Cry, Or Better Yet Beg
chapter 34. Reasons to Break His Heart

Like the light of twilight, a warm smile fell on her face as soon as she found Leyla walking down the forest path.

“Leyla!”

Kyle shouted his name out loud. Leyla, who was walking with a downcast look staring at the ground, immediately raised her head with widened eyes.

Kyle could not help but grin on his face in admiration for the moment. The moment Leyla sped up her pace every time she felt her presence was always so adorable.

Leyla flashed a beaming smile as she approached towards him.

"When did you get here?"

“I went to your cottage some time ago and they told me that you have been summoned to the Duke's palace, so I'm on my way to save you.”

"Save me?"

“It's not clear why Lady Brandt called you?”

“Not today,” Leyla said as she stepped forward. Kyle followed behind, his pace just in time.

“That's Grand Duchess Norma, not Lady Brandt.”

“Great Princess? She did?"

“Yes, he congratulated me for passing the exam and asked if there was anything I wanted as a gift.”

“And what did you say?”

“I didn't say anything. I just expressed my gratitude for allowing me to stay here.”

“Wow, that's Leyla Lewellin-Esque.” answer

Kyle just grinned at hearing his conjecture. He gently grabbed her hand, and Leyla looked not too nervous compared to before. This small change made his happiness level rise by a level or two.

They walked along the familiar path, hand in hand, while sharing stories. It begins with their daily routines, mystery novels published in present-day newspapers, and their scant summer plans for the year. As always, footage of the friendly atmosphere mingled with the rhythmic footsteps of those who walked hand in hand.

Soon, the afternoon sky broke, and jolted the twilight from his deep sleep.

When night fell, the sea of trees was immediately enveloped in its beauty. Kyle pulls Leyla's hand and drags her into the darkness with him.

He leaned his body against a tall tree by the roadside as he staggered, then stepped in front of him. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, yet Kyle felt as if time had stopped forever throughout that moment.

Leyla glanced at him, puzzled.

“Kyle?”

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke. Her delicate pink bonnie lips glow charmingly even in the darkness of the night.

Kyle gathered all his courage and lowered his head towards her; his eyes were closed. Warm skin soon reached her lips, but she was not happy with the touch she got.

Kyle opened his eyes and laughed out loud. She learns that her lips have kissed Leyla's hand and not the one she had planned.

“I feel weird doing this, Kyle.” Leyla was looking at him with a reddened face while her other hand was covering her lips firmly.

As Kyle slowly raised his head, he once again spoke,

“It looks like we did something bad if we did this, and I..”.

Leyla turned her gaze calmly, unable to finish her words. His pale, long eyelashes also point downwards.

'Don't you think this is wrong?'

When Leyla had trouble swallowing the words she wanted to say, Kyle grinned. Her cheek color is now compatible with the color of her cheeks.

“Hey, Miss Lewellin. An innocent person who doesn't know how to kiss like you knows what?”

"Huh?"

“Although back then you chatted very loudly on the train as if you were an expert.”

“What do you mean.. Geez!” Leyla bowed to look shorter after recalling the day when Kyle wanted to jump off the speeding train after he gave her a lecture on the reproductive act.

“I-it...” Leyla's eyes turned upwards, and she gulped, realizing that she had no proper words to argue with him. “A-I am also not sure about that....” whispered slowly.

His habit of muttering softly when he was in a disadvantaged position remained unchanged since their childhood, which made Kyle sigh slowly.

His heart rate was weakening; it was sad that he couldn't kiss the woman he was about to marry, but Kyle didn't hate him either. His deepest wish was to win Leyla's heart, so he refused to break her heart just because of her momentary lust.

Gently, Kyle stroked his cheek, wrapping his hand around her. And then, he kissed her. Her lips were hot to her forehead. He tried his hardest not to be greedy anymore, and with that, Kyle kept his promise.

As he took a deep breath, a pleasant aroma filled his lungs.

The sweet smell of roses.

It was Leyla's scent.

Matthias carefully walked towards the window on the west side of his room after taking a shower.

The routine is unusual. Even though he slept after midnight, he usually woke up very early. He walked into the bathroom non-stop and took a short shower before preparing for the day to come. It had already developed into a kind of habit, which he could do easily since it was already embedded in his bones.

Maybe, even now.

As if it had become a habit, Matthias looked at the open window. In her garden surrounded by a field of blooming roses, Leyla was there, working hard.

Perhaps as the day of his departure drew nearer, he was more often seen following gardeners. The two did not part for a second and continued to speak without the slightest pause.

He once described Leyla Lewellin as a 'very quiet child' who rarely opened her padlocked lips in front of Claudine.

“Master, this is Hessen.”

He heard a familiar knock on the door at the scheduled hour.

"Come in."

Standing with his back to the window, Matthias gave a brief response. The chiffon curtain rattled in the wind that blew through the open doorway.

While reading Hesse's newspaper, Matthias heard a report about a to-do list he had to do that day. He seemed to have a relaxed schedule before lunch.

“It looks like Arvis is already fully charged after the return of his Master,” Hessen added a word rather than retreating silently as usual.

Matthias turned to face him, putting his teacup on the table. “Grandmother and my mother might be sad to hear it.”

"I'm sorry? Oh no, sir. I didn't mean that..”.

"I know." Smile on Matthias' lips. “I know you mean.”

His momentary grin soon dissipated, but his eyes remained fixed on the middle-aged butler calmly; the atmosphere was as calm as a windless night. Hessen rushed out of the room, after noticing the displeased expression in her master's eyes.

Even after the door closed, Matthias continued to read the newspaper while leaning against the window sill. His bluish eyes, visible through the strands of his draped hair, shone even brighter as the sunlight hit.

After carefully reading an article about the business of Count Klein—someone who was going to have lunch with him, Matthias put down the newspaper.

He slowly turned his head and saw Leyla walking towards the flowerbed near the palace. His hair braided under the straw hat swung as he jumped up and down.

The gardener seemed to be shouting something at him, and Leyla replied excitedly. He laughed out loud. Although the color of the hat covered his face, Matthias still knew he was laughing in a cheerful voice.

Matthias's eyebrows are wrinkled. He ruffled his hair and slowly combed it back.

'Maybe I shouldn't have come back….'

That thought had continued to run rampant in his head ever since he set foot on the palace grounds.

His whole life was carefully arranged. It was analogous to a ladder to a perfect life and he just had to step on it.

But, the ladder twisted, thus making his steps chaotic.

And Matthias still doesn't understand why he took the choice that ruined his perfect life cycle.

'NO.'

He probably already broke it long before the night when he tore up his military service renewal letter.

It all started from the day when he decided to serve one more year of military service and postponed his marriage— days when a small wish blinded him.

The day he approached her, after she fell off her bike.

Or maybe from that day on, he didn't even remember.

He still wants it…

Matthias was well aware of the magnitude of his feelings.

Therefore, he wanted her to disappear from his life. And he believed that his wish was something that was right.

His messy state was triggered by an inner conflict between his raging emotions and his innocent desires. Matthias was unable to give a definitive answer, but he believed that the passage of time would eventually solve the problem.

The window slammed shut, and Matthias changed his clothes to another. Trellis curtains covered his face as he walked along the colonnade.

Enamoured by his wisdom, Matthias left the palace alone and followed a path in the forest leading to the river. Under the dazzling moonlight, the dancing shadow looked gloomy.

Matthias stopped long enough under the thick shadow of the surrounding trees to be sucked into the daydream.

His world had no concept of yearning because he never had his own desires. There was a raw feeling he found when he couldn't get what he wanted.

It was a quite strange vibration that was ruling over his body.

Daniel Rayner's face grew pale as a ghost as he got closer to the gardener's lodge. The sun wasn't too hot, but sweat had drenched his forehead.

“This is crazy.”

Daniel muttered panicked words as the roof of the cottage was seen from a distance. Ms. Etman told him that she wanted to hold back temporarily the tuition that the gardener had prepared,—which is nothing more than an act of stealing if her lecture was summarized.

'The noble and gracious Linda Etman tricked her cousin into committing a sin in hopes of severing the poor girl's relationship with her son.'

Daniel Rayner sighed and entered the front yard of the cottage. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and again wiped his face. His grip on the briefcase stretched tightly.

He feels sorry for Kyle who has fallen in love and chooses to marry a girl who is not suitable for him. Despite his low social status, everyone hoped the Etman family would have a daughter-in-law who remained silk-stocking.

However, it is something that Kyle, and Dr, desperately want. Etman. He believes Leyla Lewellin deserves to be their son's companion. Mrs Etman agreed to her husband's decision. But who knows? There was a hidden dagger that might be hidden behind his friendly smile.

“Money is your enemy.”

After a moment of despair, and making up his mind, Daniel gallantly stepped towards the cottage. Linda Etman said the cottage would be empty in the morning. So if Leyla happens to be there, Daniel just needs to reason that she just got back from Etman's house and stopped by to congratulate her on her entry into college. That was not a suspicious reason, considering they had met and known each other before.

Daniel knocks on the front door. Guilt seeped into his veins as he prayed that Leyla was inside, and this plan would fail. However, the thing that greeted him inside the house was silence.

Daniel then pulls the doorknob, feelings of despair and despair begin to coalesce into one. As his sister had convinced him, the door was unlocked.

'But, sister, didn't you mention that even though the money was stolen, someone must have helped her pay her tuition? Even Dr. Etman is willing to pay his school fees.'

Linda Etman strained her cheek while smiling bitterly as Daniel questioned her in confusion.

"I know my husband better than you."

'But why….'

'The loss of tuition is just an excuse.'

'Huh?'

'The reason for breaking his heart.'

An ******* interrupted his silent answer.

Daniel declined to comment and could only blink softly. He had no interest in interfering in their domestic affairs and the despicable act made him feel even more guilty and disappointed in himself. But he kept trying hard, even though it made him feel like a despicable person.

He only helped his cousin keep the gardener's money for a while; daniel recited the rationalization thought thousands of times in his head before mustering up the courage to enter the house.

He finished his work quickly. Daniel heaved a sigh of relief after successfully leaving the cottage with a bag of money. He has thrown the dice and succeeded in his role on the game board. He just needs to hand the shabby cash over to Linda Etman and then go home, satisfied with the knowledge that his hard work to protect his family will pay off in the near future.

Daniel chose to rotate along the riverbank to avoid situations where he might meet with gardeners. His fate is worse, his wise choice leaves him plunged into trouble when he meets a young man near a river.

Seeing Daniel Rayner, the young man stopped his slow steps. Without the slightest bit of suspicion or surprise on his face, the young man stood still and looked at him calmly.

'Is he one of Arvis' employees?'

Not long after his indifference calmed him down; daniel's skin soon became like a warming death.

Dressed in a comfortable shirt, the young man did not look like a waitress as he walked down the riverbank in rush hour to start the day. Moreover, his prince face had all the traits of a familiar figure he recognized.

The face that was repeatedly displayed in the newspapers and could only be seen many times from a distance.

The young owner of a heaven-like place called Arvis.

That's Duke Herhardt.