I saw Diego and Yuanna passing me and looked up at Kayden, who was standing right in front of the door.
After I took a closer look, he looked quite messy.
He rubbed the back of his head and narrowed his brow in annoyance, looked down at me, and sighed.
"Margaret, I had a hard time."
He looks really tired. Behind my back, I heard a loud voice welcoming Yuanna and Diego.
"I thought I'd just throw those bastards away, but I held it in because I thought of you. So compliment me."
Looking at Kayden's sad eyes, it didn't seem like he was lying when he said it was hard.
Then he looked at me with a worried look and asked, "Didn't a strange red flower bloom here? Are you okay?"
I don't think it's just a question of concern for my health. He stared intently at me as if looking for any trace, grabbed my cheeks, and turned my face left and right.
I noticed that the 'strange red flower' he was talking about was Tentathionem. It seems that his group also encountered Tentathionem.
Suddenly, my ankle was itchy, so I lowered my head. Eunji, who had been slithering on the floor, wrapped my ankle and then raised his head, as if to say peek-a-boo, and looked up at me.
I smiled and bowed my back. Then, after lifting Eunji and putting him on my shoulder, I pointed at him and answered Kayden's question.
"He ate it all."
At my words, Eunji raised his head triumphantly and gave a sniff. Then, a deep sense of relief appeared on Kayden's face, who looked at Eunji with a blank expression for a moment.
"You didn't get poisoned. Thank God."
"Huh? I got poisoned too."
"What?"
Kayden was startled by my words and opened his mouth wide. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.
"I had been tied up for about a day, so I'm fine."
"What, tied up?"
Is it that surprising that I had been tied up? What the hell are you imagining?
"How was it there? Where did you find the flower? What were your symptoms? Are you sure you're all right now?" I asked Kayden with a worried face.
"Oh, are you talking about that flower?"
At that time, Yuanna who returned after greeting Arthdal from afar asked me. I nodded my head and looked at her and Kayden alternately.
"Sir Diego and I got poisoned. I didn't get any better even when I was tied up, but when I made physical contact, the poison effect subsided. So Lord Kayden had a hard time."
At Yuanna's words, I remembered the original story, in which the main characters went crazy due to Tentathionem poisoning.
'Physical contact with Kayden......'
I wonder what kind of physical contact it was. However, both of them pass on without much explanation as if they have no intention to talk about it in detail.
'What, are you really hiding something?'
But whether or not he knew my curiosity, Kayden sighed and brought up another story.
"When they got better, they got poisoned again, then they got better again, then they got poisoned again, so I had a hard time. I was safe because I was immune to all poisons."
Somehow, I felt like the profanity had been silenced in the middle. Maybe I'm not mistaken.
"The flower has the characteristic of multiplying rapidly when it reaches human body temperature and increasing its number. They seem to gather around in search of human energy."
Hearing Kayden's words, I realized just how hard it had been for them.
"We didn't inhale much pollen, so it was not too bad. Also, Eunji had eaten all the blooms around the cabin," I said.
I looked at Yuanna and patted her on the shoulder.
"You must have suffered a lot. You did a great job."
"Let's talk about the details when we all get together," said Yuanna.
She then smiled and went back to Diego and Arthdal in the kitchen.
I looked back at Kayden.
"You did a great job, too."
Then, I lifted my heels slightly, tiptoed, and stroked Kayden's head.
Kayden, who received my touch, opened his eyes wide as if surprised and raised his head.
"Why?"
"I like this too."
Then when I was about to pull my hand away, he grabbed my wrist, lowered his head, and put my hand on his head.
"Do more."
"What?"
"Please pat me more because it feels good."
Kayden closed his eyes with a happy face, like a cat begging to be petted. I don't know why, but his smiling cheeks are slightly red.
I gently stroked his hair. His soft silver hair slipped between my fingers. It was a very ticklish feeling.
Then a large hand reached out from behind my back.
I turned my head slightly, and Enoch, who was standing there with an expressionless face, was ruffling Kayden's hair for me. That's very rough, too.
"Huh? Margaret, this hurts a little."
I burst into laughter because Kayden's face, which frowned without knowing anything, was quite cute.
"Hahaha!"
At the sound of my laughter, Kayden opened his eyes and raised his head. When he found Enoch, he stiffened with a rather shocked face. Then he quickly expressed his anger.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
I burst out laughing.
Enoch and Kayden grabbed each other by the collar and glared at each other. Even though they didn't say anything, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
In the end, I had to step in and mediate between the two.
"Stop it."
Soon the two men let go of each other's collars. Enoch clicked his tongue and straightened his wrinkled shirt.
"Margaret."
Acting cute straight away, Kayden hugged me with open arms and rubbed his face on my shoulder.
His cheek rubbed against my bare shoulder, and his firm arms held me breathtakingly tight.
I gave him a tired sigh.
"Enoch, please......"
Before I could finish speaking, Enoch pulled Kayden away from me as if he had waited. Then he tied Kayden to a wooden pillar in the middle of the living room. Ruzef, Arthdal, and Diego also teamed up.
'Kayden...... how did you become a public enemy? Why did you live like that?'
Of course, Arthdal seemed to have teamed up just out of fun. However, I feel sorry for Kayden, who has become a public enemy.
Arthdal, who came to me wiping his hand, murmured, "It is very noisy as soon as Lord Kayden arrives."
"I think this is the right time to announce it," said Yuanna.
Enoch lowered his sleeve and looked indifferently at her.
"All right, how about we get together for a moment?"
Yuanna got up from her seat with a pretty smile. We naturally sat in a circle in front of the tied-up Kayden.
With the strength he had, he would easily untie the rope. But he didn't seem to want the pillar to break and the cabin to collapse.
I laughed when I saw him grunt.
"First of all, I had a conversation with Young Lady Floné about this a moment ago. We encountered a flower called Tentathionem during our excursion."
"What is a Tentathionem?"
At Yuanna's words, Arthdal asked with a questioning face.
Instead of Yuanna, I answered, "I think it's the name of the red flower that was blooming in front of the cabin. That's what made Archbishop Ruzef and I poisoned for a while."
Arthdal nodded in understanding. I turned to Yuanna again and asked to be sure, "That's what you mean, isn't it?"
"It is."
"By the way, how did you know that flower is called Tentathionem? Do you know this flower?"
Hearing my question, Yuanna looked at Kayden. Then, everyone turned to Kayden tied to a pillar staring blankly into the air.
Kayden belatedly noticed our gazes and looked surprised.
"What, why?"
Yuanna sighed and replied instead of him. "It's a unique poison flower that was secretly tested and developed by the Rohde family."
"What?!"
I was so shocked that I raised my voice. But no one cared. It was because everyone was looking at Yuanna with the same astonished face.
This is not the first time I'm aware of this. If so, is there any possibility that the Marquis of Rohde is related to this island?
If it was a poison developed after a secret experiment, it would not have been leaked to the outside world. Isn't it strange that the flower grows on a remote island?
Kayden explained the properties of Tentathionem.
The flower is said to cause mental disorders such as arousal and hallucinations, and temporarily put a person out of control.
"Archbishop Ruzef and I had no hallucinations."
Kayden shrugged and explained further. "If the poisoning isn't severe, you just end up getting excited with a strong desire for physical contact. Over time, the symptoms will subside naturally. However, if the poisoning is severe, you may even hallucinate. Over time, the poison naturally detoxifies on its own and the symptoms subside, but until then, the key is to endure it."
I only realized why the original novel "Things More Important Than Survival" is an R19 novel after listening to him. I think it's because of Tentathionem.
This secret must be the reason why I didn't see the description of Kayden being addicted to Tentathionem in the original story. He is a poison-tolerant person, so he would rather help than get help.
"But why did the Rohde family develop such a flower? What would they use it for? And why is there a flower secretly developed by the Rohade family on this island?"
As I expressed such a question, everyone's eyes once again turned to Kayden.
It wasn't a positive view, so Kayden, who received attention, looked somewhat upset.
But it is an important question that must be answered. I asked Kayden again, "Did your family have anything to do with our kidnapping?"
At my barrage of questions, Kayden blinked slowly.