HDBM 02

──୨ৎ──♡  Chapter 02  ♡──୨ৎ──

So, in her previous life.

Prina had been watching a relationship advice livestream.

Q. I think something is weird about my boyfriendㅠㅠ He’s handsome, kind, perfect… but he hides a lot of things.

A. What do you think he’s hiding?

Q. I recently found out he lied to me about his job. He apologized so much that I eventually forgave himㅠㅠ But now I suspect he might even be using someone else’s identity. Am I just overthinking this?

A. Break up with him immediately.

Good heavens.

A boyfriend dating someone under a stolen identity?

What a terrifying world.

Q. But my boyfriend treats me really well, and usually he blah blah blah…

A. Break up with him.

‘Huh? Why am I suddenly remembering this…?’

Blink. Blink.

Collapsed on the stairs, Prina stared blankly up at the ceiling.

Without warning, memories from her previous life flooded her mind.

It had happened one day while she was hurrying to see her younger siblings at the academy.

The moment she tumbled down the stairs at home while carrying heavy luggage, the impact triggered the return of her past-life memories.

‘No way! I reincarnated into a novel?!’

And not just any novel—

A completely insane world where the protagonist endlessly regressed just by breathing, and the hidden mastermind destroyed the entire empire she lived in!

‘This is crazy!’

Please, somebody save me!

The shock was so overwhelming that she couldn’t even think about getting up. She simply lay there, staring blankly at the crumbling old ceiling.

Then suddenly—

A long shadow stretched over her.

“…Goodness, Prina, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Looking at the face stiffened with concern, Prina hurriedly suppressed the smile threatening to spread across her lips.

Calm down. Stay calm.

…But seriously, why was this man so handsome even when he looked shocked?

The man’s name was Hugo.

They had only recently started dating.

Out of all the men she had ever seen, he possessed by far the most beautiful face.

“Prina, can you stand?”

“Mmh… Hugo, I’m okay.”

“But your pretty knee is scraped.”

Prina let out a groan.

Her entire body hurt like she’d been beaten up, but the dizziness caused by the torrent of memories crashing into her head was even worse.

At some point, Hugo had knelt on one knee and was carefully examining her swollen ankle with a troubled expression.

‘He must really be upset that I got hurt…’

Would she ever meet another man this gentle in her life?

His gaze lingered on her ankle for a long while.

…Wait, wasn’t he staring a little too long?

Eh. He was probably just worried.

Just as she brushed it off, the large hand caressing her ankle slowly began to tighten with heavy force.

His strong fingers wrapped completely around her slender ankle without leaving even the slightest gap.

It felt suffocating, as though heavy shackles had been locked around her.

“…Ah.”

The pressure on her swollen ankle startled a cry out of her. Hugo immediately withdrew his hand.

‘Honestly, Hugo really can’t control his strength sometimes.’

Even during dates, he occasionally snapped chair armrests or casually bent knives with his bare hands.

‘Mm. He even broke our front door once.’

Of course, Hugo had apologized and fixed it afterward.

…Though the doorframe had looked strangely crooked ever since, Prina decided not to mention it.

“Can you stand, Prina?”

The moment Hugo held out his hand, Prina hesitated.

…Was it really safe to grab this hand? Hugo had terrible control over his strength.

“I’ll help you.”

At that moment, his large hand firmly wrapped around her wrist and pulled her upward.

‘Oh, but…’

As she was hauled up by his overwhelming strength, pain throbbed through her ankle.

But the instant her gaze locked with those crimson eyes staring straight through her—

She completely forgot the pain.

A strange, indescribable sensation bloomed deep inside her chest.

Black hair.

Ruby-red eyes.

…Didn’t Hugo look exactly like the hidden villain from the novel?

“Are you alright, Prina?”

“Ah, thank you for helping me up, Hugo.”

Prina hurriedly regained her composure.

‘No way.’

Hugo being the hidden mastermind from the novel?

Impossible.

That made no sense at all.

Shaking her head, Prina tried to brush away the vivid feeling from earlier.

‘But if this really is the world of that novel…’

The moment the thought continued, her breath caught.

‘That means I… and my siblings… all die together.’

The horrifying truth made her dizzy.

She had to run.

If this really was the world of the novel… then she had to escape before the hidden mastermind turned the empire into a sea of blood!

The day she regained her memories of her previous life, Prina made a firm decision to flee with her precious younger siblings.

That had already been two years ago.

“Achoo!”

As Prina sneezed loudly, everyone’s attention turned toward her.

This was Daisy Hall.

“Prina, did you catch a cold?”

“Ugh, I think so.”

She’d felt chills all morning, and apparently she really had come down with something.

‘I shouldn’t have waited an entire week…’

It had already been a full week since she started waiting at Layton Bridge—the place where they had promised to meet so she could tell Hugo they should break up.

But he never came.

“Why are you still waiting around for a guy who ghosted you?”

“G-Ghosted me?!”

As Prina stammered in surprise, her coworker raised an eyebrow.

“He left a year ago without sending even one message, and now he hasn’t shown up for an entire week. Plus, he knows where you live, but he never told you where he lives and hasn’t even sent a single letter. Go ahead. Try arguing with me.”

Mm.

She really couldn’t think of a rebuttal.

Did I seriously get ghosted…?

“I’m telling you, he probably found another girl.”

The coworkers peeling potatoes in the kitchen angrily chimed in.

“Maybe he was two-timing you?”

Hm?

“Sounds like he cheated and then disappeared.”

“Prina, it’s been a whole year without even one letter. You seriously never suspected anything?”

Honestly speaking, she hadn’t.

More accurately, she had no reason to suspect anything.

Because Hugo had left right before she was about to break up with him.

What did it matter whether someone you planned to leave was cheating or not? At worst, it would just feel a little unpleasant.

‘For the past year, all I thought about was how to tell him we should break up…’

She had never imagined Hugo would disappear without a word like this.

Thinking about it now, maybe her coworkers were right. After a year apart, it was only natural for his feelings to change.

‘But still…’

It was before Hugo left.

“This is something important, Prina.”

“You have to give it back when I return. You must wait for me.”

Usually, knights leaving for war entrusted precious belongings to their beloved lovers.

Hugo wasn’t going to war, but he did the same whenever he left for dangerous missions.

That was why Prina couldn’t bring herself to refuse the ring or tell him they should break up.

Of course, she had initially tried to decline it.

“H-Hugo, the gem on this is huge. If I lose it, I’ll never be able to repay you…”

“It’s alright if you lose it. I just want you to wait for me.”

As he said that, Hugo pressed the ring into her hand.

‘…Why did I accept this thing?!’

If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have suffered through a whole week of waiting just to return it.

Was he really ghosting her so badly that he wouldn’t even come retrieve the ring?

But such an expensive ruby ring?

And besides—

‘This is the ring Hugo always wore.’

It truly seemed to be something precious to him.

Prina let out a deep sigh.

She still couldn’t help worrying. What if he had some unavoidable reason for not coming…?

Fine.

Just until today.

Today would be the last day she waited for Hugo.

Eight in the evening.

Prina stood once again on Layton Bridge.

“Fresh fruit! Sweet and juicy!”

“Layton Bridge souvenirs! Couples who buy this charm will stay happy forever—!”

Prina stared blankly at the street vendors.

In the end, she had come to Layton Bridge again after work. Before she knew it, she had already been waiting for him for quite a while today too.

‘Just thirty more minutes.’

Normally, she would have gone home by now, but today she decided to wait a little longer.

Because today was the final day she would wait for Hugo!

After standing there for a long time, she suddenly felt thirsty and decided to buy a drink from a nearby vendor.

“Seventy silver.”

“Excuse me?”

“Seventy.”

As expected of a famous reunion spot!

The prices were a complete rip-off!

‘Normally this would cost thirty silver!’

Holding back tears, Prina reluctantly paid the seventy silver.

After wasting such a ridiculous amount of money, she started wondering what exactly she was doing—waiting around for someone who never even showed up.

‘Ugh.’

Was this drink stronger than she thought?

She felt tipsy almost immediately after taking a sip.

‘Better not drink too much.’

Prina looked up at the tall clock tower rising above Layton Bridge.

The second hand had already moved downward.

Another thirty minutes had passed.

Time to go home.

‘It’s over between Hugo and me now.’

But the ring…

She hesitated, though there wasn’t really anything she could do. Hugo simply hadn’t come.

…If it was truly important, wouldn’t he eventually come looking for it?

‘Anyway, I kept my promise.’

Just as she turned to leave—

‘Hm?’

Black hair brushed past her vision.

As though entranced, Prina stared at the man.

At the face beautiful enough to look carved from stone.

Crimson eyes swept indifferently across Layton Bridge.

…It was Hugo.

After waiting for one week and one extra day—

Hugo had finally come.