HBDM 07

Chapter 07

“T-Wait a second!”

Prina hurriedly stepped in front of Hugo, blocking his path. Her heart pounded wildly.

On the ground, the workers consumed by the black energy wheezed heavily, struggling to breathe.

Is this man trying to kill the workers? Why?

“Move.”

Hugo adjusted the sword hanging low toward the ground and smiled coldly.

“I have no intention of hurting you, so don’t worry, Lady.”

“N-No, that’s obvious, but why would you kill innocent workers…?”

“Ah. Has the decree not been officially announced yet?”

A decree? What decree?

“It’s an imperial order. Anyone corrupted by demonic energy is to be executed immediately.”

What?

Those consumed by demonic energy eventually met death. But the true tragedy began after their breathing stopped.

Sometimes the demonic energy took over the remaining body and transformed it into a monster.

“Even if we leave them alone, they’ll die anyway. But if they die while fully corrupted, the aftermath becomes far more troublesome.”

Hugo’s face remained utterly emotionless.

A completely unfamiliar voice came from that familiar face.

“So step aside. It’s too late to bring priests here, and there’s no other method.”

Priests with divine power were capable of purifying demonic energy.

And there was no time left to fetch them. Sunset was approaching, and by then the workers would already be dead from corruption.

His dry crimson eyes settled on Prina.

She hesitated for a long moment beneath that chilling gaze before finally speaking.

“What if there is a way?”

One of the man’s brows lifted slightly.

“I possess divine power. So I can heal them.”

Interest flickered in Hugo’s eyes.

“And besides, that decree… it hasn’t been officially proclaimed yet, right? Until then, it has no legal authority. If you kill them now, you’re not carrying out an imperial order. You’d just be murdering people.”

Violating procedure was not the same as following imperial command.

Prina stared directly at the cold blade in his hand and firmly added,

“So put the sword down.”

A brilliant light flowed from her palm and touched the worker’s chest. Black mist-like energy rose into the air.

The smell of demonic energy leaving the body resembled burning ash.

“Haa…”

Once Prina convinced him she possessed divine power, Hugo obediently sheathed his sword.

Thankfully, he did not seem to be a crazed murderer after all.

After seeing him kill someone right in front of her, she had feared he might suddenly change his mind and kill both her and the workers as well.

But he had not threatened them even once.

Was it really self-defense…?

Prina cautiously glanced at the man standing beside her.

At that moment, her eyes met his crimson gaze.

“So the Lady who claimed she came alone because she knew the forest well…”

“…”

“…knew more than just the terrain.”

Hugo muttered quietly as he watched Prina purifying the workers.

Does he think I deceived him?

She had hidden the truth, but this was hardly a situation where she needed to reveal everything to him.

Prina avoided showing others her divine power whenever possible.

When she was younger, it was because the amount she possessed was pitifully small and embarrassing.

As she grew older, there was another reason.

…I signed the agreement when I left the family.

Prina was the illegitimate daughter of a powerful noble house.

That family, known for producing bloodlines blessed with divine power for generations, despised the idea of their “noble” power leaking out beyond their control.

So even after leaving the family, she never openly revealed her divine abilities.

It had been the same with Hugo during their relationship.

I never even showed this to him when we were dating, and now I’m showing it to someone who’s basically become a complete stranger.

But if she did not use her divine power now, people would die.

…If the family finds out I used divine power, I’m finished.

Still, before losing his memories, Hugo had only ever known her as an ordinary commoner, so it would probably be fine.

And although divine power holders were rare, they did exist everywhere. Nothing about this scene was especially abnormal.

“It’s true that I came because I knew the terrain. No one else besides me had ever entered this forest.”

“Why had you come to the Black Forest before?”

“A few times as a child, with my mother…”

“This isn’t exactly a place where children should follow their mothers.”

Suspicion flickered faintly through Hugo’s voice.

But it was the truth.

Long ago, her mother—who had been an herbalist—once saved an injured nobleman she found collapsed in the mountains.

Because of that, she became his concubine and eventually gave birth to Prina.

But for someone who had spent her life breathing the scent of soil and herbs, life in a grand mansion felt like suffocation.

Whenever her mother could no longer bear it, she would take her young daughter into the forests.

Even this bleak Black Forest had once been one of those escape routes.

Though for Prina, they were hardly warm memories.

“The demonic energy only began appearing in this forest within the last ten years. Long ago, plenty of people came here.”

Anyone from the area knew that much.

Apparently Hugo was not from these parts.

“So you and your mother came here for peaceful strolls together.”

“…Something like that.”

For a moment, Prina remembered something from when she was seven years old.

“Prina, isn’t living exhausting? Shall we die here together?”

…Yes. Definitely not a pleasant memory. Better not dwell on it.

“Would you like to work under me?”

The sudden proposal caused the divine power flowing from Prina’s hand to abruptly stop. Her concentration shattered instantly.

What is this lunatic talking about?

“…My current workplace is already very good.”

“I could pay you more than they do.”

…Since when did Hugo have money?

“There are plenty of people with divine power, and there are definitely people better at purification than me. I mean… if you really have that much money.”

It was an obvious rejection.

Like I’d be insane enough to agree.

It had not even been a few hours since she watched him kill someone. She would rather work under her landlord than him.

Fortunately, Hugo did not press the issue further.

“Mmm…”

She had just finished the purification and was waiting for the workers to wake up when someone groaned faintly, seemingly regaining consciousness.

Prina quickly checked on the worker.

“Are you awake?”

“W-Water…”

“Uh… I don’t have water. I think you just need to stand up.”

The worker slowly closed his eyes again.

No, wake up already.

After all the effort she spent purifying him, he fell asleep again, and she wondered whether she should simply slap him awake.

“I should be going now.”

Hugo rose from where he had been sitting on a nearby rock.

…Was he finally leaving?

Prina looked at him with hopeful eyes, preparing to say goodbye.

“Come to think of it, what’s your name, Lady?”

…Why was he suddenly asking for her name?

The man who had forgotten both her name and the fact that she had once been his lover waited calmly for her answer.

“I’m… R-Renia.”

Perhaps it was instinct warning her not to become involved with Hugo any further.

The lie slipped out before she even realized it.

What are you going to do if Hugo regains his memories?!

But it was already too late.

“Renia?”

An extremely common name. If someone shouted it in the streets, three out of ten women would probably turn around.

“And your surname?”

“P-Pelt.”

“Renia Pelt.”

Renia Pelt…

Hugo rolled the fake name over his tongue several times.

Then suddenly, he made a strange expression. Like someone swallowing food that tasted wrong.

But it lasted only a moment.

Then he smiled softly.

“Let’s meet again sometime, Miss Renia.”

Again…?

But Hugo offered no explanation. He simply turned and disappeared.

Prina remained alone beside the unconscious workers, left only with an unsettling feeling.

It felt as though invisible chills were crawling all over her body.

But the sensation was strangely familiar.

Something similar had happened even while they were dating.