I'm Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 186

***

As I walked to the parlor with Arthdal, I felt people’s eyes on me. No way is this going to be a scandal, right? I have an ominous feeling.

I glanced at Arthdal, thinking that I should explain the situation to Enoch and Kayden so that they wouldn’t misunderstand.

We were sitting across from each other in the parlor, and unlike me, Arthdal seemed to be in good spirits.

“I missed you, young lady.”

With that, I crushed the cookie I was holding. Arthdal was surprised and grabbed a handkerchief to clean up the cookie crumbs that had fallen onto my dress.

“You’re not a seven-year-old child. Don’t you have a handkerchief?”

“No. I forgot, I’m not used to that yet.”

“That sounds like a pretty serious problem.”

“It’s not that serious.”

Just then, Eunji, who had been munching on a cookie at the table, looked up. The corners of her mouth were smeared with cookie crumbs.

Her staple food was mana, but she’d eaten everything else. I quietly brushed the cookie crumbs from the corner of her mouth. Does she take after her owner?

“No. This is serious. How can a noblewoman not carry a handkerchief?” Arthdal retorted, kneeling down on one knee in front of me.

He lectured me as if scolding a younger sibling. I was already starting to get tired.

As I stared at him in annoyance, the parlor door opened.

“Oh my God!”

The maid, carrying a tray with the tea set, stopped in the doorway in surprise, for she saw Arthdal kneeling in front of me, straightening my dress.

Embarrassed, I pulled up a chair and moved away from him.

“Thanks for the handkerchief.”

Arthdal looked at me in bewilderment, then, as if he couldn’t help it, jumped to his feet and turned to the maid, who stood stunned.

“What are you doing? Where’s the tea?”

Arthdal’s words startled the maid, who hastily set the teacup down on the table.

“There’s something we need to talk about in private, so there’s no need to wait. Go out.”

“Sorry?”

“Are all of your maids as foolish as you? You should educate them.”

“I guess everyone in the Kingdom of Hestia is as shameless as you are, then. I apologize for the rudeness.”

“I- I’m sorry.”

The maid who had been listening to our conversation dropped to her knees. I sighed and motioned for her to leave. Surprised that there was no punishment, the maid looked at me, deeply moved, thanked us profusely, and left the parlor.

“Hmm. The tea tastes very good.”

“You still have the habit of evaluating.”

“It’s the nature of my position. I have to evaluate everything, and even if I look like this, I’m a very sensitive person, otherwise, I’d be killed in the Royal Palace.”

I shut my mouth, momentarily at a loss for words. Apparently, being the crown prince didn’t come without its challenges. Of course, the life of one who stands at the pinnacle of a nation can be hard, but I thought Arthdal didn’t think about that at all.

“Is it because you really wanted to get away from work that you came so early?”

“Hmm. Partly true.”

Judging by his vague answer, there was another reason.

“I’ll give you this first.”

Arthdal pulled something from the inside pocket of his jacket. It was a box, sealed with magic. I meekly accepted it. I could feel its heavy weight.

“Magic stone?”

Arthdal nodded. “When I returned to the royal palace after a long absence, it was a mess. I drained the treasury, and it took some effort to clean it up. I even found a magic stone.”

I’d heard stories of a bloodbath in Hestia, and he seemed to be referring to the events of that time.

“Those with peony tattoos have been captured and sent to prison. I’ll have to think about their punishment. They’re nothing more than a bunch of…… ha……”

Arthdal pressed his brows in annoyance and blew out a long breath. Apparently, the problem was solved easily enough for him.

“For some reason, I felt uncomfortable holding the magic stone, so I took your advice and sealed it in a box with a spell.”

I believed Yuanna would be fine since she was a saint, but I thought Arthdal might not be, so I sent him an urgent message telling him to keep the magic stone sealed. When Arthdal received the letter, he seemed to take my advice.

“Thank you,” I replied as I carefully opened the box and examined the magic stone, which Arthdal boasted about.

I pulled a box out of my dress pocket and opened the lid, which contained the two magic stones Yuanna had given me. I placed all three in the box Arthdal had given me.

Arthdal, who was watching me with his chin resting, asked, “You kept them instead of destroying them right away? The letter Banhwang gave me said that your pet snake could destroy them.”

“Well, Eunji seems to be doing a lot of work lately, and what if this is a burden to her?”

I stared at the magic stones in the box, my face full of thoughts. Eunji’s gotten stronger after eating the herbs Rosemary brought, but I don’t know. Eunji can’t speak, so I have to watch her more carefully.

“I thought she’d already eaten two of them. Wasn’t she fine then? Does your pet snake hate to eat?”

“No, no. I don’t think she hates to eat……”

Eunji raised her head and looked back and forth between me and Arthdal as if she knew I was talking about her. Then she slithered over to the box in my hand.

She seemed to want to eat the magic stone. I wonder if it’s because it’s a stone made from extracting mana. Yeah, I’m just too worried.

“It’s good to be cautious, but if you think too much, it can anger her. Sometimes you don’t think at the right time.”

Arthdal said something that hit me right in the bone.

At that moment, Eunji swatted my hand with her head, causing me to drop the box I was carrying on the table. Three magic stones rolled out of the box.

Eunji opened her mouth wide and ate the three magic stones in an instant.

“Eunji!”

Startled, I grabbed her and patted her on the back, but she just flicked her tongue with a happy face and burped.

“Can’t you listen to this sister? It’s because I’m worried about you!”

Eunji made a pouty face like an adolescent child, banging her tail on the table.

“Hahaha, hahaha!”

Arthdal laughed until he was in tears.

“She’s just like her owner.”

-gah. Eunji blew a small flame out of her mouth as if in response to Arthdal’s comment. Then she slithered around the table with a pleased look on her face.

“There, your snake looks fine.”

“Well, by the looks of it, yes……”

I patted her chin, and she closed her eyes with her tongue flicking out happily.

She’d already eaten five magic stones, and she was still fine. At this point, I had a question.

Who is Eunji?

“Oh, you know I have a magic eye, and I can see the flow of mana through them,” Arthdal said, pointing to his uncovered eye.

His blue eye sparkled. Perhaps because it was a magic eye, the color was very pretty.

“Now I only have one, so it’s a little weaker, but I can still see it. As far as I can tell, your snake got a good flow of mana, so she should be fine.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. If Arthdal said so, it was so. His magic was reliable.

“Maybe because she’s imprinted you, she’s giving off a different aura than normal monsters.”

“Is this what happens when a monster imprints on a human?”

“No, more precisely, he imprinted on your soul. You have a mixed soul, right? So your mana flow is a bit unusual. That’s why you were the only one on the island who could use mana.”

I see. I must be some kind of bug in this world. I thought it was only on the island, but I’m still a bug even after escaping the island.

However, my life in Korea has already happened and cannot be undone. I have to accept it. At least that’s how Eunji became who she is today.

I stroked Eunji’s head, watching her eat both mine and Arthdal’s cookies.

While I was lost in thought, Arthdal pointed at my finger. “I see you’re still wearing the ring.”

I glanced down at the ring on my right hand. “Oh. It’s helping me a lot, and I really appreciate you giving me the ring.”

“I’m glad to hear it’s helping, because if it hadn’t, I doubt you’d have ever seen me again. It’s a good thing I gave it to you in the first place. Phew.”

Arthdal playfully stroked his chest.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t like me, do you?”

“You’re right.”

“It hurts me when you say it out loud like that.”

“I don’t care if you get hurt.”

“You have no blood and tears.”

“So what’s your point?” I asked.

Arthdal shrugged, his face nonchalant. “I don’t trust people. I have a lot of doubts.”

“I know.”

“It wasn’t born in me. I almost died at the hands of my ex-wife, who I trusted. I guess that’s when my distrust of people started.”

-cough.

I set my teacup down hastily and covered my mouth with the handkerchief Arthdal had given me. Then I coughed out a long, dry cough.

Arthdal looked at me. “I’m sorry, young lady. Oh, no. Too many apologies dilutes the sincerity of an apology, but I guess coming back from the dead has made me a bit sentimental, hahaha.”

He laughed naturally, but somehow this time it was lifeless.

I looked at him with a complicated, wistful feeling. I never thought the day would come when I would look at Arthdal this way.

It must not have been easy for him to apologize to someone when he was at the top of the ladder to begin with.

“I accept your apology, so stop apologizing.”

I echoed back to Arthdal what Enoch had said to me the last time.

We’ve all changed a lot.

We got to know each other a little better and understood each other’s situations.

Of course, we still had a lot of work to do, and a lot of growing up to do, but I think we’re on the right track.

***

Arthdal and I left the parlor for a stroll through the garden of the Floné Castle because he insisted on seeing the garden.

Despite my annoyance, I was still explaining the garden to him.

“Miss!”

Vanessa rushed out to the garden to find me. What’s the matter?

“His Highness the Crown Prince is here.”

I was a little surprised by the words. If it was Enoch, he should have arrived sometime tomorrow, but this soon?

“There you are.”

As soon as I thought that, Enoch appeared. He was clad in a crown prince’s uniform that was almost as fancy as Arthdal’s.