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Chapter 34
“I don’t want to go back yet either, Lia.”
From the bottom bunk bed, half-asleep, Sien blinked his drowsy eyes as he spoke.
I thought he’d just crawled into bed again after breakfast to sleep some more, but apparently, he’d been listening the whole time.
Since we still hadn’t found the previous Tower Master’s urn, he had every reason to want to stay here. But still…
“You said it was fine… you said it was fine! Why are you being like this again, you spineless thing?!”
And then—
“I’ll be returning. Don’t forget the promise we made at the beginning.”
Jaeger, who had been quietly observing us, finally spoke in a cold, cutting tone.
I was starting to get annoyed.
“For f—s sake. Why do you keep dumping the decision on me? If you want to stay, stay. If you want to go, go. Don’t make me settle it for you.”
Two of them want to stay. One insists on leaving. And the last one…
Our eyes met. Danha gave me a gentle smile, as if to say that he would accept whatever outcome came.
“He’s the only one I can rely on, really.”
I sighed, picking up the thread of worry I hadn’t yet resolved.
“Should I just abandon two of them here, and take the other two with me?”
But of course, the ones I’d be leaving behind were none other than the Crown Prince of the Empire and the Master of the Magic Tower.
Leaving the Tower Master would be one thing. But the Crown Prince as well? Even if they chose to stay of their own will, could I really be certain no one would hold me morally responsible later?
And if I chose to remain here and risk everything with them, wouldn’t that only fuel suspicions that I had some ulterior purpose in saving them?
The real Redria would have warped out of here the moment she was given permission. No hesitation.
In fact, if it had been her, she probably wouldn’t even have revealed the existence of the Warp Scroll in the first place.
I let out a shallow sigh.
In truth, I didn’t care if my purpose was revealed. After all, I was only acting to survive. What really mattered was the secret that would be revealed alongside it—that I’d known about the zombie disaster in advance. And that the culprit behind it all was my own brother.
I was still lost in heavy thoughts when—
“You look troubled, my lady.”
The Crown Prince’s tone was positively cheerful as he shrugged. I glared at him.
“Thanks to you.”
“Oh dear, am I the reason? Well then, don’t trouble yourself on my account. I told you already, you can leave without worrying about me.”
The pounding in my head made me almost tempted by his words.
“…Are you serious?”
“Of course. If I end up dying here, then so be it. It’s fate.”
“……”
“I suppose I should bid you farewell then.”
He circled around the table, scooped up the rabbit in his arms, and shoved it toward me.
“Goodbye, my lady.”
He grabbed the rabbit’s soft little paw and shook it from side to side.
“Is he… mocking me?”
“Kyuu…”
The rabbit, flustered, blushed as if humiliated, its fluffy belly exposed against its will.
Then, all of a sudden, the Crown Prince hugged the rabbit against him again, fiddled with its tail, and frowned slightly.
His honey-colored eyes widened.
“…You’re male? Then why on earth have you been sleeping with the young lady all this time?”
He tucked the rabbit under his arm and went back to his seat.
Placing the rabbit beside his plate, he whispered,
“From now on, you’ll sleep with me.”
“Kyiii…”
The rabbit trembled like someone who’d just received a death sentence from a notorious murderer, staring at me with the most pitiful expression imaginable.
“Why is he tormenting the poor rabbit for no reason…”
I brushed my bangs back and cast the Crown Prince a sideways look.
Then my gaze shifted to Sien, who had muttered one last half-asleep comment before dozing off again.
“I may have broken my promise, but… for the first time, that soft, childlike sleeping face of his looks irritating to me.”
Next, I glanced toward Jaeger. His gray eyes gleamed as sharp and predatory as a hawk’s.
There was no other way. I’d have to bet on him.
“I’ll go along with the majority. Work it out among yourselves.”
“Good. Then so be it.”
The Crown Prince agreed readily, raising his water glass.
“……”
“……”
The dazzlingly handsome man glanced between me and Jaeger, then lowered his glass with a grin.
“Both the Duke and the young lady look like they’re dying to punch me.”
Oh, congratulations—you’ve just made it onto my bucket list, bastard.
Jaeger pulled back the curtains and looked down at the courtyard.
An axe lay abandoned near the stump. Behind it, Danha was wiping sweat after chopping wood, while Redria was busy installing defensive devices along the back fence.
Watching her intently, Jaeger spoke in a low, grim voice.
“What on earth are you thinking?”
“What do you mean?”
Jaeger shot Richard a sharp look, as if to say, Don’t play dumb.
“Kyii…”
Richard, who had been playing with the rabbit’s limbs on the table, snorted at the Duke’s glare.
“Don’t look at me so murderously, Duke. I already told you, I’m staying here to investigate the incident.”
“Are you serious?”
“Didn’t you also suspect this wasn’t a natural disaster, but someone’s doing? The only way to know for sure is to investigate the scene.”
“That can be done after we escape. You know full well this place could sink at any moment, and it’s crawling with zombies. Survival should take priority.”
Richard smirked, draping his arm lazily over the chair. The rabbit, freed, scampered to the edge of the table.
“If the Sacred Zone collapses, all evidence will vanish. And after escaping, what makes you so sure we’ll ever be able to return? You know why the Empire replaced the old ship routes with portal travel. I’d wager the rescue fleet they sent never made it either, thanks to monsters.”
Years ago, a string of accidents near the Sacred Zone saw ships disappear without a trace after sea monsters appeared.
Not long after, the Empire demolished the docks and opened a portal route instead. The old western village had been wiped out by monsters too—making portals the only path in or out.
Jaeger, knowing this all too well, grimaced and clamped his mouth shut.
Richard chuckled at his serious expression.
“Relax, we still have the lady’s Warp Scroll. And besides, in the temple, your precious saintess is surely working hard on something. Though… funny how there’s been no word from her.”
Even with Jaeger’s blade-sharp gaze stabbing into him, Richard just laughed.
“With that face, Duke, you look more like some back-alley thug than nobility.”
The Duke scowled and turned his head away at the mention of his brow scar. Richard tilted his head, studying him with amusement.
“When did you get that scar, by the way?”
Jaeger’s gray eyes flickered for a moment before he looked away, his hand unconsciously brushing over the mark. His face betrayed a rare unease.
“…That’s none of your concern.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed as he watched.
“He’s been unusually tense ever since the Forest of Dawn… Is it because of the woman in the temple? Or because of Redria? Hard to say…”
“Though amusingly enough, he doesn’t seem to know the reason himself either.”
Richard’s golden eyes gleamed mischievously as he stroked his chin. Then, as if losing interest, he dropped the subject of the scar.
“Well, I’ve explained my reasons for staying in the west. Now, what about you, Duke?”
Jaeger looked back at him with his usual blank expression.
“What’s your relationship with the lady?”
“There is none.”
Richard tapped the wooden table with a mocking smirk.
“Really? You sure act unusually hostile toward her for it to be nothing. Almost as if you’ve known her for some time.”
Richard raised his brows, watching Jaeger remain tight-lipped.
“It must have something to do with that scar too. Every time she’s mentioned, he touches it unconsciously.”
“Come now, don’t be so stingy. Tell me a little. You know I spent most of my childhood on the battlefield—I don’t keep up with petty imperial gossip.”
“……”
“Ah, silent treatment then? Fine. Then I’d at least like to know this: what exactly happened in the Forest of Dawn? What made the Duke, who seemed so eager to tear her apart, suddenly act so nervous around her?”
“I already told you. Nothing happened.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Yeah, right.
Richard’s golden eyes sparkled with sly amusement when—
“What nonsense.”
Creeeak—The bunk bed creaked loudly.
Sien rose, tying back his messy hair, and walked over to them.
“It’s pitiful. Lia brought home stray dogs, thinking they’d behave like loyal puppies, but turns out they’re just wolves.”
With a lazy sigh, Sien dropped onto the armrest of the sofa, diagonally across from Richard at the head of the table and Jaeger by the window.
Richard tilted his head, eyeing him.
“Weren’t you asleep?”
“With dogs barking loud enough to hear from the bed? How could I?”
“Few insults are greater than insulting royalty.”
“Then why don’t you go die of shame?”
“Reckless sorcerer. Sounds like you’ve decided to abandon all manners. You really need a filter for that mouth.”
Their sharp words clashed like blades. Watching the two, Jaeger frowned deeply, recalling breakfast earlier.
Could it be…
