Chapter 74
I didn’t understand what he meant. When I looked around, Kaiden seemed just as clueless.
Prince Asdal didn’t look like he intended to explain any further.
What is it with that guy—why say something so cryptic just to sound important? I shot Asdal an annoyed look, then decided to ignore him altogether.
Anyway, in the past, Margaret had possessed a large amount of mana. But the moment she was told that she would need to practice to use it, she quit studying magic that very day. It was obvious it would be boring and exhausting.
Thinking about it, there was one other time I’d heard about my mana.
I looked at Kaiden and spoke.
“I think I do have a lot of mana. The tutor who used to come to my family estate to teach magic said so. And when I took the academy entrance exam before, there was a mana test—and I actually broke the test orb.”
After glancing around at everyone listening intently, I shrugged.
“The professor from the magic department who was supervising said it was either a problem with the orb, or that I had an enormous amount of mana—one of the two. So he said he’d bring a new orb and test me again, but…”
“But?”
“I didn’t take the test again. I only went because Enoch was going to be a special examiner. I wasn’t really interested in enrolling in the academy.”
At my answer, everyone looked at me like they’d expected it.
“What? Why are you all looking at me like that? With those ‘how pathetic’ eyes?”
“I’d forgotten,” Asdal said with a tired sigh. “Just how much Lady Flonne followed Crown Prince Enoch around.”
“Exactly,” Yuanna nodded in agreement. “It really was always only His Highness Enoch for you, my lady.”
It seemed like the phrase ‘Because Margaret likes Enoch’ was some kind of magic spell that excused all of Margaret’s questionable behavior.
And since it was true, I couldn’t even refute it… honestly.
“That’s all in the past. Things are different now, right? Margaret?”
Kaiden, who had been sitting there with a dissatisfied expression the whole time, pressed me for an answer.
“Uh… well, right now I don’t really have the mental space to worry about things like that.”
“See? I told you—Margaret doesn’t like the Crown Prince anymore.”
I almost argued back, but it wasn’t wrong, so I stayed quiet.
“Anyway, regardless of how much mana the lady once had, that’s all in the past,” Asdal said.
“On this island, her mana is practically at zero, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. This is an island where mana can’t be used.”
“Then doesn’t that mean the theory that the monsters were imprinted by the lady’s mana makes no sense?”
At Asdal’s question, I nodded in agreement.
“Then what is it?” Yuanna muttered, resting her chin on her hand.
Yeah. I didn’t know either.
Everyone turned to look at Eunji again with puzzled expressions. Just then, Eunji climbed down from my shoulder, wagging her tail on my lap and adorably sticking out her tongue.
As we were all thinking about Eunji, Enoch—who we thought was in a deep sleep—suddenly grabbed my wrist with his large hand.
Startled, I looked down at his face. His eyes opened lazily, flushed with fever, and he spoke.
“Is that true?”
His voice was incredibly low.
Maybe because he was exhausted, or because of the fever, his throat sounded rough and hoarse. His half-lidded gaze fixed on me, deep and heavy.
“Margaret. I asked if it’s true.”
When I just stared at him blankly, he called my name again.
“…Yes? What is?”
“That you don’t like me anymore.”
“You’re seriously waking up in the middle of being sick just to ask that?”
“…Answer me.”
“Well, that’s…”
“…Never mind. Don’t answer.”
Enoch let out a deep breath and quietly looked up at me.
His atmosphere was so overwhelmingly seductive that everyone who’d been noisy just moments ago fell completely silent, all attention focused on us.
‘T-this is too much pressure.’
Cutting through that heavy gaze, Enoch spoke again.
“I like you, Margaret. Just know that.”
After dropping that bombshell, he passed out again as if he’d lost consciousness.
A terrifying silence settled over the cabin.
I knew Enoch viewed me as a woman, but this was the first time he’d ever conveyed his feelings so directly.
‘You should say things like that when we’re alone…!’
At least then I could think about it seriously! I grabbed my head in embarrassment.
“Well, it’s not like we didn’t expect it,” Asdal said indifferently.
Yuanna nodded in agreement.
“The days when he said he disliked you are long gone. Honestly, looking at you now, it’s not strange at all that His Highness would fall for you.”
Yuanna laughed heartily.
‘No, Anna… you really shouldn’t say it like that.’
I washed my face dryly and sighed.
‘…Well. Maybe this is for the best. I’ve completely avoided the dead flag now.’
Rujef and Diego stayed silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, while Kaiden glared at Enoch with an irritated expression.
“The Crown Prince isn’t in his right mind right now. Margaret, don’t take it seriously.”
Looking anxious, Kaiden covered my ears with both hands.
As if doing it now would help.
“Right. Enoch definitely isn’t thinking straight right now.”
At my answer, Kaiden let out a relieved sigh and lowered his hands. I quietly looked at Enoch’s sleeping face before continuing.
“And right now, Enoch can’t do without me. There’s no one else to stop his rampage. That’s why he said something like that. Please don’t misunderstand.”
I looked around as I said it, but everyone just nodded half-heartedly.
Hey—what’s with these people…?
“So then,” I said. “What exactly happened on your end? You need to explain.”
Diego, who’d been hesitating, stepped forward with the resolve of a soldier volunteering for a dangerous mission.
“After you disappeared, my lady, His Highness was extremely agitated. He kept looking for you—constantly.”
There was a lot left unsaid in Diego’s calm tone.
“He acted like he’d lost his mind,” Asdal added grimly.
“The problem was that monsters started swarming in at the same time…”
Asdal stared at the sleeping Enoch with a troubled expression. Rujef, who had been watching carefully, picked up the explanation.
“We tried to figure out why the monsters suddenly gathered,” he said.
“It seems to be because of monster blood.”
“Blood?”
Rujef nodded slowly.
“Monsters appear to be able to sense the blood of their own kind. Like when we killed the anaconda at the base camp—other anacondas swarmed in the next day.”
It matched my own suspicion.
“Kaiden and I were missing for two days. What about during the daytime? Did the monsters disappear then?”
“Yes. They vanished somewhere. And His Highness fell into a deep sleep, almost like he’d fainted. Then he’d wake up, smell the blood, slaughter the monsters that gathered again… and repeat the cycle.”
So even after sleeping, the rampage continued.
Enoch’s condition didn’t seem to be improving at all. In cases like this, it usually depended on willpower…
“At least it’s a relief that we’ve figured out the behavior pattern of large monster groups,” I said.
“And we’ve dealt with the corpses, so it should be fine now, right?”
Everyone nodded, looking noticeably more relaxed. It seemed the weight had lifted from them at last.
I stared at Enoch’s sleeping face and let out a sigh. Fatigue crashed over me like a wave.
“First… should we rest and talk more later? I think we all need sleep.”
It wasn’t just me who was tired. It was evening already, and I was exhausted enough to drop.
But Kaiden was unusually quiet. When I looked at him, he had an expression full of guilt—completely unlike him.
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll apologize again. I’m sorry.”
Neither of us had expected things to spiral this far just from going to check Eunji’s egg by the cliff. I’d resented him for a moment—but not anymore.
“I was a bit hurt, honestly. But it wasn’t wrong for you to doubt me. The situation was absurd, but no one’s saying it was your fault.”
At my words, Kaiden squeezed his eyes shut in pain.
“Margaret… I’m still sorry.”
When he opened his eyes and looked straight at me, the turbulent red in them gradually settled into calm.
I looked at him—he seemed somehow firmer than before—and asked,
“So you don’t doubt me anymore?”
“No. I don’t.”
“But you still don’t trust me.”
“No, I do trust you now. Really.”
The look in Kaiden’s eyes as he said that was steady and serene.
I studied him quietly before speaking again.
“It took a really long time for your distrust to turn into trust, didn’t it?”
He pressed his lips together and didn’t answer.
I looked at him with a firm expression.
“Then you wait too. Until I trust you.”
He nodded obediently.
Watching him, I lay down beside Enoch.
Eunji wriggled over and curled up by my head, tail wrapped neatly around herself. Kaiden lay down on my left.
Staring up at the cabin ceiling, I heard rustling sounds.
The others were preparing to sleep. The cabin stayed busy and unsettled as I forced myself to close my eyes.
“Margaret.”
Kaiden called me softly. I opened my eyes slowly and turned my head.
He was lying on his side, facing me. After hesitating for a long moment, he asked cautiously,
“I can’t sleep… can I hold you? I think I’d fall asleep easier.”
“You’re not asking because you think I’ll say yes, right?”
“Yeah. I figured you’d refuse.”
“Then just sleep.”
He nodded obediently, still facing me.
Ever since waking up on this island, I don’t think I’ve rested even once. Constant tension. Constant threats to my life. Endless brutal days.
…I’m exhausted.
I closed my eyes again.
Unlock soon~