I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 168
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 168
“You must have had such a difficult time.”
Hyzen nodded in agreement with Noel’s words, regarding me with sympathy. I looked at them with an incredulous expression before laughing.
“If you pity me so much, then spread the word about it.”
“Pardon?”
“Spread rumors about how I saved you all here, about what a virtuous person I am. I’d appreciate that.”
When making such requests, one must be shameless. I gazed at them with an utterly composed expression, smiling benevolently.
Noel and Hyzen wore bewildered faces. So I added my words with a half-joking tone.
“No, think about it. If you truly pity me so much, don’t just sympathize with words—show it through action. That would be my repayment.”
At my words, Noel and Hyzen wore confused expressions for a moment before nodding with firm resolve settling into their faces.
“We shall repay the kindness the Young Lady has shown us.”
“Leave it to us, Young Lady.”
To some extent, it was intentional. But I didn’t know then. I didn’t know that those words would create an unexpected wavelength.
* * *
The Holy Knights’ Military Camp.
Pope Benatrie stared coldly at the woman seated before him.
The woman—that is, Yuanna Lucy, the world’s only Saint and the one chosen by God—wore a smile more vicious than anyone else’s.
“It’s so good to see you again, isn’t it? I never expected His Holiness the Pope to come down to this battlefield in person. Though I heard that those who disappeared have reappeared, so you must have rushed here with fire in your belly, right?”
“Ahem, Saint. Your words are excessive.”
Archbishop Linnehaon, standing beside Pope Benatrie, rebuked Yuanna. At that, Archbishop Luzef, standing beside Yuanna, suddenly darkened his expression.
“Be silent. I know you’re an accomplice in all of this.”
“Now see here, Archbishop Luzef. Where do you get off raising your voice before His Holiness the Pope!”
“I told you to shut that mouth, Linnehaon. If you don’t know my temperament, don’t make me repeat myself.”
Archbishop Luzef’s menacing gaze fell upon Archbishop Linnehaon’s face. Everyone in the Papal Court knew of Luzef’s sharp and stubborn disposition.
Linnehaon glanced at Pope Benatrie before quietly closing his mouth.
“Wasn’t this war started under the pretext of my disappearance? So agree to the ceasefire declaration. Now that the Saint has returned, it would look better that way.”
Yuanna smiled at Pope Benatrie.
“If you don’t agree, I don’t even know what I might do. But if you do, I’ll behave myself.”
Even without her threat, the tide of war had already turned. With the Saint returned, it would hardly look good for the Papal Court, which serves God, to continue the war—just as she said.
Pope Benatrie ground his teeth. He couldn’t fathom how she had returned. The Warp Gate leading to Alea Island was destroyed, and he couldn’t reach Jenas.
Cursed mage.
Benatrie despised Jenas, but he trusted his abilities. After all, wasn’t he the mage who had been conducting this great experiment for a thousand years?
Yet with success within reach, everything had gone awry. He couldn’t understand how this had happened.
He ultimately ground his teeth and agreed to declare the ceasefire, just as Yuanna demanded.
The moment Yuanna and Archbishop Luzef left the tent, Benatrie hurled the teacup he’d been holding with sharp force. Archbishop Linnehaon straightened his posture and tensed.
“The Peony Faction must unite again.”
At Benatrie’s words, Archbishop Linnehaon’s face showed surprise.
“Pardon? But the Peony Faction….”
Linnehaon trailed off.
The Peony Faction had been secretly cooperating for a thousand years to conduct the experiment. Yet originally, they were powerful figures in positions of mutual opposition, and in such positions, perfect unity was a concept that could not exist.
So when the Jenas siblings announced that the Experiment’s success was within reach, wasn’t it only natural that they struck each other in the back of the head at the perfect moment?
The result was this very war—a conflict to claim larger slices of the pie for themselves.
And now, to cooperate once more.
‘Well, what else can I do? I can’t let a thousand years of waiting crumble to nothing. A temporary ceasefire until we achieve our objective, then.’
While Archbishop Linnehaon was lost in such thoughts, Pope Benatrie had also collected his own, and he issued calm instructions to him.
“Find Alea Island. Discreetly. You must find it before anyone else.”
Pope Benatrie lowered his voice and issued the command with a grave expression.
“That’s a thousand years’ worth of accumulated Mana. It couldn’t have simply vanished. Whether the Island has collapsed or not, we must seize the Mana remaining there first. And we must destroy the evidence.”
“I accept your command.”
Archbishop Linnehaon answered with a solemn expression.
However, their plan did not proceed as intended. This was because Enoch and his party subsequently revealed the existence of “Alea Island” to the world.
* * *
Mage Association Military Camp.
“You damned bastards. You’re still spouting your bullshit to the very end. Stop acting like fools. End this war, you wretches. Before I cut out your tongues. You pathetic scum.”
Kaiden pressed his half-brother Herald’s head down with his foot.
The commanders who had suddenly been taken hostage by Kaiden’s appearance immediately assumed combat stances. But the moment Kaiden waved his hand, a Magic Circle enveloped the entire military camp.
No Mage could create such a vast Magic Circle with a single gesture. None except Kaiden. It was overwhelming power incarnate.
“Sign if you don’t want to die.”
Kaiden swept his gaze across the Mages and issued a cold command.
When the Mages hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances, Kaiden applied more pressure with the foot pressing down on Herald’s head.
“Aaaahhh!”
With Herald’s scream, Kaiden snapped his fingers once, and the Magic Circle enveloping the entire camp began to activate.
Soon after, the Mages fell to their knees one by one, drawn in by the gravitational force generated from the Magic Circle.
“Even if I can’t kill every Mage in this camp, I can kill all of you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Kaiden is the greatest Mage of this era. Though four Magic Towers existed on the Western Continent, the combined power of all the other Tower Masters could not match Kaiden’s strength.
The Mage Association, composed of members of the Rohade Family and elder Mages, existed to maintain the balance of the four Magic Towers.
However, when they foresaw that Kaiden’s power would grow beyond their control, they realized they could not contain him. So during his youthful, vigorous years of rampage, they had placed restrictions on him and forced him into Hibernation.
And now he had returned.
The Mages had no choice but to sign the ceasefire agreement one by one.
As Herald signed the ceasefire agreement while pinned beneath Kaiden’s foot, he clenched his teeth.
‘Damn it, how did it come to this?’
Kaiden was supposed to be a sacrifice offered to Jenas.
According to the plan, Jenas should have possessed his body and opened a dimensional Gate, plunging the world into chaos. But what on earth had happened?
The current Kaiden was unmistakably Kaiden himself. It didn’t appear that Jenas was impersonating him.
‘Then where is Jenas? Damn it, what’s going on?’
He needed to report this fact to his father immediately and devise countermeasures. It seemed they would have to join forces again. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before their secrets were exposed to the world.
Finding Alea Island, destroying the evidence, and eliminating all survivors. They had a new objective.
* * *
At last, all negotiations concluded and the long-awaited ceasefire was declared.
And simultaneously, the existence of “Alea Island” became known to the world.
It was because of the story that Enoch, the Prince of Asdal, Yuanna, and Kaiden had spread during the negotiations.
‘We who went missing were kidnapped, and there’s a force behind those who took us. We must suspect those who declared war. The truth of the matter will be revealed if we find Alea Island on the southern coast of the Langrid Empire.’ That was the main content of the story.
The Langrid Military Camp had been abuzz with that story the entire time, and by now, the tale had likely spread across the entire Continent.
Since everyone would be watching Langrid’s southern coast, the Peony Faction wouldn’t be able to act against Alea Island first. After that, I would need to continue watching how they moved.
‘But first, I need to put on a Dress!’
As I fussed about changing into the Dress for quite some time, Enoch, who had been waiting, finally entered the Tent and helped me into it.
I made excuses out of embarrassment.
“If you were going to send me a Dress anyway, it would have been nice if you’d sent a Maid to help as well. The war is over, after all.”
“The harsh environment has caused you inconvenience, it seems.”
He stood behind me and tied the Dress’s Strings, answering matter-of-factly. For some reason, I felt ashamed, as if I’d truly become a thoughtless Noble Lady.
“I asked for too much on the Battlefield. I’m embarrassed.”
“You should be.”
Enoch suddenly let out a soft laugh, then slowly lowered his head toward me. His warm breath touched my exposed shoulder. I reflexively flinched, and a dangerously low voice reached my ear.
“You should be more embarrassed about this.”
He tapped my bare shoulder with his finger.
Heat rushed to my face in an instant. By now, my face was undoubtedly flushed bright red. I was grateful that my back was turned, so I couldn’t see Enoch’s face.
I ultimately had nothing to say and kept my mouth firmly shut.
Enoch said nothing after that, but I flinched each time his hand touched my bare skin. I should have done this alone, difficult as it was.
“This reminds me of what happened on the Island.”
Enoch spoke as if recalling a distant memory.
What happened on the Island?
Only then did I recall Enoch unfastening the Buttons of my Dress in the Mountain Valley.
What had we talked about back then?
‘What’s the first thing you want to do when you leave the Island?’
‘First, I want to wash my body with Soap.’
That wish was fulfilled even before we left the Island. Yuanna had found Soap in the Cabin.
‘And then?’
‘Well, I want to eat a Formal Dinner. The last Formal Dinner I had at the Flone Estate was truly amazing.’
I hadn’t achieved that yet. But now that we were truly going home, I would be able to soon.
My feelings were strange. That such a time would come for us. And that my relationship with him would develop this far. Indescribable emotions swirled together, overwhelming me.
The desolation I felt when I first opened my eyes on the Island without understanding anything is still difficult to put into words even now.
The moments we overcame confusion and fear, clinging to each other to survive—I would likely remember them for the rest of my life.
Enoch was the person who shared all my firsts on the Island. Perhaps that’s why the bond between us felt different from others.
“You’re right. So much has happened all this time.”
At my wistful murmur, I heard Enoch’s laughter from behind me. Curious, I turned my body slightly to look at his face.
Then Enoch carefully brushed my nape and slowly lowered his head toward me. His warm breath tickled near my face.
“Back then, I was removing your Dress. Now I’m putting it on for you, so it feels like a new experience.”
His gaze dizzily traced my exposed neck. I swallowed dry saliva without realizing it. Enoch’s slowly moving gaze returned to my face.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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