By Zephyria Suddenly, Hugo recalled Leonardo’s call that had led to today’s meeting. The sound of rain heard over the communication device at a late hour, and the affectionate voice apologizing for leaving in a hurry. At the time, he had been constantly worried about the other person’s deeply sunken atmosphere.
Rather than jumping straight to a deep topic, it would be better to refresh the atmosphere with small talk. Finding a suitable topic, he started talking.
“Leo, a few days ago—”
“You know.”
Leonardo, who was holding a baguette wrapped in wrapping paper, suddenly opened his mouth. Hugo, who was about to continue speaking, paused.
The two looked at each other’s faces at the same time.
After a moment of silence, Hugo, who had been waiting, gestured with his eyes.
“You go first.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. You talk first.”
After saying that, Leonardo took a bite of the baguette sprinkled with condensed milk. At the action of completely passing over the right to speak, Hugo stared at his cheeks and chin that were moving diligently. Soon, he continued to open his mouth.
“You called me a few days ago, saying let’s meet when the game is over.”
“Yeah.”
“Did something happen then? Your voice seemed a bit, lacking energy.”
Leonardo, who swallowed the bread he was chewing, didn’t show it, but was quietly surprised. He had been asked the same question by this person that day and had been hit right on the mark. He thought he had gotten over it well by raising his voice tone, but… seeing him ask again, it seemed that he was convinced that something had happened.
I always thought so, but his intuition is scary fast.
“I told you, I was sorry that I suddenly left on your birthday.”
Leonardo, who rinsed his mouth with milk, answered nonchalantly. Then Hugo, who had been staring intently, quietly released his clasped hands on his thighs.
“…If it’s because of that, I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry about it. Because I was with you at the moment of celebrating your birthday.”
Soon, Hugo’s arm, which had passed behind Leonardo, was placed on the back of the sofa. He smoothed out the wrinkled hem of the cloak and spread it out without any curves, then bent his wrist and slightly touched the golden hair flickering in front of it.
“I also received a gift.”
Leonardo’s shoulders flinched for a moment. The sensation of twisting his hair with his index finger, just like he had done, was vividly conveyed to the back of his neck. He pretended not to care and concentrated on eating, but in his head, his shameful appearance, which had been packaged like a gift, came to mind.
His golden eyelashes were tightly closed and then opened.
‘The gift, could it be that?’
Or does it mean the Dragon accessory that I threw inside the barrier earlier?
The man’s playfulness, which put weight on the former, gradually became bolder. Then, Hugo’s hand slowly covered Leonardo’s neck. He raised the tips of his fingers and stroked the surface of the choker that crossed his skin with his fingerprints. Then, he found a spot inside the sternocleidomastoid muscle and pressed it gently.
The location happened to be near the carotid artery, so Leonardo, who was wiping his mouth with a napkin, turned to him with puzzled eyes. Hugo asked again.
“But that day, what was the reason you had to leave in a hurry?”
The Duke originally tried to protect my privacy and didn’t ask about the deep parts. But this time, he came in quite directly, so Leonardo pondered for a moment. It’s not like I can’t ask, though. If someone who was with me on my birthday abandoned me and left, I would be curious about what happened. I would be worried for no reason.
I was going to make up something appropriate, but for some reason, I had a feeling that I shouldn’t lie right now. Leonardo, conscious of the hand touching his neck, let it flow as calmly as possible.
“I got a call that someone I knew had died.”
“Oh dear.”
An exclamation as if he hadn’t expected it, and his sharp eyes were furrowed. Hugo’s mind flashed with Marcus Servan’s suicide, but Leonardo had left a day before that, so it was completely unrelated. He had been absorbed in the relationship between the two since the company commander’s statement, so he ridiculed himself for trying to connect the two events that had a time difference, even for a moment.
“Was it an accident?”
“No, it’s not a bad thing. It’s probably a good death.”
“If that’s the case, that’s a relief, but… so you didn’t have any energy that day. If you had told me when you left, I would have taken you to where you were going. Or helped with the funeral arrangements.”
He conveyed it with sincere regret. But to Leonardo, the kind voice sounded like he was asking why he had passed over it as if nothing had happened that day. A little strength went into the hand holding the baguette.
“You wouldn’t feel good hearing that someone died on your birthday. And he wasn’t that close to me to tell you. I did get some help from him before.”
As soon as the words were finished, the two felt a sense of incongruity almost simultaneously. In the first place, Leonardo had never mentioned anyone around him.
“I see. Whatever the circumstances, he helped you, so he must be resting comfortably in a good place. Don’t be too sad.”
“I’m not sad.”
Hugo glossed over it appropriately with silence. Then, he lowered his hand that had been wrapped around Leonardo’s neck and placed it on his left shoulder. His long fingers patted and conveyed gentle comfort. As if he had finished grasping the truth.
Leonardo glanced down at his shoulder, but soon bit the baguette he was holding again without any particular reaction.
He was admirable for eating well, but Hugo was soon swept up in ambivalent feelings. He was relieved that it was clear that Leonardo had not left because he was heartbroken by his rejection that day. At the same time, he had to remind himself once again that he really didn’t know anything about him.
‘He left in a hurry around dawn on January 13th, so the date of death is the 12th or 13th early in the morning. The date of the funeral will be between the 14th and 15th. I heard the sound of rain at the time of the call, so the estimated area is where it was raining heavily as of midnight on the 14th. If the funeral was completed safely, a death report would have been filed with the local branch… I wonder if I can find it.’
He quickly gathered the clues and slowly stroked Leonardo’s hair.
“Who was it that told you the news of the death? An acquaintance?”
The Duke’s words and actions were friendly and affectionate, but to Leonardo, it was so embarrassing that the food almost got stuck in his throat. Would he have ever imagined that the day would come when Hugo Agrizendro would ask about Terzio? Keup, Leonardo, who covered his mouth with his palm, suddenly burst into coughs, and Hugo hurriedly patted his back.
“Are you okay? I told you to eat slowly.”
Soon, he held the cup filled with milk and tilted it to his mouth. Fortunately, he quickly succeeded in extinguishing it, so there was no misfortune of spitting it out, but the area around Leonardo’s mouth became rapidly soaked with the white liquid that had passed over. The milk that flowed down his chin dripped onto his thighs and soaked them.
Hugo put the cup back and picked up a napkin instead. Leonardo, who was squinting one eye and coughing, retorted.
“Why that? You haven’t asked about, cough, things like this before.”
“I thought I could ask now, but I guess not yet.”
Leonardo, who snatched the unfolded napkin as if snatching it away, wiped his mouth himself.
It seemed that it would take more time for the lewd tongue inside to be completely honest with him. Hugo waited quietly, as if Leonardo wanted to take care of it himself. The stain that had spread on the beige pants quickly dried and disappeared in the heat. Around that time, the wind that blew slowly drew his consciousness to the sunset cityscape.
Hugo, who sighed silently, turned his head and continued without caring.
“What is your relationship with the people you met before the game started? They seemed quite close.”
Leonardo glanced at the other person, who was telling him to eat without getting indigestion, but was only picking out words that would cause indigestion. Could he be talking about Beatrice and Gillian? Or Ero? The four of them were gathered together long before he made eye contact with him.
I’ve been thinking about it since earlier, but when did he start watching me? Suddenly, the strange gaze I felt before going down to the entrance of the maze flashed through my mind. Could it be then?
‘What suddenly caught his attention that he’s asking me this?’
As many thoughts rushed in in a short time, his head gradually overheated. On the other hand, his spine became chilly. If their relationship seemed even a little special here, the worst-case scenario would unfold where the Libertas’s partners would be imprinted in the Council Legion Commander’s perception.
Did they seem suspicious?
Ero, you son of a bitch. Why did you have to act like you knew me back then and bring me this ordeal?
He turned the words over in his head this way and that before finally coming up with a safe answer.
“People I used to know.”
“Used to? When? Like comrades from your military days? Like Cordelia Hares?”
“Not comrades, just people I happened to meet during a mission… Ah.”
Leonardo suddenly let out an unpleasant sigh. Soon, he didn’t hide his displeasure and retorted.
“Are you interrogating me right now?”
It was a reaction that came out of a fit of temper to hide his unease, but it was also justified. He was half-doubtful, but he had felt something was off ever since the man’s fingertips touched the pulse on his neck.
Hugo, who had been watching his cold reaction with a calm gaze, moved his lips as if to speak, then closed them. After looking back on his own words and actions, he answered carefully.
“I’m sorry if it felt like I was interrogating you. It’s a habit.”
It was a quick admission and apology that left him speechless. The corners of Leonardo’s lips twisted uncomfortably. Well, he was a Legion Commander of the Council, so there was no helping his occupational hazard. It had been like that all the time on the Peninsula, too.
Leonardo met his gaze with a displeased expression, but he didn’t want to ruin the peaceful atmosphere, so he quickly softened his expression. He put down the half-eaten baguette for a moment, looked straight ahead, and silently wiped his hands with a napkin.
An awkward silence followed. The noise of the bustling city swept between them.
Just when it felt suffocating, Hugo was the first to break the silence.
“By the way, Leonardo.”
Leonardo turned his eyes slightly. The corners of his lips were half-lowered, with a deliberately pouty look remaining. But the sulkiness soon faded. The fact that ‘Leo’ had become ‘Leonardo’ was secondary, because the man’s eyes that were looking at him resembled the sky preparing for sunset.
The sunlight that shone diagonally on his shadowed eyes revealed the sorrow hidden within. On the other hand, the corners of his lips drew a faint parabola. It looked like a smile, but it wasn’t.
It looked so lonely and sad that Leonardo’s breath caught for a moment.
Hugo’s subsequent remark made him even more speechless.
“When will I be able to hear about you directly?”
His eyelashes fluttered slightly. His Adam’s apple rose and fell slowly.
In his Gold Eyes, the man’s bitter face was reflected, as if he had been waiting just as long as he had.