I'm Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 180

“What are those bastards saying now?”

I looked back at Kayden.

“Can you hear what they’re saying with your magic?”

“Magic isn’t all-powerful.”

Kayden sighed and glared down at the garden, at the people in the middle of their conversation.

“They’re going to do something at your birthday party, but they’re not saying exactly what.”

“What, I thought you said magic isn’t all-powerful.”

Kayden smirked at my question. “It’s not magic, I just have good ears.”

“Well, at this rate, we’re not just going to take the Archbishop’s magic stone, we’re going to find out what their plan is.” Enoch crossed his arms and turned his calm gaze to those in the garden.

Just then, the people talking below turned their heads this way. I tugged on Enoch and Kayden and hurriedly ducked my head under the terrace railing. On either side of me, Kayden and Enoch stared at me in confusion.

“Do you think they saw us?”

“I set up a barrier a little while ago, Margaret. It’s okay.”

Kayden’s answer made me feel a little embarrassed, and I let go of my grip.

I peeked my head over the railing first, then back down into the garden. But the people who had been gathered there a moment ago were nowhere to be seen.

“What the hell, they’re gone.”

Eunji, hanging from my shoulder, looked down at the garden with me, tongue flicking out.

“More than that, Margaret, are you sure you’re not going to dance?”

Kayden’s question made Enoch rise from his seat and glance at me. He must have been wondering too.

“Come on, this Ddaggari[1] is number two, dance with me first.”

[1] A person (or slave) who is clinging to an influential person; a king’s minion who takes care of unpleasant errands.

Ddaggari. The word suddenly reminded me of Ruzef. I had no idea that ‘ddaggari’ would be a word that brought back memories.

“You’re supposed to dance with me first.”

“What kind of bullshit are you talking about?”

Enoch demanded, and Kaiyen shot right back.

Enoch narrowed his eyes, unsure of what to do with this troublemaker. He quickly changed his demeanor and looked back at me with pleading eyes.

“Margaret, we agreed earlier that you would dance with me.”

“Me?” I asked back in bewilderment, then shook my head vigorously.

“When did I? And why are you so obsessed with dancing, we have to deal with the Archbishop right now. Hurry up and make a plan.”

Right. It’s not the dance that matters. Right now, we need to find out if that Archbishop with the peony tattoo has a magic stone, find out what he’s up to at my birthday party, and it would be nice to know the exact size of the Peony Blossoms and their ultimate goal.

I mean, does it have to be this hard after escaping from the island? I just want to rest.

I sighed, and Enoch and Kayden exchanged a quick glance at each other’s faces before looking back at me.

In the end, neither of them could break my insistence on not dancing. So the three of us went back to devising a plan to steal the Archbishop’s magic stone.

After a heated discussion, we decided to target him on his way home at the end of the party. There’s no turning back after the carriage ride, so it has to be just before.

When we returned to the ballroom where the party was in full swing, we found that the priests and the chairman of the Wizards’ Association had also returned.

As I waited for the party to wind down, I saw my father and mother suddenly baptizing the papal priests with wine.

Unexpectedly, it was the priests who were doused with wine who apologized to my parents.

“My filly!”

My father and mother, who hadn’t seen me until later, rushed over and hugged me. The stares I received were overwhelming.

“Are you okay? We heard that something untoward happened while we were away talking to the Duke of Bilterheim.”

My mother and father were furious and openly gossiped about the people of the Holy See, but no one blamed them. I realized that they both had great character.

I wondered if I should tell them what was coming next, but decided not to.

‘For some reason, I’m scared to tell them.’

I’ll tell them when everything is done. I laughed at my parents’ outbursts of anger. The tired and difficult emotions I had felt earlier seemed to melt away like snow.

There’s something very, very good about having people who are so unconditionally on your side.

***

Margaret, having calmed the Duke and Duchess of Floné, returned to Enoch and Kayden.

Just then, she saw a group of papal priests disappear into the distance. They continued to move in clusters, making it difficult to take out the Archbishop alone.

Seeing Margaret moving in their direction, Kayden grabbed her shoulder. “Margaret. If you think you’re in danger, step back.”

At his words, Margaret smiled beautifully, and Kayden took a moment to catch his breath at that smile.

“Thank you for your concern. But we’ve seen a lot worse than this on the island. Those fools are out of luck, picking us as their guinea pigs.”

She patted him on the shoulder and strode forward with a hesitant stride.

[No matter how you slice it, Margaret is no ordinary woman,] Jenas muttered in his head.

[Maybe she’d be better suited to the world beyond the dimension she’d only been in for a short time than here.]

Kayden didn’t answer, instead looking at the back of Margaret’s head as she walked ahead.

That world is more suitable for Margaret? That’s ridiculous.

If Jenas wanted to dedicate his life to the glory of House Rohade and the experiment on Alea Island, Kayden wanted to dedicate his life to the downfall of House Rohade and magic.

All these new feelings he’s been feeling with Margaret are the first and last for him, and that’s why he can’t lose her, can’t let her go. He could not give her up, not even to Enoch, and he could not let her be distracted by the Peony Blossom faction.

I could see that Margaret was having a hard time lately. She didn’t seem to realize it, but she hadn’t had a moment’s peace of mind since her escape from Alea Island.

‘I should just get rid of them all and kidnap Margaret somewhere where no one can see her. No, it won’t work.’

Kayden looked up, not really wanting to kidnap Margaret, of course, but figuring he’d do it if he had to.

At the far end of his vision, he could see the backs of the papal priests.

‘Shall I really wipe them out?’

His eyes darkened.

[My descendant, do you want me to help you?]

Jenas whispered devilishly in his ear. And it was the whisper that brought Kayden to his senses.

Balhyeon.

‘Shut up. Don’t play tricks on me.’

Jenas is like an unexploded time bomb. He is not dangerous, but he is a burden.

I have to keep my wits about me.

***

Fortunately, I could see the Archbishop walking the farthest behind the other priests. I quickly caught up with him, preparing to give Eunji mana.

The hallway we were walking down was on the first floor, and it was an open hallway with no windows, so once you got over the railing, you were straight into the imperial garden. I hurried my steps with a nervous mind.

Enoch would run ahead of them, intending to block their path and stall for time; he is a crown prince, so he could hold off the Holy See priests for a while without opposition.

“Be careful.”

Enoch patted me on the head and ran forward. I watched his back as he walked away with a stony face, then dug into the pocket of my dress for the firebomb.

I’d been skeptical that I should bring a bomb to a party hosted by the imperial family, but I hadn’t expected it to be so helpful.

“Be careful.”

Repeating Enoch’s words, Kayden cast a protection spell over the imperial garden. To ensure that no lives would be lost.

The rest was up to me and Eunji. I gave her some of my mana, and she grew a little larger.

In the distance, I saw Enoch and Kayden stopping the priests and talking to them about something.

I can’t afford to make mistakes. I really have to do something big now.

I moistened my dry lips with my tongue and took up a stance, then pulled the pin on the firebomb and hurled it toward the imperial garden.

-boom! boom!

With a huge explosion, I saw the priests stare at the imperial garden in surprise. While the bomb drew their attention, Enoch urged them on, causing further confusion.

This is the time.

Eunji swallowed the distracted bishop in his mouth. Kayden, who had finished manifesting the magic formula, followed.

Back in the secluded corner of the garden, Eunji spat out the Archbishop in disgust, gagged, and then turned back into her snake form, banging her head on my foot and whimpering in pain.

In an instant, the tension was gone. So did the priests of the Holy See.

I don’t know if surviving on the island has made us stronger, but things are surprisingly easy.

I crouched down, stroked Eunji’s head, and looked at the Archbishop who was covered in sticky slime.

“Eww.”

I took out my handkerchief and rummaged through the Archbishop’s clothes, finally finding a magic stone. Luckily, this guy really has a magic stone. As if she had been waiting for it, Eunji ate it.

That’s two Magic Stones removed already.

Kayden frowned at the Archbishop on the ground. “Do we need to wake him up? I don’t want to touch him.”

Just then, Enoch appeared. The palace was noisy outside. Apparently, everyone inside the ballroom had spilled out.

Good. Now that we’re attracting the right amount of attention, I’ll take this opportunity to take the Archbishop as planned. If he’s of the Peony Blossom faction and has one of the fifteen magic stones, he’s bound to be a wealth of information.

“Margaret, are you all right?” Enoch examined my complexion with a worried look.

“I didn’t expect you to actually throw a bomb at the imperial palace. You really…… have a lot of courage.” Kayden clapped his hands in admiration.

Then Enoch asked, “What about the magic stone?”

“Eunji ate it.”

Eunji burped just in time.

That’s when Kayden suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.

“What’s wrong?!”

I grabbed his arm in surprise, and he rubbed his temple and frowned in annoyance. He regained his composure, rejected my hand, and stood up straight.

“When I made the restrictions in the soul-binding contract, I also included that every time I found someone from the Peony Blossom faction, Jenas’ soul would be torn apart. That’s why, ha. Perhaps because it’s the second time, the intensity has increased a little.”

Jenas’ soul would be torn apart.

It’s a good thing he’s suffering so continuously. A thousand years of punishment will never be enough.

“But is it affecting you, too? If so, it’s dangerous.”

“It’s not dangerous, so it’s okay. Anyway, we’ve all been through a lot, and I think it’s time we parted ways. I’ll keep him in the Magic Tower, so come visit me tomorrow.”

Kayden turned around, scanning the area. I swallowed hard the words of worry that rose in my throat; he was right, it would be better to part ways on this tide.

We said goodbye for the umpteenth time and parted ways.

27. A Birthday Party Like No Other

The next day, unsurprisingly, the firebomb incident was all over the newspapers, and the Langridge imperial family was criticized by the public for the palace’s poor defense system.

The remnants of a firebomb, a modified grenade, were found in the garden, but there was no way to determine its identity.

It had come from Korea, a world beyond the dimension, and had been modified by Jenas.

Predictably, the Peony Blossoms had moved, and the investigation for the firebomb was slow, allowing me to slip through the cracks.

My birthday party is now two weeks away.

I received letters from Arthdal, Yuanna, and Ruzef. I read the one from Arthdal first and narrowed my eyes.

[……I heard there was a bombing at the palace, and I’m sure it was you! Ah, is it dangerous to write something like this in a letter? But I’m sure you’ll take care of it! Hahaha! Of course, it was a joke, so don’t worry. I’ll put a delicate tracking spell on the letter after I seal it, so it won’t get lost. I hope you’re reading my letter safely now. I can’t wait for your birthday party. Who knew there was so much to do here, so much to miss on that crazy experimental island? I guess I should use your birthday party as an excuse to get away. I will be visiting Floné mansion in about a week……]

I’ve never seen anyone laugh so loudly while writing a letter. I pressed a finger to my brow.

Arthdal is the kind of person who, if I warned him of what the Peony Blossom faction would do to my birthday party, he would just laugh and say, “It’s going to be an interesting one!”

I was already expecting a very tiring birthday party.