I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Side Story 8

“No, wait…!” I exclaimed, quickly grabbing Eunji by the arms. “When did you see Enoch? Why did he suddenly decide to teach you how to write?”

“Enoch sent Eunji a letter. But Eunji couldn’t read it, so Eunji was upset,” Eunji explained, twisting his body shyly as he held onto his skirt.

“Innis Unnie wrote back for Eunji! Enoch said he’d teach me how to write next time we meet.”

“Innis did? Why didn’t she tell us?” Rosemary asked, tilting her head in confusion. I was puzzled too.

“Why did Enoch send a letter to Eunji separately and not tell me about it?” I asked.

“Well… I wasn’t supposed to say anything…” Eunji avoided my gaze, looking troubled. No matter how many times I pressed him, he wouldn’t answer.

Eventually, I decided to leave the matter for Innis and changed the subject. “But Eunji, who told you that I would leave you when I get married?”

“I heard the other maids talking about it,” Eunji replied.

I felt a bit relieved hearing this. He must have overheard the maids. It’s natural to live independently after getting married, but Eunji must have misunderstood and thought I was abandoning him.

After calming Eunji down and promising to teach him how to write from tomorrow, I headed to the study to look for the letter from Enoch. The letter had arrived this morning.

Starting with a simple greeting, the letter was concise and neat.

[Please wait a little longer.]

I read and reread the final sentence of the letter, like a period at the end of a sentence.

Of course, it was natural that I wasn’t needed for the important ‘preparation’ for Enoch’s once-in-a-lifetime event.

It wasn’t just Enoch. Ruzef had become the Pope, Arthdal was preparing for his coronation as King, Yuanna was busy with her official duties as the continent’s sole Saintess, and Diego was occupied with his duties and training as the Captain of the Langridge Empire’s Imperial Guard.

Everyone was leading busy lives, holding important positions, and didn’t need my help with their ‘important’ schedules.

I felt unsettled.

Why hadn’t Enoch told me he was in contact with Eunji separately? Even more suspicious was that Innis hadn’t told me what Enoch and Eunji had discussed.

‘What is it? Is everyone hiding something from me?’

I was curious but had no way of finding out. I would have to ask Enoch directly when I saw him.

But meeting Enoch seemed impossible at the moment.

***

A few more days passed.

Eunji was spending less and less time in his human form. He was learning how to communicate with others even in his snake form.

Pop pop.

Eunji used his tail to make a heart shape. I had no idea how he managed to do that, but since Eunji wasn’t an ordinary snake, I decided not to try to understand it with common sense.

“Oh my, how cute,” I said, petting Eunji’s smooth head.

Eunji flicked his tongue and wiggled as he received the pats, even dancing a little.

I could feel how much he enjoyed it. It was clear even without our emotional resonance.

Eunji was also diligently practicing writing with his tail.

He was making remarkable progress, developing our emotional connection into simple verbal communication.

[Unnie, like!]

[Very, like!]

The words Eunji wanted to express resonated in my mind, as if echoing inside my head. Though it was only words and not full sentences yet, I felt that with continued practice in mana manipulation, full conversations might become possible.

[Eunji, Unnie, like.]

The phrase Eunji had said most since he was born was probably how much he liked me.

That’s how much Eunji unconditionally loved and followed me.

“I love you too, Eunji,” I said, hugging him as he swelled to the size of my forearm. I could feel his happiness and affection.

A child who loved me so unconditionally and without reason—he was so precious and I was immensely grateful.

I found myself thinking, ‘I might forget Enoch’s face at this rate, but I feel like I could be happy living with just Eunji…’

Little did Enoch know, a crisis was looming in our relationship, one that only he was unaware of.

***

As the Duke of Floné greeted the morning, as usual, and headed to his office, he received an unexpected letter.

“The Crown Prince sent a letter? To me, not Margaret?” the Duke asked, surprised.

The experienced butler nodded calmly, showing no sign of surprise. “Yes, His Highness the Crown Prince Enoch sent you a letter. He also requested that the fact he sent a letter be kept a secret from your second daughter.”

Keeping it a secret from Margaret? This indicated a great deal of trust in the Duke.

Despite Enoch being a future emperor, the Duke still saw him as a ‘thief of his daughter.’ However, the fact that this ‘thief’ trusted him somewhat softened the Duke’s opinion of Enoch.

“Very well. A secret is a secret, especially from His Highness the Crown Prince,” the Duke said, unable to hide the upward curl of his lips as he received the letter from the butler.

“Huh!”

The veteran butler, who usually remained unflappable, jumped in surprise. A large snake was at their feet, tilting its head and staring intently at the letter in the Duke’s hand.

Eunji, Margaret’s pet and divine beast, flicked his tongue, clearly curious about the ‘secret letter from the Crown Prince.’

Sweat trickled down the Duke’s back as he turned, taking Eunji with him to his office in a hurry. He placed Eunji on the table. He slithered around the table a few times before stopping and looking up at him.

His cute, snake-like face peered at him, flicking his tongue. Despite his appearance, the Duke found himself in quite a predicament.

“Eunji… can you keep this a secret from Margaret?” the Duke asked, hoping he understood.

Eunji looked at him blankly. Though he was practicing writing, he was still a beginner and couldn’t communicate effectively. The Duke felt frustrated that he couldn’t simply ask Margaret to have Eunji transform into his human form.

After a moment of thought, the Duke decided to open the letter first. He approached his desk and picked up a letter opener. Eunji, curious about the letter, crawled from the table to the Duke’s desk.

The Duke waved the letter opener at Eunji. “Alright, Eunji. Grandpa’s opening the letter now.”

Eunji thumped his tail on the desk excitedly, then spun around in delight. It was fascinating how he understood human speech, even in his snake form, though communication wasn’t smooth.

The Duke sat down and opened the letter while Eunji slithered closer, peeking over the desk to read along with him.

“…A proposal project? Eunji and Innis know about this too?” the Duke muttered, skipping the formal greetings and focusing on the main points of the letter.

Enoch planned to propose to Margaret at the upcoming Fireworks Festival in the Langridge Empire and requested the help of Eunji and the Floné family.

“…I hate to admit it, but he does have some sense,” the Duke acknowledged grudgingly.

Enoch was trying to use this opportunity to get closer to the Floné family.

Even after Enoch and Margaret became a couple, the Duke still harbored some resentment. Hadn’t Enoch greatly disliked his daughter in the past?

Even though Margaret had done things to earn his dislike, a parent’s feelings weren’t always rational.

Enoch seemed to understand this and had prepared an event to get closer to the family while caring for Margaret.

At that moment, Eunji flicked his tongue and thumped the Duke’s arm with his tail.

“What is it?” he asked.

Thump thump.

But Eunji couldn’t speak, so he just kept thumping his tail.

“We must keep this a secret from Margaret. Promise me, it will be our little secret,” the Duke said.

Eunji, seemingly excited about the word ‘secret,’ spun around on the table again. It was a clear sign of agreement.

“Our little filly has grown up so much that she’s getting married…” the Duke murmured, dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

Eunji flicked his tongue and watched him, then, losing interest, left his office.

***

Ever since Enoch began preparing for the coronation a month ago, he had been longing to see Margaret every single day. If one were to ask just how obsessed Enoch was with missing Margaret, his chief aide, James, could list dozens of examples.

James stood quietly in front of the gallery adjacent to Enoch’s office, holding a stack of documents. Before starting his morning duties, Enoch had a routine of visiting the gallery first thing after waking up.

What is he doing in the gallery? Naturally, he admired the paintings. Specifically, the portraits.

James glanced around the gallery. The walls of the spacious gallery were filled with portraits of one person. Beautiful and elegant platinum blonde hair, deep and mysterious blue eyes as clear as a lake, delicate and lovely facial features with an adorable smile. These portraits were of Margaret Rose Floné, known as one of the most beautiful women in the empire

There were portraits from Margaret’s infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. They ranged from formal, dignified portraits to casual ones capturing her playing in the garden.

James hadn’t sourced these portraits, nor had the attendants. So how had Enoch acquired them?

It turned out Enoch had made a deal with Margaret’s sister, Innis. In exchange for providing Margaret’s portraits, Enoch had agreed to officially support the science school Innis was preparing to establish, using the imperial family’s name for endorsement. It wasn’t the financial support Innis needed but the prestige of the imperial family’s endorsement.

‘Lady Floné doesn’t know about this. I wonder if she’ll be okay with it,’ James thought. He was intensely curious about how Margaret would react if she found out about the gallery of her portraits in the palace.

“James, what do you think?” Enoch’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“Y-Yes?” James stammered, startled to find Enoch standing in front of him, with Enoch’s aides staring at him from behind.

“I was thinking, during the Fireworks Festival, wouldn’t it be symbolic if Margaret ignited the first fireworks of the new era?” Enoch asked.

“…What? Lady Floné? Doing what?” James asked, thinking he must have misheard.

The Fireworks Festival of the Langridge Empire traditionally began with a professional igniting the fireworks from the spire in Burneton Square. Only an expert could perform this task.

“Do you think she’s some kind of tribal chief who has lived in the jungle? How can Lady Floné climb that high spire and light the fire? That’s preposterous…” James trailed off, suddenly recalling that the survivors from Alea Island had indeed lived in a jungle-like environment. They had survived under primitive conditions.

James looked at Enoch with a speculative expression. Enoch, with an unwavering face, waited for James’s answer.

James realized with a sinking feeling that Margaret could indeed be someone who knew how to make fire.

With a serious expression, he asked Enoch, “What exactly did Lady Floné do before?”