I'm Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 214
I heard that the Blood Oath was stamped with the Emperor’s seal, and I couldn’t believe my ears. That the Emperor, who seemed to be supporting Enoch, was actually a member of the Peony Blossom faction.
And Marquis Rohade was able to slip under the radar and disappear from all of our eyes because of the Emperor’s help.
He must have weighed the scales between the Peony Blossom and us. He intended to favor whoever won, and when he came to the southern shores of Langridge, he planned to retrieve the blood oath document held by Marquis Rohade.
But he didn’t expect my father, Duke Floné, to come to the aid in person, and in the end, he didn’t get what he wanted.
Enoch knew the Emperor was not a good man, which was probably what he knew best, after all, he had sent his own children to their deaths and neglected Enoch until now.
Enoch showed no sign of surprise at the truth. As if he had predicted it all.
Perhaps the execution of the Peony Blossom faction would be a way for Enoch’s past and pain to be washed away all at once.
Not just for Enoch, of course, but for Kayden, Arthdal, Yuanna, and all those who have been victimized by them over time.
The execution took place in Langridge Square. People from other nations had gathered there, and it was very crowded.
The world had relied on mana for so many years that when it was taken away, the chaos was enormous, and when it was realized that the Peony Blossom faction was responsible for the loss of mana, the outrage across the continent was immense.
I’ve heard that the representatives of the Allied Nations calmed what could have been a riot by publicly executing the Peony Blossom faction.
All of the people’s anger was directed at the Peony Blossoms. They became public enemies.
Perhaps because they had been tortured so cruelly, those who were brought to the scaffold one after another looked a mess.
The fact that the people standing there were the Emperor and Empress of the Empire of Langridge, the Pope, Marquis Rohade, and many other dignitaries only added to the public’s anger.
When they saw the faces of the Peony Blossom faction members ascending the scaffold, they became extremely enraged.
Kill them! Kill them!
I covered my ears for a moment to the angry shouts of the crowd. Up on the scaffold, Enoch and other representatives of the Allied Nations appear.
“Come here.”
Arthdal pulled me from the crowd. Eunji squirmed uncomfortably in the pocket of my dress.
Then, one by one, the Peony Blossom faction members are being decapitated by guillotine.
“No! This can’t be happening! Argh!”
Marquis Rohade screamed and struggled until he was finally decapitated by the sword of a knight standing nearby.
It was a neat and futile death. The death of the Peony Blossoms was not really all that satisfying, perhaps because the big mountain called Jenas had been crossed.
Thanks to Arthdal covering my eyes with his hand, I was spared a direct view of the decapitation.
“It’s a shame so many people have died over the millennia because of them.”
“That’s how the world is. Things that look great are nothing when you open them up, and people always live in fear of what they can’t see.”
Arthdal replied calmly. But the look on his face as he gritted his teeth and stared at the guillotine showed that he was not calm inside.
“This will never happen again, and it is my dream to create such a world.”
I nodded at Arthdal’s muttering.
“I’m curious about the world you’ll create.”
At my words, Arthdal turned to look at me, his face unreadable, and he stroked his chin, staring at me in silence.
What? Why are you looking at me like that?
I felt overwhelmed and was about to say something when Arthdal spoke, “What I said before still stands.”
“What did you say before?”
“The position of Crown Princess of Hestia is vacant…….”
“Oh, you’re here?”
Arthdal’s words were interrupted by the appearance of Yuanna, who threw her arms around me casually and looked at us brightly.
“What were you two talking about?” she asked.
Arthdal glanced at her. “Don’t you think you interrupted us?”
“Well, I’m not sure what you mean.”
Having answered that with a very natural innocent face, Yuanna added, “Archbishop Ruzef is preparing for the coronation now, we should probably get going.”
At that, I looked up at the scaffold again, and my eyes locked with Enoch, who was standing there giving instructions to the knights.
A smile crossed Enoch’s lips as he looked at me. Seeing that smile, I smiled back.
“Hmm……. I sure can’t beat Enoch.”
Let’s ignore the fact that Arthdal was saying that next to me.
Anyway, after a thousand years of futile wickedness, the Peony Blossom faction was truly nothing.
As Arthdal said, that’s how the world is: there are many things that seem like great evil, but when you open them up, they’re not so great after all.
I’ve decided to stop dwelling on the suffering I’ve endured because of them. Instead, I’m going to look at myself as a person who has grown through the ordeal.
And I decided to think about the people by my side. After all, life is too short not to love the ones you love.
The execution of the Peony Blossom faction was immediately followed by the coronation of the Pope. The religious ritual behind the execution of the evil was well-received.
The Pope’s enthronement was held in the Empire of Langridge, as the representatives of the Alliance happened to be in Langridge at the right time.
It is ironic that the Wizards’ Association has been completely destroyed, but the Holy See has not. Though the credibility and authority of the Holy See have fallen to the ground.
But if religion could not disappear from the world, it would be better to have Ruzef at the head of it.
The papal coronation took place in the Great Hall of Hembridge in the Langridge capital.
Though her divine power was gone, Yuanna was the last remaining saint in the world, and she was to bless the new pope.
So I waited with Arthdal and Diego for Ruzef to enter the Great Hall.
“I never thought I’d use the word beautiful on a man, but it seems fitting for Archbishop Ruzef, or rather, the Pope.”
At Arthdal’s muttering, I glanced back toward the entrance, where Ruzef stood, clad in a white robe with his papal crown on his head.
It wasn’t the extravagant attire we’re used to seeing at papal coronations, but his neat and beautiful appearance made the ceremony seem all the more holy and sacred.
Escorted slowly by two archbishops, Ruzef received the sacred rite of baptism and the oath of obedience from the twelve archbishops, and he officially became Pope.
Unlike the pomp of previous papal coronations, the simple and humble ceremony stuck in people’s minds.
People expected a new world to come with a new pope.
And I believed that Ruzef would do a good job. He had faced worse trials than this before.
***
After the coronation, Arthdal immediately returned to Hestia.
After greeting Diego, Yuanna, and Ruzef, I climbed into the carriage.
“Miss, I’ll ride in the coachman’s seat, please make yourself comfortable.”
Vanessa took care of me and climbed into the coachman’s seat. This allowed me to sit alone in the carriage, exhausted, and collect my thoughts.
And so the ride back to the Floné Mansion in the capital city of Burneton began. I was staring out the carriage window in a daze when the carriage suddenly stopped.
“Eh……?”
Vanessa’s surprised voice came from the coachman’s seat, then cut off.
Wondering what was going on, I opened the carriage door and was about to step out when someone stepped into the carriage. The first thing I saw was long silver hair.
I tensed up and turned to see the man’s face and gasped.
“Kayden?!”
Kayden, his hair tied back and draped over one shoulder, scratched the back of his head and looked at me.
His eyes flashed between red and gold for a moment before settling back to red.
“Margaret, how are you feeling? Are you okay?”
He greeted me as if we had just met yesterday and sat down across from me.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then glanced over at me with a troubled look on his face and asked, “Can I hug you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re answering too late.”
He leaned closer to me and pulled me into a deep hug. No, how could he call me slow to answer without giving me time to answer?
“Are you really Kayden?” I asked, still being hugged by him. His eyes just got a weird color and his hair grew too long.
Lately, I’ve had to ask this and that because things have been unbelievable.
“Hah…….”
Instead of answering, Kayden buried his face in my shoulder and breathed in. Like he was taking in my scent and reliving every detail.
“I missed you, Margaret.”
Kayden’s voice reached my ear again. The scent, the voice, the sharp tone. This is definitely Kayden. I wrapped my arms around him, then buried my face in his shoulder.
In an instant, the tension is gone. I’m relieved. Kayden is safe. I’m so relieved.
“Are you okay?” I asked, grabbing his shoulders to pull him away from me and examining his complexion.
Slowly, I lifted my hand to touch his cheek, and he leaned his cheek against my palm and closed his eyes.
“I was worried.”
His eyelashes fluttered at my words. Then he slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.
“Margaret, I still like you so much.”
I paused for a moment at those words. Kayden lifted his head, his deep gaze locking with mine in silence.
Kayden wasn’t agitated; his face was calm, like someone who had seen it all coming.
“I…….”
“Don’t answer that, I know the answer.”
Kayden interrupted my answer and I kept my mouth shut as he wished.
“Maybe this ending was always meant to be, because I was so determined to overcome House Rohade and my own limitations, I couldn’t think of anything else.”
“There’s no preordained ending.”
Kayden smiled and patted my head.
“Margaret, I’m content now, though. I’ve filled in all the missing pieces of my life.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. I’d never seen him smile like that before. So relaxed and happy.
Kayden is smiling with happiness, and I’m so happy for him. I feel like I’m going to cry.
“I did something Jenas couldn’t do.”
“I heard about it. It’s amazing, really, you’re amazing.”
“I finally feel like a complete me.”
Kayden grinned and stroked my hair gently.
“And now I’m going to hibernate.”
I froze at his next words.