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Chapter: 67

Wolhan Fortress Lord Son Cheon-Geum, frozen in place, looked at the prince seated in the highest seat of the conference hall. Outwardly, he was quiet, but inwardly, turmoil brewed. His mind was racing.

‘How can I salvage this situation?’

It was only when his frozen mind finally managed to formulate a response that he slowly turned his head towards Son Gye-du.

"That\'s what it seems like you want. It’s obvious you can\'t entrust this important task to someone you don\'t trust."

It\'s ruined.

Even a saint enshrined in history would be displeased by such an insult, let alone a \'madman\' prince.

Wolhan Fortress Lord glared at Son Gye-du, his hands clenched into fists. HIs grip was so tight that his nails dug into his palms, threatening to draw blood.

\'Son Gye-du... No matter how much you dislike me, this is...\'

Squeeze.

His fists, strained to their limit, trembled.

\'This isn\'t just about me. How can someone in a position of leadership act so despicably?\'

He was probably doing this to remove him from his position as Wolhan Fortress Lord. To Son Gye-du, the people suffering from the monster attacks were merely sacrifices for his own rise to power.

What frustrated Son Cheon-Geum even more was the lack of anyone actively opposing Son Gye-du. He had known that many elders had fallen for Son Gye-du\'s honeyed words, but he hadn\'t realized it was this bad. His position was weaker than he thought.

Was it his dedication to caring for the people and dealing with the monsters as their Fortress Lord that had put him in the elders\' bad graces? At this rate, his removal would only be a matter of time. That is, if things continued this way.

If the offended prince left the Northern region, Wolhan Fortress would be left to face the monsters alone, without any support.

Even if Son Cheon-Geum protested about the prince\'s humiliation, it wouldn\'t directly affect Wolhan Fortress much.

The Son family of Wolhan Fortress was not easily challenged, even by the king. Antagonizing such a large and powerful clan was a considerable burden, even for the monarch of a nation.

However, when it came to aid from the capital, the story changed. If the prince returned to the capital and declared that Wolhan Fortress didn\'t need military support, there would be nothing they could do.

Without outside help, the fight was hopelessly inadequate. Subjugation would be impossible, and the situation would likely end in a stalemate, leaving only significant damage.

They might be able to extinguish the immediate fire, but they wouldn\'t be able to preserve their forces. The same problem would inevitably arise again soon.

If Wolhan Fortress’s situation worsened, they could use that as an excuse to remove him from his position as the Fortress Lord. Stripping the head of an old and powerful clan of their authority wasn\'t common, but it wasn\'t unheard of either.

\'He\'s willing to sell out the people\'s safety just to remove me.\'

Son Gye-du\'s motives were clear. He had always seen Son Cheon-Geum as a thorn in his side.

But a thorn in Son Gye-du\'s side? Wasn\'t that a reversal of roles? Son Cheon-Geum was the one who should be scoffing at him.

The first qualification for Fortress Lord was the possession of supernatural abilities.

And the second was to be a blood relative of the Son family.

Both met the second qualification, but Son Gye-du failed the first.

He couldn\'t conjure even the most insignificant flicker of flame. He had no supernatural abilities.

But Son Cheon-geum did.

He remembered the day the next clan leader was chosen.

-"This is rigged! There\'s no way he has supernatural powers! You know it! I am my father\'s son, and that half-breed...!"

Son Cheon-geum, from a branch family, possessed the abilities that Shn Gye-du, the legitimate heir, lacked.

-"There is no objection. From this moment forth, all authority of the Wolhan Fortress Lord will be entrusted to Son Cheon-Geum."

No one was more suited to be the Wolhan Fortress Lord than Son Cheon-geum.

It was his victory, the one who had to pretend to be meek because he was a "half-breed."

How exhilarating it had been.

But.

"That wasn\'t what I meant, but it seems I have caused a misunderstanding," Son Gye-du said.

The audacity. No, was he insane? Son Cheon-geum gritted his teeth. His fists trembled, ready to grab Son Gye-du by the collar and slam him to the ground.

"So, Fortress Lord, what do you think?"

Ikwon turned his head towards Son Cheon-Geum. He flinched as if struck by lightning, but maintained a calm facade.

How could he sway the "mad prince"?

Ikwon\'s expression, which showed no hint of agreement even in pretense, intimidated him.

\'What should I do? Weakness... should I exploit his weakness?\'

Just then, Chaos raised his hand.

"May I also have a word?"

Why was Chaos suddenly speaking up?

\'He never speaks in situations like this?\'

Although Chaos rarely spoke up in such gatherings, he was still one of the four strongest in the Northern region. His position was in no way inferior to the other elders.

And he was closer to Son Cheon-Geum than to Son Gye-du.

After a brief moment of consideration, Son Cheon-geum gave his consent.

"Go ahead."

"You say His Highness is a madman?"

The question that followed without hesitation was utterly absurd.

What was this nonsense?

It was like adding fuel to the fire.

\'I\'ve spoiled that child too much. I raised him without the ability to discern what\'s appropriate... Not only did he steal HIs Highness\'s sword, but now he\'s smearing my face like this. It\'s all my fault.\'

Wolhan Fortress Lord felt his head burning.

He should have banned the word "madman" long ago.

Chaos didn\'t stop there and continued, "His Highness is someone who even pitches his own tent. I don\'t understand how he can be called a madman."

Son Cheon-Geum stiffened at his words.

"He even helped the herbalist guide when he was about to fall."

Chaos\'s youthful face didn\'t seem to be lying. He wasn\'t the type to do so anyway.

"And when we were trapped in the underground cave, he calmly found the way out."

Even Son Cheon-Geum had never heard this story, but for some reason, it wasn\'t difficult to imagine Yegyeong looking after those below him.

"So why is he called a madman? I hear they call him that in the capital, but why? I don\'t understand, so I\'m asking."

No one answered. Son Cheon-Geum glanced at the prince. The person in question himself was observing the situation with a faint smile, as if he found it all rather amusing.

In any case, he didn\'t seem particularly offended. At least, he seemed better than before.

\'It\'s not... the worst-case scenario?\'

Chaos looked at Son Gye-du. His straightforward gaze in a youthful face appeared quite bold.

"Did the Wiyeon District Leader say something he shouldn\'t have?"

Son Gye-du\'s face contorted. The elders who were usually close to Son Gye-du remained silent.

\'It\'s not good for Chaos to create unnecessary conflict either...\'

Due to the Northern region\'s unique custom of prioritizing blood ties above all else, it wasn’t wise to antagonize the elders, who were the family\'s seniors. That was why even Son Cheon-Geum, the Wolhan Fortress Lord himself, had always been careful with his words and never truly spoken his mind.

Even considering Chaos’s special status, opposing an elder wasn\'t a good move.

\'He\'s not a thoughtless child, so I don\'t understand why he\'s acting like this. It\'s excessive, even for defending me.\'

"I merely relayed what I had heard without any personal feelings."

At that moment, Yegyeong scoffed at Son Gye-du\'s words. The sound of the scoff echoed loudly in the already chilly hall.

"How absurd."

However, Yegyeong didn\'t dwell on Son Gye-du\'s remarks any further.

"I don\'t know if Chaos\'s words represent the Fortress Lord\'s stance, but since it seems the meeting is being delayed because of me, let\'s drop this matter,” Yegyeong said.

He had probably decided on one of two courses of action: either he didn\'t intend to make a big deal out of it, or he would let it slide here and then return to the capital.

Son Cheon-Geum had no choice but to seize the opportunity Yegyeong had given him and conclude the meeting. For now.

"I will arrange another meeting with His Highness to discuss this matter. Your Highness, please accept our apologies."

* * *

"I cannot stand idly by!"

Yoo Geung was furious.

"Just calm down for a moment."

"Your Highness."

I was about to push Yoo Geung, who was still fuming, back to our quarters when the Wolhan Fortress Lord approached.

"I apologize."

He bowed his head deeply.

"I am ashamed."

Hmm.

To be honest, it wasn\'t directly the Wolhan Fortress Lord\'s fault. Although I didn\'t know why he didn\'t stop it.

Did he half agree with them? I thought I had made a decent impression during our one-on-one meeting, but was I mistaken?

If that were true, I would be truly disappointed.

"It wasn\'t a pleasant experience."

But the Wolhan Fortress Lord was apologizing with a somber expression.

"Please forgive me. I am so ashamed that I can barely face you."

"It\'s not that serious."

Yoo Geung interjected.

"Your Highness, you must not forgive them."

"Is that so?"

"This cannot be overlooked."

Indeed.

I put my hands behind my back and said, "The more I think about it, the more unpleasant it feels..."

"I have no excuse."

If someone had insulted me like that in the capital, I would have had them dragged away immediately. But with a power like the Wolhan Fortress, I couldn\'t punish them just for a few insults.

Firstly, it was practically an autonomous region, too far away to bring them back for punishment, and difficult to enforce any sanctions. If I made a fuss over a few insults, I would naturally be labeled a madman here as well.

In that case, I might as well...

"Well, still, hearing your apology tells me that the Fortress Lord\'s opinion differs from the insults I just heard."

"I am deeply ashamed."

It was better to make him owe me a favor.

"No, if the Fortress Lord feels differently, there\'s no reason to apologize."

What was clear was that the elders were mostly unfavorable towards me.

Was the "madman" rumor the only reason? This wasn\'t a good situation.

Fortunately, the Wolhan Fortress Lord seemed to be on my side.

He hesitated before speaking frankly, "I have never thought of Your Highness in that way."

"Was I different from the rumors?"

I chuckled, and the Wolhan Fortress Lord, seemingly relieved, replied, "Words passed from mouth to mouth tend to get distorted. It\'s highly unlikely that the commoners in the marketplace have actually seen Your Highness, so how could they believe those rumors?"

I didn\'t know if he was being sincere, but I hoped he was.

I nodded. Behind me, Yoo Geung was radiating discontent.

Being a busy person, the Fortress Lord left after those words.

I returned to my quarters as well. Being insulted to my face was twice as tiring as usual.

Just then, a servant standing in front of my pavilion noticed me and approached. He seemed to have been waiting for me.

"Y-Your Highness, th-there is s-something I need to t-tell you."

With that, the servant held out a letter.

I eyed him suspiciously and unfolded the letter. On one side of the paper was the identity of the sender.

It was Son Gye-du.