Secrets with Crown Prince 27

“Your Highness, have you heard the news?”

At Joseph’s whispers, Do-hyuk lifted his head and set aside the documents.

With messy and untidy hair, rough stubble on his chin, and buttons haphazardly fastened, Joseph didn’t look very credible.

“Marquis Lubiche has brought in a foreigner. Not just brought in, but adopted them!”

That was quite intriguing.

For someone who usually showed no interest in others, why would he go as far as to adopt a foreigner? And an unusual-looking one at that?

Do-hyuk inserted his pen back into the inkwell.

“Well, that’s interesting.”

“Isn’t it? It’s a daughter, they say. A foreigner with a remarkably unique appearance.”

“A unique appearance?”

“They say she has peachy glass skin, sleek black hair, and not a single freckle or wrinkle.”

No freckles. At that, Do-hyuk let out a hollow laugh.

In this world, people’s skin is so delicate that even a little exposure to sunlight causes freckles to appear. Moreover, with their thin skin and diverse facial muscles, even young people would develop wrinkles.

It resembled the characteristics of Westerners, yet this foreigner had none of those traits.

Do-hyuk wondered for a moment but soon dismissed the thought.

He was hopeless when it came to harboring such futile hopes and ending up disappointed.

“I’ve heard she resembles the Niaru fairies often mentioned in myths. There are rumors that Marquis Lubiche didn’t bring in a human, but a Niaru fairy. Doesn’t that sound plausible?”

Joseph’s words, strangely enough, did sound plausible. Marquis Lubiche was always careful not to engage in anything that wouldn’t benefit him.

Even if it was his son, he was someone who would not tolerate that.

“I heard he died and came back to life in the Kingdom of Nathan because it seems he has changed.”

“Oh, I heard that story. Didn’t the Marquis say he died of a footfall?”

“Yes, that’s right. They say he had climbed that rugged mountain of Kirk. I don’t understand why he suddenly went up Mount Kirk.”

It was an interesting story, but that’s as far as it went. Do-hyuk had no interest in the affairs of the Lubiche family.

So he picked up his pen again and continued organizing the documents.

Seeing his indifferent response, Joseph grumbled how he wasn’t fun and neatly organized the reports before handing them over to Do-hyuk and leaving the office.

Marquis Lubiche and Do-hyuk were very similar.

If there was one difference between the two, it was that Marquis Lubiche couldn’t express emotions, while Do-hyuk had excessive anger management issues.

                                                    ***

Do-hyuk visited the training grounds of the Royal Knights early in the morning to practice his swordsmanship.

There were only a few knights skilled enough to spar with Do-hyuk.

That’s why Rioel or Argan would usually be his sparring partners. Argan, in particular, personally disliked Do-hyuk, so Rioel would often be his opponent.

“Still not here today?”

Do-hyuk asked irritably.

It had already been two months.

Rioel would abandon their sparring session and hastily return home.

“Did someone put honey in his house?”

The knights nearby tensed up at Do-hyuk’s outburst.

They stared at Do-hyuk with pale, tired faces, and in the midst of it, Argan slowly walked out.

“You should spar with me today as well.”

Ha. Do-hyuk let out a frustrated sigh.

“Don’t you dislike me?”

Do-hyuk asked. Argan silently looked at him without answering.

“You have such narrow-minded thinking, like a frog in a well. Actually, do you even know what that means?”

Argan, preparing for their sparring session with his sword raised, relaxed his body and lowered his sword.

“Do you want to talk to me instead?”

“Yes. Who else can you blame for your inflexibility? All the nobles in this world are like that.”

“What about Your Highness? You’re also a noble.”

Argan replied dully, but Do-hyuk knew that it was his own way of sulking.

Do-hyuk raised his sword. Then Argan also raised his sword, following him.

“You still think I tried to kill Fabian for no reason.”

Do-hyuk struck first, thrusting his sword at Argan. Argan swiftly raised his sword to block it and asked.

“Isn’t that true?”

Then, he deflected Do-hyuk’s sword and made a half-turn, aiming for Do-hyuk’s neck, but the blade was blocked by Do-hyuk’s sword, which was skillfully maneuvered.

“That’s right. It’s true that I tried to kill him. If I hadn’t, I would’ve had to die.”

“That’s just an excuse, isn’t it?”

In response to Argan’s words, Do-hyuk smirked and spoke. Most people thought the same as Argan.

But the Emperor tested Do-hyuk and his half-brother, Prince Verdi, Fabian.

They summoned 20 prisoners from the prison and had him decide whether to kill them or kill his own sibling.

Behind Do-hyuk and Fabian were the Emperor and the nobles.

There were more than ten nobles watching them.

Everyone was unperturbed as if these abnormal tests were natural.

‘They’re all crazy. They’re out of their minds.’

Do-hyuk seemed to be the only one who found this situation strange.

As soon as the test began, Fabian tried to kill the prisoners without any moral hesitation. As if killing prisoners didn’t matter much.

Fabian had always been like that.

Caught up in excessive noble supremacy, they treated non-nobles like insects.

The prisoners brought before them were mostly petty offenders who stole bread, committed fraud against nobles, farmed on land that wasn’t theirs, owed money, and so on.

According to Do-hyuk’s common sense, considering them as a test and pushing them to their limits was the most difficult thing to understand about the Emperor.

This is not normal. It’s not rational.

It felt like all the thoughts he’d built up so firmly were collapsing.

‘Claude, step aside. Are you saying you’ll die in their place?’

Fabian, his half-brother, said to Do-hyuk, who was blocking the path in front of the prisoners.

‘Although they are prisoners who have committed crimes, they are not crimes worthy of death. Fabian, think carefully. They are also the people of this country that we should govern. This is Father’s test. There must be another way other than killing people. Let’s find it together.’

‘Another way? Are you not trying to manipulate me and stab me in the back like this?’

After saying that, Fabian turned to face Do-hyuk.

‘Yeah. Now that I think about it, you’re the one I should really kill. If I kill you and those vulture-like people, Father will be even more pleased. They are all humans who deserve to die.’

In an instant, Fabian raised his sword toward Do-hyuk with a face consumed by madness.

As Fabian’s attitude revealed itself, the Emperor’s lips quietly formed a satisfied smile, which Do-hyuk observed keenly.

‘Fabian, calm down.’

As if Do-hyuk’s words were a stimulant, Fabian swung his sword at him.

The previous attitude that quickly judged killing defenseless prisoners as a better choice than killing Do-hyuk was quickly overshadowed with no hesitation.

There was no other choice. Eventually, Do-hyuk raised his sword as well.

Do-hyuk’s sword, blocking Fabian’s, drew a wide arc and pierced Fabian’s abdomen.

‘You… You!’

Upon Do-hyuk’s words, Fabian let out a bewildered scream as blood started clogging up his throat.

Do-hyuk believed he could not hand over the imperial throne to a brother who regarded human lives as insignificant as the lives of flies.

Furthermore, he did not want to die. If he didn’t die, he had to kill. Because that’s what the Emperor desired.

He deliberately aimed to stab Fabian, while avoiding the vital areas so it wouldn’t be fatal.

However, Fabian’s condition was even more serious than anticipated.

There were several more wounds in his abdomen, but they were not caused by Do-hyuk’s inflicted wounds.

Later, he would come to know that the true culprit who genuinely intended to kill Fabian was the Emperor himself.

But only Do-hyuk knew that fact.

Ultimately, due to the spectacle of Do-hyuk swinging his sword at Fabian in front of so many people, rumors spread that Do-hyuk attempted to assassinate him as he felt threatened by his brother.

It was also the Emperor’s doing.

The Emperor, who wished for Do-hyuk to instill fear and establish dominance on his behalf, always maneuvered Do-hyuk toward his own purpose without hesitation.

Bang!

Argan’s sword spun rapidly through the air.

“Your skills have greatly improved.”

“There’s nothing I can’t do.”

It was out of the question to be outmaneuvered by a wild beast. Therefore, Do-hyuk had to increase his strength.

“There is something that you can’t do. Beat me.”

Do-hyuk muttered bitterly before throwing the sword he was holding onto the ground.

Then, he ripped off the pure white glove from his hand and, without hesitation, left the training ground.

Watching Do-hyuk’s retreating figure, Argan let out a sigh.

Contrary to the rumors that he was a madman with half of his sanity gone somewhere, Do-hyuk was a person who perfectly fulfilled his role as the Crown Prince.

A person whose ideals and rationality were separate.

That duality eventually became a poison or, rather, a concern.

That’s why, despite knowing that Do-hyuk was an ideal Crown Prince, Argan was afraid.

                                                      ***

“Lord Claude, it’s dangerous.”

In one of the royal gardens, there was a giant tree that Do-hyuk enjoyed sitting on since he was young.

His shadow knight, Lemon, always warned him of the threats.

Claude leaned against the tree, making a gesture with an annoyed expression.

Lemon was about to caution him, but he quickly concealed himself upon hearing voices.

He’d be hiding somewhere, watching over Do-hyuk.

“I’m so angry. Do people here use such expressions when talking about women? I want to smash everything!”

“Oh, Lady Ena! I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“If you don’t know, then listen up! Is being smart not feminine? Maria, what does it mean to be feminine?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

Do-hyuk, who had closed his eyes for a moment to take a rest, opened his eyes at the noisy sound.

And out of nowhere, someone kicked the tree Do-hyuk was leaning against.

Do-hyuk had to quickly grab onto the tree trunk to prevent himself from falling, despite the strong force.

“Dealing with a hundred of those bastards would be better than dealing with that jerk alone.”

Do-hyuk quickly stood up.

He anxiously looked under the tree. The women who were there just moments ago were now walking away in the distance.

At the corner of Do-hyuk’s eye, he noticed black hair.

“Lemon.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Did you see who it was?”

“She seemed to be Young Lady Lubiche. Her appearance was indeed peculiar.”

“Is that the daughter Marquis Lubiche brought in?”

“Yes.”

As far as Do-hyuk knew, there was only one person who habitually used the phrase ‘that jerk‘ in their past and present lives.

Do-hyuk became interested in Young Lady Lubiche.

He thoroughly investigated her background, as well as her whereabouts, and Joseph was shocked when he saw the reports.

“What do you mean you don’t even know her face? Aren’t you her stalker?”

“I’ll see her face soon enough. She said she would attend the charity party this time.”

Joseph dryly replied, “Yeah, yeah.”

And at the long-awaited charity party, Do-hyuk encountered Bang-wol.

It felt like discovering an oasis in a desert as he almost died of thirst.

“You- You’re Mouse Bell, right?”

It was a sentence overflowing with all sorts of emotions. Even if it was an exaggeration to say that all 26 years of his life were encapsulated in that one question, it wasn’t far from the truth.

Black hair and familiar dark brown eyes. A pair of eyes that held no unfamiliarity for him.

Her fairy-like face, pure and clear, filled his sight completely.

Bang-wol, the author, appeared just as he remembered in his memories.

“It’s not Mouse Bell, it’s Ji Bang-Wol.”

Even her grumpy response was the same voice that stirred his memories dozens of times.

In the end, Do-hyuk couldn’t overcome his uncontrollable emotions and eventually sobbed, holding her hand.