Chapter 6
After about ten minutes…
“Th-thank you, Hugo.”
Angelica lifted her head, which had been buried in his chest, to thank him in a faint voice. Her eyes, nose, and even her neck were completely flushed, making her look pitiful.
But, contradictorily, his throat suddenly went dry seeing her in this state.
“…You’re welcome.”
What is this feeling that overtakes me when I see someone crying so bitterly?
Hugo furrowed his brows slightly as he gently set her down. Then he picked up the scattered clothes from the ground and handed them to her, eliciting a small gasp as if she had realized something shocking.
“Ah… my clothes…”
It seemed she had just realized she had been in his arms wearing nothing but a piece of cloth covering her. She quickly grabbed the robe she had been holding, and her already flushed face turned even redder, with the blush reaching her ears, making her look like a blooming red rose.
Hugo looked at her silently for a moment, then turned away calmly.
“Call me when you’re done dressing, Miss.”
It was certain that his presence beside her while she dressed would be uncomfortable for her. He moved toward the tree he had originally leaned against.
But suddenly…
“W-wait, Hugo!”
With a tense voice, Angelica grabbed the hem of his robe. Even though she barely touched it, he stopped immediately.
When he turned to her questioningly, she seemed to think for a moment, then completely covered herself with the robe and sat on the ground.
“I’ll dress like this, so you can’t stay there.”
“That would be uncomfortable for you. Besides, the lake is far from here, so it’s fine, Miss.”
Moreover, the ground was clean thanks to the magic he had spread beforehand, so there were no insects that might bother her.
But Angelica was insistent.
“I’m not bothered at all! But are you bothered, Hugo…?”
Even then, she was still thinking of his comfort. Hugo suppressed a laugh as he glimpsed the edge of the robe lifted slightly.
“No.”
He answered briefly, and she sighed in relief.
“Then, just… wait a bit!”
Before he could even respond, she had completely hidden herself under the robe, like a shell.
The round robe moved slowly, emitting hesitant sounds.
“Ah.. this!”
The faint echoes of her hesitation reached his ears clearly.
But the strange thing was…
“Heh…”
Unlike others whose hesitations he found annoying, this time he found himself smiling unconsciously as he watched her childish actions.
He didn’t feel 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 messy from the way she had changed while hunched over. Hugo extended his hand slowly and began arranging her strands spontaneously.
However, Angelica suddenly grabbed it and pulled him forward.
“Later! We need to leave quickly, Hugo!”
It seemed that after dressing, she began recalling what had happened earlier.
As she pulled him hurriedly, he let her lead him through the forest.
She didn’t calm down until they mounted the horse again.
“Haaah… I felt like I was going to die there…”
Plop~
Naturally, she nestled into his arms as usual, while chewing on a piece of jerky from the reserves.
“Hugo, I saw it! There was a crocodile—no, maybe a dragon in the lake!”
“Hmm… I don’t know, it happened so fast, I couldn’t see it clearly.”
Hugo didn’t want to debunk her imagination. Even though her words were baseless, he had no desire to shatter her story.
“But aren’t you a sword master, Hugo?”
She seemed to gently blame him, but he didn’t find it annoying at all.
She pouted and poked his arm repeatedly, as if wanting to punish him. It wasn’t painful; it gave him a slight tickle, making him hide his laugh.
“Alright, I’ll be more careful next time.”
He apologized while trying to comb her hair with his rough fingers. Then, she brought her hand close to him holding a piece of jerky and placed it near his mouth.
“You better! I felt like I was going to die of fright; I nearly had a heart attack!”
Impossible.
The moment he heard the word “die,” Hugo’s face suddenly stiffened, as if cold had swept over him.
Even though he knew she was exaggerating, something inside him reacted strongly to it.
Why…?
It wasn’t just concern for the mission entrusted to him by the Emperor. There was something deeper making him feel this strange tension.
“Hugo?”
But he couldn’t delve deeper into this feeling.
First, because Angelica called him in her usual voice, and second, because a strange sound, like a faint alarm, began echoing in his head.
Beep… beep…
It was an unclear warning, but annoying. As if telling him not to dig deeper.
Hugo Bernstein had never ignored his instincts.
So, he pushed all these questions to the depths of his mind.
But he didn’t know then…
That these questions he fled from facing would return to him soon like an avalanche, swallowing him whole.
Just one week later, on the ship departing from the Ratley Duchy.
* * *
After a week, things weren’t easy for Angelica Ratley.
Even though Hugo guarded her tightly, her accidents didn’t stop due to her carelessness.
It wasn’t limited to incidents like the one at the lake; her panic increased as if she had suddenly developed a phobia.
“Where did I get hurt?! Was it a poisonous plant?!”
“Hugo, did something strange sting me?! What if it’s poisonous? What do I do now?!”
She wondered in panic why her imagination was so vivid!
Even a simple scratch was enough to make her imagine the worst scenarios.
“What if a wild insect carrying diseases bit me?!”
As someone new to this world, her prior knowledge of diseases from her previous life was a heavy burden on her.
Ignorance wasn’t just bliss; knowledge was torment at times.
She began imagining contracting diseases like typhus, tetanus, or rabies, making her tremble in fear.
As for Hugo, instead of being annoyed by her constant panic, he smiled more and more.
‘Why does it seem 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.
So she started lightly hitting him while complaining loudly on purpose.
It was clear she no longer saw him as a kidnapper after spending two straight weeks with him.
And for the first time, she felt a slight annoyance toward him without it being due to fear of him.
But instead of getting angry, he gently set her on the ground while chuckling lowly.
“It was just a medicinal grass thorn; don’t worry, Angelica.”
“You could have told me that from the beginning!”
Despite her inner grumbling, her turbulent feelings calmed as soon as she saw him carefully treating her scratch.
But as soon as he finished treating her, he took her hand and started walking in an unusual direction.
“Where to?”
She asked in surprise, but she didn’t get a direct answer.
What added to her confusion was hearing a strange sound—the sound of galloping horses receding!
“Hugo? Where are we going?!”
She felt things taking a mysterious turn, so she tightened her grip on his hand, pressing for an answer.
Then, he looked at her calmly and rubbed her hand with his thumb as if reassuring her.
“We’re boarding the ship now.”
“The ship?!”
She hadn’t fully processed his words yet, but she didn’t have enough time to think.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, he lifted her into his arms and jumped high into the air.
She gasped, clinging to his neck, while the stormy air hit her face forcefully.
It felt like riding a roller coaster!
“How does he have such physical strength?!”
She knew about sword masters’ power from books, but her theoretical knowledge was nothing compared to this terrifying experience!
“Hold on tight; it’s not much longer.”
He said that as they descended quickly, and she had no choice but to bury her head in his neck.
But strangely, despite the fear that froze her mind, the heat of his body and the flow of his voice so close to her were dizzyingly clear.
His voice was deep and calm, but his proximity made his words echo directly in her ear.
“Don’t be afraid, Angelica.”
“……!”
She closed her eyes tightly.
This wasn’t the first time she heard his voice, but this time it was too close.
Uncomfortably close… and confusing.
And suddenly, she felt the rough texture of his skin where her cheek pressed against a neck bearing a long scar.
She began noticing every little detail, from his heartbeat to the warmth of his hands carefully holding her.
Then he whispered again, this time with a warmer voice:
“I can’t drop you even if I wanted to. I’ll protect you no matter what.”
“……These words… aren’t just ordinary reassurance.”
Even though they were just promises, their impact was warmer than anything she’d heard from him before.
And the biggest problem was that his hot breaths touched her ear directly, making her mind stop working.
“!”
She felt a strange heat creeping to her face.
This feeling was new… strange… and she didn’t fully understand it.
All she could do was cling to him more, while her heart pounded wildly as if it had fallen into the depths of the sea.
