CH 4

Chapter 4: Don’t Tell Me – You Came to Show Me Your Cloak?

The layout of the duke’s residence was well known to Linzel now. She was able to find the drawing room without the help of a maid.

As she said before, it was possible because the memories of Linzel permeated her mind.

Just as she was running out of breath, she had arrived at her destination.

Fortunately, the drawing room where Hernan was waiting for her was not very far away.

She told the maid who was standing in front of the drawing room to notify him that she had arrived.

After the maid spoke, a graceful voice rang out from inside.

“Come in.”

Gulp. Linzel’s mouth was dry for no reason, and she swallowed a lot trying to comfort her parched throat.

She felt nervous.

How would she feel if she saw Hernan up close?

The maid opened the drawing room wide. Linzel took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The first thing she noticed upon entering was a smell.

A refreshing scent.

It was a scent resembling spring, the current season.

In the drawing room with little furniture, in a space lacking a sense of life, Linzel moved her eyes everywhere as if she were obsessed with something.

At the end of her gaze entered the owner of the spring scent.

It was a man. Standing in front of the sofa in the middle of the room.

A beautiful man.

The most beautiful man she’d ever seen in this novel.

Transparent skin, dark red eyes looking straight at her, long eyelashes embroidered on top of them….. And the man’s black hair looked good.

The expressionless man was extremely straight-faced, but even that stoic yet sharp appearance was strangely attractive.

He felt somehow unreal.

The name of this beautiful man was Hernan.

Hernan was more of a warrior, and in reality, he was more on the battlefield than he was in the imperial palace. That’s why people called him a war demon or murder demon.

Linzel had heard rumors that even a crying child would stop crying when it faced him.

The atmosphere emanating from him must have been vicious.

But to her, he just looked like a handsome man.

Rather than being frightened by Hernan’s intimidating figure, Linzel wondered what it would feel like to be hugged by a man with that good physique.

How can he stand out so much, even though he is just wearing a black uniform?

Gulp. She swallowed her saliva again. This time, it wasn’t because she was nervous, but because she was moved by his well-trained body and felt thirsty.

Anyway, Linzel didn’t feel afraid of this man who gave off a nice scent that reminded her of spring.

The time their gazes were entangled stretched longer. Then her heart started beating fast.

Apparently her heart was extremely picky, reacting only to good looking people.

It was Hernan who approached first. When he took the first step, he slightly hit the cape with his fingertips, which in turn drew a large parabola.

The red cloak swayed gracefully with every step he took.

It seemed to be a high-quality cloak made of very good material.

Black uniform and red cape. It was a combination that suited Hernan very well.

It was not long before he arrived in front of her, who was standing by the door.

Linzel looked up at him; he looked down at her.

“…….I am Hernan Kleman. Are you Lady Linzel?”

“Yes, nice to meet you. As you know, I am Linzel Valencia. You can call me Linzel comfortably.”

“I will not.”

After the awkward greeting, silence fell.

Hernan was repeatedly opening and closing his lips. It felt like he had something to say.

But he seemed hesitant to say “something”.

Hmm. What was he trying to say?

At that moment, Hernan’s face slightly distorted, and he fiddled with the poor red cloak.

Linzel’s gaze, which was naturally on his face, moved towards the cloak. A fluttering fine cloak…..

She said a word to break the ice.

“Your Highness, Hernan… That’s a nice cloak.”

Almost at the same time, a near exclamation of “ah…” came through Hernan’s lips.

She raised her gaze back to his face.

Hernan’s distorted face was straightened. And the corners of his mouth moved upward slightly, very slightly.

It was a smile that fell in an instant. A smile that seemed pretty even though she only saw it for a moment.

“Thank you. Let’s sit down.”

Hernan, who said so, turned around first.

His cloak fluttered nicely again, and the tips of Hernan’s ears turned red.

……Was he embarrassed?

‘Don’t tell me that he, a warlord, would be embarrassed to hear that his cloak looks cool.’

Linzel shook off her absurd speculation and answered back, “Yes, I like that.”

They soon sat facing each other on the sofa.

Hernan’s red eyes didn’t leave her face.

The sudden smile was completely gone. That smile. Linzel had been wanting to see it for a long time.

While thinking about what to talk about, the maid served warm tea.

After finishing her work, the maid left the room, and there was a bitter silence lingering between them again.

Hernan seemed to be shy. It was clear.

A handsome face, a strong body, a man with few friends because he’s shy…..

He was her ideal type.

Truly, he’s the perfect man to marry. At least, he was for her.

Linzel developed a faint affinity for this awkward, silent, beautiful man.

“Your Highness, Hernan.”

Hernan nodded.

“Did you know that Your Highness’s arranged marriage partner has changed to me?”

He nodded again.

“Is that why you came to see me?”

Only then did Hernan reveal the reason why he visited the duke’s residence.

“That’s right. Isn’t it too much to meet for the first time at a wedding hall without even saying hello before?”

“Yes.”

“And…..”

Hernan, who was speechless again, looked at her.

He opened and closed his lips as if he was hesitating to say something again. Then, he pressed his fingertips under his eyebrows, as if he was feeling stuffy.

In the silence that followed, Hernan’s face was distorted again. Why was that?

The more the silence continued, the more Linzel wanted to see his smile.

If she complimented the cloak again, wouldn’t he smile?

The words sprang out as soon as she thought them.

“Your Highness, Hernan. Your pretty cloak is a little crumpled.”

As soon as the word cloak came out, Hernan’s body flinched.

She didn’t know why, but he seemed to react particularly to the word cloak.

So, she decided to keep teasing him and laid it on even more thickly.

“I don’t know how you came with such a nice cloak.”

A blush began to settle on his porcelain face.

Hernan twisted his head to the right as if he felt that his face was heating up.

Although the blush on his cheeks may have been hidden, redness prevailed in his left ear, which was revealed when he turned his head.

This guy. Linzel was now positive that he felt shy whenever she talked about the cloak.

It was a pity not to see his smile.

But it was also pretty good to see him shy. Hernan was cute.

Linzel smiled like an idiot.

It was a marriage on behalf of Letty, and she didn’t think it would be too bad to marry him.

But was Hernan cute in the novel?

As she was about to think of Hernan in the novel, she heard his voice.

“Lady……. aren’t you scared of me?”

It was a short but meaningful question.

To be honest, until she met him, she did think he was a scary person. It was because of the vicious rumors surrounding Hernan.

However, after a short conversation, she changed her mind.

Linzel recited exactly what she felt.

“You’re not scary. You’re rather cute. You’re reacting to every word about the cloak.”

She giggled when she said that. Then her lungs hurt, and she forced herself to hold back her laughter.

It seemed impossible with this weak body to even smile for a long time. Linzel swore internally.

When she withdrew her laughter, Hernan’s head was turned back towards her.

Hernan was staring at Linzel’s smiling face with a somewhat bewildered face.

And then he said, “I think I understand the young Lady’s heart.”

“My heart?”

“The young Lady at first sight…..No. Let’s talk about that next time.”

Hernan rubbed his sharp jaw gently with his hand. His atmosphere was more relaxed than at first.

“Is there anything you like beside the cloak?”

“Your Highness?”

Hernan’s head moved up and down.

There was something that was definitely her favorite part. That’s for sure…..

“Your face?”

A face of the ice-coldness of the midwinter.

The face that somehow caught the eye because it was strangely unrealistic.

The distorted expression and the faint smile matched well with that face.

“…..You mean my face?”

“Ugh. Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes.”

‘Oops. Stop thinking about that!’

What if Hernan got upset?

Linzel was definitely not the kind of person who judges people by their faces!

Of course, she had to stare at his handsome face…..

But it was an instinctive flow of gaze.

How could she turn a blind eye to someone pretty and handsome?

She liked handsome men! As everyone does!

Anyway, she made a hasty settlement.

She didn’t want Hernan to take her for a shallow person.

“…..rather, it makes His Highness’s face stand out……”

What caught her eye then was a shirt with geometric embroidery.

“The shirt! I like your beautiful shirt. Cough, cough.”

A dry cough came out at the right time.

She covered my mouth and looked at Hernan.

Fortunately, there was no noticeable change in Hernan’s expression.

He only asked a rather worried question.

“…. a cold?”

Linzel shook her head.

“No, I’m just not feeling well.”

“I shouldn’t hold on to you for long then.”

“…….:”

“I’m going back now.”

“What? Didn’t you come here because you had something to say?”

Hernan answered my question.

“We already did that.”

Linzel recalled the conversation they had.

Clo……….ak?

Cloak?

Cloak!

‘Don’t tell me – you came to show me your cloak?’

It was questionable, but she nodded because she had nothing more to share with him.

“Then go home safely.”

“Oh, tomorrow……”

Hernan rose from his seat, blurring the end of his words. Then he walked out of the drawing room with quick steps.

It looked as if something urgent had happened.