Chapter 09
Of course, I couldn’t sleep properly.
I was sprawled out on the stone floor like a vagrant, and since the ground was cold, I shivered from the chill all night long. I was so exhausted that it didn’t even occur to me that sleeping like that might make my face go crooked.
It was raining, the cave was filled with a damp chill, and the temperature difference was severe—so cold it was unbearable….
I was shivering even in my dreams.
It’s really cold.
All the fatigue that had built up came crashing over me, and even my mind felt hazy. What a strangely vivid dream this was.
As I trembled for a long while in my half-asleep state, someone approached me. In my blurry vision, Enoch’s jacket flickered into view.
Desperately, I reached out and clutched his jacket. The warm sensation in my hands made my chest ache for some reason.
“Why is that?”
Someone in the dream asked me. Frowning miserably, I stared at the jacket.
“Because it’s cruel.”
“…Cruel?”
I tugged at Enoch’s jacket again as I answered.
“This thing. Jackie. It’s the guy who covered my shoulders when I was shivering from the cold, you know.”
Yeah. That’s how it used to be…. Suddenly, a wave of sadness surged up and tears welled in my eyes.
“Stupid jerk. Why would you drape yourself over some other useless body…. I’m so cold right now.”
“……”
“I guess your love for me has cooled off. You bad b*tch. How can love change like that?”
Sniffling, I let go of the jacket I’d been gripping. Maybe I’d held it too tightly—the jacket was crumpled and misshapen.
Even that pitiful state tugged at my heartstrings.
My chest aching again, I turned my eyes away from the wrinkled jacket and fell asleep.
I’m pretty sure I even heard the sound of someone letting out a hollow laugh as we were talking….
When I came to my senses, it was already morning.
What kind of ridiculous dream was that?
I lay there blankly with my eyes open. I’d fallen asleep shivering from the cold, but my body felt surprisingly refreshed.
It doesn’t feel real, and my memories are fuzzy…. So it really was just a dream?
Tilting my head in confusion, I suddenly noticed how warm and snug I felt and looked down.
A jacket made of fine fabric was draped over my shoulders. It was Enoch’s.
I glanced around and then toward the cave entrance, where morning sunlight streamed in through the stone wall piled up to waist height. It seemed the rain had completely stopped.
At the cave entrance stood Enoch. With his shirt sleeves rolled up, he was diligently moving large boulders.
Perhaps because he had spent so many years on the battlefield, Enoch tended to pursue practicality like this rather than stubbornly clinging to princely dignity.
Without refusing the jacket he’d put over me, I slipped it on properly and walked over to him.
He shot me a brief glance. I thought he might say something, but he simply turned his head away and went back to clearing stones.
I distinctly remembered saying something like, “Why would you drape yourself over some other useless body?” when I saw Enoch’s jacket in my dream.
There’s no way that wasn’t just a dream, right? If it wasn’t—
Am I insane? I wasn’t even drunk—why would I say something like that? Such nonsense with no context at all.
My mind went completely blank. Forget insulting the imperial family—how embarrassing is that?!
But thankfully, Enoch looked no different than usual.
…Since he’s not saying anything, it must’ve been a dream, right?
Only then did I relax a little and gather my strength to help him move the stones.
Then—
“Sounds like your love worked out well.”
“…Excuse me?”
The sudden remark slammed straight into my ears.
Enoch finished clearing the stones, dusted off his hands, and turned to me. Resting one hand on his hip, he pointed at the jacket I was wearing and smiled.
“Rather than being worn by a useless body like me, wouldn’t it be better to fulfill the jacket’s love?”
Damn it—so it wasn’t a dream!
Panicking, I darted my eyes away to avoid his gaze. And at that moment—
You bad btch. How can love change like that?*
Even my final line came back to me.
This is why people should always speak nicely, even in their sleep.
“Well, um… what do you mean by that?”
“Are you going to pretend you don’t know?”
An uncharacteristically playful question from Enoch drilled into my ears. I fumbled with my words before finally answering in a small voice.
“That was just… nonsense I muttered in my sleep….”
“You even gave it a cute name like ‘Jackie,’ and now you’re denying it? Jackie the b*tch would be hurt to hear that.”
Damn it—so you even heard the swearing.
Desperately trying to change the subject, I rolled my eyes and cautiously spoke.
“You sound really awkward when you swear.”
“It’s my first time saying such blatant profanity. But you, my lady, were very natural. As if it were part of your daily life.”
Sh*t. It is part of my daily life, so I had nothing to say.
“Oh, no it’s not. That wasn’t me. Your Highness must have been dreaming. I can’t swear. I’m a noblewoman.”
Enoch chuckled lazily, rubbing his chin.
“…If you’re embarrassed, I’ll pretend I don’t know.”
He said it as if granting me a favor.
Then he strolled over and lightly tapped the gold trim on the shoulder of the jacket I was wearing.
His gaze slowly traveled from my shoulder up along my neck. Then our eyes met.
A crooked smile tugged at his lips. As if he found this situation thoroughly amusing, he said,
“Well, weren’t you always a bit of an eccentric, my lady? So it didn’t seem all that strange.”
Just call me weird outright. You cruel bstard.*
It seemed I still had a long way to go if I wanted to improve my image. Feeling oddly sad, I wiped at tears that weren’t even there.
“I’m rooting for your love.”
“It’s not like that!”
When I finally snapped back irritably, he burst into laughter, clearly enjoying himself.
And that smile—how was it so handsome? I forgot my irritation entirely and just stared at him in a daze.
Of course, the smile didn’t last long. Returning to a calm expression, he looked at me with a straight face.
I thought he was about to say something serious—
“Keep wearing the jacket. I’d hate to be cursed again as a useless body.”
He teased me right to the very end, damn it.
Was Enoch always this kind of person?
In the original story, and even in Margaret’s memories, Crown Prince Enoch was definitely not someone like this!
