Chapter 120 - How Can I Not Love You?
Chapter 120 – How Can I Not Love You?
"Rinnie."
I stormed to Hugo, watching him take a careful step back while beckoning a defensive stance. Meanwhile, Tito, Mitch, and Reks, who were similarly drenched with blood and dirt, already ran to a distance.
I stopped in front of Hugo, sizing him up from head to toe. He still had his one eye closed because of some blood, wiping it with the back of his hand to open it. I had seen Hugo fight fiercely and had witnessed countless deaths. This sight of him… wasn't surprising. But my entire body was trembling as there was this overwhelming emotion swelling up in my heart.
"Uh…" Hugo scratched his temple, revealing a large slash across his arm. His brows elevated when setting his eyes on me, sporting an incomprehensible expression.
"Sorry. I didn't want to show you all this blood. So…"
"Were you hurt?" I asked even before he could finish his sentence, balling my hand as I studied him from head to toe. "Hugh."
I took a step forward for a closer look, standing on my toes as I raised my hand to his head. I didn't care about the blood that stained my fingertips, brushing away his damped hair to see if there was a wound. My heart clenched as soon as I noticed the slowly healing wound on top of his temple.
How could this happen? In Belcoot? To the Grand Duke? The ruler of this land?
"Rinrin." He held my wrist gently, waiting for me to look at him in the eye. "I'm not…" he trailed off as soon as our eyes met.
"… a bit. It hurt a bit."
I frowned, suppressing the tears that had been attempting to spill from my eyes. "Ivo, summon the physician to tend to His Grace's wound and those three," I ordered, keeping my eyes on Hugo.
"Now."
"Yes, Luna." I heard Ivo's firm acknowledgment of my order while Hugo and I just stared at each other.
"I'll ask someone to run you a bath." I cupped his sharp jaw, smiling wearily. "Shall we?"
A bitter glint flickered across his gentle eyes as he hummed, meeting my other hand halfway. With that, I held his hand and led him to the bath.
*****
The soft sound of water splashing fought the silence from enveloping us in the bathroom. Hugo was in the tub while I wiped his hands clean outside, sitting on a small stool. I could feel his gaze on me, but I kept quiet. I had to muster enough courage so I could speak properly instead of speaking unintelligent gibberish while bawling my eyes.
"Did this also hurt?" I asked, breaking the long silence between us. He had a light scratch above his fingernail. If it looked like a light scratch, that only meant it was deeper before since all the wounds across his body were already healing.
I noticed this strange habit a few days back, but I didn't dwell on it.
Every time Hugo would come to me, he would always look like he just came from the bath or already wearing a different set of clothes. I assumed it was because he was the grand duke, so he had to keep his image. But after seeing him earlier, everything just made sense.
Hugo, although was mindful of his hygiene, he wasn't a neat freak.
"A bit," he replied after several seconds.
"How about this?" I asked once again, wiping another clear wound on the back of his hand. He hummed as an answer. I kept asking as I cleaned his hands and then went up to his sleeve. Unlike earlier, the slash across his arms looked more like a scratch now. But… it still hurts me.
"How deep was it?" I inquired, tracing the large scratch gently.
"Uhm… deep, but not so deep. The dagger is blunt, so… it barely hurt." I looked up to see him eye to eye, witnessing that bitterness flicker across his eyes once again. "Rinrin, I'm sorry if that scared you. I didn't want you to see that. It's just… it slipped my mind that Ivo told me he will tour you around the castle."
"Hugh, you didn't tell me because you think it will scare me?"
"Well…"
"That night in Everfell, did you crush that person's head with your foot right in front of me, thinking that it won't scare me?"
Hugo looked at me and sighed deeply, leaning forward to hold my hand outside the tub. "Rinrin, my Bambi, I'm sorry. I just… didn't want to scare you anymore. You went through a lot and the last thing I want is to add more traumatic experiences to you. I… I don't want Belcoot, my home, our home, to be another battlefield you must fight."
I already got the gist of his intention even before I started questioning and hearing his explanation. Hugo's actions were always about me; to protect me, to make sure I was comfortable enough, to make me feel secure, valued, and cherished. I would be forever grateful to him and I appreciated his intentions from the bottom of my heart.
However, I didn't want him to get hurt because of me.
"Belcoot… is and will never be my home, Hugh." I held my tears back, squeezing his hand tighter. The space between his brows wrinkled as those words seemed to have hit him hard. It was the truth and nothing but the truth. I had known that from the very start.
I raised my hand and cupped his cheek, staring at the pain behind his golden eyes. "You are now my home, Hugh. Not Belcoot, not Ronmin, or anywhere in this world," I asserted in a soft voice, caressing his cheek with my thumb.
"I don't care if you bathe with the blood of your enemies. I will still embrace you just as tighter. I had seen too much violence that night and I wished I don't see any more of it. But if it's inevitable, I will still accept you and see you as that Hugo who thinks courtship means being lovers instantly. Hugh, I told you this already, but I will say it again." I paused and took a deep breath, smiling reassuringly at him.
"Is there anything that I will not understand about you?"
"Rinrin." Hugo held the back of my hand that was cupping his jaw. He leaned his face against it, planting a slight peck on it.
"How can I not fall for you?"