Chapter 62

***

After taking off his wizard’s robe and hanging it on a branch to dry, Kayden checked Margaret’s condition, who was fainting.

He thought it was dangerous to light a bonfire at night, but if he didn’t do anything, her body temperature would drop and she might die.

“The bag……”

Then he noticed that the bag Margaret was carrying had disappeared. Maybe when she was bounced off by the spider’s leg, the string broke.

Margaret carried her things in the bag as if it were her own life. How desperate she would be if she found out she lost her bag.

“……first of all, you have to live.”

Kayden knelt in front of Margaret and checked her pulse. His hands trembled as he touched her neck to check her pulse.

He didn’t know if it was because of his nervousness, or the shock of falling off the cliff, or because he was worried that Margaret still hadn’t opened her eyes.

Fortunately, her pulse was beating normally.

“Sigh.”

A feeling of relief flooded him like a tide.

The feeling he had when Margaret fell off the cliff was something that Kayden thought he would never forget.

“Damn it, Margaret. Please open your eyes.”

Kayden muttered as he rubbed his tired face with his hand.

He begged earnestly, but still, her eyes didn’t open.

He slowly lowered his head and rested his forehead on Margaret’s shoulder. Hot emotions rushed up to his throat.

Margaret struggled to survive, but in fact, she sacrificed herself for others without hesitation when she herself faced danger.

She could have saved her life with him as a shield, but she didn’t.

Kayden was watching Margaret closely.

Her personality, way of speaking, and skill in coping with crisis situations are difficult to put into words that she has changed.

She recognized and read languages he had never even seen before and was familiar with strange magic tools.

When he was with her, the monsters try to attack her first. And for some reason, the mysterious monster egg only responded favorably to her.

She’s special.

She also knew about the secrets of his earrings, which he had never told anyone.

Did she say she knew who made the earrings? He doubted it, but there was no way to check the authenticity immediately.

She seemed to have thought he wouldn’t know why she kept making him work physically over and over again.

The strangest of all was Kayden himself.

He watched her closely, and at some point, he was completely obsessed with her.

It was for that reason that he showed a dual personality; he was suspicious of her but did not hide his affection for her.

There was always Margaret at the end of his gaze. The reason was not simply because of his distrust of her. He only realized it now.

“It’s my fault. I……”

Unable to speak, he suppressed his emotions.

If he didn’t take her to the cliff, or if he didn’t doubt her in the first place, she wouldn’t be in danger.

Kayden gently stroked Margaret’s cold cheek with his thumb. Her skin was cold as ice.

The guilt weighed heavily on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

“I understand why you say such weird things to someone you don’t even like. It’s because your earring is broken.”

Kayden rested his forehead on Margaret’s shoulder, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

Margaret did not take his feelings for her seriously, saying, ‘It’s because of his broken earring.’

He deserves it. Because from the beginning, he never showed his trust in her.

Because he didn’t know how he had fallen in love with Margaret Rose Floné, whom he had despised.

But one thing is clear.

He didn’t want Margaret to die.

Even if he himself was injured and in danger, he only wanted to save Margaret.

Kayden decided to completely cast aside even the slightest doubt left toward her.

What is important now is not the secret she has, but the cause of this, and where his unknown feelings and confusion come from.

So, from now on, he decided to act and speak according to his instincts.

***

It was midnight when I woke up.

I felt warm, but I was somewhat suffocated. The first thing I saw after my vision became clear was a bare chest that looked solid. I jumped in surprise.

Pure white silver hair shining in the moonlight.

The man, who took off his top, narrowed his forehead and furrowed his brows.

“Hmmm.”

It was Kayden.

But why is he taking off his shirt here?

Come to think of it, it’s already the middle of the night, and my body is cold. Maybe because I’m wet. Oh, is that why? To raise my body temperature?

I carefully put my hand on his forehead. He has a fever.

I was still in my wet dress, but Kayden was hugging me with his shirt off to raise my body temperature, so it was understandable.

“Oh, my.”

What if you catch a cold in a situation like this? It’s a big deal.

‘Fortunately, I have a first aid kit in my crossbody bag.’

I looked around to find my bag. But there was nothing that looked like a bag anywhere.

“No way……”

Did it fall into the river?

Flare guns and grenades cannot be used if they are wet. That means they will just be trash.

“Dammit!”

I grabbed my hair. I have to get Kayden’s fever down.

Again, I touched his forehead to check his fever. Then I decided to start making fire.

It’s not a good idea to light a fire at night, but if Kayden dies of hypothermia, it’s a more serious problem.

“It’s not weird. You’re always the only one who gets an exception.”

“It’s so weird. It wasn’t just one or two things. Margaret, tell me what the hell you’re hiding.”

“Are you going to run away alone? You were only thinking about running away, right? You were going to abandon us from the beginning.”

I remembered the conversation I had with Kayden just before the tarantula appeared.

The reason why Kayden doubted me was very valid. If I were in his position, I would have done the same.

I also knew that he was pretending to be kind to me. However, vague suspicions and being confirmed to be killed were two different things.

Yes, I am not the female lead of the novel, but Yuanna.

I did not expect that the attitude of the male leads would change immediately just because I showed a little change. It’s a bit bittersweet, but that’s the reality.

I put aside my useless thoughts and grasped the situation again.

Making a fire is a priority now.

“Sigh. Damn, I have a Zippo lighter in my bag.”

If I had that, I would be able to make fire a little easier.

I sighed and got up. Then I pulled out a dagger that was tucked in Kayden’s waistband.

Kayden’s shirt and robe hung from the branches, maybe he hung them. I wish I could take my dress off too.

‘It’s so uncomfortable.’

I approached the branch in a wet dress.

His shirt was all dry and his robe was still wet, but it seemed pretty good.

After I put the shirt on Kayden again, I covered him with his robe like a blanket and got up.

The place where we were lying was in a forest not far from the river. It was a fortress-like place surrounded by huge leaves, but how did he find a place like this?

First, I looked around for wood to make a fire.

I’ve been wandering around for a long time. Something shining white caught my eye.

It’s not a monster again, is it?

I was scared and swallowed my saliva. I’m very nervous. I clenched my fists and moved my feet slowly.

When I got a little closer, I saw that it wasn’t a monster, but a fist-sized egg. Perhaps because it was silver, it gleamed so beautifully in the moonlight.

It looks so familiar.

It looks similar to what I saw on the cliff. It was the mysterious egg that was the reason Kayden and I were in this situation.

“No way…… I hope it isn’t.”