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Chapter 9

Maternal grandfather. Supreme Commander So Ik-Gyeom.

Just hearing that, how could I possibly grasp who he was or what kind of person he was?

"He\'s a strict person," Eunuch Han muttered quietly. He probably thought I\'d be curious since I had lost my memories.

And he was right.

As a eunuch, he was perceptive.

"Strict with me?"

"He\'s strict with everyone. I once saw General So scolding someone, and my heart sank."

"That\'s nonsense. Eunuch Han, you\'re a eunuch, so of course you\'d be scared when someone who carries a sword shouts. And he wouldn\'t do that to His Majesty, so how can he be strict? You\'re exaggerating."

Eunuch Han said with a gloomy expression.

"His Majesty is the King of this country, so of course that\'s true. But I wasn\'t lying about his personality. It\'s true. General So was always strict with the deposed Queen, and even though he often visits the palace, he rarely came to see the Queen or Your Highness."

Was he someone uninterested in power?

Eunuch Han glanced at me and then quietly apologized.

"I apologize."

Perhaps he was sorry for speaking ill of my blood relative. But I didn\'t feel anything.

I nodded absentmindedly and turned my head. I was waiting for General So.

Should I call him "Grandfather" in case I make a slip of the tongue? It\'s a strange life where I have a maternal grandfather before even having parents.

I haven\'t even lived that long, yet why is my life so tumultuous?

Just then, I heard footsteps outside.

"Your Highness, it\'s Supreme Commander So Ik-Gyeom."

As soon as I heard the footsteps, I quickly looked towards the door.

"He\'s here."

"Yes, he has arrived."

Eunuch Han whispered.

"Shall I open the door?"

I nodded, and Eunuch Han went to open the door.

"I greet His Highness, the Grand Prince Ikwon."

The first thing I noticed were his cold eyes.

My grandfather bowed his head briefly. It was a gesture that could be seen as perfunctory, but he was my grandfather, so what did it matter?

His natural demeanor suggested that this was how he usually acted.

His strict personality wasn\'t readily apparent on his face.

As a general, his face, weathered by the sun, wasn\'t gentle, but it wasn\'t harsh either. He was a handsome man despite his age.

If I had to pick something decent about the First Prince, it was his facial features. Now I could see at a glance where this superficially attractive face came from.

What I didn\'t expect was that my grandfather was carrying a bundle that looked like a gift. He had no servants with him.

Shouldn\'t a Supreme Commander have at least one servant to carry his things? Was he moving alone to avoid unnecessary suspicion?

Well, it would be strange for him to flaunt his status after his daughter, the Queen, was deposed and died.

"Ahem."

Anyway, that wasn\'t the important thing.

"Please, have a seat."

I gestured towards an empty chair, and my grandfather nodded once and sat down.

Then he spoke to Eunuch Han.

"Could I trouble you for some tea and snacks?"

"Yes, General."

Eunuch Han immediately left the room.

It was unlikely that he actually wanted tea. It probably meant he had something to discuss with me in private.

Or maybe not. The palace snacks were genuinely delicious, so maybe he wanted to raid the pantry while he was here.

It\'s a reasonable suspicion.

"Let\'s get straight to the point."

Only after Eunuch Han left and there was no sound from outside did my grandfather begin the main topic.

"I heard you\'ve agreed to a duel with Prince Jaean\'s bodyguard. A public duel."

Instead of answering right away, I looked directly into my grandfather\'s wrinkled eyes.

They held disappointment.

It was the gaze of someone who didn\'t welcome me.

My grandfather continued speaking instead of me, his tone very calm.

"Is it true?"

It felt like I was being scolded even though I hadn\'t done anything wrong.

There was no reason I couldn\'t answer.

"Yes, it\'s true."

"I heard you reported this to His Majesty."

"If my grandfather outside the palace heard about it and came to see me, it must be widespread within the palace. It will be quite an entertaining spectacle for the bored courtiers."

It was meant to be a joke.

But it seemed my grandfather wasn\'t in the mood for jokes.

Judging by his heavy tone of voice.

"Yes."

My grandfather frowned.

"You\'re well aware."

The wrinkles around his eyes twitched.

"Knowing that, you still did it. Did you have to do it? Is honor a game to you? Do you have anything left to throw away?"

This was definitely an angry tone.

Why am I getting scolded here?

I laughed awkwardly.

"This foolish grandson hasn\'t done anything terribly wrong, yet you\'re being too harsh."

My grandfather pondered my words.

"Grave mistakes."

He didn\'t even sneer.

I had a bad feeling. My grandfather seemed even angrier than I had thought.

"Do you think what you\'ve done is a small matter?"

His voice was getting louder, confirming my suspicion.

"Do you think it\'s a small matter for a prince to become a laughingstock among the common people?"

I knew that too. How else would the reputation of the First Prince as a notorious troublemaker reach all the way to Seopyung?

It meant that the gossip was flowing along every path from the capital to Seopyung.

"The people of the capital call you a troublemaker! Is it right for the royal family\'s dignity to be tarnished like this?! Is everything so trivial to you?! How can you so easily discard and abandon things without a care?! The palace staff mocks you behind your back, and the officials gossip about you to Jaehandaegun. His Majesty, His Majesty...!"

My grandfather\'s face turned red and blue.

There was resentment in his eyes as he looked at me.

He couldn\'t continue and covered his eyes with his hand. After a long while, he spoke.

"You\'re as hopeless as your mother."

Now there was regret in his eyes.

This is absurd.

That was my impression as I witnessed the anger of this unfamiliar old man right in front of me.

"Calm down, please."

I was worried he might faint from high blood pressure.

"What about His Majesty? What can he do?"

Actually, I wasn\'t ignorant. I wasn\'t illiterate.

"Are you saying that because of the Crown Prince appointment?"

"Don\'t mention that matter so lightly. The palace has ears and eyes even on the walls."

My grandfather didn\'t seem to have calmed down much, but he didn\'t raise his voice.

I said, "So?"

My grandfather let out a deep sigh.

"You\'re truly carefree. Will you just let yourself be humiliated like this?"

"Why would I be humiliated, Grandfather?"

My grandfather\'s gaze drifted away from me. I wondered where he was looking, and then I saw his eyes were fixed on the wooden sword hanging on the wall.

"I\'m not good at investigations, so I can only speak in this manner. Please forgive me."

"I\'ll listen first."

"Your Highness\'s swordsmanship skills are lacking."

Another sigh.

"This is a fact known to all."

"Oh, really? Have you ever seen me in action?"

"Do you think I wouldn\'t know Your Highness\'s swordskills? Everyone knows that the deposed Queen\'s sword is in Jaehandaegun\'s possession."

I felt wronged but had no words to refute him.

"Ha, alright. That\'s fine."

"There\'s nothing fine about it."

"No, what I mean is... I can show you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I... well, whatever, the situation you\'re imagining won\'t happen. Yes."

My grandfather frowned again.

"Your Highness."

"Yes."

"The situation I\'m imagining is that you will be humiliated in front of the palace staff and officials. His Majesty, who attended the morning assembly yesterday, mentioned Your Highness\'s duel. Thanks to that, all the officials who were present at the assembly yesterday learned that you have agreed to a duel with Jaehandaegun\'s bodyguard. How can this not be considered humiliating?"

"...Is that so?"

"I haven\'t spoken a single lie."

So no one told me because I\'m a troublemaker.

Then the ministers at the military headquarters might have known about it...

No wonder they were glancing at me. It wasn\'t just because I was a troublemaker.

"I cannot stand idly by and watch Your Highness be humiliated."

Oh.

I thought he was a strict grandfather, but was he actually worried about his grandson?

"This is a disgrace to the So family and tarnishes the honor of the royal family."

Nope, I guess not.

"Even a single word is worth a thousand gold pieces. How can spilled water be gathered, and how can words already spoken be taken back?"

My grandfather continued in a lamenting tone.

"Although what’s done cannot be undone, I believe the humiliation you may suffer can be lessened. That is why I came to the palace to see Your Highness."

"Ah, so you\'re saying you\'ll teach me something."

"Indeed."

Come to think of it, I seemed to recall hearing that the First Prince\'s original swordsmanship teacher was Supreme Commander So, my maternal grandfather.

"But there\'s not much time."

There was no set date yet.

"Let me correct myself. There probably won\'t be much time. Why would they drag out something like this?"

"It seems Your Highness has forgotten something."

"What have I forgotten?"

"Yes."

My grandfather\'s expression once again turned scornful towards me.

At least the intensity in his eyes had lessened a bit.

"Have you forgotten that His Majesty\'s birthday is approaching?"

It was a shocking statement.

"Are you saying His Majesty will have me participate in the birthday celebration?"

Thankfully, my grandfather shook his head.

"That\'s impossible. Your Highness\'s defeat would tarnish the royal family\'s honor. That\'s not what His Majesty desires."

"Oh, that\'s a relief. You startled me."

"However, there are people from outside the palace currently present."

My grandfather glared at me fiercely.

"Do you think they won\'t be interested in Your Highness\'s duel?"

"I don\'t think so. How often do you get to see such an entertaining event? Haha."

"Don\'t speak as if it\'s someone else\'s affair."

I put on a nonchalant act.

"But Grandfather, I truly don\'t know humiliation. There\'s no reason for me to be humiliated."

But my grandfather didn\'t seem convinced at all.

"You don\'t believe me. You look like you don\'t believe me. Alright, fine. I can show you right now."

"Show me what?"

"I\'ll show you that I\'m not a good-for-nothing."

My grandfather furrowed his brows deeply.

Ah, I misspoke.

"Pardon?"

"I, uh, well... Anyway, I\'ll show you. Seeing is believing, right?"

"How, what will you show me?"

I stood up from my chair and said,

"A duel, is that alright with you?"