Chapter 08
The next morning, I woke up early and returned Enoch’s jacket to him.
And then a rather minor problem arose between us. Our goals didn’t align, which led to conflict.
My goal was to survive safely on this island for a year.
His goal was to escape the island as soon as possible.
“If we want to survive longer, I think it’s better to head inland rather than stay on the beach. Finding a place where a river flows will greatly increase our chances of survival. It’ll also be much easier to build a shelter.”
“Do you not intend to send out a distress signal? Going inland may raise the odds of survival, but it’ll make rescue much harder to expect.”
His argument made sense.
But it wasn’t as if we could escape before the ‘door’ opened anyway—and I couldn’t explain that to him, which made things frustrating.
Then there was no helping it. I had to use my trump card.
“Then it’d be better if we part ways here.”
“…What?”
He looked like he hadn’t expected me to say that. He must have assumed I’d never insist on going alone.
I’d been waiting for the right timing to leave anyway, so this worked out well.
“You think I’d just agree because you’re being so unreasonable—”
“I’m serious.”
As I spoke, I slipped on the flat shoes I’d taken off earlier after going into the sea and straightened my clothes.
Then I strung together a couple of fish I’d caught that morning on a thin wooden branch and slung them over my shoulder.
Enoch looked genuinely flustered. Ignoring that, I bowed my head politely to him.
“Thank you so much for saving me from the monster. And staying with Your Highness, even briefly, was a great comfort. When I first woke up, I might have gone mad if I’d been alone.”
At my final farewell, his expression twisted.
“Lady Plone. This isn’t the time for jokes.”
Shrugging indifferently, I gave him a cheerful goodbye.
“Think whatever you like. Then I’ll be off!”
Just as I passed him and stepped into the forest, I sensed hurried movement behind me.
“Wait.”
Enoch caught up and grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to stop. Only then did I turn around to face him.
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to do.”
“Our opinions don’t match, so I made a rational choice.”
“This reckless behavior—!”
He raised his voice in anger, then abruptly shut his mouth when he saw my face.
After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he spoke again.
“You’re saying this dangerous action is a rational choice?”
I didn’t understand why he was so angry. Why? He looked as if he were actually worried about me.
After some thought, I asked,
“Are you worried about me, by any chance? That I might be in danger?”
Or is he trying to keep a suspicious Margaret close so he can keep an eye on me?
Probably the latter. To be fair, I do look suspicious, so I can’t exactly argue.
Still, for some reason, Enoch looked as though he’d been hit right on the mark—utterly shocked. Watching him, I let out a light sigh.
“I’m more capable of surviving than I look. Don’t worry about me—worry about yourself.”
The monster was the biggest threat, but if I hid somewhere by dusk, I’d manage. I was confident when it came to hiding.
I couldn’t afford to stay on the beach out of fear, miss the opening of the door, and end up isolated.
Whether it was a bunker or a hut, I needed to find something. And I had to uncover this island’s secret.
Only then would I understand why I’d suddenly possessed Margaret.
I bowed to Enoch once more and turned away. Just then, he hurriedly grabbed my arm. His gesture felt unexpectedly desperate.
This time, I was irritated. I deliberately turned my head with an openly annoyed expression—but then he spoke, his face set with resolve.
“Let’s go together.”
It was a completely unexpected choice.
Had his wariness toward Margaret faded after spending time with me?
“I’ll go with you, but I’ll continue searching for ways to send out a distress signal and escape the island.”
If there was a way to escape without finding the original exit from the novel, that would be ideal. I wanted that too.
And the fact that Enoch didn’t try to force his opinion on me felt like a sign that our relationship was slowly changing.
Enoch was a powerful ally. Having him along might complicate my plans a little, but it wasn’t a bad thing.
Survival came first, after all.
“Alright.”
In the end, we decided to search for a new shelter together.
After wandering through the forest for about half a day, we discovered a steep cliff.
Excited, I pointed out the tall cliff within sight to Enoch.
“There’s usually a cave beneath cliffs like that. The path there might be dangerous, but there won’t be a better shelter than that.”
“How do you even know things like that?”
Enoch looked at me with genuine confusion.
“Did you learn that in the Plone ducal household?”
As if. But if I didn’t deflect properly here, he’d grow suspicious.
I nodded casually and smiled.
“Yes. I received a wide range of education at home. Knowing too much can be dangerous.”
I was trying to brush it off, but Enoch muttered that he’d misjudged Duke Plone and complained about how anyone could put such a noble lady through such harsh training.
Why was he the one getting angry?
Unable to understand him, I tilted my head and replied,
“But it’s helping us right now, isn’t it? I think it’s a good thing.”
At that, Enoch finally fell silent. He must not have had anything to argue back.
Fortunately, we managed to find a cave before sunset.
Enoch searched inside in case there were any animals. Once he determined it was safe, we hauled heavy stones and piled them at the entrance, then covered them with large leaves to camouflage it roughly.
As soon as we settled inside the damp, chilly cave, rain suddenly poured down through the previously clear sky.
With thunder and lightning accompanying the downpour, we had no choice but to move deeper inside.
Thankfully, the cave entrance was about a hand’s breadth above the ground, so water didn’t flood in.
“Oh! We should be collecting rainwater!”
I handed Enoch the coconuts I’d brought with me.
He accepted them with a puzzled expression, then split them open with his bare hands and handed them back. By now, he didn’t even ask why—he just did what I told him.
Have we built up a bit of trust?
Smiling proudly, I shared the coconut water with him.
After drinking it all, I used the sharp wooden knife I’d been using to clean fish to scrape out the insides of the empty shells.
It wasn’t as clean as it would’ve been with a real knife, but they turned into decent bowls.
I made four coconut bowls like that and placed them on stones near the cave entrance.
To prevent muddy water from splashing in or the bowls from being blown away, I set them as close to the entrance as possible.
Enoch stared at me, clearly curious about what I was doing. He didn’t ask out loud anymore—his eyes did the talking.
“If we collect rainwater, we don’t have to distill stream water. Saves us some trouble.”
Rain falling from the sky could be drunk as is—it was essentially distilled water.
“I see.”
His response was a bit flat. After that, neither of us spoke, and silence settled in.
Inside the cave, only the sound of rain pattering echoed.
The tension eased somehow, and I leaned back against the cave wall, looking tired.
The uneven walls and floor were uncomfortable, the space was dark, damp, and gloomy, and there was nothing particularly pleasant about it.
With the rain, finding dry tinder would be difficult, so we couldn’t even light a fire.
It was cold, but there was no alternative.
“I know you’re probably tired of hearing this by now, but I have to admit it. You’ve changed, my lady.”
At Enoch’s low voice, I turned my head toward him.
The only light came faintly from outside the cave. In that dim glow, his face appeared indistinct in the darkness.
His features were calm, without a trace of agitation.
He’d been like that when he took down the monster with one hand too—his composure gave his companion a great sense of security.
Enoch still seemed to dislike me, but he was undeniably reliable.
“See? I told you I changed.”
I replied with a hint of smugness, but he merely glanced at me without saying anything, leaving me awkwardly embarrassed on my own.
Still—if we keep building trust like this, little by little… maybe my future can change too.
