<Episode 28>
Elkais took only his longsword and the utensil knife. Duke Rubellite Croppers didn’t think he would be of much help anyway, so he didn’t ask him to do anything specific.
Seeing that Elkais seemed to have no intention of ordering anything from him, Duke Rubellite Croppers watched as he skinned the cub puma and separated the meat.
Interestingly, he was using the utensil knife with ease to separate the leather, making it look as effortless as cutting jelly.
He washed the blood off the dead puma, then proceeded to cut it into pieces of suitable size for grilling.
“We need to catch one puma per day.”
“…”
“Otherwise, it’ll spoil.”
Elkais couldn’t respond to Rubellite’s words.
He didn’t particularly dislike Rubellite, but he knew that Eveline or Abellard wouldn’t welcome him due to his rude attitude earlier.
He also worried that if he spent time alone with Rubellite, Eveline wouldn’t survive on this island.
“But Duke de Robein.”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you planning to be rescued at all?”
“…”
Come to think of it, it was strange. Neither Eveline nor I had ever talked about rescue.
Even if Abellard didn’t, could I and Eveline really not think about rescue at all?
For some reason, as soon as he arrived here, he felt like a soldier who had been given orders and immediately sought out Abellard. He met Eveline in the process.
After meeting her, he wanted to protect her. At first, he didn’t like it, but now he wanted to protect her.
In that case, shouldn’t rescue be the priority?
“Or have you been here for a long time? It feels like I saw you just the other day.”
“Your Grace.”
“Yes, speak.”
“Your Grace died half a year ago, not just you, but all the Omegas.”
“What?”
He deliberately didn’t mention that only Abellard Wilayden survived. It wasn’t a pleasant story to tell.
If anyone saw the attitudes towards Abellard shown by the Croppers Empire, where all the omegas died, anyone would react the same.
“What on earth…”
Rubellite seemed to cover his mouth in shock and lowered his gaze.
“Let’s go now.”
Elkais, still with a somewhat displeased expression, went back to the cabin with Rubellite Croppers.
* * *
Eveline and Abellard sat on the ground after lighting the fire, preparing coconuts.
Eveline looked at the three holes pierced in the coconut, resembling human faces.
“This is anyway too fibrous and tasteless.”
“I see.”
“Have you ever tried this?”
“If you eat this, your teeth will break.”
Eveline lost her words for a moment. She glanced at Abellard’s intact teeth as he casually laughed, looking at the coconut’s hairy surface.
Then she resumed her explanation.
“If you choose one of these three holes and pierce it, you can drink the juice.”
“Interesting.”
She said that and began to twist the screwdriver that was in the first aid kit. It wasn’t that difficult.
After fitting the bent screwdriver into a small, square piece of wood and making it like a wine bottle cork, she inserted it into the coconut hole.
She pushed the screwdriver deeper and completely pierced the hole.
“Now try it.”
“Eve, you go first.”
“Why, afraid it’s poisoned?”
“No, it smells good. I thought it would be nice if Eve tried it first.”
Seeing Abellard being kind again, she thought he was hiding something.
Eveline knew him well. Abellard pretended to be innocent, but he wasn’t good at lying.
Eventually, Eveline drank the coconut juice first, and Abellard wiped what dripped down her chin with his hand.
“Now you try it.”
“Okay.”
She said that and then pierced about five more holes in the coconuts before getting up to check the drinking water.
Abellard followed her like a duckling.
As Eveline tried to check the water in the bucket, he cried out as if he felt wronged.
“Eve! Look at this! Come to think of it, that bastard hurt my hand like this!”
When Eveline confirmed that Abellard hadn’t treated his finger injury just to have something to say, she laughed.
“It hurts too much.”
“You seemed to forget about it until just now.”
“It hurts so much that I think I’ll feel better if Eve kisses it.”
“Use your divine power.”
“…I’m low on energy.”
“You were angry just now.”
“Eve…”
He pleaded, but Eveline ignored him and checked the condition of the drinking water.
As expected, perhaps because of Abellard’s blood, it was clear and clean enough to be first-grade drinking water.
“Eve… my hand hurts.”
“Treat it, Abel.”
“Okay.”
Seemingly satisfied with being called by his nickname, he immediately treated his hand.
Eveline waited for Elkais and Rubellite.
The sun was setting.
For some reason, she felt strangely stable for the first time since coming here as she watched Elkais approaching with palm leaves in his hand.
It took them a long time to realize that was the only calm moment they had.
* * *
Elkais left the meat that couldn’t be eaten today in a corner after treating it with salt he brought before. He also did the cooking.
Since there was no one else who could cook among them.
Eveline knew how to cook, but her skills were not enough to entertain others.
But Elkais volunteered to do it because Abellard wasn’t in good condition.
Not because he was worried about Abellard, but because he thought Eveline would show even more kindness to him if he got sicker here.
He denied having such thoughts, though.
“Tastes quite good. Reminds me of the flavor I had when I conquered Mervenia.”
“That’s right.”
Elkais thought Rubellite Croppers, who had fought with him, would be fine living here.
Unlike others, he was a knight and had fought on the battlefield. Naturally, he knew how to hunt.
However, he thought it was strange that Abellard kept watching Rubellite.
“Eve, my arm hurts, can I lean on you while eating?”
“Sure.”
Abellard, as if feeling dizzy, rested his head on her shoulder and ate the sliced and grilled meat. Anyway, what mattered now was replenishing energy rather than food.
“I also hurt my arm a bit, can you treat it?”
Rubellite said to Abellard as if ordering him, as he did when they lived in the Empire, jokingly.
However, there was a difference now. Compared to before, when they scorned each other as omegas, there was an inexplicable sense of kindness in him. It might be because he emitted an alpha vibe.
“My brother can’t use divine power because he’s injured.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
Abellard answered without thinking, as he always followed whatever Eveline said.
“My finger hurts too, Eve.”
“I see.”
As if she had no choice, Eveline picked up the strawberries brought by Elkais and fed them to him.
“What does this taste like…”
“Not good?”
“The rotten fish smell is too strong for me to taste anything.”
Abellard didn’t want to get up from Eveline’s embrace, but he felt like he might vomit if he stayed like this.
He stood up and grabbed something like laundry tongs placed near the desk, using it to cover his nose and only breathing through his mouth.
“It must be hard for you to eat like that.”
“It’s hard enough already. The smell is too overpowering.”
“Isn’t it funny? Can’t Lord Wilden smell anything from the Lady? It’s so strong, like it’s been soaked in perfume or something.”
“…”
“It tastes like chewing on a lump of honey rather than meat.”
Abellard glared sharply at Rubellite. Elkais remained silent as he couldn’t understand what they were saying.
However.
“You’ll find another place to stay tomorrow, Duke.”
“Duke Elkais.”
“This isn’t the Croppers Empire.”
Rubellite was momentarily taken aback by Elkais’s firm words. He had thought Elkais would take his side.
“If I was rude, I apologize. Let me stay until my arm heals.”
“Fine, let’s do that. You’re injured, after all.”
Abellard erased the hostility of the moment and said so.
Then he handed Rubellite a coconut with holes drilled in it.
“Drink this.”
“You drilled the holes nicely.”
“Yeah. It was really hard.”
Inside the coconut Abellard handed him was a poisonous belladonna leaf.
