Chapter 2
“Why… why?!”
In an instant, Angelica’s mind felt completely frozen.
“Can a person lose their sight this quickly?!”
The thought of losing her vision was more terrifying than being kidnapped! Panic surged over her like a raging wave, and soon her tears began to flow endlessly.
She groped at her eyes with trembling hands, but would that change anything?
All she felt was the damp tears on her fingertips, while her world remained plunged in darkness.
“I’m scared… I want to go home…”
Her emotions erupted all at once. She couldn’t comprehend why she had ended up in this mess.
“I was living a normal life in Korea… Why is this happening to me?!”
“Heh… heh…”
A bitter sense of injustice washed over her, and she completely surrendered to crying.
But then…
“Don’t cry, Miss. Your eyes are fine.”
The man’s rough hand touched her cheek, wiping her tears with motions that were a bit harsh but carried a mysterious sense of calm.
Perhaps that’s why…
Despite his emotionless tone, she didn’t feel like his words were lies.
“Really?”
Angelica dared to ask him, gripping his robe tightly as if clinging to her last hope.
“…Yes.”
His response came a little late, but it didn’t seem like a lie.
Or perhaps, she desperately wanted to believe him.
In this pitch-black darkness, she had nothing else to hold onto but his words.
“Heh… hmm.”
Finally, her sobs calmed gradually, and her body surrendered to lethargy. Her eyelids began to droop slowly.
But suddenly, a sharp cough seized her. She felt a burning pain in her throat.
Nevertheless, her eyes had fully closed, as her body could no longer resist.
But…
Before she completely lost consciousness, she felt something cold… then warm… touching her lips.
She couldn’t tell what it was.
“Oh…”
Then she fainted for the second time.
❈❈❈
Meanwhile, Hugo Bernstein, her kidnapper, suddenly stopped his horse.
— “Neigh!”
He then jumped to the ground while still holding her in his arms.
With the sun shining brightly, he could clearly see the black blood that had stained her lips more distinctly than before.
Anyone else would have panicked at the sight of her coughing up blood, but he handled it skillfully as he leaned her against a tree trunk.
In truth, he had no choice but to get used to this situation…
The same scene had already repeated five times.
— Clink!
He pulled a small vial from his pocket, with only a little left, put it in his mouth, and drank it.
Immediately after, he bent toward her lips…
“Hmm.”
Despite her weakened consciousness, she grimaced for a moment but soon surrendered and opened her mouth.
The lukewarm liquid transferred from his lips to hers.
“That’s enough.”
He gave her a cold glance before pulling away… or at least, that’s what he intended.
But…
— “…!”
He was startled when he felt her tongue brush his lips.
At the same moment, Angelica slowly opened her eyes.
And even stranger…
Instead of the usual golden glow, her eyes appeared like transparent glass, reflecting his features with perfect clarity.
“I want… more…”
She whispered in a delirious voice due to the fever, but since her lips were still pressed against his, her words echoed in his ear for a long time.
But contrary to that emotional sensation, Hugo’s eyes remained expressionless.
“You’re still unconscious.”
He realized her actions were merely a survival instinct response.
“You’ve taken the medicine; you’ll be fine now, Miss.”
He gently pushed her away but allowed her to lean on his shoulder.
“Hmm…”
She writhed and moaned for a moment, even scratching his back with her nails as if trying to resist the pain, but he showed no reaction.
After a while, her breathing began to calm.
Once he confirmed she had fallen asleep, he picked her up again and mounted his horse.
“I’ve delayed more than expected.”
He had considered many scenarios, but he never anticipated that Angelica Ratley had ingested poison.
And worse…
“This poison was strong enough to kill her instantly, yet… she survived.”
This wasn’t natural.
“I don’t think she took it willingly.”
Someone intent on ending their life wouldn’t waste time trying to escape with a rope made from a tattered blanket.
And even more shocking, she didn’t even know she had been poisoned.
“Was it a plot from the Hilman Emirate?”
The Gervie Empire wasn’t involved. If it had been them, they would have taken her from day one without delay.
Hugo Bernstein pieced together hypotheses one after another, then discarded them, until he reached one conclusion: he had to hide this truth from Angelica.
‘This girl is scared even of a momentary blindness; how would she react if she knew she’d been poisoned…?’
She’d probably burst into tears until her sobs echoed through the forest, and perhaps faint from sheer terror.
“Tsk…”
Imagining that scene made him frown for a moment. He wouldn’t allow that under any circumstances. Whether it concerned her body or soul, he had to return her to the empire safely; that was his duty.
“Ugh…”
Then, Angelica let out a faint moan. Perhaps feeling discomfort from his arm around her waist, she gently tried to push him away while squirming.
Her soft, unscarred palm touched Hugo’s hand.
— He trembled slightly.
Only then did Hugo quickly loosen his grip. He had carried and run with her for nearly a full day, yet he still couldn’t control his strength.
‘Even a feather must be heavier than this.’
He didn’t know if all women were this light, or if it was just Angelica.
He gradually loosened his grip until satisfaction appeared on her lips.
But he didn’t know yet…
That Angelica Ratley, who seemed to him like a small, fragile creature, would one day shake his very being in ways he couldn’t imagine.
Nor that he would remember the day their lips touched for a long time afterward.
Their relationship changed quickly…
It was on the morning of the third day, when Angelica finally regained consciousness after her brush with death.
* * *
“Hmm…”
She felt as if she had woken up after an extremely long sleep. Her eyelids fluttered slightly before stretching lazily.
But despite waking, she still couldn’t see anything in front of her.
“So, it wasn’t just a dream…”
It wasn’t just a kidnapping; even her possession into this body wasn’t a delusion she hoped to wake from.
“You’ve woken at the right time. Eat this.”
“…Huh?!”
No sooner had she heard the man’s voice than a hard wooden spoon was suddenly shoved into her mouth.
The soup inside had an appetizing aroma, but she couldn’t taste it…
“Ah…!!”
It was hot… too hot!
‘What is this kidnapper planning? Is he trying to kill me in this bizarre way?!”
In a flash, her eyes filled with tears. And then, she felt a familiar texture on her lips…
It was the man’s palm.
“Spit it out, Miss.”
Unlike his usual cold tone, there was a hint of urgency in his voice this time.
She nearly spat the food out instinctively, but she quickly composed herself.
“No, I can’t…!”
Even though it nearly burned her, she couldn’t bring herself to spit the food into her kidnapper’s hand.
“Hmm.”
With determination, she closed her eyes, shook her head vigorously, and swallowed the scalding soup along with her tears.
When the gulping sound was heard, the man removed his hand from her lips.
But she didn’t care…
“M-my throat…!”
It was so hot that she clearly felt it searing through her throat from the inside.
She turned with a groan, keeping her mouth slightly open in hopes that the cool air would soothe her burned tongue.
“Sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”
His words were unexpected.
“Just that…?”
For a moment, Angelica was surprised.
How could someone who kidnapped her while she was trying to escape sometimes seem so innocent?
“What?”
Angelica blinked instinctively and stared in the man’s direction. She didn’t expect an answer, but she asked anyway, and as expected, she received no reply. Instead, her lips were touched again by the wooden spoon.
But this time, his hand was more cautious.
“It won’t be hot anymore, Miss.”
As he said, the food’s temperature had reached a moderate level suitable for eating.
‘Is this how kidnapping works…?’
His actions were completely different from their first encounter, making her hesitate as she opened her mouth.
Anxiety seized her for a moment, wondering if there was something suspicious in the soup.
But…
“Delicious…!”
She quickly brushed aside her doubts, as hunger overtook her and she savored the unique flavor that clung to her tongue.
And so, she began eating what the man offered without objection.
She couldn’t see what he was doing, but she clearly heard the sound of his breaths as he gently blew on the soup.
‘Is he… blowing on my food to cool it? What kind of man is this?’
It was so strange that her inner warnings about him began to fade without her realizing.
And perhaps that’s why…
“Why… did you kidnap me?”
The question slipped from her mouth without her realizing.
