Chapter 5
Ever since Angelica heard the name Hugo, her relationship with him began to solidify quickly.
More precisely, the periods during which she talked endlessly to herself increased.
The day was calm, no different from the previous ones.
Clop clop, clop clop.
The horse dashed through the forest, stirring refreshing breezes.
Angelica leaned her body against Hugo’s chest, which had become so familiar that she felt comfortable in it.
She then lifted her head slightly. He wasn’t speaking, but she was confident he was looking at her.
“Hugo, I have a request.”
Finally, she uttered the words she had thought about hundreds of times over the past days.
Her request might seem ridiculous, especially in her position as a kidnapped person, but she could no longer bear it.
“What is it?”
Fortunately, Hugo seemed willing to listen and responded with a calm question.
Angelica lowered her eyes slightly, then tapped her finger on his arm that was firmly wrapped around her waist.
“Um… can we take a long break during the day today?”
There wasn’t a specific reason, as usual. However, Hugo didn’t insist on knowing the details.
After several days with her, he had a general idea of her personality.
She was extremely cautious and suspicious, but at the same time, she couldn’t bear to cause trouble for others.
And so, if she couldn’t provide a convincing justification, she feared being misunderstood and would ramble with unnecessary excuses.
As expected, the silence didn’t last long before she whispered, blushing with embarrassment:
“Um… I… want to… take a bath…”
Of course, she wiped her body with a damp cloth after every meal, but she hadn’t immersed herself in water, leaving a constant feeling of discomfort.
“I can’t go alone at night.”
How could someone who couldn’t see reach the lake in the forest?
Just not tripping and dying on the way would be a miracle.
But she didn’t want to ask Hugo for help, as that would burden him.
He rode the horse all day, and when they stopped briefly for meals, he prepared her food before eating himself.
He was always occupied with her, even sleeping late because of dealing with her constant fears of the forest’s darkness.
‘When I think about it, it seems like I’m living a luxurious life despite being kidnapped…’
For the first time, she felt her situation wasn’t entirely bad.
But when she noticed Hugo was still silent, she coughed lightly, trying to break the stiffness.
“Uh… Hugo, you can rest too… it won’t be bad to take a few hours, right?”
‘Please say yes.’
Without realizing it, she was expressing her thoughts through her fingers as she gently shook his arm.
Hugo noticed her touch for a moment, then met her gaze again.
Her clear eyes reflected the sunlight, sparkling with a warm glow, making him blink slowly.
“A few hours won’t hurt.”
He suddenly found himself convinced, even though he wasn’t the type to easily change his plans.
But for some reason, he wanted to fulfill her request.
“Two hours at most.”
“That’s more than enough! Thank you, Hugo!”
Angelica smiled a bright smile that revealed her white teeth, the kind that melted hearts instantly.
Even Hugo found himself drawing a faint smile unconsciously, though it faded quickly, its traces remained in his eyes.
After that, he slowly led the horse toward an area near a lake, then forced Angelica to sit and eat lunch despite her claim of not being hungry.
Even though she had grown accustomed to blindness, Hugo still insisted on feeding her himself.
“Hugo, I can eat alone now, give me the food.”
“Really?”
The last time he trusted her words, he gave her the bowl, but she blew on the hot soup and dropped a piece of meat on her hand.
“The burn marks are still here.”
He gently held her hand and rubbed the back with his thumb.
“Ah!”
Her skin was sensitive, and it was hard to treat in this situation, so the pain lingered.
“That was because of your rough hand, Hugo!”
He didn’t seem to realize how hard his hands were. Even if he passed them over her skin without pressure, it hurt!
But despite her grumbling, he didn’t back down.
“Ah~.”
In the face of his persistence, she had no choice but to open her mouth as usual, letting him feed her.
He even knew the soup’s temperature well now.
While chewing the food, Angelica thought again about how “luxurious” her situation as a kidnapped person was.
After lunch, she ate tart cherries as dessert, and finally, after a week of waiting, it was bath time.
“Hugo, just take me to the lake, then you can rest!”
She said that confidently while hugging the new robe he had given her.
“You haven’t slept well lately, so take the opportunity to rest.”
“Alright.”
Hugo nodded calmly while carrying some of her few clothes that he had taken during the kidnapping.
Then, with the skill he had grown accustomed to, he made her cling to his arm as he slowly led her toward the lake.
* * *
As soon as Hugo moved away, he heard the sound of clothes rustling against each other.
“Huh?”
He heard sounds mixed with embarrassment, as if something wasn’t right, but this time he closed his eyes tightly.
Well, anyway, I can’t help her with something like that.
“…”
He deliberately plugged his ears.
And strangely, the sound was so annoying that it made him frown.
Fortunately, the rustling of clothes stopped after a short while.
She seemed in a good mood and continued singing a song he had never heard before.
He heard the sound of flowing water.
Even though he thought he had covered his ears, he unconsciously followed Angelica’s actions.
“As the princess said, it would be best to sleep at least.”
He headed deeper into the forest to make the sound of water he kept hearing a bit fainter.
But at that moment.
“Aaah!”
He heard Angelica’s scream of fear.
— Run! Run!
His footsteps in the forest quickly turned toward the lake. Without any time to think about what happened, Hugo ran.
The second it took to see her again felt like an eternity.
Soon, he saw her struggling to get out of the water.
Fortunately, the river water she had swallowed was only around her waist.
“Hah.”
For a moment, he felt relief.
But… it meant nothing.
The water droplets falling rapidly and endlessly on her body astonishingly warmed his mind.
The water droplets fell quickly and without stopping on the slender white neckline that was completely different from his own.
Her pure white back appeared, without any scratches, and shone more clearly where the water met the sunlight.
“Aaah!”
“…!”
Angelica’s crying suddenly brought him back to his senses.
He immediately picked up the robe from the ground and wrapped it around her.
He fastened the robe tightly with one hand, placed his hand on her waist, and lifted her.
“Hah!”
The water surrounding Angelica fell into the lake with a loud splash.
Nevertheless, her moaning reached Hugo more deeply.
“Ah, Hugo…”
Angelica hurriedly reached her familiar embrace and wrapped her arm around his neck.
The arms that emerged from the deeply covered robe were particularly white.
“There’s something strange in the lake, like it’s… pulling me down…”
There were no dangerous fish in the lake, which had clear visibility because no people came and went.
Only very small fish that there was no need to worry about.
“…Alright, it’s fine now, Angelica.”
Hugo didn’t bother telling her this truth.
Was it because he feared Angelica would feel embarrassed if she learned the truth, or for another reason…?
“Hah…”
Angelica gradually stopped crying due to the awkward comfort.
Nevertheless, she still clung to him out of fear.
“Hugo… Hugo”
She called his name repeatedly and wrapped her arms deeper around his neck.
Her face was wet, and he wasn’t sure if she was crying or if it was lake water.
He was shocked.
And strangely, his body became tense.
Was it because of that voice calling his name so intensely, as if he was the only person in this world she could rely on?
Perhaps it was because of her hot face and breaths touching the back of his neck.
Or maybe both.
Even in the moment of angrily thinking about the reason, Hugo didn’t feel the need to let her go, so he put more strength into the arm carrying Angelica.
The waves created by Angelica were still rippling in the lake.
Unintentionally, Hugo thought that the wave might not stay in the lake only.
Since it was a massive mountain range, the lake was very large.
“The lake is deep; don’t go more than five steps in.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Those were bold words.
But Hugo still couldn’t trust her.
After saying that, a scream rang out internally after a few seconds.
“Damn, why am I worried like this?”
He didn’t understand the strange feelings that suddenly overwhelmed him.
