Chapter 76
76
A Road of No Return
“I heard about Uncle Bill.”
Kyle was the first to break the long silence.
“Yeah.”
Leila gave a short reply, still staring only at the edge of the table.
Kyle looked at her more intently, his gaze deepening. Ever since they had sat down across from each other in this café, Leila hadn’t looked at him even once.
“I’m sorry, Leila.”
“…Why should you be?”
At his heavy apology, Leila finally lifted her head. Her eyes, visible through her glasses, were filled with questions. Seeing that sparkle in them eased Kyle’s mind. It finally felt like he was facing the real Leila.
“For not being able to help at all. And for sending those foolish letters without even knowing.”
“No, Kyle. Don’t say that. You didn’t do anything wrong. This has nothing to do with you—it’s between Uncle Bill and me.”
Leila shook her head slowly, her gesture firm.
“It was just an unfortunate accident. And now… it’s all resolved.”
“You’re okay now? Really?”
“Yeah.”
Leila lowered her long lashes again. The sleeve of her sweater, which she kept tugging down, had now slipped far enough to cover the back of her hand completely.
“If something’s going on, tell me honestly, Leila. I’ll help. I’ll do anything to help.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because you don’t look okay at all.”
Strength entered Kyle’s voice. Leila stopped tugging at her sleeve and took a slow, deep breath, hiding both hands under the table.
“Leila, don’t you think I know you?”
Kyle was certain now. His ominous premonition had been right. Up close like this, Leila seemed even less like herself.
Uncle Bill had certainly loved Leila with all his heart and done his best, but he wasn’t delicate enough to sense the feelings she couldn’t voice. And Leila was the type to hide her own heart stubbornly. She was a know-it-all who rarely reached out, saying she was struggling, in pain, or needed help.
Ever since realizing that, Kyle had developed a habit of watching her closely. The brighter she smiled, the deeper he looked. Of course, Leila was far more skilled at hiding than he was at finding, so he missed more than he caught, but he had at least learned to sense faint premonitions—like now.
“Tell me, Leila. Come on? Not replying to my letters for months, treating me like this—it’s not like you at all.”
“People change, Kyle.”
Leila opened her eyes, which she had closed slowly, and met his gaze. The calm, settled look in them even felt a little cold at first glance.
“Just because I’m not the way you remember doesn’t mean it’s not me. This is who I am now.”
“In just two seasons? You, of all people?”
“It’s not as short a time as you think. Besides, we can’t be like we were before anymore.”
“Leila!”
“I didn’t reply because that was my answer. Kyle, we’re done. There’s nothing we can go back to. Nothing.”
Staring straight at Kyle, Leila drove each word home like nails.
“I don’t like you anymore, Kyle. Even if Mrs. Etman gave her permission, I don’t want you now. Running off alone together, abandoning our hometown to get married? I can’t even imagine it.”
Leaving Kyle stunned, Leila rose from her seat.
“I didn’t want to say this to you. I wanted to keep our friendship as a precious memory. That’s why I avoided replying… but it’s come to this anyway.”
“Don’t lie. How could…”
“This is the only answer I can give you. So if you still care about me even a little, let’s never meet again. I don’t even want people mentioning our names together anymore. Please, Kyle.”
Kyle was so dazed, it felt like he was dreaming with his eyes open, and he couldn’t respond. By then, Leila had gathered her things and left the café. His senses snapped back only after the chime of the bell rang out with a ding-a-ling.
“Wait! Leila!”
Kyle chased after her hurriedly and grabbed her shoulder just as she was about to mount her bicycle. When she turned to look at him, her eyes were red, brimming with tears ready to fall. That was why he couldn’t say another word. They looked just like a cracked glass window. If he pushed even a little more, it seemed like it would shatter completely.
Shaking off his hand, Leila quickly pedaled away down the road. Even after her figure vanished from sight, Kyle stood there rooted to the spot for a long while.
Something had definitely happened, Kyle was convinced. And whatever it was, he would find it—and stop it.
“Wow. This is a total mess.”
Liette, seeing the greenhouse under repair, spoke in an intrigued tone. She didn’t mind Claudine’s glare at all and even chuckled about it.
“To laugh in the face of such tragedy. I didn’t know you were this heartless, Brother.”
“It’s just so shocking. Who could have predicted it? That Arbis’s Paradise would end up like this overnight.”
Liette looked around slowly.
Just the last time she visited, the greenhouse had been a perfectly beautiful paradise, but now it was a desolate ruin. The flowerbeds, stripped of their frozen plants, gaped like bomb craters in a wasteland.
“To show mercy to the gardener who caused this accident and let him keep working in Arbis. As expected of the prestigious family that commands the respect of the entire empire.”
“That girl must be doing a satisfactory job as his mistress.”
“Did Lady Brandt just say something like that?”
Liette’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at Claudine. Claudine, who had been biting her lip for a moment, soon regained her usual composed expression.
“I’m sorry, Brother. That was a slip.”
“No need to apologize. It’s a nice change? Lady Brandt jealous looks almost human for once.”
“Jealous? Ha…”
Shaking her head, Claudine walked ahead and left the greenhouse.
She had come here with Liette, who had just arrived in Arbis, hoping for some comfort. Or maybe she wanted to act spoiled. She knew he’d just tease her slyly like this, but the funniest part was how she still felt comforted by his attitude.
The two headed to a small drawing room where tea was prepared. The atmosphere among all the family members except Duke Herhardt was lively and warm.
Claudine and Liette played their roles perfectly in their seats: the duke’s fiancée and his good cousin, with practiced ease.
Every time their eyes met across the table, Claudine wondered. What if her parents had chosen Lindman instead of Herhardt? But even then, she knew their decision to give their only daughter the position of Duchess Herhardt, not Marchioness Lindman, had been right.
The world was changing faster and faster. And that change might hit the nobility—symbols of the old era—the hardest. The Brandt family, a leading imperial financial house, had sharper eyes than anyone for such shifts. Though Claudine hadn’t received formal heir training because she was a daughter, her innate sense and the knowledge she’d picked up over her parents’ shoulders gave her the same insight.
That was why it was Herhardt.
Even as countless shining names were swept away by the waves of revolution, Herhardt would stand firm and claim the honors of the new era. The future Claudine desired lay within that name. A future of eternal present glory, never becoming the past.
“The greenhouse needs to be back to normal before Claudine’s wedding.”
The tea table conversation had naturally turned to the wedding next summer.
Amid the delighted gazes of the noble ladies, Claudine showed appropriate shyness and lowered her eyes. When she lifted her head a moment later, she saw Liette’s soft brown eyes. That playful yet affectionate gaze was something Claudine liked. From childhood on. And perhaps from now on, too.
But she had already come too far down a road with no way back.
With a faint smile, Claudine straightened her posture. She wouldn’t look back or regret. So the future she had chosen had to unfold exactly as planned. Completely and perfectly, including all the happiness she had forsaken.
Once talk of Claudine’s marriage wrapped up, the conversation naturally shifted to Liette von Lindman’s prospects. Claudine knew the lady well—a pretty, kind girl from a good family, a match the Lindmans wouldn’t lose by.
With some free time before dinner, Claudine excused herself to the guest bedroom, citing a slight headache. While her maid went to fetch medicine, Claudine sat by the fireplace, gazing quietly at the flames.
The Leila Llewellyn she knew was smart and possessed a pride far too noble for her station. A woman like that couldn’t live as a hidden mistress in a man’s shadow forever—she’d disappear on her own when the time came.
But there was always an “if.”
Claudine had no intention of facing that “if” unprepared. As she solidified that resolve, the maid returned with the medicine.
As Claudine adjusted her seat, the maid hurried over but caught her foot on the carpet’s edge and tumbled down with a thud. A shrill scream rang out, followed by the crash of the tray, medicine bottle, and water glass scattering.
“Are you all right?”
Frowning, Claudine stood and approached the maid slowly. The maid, her face flushed red, scrambled to her feet.
“Yes! Yes, miss. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh dear. You don’t look all right.”
Claudine’s gaze stopped on the maid’s hand. Blood was flowing from a cut on the back of her hand, sliced by a sharp glass shard.
“It’s nothing. It just stings a little—scratches like this heal quickly…”
“No.”
Claudine cut her off with a smile.
“With your right hand injured, it’ll be hard for you to attend me.”
“Pardon? Miss, this is…”
“Exactly, Marie?”
“Uh… Yes. Yes, miss.”
The maid, gauging her mood, quickly bowed her head in agreement. This maid, who had followed Claudine from the Brandt estate, had served her since childhood and was a loyal retainer. Her tight lips and quick wits had earned Claudine’s favor for years.
Soon, the maid’s injured right hand was tightly bandaged. Together with her, Claudine leisurely headed to the drawing room where Elise von Herhardt and the noble ladies were chatting. Her reaction to the injured maid was just as expected.
“Claudine, this must be inconvenient for you. I’ll assign one of our housemaids to attend you.”
“No, please. With all the preparations for such important guests, everyone in Arbis is busy enough without me taking away a hand.”
When Claudine declined, Elise von Herhardt’s eyes widened.
“But Claudine, you can’t go without an attending maid. It wouldn’t sit right with us.”
“Then could you call Leila for me?”
“Leila? The gardener’s foster daughter?”
“Yes. I’ve known her since we were children, so we’re comfortable with each other. And since it’s vacation now, she shouldn’t be busy. If you’ll allow it, I’d like to have her by my side for a few days.”
Countess Brandt glared, but Claudine ignored her and politely stated her wish.
“I wonder if that girl, with no experience, can attend you properly.”
“My maid just needs help with things that are hard for her with her hand for a few days, so it shouldn’t be difficult. Truthfully, it’s a request to have her as my companion.”
“Well, since she’s been close to you since childhood, Leila might be the most comfortable choice.”
Nodding, Elise von Herhardt rang the bell to summon a maid.
“Bring Leila here.”
