Chapter 17
A raging, muscular chest pressed against my back. His body was solid without a single soft spot, like a sculpture carved by a master.
Only then did I realize how terribly embarrassing this position was.
“I–I’m okay. Thank you.”
Even as I said that, Kaiden was still gripping the wrist of the hand holding the water bowl. His strength was so overwhelming that I couldn’t easily pull free.
“Wait.”
At that moment, Enoch asked for my pardon, and then his large hand wrapped over my wrist in one swift motion.
With absurd ease, he freed my hand from Kaiden’s grasp. Only then was I able to step out of his arms and stand properly.
“There’s a mark.”
Enoch gently brushed his thumb over my reddened wrist. The light touch tickled, sending a strange sensation through me.
“Shall I kill him.”
“Yes.”
I answered reflexively to Enoch’s mutter, then jolted in shock and shook my head.
“W–Wait, what? No. Don’t. You need to control your anger.”
When I hurriedly stopped him, he burst out laughing. It didn’t seem like he’d meant it seriously in the first place, because he immediately changed the subject.
“This man appears to be the Archmage, Kaiden.”
He identified Kaiden’s identity at once.
Well, Enoch was the Crown Prince of the Empire. It would be stranger if he didn’t know who an Archmage was—especially when there were only five of them on the continent.
“For now, let’s move the luggage. Then we’ll move this fellow too.”
With an annoyed look, Enoch glanced at Kaiden and sighed.
“…I don’t like it, but a mage’s knowledge might be useful.”
After saying that, Enoch looked at me as if asking for my opinion.
“How about we take him inside but keep him tied up? If you don’t like it, say so. We can just throw him away.”
…So this wasn’t really asking for my opinion. He clearly assumed I wouldn’t agree to tying Kaiden up.
As if. I nodded vigorously in agreement.
Enoch carried the supplies—coconuts, a spear skewering ducks, and the like—into the cave.
Then he took the torn hem of the dress we’d used as a bandage the other day and firmly bound Kaiden’s arms and legs.
Since the cave entrance was slightly elevated above the ground, Enoch ultimately had no choice but to carry Kaiden on his back.
After laying him down in one corner of the cave, Enoch went off to prepare dinner. I quietly checked Kaiden’s condition.
“Is he injured?”
Blood had soaked through the shirt visible beneath his robe.
Wait—blood?
I hurriedly looked back at Enoch. Thankfully, he seemed busy dividing fruit into coconut bowls.
After a brief hesitation, I carefully removed Kaiden’s shirt. I needed to see how serious the wound was.
“Oh my god…”
Revealed near his chest was a long scar—claw marks from a beast.
The wound was deeper than I’d expected, and its condition looked serious. The mage’s robe must have hidden the bleeding earlier.
“I need to stop the bleeding first.”
I muttered to myself, then belatedly realized I’d left Kaiden’s wound exposed for too long. Cold sweat ran down my spine.
‘Enoch is busy cooking… he didn’t see, right?’
Thinking that, I slowly lifted my head—but my bad feeling didn’t miss.
Enoch was staring in this direction, his face filled with confusion.
“That wound…”
He looked at Kaiden’s injury, then belatedly realized something and squeezed his eyes shut.
“…Margaret. It seems I should be tied up as well.”
His voice trembled.
Damn it. How could I be this careless?
I quickly tore more fabric from the dress and bound his hands and feet.
Enoch looked like he’d been dragged back into a terrible memory. He shook violently, gasping for breath.
“Hah…”
“Enoch?”
I cautiously called his name.
As if that were a signal, his breathing abruptly stopped.
A moment later, he sprang up from the ground despite his bound hands.
‘Shit, this is useless!’
I shoved the charging Enoch away and dodged. Perhaps because he’d lost his reason, he lost his balance and crashed to the ground.
I rushed over and firmly pressed my foot down on him to keep him from getting up.
“Get a grip!”
With Enoch’s monstrous strength, he should’ve been able to throw me off instantly—but surprisingly, once I stepped on him, he became compliant.
Tears welled in his eyes as he glared up at me, resentment filling his gaze.
He looked so pitiful that I barely resisted the urge to remove my foot.
“Margaret.”
He called my name in a hoarse voice.
“Get this off me. I’m asking nicely.”
“No.”
If he even twitched, I pressed down harder with my foot.
“I said get a grip. If you don’t, I’ll throw you out instead of Kaiden.”
At first, Enoch resisted—but gradually, the madness drained from his eyes. After a little more time passed, he completely calmed down. Only then did I release a weary sigh of relief.
“So this actually works.”
The fact that he could be subdued so simply, without drugs or equipment—and that no one had tried this before—was astonishing.
‘Well… who would dare tell the Crown Prince to get it together or be thrown out?’
In any case, once his strength drained away, Enoch passed out. I dragged him toward the cave wall and tightly bound his wrists and ankles with cloth.
“Phew… done.”
As I wiped the sweat from my brow, Enoch’s peaceful sleeping face came into view.
Then, suddenly, a sense of futility washed over me, and I sank down where I stood.
“How on earth did these people survive in the original story without me?”
I’d never seen Yuanna control Enoch this roughly in the original novel. I ran a hand through my hair and groaned irritably.
“Damn it, this is exhausting!”
But first, I needed to treat Kaiden.
Pushing aside my thoughts, I began treating his wound.
I soaked a piece of dress fabric—used as a towel—in purified stream water from my chemise and cleaned around the wound. After washing the cloth again, I gently pressed it against the injury to stop the bleeding.
Even unconscious, Kaiden seemed to feel pain, letting out a faint groan.
Watching him, I suddenly remembered the monster I’d encountered days ago while being chased by Kaiden.
The deafening roar that echoed through the forest. The monster, which had been right in front of me, had abruptly fled as if it had noticed something else.
Was Kaiden the cause of that roar?
‘No way…’
I shook my head, dismissing the thought. I’d ask him later when he woke up.
I found disinfectant and poured it over the wound, then searched for bandages.
Because the injury was on his chest, I had to use more bandages than expected—and I didn’t have many left. If someone else got hurt later, that would be a serious problem.
Just in case, I checked the bandage packaging again. On the transparent wrapping were the words: Roselastic (elastic bandage).
“Oh my god, thank goodness.”
This type of bandage could be washed and reused multiple times.
“I can reuse the ones Enoch was wearing too.”
That realization made me feel oddly reassured.
“Yeah. In the jungle, a first-aid kit beats male leads any day.”
I cut flesh-colored medical tape and secured the ends of the bandage. After checking Kaiden’s cheeks and neck for fever, I finally felt relieved.
“Ugh…”
Enoch, who had been unconscious, soon came to.
Leaning against the cave wall, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Are you okay?”
At my question, Enoch blankly examined his bound limbs for a moment.
As his expression gradually filled with self-loathing, I stepped closer.
“I’ll untie your wrists.”
At my words, he quietly looked up.
His face was completely expressionless, but within his deep golden eyes, emotions I couldn’t decipher were raging violently.
There was unmistakable shame among them.
Slowly, he extended his wrists toward me. I loosened the knots binding him, then closed the medical kit with a tired expression.
“Margaret… are you all right?”
He asked calmly, checking my complexion.
“I’m not okay. I’m exhausted to death.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I told you before—it’s not your fault. You don’t have to apologize.”
Enoch lowered his gaze again, his face heavy.
When I moved to put away the kit and reposition Kaiden, Enoch came over to help. After placing Kaiden in a corner, he finally examined the mage’s treated wounds.
Clutching the first-aid kit to my chest, I returned to my spot and sat down.
“Margaret.”
Just as I was about to lie down, I looked up at him. Enoch approached and knelt on one knee before me.
“Are the wounds all right? Not the mage’s—yours.”
He gently cupped my cheek. The bruising had faded enough that it no longer hurt when touched.
Lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, he whispered,
“If you ever feel like getting rid of that bastard, just say the word. It wouldn’t be difficult.”
No—it would be difficult, actually.
“Are you trying to have another episode?”
At my question, Enoch smiled.
“Then things would become even easier.”
The words sent a chill down my spine. It felt like the latent cruelty within him was slowly awakening—an ominous sign.
He’s not really going to go insane like in a novel… right?
