Chapter 46
After those words, Lummi’s lips stayed firmly shut for a while.
“…Why?”
“In that moment, I thought it was necessary.”
“What do you mean, necessary?”
“I mean… I thought Penelope getting hurt would help keep the secret hidden.”
A small sigh escaped my lips.
“There are more eyes on us now, and I still don’t know how sharp those people are… I should’ve asked you first. I’m sorry.”
Only then did I understand why he had let go of my hand when he knew I would fall. Lummi hadn’t dropped me because he was weak.
He did it deliberately—so that if anyone noticed something strange about my unnatural movements and became suspicious, we could explain it away by saying it was because I was injured.
“I see.”
I nodded silently.
I could understand Lummi perfectly well.
I had pretended to be injured myself to avoid suspicion.
“The Grand Duke Heresdon figured it out, didn’t he?”
The problem, however, was that Heresdon had caught on to Lummi’s intention—something no one else had noticed.
“Well, I’m fine, Lummi.”
I lightly tapped his tense, stiff shoulder.
“Either way, you did it for me.”
“Ah…”
Honestly, it would have been nice if he’d told me beforehand, but with Uben suddenly appearing and startling us, how could we have coordinated anything? If anything, his quick judgment was impressive.
Most of all, I already knew very well that everything he did was for my sake.
Helping out in the garden. Following me everywhere. Even eating my food for me at times. All of it was to hide my secret.
“It’s much better than getting exposed and killed, so don’t worry about it.”
Getting hurt or feeling pain was nothing, as long as I could survive.
But Heresdon…
From the way he’d gotten so angry, he wasn’t suspecting Lummi of hurting me intentionally—he was convinced.
“Oh?”
The day beside the waterway flashed through my mind—the day Lummi bumped into me and I rolled down the slope.
“Lummi… then was the day you and I collided—the day I tumbled—was that intentional too?”
I already knew the answer, but I needed to hear it aloud.
Because I had injured my leg and had to skip training, that must have been intentional as well.
But if Heresdon had been wary of Lummi since that day, things were going to get more complicated.
“…Yes.”
Lummi nodded.
It had clearly been for my sake even then, and yet he still looked apologetic.
He did it on purpose, so why is he apologizing now?
I couldn’t understand why Lummi looked so troubled even though I’d already told him it was fine.
“Lummi.”
Nothing about our situation had changed except that I now knew his actions were intentional.
“I said I’m fine. Instead, you should think about what to say to Grand Duke Heresdon.”
Lummi didn’t seem to realize how serious his situation was.
If he couldn’t explain himself, he would be the one in serious trouble for trying to help me.
“Saying it’s a misunderstanding won’t work. No matter what you say, the Grand Duke won’t change his mind.”
“…Then what?”
“He told me to stay away from you.”
Lummi continued calmly.
“So for now… I should do as he says.”
He spoke as though it was nothing.
He didn’t seem to take the situation seriously at all.
It was as if he didn’t care what Heresdon thought of him or how it affected his reputation.
“For the time being, I’ll do that.”
Did he really trust Heresdon not to tell anyone?
Letting Heresdon keep believing what he wanted would only make life in the fortress more uncomfortable.
“If the Grand Duke sees me with Penelope again, he’ll definitely get angry.”
What was he thinking? Lummi seemed ready to simply let things be.
“What if you say I asked you? That I wanted to fake an injury because I didn’t want to train, or didn’t feel like working?”
“No one would believe that. It’ll only complicate things further.”
Lummi shook his head firmly.
“But—”
“And… I also let go of your hand because I wanted to check your healing ability.”
He closed his eyes and lowered his head.
“What? What does that mean…?”
“I wanted to know how long it would take for you to recover before you awaken.”
After he spoke, he let out a long, deep sigh.
“If you bleed, how long it takes to stop. If you bruise, how long until it fades… things like that.”
“…”
It was a sudden confession.
“It wasn’t mostly for your sake… I was more curious. So don’t feel burdened by it.”
His unexpected confession caught me completely off guard.
Again, silence fell between us. I mulled over his words again and again—not for me, he had said.
Suddenly, I remembered something he’d said before.
‘It’s dangerous, yes, but in a situation like this, it’s actually what we need the most.’
I’d known he needed me in order to study zombie traits.
At the time, I thought it was fine—useful, even—because I needed answers too.
But hearing that he’d been testing me felt far less pleasant.
I understood the logic.
I needed to know more about this body. If I learned how long it took my injuries to heal, it would be helpful.
But still…
‘You have to be careful, Penelope.’
I thought Lummi was worried for my safety.
Was it just my imagination?
Had he followed and looked after me all this time just to observe me?
There were so many things I wanted to say, but nothing would settle in my thoughts.
Creaaak.
While I stood there speechless, the door opened.
It was Idorian.
“Penelope.”
He grabbed my wrist.
“Give me a moment. We need to talk.”
Before I could respond, he pulled me out of the room.
He walked quickly down the hall, descended the stairs, and led me outside the inner fortress.
Only when we reached the large tree near the well—where almost no one came—did he finally release my wrist.
“I want to talk privately. Clear the area.”
Soon, everyone around the well scattered. Even the people loitering near the fields left.
“Penelope.”
He called my name again.
“Yes.”
I responded immediately, but my head was still full of thoughts about Lummi. How had I come to trust him so much?
‘I think… I don’t want Penelope to die.’
That must have been why.
If he had said, “Let’s test your healing time,” I would have agreed without hesitation.
Then maybe I wouldn’t feel so awful right now.
“I want to ask you about Lummi.”
My wandering thoughts snapped back to reality at Idorian’s voice.
“Grand Duke Heresdon believes Lummi is deliberately putting you in danger. Even what happened earlier.”
Idorian’s eyes moved restlessly, as if searching my expression.
“…Did you know?”
“No.”
I shook my head quickly.
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were judging my truthfulness, but he continued.
“Think about it, Penelope. Has there ever been a time you felt uncomfortable around him?”
I didn’t know whether Heresdon had gone to Idorian or if Idorian had confronted Heresdon first. Either way, things were spiraling out of control.
“No. Lummi would never.”
I shook my head firmly.
“More importantly, Your Highness has known him far longer than I have.”
“How I feel about Lummi doesn’t matter. You’re the one involved.”
Idorian spoke without hesitation.
“So think carefully—even small things. Was there ever anything that bothered you?”
His determination to protect me was clear in his eyes and tone.
In the chaos of the zombie crisis, I had wanted someone—anyone—to worry about me like this.
But now…
His concern only made everything more difficult.
