I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Side Story 7

***

Whoever heard of a snake that likes strawberry jam? But Eunji was an exception. Though he usually preferred consuming mana, Margaret’s mana was limited. And with all the mana in this world gone, Eunji had to find other ways to satiate his hunger.

Eunji wiped the strawberry jam from his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at the fainted Maid A with a troubled expression. A moment later, Maid B, passing by the corridor, rushed over in surprise when she saw Eunji.

“Eunji just asked where Margaret Unnie is,” Eunji said, tugging at Maid B’s skirt and glancing up at her. He clasped his hands together, fidgeting like fallen autumn leaves, and muttered, “Unnie is avoiding Eunji.”

His plump cheeks quivered, and his mouth turned downward, ready to burst into tears. He looked so pitiful and sad that Maid B almost mentioned she had seen Lady Margaret in the garden just moments ago.

“I-I haven’t seen her either. I don’t know,” she stammered, but she could only answer according to the manual the head maid had instructed.

At Maid B’s response, the boy’s shoulders noticeably slumped.

“Unnie only cares about Enoch. She doesn’t seem to see Eunji.”

Then, suddenly,

Poof—

The boy vanished, and a white snake dropped to the floor with a thud.

Maid A, who had just come to her senses and was being helped up, screamed again at the sight.

“Kyahhh—!”

That very day, Maid A packed her belongings and fled back to her hometown in a hurry. And with that, Eunji, feeling even more dejected, locked herself in his room and refused to come out.

***

“Such work guidelines exist?” I said, my face filled with incredulity as I sat on the sofa in my room with Rosemary, reading the work guidelines brought by the head maid. Eunji, in his snake form, was napping on his designated cushion.

Now I understood why Eunji had been sulking and refusing to leave his room. The servants were treating him like a ghost.

On top of that, the daily flower bouquets sent to me by Enoch, Arthdal, and Ruzef in a ridiculous competition (why they engaged in such a pointless contest was beyond me; perhaps they had nothing better to do) were also mentioned as if they were part of a ghost story.

“The long-time servants all like Eunji. But the newly hired ones don’t know him well,” the head maid explained.

The fact that Eunji could take human form was a closely guarded secret. Given that Eunji, renowned as a divine beast, could still transform into a human even after mana disappeared from the world, there was no benefit in letting this information become public.

‘It’s not an absolute secret, but it’s best to avoid any noisy situations.’

Moreover, since Eunji was omnivorous and ate all sorts of things besides mana, we were teaching him how to satisfy his hunger with food. So, he sometimes took human form to eat meals with the family, but during those times, the servants’ access to the dining room was restricted. The precautionary statement in rule 1 was likely to prepare for any unexpected situations.

I heard that Innis and the head maid had devised these work guidelines together.

‘Still, wouldn’t this just make the servants more curious?’

It seemed that instead of explaining Eunji’s human form directly to the new servants, they delivered these roundabout work guidelines.

Besides, rule 1 was understandable, but—

2. If a boy in a dress approaches you and asks about Lady Margaret’s whereabouts, you must always answer that you do not know. There are no children in the Floné mansion.

The problem was rule 2.

There was no more mana left in this world, except for me, Eunji, and Kayden, who had become a transcendent being. Maintaining mana in a world completely devoid of it was not easy.

Moreover, the mana within me was gradually fading. So, when I wasn’t in good condition, Eunji could become a semi-transparent human or only partially transform, resulting in side effects. Eunji’s human transformation depended on my mana.

Recently, Eunji has been transforming less frequently.

The issue was that without transforming into a human, I couldn’t enjoy the pleasure of having conversations with Eunji. While we could still communicate when he was in snake form, it wasn’t the same as having a conversation. That was too sad.

‘If only I could find a way to communicate with Eunji while he’s in snake form, there’d be no need for him to transform into a human, and the servants wouldn’t have to be given these ghost story-like work guidelines.’

While I was pondering this, Rosemary, who was also reading the work guidelines, voiced her doubt. “But Eunji is originally a snake, so he doesn’t need to transform into a human, right? Does he transform because it’s more convenient for him?”

Reflecting on her words, I thought deeply. “Can he return to being a snake? Is he fully human now?”

“I can go back! Eunji got strong because of that ugly stone! But if I stay human for too long, I lose my strength.”

I recalled Eunji’s words from when he first transformed and shook my head.

“No. Eunji seems to prefer his snake form. He said it’s tiring to stay human for long,” I explained.

“Then why does he transform into a human?” Rosemary asked, puzzled.

“That’s…” I trailed off, unsure.

I rested my chin in my hand and retraced my thoughts. Why was that?

“Because Eunji wants to talk to you, Unnie!” came a sudden voice.

“Aah! You scared me!” Rosemary screamed at the sudden voice.

The head maid was also startled, placing a hand over her chest and taking deep breaths as Eunji suddenly appeared from behind the sofa.

Eunji scurried to the front of the sofa, then flopped his upper body onto my lap with open arms.

“I like talking to you, Unnie, because I like you,” Eunji said, his eyes sparkling as he looked up at me with his adorable face.

Next to us, Rosemary was making a fuss about how cute Eunji was, making quite a racket.

In response, Eunji put his hands under his chin like a flower and winked at Rosemary.

“Where did you learn that?” I asked, surprised.

“Prince Biscuit taught me,” Eunji replied.

Biscuit? I guessed Arthdal must have taught him. Thinking about it, Arthdal was the only one around me who would do such things as winking.

“Eunji, are you feeling better now?” I asked.

Eunji’s eyes widened as if he had just remembered that he was supposed to be upset. He quickly turned away, his face showing signs of annoyance, and refused to look at me.

Feeling a bit bewildered, I looked at Rosemary and the head maid, both of whom had equally perplexed expressions.

“Eunji, what’s wrong? Is it because people treat you like you don’t exist?” I asked, concerned.

“No, that’s not it!” Eunji replied, still avoiding my gaze.

Then, suddenly, he raised his hand to his face, rubbing his eyes as if wiping away tears. Alarmed, I got off the sofa and knelt in front of him.

Eunji was crying big, round tears.

“Oh no, Eunji, why are you crying? Come to Unnie,” I said, opening my arms, but Eunji shook his head and continued to turn away from me.

“You’re not my Unnie anymore,” he muttered.

“What?” I asked, shocked.

“When you get married, I’ll have no place to go. You’re going to abandon me,” Eunji said, his voice trembling.

“What are you talking about? I would never abandon you,” I assured him.

“You keep avoiding me,” Eunji accused, tears streaming down his face.

That was because of the ridiculous work guidelines causing confusion among the servants! I felt an unprecedented anger toward the servants for making my precious Eunji feel this way.

“I would never abandon you, Eunji. Never,” I said firmly.

Eunji hesitated, his eyes widening slightly.

“You’re going to marry Enoch,” he said.

“…What?” I replied, taken aback.

“When you get married, they said you’d leave,” Eunji explained, wiping his tears with his small fists.

I stared at Eunji, realizing he misunderstood. Of course, I’d leave the mansion when I got married, but I never thought of leaving Eunji behind.

“I’m not going to abandon you, Eunji,” I said, pulling him into my arms.

“But I want to stay with you forever. I thought you’d be upset if I asked that,” Eunji said, looking up at me with tear-filled eyes.

“What?” I asked, my heart breaking at her words. “Do you not want to stay with me?”

“No! No!” Eunji shouted, waving his small arms in protest.

“I wasn’t avoiding you. I’m sorry. Do you want to come to me?” I asked, my voice softening.

I opened my arms once more toward Eunji. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at me.

“Really? You weren’t avoiding me?”

“Why would I avoid you?”

Crying, Eunji leapt into my arms. I held him close, gently patting his back and comforting him.

“Oh, my poor Eunji. You were so upset, weren’t you?”

He cried hard, his sobs echoing in the room. After a while, his tears subsided, and he blinked, trying to understand the situation. Next to us, Rosemary and the head maid were dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs, visibly moved.

I looked down at Eunji, a thought suddenly crossing my mind. I furrowed my brow.

“Eunji, you….” I began, noticing that he seemed slightly fainter than before. This must be due to the instability of the mana within me.

“You take human form to talk to me because you were afraid I might abandon you?” I asked gently.

Eunji remained silent, his silence confirming my suspicions.

My heart ached, realizing how desperate he had been. It was all my fault for not noticing earlier.

I hugged him tightly and said, “Eunji, it’s okay if you’re in your snake form. I love you no matter what you look like. Let’s learn to write together. We’ll find a way to communicate using mana too.”

I rubbed my cheek against his, making him giggle happily. Like a child, his mood shifted quickly from sad to happy.

Even when Eunji was in his snake form, I often understood his expressions better than others. I could sense his emotions.

Surely, we could find a way to communicate even when he was a snake. Teaching him to write might not be that difficult.

“You, too, will teach me to write, Unnie?” Eunji asked suddenly.

‘Too?’

I pulled him away from my embrace and looked him straight in the eyes. “Who said they would teach you to write?”

“Enoch.”

“When?”

Eunji covered his mouth with his little hands, his eyes darting around as if he was caught.

“Oh no, I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

What? I hadn’t seen Enoch’s face for a month. How had Eunji been in contact with him?