TAVBZ 10

Chapter 10

“She’s a woman who barely managed to survive and return. A woman who trembles at the sight of a bug wouldn’t come back easily. …So let’s leave digging up her memories for later. …Right now, Penelope needs to rest.”

That’s what Idorian said when Penelope Lloyd returned to the fortress and caused another scene, running up the stairs before locking herself in her room.

Even though everyone was still living in a situation where no one’s life could be guaranteed, he could still say such a comfortable thing. But no one bothered to argue with him—because until the emperor’s message arrived, they were all trapped in this fortress anyway.

After that, the few times they met again, Penelope seemed… different. Whatever the reason, she had finally shut her noisy mouth.

“I rolled down a mountain. I really almost died.”

But to Heresdon, Penelope’s change didn’t mean much.
Sure, she was quieter now, and it was a relief not to have her constantly underfoot. That was all.

As long as Penelope stayed quiet and didn’t cross any lines, he didn’t care what she did.

That was—until that day.

“This will help you avoid the zombies.”

When she realized the crown prince was leaving, she’d rushed out of the castle and pressed a small vial into his hand, her brow furrowed with worry.

“It’s not my blood. It’s Lady Swidi’s.”

That’s what Penelope said.

“The lady offered it.”

So brazen. So shameless.

“I asked her for it.”

There was not a trace of guilt on Penelope’s face. She looked as if she truly believed she’d done nothing wrong.

She was, after all, the noble daughter of the Empire’s proud Lloyd family. Her father, the late Duke Lloyd, had been one of the great founding heroes.
A lowly baron’s daughter like Lilia was never her equal to begin with.

So, of course, the unpleasant, painful, dirty tasks fell to Lilia—and Penelope could shamelessly boast using someone else’s blood as though it were her own.

Just thinking about what kind of twisted logic and mockery Penelope had used to take Lilia’s blood made his stomach turn.

She was worried about the crown prince, wanted to win his favor—but didn’t want to suffer. So she stole someone else’s blood and took the credit. It was outrageous.

“I’m sorry, my lady. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

That muttered apology from Penelope had no sincerity at all—just a desire to end the uncomfortable moment quickly.

“Please stop. You couldn’t help it. You wandered the forest alone for three days and barely made it back!”

But Lilia, foolishly, took her side.
As if I were the cruel one.

She had clearly been completely deceived by that two-faced woman.

That belief hadn’t changed—until later.

“My lady… when I told His Highness it was my blood and gave it to him myself… was that not what you wanted?”

But perhaps…

“I thought you wanted to give it to him yourself. I thought you wanted me to keep it secret—that it was my blood.”

…Maybe I was wrong.

Maybe Penelope really had been too ill to act herself, but still worried about Idorian’s safety—and asked Lilia to help in her place.

‘It’s not my blood. It’s Lady Swidi’s.’

Could it be she’d never meant to deceive anyone?
That she hadn’t been trying to take credit at all?

If that were true… then I owed her an apology.

But that Penelope Lloyd?

Heresdon Dwayne’s thoughts about Penelope ended when he spotted her at the edge of his vision. After a brief hesitation, he decided to follow her. There were quite a few things he needed to confirm.

I held my breath carefully as I stayed underwater.

This should be enough.

I’d let the air in my lungs run out fifteen times already. I couldn’t be sure how much time had passed, but it must’ve been at least five minutes.

Just as I was about to come up for air—

—there was a splash behind me. Someone’s arms wrapped around my waist.

Startled by the sudden contact, I thrashed instinctively—until I realized it was a person.

Whoever it was, they were strong enough to lift me like I weighed nothing.

“Cough, cough!”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Penelope?”

The voice, sharp and angry, reached my ears as I coughed up water.

I looked up—and saw Heresdon Dwayne’s face.

As soon as I recognized him, I wiped at my face quickly. Smooth. No scales. Thank god.

“Were you trying to die or something?”

He said that in a flat tone. I had just learned that my human form was temporary, and that I needed to submerge myself in water regularly.

Drip, drip—

Water fell from his drenched clothes onto the ground.

“I asked if I interrupted you.”

“N-No…”

He must have thought I was in danger. I had no idea why he was even here instead of in the dining hall.

“I wasn’t trying to die. I just… fell in.”

It was a flimsy excuse, I knew—but it was all I could think of.

“I’m sorry.”

I glanced at his soaked form and apologized. From his point of view, it must have looked dangerous—and that was why he’d jumped in to pull me out.

“Really… thank you.”

I stood up quickly.

An awkward silence hung between us. Heresdon’s brows were furrowed deep as his eyes scanned me.

“What are you doing here?”

His tone was interrogative.

“There’s only one well and that stream behind the castle. What business do you have out here, at this hour of the night?”

“…I just felt stifled. I wanted some air.”

His face was full of distrust and irritation.

“Hah… trying to stir up another scene to draw attention to yourself? Are people not worried about you enough anymore? Not satisfied yet?”

He raked a hand through his wet hair and sighed heavily.

“Stop doing stupid things, Penelope Lloyd.”

He accused me of staging another suicide attempt.

It was clear he had no intention of believing a word I said.

Once again, it would only end if I apologized and took the blame.

“…You don’t believe me. You don’t even want to believe me.”

But instead of an apology, what came out of my mouth surprised even me.

“Then why ask?”

“…What?”

I knew that with Penelope Lloyd’s past behavior, every misunderstanding and resentment was mine to bear. But still—I wanted to say this.

“If I wanted to cause a scene and draw attention, I wouldn’t have chosen the middle of the night. I’d have done it in the morning—when everyone’s awake. At least not when everyone’s eating dinner.”

There was so much more I wanted to say—so much frustration bottled up—but my voice was sluggish, painfully slow. Even as I spoke, I grew more agitated by my own restraint.

“I appreciate your help. I really do. But next time… please, just pretend you didn’t see.”

And with that, I swallowed the rest of my words and fell silent.

The next afternoon, the crown prince and his companion arrived at the fortress.

I was fetching water with Wuben when Lilia came running to tell me.

“My lady, quickly!”

“Let me finish this first.”

I lifted the bucket in my hands slightly as an explanation. Wuben looked eager to greet the returning prince and hurried his steps.

The crown prince hadn’t told Wuben about his plan to leave the fortress to retrieve his friend. Because of that, Wuben hadn’t even seen him off—and it clearly weighed on him.

He must have felt deep affection for Idorian and Lilia, the ones who had saved him.

“Go ahead.”

I took the bucket from Wuben and nodded toward Lilia’s direction. After glancing around for a moment, he ran after her.

The prince’s friend had made it safely, then. That was good news.

Good… but—

“We’ll talk about this again when I return.”

Just thinking about how he’d probably start nitpicking and arguing with me again made my head ache already.

I poured the water into a large basin and walked toward the rear of the inner fortress.