Wandering Through Vol. 3 Chapter 79 - Settlement

From early morning, the party led by Old Lady Shanggung arrived at the small village.

Thanks to this, Leegwang was able to wash Yiseo’s body with medicinal-infused water and a soft cloth, then dress her in new clothes. 

 

Though Yiseo woke up midway and struggled with him, insisting she could do it herself, her resistance was futile.

 

Without lifting a finger and receiving the attentive care of the Grand Prince himself, Yiseo sat curled up on the porch since morning, basking in the sunlight with a weary expression.

Leegwang stroked her cheek a few times before summoning Old Lady Shanggung.

 

“Even if she says she has no appetite, make sure she eats properly. If she gets any thinner, only her bones will be left.”

Old Lady Shanggung bowed respectfully, then hesitated before gently asking,

“…Might the other lady not be here?”

 

“It’s just me and my wife here. Who are you looking for? Even if someone else was here, they’ve left. Far away.”

His tone was meaningful, as if hinting that Eunbi had gone far away. 

 

Yiseo, who had been staring at the floor, lifted her eyes to look at him. 

 

Leegwang whispered to her,

“You asked for it, so I had to grant your wish.”

 

“…Thank you.”

As Yiseo replied softly, he burst into laughter. 

 

Old Lady Shanggung, quickly grasping the situation from their exchange, hurried over to Yiseo.

It wasn’t that she cared more about Eunbi, whom she had known for only a year, than Yiseo, whom she had watched for ten years. She just hoped to avoid any bloodshed.

 

“Shall I prepare some porridge? Perhaps the lady would prefer something else…”

Leegwang glanced back one last time at Yiseo, who was slowly shaking her head at Old Lady Shanggung’s words, then left the shrine. 

 

Yiseo’s gaze seemed to follow his back, but she said nothing to stop him.

 

“Grand Prince.”

As soon as he stepped outside the shrine, a man called out to Leegwang as if he had been waiting. 

 

It was Suyeong’s older brother, the eldest son of the Shin family.

 

“Will you pursue this no further?”

“Yes.”

 

At the question that wasn’t even directed at anyone, Leegwang answered readily. After all, this man was the one who had first informed him that Eunbi was in this village. 

 

And later, he had even used his own family’s servants to thoroughly search the area.

 

Even though he must have heard an earful from his own father, it was somewhat remarkable how faithfully this man, known to be on Ban’s side, was carrying out the Grand Prince’s orders.

“In that case, I will recall the men I had following her.”

Moreover, even now, after the Grand Prince had simply released Eunbi, whom they had gone to such great lengths to detain, this man accepted it silently without a hint of annoyance. 

 

Leegwang asked him,

“What is it that you desire, to be obeying the words of the Grand Prince, who is known to be on another side?”

“I desire nothing in particular. I simply thought it might benefit my family to stay in the Grand Prince’s good graces.”

Leegwang truly disliked this kind of superficial exchange of pleasantries. 

 

Frankly, he found conversing with people—specifically, anyone other than Yiseo—to be quite bothersome.

“If you speak honestly, we might even be able to make a deal. Otherwise, stop being a nuisance and step aside.”

It would be convenient if this man lent a hand in Leegwang’s future efforts to keep Yiseo by his side, but if not, he could always just grab someone else to do the job.

Perhaps realizing that Leegwang’s languid words were a final ultimatum, the man stopped his formal, ritualistic replies. 

 

Leegwang let out a laugh.

His quick perception certainly suggested he wouldn’t create more troublesome issues.

“…I wish for my younger sister to bear the Primary Heir.”

The man’s younger sister, who had entered the palace as the Crown Princess, had already borne four children in succession, yet only the daughters had survived. 

 

Indeed, even if the Crown Prince were to become King, if the Crown Princess failed to produce a single son, her family’s position as the King’s in-laws would be difficult to maintain.

 

Instead of retorting that he wasn’t a God and couldn’t possibly grant children, Leegwang simply nodded. 

 

The fact that they had come to ask him for something beyond human capability meant they already knew something about him.

 

“By the time you return, the Crown Princess will be with child. The first grandson will probably be born around this winter.”

To be honest, this wasn’t something he had granted but merely something he had read. 

 

But if he could make a show of it and get some help, why not?

Leegwang was far from an honest man to begin with.

Unaware of this, the man solemnly accepted the terms of their deal.

“What must our family do for you?”

“First, I’ll need to borrow your brother’s hand for a while.”

 

💫

 

The journey back to the capital from the small village, which had little proper accommodation, was peaceful. 

 

There was no urgent reason to rush back, so they didn’t spend the entire day riding hard like they had on the way there.

Traveling at a pace that wouldn’t strain Yiseo, Leegwang’s party chose to borrow a guesthouse at a nearby government office instead of pressing on as darkness fell. 

 

With no large villages nearby, it was difficult to find a private home that could accommodate their entire group, leaving them with little choice.

It seemed others passing through the area were in the same situation.

 

“…So the Prince yielded a corner of the guesthouse to those brothers?” Yiseo asked.

Ban nodded. Seemingly happy to finally see Yiseo this evening, Ban chattered away, even gesturing animatedly.

“Yes! It’s that scholar who always brought us rice and meat, and his brother… They said they were on their way back from visiting a powerful shaman to cure the scholar. I suppose the scholar is still unwell and needs to rest comfortably.”

 

“…”

 

“But the scholar truly did look unwell. His face was deathly pale, yet his eyes were so red, as if he were possessed by some ghost.”

 

Yiseo remained silent.

 

To anyone, it was clearly about Suyeong, and no matter how she thought about it, the one who likely made Suyeong that way was…

 

“Yiseo.”

 

Leegwang strode through the door and entered. 

 

Ban, who had been chattering away, immediately fell silent, and Yiseo stared intently at Leegwang.

 

Ignoring Ban as if he hadn’t even seen him, Leegwang smoothly picked up Yiseo, who had been sitting on the floor. 

 

Seeing this, Ban wrinkled his face, bowed his head, and left the guest quarters where they were staying.

 

It was an action rude enough to warrant a scolding, but fortunately, since Leegwang and Ban completely ignored each other, no particular trouble arose.

 

“You’re not feeling well, so why do you keep coming outside?”

 

It was because someone kept confining her to her room, making her feel stifled. 

 

Yiseo looked at that very ‘someone’ who was always frantic about not being able to keep her locked away and spoke.

 

“Ban was telling me many interesting stories, so I was listening. For instance, he said a precious son of some high minister suddenly visited a temple one day and then fell ill as if possessed by a ghost.”

 

Showing little reaction to her words, Leegwang calmly carried Yiseo into the room.

 

“So they found a powerful shaman, who said he was thoroughly possessed by some ghost, and only after performing a grand exorcism did he recover. On his way back now, a kind-hearted lord offered him a place to stay.”

 

After setting Yiseo down on the bedding, Leegwang watched her moving lips as her words poured out and asked again.

 

“And so?”

 

“…Was it your doing, my lord?”

 

“Are you referring to me punishing that young lord who tried to pull tricks on you?”

 

“My lord!”

 

Yiseo choked up for a moment, then bit her lip.

“It was wrong to do that to someone for such a personal reason. If things had gone even slightly wrong, he could have died…”

 

“I meant for him to die. It’s a pity he survived.”

 

“If you keep piling up such karma, your next life will not be a good one. I say this for your own sake, my Lord.”

 

“For my sake? Not for his?”

 

He pulled Yiseo onto his lap, pressed his lips to the nape of her neck, and whispered.

 

“I am currently consumed with jealousy over him, so do not provoke me further. Yiseo.”

 

In the end, all Yiseo could do was let out a long sigh. Leegwang soothed her.

 

“Anyway, didn’t that bastard’s brother run around frantically and ultimately save him? He really always has such a good brother.”

 

It was a strange way to refer to Suyeong’s brother.

“Always… has him?”

 

But Leegwang brushed off Yiseo’s pointed remark without a care.

“Yes. It’s not the first time I’ve seen him today. When I saw him before, he was also very worried about his younger brother. Even if he found out his brother got into that state while trying to pull a fast one on you, he might still forgive and embrace him for being family.”

 

Leegwang buried his face in the nape of Yiseo’s neck. His cool, subdued gaze disappeared, hidden within the tender skin.

 

“I have no brothers, so I wouldn’t know, but I suppose that’s what brotherhood is like. Why, Yiseo? Isn’t there a saying that blood is thicker than water? No matter what wrong a younger brother does to others, if you’re the older brother, you ultimately forgive him and take him back, no matter what happened to that person…”

 

Just as the Crown Prince from their past life ultimately forgave the younger brother who drove his lover to her death.

 

Leegwang wondered if the Crown Prince from their past life had loved Mongmae that much less, or if he had loved his brother that much more.

 

As he licked over Yiseo’s skin, which was covered in goosebumps, he judged that, in truth, no matter which of the two was the answer to that question, Mongmae would not have accepted it.

 

Because he would have been unable to accept the fact that there existed someone in the world the Crown Prince cherished more than him.

 

No matter which of the two answers the Crown Prince from their past life had given, Mongmae would have believed it was not love.

 

…And in that, Leegwang was just the same.