Cry, Even Better if you Beg - 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.