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Chapter 11: I’m Afraid You’ll be Lonely if You Cry Alone
Linzel turned her head towards the sound. Then the owner of the voice appeared.
It was a man. Standing not too far from her.
Even though her vision was blurry from the tears, she could see that he was handsome.
She raised her right hand and waved him towards her.
“Hey, come here… Closer…”
A handsome face…. up close…… Linzel wanted to see…. ugh.
There was an ironic tone in the voice after the cry.
The man approached her without saying a word and lowered his stance. The man’s gaze fell down.
Linzel wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Then the man’s face was seen closely.
Imposing height, which seemed tall even when he was crouching down, silver hair that swayed finely in the night breeze, fair skin, a high nose bridge, and a beautiful face with delicate lines.
The man was wearing a white shirt, with a V-neckline and a long cut front.
It was strangely familiar. He was wearing the same one Hernan had been wearing.
However, the two men wearing the same clothes gave off a distinctly different vibe.
Hernan exuded subtle sensuality.
When one first met him, it wasn’t immediately recognizable, but the moment one felt his sensuality, it was too late to avoid being uncontrollably fascinated by him.
On the other hand, this man exuded a thicker, more stimulating sensuality than Hernan.
Even if one tried to look away, one couldn’t help but be attracted to this man’s sensual charm.
The man had silver eyes that matched the color of his hair. They were pale in color and looked like they would break if touched.
His neat eyes did not separate from Linzel’s. It was the first time she had met this handsome man.
Was he a member of the imperial palace?
“Why are you crying?”
The voice of the man who asked that question was blunt.
Oh. She’d been crying.
Only then did she recall what she had forgotten for a while.
“Don’t laugh at me.”
“I will not.”
“I fell down, and I was crying because the area I fell hurt.”
“……”
The man didn’t laugh, he just stayed silent.
“It’s embarrassing, so could you please stop looking at me?”
“What are you ashamed of? You are crying because you are in pain.”
It wasn’t a joke, it was sincere.
The man began to pull something out of his pocket. What was in the man’s hand was a white handkerchief.
“Dry your tears.”
Linzel took the handkerchief the man held out and wiped her eyes. The handkerchief smelled nice.
It was at that moment that she felt someone else’s body temperature above her head.
The owner of the temperature was a strange man.
His big hand gently stroked her hair. It didn’t seem like something he’d done only once or twice.
“As an adult, it must have been really painful to cry after a fall. Shall I call the imperial doctor?”
He was serious.
If she answered ‘yes’, he was giving off an atmosphere that would immediately call a doctor.
“No, it’s fine.”
Because it wasn’t serious enough to call a doctor.
“Is that so?”
“But you’re really not laughing at me? You’re very kind.”
“Ah. I’m good at bumping into things, too.”
“Aha.”
“I often wrinkle my face because I’m embarrassed to show off my pain. That’s why there are more people who mistakenly think I’m a jerk or something. ‘Is he only kind to women or what?’ I try to be kind to everyone.”
“I see.”
“Of course, I am a little kinder to women. Just like now.”
A handsome man from the imperial palace who was a little kinder to women. It was a somewhat familiar story.
“Anyway, whether it hurts big or small, it hurts anyway, right? There’s no reason to laugh.”
The man who had spoken that far smiled.
Almost at the same time, a dimple appeared on the man’s white cheek.
As soon as she faced the dimples, Linzel involuntarily said “Ugh…..”, and made a painful sound.
For real…. beautiful…. That dimple…
The heat rose again in her eyes, but this time it was because she was moved by his pretty dimples.
“But how long are you going to stay like that?” He asked, dimple still present.
It would be nice to have this beautiful man by her side.
The man continued, “I’m afraid you’ll be lonely if you cry alone.”
‘Oh, that’s true. You’re so kind.’
“What is your name?”
Really? He was asking very late. There was no reason to hide her identity, so she confessed honestly.
“I am Linzel Valencia.”
“Linzel Valencia? Well, it seemed so.”
The man showed no sign of surprise. It was as if he already knew her.
“Could you…
The man’s words didn’t continue on.
It was because Mini’s voice, which seemed to be looking for me from afar, resonated loudly.
“Miss! Miss! Where are you!”
Linzel raised her hand.
“Mini! I’m lying here! Will you come over here and help me stand up?”
Mini, who found her mistress, started running towards her.
The man then got up.
“Hey, Lady Linzel. I’ll see you later.”
He turned around after saying goodbye.
When Mini came closer, the man’s figure was far away.
Linzel pondered over the man’s words.
…..See you later?
It was a premonition of their reunion.
An outfit similar to the one Hernan wore.
He was not a flirt, but he was a handsome man from the imperial palace who acts a little kinder to women.
Silver hair and silver eyes.
Linzel had a vague idea of who the man was.
“Miss! Why are you lying down?”
Mini was worried about her.
She looked over Linzel’s body, making sure that she wasn’t hurt.
“Ah….. I fell down, but I didn’t have the energy to get up.”
“Are you not hurt anywhere?”
“Yeah.”
Mini put her arm around Linzel’s shoulder and helped her up. Her legs were still sore, but definitely better than before.
It felt like she could walk a bit now.
“Do you know where this place is?”
Mini nodded vigorously.
“Yes! The palace you see right in front of you is said to be the palace of Prince Izekiel! The palace we were invited to is right behind us!”
Mini pointed a finger at the back. Then, another gorgeous palace was seen.
In other words, the two buildings were facing each other with the same garden in between.
Mini and I hadn’t found the palace before.
“It is just a short walk. Everyone will be waiting for us over there.”
Linzel took another look at Izekiel’s palace.
Izekiel Kleman.
Hernan’s older brother, the man Letty loves, and the man who is the main character of this world.
Linzel had no doubt that the man who comforted her by giving her a handkerchief was Izekiel.
She squeezed the handkerchief tightly.
Izekiel….. To walk around wearing the same clothes as Hernan. He must be on good terms with his younger brother.
She didn’t think they got along very well in the novel.
Before long, the court ladies, who seemed to have had a conversation with Mini before, approached them.
They held the presents Linzel had brought and guided the two women who had lost their way.
Of course, they apologized for not coming out to meet them properly. Linzel forgave them because she was a generous person.
Because of their mistake, she had met Izekiel, who she was a little curious about.
She decided to take the incident in a positive way.
As she walked to the front of the palace where she was invited, she saw other maids from the imperial palace who were there to meet her.
Linzel and Mini started walking to the dining room where dinner was to be held.
‘Ugh.’
Her legs were shaking the whole time she was walking.
***
Four people were already seated in the dining room.
Linzel greeted them with the manners she learned from the original Linzel’s memory.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Linzel Valencia.”
Then, a handsome middle-aged man who looked like Hernan answered.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
She immediately realized that he was Hernan’s father, Delta, the emperor of the Empire.
His words continued.
“Thank you for accepting my sudden invitation. After hearing about the young lady from Hernan, I wanted to meet the young lady.”
They had talked about her…?
Delta looked at her with those cold and mysterious eyes. As if he was trying to read her.
What did Hernan talk about that made the emperor do that?
As Linzel tilted her head, Delta’s lips opened once more.
“Let’s sit down for now.”
Hernan pulled a chair for her to sit on.
She sat down next to Hernan, glancing at him. Just in time, their eyes met as if he had been looking at her too.
She gave a questioning look.
‘What the hell did you say about me?’
With such a message.
Hernan seemed to understand the meaning in her eyes. As an honest man, he gave a clear answer.
“You….. You said you liked my face.”
“… …!”
‘You mean you said it so honestly?!’
Of course, it was true that Linzel liked Hernan’s face, but…
She could infer now why Delta wanted to know more about her.
Evaluating people purely by their faces and her fear of becoming a shallow person who likes people solely based on their looks had become a reality!
She wondered if Delta had invited her to see if she was a frivolous person or not.
She couldn’t blame Hernan, who was honest.
He was too innocuous to blame him. Linzel could feel no ill will from him.
Instead, Linzel thought she should give him proper attention when he was alone.
At this rate, she didn’t know if he would even talk about what their first kiss was like in the future.
That was the last thing he should do!
“Hernan. You need to take that frankness off.”
That’s right! That’s right!
It was the man sitting across from Hernan who uttered the right words.
Linzel looked at the man and opened her lips slightly to send a silent message.
‘See you again.’
The man was the same man she had met in the garden.
“Hi, Lady Linzel. My name is Izekiel Kleman. I’m the older brother of the guy who’s going to be your fiancée.”
Her prediction that that man was Izekiel had been correct.
Izekiel spoke as if he were seeing her for the first time, so she responded accordingly.
“Yes, Your Highness, Izekiel. It is an honor to meet you.”
At that time, Hernan suddenly intruded their conversation.