Cry, Or Better Yet Beg
chapter 57. Reply Assistance

Leyla ran through the lush vegetation of the forest, her eyes frantically glancing from one branch to another. Its dense leaves only let a small amount of sunlight in, making it able to clearly see if its precious bird was safe or not.

He could feel his heartbeat blaring in his chest, his heavy breathing as he increasingly panicked in search of his missing bird. His share rattled along with every step he took. He is the only one who disturbs the natural tranquility of the forest.

He's practically up and down now. The wind is cold, but the air temperature is quite humid, a sign that autumn is finally at its peak and winter will soon arrive. Leyla began to feel the coldness of her bones, making her body stiff, draining her energy.

But he can't stop, not when the continuous sound of gunfire reverberates in the woods only reminds him that he still hasn't found Phoebe, his beloved pigeon.

With every shot he heard, Phoebe's blood-soaked shadow would cross his mind. Each one was worse than the previous, ruining his sanity bit by bit.

'What if he's been shot? What if I'm late?'

He couldn't stop thinking, his chest hurt thinking about it.

You might think that with every step he takes, he will be more confident to find his bird alive, but it only makes things worse. His steps began to falter as fatigue began to creep into his joints, and air began to leak out of his lungs. The faint scent of gunpowder smelled in his nostrils as a smoky scent surrounded him as he inhaled a lot of air.

Matthias had promised him that he would not touch Phoebe, and would not shoot the bird. And he foolishly accepted his words as they were. Looking back now, he should have thought of the possibility that perhaps he had only promised her to calm him down. Now she can't help but imagine him reneging on his promise as he points his gun and shoots innocent birds, including Phoebe, only to make her pay more attention to him.

'How could I just believe it?!'

He thought he did not believe in himself while continuing to run,

'The promise might not mean anything to him, taking it as something trivial to really keep!'

Leyla scolded herself for putting her trust blindly like a fool, even though she already knew that she was a cruel person.

He could feel the tears that were about to fall as he reached the end of the tree line in the forest, ending up on the road near the Schulter River. If he fails to find his precious bird, he will search for the Duke himself and seek answers to Phoebe's fate.

For him it didn't matter whether the man would give him a chance to meet or not, he was ready to do anything to make sure of it, even if he had to kneel down and beg for the man's mercy.

Shortly after he stopped to take a breath, the autumn wind swept gently past him. The sky was painted brightly in pale blue, his eyes closed as he was blown away by the wind and was expecting a miracle. Leyla opened it once more, observing her surroundings one last time before finally finding her.

He's standing there….

There, on the other side of the path in the forest. He sat on his horse, confident and unperturbed as he was surrounded by his comrades and comrades.

As Leyla tried to call out to him, she found herself with no voice. He tried; he really wanted to call out to her but the entire breath had come out of his lungs, and his voice was stuck in his throat due to lack of air. It had been too long since he had started running, and now exhaustion had taken hold of him, replacing his previous adrenaline.

He took a deep breath one last time, before pushing his foot past his limit as he continued his run towards the nobles on horseback. It was only when he was close enough to them that he saw one of them had pointed his weapon at one of the branches.

A split second later, he recognized it was him,

Duke Herhardt's…

His eyes traced the tip of the gun to see what he was aiming at, and felt his breathing cringe as his heart thumped in fear.

Febe!

His pace increased as he tried to stop him pulling the trigger, his feet screaming protesting overwork. He tried to regain his voice to scream, but only managed to gasp as the sound of gunfire echoed throughout the desolate forest.

A BANG!

The tip of Matthias' gun smoky, as soon as he removed the trigger, and Phoebe no longer perched on the branch.

Time seemed to stop after that moment, until Matthias moved and broke the silence.

He slowly lowered his long silver gun, the sunlight shining as it glided, its luster bouncing in the air, twinkling through the forest. Meanwhile, Riette and the other nobles looked at him with a mixture of confusion as well as amused on their faces.

“Yes, color me surprise Matthias.” Riette exclaimed, “What's with the shot?” godanya, not long after the other nobles also teased the Duke.

“I can't believe Duke Herhardt really missed!”

“Yeah, I certainly saw something interesting today.”

“In my opinion, there is always a first for everything.”

They all started commenting, laughter and banter flowed between them naturally.

Although Matthias managed to take the picture, the shot only grazed the end of the branch where the pigeon was perched. After the missed shot, the bird flew away from the hunting nobles as a piece of wood broke and landed on the forest floor.

Matthias accepted all those temptations proudly, grinning meaningfully at himself as his sharp eyes stared intently at the bird. To him, it seemed to be flying towards the east wing of the estate.

“Hah, why is he here?” Riette wondered, after successfully seeing a woman standing still not too far away from the group.

Matthias slowly turned around, following in the footsteps of his cousin's gaze, before finally seeing her. He grinned at himself when he realized he was holding all his attention right now.

“Leyla-Leyla!” exclaimed a few maids as they finally noticed the unexpected guest.

Despite the commotion she caused, Leyla stood frozen as she looked at Matthias in a dumbfounded manner, as if she was the only one she could see.

“Leyla!” a waiter grabbed his arm, which shook him from a frozen state, “Dangerously came out today! Didn't you hear from Mr Remmer? I specifically told him about Duke's plan to hunt today.”

"ME,"

Leyla gulped, her eyes looked back into Duke's eyes, before looking back at the person who spoke to her, “Sorry, she did tell me, but I must have misplaced the date.” He apologized, “Really, I'm sorry.”

Leyla slowly lowered her head, her hands raised to lean against her chest, still able to feel her heartbeat pounding as she lowered her gaze to her feet.

Shortly after scolding him for his carelessness, the servants returned to their posts, leaving him alone. Meanwhile Matthias acted as if he had forgotten the small commotion that had just occurred. He pulled the reins of his horse, encouraging it to move while directing it to the west wing of the plantation. The opposite direction he knew was Phoebe's flying destination.

Her tears almost fell once more, but only made her eyes glow as water piled up inside. The overwhelming astonishment he felt was too heavy for him to bear.

He was no stranger to Duke's goals.

For many years here, he had witnessed with his own eyes the shot after shot he had done. His shot, his posture, his concentration, and his skill in shooting; he was so familiar with it, he was convinced of this one fact.

It was not a missed shot.

Today, he purposely directed his branches and frightened the bird, so as to fly away from their hunting party so that others could not take a turn towards him. And now Phoebe is safe, away from their bullets and silver guns.

As Matthias was leaving, he expertly tilted his head back, eyes meeting him before treading the curved path. Although their current distance was quite far, Leyla instinctively knew that Duke knew she could see him back.

As soon as the hunting party disappeared from her sight, she raised her skirt before turning around to return to where she came from.

Only then did his final strength disappear, the fatigue completely subsided as he felt himself relaxed. He felt so weightless, like a ghost hovering aimlessly, even though he knew exactly where his destination was. He could not help but recall a similar incident where he also felt this helplessness.

Pictures flashed through his mind as he recalled parts of events in the past, but he thought of nothing more. Leyla could not believe she remembered as much as she remembered back then.

Gripping his bag tightly on his shoulder, this time he started walking slowly through the forest. No need to rush anymore. His worries are resolved now. By the time he finally reached his cabin, he felt dizzy, his gaze becoming blurred. Leyla no longer had the strength to reach her bed to rest, so with her last strength, she sat down on the nearby chair on the terrace.

Matthias kept his promise.

A promise he made specifically to her.

And that was another fact he believed in.

Knocks. Knocks. Knocks.

The voice echoed within the quiet room. Sitting in front of her desk near the lantern, Leyla instinctively got up from her seat from hearing a familiar voice and immediately ran towards the front window. He excitedly opened it with a bright smile!

“Febes!” he exclaimed before his smile froze.

Leyla immediately muffled her screams when she suddenly saw the Duke outside with her hands closed her mouth, wary of Uncle Bill, who was outside, cutting firewood in their front yard. Had he heard her scream in fear, he would have neglected his duty to examine her immediately. And he doesn't want that.

In a hurry, Leyla locked the door of her room before turning back to her open window.

Matthias is still wearing his hunting gear. The dust and dirt of his daily activities adorned those expensive clothes, while the faint smell of blood still lingered on his body. He could see blood spots on his sleeves, and the front of his red hunting jacket.

“Your bride is there.”

Matthias lifted his head lightly to point to the other end of the window frame where Phoebe, his beloved bird, was resting quietly.

He held back a sigh of relief as he looked at the bird, refocusing on the Duke standing outside his window.

“Have you thought about it?” Matthias subconsciously interrupted his thoughts, “About how you plan to return the favor?”

He asked, once again pointing towards Phoebe, while his gaze was fixed on Leyla, with one pure eyebrow raised towards her.

Leyla gulped nervously, her eyes glancing towards her bird for a moment before looking back at Matthias.

“A, in my opinion this is not considered as a help,” he started gently, before slightly becoming more confident, “After all, you just keep your promise.”

Leyla pointed out anxiously, but Matthias just smirked at him in a somewhat arrogant manner, making him take a few steps back.

“Although I am very grateful.” He added, lowering his view.

“Thankful, you say?” he grinned, “And what can I do with gratitude?” Matthias urged further.

“Y-well,” Leyla stuttered a little, “I think that means you are a gentleman, who keeps his promise.”

“Oho,” he lightly mocked, mocking him in a subtle way, “Do you then retract your words from before?” Matthias asked, tilting his head, the grin still stuck in place.

Leyla frowned in confusion. What words?

“You describe me as the most distant person from a gentleman, if I remember it correctly.” Matthias said as he leaned against the window sill, after seeing his confusion.

Leyla blushed in embarrassment as those memories resurfaced.

“I, forgive me,” he immediately said, “I was too careless back then!”

Leyla lowered her head even further, she felt as if she was digging herself deeper into the grave. But whatever he did, all he needed to do now was damage control.

“First you said I was a gentleman, then next I was not a real man, and now I am once again a real man.” Matthias hummed, raised his eyebrows once again, “So which one?”

“K-you're a real man.” She stuttered. She then pursed her lips while thinking, while looking at him slowly, directing her gaze up and down.

“Then, does that make you a queen?” Matthias asked in a mocking tone.

Leyla flickered in confusion, her brows furrowing as she racked her brain to find out the reason for how the conversation turned into this when a memory resurfaced as she yelled at him by the river in frustration…

“If you are a real man, then I am his Queen!”

Of course he meant to be cynical, but now he found his words used against him. Leyla wanted to deny it vehemently, but she knew from the grin on the man's lips that his face was already too flushed with embarrassment to remember.

Of course all this could have been prevented had he managed to throw some careless comments on the man's slide, but for some reason, Leyla at the time failed to control her emotions in the man's presence. Of course when it came to other people, she could play the role of the perfect and polite girl, but when it came to Duke, something in her seemed to do the opposite. It was hard to keep him calm nearby.

“I'm sorry for that day. And I sincerely thank you for keeping your promise. I mean it."

Leyla apologized to him, although the hesitation in his posture was obvious. Silence enveloped them once more, only the sound of Bill Remmer's cutting axe filling the void between them.

Matthias continued to look at him calmly, before sighing feigning resignation.

“Ah, what should I do to you, Leyla?” His hand suddenly reached out and gripped his chin to force him to stare at her. Matthias clicked his tongue while pulling him closer, “I don't need your gratitude after saving your bird.”

Feeling as if she was doused with a bucket of cold water, Leyla tried to untangle the man's grip from her, but the man was too strong. Matthias was stronger and faster, and not a second later his gaze blurred as he also removed his glasses…

He has kissed her.

She tried to break away from him, but it was too late that she realized that another hand had appeared behind her head and grabbed her hair when she felt a piercing pain as she lightly pulled her head back.

Leyla gasped in pain, and that was the chance Matthias took to put her hot tongue into her mouth.

His tongue darted inward, scouring his mouth voraciously, before sensually weaving around his mouth. Leyla could only groan because of the sensation. In the background, he could faintly hear Bill Remmer's loud growl as he split the firewood again.

Leyla's hand shifted, moving from the window sill to Matthias' shoulder, trying to push him away. But it only deepened their kiss.

This kiss was very different from the one she remembered on the last day of last summer. The kiss that hurt his heart deep inside. Instead of the fierce devouring kiss she had let him feel before, now the kiss was more firm, yet softer; demanding but softer on her lips.

Not long after that her grip on her hair loosened, allowing her to break away from her grasp. As she gasps, Leyla's nose smells Leyla's body scent; the fusion of prey's blood with her mint scent.

He bit his lips defiantly while Matthias was still holding his chin firmly, yet to let go.

"Kiss only?" he whispered in a sultry voice, “Is your precious bird life just this much?”

A tone that was so seductive and pushy sounded in his ears. Unfortunately, he did not have the time or strength to overcome his current panic. All he could feel was how his body was locked in place as he looked at him with a reddened face, his mouth agape as he continued to breathe air. Suddenly, he was pulled forward, his face now just a strand of hair away from his face.

“Akh!” exclaim Leyla.

Matthias observed his face slightly, his eyes observing his face. The grip on his chin was getting tighter, he was afraid that the man would crush him faster. Leyla sighed softly as the grip hurt her, before the man's tongue went back inside her mouth…

All he had in mind at that moment was how he preferred pain. However, Matthias was persistent in his efforts, his tongue continuing their previous ministry, dancing expertly around his own tongue as he tasted every nook and cranny in his mouth.

Their hostile kiss continued, coupled with Bill's loud snort, alongside the split firewood. Every time Matthias wove his tongue with his tongue and sucked it, he gasped, squeezing his shirt, letting out an unconscious groan that seemed to be scratched from inside his throat with every swipe of his tongue into his tongue.

With each sound she let out, Leyla felt extremely ashamed of herself. He could feel himself getting dizzy at any moment, his body moving in response to whatever he was doing.

Even his tireless hands pushed him away, now it could only droop on his shoulders. He could feel the teardrops beginning to form, hoping not to fall…

Finally, Matthias let go, letting her pant as she felt her cheeks wet, and sobs mixed with her moans.

Their lips were now wet with each other's saliva, making them sparkle in the dark. Leyla felt her knees go limp, but she held back before she fell to the floor thinking about how the two of them looked at the moment.

“Leyla!”

Uncle Bill's voice shook Leyla from her unforgiving thoughts.

“Leyla! Can you bring me a glass of refreshing water?” he's asking.

'Jawab Leyla,'

He thought in his heart,

'I have to answer quickly!'

He urged, but his movements were slow as he dazedly stared at the way Matthias took out his handkerchief. Leyla watched him slowly lift him to her lips and remove the evidence of what they had done.

Only when he slightly pulled his face forward did he remember he was still clutching his chin. Next he carried the same handkerchief he used, to wipe the evidence from his lips as well.

Matthias calmly took the glasses he had thrown away and put them back where they were until he finally let go of his grip on the woman.

“Leyla?”

Bill's voice cutting firewood suddenly came to a halt as he began to wonder why there was no answer.

“Wash and bring back.”

Matthias' command while holding his hand, made his fingers tightly grasp the old cloth. He rubbed a few small circles on his wrist before quickly letting go, and turned around to ride his horse.

“Leyla, Son! Is something wrong?"

Uncle Bill's footsteps made Leyla wake up from her daydreams as she realized their footsteps were getting closer. In a hurry, he closed the window, and closed the curtain. Immediately, he rushed back to his door and opened it, just before Uncle Bill's hand, which was raised to knock, was about to hit him.

“Sorry, uncle. I... I was sleeping for a while.” he lethargicly apologized, pretending to be tidying up his hair, which Matthias had gripped not long ago.

“Hmm, I was wondering why you took so long.” Uncle Bill told him.

“A, I'll start dinner soon!”

“No need to rush, Son,” she calms him down, “Make sure you really wake up first. You can slow it down.” He reminded her, smiling at her with affection.

Bill gently patted her on the head before turning back to the front yard, taking a glass of water as it came out, before leaving her alone.

As soon as she heard the front door shut, Leyla let herself feel faint, and unceremoniously fell to the floor…

Matthias' handkerchief, which was in his weak grip, fluttered around him as it fell, and innocently sank in front of his disappointed figure