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Chapter 39
‘Should I just tell the truth—that maybe the temple and Heiton joined hands to conduct bizarre experiments and spread the steam to cover up the evidence?’
The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
If I said that, it would reveal that I was the sister of Heiton, the culprit behind this incident, and that I had prior knowledge of it.
‘Absolutely not. I’m just the victim here—the poor girl who didn’t know anything about her brother’s madness, got trapped in the zombie zone with the male leads by coincidence, and ended up saving them. Yes, that’s my role.’
I know nothing.
I know nothing.
Repeating that as a mantra, I shoved the note deep into my pants pocket—then my eyes flew wide open.
‘Wait a second. What if the Crown Prince… that guy… insists on staying here longer to investigate?’
It had already been four days.
Now that he’d found clear traces of a crime beyond just the zombie outbreak, of course he’d want to stay a few more days to dig deeper.
‘Then I’ll have to watch out for more unpredictable variables.’
Honestly, I didn’t want to know about any of this. I didn’t care what the temple and Heiton had done.
I turned my body and looked at the Crown Prince.
“Your Highness, about that promise you made—that you’d grant me a wish. Can I tell you now?”
My sudden words pulled him out of his deep thoughts. He tilted his chin at me, signaling me to go on.
“Let’s postpone investigating the western shelter and just return to the capital. I’m too scared. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”
He stared at me with an unreadable expression. With someone as distrustful of others as he was, moments like this always left me anxious.
I was biting my lip nervously, waiting for his delayed answer, when—
“As you wish.”
“Really?”
The Crown Prince rubbed his eyes tiredly, a small laugh slipping out.
“Why, does it sound like a lie?”
“But… you wanted to stay.”
“That was before the test subject appeared. I value my life too, you know, my lady.”
Well, he wasn’t wrong. This had already gone beyond what one person could investigate.
Then, gazing straight ahead, he let out a long, heavy sigh.
“But in exchange, let’s keep this matter secret from everyone.”
“From everyone?”
“Yes. I’m convinced this is the temple’s doing.”
As expected, he suspected the temple as well. His eyebrow twitched as he continued:
“For now, it looks like we’re all victims—but who knows? What if the temple colluded with someone, locked us here to kill us on purpose, and even planted a spy among us?”
His layered reasoning startled and unsettled me.
So he thought someone with a grudge against us had joined hands with the temple to trap us here.
‘Well, I guess that suspicion makes sense.’
Unlike me, who had read the original novel and knew we were trapped due to the priests’ mistake, the Crown Prince had no such knowledge.
But if this was deliberate confinement, then the purpose had to be either experimentation—or slaughter.
‘Both seem shaky, though.’
If it was for experiments, why gather people whose deaths would cause a stir in society? There was no reason it had to be us.
If it was to kill us, then the original plot—where the Saintess comes to rescue the male leads—wouldn’t make sense.
And as for a spy among us?
The male leads, who had shared blood, sweat, tears, and friendship while watching each other’s backs, showed no such signs.
‘Yeah. That’s ridiculous.’
Knowing the original, I understood how weak both assumptions were. But…
‘I can’t just dismiss it.’
The temple’s human experiments hadn’t appeared in the original story either.
Now, anything could happen. It was better to keep an open mind than to cling to the original timeline.
“Then… should we not tell the Duke either?”
“For now, yes. It’s better not to.”
True enough—if we assumed there was a spy, the most suspicious person would be the future Commander of the Holy Knights.
‘But if we assume this was intentional imprisonment, then no one is more of a thorn in the temple’s side than Jaeger.’
He was upright and couldn’t tolerate injustice. If he became commander, the temple would never get away with their madness. Naturally, he’d be target number one.
I agreed, and it seemed our conversation had ended.
Just then, the salty scent of the sea mixed with the musty smell rising from the stairs below made me wrinkle my nose.
The Crown Prince let out a weak laugh and leaned his head against the wall. His red hair sticking up awkwardly against the stone made him look… almost cute.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because it’s ridiculous how my suspicions disappeared so easily.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know I suspected you, don’t you? Wondered if you had something to do with all this.”
“…”
“But today, that suspicion’s gone.”
He gazed at me with drowsy eyes, smiling faintly, then tapped my pouch.
“So I’ll overlook your lies about that weapon—and the way you act like you know everything—for now.”
Truthfully, I was connected to the incident… but from my perspective, I was still a victim. So I kept my mouth shut.
Summing up his words—
“…You mean you trust me?”
His golden eyes fixed firmly on me before he blinked.
“Yes. At least for now, I want to trust the young lady who’s saved me twice.”
I blinked back at him, dazed. He rubbed his neck awkwardly.
“What’s with that face?”
“No, I’m just… a little surprised.”
Could his distrust of people be undone so easily?
His words warmed me unexpectedly, making my chest tingle.
Noticing my strange expression, he gave a faint laugh.
“Don’t misunderstand. I know you’re hiding something.”
“…I know.”
They’d find out once we returned to the capital anyway. I caught myself worrying about what the male leads would think of me and scoffed inwardly.
After a long silence, the Crown Prince spoke cautiously.
“My lady, may I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“You….”
He stared at me for a moment, then shook his head, saying it was nothing.
But I knew.
He must be wondering why I risked my life to save them.
Even if you had a goal, you wouldn’t usually go as far as risking death. That’s why he’d even suspected I was a spy trying to win trust and gather information.
‘Right. Without a desperate motive, my actions don’t make sense.’
I lowered my gaze.
Even I didn’t understand myself.
I came here to survive—but before I realized it, I was risking my life to protect them.
Maybe it was because…
‘Live. At least you… live.’
The sudden memory weighed heavily on me, eyes closing against it.
As my mood sank, I noticed the silence around me.
The Crown Prince was leaning against the wall, eyes closed.
“Are you sleepy?”
After a long pause, his hoarse voice answered:
“…Yeah. Haven’t slept.”
“Why not—wait. Don’t tell me….”
I let go of my knees and turned toward him.
Sensing me, he cracked one eye open and smirked.
“Why are you looking at me like that? You’ll make my heart flutter.”
“I’m glaring at you.”
“Or maybe you’re realizing how handsome I am?”
“Stop dodging. Since when haven’t you been sleeping?”
“Hmm… since the first night?”
“What?”
So all this time, in the zombie zone, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly because he was guarding against everyone.
Was he stupid—or just paranoid?
‘Honestly, human distrust is exhausting.’
I rummaged through my pouch and pulled out a one-person automatic tent. I hadn’t used it before since we were camping as a group.
With a click, the tent popped open instantly.
His sleep-filled eyes widened.
“What’s that?”
“A tent. Like a small personal shelter.”
I grabbed his thick arm—barely fitting in one hand—and dragged him over.
He let himself be pulled, staring blankly.
“…At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if a severed head came out of your bag.”
Want to try “In My Bag” yourself?
I glared at him for picking only the most annoying remarks, then pulled out a pillow and tucked it under his head.
And just like that, he lay back, hands folded neatly over his stomach, grinning like a fool.
