'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.
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'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.