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ABZ 4
"Uven."
"Ugh, why? It's weird."
Lilia hurriedly covered Uven's mouth, and the Crown Prince seemed to restrain him by calling the child's name, but Uven shook his head, brushed off Lilia's hand, and spoke again.
"Princess is always whining about how tired she is even after running a little, and she screams like a duck, saying she's scared over nothing. Doesn't anyone wonder how she managed to escape the zombies and get here?"
At Uven's words, everyone closed their mouths and looked at me. I couldn't read any emotions on the faces of the Crown Prince or the Grand Duke, but looking at Lilia, she seemed to be watching me carefully.
She was looking at me with a worried expression, as if her heart ached.
"So, how did you do it?"
"...Zombies basically can't climb high places very well."
I had prepared an answer in advance before coming here in preparation for this kind of question, so answering Uven's question wasn't that difficult.
Rather, I wondered why he was only asking now.
"And if you hide your scent, you can trick the zombies. ...Unless you're bleeding, your scent is easily masked."
"How?"
"By covering yourself with something else."
They seemed interested in my story and waited patiently for me to finish speaking, without showing any signs of frustration.
"What else?"
"Zombie corpses, or the scent of flowers."
In the novel, Lilia had survived the zombies by hiding her scent with the scent of roses.
"What did Princess cover herself with?"
"Lilies. I was lucky."
In fact, I deliberately walked to a place where lilies were in full bloom and rolled around in them. It would have been easier to cover myself with a zombie corpse, but I didn't because I was afraid that the Crown Prince or the Grand Duke would cut off my head if they saw me covered in blood.
"I see, so you could trick the zombies by hiding your scent."
The female lead, who had been listening to my words quietly, nodded and exclaimed in admiration.
"So you didn't encounter a single zombie? His Highness said that zombies were chasing right behind him. So he thought Princess was dead."
However, Uven still frowned, as if he couldn't understand.
"I rolled down a mountain. I almost died."
There were bruise marks on my ankle where the zombie had grabbed me, in the shape of its hand.
I pulled the chair back and slightly lifted my dress. The eyes of those sitting around the table turned to my ankle.
I put the dress down when I felt their gazes lingering on me.
When I looked up again, the Crown Prince firmly closed his half-open mouth and stood up abruptly. The corners of his lips were slightly distorted.
* * *
Idrian Fidentre looked again at Penelope's ankle, now hidden by her dress.
A dark bruise remained on her snow-white ankle, as if it had never seen sunlight. He had thought her walking was a little unnatural; it seemed she had sprained her leg.
Her dress was wet, her hair was a mess, and her complexion was pale, as if she was very tired. He had thought she was dead, but she had returned in a terrible state. She kept looking around nervously, as if she was afraid.
'You abandoned me, hoping I would die!'
Penelope's words, as she choked back tears and cried sadly, echoed in his ears.
...Did he really abandon her, hoping she would die?
No, there was clearly an exaggeration in her words.
When he turned his back on Penelope, who was lying on the floor and reaching out her hand, it was clearly unavoidable. He couldn't risk his life to save her alone. Even if he could go back to that time, he would make the most rational choice again.
But what on earth was this feeling that was weighing on his heart?
"I'll go out for a while."
Idrian left the dining room, leaving Penelope, who was looking up at him, behind.
'I almost died.'
If she had screamed and complained as usual, blaming it on him, his heart wouldn't be so heavy. Unlike usual, her weak voice stirred Idrian's heart.
Her eyelids flickered heavily, as if she was recalling painful past events, and her voice trembled as if she would cry if touched.
Idrian felt sorry for her. He thought that it was an emotion he didn't need to take responsibility for, but he couldn't erase the heavy feeling that was pressing down on his heart.
The desperate look in her eyes before he turned his back on Penelope kept bothering him.
'She must be resenting me.'
The Penelope who had returned only nodded at whatever he said, as if she didn't want to talk to him anymore. She didn't linger by his side or speak to him first, as she used to.
Resentment or hatred were emotions she could fully have. It was unavoidable, but it was up to her to decide how to accept the situation.
If Penelope didn't lash out at others because of that emotion, there was nothing he could do to interfere.
But, but....
The tightly closed dining room door opened, and Penelope slowly walked out. She frowned slightly, as if she hadn't expected to run into him in this hallway.
"Penelope."
Even though he had confirmed once again that she didn't welcome him, Idrian bothered to speak to her.
"Have you finished eating?"
"...I'm going to go up and eat."
Penelope was holding a small potato in her hand as she answered.
"I don't feel well."
"...Okay."
She turned her gaze away from him, indicating that she wanted to end the conversation, and Idrian had no more excuse to hold her back.
Nevertheless, Idrian stared at Penelope's back for a long time because she was enduring the pain in her leg and trying to walk straight without collapsing.
...Penelope had taken care of Lilia in that situation where the zombies were chasing right behind them. With tears filling her big eyes, she was afraid and stomped her feet, but she tried to get Lilia to a safe place first.
Idrian Fidentre, who had been watching Penelope Lloyd since she was five years old, was confident that he knew her better than anyone else.
"Penelope."
But, so.
"Let's go together."
For the first time, Idrian couldn't erase Penelope's image from his mind, and he couldn't escape from that recurring scene. He couldn't stop his gaze from going to Penelope.
* * *
"Penelope, let's go together."
When the Crown Prince said that, I wanted to crawl back into the dining room. If I had known he would be lingering in the hallway, I wouldn't have come out!
"Your ankle, you should bandage it."
What bandage?
"It's okay."
It's just a bruise, why would I bandage it? More than anything, I didn't want to be with Idrian.
He would probably find fault with me again and nag me. He might even say he'll watch me until I finish eating this potato.
"You can't even walk properly, and you say it's okay."
He spoke again in a scolding tone, and I regretted not bringing out a smaller potato.
"...What do you mean."
And those words were enough to drop my heart to the floor.
"Is my walking, is it weird?"
I can't walk properly, what does that mean? Does that mean I'm walking awkwardly like those zombies outside? Am I swaying back and forth because I can't keep my balance?
"Where, how is it weird?"
"...You're dragging your leg a little."
I didn't know at all. I thought I was walking perfectly, but it was obvious.
Then the problem was serious. If it's obvious just from walking, how weird would eating, which requires more detailed control, look? Am I even looking at Idrian straight right now?
It would be strange if I spoke slower than the usual Penelope. If suspicions piled up like that, wouldn't I eventually get caught?
"Don't worry about it."
Just as I was getting scared by the flood of worries, Idrian lightly touched my shoulder and took my gaze.
"No one will think it's weird. You're just hurt."
Of course, his words didn't give me any relief or comfort.
In the first place, I couldn't even feel the pain in my leg. The reason I was walking weird was because I had become a zombie.
"Let's go."
Idrian looked at me for a moment and then moved forward.
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