Chapter 21
I didn’t answer right away.
I still hadn’t fully figured out what kind of person he was, and I didn’t want to provoke him in any way.
“You’re smarter than I thought. If you’d said you were Margaret back then, who knows what I might’ve done.”
Maybe because he was smiling as he spoke, his words sounded half like a joke and half like the truth. That made it impossible to tell what he really meant.
“Running into Margaret of all people as the very first person on this island… That’s pretty suspicious, don’t you think?”
Once again, I stayed silent.
I almost wished he’d openly suspected or despised me like Enoch did. Kaiden, on the other hand, was completely unreadable.
“But it’s strange. It’s clearly the same face as before, yet why does it feel so different?”
For now, I decided to observe him calmly. In any case, he was still bound. And he didn’t seem inclined to threaten me any further.
“The you right now is kind of my type—urk!”
Suddenly, Kaiden was struck by something and sent tumbling sideways.
Startled, I looked up to see Enoch standing there. It seemed he’d kicked Kaiden.
“Margaret. Come here.”
Enoch held out his hand to me. Without hesitation, I took it, stood up, and slipped behind his back.
Yes. Leaving it to Enoch to deal with an unbridled man like Kaiden was definitely the right choice.
Unfortunately, Enoch had kicked Kaiden right in the chest—exactly where he was injured. Blood began seeping through the bandages that I’d gone to the trouble of wrapping for him.
But this time, I had no intention of treating him again. He deserved it.
Kaiden grimaced, groaning in pain, then glared at Enoch.
“Lord. Long time no see.”
Enoch greeted him with an offhand tone.
“Lord” was a title used for a grand mage, much like “Sir” for knights.
Still sitting there with his face twisted in pain, Kaiden looked back and forth between Enoch and me. Then he let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha. Your Highness looks remarkably well.”
Slowly rising to his feet, Kaiden leaned against the cave wall. He clicked his tongue irritably.
“To think Crown Prince Enoch would be shielding Lady Floné… You really do see everything if you live long enough.”
Kaiden showed not the slightest hint of being intimidated by Enoch.
“Watch your words. Margaret was the one who treated your wounds.”
At Enoch’s retort, Kaiden looked at me with disbelief.
“Margaret treated my wounds?”
It was understandable he’d be shocked. Anyone would be surprised if an ordinary noble lady treated their injuries—let alone Margaret.
Then Enoch abruptly changed the subject, voicing another doubt.
“Margaret, did you ever give the Lord permission to use your name?”
“No…?”
Peeking out from behind Enoch, I shook my head while looking at Kaiden.
“That’s exceedingly rude.”
Enoch replied with clear displeasure. Kaiden, however, remained unfazed. In fact, he looked like he found Enoch’s question strange.
“In a situation where we might die at any moment, does etiquette really matter?”
Enoch’s face remained cold, as though nothing Kaiden said could shake him.
“No. Not right now. But it will, if we leave this place alive.”
Only then did Kaiden fall silent. He alternated his gaze between Enoch and me once more, clicked his tongue, and slumped down.
I asked him, looking at his clearly disgruntled face.
“How did you get that injury?”
Kaiden had removed both his robe and shirt, and the body visible beneath the bandages was surprisingly solid for a mage.
As expected of a male lead from a grimdark story.
He ran his gaze over his wound and sighed.
“How did I get it… I was attacked by a monster. You know this island is crawling with them, right?”
Then he ruffled his hair, stared straight at me, and smiled.
“Well, as long as you’re okay, that’s what matters.”
The way he said as long as you’re okay felt oddly loaded. I’d thought I’d shaken him off that day—maybe that wasn’t the case?
Suddenly, I wondered if the “huge crash” I’d heard when I encountered the monster had been a noise Kaiden made deliberately.
Thinking about it, I’d been unconscious in the middle of a forest full of monsters, yet I was unharmed. Wasn’t that impossible unless someone had watched over me all night?
No, that can’t be right. He hates me. This feels like I’m overthinking it… and it’d be awkward to even ask.
Shaking off those thoughts, I pulled Kaiden’s pendant out of my pocket.
“This is yours, right?”
“Huh… yeah, it is.”
Kaiden made a conflicted expression and extended his bound hands toward me. I placed the pendant in his palm.
He stared at it for a moment, then offered me a casual word of thanks.
“Thanks. It’s important, but I don’t really like it.”
Puzzled by his cryptic remark, I tilted my head. I hadn’t asked, but Kaiden readily explained.
“This is a vessel containing the magic of past Lords of the Mage Tower. If I had to compare it… it’s like an urn for ashes. When a Lord of the Tower dies, their magic is sealed inside this pendant. I’ve heard that even the magic of the Mage Tower Lord from the Ingram Dynasty—before the Langrid Empire was founded—is sealed in here.”
“That’s an unusual thing to carry around.”
At my flustered reaction, Kaiden laughed.
“It’s a kind of tradition? One of the ghost stories passed down in the Mage Tower. They say the magic sealed inside has enough destructive power to wipe out an entire nation.”
Kaiden slipped the pendant into his trouser pocket, then continued casually.
“But no matter how powerful the magic inside is, it’s useless. Only the mage who created it can release the seal—and he died a thousand years ago.”
Now I understood why it was called a ghost story. It was an ability passed down only through records, impossible to verify.
But why is he suddenly telling us all this?
“So now it’s nothing more than a symbol and a tradition of the Mage Tower. When I die, my magic will be sealed in here too. It might be more meaningful than letting it scatter and disappear uselessly.”
This time, Kaiden turned to Enoch.
“So, how did the two of you end up here?”
“And you, Lord?”
Instead of answering, Enoch smoothly turned the question back on Kaiden. Kaiden frowned in thought before replying.
“I was in the middle of storming a temple…”
Even in the midst of all this, he’d been on his way to wreak havoc at a temple.
“Well, whatever. Once my wound heals, I’m leaving anyway.”
Kaiden winked at me.
“Thanks for treating me, Margaret. It would’ve been even better if I’d gotten to see you do it with my own eyes.”
He seemed to deliberately use the name “Margaret.” As a result, Enoch looked visibly displeased.
No matter that this was a deserted island where we might die at any moment—Enoch was still the crown prince. Kaiden really had no sense of self-preservation.
“Leaving? Where are you going?”
I wondered if I should use formal speech now that he’d revealed himself as the Lord of the Mage Tower, but I decided to stick with my casual tone.
As expected, Kaiden didn’t care either way. He ruffled his hair and shrugged.
“Somewhere on the island…?”
What kind of answer was that? I’d thought he might know something—like a bunker, a cabin, or a gate.
Seeing my disappointed expression, Kaiden added,
“It’s suspicious that we all woke up in a place like this. It feels like a warp spell… and if not, then there might be some kind of escape gate. So I’m planning to search the entire island.”
An escape gate? My eyes widened.
Was he planning to find the “door” that would open in a year? That was actually a pretty productive plan.
As expected of a mage—his way of thinking in this regard was impressive.
Enoch seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he fell into contemplation.
“I hadn’t considered the possibility of an escape gate.”
At Enoch’s words, Kaiden shrugged nonchalantly and looked at me.
“Margaret, want to come with me?”
The moment Kaiden said that, Enoch stepped in front of me.
“What do you think you’re going to do to Margaret now? Cut the nonsense before I throw you out.”
The way Enoch said that made him seem quite dependable.
To be honest, even if Kaiden had asked again, I had no intention of going with him. Who knew when he might decide to devour me? There was no way I’d follow Kaiden so recklessly.
