‘It’s Hugo! That’s Hugo, right?!’
Even after a whole year, Prina recognized him instantly.
A figure carved like a sculpture wasn’t something easily forgotten with time.
“Hugo—”
Prina immediately tried to call his name.
But Hugo didn’t even look at her as he walked straight past.
‘…Huh?’
Wearing a bewildered expression, Prina watched the man leave Layton Bridge.
…Did Hugo not see me?
‘No, wait—where is Hugo even going?!’
Layton Bridge is here though?
‘Ah, maybe!’
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 directionally challenged?
“H-Hugo!”
Prina hurriedly shouted.
Not that way! I’m over here!
But Hugo never turned around.
‘He must not be able to hear me!’
With all the surrounding noise tangled together, it seemed her voice simply couldn’t reach him.
Prina hurried after him.
Pushing desperately through the crowd, she finally managed to grab the hem of his clothes.
“Hah… Hugo…”
She finally caught him.
But after running herself ragged to avoid losing him, her breath was lodged at the top of her throat.
“Hah… hah…”
I-I think I’m dying.
Was it because his legs were so long?
With her pitiful stamina, keeping up with his wide strides was no easy feat.
“Hugo… that’s not the right direction…”
The moment she lifted her head—
It lasted only an instant, but a strange sense of dissonance sent chills across her entire body.
Crimson eyes stared down at Prina in silence.
It was completely different from the Hugo who used to smile warmly at her with softened eyes.
The man before her was terrifyingly cold.
‘…Is it because we’re meeting again after so long?’
Looking anxiously at the Hugo staring blankly down at her, Prina carefully spoke.
“Why… are you here? Don’t tell me you’ve been waiting here this whole time?”
The thought made her dizzy. Still, maybe it was fortunate they’d met.
‘Now I can finally return Hugo’s ring…’
At the wave of relief, guilt followed close behind. It felt awful to reunite after so long only to tell him they should break up.
But she couldn’t drag this out any longer.
It was unfair to Hugo too, who had unknowingly continued meeting someone like her.
Prina had already felt guilty enough for wasting an entire year.
So let’s end this here.
But then…
Her eyes belatedly noticed the sleeve of Hugo’s clothing she was clinging to desperately.
That’s strange…
Why are Hugo’s clothes so flashy?
The buttons and ornaments all gleamed gold, like the clothes nobles wore.
‘Is that real gold?’
The thought crossed her mind for a moment, but Prina quickly denied it.
No way.
Hugo might be a wealthy commoner, but not wealthy enough to decorate his clothes with gold.
“Hugo, anyway, I’m glad you arrived safely. There’s actually something I absolutely need to tell you—”
At that moment, a choking sensation abruptly closed around her throat, and Prina couldn’t continue speaking.
It really felt like someone was strangling her.
“Ah, H-Hugo…”
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
A vaguely regretful voice reached her ears. At that instant, she could breathe again.
‘…Was that killing intent?’
The kind mana-sensitive people supposedly used…
Prina was confused. Why would Hugo use that on her?
“I dislike being touched, so I acted unconsciously.”
His tone was undoubtedly gentle, almost apologetic.
But the crimson eyes looking down at her remained as cold as when they’d first met moments ago.
“...Ah.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
She had only let out a startled syllable, but Hugo seemed to have accepted it as an answer.
No—more accurately, it seemed he didn’t particularly care either way.
‘…Was Hugo always like this?’
No.
He had been warm and kind.
But describing the man before her as merely cold wasn’t enough. It felt as though a brutal chill had swallowed her whole, enough to make her skin crawl.
“I-I’m fine…”
Right. Hugo might’ve just been startled because someone suddenly grabbed him. After all, it had been a year.
Just as she comforted herself with that thought—
“By the way, my lady.”
…My lady?
The already unfamiliar Hugo addressed her with an even stranger title.
“Do you know me?”
“...What?”
Prina blinked blankly, unable to understand what he meant.
“I believe this is my first time meeting you, but your face feels oddly familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”
What kind of question is that?
“Hu-Hugo… are you joking?”
Sometimes couples joked like that when reuniting after a long time apart, didn’t they?
Like covering their lover’s eyes and saying, “Guess who~?”
“A joke?”
One corner of Hugo’s lips lifted crookedly.
“Ah. Did it seem like I was joking?”
“Y-you’re not?”
No. There wasn’t even the slightest trace of amusement in those blood-red eyes.
It was terrifying…
Faced with his sharp atmosphere, Prina swallowed hard.
“Why would I joke with you, my lady?”
But if he wasn’t joking, why was he suddenly pretending not to know her?
The freezing winter wind seemed to crawl down the back of her neck, making her body stiffen instinctively.
“Then…”
“We’re strangers who met for the first time today.”
…First time meeting? Us?
They’d dated for two years, so what was he talking about? Granted, they’d spent half that time apart.
“I’m the one bewildered by this situation. A lady I’ve never met suddenly clings 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.”
Prina couldn’t follow the conversation at all.
Could this be… some kind of breakup declaration?
If that was why he hadn’t come to their meeting place all this time, and why he was acting so strangely on purpose?
Prina thought it over briefly before shaking her head.
No. Hugo wasn’t the kind of person who would do that.
Then maybe…
Was he someone else?
‘Did I really mistake him for another person?’
Thinking she might’ve clung to the wrong man, Prina cautiously studied his face.
Hair dark as the night sky, ruby-red eyes. Even the beauty mark placed like the finishing touch on a masterpiece…
‘It is Hugo!’
Even his unrealistically beautiful face—she could recognize Hugo from a mile away.
“We’ve wasted enough time. This wasn’t part of my original plans.”
The one who’d waited for a week was her, so why was Hugo talking as if he’d wasted time…?
Ignoring her confusion, Hugo’s gaze shifted toward the clock tower.
As though he had another appointment.
Prina instinctively realized it.
He hadn’t come to Layton Bridge to meet her.
Then…?
“I should be going now. It was enjoyable, my lady.”
“W-wait…!”
Prina hurriedly grabbed the man who was about to leave.
‘Could he have been injured during a mission?’
It sounded absurd, but at this point it almost seemed like he’d lost his memory.
“My lady.”
Hugo called to her then. His lips formed a smile that pretended to be gentle, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.
Once again, it felt as though something icy traced down her spine, but Prina 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 confused emotions, she gripped the ring hidden inside her clothes.
‘At least… let me return the ring.’
That had been the whole reason she kept waiting for someone who never came.
It seemed better to return the ring before worrying about anything else.
“H-Hugo, I-I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but I’ve b-been waiting here for you this whole time. Because…”
Because I wanted to return the ring like we promised.
Damn.
Maybe because she was so flustered, Prina stuttered. It was a habit she’d carried like a chronic illness for years.
Still, she stubbornly tried to tell him to at least take back the ring.
Then—
Roll—
A bottle rolled across the ground.
‘Oh, this…’
It was the alcohol she’d bought for the outrageous price of seventy silver, mistakenly thinking it was a drink.
Hugo’s gaze fell on it as well.
“Ah.”
A smile touched the man’s lips.
But it was cold.
“It seems you’re drunk.”
…Drunk? Me?
A subtle look of contempt mixed into his smile.
“N-no, I was just thirsty. And I only had a few sips…!”
She genuinely felt wronged. Who did he think drove her to drink in the first place?
“I only drank it because I got thirsty while waiting for you…”
Prina hurriedly explained in case Hugo misunderstood, but his expression only grew colder, as though he believed she was lying.
Hugo was the strange one here, yet somehow he kept making her seem like the problem!
Wait, Hugo!
As the man turned away without hesitation, Prina hurriedly grabbed his clothes again.
Fine, whatever—just take the ring already!
Thud—
Once more, his hand shoved her away.
“If you continue grabbing me like this, it’ll become troublesome.”
Prina blankly stared at the hand that had been pushed away yet again.
“And what if I decided to do something about it?”
“...What?”
“If you’d met a cruel noble instead, that hand wouldn’t still be attached.”
‘Is he saying he’d cut off my hand if I grabbed him again?’
…But you’re not a noble.
“I’m saying this out of concern.”
His soft voice quietly delivered the warning.
It felt as though her spine snapped upright.
“Then, my lady, please return home safely.”
Leaving behind a faint smile, he turned away.
Even though she knew she had to return the ring, Prina couldn’t bring herself to stop Hugo any longer.
Hugo felt far too unfamiliar.
The Hugo she reunited with after one year had returned as a completely different person.
‘…What on earth is going on?