By Zephyria 
―Are you curious?
‘Yes.’
―Figure it out yourself.
Hugo stood with his arms crossed, leaning his back against the corridor wall. This was the connecting passage leading from the interior of the arena to the participants’ exclusive area. No one passed through here except for participants who had finished their matches or officials from the Council.
In a silence devoid of even white noise, Hugo gazed vacantly through the large panoramic window, his face lost in thought.
‘…What if I can’t remember?’
―Then you’ll just have to endure the frustration. It should be nothing compared to the time I’ve waited.
Immediately after the match ended, he had bolted from the spectator seats. He felt that if he didn’t hurry, he wouldn’t be able to meet him. When he descended to the connecting passage, most of the participants had already exited Trigon Gorge, and the cleanup process was about to begin.
Fortunately, he wasn’t too late; occasional vigorous sparks flew from the flames that had failed to evolve. Watching them invariably brought back memories of the silver candlestick’s flame that had flickered before his eyes last night.
‘Leo.’
―If you still want to know until the end, wait a little longer.
‘Until when?’
―Until the day I win.
A voice, unusually cold and sunken, whispered in his ear.
―Once I win, I’ll tell you then.
‘…….’
―Think about it carefully until then. By yourself.
By yourself. As if handing down a cruel punishment, there were hidden thorns in the other’s tone.
Unable to ask any further, Hugo had fallen silent around that time. Unconsciously, his hand rose to rub his lips and chin, which had grown rough overnight.
“The time I’ve waited…”
“Pardon?”
Two members guarding the passage reacted immediately to the Legion Commander’s mutterings. Hugo shook his head as if it were nothing, his gaze remaining fixed.
Just then, the sound of boisterous chatter echoed from the other end of the corridor.
“At this rate, isn’t Big Brother actually going to win?”
The acrid smell of flames and ash brushed past his nose. Along with it, he felt a faint but familiar Magic Power. His blue eyes shifted to the side, staring past the corner where the presence was approaching.
“I mean, who else but our Big Brother could turn the arena into that state! With one wave of his hand, the ground split, the rails collapsed, and the lava went just—whoosh! Right? Did you see the referees’ faces earlier? They looked at him not like a person, but like a monster—”
Ero, waving his arms wildly, led the way like a leader, making a huge fuss. Beatrice, who had been spinning around with him until a moment ago, seemed tired; she picked at her fingernails and snapped at him.
“Ugh, you. You’re so noisy.”
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
Gillian asked with a giggle. An excited Ero continued, spitting as he spoke.
“Of course it’s a compliment—no, worship! For your information, I am Big Brother’s first disciple!”
“Then I’ll be the first apostle of the Lion. Hmm, or maybe a subordinate is better?”
“Aw, Brother Orca. There’s no such thing! And since he’s already rejected you, continuing to cling is just unattractive…”
Just then, Ero, who was the first to round the corner, locked eyes with the man leaning against the wall. His grinning face froze instantly, and his mouth, which had stopped for a moment to process the situation, fell wide open.
“U-uwaaaah!”
With the nightmare of the shower room, which he had tried so hard to forget, suddenly standing before him, it was only natural that a scream escaped him instinctively.
Being at the front, he stumbled backward and fell with a crash. Those following him stopped in a row.
“What is it?”
“Joker, why suddenly…”
Their gazes naturally shifted to the large man standing on one side of the corridor. Leonardo, who had been moving silently among them, was no exception.
Feeling the eyes piercing him, Hugo straightened his leaning upper body, uncrossed his arms, and took a step forward. An overwhelming presence and a bleak shadow filled the wide passage.
“It seems I’ve startled you.”
A calm but chilly voice echoed softly through the long corridor. Although the atmosphere wasn’t particularly heavy, the sense of intimidation was considerable. Leonardo’s eyelids widened for a moment.
“You…”
He habitually tried to call out, but conscious of the surrounding eyes, he clamped his mouth shut.
Leonardo’s hidden Adam’s apple bobbed sharply. He hadn’t expected to encounter him so abruptly.
The resentment toward the man who had unsettled his mind throughout the match had not yet faded. However, since the man was suddenly blocking his exit, he didn’t know how to react.
And not alone, but in front of his teammates.
Regardless of Leonardo’s situation, trapped in such complex emotions, Gillian, who was wiping ash with a towel, and Beatrice, who looked indifferent, froze the moment they saw the man.
“Did you finish your match well?”
Hugo asked a formal greeting as if it were nothing. However, those who heard it were in a state where they couldn’t move a single finger.
In a way, it was extreme vigilance beyond mere tension. It was only natural; he was the head of the Imperial Faction nobles and the General Legion Commander of the Council, a name frequently mentioned whenever Libertas planned an operation. The snow-white uniform, the neatly slicked-back dark navy hair. The piercingly blue eyes that could freeze the blood in one’s entire body with a single downward glance were right in front of them.
The renowned Kajard, who was merciless to sinners who disrupted order and valued propriety and principles.
To think such a titan would suddenly appear before mere league participants. For Gillian and Beatrice, it was like a life-threatening crisis arriving in an unprepared state.
As if to prove this, Beatrice’s wrist, which was tightly holding Morbang’s hand, was trembling slightly.
Only Orca looked at Hugo with curiosity, smelling the scent of water drifting in the air.
Hugo, scanning the ensuing silence, shifted his gaze to the orca. Orca, whose eyes met his for a moment, sharpened his senses without showing it. Though he didn’t know the reason, he felt a dangerous current emanating from the other. A strange hostility was writhing, though not clearly revealed.
However, Hugo quickly withdrew his gaze and extended a hand to Ero, who was still fallen on the floor.
“Take it.”
His action seemed like an act of kindness at first glance, but it was far from the tenderness he showed Leonardo. It was a thorough command. While that was typical of him, it was an unbearable pressure to Ero, whose soul had practically left his body from shock.
“U-uh, yes…?”
Ero’s eyes followed the white glove thrust in front of his face. Hesitating in an awkward posture, unable to decide what to do, he eventually scrambled up on his own, unable to bring himself to take the hand.
“N-no! I’m fine! But, uh, what brings you here…?”
Stuttering and rambling, Ero glanced at Leonardo. Even his Big Brother, whom he admired above all else, seemed bewildered, suggesting this wasn’t a prearranged meeting. At that moment, Hugo’s gaze also reached Leonardo. As if he hadn’t extended the hand with any great intention in the first place, the hand offering benevolence was quickly withdrawn.
“It seems there is no obligation to answer.”
Following the cold response, the blue gaze obsessively indulged only in Ryan. As if the others in the same space didn’t exist, that uncomfortable silence lasted quite a while. By the time bewilderment began to show on Leonardo’s face, Hugo gave instructions to the members waiting behind him.
“Guide the participants to the waiting room.”
“Yes, sir.”
The two members, who had been watching discreetly, hurried forward and guided the members of Team Joker to the other side of the corridor.
“Please come this way.”
Without anyone taking the lead, their movements became hurried. One by one, they hesitated, gave a slight nod, and bypassed Kajard, circling around the wide corridor.
Only Leonardo stood there blankly, and just as he was about to pass by him with equal composure—
“Ryan, a word with me for a moment.”
Hugo, placing a hand on the corridor wall, blocked the path. With his forearm and trailing cloak obstructing his view, Leonardo came to a dead stop.
“…What?”
The teammates being led by the members looked back, but only for a moment. At the mention of ‘Ryan’ specifically, Orca tried to turn back, but was pushed away by Gillian, who shoved him from the back.
In the silence, the sound of footsteps grew more distant.
Leonardo gazed vacantly in the direction where his teammates were disappearing.
The diagonal gaze piercing him was stinging, but he deliberately avoided eye contact.
First, he ruined the thrill of a thrilling victory just by appearing, and now his direct approach, as if requesting a conversation immediately while he was exhausted and tired, was not particularly welcome after last night’s contact. He wasn’t ready, nor did he even want to speak yet.
Eventually, the presence of others completely vanished from the space, leaving only the two of them in the middle of the corridor.
Feeling utterly uncomfortable in the silence, Leonardo finally opened the conversation first with a dissatisfied expression.
“What do you think you’re—”
Just as he raised his head with a furrowed brow to protest, he couldn’t finish his sentence. A gloved hand pulled down his mask and abruptly grabbed his chin, tilting it up.
As his golden eyelashes fluttered in surprise, a sharp-lined gaze had already approached his face.
Without hesitation, Hugo tilted his head and roughly pressed his lips against him. The rushing breath was tinged with urgency.