I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Side Story 12

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“There was never any talk about the half-blood prince being this handsome.”

Those were the words Margaret had spoken when she first laid eyes on Enoch at a royal party. She believed that was their first meeting, but in truth, they had met long before that.

Before meeting Margaret, Enoch lived a desolate life. His powerless mother was murdered by the Empress simply because she had given birth to a male child. The incident was closed without proper investigation, and the Emperor turned a blind eye to it. As a result, the bullying from the servants toward Enoch grew increasingly severe.

Moreover, there was Rodvan, a legitimate heir born to the Empress, but the Emperor had declared that he would grant the title of crown prince to the most capable successor. With this, the power dynamics between the brothers became increasingly sharp and fierce, and the harassment from Enoch’s siblings, who saw him as prey, grew just as intense.

It became routine to have his meals tampered with, go hungry, be punished for unjust accusations, get beaten in secret, or have dirty water dumped on him.

“Poor prince. How could everyone be so cruel to a child?”

If any maid approached Enoch with sympathy and kindness, she would end up dead the next day.

The instigators were Enoch’s siblings and the servants they had bribed. Unless the matters were incredibly noisy, everything that happened between them was overlooked under the Empress’s orders.

There was no light in Enoch’s eyes, only emptiness and helplessness on his face—emotions far too mature for a child to feel.

The bullying seemed endless. Most people wished for Enoch’s death, while the rest were indifferent to whether he lived or died. Yet he endured day by day.

Of all the hardships he endured, the most memorable harassment occurred in early summer when he was fifteen. It was the eve of the Foundation Festival and the first time Enoch would appear before the nobles.

Just like his other siblings, Enoch had completed preparations for the party and was heading to the venue when the fifth prince, Chris, called out to him.

“Hey, half-blood. You almost look like royalty today.”

Enoch’s expressionless gaze met Chris’s. The depth and emptiness in Enoch’s eyes were like an unfathomable lake, causing Chris to flinch inwardly, though he masked it and continued.

“Come play with us today.”

“Why? So you can bully me again?”

“W-what? When have I ever bullied you? You don’t want to come?”

Enoch, who was several years younger than Chris, sighed heavily, like an old man who had lived his life.

‘This brat is getting cocky. He doesn’t act this way with Brother Rodvan. Is he looking down on me? Should I teach him a lesson?’

Chris frowned, contemplating, then shook his head.

‘No, I should let it go today.’

Instead of voicing his thoughts, he smiled brightly and extended his hand to Enoch. “You’ll come, right?”

Enoch stared at the outstretched hand for a long time before quietly nodding. “Okay.”

Chris’s face lit up.

Of course, Enoch didn’t trust Chris.

Still, he held onto a glimmer of hope that there might be a shred of sincerity in Chris’s words.

A young boy who had never received proper love, affection, or attention could only wish for such things.

Naturally, Enoch’s hopes were cruelly shattered.

Chris sent a new maid to deliver a change of clothes, claiming the dress code had changed. After changing into the clothes and entering the party, Enoch discovered they were not even servant uniforms but those of mere laborers.

Nobles murmured in shock upon seeing him, the Empress scowled in disdain, the Emperor ignored him, and his siblings laughed at him with their peers.

“Hey, half prince. I see you’ve finally realized where you belong. Those clothes suit you,” mocked the second princess, Camilla, patting Enoch’s shoulder.

“Now that you know your place, why don’t you leave? Or should I personally escort you out? You should leave before Rodvan sees you and brings shame to our family.”

Rodvan, born to the Empress, was the highest-ranked among the siblings. At Camilla’s words, the children giggled and ridiculed him.

Without a word, Enoch left the party and headed to the deserted garden. His pace quickened until he was running frantically.

Thud. Roll—

He tripped over a stone and tumbled to the ground, quickly becoming a mess.

Lying on the dirt, he gazed up at the sky.

The sunset painted the sky a deep red. As he stared blankly upward, Enoch felt his cheeks grow hot. Tears streamed down his face. It was the first time he realized tears could feel warm.

He bit his lower lip hard, his chest heaving as he tried to suppress his sobs.

And then it happened.

“What’s this, silly Rosemary? There’s someone here.”

“Foolish Margaret, look properly. It’s just a servant. Don’t mind it.”

“Arrogant and indulgent Rosemary. Isn’t a servant a person? What did you do during your ethics lessons? Why is your character so terrible?”

“Don’t worry, it’s better than yours, you rascal. Didn’t you pull Lady Rancha’s hair this morning? Do you know she’s a guest from Hestia?”

“Wasn’t it impressive? You should always bully someone stronger to be cool. What’s the point in defeating the weak?”

“Well, Lady Rancha was a bit annoying. That’s why everyone let it slide… wait, isn’t your moral sense a bit strange too?”

Enoch forgot his sniffles and looked up at the two girls standing before him with a bewildered expression. The two girls, engaged in their deep and strange conversation, seemed much younger than Enoch.

The taller of the two, called Margaret, appeared to be around eleven years old. She showed interest in Enoch, who was lying on the ground.

“You look pretty hurt. Are you okay?” The girl extended a hand toward Enoch, and she was beautiful. Her golden hair was bathed in the glow of the sunset, and her eyes were as clear as the blue sky. Enoch had never seen such a pretty girl in his life.

“What’s this? You’re spacing out. Are you really okay?” Margaret asked again, and Enoch finally came to his senses and stood up.

Only then did he notice his appearance. He was filthy and disheveled, wearing clothes that resembled those of a servant, with a tear-stained face. No wonder he had been mistaken for a servant. It was his first formal appearance in society, and it had ended in such humiliation.

No one would believe he was royalty. His face burned with shame, and he felt like disappearing. He thought he would be used to the mortification by now, but he wasn’t.

Rosemary glanced at Enoch, who seemed reluctant to move, and urged Margaret. “Margaret, the fireworks are about to start. We should hurry.”

“He looks a bit weak. I think I should help him. You go ahead.”

“You’re not doing this because of his face, are you?”

“Rosemary, you admit he’s handsome too, right?”

“…Crazy sister, I’m going ahead.” The girl called Rosemary shuddered at Margaret and then truly left the garden alone.

Enoch stared at Margaret, bewildered.

“Do you know who bullied you? Did you get revenge?”

When Enoch shook his head blankly in response to Margaret’s question, she frowned. Her commanding presence made Enoch hesitate.

She sighed at the boy, who seemed much younger than herself. “Listen up. In a fight, you have to strike first. If they bully you, grab their hair and talk back.”

“…Aren’t you a noble?”

“You can act noble after you win a fight. Winning is what’s important.”

It was a strange logic. Could those words really come from a child who looked no older than eleven or twelve? Enoch wondered how they raised children in that household.

“Who told you that?”

“Future me, from a dream. Since visiting the Magic Tower, I’ve had strange dreams. Future me said that life is all about crappy timing. It’s not that I’m strange; life itself is just awful. I was really moved by it. Even in the future, I say such cool things. Anyway, that’s not what’s important now.”

Dreaming of your future self—that was a strange dream indeed. Enoch wondered what his future self was doing.

While he was lost in thought, the girl’s face appeared before him.

“I guess your tears have stopped.” Margaret smiled sweetly at Enoch.

“I wasn’t crying,” Enoch replied, hastily wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

Seeing this, Margaret laughed and extended her hand to him. “Do you want to watch the fireworks with me? They’re about to start.”

Enoch stared blankly at Margaret’s small hand extended toward him.