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Chapter: 48

They hate me.

What\'s the reason? What is it?

I need to know the reason so I can take action.

If it\'s because they see me as a reckless fool, the solution is simple. I just need to show them I\'m not. Of course, it would take time, but the method and the results would be clear.

But a watchdog...? Surely they didn\'t assign me a watchdog because they\'re afraid I\'ll break some dishes or furniture, did they?

At this rate, they\'ll follow me even to the bathroom.

I felt like I was going to go crazy from this overwhelming hospitality.

Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but if they continued to treat me like this throughout my stay, I would definitely lose my mind.

"Quite the welcome, isn\'t it, Captain Yoo?"

When I asked, Yoo Geung whispered in reply.

"Yes, Your Highness. I was just thinking the same thing."

As expected, Yoo Geung was straightforward.

Since I had met Yoo Geung on my way to see the Wolhan Fortress Lord, I intended to consider him as an escort and travel together.

Still, on the way to the inner fortress to meet the Fortress Lord alone, I was able to enjoy a brief moment of freedom from the soldiers\' surveillance.

"The Fortress Lord has only invited His Highness, the First Prince."

But as soon as I entered the pavilion where the Fortress Lord\'s office was located, the soldier guarding the pavilion separated Yoo Geung from me.

I asked in disbelief.

"What?"

"I apologize, but it\'s an order from my superiors."

Even when meeting the king, a prince wouldn\'t be treated like this. Does that mean the Wolhan Fortress Lord is above the king?

Even though I\'m the kind of person who wouldn\'t hesitate to kneel or even roll on the floor in front of the Fortress Lord, such treatment was crossing the line as long as I wore the outer shell of a prince.

I replied with a twisted sneer.

"Is that the Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s will?"

The soldier only repeated his apologies. I understood he was sorry, but I wanted to know if the Fortress Lord had personally said so. In the end, I didn\'t get an answer, and I entered the pavilion alone.

The path to the Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s office was filled with a heavy atmosphere. The servants occasionally passing through the hallway walked with their heads bowed, as if afraid to be seen.

Is it always like this? Did something happen?

They seemed to avoid even making eye contact with me, so I didn\'t bother stopping them to ask.

I soon found out why the atmosphere in the inner fortress was so subdued.

It was the moment I reached the Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s office.

"Are you suggesting we send him back, Elder?"

"Keeping him here will only cause trouble. Yes, send him back!"

The voices were quite loud. Are they unaware of my arrival? One voice belonged to the Wolhan Fortress Lord, and the other to someone I didn\'t know.

But who are they talking about sending back?

"The elders\' meeting is already over."

It was a rather stern voice.

"Please leave."

It also sounded like he was suppressing his anger.

"If the Fortress Lord doesn\'t oppose the will of us elders, there\'s no reason why this So Gye-Du shouldn\'t leave, is there?"

Then there was a thud. It was definitely the sound of someone punching something. Not a person, but probably furniture.

Hmm, it seems Son Cheon-Geum and this So Gye-Du are fighting. He didn\'t seem like the type, but the Wolhan Fortress Lord appears to have a fiery temper.

"I\'ll pretend I didn\'t hear that. Leave now."

Then, with the sound of heavy footsteps approaching, the door burst open. A man around the Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s age appeared from within. Our eyes met.

The man looked surprised for a moment, then frowned.

"Your... Highness?"

Although I had never seen him before, he recognized me. That was enough. I nodded. The man\'s expression crumpled like discarded paper.

"I\'ve come to see the Fortress Lord. It seems he\'s inside. Would you mind stepping aside?"

The man bowed his head and moved to the side. Who knows what he was thinking? I stood at the open door of the office and spotted the Wolhan Fortress Lord beyond.

The Wolhan Fortress Lord had a troubled expression. As our eyes met, he rose from his seat. I held onto the doorframe, as if I intended to stay there.

"It seems I\'ve come at a bad time."

"...No, that\'s not true."

Even though I wasn\'t technically lower in the Wolhan Fortress Lord, I couldn\'t completely shake off my old habits. I felt like I should close the door and quietly leave.

"I don\'t mind coming back another time."

The Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s face looked exhausted. I spoke somewhat bluntly.

"Since you requested my presence from the King, you can summon me whenever it\'s convenient for you."

"I appreciate your consideration, but I wouldn\'t want to trouble Your Highness with a second trip. Once is enough."

I let go of the doorframe.

"Please come in."

There was another table in front of the desk used for official business. It seemed to be for receiving guests. The Wolhan Fortress Lord moved to that table. I also sat on a chair in front of it.

"I apologize for showing you such an embarrassing sight."

It must be humiliating to let others see you fighting with your family. Is he embarrassed? I had no family to fight with, so I didn\'t know how shameful it could be.

"Think of it as a family matter and forget about it."

The Wolhan Fortress Lord said, sighing.

"I\'m deeply grateful."

In the North, especially in the Northern Region, blood ties were said to be the most important in human relationships. The elders must be relatives of the Wolhan Fortress Lord. But they didn\'t seem to get along, so they must have had a major disagreement.

I couldn\'t ask what the argument was about. And if it was something I needed to know, he would tell me.

"Then shall we get down to business? To be honest, I haven\'t heard much from the King, so I\'m not sure what the situation is."

All I had heard directly was about the authority entrusted to me and the appearance of monsters on the northern border, which Wolhan Fortress had been defending for a long time.

The Wolhan Fortress Lord didn\'t answer. It seemed he hadn\'t expected me to be so direct.

But I wasn\'t very eloquent. What could you expect from someone who used to be a beggar?

After a moment, the Wolhan Fortress Lord spoke.

"Our fortress is originally a place where monsters frequently appear."

I knew that. I nodded.

"I\'m aware of that."

"I believe you also know that the history of this northern fortress is shorter than that of the ones south of the Northern Region."

Seopyung was also located in the south, relative to the Northern Region. Few fortresses were as old as Blood Cloud Fortress. So, the Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s words were true.

"Hmm."

"Except for the southwestern border, the place that needed castles and fortresses the most was the site of our Wolhan Fortress. I\'m sure you\'re already aware of this reason as well."

I nodded.

"It must have been difficult to establish a foothold with so many monsters."

"Yes, Your Highness. Because of the frequent monster intrusions, we needed walls, and to protect the walls, we needed troops, so we needed a fortress. However, for the same reasons, it was difficult to build the walls, construct the fortress, and gather troops. In fact, before this fortress was built, the Northern Region was a vast wasteland without a single city."

There were no cities, no countries. The inhabitants of this Northern Region were barbarians living in clans. It was only after a hundred years since the founding of the kingdom that the Mokryeo Kingdom\'s writing, language, and clothing were introduced to the barbarians.

"But we adapted and have endured well until now."

"Saying that implies that what you\'ve maintained so far has encountered a problem."

The Wolhan Fortress Lord replied with a grim expression.

"That is correct."

It must not be a minor issue. But the Wolhan Fortress, as I saw it, was quiet. Even though I could see beyond the border from the top of the wall.

"I need more explanation. It\'s hard to gauge the severity of the situation."

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s face.

He spoke in a desolate tone.

"We\'ve already ordered the evacuation of several villages near the wall."

"The villages outside the fortress?"

The most vulnerable were driven out first. Having experienced a beggar\'s life myself not too long ago, I felt a pang of sympathy.

"Where did they go?"

"They formed a settlement within the fortress walls."

There would be complications arising from that as well. They needed to drive out the monsters and restore order as soon as possible. But there was another unfortunate fact.

It was currently the farming season.

It wasn\'t the right time to gather a large army.

I shifted the topic slightly.

"When was the most recent battle with the monsters?"

"Just three days ago."

Three days ago. Not a distant past at all.

Speaking of which, considering they had attached so many watchdogs to me, the Wolhan Fortress Lord was conversing quite openly.

I had thought they assigned watchers because of my reputation as a reckless fool, but maybe they only felt uneasy when I wasn\'t in their sight.

"It\'s a shame I didn\'t arrive three days earlier. I could have assessed the situation firsthand."

When I said that, the Wolhan Fortress Lord looked surprised. Was it that unexpected for me to want to witness a monster battle?

"I believe it would be better for you to see it with your own eyes than for me to explain it a hundred times in this room."

That was also true.

"As you say, seeing it with my own eyes would be a more accurate way to grasp the situation."

"If you don\'t mind, I\'ll escort you to the site, Your Highness."

"Let\'s do that."

With that, the conversation about assessing the situation came to a temporary close.

Suddenly, I remembered something from earlier.

"There\'s one more thing I\'d like to ask."

"Please, ask away."

His demeanor was calm. But considering they had assigned watchers to me, who knows what curses he might be uttering inwardly.

Even though I didn\'t know the reason, being labeled as a reckless fool must have played a part.

This is all the karma of that reckless fool, Yegyeong... Why do I have to bear the burden? It\'s ironic.

But I bet being a reckless fool wasn\'t the only reason for the watchers. There must be some ulterior motive.

Otherwise, they wouldn\'t treat me like this when they were the ones who asked for help in the first place.

"Answer comfortably, just comfortably. It\'s a casual question."

But my words seemed to make the Wolhan Fortress Lord even more nervous. His expression stiffened.

Is he pretending not to know? It\'s pointless.

"This might be our first meeting, but aren\'t you assigning too many people to me?"

To my surprise, he responded with a question of his own.

"Assigning people? What do you mean?"

Contrary to my expectations, the Wolhan Fortress Lord who asked me back.