Since I lied about losing my memory, I had no qualms.
And Eunuch Han, true to being my closest aide, seemed to know why the first prince was sprawled on the street.
“How could I, a lowly servant, dare presume or speak of Your Highness’s affairs?”
Han said this, but his voice carried a resigned tone.
“An overstepping matter.”
Well, isn’t the real fool the butcher who hijacked a prince’s body out of nowhere?
“Han.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I meant it when I said I don’t remember.”
Now that I think about it, that Founder—if he was going to stick me in a prince’s body, couldn’t he have thrown in some memories too? At least some backstory.
Guess high and mighty folks aren’t big on finesse. Or maybe he’s just that clueless.
Is that why, with all his power to raise the dead, he was stuck there?
They say you make your own fate.
Tch, tch.
“So, here’s the thing… I don’t even remember what kind of person you were, Han.”
Han glanced up.
The moment our eyes met, I asked, “Tell me, Han, were you loyal to me?”
Wiping the smirk off my face, Han dropped to his knees and bowed deeply.
“My loyalty is solely to Your Highness! I beg you, retract your words!”
Whoa.
I wasn’t that surprised.
“Get up. You think I want you groveling?”
Out of nowhere, I scratched my ear.
The ringing’s getting annoying.
“I humbly submit, the bond between Your Highness and Grand Prince Je-an is unlike that of typical brothers.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
If we were close, the second prince wouldn’t have chopped my head off so quick.
“Do you recall how Grand Prince Je-an’s guard-inspector was grossly disrespectful to Your Highness?”
“Don’t remember… Was he?”
This ringing’s subtly grating, all day long.
Oh, the ear thing, I mean.
“Damn bastards, the lot of them.”
“Grand Prince Je-an has but one inspector.”
“I meant both that inspector bastard and our dear brother.”
“Oh, yes.”
I stood, kicking away the crude sketch I’d drawn on the ground.
“Anyway, so this inspector beat me like a dog and left me in this state?”
“Well…”
“I don’t know what shape I was in when it happened, but if I may add, Your Highness, seeing as your sword is gone… perhaps it was a duel…”
“Sword? A duel?”
Sword.
I reflexively patted my waist, but nothing was there. Realizing my empty belt, I felt a pang of absence.
“Oh? So I knew some swordplay, huh?”
“Indeed, Your Highness.”
“Learned in the palace, so it’s not some half-baked skill, right?”
“Well…”
Han fell silent.
This me—well, not the real me, but the body I’m stuck in—silent as an answer? His skill must’ve been pathetic.
Shocking.
“You sure, Han? I challenged Je-an’s inspector to a duel?”
“How could I presume to know Your Highness’s decisions? But reflecting on past events, I humbly believe so.”
“Past events?”
“Last winter… in your cups, you challenged Grand Prince Je-an to a duel and a wager, lost, and forfeited your sword.”
What did I just hear?
Lost? Forfeited what?
“You saw this yourself?”
“Yes, I witnessed it clearly with my own eyes.”
I’m floored.
“So, I lost two?”
Han answered glumly, “Indeed, Your Highness.”
What a complete idiot.
And that idiot’s now me. What a tragedy.
“Was it valuable?”
Han replied, “In coin, its worth is hard to measure, but… what weighs on me more is that the sword was the deposed queen’s heirloom.”
The deposed queen’s heirloom?
So this fool prince handed his mother’s keepsake to the second prince. For such a ridiculous reason.
To think he could sleep soundly after that—it’s impressive, in a grim way.
Some of us never even knew their mother’s face.
“The first one? Or the second?”
“It’s happened more times than I can count on my fingers, but… to answer, the former.”
Goddamn.
“Han.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Did I never try to take it back? Even a moron wouldn’t let that slide, right?”
Han looked troubled.
Was he that pathetic?
This is serious.
“Please, Han, be honest.”
“I shall always speak only truth to Your Highness.”
Han bowed again. I looked down at his cap and said, “Honestly, you probably thought I was pathetic, didn’t you?”
Han flinched.
“No, Your Highness!”
Loud, but not exactly convincing.
Han lifted his head again.
As I stared him down, his dark eyes slid away, dodging me.
Daring to evade me?
“…Well, maybe a little.”
Then he shut his eyes tight.
“Knew it.”
“B-but, I…!”
“Enough, Han.”
Even my closest aide thought that low of this useless prince.
If I’d heard this secondhand, it might’ve been amusing.
“Answer my next question just as honestly.”
I figured this foolish prince must’ve had some secret.
“Was I hiding anything?”
“P-pardon?”
If he didn’t, I can’t believe such a guy was a prince of the realm.
Kidding aside, there’s a better reason.
Unless King Bonhyeon lost his mind before he died, he wouldn’t have entrusted the kingdom to a wastrel.
Right? Got to be.
“Like, did I do anything others wouldn’t?”
Han looked clueless, his face blank.
“Nothing?”
“I don’t quite understand what you mean…”
Does he really not know?
Suddenly, a drum signaled the hour. Han jumped, startled.
“Your Highness, I beg pardon, but it’s time to pay respects to His Majesty.”
Why King Bonhyeon named the first prince heir on his deathbed, I’ll figure out later…
First, I’ve got immediate business.
Proving I’m not a screw-up.
Showing this wastrel was actually fit to be heir.
I nodded.
“Alright.”
But isn’t this first task a bit too steep?
Whether it was luck or misfortune not to run into anyone on the way to the king’s chambers…
Meeting the second prince as my first royal encounter wasn’t ideal.
“…Hey.”
Not sure how to greet him. We’re probably not close.
At my half-hearted greeting, Han looked ready to faint, but that’s not my problem.
“You’ve come, brother.”
Surprisingly, I got a polite greeting. But positive? Hardly.
His face was like a gatekeeper spotting a drunk naked fool outside a lady’s chamber.
Still, he’s…
“Ugly.”
The second prince’s face hardened fast.
I’d figured since the first prince was decent-looking, his half-brother would be too, but they don’t share much resemblance.
“Oh?”
“You heard me.”
I glanced around the chamber and took my place. Kneeling’s not my thing, but it’s the setting, so what can I do?
“Is something amiss?”
Definitely a different breed from a backwater, unpolished swordsman like me. Even after I mouthed off, he responded with stiff propriety.
But asking if something’s wrong? That’s his line.
I got curious about what kind of guy the second prince is.
“Good you brought it up, brother. Getting thrashed by your inspector last night hurt so bad I couldn’t sleep.”
He got serious.
“If it’s about that, you said it was settled then and there.”
I craned my neck like a turtle. “Did I?”
As I leaned in, he pulled his head back.
“How could someone as spirited as you say such a thing?”
“Spirited? A scrawny shrimp like me? There’s no one else like this in the world.”
He suddenly shot a look at Han.
“Why aren’t you attending your master properly?”
Am I being treated like a lunatic?
Han started, bowing low. “M-my apologies!”
Hey, don’t let the blame splash on him.
“Why scold our Han, brother?”
“He failed his duty, naturally.”
I shook my head.
“Look, Han did his best. Dragging me, half-dead from the street to my quarters, his knees must be shot. Don’t be too hard on our poor Han.”
The second prince replied flatly, “Is that so?”
“Just kidding. You think I’d drag around a servant with busted joints?”
I let out a hearty laugh; he frowned.
“To jest so, you must be in high spirits today.”
“Jest? You think?”
I slung my arm around his shoulder. He sneered and swatted it off.
What’s this?
Anyway, here’s my point.
“If I could learn a thing or two from your inspector, my mood’d be even better.”
As I draped my arm back over him, his voice rose.
“Inspector Wu? He’s not skilled enough to teach you.”
“Oh?”
Not just better than me to teach me something. A wise man can learn even from a child. But you can’t always find lessons anywhere, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“The right place, the right people, yeah? Balance, harmony, that sort of thing. Timing matters.”
Even I thought it was nonsense, but it seemed passable enough to play along with.
I expected to be ignored, but he bit.
“You mean Inspector Wu needs the right time and place?”
“Exactly. When do you think that’d be?”
He answered, annoyed, “How would I know?”
“I’ve got a guess. The perfect time.”
I grinned.
“Like a duel. Sooner the better.”
“I fear Wu’s meager skill might disgrace you further.”
Oh?
One more push, and he might bite, I thought, when a eunuch shouted from beyond the chamber door:
“His Majesty arrives!”
And the door opens.