I'm Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 188

***

It’s the day of my birthday party.

I have been busy since the early hours of the morning, as I have a lot of work to do in preparation for the party. This allowed me to forget about the complicated and nuanced conversation I had with Kayden yesterday.

Vanessa and I rushed to get ready as quickly as possible, but it was already afternoon.

“Oh, right. How’s the preparations for the party going? Remember I told you to leave the kitchen back door open?”

Vanessa immediately realized what I was asking and smiled. “Yes. It’s going as you instructed.”

I nodded at her words. By the time I was finished and had a chance to relax a bit, Vanessa came back with a newspaper.

“You asked me to bring you today’s newspaper, didn’t you?”

I took the newspaper from her, sipped my coffee, and quietly read the headlines of the day.

[Any progress on the search for Alea Island?! The island is still shrouded in mystery. Is the island really real……?]

The search for Alea Island appears to be making no progress. The southern waters of Langridge, where the Portal Gate coordinates had been taken, were in rough seas reminiscent of the Bermuda Triangle. Diego and his brother haven’t even gotten near it yet.

I sighed. The Peony Blossoms will be happy. The good news is, with all eyes now on the southern coast of Langridge, they won’t be able to get close to Alea Island carelessly.

With a heavy heart, I flipped to the next page.

[Who are the leaders of each country that Crown Prince Enoch and Crown Prince Arthdal accuse of being behind the kidnapping of the Seven……? Emily’s analysis!]

Before, Enoch and Arthdal had said that ‘those who supported the war were most likely behind the kidnapping’, so maybe that’s why they analyzed the leaders who led the war.

A journalist named Emily has published a list of possible suspects behind the kidnapping, narrowing it down to the Empress, the Holy See, and Marquis Rohade.

……isn’t this going to get them arrested for contempt of the imperial family and nobility?

However, the Burneton Newspaper is a highly influential media organization in the Langridge Empire and beyond, and with the Emperor openly supporting Enoch, I don’t think the Empress and Marquis Rohade will be able to put too much pressure on them.

Still, I’m afraid of the repercussions later. Perhaps by now, the Burneton Newspaper has been trashed by the Empress and the Holy See. After all, journalists are fearless.

[Margaret Rose Floné’s birthday party, the talk of the town! We’ve managed to get hold of part of the guest list……!]

I arched an eyebrow at the article that followed.

‘They publish gossip like this?’

Suddenly, the Burneton Newspaper’s credibility plummeted. The newspaper reported that my birthday party would be attended by Crown Prince Enoch, as well as Crown Prince Arthdal, the Magic Tower Lord, and the rarely-seen Saintess.

They expressed their anticipation of a scandal at the party. They really have nothing better to do. On top of that, the journalist openly expressed his desire to infiltrate the party.

He even detailed how he was going to break into my birthday party. What the hell, where did he get this information?

That’s when someone came looking for me.

-knock knock.

“Lady, His Highness the Crown Prince is here to see you.”

“Let him in.”

At my reply, the door to the salon opened and in walked Enoch, clad in his crown prince’s uniform.

His rigid movements and cold eyes scanned the salon for a moment before landing on me. He froze in place for a moment, looking surprised. I shrunk my shoulders a little in embarrassment.

Today I wore my hair up high with a fancy ornament. However, because the shoulder line was too low, my brightly exposed bare skin was a bit cold.

The puffed sleeves gave the dress an aristocratic, elegant look, and the overall dress was a mix of blue fabric and pure white lace that matched my eye color. I didn’t even wear anything fancy for the welcome home party at the palace last time, because it was done in a rush.

Does this look bad?

I was a little embarrassed because Enoch didn’t say anything, but he finally spoke after a while.

“You’re beautiful.”

I don’t think Enoch has ever called me beautiful so directly before.

‘Certainly on the island, there was no such thing as beautiful.’

Just then, Eunji, with the ribbon around her neck, slithered over to me.

“Oh, my God, how cute.”

I picked her up and slung her over my shoulder. She seemed to understand my praise and nuzzled her cheek against my neck.

“Margaret.”

Enoch stepped closer to me.

The golden eyes that met mine were like those of an animal trying to suppress its instincts. I panicked at the intensity and ferocity of his gaze, as if it could devour me at any moment. I felt my breath catch in my throat, as if the air had settled heavily in my lungs, unable to overcome the gravity of Enoch’s presence.

Vanessa, who was standing nearby, took notice and rushed out of the salon. Damn it, don’t go!

“Margaret, you never cease to provoke me.”

“Yeah, what?”

I stared up at him in disbelief as he slowly extended his hand to me.

“I would like to be your partner today, if you will.”

This time, neither Kayden nor Enoch had offered to be my partner for the party, so I thought I’d just show up on my own.

I stared at the hand extended to me for a moment, then thought of Kayden. My heart grew suddenly heavy.

Enoch, who had been waiting for me, soon withdrew his hand, and for a moment I thought he was going to pull away, but suddenly he grabbed mine first.

“Say no, and I’ll let you go.”

It was as if a vicious beast had suppressed its savage emotions and was behaving like a gentleman.

My heart thudded in my chest.

Say no? I won’t. The feeling is not a fleeting one.

It had been there since I’d first woken up on the island, carefully built up, rising to prominence like a tall tower.

I didn’t want to avoid this newfound feeling of bewilderment.

I took Enoch’s hand. My heart was pounding. As he looked at me, a full, satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Of course, I didn’t know it then. I didn’t expect that when Kayden saw me walk into the party with Enoch, he would simply retract his promise to keep his distance and come running to me.

***

As I made my way to the party, I was informed of the happenings at the imperial palace.

First of all, the execution of Prince Rodvan had been decided. The date was roughly a month away, and I was told that the Empress had spent days and days crying in front of the Emperor’s office, begging him to be spared.

“The Archbishop said that ‘everyone’ with a magic stone would be attending this party, so would the Empress still attend under such circumstances? I’m pretty sure Her Majesty the Empress has a magic stone.”

“The Empress might attend, I suppose. Didn’t the Archbishop say they would gather to wipe out all the survivors? The Empress is the one who believes that without me, the Emperor will reinstate my brother. As she has always done.”

Enoch’s face was impassive, but for some reason, I found it comforting to hear.

“If the Empress insists on coming to the Floné estate, my mother will deal with her personally.”

“I see.” Enoch nodded.

“The Saintess and Archbishop Ruzef said they would come straight to the ballroom.”

“I suppose we’ll all be there except for Sir Diego.”

“Yes. It will be the first time we’ve all been together in a long time.”

I hadn’t realized that I’d become so fond of everyone since we went through the hard times together on the island, though that doesn’t mean I have any desire to go back there.

“I thought all I had to do was arrest the Peony Blossoms at this party and it would all be over,” I muttered and stared ahead for a moment. The long hallway to the ballroom somehow seemed even longer.

“It’s not over until Jenas is gone.”

“He’ll be gone when we take out the entire Peony Blossoms this time,” Enoch replied calmly, but I was somewhat skeptical of his words.

Jenas must be up to something. This seemed obvious. I wondered if Kayden was trying to distance himself from me because he was becoming too much to handle.

Could it be that the magic stones on Alea Island that Jenas had mentioned were his secret weapon?

“I’m worried about Kayden.”

Enoch stopped walking at that moment. I turned to him with a questioning look on my face.

“I understand.”

“What?”

“I’m fine. If I couldn’t accept that man, I would have given up on you long ago on the island.”

“Wait a minute, Enoch. What are you talking about? Explain it to me so I can understand.”

“If you choose the Lord over me, I’m fine with that, as long as you let me be by your side–”

“No, wait. Wait.”

That’s what the Crown Prince of the Empire would say? It sounded like he was saying, “I don’t mind if I’m your second, just let me be next to you.” But I don’t want that!

I covered Enoch’s mouth, then sneaked a look around. Luckily, no one was walking this way.

Eunji, who had been resting her head gently on my shoulder, craned her neck to see what was going on.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I was just really worried about Kayden and…… that…… Jenas came to see me before I came down to the Floné estate, as I said in the letter, he said something strange……”

“Lady, there you are.”

I shut my mouth, stopping myself from speaking. When the time came and I was nowhere to be seen, the butler came looking for me himself.

“We’ll talk again later.”

Enoch looked at me and nodded. I couldn’t waste any more time, not with everyone else waiting for me.

Without further ado, we followed the butler into the ballroom.

***

More people attended the party than expected. It seemed that every family that was invited was present.

Emily from the Burneton Newspaper adjusted her monocle and stood in the corner, observing the ballroom.

There was one place where all eyes were focused, and at the end of it stood a beautiful saint with short brown hair. She was such a high-ranking figure that it was said that very few people within the Holy See had ever seen her face.

‘No wonder, she’s a saint with extraordinary divine powers who appeared for the first time in a hundred years.’

Emily stared at the man standing next to her in silence. A man with beautiful blue hair that fell down to his waist and an appearance as neat as a flower, standing with a stern face, scanning the ballroom.

He is Archbishop Ruzef Cain Dieferde.

He is famous in the Holy See. Of the twelve archbishops, he is the one with the most divine power, and the one who knows how to use it best.

I had heard that he was very short-tempered and fussy, but when I saw him standing so calmly beside the Saintess, I couldn’t help but wonder if that was true.

‘Either that, or he’s killing his temper for a while for some reason.’

The latter seemed to be the case, as he kept scanning his surroundings with an impatient look on his face.

Then, the person who appeared and immediately grabbed everyone’s attention was none other than the Magic Tower Lord of the Langridge Empire.

There are only four Magic Tower Lords in the entire continent. He is praised as the most outstanding among them, and is said to be the genius who will be the next Jenas Igran Rohade.

“My God, how can a Magic Tower Lord be so hot?”

“Oh, I guess you didn’t attend the last welcome home party, Lady Harriet.”

“I’ve already seen him back then, but he’s still as mesmerizing as ever.”

The young ladies nearby could be seen talking excitedly about the Magic Tower Lord.

“I’m glad I waited a week to come to the party. I never thought I’d see so many great faces in one place. Crown Prince Hestia will be here, too, and I heard His Highness the Crown Prince Enoch has come himself.”

“Her Majesty the Empress will be attending, that’s all, and His Holiness the Pope will be here in person, too, which is great, because he didn’t even attend the last welcome home party, so this is almost like an imperial party.”

Emily took out her notebook at that and scribbled quietly.

Yes. This is just as lavish and magnificent as an imperial party. It shows not only the influence of the Floné family, but also the influence of Margaret Rose Floné, who is now a hot topic everywhere.

And just then, an announcement was made that the birthday girl would be entering the ballroom.