🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 36
I couldn’t clearly remember how we moved after defeating the anaconda and escaping the poison gas.
I knew that I’d been slung over Kaiden’s shoulder like a piece of luggage and carried off somewhere into the forest, but that was about it….
My hazy vision slowly came into focus.
The first thing I saw was a broad, oversized leaf. As it swayed gently in the breeze, patches of vivid blue sky peeked through.
I slowly pushed myself upright.
The moment I did, my head spun violently and I collapsed back down with a sigh.
Sensing someone beside me, I turned my head slightly and saw soft silver hair. Soon after, Kaiden’s entire face came into view, his eyes closed peacefully.
I carefully shook his shoulder.
Even then, he didn’t open his eyes. I couldn’t tell whether he was simply in a deep sleep or unconscious and unable to wake.
What on earth happened…?
Enoch was lying beside Kaiden. Quietly, I placed a finger beneath their noses to check their breathing.
Thankfully, both of them seemed to be breathing steadily, and only then did I finally relax.
We were huddled together beneath the massive roots of a tree, with large leaves covering the entrance. It looked as though someone had deliberately placed them there to keep wild beasts or monsters from noticing us.
I pushed the leaves aside and crawled out from beneath the tree roots.
Just as I tried to stand, I heard something heavy tumble across the dirt.
Thud. Thud-thud. Thud.
Coconuts were rolling across the ground.
I slowly lifted my head, and there stood Rujeff, staring at me with a shocked expression.
“Lady Plone…?”
Ah. At least Rujeff was safe.
But why does he look so startled?
He suddenly dropped down in front of me, staring blankly. It looked like his legs had given out.
“Are you… all right?” he asked haltingly.
I gently rotated my stiff neck and nodded calmly.
“How long was I asleep? I feel a bit dizzy, but otherwise I’m fine. I guess I slept well—my body feels refreshed.”
The moment I finished speaking, tears fell onto Rujeff’s pale cheeks. His clear gray eyes overflowed as tears streamed down without stopping.
I froze, flustered, watching the tears trail down his chin.
“Thank goodness. You woke up after two days. It was probably the poison gas.”
“…Two days?” I repeated in shock.
Rujeff nodded, his face miserable as he cried.
“The lord and His Highness the Crown Prince have also been on the brink of death. It’s been two days and they still haven’t woken up.”
He wiped his tears with the back of his hand, sniffling.
Even in a situation like this, seeing such a delicate beauty cry made me want to hand him a handkerchief out of pure sympathy.
“I… I really thought everyone was going to die… and there was nothing I could do…”
So Kaiden and Enoch hadn’t just been sleeping—they truly had collapsed.
Startled, I checked their condition again.
Their bodies were covered in small wounds, and the deeper ones had been carefully wrapped with clean white cloth.
Rujeff must have treated them. As a priest, he would at least have basic healing knowledge.
“I couldn’t tell what kind of medicine was in your kit, Lady. So I only did what I could with what I knew…”
Only then did I notice the first-aid kit near Kaiden and Enoch’s heads.
Beside it sat a wooden box filled with flame bombs.
I placed a hand against Kaiden’s cheek and felt a slight fever. It seemed the raging heat from before had gone down somewhat. Hopefully that meant he was improving.
I checked Enoch as well—he, too, had a mild fever. I turned back to Rujeff, who was busily gathering the coconuts scattered on the ground.
“Why didn’t you go back to the others?”
Rujeff looked at me with trembling resentment, as if he couldn’t believe I’d even ask.
I was a bit taken aback.
Why such a strong reaction…?
“How could I leave injured people behind? When everyone was hovering on the edge of death?”
Only then did I once again realize that Rujeff was a genuinely kind priest who served his god.
In the novel, he did all sorts of things with the female lead, so I’d completely forgotten.
Taking care of three critically injured people for two days would’ve been exhausting—especially when all of them were poisoned and barely clinging to life.
Kaiden and Enoch had suffered severe injuries and were in mortal danger, yet they were still alive. It was clear Rujeff had taken great care of them.
“You worked hard. Thank you.”
At my words, Rujeff’s face crumpled, and he burst into tears again.
Grrrrrrumble.
A thunderous sound came from his stomach. Startled by the noise, I asked,
“You didn’t starve for two days, did you?”
His face flushed red, and after hesitating, he shook his head.
“I ate forest berries… like strawberries and blueberries.”
I figured as much.
After regaining a bit more strength, I went to a nearby stream and caught some fish.
I hadn’t eaten anything for two days either, and once my mind cleared, hunger hit me hard.
I told Rujeff to start a fire, then went to catch the fish—but even by the time I returned, he was still struggling to light it.
“You still can’t make a fire? I showed you how last time.”
At my question, Rujeff flailed helplessly, unable to answer.
“Well… seeing it and doing it yourself are different things, aren’t they?”
He fidgeted with his hands and replied in a tiny voice. Poor thing.
In the end, I had no choice but to start the fire myself. I built a campfire, skewered the fish on sticks, and grilled them. Only after feeding Rujeff the nicely roasted fish could I finally rest.
“What happened to those monsters, anyway?”
Sitting by the fire and catching my breath, I asked him.
Rujeff fell into a deep silence, his expression dark, before finally speaking.
“I don’t know exactly. The lord and I were arguing inside the cabin while packing when His Highness suddenly called for us to come outside…”
He clasped his hands together like he was praying, then propped his chin on them with a serious look.
“I saw them prowling around the corpse of the monster we killed the day before. I believe the carcass attracted them.”
“Kaiden said the monster he killed the day before was eating something. Do you know what it was?”
“I don’t recall it eating anything. It looked more like it was preparing something.”
“Preparing what?”
“Well… maybe it was about to hatch eggs.”
Trying to hatch eggs. That explanation made some sense.
Rujeff didn’t know any more, so it seemed we’d have to hear the details from Enoch later.
Worried about Kaiden and Enoch, I couldn’t sleep at all. I stayed up through the night with Rujeff, checking their wounds.
Then, thankfully, Kaiden woke up first the next day. The moment he opened his eyes, he looked for me.
At the time, I was braiding thin branches together to make something like straw sandals—well, more like slippers—when a large hand reached out from behind and pulled me into an embrace.
“Margaret.”
Startled, I snapped the branch in my hands.
Damn it. I was almost done.
Warm breath brushed against my shoulder. Soft hair tickled my bare skin.
“Margaret…”
At Kaiden’s plaintive voice, I turned to face him. He looked dazed, as though he’d only just woken up.
“I didn’t realize you were awake. Are you feeling okay?”
He lowered his head and rested his forehead against my shoulder. For a long while, he stayed silent, simply leaning against me as if catching his breath.
Well. He’d just woken up, so he was probably still disoriented. I let him be.
“You’re not really Margaret, are you?”
Suddenly, he lifted his head and said something completely unexpected.
I’d always thought of his crimson eyes as simply blood-red, but now they gleamed beautifully, like rubies.
At his words, my body stiffened, and I couldn’t say anything.
“You feel like a completely different person to me.”
His large hand slid up to the nape of my neck, fingers threading into my hair.
His face drew closer.
Our noses almost touched.
