“I’ll leave the castle in two days.”
One of my eunuchs had said that my schedule was more important than him and that I could leave immediately, but that was just stubbornness.
What sense did it make to ride to Wolhanseong with an injured eunuch?
Several days had passed like that. But time was growing tight. The eunuch’s injuries were healing, and he seemed recovered enough to move without issue. It was time to leave.
Even if I insisted on staying longer, I wouldn’t be able to rest comfortably with Jungnangjang Heo and the others around.
Upon hearing my announcement, the Lord of Namakseong’s eyes widened.
Finally, the mad prince was leaving Namakseong. It was news he should have rejoiced over. He had longed for the prince to leave the castle.
But he couldn’t be entirely happy.
Thud.
The Lord of Namakseong slammed his fist on the table, rattling the items on it.
“Damn it.”
His trembling fist rested on the table.
Only two days remained until the mad prince’s departure. Time was short. He had to make a decision.
Never in his life had he faced such a headache. There seemed no way out.
“Jongmeoki Flower… Of all things…”
The crime itself was a massive problem.
Now that things had come to this, the best future he could hope for was to escape this incident unscathed. Any hint of involvement would bring unavoidable ruin.
To avoid suspicion, he had no choice but to obey the prince’s orders.
He had already said as much: that he would faithfully follow the prince’s commands.
Though it was the prince’s entourage who apprehended Jongsangye, it was his duty as the lord to see the matter through.
He had to personally detain Jongsangye, the contact for Duke Mungong, and send him to the capital with his own men. It was tantamount to signing a death warrant for his relationship with Duke Mungong.
One of the Lord of Namakseong’s strengths was knowing his place. He didn’t believe Duke Mungong valued him more than Jongsangye. To Duke Mungong, he was merely a partner in an unfinished deal. In contrast, the bond between Jongsangye and Duke Mungong was stronger than what he had.
The Lord thought to himself: What I can offer, someone else could provide just as well. The process of acquiring the seer involved no effort on his part. It wasn’t hard-won, so it wasn’t precious.
He believed others could easily offer a seer to Duke Mungong, just as he could.
So, their deal wasn’t anything special. Duke Mungong would surely see it that way.
And that wasn’t all. If he sent Jongsangye to the capital as ordered, word would reach Duke Mungong. The duke wouldn’t look kindly on him. The trust he had painstakingly built would crumble in a single morning.
“Grand Prince Ikwon.”
It was all because of that mad prince. Why did he show up at this castle at this time, and why did he have to find Jongsangye at that dawn?
The burden and despair weighed heavily, pressing his head down. The Lord of Namakseong lowered his head powerlessly, his face shadowed with exhaustion.
“Grand Prince Ikwon…”
Grand Prince Ikwon, Ye-kyeong.
A tragic prince who lost his mother before reaching adulthood, left alone.
A notorious rogue whose vile temper and recklessness were known even in remote villages.
A wastrel even his father, the king, had given up on.
A hopeless case, impossible to redeem.
A palace outcast with no followers.
…The prince.
Yet, despite all this, he remained a prince.
The blood flowing beneath his pale skin was that of the royal lineage’s heroes, and his refined features, unchanged by his temperament, could easily win the favor of thousands with a single gesture of kindness.
Having observed Grand Prince Ikwon up close in the castle, the Lord knew that, while the rumors of his madness weren’t false, he was neither foolish nor dim-witted.
Even if King Bonhyeon had ordered a northern expedition to disown his son, if Ikwon were truly foolish, a simpler method would have been chosen. There were surely easier ways to cast out a foolish child.
Cold sweat began to trickle down the Lord’s wrinkled neck.
Clearly, two ropes lay before him.
A shiny golden rope and a worn, tattered one.
But the precious golden rope was about to vanish.
Yet he wanted to climb.
If not now, he might never have another chance.
The Lord raised his head.
He shouted toward the door, “Is anyone there?”
His voice echoed loudly. Not only those in the corridor but perhaps the entire manor could hear his bellow.
A servant outside hurried to respond, “Yes, master.”
Even after calling the servant, the Lord hesitated. He knew his words, once spoken, couldn’t be taken back.
He had forgotten that for a while.
“…Call the girl.”
“Miss Yeohwa? Yes, master.”
The sound of the servant’s footsteps faded as they left. Alone again, the Lord sank back into thought.
Was this the right thing to do?
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t shake the judgment that Grand Prince Ikwon was a rotten rope. But who knows? Unexpected things always happened. That’s why he kept Yeohwa close, despite being unable to predict the future.
He hadn’t foreseen the misfortune brought by meeting the mad prince, just as he couldn’t know what kind of figure Ikwon might become.
“No, I think I know…”
No matter how generously he evaluated him, public perception wouldn’t change easily. He was just a lord of Namakseong. In his position, trying to change the rumors about the mad prince would yield little result. It wouldn’t bring meaningful gains.
Moreover, Ikwon had no faction. Who would follow a mad prince?
Who would want to follow a fallen outcast with no visible future?
In the context of the throne, Ikwon was in competition with his younger brother, Grand Prince Jean. But could that be called true competition? Ikwon and Jean weren’t even on the same level to compete for anything.
Seizing the throne? What a joke. The Lord let out a derisive snort. Ikwon had no weapons, while Jean had countless. And around Jean were renowned figures, each one exceptional.
Even if the late Deposed Queen So were alive, it would have been a hopeless contest. And in this situation, even Ikwon’s only blood relative, Generalissimo So, had turned his back on him.
How many would dare risk their necks for such a cause? Unfortunately, the Lord’s courage wasn’t bold enough to handle such a risk. His ambitions were grand, but his nerve was small.
After agonizing for a while, he heard footsteps approaching. Then, a familiar voice spoke.
“Father, it is I, Gaeyeohwa.”
Her voice was as clear and calm as ever, sounding like rain on a canopy.
“Oh, yes.”
The Lord rose from his chair and hurriedly walked to the door, even opening it himself—an action he’d never have taken normally. It was proof of his desperate situation.
“Come in, quickly.”
Surprised by his excessive hospitality, Gaeyeohwa hesitated but stepped inside without comment.
“How’s your health?”
Gaeyeohwa gave a faint smile. “Thanks to your care, Father, I am well.”
“Is that so?”
She could sense his anxiety. He wasn’t someone she’d known for just a day or two.
She was both his strength and his weakness. She had long realized how much he relied on her.
The constant violence and daily verbal abuse were unpleasant, but they didn’t mean she was worthless.
Thus, she was rarely granted moments to see his true nature.
Someone he could mistreat and hurt without consequence, an obvious subordinate. He sought her advice while believing she had no desire to betray him or seek freedom.
A thoroughly useful tool. That’s how he saw Gaeyeohwa, revealing his true self only in her presence.
One of his mistakes was letting her see that side of him.
To someone who hated him.
Staring into his anxious eyes, Gaeyeohwa smiled faintly.
It would be a lie to say she felt no sadistic pleasure.
Trembling with anxiety, the Lord asked, “Can you foresee what will happen to me?”
Gaeyeohwa remained silent.
Inside, she was jubilant.
She had waited for this day, this very moment. The chance to leave this wretched castle was all she had dreamed of.
She had lived yearning for it desperately. She hadn’t even dreamed of it, so convinced was she that such a chance wouldn’t come in reality. She prided herself on knowing the gap between dreams and reality better than anyone.
But this wasn’t a dream.
The Lord pressed her. “Why don’t you answer? Can you see it or not? I’m asking you!”
“I can see, Father.”
His expression brightened slightly. Gaeyeohwa closed her eyes.
Even with her eyes closed, she could feel his anxiety. She didn’t know exactly what he was planning, but she knew he wanted to rise higher. She also knew how painful it was to have a lifelong goal shattered. If she could never leave Namakseong, she’d suffer the same agony.
But Gaeyeohwa didn’t foresee anything. She merely closed her eyes. The Lord wouldn’t know what she was doing anyway. He didn’t suspect for a moment that she would lie. It was laughable.
After a moment, Gaeyeohwa opened her eyes.
The Lord immediately pressed, “What did you see?”
She lied.
It was the first lie she’d told since entering Namakseong. A sense of liberation washed over her.
“I saw you, Father, collapsing in despair.”
At those words, the Lord steeled his heart.
And two days later, the mad prince finally left Namakseong.