It was simply an apple.
Not a bizarre fruit with an unfamiliar shape, thorns, or a pungent odor, but a very familiar apple.
Though a little small, its color was so deeply dyed with purple beyond red that it looked as if blood had seeped into it.
Perhaps because it had grown on an island floating in the middle of the sea, bathed in sea breeze and scorched by the hot sun, its sweetness had deepened, and even without touching it, a rich sweet scent wafted strongly.
“It is a small apple.”
“How deflating.”
When he had looked through the telescope, he had imagined all sorts of things—that it might be a devil’s fruit—but facing it in reality, it was no different from an ordinary apple.
Aeplin brought her nose to the fruit and savored the strong fragrance.
But it was not an ordinary apple scent—a thick floral fragrance was mixed in, and a refreshing yet peculiar grassy scent she had never smelled before lightly pressed down the heavy sweetness.
“Do you think the inside will be the same as an apple?”
As Aeplin grew curious, Lucent reached out, plucked a fruit with a light snap, and wiped it briskly on his shirt.
“Try it.”
Aeplin stared blankly at the fruit he suddenly held out, then plucked one herself.
“Let us eat together.”
“Why, does it seem like I am trying to feed you first to test it?”
“Yes.”
At her honest answer, Lucent laughed out loud for the first time.
It was a laugh that burst out purely, without a trace of calculation.
In truth, if the wild apple had looked dangerous, he would have been less disappointed.
This was, to anyone’s eyes, no different from an ordinary apple.
“How about eating at the same time?”
“Good. If it is delicious, shall we pick all of these and let the villa’s people taste them too? Laurel will probably like them most.”
In that moment, Lucent could not take his eyes off Aeplin holding the apple.
A woman as pretty as an apple, holding fruit…….
It was a pity there was no camera at hand.
When she smiled, her eyes curved into half-moons, and both cheeks took on a pink hue.
Each time she spoke, her small, plump lips were as cute as a baby duck’s, enough that he wanted to preserve that fleeting moment forever.
Soon the two bit into the fruit at the same time.
“Mm?”
“……?!”
It was the first time they had seen a fruit whose inside was the same color as its outside.
Most apples have white flesh, but this one was red as well.
As expected, it was very sweet and tart, and rich with juice that thoroughly soaked the mouth.
If there was one difference from an ordinary apple, it was that this wild fruit had no seeds inside.
Even so, the two ate the wild apples very deliciously.
“It is sweet.”
“It might be the sweetest fruit I have ever eaten.”
“The apple and wild raspberry flavors are strangely blended.”
“It is fully ripe, yet there is a slight green scent as well.”
The two took turns evaluating the taste of the unfamiliar fruit.
One was not enough, so they plucked several more and ate them in a frenzy.
It was because they were very thirsty after swimming to the island without bringing anything.
Then Lucent witnessed the surroundings changing rapidly.
Dark rain clouds gathered in the clear sky and darkened everything around them, and a fierce wind blew in.
It was precarious, as if a storm might break out at any moment.
Until just before they picked the fruit, the weather had certainly been clear—had a god grown angry because intruders had carelessly picked and eaten the fruit?
“The weather at the beach is fickle.”
Lucent reassured the startled Aeplin while holding an apple in his mouth.
More than that, they had to escape before the storm swallowed the island.
Lucent took Aeplin’s hand and hurriedly descended the iron stairs.
If his memory was correct, there would be a large cave about halfway down.
A little later, his worry quickly became reality.
Thick raindrops began to fall one or two at a time, and soon the surroundings turned violent.
The two descended the stairs and took refuge inside the cave with the door.
He knew the cave’s purpose all too well, but he did not explain it separately to Aeplin.
“Lucent, could it be that we angered the god who guards the island by carelessly picking and eating the fruit?”
“Ha……! My wife has a very rich imagination as well.”
“No, but the moment we picked and ate the fruit, the rain came as if it had been waiting…….”
“If people had not picked and eaten them, birds would have pecked at them. I doubt a god grew angry and made a storm every time that happened.”
In these developed times, talk of gods and curses sounded absurd.
Well, for Aeplin, this must be her first time in the wild like this, so it would be frightening.
“I said something ignorant.”
Hearing it, it did make sense.
The weather at the beach changed several times a day.
But there was a part Lucent also felt slightly uneasy about.
Why had his father forbidden him to even touch the fruit as a child?
When it was nothing more than a wild apple.
Rumble—crash!
The sky split as if an earthquake had struck, and the world flashed.
As if a sea monster were inhaling, it made a tremendous sound and changed the air current in an instant.
Soon lightning fell as if to split the island in two, and thunder followed, rumbling and vibrating.
“A little further in.”
Lucent took Aeplin and took refuge deep inside the cave.
He immediately took off his shirt and put it on Aeplin.
Soon his broad shoulders and chest, without a single ounce of excess fat, were revealed.
‘Impressive.’
It was not the time to be idly admiring his body.
Aeplin suddenly came to her senses and shook her head.
Inside the cave was a high, stepped platform made of well-cut stone.
Aeplin sat there and waited for the storm to pass.
Lucent, meanwhile, walked toward the cave entrance and checked outside.
‘The weather is being terribly capricious.’
It was called the Island of Love, yet now it was as if lovers were in the middle of a quarrel.
Just a moment ago it had been endlessly sweet, and now this.
It was a place impossible to figure out.
The more savage the weather became, the more Lucent regretted bringing Aeplin.
It had been enjoyable, but he had never expected to be stranded on the island.
Just as Lucent turned to go back to Aeplin.
“Ugh……!”
His vision spun, and the world shook violently.
Even rubbing his eyes with his hands, the world still heaved up and down as if drunk.
Then Lucent saw Aeplin, who had collapsed unconscious on the stone platform.
‘……?!’
Startled, he hurried—but then he too collapsed helplessly and lost consciousness.
* * *
Leon ran to the beach at the sudden storm.
But by then, Lucent and Aeplin had vanished without a trace.
He scanned the surroundings with the telescope and spotted the tube tied to the island far off.
“Oh no, the two of them have gone to the island.”
“Even if we launch a boat now, it is impossible to go and rescue them.”
The servants who had followed said in urgent tones.
“That is right. It is impossible for now. We have no choice but to wait until the storm subsides.”
It was a relief just to know where the two were.
Leon took the people and returned to the villa.
Because there was nothing they could do at the moment.
Just then, Laurel came running to Leon through the rain.
“What happened to the two of them?”
“They went to the island. There is a cave there, so they should be safe.”
Leon recalled that Lucent had once mentioned there were iron stairs and a cave on the island.
“The island? But does this place usually change weather so suddenly?”
“I do not come here often either, so I do not know well, but the beach has many variables.”
At Leon’s uncertain words, Laurel stamped her feet in frustration.
All day, Laurel had hoped Aeplin and Lucent would swim together and grow closer.
Fortunately, the weather had helped, and she had considered it good fortune.
But like pulling the safety pin from a bomb, the clear weather suddenly turned dark, and a tremendous wind and rain came pouring down.
“Our lady must be so frightened.”
“What worry is there when the president is at her side?”
“Well, they are a married couple now. They will comfort each other and endure it well.”
Laurel thought it was no time to be staring blankly out the window.
She had to prepare a warm soup that the two could eat as soon as the storm stopped and they returned to the villa.
Laurel hurried toward the kitchen in the basement.
But the kitchen was already very noisy with people murmuring.
“They say the master and his wife have gone to the island.”
Rumor had already spread through the villa, and the servants were murmuring.
“Tsk, tsk—are they not afraid of the curse?”
“What curse is there in these times?”
“Do you know how ominous that island is? The former master also entered the island and was shot not long after.”
