Cry, Or Better Yet Beg
chapter 53. Birdman

“My heart hurts every time I see this, Matthias.”

Riette clicked her tongue as she opened the closet door. Although he was not a heavy drinker, the minibar in Matthias' room was always full of quality liquor.

“It is not good to ignore liquor in this way.”

With a faint smile, Riette picked up a bottle of alcohol and returned to the front of the table. Matthias' expression was flat as usual—he didn't care what his cousin did.

A soulful piano melody is played from the phonograph, perfectly aligned with the crackling of wood burning in the fireplace. Riette filled the glass with liquor from the bottle, handing it to her cousin. Matthias took the glass gracefully, his movements aligned with the tones that filled the room.

Leaning on the sofa, Riette observed him as if he was a stranger. Matthias stared at the edge of his glass, daydreaming as a canary, which now felt like part of the bedroom, played happily beside him.

'Your cousin is a real bad man.'

The reputation of Captain Herhardt, who was increasingly widespread at every social event held, suddenly appeared in Riette's mind.

Matthias never spoke of his tenure in the military field—not out of politeness, as might be expected, but out of a sense that his achievements during that period of time were meaningless. Instead, news of Captain Herhardt's heroism spread through the lips of another noble officer who fought beside him during the war.

Riette may not have participated in the war, but the narrative she heard allowed her to visualize Matthias' prowess on the battlefield as if she had seen it firsthand. Whether a warmongering idealist like his fellow aristocratic officers, or someone filled with boredom that came from military routine, Matthias' ethos as an armed soldier was very different from his brothers.

His name was engraved with gold ink, describing his glorious achievements during his time in uniform. However, Matthias considered all of that unimportant. Whenever people gossip about Matthias' military prowess, they always end their story with ****** in disbelief:

'…. I don't understand it.'

Riette knew better than anyone how that disappointing statement was the most precise picture of Matthias von Herhardt.

'I really don't understand.'

Everyone sighed after saying those words, just like how Riette sighed at the moment.

"I don't understand it."

He had known Matthias von Herhardt all his life, but the only conclusion Riette could draw about him was that the man's ini— resembled a fusion of rainbows fused into a murky color with a white finish.

A noble noble noble. A worthy successor. A good cousin. A gentleman. Every aspect of him stood out, but nothing was visible, even when all these aspects were put together.

Some praised Duke Herhardt for his self-treatment mastery, especially when carrying out his duties, but Riette was skeptical of their analysis. As far as he knew, from the start there had never been anything that needed to be suppressed.

But what about Duke Herhardt's actions against Leyla Lewellin?

More than a little drunk, Riette grinned as Matthias glanced at him. The canary is now sitting quietly on Matthias' shoulder, something Riette says will upset Matthias, but the man appears unaffected.

“How long do you plan to be the owner of that bird?”

“As long as I want.”

Matthias's answer was quick and firm. The bird flew over his shoulder, rubbing his beak against his belt while sipping the glass he was holding.

“When will it happen?”

"By good."

Laying his glass carefully, Matthias leaned against the armrest. The warm glow from the fireplace reflected off the onyx buttons in his handcuffs, sparkling pitch-black under the light.

“Are you not curious? Why I came to Arvis, what I planned, such things.”

"NO."

Riette's sudden visit to Arvis, and her sudden weeks-long excursion were no surprise. But Matthias' reply was indifferent, as if he found what he was listening to was just a sad event.

“Tell me, jerk.” Riette laughed, chugging her last drink.

'Is that lust?'

Riette looked at Matthias thoughtfully. He knows very well—men have an instinctive desire to have beautiful women. Although Matthias had no emotions externally, it did not mean that his instincts were gone. It was just a hunch, but Riette felt it was a reasonable assumption based on what she knew about her cousin.

Why an orphan? Duke Herhardt has always been unsympathetic towards women who are more beautiful and noble than orphans.

The more Riette thought about it, the more she felt like she was inside the labyrinth, the more confused her winding turns were. Riette put away the thought as Matthias whistled. The bird that had been bouncing on the table, immediately flew towards Matthias.

While staring at the bird on a whim, Riette whistled towards him, her tone longer and tacky. Unfortunately for Riette, the bird showed no sign of coming towards her. He sat on the back of Matthias' hand, and tilted his head toward Matthias instead.

“What…. Can a bird recognize its owner?”

Riette snorted as she recalled the woman who kept watching him vigilantly.

She did not view Leyla Lewellin as a difficult woman to catch. No matter how long it took, Riette believed that she would open up to him as time went on, just like she did to the doctor's son and Duke Herhardt. Not only that, Riette knew Matthias von Herhardt would eventually leave the orphan for the sake of his marriage to Claudine, the end result that Claudine had long hoped for.

“How about we go hunting on the weekend?” riette asked while refilling her glass.

After thinking for a moment, Matthias gave a surprising answer.

"Go yourself. I'll prepare it for you.”

"What?"

With wide eyes, Riette stared at Matthias. Throughout his memory, Matthias never turned down any hunting offers.

“No way, are you serious?”

A knock at the door interrupts Riette's question. The butler, Hessen, stepped into the room.

“The letter has arrived, sir.”

With the package and the tray of letters in his hand, he moved smoothly towards Matthias.

'Why should the butler come at this hour just for such trivial notice?'

"All right then. See you tomorrow, Duke.”

Saying goodbye with a glass of alcohol in his hand, Riette left Matthias' room. After Riette's steps faded, Hessen opened her mouth, saying;

“Master, the package has returned.”

"Package?"

Hessen awkwardly gave a small box to Matthias. The name and location of the sender are unknown.

"Who is this?"

“That's my relative. I use this name and address to follow your order.”

"My order? Ah."

Matthias thought back to the week before, when he ordered Hessen to send Leyla Lewellin a nice pen. Understanding is built into memory.

“M.. master....”.

"I understand." Matthias cut out Hesse's words. “You can go.”

He tapped his finger on the box he had taken. Hessen stared as if she wanted to say something, but followed Duke's orders without further questions.

Matthias got up from his seat after the door closed. The box was held in his hand, the shredded box wrap was burned into embers in the fireplace.

Inside the open box was a note and a pen, neatly arranged. Slowly, Matthias read the message, taking his time to read some of the words written on the graffiti of the words on a piece of paper tucked between his fingers.

[In hindsight, it was my fault for losing my pen.]

[It was my fault that I fell over, didn't pack things properly, and didn't return them on time. You don't have to be responsible.].

[There is no reason for me to accept this item, so I will return it to you.]

No name was written on the message, but Matthias knew who it was. Leyla's record was full of arrogance. The more Matthias read, the more his eyebrows tilted, until finally he snorted and grimaced, the tip of his lips curled with anger.

As he watched the fire in the fire devour crumpled banknotes, shiny new pens, and the parcel box he had originally wrapped up, self-gratification, anger, and anger, shame and laughter appeared one after another on Matthias' face as he looked at the glittering flames.

His expression faded back to neutral, disappearing a moment after the clear emotions mixed into one.

The only thing left of his face was a picture of calmness and tranquility that was only marred by the shadow of the light of the lights growing on it.

The class had ended early, but Leyla was still quite busy.

It was the day of the school board meeting. The members will discuss the issue of old and small school buildings that need to be expanded.

As the person in charge of structuring the conference room, Leyla arranged the chairs and tables according to the number of people present, setting up simple stationery and notebooks for everyone to use before the meeting started.

“Nona Lewellin, are you done?”

Madam Grever asked in a hurry. Smiling, Leyla looked around the conference room one last time and nodded firmly.

“Yes, I'm done.”

“Then, let's go. Sponsor is here.”

"Have you?"

Leyla rushed to get ready, following Madam Grever as soon as she was done. Sponsors' luxury carriages and limousines formed long lines upon entering the school's front gate.

A bad feeling flashed within him. He shook his head, as if denying that feeling. Many times he read the list of sponsors who attended the meeting, Herhardt's name never appeared on the list. He doesn't have to worry.

There was nothing to worry about except the reward he had returned to Duke, and it was most likely the cause of Leyla's heart pounding erratically.

Several days had passed since he returned the gift. Duke did not mention it.—no visits, no interrogations, no harassment, unlike his previous actions. Leyla, who was afraid of encountering such an accident, could already feel her vigilance weakening. He might have hurt Duke's pride, but it was something that had to be done just once.

No matter how irrelevant their relationship was, Leyla had a bad feeling about the man. He was aware of Duke's desire towards him and knew he could be harmed.

Leyla hated him in every way.

He hated Matthias von Herhardt.

He hated his selfish desires. He hated the impact he would face because of his strange obsession. Leyla had long lost the desire to get involved in irrelevant affairs, and more importantly, she did not want to be hurt, especially by the Duke, who had gotten a breath of fresh air in his heart after he returned the gift. When the noble man remained silent, Leyla meant that the man had accepted her rejection.

Slowly sweeping her chest, Leyla stood silently at the end of the line to greet the sponsors. The autumn rains have cooled the air. He was worried about the low level of attendance caused by bad weather, but fortunately all the sponsors who promised to attend were present.

Leyla did her job well, smiling and bowing politely to everyone she met. He prepared tea and waited quietly as the meeting began. Leyla's first board meeting will be deemed successful only if she escorts the sponsors off the scene.

The Headmaster turned around as the last sponsor, a woman, passed through the school entrance. A black car clearly struggling with heavy rain suddenly stopped just as the other teachers were about to do the same.

"My Lord! Duke!"

The Headmaster's face changed from a confused expression to a beaming grin very quickly.

With a face ready to smile and greet the guest, Leyla's lips trembled.

'Imust.'

Leyla blinked. He blinked quickly, nervously, as if denying what he saw. Standing there with a distinctive upright posture under the gears held by an assistant was Duke von Herhardt.

His eyes traced the line of teachers, stopping at Leyla's withered face.

As their eyes met, the Duke smiled.

For those who did nothing but glance, it was a smile that could only be called gentle.