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Bermuda Chapter 80
🕑 Added 2024-05-01 11:58:33 +0000 UTCChapter 80
Leonardo, who had generously spread the ointment on Hugo's hand, began to wrap his hand with the gauze he had brought along.
"This is a well-ventilated gauze. So try not to take it off unless necessary."
Leonardo said that while slightly compressing the gauze as he wrapped it, and quickly tied a firm knot.
Seeing how it was perfectly fitted to the hand and meticulously wrapped, it seemed he had done it many times. Perhaps in battlefields or dangerous missions, he often had to perform emergency treatment on himself in a hurry, so he naturally became accustomed to it.
After finishing the treatment, Leonardo looked at Hugo again with narrowed eyes.
"I told you, who asked you to grab my wrist? Are you crazy..."
For a moment, Hugo's brows furrowed slightly.
Leonardo observed his reaction, then touched Hugo's hand again, and eventually placed it on his thigh carefully as if moving a fragile object. It seemed he felt sorry since it was a wound caused by him.
Leonardo lowered his head and unnecessarily pushed away the gravel and dirt on the ground with his foot. Then, he soon raised his head and cast a meaningless gaze towards the lake.
"I'll handle my own problems, so you don't need to take responsibility and try to control this too. If a problem arises due to my control miss, that's my business, not something you should take responsibility for."
Hugo silently stared at him as he spoke in a calm tone that felt quite unfamiliar. Although he seemed to be speaking quite seriously, unfortunately, his words sounded like a kind of bravado to Hugo.
Hugo could be certain that he wouldn't intentionally harm anyone. However, if it wasn't intentional and was a situation that even Leonardo himself hadn't anticipated, the story would be different.
If Leonardo were to hurt someone with his unstable mana here, it would not only be difficult to release him without the meaning of bringing him to the peninsula under the condition of release, but he might also be left as a criminal once again.
Just like how the result of his disobedience, even if unintended, brought defeat to the empire and caused numerous casualties.
However, knowing how foolish it would be to bring up that story in front of him, Hugo thought for a moment and then opened his mouth in a calm tone.
"The very fact that I brought you here in the first place was on the premise that I would prevent in advance and take responsibility for anything that might occur because of you. So I will continue to try to control you while you're here. So that I can take responsibility for you until the end."
At the resolute answer, Leonardo sighed with a fed-up face.
"Wow... Isn't it tiring to live like that?"
Hugo thought those words were a sign of his aversion to him trying to control him.
"Isn't it tiring to live like that, trying to take responsibility for everything yourself."
However, Leonardo's subsequent words were completely different from what Hugo had thought.
"You're the Council Commander, so from planning the operation to execution, progress, and even variables. In the end, you'll take responsibility for everything that happens on the peninsula. But what can you do, this time there's even me, who is called a person of interest?"
"..."
"If you live like that, taking responsibility for others' affairs, and then a situation arises where you can't take responsibility for your own affairs, who will take responsibility for your affairs then?"
Eventually, as he asked back, "Isn't that right?" Hugo looked at him with surprised eyes. It was a remark he hadn't expected to come from his mouth at all, and at the same time, it was something he had never thought about himself. So it took a bit of time for him to fully accept his words.
Hugo pondered the words he had conveyed, and suddenly felt himself falling into self-deprecating thoughts. So he took his eyes off Leonardo's face and shifted his gaze to the far end of the lake.
Leonardo also stopped talking for a moment and looked at the side profile of him lost in thought. He seemed to have quite a lot on his mind.
How much time had passed? Hugo, who had been silent for a long time, opened his mouth quietly with a faint smile on his lips.
"Well, I've never thought about it. That someone would take responsibility for my affairs..."
Leonardo frowned slightly. He thought it was the most foolish thing he had said.
However, strangely enough. As he listened to the self-deprecating words of the esteemed Duke and the Commander of the Council, he felt a strange sense of kinship, as if he had a slightly similar aspect to himself.
Perhaps because of his title or position, Leonardo could vaguely feel through his words that he had never relied on anyone in his life, and that he didn't even expect to.
At the sight of Hugo, who seemed to be thinking about it for the first time, looking unfamiliar even with the sentence itself, Leonardo closely observed the rare expression and thought,
'He can make an expression like that too.'
The expression etched on his upright side profile was something he was seeing for the first time from him since they met. As Leonardo took in that sight, he was helplessly falling into strange thoughts.
It was absurd that he, the most pitiful person in this world, was trying to sympathize with someone, but really ridiculously, the emotion rising in his heart right now was close to sympathy, as if looking at himself reflected in a mirror.
Leonardo, feeling very displeased with himself, let out a sigh and conveyed with a regretful emotion as if talking to himself,
"You too, you live a tiring life."
At Leonardo's words that sounded both mocking and sympathetic, Hugo turned his head towards him.
Although the words could be taken offensively, rather, the moment he saw his expression, such thoughts completely disappeared. He looked quite complicated.
Their gazes met, and silence flowed for a moment.
Hugo slowly opened his mouth to him, who looked as complicated as himself for some unknown reason, as if revealing a part of himself.
"Leonardo, I am in a position where I have to take responsibility. The reason I can live the life given to me and enjoy what I have is because I am responsible for many things. So although it may seem to you that I live a tiring life, this is the task given to me, and also what I must do."
"..."
"Just like you have your own affairs."
Leonardo silently stared at him as he spoke of his 'affairs' as if it were a fate to live.
Hugo's words felt strangely heavy, so Leonardo could no longer make the same fed-up or frustrated expression as before.
Moreover, the gaze directed at him also felt heavy somehow, unlike before.
He had vaguely thought it was a position with heavy responsibilities, but hearing it directly from the person in front of him, the weight seemed to be conveyed, even if indirectly.
Because of that, Leonardo couldn't hastily open his mouth and struggled to find words to say to him.
However, feeling that he himself was becoming confused now, and bothered by the prolonged silence, Leonardo lightly said as if throwing out a sentiment, even though he couldn't find anything else to say.
"That's cool."
He wanted to say it lightly, but the voice that actually came out of his mouth was not light at all.
"I don't dislike people who take responsibility. No, who would dislike them."
Hugo showed a small smile on his lips at the gaze that was looking at him straight. Leonardo stared at his blue eyes, then lowered his gaze as if lost in thought and said quietly,
"And when I said you live a tiring life, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'm like that too."
Leonardo turned his gaze to the lake. Then, once more, as if talking to himself in self-deprecation, he murmured,
"I too... live a tiring life."
At the desolate face that seemed to be reminiscing about something, numerous questions came to Hugo's mind, but he tried hard to swallow them. This fellow seemed young in age but had a deep story, so it wasn't easy to ask him anything.
So instead of saying something, Hugo examined the pretty side profile with eyes on the lake, then lightly placed the hand Leonardo had treated on his shoulder. This time, it was the right shoulder, not the left.
Leonardo alternately looked at Hugo's hand on his shoulder and his face, and asked,
"Why?"
Seeing that he didn't seem to be very wary, Hugo tapped his shoulder a couple of times.
Knowing that Agrizendro usually tapped shoulders or backs a couple of times when encouraging, Leonardo blankly stared at that hand and soon chuckled.
'The right side is fine.'
Seeing the curved lips, Hugo slowly lowered his hand.
As Leonardo lowered his gaze following the retreating encouragement, he suddenly noticed the watch on Hugo's left wrist.
He had briefly seen it earlier while treating his hand, and it looked quite sophisticated, seeming to be a very expensive watch.
For a moment, a buried memory vaguely came to mind, but he quickly shook it off by blinking his eyes a few times, as it was a useless distraction now.
Agrizendro had been wearing that watch most of the time since the capital, except when he came to catch him in the Frost Territory. And it was the same when he got burned grabbing his wrist.
Nevertheless, seeing that it hadn't shattered to pieces, the watch seemed to have a high-level reinforcement magic cast on it.
Leonardo was curious about how strong the magic was to withstand his mana, so he naturally brought his hand to the watch. And at that moment, Hugo's hand slowly moved away from his hand. As if to prevent him from touching it.
Leonardo, who had flinched, raised his head to look into Hugo's eyes. Various thoughts flashed in an instant, but he soon said nonchalantly,
"You always wear that watch."
Although there was no change in the expression he faced, somehow it seemed to be a hint not to touch it.
As the extended hand was withdrawn as if regretful, Hugo looked down at his own watch and said,
"It was given to me by someone precious."
As the words 'someone precious' came out of his mouth, Leonardo slightly widened his eyes and looked at him as if it was unfamiliar. Everyone would have someone precious, but hearing such words from his mouth felt different. Feeling a strange sensation, Leonardo asked casually, curious about the subject.
"Who, your lover?"
Hugo only showed a small smile. It was impossible to tell whether it was an affirmation or a denial, but Leonardo scanned his neat face and thought,
'Well, it would be strange if he didn't have one.'
After staring at the watch for a moment, Hugo soon got up from his seat without saying much. Leonardo's gaze also followed him upwards.
"Let's go in now."
At his words, Leonardo turned his eyes to his watch one last time, realized it was quite late, and obediently nodded.
When the two returned to the cave entrance together, the night watch was pinching his thighs and struggling to keep his eyes wide open. Seeing Hugo and Leonardo return, he flinched and corrected his slouched posture. At his pitiful appearance, Hugo approached the member and said,
"Go in and sleep. I'll take over."
"Pardon? B-but..."
"It's fine, so go to sleep quickly."
Although the member seemed flustered when the Commander said he would take over, he was quite tired to refuse, so after a brief hesitation, he saluted and sneakily entered the tent, gauging the reaction.
Hugo sat down in the spot where he had been sitting, and threw a few more pieces of firewood into the dying bonfire. Leonardo glanced at him across the bonfire as he entered his tent on the inside of the cave.
When the sound of firewood crackling was heard and his gaze across the flames briefly met his, Leonardo put his body into the tent and completely closed the door.
In the meantime, he shook his head in disapproval at him taking over for the night watch member.
'He barely slept himself.'
Hugo looked at the closed tent, then soon withdrew his gaze and looked down at his hand wrapped in gauze. The cool sensation of the ointment and the warm feeling of the fellow's touch still lingered and coexisted on his palm.
Beyond his palm, the bonfire with the added firewood was burning fiercely. Hugo, who had been quietly watching the flickering flames, turned his gaze to the lake in the crater outside the cave.
On the tranquil lake where nothing could be seen as darkness had fallen, very faint ripples were occurring and spreading quietly.
"What do I do now..."
And so, he waited for the morning to come.
Comments
Monmon
Yaaaay the boys are bonding 😊😊😊 gosh oh golly I wonder who gave Hugo his Rolex
Jesse Gibson
I’m trying not to rant each chapter hahaha 😂 Leo, I want to you to have a hot ML but you got stuck Hugo. This chapter wasn’t bad though but wasn’t great either … sigh you’re so frustrating!!!
