Chapter 41
“Before sleeping, I think she muttered a lot of nonsense… What did she even say?”
Lihaard retraced his hazy memory, supporting his upper body with his arm and resting his chin on his shoulder. He stared at Redria, who was sleeping soundly, for a long while.
Seeing her so peaceful, he let out a small, ironic laugh.
Here they were, a man and a woman sleeping in this cramped space, yet she didn’t seem to notice him as a man at all. Moreover, recalling his memories, he seemed to remember being pushed away several times in his sleep.
“Does this woman even see me as a man?”
“….”
He slowly rubbed his chin. I’m not that ugly… he muttered softly to himself. Lihaard twitched his eyebrows and glanced at Redria playfully.
“Hey, young lady. Can you sleep with a man like me next to you?”
Of course, there was no reply.
Just then, Redria slowly opened her eyes.
“Young lady?”
Lihaard’s face showed surprise, thinking she had woken up at his words. Redria glanced at him briefly, let out a heavy sigh, and pressed his head down.
“Young lady—.”
“Go back to sleep.”
Lihaard’s view suddenly shifted as he was gently pushed down.
Soon, her soft little arms wriggled under his head to support it.
Her tiny hands, so small compared to his, patted his chest.
“Sleep, sleep. Our Jinsang. Please, sleep. Our Jinsang.”
She began to hum a lullaby in a voice brimming with exasperation.
Ha, Lihaard covered his mouth with his hand, stifling a laugh.
It was, without a doubt, the worst lullaby he had ever heard.
The pitch, the rhythm, even the lyrics were all completely chaotic. The song sounded like nails scraping against metal.
‘But… strangely, this terrible lullaby is so pleasant to hear.’
It was as if she were soothing him after a nightmare.
It felt like being wrapped in a gentle warm breeze.
Perhaps that was why.
Lihaard felt his heart stir once again.
It was the same feeling as when he saw her desperate eyes clinging to life while hanging off a cliff.
Before he knew it, Redria had placed her hand on his chest and was breathing steadily.
Lihaard stared at her with moving eyes. He took her tiny hand resting on his chest and curved his lips gently.
“Sweet dreams, young lady.”
It’d be even better if you dream of me.
“Did nothing really happen?”
“Nothing at all.”
“That bastard worse than an animal didn’t do anything to you, Ria?”
“Of course not.”
Even if the Crown Prince flirted mysteriously under the guise of a proposal, he never created situations that would make her uncomfortable.
‘So he’s more gentlemanly than he looks.’
Now that Lihaard thought about it, there hadn’t been any romantic scandals involving the Crown Prince in the original story either.
As she pondered this, Xien grabbed her shoulders seriously and stopped her.
“Ria, there’s one thing you need to know.”
Xien glared at the Crown Prince approaching from behind.
“This man’s sense of reason is attached to the soles of his feet.”
The Crown Prince stepped closer, as if he couldn’t bear hearing that.
“Hey, isn’t that a bit harsh? I’ve kept my chastity despite countless women’s attention.”
Why did he emphasize chastity while staring at me like that?
Embarrassed, I snapped back curtly.
“What are you looking at?”
The Crown Prince had come close by then and asked casually.
“You remember, right? Our bet.”
Ah yes. Unfortunately, he had won the bet.
When we first woke up, it was early morning.
Those who came looking for us in our absence found the cave and broke the stone door.
That’s why the Crown Prince and I were here.
“What’s your wish?”
“Later.”
The Crown Prince twisted one side of his mouth into a mischievous grin.
“I’ll tell you later.”
Feeling uneasy, I glanced at him sideways.
‘What could he possibly want to ask for…’
Just then.
“You’ve had us worried all night, and yet you seem so calm.”
Jaeger adjusted his backpack and passed by us. I glanced at him and asked, more out of etiquette than curiosity.
“You were worried about us?”
“Are you crazy?”
Jaeger shuddered.
Maybe because we had almost died, his reaction was somewhat amusing.
“Never mind. They say excessive denial means affirmation.”
“Looks like you might have hurt your head.”
At that moment, Danha, hands clasped behind his back, caught up to me.
“I was worried.”
“…Sorry.”
When Danha said something like that, my heart softened for some reason.
“Because of you, my heart can’t rest.”
“Were you really that worried?”
“Of course. I couldn’t save my benefactor. I almost lost face in front of my siblings.”
“I’ll make something delicious for you instead.”
“Really?”
Danha looked at me with delight. He had always said the dishes I cooked suited his taste better than the food from his homeland.
While discussing what to eat for breakfast, we headed toward the west shelter’s back gate.
“Ah! Aah! Go away! I said go away!”
Sudden screams rang out.
Crrrraaaak!
Near the back gate, zombies were staggering around.
Without a second thought, the male leads and I grabbed our weapons and ran to take them down.
When I finally struck the last zombie, it collapsed, revealing a shocking scene.
A man, disheveled and trembling, had collapsed onto the ground. Next to him, an approximately eight-year-old boy clung to him, eyes wide with fear, looking up at me.
They froze, swallowing hard.
‘What happened? How…?’
“Yand!”
A boy ran toward the child, shouting desperately, and pulled him into his arms.
The boy glared at me cautiously.
In his dull eyes were pain and gloom.
A sense of emptiness and despair that only those who’ve endured the unbearable could feel.
I stared blankly at the boy before lowering my gaze.
The child in his arms, lips trembling, extended a hand.
“D-did you leave this, sister?”
In the child’s hand was the post-it I had left on the north shelter’s door.
[If you are reading this, you must be a survivor like us. We have the food and weapons from the north shelter. Come west. Please, let’s survive.]
The handwriting was unmistakably mine.
“Damn it…”
‘A variable.’
This damned variable was once again tying me down.
