Cry, Or Better Yet Beg
chapter 59. A Decent Adult

It didn't take long before they reached the mansion. As soon as the car stopped, Matthias got out first, before reaching out his hand at Claudine, who also picked it up as she exited. They were then taken to the reception room, where two maids stood to receive them, along with his cousin, Riette.

'What if Claudine's wrong?'

Riette thought while observing her cousin. One might have thought he would at least show some concern for the incident that befell Leyla, but Matthias remained calm and composed throughout the incident.

If Claudine's assumptions were correct about Duke being lured to an orphan, there would definitely be a reaction from her seeing Leyla get hurt. He knew he'd do it if it was Claudine.

His cousin was also not an idiot, and was wise enough to cover up the previous incident and take it as something trivial. Still, Riette was confused to see Matthias so indifferently. What is his true feeling about the girl?

He will solve everything, one way or another. So they served dinner early to consider Claudine. As soon as it started, so did the ending, and he retired early, leaving the two men alone, to head for Matthias' study.

“To be honest, he looks very lonely, waiting for your arrival alone.” Riette started, “So I decided to go and give her a little spirit when I arrived. I might have teased him, but I didn't think he was so scared and ran.”

He looked at Matthias carefully, noticing the subtle signs of emotion as he sat before the Duke in the study. When there was no change to Matthias, Riette cleared her throat, before lethargicly leaning against the chair.

“By the way, I was talking about him,” He explained, “Nona Leyla Lewellin.”

The name came out of Riette's mouth as if she was spitting sand, albeit with a hint of dislike. Much of what he said is true. He might be acting a little physical, but he just meant to tease her.

"Ah." Matthias hummed, indifferent as usual, but his eyes were sharp at the observing Marquis. He then laughed a small but amused laugh, before sighing at her, looking quite amused by her cousin's behavior.

It is not the reaction of a person affected by the near-death experience of his loved one. It seems too real to fake, Riette thought inwardly.

“I guess even a female seductress like Riette von Lindman has limitations!” seductive Matthias, “Imagine you were rejected by a woman. Such a woman does exist.” He declared cheerfully. Riette could not help but laugh back.

"What's? Such a fitnah!” The two of them laughed at each other before finally winding down. Matthias' eyes softened slightly before turning serious.

“Yeah, it does benefit you.” Matthias told him, smoothly opening the silver box on his desk and taking out a cigarette. He flipped the match to light the end before offering it to Riette, who then took one for himself as well.

The two sat back in their respective seats, languidly reflecting the smoke. Riette continued to watch Matthias carefully, wondering what would happen now. He was mostly convinced now, after the laughter they shared just a moment ago, that Matthias did not care much for Leyla.

'After all, I feel sorry for Leyla, ' Riette thought as she continued to puff smoke, 'I don't think she will treat him pitifully.'

“Not one of my best moments, I admit it.” Riette said, while sitting further away in a comfortable chair. He felt as if he and Claudine had fooled themselves.

('That girl over there, isn't she similar to the canary Duke Herhardt kept in his bedroom?')

Those were the words Claudine said last summer one afternoon as she looked out the window, still smiling and heart filled with light. He was busy looking at Leyla Lewellin, who had just returned home after a long day of work in the park.

Riette still remembered how Leyla looked back then. Her thick blond hair bounced gently at each step, swinging as the wind blew against her. The sweat on his brows was sparkling, making him shine under the sunset rays. He was very similar to a bird, whose wings flapped so beautifully.

('Do you perhaps want to tell me that Matthias started raising canaries because of him?')

He asked Claudine in disbelief that day. He only looked at her meaningfully, confidently as he gave her a secret smile.

Yes, Claudine delivered it without saying a word. He was so sure, Riette would inevitably believe him. He was always very rational, very logical, so he believed that he would not make such a decision easily just because of a small coincidence. After all, he was also a little worried about Matthias' sudden change of heart in raising a bird.

Coupled with the fact that he had heard that Matthias was planning to create a rift between Leyla and Kyle Etman, it seemed increasingly plausible that Claudine's assumptions were correct.

'But how can he behave like this?' The more he pondered about it, Riette felt as if she was lost in a maze of increasingly complex questions.

How could he be indifferent to the woman he liked so much? Sitting before him and making jokes about his cousin's actions being so heartless towards him, that it caused injuries? And if Claudine was indeed right, what did their relationship mean to each other?

'Have they broken up? But why was Matthias still taking care of the canary, which was stored safely in his bedroom?'

“Riette von Lindman.” Matthias spoke up, exhaling a puff of smoke, looking at his cousin now with indifferent eyes. Riette, who was busy with her growing questions, looked towards the voice of her name, immediately setting her expression. “Why don't you make a scandal in your own land and not mine?”

Although Matthias slightly raised the corner of his lips into a smile, his eyes told a different story. “Do you not remember? I am willing to do anything to keep order Arvis.” He exhaled his last smoke before throwing out his new cigarette to light a new cigarette.

The two cousins looked at each other, Matthias firmly following Riette, who still couldn't catch a hint of her emotions. There were no signs of jealousy, anger or anything else, other than indifference. In fact, Matthias was very similar to a brat.

'Your cousin is a polite demon.'

Riette's thoughts recalled the officer she had met not long ago. He wore a shocked expression as he described how Duke looked while on the battlefield. Riette involuntarily swallowed her saliva, making her mouth feel dry. His hands shook lightly the longer they made eye contact.

“I'm sure you know it better than anyone else.” Matthias finished it in a low tone, warning her a little before breaking eye contact. At that moment, Riette could see her cousin looking slightly worse from exhaustion, a slight look of fatigue was visible on her face.

"I don't understand it." Riette thought, before sighing, the smoke mixed with the increasingly thick fog in the room as the two men continued to exhale their cigarettes. 'Maybe it takes a little more provocation, though I wonder…'

His mind floated as he looked at the growing embers of fire at the end of his staff. He took it to his mouth and took a deep breath, before blowing another puff into the office…

'I wonder if the answers I found will be useful to you, Claudine?' so Riette swallowed back her nervousness to calm her nerves.

Knocks. Knocks. Knocks.

Phoebe's familiar voice pecked at her window breaking the dim silence of the room. Normally, Leyla would open it to let her bird in. However, he found himself stuck in his head, staring at nothing but the space in front of him as he curled up, lying on his side on the bed.

He blinked his eyes occasionally, looking but not really seeing what was in front of him. If anyone were to stare into his eyes now, they would feel as if they were looking into a deep yet empty well.

Leyla could not remember how the accident happened or how she returned to the cabin. He only wanted to escape from Marquis Lindman, but the next thing he knew, he was greeted with a burst of light that came towards him, and not a second later, he felt a bit of pain spread all over his body.

Although it was very painful to get hit, it felt like nothing compared to when he learned that the car he hit belonged to Duke Herhardt, who was inside at the time of the incident, with his fiancee, Claudine.

A few minutes had passed before he finally returned to himself, but chose to remain in bed for a while longer. A previous accident caused his skin not to be torn or his bones to break. However the blow left some bruises, and pain in his left shoulder and back, which caused most of his blows. It felt like his bones would crack every time he moved.

He might have to sleep, and rest early, but the pain made him unable to even close his eyes. Eventually Leyla managed to convince herself to get up from her fetal position to open the window for Phoebe to enter.

As the bird flew by the window sill, Leyla noticed a note stuck to her bird's ankle. His eyes narrowed as he suspected the letter might be from Duke Herhardt. He's sure of it.

Sighing deeply, Leyla untied the message, and gently stroked Phoebe for a moment. Feeling that he has done his duty, Phoebe flies back to his cage, having eaten its contents back at the Duke's house.

Leyla pursed her lips while staring at the note, thinking about whether she could let the note go unread. Deciding otherwise, he immediately closed his window and sat on the edge of the bed. He unrolled the scroll, reaching for his glasses on the pillow beside him to read the contents.

[You need to bring a handkerchief, Leyla. If you don't come here, I'll go there.]

Leyla's hands trembled as she read the note, her fists clenching with trepidation coming her way. He immediately dropped the tangled letter onto the bed, before sliding down anxiously. He gripped the end of the bed, hands clenched over the bedsheets as his body trembled, before he sobbed.

His hands were raised trembling to take his glasses, throwing them aside carelessly before burrowing his face into the pillow to let out a muffled scream! He feels like he's going crazy!

'If only I could run to a place far from this man.'

No matter how hard he wished, reality still confronted him. He's still here, he's still in Arvis, which means he's still within his reach. Which brings him back to the letter.

If he decided not to meet her, he would not hesitate to come to her. He wouldn't mind getting arrested by Uncle Bill.

'If that happens then Uncle Bill will.' Leyla's mind disappears when she remembers one of the things that Uncle Bill told her a while ago…

'You're gonna be a pretty good adult.'

Uncle Bill's sweet smile and soft voice filtered in his mind, leaving Leyla covered in fresh tears. No matter what anyone else said about him, whatever rumors spread, Uncle Bill was always there for him. He believed in her when no one else believed. He is still proud of him and his achievements. He made sure he knew it too.

“You're almost like Duke's mistress, aren't you?”

That one sentence from Marquis Lindman instantly shattered the light feeling of Uncle Bill, with a bitterness that was hard to swallow.

He struggled for a while, but managed to find a foothold to get up from the floor. Leyla carefully grabbed her bag, which was thrown carelessly at her desk, and took out the handkerchief that had been weighing her down all day.

Deciding to end this quickly, he grasped the handkerchief and immediately turned around leaving his room, locking it behind him. As she passed by the living room, Leyla slowed her pace while listening to Uncle Bill's gentle and steady snoring. He hated that he had to leave Uncle Bill, but he knew he needed to leave him if he wanted to escape Matthias.

He hated Duke so much, so he felt as if his heart was going to burn. It didn't matter if Marquis Lindman was the indirect cause of his accident, it was Duke's involvement with him who blamed everything that went wrong in his life.

He walked out of their house, and broke through the forest at night, with only the light of the moon illuminating his path. On top of the rolling clouds, it often dimmed the moonlight, but Leyla could see well in the darkness. He was familiar with this forest.

He walked on the same path that he had always taken towards the pavilion, reaching the open ground that led to the Schulter river in no time. Leyla sped up her pace, wanting to forget all this. He was cold, as the cold of the night swept over him, but his cheeks were burning from his frustration, making him feel hot in the cold.

"You're coming."

Leyla stopped when she heard a voice from the darkness. It was Matias. He leaned against the fence near the stairs leading to the outside, connected to the pier and the second floor of the pavilion. His gaze was completely locked onto his form, looking at him with a resigned attitude.

“I was just about to go.” He hummed, before he pushed himself out of the fence, and started walking towards him with a predator grin as he stood frozen in place. Once he was only a step away from her, he stopped his steps and looked at her.

Leyla's blond hair was ruffled in the wind, her hair and skirt swayed slightly in the night breeze. He also noticed her goosebumps on the top and bottom of her arms, and a slight vibration she had involuntarily made.

“Are you not cold?” He frowned in worry as he realized he was not dressed warmly.

Leyla scoffed at the worry the man suddenly showed her. Where was he hit by his car? But it didn't matter to him, not anymore.

He extended his hand in front of Matthias, his hand holding a clean handkerchief for him to take. “This, I will return your handkerchief to you.” He snorted, a cold puff of smoke coming out from him.

“Leyl” but Matthias was cut off, as he hurriedly told her to take back the handkerchief, before pulling away from it.

“Goodbye, Duke,” He said goodbye to her, “I hope never to see you again, forever.” He finished, turned around quickly. His task had been completed, and he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders as he increasingly put some distance between them.

Only her soft footsteps echoed in the forest. Leyla inhaled the earthy scent of the surrounding trees, making her head feel clear and fresh despite her dark surroundings, though her body trembled at every step due to her bruised body.

“I order you to stop, Leyla!” matthias' orders, a few steps behind him, made Leyla flinch in shock. He tried to run, but found his body frozen after hearing his orders.

He caught up with her in no time.

“Leyla,” She called out to him gently, her hand touching the back of her hand, carrying it to her left shoulder, before she regained her movement and brushed Leyla's hand away from him. “Leyla!” Matthias exclaimed in frustration.

Immediately she clustered in her personal space, her face frowned as she grabbed him, and raised her bridal style as if it weighed nothing more than a strand of fur.

“Akh!”

Leyla choked on her screams due to the sudden change in orientation, before realizing what had happened to her.

"NO! Let me go! Go!" He shouted, struggling against his grip, but Matthias firmly held it, before shifting his grip towards him and pulling it over his shoulder as if he was a sack of potatoes.

Leyla continued to punch her fists against the man's back, kicking and shouting at the man, but the man gave no indication that he was affected by anything he had done so far. Matthias firmly climbed the stairs towards the pavilion building, all ready and steady despite his comrade being struggling.

Leyla's screams grew louder with each step, but it sounded deep enough in the forest and no one else could hear it on a night like this. Matthias continued walking down the corridor, leading the two of them towards the living room.

She then reached her bedroom, opening the door without delay, before dragging Leyla in