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Chapter: 61

My senses, sharpened to their utmost limit, allowed me to perceive even the blood vessels within my own body. That\'s how acutely aware I was of my internal state.

And this sensitivity, this ability to feel the blood coursing through my veins, extended to the external world as well.

I felt the cave connected to the cavity as if it were a blood vessel beneath my skin. Even though it was a rocky cavern with darkness swirling within, I could sense it clearly as if it were resting on my palm. I could see what was unseen, hear what was unheard. My six senses worked simultaneously, exploring the path ahead.

Step by step. Each stride was filled with certainty. Despite my body being exhausted and sensitized to the point of near death, my steps were sure. This unwavering conviction that my path was correct brought a subtle sense of pleasure. My footsteps themselves were the answer, the way forward.

Yet, at the same time, I was in agony. The thought that I might die arose, then shifted to a feeling that it would be better to die. These thoughts alternated repeatedly, and I continued walking, enduring the torment.

Could I really be this messed up just from skipping a single dose of medicine?

Damn the Soul-Eating Flower.

No, damn Taejo, that damned old man. To give me this shitty body…

Even the simple act of walking felt like a challenge. I was pushing my limits, yet I continued onward. It truly was a challenge – a challenge against myself. Though, it was more of an accidental predicament than a deliberate undertaking.

"...Your Highness?"

At some point, Deokbong noticed I was shivering from chills. But there was nothing he could do. Could he build a fire? Take off his clothes to offer me warmth? What could he possibly do? There was nothing.

"Your Highness, your complexion..."

I looked at Deokbong without answering. He flinched when our eyes met. My eyes were probably hollow. I could guarantee it.

"Focus on listening for the sounds of monsters. They must have passed through here. I\'m sure of it. You know the reason why. You were the first to see the eggs. Don\'t mind me."

Deokbong stiffened at the mention of monsters.

Chaos was still muttering to himself, "I\'m going to die." He seemed somewhat off, so I called out to him softly.

"Chaos."

But there was no response. Had he really lost it?

"Son Soha."

Finally, Chaos looked at me. Even though this guy had his annoying quirks, he was a part of Lord Wolhan’s family. If I borrowed him, I had to return him in one piece.

"Yeah... You just keep being our human torch."

I continued walking, searching for the way out.

How much time had passed?

Finally, I saw a sign.

Finally, I saw light.

A whitish something between the cracks in the rock wall. In this dark landscape, anything white had to be light. And light meant the way out.

"Finally... I\'m getting out."

I grinned. Just then, my vision blurred. My body swayed without warning. For a moment, everything went dark. When I opened my eyes again, I was being held by Chaos.

"Your Highness. Please open your eyes."

Chaos, who had been terrified, seemed to have come to his senses. His eyes regained their focus, and his speech returned to normal – though perhaps with a bit more respect, thankfully.

I forced my heavy eyelids open, only to close them again as the sunlight stung my eyes.

The morning sun was greeting me.

Rising higher and higher, it was birthing a new day from beyond the horizon. The world was slowly being bathed in sunlight. The once dark sky was being reborn, clear and bright, clothed in hues of red and blue. When the sun illuminated its surroundings, nothing could remain hidden.

The morning mist glowed white in the sunlight, and the cold air melted away in the sun\'s warmth. The scent of thick grass filled the air. The sound of birds chirping wasn\'t unpleasant. It wasn\'t a silent sunrise.

Awakening. The world was awakening. I struggled to keep my eyelids from closing.

"We\'re alive..."

Chaos murmured. He couldn\'t hide his joy at having survived. Since I never actually thought we would die there, it wasn\'t a big deal to me. But it seemed to be a profound experience for Chaos and Deokbong.

Regardless, I felt like I was going crazy. I was utterly exhausted. I beckoned Deokbong with a flick of my finger.

"Hey, Deokbong."

My mouth was dry, and my voice was as rough as dry sand.

"Carry me on your back. I\'m dying. I\'m not kidding."

Deokbong didn\'t refuse.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

* * *

Deokbong, the guide, carried the wastrel prince on his back as they journeyed. While the distance wasn\'t so long as to require crossing a mountain, it certainly wasn\'t short either. Thankfully, he knew a shortcut. Still, it would take half a day to travel.

Fortunately, Deokbong had confidence in his physical strength. Even with the prince on his back, he could take breaks along the way, and Chaos helped him out as well.

This was much easier compared to when the prince, acting as the guide, had found the way through the pitch-black cavity, leaving Deokbong to simply follow behind, endlessly gazing at the prince\'s back.

Physical exhaustion was better than mental distress, Deokbong thought.

As he walked with the wastrel prince on his back, Deokbong recalled the prince\'s actions in the cave.

The wastrel prince seemed blunt, but in truth, he wasn\'t. He had caught Deokbong when he missed his footing due to his own clumsiness. And when the ground they were walking on had suddenly collapsed, sending them plummeting into the cavity, the prince was the first to check on his safety.

Deokbong thought it was absurd that such a person was called a wastrel.

Moreover, the prince was calm. Not just calm, but he also sought solutions in that situation and asked for Chaos’s and Deokbong\'s opinions. He could have insisted on his own ideas.

He was a prince, after all. As a prince, he had that right. Yet, he wanted to hear their opinions. Deokbong recalled the Wolhan Fortress warriors who flaunted their status. They dismissed Deokbong\'s decades of experience because he was an ignorant herbalist.

The more he thought about the wastrel prince, the more admiration he felt. He was truly someone to look up to.

They could have died. Not to mention the cave, it was common for people to get lost and die in the forests beyond the border, even during the day. The forest was always dark.

Even Deokbong, a guide with 10 years of experience, sometimes lost his way and found himself in danger.

In those moments, he easily lost his composure. No one could remain calm in the face of death.

Let alone a young prince who hadn\'t even reached his mid-twenties…

It would have been fortunate if he hadn\'t despaired and crumbled, let alone maintained his composure.

Just like Chaos.

He\'s a peculiar one, Deokbong thought.

Chaos’s past was well-known. He had been trapped in a mine as a child. He wasn\'t alone. However, he was the only one who had returned alive. Everyone else trapped with him in the mine had died.

Chaos had spent several days in the dark, narrow tunnels of the mine with the corpses. It was a famous story among the people of Wolhan Fortress that he was afraid of confined spaces.

What would have happened if he and Chaos had been left alone in that cavity? Deokbong could easily predict the outcome.

Both he and Chaos would have been too shocked and terrified to do anything. They wouldn\'t have been able to climb back up to where the monster was, nor would they have been able to find another way out.

They probably would have starved to death there.

It was a horrifying thought.

Once again, Deokbong felt respect for the wastrel prince.

At the prince\'s age, Deokbong was still wandering around the outskirts of the mountains, a novice herbalist.

Perhaps the royal bloodline was indeed different. If even the prince known as a wastrel was like this, he wondered what kind of person the second prince, who was said to be even more praiseworthy, was like.

He was glad that such people were the royalty. Deokbong felt fortunate to be born as a commoner born under such rulers.

When he arrived at Wolhan Fortress with the wastrel prince on his back, accompanied by Chaos, he was utterly exhausted. However, his spirits were higher than ever before after returning to the fortress from the mountains.

The gatekeeper at the north gate recognized the approaching Deokbong and shouted urgently.

"The First Prince has returned—!"

In an instant, the entire Wolhan Fortress was in an uproar. The soldiers who had entered the cavity and fled, leaving their comrade to be devoured by the monster, had already returned to Wolhan Fortress. They had been delaying their report, believing the prince to be dead.

The prince\'s safe return was like a bolt from the blue to them.

On the other hand, the prince\'s subordinates from the capital, who had not received the report from the Wolhan soldiers and were anxiously awaiting the prince\'s return, were worried sick.

Upon hearing the news of the wastrel prince\'s return, his subordinates from the capital rushed out without a moment\'s hesitation. Among them, the old eunuch ran out barefoot, having forgotten to even put on his shoes in his haste.

Deokbong gently placed the prince down on the main hall floor to accommodate the people rushing towards his back.

"Your Highness! First Prince! I knew you would return!"

The first to arrive was Captain Yoo Gueng.

"Y-Your Highness. What is the meaning of this…!"

Next came Commander Heo Seokgyeom.

"Oh my, oh my… Your Highness, our prince, oh my, our prince has…! Someone, someone! Quickly, summon a physician for our prince!"

Third came Eunuch Han. However, his heart was no less eager than the first. It was only his aging body that put him in third place.

The wastrel prince was quickly surrounded by a bustling crowd. Deokbong, unable to leave the prince\'s side, was suddenly caught in the midst of it all.

"...First Prince."

And then, the Wolhan Fortress Lord approached, a step behind the rest.

Prince Yegyeong was being fussed over by his subordinates. They were so busy attending to him that there seemed to be no room for the Fortress Lord to intervene. But it didn\'t matter, as he had no intention of joining their throng.

Keeping a respectful distance, he said to Yegyeong, "...You have endured much hardship."

Yegyeong smiled without a word. But that was enough. After all, the Wolhan Fortress Lord and the wastrel prince weren\'t close.

Observing this scene, Deokbong thought that the wastrel prince must indeed be a worthy leader. It wasn\'t just his own perception; others had clearly been anxiously awaiting the prince\'s safe return.

Perhaps he should stop using the term "wastrel prince," even in his thoughts.