Chapter 6: Is This Heaven?
The man she had met by chance in the past was handsome.
At one point, just looking at the man’s face made Linzel think it was a good thing to be alive. In fact, she often met him just to see his face.
Then she broke up with him, and since then she’d had serious aftereffects.
She’d never forgotten that man.
The problem was that her heart wouldn’t respond to a suitor unless he was as handsome as that guy!
Hernan was a hundred times more handsome than him.
Hernan’s sharp nose seemed like her hand would be cut if she scanned it with her fingertips.
His long eyelashes, which shook from time to time, seemed to tickle her heart, and his red lips were like ripe cherries.
‘I want to eat them…..’
As Linzel’s thoughts began drifting far from decency, she heard Letty’s cry.
“Li-Linzel! Y–Your nose!”
“Huh?”
Linzel swept her sleeve over the tip of her nose. There was a distinctive red stain on the sleeves.
“Nose, nose, nosebleed?”
It wouldn’t be a nosebleed from being sick.
Linzel was sure that Hernan’s face that came to mind was so grand that a nosebleed had no option but to burst out.
But Letty didn’t let up.
“I’ll call the doctor!”
Letty ran outside without even stopping.
What kind of expression would Letty make if she really knew the cause of her sister’s nosebleed?
…..It seemed better to keep the truth a secret. It was much better for everyone involved.
***
It was the biggest crisis of Linzel’s life.
It was a bigger crisis than when she walked a lot and felt the pain of tearing her lungs.
She couldn’t control the way her eyes were directed to a certain man.
In the garden on a sunny spring day, and the more she walked, the more her gaze kept moving to the side.
To be more precise, her gaze couldn’t help but flit towards the upper body of the man walking alongside her.
The man was wearing a white shirt with a V-neck, and thanks to that his long neck was revealed by it, alongside an Adam’s apple that seemed to have swallowed about hundreds apples by mistake. His visible collarbone was criminally attractive.
Even the man’s face was shining intensely, like the midsummer sun. It was like an immediate halo effect.
Also, what kind of skincare was he using?
The whole thing was too stimulating for Linzel, who thought she might never be able to drag her gaze away from that eye candy of a man.
At this rate, she was worried that she might get eyes like a flounder.
They might say the perfect man doesn’t exist, but Linzel knew the truth. The perfect man was Hernan.
As soon as it was bright, he came to the duke’s mansion again.
The two met around the same time as yesterday and were strolling through the duke’s garden.
Linzel pondered why he had dressed up more than yesterday. Then it came to mind the conversation they had shared yesterday.
He’d asked….
‘Is there anything you like beside the cloak?’
‘Your face?…….. Rather, it makes His Highness ‘face’ stand out…… Shirt! I like your beautiful shirt. Cough, cough.’
He seemed determined to satisfy all the hasty answers she had made.
She thought it went well, but……is that really it? Her fingertips trembled.
In the meantime, she kept wondering why Hernan dressed up like this.
To look good to her?
Because it was love at first sight for her?
But at the first meeting, he only showed off his cape…
It was then that she felt her legs were losing strength.
It was the same as yesterday, and it seemed that walking in the garden put a strain on her already-weak legs.
As Linzel’s legs trembled, her body faltered.
Just as she tried to keep her balance, the heels of her shoes slipped on the hem of her dress.
“Agh!”
Linzel’s body tilted back at the same time of the scream of a single word.
It was clear that if she fell like this, she would hit the back of her head properly.
At that moment, Hernan’s big hand wrapped around the back of her head. It was the quick, innate movement of a military man.
However, he also fell to the ground as if he could not overcome the inertia of Linzel’s already flailing body.
Thud!
“Did you get hurt?”
Linzel heard Hernan’s voice from very closeby.
She looked at Hernan, who was on top of her, with wide open eyes.
The face…..was too close.
His face, the most handsome face she’d ever seen since she possessed this novel, was right in front of her nose.
‘He’s really handsome.’
How can he be equipped with such eyelashes?
Linzel stretched out her right hand like she was possessed. The cheek on the palm of her hand felt hot.
“This…..is it heaven?”
Now that she was facing such a handsome face, if it wasn’t heaven, which place was it?
Hernan’s red lips opened.
“This place is……”
He went on, carefully taking Linzel’s hand off his cheek.
“……..it is the duke’s garden.”
Hernan was……a destroyer of romance.
“Let’s get up. Your clothes will get dirty.”
Hernan helped her up, but standing upright, she felt pain that she had not recognized because she was fascinated by his face.
‘My butt really hurts. Urgh.’
“So, I asked if there were any injuries.”
“When I came back from heaven to reality, the part I fell onto hurts, but……I don’t think I got seriously injured. Thank you for holding me.”
Hernan tilted his head as if he was in doubt.
“Heaven? You’ve been saying that for a while.”
Linzel was seriously troubled.
If she answered honestly, would he say she was talking nonsense, perhaps even give her a sneer? Or…
“……Seeing your Majesty’s wonderful face up close, I was so ecstatic that I felt I was in heaven.”
‘No, wait.’
Linzel was just going to think about it, but she just said it out loud.
“……..?”
She was taken aback because she did not intend to say it at all, let alone boldly and without hesitation. But words once spoken cannot be taken back.
Linzel watched Hernan’s reaction.
She was worried that someone she wasn’t close to would feel bad because she talked about his face.
But what was this? He was blushing.
“……….”
The redness on his cheeks stood out because of his naturally white face. It was a lovely blush.
“Heaven……do you mean a happy place?”
Linzel nodded softly.
“Is that so? Then.”
At that moment Hernan’s face got closer.
“…….!”
It was too bright!
He stared at her from close enough that they were breathing each other’s air.
Linzel felt like she was being imprisoned in his dark red pupils with even darker edges.
And then he said, “How is it?”
Like someone who wanted to give her an opportunity to appreciate his face.
Like someone who wanted her to be happy.
A handsome face was in front of her eyes, and it was her duty not to turn a blind eye to it.
Linzel decided to do as Hernan wished.
They say they grant the wishes of the dead, but Linzel wondered if they couldn’t also grant the wishes of the living.
This time, she covered his cheeks with both of her hands. His cheeks were hotter than before.
Once again, she spoke as if she was possessed.
“This is…..is it heaven?”
Hernan didn’t break her sentiments.
“I hope so.”
‘Your Highness, your ability to learn is top notch.’
A few minutes after appreciating his face like that, Hernan seriously asked, “Are you always that honest?”
Was Linzel the only one who could honestly appreciate his face?
Weren’t they all being too scarce on praise?
How could someone look at Hernan’s face and not say anything?
“I want to be honest with a sincere person.”
She was truly moved by his face.
Hernan’s eyes, which had been expressionless for a long time, suddenly grew bigger.
“……….!”
His dark red eyes reflected the spring sun and shone beautifully.
“…….I’ve overlooked your sincerity.”
He spoke as if he had realized something big. As if he thought that sincerity meant that Linzel liked him rationally.
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
Then a small sound of movement was heard nearby.
Surprised, she took her hand off his face. Even though she was sorry about it, she couldn’t be that disappointed.
“I’ll enjoy heaven just until here.”
Today was not the only day Linzel could appreciate his face.
“Then….would you like to continue the walk?” Hernan asked considerately.
Linzel shook her head.
“I also want to continue taking a walk with Your Highness. But I think my legs are weak…..What should I do?”
It was clear that Hernan’s handsomeness also played a role in the lack of strength in her legs.
“Then we should go into the mansion.”
Hernan wrinkled his brow, his face still reddened. A face like a tomato with a frown.
It wasn’t a very suitable combination, but thanks to Hernan’s beauty, even that looked great.
Hernan lifted her up with the words “Excuse me for a moment”.
His big hands wrapped around her waist and thighs. A perfect princess carry.
“Too light.”
“Isn’t it because His Highness Hernan is too strong?” Linzel retorted while putting her arms around his neck.
This ride was the best.
“I like that His Highness’s arms are big and wide.”
She leaned her face into his wide embrace.
Hernan hugged her as carefully as he would while handling fragile glass.
“Okay….is that alright?”
“Of course. It’s nice.”
“Could you tell me one more time?”
Linzel uttered in a voice full of sincerity, “It’s so good.”
When was the last time she was held in such big arms?
As she leaned her face completely against his chest, she could hear his heartbeat clearly in her ears.
His heartbeat was pounding, not beating.
She wondered if the sound of this big man was always beating so loud. She didn’t hate to hear his heart beating fast.
It was because this man also seemed to have feelings close to a crush on her.
“I need you to tell me where to go.”
Hernan’s voice was trembling. His heart was beating so fast that his voice was shaking.
Linzel told him the location of her room while concealing a little smile.
***
“Can I really come in here?”
Hernan hesitated to enter my room.
Linzel looked up at him.
Strong jawline, high nose…..even from below he has great features.
Just in time, Hernan’s throat gulped loudly.
He looked nervous. Just like a person stepping into a woman’s room for the first time.
She gave an affirmative answer.
“Yes! Of course you can go in.”
She even opened the door. Hernan’s hands were holding her body, so they weren’t free to open it.
Finally, Hernan stepped into her room. He looked inside with a look of emotion.
It seemed to Linzel that he was trying not to make it obvious that he was visiting a women’s room for the first time, but unfortunately it all showed.
His shaking pupils were the biggest proof.
Since the first time in a women’s room was monumentally…..
“Your Highness, you can drop me off now.”
Hernan replied about two seconds later.
“Ah. Where should I drop you off?”
Linzel shouted brightly, “On the bed!”
Her legs and hips hurt, so she thought a bed would be better than a sofa. She could also stretch her legs comfortably.
That’s why she didn’t go to the drawing room.
“……..!”
Hernan’s body suddenly stumbled.
He seemed like someone who put a different meaning to my words.
“Bed, a bed…..Phew.”
‘Your Highness, what did you imagine? Hoho.’
Linzel wanted to ask him.