# 3
-Rattling.-
Instead of answering her question, Hugo placed the spoon on the table with a gentle thump.
In the absolute silence, where not even the chirping of birds could be heard, the sudden sound sounded like a thunderous echo. Angelica's body immediately convulsed.
'Ah... I shouldn't have asked.'
For a moment she lost sight of her situation. She was not in an equal position with him, but merely a kidnapped prisoner.
'It's impossible for him to tell me why at all.'
“……”
“……”
A fleeting moment of deathly silence swept over her, as if the air had frozen, and her breath caught in her chest.
She bit her lips involuntarily, as if trying to break the tension.
And suddenly,
“Oh…?”
She felt a rough touch on the hand she was holding tightly, and before she had a chance to think, the man passed her a circular object between his fingers.
“It's raspberry. It's an acceptable dessert.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
Fortunately, there was no annoyance or boredom in his tone. On the contrary, his tone remained deadpan, completely devoid of emotion.
She hesitated for a moment, but brought the berry to her mouth, and as soon as she bit into it, its sweet and sour juices flowed into her mouth.
“It really works as a dessert...”
It was so delicious that she had nothing to object to. For a moment, she forgot the tension that was overwhelming her as she swallowed the berry, and only then did the man open his mouth to speak.
"I have no intention of harming you, Princess. Quite the contrary, I had to kidnap you to protect you."
“I had to...?”
If the kidnapping was not for the purpose of harm, does this mean that it was to protect her or for a specific purpose?
“I don't understand anything.”
She tried to retrieve Angelica's remaining memories, but she could not find any clear explanation.
When the man saw her tilt her head in confusion, he gave her another raspberry as he continued talking.
“Yes. Because you have the ‘Eye of the Sage’. Your kingdom, as a vassal state, has hidden this matter from us until now.”
“Sage’s Eye…?”
I remembered that phrase, I heard it right before she was kidnapped. At the same time, another memory from the past echoed in her mind.
“A rare eye that is only seen once every thousand years. According to legend, whoever possesses it reaches the pinnacle of magic.”
If they truly possess the Sage’s Eye, all we have to do is hand it over to them. Then… what we do with it is up to us.”
It was a terrifying talk.
Even without proving the truth of the rumors about the Eye of the Sage, they were obsessed with it.
Therefore,
“They had no reason not to keep me.”
I now understood, at least partially, why she had been kidnapped.
But even so,
“But... my eyes now...”
She became almost blind, one could even say she lost her sight completely. What is the benefit of the “eye of the wise” if it cannot see?
“And they don't seem sure it will ever be the same again.”
Then, the man pulled the raspberry from her hand, then brought it close to her lips, as if he thought offering food was the solution to everything, even the fear that consumed her.
But strangely enough, as soon as the berry entered her mouth, she felt a slight relief. As if all her fears had receded for a moment.
“Your eye has not lost its sight, it is just adapting to the ‘eye of the sage’. Don't worry."
His tone remained cold, emotionless, but somehow, she found herself believing him.
It was as if the sour sweetness of the berries had removed some of her tension and freed her mind from anxiety.
Moreover,
-click.-
Every time she swallowed one berry, his hand offered her another, without hesitation.
After a while, he felt that his hand had become wetter, perhaps due to the juice of the berries that had exploded between his fingers.
“Haha…”
Why?…
She was supposed to be terrified, to remain filled with anxiety, but instead, she smiled involuntarily.
She imagined how his cruel, seemingly indifferent hands were gently picking up the berries and placing them in her palm as if he were holding something precious.
“Hmm.”
She stifled her laughter with difficulty before asking him her final question.
“So… am I really safe? I won’t die, I won’t suffer?”
"Yes."
“Can you promise me that?”
She couldn't escape even if she wanted to.
In the end, what use are her kidnapper's promises?
“However...”
He was the man who fed her, even though he didn't have to. The man who makes sure she gets candy after dinner, even though it's not necessary.
The man who answered her questions patiently, even though he wasn't obligated to do so.
'Maybe... I can trust him a little.'
She raised her head in the direction of his voice, hoping to meet their gazes.
'Did our eyes meet? '
She didn't know, but she wanted to believe it.
In the face of this silent hope,
“I swear on my honor, on everything I own, on the name of my family and my chivalry, I promise this to you, princess.”
The man gave her the answer she needed to hear.
But more than that—
“Huh?!”
Suddenly, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, with a force she did not expect.
She was confused, and with her other hand, she involuntarily touched his body.
She felt his muscles harden under the fabric of his clothes, and her face flushed slightly.
But before she could withdraw her hand, she felt something cold touch her fingertips.
“If I betray my promise, use this sword to kill me.”
He had placed something cold in her hand, encircling her fingers with his own, making her hold the sword tightly.
Was it because she held a real sword for the first time in her life? She felt her throat suddenly constrict, and her heartbeat sank as if it had hit the ground with such force that it could be heard even by the man in front of her.
Whether he was aware of her confusion or not, he continued his speech in his usual calm tone, explaining to her how to hold the sword and draw it, and where to stab in order to finish off the opponent immediately.
“If I ever cheat on you, do it.”
“N-yes!”
Angelica nodded quickly.
In fact, she didn't fully understand his words, but she felt that admitting her ignorance would make the situation more awkward for her. Her hand, which he held, gradually began to sweat.
“You learn quickly.”
Fortunately, he didn't seem suspicious, so he released her hand and stood up.
The cool breeze had only begun to cool her glowing body for a moment before—
“Ah!”
Suddenly, his arm wrapped around her waist, and she found herself raised upside down!
"Yes!"
She hurriedly grabbed onto anything in front of her, but the man did not budge, even with her sudden force.
Without a word, he picked her up steadily and mounted her onto his horse's back.
In moments, she found herself in a strangely familiar situation—
She sat in front of him, her back resting on his chest, and his strong arms wrapped around her waist, while she placed her hands on top of them.
“Let's go then.”
Heeeeeing!
The horse neighed, and they set off. She was still kidnapped, but the anxiety she felt at first was beginning to subside somewhat.
❈❈❈
“How long do we have to keep walking?”
Her inability to see made estimating time difficult. It felt like half a day had passed after lunch.
As she fell asleep, her head repeatedly bumped into the man's chest.
“We still have a month until we reach the Empire, miss.”
“Hmm?”
Did you speak out loud? She thought she was just thinking about that...
“You're fast asleep, you're clearly delirious. We'll stay here tonight.”
As soon as his words touched her ear, she began to feel her body shaking less.
Before she knew it, he had her pregnant again. This was familiar to her now, as it had happened twice more during the day.
-Knock!-
He landed lightly on the ground, allowing Angelica to finally touch the ground.
“Where are we?”
She gradually woke up from her sleep and looked around.
Although she could not see, her senses told her where she was—
The cool breeze that stung her skin, the monotonous sound of insects, and the scent of trees that permeated her nose.
"This...this is a forest! We're going to sleep here?"
She wasn't expecting a hotel, but since she had the Eye of the Sage and lived in the wizarding world, she was hoping to at least…
‘ To pull out a magic tent from his magic bag! '
At that moment—
“Awww!”
"Yes!"
The howl of a monster she had never heard before in her life rang out.
She froze, then immediately clung to his arm.
No matter how terrifying humans are, they are nothing compared to mindless predators!
‘Isn’t this the world of fantasy romance novels? Aren't there supposed to be terrifying monsters here? '
“What is this... I feel terrified...”
She was almost overcome with tears, so she held on to him tighter.
“They won't come near you.”
His words did not reach her mind, she just shook her head violently and shrank even more into his embrace.
For his part, Hugo Bernstein opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again.
The trembling he felt from her body was intense, which meant that no words would calm her down now.
Instead, he spread an aura of menace around.
“Awww!”
The howling got louder at first, but then it turned into a weak moan.
This was natural, he was one of the few great sword masters on the continent, he was even at the top of their level.
However—
“Explaining that to Miss won't be helpful.”
There was no choice but to prepare a mattress to sleep here.
He knew from the beginning that this kind of detail would be among his responsibilities, so it wasn't particularly troublesome.
But what he didn't expect was another nuisance—
"Hey...can I...borrow your arm? No, no, even just your hand?"
It wasn't the monsters that were the problem, it was Angelica Ratlay who was trembling in terror even at the mere sounds of insects.
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