Chapter 57
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Chapter 57
When I made that audacious proposal, Enoch stopped me in my tracks.
"Alone with that man? A waste of time."
"How amusing—treating me like garbage right to my face."
Asdal laughed. I couldn't fathom what he found so endlessly entertaining.
Suspicious by nature yet oddly optimistic, irritating in his manner yet somehow amusing—Asdal's very existence left me thoroughly bewildered.
Enoch, his face brimming with concern, grasped my hand and shot Asdal a piercing glare.
"Enoch."
I patted his shoulder. He turned to face me with stubborn resolve, though worry for me still lingered in his eyes.
I smiled at him and pulled a flare from my pocket to show him.
"Don't worry too much. If anything goes wrong, I'll fire it."
Enoch's face was full of displeasure, but he offered no further objection to my decision.
"I haven't even said I'd go with the Young Lady yet. Do you truly wish to go with me so badly?"
Asdal shrugged his shoulders with feigned composure and spoke to me.
"Yes. It was a promise Your Highness made directly."
Royalty are generally sensitive to 'promises.' They believe nothing is more dishonorable than breaking one. That's why they rarely make promises carelessly in the first place.
When I agreed so readily to go with him, Asdal looked taken aback.
He usually acted so naturally composed, so I couldn't understand why he seemed so flustered now.
"If you'd prefer, I'll go with the Saint instead."
"I'll go."
Only then did Asdal accept the proposal. It seemed he disliked the idea of Yuanna, whom he protected and cherished, doing menial work.
'Now that I think about it, this is so unfair. I'm not someone who does menial work either. Margaret is nobility too!'
Was Asdal and Diego's protective behavior toward Yuanna truly just simple guilt, as she claimed?
Certainly, it didn't seem like the light affection of falling for her at first sight and cherishing her with love.
Suddenly, I became curious about what had transpired between Yuanna, Asdal, and Diego.
'I'll find out soon enough.'
I stopped Enoch from insisting on coming along and gathered a spear for catching fish and a basket to carry them in.
Then I busily packed weapons into my crossbody bag—flares and flare rounds, and even bombs.
Of course, our noble prince packed nothing, though he retained enough royal manners to carry the basket for me.
Thus I headed toward the Valley with Asdal.
We exchanged no words during the journey, but since we were hardly the type to have warm conversations anyway, I paid it no mind.
If I recalled correctly, in the Langrid Empire, Enoch ranked first in swordsmanship, followed by Diego. And Asdal was that hidden master capable of sparring with both Enoch and Diego.
Though to be precise, Asdal excelled more in archery than swordsmanship.
Even if his survival skills were nonexistent, he had talent in strength and archery—surely he could handle spear-throwing reasonably well?
But my expectations were thoroughly dashed. Asdal couldn't even handle the spear properly.
Watching him stand awkwardly before the Valley, repeatedly driving the spear down with clumsy motions, I finally couldn't help myself.
"Do you know how to throw a spear?"
Bewilderment flickered across Asdal's face at my question, but he quickly fired back.
"...Of course. I'm a man who knows how to throw a spear splendidly. The fish must have fled in shock at my magnificent appearance. You're the one falling behind, Young Lady."
All talk, no substance. And his wordplay was about as terrible as mine. Which is to say, utterly pathetic.
Asdal pushed me away with that absurd remark. I stumbled backward limply, staring blankly at his retreating figure.
Fine. Let's see how well he does.
At least I could rest now—how fortunate.
I hummed to myself as I settled onto a nearby rock, watching Asdal work.
After plunging his spear into the water for some time, Asdal finally mistepped and tumbled into the river.
"Damn it!"
The dignified Asdal cursed, striking the water's surface with his fist.
But the resulting spray drenched him, leaving him looking even more pathetic.
"Are you alright?"
I rushed toward him in alarm, and he flushed with embarrassment, stammering.
"I was merely testing how cold the water is."
"If you go a bit further, the water gets deeper. Shall I submerge you?"
"Cough. It does seem rather cold."
Asdal rose to his feet with composure, completely drenched.
So this is what they meant by a drowned rat. My facial muscles twitched. I struggled to suppress my laughter and extended my hand to him.
"Let me help you up."
Asdal stared at my outstretched hand with an awkward expression, then rejected the assistance and stood on his own.
I gazed at his empty basket and sighed.
"It seems you didn't catch a single fish."
His face flushed deeper, and he clamped his mouth shut. Left with no choice, I approached and snatched the spear from his hands. He looked at me in surprise.
"What are you doing?"
I carefully removed my shoes and waded into the valley stream. Then I took my stance and scanned the water's surface for any glimpse of fish.
"At this rate, we'll be here all night. We can't go hungry, after all."
"What do you mean by that...?"
I adjusted my grip on the spear. When I spotted a fish shimmering across the water's surface, I drove the spear down without hesitation.
Since arriving on the Island, I'd done nothing but spear fishing, so by now I'd grown proficient enough to hunt with ease.
As I pulled the spear from the valley stream, a fish as thick as my forearm wriggled on its tip.
"If I catch just a few more like this, we'll have enough for one meal."
I skillfully drained the fish's blood with a wooden knife and placed it in the basket. That's when my eyes met Asdal's, who had been staring at me with a dazed expression.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
He snapped to attention as if startled, then stepped back. Asdal alternated his gaze between the fish in the basket and me, his face full of disbelief.
"Did Flone the Duke perhaps engage in fishing?"
"Do I have to answer that?"
At my bewildered response, Asdal fell silent, embarrassed. He'd clearly realized he'd said something foolish.
"But I'm curious—why did the Young Lady insist on hunting with me? There must be a reason. You must know that I distrust you, don't you?"
"You said you don't distrust only me. You said you distrust everyone. Wait—did you discriminate against only me?"
At my question, Asdal's eyes widened as if he'd heard something unexpected. Then he burst into genuine laughter.
"It's true that the Young Lady was somewhat special. A madwoman naturally becomes a person of interest, doesn't she?"
"That cursed madwoman label. I'm sick of it."
"Now that I see it, you don't seem quite mad after all. I'll concede that much."
"I am honored."
"I'm not sure what wind blew the Crown Prince's way to shield the Young Lady, but it makes this all the more intriguing."
The casual smile playing across his lips seemed to assert that he held the upper hand in this dynamic.
"From the start, I'm not the sort to rely on someone simply because Enoch shields me. If anything, it's the opposite."
"Young Lady, is the reason you brought me here to demonstrate that you've changed?"
I laughed as I speared another fish with the harpoon and hauled it from the water.
"What good would it do to demonstrate to Your Highness that I've changed? That requires a genuine willingness to improve the relationship."
Asdal's eyebrows twitched. He studied me with an amused expression, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
I quickly cleaned the freshly caught fish and placed it in the basket.
"And understand this clearly—I have no intention of improving my relationship with Your Highness."
"...What? Why on earth?"
Asdal's face registered genuine shock as he questioned me. When he reacted like that, it made it seem as though he desperately wanted to improve things between us.
"No, then what is the real reason? The true reason you brought me here."
"I gave you an opportunity."
I scrubbed my fish-scented hands vigorously in the Valley water, shrugging as I spoke.
Asdal watched me without comprehension, tilting his head—a silent urging for me to continue.
"It's the perfect chance to kill me. Or to frame me with false accusations."
"Are you speaking in earnest?"
He asked me incredulously. Of course, I wasn't entirely serious. But still—
"Do you truly believe I came hunting with Your Highness to impress you? To be tested by you?"
Asdal didn't deny it. Instead, he made no effort to conceal his thoughts, simply nodding as he countered my question.
"Wasn't that the case?"
"Perhaps you haven't considered the opposite—that I brought you here to test you? To assess your survival skills. In life-or-death extremity, useless people are simply unnecessary."
I deliberately chose cold, cutting words designed to provoke him.
My words caught him off guard, and Asdal's expression shifted to one of surprise.
"If this weren't an Island, I would have thought your answer presumptuous, Young Lady. In truth, your temperament and mine don't align particularly well."
Despite saying they didn't align, Asdal's face remained composed.
More than that, his gaze held a curiosity even stronger than before.
Yet regardless of what his feelings toward me might be, the fact remained unchanged—he had doubted me, distrusted me, and attempted to test me.
"You're right. Just as Your Highness said. Had this been the Hestia Kingdom, you wouldn't have fallen for such a shallow trick of mine."
I wanted to end this emotional exchange here, unwilling to engage in any further tedious mind games with him.
My only concerns were survival and escape.
"But Your Highness, this isn't the Kingdom, is it? Admit it now."
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