Chapter 53 - - 53 : The bird’s owner
"My heart aches every time I see this, Matthias."
Riette clicked his tongue as he pulled open the cabinet door. Even though he wasn't a big drinker, the minibar in Matthias's room was always stocked with fine liquors.
"It's not nice to overlook fine liqueurs in this way."
With a vague grin, Riette took a bottle of alcohol and went back to the front of the table. Matthias' expression was bland as always—he didn't give a fig about what his cousin did.
The soulful melody of a piano played from the phonograph, perfectly harmonized with the crackling of the logs burning in the fireplace. Riette filled a glass with the liquor from the bottle, handing it to his cousin. Matthias took the glass gracefully, his movement in sync with the notes filling the room.
Leaning against the couch, Riette observed him as if he were a stranger. Matthias was staring at the rim of his glass, lost in thought as a canary, which now felt like a part of the bedroom, played happily beside him.
'Your cousin is a demon of a gentleman.'
The reputation of Captain Herhardt, spreading ever wider with each social event held, suddenly rose in Riette's mind.
Matthias had never spoken about his time serving on the military front—not from modesty, as one might have expected, but from feeling that his accomplishments during that period of time had no meaning. Instead, word of Captain Herhardt's heroics spread through the lips of other aristocratic officers who had battled beside him during the war.
Riette might not have participated in the war, but the narratives he had heard allowed him to visualize Matthias's prowess on the battlefield as if he had seen it firsthand. Neither a warmongering idealist like his fellow aristocratic officers, nor someone steeped with the boredom that came from the routine of the military, Matthias' ethos as a soldier-at-arms was noticeably different from his brethren.
His name was etched in gold ink, illustrating his brilliant achievements during his time in uniform. Yet, Matthias deemed it all of little importance. Every time people gossiped about Matthias' military prowess, they invariably concluded their stories with an incredulous sigh :