Chapter 4: The Predator’s Gaze

“…….”

“Wake up. Do you really think the Third Prince of Daejin would ever bother with a bastard like you?”

Because it was true, the words felt like a dagger. A bitter taste filled Ahnok’s mouth. He lifted his gaze, which had been cast down in a dejected stupor.

Seol Ga Muk was like a chatterbox, relentlessly belittling him. But in truth, Ahnok was only half-listening, busy ruminating on the question of whether the Third Prince would “bother” with him.

In the beginning, the Third Prince had ignored him. Next, he had loathed him. After that, he treated him like a person who didn’t exist. He never spoke to Ahnok unless it was necessary, and the times he sought him out of his own volition could be counted on one hand.

To think he had to repeat that again… it was truly exhausting.

“The Third Prince will surely bring in an Eumin far more beautiful and refined than a wretch like you. You only recently manifested—what could he possibly do with a block of wood like you…?”

Ahnok turned to look at Seol Ga Muk with a gaze full of disillusionment. Even Seol Ga Hyo’s subordinate seemed to be enduring the situation with difficulty; Seol Ga Muk’s voice was too loud and his words too vulgar, yet he did not dare restrain the second son of the King of Baekya.

After a soft sigh, Ahnok cut Seol Ga Muk off with the same cynical tone he had used with Seol Ga Hyo.

“The Prince of Myeong will not take any other Eumin besides me.”

As Ahnok’s voice, filled with certainty, fell into a neat silence, a heavy stillness settled over the courtyard of the main house.

As if he had misheard, Seol Ga Muk frowned deeply and dug at his right ear with his pinky finger. Even the subordinate standing near the foundation stones stared at Ahnok with wide eyes.

Only Ahnok, bearing the weight of their combined stares, remained composed.

“……Haha!”

Seol Ga Muk’s laughter rang out loudly, shattering the brief quiet that had followed his interrupted tirade.

Not taking any other Eumin? It sounded as if Ahnok had somehow won the Prince’s heart and the Imperial Family had personally sent a marriage proposal to the King of Baekya.

Seol Ga Muk couldn’t stop his guffaws, eventually clutching his stomach, while the subordinate let out a hollow laugh as if the claim was utterly preposterous.

Ahnok’s ears turned red, knowing full well that their laughter was ridicule. However, what he had spoken was the absolute truth.

In the first place, Yeo Jae Won loathed Eumins to the extreme. On their wedding night, as soon as they entered the bridal chamber, he had merely stripped away the thin silk veil covering Ahnok’s face. Without laying a single finger on the ties of his robe, the Prince had delivered his ultimatum and turned away coldly.

[The Emperor commanded it, and since this is a marriage alliance made with the King of Baekya, I shall accept you as my Consort and treat you with due status… however, every word you hear, see, speak, and do shall be determined by this Prince. Keep this in mind and be careful with your conduct.]

Ahnok remembered hearing those words. Looking back, Yeo Jae Won had kept his promise. He never brought anyone else into the residence, and he maintained formal etiquette toward his only Consort. But that was the limit.

The relationship between the husband and wife had been strictly ceremonial. They were closer to a lord and vassal than lifelong partners. Thinking about it, Yeo Jae Won had clearly defined the boundary between master and servant from the moment those words left his mouth on their wedding night.

It was a relationship so parched and dry that it would have crumbled easily even without someone trying to break it. A pitiful connection that would vanish the moment Ahnok let go.

A self-mocking smile escaped Ahnok’s lips.

“This lowly thing has clearly lost its mind. Why would the Third Prince even spare a glance at someone like you? This is a political marriage. Even if you were a beauty that could topple kingdoms, you should be trembling at the thought of whether he’ll look at you once. But what? He won’t take another Eumin?”

Seol Ga Muk, seemingly offended that his words had been contradicted, bared the whites of his eyes and approached Ahnok, lifting his chin with a fingertip.

“Eumins like you are a dime a dozen in the brothels. Seeing this scrawny, gaunt face is enough to kill anyone’s appetite, yet you dare say…”

Ahnok, holding his head stiffly while looking down, tried to bite the inside of his lip—a habit to endure pain—but winced. The pain was significant, as that was the side Seol Ga Hyo had just struck.

Seol Ga Muk jerked Ahnok’s head back and forth by the chin, scanning him like a merchant appraising goods.

“So go and behave yourself. Don’t bring shame to the name of the Seol family of Baekya-bu.”

Ahnok’s sunken gaze met Seol Ga Muk’s.

Nothing had changed. Not before he died, and not now. The fact that he had traveled back in time felt horrifyingly wretched.

It seemed the heavens were punishing him for trying to flee. Making him endure this humiliation and insult once more.

Ahnok unconsciously clenched his fists.

Must I live like this? Hearing that Eumins like me are common in brothels? Being treated as a pathetic placeholder sitting beside Yeo Jae Won?

He felt as if he were suffocating.

The impulse to run grew stronger. No, he didn’t just want to run—he had to. Before he died, hadn’t he told his child? That they should never meet again. If the child hadn’t been born to him, they might have lived long and been loved.

If he changed something, could things be different?

He couldn’t be sure. It was highly likely they wouldn’t. The world treated him like he didn’t exist, yet whenever he tried to do or want something, it used all its strength to block him and cast him into despair.

Nevertheless, he did not want to repeat that life—the one he already knew—all over again. The more he was treated this way, the stronger that resolve grew.

He wouldn’t be able to change everything. What is meant to happen will happen.

To change everything would be to defy providence.

“What are you doing?”

“B-Brother…”

The one who emerged was Seol Ga Hyo. He frowned as he recognized his younger brother holding Ahnok’s jaw in a mocking, flirtatious manner. Seol Ga Muk jumped back in surprise, distancing himself from Ahnok.

Ahnok, who had been frozen and breathless under the weight of his repeating life, finally let out a long sigh.

In the end, he had to flee. If he didn’t want to repeat it, avoiding it was the only way. Even if he couldn’t run immediately, he would watch for an opportunity, and surely…

Ahnok lowered his head and cast his gaze down, pretending to be unbothered. If he couldn’t flee from Baekya-bu, it would be enough to escape before Yeo Jae Won.

“Ga Muk, why are you here at this hour? Return to your quarters.”

“…Yes.”

“Ahnok, you may come inside now.”

Seol Ga Muk, who had been so aggressive with the subordinate, shut his mouth obediently without a single word of complaint at Seol Ga Hyo’s command. He was the perfect example of a small-minded man who acted weak before the strong and flaunted his meager power in the face of the weak.

As Ahnok stepped onto the foundation stones, he didn’t fully turn his head, but he gave a sidelong glance toward Seol Ga Muk.

He’s a man destined to die and vanish anyway. A person he wouldn’t even have to see once he left the lands of Baekya-bu. It was best not to deal with such a pathetic coward. Recalling those thoughts, Ahnok entered the building with an expressionless face.

The fragrance rising from the incense burner was heavy and deep. Sitting beyond the smoke was a middle-aged man with a physique that was sturdy for his age and an impression that was somewhat rugged and difficult to approach.

It felt as though this was what Seol Ga Hyo would look like when he aged. The man who resembled him so much was his father—and the biological father who had abandoned Ahnok: Seol Ham Hyeon.

“Extinguish the incense.”

At Seol Ham Hyeon’s word, Seol Ga Hyo bowed low and placed the lid over the incense burner that had been billowing smoke. In the calmly settled room, nothing could be felt except the lingering scent.

Only then did Seol Ham Hyeon, who had been keeping his eyes closed, reveal his pupils. The gaze that scrutinized Ahnok, who sat kneeling a distance away, was piercingly sharp.

It felt like being dissected. With the heart of a small, targeted animal, Ahnok hurriedly swallowed his dry spit.

Ignoring a loafer like Seol Ga Muk was easy. But standing before the snake-like Seol Ham Hyeon, Ahnok felt as though all his secrets would be exposed; fear spread through his body like a paralyzing poison.

“Quite impressive.”

Seol Ham Hyeon leaned his elbow on the armrest of his chair and twisted his lips into a smirk.

Ahnok knew what he was talking about. He remembered the first test he had faced when summoned by Seol Ham Hyeon in his previous life.

“I heard you only recently manifested as an Eumin, but you are quite skilled at controlling your pheromones.”

Naturally, those with traits—whether Yangin or Eumin—possessed their own unique scents. Generally, it was considered a mandatory virtue for a mature trait-user to suppress their scent unless they were intentionally projecting it.

Chusan had taught him this, but she was a Pyeongin without traits. Because Ahnok had lived isolated on the outskirts of Baekya-bu, he had never felt the need to restrain his scent and had lived freely.

Consequently, in his previous life, he had been scolded by Seol Ham Hyeon as soon as he was summoned.

[How do you expect to cross the threshold of the Myeong residence when you cannot even hide that vulgar scent?]