Chapter 3: The Cage of Fate

Ahnok shook his head, trying to banish the face of the man that kept tightening around his ankles like a snare.

At that moment, Seol Ga Hyo added strength to the hand gripping Ahnok’s arm and spoke.

“This marriage is the only way for you to be recognized. Father even said that if you accept this union, he will acknowledge you as a member of the Seol family.”

“……”

“Do you think there is any other way for a bastard like you to even dream of receiving the Seol surname?”

When it seemed that conciliation and persuasion would not work, Seol Ga Hyo’s tone turned coarse, revealing his true nature.

Ahnok’s heart—already mired in a swamp of despair, stained with agonizing self-loathing and the jarring sense of a body that refused to move as he wished—suddenly grew bone-dry.

He raised his hand to rub away the redness from his bloodshot eyes and flushed lids, then looked Seol Ga Hyo straight in the face with a cleaner, sharper gaze.

“There wouldn’t be.”

Ahnok was still afraid of Seol Ga Hyo. The man before him was larger and certainly stronger. Even if Seol Ga Hyo were to beat him here or throw him off the cliff, there was no one who would raise a voice in protest.

He knew his situation well; even if people gossiped for a few days that Ahnok was a being who deserved to die, it would surely be forgotten soon after. Yet, what overcame his fear was resignation—and the cynicism born from it.

“You know that, yet you still act this way?”

“However, even if I receive a mere surname, you won’t actually recognize me as a member of the Seol family. Either way, isn’t it the same in the end?”

“What…?”

Ahnok’s cool, composed attitude did not at all resemble a world-weary twenty-year-old child who had just lost the only elder he relied on and was left entirely alone.

Seol Ga Hyo’s eyes sharpened as he glared at Ahnok.

“You said the Third Prince of Daejin is not a bad prospect. If that is so, why is the King of Baekya sending me instead of the County Lady…?”

Ahnok could not finish his sentence.

Seol Ga Hyo had expected that bringing back a mere bastard would be a simple task. But first the boy fled on horseback, then he hesitated to jump off a cliff, and now, after being saved from his own indecision, he dared to talk back.

Seol Ga Hyo had also reached the limit of his patience. He swung his clenched fist and struck Ahnok’s cheek with great force.

To Seol Ga Hyo, Ahnok was not even a half-brother; he was nothing more than a common bastard. The County Lady, however—the only daughter of the King of Baekya—was a precious sister whose name could not be uttered by a bastard who wasn’t even recorded in the family register.

Furthermore, in the general customs of Daejin where the marriageable age was around twenty, the County Lady, who was sixteen this year, was somewhat young to be a betrothed partner.

She was also a Pyeongin, not an Eumin. Among the bloodline of the King of Baekya, Ahnok was the only Eumin who could be matched with the Third Prince of Daejin, who was a Yangin.

Besides, a betrothal with the Daejin Imperial Family was nothing but a burden from Baekya-bu’s perspective. Although the Imperial Family had proposed the marriage first, everyone knew it was a trap set to shackle Baekya-bu.

Though they had integrated voluntarily, Baekya-bu possessed a strong independent streak. The Imperial Family demanding a person was little different from demanding tribute to keep the tribe under their thumb.

Thus, the King of Baekya preferred to send his discarded child, Ahnok, rather than the County Lady he cherished.

‘Knowing these inner circumstances, Seol Ga Hyo must be furious.’

Clutching his stinging cheek and jaw, Ahnok struggled to swallow the blood that threatened to fill his mouth.

He knew he was an easy target, but he had aimed for a brief opening. He had hoped a fuming Seol Ga Hyo would abandon him and descend the mountain alone.

If the man had told him he never wanted to see him again, and had gone to the King to suggest adopting another Eumin from the tribe to send to the Prince instead, Ahnok would have wished for nothing more.

“Get on the horse.”

Seol Ga Hyo spoke with a sigh, turning away as if to ignore Ahnok, who was struggling to keep the blood from leaking out of his mouth. He seemed to be barely suppressing his lingering emotions.

Was that small opening not enough? Ahnok clenched his fists tight. If jumping and fleeing were both impossible, there was no choice but to step back for now. In the end, he miserably dropped his head and followed Seol Ga Hyo’s command.

When ascending the mountain path, two horses had galloped fiercely as if in a race, but on the way down, only one carried a rider. To prevent Ahnok from fleeing again, Seol Ga Hyo kept him on his horse while holding the reins, leading the other horse behind them.

“What happened…?”

“Put Ahnok in the palanquin, and you follow closely beside it and watch him well.”

The subordinate tried to ask what had transpired, but Seol Ga Hyo cut him off coldly. The subordinate, silenced, directed a sharp gaze at Ahnok as he dismounted from the saddle.

Once inside the palanquin, it felt as though he were trapped in a narrow prison. Since it was barely large enough for one person, Ahnok closed his eyes within the darkness that consumed the interior.

He had ridden in a palanquin like this on the day Yeo Jae Won won the political struggle and they entered the Eastern Palace together. Of course, that had been a grand eight-man litter, far larger than this modest one carried by two.

The people of Sanggyeong, the capital of Daejin, used to tell Ahnok how lucky he was, knowing nothing of the truth. They said his fortunes had changed all because he had met such a fine spouse.

– His Highness the Prince of Myeong does not indulge in lust; he is wise and brave, and thus has come to inherit the position of Crown Prince. The Consort of Myeong is truly blessed.

– Does the princely residence have internal turmoil, or are there many trivial accidents in the fief…? On the contrary, it is the Consort of Myeong who has many flaws. Originally, when one person harbors a great cause, the whole family should step up to support them, but since his maternal home, Baekya-bu, turned out that way… tsk, tsk.

Not only the ladies of the Imperial Family and the nobility, but even the wives of high-ranking officials and busybodies did not hold back their various comments in front of Ahnok.

Ahnok could not refute their words. Yeo Jae Won’s achievements were accomplished solely through his own strength. It was not something to be undervalued.

However, Ahnok did not consider himself particularly blessed. He had never asked for it. He had never begged Yeo Jae Won to kill his kinsmen out of resentment, nor had he ever asked to be made Empress because he wanted to rise from a lowly life to a sublime position.

His life had been punctuated by things he never desired.

Even if he were to be dragged before Seol Ham Hyeon now, receive the unwanted Seol surname, and marry Yeo Jae Won as the King’s third son, he would not repeat that life again.

He had to make sure of it.

“Please step out. We have arrived.”

Seol Ga Hyo’s subordinate spoke as he lifted the curtain of the palanquin.

His cheeks, where tears had dried, were clean now. Ahnok had rubbed them away with all his might. Only his slightly damp eyes remained as a trace that he had been weeping.

The Residence of the King of Baekya had long been the largest and most grand place in the region. It was the one building in the land of Baekya-bu that stood out above all others.

In the front courtyard of the main house, two stone lanterns spread wide to the left and right, illuminating the surroundings. While Seol Ga Hyo went inside to report, his subordinate and Ahnok were left alone, standing a moderate distance apart.

“So you’re that bastard.”

A provocative voice came from behind. Even without turning around, Ahnok knew who the man spitting such vulgar words was.

It was Seol Ga Muk, the second son of Seol Ham Hyeon and his other half-brother.

“Ah, Lord Ga Muk. What brings you here at such a late hour?”

“It’s my house anyway, so what do you care?”

Even though Seol Ga Hyo’s subordinate offered a polite greeting, Seol Ga Muk responded with his usual aggression. Ahnok still did not turn his head.

In the past, he would have been startled by the goading “bastard” comment, but now he found even responding to be exhausting. Of course, inwardly, Ahnok was slightly tense, wondering if Seol Ga Muk would approach and berate him with his ill-tempered nature. However, remaining unresponsive was the best course of action.

If Seol Ga Hyo gave the impression of a well-honed warrior, Seol Ga Muk was a dandy at first glance. With a frame slightly chubbier and larger than his brother’s, and a face layered with multiple folds of spite, it was difficult for him to earn favor no matter how much one lied.

“Well, look at this. Do you think you’ve already become the primary consort of the Third Prince just because you’re being sold off to the Imperial Family?”