Chapter 53
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Chapter 53 What is this? Are you actually trying to seduce me? Yet despite his words, his expression remained remarkably composed and detached. I swallowed a sigh before responding.
"It's a good thought, but haven't you forgotten why we need to stay here? The key that the Saint found. We need to uncover information about that key. It's our only clue to escape this place."
Enoch let out a hollow laugh, his shoulders sagging. He straightened his posture and shook his head as if to say there was no stopping me.
"You really only think about survival."
I shrugged.
"We should hunt before sunset."
Then I deliberately turned my head away with an air of indifference, surveying the surroundings. I spoke while observing Enoch, whose thoughts remained inscrutable.
"There's a Valley right ahead. Why don't we go catch some fish?"
Enoch reluctantly nodded and turned to leave. Not far from the Cabin lay the Valley where we bathed. Since the current ran swift, it was better to hunt with spears, traps, and nets rather than fishing rods. Fortunately, Enoch and I had been hunting with spears, so catching freshwater fish wasn't particularly difficult. In fact, Enoch was skilled at hunting too. This was the first time I'd watched him hunt directly, and I genuinely couldn't figure out what this man couldn't do. I first drained the blood from the fish Enoch had caught, cleaned them simply, twisted them onto wooden branches, and hung them from the spear.
"Let's fish only until today, and starting tomorrow, I'll need to make snares for hunting land animals."
I should ask Kaiden to make a bow as well. If it was Kaiden, he could whip up anything, so he could surely gather similar materials and craft a bow and arrows. Enoch, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.
"Tomorrow's hunt—Rodban and I will go. You should rest."
"How can I do that? Everyone's busy."
If Kaiden and Enoch hunted in my place, that would be convenient for me, but there were roles for each of us to fulfill.
"Margaret, you can do this. You've worked hard until now."
Enoch gently stroked my head with a tender touch.
"Don't run away when things get hard. Rest."
I didn't respond to Enoch's words. Something about the phrase "don't run away" felt barbed, and cold sweat broke across my skin. He told me to rest comfortably, but I felt it was better to do my part as much as possible. The person holding the key to this novel and deserving of all the male leads' favor wasn't me. It was Yuanna. * * * "Young Lady, you even know how to clean fish? Were you perhaps mistreated in the Floné Duchy? I thought you were a thorny rose, but you're more like hardy grass. Quite impressive."
I was cleaning fish in the kitchen when Asdal, who had gathered mushrooms as I'd instructed, approached and started needling me. Ugh, how annoying. Thunk! I finally lost my patience and drove the stone knife into the kitchen table. Asdal jumped back two steps in shock. Even Kaiden and Rujeep, who had been grappling over something inexplicable in the living room, were startled enough to turn and look at me. I exhaled sharply and glared at Asdal.
"If you don't want to starve, move aside."
Asdal blinked blankly at me, then belatedly pointed at himself with his finger.
"Young Lady, are you saying that to me?"
I pulled out the stone knife that had been stuck in the table and nodded.
"Shall I repeat myself?"
With those words, I drove the stone knife down into the wooden table with even greater force than before. Crack! Splinter. The stone knife embedded itself deep into the table as the wood split with a sharp sound.
"You're in the way. Move."
At my words, Asdal's face flushed with alarm as he glanced back and forth between the knife and me, then quietly retreated backward. As he did, he scratched the back of his head and said, "I thought the Young Lady was a ruffian, but you're not a ruffian—you're a rather sharp-clawed cat. Why are you so touchy? After all, the food was brought back by our Crown Prince, yet here you are taking all the credit."
With those grating words, he walked into the living area. Childish remarks, but truthfully, I'd caught more fish than Enoch from the start. And I'd never taken credit for anything. Asdal turned to look at me in the kitchen from the living area and flashed a grin.
"Flone Young Lady. Let me offer you some advice. I see you're quite amusing, more so than I expected. But if you carry on like this in group living, it's you who'll end up in trouble."
Of all times, Enoch wasn't at the Cabin right now. He'd gone out on reconnaissance. Kaiden and Rujeep were still gripping each other by the collar, staring blankly up at Asdal as he approached. Diego paid no attention to Asdal's antics whatsoever. His eyes were only for Yuanna, as he helped her kindle the fireplace. Then again, Diego only belonged to that faction because of Yuanna; fundamentally, he was Enoch's man, not Asdal's.
"That bastard..."
Kaiden spat out a curse and shifted his weight. As he seemed about to show insubordination again, I hastily opened my mouth to redirect the conversation.
"Since Your Highness finds it so inconvenient, perhaps going forward we should send one person from each team to gather provisions."
"Huh?"
Asdal turned to me with a confused expression. Even Diego and Yuanna, who had been quietly tending the fire, looked toward me.
"You said group living was important, didn't you? Then we should gather supplies fairly."
"The Young Lady ordered me to diligently collect mushrooms too, but I can't do it anymore. I was raised too nobly to know how to do such things."
At Asdal's words, I let out a hollow laugh. So who was taking credit for doing the easiest task?
"Is there anyone here who wasn't raised nobly? You seem to keep forgetting—I am the Young Lady of the Floné Duchy."
The Floné Duchy held tremendous influence in the Langrid Empire. That meant it wielded considerable prestige among the nations that traded with the Langrid Empire as well. The moment the family name was mentioned, Asdal's mouth snapped shut. He seemed to have realized his mistake belatedly. The mutual courtesy we'd maintained with the possibility of escaping the Island in mind was now reaching its expiration date. Already two months had passed since I'd awakened on this strange Island, and there was no telling how much longer we'd remain here. We still hadn't found a way to escape. Which meant that now, for the sake of survival, we had to abandon all status and dignity.
"In any case, you do like to make mountains out of molehills."
Yuanna cast a look of disdain toward Asdal.
"If you refuse, I cannot share provisions with you."
I crossed my arms and regarded Asdal with a displeased gaze. Asdal seemed taken aback by my attitude. The characters in the novel "More Important Than Survival" had all been acquainted with Margaret, except for Yuanna. Asdal was no exception. Margaret's notoriety was matched only by her wide connections and extensive sphere of activity. Four years ago, around the time Margaret turned eighteen, she had studied abroad in the Hestia Kingdom for about half a year. That's when she first met Asdal. So if anyone knew Margaret's true nature as well as the other male leads, it would be Asdal.
"Flone Young Lady, are you certain you won't regret those words once we leave the Island?"
Asdal warned me. If I escaped the Island as he suggested, I might come to regret this decision later. But, "If I die before leaving the Island, there will be nothing left to regret."
At my response, Asdal seemed to have nothing more to say and closed his mouth without another word.
"You're completely unreasonable. Why am I even bothering with you?"
Kaiden, who had approached my side at some point without my noticing, sighed and finished cleaning the fish I had been working on. Asdal raised both hands as if exasperated. He looked between Kaiden and me alternately, then shifted his demeanor and sighed before clutching at his chest.
"It seems I have no allies."
At his lament, Yuanna clicked her tongue.
"Did you really expect to have any?"
"Everyone is on Flone Young Lady's side. My heart aches a little, so I should rest."
Asdal pretended to wipe away tears that weren't even flowing, like someone who had been rejected in love. Then, without answering the proposal to divide into teams and take turns gathering provisions, he went up to the second floor. Rujeep, who had been observing the situation, cautiously approached and studied my expression.
"Please do not concern yourself. His Highness Asdal would not have believed anything you said regardless."
At Rujeep's words, I found myself reflecting once more on who Asdal was. 'Asdal is so different from Enoch.' Asdal had been born into nobility and had no siblings powerful enough to threaten him. If Enoch was royalty who had climbed up from the very bottom, then Asdal was a royal who had been at the very peak of the pyramid from the beginning. He was a man who had never been broken, lived in arrogance, and believed that was the only correct way to be.
"Perhaps His Highness cannot even accept that you have changed."
Rujeep explained to me in an unusually gentle voice, speaking in a soft, coaxing tone as if soothing a child.
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