TAVBZ 50

Chapter 50

Supported by the strong arms lifting him from beneath, Uben realized the person holding him up by the waist was none other than the Grand Duke Heresden.

“Ugh.”

“Who gave you permission to come outside?”

The whisper came out low—too quiet to be called angry, yet chilling enough to silence him.

Uben gave up on making excuses. Heresden’s voice left no room for them. In the end, Uben was carried back inside the castle gate like a misbehaving child.

Once Heresden put him down again, the duke was wearing an unmistakably displeased expression.

“Stay put. And don’t come out again.”

With that short command, Heresden went back outside.

Even though Uben knew that meant get inside, he stayed there, watching the people moving zombie corpses.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the familiar faces.

For some reason, he felt like crying.

But before he could sink deeper into despair and helplessness, the cleanup seemed to finish. People began returning inside the gates one by one.

Uben hurried into the inner wall before Heresden came back.

He knew all too well that if Heresden saw him lingering, he’d get scolded again.

Crossing the empty corridor quickly, Uben headed to the kitchen.

Everyone was still there.

And Penelope, insisting she could do everything alone, was moving around busily as ever.

Penelope stood at the stove, cutting potatoes, while Lilia stirred the pot beside her.

…So dramatic, honestly.

What on earth was she doing all that for? If anyone inside this fortress deserved to be called the worst of the lot, it was Penelope Lloyd—no matter what anyone else said.

She was suspicious and wary of new people, but the one who ought to be ostracized was her.

“…No, that’s not right.”

Shaking his head to clear his useless thoughts, Uben refocused on what mattered now.

If he helped Penelope with her work and Heresden came looking for him to scold him—maybe the duke would let it slide if he looked busy?

Maybe he’d overlook it if Uben seemed to be helping.

“Ah…”

His brief deliberation ended. As he approached Penelope, Uben frowned and let out a small groan.

Then he turned and dashed down the corridor.

He rushed past the people entering through the gates, but by the time he reached the outer wall, the main gate had already been shut tightly.

“Uben.”

As he touched the cold iron bars hopelessly blocking the gate, a voice called him—Heresden.

“I clearly told you not to come anywhere near here. It’s dangerous.”

His quiet voice held another warning.

“Go inside.”

The zombies had already been cleared from the front of the gate, yet Uben had stood there a long time.

“Hah…”

Heresden let out a frustrated sigh mixed with irritation. Even as he picked Uben up again, Uben still couldn’t look away from the gate.

The day passed in a blur.

Especially breakfast—without Uben that morning, it was practically just Lilia and me preparing everything.

While eating, Iddorian told Lilia that the zombies in front of the gate had all been cleared and that she didn’t need to worry.

Everyone looked relieved as if one huge task was finally done, but his words only deepened my worries.

There were still people who hadn’t fully recovered from their injuries.

Seven of them hadn’t been able to leave the gate area this morning.

So should I feel relieved until they healed? Or had the time nearly come for them to run off with our food supply?

Even while living together in the same fortress as thieves, I couldn’t predict when it would happen.

I clung stubbornly to the kitchen, obsessed with controlling everything—but I knew that wasn’t a real solution.

Those from Reton could dissolve opium in water.

Even if I stayed glued to the cooking pot, there were always gaps they could exploit.

Still, the reason I insisted on guarding the pot so stubbornly was the faint hope that my vigilance might prevent everyone from falling into a deep opium-induced sleep.

If even one person didn’t ingest the drug, someone could remain awake long enough to help Heresden when he inevitably woke partway through.

Even if we couldn’t protect the food, at least we might stop those deranged Reton people from taking Lilia hostage.

I knew the truth—they were prepared to risk their lives for our supplies.

So no matter how careful I was, if the moment came, they would steal it.

“……”

I took a deep breath to sort out my thoughts.

It was something I’d known from the beginning, yet for some reason I felt discouraged at a time when I should be even more alert.

It wasn’t like I was physically tired.

My gaze drifted to Lumi, sitting diagonally from me.

But I couldn’t look at him for long.

There was something I needed to talk to him about, but I didn’t want to.

I didn’t know what I should say.

I needed to confirm what he was thinking, how much goodwill he had toward me.

But I’d been too complacent.

After mentally cursing myself for my own cowardice, I finally made up my mind.

When he finished eating, I’d go talk to him.

…Tell him we should just go back to how things were before.

As I saw Lumi finish his meal and stand up, I quickly rose as well—but Iddorian caught my hand.

“Penelope, you’re saying you’re done eating?”

He frowned sharply.

“I’m not really hungry.”

Now that I looked, he had already finished his own food.

“Your Highness, should I get you more? There should still be some left.”

“What?”

Iddorian blinked, baffled, then shook his head.

“I’m not the one who’s hungry. Didn’t you barely eat yesterday too?”

At that, Lumi’s earlier warning resurfaced in my mind.

When Iddorian started worrying about how little I ate, it was a dangerous sign.

“I ate after Your Highness left yesterday.”

“…Really?”

Iddorian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He wanted to confirm if I was telling the truth. I nodded firmly.

“…Alright.”

He let go of my hand.

I quickly cleaned up the remaining dishes and went after Lumi.

By the time I followed him up the stairs, he had already turned toward me.

“…Lumi.”

“Yes, Penelope.”

“Can we talk for a moment?”

Without a word, Lumi resumed walking.

I worried for a second whether that was a refusal, but when he opened his door, he gave me a small gesture to come in.

“That, about Grand Duke Heresden…”

“Yes. It seems things ended fine. You took my side.”

Lumi responded immediately, without hesitation.

“But I don’t think he’s dropped his suspicions. Rather than believing you, I think he’s decided to watch me a little longer.”

Lumi avoided my eyes slightly.

“Was that the answer you wanted?”

“Ah—yes.”

“Then… may I ask you something too?”

When I nodded, he hesitated before speaking.

“Are you disappointed in me? Are you still uncomfortable even after my apology?”

I had thought about it all day yesterday.

Lumi had let go of my hand because he saw me as a zombie, not a person.

Even if it hurt me, he had believed that learning about zombies came first.

And yet, he regretted it.

He could’ve kept quiet about why Heresden was angry at him, but he couldn’t hide the truth.

If he had just kept his mouth shut, I would’ve lived forever thinking he’d let go of my hand for my sake.

But he confessed because he felt guilty.

Whether his apology was to ease his own discomfort, I couldn’t tell—but he did fully recognize his mistake and regretted it.

Despite knowing that, the reason I had hesitated to talk to him was exactly what he said—because I was disappointed.

Because even with an apology, the discomfort didn’t go away.

“If you promise not to do it again… I’ll forgive you.”

…Forgive. I couldn’t even manage my own emotions properly right now.

I didn’t know when this uncomfortable feeling would fade, but I forced a small smile anyway, pretending I was fine.

I never had a choice to begin with.

Not as long as he held my secret in his hands.