Chapter 24
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Chapter 24
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My plan to hide and avoid the male leads had completely fallen apart. I'd already encountered three potential male leads.
Well, it was a doomed plan from the start anyway.
I tried to pinpoint where things went wrong. No matter how I thought about it, meeting Enoch was the first mistake.
I should have fled for my life the moment I opened my eyes on this Island!
Of course, even if I'd hidden alone, whether I could have survived without encountering Monsters is questionable. But at this point, such thoughts are meaningless.
Still, what was Lujeep doing on the mountainside as the sun was setting?
"Margaret!"
I'd carefully brought the flares down to the Cave when I spotted Enoch standing at its entrance, weapon in hand. He rushed toward me and pulled me into a tight embrace.
Just as I thought I might suffocate, he released me.
"I saw a strange magic circle in the sky. So you... I thought you... Hah..."
Enoch's voice was trembling with emotion.
Because of that, I missed the opportunity to mention Bishop Lujeep.
"I'm sorry for worrying you."
Despite my apology, Enoch remained silent, clearly upset.
I wanted to ramble through some feeble excuses, but I simply had no strength left.
'I nearly died. Please don't be angry with me.'
There was so much I wanted to say, but my legs had given out. I should have known—tomorrow I'd probably be bedridden with muscle soreness.
Eventually, my legs buckled completely and I sank to the ground. Enoch immediately scooped me up into his arms.
I'd lost count of how many times I'd been held like this since arriving on this Island. Wrapped against his solid, warm chest, I felt an unexpected sense of relief wash over me.
Such a thing would have been unimaginable in the Langrid Empire.
"...But why is the Cave in such a state?"
The Cave was a disaster. While I'd never had much to begin with, the harpoons and coconut bowls I'd painstakingly crafted were now shattered into pieces.
It looked as though a storm had swept through the Cave itself. Or perhaps someone had broken in?
"That's..."
Enoch scanned the Cave without blinking, then answered briefly.
"It just happened that way."
What kind of answer was that?
The only thing that remained intact in the entire Cave was my sleeping area.
Enoch set me down on the large leaf that served as my makeshift bedding, then knelt on one knee before me.
"Where did Kaiden go?"
"Looking for you."
Enoch answered in clipped tones.
The fact that Kaiden had gone out searching for me in the dangerous night made me feel guilty. I was being such a burden.
"I went hiking. I thought I'd be back before sunset, but since it's been so long since I've climbed a Mountain, I must have lost track of time."
I rambled through my excuses. But it was the truth. I really had intended to return before the sun set.
"Are you injured?"
I nodded, then winced as pain shot through my soles. My blisters had burst open again.
Enoch, who had been watching me quietly, took hold of my ankle. His large hand engulfed it completely. For some reason, I felt a flutter of nervousness.
He carefully removed my flat shoes.
Blisters had formed in more than one or two places. Moreover, my feet were scraped and torn, with wounds scattered across them. Flat shoes were clearly not suitable footwear for the wilderness.
Enoch fell silent as he gazed at my ruined feet. I exposed my bare feet for a long while before the embarrassment became too much, and I let out an awkward cough.
I supposed I should be grateful that Enoch could at least handle wounds of this degree.
"I jumped down the Mountain behind that Cave all at once. Monsters were chasing me. I'm really fortunate to be alive. Ha, ha, haha...."
As I continued speaking, Enoch's expression shifted noticeably. So eventually, I trailed off and closed my mouth.
Enoch brought over a medicine kit and asked me which disinfectant to use, and I explained the medications I used frequently.
Once the explanation ended, an uncomfortable silence settled over us again.
This discomfort was suffocating. Please, just get angry at me instead.
Enoch quietly applied disinfectant to my feet and then spread ointment over the wounds to treat them.
"Ow. It hurts."
"Bear it."
And he answered my whimpering with a firm tone. He was definitely angry.
Enoch applied bandages to the scraped wounds and gauze to the burst blisters. After watching me do it a few times, he now handled the tools with practiced ease.
"Just get angry at me instead."
Unable to endure it any longer, I finally spoke to him.
Enoch knelt on one knee and rested my foot on his lap as he looked up at me.
"I'm not angry."
He lowered his head again and gently caressed my foot. It seemed like an unconscious gesture on his part, but the sensation of his touch against my skin felt strangely peculiar.
"Then why are you acting this way?"
"I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at myself."
I couldn't understand what Enoch meant, so I furrowed my brow. What was he even talking about?
"I should have allowed you to live comfortably without having to do anything, but my inadequacy keeps causing you to get hurt...."
"Wait, hold on, Enoch. What are you saying?"
It was an unexpected answer. So I hastily cut him off.
He looked at me with an impassive face, but his eyes seemed so forlorn that it tugged at my heart.
When we first met on this Island, he had been so bitterly critical and dismissive of me.
"I got hurt because I was foolish, so why is that your fault?"
Enoch listened to my words quietly.
"This time was... my mistake. Enoch never had any obligation to be responsible for me in the first place."
Could it be because of that? When we return to the Empire, would I be properly interrogated about this situation?
'That does make some sense.'
Thinking it over and accepting it, I nodded my head.
"I'm grateful that you were concerned. But I have no intention of living comfortably in this wilderness."
Living comfortably is something I can do after escaping the Island. If I'm careless here, I'll likely meet a miserable end.
I can't die pathetically twice.
"And don't think about protecting me—worry about yourself first. You wouldn't last even a day on this Island without me."
Of course, that was obviously not true, but I deliberately exaggerated. Yet surprisingly, Enoch agreed with my words.
"That's true. I can't survive on this Island alone without you."
Huh?
I blinked at him in bewilderment, unsure if I'd misheard or if Enoch had simply eaten something that disagreed with him today.
Seeing my expression, Enoch smiled.
"Surprising, I know, but it's the truth."
His tone carried a note of self-deprecation.
'Ah. Could it be because of his episodes?'
That would explain his words. Enoch seemed to believe that without me, there would be no one to control his episodes.
'But Yuanna exists.'
When she appeared, many things might change from how they are now.
My bare feet still rested on Enoch's lap. I tried to withdraw them out of embarrassment, but he was holding my feet, making the timing awkward.
"You're on my mind."
"...Pardon?"
Enoch's golden eyes turned toward me with quiet intensity. His gaze held not a trace of deception.
"Margaret, you're on my mind too."
Enoch's deep voice was pleasant to hear. Perhaps it sounded even more agreeable because we were in the Cave.
'Wait... me too?'
That was a premise suggesting it was natural that I cared about him. It seemed Enoch had misunderstood—he thought I still harbored romantic feelings for him.
Understanding what Enoch meant, I turned the matter over in my mind. So he was saying he cared about me in a romantic sense as well.
But why suddenly...?
Of course, being human, I had grown fond of him through our time together.
As for the frequent physical contact, it had been unavoidable given our brushes with death, so I didn't intend to misinterpret it as anything special.
Above all, he was gentlemanly and exceptionally kind. So I held only that degree of affection for him.
That was all for now. I wanted to survive above all else. That was the only thought consuming me.
"I understand. It's only natural to care about someone when you spend time together."
In the end, I deliberately responded like someone oblivious to the subtext.
Of course, I didn't deny the fact that Margaret had cared for him. Now that was also a part of my past I had to bear.
Enoch looked at me with a troubled expression.
"Margaret, that's not what I meant..."
"But Enoch, if you waste energy worrying over such trivial emotions, it could compromise our survival. Don't you think it would be better to exercise some restraint?"
I thought I'd given a reasonably rational response. Surely that was quite a good answer?
However, Enoch's expression darkened at my words.
"If only it were that simple."
He tilted his head slightly, regarding me quietly.
"I wouldn't be doing this right now."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org