Chapter 52
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Chapter 52
"Why are you so obsessed with seizing control among us, Saint?"
She'd brought up the matter of control since our first meeting, which is why the question gnawed at me.
Whenever a decision needed to be made, we held discussions, and Yuanna's voice was hardly insignificant in those deliberations.
The reason Yuanna's opinions carried such weight wasn't because she dominated proceedings, but rather because she possessed that special information—the "key"—which naturally gave her more say.
And I couldn't fathom why she clung so desperately to seizing temporary control among a group whose composition might change by tomorrow, when she herself seemed aware it held little meaning.
"It's fun. Sitting atop the heads of nobles."
Such a blunt answer. She didn't need to be quite so candid.
Yuanna wore that perpetual smile of hers—the kind that made it impossible to discern her true thoughts.
Sitting atop the heads of nobles was amusing to her? Though I was Margaret the noblewoman, I—Jin-ju Lee, a modern woman—could understand her sentiment to some degree.
'But that answer doesn't feel complete.'
There was more to it. She simply wasn't saying it.
"That's right. I'm of common birth, so I despise nobles."
Yuanna nodded in acknowledgment. Everyone fell silent, at a loss for words.
Kaiden, who had been yawning beside me for some time, suddenly wrapped his arms around me.
"Margaret, forget about this. Since we found soap anyway, let's go wash together."
"Don't be so casual with your crude remarks. Get away from me."
As I pushed Kaiden's shoulder away, Rujeep and Enoch simultaneously grabbed both his arms and pulled him from me.
Yuanna, who had been watching this unfold quietly, made me a proposal.
"Young Lady, would you like to bathe with me?"
I rested my chin in my hand, considering her words for a moment, then cast a sidelong glance at Diego.
"Ah, but I'm a bit worried. What if some pervert steals my dress again while I'm bathing...?"
"Ah, I won't steal it!"
The woodcutter Diego cried out in flustered protest, and Yuanna and I burst into laughter simultaneously.
I winked at Yuanna and gestured toward the cabin's entrance.
"Shall we go?"
"Yes."
Yuanna nodded vigorously.
* * *
After washing with soap for the first time in ages, I felt wonderfully refreshed and in excellent spirits.
It wasn't merely my own sentiment, for everyone hummed contentedly, their moods visibly improved.
Diego left to gather firewood, while Rujeep took on the task of collecting fruit and mushrooms.
Yuanna assumed responsibility for tidying the cabin and preparing meals, while Kaiden remained inside to guard our belongings—Yuanna and Asdal couldn't be trusted together, after all.
Thus, hunting and reconnaissance naturally fell to Enoch and me. At this, Asdal regarded me with obvious skepticism.
"Flone Young Lady hunts as well?"
Asdal pointed at me as I fastened a harpoon to my waist.
"I don't think that's a wise idea. Perhaps you should simply remain here. If you were to sustain an injury, it would inconvenience us all."
At Asdal's words, the gazes of Enoch, Kaiden, and Rujeep all fixed upon him.
"...What will the prince be doing while Margaret hunts?"
"I'm not sure."
When Kaiden asked in a tone that was neither formal nor casual, Rujeep answered with a troubled expression.
"He's probably thinking of hoarding the food Margaret brings us. Just leave him be."
Enoch's final jab had reached its peak.
Asdal shrugged, saying they were all being too sensitive, and then feigned sympathy. That was when Yuanna grabbed hold of him.
"Your Highness. Are you going to keep slacking off like that? You said you'd help me."
At Yuanna's irritated grumbling, Asdal hesitated. He looked at her with a face full of things to say, then let out a sigh.
"What did you ask me to help with, my saint?"
He approached Yuanna with an affectionate tone.
"Ah, why are those two men so desperately trying to appease me? They must have done something wrong. It seems like they're trying to make it up to me in their own way."
I asked her why they were acting that way while bathing together with Yuanna, but she offered no further explanation.
Well, just as I had lived through life and death with Enoch and Kaiden, they must have had their own dark circumstances.
I filled my dress pocket with flares loaded with bullets and picked up a wooden knife in my hand. It was to clean fish on the spot.
I considered bringing bombs as well, but since I had flares, I decided to leave them. I had only a few bombs left after using them against Anaconda. So I should save them as much as possible.
After leaving the Cabin, we decided to start by exploring the surrounding area. We needed to scout to find suitable hunting grounds.
Enoch walked ahead. He was advancing while cutting through the undergrowth with his sword.
Looking at his back, I carefully opened my mouth.
"About staying with those people. It's necessary because of the key, but... will it be alright?"
So far, Yuanna didn't seem to be plotting anything sinister.
Moreover, I might not be able to make a judgment until I visited the place where the key was found and precisely understood the circumstances of how Yuanna came to pick it up.
Enoch glanced back at me.
"I don't know. You do what you need to do. Don't think too deeply about it. I have no intention of putting you in danger."
"I still need to think about it. It's a matter of survival."
"...It's something I always think, but you really seem to have an extraordinary attachment to life."
At Enoch's remark, I felt a pang and averted my gaze from him. Even I thought I was saying that word 'survival' far too often.
Enoch walked ahead again.
"It's not so much an attachment to life as it is not wanting to die in a place like this. Isn't that how you feel too, Enoch?"
Enoch didn't answer my counterpoint. Perhaps he was pondering an appropriate response.
After a long silence, he suddenly stopped walking and turned to face me. I stopped in my tracks, following his lead.
Black hair as beautiful as the night sky itself caught my eye. Then I saw the fathomlessly deep golden eyes gazing at me.
Beneath his sharp nose lay a captivating mouth that curved beautifully like a painting.
"Then if you say you just don't want to die, would you be content to remain in a place like this?"
That couldn't be right. Though that wasn't what I meant, I found myself unable to answer.
With deliberate slowness, he reached his hand close enough to brush my cheek and swept my hair back. Captured by the gaze burning from deep within, I held my breath, unable to move.
"I'm curious. For instance, if you and I were left alone together on this Isolated Island, how would the situation unfold?"
His languid voice pierced my ears.
Without breaking his gaze, Enoch asked me.
"As I've said before, I can't live without you, Margaret."
Enoch slowly lowered his head toward me. He rested his forehead against mine. Then he exhaled a weary breath.
"I thought you understood that?"
His face, sculpted and perfectly beautiful, was right before my eyes. His broad, solid shoulders and the beautiful collarbone visible between his shirt collar rose and fell with tense breathing.
'So you knew that too?' How intimate of him, I thought, but now I understand.
Enoch still believes I'm Margaret, the woman who's madly in love with him.
"Has your heart changed?"
His golden eyes swept over me with a turbid gaze.
"Am I not enough for you?"
"That's not it."
"If it's not that."
In an instant, he turned cold, his temperature plummeting as he stared at me intently.
Under the warmth-less weight of his gaze, I felt my entire body shiver.
"I cannot fathom why your attitude confuses me so. It's maddening."
Overwhelmed by the eerie blankness of his expression, I could only gape wordlessly.
I never expected Enoch to say such things.
'What should I even say...'
After deliberating for a long moment, I answered in a measured tone.
"I've never thought you were lacking. If I could walk alongside only one person on this Island, it would be you, Enoch."
Every word of this was absolute truth. I trusted him that much.
Hearing my words, Enoch made his proposal as if he'd been waiting for this moment.
"Then what if we simply leave together, just the two of us? Like when we first awoke on this Island."
He coaxed me like someone luring a child with candy.
Enoch tilted his head and gazed at my face steadily. Our eyes were now at the same level.
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