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Chapter: 29

Jo Jegeon was visibly flustered by my suggestion.

"How could I dare raise my blade against Your Highness?"

Jo Jegeon bowed his head.

"It\'s a difficult request. Please withdraw your words."

I tapped the hilt of the sword at my waist and asked, "Is it so difficult to let me see with my own eyes how skilled you are?"

"This humble one, Jo Jegeon, is the eldest son of the Oro Fortress Lord. How could someone like me dare to draw my blade in front of Your Highness? Unless it is to protect Your Highness, it is something that should not and cannot happen."

He seemed to want me to disappear from his sight.

"Is that a refusal?"

Jo Jegeon raised his head but didn\'t answer.

"It is a refusal."

I sighed.

"I\'m curious about your skills, but I\'m also curious about my own. No one spars with me properly, so I have no way of knowing if I\'m incompetent or not. Being a prince is difficult."

Jo Jegeon reluctantly said, "I apologize."

It seemed he wasn\'t going to agree easily.

I changed the subject somewhat abruptly.

"It\'s not often that I leave the palace and travel outside the capital like this. You know that too."

Every single person was valuable. But that didn\'t mean I was going to embrace every worthless person.

"Should I waste this precious, limited time on trivial matters? The same goes for you. When and where will you meet me again?"

There was an empty space about ten steps ahead. I walked towards it. Jo Jegeon silently followed me without a word.

"You can refuse."

Jo Jegeon was silent for a moment. But in the end, he grabbed the sword at his waist. I grinned and drew my sword.

"The first strike is mine, right?"

"As you wish."

I exhaled briefly and kicked off the ground. The moonlight reflected off the blade, and two swords clashed before my eyes. My palms tingled.

"I apologize,’ Jo Jegeon said softly. In the next moment, his sword swung fiercely towards me. He was aggressive as if he had forgotten he was holding a real sword.

"It\'s been a while."

I inhaled sharply again and rotated my sword. The tip of the blade aimed towards Jo Jegeon\'s neck. Jo Jegeon held his sword vertically and deflected my attack. The impact traveled through my arm, proving that the Oro Fortress Lord\'s boasts weren\'t empty.

Dozens of exchanges ensued. The silver blades sliced through the moonlight. Thanks to the bright moon, the scene before my eyes looked like white flames were erupting.

Sweat ran down my forehead. The moment sweat droplets rolled down my skin, Jo Jegeon\'s sword descended upon my raised blade.

A dull shock reverberated through my entire body.

The fact that I was standing in an empty lot in a corner of Oro Fortress was forgotten, and all I could see was the white blade flashing in the night.

The wind split before the blade, and dust brushed against my face. The two swords clashed and then separated.

The sword, approaching right in front of me, stirred up a heavy wind.

And then, in the very next moment, thud. With a barely audible sound, a drop of blood fell.

Clang, Jo Jegeon\'s sword fell to the ground.

"I-I apologize."

Jo Jegeon immediately knelt on the bare ground and bowed his head. I stood there blankly for a moment, then slowly lowered my sword and touched my face with my free hand.

"Ah."

At my sigh, Jo Jegeon\'s shoulders flinched as if in shock.

"Did I lose?"

I let out a sigh. Somehow, my face felt hot.

"I was just showing off and ended up embarrassing myself."

Was this the extent of my skills? Had I been living as a frog in a well in the Blood Cloud Fortress, so arrogant that I thought all the other frogs outside the well were as strong as me?

Of course not. It\'s because the First Prince\'s body is useless.

I couldn\'t say he was great because he lived a messy life, but apart from being skinny, he was decent.

If he had taken care of his body and shown some diligence, he would have been at least average. If he had been diligent, even if he lacked talent, who would dislike him? If he had lived a normal life, even his grandfather would have stepped up to support him.

He was a pathetic guy, to say the least.

It was thanks to me fixing things that Yoo Geung or Jo Jegeon even had to hold their own against me. If it had been the original him fighting, he would have been sprawled on the ground long ago.

"I apologize."

His voice sounded tense.

This kind of wound would heal with a bit of saliva. But Jo Jegeon didn\'t seem to think like me, as he kept his head down, staring at the ground.

"You."

"...Yes, Your Highness."

"I may have lost this time, but not next time."

Jo Jegeon raised his head at that.

"And don\'t look at me like I\'m a madman. Also, I didn\'t come out in the middle of the night looking for you, so don\'t read too much into it."

Jo Jegeon\'s face flushed red. It was noticeable even in the darkness of the night.

I wiped the blood from my face with the back of my hand and returned to my chambers.

* * *

It was dawn the next day.

It was still too early for the sun to rise, a time when one could be excused for staying in bed.

When I woke up and opened my eyes, the air felt unusually chilly. The fortress also seemed strangely noisy. A sense of unease washed over me, so I quickly got dressed and left my chambers.

Although I had left my chambers, the area where my entourage was staying was quiet. It wasn\'t something related to us. Something must have happened to the Fortress Lord\'s family.

The atmosphere outside was even heavier than what I had felt when I first woke up. Certain that something was wrong, I grabbed a passing servant and asked, "Something\'s happened, hasn\'t it?"

"That\'s..."

"Your Highness."

Before the servant could answer my question, Jo Jegeon appeared. It didn\'t seem like he was looking for me; he appeared to be heading somewhere. He was dressed differently than when we met last night. He was wearing a white sleeping robe, as if he had just woken up.

"My father..."

Jo Jegeon hesitated. I immediately realized what had happened.

"I\'ll go with you."

Jo Jegeon hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness."

I followed Jo Jegeon to the Fortress Lord\'s chambers. The Oro Fortress Lord, who had seemed healthy just yesterday, was lying in a room filled with the strong scent of incense, breathing shallowly.

As Jo Jegeon approached the bedside, the Oro Fortress Lord opened his eyes.

"Father."

The Oro Fortress Lord shifted his eyes and looked at me, standing a few steps away.

"First Prince..."

The Fortress Lord called me weakly, then scolded Jo Jegeon.

"You rascal, this is not something significant enough to inform His Highness..."

"Don\'t scold him. I couldn\'t sleep, so I came out and happened to run into your son."

Jo Jegeon\'s expression, which I glanced at, was very dark. I had thought he was expressionless, but that wasn\'t entirely true.

"I\'ll stay with you."

The Oro Fortress Lord blinked slowly and then replied.

"I am deeply honored that Your Highness would stay by this old man\'s side."

I nodded and took a seat next to the Oro Fortress Lord\'s pillow. The Fortress Lord looked at the ceiling with resignation. And Jo Jegeon remained silent.

"Do you have any last words?" I asked in the silence, and the Oro Fortress Lord shook his head with difficulty.

"I have already taken care of everything. Do not worry."

I checked Jo Jegeon\'s expression again, but there was no change.

"I see."

Still, since I had decided to stay with the old man until his passing, it would be better if he left some words behind. It just so happened that the Oro Fortress Lord and I had something in common. I slowly started talking about Seopyung.

"You said you spent your youth in Seopyung."

"Yes, Your Highness. Do you remember?"

"Of course, it was just yesterday. Have you ever been to the west of the border?"

"West of Seopyung is not a place where people live."

"That\'s right. That\'s why I was curious. If it really is uninhabited. There are no people living north of Wolhan either, but Seopyung isn\'t as harsh as the northern region, is it?"

I started the conversation to lighten the mood, but once I started talking about Seopyung, I became more interested. The Oro Fortress Lord had more affection for Seopyung than I thought. Of course, that didn\'t mean he was as dedicated to Blood Cloud Fortress as I was.

* * *

The mad prince began conversing with the Oro Fortress Lord. If the conversation at yesterday\'s welcoming banquet had been a one-sided attempt by the Oro Fortress Lord, this moment was a genuine dialogue.

The mad prince and the Oro Fortress Lord were sharing what they had. The prince and the Fortress Lord had different statuses and even more differences in age. The paths they had walked in life must have been worlds apart. It seemed like there was nothing the two could share.

But that wasn\'t the case.

Jo Jegeon silently observed the conversation between the mad prince and the Oro Fortress Lord. The Fortress Lord had been preparing to leave for a long time. Jo Jegeon had also long accepted this inevitable death, knowing his father\'s frailty.

There was no reason to be sad. It was a moment he had imagined countless times, so he simply felt that what was destined had come.

He just gazed at the Oro Fortress Lord and the mad prince. The mad prince and Jo Jegeon weren\'t that far apart in age. Yet, the Oro Fortress Lord\'s eyes were shining as he listened to the mad prince\'s stories.

Suddenly, Jo Jegeon thought that the Fortress Lord seemed to have regained his youth. He vaguely wondered if the Fortress Lord had such a look in his eyes during his time in Seopyung, the place they were discussing.

"Yes, that\'s right."

The Oro Fortress Lord even laughed while talking to the prince.

"Oh... Was that so long ago?"

He also expressed wonder like a child.

"Damn them!"

And he also expressed anger as if he were facing an enemy.

Jo Jegeon took his eyes off his father and looked at the mad prince. The prince also seemed happy. Like his father, he was happy, then angry, and then seemed to be filled with remorse.

Jo Jegeon wondered how the prince knew so much about such a distant place. Surely his father was also curious. But his father didn\'t ask.

Jo Jegeon realized that questions weren\'t important at this moment. His frail father was having a happy time in his final moments, and that was enough. But his questions wouldn\'t disappear.

Jo Jegeon became curious about the First Prince.

Then, at some point, the Oro Fortress Lord\'s breathing became even shallower. Jo Jegeon sensed that his father truly didn\'t have much time left. He held his father\'s hand, dry like tree bark in winter.

Jo Jegeon spoke calmly, "Don\'t worry."

The mad prince continued, "Thank you."

The Oro Fortress Lord\'s eyelids fluttered.

Soon, he closed his eyes.

The old man was smiling like a young boy.