Chapter 68
All my words and actions would be impossible if this were a kingdom, or the Langrid Empire.
But right now, we were on a perilous deserted island where we could be instantly killed if a Monster appeared.
I picked up a spare Spear from the ground and forcibly handed it to him. Then, I corrected his grip on the Spear and said,
"Right now, Your Highness isn't helping the group at all. Stop being such a useless burden and learn how to catch fish."
Actually, I wanted to tease him more, but I also intended to teach him how to catch fish.
It wasn't a lie that I wanted to test his survival skills.
Asdal was a completely useless member of the team, so I felt like I had to create at least one useful skill for him.
He propped his chin up and stared at me without moving for a long time. It was hard to know what he was thinking.
The only good thing was that the anger that had been dominating his face had subsided. But in the end, what he said was,
"No."
It was a merciless rejection. Asdal lifted his chin with an arrogant expression and looked down at me. Then, he suddenly smiled as if he was interested.
"Didn't you say that Lady Flone is good at catching fish? I don't know why I should learn how to catch fish when Lady Flone is here."
"Excuse me?"
It was an extremely arrogant tone. He was clearly skilled at upsetting people.
"Why are you so shameless? What would you do without our group?"
I was dumbfounded and questioned him, but Asdal didn't even flinch. Instead, he looked puzzled and asked me why I was saying such a thing.
"What are you worried about? Lady Flone will be by my side from now on."
'...?'
What the hell is he talking about? Is he saying he'll use me as a fish-catching slave?
"Why would I? Are you crazy? I don't want to be by Your Highness's side."
I cursed him a million times in my head and almost blurted out profanity. Asdal was very shameless, whether he knew how I felt or not.
I'm an idiot for even thinking about teaching such a person how to hunt fish.
"Lady Flone, a true royal knows how to use people according to their abilities. Not by getting involved directly."
Asdal, who was saying annoying things with a firm tone, really didn't seem to want to learn how to catch fish. Damn it.
"Yes, yes, you'll die if you keep doing that on this island. You'll be the first of us to say goodbye to the world."
"...That's insulting royalty."
"So. You're going to continue to be useless?"
"Using people according to their abilities is also useful..."
"Ha. All talk. Never mind."
"Lady Flone. I'm talking..."
"If you're not going to help me catch fish, shut up."
"......"
Asdal finally shut his mouth.
After that, Asdal kept talking to me, but I didn't answer and silently caught fish.
I quickly gave up on my grand ambition to teach him how to catch fish.
What's the point of teaching a guy with that kind of mentality? It's a waste of time.
I had to ignore the annoying Asdal and catch fish first. I had to eat to live.
I readjusted my Spear and continued hunting fish. I hunted fish quietly, and Asdal sat on a rock and nagged me.
"I take back what I said about you not doing anything. Your hunting skills are excellent."
Asdal was very strict, like a supervisor monitoring forced labor.
"There's a fish passing by. Margaret, there. Yes, there. Catch it."
What the F, am I a PoXemon?
I threw the Spear and caught the fish Asdal had pointed out, but I suddenly felt a sense of disillusionment.
I vowed never to go hunting with Asdal again. I shot myself in the foot.
"Margaret, there!"
"I told you to shut up if you're not going to help. Unless you're testing my patience."
When I threw the Spear and got angry while catching fish, Asdal shrugged nonchalantly.
Should I hit him? Or not?
If I thought about escaping from the island, I had to be careful about confronting Asdal.
I seriously pondered for a moment and then sighed. I organized the wooden basket full of fish and got up from my seat.
Looking up at the sky, I saw that quite a bit of time had passed, and it was already showing signs of sunset.
I must have been half-crazy to be trapped on this island, fighting Monsters, and going out to find food to survive.
Asdal came down from the rock and said with a proud face.
"It was a rewarding hunt. I think Lady Flone is more useful than I thought."
What a load of crap.
"As I said, I have no intention of being a useful person to Your Highness."
He snatched the basket of fish I was holding and walked ahead.
"I thought you were arrogant at first."
Then he suddenly stopped and turned to look at me.
"You're the first person to talk to me like that. I like it."
"......Excuse me?"
Asdal smiled at me as if he liked me, then turned around and walked ahead.
I stood there with a bewildered face and hurriedly followed him.
"Should I be happy if you say that? Is this like, 'You're the first woman who's ever hit me'? I don't need that kind of attention."
Asdal, who was walking ahead, turned to look at me.
"I didn't hit you. What do you think I am? I don't do such uncivilized things. And I didn't tell Lady Flone to like it. I'm not interested in that. I just like Lady Flone."
"Ah, okay. Whatever."
Asdal talked too much. And he's annoying. I nodded and shut my mouth.
Asdal is a 'Landmine-dal' to me from now on. I have to avoid him at all costs.
"It's annoying that there are too many of the same kind of fish, but you've worked hard."
Asdal gave me a compliment that didn't sound like a compliment when the cabin came into view.
I drew the character for patience countless times in my head and cultivated my patience.
Be patient, I'm Margaret. A noble lady. A refined noble lady...
A refined noble lady who catches fish, WTF.
\ \ *
"Lady Flone, come here."
"Lady Flone is good at this, isn't she? Help me."
"Lady Flone."
"Lady Flone?"
All evening after hunting together, I was tormented by Landmine-dal.
'That Kim (Section Chief)-like bastard.'
The problem was that he kept looking for me to help him, and I was getting sick of the words 'Lady Flone'.
"Why is the picky Prince Asdal only looking for Lady Flone?"
Yuanna asked me with a curious face.
"I don't know either, Saintess. Could you please tell him to stop looking for me? My name will wear out if he keeps this up. Really. My name will wear out."
I can't hit him because he's the Crown Prince.
I swallowed the rest of my words, grabbed Yuanna's hand, and said with a serious face.
Kaiden happened to be out gathering firewood, so I had no excuse to avoid Asdal.
"Lady Flone! What on earth are you doing?"
Landmine-dal, who had been calling me for a long time, finally came down the stairs from the second floor and looked for me.
"What's going on? Why is the Crown Prince looking for Margaret?"
And then, Enoch miraculously appeared. He had returned to the cabin late, probably after scouting far away.
Like a daughter welcoming her father home after being scolded by her mother, I ran out barefoot to greet Enoch.
"Why are you so late?"
Enoch looked at me with a puzzled face and then very naturally stroked my head.
'...Huh? What is this?'
I didn't even expect him to pat my head. I was embarrassed and touched the head he had stroked, then turned around at Asdal's call.
"Lady Flone."
Asdal, who had come right in front of me, tilted his head, looking back and forth between me and Enoch.
When he came so close, I noticed his face again.
Asdal was the male lead with the second most influence after the main male lead Enoch, so it goes without saying that he was handsome. To give an example, his appearance itself was a luxurious appearance like DiCaprio, who had dominated an era. You could say he was a prince from a fairy tale.
But still, being handsome is completely useless for survival.
I couldn't hide my annoyance and asked Asdal.
"Why did you call me?"
"There's a suspicious bug in my room. I thought Lady Flone would be good at catching bugs."
I was so dumbfounded by Asdal's words that I was speechless.
Does that man just think of me as a maid in the Hestia Kingdom? But even maids don't catch bugs.
'Besides, what's a suspicious bug?'
