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Chapter 4
"It didn't look like an ordinary wolf—not with that jet-black blood and its unremarkable appearance."
I nodded in agreement ‌‌‌with Enoch's assessment.
It certainly seemed like ‌‌‌a magical beast from the novel, but I couldn't let on that I knew that.
"And my sword energy wouldn't activate."
I caught the faint murmur: "If ‌‌‌I'd been able to use sword energy, I wouldn't have needed to rely on brute strength."
Only then did the realization strike me.
'Right. Mana and divine power don't work on this Island.'
Sword energy, magic, divine power—none of it functioned here. That's why we had to survive ‌‌‌‌with nothing but our bare bodies.
Still, true to form as male leads, they all possessed exceptional physical abilities, so hunting went smoothly enough that food wasn't a concern.
Remembering Enoch's merciless raw strength ‌‌‌as he'd subdued that magical beast, it seemed he had no reason to worry about lacking sword ‌‌‌‌energy.
"...I don't understand why I'm even telling the Young Lady any of this."
Enoch ended the conversation with a dismissive remark.
'Here I was trying to compliment him, and look at his attitude.'
Patience. Just patience.
They say that bearing three instances of patience can even spare one from murder.
"I have no idea who put us here, or why—or why it had to be the Young Lady and me of all ‌‌people. That part troubles me too...."
Enoch trailed off, suspicion clouding his features once more.
"If I'd intended ‌‌‌to kidnap Your Highness, I would have locked you away in some quiet mansion, not abandoned you in this perilous wilderness."
I'd been trying to emphasize how harmless I was, but it came out sounding as though I'd genuinely considered kidnapping ‌‌‌‌him.
Enoch's ‌‌silence stretched uncomfortably long. Flustered by the awkwardness, I added hastily:
"Of course, I've never had such thoughts. I certainly never intended to act on them."
My rambling only made things worse. Even I could hear ‌‌‌‌how unconvincing my excuses sounded, and I ‌‌wasn't sure whether Enoch believed me.
When no response came, I turned my ‌‌head to find him lying on his back, gazing up at the sky with a contemplative expression.
Even his profile was impossibly beautiful.
The world truly was unfair.
I gathered my hair, which fell to my chest, in my hands.
'That dazzlingly luminous platinum hair....'
In truth, Margaret herself was sometimes called the most beautiful woman in the Empire based on appearance alone.
But her peculiar personality had overshadowed that beauty—a tragic ‌‌‌‌case of ‌‌‌‌wasted potential.
Lost in thought while studying my hair, I turned to Enoch with a question.
"There really doesn't seem to be anyone here, does there?"
"We can't know for certain yet. But I believe ‌‌there must be—assuming this isn't an Island."
Enoch seemed to be hypnotizing himself, insisting this couldn't possibly be an Island.
But if the novel I knew was accurate, this was indeed an Island. An uninhabited one.
Unable to tell Enoch the truth, I could only sigh heavily.
"No matter how I think about it, something feels off."
I pushed ‌myself up and turned to face Enoch.
"It doesn't feel like a kidnapping. If someone had a purpose, they wouldn't just abandon us on a Beach like this."
Enoch slowly rose to sit beside me, then fell silent, lost in thought.
Was I thinking of Rodban, the deposed ‌‌crown prince?
Enoch seemed to believe this incident might be the work of ‌‌‌‌a faction seeking to undermine him.
But ‌‌‌I knew that on this Island were the Crown Prince of the Hestia Kingdom, the Imperial Guard Commander, the High Priestess, the Archbishop, and the Grand Mage of the Empire.
'All the Empire's heavy hitters ‌‌have gathered here.'
It didn't seem like they were targeting Enoch alone. The strangest part was that Margaret, merely a noble Young Lady, was caught in the middle of it all.
I crossed my arms and asked him with a rather serious expression.
"Do you have any idea what might have happened? What were you doing before you came here, Your Highness?"
Enoch's brow furrowed. Seeming to have no inkling, he pondered for a moment before shaking his head with an uneasy expression.
"I was working."
"Where?"
"In the ‌‌Imperial Palace ‌‌‌‌Office." ‌
"And before you ‌‌‌started working?"
"Before? I was continuously working."
"No, I mean what were you doing before you began work that day. You must have eaten meals and met with people, ‌surely."
At my question, Enoch looked at me with a bewildered expression. It was the first time I'd seen such a look from him.
"I didn't eat. Documents were piling up, so I simply had some fruit in the Office."
"So you're saying you woke up in the morning, didn't eat breakfast, worked continuously in the Office, and then suddenly found yourself here?"
Enoch didn't answer my question. His silence was affirmation ‌‌enough.
Apparently embarrassed, he averted his gaze slightly.
"What about the day before?"
"I ‌woke up in the morning, had a simple meal in the Office, attended a state council meeting, then continued working in the Office."
He was a workaholic of the worst kind—worse even than the overworked people of Korea.
I, Jin-ju Lee, ‌‌‌who had been an ordinary office worker, reflected on this. So this is what it takes to succeed and become a crown prince.
"You didn't go out? You didn't meet anyone from outside? Have you encountered anyone suspicious recently?"
Only then did Enoch frown, as if displeased by my barrage of questions.
"It feels like I'm being interrogated."
"You are being interrogated."
Enoch crossed his arms with a disgruntled expression. Then he tilted his head and shot me a look.
"It seems like it's the Young Lady's turn to be interrogated now."
"You haven't answered my questions yet."
Where did he think he was going with ‌‌this?
When I held my ground firmly without backing down, he let out a sigh and spoke in a measured tone.
"I haven't met any ‌‌‌suspicious outsiders. For the ‌‌‌past month, it's been a ‌busy season with year-end accounting, so I have no memory of leaving ‌‌‌the Imperial Palace."
As Enoch said this, his expression grew somber.
I thought he lived a rather joyless life, but come to think of it, my past self hadn't exactly lived a particularly fulfilling existence either. That's just how office workers are.
"So what were you doing, Young Lady?"
"I was...."
I began to recall Margaret's memories, then promptly sealed my lips shut.
I absolutely could not admit that I'd been alone at the Floné Mansion indulging in fangirl behavior over his portrait that I'd painstakingly acquired. I had no desire to confess the truth and face his disgusted gaze.
"I was enjoying tea time ‌‌‌in the salon of the Floné Mansion. As you can see from my appearance, I had ‌‌been indoors the entire time."
In truth, ‌‌‌I was wearing an indoor dress ‌‌‌‌paired with flat shoes.
The neckline was adorned with an ornate fichu, and lace trimmed both the sleeves and hem generously. To top it off, a substantial jeweled brooch decorated the neckline with rather ostentatious flair.
This ensemble was decidedly unsuitable for wilderness survival.
"Among the people I've met recently, anyone suspicious? ‌‌I'm afraid I couldn't say. ‌‌‌‌I'm quite sociable and meet many people. It would ‌‌be difficult to identify which among so many might be suspicious."
Though truthfully, it wasn't sociability so much as the power of the Floné Duchy that ‌‌‌drew them.
Margaret was fastidious by nature—hardly the type to be universally beloved. Enoch seemed to share this assessment, though he refrained from pressing the point.
My words gave way to another uncomfortable silence.
The sound of waves breaking at regular intervals pierced through the quiet.
By now, the sun had completely set, and darkness lay thick upon us. The ‌‌‌moon, risen above the eerie black sea, shone with remarkable brilliance.
"It seems premature ‌‌‌to judge anything with certainty at this stage."
He was right. First, I ‌‌needed to climb to ‌‌higher ground tomorrow and ascertain where ‌‌‌we were.
"For now, let's conserve our strength and retire for the night. Tomorrow we must discover the nature of this place."
Enoch nodded in agreement at my words.
We soon lay down, turning our ‌‌‌‌backs to each other.
I considered fleeing while he slept, but the thought quickly dissolved when I recalled the monsters I'd encountered that afternoon.
First, I would climb the ‌‌‌mountain with Enoch tomorrow, assess the situation, and only then devise a thorough escape plan.
'And who knows? Perhaps when I open my eyes tomorrow morning, I'll be in my own bed. Perhaps this ‌‌has all been nothing but a long dream.'
With such hopeful anticipation, I surrendered ‌‌‌‌to sleep.
Deliberately suppressing the ominous thoughts that threatened to surface, I pushed them down into the depths of my heart.
Thus passed ‌‌‌‌my first night on that mysterious shore.
* * *
Unfortunately, none ‌of it had been a dream. I awoke on the Beach where ‌‌‌I'd fallen asleep the previous day.
The temperature had plummeted during the night—whether from extreme diurnal variation or not, I feared I might succumb to hypothermia. The absence of fire was to blame.
One night might be attributed to fortune, but I could never endure prolonged conditions like these.
I possessed no lighter to ignite a flame, ‌‌‌yet I had to find some means.
Shivering violently as I pushed myself upright, something draped across my shoulders slipped away with a soft rustle.
It was a jacket adorned with ornate golden shoulder insignia.
"You're awake, then."
I turned to find Enoch standing with his arms crossed, watching me calmly.
As though he'd been keeping vigil throughout the entire night.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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