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Chapter: 73

I felt uneasy. Very uneasy.

I had a feeling that something big was about to happen.

My gut feeling when it came to unsettling things was usually right, so when I felt this way, something big was likely to happen.

No matter whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

But since nothing significantly good ever happened in my life, I always had to rule that out.

Meanwhile, the Wolhan Fortress Lord had formed an investigation team to look into the truth of the wall collapsing and the monster appearing.

He was already a busy man, but he became even busier.

On the other hand, I was free. The fact that everyone was treating me more cautiously because of my injured arm seemed to play a part.

Really, they were treating me like a complete invalid.

When I swung my arm around a few times in front of everyone to show them I was fine, they were all shocked.

It was quite a sight to see them begging me to stop.

That wasn\'t the only reason I was free. I had previously written and sent a letter to the capital, but it was still too early for a reply.

As they say, "Those who have eaten meat eat well." I had never idled before, so I felt restless just sitting around.

In the end, I couldn\'t take it anymore and got up. I was thinking of going to the training grounds with my sword. Of course, it wouldn\'t be fun to go alone, so I was going to drag Yoo Geung along.

But as soon as I got up, someone called me from outside the door.

"Your Highness. May I have a word?"

It was Yoo Geung. I strode to the door and flung it open.

"I was just about to look for you. Perfect timing."

"Pardon? You were looking for me?"

"I\'m bored."

Yoo Geung looked momentarily dumbfounded and then said, "I am honored that you thought of me."

"Your expression just now didn\'t seem that way."

"I was at a loss for words with gratitude."

I didn\'t think so.

"What did you want to tell me?"

"Ah, someone came to see you a little while ago. They insisted on seeing you, so I came to report it."

"Someone came to see me?"

If Yoo Geung was reporting it, then...

"Who is it?"

"They only said they came to find their master. However, they showed me a letter with General So\'s seal, so I judged that they shouldn\'t be ignored."

"My grandfather?"

My grandfather\'s seal. A person sent by my grandfather.

I grinned.

It seemed he had finally arrived.

Jincheon. That bastard I couldn\'t wait to tear apart.

"Where is he now?"

"I have him detained at the gate."

"I see."

It seemed they didn\'t even let him into the inner fortress. It was funny that he had been captured so easily. Jincheon, captured by mere gate guards.

With his strength, he could have slaughtered hundreds of gatekeepers.

If the Jincheon from my past life had experienced this and I had seen it, it would have become a story I would mock him with for years to come.

I would have spread it everywhere, just because it was too good to keep to myself.

As I strapped my sword to my waist, Yoo Geung asked, "Are you going to see him?"

Why ask the obvious?

"He\'s a gift from my grandfather, so of course I have to go."

"A gift... Your Highness?" Yoo Geung asked, sounding puzzled. Of course he wouldn\'t understand.

I readily nodded.

Yoo Geung asked suspiciously, "Excuse me, Your Highness, but are you perhaps looking for a servant?"

A servant?

That was hilarious. I burst into laughter.

"A servant? Don\'t be ridiculous. Why would I need a servant? I have Eunuch Han to attend to me."

"But... his appearance and presumed age..."

Was it because of his appearance?

I scoffed.

"You won\'t be saying that later."

Jincheon, seasoned in battle, wouldn\'t be someone Yoo Geung could handle. He was a calamity, in the truest sense of the word.

Yoo Geung, at best, was just a human. In the face of a calamity, humans couldn\'t even struggle.

The best they could do was lock their doors and cower.

"Let\'s go."

I walked briskly. Was it because I was about to receive a long-awaited gift? My steps were light.

When I arrived at the inner fortress gate, several gatekeepers were gathered in one place. They turned around when they noticed me.

"It\'s His Highness, the Prince," Yoo Geung stepped forward and spoke, and the gatekeepers bowed their heads towards me. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

"Yes, hello. I heard there was someone here to see me."

"Yes, here. This way."

The gatekeeper raised a hand and pointed behind him. I craned my neck and looked in that direction, and there he was, the one I had been waiting for.

...Or was he?

"Captain Yoo."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Is that the one who came to see me?"

I pointed at the short figure with my index finger.

Was this really him in his younger days?

He was a kid. His small stature, a clear sign of malnutrition, and his sunken cheeks, with bones practically poking through the skin, were striking, but that was all.

There was no sign of the strongest warrior who had sliced off Baek Yeon\'s head with a single swing.

It was a strange feeling. It was similar to the shock I felt when I first learned that even the Blood Cloud Fortress Lord used the latrine.

"...And why is he staring at me like that?"

He was too... how should I put it, bright-eyed. His whole body seemed to be on the verge of death, but his wide-open eyes were overflowing with vitality.

He was staring at me with those eyes.

My thoughts momentarily stopped.

Had I mistaken something? Or had Yoo Geung? Or perhaps my grandfather? Was it Leader Shin\'s mistake?

"Captain Yoo."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Did this kid really come to see me? There\'s been no mistake?"

"I have confirmed it myself; there\'s no mistake."

Yoo Geung said to the boy, "Show him the seal on the letter."

The kid rummaged through his belongings and pulled out the letter, unfolding the first page.

The seal on it was undoubtedly that of the So family.

And there were also three characters that appeared to be my grandfather\'s signature.

"So Ik-Gyeom... This is indeed my grandfather\'s name. It is, but..."

I looked at the boy again.

Was this really Jincheon?

"It is, but..."

I bent down and craned my neck to get a closer look at the supposed Jincheon.

Looking at him this way, his face did seem to have some resemblance...

Of course, he was much more vicious.

When I straightened up again, his gaze followed me.

Why couldn\'t he take his eyes off me? Was there something on my face?

Or was it because I was too handsome?

"Hmm."

That was a possibility.

Even when I tilted my head from side to side, his gaze remained fixed on me, following my every move.

But he was really small. He was a truly unimpressive kid.

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen years."

Right. This was about right. He was around my age when I was Baek Yeon.

But he could speak politely? I thought he would be a tyrant from a young age, but he was unexpectedly sensible.

Could it be that my grandfather taught him?

"What\'s your name?"

"Jincheon."

Indeed.

Now that I had confirmation, there was no denying it.

"Do you know who I am?"

"You just said you were His Highness, the Prince."

Right. I did. I asked a stupid question.

"So you are His Highness, the Prince."

I chuckled and replied, "Yes, I am the Prince."

Jincheon stared at me intently. As I met his gaze, which continued to watch me without a word, I couldn\'t help but recall the past.

The damp soil, me kneeling on it, and the stench of blood mixed with rain in the air.

How annoying.

Jincheon opened his mouth.

"I see my master."

He bowed his head. The head that I had to look up at from below was now far beneath me. It was a strange feeling.

* * *

Jincheon was born somewhere on the border between Mokryeo and Huawei.

His mother was of foreign origin, and he didn\'t even know his father.

An unclear identity, a persecuted bloodline. Because he was born with both, living a normal life was an impossible dream.

He didn\'t wish for much. He knew that even filling his stomach at every meal was too much to ask for.

He would have been content if he could simply rest against a wall in a small, palm-sized house, even if he was hungry.

Unfortunately, however, Jincheon was caught by a group of swordsmen and sold into slavery.

Every day, he had to endure hunger and beg to put even a dirt-covered rice ball in his mouth.

The other slaves his age were in the same situation, but they couldn\'t be friends. Because everyone was a competitor.

The children only fought to steal each other\'s share.

At night, clutching their empty stomachs, they slept on the cold ground in the iron cages where the slaves were gathered.

Their bodies were always tired, and their minds were exhausted.

Summer was a little better. On cold winter nights, they shivered, huddled under a single worn-out straw mat.

He hated waking up in the middle of the night the most. Because if he wasn\'t asleep, the night was too long.

There were occasional slaves in the place where Jincheon was kept who attempted to escape.

Jincheon was young and ignorant, so he didn\'t know any pain other than physical pain. That\'s why he didn\'t try to escape.

He thought such struggles were foolish. Even when doing as he was told, beatings and abuse were commonplace. Severe punishment awaited even the smallest mistake.

If someone attempted to escape, all the slaves in that place were punished together. Some slaves, in their anger, would even resort to violence against the escapee.

One day, a slave who had been kind to Jincheon decided to escape, and another slave who was close to him reported the escape plan to their master.

As a result, all the slaves were punished, and everyone blamed the slave who had tried to escape. Unable to bear it, he took his own life.

Jincheon lost the warmth of the hand that used to stroke his head, but he didn\'t know why he should feel sad.

Jincheon raised his head. At least no fists were flying at him. Nor was a blade held to his neck like at General So\'s residence.

The new master he looked up at was different from any master he had seen before.

The master was looking at him with a hint of interest. It was a strange feeling to face a master with such eyes.

Of course, he didn\'t trust him. If the master in front of him asked if he was satisfied, he would honestly shake his head.

Because what he truly wanted was to not be tied to anyone.

But what did it matter who or where he was?

This master had saved him. He had pulled him out of that seemingly endless mire and allowed him to stand on solid ground.

During the journey from the border to the capital, and from the capital to Wolhan Fortress, no one had laid a finger on him.

It might not be the case from now on, but at least at this moment, he could breathe.

So he would follow the man in front of him.

Whatever his name, whatever path he walked, whether he saved people or killed them, he would follow him unconditionally.

That was all. And that was everything.