The Gentle Cold-Blooded One

Perhaps it was the coin that came up wrong?

When Leila learned that the Duke of Herhardt was returning, she thought of it first and foremost.

He had said he would serve one more year in the Royal Guard. Now the life of shuttling between the capital and the estate was at an end, and he would stay in the countryside for good. The elderly Dowager Duchess wished for her grandson to remain at her side and oversee the estate. It seemed the old lady could no longer bear to part with that hope.

Or perhaps she could.

Leila stretched her arms high overhead, then tied her apron strings tightly. The world that no longer mattered, and whatever was to come, was of no concern. It was simply that the coin had come up wrong and the unfulfilled wish was a source of quiet regret.

*Please do not let me meet the Duke of Herhardt again.*

Throwing the final coin he had left behind, Leila prayed quietly.

He had left the estate last summer, and for an entire year he had not once visited. She had believed the days would continue until the end of his Royal Guard service. If only Leila Lewellin had simply left Arvis before then, her wish would have been granted.

Leila stood in thought for a moment, then shook her head and stepped out into the backyard. Perhaps the wish would still come true. The Duke would return, but she would leave this forest.

With a lighter heart, Leila tended to the livestock and the vegetable patch. It was only toward the end of the morning chores that Phoebe, the carrier pigeon who had flown off to the Etman family, came back. A letter from Kyle was tucked into the strap on Phoebe’s ankle.

[Mom invited you to dinner tonight.

See? I was right, Leila.]

It was the same letter Kyle would have spoken aloud.

Worried, Leila asked Kyle whether his mother would surely come to like her. Everything would work out. When autumn came, they would become husband and wife and walk the university grounds together—happily, so very happily.

“Uncle, I’ll have dinner at the Etman family tonight.”

Approaching Bill Uncle in quick steps as he returned from his work.

“Mrs. Etman invited me.”

“There you go, Leila.”

His voice boomed with the same words as Kyle’s.

“Didn’t I say everything would be fine?”

Bill Uncle laughed cheerfully, and Leila gave him a small smile in return.

Her heart pounded with anticipation. She would believe it was hope.

Matthias von Herhardt arrived at Arvis in the late afternoon. When the carriage carrying him stopped before the mansion, a tension filled the air among the servants lined up along the entrance.

It was nothing extraordinary. Polite greetings followed by polite responses, the grandmother smiling with joy and the mother smiling as well.

Passing the gardener, Matthias habitually lowered his eyes. Beside the giant gardener stood a pair of neat brown shoes and a small foot. Leila Lewellin had always stood beside Bill Remmer. This summer would be the last time.

Without turning his head, Matthias passed the gardener. His gaze remained fixed ahead, toward the staircase leading to the foyer.

“This bird has returned with you as well.”

The Dowager Duchess smiled lightly upon seeing the golden canary carried by the servant and trailing behind. It had been the canary Matthias had brought from Arvis last summer.

“How unusual. My grandson, who never kept a pet, now dotes on a bird.”

“If you have a hobby for birds, perhaps you should expand the greenhouse and keep various kinds.”

The Dowager Duchess added with a smile.

“It is quite all right, Grandmother.”

Matthias answered with a smiling face.

“One is enough.”

With a calm, dry reply, Matthias stepped inside the mansion.

Before climbing the stairs, Matthias looked up at the grand chandelier. Beyond it, the crest of the House of Herhardt adorned the distant, soaring ceiling.

He had been born beneath that crest, lived beneath it, and would close his eyes beneath it. It was as natural as breathing, and just as easy.

Only then did Matthias lower his gaze and take a long stride up the stairs.

“If you are to retire this year, why did you say you would serve one more?”

The wife of the Brandt Count grumbled without hiding her irritation.

It had been entirely out of respect for the Duke of Herhardt’s choice to extend the engagement period by one year. If she had known things would turn out this way, she would have held the wedding before summer ended no matter what.

“I never knew Matthias was such a capricious man.”

“It’s good news that the Duke of Herhardt returned to the estate early, Mother. It means the marriage can be prepared properly.”

Claudine’s face showed no trace of anger at all.

“You are so quick, Mother. This mother is burning with impatience because I cannot hold the wedding this year.”

“Do you need to burn with impatience? Better to take time and prepare a proper wedding than to rush through an awkward one.”

“One year is a long time, Claudine. How can you know what variables might arise in the meantime?”

“Think about the past year, Mother. It was short and peaceful. That single year can simply be repeated. If the Duke of Herhardt remains in the estate, the marriage preparations will be much easier.”

“Claudine, men are not reliable beings, and engagements are not as binding as marriages.”

“That man is Matthias von Herhardt, Mother.”

Now Claudine even smiled calmly.

“A man who will love no one in his life but himself, the Duke of Herhardt.”

If she had not heard that Leila Lewellin and her fiancé’s son were getting married, Claudine might have felt a flicker of uncertainty. But now that the variable named Leila Lewellin had vanished, Mother’s concerns were nothing more than meddling.

“He considers this engagement part of the House of Herhardt’s pride. There can be no variable capable of shattering it.”

Claudine spoke plainly and straightened her gloves.

The gentle cold-blooded one.

From childhood, Matthias had always been that way. While the other cousin uncles teased Claudine and played mischievous pranks, he was always polite and kind. It was precisely that politeness that made the distance between them feel so far and so difficult.

Did the man even have emotions?

Claudine had sometimes wondered about it.

She found it hard to imagine Matthias consumed by anger, sadness, or joy. The man seemed destined to look down upon the world with an arrogant and elegant smile until the very last moment of his life. And Claudine had wanted exactly that Matthias von Herhardt.

“I will have to visit Arvis before next week.”

Claudine rose from the sofa with a lighter heart.

“I must meet the Duke of Herhardt and congratulate my friend about to be married. After all, why not?”

“About to be married? Good grief. Do you mean that gardener’s orphan?”

The wife of the Brandt Count frowned, but Claudine smiled lazily as if showing off.

“Leila is my friend. I should give her a wedding gift after all.”

Leila had worn a simple white dress she had bought while taking the test in Lutz. Her hair was neatly braided and tied at the end with a favorite ribbon.

She was not visiting the Etman family for the first time, yet her hands trembled with nerves as if it were the first. Thinking of her impending marriage to Kyle and the invitation from Kyle’s mother only made it worse.

“How do I look, Uncle?”

Stepping out of the room, Leila stood before Bill with a rather serious expression. He sat by the open window lazily smoking a cigarette and laughed loudly when he saw her.

“You’re getting all dressed up before the wedding, like you’ve never done before.”

“That’s not it. I’m nervous because I’m about to meet Mrs. Etman.”

“That won’t happen. You’ve met Mrs. Etman a few times, haven’t you?”

“But today is a special occasion, isn’t it?”

“There’s nothing to be picky about. Just relax.”

Bill extinguished his cigarette and stood, his face filled with a warm smile.

“You’re just you, Leila. That’s enough.”

The hand that wrapped around Leila’s shoulder was as warm as the smile.

Leila knew the statement was rather subjective and lacked credibility, but she nodded with a smile. Once her heart settled, the day-long anxiety and restlessness came rushing back. It was at that moment when Kyle came to the cabin.

“Kyle, I…”

“Perfect.”

Before Leila could finish her question, Kyle answered firmly.

“You are more than enough as you are.”

Kyle’s smile was as warm as Bill Uncle’s.

“I only need you, Leila.”

“Mm. The words a man said were exactly the same.”

The two who shared the same smile exchanged words so alike that Leila could not help laughing.

“What? Who? Which idiot?”

“Stop talking nonsense and come on, you cheeky brat.”

Bill gave Kyle’s back a strong thump. Kyle, caught off guard, staggered and turned around with a deeply furrowed brow.

“But Uncle, that idiot is currently… trying to….”

“That idiot? It’s me!”

“Then… uh, what?”

“You impudent little devil. You should seriously think again whether you can hand Leila over to me.”

Unlike his blunt tone, Bill Remmer’s hand patting Kyle’s shoulder was full of affection. Leila watched the two of them from a short distance, bickering happily.

The two most loved people in the world. Precious people. The two she wanted to protect. A gentle smile slowly spread across Leila’s lips, warming her heart. To Leila, Bill Uncle and Kyle had always been such people. She could no longer imagine a life without them.

That was why she had decided on marriage after long hesitation. The days of Kyle proposing and her refusing continued, and the distance between them slowly grew. If she could not accept Kyle’s heart, walking away was the right thing to do. To bridge the gap, Kyle had tried hard, but since he had already proposed, the only choices left before the two of them were two.

To marry, or to part ways.

Leila’s wish to maintain an appropriate distance and grow into an adult while remaining a precious friend for a long time had become meaningless. The fact had hurt throughout the autumn, winter, and spring that followed.

Marriage, the future Kyle spoke of, was still vague to Leila. She was afraid of the greed that exceeded the proper line. But if that was the only way to keep Kyle, she wanted to try.

The resolve had been formed on a late spring evening when she had cried bitterly after being insulted by the Duke of Herhardt. It was the moment she faced Kyle’s face right after throwing the coin he had left behind into the fountain, unwilling to take anything from him.

When she looked at Kyle, the heart that had ached and stung was forgotten. It was like the warm light of the cabin. The warm light of the house waiting for her beyond the dark forest path, the light that would heal all the sadness and wounds the world beyond the forest had given her.

As always, Kyle and Bill’s meaningless quarrel ended with cheerful laughter. With a face still carrying the echo of that laughter, Kyle turned to Leila.

“Let’s go, Leila.”

Naturally, Kyle extended his hand. Leila hesitated and gently took the tip of it. Kyle, who had been quietly looking at her, smiled and adjusted his grip, holding her hand fully as if enveloping it.

The relationship had changed, but it was still quite awkward and embarrassing. Leila did not shake off that hand. Because it was Kyle, the person she did not want to lose.