Chapter 59
Enoch clicked his tongue, draped his arm over my shoulder, and pulled me close to him.
Thanks to that, we were a little farther from Asdal. For some reason, I felt a sense of protection from Enoch.
“Does Margaret think you’re her maid? That guy being the crown prince… I’m genuinely worried about the future of the Hestia Kingdom,” Enoch remarked.
“That’s harsh. There’s nothing shameful about hiding behind a woman. Besides, my lady isn’t just any woman,” Asdal replied, raising his eyebrows at me as if to say, “See? I was right, wasn’t I?”
The more I observed, the more I realized that Asdal’s abnormal behavior made him even harder to read.
Enoch looked at Asdal with a calm expression before letting out a small laugh.
“Ah, my apologies. I have an allergy to people who aren’t gentlemen,” he said.
“Pfft.”
Yuanna, watching the exchange from a distance, burst out laughing.
Asdal’s eyebrows twitched. When he turned around, Yuanna quickly averted her gaze, pretending not to notice.
Asdal then looked at me with an expression that said, Something is seriously twisted here, before apologizing.
“Right. I wasn’t very gentlemanly. As a royal, I should uphold my dignity. My apologies, my lady.”
Hmm, he’s like a boss from a stiff office job, but at least he apologizes. Not completely unreasonable, then.
“But I’d like you to deal with the bug. Please. Surely my lady can handle it.”
“You can’t even deal with a bug? Then you’d faint if a monster appeared,” I teased.
“That’s different from a mere bug. And that one isn’t exactly a simple bug either.”
“It seems Your Highness thinks I’m some sort of all-rounder, but I also dislike bugs. Especially the many-legged ones… or the legless ones… ugh…”
Just imagining it made me shudder. Enoch’s hand on my shoulder tightened slightly as he watched me react. He looked visibly uncomfortable.
“Asdal, Your Highness.”
Yuanna, observing the situation, approached and called Asdal.
“Lady Florene, let’s stop bothering her and come help me cook the fish, shall we?”
“Me…?” Asdal asked, raising his shoulders in confusion.
Yuanna caught on quickly. When she made eye contact with me, she gave a gentle smile, and somehow it felt as if a halo shone behind her.
I felt mesmerized by her smile. No wonder all the main male characters fell for her.
“The bug will go out if you open the window,” Yuanna added.
Finally, Asdal gave up on dealing with the bug and approached her.
“Margaret.”
Watching them head toward the kitchen, Enoch pulled me close to him again.
I looked up at him almost completely in his arms. Our eyes met—his deep golden gaze locking with mine.
“I don’t want you going hunting alone with the crown prince anymore. It worries me.”
“Ah… don’t worry. I don’t think it’ll happen again.”
Hunting with Asdal had earned me the nickname Minefield Moon.
It was awful.
I decided I shouldn’t casually offer to teach anyone hunting in the future. Trying to give someone life experience only to end up getting my own life experience in disaster form was enough of a lesson.
As I grimaced at the thought of Minefield Moon, Enoch’s low voice reached my ears.
“Promise me.”
His calm gaze, without movement, seemed to hold some kind of intense emotion.
Like a burning flame.
Enoch placed his hand on my cheek and slowly lowered his head. Eventually, his forehead touched mine.
“Margaret, promise me.”
The warmth in his breath made me swallow hard.
I was often caught off guard when Enoch said things like this. More accurately, I found his interest in me… fascinating.
I’ve never felt such intense emotions before.
In fact, I had never received or given genuine affection before, so I didn’t really know what it looked like.
Enoch often appeared cold, like a barren branch or a winter wind, but in reality, he was always a passionate person.
At least that’s how it seemed to me.
Perhaps Enoch and I are polar opposites. The one whose heart was barren and dry was probably me.
“I’ll promise.”
I looked him straight in the eyes.
“I don’t want to do things that Enoch dislikes.”
There was no need to force myself to do something he disliked.
While we rested our heads together, the door of the cabin opened, and I met Kai-den’s gaze as he came in carrying a bundle of firewood.
“Margaret…!”
He looked like an excited puppy about to run toward me. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from inside the cabin.
Bang!
It came from the second floor.
“What was that…?”
Kai-den drew a dagger in surprise. Enoch pulled me behind him and drew his sword.
“Ugh, uuaaah!”
Rujef’s piercing scream came from the second floor.
When we all went upstairs, we saw a giant leg breaking through Asdal’s door.
So this was the bug he had mentioned.
But that bug…
Damn, that’s not just a bug, teacher.
Rujef, who had seen the leg from the second-floor hallway, rushed toward us in panic.
“Looks like the monster Diego saw before,” Enoch muttered.
I recalled the tarantula-like monster Yuanna and her group had encountered.
“It was definitely a small spider… but it gave off a very suspicious aura.”
Asdal, standing silently behind us, muttered in disbelief.
It was impressive that he even noticed a suspicious aura from a small spider. Perhaps he really did have good instincts.
It seems they evolve.
I remembered Yuanna’s inner thoughts from the original story and shivered.
Fortunately, the spider seemed newly evolved and quickly perished under Enoch’s sword.
We barely managed to drag the enormous spider’s corpse out of the cabin, but Asdal’s bedroom became unusable due to the unbearable stench.
“Disgusting… this brings back nightmares…”
Yuanna muttered, pale as snow, sitting in front of the fireplace. Diego quietly patted her shoulder in comfort.
It was impossible to sleep on the second floor where the monster had appeared. Eventually, everyone laid out bedding in front of the fireplace.
Enoch and Kai-den still took positions beside me, while Asdal and Diego positioned themselves with Yuanna in the center.
Rujef, lying closer to the door, seemed strangely lonely… or maybe it was just my imagination.
“This confirms that monsters evolve.”
Kai-den muttered, resting his head on his clasped hands.
“We need to leave this island.”
Hearing my muttering, Enoch sighed.
“Then we should visit the place where the key was found as soon as possible.”
Right, we needed to go.
“This cabin doesn’t seem entirely safe either.”
Everyone who had been lying quietly turned to look at me. I panicked a little under their gazes and awkwardly got up.
“Why, why is that?”
Enoch rubbed the back of his neck as he stood.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“Me too. I don’t know how long this cabin can hold out.”
Kai-den agreed with him.
However, Yuanna sat up and offered a counterpoint.
“Visiting the place where the key fell could be dangerous, but losing a solid base camp is also risky.”
Everyone turned to look at her. Yuanna calmly continued after scanning the group.
“The spider evolved, yes, but the monsters themselves haven’t entered the cabin yet, right?”
“That’s true.”
Enoch nodded in agreement. Yuanna smiled gently, this time looking at me for confirmation.
“Then we should visit the place where the key fell as quickly as possible, and afterwards, clean up the cabin. Either way, we’ll have to leave to scout the island. What do you think, my lady?”
Everyone’s gaze returned to me. My neck felt like it might snap from turning so much. I nodded, worrying unnecessarily.
“I agree with the saint’s opinion.”
So, we agreed to investigate the key as soon as possible before leaving the cabin, then returned to sleep.
Having a plan made me feel somewhat relieved.
While lying quietly staring at the cabin ceiling, Kai-den turned toward me and stared intently.
Curious, I turned to face him. His crimson eyes shone eerily.
“Why?” I asked.
He grinned—a smile far too charming for the situation.
“Because you’re pretty.”
He whispered it softly, just for me. The words were so sweet and gentle they made my heart skip a beat.
“Because you’re pretty, I can’t help wanting you… it’s ridiculous.”
Ridiculous? Maybe not entirely.
I dismissed it as Kai-den’s usual nonsense and simply laughed it off.
Little did I know, it wasn’t nonsense at all.
Update soon!~