Dismissing the two members guarding the tightly closed door, Hugo stood alone in front of it.
Although it was his own space that he usually entered and exited, today it was particularly difficult to step inside. As he placed his hand against the door’s surface and took a deep breath, a blue magic circle recognized its owner and stood out like a relief.
A pair of magic circles, interlocked like two clockworks, rotated in opposite directions to unlock the door. When he opened the heavy door and stepped in, the room was filled with the scent of sunlight despite the windows being tightly shut.
It was quite amazing how the presence of just one person could fill this spacious room.
He was about to head straight to the bed, but instead he drew back the long, flowing curtains and opened the window. The afternoon light, tinged with sunset, colored his upper body. He didn’t intend to disturb Leonardo’s sleep, but he hoped he would emerge from the darkness soon.
“...Ugh.”
At that moment, a sound that might have been sleep-talking broke the silence with perfect timing.
Hugo, loosening his tie as he welcomed the fresh air, watched the figure covered in bedding.
“Hm...”
As if to confirm he hadn’t misheard, a small groan followed immediately. Convinced, he hurried to the bed.
It was the first time he’d taken such care not to make a single sound with his shoes in his personal space. Carefully gripping the headboard and looking down, he saw Leonardo frowning and breathing heavily.
True to the report that he occasionally tossed and turned, there were frantic pupil movements beneath his eyelids. Moreover, not only was he curled up as if cold, but his face and clothes were damp with sweat.
“Leo?”
The fine eyebrows threaded with golden hair twitched repeatedly. His drooping eyelashes were clumped together with moisture—whether sweat or tears.
‘What’s wrong?’
This was a situation he hadn’t heard about from Flynn, who had just returned. Sensing something was off, Hugo gently cupped Leonardo’s cheek in his hand.
‘...!’
However, for some reason, his body was like a fireball. Hugo immediately half-pulled back the blanket and slipped his hand behind Leonardo’s neck to support his head.
“Leo, where does it hurt? Hm?”
“...Ugh.”
“Look here, let me see your face.”
The pillow he’d been resting on was already soaked with sweat, and the patient gown he was wearing was twisted, constricting his whole body.
Hugo kept talking to him as he unbuttoned a couple of buttons on the gown. However, Leonardo only groaned and whimpered, burrowing into the blanket like a caterpillar.
Seeing how distressed he was, Hugo thought he should call the medical staff immediately and fumbled on the bedside table. He was searching for the communication magic tool, but before that, his hand found the rustling medicine ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) envelope. It was the medicine the counselor had delivered, which he’d placed on the bedside table, not knowing when Leonardo would wake up.
Come to think of it, he belatedly recalled what the counselor had said.
“Nightmares are a common symptom, but if he seems to be in distress, it’s better to wake him up. However, wake him gently so as not to startle him, then have him take a sedative...”
“...Ugh, no...”
At the “no” he caught midway, Hugo was certain Leonardo was trapped in a nightmare. While soothing and comforting him, he tore open the medicine packet with one hand and his teeth, setting it on the bedside table so it could be given at any time.
Meanwhile, as if the situation in the dream was reaching its peak, Leonardo began to feel his own neck with the hand that had been gripping the blanket.
Hugo’s eyelids twitched at the familiar action. It reminded him of Leonardo’s bizarre behavior of choking himself amid the erupting discharge.
“Leo—!”
A sudden chill ran through him, and Hugo raised his voice without realizing it. At the same time, he firmly grabbed both of Leonardo’s wrists, pulling them away from his neck and restraining him hard.
“Ahhh—!”
At that moment, as if in response, Leonardo—who had been wandering in unconsciousness—suddenly twisted and screamed.
Hugo was equally startled by the sudden reaction. Flinching, he tried to soothe and calm the struggling Leonardo.
“Leonardo, calm down. It’s a dream, a dream—”
In that instant, Leonardo suddenly opened his eyes wide, sat up, slipped out of Hugo’s grasp, and seized the collar of his shirt. With tremendous strength, as if grabbing him by the throat, he shoved Hugo’s upper body back with a terrified expression.
“Get away!!”
The scream-like shout that followed turned the atmosphere of the space—occupied by just the two of them—chilling.
Bloodshot eyes glared as if to kill, while his lips expelled rapid breaths. Hugo’s expression stiffened in an instant.
Under the other’s tremendous killing intent, bewilderment and tension came before the realization that he’d awakened safely. Looking down at the hand stretched toward him with wide eyes, Hugo saw Leonardo’s nails scraping at his collarbone, as if to leave marks beyond the shirt collar.
As the heat gradually pressed down even on his artery, Hugo instinctively swallowed. It was pressure that felt like his neck could be snapped at any moment.
Since he was actually capable of it, Hugo didn’t move rashly. Instead, he met Leonardo’s eyes again.
“...Leo.”
Extreme fear was etched in his fiercely raised eyes. Whatever the nightmare was, it seemed to have tormented him thoroughly.
As if offering his hands as a defense mechanism, Hugo slowly wrapped his hands around Leonardo’s forearms and spoke gently.
“Calm down. It’s me.”
Though he conveyed his lack of resistance in a steady voice, Leonardo’s fingertips only tightened on his collar.
The two kept their standoff for about thirty seconds.
Only the sound of ragged breathing circled in the silence, and Hugo waited him out.
“Hah, hah...”
Soon, the unsteadily shaking golden eyes slowly regained focus. The tempo of his breathing also slowed considerably. Leonardo, still dazed, released his grip and clenched his fist tight, pulling it to his own chest.
Looking around as if in a panic attack, he kicked the bedding away and pressed his back tightly to the headboard, as if trying to flee the situation. Then he rubbed his sweat-drenched face with both hands and trembled violently like an aspen leaf.
Instead of speaking to the anxious Leonardo, Hugo carefully held out a cup of water along with the medicine.
Leonardo, who flinched pitifully at the outstretched hand, saw the oddly colored pills and snatched them at once, roughly dumping them into his mouth.
As he crammed them down as if eating to survive, a few pills fell to the floor and rolled into blind spots. Hugo quickly tore open another packet and picked out only the fallen pills to hand them over. The golden eyes flicked to him, then he gulped down the pills and the water.
His Adam’s apple, revealed by the unbuttoned gown, bobbed beneath a black choker. Water trickled down both corners of his mouth, soaking his abdomen, but Hugo didn’t stop him for now—he only watched in silence.
“Ha—”
Leonardo, who had emptied the glass in no time as if dehydrated, leaned his back and head against the headboard, looking drained.
“Huu...”
“...”
His body, slumped as if he might collapse at any moment, looked as if he’d just come out of water. The thin front of the gown was completely soaked, and the clear contours of his flat abdomen rose and fell with his breathing.
Even the shape of the reddish protrusions on his chest was laid bare. The fabric clung precariously over the stiff shadows, creating an unsteady sight. Along with his wet hair, it was decadent—almost erotic—but Hugo quickly gathered his gaze.
Though it was better than before, his breathing was still fast, and his face was so pale it was worrying. Hugo slowly reached out and stroked Leonardo’s cheek. His drooping eyelids lifted at once, but he showed no signs of aggression or resistance.
“Are you alright?”
Hugo gently rubbed Leonardo’s wet mouth and cheek with his thumb.
With his other hand, he brushed back his sweat-soaked hair. He also set the fallen pillow beside him, as if telling him to lean on it. Leonardo only stared at Hugo with fierce eyes, breathing raggedly.
Though no answer came, Hugo could feel Leonardo finding stability.
As if to prove it, his sorrowful eyes slowly closed, and he tilted his head into Hugo’s palm.
“...”
Hugo didn’t show it, but he drew a silent breath. It was surprising enough that the small face had leaned in on its own—then a large droplet rolled down from between his lowered lashes.
Hugo went momentarily speechless at the jewel-like sparkle that filled his pitiful eyes. The dew that slid down his pale cheek settled on Hugo’s palm via his trembling lips.
“Get out.”
Then it wet his thick forearm, following the strong pulse beating beneath the veins on his wrist.
Hugo swallowed hard. Leonardo muttered again, coldly.
“I said get out.”
He clearly said to get out, but the true feelings glimpsed from his tilted face were saying something completely different from his wicked lips. Don’t go. Stay by my side. He pleaded with choked moisture in his voice.
Hugo’s eyes crumpled slightly.
“You’re lying.”
He had tried not to provoke him, but something inside him ignored reason.
“You don’t really mean it either.”
His hardened lips deliberately pointed out the contradiction.
Leonardo laughed bitterly, exhausted. He was always a cruel man who repeated his words when things were unfavorable.
One drop, two drops. Tears fell one after another, rolling down his pretty cheeks and gathering at the tip of his chin. Meanwhile, the distance between them closed—by a finger joint, a span, a strand.
Hugo tenderly stroked his reddened eyelids. He rubbed the space above his neat lashes again and again, making an opening for himself to approach.
Impulsively burying his lips in those heated golden eyes was merely the contradictory gentleman’s duty: to comfort a sorrowful beauty.
