I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 24

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My plan to hide and avoid the Male Leads was completely ruined. I had already met three Male Lead Candidates.

Right, it was a plan doomed from the start anyway.

I thought about where it all went wrong. No matter how much I thought about it, meeting Enoch was the first mistake.

I should have run for my life the moment I opened my eyes on this island!

Of course, even if I had hidden alone, it’s questionable whether I could have survived avoiding the magical beasts. Well, that’s all pointless thinking now.

But what on earth was Archbishop Luzef doing on the mid-slope at sunset?

“Margaret!”

I had properly gathered the flare and came down to the cave, where I found Enoch in front of it. He had been standing there holding a weapon, but ran to me and hugged me tightly.

Just when I thought I might suffocate to death, he let me go.

“I saw a strange magic circle in the sky. So I thought you…! I thought you…! Hah…”

Enoch’s voice was extremely agitated.

Because of that, I missed the timing to talk about Archbishop Luzef.

“I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Even at my apology, Enoch seemed quite angry and didn’t respond.

I wanted to ramble on with some lame excuses, but I really had no strength.

‘I almost died and came back to life. So please don’t be too angry.’

There were so many things I wanted to say, but my legs gave out. I knew this would happen. Tomorrow I really won’t be able to get up and will suffer from muscle pain.

Eventually my legs gave out and I sat down on the spot. Then Enoch lifted me up in his arms.

I don’t know how many times this has happened since coming to this island, being held by him like this. Wrapped in his firm, warm chest, I felt relieved without realizing it.

It was something I really couldn’t have imagined back in the Langrid Empire.

“…But why is the cave in this state?”

The cave was a mess. We didn’t have much to begin with, but still, the spear and coconut bowls that we had worked hard to make were all smashed to pieces.

It looked exactly like a storm had swept through the cave. Or maybe thieves had broken in?

“That’s…”

Enoch surveyed the cave without batting an eye, then answered briefly.

“It just ended up that way.”

What kind of answer is that.

The only thing left intact in the cave was my sleeping area.

Enoch set me down on the large tree leaves that served as my makeshift bedding. Then he knelt on one knee in front of me.

“Where did Kaiden go?”

“To look for you.”

Enoch answered curtly.

I felt uncomfortable and sorry that even Kaiden had gone out to look for me in the dangerous night. I was being a burden.

“I went mountain climbing. I thought I could go and come back quickly, but since it’s been a while since I’ve hiked, I guess I lost track of time.”

I rambled on with excuses. But it was true. I really had intended to return before sunset.

“Are you hurt anywhere.”

I was nodding my head when my soles stung and I frowned. The blisters must have burst again.

Enoch, who had been watching me quietly, grabbed my ankle. His large hand wrapped around my ankle completely. I felt a bit nervous somehow.

He carefully removed my flat shoes.

There were blisters in more than just one or two places. Moreover, there were quite a few wounds where my feet had been scraped and torn. As expected, flat shoes aren’t suitable footwear for the wilderness.

Enoch looked at my ruined feet in silence. After showing my bare feet for a long time, I felt too embarrassed and cleared my throat once.

Should I be grateful that Enoch could bear to look at wounds of this degree.

“I jumped down that mountain behind the cave all at once. Magical beasts were chasing me. I’m really lucky to be alive. Ha, ha, haha…”

The more I spoke, the more ominous Enoch’s expression became. So I eventually trailed off and closed my mouth.

Enoch brought over the medicine bottle and asked me which one was the disinfectant, and I explained the medicines I used frequently.

When the explanation ended, another uncomfortable silence settled over us.

I felt like I was dying from discomfort. Please, I’d rather you just get angry.

Enoch obediently applied disinfectant to my feet, then applied ointment over it to treat the wounds.

“Ouch. It hurts.”

“Bear with it.”

And he answered with firm words to my whining about the pain. He really is angry.

Enoch put bandages on the scraped wounds and gauze on the burst blisters. After watching me do it several times, he now knew how to use the tools skillfully.

“Just get angry instead.”

I finally couldn’t stand it anymore and said to him.

Enoch raised his head while kneeling on one knee with my foot resting on his knee.

“I’m not angry.”

He lowered his head again and gently caressed my foot. He seemed to have done it unconsciously, but the sensation on my skin felt really strange.

“Then why are you acting like this?”

“I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at myself.”

I frowned because I couldn’t understand what Enoch was saying. What on earth does that mean.

“I should have made it so you could stay comfortable without doing anything, but my abilities are lacking and I keep letting you get hurt…”

“Wait a minute, Enoch. What do you mean by that.”

It was an unexpected answer. So I hastily cut off his words.

He looked at me with a calm face, but his eyes somehow looked pitiful, which made me feel concerned.

He was definitely someone who had criticized and disliked me quite harshly when we first met on this island.

“I got hurt because I was foolish, so why is that Enoch’s fault?”

Enoch listened to my words obediently.

“This incident… was my mistake. Enoch has no obligation to take responsibility for me in the first place.”

Is that why? Because when we return to the Empire, he’ll have to properly account for this situation?

‘That makes some sense.’

Thinking and convincing myself, I nodded.

“Thank you for worrying about me. But I have no intention of living comfortably in this wilderness.”

Living comfortably is something I can do after escaping the island. If I live so carelessly here, I’m bound to die a miserable death.

I can’t die pathetically twice.

“And don’t think about protecting me, worry about yourself first. Without me, you wouldn’t last a day on this island.”

Of course that couldn’t possibly be true, but I deliberately exaggerated. But unexpectedly, Enoch agreed with my words.

“That’s right. I can’t survive on this island alone without you.”

Huh?

I was flustered and just blinked while looking at him. Did I mishear just now? Or did Enoch eat something wrong today?

Seeing my expression, Enoch smiled.

“It might be surprising, but that’s the truth.”

His tone was somewhat self-deprecating.

‘Ah. Is it because of his seizures?’

Then those words make sense. Enoch seems to think that without me, there’s no one to help control his episodes.

‘There’s also Yuanna.’

When she appears, many things might change from now.

My bare feet were still resting on Enoch’s knee. I tried to pull them back because I was embarrassed, but he was holding my feet so the timing became awkward.

“I’m concerned.”

“…Pardon?”

Enoch’s golden eyes quietly turned toward me. It was a gaze without a hint of falsehood.

“Margaret, I’m saying that I’m also concerned about you.”

Enoch’s low voice was pleasant to hear. Maybe his voice sounded even better because we were inside the cave.

‘But wait… me too?’

That was like a premise assuming it was natural for me to care about him. It seemed Enoch was under the impression that I still liked him.

Having grasped the meaning of Enoch’s words, I put my mind to work. So he was saying that he too cared about me romantically.

But why me all of a sudden…

Of course, being human, I had grown fond of him through our time living together.

The frequent physical contact was unavoidable as we crossed between life and death, so I had no intention of misunderstanding it as something special.

Above all, he was gentlemanly and very kind. That’s why I only had that level of fondness for him.

That’s all it was for now. More than anything, I wanted to live. That was the only thought on my mind.

“I understand. Living together, it’s only natural that you’d care about each other.”

In the end, I deliberately gave an evasive answer like someone oblivious.

Of course, I had no intention of denying the fact that Margaret had liked him. That too was now part of the past I had to bear.

Enoch looked at me with a troubled expression.

“Margaret, that’s not what I meant…”

“But Enoch, if you waste energy worrying about such trivial emotions, it’ll interfere with survival, so… wouldn’t it be better to restrain yourself?”

I thought I had given a reasonably rational answer. This would be quite an excellent response, wouldn’t it?

However, Enoch’s complexion wasn’t very good after hearing my words.

“If it could be controlled at will.”

Tilting his head slightly, he looked at me quietly.

“Would I be acting like this right now.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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