Hiding the Fact That We Are Dating From the Amnesiac Villain - Chapter 3

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 3
‘Hugho! It’s Hugho, isn’t it?!’
Though a year had passed since we last met, I recognized him instantly.
His sculpted features were the kind that time could never erase from memory.
“Hu—”
Hugho.
I was about to call out his name immediately.
But Hugho walked right past me without so much as a glance.
‘…What?’
I watched the man leave Leyton Bridge with a bewildered expression.
…Did Hugho not see me?
‘No, but where on earth is Hugho going?!’
This is Leyton Bridge, isn’t it?
‘Oh, could it be—!’
Was the reason Hugho hadn’t shown up at our meeting place for over a week because he’d gotten lost?
Unbelievable. Hugho has no sense of direction!
…But can a knight really be directionally challenged?
“Hu, Hugho!”
I called out urgently.
Not that way! I’m over here!
But Hugho didn’t turn around.
‘He must not have heard me!’
The tangled noise of the crowd seemed to swallow my voice entirely.
I ran desperately to catch up with Hugho.
I pushed through the throng and barely managed to grab his sleeve.
“Gasp, Hugho…”
I finally caught him.
But after running so hard to keep from losing him, my breath came in ragged gasps.
“Gasp, gasp…”
I think I’m going to die.
Is it because his legs are so long?
Keeping up with his long strides with my pathetic stamina was no easy feat.
“Hugho… that’s not the right direction…”
It was the moment I looked up.
In that instant, an eerie wrongness sent chills racing across my entire body.
Crimson eyes gazed down at me with an unsettling stillness.
It was utterly different from the Hugho who used to smile warmly at me with affectionate eyes.
The man before me was disturbingly cold.
‘…Is it just because it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other?’
I opened my mouth with concern as I looked up at Hugho, who stared down at me with an unreadable expression.
“Why on earth are you here? Don’t tell me you’ve been waiting all this time?”
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the world tilted beneath me. Was I relieved to see him, at least?
‘Now I can finally return the ring to Hugho….’
Relief flooded through me, but alongside it came an unexpected pang of guilt at the thought of meeting him again only to say goodbye.
Yet I couldn’t afford to delay any longer.
It would be unfair to Hugho, who was about to meet Freena without knowing the truth.
Over the past year, I had already made Freena feel guilty enough by prolonging this deception.
So it was time to end this.
But then….
My eyes finally fell upon the hem of Hugho’s garment, which I had been clinging to so desperately.
How strange….
Why did Hugho’s clothes gleam so brilliantly?
The buttons and ornaments all shone with a golden radiance that resembled the garments worn by nobility.
‘Is that actually gold?’
The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I quickly dismissed it.
No, that couldn’t be.
Though Hugho was a wealthy commoner, he wasn’t the sort to adorn his clothes with gold.
“Hugho, in any case, I’m relieved you’ve come safely. There’s actually something I really need to tell you….”
In that instant, a sharp sensation seized my throat, cutting off my words.
It truly felt as though my neck was being constricted.
“Ah, H-Hugho….”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
A voice tinged with feigned regret reached me faintly. In that moment, my breath returned.
‘…Could that have been killing intent?’
The kind that mana-sensitive individuals wielded….
I was bewildered. Why would Hugho direct such a thing at me?
“I dislike being touched, so I couldn’t help myself.”
His tone was unmistakably a gentle apology.
Yet those crimson eyes gazing down at me remained as cold as the moment we first met.
“…Oh.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
I had merely let out a single syllable in my confusion, but Hugho seemed to have accepted it as a response.
Or rather, he appeared entirely indifferent to it.
‘Was Hugho… always like this?’
No, he wasn’t.
He was a kind and gentle person.
But the man before me transcended the word “cold.” Goosebumps erupted across my skin as if a bone-chilling frost were sweeping over my entire body.
“I-I’m fine….”
Yes. Perhaps Hugho was startled when I suddenly grabbed him. After all, it had only been a year apart.
I was comforting myself with these thoughts when it happened.
“But, my lady.”
…My lady?
Hugho called her by an unfamiliar title, his demeanor equally strange.
“Do you know me?”
“…What?”
Freena blinked, unable to comprehend Hugho’s words.
“I don’t believe we’ve met before, yet your face seems oddly familiar. Where have we encountered each other?”
What kind of question was that?
“Hugho… are you joking with me?”
Didn’t lovers sometimes play such games after a long separation?
Covering their eyes and saying things like ‘guess who I am’.
“Joking?”
Hugho’s lips curved upward at an angle.
“Ah. Did it seem like I was joking?”
“No, that’s not it?”
No. Those crimson eyes held not a trace of jest.
It terrified me….
Freena swallowed hard, the sharp atmosphere pressing down upon her.
“Why would I jest with you, my lady?”
But if it wasn’t a joke, why was he suddenly pretending not to know her?
A biting winter wind seemed to seep through her nape, and her entire body instinctively stiffened.
“Then….”
“We’re meeting for the first time today.”
…Meeting for the first time? Us?
They had been together for two years—though admittedly, half that time they’d spent apart.
“I confess, I find this situation rather bewildering. A lady I’ve never met before is clinging to me so persistently.”
“….”
“Do you know me?”
“Hugho, why do you keep pretending not to know me?”
“It seems that isn’t the case, after all.”
Freena couldn’t follow the conversation at all.
Could this be… a declaration of separation?
Was that why he hadn’t shown up at their meeting place, and was now acting so strangely on purpose?
Freena hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. No, Hugho wasn’t that kind of person.
Then could it be….
A different person?
‘Did I really mistake him for someone else?’
Wondering if she’d grabbed hold of a different man, Freena carefully examined his face.
Hair like the night sky, eyes as red as rubies. Even the beauty mark placed like the final stroke of a masterpiece….
‘It’s definitely Hugho!’
Even from a mile away, that unrealistically beautiful face could only belong to Hugho.
“I’ve wasted time. This wasn’t part of the original plan.”
The person who had waited for a week was someone else entirely—so why was Hugho claiming he’d wasted time?
Regardless, Hugho’s gaze fixed upon the Clock Tower.
As if he had another appointment.
Freena grasped it instinctively. He hadn’t come to Leyton Bridge to meet her.
Then what was this about?
“I should take my leave now. It’s been a pleasure, my lady.”
“Wait, please…!”
Freena desperately seized the man’s arm as he turned to depart.
‘Could he have been injured during a mission?’
It was an absurd theory, but at this point, she wondered if he’d lost his memory entirely.
“My lady.”
Hugho called to her then. His lips curved into what appeared to be a tender smile, yet his eyes remained cold and unmoved.
A chill swept down her spine once more, but Freena forced herself to focus.
She didn’t understand why Hugho was behaving this way, but there was something she absolutely had to tell him.
Steadying her turbulent emotions, she gripped the ring concealed in her pocket.
‘At least… I should return the ring.’
After all, the only reason she’d waited for him all this time was to return it.
Everything else could be sorted out after she gave it back.
“H-Hugho, I… I don’t understand why you’re acting this way, but I’ve been waiting for you here all along. Because…”
I wanted to return the ring as promised.
Oh dear.
Her nervousness caused Freena to stammer—an old habit she’d carried like a chronic affliction for years.
Still, she resolved to press forward and have him take the ring. But then—
Clink.
A bottle rolled across the floor.
‘Oh, that’s…’
The liquor she’d purchased thinking it was a beverage, having paid a fortune of seventy silver for it.
Hugho’s gaze drifted toward it as well.
“Ah.”
A smile played at the man’s lips. But it was glacial.
“It seems you’ve had quite a bit to drink.”
Drunk? Me?
And his smile carried a subtle undercurrent of contempt.
“N-No, it’s just that I was thirsty. Besides, I only had a few sips…”
She felt genuinely wronged. Who was responsible for her drinking in the first place, and now she was being treated like a drunkard?
“I only drank because I was waiting for you and got thirsty…”
She hurried to explain, fearing Hugho would misunderstand, but his expression grew even colder—as though she were lying to him.
Hugho was the strange one here, yet somehow he kept making her look like the unreasonable one!
Wait, Hugho!
Without hesitation, the man turned to leave, but Freena hastily grabbed his sleeve. I understand—just take the ring with you!
Thud—
His hand pushed her away once more.
“If you continue to cling to me like this, it will become troublesome.”
Freena stared blankly at her own hand, rejected yet again.
“I know what I’m capable of doing.”
“…Pardon?”
“Had you encountered a wicked nobleman, that hand of yours would no longer be attached.”
‘Is he saying he’ll sever my hand if I grab him again?’
…But you’re not even a nobleman.
“I say this out of concern.”
His gentle voice carried a quiet warning to her.
Her spine stiffened as though seized by invisible fingers.
“Then, my lady, do take care on your way.”
He left behind a faint smile and turned away.
Though Freena knew she should return the ring to him, she could no longer bring herself to reach for Hugho.
Hugho felt utterly unfamiliar to her.
The Hugho she had met after a year’s absence had returned as a completely different person.
‘…What on earth is this?’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————