Chapter 16: Shadows Over the Sacred Ground

“Is it a tonic?”

“Don’t drink it.”

“Uh, okay.”

At Sahyeon’s words, Yun-jo quickly moved away.

The scent that briefly brushed the tip of his nose was mixed with a very potent and strange sweetness. Instead of thinking it was good for the body, he first felt a wariness that it was definitely not something to be consumed carelessly. Even if Sahyeon hadn’t spoken, he probably would never have put it in his mouth.

Yun-jo stared vacantly at Sahyeon, who emptied the bowl out the window and then sat back down with his posture neat.

When a disease is deep, the medicine is bound to be potent.

Whenever Yun-jo entered the main hall where Sahyeon usually stayed, he always noticed a faint medicinal smell. It didn’t take long for him to realize that Sahyeon lived on medicine.

Sahyeon wasn’t very healthy. No, he was probably quite sickly. Even the most oblivious person would have noticed by now. From what Yun-jo had observed, it didn’t seem like there was a specific disease; rather, it appeared that Sahyeon was simply born with a weak constitution.

If he pushed himself even a little, his condition would immediately worsen, so maintaining stability was the top priority. That was probably why he didn’t run, didn’t raise his voice, and always stayed indoors.

The setting materials only mentioned that the emperor was bedridden with illness, but there was no mention of the Crown Prince Sahyeon’s physical condition. Still, Yun-jo wasn’t that surprised. If the father’s body was like that, it was only natural the child would have issues. In fact, it explained everything.

The Crown Prince, Sahyeon.

The legitimate eldest son of the emperor, on the verge of coming of age.

As the most noble boy in Baekyang, once he came of age this year, he would likely take over as regent in place of the puppet emperor and the Empress Dowager. But since he, too, was fatally weak, there must be opposition forces. He must have left Wonkyung and come to this remote place to safely spend the remaining time until his coming of age.

Even with the little information he had now, Yun-jo could understand why Sahyeon had come to Bukryeong, and under a borrowed name at that. The Empress must have given him a fake identity and sent him out of the palace to protect him. That was surely also the reason he never showed his face in public.

But if asked whether Sahyeon was safe here, the answer was no. In Wonkyung, the Empress and her maternal relatives could protect the Crown Prince with their power, but once outside the palace, things were different.

The court’s gaze didn’t reach even a little outside the capital. Moreover, the prince was officially still in the Eastern Palace. Now was the most opportune time to eliminate him unnoticed; anything could happen, and nothing could be made official.

Even the bandit attack on Mount Yulsi had many suspicious aspects. That area wasn’t a usual haunt for bandits, yet they appeared as if they knew the arrival time of the prince’s party.

What Yun-jo found most strange were the arrows the bandits used. The arrow he picked up inside the carriage was not the crude type bandits usually used; it was very finely crafted.

It had clipped eagle wing feathers and a three-pronged iron head with grooves carved into it, designed to fly far and pierce armor to tear flesh. That meant someone had intended to deal with Sahyeon on that road.

Today, someone would surely make a move. They hadn’t been able to touch him while he was inside the camp, but now that he was outside, it was the perfect opportunity.

‘And it was probably the same back then, right?’

Yun-jo suddenly recalled an event from three years ago. The first dream he had when he first saw Sahyeon.

Looking back, it was an attack.

Considering Sahyeon’s status and position, he could guess the circumstances. There must have been an assassination attempt targeting the prince, like this time. Otherwise, there would be no other reason for the Crown Prince to suffer such injuries in the middle of the imperial palace.

Moreover, the Eastern Palace was empty at that time. Usually, the prince was surrounded by layers of guards and eunuchs, never left alone—unless all the Eastern Palace guards had betrayed him or the palace was completely taken over by the enemy.

Yun-jo rested his chin on his hand and looked at Sahyeon. He had stubbornly lingered around Sahyeon for the past few days, but Sahyeon hadn’t recognized him at all. He didn’t seem to remember that incident particularly.

If Yun-jo himself had been through something like that, he would remember every single detail of the person he saw and the event.

In fact, Yun-jo still vividly remembered Sahyeon’s appearance and the situation at that time. Even though he couldn’t see his face properly when they met again, he had no trouble recognizing who Sahyeon was.

The fact that Sahyeon didn’t particularly remember such an event meant that danger was routine for him. Since it wasn’t a special event, he didn’t remember the incident or the person he encountered.

After all, this whole situation stemmed from the setting of the sickly puppet emperor and the Empress Dowager acting as regent. If the emperor had been healthy, there would have been no reason for Sahyeon to be in such a physical state or to flee the palace and hide.

‘Why did they have to set it up like that…’

Yun-jo grumbled inwardly.

Of course, the settings regarding the imperial family were added by ANT and not personally arranged by Yun-jo. But that didn’t make him feel completely at ease.

If only Sahyeon were the type as tough as weeds, able to survive even if he fell into hell, Yun-jo wouldn’t be so worried. But as seen, Sahyeon was terribly weak. If something happened, it was obvious that he couldn’t even protect himself alone.

After Sahyeon had helped him escape when he was mistaken for a ghost and chased in the Eastern Palace, the two had never crossed paths again. After that, the palace security was tightened, and Yun-jo nearly met with a great misfortune, so he decided it was better not to roam the palace freely anymore.

Around that time, his body in reality gradually recovered, so he no longer had to run around in the middle of the night.

More than two years passed. Yun-jo hadn’t expected to run into Sahyeon again by chance. Unless he deliberately intervened, it was natural that the Crown Prince, a character in the basic setting, and Yun-jo, a user, would have no occasion to meet.

Probably, the reason they met this time was because Sahyeon was using a fake identity, not as the prince.

‘There’s no law that the eldest son must inherit the throne. In nine years, no one knows what will happen.’

Kim Jun-ho’s words came to mind again.

The fact that Sahyeon was the Crown Prince didn’t guarantee his survival. Since no one knew when something might happen, he was in a more dangerous position than anyone else.

Now that things had come to this, Yun-jo felt he should at least ensure Sahyeon returned safely to the palace. At the very least, he didn’t want to leave him to die or get hurt before his eyes.

For that reason, Yun-jo had accompanied him to the ancestral rite.

“Phew…”

In his complicated feelings, Yun-jo let out a long sigh without realizing it. Seo Sang-yak across from him looked at him strangely.

“Why are you sighing like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

Yun-jo quickly put on a composed face. Just then, the carriage reached its destination, slowed down, and came to a gentle stop. The coachman shouted from outside.

“We’ve arrived!”

Yun-jo stood up first. He jumped out of the carriage, and behind him, Sahyeon stepped onto the footrest and slowly descended to the ground. Around the red gate standing tall in the distance, red and white flags were hanging high on bamboo poles, fluttering in the wind. Indeed, the preparations for the rite were complete.

It was the moment when Seo Sang-yak stepped away for a bit to meet the officials from the government office, leaving the two standing side by side. Sahyeon said in a low voice.

“If you feel danger, run away.”

“…Huh?”

“It would be better for you to do so.”

Before he could ask what he meant, Seo Sang-yak approached. In front of the main gate of the altar, Ju Pyeong-gi and officials from the local government were waiting. They spotted the marquis’s carriage and bowed their heads in succession.

“We greet the Marquis.”

At that, Sahyeon, without looking back at Yun-jo, walked ahead. Yun-jo stood there dumbfounded.

The altar was located on the western edge of the town, at the edge of a thick pine forest.

Two square stone altars were surrounded by low walls, with red gates erected at the four cardinal points. Among them, the northern gate had three gates side by side, larger and taller, vastly different from the other three.

This was because it was believed that the gods used the northern gate when entering and exiting, so it was specially called the Northern Divine Gate.

Behind the Northern Divine Gate stretched a deep pine forest. It was a forest leading to Mount Yulsi, so dense and thick that the interior was barely visible. Looking into it, one felt as if a mystical aura flowed from within. It might be a divine place, as if something truly might descend from there.

Yun-jo stood near the ritual implement shed, quite a distance from the altar.

On the altar, the fake Prince Jang San, who had changed into ceremonial robes, was offering alcohol to the spirit tablets. That Prince Jang San was a fake. Yun-jo realized that Sahyeon had set up a substitute at some point.

Then where was Sahyeon? He looked around but couldn’t spot him. Most of the officials were lined up below the platform according to their ranks, and officers from the local government stood guarding the entrances.

The officer guarding the front of the ritual implement shed was quite old, and having heard rumors of the peculiar person appearing in the camp from his colleagues, kept glancing at Yun-jo with curious eyes.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Please Let Me Go, Investigator!

adventureComedyFemale Protagonist

Read Now →
Not interested