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Chapter: 39

Even in broad daylight, the flames blazed brightly. Brightness was brightness, whether it was day or night. The background didn\'t matter. Light was always light.

Just as fire was always fire and light was always light, I would always be me.

Everyone would be the same.

At the shouts of "Fire!", everyone in the residence gathered in the open space. If the fire spread to other pavilions, they could all die.

There were servants, soldiers, and of course, other members of the Lord Naam\'s household, as well as the group I had brought with me.

Among them was a man dressed in particularly fine clothes, whose face was unfamiliar. As if sensing my gaze, he quickly turned his head and disappeared into the crowd.

I watched the scene unfold as I approached the gathering.

There was no need to rush. The more eyes on me, the better, so it was more effective to appear after everyone had gathered.

As I approached those who recognized me bowed their heads.

"What\'s going on here?!"

I let out a loud sigh. Of course, it was for their benefit.

The people gathered in the open space had anxious expressions. The servants were constantly carrying water to put out the fire. But the pavilion was already ablaze. It didn\'t seem like the fire would be extinguished easily.

No one answered my cry. It was half a soliloquy, but I still expected at least one person to respond.

I squeezed in among the servants carrying water and started pretending to put out the fire. I said I was pretending, but I was actually putting out the fire quite diligently.

"Yo-Your Highness."

One of the workers in front of me spoke with a troubled look. He seemed to want to stop me. I snatched the water bucket from him and urged him on.

"Speak if you have something to say. But first, we need to put out the fire."

"Th-This isn\'t something Your Highness should be doing..."

"Does it matter who does it? The most urgent matter is to put out the fire quickly and minimize the damage."

The worker\'s eyes wavered. He stammered, unable to respond, then bowed his head and went somewhere. Probably to fetch more water in a new bucket.

"Your Highness, there\'s no need for you to do this."

Even Gae Yeohwa stepped in to dissuade me from putting out the fire. She must have known why I had joined the servants.

"It\'s not a big deal. My father wouldn\'t want Your Highness to do manual labor."

I shook my head.

"Does it matter who puts out the blazing fire?"

"Your Highness\'s safety is of the utmost importance, so please leave it to others and take care of yourself!"

Then, a few people who seemed to be just watching the situation followed Gae Yeo-Hwa\'s lead and raised their voices.

"Your Highness, please leave this to others!"

"Your Highness\'s well-being is the most important thing to us!"

I turned and looked at them. I made eye contact with each one of them, but didn\'t answer. Then I went back to carrying water buckets, alongside the servants.

"Your Highness, it\'s dangerous!"

None of these people were of higher status than me. Since I was stepping up to put out the fire, they couldn\'t just stand there and watch.

Even those who had been shouting at me to stop had no choice but to lend a hand. They approached with reluctance.

In the end, everyone, regardless of their status, rolled up their sleeves and joined in the effort to extinguish the fire.

Just then, Lord Naam came running in a hurry.

"Your Highness!"

The Lord\'s face was pale. He looked terrified, as if he had seen a ghost.

"A-Are you alright?"

As the Lord approached, those who were putting out the fire alongside me retreated like a receding tide. I put down the water bucket for a moment.

It seemed he couldn\'t bear to see a prince, even one like me, get hurt in his own territory. I nodded.

"As you can see, I\'m fine."

"As soon as I heard about the fire, I rushed to check on Your Highness\'s well-being, but you weren\'t in the main residence..."

I replied magnanimously.

"You had to go through all that trouble because I went for a walk without informing you. You must have been looking for me."

"Y-Yes, Your Highness."

The Lord\'s gaze fell to the ground, where I had briefly set down the water bucket. I picked it up again.

"It won\'t take long to put out the fire."

"N-No! Your Highness, there\'s no need for this. Please take care of yourself. This, this isn\'t the time... You should evacuate..."

I feigned a pitiful tone.

"Is that so? I know I\'m not much help. I\'m sorry."

"N-No, no! That\'s not true! I\'ve never thought that, Your Highness. Please, take back your words!"

I figured the smoke was enough by now. The flames were starting to die down. I put the water bucket back on the ground.

As I stepped back from the burning pavilion, the Lord of Naam Fortress visibly relaxed. He seemed to have been deeply worried that I might get hurt.

Actually, that wouldn\'t have been a bad outcome. If I, a prince, were to get injured, I could’ve used that to easily acquire Gae Yeo-Hwa by holding him accountable.

Hmm.

Maybe I should have gotten hurt on purpose?

But the opportunity had already passed. If I wanted to get hurt, I should have acted sooner.

"I apologize for asking again, but are you truly unharmed, Your Highness?"

"Well, I told you I\'m fine."

I spread my arms out to the sides.

My clothes were a bit dusty, but otherwise, I was fine.

"As you can see, I\'m fine. Don\'t worry."

"My apologies."

I nodded repeatedly. Then I asked a question, which I admit was a bit out of the blue.

"Who\'s that over there?"

Among the group of servants, workers, and soldiers, there was one figure in particularly distinctive attire. I pointed at him with my index finger, and the Lord of Naam Fortress gave an awkward laugh, as if caught off guard.

I made sure the Lord couldn\'t avoid the question.

"I\'m talking about the man in the green silk robe."

"He\'s a... friend of mine."

What a load of bull...

It was a moment that required careful expression management.

Even a few words would expose his lie. But instead of criticizing Lord Naam, I simply replied casually.

"Ah, I see." I sighed, feigning surprise. "Then why don\'t you introduce him to me? It wouldn\'t be right if your friend and I were in the same place without even greeting each other, would it?"

I curled my lips into a smile.

"Especially since we\'ve already crossed paths."

Lord Naam mirrored my smile, his own as hollow as mine.

* * *

He said that since I might be shaken up from the fire, we should talk after I\'ve had some rest. I returned to my quarters.

"Your Highness."

Covered in soot, I was about to enter my room for a change of clothes when Heo Seokgyeom\'s voice stopped me. Yoo Geung was at his side.

"Commander Heo. What brings you here?"

Heo Seokgyeom had a stiff expression. Yoo Geung didn\'t seem to have any particular business for being here.

"Are you alright?"

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

How many people were going to ask me if I was alright?

Should I just gather everyone and give a speech?

"I\'m fine. As you can see."

"I apologize for my boldness, but it\'s difficult to confirm Your Highness\'s well-being just by looking at you."

I feigned exaggerated disgust.

"Do I have to take my clothes off to prove it? How indecent."

Heo Seokgyeom became slightly flustered.

"That\'s not what I meant."

"I know."

Heo Seokgyeom had a reputation for being serious, so my attempt at humor fell flat.

"Did you come to check if I\'m okay? You were carrying water buckets earlier too."

"Yes, I was."

I asked without much thought.

"Are you alright?"

Heo Seokgyeom became even more flustered at that.

"I\'m fine."

After hearing his answer, I turned my attention to Yoo Geung.

"You were carrying water buckets too."

"Yes, Your Highness. I was."

I asked Yoo Geung the same question.

"Are you alright?"

Yoo Geung was also flustered.

"Yes, Your Highness. I\'m fine."

It seemed my concern for their well-being caught them off guard. Their flustered reactions puzzled me, but I let it slide.

Heo Seokgyeom stated the reason for his visit.

"It seems that the Senior Secretary, Jong Sangye, secretly visited Naam Fortress."

My eyes widened at his words.

Why was Heo Seokgyeom telling me this?

Just a few days ago, he was the one urging me not to delay our schedule.

"So?"

"...Excuse me?"

Heo Seokgyeom frowned at my reaction.

"Is that what you came to report?"

"Yes."

Heo Seokgyeom answered readily. It was an unexpected report and an unexpected answer.

"That\'s absurd."

"...Excuse me?"

"Never mind."

Although I said it was absurd, it wasn\'t in a bad way.

It was also surprising that Heo Seokyeom immediately recognized Lord Naam\'s guest. Well, he had been in the palace for a long time, so maybe he knew most of the officials. As a Senior Secretary, he was a civil official and would have frequented the palace in the capital.

Or maybe that guy was a somewhat famous figure.

"Senior Secretary, Jong Sangye"

But I didn\'t know him well.

Yoo Geung spoke up.

"He\'s a relative by marriage to a distant branch of the Woo family."

This was also unexpected news.

If he was referring to the Woo family without further explanation, it must be the Queen\'s family, the maternal relatives of the Second Prince, Jaean.

I see. So Lord Naam was indeed in cahoots with my ugly little brother.

I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

But, that aside...

I wasn\'t really understanding the situation.

Why were Heo Seokgyeom and Yoo Geung coming to me and reporting who Lord Naam\'s guest was and who he was connected to?

What was the reason?

Was Senior Secretary Jong Sangye a well-known figure that everyone knew except me?

I thought for a moment and then asked, "...Is he someone everyone knows except me?"

At my words, Heo Seokgyeom and Yoo Geung exchanged a look, their expressions unreadable.

Even though the three of us were having a conversation, it felt like there was something only the two of them shared that I was excluded from.

What was this feeling of alienation?

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"My apologies."

Is "my apologies" an answer? Ha, seriously.

It was an answer that was worse than no answer at all. It basically meant they had nothing more to say.

I felt like an idiot. It had been a while since I felt this way. The first time since I was picked on by my brothers at the Blood Cloud Fortress.

"What? Why? What is it?"

But the two remained silent.

Finally, I snapped and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

In the end, I didn\'t get an answer.

What did it all mean?