Chapter 24
The short, dark brown hair and green eyes. Enoch knew exactly who the man was.
Diego Bastian Viltherheim.
The Imperial Guard Commander, bearing the title 'Sword of the Langrid Empire.'
When Kaiden had appeared, Enoch was too preoccupied to think deeply about it, but the situation was turning strange.
The Crown Prince of the Empire, the young lady of the Duke's family, the Imperial Guard Commander, and the archmage. All influential figures from the Langrid Empire.
"Please wait a moment, Your Highness. What on earth is going on?"
Diego looked at Enoch with a bewildered expression.
"I think I should be the one asking that, Lord Diego."
Lord Diego. At the mention of the formal title, Diego's body reacted first. He knelt on one knee in a proper posture, placed his fist on his chest, and lowered his head.
Enoch slowly scanned Diego's attire. He was wearing the Imperial Guard uniform of the Langrid Empire.
Enoch had also woken up on the island in his Crown Prince uniform, as he was on duty, but Diego seemed to be in just as uncomfortable attire.
"How did you end up on this island?"
"I have no idea myself. I suddenly lost consciousness during training and woke up collapsed by the river."
Diego replied with a sincere face that seemed to hold no lies.
"How did Your Highness come to be here?"
"I'm in the same situation as you. I was working in the Imperial Palace when I opened my eyes and found myself here."
Enoch ran a hand through his hair in annoyance and looked at Diego.
"Have you found anything out? Any rescue requests?"
At Enoch's quiet question, Diego shook his head. He sighed repeatedly, as if he was frustrated as well.
"I don't know how we got here at all. There are two others with me, and they're in the same situation."
Diego was in the same situation as Enoch. However, it was uncertain how much of his words could be trusted.
Enoch trusted Diego in the Langrid Empire, but he couldn't trust him on this island.
Because the culprit who brought them to this island had not yet been revealed.
"Wait, you have companions?"
"Ah, they are people Your Highness knows as well. Crown Prince Asdal and Bishop Ruzef also seem to have woken up on this island."
Enoch was taken aback by Diego's answer and asked again.
"Bishop Ruzef?"
"Yes, that's right. Bishop Ruzef of the Papal States."
Enoch let out a hollow laugh at Diego's calm reply.
Even a clergyman couldn't escape this disaster. There's no God after all. He unknowingly laughed self-deprecatingly.
Enoch looked down at Diego, who was still kneeling on one knee before him, sitting steadfastly.
Since no one could be trusted now, Enoch couldn't rashly show favor to Diego.
And to think it was Crown Prince Asdal and Bishop Ruzef...
Enoch especially disliked Crown Prince Asdal. His nature was very arrogant and rough. Moreover, they had a bad relationship that had continued since childhood.
"The Crown Prince and the Crown Prince, the Bishop, and the Imperial Guard Commander... It seems like more than a coincidence that only key figures from the Langrid Empire and the Hestia Kingdom are here."
Among Enoch's group were the archmage Kaiden and Margaret, the precious daughter of the Flone Duke's family.
At first, he thought it might be a scheme by Lordbahn's forces targeting him, but looking at the people gathered, it didn't seem to be the case. Whose doing is this?
"Did you notice anything suspicious about your companions?"
"No, not among our group."
Enoch was suspicious of Diego's firm answer. How could he be so sure?
Enoch quietly observed Diego. Then, he glared at Margaret's dress in his hand. He had even tried to steal Margaret's Chemise.
At Enoch's reproachful gaze, Diego began to make excuses.
"If I had known it was delivered by that person, I wouldn't have stolen it. To be honest, I was surprised to learn that there were other people on this island, but the situation was urgent."
Diego wasn't usually a talkative man. Enoch narrowed his brows at his lengthy excuses. Moreover, his answer was ambiguous.
"You intended to, but you didn't intend to?"
"Someone in my group needs clothes like that."
"Did it seem like the woman in the water didn't need those clothes?"
At Enoch's question, Diego bit his lower lip and lowered his head.
Enoch couldn't understand Diego's uncharacteristic behavior. It was something he couldn't possibly imagine Diego doing in normal circumstances.
Then,
"People change when faced with extreme environments."
He recalled Margaret's words once again.
It seemed that the extreme environment had even changed Diego, who was full of integrity and chivalry.
"May I ask who the woman with Your Highness is?"
Enoch tilted his head slightly without letting go of the Spear and looked down at Diego displeased.
"That's none of your business."
Although not as much as the old Enoch, Diego also hated Margaret terribly.
Enoch knew very well how much the upright Diego had despised Margaret, who had been pestering Enoch and acting outrageously.
He also knew that Margaret was afraid of Diego, who took an aggressive attitude toward her.
The old Enoch didn't care about that. He thought it was Margaret's own fault.
But the current Margaret wasn't the same as before. So Enoch couldn't stand by and watch her being treated like that.
It was better to keep Diego's group and Margaret from running into each other until he could figure out the situation. That way, he could protect her even in unexpected situations.
No matter how much he thought about it, there didn't seem to be a better option than that. It wasn't just Diego who disliked Margaret in that group.
As he had promised Margaret, he would take her with him and protect her until they escaped the island.
Since she relied on him so much, he had to do so as a gentleman.
"It's questionable that someone in your group needs a woman's clothes. It doesn't seem like they belong to Crown Prince Asdal or Bishop Ruzef."
At Enoch's words, Diego slowly blinked and looked at him.
"Answer the question."
As Enoch raised the tip of the Spear a little higher, Diego looked at him warily with a flustered expression.
"Your Highness, I am a knight of the Langrid Empire. Not an enemy."
Diego appealed to his harmlessness with a face that seemed to not know what was going on, but it didn't work on Enoch.
"Not an enemy? You should have made that excuse before stealing my companion's clothes."
Then Diego closed his mouth as if he had nothing to say. After a long time, he opened his mouth as if he was ashamed.
"...Yuanna Lucy is also in the group. The Saintess."
Yuanna Lucy.
She was also a famous figure on the continent. She was the Saintess who possessed Innate Divine Power that appeared only once in a hundred years.
Diego looked at Enoch warily with an anxious expression.
Why hadn't Diego mentioned the Saintess when talking about his group?
Enoch was puzzled by that point.
And now, he was acting as if he was anxiously guarding her, as if he was afraid that Enoch would want to meet the Saintess.
As if she was someone he had to protect very dearly.
"Does that woman have no clothes?"
"Pardon?!"
Enoch clicked his tongue in annoyance, not knowing what he had misunderstood.
"That dress is my companion's only clothes. If you're going to steal something like that, wouldn't it be a reasonable excuse if the Saintess was naked?"
"Th, that's..."
Diego stammered. Enoch was so dumbfounded that he laughed.
Who was the Saintess to dare make Margaret wear stolen clothes? Enoch felt his antipathy toward the Saintess soar and swallowed his anger.
"Since you can't say anything, I guess the Saintess is wearing clothes. My companion is shivering in the water without a dress right now."
Now that he thought about it, quite some time had passed. He had to get the clothes back and return quickly.
"What are you dawdling about? Bring it here right now."
Diego flinched at Enoch's chilling murmur. In the end, he obediently handed the dress he was holding to Enoch.
"If you find a way to escape the island, contact me. I want to exchange information from time to time. Of course, without your group knowing."
Diego looked surprised, as if he hadn't expected those words, and asked back.
"Aren't you going with us?"
"I told you to only answer the questions I ask, Lord Diego."
At Enoch's coercive tone, Diego looked at him with a face that had a lot to say, but eventually lowered his head.
"I obey your command."
"Let's meet here once every ten days. If you move to a distant place, give me a heads up in advance."
Enoch continued to throw out demands with a nonchalant expression.
"And don't be seen by my companions. I won't let it go if you bother me."
Diego was reluctant to accept the incomprehensible order, but eventually nodded.
"Understood."
\ \ *
I was waiting for Enoch, watching the sunset in the sky, and tapping my feet anxiously.
It was getting dark, and I felt like I was going to freeze to death. My body was shivering.
Where on earth had Enoch gone? And who was the perverted bastard who stole the dress? He seemed to be one of the male leads in <What's More Important Than Survival>.
Kaiden must be collapsed in our cave, so it couldn't be him. That meant it was one of the male leads 2, 3, or 4. Was there a man among them who would steal a dress?
I tilted my head and soon dismissed the thought. It's cold. So cold.
I put on the Chemise while I was wet, and the Chemise was soaking wet and wouldn't dry.
The temperature was dropping little by little since the sun went down, and I felt like I was going to catch a cold if I left my body out in the water.
Fatigue rushed in rapidly. My hands and feet were cold and unbearable, and my body felt heavy. I leaned against the rock.
It's so hard.
"Margaret! Are you alright? I'm sorry I'm late."
And then Enoch came back. I leaned against the rock and slightly raised my head to look at the dress in his hand.
I tried to get up with a happy heart, but I got dizzy and staggered.
What's wrong? I'm dizzy. I feel like I'm getting dizzy...
I watched Enoch rush towards me and lost consciousness in the water.
I didn't know my stamina was this weak.
