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Chapter 39
Even though Yuanna wore a gentle face with a faint smile, her presence was overwhelming.
On top of that, Asdal wasn’t just any crown prince—he was infamous for his arrogance and excessive self-love.
And yet, that kind of man was being handled so lightly, with such ease.
That’s kind of admirable…?
I almost wanted to ask her how she did it. Of course, that thought was quickly shattered.
“According to the Saintess’s wishes, I’ll allow time for you to get acquainted with that woman over there. The negotiation will happen after we secure the item. Sir Diego, bring that bag.”
Asdal now referred to me not as a lunatic, but as “that woman over there.”
It felt like I’d been promoted one step up from “crazy young lady.”
Though I was still just a nameless “woman over there.”
At Asdal’s order, Diego moved.
Damn it—this is bad. If we’re going to survive on this island, we absolutely cannot let our weapons be taken. And they have swords—we don’t. All the more reason not to give in.
I pulled out a flare round from my pocket, loaded it, and cocked the hammer. I had plenty of ammunition.
Asdal looked at me with a puzzled expression. He was probably wondering what that strange red stick was.
If you’re curious, I’ll show you.
I immediately fired the flare straight into the sky.
Red smoke forced its way through the leaves and burst into a massive blaze in the sky.
Bang! Boom!
From experience, I knew that monsters never appeared in broad daylight no matter what you did, so I trusted that and went for it.
Asdal and Diego squinted, unable to believe what they were seeing.
“What in the world is that…?”
Asdal exclaimed in shock, and Diego quietly added,
“It seems that magic from before… was the doing of Lady Flone.”
Hearing that, Asdal let out a hollow laugh.
“A witch, is she? I thought she was crazy when I saw her in the Langrid Empire. Looks like she finally did it.”
He looked at me with pity and offered some unsolicited advice.
“If you’re really involved in this, you’ll have a lot to answer for once you return to the Empire. Are you sure you’ll be all right? Shall I introduce you to a decent lawyer?”
He even spouted that kind of kindly nonsense. Worse still, his face was full of interest as he looked at me.
Why was he so intrigued when he thought I’d kidnapped him? Was he a pervert?
“I didn’t use magic. It’s a magical tool. I just picked it up.”
“Well, if you say so, I’ll believe you.”
He didn’t look like he believed me at all…!
“I was kind enough to explain it, but if you still don’t get it, fine. You saw the fireworks in the sky just now, right? What do you think would happen if I fired that at a person?”
I asked while pointing the flare launcher upward. Asdal’s eyebrows twitched upward.
He seemed a little flustered. Diego also hesitated to approach, which made me smile.
“If you understand, shut up and raise your hands.”
For a moment, the two men stared blankly, not quite processing my words.
I scowled and shook the flare launcher.
“I’ll shoot?”
As I wiggled my finger as if about to pull the trigger, Asdal forced a smile to hide his panic and raised his hands. Diego reluctantly sheathed his sword and did the same.
Keeping the flare trained on them, I slowly approached the bag.
Then Diego, after watching for an opening, suddenly ignored my threat and made a move as if to draw his sword again.
This time, I didn’t hesitate.
KABOOM!
The flare struck a large rock dead on, and it shattered with a thunderous roar.
What a waste of ammunition…!
Even if I had plenty, it still hurt to use it like that.
But I can’t let them take the bag with the weapons.
Diego hurriedly raised both hands, his face pale.
Some people just don’t understand unless you show them.
Still aiming the flare, I picked up the bag and slung it over my back. I probably looked like a bank robber, but securing the bag came first.
Honestly, I’d always wanted to try something like this. It felt like looting—like farming items. Life on a deserted island really is all about gear.
At the very least, I clearly had the upper hand when it came to items: flares, a first-aid kit, and now the bag.
Then Diego did something unexpected. He suddenly crouched and rolled along the ground.
Startled, I lowered the flare for just a moment—and that’s when Asdal charged at me.
Of course, he never reached me. Enoch blocked him, and Diego, who had rolled away, was kicked by Kaiden.
“You bastard…!”
Kaiden lunged at Diego.
No matter how monstrous Kaiden’s strength was, he couldn’t easily defeat a seasoned knight—especially one holding a real sword—and the youngest commander of the royal guard, at that.
But the fight unfolded in a way I hadn’t expected.
Kaiden threw a stone at Diego’s sword hand. As Diego dropped his blade, Kaiden quickly mounted him and started punching his face.
No technique, no finesse—just wild fists flying. It was complete chaos.
As I was wondering what to do with them, Yuanna approached me.
“So you’re the young lady of Duke Flone’s family. I’ve heard the name Margaret.”
When our eyes met, she smiled beautifully. Even as a woman, I had to admit—it was a captivating smile.
Perhaps because of her short, swaying hair, she looked a bit cold when expressionless. But when she spoke, she seemed endlessly gentle and kind.
Yet the subtle charisma in her voice made it impossible to look away.
I could see why the original male leads had been so obsessed with her.
“Is my hair interesting? Well, noble ladies don’t cut their hair, after all.”
Noticing my gaze, she brushed her hair back. Even that casual gesture felt strangely seductive.
Smiling softly, Yuanna continued,
“I’m not a noble. I cut it out of rebellion. Thanks to that, I got to see the horrified faces of those old fogeys in the Holy Church. I think you would’ve enjoyed it too.”
Right—that’s right. She had originally been a commoner. Someone who survived by pickpocketing in the slums.
Then one day, she suddenly manifested immense holy power. She was dragged into the Holy Church against her will, became a Saintess, and lost all her freedom.
She always resented the Church for shackling her, which was why her relationship with them was so poor.
“What’s in that bag?”
Yuanna asked lazily, pointing at the bag on my back.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to open it to find out. But I’m sure there’s a sword in it.”
I pointed to the long scabbard sticking out of the bag, then quietly raised the flare launcher and aimed it at her.
She had naturally reached out toward my bag.
“Did you think you could fool me?”
“Didn’t expect you to be so sharp.”
At my words, she raised both hands and stepped back, sounding disappointed.
“Saintess!”
Perhaps seeing me aiming the flare at Yuanna, Diego—still brawling with Kaiden—shouted toward us.
Everyone’s attention shifted back to us.
“I’m fine.”
Yuanna smiled calmly at Diego.
Asdal, having been restrained by Enoch earlier, stood with his arms crossed, silently observing the situation.
He looked at me facing off against Yuanna and chuckled, wrinkling his nose.
“You handle the Saintess quite well. Impressive.”
What was that—was he flirting?
With a face like that, it was easy on the eyes, sure—but that was all.
Besides, Enoch looked ready to rush over to me at any moment, so I didn’t have the luxury of paying Asdal any attention.
“Miss, where did you find that item?”
Yuanna pointed at the flare in my hand. I kept it trained on her as I answered.
“I picked it up in the mountains.”
“Hm… I see. All right, let’s leave that at that. I don’t think you’re the reason we all woke up on this island.”
She rested her chin on her hand and approached me casually, looking thoughtful.
She didn’t seem to believe I’d actually shoot her. Or maybe she was confident she could dodge it.
“Putting boring talk aside—let’s get along, shall we? It might be fun if you served me. You seem like you’d be good at it, from what I’ve seen.”
She suddenly said something insane.
“…What?”
What is wrong with this woman?
“Isn’t being friends an option?”
“I’ve never really had friends, so I didn’t think of that. But I’d much rather see you serving me with that pretty face. You’ve got a face I want to make cry.”
Yuanna smiled sweetly.
A pervert? I was momentarily speechless.
Now I see why she has no friends…
Though, to be fair, Margaret doesn’t have any either.
“If you agree, I’ll stop those men. They follow my words unconditionally. From the looks of it, you’re the one holding the reins on your side, so I’ll just take you.”
From what she said, it seemed Asdal was just a figurehead—the real leader of their group was Yuanna.
Not surprising, since she was the novel’s heroine.
But the way she talked about “taking” me didn’t feel sticky or romantic at all.
To be clear, Yuanna didn’t seem to have even a shred of romantic interest in the men here. Yet for some reason, she was very interested in me.
Was she saying that sacrificing myself would resolve the situation peacefully? Too bad—I had no intention of making that kind of sacrifice.
“Agree to what? Serving you? Do you really think I’d accept such a ridiculous proposal? No matter what you say, I’m not handing over this bag.”
“If I offended you, I’m sorry. Then how about this instead? You keep the bag. Just don’t leave—stay here with us. How about living together?”
She was persistent—like an obsessive heroine.
“I have absolutely no intention of living in a group with your party.”
If the group got bigger, it’d be harder to bolt alone to the bunker if things went south.
“Why? Working together would increase our chances of escape.”
“Well, there’s a saying—too many boatmen and the boat goes up the mountain.”
“Oh my, that’s a lovely expression.”
Yuanna replied smoothly, as if she truly liked it.
The original novel never described Yuanna as having this kind of personality!
All the other male leads matched what I knew, but Yuanna alone felt completely different from the original depiction.
Was it because the novel was written from her point of view? Why was only she different?
“…Then how about you serving me, Saintess? I’m used to being served, not serving others.”
“Oh, that would be difficult. I need to hold the initiative. That’s how my voice carries weight.”
“And why does your voice need to carry weight, Saintess? I don’t see the reason.”
“Well… there are various reasons I can’t talk about. But the biggest one is this—I have the key.”
“…A key?”
“Yes. The key to escaping.”
