Chapter 79
I flailed my arms and legs in midair, my eyes locked with Asdal’s.
“Huh?”
Before I could even process what was happening, an unbearable pain shot through my head.
It was like someone had smashed my skull with a hammer and then tickled my brain with a feather. I let out a silent scream from the sheer agony. This pain was insane—damn it.
My fever seemed to climb higher. I even had the fleeting thought that my body might heat up so much that it could explode.
A burning thirst gripped me. I wanted to touch someone. I needed contact with another person to quench this thirst.
“You’d better sleep quietly.”
Enoch’s voice reached me.
When I came to my senses, I was lying on a bed.
It seemed to be Yuanna’s bedroom on the second floor. Unlike Asdal’s bedroom, which had been destroyed by monsters, Yuanna’s room was intact.
I looked at Enoch standing by the bed. His upper body was bare, wrapped in bandages all over.
He didn’t look very good either, but that didn’t matter to me right now.
“How can I sleep like this?! Why don’t you just knock me out? Please, just knock me out—I don’t want to die in this pain.”
I sobbed, thrashing about.
‘My body itches so badly.’
I pleaded with him again.
“Enoch, I’m so embarrassed… just knock me out, please.”
Tears streamed down my face against my will. Enoch looked troubled.
The longer he hesitated, the more my patience wore thin. I reached out with trembling hands and grabbed his arm.
Enoch’s face drew close. His startled expression filled my vision. Our noses almost touched. I desperately stared at his bright red lips.
Our warm breaths brushed against each other’s faces, and I felt on the verge of losing all rational thought.
‘Pull yourself together, pull yourself together.’
I murmured that to myself, but my body didn’t obey.
Finally, Enoch furrowed his brows, swept his hair back, and glared at me.
With a pained expression, biting his lower lip, he seemed to hold something back and pushed me away.
“Damn it… you’re driving me crazy.”
He muttered through gritted teeth.
After being rejected by him, a wave of relief washed over me, yet for some reason, tears flowed even more bitterly.
“Just knock me out quickly! I feel like I’ll die from the embarrassment!”
Enoch leaned toward me slowly. I struggled on the bed, watching his face draw near, holding my breath for a moment. He pushed my shoulder to the side.
Thud.
Then, a sharp pain hit the back of my neck, and my vision went black.
Thank goodness. Though I had asked him to knock me out, I hadn’t expected the male lead to actually hit me.
I guess I’m not really the heroine type.
Yeah. Survival thrillers suit me better.
When I came to, it seemed to be dawn. The window of the bedroom let in a bluish light.
My vision was still dim.
I slowly sat up and realized my arms were tied to the bedposts.
Damn it. I sighed and lay back down.
Then I noticed movement beside the bed and turned my head in surprise. Enoch was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bedpost, asleep.
Seeing his face, I vividly remembered what had happened last night and let out an internal scream.
‘Damn it… so embarrassing!’
As I replayed the mortifying events of last night alone, Enoch opened his eyes.
“…Margaret?”
I met his gaze in my somewhat embarrassing state, my hands bound to the bedposts.
“It feels like it’s been a really long time,” I said.
Enoch just stared at me silently. I lowered my eyes under his intense gaze.
“Could you untie my hands?”
I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes as I asked.
After a brief silence, a heavy sigh came from him. Shadows fell over my face as Enoch leaned toward me.
He untied the cords binding me, and I was finally able to sit up.
As I adjusted my wrists, Enoch reached out and held my hands.
Furrowing his brows, he examined my swollen wrists.
“We should apply some medicine.”
I remained silent, unable to respond.
Enoch looked up at me, still holding my hands.
“Are you okay?”
“…Huh?”
I blinked in confusion. He repeated, checking my complexion carefully.
“I’m asking if your body is okay now.”
“Yes… I’m fine. How about you, Enoch?”
He placed his hand on my forehead. Honestly, I felt much better.
“Me? Am I okay?”
I nodded, puzzled. He let out a short laugh.
“Not okay at all.”
He tilted his head slightly, letting his gaze lazily sweep over me. With a slow hand, he stroked his chin, laughing in disbelief.
“You really make it impossible to look away for even a second, Margaret. You do.”
I only blinked at him in response.
“That’s something I could say about you,” I replied, then quickly corrected myself.
“Ah, of course… I have nothing to say about last night’s chaos either…”
He didn’t seem to care much about whatever I said.
“Um… Enoch? Uh?”
After a long silence, I called his name, finding him acting strange. Suddenly, he hugged me.
Enoch’s embrace was warm and firm. He rested his face on my shoulder, his hot breath tickling me.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
His weary voice pressed against my shoulder. I couldn’t respond, remaining silent.
“You should explain what happened, Margaret.”
He pulled away slightly and studied my face. His golden eyes scanned me thoroughly.
“Where did you go with Lord?”
“As I said, we were attacked by monsters. Remember the small silver egg we saw in front of the cabin?”
Enoch thought for a moment and nodded.
“Margaret, you hid it deep in the forest, didn’t you?”
“Caiden found that egg somewhere else. It was like someone had moved it. But here’s the weird part—when Caiden touched it, it seemed poisonous, but when I touched it, it was fine. Strange, right? Anyway, that’s when we encountered the tarantula monster. By the cliff.”
I continued, telling him about falling from the cliff, the egg following me, and how Enji hatched and helped us.
“Thank you.”
“Huh? Thankful for what?”
“For keeping me safe.”
I felt embarrassed. Saying it felt strange, yet my face warmed inexplicably. Perhaps the Tentation poison hadn’t fully worn off yet.
“…Then, Enoch, why did you go berserk like that?”
“I had to exterminate the monsters.”
I gaped at his matter-of-fact answer.
“Seriously? You really went berserk on purpose? You know that was suicidal, right?”
“I believed you would come back.”
Enoch looked at me with absolute trust.
“What if you hadn’t returned in time?”
“I asked the bishop to stab me with his sword.”
Stab… oh my.
I quietly dabbed at my face. What was I going to do with this man?
“Thank you, too.”
“Huh?”
“For keeping me safe.”
At my words, he suddenly shut his mouth tight and stared at me. I silently watched the veins standing out on his clenched fists.
His eyes reddened, trying to contain his emotions. Then he hugged me again and exhaled deeply.
I quietly patted his back, waiting for him to calm down.
Enoch was someone who lacked emotional expression. Perhaps my words offered him some comfort.
Then, it struck me—
“I like you, Margaret. Remember that.”
I recalled what he said just before I had almost passed out.
‘Was that really true?’
After some thought, I couldn’t resist asking him.
“Enoch, was that sincere?”
Only then did he pull away from me, his face filling my view.
“What do you mean?”
“That…”
It was a bit embarrassing for me to say.
“Do you remember coming to the cabin? What you said to me afterward?”
Enoch wrinkled the bridge of his nose, lost in thought, and stayed silent.
“…I don’t remember.”
Of course. Just like last night, it was probably a feverish nonsense. I sighed, a little disappointed, then suddenly realized something.
I shook my head and stood up.
“How’s the bishop?”
“Well, he’s probably still tied up in front of the door.”
“I’m fine now, so he’s probably recovered as well. Shall we go down?”
Sitting on the bed, Enoch looked reluctant but got up. He gently stroked my head.
“How about resting a bit more before we go down?”
I shook my head at his suggestion.
“Ruzeff must be exhausted too, so we need to untie him. If we’re really tired, we can sleep again in our usual spot.”
“Alright. I’ll be right next to you anyway, so it’ll be fine.”
Enoch looked at me with unreadable eyes, then nodded.
If Ruzeff wasn’t fully recovered, I guessed he meant he would stay by my side. I wanted to ask him again, but something made me hold back.
I would have asked him questions relentlessly before, but now I felt strangely shy.
I didn’t want to destroy my own interpretation of his words.
Finally, I gave up asking and went down to the first floor with Enoch.
Sure enough, Ruzeff sat tied up in front of the cabin door, sniffling and crying.
Seeing us coming down from the second floor, he wiggled his butt happily.
Asdal was asleep in front of the fireplace, his heavy sleep unaffected by our movement.
I untied Ruzeff’s wrists, thinking to myself:
Where’s Enji, though?
And if the Tentation poison has started blooming… is Caiden okay?
