CH 21

✧ Time To Become An Adult .✧

“I don’t know if I should leave you here alone.” Sighed Bill with a worrisome face.

“Uncle, you’re going to miss the train if you keep worrying like this.”

Leyla kindly encouraged him.

As he was comforted by her confidence in being alone at home, Bill eventually gave in, though he grew a little sentimental in the meantime.

Yesterday afternoon, an obituary was sent to the cottage. Bill’s brother had passed away. Though the two brothers weren’t close and hadn’t seen each other in years, Bill couldn’t overlook the fact that his brother was one of the only remaining family members he had in this world.

Bill decided to take a short break from his job and travel to his hometown for a few days. He had no problem with going there, but his heart was as heavy as steel at the thought of leaving Leyla home all alone.

“Don’t forget to lock the door. Don’t leave the windows open, even if it’s hot outside.” Numerous times since last night he had lectured Leyla with the same words of advice.

“The shotgun is hanging in my room…..”

“I’ll make sure the door and windows are locked, and I’ll put your shotgun next to my sleeping bed. If a bad person turns up, I’m going to shoot them.”

Leyla calmly recited the lines that she had repeatedly heard.

“I’ll eat well, sleep well, and I’ll be doing well.”

Bill was only going to be away for three days at most, but his excessive worry made it look like he would be gone for months. Bill reluctantly took his leave, though he still had a concerned look as Leyla followed him to the mansion’s entrance to see him off.

“Leyla, did something happen at the party that day?” Bill carefully posed a question after catching a glimpse of the stately mansion building.

“No, there were no problems; I had a great time. Really.”

“That’s good then, because you seem to be distancing yourself from Kyle after the party.”

“Me? From Kyle?” Leyla giggled at his nonsensical words. “Ah, we get along fine.… it’s just, we’ve been busy lately.”

“Can I trust what you’re saying?”

“Yes. Why would I lie?”

“That’s true. There’s no way your friendship with Kyle would get awkward. Then Leyla, if you’re afraid of being alone, you can bring Kyl…. No, no. Pretend you didn’t hear that.” Bill flicked his hand fast. “That boy is the most dangerous.”

“Oh, Uncleee !!!.”

“Get this through your head, if he comes over to play, make sure he returns before sunset.”

“Oh c’mon, stop saying strange things, just go right now.” Leyla lovingly swatted him on the back as they arrived in front of the entrance door of the mansion.

Bill looked back several times. He kept reiterating his advice before he walked further, crossing the Platanus road.

Leyla stood there, on the mansion’s front steps, until Bill was no longer in sight. Every time he turned around Leyla flashed him a smile and happy-trails waves at him.

The next three days were going to be a long for her.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Leyla is avoiding me.”

This time, Kyle was sure.

“I think it’s because of the last party.”

It wasn’t difficult to figure out why.

“Right Phoebe, that you’re also thinking the same thing?”

Kyle asked seriously, but Phoebe simply sat on the window frame, pecking at the oats, pretending not to hear. He then sighed deeply as he sounded like a moron babbling to a pigeon.

Another disappointing news came in the form of the content of Leyla’s letter, which Phoebe brought back today.

Buried within the note wrote that Uncle Bill would be in his hometown for a few days, and Leyla planned to spend the day in the library so that the cottage would be empty.

Lately, the type of message he had got had been relatively consistent. She was either going to another friend’s place, or she had an appointment downtown or was helping out in the garden.

Kyle first thought she was notifying him rather than making him come into the vacant cottage in vain. But it just seemed like a bunch of excuses at this point—a slew of clumsy reasons to avoid Kyle Etman.

“I don’t blame her. If that had happened to me, I would do the same.” Sighed Kyle, ruffling his hair.

Before attending the party, he proudly stated that he was her partner and promised to protect her. Yet, the truth was quite the opposite. He’d forgotten about her. After hearing the servant saying that Leyla had left the party, he dashed out of the hall, but alas, she had already gone.

Kyle bemoaned to himself why he hadn’t been able to leave the party hall sooner. He was the one that told her to wait first though. But he was the one who didn’t follow through with his own promise.

Phoebe flew away after finishing its meal, leaving Kyle, who was nervously wandering around his room, alone.

Behind the window bar, Kyle stared in the direction the pigeon was heading in and impulsively stormed out of the room.

He didn’t remember how he got on the bike and started pedalling. All he could think of on the way there until he was out of breath was Leyla.

Kyle arrived at Uncle Bill’s cottage just as his heart was about to burst with thoughts full of her. His shoulders swayed up and down as he grappled to quieten the rhythm of his gasping breath in the sweltering heat.

In the backyard, there were still dripping white sheets and pillowcases hanging on the clothesline. And beyond it, he could see a shadow of a woman with a delicate yet slender body shape.

The sense of relief and compunction both melted away.

Kyle savoured every taste of the moment while gently brushing his sweaty hair behind his forehead.

Leyla slowly revealed her face behind the sheet just then, as though she sensed his presence, and her green eyes grew round with astonishment when she met eyes with him.

“…… Kyle.”

The tender voice which flowed through her dainty lips was sweet enough to make him forget about the embarrassing situation.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Sorry.”

After a long silence in front of the table facing Leyla, Kyle then opened his mouth and apologized profusely first. Leyla, who had been staring at her fingertips with her head down, abruptly lifted her eyes.

“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“No. Don’t say that.” Leyla shook her head. She felt bad having heard his heartfelt apology. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“No Leyla, 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… something you don’t want to tell me?”

“You know, Kyle, you’re like my family and a brother to me, and I like you that way. So…..so I think we should distance ourselves now.”

Leyla tugged the corners of her lips, trying to smile casually, yet it wasn’t what she had expected after looking at Kyle’s expression.

She was pretty sincere when she said that she was not angry or upset with him. But that night, at that dreamlike party, Leyla noticed the wall between their world.

Between Kyle and herself, there was a boundary line that she couldn’t go across just because they were friends.

Leyla had already realized that she wasn’t deserving of being seen with the son of a prominent family. But she would’ve never thought the chasm between her vague thoughts and the sight of the reality that splashed across before her was too painfully ruthless.

An heir of a well-known family of doctors who could easily blend in with upper-class nobility. Kyle Etman, the man Leyla saw that day in the duke’s opulent banquet hall, was a man who resided in a world beyond that dividing line.

That Kyle Etman was no longer a child who used to play with her.

Why should a child grow up and become an adult?

That night, Leyla pondered the transparent and sad question as she walked along the dark forest path with her shoes in her hand.

After that, she made up her mind.

To accept the time she had passed through.

And even in that passing time, she decided to accept it as the only way to protect her precious friend.

“Do you know that you’re spouting nonsense now?”

Kyle, who had been deafeningly still until that moment spoke up in a lowered and calmed tone.

“No. I mean it.”

“Why do we have to be apart when we like each other?”

“Because only in this way will we be able to remain good friends for a long time. Kyle, I don’t want to lose you.”

“You think I also want to lose you?”

Kyle’s eyes shook as he looked at her.

“How can we be apart? That can’t be, Leyla.”

“Kyle.”

“I’ll never lose you. I won’t even stay away from you. How can you say that?” Kyle slammed the glass cup down on the table and clenched his fist tightly.

You can’t do that, Kyle.

Leyla was just smiling’ instead of revealing what she meant to say.

‘It’s time to become an adult.’

Leyla gulped down the thorny words and sprung from her chair.

“Let’s have lunch, Kyle.”

She hurriedly reattached the apron she had taken off earlier ago.

“As an apology for lying, —I’ll make you a very delicious lunch.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Matthias, can’t you just discharge from the military already and focus on your family’s business now?”

Riette lay down on the sofa as he put down the newspaper he had just read. He tilted his head while yawning, and saw Matthias sitting on the wing chair reading a book.

“It’s not that bad spending a year or two in the military division.”

Matthias gave a smooth reply while flipping the book’s page. Even in this sweltering summer afternoon, he stayed dressed in his suit and tie in his bedroom.

“Yeah, it’s a Herhardt family tradition, after all.”

Riette muttered to himself as he stretched listlessly.

“Matthias von Herhardt will be the most perfect Duke of Arvis, surpassing any of his forefathers.”

While Riette chuckled, the canary, who had been happily playing in the cage, suddenly spread its wings. The bird soared lightly and landed on the book that Matthias was reading.

Matthias’s face lit up as he looked at the chirping bird. It seemed that the bird was having a chat with him.

It was quite an astounding scene for Riette, who had watched Matthias shoot and kill birds without even batting an eye on the hunting grounds for years.

“I hope that bird is a she, Matthias.” Riette laughed as he shook his head. “If it’s not, it would gross me out.”

Matthias reached his hand out to the bird without answering. The little bird tilted its head from side to side and softly rubbed its beak against the tip of his finger.

“Don’t you think so, Claudine?”

Riette shifted his focus to Claudine, who was busy embroidering on the sofa across from them. She looked at Matthias, and his bird with an embroidery hoop on her hands and a faint grin crept over her expressionless face.

“I’ve heard that birds with beautiful voices are usually male.”

“Ugh. Please, Claudine. Let’s just believe it’s a female.” Riette jokingly shuddered. “It creeps me out to think of them interacting like that if they’re both male.”

Claudine chuckled. “What’s wrong with that? It’s just a bird.” She picked up the needle to continue her stitching.

Matthias only turned the page after the bird bounced away from his book. He looked unconcerned even when the bird flew around bothering him, hopping on his hands, shoulders, and head.

“You should wear a light yellow dress at the engagement party, Claudine. Duke Herhardt might adore you as much as that bird.”

“Never.” Claudine riposted on a dime. “I hate yellow.”

After taking a deep breath, she went back to her needlework. “That color, it looks vulgar.” She added with a bit of scoff.

A strange smile bloomed on Riette’s lips, who was pretending as if he had not heard that. Later on, he quit talking about the bird and began to rattle on about Matthias’s military service and the upcoming engagement ceremony instead.

“Our little lady Claudine will soon be the lady who beat the royal princess.”

“Your excessive flattery embarrasses me, Riette.”

Claudine smiled brightly even though her eyebrows were frowning.

It was an open truth that the Berg Emperor coveted Duke Herhardt as his son-in-law.

The emperor had a special affection for his youngest daughter. Moreover, the princess was a beautiful lady known as the “Flower of the Socialites.” Claudine, who was considered the next Duchess of Arvis for granted since childhood, felt a sense of crisis because of the princess.

But Claudine triumphed in the end. Though she didn’t win because of love.

‘Matthias doesn’t have to.’

That brief remark summed up the reasons for not becoming in-laws with the imperial family.

Herhardt was a household with history, wealth, and honour that were no less than the emperor’s. It was reasonable to state that the hassle of serving the princess was greater than the benefit of having her as a duchess.

It sounded so arrogant. But such arrogance was pardoned when it was placed before Herhardt’s name.

Thanks to that, Claudine Brandt was regarded as the lady who outshone the emperor’s daughter.

It was easy to see why the Herhardts chose her. She was the only daughter of an illustrious count who lacked a successor. The Herhardt’s must have viewed Claudine as a bride-in-law with a fine pedigree and dowry comparable to that of the princess, but one who didn’t have to be served like a royal.

Regardless of the substance, Claudine Brandt’s name would be positioned higher than Berg’s royal princess when the engagement ceremony took place. The thought made Claudine feel like she could love everything in this world. Including that vulgar little bird.

“I can’t believe the engagement of two people right in front of me is just around the corner. It gives me a strange feeling.”

Riette sat up straight and gently extended his arms in a shrug.

Claudine looked at him serenely before returning to her unfinished embroidery work.