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Chapter 19
“Who came?”
“The Second Prince’s chamberlain.”
“…….”
Rowen tilted his head slightly, resting his chin on his hand as he fell into thought.
In practice, the Second Prince’s right hand was the chamberlain.
A capable man—unfortunately, he belonged to Arsen’s faction, making him troublesome.
“What’s his business?”
“He says he has something urgent to report and is insisting on being let in.”
“Hmm……”
Should he trust it or not?
Rowen’s hesitation didn’t last long.
“Let him in.”
“Pardon? But……”
“I don’t repeat myself.”
“Yes, understood.”
Soon, the heavy door slowly opened and the chamberlain stepped inside.
“Leave us.”
“……Yes, Your Highness.”
The knight who had intended to remain in the room for safety paused at Rowen’s words, then quietly left without protest.
Now only Rowen and the chamberlain remained.
Neither spoke for a while.
After a long silence, the chamberlain slowly opened his mouth.
“Do you like old stories?”
“…Go ahead.”
Rowen tilted his head slightly, and the chamberlain licked his lips before speaking.
“Once there was a young man. He had a little brother. Their parents had died early, leaving only the two of them.”
“…….”
Rowen said nothing, simply listening.
His fingers occasionally tapped the table, but not enough to be distracting.
The chamberlain lowered his gaze and continued.
“One day, the imperial palace announced a charity event—free bread, one loaf per person.”
A faint memory surfaced in Rowen’s mind.
Back when he and Arsen were young, their father had ordered them to go out and distribute bread as part of a public welfare event.
Rowen had obeyed without complaint, but Arsen had been displeased.
He had questioned why someone of noble blood like himself should hand out bread to filthy commoners.
“So the young man and his brother went to receive bread as well. The person distributing it was the Second Prince.”
Rowen tried to recall.
But there had been so many people that he couldn’t remember individuals.
The chamberlain sighed faintly and continued.
“The young man received his bread safely. But his younger brother did not. He was too weak from prolonged starvation and dropped his loaf. It fell against the Second Prince’s shoe and then into the dirt.”
Though the chamberlain never explicitly named him, Rowen understood.
The “young man” was the chamberlain himself.
His voice turned slightly bitter.
“The Second Prince flew into a rage. He ordered knights to drag the boy away. The young man begged on his knees, but it was useless. That night, his brother returned as a cold corpse—his body covered in whip marks.”
“…….”
“That is why I climbed from a commoner to the position of chamberlain beside the Second Prince. It took a very long time.”
The chamberlain finally raised his eyes and looked directly at Rowen.
“Your Highness, I am that young man. Please—kill the Second Prince. I will tell you everything.”
He knelt and bowed deeply, pressing himself to the ground.
A clear act of submission.
Rowen narrowed his eyes, analyzing the intent.
‘Is this Arsen’s scheme?’
But Arsen wasn’t clever enough for something like this.
It was also possible the chamberlain was lying.
After a brief pause, Rowen spoke.
“How am I supposed to believe you? Everything you’ve said could be a fabrication.”
As if expecting this, the chamberlain immediately stood and took a thick stack of documents from his robe, handing them over.
Rowen took them and began to read.
“What is this……?”
“You don’t have to believe my story. My only wish is this—please kill the Second Prince.”
What Rowen held in his hands were records of Arsen’s corruption.
Embezzled funds. Documents related to purchasing poison used against the Emperor.
Even without this, Arsen had already been marked for death—but with this, it would be far easier.
If his involvement in the Emperor’s poisoning was exposed, he could be executed immediately.
It was a clear crime of regicide.
“You’ve… been preparing this for a long time.”
“It has been my lifelong purpose.”
The documents were thick.
Rowen couldn’t help but admire the chamberlain’s persistence.
To remain at Arsen’s side for so long, quietly gathering evidence piece by piece…
Eventually, someone would notice—but he had endured regardless.
“I will handle everything after the Emperor’s funeral tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Once Arsen was beheaded, the chamberlain would have no further regrets.
After witnessing his downfall, he intended to leave the empire.
He bowed deeply once more and left the room.
Left alone, Rowen spent a long time reading every document without even eating.
There was not a single flaw.
It was enough to drive Arsen to the edge of a cliff.
Rowen finally looked out the window.
It was already dark.
“I wonder what Juhee is doing……”
A faint smile formed on his lips.
It was late—she was probably already asleep.
And so Rowen spent the night thinking of Juhee.
* * *
Juhee sat on a hill, tilting her head back and staring at the sky.
Countless stars filled the black night.
It was a sight she had never seen in Korea, so it always felt new.
Mel, who had been watching quietly, landed on her shoulder.
“Juhee, you’ve been low on energy lately.”
“…Is that so?”
- Is it because Rowen left?
“No.”
Juhee shook her head without hesitation.
Mel continued chatting as if unaware.
- It’s boring without Rowen. Don’t you think so too? You looked happier when he was around.
Mel was surprisingly good at reading her expressions, even though Juhee’s face rarely changed.
The village apothecary had also occasionally asked when Rowen would return.
Juhee always said she didn’t know—but she did.
Rowen would never come back.
- Juhee, it’s getting late.
“Yeah. I should go in.”
Juhee stood up and headed home.
The next day, she went to buy meat in the village.
But the atmosphere was strange.
She tilted her head and entered the butcher shop.
She had only planned to buy a single serving, but out of habit, she also bought Rowen’s portion.
- Juhee, that’s too much meat.
“….”
It was awkward, but there was nothing she could do.
It had already been cut, so she couldn’t return it.
Near the village entrance was a large bulletin board, where people were gathered and murmuring.
“What is going on?”
“Suddenly the Emperor has passed away……”
Someone had died.
But Juhee didn’t particularly care who.
She was about to walk past when a sentence caught her ear.
“Tch… who would’ve thought the Emperor died from poison?”
Juhee frowned and turned toward the board.
The villagers quickly moved away as she approached, making space for her.
She stood in front of the notice and read.
The writing looked almost like alien script to her.
She could understand the spoken language, but not fully read it yet—Rowen had taught her enough to recognize some words.
“Emperor… poisoning……”
The village was far from the capital, so news was delayed.
The Emperor had likely died days ago.
“A new Emperor……”
Juhee murmured.
Rowen might become the new Emperor.
He had been the Crown Prince in the original story.
Maybe he had already met the heroine who arrived via dimensional transfer.
But Juhee decided it no longer concerned her and turned away.
Mel’s cautious voice followed her.
- Juhee, are you okay?
“Yeah.”
- I’m here! I’ll never leave your side.
“Yeah.”
Juhee replied flatly and kept walking.
Mel circled her anxiously.
It worried her.
Even though Juhee said she was fine, Mel didn’t believe it.
Ever since Rowen left, Juhee had lost motivation for everything.
She even habitually cooked meals for two.
Back home, Juhee lay in bed, curled up under the blanket.
Mel watched her, then flew to the forest and landed on Ru’s head.
- Wolf, how do we make Juhee smile again?
Ru ignored her, sniffing around the forest as usual.
- Juhee is really down. Should we bring Rowen back? But I can’t leave the forest…
After thinking for a long time on Ru’s head, Mel suddenly had an idea and flew back home.
The lights were on—Juhee must have woken up.
- Juhee!
Mel flew inside quickly, calling her name.
Then she said proudly:
- I’ll guard the house, so Juhee should go see Rowen!
