Chapter 147
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Chapter 147
The others looked between me and Enoch with expressions of understanding.
"I'm quite good at relaying things."
Kaiden, seated to my right, leaned forward noticeably and stared intently at Enoch and me.
I thought this was starting again and tried to brush past it, but Kaiden added more.
"My last moment will be with you, so I can't yield it to anyone else. Even if it's their last moment."
Enoch didn't respond to Kaiden's addition. I turned his words over in my mind, my feelings somewhat complicated.
I hated discussing finality. It felt as though it might truly become the end. So I said nothing.
Then Yuanna asked me.
"What about Margaret?"
Even Kaiden, who had been staring at Enoch, turned his attention back to me. All eyes converged on me, and I could only blink stupidly.
Well, of course... I had nothing to say.
"Margaret?"
Yuanna called my name with a puzzled expression, tilting her head.
"...I don't have one. You know my situation."
"Ah..."
Yuanna belatedly grasped the meaning of my words. Apology bloomed gradually across her face.
And without further explanation needed, no one asked me any other unnecessary questions. Their understanding and silence felt somehow uncomfortable.
I am Margaret, yet I am not Margaret.
My very existence is ambiguous—I don't even know how to introduce myself, so how could I convey final words?
In the end, I remained silent throughout.
* * *
After that, we walked solidly for about two days. We arrived at Jenath's Cabin in the dead of night.
I had expected fog to shroud the area around the cabin. Before, it had confused us with mist to prevent us from approaching it.
But surprisingly, the area before the cabin was clear of even a trace of fog. As if it had been waiting for our arrival.
According to Asdal, there were no monsters nearby that Jenath could borrow eyes from. It seemed the sealing of the monster's source had a definite effect.
Based on the range of the fog, Anata's magical power appeared to be effective only within a 30-meter radius of the cabin.
Thus, we settled in a location beyond the reach of that power and made thorough preparations. After checking our supplies once more, we decided to hide near the cabin and wait until daybreak.
Asdal continuously checked whether any monsters might approach nearby, and Kaiden had also set up a defensive barrier.
To prepare for any contingency, we didn't light a fire. Settled among the brush, we assigned watch duties and prepared to spend the night.
The first watch was mine.
A quiet night with everyone asleep.
Chirp, chirp—
Only the sound of grass insects filled the forest. I gazed quietly at the light from Jenath's Cabin, then looked up at the night sky.
Stars filled the heavens densely. It was a beautiful night sky.
In Korea, such a sky was difficult to see. Now, Korea—a place I could never return to—stirred a brief longing in me.
Then I heard the sound of someone treading through the grass. I turned my head in alarm, and there stood Kaiden.
"Margaret. Did I startle you? I'm sorry."
He apologized with an awkward expression and carefully sat beside me. I looked at him with a bewildered face. Kaiden's brilliant silver hair caught the moonlight and shone beautifully.
"Aren't you sleeping? You should rest for tomorrow."
Kaiden regarded me in silence for a moment, his eerie crimson eyes unnervingly calm. I couldn't fathom what thoughts occupied his mind.
Then again, Kaiden had always been this way—inscrutable, his inner world perpetually veiled.
After observing me for some time, he let out a soft chuckle and turned his gaze away.
"I can't sleep."
I understood that feeling well enough. Before exams, interviews, or any momentous occasion, sleep invariably eluded us.
Kaiden now sat quietly beside me, his eyes drifting toward Jenath's Cabin. I too gazed silently at the flickering light dancing within.
"Margaret, do you know why I'm opposed to marriage?"
Kaiden posed the question in a hushed voice, his tone uncharacteristically grave.
'That's true. I never considered it. Margaret, will you get engaged?'
'If I survive, I suppose I'll have to.'
'Don't get engaged. Let's just live unmarried together.'
I recalled a conversation we'd had before. Even without that exchange, I'd known his aversion to marriage stemmed from the aftermath of The Experiment.
"I cannot build a family. Having children is... impossible for me."
"Ah..."
Confronted with an answer I hadn't anticipated, I found myself unable to offer any response. Kaiden smiled knowingly at my reaction.
"I harbor considerable regret about this Experiment. Moreover, until now, I've held little attachment to life itself."
He unfolded his story like a confession, his voice unusually measured and composed—so unlike his typical demeanor.
As I listened quietly, my heart churned with unease. I couldn't understand why he spoke so unlike himself, and it felt ominous.
I wished he would say nothing at all.
We would all survive this. Surely.
Yet contrary to my hopes, Kaiden continued.
"But for the first time, I find myself anticipating a future with you. That's what makes me so angry."
Kaiden turned to face me directly, and I met his gaze in return.
His crimson eyes traced across my face meticulously, as though etching every detail into memory.
"If something happens to me, grieve for me. I have no one else to do so."
The moment those words reached me, something lodged in my throat, making it difficult to breathe. I couldn't speak, only stare at his face as though entranced.
"That's all I wanted to say."
Kaiden rose from his seat without waiting for my response, his movements devoid of hesitation.
"You should rest too."
"I won't grieve for you..."
Kaiden's footsteps halted. I swallowed my tears and continued.
"I won't grieve for you. I'll forget everything. So you must survive. If you're in pain, suffer in front of me."
My eyes burned with heat. I lowered my head as tears fell upon my feet. Kaiden remained motionless. After sniffling for some time, I spoke again.
"I'm sorry. The truth is, I'll grieve terribly. I won't be able to function. I'll live like a shell of a person. So please, don't say such things."
"Thank you, Margaret. I really do love you."
He gently patted my head and, without another word, returned to his place.
My chest felt suffocated.
Why must we endure such torment? As Kaiden said, I was consumed by a rage I could barely contain.
If Jenath were before me now, I would plunge a blade into his heart without hesitation. The fury surged within me. I buried my face in my hands and exhaled burning breath.
Within me coexisted both the desperate hope that tomorrow would come so we could escape, and the dread that tomorrow might never arrive.
At that moment, someone else sat down in the empty seat beside me.
When I lifted my head, it was Enoch.
My eyes must have been red-rimmed. I hastily composed my expression.
"You didn't sleep?"
At my question, Enoch slowly nodded without a word. He said nothing upon seeing my disheveled face.
With my emotions stirred up because of Kaiden, perhaps having anyone sit beside me was better than being alone.
We sat side by side in silence for a long while, gazing at Jenath's Cabin.
After a prolonged quiet, Enoch finally spoke.
"If I cannot escape... there is something I wish to leave with you."
'So the words you wish to leave... you will convey them directly. Just before.'
It seemed those words about conveying them directly were indeed meant for me.
Enoch gazed at me with a heavy expression. His eyes held a tender affection. He slowly traced my face with his gaze, then opened his mouth in a soft voice.
"The Suspension Bridge Effect, wasn't that what they called it?"
"..."
"Do you still believe in such things?"
Enoch calmly removed a strand of hair clinging to my cheek as he asked me.
I did not answer. He continued as though my response was unimportant.
"It may well be merely a fleeting emotion born of circumstance, as you say. If you wish to deny it, you are free to do so. But that does not erase the time we have spent together until now."
At those words, I looked at him with a startled expression for a moment.
My heart trembled so intensely it made me dizzy. My cheeks burned and my mind felt numb.
'The time we have spent together until now does not erase.'
Enoch's words struck me with a new shock. Why had I never thought to consider things in such a way?
All this time, I had been convinced his feelings would inevitably change, distorting them of my own accord.
That's right. Even if my heart was momentarily deceived, as he said, the time and memories we shared would not change.
"Thank you. For saying such things."
I meant it sincerely. My hollow heart felt slightly filled.
"But why are you leaving your final words with me? There are many people at your side. It seems there must be many others to whom you should leave your final words."
Enoch was not the type to easily allow others close to him, which made him difficult to approach, yet he had many devoted followers.
He was the Crown Prince—blessed with striking appearance, bearing a more royal dignity than Rodban, the legitimate heir, and commanding the trust of the people as well as the respect of the nobility through his exceptional abilities.
"Did I not say final words?"
At the sound of Enoch's voice, I looked at his face again.
"Pardon?"
"I wished to leave my final words with someone I care for."
"...Ah."
I was captivated by Enoch's golden eyes gazing upon me, unable to move an inch.
In that moment, moonlight breaking through the clouds poured brilliantly across Enoch's face. Emotions I had never experienced before cascaded down upon me along with the moonlight.
Perhaps the moonlight illuminated not Enoch's face, but my own heart.
As I stood entranced, gazing at Enoch's handsome face for a long while, he smiled at me with an amused expression.
"Let me convey my true feelings properly after we escape safely. That would seem more sincere to you, would it not?"
"What do you mean... you've already said everything..."
"If this place becomes my end, won't my sincerity become a burden to you?"
Enoch spoke with an impassive expression.
Kaiden had done the same, and now Enoch too—why were they both doing this to me?
My chest felt heavy and suffocated. I placed my trembling hand over my heart, struggling to compose myself before speaking to Enoch.
"That won't happen. We'll get out together."
"Yes. It won't happen."
Enoch answered my words with a firm tone, as if to reassure me.
An uncomfortable silence fell between us. Yet Enoch did not leave my side.
And so he quietly remained beside me until my watch shift came to an end.
* * *
The next morning.
We decided to split into teams and move according to plan.
The men with combat prowess would lure Jenath outside and restrain him, while Yuanna and I would enter the Cabin with Silver Earthworm to retrieve Anata.
Since Yuanna and I had stayed in the Cabin before, we knew its interior layout, making us well-suited for extracting Anata quickly.
Before commencing the operation, I set up a Barrier around the Cabin together with Kaiden to neutralize Anata's magical power.
Kaiden had warned that if her magical power proved too formidable, the Barrier might be a one-time use only. Still, it was better than nothing.
The greatest bait to lure Jenath was Kaiden himself. It seemed Jenath was quite interested in his body.
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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
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