IDBWM 06

Chapter 6

Shiver.

Her mind went completely blank, drained of all thought.

What had the last two years with Hugo been like?

The people around me disappeared….

The face of the corpse lying cold in the Black Forest overlapped with countless other faces.

“No one comes into this place.”

“……”

“Surely you didn’t come here to see me?”

There wasn’t the slightest trace of emotion in those crimson eyes. How could someone look so cold after killing a person?

“Are you going to keep making me do all the talking? I really hate this sort of thing.”

Hugo grumbled irritably, the corner of his lips twisting.

His voice was still gentle, but his expression clearly showed boredom and annoyance.

An instinctive warning whispered to her.

…If I stay still like this, I’ll die.

Hugo—no, that lunatic—was completely unpredictable.

Prina decided to pretend she didn’t know him.

“I-I’m not sure what you mean… Have we met somewhere before?”

Her voice trembled pathetically.

She had believed she’d overcome her stutter long ago, but extreme fear shattered her composure, and her tongue betrayed her helplessly.

Hoo. Calm down.

Prina desperately clung to the last shred of reason that hadn’t evaporated.

“You don’t remember? After clinging to me like that before?”

Clinging to him?

He was twisting all the effort she’d made to give him the ring.

“When I’m drunk, I-I tend to cling to just about anyone… Did I happen to grab onto you?”

“What? So you really were drunk?”

Though he sounded disappointed, he didn’t seem convinced. If anything, he looked as though his interest had faded.

…What is this? Something’s definitely strange.

Hugo seemed to have absolutely no memory of Prina.

It was as though he considered their meeting at Layton Bridge to be their first encounter.

“So what are you doing here?”

“I-I came to look for some missing people…”

“This bastard, by any chance?”

Thunk.

Hugo nudged the cold corpse with his foot.

The old Hugo would’ve kindly carried a collapsed stranger to the infirmary.

…He was far too different.

Maybe this unfamiliar face was the real Hugo after all.

And the man she’d known until now had been nothing but a carefully crafted lie.

“No.”

Prina immediately stiffened.

“Then?”

“The people I’m looking for are just ordinary workers. They disappeared while transporting goods.”

Good. Her voice had shaken, but at least the stuttering stopped.

“Transporting goods into the Black Forest?”

Hugo’s expression turned strange.

“Were they smuggling illegal items in?”

“No. It’s just food supplies…”

“Oh, food? Then drugs?”

“No. Just ordinary sacks of wheat, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers…”

Despite her explanation, a look of disbelief flickered across his face, as though he couldn’t understand why anyone would carry ordinary food into the Black Forest.

Well, that’s because the roads were blocked for the victory ceremony because of the hidden mastermind in the novel…

Of course, there was no reason to explain all that to Hugo.

“Hm. So you came looking for workers?”

“Yes.”

As though recalling something, Hugo rubbed his chin. His black leather gloves caught her attention.

…The Hugo she knew always wore gloves whenever he met Prina.

…He said he had a germ phobia.

He’d apologized to her about it, almost guiltily.

And yet, he had always held Prina’s hand with his bare skin.

…But the man before her had clearly forgotten all of that. It seemed she was the only one who remembered now.

“Come to think of it, I think I saw a whole pile of something in the forest.”

…A pile?

…Surely he meant the workers?

The Hugo she knew would never have used such an expression. She was beginning to doubt whether they were truly the same person.

“So those were your workers?”

“I-I think so.”

Technically they weren’t her workers, but she agreed anyway. Precise details didn’t matter right now.

The important thing was—

Whether I can leave this place alive.

She needed to avoid provoking that madman at all costs.

“And you came here alone, my lady?”

He seemed suspicious that she’d come alone to search for missing workers in such a notorious place.

Prina felt the need to explain herself.

“It was difficult to dispatch a search party. I know the forest terrain better than most, so I came instead.”

“You work for a terrible employer.”

Well, it wasn’t exactly a good workplace. It was full of awful people.

But compared to the man standing before her, those troublemakers looked like angels.

“Still, what a curious coincidence. Meeting you here again, my lady.”

“……”

“And I happened to regret letting you go like that before.”

…Why?

“Would you like me to help you?”

No, thank you…?

She truly wanted to refuse.

“I’ll be fine. And you seem busy…”

Prina glanced at the corpse lying at Hugo’s feet.

I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything, so just go back to whatever you were doing.

“Are you worried about me? How delightful.”

…How in the world did he interpret that as concern?

“But I’m more worried about you, my lady, so I should help. Follow me.”

Prina desperately wanted to decline.

Yet what came out instead was—

“W-wow… th-thank you…”

A pitiful voice desperate to survive.

Crack!

The sound of a dry branch snapping beneath her foot made her heart leap. The face of the corpse from earlier flickered in her mind.

Prina followed silently behind him.

What is Hugo thinking?

If he planned to kill both her and the workers—

No. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have bothered offering to guide me.

He could have killed Prina and disposed of the workers right there.

…But no matter how much she tried to reassure herself, the heavy sound of his footsteps ahead crushed every ounce of fragile comfort she had.

“My love, Prina, if something troubles you, you can always tell me.”

“When I see you hurting, it hurts me too.”

The old Hugo had always matched his pace to hers when they walked together.

If she fell behind, he would stop and wait for her. Sometimes he even draped his coat over her shoulders.

The man walking ahead of her now never looked back even once.

Still… it really does seem like he doesn’t recognize me.

After they parted at Layton Bridge, she’d wondered if he was pretending not to know her to force a clean breakup.

…but now it definitely didn’t seem that way.

Did he truly lose his memories?

What happened to Hugo during the year they were apart?

Was that why he lost his memories… and became a murderous lunatic?

Back when they dated, Hugo used to smile whenever Prina smiled. He always checked her expression first, only lifting the corners of his lips after confirming she was alright.

Seeing that same man smiling over a corpse left her deeply shaken.

As the memory resurfaced, her heart pounded wildly.

Another forgotten memory emerged from beneath the surface.

A similar thing had happened long ago, when she and Hugo were dating. In a winter alleyway…

“My lady, isn’t there anything you’re curious about?”

“Hm?”

Hugo, walking ahead, suddenly asked an unexpected question.

“Like why I’m in this forest, for example.”

“Ah… no…”

It felt like something she shouldn’t ask.

“I killed someone, and you’re really not curious?”

…Was she supposed to be?

To be honest, she was curious.

But as an ordinary person, Prina wanted no deeper involvement in this situation.

“I’m sure… you had your reasons…”

“That’s right. I did.”

“Ah… I see… then I understand.”

“He tried to kill me first.”

Prina, who had been staring at the ground, looked up in surprise. All she could see was Hugo’s back.

She couldn’t tell what expression he wore.

…Someone tried to kill Hugo?

“So you could call it self-defense.”

Then why was Hugo inside the Black Forest in the first place?

Judging from his neat appearance, it didn’t seem like he’d been dragged there against his will. He looked far too relaxed for someone under threat.

Prina simply pretended to accept his explanation.

“Ah, there they are.”

As she hurried after him and reached the mouth of the gorge—

“……!”

Chaos spread before her eyes.

The horses and workers lay collapsed together, overwhelmed by demonic energy.

As expected, they’ve been corrupted by the miasma!

This was bad.

She needed to treat them quickly.

Just as Prina rushed toward the workers, she hesitated and glanced at Hugo.

The story about medicinal herbs in the forest that could cure miasma was a lie.

But it was true that she had a way to save them—with her holy power.

“Oh dear. Are they already dead?”

Though his voice sounded regretful, Hugo didn’t appear particularly interested in the workers.

He strode past them toward the wagon carrying the supplies. Pulling back the covering tarp, he inspected the contents.

Hugo opened several nearby crates.

All of them were filled with ordinary vegetables.

“Hm. So it really is just food.”

Apparently the reason Hugo brought Prina here was to inspect the wagon.

If the cargo had been illegal, what exactly had he intended to do to her and the workers…?

It felt strange for someone who had just killed a man in the forest to act so concerned about smuggling.

“You can inspect more if you’d like.”

Prina hoped to clear away his suspicions and send him off.

Only then could she treat the workers.

“No. I don’t think that’ll be necessary anymore.”

“Then… are you leaving now?”

Please just leave already.

“Yeah. I was planning to.”

Seeing Prina’s desperate expression, Hugo’s eyes curved pleasantly.

“After I do one last thing.”

Shiiing—

As Hugo drew his sword from its sheath, Prina’s eyes widened.

The tip of the blade pointed toward the throats of the unconscious workers.