Chapter 12
4. Kaiden Blake Rohade
The jacket incident ended with the conclusion that I loved Jackie.
‘What the hell kind of conclusion is that?’
As I always say, life is originally made up of shitty timing, so what can you do but accept it?
Early in the morning, we drank water collected in coconut shells to hydrate and filled our hunger with Acai Palm.
Although we managed to fill the coconut shells with rainwater, they were too small to quench both of our thirsts.
‘I wish I could drink water to my heart’s content…….’
I should probably make a water filter or find a way to distill water in the afternoon.
We designated the cave as a temporary base camp and decided to go scouting as planned.
We needed to stay here for a few days to recover our strength, and to do that, we needed to properly understand what was around the base camp.
I explored the nearby forest with Enoch, anxiously worrying about running into the other male leads.
But fortunately, that didn’t happen. At least not yet.
I pushed through the bushes, following Enoch, and stopped when the hem of my dress got caught on a branch.
“This damn dress……!”
Damn it, I need to find the cabin as soon as possible. I think there were quite a few modern clothes in the cabin.
‘I want to wear pants too!’
I was struggling to get the dress off the branch when a large hand reached out from behind me.
It was Enoch. He easily removed the hem of my dress from the branch.
I stared blankly up at him. His firm face, devoid of any emotion, caught my eye. He held out his hand to me.
“Take my hand.”
“Huh? Why?”
It was a reflexive question. Enoch frowned as if he didn’t like it.
Wow, even his frown is shockingly handsome.
“You keep falling behind. Don’t get hurt. Take it.”
He acted like I was a nuisance, but he always took the initiative to take care of me. This is what they mean when they say words and actions don’t match.
I didn’t have any reason to refuse Enoch’s help, so I took his hand.
His hand was very large. He was tall, his hands were big, his feet were bigger than mine, and everything about him was bigger than me, making me want to lean on him.
A solid body made of muscles and a strong force that could hold me steady even if I hung on him weakly. He was truly strong and reliable.
I can see why the female lead relied on him the most. I understand why Enoch was the main male lead in the novel.
Holding his hand wasn’t unfamiliar or awkward anymore. But strangely, one side of my chest tingled.
“Uncomfortable?”
Enoch asked, examining my complexion. The grip on my hand loosened gently.
“It’s my first time holding someone’s hand, so it’s difficult to control my strength. I hope you understand. Tell me if it’s uncomfortable.”
It was a blunt but very kind tone.
It’s his first time holding someone’s hand?
“Why?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just surprised that Your Highness hasn’t held hands before.”
“There was no reason to hold hands. And no one to hold hands with.”
Come to think of it, Enoch was also a completely solitary person. It wasn’t covered in detail in the original story, but that’s how Crown Prince Enoch was, according to Margaret’s past memories.
Perhaps he couldn’t form deep relationships with others and lived in loneliness all along.
He was always lonely because of his unfortunate birth, but I remember that he suffered from deep aftereffects after the war and distanced himself from people even more.
As I was thinking about that and trying to move, a sharp pain surged from the soles of my feet.
“Ouch.”
I think I got a blister on my foot. It was bound to happen. Flat shoes that only look pretty weren’t suitable for trekking through this kind of forest.
Enoch heard my groan and turned to look at me again.
“Sit down.”
He said, pointing to a fallen tree trunk nearby.
I hesitated because of the pain, and Enoch sighed. Soon, a large, warm hand came around my waist.
Enoch easily lifted me up and sat me on the tree trunk.
