TAVBZ 53

Chapter 53

‘Ah, ah. Uven. Are you going to get water?’

Uven furiously furrowed his brow at the image of Bade’s flustered face that kept popping up.

‘I—I’ll pour it for you, just wait a moment.’

Uven, who had gone down to the kitchen because he couldn’t sleep, encountered Bade, one of the outsiders.

The moment Bade saw him, he flustered and hid his hands.

‘What were you doing? Why are you so flustered?’

‘Haha, flustered? Nonsense.’

Bade shook his head, saying it was nothing, but Uven couldn’t just let it go.

What in the world was he doing to be so surprised?

What in the world was he doing…?

Uven let out a deep sigh and turned over.

“This is all Penelope’s fault.”

Because she was needlessly stirring things up, he had become uneasy himself.

It wasn’t as if Penelope was wary of the newcomers for a justifiable reason.

She was simply being temperamental.

He didn’t know why it kept bothering him.

Uven repeated to himself that Penelope was just showing her territoriality without reason. After all, the bad person in this fortress, no matter what anyone said, was Penelope Lloyd.

“……”

Despite that, his mind was so troubled that he couldn’t close his eyes.

This had been going on since the day he broke his promise and went outside the castle gate.

From the moment he saw the faces of the dead zombies, Uven simply couldn’t calm his disturbed mind.

It wasn’t because the faces were familiar, nor was it because he felt the life he had known was broken.

Rather…

‘Those who brought children and wives were all bitten by zombies while climbing the mountain.’

All the faces of the women and children among the zombie corpses were familiar to him.

Zombies reacted to sound.

That was why making a sound and being caught by a zombie once meant danger.

Kieeeek-

The sound meant zombies were beginning to gather from somewhere else.

The newcomers had clearly drawn a horde of zombies right up to the castle gate.

The reason Grand Duke Heresdon quickly opened the gate and let the outsiders in without checking for infection was that a zombie horde was trailing the survivors.

The strange thing here was that few of the zombies were people from the Leaton territory, who were supposedly infected while climbing the mountain together.

Yes, most of the zombies were people from his own Mendwill territory.

“What is going on, seriously.”

Uven went over the faces of the zombie corpses again.

At least among the women and children his age, there were no people from the Leaton territory.

How could that be?

Uven remembered the moment Heresdon carried him and climbed the mountain, avoiding the zombies.

The people who had been hiding with them just moments before suddenly turned into zombies and chased them, making grotesque noises.

If they turn into zombies, they should naturally chase people.

Even if they were shaken off midway, how could there be so few of them missing?

Uven’s face crumpled in frustration again.

Did they lie to us?

If so, are they truly bad people?

But… why would they lie about something like that?

Uven tightly shut his mouth, overwhelmed by a strange sense of guilt.

They, too, were people who had lost their entire families, just like him.

Survivors who had lost their homes, their village, and their families, left alone.

Uven felt sorry for doubting such people.

Just three days ago, they were the ones who were playing with him, treating him like a son.

They gave him piggyback rides and wiped his face…

If they truly had bad intentions, they wouldn’t have been so kind.

‘Mister, I’ll do this. Just go and rest.’

His heart was already uncomfortable just by having excluded them from the kitchen due to suspicion.

So, he had planned not to do that starting tomorrow, but…

Uven couldn’t figure out what was right.

Was Penelope truly right, and were those people wrong? Were those people wicked?

‘You must have had a hard time too. …Uven, if you wish, you may call me father.’

Uven squeezed his eyes shut.

His tossing and turning didn’t stop until the long night was over.

Tap. Tap.

Slow, irregular sounds continued to be heard.

Udorean’s eyes narrowed slightly at the hesitant noise.

“……”

Who could it be at this hour of the morning?

Udorean looked up at the sky, where the sun had just risen, and got up.

No one usually sought him out this early in the morning.

As he approached the stairs with that question in mind, he saw Uven, who looked flustered and confused.

“Uven, were you looking for me?”

“…Yes.”

Uven nodded.

“At this hour?”

“I have something I want to ask you.”

“Then come up. But you must be quiet.”

Uven nodded silently.

Udorean’s eyes caught sight of Uven’s small hands nervously picking at his fingertips.

“What is it?”

Since it seemed important to the child, he asked quickly.

However, Uven remained silent for a while, keeping his head down.

“Uven. You said you had something to ask me. It’s alright, ask freely.”

As Udorean lightly stroked the child’s head, urging him, Uven opened his mouth again.

“The day we cleaned up the zombie corpses last time.”

“Yes.”

“I went out then, too.”

Udorean nodded quietly. His brow furrowed slightly, unable to figure out what the child wanted to ask.

“I saw the zombies’ faces then, and most of them were people I knew.”

“Ah…”

Was that what was difficult for him?

Udorean let out a small gasp.

“Uven. Did those faces keep you awake, and that’s why you came all this way?”

“No, it’s not that. The women and children were all people from my village. They clearly said those who brought women and children were infected on the way here… but there were hardly any people from the Leaton territory among the zombie corpses.”

Uven squeezed his eyes shut.

“There were a few unfamiliar men, but truly, the women and children were all people from my village, Your Highness.”

Udorean gently smoothed the child’s wrinkled forehead as Uven looked up at him with a complex expression.

“Can that be? …I don’t know.”

Udorean’s mind raced.

It could just be a coincidence. He didn’t know what the conditions in the forest were like when the outsiders rushed to the fortress.

But it was definitely strange, too strange to simply overlook based on the possibility of coincidence alone.

“Yes. It is strange.”

“…Could they truly be bad people?”

Uven’s voice dropped, trembling slightly.

“We’ll have to check on it.”

Udorean whispered quietly to Uven, who was struggling amidst fear and confusion.

And he briefly looked outside the fortress wall.

It seemed like an issue that needed quick confirmation, but he was worried about whether he should leave the watchtower now.

“I think it’s best to go and check now.”

After a short contemplation, Udorean spoke.

“Let’s go.”

He judged that verifying the doubt Uven had raised was the priority.

The previous evening, Penelope had knocked on Udorean’s door.

‘Your Highness, I think something happened between Uven and the newcomers. …He looked very uneasy.’

Penelope had sought him out and asked him to keep a close eye on Uven.

Her words concerned him.

“…Uven?”

Udorean, who had been walking ahead, stopped when Uven remained standing still.

“…I don’t want to go.”

“What?”

“I can’t go.”

As Udorean looked at Uven, expecting an explanation, the child spoke again.

“It’s just… I’m scared. I’ve already caused trouble for them.”

Uven said, stepping backward.

“I just won’t go. I’ll stay here.”

The child seemed worried that the Leaton people might dislike him.

He vigorously shook his head, feeling guilty about doubting them in an uncertain situation.

“We are only asking questions. No one will think it’s your fault, Uven.”

Udorean said softly, trying to soothe Uven.

“You’re doing what needs to be done for our safety.”

Uven nodded slightly, biting his lip.

Udorean opened his mouth again, seeing the continuing confusion on his face.

“Even so, if you’d be more comfortable staying here, then do so.”

“…No, I’ll go too.”

Uven quickly ran and took Udorean’s extended hand.