MLCIEF 08

Chapter 8

To Kettler, Theodore was a far more terrifying and overwhelming presence than even the Marquis he served.

Then Theodore spoke.

“Not only you, but everyone here is in an equally difficult and painful situation. So I cannot accept blaming someone else for this.”

Kettler swallowed hard.

Even though he had never served under Theodore, he could clearly feel the cold authority of a commander.

He shut his mouth.

Meanwhile, Alice had been listening to their argument the entire time.

Her lips puffed out in annoyance.

‘Sigh…’

They were still complaining about the food given to them.

It felt only right to repay them.

So Alice finally decided to do what she had been delaying—

She would remove the fake belly.

Riiip—! Scrrrch—!

The loud tearing sound echoed through the cave.

Everyone turned to look.

Theodore also shifted his gaze toward the sound.

From the corner where no one could see clearly—

Alice finally removed the fake belly basket.

Then she appeared, her body now slim again, holding it in her hands.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

She sat down on a rock and placed items on top of it—

Chocolate bars, oatmeal bars, jerky, and a lighter.

All of it had come from inside the fake belly.

Murmurs of disbelief spread everywhere.

Even Theodore narrowed his eyes.

“What…? You weren’t actually pregnant?”

Jeffrey looked almost excited, as if he had found a fellow trickster.

But the moment he saw the food—

His eyes lit up.

Kettler quickly stepped in sharply.

“Who are you? If you’re not pregnant, why pretend all this time? What are you people?”

He glared at them as if ready to arrest them.

Then his gaze dropped to the food.

Without hesitation, he held out his hand.

“Our lady has not regained her strength. You should repay the kindness we showed yesterday.”

Even though it sounded like an order, Alice had no intention of keeping the food for herself anyway.

She divided the chocolate and jerky among everyone.

Because the fake belly had been sealed so tightly—

None of the food was wet from seawater.

That was probably why it had floated and survived.

“Wow… nobles really do beg in a dignified way.”

Jeffrey mocked as he quickly ate his share.

The others also had many questions—

Why she disguised herself, why she hid food there—

But eating came first.

Alice also ate a little while secretly watching Theodore.

‘Now he’ll be even more suspicious… Did he already recognize me?’

Her heart pounded.

She nervously glanced at him, afraid he might suddenly grab her.

But Theodore, sitting on a rock, showed no sign of moving.

‘Well… even dogs aren’t disturbed while eating.’

Still, now the nobles would surely think of them all as criminals and frauds.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Alice still believed it was better to stay together to survive.

But if distrust kept growing—

There was nothing she could do.

‘From tomorrow… we’ll move separately.’

To be honest, she also wanted to escape before facing the Count again.

Though part of her still hoped—

That he hadn’t recognized her.

“Um… well…”

Ribeyong, one of the guards, spoke hesitantly while eating an oatmeal bar.

Until now, he had silently agreed with Kettler.

But after eating the food given by the lower-class group—

He wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Anyway… since that woman isn’t actually pregnant, she won’t slow us down. Maybe it’s better to stay together.”

Now, Alice was no longer the weakest one.

It was clear—

Delphien was.

But Delphien, who had been quietly eating chocolate, shook her head.

“No… I still don’t think we should stay with them.”

Now that she had some sugar, she seemed to regain a little strength.

“I heard one of them is a criminal. I don’t feel comfortable sleeping in the same place with someone like that. And as you can see, that woman was lying the whole time.”

She feared rumors—

That she had spent nights in the jungle with unknown men,

Or that she had lost her honor to commoners.

Her knights could be controlled—

But how could she control people like them?

If they made it out alive…

The only solution would be to silence them.

Even kill them.

Or have Kettler deal with them before leaving the jungle.

But beyond that—

For some reason, Alice herself made Delphien uneasy.

A woman who showed no sign of struggle.

A woman who could lie so shamelessly.

It gave her chills.

It was absurd—

But she felt like Alice might take something important from her.

Even though she had nothing now.

‘Maybe I’m just too sensitive…’

She glanced at Theodore.

He was sitting on a rock, sharpening a stone spear.

‘As long as His Excellency stays by my side… that’s enough.’

Delphien convinced herself—

That this disaster was a chance to grow closer to him.

At that moment, Alice found something inside the fake belly—

A rolled muslin cloak.

It was very thin, but when unfolded, quite wide.

Did I really pack something like this?

Even without expecting a shipwreck—

She had stored many small useful items, like a squirrel gathering nuts.

‘If I had packed more, I might’ve sunk because of it.’

Smiling proudly at herself, Alice lay down, using the cloak as a pillow.

But then—

A shadow fell over her.

She sat up.

Kettler was standing in front of her, looking down arrogantly.

“Can you lend me that cloak?”

Alice blinked, confused.

“…You want to borrow this?”

Everyone knew—

In a place like this, even small supplies were more valuable than gold.

And yet—

He wanted to borrow something so useful?

Borrow it… and return it when?

If we survive?

She couldn’t even say it out loud.

“I mean… when you say borrow…”

Kettler clicked his tongue impatiently.

“As you can see, the lady cannot lie on bare ground. We’ve placed leaves, but the cold will harm her. Lend it to us. You’re not pregnant anymore, after all.”