Chapter 14: Facing the Wild Blue

I was just a hair away from death. One more step and I’d be gone for good. Cold sweat ran down my back.

“Prince Yuriegel. Long time no see.”

The voice was calm, but it felt like it was holding back a storm of emotions. A chill ran down my spine. I turned to see who was speaking.

Damn… he’s handsome.

His appearance matched the cold vibe perfectly. A straight nose, sharp features, and piercing blue eyes that reminded me of the deep sea. Wait… that face seemed familiar. Ah! It’s Wi Hajun.

Of course. In the original story, it was Wi Hajun who saved the prince. So his presence here made sense. He must’ve come to save Yuriegel.

But something felt off. His black hair shifted with the wind, his icy gaze radiated a chilling presence. I felt like I was tossed into the middle of a freezing ocean, my body trembling on its own.

Why… why is he threatening me?

I was short of breath.

“What? You weren’t supposed to be here.”

What did that mean? Was I not supposed to be here? Or hadn’t I been here before? The words made no sense. In fact, this entire situation made no sense.

Something’s wrong.

The anger toward Prince Yuriegel, the cold attitude, the confusing words… this wasn’t the Wi Hajun I knew from the story. It was like someone else wearing his skin.

Is this a butterfly effect? No… I didn’t do anything to change the main character’s personality. Then what…

I held my breath and stared at him.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll just kill you.”

Wi Hajun muttered, low and cold, and charged without any stance or warning.

Kaang!

I instinctively lifted my dagger just in time to avoid having my neck sliced off. The shockwave threw me backward.

So this is real.

Feeling the force of a shockwave I’d only read about in stories was… surreal. It was either a new experience or a sign that I was utterly screwed.

This opponent had strength so overwhelming that it made me feel like prey staring at a predator. My body tingled with helplessness.

“Is that all you’ve got…”

His voice had no emotion. He spoke as if he were judging my abilities.

“We should… talk.”

I barely managed to stand after the first clash. My only chance to survive was to think fast, use my head, and exploit every opening. But for that, Wi Hajun would have to accept my attempt at talking.

His blue eyes remained unreadable. Empty. Nothing stirred in them. I realized instantly that reasoning with him was impossible.

A choice seemed to appear before me:

[You’ve encountered the wild Wi Hajun. What do you do?]

Run

Talk

Taunt

Talking was already out. Only running or provoking him remained.

I… chose both.

“Heh heh… Still underestimating me? Disappointing.”

A glint of curiosity flashed in his eyes.

“I’ll show you my true power.”

I grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and threw it at his eyes, then charged straight at the prince.

Boom—

Pain slammed into me. I flew back, crashing into another tree. That’s when I realized my plan had failed.

Footsteps echoed—Wi Hajun was walking toward me.

My life… is this really the end?

All I could feel was pity for myself. I lifted my head and stared at him, letting my anger spill out.

“You bastard. Psycho. If you kill me, you’ll never sleep well again.”

I muttered to myself, spitting out curses like a madman. His eyes flickered.

Prince Yuriegel should’ve been alone here, but things were different. The knight who attacked him lay cold and still on the ground. And standing with the prince was a stranger.

A variable.

If revenge mattered, the variable needed to disappear. But why…

The blade wouldn’t move.

Somehow, I felt like he was overlapping with someone from my distant memories. I considered releasing the hidden traitors lurking in the shadows but didn’t feel like it.

Is it because of that guy?

I knew of the presence sharing his body—Hyde. My body wasn’t fully under my control, which was annoying, but I couldn’t separate it. And apparently, the unconscious part could reach out now.

I need a plan.

But for now, because of Hyde, I couldn’t handle the variable. Which meant I couldn’t deal with the prince either.

“Kill him cleanly! Or… don’t kill him at all!”

The variable trembled and flailed like a madman. Why was Hyde protecting him? My instincts told me: to get rid of Hyde, I’d need to use this guy.

Wi Hajun took a step back, then moved like he disappeared in a flash.

Watch and see. His goal will show itself.

Hidden among the trees, Wi Hajun decided to observe the variable.

“Phew… huff.”

Once Wi Hajun vanished like a mirage, I clutched my pounding heart and finally loosened the tension in my stiff body.

I knew now what it felt like to face someone with overwhelming power.

This is weird. Wi Hajun shouldn’t be this strong this early in the story.

From what I remembered, he should barely have enough strength to take down one orc. If I had ambushed him, I could’ve assassinated him easily. But the Wi Hajun in front of me was different. He didn’t reveal all his strength and wasn’t anxious—he toyed with me casually, like a full cat playing with a tiny mouse.

“Are you okay?”

“Not the worst. I can say I’m fine. You speak as if to kill me, then vanish suddenly.”

His intentions were a complete mystery. Memories of him muttering Yuriegel’s name in a mix of emotions surfaced. He seemed to already know the prince. How he knew him, I had no clue.

Finally, reaching the limit of guessing alone, I asked the one person I thought might hold the answers—Yuriegel.

“Do you know him?”

“Hmm… no. Too many people seem to hate me.”

Yuriegel glanced at the fallen knight and continued:

“But not by face.”

So Wi Hajun knew Yuriegel, but Yuriegel didn’t know him.

Ah, forget it.

I shook my head. Thinking alone wouldn’t help.

Yuriegel looked me over and muttered casually:

“Talking to yourself a lot.”

“Oh, did I? I’ve been alone for too long.”

Yuriegel nodded, pitying me. For some reason, that made me feel annoyed.

“I suppose it’s possible. But losing your mind when your life’s on the line? That’s dangerous.”

“Eh?”

What did he mean?

“Maintaining composure in front of overwhelming power isn’t easy, I suppose.”

I shook my head, but Yuriegel ignored me, nodding with furrowed brows. His solitary, self-satisfied nodding somehow pissed me off.

“No….”

I was about to argue when a soldier called out:

“Here’s the prince!”

Perfect timing—these guys hadn’t appeared when the prince was under attack, and now they conveniently showed up. I stepped back, watching the fallen knight, the exhausted prince, and the stranger. Anyone could see it looked like I was the one who attacked the prince.

No matter how Yuriegel defended me, it wouldn’t matter. He was just an exiled prince stuck in the forest under the empire’s troops. His words wouldn’t carry any weight.

“Name’s Shin Doyun. Remember it.”

I emphasized my name.

Hope you remember this and come back as a grateful emperor!

I hid my personal feelings and started to leave.

“Wait…”

Yuriegel called, but I ignored it and kept moving.