Cry, Even Better if you Beg - Side Story 8

Leyla’s confusion, with her usual expression, deepened as ocean as she acted beyond measure.

No way had her heart beaten with careful expectations, but on the other hand, she couldn’t believe it.

No way! This guy, Matthias von Herhardt?

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears like a thousand drums together as she prepared to step back in case she was caught.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Matthias placed the rose on the side of her hair and tied it up.

Leyla held her breath tightly as she fixed her expressionless gaze on him. The rose rustled in her air like a thunder. It seemed more awkward and unpleasant than when their bodies were jumbled together, in some strange way. But Matthias seems so at ease.

“This is what? Leyla gently probed the rose in her hair. “I’m certainly not a child.” She exclaimed without a pause.

The young girl who used to play in the Arvis woodland while wearing a crown has grown into a mature adult. In addition, whether Leyla wanted it or not, she was now a wife and mother in addition to being the Duchess of Herhardt.

“It’s pretty.” Matthias whispered just as Leyla was about to pull out the rose.

Holding Leyla’s hesitating hand, he smiled as if God had made him look at his pleased creation. It was the smile of a ruler with arrogant and merciful dignity.

Leyla eventually lowered her hand, leaving the rose stuck in her ears. Matthias satisfiedly gazed at her figure before loosely wrapping his hand around her chin. He then slowly lowered his head and gave a short kiss to her soft lips that were soft like a petal of roses.

She realized that the feverish yearning for a sunny afternoon was still alive.

No. She was aware at that very moment. She tried everything to stay blind since she couldn’t accept it.

Leyla was captivated again by Matthias’s hand as he led her away. The marble stairs that connected the mansion and the garden were etched by the shadows of the two pedestrians wandering side by side.

“However, did you know that you are losing credibility?” Leyla asked a strange inquiry as she was about halfway up the steps. In response, Matthias cocked his brow. “You can say I’m pretty readily.” Leyla’s eyes stared staring at him, clear and gentle despite the way she moaned. Therefore, it occasionally sounds deceiving.

Leyla’s eyes explicitly stated her desire to ask Matthias to repeat it, despite Matthias’ best efforts to appear innocent.

On the other hand, “I’ll tell you with more authority.” Matthias was open to being duped by an attractive fairy who nonetheless behaved brutally. “What a lovely blossom!” His accent was quite strong.

“What?”

Leyla frowned while paying close attention. That seems like a lie even more. It’s really odd. The way Matthias spoke was quite weird. He presented an extremely poor performance which she did not expect.

As Leyla listened carefully, she wrinkled her nose at Matthias’s awkward way of speaking. He looked like a really bad performer.

“Wait…It’s…” Leyla’s face hardened as she remembered something while laughing. “Don’t tell me it’s…?”

The memory of her far-flung miserable charity performance last winter, which she had been trying to forget, came back to her like an uninvited guest. Seeing the startled Leyla, Matthias began to giggle.

“Why on earth do you remember such things?” Leyla chuckled

“It’s such a strong memory, it’s hard to forget.” Matthias answered with a grinning smile

“Don’t tell me! Because I don’t want to remember it.” Leyla said shifting her gaze to roses.

She frequently walked with a straight face, but Matthias simply and quickly caught up with her. “Do you not believe that I am a better performer than you were that day, Leyla?”

“Don’t say that again, please! Ignore it!” Leyla shook Matthias’ hand and started to go, unsure of what to do. Her deliberate steps reverberated across the mansion’s quiet lobby. The sound echoed, announcing the news of her arrival.

Thankfully, Matthias stopped chasing her. Leyla was instantly relieved when she heard a conversation emanating from the mansion’s main gate-connected side of the hall, which was on the other side of the room. She immediately faced the well-liked protagonist. It was Arvis’ hostess Elysee von Herhardt who had arrived home later than expected.

Leyla bolted across the hallway, startled. When Elysee noticed her approaching daughter-in-law, her eyes narrowed like those of a cat in deep sleep.

Fortunately, Leyla was able to safely welcome her without making the error of disregarding protocol. Leyla and Matthias, who subsequently entered alone, soon stood side by side. Leyla watched Matthias extending a welcome to his mother, and her joy that it was not an improper civility was quickly lost.

Matthias’s direct gesture seemed nothing like hers. He was so graceful and kind as he turned to face his mother with a straight neck that she had trouble remembering the man who had pushed her with overt longing and pulled naughty childish pranks on her.

“I notice that both of you are running late for home.” Elysee von Herhardt’s eyes finally showed satisfaction at that point. “Today’s meeting was really productive, thanks to Felix.” Her lips released a brief sigh after continuing to speak in a lower tone. She was staring at the pale pink rose that was trapped in Leyla’s messy side hair.

Leyla blinked in bewilderment, blushed afterward, and grasped for her hair.

“Just plain scared. Such a ladylike manners and tone.” Elysee reprimanded her severely before giving her a hearty laugh. “Felix. Your mum also looks to be in a great mood today.” Elysee sighed as she looked across at her sleeping grandson in the nanny’s arms to end the conversation.

Leyla looked at Matthias with tear-filled eyes as she watched Elysee walk away with the sound of her usual heels. However, the man who was responsible for everything straightened the slightly off-center rose without any trace of regret.

“Pretty.”

Matthias, unconcerned about his mother’s severe criticism, stared down at Leyla, the playfulness in his words gone.

The reputation of the Duchess of Herhardt among the social aristocracy, such as his grandmother and mother, was completely unimportant to Matthias. Leyla found it difficult to comprehend this particular feature.

“It’s lovely, Leyla.” Matthias softly lifted Leyla’s chin with his fingertips, perhaps disliking the way she had sprinted away.

His expressionless eyes began to wrinkle into a soft smile as he stared at her. The slight smile startled Leyla, and she unintentionally held her breath. Her toes curled in reaction to the repeated sound of water clapping in her ears. Leyla quickly clutched Matthias’s hand, trying to disguise her reaction. She was able to avoid the shame of being seen by others as they walked together by holding onto his hand.

She climbed the steps under the light of the chandelier, Matthias by her side. The rose petals in Matthias’s hand trembled as they ascended, mirroring Leyla’s heart.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The rose that Matthias gave to her remained in full bloom on the Duchess’s desk. Before the petals wilted, Leyla plucked one and placed it between the books on the shelf. Though it was not technically the first flower Matthias had given her, Leyla chose to consider it as such, since Matthias did not seem to remember the others and it was difficult for her to say that he had given them.

However, her thoughts were far from the Duke’s, who seemed to have forgotten the first time he had given her a rose. Leyla had carefully preserved the petals from the rose Matthias had recently given her, tucking them between the pages of her book as a reminder of their special moment.

Leyla sat by the sunny window with a book, surrounded by rose petals. She gazed out at the rose garden below, allowing memories of the past to flood back to her. They were colourful and vibrant, just like the flowers in the garden.

Summer had always been a bittersweet time for her, marked by the return of both the beautiful and terrifying Duke of Herhardt, as well as the summer guests of Arvis, including the woman she dreaded encountering: Lady Brandt.

Leyla was surprised when the maid from Claudine’s cabin suddenly came to her and told her that Lady Claudine was looking for her. She had been looking forward to finishing the laundry and preparing snacks for Kyle, but now she had to follow Claudine’s orders. This made her feel frustrated, but last year Uncle Bill had become angry about this situation

“As long as she was in debt to Arvis, it was inevitable that she would have to do things like this.” Mrs. Mona had said. She told Bill that Leyla to bear with it even if it upset her, as she was the only one who would be in trouble if she didn’t. Leyla overheard this conversation as she was returning home from the goat cage.

Leyla’s heart sank at the thought that her uncle Bill was in trouble. She remembered the time she was summoned by Lady Brandt, when she confided in her uncle about her distress. The possibility of being expelled from Arvis and her uncle getting into trouble both filled Leyla with dread. She resolved to endure it stoically, not wanting to cause any more problems.

Claudine sat under the pergola in the Duke’s rose garden, sipping tea.

She seemed to have grown into a graceful and refined young woman since the last time Leyla saw her. In contrast, Leyla still looked like a child with her delicate, slender figure and radiant, healthy skin.

When Claudine noticed Leyla staring at her in surprise, she gave her a warm smile. “Leyla, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

Leyla knew from experience that the response Claudine expected was a polite and formal one. “Yes, I’ve been well, miss,” she replied automatically.

“Leyla, you’re still such a child,” Claudine said with a smile, looking over Leyla’s form.

However, Leyla could tell that there was a hint of teasing in her words. Most of her classmates had already started to grow into young women, but Leyla was feeling self-conscious about the fact that she was still so young.

“Leyla, it’s time for you to start acting more like a lady.” Even Chef Mona, who had always been relaxed about such things, had started to express concern about Leyla’s development this year.

Leyla realized that she was the only one of her peers who was still a child, while others had grown into women. This made her feel left out and left behind. Although Claudine Brandt had only asked her to run an errand to get roses, Leyla observed that Claudine had become skilled in flower arrangement.

As she walked back to her cabin with the money she had earned, Leyla thought about Claudine and her friends, who had blossomed into beautiful and bright young women. She couldn’t help but sigh as she looked down at herself.

What if she never grows up and remains this way for decades?

Her growth was not lost on Uncle Bill, who greeted her with a pleased expression when he saw her in her new clothes. He even compared her to a newborn baby deer, making Leyla feel a sense of pride. But as she walked through the quiet forest road, the sound of horse hooves interrupted her thoughts and the main cause of her troubles, the Duke of Herhardt, appeared before her like a lightening in the sky.