TAVBZ 103

Chapter 103

“Is this real?”

For some reason, I felt a tightness in my chest, as if my chest were clogged and uncomfortable.

It was only then that Enock slowly pulled me from his arms. His face came into view. His calm, tranquil golden eyes studied my face.

He slowly lowered his hand and took mine. His large, warm hand wrapped gently around my bare skin. The man who had been looking at me with a steadfast, unyielding expression like an old tree spoke to me:

“It doesn’t matter whether this is real or not. I have no intention of letting go of this hand.”

I quietly looked down at our joined hands. I had known it, but now Enock was no longer a character trapped in printed pages.

Suddenly, I felt an urge to truly become Margaret.

I also thought that it would be nice to hold the hand of a man so solid and upright, a tree-like hand that bends for no one but me.

I lifted my head again and met Enock’s calm gaze. With his other hand, he gently caressed my cheek.

I felt something nudging at my feet. Looking down, I saw Eunji struggling up onto my lap, making a fuss as if demanding attention.

I smiled, released Enock’s hand, and lifted Eunji’s small body with both hands. Watching Eunji flick her tongue with a delighted expression, I asked Enock:

“And the others?”

“I don’t know about the others. Lord and I, Margaret, we jumped straight into the river following you.”

“Ah… jumped into the river… wait, what?!”

I covered my mouth with both hands. I was momentarily speechless, my lips just moving, before I finally asked loudly:

“Are you out of your mind?”

Enock let out a dry laugh at my question. It was more of a self-deprecating smile than a true laugh.

“If I were sane, would I have done such a thing?”

He admitted it so firmly that I was at a loss for words again. Enock, with an expression as if it were nothing, pointed at Eunji and said:

“It seems this little one wanted to guide you to me. That’s why I was following with Lord…”

He then looked around with a slightly embarrassed expression and answered:

“I’m sure I saw the cabin, but suddenly a thick fog settled in the forest. After that, I lost Lord.”

“Ah, the cabin!”

I was startled and scanned the surroundings. The place where Enock and I stood was a deep forest where the fog had lifted, but the cabin was nowhere in sight.

“That’s strange. The cabin was quite large and not far from here, yet it vanished as if it never existed.”

Enock muttered while scanning the area around us.

“We should quickly find Kaiden too.”

Just as I was responding to his words, I felt Eunji spinning around my arm, demanding attention. Enock looked at Eunji and chuckled softly.

“This one revealed your location, so I suppose it deserves some praise.”

Eunji poked her head out, looked up at me, and gently closed her eyes. Did she want me to pet her?

With a slightly embarrassed expression, I carefully stroked her smooth head. Eunji, curling around my arm, seemed pleased, sticking out her tongue and wagging her tail gently.

Enock stared at me for a moment, furrowed his brows slightly, then took off his jacket. He draped it over my shoulders and asked:

“You seem to be bleeding. Are you okay?”

I looked down at the gauze on my stomach. Fortunately, the bleeding was minor and didn’t look serious.

“This is fine.”

“Still, it’s better to treat it.”

“Let’s move to a safe place first. Your wounds are worse than mine.”

Seeing his torn jacket and the cuts on his body, I frowned. It must have hurt immensely, yet Enock nodded calmly as if it were nothing.

“I am fine with this as well. As you said, it is best to move to a safe place first.”

With that, Enock calmly examined my outfit.

“And I’ve been meaning to ask… about these clothes.”

He pointed at the pants and T-shirt I was wearing, then glanced at my stomach again, turning his head slightly.

The T-shirt was tight-fitting and short, so it might seem a bit risqué and strange to the citizens of the Empire.

Seeing Enock embarrassed, I felt awkward too and smiled sheepishly.

“The clothes are quite unique.”

I felt strangely excited by his words and lifted one leg to show him.

“The pants are really comfortable. I finally feel alive.”

Enock’s composed gaze was warm and gentle.

The Enock in Margaret’s memories had always been gentlemanly, but somewhat bored, languid, and emotionless—almost inhuman.

But with those sorrowful, tear-spotted eyes, looking at me like that, it felt unfair. The trust in his gaze made me shiver, so I quietly lowered my leg.

“If you are comfortable, then that’s enough.”

He neatly arranged my hair with a composed expression.

“A wizard took me in. There was another survivor. These clothes were given by that person.”

I hadn’t asked at the time, but later realized that it was Zenas who saved me from the river.

‘That fog… it must have been Zenas’s doing. Magic? But magic shouldn’t work on this island…’

Wait.

“How did he use the magic that I cannot control in this body?”

Zenas had said something like that. Only now did I realize how strange his words were.

‘In this body’? Does that mean his original body exists separately? Can he use magic in his original body?

“What do you mean by another survivor?”

Enock’s voice reached me, and I snapped back to reality and looked at him.

“Oh, there was someone living in that cabin. He saved me. Well… he saved me, but…”

At the end, he left me almost to be killed by the monster.

“This is getting long. Should we find Kaiden before sunset? If it gets dark, the monsters…”

Before I could even finish, I noticed Enock’s tired face. He rubbed his temple and frowned in annoyance.

“The monsters have evolved again.”

“Excuse me?”

“Since yesterday afternoon, we’ve faced Lord and the monsters. Now, we cannot even be safe in daylight. They are no longer in animal form—they’ve become unrecognizable, monstrous lifeforms.”

Monsters appearing during the day… My mind went blank. The conversation with Zenas was turning into reality so fast.

“Then, as you said, finding Lord is urgent.”

Enock stood and extended his hand to me. I wanted to return his jacket draped over my shoulder, but he looked somewhat displeased.

“Are you sure? That jacket…”

He slowly placed the jacket back over my shoulders, trailing off.

Then, as if accidentally brushing against my T-shirt, he turned his head in surprise. He clenched his teeth, bowed his head, and gripped my jacket tightly.

“You should keep your clothes on.”

Seeing him so embarrassed, I reluctantly wore his jacket. It was tattered, but better than nothing.

When I quietly wore the jacket, he finally looked at me with relief.

With the anxiety from the recent chaos completely gone, Enock seemed flawless, with no gaps in composure.

His sculpted eyebrows, sharp nose, deep golden eyes, red lips, and strong jaw—everything harmoniously perfect.

Being handsome may not help survival, but it seemed to give comfort to those around him.

I felt my heart, so confused from Zenas and the fog he created, slowly settle.

Feeling stable, my head felt lighter. Enock, who had been quietly observing me, spoke:

“Now, let’s go find Lord.”

I nodded obediently at his words.

“Yes, let’s go.”

First, I would find Kaiden and then explain more about Zenas.

I also needed to figure out where the cabin had vanished.

Rusef struggled under the weight of Kaiden’s heavy backpack.

“Are you not going to help?”

Rusef asked Diego, who responded with a very polite refusal.

“I repeat, it’s better to discard what can be discarded.”

Rusef bit his lower lip at Diego’s cold words.

“Would you say that so easily if it were your own?”

“If it were mine, I would actually commend discarding it. Carrying a heavy load into danger is far less wise than leaving it behind.”

His reasoning was unassailable. I couldn’t imagine how Kaiden managed to carry it all.

But the backpack could not be discarded. Although Kaiden carried it, everything inside was essential for Margaret.

Rusef stubbornly continued, grunting under the weight, until Diego finally sighed and took the bag from him.