"Leticia, what happened earlier would bring you in danger, that's why you need to leave this place..."
Hugh said after Leticia and him discussed how the ambush happened.
He said that the people who attacked him found out that he was still alive and learned that he was staying in her place.
Leticia sighed. It was late that Leticia heard about the rumors that she had a companion in her house. She decided to ignore it but it never occurred to her that it would also bring disaster and danger to her and Hugh.
'I was careless!' she thought.
She brushed her face up and down feeling the frustration building up.
It was just recently that she's starting to accept the fact that she's no longer in her old world and started to recently adjust to this life then all of a sudden it would just vanish in a split second because of her carelessness.
"Where should I go?' she mumbled silently as she pressed her palms against her face.
At that moment, Hugh, who heard her, intercepted her thoughts.
"Leticia… if you don't have a place to go why not follow me? I have a place in the capital and I could protect you there along with my people."
Leticia peek through her fingers as she heard his suggestion and saw that Hugh was looking intently and patiently waiting for her answer.
"Capital?"
Leticia became lost in thought.
'He has a place in the Capital? If I think about it, the security there is top notch so it might be more safe to hide with a lot of people where I could easily ask for help from the guards. I could also land a job in a diner or something…'
Leticia was listing the possible scenarios until she thought that it would still be better to get away from this man.
She doesn't know why but she has this inkling feeling that if she agreed there would be a consequence that she herself would not be prepared to do.
She sighed again and brought her palms together and looked at Hugh.
"I don't think that's possible… If what you said was true then it would be better to move separate ways."
'I should go to the East territory, I heard that they have a variety of culture there because it is close to the sea where trades are the common source of income. I could easily get a job there…' Leticia thought.
Meanwhile, Hugh clenched his fist after he heard her answer. He was looking at her and knew that she was thinking of a possible solution to her problem without relying on him.
Hugh clenched his jaw. He knew that he asked for the impossible. He knew that Leticia would not agree to his suggestion especially when she saw something like that!
'I can't let her go without compensating her for the inconvenience that I brought…' Hugh easily convinced himself for what he was feeling angry for.
Hugh thought that he needed something that would make Leticia agree.
He doesn't know why but the thought of not seeing Leticia and his careless mistake in judgement endangering her made him clenched his jaw in fury.
***
Meanwhile, Leticia and Hugh talked to each other, Mike was looking at them with observant eyes.
'This is the first time that I see the commander contemplate something…is it because of her?'
Mike's eyes focus on the back of the woman. Her chocolate hair flowing through her waist seems darker and almost looks black when the lights didn't hit her silky hair.
'It almost looks identical to the commander's...' Mike thought.
Then he heard his commander's low voice.
"Leticia… if you don't have a place to go why not follow me? I have a place in the capital and I could protect you there along with my people."
Mike instantly turns his eyes away from her and looks toward his commander. He couldn't believe what he said.
'Why is he going to such lengths? He could just give her compensation or build her a house in the capital like what he did to the others who helped him before… why go through such lengths to make her stay in his castle?' Mike thought deeply.
And as if realization hit him, his eyes widened.
'Wait… don't tell me commander has a thing for this woman?'
Then as if his thoughts were absurd, he immediately denied it.
'Heh… of course not! A lot of noble ladies in the capital already expressed their admiration towards him but none of them piqued his interest…'
Besides, there was never a time where the commander expressed his desire to be with a woman.
Mike instantly left that train of thought and formed a more possible one that would fit Hugh's noblesse oblige.
'That's right! Maybe the commander is more thankful to her because she saved his life. That's right! That's what it is!'
Mike then focused on standing beside the wall to guard them.
***
"Like what I said, Leticia, I could protect you in my place, I can't guarantee that even if you left this place those assassins would not follow you. They might think that you're someone who might bring me to them."
Hugh explained without a pause. He looked at Leticia with more seriousness and desperation in his eyes.
He could see that a little more push and he could persuade her to agree to his proposal.
He contemplated if he needed to tell her his identity so she could trust him more but decided to just give the truth later when they arrived at his palace in the Capital.
Hugh thought that he could just explain it after Leticia decided to agree besides he knew what sort of rumors he had with his name.
But if it's Leticia, Hugh knew that she would not be biased because of those rumors. He was with her for two months and she learned how he acts that even Hugh didn't know he could.
"Leticia think about it! Those people are dangerous! I know I told you that I'm a mercenary but I'm actually a knight in the Capital. I'm on a mission, right now that is why I needed to hide my identity but believe me, if you come with me I could easily protect you"
Leticia was getting more persuaded than she initially decided.
She was shocked first to learn that he's a knight on a mission and came from the Capital but that confession was easily set aside because Leticia was thinking about the pro's and con's if she decided to follow him to the Capital.
Because Hugh's remarks and explanation are more convincing and more reasonable that she could not dispute it.
'He's right… Even if those people that were chasing Hugh don't know my face, they already learned about my name and my features. And if they're someone who would spend time and money just to get him then it means that it's someone that would not easily back out.'
Leticia felt her head ache.
She was trying hard not to learn who he was but based on how dangerous people are trying to get him, she knew that being associated with him will further put her in danger but that also means that he was the only one that would protect her.
'But, do I really need to go to such lengths? It's not like I'm their target…' Leticia contemplates.
Then, she heard him again.
"I'll compensate you with a house and a lot of money for saving my life and taking care of me these past two months. I'll also support your daily needs, be it food, dress, or jewels, I could give you a luxury that you want…"
"What?!"
Leticia was shocked at his offer however, Hugh was not finished.
"If you don't want that kind of life, I could also give you a job. I could offer you one, just tell me what you want and I can easily arrange for it immediately… So what do you think, Leticia?"
Leticia blinked a few times while her mouth was opened in shock. She didn't expect that Hugh would offer her something that she could not refuse so easily.
She looked at him and realized that he had no intention of accepting NO for an answer.
"What the hell…" she said in exhaustion.
She turns her head up and thinks.
'It's not a bad offer… no actually, it's too much of a compensation,' then Leticia turned her head towards him and saw Hugh's eyes still lingering of desperation and expectation. 'Ahh… I can't say no to that face…'
In the end, Leticia can't refuse such an offer.
"Alright, I'll go with you but I don't need those luxuries, just give me a job and secure my life! I'll figure everything else by myself."
Hugh smiled handsomely which made an illusion of the whole room shining bright with his smile.
Mike who was standing at the wall and witnessed his commander smile, shiver in fright. 'What the hell is wrong with the commander?'
Meanwhile, Hugh, who was undeniably happy with his achievement, gave Leticia a response.
"You will not regret accepting my offer…"