Cry, Or Better Yet Beg
chapter 62. Night at City Hall

The chatter around the town hall sounded loud, Leyla herself was quite busy watching the progress of her students' preparations. When he came out to the lobby, Miss. Grever walked up to him, his face flushed red as he sat down beside him.

“Nona Lewellin, look here!” he hurriedly whispered, “That's Duke Herhardt! He's here!" he screamed with excitement. Leyla felt as if a bucket of cold water had just been splashed on her.

“Duke? Is she here?" he hurriedly asked, looking in the direction Mrs pointed. Grever, “I think Madam Herhardt is coming tonight.” she muttered when she realized Mrs. Grever's right.

Matthias is here.

“Ya, in attendance is Duke, not his mother.” Mrs Grever giggled, before exclaiming in awe, “And look! She even brought along her grandmother!” yells.

It was easy to find the Duke, especially because of the crowd that swarmed him as he arrived. Right at the moment he looked at her, did his eyes manage to meet her eyes.

Leyla felt her chest suddenly narrow under her gaze, and lightly tilted her head forward, pretending as if she was greeting her without speaking from afar. Fortunately, they did not interact too much as he was quickly swept away by the crowd.

Leyla found herself sighing in relief at her disappearance.

“Say, Miss Lewellin, you live right next to Arvis, right?” Madam Grever asked, and she nodded, “Then, that means you also meet her quite often?” The madam looked very sad as the Duke had disappeared from around them, completely missing the way Leyla moved uncomfortably.

“I, well, I guess...sometimes,” murmured, hands clenched in front of him as he fidgeted, feeling very guilty even though he had no reason to. Madam Grever sighed, slightly pouting.

“Ah, how lucky you are!” he sighed once again, “It's nice to see a handsome face every day. Even from a distance.” he finished it before moving on to return to choir practice as he was tasked with keeping up a high-class appearance.

Since last fall's picnic, which was held in Arvis, Ny. Grever grew fond of Duke Herhardt, never missing an opportunity to praise him and his deeds. He would praise how great he was, or how graceful he walked, or how aristocratic he acted.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Leyla left and joined the other teachers for some last-minute preparation, when she finally met the Duke in person in the hallway. His steps faltered for a moment, before he regained his composure to continue walking.

He wished he hadn't noticed her passing by. He seemed to be talking to an old man. Inevitably he paused for a moment as soon as he passed by, only to see her one last time.

He looked so tall from where he was standing, the long shadow on the marble floor he made made him seem even more impressive. The suit she wore accentuated her agile form, though it also perfectly covered every sturdy muscle she had on her body.

Ever since they were children, he had made her very scared and uncomfortable to be around him. And despite the many compliments she heard about him, she couldn't figure out why they took him so highly because she clearly thought otherwise.

Even now, that fact remained unchanged for him, even though he now had an understanding of why he was so respected in their community. He played his role perfectly as the venerable Duke Matthias von Herhardt, making everyone believe that he was born to be honored.

If only they knew, as he knew, how childish he was. It was true, he felt very strange seeing it in such an honorable manner. Could he describe it as a beautiful nightmare?

Also, his eyes glittered in the light…

'Wait.. eyes?' Leyla blinked, before she realized Matthias was now staring straight at her, her body slightly turning towards her even as she was talking to the person in front of her.

'Why... Why is he looking at me?' she wondered, slowly feeling her cheeks become warm the longer she held back her gaze. Although her eyes showed no emotion, she could see the corners of her lips lifted into a not-so-obtrusive grin.

“Nona Lewellin, why are you here?”

A voice interrupted their silent interaction as Leyla quickly turned to face to face with the principal. He drew closer to Leyla, momentarily assessing her appearance before nodding in satisfaction, "Come on, stop wasting time, there are more guests we should welcome." she gently reminded, gently push him in the direction he wants.

The Headmaster led Leyla towards where the other teachers were relaxing, which happened to also be the place where Matthias and his grandmother were at this time. As he was handed over to the mercy of the crowd, he carefully avoided bumping into anyone, jerking left and right when someone got too close…

Before he knew it, he was already right near the Herhardt family, within the range of Matthias's sight. There was no way he could escape without having to talk to her now. Leyla held back her nervousness from being so close to her after their prolonged separation.

Matthias was busy interacting with the others, both guests and teachers, before he realized Leyla had managed to find a way in front of him. He averted his gaze, hoping it would give him more time, but he caught a glimpse of a grin that was getting bigger.

He lowered his head, busied himself by looking at his well-polished shoes and began to think about the appearance of his upcoming students…

Unfortunately for all his preparations, he did not expect to be the target of a joke by the time the night ended.

After the crowd gathered around them, Norma finally took the time to assess her grandson. He tilted his head as he watched him critically, seeing a slight glint in his eyes.

“You look so excited lately, Matthias.” he showed with a smile as soon as they sit in their respective seats, “Is there something you want to tell me?” he hummed impatiently waiting for an answer to his granddaughter's sudden change in mood.

“Hm? No, actually not a grandmother.” she answered honestly, unwilling to divulge any information for her, giving her a soothing smile. Norma is disappointed that Matthias feels no need to tell her any progress in her daily life.

He knew something had changed. He acted differently than before, giving off a lighter aura about him. He almost looks like someone his age. Don't get me wrong, he knows his granddaughter is one of the most handsome people ever. He had never acted like a child his age before, always so mature…

Sometimes he forgets how young he is until he realizes a slight reflection in his steps, or how light he is. Almost even happier. An absurd thought, if you will, but he doesn't want to pull it back.

“Ah, well,” she hummed, turned away from her to look towards the stage while the others continued to sit around them, “After all, it was nice to see you like this.” He was just curious, but if Matthias felt more comfortable if he didn't know about it, then who was he that could pry further?

They sat in silence, Norma busying herself with a conversation or two with the people who stopped by to greet them. He noticed in all their interactions, Matthias looked rather bored, his eyes glancing here and there, before his slightly bent posture told him that he found things a little boring.

“I know these things may seem trivial to you, Matthias, but I would like to see it as an opportunity to receive support and respect in this meeting,” he said, slow enough that only the two of them could hear it. “And I'm glad to know that even though you are running errands as our head of household, you still take the time to participate diligently in events like this.”

He turned his head towards Matthias and patted his chin lovingly, which he automatically held and kissed his palm in response.

The public has given Matthias the nickname as Herhardt's masterpiece. They witnessed his hard work and glory in the deeds he did here and there. Norma can only smile considering all of them. Although he wanted to be humble about it, he agreed with the opinion of the people wholeheartedly.

She feels sad when she outlives her husband, as well as her son, yet she believes that it is to watch her grandson rise up and exceed the expectations set for her, and to see his granddaughter flourish in that; to bring glory to the Herhardt family once again when the last head of his family left them.

Suddenly the lights go out making the audience gasp in shock as Norma is busy admiring her granddaughter. The sound of the drum starts as several floodlights start moving back and forth everywhere before landing on stage. The audience calmed down and the host finally appeared in a puff of smoke on stage.

The audience began clapping at the dramatic entrance, including Matthias while upholding his chair, but not because of what was happening on stage, oh no. In fact, his eyes were fixed on Leyla.

He could not believe how much he had missed it before, but he was wearing it. She was wearing her beautiful necklace. Yes, after checking for longer, he was sure it was the emerald necklace he was wearing.

Matthias felt a turmoil of satisfaction deep within him, liking the fact that he was wearing it. It made her feel as if she had marked it, and she proudly announced to the world that she was her own.

Whether he knew that he felt that way when he wore it or not, it didn't matter to him. She's hers.

Eventually he managed to pull away from looking at her and focus on the show. He noticed the introduction of the drama and watched the students perform, observing them one by one carefully.

The drama tells the story of several fairies who live near the forest. Each child wore translucent wings, with strategically scattered sparkles to give a sparkling effect. They walked and acted with courtesy, conveying their dialogue nervously.

The audience cheered and were amazed at the show, laughing here and there as they were about to do something adorable. He realized that he recognized them as children who had come for a picnic with Leyla in Arvis.

Thinking about it made her look for it, her eyes glanced at the dim bottom of the stage, where Leyla sat attentively watching her students. He observes his interactions with them, noticing from time to time how the children glanced nervously, looking for their teacher among the crowd to get a cue and validation that they were doing the right thing.

Suddenly, the smallest child, and possibly the youngest, began to cry openly, shocking the audience and the Duke. The wail echoed throughout the place, for a moment distracting everyone from the show. Matthias later recognized the boy as the girl who spilled ice cream all over Leyla's clothes during the picnic.

'I wonder how Miss Lewellin handled this?' he wondered while tilting his head as he tried to imagine how Leyla was currently looking. Judging from the way he straightened his body, his hand secretly signaled for the child to relax, that he himself was starting to feel nervous.

"Okayung." Norma sighed. Matthias glanced at him a glance before giving his attention once again to the little girl. The little girl was now bowing on stage, staring right at Leyla as she tried to reach out to her…

“Teacher!” the little girl cried, her voice echoing in the now silent hall. All the other child actors also stopped their performances, distracted from the sudden interruption. Obviously at this point whatever role the child has is absent, which makes all the other children start to panic about what to do as well.

'What are you going to do now, Leyla?' Matthias asked in his mind, narrowing his eyes at his back. Finally the headmaster walked inconspicuously towards the novice teacher, whispering in his ear.

Whatever he said made Leyla tense. He watched as they exchanged words, Leyla shook her head in panic at the insistence of the principal. But in the end, the principal succeeds and Leyla resigns from her duties.

He carefully rose from his seat among the teachers, and slowly climbed onto the stage. She carefully pulled the crying girl aside and wiped her tears away. He was talking to the boy now, gently calming him down, he would assume from behind the fake flower bush they used as a buffer.

The boy now loved his teacher dearly, Leyla sighed in defeat before rubbing her palms up and down the boy's back to calm him down. Further delay will only add to the panic among inexperienced children.

Just as Leyla was planning to get off the stage with the child, the Headmaster approached her once more and handed her a stack of papers. Matthias watched as he paled upon seeing them, frantically exchanging words with the headmaster. The headmaster tried to take the crying child with him, but the girl refused. After that, he left Leyla and the little girl on stage.

“Hmm, I seem to recognize that teacher.” her grandmother commented while squinting her eyes in order to see Leyla better, “Ya, isn't that Bill Remmer's adopted daughter?” it was soft, looking happy to see a familiar face.

Reluctantly, Leyla returned, her hands wrapped around the girl's arms as she dragged her gently once more, and began to sink behind the over-small bush, which was too small, and started flipping through the paper in a bit of a hurry. He scanned the crowd several times, clearing his throat while taking a deep breath.

It's funny to see her face turning red every second.

“U-waa... see i-this is everything!” Leyla giggled nervously, “Beautiful flowers have bloomed.” she finished her dialogue awkwardly, stuttering in her dialogue, leaving Matthias perplexed to see it fall apart in front of such a public audience.

It feels as if seeing someone more nervous than himself adds to the children's confidence, and the game begins again, each child getting more and more confident in walking and acting.

Although the dialogue was short, Leyla seemed to be unable to find her composure whenever it came time to convey it. The audience giggled, trying to hold back the tingle whenever it came time to speak.

It's funny to see Leyla so awkward and serious about her job. They try not to laugh too much, really!

But then one of the spectators laughed out loud as Leyla uttered a sentence, and suddenly a dam broke! The entire town hall was then filled with boisterous laughter, finally powerless to hold back. Even her grandmother, who had been trying to be as respectful as possible, laughed with the crowd.

Matthias looked back at Leyla, his head resting on his knuckles perched on the armrest. His head was tilted as he stared at Leyla with a sullen face, barely visible in dim lighting.

The boy finally stopped crying, and now sat down in vain beside Leyla, flapping his hands up and down. Finally, the boy looked up at his teacher, and as if trying to say thank you, he took off the flower crown on his head and placed it obliquely on Leyla's golden mane.

Unfortunately, the child's efforts went unnoticed because Leyla was too focused on reading the script.

“I-it's a great party! Ha ha ha!" He laughed dramatically, but the stern expression on his face made him funny. "I'm so happy!" He then looked up and smiled timidly towards the crowd.

That was when, Matthias finally snorted before laughing with the audience. Leyla's face was practically flushed, matching the rose in her crown, but she forced herself to continue her game.

Matthias was able to predict that in the drama, the audience was looking forward to when Leyla would speak next. And as a result, he could also predict that among all the performances today, this lower-ranking drama will be the talk of the town from tonight on.

When the show finally ended, and Leyla was finally done with her role, she rushed off the stage, smiling politely, yet hastily passed the warm applause of the audience just for her. Matthias also found himself clapping for her. She was completely entertained by the pretty flower fairy tonight, who ended up being the star of the show