I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Side Story 4

***

Yuanna and Ruzef watched the crowded Arden River Bridge.

“Excuse me, coming through.”

A delicate female voice sounded behind Yuanna. Despite the polite tone, the woman’s movements were quite forceful as she pushed past.

“Sorry.”

She did apologize, but Yuanna couldn’t see her face, as it was hidden beneath a hat and veil.

“How incredibly rude. What kind of woman behaves like that? That was a terrible apology,” Ruzef fumed on Yuanna’s behalf.

“I like her,” Yuanna muttered.

Ruzef was shocked. “You have a… peculiar taste…”

“That’s not what I meant. Look, she’s not just doing that to me—she’s being equally brash to everyone regardless of their status or gender.”

Ruzef turned his head in the direction Yuanna indicated and saw the woman pushing her way through a group of noblemen without any regard for their status.

“She’s really something.”

Ruzef looked at Yuanna as if she were witnessing something incomprehensible.

Then something even more surprising happened.

“You damn fool! Do you think you can keep your position as Crown Prince after this?!”

A nobleman shouted at Enoch, his face red with rage. Among the people in the streets, nobles were in the minority, with most being commoners.

Enoch was the man who had risen to the position of Crown Prince with the support of these commoners.

“That man must be mad.”

“His social career is over. Archbishop, in the noble society, that’s the end, right?”

“No matter how great his family is, this is difficult to overcome. I bet it’ll be on the front page of tomorrow’s newspapers.”

Ruzef, the second son of the prestigious Deferde family known for producing archbishops and popes, made the statement with authority.

If even Ruzef, known in the Holy See as the noble prince, said so, the nobleman’s fate was sealed.

Yuanna smiled, clearly enjoying the scene.

It seemed she had made the right decision to escape from the Holy See, even with the burden of Ruzef.

Watching these obnoxious nobles fight was entertaining. It was simply too much fun!

***

Enoch checked the time. The sun was setting, and it was gradually getting darker. When he saw people lighting gas lamps, he felt a weight on his shoulders.

He was already late for the party. He hadn’t mentioned it to Diego, but he had anticipated this from the moment he stepped out of the carriage.

Enoch’s indifferent gaze landed on three men who were swaying unsteadily, unable to hold themselves up. People who acted recklessly and without control were among the types Enoch despised the most.

Just in time, the guardsmen who had rushed to the scene began to regain control of the bridge.

As Enoch watched the men still causing trouble on the bridge with a troubled expression, someone approached him.

“Hey, Bnhwang! Long time no see!”

A man greeted him familiarly.

Enoch looked slightly taken aback at the sight of a man dressed in an absurd outfit, akin to a bard from a play.

This man was none other than the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Hestia.

Behind the Crown Prince, a man who appeared to be his aide looked at his superior as if he were insane. When the aide met Enoch’s eyes, he hastily corrected his expression.

“You probably don’t recognize me, do you? Allow me to introduce myself! The greatest bard of the Langridge Empire–!”

“Get lost, Cheekydal.”

Enoch pushed Arthdal away and slowly approached the men.

“Hey, it wouldn’t be good for you to handle this directly. Wait for the police to arrive. Also, it would be best to leave this area. The flow of mana is strange here.”

One of the guards, who had been watching Enoch nervously, spoke up after hearing Arthdal’s advice.

“Your Highness, please leave this matter to us and depart from here. There are many eyes watching.”

Before Enoch could respond, the angry nobles lunged at him. It was partly because Enoch had approached them too closely and partly because the guards were momentarily distracted by controlling the festival crowd.

Of course, the men didn’t get a chance to touch a hair on Enoch. Another person suddenly intervened.

“You bastards! Who do you think you’re touching?!”

A woman in a dress kicked the staggering ruffians.

“Oof-!”

“Ugh!”

The men immediately collapsed to the ground, and the woman mercilessly kicked the incapacitated men.

“The third son of the Marquis of Rohade, Baron Rockford, and the heir to Count Baker. Well, except for the Marquis of Rohade, they’re all insignificant.”

The veiled woman was wielding violence, while another woman standing beside her directed the blows.

“Hit them just enough to settle it with money and power. Only in places that won’t show.”

Even Arthdal was so taken aback that he stared blankly at the scene. Others were the same, unable to approach them easily.

The woman enacting violence had her face concealed with a hat and veil, making it impossible to identify her.

Diego, having finished his business and returning to witness the scene, approached Enoch with a surprised expression. He whispered quietly so only Enoch could hear.

“I believe that woman is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Floné.”

The eldest daughter of the Duke of Floné. This meant the other woman was also likely from the Floné family. And among the Floné family members, there was only one woman Enoch knew well enough to act so recklessly.

Margaret Rose Floné.

Normally, she would have considered her family’s reputation and not behaved so outrageously, but it seemed she had gained confidence from having her face covered.

Meanwhile, Innis, noticing the attention on them, turned to the onlookers and smiled.

“Don’t worry. Despite appearances, she doesn’t bite.”

Arthdal, Enoch, and Diego thought they had misheard her.

She doesn’t bite? It was as if she were being treated like a wild animal.

But considering this was Margaret Rose Floné, who had recently caused such a ruckus by grabbing another noblewoman’s hair that she was banned from going out, the reaction was somewhat understandable.

“Even if she doesn’t bite, it looks like she’s beating them up.”

Arthdal, who still didn’t know who they were, muttered with a frown, which Innis ignored as she smiled.

“It’s better if we handle this. It will help divert attention from the Crown Prince. Besides, we have a lot to do right now, so please don’t distract us.”

“Wow.”

Arthdal couldn’t help but exclaim at Innis’s words. He nudged Enoch’s shoulder with his elbow.

“You’re lucky. Whoever they are, they’re impressive ladies.”

Enoch looked at the woman, who he assumed was Margaret, with a complicated expression.

Then–

“Wait a second, the flow of mana…….”

Arthdal looked alarmed as he watched Margaret. She climbed up onto the bridge railing.

“Why on earth is she climbing up there?”

Everyone watched Margaret, who seemed to be in a dangerous position, with concern.

Margaret shouted to Innis, “Innis! Help me quickly! I’m going down now!”

Innis ran to grab Margaret’s hand, and Margaret leaned over the bridge, seemingly ready to jump.

“Ahhhhh!”

Screams of horror erupted from the onlookers.

The blood drained from Enoch’s face as he watched. From his vantage point, it looked like Margaret had disappeared below the bridge.

Enoch rushed toward her, his mind in chaos. He hated her so much, despised and loathed her, but he had never once wished for her death. Not even once.

“Young lady!”

When Enoch reached the bridge railing and looked down, he saw Margaret dangling from it, held securely by Innis.

Enoch noticed that Margaret was holding something in her hand, a square wooden box that seemed to have been ripped out from beneath the bridge.

Enoch hurriedly helped Innis pull Margaret back up onto the bridge.

As soon as Margaret was back on solid ground, she quickly lowered her veil again. Seeing that she was safe, Enoch felt all the strength drain from his body.

“Damn it.”

He slowly ran a dry hand over his face.

Meanwhile, Margaret threw the wooden box to the ground and stomped on it.

Crack! Crunch!

As the box broke open, black smoke spread out and dissipated at her feet.

Watching the scene, Arthdal said, “That was the strange flow of mana I saw.”

Everyone stared at the wooden box in astonishment. Innis sighed in relief as she hugged Margaret. They were both safe.

Enoch knew that Arthdal had the ability to see the flow of mana. If Arthdal was correct, not only Enoch but everyone on the bridge had been in danger.

Margaret had saved them all, including him.

The realization unsettled Enoch.

Meanwhile, the guards began to control the crowd and clear the blocked path.

Margaret turned toward the reporters who had gathered and curtsied, allowing several photos to be taken before she dusted off her hands and walked back toward them.

“Excuse me, gentlemen.”

She then pretended not to be Margaret. Although her veil had slipped for a moment as she was pulled back onto the bridge, few had seen her face.

Arthdal, still unaware of Margaret’s identity, watched her with amusement. Enoch, on the other hand, looked at her with mixed emotions and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you, young lady. I will repay this favor.”

It was a short acknowledgment, but the weight of its meaning was substantial. For the first time, Enoch felt grateful and apologetic toward Margaret. Though it might not develop into affection, he genuinely felt thankful.

Margaret, as if waiting for this, brightened up and responded, “Then marry me.”

Cough. Arthdal, more taken aback than Enoch, couldn’t stop his dry cough.

“If you refuse, consider it a debt. But remember this: I will keep accumulating debt with you. When it becomes too much to handle, come to me. I’ll take care of it for you. Seems like a fair deal.”

Of course. Enoch immediately revised his opinion of Margaret. Yes, she had always been this kind of woman.

“Oh… debt, you say. Langridge women are truly… unromantic.”

Arthdal couldn’t continue his sentence and gave a small round of applause. It seemed Margaret had a knack for ruining her own acts of kindness with her words.

Enoch looked at Margaret with a complex expression.

He hadn’t always disliked Margaret. Initially, he had been fond of her. If not for her headstrong and reckless personality, Margaret had many admirable qualities.

And indeed, Margaret was someone he, as the Crown Prince, owed a debt of gratitude, despite her tendency to treat him as a valuable object.

“You, I told you to be more careful. I almost couldn’t catch you. Are you planning to act like a reckless brat?”

Innis, having handled the situation, returned and scolded Margaret.

Arthdal, observing the two sisters, asked Innis, “Oh. So this whole situation was your idea?”

Innis’s face contorted in a strange expression as she looked at Arthdal.

It was clear she thought she was dealing with a lunatic, a sentiment reflected in Diego’s barely contained laughter as he turned away.

While the two stood in confrontation, Margaret lifted her veil slightly and looked at Enoch.

And Enoch saw.

Standing against the backdrop of the dusky sky and gas lamps glowing like the moon, she radiated light. Her platinum blonde hair shone like the stars in the night sky, and her blue eyes were as beautiful as ice crystals.

Behind the delicate veil, she looked like an angel without wings.

“I’ll get scolded by Innis for this, but I wanted to see you with my own eyes. You look handsome as always. Absolutely breathtaking.”

She smiled with her jewel-like eyes, making the surroundings seem brighter. Even in the darkening twilight, she alone seemed to illuminate the scene.

The warm early summer breeze blew, and the festive noise of the crowd faded into the distance.

Enoch and Margaret looked at each other quietly. It felt as if the air surrounding them was of a different nature.

Margaret, in her entirety, was unreal.