Cry, Even Better If You Beg

Chapter 13: A Moonlight Night

Unlike the day she had angrily left the annex, the Leyla now looked like a gentle, precocious lady. Matthias stared at the ‘gentle’ Leyla while languidly leaning on the couch.

“I’m terribly sorry for this sudden discourtesy, your grace.”

Leyla hesitatingly opened her mouth while she kept her head down in efforts to avoid his gaze. Her dense eyelashes were very long and straight. Her long eyelashes seemed to be a reason why she left a soft impression when she gently lowered her eyes.

“Pardon me, but I have a question.”

Leyla, who had been licking her lips several times, finally managed to open her mouth. But at that moment, the phone started ringing.

Matthias slowly stood up to pass by Leyla as she retreated. He picked up the phone. It seemed to be a business call regarding a complicated contract he had to look over.

Leyla looked a little surprised when she saw Matthias on the phone. He skillfully led the conversation. Even with his brief smiles and polite way of talking, she could feel the power and dignity that overwhelmed the person on the phone. He looked like the perfect Duke of Arvis that everyone admired.

I mean, no way.

The suspicion that the man could have taken her glasses felt ridiculous at the moment.

I feel like I’m doing something useless….. Then was it the crow?

While judging how many crows’ nests there might be in the forest, Leyla silently greeted the duke, who was on the phone, and was about to leave. He unexpectedly turned to Leyla while holding onto the telephone mouthpiece.

“Wait.”

His short order sounded like someone else’s. His voice was quite different from the perfect Duke of Arvis she heard while he was on the phone.

Leyla stopped at a strange position. Matthias was focused on his call again as if nothing had happened. Leyla realized another trait of Matthias while watching him.

Even at the moment of his social conversation, Duke Herhardt’s eyes were calm. His smile was also calm. But his posture was uniformly straight and elegant. Despite the fact the phone caller wasn’t able to see him, he didn’t lose his posture. Leyla thought perhaps it was a trait that was embedded into his body.

After a few more minutes of his call, he went back to the front of the table and made a note of something. Leyla nervously grasped her wriggling hands from behind her back. By the time she suspected that he must have forgotten about her presence, Matthias’s eyes finally turned to her.

“Tell me.”

“What?”

“What you were going to say.”

Leyla gently lowered her eyes when Matthias’s stare made her uncomfortable.

“Ah….. The thing is, my glasses. On the day I jumped into the river…..I was wondering if you saw my glasses at the dock.”

“Well. I don’t think I’ve seen it…….”

Matthias slowly stood up from the sofa and started approaching her.

“I might have I’ve hidden it.”

“Uh….. What?”

Leyla was so shocked that she raised her head.

“My glasses. Did you really hide it?”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t think you would’ve done such a thing.”