I'm Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 147

Then the others looked back and forth between me and Enoch as if understanding what he meant.

“I’m good at passing things on.”

Sitting to my right, Kayden leaned forward and glared at Enoch and me. I thought it was another one of his meaningless ramblings, so I tried to ignore it.

But he added, “I can’t give up even if it’s your last.”

Enoch didn’t respond to what Kayden added. I mulled over his words, a little conflicted.

I hated this conversation because I really felt it would be the last time. So I didn’t answer.

Then Yuanna asked, “What about you, Margaret?”

Even Kayden, who had been glaring at Enoch, looked back at me. All eyes were on me, and I blinked like an idiot.

Even so, I had nothing to say.

“Margaret?”

Yuanna called to me again, tilting her head with a puzzled face.

“I don’t have…… you know, my situation.”

“Ah……”

It took Yuanna a moment to catch the meaning of my words, a look of apology crossing her face.

And without further explanation, no one asked me any other unnecessary questions. The understanding and the silence made me uncomfortable.

I am Margaret, but I am not Margaret.

I don’t even know who I am, let alone how to introduce myself, and how can I convey my last words?

In the end, I remained silent until the end.

***

After that, we walked for about two days straight. We arrived in front of Jenas’ cabin in the middle of the night.

I thought it would be foggy near the cabin. The fog had confused us before, trying to keep us from coming near the cabin.

But to our surprise, there was no fog in front of the cabin and the view was clear. It was as if they had been waiting for us to come.

Arthdal said there were no monsters around for Jenas to borrow eyes from. The sealing of the mother of monsters must have worked.

Judging by the radius of the fog, Anata’s magic was only effective within a 30-meter radius of the cabin.

Hence, we settled down in a place away from the range of her magic and prepared for a full blast. After double-checking what we had brought, we decided to hide near the cabin and wait for daylight.

Arthdal kept checking to make sure no monsters were approaching, and Kayden put up a defensive barrier.

We didn’t light a campfire, just in case. We settled down among the bushes and decided to spend the night with a night watch.

I was the first one on the night watch.

The night is quiet when everyone is asleep.

-buzz.

Only the sound of grasshoppers filled the forest. I stared into the lights of Jenas’ cabin and looked up at the night sky.

I could see the stars filling the sky. What a beautiful night sky.

It was hard to see a sky like this in Korea, and for a moment, I felt nostalgic for the country I couldn’t go back to.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone stepping on the grass. I turned around, startled, and saw Kayden standing there.

“Startled? I’m sorry.”

He apologized sheepishly and gingerly sat down next to me. I stared at him in disbelief. Kayden’s silver hair shone gorgeously in the moonlight.

“You weren’t sleeping? You need to rest for tomorrow.”

Kayden stared at me wordlessly for a moment. His eerily red eyes were still. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Well, Kayden was always like that. It was hard to read him.

He stared at me for a long moment, then smiled and turned his head away.

He said, “I can’t sleep.”

I understood the feeling. I’d always had trouble sleeping the night before an exam, the night before a job interview, the night before anything big.

Kayden sat still beside me, staring out at Jenas’ cabin. I looked at the cabin with him, too, watching the lights grow dim.

“Margaret, do you know why I am a bachelor?” Kayden asked me, his voice uncharacteristically serious.

“Margaret, are you going to get engaged?”

“If I come back alive, maybe I will?”

“Don’t get engaged. Let’s just live with me as a single person.”

I remember a conversation I had with him before. In fact, even if it wasn’t for that conversation, I knew that he became a bachelor because of the aftermath of the experiment.

“I can’t start a family, it’s difficult to have children.”

“Ah……”

I had no idea what to say to that unexpected confession. Kayden smiled as if he understood my reaction.

“I am very angry about this experiment in many ways. Besides, I haven’t had many lingering feelings about my life so far.”

He proceeded to tell me his story in a confessional-like manner. His voice was unusually steady and calm.

As I listened, my heart raced with anxiety. I didn’t know why he kept saying things that sounded ominous and not quite like him.

I’d rather he didn’t say anything.

We’ll all be fine. I’m sure of it.

But against my wishes, Kayden continued, “But for the first time, I’m starting to look forward to a future with you, which makes me even more angry.”

Kayden turned his head and looked me straight in the face this time, and I met his gaze.

Kayden’s red eyes scanned my face carefully. Like he was trying to keep it in his memory.

“If anything goes wrong, I want you to grieve for me. I don’t have anyone to do that for me.”

As soon as I heard those words, something got stuck in my throat, making it difficult for me to breathe. I stared at his face stunned, unable to speak.

“That’s all I want to say.”

Kayden stood up from his seat, not bothering to check my reaction.

“Then you get some rest.”

“I don’t want to grieve……”

Kayden’s steps stopped as he turned around.

I held back a sob and continued, “I don’t want to grieve for you. I’ll forget everything you said, so you must be okay. And if you’re sick, be sick in front of me.”

My eyes grew hot. I eventually hung my head, tears dripping down the tops of my feet. I sniffed for a long moment as Kayden stood still.

“I’m sorry. Honestly, I’ll be so sad, I won’t be able to live a normal life, I’ll live like a dead person. So don’t say that.” 

“Thank you, Margaret. I like you too.”

He patted my head affectionately, and then, without further adieu, he returned to his seat.

My chest felt tight.

Why do we have to go through this? As Kayden said, I was so angry that I couldn’t stand it.

If Jenas were in front of me, I would plunge a knife into his heart right now.

I buried my face in my hands and let out a hot breath. The hope that tomorrow would come and I could escape mixed with the fear that tomorrow would never come.

Then someone else sat down next to me.

I looked up and saw Enoch.

“You still awake?” I asked.

Enoch nodded slowly, wordlessly. He looked at my messed-up face and said nothing.

I’m still so emotional over Kayden that I’d rather have someone by my side.

We sit side by side, staring at Jenas’ cabin for a long time.

After a long moment of silence, Enoch spoke up.

“If I can’t escape… there is something I want to say to you.”

“And my last words are…… I will deliver them myself.”

As expected, the words he would say himself were definitely for me.

Enoch looked at me with a serious face, his eyes filled with affection. He studied my face with his eyes as if he were drawing a picture of me, and then he spoke in a low voice.

“Did you say the suspension bridge effect?”

“……”

“Do you still believe in that?” Enoch asked me, calmly brushing a strand of hair away from my cheek.

I didn’t answer. He continued, as if my answer didn’t matter. “As you said, it could be a momentary emotion created by the circumstances. You can deny it if you want, but it doesn’t take away from the time we’ve had together.”

I stared at him, stunned, for a moment.

My heart was beating so fast that I felt dizzy. My cheeks felt hot and my mind went blank.

“It doesn’t take away from the time we’ve had together.”

Enoch’s words stunned me for a moment. Why hadn’t I thought of it that way?

All this time, I’d been distorting it on my own, assuming his heart would change unconditionally.

Right. Even if it’s a momentary emotion created by the situation, it doesn’t change our time and memories together.

“Thank you, for saying that.”

I meant it. It made me feel like my empty heart was being filled.

“But why are you leaving last words for me? I’m sure there are many others by your side that you need to say last words to.”

Enoch is not the type of person to give his side to others easily, so he’s difficult to approach, but he has many followers.

He is a crown prince who has the trust of the people and the confidence of the nobility because of his outstanding appearance and abilities, more royal character than his brother, the deposed Crown Prince Rodvan, his enemy.

“‘Last words,’ you said.”

Enoch’s voice rang out, and I turned to face him again.

“Yes?”

“I wanted to leave my last words to my favorite person.”

“……ah.”

I couldn’t move a bit, captivated by Enoch’s golden eyes looking at me.

At that moment, the clouds parted and the moonlight shone brightly on Enoch’s face. Emotions unlike anything I’d ever experienced before poured over me with the moonlight.

Maybe it wasn’t Enoch’s face that was illuminated by the moonlight, but my heart.

After I stared blankly at Enoch’s handsome face for a while, he smiled at me with an enthusiastic expression.

“I’ll tell you what’s really on my mind after we escaped unharmed, because it will seem more sincere to you.”

“What… you’ve said everything you need to say… haven’t you?”

“If this place is to be my last, my sincerity will be a burden to you,” he said calmly.

Kayden also said something similar to this. Why are you doing this to me?

I put a trembling hand over my heart and tried to calm myself down, and then I said to Enoch, “That won’t happen.”

I added, “We’ll escape together.”

“Yeah. That won’t happen,” Enoch replied in a firm tone, as if to reassure me.

An uncomfortable silence passed. But Enoch did not leave my side.

And just like that, he stayed by my side until my night watch was over.

***

The next morning, we divided the team and moved according to plan.

The men would use force to lure Jenas out and tie him up, while Yuanna, Eunji, and I would enter the cabin.

Having spent time in the cabin, I knew the layout and would be well suited to quickly rescue Anata.

First of all, just before starting the operation, Kayden set up a barrier around the cabin. It was to cast a spell to neutralize Anata’s mana.

Kayden said that if her mana is strong enough, this might be a one-time barrier. Still, it’s better than nothing.

Kayden is the biggest bait to lure Jenas out. He seemed to be very interested in his body.