I'm Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 173

In any case, the greeting with the Emperor came to an end without prolongation.

The Emperor and Empress returned to the palace, and the knights dispersed to do their own thing, but there was still a sizable crowd in front of the palace.

That’s why people’s eyes were still focused on us. I don’t like being the center of attention, so I’m going home.

I turned to say goodbye to Enoch and Kayden and locked eyes with a middle-aged man who was staring at me.

It was my father, the Duke of Floné, a middle-aged man with long hair neatly tied back.

When he made eye contact with me, his face lit up like a flower, and he waved to me. It was rather strange to see a face that had been sternly focused soften and turn silly.

‘Oh, yes. My father was always like that.’

Father. I kept repeating the word over and over in my mind. It felt strange.

If my self as Lee Jinju is stronger in me, then the name Father and all these circumstances should feel unfamiliar.

But perhaps it was because the Margaret of the past was also clearly me, so everything felt natural, without any sense of strangeness. It was all the more strange because it was a separate emotion from the unfamiliar.

“My filly!”

As if he’d been waiting for this moment, my father came running up to me in one stride and pulled me into a tight embrace.

“I can’t believe you’re finally here, alive, and this father of yours is…… this father is……! Sob……!”

He began to wail as he embraced me.

Normally, the Duke of Floné was a graceful and dignified nobleman, but when his family’s affairs got in the way, he became as fragile as a quivering flower.

I sighed and patted my father on the back. It was very embarrassing to have people gawking at our emotional father-daughter reunion, and I was most embarrassed that Enoch and Kayden were watching us from afar in disbelief.

And “my filly.”

I remembered that filly was the nickname my father used to call me, but to be called that in such a public place……!

This is so embarrassing……!

“Oh, Father, I–”

“I know. You must have missed me so much, too. Are you hurt anywhere? How hard it must have been for you, I can’t breathe just imagining what you’ve been through……!”

He cried so hard, his face filled with tears, and for a moment I was speechless, not knowing what to say in response.

In fact, I had been worried that upon returning to the Langridge Empire, I would be like a stone thrown into the aristocratic world and not fit in.

But my father, the head of the prestigious House of Floné, is such a man, so wouldn’t it be fine if there was one more oddball like me?

It was my older sister, Innis, the eldest daughter of House Floné, who rescued me from this embarrassing situation.

“Father,” she said, “what an ungracious thing to do in the presence of the Crown Prince and the Lord of the Magic Tower.”

At her words, my father wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and glanced at Enoch and Kayden, who stood behind me.

After introducing herself to Enoch and Kayden, Innis pushed past my father and walked over to me, pulling me into a hug.

“Margaret, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

It was a very clean and formal greeting compared to my father’s, but I recognized the tremor at the end of her voice. After standing there for a moment, I finally pulled her into a tight hug. Then I quietly buried my face in her shoulder.

“I missed you, Innis.”

These are my words, and Margaret’s.

Her body scent was strangely familiar. And I felt strangely close to tears. In the midst of my confusion, I felt very happy to see her, which was a very strange feeling.

“Margaret, what about this father? Will you tell me you miss me too?!”

It would have been a pretty touching family reunion if it weren’t for my father’s nudging from behind.

“Of course I missed my father, too.”

But my affectionate response seemed to offend him. His head turned quickly to look at Innis and he started crying again.

“Innis, don’t you think our filly is a little strange? There’s no way she could be so kind to her father.”

Innis glared at my father in annoyance. Seeing the cold look on her face, my father whined that he was scared and hurt.

I asked them, looking a little tired, “Do you mind if I say goodbye to the Crown Prince and the Lord?”

Innis and my father glanced over at Enoch and Kayden, then stepped aside.

Once I was sure no one was close enough to hear our conversation, I looked back at Enoch and Kayden.

Enoch and Kayden watched us with interest, then smiled when their eyes locked with mine.

“So this is your family,” Enoch said.

Kayden added, “Quirky, just like you.”

My face burned for some reason.

I put my hands to my cheeks for a moment to cool off, then spoke, “It’s awkward that we have to part ways now.”

We’ve been together every day for months, and it feels like a bit of a void. Not that I wouldn’t see them forever.

Kayden’s face crumpled at my words. “What do you mean we’re parting ways?”

“We are.”

Enoch nodded at my words, then lifted my hand and slowly kissed the back of it. “I’ll have to make a formal visit to the Floné Mansion soon.”

At that, Kayden lifted my other hand and kissed the back of it. “Then I’ll make an unofficial visit.”

“Lord.”

Kayden shrugged and smiled nonchalantly at Enoch’s stern voice. It was so very Kayden.

The three of us must have looked like a close-knit group even without listening to our conversations. It was a familiar sight on the island, but one that I’m sure would have been unfamiliar to the people here.

I could see the people who had been watching us from afar with curious faces stiffen in surprise.

I sighed tiredly and pulled away from Enoch and Kayden. “Don’t get too close to me. I don’t want to get scandalized or anything. It’s bad for me, and it’s bad for you two.”

At my words, Kayden’s eyes flashed with a fierce glint. He stepped closer to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Margaret, we agreed not to keep our distance.”

The hand on my shoulder feels a little heavy. There were a lot of eyes on us, so Kayden didn’t touch me more than that.

“And if any of them start talking about scandal, I’ll rip their mouths off.”

It’s an empty threat, but somehow I think Kayden might actually mean it, and wouldn’t that be more counterproductive?

Pulling me away from Kayden, Enoch stared at me in silence. I blushed at the dignity in his stern golden eyes.

“If you’re worried about scandal, don’t be, for soon it won’t be scandal at all.”

Enoch’s words were so meaningful that it was a little hard to decipher their meaning. I was a little uncomfortable with the stares around me. Whatever it was, I wanted to get away from the table.

“Anyway, again, this isn’t Alea Island, and it’s going to be weird for a man and a woman who aren’t married to each other to be this close. It’s time to get used to it. To live in a civilized society.” I shook my head, not letting them get any closer to me.

“Did you…… did you say marriage?”

“What, what are you talking about, Margaret? Do you have a man to marry?”

I furrowed my brow at their questioning. “I don’t.”

Watching the two men breathe a sigh of relief, I shook my head and finally said goodbye. “Anyway, I’ll leave you two to yourselves, and I’ll see you at the welcome home party.”

“I’ll be visiting your mansion before then.”

“I’ll be there before then, too.”

Okay, okay. I gave them a curt okay and turned my back on them.

I found my father and Innis staring at me with their mouths agape.

My head hurts already thinking about explaining my relationship with them.

***

The maids at Floné Mansion were on edge.

“It’s so good to know she’s alive, but I’m afraid she’s coming back.”

One of the maids, busily preparing for the party, spoke up, and the others around her chimed in.

“Yes, she may not use sadistic corporal punishment like the Cozettes, but weren’t there some girls who had their hair pulled by her?”

“Hey, but didn’t they deserve it? Rosie stole her jewelry, and Hilda almost burned her when she spilled hot coffee on the back of her hand, and it only ended in a hair pulling.”

“Hey, what kind of aristocrat grabs you by the hair just because they’re mad at you?”

“Oh, yes. Our Lady Margaret was not a particularly gentle lady.”

“Then she must be a filly, for the Duke and Duchess call her a filly.”

“She is, but she’s kind of cute.”

-giggles.

“What are you talking about?”

Vanessa’s voice came from behind them, and the maids bolted upright.

“You must all be out of your minds.” Vanessa swept her stern gaze over the chattering maids. The maids trembled under her gaze.

Vanessa is the exclusive maid of the ladies of House Floné. Unlike the lower-ranking maids, she naturally has a higher rank and is more powerful.

“It- it was a slip of the tongue.”

“Whatever you said, I’ll pass it on to the head maid, that’s all.”

Vanessa’s cold words frightened the maids, their faces pale. They would be punished, perhaps, if Vanessa went straight to the head maid.

***

I boarded the carriage with my father and Innis, heading for the Floné Mansion in the capital.

Father and Innis sat side by side, and I sat awkwardly across from them. My father was sobbing uncontrollably, reaching for his handkerchief to wipe away his tears.

Innis looked at him and sighed, then looked at me. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?”

I asked back, a little bluntly, and then shut up again. I couldn’t stand the awkwardness.

It’s obvious that they’re my family. It’s also obvious that I’m Margaret, so the fact that it’s not awkward to deal with them is what makes it awkward for me.

Should I say that I feel like I am not myself?

That’s when Eunji, who was rustling around in my dress pocket, poked her head out.

“Ahhh!”

My father jumped up, startled, and groaned as he hit his head on the carriage window. Unlike him, Innis stared at Eunji with a calm face, not even a hint of fear.

“Is this the rumored divine beast?”

Eunji opened her mouth as if to respond to Innis’s question, and a finger-sized flame shot out.

“No, this is not a divine beast, it just looks like a snake!”

Eunji snorted in annoyance at my father’s shout. For some reason, I can see Ruzef in my father’s face, but I hope I’m mistaken.

After watching her for a while, Innis gently stroked Eunji’s head.

Eunji glanced up at her and gave her a look, then closed her eyes and rubbed her face against her palm, feeling good.

Innis’s stiff cheeks flushed bright red, and she coughed in embarrassment and pulled her hand away.

“Hmm. Cute.”

Eunji wagged the tip of her tail like a puppy. She stared at Innis with puppy-like eyes, and her face grew redder and redder.

“How did you meet it?”

“We met on the island where I was kidnapped. I was wandering around and picked up an egg, and it hatched, and she thought I was her mom and followed me around.”

Innis’s face crumpled into a grimace as she heard the story.

“Wait, okay. You said you were kidnapped. What the hell happened to you in the meantime? Did something bad happen to you?”

“My filly, what do you mean? Did something really happen to you?”

Innis’ demanding tone caused my father to flinch, and he leaned down and grabbed me by the shoulders as if in a panic.