Chapter 34
“Hoo…”
It seemed Enoch had regained consciousness, because I heard him let out a long sigh. I approached him again to check his condition.
“Are you not going to explain why the Crown Prince ended up like this?”
“I think it’d be better if you heard it directly from him.”
Enoch’s trauma wasn’t something I could casually explain to someone else. In moments like this, silence was better.
Enoch scrunched up the bridge of his nose and looked up at me. His eyes still lacked focus—it didn’t seem like he was completely back to normal yet.
Cayden, seeing Enoch’s condition, looked inwardly surprised. He ran a hand roughly through his hair.
“Then I guess it’ll be hard to get an explanation.”
He clearly didn’t expect Enoch to answer on his own.
“So what happened to you?”
“If you ask me, I’ll tell you anything.”
I knew that was a lie. For some reason, Cayden was especially good at feeding me empty sweet talk.
He stroked his chin, glanced at the dead anacondas, then frowned irritably.
“I stepped out of the cabin for a moment to chase off some lackeys, you see?”
He scratched the back of his head as he searched his memory and continued.
“I suddenly heard something crash loudly, so I ran back—and that thing was there. It was eating something. No idea what.”
An anaconda eating something. Was there a sentence more unsettling than that?
Seeing the cabin I’d worked so hard to build reduced to ruins made my chest ache.
“To think monsters would come all the way out here… I guess this isn’t a safe refuge anymore.”
Cayden nodded grimly as he scanned the surroundings.
“Yeah. We should look for another place.”
He dragged the unconscious Rujeff from near the river back to the wrecked cabin.
By then, Enoch seemed much calmer and approached me with a steadier expression.
“Indeed… I don’t think I can do without you.”
That much was only natural. If I hadn’t been there, just imagining what could’ve happened to Enoch in front of Cayden made my blood run cold.
Cayden glanced at Enoch, lips twitching as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he shut his mouth. It seemed he’d considered asking directly about Enoch’s episode, then gave up.
“It looks like his symptoms are improving, at least. If he’s okay for now, why don’t we clean this up together?”
I casually encouraged Enoch and changed the subject. Just like that, we cleared away the wreckage of the cabin and gathered what supplies we could.
“Cayden, come here. Let me treat your wounds.”
I rummaged through the debris until I found the first-aid kit and had him sit down.
“Enoch, I’m treating Cayden’s injuries, so please don’t come any closer.”
Enoch nodded from afar and turned his back. Once I confirmed he’d fully turned away, I spoke to Cayden.
“Take off your top.”
Cayden removed his torn, ruined mage robe—and then even his white shirt beneath it.
I couldn’t help but admire his firm, well-defined abs. Was this really a mage’s body?
It wasn’t quite on Enoch’s level, but it was easily as solid as most knights’. Perfectly built muscles, clear abs.
If he’d been injured by an anaconda, there should’ve been venom involved, yet Cayden looked far better than expected. Enoch had suffered badly from monster venom before—so why was Cayden fine?
I wiped the blood splattered across his body with a damp cloth.
Why was I so nervous over something like this?
Even as I cleaned him up, Cayden kept staring straight at me.
I should’ve just told him to wipe himself. This was poor judgment on my part. Heat crept up my face for no good reason.
As I swallowed dryly and wrung out the cloth, Cayden suddenly grabbed my wrist. He leaned his cheek into my hand and smiled sweetly.
“Why stop? Do more.”
I paused, took a deep breath, then pulled my hand away.
“…It’s not that. I need to actually treat the wound now.”
I reached for the disinfectant—but suddenly Enoch stepped in, pushed me aside, and sat down in front of Cayden.
“Since the blood’s been wiped away, I’ll handle the wound.”
He took the disinfectant straight out of my hand.
Enoch could manage minor injuries, but Cayden’s wounds were deep and serious. Even after cleaning the blood, it seemed risky.
I instinctively reached out to stop him—then noticed the veins standing out on the back of Enoch’s reddened hand gripping the bottle.
Ah. This much, he could control with sheer willpower.
But why go that far just to treat Cayden himself?
I looked at Enoch, unable to understand.
“What is this nonsense? I refuse. I won’t be treated by anyone except Margaret.”
Cayden jumped up and stepped back.
But Enoch didn’t budge an inch. With a stern expression, he crooked his finger.
“Enough. Sit down.”
“No. Margaret, come here.”
When Cayden reached toward me, Enoch seized his wrist.
“Cayden Blake Rohade.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Still no.”
Cayden dug a finger into his ear and glared irritably at Enoch.
Watching the two men glare daggers at each other, I let out a long sigh.
“If you keep interfering with what I’m doing, I’ll just leave on my own.”
The moment the words left my mouth, an icy silence fell. Both men instantly behaved.
Looks like I’d finally learned how to handle them.
The next day, we ultimately decided to move and search for another shelter.
With monsters appearing, this place was no longer safe.
Rujeff woke up late, looking embarrassed and hesitant, but quietly helped us pack.
Cayden hurled a stream of insults at him, telling him to get lost, yet Rujeff stubbornly stayed despite the abuse.
What surprised me most was Cayden’s stamina. He’d suffered all night from a fever caused by his wounds, yet by morning he was walking around as if nothing had happened.
Does he have some kind of resistance to poison?
It might be connected to the experiments he’d endured after being abducted by the temple as a child.
The injuries we’d seen near the cave before had been severe enough to immobilize him, after all…
I told him to rest, worried, but he didn’t listen.
Completely unconcerned, he was already bouncing around gathering fruit, claiming he was starving after using so much strength yesterday.
“Before we leave, I’ll scout the area for a bit. If possible, it’d be good to learn more about that anaconda.”
As I spoke, Rujeff—who’d been watching Cayden and Enoch nervously—hurried over to me.
“I’ll go with you. It’s better than going alone, isn’t it?”
Cayden immediately followed, slinging an arm around Rujeff’s shoulders.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Rujeff slapped Cayden’s arm away, clearly annoyed, but didn’t explode in anger.
Knowing how terrible his temper usually was, it was impressive he was enduring Cayden’s rudeness.
Did he really want to stay here that badly?
Even Enoch, unusually, sided with Cayden and shot Rujeff a warning look.
“Then I’ll go alone.”
When Enoch approached, saying it was still dangerous, I quickly raised a hand to stop him.
“I can go by myself. If it’s dangerous, I’ll fire this.”
I pulled out a flare from my pocket and waved it. Only then did Enoch reluctantly nod, warning me repeatedly to run immediately if anything happened.
I smiled reassuringly at him. He still looked dissatisfied, but I ignored it and left the cabin.
Since we were moving anyway, I planned to return quickly.
Once fully away from the temporary shelter, I searched for the empty supply crate I’d seen the day before.
I belatedly remembered that, in the novel, there had been a supply bunker guarded by monsters.
It had contained modern weapons, survival kits, and food.
It should’ve been near the bunker.
I examined the area around the empty box, thinking there might be a clue—but just as I was about to give up, I noticed something beneath it.
Something like a wooden plank peeked out from the dirt, so I hurriedly brushed the soil aside.
Buried underneath was a square wooden box.
I dug a bit more and pulled it out of the ground.
The lid was secured with a silver metal latch, but no lock was attached.
※ HANDLE WITH CARE ※
M67 Fragmentation Grenade
Incendiary Bomb
Reading the words written on the box, I froze in shock.
A grenade?
The Korean text had been deliberately scratched out, and beneath it, the words “Incendiary Bomb” had been written in the Langrid Empire’s language.
Was it really okay to open this?
It clearly said handle with care.
I stared at the closed box for a long moment, wrestling with my thoughts—then made up my mind.
Fine. Either way, dying is dying.
