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Chapter 7: It’s Not That I’m So Into Him
Linzel couldn’t believe that the nickname of this man, who trembled at the word bed, was ‘murderer’.
Hernan was so cute that she wanted to tangle his hair the way one would desire petting a large dog.
“Hurry up!”
Although Hernan was embarrassed, he followed her words well.
He creaked over like a machine that hadn’t been greased and deposited her gently on the bed.
Then he stood there as if he was at a loss.
“Your Highness, don’t get me wrong, and listen.”
“Very well.”
“If Your Highness sits on the sofa, it’ll be hard for you to have a conversation because it’s too far from me.”
“I guess so.”
Linzel tapped her hand in front of her.
“In that sense, would you like to sit in front of me?”
“…… Excuse me.”
Hernan creaked again and settled down in front of her. The distance between them when they sat facing each other was quite close.
Hernan’s face was still red as he sat upright. He didn’t shy away from her gaze, though.
The problem was, there were no signs of Hernan’s lips opening……
Maybe Linzel needed to talk to him first. She decided to find out about Hernan.
“Your Highness Hernan.”
“Yes.”
“What do you usually do at the Imperial Palace when you are not participating in the civil war?”
“I almost exclusively exercise.”
(Editor Note: this guy doesn’t have any other responsibilities besides working out?!)
“Oh! What kind of exercise?”
“I don’t do a separate exercise. It’s just sparring every day…….”
“I see. Your Highness seems to have a wonderful body built through sparring.”
“Yes.”
Hernan was…… the king of short answers.
Linzel found it hard to continue a conversation with him.
She was contemplating what else they could talk about and whether to call Mini and bring them some tea.
Hernan’s lips, which seemed to have been locked, finally opened.
“Perhaps….”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
He was fiddling with his shirt, unable to speak. Just like he wanted Linzel to look at his shirt.
‘Is this a continuation of the cloak praise?’
When we met before, she had mentioned shirts.
“Your Highness. The shirt you are wearing is really nice.”
From the moment she spat those words out, Hernan’s face turned red.
Her guess must have been correct.
She began to spout fluent praises.
“It looks natural, but with a touch of modernity and uniqueness, which makes Your Highness’s wonderful face stand out.”
(T/L note: Instead of “modernity and uniqueness”, this was directly translated as avant-garde, but it was modified with an approximate synonym of “unique” to make more sense in English for the next part of the conversation.)
Linzel figured that with the way things were going, Hernan would happen to hear a lot of things. But in response to her excessive praise, his expression changed.
“Ah…… what is it, Your Highness? Am I flattering too much?”
Hernan replied with a serious tone.
“Unique? I’ve overheard my subordinates refer to the youngest members of their team as ‘unique’ for ‘not being good enough’. It must be terrible slang.”
To think that being unique was perceived as being not good enough. Linzel burst into laughter.
“Pff. I never insulted Your Highness. It’s stylish.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
He let out a sigh of relief while Linzel kept giggling.
It was quite a pleasure to talk to this man who lacked conversational skills.
But their conversation didn’t go any further.
Hernan glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
“…… I have to go back to the palace now.”
Linzel regretted having to say goodbye to Hernan.
It seemed like it had been a long time since she felt regret for parting with someone.
Since becoming Linzel, she had rarely met any outsiders. The only people she met were those who existed in the duke’s residence.
She had narrow personal relationships.
Hernan was a beautiful man who suddenly entered her narrow circle of relationships, and she was quite pleased with his entry.
“It’s okay if you don’t send me off,” he declared. Hernan seemed to be concerned about her weak legs.
He stood up and brushed off the crumpled parts of his clothes.
“Go home safely!” Linzel replied.
Hernan gave a slanted smile, instead of an answer. Her heart skipped a beat at the ecstatic smile made by a handsome man.
‘Ugh that smile. It’s so bad for the heart,’ Linzel thought to herself.
Hernan turned around and took a step away, then came back abruptly.
“Your Highness?”
Hernan remained silent and began to reach out to her. His hand was on top of her head.
He patted her hair awkwardly and crudely.
When Linzel looked at him with a questioning look, he pursed his lips.
“Fare ….”
Fair?
“Fair-skinned?”
Was he trying to say that she had nice skin?
Hernan shook his head.
It seemed that her guess was wrong.
“Then you think it’s not fair that I won’t see you off?”
Perhaps he, too, felt regretful that he had to leave? Without more opportunities to touch his face?
Linzel wished she could have another chance to touch his face. It was a wish she couldn’t bear to say to Hernan.
But Hernan shook his head again and finally gave an answer.
“Farewell.”
‘Ah, it was a goodbye.’
He immediately turned around, perhaps ashamed to say that.
‘Were you too shy to say goodbye? Ughhh, so cute.’
When Hernan left, leaving her alone, she sat there and remained motionless for some time. Somehow the afterimage of him lingered in front of her eyes.
She tried to think of something else, but to no avail.
Linzel’s head was full of Hernan.
“I……. is Hernan getting better?”
She blinked her eyes, ruminating on his face, which gave her the impression of being in heaven.
* * *
After dinner, Linzel had a simple tea time with Letty.
The tea time place was her room, which was a place that was considerate of her, who didn’t like to walk very much.
Linzel ran out of breath even after walking a little, and she often fell or bumped into something because she didn’t walk carefully.
That’s why she didn’t go out much from the duke’s mansion. There was nothing for her to go out for.
But unlike Linzel, Letty was either at the imperial palace or at a dress shop…… She went all over the place.
Letty’s first meeting with Izekiel was also at a luxury shop.
The name of the shop…… Was it <Mont Blanc>?
Anyway, Letty, who was looking at dresses, said that she fell in love with Izekiel, who was choosing a cape, at first sight.
Letty started sharing the facts she had heard from the madam of the shop, as if she had been to that shop during the day as well.
“You know, Linzel. I heard an interesting story from Madame.”
“What is it?”
“Well, not too long ago, Izekiel came to the shop without contacting them, which you’d think he would do because he wanted to buy something. But rumor is that he was only browsing. Do you know why?”
Unfortunately for Letty, her sister wasn’t particularly interested in Izekiel stories. She was just rooting for Izekiel and Letty’s love.
Linzel didn’t want to know more about Izekiel, the male protagonist of the novel.
However, since her pretty Letty was waiting for her answer with shining eyes, she should show interest as well.
“Why? I’m really curious.”
After saying a word, Linzel felt a thirst, so she took a big sip of tea.
Letty answered with a raised voice.
“Well, His Highness Hernan bought a cloak that Izekiel often buys!”
“Pff!”
Surprised by the unexpected name of Hernan, Linzel spewed out the tea she had in her mouth.
The tea ran down her lips and dripped from the tip of her chin.
At that moment, she remembered Hernan showing off his cape.
Was that Izekiel’s cloak he was wearing?
“Linzel? Are you okay? What’s wrong with you? Shall we call the doctor?”
“Oh, no. I just swallowed wrong. I’m alright.”
Linzel roughly wiped the corners of her mouth.
“I heard that Hernan is not interested in clothes at all…… What is going on?”
“…….”
Could it be because of her?
The question ‘why?’ floated in Linzel’s head.
It was strange that Hernan, who had never met her before, was interested in clothes…… to look good for her.
Letty’s words continued while Linzel was thinking.
“While talking about it with the madam, there was even talk of whether Hernan had a woman. It reminded me of you.”
“Haha. Is that so?”
Letty’s eyes narrowed as Linzel laughed awkwardly.
“I heard His Highness Hernan visited the duke’s residence again today! He’s coming back two times in a row…..”
“That’s true, but…….”
“The two of you… Aren’t you already falling for each other?”
It was not entirely wrong.
Because Linzel had become fond of Hernan’s unexpected charm.
She never expected that a man who was called a killer would be so naive and cute. It was unknown whether Hernan had fallen for her as well.
He seemed more interested in showing off his cape, shirt and his face rather than falling for her.
“It’s not that I’m so into him, but……..”
Letty’s eyes were shining very brightly. She was eagerly looking forward to Linzel’s answer.
‘What would you like me to answer?’
Linzel wanted to respond truthfully while meeting Letty’s expectations.
The longer she thought about it, the more her mouth seemed to dry up again. She raised her teacup.
Soon after, when she drank the tea, she heard Letty’s mischievous voice.
“You aren’t even into each other, but you were tangled up with Hernan?”
“Pfft!!”
Linzel spat out the tea more violently than before. The tea she spouted left a stain on the table.
This time, Letty only giggled without worrying. Her face looked like she knew why Linzel had spilled tea.
“How did you know that!” Linzel shouted in bewilderment.
She thought no one saw it!
“There was a servant who saw it in the garden. It might already be rumored in the duke’s residence.”
“Oh my god.”
“I heard you rubbed His Highness Hernan’s face? Anyway, Linzel is very active.”
“Did that servant look that closely?”
“Yes. No matter how detailed the rumors are, it’s known that you used both hands. Oh my. I’m getting second-hand embarrassed by everything.”
“Sigh…….”
Linzel had somehow……become……a woman who rubbed the face of a man she’d only met twice…….
Her image…….
She touched her forehead, trying to stave off a headache.
However, even if she were to turn back time, she would not be able to ignore a well-prepared table.
In other words, she would have touched Hernan’s face again.
“Linzel. don’t worry too much. After all, His Highness Hernan is the person who will become your groom.”
“That’s true, but……. Letty, there is a fact that only you should know.”
“Are you going to tell me a secret?”
Letty was excited. It was the opposite of my serious attitude.
“Mhhn. There is a reason why I touched the face of His Highness Hernan.”