Chapter 9
“I was seriously so dumbfounded, I couldn’t help but laugh. I mean, even if he poured all his power into me, the Vermilion Bird is the divine beast that’s ruled the South for generations! If he can’t even tell whether the creature in front of him is a dragon, a goblin, or a tiger, what good is he? How can he not recognize me?”
It was only then that Junghyo realized why his lord was so angry and swallowed a sigh.
“Your Highness. Let’s be honest here. Thirteen years ago, when I found you outside the walls of Dongnae wrapped in the Vermilion Bird’s feather, you were this small.” Jung-hyo slapped his thigh halfway down with the edge of his hand.
“You ran around like a wild colt so much, I picked up this dirt-smeared brat half-dead.”
Still patting his thigh, Jung-hyo clicked his tongue at his lord.
“You do realize that you’re taller than me now, right?”
“……”
“Who would ever think that a snot-nosed, sunburned little kid and a jade-like young man I have to crane my neck to look at are the same person? Even I, who personally raised you—fed you, clothed you—can hardly believe it.”
pilhwan couldn’t deny it.
He’d liked how Onju adored him, even when he’d been a scrawny, unimpressive thing, like a stray puppy or kitten. He loved how Onju would carry and cuddle him whenever he acted clingy.
So pilhwan deliberately skipped meals, tried to look dirtier—hoping he’d stay a child forever.
Knowing better than anyone how small and shabby he used to be, pilhwan quickly moved on to another complaint.
“…Fine, let’s say looks can be deceiving. But he can’t even recognize the Vermilion Bird’s power blazing inside me? How is that even possible?”
“That’s because Your Highness also has the Azure Dragon’s and Golden Dragon’s orbs inside your body. When someone has multiple dragon pearls, the Vermilion Bird’s power can easily get buried.”
“Shut up, I don’t want to hear it!”
pilhwan, roughly tousling his hair, stomped off in a huff.
“Ah, Your Highness! Where are you going now?”
“To see the mermaids. I need to interrogate them and find out what the hell happened to Onju.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
“The hell you will. From now on, you’re Crown Prince pilhwan in public. I’m your retainer, Jung-hyo.”
“…Excuse me?”
Junghyo’s eyebrows dropped as if he’d just heard the biggest load of nonsense ever. pilhwan ignored his familiar expression and walked faster.
“Why do you never understand the first time? You’re the Crown Prince sent by the Emperor to govern Dongnae as Governor of the South Sea. I’m your bodyguard.”
“Please be serious. Do you even realize how much older I am than you?”
“You look younger than your age, and I look older than mine. It works out. Men all start looking the same once they hit twenty anyway.”
Not untrue. But Jung-hyo saw right through pilhwan’s tantrum.
“I heard something today too. Back when you lived here in Dongnae, you caused quite a ruckus, didn’t you? Pretending to be all meek and delicate in front of Lord Onju.”
“It was the beginning of my dream to be second only to one.”
“Sounds like that ‘one’… is Lord Onju.”
“Bingo.”
pilhwan nodded proudly. Jung-hyo groaned without realizing it.
“…Your Highness, are you in your right mind?”
“Of course not. I came running here bursting with hope to become his son-in-law, only to have that dream crushed in a flash.”
“That was your dream? Not taking the heads of the Emperor and Empress to claim the throne?”
“I will take their heads. But I don’t care about the throne.”
“……”
Junghyo, half-gaping like an idiot, shut his mouth with a pale expression. The more they talked, the more absurd things became. No matter how he tried to spin it positively, this wasn’t something the Crown Prince of an empire should be saying.
pilhwan was a man undeniably destined for kingship, bearing both the Azure and Golden Dragon pearls. Jung-hyo, who had long awaited the day pilhwan would execute the Emperor and Empress, couldn’t accept that his lord now sought to serve beneath the Vermilion Bird.
“Haa…”
Even as a weary sigh escaped Junghyo’s lips, Filhwan didn’t look back—only kept walking, muttering complaints under his breath in a flat, low voice.
“I was so excited I couldn’t sleep… but Onju’s forgotten all about me. I’m heartbroken. And to think it’s all my fault—his memory loss, his immobility, the fact he hasn’t grown… I want to strangle myself for feasting in the palace while he suffered.”
“Your Highness didn’t live in luxury. You were soaked in blood every day, killing and beating men left and right.”
“That was because your damn training regimen was insane. But because of me, Onju can’t walk or fly. Who the hell do I think I am?”
Junghyo sighed again and looked over Filhwan. His voice and expression were enough to kill a man—or ten. The murderous aura was palpable.
Clicking his tongue, Jung-hyo frowned. To think this terrifying killing intent came from a first love gone terribly wrong…
‘He never whimpered even under the harshest training…’
Seeing his lord throwing a tantrum like a lovesick boy, Jung-hyo reached a simple diagnosis:
“You’re blaming yourself. That’s what this is. You finally met your long-praised first love and now you’re spiraling.”
“Exactly. I’ll feel better after roughing up a few mermaids.”
“Good grief…”
As Junghyo sighed again, he looked at his lord—now consumed by emotion and seeking relief in violence. The young man cloaked in dark shadows that swallowed even the golden and blue flames of the dragons seemed like a deep, unpredictable ocean.
Calm and still on the surface, but liable to erupt into a tsunami at any moment. Brutal, vicious, and untamed by nature.
‘When he got giddy like a child in love, I should’ve known something was off…’
To Junghyo, pilhwan was more than an ally and fellow revolutionary. He was also the brother he gained in place of a lost sibling—a disciple raised with his own hands.
Now this lord of his, acting like a baby duck chasing after its first sight, left him unsure whether to mock or pity him.
“Did you give him the jewels? You used to sneak out gems from the treasury every chance you got just because Lord Onju liked shiny things.”
“I gave them to him. He tried to refuse, so I called it a down payment and forced them into his hand.”
Junghyo widened his eyes.
“Impossible. No Vermilion Bird dislikes jewels. It’s instinctual—like a racial trait.”
“He doesn’t even know he is the Vermilion Bird. These villagers must’ve lied to him while he was injured and amnesiac. Told him he’s just a sickly human who can’t grow.”
“Whaaat?”
“They all call him ‘Little Master’ this, ‘Little Master’ that—praising him and coddling him like he’s a harmless invalid.”
“…And he believed them? Really?”
“Onju never liked overthinking things.”
“……”
Junghyo clamped his mouth shut before he could reply.
‘If Lord Onju’s personality is really like that… this might work out. There’s no way I can let His Highness settle down here as a son-in-law. I’ll secretly coax Lord Onju to head for the palace instead.’
After all, pilhwan needed a soul-bound partner to fully harness the dragon pearls.
‘Judging by his actions, His Highness won’t touch another woman if it’s not Lord Onju… If I can just bring Onju to the palace and make him the Crown Princess, we’re set.’
With the gentlest smile in the world, Junghyo began scheming ways to tie pilhwan and Onju together.
