Chapter 3
3
Bring that child here.
The sunlight was harsh, but it was cool under the shade of the trees where the breeze blew. Leila sat on the blanket, hugging her knees. Bill and the garden workers were busy digging up the rosebushes that had finished blooming and planting new ones that flowered late in the season.
The garden behind the mansion seemed to have every kind of rose in the world. Roses were the national flower of the Berg Empire and the two Duchesses of the ducal family cherished them especially, or so she had heard.
Because of the gunshots coming from the forest, Leila couldn’t stay still for even a moment and paced anxiously around the house. Seeing that, Uncle Bill suddenly held out his hand. He had brought her to this garden, taking her hand almost reflexively. Only when the gunshots faded into the distance did her mind finally ease.
Was it okay for her to rest while Uncle Bill worked in the heat?
Leila looked at Bill with an awkward expression, then let out a small sigh and closed her eyes. Uncle Bill had threatened that he would get angry if she followed him. He hated children who didn’t listen. So, even if it made her uncomfortable, it seemed she had no choice but to wait here.
Having reached that resigned conclusion, Leila opened her eyes again—and flinched, shrinking back in surprise. An unfamiliar boy stood right in front of her. He was dressed neatly and looked about her age.
“Hello.”
As their eyes met, the boy smiled and greeted her. He had platinum blond hair and a pretty smile.
“Do you live here?”
The boy looked around and asked seriously.
“Yeah. With Uncle Bill.”
Leila narrowed her eyes as she answered.
“Uncle Bill? You mean that scary gardener uncle?”
“Uncle isn’t scary.”
“Really? He scared me.”
The boy tilted his head, then casually sat down next to Leila.
“Do you live here too?”
Leila asked, a bit wary. The boy shook his head with a smile.
“No. I came with my dad. He’s the family physician here, and today is Lady Norma’s check-up day. I come with him sometimes. Lady Norma said it’s okay.”
“I see.”
“How old are you?”
“Twelve.”
“Same as me. But you’re really small.”
The boy stared at Leila and burst out laughing again. Leila’s cheeks flushed red with indignation.
“You’re small too.”
“I’m the tallest in my class, though?”
The boy straightened up indignantly. It didn’t seem like boasting; he did look a bit taller than his peers.
“Anyway… you’re still smaller than Uncle Bill.”
Leila added uncertainly in a quieter voice. The boy stared at her blankly, then giggled again. He seemed like a kid who laughed easily.
“Hey, who’s bigger than that uncle? Probably no adults either.”
“I don’t know about that.”
Feeling embarrassed, Leila plucked at the grass blades outside the blanket for no reason. Green juice stained her fingertips right away. She wished he would leave soon, but the boy showed no sign of standing up.
“Want some?”
Leila asked impulsively, glancing at the peach at the edge of the blanket. The boy nodded readily. He seemed as good-natured as he was quick to laugh.
Leila pulled a pocketknife from her bag, which she had set aside. As she unfolded it and cut the peach, the boy chuckled lowly.
“You’re so funny. A girl carrying something like that in her bag?”
“Uncle gave it to me. Don’t tease.”
Leila wrinkled her nose slightly and handed half the peach to the boy. As the two children sat side by side, sharing the peach, a breeze carrying the sweet scent of the fruit wafted between them.
“But why do you look so down? Something wrong?”
After finishing the peach, the boy asked cautiously.
“The Duke and his friends keep hunting birds.”
Leila answered glumly. The boy tilted his head, as if he couldn’t understand.
“Why?”
“They kill birds for fun.”
“Isn’t that what hunting is?”
“You do that too?”
Leila looked up at the boy with serious green eyes. The boy in front of her didn’t even look strong enough to hold that big, intimidating hunting rifle.
“Uh… no.”
The boy blinked, then shook his head vigorously.
“I don’t. It’s sad.”
He put emphasis into every word. A smile slowly spread across Leila’s previously sullen face.
“Want another peach?”
Leila asked in a much brighter voice. Once again, the boy nodded readily.
Leila cut a much larger piece of peach and handed it to him. Perhaps because his formal clothes felt stuffy, the boy’s cheeks were a little flushed.
“Kyle! Kyle!”
A faint voice, probably calling the boy, reached them. The boy, who had been fiddling with the peach pit, jumped to his feet.
“I have to go now.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Kyle Etman.”
The boy suddenly held out his hand.
“My name. Yours?”
“I’m Leila. Leila Llewellyn.”
Leila took his hand a bit awkwardly. The two children shook hands quite seriously, their small hands sticky with peach juice.
“Bye, Leila. See you again. Next time, I’ll bring something tasty.”
The boy shouted back as he ran off.
Leila had been about to say she might have to leave this place soon, but she stopped herself and just gave a small wave. She didn’t want to say it out loud. She was afraid that even speaking it would invite bad luck.
Once Kyle left, Leila’s world returned to quiet.
Breathing in the rose-scented breeze, Leila waited for Uncle Bill to finish his work. She must have dozed off at some point. When she snapped her eyes open at the sound of Uncle Bill calling her name, the long summer sun was already setting.
Leila jumped up, slung her bag over her shoulder, and gathered the blanket. Her steps as she hurried toward Bill were much lighter.
“Uncle, earlier I met this kid who…”
Leila started to tell him about the boy she’d shared the peach with, but she froze at the sound of people approaching from the opposite direction. It was the Duke of Herhardt and his friends.
Mathias paused for a moment in the center of the rose garden. The gruff gardener, Bill Leamer, bowed toward him. It was only afterward that he noticed the small child hiding behind him.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Leamer.”
Mathias nodded lightly. The group following him stopped at a proper distance behind.
“We’ll be keeping this child in Arbis for the time being.”
Bill Leamer said, looking a bit sheepish.
When he patted her back, the girl hiding behind him hesitantly came into view. Thanks to her sparkling golden hair, Mathias remembered her. The absurd girl who had been sitting in the tree, nearly mistaken for a bird and shot.
“I already got permission from both Madames, but I should have informed you as well, Your Grace. I apologize for the rudeness.”
Bill Leamer bowed once more. The child beside him did the same.
Mathias slowly lowered his gaze. As their eyes met, the child flinched but stared at him intently. Her narrowed eyes and pursed lips were exactly the same as when she had been peeking at him hidden in the forest during the hunt.
“You’re that kid. The one living in the forest.”
Riet, his cousin behind him, giggled and spoke up. The child’s face turned bright red, and she hid behind the gardener again. She had done the same in the hunting grounds. She would stare at him piercingly, then quickly duck behind a tree. And when the hunt ended, she would wander around sobbing and burying the dead birds.
“As you wish, Mr. Leamer.”
Mathias gave a short reply with a smile. Whatever the gardener raised in the forest was none of his business.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
Bill bowed once more. Mathias gave a slight nod of his chin and resumed walking.
Only after he had passed did Leila finally lift her head. The Duke’s relatives and friends soon followed him. Despite the hot weather, everyone had taken off their jackets and rolled up their shirtsleeves, but the Duke of Herhardt was perfectly dressed in his hunting attire. The only concession was the hat he held in his hand.
Leila stared intently at his retreating back, then startled at the sight of the servants following with guns and the hunted game, stepping backward. A thick smell of blood brushed her nose. Leila squeezed her eyes shut, shoulders hunched tight.
Just as her body began to tremble, she felt Uncle Bill’s large, warm hand. He patted her shoulder awkwardly but affectionately.
Claudine sighed dramatically, propping her chin on her hand. Her curly chestnut hair swayed to the rhythm of her sighs. Countess Brandt glanced at her daughter with narrowed eyes.
“Act like a lady, Claudine.”
Her low whisper carried undisguised impatience. She was a bit young to be called a lady, but this was a position where she needed to become one. But her young daughter, oblivious to her mother’s feelings, let out an even longer sigh for show.
“I’m so lonely and bored.”
As Claudine whined, the gazes of the noble ladies seated at the tea table shifted.
“Then go play with the boys.”
Countess Brandt, her face flushed, tried to smooth things over, but Claudine didn’t back down.
“The boys treat me like I don’t exist. They only speak in words I can’t understand.”
The noble ladies let out soft laughs at Claudine’s pitiful expression.
“Well, it must be boring. With no friends your age.”
Elise von Herhardt nodded, stroking the fur of the white puppy on her lap.
“See, Mama? Lady Herhardt understands.”
A vibrant smile lit up Claudine’s face now that she had an ally.
“Who’s that child?”
Claudine pointed toward the garden she’d been peeking at. The noble ladies’ gazes followed her fingertip. A little girl was following behind the gardener tending the roses.
“Can I play with her? She looks about my age.”
“Well, she’s an orphan from abroad, isn’t she? Probably not suitable as your playmate.”
“It’s fine with me. It’d be more fun than playing with a dog.”
Claudine’s tone was calm and firm, unlike a child’s.
Countess Brandt’s ears were now bright red, but Elise von Herhardt laughed as if amused and rang the bell.
“Bring that child here.”
She ordered the maid who approached quietly.
“The one the gardener is raising.”
The maid led Leila into an unfamiliar world. It was a place under a fluttering white parasol where splendid people dressed in candy-sweet colors sat.
“Quite a cute child.”
A stunningly beautiful noble lady slowly parted her lips.
“What do you think? Do you like her, Claudine?”
Her gaze, which had left Leila for a moment, stopped on the chestnut-haired girl beside her. The girl called Claudine nodded happily, smiling.
“Thank you, Lady Herhardt.”
Leila, unable to understand their conversation at all, felt dizzy. She wanted to go back to Uncle Bill’s cottage right away, but no one seemed interested in her feelings.
When the lady apparently called Madame gave some order, the maid grabbed Leila’s hand again.
Leila was dragged from one hand to another, clueless.
In a lavish bathroom she’d never seen before, she washed her body, then put on astonishingly white and soft clothes. The maid’s rough hands hurt as she combed and braided Leila’s tousled hair, but Leila bit her lip and endured. She felt she had to. One wrong word could get Uncle Bill in trouble.
“Lady Claudine is the daughter of the Brandt Count family. You mustn’t act rudely toward her. Understand?”
The maid who dragged her up to the second floor of the mansion warned sternly.
When Leila nodded reflexively, she slowly opened the parlor door. Claudine greeted them with an air of maturity.
“Hello. What’s your name? How old are you?”
Claudine bent down to meet Leila’s eyes.
“I’m Leila Llewellyn, miss. I’m twelve.”
“Really? I thought you were younger. You’re so small.”
Hearing the words she least wanted to, Leila decided to hold it in. For Uncle Bill. Thinking of it like a spell made her patience grow.
Without any intention of introducing herself, Claudine turned around at that point. Leila followed with stiff steps.
Piano. Singing. Flower arranging.
Claudine suggested various games, but Leila couldn’t do any of them.
Dice games. Word games. Chess.
The other options Claudine offered were the same.
Looking alternately at the table full of toys and Leila’s face, an ambiguous smile appeared on Claudine’s lips.
“How pitiful.”
With a disappointed sigh, Claudine slowly stood up. Leila stared piercingly at the unfamiliar toys, feeling a sense of helplessness like she’d become a fool.
“You don’t know anything, do you?”
Claudine approached the chair where Leila sat and said in resignation. Her gentle voice, trying not to show disappointment or irritation, only deepened Leila’s humiliation.
She knew she should say something, but Leila couldn’t open her mouth easily. She had no idea what would be polite in this situation. Fortunately, Claudine turned away without waiting for her reply.
Before closing the door, Claudine muttered to herself with a sigh.
“What is this? Not even better than a dog.”
Once Claudine left, Leila was alone in the magnificent parlor.
She wanted to leave right away, but Leila decided to wait. The miss might come back. But even as the afternoon sunlight ripened into gold, Claudine didn’t return.
The maid who had brought her returned only when evening was near.
“Go back now.”
The maid’s voice was much softer than before.
“Lady Claudine said you can keep those clothes. And this too.”
As Leila bowed, the maid held out a shiny gold coin. When Leila didn’t move, she placed it in her hand herself.
“Take it. It’s also manners to gratefully accept what your superiors give you. Understand?”
