# 36
36
[Note: Angelica most of the time calls Hugo Wego by his real name. I apologize for the mistake.]
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“Huh...”
The garden was filled with purple delphiniums, and Angelica Ratlay let out an exasperated sigh from a throbbing headache.
She knew it was because of the smell of delphinium that even crept into her office, but she didn't want to blame her outright.
She pressed her temples repeatedly, then picked up the object that Hugo Bernstein had brought with her earlier.
“Unnecessarily overly precise.”
It was true that she was the one who opened the topic first, but she didn't really expect him to find it.
It was originally something that was doubtful in the first place, which is why it was difficult to believe in its effectiveness.
“And I don't even know how to use it to be of any use... Hmm.”
She rolled the diamond-like object between her fingers several times, then sent her magical energy into it.
A golden sand-like energy, smooth and shiny, seeped out, enveloping him completely.
It was transparent at first, but it soon changed, as if the wave had submerged it, and the color became more intense and deeper.
Suddenly—
Light exploded.
With that explosion, a snapshot of the past was revealed before her.
Angelica narrowed her eyes under the weight of the bright light, and as soon as the scene dawned on her, she furrowed her eyebrows narrowly.
“Hugo Bernstein?”
You didn't need to think much to realize what you were watching.
“So this is what happened when he went.”
It seems that the myth that this thing connects the user's desire to everything that comes into contact with the intended person... was not a myth.
“Hmm.”
Angelica watched the scene that filled the entire walls of her office.
Scattered buildings, covered in snow, so distorted that it is difficult to tell what they looked like. The place didn't seem fit for human life at all.
— Kwaaang
!
On one hand, Hugo Bernstein was cutting through those buildings with his sword.
With terrifying silence, as if it was tearing apart space itself.
- How!
At that moment, a monster's voice emanated from the void.
Without hesitation, Hugo rushed towards the source of the sound and struck hard.
Dark blood sprayed into the air, and at the same moment the monsters that had been in disguise appeared.
- Grrr... Kaya!
Not only were they dozens in number, but they looked like an army guarding a destroyed city.
“…easily exceeds hundreds.”
She muttered, trying to estimate the number that the whole picture could not fit.
Her heart began to beat irregularly; She didn't know if it was anxiety or something else.
When she unconsciously scratched her palm with her nails, Hugo at the same moment rushed into the monsters without hesitation.
All that could be heard was the sound of the sword slicing through the tough flesh, and the intermittent screams of the beasts.
Sometimes the sound was mixed with something else, but Hugo did not make any moans, even faint ones.
Heyyy—
The snow-covered city fell silent again.
All that remained was the dark color, engulfing the ground so much that the falling snow could no longer hide it.
- Keeyaaa!
Finally, the last monster fell.
He was the most stubborn; It tore the side of Hugo's face and neck with its long claws before calming down.
“Hmm.”
Although blood was oozing profusely from his neck, he only made a faint sound.
He carelessly pressed his hand to the wound, then walked with steady steps towards the stone monument behind the last monster.
When he forcefully pulled it out of the ground, the thing he was looking for finally appeared.
“Huh...”
A bright smile appeared on Hugo Bernstein's lips, completely out of proportion to the situation.
Then—
The scene is over.
“……”
Angelica Ratlay stared into the void for a long time without saying a word.
Maybe because that smile… was something she never expected to see from him.
She felt a bad constriction in her chest.
“He's doing this on purpose, isn't he?”
She tightened her grip around the object in her hand until she nearly broke it, then sighed in exhaustion when she realized the futility of this.
“I was the one who made things this way... so I have no right to blame.”
However, it was to her advantage that he intervened so seriously. At least, in theory.
“I should not be carried away by feelings that are not my own.”
She mumbled, clicking her tongue involuntarily, then picked up a bottle from among the bottles lined up on one of the office shelves.
“I'm not a human-tested chimera, after all.”
…However, she couldn't ignore the image of the wound on his neck that kept flashing through her mind with disturbing urgency.
If it had been just a passing scratch I would have gotten over it, but it was truly terrifying.
“At least... he should get paid for what he does.”
She said that, and left her office with light steps, then snapped her fingers.
In the next moment, the empty corridor looked even more bleak.
It was nothing like her palace drenched in purple, and yet… it was strangely familiar.
It's Hugo Bernstein's mansion.
Knock-
She entered his office quietly, as if her entry was a normal matter that did not require permission.
The office, as its owner always was, was empty and lifeless.
However, she placed the vial on top of his desk without hesitation.
"they?"
But at that moment, something caught her eye among the papers scattered on the table.
A handwriting unlike before... It was not the fast, careless handwriting she was accustomed to seeing, but rather precise, heavy writing, carrying a strange weight.
Out of caution, she narrowed her eyes and began to read.
There was no guilt involved; Even if what she was reading was a secret state document, she would not have had the slightest hesitation.
But—
[Although I don't deserve… I would like to know her better.]
As soon as her eyes fell on that sentence, her breath suddenly stopped.
She froze as if the words had been nailed to her chest.
She continued reading, and saw beneath them a series of questions written in hesitant handwriting... Only then did she close her eyes tightly.
You shouldn't have looked.
She should have walked away from the start.
But, contrary to her intention, she found herself suddenly turning towards the window, as if the scene outside had drawn her involuntarily.
“Huh...!”
Before her stretched out the Duke's garden, once barren, now covered with bright red roses.
And at its heart, stood Hugo Bernstein.
“How ridiculous!”
Her anger exploded without warning.
She ran her hand violently through her hair, and at the same moment a sharp sound rang out—
Klang!–
She turned around instinctively, only to find that the bottle in her hand had fallen and shattered, spilling its liquid onto the carpet.
“Huh...”
She breathed deeply, feeling as if the smell of blood filled her chest.
Always, always did this to her.
It awakens something inside her that she doesn't want to admit exists.
What's even more annoying is that it was, every time, true.
She suddenly turned towards the desk, as if an invisible force had pushed her.
She violently picked up the pen and wrote on the margin of the paper on which he had recorded his words, as if she were answering him directly:
[Of course… for someone like you, this is more suitable than any medicine.]
She put the pen firmly down, and at the same moment the boiling that was ravaging her chest subsided.
She stared at the sentence she had written, and its handwriting seemed strange, far away from her.
“Okay...”
She muttered in a low voice, then added secretly:
“It seems there is no escape.”
In a way she didn't know how, she made her decision.
“I will burn all the delphiniums.”
Once she made up her mind, she felt that the headache that had plagued her all the time had gradually subsided, as if it had never existed.
Really… what an unexpected relief.
“...What a strange dream.”
Angelica woke up to the harsh rays of the sun, exhaling deeply.
A whole week had passed since her marriage to Hugo.
On the first night, while she was drunk, she did not notice anything.
But during the following days, this dream continued to visit her repeatedly.
Today, it seems clearer than ever.
She got up slowly from her bed, feeling that her body had not gotten enough rest, neither physically nor psychologically.
I walked over to the window and looked out.
“The garden... looks lonely.”
Below, Hugo Bernstein was training as usual.
“As I expected.”
Seeing him in those light clothes, and his taut chest muscles shining with sweat, did not move him in the slightest.
She frowned and pressed her hand to her chest.
“Always like this.”
An annoying feeling, as if someone had uprooted her feeling from its roots.
But fortunately, she didn't have to think long to understand why.
“So... that's why.”
She bent down slightly, examining her body, discovering for the first time threads of golden energy wrapped tightly around her.
“I thought it was because of the alcohol...”
She whispered, then realized the truth.
“That's why I could talk to Hugo without hesitation.”
It seemed that this strange energy had a calming quality.
She gathered a portion of it in her hand, then dispersed it forcefully.
And the next moment—
Knock!–
She felt her heart sinking harshly into her chest, as if it had woken up all at once.
“Ah…”
The warning resonated clearly within her.
It was the only voice that remained echoing deep inside her.
♡ ֪ ࣪ ─┄── ♡ ֪ ࣪ ─┄── ♡ ֪ ࣪ ─┄── ♡ ֪ ࣪
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