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Chapter: 103

"... Prince Ikwon took who with him?" Son Gye-du asked in a hardened voice.

The man who had just delivered the report bowed his head. He hesitated before speaking.

"Jo Seunghoe, from the prison..."

"Why are you only telling me this now?!" The enraged Son Gye-du roared.

His mind raced.

Of all people, why Jo Seunghoe? No matter how much he thought about it, there was no way Jo Seunghoe could be connected to Prince Ikwon.

But if the prince had specifically chosen him to take to battle, it could only mean one thing.

"He knew..."

Son Gye-du\'s expression twisted.

Prince Ikwon had been aware that he was using someone to carry out his scheme.

But how? There was no way for him to find out. He had been so careful, repeatedly checking his surroundings before proceeding, just in case someone was eavesdropping.

He rarely trusted anyone, and he had a habit of immediately dismissing any subordinate who showed the slightest lack of loyalty.

He wanted to believe that none of his subordinates could have leaked this information.

"Damn it..."

Son Gye-du glared at his subordinate with bloodshot eyes. The man flinched at his furious gaze.

Son Gye-du didn\'t miss the small movement and growled, "You."

Step-

The distance between Son Gye-du and the man shortened by one step.

"You\'re reacting this way because you have a guilty conscience, don\'t you?"

Seeing his unusually aggressive demeanor, the man realized that his superior was far from sane.

Fearing he would become collateral damage, the subordinate hurriedly lowered his head.

"I-I didn\'t deliberately not tell you. I only found out today that His Highness took him. I\'m reporting it as soon as I heard..."

Of course, that was probably true. But it didn\'t offer any comfort.

Son Gye-du shouted, "Get out!"

The subordinate, who had been abruptly yelled at, quickly left the room.

Once the subordinate was completely gone, Son Gye-du quietly spoke. However, unlike before, his voice was noticeably subdued.

"Come out."

The folding screen slid open. A black shadow emerged from behind it without a sound.

He was Nanyagong\'s messenger, who had secretly infiltrated Wolhan Fortress and decided to stay at Son Gye-du\'s residence for a while to keep an eye on him.

"You heard everything, right?"

He was a head taller than the elder of Wolhan Fortress, who was well past middle age, with a much larger build.

His appearance made him seem like a waste to be used only as a messenger.

Son Gye-du\'s shoulders slumped slightly as he stood with his back to the shadow.

He spoke anxiously, but he didn\'t turn around. He was afraid to even look at the man, despite his mere status as a messenger.

"Why aren\'t you looking at me when you speak? Are you ignoring me to my face? This is hurtful."

His tone was laced with amusement.

Son Gye-du glared at the man, who had pointed out his fear despite already knowing he couldn\'t meet his eyes.

But his gaze still didn\'t meet the man\'s, remaining fixed straight ahead.

"...Don\'t joke around. This is not the time for jokes."

That was the extent of his timid defiance.

"Yes, I know you must be feeling unpleasant. So, what are you going to do now?" The messenger asked, and Son Gye-du groaned.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no clear solution.

"...I don\'t have any immediate solutions."

\'...Unless I slaughter all those bastards.\'

A gruesome image flashed through Son Gye-du\'s mind. But it was a sweet image only to him.

As if sensing his dark thoughts, the messenger sneered.

“Should I just kill them all, then?”

The messenger spoke playfully, circling Son Gye-du. Then, he stopped in front of him, face to face.

“What, what?”

Son Gye-du\'s eyes widened at the suggestion, as if the messenger had read his mind.

“Is that possible?”

He was no longer ashamed of his inner thoughts being revealed.

The messenger burst into laughter at his brightened reaction, as if a lifeline had fallen from the sky.

“Hahahaha!”

“Shhh, be quiet! What if someone hears you…?!”

“Let them hear.”

“I don\'t care about my subordinates, but I can\'t trust the eyes and ears of the servants employed by my family! Please be quiet.”

“The one who wants to ruthlessly destroy his hometown is now concerned about such things?”

Son Gye-du\'s face flushed red at the mockery.

“Enough with the jokes!”

The messenger nodded, still with a sneer on his face. Then, he completely erased his smile and said,

“I\'m serious about killing them.”

“...Is it possible?”

“There is nothing impossible in this world, except for the dead coming back to life.”

The following words were spoken calmly.

“There are things that require more effort and things that require less. That is the only difference.”

“That doesn\'t sound like it will require less effort….”

“Of course.”

The messenger crossed his arms and nodded.

“It takes a lot of effort to kill someone. But, don\'t you know?”

The messenger smirked. No matter how many times he saw it, Son Gye-du couldn\'t get used to that eerie smile. He unconsciously averted his eyes.

“Just because someone is born with two arms and two legs doesn\'t mean their lives are all worth the same. If the value is different, it\'s only natural that the effort involved is also different.”

“...So you\'re saying it\'s impossible to kill Prince Ikwon.”

Disappointment was evident on Son Gye-du\'s face.

“Prince Ikwon? Killing Prince Ikwon is impossible? Oh my, what a preposterous thing to say.”

“But if we don\'t kill Prince Ikwon, this won\'t end the way we want it to…”

“Well, I wonder.”

“No matter how much Prince Ikwon is called a scoundrel, and even if the king himself turns a blind eye… He is a father before he is a king. No matter how much he hates him, he is still his own flesh and blood. He won\'t ignore him if he\'s on the verge of death. Don\'t you know it\'ll truly be the end if that happens? Moreover, if the war continues like this, he might actually bring back a victory. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Is that so?”

The messenger\'s attitude was playful from beginning to end. Unable to bear it any longer, Son Gye-du burst out in anger.

“Listen seriously!”

“I am being perfectly serious.”

“That\'s not for the speaker to decide.”

“Hmm.”

The messenger closed his mouth as if in thought. While he was silent, Son Gye-du\'s mind painted a picture of the future if IPrince Ikwon were to die in battle.

It was Prince Ikwon who was leading the battle from the front lines and maintaining morale.

Moreover, it was his achievement to gather troops from other fortresses. The outcome of having Prince Ikwon present versus not having him would be vastly different.

It would be great if he died.

But there was no suitable way to kill him. It was a task as different as heaven and earth compared to secretly pushing a mere servant into the jaws of death.

Having finished his thoughts, the messenger opened his mouth.

“Let’s do it.”

What was he talking about so abruptly, without even a subject?

Son Gye-du asked back, “What?”

“Let’s kill him. Isn’t that what you want?”

Son Gye-du looked at the messenger with a dumbfounded expression.

Of course, killing Prince Ikwon was his greatest desire, but he had never thought it was possible.

“...Are you serious? Is it possible?”

Son Gye-du\'s eyes glanced towards the door, lest anyone overhear. There was no sign of anyone beyond the door.

“It’s possible.”

The messenger replied. Son Gye-du\'s face lit up.

“That can be…!”

“I’m not talking about killing the prince.”

Son Gye-du stopped abruptly, his mouth agape. Disappointing words followed.

“How could we kill the prince?”

The messenger smirked.

“I hear he\'s quite skilled with a sword. And that his maternal lineage is also from a warrior family, right? I\'ve already heard the story about his maternal grandfather being a Supreme General. Didn\'t you say he\'s already killed countless monstrous beasts? Seeing how many followers he has, that can\'t be a rumor. It\'s too risky to try to kill someone like that.”

Seeing the deep disappointment on Son Gye-du\'s face, the messenger added, “Are you disappointed? But don\'t forget who\'s standing behind you.”

Lord Nanyagong of Huawei Kingdom.

Having the leader of the enemy nation behind him was certainly reassuring, but it could also be a fatal poison.

If anyone were to discover this fact, Son Gye-du would immediately be charged with treason.

For treason, even execution wasn\'t out of the question.

Son Gye-du glared at the messenger timidly.

“Of course, I remember. I will never forget it.”

“Good. I hope that memory never fades.”

“...So, what are you going to do? Who are you going to kill?”

“That soldier your subordinate just reported.”

The messenger made a gesture of cutting his own throat with his thumb.

“Why would Prince Ikwon take him?”

It wasn\'t difficult to guess Prince Ikwon’s objective.

“...To gather evidence.”

“Exactly. Evidence. So, wouldn\'t it be enough to kill that soldier before the evidence falls into his hands?”

“He won\'t be coming back for a while. They’ve decided to build a barracks.”

“Even better. If we kill him far away, who would know? It\'s a place teeming with monstrous beasts, so a lump of flesh will disappear quickly. There will be no need for cleanup.”

Son Gye-du asked cautiously, “Well, yes, but how? I don\'t have any decent assassins at my disposal.”

The messenger smiled confidently. Son Gye-du was shocked when he saw that expression.

“...Don\'t tell me you’re going to go yourself?”

“If necessary.”

Son Gye-du\'s mouth fell open.

“However, there will be a price to pay.”

Lord Nanyagong and Son Gye-du had a transactional relationship. Their cooperation was solely for the purpose of gaining something beneficial to each of them.

A prominent figure like Lord Nanyagong wouldn\'t suffer losses for someone like him, a mere elder of this barren fortress.

The man in front of him wasn\'t helping him out of the goodness of his heart.

Once the task was completed and he obtained what he desired, he would have to pay a fair price.

Newly realizing this fact, Son Gye-du nodded with difficulty.

“I know. If I can ascend to the position of Wolhan Fortress Lord, what wouldn\'t I give? I\'m not so foolish as to forget someone who lent a hand in times of need.”

Because whatever he had to give up, it would be worth it for his goal.