I'm Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 170
25. Home
Diego and his brother left the military camp before us.
They said they were heading to the southern coast in search of Alea Island, not the capital, where they would join a reconnaissance party sent by Enoch.
Before Diego left, I heard that he had a long conversation with Yuanna and that they had argued. But neither of them said anything about it, so I don’t know what they talked about.
‘Did Diego confess?’
As I pondered this, I heard Kayden’s voice.
“It’s a little cramped in the carriage, aren’t you uncomfortable, Margaret?” he grumbled, glancing at Enoch sitting across from him.
Enoch, who had planned to ride on horseback, joined us in the carriage.
“I thought Margaret and I would just be alone.”
Kayden, sitting sulkily with his arms crossed, looked very annoyed. I studied him for a moment.
Eyes as red as rubies, silver hair as beautiful as moonlight. He’s a work of art, a combination of sharpness and colorfulness. He’s more flamboyant than dapper, making even the smallest of movements seem so dynamic.
He is the perfect contrast to Enoch, whose features are made up of bold, harsh lines that give him a solid, static appearance.
Kayden’s also a wizard, and as a wizard should be, he’s not far behind Enoch in size.
I shook my head at the moderately defined muscles peeking out from under his collar. Yes, the carriage must be cramped for him.
Enoch ignored him for a while, not even responding, but when Kayden’s complaints continued, he finally spoke up, “Margaret, Lord’s right, the carriage is cramped, so I think you should sit here.”
He patted his thigh and motioned to me.
Kayden scrambled to his feet indignantly, banging his head against the carriage ceiling and letting out a pained groan.
I turned to Enoch and replied nonchalantly, “Never mind, it’s embarrassing enough to be in a cramped carriage with two men, what if there are more strange rumors going around here?”
“Margaret, what do you mean, you actually don’t want to be with us?” Kayden asked, his eyes widening in disbelief.
“No, that’s not what I meant. We’re not on an island. You have to think about the social etiquette.”
“Social etiquette? Haa……”
He glared at me as he unbuttoned his collar and rubbed his collarbone. His low, raspy voice cracked as if he’d been through a lot.
“Why? You’re afraid word will get out and you won’t be able to get married? I rather like it, and then you’ll be living with me forever.”
“Lord, you’d better stop.”
“Stop? Aren’t you actually glad I said what you wanted to say? And I have no intention of sharing Margaret’s love.”
Golden eyes that exude a breathtaking intimidation and red eyes that give off an eerie vibe meet each other.
“I’m sorry, but I never said I would share my love with you two.”
Kayden’s red eyes scanned my face intensely as if trying to understand what I meant. His eyes glittered dangerously as he looked at me.
But I was just telling the truth. Because I’ve never said anything like that before.
“Margaret, I know I’m obsessive and possessive. But you’re not thinking about that man, are you?” Kayden pointed to Enoch and frowned in annoyance.
“But I’ll put up with it. If you don’t like me, I’ll put up with it for now. But when we get back to the Empire, if you still trying to distance yourself from me, I won’t tolerate it.”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t reassure Kayden that I wouldn’t stay away from them; that would be an impossible promise.
We have a lot of work to do right now, though we’re going to have to keep seeing each other, we’re going to be more distant than we were before. We have our own homes, we have our own lives, we can’t be together every day like we were on the island.
I thought to myself, ‘He wouldn’t do anything crazy would he?’ But for some reason, Kayden seemed like the kind of person who would do something crazy without hesitation.
But before I could say anything, my body was lifted up. Enoch pulled me to his seat and he sat next to Kayden.
The sight of two large men sitting side by side in a narrow carriage was rather bizarre. I could tell they were feeling cramped and uncomfortable.
“Damn, it’s cramped! Won’t you move?” Kayden growled, but Enoch didn’t even bother to listen.
Just then, Eunji, who had been sleeping in my dress pocket, stuck her head out and bared her teeth at Enoch and Kayden.
Ah!
The angry Eunji slithered out of my pocket and curled up in a ball on my lap. Her face showed her frustration at being disturbed.
The two men who had been glared at by Eunji fell silent in disbelief.
I decided to ignore them and opened the carriage window to admire the view outside.
‘……it’s a beautiful day.’
With only two days to go before reaching the Langridge Empire, it was not easy to find a town where the troops could stay together. In the end, we had to camp for the night.
While the knights were setting up camp, I tried to shake off the clingy Enoch and Kayden and go for a walk with Eunji.
But it was hard to enjoy the walk in peace with Noel and Heisen following closely behind. I narrowed my eyes and looked back at them resentfully.
“Why do you keep following me? Enough with the apologies.”
At my question, Noel and Heisen glanced at each other in confusion.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered us to escort you.”
Enoch’s orders? Knowing how absolute the crown prince’s orders were to the knights, I gave up on telling them I didn’t need an escort.
On the island, I had always solved problems on my own. I would rather help than be helped.
It was very awkward to be treated like a fragile noble lady now, to be so heavily guarded.
But once I returned to the Empire, this kind of escort would be the norm, and I would have to get used to it.
‘I am an aristocrat. A noble young lady.’
No more gutting fish, no more patrolling to see if any monsters or wild beasts might show up, no more hunting for my own meals.
I sighed and reached into my dress pocket for my flare gun and checked the magazine.
It’s full, but I don’t have too many extra bullets left. I think I also have a few firebombs left, but I don’t need them anymore, so maybe I’ll give them to Kayden.
As I continued walking forward, Noel and Heisen cautioned me, “This is an area where monsters often appear, so be careful.”
Oops, I was only planning on hunting two monsters to feed Eunji, but I can understand Noel and Heisen’s concern, so I’ll have to turn back.
‘Eunji, I’m sorry, but this sister can’t get your food yet.’
Eunji, who was hanging on my arm, also looked very disappointed, flicking her tongue and glaring behind my back.
That’s when I gave up on the monster hunt and put the flare gun back in my pocket.
-rustle.
I heard a stamp on the grass from somewhere, and I felt a chill run down my spine. Eunji, clinging to my forearm, quickly raised her head and looked around.
“What’s that?” I asked in surprise, pulling my flare gun out of my pocket again. Noel and Heisen drew their swords and took a protective stance around me.
-aahhh!
-thump, thump!
People screamed in the distance. After exchanging glances with the two knights, I quickly ran towards the main camp.
What greeted me was a hellish scene.
The main camp was in shambles, with unidentifiable and strange monsters. I stood transfixed for a moment at the unexpected sight.
A nearby knight spotted us and rushed over to warn me of the danger.
“Young lady, please don’t come here……! Ahh!”
Something flew and pierced the knight’s stomach. I looked at what had pierced the knight’s stomach. A black, long leg-like thing was covered in creepy fur.
“Run……! Argh!”
The mysterious thing pierced the knight’s stomach and lifted him high into the air. I recognized the monster at once.
It was definitely one of the giant-sized tarantulas I’d seen on Alea Island.
“What the hell is this……!”
Heisen and Noel drew their swords and blocked my path at the same time. The tarantula pulled out a thin web and spun the knight around, then once again stabbed him in the stomach with its sharp leg. Blood spurted straight at us.
I wiped the blood from my face with the back of my hand. My hands trembled as I automatically remembered the horrible things that had happened on the island.
-gaahhh! Eunji, who was hanging from my forearm, reacted sharply.
As the other knights rushed to the scene and dealt with the tarantula monster, I spotted another group of monsters swarming through the forest in the distance.
Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, but the ones I’d seen on Alea Island had taken it up a notch, becoming more bizarre, like alien creatures, and these were similar.
‘No way, that can’t be. Is it because Alea Island exploded……?’
Could it be that the side effects of the monsters’ evolution had spread mainland like a virus?
Moreover, the movement of the swarming monsters was rather strange. Normally, when monsters move in a swarm, they follow a certain pattern, but there is no such thing now.
I looked back at Noel and Heisen, puzzled.
“The monster’s movements are so sporadic, don’t you think it’s strange?”
“Yes. It’s as if it’s being led by something.”
I could see the knights assembling under Enoch’s command. I also saw Kayden create a combination of defensive and offensive magic circles, and then I shared my mana with Eunji. I couldn’t be this stupid and frightened.
I thought that once we escaped Alea Island, I would never have to shoot flares again. Why is my life so hard?
“Huh? Young lady!”
Noel and Heisen looked puzzled as I stood atop Eunji’s head. I held out my hand to them.
“Come with me! We need to help.”
They quickly came to their senses and followed me, climbing onto Eunji’s body one after another. Eunji grew a little more massive as she advanced into the center of the fight.
It was quite difficult to share my mana with her, as my mana drained quickly at her current size. At this point, I needed to feed her monster until she was full. Eunji also seemed excited.
-gaahhh!
Eunji let out a sharp sound. A huge anaconda’s body sliced through the sky.
The monsters flinched at the sight of her overwhelming form.
As Eunji swept through the camp, picking out and devouring monsters, I loaded my flare gun and squeezed the trigger on the horde of monsters. Red smoke billowed through the huddled monsters, and seconds later, it exploded into a huge flame.
-fizz! bang!
The knights turned to look in my direction as the monsters were torn to pieces and poured down like rain from the sky.
But I didn’t have time to respond to their surprise.
Suddenly, a thick branch shot up from the ground and landed on Eunji’s tail.
‘What the hell!’
The strange tree-like monster struck me, Noel, and Heisen, knocking us to the ground. Luckily, Kayden spotted me from a distance and quickly extended his magic circle, and we landed on the ground unharmed.
But Eunji is in trouble.
The monster had stabbed a branch into her torso.
-gaaahh!
Eunji let out a scream of pain and struggled.