Chapter 63
I looked at Bishop Luzef with a bewildered expression at the sudden childish treatment.
Bishop Luzef, who had shed a layer of contempt towards me, treated me like his youngest sister.
"Don't worry about what Crumb Prince……, no, what Crown Prince says. So you don't have to worry about me getting hurt."
When I shrugged and said that, Kaiden, who had been resting his chin on his hand, stroked my head as if I was admirable. Seriously, what's wrong with everyone?
I slammed the Stone Knife I was holding onto the table.
"I don't need any recognition. And if you bother me again, I'll just chop off your head...!"
Kaiden glanced around, then obediently pulled out the Stone Knife and put it back in my hand.
"Margaret has really become violent."
Luzef, who had been backing away from me with a frightened expression at Kaiden's muttering, nodded vigorously.
"Well, so is Crown Prince. Isn't that why he got divorced, with such a bad temper?"
Kaiden clicked his tongue and spoke ill of Asdal.
Even perfect Asdal had a slight flaw, which was his 'ex-wife'.
"That's rude, Kaiden. And isn't it a bit ambiguous to say 'divorce'? You know what happened to his ex-wife."
At my words, Kaiden blinked with a puzzled expression.
"...I don't know, what happened?"
She was executed. On charges of attempted murder of Crown Prince Asdal.
Asdal had a loveless political marriage, as was common with royalty and nobles, but the former Crown Princess was not just lacking in love.
Her purpose in marrying was to assassinate Crown Prince Asdal.
It turned out that she was the lover of Asdal's half-brother. Asdal married her without knowing anything.
"It was such a shocking incident that it was front-page news even in the Langrid Empire."
Luzef muttered and sighed. Then Kaiden looked back and forth between the two of us with a puzzled expression.
"What, am I the only one who doesn't know?"
He said he hadn't left his lab for several years after the hibernation, and it seems that was true.
"It's better not to know."
I nodded in agreement with Luzef's words.
Come to think of it, Luzef was a clergyman so he didn't marry, and Kaiden was a non-marriage advocate, perhaps because he had experienced a lot of hardships. Maybe it's a choice that's possible because he's the second son of the Rohade Marquis family. And he's even an archmage.
"Everyone except Crown Prince hasn't married."
"That's right. It's understandable for me and this fool, but the Crown Prince is a bit pitiful. He's been stuck on the battlefield all his life, and now that he's finally about to enjoy himself, he's here?"
"I know."
I replied to Kaiden's words with a heavy heart.
Enoch was drafted as a military commander at a young age and spent a whopping five years on the battlefield.
And after reporting the victory, it took another two years to beat all his brothers and rise to the position of Crown Prince.
He became Crown Prince with such difficulty, but before he could even enjoy that position, he was dragged to a remote island.
All three men are well past their marriageable age, but each has a reason for not having a woman. They're perfect as male leads in a novel.
Anyway, I understood why Luzef was treating me like a child. Lee Jin-joo is twenty-seven, but Margaret was twenty-two.
The marriageable age in the Langrid Empire starts at 20, so Margaret was also in her prime.
If Margaret was from a family of that status, she would have been engaged already, but the reason she's been single until now is because of Enoch. She wanted to become the Crown Princess at all costs.
"Lady Flone hasn't been engaged yet, has she? Well, Lady Flone is the youngest of us, isn't she?"
Luzef asked me. There was even a subtle expectation in his eyes as he looked at me, so I was a little embarrassed. What is he expecting?
I nodded awkwardly in affirmation.
"I haven't been engaged yet, but I'm still a noble lady of marriageable age. Please don't treat me like a child."
Kaiden looked at me with surprised eyes, as if he didn't expect the words 'marriageable age' to come out of my mouth.
"That's right. I didn't think of that. Margaret, are you going to get engaged or something?"
"If I go back alive, I probably will?"
"Don't get engaged. Let's just live unmarried together."
"I'll do what I want, so mind your own business."
Kaiden smiled prettily at me. Then he leaned his head slightly towards me.
"As expected, Margaret is decisive. That's why I like her."
He whispered in a ticklish voice, so I hurriedly covered my ears and backed away from him.
There it is again. He's showing off his ambiguous kindness and meaningless skinship again. He's really playing with people.
"Excuse me, you two. I hope you haven't forgotten that I'm here too."
Just in time, Luzef interrupted our conversation with a very uncomfortable expression.
"Just butt out. You have no tact."
"Why should I do that for you?"
Then Kaiden glared at him fiercely. Tom and Jerry are starting again.
"Shall we stop and finish preparing the meal?"
I put the fish I brought on the wooden board and started cleaning them. Asdal made me lose my appetite, but I have to eat something.
Luzef and Kaiden seemed to bicker for a few more words, but soon they sat quietly next to me and helped clean the fish.
Yuanna, who had been talking to Diego in the distance, approached me with a curious expression.
"It's my first time seeing a noble lady cleaning fish so skillfully. It's amazing."
Diego, who was clinging to Yuanna's side, glanced at the fish I had cleaned. He can't stand seeing cute animals being cleaned, but fish are okay.
Yuanna, who was resting one cheek on her palm and looking at me, said with a smile.
"Lady Flone seems to have the perfect ability to serve others."
"Shut up."
I answered somewhat violently, but she didn't waver. As always, she never felt intimidated.
"I don't want to be your subordinate, so if you keep talking nonsense like that..."
I stopped cleaning the fish and slammed the Stone Knife I was holding onto the table, just like I showed Asdal.
"I won't let it go."
"It seems difficult to subdue you, which makes me even more motivated. It seems like it would be fun to break Lady Flone."
Kaiden reacted violently to Yuanna's crazy words.
"Hey Saintess, if you keep talking like that, you're not a Saintess anymore."
"The Saintess, aren't you being too harsh with Lady Flone?"
Yuanna laughed as if she was amused when Luzef joined in after Kaiden.
"Look. Your people are all in Lady Flone's hands. So I just need to have Lady Flone."
Her way of thinking is really strange. Anyway, it wasn't normal.
Well, is there anyone normal here?
"The Saintess, don't try to get people so easily."
"Then?"
"There's a way to get someone's body and soul without having to subdue them, so why do you choose a way that makes everyone suffer so much?"
"Because I don't know how. What is it?"
"Respect and consideration."
Even I, who lacks social skills, know that much.
But I'll keep quiet because it seems like this island is full of people who have even worse social skills than me.
Yuanna's movements stopped for a moment at my answer. Her eyes widened little by little as she looked at me.
"Respect and, consideration..."
She repeated the words I had said and then asked me.
"How do you show respect and consideration?"
"I don't know either. How do you do it?"
This time, even Kaiden added a word.
No matter how I think about it, Yuanna and Kaiden seem to be the same kind of people. Luzef must have thought the same as me, as he scanned Kaiden with a pathetic look.
I finally gave up.
"I don't know either, so study it on your own. And stop bothering me."
At that moment, Enoch came into the cabin at a good time.
I couldn't be happier to see him. And surprisingly, he was holding two ducklings in his hands.
Kaiden whistled when he saw the ducks, and Luzef visibly brightened and ran to Enoch with me.
"Oh my gosh, ducks."
And there was someone who ran to Enoch even faster than me, and that was Yuanna.
She seemed to be seriously thinking about respect and consideration until just now, but she seems to have completely forgotten about it as soon as she saw the ducks.
Well, I understood her extreme reaction since she hadn't been able to eat a proper meal for a while.
She looked at the ducks in Enoch's hands and raised both hands in the air, rejoicing like a child. Just like a daughter rejoicing at the sight of chicken in her father's hands after he came home from work.
Of course, it was a peace I had never experienced, but I guess this scene is just like that.
In the end, we all prepared the meal together, except for the sulking Crumb Prince.
