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Chapter 67
Idorian’s large hand swept across my face.
“We’ll reach land soon, so please…”
He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist.
Idorian was coughing and spitting out the water that kept splashing into his mouth, and holding me made things even harder for him.
“I’ll hold on tight.”
Even though the situation was clearly difficult for him as well, he didn’t loosen his grip around my waist.
He must have thought I was exhausted and drowning.
His breathing grew rough as he kicked through the water, struggling.
I could feel his pace slowing, yet he never let go of me.
Idorian, panting heavily as if making one last desperate effort, kicked his legs—and finally, we reached the island in the middle of the lake.
“Get up first, Penelope.”
Idorian was still taking care of me until the end.
I climbed onto land first and pulled Uben and Idorian up one after another.
“Haah… haa…”
Idorian collapsed onto the ground, chest rising and falling heavily.
“Your Highness, are you alright? Uben, are you okay?”
Uben was right beside him, vomiting up lake water.
Blood was still running down the child’s arm.
And in the lake, the zombies were still thrashing, desperately trying to reach this island.
They made no real progress, constantly pushed back by the water, but as long as the smell of blood lingered, they wouldn’t stop.
“…I’m glad everyone seems unharmed.”
Struggling to rise, Idorian wiped his face and spoke.
Then his gaze shifted to the zombies flailing in the lake.
“As long as there’s blood scent, they’ll keep doing that.”
“Uben, try putting your wound in the water. Maybe the blood smell will fade a little.”
Even while gagging repeatedly, Uben obeyed and submerged his injured arm into the lake.
Once the blood on his arm washed off, I stepped back as far as possible and inhaled shallowly.
It seemed slightly fainter, but the smell of blood remained.
“We need to stop the bleeding first.”
It would’ve been nice to have some dry cloth, but all of us were soaked from crossing the lake.
“I’ll tear a bit of my underskirt and press it on. It should help stop the bleeding faster.”
But contrary to my expectation, the fabric was too tough and wouldn’t tear easily.
“Wait.”
Idorian bent down.
Riiip.
The fabric tore cleanly in his hands.
“Before we press this on, find some spiderwebs without bugs on them, Penelope.”
“Spiderwebs?”
“Yes. They help with clotting.”
Idorian walked toward the large trees as he spoke.
“Uben’s bleeding needs to stop fast if we want to leave this island. Let’s try everything.”
He must have already found some—Idorian snapped off a branch and swept it through the air a few times.
“Uben, sit here.”
I seated Uben and walked past Idorian searching the trees, heading toward the far end of the island.
Unfortunately, the island was only the size of a small schoolyard. Even if Uben and I stood at opposite ends, it wasn’t enough distance to escape the smell of blood.
I took a deep breath and held it.
My heart raced as the awakened state continued, but this much I could endure.
I wasn’t yet at the point of wanting to bite Uben like crazy.
If I just kept holding my breath like this…
Wouldn’t the bleeding stop first?
Even if my awakened state continued and my veins swelled, the lake was right in front of me.
Yes, it would look strange for me to suddenly plunge into the water—but so what?
I never expected Idoian Pidentre to come out through the castle gate…
If it were only Uben, I could’ve knocked him out and carried him. But with Idorian here too, there was much more to worry about.
I walked along the island’s edge, head bowed, searching for webs.
I found a few good spiderwebs, wrapped them around a branch, and brought them to Idorian and Uben.
Idorian washed the deep claw marks on the child’s arm with water, placed the spiderwebs on top, and wrapped the torn underskirt over it tightly like a compress.
“Your Highness, I think we should make a fire before sunset.”
“Yes. I’ll try.”
“Uben, it’ll be difficult, but please help His Highness.”
Uben, head drooping, nodded weakly.
“I’ll try to find something edible.”
With that, I entered the lake again.
Every time I ran out of breath and inhaled, Uben’s blood scent pounded violently through my chest.
At this rate, before the day ended, all the veins in my body might swell up.
If we were inside the stronghold, even this amount of blood scent could be avoided just by stepping into a room.
But here, where everything was open, nothing was easy.
Shake.
Idorian had followed me into the water and gently shook my shoulder.
Pwoof.
I lifted my head from the underwater depth and looked at him.
“Penelope, don’t overdo it. Just gather what you can.”
He smoothed down my water-matted hair as he spoke.
“I can look for more once the fire’s lit. Alright?”
Idorian’s voice was calm, as if trying to reassure me.
I nodded at his words, but my thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Why did Idorian leave through the castle gate?
As for me—when I saw Uben’s desperation, it reminded me of myself.
I’ve spent so long in the stronghold fearing discovery. If anyone found out I was a zombie, I hoped they wouldn’t pretend not to know me. Even if they wouldn’t stay with me, at least let them send me away mercifully.
Because of that fear that clung to me for so long, I couldn’t ignore Uben.
Left as he was, he would turn into a zombie. He wasn’t a noble, had no family to protect him. If he became a zombie, the chance of receiving treatment and returning as a human was far smaller than the chance of dying as a monster.
If I didn’t step in, the child was truly finished.
I, who once longed for mercy from others, couldn’t abandon someone in the same situation.
But what about Idorian? Why did he help Uben?
Simply pity? Or did he not expect things to spiral this terribly?
For me, reacting to Uben’s blood and exposing my nature was the biggest risk—but bleeding stops eventually.
Our real problem was whether we could reunite with the Imperial Army before they reached the stronghold.
Even if the crown prince was with us, the Imperial Army wouldn’t scour the entire forest in a zombie-infested situation like this just to find Idorian. Even if they could, it would take too long.
We had to go to them.
Either return to the stronghold safely before they arrived, or—
Would the zombies flailing in the lake leave once the blood scent faded?
Could I really return to the stronghold with not only myself but Idorian and Uben?
It would be so much easier alone. With Idorian, he would try to protect me too.
I had gone in quite deep, but eventually the current pushed me into shallower water where I could touch the bottom.
Lifting a rock, I found small creatures darting underneath.
Tiny crabs, each about the size of two finger joints.
I grabbed them quickly as they tried to flee, even getting bitten in the process.
Ignoring the sting, I continued gathering them.
Once I stepped out of the water, I’d smell Uben’s blood again and reawaken—so a small wound like this would heal quickly anyway.
I gathered six little crabs into the inside of my wet clothes, exhaled, and stepped out of the water.
The metallic blood scent returned immediately.
My heart, which had calmed slightly, began pounding again. I held my breath.
“I found a few crabs…”
I approached Idorian and Uben. Speaking without breathing made my words slow.
Uben watched Idorian trying to light the fire with a tired expression.
Idorian looked up belatedly and offered a faint smile.
“The fire won’t catch.”
As he said, only a thin wisp of smoke rose—no spark at all.
“I’ll try a little more.”
“…Then I’ll go catch a bit more too.”
“Alright.”
His short reply was filled with tension.
Honestly, I was just as anxious.
Uben’s wound continued to spread the scent of blood, provoking the zombies surrounding the island.
Watching them flail in a ring around us, I bit down hard on my lip.
I was breathing as little as possible, ducking into the water whenever I couldn’t stand the smell.
But until Uben’s bleeding stopped, I wasn’t sure I could truly endure it.
My veins felt hot, my heart kept hammering.
Terrified that I might lose myself like those zombies and attack Uben or Idorian, I hurried back into the water.
