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Chapter 20

Heo Seokgyeom was a Commander in the Geumo Guard.

He wasn\'t born into a prestigious family. He didn\'t possess exceptional talent. Compared to his colleagues from noble families or the so-called geniuses, he always fell short.

He couldn\'t help but feel constantly intimidated. Yet, he reached his current position simply because he worked harder than others.

When his peers were raising their glasses, he was raising his sword. When they were lying in bed, he was sitting at his desk.

Diligence. Effort. Determination.

Just that reason.

Precisely that reason.

Thanks to those qualities, he was able to surpass his peers from prestigious families and rise to the rank of Commander.

He was proud.

All he had was the body his parents gave him, yet he lived diligently. He didn\'t cut corners and walked only the righteous path. He also received rewards for his hard work. If he worked hard, opportunities opened up. Paths he carved himself. He came to believe that even if he didn\'t rely on luck, if he just lived diligently, someone would eventually recognize him.

- Do you guys even know what your role is?

One day, Ikwon, the First Prince, appeared before Heo Seokgyeom.

He was completely drunk. The sight of him intoxicated in the middle of the day, when the sun was high in the sky, didn\'t sit well with Heo Seokgyeom, who was on duty.

- You idiots.

A bottle of alcohol clutched in one hand. A silk robe slipping off his shoulder. A flushed face. The stench of alcohol reeked from his drenched clothes.

- You\'re all just meat shields, and you\'re glad to be just that.

He still remembered the prince\'s sneering laughter that accompanied those words.

The prince appeared out of nowhere and insulted him. He had heard rumors about the mad prince, but this was the first time he had seen him in person. Even though he had already risen to the rank of Commander in the Geumo Guard, the royal family was still in an unimaginably high position, and the prince was a potential future king, a lord he might have to serve.

And he hadn\'t spent his time so poorly that he deserved to be humiliated in such a way by a young prince who had barely come of age.

- What do you mean, \'no\'? With a single word from me, you\'re all supposed to go out and die.

If a military official\'s duty was to rush towards death at the king\'s command, the prince\'s words weren\'t wrong.

But.

- You probably think you\'re something special.

Was he in a position to be spoken to like that?

- Let me, Ikwon, enlighten you insects about your situation.

There was nothing the ignorant young prince could teach them. There was even a general over sixty present. No one there deserved to be spoken to like that by the prince.

What right did he have?

- You\'re all bugs that no one will remember even if you\'re torn limb from limb. While you\'re screaming, your bodies ripped apart by swords and arrows, the civil officials in the capital and His Majesty will be sleeping soundly in their golden beds.

Dying while following the king\'s orders was an honorable death. He was recognized for his service; who would forget his death?

More importantly, Heo Seokgyeom was alive and breathing. The prince was insulting him over something that hadn\'t even happened.

- Give it here.

The prince snatched his sword. Then, stumbling drunkenly, he swung the sword around. No one there had the authority to approach the prince and take the sword away. No one could stop him.

- Even if I killed all of you here, who would care?

The prince\'s cruelty didn\'t end there. Drunk, he eventually drew blood. The prince, out of his mind, showed no mercy, and his blind blade left a scar on Heo Seokgyeom.

Only then did the prince stop his rampage.

- It\'s all... all pointless.

The prince laughed maniacally. Then he cried. Heo Seokgyeom couldn\'t understand the prince\'s despair or his insults.

Why was he like that?

Was there a reason he had to live that way?

He knew the prince had a tragic past. But that wasn\'t an excuse for him to behave in such a manner. It was already in the past, and the prince had grown up while dwelling on it.

How long would the prince continue to use the deposed queen\'s death as an excuse for his outrageous behavior? When would this cruelty end? Why was he dragging others into his own misery? What could the prince possibly gain by making others unhappy?

Ah, right. The prince had no intention of moving forward. He was just stuck in the past, looking back and chasing after what was gone, letting time slip away.

It was no wonder he was called a madman. Even the children in the marketplace knew the prince was called a madman.

Heo Seokgyeom thought it was only fitting.

He thought that if he were the prince, he wouldn\'t live like that.

He believed that if he were the prince, he would have become a much better person.

Born into the high position of a prince. Having a much better starting point than others.

And yet, Heo Seokgyeom thought, the prince didn\'t know how to be grateful for his fate.

Then the prince appeared before him again.

- What\'s your name?

He hadn\'t come with any business for him.

The prince was talking to Yoo Geung. Yoo Geung was a subordinate Heo Seokgyeom cherished. It was because he was diligent like himself and didn\'t know how to slack off.

It was only right for such a person to succeed.

Catching the prince\'s eye might not be entirely good, but still, a superior was a superior. It could be an opportunity for his cherished subordinate. Heo Seokgyeom silently observed the prince.

- You seem to have a lot of merit.

An enigmatic opening.

Perhaps.

- You have the look of someone who... would jump into a fierce battle in a remote war zone due to some unknown circumstances, fight bravely, and then die tragically but honorably."

There it was.

An insult, as expected.

People didn\'t change that easily. Once again, he had come to insult the military officials.

He didn\'t even know that it was these military officials who had protested the deposed queen\'s death sentence until the very end.

So he called Ah Jin and told him to talk to the prince. Someone as cunning as Ah Jin wasbetter suited for the prince. Bad company corrupts good morals, so Yoo Geung shouldn\'t be near the prince.

But the prince kept summoning Yoo Geung.

Yoo Geung didn\'t seem to dislike it. Even when asked, he said nothing special happened. He even said he had saved a child on the street.

Why?

That madman, why? For what reason?

He became curious. So much so that he couldn\'t sleep at night.

When he thought of the mad prince, the scar the prince had inflicted still stung.

- Please grant me the opportunity as well.

So he could consider this insolence as payment for the scar.

- Let\'s have a sparring match. And if I win, your head is mine.

He was the same as ever. Unbearable laughter escaped his lips. The madman\'s habit of looking down on people hadn\'t gone anywhere.

But there was no possibility of him losing either.

- Yes, Your Highness.

The years of effort had made him confident.

"Begin."

"...I will yield the first strike, Your Highness."

"Alright. It would be rude to refuse after being offered."

A consistently frivolous attitude.

He didn\'t like it.

"Here I come."

Even the time spent conversing was a waste.

His task today was to teach the prince fear. To show him that he, who had insulted him so, didn\'t deserve such treatment.

That arrogant prince needed to learn that the world was a scary place.

"Yes."

The prince thrust his sword. True to the rumors of his extravagant lifestyle, the prince\'s sword was incredibly ornate. It made him wonder where he had acquired such a thing.

Heo Seokgyeom stepped forward, extending one leg to parry the prince\'s sword. He put all his strength into his sword-wielding arm. He intended to knock the prince\'s sword away with a single strike. He had to give the prince a solid shock.

He imagined the prince dropping his sword in fear and stumbling backward. It was a satisfying scene even in his imagination.

Even if the pampered prince, who had lived in the sheltered greenhouse-like palace, cried out in fear, it wouldn\'t fully appease his resentment. But at least it would achieve the purpose of his visit to the prince today.

However, reality didn\'t align with his expectations.

Clang!

The prince\'s sword clashed against his, letting out a loud screech. Then the prince... Heo Seokgyeom hurriedly checked the prince\'s expression. The prince was smiling.

It wasn\'t as strong as his own strength, honed through daily training. The mad prince was rumored to often overturn dining tables, so he had a gaunt body with no flesh.

Yet, he was holding on.

"Thrilling."

The prince smiled awkwardly. Heo Seokgyeom was surprised. The prince had the leisure to smile. He, on the other hand, couldn\'t smile. He was displeased. The prince should have been desperate, defeated. That was the reward of effort, the difference in effort.

The time he had invested in himself should never be in vain.

He and the prince could never be equals.

Several exchanges were made between the two. Swords clashed, met, and scraped against each other. With each loud metallic clang, Heo Seokgyeom\'s insides churned. The prince shouldn\'t be able to withstand him like this.

The fact that the prince was struggling was no longer even on his mind. The image Heo Seokgyeom had envisioned had been shattered. He couldn\'t teach the prince a lesson this way. The prince wouldn\'t feel fear or remorse from such a slight difference, and he wouldn\'t reflect on his actions.

Clang!

"Huh?"

After a particularly awkward exchange, the prince spoke in a naive voice. Heo Seokgyeom stepped back. He didn\'t want to cross swords anymore. The thought that he shouldn\'t be exchanging swords with the prince in this way filled his mind.

Literally, he was \'exchanging\' swords with the prince.

Heo Seokgyeom lowered his sword. And he bowed his head.

All he could see was his own dark shadow cast on the ground in front of the prince\'s pavilion.

"...I apologize."

He felt resentful.

"I have been disrespectful. Please punish me."

But he didn\'t know what he was resentful about. That fact frustrated him.

The prince replied, "Disrespectful?"

“Hmm, is that so? Disrespectful?” The prince muttered as he approached. The sound of the prince\'s footsteps drawing closer sounded almost terrifying. He didn\'t know what the mad prince might do.

"Well, I\'m fine."

A low chuckle sounded from above his head.

"Raise your head," the prince commanded.

Heo Seokgyeom hesitated for a moment before obeying the order and raising his head.

"You said your name was Heo Seokgyeom?"

The prince was smiling.

"You\'re an interesting person."

A weight settled on his shoulder. Heo Seokgyeom involuntarily glanced at his shoulder, then at the prince.

"As a Commander, you must be busier than Captain Yoo, right? I won\'t be able to summon you often."

Without giving him a chance to respond, the prince continued cheerfully.

"Let\'s see each other from time to time."

There was no mention of the wager the prince had spoken of, the one about his head.