# 43
43
As soon as her voice trembled intensified, he nodded in agreement.
“Huh...”
Angelica swallowed in relief. She is still worried, but this is much easier than having her medication come back with sudden violence.
However, this reassurance did not last long.
“Angelica, I'm going to sterilize the next finger.”
He said as he slowly brought the piece of cotton closer. As soon as she touched her skin, she felt a burning pain, and as he insisted on slowing down, the feeling became more intense.
“No! No, hurry up, please!”
The pain was more severe than what she felt when the needle pricked her fingers, or twice as much. With every twitch of hers, he brought her closer to him, until he surrounded her with his arms to prevent her from moving, and continued to cleanse the wound.
An unknown amount of time passed.
When he finally finished, her fingers were swollen, and even her eyes seemed swollen from the pain.
Fortunately, applying the ointment and dressing the wound was not painful. Thanks to his care, her pain gradually eased, until her body relaxed unconsciously.
“I'm tired...”
“You should have dinner before you sleep.”
She shook her head in denial as she fell asleep. She thought he would insist as usual, but he unexpectedly left her alone.
'What's the matter?'
She wondered to herself, before falling asleep completely.
She only felt him leave the room and then return, and the sound of his footsteps approaching and moving away. She tried to open her eyes but couldn't. It was a deep, nightmare-free sleep, which she rarely had.
As she fell deeper into a slumber, she heard his voice close to her.
“Angelica.”
He lifted her slightly, and her eyes only opened slightly, but her lips parted when she felt something touch her mouth.
“Ah…”
Something slipped into her mouth, soft and sweet, and she instinctively responded and swallowed it.
“It's cranberries... the soup will be hard to eat now.”
She didn't hear his full sentence, but the sweet and sour taste awakened her senses slightly.
“Ah…”
Then it began to open its mouth automatically, like a little chick receiving its food.
When she was fully awake, a light laugh escaped her.
" Why are you laughing?"
“Your hand is… wet. Just like back then.”
She meant when he was feeding her before, when he was crushing the fruits with his hand without paying attention to his strength.
“It seems more painful now than before.”
She looked at him with red eyes, and there was unmistakable warmth in them.
“Shall I wipe it for you?”
She said jokingly, extending her hand toward the piece of cotton.
He smiled, that smile that he knew no name or reason for.
He didn't know exactly when this feeling started, but he was sure of one thing...
What is between them is no longer just kindness or care.
And his heart, despite his attempts, no longer knew the way back.
❈❈❈
<…Is this again?>
When Hugo's eyes fell on Kane, who had heavy dark circles under his eyes instead of his usual shine, he could not utter a single word.
Even the fact that Cyril was getting disgusted by his distorted handkerchiefs that he made himself... he did not dare mention it.
Thus, he had no choice but to be expelled on an external work assignment.
He arrived at the temple carrying the documents that the Emperor himself had delivered to him.
"Oh! Hugo!"
As soon as he heard the familiar voice, he immediately turned around. Was that an auditory illusion?
He frowned, then turned towards the source of the sound.
“Angelica?”
It wasn't an illusion. She was standing there, wearing an elegant going-out dress, waving at him with a bright smile.
“What are you doing here?”
"Hmm? Didn't His Majesty tell you?"
He swallowed hard at her question. Looks like he's been fooled by Kane again.
When he shook his head slowly, she pointed to the temple and said:
“I was told that some potion ingredients are here, so I came to take some.”
“Do you mean the potion you were making back then?”
"Yes!"
At her animated response, Hugo's head tilted slightly to the side.
If she was short of ingredients, then what was she doing all the time in Cain's lab yesterday?
“Hugo?”
He came back to consciousness at her voice.
He shook his head lightly, then followed her as she headed toward the temple with a gentle smile.
“This is my first time coming to the temple. And you?”
“I passed by it two or three times...but I didn’t stay long.”
This was not surprising. The religious faith was alienated from the presence of Hugo Bernstein.
Rather, it is more accurate that they were alienated from the entire North, under the pretext that their methods of dealing with monsters contradicted their teachings.
‘Ah…’
Only then did Angelica remember part of the events of the novel.
'Wasn't there a holy knight who was harassing Hugo for no reason?'
He was babbling about unsaved souls, eternal damnation, nonsense like that.
'Oh my God... I always skipped this part because it raises the pressure.'
If she had known, she wouldn't have brought Hugo with her in the first place.
I looked at him with hidden concern, while he walked quietly as if those memories meant nothing to him.
'No, that's not right… I have to go alone.'
Suddenly she stopped him at the entrance to the temple.
“Hugo, from here on out I can go alone.”
“Hmm? What do you mean by—”
"Wait here! Or... you can come down first!"
She couldn't allow him to be subjected to their hurtful gazes.
She quickly snatched the documents from his hand and ran inside.
He heard a voice calling behind her, but she pretended not to hear.
'Please, just stay there.'
Did she get her message? He must have understood.
No sooner had I approached the Holy Knight than—
But Hugo Bernstein...
He wasn't the type to pick up signals.
“Hmm.”
He only needed a few seconds to catch up with her, but the prestige of the temple made him hesitate before taking a single step.
'Do you know Angelica too?'
The very thought made his chest tighten.
He remembered her hesitant look a moment ago...and it seemed his intuition was spot on.
“Fuck.”
For the first time, he feels helpless while on a mission.
He carefully spread his feeling around her, trying to follow her.
Fortunately, she seemed to finish her request smoothly. The words she used, formal and polite, seemed strange to him.
'I've never heard that sound from her before.'
Her voice was lower, quieter, as if she was someone else entirely.
‘Ah…’
Is it because he sees it from a new angle?
His heart beat faster than it should.
And at that moment—
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