TRIML 14

Chapter 14

Fortunately, I had a good sense of direction, and it wasn’t difficult to find the cave where Enoch and I had spent two nights together.

But contrary to my expectations, Enoch wasn’t there.

Clutching the first-aid kit to my chest, I stood in front of the cave in a daze.

It never once crossed my mind that he might have left.

Had he gone to the female lead?

Maybe he had met Yoo Anna, the female lead, while I was gone. Yes—if he met her, he’d probably abandon someone like me without a second thought.

A wave of disappointment washed over me. Perhaps because I had just escaped a life-threatening situation and missed him so much, the feeling hit even harder.

After spending several days together, I must have grown attached to him.

Were his injuries completely healed? They had looked much better, at least.

It wasn’t easy to move my feet, but if Enoch wasn’t here, there was no reason to stay. I should follow my original plan and search for the underground bunker on my own. In the end, I had to survive by myself anyway.

Right. That was the plan from the beginning.

Steeling my resolve, I stepped out of the cave.

And at that moment, I came face-to-face with a man standing in front of it.

Jet-black hair, golden eyes, and a faint teardrop-shaped mole beneath his left eye.

Though his ornate uniform was torn in places, the man still looked impeccably put together. He froze in surprise when he saw me.

It was Enoch.

Because he was wearing a jacket, I couldn’t see the wound on his arm, but the color had returned to his face—it seemed his injuries were fine.

“Ah… I thought you had left. You look like you’re doing well. That’s a relief.”

I smiled a little awkwardly and lifted the kit in my arms.

“You said you were going to look for medicinal herbs, remember? I found something. Well, not herbs exactly, but a first-aid kit. Total jackpot.”

Only after rambling did I realize that Enoch probably didn’t know the word “jackpot.”

Enoch stared silently at the first-aid kit in my arms.

After a long moment, he suddenly strode toward me. Then, fixing me with a cold, sharp gaze, he glared straight at me.

The pressure was so intense that I unconsciously stepped back—but he closed the distance just as much as I retreated.

“Are you… all right?”

He asked in a voice that sounded like he was forcibly suppressing his anger. I nodded blankly.

“…Yes. I’m fine.”

I had no idea why he was this angry. What on earth was going on?

With a frosty expression, he spoke.

“Enoch.”

“Yes?”

“Call me Enoch.”

“…What? Why would I?”

At my flustered reply, his brows twisted as he continued to hold back his anger. He bit down on his lower lip, then looked at me with eyes full of resentment.

In that instant, my heart dropped with a thud.

Wow…

That kind of expression was just unfair.

I guess people really do change when pushed into extreme circumstances. Or maybe time makes relationships look better than they were?

Though, considering he’d been angry nonstop since we first met, that seemed unlikely.

“I won’t get hurt, so don’t do reckless things like risking your life to gather medicinal herbs.”

Grabbing both my shoulders, Enoch stared at me as if demanding a promise. His golden eyes shone intensely, sharply.

That’s when I noticed it—his hands gripping my shoulders were trembling ever so slightly.

“I was worried.”

At the dangerously low voice right in front of me, I stopped breathing for a moment.

I almost fell for him.

That was seriously close. What is this? Why is he suddenly acting like this?

Enoch came to his senses.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. The cool air of late afternoon lingered at the tip of his nose.

Blinking a few times, he surveyed his surroundings while lying down, then carefully pushed himself up. A dull ache spread from his arm.

Frowning, he looked down at his left arm. A strip of white cloth was wrapped around it—clearly a piece torn from Margaret’s dress.

Come to think of it, where is Margaret?

He was lying inside the familiar cave, and outside he could see the sky dyed red with sunset.

Night was approaching. Which meant wandering outside at this hour was dangerous—something he’d learned after spending time with Margaret.

The monsters that had attacked them never appeared during the day; they always emerged right as darkness began to fall.

Enoch carefully scanned his surroundings again. There was no sign of anyone inside the cave. Margaret seemed to have gone outside.

“I’ll go look for some medicinal herbs. I’ll be right back, so wait here.”

Now that he thought about it, she might have said something like that while he was unconscious.

“Damn it.”

Enoch hurried to his feet and grabbed the wooden rod propped against the cave wall—something he’d fashioned as a makeshift weapon.

If he’d known he’d end up in a situation like this, he would’ve at least carried a dagger. But right before waking up on this strange island, he’d been working in the imperial palace—there was no reason he’d have a weapon on him.

After checking the rod, he peered outside the cave. Still, there was no sign of movement.

Awooooo!

A wolf’s howl echoed through the underbrush. Tightening his grip on the rod, Enoch scanned the area tensely.

“Where the hell did that woman go?”

Suppressing the urge to curse aloud, he began searching around the cave. But there was no trace of Margaret anywhere.

She was weak and lacked stamina. There was no way someone with her body could survive the night while monsters roamed freely.

Clenching his teeth despite his injuries, Enoch wandered through the forest. Darkness fell, and night descended.

Even so, he didn’t give up looking for Margaret.

Why?

Under normal circumstances, he would never risk his life on such uncertainty. But now, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon her.

“When people are pushed into extreme situations, they change.”

One thing was certain—she wasn’t the Margaret he used to know.

That much was clear.

“I guess your love for me has cooled off. You jerk. How can love change?”

And there was something odd about her—something that couldn’t be explained simply by saying she’d changed. It was an eerie feeling.

Had she truly turned over a new leaf? Like she always said—because of being thrown into extreme circumstances?

He heightened his senses and scanned the forest.

Somewhere in these woods, Margaret might be trembling in fear, waiting for help.

Suddenly, Enoch realized how cruelly he had treated the woman who once adored him so desperately, and his heart grew heavy.

He had always prided himself on being polite and gentlemanly, but…

Maybe she was right. Maybe when faced with extreme situations, people really do change. Or perhaps his true nature had always been rotten to the core.

“You see, coconuts grow on palm trees like this. The liquid inside is great for hydration.”
“There’s usually a cave beneath cliffs like that. The path might be dangerous, but it’s better shelter than anything else.”

Since waking up on the island, Margaret had constantly tried to help him. Most of her remarkable knowledge was unfamiliar even to him.

Had it really been necessary to judge and pressure her based solely on her past behavior?

Belated regret pricked at him.

She must have been terrified too, waking up in an unfamiliar place. And on this island, there was no one to rely on but each other.

“You know you’re still under suspicion, don’t you? When we return to the Empire, I’ll make sure this situation is properly investigated—so don’t you dare die without my permission.”

Instead of offering support, he had only lashed out at her with harsh, cutting words.

If she had run away on her own, he wouldn’t even have the right to complain.

But if that were true, Enoch knew he’d never have peace of mind again.

This was just responsibility born of guilt. Nothing more.

Responsibility. Yes. Responsibility.

“Damn it…”

Muttering a curse under his breath, he prayed.

Please, just be safe.

In the end, Enoch searched through the forest until sunrise.

It was sheer luck that he hadn’t encountered any monsters during the night, but he found no sign of Margaret.

If she had been hiding to avoid the monsters, now that the sun was up, she might return.

Clinging to that last shred of hope, he went back to the cave.

It was then—just as he reached the cave entrance with fragile expectations—that he saw her.

A familiar-looking woman was stepping out of the cave.

Her platinum-blond hair shimmered even more brilliantly under the sunlight, and she looked so beautiful it was almost as if an angel had descended from the heavens.

Ah. Yes. I suppose I have to admit I’ve finally gone mad.

That wasn’t entirely wrong. He’d spent the entire night searching only for her in a forest where monsters could appear at any moment.

She, too, looked startled when she spotted him. In her arms was a white box of unknown purpose.

“Ah… I thought you had left. You look like you’re doing well. That’s a relief.”

She held out the box as she spoke.

“You said you were going to look for medicinal herbs, remember? I found something. Well, not herbs exactly, but a first-aid kit. Total jackpot.”

It seemed she had wandered through the forest all night looking for something to treat his wounds.

Overcome with frustration, Enoch let out a sigh first.

In such an extreme environment, she had put someone else before herself.

Is she really the Margaret I know?

She could have died.

But thanks to this, at least one thing is clear.