Chapter 30
30
I’ll Do My Best
After a hearty dinner, Leila and Kyle strolled down the night streets, each holding an ice cream cone. Even when she told him to head back quickly and prepare for tomorrow, Kyle was obstinately insistent.
“Taking time to digest is the best way to prepare for tomorrow.”
He answered so confidently that Leila couldn’t bring herself to argue.
“Then just a short walk. But Kyle.”
“Yeah.”
“Why do you want to marry me?”
With the cold, sweet aftertaste of ice cream lingering on her lips, Leila asked cautiously.
“If it’s because you pity me…”
“Leila Llewellyn.”
The voice calling her name was uncharacteristically cold for Kyle. Before Leila could react, Kyle stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
“Do I look like some lunatic trying to marry you out of pity?”
His sharp, unfamiliar expression frightened Leila, leaving her speechless.
“Sure, the world is wide, and there are plenty of lunatics out there. But Leila, at least I’m not one of them.”
Kyle took a deep breath, as if holding back anger.
“Why? Because I love you.”
“Kyle…”
“That’s my only reason. Because I love you, Leila Llewellyn.”
Gazing down at Leila’s tense face, Kyle sighed and let out a wry chuckle.
“And who pities who here? Me, who’s been rejected hundreds of times already? I’m the pitiful one, Leila.”
Kyle ruffled Leila’s hair lightly and started walking a step ahead. He was probably making a pretty foolish face, but he didn’t want to show it to her. Understanding his feelings, Leila followed behind, keeping one step’s distance.
In silence, they arrived back at the hotel.
“Go on in.”
Kyle turned to her with his smile restored.
“Oh, right. We didn’t do it today.”
Kyle glanced down at the melting ice cream cup, then slowly lifted his gaze.
“Marry me, Leila.”
He knew rejection was certain, but skipping it now felt oddly out of routine, like missing a daily habit. Yet Leila, who should have casually said goodbye, Kyle, remained silent for some reason.
Kyle narrowed his eyes and watched her intently. Her lips, which should have uttered the gentle yet cruel refusal of no marriage, parted slowly—and then came words he could hardly believe.
“Yeah.”
“…Leila?”
Stunned, Kyle dropped the ice cream cup from his hand. The melted ice cream soiled the tip of his shoe, but he couldn’t have cared less.
“Uh… so, you’re saying yes to marriage?”
Stammering as he asked again, Leila nodded with her eyes downcast.
“You’re marrying me? Right?”
His voice trembled as he pressed. Leila looked up at him with an embarrassed expression and nodded once more, small.
Leila seemed about to say something else, but Kyle let out a whoop of joy bordering on a howl and swept her up into his arms.
“Woooooo!”
Passersby in front of the hotel jumped in surprise and stared, and even as startled Leila screamed, Kyle spun her around in his arms without a care.
A fragrant spring breeze blew in on that night.
That night, Kyle had a dream. A dream of marrying Leila, becoming the Etman couple, and living an everyday life filled with ordinary happiness.
Leila had once said that if she ever had a home of her own in the distant future, she would love to have a little flower bed. She would smile shyly as she talked about how happy it would make her to see the roses she tended there take firm root and bloom.
In the dream, he saw Leila tending that very flower bed. Beside her, more beautiful than the fully bloomed roses, children were playing. The sunlight was clear, and the children’s laughter rang out brightly.
“Daddy—!”
One child spotted Kyle and came toddling over. It was a pretty little girl with blonde hair like Leila’s and his own. A smaller child, still waddling, bounced in place to greet him happily.
Kyle scooped up his daughter and headed toward Leila as a soft breeze blew. The wind carried the sweet scent of roses. Leila smiled at him—far more beautifully than in that lovely dream.
Kyle awoke wrapped in the lingering warmth of the dream. Thanks to that happiness, he aced the exam far better than expected. The thought that the dream would soon become reality filled him with wonder. How could such a great blessing exist in this world?
As he left the exam hall, he felt like he could soar into the sky. The moment he spotted Leila sitting on a bench outside the building, waiting for him, it was as if he really had floated up into the air.
“Leila!”
Calling her name loudly, Leila looked up. She folded the small book she was reading, slipped it into the bag slung across her shoulder, and approached with light, joyful steps.
“How’d it go? Was the exam tough? Think you did well?”
“You’re worrying about everything.”
Kyle tilted his chin up pretentiously.
“Leila, I’m Kyle Etman. The Kyle Etman who doesn’t know how to rank second in studies.”
“Aaah. Yeees. Of course you are.”
Leila burst out laughing.
“I must have forgotten that brilliant Mr. Etman for a moment.”
“Wow, that hurts. Make sure you always remember from now on.”
Kyle hammed it up as he slyly took Leila’s hand. She flinched in surprise but didn’t pull away. The late afternoon spring sun glinted dazzlingly off the corners of Kyle’s lips, curved in an overwhelming smile.
“You really did well on the exam, right?”
Leila asked cautiously, still a bit anxious, and Kyle found her so adorable that he chuckled.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be the only one who fails, leaving us unable to attend university together.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Leila’s cheeks flushed faintly. The thought that they must taste as sweet as ripe peaches made Kyle’s throat suddenly dry. He regretted that they were on campus. On a quiet street, he might have mustered the courage for a kiss. No, wait. If he did something like that rashly, Leila might get scared and shrink away, so he should wait a little longer.
Right, the shovel.
Kyle decided to think about the shovel. That huge shovel covered in dirt, and Bill’s chilling smile.
Holding hands tightly, the two strolled slowly across the campus. From the medical hall where Kyle studied to the biology hall where Leila would study. They gauged the distance, walked, laughed, and chattered excitedly.
“You’ll definitely pass, but I might find it a bit tough.”
As they reached the biology hall, Leila murmured gravely.
“Why worry like that? You said you did great on the exam.”
“True, but they accept so few female students.”
Leila’s face fell. Kyle let out a short “Ah” of a sigh and nodded.
“Yeah, that’s true.”
It had only been a few years since the empire’s universities allowed female admissions, and even then, they selected only a tiny number, making the bar much higher for women.
“Still, you’ll pass.”
Kyle said with conviction.
“Who else would they accept if not you?”
“Aren’t you overconfident?”
“Not at all. It’s a highly reliable conclusion drawn from eight years of accumulated data.”
“Eight years… Time has flown by already.”
She could still vividly recall the road to Arbis by mail coach, yet that much time had passed. Looking at Kyle standing before her, now a grown young man, Leila suddenly felt a fresh sense of wonder.
“What’s wrong?”
A bit embarrassed under her thoughtful gaze, Kyle asked awkwardly.
“You’ve grown so much.”
Leila admired him with a still-serious expression. Kyle felt at a loss. Leila Llewellyn was so lovable when she said something whimsical like this—like soft fluff fluttering in his chest.
“Yeah.”
Kyle chuckled and nodded.
“I’ve grown enough to become your husband.”
At the casual addition, Leila gasped sharply.
“Like it?”
“I… don’t know.”
Flustered, Leila quickened her stiff steps. Watching her embarrassed figure, the smile in Kyle’s eyes grew brighter and warmer.
On the way back, Kyle talked about the beautiful dreams that would soon become reality. The house they’d live in together. Their daily life. The pretty children they’d have someday. The new history of the Etman family they’d build with those children. Kyle loved the cautious anticipation filling Leila’s eyes. He wanted to make that expectation real. It was almost sentimental to think maybe that’s why he was born into this world.
“How many kids? I’d like both a daughter and a son.”
“Hmm… Five, maybe?”
The number, so at odds with her shy demeanor, threw Kyle off. But Leila smiled brightly and continued.
“With that many kids, they won’t be lonely. They’ll have each other to lean on. A house full of faces resembling one another, bustling with life—that sounds wonderful to me.”
Seeing Leila so radiant made Kyle’s heart ache a little more. He could almost see her lonely past overlaying that bright smile.
“Five, huh… Alright, Leila. I’ll do my best!”
“Huh?”
Leila’s eyes widened round at Kyle’s sudden, booming pledge. Staring blankly at each other, they both flushed almost simultaneously.
“Th-that’s not what I meant!”
Kyle, redder than Leila, backpedaled.
“You think that’s all I think about?!”
“Me neither!”
Leila shot back in a fluster.
Unable to meet eyes, they let go of hands and walked with about a step’s gap between them. Kyle peeked at Leila’s prim profile and finally burst into the laughter he’d been holding back with a chuckle.
“But Leila, you get embarrassed over words like that, yet you’re set on having five kids?”
Gasp.
Leila whipped her head around, glaring at Kyle with furrowed brows.
“You don’t think storks bring five babies, do you? Our Miss Llewellyn, who knows everything except geometry.”
Teasing her more mischievously, Leila scowled deeply and started trotting ahead. As her heels clicked faster and faster, Kyle’s merry laughter grew louder in pursuit.
“Wait up, Mrs. Etman!”
His playful shout echoed across the spring campus. Leila broke into a run now. The single braid hanging down her back swung jauntily.
Kyle cherished the sight of her receding figure. It felt like he’d returned to that beautiful dream. He never wanted to wake from it. Ever.
