Chapter 77
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Chapter 77
"I'm hungry."
Asdal kept circling near the Kitchen, repeating himself.
"I'm not trying to rush you."
Asdal denied it, his hands clasped behind his back as our eyes met. Anyone could see he was rushing me. I swallowed the harsh words rising to my throat and smiled instead.
"Then please wait patiently. You're distracting me and I can't concentrate, so step out of my sight."
"Dis... distracting...?"
"Yes. Please move aside. Right now."
Asdal stood there flustered, his mouth opening and closing, but the moment I picked up my well-honed stone knife, he quietly stepped out of my line of sight.
He sat down in front of the Fireplace and waited patiently for the meal preparations to finish.
"Please, I beg you, don't upset Flone Young Lady. If she were to leave because of that, what would we do?"
Rujeep beside him kept scolding him.
"We cannot survive on this Island without Flone Young Lady."
A devoted follower of Margaret... I was just as startled as Asdal, and I glared at the back of Rujeep's head while butchering the rabbit.
"I'm not omnipotent, Bishop. You seem to be under the impression that I can do anything..."
"Aren't you?"
Rujeep looked at me with a puzzled expression and countered.
"You can do anything, can't you?"
"No, I can't! That's a misunderstanding. You're seriously mistaken about something, aren't you?"
I cut the carotid artery of the rabbit and the long-tailed bird to drain their blood, then hung them upside down on a wooden rack.
"Just give me a moment to finish this, then we can talk."
I carried the wooden rack outside the Cabin, set it up, and placed a wooden basket beneath it to catch the blood.
I had to check on them regularly since I needed to skin them right after draining the blood.
With a tired expression, I rubbed my shoulders and came back inside the Cabin.
"You see, the person who said they had little experience butchering game is now working hard because there's no one else who can do it. The sense of responsibility is remarkable."
At Rujeep's words, Asdal sat cross-legged, rested his chin in his hand, and stared intently at me.
"Well, that's true. Unlike what I thought, the Young Lady seems to be quite the hard worker."
Asdal affirmed it as if he'd been brainwashed by Rujeep.
'Right, this isn't something I'm experiencing for the first or second time. No point making a fuss about it now.'
Enoch, Kaiden, and Rujeep had all doubted and been wary of me at first.
I had possessed Margaret's body instead of Yuanna's, so there was nothing I could do about it.
"Please offer your praise with more sincerity. Don't you see that Flone Young Lady seems uncomfortable?"
Rujeep scolded Asdal while watching my expression. No, Bishop. I don't need Asdal's praise anyway.
Asdal looked at me with an amused expression.
"I do recognize the Young Lady's necessity. Catering to the Young Lady's moods? Well, that's something I can manage."
"That's a good attitude. If necessary, that's what one must do, isn't it? The Young Lady is our hope."
"But the way you command me bothers me a bit. The only person who can command me is Margaret, isn't it?"
"Wait, both of you are saying strange things. I've never commanded you, Prince Asdal. And Bishop, why am I your hope? Stop saying things like that. Don't attach such strange words to me."
But Rujeep was more resolute than I expected.
"That's not true. I believe in you, Young Lady."
Why on earth is he acting like that? I eventually gave up trying to persuade Rujeep.
I exhaled a sigh and glanced around before approaching the fireplace to check on Enoch's condition.
Enoch lay with a peaceful expression, his eyes closed. I gently placed my hand on his forehead. The fever seemed to have subsided.
"Bishop, how has Enoch been while we were away?"
"The fever has completely broken. His breathing is steady and even—he appears to have regained stability. He did regain consciousness briefly while you two were out hunting."
"Really?"
I turned to look at the sleeping Enoch in surprise, noting his calm, even breathing.
"In truth, Your Highness has scarcely rested properly. The exhaustion must have been considerable."
Rujeep spoke while monitoring Enoch's breathing. I listened to his words and tilted my head in slight surprise.
"Never rested properly..."
Perhaps none of us had ever truly enjoyed peaceful rest. Yet the meaning behind Rujeep's words seemed to suggest something different.
Rujeep glanced at me and asked with a puzzled expression.
"You didn't know? Even when all of us were asleep, he would wake frequently to keep watch over our surroundings. Even before we came to the cabin."
Rujeep shook his head as he looked at Enoch, as if observing something beyond his control.
"I suspect he's been doing this every day. I'm a light sleeper myself and often wake during the night, yet His Highness was always awake whenever I did."
I was aware that Enoch did this often.
He was a sensitive person. A military commander who had experienced war, and now a crown prince. Thus he was driven by the responsibility of leading people in any situation.
But to maintain such vigilance and guard his surroundings not "often" but "every day"...
'No wonder his body has deteriorated.'
I gazed at Enoch's sleeping face with a troubled expression.
"With another day or two of rest, he should be able to recover."
Rujeep spoke to me reassuringly. Asdal, who had been quietly watching us, asked me a question.
"When you return to the Empire, Young Lady, do you intend to marry?"
I turned to face him with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly as I said. Young Lady is at a suitable age for marriage. All the men here with you are far from perfect husband candidates. Once you escape, you might find yourself wanting to marry someone other than the crown prince, might you not?"
Asdal, who had been resting his chin on his hand, smiled with a slight wrinkle of his nose as our eyes met.
Is he actually including himself among my potential husband candidates?
In any case, his question was so unexpected that I was momentarily at a loss for words. I couldn't even fathom his intention behind asking.
But I didn't dwell on it for long.
"I'll think about that once we leave. Worrying about such things now would be a luxury."
Asdal, resting his chin on his hand and staring intently at my face, was utterly inscrutable.
"True. Such concerns would be a luxury here."
Only then, after a long pause, did he nod. Rujeep turned to look at Asdal with a rather peculiar expression.
I looked at them both before remembering the game I'd left outside the cabin.
Thinking the blood should have drained by now, I rose from my seat and stepped outside the cabin.
As expected, the game had been properly bled. I carried it inside to the kitchen, began removing the hide, and started the serious work of butchering.
"Young Lady, I hope His Highness's words didn't hurt your feelings."
Rujeep approached quietly and spoke to me.
"Ah, thank you for your concern. I simply let His Highness's words go in one ear and out the other, so there's no need to worry."
I answered with a smile and finished preparing the game.
But then Rujeep's gaze fell upon the game I was dressing, and for a moment his eyes widened in shock. Soon after, as if he'd witnessed something he shouldn't have, he clamped his mouth shut.
"I-I'm terribly sorry. I have a weak stomach."
With that, he disappeared outside the Cabin.
'What was that... He just ran off like he'd seen a ghost.'
Watching Rujeep's hurried retreating figure, I shook my head and resumed preparing the meal.
I skewered the rabbit and roasted it, steamed the bird wrapped in bamboo, and prepared a thin stew for Enoch.
"You would have made an excellent hunter, Young Lady."
"That's not a compliment, is it?"
"It is a compliment."
Asdal rested his chin on his hand at the Kitchen table and replied with brazen nonchalance.
I immediately contorted my expression. No matter what, I didn't want to be called a hunter...! Seeing my face, Asdal began to tease me.
"Young Lady, you look ugly when you make that expression."
"I know I'm beautiful."
At that, Asdal fell silent, having nothing to say. After all, it was undeniable that Margaret was beautiful.
"Regardless, I can't accept such treatment. I was raised with refinement. Everyone who matters knows that His Holiness the Pope himself bestowed infant baptism upon me at my birth."
It was an extremely rare occurrence for the Pope to personally administer infant baptism. In fact, Duke Flone and his wife were known to be exceptionally devout.
Margaret was the second of three sisters, and since Duke Flone and his wife poured their affection equally upon their daughters, there was no sense of emotional deprivation.
Rather, the problem was that I'd been raised far too tenderly and delicately. Margaret possessed an air of supreme self-importance—if I had to compare, it was an arrogance comparable to Asdal's own.
Kaiden and Yuanna seemed to be of similar temperament as well. I wondered if this Island had deliberately gathered only people who lived by their own excellence.
"Ah, I'm aware of that. Duke Flone was quite the doting husband and an exceptional fool for his daughter, wasn't he?"
"You know it well? Once I leave this Island, I'll go straight to my father and tell him that the Crown Prince of Hestia told me to become a hunter."
"Wait, wait. Young Lady, why are you distorting my words so?"
I was simply teasing him back the way he'd teased me. Watching Asdal's flustered expression, I burst into delighted laughter.
Only then did Asdal realize it was a jest. He sighed and apologized to me.
"I apologize for the hunter remark. I was uncharacteristically rude to a lady."
Asdal rubbed his brow and replied. Though it seemed he'd always been rude to Margaret.
"If you're sorry, would you help me roast the meat?"
"I apologize again, but that would be difficult. You do it better than I would, so I'd prefer to simply cheer you on enthusiastically. Ah, the meat over there seems to be burning. Do watch it carefully."
Asdal spoke without the slightest change in his expression.
That bastard. Asdal truly knew how to work people like a master.
If it were Enoch, he would have pushed me aside and insisted on doing it himself, wouldn't he?
'I miss seeing Enoch awake.'
Feeling moisture gathering in my eyes, I wiped the corners of my eyes and diligently roasted the meat.
As sweat beaded on my forehead from the heat of cooking, Asdal delicately wiped my perspiration away with the hem of his garment.
I truly cannot fathom this man. What on earth is he?
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org