By Zephyria “I’m so worried I can’t leave you alone. You almost died because of that Amplifier.”
Hugo’s voice, which almost rose, made him feel that he was suppressing a lot. When the words ‘worry’ and ‘death’ hit him directly, Leonardo’s eyelids twitched for a moment.
His lips moved reflexively, but this time he couldn’t refute anything. It was partly because it was true, but also because the other’s emotions surged over him through his arm.
Leonardo’s expression stiffened for a moment. Hugo, noticing his reaction, consciously loosened his grip. Even so, his suppressed voice listed the things he had been avoiding, trying to appear calm.
“I don’t think you’ll deny it either. No, in fact, you probably know it best. Right after you defeated the core, you were on the verge of a rampage. There were moments when you lost your reason, and you even strangled yourself.”
Unlike before, Hugo’s blatant gaze reached Leonardo’s neck. Leonardo flinched and reflexively raised his arm to cover his neck. His hand kept fumbling as if trying to cover the area already covered by bandages and collar.
Seeing this, Hugo sighed with a troubled expression and opened his mouth in a low voice.
“…I won’t ask why you did it. You probably weren’t in your right mind then. But whether it was an action you took when you were unconscious or not, you tried to give up on yourself for a moment.”
“……”
“Leo…. Answer me. Do you really think everything is over now? You still have handprints on your neck, and bruises like tattoos are stained there?”
Hugo’s tone was never agitated. However, the explicit words he uttered one by one combined with an abnormally calm tone, making the atmosphere even more serious.
The more Leonardo listened to Hugo’s words, the more he fell into a rapid sense of shame and self-loathing. Even when he came out of the shower and the medical officers re-bandaged him, he tried to ignore the marks on his neck.
Everyone seemed to have agreed not to ask about the marks, so he thought he could pretend it didn’t happen if he ignored it. But when Agrizendro openly mentioned it, an indescribable embarrassment washed over him, and his head naturally lowered.
Hugo sighed again and rubbed his dry face. That’s why he indirectly pressured him to hand over the Amplifier, using unnecessary words such as serious crime or punishment.
He really didn’t want to say heavier words to someone who had just come back from the dead. And they both knew how sensitive this topic was to him and Leonardo.
But the water had already been spilled. Hugo stared at the silent Leonardo, then shifted his gaze to the orange light, closed his eyes tightly, and opened them.
“Hah—, it’s okay. Yeah, it’s all okay. Because I was by your side then. …As you said, the core is dead after all, and more than anything, you’re safe, so nothing else matters.”
Hugo, recalling the serious situation at the time, barely swallowed the many words he wanted to say. It was because he didn’t want Leonardo to be hurt or discouraged any more than this.
Instead, he murmured frankly and lowered his eyes towards Leonardo again. Then, he cupped his beautiful face, which had become haggard in the past few days, and slowly lifted his chin to make him look at him.
“But in the future, I might not be by your side.”
Hugo, taking a breath, conveyed to Leonardo in an even lower voice. At that moment, Leonardo’s pupils trembled slightly.
Perhaps because of the light, the blue eyes he faced were warmer and hotter than usual. The other’s sincerity, which was rarely seen, was mixed in that subtle heat.
“If you take drugs like the Amplifier again and lose control and go on a rampage. If this subjugation ends and we part ways, and I can no longer be by your side.”
“……”
“Who will protect you then?”
Hugo’s grip on his arm grew stronger. However, the hand and gaze that wrapped around Leonardo’s face were deeply concerned for him.
So Leonardo felt a tingling sensation, but no pain. He just didn’t know how to answer, so he looked at him confusedly, and Hugo, distorting his eyes, spat out as if complaining.
“I’m the only one in this empire who can handle you, but if I’m not there, who on earth will take responsibility for you?”
With those words, silence lingered between the two for a while. A heavier air was entangled in the space between their crossed gazes.
Leonardo, who was caught by the large hand and awkwardly leaning forward, became complicated because of the concern he conveyed.
If he had heard this story a little earlier, he might have been angry with the other person again because his pride was hurt. It was only recently that he was disappointed alone, thinking that his existence, which was like a foreign object in this subjugation party, might be a difficult burden to handle for Agrizendro.
But now it was different from then. The other person’s voice, as if asking, contained more concern than anger. He had heard his inner thoughts several times before, and had confirmed the sincerity of his eyes and voice for him. And now, it was foolish to get angry at the person who was telling him his worries with all his heart, just by hearing fragmentary words.
‘Hah…. Why me again.’
Leonardo was a little ashamed of his momentary anger. He knew that this person was not going to punish him. But he regretted that his actions, which had been misconstrued and shot down for no reason, seemed extremely impulsive.
Because of that, he felt uncomfortable making eye contact and looked down at the innocent floor. Just as he was throwing meaningless glances, not knowing where to put his eyes, his gaze naturally went to Hugo’s bulging forearm.
At that moment, Leonardo’s consciousness flew into the barrier where the volcanic eruption was in full swing. Hugo’s appearance, holding him and pleading with him not to run away, flickered before his eyes.
There were no red marks exposed between the torn combat uniforms at the time, but the faded traces of burns remained on his forearm under the short sleeves.
Leonardo’s expression distorted as if in pain. That was certainly the scar he had left.
“That……”
He wanted to ask if he was okay, but the entanglement of regret and self-loathing made it impossible to utter the question.
The person in front of him would have watched everything from start to finish of his ugly appearance just before the rampage. He even once flew his uncontrollable power towards him and almost harmed him with his own hands.
If the other person was really a Legion Commander who only cared about right and wrong and didn’t care about his position at all. As soon as he woke up, he might have first taken and tested his Magic Power or blood to see if there was any possibility of a rampage. Or he would have handcuffed him to prevent any unpleasant incidents. He himself thought of the possibility of a rampage as soon as he wondered why his voice was hoarse.
But since he woke up until now, Agrizendro had never mentioned it once. He would have pushed soup at him and nagged him that he had to eat well to recover, but he never brought up anything that would make him feel uncomfortable.
Leonardo, who was looking back, could vaguely feel it. That Hugo was intentionally keeping silent about the rampage. At the same time, he suddenly thought that the words that scratched his heart, such as ‘crime’ and ‘punishment’, were actually meant to indirectly talk about the main point.
Leonardo rubbed his throbbing forehead and closed his eyes tightly with a complicated heart. Then, Hugo, who had let out a deep sigh, suddenly broke the silence that was about to lengthen.
“No, Leonardo. …Forget what I said.”
The large hand that had been holding his forearm slipped out. Leonardo quickly raised his head, chasing after the retreating hand, wondering if that meant he wouldn’t even talk to him.
Hugo pushed away the side table he had pulled forward and stood up from his seat. He lightly swept back his hair and looked down at Leonardo with a much gentler face.
“I think I said something unnecessary. I didn’t really need to say that.”