# 2
“Why…why?!”
In an instant, Angelica's mind felt as if it had completely frozen.
“Can a person lose his sight so quickly?!”
The thought of losing her sight was more terrifying than being kidnapped! Panic swept over her like a huge wave, and soon her tears began to flow without stopping.
She began to feel her eyes with trembling hands, but would that change anything?
All she felt were wet tears on her fingertips, while her world remained immersed in darkness.
“I'm scared...I want to go home...”
Her feelings exploded all at once. She couldn't understand why she was in this predicament.
“I was living a normal life in Korea... Why is this happening to me?!”
“Huh… huh…”
A bitter feeling of injustice came over her, and then she completely surrendered to tears.
But then…
“Don't cry, miss. Your eyes are fine.”
The man's rough hand touched her cheek, and wiped away her tears with movements that were a little harsh, but carried with them a kind of mysterious serenity.
Maybe that's why...
Despite his emotionless tone, she didn't feel like his words were false.
"truly?"
Angelica dared to ask him, clutching his robe tightly, as if she was clinging to her last hope.
"…Yes."
His response came a little late, but it didn't seem like a lie.
Or maybe, she wanted to believe him so badly.
In this complete darkness, she had nothing else to cling to but his words.
“Hmmm.”
Finally, her sobs gradually subsided, and her body surrendered to lethargy. Her eyelids slowly began to droop.
But suddenly, she was overcome by a sharp cough. She felt a burning pain in her throat.
However, her eyes had completely closed, as her body could no longer resist.
But…
Before she lost consciousness completely, she felt something cold… then warm… touch her lips.
She couldn't figure out what it was.
“Oh…”
Then she fainted for the second time.
❈❈❈
Meanwhile, Hugo Bernstein, her kidnapper, had suddenly stopped his horse.
- “Hey!”
Then he jumped to the ground, still holding her in his arms.
Since the sun was shining, he could see the black blood that stained her lips more clearly than before.
Anyone else would have been horrified to see her spitting blood, but he handled it skillfully as he backed her against a tree trunk.
In fact, he had no choice but to get used to this situation…
The same scene has been repeated five times already.
—Crack!—
He took a small bottle out of his pocket, and he only had a little left, then put it in his mouth and drank it.
Immediately after that, he leaned towards her lips…
“Hmm.”
Although her consciousness was weak, she frowned for a moment, but quickly gave up and opened her mouth.
The lukewarm liquid moved from his lips to hers.
“That's enough.”
He gave her a cold look before walking away…or at least, he intended to.
but…
- "…!"
He was surprised when he felt her tongue pass his lips.
At the same moment, Angelica slowly opened her eyes.
And the strangest thing is...
Instead of the usual golden glow, her eyes seemed like transparent glass, reflecting his features with perfect clarity.
“I want…more…”
She whispered in a voice stuttering due to fever, but since she was speaking with her lips still pressed to his, her words seemed to echo in his ear for a long time.
But in contrast to that emotional feeling, Hugo's eyes remained expressionless.
“She is still unconscious.”
He knew that her actions were merely a response to his survival instinct.
“You drank the medicine, you will be fine now, miss.”
He gently pushed her off him, but allowed her to lean on his shoulder.
“Hmm...”
She writhed and moaned for a moment, until she scratched 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 down.
When he was sure she had fallen asleep, he picked her up again and mounted his horse.
“You're later than I expected.”
He had considered many scenarios, but he had never expected that Angelica Ratlay would have drunk poison.
And even worse...
“This poison was strong enough to kill her instantly, and yet… she survived.”
This wasn't normal.
“I don’t think she took it willingly.”
Someone intending to end his life would not waste his time trying to escape with a rope made of a threadbare blanket.
Even worse, she didn't even know she had been poisoned.
“Was that a conspiracy of the Hellman Principality?”
Gervais' empire was not involved. If she was the one who kidnapped her, she would have taken her from day one without delay.
Hugo Bernstein made one hypothesis after another, then erased them, until he came to one conclusion: he must hide this fact from Angelica.
‘This girl is afraid of even a moment of temporary blindness, so what would she be like if she knew she had drunk poison…?’
Most likely, she would have burst into tears until her wails echoed through the forest, and perhaps even fainted from fear.
“Tshh…”
Imagining that scene in his mind made him frown for a moment. He would not allow this to happen under any circumstances. Whether it was her body or her soul, he had to bring her back to the empire safely, it was his duty.
“Ugh…”
Then, Angelica moaned softly. Perhaps she was feeling uncomfortable because of his arm around her waist, as she tried to push him gently while fidgeting.
Her soft, scratch-free palm touched the back of Hugo's hand.
- Shake a little.
Only then did Hugo hurriedly loosen his grip. He had carried it and ran with it for almost an entire day, but 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 only Angelica was.
He gradually relaxed his grip until a look of satisfaction appeared on her lips.
But he didn't know yet...
That Angelica Ratlay, who seemed to him just a weak little creature, would one day be able to shake his being in ways he could not have imagined.
Nor would he still remember that day when his lips touched hers, even after a long time.
Their relationship changed quickly...
It was on the morning of the third day, when Angelica finally regained consciousness after her struggle with death.
❈❈❈
“Hmm...”
She felt as if she had woken up after a very long sleep. Her eyelids twitched slightly before expanding lazily.
But even though she was awake, she couldn't see anything in front of her.
“So, it wasn't just a dream…”
It wasn't just a kidnapping, even her incarnation in this body wasn't just an illusion she was hoping to wake up from.
“You woke up just in time. Eat this.”
“…Huh?!”
As soon as she heard the man's voice, she was surprised by a hard wooden spoon suddenly thrust into her mouth.
The soup inside her smelled delicious, but she couldn't taste it...
“Ah,..!!!”
It was hot...so hot!
'What is this kidnapper planning? Is he trying to kill me in this strange way?!'
In the blink of an eye, her eyes were filled with tears. Then, she felt a familiar sensation on her lips...
It was a man's palm.
“Spit it out, miss.”
In contrast to his usual cold tone, this time there was some urgency in his voice.
She almost spit out the food automatically, but quickly composed herself.
“No, it can't be...!”
Although she was almost burned, she couldn't bring herself to spit the food into her kidnapper's hand.
“Hmm.”
Determinedly, she closed her eyes, shook her head fiercely, and then swallowed the scalding soup along with her tears.
When a swallowing sound was heard, the man removed his hand from her lips.
But she didn't care...
“H, my throat…!”
It was so hot that she could clearly feel it running down her throat and burning her from the inside.
She turned around with a groan, keeping her mouth slightly open as the cool breeze soothed her burning tongue.
"Sorry. I'll be more careful next time."
His words were unexpected.
“Just this…?”
For a moment, Angelica was taken aback.
How could someone who kidnapped her while she was trying to escape seem so innocent sometimes?
"What?"
Angelica blinked casually and stared in the man's direction. She wasn't expecting an answer, but she asked anyway, and as she expected, she received no response. Instead, her lips touched the wooden spoon again.
But this time, his hand was more careful.
“It won't be hot anymore, miss.”
As he said, the temperature of the food has reached a moderate level suitable for eating.
‘Is this what kidnapping looks like...? '
His actions were completely different from their first meeting, making her hesitate as she opened her mouth.
She was worried for a moment, wondering if there was something suspicious in the soup.
But…
“Yummy...!”
She quickly pushed her doubts aside as she was overcome with hunger and enjoyed the unique taste of food that stuck to her tongue.
Thus, she began to eat what the man offered her, without any objection.
She couldn't see what he was doing, but she could clearly hear his breathing gently blowing on the soup.
‘Does he… blow my food to cool it? What is this man? '
It was so strange that her inner warnings about it began to fade without her realizing it.
Maybe that's why...
“Why… kidnapped me?”
The question came out of her mouth without her realizing it.
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