Chapter 3
“‘It’s Hugo! That is Hugo, right?!’”
Even though it had been a year since she last saw him, Frina recognized him instantly.
It seemed a sculpted appearance like his was impossible to forget, no matter how much time passed.
“H-Hugo.”
Hugo.
Frina immediately tried to call out his name.
But Hugo didn’t even glance at her and simply walked past.
“…Huh?”
With a dazed expression, Frina watched the man leaving Layton Bridge.
…Did Hugo not see me?
‘No, but where in the world is Hugo going?!’
Layton Bridge is here!
‘Ah, wait!’
Was the reason Hugo hadn’t shown up at their meeting place for over a week because he got lost?
Good heavens. Hugo has no sense of direction?!
…But can a knight even afford to be bad with directions?
“H-Hugo!”
Frina hurriedly shouted.
Not that way! I’m over here!
But Hugo didn’t turn around.
‘He must not be able to hear me!’
With all the surrounding noise tangled together, her voice apparently wasn’t reaching him.
Frina rushed after him to stop him.
Pushing desperately through the crowd, she finally managed to grab the edge of his clothes.
“Huff, Hugo…”
Finally, she caught him.
But because she had run with everything she had, terrified of losing him, her breath was lodged in her throat.
“Hah… hah…”
I-I think I’m dying.
Was it because his legs were so long?
With her pathetic stamina, keeping up with his long strides was unbelievably difficult.
“Hugo… that’s not the right direction…”
The moment she raised her head—
It was only for an instant, but a strange sense of dissonance sent chills across her entire body.
Crimson eyes stared silently down at Frina.
This atmosphere was completely different from the Hugo who used to smile warmly at her with curved eyes.
The man before her was frighteningly cold.
‘…Is it because we haven’t seen each other in so long?’
Looking worriedly at Hugo, who only stared down at her silently, Frina carefully spoke.
“Why… why are you here? Don’t tell me you’ve been waiting here this whole time?”
The thought made her mind go blank. Still, perhaps it was fortunate that they met.
‘Now I can finally return Hugo’s ring…’
At the wave of relief flooding over her, guilt also surfaced at the thought of meeting him again only to tell him they should break up.
But she couldn’t delay things any longer.
It was unfair to Hugo too, who still knew nothing and continued meeting her.
Frina had already felt guilty enough for dragging things out for the past year.
So it was time to end this.
But then…
Only belatedly did she notice she was clinging desperately to the hem of Hugo’s clothes.
Strange…
Why are Hugo’s clothes so flashy?
The buttons and decorations all gleamed yellow, like the clothes nobles wore.
‘Is that real gold?’
For a moment she genuinely wondered that, but quickly denied it.
No way.
Even if Hugo was a well-off commoner, he wasn’t wealthy enough to walk around with gold sewn into his clothes.
“Hugo, anyway, I’m glad you arrived safely. Actually, there’s something I absolutely need to tell you—”
At that moment—
A suffocating sensation seized her throat, cutting off her words.
It genuinely felt like someone was strangling her.
“Ah… H-Hugo…”
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
A voice sounding faintly regretful reached her ears. At that instant, the pressure vanished and she could breathe again.
‘…Was that killing intent?’
The thing mana users supposedly used…
Frina was confused. Why would Hugo use that on her?
“I dislike being touched, so I reacted without thinking.”
His tone was undoubtedly a gentle apology.
But the crimson eyes looking down at her remained just as cold as when she first met them moments ago.
“…Ah.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
She had merely let out a confused syllable, yet Hugo seemed to take it as an answer.
No—more accurately, it looked like he didn’t particularly care either way.
‘…Was Hugo always like this?’
No.
He had been kind and gentle.
But the man before her couldn’t simply be described as cold. It felt as though a brutal frost was engulfing her entire body.
“I-I’m fine…”
Right. Hugo was probably startled because someone suddenly grabbed him. After all, it had been a whole year.
Thinking that, she tried to reassure herself.
Then—
“By the way, my lady.”
…My lady?
The already unfamiliar Hugo addressed her with an even stranger title.
“Do I know you?”
“…What?”
Unable to comprehend his words, Frina merely blinked.
“I believe this is my first time seeing you, though your face feels oddly familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”
What kind of question is that?
“H-Hugo… are you joking?”
Didn’t lovers sometimes joke like this when meeting again after a long time apart?
Like covering someone’s eyes and saying, “Guess who?”
“A joke?”
One corner of Hugo’s lips lifted crookedly.
“Ah. Did it seem like I was joking?”
“S-So you’re not?”
No.
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of playfulness in his blood-red eyes.
It was terrifying.
Under his razor-sharp atmosphere, Frina swallowed hard.
“Why would I joke with you, my lady?”
But if it wasn’t a joke, why was he suddenly pretending not to know her?!
Like icy winter wind creeping down the back of her neck, her entire body stiffened instinctively.
“Then…”
“We are strangers meeting for the first time today.”
…First time? Us?
They had dated for two years. Granted, they had spent half of that apart, but still.
“I’m the one bewildered by this situation. A lady I’ve never met before is clinging to me.”
“…”
“Do you know me?”
“H-Hugo, why do you keep pretending not to know me?”
“I suppose that isn’t the case after all.”
Frina couldn’t follow the conversation at all.
Could this perhaps… be some kind of breakup declaration?
What if that was why he hadn’t come to their meeting place all this time, and why he was acting so strangely on purpose?
After hesitating briefly, Frina shook her head.
No. Hugo wasn’t that kind of person.
Then maybe…
Was he someone else?
‘Did I really mistake him for another person?’
Thinking she might have grabbed the wrong man and clung to him, Frina cautiously examined his face.
Hair dark as the night sky, ruby-red eyes. Even the beauty mark placed like the finishing touch of a masterpiece…
‘It’s Hugo!’
Even his unrealistically beautiful face—anyone could recognize Hugo from a mile away.
“We’ve wasted enough time. This wasn’t originally part of my plans.”
The one who had been waiting for a week was her, so why was Hugo talking about wasted time…?
Ignoring her confusion, Hugo turned his gaze toward the clock tower.
As though he had another appointment elsewhere.
Instinctively, Frina realized it.
He had not come to Layton Bridge to see her.
Then…?
“I should be going now. It was enjoyable, my lady.”
“W-Wait…!”
Frina hurriedly grabbed the man trying to leave.
‘Could he have been injured during a mission?’
It was a ridiculous theory, but at this point it genuinely felt like he had lost his memory.
“My lady.”
Hugo called to her then.
His lips formed a polite smile, but his eyes were not smiling.
Once again, it felt as though a chilling wind swept down her spine, but Frina forced herself to stay calm.
She didn’t know why Hugo was acting this way, but there was something she absolutely had to tell him.
Steadying her chaotic emotions, she grasped the ring inside her pocket.
‘At least… let me return the ring.’
That was the reason she had continued waiting for him all this time despite him never showing up.
The other problems could wait until after she returned it.
“H-Hugo, I-I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but I-I kept waiting for you here. Because…”
Because I wanted to return the ring, like we promised.
Damn it.
Perhaps because she was so flustered, Frina began stuttering. It was a habit she had suffered from for years, like a chronic illness.
Still, she stubbornly tried to tell him to at least take the ring back.
Then—
Clatter—
A bottle rolled across the ground.
‘Ah, this…’
It was the alcohol she had bought for the outrageous price of seventy silver, thinking it was just a drink.
Hugo’s gaze also landed on it.
“Ah.”
A smile touched the man’s lips.
But it was cold.
“It seems you’re drunk.”
…Drunk? Me?
And then he smiled faintly, with a trace of contempt mixed in.
“N-No, I was just thirsty! And I only drank a few sips…”
She genuinely felt wronged. Who did he think she drank it because of?
“I only drank it because I got thirsty waiting for you…”
She hurriedly explained, afraid Hugo would misunderstand, but his expression only grew colder.
As if he thought she was lying.
The strange one here was Hugo, yet somehow he kept making her seem like the strange one!
Wait, Hugo!
As the man turned away without hesitation, Frina hurriedly grabbed his clothes again.
Fine then, just take the ring already!
Thud—
Once again, his hand pushed her away.
“If you continue grabbing me like this, it will become troublesome.”
Blankly, Frina stared at her hand after being brushed aside yet again.
“What if I were to do something?”
“…What?”
“If you had met a truly wicked noble, that hand would no longer be attached to you.”
‘Is he saying he’d cut off my hand if I grabbed him again?’
…But you’re not a noble.
“I’m only warning you out of concern.”
His soft voice quietly delivered the warning.
Her spine stiffened instantly.
“Well then, my lady. Please take care on your way home.”
Leaving behind a faint smile, he turned away.
Even though she knew she had to return the ring, Frina could no longer stop him.
Hugo felt far too unfamiliar.
The Hugo she met again after one year had returned as a completely different person.
‘…What in the world is going on?’
