfill all her wishes and gave her the world. And if she could be as open about what she wanted,
it would only make his work as a loving husband all the easier. He wanted nothing but to make her
happy.

He wanted to make her smile, bright like the sun, that belonged to him. Just being held in this girl’s
clear, gentle gaze already made him feel like a king who owned everything in the world. Her mere gaze,
like a drug, would engrave in his mind forever.

Feeling embarrassed, her cheeks turned crimson, Leyla hurriedly turned around and started walking;
Matthias followed close behind. Following her steps, not skipping a beat.

At times, she still felt afraid. Afraid of the depth and intensity of his love.

Could they ever find the perfect love they yearned for after being apart for so long?

Or was he just trying to make up for lost time?

Deep down, she was concerned that he was still only playing the part of the loving husband. Fulfilling
her every wish, a way of blackmailing her to stay with him as penance for the past.
However, in the time they had spent together, her worries had faded and she now felt at rest. She felt
completely comfortable laughing, crying, or venting her anger in his presence. Perhaps, he liked
watching her being herself. He would smile watching her genuine self, you don’t behave like that around
people you’re not close to.

He was like a shadow lingering for darkness, that never left her side. He would be there, arms wide open
to embrace her in comfort. And she believed that she would never be lonely again so long as this man
was in her life.

“Think about it again, though.” On their stroll in the sunny park, Leyla stopped again. Her eyes looking
up at Matthias were more determined. “Even though you have everything, there must be something
that really you want?” she seriously asked, but Matthias still could not find anything.

“Then… how about a daughter?” She blurted out.

It caught Matthias completely by surprise and saw across the street, where Leyla had been looking, a
young family swinging a young girl between them. They looked so happy and laughed each time the girl
was flung into the air.

“A daughter?” He asked slowly, his eyes narrowed.

She felt her cheeks heat up in an instant, as embarrassed as she was, she didn’t avoid her husband’s
gaze. “Before, when you named my baby, you wanted a daughter.” She said.

“Oh, that,” Matthias said, recalling the fond memory, smiling at his wife’s words. “At that time you said
you couldn’t live without the child in your womb.” He expressed, turning his gaze away from her.

“Yes.”

“That’s why.” He murmured, eyes gazing at distant, calmly.

“What do you mean, Matthy?” Her eyes narrowed, curiosity lingering on the verge.

“If a son was to be born after my death, you might have lost him to the Herhardt family. You loved that
child in your womb too much… I would never want it away from you.” He reasoned.

“Is that why you wanted a daughter?”

“Yes,” he kept his answer simple, transient, as he admitted. “Though contrary to my wishes, we had a
son. It is just fortunate that I came back to your side. And one Felix is enough happiness for me.”

At his completely unexpected answer, Leyla tilted her head in embarrassment. “Nevertheless, what if
it’s a daughter who resembles me?”

Matthias thought on it for a moment

A daughter who resembled Leyla?

Matthias looked at his wife, feeling uncertain.

He tried to imagine. Leyla Lewellin of a very young age, whom he did not know. And he also wanted to
love that lonely and pitiful child. He could not turn back time, so it would not be so bad to have a
daughter just like Leyla, to love and raise her as if he had found that little Leyla.

But, even if it was a child who looked just like Leyla, she would not be the same as Leyla from her
childhood. To him there was only one Leyla, his wife, he wanted. And thought of any other girl just like
Leyla… it felt foreign.
Matthias shook off the thought and snapped back to the present moment, looking at Leyla, his little
bird.

“Why do I need a daughter who looks like you?” He asked, softly, gazing into his wife’s confused gaze. “I
have you.”

I already have you.

His cerulean blue eyes looked into her sparkling, emerald-tinged eyes. His only longing was still this one
woman, which would not be changed even at the end of his life. The only woman who owned his heart,
his whole existence.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. His answer was that.

Time seemed to stop, Leyla felt her breath stop, as she felt the warmth of his soft lips on her skin. The
lingering feeling of his touch, which held power over her soul, consumed her being. She tried to step
back, gazing at him with a blushing face, but Matthias did not seem to want to let go of her cheek.

As much as his answer sounded a bit selfish, she couldn’t hate it, it felt like a sweet confession to her
ears, lovely yet soul-consuming.

Leyla extended her hand to Matthias, who had left her cheek and backed away.

“Hold my hand,” looking into his eyes, she spoke again, “Hurry up!”

Matthias let out a soft chuckle and without hesitation, wrapped his warm hand around hers.

“Never let go of my hand,” she whispered, her eyes shining brightly, as she smiled at her husband.

“Never, Leyla… Never.” He murmured, intertwining his fingers with hers, as he tightened his hold on her
hand.

Holding hands, the two took a leisurely stroll through the rose-scented park. Leyla was more talkative
and Mathias seemed happier than usual. It was that kind of afternoon, ordinary yet special.

Spring was truly such a beautiful season.

The spring with a lover who would love you very much, and for a very, very long time.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

《 End 》
 Side Story 1

Already late in the night, yet still the doors to the study remained shut.

Matthias had taken to staring through the small gaps of the doorway, where the light inside the room
would spill into the darkened hallways. For days, this had been his routine, all because his ducchess
would keep herself behind these closed doors.

His hand would find itself reaching out, resting on the intricately designed wooden frames of the double
doors, ready to throw them open. He could do it too, for as much as they remain closed, she never
locked it.

But instead, he lightly knocked on the door, hesitant on whether he should disturb her.

But no answer came.

He should be patient. After all, this was the last day before the final exams. She needed all the time she
could get. But after pondering for a moment, Matthias eventually shrugged to himself and proceeded to
open up the doors.

And there she was revealed to him.

Form hunched in sleep over her open notes and books that were sprawled across her desk. Her glasses
lay mushed against her face.

She must have fallen asleep without realizing it.

And so he smiled at the adorable picture she painted for him. Even her pen was still grasped loosely on
her hand, hanging treachurously on delicate fingers. He tilted his head.

Was it worth it, waking her up?

A fresh scent of roses wafted through the open window on an early summer breeze. He stalked
stealthily closer to his sleeping wife, eyes staring intensely at her unconscious form.

The breeze that flew in combed through her stray golden locks, making them flutter. He lifted a hand,
lightly carding his fingers through her golden crown.

She began to stir, before blinking blearily uo at him.

“Hello Leyla,” Matthias whispered, leaning closer as he bent to her level, letting the name flow in a
whisper over her fresh cheeks.

Leyla groggily sat up, struggling with her disheveled hair and her glasses.

“I just closed my eyes for a second,” she mumbled in excuse, brushing her warm cheeks with her hands.
Matthias gave no particular answer, just watched her still with a faint smile.

“R-really… just for a second…” Leyla opened her eyes again with a jerk, fumbling to come fully out of
sleep without looking at Matthias.

It was an amusing sight to see, to be honest.

It had been almost a year since they married, still Leyla found it so puzzling why she would still feel so
flustered around him.

Gathering her bearings, she quickly swept up her wayward hair into a single ponytail before turning to
properly look at him and saw her husband staring out at the window, and into the night sky.

The stars twinkled beautifully into the night, gracing the skies with their countless presence. Its light,
glittering down on the sleeping earth beneath them.

But even in the dim setting, she could see him as clear as he was in daylight. His presence would never
be diminished for her.

He stood in the middle of the study, framed by the fluttering curtains as he stood in attention, his feet
slightly apart.

As much as she wanted to pay attention to the other visual luxuries in the room, she’d always remained
focused on Matthias alone.

“Hey, Matthy,” Leyla called out, out of the blur, startling when he turned his head and met her eyes
suddenly. The same mischievous smile hovered on his lips as he answered by flicking his chin.

“Can you stop staring and get out?” she asked politely.

“Are you going to sleep again?” he teased her, to which she flushed indignantly.

“No!” she protested immediately.

The notes she had been reading had an unmistakeable ink stain, which prompted her to flush further at
being caught, even as she tried to act nonchalantly in front of him.

“I’m going to keep studying.”

“Really?” he quirked up a brow at her, her blush deepened further.

“Yes!” she declared with conviction, before immediately flipping a page as if to show she already was.
However, it only served to amuse Matthias more, making him chuckle softly at her childish indignation.

“Go on then, study.” he told her lightheartedly, but she only pouted when he made no move to leave.

“I can’t while you’re here!”

“So?” He quirked up another brow at her, “It’s not as if I’m going to be disturbing you. I’ll just be here,
quiet and calm.”

They stared at each other for a moment, before Leyla eventually relented and tried to return to her
studying.

But try as she might she couldn’t find it in herself to focus on the words in the pages. It was a ridiculous
notion, she grumbled in her mind, studying right next to a man who was doing nothing but stare at her.

She’d rather study next to her baby son, Felix if she could choose.

A frown marred her features, trying so hard to fight down the obvious flush on the face when she felt his
continued gaze on her.

Unable to ignore it further, she finally turned to him speaking calmly as though his presence alone
wasn’t bothering her.

“Please leave me alone, I need all my focus to study.” She told him, and Matthias couldn’t help himself
but tease her.

“Some honor student you are! Shouldn’t you have studied for the exam in advance?”

“Of course, I did!” she snapped in annoyance before chiding herself for falling for his teasings again. “But
even if I did…” she trailed off, unable to further explain why she kept isolating herself in the study.

Matthias chuckled at her speechlessness. He soon began to approach her, until his shadow now draped
upon her small figure.

“But what?”

“Y-you never know,” she stuttered, shrugging pathetically in nonchalance, “I might have missed
something. There’s always more to study.” she answered meekly in a soft whisper, as though she herself
wasn’t convinced with her answer. Even still, she refused to lose to him and kept her eyes locked on his.

She knew that even if she didn’t rank first in the exams, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. But holding
such esteemed position wasn’t an opportunity she was eager to miss. After all, not only was she the only
female student, she was also the new Duchess Herhardt.

The main person of interest in the most recent scandal among the nobles. One of the many reasons she
was being ignored and rejected by her peers. And she wasn’t eager to lose face in front of them either.
Upon her silence, Matthias eventually nodded, wordlessly relenting as though he’d read her mind.

“You’ll do great, Leyla,” he said softly. “You’ve studied enough.” he added, cupping her cheek as he fixed
the glasses on her face.

She merely looked up to him in apologetic regret, before she appeared to be relieved at his touch.

Just as she began to lean in to his warm palms, she immediately pulled away and shook her head. There
was no time left for her to regret. Or relax.

Matthias oulled his hand away, which gave her a little bit of relief, but only just. If he’d leave her alone
then she’d be so thankful! But alas, he was still in the room with her, staring at her in an indecipherable
expression.

She eventually looked back down, avoiding his gaze when she heard him chuckle at her once more.
She’d just about enought time to look up to scold him for teasing her further when…

Warm, and soft lips had descended upon hers.

Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise, before the needless want in her flared up, and her eyes fluttered
close to welcome his kiss completely. Calloused hands cupped her cheeks, before deftly pulling her
glasses off, setting them down on her desk and away from their line of activity.

Their breaths intermingled as they sighed against and met each others lips once more for more kisses.
Knowing she did not possess the willpower to stop him, she gave in fully to her desires and wrapped her
arms around his neck, pulling him in deeper into her.

She ran her fingers through the nape of his neck, brushing up of the soft, short strands of his dark hair.
They rivalled the softness of her son’s bed of hair, who held the same shade as his father’s.

They went on kissing, unhurried and unbothered by the passing of time between their liplocking. As
soon as they werr finsihed making out, Leyla’s face rivalled that of a rose’s with how warm her face had
become.

Matthias came out looking as regal as ever, looking a little too pleased with himself at the slightly dazed
look she was sporting after their sensual dance of tongues.

It enticed him even more to dive in for another kiss. As though sensing his desires, Leyla instinctively
began to lean in closer to him, but had paused when his scent and warm breath began to pull away.

She blinked back the kissed daze she’d been in, and found him replacing back her glasses, hanging them
gently on the bridge of her nose.

She blinked up at him in puzzlement.

“You’re studying, Leyla,” he whispered with a miniscule smirk as he brushed his fingers across his lips.
“Study hard.”
With those parting words, he immediately backed away.

She was still reeling from their kiss, and gaped at his retreating figure in shock. Still feeling hot and
bothered, she gasped at his audacity as he turned to look back at her.

“Oh, so now you’ll leave me alone, Duke?” She huffed at him in annoyance, both her hands resting on
her hips, “Oh sure, I can completely focus now on my studies, thank you very much!” She added
sarcastically as she whirled back around to sit on her desk and gripped the pen tightly once more.

Matthias only smirked at her, tipping his head into a bow as though she was the queen and he, her
servant.

Eventually, she broke out into a resigned smile, unable to actually be angry with his teasings. Not when
he does them so elegantly.

He remained smirking at her knowingly, even as he left the study with pleasant gait. As soon as the door
clicked shut, Leyla finally let out a long and drawn out sigh of relief.

Their midnight encounter had gone exactly as she expected. Try as she might to get back in that mindset
of studying, the stirrings he left in her remained persistent.

What an infuriating man indeed.

Unable to continue, Leyla turned to cooling herself down, patting her cheeks to lessen the flush on her
facr. Once she felt cooled enough, she grabbed her pen once more and striaghtened out in her seat.

It was time to resume her studies. And study hard she would.

Just as her mean husband had requested.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

This semester, Professor Lorentz had started notifying students of their grades by hanging posters on
the wall. Even the most disgruntled student wasn’t willing to seek out the stern, strict Professor in his
own private lair.

Leyla dug skillfully through the crowd of students and approached the wall. Today, when Professor
Lorentz announced the grades for his exams—always the last of the semester—was also the day when
the rank of the biology department was decided.

“Congratulations, Duchess. You must be very happy.” drawled out sarcastically by the familiar voice of
Count Lehman. He like many had been displeased with her, magnified only when he kept ranking second
only to her in all their subject studies.

The Count had made no move in hiding his distaste for the new Duchess Herhardt. After all, she was the
one he would always lose to, not to mention she had no qualms in also treating him less than the way he
expected to be treated. Under her gaze, he could always feel her disdain and scorn for him.
It unnerved him greatly, and annoyed him all the more.

Even as he dressed immaculately, and kept his hair neat, the very same eyes would stare at him. As
though she saw right through him, and into his greedy heart and soul.

It didn’t matter if she nabbed first place again, he won’t let her take this victory with ease.

“Seems like the new Duchess always gets what she wants, ey? Whether it be her marriage or her study.”
He proclaimed haughtily out loud, venom dripping with his words. A round of laughter errupted with the
crowd around them.

Ignoring him, she kept looking for her name, squinting lightly as she searched through the posters. She
hummed pleasantly to herself when she finally located her name.

Perfect score, as she hoped it would be. And with that, Leyla von Herhardt was the top student for yet
another semester.

“You’re very kind, Count, to being the first to congratulate me so earnestly.” She looked at him with
equal haughtiness, mirroring her husband’s stance and poise. Her voice trembled a little, but she did not
let it stop her.

Because unlike the previous semester, where she was trying to avoid making enemies, the Count had
done something that greatly earned her ire.

He dared insult Felix in front of her.

Any other mistake, and she might try and gain a mutual understanding with the count. But not anymore.

“You seem to be more generous than I thought, always giving me more opportunities to be the first rank
in every semestral finals.” She smiled tersely at him, “I shall enjoy this vacation immensely. Have a great
summer.” She finished, and nodded to the Count, ignoring the way his face flusyed red in anger.

Leyla clasped her hands lightly together and gave a polite greeting to her fellow students, stepping
gracefully and cheerfully down the sidewalk by the posters, almost as if she were skipping in her steps.

It didn’t matter in the end how rude the Count had been. Everything was going well for her. From being
the only woman in their year, and becoming its top studeny, down to finally becoming the new Duchess
Herhardt, her luck had finally changed.

With such blessings her way, the Count was nothing more than just mere inconvenience.

And so she quickly trotted up to her bike, which had been parked in front of the magnificent school
building she just came out of.

It was decked with a row of massive columns, and showcased expert masonry. Additioy, every niche it
had, had its own elegantly sculpted statues of the famous scientists and scholars to date.
With one last look at her school, she wasted no time pedalling back, with her leather sling bag shaking
along with her enthusiasm.

The pedals beneath her feet were firm and reliable, and she all but basked in the sensation of the wind
against her face, while her wheels rolled across the pavement.

It was another point of talk, seeong the prominent Duchess Herhardt travellkng by the bicycle. Such
outrage ot was, that every single novle in Ratz had to give their teo cents in, much like the previous
Duchesses of the Herhardt family, Matthias’ grandmother and mother.

But, Matthias wasn’t bothered, and that’s all she cared about.

And so she was free to love and enjoy her daily bike rides, especially when Matthias gifted her one once
he realized how uncomfortable she was at being driven to school.

Albeit embarassed at first to raise such trivial concern, she had been more embarassed and wrecked
with worry at what he and his family would think upon seeing her on a bike instead.

But he only laughed at her worries, and told her he did not care for either, and so she shouldn’t as well.

Eventually, Leyla finally turned into a corner, filling her nose with a sweet scent as she rode through the
park atop her silver bike.

It wasn’t the quickest way back to the manor, that was through downtown boulevard, but she loved
oassing through here.

The path was beautiful, a oleasing sight to tje eyes, which reminded her much of the forests back in
Arvis. The old, and wisened trees, whose barks twisted up the more it grew arched overhead, covering
her in a beautiful intricate shade from the sun, despite being less dense than the one in Arvis.

She’d go the extra mile because she loved being back in that nostalgic view of nothing but woodlands
and its daily treasures. She loved the woods so much that she had decided to spend her first summer
vacation as a college student in the Arvis fief. The anticipation made today’s ride even more thrilling.

Matthias had offered to take her on a late honeymoon, but Leyla wasn’t willing to leave Felix. Besides,
no place could be better than Arvis. The home of the eternal heart, it was called—a beautiful forest with
precious memories that could cover countless wounds and sadness.

Leyla had biked slowly through the beautiful path, but as she left the park and the entrance to the
mansion became visible down the road, she picked up the pace.

Today Matthias didn’t work long; he would already be ready to see her.

Leyla knew she’d have to brag. It seemed childish, but she wanted to do it, just once. She thought she
could brag to Matthias, her husband.
She was greeted by a middle aged maid, fighting against a smile provoked by the bicycle. “The master is
in the garden,” the maid hinted, in a polite tone. “With the young master.”

“With Felix?” Leyla opened her eyes in a bit of surprise, then burst into laughter. Matthias’s ridiculous
suggestion of going on a honeymoon and leaving Felix behind had probably been a joke.

She crossed the hall toward the garden, her single braid of hair swinging to the motion of her brisk steps
as she moved down the marble floor accompanied by the rhythmic beat of her footsteps. She was
looking forward to seeing her husband and son together.

She was looking forward to seeing his sweet side.

Leyla reached the garden behind the mansion before she knew it, her mind busy trying to imagine the
scene she was about to find. As she entered the promenade, the wind blew a strong scent of roses
across her path.

She breathed the perfumed air unconsciously, her eyes lit up with eagerness. But even though she didn’t
notice the beauty of the rich garden, full of the best tints of green, framed by a profoundly blue sky,
unconsciously it filled her with happiness and made her walk light and joyous.

Father and son—looking just alike, only one smaller than the other—were near the garden pagoda,
under the crest of a rose vine in full bloom. As she spotted them together there, Leyla burst
inadvertently into cheerful laughter that resounded through the sunlight-filled garden.

Matthias turned his head slowly, hearing her laugh. The eyes of the attendant standing next to him,
reporting something, also headed toward Leyla. Her gaze went pass them, reaching her son standing by
a column of the pagoda on the other side.

Felix von Herhardt stared intelligently at his father with his hands clasped behind his back, as serious as
if he understood every word of the conversation with the secretary. Standing confidently under the
pagoda’s arch, he looked to his fond mother’s eyes as if he were ready to conquer the world with his
chubby fists.

Matthias followed Leyla’s eyes towards Felix, and only then did he smile slightly, as if he’d seen the boy
for the first time. The secretary stepped quietly away, leaving only the family of three under the pagoda.

“See?” Leyla cheerfully approached her husband. “You couldn’t leave Felix any more than I could!”

Felix, hearing his mother’s voice, ran waddling to hug her, giving vent to his delight in a string of broken
baby talk.

Matthias watched the two admiringly, laying down the documents he’d been holding on the edge of the
table. He decided not to say that bringing Felix out to see him had been completely the nanny’s idea.
Leyla looked so radiantly happy, he almost wished it had been his idea.
“I’ve got something to tell you!” Leyla said, hugging and lifting Felix. Her eyes shone freshly into
Matthias’s from across the table. “But guess what it is first!” she challenged, as calmly as she could.

Matthias smiled. She looked at him as though she was making him guess a difficult riddle, though he was
sure he already knew.

“Well…” instead answering her outright, Matthias frowned a little, as if in thought, stalling yo make her
squirm.

Felix imitated his father and, becoming serious, stopped pulling on his mother’s braid.

“What is it? Tell me, Leyla,” Matthias said, leaning in closer to the table, committing himself to the
conversation. Leyla smiled shyly, her cheek tinted red—Matthias’s color, the color of the Herhardt
family.

Leyla.

Matthias’s lips curved insensibly into a smile as he hummed the name.

Leyla.

‘My Leyla.’ He thought with satisfaction.

 Side Story 2

The Herhardt family’s users, under the direction of their butler Hessen, created a line in front of their
opulent car as soon as the train from the capital arrived at Carlsbar station. People watching cast
puzzled looks as the train doors opened and the young Herhardt family patriarch, the Duchess, and their
kid stepped out.

“Good morning, my lord.” Hessen, as always, greeted his master with the utmost deference and
courtesy, as did the other employees, who all lowered their heads, out of custom. Leyla unconsciously
grabbed Matthias’ arm tightly as a result of her unease with the attention she wasn’t used to. People
crowded the platform in front of the opulent vehicle like honey bees around their queen, all hoping to
get a peek of the action.

Matthias didn’t say anything as he received the gracious welcome, standing next to Leyla, who was
breathing deeply to calm herself. He gave off the immaculate, controlled aristocrat impression that
Carlsbar locals had come to anticipate by appearing at ease and unconcerned by the presence of
observers.

As the onlookers gawked in astonishment, Matthias confidently walked forward. His nonchalant attitude
towards the crowd made his act of escorting his wife even more striking and attractive.

The onlookers naturally stepped back to clear a path for them to pass by. They could not see any signs of
scandal or flawed relationships in the couple’s demeanor. The Duchess, Leyla von Herhardt, was
elegantly dressed in a blue flowing summer dress and appeared as a young woman of her age, just like
the lovely child of Arvis, Leyla Remmer, who was raised by the family’s gardener.

Curious looks from the throng were aimed towards the tiny Duke in the nanny’s arms as she trailed the
Duchess. The young child’s blue eyes flashed all about, beaming with delight, stealing the attention of
crowd. This occasion appeared to put an end to any rumors that the Duke had damaged the family’s
reputation by having a child with a low-class woman and raising questions about the child’s paternity.

Felix von Herhardt waved enthusiastically to the audience, making them grin as he stepped off the
platform. ‘Carlsbar has officially entered summer’, someone in the throng whispered.

Several voices responded in unison like a chorus, “Yes, it has.”

The Herhardt family, the renowned citizens of the northern city, would return during this summer, like a
magnificent work of art being unveiled.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Do you remember the gift you promised me?” Leyla who had been absorbed in looking out the car
window, turned her head and suddenly asked. Matthias answered with a small tilt of his head, there was
no need for them to exchange further glances as he had been keeping a steady gaze on his wife the
entire time like a sun flower directed to the sun.

“We will be having a picnic over the weekend, the three of us together,” She reminded him of the
promised plan.

Leyla’s gaze grew more intense as Matthias continued to be silent. Matthias seemed to dwelling in her
emerald eyes at that moment, which seemed a little darker and deeper than normal.

Leyla announced, her enthusiasm and pleasure for her excellent marks audible in her voice, “There’s
present I’d want to get.” She smiled broadly and said, “I want to go on a picnic, the three of us, to the
Arvis Forest.”

“I’ll take you to see the flower fields this time,” Leyla said, emphasizing the word ‘this time’ to convey a
deeper meaning. “Arvis has many beautiful flowers in the summer too,” she added with a smile, and
Matthias nodded in agreement.

‘Leyla, do you know what your words mean to me? They assure me that those happy days were not just
a dream or a deception.’

Leyla’s expression grew serious, “Don’t pretend like you don’t know,” she said, studying his face closely.
“Don’t tease me,” she added with a hint of disbelief.

She spoke confidently and his voice carried the same firmness as when she scolded Felix. Unlike their
son, his father simply chuckled without shame, leaving Leyla feeling hollow like a well devoid of water.

“Leyla, I remember, I do.” His melodious voice made Leyla’s lips quiver. “Every element of you, every
inch of you”

His eyes were silent and deep; he was no longer beaming. Leyla would occasionally experience despair
when she heard him say this in a cool, contained manner.

“I am mindful of your constant sarcasm.” Leyla talked louder than she had hitherto.

Matthias masterfully answered while keeping Leyla in his gaze. “Are you sure?” He fixed Leyla with a
stare that seemed to portray his will to not be captivated by her. Leyla, though, was ultimately the one
who again avoided eye contact. Despite the fact that these occurrences have increased lately and are
both delightful and unpleasant at the same time, like the two poles of magnet, she did not feel strongly
about them.

The car they were in turned into the Platanus road and headed for the mansion’s great entrance while
she waged war to make sense of the complicated and ill-defined feelings she was feeling. Leyla stared
out the car window with a pleasant expression on her face despite her internal anguish hoping to find
the answer in the deep blue sky.
“Watch, Felix. Is it not wonderful?” Leyla gently held Felix and pointed him in the direction of what she
was pointing at with her hand.

The Platanus. Forest wipes a variety of hazy plants.

The young child spoke excitedly, using the terminology his mother had taught him. Leyla, who was
helping him with his pronunciation, laughed, and the child in turn laughed too. Their laughter made the
summer in Arvis seem even more beautiful, bringing back life to it.

Hearing the joyful voices of the two of them, Matthias’ gaze wandered to the road where her fallen
bicycle during a summer past had shaken his life. The memories rushed back. He vividly remembered
the spinning wheels, the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the pounding of his heart that overwhelmed
him during that moment.

Every part of his existence was saturated by the desire to linger and disappear. And Matthias treasured
these lovely moments because they had become a part of who he was now.

After leaving the Platanus road, the car entered the estate by driving past the ornate front gate. At the
mansion’s front door, Norma and Matthias’s mother, the two Duchesses, were waiting. As the
automobile comes to a stop, Felix’s nanny casually handed him over to them.

“Welcome home, Matthias” Norma smiled broadly and greeted her grandson, saying, “And you too,
Leyla”, she continued.

Even when she looked at Leyla, her expression was as kind as ever. The reception was quite different
from what it was like last summer. Elysee von Herhardt, who had previously made no attempt to
conceal her disdain for her daughter-in-law, was displaying a relatively gentle attitude today.

As Leyla prepared to enter the main hall, she couldn’t help but glance towards the far end beneath the
stairs, the same spot where a young orphan girl once stood, her gaze filled with a mixture of fear and
curiosity as she looked upon the young Duke.

It would have been unimaginable for the young girl to conceive that she would one day ascend to the
rank of Duchess. The world was unpredictable in beautiful ways. If anyone had made such a claim to her
during her childhood, she would have deemed them insane. Yet future knew no rules.

In fact, she still struggled to come to terms with it. She still thought she was dreaming.

To exist in this dazzling epoch, as the wife of a man who could only be her partner in secret, Leyla von
Herhardt, was an unusual and perplexing concept. There were moments when she found it hard to
reconcile, feeling as though her life was but a fantastical dream. It was only through Matthias, who
constantly served as a grounding force that she was able to return to a sense of reality.

“Let’s go, Leyla.”

At the sound of a voice that was like a familiar beacon, Leyla slowly lifted her head in response. Her
senses were heightened by taking a deep breath.

Together, they walked into the Duke’s hall, Leyla slowly and carefully climbing the steps, her mind
occupied by the plans she had for this summer. The grand marble staircase and dazzling chandelier
lights still held an intimidating presence to her.

She thought about the idea of having a picnic with the three of them, perhaps taking a walk along a path
lined with wild roses, or visiting the fields of violets and the birch woods at the end of the road, she
believed it would be nice to see the flock of water birds flying over the Schultter River at sunset.

But the place where the vista appears most picturesque is on the striking tree that grows alongside the
river.

However, would that be a feasible possibility for Matthias von Herhardt?

Even though she knew it was a preposterous thought, Leyla gave it serious consideration.

“Hey, Matthy,” Leyla whispered his name, and Matthias directed his gaze towards her. “Are you able to
climb a tree?” she asked in a hushed tone, mindful of the possibility that the two leading duchesses
might overhear her. The wrinkles on Matthias’s forehead, which had been smooth till now, deepened.

“I can teach you if you don’t know how,” Leyla said, with a straight face, even though the idea was
absurd. “Do you want to climb it with me?”

Because he found it difficult to accept what he was hearing at this moment, Matthias had been
distracted for some time. Leyla’s eyes were fixed intently on him even at that precise moment only to
get her answer.

“I’m not pressuring you.” Leyla continued, embarrassed at the last minute. “I’ll abide by your wishes.”

Leyla felt like she was sinking deeper and deeper into the muck as she talked, but there was no turning
back. The two eventually arrived at the center of the hallway that led from the central staircase to the
reception area.

“I’ll do as you say,” Matthias responded unexpectedly and lowered his head courteously. Leyla’s
expression was bewildered.

“Never do it!” Silently shouting, Leyla pleaded with Matthias, but he didn’t appear to hear her.

“My queen,” He said softly in her ear, making her blush in shame. Matthias continued to casually twirl
despite her clear disdain, a scowl engraved on his features. It was an odd circumstance.

Leyla eventually burst into joyous laughter, which only confirmed the Norma and Elysee’s’ suspicions.
They turned around to look at her, and Leyla soon realized why their eyes were fixed on her alone. Duke
Matthias von Herhardt, who had quickly changed his expression, stood tall and looked down at her as if
he didn’t understand why his wife was laughing.
“Felix, your mother seems to be in a very good mood today,” said Elysee, turning to her grandson in her
arms and choosing to comment instead of scold. Leyla couldn’t explain the reason for her laughter, but
it didn’t seem fair to laugh alone.

Matthias smiled nonchalantly again when his eyes met Leyla’s gaze. She had to resist the urge to shout
and let everyone know the real reason for her laughter. She tightened her grip on her cheeky husband’s
arm. She wanted to tell the world it was him, her Matthy, the subject of her happiness. It was him who
made her laugh, it was him who made her happy, yet she chose customary silence over the avalanche of
words.

Nonetheless, it was going to be a very long summer.

 Side Story 3

A wooden cabin appeared amid the clamor of chirping birds like an ancient forgotten shrine and the
rumble of the forest road. Leyla took off her hat that she had been wearing like a crown and took in the
landscape in front of her like a fresh air, admiring the façade of the cabin’s ageless beauty.

The building’s construction was unaltered and untouched although abandoned for a long time. The two
duchesses planned to raze the abandoned cabin that belonged to Uncle Bill and construct a garden for
leisurely outdoor tea parties, but Matthias strongly opposed their idea.

Upon hearing the news about the cabin’s alteration, Leyla inquired about Matthias’s plans for Uncle
Bill’s Cabin.

‘’Why do you ask that of me?’’ As he sat at his desk in the study, Matthias questioned while keeping his
gaze fixed on her. He calmly continued going against his wish, turning his attention back to the pile of
papers in front of him. “It is absolutely up to you what you desire to do with it,” he said.

Leyla was perplexed by Matthias’s statements once more as he talked calmly. ‘’Are you claiming
ownership of Uncle Bill’s Cabin?’’ She inquired, attempting to steal her answers.

Upon hearing his wife’s innocent queries, he met her eyes and gave a fleeting nod, yet his posture
remained erect. Leyla didn’t really understand the significance of his simple gesture until the room
started to fill with the deafening sound of papers turning. Matthias’s demeanor remained serene as he
made eye contact with her and nodded his head briefly. It was only after the sound of papers flipping
filled the room that Leyla comprehended the meaning of his concise gesture.

Leyla traversed the front yard as fast as her feet could take her, glancing at the golden watch on her pale
wrist as she made her way towards the cabin. The clock said she still had some time for the tea which
was arranged with Duchess Norma.

As she entered the impeccably maintained ageless cabin, she took a slow, thorough look around like.
There was a few furniture left. The cabin was empty like a well devoid of water. The only remaining
furniture was covered in white fabric like a corpse, while all other belongings had been gathered and
moved to their mansion in Ratz.

Leyla found herself awfully lonely the moment she stepped into the cabin. She got devastated, the
loneliness stretched into torture and the atmosphere around her got unbearable. Leyla rushed and
stepped out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. There, she found the two seats, mismatched in size
and color yet placed in their original positions as they always used to be.

Leyla turned toward the huge wooden chair that was next to her and took a seat. She had the
impression that she could see Uncle Bill smoking the pipe in the wind while seated in a bent position.
Although it seemed phantom at first, then she actually thought she could hear him calling her name and
laughing in a cheerful manner. Uncle Bill arrived, filling the empty space with his pleasant smiles and
loud voice.

“I am fulfilling your wish by attending college, just as you wanted. While all my classmates are male,
however your Leyla is excelling and exceptional. Are you pleased with my achievements?” Leyla spoke in
a cheerful voice to Uncle Bill, as she had done on other occasions when they had conversed while sitting
next to one another, just like the good old times.

She told several anecdotes, like a happy child who joyfully chatted with her father when he got home
from work about his day. She told him about Felix’s school life, Matthias the man, her husband. The
more frequently the voice shook, the more at ease her enchanting smile was.

“Felix is thriving and growing up strong. It feels like just yesterday that he took his first steps in the shoes
you bought him, but now he can run and speak eloquently. I’m sure you already know. I wish I could
have another child to wear those shoes, but Matthias is opposed to the idea. He doesn’t want another
child.” Leyla’s face dropped, her smile vanishing into the howling wind while confessing the sorrow of
her heart she had been carrying for long.

“I’ll return shortly,” Leyla stood from her seat, spilling agony with her face. The long afternoon sun cast
shadows over the empty, old chair where she was seated.

“Father, you are so dear to my heart and I love you the most.” The words she spoke with affection
lingered into the thin air as she gently dropped beneath Porch.

Along the way through the woods, Leyla accelerated her pace. The wind was howling. It was blowing the
woodland aggressively. The white dress’ hem that Leyla got herself adorned with floated softly in the
direction of wind, to eastwards.

Although she hadn’t made a single decision regarding the cabin, she was certain of one thing.

While penetrating through wind in the woods, Leyla halted for a moment and fixed her steely gaze
heavenwards with sheer determination. She got her answer she was eagerly looking for; creating a
space where Uncle Bill would be happy.

Your Leyla is a grownup now. She would make you happy, she would make you laugh.She whispered to
herself, joyous as if she finally conquered the answer of the dilemma she was caught in.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

In front of the Schulter River, which had a road leading into the forest, the luxury car transporting the
Duke family came to a halt. The disciplined, beforehand-prepared servants gave their masters a befitting
reception pretending to be over joyous upon receiving their masters.

Matthias was the first to exit the vehicle as the driver hurried to open the door in the back seat. He was
as dapper as ever in a cream linen suit. It was the exact likeness of Duke Herhardt, who was well-known
for being free of fault and epitome of perfection.
As the servants looked on, a small foot adorned with a decorated strap emerged from the open car
door. The driver, who had been approaching as usual, was startled and straightened up. Duke Herhardt
did not delegate his wife’s escort to others – this was a widely known fact among all users of Arvis.

Who would have imagined that forest girl, raised by a gardener, would grow up to be a Duchess?

The people who recalled the girl, being Arvis’ child, were taken aback by Matthias and Leyla.

With no faint trace of awkwardness Leyla held the Duke’s hand as she exited the vehicle. Her silk skirt’s
wide flair was wavy, matching her soft gesture. A bright smile of Leyla, envying sunshine, flared in the
green eyes as she glanced at the surroundings.

“What a beautiful day it is,” the Duke’s wife said with joy, causing a gentle softening of his features,
letting his lips to make a curve and welcome a sweet smile. In that moment, the atmosphere around him
transformed. Until then, he had been the epitome of the ideal dictator, cold as ice and drained of any
sort of emotion. His face was flat, his words were lifeless, while he depicted a programmed robot.

People who gathered to welcome thought he might have changed a bit, but they soon realized that the
slight shift in demeanor was only allowed in the presence of Leyla von Herhardt, the love of his life. The
gap, previously like incontinence, became a shield, giving the man’s life a more substantial appearance.

The waiting servants walked after the duchess as they started to walk side by side.

The route through the woodland remained quiet despite the high number of people traveling. This
allowed Leyla to hear the birds and winds more clearly as she carefully raised her head. While Matthias
was moving gently and keeping his eyes focused, Leyla was looking for traces of exotic birds and the
chirp she was dearly fond of.

Leyla saw the face, whose appearance changes anytime like an ashen shadow collided with a light of a
thousand suns combined. She didn’t realize nor took a heed to notice that his gaze was aimed at her,
she met his eyes reciprocating his gesture, leaving her star struck.

Leyla’s eyes widened and screamed yet her mouth chose to stay quiet.

Although it was a little different from her initial assumption, she refrained from bringing it up. It’s a
joyful moment which she couldn’t afford to ruin.

Leyla followed her desire and smiled and established eye contact with Matthias once more. She then
turned to face her son who was riding in the stroller being pushed by the nanny. Felix, who had been
complaining about having to ride in the stroller, was now grinning and looking around as if he had never
done so, overjoyed by the moment, unlike anyone else.

Leyla’s heart exploded with desire to hold her son yet she forced herself to resist the impulse to
approach the child right away as she straightened her posture. It ached her heart yet her posture was
equally important to keep up.
She knew her life was led by rules and customs. She must behave with poise and not carelessly pick up a
child in front of the maids. She was cognizant of the fact that the order in Arvis differed from that of the
Ratz mansion. She knew that, just like the two Duchesses, she and her family should respect the rules
during their stay in Arvis. This was the meaning behind the Duchesses’ words that the next Duke of
Herhardt should embrace tradition.

Upon arriving at the picnic area, Leyla couldn’t help but be amazed wholeheartedly. “Wow…” she
exclaimed. The stream, where she used to rest after picking raspberries, had been transformed into a
completely unfamiliar place.

On the spacious picnic mat nestled in the shade of the tree, Leyla saw many unfamiliar and exotic sights.
A brazier boiling tea, delicate pottery and silverware, cushions and blankets, and fresh flowers in a vase.
Despite choosing the picnic spot herself, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of being in a strange place.

”It appears as though a room from the mansion has been transported here.”

She spoke gravely, but Matthias merely grinned back. With such a sweet expression, his face resembles
a calm stream of water. Perhaps that explains why she keeps feeling dizzy anytime she sees him.

“I’m grateful,” Despite the fact that the picnic would be very taxing, Leyla decided she would not miss
today’s enjoyment. “For honoring your commitment.”

She always trusted him when he made a commitment. Regardless of what anybody says, forever. He
nevertheless kept his word. He was a man of his words.

Matthias responded by holding her cheek and reaching out to stroke it. Leyla quickly glanced around
after saying that. Her heart started beating like a drum, resisting slowing down, not even after his touch
left her cheek that remained there only for a fraction of a second.

She found the light in her heart against the dark heart, which she had only realized after the gloomy
shade of her shame and dread. Yet there was more to reveal and to reveal it she required a lot of
bravery.

“Ng..Matthy….”Leyla softly called out to Matthias, who was walking ahead, causing him to turn around.
She hesitated before finally saying, “It’s just that… the weather is nice, don’t you think?” She knew she
was being silly, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say. Matthias sat under the shade of a tree,
appearing calm as the servants began to move about efficiently in the summer forest.

Leyla approached him, still wearing her hat, the weight of her agony heavy upon her. She couldn’t bear
to take it off, not yet.

The news arrived at the end of tea, delivered by the servants. While they were shocked by the
unexpected words, Matthias remained collected.

“Are you really going to dismiss all the servants, even the nanny?” Leyla asked, struggling to believe it.
But Matthias’ answer did not waver.
“Yes,” he replied, his gaze drifting over the stunned faces of the servants before returning to the
attendant. “You have all done an excellent job in preparing. 6 o’clock, be back here to tidy up.”

With a simple gesture, Matthias checked the time by raising his cuff, effectively cutting off the
attendant’s protest. “It should be enough.”

Leyla looked around in a daze. When even the nanny, who had handed Felix over to his mother’s arms,
retired, they were left alone in this forest.

The words were spoken in a euphemistic tone, but the message was clear. Despite feeling
uncomfortable, Mark Evers eventually submitted to his owner’s will. Under his command, the servants
began to depart, like a low tide receding.

“Can you do this?” Leyla asked in a jolt, meaning to break the rules by being unaccompanied by staff as
the Duke and Duchess. But Matthias only looked at her with confusion, as if he didn’t understand the
meaning of her question. It was then that Leyla realized that…

Her husband was the owner of this place, the lord of Arvis.

Leyla had much to say, but couldn’t find the words. Matthias usually honored the wishes of his
grandmother and mother, but only in regards to the work he chose to do. She knew better than anyone
else how, when he made another decision, he would follow through with his own will.

Leyla spoke inanely to Felix in an effort to divert her attention. Under Matthias’ close observation, it was
difficult to avoid feeling self-conscious. She felt ashamed since Matthias was constantly observing her
and she assumed he wanted to be intimate since they were by themselves. Matthias started to talk as
she responded tensely to the sound of him setting down his teacup.

“Take it off now, Leyla.”

 Side Story 4

Leyla, turning her head in surprise, getting priced of a hundred pricks by the deep blue eyes of a man
who seemed untroubled. He looked devoid of emotions like an iceberg just like the days old. She
wondered if he still had any feelings left.

“W-What? I-In a place like this?!” She roared, shattering the peacefulness of the forest. Her hands,
which quickly covered Felix’s ears, were also trembling slightly. “H-how can you say that? Felix is here!”

Leyla was trying to come up with a response when Matthias abruptly reached out and loosened the
ribbon knot she had put under her chin. Leyla didn’t realize it until she opened her instinctively closed
eyelids.

In a casual fashion, Matthias handed her the cap he had removed. He once more picked up the tea cup
that he had just calmly set down earlier.

Leyla, belatedly comprehending the situation, looked at him with a slight daze. It seemed absurd to ask,
as if he had suddenly become a terrible person. Matthias’ relaxed appearance, sipping tea and enjoying
the forest view, seemed even more absurd.

Matthias looked up at the sky between the thick branches of oak trees and remarked, “No more than a
hat. I am a gentleman, Leyla. I know the rules.’’ He assured her.

When she thought of his words, Leyla’s brow wrinkled. “Is making jokes like this amusing?”

“Well, it’s funny,” he chuckled. Matthias shifted his straining gaze back to Leyla. “You look lovely. When
you’re blushing, you look even more attractive.” There was no smile on his face when he uttered such
horrible comments.

Leyla commented sarcastically, “It’s extremely gentlemanly of you to say this in the midst of the day.

Matthias answered, leaning boldly against a stack of cushions, “A gentleman.” He continued “A

gentleman befitting a serene queen.”

Through the leaves, the sun’s shadow drifted slowly over his beaming face. Due to his untidy stance,
perhaps, the mood of the day seemed to relax a little.

Leyla didn’t despise having to face the person she knew so well in this situation. She did, however,
experience an odd sensation of injustice.

“I’m not incorrect,” Leyla confidently disputed while stroking her scorching cheeks. “Scientists are
expected to make decisions based on their experience.”

“Experience?” questioned Matthias.

“Yes. And from what I’ve seen so far, everything you say always ends up having the same meaning as
what I’ve misunderstood. Just as in science, I’m making judgments based on my own experience.”

Matthias watched his wife blather on, his eyes narrowing with intrigue. ” What is the scientific verdict,
then?” he asked

Leyla said, her big eyes gleaming over her glasses, “You’re the evil one, and you’re the one who’s bad.
The Duke, You Crow!”

Leyla yelled angrily while continuing to blush brilliantly. Soon after, Matthias’ laughter was blown by the
wind through the dense woodland and across the estate.

He didn’t intend to chuckle, but Leyla decided to stop objecting to it. Only when she was looking at him
did Matthias von Herhardt smiled like this, and it was okay that they were both laughing in private and
alone.

They engaged in mundane conversations and ate delicious food together. They also took a leisurely
walk, side by side, without caring about anyone’s gaze.

As she savoured these trivial moments, one by one, Leyla realised it again: her wishes were hidden
behind the wounds inflicted by him.

This wasn’t a particularly special or grand picnic.

She hated herself for the weakness and anticipated it for countless days while knowing she shouldn’t
have. But her own dumb heart was probably what she detested the most. Despite the fact that Leyla
was well aware that it went against Uncle Bill’s standards, she found it painful to love a man who
deserved to be loathed.

Leyla averted her sight to the faraway sky while observing the road where the tree shadows were
lengthening. It wasn’t long before it was almost time to go back.

‘’It’s nearly time to return’’, she remarked.

Leyla sighed unhappily as she looked at the clock. Felix, who was being held by his mother, was sound
sleeping, possibly exhausted after a fun-filled day. The kid’s clothes were covered in red stains from
eating foraged raspberries, which brought back pleasant picnic memories.

Matthias looked up at the distant sky before turning to face her. Leyla’s eyes softened instantly, as
though she were buried in concentration.

“I believe a day is too brief. That’s sad” stated Leyla.

“We can come again.” Matthias spoke seriously, lowering his rolled sleeves to adjust the cuffs.

“Really?” Leyla questioned with a serious expression and eagerness, unable to conceal her excitement.
Matthias was now aware. Leyla was pleading for confirmation with her words.
‘’Really,” Matthias assured

He vowed that when the time came, Leyla’s smile would be as radiant as the sun. Similar to how it is
right now. Similar to this Nothing in her eyes that was other than him at this very moment could have
been lovelier in his eyes.

The servants came back as Matthias adjusted his tie and put on his jacket. They needed to get back to
being the Duke and Duchess of Herhardt.

The two strolled side by side as they left the forest, being followed by a nanny and servants who were
carrying Felix, who was asleep. When they arrived to the road where the waiting car was parked, their
summertime outing, which appeared to be coming to an end at this point, suddenly took another
unexpected turn.

“Go back first.” Matthias told the driver, who had unlocked the back seat door and was waiting.

“What? That suggests…?” Confounded, Leyla enquired.

Matthias said with a wink to the nanny holding Felix, “We’re going to walk.” When the nanny realized
what was being said, she hurried to put Felix in the car.

Matthias ignored Leyla’s embarrassed glances as she turned to face him. In the meantime, the nanny’s
and Felix’s automobile sped off. Leyla would have immediately inquired if the housekeepers weren’t
keeping an eye on her.

But she refrained from speaking and instead took Matthias’ hand. Naturally, he took her to the Schulter
River’s golden banks.

As they crossed the forest path, Leyla yelled, “Matthy, look!” loudly.

She felt a little silly when Matthias casually remarked, “You said you were unhappy.”

“But this is,” she said, her eyes darting over the glistening sky, the adjacent woodland, and the tranquil
current before returning to Matthias’ face.

“Felix must be worn out. He must take a nap.”

He made a joke, and Leyla laughed. ” Do you not despise Felix?”

“Why would I dislike him? After all, he is my son “Matthias retorted, dipping his head slightly downward.

He instinctively cared for his son, but that love wasn’t the same as the one he had for Leyla. He had no
desire to dispute this. The only person who would be in his life forever was Leyla, the only person he
could truly love.

Leyla, who had been gazing at him for some time, smiled and nodded her head.
Matthias went slowly alongside the Schulter River while holding her hand. Leyla frequently made stops
along the river to point out the birds. Her voice had a crisp, echoing quality to it that resembled the
sounds of singing birds as she told him the names and qualities of the birds and flowers.

“Look! Watch that bird, please? Matthy!’’

A bird with vibrant feathers was flying in the skies, as Leyla pointed out. The bird she wished to show
Matthias, though, quickly vanished past the river, like it only appeared in her visions.

“Ah, it’s gone,” Leyla looked at the riverside where the bird flew off with a saddened expression
sounding like a child who got ripped away from her favourite toy.

“Did you know that Arvis is home to a variety of unusual flowers and birds? Arvis is comparable to
heaven on earth, according to Professor Lorenz.” Leyla clasped Matthias’ hand once more and pointed
up into the sky. He, in response, firmly grasped her tiny hand.

Leyla sighed, “That bird earlier was incredibly hard to see.”

“Would you like me to get it for you?” Matthias questioned softly while keeping his eyes glued to the
direction in which the bird had gone. He continued, his voice even more collected, “So that you can
retain it.”

Leyla gave him a hearty smile as she shook her head and gazed at him with big eyes. “No!” she firmly
exclaimed.

“Why? Ornithologists typically do that, right?” Matthias enquired.

She hesitated before answering. It was accurate to say that catching and stuffing exotic birds served as a
study tool. Also, she was quite fond of Professor Lorenz, who also owned a number of stuffed birds.

‘’Don’t fool around like that, please.’’ Leyla stated in a commanding tone. She chose to interpret it that
way even though she knew it wasn’t a joke. Even if it was required, she had no desire to bring home a
fresh stuffed Arvis for her study.

Fortunately, Matthias acknowledged her choice and grinned pleasantly. They arrived at Leyla’s favourite
tree by the river as they continued their journey.

“Would you like to ascend there?” Leyla questioned as she regarded the tree like an old friend, “The
view of the Schulter River from the top of this tree is the most beautiful vista in the world you would
ever get to see.”

“Is this really required?” Matthias laughed as he asked, turning to face the tree branch where Leyla used
to sit in the old days.

“Of course! The view of the Schulter River from the top of this tree is unparalleled in beauty. Believe
me!” Leyla approached the tree, in contrast to her cautious face, she began to climb it with a bold and
agile pace.
Sitting on a thick branch stretching out to the riverside, Leyla grinned up at him.” C’mon Matthy! You
can do it like me! I’ll hold your hand!” She shouted, sounding like she really wanted to teach him how to
climb.

Matthias laughed when she extended her tiny hand to him. He then took a step forward and began to
climb the tree without her assistance. As he got to the top, he pulled her deep into his arms. Leyla could
feel his heart racing in time with her own while resting her back against his chest.

“You really can do anything, can’t you?” Leyla whispered in awe, nestled in Matthias’ embrace.

“Not everything.” Matthias replied, his lips brushing into a smile as he looked out at the river below.
“For you a thousand times over’’ He said in a whisper.

Leyla couldn’t help but blush at his words, feeling warmth spread through her chest. She closed her
eyes, savoring the moment and the feeling of being loved by this amazing man in her life.

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “I knew it. You’re a pro at climbing trees.”

Matthias chuckled, enjoying the feeling of Leyla’s warm body pressed against his. “It’s not my first time,”
he admitted, “But it’s not something I do often.”

Leyla smiled, content to be wrapped up in Matthias’ embrace. Everything about this moment with this
man was nice for her, even his smile and the warmth of the massive, strong body encircling her. She no
longer wanted to conceal or refute it because it was the most honest thought.

They perched on the branches and looked down at the glistening river, calm and serene. The moment
belonged to them while the world chose not to interrupt. The moment was drenched in simplicity yet
shining bright with divinity. Leyla couldn’t help but feel grateful for the moment they shared, sitting on
the tree by the river as the sun set. It was moments like these that she treasured, feeling close to him
and at peace.

They sat on a tree with a view of the Schulter River as the sun started to drop. A flock of birds was
gliding lazily above the surface of the water, which was shimmering in golden hues.

“What do you think?” Leyla turned to face Matthias, her eyes gleaming with eagerness. “Isn’t it
beautiful?”

Her pride in the scenery could be seen in the way Matthias peered intently into her green eyes. As much
as he could, he could concur with such a viewpoint.

“Yes, it’s beautiful.” As he whispered, his lips touched her lips in a passionate kiss. Although startled,
Leyla wrapped her fingers around Matthias’s neck and gave him a kiss in response. Her hand went up to
feel the contours of his face, quickly found itself digging into his hair. She was flushing a rich rose colour,
slathered in joy, her face, ecstatic.
After the long kiss that had flowed like a silent stream had finally come to an end, Matthias gently wiped
his wife’s lips with a silk handkerchief. His lips softened into a content smile, , like the evening air on a
summer night. “I promised that I would teach you how to swim on the weekends,” he said.

“Swimming?”

He gazed at the water for a moment before turning his attention back to Leyla. “Because I promised.”

“I guess it’s fine if you forget that one….” Leyla made a reluctant effort to withdraw, but Matthias was
adamant.

“I’ll teach you how to swim.” His face suddenly took on a childlike smile. “Right here on the Schulter
River.”

In the light of the immense beauty of his smile, she simply couldn’t bring herself to recall the words of
rejection.
 Side Story 5

Leyla finally had the weekend she had been dreading. It was a weekend that came with the promise to
dash her hopes against the ground and rise her fears she buried in her heart alive.

Yet, Elysee von Herhardt was the first ray of hope, shining like a distant star.

Elysee wanted to introduce her new family to her relatives at the tea party she was attending with Felix.
Leyla would often have felt anxious about going to a social event with her mother-in-law, but this time
was different. She had grown interest in such gatherings, and Elysee had excitedly encouraged her
daughter-in-law to attend. Leyla was asked questions but before she could even answer Elysee’s query,
Matthias had an answer, shielding her like an armour.

“My dear wife and I had made prior arrangements for that day.’’ He said in a soft, authoritative voice.

Elysee von Herhardt shrugged, “Then there’s nothing more to be done,” adding, “But Felix must come
with me, everyone is eager to see him.” Matthias complied with her request and said, “Of course,
Mother, you may do as you wish.” In this finalised plan, Leyla’s hopes dissipated like wisps of smoke into
thin air.

While she felt sorry for Matthias not getting a proper break, Leyla secretly hoped that the Duke’s
schedule would stay as hectic as ever, even better if he returned on a particularly dark night.

Matthias’s demanding career reignited a glimmer of hope within her. While he was supposed to be on
vacation, he continued to work, talking with executives on the phone and travelling to Carlsbar for
meetings. Leyla couldn’t help but wonder how many more visitors the Duke of Arvis would receive.

As the afternoon resigned like a short lived guest and Matthias failed to come home for tea, Leyla’s hope
only grew stronger. She couldn’t help but hope that he wouldn’t return. However, her fantasies
evaporated, as a word from the butler brought the news about her husband.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Matthias, you’re back early,” Norma said, setting down the teacup and smiling warmly at her grandson.

After greeting his grandmother, Matthias turned his head slightly to look at Leyla, who was seated
across from him. “Right. You mentioned that you had a meeting with Leyla today,” Norma reminded
him, unaware of Leyla’s emotions. “Are you going out with someone?”
“No, I decided to teach her how to swim in the annex,” Matthias replied.

“What? The Duchess going for a swim in the river?” Norma startled and asked, scowling at the idea.

Leyla’s heart began to pound like a hundred drums together with immense excitement at the prospect.
“Oh, Matthias, my goodness. That is ridiculous,” Norma said.

Leyla discovered for the first time that words have the power to bring joy in one’s life, even for a
fraction of a moment. She thought that the elderly woman would be adamantly opposed, but to her
surprise, she was kind-hearted.

“Oh, that’s correct. Since our time, the world has changed. The Duchess should learn to swim since it’s a
trendy hobby” suggested the elderly lady.

Leyla tightened her grip on her skirt, fighting the urge to yell, ‘Excuse me, Grandma?’ yet she resisted
waging war against her impulse.

The elderly woman smiled softly as if consoling her anxious grandkids and said, “I don’t understand it,
but I won’t force it on you. Enjoy yourself, Leyla.”

Matthias drew near as soon as Leyla’s last hope vanished. He calmly extended his hand, giving off the
impression of a predator lurking nearby with its prey.

Leyla sighed quietly while holding his hand reluctantly. It was a time when Matthias von Herhardt, who
was known for always keeping his word, displayed some animosity.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

‘’Isn’t it time you are prepared?’’ Matthias checked the time and questioned Leyla, who shook her
shoulders and stepped up to the railing of the balcony.

“Could you give me a moment to think it over?” Leyla asked, her voice barely audible due to her tense
demeanor, still hoping that Matthias might change his mind.

Matthias leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, displaying patience for his wife. For almost an
hour, Leyla faced the river as if it were a foe that haunted her, in her dreams and in her waking. On the
way to the detached house, she’d been bold and courageous, but now she seemed terrified, her bravery
dripping, fading away from the creaked holes of her heart.

Leyla took a deep breathe “By the way,” and turned around. “Isn’t there a reason why people must be
good at swimming?”

She wondered, eager, what would her husband say.

Leyla kept talking on with a rather serious face. “You just have to be careful not to fall into the water,
right?”

“But don’t you know if unexpected situations happen?” Matthias asked, his voice filled with concern.

Leyla’s eyes squinted as she struggled to come up with a counterargument. ‘’That unforeseen
circumstance was brought on by you!’’
The angry comments poured out more forcefully like a volcano. Matthias presented a look to Leyla that
didn’t convey either denial or embarrassment, his face drained of emotions, cold like Antarctica.

“You weren’t going to forget, right?”

Matthias answered, cautiously getting out of his chair, “No, I remember. I want to teach you how to
swim because of that exact event.’’ He leaned on the railing and reeked of water mint, which grew by
the river. ‘’But Leyla, I can’t make you do it if you genuinely don’t want to.’’ He gave her a respectful
glance as a sign that he would respect whatever choice she chose.

When he claimed he would respect her decision, Leyla knew he truly meant it.

It was evident in the way he regarded her, gazing deeply into her emerald green eyes, deeply like an
ocean.

Leyla let go of the railing and stood up, saying, “I don’t know. It’s not that I dislike it, ‘’ though.

That much was certain to her. She had the option to refuse numerous times if she truly desired to yet
she didn’t want to. She wanted to learn to defy her fears.

“And I’m terrified of the water. Of certainly, you contributed greatly to my fear of it, but it doesn’t mean
you alone are to blame.” Leyla stopped gazing up the river, as if attempting to block out the recollection
of having caused her anxiety.

Back in time, her cousins said to her, their words innocent yet terrible enough to cause hurt, “If you
want to live here, you have to go through an initiation rite.” The words kept ringing in her ears like a
disease.

“If you don’t want to do it, get out of here.”

She was bullied. The oldest and biggest boy laughed like a devil dragging her while grabbing her braided
hair.

Leyla was captured by the kids like a Hyena captured by a lion to be devoured, making her plans to run
away a compete failure. She got wounded, her body slathered in blood and plastered in mud from roll
and fall while dodging her to the cruel edge of river.

Every minute was a torture there.

She was the subject of her uncle’s sudden cursing and beating, and the horrible bullying of all the kids in
the family. She also struggled with the torment of hunger they inflicted, which forced her to raid the
garden for vegetables like a criminal in punishment.

Despite all the torment she went through, Leyla couldn’t bring herself to utter “I don’t want to” or “I
have nowhere else to go in the world, stop hurting me!”

The road that had to return home wailing even after being tossed into the river lodged within her heart
as a token of the hopeless fear and anguish of the day. The memory stayed with her forever, living and
breathing, not leaving her in peace from the past. She didn’t want Matthias to learn more, therefore she
accepted the swimming challenge.

Early on, Leyla recognized her predicament. Compassion and sympathy from others were also
appropriate. But even though he was acclaimed as the most aristocratic aristocrat in this empire, she
never wanted to appear unclean in his presence.

Even though she knew she couldn’t, she still hoped for it.

From the moment he trod on the spilled penny, scooped it up, and frantically rushed away, to the
present. Maybe forever and in the future.

“Leyla.”

She thought deeply about the person Matthias called.

It seemed odd since, although having the same name, Matthias sounded like an entirely different
person. Is it the low, gentle voice, or is it the tone that sounded like a poem that rhymed.

‘’Will everything be ok in the end?’’ Leyla tightened her fist rather than gripping the railing once more. “I
am not sure if I could float in the water.”

‘’The good scientist is better than anybody else at understanding that persons who float in water are not
operating in the confidence-related domain.’’ Though it was a serious query, he responded sarcastically.

Leyla couldn’t find appropriate words to speak, she appeared perplexed. She chose to gaze at the
distant sky wishing to disappear in the hem of sky’s blue quilt. She felt like her body was floating in the
wide ocean. The silence got almost deafening that she screamed, atmosphere shaking off the
environment from its tranquillity.

“I’ll give it some more thought!”

She fought as hard as she could, but Matthias, who had her tightly in his arms, made no movement at
all. He remained determined like a warrior who swore to win a war despite all odds.

He walked down the stairs from the balcony to the boat hangar, which was next to the river. Leyla’s fear
of water exploded in her body like an atom bomb. She froze for a second before settling down as she
noticed the water racing by, aiming to devour her.
Matthias gave her pale cheeks a quick kiss before making a lengthier exit from the hangar.

When they reached the end of the dock, the shadow of a man and a woman in his arms that had been
moving across a wooden panel warmed by the sun halted.

An afternoon in June. The water sparkled like diamonds, absorbing the sunlight.

She felt awfully stupid, yet In actuality, it was more of a fact than an assumption.

Leyla, who was perched at the end of the dock, cast a visibly dejected glance across the river. Matthias
appeared to sparkle like a component of the sparkling surface as he floated along the water. He
resembled like a statue god carved himself, exquisite beyond measure.

Leyla gave up mustering up her bravery and Matthias gladly accepted it. He started swimming joyfully
being on his own. ‘’You can turn around.’’ Such callous comments were all he left for Leyla.

Despite the option to return, she remains where she is, a miserable fool. But upon further reflection, it
seems that the man in question is also somewhat strange.

Leyla’s eyes narrowed as she considered this. Why would he make a promise to bring her here, only to
leave her in such a vulnerable state? She wondered

Matthias, meanwhile, stood tall on the river with his back to the sky, looking stunning and free spirited.
Leyla, determined, removed her shoes with a fierce motion, and then took off her stockings.

She started to feel lightheaded and shaky already as she went near to the river, her worst nightmare.
Leyla yearned to recapture the reckless bravery she had displayed when she had dove into the water to
retrieve her hat, but all she could do was sit at the end of the pier with her feet partially submerged.

“Why are you still here?” Matthias, now standing on the dock, asked playfully. His wet, partially-exposed
body glistened in the summer sunlight, and the marks of his injuries only served to enhance his jaw
dropping beauty.

“You seem quite content…”Leyla observed.

“As you can see,” Matthias replied, leaning his head on one arm and looking up at her adoringly.

“Why did you return? Are you trying to tease me?” she asked.

“If that’s what you desire,” Matthias said with a teasing smile.

Leyla rose up in a wrath despite the fact that she understood it wasn’t such a bad joke. She, not
Matthias, was the one who was going to be annoyed and disappointed.

Why won’t she muster the final ounce of bravery?

For three minutes, Leyla clamped her lips together. She despised herself for being haunted by her
terrible recollections of old times.
She had to go through worse and more unpleasant things than that. She came from a long way of
troubled times. She can’t believe how unprepared she was for the water despite being accompanied by
her loving husband.

Leyla turned around again, blocking her escape from the river. She marched decisively to the end of the
dock, this time, like a soldier prepared to slash the enemy’s throat. Matthias watched her intently.

Leyla began with removing her glasses, relieved to take the pressure off her eyes. Then, she began to
undress, starting with her slip, then her skirt and blouse. Despite feeling embarrassed, she managed to
maintain her composure, possibly thanks to her impaired vision. Leyla hesitated for a moment before
finally removing her bra and underpants, tucking them beneath a pile of clothes.

In the radiant light, her naked body was illuminated, brighter than the sun, like a goddess who stepped
on earth. The two of them fell silent, not tempted to break it but their eyes locked onto each other in
the brightness talking loudly with words and speech.

“I’m ready,” Leyla declared proudly, sitting down at the end of the dock and dipping her legs into the
water once more to savour the unhealed wounds. “To be honest, I don’t think it would work. But I’ll do
my best,”

Leyla wanted to cry, she wanted to finally shed the old wounds yet she restrained herself, fighting back
her tears.

Matthias softly extended his hand to her while he was calmly gazing. Leyla held his hand with all her
might, the hand that had lowered the wooden pillar, secretly begging to hold her forever.

‘’You’re not going to let me go, are you?’’

In response to the sincere query, Matthias happily nodded. “Never.”

Leyla put faith in his assurances.

She leaped into the water, putting her last hesitation behind her, defeating her phobia, letting her
memories flow along the river. She ripped apart the peace and calmness of the river with the wild
sounds of splashing, careless spraying, and ear-tearing screams.
 Side Story 6

Leyla von Herhardt’s swimming skills were, to put it kindly, disastrous. It seemed almost pointless to
even assess her abilities. She was putting in so much effort just to stay afloat that it could hardly be
considered swimming.

As she stumbled, spluttered, and flailed, Leyla let out repeated screams. Yet, when Matthias pulled her
close in an embrace, she calmed down, as gentle as could be, her gaze steady and full of unwavering
faith. Matthias knew in that moment that he would never forget it, the moment got imprinted his eyes
and in his mind forever.

Leyla’s attempt at swimming, if it could even be called that, finally came to an end as the sun began to
bid farewell. Matthias lifted the exhausted Leyla and placed her at the end of the dock. She panted
heavily, the sound of her breaths depicting the ripples of the water. Shortly after, Matthias also sat
down beside her, equally spent.

“It looks like the water level in the Schulter River might have gone down a bit today. I swallowed a lot of
water,” Leyla said with a silly smile when their eyes met.

As he gazed at her face, Matthias watched the water droplets travel across the woman’s body, like the
magnificent drops of rain. The water altered the color of her hair and cheeks, making her skin appear
even paler in comparison. At the top of her chest, where it rose and fell sharply with each breath, drops
of water formed and flowed down her slender collarbone like the water finally found it’s stream to be
united with. The natural hue of her skin seemed even clearer now like a crystal.

Slowly but surely, the droplets fell to the ground and disappeared between her legs, without saying a
good bye.

Matthias succeeded to bring back her joyous expression. Leyla found herself caught in an odd tension
and held her breath, even though there was no hint of desire in his guarded gaze.

It was almost comical.

She hadn’t gone swimming naked in quite some time, but all of a sudden she felt like it. After all, he was
also the father of the child she had given birth to. They had been sharing a bed and waking up together
every morning for nearly a year now.

‘’Can you smile even when something is unpleasant?’’ Leyla pushed back her wet hair, revealing her
bare chest, beautiful like a star lit sky. “I’m going to look ridiculous,” she said.

The strength in her tightly pressed together knees was almost reflexive.
Matthias tilted his head and looked down at her, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
However, given how mortifying the situation was, it seemed that the matter was no laughing matter.

Leyla searched for the clothes she had removed, playing with the strand of hair that was twisted around
her finger. But instead of finding her garments, she discovered a basket filled with neatly arranged
dresses and towels.

When she realized someone had arrived, Leyla looked embarrassed. Matthias, on the other hand, was
dressed casually.

Leyla veiled her naked body with a gown. The gentle touch brought back memories of how he had been
staring at her body earlier, and Leyla became more puzzled as she tried to push these thoughts out of
her mind and the sensations became more intense, birthing wild desires in her.

“Should we try again?” Leyla impulsively suggested. The river was suddenly bathed in a deep, crimson
light, which was both beautiful and unsettling. Leyla was ready to embrace the allure fully. “I feel
comfortable floating in the water now. So if I pick up a little more knowledge. . . “

Matthias responded unexpectedly, untying Leyla’s gown’s thread, and saying, “Slowly, Leyla.” In the
breeze from the river, the orderly knot shuddered and flapped. “The summer is lengthy.”

The large hand that cupped her chin was gentle and cold. The downward gaze that accompanied it was
equally soft. Leyla’s lower eyes were slightly hazy as she saw the shadow of his long eyelashes there.

He was already just a few inches away from her nose. Without thinking, her lips parted as the grip on
her chin became firmer, welcoming him to kiss her.

“You can do it slowly,” Matthias’ voice grew softer and lower as he added a hint of warmth to it. Leyla
nodded in agreement. She now knew the source of this tension. She was certain that next time, she
would be able to guess it.

Matthias, however, simply fixed his gaze on her intensely, as if he was measuring something to engineer
an innovation. His enigmatic demeanour only piqued Leyla’s curiosity further.

He did not hesitate.

She could at least be sure of that. Perhaps that concept didn’t apply to this man’s life. Leyla knew this
better than anyone, especially when it came to herself.

Yes, but why?

Leyla accidentally closed her toes in the river, causing the surface to ripple with just a slight movement.

After brushing her lips for a while, Matthias let her go lightly and in vain. He chuckled and cocked his
head slightly to the side, as if he was unsure of something.
It surprised Leyla. It was another instance where her scientific decision, based on experience, was once
again compromised.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The Duchess served dinner at a table set up on the annex’s balcony, which overlooked the Schulter
River. It was unclear who had prepared the meal, but the steam was still rising from the hot dishes.

Leyla glanced at Matthias in surprise, as she had assumed they would change their clothes and return to
the mansion. But the man who would have given all of these orders simply stepped outside and onto
the balcony, pulling out a chair and gesturing towards the table with a series of natural movements, as if
it was the most natural thing in the world to do by a Duke.

Leyla glanced at her reflection in the glass door of the cabinet. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her
skirt and tidied her loosely curled hair impulsively. The broad lace collar of her blouse swayed as she
started walking again.

She took a seat at the table, and Matthias sat in the chair opposite her. Everything was served at once,
from appetisers to sweets, giving the table a lavish appearance, depicting heaven. It seemed that the
message that meals were unnecessary had been conveyed effectively.

Leyla started eating deliciously, perhaps because she was so hungry. Matthias’ attention was diverted
from the food and glued on her face.

Leyla always had little appetite, although she consistently ate.

She taught him that there was a specific formula to adhere to when it came to the outward aspect of
eating. Take little nibbles, chew them, and then swallow them before moving on to the next one.
Continue doing this while smacking your lips and puffing your cheeks for more effect. One of his
greatest joys in life is now seeing Leyla consume her meal piece by piece.

“Oh. Later, once Felix is an adult.” Leyla’s face lit up with amusement as she abruptly raised her head.
Matthias made genuine eye contact with her after releasing the lids on his eyes. Leyla snatched the
napkin with a start, in contrast to him, who was composed. The lips that had been vigorously stroked
turned crimson.

“When Felix matures?” Matthias asked again, remembering Leyla’s interruption. Leyla didn’t see him
again until she took a sip of water to moisten her lips. “It would be lovely to teach Felix how to swim
when he grows up.”

“Swimming?”
“On the Schulter River, of course.”

“Alright,” Matthias agreed readily. “I will.”

Even though it wasn’t difficult at all, Leyla was overjoyed as if she had achieved a great dream. But
shortly after, she began to feel anxious.

“By the way, Matthy, will you also be teaching hunting?”

“Maybe,” Matthias gave her another pleasant response.

He learnt to hunt, and his father gave him a gun with his name on it. It was also a process that was
acknowledged as Herhardt’s successor and a tradition that had been passed down for many years. Leyla
looked quite dissatisfied while nodding her head to indicate that she understood.

“I will carry out my responsibilities, but Felix will decide.” Matthias turned back to Leyla after giving the
lit candlestick and center piece a quick glance. “The ability to read a bird’s thinking or to be a great
shooter. He is left with the decision.”

“And you?” Leyla asked seriously after a moment of contemplation. “What is your opinion on the
matter? Will there be a hunt in this forest this summer?”

“What do you think?” Matthias smiled and looked at his wife, who didn’t look away from his gaze.

“I don’t think it will happen,” Leyla said with pleading eyes that were crystal clear.

“Why not?”

“The Duke of Herhardt is a man who understands the hearts of birds.”

She is skilled at answering rudely, but she comes across as quite serious.

“You’re the nicest gentleman in the empire, not just in this Carlsbar!”

Leyla caught Matthias’ attention and he eventually started laughing again. If there had been service staff
around, the chuckle would have been extremely embarrassing yet it was very comfortable and delightful
nonetheless.

Leyla could tell that Matthias had nothing to say other than that amusing laugh. The Arvis Forest, where
the Duke has returned, will be serene this summer. Love is likely another term for that peace. Dinner
went on in a more informal setting.

Leyla relieved the awkward tension by laughing and chatting happily. It was a beautiful moment when
countless stars emerged over the setting sun and a stream of starlight flowed.

“Ah look! There are fireflies!”

She gasped in wonder at the glowing light drifting along the riverbank. Jumping up and running in front
of the railing was an action that was as joyous and carefree as a baby bird taking flight.

After finishing his meal and taking a sip of icy champagne, Matthias also stood up and went to join his
wife. Before she knew it, a group of fireflies that were gently floating one by one had formed like a
constellation.

Leyla appeared to be in a dream as she watched the light wave. Her pulse was racing as if it was the first
time she had ever seen the divine view from the Schulter River in the summer.

Maybe this was the first time she was with him like this, savoring the divine moments, enjoying the
simplicity of life and feeling love deep in her heart.

Leyla turned her head, ready to embrace the excitement yet Mathhias’s blue eyes captivated her like a
magical spell. His eyes were beautiful than anything else in the world and for a moment fireflies meant
no meaning before his magnificent eyes.

Leyla hesitated as Matthias’ hand crept closer and gently cupped her trembling cheek. Unlike in the
evening when she was exhausted, he gave her bright face a careful, satisfied inspection.

Leyla said, her eyebrows raised, “Why do you keep playing these kinds of jokes?”

“Jokes?” he questioned in surprise

“Earlier, you were the same way.”

“Ah,” Matthias chuckled as he gave her chin-jawed hand a squeeze. “Leyla, if you get tired too soon, it’s
not very enjoyable.”

“What do you mean?”

Leyla would hold her breath as she occasionally remembered the night when this man had become
extremely aggressive. She had screamed and moaned loudly at that point before losing consciousness. It
wasn’t something that could be controlled by will, but she knew that Matthias didn’t particularly enjoy
it.

“I feel like you’ve had enough sleep,” With his other hand, Matthias expertly removed her hairpin. “Do
you not?

While grinning, Matthias held her thick curly hair. Leyla’s body skyrocketed, causing her respiration to
become shallow, troubling her breath.

She could see his eyes by simply slowly opening her closed ones. It’s as if she flicked a switch and he
became someone entirely different. The thought that she would be the only person in the world to
recognize this man’s face warmed Leyla’s breath as well.

“Yes. Your thoughtfulness allowed me to get adequate rest and eat healthily.’’
Leyla didn’t panic like she usually did; she addressed him with a rather open demeanour. She was
undoubtedly walking on a hard surface, and her toes kept reminding her of the ripples’ feel yet she
didn’t care.

‘’So I’ll give it to you in exchange. ‘’Leyla tentatively stuck out his hand and covered her lovely face. The
toe-tingling current now appeared to have sucked the entire body in. “Do whatever you want.”

She mustered up her confidence to speak her heart out.

“I desire it.”
 Side Story 7

Leyla’s eyes slowly opened as she touched something soft and feathery. While she savored the soft
touch, her body felt like flying against the gravity, floating like a balloon devoid of direction.

The shiny night sky with its exquisite spread of starlight was the first thing she found. She didn’t realise
she was laying on a long chair on the balcony until she turned around, looked at the table where the
candles were swaying, and then at the railing beyond.

Their lips came together like lost lovers as their eyes did. They gave each other a passionate kiss, their
tongues entwined as desire flooded their bodies. Leyla attempted to encircle Matthias’ neck with her
arms, before she was briefly taken aback by the stern force of his grasp.

They kept on kissing passionately, melting into each other’s hot breaths letting the moist sounds of their
lips speak, as they sucked on one another.

Matthias momentarily withdrew, letting her gasp for air at one time. He slowly licked the saliva that had
amassed on his lips before leaning down for another passionate kiss on her.

“Nghh…..” Leyla let out a soft moan as Matthias grabbed her chest, which was heaving with each breath.
Despite the veils of clothing separating them, she felt and absorbed the heat radiating from his body like
the scorching sun in extreme summer.

Matthias grinned lasciviously as he started unbuttoning her blouse and Leyla gazed at him with hazy,
lust-filled eyes. Then he leaned down and kissed the spot where beads of sweat had formed between
her collarbones. Her presence grew stronger as his lips moved in the path of the water droplets on her
skin.

Matthias threw his jacket aside with a thud on the ground, their clothes leaving their bodies one by one
on the floor, in an urgent desperation. Their loud breathing could be heard along with the sound of their
hot, moist bodies kissing.

“It’s alright.” Matthias reassured her, who was gasping and twisting, several times. “You are beautiful,
Leyla.”

He was doing something foolish and disorderly to her, that made her irritated by his calm voice, yet she
was also relieved by his complimentary remarks that sounded true.

Every time she nodded, her body began to unwind. It uncovered itself to experience lust and desire and
Matthias was clearly attempting to reassure her.
Leyla was relieved to see Matthias’s blue eyes sparkling and his crimson lips smiling at her when it was
time to glance at him once more, as if he could see into her penetrate through her soul.

Her eyes breathed shame. Leyla avoided making eye contact with him and stared up at the starry night
sky when she heard Matthias take off his belt. Soon after, his shadow was engulfed in her body that was
drenched in sweat and passion to melt in his desire.

No longer relaxed, her breathing was now accompanied by a faint moan.

Her petite body trembled.

But Leyla was fully aware that he was the one who ultimately gave in. She gets the most satisfaction
being dominated by his strong body. She loved to be obeyed by the outburst of his passionate desire.
She was willing to follow his lead, her body yielded.

“Leyla….”

Matthias kept reciting her name. The word escaped through the sound of his deep breaths, sweetening
the tip of his tongue like honey extracted from its comb.

Leyla strained to somehow bring her hazy eyes into focus every time she heard her name fly from his
lips as he looked more attractive than before like a lord of beauty and magnificence.

Looking at her

Matthias hunched over in a sweet defeat.

He went wild for her.

The torrent of kisses was fierce and impatient, as if attempting to shift the blame for this insane
yearning. His trembling movement continued until at that precise time.

Leyla pushed him away and hugged him back, accompanied by moans and groans that she didn’t want
anyone to think belonged to hers.

Once more, she experienced the sensation of being submerged in a wide river that was so deep that she
was unable to touch the bottom. Her recollection of a terrifying memory returned to tease her. Yet her
fear of the water had subsided. The instant she started to choke and float away was the same.

When Leyla opened her eyes, she noticed him. He was right there, in front of her, erected.

She turned to face the noble aristocrat, whose intimidating intensity of stare and firm resolve persisted.
This man, who once hailed as a masterpiece of the Herhardt family, had evolved into someone driven by
animalistic cravings, however, brought her greater joy at this point. Leyla secretly revealed in the notion
that she was the only person to have this knowledge of him and that, at this very time, he belonged to
her.
Completely

and entirely.

“Ma…tthy, nghh…”

Matthias’ brows narrowed as Leyla jokingly called him ‘Matthy’ for the first time. The morning following
their wedding, this was the first time Leyla had referred to him in that way. He noticed her face filled
with a mixture of delight and trepidation when he opened his eyes to the sunlight.

“What do you think of that moniker, Matthy?”

As she lay in his arms, Leyla asked the question in a cheerful, singing voice. Matthias, who finally
understood the meaning of the nickname, smiled. He had told her several times to call him by his name,
but she had stubbornly refused and finally decided to give him a new name.

Matthy..

He was her Matthy. Matthy that entirely belonged her along with the name.

Matthias had heard such nicknames during his childhood, but no one had ever called Duke von Herhardt
by such a shy nickname since he inherited his title. Not even his grandmother or mother had done so.

He now found it hard to accept that she gave him a nickname like this. He would have rejected the term
right away if it had been suggested by someone else, but Leyla’s voice made him enjoy hearing it.

It was pretty tempting for him to imagine that only Leyla would ever refer to him by this name for the
rest of his life.

“Tell me if you don’t like it,” she said afterward, “I’ll just address you by your name, like you requested.
But I prefer this name more.” Leyla added as she gave him a warm glance.

He predicted that she would continue acting in this way.

He finally grinned and gave in, and from that point forward, he became Leyla’s Matthy.

“Matthy..Do you know… what?” Leyla’s tiny hand, which was gripping his shoulder, quickly stroked
Matthias’ cheek. “You… are mine as well.”

Leyla remarked this while grinning naively like a young child.

Matthias started laughing ferociously as he peered down at her foggy face to understand what she was
saying. He was laughing, but it was somber laughter, accompanied with breath holding.

“Leyla….” was the only word he managed to articulate, voice so gruff it was nearly a growl. As her
fingers brushed his cheek, Matthias couldn’t help but squeeze her fiercely.

He desired to stomp on her.

He wanted to devour her whole and bite her.

Yet Matthias was only able to give her a lengthy kiss on her thin, rapidly throbbing wrist.

“Yes…I’m yours,” Matthias delivered a dry whisper while nodding. His shirt collar was gently absorbing
sweat as it quietly dripped down his neck. “Indeed, Leyla.”

…I’m yours.

There was nothing left in Matthias’s quiet eyes as he sat up and stared at Leyla, except an uncontrollable
desire that he didn’t know how to deal with.

It was a summer night, with the starlight seeming to cover the sky, the river, and the forest connecting
them.

The disturbance that had shaken the clear, transparent silence of the night died down as the fireflies
stopped their group dance. The sobs and murky moans mixed together as if in pain, and the silence that
followed deepened as the night went on.

Before removing his face from Leyla’s neck, Matthias barely managed to control his rapid breathing.
Leyla’s eyes were closed, but she was still breathing vigorously. She started to get a cold as her body
cooled down, and her shoulders started to tremble.

She was in his arms as he dozed off while licking the tears from her eyes. He then extended his arm and
grabbed his jacket that had been left on the ground. He made a gentle move of covering her with the
jacket, in stark contrast to when he had pushed her mercilessly before.

After a long time, Leyla barely opened her eyes and looked up at Matthias. Instead of seeing the star lit
sky and dangling stars, she saw the blue snow of his eyes. Matthias was still overly dressed, except for a
loosely tied tie, a wrinkled shirt, and a few open buttons.

Leyla frowned at the unfairness of it, but soon laughed and made fun out of the moment. He didn’t look
so bad when he had lost his composure.

She laid her forehead against Matthias’s straight forehead and affectionately rubbed the edge of his
nose before kissing it mischievously. She did this with the same languid satisfaction and affection that he
had shown her. She only reciprocated his affection.

With a low smile on his face Matthias gently and lovingly massaged her Leyla’s head. Then he grasped
her cheek tightly with his hand.

Matthias took the lead and kissed her first this time.

It was a more delectable,

deeper,
and sweeter kiss than hers.

Leyla was on the verge of crying, but she restrained herself. Her heart appeared to shine brightly like
crescent moon. She didn’t want to spoil the moment heaven blessed her with.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Late at gray night, the duke and his wife departed from the detached home.

Leyla was adamant that they return to the mansion even though it wouldn’t matter if they passed out
there. Matthias gladly accepted the explanation because of Felix. The two took a leisurely stroll along
the nighttime-crying forest path while holding hands.

Leyla took many glances at Mathias by her side as she processed the new information. His cheeks lit up
with memories of the times she used to stroll in the forest and leave the detached house by herself.

She was often embarrassed and depressed back then, but on the occasions when Matthias gave her a
little love, she felt much worse and was unable to handle it. She therefore hoped that he would prefer
to be unkind, but these naive hopes would never leave her heart.

If it happened, it happened. If it was trod upon, it was trod upon.

She couldn’t throw it away, even though it was just a scabbed wound. She often spent the night crying
out of intense agony. She never considered it to be love. She never imagined she would be loved. Maybe
she was feigning ignorance yet whatever she felt with Matthias was more than love that travelled to
crack holes of her heart and soul, filling her with the light she never hoped she could find. A light filled
with a thousand colors of love, hope and joy.
“Leyla.”

Matthias whispered her name when the wind sprinkled its sweet scent around them that Leyla
eventually woke up to the truth. Before they knew it, they were strolling through the mansion’s rose
garden.
 Side Story 8

Leyla’s confusion, with her usual expression, deepened as ocean as she acted beyond measure.

No way had her heart beaten with careful expectations, but on the other hand, she couldn’t believe it.

No way! This guy, Matthias von Herhardt?

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears like a thousand drums together as she prepared to step back in case
she was caught.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Matthias placed the rose on the side of her hair and tied it up.

Leyla held her breath tightly as she fixed her expressionless gaze on him. The rose rustled in her air like a
thunder. It seemed more awkward and unpleasant than when their bodies were jumbled together, in
some strange way. But Matthias seems so at ease.

“This is what? Leyla gently probed the rose in her hair. “I’m certainly not a child.” She exclaimed without
a pause.

The young girl who used to play in the Arvis woodland while wearing a crown has grown into a mature
adult. In addition, whether Leyla wanted it or not, she was now a wife and mother in addition to being
the Duchess of Herhardt.

“It’s pretty.” Matthias whispered just as Leyla was about to pull out the rose.

Holding Leyla’s hesitating hand, he smiled as if God had made him look at his pleased creation. It was
the smile of a ruler with arrogant and merciful dignity.

Leyla eventually lowered her hand, leaving the rose stuck in her ears. Matthias satisfiedly gazed at her
figure before loosely wrapping his hand around her chin. He then slowly lowered his head and gave a
short kiss to her soft lips that were soft like a petal of roses.

She realized that the feverish yearning for a sunny afternoon was still alive.

No. She was aware at that very moment. She tried everything to stay blind since she couldn’t accept it.

Leyla was captivated again by Matthias’s hand as he led her away. The marble stairs that connected the
mansion and the garden were etched by the shadows of the two pedestrians wandering side by side.

“However, did you know that you are losing credibility?” Leyla asked a strange inquiry as she was about
halfway up the steps. In response, Matthias cocked his brow. “You can say I’m pretty readily.” Leyla’s
eyes stared staring at him, clear and gentle despite the way she moaned. Therefore, it occasionally
sounds deceiving.
Leyla’s eyes explicitly stated her desire to ask Matthias to repeat it, despite Matthias’ best efforts to
appear innocent.

On the other hand, “I’ll tell you with more authority.” Matthias was open to being duped by an
attractive fairy who nonetheless behaved brutally. “What a lovely blossom!” His accent was quite
strong.

“What?”

Leyla frowned while paying close attention. That seems like a lie even more. It’s really odd. The way
Matthias spoke was quite weird. He presented an extremely poor performance which she did not
expect.

As Leyla listened carefully, she wrinkled her nose at Matthias’s awkward way of speaking. He looked like
a really bad performer.

“Wait…It’s…” Leyla’s face hardened as she remembered something while laughing. “Don’t tell me it’s…?”

The memory of her far-flung miserable charity performance last winter, which she had been trying to
forget, came back to her like an uninvited guest. Seeing the startled Leyla, Matthias began to giggle.

“Why on earth do you remember such things?” Leyla chuckled

“It’s such a strong memory, it’s hard to forget.” Matthias answered with a grinning smile

“Don’t tell me! Because I don’t want to remember it.” Leyla said shifting her gaze to roses.

She frequently walked with a straight face, but Matthias simply and quickly caught up with her. “Do you
not believe that I am a better performer than you were that day, Leyla?”

“Don’t say that again, please! Ignore it!” Leyla shook Matthias’ hand and started to go, unsure of what
to do. Her deliberate steps reverberated across the mansion’s quiet lobby. The sound echoed,
announcing the news of her arrival.

Thankfully, Matthias stopped chasing her. Leyla was instantly relieved when she heard a conversation
emanating from the mansion’s main gate-connected side of the hall, which was on the other side of the
room. She immediately faced the well-liked protagonist. It was Arvis’ hostess Elysee von Herhardt who
had arrived home later than expected.

Leyla bolted across the hallway, startled. When Elysee noticed her approaching daughter-in-law, her
eyes narrowed like those of a cat in deep sleep.

Fortunately, Leyla was able to safely welcome her without making the error of disregarding protocol.
Leyla and Matthias, who subsequently entered alone, soon stood side by side. Leyla watched Matthias
extending a welcome to his mother, and her joy that it was not an improper civility was quickly lost.
Matthias’s direct gesture seemed nothing like hers. He was so graceful and kind as he turned to face his
mother with a straight neck that she had trouble remembering the man who had pushed her with overt
longing and pulled naughty childish pranks on her.

“I notice that both of you are running late for home.” Elysee von Herhardt’s eyes finally showed
satisfaction at that point. “Today’s meeting was really productive, thanks to Felix.” Her lips released a
brief sigh after continuing to speak in a lower tone. She was staring at the pale pink rose that was
trapped in Leyla’s messy side hair.

Leyla blinked in bewilderment, blushed afterward, and grasped for her hair.

“Just plain scared. Such a ladylike manners and tone.” Elysee reprimanded her severely before giving her
a hearty laugh. “Felix. Your mum also looks to be in a great mood today.” Elysee sighed as she looked
across at her sleeping grandson in the nanny’s arms to end the conversation.

Leyla looked at Matthias with tear-filled eyes as she watched Elysee walk away with the sound of her
usual heels. However, the man who was responsible for everything straightened the slightly off-center
rose without any trace of regret.

“Pretty.”

Matthias, unconcerned about his mother’s severe criticism, stared down at Leyla, the playfulness in his
words gone.

The reputation of the Duchess of Herhardt among the social aristocracy, such as his grandmother and
mother, was completely unimportant to Matthias. Leyla found it difficult to comprehend this particular
feature.

“It’s lovely, Leyla.” Matthias softly lifted Leyla’s chin with his fingertips, perhaps disliking the way she
had sprinted away.

His expressionless eyes began to wrinkle into a soft smile as he stared at her. The slight smile startled
Leyla, and she unintentionally held her breath. Her toes curled in reaction to the repeated sound of
water clapping in her ears. Leyla quickly clutched Matthias’s hand, trying to disguise her reaction. She
was able to avoid the shame of being seen by others as they walked together by holding onto his hand.

She climbed the steps under the light of the chandelier, Matthias by her side. The rose petals in
Matthias’s hand trembled as they ascended, mirroring Leyla’s heart.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The rose that Matthias gave to her remained in full bloom on the Duchess’s desk. Before the petals
wilted, Leyla plucked one and placed it between the books on the shelf. Though it was not technically
the first flower Matthias had given her, Leyla chose to consider it as such, since Matthias did not seem
to remember the others and it was difficult for her to say that he had given them.
However, her thoughts were far from the Duke’s, who seemed to have forgotten the first time he had
given her a rose. Leyla had carefully preserved the petals from the rose Matthias had recently given her,
tucking them between the pages of her book as a reminder of their special moment.

Leyla sat by the sunny window with a book, surrounded by rose petals. She gazed out at the rose garden
below, allowing memories of the past to flood back to her. They were colourful and vibrant, just like the
flowers in the garden.

Summer had always been a bittersweet time for her, marked by the return of both the beautiful and
terrifying Duke of Herhardt, as well as the summer guests of Arvis, including the woman she dreaded
encountering: Lady Brandt.

Leyla was surprised when the maid from Claudine’s cabin suddenly came to her and told her that Lady
Claudine was looking for her. She had been looking forward to finishing the laundry and preparing
snacks for Kyle, but now she had to follow Claudine’s orders. This made her feel frustrated, but last year
Uncle Bill had become angry about this situation

“As long as she was in debt to Arvis, it was inevitable that she would have to do things like this.” Mrs.
Mona had said. She told Bill that Leyla to bear with it even if it upset her, as she was the only one who
would be in trouble if she didn’t. Leyla overheard this conversation as she was returning home from the
goat cage.

Leyla’s heart sank at the thought that her uncle Bill was in trouble. She remembered the time she was
summoned by Lady Brandt, when she confided in her uncle about her distress. The possibility of being
expelled from Arvis and her uncle getting into trouble both filled Leyla with dread. She resolved to
endure it stoically, not wanting to cause any more problems.

Claudine sat under the pergola in the Duke’s rose garden, sipping tea.

She seemed to have grown into a graceful and refined young woman since the last time Leyla saw her.
In contrast, Leyla still looked like a child with her delicate, slender figure and radiant, healthy skin.

When Claudine noticed Leyla staring at her in surprise, she gave her a warm smile. “Leyla, it’s been a
while. How have you been?”

Leyla knew from experience that the response Claudine expected was a polite and formal one. “Yes, I’ve
been well, miss,” she replied automatically.

“Leyla, you’re still such a child,” Claudine said with a smile, looking over Leyla’s form.

However, Leyla could tell that there was a hint of teasing in her words. Most of her classmates had
already started to grow into young women, but Leyla was feeling self-conscious about the fact that she
was still so young.

“Leyla, it’s time for you to start acting more like a lady.” Even Chef Mona, who had always been relaxed
about such things, had started to express concern about Leyla’s development this year.
Leyla realized that she was the only one of her peers who was still a child, while others had grown into
women. This made her feel left out and left behind. Although Claudine Brandt had only asked her to run
an errand to get roses, Leyla observed that Claudine had become skilled in flower arrangement.

As she walked back to her cabin with the money she had earned, Leyla thought about Claudine and her
friends, who had blossomed into beautiful and bright young women. She couldn’t help but sigh as she
looked down at herself.

What if she never grows up and remains this way for decades?

Her growth was not lost on Uncle Bill, who greeted her with a pleased expression when he saw her in
her new clothes. He even compared her to a newborn baby deer, making Leyla feel a sense of pride. But
as she walked through the quiet forest road, the sound of horse hooves interrupted her thoughts and
the main cause of her troubles, the Duke of Herhardt, appeared before her like a lightening in the sky.
 Side Story 9

The Duke saw Leyla standing there still on the road and pulled his horse over to the side. Neither he nor
the Duke’s companion who arrived after him were seen with their hunting weapons.

Leyla forced a shrug and tightly clenched the coin in her hand she was holding, unable to shake off her
fear of him. The Duke was intimidating as he had always been, though he appeared to be out for a
leisurely horseback ride rather than hunting today.

“Hello,” greeted the blond aristocrat, who was accompanying the Duke, with a smile. “It’s been a while.”

The Marquis of Lindman had a cheerful and slightly higher-pitched tone, despite his noble attitude, Leyla
recognized him right once because being the Duke’s friend and cousin, he was a frequent visitor to Arvis.

Leyla nodded her head in acknowledgment and then scurried off to stand beneath a tree on the side of
the road. She could hear the rapid heartbeats in her chest.

Seeing the Duke by coincidence on this particular day may not have been the best idea, but she was glad
to see that he was with his friend and cousin, Marquis Lindman.

The Duke had taken to tormenting her, relentlessly pursuing her as if she were his prey back in the day
like a lion haunting hyenas. It occurred regularly on the occasions when he happened to come across her
while he was out hunting or horseback riding alone. The Duke liked it. He seemed to derive a twisted
pleasure from this pursuit.

It was not that the Duke was inherently a cruel person, but to Leyla’s dismay, she was the only one who
had witnessed this malicious side of him. Therefore, she felt trapped in a web, unable to escape and
unable to confide in anyone about her plight. Leyla endured this mistreatment in silence, even though it
was deeply unfair and distressing, secretly hoping the torment would over some day. She chose to keep
her mouth shut, as she feared being branded a liar and expelled from Arvis if she spoke it out.

“Who is it?” The query was raised by a bystander.

“Ah. On this estate, I’ve been told, there’s an orphan. Surprisingly, a gardener chose to raise her.” A
response came.

Several more comments were said after that, but the Duke’s voice was not heard.

Leyla gently raised her head as the sound of horse hooves grew louder; she had been steadfastly staring
at the tips of her muddy shoes. Her light green eyes, which reflected the sight of the Duke riding by and
expressed both terror and curiosity. Despite the time that had passed since she last saw him, Leyla took
notice of his unchanged beauty and the new maturity that he seemed to have acquired.
Soon, he would be graduating from college and fulfilling his duty as an officer in the army to honor his
family. And with that thought comes the realization that he won’t come back to Arvis during summers
since there will be no vacation in the army.

This realization caused Leyla’s heart to race with a faint glimmer of hope.

As she stood there, staring at the group of dukes moving away, Leyla earnestly prayed. She hoped that
the summer would come and he would not return. It was all she could do. Pray in her heart. The thought
of him leaving and not coming back was a mixture of emotions for her. Deep down she felt a sadness for
not seeing him again, but also a relief that the fear she had for him will not be there anymore.

After the group of young men on horses had disappeared and the thick dust caused by the hooves had
settled, the forest once again regained its peaceful calm. But for Leyla, the tranquility of the forest was
not enough to ease the turmoil in her heart, as she continued to stand there, lost in thoughts of the
Duke’s uncertain future and her own feelings of hope and longing.

The sun was pressing down on her with its fierce heat as she strolled back to the cabin. She found it odd
that the light felt so brilliant today even though dusk was drawing near.

It wasn’t until around 15 days later that Leyla realized the reason for her discomfort – her menstrual
cycle had begun unexpectedly.

As she awoke to an unusual and unpleasant pain, she found that the cabin was still in the transparent
silence of dawn and it seemed as if Uncle Bill hadn’t yet risen.

As she rose from her bed, her eyes were drawn to the remaining red stain on the sheet.

At first she believed it to be a dream, but upon further inspection, she found the same stains on her
pajamas and underwear. The scene brought a mix of emotions for Leyla, knowing that this is what her
friends had been whispering about in secret.

She heard the sound of Uncle Bill’s footsteps as he woke up. Torn between the relief that this is
something normal and natural, and the feeling of hopelessness as she didn’t know how to deal with this.

Leyla quickly hung the door and locked it, hiding the stained sheet and clothes under her bed. She
quickly tried to fix the situation with a handkerchief, but before she could fully take care of it, she heard
a bumpy knock on the door.

“Leyla! Are you awake? Are you sleeping in?” Uncle Bill’s voice called out.

“No!” Leyla answered with a scream, “I’m already awake, Uncle!”

“Oh, come on. Then get ready. Kyle will pick you up soon.”

Kyle!
Leyla thought in her mind of Kyle, this added more anxiety to her already confusing emotions. She was
filled with confusion as she thought about an important promise that came to mind.

It was the day when all the village children had planned to go on a picnic together and Leyla had also
decided to attend a play in the theater this afternoon for the first time, something she had been looking
forward to. But now, that excitement has been replaced with uncertainty and the red stains of
menstruation.

She quickly washed herself while Uncle Bill went out to attend to the livestock. The pain in her lower
stomach had been growing increasingly more intense, but this vague situation has somewhat reduced
her discomfort.

As Leyla changed her clothes and began to set the breakfast table, Kyle came to the cabin. He was
stunned upon hearing Leyla’s answer that she would not be able to join the group for the picnic.

“What is wrong with you Leyla? You wanted to see the play so badly, didn’t you?”

Leyla opened the bread basket clumsily, “I don’t want to go anymore.” The bread she cut was distorted.

“I don’t believe you. What’s the real reason?” Kyle looked worried, “Oh! Are you feeling ill? You look like
a ghost.”

“No, it’s not.”

“What do you mean, no. I know everything. Even if you are unwell, you still pretend to be fine. Let me
hurry up and…”

“No! Stop!” Leyla spun around and shrieked. She thought to use the bread she was holding to strike
Kyle.

“Oh…Leyla?”

“Kyle, I apologize”. Leyla pressed the bread against her hot cheeks. “Although it hurts somewhat, it’s not
too bad. I simply need to rest at home.”

“What’s the issue? What do you think? If you don’t want me to inform my father, I won’t.”

Though Kyle was her closest friend and family member, she was unable to tell him her story. It was
embarrassing to tell it to her friend, especially to a boy. “Please move quickly. You’ll show up late.” Leyla
was now on the verge of crying. “Before I throw bread at you with all of my might.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

After Kyle left, Uncle Bill returned. He was taken aback to see Leyla, who was supposed to be going on a
picnic, but he ultimately accepted her excuse that she was feeling ill. Her stomach was indeed hurting,
so it was not entirely a lie.
“Alright then, you should rest well. Are you in a lot of pain? I can have Dr. Etman come over.”

“No!” Leyla interrupted firmly, not wanting to hear the same suggestion from her uncle that she had
heard from Kyle. “I’ll eat well, stay at home, and rest. That’s all I need.”

Bill Remmer, who was observing Leyla as she repeated his usual request, erupted into a hearty laughter.
He affectionately ruffled her hair and headed to work, leaving Leyla to rest and recover at home.

Once she was alone, Leyla spent the morning ruminating over her thoughts and reflecting on the pain
that felt more pronounced. She felt too shy to confide in anyone, and didn’t want to owe them a favor if
she could help it, but she also knew that she couldn’t handle this on her own.

With this realization, Leyla decided to leave the cabin. Though it was quite hot, she donned thick
stockings and multiple layers of undergarments. She couldn’t shake her worries and apprehensions,
which made her journey to the Duke’s mansion take twice as long as it usually did as she kept pausing to
reflect on her decision.

Upon reaching the Duke’s residence, Leyla was greeted by the surprised expression of Mrs. Mona, who
had just stumbled upon her in the drawing room. The other guests, who were resting after the Duke’s
luncheon, also focused their attention on Leyla as she hesitantly peeked through the door.

“What brings you here, Leyla?” Mrs. Mona asked, surprised.

After a moment of hesitation, Leyla mustered the courage to speak, “I have something to tell you.”

Mrs. Mona exited the hallway, looked down at Leyla, and shut the lounge door. Even so, she led Leyla to
the end of the corridor and turned to face her, as if she had realized that Leyla was having trouble
communicating.

“Now, you seem to be OK here. Leyla, tell me. What is the issue?”

“It’s…” Leyla exhaled repeatedly, twisting her hands, which she had gripped tightly. “I believe I am now a
lady,”

“Lady?”

“Please wait, my love. You’re now…” As Mrs. Mona thought about what Leyla had told her, her eyes
grew wider. “Oh, my.” She sighed as she observed Leyla, who was wearing attire that wasn’t suitable for
the current season.

She mumbled, a variety of complex emotions visible on her face, “Oh my God, Leyla.”

Leyla was on the edge of crying from anxiety. But Mrs. Mona gave her a loving grin and a bear hug while
comforting her by massaging her trembling shoulders and back.

“Leyla my dear, you have to be careful of men from now on. Do you understand!?”
Mrs. Mona sternly admonished Leyla, feeling humiliated and ashamed. She was an opinionated woman
who had dealt with similar issues as the mother of three daughters. Leyla was confused and couldn’t
quite make sense of what Mrs. Mona was saying, but she didn’t want to seek for explanation so she just
nodded in agreement.

“It’s something to celebrate, but I’m also worried,” Mrs. Mona said with a look of pity on her face.

She knew that when a beautiful flower blooms in the field, its life is likely to be hard. She couldn’t bring
herself to say these words to Leyla and instead, let out a deep sigh.

Leyla was a very lovely young girl. She was skinny and messy when she first arrived at Arvis, but with Bill
Remmer’s care, she blossomed into a stunning rose as she got taller and put on weight. Even though she
was still a young girl, Mrs. Mona was aware of how quickly a girl may develop into a lady.

However, her life wouldn’t be so bad, Mrs. Mona thought, because she had the support of someone
strong like Bill Remmer. These thoughts allowed Mrs. Mona to smile again.

“It’s a school, a village, and in any case, think of all the men around you as thieves. That’s not entirely
wrong either,” Mrs. Mona said with a hint of bitterness in her tone, warning Leyla to be cautious of men
and their intentions.

When asked again, Leyla’s expression contorted in confusion. “Kyle too?”

“Kyle? Hmm… Anyway, he’ll be a man, so be careful. You’ll be fine.” Mrs. Mona felt a twinge of regret
for the kind Dr. Etman, but she had already decided to group Kyle together with the other “thieves”.

As the time to prepare dinner approached, Mrs. Mona left the house with Leyla, giving her a small
basket. She also didn’t forget to give her additional instructions on her way to the Duke’s residence.

“By the way, Leyla,” Mrs. Mona called out to Leyla as they reached the end of the road. She strode up to
her and unexpectedly reached out and touched her chest. Leyla’s startled scream and Mrs. Mona’s
laughter echoed in the still afternoon air.

“It’s a surprise. Yes, you have grown into a lovely woman.” She said, her eyes filled with a
compassionate warmth as she looked at Leyla, who was now blushing profusely.

“You’ll likely require new undergarments, such as a bra. I told Mr. Remmer. No, there is no huge deal.
You’re welcome to accompany me when I go downtown this weekend.”

“I’m grateful, ma’am. I sincerely appreciate it “Leyla said, expressing her gratitude by making a deep
bow. As Leyla bowed, Mrs. Mona couldn’t help but notice the gentle and delicate features of her eyes,
she gave her a few more pats on the back before quickly heading back to the Duke’s residence.

Leyla turned away as soon as Mrs. Mona’s back was no longer in view, her stomach still hurting, but she
felt considerably better than she had that morning. She made an effort to convince herself that she
could handle this, but as she moved on, she abruptly stopped again just past the mansion around the
next curve. Lady Claudine Brandt and the Duke Herhardt were the source of the woman’s laughing and
the man’s low, quiet voice that she overheard.

Leyla instinctively ducked behind the wall, frustrated. She wanted to go somewhere else and hide, but
the couple’s footsteps were getting closer and closer to where she was hiding.
 Side Story 10

Matthias stumbled upon a discovery, as he caught sight of a small figure darting behind a wall. The
orphan, raised by the gardener, had been found like a lost pet. With fluttering skirts and a mop of blond
hair, there was no mistaking the child. It was by all means her!

But instead of feeling elated at the find, Matthias could only think of one thing: the child’s tendency to
run away and cry.

It was a frustrating characteristic, but one that could not be taken as a whole but be tolerated in small
doses. As the child looked up at him with wide emerald green eyes, Matthias couldn’t help but feel a
twinge of annoyance mixed with pity.

With the scorching sun beating down on them, Claudine suggested it was time to head back. “It’s too
hot for an evening walk,” she said, her voice laced with exhaustion. Despite the wide-brimmed hat and
parasol, Claudine’s face was flushed with heat. Even Matthias, who was never bothered by the effects of
the sun, was feeling the same.

But he was willing to indulge Claudine’s whims, who had requested the walk. He couldn’t deny the
excitement of possibly finding the elusive child, who was known for hiding in the shadiest spots.
However, the thought of trudging through the sweltering heat wasn’t worth the potential reward.

As they made their way back to the mansion, Matthias caught a glimpse of the child, running away as
usual, bundled up in winter clothes despite the scorching weather.

Was it because of their first encounter?

He remembered the day the little girl had appeared in the forest of Arvis, like an interesting prey. But
just like a bird that quickly flew out of sight, Matthias’ interest in her had remained at that level.

She was just another wild bird in his forest, nothing more. With that thought, Matthias turned his
attention away from the child and followed Claudine into the cool embrace of the mansion. The
pleasant air enveloped them, and the heat quickly faded, beaten by the luxurious mansion.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Bill Remmer was taken aback when he learned the news from the talkative Chef Mona. He couldn’t find
the words to express his shock, simply muttering “Oh, this is so” repeatedly while scratching the back of
his neck. The thought of raising a daughter on his own, as a widower, was a daunting task unlike any he
had faced before.
“Oh, so that child is already…….”

Chef Mona, observing him with a hint of amusement, chided him. “What do you mean already? Its way
later than my daughter,” she said with a click of her tongue. “I understand it’s not easy for a wooden
stone like you to raise a daughter that suddenly appeared.”

But Bill was quick to correct her, “What daughter? I just wanted to…”

“Don’t say such nonsense,” Chef Mona interrupted him firmly, pointing towards the Duke’s Rose
Garden. “Pick up the roses over there.”

Bill’s face contorted with confusion.”What are you planning to do with those ro…?”

But before he could finish his sentence, Chef Mona interrupted, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Oh, my dear Bill! You truly are a flower-growing expert, but you seem to be lacking in the art of gift-
giving.”

“Gift?” Bill repeated, his brow furrowed in embarrassment. He had never thought of giving flowers as a
gift before.

Chef Mona continued, “When a young girl reaches a milestone in her life, it’s tradition for her to receive
a bouquet of flowers. And Leyla, your daughter, is about to reach one of those milestones.”

Bill’s face contorted sharply with guilt, “You right, even though she’s not my real daughter…I still have to
give her a gift, but I haven’t found the right time yet. Oh, my. I should have sent it as soon as possible,
but it turned out like this.“

Chef Mona shrugged, “Why don’t you give it to her now?”

“But she will go somewhere, isn’t she?

“What can I do? Mr. Remmer can’t think of her as a daughter, and if Leyla has no place to go, he has no
choice but to send her to an orphanage or something. Well! Should I find a gift for you if you can’t do it
with your hands?”

“By the way, the idea that you would send a girl to a place where she would be unprotected saddens me
greatly. This is how the world has to be.” As Bill Remmer’s eyelids twitched, the chef’s tone grew even
more annoying. “She will be a striking beauty if she turns out to be an upstanding young lady, but if she
ever meets with a rascal…..”

“Oh God!” Bill’s nerves were frayed to the breaking point. He couldn’t take it anymore and shouted,” I’ll
do it! ” I’ll raise her and pick the gift on my own, just stop talking!”

Chef Mona’s words were like a bitter pill for Bill Remmer to swallow, her intention to help him clear but
the reality of the situation weighing heavily on him. He couldn’t bear the thought of Leyla being sent to a
place with no one to protect her, the harshness of the world too much to bear.
Bill Remmer stood before the blooming roses flushed with wide variety of colors, his mind awhirl with
confusion and uncertainty. He had always tended to the flowers with care and dedication, but the
thought of plucking them for a purpose as foreign to him as gift-giving was daunting.

“Oh, I’m scared. People would think you’re her real father.” Chef Mona’s hateful laughter echoed in his
ears as she shook out her apron and left the garden. Bill was left alone in the silence, pacing between
the flower beds, scratching his neck in agitation. It wasn’t until a young worker approached him that he
realized how foolish he must have looked.

As the young worker approached him with concern etched on his face, Bill Remmer couldn’t help but
feel a sense of unease. The boy’s innocence was a sharp contrast to the thoughts racing through Bill’s
mind. He thought of Leyla, and how one day, this simple boy may very well be the one to give her
flowers, to court her. The idea made Bill’s blood boil.

“Mr. Remmer…?” The worker’s voice broke through his thoughts, but Bill’s fierce gaze was enough to
make the boy shrink back in fear.

Taking a deep breath, Bill tried to calm himself. He shook his hand dismissively, ignoring the worker and
once again began pacing through the rose garden. He reached for a flower, but each time, he pulled
back, his mind consumed by the thought of Leyla and the future.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Meanwhile, Leyla was running an errand for Lady Claudine Brandt, picking fresh roses from the garden
to take to her drawing room. Though the task was easy enough, it broke Leyla’s heart to see the
remaining flowers, the ones that Uncle Bill had tended to with so much care and love, discarded and left
to wither away.

“Tricky and troublesome” was how Uncle Bill described the rose garden, but Leyla knew that he held a
deep reverence for the flowers. The garden workers had also shared this sentiment, saying that Uncle
Bill believed roses were just like people that they thrived when they were loved sincerely.

As expected, Lady Claudine had left behind many roses after her visit. Leyla couldn’t help but stare at
them longingly, and impulsively asked the maid who had come to deliver the labor fee, “Those flowers,
may I take them?”

“Roses? I was just going to throw them away, so take them as you please,” the maid responded
nonchalantly before following her mistress’ footsteps.

Left alone, Leyla hesitantly approached the table, carefully arranging the bouquet in her arms. Holding
the bundle of fragrant roses felt strange and unfamiliar, but also comforting in a way she couldn’t quite
explain.
The cabin’s yard was filled with rose bushes because it was a gardener’s home. Leyla was welcome to as
many as she desired. She occasionally sliced the rose into pieces to use as table and desk decor. She
used dried petals to create a fragrance bag. Uncle Bill didn’t stop Leyla from spreading it all around the
home despite admitting it was bothersome.

She remembered an arrangement of flowers that her friends used to boast about, and that was why a
plain rose feels so fresh to her.

Leyla left the Duke’s home while pondering many things. The rose looked lovelier in the sunlight. Leyla
made the decision to treat the bouquet she was holding as a present. Anyway, believing that it was a
present from Uncle Bill didn’t seem to be particularly inaccurate.

Leyla took a lighter stride as she moved along the forest trail. Along the leaping stairs, the hair that had
been waved loose to make a thread to tie the bouquet was.

She was unaware of how fortunate she was that the painful job and discomfort was no longer present.
Nevertheless, she claimed that going forward, she would go through it every month. Even though Chef
Mona’s new underwear was uncomfortable, it was considerably more tolerable than that.

Being a woman, Chef Mona had said the words that were Bermuda Triangles like mystery to Leyla,
shrouded in uncertainty and prickling with a sense of foreboding. She couldn’t quite grasp the full
meaning of it yet, but the memory of the word alone sent a shiver down her spine. To Leyla, the idea of
becoming a woman held a sense of awe and reverence.

‘That woman.’

That’s what her relatives had called her mother, with all sorts of derogatory modifiers attached.

‘Her daughter’

They called her that name with disdain, their anger clear in their tone. It was easy to see how much
contempt they held for her.

Was her mother truly the terrible woman they made her out to be?

Leyla had been grappling with this question more and more, but finding an answer proved difficult. But
one thing was certain, Leyla never wanted to be like the woman they spoke of, or like her mother, or like
her daughter.

It was a small, bloody lump that caught her eye, diverting her thoughts from her contemplation. Leyla
didn’t have to get closer to know what it was-

a beautiful little bird, shot by the Duke.

She recoiled in horror, biting back the scream that threatened to escape her lips.
Leyla nervously walked the winding path through the forest, her heart pounding with fear. It was not the
day of the hunting party, and yet she knew that the Duke had a habit of going out alone to practice his
marksmanship on the small birds of the forest.

Uncle Bill praised the Duke’s improved shooting skills day by day, but Leyla could not shake the feeling
of dread that overcame her whenever she thought of him alone in the woods with a gun in his hand.

The Duke became a completely different person when he was not surrounded by the other nobles.
Whenever he went hunting alone, it was bad news for both the forest’s small birds and her.

She debated turning around and going the other way, but her curiosity got the better of her.

As she walked, the sound of gunfire echoed through the trees, and Leyla knew that the Duke was
nearby. When she drew closer, she could see the Duke on the road, his horse’s head turned in her
direction. He had just lowered his gun, and a small bird lay bloodied at his feet.

Leyla froze, hugging a bunch of roses close to her chest as the Duke’s eyes met hers. She could see the
change in his expression, from one of satisfaction to one of malice. She wanted to run, but her legs
would not move. She wanted other nobles to show up and save her, but no one came no matter how
long she waited.

The Duke was by himself.

 Side Story 11

With lightning quick reflexes, Matthias spotted the child sprinting away and immediately gave chase.
Though it may have seemed like a simple, routine pursuit, Matthias couldn’t shake the feeling that there
was something deeper at play.

Was she running from a traumatic memory?

The thought of the child almost getting shot on their first encounter sent a chill down his spine. But as
he closed in on her, he realized that her desperate escape was becoming increasingly erratic and
inexplicable. Despite her fear and confusion, Matthias couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement as he
closed in on the mysterious girl.

The small girl’s terror was evident as Matthias approached her. She continued to look at him as she was
cornered, and Matthias couldn’t help but notice how much her eyes resembled Arvis’s summer forest at
that very time. They appeared to stand out even more despite her petite and thin build.

She was still a youngster, but he saw that she seemed to have matured since their first summer
encounter.

Did they call her Leyla?

Leyla….Leyla Lewellin?

Intentionally driving slowly in her direction, Matthias followed her, but their gap gradually closed. The
terror in her eyes increased as she turned around.

Rose…?

Leyla looked back as Matthias suddenly spotted the flower she was holding; she tripped over a stone,
fell to the ground, and let out a brief scream that shattered the peace of the forest road.

As Matthias pulled up on his horse in front of the fallen child, the petals of a broken rose fluttered in the
wind. He gazed at the scene for a moment before the child jumped to her feet and stepped back, her
small face red and wet with tears.

“Oh, H-hello, Duke,” she said, as if giving up on any further resistance. Standing before him with her
head bowed, she reminded Matthias of a deer she often encountered in the woods with her immature,
slender arms and legs. As he stared at her stooped shoulders, Matthias’s gaze shifted to the rose on the
ground. But before he could reach it, the child had already run off and hidden behind a tree, her figure
shaking.
Though familiar, there was something different about her now and Matthias couldn’t shake the feeling
that this encounter was not as simple as it seemed.

What kind of kid was she?

Matthias was getting bored with this situation, it was nothing more than a minor annoyance. But he
couldn’t help but find it amusing to spend his time on such a pointless pursuit. He lowered his squinty
eyes and examined the bouquet of roses, the scattered petals fluttering in the wind.

“Hey kid, pick it up,” he said, pointing to the bouquet at the end of his hunting gun. “It’s yours.”

The child’s green eyes, staring blankly at him, filled with tears. Matthias stared at her for a long time.
The afternoon was becoming more and more tedious.

That was when he decided to end this game. He got off his horse and picked up the abandoned bouquet
of roses and approached the child who was hiding behind the tree. He handed the flowers to her
politely, but with a hint of haughtiness, that perfectly matched the Duke of Herhardt’s appearance. The
child, who took the flowers without realizing it, looked confused, but Matthias paid no heed. He left the
flustered child behind and turned away.

As Matthias returned to the mansion, he shot several more birds, making for a decent afternoon hunt.
But his encounter with Bill Remmer in the rose garden was about to take an unexpected turn.

“Well, Duke,” the gardener greeted him as usual, but this time he had something to say. Matthias
turned to face him.

“It’s nothing more than… Can I take that rose?” Bill Remer pointed to a flowerbed of precious roses that
the two Duchesses particularly cherished, yet his tone was uncharacteristically timid.

“Yes, as much as you like,” Matthias replied casually. “As Mr. Remer wishes.” He turned away, leaving a
moderately indifferent and generous answer. But as he took a few steps, he noticed the gardener
approaching the flowerbed he had just given permission to take from.

“Ah, Mr. Remer,” Matthias called out, causing the man to stop in an awkward position with a start.
“No,” Matthias, who had been lost in thought for a moment, shook his head, erasing his previous
question. He couldn’t help but wonder how long the orphan in charge of the garden, Leyla, would
remain in this Arvis.

Matthias was suddenly filled with curiosity about the child he had encountered in the garden, but he
didn’t want to get involved. There was no reason for him to know the identity of a child who was just
one of the numerous users of Arvis, which had now become boring to him. He left the garden and
quickly forgot about the kid.

The following year, Duke Herhardt returned to Arvis as usual, but he never again went on a hunt to
chase away the orphan living in the forest. And the next year, Matthias was commissioned as an officer
through the Royal Military Academy, following in the family tradition.
While serving on the overseas front, he never returned to his fief, and the child, who meant nothing to
him, disappeared from his life as if she had vanished into thin air. There was no place for such
meaningless memories in the life of the perfect Duke of Herhardt.

It really was.

Until the summer after returning from the front as he stood on the Platanus Road where the lush
greenery stretched out before him.

A beautiful wave of green.

Her eyes were as striking as ever, reminding him of the summer forest of Arvis.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla carefully dug a hole and placed the rose in it. It was the same rose she had found last summer,
paired with a beautiful water bird that she had decorated with colored thread.

She laid the bouquet of roses next to the bloody, cold bird before covering it up with soil. She hesitated
for a moment, but ultimately decided to bury it.

She never would have imagined that the Duke would pick up a bouquet of flowers, let alone be as polite
as he was. He was just like the Duke Herhardt that everyone knew, dignified and reserved. The thought
of him doing something so out of character was strange and surreal. It was the first time she felt like she
truly met the Duke of Herhardt, the man who was praised by the people of Arvis.

Leyla held her breath in fear that he might bully her in some other way, but nothing more happened. He
handed her the roses, turned and left.

It wasn’t until he was gone that she realized she was relieved. She felt embarrassed at the thought that
the roses might have been a gift from Claudine, someone who had thrown them away. But as she
walked back to her cabin with the bouquet she couldn’t bring herself to throw away, the journey felt
much longer than usual. It was something she shouldn’t have kept.

Leyla made such a strong commitment as she set out with gloves and shovels to bury the birds the Duke
had murdered. She then returned to the space and picked up the flower she had placed at the desk’s
end.

The dead bird buried the rose in that recollection. Leyla then returned to the cabin while running. I hope
the Duke hate hunting. She repeated the fruitless prayers over and over again on her way back.

“You’ve travelled through the woodland again today, huh!” Just as Leyla was about to enter the front
door, a booming voice startled her, causing her to turn her head. Uncle Bill was squatting on the porch
and was watching Leyla. “You’re still a child, you know, an infant.” His voice was low, but the tone was
actually extremely cordial.
Leyla quickly moved toward him after setting down her gloves and shovel. Leyla, who frequently
attempted to occupy the chair next to Uncle Bill, was deterred by a bouquet of flowers that had been
placed there.

“Uncle?” Leyla asked, as she noticed the bouquet in Uncle Bill’s hands.

He hesitated for a moment before answering, “Well… it’s like that. It’s for you, keep it.”

Leyla’s eyes widened in surprise, “Me? Really? Is it a present for me?”

“Gift? I’ve only picked what’s grown all over the world,” Uncle Bill said casually, but Leyla was already
thrilled and couldn’t contain her excitement.

She hugged the bouquet, which was almost as big as her body, and paced around the porch, admiring
the flowers in the sunlight and then in the shade. She couldn’t stop smiling.

Uncle Bill couldn’t help but burst out laughing, forgetting the embarrassment he had felt earlier. He
thought it was just a small gesture, but seeing the child’s happiness made it all worth it.

“But, uncle, this is a precious rose that the Duchess likes. Is it okay for me to take it?” Leyla asked,
holding the rose tightly and her face filled with concern. Uncle Bill, taken aback, blurted out “Geez. A
child like you worries about everything!”

“Still…” Leyla said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t get in trouble for picking a few roses.”

“Really?” Leyla asked, her eyes shining with hope.

“Do you think I would lie to you?” Uncle Bill replied with a chuckle.

Leyla shook her head and hugged the bouquet even tighter. “Thank you, uncle. It’s so pretty.” She
smiled broadly, holding back her tears. She thought she could finally forget the memory of the rose
buried with the bird. Having a real present for Leyla Lewellin, something this big and beautiful.

Leyla lowered her head over the bouquet of roses and breathed in the sweet scent for a long time. In
the meantime, the tears in her eyes and nostrils gradually calmed down. She didn’t know what it meant
to be a woman yet, but there was no vague fear now. She felt like everything was going to be fine, in a
rosy and sweet way, like Uncle Bill’s blessing.

The two stayed on the porch that day longer than usual.

Uncle Bill continued to give Leyla affectionate head pats, which Leyla didn’t give any thought to. She
burst out laughing, relishing the hard treatment that put her at ease.

She didn’t understand the roses her uncle had given her didn’t have thorns until that evening. She
discovered the stem was smooth and devoid of any little thorns as she unwrapped the newspaper and
rope that had been used to wrap the bouquet before placing it in a vase. The roses were identical
throughout.

The summer’s lengthening ended.

After the Duke left Arvis, the forest was once again peaceful. Leyla also developed swiftly in the
wilderness, as if she had finally let go of something. She transformed from a girl into a lady at this very
moment, as Chef Mona had said, the magic of the years.

Such calm days continued up until the summer, when the Duke came back.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla glanced at the bookcase covered in flowers, and she suddenly had vivid memories of those times.

The rose that Uncle Bill had given her withered and was lost over time, but the memory was as fresh as
ever.

Lovely days infused with genuine love. Leyla was aware that the rose Matthias had given her would
eventually wilt and vanish, but the memory would live on in her heart and mind always. The lovely rose
of the night that had been delicately tucked into her ears, not the broken bouquet that had to be buried
with the bird.

Leyla gently grinned as she descended from the window frame and shut her somewhat warm eyes. Then
she heard a knock on the door. A maid who worked for Norma and Elysee was standing beyond the
open door.

The maid gave the message in a calm voice and with good politeness.

“My lady, the Duchesses are looking for you. Come along with me.”
 Side Story 12

The tea party with the Herhardt family’s three regal duchesses was in full swing, the atmosphere
crackling with a moderate calmness tinged with awkwardness. As conversation hit a lull, the soothing
splash of the fountain and the melodic chirping of birds filled the air, providing a serene background to
the delicate dance of teacups and saucers, aiding a little to conceal the awkwardness for a little while.

Leyla gingerly placed her cup on the table, trying to imitate the graceful movements of the two elder
duchesses, her heart stuffed with suffocation of royalty while avoiding the intoxicated gaze of Elysee
von Herhardt.

“You are truly a duchess now,” Norma said with a warm smile, catching Leyla’s eye. To everyone’s
surprise, even Elysee von Herhardt nodded in agreement, casting the web of unpredictability.

“Indeed, Leyla is becoming quite the elegant lady. She never fails to impress me,” she said with a faint
trace of admiration. Leyla couldn’t help but beam with pride, her face aglow with happiness like a glass
greenhouse being filled with sunlight, while her eyes remained cool and composed, the epitome of poise
and grace.

The lush vibrant roses were beaming through the vases on the table. Elysee von Herhardt’s gaze flitted
to the roses adorning their table as she turned to Leyla and asked, “Isn’t that right, Leyla?”

The question caused Leyla to flush and fidget like a nervous child, getting flooded with anxiety. She took
a warm sip of tea, trying to compose herself and to distract herself from sharp gazes.

Leyla was not the daughter-in-law she had hoped for as Elysee had to admit that.

She attempted to mold Leyla into a proper noblewoman yet her efforts had gone in vain. But she
couldn’t let her disappointment show, not when it came to protecting her family and her own dignity.
Deep down, Elysee wondered with a heartache if Leyla would ever meet her expectations, but the
presence of her son, Matthias, made things no different than before.

It was amusing to see Leyla struggle, especially when the biggest obstacle in her transformation was
Matthias himself, who seemed content to keep the “traces of Arvis’ child” in her, even after she had
become his wife.

“Leyla, you’ve earned the recognition of even the discerning Elysee. You must be working very hard,”
Norma interjected, her words skillfully changing the mood as she gave a subtle wink to the waiting-
maid.

The maid returned hurriedly with a boxed package and handed it to Leyla, the box took Leyla by the
uninvited surprise. “This is…” She looked at the two mistresses with widened, doe eyes.
“Open it. It’s a gift from us,” Elysee von Herhardt said, her voice soft and gentle.

Leyla hesitated before carefully untying the ribbon and opening the lid. Inside, she found a glass frame
wrapped in thin paper. As the paper was lifted, she froze like the earth underneath her feet became an
iceberg. The frame contained a photograph taken by the Arvis family, and among the many people in
the picture, Leyla spotted her beloved father, Bill Remmer, standing stoutly on the far left, looking
profusely peeved after being dragged into the photograph.

“I found a nice place to put pictures of you and Felix,” Norma said, her eyes becoming increasingly
gentle as she looked at Leyla, whose words stuck in her throat and the tears welled in her eyes. “It’s a
picture that records the history of the family, but it’s the only picture left of Bill Remmer. He really hated
taking pictures,” Norma said as she remembered stumbling across the picture that had been sitting in
the bottom compartment of the cabinet, collecting dust.

“But really, is it okay for me to have this?” Leyla asked, her voice unsteady as the frame trembled in her
shaky hands. Elysee von Herhardt, who had been watching amusedly, laughed.

“Yes, I will give it to you. Even if you come to possess it, it’s our family’s history,”

“Thank you so much,” Leyla said, her nose turning red as she bowed her head in gratitude. “Thank you
so very much. I must say, it’s very precious. Thank you very much,” she repeated, her voice unsteady as
she struggled to mask her overwhelming feelings.

In every way possible, Leyla did not seem to have the dignity of a duchess, but Elysee decided not to
point that out, at least not yet.

Leyla had calmed down before she began to cry, she pressed her eyelids tightly with her fingers, took off
her glasses and smiled brightly as she gingerly put them back on again. She may have been an
unsatisfactory daughter-in-law who did not meet the expectations of royalty, but it wasn’t all that bad,
as Elysee shared the same sentiments.

She may have lacked a little in dignity, but she was a brutally honest child, and when Elysee saw her
smiling face and realized it looked just like Felix, her tolerance for her widened just a little like a glitters
of light through a cracked door.

“Leyla, it’s time you need to learn some royal manners,” Elysee said, her voice stern yet hushed, like the
sound of the fountain. Leyla’s head shot up in surprise. It wasn’t expected at all. “You cannot call
yourself a proper lady if you act so politely towards your family,” Elysee continued, shedding Leyla off
the little pride she gained before.

“Family,” Leyla repeated quietly, her mind racing like a wild horse with the blend of thoughts.

“You are now a von Herhardt, so we must hold you to a higher standard,” Elysee added.

Leyla’s lips quivered once more as she processed the word “family.” Elysee, who was studying her face,
offered a dispirited smile. “I find it difficult to fully understand and accept you, and I suspect that will
continue in the future,” Elysee admitted, choosing not to sugarcoat the truth and display honesty in her
demeanor as much as she could afford. Leyla nodded, understanding.

“You are my beloved son’s wife and my little grandson’s mother. I must respect that and I do, even if I
do not fully accept it. You are a member of the Herhardt family, and while you may not be the perfect
duchess, you do have certain advantages.”

Elysee calmly conveyed her true feelings to Leyla, who was not entirely satisfied but not overly bothered
by the critique. It was simply the conclusion Elysee had come to after observing Leyla for the past year.
“I still do not understand why Matthias sent you to college, but it was quite exhilarating and pleasant for
the Duchess of Herhardt to triumph over the sons of the women who once spoke ill of our family. How
agreeable a situation,” Elysee said.

“Yes, I’ll do my best next semester too,” Leyla said with a bright smile on her face, her previous
apprehensive expression now gone.

“I look forward to it. By the way, Leyla, would you like to take advantage of anything else?” Elysee
asked.

“Pardon me?” Leyla replied, profoundly confused.

“Perhaps the great advantage of having a child like Felix,”

Elysee said seriously. Leyla didn’t couldn’t comprehend her words. Even then, she remained silent,
knowing it was not her place to speak when not spoken to.

“Wouldn’t it be so good for you to have at least another well-mannered child?” Elysee hinted with a
gentle smile. Even as they expressed their expectations so openly, both women remained impossibly
graceful. Leyla was envious of their respectable, lady-like performances, born and bred to perfection.

“If I’m being honest, I would love to have many children… but Matthias doesn’t seem to share that
sentiment. He says that one child, Felix, is enough,” Leyla mustered up the courage to explain herself
despite feeling flustered. Elysee, observing her daughter-in-law nonchalantly, opened her fan with a cold
and unfeeling gesture.

“What does it matter, Leyla? You’re the one carrying the child,”

“What?” Leyla exclaimed, caught off guard.

“Men only have the choice of whether or not to participate in activities that may lead to such results.
But the Duke’s morning routine is simply to visit the Duchess’s bedroom – doesn’t she have a choice in
the matter?” Norma added, with a scrutinizing gaze. Leyla was at a loss for words, feeling embarrassed
and unsure of how to respond to such private and intimate topics being discussed so casually.

“Even if he doesn’t want to, when the time comes for him to have his own child, he will fulfill his duties
as a father. Isn’t that right, Elysee?” Norma asked, glancing at her daughter-in-law.
“Sure, Matthias will do as you please,” Elysee readily agreed, her eyes briefly pausing on Leyla’s flushed
and reddened face.

After that, the conversation soon returned to its original, tasteful orbit. It was hard to find any trace of
the conversation that had only occurred a moment ago – the one that made Leyla so ashamed that she
developed the growing urge to faint in front of the two hostesses who were now enthusiastically
planning a party to be held in a few weeks.

Between the birdsong, crystal-clear and melodious against the backdrop of the fountain’s steady trickle,
Leyla found herself surrounded by her own thoughts amidst the quiet conversation between the two
older ladies, reflecting on how similar her husband Matthias seemed to be to his grandmother and
mother.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, she supposed.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

‘Knock, knock.’

It echoed through the bedroom door, gaining Matthias’ attention as he looked towards it. It was soft,
but then it came around a second time, a little louder. Almost as if it was an urgent matter.

Upon further investigation, the knocking came, not from the main bedroom door. But rather from the
connecting door, which led straight down the duchess’ bed chambers.

Finally coming to action, Matthias took his time in setting down and covering his business files on the
table as he tilted his head towards the closed door.

With no answer, Leyla finally turned the door’s knobs, finding no resistance in opening them before she
peaked her head in as she grew more restless with the continued silence. Upon seeing him just staring
at her, she can’t help but frown in irritation.

“Why didn’t you answer? You were quite clearly in the room.” Leyla’s eyes narrowed in annoyance at
him when she found Matthias reclining back on a chair.

“Why were you knocking on the door?” he rebutted in nonchalance. Matthias himself had never once
knocked on the door leading to the duchess’ room; so in turn Leyla decidedly became more confident.

“It’s rude to open the door so suddenly.” she pointed out additionally. Whatever I am, I am foremost a
lady.”

The rambunctious laughter erupted out of Matthias, who stared at his wife who had made a fairly sly
joke, gently flowed through and entangled itself with the melody of the waltz filling the duke’s bedroom.

Leyla had finally crossed the line with a bright smile plastered on her face. Matthias’ eyes did not leave
her for a moment until she came and stopped by.
“You must be very busy today, too.” She eventually added as she stopped right in front of him.

There was a stricken tension in Leyla’s eyes as she quickly alternated between looking at the documents
piled up on the table and looking at Matthias. It signified that she had something to say.

“Yes.” Tension in the room quickly turned into embarrassment when she heard his short, and succinct
answer.

Matthias, who greatly enjoyed the amusing reactions of Leyla at this moment, revealed his inner
mischief by doing his best to hold back a little smile at the end of his lip.

“But it’s over now.” He loosened his legs, rose lightly and stood face to face with his wife. “Say it, Leyla.”
He expressed his willingness to listen, but Leyla couldn’t open her mouth and began to pace in circles.

For his wife, who probably needed more time, Matthias leant comfortably against the glistening, glass
window frame. Only after enough time had passed for the white muslin curtain to swell and sink several
times did Leyla come through with a determined face. The posture of holding her head upright with the
back of her hand was indeed quite bold.

“Can I really be as greedy as I want?” Leyla stared at him in a slight apprehension, her tone genuinely
serious.

“As much as you like.” Matthias nodded encouragingly, he had the same composure as that of a full
predator. Leyla, who gazed up at his intimidating face quietly, reflected her greed and hunger in her
eyes shamelessly to him.

“I wish to have another child.” she leaned in closely to his lips, her breath hitting his as she eyed him
sultrily.

“Another child?” Matthias quirked up a brow at her, but his eyes darkened upon hearing her request.

“Yes. I want a baby.” she reiterated, blinking up coquettishly at him, “I can’t help but crave for another,
you see.”

“Leyla,” Matthias breathed out in a low growl, matching her intensity tenfold. Leyla paused hesitantly
before uttering her words clearly, with a caring face, looking at him in a manner she knew he’d be weak
against.

“Give it to me,” she whispered against his lips, “I want your seed inside me.”
 Side Story 13

It was so unlike her. To be so bold about such lewd desires in front of him. Matthias couldn’t help but
chuckle at her newfound brazenness, but his eyes darkened with lust upon the prospect of breeding her
once more.

Not liking his unresponsiveness, Leyla decided to be even more aggressive, further pushing herself up
against him.

“One child is not enough,” Leyla persisted, “Felix, as wonderful as he is, just looks so much like you. I
want a daughter this time, someone to take after my likeness for a change.”

“And if it doesn’t happen this second time around?” he teased her, both spouses circling each other like
hungry vultures. “If we have another son like Felix? You’d be saddled with just two more like me, Leyla.”
he chuckled at her.

“It won’t.” Leyla insisted, biting her lip seductively as she looked up at him through her lashes, “It’ll go
exactly as I want it to be. I can feel it.” she hummed up at him, leaning against his callous palm that
came up to caress her face.

“And how can you be so sure of that?”

“Won’t you wish for such a thing, my Duke?” she pleaded haughtily at him, “After all, you always get
what you want.” she cooed at him. “Our daughter, Leah, can’t you want her? She already has the name
her father gave her. So, the only thing she just has to do now is be born.”

Leyla laid her hands still on Matthias’ hands wrapped around her cheeks. His gaze, which looked deeply,
was just calm, with neither affirmation nor negation. How she spoke was desperate – almost as though
she were trying her very best to bargain with him. Her glistening doe eyes looked up towards him and
begged profusely. Realizing that he was not at all moved by her actions or words, her face darkened and
turned melancholic.

“Do you hate children?” Leyla’s deliberately sullen performance was clumsy and even more lovely,
seemingly having the opposite effect to what she intended upon Matthias.

“Leyla, I don’t care how many children I have.” Looking into Leyla’s eyes, full of himself, Matthias calmly
conveyed his true feelings. “If you think about our family, the more children, the better. And to every
child born, I will fulfill my duties as a father. It’s a job that has nothing to do with that judgment,
whether you like it or not. But you must have completely different expectations. I may as well only be
able to handle Felix.”

And Leyla, I’m afraid of that.

Matthias reflected on his silent thoughts. The existence of another child was still giving him somewhat
mixed and vague feelings. Of course, Felix was not in that category.

He loved his son.

He was a child who endured painful days, was born healthy, and became Leyla’s hope. He was also the
biggest contributor, acting as a political pawn to his mother’s reluctant and strained acceptance as a
Duchess. Matthias knew well that there was no name but love when referring to the feeling at the
moment when he saw his son smiling just like his mother with that face. Even if the love was a little
different from Leyla’s wish, it certainly was what it was.

But, what about the other kid?

Well, Matthias was hard to be sure. Would his feelings for Felix arise the same way for any other
children he may have? Without such a dramatic war, separation, and reunion, Felix’s may have
remained in the same sense as any other achromatic name.

Even so, he could quite possibly build and maintain the balance and order of the world as much as he
could, and he would do the same for everyone except…

Leyla.

His Leyla.

“Matthias.”

He cut off and buried the idea of Leyla’s friendly, loving image.

“Can’t you think of me instead of a future that’s not yet clear?” Leyla wrapped her slowly lowered arms
around his waist. Pressing herself gently against her husband, her soft, warm lips curled into a slight
smile as she teasingly reminisced her dreams.

“I want to spend time with you when I have a baby; they shall grow up, and be born into this world
doused in comforting and warm love. It would be so like you to prefer that time spent… over the baby…
you couldn’t do that when we had Felix.”

Speaking of this, Leyla felt like she’s not a good mother, but at the moment, she decided not to hide this
greed.

“Oh, and of course… I also want to happily confess that I have a baby – and be warmly congratulated. I
want to proudly show off that my baby has grown this much without hiding that I’m pregnant. When
morning sickness comes, I can complain that it’s hard and be fussed over relentlessly, and I can beg for
what I want to eat, and when time passes and the day when the baby is born, I hope the whole family
will joyously greet the baby together. I won’t be lonely.”

Her eyes suddenly dampened and turned red, and her voice began to tremble, but Leyla could still
muster a tiny smile.
“Give me all that time and memory… as a gift, shall we say. Is that okay?”

Matthias von Herhardt was utterly defeated.

Matthias admitted the fact with a long, passionate kiss. There was no other answer. He didn’t seem to
want to find it, either.

Their deep kiss, which began while they were still standing by the window, got interrupted for a
moment when the two of them finally reached the bed.

She waited with a disorderly breath, but for some reason, the man in front of her showed no signs of
continuing what they were doing – all he did was look down at her, her figure clearly reflected in his
eyes. After staring at each other for a while, a sigh mixed with laughter escaped from his lips. This
sudden change in behaviour made Leyla uncertain of what had just happened.

“I thought I was being used as a means to fulfill your greed.” Matthias said with a frown as he lightly
tilted his head. Discerning the playfulness in his soft voice, she nonchalantly smiled and sat up straight.

“Yes, that’s right. How does it feel to be used by me, Duke?” she playfully asked while fiddling on his
shirt buttons. The once pure and innocent Leyla had now become quite adept at unravelling his clothes-
her warm fingertips quickly unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his strong chest to her gaze.

“You can do as you please, Your Majesty…” He replied with a cool and smooth tone while looking down
at her nimble and petite hands that were diligently taking off his buttons.”… I’d happily obey your
orders.”

His words made Leyla turn her attention towards the man in front of her with a light frown. This man
was the most fascinating when he wore that dubiously crooked and arrogant grin, like a rogue that was
eyeing a precious treasure.

“All right, I will do just what you’ve asked-” She smiled sweetly and innocently like an untainted maiden,
yet she expertly took off his shirt that was just secured by the last button. “and use you to my heart’s
content.”

She firmly pulled him onto the bed as if trying to prove her words that were filled with fierce
determination. Matthias happily followed along as she took the lead; otherwise her weak frame
wouldn’t even be able to exert enough force to push down her large physique with such ease.

She soon ran out of ideas on what to do next, and ended up hesitating for a good while. With renewed
determination, she first made him sit down against a fluffy pile of cushions– she then quickly sat on his
lap and hurriedly took off her own pyjamas. Not wearing any underwear, her mesmerizing naked body
was not long after shown in front of him.

Matthias slowly moved his gaze from her naked chest to her smooth, supple legs with an arrogant smirk.
His scrutinizing gaze soon went back to Leyla’s pretty face that was full of embarrassment. As if she
could not bear his hungry gaze any longer, she quietly gave up on trying to make him stop his blatant
staring. It was undoubtedly a very embarrassing situation for her, but in the end, she didn’t hate it – she
couldn’t even bring herself to hate it either.

She slowly breathed out a small sigh and began to kiss his neck, where she could feel his faint pulse.
Slowly, she continued downwards– to his hard, sharp collarbone, his muscular shoulder, and finally, to
the scar below his shoulder.

She may have gotten used to it by now, but sometimes when she sees his scars once again, her mind
effortlessly returns to the night when she first saw the violent scars that were left on his body. At that
time, she was shocked to the point that she was rendered speechless and dazed for quite a while.

‘What the hell are those?’

After discovering the gruesome marks from his old wounds that littered his body, she hurriedly took off
all his clothes like a distressed and concerned mother and began to diligently check all the scars that had
been left all over his body. When she saw the scars that had come from the battle where the harrowing
news of his forthcoming death circulated wildly, she began to loudly cry and sob uncontrollably like a
wounded child without even realizing it.

On that day, she kissed his scars lovingly and tenderly, just like what she did tonight.

Tears welled up in her eyes and soon, she couldn’t stop sobbing. She knew it was a pain that could never
be erased with just her kiss, but she wanted to comfort him with whatever means that she could.

Deep down in her heart she realized, after repeating such actions laced with her desperate wishes –
kissing his scars that had brought him pain again and again, that there was no more room left in her
heart to hate and resent this man.

He returned back to her side and….

She forgave him.

Tonight was that kind of night, a special moment where they spent time together without hatred or
sadness. They needed to start afresh, but this time only with their undying love for one another.

Leyla ended her barrage of kisses, that were akin to a sacred ritual, by delivering a warm final kiss on his
hardened, flexed arm where the remnants of a gunshot wound remained.

How far they’ve gone since they first took those first steps that day?

She slowly raised her head and stared at Matthias to see how he would react. She liked the sound of his
breath, which was as frantic as the waves of a stormy sea. She also found herself deeply enamored by
his dark, soulful eyes, which shone with desires so clouded that even the most nearsighted could make
them out.
She stretched out her thin, pale arms and held him gingerly by the back of his neck. Their burning body
heat and pounding hearts slowly merged as their bare chests touched and were held tightly against one
another.

“You’re so beautiful.” Leyla caressed him lovingly, giving him kisses and murmuring sweet nothings in his
ears like he was a loved infant. A certain someone thought that those words didn’t fit his current
appearance at all.

As he gasped for air, Matthias blinked at his wife in bewilderment. Like her spouse, she glanced back
blankly and smiled brightly at him. In contrast to the woman who was actually driving him crazy, she
came across as an untypically innocent pure maiden.

“The first time I saw you… I was really surprised that you were so… beautiful. You’re so scary, but you’re
still so gorgeous.”

“Don’t you think that’s a strange compliment to give to your husband?”

“Not at all. From that day till now, those words still ring true. I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as you–
nor have I ever seen anyone as mean or hateful as you.” Leyla gave him a lighthearted peck on the lips
after she made the confession.

“I’m glad you’re fine with such a mean man.” Matthias ended up laughing as if he had just heard a funny
joke, ultimately surrendering to her in the end. His wife, who looked at him carefully, tilted her head
slightly as if she were about to ask him something.

“Do you think this is the only thing I enjoy?” Her hands, which were noticeably warmer than usual,
wrapped around his beautiful face. Leyla, who was completely redone and wore a very serious
expression on her face, was incredibly alluring to him.

‘Well, you’re driving me crazy’, Matthias stared blankly at his beautiful wife as he thought. He made the
executive decision not to tell her out loud~he didn’t even want her to know. At this moment, everything
about this woman had to be his very own, and only for him.

“Ah, yes.” Her vision darted back and forth as she looked at Matthias who was simply nodding his head.
“I used to.”

Leyla’s face flushed like an apple tree in full bloom when his mean words triggered long-buried
memories, Even if she couldn’t see nor picture herself, She could still visualize her likeness ablaze with
an uncontainable heat

‘Don’t cry, what you like is fine.’

In front of her pitiful appearance crying in pain, Matthias continued to calmly pacify his wife.
How could he tell such a lowly joke at a moment like this? Because of his words, Leyla fiercely removed
her lips in a fit of anger, but she was ultimately speechless when she saw the brazen man pointing to his
face.

It seemed intentional, but it was funny of him to ask.

All she could do was to hit the man before her with a clenched fist. The current situation was no
different than that night.

While her flimsy fists seemed to do little more than pat his rock-solid shoulders and well-built chest, he
casually undid his pants. Leyla, who only noticed his actions after a few minutes, flinched; Matthias, as
usual, showed no qualms in revealing his desire upfront.

Why did she have to feel ashamed when he was the one who should be feeling embarrassed?

Such inane thoughts floated aimlessly in her confused brain, but they quickly evaporated.

Her rogue of a husband yanked her close to his powerful but flexible body by the neck and kissed her
soft, pliant lips like he was a thirsty traveler. To get on top of her, he pushed his weight forward onto
her, softly pushing her backwards. Big and strong, his arms encircled her and held her captive in his love
and want.

Her eyes gazed at the air aimlessly, eventually captured his fading attention again with a sweet
resignation.

“Matthy.”

For lack of anything else to say, she kept whispering his pet name over and over again. She knew he was
still listening to her, albeit only half-heartedly.

She was embarrassed by her quavering voice and the hot, wet moans that accompanied them, but a
part of her didn’t want to to keep her emotions buried. But her mind soon became swept away by the
tidal surge of pleasure, and she could no longer recall even the name she had been calling out so often.

The snowy world in her green eyes began to shake as a warm, fiery heat overcame her.
 Side Story 14

His exhausted wife fell asleep in his arms after giving in to him until she was completely spent. Or
perhaps it would be more accurate to say that her awareness was completely depleted, but semantic
differences like these didn’t matter; in the end, the outcome was the same.

Matthias remained immobile, savoring the feel of her tender form that had gone pliant from the
euphoria she had received from his warmth. As her body gradually released its warmth and cooled, she
snuggled closer into his robust arms. The unconscious yearning she exhibited by seeking out his heat
was surprisingly enchanting, enough to briefly satiate him and set aside his unrequited longing.

Matthias tenderly planted a kiss on her delicate forehead before enveloping her in his tighter embrace.
He couldn’t help but fall victim to a hopeless, amorous mood, despite being a married to her for a year
and so. With the supple woman slumbering serenely in his arms, he was at a complete loss for what to
do next.

He dismissed the notion that it was an amusing sensation to experience with his wife, as she was already
his, completely. From head to toe that her skin, flesh and bones belonged to him, the same as her soul
and her warm breathes.

He was acutely aware that his carnal desires for Leyla had never been his top priority before. And he had
no desire to alter that fact, even if he possibly could.

Gradually, Leyla’s rhythmic breaths began to fill the empty room, cutting through the silence that only
grew more profound with each passing moment.

Matthias gazed upon her visage with his arms still folded around her. When he stroked the soft tendrils
of baby hairs on her forehead, the shadow cast by her long lashes quivered and danced in response,
fluttering his soul in desire.

A gentle smile tugged at Matthias’s lips as he lowered his head to plant a tender kiss on the dampened
corners of her eyes. The sensation of her body gently stirring in slumber provided an inexplicable sense
of solace. The midsummer breeze permeated through them, through their intertwined bodies, drenched
in love and desire, seamlessly melding with the comfortable warmth of the sheets that enveloped them.

With a firm touch, Matthias traced the faint path of tears that traced down her face and rested on her
plump, supple lips. As he lingered, he was drawn like a magnet to the gravitating heat of her steady
breath.

Although his stance on having another child remained unchanged, Matthias couldn’t help but feel a
tinge of guilt for the limited time he was able to spend caring for her while carrying their child. His
inability to be there for her when she needed me most during the war meant that the only time he had
seen her with Felix was all too fleeting and selfish.

He was consumed by a madness so profound that the life of his own child was rendered trivial in his
eyes. But the pleasure Leyla, heavy with his unborn child, brought to him…..was enough to dull the sting
of disillusionment and self-loathing that festered within him.

If only he could relive those moments with her once again…

without the specter of pain and trauma lurking at every turn….

Matthias held her slender waist, a warmth so scorching it seared through him. The memory of her once-
swollen belly flooded his mind, a painful reminder of the time he had lost a long time ago.

How could he forget the way her tummy had stretched and expanded, filling up until she seemed ready
to burst at any moment?

What would it be like this time around?

How large would she grow in the coming year?

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of her, imagining her as a beautiful, bloated creature. He
adored her this moment and promised to love her forever. Such a sight would have been a marvel to
behold, and he couldn’t help but smile at the vision.

His high speed train of thinking quickly became cluttered with random situations and inquiries, but as he
felt her warmth calmly dozing in his arms, his confusion was quickly cleared. He was quick to admit, that
he had been incredibly conceited, dismissing his love for her as something to be immediately satisfied
and resolved once he had her.

His lethal obsession with her persisted even after the times when hecompletely believed she was
entirely his, at least during the times that their bodies were intertwined.

He would be able to temporarily escape the sensation of powerlessness if hecould reach as far as
hecould, thrust as forcefully as he could, and push his body to the limit while immersing himself in his
beloved Leyla’s warmth.

Matthias reluctantly withdrew his hand, slowly away from her bare beautiful glittering chest when she
slowly opened her eyes and let out a quiet moan. Then, he carefully tightened his grasp while slowly
adding a tiny amount of strength as he looked into her hazy, murky eyes that were still drowsy.

Although this significantly hampered her ability to breathe, the wicked pleasure he received from adding
his red handprints to her sensitive flesh made him feel warm like a scorching sun within.

“It’s okay, Leyla. Just rest.” Matthias whispered lovingly, calming like she was a little bothered child,
kissing the lovely, hard nipples of her chest.
He noted her hushed, trembling voice and overt yearning while he already inside her body once more.

“……liar.” Leyla whispered through a soft voice. Her slender eyes narrowed as she gazed at him, yet a
faint, feeble smile graced her lips. Despite her seemingly lethargic demeanor, her gaze was sharp and
pure, like a pristine lake that perfectly reflected the radiance of the full moon.

“Hm?” Matthias accepted her obligation coolly while sitting with his hips lifted. He had already settled
into a comfortable position, sitting between her spread-apart knees, while she shrank and coiled up in
response to the impending strain.

“What a liar you are” she said smilingly.

Leaving speechless, Matthias felt even more daring as he naturally smiled boldly. He, however,
responded to her charge by kissing her knee for a split second. His queen gently relaxed her hard frame,
accepting and falling into his unsaid submission.

Matthias tightened his hold on her slender waist and gently slid inside of her. He was utterly hungry,
yearning for her even became stronger every time she inhaled deeply and softly and stroked her
delicate body against his.

He kept pushing himself into her, his hunger grew everytime when he softly pressed himself against her
pale, divine body.

Leyla was trembling uncontrollably experiencing too much pleasure. Her watery eyes were searching for
something as she could only sob and dramatically reach out her arms towards him.

Matthias leaned down and answered her kind plea, his entire body making a lusty moan. Her insides
were warm like a sun and soft as feather, much like her body, which was barely holding on after all the
pleasure he had thrust inside her. And her insides constricted around his, celebrating the pleasure that
triggered her body and soul together.

“……I love you…..” Matthias whispered softly between his staggered breaths, facing her sweaty face.

Now he learned the strange feeling he felt at the moment when his eyes locked onto hers– their bodies,
intertwined like tangled hair.

Love…

Despite his attempts to look away and ignore his intense feelings he was webbed in, his heart tirelessly
pounded with affection for her, defying his every attempt to resist.

“I am in love with you, Leyla.” I confessed.

The very sound of her name sent shivers down her spine, and the joy it brought to him to say these
words was immeasurable.
His heart overflowed with love for her, and he could say it a thousand times and still felt the same rush
of emotions. So he said it again and again.

Leyla….

I am deeply in love with you…

My Leyla….

I love You.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The slow-moving season of long days passed at a heartbreaking pace. The water of the Schulter River
gradually darkened in color as the peak of the day’s heat wave passed. Even though it was still Summer,
the color was a sure sign that fall was on its way.

Leyla accepted the passage of time with joy, even though it sometimes brought her to sadness.

Felix matured, ripening alongside the season. As he grew older, he began to resemble Matthias more
and more, but also a lot like Leyla. She knew it was a given, but Leyla was always pleasantly amazed and
happy about it.

Love grew as the season carried on, as did the child.

When Leyla was able to entrust herself to the Schulter River without further fear, Matthias went to Ratz
for a short while. The expansion of the company, he said, had him focused with work matters.

She and Felix could have gone back to the capital together now that summer break had begun, but
instead, Leyla chose to spend the season in Arvis with Felix until her husband returned.

Both Duchesses were pleased with the choice, but especially Elysee von Herhardt. Her remarkable
affection for her grandson manifested itself in recent years and just recently she persisted on
proclaiming Felix the truest and most well-made masterpiece of the Herhardt family, embarrassing Leyla
to some degree.

“Why? Are you upset about giving up your husband’s seat to your son?” Staring right at Leyla, Elysee’s
eyes were sharp and full of intrigue as she asked. “Leyla, wouldn’t it be hard to call your husband, who
was so easily dazzled by a woman who used his life as a means, still a masterpiece of the family?”

The belligerence in her expressionless gaze was tangible. Leyla couldn’t come up with a suitable retort.

“If your own son were to threaten you, you’d know how I felt.”

Elysee said. But soon, gone was her smile, and replaced by a grim expression.
“No. That won’t happen; Felix can’t repeat his dad’s mistakes.” She smiled warmly and hugged the
grandson who was sitting on her lap, playing happily. “Felix, you must be the true masterpiece of the
Herhardt family.”

Although he had no idea what such a word meant, Felix smiled and nodded enthusiastically, knowing it
would make both of his grandmothers pleased.

Day after day, the summer of Arvis passed without Matthias.

The two duchesses became increasingly attached to their grandson as the time for goodbye approached,
making it more difficult for Leyla to spend quality time alone with her son. She did, however, feel a
twinge of sadness for her son, who had fit in with no trouble without showing an ounce of shyness.

Leyla’s lips curled into a sweet grin as she reflected on her son’s bubbly personality, which she argued
was nothing like her husband’s. She was getting bored studying for the upcoming semester, so she was
heading out for a walk. She sought Felix’s company, but he was preoccupied with the gifts from his
doting grandmothers.

Leyla took off her wide-brimmed straw hat as she stepped into the dense, tree-lined trail, Her long, fair
hair flowed as the wind blew Memories of a past summer without her duke flooding her thoughts. So
peaceful, just like the tranquility of the forest she was strolling through.

The year Matthias headed for the front lines as an officer after receiving his commission. Arvis’ people
were a little unfamiliar with, when summertime arrived without the stormy ceremonial of Duke
Herhardt’s return. Even Uncle Bill, who typically doesn’t care about such things, shared these
sentiments.

Leyla decided to hide her smile.

How long she had waited for the summer without the Duke;

How happy and fortunate she was.

She wanted to bury all those feelings in her heart and have a peaceful summer.

She really thought it was.

Leyla went on an adventurous foray through the forest. She observed the returning migrating birds,
made notes on the recently discovered flowers, and picked as many wild fruits as she wanted to convert
into a delicious, jammy preserve.

Leyla matured much throughout the summer.

The long, lean limbs that had largely shaped her physique had given way to more feminine curves. Leyla
Lewellin had a number of male admirers waiting for her at the Gillis Girls’ School entrance, but she was
certain that she had no interest in dating at the time. It was the season when she shed her childlike
appearance in favor of a more gorgeous, womanly figure. A pleasant and beautiful summer, full of
happy and lovely memories.

There were times, however, as today, when she halted in the midst of the woodland road. She tilted her
head as she stared for a while along the peaceful lane, but she quickly forgot about it and continued on
with another lithe step.

Leyla stared unblinkingly at the path that led to the Schulter River. The heel of her shoe kicked the
ground softly, sending a cloud of dust wisping skyward.

She held her ground for a while, before walking downstream toward the river.

Should I call him?

That silly notion made her beam a bit oddly.

Re-dooning her hat, Leyla began to retrace her steps a little faster.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Kyle saw the man in an unexpected place.

He was accompanying his dad on a house call. He wasn’t quite ready to practice medicine on his own,
but he did his best to be a trustworthy assistant.

Duke Herhardt’s ride came to a halt in front of a hotel on Etman Street, just opposite the medical center.
The man’s familiar gestures as he stepped out of the car caught Kyle’s eye, when they would have gone
unnoticed with any other person.

“What’s the matter, Kyle?” Dr. Etman questioned as he stepped out after parking his car.

“Oh, nothing. The weather is nice.” Kyle answered flatly before his dad could cross the street and have a
look.

The summer that the Duke of Herhardt came home was also the summer that the Etmans left Carlsbar.
Nobody had compelled it, but it was obvious that it would happen eventually.

The Duke’s medical position was filled by a colleague of Dr. Etman’s, and they soon settled in Ratz,
where they opened a larger hospital. After completing his medical training, Kyle planned to join his
father in running the family hospital.

Thankfully, Dr. Etman was allowed immediate entry into the hospital without additional questioning.
Kyle, sighing heavily in relief, turned his gaze back to the street in search of the man he had just seen.
Almost at the same time, the Duke of Herhardt turned his head.

And their eyes met on the quiet road.

 Side Story 15

The two men locked eyes in a tense, silent showdown. Time seemed to stand still as they calmly sized
each other up, either flinching or breaking eye contact. It was the Duke who finally made the first move,
turning to Kyle and giving a subtle nod of his chin. A gesture of politeness and detachment, a reminder
that he was still the same Matthias von Herhardt, Duke of Herhardt, and Kyle was still just the doctor’s
son he sometimes crossed paths with.

Like the days when someone named Matthias von Herhardt took up no meaning in his life, Kyle returned
the greeting with a respectful nod of his own.

After years, the Duke hadn’t changed a bit.

His feelings pendulum-swung between frustration and a sense of relief. Maybe it’s because he can see
Leyla’s happiness radiating off the Duke’s face.

Without a word, the Duke sauntered off into the hotel, his perfect aristocratic and businessman persona
on full display. Kyle watched him go, his expression calm, but his mind racing like a wild stallion.

It was hard to avoid anything related to them as long as he lived under the sky of this Berg. He was kept
up-to-date on the Ducal pair even if he didn’t try to seek it out. People persisted for a time in their
interest in illegitimate children, the marriage that upended the entire empire, and the mistress who
became a duchess.

New rumors abounded every day, which were then followed by various types of criticism and
speculation. The aristocratic society was most enthusiastic about the position, but the university
setting—where the Duchess entered and the doctor’s son, one of the scandal’s central figures—wasn’t
all that different.

For the past year, Kyle had been living in a state of detachment, almost quarantined, as if he was
completely uninvolved in the events that were happening around him. Despite others’ attempts to draw
him into the drama, Kyle remained stoic, knowing that the Duke of Herhardt’s influence was the reason
behind their silence.

But Kyle knew the truth how the Duke was a madman when it came to his wife. The nobles of Berg
quickly learned this as well, as the Duke proved it without hesitation, using any means necessary to
protect his beloved Duchess.

The noblemen, who understood the brutality of the Duke’s methods, were too afraid to speak out
against him. Yet his power was not limited to just this one thing, and the fact that everything else
remained unchanged made people even more afraid of the Duke of Herhardt.
After the Duke was no longer seen, Kyle headed to Etman’s hospital. His long strides determined as if he
marched through the streets of Arvis with his closest friend. Despite his actions, his opinion of the Duke,
Matthias von Herhardt, never wavered;

He wasn’t a good man, but somehow, he was still able to be a loving husband.

It was a strange paradox that Kyle had come to accept and even predict.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The Duke’s schedule was a whirlwind of activity, with no time for rest or leisure.

From a Foreign Ministry luncheon to a hotel meeting with businessmen, and finally, a board meeting to
finalize new overseas oil investments, his schedule was jam-packed. His personal assistant, Mark Evers,
followed closely behind, making sure everything ran smoothly, without a single word of complaint and
with no room for a mistake.

As the Duke prepared to leave Arvis, his Duchess, his beloved Leyla von Herhardt, approached him, her
eyes filled with impatience.

“How many days will your business take?” she asked.

The Duke, lost in thought, replied simply, “About a week.”

Despite the tight schedule, the Duchess couldn’t hide her joy at the thought of seeing her husband again
sooner than expected. “I’ll be waiting,” she said with a smile, as the Duke leaned in for a goodbye kiss.

Mark Evers knew that the Duke would accomplish everything in that one week, no matter the cost. And
as he followed the Duke through the hotel lobby and into the banquet hall, he reminded himself that,
even if the schedule was unreasonable, he had no choice but to accept it and make it work. The Duke’s
posture and smile were stoic, as if it was just another day at work, his courtesy and habits ingrained in
him.

Mark Evers deftly stepped back as they neared the banquet hall’s entrance, giving the Duke the
opportunity to command attention. The Duke’s presence was felt even more strongly under Mark’s
skillful direction, and as a result, the room became silent and everyone’s attention was drawn to him like
a metal to magnet. In what appeared to be anticipation of the Duke’s arrival, the air began to change
and shift.

It was well known that the Duke was quite detested. Many people were unhappy with his marriage and
his vigorous economic expansion since they upended the conventional aristocratic society. The Duke
was strong and in charge despite everything, and his presence was undeniable.

Many powerful families lost their way and fell apart in the post-war upheaval, but Herhardt was getting
richer and richer every day while embracing the new era’s order.
Whilst emergent businessmen kept their rivals in check and adoring the name’s aura, the aristocrats
wanted to rely on him to undermine the rules.

Matthias slowly approached the threshold of the dinner hall after pausing for a while. Whatever it could
be, the men assembled here graciously extended a warm welcome to the young proprietor of the
Herhardt family.

Matthias started to move through them.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Mr. Etman! Doctor!”

As Kyle stepped onto the second floor of the hospital, a familiar voice caught his attention. He turned to
see a young girl, her bright green eyes shining in the sunlight, running towards him. She was out of
breath and smiling, her blonde hair braided and swaying like a flawed pendulum as she stopped in front
of him.

“I’m not a doctor yet,” Kyle replied with a gentle smile, ruffling the girl’s messy hair.

“Then what are you?” She tilted her head in curiosity.

“I’m still a student,” Kyle replied, his fingers lingering on the girl’s head as memories of his childhood
with Leyla flooded back to him. The soft touch of her hair, the way her eyes shone, the way she stole his
heart all those years ago.

“But I’ll call you doctor. Because you’re a doctor for me.” The child spoke with determination, and Kyle
couldn’t help but smile in response. The girl’s face lit up like the sun, her stubbornness endearing to him.

“This is for you, sir.” The child fumbled in her pockets and pulled out a ripe peach. “You gave me
chocolate last time, and cookies.”

“Is that why you’re repaying me?” Kyle asked with a smile.

“Yes!” The child’s answer was strong and sure. “It’s a really delicious peach. Make sure you eat it,” she
added, as if sharing a great secret.

With that, the child took off down the hallway, leaving Kyle with the peach in his hand. He watched her
go, her receding figure reminding him of Leyla in her youth. Before disappearing around the corner, the
child turned and waved, her bright smile lighting up the hallway like a torch against void, one last time.

With a peach that the child had given him, Kyle ascended the stairs one more story. He spent the
majority of the day in his study at the hospital’s end of the third floor, with the exception of a brief
period to assist his father. With a library of Etman’s medical literature that had been accumulated over
many generations, it was the ideal location to focus on studies.
Kyle stood up from the desk and walked over to the study’s window. From where he was standing, he
could see a little park located behind the hospital. In between looking at the peach in his fingers and a
group of white pigeons ascending into the sky, Kyle lowered his sight.

As a young boy, he had a plethora of things he wanted to give to Leyla, the girl he loved the most. He
longed to provide her with good school supplies, books, and snacks, his heart breaking at the thought of
her going without. To his relief, Leyla accepted his gifts gratefully, but she also made sure to repay him
in kind.

At first, Kyle couldn’t help but wonder if Leyla didn’t want to be in debt to him, or even if she hated him?
But he soon discovered the truth; Leyla was simply trying to express her gratitude with things that were
precious to her.

From that day on, Kyle accepted her gifts with open arms, her offerings of colorful bird feathers,
mysterious pebbles, and wild fruits all holding a special place in his heart.

But of all the gifts, it was the wild fruits that he treasured the most. They were a reflection of her wild
and free spirit, and every time he bit into one of her offerings, he felt like he knew her a little bit better.
And the fruit just like Leyla, were all sweet and delicious.

Kyle sat by the window, staring out at the park below, savoring the taste of the juicy peach in his hand.
He allowed himself to let his thoughts drift to the girl who had dominated his childhood, her bright
green eyes forever etched in his mind.

Their love was unfulfilled, but the memories of their childhood together were still precious to him like
priceless jewels.

Leyla had been his dearest friend, sister, and….his lover,

and those beautiful days they had shared had helped shape him into the person he was today.

He closed his hand around the hard peach pit, the sweet nectar still clinging to his fingers.

Thank you, Leyla,

for all the happiness you’ve brought me,

He thought, a smile spreading across his face.

With a sense of contentment, Kyle stood up, the sunlight cracking through the window, bathing him in a
warm glow.

He made his way to his desk, piled high with medical books, and slowly opened the bookshelf. It had
become a daily ritual for him to look at the picture frame, remembering the girl who had once been a
precious part of his life.
As he began to study, the quiet room was filled with the sound of pages turning and Kyle’s mind filled
with memories of her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Leyla carefully examined the photograph once again after meticulously cleaning the frame to her
satisfaction. The Duke was depicted in Bill Remmer’s lone photograph. He was positioned in the middle,
with the other users lining up behind him.

Her eyes shifted from Uncle Bill’s extreme left side and paused on the face of the young kid Duke in the
center. The year before the mail wagon carried the girl was shown at the bottom of the image.

He appeared to be a boy of around 17, yet oddly, his stance and demeanor were the same as they were
right now. Matthias had a similar reaction to the pictures and portraits that were displayed throughout
the Duke’s home. Even when he was quite little.

Leyla beamed a little because she found it comical. She then gave Uncle Bill another soft glance that had
a hint of her smile.

Leyla couldn’t help but daydream about taking a trip to Lovita with Matthias during their next vacation.
The two countries had once been at war, but now the border was open and relations were slowly
improving.

Though she knew the winter would be tough, she couldn’t help but hope that next year they could make
the journey. She longed to visit Sienna and pay her respects at Uncle Bill’s graveside, where she could
imagine him resting peacefully on the beautiful beaches.

Leyla’s heart skipped a beat as she heard the knock on the door. She was excited for the rare
opportunity to spend some alone time with her son, Felix, now that Elysee von Herhardt was going out
for the afternoon.

“Yes, come on in!”

As she made her way to the door, Felix’s bright laughter was heard coming from the other side,
penetrating through thick walls.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by the nanny, who skillfully handed Felix over to her. Leyla
couldn’t help but feel her heart melt as she hugged her son, who had been so mature and well-behaved
with his two grandmothers.

“Duchess Norma is taking a nap, and Duchess Elysee is getting ready to go out. And the master is coming
back this afternoon,” the nanny informed her in a subtle tone.
“Already?” Leyla’s eyes widened in surprise, her excitement growing. She had been waiting day by day,
there’s still another day left to fill a week.

“Yes. Mr. Evers said he had contacted Carlsbar Central Station to wait until three o’clock,” the nanny
added.

Leyla’s smile grew brighter like a rising moon, she was willing to forgive Matthias for not promising to
come back early after several phone calls. It was a pleasure to be able to reduce the number of days that
felt too long.

I’m going to take Felix on a walk.” Leyla checked at her watch, a tinge of excitement in her voice. ” You
needn’t come along,” she added.

“Yes, my lady. Go ahead.” The nanny smiled at the Duchess’s order.

 Side Story 16

The car that carried the Duke out of the city towards Arvis was filled with a deafening silence. Though it
appeared as though the Duke was handling his packed schedule with ease, he was quietly dozing off,
buried in the sheets, as if he was carrying the weight of exhaustion on his shoulders. Mark Evers, who
had been pushing through the demanding schedule, also became unusually quiet, his usual chatter
replaced with a contemplative lull.

The fresh aroma of pine trees began to fill the air as the car slowly made its way down the secluded road
leading to the fief. The rustling of leaves, signaling the start of Arvis, could also be heard. Mark Evers,
lost in the tranquil beauty of the landscape, suddenly sat up straight in his seat. Almost at the same
time, the driver spotted a woman walking across the street. Leyla von Herhardt, the Duchess, with her
son in her arms.

Mark Evers turned to wake his sleeping master, but quickly realized it was unnecessary. The Duke had
already opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on the window, where he saw his wife. His face was adorned
with a faint smile, a sight that Mark Evers knew to be reserved for the Duchess alone.

Without hesitation, Mark Evers gestured for the driver to stop the car and the Duke stepped out, leaving
his jacket behind.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Matthias said, before adjusting his jacket and tie, making sure
everything was in its place. His smooth movements, from buttoning his jacket to adjusting his cufflinks,
were effortless as flowing water.

“I’ll see you at the mansion,” Matthias said softly as he turned to leave. The moment Leyla caught sight
of him, she waved her hand, and Felix, in her arms, mimicked her.

Matthias laid his hands nonchalantly on his back and started to stroll towards his wife and son. The
automobile continued to go away in silence. Leyla’s steps accelerated as the car vanished from view. She
walked with the grace of a feather even while carrying Felix, who grew heavier every day.

Matthias halted in his tracks. For a moment, his cerulean eyes captured a beautiful image of her walking
down the path, past the flickering shadows of the lovely trees.

…and here she comes.

She was approaching him like the sound of an endless green wave, the wind playing with her hair.
The sound of laughter and joy filled the dull air as she paused her stride. Matthias, caught off guard by
her sudden stop, watched as she chatted and laughed with their son before slowly put him down in the
ground.

“Daddy!” Felix’s shout jarred the slumbering afternoon. The child broke free from her grasp and ran
towards his father with arms wide open.

His roomy sailor collar flapped like wings as he waddled. Matthias scooped up the young boy with a
smile, marveling at how much stronger and sure-footed he had become, making it quite a distance
without tripping.

“Hello, daddy.” Felix grinned and waved at him, then happily hugged his father’s leg.

“Hello” Matthias smiled, taking a glance at his child, and picked him up. “Felix.”

Leyla joined in their embrace with a face beaming with happiness. Matthias reached out and took her
hand. Together, the three of them began walking hand in hand along the Platanus trail, basking in the
late summer sun and each other’s company. Like a shaft of sunshine breaking through the trees, Leyla’s
voice glittered with joy as she recalled the events of the past week and the botany she learned today.

“I’m so glad you came back early,” she said, her eyes shining with happiness as she looked up at
Matthias.

Matthias turned his head and looked down at his wife standing next to him. Her gaze met his with a fiery
intensity as she eagerly awaited his response.

“I’ve been waiting for a long time,” she exclaimed, her voice filled with longing.

“You’re going to use it as a means of desire?” Matthias teased, but Leyla was undeterred.

“Yes,” she responded confidently. “That’s not everything, but that’s true.”

Ears that were all crimson and hands that were all a-flutter, little bit of shyness that couldn’t be hide not
even with a child’s laughing, was actually rather endearing. The excitement bubbling within her was
palpable, and Matthias couldn’t help but feel swept up in it.

With a bold laugh, she grabbed Matthias’ hand and pulled him along the Platanus road, exchanging silly
jokes and laughter as they walked side by side, turning the once peaceful road into a hubbub.

As they approached the grand, colorful gates of Arvis, Leyla paused, her expression growing serious. “I
missed you,” she confessed, her eyes shining with emotion. “I keep thinking of you, and the more I think
about you, the more I missed you. So I’ve been waiting a long time.”

She felt a little hollow after realizing that it was much simpler than she had expected to voice her mind.

“And you?” Leyla asked, even though she already knew the answer, “Did you miss me? Like a demanding
baby, all she wanted was to hear his answer.
Matthias didn’t need to say anything, his actions spoke louder than words as he pulled Leyla into a
tender kiss. Leyla accepted his answer. She loved the sweetness and intimacy of their kiss, the way their
lips brushed and their breath mingled. Not even in her wildest dreams did she think she’d be able to
share this moment with this man.

“Daddy, daddy.” Felix’s unexpected, heartbreaking cry broke the silence. The child started whining just
as their lips were about to touch again,

“Dad..Dad….” He was wriggling in Matthias’ arms, wanting his own kiss from his father. “Me too…me
too!” with a pout on his face, he looked at his dad and then kissed him on the cheek.

“Good for you, Matthy, Because your son loves you so much.” Leyla looked on at the two men with a
warmth in her heart. ‘Go and show him how much you love.’ Felix was definitely a really smart kid given
how well he grasped the meaning of that word.

Laughing and filled with love, Matthias obliged, planting a kiss on his son’s cheek. Felix began to laugh
and chatter excitedly, as if he was happy with the love he received.

“Our next child will love you like Felix,” Leyla declared, her eyes locked onto Matthias’. “I’m sure it is. I
can be sure.”

Together, the three of them walked through the gates of Arvis, their hearts full of love, hope and
excitement for the future.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The Duke’s family left Arvis as the cool winds of fall began to blow, signaling the end of summer.

Felix, who had only been with the family for a short time, had grown significantly and surprised the staff
at the Ratz mansion. Leyla, meanwhile, had been working hard to prepare for the next semester of
school and had learned how to swim. She was proud of her academic progress, but was even more
thrilled to be able to float in the water without fear.

“I want to learn backstroke next summer.” One evening, as she sat on the dock watching the sunset, she
expressed her desire. “I want to be able to swim like you”

Matthias, who was with her, only smiled in response, but Leyla felt her pride hurt a little.

“Fine.” he said, soft like a waterbird’s feather. “Let’s do it. I’ll teach you.”

With just that word, Leyla felt like she was living a happy summer again.

The question is when is the right time to tell him?

Leyla sent a doubtful glance Matthias’ way across the table. She caught the attention of him, who had
just set down his glass of water. Mathias was illuminated by a dry ray of sunlight that peaked through
the new drapes and twitched his brows as if he had something to say.

“Are you busy today?” Leyla asked, looking at Matthias’ familiar face that had changed a bit, but still
retained its familiar features. She gently picked up her napkin.

“Maybe,”

“Then would it be hard to have dinner together?” Leyla asked.

“Well…” Matthias paused for a moment, lost in thought. He then rang for a server and waited for them
to come over. Leyla held her napkin tightly as she waited for their conversation to end.

“Leyla, do you mind if the meal is a little late?” Matthias asked the server.

“How late?”

“Maybe around 9,” Matthias said.

“All right, I’ll wait,” Leyla readily agreed. She considered whether it would be better to talk now, but
decided it would be better to wait and make sure.

After finishing his meal, Matthias quickly left for work, leaving Leyla behind. Instead of tending to the
garden or reading, as she usually did, Leyla lay down on the long sofa in the drawing room and closed
her eyes for a moment. But when she woke up, it was time for her to head off to school.

“Are you all right, my lady?” The nanny asked anxiously, as she entered the room with Felix. “Are you
feeling unwell?”

“No, I’m not sick,” Leyla replied, giving Felix an awkward hug.

“But these days, you’ve been feeling tired and sleepy, and…” The nanny’s eyes grew wide with worry.
“Don’t tell me…”

“Can I see Dr. Feller this evening?” Leyla asked shyly, patting Felix on the head.

“Of course, my lady! Should we call him now?” The nanny’s eyes were fixed on Leyla’s blushing cheeks.
Leyla, lost in thought for a moment, shook her head.

“I’ll see him in the evening, after class,” Leyla said.

“School? Oh, my lady, are you going to school?” The nanny exclaimed, surprised.

But Leyla simply nodded calmly, her gentle smile hiding a determined glint in her eyes. The nanny, who
knew Leyla to be a stubborn Duchess, knew there was no changing her mind.
“You’re not going to ride your bike, are you?” The nanny asked, noticing Leyla’s silver bicycle leaning
against the mansion’s flower bed. Leyla laughed and shook her head.

“I won’t ride a bike.”

“Then, hurry up and get the car…….”

“No, I’ll walk there. It’ll be a nice walk,” Leyla said, as she picked up her leather bag, an old birthday
present from her uncle Bill, and slung it over her shoulder.

The nannies and maids were left in shock and disbelief as they tried in vain to change Leyla’s mind, but
to no avail. Leyla finally managed to go to school only after reassuring the girls who followed her to the
entrance of the mansion.

“Oh! I’ll tell the Duke myself after seeing Mr. Feller!” Leyla exclaimed, turning around with a spring in
her step. The puzzled maids’ faces soon transformed into smiles, mirroring Leyla’s own.

“Yes, my lady!” They chorused in unison, basking in the autumn sun. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep it a
secret!”

he Duchess’s determination and confidence left them in awe, they agreed to keep her secret, secret.
 Side Story 17

The announcement of the Duchess of Herhardt’s pregnancy swiftly circulated amongst the upper
echelons of Carlsbar and Ratz. While it’s not unusual for a vibrant and fertile couple to expand their
brood, the tantalizing tidbit that the expectant Duchess is currently enrolled in college set tongues
wagging with fervor.

“A child born of such brilliance is sure to be exceptional,”

Elysee von Herhardt shared her viewpoint, and Norma had a similar attitude. No matter what they
thought, Matthias had already decided, so there was no point in arguing with him about it. His ability to
create a happy union despite the apparent drawbacks of his previous marriage was actually a credit to
his tenacity.

“If you do choose to proceed, give it your all,” During their recent phone call, Elysee mentioned
something unexpected before they hung up. “This means that as a member of the esteemed Herhardt
family, you must not allow anyone to disregard you. Is that clear?”

Leyla could now distinguish the intricacies in her mother-in-tone law’s despite her low voice. She saw
that when it was conveying sincere feelings, it grew kinder and more deliberate.

“Yes, mother!” Leyla exclaimed with unbridled enthusiasm, unaware of the fervor in her voice. “I will
give it my all. I promise to do my very best.”

Elysee sighed with a hint of concern, wondering if Leyla’s exuberance was too unladylike, but she
refrained from voicing any complaints. Leyla was determined to keep her promise to her family, and she
would try her hardest to do so. However, there are certain things in life that even an unwavering will
cannot conquer, and morning sickness was undoubtedly one of them.

As the morning sickness resurfaced, Leyla found herself succumbing to exhaustion and sought refuge on
the couch, covering herself with a throw blanket. Soon, she drifted off into a deep slumber. When she
eventually stirred from her sleep, she noticed the fading sunlight filtering through the curtains and the
comforting presence of Matthias by her side. A radiant smile illuminated her pallid features as she
realized she was cradled in his embrace.

“Have you had anything to eat?” Matthias asked Leyla, as their eyes locked. He had asked the question
with the regularity of a routine greeting ever since the beginning of her morning sickness.

“I managed to eat a bit today.” she replied, gently touching her stomach.
Matthias lifted his gaze and glanced the basket of peaches on the table. “Another peach?” he queried,
noting that their bedroom had been perfumed with the sweet aroma of the fruit ever since Leyla
became pregnant.

Leyla had announced her pregnancy during a late dinner they shared one night, her eyes sparkling with
uncontainable excitement and anticipation, as if she were divulging a secret surprise. Matthias had to be
cautious in concealing the fact that he already knew, putting forth a concerted effort to keep his
composure.

As Matthias observed Leyla attempting to suppress what she wanted to divulge that morning, an inkling
of apprehension stirred within him. By the evening, his intuition had been confirmed during a phone
conversation with his physician, Dr. Feller.

“I believe my wife may be pregnant,”

Matthias disclosed over the phone. He requested an appointment with his physician, and as he relayed
his suspicion, the doctor remained silent for a prolonged moment.

“Did you already have an inkling, Your Grace?” the doctor inquired, his voice betraying a sense of
indescribable awkwardness. “The Duchess wishes to inform you of the news in person, so please
maintain discretion…”

“Understood,” Matthias replied to the doctor, his voice calm but tinged with embarrassment. “I’ll feign
ignorance.”

It wasn’t difficult to comprehend Leyla’s desire for secrecy, and so Matthias took it upon himself to
safeguard the information.

“My wife had a rough time with her first pregnancy.” As the preliminaries were finished, Matthias spoke
calmly about the subject at hand. His military wounds pale in comparison to the recollections of those
times when he was powerless to save a Leyla who was nine months pregnant.

“I hope things go smoothly this time,” Matthias spoke in a soft voice that lacked its usual conviction.
“Although, I trust that with Dr. Feller’s expertise, any worries I have will be rendered meaningless.”

The call drew to a close with formalities exchanged, but the weight of Matthias’ request lingered in the
air. “Please take good care of my wife,” he repeated, a note of urgency in his voice.

After that, the doctor routinely visited the mansion without requesting a visit to check the Duchess’s
health. They trusted Dr. Feller’s expertise and were comforted by the fact that Leyla and the baby were
healthy, aside from the usual morning sickness.

But Matthias couldn’t shake off the feeling of anticipation and excitement as they headed back to the
mansion that night. He knew the surprise that awaited him, yet Leyla seemed to be playing a game of
cat and mouse with her words during dinner, teasing him with her hints.
As the night grew longer, Matthias’s expectations only grew stronger, fueling his eagerness to finally
hear the words he had been waiting for.

Matthias felt relieved at Leyla’s response, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he should have
reacted better.

‘How does he feel?’

Obviously, that was the simplest thing to answer.

‘He is happy.’

The miracle of life was growing inside the woman he loved, it was also Leyla’s fondest wish. He doubt
Leyla had anything she was more excited for. They work hard at making child an actuality. And naturally,
this would happen; it was predictable.

It wasn’t until Leyla’s confession after dinner that the missing piece fell into place. Matthias was struck
with a mix of emotions, but Leyla’s joy and excitement were contagious.

“Can you give me a hug?” Leyla asked by showing her arms wide open “Please give me a hug,” Her
emerald eyes sparkled brightly, filled with cautious expectations and tension. For him, hugging the
attractive woman with all his strength wasn’t difficult at all.

Matthias gave Leyla an unexpected gift that day: a basket of luscious, juicy peaches.

‘I want sweet and crunchy peach. That look flawless and pretty.’

Leyla said seriously, staring at him who first struggled to understand the significance of her demand. But
as Leyla described how crucial the sweet fruit was to satisfying her pregnancy cravings, as elusive as the
wish was, Matthias was willing to grant it.

Leyla’s face beamed as she held a basket of peaches in her arms, which was hardly a gift. She carefully
chose the best peaches for her beloved while maintaining a determined expression in her eyes. Over
time, Matthias, who had been watching, started laughing

“You can have them all to yourself, Leyla,”

“Still…”Leyla’s serious expression remained unchanged as she extended a peach in each hand towards
Matthias. “Which one do you think is the most beautiful?” Leyla claimed, implausibly, that in Matthias’s
opinion, both peaches are identical.

“You pick one for me. I’m going to eat the prettiest one first.” Matthias chuckled at Leyla’s enthusiasm
for peaches. He could see the joy in her eyes as she carefully inspected each one, trying to find the
perfect one.

Matthias carefully examined the basket of peaches. Finally, his eyes landed on a particularly vibrant and
luscious peach on the left-hand side of the basket. He held it up to Leyla with a sense of triumph.
As she gazed at the chosen peach, a mixture of emotions flickered across Leyla’s face. Matthias could
sense her inner turmoil, but he didn’t pry. Instead, he stood by her side, offering silent support as she
composed herself.

Soon enough, Leyla’s laughter echoed through the room, and she began to eat the peaches one by one
with utmost care and reverence. Each bite seemed like a small ritual to Matthias, who remembered the
sweet scent and sound of Leyla enjoying the fruit on a previous occasion.

As he watched her savor the peaches, Matthias couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion. He knew that
their child was growing inside Leyla’s belly, nourished by the same sweetness and care that she was now
taking with each bite. It was a moment he would never forget.

“I ate peaches, and I ate other things.” Leyla spoke inaudibly, as if in a dream, and her voice was scarcely
heard. In a trance-like state, Matthias continued to tenderly brush her head.

“What else?” Matthias leaned in with a curious expression, his eyes fixed on her face.

“A tiny chicken and an egg and a little bit of bread,” she murmured, her words barely audible as she
snuggled closer to him.

Matthias gazed down at his wife with a furrowed brow, concern etched on his face. “Isn’t that food bad
for you to eat when you’re not feeling well?” he asked, his voice laced with worry.

Leyla’s eyes widened with surprise as she looked at him “Don’t be quick to blame the servants for
something I’ve already approved,” she said firmly. “I did my research and found out that a well-formed
placenta can help alleviate morning sickness. Eating a lot of eggs and meat can also be beneficial for the
baby’s development.”

“The thought of consuming it during bouts of nausea doesn’t sound appealing,”

“I need to focus on my studies, and I can’t afford to have this lingering pain distract me. It’s better to
endure a shorter but more intense period of pain than to have it drag on indefinitely.” Leyla’s voice was
resolute as she spoke, her eyes fixed on Matthias

“Ah, so it’s not just some random idea you came up with?” Matthias said teasingly.

With a mischievous giggle, Leyla propped herself up on the pillows, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Well, that conclusion is sensible, isn’t it?” However, the glint in her eyes faded quickly as a wave of
nausea washed over her once more. The morning sickness had returned, leaving her looking pale and
sickly.

Matthias’ gaze softened as he looked down at Leyla, who was once again lying on his lap. “Why don’t
you stay in bed, Leyla?” he suggested gently, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead.
“I’ll be fine here, maybe I’ll sleep here” Leyla shook her head stubbornly, snuggling closer to him, “For
some reason, my morning sickness seems to worsen when I lie in bed. Maybe it’s the angle or
something.”

“What sets apart a sofa from a bed?”

“I’m not sure about that, but it just seems like…… That is the feeling.”

Leyla’s words might have seemed illogical, but Matthias couldn’t help but find her adorable as she spoke
with a glint in her eyes.

“I know It does seem a little implausible.” After close inspection, Leyla scrunched up her face in
displeasure at her husband’s strange approach to treating nausea by eating eggs and meat while
avoiding sleeping on a bed because of discomfort. “Unfortunately, I’m powerless in this situation. If
morning sickness takes over, my ability to think logically goes out the window.” Her voice trailed off as
she admitted. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, despite having much more to express. Matthias
placed a cold hand on her sweat-dampened forehead and let out a quiet exhale.

“Matthy, could you read me a book?” Leyla’s eyes fluttered open after a prolonged period of rest, and
she addressed Matthias with a request. Her plea caused a crease to form on Matthias’ forehead,
accentuating the worry lines etched there.

“Books?” Matthias echoed, slightly puzzled.

Leyla’s eyes fixated on a book laid out on the table, “Could you take a look at that book for me? I haven’t
completed my test yet, and it might help if you read it out loud.” She gestured towards a paleontology
book sitting adjacent to a basket of fresh peaches.

With a grin, Matthias opened the thick tome, bearing the remnants of Leyla’s fingerprints. As he began
to speak, his voice resonated with a soothing quality, delving into the intricate details of ancient life’s
evolution. The fragrance of the peaches mingled with the gentle cadence of his voice, permeating the
stillness of the night air.

Leyla shut her eyes and listened intently, the occasional pang of nausea quelled by the pleasant
atmosphere around her. It turned out to be a rather tranquil evening.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

As the winter break drew near, Leyla von Herhardt’s reputation had taken a nosedive, earning her a
notorious status. The Duchess, who had been held in high regard by her peers in the previous semester,
was now viewed with a mixture of fear and disdain, as her visibly pregnant form made an appearance in
the classroom.

Yet, as Leyla stood before a poster, her swollen belly proudly displayed, her face radiated with a bright
aura of contentment, undaunted by the snide remarks and sarcastic congratulations thrown her way.
Her joyous smile spoke volumes about her unshakeable spirit, defying the notion that she was as “crazy”
as her husband.

“You’re not your average kid, are you?” Elysee von Herhardt’s voice crackled over the phone as she
processed the news, yet, there was a hint of pride in her voice as she praised Leyla, “You’ve done an
outstanding job, my dear.” As she bid her farewell, her tone softened, conveying a deep affection for her
unconventional offspring.

Leyla replayed the brief conversation in her mind, relishing the joy it had brought her. And each time she
did, she felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach, as if the child within was also sharing in her
happiness.

“Matthy! Quick! Come here!” Leyla exclaimed, sensing the tiny life within her stir. She longed for
Matthias to share in the moment with her, but he remained as composed as ever.

“It’s moving, can’t you feel it?” Leyla urged, pulling his hand to her abdomen, where the baby was
kicking and squirming, almost as if it was eager to make its presence known.

Matthias acquiesced to his wife’s request, staying by her side as she excitedly shared the movements of
their unborn child. Although it wasn’t their first pregnancy, there was still a sense of wonder and joy in
seeing their child come to life within her.

Leyla finally released his hands once the baby settled down. He remained by her side, gazing at her lying
in bed. The flickering flames of the fireplace danced across her body, casting shadows that accentuated
her curves.

“Let me take care of you,” Matthias offered, his hand tenderly holding a towel as he approached her
chest. Leyla hesitated at first but then relaxed as Matthias gently wiped her body, his touch conveying
his love and care for her.

Leyla’s initial hesitation gave way to a rush of excitement as Matthias’ towel touched her skin, sending
shivers down her spine. The warmth of the towel coupled with the tender touch of her husband ignited
a fire within her, causing her heartbeat to quicken with each passing moment.

Matthias held back until Leyla’s cheeks were flushed with desire. His gaze lingered on her body, now
carrying their child, giving him a sense of pleasure unlike any before. It was a contented feeling, a sense
of fulfillment that left Leyla feeling drowsy yet satisfied.

As they lay in bed, intertwined and holding each other close, Leyla buried her face in the crook of his
neck, relishing the comfort of his embrace. The once unfamiliar experience of sleeping in each other’s
arms had become a nightly ritual, bringing them closer together as they awaited the arrival of their
child.

Leyla’s voice trailed off into the quiet darkness of the room, her worries about her changing body
weighing heavily on her mind. “Soon, I’ll resemble a penguin,” she whispered softly, almost to herself.
“”Maybe I won’t look pretty anymore. But can you still tell me that I’m pretty?” Her question hung in the
air, seeking reassurance.

Matthias’s gentle lips on her forehead was comforting as he listened to her concerns. Without
hesitation, he answered her unspoken plea. “I will” His voice was filled with love and tenderness as he
held her close, promising to shower her with compliments as much as she needed. “I’ll tell you’re pretty
as many times as you want to hear it, Leyla.”
 Side Story 18
(END)

With the arrival of spring, a new Herhardt emerged into the world. The sun shone brightly on that
afternoon, casting a warm glow on the blooming buds of the flower tree.

In a hushed tone and with swift steps, the hospital staff approached and shared the news, “A baby has
been born to the Duchess and they are preparing to introduce the newborn to you shortly.”

Matthias gently placed his cup down on the table and turned his head towards the door. As the formal
message of congratulations from the staff came to a close, a team of medical professionals led by none
other than Dr. Feller, Matthias’ personal physician, entered the room. They provided updates on the
health and wellbeing of both mother and child, and bid their congratulations before departing with
beaming smiles.

The VIP room, reserved exclusively for the Duke’s family, was enveloped in a serene stillness. Matthias
sat in contemplative silence, his gaze fixed upon the blossoming branches of the flower tree swaying
outside the window. The two mistresses of Arvis sat across from him, observing his wordless demeanor
with a quiet understanding. Meanwhile, Felix, who had eagerly awaited the arrival of his new sibling,
had succumbed to slumber after an arduous wait.

As the golden light of spring flooded into the VIP room, a gentle voice pierced the serene stillness.
“Congratulations, Matthias, for now you have been blessed with the gift of two children,” Norma
whispered. Her voice carrying a sense of warm familiarity that only a grandmother could impart.

Arriving at the hospital straight from the company, Matthias cut an impeccable figure – the very
epitome of a Duke Herhardt. His expression and demeanor were equally unblemished, leaving little
indication that he was a man consumed with worry upon hearing the news of his beloved wife’s
childbirth. The two Duchesses, apprehensive that Matthias might display any unbecoming behavior that
would betray his royal station, exchanged embarrassed glances that could not have been more
divergent in nature.

“Thank you, Grandma. And Mother.” Matthias turned his gaze to his grandmother and mother with a
serene countenance and spoke in a measured tone, his lips curled up into a gentle smile, one that was
no different from his usual expression of composed elegance.

As they engaged in some ceremonial small talk, the attendant made a reappearance, interrupting their
conversation with news that the hospital room had been thoroughly cleaned and was now ready for
their use.
“We shall venture forth as a family once Felix awakens, so you go to Leyla first.” Elysee spoke to
Matthias, as she lovingly patted her slumbering grandson’s head, cradled securely in her arms. While
she was uncertain of Matthias’ thoughts on the matter, she felt that it was only fitting for Leyla to be
greeted first by her husband.

Matthias rose from his seat, offering a curt nod of acknowledgement before departing the VIP room. As
he smoothed out the fabric of his clothes, the manner in which he exited seemed almost callous and
detached.

Elysee von Herhardt, watching her son’s departure with a furrowed brow, could not help but feel a pang
of disappointment. “I carried him in my heart all these years, yet I hardly recognize the man before me,”
she lamented, her gaze turning to Norma with a questioning glint in her eye. “How can he be so
indifferent on a day like this, after what he had done for his wife.”

In the waning days of the previous month, Matthias revealed his bold plan to relocate the final resting
place of Bill Remmer, situated in Lovita, to the town of Berg. However, in order to expeditehis plan, he
required the full cooperation of Lovita’s royal family.

Although Elysee von Herhardt raised objections, Norma, being the wise matriarch that she is, ultimately
acquiesced to her grandson’s wishes. She understood all too well the profound sorrow of a child
separated from their parents’ graves in a distant land beyond the border.

“What do you mean by parents?” Elysee von Herhardth inquired, pondering the true origins of the
Duchess of Herhardt. Does Matthias wanted to brazenly proclaim the empire that his wife is a
gardener’s daughter?

Elysee von Herhardt recoiled at the thought, yet found herself unable to resist until the bitter end.
Tormented by the idea for days on end, she eventually relented, albeit with a caveat. She would never
permit a gardener to be laid to rest in the family’s hallowed cemetery.

Luckily, her son possessed enough sanity to eschew such a brazen act. Instead, the gardener was
interred in a new plot not too far from Arvis. And come springtime’s end, Bill Remmer would slumber
peacefully, gazing out upon the verdant forest he had so cherished in life.

“The magnitude of love that we once shared cannot have dissipated overnight, but alas,” sighed Elysee,
her voice tinged with melancholy. “Today. . . . .”

“Have a look at this Elysee!” Norma chuckeled, gesturing towards the table’s forefront where Matthias
had been seated not long ago. Something glittering had caught her eye, resting beside the untouched
teacup. It was none other than Matthias’ cuff button.

Elysee von Herhardt’s pupils dilated in recognition as she pieced together the implications of this
trinket’s presence.
“Sweet heavens above,” gasped Elysee, unable to fathom that her usually composed son could have
been responsible for such a fidgety blunder. What’s more, she couldn’t shake the memory of how he
had carelessly left his belongings behind, neglecting to acknowledge the mess he had made of her outfit
in the process.

Matthias, typically the epitome of cool and collected, was now evidently riddled with anxiety.

“By the heavens, Matthias!” Those were the only words that escaped her lips.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The VIP room was partitioned into two distinct areas: a reception room reserved for visitors and a
separate hospital room designated for patients. Matthias traversed the corridor connecting these spaces
with a measured gait, every footfall conjuring up memories of the child’s conception, growth, and
eventual emergence into the world.

With newfound understanding, Matthias now comprehended the fullness of Leyla’s pregnancy. Now he
knew what was going through her mind during those trying months, and how much laughter had filled
their lives.

Leyla had expressed concerns over her appearance while pregnant, fretting needlessly over her beauty.
But in reality, every passing moment only served to enhance her radiance in his eyes.

Approaching the threshold of the hospital room, Matthias took a moment to collect himself before
quietly crossing the threshold, his attendant trailing close behind. He had received word that both
mother and child were in good health, but a tinge of trepidation gnawed at him nonetheless.

It was a feeling that often arose whenever he found himself basking in seemingly unattainable
happiness. Mathhias thought to himself, What if everything is really an illusion? What if, upon
awakening, he turned out to be only a man, abandoned and infatuated with a love you are unable to
share?

“Ma…tthy…”

A frail voice, barely above a whisper, drifted through the door of the hospital room, jolting his out of his
reverie. As his gaze flicked towards the sound, he beheld Leyla lying prone on the bed, a mere shadow of
her former self, her delicate frame dwarfed by the size of the mattress.

“Matthy…”

Once again, her lips curved upwards in a quiet smile, her voice barely a whisper as she called out to him.
But even in her faintness, her smile shone like a beacon, illuminating Matthias’ reality.

For so long, he had yearned for her, drawing her smile in his mind’s eye, but it was nothing compared to
the beauty of this moment, this reality.
As if drawn by an invisible force, Matthias stepped forward and enfolded Leyla in a fierce embrace. She
reciprocated, her frail arms trembling as she wrapped them around him.

Their embrace seemed to stretch on for an eternity, until finally, the nurse approached them, cradling
the small bundle in her arms. Reluctantly, they pulled away, but their eyes remained locked, conveying a
silent understanding and a love that transcended words.

Leyla cradled the little bundle in her arms, her voice quivering as she whispered, “Isn’t she beautiful?”
Her face radiated with joy, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. With a smile that could light up
the darkest of nights, “Meet our daughter, Leah.”

The baby was wriggling contentedly in her sleep, almost as if she approved her mother’s chosen name.

Matthias gazed in awe at his daughter’s locks, which were like a sun-kissed field of wheat. “Leah…” He
ran his fingers through them, marveling at their silkiness and the way they seemed to glow in the dim
light of the room.

The little princess Leah von Herhardt had hair precisely like her mother. They were both golden and soft,
seemingly endless in their abundance.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The grave of the gardener was marked by a rose tree. Leyla personally planted the tree on his grave in
the summer of the year the tomb was relocated. The tree improved in stature and beauty over the
course of a year or so, reaching towards the sun and unfurling delicate shade of pink petals that shone
like a beacon of hope, her most prized and beloved rose.

“Mom! It’s grandpa!” Felix exclaimed as he hovered over the grave. His voice brimming with confidence
and excitement.

Leyla’s heart warmed at the sight of her son’s enthusiasm. She beamed with pride and nodded,
affirming his answer.

“Felix, my little genius, you’ve done it again. You remembered grandpa’s resting place, didn’t you?”

When his mother lavished him with praise, the child confidently shouted the flower’s proper name.
“This is a rose!” With a big smile on his face, Felix hold the rose with both hands.

Felix lovingly whispered the names of all the wonders that surrounded him – the endless expanse of sky,
the towering trees, the fluttering birds, and the fluffy clouds. He eagerly shared their names with his
toddling sister, while Leah babbled and cooed in response. Despite her incoherent noises, Felix persisted
in teaching his little sister the magic of language.

As Felix and Leah chattered like friendly birds, Leyla turned to Uncle Bill’s grave and began speaking to
him. She updated him on their lives, telling him about the peculiar and endearing things the children did
at school, passing along greetings from the people of Arvis, and sharing news about Matthias. Leyla
spoke of her relief in knowing that her husband was finally able to speak with a more comfortable mind.

It wasn’t until after Uncle Bill’s funeral that Matthias shared this news with Leyla. Initially left
speechless, she eventually burst into tears, finally able to release some of the deep guilt and longing she
felt for leaving Uncle Bill alone in the distance.

“FELIX! LEAH!”

As the sound of their names echoed through the air, Felix and Leah, inseparable siblings, turned towards
their mother’s voice. Holding each other’s tiny hands tightly, they scurried towards her. With sparkling
blue eyes, they gazed up at Leyla, who couldn’t help but erupt in uncontrollable laughter at the sight of
their innocent faces.

Leyla had always heard people refer to her daughter as “Blonde Matthias,” a nickname that she didn’t
mind because it was an undeniable truth. But despite inheriting her mother’s golden locks, little Leah
was the spitting image of her father in every other way.

“Just give up, Leyla,” Elysee von Herhardt’s eyes twinkled as she spoke, her voice carrying a gentle and
knowing tone. “Have you ever been overwhelmed by the abundance of portraits of the Herhardt
family?”

Leyla pondered for a while and eventually unraveled the enigmatic query – the Herhardt family portraits
bore a striking resemblance to Matthias and their children.

Elysee paused and gazed at her daughter-in-law with admiration. “It’s a gene that’s hard to beat,” she
said with a serious tone. “Having the same hair color as you is like a victory.” As she spoke, she realized
that the only thing Leyla had passed down to Leah was the color of her hair.

“Felix, Leah, let’s pay our respects to your grandfather,” Leyla said, her voice now somber as she led
them towards Uncle Bill’s tombstone. As they approached, Leyla’s eyes grew heavy with emotion as she
gazed upon Leah’s little white shoes.

“Grandpa, I’ll be right back.” Felix mustered up his courage and greeted his grandfather in the most
respectful manner he could. The way Felix pronounced “Grandpa” with such childlike innocence was like
a sweet melody that filled the air and warmed Leyla’s heart.

In time for lunch, Leyla and her children returned to the mansion. Matthias went out to attend a
luncheon meeting, so there were just three duchess servings on the table.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

As the last course was served, Leyla took a deep breath and summoned the courage to share her plan. “I
have been contemplating the idea for a while now, and I wanted to ask if it would be possible to use the
forest cabin as my laboratory?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“A lab?” Casting a curious gaze towards Leyla, Norma said, “Now this could be just the place for you.
With your focus on studying plants and birds, having them in such close proximity could be quite
advantageous. What say you, Elysse? Do you think it’s worth considering?”

Leyla fixed her gaze on Elysee von Herhardt’s face. “What does our consent mean when it’s yours
anyway? ” Elysee gave Leyla a slightly frowning glance. A scowl marred her face as she flashed a bitter
smile.

“But, this Arvis is within your remit; therefore, I must ask for your approval.” Leyla’s grin was forced and
her face was clearly tense. The unpleasant expression on Elysee von Herhardt’s face was matched by a
smile around her lips.

“It seems that furthering your education is still part of your plan.” Norma’s keen observation led her to
remark.

Caught off guard, Leyla responded hesitantly, “What? Oh… yes.”

Elysee contemplated for a moment before expressing her opinion, “Allowing your exceptional intellect
to go to waste would be a travesty. Have you considered the possibility of becoming a professor at Ratz
University, perhaps under the title of Duchess of Herhardt?” She continued, “In my humble opinion that
would be an excellent use of your talents.”

“Professor?” The word reverberated in Leyla’s mind, leaving her taken aback. While she had always
planned to pursue further education after completing her undergraduate studies, she had not yet
considered any concrete objectives beyond that.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” she mused. “Isn’t it possible that being a professor might be a
better fit for you than being a social queen?” Elysee’s playful banter stirred something within Leyla,
causing her to realize that Elysee’s influence on Matthias ran deeper than just her physical appearance.

“Give it your all, my dear.” Elysee’s gaze fixed upon Leyla as she spoke in a soft tone that echoed that of
her son. “The cabin is yours to do with as you please.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Daddy!” Felix’s exuberant voice pierced through the air as he spotted the sleek black car pulling up to
the annex.

Leyla and Leah, who had been admiring the colorful blooms that lined the road, were startled by the
sudden outburst and turned their heads in surprise. As the driver opened the back door, Matthias
emerged, fulfilling his promise to take the children out on a boat.

Leyla quickly wiped the blades of grass from her fingers with a hastily retrieved handkerchief, while Felix
bolted towards his father with unbridled enthusiasm. Not to be outdone, Leah followed closely behind,
her own excitement palpable in the air.
Leyla trailed behind the group, her steps measured and deliberate as she scanned the surrounding area
for any sign of danger. Her dress, a delicate confection of colored fabric, fluttered in the gentle breeze,
while the lace ribbon of her straw hat danced beneath her chin. Her hair cascaded down her neck in
loose waves, lending her an air of ethereal grace.

Matthias looked at them with wonder. The image of his family frolic enjoying the river in the summer
was seared into his mind.

He didn’t care which of the children looked like whom; what mattered was that they were safe and
happy. Looking at Leah one day, for a moment, Leyla’s words from a long-ago conversation flitted
through his mind, but instead of admitting that he had shared her wish, he simply smiled to himself.

In truth, Matthias had always harbored a secret desire for a daughter who resembled Leyla. Leyla
wished for it, and it was a greed that all men feel who love their wife.

But, as he held her in his arms, watching her slip into a peaceful slumber, his heart overflowed with a
fierce, possessive love, he felt an entirely different kind of longing.

Yes, he was still crazy about her. – and he knew that no matter what the future held, she would always
be the one and only woman for him.

Let there be just one Leyla, for she was irreplaceable. And, let him be the only man in the world to have
a woman like her. Always, in the present, future, and for all time.

When the moment came as she had given herself over to slumber, he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on
her forehead, then on her cheek, and her parted lips, savoring the sweetness of her skin. When he ran
his fingers through her hair and caressed the bridge of her nose, a sweet smile bloom on her lips.

He was a less-than-perfect husband no matter how hard he tried, and his twisted love for her may have
lasted till he reaches the bottom of his grave.

Certainly, the way he loved was twisted.

Imperfect, but it was still so, so good –

If only Leyla could be his Leyla forever.

Matthias took a step forward, his eyes fixed on the two children running towards him. Felix was in his
arms again today, delivering his innocent love with a kiss on his cheek. Matthias returned his son’s kiss
and gave the same love to Leah, who became his new joy.

“Matthy! You’re back sooner than I expected,”

Leyla approached, taking a few steps closer to him.

His Leyla….whose smile was the brightest and most beautiful thing in the world.
Matthias carefully handed over his wriggling son to her and cradled his daughter in his arms, stepping
closer to his wife. Warm and tender kisses were shared amid their hearty mirth.

In that moment, Matthias wished for nothing more than for her love to remain unchanged. May she
always be bathed in the same warm, comforting glow of love, enough to ease the painful memories of
her difficult childhood and the hurts he had inflicted upon her. Now that he realized they shared the
same love, albeit in a different way.

In fact, it didn’t matter for if he loved her more.

If love had a spectrum of light and shadow, Matthias was willing to stand by her side even if it meant
facing the darkest shadows. Because his own happiness was in the radiance of Leyla’s light.

As he extended his hand, Leyla clasped it without hesitation, and together they strolled along the
shimmering riverbank. With their daughter cradled in his arms and their son holding his mother’s hand,
they were now a family of four.

As they passed beneath Leyla’s cherished tree, Matthias turned his head and gazed back at the path
they had just taken. His eyes traveled through the heavenly Arvis laid before him.

The verdant forest…

the glittering river…

and the azure sky filled with soaring birds…

until they finally….came to rest upon her face…..

“Leyla…..”

Following a velvety voice that called her name, Leyla turned her head. When her eyes caught his, her
smile became even more radiant.

The afternoon was awash with the beauty of an endless summer forest, shimmering and alive.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

THE END