Chapter 35
“Did both of you try to test that woman?”
A tense silence fell.
Richard turned his upper body toward Xien but glanced back at Jaeger.
His honey-colored eyes, tinged with the glow of the sunset, flickered.
“What do you mean?”
Xien silently swept her hair back.
“……”
Jaeger’s gaze grew calm as he observed the suspicious behavior of the two men.
It was clear now.
‘She tested whether we would make a rational decision to leave them behind, or stubbornly stay.’
If she chose to stay here, it meant she had some kind of purpose that required saving everyone.
It was an ambiguous answer in terms of majority rule, but ultimately, it meant she wanted to stay with them.
What on earth was she hiding?
‘For my sake, you mustn’t die here!’
Why was she so desperate to save them?
A sudden zombie outbreak.
A strange magical artifact of unknown origin.
Carrying weapons.
Cold, calculating judgment.
Unhesitant action as if she knew everything.
All these accumulated mysteries about her had surfaced now that five survivors had gathered.
“Haah.”
Xien, judging that hiding her thoughts further would be ridiculous, let out a lazy sigh and broke the silence.
“I hate to agree with this man, but it’s true that Ms. Ria is hiding something from us.”
“……”
“And it’s also true that she’s desperately trying to save us.”
Xien leaned back slightly, tilting her chin.
She had been ready to believe in a witch’s charm, ready to take her hand even if the words were meant to enchant and deceive…
But her cold violet eyes now pierced the two men in the hut and the one man outside.
‘She doesn’t only want to protect me.’
It irritated her immensely.
‘And these uncultured men…’
Xien’s gaze shifted to a rabbit gnawing on a leftover carrot at the end of the table.
‘Even that damn monster, all of them.’
Weren’t these the things she was trying to protect?
As Xien silently glared at the rabbit, irritation suddenly surged.
‘Damn it… why is it clinging to Ms. Ria like that?’
Sensing the cold glare, the rabbit dropped the carrot from its mouth and shivered.
Watching this, Richard shook his head.
‘Unbelievable… again.’
The young lady needed to see this stubbornness firsthand.
Richard waved to the rabbit, now frozen in thought.
“Come here.”
“Kiiing…”
The rabbit scurried into his arms, and Richard looked at it with pity.
‘Poor thing.’
He lifted the rabbit’s ears to meet its gaze.
“From now on, you’ll sleep with me, not the young lady. Got it?”
Of course, sleeping together was out of the question.
Richard still felt slightly annoyed by that.
Some time passed.
Jaeger, lost in thought, stared out the window and finally spoke.
“Do you think she’s trustworthy?”
The two men looked at Jaeger.
No answer came.
While affection and trust often stem from psychology, they can sometimes coexist like opposite sides of a coin.
Breaking the silence, Richard, still petting the rabbit, spoke.
“Let’s observe for four days.”
As he slowly lifted his eyelids, they sparkled in the sunset, as if sprinkled with golden dust.
“I’m unbearably curious about what the young lady is hiding… aren’t you, Duke?”
“……”
Jaeger drew the curtain and watched the two men.
The red sunset light stretched across the table, illuminating the dim interior of the hut.
The soft, reddish-golden glow bathed the three men in brilliance.
“……”
This was the zombie zone.
Originally a sacred area, with a mausoleum at the center.
Paths branched in all directions, and they had been in the western area for three days.
Exploration team: Crown Prince, Redria
Recon team: Jaeger, Danha
Shelter guard: Xien
No additional survivors had been found, and the field investigation had made no progress.
“……”
I followed the crown prince with blank eyes as he walked ahead.
For a moment, his red hair swayed in the wind.
Was that a signal permitting an assassination?
There were no armies of the Four Great Empires here, no patrols, no royal investigators, no paladins, no mage units, no royal shadow agents.
So if I killed the crown prince, would anyone even know?
Dreaming of a perfect crime, I subtly lifted the hammer—but then I froze.
‘Redria Arios, assassination of royalty! Finally causing an incident!’
The imagined headline flashed across my mind.
My hand slowly lowered.
‘I came for pardon. I must restrain myself.’
I didn’t want to end up in prison or have my family’s property confiscated just because of Hayton.
I sighed and thought of Jaeger.
A strange sense of betrayal welled up inside me.
Even as a temple follower, had he ultimately submitted to social status?
After speaking with the crown prince, he had said:
“Let’s stay a few days for the investigation.”
‘What on earth is he thinking?’
He had wanted to escape the zombie zone and return to Roeni more than anyone else.
I thought of Danha, who had gone with him.
Danha’s weapon was a bow.
Commonly used in the eastern continent, and fortunately, he could shoot it. The problem was, he had no arrows.
As I mentioned before, this place, before becoming a zombie zone, was sacred; weapons were prohibited.
So even if an armory was prepared for the safety of bereaved families, lethal weapons were excluded.
‘Going around with only a bow… I hope he doesn’t get hurt.’
Although recalling how he smashed skulls with a shovel, maybe my worry was unnecessary.
At that moment, the crown prince stopped, noticing something, and turned to look at me.
“Young lady, there’s something here.”
Something? Probably just zombies.
The crown prince rubbed his chin, seemingly trying to pique my interest while trudging along.
“Ah, remarkable.”
Remarkable? Sure, if you suddenly went bald, maybe.
Ever since being stuck in the zombie zone with him, I’d become sullen like a teenager.
“Young lady, this way.”
He urged me again.
I tied my hair back with my hands and walked over indifferently.
I had lost my hair tie after sleeping the night before. Even the silk thread had snapped, so I now walked with my hair loose.
Tidying my troublesome hair, I stood beside the crown prince and looked where he pointed.
“What is that—”
Huh?
I blinked and widened my eyes.
“Young lady, why is there a cave here?”
Exactly.
We had been walking along the beach, descending a steep slope beside a dense forest.
And there it was: a cave beneath jagged cliffs.
Listening to the sound of the waves, my eyes met the crown prince’s.
I pulled out the map rolled in the front of my pouch and spread it.
The map definitely showed no cave here.
The only cave on the map was in the east: the “Dimensional Cave” where Redria had stolen food and stayed for a whole day before fleeing.
So why was there a cave not on the map?
I tapped the brooch on my shirt and called Jaeger’s group.
Only a crackling sound came—no reply. They were out of communication range.
I rolled up the map and tucked it back into the pouch.
“Shall we go in?”
“Let’s.”
The crown prince and I exchanged glances and headed toward the cave…
‘Wait a minute.’
I stopped at the cave entrance.
‘Isn’t it dangerous for someone curious to explore in an apocalypse?’
In other words, entering here violated the zombie apocalypse survival rules.
‘Should I just turn back?’
As I rolled my eyes, debating,
“Young lady?”
The crown prince, already inside, looked back at me.
I froze with one foot forward, and he seemed to think I was scared, letting out a soft laugh.
The sea breeze ruffled his hair. Light reflected in his pupils, shining transparently.
“Don’t worry, young lady.”
His voice was kind, as if I needed reassurance.
“……”
“You won’t die.”
“……”
“Probably.”
It would’ve been perfect if even his words were tender.
As always, he was warm only to his woman.
