# 6
After about ten minutes...
“Sh…thank you, Hugo.”
Angelica raised her head, which was buried in his chest, to thank him in a low voice. Her eyes, nose, and even her neck were completely red, making her look pathetic.
But, paradoxically, his throat suddenly dried up as he saw her in this state.
"… Good."
What is this feeling that I get when I see someone crying so bitterly?
Hugo furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he set her down gently. Then he picked up the clothes scattered on the floor and handed them to her, and she let out a small gasp as if she had realized something shocking.
“Uh... my clothes...”
It seemed that she had just realized that she was in his arms with no clothes except for a piece of cloth to cover her. She quickly grabbed the robe she was carrying, and her face, which was already flushed, became redder until the flush of her cheeks reached her ears, making them look like a blooming red rose.
Hugo looked at her silently for a moment, then turned away quietly.
“Call me when you're done getting dressed, miss.”
Having him around her while she was getting dressed would definitely be annoying for her. He moved towards the tree he was initially leaning against.
But suddenly…
“Wait, Hugo!”
With a strained voice, Angelica grabbed the hem of his robe. Although she barely caught him, he stopped immediately.
When he turned to her questioningly, she seemed to think for a moment, then she covered herself completely with the robe and sat down on the ground.
“I'll be dressed this way, so you can't stay there.”
“It will be inconvenient for you. Also, the lake is far from here, so it's okay, miss.”
Moreover, the ground was clean thanks to the magic he had spread earlier, so there were no insects that might disturb her.
But Angelica was adamant.
“I'm not upset at all! But are you upset, Hugo...?”
However, she was still thinking about his own comfort. Hugo stifled a laugh as he noticed the slightly raised hem of the robe.
"no."
He answered briefly, and I sighed in relief.
“Then, just… wait a minute!”
Before he could even respond, she had completely hidden under the robe, just like a shell.
The round robe moved slowly, making hesitant sounds.
“Ah...this!”
Its faint echoes clearly reached his ears.
But the strange thing is...
“Pfft…”
Unlike the others who he found annoying when they hesitated, this time he found himself smiling unconsciously as he watched her childish actions.
He didn't feel like the time was boring or long at all. In fact, he didn't even notice the passage of time.
It wasn't long before Angelica emerged from under the robe, finally dressed.
But her hair was a mess because of the way she changed her clothes while bent over. Hugo slowly extended his hand and began to arrange her strands casually.
However, Angelica suddenly grabbed him and pulled him forward.
"That's later! We have to leave quickly, Hugo!"
It seemed that, after getting dressed, she began to regain memories of what had happened a while ago.
As she hurriedly pulled him along, he let her lead him through the forest.
She did not calm down until they were on the horse again.
“Haaah... I felt like I was going to die there...”
Fall~
Quite naturally, she snuggled into his embrace, as she always did, while chewing on a piece of bacon from her spare supply.
“Hugo, I saw it! There was a crocodile—no, it might have been a dragon in the lake!”
“Hmm… I don’t know, it happened so fast, I couldn’t see it clearly.”
Hugo did not want to refute her imagination. Although her words were baseless, he didn't want to ruin her story.
“But, aren't you supposed to be the sword master, Hugo?”
She seemed to rebuke him nicely, but he never found it annoying.
She frowned as she repeatedly hit his arm with her finger, as if she wanted to punish him. It wasn't painful, just a slight tickle, which made him hide his laughter.
“Okay, I'll be more careful next time.”
He apologized to her as he tried to comb her hair with his rough fingers. Then, his hand approached her, holding a piece of bacon, and placed it near his mouth.
“You should do it! I felt like I was going to die from fright, I almost had a heart attack!”
impossible.
The moment he heard the word “death,” Hugo’s face suddenly stiffened, as if a cold had invaded him.
Even though he knew she was exaggerating, something inside him responded strongly.
Why?..
It was not just a matter of concern for the task the Emperor had given him. There was something deeper making him feel this strange tension.
“Hugo?”
But he couldn't look into this feeling any further.
First, because Angelica called him in her usual voice, and second, because a strange sound, like a faint alarm, began to ring in his head.
-Beep...Beep...-
It was a vague warning, but it was annoying. As if telling him not to dig deeper.
Hugo Bernstein never ignored his intuition.
So, he pushed all these questions deep into his mind.
But he didn't know at the time...
These questions, which he avoided confronting, will soon return to him like an avalanche, swallowing him whole.
Only a week later, on the ship that was leaving the Duchy of Ratlay.
❈❈❈
A week later, things haven't been easy for Angelica Ratlay.
Although Hugo was guarding her tightly, her accidents did not stop due to her lack of attention.
The matter was not limited to incidents similar to what happened at the lake, but her panic increased as if she had been struck by a sudden phobia.
"Where did I hurt myself?! Was that a poisonous plant?!"
"Hugo, did I get bitten by something strange?! What if it's poisonous? What do I do now?!"
She was wondering in panic why her imagination was so wide!
Even just a simple scratch was enough to make her imagine the worst-case scenarios.
“What if I was bitten by a wild disease-carrying insect?!”
As someone new to this world, her prior knowledge of diseases in her previous life was a heavy burden on her.
Not only was ignorance bliss, but knowledge was torture at times.
She began to imagine contracting diseases such as typhus, tetanus, or rabies, which made her tremble in fear.
As for Hugo, instead of being annoyed by her constant panic, he was smiling more and more.
'Why does this seem so fun to him?!'
Even Angelica herself couldn't deny that her actions were laughable, but she still didn't want to admit it in front of him.
She started hitting him lightly, complaining loudly on purpose.
It was clear that she no longer saw him as a kidnapper, after spending two straight weeks with him.
For the first time, she felt a slight resentment towards him without it being because she was afraid of him.
But instead of getting angry, he just gently placed her on the ground while laughing softly.
“It was just a medicinal herb. Don’t worry, Angelica.”
“You could have told me that from the beginning!”
Despite her inner complaining, her turbulent feelings calmed down once she saw him carefully treating her scratch.
But as soon as he finished treating her, he took her hand and started walking with her in an unusual direction.
"To where?"
She asked him in surprise, but did not get a direct answer.
To her confusion, she heard a strange sound—the sound of the hooves of horses galloping away!
"Hugo? Where are we going?!"
She felt that things were starting to take a mysterious turn, so she tightened her grip on his hand as she pressed him for an answer.
Then, he looked at her calmly, and patted her hand with his thumb as if to reassure her.
“We'll board the ship now.”
“The ship?!”
She hadn't digested his words yet, but she hadn't had time to think.
"Yes!"
Suddenly, he lifted her into his arms and jumped high into the air.
She gasped, clinging to his neck as the strong air hit her face.
It felt like riding a death train!
“How does he have such physical strength?!”
She knew about the power of sword masters from books, but her theoretical knowledge was nothing compared to this terrifying experience!
“Hold on tight, there's not much left.”
He said as they descended quickly, and she had no choice but to bury her head in his neck.
But what was strange was that despite the fear that made her mind freeze, the heat of his body and the flow of his voice close to her were clear in a way that caused dizziness.
His voice was deep and quiet, but his closeness made his words echo directly into her ear.
“Don't be afraid, Angelica.”
“……!”
She closed her eyes tightly.
This wasn't the first time she'd heard his voice, but this time it was very close.
Strangely close…and confusing.
Suddenly, she felt the rough texture of his skin where her cheek pressed against a neck bearing a long scar.
She began to notice every little detail, from his heartbeat to the warmth of his hands that were carefully holding her.
Then he whispered again, this time in a warmer voice:
"I couldn't bring you down even if I wanted to. I will protect you no matter what."
“…These words…are not just ordinary reassurance.”
Although they were just promises, their impact was warmer than anything I had heard from him before.
The biggest problem was that his hot breath directly touched her ear, making her mind stop working.
“!”
She felt a strange heat creep up her face.
This feeling was new… strange… and she didn't quite understand it.
All she could do was hold on tighter, while her heart continued to beat madly as if it had fallen into the depths of the sea.
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