Chapter 36

10. Misattribution of Arousal[1]

I couldn’t quite remember how I managed to avoid the poison gas after killing the anaconda monsters.

I only know that I escaped somewhere in the forest hanging like luggage on Kayden’s shoulder……

My hazy vision slowly focused.

The first thing I saw was a wide, large leaf. The leaves swayed in the gentle breeze, and a blue sky could be seen through them.

I got up slowly.

For a moment, my head pounded. I sighed and leaned back.

As I turned my head slightly, soft silver hair caught my eye. Then, the entire face of Kayden with his eyes closed was in sight.

I put my hand on his cheek for a moment. Still, he didn’t open his eyes. I couldn’t tell if he fell asleep deeply or if he collapsed and couldn’t wake up.

I got up and looked at Kayden.

‘What the hell happened?’

Enoch was lying next to Kayden. I quietly put my finger up to their noses and checked if they were breathing.

Fortunately, both of them seemed to breathe evenly, so only then did I feel relieved.

We were lying under a huge tree root, with large leaves obscuring the root entrance.

It was as if someone had covered it with leaves so as not to be exposed to wild beasts or monsters.

I removed the leaves and crawled out of the roots of the tree.

As I was about to get up, I heard the sound of something rubbing against the ground.

tuk, tuk, tuk.

Coconuts were rolling on the ground.

I looked up slowly. In front of me, Ruzef looked at me with a surprised face.

“Young Lady Floné……?”

Oh, fortunately, it seems that Ruzef is safe.

‘But why are you so surprised?’

He sat down in front of me and looked at me blankly.

“Are you okay?”

He stuttered and asked me. I turned my stiff neck for a moment and nodded calmly.

“How long have I been asleep? I am fine but a little dizzy. I feel refreshed because I slept well.”

As soon as I finished my words, tears fell on Ruzef’s pure white cheeks. Tears flowed nonstop from his pure gray eyes.

I was perplexed for a moment as I watched the tears dripping down the tip of his chin.

“That’s a relief. Young Lady woke up in two days. Perhaps it was the effect of poison gas.”

“What? In two days?”

When I asked again in surprise, Ruzef nodded in tears with a pitiful look on his face.

“It’s already been two days since Lord and His Highness the Crown Prince were unconscious.”

He quickly wiped away the tears with the back of his hand.

Despite the situation, I feel sorry for the pure Ruzef and want to give a handkerchief to him.

“I…… I really thought everyone was going to die…… There’s nothing I can do……”

I looked back at Kayden and Enoch. It seems that they didn’t just fall asleep, but fainted.

Surprised, I took a closer look at their condition.

There were many small wounds on their bodies, but the deepest wounds were wrapped around in a pure white cloth.

Perhaps Ruzef gave first aid. After all, he was a priest, so he must have mastered the basics of healing skills.

“I don’t know what medicines are in Young Lady’s medicine box. I did first aid only with the knowledge I had……”

It was then that I found the first-aid kit lying beside Enoch.

Next to it was a wooden box containing flame bombs.

I quietly put my hand on Kayden’s and Enoch’s cheeks to check the condition of the two. It seems like they have a slight fever. I hope their condition is getting better.

Then I looked back at Ruzef. He was picking up coconuts that had fallen on the ground.

“Why didn’t you go back to your party?”

At my question, Ruzef looked at me with a tearful face.

I was a little perplexed because his gaze seemed to be saying ‘How can you ask such a question?’

“How can I leave behind an injured person? Everyone is on the verge of death like this……”

It was then that I realized again that he was a good priest who worshiped God.

Caring for the three injured for two days must have been quite daunting. Moreover, the three of them were poisoned and on the verge of death.

Kayden and Enoch must have been seriously injured and their lives were in danger, but seeing that they are still alive, it seems that Ruzef took great care of them.

“You worked hard, Archbishop. Thank you.”

Hearing my words, Ruzef distorted his face and his tears were dripping down again.

growling-

Then there was a sound of thunder in his stomach. I was startled by it and asked him,

“You didn’t starve for two days, did you?”

His face turned red, then he shook his head hesitantly.

“I used to fill my stomach with fruits like raspberries and blueberries.”

After resting for a while and recovering energy, I caught fish in a nearby valley.

I also couldn’t eat anything for two days, so when I came to my senses, I was starving and it was very painful.

After telling Ruzef to light a fire, I went to catch some fish. But until I returned, Ruzef was still struggling to light a fire.

“You haven’t even started a fire yet? I taught you how to make a fire last time.”

At my question, Ruzef answered hesitantly,

“……what you see with your own eyes and what you try it yourself is different.”

Ruzef wiggled his hands and answered in a regretful voice.

In the end, I had no choice but to make a fire myself, make a bonfire, stick the fish on branches, and then roast them. And I could rest only after feeding the roasted fish to Ruzef.

“What happened to those monsters?”

I sat in front of the bonfire, took a moment to catch my breath, and asked Ruzef.

He was silent for a moment with a very depressed face, and after a while, he said,

“I don’t know for sure. While I was packing our luggage with Lord in the hut, I heard the Crown Prince calling me to rush out……”

He clasped his hands in prayer with a serious face.

“I saw them roaming around the corpse of the monster that died the day before, so maybe…… the dead body attracted the other monsters.”

“I heard that the monster that Kayden killed the day before was eating something? Do you know what it is?”

“As far as I can remember, it was more like preparing something rather than eating something.”

“What is it preparing for?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it tried to lay an egg.”

It tried to lay an egg. It makes sense to some extent.

Archbishop Ruzef knows nothing other than that, so I guess I’ll have to listen to Enoch for more details.

I was so worried about Enoch and Kayden that I ended up having to stay up all night and treat their wounds with Ruzef.

And fortunately, the next day, Kayden woke up first. As soon as he opened his eyes, he looked for me.

At that time, I was making sandals-like shoes slippers to be exact) by twisting thinly cut branches, and large hands reached out from behind my back and hugged me.

“Margaret.”

I was so startled that I stopped and broke the branch.

‘Damn it, I almost made it.’

A warm breath touched my shoulder. Soft hair tickled my bare skin.

“Margaret……”

At Kayden’s pathetic voice, I turned to him. He was looking at me with a hazy look in his eyes, probably because he had just woken up.

“I didn’t know you woke up. Are you okay?”

He immediately bowed his head and rested his forehead on my shoulder. He rested without saying a word for a while, just leaning against me in that position.

Well, he just woke up, so he might be out of his mind.

“You are not really Margaret are you?”

But then he suddenly asked something random and looked at me calmly.

I thought that his red eyes were as red as blood, but now they seemed to shine as pretty as rubies.

My body stiffened at his words, and I couldn’t answer anything.

“You look like a different person to me.”

His face came closer.

His large hands caressed the nape of my neck, then his fingers traced the back of my head.

His face got a little closer, and the tips of our noses touched each other slightly.

[1] Misattribution of arousal is a term in psychology that describes the process whereby people make a mistake in assuming what is causing them to feel aroused. For example, when actually experiencing physiological responses related to fear, people mislabel those responses as romantic arousal (Sc: Wikipedia).