ESMLT 39

Chapter 39

Should I just tell the truth? That the temple and Hayton might have joined forces to conduct some bizarre experiment, and that they spread steam to cover up the evidence.

After only a brief moment of consideration, I shook my head.

If I did that, I’d be admitting that I was Hayton’s younger sibling—the culprit behind all this—and that I’d known about the situation beforehand.

Absolutely not. I’m just an innocent victim who knew nothing about my brother’s strange behavior, happened to get trapped in the zombie zone with the male leads, and ended up saving them. Yes. That’s exactly it.

I know nothing.

I know nothing.

Repeating that to myself like self-hypnosis, I shoved the note deep into my trouser pocket—then suddenly froze.

Wait a second. That crown prince bastard… What if he decides to stay longer to investigate?

Today marked the fourth day.

And now that he’d uncovered clear signs of criminal activity beyond the zombie incident, he’d probably want to stay a few more days to dig deeper.

That means I’ll have to stay on guard against more variables.

Honestly, I didn’t want to know anything else troublesome. I didn’t want to know what the temple and Hayton were really up to.

I twisted my body and looked back at the crown prince.

“Your Highness, about that wish you promised me earlier. Can I say it now?”

Pulled out of his thoughts by my abrupt question, the crown prince looked at me. He tilted his chin slightly, signaling for me to continue.

“Let’s postpone the investigation of the western shelter and return to the capital. I—I’m really scared. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”

The crown prince stared at me with an unreadable expression. Whenever someone as distrustful of others as him looked like that, I could never tell what he was thinking—and it made me uneasy.

As his response lagged, I bit my lip anxiously.

“…We’ll do as you wish.”

“Really?”

Rubbing at the corner of his eyes with a tired look, he let out a small chuckle.

“What, does it sound like a lie?”

“But you wanted to stay here.”

“That was before that test subject appeared. I do value my life, you know.”

True enough—this was beyond what one person could investigate alone.

Then, staring straight ahead, the crown prince released a long, languid sigh.

“But in return, we keep this matter a secret from everyone.”

“From everyone?”

“Yes. I believe this was the temple’s doing.”

Just as I expected—he suspected the temple too. One eyebrow twitched as he continued.

“For now, we’re all victims. But you never know. The temple could have worked with someone else, deliberately trapping us here to kill us. There might even be a spy among our group.”

I was surprised—and flustered—by how layered his thinking was.

It seemed he believed someone with malicious intent had collaborated with the temple to imprison us here.

Well… that kind of suspicion does make sense.

Unlike me, who had read the original story and knew this was caused by the priests’ mistake, the crown prince had no such knowledge.

But if this were an intentional confinement, then the goal would be experimentation—or slaughter.

And neither theory really holds up.

If it were experimentation, there’d be no reason to assemble people whose deaths would cause such a public uproar. We didn’t have to be the targets.

If it were slaughter, then the saintess coming to rescue the male leads in the original story wouldn’t make sense.

And a spy among us?

I couldn’t find a single trace of that among the male leads who had shared blood, sweat, tears, and unwavering trust while watching each other’s backs.

Yeah. It’s ridiculous.

Knowing the original plot, I could tell both assumptions lacked solid grounding. But still—

I can’t just brush it off.

Human experimentation by the temple never appeared in the original story either.

At this point, anything could happen. Rather than dismissing possibilities because of the original plot, it was better to stay open-minded.

“Then… should we not tell the duke either?”

“For now, it’s better not to.”

If we assumed there was a spy, then the most suspicious person would be the prospective captain of the Holy Knights.

But if this was intentional imprisonment, there’s no one more of a thorn in the temple’s side than Jaeger.

He was rigid, principled, and intolerant of injustice. If he became captain, there was no way he’d allow the temple’s misconduct to go unchecked. That made him target number one for elimination.

After I agreed, I thought our conversation was over.

But just as I frowned at the faint scent of seawater mixed with the stench wafting up from below the stairs—

The crown prince leaned his head against the wall and let out a weak laugh. His red hair stuck up awkwardly against the stone, making him look oddly… cute.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because my doubts were resolved so anticlimactically.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you know, I suspected you—wondered if you were involved in this incident.”

“……”

“But as of today, that suspicion is gone.”

With sleepy eyes, the crown prince looked at me quietly. Then he smiled faintly and tapped my pouch.

“So I’ll let the lies about this weapon—and your ‘I-know-everything’ attitude—slide for now.”

Technically, I was involved in the incident… but from my perspective, I was still a victim. So I kept my mouth shut.

So, putting it all together, what he was saying was—

“…You’re saying you trust me?”

His golden eyes studied me intently before blinking once.

“Yes. For now, I want to trust the young lady who’s saved my life twice.”

When I just stared blankly, he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

“Why are you making that face?”

“No… I’m just surprised.”

Was it really that easy for someone so deeply distrustful of others to let his guard down?

At his words of trust, my chest felt strangely ticklish.

Noticing my odd expression, the crown prince smiled.

“Don’t misunderstand. I know you’re hiding something.”

“…I know.”

Once we returned to the empire, everything would come out anyway. I scoffed at myself for worrying about what the male leads would think of me then.

After a long silence, the crown prince carefully spoke again.

“May I ask you something, young lady?”

“What is it?”

“You…”

He hesitated, then shook his head, saying it was nothing.

Even though he didn’t finish the sentence, I knew.

He was wondering why I’d risk my life to save them.

No matter the ‘purpose,’ people didn’t usually go that far. That must be why he’d suspected I was a spy—saving him to gain trust and extract information.

Yeah. Without a motive that desperate, my actions don’t make sense.

Lowering my gaze, my eyes darkened.

Honestly, even I didn’t fully understand it.

I knew I could die—yet my body moved before my mind whenever they were in danger.

I came here to survive, but every time I came to my senses, I was prepared to die for them.

Maybe I…

Live. At least you—please live.

The sudden memory made me close my eyes.

A memory I’d tried so hard to forget pressed down on me heavily.

As my mood sank, I realized how quiet it had become.

The crown prince had his head against the wall, eyes closed.

“Are you sleepy?”

After a long pause, a hoarse voice answered.

“…Yeah. I haven’t slept.”

“Why not—”

Don’t tell me.

I loosened my arms from around my knees and turned toward him.

Sensing me, he opened one eye and grinned.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You’ll make a man’s heart flutter.”

“I’m glaring at you.”

“Is it suddenly news that I’m handsome?”

“Stop dodging the question. Since when haven’t you slept?”

“Hmm. Since the first day?”

“What?”

That meant he’d been on guard the entire time in the zombie zone, barely getting any real sleep.

Was he foolish—or just paranoid?

Honestly, distrustful people are exhausting.

I rummaged through my pouch and pulled out a single-person automatic tent—something I hadn’t used while camping with the others.

With the press of a button, the tent popped open instantly.

His sleep-heavy eyes widened.

“What’s that?”

“A tent. Like a one-person barracks.”

Grabbing his arm—so thick it barely fit in my hand—I dragged him over.

The crown prince followed along blankly.

“…At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if a human head came out of your bag.”

Want to try getting in my bag first?

Ignoring his annoying remark, I shot him a glare, pulled out a pillow, placed it under his head, and laid him down.

Then he folded his hands neatly over his stomach and started grinning like a lunatic.