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Chapter 15

"Hahahaha."

Suddenly, the other person started laughing. It was a light, cheerful laugh, as if they had heard something incredibly funny. Did I make a joke? I racked my brain but couldn\'t recall doing so.

"I know that rumors are not always reliable."

They began with that, but I couldn\'t understand what they meant.

"I apologize for my boldness, but I have heard quite a few rumors. Gathering rumors is my job, but I made a hasty judgment about Your Highness based on those rumors. It was a mistake, wasn\'t it?"

So, are they saying I don\'t seem like a wastrel right now?

Not seeming like a wastrel...

This is a problem. I\'m supposed to be the wastrel prince.

If I don\'t seem like a wastrel, then I\'m neglecting my duties.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

That made them burst into laughter again. Of course, it wasn\'t me who laughed. I didn\'t find this situation funny at all.

"Hahahahaha."

The unidentified person laughed loudly, causing my grandfather to glare at them.

"Leader Shin."

My grandfather\'s voice dropped to a low growl, and his gaze turned sharp and chilling. Even I almost flinched at the reprimand. However, the person in question continued to speak with a grin, completely unaffected. They weren\'t afraid of my grandfather at all.

They seemed to have a lot of guts. At least, they were bolder than Yoo Geung at this moment.

"My name is Shin Gwiryung. Please call me as you wish."

"Who are you?"

I didn\'t know who they were, and we weren\'t particularly close, so I didn\'t want to call them by their name.

"I am but a humble merchant, running a trading company."

"A trading company? What kind of trading company?"

"If you ask for the name of the company, it is called Pyeonggwang."

"Pyeonggwang."

My eyes almost widened. I managed to control my expression and responded as if I wasn\'t interested.

"The Pyeonggwang Trading Company."

If it was Pyeonggwang Trading Company, it was a company that would grow significantly in the future. Their primary source of income was war. They would expand massively by supplying the necessary materials for the consecutive wars.

Of course, Pyeonggwang\'s reach extended even to Seopyung, one of the largest battlefronts.

However, personally, I didn\'t particularly like the Pyeonggwang Trading Company. I had seen a Pyeonggwang merchant demanding payment first amidst the carnage of the battlefield. As someone who had personally witnessed the deaths on the front lines, I couldn\'t like the company\'s calculating nature.

They wouldn\'t be as large as they would become in the future.

Shin Gwiryung smiled subtly.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Nice name."

"I am honored."

I asked bluntly, "So, do you know me?"

"Who in this land wouldn\'t know the First Prince?"

That\'s true.

It was true. But it also meant he didn\'t know me personally.

Then why did he ask like that? Making me wonder if I was supposed to remember him... He was just making me nervous for no reason.

My dislike for Pyeonggwang Trading Company, combined with his teasing attitude, made my distaste for him grow rapidly.

"I don\'t know you."

Shin Gwiryung smiled slyly, like someone with a lot to hide.

"I hope we get to know each other in time."

I was usually pretty good at reading people. The uneasiness I felt from that shady smile wasn\'t just my imagination.

I replied indifferently.

"You have to tell me for me to know."

"What do you wish to know? If Your Highness asks, this Gwiryung will answer anything."

Combined with that shady face, those words didn\'t sound trustworthy at all...

"Really?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I will answer with utmost sincerity."

"Hmm."

Then it meant he had zero loyalty to the royal family.

In that way, he was a bit like me.

Usually, people develop a liking when they find similarities with others, but even if I found a hundred things in common with this guy, I doubted I\'d ever like him.

"You\'re the one who called me out here?"

"That is correct."

"I came here because I thought it was about my grandfather."

I tried to sound a bit haughty.

In reality, I just came because he called.

"I apologize for disappointing your expectations."

"Expectations, my foot. So, why did you call me?"

My teacup was already empty. I must have been sipping it without realizing. As I reached for the teapot, Shin Gwiryung quickly picked it up.

"Shall I speak directly?"

"If you\'re not busy, you can take your time. But aren\'t you a merchant? I\'m not sure if you have enough time to dawdle."

The teapot, snatched by Shin Gwiryung, poured tea into my cup.

"I am deeply touched that you are so concerned about my situation... I am overwhelmed."

You\'re doing fine, so why are you overwhelmed?

Just empty formalities.

"Ahem."

Suddenly, my grandfather cleared his throat. Then he spoke to Yoo Geung, who had been quiet.

"Why don\'t you step out for a moment? I\'m about to leave as well."

Yoo Geung looked at me, as if seeking my permission.

My grandfather wouldn\'t dismiss Yoo Geung without a reason.

I replied, ”Go ahead."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Suddenly, I realized I was placing a considerable amount of trust in my grandfather. This was only the second time I had actually met General So, yet I trusted him solely because he was my grandfather.

In truth, it was known that General So had shown little interest in his grandson after the death of the deposed queen. So, it was questionable whether he was someone I should readily trust.

But then again, he was also the one who had taken care of dangerous things like the bellflower for me.

It was hard to figure him out.

Yoo Geung stood up along with my grandfather. Was it okay to leave me alone with Shin Gwiryung?

Since it was my grandfather\'s residence, nothing would likely happen even if I was left with a stranger. However, seeing my grandfather\'s cold-blooded attitude, I couldn\'t be completely at ease. Both my grandfather and Yoo Geung, oblivious to my feelings, left the room immediately.

Just as I was starting to regret drinking the tea they had offered, Shin Gwiryung wiped the smile off his face and spoke.

"Actually."

It was the moment I confirmed my judgment that he was a shady character. Without his smile, Shin Gwiryung was clearly looking down on me. Even though I was taller than him, I couldn\'t deny the feeling of being belittled.

"I heard that Your Highness declared you would stop taking the medicine, so I dared to request this meeting."

I nodded a couple of times.

"Medicine."

Where could he have gotten the forbidden bellflower?

Come to think of it, he was a military officer who had to uphold discipline more than anyone else. An old man who had to send his daughter to the execution ground because of a single bowl of poison and remain hidden in the shadows to avoid the King\'s displeasure.

It was none other than General So.

"So you\'re the source."

What was the reason General So risked danger to procure the bellflower and provide it to the wastrel prince? Where and how did he get it?

Of course, I was curious. And I had thought about it quite a bit.

If he needed the bellflower for an illness, he could have gotten a prescription from the royal physician instead of going through such secretive channels. There was no need to keep it a private matter.

"Why did you suddenly decide to stop taking it?"

"I haven\'t completely stopped yet."

Shin Gwiryung closed his mouth as if prompting me to say more.It was undeniably an insolent attitude. Come to think of it, he hadn\'t been very polite to the General of Senior Third Rank either. I was convinced that Shin Gwiryung wouldn\'t fear me even if I were the King or the King\'s grandfather, not just a prince. Authority wouldn\'t move Shin Gwiryung. He was a crazy person.

Then what motivates this person?

"But it\'s uncomfortable."

I slightly pulled my white inner robe from within my silk sleeve to show Shin Gwiryung.

"There are too many things that bother me. But it\'s bearable for now."

My senses were so heightened that even the touch of fabric against my skin was irritating. So, I wore inner robes made from the softest fabric available to minimize the irritation.

This wasn\'t the only change.

The most significant change was in my movements. The sluggishness in my body had decreased. It was a subtle difference, but I could definitely feel it.

Another change was the ringing in my ears. The noise I had dismissed as simple tinnitus actually had a source. I couldn\'t be sure, but... it seemed like distant sounds that I hadn\'t been able to perceive properly.

"Every person has clothes that suit them. Farmers wear white clothes, monks wear Dharma robes, the deceased wear burial shrouds... What kind of clothes suit Your Highness?"

I let out a hollow laugh and replied.

"Everything suits me well."

Shin Gwiryung then spoke in a condescending tone, as if admonishing a naive child. As if I were a clueless fool who could only see what was right in front of me. But that wasn\'t true. That kind of treatment was meant for the First Prince, not me.

Being looked down upon with pity everywhere. That was the life of a wastrel.

"Your Highness, you won\'t be able to endure it."

"What won\'t I be able to endure?"

Shin Gwiryung sighed. Daring to sigh in front of a prince? He was proving that he truly didn\'t fear me. It was absurd. I let out another hollow laugh.

"The bellflower is not an easily obtainable herb, Your Highness."

Shin Gwiryung spoke as if I had been taking the medicine without knowing what it was. And I couldn\'t entirely dismiss that notion. If I were the wastrel prince who only knew how to eat, play, and torment people, I probably wouldn\'t know what kind of medicine I was taking.

"I know."

"I hope you understand that I am not trying to lecture Your Highness."

"It doesn\'t seem that way."

"That\'s not true at all."

Shin Gwiryung smiled again.

"Your Highness."

Even though I was facing a smiling face, I realized that Shin Gwiryung was annoyed. I felt like a stubborn child. He was looking at me as if I were a disobedient child. However, despite the small age difference, the positions of Shin Gwiryung, the head of Pyeonggwang Trading Company, and the wastrel Prince Ikwon were quite different. Just considering the responsibilities they carried, the experiences of the First Prince and Shin Gwiryung were worlds apart.

"Please understand that the words I am about to say are from a friend of the late deposed queen."

A friend of the deposed queen?

It was a shocking statement. This time, I couldn\'t hide my surprise. Shin Gwiryung didn\'t look like he was the same age as the deceased queen. But a ten-year age difference wasn\'t a reason they couldn\'t be friends. I nodded first. A serious conversation was about to begin.