Episode 39

“Should I tell the truth—that the temple and Hayton might have teamed up, conducted strange experiments, and spread the vapor to cover up the evidence?”

For a moment, I shook my head.

If I did that, I’d be revealing that I’m Hayton’s sister and that I knew about this situation beforehand.

‘No way. I’m just a victim who was unknowingly trapped in the zombie zone with the male leads and ended up saving them. Yes, that’s what happened.’

I don’t know anything.

I don’t know anything.

As I hypnotized myself, shoving the note deep into my pants pocket, my eyes suddenly snapped open.

‘Wait, what if the Crown Prince decides to stay here and investigate because of this?’

Today marks the fourth day.

But now that there are clear signs of a crime other than the zombie outbreak, he might want to stay a few more days to investigate.

‘Then I’ll have to be cautious of any variables.’

Honestly, I didn’t want to know any more troubling things. I didn’t want to know what kind of things the temple and Hayton were involved in.

I turned to look at the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness, about the wish we talked about earlier… Can I say it now?”

The Crown Prince, who had been lost in thought, snapped out of it and looked at me. He gestured for me to speak.

“I want to postpone the investigation of the western rest area and return to the Empire. I’m too scared, and I don’t want to stay here any longer.”

The Crown Prince stared at me with a puzzled expression. When he acted like this, it was hard to know what he was thinking, which made me uneasy.

His delayed response made me nervous, and I bit my lip.

“Do you mean it?”

The Crown Prince rubbed his eyes tiredly and gave a weak smile.

“Why, does it sound like a lie?”

“You said you wanted to stay here.”

“That was before the creature showed up. I know the value of my life, Young Lady.”

Well, this situation was beyond something I could investigate alone.

At that moment, the Crown Prince let out a deep sigh while staring ahead.

“However, we’ll keep this a secret from everyone.”

“From everyone?”

“Yes. I believe this situation was caused by the temple.”

As I had expected, he was also suspicious of the temple. He raised an eyebrow and continued.

“Right now, I consider us all victims, but we can’t be sure. The temple might have teamed up with someone to intentionally trap us here, and there could be an accomplice in our group.”

I was a bit surprised by his intricate thinking, but I was also taken aback.

He seemed to think that someone with malicious intent, working with the temple, had deliberately trapped us here.

‘Well, I guess that suspicion makes sense.’

Unlike me, who knew that we were trapped due to the priests’ mistake, the Crown Prince didn’t know the original story.

But if this was intentional imprisonment, then the purpose must have been either for experiments or killing…

‘Both assumptions are a bit lacking in evidence.’

If it was for experiments, they wouldn’t need to involve people who could cause a social upheaval. There’s no particular reason it had to be us.

If it was for killing, then it doesn’t make sense that the saintess would come to save the male leads in the original story.

And to think there’s an accomplice among us?

I found no such signs in the male leads, who had shared our hardships and always had each other’s backs.

‘Yeah, it doesn’t make sense.’

Having read the original story, I know that both assumptions lack solid evidence. But…

‘I can’t just dismiss it.’

The temple’s human experimentation wasn’t mentioned in the original story.

Now, there’s no telling what kind of variables might occur. So instead of rejecting the possibility based on the original, it was better to keep an open mind and accept it.

“Then should we not tell the Duke?”

“For now, it’s better not to tell him.”

Well, if we assume there’s an accomplice, the Duke, who is the prospective Grand Knight, would be the most suspicious right now.

‘But if we assume it was intentional imprisonment, then there’s no one the temple would consider a bigger thorn than Jaeger.’

Jaeger is stubborn and can’t tolerate injustice. If he became the Grand Knight, he would never allow the temple’s misdeeds to continue. He would be the temple’s number one target for removal.

After I nodded in agreement, I thought our conversation would be over.

The subtle scent of the sea and the faint stench rising from below the stairs made me frown.

The Crown Prince laughed weakly and leaned his head against the wall. His red hair sticking to the wall seemed oddly cute.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m laughing because my doubts have been so easily cleared up.”

“What do you mean?”

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

“……”

“But now, as of today, those doubts are gone.”

The Crown Prince gazed at me with sleepy eyes. He gave a weak smile and then tapped my pouch.

“So, I’ll overlook the lies about the weapon and the behavior as if you knew everything for now.”

Though I was involved in the incident… Well, considering my position as a victim, I decided to keep silent.

Summing it all up, what the Crown Prince said was…

“…So you believe me?”

His amber eyes stared at me deeply before blinking.

“Yeah, for now, I want to trust the Young Lady who’s saved me twice.”

When I stared at him blankly, the Crown Prince awkwardly scratched his neck.

“Why the face?”
“It’s just… I’m a little surprised.”

Is it really that easy for the boundary of distrust in humans to be broken like this?

The words about trusting me made my chest tingle.

Seeing my expression, the Crown Prince chuckled softly.

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

“…I know.”

It’s something I’ll find out once we return to the Empire. I wondered, what will the male leads think of me then? I couldn’t help but feel bitter about caring so much about that.

After a long period of silence, the Crown Prince carefully spoke up.

“Young Lady, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Do you…”

The Crown Prince paused, looking at me for a moment before shaking his head. He seemed to want to say it wasn’t anything important.

He didn’t finish the sentence, but I knew.

He must be wondering why I’m risking my life to save them.

No matter how strong the ‘purpose’ is, one doesn’t risk their life to save others. That’s why the Crown Prince must have suspected me of being a spy, someone who saved them to gain trust and information.

‘Yes, without a desperate motive, my actions can’t be explained.’

I lowered my eyes, feeling heavy.

The truth is, even I have doubts.

Even though I knew I could die, I threw myself into their danger first.

I came here to survive, but when I came to my senses, I was already trying to save them, ready to die.

Perhaps I…

‘Live. Please, live.’

I closed my eyes at the sudden memory that surfaced.

The memory I had desperately tried to forget now weighed heavily on me.

As my mood sank, I realized the surrounding air had become quiet.

The Crown Prince was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed.

“Are you sleepy?”

After a while, his rough voice spoke.

“…Yeah. I haven’t slept.”

“Why haven’t you slept…”

Could it be?

I released my hands from my knees and turned my body toward the Crown Prince.

Sensing my movement, he opened one eye slightly and smiled.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Making me feel all fluttery.”

“I’m glaring at you.”

“You don’t think I’m handsome all of a sudden?”

“Don’t change the subject. When did you stop sleeping?”

“Well… since the first day?”

“What?”

That meant he hadn’t had any proper rest, constantly being on alert in the zombie zone.

Was he foolish, or did he have some kind of paranoia?

‘Ugh, human distrust is exhausting.’

I rummaged through my pouch and pulled out a one-person automatic tent. I had never used it alone when camping with the male leads.

Pressing a button, the tent unfolded instantly.

His eyes, heavy with sleep, widened in surprise.

“What is this?”

“It’s a tent… like a one-person shelter.”

I grabbed the creature’s arm, which I couldn’t even hold fully in one hand, and dragged it along.

The Crown Prince stared at me, dumbfounded, as he was pulled along.

“…I won’t be surprised if a human head pops out of your bag now.”

Would you like to try “In My Bag” yourself?

I shot a glare at the Crown Prince, who always spoke in such spiteful ways, then pulled a pillow from my pouch and placed it under his head, laying him down.

He then placed his hands neatly on his stomach and, like a madman, started chuckling softly.