Chapter 29

꒦︶꒷‧₊★₊‧꒷︶꒷‧₊ଓ₊‧꒷︶꒷‧₊★₊‧꒷︶꒦

·  · ୨୧ ·  ·

(Gabriel’s 3rd Person POV)

The platinum haired man looked at himself in front of the mirror with a rather dissatisfied face.

The man, who was busily buttoning the sleeve of his shirt, raised his sharply arched eyebrows and bit his lips as if he was not satisfied.

“Is this okay?”

Dian, the man’s lieutenant who had been dozing off, applauded with a soulless voice.

“Yeah, that’s good, that’s good. Everyone in the empire would be thrilled to see the Duke!” 

Gabriel, the man with platinum hair, glared at his lieutenant who continued spitting out flattering remarks, and glanced in the mirror at the designer who was patiently waiting behind him.

Gabriel wasn’t even aware that the designer’s shoulders shivered from fright at his cold gaze.

“How many suits are left?”

“Well, that would be the last one, Your Highness the Duke. And if you would allow me to share my opinion, I think you look the best in the one you’re currently wearing right now.”

‘No matter what I wear.’

‘No matter how many times I look at it, none of it seems enough.’

‘Rosériel said so.’

“I think my sister’s ideal type is a man with broad shoulders.”

Because whenever Hildea sees him, she always frowns and seems uncomfortable. That’s why Gabriel wanted to give off a cool appearance as much as possible.

“Are there any other clothes that make my shoulder blades stand out better?”

‘Well your shirt looks like it’s going to explode anytime, My Lord.’

(T/N: Lmao haha. Sweggsy Gabriel.)

Gabriel had no idea of the designer’s feelings, since the designer was observing and patiently waiting for Gabriel until he finally said that he was satisfied.

“My Lord, the clothes that you’re wearing right now have the effect of highlighting your shoulder blades without any exaggeration…”

“Is that true?”

“Yes! Of course!”

Gabriel, who kept eyeing the suits and ignoring all other opinions, finally said,

“It can’t be helped then. Let’s go with this for today. Also, send everything that I wore earlier to this address.”

The clerk stiffened from shock, opening his eyes wide when he saw the address that was written on the paper.

“Um, My Lord, about this address?”

“Is there a problem?”

Gabriel raised his eyebrows in disbelief, almost giving the clerk a heart attack with his handsome yet brutal appearance.

He cried out like a cuckoo bird after realizing the identity of the guest.

“No, thank you, Sir. It is our infinite honor for you to trust us with your wardrobe! The suits that you ordered will be delivered to your address safely.”

“Thank you.”

After Gabriel left the store, the clerk immediately spread the news. “Big news! Big news! Do you know where the Hero of the Empire is now?”

“My lord, you are doing something that you’ve never done before. It seems that the power of the (*)spring breeze has really gotten into you, hasn’t it?”

(T/N & PR/N: (*)there’s some debate about what 봄바람의 means, but according to a korean friend, it could mean that it evokes an excited tingly feeling, like you’re looking forward to something. In contrast, an autumn breeze is the opposite and associated with loneliness.)

“Stop being so noisy, Dian. Why are you so talkative today?”

“Well it’s my first time seeing my lord’s unusual side today? And once the infamous lady Hildea is involved, you never get angry. Because of that, I cannot miss this opportunity.”

Normally he would have beaten Dian, who had made fun of him with a sluggish voice, but since everything he said was true, Gabriel had nothing else to say.

Gabriel, who was fully dressed, quickly went to visit Hildea as soon as he left the dress shop.

The color of his cheeks gradually turned feverish.

“My lord, your patience has finally paid off.”

Gabriel knew what Dian was trying to say:

‘You’ve worked so hard, My Lord, but I never imagined that you would be able to meet Lady Hildea one day.’

‘That’s probably what he was trying to say.’

Gabriel also had a lot of trouble when he came back after the triumphant end of the war. The period of separation was for 12 years, which was much longer than the time that they spent together during their childhood days.

“I really don’t know what to do.”

“What are you talking about, My Lord?”

“Do I just need to work hard, so that the person who I like will like me too?”

‘That’s the problem.’

He initially planned to just confess straightaway. However, he knew that Hildea, who was very uncomfortable with him, would definitely not give him the answer that he was longing for.

“Well… First of all, since you too haven’t been together or acquainted very long, getting to know her will be the main priority. Lady Hildea is a very quiet person, so it will definitely be difficult to approach her.”

“Quiet…”

“Yes, correct. She’s a very quiet person and doesn’t have any close friends. She seems to be an introverted person, like someone who just wants to be alone.”

Gabriel recalled Hildea, whom he had seen before leaving.

‘Does she really like to be alone?’

‘But she seemed so lonely back then.’

“I did some research, but nothing really came out. The only person very close to her is her twin sister, Lady Rosériel.”

Gabriel frowned at the name of the woman who he was so familiar with.

After looking into various things, it was a good decision that he decided to stay in an empty mansion at the Hillington residence.

But there was no way for him to stay that long.

Duke Sears von Hillington was very stubborn and dedicated to his two daughters.

It was obvious that his sudden request would be ignored with just a single blow.

That’s why Gabriel paid Rosériel with jewelry for this request.

Just as he has been paying her with a lot of jewelry, he also sent letters along with them for the past 12 years.

‘That’s right. It wasn’t a gift, but a reward…’

“If I said that I envy Rosériel a lot, would you believe it?”

Dian shook his head with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, Lady Rosériel always acted like a cute puppy persistently chasing after lady Hildea.”

Gabriel was really jealous, because Rosériel could talk and smile with Hildea comfortably.

‘Talking comfortably, holding hands, and calling each name with affection.’

‘Those things that I cannot do.’

‘How it feels like to be in a very natural relationship.’

‘How it feels like to be in a relationship with someone, even if they don’t make any promises.’

‘Hildea.’

‘I want and long to hold her pretty, delicate hand and to make her feel how much I respect her.’

(T/N: Awww gimme Gabriel please..)

‘Obviously, when I look at those quiet eyes, I always catch my breath to the point where I can’t speak properly, and repeatedly make a fool of myself.’

‘Still, I’d be happy though.’

‘If only I could hold her hand and kiss the back of it politely.’

“Tell me, Dian.”

“Yes, my lord? What is it?”

“How can I make a person fall in love with me?”

“Well if I knew that, I wouldn’t be chasing or following my lord without ever getting married…”

“You’re so useless.”

“My Lord! I have listened to all of your concerns. How can you say such harsh things?”

Then Gabriel saw different women on the street passing by with fans.

All those women were lacking distinctive features and appeared in this place, dressed in splendor from head to toe according to the latest trends.

“I also read a lot of books.”

“Pft!!”

Dian accidentally swallowed his saliva, and continued coughing.

“Did you learn a lot?”

“Are you laughing at me now?”

“Oh, no. How could I? Pfft! Pfft!”

In spite of this, Gabriel continued his thoughts as he strode forward.

‘The things that are written in the book of love are very simple.’

‘Expensive jewellery, dresses, gifts for your partner, fine perfumes, invitations to elegant dates, letters with sweet and tender words.’

Everything that he couldn’t do.

“In the end, all I could do was write her a letter.’

‘Those letters.’

‘It could have been a mess.’

Gabriel grabbed his head.

‘At first, it was difficult to write a single line.’ 

‘What should I say?’

Gabriel, who was known as the god of war, suffered a lot on the battlefield.

Furthermore, at a young age, Gabriel became the youngest superior who had led the war at the age of 12, and did a lot of things that couldn’t be ignored. 

Of course, those were the things that made him exhausted, but he always made time to write down those letters and never neglected the effort that he put into them.

“How did Hildea react?”

“Um, my lord about that… I…”

And when he heard that Hildea wouldn’t open the letters after she received them, and instead put them aside into her side drawer, Gabriel felt extremely frustrated.

‘Isn’t my letter worth reading right away?’

Still, he had hoped that those letters wouldn’t be thrown away, and asked every time he sent out a letter. 

‘I want to know everything about her.’

‘Is she happy? Is she in pain? Is there anything that annoys her? How is she feeling right now?’

It was then.

“Well, if you’re not busy…”

“Hi, may I know your name…?”

“I really think that you are my destiny…”

(PR/N: Lots of thirsty women out there… including you guys reading this XD)

‘While I’ve been walking quickly, there are people who keep talking to me.’

Gabriel’s face crumpled furiously.

“Get out of my way!”

‘I wanted to stand in front of Hildea in perfect condition without a single speck of dust, but I can’t understand why there are so many people who keep blocking me.’

He didn’t even ride the carriage for fear of his suit being crumpled inside a small carriage.

The sea of people quickly dispersed as if they were frightened by his handsome but deadly aura.

Dian, who was watching the scene, shook his head as he stuck out his tongue.

“If Lady Hildea could see this now, she would definitely be terrified and immediately run away.”

“There is nothing here to be seen by Hildea.”

“…Still, it seems that the Lord’s hard work is worthwhile.”

Gabriel, who was busily walking, immediately stopped after hearing Dian’s clumsy laugh and muttered words.

Then, he slowly turned his head and looked directly at Dian.

And suddenly, he burst out laughing.

Dian thought his heart would stop. Even though it was a known fact Gabriel had a handsome face that even a man would fall in love with, what made it even more crazy was to see with his own two eyes that his master was smiling brightly! And not just a smile, but a laugh! Dian was afraid that it was all just a dream.

(PR/N: Hildea just got more competition.)

“Is that what you think as well?”

“……..”

“Okay. Today is different.”

Gabriel raised his chin as he stared at the Hillington residence, with a confident look on his face.

“Today, finally, Hildea has allowed me to visit.”

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Hildea’s POV)

‘What the hell is going on?’

I’m now in serious trouble and regretting it. During the last few days, after someone constantly sent requests to me, I finally gave him the permission to visit me today.

‘Of course, no one else but,’

‘Gabriel.’

‘Gabriel wants to meet me.’

‘From the first time I met him, I wasn’t comfortable with his unknown tension. That’s why I didn’t want to see him alone.’

‘But even so, I already rejected him once or twice…’

“My lady, is it really okay for me to keep sending rejections like this?”

“But Lira, I don’t have anything to talk about with Gabriel.’

“But since you’re living in the same compound, wouldn’t it be uncomfortable if the both of you meet later?” 

“…….”

‘And why does he keep writing letters even though he is this closeby to me?’

TO BE CONTINUED…..