I'm Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 167

Jenas slowly walked forward and stood in front of the fallen Rodvan, then knelt down on one knee, grabbed Rodvan by the collar, pulled him down, and pointed his finger at the peony tattooed on his collarbone.

I could see a peony flower caught in a spider’s web.

Apparently, Rodvan is part of the peony faction. It was unlikely that someone like Rodvan could get into the faction alone, he probably had help from the Empress.

If the Empress was behind this, then their goal would be ‘imperial power’.

But Jenas’ purpose was to destroy the world and take power. Did they not know that?

Perhaps they did, and that’s why they’re sticking around like hyenas.

“Have you checked?”

Jenas stood up, as if he’d done his job.

“You need to identify those who participated in the experiment. Haa…… you cheeky. It’s not like I’m some kind of hound.”

Jenas clicked his tongue in annoyance and unbuttoned his shirt to expose his collarbone. The ‘cheeky’ comment was probably directed at Kayden.

Thrown back to the ground, Rodvan tried to pull himself up, but he couldn’t, for the black shadows at his feet climbed up his body and turned into ropes, binding him tightly.

The others must have finally recognized Jenas in the form of Kayden. He sighed and sat back down at the head of the table, his face fierce and wary.

“I can’t do anything because of the restrictions. My mouth hurts even to speak, so I’ll just go back.”

Then, lazily, he laid his head down on the table and closed his eyes. And just like that, he didn’t wake up.

Arthdal walked over, checking to see if he was still breathing, and shook him, but he didn’t even flinch. It was as if Jenas had disappeared, leaving only a completely drunken Kayden.

Just then, there was a commotion outside the barracks. Enoch looked up, and a knight pulled back the cloth covering the entrance to the barracks.

Two men in the uniforms of the Knights of Langridge were subduing someone and wrestling him to the ground. Curly blonde and dark navy blue hair. They are Noel and Heisen.

“What’s going on?”

The knight at the entrance asked as Noel and Heisen carried the subdued man into the barracks and bowed to Enoch in a polite manner.

“This man kept wandering around the barracks. I think he is a spy.”

Apparently, the two men who had been following me around had spotted this suspicious man and captured him.

The man was clad in unrecognizable clothes and had a blank expression on his face. After studying the man on the ground, Enoch turned to Noel and Heisen.

He asked, “How did you two find and capture this man?”

“We……”

At Enoch’s suspicious look, the surrounding knights drew their swords in unison and pointed them at Noel and Heisen.

Noel and Heisen quickly assessed the situation and dropped to one knee.

“Actually, we wanted to apologize to Lady Floné, we were waiting for her in front of the barracks.”

All eyes turned to me. I blinked in surprise at the sudden attention. My eyes locked with Noel’s, who was looking up at me with puppy dog eyes and sobbing, and I felt a little sorry for him.

Still watching me, Enoch gave the knights instructions, “Interrogate this man to determine his identity and what he has done.”

“As ordered.”

As Noel, Heisen, and the rest of the knights bowed in response, a dignified-looking man in uniform entered the barracks. Behind him, Diego followed.

Only then did I realize that the man who entered first was Diego’s brother. Diego and his brother knelt down on one knee in front of Enoch and greeted him together.

“Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince, the little sun of the Landridge Empire.”

After receiving their greeting, Enoch nodded to the surrounding knights. “Take him away. Give him no water until I decide on his future disposition.”

“Let go of me! Let go of me! Sir Marcel, say something! You’ve been with me all this time, leading this war together.”

Diego’s younger brother, Marcel, who had been kneeling, looked back at Rodvan in disbelief.

“Together……? Have we led this war together? Has Your Highness ever listened to a single strategy meeting? I seem to recall that I’ve taken on all the responsibility alone.”

Marcel was straight and eloquent, unlike the soft-spoken and stately Diego.

“I’m honored to meet you all. Please feel free to call me Sir Marcel.”

Marcel greeted each of us in turn as Rodvan was led away.

Soon the table was cleared and we were all seated. As Marcel took his seat, he was surprised to find Kayden asleep with his head on the table.

“He is……”

“He’s the Magic Tower Lord of the Langridge Empire.”

“Oh, of the House of Rohade……”

“Never mind. He’s just asleep.”

There’s no need to say that Kayden got drunk, so I skipped the detailed explanation. Marcel nodded his head slowly at my answer.

“I heard the story from my brother and came in a hurry, so please forgive my rudeness.”

“We sought you out to hear about the Bilterheim family. Do you know anything?”

Marcel nodded at Enoch’s question. He checked once more to make sure the knights had all retreated, then lowered his voice.

“I do. After my brother went missing, my father told me the story of the family. Apparently, the Bilderheims were among the people behind the experiments on Alea Island, up until a few generations ago, but when my father ascended to the dukedom, he spoke out against it, which is why my brother was taken as a test subject.”

Marcel and Diego looked at each other with mixed feelings.

Marcel continued, “That’s why I volunteered for this war, to find out about my brother’s whereabouts, as well as the plans and movements of the Peony Blossoms.”

The Peony Blossoms? So that’s what the people behind the experiment called themselves.

Arthdal turned to Marcel and asked, “Do you and the Duke know who makes up the Peony Blossoms?”

“Even my father does not know all of them,” Marcel replied, “but we know some of them, and perhaps we can find out more if we know their movements.”

Marcel looked thoughtful, then continued, “And now that the missing ones have returned, they know that the last experiment failed, so they’re probably trying to figure out if the mage siblings are alive or dead by now, or maybe they’re looking for Alea Island, and they’re probably on edge, too.”

All eyes turned to Kayden as he spoke, except for Marcel and Diego. Then they followed our gaze, not knowing Jenas was sealed inside Kayden’s body.

Marcel turned to us again, and when we didn’t say anything, he spoke, “I don’t know how many more of the new forces have joined, but I do know that the Marquis Rohade has the Blood Oath of the early participants, and I think it’s most important that we find it.”

He’s right. A list of participants would be the only way to get a true sense of the scale of the forces involved in the experiment.

Marcel looked at Kayden. “I think it would be best to leave that task entirely to Lord Kayden, if possible. It will be important for us to find Alea Island before they do.”

“I have already sent a temporary reconnaissance party to the southern coast of Langridge Empire.”

At Enoch’s answer, Marcel let out an exclamation and looked at him with a face full of trust.

“Please leave the reconnaissance of Alea Island to me. I will personally lead the mission to find out the truth and secure evidence.”

“I’ll be with you, Marcel.”

Diego followed Marcel and bowed to Enoch. Enoch looked at Diego and nodded.

“Good. I’ll leave it to you then.”

Diego nodded again, as if honored.

Aberdeen Christine, Arthdal’s distant niece, and Prince Rodvan. For now, we still have to wait for Aberdeen’s disposition, however, we can deal with Rodvan immediately.

We learned that a peony flower was tattooed on the bodies of those involved in the experiment, and that the Rohade family has a Blood Oath that lists those people. We also learned that the Peony Blossoms were moving to find Alea Island.

Now we must make our move as well.

***

The remaining Langridge knights in the camp hastened to prepare for their return. The end-of-war negotiations were moving faster than they had expected. In two days, it seemed, they would be able to board the imperial carriage.

Arthdal, Yuanna, and Kayden had returned to their respective forces to join the negotiations.

I was left alone in the barracks when they all left for the negotiations.

After a while of being alone in the barracks, I got bored and went outside. I thought I’d go for a walk, but as if waiting for me, Noel and Heisen appeared.

“Oh, you startled me!”

What- you still want to apologize?

They didn’t seem to mind, kneeling in front of the barracks and bowing to me. I could see the passing knights glancing at us.

“Young lady, I wish to properly apologize for what has happened, and I also apologize for having missed the time to do so and for continuing to follow you.”

Following Noel, Heisen apologized to me in the same words. There was never a good time for them to apologize. I was gone with Enoch and the others as soon as the crocodiles were cleared, and I was still with them the next day.

“Aren’t they the ones who really should be apologizing?”

“Oh……. that, they……”

“Forget it, you don’t have to apologize.”

I watched Noel’s and Heisen’s faces cloud with sudden regret.

Their eyes…… seemed to look at me like I was some sort of a heroine in a tragedy. They seemed to feel very sorry for me.

Noel opened his mouth to speak, lamenting. “I guess those nasty rumors about you were started by someone jealous of your beauty.”

Huh? Wait, what weird misunderstanding is that?