Chapter 6

“…Pardon?”

Terrien’s expression turned blank with surprise, but Yuwon’s sharp rebuke continued relentlessly.

“What are you so surprised about? Did I say something wrong? You dared to call the Prince of the Aphahiel Empire someone’s bastard child, didn’t you?”

Only then did Terrien seem to realize that Yuwon wasn’t joking. His smirking face stiffened, and he hurriedly straightened up into a half-bent bow.

“I-I have committed discourtesy. Your Highness, I am Terrien Calmodet, the southern-born illegitimate son.”

Yuwon stood arrogantly and accepted the greeting — a bow befitting what he should have always received as a prince.

“Indeed, you have committed discourtesy. Whether you freely call yourself your family’s unwanted child is none of my concern, but dragging me into your self-deprecation? That’s an outrageous insult.”

“…My apologies. I was careless and foolishly assumed that Your Highness was jesting.”

Despite his words, Terrien’s expression looked as though he had stepped on something foul. It was a forced apology, given only because Yuwon was a prince.

“I shall grant you a chance to make amends for your insolence.”

The tone was neither rushed nor slow — calm, steady. Within it, the long-forgotten dignity of a royal son resurfaced.

“Terrien Calmodet. Become my sword instructor.”

That was the punishment Yuwon bestowed upon Terrien.

Yuwon had no time to waste waiting for a formal instructor to be arranged.

Only five days remained until his coming-of-age ceremony. Whether finding a teacher took one day or two, every moment was precious.

And yet, if he succeeded in completing the ceremony without any formal training, that alone would arouse suspicion. Thus, Yuwon needed a sword instructor immediately. This was the perfect solution.

“A sword instructor, Your Highness? You wish me to be your instructor?”

“Why? Do you dislike the idea?”

“I… I am honored by your words, but how could someone as lacking as myself dare to instruct Your Highness? It would be far too great an honor. Please, withdraw your order.”

For Terrien, avoiding this was the best course. Getting tangled with that lunatic “White Dog” was asking for trouble.

But Yuwon was not the sort to release his prey once he had his eyes on it. From the moment he brought it up, his calculation was already complete.

“If you dislike it, then I suppose there’s nothing I can do. Instead, you’ll just have to accept the punishment for trespassing into the Prince’s palace.”

“Ugh…”

Terrien’s only crime was sneaking into the royal palace to take a nap in a quiet corner — but trespassing was trespassing.

Normally, this would have been ignored had Yuwon chosen not to pursue it, and Terrien understood that instantly. He quickly lowered his tail.

“I was short-sighted. If Your Highness would grant me this chance to atone for my unworthiness, I shall serve with utmost sincerity. Please, allow me.”

Just moments ago, it seemed Yuwon was forcing the matter unreasonably — now, the tables had turned beautifully.

‘See? You should’ve agreed when I asked nicely.’

A faint smile crept across Yuwon’s lips — the smile of certain victory.

“Good. Since it’s decided, let’s begin right away.”

“Right… now, Your Highness?”

“Yes. Right now.”

“Is there any need to rush? Today marks the first day of Your Highness’s great resolve — perhaps it would be better to rest a little…?”

The man was making every excuse he could to avoid teaching. But before Yuwon, such tricks were useless.

“There’s no time. Only a few days remain until the coming-of-age ceremony.”

“…Your Highness, the coming-of-age ceremony? You mean to say you intend to perform it this year, starting now?”

“Yes.”

The coming-of-age ceremony!

The Fifth Prince — that notorious wastrel who had never even sensed mana, who hadn’t learned even the Three Basic Sword Forms, whose hands bore not a single callus — dared to mention the ceremony.

‘There are only a few days left until the ceremony.’

If he truly intended to perform it, the situation had suddenly grown far more serious.

‘No, wait. There’s no way the prince can awaken his mana in a few days. He’ll only embarrass himself at the ceremony and lose all interest in the sword out of humiliation. I just have to endure until then.’

To teach someone who had never even held a sword and make him awaken mana within days? No such teacher had ever existed — nor any student capable of it.

‘Even if the prince fails the ceremony, no one will blame me. Anyone would find it impossible in that short time.’

That thought eased his worries a little. Terrien forced a laugh.

“Haha… I see. Very well, Your Highness. Time is short, so I shall do my utmost. Though brief, I will dedicate myself fully to assisting you.”

That awkward laugh was almost amusing to Yuwon.

“You said you didn’t want to, but now that we’ve started, you sound so eager. Good. Let’s begin, Instructor.”

Soon, Terrien entered the equipment shed and fetched two practice swords — more like iron clubs shaped roughly like blades than real swords.

“Here you are, Your Highness.”

‘So that’s how it is…?’

It was obvious he had deliberately chosen iron instead of wooden practice swords, but Yuwon pretended not to notice and accepted it calmly.

‘Well, if I’m going to do this anyway, better something heavier than a toy.’

Silently gripping the sword, Yuwon weighed it in his hand.

The solid heaviness of metal strangely calmed his heart.

‘But… can I really do it in five days?’

In Yurion’s frail body — a body that had lived as though gnawing away at its own essence — Yuwon had to sense and cultivate mana, or rather inner energy, within only five days. Time was unbearably tight.

‘Before being recognized as an adult, there are too many restrictions. I can’t wait another year — I will do it.’

The coming-of-age ceremony came only once a year. Had he been given even a month — no, half that — things would have been easier. But there was no choice.

“…Then, I shall start by teaching you the Three Basic Sword Forms, the foundation of all swordsmanship. But first, let’s warm up — a few laps around the training yard should do.”

While Yuwon was steadying his resolve, Terrien finally spoke like a real teacher. Yuwon simply nodded in reply.

‘When has time ever been on my side? Never.’

There would be no exception this time either.

Time would not be on Yuwon’s side — and Yuwon would, without doubt, accomplish it again.

The day the wastrel Fifth Prince first gripped a dull-edged iron practice sword, only five days remained until the royal family’s annual coming-of-age ceremony.

From that day onward, Yuwon’s life became endlessly busy.

He rose at dawn each morning to run laps around the training ground alone, and swung his sword until his arms nearly fell off.

He didn’t refuse even the bitterest medicine, taking every tonic that could strengthen his frail body, and began to manage his meals with meticulous care.

Thanks to that, the cooks in the Fifth Prince’s palace were in chaos.

The prince who used to overturn tables if the food displeased him had, ever since awakening from his coma, stopped asking for alcohol and even began eating whatever was served to him.

Now, he was requesting health food.

“…You’re saying His Highness personally gave that order? Not that the chief attendant pushed it under the pretext of caring for his health?”

“Heh, I’m telling you, that’s what happened. Sure, I heard it from the chief attendant, but he said the Fifth Prince himself spoke those words.”

“Haha… I don’t know what’s come over him, but it looks like we’ll have to redo the entire menu.”

“Tell me about it. He was never a glutton, but still… the man who used to eat just to accompany his drinks now acts like a knight in training.”

And so, the diet changed. Yuwon went one step further and gathered all the drugs stockpiled in the Fifth Prince’s palace.

“This… is too much.”

Seeing the heap before him, he worried that if he buried it, someone might later dig it up for the money’s worth.

“Should we… set a few aside? It’s hard to quit everything all at once—”

“Joking? Enough. Burn it all. Make sure nothing’s left behind.”

Following Yuwon’s order, every last bit was burned, leaving not a trace.

The drugs were piled in a secluded corner of the palace and set aflame, their thick, acrid smoke hanging over the Fifth Prince’s residence for half a day.

“Wow… when it burst into flames like that, it was quite a sight.”

“Yeah, it was entertaining to watch. Even though we were all told not to wander outside, some idiots couldn’t resist — they opened windows just to sniff the expensive fumes and ended up being dragged off completely dazed. Hah!”

The wastrel “White Dog” had volunteered to meet the Emperor, had begun sword training after a lifetime of neglect, and had completely turned away from the alcohol and drugs he once lived by.

Yuwon’s desperate struggle to survive — that determination made the knights, attendants, and maids of the Fifth Prince’s palace start to look at him differently.

“Hasn’t the Fifth Prince… changed a lot lately?”

“Of course he has. Changed completely! You’d believe me if I said he became a different person overnight.”

“The bruise I got from him a month ago is still dark, but yesterday I saw him skipping lunch to train. I carefully brought him a meal, and he actually said, ‘You’ve worked hard.’ Can you believe that? Even his eyes and voice… they carried this noble grace. The lion’s blood still runs strong. I guess this is what they mean by someone being reborn.”

The people who used to spend their days worrying about how to avoid the prince’s temper now gathered to gossip excitedly about his sudden transformation.

The Fifth Prince’s palace brimmed with energy it had never known before.

Some said the prince had truly changed, while others insisted it was only temporary — that once his memories returned, he’d soon revert to his depraved self.

For now, the latter opinion still prevailed. That was how deep Yurion’s infamy had been.

‘Is someone talking behind my back?’

Of course, Yuwon, too busy swinging his sword, had no time to care for idle rumors that tickled his ears.

That night, drenched in sweat after a full day of training, Yuwon returned to his chambers.

“Prepare dinner so I can eat right after washing.”

“Yes, Your Highness. As you command. What would you like for dinner, though…?”

“Why ask? The same as yesterday.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Yuwon bathed and returned to find dinner already prepared.

Tonight’s main dish was well-grilled veal, seasoned lightly with minimal salt and spice.

Seated alone in his chamber, Yuwon tasted the food — and smiled.

‘No poison.’

It was a cold smile, one that moved only his lips, not his eyes.

Only hours earlier, at lunch, his food had still contained traces of poison. But now, the evening meal was clean.

‘So, the news has reached their ears too.’

The factions that had been secretly feeding poison to the Fifth Prince must have heard of his sudden “madness.”

That was why Yuwon had made such a scene when confronting the Emperor — to ensure word spread.

‘The roots of that rumor lie with the Emperor, Marquis Bredman, and the imperial guards present at the time…’

Yuwon placed everyone at that meeting under suspicion.

‘Still, the most likely culprits are the guards aligned with the other princes’ factions. Everyone knows imperial guards serve as the eyes and ears of each prince — it’s hardly unusual.’

To have plotted such a long-term poisoning, even against a worthless wastrel prince, meant his enemies were not to be taken lightly.

The poison, administered for years, had suddenly stopped. Their reaction had been faster than expected.

‘But why didn’t they just kill him? If they went through the trouble of poisoning him for years, death would’ve been cleaner… Did they fear the Emperor’s notice?’

That question passed briefly through his mind, but Yuwon soon focused on the meal — enjoying his first untainted food in peace.

In truth, his mind was busy forming a plan.

‘Now that the poison’s gone, I can begin training my inner art without worry.’

Even if the poison hadn’t been lethal, Yuwon — unfamiliar with this world’s toxins — chose caution before starting cultivation.

‘Accumulating unknown poisons at every meal? No thanks. If I lose control of my mind or energy, I’ll be ruined.’

With that obstacle gone, his mind finally eased.

‘Now that the hindrance to my training is gone, I’ll reclaim my past strength as quickly as possible. I can’t hide forever behind the Emperor’s favor or this act of amnesia. My first step is the coming-of-age ceremony.’

As he solidified his resolve, Yuwon clenched his fist tightly — his palm already slick with sweat.

It would take years to regain what he had achieved in his past life, but he was confident.

The first step was always the hardest; the rest would follow naturally.

‘Enough sentimentality.’

Dinner was over, and it was time for personal training. Yuwon rose, extinguished the magic lamp, and sat cross-legged on the floor.

‘I’ve made it clear that no one is to enter my chamber without permission… They’ll obey — they’re terrified of the wastrel prince, after all.’

He recalled the terrified face of the chief attendant when he’d issued that strict command, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘At times like this, Yurion’s past antics actually come in handy.’

The memory brought a faint grin to his lips.

The smile faded quickly, and Yuwon emptied his mind.

What he’d shown during the day was merely for display — his true training would begin now.

‘Now, the real work begins.’

Yuwon closed his eyes.

In the dead of night, as the world slept, a dagger coated in poison was being sharpened in the dark.