I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 217
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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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Side Story 2
Ignoring Margaret Rose Flone, who gazed at me with sparkling eyes, Innis walked serenely along the riverside.
With more education and maturity, Margaret’s current recklessness would surely fade away.
Innis believed this without a shred of doubt.
She could not have foreseen that years later, even after Margaret matured and transformed into a composed person, her sharp tongue would remain as cutting as ever.
“But are you certain the Crown Prince will actually come this way?”
Innis glanced around nervously and asked Margaret.
She had pestered me so relentlessly about wanting to catch even a glimpse of Enoch’s face. That was the reason I had abandoned my busy schedule to accompany her.
“He said he’d definitely cross that bridge around this time. How could information obtained with such difficulty be false?”
“How much money did you waste on this useless information this time?”
Innis asked Margaret with a look of exasperation.
Of course, Margaret paid no attention whatsoever to how Innis perceived her. It was the arrogance of the privileged, the composure of the beloved.
“Why does that matter?”
At Margaret’s response, Innis shook her head in resignation. In the end, she would lose to Margaret again. She had always been particularly weak against her beloved younger siblings.
“Wait, Innis. Do you see that? What are those men doing?”
In the direction Margaret pointed, two men hung beneath the bridge. After quickly surveying their surroundings, they hurriedly descended below.
That bridge was the Lamberson Bridge, the very bridge where Crown Prince Enoch was scheduled to pass in one hour.
“This is far too suspicious.”
Innis spoke. Margaret entirely agreed with her assessment.
Moreover, it appeared rather sloppy—so much so that even Innis and Margaret noticed it at a glance.
Of course, other people seemed utterly indifferent to the two men in work clothes, caught up as they were in the festive atmosphere.
The two men hurriedly surveyed their surroundings and walked naturally along the promenade.
And it was just as they passed by Margaret and Innis.
The men communicated using a magical communication device.
“It’s working properly, right? When did you say the Crown Prince would pass?”
“He should appear within the hour.”
“Good. Make sure it detonates on time. What about the Magic Tower Master?”
“He’s set the trap. It will take some time for him to arrive.”
Margaret and Innis exchanged glances upon hearing their murmured conversation.
By sheer coincidence, the magical communication channel they had brought overlapped with the men’s frequency.
At first, she thought they were discussing fireworks for the celebration. But since the Flone Family was also providing equipment for this fireworks festival, they roughly knew the locations where fireworks would be installed.
Moreover, they had confirmed that no fireworks would be set up on the Lamberson Bridge, where Enoch was scheduled to pass.
“Innis.”
“I heard it too. This is strange.”
Margaret and Innis faced each other.
When one of the two men disappeared and only one remained, they immediately rushed toward the departing man.
Innis struck the man’s back of the head hard with her fan, and when he turned around, Margaret kicked him squarely.
It was certainly not the movement of an ordinary noble lady.
Innis felt a moment of self-loathing and hesitated, then let out a sigh before seizing the man by his collar.
Still, as the eldest daughter of House Flone, she could not simply retreat and leave questions unanswered.
“What, what is this!”
The people strolling nearby stopped in their tracks, startled, and turned to look at them.
“Don’t make a scene. I doubt you want to draw attention here.”
At Innis’s subtle threat, the man finally glanced around before closing his mouth.
“Do you not know who we are?”
“W-who are you?”
“We are the Young Ladies of House Flone.”
The man’s eyes widened in panic. Clearly unprepared for this turn of events, cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
How had House Flone discovered him?
He had meticulously confirmed that event staff would be nowhere near this area at this hour before making his move, yet somehow everything had gone wrong.
He had even stolen work clothes and deliberately conducted all conversations related to the operation through magical communication channels alone—so how could they possibly have—!
Just then, Margaret unfastened the decorative belt at her waist and bound the man’s hands with it.
“Where did you learn to tie knots like that?”
“From books. It looked interesting. I found it more captivating than etiquette.”
Innis regarded Margaret as though observing some peculiar creature. In that moment, Margaret turned to the man and spoke.
“Listen here. From now on, you’ll answer my questions truthfully. I’m the mad dog of House Flone, and once I bite, I don’t let go.”
“Is that something a noble lady should be proud of?”
The man before them—the mage Encanto—wore an expression of dismay upon hearing Margaret’s name.
There was a mad dog like that at the Magic Tower too. His name was Kaiden.
Those who earned the nickname “mad dog” were typically doomed if they caught your attention.
Encanto’s mind raced rapidly.
What he had been about to commit was treason.
He had received secret orders from the Empress to plant a bomb on the bridge that Crown Prince Enoch would cross, and to time its detonation with the start of the fireworks display, collapsing the bridge and killing the Crown Prince.
One careless word now and he would die. Moreover, this situation was tantamount to being caught red-handed.
Under these circumstances, he had to save himself alone. There was no way all of them could die together.
“Would you care to explain what this situation is?”
Margaret and Innis questioned him in turn.
After hearing Encanto’s account, Margaret and Innis turned their heads.
In their field of vision appeared Lamberson Bridge. And approaching it at that very moment was the carriage carrying the Crown Prince.
“Innis.”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Innis and Margaret clasped each other’s hands and ran.
* * *
Moments earlier, at Langrid Palace.
“This is the Empress’s provocation. Why respond to such meaningless provocation?”
Diego followed behind Enoch with a bewildered expression.
Ever since Rodban had stepped down from the Crown Prince’s position and been confined to the Northern Region, the Empress’s harassment of Enoch had intensified considerably.
Yet he had to endure it. Though he had ascended to the Crown Prince’s position thanks to Rodban’s downfall and the people’s fervent support, there were still numerous factions attempting to depose Enoch and restore Rodban.
“The fireworks festival will continue for four days. There’s no need for you to attend every day. Attend just one day. It won’t diminish your Majesty as Crown Prince.”
Even as Diego spoke, he briefly found himself confused about why he was acting like Enoch’s aide.
But Enoch still lacked a trustworthy aide. Beyond his support base, he had no one he could truly rely on.
Most of the people he could trust had died on the battlefield anyway.
“Whether I attend or not, people will talk regardless. In that case, it’s better to fulfill my duty.”
Enoch was stubborn. Like a soldier who had spent years rolling through battlefields, he lacked flexibility and was excessively conservative.
Diego exhaled a long sigh.
As Enoch was about to board the carriage, he turned to look at Diego. His rigidly set expression softened the moment his eyes met Diego’s.
“Do I look like a child abandoned at the waterside to you, Sir?”
Seeing Diego’s flustered face, Enoch let out a small laugh.
“After rolling through battlefields for years, when you attend a party among nobles, you start thinking like this.”
Enoch spoke as he climbed the carriage steps.
“Even children’s games can be entertaining sometimes.”
The carriage door closed. Diego let out a relieved breath and patted his chest.
Right. Who was worrying about whom?
It was when the carriage carrying them reached the Lamberson Bridge over the Arden River.
“Why isn’t the carriage moving?”
To Enoch’s question, Diego, who was escorting the carriage, answered with an awkward expression.
“It seems the festival has drawn crowds, blocking the way.”
“…We’ll proceed on foot.”
“Sir? That cannot be. The Crown Prince traveling on foot to attend a party?”
“It’s better than giving the Empress ammunition to mock me for being late. Once we cross the bridge, we’ll ride horses, so don’t worry.”
At least he was willing to ride horses after crossing. That was some consolation.
As Diego released a relieved sigh, Enoch finally dismounted near the Lamberson Bridge.
And there, he encountered an unexpected group. Three or four men on white horses were blocking the bridge.
Only then did Enoch understand why traffic was so congested. It wasn’t the crowds—it was these men.
The men all wore expensive riding clothes, suggesting they were nobles, and they had deliberately blocked Enoch’s path. It seemed as though they were deliberately wasting time.
‘Are they trying to prevent me from attending the party?’
Perhaps the Empress had sent them. No, Enoch was almost certain of it.
The group of nobles wasn’t just blocking the carriage—they were also impeding the steps of pedestrians passing through. It was an outrageous nuisance.
Enoch let out an irritated sigh and pulled a pocket watch from his jacket. Even if he departed immediately, it would be tight.
“Sir Diego, it would be best to report this to the local security forces.”
“That will delay us further. It would be better if we simply took another route…”
“But I cannot pretend not to see other citizens being inconvenienced and simply pass by.”
At Enoch’s words, Diego could say nothing and pressed his lips firmly shut.
Just then, the nobles mounted on horses swung cricket bats at the passing citizens. It was extremely violent.
“The third son of Marquis Rohade Family, Baron Rockford, and the heir of Count Baker.”
Diego, who had been calmly observing the situation, carefully informed Enoch.
“They are all from families hostile to Your Highness the Crown Prince. Do you understand what this situation is?”
With those words, Diego hoped Enoch would abandon any thoughts of intervening and simply take a detour.
Thanks to the Young Lady of House Flone’s obsession with Enoch, his prominence had increased somewhat, but fundamentally, the Crown Prince had no support base to speak of.
So clashing with nobles who were nearly aligned with the Empress’s faction rather than remaining neutral would be equivalent to giving them an opening.
Enoch either wasn’t listening to Diego or was simply ignoring him—he was already rolling up his sleeves by tugging at the cufflinks on his wrist.
“Your Highness.”
At Diego’s protest, Enoch’s steps halted abruptly. The gaze he cast toward Diego was suffocating in its intensity.
“Does it seem as though I’m asking for your permission?”
“My apologies.”
Only then did Enoch turn away. Watching the people around them bow their heads, crushed beneath the menacing aura radiating from him, Diego let out a hollow laugh.
Most of them likely recognized him as the Crown Prince, but Enoch hadn’t clawed his way to that position alone and friendless for nothing. He was no ordinary man.
In the first place, it was others—those with no connection to him—who worried about Enoch’s base of support. Enoch himself showed no sign of concern for such trivial matters whatsoever.
Diego offered a silent condolence to those three men causing the disturbance, then quietly fell into step behind Enoch.
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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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