Chapter 42
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Chapter 42
Asdal, who had been observing the scene, pointed out Kaiden's behavior with an exasperated tone.
"I distinctly recall the Lord of the Langrid Empire despising Flone Young Lady, yet here we are witnessing quite the spectacle."
I understood Asdal's amazement well enough. Even I hadn't adjusted to seeing Kaiden—that unhinged character—display such an attitude.
"That bastard really talks too much."
Kaiden grumbled in a low voice without even glancing toward Asdal.
"Do you have nine lives? Why are you acting like that toward the crown prince? What will you do if we leave this Island?"
Regardless of the strange nickname he carried—something like "hardtack prince"—he was still a crown prince, after all.
"What would you know?"
Kaiden retorted irritably. I had nothing more to say, so I eventually closed my mouth.
"Why don't we abandon the Cabin and simply return? Living together would be inconvenient for both sides. I've developed some interest in the Young Lady, but her reckless personality seems a bit difficult to manage."
Crown Prince Asdal continued speaking to us with a relaxed expression and an easy smile.
He still seemed to believe I was the Margaret from the past. Even if I denied it, how could I prove otherwise here and now? So his reaction was reasonable.
Although we held the advantage with flares and grenades, I couldn't afford to underestimate them.
With Rujeep and Yuanna already on their side, we were numerically disadvantaged.
As I observed the enemy's movements, I belatedly noticed a first-aid kit in Rujeep's hand.
'Wait... why is the first-aid kit there?'
It seemed Rujeep had unconsciously picked it up and taken it with him, but why hadn't I noticed it being transferred to their side?
In truth, the first-aid kit was more critical to survival on this Island than flares. All the medicines for wound disinfection and treatment were inside that kit. Therefore, we absolutely had to recover it.
I was genuinely flustered, but I couldn't let the hardtack prince's group see my panic or anxiety. The fundamental rule of negotiation was never to reveal your weaknesses to the other party.
I quickly masked my expression. Then, with deliberate composure, I spoke to Asdal.
"Send Bishop Rujeep over to us. Then we'll leave the Cabin behind."
I deliberately made it sound as though Rujeep was my objective. I couldn't let their attention shift to the first-aid kit.
Rujeep, unaware that he was holding the first-aid kit, simply looked at me with eyes full of emotion.
He seemed genuinely moved. My conscience pricked me.
"I'm afraid I must reject that."
Asdal laughed arrogantly with his arms crossed.
"Why negotiate? Just take it by force."
Kaiden bared his teeth and threatened Yuanna's group.
"Lord, stay quiet. That attitude won't help at all."
Enoch, who had been silently observing the situation, offered a sharp rebuke to Kaiden. Kaiden belatedly caught my eye and closed his mouth.
"Once you're done plundering, do you really intend to leave?"
Yuanna spoke with exasperation while wearing a gentle smile. Plundering, she called it!
I tilted my chin up defiantly and laughed at them.
"Plundering is only a valid term when these things belonged to you. If something has no owner, then whoever possesses the capability to hold it should own it."
At my words, Kaiden let out an exclamation that seemed oddly out of place.
"Won't you consider releasing the Bishop?"
I asked once more.
Asdal fell silent for a moment, staring at me intently, then conferred with Diego and Yuanna.
Rujeep stood apart from them, looking pitifully back and forth between us and them.
"Or I could just burn this place down."
I aimed the flare gun toward the Cabin.
"Truth is, we don't really need this Cabin. We know how to build one. But it seems you do."
My final words proved decisive—Asdal raised his hand in acknowledgment.
"Very well. I'll hand over the Bishop. Keep your word."
Rujeep glared at Asdal with a twisted, menacing expression.
"You can't treat me this way, Your Highness."
Separate from his desire to join our group, Rujeep seemed displeased that Asdal was letting him go without hesitation.
Fair enough—he had every right to feel bitter. After all, they'd shared hardships and built bonds through their time together.
"I'm sorry."
Asdal apologized to Rujeep in a hollow voice. Though it didn't seem to resonate much with him.
That's when Rujeep fully crossed over to our side.
"Before we leave, I have a question for the Saint."
At my inquiry, Yuanna smiled brightly, as if she'd been waiting for this.
"Finally, you're thinking about joining me...."
"More importantly—do you have the escape key on you right now? Where did the key come from? Is there an exit somewhere on this Island that this key can open?"
Enoch and Kaiden, unaware of my previous conversation with Yuanna about the key, exchanged confused glances between us.
Yuanna received my question and, tilting her head thoughtfully, asked me in return.
"You're not planning to stay with me?"
"No."
"That's unfortunate. I actually liked you because the Young Lady called you a madwoman."
You're hardly sane yourself.
"If you won't stay with me, then I have no obligation to answer. You're not one of mine."
She had a point. But the key—that wasn't in the original story, so I absolutely had to verify it.
The novel only mentioned that a door to escape this Island would open after one year, not that it could be opened with a key.
If that were the case, even if I found the "door," I'd need Yuanna, who holds the key, to actually escape?
'At this point, isn't Yuanna the suspicious one here, not me?'
Asdal's group showed no surprise about the key—they already knew.
"It seems we need an explanation. A key, you say?"
Enoch looked at Yuanna with displeasure. But she merely smiled without any sign of disturbance.
"I already told you. If you're not one of mine, I won't explain. I have to be careful too. The situation demands it."
Enoch had nothing to say to her words, so he closed his mouth quietly and turned to look at me.
Then Kaiden and Rujeep simultaneously looked at me as well. Their expectant gazes felt somewhat burdensome.
"What do you intend to do, Margaret?"
"I'll follow your judgment."
"I'll follow as well."
Enoch, Kaiden, and Rujeep spoke in turn.
'This is... even more burdensome now.'
I fell silent for a moment, my mind racing.
We needed information about the "key" that Yuanna possessed.
And for reasons I couldn't fathom, she wanted to be with us. Whatever she was planning, it seemed the more people involved, the better.
"Coexistence with them seems unnecessary, and I simply cannot comprehend it. Are you confident you can manage that reckless Young Lady?"
Asdal asked Yuanna with an expression that made it clear he found this entire debate tedious and exhausting.
His words seemed to suggest that if Yuanna could simply manage me, he might be willing to consider coexistence.
At that, Yuanna laughed with the expression of someone stating the obvious.
"Of course. If the Young Lady becomes my person, then everything the Young Lady has becomes ours as well. That hardly seems like an unnecessary coexistence, does it?"
Hand over everything I own? What am I, a victim of highway robbery?
"Ha...."
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
'Now that the escape key has been mentioned, I can't just leave.'
In truth, the key was an even more critical clue than the Bunker itself.
What good was spending endless days in the Bunker if I couldn't find the exit?
'I've already said what needed to be said. If words won't work, there's only one method left.'
Yuanna, Asdal, and Diego stood with their backs to the Forest. At a distance from them lay a massive boulder.
If I utilized that rock, I could momentarily divert their attention.
I pulled a grenade—no, a flame bomb—from my pocket. Kaiden and Rujeep stared at me with startled expressions.
"Y-Young Lady. Please calm yourself."
Rujeep stopped me with a deathly pale face. I paid him no mind and glanced at Enoch.
"Do you understand what I'm about to do?"
Enoch slowly nodded at my question. Kaiden beside him grinned wickedly, as if he understood as well.
Only Rujeep blinked blankly, clueless, clutching a medical kit to his chest.
'I need to get this right.'
I bit the safety pin of the bomb with my teeth and then rotated my arm briefly to warm up.
After taking my stance, I hurled the flame bomb directly at the boulder I'd marked.
Kaboom!
The bomb struck the boulder dead center.
As Yuanna's group startled and turned their heads toward the rock, dust billowed up in thick clouds, obscuring their vision entirely.
Enoch and Kaiden, who had been waiting for this moment, swiftly moved to their respective positions.
"Ugh!"
"Let go!"
Through the dust, I heard the voices of Asdal and Yuanna.
In that single moment of carelessness, Yuanna's group was subdued by us with almost laughable ease.
What? That was all there was to it?
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org