The little girl arrived at the mansion by a mail wagon in the early spring.
It was around late afternoon when Bill Remmer was hard at work planting rose seeds.
"Are you Mr. Bill Remmer?"
The child asked carefully, in a smooth accent that gave off quite a peculiar feeling.
Bill Remmer simply stood still with a stupefied look on his face.
"Yes, I'm Bill Remmer."
Bill took off his straw hat with the same hands that had scrubbed off the dirt from his clothes. The child swallowed when his tanned face, hidden in the shadow of the broad brim, was revealed.
For Bill, the child's reaction was nothing out of the ordinary. Anyone who first saw Bill Remmer usually reacted the same way because of his rugged appearance.
"Who are you?" Bill's face appeared more frightening as he frowned upon the child.
"Hello, Uncle Bill. I am Leyla Lewellin. I came from Lovita."
The child spoke clearly and slowly.
Lovita… Bill soon realized why her accent had sounded a little different.
"Did you cross the border to the Berg Empire and come here all by yourself?"
"Yes. I came by train."
The child smiled awkwardly, as she unnaturally straightened her posture. At that moment, the postman who had brought the child approached them from behind.
"Ah. This child finally met you, Mr. Remmer."
"Good timing. Why did you bring her here?"
"She was walking all alone with her luggage in front of the station. So, when I asked her where she was going, 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 postman explained with a smile and handed over an envelope to Bill Remmer. It was a letter from a distant relative living in the neighboring country of Lovita.
Bill immediately ripped the envelope open. The letter contained the story of an orphaned child who had previously been taken in by relatives who were now no longer able to foster her because of their "poor" circumstances.
The child's name was Leyla Lewellin. The little girl standing in front of Bill was the orphan mentioned in the letter.
"Damned people. They sure are telling me this news fast."
Astonished, Bill lost his breath. No one in Lovita could foster this little orphan. Bill Remmer was the last among those who had a direct connection with the child. So they had delivered the child to him.
According to the letter, Bill could leave the child in the orphanage if his situation was not favorable enough for raising her.
Bill grumbled and tossed the crumpled paper to the floor. "These people should go to hell. I don't understand how they could send this little girl here all by herself."
As he understood the full extent of the situation, Bill's face turned red with outrage. The child was treated like a mere toy, passed from one relative to another, and doomed to be dumped when no one else desired her. Eventually, she was sent off to a foreign country and given the address of a distant relative she had never met.
"Excuse me, Uncle Bill. I am not that young."
The little girl who had been observing Bill quietly suddenly spoke up.
"I'll be twelve in a couple of weeks."
Bill chuckled with delight as he listened to her rather mature manner of speech. He felt reassured when he learned that she was older than expected, considering the girl looked smaller than her age.
After the postman who had delivered the troublesome girl left, the two were left alone in the garden. Bill covered his head with his hands and prayed to God for help.
Although they were distant relatives, from afar, they seemed more like a father and his daughter. Bill had not seen his distant relatives in over 20 years, but now he was trapped with a child he had never known existed until today.
Even though it was chilly outside, the child wore only a thin layer of clothing. She looked as skinny as an iron-skewer. Her lime green eyes and gold-threaded hair were all Bill could see of her.
Bill came to a conclusion; He couldn't take care of her.
However, the only choice then was to place her in an orphanage, which drove him crazy. Bill cursed the relatives a second time for dragging him into this mess. The little girl flinched and began chewing her red lips.
"Follow me." Bill led the way as he shook his head in frustration. "Let us get some food first before I make a decision."
His blunt words were carried away by the evening breeze. The child's timid steps gradually became light and joyful as the two walked closer to Bill's quarters.
***
"Is that all you're eating?"
The child was carrying a small plate, which Bill frowned at.
"Yes. I only eat a little."
The child smiled politely.
"Child, I hate children who eat very little."
The light from the table lamp shone down on the child's slender wrist, which was revealed under the sleeve that had been carelessly folded up.
"You should eat everything like a cow."
Bill's face became more stern. Slowly blinking her eyes, the troubled Leyla put another loaf of meat and bread onto her plate and hurriedly started gobbling up her food.
"I can't eat like a cow, but uncle, I can eat quite well." Leyla showed a broad smile with bread crumbs strewn over her dainty lips.
"Yes. I can definitely see that." Bill laughed and poured the whiskey into his tall glass. "Aren't you afraid of me?" Bill's face was scrunched up as he attempted to frighten her.
But Leyla just simply stared at him, not daring to look away. "Not at all." She said. "You don't yell at me. You gave me lots of delicious food. So I believe you to be a good person."
'What kind of life has this child been living?'
Bill pondered as he refilled his beer glass. The letter had stated that the child's mother had abandoned her husband and child to elope with another man. The child's father, who had been devastated by the betrayal, became an alcoholic and died of alcohol poisoning. Following that, the girl was raised in the homes of other relatives, only to be abandoned by them in the end.
Although the child had lived a tragic life, Bill still thought it was a ridiculous idea for him to be the one to raise her.
Bill Remmer sipped his beer and decided that he would make his decision by next week.
***
"Did everyone hear? Bill Remmer, the gardener, has started taking care of a young girl."
A young maid dashed into the lounge where the servants spent their leisure time. The servants who had been taking a break turned their attention to the young maid.
"A girl? Mr. Remmer? It'd be more reasonable if he chose to raise a lion or elephant instead."
One of the servants made a snorting noise.
Bill Remmer, the Herhardt household's gardener, was a man who possessed a natural talent for growing flowers. Despite his brusque temper, he had been able to keep his job as a gardener for the past 20 years, all thanks to his talent.
He was deeply trusted by the Herhardt family. Especially Norma, the duchess. Because of her unique love of flowers, she understood and accepted Bill's gardening as well as tantrums. She also decided to give the gardener a cottage in the woods behind the manor house of Herhardt.
Life was easy for Bill Remmer.
He worked in the garden and returned to the cottage for a rest. Despite his time drinking with his fellow workers, he spent most of his time surrounded by flowers and trees. Even after his wife died of an illness decades earlier, he never got attached to another woman.
That Bill Remmer was raising a little girl?
The servants who were relaxing in the lounge came to an agreement that the rumor was utter nonsense.
Until one of the maids sitting by the window shouted,
"Oh my. It must be true! Look over there."
The maid pointed over the glass window with her eyes wide open. The servants all rushed to the window at the same time and their faces lit up with surprise. Bill Remmer was planting with his body hunched down on the other side of the garden, and the rumored petite girl was following in his footsteps.
As she churned along, the girl's golden hair, braided in a single strand, shook back and forth like a pendulum.
"I've still not decided."
Bill repeatedly gave the same answer to any questions about the child.
"I can't leave her here, so I'll have to think about it."
While Bill's thoughts went on through the spring and into the summer, Leyla Lewellin slowly became a permanent resident of 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." The Herhardt's chef, Madam Mona, laughed as she stared out the window. Leyla was staring at the grass and flowers behind the forest cottage that were just starting to bloom.
"She still has a long way to go. She's still smaller than average girls."
"Bill Remmer, take a look at her. Kids are not the same as your plants. They aren't going to grow in a day or two." Madam Mona lowered her basket onto the table with a shake of her head.
"What's this?"
"Cookies and cake. There was a tea party at the manor yesterday."
"I hate sweets."
"Really? This is for Leyla"
Bill Remmer's dark brows furrowed at Madam Mona's abrupt response. That child was not supposed to be here, but the Duke's servants had started to look after Leyla daily.
They would greet her, bring her food, and sometimes pay her a visit, and Bill Remmer was having a tough time dealing with it.
"You should buy some clothes for her. The young lady's skirt seems to be about to go up her knees now." Madam Mona asked him as she watched Leyla chasing a bird. Bill was unable to refute. Even in his eyes, it seemed as if Leyla was wearing unfitted clothes.
"Oh my! Oh my! Look at her!"
Madam Mona was about to leave when she quickly pointed to Leyla and shouted in dismay.
Bill cast a queer glance in the direction Madam Mona was pointing. As the bird she had been chasing landed on a tree branch, Leyla began climbing up the tree swiftly, with athletic and light movements like a squirrel.
"She sure has a talent for climbing trees."
Bill's unconcerned response drew a scowl from Madam Mona. "Bill Remmer! You were aware of her habit of climbing trees and yet you chose to overlook it? How the hell are you raising your child?"
"As you can see, she's growing strong and well."
"You're raising that girl like a wild beast! My God." Madam Mona raised her voice and made a fuss. But Bill just snooped around the window deafeningly. He watched Leyla sit on a thin branch in the thicket, looking at the little birds playing around.
After watching over her for a few months, Leyla Lewellin had proven to be a curious girl who wanted to learn more about the world. Flowers and grass, birds and insects. Anything that caught her attention amazed her and piqued her curiosity.
One night when Leyla hadn't returned for dinner, Bill had gone deep into the forest to find her sitting by the river staring at a flock of water birds. She had been so engrossed in her observation that she hadn't even noticed Bill calling her name over and over.
Madam Mona had returned home after giving him a couple of more scathing lectures. After that, Bill took a leisurely stroll and went back to his cottage.
"Uncle!" Leyla welcomed him with a friendly wave.
The child came down the tree as quickly as she had climbed it and hurriedly approached Bill. Leyla was dressed in a ragged, dull gray one-piece dress with short sleeves. Since she was going to meet the duke later, her hand-me-down dresses seemed inappropriate, so Bill decided to buy her new clothes.
"Get ready and come out." Bill said impulsively when they arrived in front of the back door cottage.
"Ah. Uncle?"
"You don't have to look so puzzled. We're going downtown to buy you some clothes." Bill coughed and uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck. "Duke Herhardt will be here soon, so welcoming him in your current appearance would be a little weird."
"The duke? You mean the owner of this estate, right?"
"Yes. Since it's his break, he'll be back."
"Break? Does the duke attend school?" Leyla tilted her head, frowning. Bill smiled as he stroked the child's unruly hair.
"The duke is only 18 years old so he has no choice but to attend school."
"What?!! 18 years old? The duke?"
Bill's guffaw grew louder in reaction to the child's shocked expression. He brushed the child's fluffy hair with his rough fingertips. It felt as soft as cotton.
***
At the Carlsbar station, a train from the capital had arrived on the platform.
The waiting servants made their way to the station's private section. A tall, slender boy descended onto the platform by the time they lined up in a straight line.
"Hello, Master."
All the other servants quickly bowed their heads towards the boy, starting with the butler Hessen's friendly greeting. Matthias replied to their greetings with a light yet silent gesture in a straight and elegant manner. His rosy lips were curved into a smile that was neither too wide nor too stiff.
The Herhardt's servants didn't start moving until Matthias took a couple of moves. The people in the crowd stood back quickly, allowing the young master to pass through. Matthias walked past the platform at a quick pace, showing no signs of slowing down.
"A carriage?" Matthias smirked as he left the station and spotted a carriage waiting for him.
"Ah….. Yes, master. Madam doesn't believe cars are trustworthy."
"I know. For grandmother, cars are nothing more than a hunk of iron that is unbearably vulgar and dangerous."
"My apologies. Next time…"
"No. 'Classic' things are not bad. Once in a while."
Matthias boarded the carriage in a composed manner. Slow but steady movements flowed from his long arms and legs.
As it passed through the busy shopping streets and the square, the carriage consistently picked up speed.
Matthias' luggage was transported in a separate wagon, which trailed behind the carriage engraved with a golden crest off into the distance.