The Lowly and Beautiful Girl
The Baroness von Brandt’s forehead creased as she gazed through the window at the garden unfolding before her. A young girl wearing glasses was helping the gardener tidy the rose beds.
“Yes, Mother. It’s Leila, that girl.”
Claudine answered without much thought, her needlework fingers still skilled as ever.
While the Baroness wandered the windowsill, Claudine moved her needle with calm precision. From its tip bloomed vivid roses in every color.
“She’s a pretty child. She grows lovelier with each passing day.”
“You’re not at all worried?”
“I understand your concern, Mother.”
Claudine set down her sewing with a satisfied smile. The Baroness’s worried expression widened in surprise.
The Baroness, whose body had been too weak to bear more than one healthy child, had finally given birth to her only daughter—Claudine, the sole heir of the Brandt family.
Haunted by the inferiority of failing to provide an heir, she had lived in constant fear that her husband’s love might fade. Thankfully, the Baron had fathered no sons, yet that did not ease her worry. She could never be certain when a young, beautiful woman would appear, bear him a son, and steal his heart.
Claudine pitied her mother for that fear, and at the same time found it endlessly tiresome.
“I have no intention of dwelling on such matters,” Claudine declared, her words solemn as a vow.
The Baroness sighed in exasperation.
“You’re still too young to understand men, Claudine. If it were me…”
“Would you sweep away every beautiful woman in the Herhardt Duke’s presence?”
Claudine laughed with an exaggerated sigh.
“I’m still young and know little of men, as you say. But I know that most men of great standing keep one or two mistresses.”
“Dear Lord, Claudine!”
“Of course, I hope it never happens, but I understand that even if it does, it would be nothing new.”
Claudine shrugged lightly.
When she accidentally crossed paths with Leila, even Claudine’s usual composure had been shaken. It was only natural that a pretty girl would grow into a beautiful woman, yet the sight of Leila after so many years had surpassed her expectations.
The girl carried Lovita’s delicate, petite frame and fairy-like features—small, transparent, and beautifully defined. Her emerald eyes, mysterious and unreadable, combined with skin as pale and clear as porcelain, created an ethereal aura.
It was that very sight that had prompted Claudine to invite her along. She had been curious how the Herhardt Duke would react to such a woman standing before him. And he had more than met her expectations: the perfect balance of interest and indifference, dignity and restraint. That was all she had needed.
“But, Claudine, it would be unwise to keep such a creature close to Matthias.”
The Baroness remained uneasy.
“What if I told the Herhardt family?”
“Mother,” Claudine’s voice dropped low.
She had repeated the vow countless times since watching her mother weep from love despite possessing everything. That vow had also been the reason she chose to break her engagement with Matthias.
Matthias von Herhardt was noble, wealthy, and beautiful. She prayed he would live his entire life devoted only to the wife he had married for political reasons. A happy ending from a fairy tale would be far better.
Perhaps he, like his father, might be swept away by desire for a beautiful woman. And like so many others. But a man who saw his mistress as a mistress was generally harmless. The danger lay with those who could not. Claudine knew Matthias was the former.
Did he love her?
Claudine tilted her head, then smiled faintly.
It might or might not be true, but it did not matter. She knew he felt the same.
What mattered was that the perfect Herhardt Duke would excel as a husband and father. That was what she wanted—a marriage that preserved her dignity and honor.
“Even if the Herhardt Duke feels interest in that lowly, beautiful girl, what difference does it make?”
Claudine spoke calmly, and the Baroness recoiled in shock.
“My heavens, Claudine! Whatever are you saying?”
“Because she would merely be one of his mistresses.”
Claudine even chuckled softly.
“Perhaps the girl would be happier. A woman who can never threaten my position, one I can keep on my palm and tame at will.”
“Child, Claudine… You simply do not understand love.”
The Baroness’s sigh deepened as she watched her daughter.
Claudine looked at her mother’s beautiful blue eyes—the eyes that had never known a day without tears of love—and turned her head with a strange smile.
Through the window she saw Leila. The girl had risen, brushing dust from her waist as she laughed.
When Kyle arrived, the cabin was empty. Leila and Uncle Bill had gone to the garden together. Kyle had been about to leave when he changed his mind and sat on the chair on the porch.
Thinking of Leila’s face behind those glasses brought a mischievous smile to his lips. The future Baroness Etman would remain beautiful even with spectacles. At first it had felt a little strange, but now the mere thought of her made his chest throb.
Kyle coughed unnecessarily, afraid his face might flush again. Leila and Uncle Bill returned around that time.
“What on earth is that hat?”
Kyle’s brow furrowed at the ugly hat that covered Leila’s pretty face.
“Wow, it’s truly hideous. You didn’t pay money for that, did you?”
Kyle teased again, and both Leila and Bill turned fierce eyes toward him.
“Uncle Bill bought it for me!”
Leila protested, forehead scrunched.
Bill answered by lifting the shovel he had carried from the cart.
“It looks pretty on you. Wow, it’s beautiful! Uncle Bill has the best taste!”
Kyle hurriedly changed his mind.
“Don’t tease. It’s something very precious to me.”
Leila still looked displeased as she removed the hat. It was a wildly decorated straw hat adorned with flowers and ribbons.
While Bill finished organizing the cart, Leila prepared lunch. The mysterious hat rested neatly at the end of the table. Kyle sat before it, watching Leila’s every move.
“Leila, are you angry?”
“Yeah.”
Leila slammed down the plate meant for Kyle with all her strength.
She still gave him food.
Kyle felt a surge of relief.
“Sorry. If I had known, I would have…”
“You didn’t know.”
“Then why did you suddenly give me such a strange hat?”
“I asked for it.”
“You asked for it? You knew how to beg someone to buy you something?”
Kyle asked in surprise. The Leila he knew rarely demanded anything from anyone.
“Because you’re always so upset about my glasses.”
Leila’s voice softened.
“You’re upset that your eyes are bad?”
“No. Not that. I secretly saved money to buy expensive glasses.”
Leila sat across from Kyle after finishing the meal.
When Leila appeared in the cabin wearing glasses, Uncle Bill looked dazed, as if struck on the back of the head. After hearing the explanation, his expression turned icy cold. It was the first time Kyle had ever seen Uncle Bill truly angry.
*Leila… Am I not trustworthy enough?*
Kyle asked, eyes sorrowful. Leila’s breath caught.
She insisted it was not that, that she felt unworthy of the great favor, and that she could manage this much on her own. But Bill’s gaze only grew sadder.
Since that day, Leila and Bill’s relationship had grown strained. Bill had become sullen and tight-lipped, while Leila fretted helplessly. The answer had come in the form of that hat.
“Uncle, please buy me just one of those hats.”
A few days earlier, at dinner, Leila had spoken suddenly.
“It would be wonderful if it were a very pretty hat.”
Bill laughed when Leila explained more seriously.
The next evening, after going into town to buy a new lantern, Uncle Bill returned carrying a straw hat heavy with flowers and ribbons.
“Since I bought it in Lindna, if you don’t like it, take it back and exchange it.”
He handed over the hat and added casually, “I chose it myself.”
“You picked it out?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
“It’s too pretty.”
Leila smiled brightly and put it on.
Uncle Bill had bought her many things, but he usually asked Mrs. Mona or took Leila shopping himself. Leila knew how difficult it must have been for him to choose a woman’s hat. She understood the depth of his love.
To Bill Remmer, flowers were the most beautiful thing in the world. Therefore, a hat decorated with many flowers was the most beautiful hat. Once you understood his heart, it was the most beautiful and lovable hat in the world.
“Ye! You should have said so earlier!”
Kyle’s face filled with embarrassment.
“Because I teased you about the gift! How heartless!”
“You never gave me a chance to speak. The moment I saw it, you teased me.”
“But…”
“You arrogant little glutton! Stealing my food again! One day I’ll charge the food bill to Mr. Etman!”
The door burst open and Bill entered with a thunderous shout. Yet his face, softened by the words, was warm and playful.
Bill glanced at the hat on the table and smiled awkwardly. Watching Leila smile at him, Kyle nearly felt a pathetic pang of jealousy.
A man who loved Leila Lewellin had no choice but to accept second place. Leila’s first place would forever belong to Uncle Bill.
Kyle patted himself and picked up his fork. Uncle Bill’s rough kindness was probably the best. Leila’s cooking was delicious enough to accept such rough treatment.
When Uncle Bill left the cabin for the city, only Kyle and Leila remained.
Leila sat on the porch as usual, reading a book. Kyle pretended to read while stealing glances at her. Except when he stole a biscuit, Leila remained astonishingly focused on her reading.
Why did I lend her that novel?
Kyle smiled faintly despite the sharp regret in his chest.
Leila would never know how beautiful her face looked when she concentrated on reading. Or how adorable she was when she nibbled on the biscuit.
Should I tell her now?
Kyle set the already-covered book on the floor and gazed at Leila with a serious expression.
He had believed he could wait a little longer, but now he could wait no longer.
The mere touch of Leila’s fingertips made his heart feel as though it would burst. Heat flooded his body, and sometimes he dreamed of guilt.
But what tormented him more was anxiety—the fear that one day some unknown person might steal Leila away, a fear close to terror.
Perhaps it was better to take the reckless plunge and confess.
Just as Kyle’s lips parted in impulse, the slow clop of horse hooves reached his ears. He turned to see the Herhardt Duke mounted on horseback before the porch railing.
His gaze swept past Kyle and settled on Leila’s flushed face.
The Duke reined in his horse in front of the porch railing.
The Duke’s gaze swept past Kyle and came to rest on Leila’s flushed face.