After being frozen stupidly for a while, Leonardo pulled the bedding back up again with a rather serious expression. He stared at the white blanket with complex feelings, then soon set aside unnecessary thoughts and looked at Hugo again.
It wasn’t the first or second time this had happened for no apparent reason, and there was nothing strange about it at all. However, he didn’t want to be reminded that his body was healthy in this way the moment he opened his eyes, so he couldn’t help but feel somewhat uncomfortable.
‘Is it because blood suddenly started circulating in my body?’
It was natural for blood circulation to speed up as his heart rate increased while regaining consciousness. Leonardo tried to shake off his confusion with a subtle expression, settling on a plausible reason.
Then a thought suddenly struck him, and he threw the bedding back wide again. He wondered if he’d seen wrong, but he was wearing a navy blue battle uniform.
It was quite large, and the sleeves were so long they covered his palms. Moreover, the strong scent clinging to the clothes almost matched the body odor of someone he knew well. Just in case, he sniffed the sleeve, and sure enough, it seemed to be the Commander’s battle uniform.
‘...?’
Leonardo, burying his mouth and nose, shifted his gaze slightly and stared at Hugo with eyes full of questions.
There was no immediate reason why he was wearing this, of all clothes, and why he was wearing this person’s clothes. But as he pulled the bedding up to his chin and pondered deeply, he felt like he’d found an answer from another angle.
Ah—if he was wearing clothes that reeked of someone else’s scent, he couldn’t help being conscious of it, even subconsciously.
Coincidentally, Agrizendro was lying close beside him, and it seemed he’d become unconsciously aware of it because it was a bit embarrassing. His sleeping face looked a bit more innocent than usual, but what was that about? Anyway, it seemed better not to think any more about this person.
His reason abruptly severed the connection his lower body was trying to make. Leonardo, deciding to treat it as not a big deal somehow, decided to postpone waking Hugo for now.
Facing someone in this state was quite awkward on his part. Moreover, judging by how the Commander was sleeping unusually deeply, he seemed quite tired.
In the end, Leonardo lay back down straight with his head against the pillow and stared blankly at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. If he were alone, it wouldn’t matter, but if this continued, it would be troublesome in many ways.
He counted the wood grain on the ceiling, trying to divert his concentration elsewhere as much as possible. However, perhaps because he’d been holding it in for quite a long time even before waking up, the stiff, full feeling wouldn’t go away easily.
‘I feel like I need to go to the bathroom.’
He tried to remember what he’d last seen before falling asleep—something important seemed about to come to mind—but he completely forgot because of the situation. Leonardo, blinking in disbelief, considered singing a military song in his head, but decided against it.
Still, just lying like this didn’t seem like it would resolve quickly, and his arm and leg muscles were itching, not knowing how long he’d been lying down. As his body felt beyond stiff and started to ache, he finally decided it would be better to get up and look around, so he propped himself up on his arm and raised his upper body diagonally.
But out of habit, he put weight on his left arm against the floor. The terrible pain he’d forgotten speared through his nerves as if punishing his foolishness.
“Ah!”
The sharp voice that burst out on reflex echoed briefly in the quiet space. Fortunately, it wasn’t loud enough to wake the person next to him, but because the weight was concentrated on one side, muscles he hadn’t been using seemed startled. His entire injured left arm felt like it was being torn apart.
At that “being torn apart” sensation, a vague memory flashed by, but as his unbalanced upper body tipped forward, there was no time to grasp it. As Hugo’s sleeping face rapidly approached unintentionally, Leonardo, whose thoughts momentarily stopped, was silently aghast.
“...!”
The last thread of reflex extended his right hand before his brain could react. Fortunately, not too late, he planted it on the floor with a thud.
However, as he barely managed to set it down past Hugo’s head, he was still on the verge of pouncing on the sleeping person.
‘...Shit.’
Leonardo looked down at Hugo with his heart pounding, regardless of the pain in his shoulder.
Because the other was lying on his side, his shoulder rose like a wall, its height considerable. So Leonardo awkwardly balanced himself with his arm stretched high to avoid touching him.
Because of the strange posture, the distance became so close he could see a single eyelash. Perhaps because of that damn innocent face today of all days, his arms wouldn’t hold steady as they supported him.
His whole body trembled, but sensing he couldn’t avoid a collision if he moved even slightly, Leonardo gritted his teeth and forced every bit of strength into not collapsing.
He didn’t want to become a strange person who pounced on the person next to him with an erect lower body the moment he opened his eyes. And especially not when that person was the Commander of the Council, who looked like the embodiment of asceticism.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Leonardo, who had been unconscious for three days and hadn’t even been awake for five minutes, felt dizzy as cold sweat poured down. However, he had to defuse this situation somehow, so he slowly lifted his right hand from the floor, relying on willpower as he wobbled.
Once again, absurd pain rushed through his left arm, but right now, dignity came before pain. Straining until even the veins in his neck stood out, he succeeded in raising his right arm over Hugo’s head.
However, as if by fate’s prank, footsteps sounded from outside. Someone was approaching quickly in this direction.
‘First, to the Commander...’
‘As you said last time...’
The voices of two people conversing flickered closer, and immediately outside the door, several salutes rang out quite loudly. Hearing them call out “Adjutant,” Leonardo, who hadn’t yet withdrawn his arm, went rigid all over.
If the Commander’s adjutant had come to this vicinity, the next destination was obvious.
As that thought hit him, his mind went blank.
Creeeeak—
“It seems he’s been busy with various things lately. Even now, I have no idea where he is—”
At this hour, Hugo was always in meetings outside, so Flynn naturally assumed Leonardo would be alone and opened the door without knocking. However, as he entered, he stopped abruptly after two or three steps.
Cordelia, who had approached the door behind Flynn, also halted when he did, just as she was about to step in. Peering over Flynn’s shoulder, she cautiously asked, her expression puzzled.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen...”
“Ah—well.”
Flynn, who had quickly turned around, gestured for her to be quiet by putting his index finger to his lips. It was because he had seen the back of the Commander lying motionless, facing away from them.
However, belatedly remembering that Cordelia was a noble, Flynn hurriedly lowered his finger and bowed his head in apology. Even so, he kept subtly gesturing toward the outside, whispering as if to block the # Nоvеlight # doorway—to say they should leave.
“It seems the Commander is sleeping. Let’s talk outside for now.”
As Flynn lowered his voice, Cordelia, who had been blinking, craned her neck and looked inside.
It was common knowledge among those who knew that Hugo had barely slept for the past few days. So the fact that he was sleeping was rather welcome. However, she hadn’t known he would sleep next to Leonardo, so Cordelia nodded at Flynn’s words for now, still uncertain about His Excellency’s intentions.
The two stopped talking and walked quietly, carefully closing the cabin door. Flynn briefly debated whether to cover him with a blanket, but chose to leave quietly, since the interior temperature was high and the Commander was known to be a light sleeper.
Thud—
As soon as the door closed, silence fell as if nothing had happened. Hugo remained still with his eyes closed, not waking even to the small commotion.
Leonardo lay curled up in front of Hugo, holding his breath and looking at the other with trembling eyes.
He had managed to escape the easily misunderstood position before Flynn saw, but there hadn’t been enough time to return to his original place and lie down as before. Because of this, with no choice but to lie flat next to the Commander, Leonardo had fervently prayed for them to leave as soon as he heard Flynn’s voice.
He didn’t know why he felt guilty, but instinctively, he felt this situation shouldn’t be seen. Thankfully, with the Commander’s broad shoulders hiding him, he didn’t seem visible from Flynn’s angle.
The footsteps moved away again. Leonardo closed his eyes tightly in relief, then opened them.
His position, with his head half on the pillow, was by no means natural if seen by others. The sight of two large men facing each other while sharing one pillow was the kind of scene where it wouldn’t be surprising for comrades to throw punches, saying it made them want to vomit.
Tick tock—
The small sound of the second hand seemed very loud in the quiet interior. Perhaps because the tension had eased, Leonardo stayed lying there for a while, unable to move.
The incoming sunlight lazily illuminated the upper bodies of the two, pressed close together. Fine dust floating in the air sparkled as it caught the light.
It drifted lazily through the room before gently settling around Hugo’s chin as he slept. Leonardo’s gaze also lowered slowly, following it.
The strong jaw and lips washed in sunlight somehow suited the golden eyes sitting slightly below.
Unconsciously reaching out, Leonardo lightly brushed at the dust on the tip of Hugo’s chin. However, when he looked at his hand, there was nothing there, making him wonder if he had seen wrong.
Letting out a low sigh, he strained his neck to finally shift back into place. In that state, he slightly raised his head and looked up at Hugo’s face.
At that moment, Leonardo’s shoulders visibly flinched.
“...”
“...”
He met the blue eyes looking down at him head-on.
