# 14
“Did I hear that wrong?”
Her head, which was spinning before, now felt like it was going to explode. Angelica held on to reason with difficulty, whispering the name she had hidden in her heart for so long.
“Hugo...Binstein?”
The words were echoing in her mouth as if she were in a dream. She did not know her feelings well. Was she hoping that he would look at her in amazement and ask her why she was asking, or did he want her to shake her head to confirm that what she said was true?
“…”
“…”
He didn't do anything, but he was silent, and this silence was enough to reinforce her suspicions.
“Ah…”
Angelica quickly covered her mouth with her trembling hand, as if she was afraid she might scream or cry and appear embarrassed. But that was of no use. She felt that her emotions had collapsed, and that her tears were about to fall. She tried to lower her head quickly to hide it.
“Angelica.”
Then, with his voice, she felt the world begin to crumble around her. It was the same tone of voice that she had heard countless times before.
“…!”
When she thought of “Hugo Beinstein,” her whole body trembled. It was as if the reason she had been clinging to had suddenly vanished.
Was this a dream? Or was she imagining it because of the sugar? This raised many doubts, but the name “Empire” made Angelica quickly abandon her ideas.
“The empire that Hugo was in was the Empire of Avendale.”
But when she heard about Imperial Selene, her thoughts quickly retreated. Never heard this name before.
❈❈❈
“Haha, of course. Maybe I was drunk and imagined it in a dream.”
Although she had made comparisons between Hugo and Hugo many times before, this was not something unusual for her.
She mumbled as she assured herself, then got up, trying to focus herself, and headed towards the door.
“But where am I here?”
The place did not appear to be a hotel, the furniture and walls had an old feel. So, is it Hugo's palace? She continued to think as she slowly walked towards the door, trying to control her dizzy head.
Then, there was a knock on the door.
She responded quickly, expecting there to be a familiar person in front of her.
“Isabelle?”
“Are you feeling better, Angelica?”
“Oh, yeah. I just felt a little pain in my head.”
Isabel gave her a cup she was holding, and as she drank from it, she felt the pain ease a little.
“The headache will go away in about 30 minutes.”
"Thank you."
Fortunately, the nausea was beginning to ease.
Isabelle then led her to a room connected to the main room.
“Angelica, you can get ready here and then come out.”
“Ready?”
“Yes, the Emperor is waiting for you.”
When I heard the word “Emperor,” I remembered what happened in the past. She thought she was in the Hyogo Palace, but it turned out to be the Emperor's Palace.
“Oh, I seem to have made a bad appearance since the first meeting...”
While feeling remorseful, Isabelle continued to help her get ready, and took a quick shower. After she put on new clothes, she felt that her headache was beginning to go away.
“Now, everything is clear. I can now see Isabelle’s face clearly.”
Her heart was beating fast. If she was able to see Isabel, it meant that Hugo's face was clear now as well.
She smiled weakly, and Isabelle followed them, heading to the interview room. Her steps were faster than usual, but even so, the room was still far away.
As she walked, she remembered something from yesterday.
“By the way, did you find the Empress easily yesterday?”
“Yes, I thought she would be there, so it didn't take long to find her. It was hard to catch her, but we found her.”
“She was caught... where was she?”
“She was in the Coliseum watching the final.”
Angelica was surprised when she heard that. It seems that the Empress also loves swords.
“You remind me of Cyril Rose.”
She was the character from the novel who was also passionate about swords.
“Of course, you didn't try to fight as Cyril Rose in the Colosseum, did you?”
Isabelle replied, laughing.
"Haha! Fighting in Cyril Rose's name? That would have been a weird idea... but, did you mean it would be a weird idea?"
Angelica noticed that she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Why is this name mentioned here?”
It was very strange. What if what's happening now is identical to what she read before in her novel? Is this a coincidence? impossible!
“We've arrived, Angelica.”
At this moment, Isabel opened the door to the interview room.
“Angelica Ratlay, come in.”
"…impossible."
As I got a little closer, my doubts turned into certainties.
His golden hair and light eyes, his gaze as he sat on the hall chair was full of pride, as if he owned this place.
His face, though, was the best fit for those clothes meant for him. Angelica remembered the cover of the book which she had seen many times.
Yes, this guy definitely was.
“I am the Emperor of the Selenian Empire.”
Emperor of the Avendale Empire.
“My name is Cain Avendale.”
It was Cain Avendale.
“Impossible…”
Angelica forgot to even breathe, and stiffened in place. The empire is different, but the name of the emperor is the same. Also, the name of the Empress was as in the novel I read. So, was what you heard yesterday true?
“Yesterday, because of your fall, the meeting was delayed.”
But her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the Emperor's words.
Angelica slowly moved her gaze to where he was pointing his finger. At the far end of the hall, away from the Emperor, there was a man standing.
“Ha.”
As soon as he saw him, Angelica's breath quickened involuntarily and she let out fear. It was strange, it seemed to catch the sunlight that was entering the hall, making it shine completely.
In an instant, Angelica suspected that her eyes had failed her. But, the moment his eyes met hers, she knew nothing was wrong.
“I will formally introduce him. This is the man who brought you to the Empire, ‘Hugo Beinstein’.”
Haaa-!
In the blurry world she lived in, he was the only one clear to her.
“Hugo...Binstein...”
It was the name she never tired of repeating, falling into the world with every emotion it could hold.
His black hair, his attractive red eyes that stood out in his wide eyes, and his tightly closed lips as if they might scatter the ground if they touched them.
The scar that runs from his neck to his chin, and the wounds that give him a brutal appearance. The black uniform he was wearing fit him perfectly, and his sharp sword, almost dripping with blood to look at, added a special touch of danger.
He looked much more handsome than Angelica had imagined in her imagination.
"no."
No, it's not just Hugo Beinstein. It's more than that.
“He's…so cute…!”
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