IBPC | Chapter 4.1

“The Imperial Princess, Tae Heerang. She’s the only full sibling of the Third Prince. The youngest of them all.”

Dubo whispered quietly into Seoyul’s ear. Listening to him, Seoyul stared at the Imperial Princess—Heerang—standing before him. Now that he looked again, she was the spitting image of Heegon.

Seoyul, unsure of what to say, glanced at Dubo. Sensing the awkward air, Dubo stepped forward.

“Your Highness, this person is…”

He had intended to introduce Seoyul to Heerang, but the words caught in his throat. Officially, Seoyul didn’t hold any recognized status, nor did he have a proper title. Dubo swallowed dryly, carefully choosing his words before finishing his sentence.

“He is someone who has been staying by the Third Prince’s side lately.”

An ambiguous yet technically accurate statement. Feeling pleased with himself for his quick thinking, Dubo squared his shoulders. However, Heerang frowned deeply.

“What do you mean by that? Are you saying he’s a eunuch?”

Then came the barrage of questions.

“Then why isn’t he wearing a eunuch’s robes? Why is his hair so short? What was he doing here?”

Seoyul, at a complete loss for words, just stood there like a mute. Dubo, equally flustered, stood stiffly, not knowing how to respond.

Then, a calm voice called out from behind Heerang.

“Heerang.”

It was a voice that Seoyul had become quite familiar with by now. At once, all eyes turned toward the source.

There stood Heegon, approaching them. The moment Seoyul saw him, he unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

As soon as Heerang spotted Heegon, her face lit up, and she ran toward him. Heegon stopped in his tracks, waiting for her. When she reached him, he easily caught her in his arms.

“What brings you here without sending word?”

Heegon lightly brushed his fingertips against Heerang’s cheek a couple of times as he smiled. In response, Heerang snuggled into his arms, acting playfully.

“I was dreadfully bored. I came to spy on you to see if you had time to play with me.”

Watching the two, Seoyul blinked in mild surprise.

Heegon’s lips curved gently, his gaze filled with warmth and affection. He looked like a completely different person.

So… he can make that kind of expression too.

Seoyul pressed his lips together, watching Heegon smile. For some reason, his heart felt strangely heavy and pounded a little harder than usual.

As he stood there, dazed, staring at Heegon, the latter glanced briefly at him. Their eyes met, and Seoyul’s heart thumped violently. Flustered, he quickly turned his head away.

Seeing this, Heegon’s voice dropped slightly as he spoke.

“Go inside.”

His expression, which had been so warm just moments ago, was now back to its usual weighty seriousness. Seeing that, Seoyul felt an odd sense of discomfort. However, he said nothing and let himself be ushered inside by Dubo.

⊹₊⟡⋆

“Who is that?”

Heegon, who had brought Heerang to the pond, couldn’t ignore her relentless questions any longer. Seeing her curious eyes fixed intently on him, Heegon fell into thought for a moment before sitting down to face her.

“He’s someone I’ll be keeping with me for a while. He’s a boy brought by Pacheon.”

“Pacheon? So, is he a sorcerer?”

“Not exactly, but…”

“Earlier, he went into your quarters. He’s staying in your main residence, not the annex?”

“…For the time being.”

“Is he a concubine?”

“…….”

Heegon stopped answering her barrage of questions. Instead, he quietly took Heerang’s hands in his.

“I’ll tell you everything later. For now… can you pretend not to know?”

“Why?”

“He’s an important person to me, and it’s not good if others find out too much about him. For now, he needs to remain hidden.”

“Why?”

“Later. …I’ll tell you everything later.”

Heegon postponed the explanation, choosing to keep Seoyul’s identity a secret for now. But rather than feeling disappointed, Heerang’s curiosity only grew, her eyes sparkling even more.

“Is he precious to you?”

At her question, Heegon reflexively parted his lips, but…

“…….”

He couldn’t find the words to answer. It wasn’t that he was deliberately hiding something—it was more that he didn’t know how to respond.

Not yet.

⊹₊⟡⋆

“But what are you trying to write here?”

After Heegon took Heerang elsewhere, Seoyul, who had been watching from the window, returned to the stone lantern with Dubo in tow. This was his first proper outing since arriving here, and it felt too soon to end it. Besides, that stone lantern kept catching his eye.

Even though there was no guarantee, he still thought he’d find a way back eventually. And if that were the case, he needed to prepare for it—or so he thought.

“I thought I’d do some studying. Just copy down the characters on the stone lantern for me.”

Seoyul’s eyes were busy darting between the inscriptions on the stone lantern and Dubo, who was diligently copying them down.

Some of them were decipherable, but a few were a bit ambiguous. I’ll have to ask Dubo what they mean later. There are even some characters that aren’t used anymore. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve paid more attention in my classical Chinese classes.

As Seoyul carefully examined the inscriptions on the stone lantern, he suddenly felt a renewed sense of emotion toward Heegon.

So, he participated in wars and achieved great feats even at a young age. At that age, I was probably just playing games. I guess a dominant alpha is truly a dominant alpha. To excel in both literature and martial arts from a young age…

Seoyul stroked his chin as he recalled Heegon’s imposing physique.

Well, he’s good-looking too. Seeing him smile earlier made it even more…

As Seoyul reminisced about Heegon’s smile, a shadow crossed his face. He shook his head vigorously.

Ah, what am I thinking?

Trying to shake off those thoughts, Seoyul focused again on the inscriptions. But that didn’t last long either.

“……?”

The moment a gentle breeze blew toward him, Seoyul’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he turned to look behind him.

Huh, this scent—

A faint but unmistakable scent carried by the wind. Seoyul recognized it as Heegon’s pheromones and cast his gaze further into the distance. But there was no one else around.

Is he nearby? Did he finish playing with the princess?

Seoyul strained his ears, but all he could hear was the sound of Dubo diligently writing. Seoyul looked toward the door leading outside. For some reason, the scent seemed to be coming from there. As he stared intently at the door, he found himself drawn toward it, as if under a spell.

Heegon had clearly told him to stay inside, but strangely, he now felt compelled to follow the scent. There was no reason or excuse, but Seoyul unconsciously walked toward it, as if pulled by an invisible force.

If Heegon is nearby, I should ask him if it’s okay to take a rubbing of the stone lantern. Copying the inscriptions is fine, but it’d be even better to have a direct rubbing, right?

Using that as a flimsy excuse, he pressed on.

As he got closer to the door, the scent grew stronger, and Seoyul became more certain. The door, which was more of an open passageway than an actual door, beckoned him. Seoyul called out softly.

“Your Highness.”

As he leaned over the threshold, following the scent—

“……?”

A familiar, unmistakable alpha scent—Heegon’s. But when Seoyul followed it, he found a stranger standing there. The man turned his head at Seoyul’s voice and looked in his direction.

“…….”

“…….”

The moment their eyes met, Seoyul’s gaze wavered in confusion. He had expected to see Heegon, but instead, there was a man he’d never seen before.

The man, who had casually turned his head to look at Seoyul, slightly furrowed his brows.

Seoyul swallowed dryly as he observed him.

He’s similar to Heegon, but a bit smaller. Still, he’s tall and has sharp, handsome features.

If Heegon has a bold and sharp appearance, this man has a softer feel. And… have I seen him somewhere before? Or is that just my imagination?

Even though he was a stranger, Seoyul didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar with him. He stood there, staring blankly for a moment. Then, a eunuch standing behind the man stepped forward and scolded Seoyul.

“How dare you! Where do you think you’re looking? Bow to the Fifth Prince at once!”

“……?”

At the eunuch’s sharp words, Seoyul snapped out of his daze and averted his gaze from the man.

Wait… what did that eunuch just say?

“The… Fifth Prince?”

Suddenly, a flood of historical knowledge from middle school rushed into Seoyul’s mind.

The fifth son of King Eulsa of the Jinha Kingdom, the Fifth Prince, Tae Kangmu. The man who would later succeed King Eulsa and become King Samun.

Along with that, the portrait from his textbook flashed through his mind.

“No way.”

What followed was Seoyul’s short but emphatic exclamation.

King Samun. The king who succeeded King Eulsa and led the Jinha Kingdom into a golden age during the 6th century. A sage among sages. And like his father, an alpha. The man whose portrait in the textbook caused a stir among the female students for being the most handsome.

“…Wow.”

Seoyul couldn’t close his mouth as he stared at the man—Kangmu.

Could I have ever imagined this? That I’d be able to take a rubbing of the stone lantern, a national treasure I’m still researching, and that I’d see King Samun in the flesh right before my eyes? Even if I told people about this, who would believe me?

“Hey, you insolent fool!”

The eunuch, his face red, raised his voice even more at Seoyul, who was still standing there dumbfounded. Snapping back to reality, Seoyul hurriedly bowed his head. What am I supposed to do here? He panicked, but Kangmu raised his hand, motioning the eunuch to step aside, and approached Seoyul with a curious expression.

“It’s alright. Lift your head.”

“……?”

His voice was incredibly gentle. Seoyul slowly raised his head and looked at Kangmu, who was now standing in front of him. Kangmu stared at Seoyul intently, then glanced toward where Seoyul had come from.

“Who are you, coming from my brother’s quarters…?”

Kangmu’s gaze lingered on Seoyul with curiosity.

“This is… my brother’s scent.”

Kangmu leaned in closer to Seoyul’s face and took a deep breath. As he inhaled the scent, Seoyul suddenly realized something and reflexively took a few steps back.

Right, King Samun—Tae Kangmu was also an alpha.

Seoyul tensed up at this realization, quickly lowering his head to avoid Kangmu’s gaze. Just then, Dubo, who had been running late, stumbled between the two of them.

“Your Highness!”

Dubo spread his ink-stained hands to shield Seoyul, then bowed deeply to Kangmu with an extremely troubled expression.

“Wh-what brings you here, Your Highness?!”

His demeanor was clearly flustered. Kangmu, still unable to take his eyes off Seoyul, looked even more intrigued.

“I was just passing by… But who is this boy?”

When Seoyul showed no intention of speaking, Kangmu turned his question to Dubo. Dubo, unsure of how to respond, hesitated before pushing Seoyul’s body back toward the door.

“Uh… he’s, um, temporarily assisting the Third Prince.”

“My brother?”

“He… he’s not supposed to be out here, so I apologize, but I have my duties… I’ll take my leave now.”

As Dubo rambled and tried to pull Seoyul away, Kangmu reached out and grabbed Seoyul’s arm.

“Wait, let’s talk for a moment—”

Just as Kangmu closed the distance between himself and Seoyul, someone roughly grabbed Kangmu’s wrist and pulled him away from Seoyul.

“……?”

Kangmu turned his gaze to the side, only to see Heegon standing there with a stern expression. Heegon, who had appeared out of nowhere, was breathing heavily, as if he had rushed over. He pushed Kangmu back, away from Seoyul.

“Don’t touch him.”

It was a short sentence, but it was filled with warning and threat.

“Brother?”

Kangmu, still holding his wrist, looked at Heegon with a hint of confusion. He tried to look back at Seoyul, but Seoyul was no longer visible, hidden behind Heegon’s large frame.

At the silent warning, Kangmu slightly furrowed his brows and smiled.

A short-haired man, emanating the scent of an alpha, coming from Heegon’s quarters.

Kangmu found this both unfamiliar and intriguing, but also strangely amusing.

⊹₊⟡⋆

“Who is that boy?”

After moving to a different location, Heegon and Kangmu were having tea together. However, Heegon had no proper answer to Kangmu’s question. Kangmu filled the silence with his own speculations.

“Your alpha scent is… quite strong on him……”

Kangmu trailed off, his expression suggesting he was piecing things together. At this point, Heegon set down his teacup.

The Fifth Prince, Tae Kangmu.