Even My Life Is Yours Chapter 23

With permission from Kyungrak, which he had thought would be the most difficult hurdle, now secured, Gamyoung spent the next few days planning how to ask Hongyo to be his escort warrior. He’d had a hard enough time persuading the guy, who had been lukewarm even when asked to go to the dojang together, so he was now pondering what kind of trick he should use to bring him along this time. Of course, it wasn’t a grand plan by any means, but he was in the middle of thinking up conditions that would be tempting enough in their own way. Just then, the Seventh Prince, apparently bored with his studies, struck up a conversation.

“Brother. Did you hear? They say this year’s hunting ritual will be held near the northern mountain range.”

The Seventh Prince, who was five years younger than Gamyoung, was always curious about the palace gossip. Kyungrak had given him a heads-up about the location, so he already knew, but it was quite an unusual decision to go all the way to the northern gorge instead of the hunting grounds usually used by the imperial family, which made him wonder what whim this was. Gamyoung nodded.

“Yes. The mountain terrain will likely be quite rugged, but it’s not the dragon’s territory, so I doubt anything will happen.”

If the Forest of Vanishing Shadows was like an altar that summoned dragons, the mountain range leading north was the entrance to the gorge where the Dragon God was said to reside. Although it was called the dragon’s dwelling place, the territory was so vast that, like the frozen lands at the northernmost tip, it wasn’t a place completely under the dragon’s influence.

However, because the terrain was quite rugged, few people entered, meaning there were many wild animals, making it a decent place for hunting. Still, there must have been a reason for choosing the mountain range over the safe, flat imperial hunting grounds. He had heard that recently, beasts had been coming down to the villages and attacking homes, so it seemed the intention was to use this opportunity for a subjugation effort. It was also not a bad move in terms of keeping the barbarian tribes in the north in check.

In any case, with the gorge where the dragon was said to live nearby, he had heard that even the shamans would be mobilized for this event. In truth, even if the hunting ritual were held at the imperial hunting grounds, it was the shamans’ role to prepare the altar for the dragon beforehand, so it wasn’t anything special. However, the fact that Hongyo’s adoptive mother was the head shaman weighed on his mind a little. It was Hongyo’s decision whether to participate in the hunting ritual as his escort warrior, but it was obvious she would not be pleased with him taking her adopted son, Hongyo, to a hunting ground where he could get hurt if things went wrong.

‘Well, what can I do. I just have to make sure he returns safely.’

More importantly, the immediate problem was how to persuade Hongyo. Gamyoung gave a noncommittal reply to the Seventh Prince, who was boasting beside him that he would catch the most game this time, and just wished for the morning’s royal studies to end quickly.

“Brother. But is there really a Dragon God in that northern gorge?”

“Who knows. I’ve never been, so how would I know? If what we saw at the Dragon Summoning Ceremony was real, then there must be a dragon in the gorge, I suppose.”

The image of the dragon-painted walls squirming as if alive was still vivid. And at the same time, the force that pressed down on his whole body, making it impossible to endure without kneeling. It was a sight no one who had attended the Dragon Summoning Ceremony that day could ever forget. The Seventh Prince, who had also been there as a member of the royal family, trembled at the memory.

However, Gamyoung recalled a voice that was even more vivid than that sight. You, you are quite something, the whispering voice had no form. But there was no doubt that the blue light was a dragon. Anyone born with the dragon’s power could not fail to know.

“Enough of that talk and solve the problem quickly. If you don’t want to stay behind today either.”

When Gamyoung chided him, the Seventh Prince pouted. Gamyoung pinched his lips. Ignoring the child who immediately started whining, Gamyoung wished for this time to end quickly so he could go see Hongyo.

˖°⛩️⋆˙️

“Yeo Hongyo. Are you here?”

Gamyoung had been searching all over the dojang for a while now. The times Hongyo visited the dojang were erratic, but he was always diligent about attending swordsmanship practice, at the very least. That’s why he was certain Hongyo would have come to the dojang today, a day with a swordsmanship class.

And as expected, Hongyo was in the backyard. Happy to see him, Gamyoung was about to approach but stopped in his tracks when he saw Hongyo carefully adjusting his grip and swinging his sword. As he swung the sword toward several straw-covered posts, the posts around Hongyo were all instantly and neatly sliced into three pieces and fell to the ground.

Gamyoung let out a gasp of admiration. It seemed like just yesterday that Hongyo, upon picking up a wooden sword for the first time at the dojang, had held the hilt so awkwardly, as if grasping a club, and swung it wildly. It was amazing that he could now handle a real sword to this extent. Considering that the children of nobility started wielding swords from the age of five or six, his skills were improving very quickly.

Gamyoung let out an exclamation without realizing it, and when Hongyo turned his head at the sound and their eyes met, he smiled.

“Quite impressive. You used to just swing it like a club, when did you get this good?”

“What’s with you. If you’re here, you should at least make a sound.”

“I just got here. More importantly…”

Gamyoung picked up two wooden swords from the veranda.

“Spar with me for a bit. It’s been a while. Now that Senior Brother Kyungrak is gone, I have no one to practice with.”

“What? Sparring with me won’t be satisfying for you.”

“Why are you so reluctant? I saw what you were doing just now.”

Caught off guard, Hongyo caught the wooden sword Gamyoung threw and looked at him as if to ask if he was serious. With a bow, he could easily beat Gamyoung, but his swordsmanship was a bit lacking. It was understandable; unlike Kyungrak and Gamyoung, who had been taught swordsmanship by none other than the Captain of the Palace Guard since they were old enough to ride a horse, Hongyo had only been properly learning martial arts for about five years. In terms of years, it wasn’t a short time, but compared to Gamyoung, who had held a sword for practically his entire life, it was true that he was lacking.

Of course, Hongyo had no way of knowing this fact, but he was well aware of Gamyoung’s skill from his spars with Kyungrak, so he hesitated. Gamyoung struck first, lightly tapping the sword in Hongyo’s hand, and the cheerful sound of the clash spread.

“How long are you going to stand there?”

As he twirled his sword mockingly, Hongyo, now fired up, corrected his stance.

“You started it.”

And with that, as soon as the words were out, he closed the distance in an instant. It was typical of Hongyo to exploit an opening and aim for a weak spot first. The way Hongyo used a sword was similar to hunting, where one needed to cut off the breath in a single blow. The sound of wooden swords clashing continued. What had previously not even lasted ten exchanges was now surpassing twenty. Gamyoung, who had been lightly blocking attacks with one hand until just a moment ago, had now also corrected his posture and was facing him seriously. Just as their wooden swords had clashed several times and their steps had been pushed back and then moved forward again.

This time, too, at a move that dug inward, Gamyoung deftly sidestepped. Perhaps because he had dodged more swiftly than expected, Hongyo, who hadn’t managed to assume a defensive stance in time, lost his balance slightly. Gamyoung didn’t miss the opportunity and aimed for his knees. He had thought Hongyo would just fall on his butt at most, but seeing him stagger much more than expected, his body moved on its own.

“…Are you okay?”

Even though he was the one who had fallen, Gamyoung checked on Hongyo, who was on top of him, first. As he checked to see if he was hurt anywhere, Hongyo was staring at him with a flustered face, apparently surprised.

“Uh, well…”

“That’s a relief. Then you can get off me now.”

Gamyoung, lying on the ground, raised both his hands in surrender. Only then did Hongyo come to his senses and start to get off the stomach he was sitting on, but he stopped, picked up the wooden sword that had fallen beside them, and planted it right next to Gamyoung’s head.

“Hey. Let’s say I won this time.”

It was absurd to see him smiling, already triumphant again. His face, backlit by the sun as seen from below, was simply mischievous, as if demanding he admit defeat. Gamyoung stared at that face, then raised the hand he had let drop to the ground.

“Alright, alright, just help me up already.”

He had played around enough; it was time to get to the main point. When Gamyoung extended his hand, Hongyo grabbed it without hesitation and pulled his body up. As he was about to pull Gamyoung to his feet, Hongyo tilted his head.

“Hey. You’re heavier than you look.”

Hongyo, who was even frowning because he wasn’t being pulled up as easily as expected, suddenly pitched forward. As a result, Gamyoung, who was in the middle of sitting up, fell backward again. As they ended up in an accidental embrace, the two of them yelled and pushed each other away.

“Ah, seriously, be more careful!”

“Hongyo. You’re the one who needs to build some strength. You seem to eat well, so where did all that strength go?”

“Hmph. As for you, Gamyoung, you should lose some weight… what’s this? You don’t have any fat, so why are you so heavy?”

“It’s muscle, Hongyo. It’s what you get when you train hard like me.”

What is he talking about. Just tall and lanky. Hongyo grumbled as he stood up, and Gamyoung followed suit. He acted as if nothing was wrong, but he was actually surprised by the light frame that had been so small in his arms. He had only thought he was a bit short, but for him to be this light… Of course, he wasn’t as light as a feather, but Gamyoung was a little surprised by his physique, which was different from the other boys he knew.

But that wasn’t the only thing that surprised him. In the moment he had accidentally embraced Hongyo, the thought that had momentarily crossed his mind upon seeing that face flushed with embarrassment was none other than ‘cute’. Of course, Yeo Hongyo did have his cute side compared to other guys, but that was a thought that only came up when he was teasing Yeo Hongyo for doing something foolish as a friend.

But this was a little different from that. Something more cringey and strange. A peculiar feeling that was somewhat ticklish, yet one he didn’t particularly want to feel from Yeo Hongyo.

‘…Cute?’

Gamyoung unconsciously scratched the area around his heart. If he didn’t, for some reason, a part of his chest felt itchy. Gamyoung made a strange face at this peculiar emotion. It felt like he had vaguely felt it once before.

“Hey, you clean up too.”

Gamyoung, who had been frozen awkwardly, snapped back to his senses at the voice.

Right. There’s something I absolutely must say today.

Gamyoung approached Hongyo, who was cleaning up the wooden swords and the sliced straw. Although he had told Kyungrak he wanted to take Hongyo as his escort warrior, in truth, he wasn’t entirely without worries. Would he be able to stay with Yeo Hongyo just like now, even after revealing he was royalty? To be honest, he wasn’t confident. No matter how long they had been friends, how could one be sure of what was in a person’s heart?

“Gamyoung. Still, I’ve improved a lot now, haven’t I? I used to only know how to shoot a bow, but now I can even compete with you. Well, I’m still not as good as you, who’s held a sword your whole life, but I’m not far behind. You better be on your guard, Cha Gamyoung.”

The fist that lightly tapped Gamyoung’s chest had calluses on it. The kind you get from holding a sword for a long time. Seeing that, Gamyoung thought.

As expected, it’s a waste to let him live as just a hunter. When there’s a wider world, why should he confine himself to a narrow place?

And so, Gamyoung decided to be brave. Whether it was truly for his friend’s sake, or because of his own greed to keep a friend who kept trying to distance himself by his side, he didn’t know.

“I’ve decided to participate in the hunting ritual this time.”

Because he no longer wanted to face his friend with lies.

“Let’s go together. Hongyo.”