Ch.3: Bring That Girl Here

The sun was hot, but the shady area under the trees was breezy and cool. Leyla was sitting on a blanket, with her arms wrapped around her knees. Bill and the other gardeners were busy digging up a wilted rose bush and planting late-blooming rose blossoms in the ground.

The garden behind the mansion seemed to have just about every rose variety in the world growing in it. The rose was the national flower of the Berg Empire, and was also the favorite flower of the duke's mother and grandmother.

Earlier that day, after hearing more gunshots echoing from the woods, Leyla had felt too agitated to sit still, so she had been anxiously pacing around inside the cottage. When Bill had seen that, he had offered her his hand. Leyla had reflexively put her hand in his. He had then taken her out into the garden with him. As the sound of the gunshots had faded away, she had finally calmed down.

Is it really okay for me to lounge around like this while Uncle Bill is working in the hot sun? she thought to herself, looking awkwardly at Bill. She then let out a small sigh and closed her eyes.

Bill had told her that he would be in trouble if she tried to help him with his work. He had said that he hated children who didn't do as they were told. Thus, she had no choice but to sit and wait for him to finish, even though she felt guilty.

After reluctantly coming to this conclusion, she opened her eyes again and was startled by what she saw. An unfamiliar boy was standing right in front of her. He was well dressed and looked to be about the same age as her.

As soon as they made eye contact, he smiled and said, "Hello." He had blond hair and an attractive smile. He glanced around, then solemnly asked, "Do you live here?" "Yeah. I live with Bill," she replied, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Bill? You mean that scary gardener guy?"

"He's not scary."

The boy tilted his head. "Really? He seems scary to me." He casually sat down next to Leyla. Leyla still wasn't sure if she could trust the boy. "Do you live here too?" she asked.

The boy shook his head, chuckling. "No. I came with my dad. He's the Herhardts' family doctor. He came today to give Dowager Herhardt a check-up. Sometimes I come along when he does that. Dowager Herhardt said it was all right."

"I see," Leyla replied. "How old are you?" the boy asked.

"Twelve."

"Same as me. But you're so small." The boy burst into laughter. Leyla started blushing slightly. "You're small too," she said. "Well, I'm the tallest kid in my class," the boy replied, sitting up as straight as he could. Sure enough, he did look to be taller than the average boy his age.

"Fine, but... you're not as tall as Uncle Bill," Leyla muttered, sounding less confident than before.

The boy stared at her for a moment, then laughed again. He seemed to laugh a lot. "Come on, Bill's a tall guy. No kids are taller than him. I bet there aren't even any grown- ups taller than him."

"I'm not so sure about that," Leyla replied. Feeling awkward now, she grabbed a handful of grass from the ground next to the blanket, which stained her fingers green. She hoped that the boy would leave soon, but he showed no indication that he would do so. Noticing a peach that she had earlier placed on the edge of the blanket, she impulsively asked, "Want some?"

The boy nodded eagerly. It seemed that he not only laughed easily, but was a generally bold, outgoing person. Leyla retrieved a pocket knife from her bag and started cutting up the peach. The boy started snickering. "You're really funny. I can't believe a girl would have a knife in her bag."

"Uncle Bill gave it to me. Don't tease me," she replied, scrunching her nose at the boy. She then handed him a peach half. The sweet smell of the peach's flesh wafted in the space between them.

"Why do you look so downcast?" he asked, after finishing his half of the peach. "Is something the matter?"

"The duke and his friends keep hunting birds," she gloomily replied. The boy looked puzzled. "What's wrong with that?"

"They're killing birds for fun."

"Isn't that the whole point of hunting? To kill things for fun?"

She raised her green eyes and stared solemnly at him. "Do you do that too?"

The boy looked like he would barely be able to lift a hunting rifle.

"Uh... well... no," he replied. After a moment, he shook his head vigorously and firmly said, "No, I don't. I feel sorry for the poor animals." Hearing this, the sullen look on Leyla's face slowly transformed into a smile. In a cheery tone, she asked, "Want another peach?" Once again, the boy nodded eagerly. Leyla cut the second peach very unevenly, and gave the larger half to the boy. The boy's cheeks reddened slightly. He seemed slightly uncomfortable in his semi-formal clothes. Suddenly, a voice could be heard in the distance. "Kyle! Kyle!"

The boy, who had already eaten his second piece of peach and was now fiddling with the pit, bolted up as soon as he heard the voice. "I have to go now."

"All right. Bye."

"Kyle Ettman," the boy said, extending his hand towards her. "That's my name. What's yours?" "I'm Leyla. Leyla Llewellyn," she replied, clumsily accepting his hand in hers.

The two children exchanged a serious handshake, despite the fact that their hands were sticky with peach juice. "Bye, Leyla. I'll see you later. Next time, I'll bring the snack!" he shouted, looking back at her as he ran off.

Leyla thought about telling him that they might not see each other again because she might be moving away soon, but then she changed her mind and just waved meekly at him. She didn't like talking about that possibility out loud. Doing so always filled her with anxiety.

Now that Kyle had left, Leyla's world was once again peaceful. She sat in the rose-scented breeze, waiting for Bill to finish his work. Eventually, she dozed off. When she heard Bill calling her name, she cracked her eyes open and saw that the long summer day was already coming to an end.

She jumped to her feet, grabbed her bag, and picked up the blanket. She scampered over to Bill, looking much more carefree than she had been earlier. "Uncle, I just met this kid, and..." Before she could finish telling him about the boy with whom she had shared the peaches, she saw the silhouettes of people walking out of the far side of the woods. She froze.

It was Duke Herhardt and his friends.

Matthias paused in the middle of the rose garden. He saw the gruff gardener Bill Remmer bowing his head towards him. Shortly thereafter, he noticed that there was a small child hiding behind him. "It's been a long time, Mr. Remmer," he said, nodding back at him. The rest of the hunting group stopped a moderate distance behind Matthias.

"This kid is going to be staying here at Arvis for the time being," Bill said, with an awkward look on his face. He then patted Leyla on the back, and she tentatively stepped out into the open.

When Matthias saw her shimmering blonde hair, he recognized her immediately. It was the girl that had been up in the tree, whom he had mistaken for a bird and almost shot.

"I already got permission from Lady Elise and Dowager Herhardt, but I should have asked you as well," Bill said, bowing his head again. Leyla, who was standing next to him, followed his lead and bowed as well.

Matthias slowly looked down. When he made eye contact with the girl, she flinched, but didn't look away. He saw her narrowed eyes and her tightly shut lips. It was the same expression she had looked at him with when they had first met in the woods.

"You're that girl. The girl who lives in the woods," said Matthias's cousin Riette, chuckling.

Leyla started blushing and hid behind Bill again. She was acting the same way she did whenever she saw the hunting group in the woods. She always glared at them, then hid behind a tree. Once they finished hunting, she would find the dead birds and bury them, sobbing the whole time.

"Ah, yes, that's fine, Mr. Remmer," Matthias said, smiling. He didn't care if the gardener wanted to take care of a child. "Thank you, Your Grace," Bill replied, bowing once again. Matthias gave the slightest nod in return, then started walking again.

Only once they started to leave did Leyla lift her head. The duke's relatives and friends were following behind him. Because of the hot weather, they had all taken off their coats and rolled up their sleeves. Only Duke Herhardt himself had kept on his complete hunting outfit. The only exception was his cap, which he had removed and was carrying in his hand.

There were servants following behind the main group. Leyla watched them intently. She backed away in shock when she saw that they were carrying not only the hunting rifles, but also a number of animal carcasses. The sharp smell of blood filled her nostrils. She hunched her shoulders and shut her eyes.

Noticing that she was quivering, Bill patted her on the shoulder. It was an awkward but kindhearted gesture.

With her chin resting on her hand, Claudine let out a series of exaggerated sighs. Her curly brown hair flapped along with each sigh.

Countess Brandt frowned at her daughter and whispered, "Claudine, please behave like a lady." Her voice was full of impatience.

Even though Claudine was still too young to be called a lady, circumstances demanded that she behave like one. Realizing how impossible this seemed for her daughter, Countess Brandt let out a long sigh. "I'm so lonely and bored," Claudine grumbled.

The other noblewoman sitting at the tea table looked at her. Blushing with embarrassment at her daughter's childishness, Countess Brandt replied, "Then go play with the boys."

However, Claudine didn't budge. "They treat me like I'm not even there, and they say things I can't understand." Claudine's pitiful expression drew soft giggles from the noblewomen.

"Well, It's natural that she would be bored. She doesn't have any friends her age," said Elise von Herhardt with a nod as she petted the puppy sitting on her lap.

"See, Mom? Lady Herhardt gets it!" Claudine exclaimed, delighted that someone was siding with her. She then turned to the garden. After a moment she pointed and asked, "Who's that girl over there?"

The noblewoman looked in the direction she was pointing, and saw a small girl following behind the gardener as he tended to the roses.

"Can I play with her?" Claudine asked. "She looks like she's about my age.

"I don't know, Claudine, isn't she an orphan from a foreign country? That's not the kind of child you should be making friends with," Countess Brandt replied.

"But I don't mind, Mom. I'm sure she'll be more fun to play with than a puppy," Claudine replied in a calm, confident tone beyond her years. Countess Brandt was now blushing so much that even her ears were red. Elise von Herhardt laughed delightedly and rang the bell to summon a maid. "Bring that girl here. The one the gardener is taking care of."

The maid brought Leyla into an unfamiliar world, a world where glamorous people dressed in bright, candy-colored clothing were sitting under a white awning that fluttered in the breeze.

"Oh my, what a cute little girl," said an incredibly beautiful noblewoman. Turning from Leyla to the brown-haired girl sitting there, she asked, "What do you think, Claudine? Do you like her?”

The girl who had just been addressed as "Claudine" smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Lady Herhardt."

Leyla started to feel dizzy amidst this conversation that she didn't understand. She desperately wanted to return to Uncle Bill's cottage, but no one was showing any interest in how she felt. A noblewoman who Leyla guessed was the duke's mother said something to a maid.

The maid who had brought Leyla from the garden passed her off to the other maid, who then led her away. Leyla still had no idea what was going on. Finding herself in the first luxurious bathroom she had ever seen, Leyla took a bath, and then put on an amazingly soft, white dress that she had been provided. As the maid combed her tangled hair, it hurt a lot, but she bit her lip and endured it. She was worried that if she complained or got upset, it could spell trouble for Uncle Bill.

"Miss Claudine is Count Brandt's daughter. You'd better behave yourself in front of her. Got it?" warned the maid who had brought Leyla up to the mansion's second floor.

Leyla nodded reflexively. The maid then slowly opened door to the drawing-room. Claudine greeted them, acting as adult-like as she could. "Hello. What's your name? How old are you?" She lowered her head and looked into Leyla's eyes.

"My name is Leyla Llewellyn, Miss. I'm twelve years old."

"Really? You're so small, I thought you were younger than me.

This was Leyla's least favorite thing to hear, but she kept silent. She repeated the phrase For Uncle Bill over and over again in her mind. This gave her extra patience. Claudine seemed not to think it necessary to introduce herself. She simply turned and started walking away. Leyla stiffly followed behind her.

Claudine suggested several activities for the two of them to partake in, including playing piano, singing songs, and making paper flowers. Leyla shook her head. She didn't know how to do any of those things. Claudine gave her some more options, including dice games, word games, and chess. Leyla didn't know how to play those games either.

Claudine looked back and forth between the toy-covered table and Leyla. "Poor you," she said, smiling tenderly. She then let out a disappointed sigh and slowly stood up. Leyla felt an extreme sense of helplessness as she regarded the unfamiliar items on the table. Claudine walked in front of Leyla's chair and lamented, "You don't know a thing."

Leyla could tell that Claudine was trying to speak as gently as she could, without letting her frustration or irritation through. This only made Leyla feel more humiliated. She felt like she should respond, but she didn't know what the proper thing to say was in this situation.

Luckily, Claudine simply turned away from her without waiting for a response. Before exiting the room, she sighed and muttered, "I can't believe it. She's no better than a puppy."

Leyla was left by herself in the lavish drawing-room. She felt like leaving right away, but she decided to stay. The other girl might return, after all. However, even as the bright afternoon sunlight ripened into a deep, golden hue, Claudine didn't return.

By the time the maid who had brought Leyla there showed up, it was already evening. "You may go now," she said in a much gentler tone than earlier. "Miss Claudine said that you can keep the dress. And this, too." She held out a glittering gold coin to her. "Take it. It's proper manners to graciously accept things that your superiors give you. Got it?”

Chapter end