Chapter 9
[Before Hugo’s Appearance]
On the day Hugo and Angelica arrived at the ship, despite saying he would visit her often, Hugo was extremely busy.
His personal bedroom on one side of the ship was filled with papers to the point where there was no room to step. The vast majority of these papers came from the Emperor, Kain.
Hugo picked up one of the papers and began reading it; 90% of it was personal talk, while the middle lines contained the key points.
“No use.”
He said, furrowing his brow slightly, then pushed the stacked letters on the chair to sit on them.
Most of the letters contained unnecessary matters, but he couldn’t ignore them, especially since the topics related to Angelica Ratley, making him even more cautious.
He couldn’t properly organize his papers and was forced to respond to some after finding them scattered under the bed. When he finished replying to the letters, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
Despite the grueling schedule, he didn’t feel tired.
The only thing occupying his mind was Angelica’s words when she said she would visit him often, smiling brightly.
“…”
Should I check on her?
The sun was nearly setting, making him feel the moment was appropriate.
He swallowed dryly as he gripped the door handle.
But at that moment:
“Benjamin, did you just see? Princess Ratley talked to me! Wow, honestly, I didn’t believe in the Sage’s Eye? But when I saw it up close, it was amazing.”
“Was it just amazing? I was about to die of fear. No wonder the saying that meeting a woman from the Ratley Emirate wasn’t a joke—her face…”
“That’s why it hurt! I thought it was just a joke, but it seems she’s really a fan of the captain.”
“So what? It seems the captain doesn’t want her to fear him, so he didn’t give her his real name. And certainly, if not, she wouldn’t have made it here.”
“Really? If I knew that, she would have followed me.”
“Why? Do you think she’d like you?”
“Of course, if the captain can, why can’t I?”
From behind the door, the knights’ conversation passed clearly.
This was not a good state for a sword master.
In moments like these, it was easy for people’s voices to slip into his ears unintentionally.
Hugo felt lightness as he lifted his hand from the door handle. He wasn’t angry, as this talk wasn’t new to him, and he wasn’t young enough to explode in rage over private talks or inappropriate conversations.
“…”
Nevertheless, his subtly ignited feelings receded.
As if he had suddenly emerged from a sweet dream he was immersed in without realizing, only to find himself in reality.
It might have been strange to feel anger from the knights’ words.
As they said, perhaps Angelica was so afraid of him that she didn’t tell him her name.
“If she heard my name, she would have fainted.”
Especially since she was a princess from the Ratley Emirate.
Nine years ago, she was the princess he had annexed to the Empire.
When he thought about it, he felt his hand involuntarily moving to repeatedly press his pinky, then took a step back into the room.
Even though the knights had left long ago, his steps were still hesitant.
❈❈❈
Two days had passed since then.
The days passed extremely slowly for Hugo.
Had the days he spent with her passed so quickly? Or was this normal and he just didn’t know?
What was clear was that he felt bored to the point of a headache, yet he didn’t go looking for her.
In fact, he had deliberately avoided it.
“Hahaha! Really? Then what?”
“Wow, the Imperial Division was amazing!”
Sometimes, Angelica’s voice, full of laughter, entered his ears unintentionally.
It wasn’t an illusion; it was really her voice.
As he listened to this sound, he began to feel something strange. He felt as if his role had ended.
He was supposed to be indifferent, as with other missions.
“Ah.”
Hugo let out a sudden sigh he couldn’t suppress. He didn’t fully know why he felt this emptiness.
Perhaps that’s why. Because he was trying to avoid this strange feeling, he slept during the day for the first time, leading him to have a very strange dream.
A dream that was unusually ridiculous.
“Have you ever thought about it, Sir Bernstein? Do you think we’re destined for each other, as they say?”
In the dream, Hugo saw Angelica Ratley.
They were sitting in a garden, enjoying tea time on a beautiful day.
Her eyes were still clear, but she was staring at him intently.
When he answered her question, Angelica smiled as she lifted her teacup in front of her.
She took a sip of the steaming tea, then shifted her gaze to the garden and answered him.
“No matter what, I don’t think I could be your fate.”
“How could we be destined for each other? That’s impossible.”
“Marriage for love? Who believes that nowadays?”
There was no smile on Angelica’s face in the dream.
She remained frowning the whole time, scoffing at love, fate, and marriage.
Then, as she was about to say something else—
“…”
Suddenly, Hugo’s consciousness jumped from the dream to reality.
“Hah, hah…”
He wiped his sweat-drenched forehead and furrowed his brow.
The headache that had plagued him for three days intensified as if a sticky residue clung to him.
He shook his head, trying to erase Angelica’s expression that carried a hint of contempt.
Honestly, it was ridiculous to put in this exaggerated effort.
Whether the other party was a man or a woman, no one wanted to be near him.
This reaction was natural, and he had accepted it all his life, but now he didn’t know why he felt this way.
Even if it wasn’t a romantic relationship but just a marriage.
“Really, I’m crazy.”
Yes, no doubt about it.
How could he dream like this about a woman he cared for for only a month?
Had he lost his mind after a short break from training?
He pushed his feet toward the bathroom, then quickly returned, grabbed his sword roughly, and left the room.
He couldn’t suppress his feelings unless he held a weapon in his hand.
Perhaps he had slept more than necessary, as the outside was unexpectedly dark.
He headed to the side of the ship the knights didn’t visit much.
Nevertheless, he still gripped his sword hilt tightly, while his head ached more.
Then the moment came.
“Hah!.”
Suddenly, his body responded to that sound first.
His hands, heading toward the sword, dropped to the ground quickly, while his eyes fixed on the source of the sound.
‘…Ah.’
He suddenly felt a sense of admiration as he stared at the blonde hair fluttering in the wind. It was strange.
The headache that had tormented him for three days vanished in an instant.
He even felt his heart filling with warm emotions just from seeing her back.
His heartbeat raced. What were these feelings sweeping through his body like raging waves? He had no time to think about it.
“I miss you.”
“Who?”
He asked her automatically because of her words.
Then he suddenly pulled her to him, catching a surprised smile on her face.
And in that moment, he smiled unexpectedly because of her bright behavior, completely different from his dream.
He even felt discomfort when he glimpsed her strands that had become clearer than three days ago.
❈❈❈
“The name of that person…?”
Angelica calmly answered his question.
She said she was thinking of her first love, then smiled shyly and continued her talk.
In that moment, Hugo felt a bit of confusion as he tried to understand his feelings.
He felt he wanted to hear his name echoed on her lips.
He knew it wouldn’t happen, but still, he thought of jumping to cover her mouth. But before he could, the sound came.
“……Huh?”
Angelica let out a surprised cry.
Her eyes widened suddenly, and her clear eyes filled with all colors.
Hugo thought at that moment that he was looking at her directly.
“Hugo, now… I…”
Perhaps it wasn’t just an illusion.
“I think I can see your face a little now!”
The color of her eyes suddenly changed to red. Angelica grabbed his face with both hands, smiling intensely.
“Really, it’s very blurry, but I can see it!”
Suddenly, her face approached until it was less than a centimeter away.
Her breaths caressed his chin and neck, and her lips slightly touched his.
“……!”
The lips that touched had experienced it before when he gave her medicine, but now his heart pounded quickly to his feet.
“Waaah!”
While Angelica was completely unaware of what Hugo felt, she approached more and pressed on his face.
In fact, his face wasn’t clear enough to say she “saw” something.
Even as her face got closer, she couldn’t see the details of his face precisely.
All she could notice was that his hair was black and his eyes red.
To feel him more, she instinctively moved her hands.
She noticed the wounds on his chin and around his eyes, his high nose, and the sharp features of his face that weren’t obvious but were clear.
“Hugo. Your face was like this, right?”
Indeed, the squad members’ words that her opinion would change if she saw his face were wrong.
“How are these wounds?”
“…Are they ugly?”
“Of course not, they look like Hugo.”
She had loved “Hugo Bernstein” for 13 years.
When she imagined his face, she often thought of the worst possibilities, but still loved him. She understood his character and traits through the book.
And in the same way, she loved the “Hugo” in front of her now.
“What does that mean?”
“Just…”
Whether she saw his face or not, she knew his care and concern for her were genuine. Even when she couldn’t see him, she didn’t care about his appearance.
“He’s really attractive.”
Though he didn’t look evil or harsh, how these wounds stood out.
“How could this medal he earned after protecting the country leave such beauty?”
Her talk wasn’t just flattery; she meant it.
‘Who said those words about his face?’
As if someone had placed what she preferred in front of her, he looked bright, not scary.
Angelica smiled broadly, and her shoulders dropped.
As for Hugo, he smiled, but his smile wasn’t clear because her face was too close. Nevertheless, her smile had the greatest impact on his heart so far.
Suddenly, he remembered what Angelica said in his dream.
<Have you ever thought we might be destined? … Those thoughts are silly.>
Fate… As she said, a silly word without meaning, yet it affected him like sugar sweetness on his cheek.
It lingered with him for a long time.
