I Caught the Male Lead on a Deserted Island

Considering Yuri’s personality, it was obvious that whenever he mentioned wanting to die or displayed such behavior, it would be met with interference from her.

However, that didn’t give him any reason to change his mind for her sake. Moreover, if he were to be caught by others, there was a possibility that it would lead to unfavorable consequences in the future.

Finding someone’s whereabouts using magic was difficult but not impossible. Memories were etched into water, wind, and earth. Even in blood. The empress consort would secretly search for Radkiel. If she didn’t burn his body or chop it into pieces herself, she wouldn’t be certain of his death.

If Radkiel were to be captured and his memories read, Yuri would also be in danger. Before that happened, he had no choice but to eliminate his existence.

Radkiel felt grateful yet uneasy about Yuri’s kindness. Her voice, her touch, and the way she treated him were so affectionate and warm. It felt like the thick walls built around his heart could crumble with just a little bit of carelessness.

It had only been a day since they met, but he felt fuzzy as if he had consumed some kind of potion. He hadn’t completely abandoned his suspicions about her, but at the same time, he wanted to trust her. He wanted to believe that there was at least one genuinely kind person in this world who showed kindness without asking for anything in return.

Forcing his immobile leg up and struggling to put on the pants, he let out a breath and brushed his hair back. Anyway, jumping into the sea to escape alone right now was impossible. In that case, he thought it might be faster to refuse all food and medicine and die.

Radkiel gritted his teeth and crawled to the bed. Struggling to drag the heavy blanket up, his breath was disrupted once again. Concealing his tiredness with a smile, Radkiel called out to Yuri. As she entered as if she had been waiting, she paused for a moment and quickly went out again, then returned with something in her hands.

It was a bottle containing a familiar purple liquid. Yuri opened the cap and handed him the bottle. Radkiel firmly shook his head.

“I don’t want to drink.”

“This, this isn’t something strange. It’s like a recovery medicine…”

“Yes, I know. It gave me strength when I drank it earlier. So, it means I don’t need it.”

“Um… earlier, you… tried to escape. If you keep doing that, you’ll end up hanging on the window again…”

“Escape? Didn’t I say I was photosynthesizing? Of course, I’m not a plant, but as a human, I still need sunlight. My actions were only to bask in the sun, nothing more or less.”

Radkiel felt a sense of embarrassment and shame when he was caught in that situation, but he had been living his life acting as an innocent boy for a long time. He had experienced countless embarrassing incidents, and he had learned firsthand that it was best to quickly forget such things.

Yuri wore a perplexed expression in response to his firm and clear refusal. And once again, that strange magic took effect in front of his face.

Yuri thought, ‘A healthy body leads to a healthy mind, and a healthy mind accelerates physical recovery…’

She truly had a broad sense of consideration. If it were him, he would have left a stranger alone, whether they lived or died.
Suddenly…

“Open your mouth.”

“Yes?”

“Open your mouth. You need to take this medicine.”

“No, it’s not necessary…?”

Yuri’s hand swiftly went near his mouth, and the liquid was instantly poured down his throat. With the liquid on his throat, Radkiel had no choice but to reflexively drink the liquid. After completely emptying the transparent bottle, Yuri took it back.

Radkiel, who coughed, looked bewildered and asked, “What is this…?”

“I-I’m sorry! But seriously, when your body is healthy, you won’t have bad thoughts. I just… I hope you don’t, you know, die.”

“….”

“…Even if you say you don’t want to eat, I want, no, I want to feed you. So, can’t I just feed you directly?”

Her timid words sounded almost like a threat. But oddly enough, he could clearly feel her genuine concern for his well-being. Through magic or some mysterious power, Yuri’s inner thoughts only revolved around his safety and her own loneliness. She was also anxious that he might find her annoying and dislike her.

Yet, she earnestly looked at him and talked about his recovery, which made Radkiel burst into laughter.

“What if I do something terrible to you?”

Even though she lived alone and claimed not to have any problem and didn’t suffer from loneliness, it was dangerous for her to care so much for a stranger. Radkiel originally thought women tended to be mentally weak and in need of help instead of helping. However, given Yuri’s personality, he knew that she couldn’t turn away from someone in need and would wholeheartedly devote herself, despite knowing the outcome wouldn’t always be beautiful.

However, Yuri blinked her eyes as if she had heard something absurd and exclaimed confidently, “I-I could break rocks with my bare hands! I can even break diamonds… Oh, well, diamonds are surprisingly fragile, so it’s a bit of a weird example.”

“…What?”

Radkiel doubted his ears. Break stones? Diamonds? And she said she broke it with her hands…?

“Um, every time I redesign the garden, I hug the trees and move them. Also, I just remembered earlier, the shirt I usually wore was difficult to take off, so I, um, often tore it. I’m sorry.”

“Tore it…? With what?”

“With my hands, of course…”

“….”

Radkiel’s adam apple bobbed slightly. The shirt he was wearing was made of a specially processed fabric, as strong and durable as chainmail armor, designed to withstand possible attacks. It couldn’t be torn even by a knife, yet she claimed to have torn it with her hands…

Yuri, seemingly unaware of his reaction, smiled brightly and asked him to focus only on getting healthier. Was her hand a weapon?

He nodded seriously with that thought. Again and again. He had overlooked something. While there were people who liked being alone, there was no one who was capable of living alone. In Radkiel’s opinion, Yuri was different from normal people.

After that day, Radkiel no longer expressed his desire to die to Yuri.

However, once his body recovered, he started asking about the situation on the island, trying to find a way to escape. But…

‘Is there some kind of magic on this island? If not, it seems like an impossible situation.’

Yuri thought, ‘What should I do? I don’t even know what this island is…’

Despite answering his various questions, he rarely received clear answers from Yuri. She had mentioned that she woke up on this island without knowing anything, and from what he could gather, she wasn’t lying.

She could be a powerful mage who placed magic on the island and deceived herself, but…

Regardless, she tried her best to provide sincere answers to whatever questions Radkiel asked, even though there were quite a few.

“Well, I think you’ll know when you directly experience the last day of spring and the first day of summer. Um, I apologize for not explaining properly because I’m not good with words.”

“No, it’s alright. Even without falling into the sea, just being caught on a fishing line is enough to tell that there’s something strange about this island.”

Moreover, she was so kind that she didn’t even probe further when he spoke in a suspicious manner.

“Um, did something jog your memory?”

“…Ah, my head hurts a bit. It would be nice if I had Giant Hogweed leaves at times like this.”

“Giant Hogweed?”

“It’s a grass that grows in damp places, but it seems like it’s not found on this island.”

“Yes. There aren’t many types of flowers or trees here. And since we can’t find seeds separately… But, um, you did lose your memory, right?”

“Yes, of course. I’m just asking because there are random things that come to mind while talking with you.”

“Ah, yes…”

Giant Hogweed was a plant that Radkiel abhorred terribly.

Medicinal herbs and poisonous plants differed greatly in effectiveness, to the point that it wasn’t an exaggeration to say they were as different as night and day. However, some plants were highly toxic that it felt like a waste to use them as medicinal herbs.

In the palace, there was a separate area where such plants were gathered. Radkiel had been confined there in his childhood due to the wicked and malicious pranks of other princes.

Although he tried to protect himself as much as possible and avoid them, he felt a sense of threat from the botanical garden where Giant Hogweed was planted.

Some of them had been modified to maximize their toxicity, and when the leaves touched his skin, his skin ended up reacting sensitively to sunlight, causing blisters to form. If his mother hadn’t come running upon hearing his screams of unbearable pain, he would have died then and there.

Due to the rash that appeared all over his body upon seeing sunlight, he couldn’t go outside for six months. Since that day, Radkiel had refrained from approaching anywhere near the vicinity of a botanical garden.

Ironically, that incident led him to delve into botany, ecology, geography, and the like.

It was a distressing memory that made him feel unpleasant to the point that just thinking about it dampened his mood. However, he mentioned it to roughly estimate the approximate location of the island.

To be precise, he wanted to confirm the types of plants growing here, but Yuri unknowingly informed him that there were very few plant species on the island, rendering further inquiries unnecessary.

Radkiel concluded that it would be difficult to determine the location based on plants alone. Should he observe the fish caught or the position of the stars? Although he had some knowledge in astronomy, to do so, he needed to at least be able to move around outside.

‘Dying is quite tiring…’

Radkiel sighed silently and met Yuri’s gaze with a calm expression.