Cry, Or Better Yet Beg
chapter 11. deep water

Its pavilion, which has large windows installed in all directions, provides panoramic views of the forest and river. It is also a place where the wind can flow in and out freely.

The weather today was hotter than before, so it was hard to feel the cold.

But Leyla felt a shiver on her back. He was determined to eat and leave immediately, but the food in front of him did not seem to decrease in number.

Leyla felt she could not swallow anything. He had lunch and even had a snack. And most importantly, he carried out the task under the scorching sun so that he lost his appetite. Matthias concentrated on his work with his head tilted, but Leyla still had trouble breathing properly.

Is this like punishment for my bad duties and flower arrangements?

Leyla pondered as she swallowed her sandwich again. If so, Duke Herhardt had achieved his goal. Leyla felt like she was being punished.

Leyla hurriedly drank the lemonade to resist the urge to spit out her sandwich. After he wiped the water droplets from his hands with his apron, he took the sandwich again. Leyla then lowered the tip of her hat to cover her face filled with fear. It was at that moment that a long finger suddenly touched the tip of his chin.

“If you are a woman, Leyla.”

His hand untied the ribbon knot tied under his chin.

“You should have taken this hat off when you were inside.”

Before Leyla could answer, Matthias took off his straw hat. Surprised, Leyla reflexively jumped off the sofa. The sandwich fell due to his sudden movements and rolled onto the floor. Matthias's eyes were tilted, but Leyla's attention was focused only on her hat.

“Gi-return.”

Leyla's voice was now trembling with anger, not fear.

“Please return. I'm going to leave now. I want to go home. Give it back."

Matthias tightly gripped the hat he took. He has no intention of returning it. Leyla reacted as if she was stripped naked, but only her hat was taken. Leyla's red hue that ran down her neck made Matthias amused. Her sensitive skin easily responds to her irritation.

"Eat."

Matthias pointed to the sandwich that was still two pieces left.

“Eat, grab your hat, and come back. Easy."

“No, I don't want.”

Leyla shook her head as she approached him.

“I don't want to eat. I can't anymore. I hate it."

Leyla's frightened eyes trembled. He doesn't seem to know what he's talking about.

Matthias rose from his chair as his grip on the hat grew tighter. His figure had overshadowed him.

“.....You hate it?”

“This is all my fault, so please return it.”

Leyla stretched out her hand. He looked like he was about to cry. Matthias looked at his face and slowly raised his hat to the top of his head. Leyla's eyes moved following his movements.

As their eyes met, Matthias threw the hat lightly out the window. The wind carried the hat, and gently flew across the river. Leyla gave him an ice-cold look and frantically ran out of the living room.1

Matthias approached the front window overlooking the pier and the river. Leyla, who immediately appeared on the dock, began to stomp her feet in panic after seeing the hat floating on the water. He suddenly took off his aprons and glasses and placed them on the dock.

Are you going to jump into that river just to get that stupid hat?

Standing in front of the window, Matthias gave him a somewhat amused look. Leyla shaking. He was afraid of water.

Are you serious?

Matthias sneered as Leyla entered the river. He hesitated for a moment in the river, but then started walking towards his hat. Leyla Lewellin did not stop when the water level reached her knees, her waist, and then her chest.

Matthias watched with his hands folded loosely.

Leyla stretched out her hand with all her might, but the river current had pushed her hat as the current got further away. When Matthias thought he was going to give up, Leyla suddenly took a step closer to his hat.

The water level should be deeper than your current height.

Leyla's hand finally grasped the tip of the ribbon while Matthias slowly tilted his head. At the same time, the figure of Leyla Lewellin disappeared below the surface.

"As expected."

Matthias gently muttered and frowned. Leyla sank right at the point she expected to drown her. Surprised by the sudden depth of the water, Leyla struggled desperately. But the more he thrashed, the deeper he was dragged into the river. He's grabbed his hat for life.

With open arms, Matthias headed towards the dock with wide strides. His other prediction proved to be true. Leyla Lewellin had jumped into the river even though she could not swim.

Stopping at the end of the pier, Matthias looked at the confused Leyla. His screams gradually faded away as he repeatedly rose to the surface and drowned.

Eat, grab his hat, and come back.

What a commotion he created when he could perform such a simple task.1

Sighing between his crooked lips, Matthias dived into the river.

The wooden panel on the pier that touched Leyla's cheek was hot from the sun. When she felt the heat, Leyla realized that she had come out of the river safely. Pain and fear soon followed the relief.

Leyla trembled as she coughed out from her mouth. Even at that moment, he refused to take off the hat he was holding.

Leyla's appearance was so unreasonable that Matthias was out of breath. He heard a mixture of weak breaths and soft laughter from the duke. Leyla Lewellin met her gaze as water droplets from her wet body left dark stains on the wooden floor.

“How….. Can you do... something like this..”.

Leyla asked while panting. She gave him a dirty look, but the tears in her eyes were what caught his attention.

Sweeping the wet hair covering his forehead, Matthias looked at him as if he was something comforting. As Leyla's breathing calmed down, her laughter grew louder.

Leyla raised her upper body with trembling hands, touching the hot wooden floor. The drops of water flowed like rain from his wet head. Her eyes turned red, but Leyla did not cry. Instead, he continued to stare at Matthias. Bad guy with a nice smile.

Leyla, who changed her mind after trying to think about what she had to say, stood up. Matthias sat on the wooden floor as if he was enjoying sunbathing. He then looked at her. The thin, wet clothes clearly showed the stripes of his body.

While Matthias' eyes were focused on his trembling shoulders, Leyla suddenly shook the water from her hat.

A drop of cold water hit the indifferent face of Matthias. Although Leyla was a little jolted, she did not stop her revenge. After wearing a hat that was still dripping water, now he brushed off his skirt. His eyes glittered provocatively at Matthias.

"Is it fun?"

Matthias slowly swept his face as if he was washing it and opened his mouth.

“I'm getting a little bored.”

His laughter quickly disappeared from his stiff face. Although Leyla instinctively trembled in fear, she did not avoid the man's gaze.

“How.... What... Why... You did this to me?”

“Leyla, thank you.”

Matthias slowly rolled up his wet shirt sleeves.

“Thank you for your rescuer.”

She nonchalantly teased Leyla, who looked back at her in surprise.

“I don't think any of this would have happened if you hadn't thrown my hat into the river.”

"NO."

The distance between his two eyebrows narrowed.

“If you patiently eat your sandwich and leave, this will not happen.”

Leyla just blinked. His tone was too calm to be a joke.

“Also if you don't make the sad decision to jump into the river, even though you don't know how to swim.”

Matthias gently brushed off the dripping water with his fingertips and tilted his head.

“..... Thank you for saving me, Your Highness.”

Leyla clenched her jaw and bowed. Uncle Bill. Uncle Bill. Uncle Bill. He once again began his spell.

"Again."

Matthias ordered as if he was checking the sincerity of his gratitude.

“Like a woman. Again."

The Duke did not smile or laugh.

“I'm sorry, Your Honor, I'm not like any other noble lady. I'm not even a woman.”

Leyla's angry words came out of her mouth. Matthias silently looked at him without any anxiety.

“But you must be a woman before me, Leyla.”

The droplets on her fingertips bounced off Leyla's feet.

“Whatever you are, I remain a true man.”

The Duke smiled as he silently looked at Leyla.

Leyla clasped her drenched skirt with her white, hardened hands. Just like the graceful woman the duke wanted, he bowed politely. Droplets of water from the edge of the straw hat fell onto the wooden floor of the pier.

“Thank you so much for saving my life, Your Highness.”

Although her body trembled until her teeth collided with each other, Leyla lowered her head, saying each word correctly. Matthias gave a graceful sign of gratitude with a nod on his chin.

Don't cry, Leyla Lewellin.

Leyla clenched her hand.

Please, don't cry for people like that.

Calming herself, Leyla then straightened her waist, which was usually bent towards the duke.

“Then, I'll be back now. Goodbye, Your Grace.”

Leyla resolutely turned around, leaving Matthias silent. Behind Leyla who was walking, there was a long trail of water droplets falling from her skirt.

Her legs sagged, and she almost fell down a few times, but Leyla desperately tightened her leg muscles. He clenched his teeth and decided that he would not fall today. That he won't be his toy anymore. Never does.

As soon as Leyla was gone from Matthias' sight, she ran. The corner of his eyes was so red that even the color of his hat could not hide his eyes. Leyla ran faster, increasing her running speed.

He saw it by chance one day. He was walking along the forest path with Claudine. The graceful man escorting the alluring woman was like a scene from a fairy tale or a palace novel.

When they reached the end of the road, the wind blew Claudine's hat. Matthias slowly approached the hat and picked it up to give back to Claudine. His non-urgent attitude was graceful. By the time Leyla realized how gracefully she was always moving, both of them had already disappeared from Leyla's sight.

With such an insistent attitude that day, he had insulted Leyla today. He stopped running after realizing the huge difference between the man's attitude towards him and Claudine.

The pale-faced Leyla staggered onto the grass to spew out the food she had forcefully put in. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she did not cry.

When her nausea stopped, Leyla went to a shallow river that ran through the forest and gargled. He felt much better after resting in the shade of a tree.

Leyla wiped her lips with the back of her hand and returned to the road leading to the cabin. He had no more energy to run, so he trudged along. Her wet stockings and skirts got dirty, but she did not mind because her appearance was already messy.

When the cabin is seen, Leyla gathers her last energy and kicks the hazel tree from the side of the road. As he watched the fruit fall, he suddenly realized the fatal mistake he had made.

“Kacamaku..”.

Face's tangled. The path he looked back on felt far away.