# 34
34
When Hugo finished his shower, his body was steaming like it was on fire.
He exhaled, mixing with his mysterious body heat, which she did not know if it was from inside him or from the shower, and put on his nightgown.
The large and small scars on his body disappeared under the black silk, and some of them were so hideous that their shape stood out frighteningly, but the darkness of the night mitigated the horror of the scene.
His heavy steps, heading straight towards Angelica's bedroom. Even though it had only been a day, he seemed to be starting to get used to it a little.
'I'll leave the bedroom on the third floor as it is for now.'
This room was meant to be hers, but he wanted to provide her with an outlet now that marriage had restricted her movements.
But right now, things are different.
He opened the door with his hand, his red eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness.
Angelica was curled up in the middle of the large bed as if she had suddenly fallen, and the sight of her combined pity and satisfaction in his heart.
His light steps were barely audible.
He lifted the heavy new blanket he had assigned to her and slowly leaned back against the sheet.
Since Angelica was curled up in the middle of the bed, even as he sat on the end of the bed, his body was in contact with hers.
Hugo caught her warm hand for a glance, pulling her towards his chest when she shivered lightly.
At that moment, strange illusions came out of her, a sound that caused astonishment, the sound of someone who had never slept deeply before.
Hugo froze, holding her shoulder, then released his grip when she opened her eyes and let out a surprised groan.
“…You seem cold.”
“Ah, a little, but it's okay.”
There was a mix of confusion and vague emotion in their voice, but it wasn't bad.
Hugo lay frozen on the bed, while Angelica gently moved away from his contact.
There was a long, awkward silence, which made her suddenly wake up from her semi-deep sleep, and stared at the dark ceiling trying to understand what had happened.
'Did he just mean to hug me?'
She noticed the great strength of his hand, but remembered that Hugo usually had no control over his strength.
She remembered what had happened since her kidnapping, and her body still remembered feeling its impact.
'I will not allow any misunderstanding to create false hopes.'
But if he had even the slightest intention of doing so? She remembered Hugo's hand that touched her shoulder, the warmth of his body that kept away any feeling of cold from her.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, ignoring the shame and heat in her body.
'I'll just think of him as 'Hugo'...'
She began to speak hesitantly:
“You know…?”
"Yes."
She hesitated to speak, but his voice responded quickly, as if he had been waiting for her.
“Can I… hold your hand?”
The complete darkness helped her courage. In front of him, she only felt that she was dealing with “Hugo” who kidnapped her, not the real person.
“I feel a little cold, and also...”
She bit her lip trying to think of any other excuse, then Hugo spoke:
“Still afraid of the night?”
“H…yes!”
“There are no wolves in the capital, so don’t worry.”
Angelica smiled lightly, although she knew the truth, but his answer removed part of her tension.
'This is so cute, I can't be angry with him...'
Her lips trembled and she smiled unconsciously, and she raised her shoulders slightly, trying to relax.
'Yes, I can bear anything, as long as Hugo is by my side!'
Her body shook once, then she released the blanket she was holding so tightly.
“……!”
In an instant, her hand grabbed his with lightning speed. Her delicate hand squeezed the inside of his wrist, her fingers intertwining with his like a snake, closing her palm completely around him.
"Yes!"
The warmth of his body, completely different from the cold of the air, made her let out a sudden cry in reflex of nature.
Perhaps he thought it was a fear reaction, so he relaxed his hand slightly and gently wrapped his fingers around hers.
“Your hand is cold... I'll stay like this for a while.”
She nodded quickly. Her desire to respond was there, but she felt that the heat reaching her from his hand was suffocating her breath for no reason.
Fortunately for her, Hugo noticed how she felt, and gradually increased the strength of his grip on her entangled hand.
In an instant, the two hands were joined together without any space. Angelica exhaled lightly to calm her thundering heartbeat.
‘Finally, I held his hand……!’
The corners of her lips rose in joy. At that moment, the thick darkness helped her.
She pulled her fingers tight to touch the back of his hand, hanging her clasped hands upward.
He shivered slightly, Angelica felt his surprise, but did not want to release her grip.
'So warm, so cool, haha.'
She didn't expect to feel so much satisfaction from just holding a hand.
She started with a slight up and down motion with the clasped hands, staring at where Hugo was.
Even after being accustomed to the darkness for a long time, she could not see his features clearly.
However, I felt that he seemed not too bothered.
“Angelica, you should sleep now. It's getting late.”
She heard him speaking, and his soft voice, different from usual, made her lower her gaze and smile quickly.
Maybe that's why...
“…Hugo.”
She said the name as if she was enchanted.
Angelica squeezed his frozen hand tighter, pulling her lips slightly away from him.
“For names, can I mix them up when calling?”
“……What does that mean?”
“Just… during the day I like to call you ‘Weego’.”
It's been two weeks since I met the person I loved so dearly.
But despite all her attempts, she could not pronounce the name “Hugo” with complete awareness easily in front of him.
Calling him by his name made her feel as if her long and deep love of thirteen years would be exposed shamelessly.
When she called him “Wego,” she could hide her heavy feelings.
“What about the evening?”
Hugo responded with a question in the form of an inquiry.
Angelica looked around the dark room for a moment before whispering in a low voice:
“When we talk, I'll call you 'Hugo'.”
“Why?”
She couldn't help the curiosity in her little voice, and her lips tilted forward as she lowered her tone further.
“I can't always call you 'Hugo', and I don't want to...”
He may never know how much she wished to face the real Hugo and say his name.
'One day, when I can say it without fear, I will call him 'Hugo.'
She wanted him to respond with a bright smile when she called him, as this was one of her old wishes.
“Call me whatever makes you comfortable, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Hugo immediately agreed to her proposal. Fortunately.
'If he hadn't agreed, I would have kept saying, 'You know, you know...'
She couldn't call him 'Hugo' easily, but 'Hugo' was enough for just a blink of an eye.
Her body, tense with tension, relaxed, and her eyes sparkled.
But then Hugo loosened his grip on her hand and said:
“Don't stress yourself, Angelica.”
"What do you mean?"
“Call me ‘Hugo’.”
“……?”
“You don't need to do what you hate.”
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