Chapter 19
“Who came?”
“The chief attendant of the Second Prince.”
“….”
Rowen crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand, falling into thought.
In practice, the one who functioned as Arsene’s hands and feet was the chief attendant.
He was capable, but unfortunately he belonged to Arsene’s side, making him a troublesome figure.
“What’s the matter?”
“He says he has something urgent to tell you and is insisting on waiting until you allow him entry.”
“Hm…”
Should he trust it, or not?
Rowen’s hesitation did not last long.
“Let him in.”
“Pardon? But—”
“I don’t repeat myself.”
“Yes, understood.”
Soon, the thick door slowly opened, and the chief attendant entered.
“Leave us.”
“…Yes.”
The knight who had been staying in the room in case of any situation hesitated at Rowen’s command, then quietly left without protest.
Now only Rowen and the chief attendant remained in the room.
The chief attendant said nothing. Rowen also remained seated in silence.
After a long moment, the chief attendant finally spoke slowly.
“Do you, perhaps, enjoy old stories?”
“…Go on.”
Rowen tilted his head slightly, and the attendant began to speak.
“Once upon a time, there was a young man. He had a younger sibling. Their parents had died early, leaving only the two of them.”
“…”
Rowen did not respond, only listened quietly.
His fingers occasionally tapped the table, but it was not enough to be bothersome.
The attendant continued, eyes lowered.
“One day, the imperial palace announced a charity event, distributing a loaf of bread per person for free.”
A faint memory surfaced in Rowen’s mind.
Back when Rowen and Arsene were young, their father had ordered them to go out into the world and distribute bread as part of a charity event.
Rowen had complied without complaint, but Arsene had been displeased.
He had wondered why someone of the highest bloodline should hand out bread to filthy commoners.
“So the young man and his sibling went to receive bread as well. The one distributing it was the Second Prince.”
Rowen searched his memory.
But there had been too many people gathered at the time to remember individuals clearly.
The attendant let out a faint sigh and continued.
“The young man received his bread safely. But his younger sibling did not. Weak from long starvation, he lost his strength and accidentally dropped the bread. It struck the Second Prince’s shoe slightly before falling to the ground.”
The attendant did not explicitly name the young man, but Rowen understood.
That young man was the attendant himself.
The attendant’s voice turned slightly bitter.
“The Second Prince flew into a rage. He immediately ordered knights to drag the sibling away. The young man begged on his knees, but it was useless. That night, the sibling returned as a cold corpse. His entire body was covered in blood from lashes.”
“…”
“So the young man gritted his teeth and rose from a commoner to become the chief attendant of the Second Prince. It took a very long time.”
The attendant raised his lowered gaze and looked directly at Rowen.
“I am that young man. First Prince. Please kill the Second Prince. I will tell you everything.”
He slowly knelt and pressed himself flat to the ground.
A clear gesture of submission.
Rowen narrowed his eyes, considering his intent.
‘Is this Arsene’s scheme?’
That seemed unlikely—Arsene was not that intelligent.
But it was also possible the attendant had fabricated the story.
After a brief pause, Rowen spoke.
“How am I supposed to believe that? Everything you just said could be a lie.”
As if expecting this, the attendant immediately stood and pulled a thick stack of documents from his coat, handing them over.
Rowen accepted them and began to read with skeptical eyes.
“This is…?”
“You do not need to believe my words. But I have only one wish. Please kill the Second Prince.”
What Rowen held were records of Arsene’s corruption.
There were documents showing embezzlement of funds—and even records of purchasing poison used in the Emperor’s death.
With this, killing him would be far easier.
If it was proven that Arsene had orchestrated the Emperor’s poisoning, he could be executed immediately.
It was an unmistakable crime of regicide.
“You’ve… prepared this for quite a long time.”
“It has been the goal of my entire life.”
The documents were thick.
Rowen could not help but admire the attendant’s meticulousness.
It was inevitable that such things would eventually be exposed, yet he had remained at Arsene’s side for so long, collecting evidence piece by piece.
“After the Emperor’s funeral tomorrow, I will handle everything.”
“Thank you.”
After witnessing Arsene’s execution, the attendant would have no lingering attachments.
He intended to leave the empire afterward.
He bowed deeply and left the room.
Now alone, Rowen did not even eat, spending a long time reading every document.
They were flawless.
In other words, they pushed Arsene to the edge of a cliff.
Rowen looked up toward the window.
It was already dark outside.
“What is Joohee doing right now…?”
Thinking of her, a faint smile formed on his lips.
It was late—she was probably already asleep.
And so Rowen spent the night thinking of Joohee.
* * *
Joohee sat on a hill, tilting her head back and staring blankly at the sky.
The black night sky was filled with countless stars.
It was a view she had never seen in Korea, and it always felt strange to her no matter how many times she saw it.
Mel, who had been quietly watching her, landed on her shoulder.
—Joohee, you’ve been low on energy lately.
“…Is that so?”
—Is it because Rowen left?
“No.”
Joohee denied it without hesitation, shaking her head slightly.
Mel pretended not to notice and kept talking.
—It’s boring without Rowen. Don’t you think so? When he was here, you seemed brighter too.
Joohee had always been expressionless, but Mel could strangely distinguish her moods.
When Joohee went down to the village to sell herbs, the old man at the herb shop sometimes casually asked when Rowen would return.
Joohee always said she didn’t know—but in truth, she did know.
Rowen would never return.
—Joohee, it’s late.
“Yeah. I should go inside.”
Joohee stood and headed home.
The next day, she went down to the village to buy meat.
But the village felt strangely unsettled.
Tilting her head, she entered the butcher shop.
She had only intended to buy one serving—but out of habit, she ended up buying meat for Rowen as well.
—Joohee, that’s too much meat.
“…”
It was troublesome, but there was nothing she could do.
It was already cut, so she couldn’t return it. In the end, she decided to just take it.
At the entrance of the village, there was a large bulletin board where people were gathered, murmuring.
“What happened?”
“They say he died suddenly…”
Someone had apparently died.
But Joohee didn’t particularly care who.
She tried to pass by—but a sentence caught her ear.
“Haah… who would’ve thought the Emperor would die from poisoning?”
Joohee frowned and turned sharply, walking straight toward the board.
As she approached, the villagers quickly moved away, giving her space.
She didn’t need to squeeze through the crowd.
She slowly read the notice.
The letters here were almost like alien script compared to Korean. She could understand spoken language, but reading had been difficult—though Rowen had patiently taught her, allowing her to read to some extent.
“The Emperor… poison…?”
This village was likely far from the capital, so news had arrived late.
That meant the Emperor had likely died days ago.
“A new Emperor…”
Joohee murmured.
Rowen might become the new Emperor.
In the novel, he was the crown prince.
And since she had already been transported here while the crown prince met the heroine, perhaps they had already met.
But Joohee decided it had nothing to do with her anymore and turned away.
Mel’s cautious voice reached her ear.
—Joohee, are you okay?
“Yeah.”
—I’m here! I’ll never leave your side.
“Yeah.”
Joohee answered flatly and walked on.
Mel circled her anxiously, watching her with worried eyes.
Mel was concerned.
Even though Joohee said she was fine, Mel didn’t believe it.
Since Rowen left, Joohee seemed to have lost motivation for everything.
She even instinctively cooked meals for two.
When she returned home, Joohee lay down, pulled the blanket over herself, curled into a ball, and tried to sleep.
Mel watched her for a while, then flew into the forest and landed on Ru’s head.
—Wolf, how can I make Joohee smile again?
Whether Ru heard her or not, the wolf continued sniffing around the forest as usual.
—Joohee is really down… should I bring Rowen back? But I can’t leave the forest…
Mel sighed deeply and rolled around on Ru’s head.
After thinking for a long time, she suddenly seemed to come up with an idea and quickly flew back to the house.
The lights were on—Joohee was awake.
—Joohee!
Mel flew inside quickly, calling her name loudly.
Then she said with a very proud expression:
—I’ll guard the house, so Joohee should go see Rowen!
