I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 192

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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 192
The Empress studied my face intently, as if hoping to witness my distress and confusion.
But as time passed without any reaction from me, perplexity bloomed across her features. It was the expression of someone confronted with an unexpected turn of events.
I tilted my head slightly toward her and explained kindly.
“I know Vanessa very well. Do you think I’d fall for the same trick twice?”
Vanessa had not been bought by them. She had merely feigned compliance after they’d seized leverage over her.
At my response, the Empress’s face twisted slowly—savagely, menacingly. I regarded her with unhurried composure.
“You’re finished.”
Then the Empress’s necklace began to glow softly. So it was indeed a Magic Stone.
“That necklace…!”
I started to say something to the Empress but stumbled momentarily. The floor had suddenly begun to vibrate violently. Damn it.
Boom—boom—!
And thunderous sounds erupted in succession.
“Ahhhhh!”
Screams pierced the air from somewhere, and people scattered in panic as the Banquet Hall descended into chaos. Magical Beasts packed densely around Duke Flone’s Castle were the cause.
As the Magical Beasts continued to converge on the castle, the Barrier erected around it became visible. The bluish light of the Barrier crackled with sparks, displaying its formidable presence.
The Magical Beasts were blocked by the Barrier and could not penetrate inside, instead exerting all their might to shatter it.
Yet the number of Magical Beasts continued to multiply. Their count far exceeded what I had anticipated. With such numbers, not only Duke Flone’s Castle but the entire territory would be in danger.
‘Does having ten Magic Stones gathered in one place unleash this much destructive power?’
True, even a single Magic Stone possessed by Rodban had drawn a considerable number of Magical Beasts. The Barrier was still functioning, at least.
Moreover, the sky itself seemed ominous, the earth trembled with signs of an earthquake, and lightning struck continuously. The fractured sky resembled a shattered pane of glass.
Suddenly my head throbbed, and I pressed my forehead. The chaotic sky seemed to be affecting me as well.
‘It was supposed to only summon Magical Beasts. Why is my body reacting?’
[If I encounter a life form from beyond the dimension, I will surely not let it slip away. It will play a crucial role in achieving my objective.]
I couldn’t fathom why Jenas’s experimental journal entry came to mind at this moment.
Could the use of Magic Stones affect dimensional rifts?
And could it possibly be…?
That it would also affect me, who had traversed beyond dimensions…?
‘Margaret. I told you. I want you to survive. No, you alone must survive. You have to.’
Only then did I recall what Jenas had repeatedly emphasized to me, and a realization dawned.
Could one’s soul become corrupted from spending a long time in another dimension?
If so, wouldn’t the dimensional rift remain unfilled as long as I stayed in Langrid?
We had yet to seal the dimensional rift. We hadn’t found the method. I suspected the materials on dimensional rifts that Yuanna had found at the Papal Court might contain the answer.
What if the dimensional rift, which could have been sealed at any time, could never be sealed precisely because I continued to remain in this world?
If that hypothesis were true, then I would indeed play a crucial role in Jenas’s objective. And his obsession with me would be explained.
I had planned to discuss Jenas’s experimental journal with Kaiden again, but he had disappeared, leaving me without anyone to deliberate with.
However, I had no time to dwell longer on that matter. In the brief moment I looked away, the Empress had escaped.
* * *
“Archbishop, what is the meaning of this? The survivors are in perfect condition! And what in the world is happening to the sky? We agreed to summon only Magical Beasts. At this rate, the castle will collapse and bury us all!”
Count Paterson and the Empress rushed to find Linnehaon. The increasingly anxious Linnehaon gnawed at his lower lip.
I had certainly secured the loyalty of Margaret Rose Flone’s personal maid. Just to be safe, I had even assigned two clerics to keep her under surveillance.
Why the sky was behaving this way, he couldn’t fathom. He had heard that using Jenas’s Magic Stones together would cause Mana overheating, but he hadn’t anticipated a catastrophe of this magnitude. The way lightning struck with an eerie, unnatural quality suggested something had gone terribly wrong in the heavens themselves.
But there was no time to dwell on that problem. The moment the three of them gathered, the Magic Stones began to glow noticeably.
“We should evacuate immediately. The Magic Stones are drawing attention. I anticipated they would erect a Barrier, but it appears breaking through will take longer than expected. Until His Holiness the Pope completes his work, it would be wise to hide and monitor the situation.”
At the Empress’s command, Linnehaon and Count Paterson nodded in agreement.
And then,
“Dark Magic is being used! Capture anyone carrying a Magic Stone immediately!”
The Duke Flone’s Castle soldiers burst into the Banquet Hall.
They moved faster than anticipated. Linnehaon calmly surveyed his surroundings. He needed an escape route.
That’s when Vanessa, Margaret’s personal maid, came into view.
‘That damned woman.’
* * *
The Banquet Hall had descended into chaos as the Duke’s soldiers arrived. Everything unfolded as expected. The Empress had fled, but she would be captured soon enough. This was our home ground, after all.
Thanks to Vanessa switching the wine, I managed to avoid being kidnapped this time.
When I was first kidnapped to Alea Island, I discovered that Vanessa had mixed Tentationem powder into my drink, but I wasn’t particularly shocked.
Someone had mixed Tentationem powder into my beverage, and since I was at Duke Flone’s Castle at the time, it meant there was a traitor within the family. So I never let go of my suspicions.
Moreover, Margaret wasn’t exactly a master whom the household servants held in high regard.
But contrary to my expectations, Vanessa’s betrayal wasn’t intentional.
She didn’t even know that she had been mixing Tentationem powder into my tea all this time.
‘Please kill me, Miss.’
When Vanessa first learned the truth, she came to me in tears begging forgiveness. Apparently, the Peony Faction had approached her family in the past and delivered Tentationem powder to them. They had deceived her into thinking it was premium tea leaves.
At the time, tea leaves that were good for beauty had been in fashion, and Margaret had secretly instructed Vanessa to procure those leaves—which turned out to be illegal items distributed by Mages.
‘If you truly wish for my forgiveness, then show me through your actions that you’re genuinely remorseful.’
After news of my birthday party spread, I deliberately had Vanessa make contact with the Peony Faction. And on the day of the party, I left the back door of the Kitchen open, making sure the Peony Faction had no doubt that Vanessa was cooperating with me.
As expected, the Peony Faction approached Vanessa and instructed her to mix Tentationem powder into the wine, then serve it to us when they gave the signal.
“Miss, this is a note that Vanessa handed me when I was switching the wine earlier.”
At that moment, Mia, Rosemary’s personal maid, came to find me and handed me a note.
[Right before entering the Banquet Hall, I’ll switch it with fresh wine and deliver it.]
I gently patted Mia’s head as she stood there confused.
“You did well.”
It wasn’t wise to increase the number of people who knew the secret and would execute it. So I apologized to Mia, but only warned her that something like this might happen—I didn’t give her any specifics about what she would actually do.
After reassuring Mia and instructing her to evacuate, I went to find Enoch.
Jenas’s plan to destroy the dimensional rift truly wasn’t finished yet. The thought that it might never end as long as I lived made my head spin.
But I had to pull myself together. There was work to be done right now.
I quickly approached Enoch, who was speaking with the Prince of Asdal and Archbishop Luzef, and said,
“Please focus on apprehending the Peony Faction. I’ll go find where Kaiden is. He seems to be with the Pope.”
Boom—!
The ground trembled again. Enoch grabbed my arm to steady me.
The Barrier was shaking violently. Clearly, more Magical Beasts had gathered than before. At this rate, the Barrier would need to be reinforced further.
“I’ll go with you.”
Enoch spoke with firm resolve, as if he would not entertain any objections. Noticing his demeanor, the Prince of Asdal patted his shoulder.
“Then we’ll handle this side.”
At that moment, Innis rushed over to check on my condition.
“Margaret, are you alright? I’ll control the Banquet Hall with Father, so shall we search for the Pope?”
“I’ll come with you. I’ll find that old fogey. Wouldn’t it be better if Margaret searched for the Lord?”
Yuanna had joined our conversation at some point. Innis, the Prince of Asdal, and Archbishop Luzef all nodded in agreement.
So I slipped out of the Banquet Hall with Yuanna and Enoch. Eun-ji, who had been hiding and observing from my Dress Pocket, wriggled out and climbed onto my shoulder.
The thought that Kaiden might be in danger made my heart lurch. The anxiety that I might lose someone precious turned my mind white with fear.
“Could it be that they discovered Jenas is inside Kaiden’s body?”
I steadied my trembling hands and opened my mouth.
Enoch, who had been surveying the area around the Banquet Hall with me, nodded.
“Perhaps the Pope truly went searching for the Lord. It’s possible the objective was the Lord from the beginning.”
Everything was because of Jenas.
I shook off the dark and damp thoughts that churned in my chest. Such worries only made me more anxious.
And then, Yuanna pointed toward the Garden and cried out.
“Margaret, over there!”
As she said, I could see bright light pouring from the direction of the Garden.
We rushed toward the direction from which the light was streaming.
* * *
The Pope knew.
That Jenas was inside his body.
‘Damn it, what is this? You speak up.’
Kaiden called out to Jenas, but he gave no response.
‘Listen here, you damned old bastard. Come out, I said!?’
[…I have never acted in violation of our contract. That they discovered this fact was not something I orchestrated either.]
Jenas’s languid voice echoed through Kaiden’s mind. As if he hadn’t intended this, yet had foreseen all these circumstances nonetheless.
[As you know, my soul is bound to you, is it not? As long as you live, I shall remain tethered.]
‘As long as you live’—what a phrase.
Jenas’s words sounded like an implication that if Kaiden died, Jenas would not perish alongside him but would survive and seize his body.
Kaiden clenched his fists.
He had been confident. Confident that he could annihilate Jenas completely. Because they had forged a ‘Soul Subjugation Contract.’
But when he had made that contract, what had he actually done? In truth, he had barely managed to forge it with the help of the wrongfully sacrificed vengeful spirits—the Magical Beast Mother Body.
With his own innate power alone, Kaiden could not completely suppress Jenas.
No matter how much he was called a genius, his strength fell woefully short compared to Jenas’s power.

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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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