The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die

Chapter: 125

Right after we left the north gate, my grandfather approached me.

"Your Highness."

He had been appearing every day to watch me since the day he gave me the candy, but he hadn't shown up since then.

It was clear he had been testing me.

From the next day on, I didn't even see a glimpse of my grandfather's sleeve. Seeing that, I thought I must have passed my grandfather's test.

He must have re-evaluated me.

At the very least, I had probably been upgraded from an incorrigible wastrel to a wastrel worth reforming.

I looked at him with a proud expression.

"Yes, General."

When I said that, the corners of my grandfather's mouth twitched for some reason.

Hmm?

But before I could question him, my grandfather continued.

"...How do you feel?"

I pounded my chest and replied, "I feel very secure. How could I be afraid when the General is supporting me?"

"I'm just glad if I can be of help to Your Highness."

"Don't worry. You're always helpful."

Then my grandfather smiled faintly.

"Is that so? Please take good care of yourself."

He stopped talking and added, emphasizing his words.

"No matter what happens, Your Highness's safety is the top priority."

"Don't worry. I'm tougher than I look."

My grandfather sighed.

"I worry so much."

Ugh.

I smiled awkwardly.

"I understand why the General worries about me. I've shown you an embarrassing side of myself. But... since I've done that, I won't let the General suffer any more humiliation because of me."

I nodded emphatically.

"I promise."

Even if I couldn't achieve anything, that was a promise I would never break.

Well, I could just stay still, couldn't I?

But a wastrel would have found that difficult.

I looked at my grandfather's expression, expecting him to be pleased, but his face wasn't very bright.

... I've passed his test, and I've promised not to act like a wastrel anymore, so what's left?

Maybe he just wasn't feeling well because he was going to battle for the first time in a long time.

"Grandfather?"

When I called out to him, my grandfather rummaged through his robes and took out something else.

"Please take this."

I took what he offered me.

It was a dagger, or rather, a tanto, slightly larger than the palm of my hand. The scabbard was engraved with dense floral patterns and the word Silver Wheel.

Wasn't that the same word engraved on the sword I was currently wearing?

The dagger was made of silver, and its silver surface was so polished that it was dazzling. It must have been polished every day to achieve such a shine.

"Is it yours, Grandfather?"

"Yes."

It didn't seem like a weapon, but more like an ornament...

At least, it didn't look like something an elderly general would use.

As if he knew what I was thinking, my grandfather lowered his voice and explained.

"I've coated it with a deadly poison."

Poison?

I tried to pull out the dagger to check the poison on the blade. A sliver of the blade was exposed between the scabbard and the handle. And I felt a strange sense of unease.

Then, without realizing it, I said, "Is it enchanted?"

My grandfather reached out and stopped me.

"...Can you tell?"

My grandfather was quite surprised that I had recognized the enchantment.

I was taken aback too. I had never met a sorcerer, let alone seen one in real life.

In fact, until I left Blood Cloud Fortress, I had never actually seen a person with supernatural abilities.

Come to think of it, I was quite a country bumpkin.

“...Yeah, whatever.”

My grandfather's eyes flickered.

“Perhaps...”

But he couldn’t continue. Then he changed the subject.

“Don’t unsheathe it. This is a secret technique passed down from the Yunrim clan, a renowned noble family in the south. Even a mountain beast as large as a house cannot survive if it is scratched even the slightest bit by a blade coated with this poison.”

After saying that, my grandfather looked around at the soldiers lined up behind me.

“You gave it to me to use in an emergency.”

“...There's one more reason.”

“What is it?”

My grandfather said, sounding displeased, “If, by chance, Your Highness goes missing... just draw a little, a very little, on your skin with this.”

“Why?”

“Then they can find you.”

If there was a spell on this, its purpose seemed to be to find me.

No, but then, doesn't that mean I'm going to die anyway?

"I hope it won't be necessary,” My grandfather said gloomily.

Well, he couldn't have gotten the spell just to find my corpse.

"I hope so too."

With that, my grandfather returned to his place and we each went our separate ways.

To avoid accidents from moving a large number of troops at once, we decided to allocate 2,000 troops to each commander.

The plan was to send a relatively small number of troops first to clear the way, and then send the rest when we got a signal.

Then we would meet again at a predetermined location.

Once we entered a certain distance into the mountain valleys of the wild lands, we would reach a relatively flat plain.

That's where the real battle would begin.

As a commander, I also set off with 2,000 soldiers.

However, I was able to take with me all of the special guards I had appointed.

Half of the soldiers under my command were from the Northern Region and had been stationed in Wolhan Fortress for a long time, while the other half were part of the volunteer army brought by my grandfather.

They were not as familiar with fighting beasts, but they had a lot of experience fighting in various battlefields across the country, following General So Ik-Gyeom for a long time.

The rough terrain didn't seem to be a problem for them.

On the contrary, the soldiers from the Northern Region seemed to have a harder time marching.

"They say this is the most dangerous battlefield in our country, but it doesn't seem to be that bad."

A soldier grinned and spoke to me. He was a warrior who had followed my grandfather around various battlefields across the country. His name was Gong Chomun.

I couldn't ignore him, so I replied indifferently, "I haven't been to many places like you, so I can't relate."

Gong Chomun laughed heartily and replied, "Your Highness has the blood of a cow in you, and you're already saying such things? Your Highness is young and has a bright future ahead of you, so you will see many places."

"You mean battlefields? I'm not sure if that's a compliment."

"If you draw your sword, you have to cut something, don't you? Now that Your Highness has chosen the path of a warrior, shouldn't you make your name known throughout the world so that there is no place in the world that your prowess cannot reach?"

"Ha, me?"

The whole world?

"Even if I ruled the world, I would never be able to reach the sky, so what's the point?"

I said that without any particular meaning. Gong Chomun's eyes widened at my indifferent reply.

"No...! What are you saying!"

He leaned in closer, his voice lowered to a whisper. So close that the horses we were riding were almost touching.

"Gong Chomun came all the way to the Northern Region, hoping Your Highness would become the sky."

"Gong Chomun?"

I snorted.

Gong Chomun burst into laughter. It wasn't funny.

"Ah, please call me by my name."

"Didn't you say you retired from an official position in the capital? I'm sure I heard the general say so."

"That's right. I was born in the capital and served as an official there."

"Then you must have worked in the palace. How did someone as talkative as you end up in the palace?"

"How could you not know? That's why I was kicked out and retired to the countryside."

Gong Chomun burst into laughter again. I could feel the other soldiers staring at us because of his incessant chatter.

It was getting annoying.

"Listen, I have something to say."

"Yes, please go on."

"Have you forgotten that I'm a prince?"

"I'm well aware of that."

"No matter how close you are to my grandfather, there are lines I must maintain, aren't there?"

"Yes, that's right. Lines."

Gong Chomun pretended to draw a line in the air.

I sighed.

I was getting caught up in his words and becoming a frivolous person myself.

Well, I couldn't deny it, but I'd been scolded, so I was trying to be more careful in front of others.

I had just barely shed my wastrel image, and I didn't want to be misunderstood again. Right now, Gon was following us.

I wonder if they were listening.

I was also worried that he would nag me later, and the soldiers from the volunteer army, who had barely seen me, might think that this was my true self.

Why did my grandfather bring such a person and put him by my side?

I couldn't understand.

Even a general couldn't be good at everything.

I guess I shouldn't expect my grandfather to have good judgment when it comes to people.

"It's good to be friendly, but you seem too excited. Can't you be a little quieter?"

"Oh, I just want to get closer to Your Highness."

"Then stop laughing and let's have a productive conversation."

"What kind of conversation would you like to have? I'll do whatever Your Highness wants."

Well.

"First of all, you need to calm down a bit."

"As you command."

As you command? I could tell he was just joking.

I said in a still indifferent tone, "What was the most dangerous battlefield you've been to?"

Gong Chomun took a deep breath and said proudly,

"I would definitely say that the edge of Seopyung, Blood Cloud Fortress, was the most dangerous battlefield."

Oh?

"Blood Cloud Fortress?"

"Yes."

"You've been to Blood Cloud Fortress?"

"Not only did I go, but I also volunteered to fight there."

Oh.

That was unexpected.

"This scar is from when I was fighting in Blood Cloud Fortress,” Gong Chomun said proudly.

"...That's impressive."

"I knew you'd appreciate it!"

"Hmm."

He was more interesting than I thought.

Maybe my grandfather wasn't wrong to bring him after all.

"Alright, Gong Chomun. I like you."

"It's an honor!"

I've made a good friend.