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Chapter: 27

It felt good to ride a horse after such a long time.

It wasn\'t my imagination that the members of my entourage kept glancing at me riding the horse.

It seemed they all assumed I wouldn\'t be able to ride a horse while preparing for the trip.

I felt like a strange person, leisurely riding my horse.

It was just riding a horse, but it felt like I had become a clown performing tricks.

At first, those glances bothered me, but once I figured out the reason, it didn\'t matter anymore.

So I decided to enjoy my freedom while I was out.

Ah, this refreshing wind.

It was a shame we couldn\'t ride fast because we were traveling in a group, but it was enough of a change of pace after being cooped up in the palace.

While riding, I looked up at the sky.

A black dot was following our group, high above my head.

It was Gon.

He was probably flying while cursing me.

Since we weren\'t going somewhere nice, I was going to leave him at Hyenyeongdang just in case, but he insisted on coming along. He made such a fuss that I had no choice but to bring him.

He said he feels at ease when he\'s around me.

He had to fly all day, but he endured the hardship and followed me in the end.

The reason he and I were traveling separately was because of other people\'s eyes. I could have carried him on my shoulder or the saddle, but I couldn\'t ignore how it would look. A crazy prince carrying around a wild crow? Rumors of me being possessed would spread, and I wouldn\'t be able to deny it.

This wasn\'t a small group, so I had to be careful.

I could only let him be seen by others after I got rid of my "crazy prince" reputation.

Yes, that reputation.

Of course, there were some advantages to it. Thanks to my notorious reputation as a madman, the Second Prince didn\'t actively watch me, and the Queen and her family\'s blades weren\'t an immediate threat.

And because I was perceived as a fool who drank and beat people up, most of the palace staff just accepted whatever I did.

I asked Eunuch Han and even went to the library to search. The deposed Queen hadn\'t done anything wrong. Why was she deposed and killed?

Looking at the circumstances, it was as if the deposed Queen had represented the military faction. The result was the effective downfall of my maternal grandfather, the head of the capital\'s military.

After that, the entire military, following my grandfather, was looked down upon by the civil officials.

As I recall, King Bonhyeon had also reorganized the central army before he died.

Did he kill the deposed Queen and push away the First Prince for that?

Then... maybe all the military officials could be on my side?

I looked at Yoo Geung, who was walking a few steps ahead of me on my right. Then I looked at Heo Seokgyeom, who was also a few steps ahead of me on my left.

Heo Seokgyeom, who had been looking ahead, suddenly turned his head and looked at me. Our eyes met.

"Creepy..."

"Pardon?"

Heo Seokgyeom stared at me intently, as if trying to figure out what was going on.

"You seem to have good instincts."

"I often hear such evaluations."

"Really? That\'s impressive."

Heo Seokgyeom\'s facial muscles twitched slightly. He was definitely trying to hold back a smile. Surprisingly, Heo Seokgyeom was susceptible to compliments.

"Someone like you should be the Commander. Absolutely."

As I said that, I carefully observed the corners of Heo Seokgyeom\'s mouth.

And I noticed his mouth twitching slightly again.

Good. Weakness discovered.

If he could so easily reveal his inner thoughts to someone like me, I wondered how he survived in the Geumo Guard. It\'s not like the military is only filled with muscleheads; you need to know how to sweet-talk and put on a thick skin.

Well, that\'s his problem, not mine. If necessary, I can pull him up or push him down. If he can\'t be my man, then whether he\'s demoted or whatever, it\'s not my concern.

There was nothing wrong with gradually building a friendly relationship like this. I didn\'t know how far Heo Seokgyeom would rise, but he was already the Commander of the Geumo Guard. Yoo Geung would also rise to that level. And since I could steer him away from death, building this kind of rapport would definitely be beneficial later on.

And my maternal grandfather too.

How many influential figures in the capital weren\'t on the First Prince\'s side? My grandfather was one of the few cards I could get without much effort.

That\'s not to say my grandfather wasn\'t on my side.

He procured the bellflower through Shin Gwiryung and then delivered it to Hyenyeongdang. How could that be described as anything other than assistance? As far as I knew, there was no other way to describe it.

If that fact were discovered, it would be a significant blow to my grandfather. Hadn\'t he already suffered considerable losses due to the deposed Queen incident? Of course, the incident itself could also be considered a loss.

So, making my grandfather my ally... meant turning around the heart of my grandfather, who was broken after losing his child. Not just retiring from the front lines and quietly maintaining his position, but dreaming of revenge for the deposed Queen and putting me on the throne.

There was no choice. If I didn\'t do that, the past would only repeat itself. The First Prince, unable to properly become king, would inevitably die.

With a heavy heart, I continued on the endless road.

* * *

After a day and a half, the gates of Oro Fortress came into view.

Oro Fortress wasn\'t a particularly bustling place. The surroundings were empty, and the few houses scattered about clearly showed signs of poverty.

It wasn\'t close to the border, but it wasn\'t close to the capital either. There wasn\'t much farmland, and no major rivers flowed through it. It was a place without any distinctive features.

And Bonhyeon had insisted I visit this place.

Did he give that order just to bother me?

Surely not.

I could roughly predict how the Oro Fortress Lord would react. The current lord hadn\'t inherited the position; he was originally a military officer from the capital. Having children, he\'d be quite interested in who the next king would be.

Whether my prediction was right or not, I couldn\'t tell immediately, but one thing was for sure: the Oro Fortress Lord was interested in my visit. He was waiting at the gate before I even arrived.

Spotting me from afar, the fortress lord bowed his head. Behind him, the people of the fortress stood in a dense crowd. As the lord bowed, the entire crowd bowed in unison.

"Let\'s dismount and enter."

There was no harm in making a good impression on the Lord of the Oro Fortress. As I got off my horse, the others hurriedly dismounted as well. Eunuch Han, riding a pony, stumbled as he dismounted and nearly fell.

I approached the gate.

"We greet His Highness, the First Prince Ikwon."

It was an old man. He introduced himself as the Lord of the Oro Fortress.

The fortress lord bowed while standing. Seeing him up close, he seemed even older than my grandfather or Eunuch Han.

"Raise your head."

"I am honored. Was your journey here peaceful?"

I replied vaguely that it was.

"It seems you were waiting for me."

"Indeed, Your Highness."

Flattering words followed, like how he couldn\'t not wait for me.

I don\'t know how many times he apologized for not being able to attend the birthday banquet. He said he was honored that I came to see him personally and that it was an honor to meet me, practically gilding my face with praise.

I knew better than anyone that meeting a crazy prince couldn\'t be an honor, so no matter how pleasant the words were, they didn\'t register.

The Fortress Lord led the way, guiding the group. Even though he was once a military officer, he was now just a frail old man. It wasn\'t surprising that a man of his age, who could die any day, was trying to connect with the royal family. I couldn\'t ignore his sincerity.

As we walked, he boasted about how wonderful Oro Fortress was. But even if he scraped together all the good points, it was still just another rural castle.

I didn\'t interrupt his explanation. I listened to the fortress lord\'s explanation indifferently.

Anyway, the place was maintained to a decent standard.

Since there were hardly any battles, the fortress was also in very good condition.

As we entered the inner fortress, he said, "I am humbled to receive Your Highness in this humble abode."

I quietly looked around the interior. It was indeed a humble place. Compared to the palace, it was bound to be humble, but it was shabby in a different way than Blood Cloud Fortress.

If Blood Cloud Fortress was shabby because they were constantly fighting and couldn\'t pay attention to anything else, this place seemed shabby because the owner didn\'t care enough to pay attention.

Still, the room I was to stay in was reasonably clean. It was evident that they had made an effort in the short time they had before my arrival.

I couldn\'t ignore such sincerity.

"It\'s simple but peaceful. I like it, so don\'t say such things."

The Oro Lord\'s wrinkled face brightened.

Even after that, he didn\'t leave immediately. It seemed he had something to say.

I remembered that the Lord of the Oro Fortress had a child and thought for a moment before speaking.

"I heard you have a child."

The Fortress Lord replied with a pleased expression, "Yes, Your Highness. I have a son."

Then he added, feigning vigor.

"I have prepared a modest gathering in honor of Your Highness\'s long journey."

Suddenly, I noticed the fortress Lord clasping his hands together. His grip was tight.

It seemed he didn\'t like having to bow his head to me.

And it wasn\'t just dislike, it was outright hatred. Maybe he was cursing me inwardly.

He would know that I was a madman. Even a bumpkin from Seopyung knew that, so it would be strange if the Lord of the Oro Fortress didn\'t know about my reputation.

It was a strange feeling to see his true feelings, even though I knew no one would welcome a crazy prince.

I chuckled.

He wasn\'t worried about my travel fatigue or my mood. This old man was bowing his head in front of a young, mad prince only for his son\'s future.

It would have been the same even if the Second Prince had come instead of me. Since the Second Prince was currently a more likely successor than me, the eldest son, he might have been even more attentive to him.

I briefly considered being spiteful, but then reminded myself it was a foolish thought and nodded.

"Thank you for the hospitality."

The important thing was to see how much he was willing to pay to gain my favor.