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Chapter: 71

It felt like I had a dream.

A strange dream.

A dream where Heo Seokgyeom opened up his heart and defended me...

"I had a funny dream."

I recounted the dream I had about Heo Seokgyeom.

Eunuch Han, who was serving me morning tea, looked at me as if I was speaking nonsense.

"It doesn\'t seem like a dream..."

"Huh?"

Drip-

The teapot filled the teacup. White steam, almost scentless, rose from the cup.

"I heard Commander Heo murmuring to himself. Then he told Captain Yoo that he would serve Your Highness from now on. I couldn\'t hear the details, but... it was the same as the dream you just described.."

Although I had my own room, the rest of my entourage from the capital couldn\'t enjoy the same luxury. There was no privacy.

Even so, I didn\'t think I had said anything problematic.

"Did I hear wrong?"

"I don\'t know."

I pretended not to know and changed the subject. Anyway, Heo Seokgyeom was now on my side.

I didn\'t know why he suddenly changed his mind, but it was a good thing for me. He seemed to have an unexpectedly naive side.

It felt a bit dirty, like I had tricked a fool.

"By the way, what is your schedule for today...?"

The eunuch\'s eyes fell on my clothes. I was dressed a bit more formally today.

That was because I was scheduled to visit the commoners\' houses.

It was a suggestion from the Wolhan Fortress Lord, who had been absent until yesterday. He said that showing the people that a prince had come directly from the capital would garner their support. There was no reason to refuse, so I accepted.

"I\'m going out. The Fortress Lord suggested I visit the marketplace and the commoners\' houses."

"Ah, I see."

The eunuch nodded. Then he let out a small sigh.

"I feel like I\'m committing a sin every day because I\'m not serving Your Highness as well as I did in the palace."

Committing a sin? I was the one committing a sin by making an old eunuch like him serve me. But I couldn\'t dismiss him because he seemed to enjoy serving me.

Was it a peculiar taste for enjoying work?

"I haven\'t felt any discomfort. Don\'t worry about it."

I slurped down the tea the eunuch had poured. When the cup was empty, he poured me another. I blew on it to cool it down and drank it right away. Two cups were enough.

"Well then, shall we go?"

* * *

Just in case, I had told Gon to follow me beforehand. It would either be soaring high in the sky or perched on a nearby tree, keeping watch over me.

After that one incident, I had become more cautious.

When we reached the inner fortress gate, there were more people than I expected. The Wolhan Fortress Lord bowed his head upon seeing me, and the others around him followed suit.

"Thank you for agreeing to this inspection, even though it was a sudden request."

"It\'s nothing," I replied curtly. "Did your errand yesterday go well?"

I heard he had been scouting around the walls. A reconnaissance mission, so to speak.

Perhaps I wasn\'t the only one who had been bothered by Son Gye-du.

But I didn\'t bring it up.

"Thanks to your concern, everything went smoothly."

Because Wolhan Fortress wasn\'t in the best condition, a palanquin wasn\'t prepared, and we were to tour the area on horseback. The Wolhan Fortress Lord, mounted on a fine steed and surrounded by guards, looked quite imposing.

Though he couldn\'t compare to our Fortress Lord.

"We plan to head to the central market district outside the inner fortress gate first, and then inspect the area around the northern wall. Is there any place in particular you wish to see?"

"As the Fortress Lord, you know best, so I\'ll leave the itinerary to you."

And so we set off.

However, it wasn\'t a good start.

"My lord, my lord!"

As the Wolhan Fortress Lord and I appeared, some people who recognized us approached and began to kneel on the ground, pleading with us, while others sang praises that bordered on worship.

"...My apologies. These are people who have lost their homes or families to the monster horde," the Wolhan Fortress Lord explained.

Honestly, it was better not to see such things. What I had to do, what I could do, and what I wanted to do were all different. If I tried to take care of each and every one of these people, I wouldn\'t be able to take care of myself. Nevertheless, I couldn\'t just pretend not to see them. I simply wasn\'t capable of that.

In short, it was an uncomfortable situation with no real benefit.

It became a little easier to move around after we left the market district.

From time to time, the Wolhan Fortress Lord explained the monster defense measures that were in place.

Then we reached the northern wall.

"When was the last time repairs were done?"

It was a question I had been curious about, but I had kept it to myself and put off asking until now. The northern wall was particularly dilapidated compared to the other walls. It was probably due to the frequent attacks.

"It was six years ago."

"Are there no plans to carry out repairs again?"

"Due to our current circumstances, I don\'t believe now is the right time to make such a decision."

So he meant they didn\'t have the money? Or perhaps they lacked manpower. Repairing this side of the wall would require not only skilled workers and laborers but also troops to protect them during the repairs.

There sure were a lot of things they needed. But unfortunately, this wasn\'t something I could help with.

Just then, I heard something from nearby.

Beyond the wall... perhaps?

Maybe it was just my imagination, but even if it was, my instincts weren\'t something to ignore.

I looked up just in case, and saw Gon flying high above, far in the distance. But the way it was flying... it looked like it was circling in place.

A warning?

"Fortress Lord."

"Yes, Your Highness. What is it?"

"I just heard something..."

Crash-!

Before I could finish my sentence, a loud roar struck my ears. At the same time, a particularly dilapidated corner of the wall exploded, sending fragments of stone flying in all directions.

I instinctively ducked to avoid the flying debris. The horse I was riding must not have been able to dodge the debris in time, because it neighed loudly, raising its front legs into the air. This caused my vision to shift abruptly, and then dust and dirt clouded the air.

I almost fell off, but I quickly jumped off as the horse regained its footing and looked towards where the wall had crumbled. I had a feeling that something sinister was approaching through the thick dust that obscured my vision.

I immediately drew my sword, and the Wolhan Fortress Lord looked at me with a startled expression. He then ordered his guards, "Protect His Highness!"

The cloud of dust quickly settled, revealing what was beyond it.

Just then, a chilling roar echoed from somewhere.

"————!"

A spine-chilling howl. The Wolhan Fortress Lord and his guards visibly stiffened. I couldn\'t help but tense up as well.

An instinctive sense of submission. An absolutely superior being. The feeling of being overwhelmed by such a being.

I had experienced this sensation before, and it made me extremely uncomfortable. Annoying. And that time, it wasn\'t even a monster, but a human.

I wondered what that guy was doing that he still hadn\'t appeared before me. Surely my grandfather hadn\'t lost interest in finding him...

A brief thought flashed through my mind, and I took in the sight of the guards who had instantly assumed battle positions. They were clearly nervous, but they knew what they had to do.

As expected, an unfamiliar form emerged from beyond the wall. It was a monster, a bit smaller than a warhorse. It resembled a dog or a wolf, but its long fangs protruding from its mouth made it much more hideous.

It howled again, and a terrifying sound echoed through the air.

"...It\'s a cub," the Wolhan Fortress Lord said in a low voice. Despite his subdued tone, his demeanor was resolute.

"A cub?"

"Yes. Fortunately..."

To think that a creature of that size was just a cub... The ecology of the Demon Realm was truly shocking. In the capital, it was almost impossible to see a monster unless it was deliberately captured and brought in, and while monsters occasionally appeared in Blood Cloud Fortress, those of that size were rare.

"I\'m not quite grasping the situation, but am I going to die here?"

"That will never happen."

Right. Of course. Although this was a remote place, it was still within the fortress walls. Reinforcements wouldn\'t be too far away, so even if the enemy was formidable, we just had to hold out for a while. Just then, the monster howled again and lunged at the soldier in front.

"————!"

Whoa... That\'s brutal.

Still, the soldiers seemed accustomed to dealing with monsters. It certainly didn\'t look easy. I wondered if I should join in... but seeing as the Wolhan Fortress Lord was staying put, it didn\'t seem necessary.

"It looks like they could use a hand."

"No, Your Highness. Please leave it to us. If you were to get hurt, I would be too ashamed to face you."

Was it really alright? I couldn\'t help but feel uneasy, but it felt awkward to step in when he insisted I stay put.

"Ugh!"

But my temper wouldn\'t let me stay still. One of the soldiers was knocked down by the monster\'s sharp claws. He managed to roll back up, but the blood splattered on the ground couldn\'t be ignored. In the end, I drew my sword and jumped in.

"Your Highness!"

The Wolhan Fortress Lord tried to stop me as I dashed into the fray. But a good-for-nothing like me didn\'t care about such things.

I swung my sword, the tip grazing the monster\'s hide. Its hide was incredibly tough. With ordinary strength, all I could do was scratch it.

I couldn\'t imagine having to deal with several of these creatures. To think they built a fortress this big in a place where such monsters appeared... Were they insane?

"————!"

I ducked to avoid an attack, and the monster, seemingly annoyed that these humans weren\'t easily subdued, roared. The deafening sound made me frown involuntarily.

Why weren\'t the other soldiers coming? How far away could they be?

Damn it... whatever.

I switched my sword to my left hand and kicked off the ground. The monster\'s head was almost upon me, and I closed my eyes against my will.

Crunch-!

I felt teeth sinking into flesh, and my arm burned. But that left its left side open. I thrust my sword into the monster\'s neck.

"————!"

I caught my breath as the monster howled. Then, I pushed the sword in with renewed force. The metal pierced through the thick, tough hide, tearing through the tough flesh and digging deep. The roar turned into a pained scream.

The soldiers, who seemed to have been momentarily stunned, came to their senses and thrust their own swords into the monster\'s body. The sound of flesh being pierced rang out repeatedly, and the monster\'s struggles weakened.

Blood gushed from the monster\'s neck, flowing down the blade of my sword and dripping to the ground. The sight of the blood seemed to dull the pain in my arm. All I felt was the heat from the wound. Gradually, the monster\'s grip weakened, and its jaws loosened. Then, unable to hold on any longer, it let go of my arm and collapsed to the ground.

I pulled my sword from the monster\'s neck and sheathed it.

As I turned my head, I saw the Wolhan Fortress Lord staring at me, his sword still embedded in the monster\'s body. He had a rather dumbfounded expression on his face.