Chapter 32
32
Happy Days
Mrs. Etman expressed her welcome to the guest she had invited with a table full of food and beautiful decorations. It was a warm reception that surprised not only Leila but also Dr. Etman and Kyle considerably.
“Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Etman.”
Leila handed over the gift she had prepared, along with the greeting she had practiced dozens of times that day. It was peach preserves in a pretty glass jar and a bouquet of roses.
“Thank you, dear.”
Mrs. Etman graciously accepted the gift. As Leila sighed in relief and smiled, a smile finally graced the corners of Kyle’s mouth as well. Mrs. Etman’s eyes, watching her son, darkened coldly for a moment before returning to their usual light.
Dr. Etman had said they should marry the two children once the results were announced. Kyle’s acceptance was certain, and Leila’s would be too, so the marriage was as good as decided.
That girl, in this way, my son.
Mrs. Etman tightened her grip on the hand she had lowered under the table. It was absurd, but she no longer voiced any opposition. She knew well what kind of people her husband and son were. Stubborn resistance would only backfire.
“Eat plenty, Leila. I prepared all your favorite things especially for you.”
Composing herself, Mrs. Etman faced Leila with an even gentler expression. Leila blinked in surprise, and a bright smile bloomed on her face. At that pretty countenance, she felt a strange surge of anger.
She must have bewitched my son with that face and smile.
The thought, which had gone that far into madness, chilled her, and Mrs. Etman hurriedly grasped her water glass. The cold sip sliding down her throat felt vividly sharp.
“Thank you so much.”
Leila offered sincere gratitude once more, smiling faintly again.
What a kind, good child. Mrs. Etman knew that fact all too well. And that very fact had now become another major reason why she absolutely did not want Leila as her daughter-in-law.
It might have been easier if there had been something wrong with the girl. If there had been something hatefully wrong, something she could despise. Then at least she wouldn’t feel this crushing self-loathing, like she had become such a petty, wretched person.
Now, Mrs. Etman hated everything about Leila Llewellyn. Her kindness, her intelligence, her pitiful circumstances—everything.
“Leila, I hear Professor Lorenz at Ratz University is an authority on ornithology.”
Dr. Etman suddenly changed the subject, glancing at his wife’s stiffening expression.
“Once you enroll, be sure to take Professor Lorenz’s class. Having a scholar like that as your mentor and receiving his guidance will be a great help to you.”
“You and your talk. You make it sound like Leila’s already enrolled at the university.”
Mrs. Etman, who had been watching anxiously, blurted it out before she knew it. Dr. Etman and Kyle looked at her in bewilderment.
“There’s no way Leila wouldn’t pass.”
“That’s right, Mom. Leila won’t fail.”
How could her face, her speech, even her feelings toward that girl be such a perfect match? Swallowing the words rising to her throat, Mrs. Etman forced another kind smile.
“That’s true. Leila’s such a smart girl.”
As she smiled, Leila, seated across from her, also wore a shy smile.
Bill Leamer had kept his mouth firmly shut about the past of the child left behind in Robita. All the people of Arbis knew was that she had lost her parents overnight, wandered from relative to relative, and ended up coming all the way to Berg.
What Mrs. Etman hated most was that. A family with not a single proper relative to raise the child. A girl who had been abandoned over and over, drifting across the border. Just thinking about how lowly her roots must be sent shivers down her spine.
She wasn’t asking for anything grand.
If only Leila had come from a perfectly ordinary family, she wouldn’t be trying to stand in the way of the two children with such a petty heart. There was no way a girl raised without proper roots could become a fine lady of the house. The fact that a young woman insisted on attending university was just as grating. Dreaming of things beyond her station suggested an ambition that knew no bounds. She couldn’t imagine Kyle being happy with a wife like that.
So she had to stop it.
Mrs. Etman clasped her hands tightly under the table.
She had to stop this marriage, no matter what it took.
The news of Leila Llewellyn’s university acceptance came via the very mail carrier who had delivered little Leila to this Arbis all those years ago.
While Leila was out for a walk in the woods, Bill Leamer received the notice and stood there rooted to the spot for a long while.
“Mr. Leamer?”
The mail carrier looked at him with some concern, as he didn’t even respond to the congratulations. His face, so carefree moments ago, was flushed bright red.
“Are you all right, Mr. Leamer?”
“……What’s all the fuss about.”
Bill rubbed his eyes roughly with his thick hands.
“I was just thinking for a moment.”
He had raised his voice unnecessarily, but his eyes were already growing moist. The mail carrier, who knew Arbis’s gruff but tender-hearted gardener well, tactfully nodded as if he hadn’t noticed.
“Anyway, congratulations from the bottom of my heart. Leila’s going to be a student at the empire’s finest university—makes me feel satisfied too.”
With one last round of congratulations, the mail carrier left the cottage.
Bill returned to the porch, carefully cradling the acceptance letter. He sat in the chair, read it over several times, and gently stroked it with his fingertips. His increasingly flushed face gradually returned to normal with repeated deep breaths. That was when Leila came back.
“Uncle!”
Spotting him, Leila waved vigorously and came running. The old leather bag slung over her shoulder swung merrily.
“That damn bag.”
Bill muttered with a hollow chuckle. It was the tool bag he had given her the summer she first came to this cottage. Even though she now had several nicer bags, Leila always grabbed that worn-out one whenever she went for a walk in the woods.
“When the hell are you planning to throw out that junk bag?”
Grumbling pointlessly to Leila as she sat beside him, Bill said,
“Throw it out? It’s still perfectly usable!”
“Please just toss it already. The bag’s gonna curse you for using it to death.”
“A little longer.”
Leila fiddled with the frayed leather strap and smiled faintly.
“I’d feel empty without it.”
What a stubborn little thing.
He swallowed the urge to scold her and instead casually held out the acceptance letter to Leila.
“What’s this, Uncle?”
“You’ll see when you look.”
Leila took it with wide eyes fixed on him. He expected a joyful shout, but as she read down the acceptance letter, her expression grew calmer and calmer.
“……Leila?”
Worried by her unusually quiet reaction, Bill spoke first. Only then did Leila look up at him. Her face wore a quiet smile.
Sometimes it’d be nice if she acted more like a young girl.
Scratching the back of his neck awkwardly at her mature demeanor, which embarrassed him after his own misty eyes, Bill watched her. A sudden burst of overwhelming joy lit up Leila’s face. By the time Bill realized it, she had already thrown her arms around him.
“So dramatic.”
Despite his nonchalant words, Bill’s hand patted Leila’s back tenderly.
“Thank you.”
After a long moment, Leila lifted her head and whispered. Her voice was wet with tears.
“Thank you so much, Uncle.”
Looking up at him with teary eyes, Leila beamed broadly.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
“What nonsense from a fool.”
Bill took a deep breath and counted numbers. He reviewed the tasks he needed to finish before sunset. Still, the heat in his eyes showed no sign of fading. He was now certain this little one had brought tear ducts all the way from Robita.
“You studied, you took the exam, and you passed. What did I do?”
“No. No, Uncle.”
Leila shook her head vigorously and grabbed Bill’s hand. Her small hands, clasped together, could barely wrap around his one hand.
“I……”
Her hands, clutching and fiddling with his, were soft and warm.
“Uncle, if it weren’t for you, I……”
On this happy day, Leila looked ready to burst into sobs. That terrified Bill most. Even if they were tears of joy, he didn’t want to see Leila cry.
He wanted Leila to always smile brightly. The love and care he had poured into the flowers and trees he tended his whole life couldn’t compare to what he felt for this one child. He knew of no flower or tree more precious than her.
It had happened before he knew it.
Bill accepted the fact quietly.
“Let’s go to the capital together next weekend.”
Clearing his throat to settle his emotions, Bill spoke in a deliberately cheerful tone.
“Just the two of us, to Ratz?”
Leila’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You’ve been accepted, so you need to pay the tuition and register. While we’re at it, we can sightsee a bit in the capital. I’ve never taken you anywhere before, so why not.”
“Really?”
Tears still pooled in Leila’s eyes, now sparkling with anticipation.
“A trip with you, Uncle? Really?”
“It’s not a trip. Just going to pay tuition.”
“Still.”
Watching Leila, who was beside herself with joy, Bill’s gaze softened with regret.
He should have heeded Madam Mona’s nagging about not knowing how to raise a daughter. He should have taken her somewhere nearby, shown her nice things, bought her tasty treats. Why did these thoughts only come now, as the day to let her leave his side drew near?
“It’s such a large sum, and even if you two are set to marry, I don’t like sending you off alone with that Kyle boy again, so no choice……”
Growing more embarrassed, Bill trailed off into a hearty laugh. Leila threw her arms around him once more.
“See, Leila? I told you.”
Stroking her hair with gentler hands, Bill smiled contentedly.
“You’d turn into a pretty fine adult.”
It was a poor way to express his inexpressible feelings, but unable to find better words, Bill simply kept stroking her hair.
To keep from sniffling shamefully, Bill Leamer had to count to a higher number than before.
