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Chapter 10
"Oh. You're quite strong."
Damn it—I'd ‌‌‌‌let ‌‌‌‌another foolish remark slip from my ‌‌‌‌lips without thinking. That vapid tone of admiration was certainly not befitting of Margaret.
"Young Lady, ‌‌it would be better if you kept that mouth of yours shut."
As expected, Enoch reprimanded me.
Once I closed my mouth, he finally knelt on one knee before me.
He was carefully removing the flat shoes from my feet. I watched the sight with a strange sense of unfamiliarity.
Think about it—the Crown Prince of the Empire, who despises me without end, was kneeling before me and removing my shoes. Wasn't that rather peculiar?
No, this was something... decidedly ‌‌‌improper.
His hand touched my exposed bare ankle. My slender ‌‌ankle was loosely grasped ‌‌‌in his large palm.
'That tickles.'
I curled my toes. Then I immediately furrowed my ‌‌‌‌brow at the sharp sting radiating from the soles of my feet.
"Ouch."
"Bear it."
Despite his cold tone, Enoch examined my feet with meticulous care, as though handling a delicate glass doll.
As I suspected, blisters had formed on the soles and ‌‌‌‌heels of my feet.
"This is troublesome. If the ‌‌blisters burst, it will become a problem."
At my murmur, Enoch looked up at me with an expression seeking explanation. ‌‌I shrugged ‌‌and spoke.
"If the blisters rupture and the wounds become infected, there's a risk of infection."
The expression on Enoch's face was unmistakable. It said: How do you know such a thing?
"It's common knowledge." ‌‌
"Young Lady, you are not like ordinary people, are you?"
"What? I don't like the way you said that. You were just insulting my past self for being ignorant, weren't you?"
"It seems there's a tender spot you're sensitive about."
"Did you think I wouldn't understand if you spoke so ‌‌‌eloquently? You're actually quite rude, aren't you?"
"As if the discourtesy Young Lady has shown me would be any less."
At Enoch's words, I fell silent. There was no ground for rebuttal. Pressing the matter further would only disadvantage me.
I had no choice but to change the ‌‌subject.
"In any case, when this happens, you must avoid touching the blisters as much as possible ‌‌so the skin can form its ‌own protective barrier. After that, it would be good to clean it thoroughly and apply ice compress, but..."
I trailed off and let out a troubled sigh.
"There's nothing I can do about it right now."
Returning to the Cave would be the best option, but that would require putting the shoes back on and moving.
Enoch stared at my feet with a contemplative expression. Why was he staring so intently at someone else's bare ‌‌‌feet? How embarrassing.
After a long moment, he placed the removed flat shoes into my hands. What was this about?
Confused, I looked at Enoch, and without warning, he lifted me into his arms. Like a princess carry.
Too startled, I wrapped my arms around his neck while still holding the flat shoes in my hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Didn't Young Lady say that touching the blisters is not good? If you don't want to fall, hold on tighter."
At Enoch's words, I hesitated for a moment, then had ‌‌no choice but ‌‌‌‌to place the flat shoes on my lower abdomen and embrace him ‌more deeply.
Our bodies pressed together without any gap between them. I could even feel the heartbeat resonating from deep within his ‌chest.
I felt oddly uncomfortable and a touch embarrassed, ‌‌‌‌so I deliberately looked away.
My exploration of the Cave's surroundings ended with nothing but blisters on my feet.
'I can explore again tomorrow, anyway.'
Time was the one thing we had in abundance.
Cradled in Enoch's arms, ‌I gazed quietly up at the sky. The sun was setting.
Throughout it all, Enoch carried me in silence, moving steadily forward. He was truly dependable. And in that moment, I found myself hoping he wouldn't change when he met the heroine.
If he didn't, then perhaps spending time together wouldn't be so bad.
"I'm truly ‌‌‌a different person now. Please think of me as having been born anew."
So I let ‌‌‌slip those pointless words.
Enoch didn't answer for a moment. Perhaps he was simply ignoring me since I'd made a habit of saying such things.
While I was pondering this, Enoch finally spoke.
"Yes. At the very least, conversing with you is no longer as unpleasant as it once was."
Hearing Enoch's response, ‌‌‌‌‌I recalled Margaret's memories from the past. Indeed, the old Enoch and Margaret had ‌‌‌never been particularly compatible conversationalists.
"However, I will never develop romantic feelings for ‌‌‌the Young Lady."
At Enoch's words, ‌‌which fell like a thunderbolt, I lifted my head again. Our eyes met, and his gaze was as still as ‌‌the calm before a storm.
"I merely show ‌‌consideration to the Young Lady out of gentlemanly courtesy. So I would prefer you harbor no false hopes. It would only become tiresome for us both."
Enoch had drawn a clear line, abruptly and decisively.
I understood why he would say such a thing. ‌‌
Beyond their poor conversational compatibility, Margaret had said terribly cruel things to him.
"Honestly, I don't understand why Your Highness refuses to marry or become engaged to me. I ‌possess what you lack—pure noble bloodline."
Margaret had spoken such words without hesitation, all while claiming to love Enoch.
Yes. Considering the sins the original Margaret had committed, while Enoch might develop goodwill toward me, it seemed he would never actually come to care for me.
'Escaping alone to the Bunker really is the answer.'
Lost in such thoughts, I turned my head and noticed something strange.
"Wait, Your Highness. Didn't that rock just... move?"
Enoch turned his head in ‌‌‌the direction I was pointing.
There was a low hill, and atop its steep ‌‌Cliff stood a large, round boulder, sitting there as if it belonged.
I couldn't ‌‌fathom why such a solid, massive rock would be perched on a Cliff that looked ‌ready to crumble at any moment. ‌‌‌
"Well, a moving rock? Are you certain you didn't imagine it?"
Was this what a mirage ‌‌‌felt like? At Enoch's response, my face contorted in frustration.
"If I were going to hallucinate, I'd at least expect to see something worthwhile—like a steaming bowl of rice with kimchi stew—not a rock moving about!"
It was strange. I could have ‌‌sworn I saw it move.
Yet as Enoch suggested, even staring intently, the boulder remained perfectly still.
In the end, I simply turned my head away alongside Enoch, dismissing the matter.
"Anyway, it's fortunate that conversing with this troublesome woman is no longer unpleasant for you."
"There is much to be fortunate about."
Did he not ‌‌understand sarcasm? Or was he deliberately being obtuse?
Bewildered, I glanced at Enoch's profile, but his expression remained unchanged. How ‌‌‌‌was I supposed to know what he was thinking?
We exchanged a few more such meaningless remarks.
Boom—.
Suddenly, a dull thud echoed from somewhere, and the ground trembled faintly beneath my feet.
A sinister premonition swept across my entire body.
Thump. Thump.
Patter-patter.
Something heavy landed repeatedly on the earthen ground with dull impacts, followed by the unmistakable sound of beast hooves.
I ‌‌‌‌instinctively turned my gaze toward the boulder that had been atop ‌‌‌‌the Cliff.
Yet to my dismay, the very rock I had found so peculiar moments before was no longer there.
Looking up at the sky, the sunset was painting the heavens, and the dense Forest had grown somewhat dim.
Still, it wasn't nearly ‌‌as dark as it had been last ‌‌‌‌time... or was it?
"What... what is that?"
Seized by dread, I gripped Enoch's collar with ‌‌‌‌‌all my strength.
Holding me close, Enoch slowly retreated backward, one step at a time. My blood ran cold. My hands trembled uncontrollably.
Thump—. Patter-patter-patter.
This time, the sound came from the opposite direction. I whirled my head around in panic, but nothing appeared within my sight.
Patter-patter-patter-patter!
Patter-patter-patter-patter!
Now the sound came from behind us. And it was closing the distance at a terrifying speed.
The footfalls weren't coming from just one or two places. That could only mean one thing—multiple beasts ‌‌‌were converging upon us.
"Your Highness! Run—!"
As I called out to Enoch, several wolves burst through the undergrowth and leaped into the air. The scene unfolded before me as ‌‌if in slow motion.
If we remained there, we would ‌‌‌‌both be in mortal ‌‌‌danger. The moment I made my decision, I shoved Enoch away with all my might. The recoil sent me sprawling roughly across the ground.
"Young Lady!"
Three wolves landed ‌‌‌where we had been standing. Beyond them, Enoch stared down at me with a look of shock ‌and disbelief.
Then, one of the wolves opened its massive jaws wide, bearing down upon me as I lay helpless on the ground.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: ‌‌‌valirscans.org
---------------