# 19
Angelica was standing there as if she had been pinned there for a while.
She had a strange feeling that she shouldn't get even one step closer to them.
She felt like she had become a demon treading sacred ground.
Her heart, which fell like a rock, had imagined that it would break into small pieces.
“Angelica?”
Isabelle called her in surprise.
At the same moment, the sound coming from the garden suddenly stopped.
The eyes of Cyril and Hugo, who were smiling at each other, had settled on her without her realizing it.
“……”
“……”
This was the third time her eyes met his after learning his identity.
This time, the shaking in her eyes was not due to joy, but rather due to anxiety.
It was part of the process of crushing his heart and forcing marriage on him.
What if he blames her? Angelica felt very embarrassed, so she lowered her eyes first.
But surprisingly, she saw a wound on his beautiful hand.
‘How did this happen to his beautiful hands?! '
Moments ago, her body was stiff, but she reacted quickly to the wound on his hand.
Instinctively, she fixed her eyes on his wound and quickened her steps towards him.
but.
“I had an appointment already. I will go now, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm, isn’t she your bride? Why don’t you share some tea with her…?”
“I have other matters with the Knights to attend to.”
As he had done yesterday, Hugo completely ignored her and walked past her without looking at her.
Angelica looked at him as he passed her, but as expected, he didn't even send her a glance.
‘…Am I starting to seem annoying to him?’
He would certainly be frustrated and hesitant to marry a woman he has only known for a month.
Yes, in these moments she should be more understanding of his feelings. She tried to contain her tense feelings.
“Are you Princess Angelica Ratlay?”
At that moment, the Empress, Cyril Rose, spoke to her.
She raised her lips to smile with difficulty, then said:
“Welcome, Your Majesty the Empress of the Selene Empire. I am Angelica Ratlay.”
“I apologize for inviting you so suddenly, but I really wanted to meet you.”
Cyril invited her to the ward that was designated, but she did not neglect to watch her with a keen eye.
'She will be Hugo's wife.'
What is her impression of her? It was hard to say if she liked it or not.
Since ancient times, the Ratlay family has been known for the beauty of its women, and all its princesses were amazingly beautiful.
But Angelica, even Cyril who didn't care about appearances, made her take a deep breath at how beautiful she was.
‘Her translucent eyes, as if they were the eyes of a sage, held something very mysterious.’
At the same time, it was difficult not to feel a desire to protect her despite her delicate nature.
'But judging people by their appearance is unfair.'
I remembered Penny Williams, who was known for her beauty at the academy, but whose words were harsh and rude.
She only thought about power. She used to mock Hugo and call him a monster, and now she seeks to bond with him.
“But this lady doesn't look like Penny Williams.”
However, when she saw Angelica freeze in front of Hugo, she felt a little worried.
Cyril looked at Isabelle, who was shaking her head from behind Angelica, then looked back at her.
'They've already announced their marriage, so I can't change anything, but since I'm friends with Hugo, I have to keep a close eye on her.'
Cyril began her speech quietly, but she did not hide her interest in Angelica.
“I heard that you decided to become an imperial citizen, and so you had to make this unwanted marriage. Really unfortunate, princess.”
"Yes, right. What do I do now?"
Angelica sighed, unable to hold back her tears.
At that moment, Cyril raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“I heard that there are bad rumors that always follow the Duke. There is some truth to these rumors.”
"Oh, yeah. How did those rumors spread?"
Angelica's face expressed sadness, then suddenly anger appeared on her face.
She punched her hand hard on the table. Cyril raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Are there any idiots who still believe those rumours?”
Could this lady be Hugo's wife?
Isabelle, who was standing behind Angelica, shook her head vehemently, but Cyril did not stop talking.
“Anyway, the princess seems to be worried. You look a little weak, are you okay? You know, most women can’t even look at his face… especially the wounds on his body...”
"Ah, those wounds. How did that happen? Why did he leave them untreated? Doesn't he care about his body?"
Angelica couldn't hold back her anger, so she slapped the table.
The anger was also evident on Cyril Rose.
“Ha! That idiot Cain...”
I believed him when he talked about finding a partner for Hugo, but bringing in a worse woman than Penny Williams….
‘Even if Sage Eyes are required, this is unacceptable!’
She had to stop this marriage as a friend of Hugo...
"Didn't you see? The wound on his hand! How did that happen to his beautiful hand? Yesterday he was still fine, and he didn't seem to have put ointment on it! Why didn't he put ointment on it? Or maybe...was...was it because he was afraid to marry me? Was it so terrible that he cut himself? Ah, how could his heart be so weak? But I can't refuse marriage, can I? Even though I would like to...but I can't leave Hugo..."
“Hugo?”
“It's all because of his personality and face. If he's only good in personality, why is he so handsome and attractive? God, it's so unfair... Hugo, you carry so many sins...”
At that moment, Empress Cyril Rose decided to stop evaluating Angelica Ratlay. As for Isabelle Cotton, she had her head lowered for a while as if she was anticipating what would happen.
Then, silently, Cyril nodded in agreement with her beloved Cain Avendel.
He was right; Angelica Ratlay was the ideal partner for Hugo Bernstein.
“Did he break any law just because he was such a nice, beautiful, wonderful person? But, he's so nice, so nice! What can I do? If he's nice, we can forgive him everything...”
Cyril noticed that everyone she said about was someone who could only be described by the word “nice,” which was the only word that could describe that person.
❈❈❈
'Ah, it was a perfect tea session indeed.'
In the afternoon, after Angelica enjoyed tea and lunch with Cyril, she walked in the garden feeling proud. She finds out that Hugo still loves Cyril, so it starts to seem a little uncomfortable for her.
But she couldn't deny that she had always admired which she had read about 13 years ago.
'And when I saw her, she was more beautiful and wonderful than I expected.'
During her conversation with Cyril, who was always helping to improve Hugo's image, Angelica began to pour out her feelings on him. She wished she could have done more, but Cyril had already given him plenty of advice.
'Thank you, Cyril!'
As she walked towards the training ground, she felt something else on her mind:
Hugo had a wound on his hand. Cyril said that he had a strange habit of sleeping every day from two to three in the lake park behind the training ground. Since Hugo was in a deep sleep, Angelica saw the opportunity to tend to his wound.
'Ah, I'll be able to treat the wound while he's asleep. Maybe he won't feel anything.'
She reached the banks of the lake, where Hugo lay motionless. She took a deep breath and began to approach him slowly, and at that moment she felt that she might become brave enough to do what she had to do.
She moved closer, and when she was only one step away, her arm accidentally hit his arm.
“…!”
Did he wake up? She stopped suddenly, her eyes fixed on him, and he didn't move.
A second passed, then ten seconds, then a minute and he did not move.
She took a deep breath and turned her back, then stepped closer and carefully took his injured hand, admitting to herself that she might be in the perfect position to treat his wound now.
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