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Chapter: 75

Eulgeum, once a servant in the inner fortress, craned his neck out of the iron bars of the prison cell he was confined in.

Thud, thud.

He heard approaching footsteps. With each step closer, Eulgeum\'s shoulders slumped further.

Thud.

A shadow stopped in front of Eulgeum, who was curled up with his head buried in his knees.

It must be a soldier. Despite the weather not being particularly cold, Eulgeum shivered like someone who had been thrown out naked in the middle of winter.

"You scoundrel."

A familiar voice.

Eulgeum abruptly recognized the owner of the voice and raised his head.

"...E-Elder."

"Tsk."

Due to the moonlight slanting into the prison, the middle-aged man standing in front appeared only as a dark silhouette.

However, that was enough of a clue for Eulgeum to recognize him as one of the fortress elders he knew well.

It was Elder Son Gye-du.

"Elder...!"

Eulgeum had been tasked with this mission at Son Gye-du\'s behest.

Had he come to help, worried that something might happen to him? A small hope bloomed in Eulgeum\'s heart.

"Useless fool."

But the hope was fleeting. Eulgeum\'s face turned paler than the moonlight at Son Gye-du\'s following words.

"Tsk tsk. I expected too much from a worthless servant."

Fear was far more overwhelming than the anger of being insulted. Eulgeum reached out through the bars and grabbed Son Gye-du\'s leg.

"E-Elder, Elder, w-what will happen to me n-now?"

"You dare ask? The crime of trespassing into His Highness\'s quarters is not something you can repay even with your life."

Son Gye-du kicked at him, trying to shake Eulgeum off.

But Eulgeum clung to him persistently. It was a mystery where he found such strength and courage.

"T-This can\'t be happening. This shouldn\'t be happening...!"

"You show no remorse even after committing a crime."

The person in front of him was the one who had ordered him to do it. What was he talking about? Eulgeum\'s mind went blank.

"E-Elder..."

Eulgeum choked back tears and burst out in frustration.

"Y-You were the one who t-told me to find the b-bellflower in the Prince\'s room...! You said you would t-take care of me and my f-family if I did...!"

"You insolent wretch!"

Son Gye-du kicked again.

This time, Eulgeum couldn\'t withstand it. He was sent sprawling to the prison floor.

But he immediately got up and clung to Son Gye-du\'s pants again.

"How dare you spout such nonsense!"

"N-Nonsense, you say?! You were the one who told me to do it! Even if I\'m i-illiterate, I wouldn\'t f-forget something that happened just t-three days ago!"

His cries were mixed with sobs. He was overwhelmed with resentment.

Silence hung in the air. Son Gye-du glared at Eulgeum with his characteristically cold eyes, then slowly opened his mouth again.

"And you couldn\'t even do that properly and got caught."

Finally, he admitted the truth. Eulgeum felt a slight sense of relief at the thought that they could finally have a proper conversation.

"P-Please help me, Elder. If it weren\'t for your order, I would n-never, never have even gone near His Highness\'s room."

Son Gye-du raised an eyebrow as if annoyed.

"Why should I help you?"

"J-Just save me. I-I\'ll do a-anything, anything. Anything...!"

"Anything?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Hmm."

Only then did Son Gye-du seem to show interest. He clasped his hands behind his back and leaned forward, his nose almost touching the bars.

"Then open the north gate. If you do, I\'ll release you from prison immediately. If you just open the north gate, I promise your family will never go hungry again."

Eulgeum felt his heart sink at those words.

He was being used as a disposable pawn.

But there was no other choice. Son Gye-du turned his back without another word.

Son Gye-du\'s silk clothes slipped from Eulgeum\'s despairing grasp.

"I\'ll have the cell opened shortly. If you intend to comply, open the door and run straight to the north gate. I\'ll take care of the rest. Perhaps your brothers can escape the life of a servant like you. Studying isn\'t that difficult if you have food and books, is it?"

Those were his last words. Son Gye-du soon left the prison completely, disappearing as if he had never been there.

Left alone, Eulgeum was lost in thought for a long time. He crawled into a corner, curled up, and sniffled with resentment.

No matter how much he thought about it, his foolish mind, that of a mere servant, couldn\'t find a way out of this situation.

There was... no way.

Just as he reached that conclusion, someone appeared. All he could make out was that they were wearing a soldier\'s uniform.

The soldier dropped a key right in front of the bars within Eulgeum\'s reach and disappeared.

Eulgeum, who had been watching from the corner of the cell, crawled back to the bars.

\'I-Is there really no one there?\'

All day, even until a moment ago, Eulgeum had been under the watchful eyes of the Wolhan Fortress soldiers.

He had been trembling in fear of their sharp gazes and the spears and swords in their hands.

He was so timid that he couldn\'t even breathe properly, cowering from blades that weren\'t even aimed at him.

He would never have dreamed that he would end up imprisoned like this.

But now he could get out of this prison. It didn\'t mean freedom, but at least he could get out.

Eulgeum carefully lowered his head. He was so cautious, even though there was no noise from moving his head.

Clank-

In the darkness, as he stretched his hand forward a little, he felt cold metal.

He clenched his fist, and a thin piece of metal was caught between his fingers. It was the key.

\'Q-Quickly, before anyone comes.\'

He had to hurry. If someone came back before he could escape, it would be a disaster.

Perhaps because he was so tense and rushed, the key kept slipping through his fingers.

After several fumbles, he finally managed to insert the key into the keyhole.

Click-

The lock opened as he turned the key that fit perfectly. The sound of the lock opening seemed particularly loud in the silence.

Eulgeum flinched involuntarily and curled up, moving his eyes to look around. Fortunately, no one had come yet. Not yet.

\'Let\'s go. L-Let\'s go quickly. Quickly, before anyone comes...\'

Eulgeum forced his trembling legs to stand on the floor. Then he slowly pushed the cell door.

There was no way the prison bars were well-maintained. Inevitably, there was a noise.

Creak-

Eulgeum\'s back stiffened. Still, the door opened enough for him to slip through sideways.

Eulgeum squeezed himself out of the cell. And then he escaped from the prison.

Each step he took was filled with anxiety and fear.

Desperately suppressing the frantic pounding of his heart, Eulgeum recalled how he had come to escape from prison.

It had all started three days ago.

-You look unwell.

Elder Son Gye-du, Wiyeon District Lord, had said, stopping him while he was doing chores.

He wondered if the elder was trying to find fault with him and vent his frustration. If that was the case, there was no avoiding it.

Besides, he was actually worried, so he answered truthfully. It wasn\'t a big secret anyway.

-W-Well... there are troubles at home.

-Troubles?

Fortunately, it didn\'t seem like he was looking for an excuse to vent his anger.

-What kind of trouble? Tell me in detail.

-P-Pardon? Ah, yes...

Why was he asking about his family affairs?

Eulgeum had a hunch that it wasn\'t out of good intentions. Son Gye-du wasn\'t a kind elder to begin with. Nor was he an easy one to serve.

-Go on and tell me. Do you think I\'ll eat you alive?

-N-No, sir. It\'s just...

Eulgeum\'s worries were common and mundane.

He was the head of his household. He had to support his elderly mother, his younger siblings, and even his nephews, as his older brother had died in an accident.

Although his earnings were always insufficient, he hadn\'t been in a situation where they had to starve until recently.

However, since his mother fell ill, he had to earn three or four times as much to afford her medicine and feed his family.

Eulgeum told him this story. It was the first time he had confided in anyone about this.

As he spoke about the burden he had been carrying alone, it felt as if a greater weight was pressing down on his shoulders.

Son Gye-du listened quietly to Eulgeum\'s story and then nodded.

-Then I think I can help you.

Son Gye-du said he would take responsibility for the livelihood of Eulgeum\'s family. But there was a condition.

-If you do one errand for me.

At the word "errand," Eulgeum imagined he would be asked to travel a long distance or do hard labor, and he agreed to Son Gye-du\'s proposal.

But Eulgeum\'s expectations were wrong.

-Find the bellflower in the Prince\'s room.

That meant searching the Prince\'s room.

To Eulgeum, even Son Gye-du, an elder of the fortress, was a person of incredibly high status. And the Prince was even more so.

Eulgeum\'s face turned pale.

-H-How could I do such a thing...? B-Besides, I can\'t enter His Highness\'s room.

-I\'ll take care of it. That won\'t be a problem.

As Eulgeum showed signs of refusal, Son Gye-du played another card.

-It\'s not like I\'m the one in need... Fine. If you do this properly, I\'ll pay for your mother\'s medicine and send a skilled physician.

Eulgeum\'s eyes widened. He must have approached him after learning about his situation. But if he was going to take care of the medicine and even a physician...

Eulgeum closed his eyes tightly. If only he could bring himself to do this, his whole family could be happy.

But...

-W-Will... Will I be safe?

Even though he couldn\'t read a single letter, he knew what it meant to find the bellflower in the Prince\'s room and give it to Son Gye-du.

He didn\'t know why the Prince had the bellflower, but he had heard that he was a notorious scoundrel.

He stopped thinking about it, assuming there must be a reason.

Son Gye-du had laughed.

-Are you going to steal secrets or kill someone? Don\'t worry, you won\'t be beheaded for something like this.

...Right. It wasn\'t like he was harming anyone.

It was just stealing some medicinal herbs. What could go wrong?

No, he knew it was actually a big deal. But he had to tell himself it wasn\'t.

Eulgeum clasped his trembling hands together.

-T-Then...

-Will you do it?

-Y-Yes, Elder.

He shouldn\'t have done it.

\'I\'m sorry, everyone. It\'s all my fault for being foolish.\'

Eulgeum thought of his family back home and ran from the prison.

He ran without taking a proper breath until he reached the north wall, escaping from the prison, escaping from the inner fortress.