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✧ That Humble and Beautiful Girl .✧
“Is she that girl? An orphan raised by the gardener?”
Wrinkles appeared on Countess Brandt’s forehead when she looked out at the garden from the window, mentioning a lady with glasses who was helping the gardener organize the rose garden.
“Yes, mother, it’s her…. it’s Leyla.”
Claudine gave a straightforward answer. She threaded her needle through the fabric gently while her mother was distracted by Leyla who was working in the garden.
As Claudine meticulously completed her embroidery, beautiful roses bloomed from her skillful fingertips.
“She’s a pretty young lady. As she grows older, I think she will become much more beautiful.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?”
“I understand your worry, mother,”
Claudine put her embroidered cloth on the table. Countess Brandt had a concerned smile on her face with her eyes wide open.
Her frail mother only had one child. Claudine, the Brandt family’s only daughter, was the child she had after suffering from several miscarriages.
The countess suffered from an inferiority complex. She always lived in fear that she might lose her husband’s love because of her inability to produce a successor for him.
Countess Brandt was still worried even though her husband’s mistress was also unable to provide him with a son. She was scared that one day some young, pretty woman would show up and give birth to his son, then take everything away from her.
Claudine felt sad for her mother about that. On the other hand, though, she was fed up with her mother’s over-anxiety.
“I’m not interested in dwelling on those matters.”
Through a futile sigh, the countess expressed her dissatisfaction at Claudine’s solemn words, “You’re too young to know about men’s thoughts. Claudine, if I were you…..”
“Would you get rid of all the beautiful women in the world so Duke Herhardt wouldn’t see them?” Claudine grimaced at her mother. “As you said, I’m still young and don’t have a lot of experience with men. Yet I am aware that men with an excellent image normally have one or two mistresses.”
“Oh, my goodness, Claudine!”
“Of course, I hope anything like this never happens, but even if it does, it won’t bother me.”
Claudine shrugged her shoulders lightly.
Truthfully, she, who was usually chill, was taken aback when she ran into Leyla by chance.
Even though it was natural for a sweet little girl to develop into a beautiful lady, Leyla’s mature beauty was more stunning than she had ever expected.
Leyla resembled a fairy with her small, slender body and exquisite facial features.
The resemblance to that mystical creature was enhanced by the combination of her enigmatic green eyes and her flawless white skin.
Claudine had invited Leyla to join her for tea for this very reason. Her curiosity was piqued. She was intrigued to see how the Duke would react to a woman such as her.
And Matthias acted up to Claudine’s expectation to a tee. He showed proper interest and indifference, as well as impeccable decency and moderation.
For Claudine, it was enough.
“Even so, Claudine, keeping that girl too close to Matthias isn’t a good idea.”
Countess Brant was still agitated.
“Do you think I should talk with the Herhardt’s?”
“Mother.”
Claudine’s tone became muffled. She was adamant about not following in her mother’s footsteps, who cried out of love while having everything. That was one of the reasons why she agreed to accept Matthias’ proposal.
Claudine was well aware that her life would not have a happy ending as in a fairy tale.
Matthias von Herhardt was a nobleman who was both wealthy and attractive. That kind of guy, she believed, would never only love his wife, whom he wed in an arranged marriage.
‘Perhaps he, too, would be carried away with his lust for a beautiful woman, just like my father. Like a lot of other guys.’
Men who merely looked at their mistress as a mistress were perfectly safe. But men who didn’t treat their mistress as a mistress were the ones who caused trouble.
Claudine was sure Matthias was, without a doubt, the first league type of man.
‘Do I love him?’
Claudine simply smiled and tilted her head in answer to this question.
‘Maybe or Maybe not.’
It wasn’t, though, a big concern. Matthias also fully knew about this.
What actually mattered most to her was whether Matthias, as Duke of Arvis, could play both the role of a wonderful husband and a great father.
That was everything Claudine needed. A marriage that would protect her dignity and preserve her elegance.
“Is it such a big deal if Duke Herhardt is interested in that humble, beautiful girl?”
Countess Brandt was gobsmacked by Claudine’s words, which she had delivered calmly. “Oh my God, Claudine! What the hell are you talking about?”
“At the very least, she’ll only end up as a mistress.”
Claudine made a noise as if it was a joke.
“For a girl like that to become a mistress, it would really be convenient for me. A woman who wouldn’t dare to invade my turf, who I can control within my palms.”
“Claudine, my daughter. You…… you really don’t know anything about love.”
Countess Brandt’s laments for her daughter became louder.
Claudine stared into her mother’s bright blue eyes before turning aside and smiling strangely.
She gazed out the window at Leyla. Staring at that girl who rose off the flower field and started massaging her back while laughing.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
The cottage was empty when Kyle arrived.
Uncle Bill and Leyla seemed to be enjoying time together in the garden.
Kyle sat on the porch in a chair, waiting for the two to come back. He grinned as he remembered Leyla’s countenance with her glasses on.
Even with her face covered with glasses, the future-Madam Etman still looked attractive.
His heart fluttered at the thought of her face, notwithstanding the fact that he initially felt odd staring at her new appearance.
Kyle coughed purposefully in a way to prevent his cheeks from turning flushed. At the same time, Leyla and Uncle Bill had returned from their work.
“Gosh, what kind of hat is that?”
His eyebrows suddenly furrowed as he saw a bucolic hat shielding Leyla’s lovely face.
“Did you spend money on that “tacky” thing?”
After Kyle threw his teasing words around, both Leyla and Bill all turned their gaze towards him fiercely.
“Uncle bought it for me!”
Leyla shouted, putting a scowled face towards Kyle. Bill joined in retaliating by taking up the shovel he’d stowed in the cart.
Kyle quickly changed his opinion. “After seeing it again, I can’t help but say, wow, how pretty it is! Uncle Bill has great eyes!”
“Don’t make fun of it. It’s really precious to me.”
The sulking Leyla removed her flashy woodsy hat, which was lavishly decorated with artificial flowers and colourful ribbons.
Bill was busy storing his cart while Leyla started preparing lunch. The problematic hat was positioned at the far end of the table.
“Leyla, are you mad?”
Kyle took a seat in front of the hat, trying to decipher Leyla’s mood.
“Yeah.” Leyla slammed Kyle’s plate onto the table.
‘At least she’s still giving me food.’
“I’m sorry. You know I wouldn’t say that if I knew?”
“Oh, whatever.”
“But why did Uncle Bill buy you a hat?”
“Because I asked him for it.”
“You? You know how to ask for stuff?”
Kyle asked in surprise since all this time, he knew Leyla as a girl who barely requested something.
“He’s pissed off about my glasses”
Leyla’s voice weakened as she said that.
“Did he get upset because your sight worsened?”
“No. That’s not it. He was upset because I never told him that I purchased costly glasses from my own money.”
After she finished setting the table, Leyla took a seat across from Kyle.
Bill was stupefied when she returned to the cottage with glasses on. He looked as if he had been shot in the back of the head. His face became as cold as an ice block after listening to her explanation of how she could get her glasses installed.
And it was the first time Uncle Bill had become so angry with her.
‘Leyla. Am I unreliable to you?’
Uncle Bill sighed and sat back in his chair.
Looking at his sad eyes made Leyla feel suffocated. When she clarified that she didn’t want to burden him because she was already very grateful for what he had done for her, his eyes became sadder.
Ever since that day, their relationship had become a little awkward.
Bill was sulky and refused to speak, and Leyla felt stumped for words not knowing what to do. The hat was the solution she had found in the end.
‘Uncle, please buy me a hat.’
Until a few days ago, Leyla said something at the dinner table.
‘I want a very pretty hat, please.’
Bill cracked up at her solemn tone. But the following evening, he went to the downtown shopping district to buy a pair of mechanical scissors. He returned home with a straw hat adorned with flowers and ribbons.
‘I bought it at Lindsay’s, so if you don’t like it, just return it.’
Uncle Bill carelessly added while giving out the hat.
‘Did you choose this yourself?’
‘Well, yeah.’
‘It’s so pretty.’
Leyla wore the hat with a bright smile on her lips.
Bill had personally purchased several items for Leyla. Still, in most situations, he either requested Madam Mona to buy stuff for her or took Leyla to the store to pick on her own so she could pick what she wanted.
Leyla knew very well that her uncle must have struggled to find a suitable hat feminine enough for her.
She was aware of how big his love for her was.
Flowers were the most exquisite thing in the world to Bill Remmer.
He believed the prettiest hat was one with a lot of flowers. So he felt sure that he had chosen the most beautiful hat for Leyla.
“Hey! You should’ve told me that before.” Kyle’s face was rinsed with embarrassment as he listened closely. “Now I’m feeling like a jerk for mocking that gift!”
“You didn’t give me a chance to talk. When you saw it, you teased me right away.”
“That’s true, but……”
“You sneaky gluttonous omnivore, you- You’re eating all of my food again. Someday I will ask Dr. Etman to pay for all that food you ate here!”
Bill roared loudly as he broke through the door. But his expression softened, and the tone of his voice was lighthearted, in contrast to his blunt language.
Bill awkwardly chuckled as he saw the flower hat on the table. Kyle was almost pathetically jealous when Leyla flashed a to Bill sweetly.
Every man who loved Leyla Lewellin had no option but to embrace his fate as second best in Leyla’s heart.
Because the number one person in her life would always be Uncle Bill.
Kyle snatched up the fork to console himself. Uncle Bill’s nagging didn’t bother him at all.
Bill’s stern lectures sounded tolerable as long as he could have Leyla’s tasty cooking.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Since Uncle Bill returned to work after lunch, Kyle and Leyla were the only ones staying in the cottage.
Leyla sat on the patio, as usual, reading her book. Kyle pretended that he was reading while sneaking a peek at her in secret.
She was wholly absorbed in her book, except for a brief moment where she had to put it down to enjoy some biscuits.
‘Damn, I shouldn’t have lent you that novel.’
Kyle grinned, despite his deep regret. Leyla might not have known, but he did. How charming her face was when she was concentrating on her book.
With those luscious lips, she looked really pretty as she munched on her biscuits.
‘Should I tell her today?’
Kyle placed his book on the floor and fixed a hard gaze on her face. He had planned to wait a little bit longer, but he was beginning to doubt himself.
His heart felt like it was going to pop at the very brush of Leyla’s fingertips. Kyle sensed his body heat up as he had a lot of guilty dreams about her.
Moreover, he had lately been concerned about his anxiety. He was afraid that one day, someone would appear to steal her away from him.
‘So wouldn’t it be better to make a hasty confession?’
But the moment Kyle was ready to open his warm mouth, the sound of sluggish horseshoes could be heard from afar. Kyle twisted his head in the direction of the sound and saw Duke Herhardt in his equestrian uniform coming towards them.
Leyla was about to take another bite of her biscuit when she was startled by the unexpected visitor.
The Duke stopped his horse in front of the porch’s fence.
His glance brushed past Kyle and stuck on Leyla’s flushed face of bewilderment.