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Chapter: 69

The blanket Gon was hiding under twitched. What in the world had happened? It wasn\'t explaining anything properly and just kept trembling, so there was nothing I could do.

I craned my neck out the window and looked around, but there was nothing noticeable. If anyone had approached this pavilion, I would have heard something from the Wolhan Fortress soldiers standing guard.

Maybe a hawk or something attacked it? What was a crow\'s natural enemy again?

I scratched the back of my head while standing by the window and turned around.

"Alright, I\'ll go outside and look around. Stay here."

"...Do that."

A sluggish reply came back. I immediately left the room.

Outside, I saw the soldiers standing guard. One was dozing off with a spear in his hand, and when his comrade next to him nudged him after spotting me first, he hurriedly raised his head.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Clicking my tongue, I circled the pavilion.

When I returned to my original spot after circling the pavilion, I saw a person in a white robe walking towards me from afar.

I glanced at the soldiers, but they didn\'t react at all. They must have seen the white robe too.

Was I the only one who could see it?

Was it a ghost?

"...It\'s not."

As the person in white approached, the soldiers greeted them.

It was a woman, and she also seemed to belong to the Wolhan Fortress. There was no need to be overly wary, but still, she was wandering around at night. What a strange person.

"Did you see a black bird fly by here?"

The person in white asked the soldiers. It was quiet at night, so I could hear what she was saying without having to strain my ears. Upon hearing those words, I was certain. It was her. I stepped forward.

As I approached, the person in white looked straight at me.

And then she suddenly frowned.

...What was with that look? I hadn\'t even said anything yet.

I felt perplexed, but I spoke calmly.

"You seem to be looking for my crow."

"Who are you?"

I was the one who should be asking that.

Perplexity turned into bewilderment. I frowned and said, "Do you not know me?"

The person in white then turned to the soldiers and asked, "Do you know him?"

"Y-yes..."

The soldiers answered hesitantly, glancing at me. I scoffed.

Seeing the soldiers flustered meant she wasn\'t just an ordinary person.

"Ha."

But even so, she couldn\'t be higher in rank than the Wolhan Fortress Lord. Even he bowed to me respectfully...

Anyway, why didn\'t she know me if she wasn\'t an ordinary person?

"I am Prince Ikwon. Who are you to be wandering around my quarters at this hour?"

The person in white stared at me with wide eyes. Her expression seemed both foolish and naive.

Then, after a long pause, she blurted out, "What is this situation... "

The person in white rubbed her nose.

"There\'s a strange smell. Strange. Really strange."

What was she muttering about? It was absurd to say I smelled. I had washed twice today.

With a grimace, she asked, "Are you really... His Highness the Prince?"

Instead of answering, I raised an eyebrow.

"Ah. That\'s not it. What was it? Um, so."

She seemed to have a habit of muttering to herself. The woman in white mumbled to herself for a while, then raised her head as if she had remembered something.

"Are you His Highness the Prince? Truly?"

She didn\'t even know I had arrived. And she didn\'t believe I was the prince. What kind of person was she?

"If you wish, I can have the Fortress Leader confirm it for you."

The nearby soldiers were watching us cautiously.

The woman in white said, "Then I\'ll be scolded."

"Not by me."

Was the Wolhan Fortress Lord above me even here? It was hard to get used to the customs of these people.

Anyway, why had she come to my quarters in the middle of the night?

Since Gon had been terrified, I was bothered by the fact that she had even approached the pavilion. Perhaps I was on edge because of the incident with Son Gye-du.

Anyway, why was she here? I wouldn\'t accept a stroll as an excuse.

The woman in white hesitated and said, "I haven\'t heard that His Highness the Prince was staying here... Anyway, I apologize. Oh, no. I beg your pardon?"

Was she just slow-witted?

If I had revealed my identity first, she should have done the same and introduced herself, but seeing her stand there silently, I thought she might be a bit dim.

"What is your name and affiliation?"

"Ah, I am... No. My name is Son Cheon-ho, and my courtesy name is Do-ol. I am directly under the Fortress Lord, so I have no other affiliation."

Directly under the Fortress Lord?

I looked at her with suspicion, then suddenly remembered Chaos.

He didn\'t seem to have a specific affiliation either.

"So, it\'s like you have the same affiliation as Chaos?"

"That is correct."

So that\'s how it was.

But I didn\'t understand why these people always appeared out of nowhere at night for their first meeting.

Couldn\'t they be a bit more normal?

"Even so, wandering around my quarters at this late hour doesn\'t look good. I\'ll have to tell the Fortress Lord tomorrow."

"Oh, that."

Do-ol opened her mouth in surprise and abruptly stopped talking. Then, after a moment, she said, "Could you please... overlook it just this once?"

It seemed the Wolhan Fortress Lord was quite strict with his subordinates.Otherwise, there was no reason for someone who didn\'t even know the prince was here to be so terrified of him being informed.

"If you explain why you\'re here at this hour, I might consider it."

"Ah- that is, I was chasing a bird, and it flew this way, so I followed it and ended up here."

I already knew that.

"A bird? Why were you chasing a bird?"

"There\'s no particular reason... If I had to say, it was out of curiosity? I saw a bird that seemed to understand human speech."

Do-ol scratched her face and added, "I thought it might be a young demonic beast... Yes, that was it."

"I believe it was probably the bird I have with me."

Do-ol froze.

I narrowed my eyes and said, "You injured what\'s mine."

Do-ol shifted her eyes, seemingly searching for an excuse.

"I\'ll remember this debt."

Or I could charge it to the Wolhan Fortress Lord.

It was a spiritual creature, after all. If she injured it, she would have to pay the price.

I returned to my quarters, leaving behind Do-ol, who looked as if she had heard terrible news.

* * *

Dawn broke. Son Gye-du dismissed the servant who had helped him dress and was alone in the room. But that was only for a moment, as he soon heard footsteps outside.

"Elder. May I come in?"

"Enter."

The subordinate who carefully opened the door and entered had his eyes gleaming with curiosity. He knew that Son Gye-du had made a request to the wastrel prince last night.

"You seem unable to bear your curiosity about the conversation."

The subordinate smiled awkwardly and replied, "Indeed, I am."

"How can you achieve anything when you can\'t even hide your inner thoughts? You\'re not going to amount to much."

Son Gye-du chuckled softly. His laughter sounded quite benevolent. However, he was always far from the kind of person who was called benevolent. Knowing this, the smile disappeared from the subordinate\'s face, and a faint hint of tension appeared.

Son Gye-du turned his back to the subordinate and clasped his hands behind him.

"Well... he didn\'t seem opposed. How long will we serve the cunning descendants of the Ye Clan as our masters? Are we dogs on a leash?"

"No, we are not."

"We are a race closer to untamed wolves. Yes, it\'s time to reclaim our rightful place."

It was an ambition that any descendant of an old noble family would dream of.

An independent nation.

It was also the long-held desire of the boy Son Gye-du, who once believed without a doubt that he would become the leader of the Wolhan Fortress.

His ancestors, who had settled in this cold land long ago, always coveted the richness of the south. They had attempted to advance south many times. However, they failed to achieve their goal and were eventually blocked by the Ye Clan. As a price for not being able to celebrate their victory as conquerors, they were forever trapped in this harsh land.

The price for protecting this harsh land in their name was to wear a collar and bow their heads at the feet of the Ye royal family.

The resentment that had accumulated since then was not insignificant.

He remembered the moment he first glimpsed his ancestor\'s resentment. It was Son Gye-du\'s duty to resolve that chilling resentment. It was a destiny bestowed by heaven and one he had to carve out himself.

For him, serving the moderate Son Cheon-Geum as the leader of the Wolhan Fortress was like a wild beast grazing on grass.

A beast that must take the flesh and blood of others cannot survive by grazing on grass. It was agonizing. Was the meaning of life merely to prolong it? That was nothing more than extending a meaningless existence.

"Father always said, \'This land is cold, and survival requires heat. Heat comes from fire. And what is fire? Fire is burning. Then shouldn\'t I burn something too? That is my reason for living. It is also the reason why Wolhan Fortress has existed for so long. What is your reason?\'"

"It is the same as yours, Elder."

He lived as Son Gye-du\'s subordinate because he admired his ambition. Son Gye-du nodded in satisfaction at his subordinate\'s answer.

"Tomorrow is the day that Son Cheon-Geum, that fool, will be away."

"Yes, that is correct."

"Have you prepared everything I instructed you to do without any mistakes?"

"Of course."

Son Gye-du\'s subordinate swallowed hard. Although he followed Son Gye-du and supported his cause, the rightful Lord of the Fortress was still Son Cheon-Geum.

And what Son Gye-du had ordered him to do was to open the north gate tomorrow, while the Fortress Lord was away, and lure the demonic beasts into the city. If things went according to plan, someone would have to take responsibility. And Son Cheon-Geum was the kind of fool who would take the blame himself instead of cutting off someone\'s head.

Furthermore, if the wastrel prince were to be harmed, the plan would become even more perfect.

"It would be perfect if we could add the royal court\'s intervention."

What kind of message would come from the royal court depended on the wastrel prince. He had been entrusted with writing the letter to be sent to the capital.

Son Gye-du clicked his tongue in regret. It would be nice if just one more thing was certain.

"...That wastrel needs to listen to me."