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SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“The medicine you were taking.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The first prince was on drugs?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Why do you ask?” Grandfather’s face hardened suddenly.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Could it be… you abused the last batch?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
His expression reminded me of something from Hyeolyunseong—getting chewed out by the lord for wrecking a wall during a brawl.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Same look as now.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
I waved it off. “Abused? No way. Never did that.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“…I’ll trust you.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But his face screamed disbelief.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Could just ask Eunuch Han and find out.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Who’d believe a wastrel, right?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Not my sins, but I’m stuck with them.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Want to check?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He offered readily.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No harm in it.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
I nodded and headed inside. Eunuch Han, who’d been outside with us, followed.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
In the reception room, grandfather gestured to the bundle.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Unwrapping it revealed a wooden box filled with neatly packed herbs.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Two months’ worth, as usual.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“What?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
His casual words stunned me. Two months? That’s an excessive amount.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Whatever this drug’s for, it’s too much.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
And “as usual” means he’s been bringing this regularly?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He came for the duel talk, sure, but this drug was the bigger reason.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Two months’ worth, you say?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Why ask as if it’s new?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
A sharp scent rose from the herbs. Familiar, somehow. After a quick mental search, I pinned it down.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
This so-called medicine was Jongmeoki flower, a poisonous herb.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Chew its petals, and pain dulls, drowsiness hits. Too much, and your breathing slows. Grows far from the capital, if I recall.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Basically, a narcotic.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Dangerous enough to be banned. Jongmeoki’s sale and use have been illegal for ages.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Getting it can’t be easy. Smuggling’s risky, and the price must be steep.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Yet a generalissimo’s supplying it to the first prince? It’s not just unavailable in the capital—possession alone’s a crime.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
And not just once, but regularly? Why?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Planning to poison someone?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“A jest?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He replied, humorless.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yeah, a jest.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Not really, but I played it off, closing the box.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Can’t blab about memory loss to him, so I’ll ask Han later.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
This stuff’s unnecessary.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“This is the last of it. Don’t bring more.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
I know my body best. I don’t need this narcotic.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
It’s not just unneeded—it’s poison to me.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Two spoonfuls of dried Jongmeoki powder at once could kill. Long-term use, even in small doses, brings addiction.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Addiction weakens tendons, making movement hard.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
That’d end my swordsman life.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No issues yet, but who knows? Hope it’s not too late.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Why the hell was this wastrel eating this crap?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“You won’t take it anymore?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yes.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He eyed me skeptically.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Treating me like a kid.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Sure, I’m young compared to him.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Really, I don’t need it.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Are you serious?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Think I’d lie about this? It’s no joking matter.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Still, he didn’t buy it, staring like I should take it back.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Not even a serious glare, but the mood was heavy. No wonder Han called him strict.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
To palace-bound folks like Han, a warrior like grandfather must seem terrifying.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Doesn’t faze me. To intimidate me, you’d need someone like that Hwaweiguk butcher.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Even then, what’s the worst? Death? I’ve died once—fear’s long gone.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Anyway.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“I’m done. No need.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Your condition isn’t for me to guess.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Don’t get cocky, huh? I’m a prince, come on.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“I know my body best. Who’d know it better?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“If you insist.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He nodded and stepped back.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
That was that. He didn’t linger, leaving Hyeonnyeongdang.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But at the porch, one foot on the step, he asked, “You’re quite different from last time. May I ask why?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No beating around the bush. Asking as grandfather, not generalissimo.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He wanted some grand tale. But I had none to give.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“People change.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
His face showed disappointment.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He won’t trust or respect me yet.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Generalissimo So isn’t swayed by half a day’s meeting.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
His trust is heavy, hard to earn, but worth it.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“I’ll see you again.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He bowed and left, his silk robes swaying.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
I muttered to his retreating back, unthinking. “Kinda jealous.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“You’re saying I wanted this stuff?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yes, Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“And the tea was brewed with it?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yes, Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The tea Han kept serving was Jongmeoki.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
So I’ve been drugged up all along. I might be addicted.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Just in case, I’ll taper off.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
All harmful substances, especially drugs, have withdrawal. Stopping cold needs time for the body to adjust.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Jongmeoki’s potent enough to be banned.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Why was I taking it?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
All I could say to this new bombshell was this.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Well…” Han hesitated.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Han.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yes, Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Don’t drag it out. I don’t remember, okay?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
I propped my feet on the table, wastrel-style.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Arrogant pose, sure, but I was tired of sitting straight.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
My body was already aching.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
This damn body. A prince, eating the best, yet so poorly kept.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
If I meet this guy in a dream, I’ll beat him senseless.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Well… Your Highness ordered silence…”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Not in front of me, right?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“That’s…”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Han clammed up. Seems the first prince forbade talk of the drug even with him.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
This guy’s more complex the more I learn.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
A complicated lunatic.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“I take it back. Spill it. Clearly.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Han hesitated, then opened up.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Here’s the story.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Your Highness was born with an overly sensitive nature.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The first prince’s own words. No reason to doubt, unless he was scheming to fool even Han.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But this wastrel didn’t seem that clever.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Sensitive, huh?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yes, Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
How sensitive? Needed to dig deeper.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Hard to say… Eyes, ears, nose, tongue—everything was so sensitive, you didn’t know how to describe it.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
His words got murkier.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“You said clothes chafed with every move. Begging pardon, but… you often snapped at me just for being nearby.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Was I just picky, or how’d you know? Maybe I was messing with you.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Han shook his head quietly. “No, Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“How’re you so sure?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He bristled, indignant. “I’ve served you twenty-three years. How could I not know my master’s heart after so long?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The first prince is twenty-four this year.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
So Han’s known him since infancy.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He didn’t turn wastrel overnight, so Han’s had it rough.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No wonder he looks old.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Some… chronic illness?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Felt ominous saying it. That’d be a headache.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But Han shook his head. No illness, thankfully.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Instead, he added, “However…”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“What?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Begging pardon, but if someone called Your Highness unique, I’d have no counter. Yet how dare I pry into secrets you wished hidden? Or dig to sate my curiosity? So I don’t know details. Even the physicians don’t know your condition.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Top secret?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Only I knew?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“To my knowledge, one other knew.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Knew”? Past tense? Ominous.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No way…
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“…The deposed queen?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Han replied heavily, “Indeed, Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Of course, it’s a dead person.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The only two who knew this body’s secret are gone.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“No one else?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Begging pardon, I don’t know. Forgive me.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Damn it” was all I could say.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Fine. No more tea with this stuff.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yes, Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“From now on, tell me exactly what you’re serving.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“I will, Your Highness.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
I shook off the tangled thoughts.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
If there was a reason for taking Jongmeoki, stopping might reveal it.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Time would sort the rest.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The next day, I called Yu Geung to loosen my stiff body and pretended to scour the palace archives for the crow’s identity.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The crow shivered all day, scared I’d win our bet.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
It was funny, so I tossed out that crow meat might taste good.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Two days later, another letter came from grandfather.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Not from him—someone else wanted to meet me.
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