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Chapter: 84

"Hey! Don\'t touch that, just leave it alone!"

The infamous scoundrel prince shouted. His skill in yelling at the top of his lungs, enough to make the palace walls tremble, hadn\'t gone anywhere. His voice was as strong as ever.

"Aaack! I said leave it alone, why aren\'t you listening! You dimwits!"

First Prince Ikwon, widely known for his recklessness. Whenever this prince raised his voice, it was like a day of mourning for the eunuchs and court ladies.

He never let anything slide. It was no wonder even a lowly messenger like himself knew all about these rumors.

"Ah..."

Ju Ja-pyeong, the messenger who brought the king\'s letter from the capital, actually had a bit of history with Prince Ikwon.

Of course, there were few in the palace who didn\'t have some kind of history with the prince.

However, those without any connection had a relatively better impression of him.

His own history with the prince wasn\'t anything special; he had the misfortune of encountering the prince while he was drunk.

He vividly remembered being punched for blocking the path and nearly freezing to death after falling into the palace lake in the middle of winter. He hadn\'t even been blocking the path.

Since that incident, he hadn\'t even gone near the palace lake.

It was unfair, but the other party was a prince, and he was just an insignificant messenger.

What could he do? He had decided to forget about it, as if he had stepped on dog poop on the road.

But seeing that face again made the memory as vivid as if it had happened this morning.

He sighed, hearing the prince\'s shouts ringing out even from afar.

-This is the royal command from His Majesty.

He recalled the king\'s order he had received before departing for Wolhan Fortress.

He had thought it would be a simple task of delivering a letter, but it turned out to be a bigger deal than expected.

-After arriving at Wolhan Fortress, stay there for fifteen days and observe the actions of Prince Ikwon.

Stay in a place at war with monstrous beasts? And not just for a day or two, but for fifteen days.

\'Why am I so unlucky?\'

Despite his meager salary, he had been burdened with this troublesome task.

No, was it just troublesome? It was a dangerous task where he could die.

Forget the monstrous beasts, if he was unlucky enough to be hit by a stray arrow, it would be the end of him.

Just hearing the roars of the monstrous beasts from beyond the walls made his heart pound.

If he continued to stay in this place, he would die before even seeing the battle.

"Damn it! Is someone trying to get themselves killed?!"

The prince\'s angry voice pierced his ears again. But the following words were strange.

"Who\'s going to die? The battle hasn\'t even started yet..."

A man, a mere soldier, cautiously spoke up. He dared to talk back to the prince. Ju Ja-pyeong\'s eyes widened.

\'Oh dear. That man is crazy. If he\'s so eager to die, he should at least die peacefully. Why choose to provoke that lunatic? If he\'s going to die in vain like that, he might as well give me his remaining life.\'

Considering Prince Ikwon\'s usual temperament, as known by the palace staff, it wouldn\'t be surprising if that soldier\'s head was cut off on the spot.

Moreover, they were in a war situation.

Technically, the prince was also a superior officer, so if he used insubordination as an excuse, he could actually kill that soldier without facing any consequences.

"Who\'s going to die? Who was that just now?"

Prince Ikwon whipped around. His eyes flashed with an unusual intensity. Ju Ja-pyeong\'s neck instinctively tingled.

\'I thought he was just a madman, but he has become a beast. Is this the result of throwing a madman in front of monstrous beasts and telling him to fight?\'

He would be beaten to death if the prince heard him. But what did it matter? Even the king is criticized behind his back.

"I-It was me..."

The soldier who had asked the question cautiously raised his hand. Everyone around him turned to look at the soldier.

"Yes, you. Who\'s going to die?"

The scoundrel\'s question sounded like a beast\'s growl. Chills ran down his spine.

Ju Ja-pyeong, mourning the foolish soldier who might die soon, quietly closed his eyes.

\'May you go to a good place. To be caught by that scoundrel... It\'s unlikely you\'ll meet a good end, but I\'ll pray for you. I hope you won\'t encounter such a person in your next life and only see good things.\'

Of course, the prince\'s outward appearance wasn\'t bad, but true beauty came from within, not just the outer shell.

"I\'m the one who\'s going to die, not anyone else! Me! I\'m going to die of frustration!" The prince roared.

Ju Ja-pyeong shrank back.

Even though he wasn\'t the one standing before the scoundrel, he felt a chill colder than a blade at his throat.

\'Ugh. Now he\'ll take out his sword and chop off his head... Oh dear, how terrifying.\'

He could vividly picture the crazy tyrant throwing a tantrum. He could see it even with his eyes closed.

Now, the innocent soldier\'s head would fly off, and the atmosphere would turn icy.

Ju Ja-pyeong squeezed his eyes shut even tighter. He had a weak stomach and couldn\'t stand the sight of blood.

But the anticipated event didn\'t happen.

\'Huh...?\'

Eventually, Ju Ja-pyeong cautiously opened his eyes again.

He saw the tyrant pointing at the soldier.

"Hey, you! You, I even memorized your name. You know? If you want to kill me, find another way, huh? Something other than burning me alive!"

It was absurd for him to doubt the brave soldier who was fighting with the determination to die.

Ju Ja-pyeong chuckled in disbelief. If someone could still be willing to risk their life after hearing those words, they must be something beyond human.

But the soldier in front of the prince retorted shamelessly, "D-Do you really... remember me?"

"Yes! Bu-seop."

The soldier, called by name by the tyrant, gasped. It seemed he was quite shocked that the prince remembered him.

Ju Ja-pyeong looked at the soldier with pity.

\'How much must he have stood out for that scoundrel to remember his name?\'

It was common knowledge that being remembered by those in high positions was a great honor and a shortcut to promotion.

However, no matter how good a position was offered, Ju Ja-pyeong didn\'t want to be remembered by that prince.

Especially since he probably wouldn\'t remember him anyway, even after nearly killing him.

"I remember you clearly."

"Ah..."

"It hasn\'t been that long since I told you to get down, and you\'re already back up here doing the same thing again? Do you really want to die?"

The scoundrel prince\'s scolding seemed endless. How desperate must the soldier be to escape?

Ju Ja-pyeong, assuming that everyone else would also feel sorry for the soldier, looked around.

"Do you think I\'ll let you get away with this!" The prince roared again.

And then Ju Ja-pyeong noticed.

There was no sign of tension on the soldiers\' faces. No discomfort. No fear. Some were even snickering.

\'...Huh? Why are they acting like this? Isn\'t he their comrade? Their comrade is being harassed by that tyrant, and they\'re... laughing? Are they perhaps enemies instead of comrades? Spies for the monstrous beasts? No, that can\'t be right.\'

Ju Ja-pyeong shifted his gaze back to the soldier in front of the prince.

Looking again, he saw stars practically sparkling in the eyes of the soldier named Bu-seop as he looked at the prince.

In other words, he didn\'t seem to dislike this situation at all.

\'...What is this? Are they all crazy? Or is the Wolhan Fortress Lord an even bigger tyrant than that scoundrel, making Prince Ikwon seem like a good superior in comparison? This is strange. Even if there are one or two crazy people, it\'s impossible for all these people to be crazy.\'

Ju Ja-pyeong pondered deeply.

The answer that the soldiers were following the prince because he was a decent superior and a respectable person didn\'t even cross his mind.

Even if every person in the world had some redeeming quality, Prince Ikwon was simply not someone who could be respected.

\'Or are all these people... actually monstrous beasts in disguise? No, that can\'t be right. And Prince Ikwon is worse than a monstrous beast.\'

Then there could only be one answer.

\'Aha, I see!\'

Ju Ja-pyeong quietly clapped his hands in the corner, reaching a conclusion on his own.

\'The Wolhan Fortress Lord must be an even more terrible person than Prince Ikwon for them to act like this. To think that his personality makes even Ikwon seem better... It\'s unfortunate enough that they have to fight monstrous beasts, but to also endure Ikwon and someone worse than him... It\'s truly a pity that they have to bear such misfortune...\'

Ju Ja-pyeong shuddered.

\'How unlucky you all are. Tsk tsk.\'

Anyway, he continued to observe, thinking how unfortunate those people were.

* * *

Alright, everything was fine.

They weren\'t listening?

That could happen. Even in a life-or-death situation, there might be times when you want to talk back.

Lack of unity?

That could also happen. They weren\'t one body, so how could everyone move in perfect unison?

The odds didn\'t look good?

That\'s understandable too. If you could win every time you wanted to, why would I have died at Jincheon\'s hand?

Right?

"Aaaaaaaaagh!"

But my body. Even if nothing else was under my control, shouldn\'t I at least be able to control my own body?

To try and regain control of my drug-weakened body, I tried stimulating the pressure points that Soon Gang had taught me last time.

It was effective. Fighting became much easier, and my mind, which had been hazy from the drug, became as clear as the autumn sky.

But there was one problem. My stamina plummeted.

I couldn\'t carelessly ask anyone about this, as they might discover I was using the bellflower.

I barely managed to endure through the night and was finally able to lie down on the bed. I stared at the ceiling, my whole body limp.

The wooden ceiling was now as familiar as my own home.

"Tsk."

I contemplated alone.

I suspected that because my senses were heightened and my muscles and nerves were stimulated, I was consuming energy too quickly and excessively.

"Y-Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Thud thud. Creak.

The door burst open with a commotion. Eunuch Han appeared.

"Oh my. You startled me. Why are you being so loud?"

The eunuch replied with a serious expression, "I heard a loud noise, and I was worried you might be unwell..."

"I am unwell. Of course, I am unwell. How could I be fine after rampaging like that? Don\'t you agree, Eunuch Han?"

"That is true, but..."

"There\'s nothing I can do about it. If you\'re really worried, make me some tea."

"Yes, I\'ll bring it right away."

Eunuch Han nodded and turned around. Just then, I suddenly remembered that guy.

"Oh, Eunuch Han."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Eunuch Han, who was about to leave the room, turned back to me.

"...What\'s that bastard Jincheon doing?"