Chapter 03
Once the glow of sunset begins, night falls quickly.
After already encountering a monster, wandering any deeper into the forest was out of the question.
My startled heart still hadn’t calmed down, but lingering there and dwelling on the sensation wouldn’t help anything.
In the end, we returned to the beach to look for a place to sleep. By chance, we discovered a massive fallen log lying beneath a palm tree.
The log had toppled toward the sandy shore, and beside it was a space that looked just right for hiding our bodies.
Though it was a beach, it was closer to the forest’s edge, so it also seemed safe from blowing sand.
We decided to make this our shelter for the night.
First, I dug out the sandy ground beside the log, wide enough for two people to lie down.
Then I gathered pebbles and spread them over the hollowed ground. It was to prevent the sand from collapsing while we slept.
“We need small branches. We’ll lay them on top of this.”
Enoch looked at me with an expression that said he had a lot he wanted to ask but didn’t know where to start.
“Your Highness, branches.”
When I repeated myself, Enoch glanced at me with an uneasy look, then went off to gather branches.
I carefully layered the branches he brought back over the pebbles. After that, I was able to find thick moss in the shallow forest near the shore.
Clumps of moss hold a lot of moisture and are soft, making them suitable in the wild as a substitute for toilet paper—but they’re also great to use as bedding.
“We’ll also need large leaves to lay on top—”
I was about to say we needed leaves to place over the soft moss.
But before I could finish, Enoch had already brought back wide leaves and spread them over the bedding I’d made.
Then, using the fallen log as support, he propped up a flat-sided wooden pole at an angle.
A slanted roof formed over the makeshift bed.
It looked like a fairly decent sleeping spot. Unexpectedly, Enoch and I worked together seamlessly.
“Don’t stick too close to me. I have no desire whatsoever to sleep next to a young lady.”
At Enoch’s words, I shot him a glare.
“The feeling’s mutual, you know? Who knows what you might do?”
He stared back at me as if dumbfounded.
“Who knows what I might do?”
“I mean—Your Highness, that is.”
I shamelessly corrected my form of address.
Enoch looked displeased, but instead of pressing the issue, he fell silent.
He clearly wasn’t used to the changed me.
Still, there were far too many pressing matters ahead of us to nitpick over that change.
In any case, Enoch yielded the spot beside the log to me and took the outer position himself.
To show such consideration even to someone he disliked. His manners really were impeccable.
Sitting down on the makeshift bed and gazing at the sunset sky, I turned to Enoch with a serious expression.
“Your Highness.”
Enoch looked at me, puzzled.
“Aren’t you thirsty?”
Perhaps still tense, Enoch glared at me with a drained expression.
I shrugged and stood up.
“Wait here. I’ll go find us some coconuts or something.”
Earlier, while moving around, I’d spotted a coconut tree worth noting.
I’m pretty good at climbing trees, too.
I’d even climbed trees to pick bananas before—something only true experts were said to be able to do.
Of course, it would be even better if there were unspoiled coconuts lying on the ground.
However, Enoch stepped in front of me with a face full of distrust.
“Where do you think you’re going? Stay put.”
“I’m not going far. It’s right behind us. I’m really thirsty.”
“I don’t trust you. The moment you see an opening, you’ll try to run.”
He wasn’t wrong, so I had nothing to say.
“I told you already. The young lady hasn’t been completely cleared of suspicion. Until we return to the Empire, stay alive and stick close to me.”
…For some reason, that almost sounded like he was protecting me.
Probably my imagination.
In any case, he was telling me not to think about escaping.
I couldn’t exactly blame him for reacting that way, so I just let out a tired sigh.
“Just tell me what the fruit looks like. I’ll go get it.”
After staring at me with a conflicted expression, Enoch spoke. It seemed he’d decided that keeping me on the beach made it easier to catch me if I tried to run than sending me into the forest.
That was true enough. With no other choice, I explained what coconuts looked like.
After listening quietly, he disappeared—and returned some time later carrying two coconuts.
“You climbed the tree to get them?”
“No. Just like you said, there were plenty lying on the ground.”
His tone was sharp, but he faithfully did everything I asked.
“But what does this fruit have to do with being thirsty?”
“This is the fruit of a palm tree. The liquid inside coconuts is great for hydration.”
I tapped the coconut lightly as I continued.
“This one’s fine. If you eat one that’s too ripe, it can give you diarrhea. You end up losing fluids instead of replenishing them.”
I searched for a sharp stone that could split the coconut.
As I was repeatedly striking the shell with the stone, I heard Enoch sigh beside me.
He took the coconut from my hands and split it open in one clean motion with his bare hands.
Incredible strength. No—was this just monstrous power?
I’d never seen anyone crack such a hard coconut shell with their bare hands before.
“Wait! Don’t drink it yet!”
I barely managed to stop Enoch as he was about to drink straight from it.
He looked at me, confused.
“Since it fell on the ground, it could be spoiled. Insects might’ve eaten into it.”
I inspected the inside of the coconut and smelled it. Then I dipped a finger into the liquid and lightly tasted it with my tongue.
It was a flavor I remembered from long ago.
“It’s fine. You can drink it now.”
At my words, Enoch lifted his coconut and drank the liquid inside.
I was thirsty too, so I swallowed the liquid spilling out through the cracked opening.
“I feel alive again.”
Setting the coconut down, I let out a deep breath.
“You know more than I expected.”
Enoch said, his face much more relaxed after rehydrating.
I responded with a silent shrug.
Come to think of it, in the original story, Margaret and Enoch struggled quite a bit with hydration before meeting the female lead—collecting rainwater or gathering dew for days on end.
But unlike the original story, Enoch was adapting more easily now thanks to me, and I was staying alive thanks to him protecting me from monsters.
Is this what they call mutual cooperation?
With that thought, I lifted my head. The sky had already been dyed a pale violet.
I sat there, staring blankly up at it.
I still didn’t understand what had happened.
Whether I was really alive.
Whether this was truly inside a novel.
“You really do seem like a different person.”
After observing me quietly for a long time, Enoch finally spoke.
“I am a different person.”
I was just stating the truth, but Enoch didn’t believe me.
No—why not? He was the one who said I seemed different first.
“Looking at how you assess situations and respond now, I can’t help but doubt whether you’re really the Flone Young Lady I knew.”
Enoch looked like he wanted an explanation, but I had none to give.
“You react differently from a typical noble young lady. In situations like this, most wouldn’t remain as calm as you.”
I nodded in agreement, but once again, I had no way to explain.
The original Margaret Rose Flone was a duke’s daughter steeped in aristocratic superiority. Of course she wouldn’t know how to act competently in a situation like this.
She’d probably never even been to a deserted beach like this.
But the me before possession had lived a completely different life from Margaret.
After all, I’d been a Girl Scout leader instructor whose hobby was hardcore camping.
After quitting as an instructor, I’d even gotten a job at a company selling camping equipment.
I enjoyed all kinds of outdoor sports, and I’d once traveled to the tropical rainforest of Africa and experienced life in a remote region.
Back then, I’d complained about how spectacularly chaotic my life was—but now that I thought about it, it wasn’t a bad résumé for being stranded on a deserted island.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a good résumé for being stranded on a deserted island. Still, my chances of survival had to be better than those of someone who knew nothing at all.
Who would’ve thought those experiences would come in handy like this?
Of course, as I’d said before, my combat ability was zero, so if a monster or wild animal appeared, I’d die instantly.
“People tend to change when they’re pushed into extreme environments.”
I focused on the idea of change and offered that as an excuse.
Acting as if I weren’t Margaret wasn’t a good option. It would only make me look suspicious on purpose.
At worst, Enoch might misunderstand and think I’d kidnapped him—or that I was the one who caused this situation in the first place.
As expected, Enoch still looked unconvinced.
“Well… that’s rare.”
He replied in a flat voice.
Only then did I realize it probably wasn’t something I should’ve said in front of someone who’d fought his way through countless battlefields.
Like showing off wrinkles in front of a chrysalis.
In the end, with nothing to argue back, I closed my mouth. I lay down on the narrow makeshift bedding and stared up at the sky.
After a while of just gazing blankly upward, Enoch spoke first.
“That thing earlier wasn’t an animal. It gave off an aura very similar to a monster.”
