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Chapter: 95

There was no answer to his question. The Wolhan Fortress Lord, frowning, stared at the door and slowly rose from his seat.

"Who\'s outside?" Son Gye-du asked.

The Wolhan Fortress Lord, without answering him, walked towards the door. He reached the door and grabbed the handle.

Creak-

The door opened. However, there wasn\'t even a single ant in the hallway outside.

"What is it? There\'s no one there, why suddenly..."

"I thought I saw a shadow."

The Wolhan Fortress Lord cut off Son Gye-du and closed the door again.

Returning to his seat, he said, "It\'s nothing. I must have been mistaken."

* * *

That was close.

"Ah, ah."

The moment Wolhan Fortress Lord asked who was outside, I quickly retreated and ran down the hallway.

It felt like all the blood in my body had rushed to my head.

Even during battle, my heart had never pounded this hard.

I seemed to have escaped being caught by a hair\'s breadth. Though I\'d have to check later to be absolutely sure...

The fact that there was no voice calling out to me from behind meant that no one had noticed I was there, right?

Right?

Anyway, I had been eavesdropping on the conversation between Wolhan Fortress Lord and Elder Son Gye-du in front of his office door and then ran away... That was the situation.

I hadn\'t intended to, but it just happened that way.

Actually, I wasn\'t trying to meet the Wolhan Fortress Lord, but rather to have a conversation with Son Gye-du. One-on-one.

I went to his quarters, but he wasn\'t there, so I just turned towards Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s office.

Of course, the reason I sought out Wolhan Fortress Lord was to relay the next battle plan.

"No. How can they be so careless while having such a conversation..."

Of course, there was no need to station separate guards in front of the office. Everyone had to have their identity verified from the moment they entered the pavilion where the office was located.

At most, only the elders could enter without going through the procedures. And me, too.

"Ah, by the way. This is a big problem."

My mind was in turmoil.

That blabbermouth Son Gye-du.

Even if I was a prince, bellflower was a drug banned by the nation.

I couldn\'t let my already terrible reputation get entangled in such a scandal.

Above all, if Wolhan Fortress Lord turned his back on me for that reason...

"That can\'t happen."

Would I be able to gain his understanding if I explained the circumstances properly?

"No. No way. That\'s not a good idea either."

Still, couldn\'t he overlook it considering my contributions?

After all, at this point in time, the biggest enemy to the Wolhan Fortress Lord wasn\'t me, but Son Gye-du.

We were waiting for solid evidence, but should I have taken the risk and gotten rid of Son Gye-du sooner?

"Ah."

It was a problem with no immediate solution, no matter how much I worried about it. It would be great if Gon could find some useful evidence.

* * *

On my way back to my quarters, I ran into Heo Seokgyeom in front of the pavilion. These days, I was always accompanied by Yoo Geung, so I rarely saw Commander Heo.

"Your Highness."

Heo Seokgyeom bowed his head upon seeing me. I nodded in acknowledgment.

"Is everything manageable?"

Heo Seokgyeom had been given command of some of the soldiers who came from outside Wolhan Fortress to provide support.

They weren\'t soldiers who were originally under his command, and to make matters worse, they came from diverse backgrounds.

Commanding such soldiers must have been quite a headache.

"Yes,” Heo Seokgyeom answered curtly. However, his complexion was clearly worse than before.

Well, there was no need to pry further if he said he could manage.

I had enough worries of my own to be concerned about others.

Would Commander Heo also turn his back on me if he found out about the bellflower?

Even though I didn\'t know him that well, he was known for being quite principled.

He probably wouldn\'t take it well.

Still, it made me uncomfortable to think that I might lose everything, including the rapport I had built with him, because of the bellflower issue.

Wouldn\'t I lose all the allies I had gained with such difficulty?

"Well then, good luck."

As I was about to leave, a question came, "Have you checked on that child?"

"Child?"

What was he talking about?

I paused for a moment before realizing who he was referring to. He must be talking about Jincheon.

"Are you talking about Jincheon?"

"Yes."

Hmm.

Did I really need to check on that kid?

Scratching the back of my head, I asked back,

"Is there really a need for that? As long as he\'s not disobeying my order to stay quietly in the inner fortress... I don\'t think there\'s anything to worry about, is there?"

Heo Seokgyeom seemed about to sigh, but then stopped himself.

"Your Highness."

"Hmm?"

"I\'m not sure if I should say this..."

He seemed unusually hesitant.

"I feel that you are being too harsh."

It was an unexpected remark. And for Heo Seokgyeom, of all people, to say such a thing…

Stunned by the unexpectedness, I froze for a moment before replying, "Too harsh?"

"Yes."

"Me?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Heo Seokgyeom added calmly, "I believe I am speaking with Your Highness."

Right. There was no one else here but me.

"What do you mean by too harsh?"

"That child was taken in by Your Highness. I heard that he came from General So\'s residence in the capital..."

"It\'s true that my grandfather sent him."

"Then isn\'t he a child you brought here to serve you?"

"That\'s also true, but..."

Heo Seokgyeom looked at me with an exasperated expression.

I wasn\'t someone who usually got called out for being inconsiderate. It was a refreshing reaction. Or maybe I had changed.

"He is a child who trains excessively every day, hoping to be of help to Your Highness."

Huh?

"When he asked me to teach him swordsmanship, I gave him tasks that would be difficult for his body to endure."

That happened?

"And so?"

"He returned after completing all the tasks I gave him and demanded that I teach him swordsmanship again."

"He\'s a persistent one."

I already knew that, though.

"But why did you give him such difficult tasks? If you were going to tell me I\'m being too harsh, you could have just shown him some stances a few times. That wouldn\'t have been difficult, would it?"

Heo Seokgyeom then replied, looking a bit sheepish, "I thought he would give up quickly and lose interest."

What? He wasn\'t in any position to call me harsh. It was okay for him to ignore the kid, but it was harsh for me to do the same?

I chuckled.

"Well, well. It seems he made quite an impression. For Commander Heo to step up and take his side, he must have been incredibly diligent, huh?"

"The first thing he does after waking up every morning is grab a sword and come out here."

Even though I only heard a few words, I could vividly picture Jincheon doing his morning training.

The darkness before dawn and the boy holding a sword.

The shouts echoing alone and the cold morning air pushed back by the blade of the sword.

Beads of sweat forming on his forehead and the dawn breaking in the eastern sky, things like that.

Even though I had never seen it, I feel like it must have been exactly like that.

Is it because I saw how he absorbed everything I taught him last time?

Or is it because of how desperately he chased after me on that rainy mountain?

"He\'s quite diligent."

Yes. That\'s the kind of kid he is. That\'s why I died. It definitely wasn\'t because I was weak.

It definitely wasn’t because I was weak!

"All the while Your Highness was out in battle."

In the end, what Heo Seokgyeom wanted to tell me wasn\'t anything special.

He just wanted me to take a look at the kid, that was all.

"Alright,” I answered halfheartedly.

"Your Highness."

Heo Seokgyeom, as if he knew I wouldn\'t go to Jincheon, urged me again.

"Please, do check on him."

When I replied indifferently, Heo Seokgyeom, as if he knew I wouldn\'t go to Jincheon, urged me again.

"Your Highness. Please, do check on him."

Was it that important?

I nodded and went to where Jincheon would be.

Heo Seokgyeom said that when the training ground was empty, Jincheon would be there, and when it was occupied by soldiers, he would be hiding somewhere in Wolhan Fortress, training.

However, even Heo Seokgyeom didn\'t know exactly where he went when he couldn\'t use the training ground.

But I didn\'t have the energy to search the entire fortress for one kid.

Not wanting to bother with figuring it out, I headed towards the training grounds.

"Is he here?"

Was I lucky?

As Heo Seokgyeom had said, Jincheon was at the training ground. It was quite a strange sight to see the small boy standing alone in the vast training ground, swinging his sword.

He must have been at it for a long time, as his breathing seemed labored. Despite his panting breaths, the expression on his face was not bad.

He shouted and swung his sword for a long time, and then at some point, he held his sword upright and fell into meditation.

Sensing that I shouldn\'t disturb him, I moved quietly.

As soon as I entered the training ground, Jincheon turned his head like lightning. The way his expression changed as soon as he saw me was just like a child.

I couldn\'t see the face of the killer I knew in him.

Jincheon bowed.

"He even knows how to greet..."

Every time I saw a different side of Jincheon, I felt a sense of cognitive dissonance.

What was this?

Jincheon was originally a monster who would relentlessly strike people down. Without any expression and without showing any signs of fatigue.

"I greet His Highness."

"Now he\'s even imitating a human,” I said awkwardly.

His greetings and demeanor were gradually improving. Now he had the manners of a newly appointed eunuch.

"Yes?"

"No, it\'s nothing."

...Should I just make him a eunuch?

Then he wouldn\'t be able to hold a sword, and at least he wouldn\'t be able to sneak into Blood Cloud Fortress and rampage as a swordsman.

This seemed like a pretty good idea, didn\'t it?

"Hey."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Do you have any thoughts about becoming a eunuch?"

When I asked, Jincheon\'s expression darkened strangely.

"I apologize."

"Is that a rejection? Well, alright. It\'s your choice."

He watched my expression. I took a few steps closer.

"Have you been doing well?"

"...Th-that,” Jincheon stammered in a shrinking voice and lowered his head. There was no answer.

"Is there anything else going on?"

"By anything else, do you mean..."

"For example, the confidence that you could kill the best swordsman of some western border fortress with a single strike. Anything like that?"

"Th-that\'s impossible." He added, scratching his sideburns, "Not yet..."

Not yet, he says. Ominous words.

I quickly changed the subject.

"Anything else?"

He hesitated and glanced at me.

"What? You seem to have something to say."

"Actually, there is something I wish to tell you."

"Go ahead."

"It\'s trivial..."

Of course, it would be trivial. What major events could happen to someone stuck in the inner fortress, just training?

However, Jincheon\'s next words were unexpected. He poured out the words rapidly, as if he had memorized and prepared them beforehand.

"I went to the other side to practice, and I heard people talking about Your Highness."