By Zephyria Gabe, his face drained of color, gasped. His expression clearly showed how shocking the situation was.
Hugo’s hair, which had been neatly swept back, fell over his forehead, and a drop of blood trickled down his pale cheek, gathering at the tip of his sharp chin.
Hugo raised the back of his hand and wiped away the blood from his chin. The red mark smeared on his white glove was quite provocative.
“Is that how I taught you, Duke?”
The woman’s voice, filled with anger, tightened the tension even further. Hugo, who had been coldly staring at the back of his hand, slowly rubbed the inside of his cheek with his tongue.
Then, he slowly rolled his eyes and looked at Gabe, who was frozen in the doorway.
‘Go.’
His pupils, greatly constricted, gestured for him to close the door and leave.
Click—
As if being controlled, Gabe closed the door, his footsteps gradually fading away.
Only then did Hugo take out a handkerchief from his inner pocket and calmly wipe the bloodstains from his flushed skin.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He murmured in a calm tone, taking off the soiled glove. The scratch on his cheek was cleanly erased with a single gesture.
As the only flaw on his perfect face disappeared in the blink of an eye, the woman stared at him as if looking at a monster. The gaze hidden by her dignity flashed venomously for this moment alone. However, Hugo first reached out and carefully wiped the blood from her palm.
“Please calm down, this is not a mansion. There are many ears listening.”
“And yet, the one who cares so much about public attention is the one who stormed into the courtroom and made a mess of things.”
Hugo pressed down on the raised relief beneath the ring on her middle finger. The sharply protruding relief became blunt.
“A mess? I simply corrected it.”
Gladias strongly slapped away Hugo’s reply. Her hand, having lost its way, hovered in the air before falling down.
“Isn’t that the method Your Excellency taught me?”
In an instant, the woman’s thin body trembled slightly, hidden beneath her cape. Hugo, worried that she might collapse, quietly shifted his gaze to her feet.
“The Duke has shaken the foundations of the Council. Now anyone can change the contents of a solemn judgment with money and force.”
“……”
“You even recklessly misused the family’s assets. Do you think that belongs to the Duke?”
Taking a step back, she recited the charges one by one in a deep, cynical voice. Hugo did not answer. He knew it was not a good thing, but he also knew that fairly addressing an unfair situation had little chance of success.
Gladias, scoffing at the silence, asked the expressionless man again.
“I sent you to solve the Peninsula issue, and you’ve already fallen in love.”
Hugo’s brow furrowed, which had been indifferent all along.
“I don’t think that’s an appropriate remark in this situation.”
“I thought you were just postponing the pressure to marry, but I didn’t know you had opened your eyes to beauty.”
“Do not insult him.”
Hugo immediately realized who the beauty she was referring to was. It seemed he had been spending too much time with Leonardo. Following Andreas, it seemed that idle rumors had even reached his godmother’s ears.
“He is not someone to be belittled. He is a jewel too precious to be buried in the dirt, a young flower that has not yet fully bloomed in this world. Why are you doing this to such a pitiful person?”
“……”
“And, this was not done out of personal feelings. You told me never to do anything that could be criticized. As a Legion Commander, I simply brought to a correct end a trial that would have been a shameful stain on the history of the Council.”
The moment Hugo responded firmly, his godmother turned her eyes to the medal hanging on the wall. The golden insignia, solemnly enshrined in a dark wood frame, was the honor of the Imperial Faction and a symbol of their solidarity. However, the medal appeared closer to bronze or copper than gold, due to the indoor lighting in the curtained room.
Gladias raised her white eyelashes.
It was the light she hated most in the world. The cheap things of the illegitimate line that presumptuously imitated brilliant gold.
“Is it the Emperor?”
At the series of questions, Hugo frowned and sighed.
“Godmother—”
“Did that bastard tell you to do that?”
Taking a step forward, Hugo grabbed her forearms. Her slender shoulder line was revealed above her cape. Bending down, he met his godmother’s authority.
“I told you, it was solely my intention.”
“……”
“Going against you, Godmother, is my intention.”
At the heartlessness of the affectionate man who confirmed it twice, Gladias twisted her wrinkle-free lips. She mercilessly raised her right hand once more. But before she could swing her arm, her wrist was firmly grasped by the man’s hand this time.
Hugo gazed at her wrist, which had become thinner in recent years, with seemingly sad eyes.
“Godmother, I am the Duke of Agrizendro.”
Then, he slowly moved his eyelids and shone the same chilling light as her.
“However the family’s assets are used, I am the final approver. Not you.”
There was not a single change in Gladias’s face. But the woman’s captured arm trembled. Feeling that, Hugo released her arm and embraced her aged body, hidden by the cape. It was an exceedingly meticulous and affectionate gesture, unlike his cold eyes.
He whispered softly over his godmother’s shoulder.
“There will be no second time. Do not cross the line.”
‘You said you’d wait?’
‘I think we should leave first. But by the time we get to the Gate, the Commander will be following us.’
‘…I can say goodbye, right?’
‘Of course. Do you think the Commander would just let you go?’
‘…….’
‘And the Battalion Commanders besides the 1st Battalion will be providing cover. I’m going with you, so don’t worry too much. We’ll all wait there until the Commander comes….’
At Flynn’s earnest persuasion, Leonardo could no longer be difficult.
He had heard that a group of citizens who did not accept the verdict were holding out near the courtroom. Also, the Battalion Commanders, including Flynn, believed that if the topic of ‘Leonardo Blaine’s release spread outside, the nearby streets could be paralyzed, so he should leave the Council quickly.
Leonardo agreed with that point as well. No matter how much he had received a release verdict, recognition would not change in such a short time.
But more than that, Flynn’s increasingly darkened expression after the adjutant Gabe had visited contributed to amplifying his anxiety.
It seemed like there were some difficulties that only he didn’t know about, but perhaps because he was about to leave, they weren’t sharing the internal situation at all.
‘What if he really can’t come?’
Anxiety filled his throat, but Leonardo couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.
It was a hypothetical he didn’t want to think about, even if it were just a possibility. He didn’t want to remember the scene in the courtroom as the last thing.
In the end, Leonardo had no choice but to listen to Flynn’s assurances and get into the carriage as if being pushed.
‘Trust the Commander, Leo.’
He had caused trouble during the trial, but he had arrived on time anyway. He could only hope that he would come this time without being late.
Clatter, clatter—
The scenery passing by outside the window was peaceful, unlike his complicated feelings. Sitting in the carriage, Leonardo rested his arm on the window frame and slowly became dyed in the sunset shining down on his eyelids.
The regular sound of horses’ hooves, the metasequoia forest road stretching coolly on both sides, the fresh air full of phytoncides, and the cool breeze carrying the scent of the forest passed by.
This scenery, which unfolded after passing through the Zodiac’s East Gate, was the only well-maintained road leading to the West Gate of the Agrigento Territory. This place was a demilitarized zone that claimed to be a non-militarized zone, a giant tomb where the bodies of ancient ancestors were sleeping, or a place of harmony.
Long ago, more than a thousand years ago, Laina and Rogia fought like enemies, so he could often hear stories that this entire area was a battlefield. Therefore, at the same time as the alliance and agreements between the two countries, Magic Stones were densely laid beneath it, and like the Zodiac, this place was also a Magic control zone, except for some Portal installation sections.
That was also why they were physically moving by carriage. It also served as a military demarcation line, so no one other than the escort could be found on the quiet road.
Listening to Flynn’s jealous story that it was the road he took to and from work with the Commander every day, Leonardo unconsciously picked at a small hangnail that had formed next to his thumb. Of course, even so, his appearance in the window from the outside looked very calm. The golden eyelashes and red lips drawn with diagonal lines were soaked in reverie and twilight, making him enchanting.
Even though his side face was slightly pressed because he was resting his chin carelessly, his wistful eyes and swaying hair created an even more attractive atmosphere.
Some of the escort members, who were riding horses and matching their speed, moved aside so as not to obstruct his view, but could not take their eyes off the painting.
Even when viewed through tinted glasses, his appearance was honestly dizzying enough to feel guilty. But now that the prejudice of suspicion had been removed, his appearance was the creation of God himself.
Andreas, who was thinking the same thing, quietly clicked his tongue with regret. Honestly, if it weren’t for the Commander’s warning, he would have wanted to approach him as he was, with a face that made people yearn so much.
But wasn’t there a chance to strike up a conversation because of what happened in the courtroom? And there wasn’t much time left to see him.
Andreas, who wanted to see Gold Eyes turn this way, smiled and spurred his horse, sticking close to the carriage.
The sound of hooves, which had been clattering regularly, gradually grew closer. Leonardo, who had been looking at the sky, glanced over.
“Hey, Blaine.”
Andreas, who had matched his eye level, stuck his face in the window.
He asked with expectant eyes.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”