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Chapter 57
When I made a bold suggestion, Enoc stopped me.
“Alone with that guy? It’s a waste of time.”
“Ha, calling me trash to my face is really amusing.”
Asdal laughed. I didn’t know what he found so funny all the time.
Suspicious yet optimistic, annoyingly persistent yet oddly funny—Asdal’s presence was genuinely confusing to me.
Enoc, holding my hand with a face full of worry, glared sharply at Asdal.
“Enoc.”
I patted his shoulder. Enoc turned toward me with a stubborn expression. His worry for me hadn’t faded.
I smiled at him and pulled a flare from my pocket.
“Don’t worry too much. If it comes to it, I’ll shoot it.”
Though his face was full of displeasure, Enoc didn’t argue further.
“Wait, I haven’t said I’m going with you yet. You really want to go together like that?”
Asdal shrugged nonchalantly at me and said,
“Yes. You yourself made the promise.”
Royalty is generally sensitive about “promises.” Breaking one is considered a grave dishonor. That’s why they rarely make promises lightly.
Asdal looked dazed when I said so plainly that I wanted to go with him.
He always acted so casually, so I didn’t understand why he was suddenly flustered.
“If you don’t want to, I’ll go with the Saint.”
“I’ll go.”
Only then did Asdal accept my offer. It seemed he didn’t like seeing Yuanna, whom he protected and cherished, doing menial work.
‘No, it’s unfair. I’m not someone who does menial work either. Margaret is a noble too!’
Was Asdal and Diego’s protectiveness toward Yuanna really just simple guilt, as she claimed?
It didn’t seem like a light feeling of affection born from a single glance; it was something deeper.
Suddenly, I became curious about what might have happened between Yuanna, Asdal, and Diego.
‘I’ll figure it out soon enough.’
I stopped Enoc from coming along, grabbed a harpoon for catching fish, and took a basket to hold them.
Then I carefully packed weapons into my crossbody bag—flares, flare bullets, even bombs.
Of course, our noble prince didn’t bring anything, though he did hold the basket for me, maintaining royal manners.
And so, I headed to the valley with Asdal.
We didn’t speak a word on the way, but I didn’t care; we weren’t in a mood for friendly conversation anyway.
From what I knew, in the Langrid Empire, if you measured only swordsmanship, Enoc ranked first, Diego second. And the one hidden talent capable of sparring with them? That was Asdal.
Asdal excelled more in archery than in swordsmanship.
Though his survival skills might be zero, he was strong and talented with archery—so maybe he could handle throwing a harpoon.
But my hopes were quickly dashed. Asdal couldn’t even handle a harpoon properly.
Standing awkwardly in front of the valley, repeatedly plunging the harpoon with clumsy motions, I finally spoke.
“Do you know how to throw that?”
A look of embarrassment crossed Asdal’s face, but he quickly shot back,
“Of course. I’m a man who can throw a harpoon. Maybe the fish were all startled by my handsome appearance and ran away. You, my lady, are safe.”
All talk, no action. And his wordplay was on par with mine—meaning he was terrible at it.
He pushed me aside with that ridiculous line. I was lightly shoved and ended up staring blankly at his retreating back.
‘Fine. Let’s see how well you actually do.’
I figured I could finally rest, so why not enjoy it?
Humming to myself, I sat on a nearby rock and watched Asdal’s futile efforts.
After a long while of plunging the harpoon, he finally slipped and fell.
“Damn it!”
The refined Asdal cursed and punched the water in frustration.
But the splash rebounded onto him, leaving him even more pitifully soaked.
“Are you okay?”
I rushed over in surprise. Embarrassed, he blushed and muttered something incoherent.
“I was just checking how cold the water is.”
“…Want me to put you in deeper where it’s actually deep?”
“Cough. Maybe it’s a bit chilly.”
Asdal stood up casually, drenched in water.
This was what they called a drowning mouse look, right? I tried hard not to laugh, holding out my hand to him.
“Stand up.”
He looked at my hand for a moment in confusion but refused my help and got up on his own.
Seeing his empty basket, I sighed.
“Didn’t catch a single one, huh?”
He pressed his lips tight, face red. I approached and took the harpoon from him. His eyes widened.
“What are you planning?”
I removed my sneakers neatly and dipped my feet in the water, checking for fish.
“I think we’d be up all night otherwise. We can’t starve.”
“That…what do you mean…”
I gripped the harpoon properly. As soon as I spotted a fish glimmering on the water’s surface, I thrust it down.
After fishing with a harpoon all this time on the island, I’d become skilled enough to catch them easily.
Pulling the harpoon out of the water, a fish as thick as my arm flapped at the tip.
“Catch a few more like this, and we’ll have enough for a meal.”
I skillfully bled it out with a wooden knife and put it in the basket. As I glanced at Asdal, who was staring blankly at me, our eyes met.
“Why are you staring?”
He jumped slightly, regained composure, and stepped back. Asdal looked at the basket of fish and me in disbelief.
“Did the Duke of Flone used to fish?”
“…Do I have to answer that?”
I asked in disbelief, and Asdal shut his mouth, embarrassed. He realized he had just said nonsense.
“Anyway, I’m curious why you insisted on hunting with me. There must be a reason. You know I don’t trust you, right?”
“You said you don’t trust only me. Everyone’s suspicious. Did you maybe treat only me differently?”
As I asked, Asdal’s eyes widened at the unexpected question. Then he laughed freely.
“It’s true you were a little more special. Madmen are usually ones to watch closely, aren’t they?”
“Such a curse of madmen. I’m tired of it.”
“Now that I see it, maybe you weren’t quite a madman. I’ll admit that.”
“I’m honored.”
“I don’t know why Ban-Hwang decided to protect you, but it’s interesting because of that.”
His casual smile seemed to assert some kind of superiority in this dynamic.
“I didn’t rely on Enoc just because he protected me. If anything, it would have been the opposite.”
“Lady, did you bring me here to prove that you’ve changed?”
I caught another fish and smiled.
“I’m not here to show I’ve changed for you. That requires an intention to improve a relationship.”
Asdal’s eyebrows twitched. He looked at me curiously, as if entertained.
I cleaned the fish and put it in the basket.
“And make sure you understand. I have no intention of improving my relationship with you.”
“…Then why?”
Asdal asked in shock. If he reacted like that, it made it seem as though he thought I wanted to improve the relationship.
“Then tell me the real reason you brought me here.”
“To give you a chance.”
I shrugged as I scrubbed the fishy smell from my hands in the water.
Asdal tilted his head, not understanding. He gestured for me to continue.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to kill me. Or to frame me unjustly.”
“Are you serious?”
He asked, astonished. I wasn’t entirely serious, but—
“I didn’t bring you hunting to make a good impression, nor was it a test from you. I brought you here to see if your survival skills hold up. Someone useless in a life-threatening situation is unnecessary.”
I deliberately chose cold words that would poke at him.
Asdal looked flustered, as if caught off guard.
“If this weren’t Hestia Kingdom, I would have thought your response was very arrogant. Actually, we don’t have very compatible personalities.”
He said that, yet his expression remained calm. In fact, he looked even more intrigued than before.
Regardless of his feelings toward me, it was clear he had distrusted me, tested me, and tried to assess me.
“Yes, you’re right. If this were the Kingdom, my little tricks wouldn’t have fooled you.”
I didn’t want to deal with his tiresome mind games anymore. My concern was only survival and escape.
“But, Your Highness, this isn’t the kingdom anymore. Admit it.”
