TAVBZ 108

Chapter 108

Using the sealed soul’s magic…

“If that’s the case, isn’t that insanely creepy? Isn’t that Anata’s magic?”

Kaiden clicked his tongue in disbelief, muttering under his breath.

If the Ingram Dynasty actually had such a custom, then Enoch’s words might indeed be correct. That would also explain the fog around the cabin that disoriented people.

“Sealing Anata… maybe it was Zenas who did it.”

Kaiden said this with a face full of conviction.

“What makes you think that?”

“When I was a child, I was experimented on by those goddamn XXs. The moment I entered the room of repose, memories from that time vaguely resurfaced.”

Kaiden spoke in a calm, almost detached manner, as if tracing someone else’s memories.

There was no pain on his face, but who knows if his mind was truly at peace.

“I think this island was made for some kind of experiment. The papal XXs who experimented on me mentioned that there’s a list of test subjects. Zenas’ name came up too, so it seems he’s connected to them. Including our family.”

Kaiden paused for a moment, a troubled expression crossing his face as he fell silent. Reliving those horrific memories must have been a significant shock in itself.

I quietly absorbed his words.

What exactly was the purpose of these experiments?

And on top of that, the temple and the Rohade family were involved.

The Rohade family represents the wizards, but hasn’t the conflict between wizards and priests lasted for over a thousand years?

“In any case, it’s certain that Zenas isn’t an ally. And he’s connected to the experiments on this island…”

I murmured bitterly to myself.

Is that why Zenas was so friendly toward me? It’s natural for an experimenter to show favor or curiosity toward their subject.

Enoch, who had been silently sitting with his arms crossed, finally spoke.

“Did the temple and the mage tower join forces? I can’t understand why they would kidnap the imperial crown prince, the kingdom’s crown prince, and key figures to experiment on them.”

“Seems like they’re trying to spark a continental war.”

Kaiden sighed and answered. After that, a heavy silence settled over the group again.

“Oh, now that I think about it, Zenas said to watch over the saint carefully. He thought she might know something.”

“The saint? Know what?”

Kaiden questioned in return.

“I don’t know either. She was curious herself. He didn’t explain any further.”

We had stayed at Zenas’ cabin for only a day and a half. And during that short time, so much information had poured in that I barely had the mental capacity to process anything.

Looking back, many important puzzle pieces had appeared, but fitting them together was harder than I expected.

I pressed my temples, recalling what we had learned about the monsters.

“Zenas said he watched us using the eyes of the monsters. But he could only borrow their eyes, not control them.”

“Borrow the eyes of monsters? Damn it, so those wolves weren’t just staring at me. They were watching. What kind of mage does something so sinister?”

“He’s either the mastermind behind all of this, or he’s been trapped on this island for a thousand years by the temple and the Rohade family and has lost his mind. One of the two.”

Kaiden’s outrage was met with Enoch’s calm response.

Now that I think about it, that bastard told me to survive, yet right before I was about to become monster food, he did nothing but let it happen.

“Should we move our position? It’s unsettling not knowing when the monsters will appear.”

Kaiden, still simmering with anger, seemed to calm slightly at those words. His red eyes glanced at me.

“I’m here, Margaret. We can handle that.”

He immediately picked up a thin branch and began drawing a magic circle on the dirt floor. What was he planning?

After drawing an extremely complex circle, he stepped onto it and held out his hand toward me.

“Can you lend me your magic?”

“Ah… okay.”

I nodded, still a bit dazed, and extended my hand to him, the one wearing a ring.

He took my hand, and a bluish light immediately flowed from our joined hands.

Closing his eyes, Kaiden reached his other hand toward the magic circle, and the light from our hands seeped into it.

I could feel the magic being drained from my body at a terrifying speed.

After a moment, the blue light surrounding us formed into a pillar, then dissipated almost immediately.

Kaiden shook his hands and looked at Enoch and me. His usual cheerful expression had returned.

“I set a barrier so the monsters can’t see us. Even Zenas won’t be able to peek in with this.”

He winked at me. As expected, Kaiden was the one who knew how to use my magic most efficiently and effectively.

There was still a lot of magic left inside me. I glanced at Enoch.

He was still bloodied, and the injuries he had previously sustained seemed to have worsened significantly.

“Kaiden, can you also do healing magic? Enoch’s wounds…”

I pointed to Enoch’s shoulder, and Enoch shook his head.

“I’m fine. It’s better that the lady receives healing first.”

“No, that’s not fine at all.”

“Wait. What’s this, Margaret? You’re hurt?”

Kaiden rushed over and grabbed my shoulder. He looked over my outfit in surprise.

“Oh? Wait, I didn’t notice because you were wearing the crown prince’s uniform. You’re wearing pants, huh? What’s with this top? Why is it so short? Damn, I’ve never seen clothing like this. Isn’t it too revealing? Worse than underwear?”

He quickly adjusted the jacket over me, his face showing shock.

“Don’t take this off. Seriously, don’t.”

Then he removed his own robe and layered it over my jacket.

“You don’t have to go that far. It’s fine. These clothes are comfortable.”

As I tried to protest and remove the robe, Enoch unexpectedly sided with Kaiden.

“Margaret, I want you to listen to Lord Kaiden. That outfit is very dangerous.”

What? Dangerous? How? Who’s in danger?

I looked at Enoch with a baffled expression. I had never seen him take Kaiden’s side like this before.

“I’ll heal your wounds. You first, Margaret, then I’ll heal Your Highness.”

Enoch nodded, arms crossed, agreeing silently.

Everyone was so insistent that I decided it would be best to finish my healing first. Reluctantly, I extended my ringed hand to Kaiden.

Kaiden held my hand gently, grinned, and interlaced our fingers, pulling me slightly toward him.

I had been sitting on a wooden pillar, but I stood up instinctively. As if waiting for it, he wrapped his arms around my waist, his face coming close to mine.

Just as his lips were about to touch my cheek, a large hand slipped between us, blocking him.

“Lord, what do you think you’re doing?”

A cold, cutting voice settled into the air. Enoch stood right beside us.

‘Why is everyone so fast?’

Kaiden clicked his tongue and stepped back slightly from me.

His expression looked disappointed, but under Enoch’s piercing gaze, he had no choice but to focus on healing my wounds.

He placed his hand over my wounded abdomen, and bluish light poured out. A slight chill accompanied the gradual fading of the burning pain.

“Wow… amazing.”

Normally, even with painkillers, there’s a delay before relief kicks in, but this time, the pain vanished instantly.

‘I want to learn magic too.’

Kaiden finished the healing effortlessly, smiling beautifully. He didn’t let go of my hand, squeezing it once firmly before moving toward Enoch.

Enoch’s white shirt was in terrible condition, shredded like rags, exposing his toned abs and muscular form.

‘Seeing it again, it’s a bit embarrassing.’

Clearly, someone needed a jacket.

“You should take it off. It’s too dirty; healing would be inconvenient otherwise.”

Kaiden inspected Enoch and clicked his tongue.

Enoch silently unbuttoned his shirt one by one. Watching him quietly, Kaiden glanced at me.

“Margaret. Do you want to close your eyes?”

“Huh? Why?”

Kaiden looked slightly embarrassed.

“Well… then are you going to watch?”

“It’s not like he’s taking off his pants.”

“Oh… right?”

Kaiden nodded reluctantly. Meanwhile, Enoch completely removed his shirt, revealing his fierce and powerful physique.

His sculpted muscles and angry chest looked like a statue carved by a god.

Despite the blood and scratches, he looked like a perfect sculpture.

So a man’s body can be this alluring.

Among his wounds, the shoulder injury seemed the worst, yet Enoch calmly sat there, exposing his bare torso, calmly watching Kaiden and me.

His golden eyes betrayed no emotion, as if he didn’t feel pain at all.

“This is pretty serious.”

Kaiden furrowed his brows, inspected Enoch’s wound, and then looked back at me.

“This is going to need a lot of magic. Are you okay?”

I nodded and looked at our joined, ringed hands. The emerald gem shone with a soft glow.

“It’s still enough.”

Kaiden nodded, picked up a thin branch, and began drawing a magic circle in the air, not on the ground.

A blue trail followed the branch through the air. It was truly a magnificent sight.

The magic circle was a very complex formula. Even drawing it on the ground often led to mistakes, yet he was creating it flawlessly in midair.

‘Right, he said he could manifest magic circles he imagined in his head.’

Kaiden really was a genius.

But even as I admired this, I felt my magic being drained from my body at an alarming speed.

I gasped as my energy drained almost instantly.